Your Week in Virtual Book Events, Feb. 22nd to Feb. 28th

Ten Evenings with Karen Russell
Monday, February 22, All-day 
As part of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Karen Russell will discuss her newest collection, Orange World. Buy a virtual pass to watch anytime online for one week at $15 per ticket, $10 for student tickets, here.

Tracy Clark-Flory interviewed by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Monday, February 22nd, 5:00pm EST
Jezebel staff writer Tracy Clark Flory, author of memoir Want Me: A Sex Writer’s Journey into the Heart of Desire, will be interviewed by former Village Voice sex columnist Rachel Kramer Bussel for The Woolfer. Free. Watch here.

Naomi Klein on How to Change Everything
Monday, February 22nd, 6:00pm EST
The Brooklyn Public Library welcomes award-winning journalist, columnist, and author naomi Klein to discuss her new guide for young readers, How To Change Everything. She will be joined in conversation with members of the Sunrise Movement. Free, with registration.

Mother Tongue: The Philosophy of Malcolm X
Monday, February 22nd, 6:30pm EST
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture will celebrate the life of Malcolm X with a virtual program featuring a conversation and presentations by Anna Malaika Tubbs (The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation) and Dr. Michael Sawyer (Black Minded: The Political Philosophy of Malcolm X). Dr. Imani Perry will moderate the conversation and offer a passage from her recent work, Breathe: A Letter to My Sons. Captions for this event will be provided. Free. Register here.

Inprint Lily King and Chang-rae Lee Reading
Monday, February 22nd, 7:00pm EST
As part of the 2020/21 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, authors Lily King and Chang-rae Lee will give short readings from their new novels Writers & Lovers and My Year Abroad, followed by a conversation with Maggie Galehouse, Houston writer/editor and former book editor at the Houston Chronicle. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased here.

Black Imagination by Natasha Marin with guest Christian M. Ivey
Monday, February 22nd, 7:00pm EST
Conceptual artist Natasha Marin will discuss her newest anthology, Black Imagination in conversation with Black speculative writer and editor, Christian M. Ivey for Lost City Books. Free, via FB Live. Register here.

KGB Monday Night Poetry: Yona Harvey and Natasha Sajé
Monday, February 22nd, 7:00pm EST
Acclaimed award-winning poets Yona Harvey (You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love) and Natasha Sajé (Terroir: Love, Out of Place) will read. Free, via Zoom.

On the Cusp: Making Work Move and Matter
Monday, February 22nd, 7:00pm EST
This reading and virtual conversation will feature UChicago alumni writers about how they shape multi-genre writing projects and what roles research, morality, and politics play in their poetry and fiction. Writers Elinam Agbo, Catherine Chung (The Tenth Muse), Kiki Petrosino (White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia), and Rachel DeWoskin (Two Menus) will join in conversation. Free, with registration.

The Last Poets: Abiodun Oyewole, Umar bin Hassan, and Felipe Luciano
Monday, February 22nd, 7:00pm EST
Lehman College scholar Hank Williams will join in conversation with The Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole, Umar bin Hassan, and Felipe Luciano along with Woodie King Jr, former head of the New Federal Theatre and producer of albums featuring two different iterations of The Last Poets in the early 70s. As part of One Book One Bronx’s Lift Every Voice, a nationwide celebration of 250 years of African American Poetry. Free. Register here.

Kamden Ishmael Hilliard and Carlos Lara
Monday, February 22nd, 8:00pm EST
Poets Kamden Ishmael Hilliard (henceforce: A Travel Poetic) and Carlos Lara (Like Bismuth When I Enter) will discuss dreams and detritus — what can be salvaged in the aftermaths of capital, in their poetry for this event hosted by The Poetry Project. Free, via Zoom.

Lauren Oyler and Anna Wiener
Monday, February 22nd, 9:00pm EST
Author Lauren Oyler will join in conversation with the New Yorker staff writer Anna Wiener (Uncanny Valley) to discuss Oyler’s debut novel, Fake Accounts for Green Apple Books. Free, via Zoom.

Skylit: Nuestra América, by Claudio Lomnitz, with Graciela Montaldo
Monday, February 22nd, 9:30pm EST
Skylit Books will host Claudio Lomnitz as he discusses Nuestra América, his new book of personal memoir, historical analysis and family saga, with Latin American professor Graciela Montaldo (Museum of Consumption: Archives of Mass Culture in Argentina). Free, via Crowdcast.

