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 […]
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 […]
First Thursday of the Month Free and Open to the Public February 6: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden March 5: Severance by Ling Ma
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. […]
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 […]
Come to 740 University Avenue and help imagine Rochester’s new Indie bookstore! As we build our inventory of small press, hard-to-find, and thought-provoking titles, we want your input. Which books changed your life? Who are your favorite authors? What are the groundbreaking new publications every excellent indie should carry? You're invited to grab a magic […]
Free and Open to the Public Join us for Writers & Books Comedy Open Mic in our performance space! Anyone interested gets 5-7 minutes of stage time. Come to perform or just watch. Comics are great but we need an audience too!
The awkwardness of modern living takes center stage in these nine short stories by Brian Wood. Well-intentioned characters fumble through social situations: a man making small talk in line for a deadly thrill ride, a pet parrot arrested for murder, a seductive stranger on an airplane who just pulled out a handle of gin. With […]
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 […]
Free and open to the Public Admire Annalisa Barron's progressive installation, “Place Projectors,” in our back atrium and be inspired to share your sense of place story. Come play with found text and crafts materials to create your own 6” x 6” erasure poem. Browse new arrivals and staff picks (at a 15% discount) […]
Free and open to the public First Saturday of the month, 10am - 1pm
Sonja Livingston's latest book, The Virgin of Prince Street, uses an unexpected return to her childhood church in Rochester as an occasion to travel through space and time to explore the changes in the larger Church and in her own life. The result is a generous but unflinching look at the shifting Roman Catholic Church […]
Free and open to the public
Free and open to the public Sonya Bilocerkowycz is the author of On Our Way Home from the Revolution, selected by David Lazar and Patrick Madden as winner of the 2018 Gournay Prize. Her debut book was also named a "Most Anticipated Essay Collection" for Fall 2019 by Literary Hub. Sonya's essays and poems have […]
Free and open to the public Robert Glick is an Associate Professor of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he teaches creative writing, electronic literature, and the occasional course on zombies. His work has won competitions from The Normal School, Copper Nickel, Diagram, Summer Literary Seminars, and New Ohio Review; other stories have […]
Join Writers & Books and The Baobab Cultural Center as we celebrate Toni Morrison. Begin the evening at The Baobab Cultural Center with a viewing of In Black and White, VOL. 3: TONI MORRISON (the first video series devoted to the life and work of contemporary African American authors.”- California Newsreel) followed by a […]
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, […]
At this time, this event has been canceled. In her first one-woman show in 20 years, storyteller Almeta Whitis will present a multi-sensory performance that spins a yarn through the combination of spoken word, movement and music. Directed by Gary Dewitt Marshall. Proceeds to benefit the Smudge Stick project. More information and to purchase tickets, click here.
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 […]
