50 Years of Complete Techniques and The Taste of Country Cooking
In 1976, Jacques Pepin’s Complete Techniques detailed and democratized the foundations of French cooking for an American audience, and Edna Lewis’s The Taste of Country Cooking proclaimed the beauty and bounty of local, seasonal Southern food as one of the world’s great cuisines. Join Toni Tipton-Martin, culinary historian and author of a new foreword for […]
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 Palestinian writer Sara Abou Ghazal (Dream of Ayn Ara), Teme-Augama Anishnabai professor Tyson Stewart (The Return of the Nish), Kurdish writer Agri Ismaïl (Hyper), and Azerbaijani poet Egana Djabbarova (My Dreadful Body […]
250 Years of American Activism
The comic book can lampoon the powerful, illustrate ideas, and preserve the history of activists and popular struggle. R. Sikoryak’s Declaration, Illustrated remixes pop icons to make an illuminated, accessible edition of the Declaration of Independence, inviting us to question the contradictions and unfinished business of our country’s values. Angélique Roché, through deep community research […]
Can You Keep A Secret?
Get your heart racing during this session featuring bestselling author Danielle Valentine (Deadly Little Lesson), critically-acclaimed author E.L. Shen (Foreigners) and award-winning author Michael Ruhlman (A Taste of Somewhere Else) as they discuss a twisty mystery set at a boarding school that has a deadly curriculum, a thrilling historical romance that crosses generations, and a […]
Nature from the Margins
From the fossil record to the edges of space, science passes through a sense of wonder about humanity and our place in the universe. Three exemplary science writers on what the study of the natural world has to say about the human one: Beronda L. Montgomery (When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black […]
The Culinary Life: Crafting Narrative and Memoir Through Food
Food is life, and for culinary lives—where craft, relationships, and personal growth are rooted in the kitchen—the lens of food can sometimes be the clearest vantage point from which to look back. Join us to explore the ways food guides narrative in memoirs by chefs and writers Brigid Washington, author of Salt, Sweat & Steam […]
Too Close For Comfort
Place, from the city and neighborhood to the personal space we call home, informs our identity and this proximity affects the way we perceive ourselves and others. Giada Scodellaro’s Ruins, Child follows a group of six Black women tending to each other in a derelict apartment building in a deteriorating urban environment while their daily […]
Against Evolution
How do novelists capture the hyper development that devastates natural environments and wildlife? Can the tools of fiction be deployed to question, if not stop, the apparent compulsion for turning nature into resources and products? Delving into different ecosystems—the mountains of Tibet, the Malayan jungle, and the Mojave Desert—Chen Fu-Hsu (What’s a Snow Leopard to […]
The Lives We Fight For
For people whose identities place them at odds with the societies, families, and communities they inherit, simply living openly can be an act of extraordinary courage. In Bobuq Sayed’s No God But Us, two queer Afghan men find themselves navigating exile, love, and an increasingly authoritarian Istanbul while trying to build lives on the margins […]
Mad Libs Mix Up
Fill in the blanks about your favorite graphic novels! Join creator Rebecca Mock to shout your answers in this riotous game of Mad Libs while creators Dave Roman (Unicorn Boy and the Slumber Party of Doom), Debbie Fong (The Faraway Forest: Hester’s Big Dream) and Sofia Warren (Film Nerds) draw your suggestions and scramble their […]
Make a Self-Portrait with Jaque Jours
What does your shape look like? In The Muéganos, a family that’s literally glued together comes apart when the eldest daughter breaks off to find her own shape. In this hands-on workshop with author-illustrator Jaque Jours, creator of the 2026 Festival poster, kids make a self-portrait unlike any other, starting from a piece of paper […]
Create Like an Illustrator with Xindi Yan
Join Xindi Yan, the NYT Bestselling artist behind the beloved Grandpa Grumps series, for a grump-tastic celebration of her newest book, Schooltime Grumps! Get a behind-the-scenes peek at how Xindi turns sketches into storybook magic, then settle in for a read-aloud of this funny, heartwarming story about understanding and navigating relationships at school and in […]
Mahogany L. Browne – Black Girl, Bloom Bright; Black Boy, Take Flight
This collection of poems cover topics relating to social justice and activism tailored to a younger audience. Black Girl, Bloom Bright is a love letter to Black girls. Black Boy, Take Flight reminds Black boys that they are unique and deserving. Celebrate Black joy in these two books by Mahogany L. Browne.
Is Genre Necessary? (In Person)
Join the Long Island University Brooklyn Summer Writing Program for a lively discussion on best-selling and award-winning authors’ relationship to genre. How do they decide what bookshelf they belong on? How has genre limitations impacted their creative process, and their professional path? Is genre a necessary tool, or a diminishing construct in contemporary publishing? Featuring […]
Living in a Melting Metropolis: Our Memories of Summer (In Person)
Summer is a dichotomy of danger and delight. Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in NYC. Residents in Southeast Queens and The Rockaways are some of the most at risk of dying of extreme heat, all while summer invites pleasure and fun. Celebrate the end of this paradoxical season with a reading […]
Art of the Auto-dry-ography, presented by Lofty Pigeon Books
The “addiction memoir” has long been derided for being trite and predictable, but recovery can show memoirists new ways to understand the arc of their lives, beyond the expected biographical beats of rock bottom and sober serenity. In this conversation, Jessica Hoppe, Leslie Jamison, and Rax King will dig into the possibilities of sobriety in […]
The Silence in Stories
Three acclaimed international authors explore the effect of silence and untold stories on their characters. In The Ghetto Within, Santiago H. Amigorena portrays a Polish emigre in Argentina haunted by the fate of his mother in the Warsaw Ghetto; Swedish author Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s Sisters reveals guarded family stories that bond and fracture relationships of […]
The Surreal Next Door
In Marie-Helene Bertino, Ananda Lima, and Debbie Urbanski’s most recent collections, the everyday becomes infused with a haunting, surreal quality. In Exit Zero: Stories, death takes many forms, ranging from menopausal vampires, ghost girls, a painting of Cher, and a day-old peach. In Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil, a writer sleeps with the […]
Setting Community Tables
New York is a city defined and shaped by its restaurants, which serve as spaces for community just as much as they do for cuisine. Chef Scarr Pimentel (The Scarr’s Pizza Cookbook), Irene Yoo (Soju Party), and Rawia Bishara (Tanoreen: Palestinian Home Cooking In Diaspora) have all built restaurants imbued with the identity, spirit, and […]
Big Tech’s Big Heist – Cory Doctorow in Conversation with Adam Becker
We hear it again and again, the gospel of technological salvation. First, there was the promise of social media and other digital platforms (Amazon, Google, etc.) that became ingrained in our daily lives—but then devolved into what is widely acknowledged as much poorer-quality service and user experience. Now, it’s AI that’s supposed to save humanity […]
Can’t Help Falling in Love
From a fake relationship-turned-real in Tashie Bhuiyan‘s I’ll Pretend You’re Mine and former flames-turned-dorm mates in Page Powars‘ And They Were Roommates to a dual-contemporary and historical tale of love then and now in Jordyn Taylor’s Rebel Girls of Rome, sometimes love falls on you! Especially when you least expect it. Moderated by Xixi Tian […]
Myth, Folklore, and Everyday Horror
Authors Amanda Lee Koe (Sister Snake), Zuzana Říhová (Playing Wolf, translated by Alex Zucker), and Olive Senior (Paradise Once) share the ways Chinese, Czech, and Jamaican myth and folklore have influenced their work. From the binding and transformative ties of sisterhood in Tang dynasty China and present-day Singapore, to the creeping psychological horrors afoot in […]
Niña Mata – New
Are you ready for your first day at your new school? In a big new city, a young Filipina girl is experiencing everything new as she begins a new school with new people. Niña Mata’s debut picture book explores the feeling of being different, offering a child’s-eye view of the immigrant experience.
Create Like an Illustrator with Sarah Hwang
Join Sarah Hwang on a step-by-step illustration journey from sketching to final coloring, similar to how she created her book Gertrude Gish on a Dish on a Fish. She’ll also include a reading of her book to spark your imagination and get you drawing along! Hwang is part of the new Seuss Studios line of […]
Comics and Play with Rachel G. Payne
Enjoy a boisterous read-aloud of Let’s Rumble! A Rough-and-Tumble Book of Play and energetic play activities with author and children’s librarian Rachel G. Payne. Kids can make their own rough-and-tumble comics. Parents will learn why rough-and-tumble play is good for kids! Learn how to rumble (safely) with your siblings in this unique story about play.
Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin (The Bletchley Riddle)
Authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin take us back to WWII in their book, The Bletchley Riddle, when 14-year old Lizzie Novis embarks on a dangerous journey to solve the mysterious disappearance of her mother. Learn more about Bletchley Park and how to decipher code! Learn more about the story and history behind the book […]
Story and Sovereignty
Each season, BKBF presents several international debut authors whom we want to shine the light on for our audience. This year we present Korean translator and writer Jinwoo Park (Oxford Soju Club), Canadian playwright and director Aurora Stewart de Peña (Julius Julius), Ugandan-Canadian journalist Iryn Tushabe (Everything is Fine Here) , and Berlin-based writer Ella […]
The Mad, Mad World of Motherhood
Three graphic novelists grapple with the physical labor, mental load, and beauty of motherhood in this virtual panel. Rachel Deutsch’s The Mother traces her journey toward motherhood and egalitarian parenting while dealing with family trauma. In Mama Needs A Minute, Mary Catherine Starr speaks frankly about what she sees as the imbalance between her and […]
LGBTQ+ Stories Matter! (In Person)
From memoirs to novels, real folks and fictional characters, LGBTQ+ stories matter than more ever. Join us for a fun, impactful afternoon of queer and trans literary brilliance and story-making, featuring memoirist Terry Dyer (Surviving & Thriving as a Gay Black Man) and other storytellers (including you!) We will have books, refreshments, a musical performance, […]
Whitman on Walls (WoW!) at the Alice Austen House (In Person)
WHITMAN ON WALLS! (WoW!) is a hybrid project juxtaposing film and live performance in response to New York poet Walt Whitman’s radical “Song of Myself.” WoW! is a touring event that unites communities and local poets with Colombari performers on seven films. In collaboration with the Alice Austen House we will have a live screening […]
Literary Community Craft Lab (In Person)
Connect and create with authors, writing mentors, and multimedia artists in a simultaneously programmed Community Craft Lab organized by Literary Craft Society (led by multi-awarded author and literary activist, Juliet Diaz) in partnership with the Talking Writing podcast. Featuring: The Unbannable Library exhibit of big books created by NYC writer-artist collaborations and produced by artist […]
Collective Art-Making Under Repression and the Politics of Spectacle (In Person)
Radix Co-op presents a dialogue on art-making under state repression. We will feature a screening of Guy Debord’s Refutation of All the Judgements, Pro or Con, Thus Far Rendered on the Film ‘The Society of the Spectacle,’ followed by a discussion featuring Zein El-Amine (Is This How You Eat a Watermelon?), Kamelya Omayma Youssef (A […]
a/wake in the water: voices in protest (In Person)
“Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress truth.” – Wole Soyinka. Join our community of poets, spoken word performers, writers, artists, and musicians for a gathering of community, performance, and artivisim, featuring performers Edward Currelley, Lorraine Currelley, and Betty Pierre. Mott Haven Library – 321 East 140th Street, […]
The Pulp and Quick of Life: Vigdis Hjorth and Eva Baltasar in Conversation
Writers of potent, electrifying, and candid novels – Vigdis Hjorth (If Only, trans. from Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund) and Eva Baltasar (Mammoth, trans from Catalan by Julia Sanches) – come together to discuss passion and disenchantment. If Only tells the story of a young woman who begins a tumultuous affair, a cascading fantasy that eventually […]
Campus Disturbances
People always say the college years are the best ones of your life. But Kiley Reid, Attica Locke, and Joanna Pearson write otherwise. In Come and Get It, Millie Cousins is focused on graduating with a job and house until she meets Agatha Paul, a visiting professor hoping to find her next great book idea […]
Violent New Lands
In Kevin Barry’s The Heart in Winter, an opium-smoking Irishman and his mail-order bride are on the run in 1890s Montana. In Ye Chun’s Straw Dogs of the Universe, 10-year-old Sixiang journeys across an unfamiliar American landscape in the hopes of finding her long-lost father, who works on the railroads in California. In Like the […]
After 10/7: Power, Politics, and Free Speech on Campus
The campus protest movement that arose in response to the Israel-Hamas war has precipitated a crisis that extends far beyond the walls of Academe—and far beyond questions relating to the war itself. From administrative crackdowns on student organizations to the controversial testimony of Ivy League university presidents before Congress concerning the competing claims of student […]
Inner Worlds Intersecting On The Outside
We are the sum of our interactions. Whether they last minutes or decades, each can unearth what we’ve buried deep. Dash Shaw’s Blurry shows how slightly connected strangers can create a kaleidoscope of meaning. Jon Macy’s graphic biography of Modernist genius Djuna Barnes reveals the true identities of her fictional characters. Leela Corman’s Victory Parade […]
Who? New!
