Reading the City
February 5 to 11
Welcome back to Reading the City, your weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week we have literary salons from Table of Contents and Miss Manhattan, cozy vibes at the launch of P&T Knitwear’s new monthly read-in series, and some big names discussing both new and iconic work, with events featuring Sheila Heti and Sandra Cisneros.
Also, a big hello to RTC’s new subscribers! What a pleasure to have you here. If you’re writers with upcoming events, or hosting events yourself, I’d love to hear from you! And thank you to Paragraph Workspace for Writers for the shout out—for anyone unfamiliar with them, I recommend checking out their lineup of virtual classes and events, from AMAs with agents to weekly write-ins.
As ever, send feedback, send help, say hi! And please share the love with your bookish friends.
Monday, February 5
Table of Contents Reading Series
TOC is back for its first event of 2024, serving up three small dishes inspired by the author’s work. This month features readings from Megan Nolan (Ordinary Human Failings), Temim Fruchter (City of Laughter), and Cynthia Zarin (Inverno), followed by a conversation with chef and TOC founder Evan Hanczor. Tickets include one complimentary cocktail.
$35 inc. a cocktail and food; 7-9pm; Insa, 328 Douglass St, Brooklyn
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 Emily Cementina, Mia Tsang, Frances Thomas, Voxigma Lo, and Kim Narby
Free; 7.30pm; Niagara, 112 Avenue A, New York
Sheila Heti: Alphabetical Diaries
Sheila Heti, genre-defying as ever, presents the complete Alphabetical Diaries, a project two decades in the making, and compiled from the ten-part serialized story “A Diary in AlphabeticalOrder,” which ran in the New York Times last year. Heti will be joined in conversation by Lillian Fishman (Acts of Service), and the Books Are Magic event will be held offsite at The Invisible Dog Art Center.
Free; 7-8pm; The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen Street Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Jonathan Metzl: What We've Become
Nashville-based physician and gun policy scholar Dr. Jonathan Metzl presents What We've Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms in conversation with political podcaster and cultural commentator Danielle Moodie.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Tuesday, February 6
The Tell, Vol. 75
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
Jenny Hollander: Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead
Jenny Hollander, the digital director of Marie Claire, launches her debut novel, Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead, in conversation with journalist Clémence Michallon.
From $5; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Tia Williams: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
Tia Williams, the New York Times-bestselling author of Seven Days in June, presents A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, a love story about a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician who are irreversibly linked through the history, art, and magic of Harlem. Tia is joined in conversation by author of so many books Tessa Bailey.
$35; 7-8pm; First Unitarian Congregational Society, 119 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn
Megan Nolan: Ordinary Human Failings
Megan Nolan (Acts of Desperation) launches her second much-anticipated novel, Ordinary Human Failings, in conversation with Kyle Dillon Hertz (The Lookback Window).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Daniel Lefferts: Ways & Means
Debut author Daniel Lefferts discusses his new book, Ways & Means—a fictional investigation of class and ambition, sex and art, and politics and power in twenty-first century America— in conversation with Grant Ginder (Let's Not Do That Again).
$5; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Wednesday, February 7
Nonfiction Dialogues: Kerri Arsenault
The Nonfiction Dialogues is an evening literary series in which professor and Columbia University's School of the Arts Writing Program chair Lis Harris discusses with distinguished nonfiction writers their work and careers. This month she’s joined by Kerri Arsenault, the literary critic and author of the award-winning and bestselling Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains.
Free; 7.30-9pm; 501 Dodge Hall, Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, New York
Sandra Cisneros: The House on Mango Street at 40
BPL Presents and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation host Sandra Cisneros to discuss The House on Mango Street forty years after its publication, as well as her life as a writer. Cisneros will be joined in conversation by Edwidge Danticat, and books will be available for purchase from Greenlight Bookstore.
