Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week in book-land we have Nita Prose launching her follow-up to The Maid, Long Island reporter Mark Chiusano on his new Geroge Santos book, the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Fête, and the ever-glamorous live storytelling evening that is The Tell.
Send feedback, send help, send events I should have on my radar, say hi! And please share the love with other bookish folks.
Monday, November 27
Gabriel Bump: The New Naturals
Author and professor Gabriel Bump (Everywhere You Don't Belong) discusses his next novel, The New Naturals, in conversation with New York Times-bestselling author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Chain-Gang All-Stars).
Free; 7pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room New York
Tuesday, November 28
Distinguished Writers Series presents Ayana Mathis
A reading and discussion with Ayana Mathis (The Twelve Tribes of Hattie) as the final event for the semester of this Hunter Creative Writing Program reading series, which invites notable writers for intimate class visits. The events are open to students and the public. Non-students arrive early to get a day pass from security.
Free; 7:30pm; Hunter West, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room, New York
Alissa Quart presents Going for Broke
Alissa Quart, the author of Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream and the executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, discusses her new book, Going for Broke, a collection of first-person essays, poems, and photos that expose what our punitive social systems do to so many Americans, and demonstrates real ways to change our conditions. Alissa will be joined in conversation by Molly Crabapple, Alex Miller, Celina Su, and Astra Taylor.
Free; 6.30pm-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Nita Prose: The Mystery Guest
New York Times best-selling author Nita Prose (The Maid) launches her new book The Mystery Guest, in conversation with A. J. Finn (The Woman in the Window).
$8; 7pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room New York
Wednesday, November 29
Ditmas Lit
The monthly reading series in Ditmas Park, hosted by Rachel Lyon and Sarah Bridgins, and dedicated to showcasing a diverse range of emerging and established writers in all genres, returns with authors Anthony Cappo (When You’re Deep in a Thing), Omotara James (Song of My Softening), Monique Laban (The Offing, Catapult, The Florida Review, Clarkesworld, etc.), and Diane Mehta (Happier Far).
Free; 8pm; Hinterlands Bar, 739 Church Ave, Brooklyn
Ximena Vengoechea presents Rest Easy
Ximena Vengoechea (Listen Like You Mean it: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection) discusses her new book, Rest Easy: Discover Calm and Abundance through the Radical Power of Rest, an antidote to burnout culture and an invitation to find joy, balance, and energy through the transformative power of rest, in conversation with Melody Wilding, LMSW, executive leadership coach and author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work.
Free; 7pm-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Cory Doctorow: The Lost Cause
New York Times best-selling author and journalist Cory Doctorow (Little Brother) discusses his new book The Lost Cause.
$10; 7pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room New York
Alva Noë presents The Entanglement
Alva Noë presents The Entanglement: How Art and Philosophy Make Us What We Are, in conversation with painter and critic Alexi Worth.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Thursday, November 30
Sarah Blakley-Cartwright + Mira Jacob: Alice Sadie Celine
New York Times bestselling author, publishing director of the Chicago Review of Books, and associate editor of A Public Space, Sarah Blakley-Cartwright releases her debut adult novel Alice Sadie Celine in conversation with novelist, illustrator, and cultural critic Mira Jacob (Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations).
$8; 7pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room New York
Make-Believe Bookclub Presents: Love and Information
While I don’t tend to include book clubs, this sounded lovely: the very first Make-Believe Bookclub has chosen Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, to read (it’s short so you have time!) and then meet and discuss the play over a potluck and mulled something. If you can’t afford the book, they’ll forward you a free pdf. Sweet!
Free; 7.30pm; Taylor & Co. Books, 1021 Cortelyou Rd, Brooklyn
Simon Shieh: Master w/ Ama Codjoe
Poet and cofounder of Spittoon Literary Magazine Simon Shieh presents his debut poetry collection, Master, the winner of the 2022 Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, selected by Terrance Hayes, in conversation with Ama Codjoe (Bluest Nude).
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7pm ; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Howard Fishman presents To Anyone Who Ever Asks
Howard Fishman presents To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse, in conversation with Wall Street Journal music and culture writer Larry Blumenfeld and writer and DJ Nadine Smith. Connie Converse was a mid-century New York City songwriter, singer, and composer whose music never found broad recognition—and this book is one writer’s quest to understand her life.
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Esther Cohen and Cynthia Newberry Martin
Authors Esther Cohen (Book Doctor) and Cynthia Newberry Martin (Tidal Flats) discuss their newest works, All Of Us: Stories and Poems Along Route 17, a tribute to rural upstate New York, and Newberry Martin’s third novel The Art of Her Life.
Free; 6.30pm; Shakespeare & Co., 2020 Broadway, New York
Mark Chiusano presents The Fabulist
PEN/Hemingway Award honoree and Long Island reporter Mark Chiusano discusses his new book, The Fabulist, the stranger-than-fiction story of U.S. Representative George Santos, in conversation with Rebecca Panovka, a co-founding editor of The Drift.
Free; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Friday, December 1
First Novel Fête
The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Fête celebrates the seven finalists for the 2023 First Novel Prize with readings, open bar, personalized book recommendations, literary tarot, door prizes, and more. The Fête takes place before the First Novel Prize winner is announced at the more formal Annual Awards Benefit on December 5.
$45; 6.30pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Sunday, December 3
The Tell, Vol. 73
A live storytelling event curated by writer and photographer Michael Leviton, with stories tending towards the chaotic and bizarre, interspersed by musical interludes.
$20 in advance; 8pm-11pm; Georgia Room, Freehand NY, 2nd Floor, 23 Lexington Ave., NY
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!