When: Wednesday, September 29 from 7:30 to 8:30pm

Where: The Center For Fiction, auditorium

Proof of vaccination and masks required

Join the National Book Critics Circle for an evening of readings from John Leonard Prize for Best First Book finalists/winners Raven Leilani, Julia Phillips, and Brandon Taylor, hosted by Maris Kreizman.  We’ll see you IRL* to celebrate the resiliency of New York City’s literary community. *Proof of vaccination and masks required.

Raven Leilani’s work has been published in Granta, The Yale Review, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Conjunctions, The Cut, and New England Review, among other publications. Leilani received her MFA from NYU and was an Axinn Foundation Writer-in-Residence. Luster is her first novel.

Julia Phillips is the debut author of the internationally bestselling novel Disappearing Earth, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. A Fulbright fellow, Julia has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review. She teaches at the Randolph College MFA program and lives in Brooklyn.

Brandon Taylor is the author of the acclaimed novel Real Life, which has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Iowa, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in fiction.

Maris Kreizman is the host of the literary podcast The Maris Review. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, The New Republic, and more. She’s the VP of Awards for the National Book Critics Circle.

Proof of full vaccination is required at check-in to attend this event in person. Mask wearing is also required throughout the building. Accepted vaccination proofs include:

• your CDC vaccination card (or an image of it)
• your Excelsior pass (or a printout of it)
• a record of vaccination from the healthcare provider who gave you your vaccine

If you remain unvaccinated because of a disability or sincerely held religious belief, please contact us at health@centerforfiction.org for assistance or to request a reasonable accommodation.

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2021 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT