Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week’s hot ticket is Tommy Orange in conversation with Ethan Hawke, but there’s also the brilliant Vivian Gornick reading at Queens College, a queer sci-fi salon at WORD, and the return of Books & Burlesque. Not to mention launches from Rachel Lyon, Xochitl Gonzalez, and Adelle Waldman.
As ever, if you’re hosting a reading or giving one, I’d love to hear about it! And please share the love with your bookish friends.
Monday, March 4
Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series
A monthly non-fiction reading series hosted by Elyssa Maxx Goodman (Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City), with this edition featuring John Kelly, Tania Pabón Acosta, and Chris Bittar.
Free; 7.30pm; Niagara, 112 Avenue A, New York
Declan Ryan: Crisis Actor
Irish poet Declan Ryan presents Crisis Actor, his bracing debut collection chronicling various kinds of failures and farewells, in conversation with Maggie Millner (Couplets: A Love Story).
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
James Marcus: Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Editor, translator, and critic James Marcus presents Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a reassessment of the celebrated essayist and his relevance to contemporary readers, in conversation with Vivian Gornick (Fierce Attachments).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Hunter’s Distinguished Writer Series: Roxana Robinson
A reading and discussion with critically acclaimed author of eleven books Roxana Robinson, presenting her most recent novel, Leaving. The Hunter Creative Writing Program reading series invites notable writers for intimate class visits, 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
Xochitl Gonzalez: Anita de Monte Laughs Last
Xochitl Gonzalez (Olga Dies Dreaming) celebrates her new novel of power, love, and art, Anita de Monte Laughs Last. Gonzalez will be joined in conversation by De’Ara Balenger, co-founder of maestra (an award-winning social impact and cultural strategy agency) and co-host on Pod Save the People.
$36.50 incl. book; 7pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Deborah Jackson Taffa: Whiskey Tender
Deborah Jackson Taffa, writer and director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, discusses her memoir, Whiskey Tender, about coming-of-age on and off the reservation, and of the frictions between mainstream American culture and Native inheritance. She is joined in conversation by Honor Moore (A Termination).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Tuesday, March 5
Tommy Orange presents Wandering Stars with Ethan Hawke
Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of the bestseller There There Tommy Orange presents his new novel Wandering Stars, tracing the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family. He’s joined in conversation with author and actor Ethan Hawke.
$29 incl. a book; 7.30pm; St. Joseph’s University, New York - Brooklyn, 245 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn
The Tell, Vol. 76
A glamorous live storytelling event curated by writer and photographer Michael Leviton (To Be Honest), with stories tending towards the chaotic and bizarre, interspersed by musical interludes, and followed by some revelry.
$20 in advance; 8-11pm; Georgia Room, Freehand NY, 2nd Floor, 23 Lexington Ave., New York
East Village Wordsmiths Literary Salon
A themed monthly salon for artists to share their work. Writers of prose, poetry, memoir, or song are welcome to perform a five-minute original work. If you would like to share your work, please email EVWordsmiths@gmail.com.
Free; 8pm; Book Club Bar, 197 East 3rd Street, New York
Kirsten Bakis: King Nyx
Kirsten Bakis (Lives of the Monster Dogs) discusses her new novel King Nyx, a haunting mystery about lost girls and the woman driven to find them, in conversation with Lincoln Michel (The Body Scout).
From $7.81; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Rachel Lyon: Fruit of the Dead
Rachel Lyon (Self Portrait With Boy) celebrates the launch of her new novel, Fruit of the Dead—an electric contemporary reimagining of the myth of Persephone and Demeter set over the course of one summer on a lush private island, exploring addiction and sex, family and independence, and who holds the power in a modern underworld. Lyons is joined in conversation by Julia Phillips (Disappearing Earth).
Free; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Wednesday, March 6
Creative Writing Lecture: Ayşe Papatya Bucak
Columbia University’s Creative Writing Lecture Series hosts Ayşe Papatya Bucak, the author of The Trojan War Museum and Other Stories. The evening is organized by Columbia University professor and author Ben Marcus.
Free; 7.30-9pm; 501 Dodge Hall, Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, New York
Chris Cander: The Young of Other Animals
Chris Cander (The Weight of a Piano) discusses her newest book, The Young of Other Animals—in which shocking family secrets have the power to destroy or unite an estranged mother and daughter—in conversation with Louise Marbug (The Truth About Me).
