free things to do in New York City
| < | August 2018 |
> | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 things to do,
free events to go to
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 things to do,
free events to go to
in NYC
today!
88 free (and almost free) readings in New York City (NYC)
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 | The Shakespeare Requirement: English Professor's Travails
Julie Schumacher's novel is about the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that keep hitting beleaguered English professor Jason Fitger right between the eyes.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 16
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Trans Generation: How Trans Kids (and Their Parents) are Creating a Gender Revolution
Professor Ann Travers offers a rare look into the lives of transgender children in a groundbreaking new study. Travers spent five years interviewing trans and gender non-conforming children between the ages 4 and 20 who come from diverse economic and racial backgrounds. Hear in their own voices how these children deal with being teased, bullied, and discriminated against at school, by the healthcare system, the courts, their communities, and in public spaces.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Aug 18
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Show Trial: Hollywood, HUAC , and the Birth of the Blacklist
Author Thomas Doherty takes us behind the scenes at the first full-on media-political spectacle of the postwar era, a courtroom drama starring glamorous actors, colorful moguls, on-the-make congressmen, high-priced lawyers, single-minded investigators, and recalcitrant screenwriters, all recorded by newsreel cameras and broadcast over radio. Doherty explores the deep background to the hearings and details the theatrical elements of a proceeding that bridged the realms of entertainment and politics.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Aug 20
12:30 pm
Free
12:30 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | 4 poets read from their work
With: Christian Campbell Myronn Hardy Dawn Lundy Martin Michelle Whittaker
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Aug 21
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Temp: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary
Louis Hyman presents the untold history of the surprising origins of the "gig economy" -- how deliberate decisions made by consultants and CEOs in the 50s and 60s upended the stability of the workplace and the lives of millions of working men and women in postwar America.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Aug 21
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, its Chaotic Founding...its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-Class Metropolis
Oklahoma City was born from chaos. It was founded in a bizarre but momentous "Land Run" in 1889, when thousands of people lined up along the borders of Oklahoma Territory and rushed in at noon to stake their claims. Since then, it has been a city torn between the wild energy that drives its outsized ambitions, and the forces of order that seek sustainable progress. Sam Anderson, former book critic for New York Magazine and now a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, unfolds an idiosyncratic mix of American history, sports reporting, urban studies, gonzo memoir, and much more to tell the strange but compelling story of an American city whose unique mix of geography and history make it a fascinating microcosm of the democratic experiment.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Aug 21
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | TV Writers Gone Novelists: 2 Writers Read
With: Peter Blauner (Law & Order, Blue Bloods), Sunrise Highway Seth Greenland (Big Love), The Hazards of Good Fortune
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 22
12:30 pm
Free
12:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | Fly Girls: five remarkable women aviators
In the 1920s and '30s airplane racing was a dangerous and popular new sport. Fans flocked to multi-day events, and cities vied to host them. Many of the pilots themselves were admired and respected as heroes—unless they were women. The press and popular opinion considered female pilots ridiculous and foolish to attempt such a masculine and dangerous sport. In Fly Girls, Keith O’Brien tells the stories of five remarkable women of varied backgrounds who joined forces for the chance to compete against men, so that in 1936 one of them could triumph in the toughest race of all. Keith O'Brien is the author of Outside Shot: Big Dreams, Hard Times, and One County's Quest for Basketball Greatness, as well as a former reporter for the Boston Globe and contributor to National Public Radio.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 22
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s
In a 2017 survey, presidential historians ranked Dwight D. Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, behind the perennial top four: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Teddy Roosevelt. Historian William Hitchcock shows that this high ranking is justified. Eisenhower’s accomplishments were enormous, and loom ever larger from the vantage point of our own tumultuous times.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 22
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | You Have the Right to Remain Fat: Diet Culture's Greatest Lie
Virgie Tovar imagines a world where bodies are valued equally, food is free from moral judgment, and you can jiggle through life with respect. In concise and candid language, she delves into unlearning fatphobia, dismantling sexist notions of fashion, and rejecting diet culture’s greatest lie: that fat people need to wait before beginning their best lives.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 22
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear
One morning, Kim Brooks made a split-second decision to leave her four-year old son in the car while she ran into a store. What happened would consume the next several years of her life and spur her to investigate the broader role America's culture of fear plays in parenthood. Brooks asks, Of all the emotions inherent in parenting, is there any more universal or profound than fear? Why have our notions of what it means to be a good parent changed so radically? In what ways do these changes impact the lives of parents, children, and the structure of society at large?
