WATCH: Jai Chakrabarti Launches His Debut Novel
In Conversation with Brigid Hughes at Greenlight Bookstore
Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a literary destination. Greenlight has continued to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic with a diverse array of virtual events, and has been inspired by the movements for racial justice across the country to engage in the work of becoming a more anti-racist company. Learn more at greenlightbookstore.com or check them out @greenlightbklyn.
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Prize-winning fiction writer Jai Chakrabarti comes to Greenlight (virtually!) to launch his debut novel, A Play for the End of the World! An unforgettable love story, a provocative exploration of the role of art in times of political upheaval, and a deeply moving reminder of the power of the past to shape the present, A Play for the End of the World is a remarkable debut from an exciting new voice in fiction. Chakrabarti is joined in conversation by Brigid Hughes of A Public Space, an independent nonprofit publisher of an eponymous award-winning literary, arts, and culture magazine, and A Public Space Books. Under the direction of founding editor Hughes , it has been their mission to seek out overlooked and unclassifiable work, and to publish writing from beyond established confines.
Jai Chakrabarti’s short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Prize Stories, The Best American Short Stories, and awarded a Pushcart Prize. Chakrabarti was an Emerging Writer Fellow with A Public Space and received his MFA from Brooklyn College. He was born in Kolkata, India, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his family. A Play for the End of the World is his first novel.
Brigid Hughes is the founding editor of A Public Space. Previously, she succeeded George Plimpton as editor of The Paris Review. The recipient of the PEN/Nora Magid Award for Editing, she also teaches at Columbia University’s MFA program.
The Virtual Book Channel
Launched during the coronavirus pandemic as virtual literary communities began emerging in vital and unexpected ways, The Virtual Book Channel seeks to provide the best possible platforms for writers to reach their readers. The VBC (aka “The Veeb”) is a curated channel that archives live-streamed programming through partnerships with independent bookstores, literary festivals, authors' WFH spaces, and more.
