Events/News

Winter/Spring 2017 Events

 

Literary Death Match

The Bell House, Brooklyn, 1/24, 7pm

with Roy Wood, Jr., Heben Nigatu, Akilah Hughes, Carson Kressley, Ashley C. Ford, Daniel Alarcón, & host Adrian Todd Zuniga

Dear Reader Live

ACE Hotel, Manhattan NY 1/29, 7pm

with other fellows/residents Tracy O’Neill, Alice Sola Kim, Jami Attenberg, Tyehimba Jess and Ioannis Pappos

https://www.acehotel.com/calendar/newyork/dear-reader-live-number-four

The Art of the Memoir 

Community Bookstore, Brooklyn NY 2/2, 7pm

with Jason Diamond, Leigh Stein, Mira Ptacin, & Michele Filgate

AWP Conference

Washington DC 2/8-2/12

several panels and events (please see schedule)

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living anthology launch

PowerHouse Arena, Brooklyn 2/15 7pm

with editor Manjula Martin, Leslie Jamison, Emily Gould, and Maud Newton

The Rally Reading Series

Pete’s Candy Store, Brooklyn, NY 2/23 6:30pm

with Leland Cheuk and Tracy O’Neill

Selected Shorts: A Celebration of Clarice Lispector

Symphony Space, Manhattan New York 3/1 7:30pm

Host Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story), Lynn Cohen (Sex and the City), Kate Burton (Scandal), Carolina Ravassa (The Affair), and more perform stories by one of Brazil’s greatest modern writers. With commentary by novelist and Lispector translator Idra Novey (Ways to Disappear) and essayist and fiction writer Porochista Khakpour (The Last Illusion)

http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/9307/Literature/selected-shorts-a-celebration-of-clarice-lispector-

Melissa Febos Abandon Me launch and dance party

ACE Hotel, Manhattan New York 3/2 7pm

with Melissa Febos, Tara Clancy, Nick Flynn, Amy Gall, Hafizah Geter, Syreeta McFadden, Shelly Oria and Gregory Pardlo (short readings on the theme of abandonment)

http://www.acehotel.com/calendar/newyork/ace-word-febos-abandon-me

Women of Letters NYC literary salon

Joe’s Pub, Manhattan New York 3/3 9:30pm

with host Sofija Stefanovic and Lauren Duca, Ophira Eisenberg, Jo Firestone, Nancy Whang, Ivy Woolf-Turk

(Proceeds will benefit the Millay Colony for the Arts.)

http://www.womenofletters.nyc/#events

Evergreen Review Re-launch Party

BIZARRE Bushwick, Brooklyn 3/4 8pm

with Dale Peck and guests

Bad Advice from Bad Women Series

The Wing, Manhattan NY 3/16 7pm

with Lori Adelman, Lauren Duca, Katie Kitamura, Morgan Parker, and Vanessa Willoughby

http://www.tigerbeepress.com/bafbw.html

University of Maine Series

Orono, Maine 3/30 events & times to be announced

UMass Amherst MFA Graduate Student Organization for Poets & Writers

Amherst Books, MA 4/14 7pm

“All About Books, ” NYU Journalism

Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, 7th Floor Commons, 20 Cooper Square, NYC 4/24 6pm

with

(moderated by Sylvan Solloway, director of career services at NYU Journalism)

City of Asylum International Fiction Series 

Alphabet City, Pittsburgh, PA 4/28 7pm

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Hudson Valley Writers Resist

Rosendale Theatre, Rosendale NY 5/20 2pm

Vermont Studio Center Visiting Writer

Johnson, VT 5/28-2/2

Yale Writers Conference

Session 1 Fiction Faculty

New Haven, CT 6/3-6/13

http://summer.yale.edu/academics/yale-writers-conference

NYPL Author Talks

“Periodically Speaking: Immigrant Voices” with Nicole Dennis-Benn,
Esther Lin, Jyothi Natarajan

New York, NY 6/13 6pm

https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2017/06/13/periodically-speaking-immigrant-voices

Winter 2016 News & Updates

Porochista Khakpour is featured  in New York Magazine’s special immigrant portfolio issue.

