Mark Doten has until now been better known as a Senior Editor at Soho Press, but last month he launched his own debut novel, The Infernal. The book’s surreal personalities coalesce into a dark and humorous collective narrative. He was joined by Justin Taylor, author of the story collection Flings for a conversation at Greenlight Bookstore.
Alena Graedon and Joshua Max Feldman read from their novels at Community Bookstore in Park Slope. Graedon’s The Word Exchange is set in a not-so-distant Dystopia where the death of print has lead to the buying and selling of words. A disappearance at a renowned dictionary sets of the action. Feldman’s The Book of Jonah is modern retelling of the biblical story set in New York City with a lawyer at the center.
Laura van den Berg read from her debut novel Find Me at McNally Jackson Books. She was joined in conversation by Catherine Lacey, author of Nobody is Ever Missing.
A common scam in Nigeria includes attempting to sell a home that does not in fact belong to the person selling it, E.C. Osondu explains. That scam served as inspiration for the first draft of his latest novel This House is Not For Sale. Osondu read from the book at Powerhouse Arena. In an early draft, someone kept trying to sell the house, but what Osondu really wanted to discover was the people inside the house and their history.
Everyone over the age of twenty is dead. An undiagnosed malady afflicts the population as it ages leaving the world filled with teenagers. So is the setting of Sandra Newman’s new novel, The Country of Ice Cream Star. The novel relies on an invented patois created to by Newman. She discussed the novel at Greenlight Bookstore with Emily St. John Mandel, author of the equally dark dystopian novel, Station Eleven.
Kelly Link is known as an author of dark and humorous stories. Her latest collection, Get in Trouble, offers readers nine more. Link visited Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn to celebrate the release of the book.
A successful career as an entertainment lawyer wasn’t enough for Kevin Morris. He wanted to be a writer. And write he did, producing a collection of short stories titled White Man’s Problem’s, a title he chose after receiving notes and a rejection from an editor. Morris read from his debut story collection at The Strand on Wednesday. He was joined in conversation by Ophira Eisenberg.
How would your pets react if they suddenly became intelligent, bipedal creatures capable of war? So is the premise of Mort(e), a new novel by Robert Repino. Part satire, part speculative fiction, the novel has already worn out comparisons to Orwell’s Animal Farm. Repino read from the novel at WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn and was joined by Ryan Britt, author of the forthcoming Luke Skywalker Can’t Read.