I first met Kate in a bookstore. She had already launched the website Last Night’s Reading a month or two before. I recognized her from other readings and saw that she was recording the event and drawing notes. A few weeks earlier, Bookstalker Julia Bartz had caught me in the act of notetaking and introduced herself to me so I followed her lead, introducing myself to Kate. I’m sure I frightened her with my enthusiasm. Over the following years, I’ve run into Kate at various events. She has a keen sense about choosing which events to attend, and whenever I see her in the audience, I feel reassured about my choice for the evening. Sometimes Kate, Julia, and I end up attending and then writing about / drawing the same event: when the trifecta is in the house, you know its going to be the very best type of event.

Kate Gavino launched her book Last Night’s Reading at Housing Works, but the event was as much a celebration of literary readings as it was the book. She assembled an A-List cast of authors to read embarrassing stories, and she presented slideshow survival guide to literary events.

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