Porochista Khakpour’s Prairie Schooner 2015 essay “Federer as Irreligious Experience” was selected by Jonathan Franzen as a “Notable” essay for the 2016 Best American Essays.

Khakpour is featured in TIME magazine (11/21/16) for her thoughts on art and activism under Trump.

Khakpour also joins fellow The Wing founding members on the cover of the Winter 2016 Domino Magazine.

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Fall 2016 events

 

Slice Literary Writer’s Conference
September 10, Room 6214 St Francis College Brooklyn, 4-5pm
Panel: “The Search for Great True Stories” 
with Anna deVries, Senior Editor, Picador; Mira Ptacin, Author, Poor Your Soul; Carrie Thornton, Editorial Director, Dey Street Books/HarperCollins
Moderator: Matthew Daddona, Associate Editor, Dey Street Books/HarperCollins

&
Event: The Exquisite Corpse Event and Party with Jade Chang, Julia Fierro, Lev Grossman, Heidi Heilig, Rakesh Satyal, Elissa Schappell, Rob Spillman, Sari Wilson, Jung Yun
BookCourt, Brooklyn NY September 10 7pm

Red Ink Reading Series 
by Michele Filgate with Ruth Ozeki, Eileen Myles, Anna March, and Alexandra Kleeman
BookCourt, Brooklyn NY September 22 7pm

Center for Fiction, Experimental Writing for Non-Experimental Writers (a One-Day Bootcamp)
Center for Fiction, Manhattan NY September 24 1-5:30 pm

Reading with D. Foy, Sean Madigan Hoen, Mark de Silva, Annie DeWitt
Ms Fairfax Newburgh, NY October 1 7pm

Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series
Niagara Bar, East Village, Manhattan NY Oct 3 7:45

Re-Vision Women Writers Reading Series, with Can Xue and John Donatich
MIT Cambridge, MA October 6 5:30pm

Launch of The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook edited by Natalie Even Garrett, with contributors Lev Grossman and Elissa Schappell (I’m moderating)
Powerhouse Books Brooklyn NY October 11 7pm

Brattleboro Literary Fest
Brattleboro VT October 15-16 two events, times to be announced

Lafayette College Reading Series
Easton, PA October 26, 7pm

BinderCon, Keynote conversation with Elif Batuman, moderated by Allison Wright
Great Hall, Cooper Union, Manhattan NY Oct 30 4:15-5:30

Spring/Summer 2016 events

Visiting Writer, Vermont College of Fine Arts followed by Reading & Q/A with Trinie Dalton
February 12, 13 6:30-8 PM
ArtsRiot Burlington Vermont
http://vcfa.edu/…/writing-publishing-spring-2016-visiting-w…

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Conversation with Amitava Kumar and Tanwi Nandini Islam**
March 5, 7pm
Brooklyn Museum
**[this event might be moved around/cancelled/stay tuned!]

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“One Iranian-American’s Literary Debut: How to Introduce New Immigrant Identities in Anglophone Prose” (special speaker for the 2016 NeMLA annual convention at University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT.)
March 19, 11:45 AM–1:15 PM
Convention Center 17 at University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT
https://www.buffalo.edu/…/con…/schedule/special-events.html…

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Visiting Writer’s Series Presents Porochista Khakpour
March 21, 2016, 7:30 PM
Johnson Center, #321, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
http://creativewriting.gmu.edu/events

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Nebraska Wesleyan Visiting Writers Series
April 14, time TBA
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Lincoln, Nebraska
https://www.nebrwesleyan.edu/…/en…/visiting-writers-series-0

