THE WRITE STUFF
A guide to the Brooklyn Book Festival
CBy Bill Roundy onsider your weekend fully
booked!
The Brooklyn Book
Festival will take over the
Downtown area this weekend.
With bookend events happening
all over Brooklyn, a Children’s
Day event on Sept. 21, and more
than 300 authors scheduled for
the Festival Day on Sept. 22, it
can be easy to feel overwhelmed.
Fortunately, we have bookmarked
some essential events for you:
Get lit!
Ease into the weekend by
schmoozing with the borough’s
independent publishers, at a free
party with food, drinks, music, and
chance to win free books!
Indie Party at Greenlight
Bookstore (646 Fulton St. at in Fort
Greene, www.greenlightbookstore.
com). Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Free.
Guest of honor
The Festival’s Best of Brooklyn
award winner this year is picture
book author and illustrator Mo
Willems, creator of the beloved
“Knuffle Bunny” The former
Park Slope author (he now lives in
France) will deliver an animated
reading from “The Pigeon Has To
Go To School!” and offer a sneak
preview of his upcoming book
“Who is the Mystery Reader? An
Unlimited Squirrels Book.”
Mo Willems at NYU Tandon
School of Engineering Auditorium
(5 Metrotech Commons between
Lawrence and Jay streets Downtown,
www.brooklynbookfestival.org/
childrens-day). Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m.
Free.
Fair play
In addition to the many
readings and talks happening on
the festival day, more than 250
local and international publishers
and booksellers will set up tents
on Cadman Plaza to peddle books,
comics, and art all day long.
Literary Market on Cadman
Plaza (Court Street between
Joralemon and Johnson Streets
in Brooklyn Heights, www.
brooklynbookfestival.org/vendors).
Sept. 22; 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Free.
Sci-fi folks
Brooklyn author N.K. Jemisin,
creator of the “Broken Earth”
trilogy and last year’s Best of
Brooklyn award winner, talks
about creating new worlds with
acclaimed sci-fi authors Ted
Chiang and Mark Doten.
“Imagining Beyond” at St.
Francis College Founder’s Hall
(180 Remsen St. between Court
and Clinton streets in Brooklyn
Heights). Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. Free.
Read Wolf
Catch a conversation between
rising star Marlon James, author of
“Black Leopard, Red Wolf” and “A
Brief History of Seven Killings”
and titan of literature Joyce Carol
Skin deep
SBy Joe Hiti he wants to make sure you
have skin in the game!
The latest episode of
Brooklyn’s local monthly medical
television show, Medcast Plus,
will focus on skin care and
other, deeper topics related to
dermatology. The show features
30-minute interviews with local
medical professionals, and this
new episode will air on Brooklyn
Free Speech Channel on Sept. 23.
The latest episode features
regular host Dr. Jack Braha talking
with Brighton Beach dermatologist
Dr. Tatiana Khrom. The pair
will discuss several topics, said
Khrom, including the way that
social media has affected the way
that millennials picture themselves
—and increased the number of
cosmetic surgeries among the
young demographic.
COURIER L 46 IFE, SEPT. 20-26, 2019
During the show, she will
also discuss a topic of prime
importance to many teenagers:
acne, and the possibility that not
treating the dreaded skin condition
properly can lead to scarring.
If viewers take away one thing
from the show, said Khrom, it would
be “knowing the importance of
prevention.” Viewers should wear
sunscreen before going outside,
and regularly check themselves for
unusual spots or premature aging,
she said. Consulting a certified
dermatologist early on can make
a big difference in preventing
serious skin cancer, or stopping
the signs of aging, she said.
Read-along: Mo Willems, the first
picture book author to be honored with
the Brooklyn Book Festival’s Best of
Brooklyn award, will read from his
books at the Festival’s Children’s Day
on Sept. 21. Photo by Caroline Ourso
The goal of the show, which
taped earlier this month, is to help
doctors call attention to topics in
the Brooklyn community that may
be little known, and to inform
people about how to get the proper
care that they need.
“Medcast Plus” airs on
Brooklyn Free Speech Channel 3
(Channel 79 on Spectrum, 9415
on Dish, 348 on Direct TV, and
online at www.bricartsmedia.org/
tv-shows-videos/brooklyn-freespeech
tv). Sept. 23 at 12:30 a.m.,
8:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. Free.
Doctors discuss dermatology
Oates, author of more than 50
novels, including the recent “My
Life as a Rat.”
At St. Ann and the Holy Trinity
Church (157 Montague St. at
Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights,
www.stannholytrinity.org). Sept. 22
at 5 pm. Free.
Talk it out
Finally, the Bushwick Book Club
will present songs, art, film clips,
and snacks inspired by the book
“Good Talk,” from Brooklyn author
Mira Jacob, who will also be there
to read from her illustrated memoir .
Bushwick Book Club at Barbes
(396 Ninth St. at Sixth avenue in
Park Slope, www.barbesbrooklyn.
com). Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. $5 suggested
donation.
Trust me on the sunscreen: Dr. Tatiana Khrom,
right, will discuss skin care with Medcast Plus
host Dr. Jack Braha during the next episode,
airing on Sept. 23.
The best reads
— handpicked by
some of the best
Bklyn bookstores
Community
Bookstore’s pick:
“Floating Coast,” by
Bathsheba Demuth
In this rich portrait of the
ecology and geopolitics of the
Bering Strait, Demuth draws
on the human and nonhuman
histories of this liminal
border zone: between
continents, economies,
and ideologies. In finely
rendered prose, Demuth
excavates the legacy of resource
extraction, both via the indigenous Yupik peoples
and outsiders; from 19th century whalers to the cold war
behemoths of Russia and the United States. An essential work,
both urgent and timeless.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore 43 Seventh Ave.
between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718)
783–3075, www.commu nityb ookst ore.net.
Greenlight
Bookstore’s pick:
“Permission to Feel,”
by Marc Brackett
I keep finding myself
referring to this highly
prescriptive book in
conversations, similar to
the way I did when I read
Susan Cain’s “Quiet.” Using
the author’s “RULER”
technique (which is
explained in the book —
no spoilers!) breaks down
how we identify, accept, and
navigate not just our emotions, but other’s
feelings as well. The book ostensibly addresses children and
their emotional lives, but while I began reading it with my son in
mind, I am reading it just as much (possibly moreso) for myself.
— Rebecca Fitting, Greenlight Bookstore 686 Fulton St.
between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene,
(718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com.
Word’s picks:
“Cold Storage,”
by David Koepp
A fun science thriller with
a great touch of humor in the
writing. David Koepp hits a
perfect balance of tension and
character development in this
story of an out-of-control
fungus that could wipe out
all life on the planet if it gets
loose.
— Will Olsen, Word
126 Franklin St. at Milton
Street in Greenpoint,
(718) 383–0096, www.
wordbookstores.com.
/www.wordbookstores.com
/
/vendors
/vendors
/
/www.stannholytrinity.org
/www.barbesbrooklyn
/www.commu
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.wordbookstores.com
/www.greenlightbookstore
/www.greenlightbookstore
/
/vendors)
/
/www.stannholytrinity.org)
/www.barbesbrooklyn
/www.commu
/ore.net
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/wordbookstores.com