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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City! Read More
Are you looking for literary events like book readings, book signings, poetry readings? Then you came to the right place. Start using these unique New York City opportunities today!
Are you looking for literary events like book readings, book signings, poetry readings? Then you came to the right place. Start using these unique New York City opportunities today!
Join the Club!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.
So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
18 free poetry readings, book signings, author readings in New York City (NYC) Wed, 05/06/2026 - and on...
Not a day goes by in New York City (NYC) without a free poetry reading or a book signing or a book reading by a famous or not yet famous author. Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides!
Author Reading | Bestselling Author of Who Is Maud Dixon? Shares Her New Novel, The FIne Art of Lying
Alexandra Andrews reads from her new book The Fine Art of Lying. Book Synopsis: It was Clare Bast’s love of art that saved her from a bleak, predictable life in upstate New York, and drew her to the cultured world of Manhattan’s Upper East Side where she met Jed, her doting, affluent husband. Despite her best efforts—including a half-finished PhD, abandoned when her daughter Sadie was born—Clare secretly can’t help but feel like an imposter in Jed’s one-percent, Park-Avenue life.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 7
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Hear New Material from Emerging Writers
The City Reading Series highlights emerging writers from the MFA and MA programs at the City College of New York.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 8
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, May 14
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Reading | Readings & Conversation on Design, Culture, & Society (+ Magazine Launch)
A major New York City art school's MA Design Research, Writing, and Criticism (D-Crit) hosts rapid-fire thesis presentations, sharp dispatches, and the launch of 2NDFL Issue Two--celebrating the D-Crit class of 2026. The program will feature short readings and conversation exploring the shifting contours of design, culture, and society, followed by a reception and publication launch in the lobby. Featured thesis presentations include:
Mo Alabi
Tash Nikol Smith
Vlad Ilkevich
Deborah Doering
July Winters
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 15
5:00 pm
Free
5:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Major Poets & Emerging Voices Share Their Work
Lincoln Center's inaugural Poet-in-Residence, Mahogany L. Browne curates thought-provoking evenings of spoken word, spirited conversation, poetry, and presentations of new work, presenting major poets and emerging voices on the New York literary scene. Featured artists to be announced soon! There are two ways to access this event: 1. General Admission, first-come first-served. Just show up! 2. Fast Track opening the Monday before the event at noon.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sat, May 16
7:30 pm
Free
7:30 pm
Free
Reading | Hedda: A Contemporary Reimagining of Power and Identity
Franky D. Gonzalez, a finalist in its New Visions play development program, presents his new play, Hedda. Inspired by Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and set in a contemporary Dallas suburb, the play follows the unraveling of a carefully constructed life as past relationships resurface. Through tensions around race, ambition, gender, and institutional power, the work offers a sharp exploration of respectability and its personal costs.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, May 19
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Book Signing | Making Images & Breaking Objects with Daniel Gordon
Join artist Daniel Gordon to celebrate the release of his new monograph, Objects at Hand. The event features a pop-up with books available for purchase, followed by a signing with the artist from 5–7 pm. The publication highlights Gordon’s Light Study series and includes new writing and a conversation with Lucas Blalock.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 20
4:00 pm
Free
4:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Multilingual Poetry Night: Quantum Age
Discover the concepts of Quantum Age Poetry and Quantum Poetics with this multilingual poetry event exploringinnovative poetic frameworks.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Wed, May 20
6:30 pm
Free
6:30 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poetry Open Mic: Share Your Work or Listen to Emerging Writers
Participants can share their original work for up to five minutes. Space is limited to 15 readers; show up on time to get a slot!
