Blog | House of SpeakEasy NYC

Posts From Author: Blog

Writers and Storytelling: Avi Loeb

Avi Loeb is the former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University (2011-2020), founding director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He also chairs the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies and the advisory board for the Breakthrough Starshot project, and is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. His new book is Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth. On March 23rd, Avi will join Mary H. K. Choi, Melissa Febos, and Nic Stone in our next edition of “Seriously Entertaining” where they will each tell stories tied to the theme “From This Moment On.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment? Listening to classical music; mostly Bach and Mozart If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? Living in interstellar space Are there any quotes you use to inspire you? “When you are not ready to discover exceptional things, you will never discover them” “Reality stays the same irrespective of whether you ignore it”. What writer would you […]

Writers and Storytelling: Nic Stone

Nic Stone is an Atlanta native and a Spelman College graduate. Her debut novel for young adults, Dear Martin, and her debut middle-grade novel, Clean Getaway, were both New York Times bestsellers. She is also the author of Odd One Out, a novel about discovering oneself and who it is okay to love, which was an NPR Best Book of the Year and a Rainbow Book List Top Ten selection, Jackpot, a love-ish story that takes a searing look at economic inequality and Shuri: A Black Panther Novel based on the much-loved character from the Black Panther comics and film. Dear Justyce, the sequel to Dear Martin, came out last year. On March 23rd, Nic will join Mary H. K. Choi, Melissa Febos, and Avi Loeb in our next edition of “Seriously Entertaining” where they will each tell stories tied to the theme “From This Moment On.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment? Comic books! If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? Wakanda, hands down. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you? “We are not put into the world to air our moral prejudices.” It’s from […]

Writers and Storytelling: Melissa Febos

Melissa Febos is the author of the forthcoming Girlhood, as well as Whip Smart and Abandon Me, a Lambda Literary Award finalist and Publishing Triangle Award finalist. Her essays have appeared in Tin House, The Believer, The New York Times, and elsewhere. Febos is the inaugural winner of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction from Lambda Literary and the recipient of fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, The BAU Institute, The Barbara Deming Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and others. She is an associate professor at The University of Iowa, where she teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program On March 23rd, Melissa will join Mary H. K. Choi, Avi Loeb, and Nic Stone in our next edition of “Seriously Entertaining” where they will each tell stories tied to the theme “From This Moment On.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment? Flynn Berry’s new novel: Northern Spy — in my leisure time (insofar as it exists). I like to read mysteries, but my standards really narrow the options in the genre: I only want to read really well-written mysteries that subvert the usual tropes of a bunch of white […]

Writers and Storytelling: Renée Watson

Renée Watson is the New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor Book, and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of Piecing Me Together, This Side of Home, What Momma Left Me, and Betty Before X, co-written with Ilyasah Shabazz, as well as two acclaimed picture books: A Place Where Hurricanes Happen and Harlem’s Little Blackbird, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. She is the founder of I, Too, Arts Collective, a nonprofit committed to nurturing underrepresented voices in the creative arts, and currently lives in New York City. Her new book Love is a Revolution is available in our Bookshop storefront. On February 23rd, Renée will join Marisa Acocella, Matthew Gavin Frank, and Walter Mosley in our next edition of “Seriously Entertaining” where they will each muse on the theme “I Have Dreamed.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment?How to Carry Water by Lucille Clifton If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose?“Jingle Jangle” I’d love to be Journey’s friend. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you?“You don’t become what you want, you become what you believe.” –Oprah Winfrey

Writers and Storytelling: Marisa Acocella

Marisa Acocella is the New York Times best-selling author of the graphic novels The Big She-Bang (which you can buy in our Bookshop storefront) and Ann Tenna, the graphic memoir Cancer Vixen, and Just Who the Hell is She, Anyway? She is also a cartoonist for The New Yorker and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Glamour, and O, The Oprah Magazine. A breast cancer survivor, she is the founder of the Marisa Acocella Foundation, which, through a grant from Bloomingdale’s, funds the free Marisa Acocella Empowerment Program that includes holistic therapies and journaling classes and more for women with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors at the Mount Sinai Best Israel Comprehensive Cancer Center. On February 23rd, Marisa will join Matthew Gavin Frank, Walter Mosley, and Renee Watson in our next edition of “Seriously Entertaining” where they will each muse on the theme “I Have Dreamed.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment?The Gospels of Mary, Editor Marvin Meyer If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose?The Pleroma, Heaven in the Nag Hammadi codices. I would love to witness the creation of the Universe. Are there any quotes you use to inspire […]

