Grand finale of Summer Nights with m.s. RedCherries, Danez Smith, and Speedy Ortiz, where poetry meets music outdoors in Battery Park City. Under the sun in Wagner Park, dance along to musical performances intertwining Speedy’s indie rock riffs with readings from acclaimed poet Danez Smith and National Book Award finalist m.s. RedCherries—the ultimate catharsis in […]

Saturday Storytime, with a book that help kids discover the interconnectedness of every living thing, led by Sparky, the galaxy-traveling pup. Great for kids 4 to 10, but all ages are welcome.

Spies, espionage, and intelligence operations during the American Revolution have long captured the public's imagination, thanks in part to popular books and television series. While these dramatizations highlight a captivating aspect of the Revolutionary War, they often blur the line between fact and fiction. Join historian Charles Dewey to uncover the real stories of the […]

Tireless chronicler of Manhattan's building history, John Tauranac finds a new angle on the city's past in his new book New York's Scoundrels, Scalawags, and Scrappers: The City in the Last Decade of the Gilded Age. Beginning each chapter with a different building of the era, he delves into the social history on site. As […]

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. In celebration, McNally Jackson is hosting a night of conversation about what makes this book such an unforgettable romp, about the delightfully errant and endearing archetypes (Gus and Call, Janey and Clara), and about why it resonates so much.

Book reading and signing by Eli Cranor, author of Mississippi Blue 42.

How much honesty does an ‘honest’ marriage really permit a wife? And once you’re no longer a wife, can you really start all over again? The anonymous novel of divorce and open marriage that scandalized New York when it was originally published in 1929, Ursula Parrott’s Ex-Wife is both captivating and bleak in its portrayal […]

Writing workshop. The work­shop will be led by Annale­na La Porte, Ph.D., of the NYC Cli­mate Writ­ers Col­lec­tive, and will mix hypo­thet­i­cal sce­nar­ios as well as your per­son­al sto­ries.

The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland by Michelle Young is a riveting and stylish saga set in Paris during World War II that uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the world’s most treasured masterpieces.

Following a young woman over the course of one outrageous and insufferable downtown dinner party at the home of her estranged best friends—an artist and curator couple, whom she now realizes stand for everything she detests—Happiness and Love is a piercing debut novel about brazen materialism, self-obsession, and the empty careerism of so-called cultural elites. […]

To commemorate the closing of Erasures: Mary Ruefle, join us for a craft talk on Ruefle’s work from the poet Mark Wunderlich. Beginning in 1998 and continuing as part of her ongoing work, former Vermont State Poet Laureate Mary Ruefle has produced a series of altered books from which she creates poetic texts in a […]

The Middle Ages provide us with one of the richest repositories of art in the West. Yet the rise in the production of art made for and by Jews―especially in the form of illuminated manuscripts―is often neglected in general surveys or viewed as a mere emulation of Christian art during this period. In People of […]

An addictively entertaining family saga by a National Book Award finalist. Jonas Hassen Khemiri presents The Sisters, in conversation with Adam Dalva.

In his new book, Queens: A History of the Most Diverse Place on Earth, prolific author Lawrence R. Samuel charts the historical development of the New York City borough from the 1920s to today. Samuel’s narrative traces the evolution of Queens from a quasi-suburb of Manhattan for the white middle class into, today, the most […]

Meat is one of the most visible markers of Jewish distinctness and social separation. In his book, All Consuming: Germans, Jews, and the Meaning of Meat, John Efron argues that meat has played an especially important role in the formation of Jewish and Christian identities in Germany from the Middle Ages until today. To an […]

Book reading and signing by J.J. Viertel, author of The Glass Eel.

Celebrate the first day of the exhibition “Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation” with featured artists Bingyi, Fung Ming Chip, Sun Xun, Kelly Wang, and Zhang Jian-Jun, who will discuss how “metamorphosis” played a part in their works in the exhibition and their artistic practice. Among the projects highlighted are Sun Xun’s artist residency and the […]

When Marco Calvo arrives at the synagogue to attend his grandfather’s funeral, he is caught off guard by something very unexpected. Among his close family and friends there are some people he doesn’t recognize at all. Several Japanese American families have arrived and no one is quite sure why they are here. What Marco discovers […]

Book club social to celebrate the release of a new special collector's edition of the beloved bestseller, I Who Have Never Known Men.

A mesmerizing historical novel, I Am You is a meditation on gender, an ode to artistic creation, and an unforgettable love story that reimagines the life of renowned still life painter Maria van Oosterwijck during Dutch’s Golden Age.

Launch of Rowana Miller’s young adult book, Secrets of the Blue Hand Girls. In addition to introducing Secrets of the Blue Hand Girls, Rowana will share creative writing strategies from her remarkable writing program, Cosmic Writers.

Three Mile Harbor Press celebrates the publications of new poetry collections: Elizabeth Knapp’s Causa Sui, winner of the 8th annual Three Mile Harbor Press Poetry Award, and Pamela Hughes’ long-awaited second full-length collection, Femistry.

Learn how to prepare for Dia de los Muertos with this family-friendly arts and culture event. Explore the roots, meanings, and purpose of the holiday while participating in activities. Arts-n-Crafts will be facilitated by a teaching artist, enjoy the folkloric musical guest, and sign up for our open mic!

Eric Marcus, founder and host of the award-winning Making Gay History podcast provides an introduction to MGH’s current 12-episode series on the experiences of LGBTQ people during the rise of the Nazi regime, World War II, and the Holocaust. Drawing on extensive research conducted for this first-of-its-kind audio documentary, Eric will share clips from archival […]

Book reading and signing by Lev AC Rosen, author of Mirage City.

Marisa Meltzer presents It Girl, in conversation with Alison Roman. It Girl is the first comprehensive biography of Jane Birkin—actress, singer, and legendary style icon—and her profound cultural impact.

Book reading and signing by John A. Rice, author of October Shadows.

Naomi Huffman & Grace Byron in conversation about the work of cult icon Katherine Dunn

As part of the Norway 200 celebration, join us for a discussion about contemporary Norwegian literature -- Lars Mytting, Edy Poppy, and Damion Searls, moderated by Anderson Tepper -- moderated by Anderson Tepper