Your Week in Virtual Events, Nov. 9th to Nov. 15th
Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Fundraiser with Margaret Atwood & Esi Edugyan
Monday, November 9, all-day
Join Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures for our 30th Season Fundraiser with Margaret Atwood, in conversation with novelist Esi Edugyan (Washington Black). While many are familiar with Margaret Atwood’s fiction—including her groundbreaking and bestselling novels The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, Oryx and Crake, among others—she has, from the beginning of her career, been one of our most significant contemporary poets. In Dearly, Atwood’s first collection of poetry in over a decade, she casts her unique imagination and unyielding, observant eye over the landscape of a life carefully and intuitively lived. Tickets start at $35, with a discounted option for students, and include a limited edition copy of Dearly. Registrants will receive a link to the pre-recorded event you can watch at any time. Get your virtual pass here.
Between Worlds: Hafizah Geter & Justin Phillip Reed
Monday, November 9, 3:00pm EST
Poets Hafizah Geter (Un-American) and Justin Phillip Reed (The Malevolent Volume) discuss their work’s relation to displacement, violence, myth and memory in this event hosted by the Portland Book Festival. The discussion will be moderated by award-winning poet Ashley Toliver (Spectra). RSVP here. Free.
Hidden Valley Road: Robert Kolker & Eli Saslow
Monday, November 9, 5:00pm EST
Robert Kolker, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club pick Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, will be in conversation with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Eli Saslow (Rising Out of Hatred). As part of the Portland Book Festival. Free. Register here.
We Still Here: Marc Lamont Hill, phillip agnew, & Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Monday, November 9, 5:00pm EST
Hosted by Haymarket Books, author, bookseller, and journalist Marc Lamont Hill will discuss his new book, We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility, along with organizer phillip agnew and author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership). General admission starts at $5, with solidarity donations welcome. No/low income free tickets are also available. Register here.
Opening to Grief: Claire Willis & Marnie Crawford Samuelson
Monday, November 9, 7:00pm EST
Claire Willis and Marnie Crawford Samuelson will launch their timely book, Opening to Grief, in this virtual event hosted by brookline booksmith. Free, via Zoom.
Joselia Rebekah Hughes & Jimena Lucero
Monday, November 9, 8:00pm EST
The Poetry Project will host this event highlighting poets and artists who challenge the borders between medium and genre and blurs the lines of art-making and world-making. Writer, allodisciplinary artist, anagrammist, and autodidact Joselia Rebekah Hughes (VitaMin See) will showcase their work alongside poet, artist, and actor Jimena Lucero. Free. Via Zoom.
Celebrating Eudora Welty: A Writers Panel
Monday, November 9, 8:00pm EST
Hosted by Politics and Prose Live!, a panel of writers will discuss the personal and professional impact of Eudora Welty’s writing in their life. Panelists include Mary Alice Welty White, Susan Richards Shreve (More News Tomorrow), Ebony Lumumba, and Margaret McMullan (Where the Angels Lived). Moderated by W. Ralph Eubanks (The House at the End of the World). Free. Register here.
Zero Zone: Scott O’Connor, in conversation with Maria Hummel
Monday, November 9, 9:00pm EST
Scott O’Connor presents his latest book, Zero Zone, with Maria Hummel (Still Lives). Free, with registration. Presented by Book Soup.
My America: Lilliam Rivera
Tuesday, November 10, 12:30 EST
In conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s special exhibit My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today, award-winning author Lilliam Rivera discusses her new novel, Never Look Back, a contemporary Afro-Latinx retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. Free. Register here.
Family Ties: Brit Bennett & Bryan Washington
Tuesday, November 10, 4:00pm EST
NYT bestselling author Brit Bennett (The Vanishing Half) and Bryan Washington (Memorial) discuss their novels about race, love, family, and inheritance in this conversation moderated by Jennifer Baker, editor of Everyday People. Free, through the Portland Book Festival.
