The Brooklyn Book Festival is on Sunday (outside, in and around Borough Hall) but there are Bookend events tonight and tomorrow, free and fun, all over Brooklyn. Tonight I’ll be going to ringShout at Littlefield at 7PM maybe I’ll go to Greenlight Bookstore and catch the Brooklyn Indie Press celebration at 7:30.
Secret History of the Dividing Line: A True Account in Nine Parts (Parts I–IV, 1999–2004). Light Industry presents a screening of David Gatten’s unfinished 16mm film cycle, a project based around the life, writing, and library of William Byrd II, a Virginia planter who owned one of the largest collections of books in colonial North America.
Location: Light Industry, 177 Livingston St.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: $7
Brooklyn Indie Press Celebration! With Akashic Books, A Public Space, Archipelago Books, Armchair/Shotgun, BOMB, Electric Literature, Melville House, powerHouse Books, Tin House, and others. Brooklyn’s finest independent publishers of books and periodicals come together at Greenlight Bookstore. Mingle with writers and publishers who make Brooklyn’s literary scene, and enjoy refreshments and live DJs to kick off BKBF weekend.
Location: Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton St. (at S. Portland Ave.)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: FREE
WORD Presents an Intimate Conversation with John Waters. John Waters, the iconic filmmaker, actor, and writer, comes to Greenpoint to talk about his new book Role Models with Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times. For details, visit www.wordbrooklyn.com.
Location: Coco 66, 66 Greenpoint Ave.
Date: 8 p.m.
Price: $25 (includes copy of book)
DEBUT LIT Presents “Opening Act,” a flash reading of original work by literary rock stars. Readings will be written on a theme provided by DEBUT LIT—it’s fun and it’s fast. Readers include Aryn Kyle (The God of Animals), John Murillo (Up Jump the Boogie), Sung J. Woo (Everything Asian), Brooke Berman (No Place Like Home), Matt Stewart (French Revolution), Fiona Maazel (Last Last Chance), and Daphne Beal (In the Land of No Right Angles).
Location: powerHouse Books, 37 Main St.
Date: 7 p.m.
Price: FREE
Books to Movies: The Sweet Hereafter. In this 1997 adaptation of Russell Banks’s novel, directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Ian Holm and Sarah Polley, a big-city lawyer descends on a small Canadian town following a tragic school bus accident to organize a civil-action suit, while simultaneously mourning the loss of his own daughter to drug addiction. Atom Egoyan’s masterpiece is a sensitive examination of overcoming grief. Q&A with authorRussell Banks.
Location: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: $12 (general admission) / $8 (BAM Cinema Club members)
Literary Pub Contest staged by PEN American Center at St. Ann’s Warehouse. The first-ever PEN Quiz Night. Don’t miss the chance to compete with (and against!) your favorite authors. We’ll bring the paper and the pencils; you bring your literary mettle!
Location: St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water St.
Time: 7–10 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Price: FREE
ringShout: A Place for Black Literature kicks off its new reading series. Join us for an evening of readings by four acclaimed African American writers. Featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tayari Jones, Jeffery Renard Allen, and Danielle Evans. DJ sounds by Rob Fields.
Location: Littlefield, 622 Degraw St. (between 3rd and 4th Aves.)
Time: 7–9 p.m.
Price: $5 (suggested donation)
SATURDAY
Making Books Sing: A Warm-up for the Brooklyn Book Festival. In 1929, New York’s first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpré, transformed her East Harlem library into a welcoming community center for all. Through a blend of storytelling, music, and puppetry, young audiences will learn about Puerto Rican folklore and the library’s important role in the community. Kids sing along and become puppeteers as Pura’s stories unfold. Followed by a bookmaking workshop.
Location: Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza (at Flatbush Ave.)
Time: 11 a.m. €– 1 p.m.
Price: FREE
Books to Film for Children. A series of short films based on children’s books for ages 2–6, followed by Q&A with Brooklyn Book Festival participants Jon Scieszka (with the film The True Story of the Three Little Pigs) and Chris Raschka (with the film Yo! Yes?).
Location: BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave.
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Tickets: $12 (adults) / $9 (children under 13)
Robin Hood: Prince of . . . MONSTERS! Mainspring Collective and the Irondale Center present Monster Literature, written and conceived by Daniel John Kelley, an action-packed and hilarious live theater series that celebrates great works of children’s literature that kids can read now. For details and advance tickets, visit www.monsterliterature.com.
Location: Irondale Center, 85 S. Oxford St.
Time: 2 & 4 p.m.
Price: $5 (advance) / $7 (door)
The New Brooklyn Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from 31 Restaurants That Put Brooklyn on the Culinary Map. Join authors Melissa and Brendan Vaughan for a panel discussion and cocktail hour at The Brooklyn Kitchen, North Brooklyn’s leading hub of home culinary exploration, and the best place to learn how to make restaurant dishes in cramped apartment kitchens. Panelists will include the chefs, farmers, kimchi makers, and beer brewers who make this borough delicious!
Location: The Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost St.
Time: 2–4 p.m.
Price: $65 (includes advance copy of book)
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. Author Rob Sheffield reads from his latest work and chats about new wave music, adolescent love, and John Hughes movie soundtracks. Rob is the best-selling author of Love Is a Mix Tape and has been a music journalist for over twenty years. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran is a poignant tour of his 1980s upbringing, as told through the music of that decade. Stick around afterward and enjoy Rob and other DJs spinning the tunes highlighted in the book. For details, visit www.thebellhouseny.com.
Location: Bell House (front lounge), 149 7th St. (between 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Time: 8 p.m.
Price: FREE
Genre Busters. Freebird Books & Goods presents a ninety-minute revue show with artists and authors who work in a genre to turn it on its head. Includes readings, slideshows, short lectures, video, Q&A, trivia prizes, and snacks.
Location: Freebird Books & Goods, 123 Columbia St.
Time: 8 p.m.
Price: FREE