Writers and Storytelling: Matthew Gavin Frank

Matthew Gavin Frank is the author of The Mad Feast and Preparing the Ghost, which was reviewed on the front-page of The New York Times Book Review. He teaches creative writing and lives in Marquette, Michigan. His new book is Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa, which is available in our Bookshop storefront. He will be joining Marisa Acocella, Walter Mosley, and Renee Watson, on February 23rd to tell stories tied to the theme “I Have Dreamed.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment?Things That Are by Amy Leach, and The Book of Delights by Ross Gay If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose?The world in which the passenger pigeon still exists, overtaking the sky on their great migrations. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you?“To be sensual is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread.” –James Baldwin What writer would you like to share with the world […]

Writers and Storytelling: Amelia Pang

Amelia Pang is an award-winning journalist who has written for publications such as Mother Jones and The New Republic. She has covered topics ranging from organic import fraud to the prevalence of sexual violence on Native American reservations. In 2017, the Los Angeles Press Club awarded her first place in investigative journalism for her undercover reporting on the exploitation of smuggled immigrants who are recruited to work in Chinese restaurants. Amelia grew up in a Mandarin-speaking household in Maryland, and holds a BA in literary studies from the New School. She lives near Washington, DC, with her husband, an organic farmer. Made in China is her first book. She will be joining Milo Beckman, Ellis Cose, and Jennifer Croft on January 26 to tell stories tied to the theme “You Don’t Say.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape or entertainment?Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose?Harry Potter Are there any quotes you use to inspire you?“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and […]

Writers and Storytelling: Rebecca Onion

Rebecca Onion lives in Athens, Ohio, and writes about culture, history, family, and (sometimes) food for magazines, newspapers, and the Internet. She is currently a staff writer for Slate.com. She has also written for Aeon Magazine, the Boston Globe’s Ideas section, the Virginia Quarterly Review, The Atlantic‘s website, Topic Magazine, the Austin-American Statesman, PBS’ American Experience website, and others. Rebecca holds a Ph.D and an MA in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in American Studies from Yale University. Her book, Innocent Experiments: Childhood and the Culture of Public Science in the United States, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2016. She will be joining Mike Soto, Merrill Markoe, and Aaron Hutcherson on November 17 to tell stories tied to the theme “Up in Smoke.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis – this is a Hugo-winning novel from 1992 that’s about time-traveling historians who mistakenly send a student back to the time of the Black Death. (Your definition of “solace or escape” may vary!) If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? […]

Writers and Storytelling: Melissa Faliveno

Melissa Faliveno is a writer, editor, musician, teacher, and Wisconsinite in New York City. Her debut essay collection, TOMBOYLAND, about gender, class, and the American Midwest, is forthcoming from Jill Soloway’s Topple Books on August 4, 2020. Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Prairie Schooner, DIAGRAM, Essay Daily, Green Mountains Review, Lumina, and Midwestern Gothic, among others, and received a notable selection in Best American Essays 2016. She has profiled USWNT star Megan Rapinoe and musicians Valerie June and Jason Isbell; and an essay about her life as a former roller derby skater (moniker: Harlot Brontë) was published in the anthology Derby Life. Born and raised in small-town Wisconsin and a first-generation college graduate, Melissa received a BA in English and creative writing from the University of Wisconsin and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College, where she currently teaches in the graduate writing program. She will be joining Lilliam Rivera, Helen Macdonald, and Roger Rosenblatt on October 20 to tell stories tied to the theme “Nerves of Steel.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Whew—not enough. I just finished Raven Leilani’s Luster, and while it offered […]

Previous Posts Next Posts