Reading the City
November 18 to 24
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
For fans of Haruki Murakami, there are midnight release parties for his new novel, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, tonight at Three Lives & Company (free, from 10pm), Yu and Me Books (ticket required), and Greenlight Bookstore (ticket required). It’s also the National Book Awards this week; enjoy readings from the finalists at NYU Skirball on Tuesday, or livestream the ceremony itself, with Kate McKinnon hosting and Jon Batiste as the musical guest, for free on Wednesday—just register here. And it’s a jam-packed week for reading series, with Table of Contents, Les Bleus, Ditmas Lit, and Pete’s Reading Series, amongst others, all taking place.
With that said, next week’s a quiet one in book land with the holiday, so I’m going to make the most of it and take the week off, but I’ll be back on December 3rd. And as ever, please share the love with your bookish friends!
Monday, November 18
Lili Anolik: Didion & Babitz
Lili Anolik, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a writer at large for Air Mail, takes the friendship and fallout of Joan Didion and Eve Babitz as her next subject in Didion & Babitz, using a trove of Babitz’s diary-like letters to paint a new picture of Didion. She is joined in conversation by Emma Straub, the New York Times–bestselling author of five novels.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Tables of Contents Reading Series
At enjoy three dishes inspired by each author’s reading, as well as perfect biscuits, and a chat about the creative process with founder and chef Evan Hanczor. Tickets include a complimentary cocktail from Cocktails in Color. This month is a particularly exceptional lineup with Ledia Xhoga (Misinterpretation), Justin Torres (Blackouts), and Tracy O'Neill (Woman of Interest).
$35; 7-9pm; The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen St, Brooklyn
Julia Baird: Bright Shining
Julia Baird, the bestselling author of Phosphorescence, is visiting from Australia to launch her new book, Bright Shining. How Grace Changes Everything—a beautiful and timely exploration of that most mysterious but necessary of human qualities: grace—in conversation with the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd, and at New York’s Australian Consulate General, no less.
Free, registration essential; 5.30pm; Australian Consulate General New York, 150 E 42 Street, New York
Tuesday, November 19
The 2024 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
Hosted by Brittany Luse of NPR’s It’s Been a Minute, the National Book Awards finalists in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature will gather the evening before the National Book Awards Ceremony to read excerpts from their works. Read more about the honorees in each category here.
$10; 7pm; NYU Skirball, 566 LaGuardia Pl, New York, and livestreamed free
The Evidence of Things Unseen: Baldwin, Faith, and Fiction
Yahdon Israel, the founder of The Literaryswag Book Club and senior editor at Simon & Schuster, and Robert Jones, Jr. (The Prophets) come together for a conversation about James Baldwin’s fiction. The pair will discuss the powerful link between Baldwin’s faith and artistic imagination that enabled him to create a language of possibility on the page—and how we can all work to apply this in our own lives. A reception sponsored by Brooklyn Org will follow the event.
$10; 7-8.15pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Les Bleus Literary Salon
Hosted by Paige McGreevy, this month features Elysha Chang (A Quitter’s Paradise), Joan Larkin (Old Stranger: Poems), Shanekia McIntosh (Spiral as Ritual), Alicia Ostriker (The Holy & Broken Bliss), and Aggeliki Pelekidis (Unlucky Mel).
Free; 7pm; Upper West Side, RSVP to lesbleusnyc@gmail.com for address
Writers Reflect on the Music of 1994
A night in honor of the best year in music (1994, of course) featuring writing inspired by the music from Brian Gresko, Nicole Haroutunian (Choose This Now), and Emily Raboteau (Lessons for Survival), 1994 cover songs, sung and played by host Catherine La Sota, and a panel discussion, with prizes.
Free; 8-10pm; Carriage House of the LIC Bar, 45-58 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens
Letters & Sodas
A night of readings from local writers and comedians hosted by Lana Schwartz (Build Your Own Romantic Comedy), this month features Ilana Michelle Carmi (MTV, Reductress), Leah Abrams (Jezebel, Triangle House), Henry Block (The Onion, McSweeney's), Megan Broussard (Slate, Marie Claire, The New Yorker), Carrie Wittmer (GQ, Time, The Ringer), and Ash Diggs (Means TV, Don't Tell Comedy, New York Comedy Club).
$5; 7-9pm; The Greats of Craft LIC, 10-15 43rd Avenue, Queens
Israa Nasir: Toxic Productivity
Psychotherapist and Well Guide founder celebrates the launch of Toxic Productivity: Reclaim Your Time and Emotional Energy in a World That Always Demands More, offering research-backed insights on dynamics such as self-worth, shame, social comparison, burnout, and perfectionism that keep us always busy but never satisfied. She is joined in conversation by Samhita Mukhopadhyay.