Free, RSVP online; 7-8pm; Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, Lobby Gallery, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
Diarmuid Hester: Nothing Ever Just Disappears
Radical cultural historian, activist, and author, Diarmuid Hester launches his new book, Nothing Ever Just Disappears: Seven Hidden Queer Histories, in conversation with Alice Winn (In Memoriam).
From $8; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Thursday, February 8
Maggie Millner: Couplets
I was a big fan of Maggie Millner’s debut, Couplets—a love story in poems that explores obsession, gender, identity, and the art and act of literary transformation—and now she’s launching it in paperback. Maggie will be joined in conversation by Catherine Barnett (Solutions for the Problem of Bodies in Space).
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Armando Lucas Correa: The Silence in Her Eyes
Armando Lucas Correa launches The Silence in Her Eyes in conversation with the vice president of operations for Book Culture, Cody Stuart Madsen.
Free, register online; 7pm; Book Culture, 536 W 112th St, New York
Marcellas Reynolds: Supreme Sirens
Entertainment reporter and celebrity fashion stylist Marcellas Reynolds discusses his new book Supreme Sirens: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Music, in conversation with model, journalist, and TV presenter Lana Ogilvie.
$5; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Tamara Faith Berger: Yara
Tamara Faith Berger (Maidenhead) discusses her newest book, Yara—a reverse cautionary tale about a young woman exploring the boundaries of sex and belonging, and what the body can teach us, in the sex-tape-panicked early 2000s. Tamara is joined in conversation by author Rebeka Rutkoff (The Irresponsible Magician: Essays and Fictions).
$5; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
45:15 Writing Sessions
The Center for Fiction invites you to join fellow writers and work toward your word count goals. As the name suggests, the first 45 minutes of writing begins at 6pm, followed by a 15-minute break, and then another 45-minute session, before some self congratulation.
$25; 5.45pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Anna Motz: If Love Could Kill
Internationally acclaimed forensic psychotherapist Anna Motz discusses her newest book, If Love Could Kill: The Myths and Truths of Women Who Commit Violence, in conversation with author and editor Victoria Wilson.
$5; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
An Evening of Storytelling Poetry
Readings from T'ai Freedom Ford, Toni Kochensparger, Morgan Boyle, Mélan, Hal Schrieve, and Dolan Morgan.
Free; 7-9pm; KGB Red Room, 85 East 4th Street, New York
WORD: Homocats
Zine creator and multidisciplinary artist J. Morrison releases the newest issue of HOMOCATS, a zine with the stated mission to “fight phobias, propose equal rights, combat cultural stereotypes, question social norms, resist Trumpism, and make the world a better place.” Each zine is individually photocopied by hand, and “Fight For Peace” is the twelfth in the series. The event will feature readings by contributors.
Free; 7pm; WORD Brooklyn, 126 Franklin St, Brooklyn
Friday, February 9
GennaRose Nethercott: Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart
GennaRose Nethercott, the author of Thistlefoot, performer, and co-creator of the excellent Lore podcast, launches Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart, a collection of dark fairytales and fractured folklore exploring how our passions can save us—or go monstrously wrong. GennaRose is joined in conversation by editor Anna Kaufman.
$10 incl. equivalent gift card; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Booking for Love: Literary Speed Dating
This is sold out, but I’m listing it anyway, because you can sign up now via the link for the next event on February 16. A bookish take on speed dating, the aim is to have guests go on 12 mini-dates over the evening—with a book of your choosing as a chat prompt—and if both parties are interested in continuing the conversation you’ll each receive information about how to get back in touch. Happy hour specials at the Café & Bar.
$25; 6-8pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Sunday, February 11
Second Sunday Sit 'N Sip
A new event from P&T as part of its Read-In series: bring a book from home or buy one (the $10 admission is redeemable in-store), grab a drink, and claim a cushion on the amphitheater stairs for an afternoon of quiet reading or bookish friend-making. Totally charming.
$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 British 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!
