CosmoCon is a celebration of Cosmographia authors May 15-18, 2019 at Writers & Books. Cosmographia is a publisher of soulful books based in Rochester, New York whose authors include poets, fiction writers, memoirists, and artists from as far away at Beirut, Lebanon. Join us for a talk, workshop, and meet the authors at the big […]
Corpus: Stories About the Body True, personal stories on a common theme, shared in front of a live audience. Everyone has a story. What's yours? Send your three-sentence story idea to StoriesRoc@yahoo.com. Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/Stories-Roc. Visit www.storieroc.wordpress.com to view past shows.
Due to this special event, we will not be hosting Wide Open Mic this First Friday. Writers & Books will only be open from 6:30 - 7:30 for this First Friday. Please join us at Writers & Books for a special conversation and book signing with critically acclaimed author/illustrator Mira Jacob. Ms. Jacob’s recently released […]
Tony Leuzzi and Lytton Smith The Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. Come every month on the second Tuesday, and by the end of the year you will have feasted on the work of 24 regional authors (some prominent, some emerging; writers of fiction, poetry, essay, creative nonfiction, memoir). It's up […]
Author Jeff Spevak was confronted with a dilemma: How do you tell the story of a man who can’t bring himself to talk about the most epic moment of his life? Ernie Coleman was a legendary sailor on Lake Ontario. But throughout his life he was haunted by nightmares from World War II: The Battle […]
Hnossa presents an encore performance of their original adaptation of a Swedish folktale. A wizard and would-be kidnapper tells the story of his defeat at the hands of a dastardly kind child. Hnossa is a multimedia artists’ collective that uses myths and folktales of the past to explore the present and dream the future by […]
Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you will have feasted on the work of 24 regional authors […]
A young woman ventures to the four corners of the earth to rescue her love and reclaim that which was hers. Hnossa continues their summer series of encore performances with their critically acclaimed adaptation of this beloved folk tale. Hnossa is a multimedia artists’ collective that uses myths and folktales of the past to […]
Lauren Acampora’s acclaimed short story collection The Wonder Garden earned her comparisons to Wharton, Cheever and O’Connor. Now she delivers her electrifying debut novel The Paper Wasp, which tells the knife-edge story of two women’s dark friendship of twisted ambition set against the backdrop of contemporary Hollywood. “A lyrical, provocative, imaginative page turner that […]
South of Little Rock is a story of love, hate, fear, and courage as the residents of a small town in southern Arkansas deal with change during the Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis of 1957. South of Little Rock is the recipient of the 2019 Independent Publishers Bronze Medal for Best Novel (South) winner […]
Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you will have feasted on the work of 24 […]
Come Fly with Me by Barbara Braverman is a memoir in poetry, beginning with the struggles of an immigrant family to the marriage and break up of her parents. Childhood experiences seared in memory, sometimes with tears, sometimes with humor, are recounted in her poetry. Time and travels and adventures heal a broken heart. While mindful […]
Drawing from blues, cabaret and art song, the performance ensemble Dead Metaphor Cabaret, led by Curt and Nani Nehring Bliss, explores the fruitful territory that borders music and poetry. For well over a decade, members have collaborated to interpret, adapt and perform poems (both familiar and obscure) that inspire toe-tapping and finger- snapping -- poetry […]
Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you will have feasted on the work of 24 […]
Free to Members | $5 General Public Presentation and Book Signing with Katrina Smith Korfmacher Low-income and marginalized urban communities often suffer disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards, leaving residents vulnerable to associated health problems. With her ground-breaking book, Korfmacher examines ways to collaborate across systems and sectors to address environmental health disparities. Bridging Silos studies […]
A young man learns of love and change at the hands of a mysterious young woman and a wood of ancient spirits. Hnossa concludes their series of encore performances with a return of their first show performed in Rochester. Hnossa is a multimedia artists’ collective that uses myths and folktales of the past to […]
Book Launch with Charlie Coté and Special Guests Charles Coté’s new collection of elegies about his son’s illness and death, I Play His Red Guitar (Tiger Bark Press), has been lauded by Kim Dower as “remarkable and gorgeous poems, by turns tragic and joyful.” Coté is the author of Flying for the Window (Finishing Line […]
Participatory Reading | Featured poet: Rich Forester Free and Open to the Public Join us in celebrating Joy Harjo’s historic appointment as United States Poet Laureate, and plan to share your favorite Harjo poem at our “Open Mic for JH.” A selection of books by Joy Harjo will be available for purchase; refreshments provided. […]
Presentation, Q & A, and Book Signing Valley Manor, 1570 East Ave., Rochester, NY Free and Open to the public Photo by DuHon Photography Join Valley Manor residents and neighbors and meet award-winning journalist and author Peter Lovenheim, who will present on his latest book of nonfiction, The Attachment Effect, an exploration of how early […]
Free to Members | $5 General Public The Founder and Executive Director of InsideOut Literary Arts Project (1995-2015), Detroit’s legendary poets-in-the-schools program, Terry Blackhawk is the author of six collections of poetry, including Escape Artist, winner of the 2002 John Ciardi Prize for Poetry, and the recently released One Less River (Mayapple Press, 2019), called […]
Free to Members | $7 General Public The Founder and Executive Director of InsideOut Literary Arts Project (1995-2015), Detroit’s legendary poets-in-the-schools program, Terry Blackhawk is the author of six collections of poetry, including Escape Artist, winner of the 2002 John Ciardi Prize for Poetry, and the recently released One Less River (Mayapple Press, 2019), called […]
Free and Open to the Public Experience the literary side of ImageOut, Rochester’s excellent LGBT Film Festival. At this special reading, local writers and members of the ImageOutWrite team are on hand to share selections from their 2019 literary journal. Hear the authors’ words in their own voices, grab a copy of ImageOutWrite, and network […]
Presentation by Medha Bhattacharyya Medha Bhattacharyya discusses her new translation of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s rarely known collection of meditative essays, Śāntiniketan (Abode of Peace), which looks at his ideas of universality; his socio-cultural location; and his reflections on Buddhism, Vaiṣṇavism, Bāul philosophy, and the Bhagavadgītā, and their contemporary relevance.