Anne Enright in conversation with Fiona Shaw: Actress
Tuesday, February 23rd, 1:00pm EST
Award-winning author Anne Enright will discuss her new novel, Actress — now in paperback, in conversation with actress and theater director, Fiona Shaw. Free, via Zoom.

It Takes Blood and Guts with Skin and Lucy O’Brien
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2:00pm EST
Skin (It Takes Blood and Guts), solo artist, LGBTQ+ activist and icon, and lead singer of the multi-million selling rock band, Skunk Anansie, will discuss her new biography in this interview by her biography writing collaborator Lucy O’Brien. Free, with registration.

We Do This ‘Til We Free Us
Tuesday, February 23rd, 6:00pm EST
Haymarket Books will celebrate the publication of We Do This ‘Til We Free Us with a discussion about the prison industrial complex, abolition, seeking justice beyond the criminal punishment system, and finding hope in collective struggle for abolition, featuring contributors and organizers from the book. Writers and organizers Shira Hassan (Fumbling Towards Repair), Kelly Hayes, Rachel Herzing, Mariame Kaba (Missing Daddy), Erica Meiners (The Feminist and the Sex Offender), and Tamara K. Nopper will speak. This event will be recorded and have live captioning and ASL interpretation. Free. Register here.

Susan Conley in conversation with Maryanne O’Hara
Tuesday, February 23rd, 7:00pm EST
Belmont Books welcomes author Susan Conley to discuss her newest release, Landslide, with fellow author Maryanne O’Hara (Little Matches). Free, via Zoom.

Seriously Entertaining – I Have Dreamed
Tuesday, February 23rd, 7:00pm EST
House of SpeakEasy welcomes National Book Foundation Lifetime Achievement award honoree and bestselling writer Walter Mosley (The Awkward Black Man), New Yorker cartoonist Marisa Acocella (The Big She-Bang), founder of I, Too, Arts Collective and children’s book writer Renée Watson (Love is a Revolution), and food, travel, and creative nonfiction writer Matthew Gavin Frank (Flight of the Diamond Smugglers) telling stories tied to the theme “I Have Dreamed.” A portion of proceeds from book sales go to support House of SpeakEasy’s work in schools and communities. Free, via Crowdcast.

McSweeney’s 62: The Queer Fiction Issue
Tuesday, February 23rd, 7:00pm EST
Lost City Books will celebrate the release of McSweeny’s 62: The Queer Fiction Issue with contributors, Emma Copley Eisenberg (The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia), Lee Lai (Stone Fruit), and K-Ming Chang (Bestiary). Free. Register here.

Dear Black Girl: Letters From Your Sisters on Stepping Into Your Power by Tamara Winfrey Harris
Tuesday, February 23rd, 7:00pm EST
Women & Children First will host the virtual launch celebration for Dear Black Girl by award-winning author Tamara Winfrey Harris. She will be joined in conversation with one of the contributor’s to the book, beauty blogger Patrice Grell Yursik. Free, via Crowdcast.

Lineage: Rasheed Copeland, Candice Iloh, Jason Reynolds
Tuesday, February 23rd, 7:00pm EST
Lineage, organized by poet Emily Brandt (Falsehood) and hosted by Wendy’s Subway, will feature readers Rasheed Copeland (The Book of Silence: Manhood as a Pseudoscience), Candice Iloh (Every Body Looking), and Jason Reynolds (Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You). Free. Register here.

Yaba Blay and Zeba Blay — One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race
Tuesday, February 23rd, 7:30pm EST
Dr. Yaba Blay presents her newest One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race in conversation with culture and film critic Zeba Blay (Carefree Black Girls) for The Strand Book Store. The first 50 customers to purchase a copy of the book will receive a signed bookplate by the author. General admission begins at $5 with additional options to purchase the book for shipping here.

David Sibley, author of What It’s Like to Be A Bird, in conversation with Charles Hagner
Tuesday, February 23rd, 8:00pm EST
Boswell Book Company and Schlitz Audubon Nature Center presents an evening with David Sibley in conversation with Charles Hagner (The American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Wisconsin) to discuss Sibley’s new book —What It’s Like To Be A Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing – What Birds Are Doing and Why. Free, via Zoom.

