Wondering what to do this month? Check out some of the exciting bookish events across the boroughs in October – and yes, at least one of them is the WNBA Centennial!
SATURDAY OCTOBER 7 AT 6 PM: LIT CRAWL
Head to Fort Greene for PEN America’s Lit Crawl Brooklyn, which is returning for the first time in a few years! Greenlight Bookstore’s Fort Greene location will be the staging point as literary enthusiasts travel between venues in pursuit of the ultimate literary evening. With simultaneous talks, panels, and game shows—all free—the only problem is choosing which to see!
From 6-7: Cartoons, thrills, revolution, workers, place/placelessness, and singing resistance
From 7-8: Drawings, drinking, literary lotería, improv, prom, and candy
From 8-9: Jeopardy, sex, Mad Libs, and multi-lingual live multi-authoring
From 9-11: Afterparty
Courtesy of PEN America
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY OCTOBER 14-15 ALL DAY: OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK
While not strictly a literary event, this weekend of free (and, in some cases, exclusive) access to architectural landmarks around the city includes several literary landmarks. Visit the Open House New York website for the breakdown of around 250 locations you can visit. Here are some of the bookish places, whether you’re interested in historical books, libraries, the book as object, or places important to literary influencers! All of the locations listed below have free entry without reservations, but check out the event guide for hours, advice, and information about special events.
BRONX:
The Edgar Allen Poe Cottage
Gould Memorial Library and Hall of Fame for Great Americans
North Hall and Library – CUNY Bronx Community College
BROOKLYN:
Brooklyn Art Library
Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library
MANHATTAN:
Center for Book Arts
The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York
Jefferson Market Library
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
QUEENS:
Kew Gardens Hills Library
King Manor Museum
Queens Historical Society
STATEN ISLAND:
Courtesy of Open House New York
MONDAY OCTOBER 16 AT 4 PM: DOROTHY O. HELLY WORKS IN PROGRESS LECTURE: DIERDRE BAIR
Listen to National Book Award Winner Dierdre Bair discuss her upcoming work “A Bio/Memoir, or: Seven Years (for each) of Working with Samuel Beckett and Simone de Beauvoir” as part of the Dorothy O. Helly Works-in-Progress Lecture at the Center for the Study of Women and Society at CUNY Graduate Center.
Author of Samuel Beckett (1981 National Book Award Winner for Autobiography/Biography), Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography, Anaïs Nin: A Biography, Jung: A Biography, Saul Steinberg: A Biography, Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend, and Calling it Quits: Late-Life Divorce and Starting Over.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 17 AT 7 PM: WOMEN TAKE ON THE ENVIRONMENT: WRITING AND ACTIVISM
Céline Keating
Think about the fight for the environment at Women Take on the Environment: Writing and Activism at Bluestockings Bookstore, a radical bookstore that is collectively owned and operated by volunteers. Our very own WNBA member Céline Keating will be joined by Susan DeMark, JoeAnn Hart, and Ellen Meeropol in a discussion about how writing can allow society to work toward a sustainable future.
Susan DeMark: Creator of Mindful Walker
JoeAnn Hart: Author of Float and Addled
Céline Keating: Author of Layla and Play for Me, co-editor of On Montauk: A Literary Celebration
Ellen Meeropol: Author of House Arrest, On Hurricane Island, and Kinship of Clover
FRIDAY OCTOBER 20 AT 7:30 PM: EMMA DONOGHUE DISCUSSES THE WONDER WITH J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN
Emma Donoghue will visit Books Are Magic to discuss her book The Wonder, which was released in paperback in September, with J. Courtney Sullivan.
Emma Donoghue: Author of The Wonder, Room, and more
Courtney Sullivan: Author of Saints for All Occasions
FRIDAY OCTOBER 27 AT 6:30 PM: NATIONAL READING GROUP MONTH PANEL/GREAT GROUP READS 10th ANNIVERSARY
Don’t forget to register to attend the National Reading Group Month Panel/Great Group Reads 10th Anniversary! This panel features authors from the first Great Group Reads.
Susan Henderson: Up from the Blue
Margaret Wrinkle: Wash
Julia Franks: Over the Plain Houses
Laurel Davis Huber: The Velveteen Daughter
Moderator Susan Larson
SATURDAY OCTOBER 28 AT 6 PM: WNBA CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Come for the WNBA’s anniversary and stay for the company at the Centennial Celebration! Read more about some of the events surrounding our Centennial and about life in 1917: fashion, firsts, and books.
