Reading the City
January 22 to 28
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
I’m on the road this week, so everyone will have to catch me up on literary New York when I’m back. I’ll miss out on book launches from Julian Tepper, Gerardo Sámano Córdova, and Paula Delgado-Kling, salons from #YeahYouWrite and Ditmas Lit, and Ai Weiwei in conversation with Mira Jacob for PEN Out Loud.
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, January 22
#YeahYouWrite Reading Series
Reserve a seat now at the next #YeahYouWrite, for an evening of literary cocktails by Megan Rickerson, dinner, a rapid-fire Q&A, and an open mic, as well as readings from Eliot Duncan (Ponyboy), Cleo Qian (Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go), Jakob Guanzon (Abundance), and Ben Purkert (The Men Can’t Be Saved). Email lisa@yeahyouwriteevents.com for a spot.
Free; 7pm; Someday Bar, 364 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn
Translation Conversation Series at McNally Jackson
Johanna Hedman's The Trio is presented by writer and translator Kira Josefsson and author Chloe Caldwell (I’ll Tell You in Person).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi: Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers
I don’t normally include young adult fiction, but I’ll make an exception when it’s Dr. Ibram X. Kendi adapting Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon for middle grade readers. Kendi will be joined in conversation by Ibi Zoboi, the New York Times bestselling author of American Street.
$20 incl. a signed copy of the book; 6.30-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Tuesday, January 23
Julian Tepper launches Cooler Heads
Julian Tepper (Between the Records) launches his fourth novel, Cooler Heads—a charged New York City love story about negotiating a triangulation of lovers and spouses, young children and careers, in a city that would have us think that we can have it all.
Free; 6-7.30pm; The Corner Bookstore, 1313 Madison Avenue at 93rd Street, New York
East Village Wordsmiths Literary Salon
This monthly salon is an opportunity for artists to share their work, this month on the theme of regrets. Writers of prose, poetry, memoir, or music are welcome to perform a five-minute original work. If you would like to share, email EVWordsmiths@gmail.com.
Free; 8-9.30pm; Book Club Bar, 197 East 3rd Street, New York
PEN Out Loud: Ai Weiwei with Mira Jacob
Legendary artist Ai Weiwei celebrates the launch of his first work of graphic nonfiction, Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir, through discussion and visual presentation. Ai Weiwei will be joined in conversation by novelist, memoirist, illustrator, and cultural critic Mira Jacob (Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations).
From $27; 6pm; The Town Hall, 123 W 43rd St, New York
Emma Lord + Tamara Fuentes: The Getaway List
Digital media editor and New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord launches her new novel The Getaway List, in conversation with Cosmopolitan entertainment editor Tamara Fuentes.
From $8; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Erin Williams & Leslie Jamison
Author, illustrator, and scientific researcher Erin Williams presents What's Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine, a graphic exploration of how the American health-care system fails us, in conversation with Leslie Jamison (The Empathy Exams).
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street Brooklyn
Kaveh Akbar presents Martyr!
Books Are Magic presents Kaveh Akbar discussing his debut novel, Martyr!—a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning, in faith, art, ourselves, others—offsite at the Brooklyn Heights Public Library.
Free; 6-7pm; Brooklyn Public Library - Brooklyn Heights Branch, 286 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn
Author Event - Paula Delgado-Kling
Reporter Paula Delgado-Kling launches her debut book Leonor: The Story of a Lost Childhood. Set in the author’s homeland, Colombia, it tells the heartbreaking story of Leonor, a former child soldier of the FARC, the rural guerrilla group, who Paula Delgado-Kling followed for nineteen years.
Free; 6.30pm; Shakespeare & Co., 2020 Broadway, New York
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah presents Chain Gang All Stars, feat. Lisa Lucas
National Book Award finalist Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Friday Black) celebrates the paperback release of his debut novel, Chain Gang All Stars, in which gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own, in conversation by Lisa Lucas.
$5; 7-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
The Writing Co-Lab Turns 1
A birthday party for the Writing Co-Lab—a teaching cooperative owned and operated by artists—toasting their writerly students and instructors, with drinks and readings from Co-lab authors.
Free; 7.30-9pm; Wild East Brewing Co, 623 Sackett Street, Brooklyn
Wednesday, January 24
Ditmas Lit
Hosted by Lena Valencia and Sarah Bridgins, Ditmas Lit is dedicated to showcasing a diverse range of emerging and established writers in all genres. It returns this month featuring readings from New York Times-bestselling Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (Alice Sadie Celine), Emily Cementina, Wah-Ming Chang (Hand, Held, forthcoming), and Stephon Lawrence (u know how much i hate being alone in social situations// ).