$5, redeemable in store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
NOVUS Renewal: The Transformative Work of Rehabilitation Through the Arts
NOVUS NY, Trinity Church’s new music orchestra, will showcase the life-changing work of Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), a nonprofit whose arts-based programming models an approach to the justice system focused on human dignity rather than punishment. Featuring RTA alumni, this performance will fuse music, spoken word, visual arts, and discussion around how people in prison develop critical life skills through exposure to the arts. Performers include Kenyatta Emmanuel, Darrian Bennett, Clarence Maclin, Charles Moore, Alfred Roberts and Sherika Stewart.
Free; 7-8.15pm; St. Paul's Chapel, 209 Broadway, New York
Adelle Waldman: Help Wanted
Adelle Waldman presents her new novel, Help Wanted, a funny, eye-opening novel about work in contemporary America, in conversation with the New Yorker’s Naomi Fry. Wine reception to follow.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
V: Reckoning
Tony Award-winning playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler) celebrates the paperback release of her book Reckoning in conversation with poet, actor, and performing artist Staceyann Chin (The Other Side of Paradise).
Free; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Thursday, March 7
A Reading by Vivian Gornick
Queens College MFA in Creative Writing and Translation presents the critic, journalist, essayist, and memoirist Vivian Gornick in conversation with Catherine LaSota, the writer, founder of the Resort writing community, and associate director of Social Practice CUNY. Reception at 6:15pm prior to the reading.
Free; 7-8.15pm, Queens College, Faculty and Staff Lounge, Student Union 126, 65-50 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, Queens, and livestreamed
Rally Reading Series
The Rally Reading Series launched in 2016 to provide a platform for overtly political literature in the hope of finding actionable, meaningful ways to cultivate change, and advance community and democracy. This month readers include Megan Nolan (Ordinary Human Failings), Alyssa Songsiridej (Little Rabbit), and Julie Orringer (The Flight Portfolio), with Ryan D. Matthews hosting as ever. They will be raising money for Brigid Alliance, an organization that gets people to abortion care, whatever it takes.
Free; 7pm; Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
Rocket Ships and Rainbows: A Queer Scifi Salon
For those who like their scifi and speculative fiction not so straight and narrow, join authors Nathan Tavares, Nino Cipri (Finna), Nibedita Sen, and Sam J. Miller (Blackfish City) for a fresh perspective as they chart courses toward bold and diverse futures. The evening is moderated by Tavares, who is also celebrating the release of his latest book, Welcome to Forever.
Free; 7pm; WORD Brooklyn, 126 Franklin St, Brooklyn
Lisa Selin Davis : Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What To Do Instead
Lisa Selin Davis (Tomboy) launches her new book offering the complete social history of the housewife archetype, from colonial America to the 20th century, and re-examining common myths about the “modern woman.” She is joined in conversation by Elizabeth Angell, the editor-in-chief of Romper, and Kelly McMasters (The Leaving Season: A Memoir-in-Essays).
Free; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Anne de Marcken: It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over
Anne de Marcken presents her debut novel It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over, delivering a near-Beckettian whopping to the reader’s imagination, its heroine is voraciously alive in the afterlife. Anne is joined in conversation Hilary Leichter (Terrace Story).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Friday, March 8
Clone of Brave, Unbodied Scheme: a McNally Jackson poetry reading series
An evening of poetry in McNally Jackson Seaport’s bar, named after a line from Herman Melville’s poem “Art,” featuring poets Andrea Cohen (The Sorrow Apartments), John Murillo (Up Jump the Boogie), Nick Flynn (Low), and Holly Melgard (Fetal Position). Hear poems, drink wine, and enjoy the “pulsed life”.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Saturday, March 9
Books & Burlesque
Books and Burlesque is back featuring authors reading excerpts from their new books, paired with a spectacular burlesque or drag performer, to create an act inspired by the work. Authors include: Shashtri Akella (The Sea Elephants), Jeanne Mackin (Picasso's Lovers), Katie Gee Salisbury (Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong), Hilary Leichter (Terrace Story: A Novel), and Richard Mirabella (Brother & Sister Enter the Forest: A Novel).
From $35; 9-11pm; Caveat, 21 Clinton Street, New York, and livestreamed
Sunday, March 10
Second Sunday Sit 'N Sip
P&T’s monthly read-in series returns—bring a book from home or buy one, grab a drink, and claim a cushion on the amphitheater stairs for an afternoon of quiet reading or bookish friend-making.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and teacher, and the author of No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press) and Amphibian (forthcoming from Virago). I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!