To cap off contest week, I’ve got a little something for the kids today. One lucky winner will receive the following Yo Gabba Gabba! prize pack:

1. Yo Gabba Gabba! Music Is Awesome! on CD,
2. Yo Gabba Gabba! “Welcome To Gabba Land” book, and
3. An awesome DJ Lance Rock T-shirt!

Contest ends on November 21, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST, 1 entry per household, US residents only. To enter the contest, fill out the entry form after the jump.

YGG videos, YGG tour dates and Music Is Awesome! track listing after the jump.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live: “There’s A Party In My City” Tour Dates (Buy Tickets)
11/14 Los Angeles, CA – Shrine Expo – 11AM and 3PM
11/15 Los Angeles, CA- Shrine Expo – 11AM and 3PM
11/21 New York, NY- Beacon Theatre – 11AM, 2PM and 5PM
11/28 Dallas, TX- Dr. Pepper Arena – 11 AM and 3PM
12/05 Chicago, IL- Rosemont Theatre – 11AM and 3PM

Yo Gabba Gabba – “Name Song” on The Bonnie Hunt Show

Of Montreal – “Brush Brush Brush” on Yo Gabba Gabba

Find more Yo Gabba Gabba videos on YGG’s YouTube Channel.

Yo Gabba Gabba!: Music Is Awesome! Track listing:
1. YO GABBA GABBA! Theme
2. YO GABBA GABBA! – Party In My Tummy
3. THE SHINS – It’s Okay, Try Again
4. YO GABBA GABBA! – I Like To Dance
5. MONEY MARK – Robo Dancing
6. YO GABBA GABBA! – Get The Sillies Out
7. BIZ MARKIE – Biz’s Beat Of The Day #1
8. CHROMEO – Nice ‘N’ Clean
9. YO GABBA GABBA! – Try It, You’ll Like It
10. THE ROOTS – Lovely, Love My Family
11. YO GABBA GABBA! – Don’t Be Afraid
12. I’M FROM BARCELONA – Just Because It’s Different Doesn’t Mean Scary
13. YO GABBA GABBA! – Bubbles
14. OF MONTREAL – Brush Brush Brush
15. YO GABBA GABBA! – Nice & Easy
16. THE LITTLE ONES – Hey, Won’t Somebody Come And Play
17. WEIRD SCIENCE – Go Crazy Remix
18. YO DAZZLERS – You Can’t Always Get What You Want
19. MARK KOZELEK – Bedtime Lullaby
20. YO GABBA GABBA! – Goodbye Song
21. YO GABBA GABBA! Closing THEME

A unique series for sophisticated writers, readers, and eaters, Eat, Drink & Be Literary brings major contemporary authors to BAMcafé for intimate dinners, entertaining readings, and engaging discussions. Each evening begins with a sumptuous buffet prepared by BAMcafé’s acclaimed executive chef, Tim Sullivan, served with select wines and accompanied by live music. Following dinner, authors read from and are interviewed about their work, take questions from the audience, and sign books to conclude an evening of candid glimpses into the creative process and the rich writings it yields. The event begins at 6:30pm; doors open at 6pm.

Friends of BAM may purchase tickets to Eat, Drink & Be Literary events starting Nov 9. This season’s author’s include: Wallace Shawn, E.L. Doctorow, Lynn Nottage, and Sam Shepard.

Check out the full author schedule after the jump.

Thu, Jan 7 at 6:30pm
Wallace Shawn

Thu, Jan 21 at 6:30pm
E.L. Doctorow

Thu, Feb 11 at 6:30pm
Lynn Nottage

Thu, Mar 11 at 6:30pm
Sam Lipsyte

Thu, Apr 8 at 6:30pm
Colm Tóibín

Thu, Apr 22 at 6:30pm
Joshua Ferris

Thu, May 6 at 6:30pm
Jayne Anne Phillips

Thu, Jun 3 at 6:30pm
Sam Shepard

As a kid, I was a huge MAD Magazine fan, so having Al Jaffee show up in my backyard is something of a dream come true for my 10 year old self. Aside from the famed creator of the “fold-in”, the KingCon Comic & Animation Convention at the Brooklyn Lyceum will play host to a number of well known artists this weekend (Nov 7-8) including: Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Ames, Denny O’Neil (Batman and Green Lantern), Brian Wood (Local and DMZ, Peter Kuper (Spy vs. Spy) and many other talented folks (I’ve never really heard of). Even if your not deep into comics, for $7 (or $10 for a weekend pass), this convention seems like it’s worth checking out just for the “headliners” (I just wish I didn’t have all my old MAD magazines in storage!).

View the weekend panel schedule here and the full list of guests over here.

This just in:

Radio Happy Hour
Craig Finn & Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady
and Chuck Klosterman
at (Le) Poisson Rouge

Nov. 14, 2009
1pm doors | 2pm show
Buy Tickets

Radio Happy Hour, a live variety show featuring a made-for-radio murder mystery sitcom and guest stars, is following up their hilarious summer series, which has previously featured Norah Jones, Andrew W.K., Tunde Adebimpe (of TV on the Radio) and Michael Showalter, with a November episode starring The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn & Tad Kubler as well as author Chuck Klosterman. The guest pairing comes on the heels of the announcement that Finn will be penning the big-screen adaptation of Klosterman’s book Fargo Rock City. On top of an interview with the band and Klosterman, The Hold Steady will give two intimate performances, and Finn and Kubler will star in the murder mystery radio-play as two bickering brothers on family vacation with their step-father Chuck Klosterman. When they make a pit stop for drinks at a small town bar along the way, they get fingered for a murder they may or may not have committed.

As with the show every month Radio Happy Hour will be punctuated with a happy hour in the Gallery at (le) Poisson Rouge with the stars, an audience quiz, and more than a few surprises.

In anticipation of the holidays, big time book readings are starting to slow down a little at our local area chains, but there are still a few good things this month. Here’s a list of November B&N and Borders events that I thought were interesting for one reason or another:

November 2009 Barnes & Noble (NYC)
11/05/09 Kenneth Turan, Oskar Eustis, Gail Papp (Lincoln Triangle)
11/05/09 Editors of The Onion (Tribeca)
11/05/09 Chris Welles Feder (82nd & Bwy)
11/05/09 Paul Auster (USQ)
11/09/09 KRS One (Tribeca)
11/09/09 Jennifer Burns: Ayn Rand and the American Right (82nd & Bwy)
11/11/09 Harold Evans (86th & Lex)
11/10/09 Gail Buckland: Who Shot Rock’n Roll (Lincoln Triangle)
11/12/09 Andre Agassi 12:30 PM (Fifth Ave)
11/14/09 Amy Sohn 2 PM (Park Slope!)
11/16/09 Jonathan Safran Foer (USQ)
11/17/09 Jim Cramer (USQ)
11/17/09 George Packer (86th & Lex)
11/18/90 Orhan Pamuk (USQ)
11/19/09 Wally Lamb (86th & Lex)
11/21/09 Thomas Keller (86th & Lex)
11/23/09 David Chang (USQ)

November 2009 Borders (NYC)
11/06/09 Jamie Oliver (Park Ave)
11/10/09 Chuck Klosterman (CC)
11/16/09 Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (CC)
11/16/09 Andrew Ross Sorkin (Park Ave)
11/17/09 Cory Doctorow: Makers (CC)

Tonight (Oct 23) at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, Merge Records co-founders Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance will appear along with author John Cook to celebrate the release of “Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records”. In addition to a reading and signing, Mac and Laura will be performing songs written by Merge artists such as: Superchunk, Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel and Spoon.