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Beyond Lolita: Literary Writers on Sex and Sexuality
April 24, 7pm [rescheduled event]
Powell’s Books
Portland, OR
in conversation with Sarah Hepola, MariNaomi, Cheryl Strayed, Lidia Yuknavitch as part of a series of events to benefit the PEN Writers’ Emergency Fund.
http://www.pen.org/…/beyond-lolita-literary-writers-sex-and…

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PERSIAN POETRY
[Art and Literature Series Event]
April 27, 2016, 6-8pm
New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Celeste Auditorium

In conversation with Elizabeth T. Gray, Tom Sleigh Roger Sedarat, Don Share, Arezoo Moseni.
http://www.nypl.org/…/persian-poetry-elizabeth-t-gray-poroc…

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Bruce High Quality Foundation University, Open Critiques
May 14 11am-8pm
33 34th Street 6th floor
Brooklyn NYC
http://www.bhqfu.org/class/open-critique

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Yale Writers Conference (Session I Resident Faculty: “Experimental Writing for Non Experimental Writers”)
June 4-14
New Haven CT
http://summer.yale.edu/ywc

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2016 Kundiman Asian American Writing Retreat (fiction faculty)
June 15 – 19, 2016
Fordham University
Rose Hill Campus
Bronx NYC
http://kundiman.org/…/10/apply-for-the-2016-kundiman-retreat

Autumn 2015 Events

 

WORD Bookstore + Volume 1 Brooklyn Clarice Lispector launch (Brooklyn NY August 27, 2015)

In celebration of the release of Clarice Lispector’s The Complete Stories, the collection’s editor and Lispector biographer Benjamin Moser discusses the author’s work with novelist Porochista Khakpour (The Last Illusion), presented by Vol. 1 Brooklyn.

http://www.wordbookstores.com/event/bk-vol-1-brooklyn-presents-porochista-khakpour-and-benjamin-moser-clarice-lispector

 

Slice Literary Writers Conference (Brooklyn, NY September 12, 2015):

11:30am – 12:45pm

Location: St. Francis College, 182 Remsen St., Maroney Theater, 7th Floor

 

“Don’t Be Creepy” panel

Publishing is not unlike the scary—and often painfully awkward—world of dating. Writers need to find the right match, whether it is an agent, an editor, or a publisher. And it isn’t easy to stand out in such a competitive field. So how do you get noticed by an agent who is battling a cluttered inbox? Or catch the eye of an editor who has tens of thousands of Twitter followers? And what about securing blurbs from authors? Be bold. Be unconventional. But, as the publishing pros on this panel will explain, you need to follow one important rule: don’t be creepy!

Panelists: Michelle Brower, Agent, Folio Literary Management; Rachel Fershleiser, Head of Publishing Outreach, Tumblr; Kristyn Keene, Agent, ICM; Porochista Khakpour, Author, The Last Illusion

Moderator: Miriam Parker, Deputy Marketing Director, Little, Brown

Plus: Literary Jeopardy (Slice fundraiser)

http://www.slicemagazine.org/conferences/slice-literary-writers-conference/2015-jeopardy/

 

WORD Bookstore launch for Nikesh Shukla (Brooklyn NY September 15, 2015)

Nikesh Shukla presents his new novel, Meatspace, a “portrait of a bookish life lived in the brave new digital world.” The Last Illusion author Porochista Khakpour joins for a conversation.

http://www.wordbookstores.com/event/bk-nikesh-shukla-presents-meatspace-conversation-porochista-khakpour

 

Brooklyn Book Festival (Brooklyn NY Sunday September 20 2015)

“Twisted Fables” panel, St Francis McCardle, 11am

Fiction has come a long way from Aesop, but the influence of fables in literature remains. Three contemporary fabulists–Lincoln Michel (Upright Beasts), Amelia Gray (Gutshot), and Porochista Khakpour (The Last Illusion)–discuss the state of the modern fable, the place of the trickster and the anthropomorphized animal in contemporary writing, and whether modern fables and fairy tales have morals and lessons to convey today. Moderated by Rahawa Haile.

