Reading the City
March 11 to 18
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week we have much-anticipated book launches from Vinson Cunningham, Hala Alyan, and Rita Bullwinkel, BPL brings back its Night at the Library extravaganza, and NYU hosts John Manuel Arias and Isle McElroy. Then on Saturday, head to Brooklyn Poets to hear a brilliant lineup of authors with 100% of ticket sales going to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.Â
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, March 11
Franklin Park Reading Series
This month, Franklin Park celebrates its 15th anniversary! The birthday bash features multi-genre reading from Sloane Crosley (Grief Is for People), Colin Winnette (Users), Brian Allen Carr (Bad Foundations), Anastacia-Reneé (Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere), and Gerardo Sámano Córdova (Monstrilio), hosted by founder Penina Roth. There will be champagne cocktails, live music, and cake. Plus: craft brew specials from Sixpoint and a mega raffle for swag and the readers' latest books.
Free; 8-10pm; 766 Franklin Avenue, 618 St Johns Pl, Brooklyn
The Café & Bar Presents Drink & Draft Night
Hosted by Josh Krigman, Drink & Draft is a night to get you unstuck and inspired in your writing through a series of visual prompts and style experiments. Optional sharing; all genres welcome; no experience necessary.
$25 incl. first drink from the Cafe & Bar (beer, wine, or speciality cocktail); 6-7.30pm; Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli: The Conceivable Future: Planning Families and Taking Action in the Age of Climate Crisis
Professor, state legislator, and climate organizer Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli, a writer, illustrator, and yoga instructor, are together co-directors of Conceivable Future, the organization that birthed this book. Join them for a discussion.
Free, register online; 6.45pm; Book Culture, 536 W 112th St, New YorkÂ
Tuesday, March 12
Must Love Memoir
A new one for me: Must Love Memoir is a monthly reading series for anyone who loves creative nonfiction, founded and hosted by Krystal Orwig (
). This month features: Jane Wong (Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City), Janelle Greco, Michael Dolan, Gabriel Noel, and Sarah Sturgess.Free; 7.30pm; Jake's Dilemma, Oak Cellar Room, 430 Amsterdam Avenue, New York
Nam Le: 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem
Nam Le (The Boat) presents his explosive, devastating debut book of poetry, 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem—a book-length poem in a virtuosic array of forms and registers—in conversation with Leslie Jamison (The Recovering).
$5 for RSVP, redeemable in-store; 7pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Michael Arceneaux: I Finally Bought Some Jordans
Author of I Don’t Want To Die Poor Michael Arceneaux releases his new book, I Finally Bought Some Jordans, in conversation with SNL writer and comedian Alex English.
From $7.81; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Morgan Parker: You Get What You Pay For
Morgan Parker (Magical Negro) launches her debut nonfiction book, You Get What You Pay For, an essay collection tracing the difficulty and beauty of existing as a Black woman through American history. Morgan discusses her work with author Jacqueline Woodson.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Dan Saltzstein: That's So New York
The New York Times’ Dan Saltzstein presents That’s So New York, an ode to the city brimming with little snapshots of humanity, in conversation with Sari Botton, author and publisher of
and . The evening also features readings from contributors Isaac Fitzgerald (Dirtbag, Massachusetts) and Jason Diamond (Searching for John Hughes).Free; 8pm; Book Club Bar, 197 East 3rd Street, New York
Leah Hunt-Hendrix & Astra Taylor Discuss Solidarity with Heather McGhee
BPL Presents brings together two leading activists and thinkers—Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor, authors of Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea—to discuss the concept of solidarity across borders of nation, identity, and class. The authors will be in conversation with Heather McGhee (The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together).
Free; 7-8.30pm; Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, BrooklynÂ
Gina Chung and Melissa Rivero: Green Frog and Flores and Miss Paula
Two alumni of The Center for Fiction / Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowship, Gina Chung and Melissa Rivero, celebrate their new publications—Chung’s collection, Green Frog, and Rivero’s Flores and Miss Paula.
$7.50; 7pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Carola Lovering: Bye, Baby
Carola Lovering (Tell Me Lies) discusses her latest novel, Bye, Baby, which takes an unflinching look at the battling forces of toxicity and love which define so many female friendships, in conversation with producer Karah Preiss, the cofounder of Belletrist.