New York City, NY; NYC
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Thu, May 21
5:30 pm
Free
5:30 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, May 21
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poetry in the Park: Emerging & Established Prize-Winning Writers
Hear award-winning poetry by established and emerging poets on the plaza: Arden Levine, Chet'la Sebree, Darrel Alejandro Holnes, and Monica Ferrell. Hosted by Jason Schneiderman, acclaimed poet. Arden Levine is the author of Spoke and Ladies’ Abecedary. Her poems, essays, and reviews appear in AGNI, Barrow Street, Harvard Review, Indiana Review, RHINO, and elsewhere, and have been featured by Poetry Society of America, Poetry Foundation, and WNYC's Radiolab. An essayist and poet from the Mid-Atlantic, Chet'la Sebree is the author of the debut essay collection TURN (W)HERE: A Geography of Home as well the poetry collections Blue Opening, longlisted for PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry and a finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry; Field Study, winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets; and Mistress, nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Darrel Alejandro Holnes is an Afro-Panamanian American poet whose work centers Afro-diasporic experience and migration. He is the author of Stepmotherland, winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize and the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award, and Migrant Psalms =, winner of the Drinking Gourd Prize. Monica Ferrell is the author of a novel and three books of poetry, including the forthcoming The Future; You Darling Thing, a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and the Believer Book Award in Poetry; and Beasts for the Chase, winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize and a finalist for the Asian American Writers Workshop Prize in Poetry.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Tue, May 26
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Open Mic | Poetry, Music, and Comedy Showcase (Online!)
Join a weekly online showcase featuring poems, songs, and comedy. Performers can sign up for a 4-minute spot by reserving one of 20 Artist-RSVP tickets, available starting Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. If all spots are filled, performers may join the “good-luck round” at the end of the session. Audience members are welcome to watch live via Zoom.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Thu, May 28
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Open Mic | Hear from Emerging Writers or Perform Your Own Work
Hear original work by local, emerging writers of all genres, or share some of your own pieces! All performers welcome! Hosted by novelist Ed Lin. Sign ups start from 7:30PM. 5-minute time slots.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Fri, May 29
8:00 pm
Free
8:00 pm
Free
Author Reading | Immigrant Reading Series: Seagulls by Nina Chayka (+ Discussion & Q&A)
Writer Nina Chayka shares his new book, Seagulls, as a part of this immigrant reading series. Nina will be joined in conversation by Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History. Along with a discussion and audience Q&A, Nina will also sign copies of his book.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Sat, May 30
7:00 pm
Free
7:00 pm
Free
Reading | Outdoor Reading Session: Socialize with Likeminded Readers
Grab a book, a picnic blanket, and a friend, and join silent reading sessions with ambient music, followed by lively book discussions with fellow book lovers.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Mon, Jun 1
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poetry in the Park: Sonnet Celebration with Writers from The New Yorker & The Paris Review
Enjoy a celebration of sonnets with Dora Malech and Phillis Levin, hosted by Jason Schneiderman. Dora Malech’s most recent book of poetry is Trying × Trying. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and anthologies, including The New Yorker, Poetry, and The Best American Poetry. Malech is the Elliott Coleman Professor and department chair in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where she also leads the Office of the Arts and serves as editor in chief of The Hopkins Review. Phillis Levin is the author of six poetry collections, including An Anthology of Rain and Mr. Memory & Other Poems, a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize; she is the editor of The Penguin Book of the Sonnet. Honors include the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, a Fulbright Scholar Award to Slovenia, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Trust of Amy Lowell. Her poems appear in AGNI, The Atlantic, The Best American Poetry, The Common, Kenyon Review, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Paris Review, Poetry London, The Yale Review, and elsewhere.
New York City, NY; NYC
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Tue, Jun 2
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Poetry Reading | Poetry & Musical Performances Exploring Movement & Bodies in Motion
Attend La Casita, a citywide festival celebrating global oral traditions, poetry, and music, grounded in the principle that New York City is more fully represented through the sweep of artistic traditions found throughout the five boroughs. This summer’s forward-looking theme is "Movement/Bodies in Motion," curated by Gabriel Ramirez, Rich Villar, Mahogany L. Browne, and Claudia Norman. Hosted by boricua poet Elisabet Velasquez, the event will feature readings from Ethiopian-American poet Hiwot Adilow, Black Mexican-American poet Irene Vásquez, Grand Slam winner Marcus Stokes, and Bronx Poet Laureate Kay Poema. La Casita will also showcase musical performances by Nigerian-American Kingsley Ibeneche and, straight from Queens, norteño music and dance by Suspenso del Norte. There are two ways to access this event: 1. General Admission, first-come first-served. Just show up! 2. Fast Track opening the Monday before the event at noon for all.
New York City, NY; NYC
Join the Club!
Sat, Jun 20
6:00 pm
Free
6:00 pm
Free
Join the Club!
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