Place, Personal, Political: Blackness on the Map and The Mind
Tuesday, November 10, 4:00pm EST
In a live moderated conversation with Racial Justice Reads founder, Rosana “RC” Cruz, writer and urbanist Nadia Owusu (Aftershocks) and Marlon Peterson (Bird Uncaged) examine the themes of identity, belonging, family, survival, and resilience in their forthcoming works. As part of the Facing Race virtual conference. Register for the full conference at different tiered price points here.
Becky Cooper: We Keep the Dead Close, with Ron Chernow
Tuesday, November 10, 6:00pm EST
Becky Cooper presents her true crime book, We Keep the Dead Close, about academic gender inequality leading to a Harvard murder in the 1960s. Presented by Politics and Prose Live! and in conversation with Ron Chernow (Washington: A Life). Free. Register here.
Zalaznick Reading Series: At Home with Hortense Spillers & Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Tuesday, November 10, 7:00pm EST
The last virtual event in the Fall 2020 Barbara & David Zalaznick Reading Series: At Home presents Triangle Breathing: A Conversation with Black feminist scholar and theorist Hortense Spillers (Black, White, and in Color) and poet Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Undrowned). The session will be moderated by poet Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon (]Open Interval[). Free. Register here.
I Ain’t Marching Anymore: A Conversation on the History of Dissent
Tuesday, November 10, 7:00pm EST
Journalist Chris Lombardi discusses his new book, I Ain’t Marching Anymore: Dissenters, Deserters, and Objectors to America’s Wars, with writer Adam Hochschild (Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes) in this event hosted by The New Press. Free, with registration.
Burnout and The Ballot: Evette Dionne & Anne Helen Petersen
Tuesday, November 10, 8:30pm EST
Editor-in-Chief of Bitch Media and author of Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box, Evette Dionne, joins Anne Helen Peterson (Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation) for a discussion about burnout, politics, voting, and elections. Hosted by the Portland Book Festival. Free. Register here.
The Sacrifice of Darkness: Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne-Oliver, & Rebecca Kirby
Tuesday, November 10, 9:00pm EST
BookBar hosts this virtual conversation between Roxane Gay (Not That Bad), Tracy Lynne Oliver, and Rebecca Kirby about The Sacrifice of Darkness, the graphic novel adaptation of Gay’s NYT beselling short story “We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness.” Free, with registration.
City Lights Live! Maw Shein Win, Nathalie Khankan, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Su Hwang
Tuesday, November 10, 9:00pm EST
In partnership with Omnidawn Books, City Lights Booksellers hosts Maw Shein Win (Storage Unit for the Spirit House) and Nathalie Khankan (Quiet Orient Riot) for a reading of new works of poetry. Fellow writers Su Hwang (Bodega) and Marcelo Hernandez Castillo (Cenzontle). Free, register here.
2020 Booker Prize Shortlist Readings
Wednesday, November 11, 2:00pm EST
A reading presented by the Guardian Bookshop, for the six shortlisted authors of The Booker Prize. Diane Cook (The New Wilderness), Tsitsi Dangarembga (This Mournable Body), Avni Doshi (Burnt Sugar), Maaza Mengiste (The Shadow King), Douglas Stuart (Shuggie Bain), and Brandon Taylor (Real Life) will read and converse with each other in this livecasted event hosted by writer and critic Alex Clark. Tickets start at £5.83 and can be reserved here.
Tales of Two Planets: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Kawai Strong Washburn, & John Freeman
Wednesday, November 11, 3:00pm EST
Portland Book Festival will host this cross-genre discussion of environmental justice and the inseparability of the climate crisis and economic inequality. John Freeman, editor of Tales of Two Planets, will join in conversation with poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil (World of Wonders) and debut novelist Kawai Strong Washburn (Sharks in the Time of Saviors). Free, with registration.
Spells, Songs, and Prayers: Magic Words for a Just Tomorrow
Wednesday, November 11, 4:00pm EST
As part of the Facing Race virtual conference, three authors, song writers, vocalists, priestesses and witches will convene to discuss the role Black feminist creativity in freedom work. Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (The Black Trans Prayer Book: A Performative Documentary), adrienne maree brown (We Will Not Cancel Us), and vocalist Michaela Harrison make up the panel, moderated by Racial Justice Reads founder, Rosana “RC” Cruz. Register for the full conference at different tiered price points here.
