Readings on Canoes, Party in Park Among Brooklyn Book Festival's Bookend Events

The Brooklyn Book Festival is fast approaching, and the annual Bookend Events have been announced for the 2017 edition of the largest free literary event in New York City.

The festival, which is in its 11th year, kicks off September 11 with Bookend Events, the weeklong series of literary happenings taking place throughout the five boroughs in bookstores, parks, bars, ferries and other venues. There’s a diverse collection of more than 60 events this year, including a talk by singer Patti Smith, an evening of storytelling in Brooklyn Bridge Park, a musical-literary performance by Mary Gaitskill in Crown Heights, a reading from canoes in the Gowanus Canal, and much more.

In addition to the Bookend Events, there is plenty more to this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival with a Children’s Day on Saturday, September 16 and Festival Day on Sunday, September 17.

Festival Day, the centerpiece of the literary event, will include more than 80 readings, panel discussions and other events at 14 different stages at Brooklyn Borough Hall and venues nearby.

Featured authors this year include Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead, Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Meghan O’Rourke, Brooklyn chef Sohui Kim and Jonathan Lethem.

When not listening in on author discussions, attendees will be able to peruse the offerings at the Literary Market Place in Borough Hall Plaza, with more than 200 publishers and literary vendors participating.

For more information on the festival and the full schedule of Bookend Events, click here.

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