Celebrated Actress Gina Gershon To Discuss Her Memoir At Westport Library's VersoFest 2026

WESTPORT, CT — Actress Gina Gershon is scheduled to appear at the Westport Library's VersoFest 2026, where she will discuss her memoir AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs in a conversation with journalist, author and Westport resident Alisyn Camerota.

The event is set for 5 p.m. on March 28 in the Trefz Forum at the library. Tickets cost $35 and include a copy of the book.

In the memoir, Gershon recounts her upbringing in California’s San Fernando Valley and her career in film, television and theater. The book describes her experiences navigating the entertainment industry and personal relationships while pursuing an unconventional career path.

VersoFest, which runs through late March, also includes a Feb. 27 performance by the band The Thing, a March 26 conversation with musician Ani DiFranco, and a March 27 concert by musician Wyclef Jean. Additional programming includes panel discussions, author talks and an interactive art installation.

From the announcement:

About Gina Gershon

Gershon has been starring on stage, screen, and television for more than 40 years. She has recorded albums and toured across America, and performed at Carnegie Hall three times, playing her Jew’s harp with Sting, Laurie Anderson, Joan Baez, and Gogol Bordello. Gershon is the author of In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind, which she also performed as a one-woman show with an accompanying album, and co-author (with her brother Dann) of the young adult novel Camp Creepy Time. In 2019, she performed another one-woman show, Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues, at the Café Carlyle.

Gershon’s film credits include Bound, Showgirls, The Insider, Face/Off, and The Player, among others. Her television credits include The Assassin, Elsbeth, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Riverdale, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, to name just a few. Her Broadway credits include Sam Mendes’s Cabaret, the Tony Award–winning Boeing-Boeing, and more. She lives in New York City.

About Alisyn Camerota

Camerota is a journalist, author, anchor, and correspondent for CNN. In her three decades in journalism, Camerota has covered stories nationally and internationally, earning two Emmy Awards for her breaking news coverage of the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the on-air arrest of Roger Stone. She has also received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her breaking news coverage of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico, and a duPont-Columbia Award for her coverage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Camerota's debut novel, Amanda Wakes Up, was selected by National Public Radio as one of the best books of 2017, and by Oprah Magazine as “a must read.” And her 2024 memoir Combat Love instantly became an Amazon best-seller.

About AlphaPussy

AlphaPussy is a collection of true stories that explore themes of experience, survival, and the art of figuring it out as you go. They include strange encounters with celebrities and film directors such as Paul Verhoeven, Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, Prince, Jennifer Tilly, Sylvester Stallone, David Mamet, Bob Fosse, and so many others. Often hilarious, usually cautionary, and almost always wrapped in absurdity, Gershon’s tales explore how she found herself through bad decisions, awkward moments, and cringe-worthy encounters that somehow gave rise to survival skills.

Gershon stresses that while it can be important to listen to others, it’s more important to listen to oneself. To trust your gut. In a world full of bullies, predators, and people trying to tell her who she was, or who she should be, it was crucial for Gershon to become an AlphaPussy: a woman who navigates through this perilous jungle of a world with personal agency and responsibility.

About VersoFest

VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge. VersoFest includes conversations where experts share their perspective and vision. Intimate workshops provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft. Performances entertain and inspire.

This year’s festival, our fifth, is shaping up to be the best yet, headlined by a February 27 kickoff concert by rising rock band The Thing, our March 26 Verso Visionary conversation with folk-rock legend Ani DiFranco, and a special March 27 Friday night performance featuring Grammy Award-winning artist, producer, composer and Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean. Our weekend guests include David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets); Adria Petty on the legacy of her dad, Tom Petty, and the legendary Heartbreakers; a VersoFest author talk with Claire Dederer on her book, Monster; a conversation with renowned music promoter Peter Shapiro (Capitol Theare, Brooklyn Bowl); an appearance by the African dance and music troupe Cumbe Dance; an interactive art installation exhibited by award-winning, video-based artist Holly Danger; and a screening of the film Baristas vs. Billionaires, directed by Academy Award nominee Mark Mori.

Past VersoFest guests include hip hop legend Chuck D; established hit-makers the Wallflowers, Spin Doctors, and the Smithereens; up-and-coming bands Sunflower Bean and the Lemon Twigs; the Roots lead emcee Black Thought; hardcore punk pioneer Henry Rollins; rockers Lez Zeppelin; famed producers Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex); Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler; the Doors drummer John Densmore; Cramps drummer Miriam Linna; Alice Cooper Group bassist Dennis Dunaway; hip-hop originators Tony Crush and Grand Wizzard Theodore; David Letterman music director Paul Shaffer; SNL Beehive Queen Christine Ohlman; and a wide array of authors, photographers, artists, and thought leaders.

Visit our VersoFest website to see the lineup and schedule for 2026 (with announcements on all guests coming throughout January and into February).