On Monday, March 14, a crowd filled Franklin Park for the 13th anniversary of the Franklin Park Reading Series.

Penina Roth, the long-time host and curator of the series, reflected on the many readers the series has hosted through the years.

A lot has changed in Crown Heights since the series launched, and Franklin Park has even had a makeover. The bar almost closed during the 2020 pandemic, and Penina managed to keep the reading series going virtually.

For some photos through the last decade of Franklin Park, check out our Tumblr archive here.

Shelly Oria read from I Know What’s Best For You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, a collection of writing she edited.

The book is a multi-genre book including fiction, poetry, and plays, as well as photography. She read from the narrative, “We Bled That Whole Winter.”

The book is not yet available, but will be released on May 24, 2022.

Lynn Steger Strong read from her novel Want about a couple facing bankruptcy.

The book was released in 2020, during the pandemic, and Steger Strong explained she had not read it out loud at an event before, making Franklin Park the reading debut for the novel.

Sara Lippmann read from her short collection, Jerks.

She read from the title story about a couple who makes beef jerky as Christmas gifts.

Tanaïs read from In Sensorium: Notes for My People.

In addition to writing, Tanaïs founded a line of perfume and lifestyle products based in Brooklyn.

Their previous novel Bright Lines, won the Center for Fiction First Novel prize back in 2015.

Zakiya Dalila Harris read from her novel The Other Black Girl, her debut centered around the publishing industry.

She read from a section filled with micragressions and pettiness with the main conflict between Nella and Hazel.