Your Week in Virtual Book Events, March 22nd to
March 26th

Ten Evenings with Ocean Vuong
Monday, March 22, 10:00 am EDT
Join a video lecture of Ocean Vuong, author of the widely acclaimed novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. The event is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Tickets start at $15 (student tickets start at $10). The video will be available for viewing up to a week after the event. Register here.

O Wondrous World! Ross Gay and Aimee Nezhukumatathil in Conversation
Monday, March 22, 12:00 pm EDT
Authors Ross Gay (The Book of Delights) and Aimee Nezhukumatathil (World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments) discuss their new books, collected essays devoted to their appreciation of ordinary wonders of the world, rendering them extraordinary. Through short, lyrical essays, Gay and Nezhukumatathil fully explore their own places in the world and share what we can gain from being open to its joy and beauty. Free, with registration.

Scarsdale & Chappaqua: Annabelle Gurwitch & Faith Salie
Monday, March 22, 7:00 pm EDT
Join Annabelle Gurwitch and Faith Salie for an evening of conversation about books, life and community. This event is sponsored by Scarsdale Public Library and Chappaqua Public Library, and Book Ya Ya. Free, with registration.

Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said with Timothy Brennan
Tuesday, March 23, 6:30 pm EDT
Join Rain Taxi for a special event about the many sides of Edward Said, the famed Palestinian literary critic, public intellectual, postcolonial studies trailblazer, political activist, and gifted pianist. Acclaimed American composer Nico Muhly, who was taught by Said at Columbia, will interview University of Minnesota professor and friend of Said’s, Timothy Brennan, about his new comprehensive biography, Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said. Free, via Crowdcast.

Adam Levin, Bubblegum, In Conversation with Nathan Englanderr
Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 pm EDT
Join Adam Levin, author of the highly acclaimed Bubblegum, and Nathan Englanderr in conversation about Levin’s latest novel. Free, with registration.

Jeannée Sacken, author of Behind the Lens, in conversation with Rochelle Melander
Tuesday, March 23, 8:00 pm EDT
Join Jeannée Sacken, author of Behind the Lens, in conversation with Rochelle Melander about photojournalism, trauma, and the power of telling the narrative of women. Free, with registration.

Fiona Greenland and Christine Mehring: “Ruling Culture”
Wednesday, March 24, 5:00 pm EDT
Fiona Greenland, author of Ruling Culture, will be joined in conversation with Christine Mehring to talk about art police, tomb robbers, and the rise of cultural power in Italy. Free, with registration.

On Reading: Shirley Hazzard’s The Transit of Venus
Wednesday, March 24, 7:30 pm EDT
Join Center for Fiction to celebrate a new edition of Shirley Hazzard’s classic literary masterpiece The Transit of Venus. We have an all-star panel of Hazzard fans for the occasion. Our moderator is award-winning and bestselling author Lauren Groff (Florida) who wrote the introduction to the new edition. Groff will lead a conversation with Pulitzer-prize winning biographer Stacy Schiff (Cleopatra: A Life; The Witches: Salem, 1692), writer Lisa Brennan-Jobs (Small Fry: A Memoir), best-selling author Meg Wolitzer (The Interestings), National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee (Pachinko), and award-winning English writer Geoff Dyer (Out of Sheer Rage) on the lasting legacy of The Transit of Venus and Hazzard herself. Free, via Zoom.

Book Talk: The Frontlines of Peace
Wednesday, March 24, 8:00 pm EDT
The French-American Foundation will host a Zoom Webinar on Wednesday, March 24 at 1:00 pm ET with Séverine Autesserre to discuss her new book, The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider’s Guide to Changing the World. The event will be moderated by Megan Carroll (Young Leader ’18), Political Affairs Officer in the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. Free, with registration.

Tim Brady, author of Three Ordinary Girls: A Virtual Event
Wednesday, March 24, 8:00 pm EDT
The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Research Center and Boswell Book Company present Tim Brady, author of Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagters Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins—and WWII Heroes. Free, with registration.

Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, in conversation with Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin
Thursday, March 25, 2:00 pm EDT
The Readings from Oconomowaukee series presents Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, now available in paperback. This “heartbreaking and inspiring” (Kirkus) novel was a featured selection of the Read with Jenna Book Club. Free, with registration.

An Evening with Julia Alvarez
Thursday, March 25, 6:00 pm EDT
Join Hartford Public Library’s NEA Big Read keynote event: an evening with Julia Alvarez in conversation with Connecticut writer and poet Sarahí Almonte. Featuring Dominican music from Connecticut’s own Rey Kellys Band. This event will not be available for re-watch. Free, with registration.