I literally couldn’t put down my copy of “Our Noise” once I started it (just ask my wife and co-workers), so I was really pleased when author John Cook agreed to do a little Q&A with me for this site. Check out the results of our exchange (otherwise known as an email interview) below.

Bumpershine: The XX Merge Festival in Chapel Hill, NC and the Score music compilations seemed liked natural reactions to Merge’s 20th Anniversary, but a book is a little bit unexpected, how did the idea for “Our Noise” come about? How did you become involved with the project?

John Cook: I’ve been an obsessive Superchunk fan since I first saw them, sound unheard as it were, at a show in Madison Wisconsin in 1994. It was one of those things where you didn’t realize that you’ve been missing this music all your life, and I went out and bought every Superchunk record I could lay hands on the next day. Through that, I bought the 1994 five-year anniversary Merge comp–mostly, as I recall, to get the unreleased Superchunk track. And that just opened me up to the rest of Merge’s roster and I fell in love. In 2003, I was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, and I really thought that the Portastatic record Summer of the Shark was noteworthy as a classy and moving way of dealing with, or interpreting, or processing the post-9/11 world musically. So I wrote a long story about that record, comparing it favorably to Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising and looking at how songwriters approach tragedy, and what was right about Mac’s approach and objectionable, to me at least, about Springsteen’s. I interviewed Mac for that story, which was the first time I met him, and he ended up liking the piece and asked me to write the press bio for the next Portastatic record, Bright Ideas, a year later. Which was a very cool thing for me. So that’s how I got to know Merge a little. Totally separately, I used to work at a magazine called Brill’s Content for a guy named David Kuhn, who’s a very New York-magazine kind of guy, not at all–even remotely–indie rock. And it turns out that totally randomly, David’s partner is close friends with Mac’s wife Andrea. One day I was talking to David about music, and he says, “Have you ever heard of Mac from Superband? I just had Thanksgiving dinner with him.” Which is kind of like finding out that your high school math teacher is friends with David Lee Roth or something–absolutely incongruous. Anyway, David is now a literary agent, and he’d been bothering Mac and Laura to write a book for a while, and the 20th anniversary seemed like the perfect time. Mac and Laura told him they were into it but couldn’t do it themselves, and since they all knew me as someone who knew and loved the label and had worked with them before, they gave me a call.

There are a lot of photos in the book, and not just band shots, but show flyers, invoices, personal letters, early cassette and record covers and various other Merge esoterica. Did it all come from various different sources or was there one pack rat who had the bulk of the material? It seems like identifying it and cataloging it may have been a fairly difficult task, was it? Is there anything you couldn’t track down, that you really wanted to have included in the book?

JC: Stephin Merritt mapped out every song on 69 Love Songs in a big wall-sized chart with genre, meter, tempo, key, and variety of love that the song dealt with. I really wanted that, but couldn’t lay hands on it. It wasn’t too hard gathering all the photos and artifacts–I just asked everyone I talked to for the book to look through the attic/basement/hard drive. There were some cases where we had blind spots–not enough good photos of the Arcade Fire, for instance–and had to frantically track stuff down. Cataloging it all and making decisions about what should go where, and tracking down who owned what photo for permissions and who took it for credits–that was a bear. We used Flickr to organize it all, and had about 1,000 images up there, and Mac and Laura and Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster and some other folks went in and commented on them to offer caption info, etc.

How many people did you up interviewing in total for this book? When you’re conducting so many interviews with so many different people, I would assume that sometimes you get different versions of the same story, were there ever any situations where it was difficult to determine what was the more accurate account of events? What did you do in those cases?

JC: I think I ended up with around 75 interviews. There really weren’t many instances of memories clashing–mostly it was just using details that one person recalled to jog the memories of other folks. A lot of it was lost to the mists of time. We spent a lot of time and back-and-forth, for instance, trying to determine when, precisely, Superchunk met with Danny Goldberg and who was there. There were some points where Mac or Laura questioned someone else’s recollections, but we actually kept them in because we wanted people to be able to tell their own stories in their own voices–nothing really factual or serious. But there was one case where Ed Roche of Touch and Go said Mac wrote him a particular e-mail, and Mac said he didn’t really remember sending that e-mail, but Ed insisted that he had so we kept it in.

At least one chapter in this book is devoted to the careers of: Arcade Fire, Spoon, Magnetic Fields, Superchunk, Neutral Milk Hotel, Lambchop and Butterglory, were there any other Merge artists who you considered profiling? How did you make the decision on who to ultimately include in this book, was there some back and forth between you, Mac and Laura? Who had the ultimate say?

JC: It obviously sucks that there are a lot of great bands who didn’t get that treatment. We talked about a wider array of profiles–M. Ward, The Clientele, and others. But as I was getting into it I was writing longer than we had originally envisioned the book, and it just was getting unwieldy and I ended up focusing in on the more in-depth stories rather than trying to do shorter, lighter treatments to fit it in. Mac and Laura had the ultimate say, in consultation with our editor at Algonquin. It just ended up coming down to how much story you have and how much space you have. But the bands that we did focus on, I think, all told part of the story of Merge as a whole, and advanced the narrative we were trying to build. So the Spoon story, for instance, had a lot about the short-sighted stupidity of the major-label system in the ’90s, and the Lambchop story allowed us to talk about Merge’s small-scale, personal belief in its bands even when the payoff isn’t huge in terms of sales. So each little story that we picked to tell helped us add it up into a bigger arc of the label.

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

The structure of this book is a series of quotes from personal interviews woven together into a cohesive narrative with some exposition by you to connect the dots, was it always the plan to write the book that way? Was there ever a point where you wished you had it written it in a more conventional fashion? (In my mind, I can imagine you with a million note cards scattered all over the floor trying to make some sense of them all.)

JC: It was hard to make sense of everything. The original idea out of the gate was to have it be a conventional narrative, memoir-style, written by Mac and Laura, telling their stories. That went out the window almost immediately because they needed to have two voices because they’re two very different people with very different perspectives, and the way they interact is pretty much the engine of the story. So there could be no “we” in the book, it had to be Mac says this, Laura says that. So that decision led naturally to the oral history approach, because you couldn’t really have Mac and Laura in their own words and them conventional quotes from everyone else. The chapters on the specific bands were originally written conventionally, like magazine stories, but we went back and changed them to oral histories because that was working so well for the rest of the book and had a real sense of immediacy that Mac and Laura liked. When I went into it, I thought that the oral history format was sort of a compromise to the fact that I was working with Mac and Laura on this and it was the only way to make that work logically, and that if it were just me writing my own book about Merge I would have done it as a conventional narrative. But I actually really came to enjoy letting people speak for themselves, and having this multitude of voices in a pastiche and the jigaw-puzzle challenge of putting them together into a coherent story.

I guess if there’s one voice that seems most conspicuously absent in this book, it’s that of Jeff Mangum. Was it difficult to write the Neutral Milk Hotel chapter without his input? Was there anyone else that you wished you could have interviewed for this book, that you weren’t able to?

JC: I definitely wished Jeff would have sat down with me, and it definitely makes it a harder story to tell without him. But I understand why he didn’t–it’s his past, and he didn’t feel like revisiting it, so that’s his decision. We thought for a while that he was going to, but I think the more he thought about it, the less he liked the idea of talking about the old days, or glorifying them somehow. Which I totally get. There were a couple other people I couldn’t connect with, but no one really central that I was missing. I never hooked up with Brian Paulson, who produced Foolish and some other Superchunk and Merge Records. I would have liked to talk to him. I was really glad that I got Ron Laffitte to talk–he’d never discussed his past with Spoon publicly before.