Each season, BKBF presents several debut authors whom we want to shine the light on for our audience. This year we present Danny Goodman (Amerikaland), Eunice Hong (Memento Mori), Ian S. Maloney (South Brooklyn Exterminating), and Mai Sennaar (They Dream in Gold). We welcome special guest, Edwidge Danticat (We’re Alone: Essays, Claire of the Sea […]
2024 BoBi Honoree Roz Chast and Liana Finck In Conversation
Sharing a keen eye for the absurd in everyday life, cartoonists Roz Chast, the Festival’s 2024 BoBi Honoree, and Liana Finck have inspired each other for years. Join them for a typically hilarious, thoughtful conversation about their new works — Chast’s I Must Be Dreaming, a surreal tour of dream theory and her own dream […]
Writing Resistance
From Mumbai to Tenochtitlan—the ancient capital of the Aztec empire—and a fictional city called Nevers; disparate landscapes come to life in the voices of their inhabitants. In their latest books, authors Devika Rege (Quarterlife), Álvaro Enrigue (You Dreamed of Empires, trans Natasha Wimmer), and Dorothy Tse (Owlish, trans Natascha Bruce) track the collision of worlds […]
The Digital Age
In Justin Taylor’s Reboot, a washed-up actor embarks on a quest to revive the cult TV show that catapulted him to teenage fame. In Kevin Holohan’s So You Wanna Run a Country? hopelessly unqualified contestants compete to rule small nations on a reality TV show. In Users by Colin Winnette, the fragility of connection and […]
Through The Looking Glass presented by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival and the Center for Fiction
Join Caribbean-born, global legends Lorna Goodison from Jamaica, Esmeralda Santiago from Puerto Rico, and Barbara Jenkins of Trinidad & Tobago – natural-born storytellers, who as emigrants keenly observed the world around them with insight, grace, and sharpness, reflecting a deep connection to the cultures, countries and indigenous stories that flowed from their memories to the […]
Customize Your Kicks
Design your own sneakers with award-winning creator C.G. Esperanza (Kicks in the Sky) in this craft activity, where kids and parents can color, sticker, and dream up their own fresh kicks to hang up!
Exploring Shapes and Shadows
Author Bruce Handy and illustrator Lisk Feng read their book, There Was a Shadow, and lead a dynamic art and poetry workshop exploring shadows, light, shapes, and color.
Are You Smarter Than an Author?
An interactive quiz gameshow! Perfect for kids, tweens, and adults! Test your science and mythology trivia knowledge against middle grade novelists, including George O’Connor (Asgardians: Odin), Deeba Zargarpur (Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate), Jorge Cham (Oliver’s Great Big Universe: Volcanoes Are Hot!), and Rebecca Donnelly (Survival of the Fittest). Hosted by Dave Roman […]
Brian Yanish and Stacy Ebert – Sweet and Sour
Sweet and Sour are two pickles who just can’t get along! Backyard battles ensue and the competition is fierce—can they settle their differences? Brian Yanish and Stacy Ebert have crafted a dill-ightfully silly story about second chances and uniting over what makes us special that readers will be sure to relish!
Class Combat
Journey through the multifaceted realm of class dynamics. In Andre Dubus III’s Such Kindness, a working-class man is forced to redefine his identity when an accident leaves him unable to work and dependent on painkillers. In Jenny Fran Davis’ Dykette, a couple explores the dimensions of normativity and nonconformity when they accept an invitation to […]
Celebrating Hilton Als, the 2023 Brooklyn Book Festival BoBi Honoree.
