What is the proper genre of critical writing? How does criticism inform, inflect, and even colonize other forms of writing like biography, nonfiction, literary journalism, and fiction? Join us for a lively discussion of criticism today, with panelists Elif Batuman (a 2010 NBCC finalist in criticism…

A Quiet Vendetta: A Thriller By R.J. Ellory: By award-winning thriller heavyweight R.J. Ellory, this ambitious crime novel takes his skill for suspense to a spellbinding level. When Catherine Ducane disappears in New Orleans, the cops react fast—she is the governor's daughter, after all. But the…

E. L. Doctorow’s latest book, All the Time in the World, is an enthralling collection of brilliant, startling short fiction about people who, as the author notes in his Preface, are somehow “distinct from their surroundings—people in some sort of contest with the prevailing world.” In one …

We are pleased to present a special event featuring one of the most widely read poets of our time, Billy Collins—author, most recently, of the book Horoscopes for the Dead, a smart, lyrical, funny and touching collection from America’s most popular poet. Billy Collins’ poetry collections …

Join us for an evening of tribute to legendary editor, translator and publisher, Richard Seaver. Richard Seaver was at the center of literary life in 1950s Paris, establishing the magazine Merlin, and publishing Eugene Ionesco and Jean Genet. He championed Samuel Beckett in an essay that got the …

Townie: A Memoir, by Andre Dubus III I've never read a better or more serious meditation on violence, its sources, consequences, and, especially, its terrifying pleasures, than "Townie." It's a brutal and, yes, thrilling memoir that sheds real light on the creative process of two of our best writers,…