Elizabeth Miki Brina and Francisco Cantú for Speak, Okinawa
Tuesday, February 23rd, 8:00pm EST
Presented by Loyalty Bookstores, in celebration of the release of Speak, Okinawa, the author Elizabeth Miki Brina and writer Francisco Cantú (The Line Becomes a River) will join in conversation. Via Crowdcast, for a contribution of at least $1.

The Harry Belafonte Black Liberation Speakers Series: Charles Blow with Hilton Als
Tuesday, February 23rd, 8:00pm EST
Acclaimed columnist and political commentator Charles M. Blow will deliver his Black power manifesto, The Devil You Know, and join in conversation with critic and staff writer at The New Yorker, Hilton Als (White Girls). As part of the Harry Belafonte Black Liberation Speaker Series through LIVE from New York Public Library. Free, with registration.

BookPeople Presents: An Evening with Zibby Owens
Tuesday, February 23rd, 8:00pm EST
BookPeople will host a panel discussion for the newly published book, Mom’s Don’t Have Time To, by Zibby Owens. Free, via Zoom.

Book Passage Presents: Tanya Selvaratnam with Tiffany Shlain
Tuesday, February 23rd, 9:00pm EST
Book Passage presents award-winning filmmaker and author Tanya Selvaratnam in conversation with fellow filmmaker and author Tiffany Shlain to discuss Tanya’s new book, Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence. Free, with registration.

Patricia Lockwood’s No One is Talking About This
Tuesday, February 23rd, 9:00pm EST
Patricia Lockwood will join in conversation with Catherine Cohen (God I Feel Modern Tonight) about her new book, No One Is Talking About This. General admission begins at $5 and can be purchased here. Presented by Skylit Books.

Powell’s Books Presents Roxane Gay, Larissa Pham, and Kim Fu in conversation with Lidia Yuknavitch
Tuesday, February 23rd, 9:00pm EST
Contributors to the newly released anthology, Kink, will discuss their work. Writers Roxane Gay (Hunger), Larissa Pham (Pop Song), and Kim Fu (The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore) will join in conversation with Lidia Yuknavitch (Verge). Free, via Zoom.

Virtual Event with Susan Conley
Wednesday, February 24th, 6:00pm EST
Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookshop and Cafe presents a virtual author event with Susan Conley (Landslide) in conversation with writers Monica Wood (Ernie’s Ark) and Meredith Hall (Beneficence). Free, via Zoom.

BreakBeat Poets Presents: Nate Marshall vs. Patricia Smith
Wednesday, February 24th, 6:00pm EST
This is the second in a series of three events curated by poet Cortney Lamar Charleston in collaboration with The BreakBeat Poets and Haymarket Books, to celebrate the release of his new collection, Doppelgangbanger. Two dynamic BreakBeat poets, Nate Marshall (FINNA) and Patricia Smith (Incendiary Art). Free. Register here.

Haunting Refrains: Harmony Holiday and Hanif Abdurraqib
Wednesday, February 24th, 6:00pm EST
Poets, writers, and cultural critics Harmony Holiday (A Jazz Funeral For Uncle Tom) and Hanif Abdurraqib (A Fortune For Your Disaster) will discuss the technique of sampling as a practice in Black poetry and music and read some of their own work. Free, with registration.

Point of Reckoning: The Fight for Racial Justice at Duke University— A Conversation with author Ted Segal 
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:00pm EST
Author Ted Segal will join in a panel discussion about the desegregation of Duke in 1963, student activism, and the events leading up to the Allen Building takeover in 1969 as chronicled in his new book, Point of Reckoning: The Fight for Racial Justice at Duke University. Professor Adriane Lentz-Smith will moderate the discussion that will also feature Duke alumnae Bertie Howard and Janice Gill Williams, as well as Dr. Wesley Hogan— Director of Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies.  Free. Register here.

Elizabeth Miki Brina: Speak, Okinawa with Bryan Washington
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:00pm EST
Books Are Magic presents a conversation between Elizabeth Miki Brina, author of the new book Speak, Okinawa, and Bryan Washington (Memorial). Free, via Zoom.

Virtual Book Launch: Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler in conversation with Sheila Heti
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:00pm EST
The Powerhouse Arena will host authors Lauren Oyler and Sheila Heti (Motherhood) in conversation about Oyler’s new book, Fake Accounts. Free, with registration.