Free; 8pm; Hinterlands Bar, 739 Church Ave, Brooklyn
Kaveh Akbar presents Martyr!, featuring Megha Majumdar
Kaveh Akbar again discusses his newest book, Martyr!. this time in conversation with author Megha Majumdar (A Burning).
$5; 7-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Dr. Uché Blackstock: Legacy w/ Imani Perry
Books Are Magic presents Dr. Uché Blackstock discussing Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons With Racism in Medicine—at once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a call to action—in conversation with Imani Perry (South to America).
$33 including the book; 7-8pm; St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn
Aube Rey Lescure & Kirstin Chen
In an evening co-presented by Greenlight and literary magazine Off Assignment, French-Chinese-American writer Aube Rey Lescure presents her debut novel River East, River West, an exploration of race and class, cultural identity and belonging, and the often-false promise of the American Dream, in conversation with Kirstin Chen (Counterfeit). A wine reception follows.
Free; 7.30-9pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street Brooklyn
WORD Presents Elizabeth Gonzalez James
Elizabeth Gonzalez James (Mona at Sea) will discuss her new novel, The Bullet Swallower, which follows a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making. She will be joined in conversation with The Atlantic staff writer and New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez (Olga Dies Dreaming).
Free, but RSVP to reserve seating; 7pm; WORD Brooklyn, 126 Franklin St, Brooklyn
Thursday, January 25
Christina Cooke & Dawnie Walton
Jamaican-born author Christina Cooke launches her debut novel Broughtupsy, about a young Jamaican woman grappling with grief as she discovers her family, her home, is always just out of reach, in conversation with Dawnie Walton (The Final Revival of Opal & Nev). The reading is followed by a wine reception.
Free; 7.30-9pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street Brooklyn
E.L. Shen in conversation about her new book Maybe It’s a Sign
E.L Shen (The Queens of New York) discusses her third book, Maybe It’s a Sign, in conversation with Christina Li (Clues to the Universe).
Free; 6-7.30pm; The Corner Bookstore, 1313 Madison Avenue at 93rd Street, New York
Antonia Hylton + Craig Melvin: Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum
Emmy-winning journalist Antonia Hylton releases her new book Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum in conversation with fellow award-winning NBC news anchor and co-host of the 3rd Hour of TODAY Craig Melvin.
$7; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Marcia Biederman presents The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill
Marcia Biederman (A Mighty Force) discusses her newest book, The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill, a chilling narrative of abortion in nineteenth-century New England, in a fundraising reading to benefit The Brigid Alliance. Marcia will be joined in conversation by Emmy-winning writer Michael David Quinn.
$5; 7-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Friday, January 26
Gerardo Sámano Córdova: Monstrilio w/ Adam Dalva
A literary horror debut from Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Monstrilio is about a boy who transforms into a monster, a monster who tries to be a man, and the people who love him in every form he takes. Gerardo is joined in conversation by Guernica fiction editor Adam Dalva.
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Brave, Unbodied Scheme— a McNally Jackson poetry reading series
A new monthly poetry reading series in McNally Jackson’s lovely Seaport bar, the evening will feature readings from Shane McCrae (Cain Named the Animal), Amatan Noor (Not Guilty), Joshua Mehigan (Accepting the Disaster), Stephon Lawrence (u know how much i hate being alone in social situations//), and Ana Božičević (New Life). The reading series, which takes its title from Herman Melville’s poem “Art,” seeks to highlight poets from all over the city, and give them the backdrop of McNally Jackson’s bar to read their new work.
Free, but register for a seat; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Kate Manne presents Unshrinking with Virginia Sole-Smith
Kate Manne (Down Girl) discusses her new book Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia in conversation with author and reporter Virginia Sole-Smith (Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture).
Free; 7-8pm; Community Bookstore, 143 7th Ave., Brooklyn
Mariah Fredericks presents The Wharton Plot, featuring Anna Quindlen
Mariah Fredericks (author of the Jane Prescott mystery series) discusses her newest book, The Wharton Plot. Inspired by a true story, it follows renowned novelist Edith Wharton in the twilight years of the Gilded Age in New York as she tracks a killer. Mariah will be joined in conversation by author Anna Quindlen (Rise and Shine).
$5; 7-8pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Sunday, January 28
Drink 'N Draft
Stuck in your writing? In need of a little more time or inspiration? P&T Knitwear’s Drink ’N Draft is here to help you get words out of your head and onto the page. Includes a series of visual prompts and chances to experiment with different styles of writing.
$20, with $10 redeemable in store; 6-8pm; 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!
