Reading the City
October 28 to November 3
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
Firstly, I’d love to see you all at the official launch of my debut novel Amphibian on Wednesday, October 30th at Books Are Magic. Please do come say hi if you’re able to attend!
As for the rest of the week, it’s all jammed in on Tuesday: Take your pick between Table of Contents or Les Bleus literary salons; seeing Glory Edim launch her memoir; or Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown read at Hunter. Then end your week softly, with a whiskey tasting at Center for Fiction or Quiet Reading hour at Book Club Bar.
As ever, send feedback, send help, send events I should have on my radar, say hi! And please share the love with your bookish friends.
Monday, October 28
World Transexual Forum
This month Anton Solomonik and Jeanne Thornton’s World Transsexual Forum features science fiction author and editor Anne LeBlanc. A panel discussion about bodily transformation/dissociation, and editing speculative fiction by trans women is followed by an open mic.
Free; 7.30pm sign-up, 8pm readings, 9pm panel; Franklin Park, 618 St Johns Place, Brooklyn
Tuesday, October 29
Glory Edim: Gather Me
, the founder of Well-Read Black Girl, discusses her memoir, Gather Me—in praise of the books that saved her—with Aminatou Sow, host of the long-running Call Your Girlfriend podcast.
Free, with RSVP; 7-8pm; The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 42nd Street & 5th Avenue, New York
Tables of Contents Reading Series
Featuring Chloe Caldwell (Women), Emet North (In Universes), and Tony Tulathimutte (Rejection), enjoy three dishes inspired by each author’s reading, as well as perfect biscuits, and a chat about the creative process with
founder and chef Evan Hanczor. Tickets include a complimentary cocktail from Cocktails in Color.$35; 7-9pm; The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen St, Brooklyn
Les Bleus Literary Salon
Les Bleus Literary Salon welcomes Holly Baxter (Clickbait), Kyiim Cameron, Andrew Riad, Emily Schultz (Brooklyn Kills Me), and Kristin Vuković (The Cheesemaker’s Daughter), hosted as ever by Paige McGreevy.
Free; 7pm; Bushwick, RSVP to lesbleusnyc@gmail.com for address
Distinguished Writers Series presents Jericho Brown
A reading and discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown (The Tradition) as part of Hunter Creative Writing Program’s Distinguished Writer Series, which invites notable writers for intimate class visits. The events are open to students and the public. Non-students should arrive early to get a day pass from security.
Free; 7:30pm; Hunter West, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room, New York
Regina Porter: The Rich People Have Gone Away
Regina Porter (The Travelers) discusses her second novel The Rich People Have Gone Away—in which a diverse group of New Yorkers are brought together by the search for a missing woman—with De’Shawn Winslow (In West Mills).
$12.51; 7-8.30pm; Liz’s Book Bar, 315 Smith Street, Brooklyn
Damion Searls: The Philosophy of Translation
Award‑winning translator Damion Searls launches his new book The Philosophy of Translation—a sharp and inviting exploration of the theory and practice of translation for anyone who has ever marveled at the beauty, force, and movement of language—in conversation with fellow translator and writer Yasmine Seale.
$7.81; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Jonathan Lethem: Cellophane Bricks
Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn) discusses Cellophane Bricks: A Life in Visual Culture—a kind of stealth memoir of his parallel life in visual culture—and Brooklyn Crime Novel, out now in paperback, with Dan Fox (Limbo).
Free; 7-8.30pm; Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
Muriel Leung: How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster
Prize-winning poet Muriel Leung presents How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster—a dark and tender debut set against a writhing backdrop of post-apocalyptic New York City—in conversation with Sally Wen Mao (Ninetails).