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 22
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Reading | Literature Workshop: Classic and Contemporary Sonnets
Do you want to find time for literature in your busy life? Join to celebrate literature in bite-size servings! Read aloud, enact, and discuss passages of classic and contemporary literature from across the globe. This session's theme will be reading and discussing the great poetic form of the sonnet. From the Renaissance to modern period, from Milton to Borges. All literary enthusiasts are welcome.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 23
1:00 pm
Free
1:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Quench: Doctor Discusses Proper Hydration
Dr. Dana Cohen discusses her book, Quench: Beat Fatigue, Drop Weight, and Heal Your Body Through the New Science of Optimum Hydration. Chronic headaches…brain fog…fatigue…weight gain…insomnia…gut pain…autoimmune conditions. We may think these and other all-too-common modern maladies are due to gluten intake or too much sugar or too little exercise. But there is another missing piece to the health puzzle: Proper hydration. Dr. Cohen will conduct informative and inspiring lecture on hydration strategies. The lecture will be followed by an open Q & A.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 23
5:30 pm
Free
5:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | A Hole in the Wind: A Bicycle Journey Across the US
An epic bicycle journey across the American hinterland that explores the challenges of climate change alongside a diverse array of American voices. After a distinguished career in climate science as the Director of the UN Global Climate Observing System in Geneva, David Goodrich returned home to the United States to find a nation in denial. Concerned that American citizens were misinformed about climate issues, David hopped on his bike set out across the country. Starting on the beach in Delaware, David rode 4,200 miles to Oregon, talking with the people he met on the ultimate road trip. Along the way he learned a great deal about why climate is a complicated issue for many Americans and even more about the country we all share.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 23
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | Conserve and Control: Our Fabulous Complexity
Conserve and Control is written from the margins. Characters who are non-binary, working class, disabled and trans take central place as we are transported to a queer and green paradise that, like all utopias, is not to be trusted. As a professional sex worker and working-class activist, Otter Lieffe brings nuance to the ethics of work, kink, sex and activism. In this, her second novel, she explores what it might mean to really create political change and asks who gets left behind in the process. She invites us to step up and take our place in the struggle and bring our fabulous complexity with us to the front-lines.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 23
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | A Celebration of The Broken Earth Trilogy
A celebration of speculative fiction author N. K. Jemisin and her critically-acclaimed Broken Earth Trilogy, comprising the books The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky. Jemisin is widely regarded as one of the most significant voices in contemporary science fiction and fantasy, and books in this trilogy have been awarded Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. Jemisin will give an exclusive reading from her anticipated short-story collection How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? (Nov 27th, 2018, Orbit Books) and talk with fantasy author Genevieve Valentine (Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Persona).
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Fri, Aug 24
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Astronomy on Tap: Out of This World Books
Famed astrophysicist Carl Sagan once claimed, “A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." Visiting scholars with Astronomy on Tap, the pop-science lecture series, back up his theory with presentations on topics ranging from literary representations of exoplanets to the presence of astronomy in Renaissance literature. Think of it as science class for English majors. Speakers include: - Megan Bedell, Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute Exoplanets in Fact and Fiction - James Hedberg, CUNY City College Circles, Lines, and Revolutions: A Look at the Prominent Figures in Early Astronomy Texts - Alex Teachey, Columbia University Cosmic Perspective: The Works of Carl Sagan.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Aug 28
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | 4 poets read from their work
With: Amy Meng Ansley Moon Jenny Xie Monica Youn
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Aug 28
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Hidden History of Queens: a celebration of the rich history of a diverse and wondrous borough
Queens is a city within a city: a land of parks and beaches, battlegrounds and cemeteries, highways and airports. Spanning more than a hundred square miles and home to over two million people, the borough is a sprawling history lesson. In Hidden History of Queens, Richard Panchyk attempts to wrap his arms around the full breadth of Queens and the depth of its history, and shares what he learns along the way. Panchyk is the author, editor, or translator of 33 books on a range of topics in children's and adult nonfiction. He will be joined by Lori DiBella Wallach, an archivist specializing in oral history, digital preservation and community history. As outreach coordinator for Queens Memory, a digital archive sponsored by Queens Library in collaboration with Queens College, her work frequently centers on the constantly changing demographics of "the World’s Borough."
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 29
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
Author Elaine Weiss presents the nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history; the fight to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 29
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements
Charlene A. Carruthers, founding national director of the BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100), talks about her guide as a 21st-century activist to upending mainstream ideas about race, class, and gender in order to carve out a path to collective liberation. Drawing on Black intellectual and grassroots organizing traditions, including the Haitian Revolution, the US civil rights movement, and LGBTQ rights and feminist movements, Unapologetic challenges all of us engaged in the social justice struggle to make the movement for Black liberation more radical, more queer, and more feminist.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Aug 29
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Sculpture in Gotham: the relationship between politics and public art in NYC
New York City's patronage of public art has led the way for cities the world over. Sculptures and installations like "5 in 1" by Tony Rosenthal and "Untitled" by Milton Glaser have become part of the fabric of our streetscape, but they didn't appear out of thin air. A new book examines the polices and processes that have allowed such pieces to be erected. Focusing on people, agencies and organizations, and both temporary and permanent projects from the 1960s forward, Michele H. Bogart reveals the changing forms and meanings of municipal public art. Bogart will discuss her research with columnist Mark Byrnes, examining issues and themes from her book Sculpture in Gotham: Art and Urban Renewal in New York City.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 30
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies
Dawn Raffel's book is an extraordinary tale of how a mysterious immigrant "doctor" became the revolutionary innovator of saving premature babies—by placing them in incubators in World's Fair side shows and on Coney Island and Atlantic City.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Aug 30
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Open Mike | Poetry reading
Poets reading their favorite poems.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Sep 1
3:00 pm
Free
3:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Winners Take All: a call to action for elite
An award-winning journalist Anand Giridharadas travels to the inner sanctums of the new gilded age to chronicle the global elites who are setting out to remake the fight for equality and social justice in their own images. In conversation with Joy-Ann Reid, political analyst for MSNBC and host of of “AM Joy,” Giridharadas will discuss Winners Take All, and a call to action—for elite and everyday citizens alike—to action to build more egalitarian institutions.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 4
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | The Poets of Copper Canyon Press
With: Traci Brimhall John Freeman Rachel McKibbens Javier Zamora
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 4
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Man I Never Met: A Memoir of Loss and Hope
Out of the tragic loss of 9/11 comes a true story of hope and love. ESPN sports analyst Adam Schefter presents his poignant new memoir and shares his happiness in finding true love. Along the way he also discovers a new meaning of family and comes to embrace and honor the legacy of a man he never knew.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 4
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | A Room Away from the Wolves: Mother-Daughter Betrayal
In Nova Ren Suma's novel, Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 4
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Ende Neu: A Fashion Romance
A.F. Vandevorst and Filip Arickx, founders of the Belgian fashion label A.F. Vandevorst for a presentation of their new book. This intimate portrait of the designers’ moving fashion romance reveals their fascinating world and twenty years of limitless passion for fashion.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 5
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Not Our Kind: A Novel About Postwar Women
Gripping and vividly told, Kitty Zeldis's Not Our Kind illuminates the lives of two women on the cusp of change—and asks how much our pasts can and should define our futures.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 5
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Sadie: Finding Her Sister's Killer
In Courtney Summers's novel, Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 5
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Word Glue: Find Your Million Dollar Brand Name
Struggling to find the right name for your brand? Word Glue is for startups, entrepreneurs, VCs, product designers and social enterprise mavericks. A fun presentation where Louise Karch, seasoned branding strategist, will share with you the seven principles of the world’s most prosperous brand names. Why is it important to find the right name? Because your brand name has two seconds to get noticed. There’s no time for a bad name. Get your name right and it will do the heavy lifting for you, day after day, after day.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 6
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Lost Queen: Thrilling First Novel in a Trilogy
The Mists of Avalon meets the world of Philippa Gregory in the thrilling first novel of a debut trilogy by Signe Pike that reveals the untold story of Languoreth—a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland—twin sister of the man who inspired the legend of Merlin.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 6
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Consent on Campus: A Manifesto
Consent on Campus: A Manifesto by NYC sex and campus culture expert Donna Freitas is based on ten years of research and discussions with college students. In the book, Freitas advocates that consent and consent culture should be imbedded within the classroom, and that campuses need to be transformed into places where consent is genuinely valued. She offers a blueprint for how universities can teach more effectively about consent and how to transform the discussion of consent within our society.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Fri, Sep 7
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Open Mike | Poetry, short stories, songs and more
An evening of poetry, short stories, and songs in an Open Mic-setting.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Sep 8
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Revolting New York: How 400 Years of Riot, Rebellion, Uprising, and Revolution Shaped a City
Occupy Wall Street did not come from nowhere. It was part of a long history of riot, revolt, uprising, and sometimes even revolution that has shaped New York City. From the earliest European colonization to the present, New Yorkers have been revolting. Hard hitting, revealing, and insightful, Don Mitchell's Revolting New York tells the story of New York’s evolution through revolution, a story of near-continuous popular (and sometimes not-so-popular) uprising.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Sep 8
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | The Poets of Red Hen Press
With: Blas Falconer Vievee Francis Ishion Hutchinson Sebastian Matthews
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 11
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Dinner List: A Unique 13th Birthday Party
In Rebecca Serle's book, Sabrina Nielsen arrives at her thirtieth birthday dinner to find at the table not just her best friend, but also her favorite professor from college, her father, her ex-fiance, Tobias, and Audrey Hepburn.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 11
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Signing | The Untamed Eye: Celebrity Photos
Stephanie Pfriender Stylander's The Untamed Eye is a book of fashion and celebrity photographs will be published by MW Editions in early September 2018. The lavish photo book, features Pfriender Stylander’s cinematic-style work for such magazines as Harper’s Bazaar Uomo, British GQ, French Glamour, and Interview from 1990-2006, includes images of Nicole Kidman, Keith Richards, Heath Ledger, and more. Kate Moss graces the cover.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Book Signing | Bestselling author James Frey signs copies of his book Katerina
From the author of A Million Little Pieces and Bright Shiny Morning comes Katerina, James Frey’s highly anticipated new novel set in 1992 Paris and contemporary Los Angeles.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Fashion Climbing: The Secret Memoir of Bill Cunningham
The untold story of a New York legend. Discover the book with its editor, Christopher Richards, and New Yorker critic Hilton Als. When famed fashion and society photographer Bill Cunningham died in 2016, he left behind not only an incredible archive of New York Times columns and photographs, but two identical copies of a secret memoir that he apparently hoped someone would find. His family discovered it, and now the book, Fashion Climbing, the title given to it by Cunningham himself, will be published this fall. The Library celebrates its release with the book’s editor, Christopher Richards, and New Yorker critic Hilton Als, who wrote its preface. Dive into Cunningham’s never-told story, from his youth in lace-curtain Irish Boston, to his early and odd work as a milliner, through his decades-long tenure at the New York Times, where he became the definitive eye casting itself upon the city’s most stylish characters.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy
Carol Anderson chronicles the rollbacks to African American participation in the vote since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Known as the Shelby ruling, this decision effectively allowed districts with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without approval from the Department of Justice.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | She Would Be King: Liberia's Early Years
Wayétu Moore’s powerful debut novel reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters who share an uncommon bond. Moore will be joined by Yahdon Israel, creator of Literaryswag and host of the Literaryswag Book Club.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War
Joanne Freeman and Eric Foner discuss her new book, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War, in which she brings to light the history of physical violence on the floor of the U.S. Congress in the decades preceding the Civil War and the consequences of that violence for the state of the Union. Joanne Freeman, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, is the author of Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic and the editor of The Essential Hamilton and Alexander Hamilton: Writings. She is a co-host of the history podcast BackStory. Eric Foner is the DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University. He is one of just two persons to serve as president of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Society of American Historians. He is the author of multiple award-winning books including The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, for which he won the Bancroft Prize, the Pulitzer Prize for History, and the Lincoln Prize.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Devoted: Breaking Free of Her Master
In Blair Hurley's novel, Nicole Hennessy’s life revolves around her Zen practice at the Boston Zendo, seeking spiritual solace in the tenets of Buddhism. After a decade of grueling spiritual practice under her master’s tutelage, Nicole has become sexually and emotionally entangled with her mentor. To break free, she must retrace her entire life’s journey–from her strict Irish Catholic upbringing to her drug-fueled year as a teenage runaway. Even as she reinvents herself in New York City, her master’s intoxicating voice pursues her, whispering dangerously in her ear. Somehow, he knows everything.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 12
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Million Dollar Greeting: Today's Best Practices for Profit, Customer Retention, and a Happy Workplace
Veteran hospitality expert Dan Sachs interviews top business leaders to reveal how extraordinary customer service brings high profit, brand loyalty, and a vibrant workplace, and to share how you can implement their techniques in your own business.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 13
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poetry World Series
Top-notch poets take turns batting at topics pitched by the audience. Hosted by Mahogany L. Browne and judged by Patricia Smith and Mark Doty.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 13
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Terrorist Assemblages Ten Years On in the Time of Trump
Ten years on, Jasbir Puar’s pathbreaking Terrorist Assemblages remains one of the most influential queer theory texts and continues influencing activism and scholarship. Puar argues that configurations of sexuality, race, gender, class, and ethnicity are realigning into what Puar calls homonationalism—a fusing of homosexuality to U.S. imperialist politics that has continued into the time of Trump. Puar will be on hand to discuss the book with leading scholars and celebrate its tenth anniversary reissue.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 13
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Ghost Script: A Graphic Novel by Pulitzer Prize-Winning Cartoonist Jules Feiffer
Never has the incomparable Jules Feiffer been more eerily prophetic than in this stunning finale to his best-selling Kill My Mother trilogy.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 13
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Sea of Strangers: Poetry and Prose
Novelist and poet Lang Leav was born in a Thai refugee camp when her family were fleeing the Khmer Rouge Regime. She spent her formative years in Sydney, Australia. With a combined social media following of 2 million, Lang's message of love, loss and female empowerment continues to resonate with her multitude of readers in her completely original collection of poetry and prose.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 13
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul
Jeremiah Moss offers an unflinching chronicle of gentrification in the twenty-first century and a love letter to lost New York, adapted from the popular blog. Propelled by Moss’s hard-hitting, cantankerous style, Vanishing New York is a staggering examination of contemporary "urban renewal" and its repercussions—not only for New Yorkers, but for all of America and the world.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 13
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Reading | Share A Book You Loved
Come and share a book you loved reading or a book you plan to read. What to expect at an Open Book Hour book social: - Introduce your book with its title, author, publication date and genre (mystery, memoir, play, etc.). - Tell what it’s about and why you loved it in 2 minutes or less. - No negative criticism please. - Learn about titles of books that you may enjoy and share with your friends. The theme is Bookish Best Friends. Frodo and Sam, Elena and Lila, Morrie and Mitch … From fictional BFFs to real life pals, we’d love to hear about best friends you’ve met in books. Sign up for booktalking slots begins at 1:45 PM.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Fri, Sep 14
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip-Hop Diaspora
Graffiti Grrlz is the first significant interrogation into the gender politics of the art form and culture of graffiti. Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón explores over 100 women artists in 23 countries to make a compelling case that graffiti subculture is a place where feminists come into their own. Pabón-Colón will be in conversation with Claw, one of the NYC-based street artists profiled in the book and the creator of Claw and Co.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Fri, Sep 14
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Dementia Sucks: A Caregiver’s Journey, with Lessons Learned
What would you do if your aging parent started asking the same question three times during the same conversation? What would you think? Would you know what to do? Tracey Lawrence was a graphic artist living in New Jersey when her Floridian father’s memory began failing. She would eventually have to care for her mother when dementia came to visit again. Learn what every caring adult child needs to know to protect themselves and their parents.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Sep 15
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Black Diamond Fall: Missing or Murdered?
In Joseph Olshan's book, Luc Flanders has just finished playing a game of pond hockey with his college roommates when he realizes he has lost something precious and goes back to the ice to find it. He never returns, and the police department in Middlebury, Vermont are divided in their assessment of what may have happened to him. Some feel that Flanders left on his own accord and is deliberately out of touch. Others, including detectives Nick Jenkins and Helen Kennedy, suspect that harm may have come to him.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sun, Sep 16
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Reading | Should I Stay or Should I Go?: 5-Minute New York Stories
New York City is increasingly a difficult place to love—and to leave. Writers from both in-state, out of state, upstate, and downstate tell five minute stories about the dealbreakers that have led to their departures, or their commitment to never leave (yet...!). Featuring Jen Doll, Pilot Viruet, Ryan Chapman, Talia Lavin, Will Hermes, Cory Nakasue, and more.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Sep 17
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Button Man: Organized Crime Thriller
Drawing on real-life figures, Andrew Gross's new novel traces the rise of a Jewish immigrant family in the dawn of the women's garment business collapse under the hammer of organized crime.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Sep 17
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers
Following the Algerian war for independence and the defeat of France in 1962, Algiers became the liberation capital of the Third World. Elaine Mokhtefi, a young American woman immersed in the struggle and working with leaders of the Algerian Revolution, found a home here. A journalist and translator, she lived among guerrillas, revolutionaries, exiles, and visionaries, witnessing historical political formations and present at the filming of The Battle of Algiers.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Sep 17
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Gone Missing: Two Authors on Writing About Disappearance
Cameroonian author Léonora Miano and Libyan writer Hisham Matar discuss the challenges of writing about those who have gone missing, based on their respective books, Season of Shadow (winner of the 2013 Femina Prize, Seagull Books), and The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between (winner of the 2017 Pulizter Prize in biography, Random House).