I wasn’t familiar with Matt Suggs, Butterglory, and White Whale before reading “Our Noise”, but after reading that chapter, I became intrigued with him and his bands. Were there any bands that were a real revelation to you while doing the research for this book?

JC: I already knew the Merge bands really well, musically speaking, so there were no revelations there. Actually, I had never listened to Wwax or the Slushpuppies, two of Mac’s pre-Chunk bands. So I laid hands on that stuff. Erectus Monotone I hadn’t listened to very much, and it was awesome to see them play at the XX festival. There was definitely a sense of going back to some very old music that laid the foundations for a lot of these bands and reacquainting myself with stuff I hadn’t listened to in years–the Minutemen, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Bad Brains. That was sort of a re-education.

Dan Kennedy and Joshua Ferris wrote little interstitial pieces within this book, how did they become involved with the project?

JC: They had both worked with Kathy Pories, our editor at Algonquin, and she came up with the idea of including little appreciations in there, which I thought worked really well. But asking Ryan Adams to do the intro was my idea!

There are so many great stories in this book, like Arcade Fire nearly signing to another label before eventually going to Merge, the surprise success of the Magnetic Fields’ “69 Love Songs” and the now iconic status of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea”, can you share one of your favorite Merge stories that maybe never made it to print?

JC: Well, there was the story of Jim Wilbur pooping underneath the stage at a Superchunk show in Jackson, Mississippi, but I could never get Mac and Laura to actually tell it to me. Whoops. I probably shouldn’t have said anything about that.

In your opinion, do labels matter more or less today than when Merge started? Can you tell me some of your other favorite labels?

JC: I don’t know that I’m the best guy to answer that question, because as I get older I’m losing my old acquisitive nature when it comes to new music, and I kind of get comfortable with what’s already in my collection. I think indie labels on the whole definitely matter more than they used to, because they’re able to accomplish more than they used to. I think Sonic Youth going to Matador from Geffen is a good example of that–it used to be that a place like Geffen had the resources to make it worth the downside of dealing with a major corporation for a band like Sonic Youth. But now a place like Matador can do just as well if not better than Geffen, because there’s better access to distribution and fewer major-label chokeholds over the press, plus you get to work with people you like. I don’t see that dynamic changing any time soon. And labels generally do matter more now–at least the ones that take advantage of the current media environment, which is this constant unending swirl of music coming at you from so many directions. And labels like Merge that take a curatorial approach, picking out and recommending the stuff that’s rewarding and worth your time, or mouse clicks, or money, can really become essential. Other labels? There are other labels than Merge?

Intrepid readers may have noticed that Clarence Clemons, aka “The Big Man” is appearing at Barnes & Noble (Lincoln Triangle) on October 21 to promote his new book, Big Man Real Life & Tall Tales (with Don Reo and a foreword by Bruce Springsteen). While we can’t really expect The Boss to show up at Barnes & Noble, the next night Clarence will be at B.B. Kings to receive an award from Little Kids Rock, and according to the press release, the evening will feature live performances by Clemons and several “special guests” as well as Little Kids Rock students (Buy Tickets).

Clemons will receive the inaugural “Big Man Of The Year” award one day after the book’s release on Oct. 22 during the “Right To Rock” benefit at NYC’s B.B. King’s Blues Club. Proceeds from the night’s event, which includes several performances by special guests yet to be named, will benefit “Little Kids Rock,” an organization that helps fund music education programs in public schools throughout the country by providing teachers with free musical instruments and training.
…
Speaking of Fender, the night will also include an auction featuring the company’s famous guitars and signed by such folks as Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Chrissie Hynde, The Doobie Brothers and Ringo Starr.

Tickets for Right To Rock are on sale now. For more information, please click here for the Little Kids Rock Web site. [Pollstar.com]

After a brief sojourn into the world of young adult fiction (Slam) and feature film writing (An Education), Nick Hornby has returned to his bread and butter themes (rock’n roll, super fandom and love) with his latest novel, Juliet, Naked. Juliet, Naked will be available in fine stores everywhere starting today (September 29) and Mr. Hornby will be appearing tonight at Barnes & Noble in Union Square where he’ll be reading from and signing copies of his new book. In other Nick Hornby news, he’s also got two more releases coming out in the next couple of days (three if you count the movie and the screenplay as separate releases), his book Not A Star will be released in paperback on October 1, 2009 and the aforementioned screenplay, An Education, will be comes out in paperback on October 6, 2009 and in select theatres on October 16, 2099. But wait, there’s one more thing… I’m giving away an autographed copy of Juliet, Naked to one lucky reader who emails their name and address to contests@bumepershine.com and tells me the name of their favorite Nick Hornby novel. A random winner will be chosen and notified on Wednesday, October 7. View all Nick Hornby’s upcoming book tour dates over here.

Last but not least, below you can find a list of some October NYC Barnes & Noble events that I found interesting for one reason or another:

October 2009 at Barnes & Noble (NYC)
10/01/09 Kevin Smith (USQ)
10/03/09 Sherri Shepherd 3:00 PM (LT)
10/03/09 Howard Shore 6:00 PM (LT)
10/05/09 Audrey Niffenegger (USQ)
10/06/09 Cousin Brucie (86th & Lex)
10/06/09 Julie Andrews 5:30 PM (Tribeca)
10/06/09 Sarah Vowell (USQ)
10/07/09 Michael Chabon (USQ)
10/07/09 David Alan Grier (Tribeca)
10/08/09 Fran Tarkenton 12:30 PM (5th)
10/12/09 Alicia Silverston (Tribeca)
10/13/09 Andy Williams (LT)
10/13/09 Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sulenberger 12:30 PM (5th)
10/14/09 Ivanka Trump 12:30 PM (5th)
10/14/09 Paul Shaffer (USQ)
10/14/09 Barbara Ehrenreich (82nd & Bwy)
10/15/09 David Javerbaum, John Hodgman (Tribeca)
10/15/09 Valeri Bertinelli 12:30 PM (5th)
10/15/09 The RZA (USQ)
10/15/09 Richard Belzer (LT)
10/16/09 Mario Lopez (LT)
10/19/09 Chita Rivera (LT)
10/21/09 Richard Dawkins (Tribeca)
10/21/09 Gore Vidal (USQ)
10/21/09 Clarence Clemons (LT)
10/22/09 Tracy Morgan (USQ)
10/23/09 Jonathan Lethem (86th & Lex)
10/23/09 R. Crumb (USQ)
10/26/09 Chuck Klosterman (USQ)
10/27/09 Elna Baker (Tribeca)
10/27/09 Heeb Storytelling: Ben Greenman, Andy Borowitz (86th & Lex)
10/27/09 Sherman Alexie w/ Kelley McRae (USQ – “Upstairs at The Square”)
10/27/09 Hulk Hogan 12:30 PM (5th)
10/29/09 John Irving (USQ)
10/30/09 Rosanne Cashe (LT)

More Nick Hornby book tour dates and a trailer for An Education after the jump.

Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked Tour Dates
09/29/09 New York, NY Barnes & Noble – Union Square, 7:00 PM
09/30/09 Boston, MA Brookline Booksmith, 6:00 PM, Location: Coolidge Theater
10/01/09 Washington, DC, Politics & Prose, 7:00 PM
10/04/09 New York, NY, The Great Literary Conversation 10:00 AM, Times Center
10/06/09 Los Angeles, CA Book Soup, 7:30 PM, Location: Skirball Cultural Center
10/07/09 El Cerrito, CA, Barnes & Noble – El Cerrito, 7:00 PM
10/08/09 San Francisco, CA City Arts & Lectures, 8:00 PM, Location: Herbst Theater
10/09/09 Seattle, WA Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:00 PM, Location: Seattle Public Library

Oooh, I hope she gives away Metrocards!