Matthew Gavin Frank in conversation with Kathleen Rooney
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:00pm EST
Author Matthew Gavin Frank (Flight of the Diamond Smugglers) will be in conversation with Kathleen Rooney (Cher Ami and Major Whittlessey) for Book Cellar. Free, with registration required. Please email words@bookcellarinc.com with the subject line “Matthew Gavin Frank RSVP” to reserve your spot. Login credentials will be sent on the day of the event.

P&P Live! Ta-Nehisi Coates | The Beautiful Struggle with Nic Stone
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:00pm EST
Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nic Stone (Dear Martin) will discuss the new young reader’s edition of Coates’ memoir, The Beautiful Struggle for Politics and Prose Live! Event admission begins at $5 with the option to purchase a copy of the book. Reserve a spot here.

Chronicling Stankonia — Regina N. Bradley in conversation with Kiese Laymon
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:30pm EST
Charis Books and More welcomes Regina N. Bradley in conversation with Kiese Laymon (Heavy) for her highly anticipated book, Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South. This event is co-sponsored by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Free, via Crowdcast.

Penguin Teen Canada Zoom Trivia February: Black and Buzzworthy Edition
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:30pm EST
Penguin Teen Canada will partner with Indigo Teen to spotlight some of the excellent Black writers of YA today in honor of Black History Month. Authors Namina Forna (The Gilded Ones), Amanda Joy (A River of Royal Blood) and Fredrick Joseph (The Black Friend) will join in conversation and answer audience questions, alongside general knowledge trivia rounds co-hosted by Indigo Teen’s Dayla FM. Sign up as a solo player or a team of up to four players by Tuesday, February 23rd to register for this event. Free, via Zoom.

On America: Climate Writing with Elizabeth Kolbert, Madeleine Watts, and Leslie Jamison
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:30pm EST
The Center for Fiction welcomes three writers confronting the global climate crisis for a discussion on the ways that climate fiction and journalism might help connect science and the lived experience to the will for change. Pulitzer Prize winner and New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert (Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future) and Madeleine Watts (The Inland Sea) will participate in a discussion moderated by acclaimed essayist Leslie Jamison (Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays). Free, with registration.

Brontez Purnell: 100 Boyfriends
Wednesday, February 24th, 7:30pm EST
Writer, performer, and filmmaker Brontez Purnell will discuss his new book 100 Boyfriends in this virtual event with fellow award-winning author Kaitlyn Greenridge (We Love You, Charlie Freeman). Free, register here.

Virtual Book Launch: The Upstairs House by Julia Fine
Wednesday, February 24th, 8:00pm EST
Women & Children First will host the virtual launch celebration for The Upstairs House by Julia Fine. For this event, Fine will be in conversation with Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers). Free, via Crowdcast.

Jameson Fitzpatrick and Natalie Shapero
Wednesday, February 24th, 8:00pm EST
The Poetry Project welcomes Jameson Fitzpatrick (Pricks in the Tapestry) and Natalie Shapero (Popular Longing) for a reading and discussion of their work. There will be live transcription available with most screen readers for this event. Free, via Zoom.

Milk Blood Heat: Authors Dantiel W. Moniz and Kana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Wednesday, February 24th, 8:00pm EST
BookBar will host debut author Dantiel W. Moniz in conversation with bestselling-author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Friday Black) to discuss Moniz’s book, Milk Blood Heat. Free. Register here.

Skylit: The Low Desert by Tod Goldberg with Mark Haskell Smith
Wednesday, February 24th, 9:30pm EST
Skylit Books welcomes authors Tod Goldberg and Mark Haskell Smith (Rude Talk in Athens)  in conversation about Goldberg’s new book, The Low Desert. Free, via Crowdcast.

SHELF LIFE — Bird Watching: Spring Migrations with Kenn Kaufman and Pete Myers
Thursday, February 25th, 12:00pm EST
Virginia Festival of the Book will host author and extreme birder Kenn Kaufman in discussion on his newest book, A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration, with ecologist Pete Myers. Free, with registration.

Off the Shelf Author Talk with Regina Bradley
Thursday, February 25th, 12:00pm EST
University Libraries at UNC and UNC Press presents author and scholar Regina N. Bradley in discussion of her new book, Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South. This virtual event will be hosted by Karina Soni, social media coordinator at UNC Chapel Hill University Libraries as a part of the Off the Shelf Series. Co-presented by Southern Cultures and the Center for the Study of the American South. Free. Register here.

shado presents: a love-in with Robert Jones Jr. and Jason Okundaye
Thursday, February 25th, 1:00pm EST
shado mag, a multimedia platform using culture and lived experience to create system change, will host writers Robert Jones Jr. (The Prophets) and Tribune Magazine columnist Jason Okundaye for a discussion on Black queer love and masculinities. Free, with registration.