 

Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (Portland Maine September 23 2015)

Oxford Debate: MFA vs NYC

“With the 2014 publication of the anthology MFA vs NYC: The Two Cultures of American Fiction, the literary conversation continued about which is the better option for writers: earn an MFA in creative writing or move to NYC, the country’s publishing capital. Not being as widely discussed is the third alternative: Ron Currie, Jr. Maine native Ron Currie, Jr. has a high school degree and had just quit working as a short order cook in Waterville when his first book was published by Penguin in 2007—that publication earned him the prestigious Young Lions Fiction Award from the New York Public Library.Arguing in favor of the MFA will be Iowa Writers Workshop alum Justin Tussing. Making a case for NYC will be Porochista Khakpour. Stating a case for neither the MFA nor moving to NYC is Ron Currie, Jr.”

http://mainewriters.org/event/oxford-debate-mfa-vs-nyc-vs-rcjr/

 

Eileen Myles Poetry Project launch of I Must Be Living Twice & Chelsea Girls (New York NY Oct 7, 2015)

With Sam Ace, Jen Benka, Charles Bernstein, Stephen Boyer, Alex Chee, r. erica doyle, Megan Fernandez, Adam Fitzgerald, Mira Gonzalez, Emily Gould, Patricia Spears Jones, erica kaufman, Porochista Khapour, Ben Lerner, Elinor Nauen, Trace Peterson, Ariana Reines, Jill Soloway, Stacy Szymaszek, Anne Waldman, Joe Westmoreland, and Simone White.

http://poetryproject.org/events/eileen-myles-launch-of-i-must-be-living-twice-new-and-selected-poems-1975-2014-and-reissue-of-chelsea-girls/

 

Lincoln Michel Powerhouse launch of Upright Beasts (Brooklyn NY October 9, 2015)

In conversation with Porochista Khakpour.

https://www.powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-upright-beasts-by-lincoln-michel/

 

“Reimagining the Shahnameh in Persian Literature” (Hester Hall Room 145, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma October 21 2015)

Lecture and discussion with by Iranian American novelist Porochista Khakpour

http://www.ou.edu/cis/sponsored_programs/iranian-studies-program/upcoming-events.html

 

Ubud Writers Festival in Bali (October 28-November 1)

http://ubudwritersfestival.com

 

John McManus Housing Works launch of Fox Tooth Heart (New York NY Nov 12, 2015)

In conversation with Porochista Khakpour.

 

http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/john-mcmanus-launches-fox-tooth-heart-with-porochista-khakpour-presented-by/?utm_source=bookstore_newsletter&utm_medium=email

 

A Kind of Compass anthology reading (New York NY Dec 1 2015)

http://www.mcnallyjackson.com

 

Conjunctions “Sleight of Hand” Deception Issue Release at Book Culture (New York NY Dec 3 2015)

with readings by Porochista Khakpour, Laura van den Berg, and Gwyneth Mernerintroduced by editor Bradford Morrow.

http://writtenarts.bard.edu/events/event/index.php?eid=129629

 

 

 

Reading: Manhattan, 5/22/15

 

  • Sarah Jean Alexander
  • Juliet Escoria
  • Chelsea Hodson
  • Porochista Khakpour
  • Katherine Faw Morris

search-n-destroy

 

This event will take place at KGB Bar (85 East 4th Street, New York, NY), and will begin at 7:00 pm. Facebook RSVP here.