$5; 7-8:30pm, First Unitarian Congregational Society , 119 Pierrepont St, Brooklyn
Author/Editor Conversation Series: Justin Torres and Jenna Johnson on Blackouts
Justin Torres (We the Animals) celebrates the paperback release of Blackouts and partakes in McNally Jackson's Author/Editor conversation series with FSG editor Jenna Johnson, to dive into the thousands of small decisions that made up their collaborative process.
$5 redeemable in-store, RSVP required; 6.30pm; McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton St, New York
Wednesday, November 20
Richard Price: Lazarus Man
Richard Price, the author of Clockers and a writer on The Wire, presents his first novel in nearly a decade, Lazarus Man, offering a razor-sharp anatomy of an ever-changing Harlem. He’s joined by crime writer Sarah Weinman to discuss the book.
Free; 7.30pm; Greenlight bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
Ditmas Lit
Hosted by Lena Valencia (Mystery Lights) and Sarah Bridgins (Death and Exes), Ditmas Lit welcomes readers Jamie Kahn, Say Madges, Alana Saab (Please Stop Trying to Leave Me), and Hyeseung Song (Docile).
Free, with RSVP; 7.30pm; The Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverley Road, Brooklyn
Open Book
is a literary open mic night (and a Substack community with podcast!) created and curated by Becka Olson. This month, it features guest hosts Ariane Powell and . Sign up starts at 7pm.
Free; 8pm; Fiction Cafe & Cocktail Bar, 308 Hooper St, Brooklyn
Thursday, November 21
Percival Everett: James
Percival Everett discusses James— a masterful retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—on a live B&N Poured Over podcast taping in conversation with host Miwa Messer and Academy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning writer and director Cord Jefferson (American Fiction, The Good Place, Watchman).
Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 East 17th Street, New York
National Book Critics Circle at 50 & Brooklyn’s Indelible Influence
In celebration of The National Book Critics Circle 50th anniversary, this panel conversation considers the influence that Brooklyn along with its critics and writers have brought to American literary culture. National Book Critics Circle board members past and present, including Michele Filgate, Maris Kreizman, David Varno, Jo Livingstone, Tobias Carroll, and others will discuss the borough's impact on books and criticism over the decades.
Free, RSVP; 7-8.30pm; Brooklyn Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
Pete’s Reading Series
The lineup this month features Essie Chambers (Swift River), Asha Thanki (A Thousand Times Before), and Carvell Wallace (Another Word for Love), hosted by Temim Fruchter (City of Laughter) and Brian Gresko.
Free; 7.30pm; Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
Nayantara Roy: The Magnificent Ruins
Nayantara Roy, a television executive at STARZ/ Lionsgate, celebrates the launch of her debut novel, The Magnificent Ruins—about a young Indian American book editor who inherits her estranged family’s ancestral home, and their long-buried secrets with it—in conversation with Megha Majumdar (A Burning).
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Nikki May: This Motherless Land
Nikki May (Wahala) celebrates the launch of her second novel, This Motherless Land, in conversation with Angela Flournoy (The Turner House). There’s an open bar.
$10; 6-8pm; Liz’s Book Bar, 315 Smith Street, Brooklyn
Friday, November 22
Booksellers Read!
Love this. Books Are Magic’s booksellers come together in an event to read their own writing. Readers include: Sarah Jane Abbott, Arianna Arroyo, Isabella Barbuto, Josie Meléndez, Mikayla Bryant, Alexa Brahme, and Amali Gordon-Buxbaum.
$10, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Blake Butler: Dual Book Launch
Blake Butler (Molly) launches Void Corporation—the revised paperback of his 2020 novel Alice Knott, now with a new foreword from the author—and conceptual piece UXA.GOV in a dual launch. Megan Boyle, Claire Donato, Nik Slackman, Sasha Fletcher, Austyn Wohlers, Robert Lopez, and more celebrate with a marathon reading. Sponsored by Parch, drinks will be free to try.
$5, redeemable in-store; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
NYU Fiction Reading
NYU’s Creative Writing Program’s Fall reading series presents Lana Bastašić (Catch the Rabbit), Rachel Kushner (Creation Lake), and Maaza Mengiste (The Shadow King) for a reading and Q&A, followed by a reception. RSVP required.
Free; 7pm; Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 West 10th Street, New York
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and author. My debut novel Amphibian is available now from Ig, as well as Virago in the UK, and forthcoming from dtv in Germany. My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press, 2018) followed my childhood as the daughter of an international pot smuggler and federal fugitive. I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!
Thanks as always for this!
Thank you for including my book launch event on this list!