Bruna Dantas Lobato is a Brazilian writer and translator based in St. Louis. Her writing has appeared in A Public Space, BOMB, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Common, and elsewhere, and has been recognized with fellowships from Bennington College, NYU, the University of Iowa, A Public Space, and DISQUIET. Her translation of Caio Fernando […]
Martha Collins has just published her tenth book of poetry, Because What Else Could I Do. Her previous volumes include Admit One: An American Scrapbook, White Papers, and the book-length poem Blue Front, as well as the paired volumes Night Unto Night and Day Unto Day. Collins has also published four volumes of co-translated Vietnamese […]
Members - Free | General Public - $5 Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you […]
This Veterans Day join us for an open mic and potluck for veterans, and listen to them share their moving work. Writers & Books has been fortunate to host the Veterans Writing Group every first Saturday. This Veterans Day join us for an open mic and potluck for veterans, and listen to them share their […]
Members - Free | General Public - $5 Now in its 36th year, the Genesee Reading Series is a smorgasbord for your literary palate. On the second Tuesday of each month, listen to two authors read their work up close and personal in the intimate Performance Space upstairs. By the end of the year, you […]
Members – Free | General Public – $5 James Longenbach is a poet and a critic who has taught at the University of Rochester for many years. His many books of literary criticism include The Art of the Poetic Line (Graywolf) and How Poems Get Made (Norton), and his books of poems include The Iron Key (Norton) and Earthling (Norton), the latter of […]
Free to members/ $5 general public Lindsay Bernal’s What It Doesn’t Have to Do With (University of Georgia Press, 2018) won the 2017 National Poetry Series competition. Her poems have appeared in Blackbird, Conjunctions Online, Gulf Coast, OVERSOUND, Tikkun, and other journals. She coordinates the Creative Writing Program and the Writers Here & Now reading […]
December 17, 6:30 pm — 8:30 pm Hosted by Reilly Hirst & Gracen Lynch Free and open to the public The deep end is fine here, so we don't have to stay in the safe shallows. If you love writing, especially "edgy" stuff, bring it. In all good writing, we benefit from many perspectives and […]
February 20, 2020 | Lori Nolasco Martinez & Jennifer Kellogg Free and open to the public A Rochester, NY, native, Lori Nolasco Martinez is the author of two FootHills poetry collections, Ariadne of the Freezing Rains (2010) and Demetrio’s Scythe (2014). Her poem “Maplewood Rose Garden,” which pays tribute to the last stop on the Underground […]
Regina Buttner & Ted Obourn Free & open to the public Regina Butler has earned degrees in both landscape architecture and nursing, but it was Wendy Low’s “Time To Write” class at Writers & Books in 2014 that helped her to establish a daily writing habit that she has stuck with ever since. Her short […]
CaTyra Polland & Jesse Cruz Free & open to the public Author, editor, entrepreneur, and speaker CaTyra Polland’s debut book, Professionalism What’s That?, is available at Amazon as a paperback or e-book. CaTyra recently published a journal tailored to Black women and is working on her first poetry collection. A community volunteer serving on the boards of several […]
Jennifer Hudak & David DeGraff Free & open to the public Jennifer Hudak is a speculative fiction writer whose stories have appeared both online and off in such places as PodCastle and Daily Science Fiction and the anthology Endless Apocalypse. Originally from Boston, she now lives with her family in Upstate New York, where, in addition to writing, she teaches yoga, […]
Lori Bruton & Seema Khaneja Free & open to the public Lori Bruton is a passionate, faith-filled, fun-loving entrepreneur who shares her stories and adventures about love, travel, faith, fun, writing, essential oils, wellness, and living the Oola Lifestyle creating balance in the key areas of your life. Her book, Hole To Whole: Journey To Hope And […]
Claudia Stanek & Patricia Roth Schwartz Free & open to the public Claudia M. Stanek grew up in the blur of murmurs and silences of Polish-accented English while living on the border of Polish-Catholic steel town Depew and German-Lutheran rural Lancaster in Western New York State. Her Language You Refuse to Learn was the 2013 co-winner of the […]
