October really does have so much to offer. The changing leaves, pumpkin spiced lattes, Halloween treats, and a wonderful array of literary events. You wont’ want to miss out on what’s happening around town this month, so grab an appropriately seasonal beverage and chow down on Bookish Events: October.
Saturday and Sunday, October 5th and 6th
Book Signings – Promises by Eileen Donovan
Looking to get away from the city? Are you itching for a weekend trip? Well if you’re already trying to leave, be sure to check out WNBA’S own Eileen Donovan at her three book signings in Pennsylvania and Delaware this weekend! She’ll be at Claymont Public Library and Hockessin Bookshelf on Saturday. And if you miss her there you can catch her at Baldwin’s Book Barn on Sunday. Can’t make the signings? Be sure to check out her historical fiction novel Promises! It just released over the summer.
Tickets: Free!
Saturday, October 12th
PEN America’s Lit Crawl NYC
If I didn’t already have plans to escape NY this weekend, you would definitely find me at this lit crawl. With some of the coolest events in some of the coolest locations in Brooklyn, this really seems like a must go. There’s so many events, you’re bound to find at least one that interests you. But if you’re having trouble picking: here’s a few that caught my eye:
- The Poetics of Solidarity at Malai Ice Cream. Featuring participants from the Workers Writers School and their partners at Domestic Workers United, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, and the Street Vendor Project, this event screams under represented people of NY.
- History Rhymes at Books Are Magic. Featuring works that grapple with historical issues still at play during today’s presidential debates, this event is a must go. If you need convincing, here’s how some of the featured works are described: “an 80s glam rock-inspired fantasy set in NYC, and a republished 17th century hilarious, bawdy feminist critique of early colonial capitalism/materialism/hypocrisy/mistreatment of indigenous people.” Please name one thing in that description you disliked, because I cannot.
- Brooklyn Author Rapidfire Trivia at Warby Parker.
1) Warby Parker is really so much more than a glasses store, it’s now officially a way of life.
2) Not sure you know any Brooklyn authors? Think again — Walt Whitman, Colson Whitehead, and Jhumpa Lahiri are just a few.
3) T-R-I-V-I-A
Tickets: Free!
Time: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
Location: Various venues in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Thursday, October 17th
WNBA Celebrates reading! A Debut Fiction Panel
It’s been months since our last panel, so you should all be itching for the next one by now. This month we’ll be celebrating 3 debut non-fiction authors, as they tell us about their experiences with the writing and publishing process. The panelists include:
- Rabeah Ghaffari, To Keep the Sun Alive
Set in the city of Naishapur, Ghaffari’s novel follows a local family as their nation moves surely but swiftly to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Boasting a large cast of extended family members, the novel is tied together by the family’s weekly gatherings in their fruit orchard. - Stephanie Jimenez, They Could Have Named Her Anything
Maria Anis Rosario takes the subway an hour each day from her home in Queens to her private school on the Upper East Side. Rocky uses her wealth, primarily, to get herself out of the trouble she repeatedly gets herself into. Jimenez’s novel follows the friendship and fallout that happens when the two meet. It’s told from the perspectives of not only Maria and Rocky, but both of their fathers as well.
- Melissa Rivero, The Affairs of the Falcóns
The story of an undocumented family that has fled political and economic strife in Peru, the novel’s protagonist is Ana — a 1990’s mother and wife forced to question what she’s willing to sacrifice to build a new life in New York. Loan sharks, unreliable relatives, unwanted advances — the struggles are real.
Tickets: $10 (Free for WNBA-NYC Members!)
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Location: 247 W 36th St 6th Floor, New York, NY 10018
Monday, October 21st
Dorothy O. Helly Works in Progress: Janice P. Nimura
Celebrate astonishing women at this biannual lecture. During this month’s talk, “Janet Nimura will speak on her dual biography (forthcoming from W.W. Norton in 2021) of the groundbreaking sister doctors, Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell who In 1857 opened a hospital under the name ofNew York Infirmary for Indigent Women and ChildrenonBleecker Street in Manhattan.”
Tickets: Free!
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 PM
Location: CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 9204/9205
Thursday, October 24th
Things that Go Bump ‘N’ Grind in the Night: Literary Monsters
“Bookish Baddies Take Over the Parkside Lounge!” A risque night out to help you all get in the Halloween spirit. At this event, you’ll see “six thrilling burlesque interpretations of monsters from the pages of your favorite books.” Intrigued? Scared? A little bit of both? I know I am.
Tickets: $15-$25
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 PM
Location: Parkside Lounge, 317 East Houston Street
Have any events you’d like to share? Post them in the comments below!