Transnational Series presents: Immigrant Writing in a Time of Crisis
Wednesday, November 11, 5:00pm EST
The Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith presents a conversation about the anthology And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again with contributors Mona Kareem (Femme Ghosts), Grace Talusan (The Body Papers), Deepak Unnikrishnan (Temporary People), and editor Ilan Stavans. The anthology joins global writers, poets, artists and translators together through pieces of life during the pandemic. Free, with registration.
A Deadly Education: Naomi Novik & Fonda Lee
Wednesday, November 11, 5:30pm EST
Best-selling author Naomi Novik discusses her new fantasy novel, A Deadly Education, with award-winning author Fonda Lee (Jade War). Free, with registration through the Portland Book Festival.
Book Talk: “Vanguard,” Dr. Martha S. Jones with Dr. Keisha N. Blain
Wednesday, November 11, 7:00pm EST
White Whale Bookstore will virtually host Dr. Martha S. Jones as she discusses her recently released book Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All. She will be joined in conversation with Pitt professor and author of Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom, Dr. Keisha N. Blain. Free, via Zoom.
Two Writers Talking: Poetry, Black Culture, and America
Wednesday, November 11, 7:00pm EST
Moderated by Well-Read Black Girl founder, Glory Edim, Doubleday presents a conversation between authors Kevin Young (Blue Laws) and Robin Coste Lewis (Voyage of the Sable Venus) on the role poetry plays in difficult moments in our history. Live Q&A to follow. Free, via Zoom.
Slapering Hol Press presents: 15th Annual War & Peace Reading featuring Afaa Michael Weaver
Wednesday, November 11, 7:00pm EST
Graywolf Press poet Fred Marchant (Said Not Said) welcomes poet, playwright, and translator Afaa M. Weaver (Spirit Boxing) back to the Hudson Valley Writers Center via Zoom where three community writers, Gillian Lynn Katz (Portrait), George Kraus (Rendition), and Andrea G. Seiden, will read. Tickets are free, with donation options available. Reserve one here.
My America: Khaled Mattawa
Wednesday, November 11, 7:30pm EST
In conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s special exhibit My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today, poet and MacArthur Fellow Khaled Mattawa will discuss his new book Fugitive Atlas. Free, with registration.
Maureen Mahon presents Black Diamond Queens, with Bridgett M. Davis
Wednesday, November 11, 7:30pm EST
Maureen Mahon joins Greenlight Bookstore in a virtual discussion of her new book, Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll. She will be joined in conversation by Bridgett M. Davis, acclaimed author of The World According to Fanie Davis. Via Zoom. Free.
Taylor Johnson & Malik Thompson
Wednesday, November 11, 8:00pm EST
From Loyalty Bookstores, poet and essayist Malik Thompson talks with Taylor Johnson about their debut book of poems, Inheritance. Free. Register for tickets here.
Incite: Queer Writers Read – November
Wednesday, November 11, 7:00pm EST
Incite: Queer Writers Read is a curated, monthly reading series for Queer writers hosted by Kate Carroll de Gutes (The Authenticity Experiment) and Kate Gray (For Every Girl) for the Portland Book Festival. Free via Zoom.
SHELF LIFE: Digital Museum of Broken Relationships with Leslie Jamison
Thursday, November 12, 12:00pm EST
Join Leslie Jamison (Make It Scream, Make It Burn) For an event built around one of her collected essays, “Museum of Broken Hearts” hosted by the Virginia Festival of Books. Jamison will be joined by Olinka Vištica (The Museum of Broken Relationships), Cecilia Laslo, Kyle McCarthy (Everyone Knows How Much I Love You), and Kiki Petrosino (White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia). Free. Register here.