Transnational Series: Amit Majmudar, Karthika Naïr & Arundhathi Subramaniam
Thursday, February 25th, 3:00pm EST
The Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith presents a virtual afternoon of poetry with Amit Majmudar (What He Did in Solitary), Karthika Naïr (Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata), and Arundhathi Subramaniam (Love Without a Story). They’ll be in conversation with scholar Laetitia Zecchini (Arun Kolatkar and Literary Modernism in India: Moving Lines). Free, with donations welcome. Register here.

Ruth Forman and Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie for Curls
Thursday, February 25th, 6:00pm EST
Loyalty Bookstores will welcome award-winning poets and authors Ruth Forman and Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie (Layla’s Happiness) for a virtual conversation about Forman’s new poetic, odic board book, Curls. Free, via Crowdcast.

President’s Dream Colloquium: Afua Cooper
Thursday, February 25th, 6:00pm EST
For the first installment in the SFU President’s Dream Colloquium for Spring 2021, From Conversations to Action: Creating from Social Justice Research, Dr. Afua Cooper (Black Matters: Poetry and Photography in Dialogue) will read her award-winning poetry and speak. Free, with registration. This talk will be recorded.

Susan Conley in conversation with Lily King
Thursday, February 25th, 7:00pm EST
Author Susan Conley (Landslide) and Lily King (Writers & Lovers) will join in conversation for this virtual conversation from Barrett Bookstore. Free, via Crowdcast.

Zibby Owens, Editor of Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology
Thursday, February 25th, 7:00pm EST
Parnassus Books welcomes Zibby Owens, editor of Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology, in conversation with contributing essayists Mary Laura Philpott (Penguins with People Problems), Gretchen Rubin (The Four Tendencies), and writer/journalist Claire Gibson. This virtual event will take place on the Parnassus Books Facebook Page. Get more information here.

National Writers Series: Diane Rehm
Thursday, February 25th, 7:00pm EST
Iconic broadcast host, producer, and author Diane Rehm will discuss her new book, When My Time Comes: Conversations About Whether Those Who Are Dying Should Have the Right to Determine When Life Should End, with guest host Cynthia Cathy, for the National Writers Series. Register here.

Poetry Reading: Perigee by Diane Kerr with Langstroth, Bacharach, and Gainey
Thursday, February 25th, 7:00pm EST
White Whale Bookstore will host the celebration for Diane Kerr’s prize-winning collection of poetry, Perigee. Kerr will be introduced by poet Judith Vollmer (The Apollonia Poems) and joined by authors Gail Langstroth (firegarden / jardín-de-fuego), Valerie Bacharach (Ghost-Mother), and Celeste Gainey (the GAFFER) for a reading. Free, with registration.

Mouth to Mouth: Open Mic + Showcase
Thursday, February 25th, 7:00pm EST
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop presents the next edition of their open mic and showcase, Mouth to Mouth. Hosted by poets Kay Ulanday Barrett (More Than Organs) and Ashna Ali and featuring Faylita Hicks (HoodWitch) and Jubi Arriola-Headley (original kink). This event will be captioned. Free. Register here.

Women Writers Bloom Celebrates Cheryl Boyce-Taylor and guest poet, Janel Cloyd
Thursday, February 25th, 7:30pm EST
Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon will celebrate the work of author and educator Cheryl Boyce-Taylor and her new book, Mama Phife Represents, about her son, Hip Hop legend Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) of A Tribe Called Quest. She will be joined by special guest poet and artist, Janel Cloyd. Hosted by educator, literary activist, curator, and community builder JP Howard (SAY/MIRROR). Free, with donations welcome. Register here.

BYOBB: Let Me Take Y’all Back by Yasmine Brown
Thursday, February 25th, 8:00pm EST
BYOBB is a book reading and discussion hosted by ii Publishing, where open discussion and book reading is blended to create a book club vibe led by authors themselves. Bring your copy of the featured book and your choice of beverage to take part in a reading experience like no other. This month’s event will feature a reading and discussion of Yasmine Brown’s recently released book, Let Me Take Y’all Back. Free, via Zoom.