The Oprah Winfrey Show will broadcast live from New York’s Central Park on Friday, September 18. A crowd of ticketed audience members is expected to join Oprah and special guests for the hour-long live broadcast from Central Park’s SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield. Music superstar Mariah Carey, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, and other special guests are expected to make appearances during the broadcast. Plus, Oprah will announce her 63rd Book Club selection before the live audience. [Summerstage.org]

Here’s a little bit more from the Oprah site on how to get tickets to this special event.

A limited number of tickets for this special live broadcast are still available at Oprah.com. Anyone interested in attending must go to http://www.oprah.com/audience to secure a reservation. Reservations are first-come, first-serve. Anyone who plans to attend the taping must have an official ticket and valid photo identification – audience walk-ups will not be permitted. All tickets are free. All guests must be 18 years of age or older.

The broadcast will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, September 18, rain or shine, and will air in New York at its regularly scheduled time, 4:00 p.m. ET on WABC. More information is available at http://www.oprah.com/audience. The all-new, one-hour episode “The Oprah Winfrey Show: Oprah Fridays—LIVE from New York” will air nationally on Friday, September 18. (Check local listings for air times.)

PS I hope she picks the new Dan Brown book, I hear he’s very good.

The “early” yet official 2009 New Yorker Festival schedule was released today and while there a lot of familiar faces (as always), I think this year’s lineup is a lot stronger than last year’s. Highlights of this year’s festival include: Mad Men panel with Matthew Weiner, Lee Clow, Steve Stoute, Brooklyn Playlist concert at The Bell House with Dirty Projectors, A Conversation with Music with and Neko Case and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Inside the Artist’s Studio with Chuck Close and Adam Gopnik, and the Humor Revue with Woody Allen, Noah Baumbach and a host of others. Tickets for The New Yorker Festival will go on sale at 12 noon ET on Friday, September 18, (the shows I just mentioned should sell out almost instantaneously).

View the entire 2009 New Yorker Festival schedule after the jump.

Friday | October 16

Fiction Night | Paired Readings by New Yorker Writers

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Yiyun Li
7 P.M. (Le) Poisson Rouge ($25)

David Bezmozgis and Jonathan Franzen
7 P.M. Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)

T. Coraghessan Boyle and Mary Gaitskill
7 P.M. Angel Orensanz Foundation ($25)

Daniyal Mueenuddin and Salman Rushdie
7 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($25)

Edwidge Danticat and Junot Diaz
9:30 P.M. Angel Orensanz Foundation ($25)

Joshua Ferris and Aleksander Hemon
9:30 P.M. (Le) Poisson Rouge ($25)

Jonathan Lethem and Colson Whitehead
9:30 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($25)

George Saunders and Gary Shteyngart
9:30 P.M. Cedar Lake Theatre ($25)

Brooklyn Playlist | A Special Concert Featuring Bands from the County of Kings

With Dirty Projectors, House of Ladosha, Jubilee, and Liturgy.
Curated by the New Yorker staff writers Sasha Frere-Jones and Kelefa Sanneh.
8 P.M. The Bell House ($25)

Take Out of School | New Yorker Writers on The New Yorker

The Moth and The New Yorker present an evening of stories about life at the magazine.
With Roger Angell, Adam Gopnik, Ariel Levy, Mark Singer, and Judith Thurman.
Hosted by Andy Borowitz.
8 P.M. City Winery ($40)

Saturday | October 17

Writers and Their Subjects

Ricky Jay and Mark Singer
1 P.M. City Winery ($27)

In Conversation With

Annie Proulx interviewed by Deborah Treisman
10 A.M. Florence Gould Hall ($27)

Rachel Maddow interviewed by Ariel Levy
10 A.M. Acura at Stage37 ($27)

Tyler Perry interviewed by Henry Finder
4 P.M. Cedar Lake Theatre ($27)

New Yorker Talks

Malcolm Gladwell | The Curious Case of Michael Vick
1 P.M. Florence Gould Hall ($27)

Simon Schama | Obama and History
4 P.M. Florence Gould Hall ($27)

Screen Gems | New Yorker Film Critics Present Overlooked Masterpieces

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt”
With David Denby.
10 A.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($20)

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s “Quai des Orfevres”
With Anthony Lane.
1:30 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($20)

Jean-Luc Godard’s “King Lear”
With Richard Brody.
5 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($20)

Panels

New Math
With Nancy Flournoy, Bill James, Nate Silver, and Sudhir Venkatesh.
Moderated by Ben McGrath.
10 A.M. Cedar Lake Theatre ($27)

Mad Men
With Lee Clow, Steve Stoute, and Matthew Weiner. Moderated by Ken Auletta.
10 A.M. City Winery ($27)

The Music Biz
With Jace Clayton, Josh Deutsch, Melvin Gibbs, Danny Goldberg, and Livia Tortella.
Moderated by Sasha Frere-Jones.
1 P.M. Cedar Lake Theatre ($27)

The Political Scene
With Hendrik Hertzberg, Ryan Lizza, and Jane Mayer. Moderated by Dorothy Wickenden.
4 P.M. City Winery ($27)

Character Actors
With Christine Baranski, Joan Cusack, Luis Guzman, Richard Kind, and John Turturro.
Moderated by Nancy Franklin.
4 P.M. Acura at Stage37 ($27)

Early Shift

Loudon Wainwright III talks with Susan Morrison | A Conversation with Music
7:30 P.M. The Bell House ($35)

Wallace Shawn talks with John Lahr
7:30 P.M. City Winery ($35)

Ian Hunter and Graham Parker talk with Ben Greenman | A Conversation with Music
7:30 P.M. (Le) Poisson Rouge ($35)

Neko Case talks with Sasha Frere-Jones | A Conversation with Music
7:30 P.M. Acura at Stage37 ($25)

Saturday Night Sneak Preview

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
After the screening, Kelefa Sanneh will talk with Sapphire and the film’s director, Lee Daniels.
8 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($27)

Late Shift

Jason Schwartzman talks with Richard Brody
10 P.M. The Bell House ($35)

James Franco talks with Lauren Collins
10 P.M. Cedar Lake Theatre ($35)

Tilda Swinton talks with Hilton Als
10 P.M. City Winery ($35)

Steve Earle talks with John Seabrook | A Conversation with Music
10 P.M. (Le) Poisson Rouge ($35)

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver talks with Sasha-Frere Jones | A Conversation with Music
10 P.M. Acura at Stage37 ($25)

Book Signings

(Please note the schedule of book signings at the bottom of this e-mail.)
12 noon to 6 P.M. McNally Jackson Books (Free)

Sunday | October 18

About Town

Tailing Tilley
A live, interactive game drawing on eighty-four years of New Yorker history.
11 A.M. Galway Hooker ($15)

Morning at the Frick
Peter Schjeldahl will lead a tour of the museum before public hours begin, followed by coffee and conversation.
11 A.M. Frick Collection ($60)

Come Hungry
Calvin Trillin will lead a tasting walk from Greenwich Village to Chinatown, concluding with a dim-sum feast.
11 A.M. Ticket buyers will be contacted concerning the starting point. ($100)

Strings Attached
Basil Twist will lead a tour of his studio and talk about the puppeteer’s art with Joan Acocella. Drinks will be served.
12 noon. Ticket buyers will be contacted concerning the location. ($60)

