free things to do in New York City
| < | December 2025 |
> | ||||
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |||
Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City! Read More
Are you looking for literary events like book readings, book signings, poetry readings? Then you came to the right place. Start using these unique New York City opportunities today!
Are you looking for literary events like book readings, book signings, poetry readings? Then you came to the right place. Start using these unique New York City opportunities today!
Join the Club!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
19 free poetry readings, book signings, author readings in New York City (NYC) Tue, 12/02/2025 - and on...
Not a day goes by in New York City (NYC) without a free poetry reading or a book signing or a book reading by a famous or not yet famous author. Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides!
Author Reading | Book Launch: Forty-Four Esolangs by Artist Daniel Temkin (+ Interactive Art, Q&A, and Signing)
Photographic and Computational artist Daniel Temkin celebrates the release of his book, Forty-Four Esolangs: The Art of Esoteric Code: a riveting collection of one artist’s many approaches to esolangs—esoteric programming languages—showcasing the form’s limitless artistic potential. Along with a presentation, audience Q&A, and interactive art installation, Daniel will also sign copies of his book. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Books signed at this event must be purchased from this location.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Dec 2
6:00 pm
$5, tickets required
6:00 pm
$5, tickets required
Author Reading | Public Scholar Shares His New Book on Climate Change, The Weather Report
Acclaimed public scholar Andrew Ross discusses his new book, The Weather Report: A Journey Through Unsettled Climates, which features groundbreaking reporting on climate change and the horizons of a just future from Palestine, UAE, Arizona, and China. In his travels during 2023-2024, Ross criss-crossed the world, visiting Ramallah (Palestine), Dubai (UAE), Phoenix (USA), and Shanghai (China)—some of the landscapes most disturbed by human activity, whether through active warfare or massive development projects. But rather than offering another eco-polemic or recalling for us the dread prognostications of Malthus in the 19th century or Ehrlich in the 20th, The Weather Report is a clear-eyed and essentially optimistic book that proposes a pragmatic, just, and urgent new common ground reestablishing scalable projects of mutual aid and care as a new, essential center for our economic, ecological, and social well-being.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Dec 2
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Reading | Launch Party & Anniversary Celebration: The Fashion Studies Journal
Experience a launch of the new issue of the Fashion Studies Journal and a celebration of the program's 15-year anniversary. The Fashion Studies Journal started as a student publication within the MA Fashion Studies to then grow into an incisive independent voice in the growing field of Fashion Studies. Current students of the MA Fashion Studies program have edited a special anniversary edition of the journal called Reflections. The evening will start with an introduction by editor in chief and co-founder of the Fashion Studies Journal, Laura Snelgrove. Refreshments will be served.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Dec 3
5:00 pm
Free
5:00 pm
Free
Book Signing | Holiday Book Fair (with Authors Including Jennifer Egan)
Experience a holiday fete with our favorite authors signing the gift books of the season. Meet a dazzling set of artists, designers, and writers, bring home signed editions to collect and give, enjoy Prosecco and Italian sweets, and toast a new year as a quintessential New York bookstore. Authors present include: Jeffrey Banks, Nate Berkus,Jennifer Egan, Kim Hastreiter, Dasha Tolstikon, Larry Warsh, and many more! Shop the Holiday Fair and receive a raffle ticket with every purchase for a chance to win a one-year Fiction or Nonfiction subscription! Book purchase required to enter signing line.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Dec 3
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Celebrate the Release of "A Suspenseful Page-Turner," Canticle
"A suspenseful page-turner that is also rigorously researched and utterly convincing—a true gem of historical fiction.”—Bruce Holsinger Janet Rich Edwards celebrates and discusses her new book, Canticle: a masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman’s explorations of faith, agency, and love in thirteenth-century Bruges. Janet will be joined in conversation by Kate Manning (My Notorious Life, Whitegirl, and Gilded Mountain). Along with a discussion and audience Q&A, Janet will also sign copies of her book. Books will be available for purchase at the event. The cost of a $5 general admission ticket can be applied towards your purchase. The talk will be followed by a book signing. Books signed must be purchased from the bookstore.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 4
6:30 pm
$5, tickets required
6:30 pm
$5, tickets required
Author Reading | National Book Critics Circle Award-Winner George Dyer Shares His Nonfiction Writing (+ Signing)
A reading by Geoff Dyer in conversation with Hari Kunzru, followed by a reception/signing, with books for sale. Geoff Dyer is the award-winning author of many books, including Homework, The Last Days of Roger Federer, Out of Sheer Rage, Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It, Zona, See/Saw, and the essay collection Otherwise Known as the Human Condition (winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism). Hari Kunzru is the author of seven novels, Blue Ruin, Red Pill, White Tears, Gods Without Men, My Revolutions, Transmission, and The Impressionist. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and writes the “Easy Chair” column for Harper’s Magazine. He is an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and has been a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at New York University and is the host of the podcast Into the Zone.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 4
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 4
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Book Launch & Classical Music Concert with Troubadour and Trouvère Songs
This event combines an early music concert with the launch of L’auteur retrouvé by Julien Stout, French medievalist at Princeton University. The program features lutenist and singer Kerry Bursey, who will perform troubadour and trouvère songs carefully selected to echo the central themes of the book. Together, the launch and the concert invite the audience to experience medieval authorship not only as an idea on the page, but as a living practice shaped by sound, voice, and performance. In his study, Julien Stout reexamines a key chapter in literary history: the so-called “birth of the French author.” Rather than retelling the common story of a transition from anonymous oral song to the authoritative, “subjective,” and written book during the medieval period, L’auteur retrouvé shows how, between the 12th and 14th centuries, vernacular authorship was at once collectively constructed and undermined in a nascent, transnational French-speaking book market.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Dec 8
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Hear Prize-Winning Poets Share Their Work (+ Signing)
Hear warm and inspiring poetry from five incredible poets:
Carey Salerno, author of The Hungriest Stars
Nicole Sealey, author of The Ferguson Report
Rosebud Ben-Oni, author of If This Is the Age We End Discovery
Andres Cerpa, author of the forthcoming collection The Palace
Joan Larkin, author of Old Stranger
Books will be available for purchase at the event. Cost of a $5 general admission ticket can be applied towards your purchase. The talk will be followed by a book signing. Books signed at this event must be purchased from this bookstore.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Dec 10
6:30 pm
$5, tickets required
6:30 pm
$5, tickets required
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 11
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Author & Crafter Discusses Her New Book, With Her Hands, & Make Holiday Ornaments
"A sweeping investigation of the role of textile work in women’s lives... women’s history." -Kirkus Reviews Celebrate Nicole Nehrig's new book, With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories, and make felt ornaments to gift a loved one or to hang on your own tree-- led by the author herself! Nicole Nehrig is a clinical and research psychologist and a passionate knitter and textile crafter living in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a PhD in clinical psychology. The talk will be followed by a book signing. Books signed at the bookstore events must be purchased from this bookstore. Tickets include craft supplies. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Cost of a $5 general admission ticket can be applied towards your purchase.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sun, Dec 14
1:30 pm
$5, tickets required
1:30 pm
$5, tickets required
Reading | New Books by Theatre Artsists with Discussion (In Person AND Online!)
Celebrate new publications by theatre artists Karen Malpede and Penny Arcade: Malpede's Last Radiance and 4 by Malpede plus an Intervention, as well as Arcade's Bad Reputation. The evening will feature readings from both of Malpede's books, and a reading from Arcade's book with filmmaker Steve Zehentner. Followed by a panel with the authors and Marvin Carlson, moderated by Frank Hentschker.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Dec 15
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Holiday Poetry Discussion
Attend with fellow poetry enthusiasts to unpack the layered meanings of poetry through an informal group discussion. This December, celebrate the season with heartwarming poems about gathering, holidays, and community. Please note that contemporary poetry deals frankly with contemporary issues and all works discussed are artistic expressions selected for an adult audience.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Dec 16
2:30 pm
Free
2:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | Chanukah Folktales from the Village of Chelm (Online!)
Celebrate Chanukah with author and storyteller Izzy Abrahmson, who shares humorous and heartwarming tales from his fictional Jewish village of Chelm, where wisdom and foolishness often look the same. Drawing from his book Winter Blessings, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards, Abrahmson offers an hour of original stories inspired by classic Yiddish folklore, filled with laughter, community, and holiday spirit.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Dec 16
6:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, registration required
6:00 pm
pay-what-you-wish, registration required
Poetry Reading | Local Poets Take the Stage
Live poetry curated by local poet and playwright Galinsky, with "Five Minute Features" from a dozen poets of all styles.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 18
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 18
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poetry Open Mic: Share Your Work or Listen to Emerging Writers
Participants can share their original work for up to five minutes. Space is limited to 15 readers; show up on time to get a slot!
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Fri, Dec 19
5:30 pm
Free
5:30 pm
Free
Open Mic | Share Your Poetry & Listen to Others
Sign ups start from 7:30PM. 5-minute time slots. All performers welcome! Hosted by Ed Lin
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Fri, Dec 19
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Dec 25
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Join the Club!
Complimentary Tickets
to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)
Play | Broadway Actors in a Play About Groundbreaking TV Show
Regular Price: $50CFT Member Price: $0.00
Concert | Vivid Sonic Landscapes and Inventive Multimedia
Regular Price: $30CFT Member Price: $0.00
Today's Events
All 855 Events
Events This Week
Events This Weekend
Contact FAQ Reviews About Terms of Use Privacy Policy
All events are free unless otherwise stated. All programs subject to change. Please confirm before going.Contact FAQ Reviews About Terms of Use Privacy Policy
© Copyright Club Free Time. All rights reserved.