With readings by Cristina Garcia, Arthur Nersesian, Bernice McFadden, and James Greer. Hosted by Melvin Van Peebles and Johnny Temple, with special guest Joseph Mattson.
We’re throwing a party to celebrate the spring publications of Akashic Books, a Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors outside of the mainstream.
Cristina Garcia is the best-selling author of Dreaming in Cuban . Her debut poetry volume The Lesser Tragedy of Death will be published this spring.
Arthur Nersesian is the author of many books set in New York including the forthcoming novel Mesopotamia .
Bernice McFadden is a best-selling author based out of Brooklyn. Her new novel is Glorious .
James Greer is the author of Artificial Light , which won a California Book Award for Best Debut Novel, and the nonfiction book Guided By Voices: A Brief History, a biography about a band for which he once played bass guitar.
Melvin Van Peebles has been equally prolific across several media, establishing his legacy not only as the iconoclastic founding father of modern African American cinema but black Broadway theater as well, producing, writing, directing, and sometimes even acting in his groundbreaking endeavors.
Johnny Temple is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Akashic Books, an award-winning Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction.
Joseph Mattson is the author of Eat Hell (Narrow Books), and his writing has appeared in Ambit, Pearl, Slipstream, Two Letters, and many more. An epical rambler—miles under him include working as a farmer, dishwasher, cook, getaway driver, healthcare worker for the clinically mentally insane, and more—his home base is Lose Angeles.
New York City, NY; NYC