Inside the Artist’s Studio
Chuck Close will show his work and talk with Adam Gopnik at his studio. Drinks will be served.
12 noon. Ticket buyers will be contacted concerning the location. ($60)

Bottoms Up
Sam Calagione will demonstrate the beer-brewing process and discuss his work with Burkhard Bilger. Tastings, paired with meats and cheeses, will be served.
12 noon. The Gate ($50)

New Yorker Talks

James Surowiecki | Tomorrow Never Comes: Why We Procrastinate and How It Matters
11 A.M. City Winery ($27)

Atul Gawande | The Death of the Master Builder: A Story of Risk, Medicine, and Skyscrapers
1 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($27)

Kaffeeklatsch | New Yorker Writers and Artists Up Close

Heroes and Antiheroes
With Donald Antrim, A. M. Homes, George Saunders, and Gary Shteyngart.
Moderated by Cressida Leyshon.
10 A.M. Conde Nast Executive Dining Room ($15)

George Booth interviewed by David Owen
12 noon. Conde Nast Executive Dining Room ($15)

Our Far-Flung Correspondents
With David Grann, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Ian Parker. Moderated by Daniel Zalewski.
2 P.M. Conde Nast Executive Dining Room ($15)

Master Classes

Master Class: Cartooning
With Robert Mankoff.
10 A.M. Conde Nast Auditorium ($35)

Master Class: Photography
With Platon.
12 noon. Conde Nast Auditorium ($35)

Master Class: Copy Editing
With Ann Goldstein, Mary Norris, and Elizabeth Pearson-Griffiths.
2 P.M. Conde Nast Auditorium ($35)

Panels

Radical Opera
With Lisa Bielawa, Nico Muhly, Peter Sellars, and Rufus Wainwright. Moderated by Alex Ross.
3 P.M. City Winery ($35)

A Humor Revue

Shouts & Murmurs Live
With Jenny Allen, Woody Allen, Noah Baumbach, Yoni Brenner, Ian Frazier, Patricia Marx, David Owen, Amy Ozols, Simon Rich, Paul Rudnick, George Saunders, Paul Simms, and Calvin Trillin. Hosted by David Remnick.
4 P.M. Directors Guild Theatre ($35)

Book Signings

(Please note the schedule of book signings at the bottom of this e-mail.)
12 noon to 5 P.M. McNally Jackson Books (Free)

How to Purchase Tickets

Tickets for The New Yorker Festival will go on sale at 12 noon E.T. on Friday, September 18th. There are several ways to purchase tickets:

Online: Get tickets at newyorker.com/festival.

By phone: Call 800-440-6974.

At Ticket HQ: Ten per cent of tickets to all events will be available at Cedar Lake Theatre, at 547 West 26th Street (between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues).
Tickets will be sold on Friday, October 16th, from 12 noon to 4 P.M. First come, first served.

At the door: A limited number of tickets will be sold at the door to each event one hour before start time, with the exception of Morning at the Frick, Come Hungry, Strings Attached, Inside the Artist’s Studio, and Bottoms Up. First come, first served. Cash only.

Book Signings at McNally Jackson Books

SATURDAY | OCTOBER 17
12 noon
T. Coraghessan Boyle – “The Women”
Aleksandar Hemon – “Love and Obstacles”

1 P.M.
Junot Diaz – “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”
Mary Gaitskill – “Don’t Cry”

2 P.M.
Annie Proulx – “Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3″

3 P.M.
Malcolm Gladwell – “Outliers: The Story of Success”
Bill James – “The Bill James Gold Mine 2009″

4 P.M.
Paul Rudnick – “I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey”
Wallace Shawn – “Essays”

5 P.M.
Robert Mankoff – “On the Money: The Economy in Cartoons, 1925-2009″

SUNDAY | OCTOBER 18
12 noon
Tad Friend – “Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor”
David Grann – “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon”

1 P.M.
John Cassidy – “How Markets Fail: The Economics of Rational Irrationality”
Paul Goldberger – “Why Architecture Matters” and “Building Up and Tearing Down:
Reflections on the Age of Architecture”

2 P.M.
Daniyal Mueenuddin – “In Other Rooms, Other Wonders”
Colson Whitehead – “Sag Harbor”

3 P.M.
Adam Gopnik – “Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern
Life”
Hendrik Hertzberg – “One Million”

4 P.M.
George Booth – “About Dogs”
Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly – “The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s
Comics”

The 2009 program schedule will appear in the September 21st issue of The New Yorker, on newsstands September 14th. The Festival schedule will also be posted on the same date on newyorker.com/festival.

Receive 10% off your ENTIRE online purchase. Offer Valid 07/26/2009 – 09/02/2009 For a Limited Time Only, receive 10% off purchases at Barnes & Noble.com. From classics to the newest titles in books, DVDs and CDs, you’ll find millions of exciting items. And remember, standard shipping is free on orders over $25. Click here to get the offer. Use any American Express Card when making your purchase.

PS I’m actually not 100% sure you need to use an Amex when purchasing, though the offer is certainly being extended through American Express. You need to use your American Express when purchasing to get the 10% off, also this offer cannot be combined with your B&N Membership Discount (if you have one).

David Cross actually plays a fair amount of shows in NYC, but when he does, they tend to be slightly under the radar affairs (Tearing The Veil of Maya, Tinkle, UCB etc). Well, all of that is about to change next month as David heads out on a theater tour and makes a high profile appearance at ATP NY on September 11 (where he is curating the comedy stage). However, if you don’t want to make the trek up to Kutshers Country Club, you can also catch David at Borders in Time Warner Center on September 9 where he’ll be reading from his new book, I Drink For A Reason, which is due out on Monday, August 31. IDFAR also has a companion website at IDrinkForAReason.com which is a bit lame on the whole (in my opinion), but the video of David dancing on stage at a Jim Belushi show is priceless.

More David Cross 2009 tour dates after the jump.

David Cross 2009 Tour Dates
09/09/09 Borders, Time Warner Center, New York, NY
09/11/09 ATP, Kutshers Country Club & Resort, Monticello, NY
09/19/09 The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
09/21/09 The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
09/23/09 Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
09/24/09 Newmark Theatre, Portland, OR
09/25/09 Newmark Theatre, Portland, OR
09/27/09 The Centre In Vancouver For Performing Arts, Vancouver, BC
09/30/09 The Midland by AMC, Kansas City, MO
10/02/09 Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, ON
10/04/09 Congress Theater, Chicago, IL
10/05/09 State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
10/10/09 Lyell B Clay Concert Theatre, Morgantown, WV (On Sale: 08/31/09 at 9AM)
10/11/09 Capitol Theatre, Columbus, OH
10/13/09 Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI (On Sale: 08/31/09 at 10AM)
10/16/09 Lakewood Theater, Dallas, TX
10/17/09 The Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
10/19/09 Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA (Buy Tickets/Presale Password: CC2)

Hey, it’s almost fall and the good news is that the bookshelves are about to become flush with new releases and the NYC bookstores are about to burst with authors again. Here’s a list of some September NYC Barnes & Noble and Borders Books events that I found interesting for one reason or another:

September 2009 at Barnes & Noble (NYC)
09/01 Wallace Shawn (Lincoln Triangle)
09/02 Po Bronson (USQ)
09/02 Tom Ridge (86th & Lex)
09/03 Jane Goodall in Conversation with Thane Maynard (USQ)
09/08 Sue Monk Kidd & Ann Kidd Taylor (USQ)
09/08 Kathy Griffin (Tribeca)
09/09 Amy Sohn (Tribeca!)
09/10 50 Cent, Robert Greene (Fifth Ave 12:30 PM)
09/11 Mo Willems (86th & Lex)
09/11 Juliette Binoche (Lincoln Triangle)
09/12 Randy Grim, Loretta Swit (86th & Lex 2:00 PM)
09/14 Nick Cave: Upstairs at the Square (USQ)
09/15 Lisa Lampanelli (Tribeca)
09/15 E. L. Doctorow (USQ)
09/15 LeBron James (Fifth Ave 12:30 PM)
09/15 Tiki and Ronde Barber (86th & Lex 1:00 PM)
09/16 Philippa Gregory (86th & Lex)
09/16 Paul Rudnick (Lincoln Triangle)
09/16 Serena Williams (Fifth Ave 12:30 PM)
09/21 Louis Masur (Tribeca)
09/21 Lorrie Moore (USQ)
09/22 Frank Bruni (Lincoln Triangle)
09/22 Robert Sabuda (Tribeca 4:00 PM)
09/22 Isabella Rossellini (Tribeca)
09/22 David Byrne (USQ)
09/23 Ralph Nader (USQ)
09/24 Craig Ferguson (USQ)
09/24 Anita Shreve (86th & Lex)
09/29 Nick Hornby (USQ)
09/29 Joyce Carol Oates (Lincoln Triangle)
09/29 Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson (Fifth Ave 12:30 PM)
09/29 Jane Smiley (Lincoln Triangle)
09/29 Tad Friend (82nd & Bway)
09/30 Cornel West (USQ)
09/30 Garrison Keillor (Lincoln Triangle)

September 2009 at Borders Books (NYC)
09/08 Carl Capotorto with guest reader Edie Falco (TWC)
09/09 David Cross (TWC)
09/10 Coach John Calipari (Wall St)
09/16 Toni Morrison (TWC)
09/22 David Gray Performance (TWC)
09/23 Reggie Jackson & Bob Gibson (Wall St 12:00 PM)
09/24 Frank Bruni (Park Ave)
09/24 James Brown (Wall St 1:00 PM)
09/26 Tom Paxton & Peter Yarrow (TWC 2:00 PM)
09/29 Ron Paul (Wall St 12:00 PM)

The fourth annual Brooklyn Book Festival will take place on September 13, 2009 at Borough Hall Plaza, Borough Hall Courtroom, St. Francis Auditorium and The Brooklyn Historical Society. This free event includes readings, discussions, and panels with such literary, comedic and musical luminaries as: Jonathan Ames, Paul Auster, Russell Banks, Dominic Carter, David Cross, Jonathan Coulton, Edwidge Danticat, Lupe Fiasco, Mary Gaitskill, Ben Greenman, A.M. Homes, Siri Hustvedt, Naomi Klein, Chuck Klosterman, Jonathan Lethem, Leonard Lopate, Phillip Lopate, Norman Mailer, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Oliver Sacks, DJ Spooky, Melvin Van Peebles, Colson Whitehead and Mo Willems just to name a few. Check out the massive free schedule of events after the jump.

BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL 2009 PROGRAM PROGRAMMING AND VENUES SUBJECT TO CHANGE ALL EVENTS ARE FREE. PROGRAMS TAKING PLACE IN THE BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL COURTROOM AND ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE AUDITORIUM ARE TICKETED FREE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONE HOUR BEFORE THE PROGRAM BEGINS AT FESTIVAL INFORMATION BOOTHS ON THE PLAZA Borough Hall Courtroom (209 Joralemon Street)—TICKETS REQUIRED 10:00 a.m. The Legacies of John Updike and David Foster Wallace. Two titans of American literature—John Updike and David Foster Wallace—died this past year. This panel of distinguished critics will discuss their work, their deep differences, surprising similarities and enduring influence. Time magazine book critic Lev Grossman (The Magicians) and Salon book critic Laura Miller (The Magician’s Book). Moderated by David Ulin, editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review. 11:00 a.m. The Writer’s Capital. From Experience to the Limits of Fiction. How does a writer get from day-to-day life to fiction, and how far can that writer take the reader into the imaginative realm? Is there a limit to what the reader will accept? Readings by novelists Paula Fox, Steven Millhauser (Dangerous Laughter), Bradford Morrow, and Roxana Robinson (Cost). Moderated by Harold Augenbraum, executive director, National Book Foundation. 12:00 p.m. Faux Society. Amy Sohn (Prospect Park West), Robert Dunn (Meet the Annas) and Laura Albert (Sarah) talk about the real people and fictional characters who inhabit the societies represented in their work.        1:00 p.m. Out of Step. Readings from three acclaimed novels that follow their characters through the cultural enclaves that form, challenge and sometimes dictate their lives. Featuring Colson Whitehead (Sag Harbor), H.M. Naqvi (Home Boy) and Achy Obejas (Ruins). Moderated by Brigid Hughes, A Public Space. 2:00 p.m. Satire and Comic Relief in 2009. Whatever else is down (the economy, the Republicans)—satire is up.  A conversation with authors Jeffery Rotter (The Unknown Knowns), Gary Shteyngart (Absurdistan), and Sloane Crosley (I Was Told There’d Be Cake). Moderated by New Yorker editor Ben Greenman (Super Worse). 3:00 p.m. Reality Prisms. Readings by Pete Hamill (North River), Jacqueline Bishop (Snapshots from Istanbul) and Esmeralda Santiago (The Turkish Lover), three authors who write from the heart of their life experiences. 4:00 p.m. Melvin Van Peebles. Filmmaker and author Melvin Van Peebles in conversation with TBA. 5:00 p.m. Writing Writers. A conversation with authors Christopher Sorrentino (Trance) and Michael Thomas (Man Gone Down), and moderated by Astra Taylor (film and book Examined Life), whose work takes contemporary thinkers out of the ivory tower to discuss philosophical matters in plain speak. The authors discuss what writing on writers might reveal about the creative impulse, the relationship between fact and imagination and the ethics of representation. Presented by BOMB magazine as part of BOMBLive!   Borough Hall Community Room (209 Joralemon Street) 10:00 a.m. In Search Of….Two wanderers, Daniel Asa Rose (Larry’s Kidney) and Michael J. Agovino (The Bookmaker), travel abroad and write memoirs about their life-changing adventures and misadventures seeking luck, love and body organs in foreign lands. 11:00 a.m. The Future of Literary Fiction. What are the challenges facing fiction writers during an economic recession and a volatile publishing landscape? How does the digitization of literature impact the creative process? What unexpected opportunities might present themselves? A panel discussion featuring T Cooper (Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes) and Keith Gessen (All the Sad Young Literary Men). 12:00 p.m. The Great Recession. Call it what you like—the downturn, the financial crisis, the mini-depression, the slump. Whatever you call it…is it over? Will its effects be felt long-term or soon forgotten? Featuring Justin Fox (The Myth of the Rational Market), Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine) and Kai Wright (Drifting Toward Love). Moderated by New York Daily News columnist Errol Lewis. 1:00 p.m. Literature in a Digital Age. Some say the “age of the book” is ending and a glorious new “digital era” is dawning. Others turn the page and keep reading. How do new forms of media affect our literary culture, and how do writers and publishers adapt to them? Featuring John Freeman (The Tyranny of Email), Dwight Garner (Read Me) and Sarah Schmelling (Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don’t Float: Classic Lit Signs On To Facebook). Moderated by Maud Newton, blogger of maudnewton.com. 2:00 p.m. Movin’ On Up. Three writers on the myth and reality of upward mobility. Featuring Gloria Browne-Marshall (Race, Law and American Society), Walter Kirn (Lost in the Meritocracy) and Lewis Lapham (editor, Lapham’s Quarterly). Moderated by Paul Tough (Whatever It Takes). 3:00 p.m. Onwards & Upwards.  An inspiring talk with Dominic Carter (No Momma’s Boy) and William D. Pointer Jr. (Pain to Power) discussing the power of living through painful experiences. 4:00 p.m. Independent Media Voices.  Radical radio, insurgent ’zines, the Fourth Estate and social networks old and new. Who and what is the independent media? Voices that stand out from the crowd? Defenders of a new way of thinking? A discussion about the challenges of forging a new media voice. Host of Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman (Standing Up to the Madness), Jessica Hopper (Hit it or Quit It, The Girls Guide to Rocking) and Pamela Newkirk (Letters From Black America).  5:00 p.m. Why Poetry Now? A panel giving poetry lovers, as well as those new to poetry or those who haven’t read poems in a long time, an opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the best of what’s being written today, featuring Staceyann Chin, Cornelius Eady, and Paul Muldoon. Moderated by Mary Gannon, Poets & Writers.     St. Francis Auditorium (180 Remsen Street)—TICKETS REQUIRED 11:00 p.m. Short Stories Stand Tall. A panel discussion exploring the advantages, tools and inspiration authors gain by writing shorter fiction. Featuring Jeffrey Renard Allen (Holding Pattern), Joan Silber and A.M. Homes (Things You Should Know). 12:00 p.m. Poetry, Pop, and Hip-Hop. A panel discussing how poets, songwriters and rappers push language in new and essential ways. Featuring Lupe Fiasco, musician and poet; Thurston Moore; Tracie Morris; and Matthew Zapruder (The Pajamaist). Moderated by Touré.  1:00 p.m. Norman Mailer. Author and journalist Pete Hamill and NYPL Live’s Paul Holdengräber join Norris Church Mailer to discuss the literary and journalistic legacy of Brooklyn’s own Norman Mailer.  2:00 p.m. Edwidge Danticat. Brooklyn Book Festival 2009 BoBi Literary Award winner Edwidge Danticat reads and discusses the themes of social history and culture that have influenced her short stories, novels and memoir in a conversation with Johnny Temple, publisher of Akashic Books and chair of the Brooklyn Literary Council, and Mitchell Kaplan, Miami Book Festival. 3:00 p.m. Literary Masters. Readings by three highly revered authors: Paul Auster (Man in the Dark), Russell Banks (The Reserve) and Francine Prose (Goldengrove). Introduced by Louisa Ermelino. 4:00 p.m. Writers on Unforgettable Friendships. Three frequent contributors to The New York Review of Books speak about an extraordinary relationship that has—somehow—made a lasting mark. Oliver Sacks on Francis Crick; Darryl Pinckney on Djuna Barnes and Anita Desai on Ruth Jhabvala. Robert Silvers, editor of The New York Review of Books, will introduce. 5:00 p.m. Jonathan Lethem and Mary Gaitskill in Conversation.  Moderated by Greg Cowles, senior editor at the New York Times Book Review.   St. Francis College Reading Room (180 Remsen Street) 10:00 a.m. Next Texts: Four Debut Novelists. The Brooklyn Book Festival presents readings from four of the finest debut novels of 2009. Featuring Marie Mockett (Picking Bones from Ash), Shanthi Sekaran (The Prayer Room), Marc Fitten (Valeria’s Last Stand) and Joanna Smith Rakoff (A Fortunate Age).  11:00 a.m. Anarchy of Youth. Readings from three novels starring young protagonists who wreak havoc on the world around them. Featuring Alberto Ferraras (B as in Beauty) and Marisha Pessl (Special Topics in Calamity Physics). 12:00 p.m. Real Surreal. Tao Lin (Shop Lifting from American Apparel), Yona Zeldis McDonough (Breaking the Bank), Nicholson Baker (The Anthologist) and Ben Marcus (Notable American Women) read from the minds of their characters. 1:00 p.m. Editor as Author: Discipline and Freedom. A discussion on the relationship that editors play in the lives of authors in today’s publishing world and the editor’s role and sensibility vs. the authorial process. Featuring four authors who have also worked as editors: Heidi Julavits (The Uses of Enchantment), Hannah Tinti (The Good Thief), Sarah Rainone (Love Will Tear Us Apart) and Donald Breckenridge (You are Here). 2:00 p.m. Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Presents. Los Angeles–based writers Nina Revoyr (Southland), Judith Freeman (The Long Embrace, Raymond Chandler and the Woman He Loved), and Richard Rayner (A Bright and Guilty Place) read and discuss their books. Moderated by LA Times Book Review editor David Ulin.  3:00 p.m. Doubt, Faith & Monsters. In the worlds of Steven Cleaver (Saving Erasmus), Victor Lavalle (Big Machine) and Fiona Maazel (Last Last Chance) the Angel of Death is in a washing machine, a band of paranormal investigators are in the woods and a lethal virus vanishes from a lab. 4:00 p.m. Faith & Fiction. If fiction is make believe and faith is must believe, can writers reconcile the absolutes of religion with the ambiguities of character and the relative truths of storytelling? Faith and Fiction with Benjamin Anastas, Rene Steinke and Chris Adrian, moderated by Bookforum editor, Albert Mobilio.   