Pulitzer Prize winning critic Hilton Als, author of The Women, White Girls, and, most recently, My Pinup will be joined in conversation by writer and cultural critic Jennifer Krasinski.
Celebrating Hilton Als, the 2023 Brooklyn Book Festival BoBi Honoree
Join us for a special conversation with our 2023 BoBi Honoree, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Hilton Als. Raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Als is the author of The Women, White Girls, and, most recently, My Pinup. He will be joined in conversation by writer and cultural critic Jennifer Krasinski.
Creatures
What does the natural world reveal about the human one? Join Sabrina Imbler (How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures), astrobiologist Aomawa Shields (Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe), and Ed Yong (An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us) […]
Create a Magnetic Ice Skating Diorama with Lorraine Nam
Join Lorraine Nam, illustrator of Wei Skates On, for a magical and wintry project. Participants will create their own ice skating rink diorama and figure skating Wei. This inspirational picture book about facing your fears and finding the joy in sports, no matter the outcome. Space limited.
Create Animals with Christopher Silas Neal
Join award-winning illustrator Christopher Silas Neal, co-creator of the Over and Under picture book series, this time exploring the rich, interconnected ecosystem of the ocean in Over and Under the Waves! Create pictures of your favorite animals using cut paper, glue, and markers and colored pencils. Learn how simple shapes, a few wiggly lines and […]
Draw Me a Story
Be part of the audience that helps #1 New York Times bestselling author Dan Poblocki (More Tales to Keep You Up at Night) weave a story that beloved author and illustrator Alyssa Bermudez (Big Apple Diaries) and acclaimed illustrator Chris Danger (The Inflatables in Splash of the Titans) will draw right in front of your […]
Lifestyle in the Library
A library of food? about toys? Join Liz Williams, founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and of the National Food & Beverage Foundation, Leslie Sam, Chief Librarian, Nunez Community College Library and Christopher Bensch, Vice President for Collections at The Strong National Museum of Play, in a discussion about developing and curating unique […]
Who? New!
Each season, BKBF presents several debut authors whom we want to shine the light on for our audience. This year we present Madelaine Lucas (Thirst for Salt), Soraya Palmer (The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts), Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall (Tauhou), Jinwoo Chong (Flux), and Eliot Duncan (Ponyboy). This year, we welcome special […]
Romance for Every Reader
Fall in love with superstar authors Alexandra Bracken (Silver in the Bone), and Melissa See (Love Letters for Joy) as they dive deep into writing love stories across genres—from fantastical Arthurian fantasies to Cyrano retellings—and how they infuse their pages with tension, love, and even heartbreak. Moderated by Camryn Garrett (Friday I’m in Love).
Mazes Of The Mind: On Mapping Extreme States
International luminaries Carlos Fonseca (Costa Rica), Astrid Roemer (Suriname), and Norman Erikson Pasaribu (Indonesia) come together to discuss the precarity of dislocation, memory, and desire. In Astrid Roemer’s queer classic On a Woman’s Madness (tr. Lucy Scott), we meet a woman fleeing her hometown of Suriname, and in Carlos Fonseca’s luminous Austral (tr. Megan McDowell), […]
Place & Locality in Writing presented by the Whiting Foundation
Join Whiting Award-winning fiction writers Marcia Douglas (The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim, Notes from a Writer’s Book of Cures and Spells), Sidik Fofana (Stories from The Tenants Downstairs), Claire Boyles (Site Fidelity), and moderator Victor LaValle (Lone Women, The Changeling, and more), all of whose work draws verve, plot, […]
American Slavery, Today
Slavery’s centrality to American history has gained wide acceptance but few people understand how it continues to reach through the past and shape the experience of our country today. Join Rachel Swarns (The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church), Kidada E. Williams (I Saw Death Coming: A […]
Class Combat
Journey through the multifaceted realm of class dynamics. In Andre Dubus III’s Such Kindness, a working-class man is forced to redefine his identity when an accident leaves him unable to work and dependent on painkillers. In Jenny Fran Davis’ Dykette, a couple explores the dimensions of normativity and nonconformity when they accept an invitation to […]