Every Saturday I share the readings, book launches and literary conversations happening across New York, from Lit Up NYC, the weekly guide we publish at Eckleburg. Here is what is on today, the week ahead and next weekend. Times and tickets change, so check each event’s page before you go.
Today: Saturday, October 3
- 1 PM, Manhattan: Manifestations with OCD Chinatown, with Claudia Rankine, Vivian Gornick, Sarah Schulman, Julio Torres, Hannah Zeavin and many others. Park Avenue Armory. Free.
An afternoon of manifestos and readings, hosted by Hannah Baer, with a printed collection of the manifestos available. - 4:45 PM, Manhattan: Poetry on the River, a Poets House benefit, with Rickey Laurentiis, Ariana Reines and Tracy K. Smith. Brookfield Place Ferry Terminal. From $125.
A poetry reading aboard a sunset cruise on the Hudson, followed by a reception with the poets. Details - 5 PM, Manhattan: Segue Reading Series, with Ken Chen, Cici Wu and Ju Ly Ban. Artists Space, 11 Cortlandt Alley. $5.
Presented with Nightboat Books; the door proceeds go to the readers. - 8 PM: A group book launch with Anna Gurton-Wachter, Stephon Lawrence, Leslie McIntosh, Isabel Sobral Campos, Kendra Sullivan and Mónica de la Torre. Sunview Acropolis. Free.
An evening of new poetry from six poets.
The Week Ahead
Sunday, October 4
- 3 PM, Brooklyn: Our Weird Bodies, an Artmaggedon Festival group reading, with Mansi Dahal, Sylvia Dziewaltowska, May Syeda, Diana Heald and Randle Browning. 477 E. 16th St., Ditmas Park. Free.
An outdoor afternoon reading in a Ditmas Park backyard. - 4 PM, Manhattan: The launch of Chimes: A Monologue by Tom Cole. Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston St. Sliding scale from $5.
Readings at Parkside hosts the launch. Details - 8 PM, Manhattan: The launch of Ephemeralphilia, a poetry chapbook by Riley Mac, with guest readers. Oberon at the New Museum. Free.
A chapbook launch with readings by several young New York poets.
Monday, October 5
- 7 PM, Manhattan: SMILE, a poetry reading, with John Ling, Ama Birch, Gwen Frost, Riley Mac, Maya Martinez and India Rose Timpani. Pietro Alexander Gallery, 59 Wooster St. Free.
A gallery reading, which will be filmed. - 7 PM, Manhattan: The launch of You Don’t Need a Smartphone by August Lamm, with Catherine Shannon. Strand Book Store. From $13.
A launch and conversation about living without a smartphone. Details
Tuesday, October 6
- 7 PM, Brooklyn: Micaiah Johnson on The Unhaunting, with P. Djèlí Clark. The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Ave.
A launch for Johnson’s new novel, set in a sprawling haunted house. Details - 7 PM, Manhattan: “Ecstatic Temporality, or, The Time of Justice,” with Simon Critchley and Tom McCarthy. Artists Space, 11 Cortlandt Alley.
A conversation between the philosopher and the novelist. - Manhattan: David Byrne on Sleeping Beauties. Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Dr. RSVP required.
Presented by McNally Jackson; check the event page for the time. Details
Wednesday, October 7
- 7 PM, Brooklyn: Imbolo Mbue on Every Story Is a Love Story, with Jacqueline Woodson. The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Ave.
The launch of Mbue’s new novel. Details - 7 PM, Manhattan: Feminist Folklore After Dark: New Releases in Horror. PEN America.
An evening devoted to new feminist horror.
Thursday, October 8
- 7 PM: The paperback launch of Herculine. McNally Jackson.
Check McNally Jackson’s site for which store. Details
Friday, October 9
- 6 PM, Brooklyn: Buried in Books, a special event with David Dastmalchian and Nat Cassidy. The Twisted Spine.
An evening with the actor and author and the horror novelist.
Saturday, October 10
- 2 PM, Manhattan: A book launch with Leslie McIntosh, Erica Hunt, Joel Dias-Porter, Khadijah Queen and Lauren Whitehead, with Jayson P. Smith. Poets House. Free.
An afternoon poetry launch at the Battery Park City poetry library. - Manhattan: Lahore Literary Festival in New York 2026. Asia Society.
A day of conversations celebrating literature from Pakistan and South Asia; check Asia Society’s site for times and tickets.
Sunday, October 11
- 7 PM, Brooklyn: Spooks and Spines: Scream. The Twisted Spine.
A horror-themed evening at the Brooklyn bookstore.
Reading This Week
My latest essay: Where Moral Authority Begins | Part VI: The Ohio River Valley, Holden Caulfield and the Seduction of False Prophets. More book talk in Openings on Substack.
Precious Ugly
My debut novel, a work of Appalachian literary fiction, is out from 7.13 Books. Learn more or order from Bookshop.org.
Lit Up NYC first appeared at Eckleburg: see the guide on Eckleburg.