Bookend Events

This event celebrates the release of the book Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Gender Identity (The New Press, August 2026). The panel will feature the book’s author, Professor Valena Beety, and Tasha Mercedez Shelby, a writer and advocate. These speakers will be in conversation with Brooklyn Law School Professor Kate Mogulescu. The event will focus on stories of wrongful convictions of women and queer people, whose identities are recast in criminal court as evidence of guilt through bias, junk science, and entrenched stereotypes.

Brooklyn Law School – 250 Joralemon St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 – accessible entrance & restroom

Memoirists Stephen Policoff (A Ribbon for Your Hair), Darcey Steinke (This Is the Door), and Avra Wing (Stride) will discuss their personal stories of family loss, pain, and catastrophic injury. Stephen’s daughter died of a rare disease and his wife, of cancer. Darcey underwent back surgery and explored the historical contexts of pain. Avra was struck by a car and endured amputation of her leg and months of rehab. They will talk about how they coped with life-altering trauma and why, when, and how they chose to write about it.

Lofty Pigeon Books – 743 Church Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218 – accessible entrance & restroom

This panel, moderated by photographer and writer Chris Wiley, explores The Society of the Screen: Vilém Flusser’s Radical Prescience, (MIT Press) by Martha Schwendener, art historian and critic, and the painter James Hyde’s The Trouble with Space in Painting: A Critical History  (Bloomsbury Academic). These books confront what history means at a time described as ‘post-historical’ by Vilém Flusser (1920-1991), the subject of Schwendener’s book, and an important figure in Hyde’s. The conversation will concern the shaping of history and visual art in a new information age.

Peter Freeman Inc. Gallery – 140 Grand St, New York, NY 10013 

Maya Kornberg, author of the new book, Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress will discuss current threats to our democracy, from violence against politicians and the distortive influence of big money in politics, to the impact of social media on political behavior. The author will also describe how New Yorkers can understand the important issues at stake in the midterm elections this fall. Kornberg will be joined in conversation with Kira Sanbonmatsu (A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on Why Their Presence Matters), author and professor of political science at Rutgers University and senior scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

WORD – 126 Franklin St, Brooklyn, NY 11222 – accessible entrance

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Join The Urbane Arts Club and High Line Literary Collective for a balmy Southern-inspired September night with special guests Erin Austen Abbott (Small Town Living) and Landon Bryant (Bless Your Heart), live music, and mingling over light bites and themed cocktails. It’s sure to be a magical evening at this Victorian mansion and former speakeasy in Ditmas Park, where you can relax on the front porch overlooking the garden with a mint julep in hand and bluegrass in the air. Please RSVP.

The Urbane Arts Club – 1016 Beverley Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11218 – accessible entrance

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In times of cultural upheaval, the search for meaning and belonging can leave people vulnerable to powerful narratives, charismatic leaders, and manipulation. New York has long been a crossroads for spiritual, religious, and wellness movements promising transformation, salvation, and purpose. This panel brings together authors who have experienced the seductive pull of cults and those who have investigated them, exploring why ordinary people are drawn into these movements and the complexities of belief. Featuring Sarah Edmondson, Harrison Hill, Priya Hutner, Melissa Duge Spiers, and moderator Ru Marshall.

St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church – 157 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 – accessible entrance & restroom

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Colin Asher tells of the extraordinary music created within the highest and thickest walls of America’s brutal, racist prison system. With five compelling portraits of musical artists whose careers span the 20th century, from folk and blues singer Lead Belly, to jazz pianist Elmo Hope, to rap artist Tupac Shakur. A celebration of joyful, angry, and rebellious words and sounds; an indictment of an unjust and cruel system of incarceration that cannot suppress beauty. Joining Colin in discussion is Aidan Levy, biographer of saxophonist Sonny Rollins, and Andy Zee of Revolution Books.

Revolution Books – 437 Malcolm X Blvd @ 132nd St, New York, NY 10037 – accessible entrance & restroom

No, YOU Tell It! storytellers collaborate to develop true tales on the page, then swap stories to embody their story partner’s culture, identity, and life experience on stage. For this special Queens Bookend Event, produced in partnership with Culture Lab LIC, we’ve teamed up with New Women New Yorkers (nywomenimmigrants.org) in support of their mission to empower immigrant women. Come celebrate the “Passage” stories of where we come from and where we are headed. Plus, story trivia for fun literary prizes. Featured storytellers: Florencia Cariddi, Jessica Hoppe, Ana Reza, and Anda Totoreanu.

Culture Lab LIC – 5-25 46th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101 – accessible entrance & restroom

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From a sexless marriage to a celibate cult community to the world of addiction and rock ’n’ roll, three authors discuss the courage it takes to tell the truth and write about the gritty underbelly of choices made. In this panel, memoirists Wendy B. Correa, Alisa Kriegel, and Priya Hutner explore themes of sexual repression, relationships, love, loss, and what it takes to break free from the bondage of belief. Discover how confronting truth is freeing, what it takes to bleed on the page, the risks of telling the truth, and how writing is a tool for healing and self-discovery.

Unnameable Books – 615 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238 – accessible entrance and restroom

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 and zine launch of Living in a Melting Metropolis: Our Memories of Summer. Featured writers include Sherese Francis, Amisha Gopee, Nadia Misir, and Elizabeth Opurum. Free zine copies available to attendees while supplies last.

King Manor Museum – 150-03 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica, NY 11432 – accessible entrance & restroom

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Twenty-five years after 9/11, stories about American Muslims have too often been told by others. This conversation explores the power of communities telling their own stories through Storytellers: Muslims, Community, and Culture in America, a nationally distributed public radio documentary. Join reporting lead Aida Alami and comedian and host Sabeen Sadiq for a discussion about reporting, humor, identity, and the importance of authentic storytelling, moderated by Rozina Ali, author of Seasons of Fury. Together, they’ll explore the complexity, history, and vibrancy of Muslim communities across the United States.

360 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

What does it mean for Black women to search for home across countries, memories, relationships, and within themselves? Join authors Ebony Walden and Chet’la Sebree for an intimate conversation on identity, belonging, and finding home. Moderated by Dr. Princess “Franny” Francois, this discussion explores how movement, travel, and lived experience shape who we become. The session will begin with brief readings, followed by a moderated conversation, audience Q&A, and book signings. Together, these writers reflect on what it means to leave, return, and discover new ways of belonging.

Cafe con Libros – 724 Prospect Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11216 – accessible entrance

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For this special forum, Greg Tate’s esteemed friends and contemporaries Arthur Jafa, Questlove, dream hampton, and Jelani Cobb gather to discuss his life and work. Moderated by Daphne A. Brooks. Greg Ionman Tate was a cultural critic and journalist whose work continues to reverberate and inspire generations of writers, artists, and creatives. He authored the recently reissued book, Flyboy in the Buttermilk, and won a 2024 posthumous Pulitzer Prize in recognition of his pioneering and peerless work. Tate also founded the acclaimed improvisation ensemble, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber. This event is made possible through the Tate Estate & Family, AUWA Books at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New Eyes Collective, and the Brooklyn Public Library.

Brooklyn Public Library – 10 Grand Army Plz, Brooklyn, NY 11238 – accessible entrance & restroom