Black Histories, Black Fiction, Black Futures: Writing Paths to Freedom
Thursday, November 12, 2:15pm EST
Authors Rivers Solomon (THE DEEP) and Tananarive Due (Ghost Summer: Stories) join in conversation on weaving new visions of the past, present and futures through speculative fiction. In a live, moderated conversation with Racial Justice Reads founder, Rosana “RC” Cruz, these brilliant visionaries share their inspirations, influences, histories and hopes and ground justice discourse in the legacy of Black authors who write towards liberation. Register for the full conference at different tiered price points here.
Faculty Book Talk: Dr. Samthat Pinto with Dr. Jennifer Nash
Thursday, November 12, 3:30pm EST
Join Dr. Samantha Pinto in conversation on her newly published book, Infamous Bodies: Early Black Women’s Celebrity and the Afterlives of Rights, with Dr. Jennifer Nash (Black Feminism Reimagined). Free, via Zoom.
Fall 2020 Broadside Reading Series III: Marie Hinson & Saretta Morgan
Thursday, November 12, 6:30pm EST
Six writers in collaboration with the Artists-in-Residence at the Center for Book Arts will convene for a series of online readings to feature the relationship of text, image, and design with a collection of limited edition letterpress-printed broadsides. Thursday’s readers will feature writers Marie Hinson (Please Remit My Qubits) and Saretta Morgan (feeling upon arrival). Curated by Joey De Jesus. Free. Register for a spot here.
HCC Frenzy + HarperCollins Canada Present: Read Better
Thursday, November 12, 7:00pm EST
Refinery29 writer Kathleen Newman-Bremang will lead a virtual panel discussion that will feature acclaimed authors Alyssa Cole (When No One is Watching), Catherine Hernandez (Crosshairs), and Tiffany D. Jackson (Grown). Free, via Zoom.
Sara B. Larson in Conversation with Kalynn Bayron
Thursday, November 12, 8:00pm EST
Author Sara B. Larson discusses her newest fantasy book, Warriors of Wing and Flame, with fellow author Kalynn Bayron (Cinderella is Dead) for this Loyalty Bookstore event. Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die) will moderate the event. Free, via Crowdcast. Register here.
Natasha Varner, La Raza Cosmética (in conversation with María L.O. Muñoz)
Thursday, November 12, 9:00pm EST
Hosted by the Elliott Bay Book Company, Natasha Varner will speak about her new book, La Raza Cosmética: Beauty, Identity, and Settler Colonialism in Postrevolutionary Mexico, with María L.O. Muñoz (Stand Up and Fight: Participatory Indigenismo, Populism, and Mobilization in Mexico, 1970-1984). Free, via Zoom. Register here.
Live Wire Radio at Portland Book Festival: 99% Invisible & Shayla Lawson
Friday, November 13, 2:30pm EST
Join Live Wire Radio’s Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello for a Portland Book Festival edition! Featuring interviews with Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt, hosts of the 99% Invisible podcast and authors of The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to Everyday Design; and with Shayla Lawson, poet and author of the new essay collection, This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope. Free, with registration.
Date Night with Alyssa Cole
Friday, November 13, 6:00pm EST
Loyalty Bookstores presents a new digital series with host Alyssa Cole (A Princess in Theory) and a diverse group of Romance writers every other Friday. The final Date Night for the year will include authors Alexandria Bellefleur (Written in the Stars), Nina Crespo (Her Sweet Temptation), and Rebekah Weatherspoon (If The Boot Fits).
Magic & Power: Tehlor Kay Mejia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Bethany C. Morrow
Friday, November 13, 6:30pm EST
Co-authors Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore (Miss Meteor) and Bethany C. Morrow (A Song Below Water) will be in conversation with Emilly Prado (Funeral for Flaca) for the Portland Book Festival. Free. Register here.
Poetry Reading & Conversation: Monica Prince, Eric Tran, and Cameron Barnett
Friday, November 13, 7:00pm EST
White Whale Bookstore presents an evening of poetry with Monica Prince (How to Exterminate the Black Woman), Eric Tran (The Gutter Spread), and Cameron Barnett (The Drowning Boy’s Guide to Water). Free, via Zoom.
