Books Are Magic Hosts Literary Bar Crawl Saturday, Oct. 12

COBBLE HILL – Literature lovers will flock to Cobble Hill on Saturday for PEN America’s Lit Crawl NYC 2019. The three-hour bar crawl will celebrate NYC’s literary community with 19 free events including readings, trivia, art, and more.

PEN America is partnering with beloved neighborhood bookstore, Books Are Magic, in presenting the Lit Crawl that will take place at various venues on or near Smith Street. Along with local bars, Bien Cuit, Brooklyn Tattoo, Malai Ice Cream, Regular Visitors, and Warby Parker will participate.

“Each year we center Lit Crawl NYC around a beloved neighborhood literary institution,” explained Lily Philpott,

Last fall, in Crown Heights, we included Cafe Con Libros, a great feminist bookstore in the neighborhood, and as we considered Cobble Hill for this year’s Lit Crawl NYC we knew we had to work with Books Are Magic.”

PEN America supports independent bookstores whenever possible, Philpott noted, adding that she and her colleagues are “all huge fans of Books Are Magic.” She said that PEN America was excited to bring the latest edition of Lit Crawl NYC to Cobble Hill because “we knew there were so many fantastic local businesses and spaces on Smith Street which could host our events.”

The Lit Crawl is scheduled in three phases: Phase 1 (6pm to 7pm) will feature nine events; Phase 2 (7pm to 8pm) will have six; and Phase 3 (8pm to 9pm) will offer four.

Books Are Magic (225 Smith Street) will feature one event during each phase:

femme, noire + queer | a radical imagining, (Phase 1) 6pm to 7pm
This literary reading showcase will feature work by queer black femme writers including Omotara James, Tahirah Alexander Green, Juliet P. Howard, Nicole Shawan Junior, and Nia Witherspoon.

History Rhymes, (Phase 2) 7pm to 8pm
Readings will include a memoir about the experiences of a Vietnamese refugee; a murder mystery chronicling the early AIDS epidemic; an 80s NYC glam rock-inspired fantasy; and a republished 17th century feminist critique of early colonial capitalism and the mistreatment of indigenous people.

Hard Aguacate: Baby Queer Poems, (Phase 3) 8pm to 9pm
This series produced by and for queer and trans poets of color will present work by writers created when they “were baby queer poets.” The lineup includes Emanuel Xavier, Cyree Jarelle Johnson, Ximena Alejandra Izquierdo Ugaz, and Danilo Machado.

An after-party hosted by the literary non-profit SLICE and literary journal Epiphany will take place at 61 Local (61 Bergen Street) from 9pm to 11pm.

PEN America supports protecting open expression and champions the freedom to write, recognizing the importance of the written word in helping to transform the world. The organization has hosted Lit Crawl NYC since 2008, presenting a slate of literary events in a different neighborhood each year.

“Each [Lit Crawl] is curated by a local writer or literary organization, and we gather events through an open submissions process,” Philpott explained. “This makes for a fun night that truly celebrates the creativity and vibrancy of the New York literary community.”

Visit pen.org for more information and for the full schedule.

Lit Crawl NYC 2019
Saturday, October 12, 6pm to 11pm
Various venues in Cobble Hill
RSVP here