Another year, another pile of reading to get through, amirite? Welcome to 2015, where there’s a big fresh helping of literary events for all you booky people to head to. This week’s line-up includes the launch of Electric Literature’s new online magazine for short, weird fiction, a benefit party for BOMB magazine, and the monthly return of our beloved Franklin Park Reading Series featuring National Book Award winner Phil Klay. Dig in!
Megan Mayhew Bergman at Bookcourt
Wednesday, January 7 at 7:30 pm, free
Perhaps the most hotly anticipated short story collection of the new year is Megan Mayhew Bergman’s Almost Famous Women, a follow-up to her excellent Birds of a Lesser Paradise. Hear Bergman introduce her book, just out this week, at Cobble Hill staple BookCourt. We promise you won’t come away feeling dumber.
Franklin Park Reading Series at Franklin Park Beer Garden
Monday, January 12 at 8 pm; free with $4 beer specials
The Franklin Park Reading Series is one of the gems of Brooklyn, gathering together well-known writers with local under-the-radar finds for readings that are consistently entertaining and eclectic. Plus, there’s beer! This month, the series welcomes National Book Award winner Phil Klay alongside Sara Lippmann, Kevin Fortuna, Morgan Parker, and Malerie Willens.
BOMB Benefit Party at 22 Boerum Place
Friday, January 9, 7:00 pm, $25 Donation
Re-enact New Year’s Eve, drink in some culture, and help support a very cool literary endeavor at the BOMB Benefit Party. They’ll be a performance from choreographer and dancer Jen Rosnblit, poetry by Ariana Reines, and music by 75 Dollar Bill. A donation at the door will net you a free copy of the magazine plus free drinks. Win-win!
Brooklyn Poet’s Yawp
Monday, January 12, 8:00 pm, 61 Local
Our sister publication, Brooklyn Magazine, named this event the best poetry open mic in the borough, and we would have to agree. Gather around for a workshop at 7 pm and a poetry open mic at 8 pm to air our recent or not-so-recent work, or just discover some new great emerging talent.
Okey-Panky Launch Party at The Counting Room
Thursday, January 8 at 7:00 pm, 44 Berry Street
The always excellent folks at Electric Literature are launching a new online magazine dedicated to, per their website, “short, darkly comic, ironic, and experimental fiction, essay, poetry, and graphic narrative.” Yeah, we’re in. To celebrate, they’re putting together a big old party to revel with new contributors and rub elbows with literary types of all sorts.