The National Book Critics Circle 2020 Awards Celebration
Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm EDT
Please join President David Varno and the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors for a virtual celebration of literary excellence honoring our 2020 award winners. The National Book Critics Circle honors outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism, and literature. Free, though donations are welcome. Register here.

Writers on the Rise: Chekwube Danladi
Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm EDT
Writers on the Rise is a spotlight reading series designed to uplift and amplify the diverse talent of a wide range of voices and creative visions. The Writers on the Rise reading series is sponsored by the Rona Jaffe Foundation. Free, via Zoom, with registration.

Zachary Dorner in conversation with Harold Cook
Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm EDT
Zachary Dorner, author of Merchants of Medicines, in conversation with Harold Cook about commerce, health, and 18th century Britain. Free, with registration.

Bear Pond Books Presents Melanie Finn and Chera Hammons, Reading and Conversation.
Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm EDT
Join writers Melanie Finn, author of The Hare, and Chera Hammons, author of Monarchs of the Northeast Kingdom, for a reading and discussion about their novels set in Vermont. The authors will each read from their new books and then talk about writing and setting, and answer questions from the audience. Free, with registration.

Buffalo Street Books presents Gina Nutt in conversation with Jeannie Vanasco
Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm EDT
Join Gina Nutt for the book launch of Night Rooms: Essays. Gina will be in conversation with Jeannie Vanasco, author of the memoirs Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl and The Glass Eye. Free, with registration.

Hilary Leichter: Temporary
Thursday, March 25, 7:30 pm EDT
Join Hilary Leichter, author of Temporary, as she talks about late capitalism, happiness, art-making, and her latest novel. Free, via Zoom.

Nicola DeRobertis-Theye Launches The Vietri Project with Ruchika Tomar
Thursday, March 25, 7:30 pm EDT
Nicola DeRobertis-Theye and Ruchika Tomar, both 2015 Emerging Writer Fellows, are reuniting to celebrate the release of DeRobertis-Theye’s debut novel. Due out on March 23, The Vietri Project follows a Berkeley bookseller who finds herself thrust into Rome society during an investigation into a mysterious foreign customer’s life and history. Tomar’s A Prayer for Travelers received the 2020 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction and longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s 2019 First Novel Prize.
Free, via Zoom.

Volumes Bookcafe: Danny Caine In Conversation with Nicole Sullivan, Eric Obenauf, and Rebecca George
Thursday, March 25, 8:00 pm EDT
Danny Caine, owner of Raven Bookstore in Kansas, celebrates the release of How to Resist Amazon and Why. Danny will be in conversation with fellow bookstore owners Nicole Sullivan of BookBar Denver in Colorado, Eric Obenauf of Two Dollar Radio in Ohio, Rebecca George of Volumes Bookcafe in Chicago. They will talk about bookstores, the state of the book industry, and the greater impact of Amazon on the world at large. Free, with registration.

Marie Buck & Serena Devi
Thursday, March 25, 8:00 pm EDT
The hum and flush of mortality’s long punchline animates the work of Marie Buck and Serena Devi, where life endlessly exceeds its limits. Join these two authors for an amazing conversation about poetics and their latest projects. Featuring a guest introduction by Farnoosh Fathi. Free, with registration.

Danez Smith and the Dark Noise Collective
Friday, March 26, 8:00 pm EDT
Danez Smith will premiere new work inspired by the poems of their latest book, Homie, and digitally hosts a showcase of poignant performance and poetry videos from the Dark Noise Collective. The close-knit collective features local and national artists whose work spans poetry, music, dance, and performance, including Chicago-based singer/composer Jamila Woods and poet/filmmaker Fatimah Asghar, among others. Presented in association with Graywolf Press. Contains mature content. Free (though donations are welcome), with registration.

2020 Margins Fellows and Mentors Reading
Friday, March 26, 7:00 pm EDT
The Margins Fellowship was first established in 2014, as part of AAWW’s 30-year tradition of supporting emerging writers of color. A home for the next generation of Asian diasporic literature, the Margins Fellowship supports four emerging writers each year through an innovative mix of mentorship, financial support, residency, publication, career guidance, and community. This final reading and celebration will feature our Fellows—Joseph Lee, Emily Lee Luan, Sarah Thankam Mathews, and Emperatriz Ung—and their mentors, Susan Choi, Mitchell S. Jackson, Carmen Maria Machado, and Wendy Xu. Free, via Zoom.