Your Week in Virtual Book Events, May 17th to May 22nd

Lytton Smith and Stephen Collis in Conversation
Monday, May 17, 7:30 pm EDT
Writers & Books, Rochester’s home for the literary arts, welcomes Lytton Smith and Stephen Collis for a conversation on climate change, our most urgent global crisis. The discussion’s catalyst is the recent American publication of On Time and Water, by Andri Snaer Magnason, translated from the Icelandic by Smith. A work of nonfiction based on interviews and advice from leading glacial, ocean, climate, and geographical scientists, and interwoven with personal, historical, and mythological stories, the book has been lauded by the Chicago Review of Books as “a climate book unlike any before it.” Smith and Collis will preface their conversation with a brief reading. Free, with registration.

Nassau Literary Review: A Reading With K-Ming Chang
Monday, May 17, 9:00 pm EDT
A reading with K-Ming Chang, author of the novel Bestiary with the Nassau Literary Review, the second-oldest undergraduate journal in the United States. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions after the reading. Free, with registration.

Olivia Laing and Katherine Angel: Everybody
Tuesday, May 18, 2:00 pm EDT
Olivia Laing and Katherine Angel discuss Laing’s new book, Everybody, about the strange, subtle and sometimes perverted ways we think about the physical object we function within. Tickets start at 5 Euro. Register here.

Rain Taxi: Charles Bernstein in Conversation with Tonya M. Foster
Tuesday, May 18, 6:30 pm EDT
Join Rain Taxi for a conversation and reading with Charles Bernstein, to celebrate his new collection Topsy-Turvy—a book that speaks to our time of “covidity” in a lyrically explosive mix of comedy and melancholy that showcases the much-heralded Bernstein at his best. Bernstein will appear in conversation with fellow poet Tonya M. Foster, a meeting of the minds in our topsy-turvy world that is not to be missed. Free, with registration.

Authors Guild Foundation’s 2021 Virtual Gala
Tuesday, May 18, 7:00 pm EDT
Join the Authors Guild to celebrate authors and the power of literature to transform our society. Distinguished Honorees include Louise Erdrich, Chris Jackson & One World, and Ibram X. Kendi; conversation will be held by Rumaan Alam and Marie Arana. This virtual gala is free and open to the public. Register here.

Unsettled Ground: Claire Fuller and Lucy Tam in Conversation
Tuesday, May 18, 7:00 pm EDT
Join Claire Fuller and Lucy Tan who will discuss Fuller’s novel Unsettled Ground, a tale of sacrifice and hope, of homelessness and hardship, of love and survival, in which two marginalized and remarkable people uncover long-held family secrets and, in their own way, repair, recover, and begin again. Free, via Zoom.

Melanie Finn & Gina Frangello in Conversation
Tuesday, May 18, 7:00 pm EDT
Vermont Book Store and the Feminist Resource Center at Chellis House, Middlebury College present an evening with Melanie Finn and Gina Frangello.Finn’s most recent novel is The Hare, an affecting portrait of Rosie Monroe, of her resilience and personal transformation under the pin of the male gaze, described by The New York Times as “brooding feminist thriller.” Frangello’s new book Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason is a testimony about the ways our culture seeks to cage women in traditional narratives of self-sacrifice and erasure. Free, with registration.

Elissa Washuta’s White Magic with Raena Shirali
Tuesday, May 18, 7:00 pm EDT
Join Bluestop for a reading and discussion of Elissa Washuta’s new book, White Magic moderated by Philadephia poet Raena Shirali. Free, with registration.

Sam Riviere, in Conversation with Lucy Ives
Tuesday, May 18, 7:30 pm EDT
Sam Riviere joins us to present his new novel, Dead Souls—a metaphysical mystery brilliantly encased in a picaresque romp—in conversation with Lucy Ives. Free (though donations are welcome), via Zoom.

Linda Rui Feng, author of Swimming Back to Trout River
Tuesday, May 18, 8:00 pm EDT
Boswell presents an evening with Linda Rui Feng, a debut novelist and Professor of Chinese Cultural History at University of Toronto. For this event, Feng will be in conversation with Daniel Goldin, Ji Hao, and Claudia Ross, colleagues from the Chinese Studies program at College of the Holy Cross. Free, via Zoom.

Nass Lit: Publishing Panel
A panel discussion with professionals from independent publishers Graywolf, Milkweed and Spiegel & Grau, and literary magazine One Story on changes in literary publishing. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions after the discussion. Free, with registration.

Joan Didion: The Art of Storytelling
Wednesday, May 19, 6:00 pm EDT
Award-winning essayist David L. Ulin, editor of Library of America’s Didion edition, will lead a conversation exploring Didion’s importance, vital relevance, and crucial legacy with novelist and essayist Laila Lalami and novelist Steph Cha. Special guests include Obie Award-winning actress Mia Barron and actor Griffin Dunne, Didion’s nephew and director of the 2017 documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold. Free, with registration.

