Galvanizing the Power of Literary Community: Salons, Series, and Bookstores

Indie bookstores are experiencing a resurgence and the in-person book scene is thriving, with salons selling out, new reading series launching, and bookstores doubling as community hubs and third spaces. This panel discussion—featuring author Maura Cheeks, owner of Liz’s Book Bar; Evan Hanczor, founder of Table of Contents; author Tyler Wetherall, creator of Reading the City; and moderated by Elizabeth Howard of the Short Fuse Podcast—asks how do we keep building literary communities better and harness their potential to bring more readers and writers into the fold. There will be a Q&A to follow and we invite the audience to bring their own ideas and join the discussion.

(This is a free event but we encourage attendees to buy a book or a drink at the bar to support Liz's Book Bar and its staff.)

Doors 5.30pm; panel and discussion from 6-7pm; followed by mingling in the bar and bookstore until close.

Bios

Evan Hanczor is the chef & owner of Little Egg restaurant in Brooklyn, NY and the founder of Tables of Contents, an arts organization that creates unique experiences of literature, art, and culture through food. He is the co-author of Breakfast: Recipes to Wake Up For (with Egg founder George Weld) and is the creator and editor of the Tables of Contents Community Cookbook, named a best book of the year by The New Yorker and Vanity Fair.

Maura Cheeks is the author of Acts of Forgiveness, named a most anticipated book by Elle, The Root, Real Simple, and The Millions. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Paris Review, and others. In 2019 she was awarded a reporting residency for The Atlantic where she worked on a feature-length article that would later inspire the idea for her novel. She is also the owner and general manager of Liz's Book Bar.

Tyler Wetherall is a journalist and author. Her debut novel, Amphibian, is a coming-of-age story about the ecstatic pains of girlhood. Her first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run, followed her childhood as the daughter of a pot smuggler and federal fugitive. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, British Vogue, The Guardian, LitHub, and Condé Nast Traveler, amongst others. She is also the creator of Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events taking place around New York City.

Elizabeth Howard is the producer and host of the Short Fuse Podcast, conversations with artists,writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens. Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others. Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016).