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 18
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | The Poets of Four Way Books
With: Lee Briccetti Monica Ferrell Tom Thompson Daniel Tobin
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 18
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Crudo: Love on the Brink of Apocalypse
A brilliant, funny, and emphatically raw novel of love on the brink of the apocalypse, from Olivia Laing, the acclaimed author of The Lonely City.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 18
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Reading | A Ballast Flora Garden: Lunchtime Reading Session
A brown-bag lunchtime reading session featuring texts inspired by Maria Thereza Alves's project for the group exhibition Agora.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 19
12:30 pm
Free
12:30 pm
Free
Author Reading | Colors of the Wind: The Story of Blind Artist and Champion Runner George Mendoza
An evening with an artist and former champion runner whose disability forms the basis for his unusual artwork. Describing his condition as similar to “looking through a kaledioscope,” George Mendoza uses his literal vision of the world to create fantastical and colorful images. Mendoza will discuss his life story, his artwork, and the challenges that blindness has brought into his life.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 19
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Reading | Literature Workshop: Women of Poetry
Do you want to find time for literature in your busy life? Join to celebrate literature in bite-size servings! Read aloud, enact, and discuss passages of classic and contemporary literature from across the globe. This session's theme will be reading and discussing female poets throughout literary history. Come for a discussion of great women poets across centuries--from Sappho, to Emily Dickinson, to Adrienne Rich, and more!and discussing contemporary American poetry published in 2017 and 2018. All literary enthusiasts are welcome.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 20
1:00 pm
Free
1:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Journeys: An American Story: How Immigrants Have Enriched the Nation
America's story is the story of immigrants. Andrew Tisch and Mary Skafidas's new book of essays illuminates how the dreams and determination of immigrants have enriched New York and the nation. News anchor and essayist Deborah Norville, Tisch and Skafidas share their families' stories and others that inspired this powerful collection.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 20
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | To Hell in a Handbasket: The Southern Poets’ Protest
A poetry reading by Feedback Poetry Collective founders Shane Dedman and Hannah Neal followed by a check-in about the current state of the South, including being queer in Georgia, Occupy ICE protests, living in an abstinence-only state, and the changing shape of a southern queer mecca.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Sep 22
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Time's Convert: What It Takes to Become a Vampire
From bestselling author Deborah Harkness comes a passionate and fascinating novel about what it takes to become a vampire. Set in contemporary Paris and London, and the American colonies during the upheaval and unrest that exploded into the Revolutionary War, Time's Convert is a sweeping story that braids together the past and present.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Sep 24
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2018
Readings from the anthology selected by Jodi Angel, Lesley Nneka Arimah, and Alexandra Kleeman. Edited by Yuka Igarashi.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Sep 24
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Backstage Pass to Broadway: More True Tales of a Theatre Press Agent
Susan L. Schulman's second edition of this book includes several new chapters, expanded stories and additional never-before-seen photos from the author's personal collection.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Mon, Sep 24
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | 4 poets read from their work
With: Jane Gregory Jonathan Larson John Myers Brandon Shimoda
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 25
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Matwaala: South Asian Diaspora Poetry
Matwaala poets will read feminist-themed poems to showcase the different facts of our gendered lives in South Asia and in the U.S.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 25
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Gold Pawn: Oldtime New York Murder Mystery
November 1936. Mayor La Guardia’s political future buckles under a missing persons case in New York City. Simultaneously, Lane unravels devastating secrets in the outskirts of Detroit. As two crimes converge, judging friends from enemies can be a dangerous game.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 25
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | State Tectonics: Spies, Superpowers and Revolutionaries
Malka Older's State Tectonics concludes the trilogy that began with Infomocracy, the book The Huffington Post called "one of the greatest literary debuts in recent history," and named one of the best books of 2016 by The Washington Post.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 25
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Dispatches from the Sweet Life: One Family, Five Acres, and a Community's Quest to Reinvent the World
Many fantasize about dramatically changing their lives - living in accordance with their ideals rather than the exigencies of job, bills, and possessions. William Powers actually does it. He searches for balance, community, and happiness in a small town in Bolivia. Can this Transition Town succeed in the face of encroaching North American capitalism, and can Powers and the other settlers find the balance he's seeking?