P&P Live! Hadassah Lieberman
Wednesday, May 19, 6:00 pm EDT
Hadassah Lieberman, author of Hadassah: An American Story—about her extraordinary life: from her family’s experience in Eastern Europe to their move to Gardner, Massachusetts; forging her career; experiencing divorce; and, following her remarriage, her life on the national political stage—will be in conversation with Ambassador Norman Eisen. Free, with registration.

Buzz Editors Panel
Wednesday, May 19, 7:00 pm EDT
Six breakout writers—Jessamine Chan, James Kennedy, Juhea Kim, Naomi Krupitsky, Kirthana Ramisetti, and Gayle Jessup White—talk with their editors about their latest work and the publishing industry. Free, with registration.

Barrett Swanson launches Lost In Summerland
Wednesday, May 19, 8:00 pm EDT
Presented in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Program in Creative Writing, this edition of Wisconsin Wednesdays features UW Alumnus, Barrett Swanson, for his newest book, Lost in Summerland. Free, via Crowdcast.

Alternative Futures: The Importance of Seeing Yourself in Young Adult Literature
Wednesday, May 19, 9:00 pm EDT
A reading and conversation between James Sie, author of All Kinds of Other, and Skylar Kergil, author of Before I Had the Words, with musical guest Jiaqing Wilson-Yang, whose first novel Small Beauty won the 2017 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction. Free, with registration.

Nass Lit: A Conversation With Lydia Millet
Wednesday, May 19, 9:00 pm EDT
A conversation with Lydia Millet, author of A Children’s Bible, about her latest novel and her writing process. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions after the conversation. Free, with registration.

Charles Yu and S.Qiouyi Lu in Conversation with Denise Hamilton
Wednesday, May 19, 10:00 pm EDT
Mystery Galaxy presents Charles Yu and S.Qiouyi Lu, who will be in conversation with Denise Hamilton, about her latest work Speculative Los Angeles. Free, via Crowdcast.

Sno-Isle Libraries presents Open Book: Tina Ontiveros
Thursday, May 20, 3:00 pm EDT
Sno-Isle Libraries presents Tina Ontiveros, the author of rough house, a memoir of family, addiction, joy, and adventure set in the rural spaces of the Pacific Northwest. Ontiveros follows her logger father as he migrates across his wooded territory, cobbling together shelters for his family, burning bridges, and forever starting over. rough house is the winner of a 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Award. Free, with registration.

California Book Club: John Freeman and Rachel Kushner
Thursday, May 20, 8:00 pm EDT
Join Alta Journal’s latest installment of the California Book Club with host John Freeman and guest Rachel Kushner, who will discuss The Mars Room. Free, with registration.

Jeff Porter author of Planet Claire in Conversation with Ann Hood
Thursday, May 20, 7:00 pm EDT
Join Jeff Porter, author of Planet Claire, about the story of the untimely death of the author’s wife and his candid account of the following year of madness and grief, who will be in conversation with Ann Hood. Free, with registration.

Nass Lit: Workshop and Q&A on transformative literary spaces with Muzzle Magazine
Thursday, May 20, 7:30 pm EDT
A conversation about transformative literary spaces with the editors-in-chief of Muzzle Magazine. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions after the conversation. Free, with registration.

Elizabeth Everett: A Lady’s Formula for Love
Thursday, May 20, 7:30 pm EDT
A Lady’s Formula for Love is Elizabeth Everett’s first novel, inspired by her admiration for rule breakers and belief in the power of love to change the world. She will be in conversation with Nekesa Afia, author of Dead Dead Girls. Free, with registration.

Does America Really Want To Be A Nation Of Immigrants?
Thursday, May 20, 8:00 pm EDT
New York Times national editor Jia Lynn Yang, winner of the 11th annual Zócalo Public Square Book Prize for her debut book, One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965, visits Zócalo to discuss how immigration laws have changed the American population, our communities, and the country’s sense of itself. She will be interviewed by Stanford University sociologist Tomás Jiménez. Free, with registration.

Nass Lit: Poetry Workshop With Raena Shirali
Thursday, May 20, 9:00 pm EDT
Join a free craft workshop with poet Raena Shirali with the Nassau Literary Review, the second-oldest undergraduate journal in the United States. Free, with registration.

Nass Lit: Undergraduate Writing Competition
Friday, May 21, 5:00 pm EDT
Join a reading of the winners of Nass Lit’s national undergraduate writing competition, judged by Nyssa Chow (fiction) and Danez Smith (poetry). Free, with registration.

Solstice Lit Mag Night Riffs: Home Front Lines by Brenda Sparks Prescott
Friday, May 21, 7:00 pm EDT
Brenda Sparks Prescott will talk about her debut novel, Home Front Lines, a historical novel that charts the lives of families on both sides of cuban missile crisis. There will be musical performances. Free, with registration.

Joshua Coombes, in Conversation With Paul Avila
Saturday, May 22, 5:00 pm EDT
Book Soup and Pauly’s Project present Joshua Coombes, in conversation with Paul Avila, who will discuss Do Something for Nothing, which invites us to see ourselves in one another and dissolve the negative stigmas surrounding homelessness. Free, with registration.