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Wednesday, October 30
Tyler Wetherall: Amphibian
Tyler Wetherall (me!) discusses her debut novel Amphibian—a subversive coming-of-age story set in 90’s England about friendship and first desires—with Hannah Lillith Assadi (Sonora).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
The 2024 Words Without Borders Gala
If you have the means, it’s WWB's annual gala, featuring a lively cocktail hour, bilingual readings by WWB authors, and a dinner in the company of impressive cast of literary hosts. This year’s honorary chair is Elif Batuman, and the gala chair is David Drake, president of Crown Publishing Group. The event will be hosted by writer and translator Jeremy Tiang.
From $500; 6-9pm; The Edison Ballroom, 240 W 47th St, New York
Gabriel Bump: The New Naturals
Gabriel Bump (Everywhere You Don't Belong) celebrates the paperback release of The New Naturals—a moving and darkly funny novel about an attempt to found an underground Utopia—in conversation with Nell Freudenberger (The Limits).
Free; 7-8pm; Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue, Brooklyn
OR Books Live on Ave C: Fall Party
Short readings by authors Michael Coffey (Beckett’s Children), Paula Delgado-Kling (Leonor), and Mark Jacobs (Silent Lights), along with live music by Adjua Ajamu.
Free; 5.30-7pm; The Francis Kite Club, 40 Loisaida Avenue, New York
Leslie Jamison, David Ebershoff, and Megan Abbott on Peggy and the Legacy of Rebecca Godfrey
The Center for Fiction pays tribute to the life and work of the late Rebecca Godfrey with her friends and collaborators. Completed by Godfrey’s close friend and colleague Leslie Jamison (Splinters) after Godfrey’s death in 2022, Peggy is a blazingly fresh interpretation of a woman who defied societal expectations and lived life on her own terms. David Ebershoff (The Danish Girl), edited Godfrey and Jamison and collaborated with the latter to publish this richly imaginative new novel. Megan Abbott (Beware the Woman) joins Jamison and Ebershoff for a moving and informative discussion about Godfrey’s legacy and to celebrate the publication of her final book.
$10; 7-8.15pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Bruce Eric Kaplan: They Went Another Way: A Hollywood Memoir
New Yorker cartoonist and television writer Bruce Eric Kaplan presents They Went Another Way—a darkly comic memoir about being a working creative person in a world that is growing ever more dysfunctional—in conversation with Lili Anolik, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Friday, November 1
Burned by Books Live
A live recording of literary podcast, Burned by Books, featuring a conversation between Jennifer Egan (The Candy House), Katie Kitamura (Intimacies), Tess Gunty (The Rabbit Hutch), and host of the show, Chris Holmes.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Susie Boyt: Loved and Missed
British novelist Susie Boyt presents Loved and Missed—a warm, sharp-witted, and psychologically acute story of familial love—in conversation with Rumaan Alam (Leave the World Behind).
Free; 7-8pm; Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue, Brooklyn
Saturday, November 2
Maggie Mertens: Better Faster Farther
On Marathon Day eve, hear from award-winning journalist Maggie Mertens on her national bestselling book on the history of women in running, Better Faster Farther, in conversation with Michael Waters (The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports), on untold histories of marginalized communities in sports.
Free; 6-7.30pm; Lofty Pigeon Books, 743 Church Avenue Brooklyn
Biblio Bacchanal: The Search for America’s Best Whiskey
An exploration of American whiskey with Colin Spoelman, the cofounder of Kings County Distillery and author of The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion, and Clay Risen, New York Times reporter, whiskey expert, and author of American Rye. Enjoy a conversation and readings, interspersed with tastings of four varieties of Kings County whiskey.
$35; 5-7pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Sunday, November 3
Quiet Reading Club
Before the anxieties of next week, spend one hour quietly reading, followed by one hour of optional discussion with fellow readers. Bring your own book or buy one!
Free; 9-11pm; Book Club Bar, 197 East 3rd Street, New York
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and author. My debut novel Amphibian is out now from Ig. My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press, 2018) followed my childhood as the daughter of an international pot smuggler and federal fugitive. I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!