Recent Lists, Articles, & Reviews

Sick: A Memoir has been featured in The New Yorker, Slate, Vogue The Cut, HuffPost, Vice Bitch Media, Women’s Review of Books, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Paper Mag, AV Club, Girlboss.com, Tin House, Pacific Standard, Brooklyn Digest, Brooklyn Fans, Berfrois, The Furious Gazelle, Longreads, and Punctuate, and has made Oprah.com’s Top Books of Summer, The Washington Post’s What Your Favorite Authors are Reading This Summer, The Boston Globe’s 23 of the Most Anticipated Book of 2018, Buzzfeed’s The 33 Most Exciting New Books of 2018, Bustle’s 28 Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2018 and Best Nonfiction In June, Nylon’s 50 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018 and 46 Great Books to Read This Summer, Electric Literature’s 46 Books to Read By Women of Color in 2018, HuffPost’s 60 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018, Bitch’s 30 Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2018, Refinery29’s Best New Books to Read This Month, AV Club’s 5 Books to Read This June, The Rumpus’s What to Read When 2018 is Just Around the Corner, Esquire.com’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 (So Far), Autostraddle’s 65 Feminist & Queer Books to Read in 2018, The Millions’ Most Anticipated: The Great 2018 Book Preview, Vol.1 Brooklyn’s 23 for 2018: A Literary Preview for the Year to Come, Book Riot’s June 2018 Roundup, Fast Company’s June Must-Reads, The Coil’s Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2016, the Times Herald Record’s Summer Reading Roundup, Maine Public’s Summer Reads Roundup, Twin Cities Pioneer Press’ Summer Reads Roundup, Bestselling Books Today’s Roundup, Bookish’s Summer’s 2018 Must-Read Nonfiction, Black Nerd Problems’ Most Anticipated Books of 2018, Library Journal’s Celebrity Book Club, WOCreads’ 10 WOC Reads in June 2018, and Lit Celebrasian’s June Books by Asian Authors.

 

Khakpour was named one of Buzzfeed’s 32 Essential Asian-American Authors You Need to be Reading.

The Last Illusion made Electric Literature’s Into the Wild: A Look At Feral Children Running Through Recent Fiction

Khakpour and Katherine Dunn were in conversation (by Brian Gresko) for Slice Magazine this winter, reprinted in full for LitHub

The Last Illusion received a great review in The New Indian Express.

The Last Illusion received another great review in Fiction Unbound.

The Last Illusion was on io9.com’s “Mind-Blowing Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Watch Out For in 2015”

US paperback now available (03/15, Bloomsbury)!

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Upcoming Appearances:

3/25 7pm, McNallyJackson NYC  Smith Henderson in conversation with Porochista Khakpour

4/4 TBA  Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City

4/11 AWP Conference in Minneapolis (panel on memoir with Marie Mockett, Joanna Smith Rakoff, Porochista Khakpour, Ellis Avery, Alysia Abott)

4/18 Spring Writer’s Conference at the William Paterson University of New Jersey (keynote plus workshop)

4/19 Los Angeles Times Book Festival (panel)

4/29 7pm McNallyJackson NYC  It’s The End of the World As We Know It: A Dystopian Fiction Panel (Porochista Khakpour, Emily St. John Mandel, Lincoln Michel, Shya Scanlon, Carola Dibbell–moderated by Jason Diamond and Rahawa Haile)

4/30, 6:30 Kingston, NY  Word Cafe  reading

5/5 NYC  2015 PEN Literary Gala

5/14 7pm NJ Montclair Art Museum “In the Wake of ‘Identity Politics'” panel held in conjunction with the exhibition Come as You Are: Art of the 1990s (Moderated by Huey Copeland, Associate Professor of the History of Art, Northwestern University; panelists include Rujeko Hockley, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum; Porochista Khakpour, writer; Simone Leigh, artist; and Soyoung Yoon, Assistant Professor of Art History and Program Director of Visual Studies, Department of the Arts, Eugene Lang College, The New School. )

 

The Offing

Khakpour is a Contributing Editor at the newly launched http://theoffingmag.com, a channel of the Los Angeles Review of Books. (The Offing publishes work that challenges, experiments, provokes — work that pushes literary and artistic forms and conventions, but understands that to do so requires a rigorous understanding of those forms and conventions.)