Poets & Writers Theater

In this Books Are Magic event, Kat Tang reads from her debut novel, Five-Star Stranger (Scribner, 2024), and describes her experience revisiting a novel manuscript years after finishing her MFA in a conversation with author Jinwoo Chong.

In this Books Are Magic event with Adam Dalva, author and translator Laura Marris reads from and speaks about her debut essay collection, The Age of Loneliness (Graywolf Press, 2024), which is featured in Page One in the September/October of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“The reason why I favor long poems—not just writing them but reading them—is that it just feels like a much truer picture of the self, or selves.” In this Books Are Magic event, Jason Koo reads from his latest poetry collection, No Rest (Diode Editions, 2024), and discusses the narrative opportunities of long poems in a conversation with Bessie Flores Zaldívar.

“In each of my close relationships, I feel like I get to be a different version of myself.” In this Books Are Magic event, Lilly Dancyger speaks with Leslie Jamison about how she tackled writing about her closest friendships in her first essay collection, First Love: Essays on Friendship (Dial Press, 2024), which is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Books are Magic event with Isaac Fitzgerald, author Rachel Khong discusses the themes of race, family, and belonging in her second novel, Real Americans (Knopf, 2024), which is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. “I think it’s both an American feeling and an immigrant feeling, that there’s not enough time and you need to make the most of it,” says Khong.

“I do think that everything you see or do or experience does become part of the material that you create with, ultimately.” In this Books Are Magic event, Gina Chung reads from her short story collection, Green Frog (Vintage, 2024), and discusses the cultural importance of mythological creatures in a conversation with Jimin Han. For more from Chung, read her installment of our Writers Recommend series.

“Human beings are the only animals that experience denial.” In this Books Are Magic event, Sloane Crosley reads from her new book, Grief Is for People (MCD/FSG, 2024), and discusses her experience writing about loss in a conversation with Sigrid Nunez. A profile of Crosley by Kate Tuttle appears in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

"It’s life bleeding into stories. I feel like the longer we live, the more life bleeds into stories.” In this Books Are Magic event, Yiyun Li reads from her latest short story collection, Wednesday’s Child (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023), and discusses story endings, why it can take years to finish a story, and what sustains a plotless story in a conversation with David Means.

In this Books Are Magic event, Simon Shieh reads from his debut poetry collection, Master (Sarabande Books, 2023), and speaks about the themes within his book, the power of language, and truth in poetry with Ama Codjoe, author of Bluest Nude (Milkweed Editions, 2022). Shieh is featured in “Performing the Future: Our Nineteenth Annual Look at Debut Poets” in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“When you see injustice, you have to bite back.” In this Books Are Magic event, Julia Lee reads from her memoir, Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America (Henry Holt, 2023), and joins author Hua Hsu for a conversation about healing from family trauma, Asian American rage and shame, and lessons learned from teaching literature to college students.

In this event recorded at the Brooklyn Heights Public Library and hosted by Books Are Magic, Terrance Hayes discusses his new poetry collection, So to Speak (Penguin Books, 2023), and his new essay collection, Watch Your Language: Visual and Literary Reflections on a Century of American Poetry (Penguin Books, 2023), with poet and memoirist Mary Karr.

Jamel Brinkley reads from his new story collection, Witness (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023), and speaks about tone, reveals, and the themes in his stories with Garth Greenwell in this Books Are Magic event. From more from Brinkley, read his installment of our Ten Questions series.

“What surprised me was that I discovered I enjoyed it sometimes: writing prose.” In this Books Are Magic event, Shane McCrae speaks with Patricia Smith and reads from his debut memoir, Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping (Scribner, 2023), which is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Books Are Magic event, Shastri Akella reads from his debut novel, The Sea Elephants (Flatiron Books, 2023), and speaks about his journey navigating the writing life with author Rakesh Satyal. Akella is featured in “First Fiction 2023” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Books Are Magic event, Greg Marshall reads from his debut memoir, Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew From It (Abrams Press, 2023), and discusses what inspires his writing with author Chloé Cooper Jones. Marshall is featured in Literary MagNet in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Samantha Irby reads from her new essay collection, Quietly Hostile (Vintage, 2023), and speaks with writer and editor Jazmine Hughes for this Books Are Magic event held at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, New York. Quietly Hostile is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Before we go any further together, me with my lanterns, you following close behind, light flickering on both of our faces, I want to be clear about something: This isn’t a tell-all.” Maggie Smith reads from her debut memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful (Atria/One Signal, 2023), and speaks to Leslie Jamison about the writing process in this Books Are Magic event held at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, New York.

In this Books Are Magic event, Karisma Price reads from her debut collection, I’m Always So Serious (Sarabande Books, 2023), and discusses the inspiration behind her work with poet Terrance Hayes. “As a poet, oddity is good,” says Price. For more from Price, read her installment of our Writers Recommend series.

In this Books Are Magic event, Patricia Engel reads from her story collection The Faraway World (Avid Reader Press, 2023) and speaks with Naima Coster about writing habits and what inspires her to write. The Faraway World is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Books Are Magic event, Ada Calhoun reads from her memoir Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me (Grove Press, 2022) and discusses her writing process, New York City, and parenting with Emma Straub.