How to Do Right By This Week's Brooklyn Book Festival

Photo by Lisa Chow and Susan Tam. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Surely by now you’ve caught some buzz on the Brooklyn Book Festival setting up shop in libraries, bookstores and other creative spaces across the borough this week — all culminating with a packed full-day lineup on Sunday, Sept. 20.

You may have also taken a look at said lineup and panicked a little. (Seeing as it’s stuffed with a Coachella weekend’s worth of awesome, awkwardly overlapping events.)

In hopes of easing your panic, here are our picks for the most exciting weeknight events, as well as the best game plan for Sunday.

For full event listings, visit the Brooklyn Book Festival website.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2015

A Pope for the Whole World: A Casual Conversation with the Author of Pope Francis in His Own Words

• Hullabaloo Books, 711 Franklin Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238
  
• 8 p.m.
  
• Free
• Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and first Latin American to occupy the highest office of the Catholic Church, has proven relevant beyond the confines of his faith. From his visits and outreach to people of other faiths to the publication of his incisive encyclical, Laudato Si, about the urgency of climate change, Pope Francis has given us all something to talk about! Hosted by Julie Schwietert Collazo, co-author of Pope Francis in His Own Words, an international bestseller translated into 15 languages.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16, 2015

Unslain Words: Solidarity for Bangladesh

• Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11217
• 7 p.m.
• Free
• As the fight for freedom of speech in Bangladesh continues, artists of Bangladeshi origin take the stage to commemorate the voices of four recently slain bloggers, and protest the threat looming over more than 70 other Bangladeshi intellectuals, many of whom are in hiding. Join them at Roulette for an evening of solidarity, live music, and readings to condemn the assassinations of Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Babu, Ananta Bijoy Das, and Niloy Neel, and to celebrate writing. The evening will also feature a statement from Karin Deutsch Karlekar, the Director of Free Expression Programs at PEN America.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 17, 2015

Kevin Geeks Out About the Apocalypse

• Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11249
• 9:30 p.m.
• $15
• In this special edition of Kevin Maher’s comedy-variety show, the host teams up with Freebird Books (home to NY’s only post-apocalyptic-themed book club) for an obsessive look at end-of-the-world scenarios across page and screen. The 2-hour multi-media event will include presentations on renowned visions of a dark future and obscure examples of wasteland stories. Special guests include: Emily Asher-Perrin (Tor.com), Peter Miller (founder of The Post-Apocalyptic Book Club), Tenebrous Kate (cult movie blogger/founder of the Heretical Sexts zines), Matt Glasson (filmmaker, editor.) Plus rare film clips, trivia prizes and a post-apocalyptic costume contest.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18

Brooklyn Poets Reading Series

• St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
• 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Free
• Recently named one of the best reading series in NYC and one of the 50 best free things to do in the city by Time Out New York, the Brooklyn Poets Reading Series takes place bi-monthly at select venues in Brooklyn, with a summer stop on Governor’s Island. In collaboration with the Forum at St. Ann’s, this reading will feature poets Natalie Shapero, Rachel Eliza Griffiths and 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winner in poetry Gregory Pardlo. Wine and light refreshments will be served.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19

Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure with author Nadja Spiegelman

• New York Transit Museum, Boerum Place & Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
• 1:30 p.m.
• Free with cost of Museum Admission ($7 Adults, $5 Children ages 2-17)
• All aboard a subway adventure! Join TOON author Nadja Spiegelman for a presentation at the New York Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn about her latest book, Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure. This new book has been awarded SIX starred reviews from major reviewers, plus feature review coverage in The NYT and Wall Street Journal. Join us for subway trivia, an art project, and a live book reading! All ages welcome. Ideal for kids ages 6-12. Book signing to follow.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 20

The Long Roots of Social Change

• Brooklyn Law School Moot Courtroom, 250 Joralemon St
• 10 a.m.
• The Long Roots of Social Change. The south is reconsidering the Confederate flag and the Supreme court has legalized gay marriage, but today’s present political and social justice movements have their collective roots in varied historical injustices. Panelists Pamela Newkirk (Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga), Alexis Coe (Alice + Freda Forever), and Kiese Laymon (How to Kill Yourself and Others in America) discuss the history of marginalized communities in America, both past and present. Moderated by Saeed Jones.

New York Review of Books Presents: Civil Rights & Policing

• Brooklyn Law School Moot Courtroom, 250 Joralemon St
• 11 a.m.
• New York Review of Books Presents: Civil Rights & Policing. In a discussion moderated by Robert Silvers, Editor of The New York Review of Books, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, essayist and novelist Darryl Pinckney, and Laurie Robinson, Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and Member, Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections, will reflect on and discuss issues of race and bias as they relate to law enforcement, civil rights, and whether the recommendations of the White House Task Force, if implemented, can practically address and dismantle sources of conflict, deepening racial divisions, and high rates of incarceration in African-American and Latino populations in the U.S.

