Lit Crawl NYC

Lit Crawl will return to Manhattan this spring, bringing literature to the streets in a unique and energetic celebration of the New York literary community. In the words of the Village Voice, if you’ve “ever snuck a flask into the library” or “would rather jam to Virginia Woolf than a woofer,” Lit Crawl is the night for you.

Featuring an exciting calendar of events curated by major literary institutions and up-and-coming collectives and literary journals, Lit Crawl NYC will bring an evening of revelry, literary trivia, readings, and performances to Manhattan. 

Save the date and tell your friends—all events are free, and everyone is welcome.

If you’re interested in receiving updates on future Lit Crawl events, fill out this form with your name and email address.

6-7 PM | PHASE ONE

Island Living: Tales from the Caribbean to NYC
Think Coffee, 1 Bleecker St, b/w Bowery and Elizabeth St. 
There’s something about being steps from the ocean that affects your DNA…. Join La Pluma y La Tinta and a group of talented Caribbean writers and poets as they share odes that Island-dwellers around the world (and the five boroughs) can appreciate. Featuring Rachel Cuevas, Samantha Grullon, Ashanti Muñiz, Anabel Soto, Sunez, and Scienart Vessel. Hosted by Raquel I. Penzo.

Trans is Magick: Let’s Talk About Reading
Phluid Project, 684 Broadway 
The Trans is Magick Collective is organized by founders Mikaela Xochitl and Jimena Lucero. Trans is Magick advocates for trans liberation through art & community building; leading their activism are trans people of color and trans people with disabilities. Trans is Magick uplifts the work of artists & activists to promote inclusiveness & infinite visions of trans existence. Please join us on this magickal night to witness poet Jimena Lucero, Jasmine Reid, Edie Maisonet, Mx. Enigma, Mikey Burger, Nikomeh Anderson and more, read their work & discuss trans poetics.

A Little Box of Yes
Think Coffee, 248 Mercer St
The Brattleboro Literary Festival, which takes place during foliage season in Vermont every October, presents A Little Box of Yes: Join 2017 festival authors Yoojin Grace Wuertz, Kerri Arsenault, and John Freeman Gill, New Yorker cartoonist Ellis Rosen and poet Sam Ross with the creators of the Storymatic family of writing prompts Brian Mooney and Vaune Trachtman for a round of Synapsis, their latest improvisational storytelling game. Here’s how it works: Everyone (including the audience) draws cards from the Synapsis box. The cards prompt you to write one sentence. Then you answer questions about the story your sentence comes from— and as you talk about the story, you discover the story!

Guerrilla Lit Presents a Night of Noir
Codex Books, 1 Bleecker St 
The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series brings together a night of hard-boiled crime writers showcasing the underbelly of modern American Noir. The morally ambiguous. The gritty and glamorized. Gangsters and femme fatales. Characters who get in a jam and have to do whatever it takes to worm their way out. It’s easy to hate these anti-heroes, but secretly, we’re rooting for them to succeed, just to see if survival is possible. With Lee Matthew Goldberg, Vincent Zandri, Jen Conley, and Scott Adlerberg.

Miss Manhattan on the Rocks
The Scratcher, 209 East 5th St. 
The Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series is proud to present another evening of Miss Manhattan On the Rocks with Lit Crawl! Tonight, join us as the writers Abeer Hoque (Olive Witch, Elle, The Rumpus), Catherine LaSota (Vice, Catapult, Electric Literature), and Lizz Schumer (The New York Times, Self, Brooklyn Based) share true tales of drinking, perfect for a Lit Crawl evening. The Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading has been featured in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Time Out New York, among many others. It is hosted by writer and photographer Elyssa Goodman, whose work has been published in Vogue, Vice, Vanity Fair, and many others.

7-8 PM | PHASE TWO

Dedicate It 
Think Coffee, 1 Bleecker St., b/w Bowery and Elizabeth St. 
Dedicate It is a gratitude-fest. Each show, we interview an author about the people they’ve named on their dedication page. Then, we open the floor for an open mic, so anyone can tell a story about a project they’re proud of and dedicate it to someone they love.

Multilingual Exquisite Corpse
Think Coffee, 248 Mercer St
Words Without Borders and SLICE Literary present a Multilingual Most Exquisite Corpse! Join four international writers who, along with their translators, will stitch together a story in multiple languages. With Basma Abdel Aziz, Maria Cabrera, Sergio Chejfec, Heather Cleary, Petra Hůlová, Elisabeth Jaquette, Mary Ann Newman, and Alex Zucker. Hosted by SLICE’s Randy Brown Winston and WWB’s Jessie Chaffee. 

Queens Comes to Manhattan 
Codex Books, 1 Bleecker St. .
The Queens literary journal, Newtown Literary, brings poetry and prose from the city’s largest and most diverse borough. Join staff from the semiannual journal for readings from the literature being produced across the East River, as well as literary trivia about famous Queens authors and books. One lucky participant will win a 2018 subscription to Newtown Literary. Readers include editor Jackie Sherbow, managing editor Heather Talty, associate editor Allison Escoto, prose editor Joe Okonkwo, and free classes program assistant Christine Kandic Torres.

Food 4 Thot: Reads
Phluid Project, 684 Broadway
Food 4 Thot is a roundtable podcast wherein a multi-racial mix of queer writers talk about sex, identity, culture, what we like to read… and who we like to read. It’s like NPR on poppers. Usually we focus on the writings of others, but for LitCrawl 2018 we (and some guests) will entertain the crowd with spirited readings from our own work. The first few rows *will* get wet.

Guess that Opening Sentence, with the Authors Guild and One Story!
West 3rd Common, 1 W 3rd St.
Join Paul Morris of the Authors Guild and One Story publisher Maribeth Batcha as they read the opening sentences from well-known novels while you guess the novels they’re from. Sentences will get progressively harder and competition will get fierce! Participants will have the chance to win prizes and be entered into a raffle to win a pair of tickets to the One Story Debutante Ball on May 4!

8-9 PM | PHASE THREE

Candy! 
Think Coffee, 248 Mercer St
Celebrate Tin House’s Candy Issue with sweets and short readings by contributors Timothy Liu, Joy Baglio, Emma Komlos-Hrobsky, and other surprise guests

LAUNCH! From Pitch to Published in 45 Minutes
Codex Books, 1 Bleecker St 
Join the Young to Publishing Group for a game of wits and whimsy starring young professionals across the book publishing industry. Who’s Line Is It Anyway? meets Pictionary in a timed contest for the best creation, design, and pitch of a book, improvised with help from audience suggestions. Will their creations hit the bestseller lists and become the Next Big Thing? Or will they get remaindered back at the warehouse? It’s all up to you! Come for the entertainment, stay for the prizes: advance copies of REAL books soon to be published!

Home Between Cultures
Think Coffee, 1 Bleecker St, b/w Bowery and Elizabeth St.
When caught between distinct cultures and communities, the search for a place that feels like home can be complex, weighty, and joyful. We’ll focus on bringing conversations about the different variations of home to light, while celebrating solidarity and community between Asian American and Latinx writers. With Steven Alvarez, Amanda Calderón, Amy Meng and Rami Karim. Hosted by Kyle Lucia Wu.

Nerd Jeopardy
West Third Common, 1 W 3rd St. 
Just like the game show, except all the questions concern books, everyone’s tipsy, and heckling is encouraged. Anyone can compete. Simply grab two friends, create a team name, and practice starting sentences with “Who is ___?” Prizes include books and literary glory.