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Sep 25
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Inward: Knowing Ourselves
From poet, meditator, and speaker Yung Pueblo comes a collection of poetry and prose that explores the movement from self-love to unconditional love, the power of letting go, and the wisdom that comes when we truly try to know ourselves. It serves as a reminder to the reader that healing, transformation, and freedom are possible.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 26
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Maggie Terry: A Novel of Murder and Intrigue
Post-rehab, Maggie Terry is single-mindedly trying to keep her head down in New York City in Sarah Schulman's book. Against this absurd backdrop, Maggie wants nothing more than to slowly re- build her life in hopes of being reunited with her daughter. But her first day on the job as a private investigator lands her in the middle of a sensational new case: actress strangled. If Maggie is going to solve this mystery, she’ll have to shake the ghosts―dead NYPD partner, vindictive ex, steadfast drug habit―that have long ruled her life.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 26
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | The Escape Artists: A Band of Daredevil Pilots and the Greatest Prison Break of the Great War
In the winter trenches and flak-filled skies of World War I, soldiers and pilots alike might avoid death, only to find themselves imprisoned in Germany’s archipelago of POW camps, often in abominable conditions. As Neal Bascomb writes, the most infamous was Holzminden, a land-locked Alcatraz of sorts that housed the most troublesome, escape-prone prisoners. Its commandant was a boorish, hate-filled tyrant named Karl Niemeyer who swore that none should ever leave.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Sep 26
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | The Barbarous Century: New Poems
Aa new collection from poet Leah Umansky. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in such places as Poetry, Guernica, The New York Times, Pleiades, Salamander, and the anthologies, The Eloquent Poem (Persea Books) and Misrepresented Peoples (NYQ Books).
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 27
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future
An urgent call to arms by Mary Robinson, one of the most important voices in the international fight against climate change, sharing inspiring stories and offering vital lessons for the path forward.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, Sep 27
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | When Pregnancy Does Not Lead to a Child: A Graphic Novel
Women suffer the of loss of a pregnancy in a way that can never ‘be expected.’ More often than not, they are compelled to ‘move on.’ Despite all the unspoken labor and subjection, there is no child. The Pregnancy ≠ Childbearing Project is an effort to make suspicious and subvert the markers of pregnant embodiment in an effort to speak for what has remained ‘unspoken’ in the brute force of pregnancy loss.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Sep 29
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Signing | Actress Tiffani Thiessen signs copies og her book Pull Up a Chair: Recipes from My Family to Yours
Tiffani Thiessen is beloved for her roles in Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills 90210, but for the past few years she’s been known as the host of the Cooking Channel series Dinner at Tiffani’s. Now, readers can bring home Tiffani's delicious food and warm hospitality. The 125 recipes in this debut cookbook are the kind that bring people together.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Oct 3
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Open Mike | Poetry, short stories, songs and more
An evening of poetry, short stories, and songs in an Open Mic-setting.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Oct 6
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Proust's Duchess: How Three Celebrated Women Captured the Imagination of Fin-de-Siècle Paris
On a bedrock of scholarly research, Caroline Weber weaves together the lives of Marcel Proust’s three muses for his character, the Duchess de Guermantes. Weber’s new book is addictive reading for Proustians, who will discover surprises hidden inside the lives of these three singular women. Lecture, followed by a book signing.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Oct 10
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Maeve in America: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else
A timely essay collection about life, love, and becoming an American from breakout comedy star and podcaster Maeve Higgins.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Wed, Oct 10
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Open Mike | Poetry, short stories, songs and more
An evening of poetry, short stories, and songs in an Open Mic-setting.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Nov 3
2:00 pm
Free
2:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Bring Your Own Poem
Bring a poem you love and one you've written to the library for a workshop. Discuss each other's poems and suggest ways to make them more poetic.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Nov 13
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poem Revision
Share your revised poems, discuss, and trace their journey from start to revision to finish.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Nov 20
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Found Object Poetry
Experience writing poems in a new and exciting way. You'll find various objects set up in the library that will serve as the subjects of your amazing poetry that you'll write on the spot.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, Nov 27
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Join the Club!
Today's Events
Events This Week
Events This Weekend
Contact FAQ Blog 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 Blog Reviews About Terms of Use Privacy Policy
© Copyright Club Free Time. All rights reserved.