Black Talk, Black Feeling With The Believer
Friday, November 13, 8:00pm EST
Black Talk, Black Feeling is a conversation series inspired by the ethos of Nikki Giovanni’s foundational poetry book Black Feeling, Black Talk. The special Portland Book Festival edition will feature novelist and short story author Danielle Evans (The Office of Historical Corrections), YA author Bethany C. Morrow (A Song Below Water), and poet Khadijah Queen (Anodyne). Presented in partnership with The Believer. Free, with registration.
An Evening with Carmen Maria Machado
Friday, November 13, 8:00pm EST
The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing will host a virtual reading and talk with Carmen Maria Machado (In the Dream House) via Zoom. Free. Register here.
KSW presents Cut to Bloom
Friday, November 13, 9:00pm EST
Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) celebrates Arhm Choi Wild’s debut book, Cut to Bloom, with readings by fellow poets Hieu Minh Nguyen (Not Here) and Isabella “Isa” Borgeson. Free tickets are limited. General admission starts at $5 and can be purchased here.
Middle Grade Anthology: Nnedi Okorafor & David A. Robertson
Saturday, November 14, 2:45pm EST
Nnedi Okorafor discusses her first novel for middle grade readers, Ikenga, with David A. Robertson who will present his new middle grade fantasy series, The Barren Grounds, for the Portland Book Festival. Moderated by folklorist and novelist Kate Ristau (Shadow Queene). Free, with registration.
Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Dr. Joy Cox in conversation with Makia Green
Saturday, November 14, 3:00pm EST
Charis Books celebrates Dr. Joy Cox’s highly anticipated book Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own, in an event co-sponsored by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Organizer and abolitionist Makia Green will join in conversation. Free, via Crowdcast.
Kae Tempest with Willy Vlautin
Saturday, November 14, 4:00pm EST
Writer and performer Kae Tempest discusses their first work of nonfiction, On Connection, with fellow writer/musician Willy Vlautin (Don’t Skip Out on Me). Free. Register here.
No Justice No Peace: Kim Johnson & Francisco X. Stork
Saturday, November 14, 5:30pm EST
Kim Johnson (This Is My America) and Francisco X. Stork (Illegal) discuss their newest young adult novels that expose racism in the United States criminal justice system. The talk will be moderated by Kenrya Rankin (Anti-Racism: Powerful Voice, Inspiring Ideas). Free, with registration.
An Evening with Residents of Writers House Pittsburgh
Saturday, November 14, 7:00pm EST
White Whale Bookstore presents a reading featuring the current residents of Writers House Pittsburgh: Rose Himber Howse, Sandra Ang Osborn, and Natalie Dalea. Register for free here.
November Watershed Reading
Saturday, November 14, 8:00pm EST
The Watershed Reading Series welcomes award-winning poet Leila Chatti (Deluge), Timothy Prolific Edwaujonte (Ofrenda para las ancestras), and Donald Platt (Man Praying) for an evening of poetry. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and followed by a Q&A with the poets moderated by the Watershed Reading Series Director, I.S. Jones. Tune in here.
A Virtual Evening with Margaret Atwood in conversation with Natalie Diaz
Saturday, November 14, 8:00pm EST
Presented by Brazos Bookstore, in partnership with Inprint, Margaret Atwood celebrates her first collection of poetry in over a decade, Dearly, with Natalie Diaz (Post-Colonial Love Song). This is a special event of the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series. Each ticket includes a signed copy of Dearly and can be reserved here.
Just Us: An American Conversation
Sunday, November 15, 8:00pm EST
Co-presented with Blue Flower Arts and the Academy of American poets, MacArthur fellows and award-winning poets Claudia Rankine (Just Us: An American Conversation) and Terrance Hayes (American Sonnets for My Past And Future Assassin) join in conversation with poet and essayist Dawn Lundy Martin (Good Stock Strange Blood) on the act of reckoning with our past and present. Free, with an option to purchase a signed bookplate of Rankine’s Just Us. Register here.
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