Black History Month: The Purpose of Power Book Club with Alicia Garza
Thursday, February 25th, 8:00pm EST
Manny’s will host a final installment of their book club sessions to read and discuss The Purpose of Power, the new book by Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza. Garza will join in to discuss the fourth part of the book and take audience questions. This event is $10 for those who can afford the registration fee, but can be waived with no questions asked for those unable to pay. Email the word “grapefruit” to ram@welcometomannys.com. Register here.

Powell’s Books presents Naomi Klein in conversation with Miko Vergun and Isaac Vergun
Thursday, February 25th, 8:00pm EST
Award winning journalist and one of the foremost voices advocating for climate justice, Naomi Klein (How to Change Everything) will join in conversation with Miko Vergun and Isaac Vergun, federal plaintiffs in Juliana v. US. and co-founders and youth climate leaders with Youth Acting for our Earth. Free, via Zoom.

Mark Wunderlich Reading, In Conversation with Erin Belieu and Cate Marvin
Thursday, February 25th, 8:00pm EST
Brazos Bookstore will host a reading from poet Mark Wunderlich (God of Nothingness). Afterwards, he will be joined in conversation with Erin Belieu (Come-Hither Honeycomb) and Cate Marvin (Event Horizon). Free, with registration.

Writing Marvel’s Black Panther: Sins of the King
Thursday, February 25th, 8:00pm EST
Co-authors of the new Marvel Serial Box exclusive, Black Panther: Sins of the King, discuss joining forces in the Marvel Universe. Featuring writers Steven Barnes (Starborn and Godsons), Tananarive Due (Ghost Summer), Geoffrey Thorne (Marvel’s Voices), and Nic Stone (Dear Martin). Free, from LIVE from New York Public Library. Register here.

Indigenous Voices Reading Series ft. Richard Van Camp
Thursday, February 25th, 9:00pm EST
EVENT Magazine and Douglas College present the annual Indigenous Voice Reading Series featuring Douglas College’s 2021 Indigenous Writer-in-Residence Richard Van Camp (The Lesser Blessed), with guest readers Jessica Johns (Bad Cree) and Garry Gottfriedson, hosted by Molly Cross-Blanchard (Exhibitionist). Free, via Zoom.

Skylit Books and The Meteor Present: Assume Nothing by Tanya Selvaratnam, with Liz Plank
Thursday, February 25th, 9:30pm EST
Author, essayist, and producer Tanya Selvaratnam will discuss her newly published book, Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence, with journalist, author, and executive producer Liz Plank. Free, via Crowdcast.

African Writers Festival 2021: Connections and Illuminations
Friday, February 26th, 4:00pm EST – Saturday, February 27th, 4:45pm EST
Georgia College and State University’s Creative Writing Program, in partnership with the Dean’s Office of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Center for International Studies, is hosting a virtual African Writers Festival bringing diverse African writers and thinkers together for two days of conversations, readings, and performances. The festival will begin with events on Friday, the 26th from 4:00-7:00pm EST, and conclude on Saturday, the 27th from 11:00am-4:45pm EST. Writers such as Mona Eltahawy (The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls), Sulaiman Adonnia (Silence is my Mother Tongue), Lebo Mashile (Venus Vs. Modernity), Elnathan John (On Ajayi Crowther Street), Nnedi Okorafor (IKENGA), and Francesca Ekwuyasi (Butter Honey Pig Bread) will read their works and discuss literature. Free, via Zoom.

P&P Live! Georgina Lawton | Raceless with Shayla Lawson
Friday, February 26th, 6:00pm EST
Journalist, speaker, writer, and podcast host Georgina Lawton will discuss her new book, Raceless, for Politics and Prose Live! She will be joined in conversation by author Shayla (This is Major). Free. Register here.

ASL Slam
Friday, February 26th, 7:00pm EST
ASL Slam is a live virtual event though Instagram and Facebook to provide a space for writers and performing artists in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community to present, create, and develop their literary works in front of a live audience. Presented by the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Free.

NBF Presents: LitFest 2021
Friday, February 26th, 7:00pm EST
2020 National Book Award-honored novelists Megha Majumdar (A Burning) and Charles Yu (Interior Chinatown) visit Amherst College’s annual and now virtual, LitFest. Their conversation will be moderated by visiting writer Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint. Free, with registration.

Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought
Friday, February 26th, 7:30pm EST
Charis Books and More welcomes Briona Simone Jones for a launch of Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought with Spelman College’s Holly Smith and Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and contributors Mecca Jamilah Sullivan (Blue Talk and Love), Bettina Love (We Want to Do More Than Survive), and Cheryl Clarke (By My Precise Haircut). This event is co-hosted by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Free, via Crowdcast.

Anaïs Duplan & Golden
Friday, February 26th, 8:00pm EST
Poets and artists Anaïs Duplan (Blackspace: On the Poetics of an Afrofuture) and Golden offer their readers the chance to envision a liberation beyond accomplishment, a nation so new it’s no nation at all, in this reading for The Poetry Project. Free, with registration.

Glass Mountain Presents: February Reading 2021
Friday, February 26th, 8:00pm EST
Glass Mountain Magazine welcomes poets francine j. harris (Here Is the Sweet Hand), Aris Kian, and Zach Eaton for their virtual February reading feature. Following the reading will be an open mic participants can sign up for in the Zoom chat at the top of the reading — first come, first served (limit 10). Free, via Zoom.

Toi Derricotte: Online
Friday, February 26th, 10:30pm EST
Seattle Arts & Lectures welcomes award-winning poet, educator, and Cave Canem co-founder Toi Derricotte (“I”: New and Selected Poems) for a pre-recorded featured event. She will be joined in a Q&A moderated by writer, educator, speaker, and interdisciplinary artist Anastacia-Reneé (Forget It). Tickets are pay-what-you-can and can be reserved here.

NBF Presents: LitFest 2021
Saturday, February 27th, 11:00am EST
2020 National Book Award-honored poets Tommye Blount (Fantasia for the Man in Blue) and Natalie Diaz (Postcolonial Love Poem) will join John Hennessy, poetry editor for The Common and judge for the 2020 National Book Award for Poetry for LitFest. Free, with registration.

An Event with Danez Smith
Saturday, February 27th, 4:00pm EST
Poet and spoken-word performer Danez Smith will perform an online reading from their newest book, Homie, recently named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A Q&A session will follow the reading. Free. Register here.

Poetry Reading: Pretty Owl Poetry presents Issue 28, Winter 2021
Saturday, February 27th, 7:00pm EST
To celebrate the release of Pretty Owl Poetry’s Issue 28, White Whale Bookstore will host an online virtual reading featuring contributors of the issue— danica depenhart, Kelly Gray (Instructions for an Animal Body), Rachel Marie Patterson (If I Am Burning), and Kristy Bowe (Sex & Violence). Free, via Zoom.

Hood Feminism: Mikki Kendall in conversation with Jalessah T. Jackson
Saturday, February 27th, 7:30pm EST
Charis Books welcomes New York Times bestselling writer, speaker, and blogger Mikki Kendall (Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights) in conversation with Black queer feminist, mother, writer, and interdisciplinary scholar Jalessah T. Jackson for a celebration of Kendall’s acclaimed book, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot. The event is co-hosted by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Free, via Crowdcast.

NEA Big Read Phoenix: Evening Song with Luci Tapahonso and Laura Tohe
Saturday, February 27th, 8:30pm EST
Navajo Nation Poets Laureate Luci Tapahonso (Sáanii Dahataal/The Women Are Singing) and Dr. Laura Tohe (Code Talker Stories) will discuss Diné womanhood and storytelling to kick off the NEA Big Read: Phoenix. The conversation will be moderated by ASU Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Amanda R. Tachine with additional comments by poet Jake Skeets (Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers). This event is presented in partnership with Arizona Humanities, will be live-streamed and recorded, and is open to the public and free. Register here.

COUNTERpult: A Roots. Wounds. Words. Storyteller Showcase
Sunday, February 28th, 7:00pm EST
From January – February 2021, Roots Wounds Words (RWW) partnered with The Rumpus’ Voices on Addiction column to publish three RWW alums. Through this partnership, RWW has taken an immeasurable step forward in magnifying the rich, searing and reverberating narratives of our BIPOC storytellers. The featured storytellers for this virtual event will be Elara Cáceres, Heather Stokes, Sheree L. Greer (A Return to Arms), and Starr Davis. Hosted by Connie Pertuz Meza. Free, with registration.

__________________________________

If you’d like to have your literary event featured on Lit Hub, please email knicole@lithub.com for consideration.