$5, redeemable in store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Wednesday, March 13
Vinson Cunningham: Great Expectations
New Yorker writer Vinson Cunningham presents his highly-anticipated debut, Great Expectations, a coming-of-age novel in which a historic presidential campaign changes the trajectory of a young Black man’s life. Vinson discusses the book with fellow New Yorker-staffer Doreen St. Félix.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, March 14
NYU Fiction Reading: John Manuel Arias and Isle McElroy
NYU’s Creative Writing Program’s Spring event series presents John Manuel Arias (Where There Was Fire) and Isle McElroy (People Collide), followed by a reception. RSVP required.
Free; 7pm; Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 West 10th Street, New York
Katie Gee Salisbury: Not Your China Doll
releases her debut book Not Your China Doll—a celebration of Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star, and reclamation of her place in cinematic history—in conversation with Same Bed Different Dreams author Ed Park.$7.81; 7-8pm; Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room, New York
Hala Alyan: The Moon That Turns You Back
BPL Presents invites Hala Alyan (The Arsonists’ City) to read from The Moon That Turns You Back, her new collection of poetry that traces the fragmentation of memory, archive, and family–past, present, future–in the face of displacement and war. She will be joined by a lineup of great poets, including: Sara Deniz Akant, Zaina Arafat, Sarah Aziza, Zeina Hashem Beck, and Mahogany L. Browne.
Free; 6.30-8pm; Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, BrooklynÂ
Emily Raboteau: Lessons for Survival
Part of the Center for Fiction’s On America series, author Emily Raboteau (The Professor’s Daughter) discusses her new collection of essays, Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against the Apocalypse, reflecting on the intersectional fights for environmental and racial justice through the lens of motherhood, in conversation with essayist Garnette Cadogan.
$7.50; 7pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Sarah Ruiz Grossman: A Fire So Wild
Sarah Ruiz-Grossman launches her debut novel, A Fire So Wild, in which a wildfire creeps toward Berkeley, California, igniting tensions as characters from all walks of life confront the injustices lying beneath the city’s surface. Sarah is joined in conversation by Marina Fang, a senior culture reporter at HuffPost.
Free; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Friday, March 15
Rita Bullwinkel: Headshot
Books Are Magic present this off-site event at Wild East Brewing to celebrate the launch of Rita Bullwinkel’s much-anticipated debut novel Headshot, about eight teenage girl boxers facing off, in a portrait of the desire, envy, perfectionism, madness, and sheer physical pleasure that motivates young women to fight—even when no one else is watching. Rita is joined by special guests authors Will Epstein, Catherine Lacey, Hilary Leichter, Ismail Muhammad, and C Pam Zhang.
Free; 7-8pm; Wild East Brewing Co., 623 Sackett Street, Brooklyn
Saturday, March 16
Readings for Palestine
In collaboration with the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Books Are Magic and Brooklyn Poets presents a lineup of poets, novelists, screenwriters, and children's book authors of various ethnic and religious backgrounds, coming together to highlight each other's voices and stories, to raise money for the families and children that have been affected by the war in Gaza, and to collectively uplift the ongoing demand for a permanent ceasefire. 100% of all ticket sales and 20% of all event book sales will be donated to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Readers include Zaina Arafat (You Exist Too Much), Ken Chen (Juvenilia), Temim Fruchter (City of Laughter), Aya Ghanameh (These Olive Trees), Hannah Moushabeck (Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine), and director Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby).
$10.89; 7-8pm; Brooklyn Poets, 144 Montague Street #2nd Floor, Brooklyn
Strange Hostility: The Curious Enmity Between Fashion and Philosophy
As part of their lineup of book events, Gotham Bar & Grill hosts Gwenda-lin Grewal, the author, academic, and designer, and Valerie Steele, the fashion historian, curator, and director of the Museum at FIT, to dive into the parallels between philosophy and fashion examined in Gwenda-lin’s Fashion | Sense. The talk is followed by hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and an immersive couture experience. The book event is included when booking the three-course prix-fixe dinner ($60), which is followed by live jazz.
$25 including complimentary canapés; 3.30-5.30pm; Gotham Restaurant, 12 East 12th Street, New York
Night in the Library
Brooklyn Public Library brings back the Night in the Library: Out of Darkness, presenting different takes on facing hardship rather than evading it. There’s an amazing array of music, conversations, lectures, a fermentation workshop, a sound healing, puppet theater, live podcast recordings, and so on. Sounds brilliant.
Free; 7pm-2am; Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, BrooklynÂ
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!
Incredible resource! Thank you