Concrete Jungle--Where Dreams are Made

• St. Francis College Auditorium, 180 Remsen St
• 12 p.m.
• Concrete Jungle--Where Dreams are Made. John Leguizamo (Ghetto Klown) and Jonathan Lethem (Lucky Alan and Other Stories) come together to discuss how the city shaped them as storytellers--and how their stories have been adapted on stage, screen, across comics or books, and ever reinvented. Screen Projection. Moderated by Steph Opitz, Literary Director, Texas Book Festival.

If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Cry

• Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont St
• 1 p.m.
• If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Cry. Actor and comedian Judah Friedlander of 30 Rock fame, and creator of If the Raindrops United, is joined by musician and cartoonist Leslie Stein (Bright-Eyed at Midnight) and author, illustrator and playwright Ayun Halliday (No Touch Monkey) for a conversation about creativity, performance and the incessant inspirations of ordinary life, and making light out of the dark in our day-to-day.

​Triple Crown

• St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague St
• 2 p.m.
• Triple Crown. Join three prolific literary powerhouses as they read from their recent work: Esmeralda Santiago (Conquistadora), National Book Award Winner and New York Times bestselling author Joyce Carol Oates (The Lost Landscape), and Pulitzer Prize finalist Russell Banks (A Permanent Member of the Family). Q & A moderated by New York Times Book Review editor Greg Cowles.

​Where Do We Go From Here?

• Brooklyn Historical Society Library, 128 Pierrepont St
• 3 p.m.
• Where Do We Go From Here? Income inequality together with gentrification and housing disparity is increasingly part of a critical national discussion. These issues face New Yorkers, but certainly don’t stop at the city limits. DW Gibson (The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification); Rosie Schaap (Drinking with Men); and playwright Dael Orlandersmith (Forever), Pulitzer Prize finalist and native of East Harlem, discuss whether gentrification is inevitable, the nature of the middle class today, and how race plays into these questions. Moderated by John Freeman, editor, A Tale of Two Cities: The Best and Worst of Times in Today’s New York.
  

​One Crazy Summer

• Youth Stage - Brooklyn Heights Library, 280 Cadman Plaza W
• 4 p.m.
• One Crazy Summer. Three comics creators tell stories of life-changing vacations, from coming out at church camp, to friendships that bridge family grief, to finding love during an alien invasion! With Caldecott and Printz (and more!) award-winning creator Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer), debut graphic memoirist Maggie Thrash (Honor Girl) and acclaimed literary novelist Owen King (Intro to Alien Invasion). Screen Projection. Moderated by Lauren Weinstein, author of Girl Stories.

​High School Confidential

• Youth Stage - Brooklyn Heights Library, 280 Cadman Plaza W
• 5 p.m.
• High School Confidential. High School life can be hard. Boys, friends and homework are just the tip of the iceberg. Join acclaimed authors Leila Sales and Renee Watson in conversation with Tavi Gevinson, editor of The Rookie Yearbook about the travails of high school life and being a teenager, especially as questions of loyalty and shifting identities (when people aren’t who you think they are) arise. Moderated by Paul Rudnick, acclaimed author of Gorgeous.

—OR—

​Paul Holdengräber and Salman Rushdie in Conversation

• St. Francis College Auditorium, 180 Remsen St
• 5 p.m.
• Paul Holdengräber and Salman Rushdie in Conversation. Paul Holdengräber, curator of Live from the New York Public Library and professional conversationalist, sits down for an in-depth discussion with author Salman Rushdie (Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights) in a joint program of the Brooklyn Book Festival and Live from the New York Public Library in celebration of their 10th Anniversaries.

2015 Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize Finalists Reading

• BookCourt, 163 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
• 6:30 p.m.
• Free
• The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is excited to announce the inaugural Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize, two awards recognizing the best fiction and nonfiction books of the past year by authors who embody the spirit of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Eagles, the BPL’s group of engaged young supporters, in conjunction with The Eagle and The Wren reading series, will host an evening of light refreshments to celebrate the authors, library branches, and borough that we all love. Join us right after the Brooklyn Book Festival to raise a glass to the finalists for the Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize!

MONDAY, SEPT. 21

Net Lit Unlimited

• Goethe-Institut New York, 30 Irving Place, N.Y., NY 10003
• 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Free
• With Geoff Mak (The Offing), Eric Becker (Words Without Borders), and Katy Derbyshire (translator of German books). How has the way we present literature on the net changed over the past ten years? Has it become more or less inclusive, more or less global? Are we getting a more diverse picture or is literature being reduced to listicles? What are literary websites in the States and Germany doing to draw in and involve their readers? And will they change the world? Presented in cooperation with the German Book Office New York.