Your Weekend in Virtual Book Events, Oct. 2nd-4th
Featuring Joy Harjo, Tayari Jones, Michelle Tong, and More
Love vs. Internship: Ed Lin & Marie Myung-Ok Lee
Friday, October 2, 7-9pm EDT
In collaboration with The Asian American Writers Workshop (AAWW) and Kaya Press, Kundiman presents a conversation between novelist Ed Lin and AAWW co-founder Marie Myung-Ok Lee in celebration of Lin’s YA debut David Tung Can’t Have A Girlfriend Until He Gets Into An Ivy League College. The conversation, touching on the coming-of-age novel, immigrant parents, and model minority myths in Asian American diaspora, will be moderated by Ruth Minah Buchwald for the Brooklyn Book Festival. Register here. Free.
2019 Cave Canem Poetry Prize Reading: Chekwube Danladi
Friday, October 2, 8-9pm EDT
Presented in partnership with the New York University Creative Writing Program, Cave Canem hosts a night of poetry celebrating their 2019 Poetry Prize-winner Chekwube Danladi. She will read from her debut poetry collection Semiotics, alongside readings from the contest’s runner-up Nicholas Goodly and the contest’s final judge, Evie Shockley. RSVP here. Free, via Zoom.
Marilynne Robinson: Jack, hosted by the Wisconsin Book Festival
Friday, October 2, 8pm EDT
Marilynne Robinson, winner of the National Humanities Medal and the Pulitzer Prize, discusses her latest novel Jack and her mythical world of Gilead, Iowa. Jointly presented by Black Mountain Institute, Literary Arts, The Loft’s WordPlay, and the Wisconsin Book Festival, via Crowdcast. Free.
Novel Nights: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Friday, October 2, 8pm EDT
Author Matt Ruff talks Lovecraft Country and its recent transition from book to screen with writer, Garth Stein. Proceeds from the event will benefit Hugo House. Get tickets here.
In Conversation: Joe Hill and Paul Tremblay
Friday, October 2, 8:30pm EDT
Horror writers Paul Tremblay (Survivor Song: A Novel) and Joe Hill (Dying is Easy) join in conversation for the Southern Festival of Books. Register here, or watch on Youtube. Free.
Nomadic Press’ Virtual Open Mic #29
Friday, October 2, 9pm EDT
Nomadic Press will host a virtual open mic in support of communities directly affected by the pandemic. Free, with donations welcome. Via Zoom.
Furia: Yamile Saied Méndez
Friday, October 2, 9pm EDT
Yamile Saied Méndez discusses her YA debut novel, Furia, about a young Argentinian fútbol star and daughter coming of age. Via Zoom. Free.
Mirror Sound: Lawrence Azerrad and Spencer Tweedy
Friday, October 2, 9:30pm EDT
Grammy-award winning art director, graphic designer, and author Lawrence Azerrad and musician Spencer Tweedy discuss their forthcoming book, Mirror Sound, which features the processes and the people behind self-recorded, independent music. As part of the Southern Festival of Books. Register here, or watch on Youtube. Free.
Virtual Book Party: Subduction by Kristen Millares Young
Friday, October 2, 10pm EDT
Kristen Millares Young will discuss her debut novel, Subduction, with Melanie McFarland, TV critic for Salon.com. Hosted by Hugo House, Red Hen Press, and Elliott Bay Book Co. Via Zoom. Free.
An American Sunrise: Poems with Joy Harjo
Saturday, October 3, 12-12:45am EDT
The Southern Festival of Books presents Poet Laureate of the United States, Joy Harjo, reading from her most recent poetry collection, An American Sunrise: Poems. Register here, or watch on Youtube. Free.
Deep Seduction with Caribe Punk Twist: The Poetry of Yaissa Jiménez
Saturday, October 3, 12pm EDT
This is a Zoom event in Spanish presented by the London Spanish Book and Zine Fair. Black Dominican writer Yaissa Jiménez chats with London-based Venezuelan journalist Carla Tofano about personal branding through digital spaces, building an international profile without writing in English, and how to stay true to yourself while paving a way in the literary world. Tickets are sliding scale, donations welcome.
Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival presents Exhumed Authors Reading
Saturday, October 3, 2pm EDT
Contributors to the horror anthology, Exhumed: Thirteen Tales Too Terrifying to Stay Dead, will read their published work. Hosted by Devil’s Party Press, a small press that exclusively publishes work by multigenre writers over the age of 40. Via Youtube. Free.
Poetry for Pakistan
Saturday, October 3, 6-7:30pm EDT
Changing Womxn Collective and Yalies for Pakistan presents a poetry reading and fundraiser in support of organizations providing daily relief to female domestic workers, students, doctors, and other wage earners in Pakistan. Tickets are donation-based.
Burned at the Roots Book Release Celebration
Saturday, October 3, 6-8pm EDT
Celebrate the release of Enoch the Poet’s second collection of poems, Burned at the Roots, with features from Philadelphia poets, Miriam Harris and Dave G. This event is hosted by Def Jam poet LindoYes and will feature interviews and readings from Enoch the Poet. Free, via Zoom.
Trouble The Water: Kelli Jo Ford, Tracy O’Neill, and Kiley Reid
Sunday, October 4, 10am EDT
Kelli Jo Ford (Crooked Hallelujah), Tracy O’Neill (Quotients), and Kiley Reid (Such a Fun Age) talk to Meakin Armstrong, senior fiction editor at Guernica, about racism, classism, surveillance, and other timely complexities affecting human relationships and connection-making today. As part of the Brooklyn Book Festival, via Crowdcast. Free.
New Works: A Poetry Reading
Sunday, October 4, 10am EDT
Join Aria Aber (Hard Damage), Diannely Antigua (Ugly Music), Ricardo Alberto Maldonado (The Life Assignment), and John Murillo (Kontemporary Amerikan) as they read from their newest poetry collections. Hosted by the Brooklyn Book Festival and introduced by Nikay Paredes from the Academy of American Poets, via Crowdcast. Free.
The Past is Present: Mark Bibbins, Eduardo C. Corral, Hafizah Geter, and Jonah Mixon-Webster
Sunday, October 4, 11am EDT
The four poets will read from their recently published collections and discuss the impact of history and legacy in understanding the present moment. Moderated by Brooklyn Poet Laureate, Tina Chang, for the Brooklyn Book Festival. Via Crowdcast. Free.
A Measure of Our Belonging: Twenty One Writers of Color on the American South
Sunday, October 4, 2pm EDT
The Southern Festival of Books hosts writers Cinelle Barnes, Tiana Clark, Minda Honey, and Jennifer Hope Choi in conversation. Register here, or watch on Youtube. Free.
Tayari Jones and Brit Bennett in Conversation
Sunday, October 4, 2pm EDT
Moderated by David Ulin for the Brooklyn Book Festival, Brit Bennett (The Vanishing Half), and Tayari Jones (An American Marriage) converse on the nuanced themes of race, family, and love in their novels. Free, via Crowdcast.
READ-VOTE-WIN with Ann Patchett and Louise Erdrich
Sunday, October 4, 6pm EDT
Authors Ann Patchett and Louise Erdrich in conversation with Laura Flynn of the Movement Voter Project (MVP) on literary citizenship in these times and the importance of voting this November. This event is a fundraiser for the MVP, an organization that supports grassroots organizers politically educating and turning out voters in battleground states. Free, via Zoom.
Poets in Pajamas, episode 99: Michelle Tong
Sunday, October 4, 7-7:30pm EDT
Writer and medical student Michelle Tong joins Sundress Publications for the Poets in Pajamas Reading Series via Facebook Live. Free.