Transformers
Novels of magical transformations operate on various levels, physical and metaphorical. In Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man, assumptions of race and identity are upended as a mysterious contagion turns white citizens brown. In Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch, an Indigenous Caribbean woman is turned into a mermaid—and then back again; while in […]
A Woman’s World
“Women are no longer willing to shut up,” the best-selling Japanese novelist Mieko Kawakami has said, and in her latest work, All The Lovers In The Night (translated by David Boyd), she continues to examine female agency in traditionally patriarchal societies, while Best of Friends, the latest novel from prize-winning Pakistani-British writer Kamila Shamsie, tracks […]
Who? New! International
Each season, BKBF presents several international debut authors whom we want to shine the light on for our audience. This year we present Irish author Conner Habib (Hawk Mountain), Jared Marcel Pollen (Venus&Document) from the Czech Republic, Tibetan author Tsering Yangzom Lama (We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies), and Okwiri Oduor (Things They Lost) […]
The Difficult Fate of Girls and Women
Emerging stars of Spanish-language literature—Andrea Abreu (Spain), Alia Trabucco Zerán (Chile), and Camila Sosa Villada (Argentina)—come together in conversation on bringing women’s experiences to the page without apology or filter. Their books, Dogs of Summer (translated by Julia Sanches), When Women Kill (translated by Sophie Hughes), and Bad Girls (translated by Kit Maude), bring us […]
Time Travel
What are the legends and myths of a community’s earliest encounters with outsiders—of different races and faiths—and what do these divisions look like in the distant future when nations have broken apart once again? This is the territory of Rwandan writer Scholastique Mukasonga, author of Kibogo (translated by Mark Polizzotti), and Russian writer-in-exile Vladimir Sorokin, […]
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards
National Book Award–honored authors Martín Espada (Floaters, 2021 Poetry Winner), Katie Kitamura (Intimacies, 2021 Fiction Longlist), and Natasha Wimmer (Space Invaders, 2021 Translated Literature Finalist) gather for a cross-genre conversation about the borders of time, place, and language. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation.
Caught Up In History and Memory
If history is written by winners and memory is notoriously unreliable, how do contemporary novelists engage with both history and memory to shed light on their hidden and forgotten corners? In Gina Apostol’s Bibliolepsy, a young woman seeks salvation in books, sex, and love during the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, whereas in Estelle-Sarah Bulle’s […]
Esmeralda Santiago and Jacqueline Woodson in Conversation
Brooklyn Book Festival 2022 BoBi honoree, memoirist and novelist Esmeralda Santiago, author of When I Was Puerto Rican, Almost a Woman, and Conquistadora will be joined in conversation by 2015 Bobi Honoree Jacqueline Woodson, award-winning writer of books for adults, children, and adolescents, including Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and Another Brooklyn. Introduced by Camille […]
AAWW Presents: Writing in Wartime
Writers from Korea, Iraq, Vietnam, and Bangladesh join the Asian American Writers’ Workshop to discuss writing about war and its aftermath and effects on the Asian diaspora in America. Crystal Hana Kim, Faleeha Hassan, Ly Tran, and Jennifer Chowdhury will share their distinct perspectives with Jafreen Uddin, Executive Director of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.
Granta’s Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists II
In 2010, Granta introduced a stellar new generation of Spanish-language writers destined to challenge the literary status quo. More than a decade later, they’ve assembled another era-defining list which reflects an even greater variety—geographically, linguistically, thematically. Join us for a conversation featuring David Aliaga, Alejandro Morellón, Irene Reyes-Noguerol, and Mateo García Elizondo. Moderated by Valerie […]
#YeahYouWrite (In-Person)
The #YeahYouWrite Reading Series features #LiteraryCocktails, delicious food, brilliant authors, and an open mic in the dreamy Ostrich room at M. Wells, LIC. The atmosphere is relaxed, but the energy is high. September’s event features DISQUIET International Literary faculty Katherine Vaz, Terri Witek, and Cyriaco Lopes and alum Vanessa Chan. Vaz and Chan will read […]
“How do you say F-you in Ukrainian?” (In-Person)
Swearing, joke-telling and sweet-nothings are some of our most fun and powerful moments in communicating with one another. But during conflict, language quickly corresponds with power, and translations can become fraught. Join Stranger’s Guide Magazine and NPR’s Rough Translation podcast in conversation with writers from multilingual societies as they discuss the challenges of living between […]