Free & open to the public Charles Lamar Phillips’s fiction appears in Massachusetts Review, New England Review, Cincinnati Review, Fifth Wednesday, Chaffin Journal, Raritan, and The Brooklyner. Dead South, his collection of short stories, has been praised by author George Rollie Adams as “skillfully rendered tales of troubled souls.” Phillips’s novel, Estranged, is forthcoming from […]
Danielle Pafundo & Edward Dougherty Free & open to the public Danielle Pafunda is the author of nine books of prose and poetry, including The Book of Scab (Ricochet Editions, 2018), Natural History Rape Museum (Bloof Books, 2013), and Manhater (Dusie Press, 2012), Iatrogenic: Their Testimonies (Noemi Press, 2010), as well as two chapbooks. Her work has appeared in three editions of The Best American Poetry, and […]
Free & open to the public Katherine Hastings is the author of three collections from Spuyten Duyvil Press: Shakespeare & Stein Walk Into a Bar (2016), Nighthawks (2014), and Cloud Fire (2012), as well as several chapbooks. Poet laureate emerita of Sonoma County, CA, she edited Know Me Here: An Anthology of Poetry by Women; […]
Paula Weld-Cary & Kitty Jospé Free & open to the public Paula Weld-Cary’s poetry has appeared in journals in the United States and abroad, including Portland Review, Slab, Cream City Review, Nimrod, Poetry Salzburg Review, Third Wednesday, and The Aurorean. Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. One of her poems is forthcoming in The Midwest Quarterly and another in an […]
Free & open to the public Georgia A. Popoff, of Syracuse, NY, is an editor, educator, and Workshops Coordinator and faculty member at the YMCA of Central NY’s Downtown Writers Center. For 20 years, she served on the editorial board of The Comstock Review, with 5 years as managing editor. Her poetry collections are Psychometry […]
Free & open to the public Jessica Cuello is the author of Hunt (The Word Works, 2017) and Pricking (Tiger Bark Press, 2016). She has been awarded The 2017 CNY Book Award, The 2016 Washington Prize, The New Letters Poetry Prize, a Saltonstall Fellowship, and most recently, The New Ohio Review Poetry Prize. Her most […]
Free & open to the public Len Messineo’s work has appeared in Shenandoah, Tampa Review, New Novel Review, The Sun: Journal of Ideas, and elsewhere. His stories have been twice nominated for inclusion in the Pushcart Prize Anthology; and his one-act plays, "By the Sea" and "My Anatomically Correct Artificial Life Form" have been performed […]
Free & open to the public Allison Roberts is co-founder of Impact Interactive, a theatre-based training company. www.impactinteractive.org. She is also a visual artist, actor, and writer. She is the founder and producer of the comedy troupe, EstroFest, (www.estrofestlaughs.com) and performs in local theater, TV commercials and film. Her visual art works include murals, theater sets, […]
Hear poets Denise Abercrombie and Jonathan Andersen read from their published work via Zoom, then listen in as they join Executive Director Alison Meyers in conversation about their craft, the role of poetry as an agent for change, their work as teachers, and living together on a small farm in rural Connecticut. Denise Abercrombie’s work […]
Scroll down and select "Get Tickets" to receive a Zoom link to this event. Join Melanie Conroy-Goldman for the virtual launch of her debut novel, The Likely World, praised by Mary Gaitskill as “bizarre and beautiful, equal parts brainy lit and gut-bucket pulp.” The author will read selections from her novel, then chat with […]
Scroll down and select "Get Tickets" to receive a Zoom link to this event. The day of the event, you will receive an email with a Zoom link by 5 pm. If you have signed up for a reading on a Saturday, your Zoom link will arrive on Friday afternoon. Join award-winning author Lauren Camp […]
Scroll down and select "Get Tickets" to receive a Zoom link to this event. The day of the event, you will receive an email with a Zoom link by 5 pm. If you have signed up for a reading on a Saturday, your Zoom link will arrive on Friday afternoon. Join Kathy Engel reading from […]
Scroll down and select “Get Tickets” to receive a Zoom link to this virtual event. Events are conducted EST via Zoom, a virtual platform. Though events are admission-free, to participate, please register by the deadline using the ticket portal below. Zoom links are emailed to registered participants as follows: Noon Events: Link is sent on the day […]