Brooklyn Historical Society (128 Pierrepont Street) 12:00 p.m. Believe it or Not. Three writers—the reporter who broke the Madoff story, a popular historian of a classic newspaper hoax and a chronicler of cults and conspiracies—on great scams and the public that loves to loathe them. Erin Arvedlund (Too Good to Be True), Arthur Goldwag (Cults, Conspiracies and Secret Societies) and Matthew Goodman (Sun and the Moon). Moderated by James Surowiecki (The Wisdom of Crowds). 1:00 p.m. Knickerbocker. Author Elizabeth Bradley will be joined by Phillip Lopate to discuss the lasting impact of Diedrich Knickerbocker, the imaginary historian who narrates Washington Irving’s A History of New York. 1:30 p.m. Interpreting Brooklyn. Three authors who used the collections of the Brooklyn Historical Society as inspiration present these works in progress: Elizabeth Gaffney and her novel about Brooklyn after World War II; Michael Schwartz and his one-man play on growing up in Coney Island; and Andres Vera Martinez, author of three graphic novels set in Brooklyn, past, present and future. 2:00 p.m. Life Stories. Three acclaimed memoirists talk about bad breaks, wise moves, tough choices—and turning life in all its messy glory into art on the page. Featuring Staceyann Chin (The Other Side of Paradise), Brad Kessler (Goat Song) and Sarah Manguso (The Two Kinds of Decay). Moderated by Brigid Hughes, editor of A Public Space. 3:00 p.m. Thicker than Water. Readings from outstanding novels that explore blood relations and complex, sometimes devastating, family dynamics. Featuring Elizabeth Nunez (Anna In-Between), Greg Ames (Buffalo Lockjaw) and Carolina de Robertis (The Invisible Mountain). Introduced by Malaika Adero. 4:00 p.m. Crime and Punishment. Readings from three of the most dangerous and compelling novels of 2009. Featuring Lou Manfredo (Rizzo’s War), Liz Balmaseda (Sweet Mary) and Marlon James (The Book of Night Women).  5:00 p.m. The Cult of the Amateur. Three professional amateurs—a radio host, a book critic and a writer—talk about what they love best: the fine art of improvisation, following their noses, chasing their curiosities as increasingly erudite students of life and avoiding the traps of so-called “expertise.” Featuring Leonard Lopate (The Leonard Lopate Show), Walton Muyumba (The Shadow and the Act) and Robert Sullivan (The Thoreau you Don’t Know). Main Stage (Borough Hall Plaza) 10:00 a.m. Ken Siegelman Tribute followed by Verbal Catalysts.  A tribute to the late Brooklyn poet laureate Ken Siegelman, followed by Urban Word NYC, whose top teen poets present individual and group slams. 11:00 a.m. Poetry Society of America Presents. A reading organized by PSA, the nation’s oldest poetry organization, featuring the country’s best bards: Anne Carson, Sonia Sanchez, Philip Schultz and Arthur Sze. Introduced by Alice Quinn. 12:00 p.m. Name that Author: A Literary Contest presented by the National Book Critics Circle. Features defending champ Brigid Hughes (A Public Space) and challengers David Haglund (PEN America), authors Steven G. Kellman (Redemption), Maureen N. McLane (Same Life), Geeta Sharma Jensen, Martha Southgate (Third Girl From the Left) and Craig Morgan Teicher (Publishers Weekly). Moderated by John Reed, The Brooklyn Rail. Judged by NBCC president Jane Ciabattari and Critical Mass blog chair Eric Banks. 1:00 p.m. Only the Dead. Readings of Brooklyn’s revered authors, from Walt Whitman to Frank McCourt, are performed by actors from Troupe. 2:00 p.m. Close to the Street. Three writers on urban life—its housing, its mass transit, its vibe—discuss how we make cities and how cities make us. Featuring Nelson George (City Kid), Alyssa Katz (Our Lot) and Tom Vanderbilt (Traffic). Moderated by Theodore Hamm, editor of The Brooklyn Rail. 3:00 p.m. Love: The Unstoppable Bestseller. A panel of romance authors discusses the longevity of the industry and how they keep readers coming back for more: Rochelle Alers (Man of Fate), Anna DePalo (The Billionaire in Penthouse B), Donna Hill (Temptation & Lies) and Sarah Wendell (Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels). 4:00 p.m. Obsessive Fun. Rabbis who write, gamers, comics and karaoke-ists. Authors Rabbi Simcha Weinstein (Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century), Ethan Gilsdorf (Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks), Brian Raftery (Don’t Stop Believin’) and Eddie Sarfaty (Mental) let their obsessions entertain you. 5:00 p.m. Happy Ending Reading Series. One of the city’s most spirited and risk-taking reading series animates the Brooklyn Book Festival this year with Jonathan Ames (The Double Life is Twice as Good), David Cross (I Drink for a Reason) and Rakesh Satyal (Blue Boy). Hosted by Amanda Stern, music by Jonathan Coulton. International Stage (Borough Hall Plaza) 11:00 a.m. The International Graphic Novel. Three acclaimed graphic novelists who tackle big social and political themes in their work discuss what the form can accomplish, from an international and domestic perspective. Featuring Guy Delisle (The Burma Chronicles), Peter Kuper (Diario de Oaxaca: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico) and Sarah Glidden (How To Understand Israel In 60 Days Or Less). Moderated by Matt Madden. 12:00 p.m. Mahmoud Darwish: A Conversation. Five distinguished authors, Russell Banks, Michael Palmer, Breyten Breytenbach, Sinan Antoon and Fady Joudah, remember and respond to the life and work of the celebrated Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008). Moderated by Breyten Breytenbach. 1:00 p.m. Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia. Celebrate the literature of post-Soviet Russia with readings from Rasskazy, the Tin House anthology of new Russian fiction, featuring readings by Francine Prose (Goldengrove), Dale Peck (Sprout), Anya Ulinich (Petropolis) and Vadim Yarmolinets (Led Zeppelin ‘Jericho 86-89’). Journalist Emily Gould will interview Rasskazy contributor Dmitry Danilov about Russia’s continually flourishing literary world. Presented by Pen American Center. 2:00 p.m. The Naked City: Urban Realism and the Global City in Fiction & Non-Fiction. A discussion exploring the gritty urban realism of the contemporary global city as seen through recent works of fiction and non-fiction about Delhi, New York and Mexico City. Featuring David Lida (First Stop in the New World), Meera Nair (Video) and Hirsh Sawhney (editor, Delhi Noir).  Moderated by Cheryl Harris Sharman (Nightshift NYC). 3:00 p.m. Secrets & Lies. Three leading international writers explore family secrets, identity crises and social connectedness in their works. With Rivka Galchen (Atmospheric Disturbances), Siri Hustvedt (The Sorrows of an American) and Valeria Parrella (For Grace Received, finalist for Italy’s Strega Prize). 4:00 p.m. Africa in the Age of Obama. A conversation about the current spotlight on African writing and culture, with Binyavanga Wainaina (Kenyan author and Director of the Chinua Achebe Center), Mohammed Naseehu Ali (Ghanaian musician and author of The Prophet of Zongo Street) and Breyten Breytenbach (South African poet, painter, author). Moderated by Rob Spillman, editor of Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing. 5:00 p.m. Philip Gourevitch, Rawi Hage, and Claire Messud in Conversation. Philip Gourevitch, editor of The Paris Review, longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and author of The Ballad of Abu Ghraib; Claire Messud (The Emperor’s Children); and Rawi Hage, Impac award-winning author of DeNiro’s Game and Cockroach, engage in a wide ranging exchange on their works, the international scene and the literary life. North Stage (Borough Hall Plaza) 10:00 a.m. Quotables. Join Troupe actors to test your knowledge of quotes and books in this interactive literary game with prizes for the audience. 11:00 a.m. The Truth About Parenting. Featuring Yvonne Bynoe (Who’s Your Mama), Ben George (The Book of Dads) and Lenore Skenazy (Free-Range Kids). Moderated by Laura Sinagra. 12:00 p.m. Reading to Kids. In conjunction with the 100th anniversary edition of The Best Children’s Books of the Year, Lisa Von Drasek, children’s librarian at the Bank Street College of Education, leads a discussion about reading to children along with children’s authors showcased in the Festival. 1:00 p.m. Feeding Love in NYC. Giulia Melucci (I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti), Michelle Maisto (The Gastronomy of Marriage) and Jonathon Deutsch (Gastropolis, Food & New York City) share culinary and romantic experiences. 2:00 p.m. Eye of the Book. Cynthia Maris Dantzic (100 New York Painters) and Jane Weissman (On the Wall: Four Decades of Community Murals in New York City) share their art books about NYC artists and murals. 2:30 p.m. Now and Then. Ellen Levitt (The Lost Synagogues of Brooklyn) and Elmer Sprague (Brooklyn Public Monuments) in discussion with borough historian Ron Schweiger. 3:00 p.m. American Food. Three writers discuss the past, present and future of what we eat. Featuring Mark Kurlansky (editor, The Food of a Younger Land), Jennifer 8. Lee (The Fortune Cookie Chronicles) and Liz Thorpe (The Cheese Chronicles). Moderated by “Serious Eats” blogger Ed Levine. 4:00 p.m. Sound Unbound: DJ Spooky and Toure. That Subliminal Kid (aka Paul D. Miller), the writer and composer whose work Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica will be performed at BAM in December, will discuss the themes raised in his book Sound Unbound—about the concept of the remix in music, art, and literature—with Touré, writer, music journalist and television cultural correspondent. 5:00 p.m. Inside Music. From the Chicago avant garde to audiophile zealots to the New Weird America, three writers from across the musical spectrum explore how the world of music is connected to everything else: politics, ethnicity, technology, topography and culture. Featuring George E. Lewis (A Power Stronger Than Itself), Greg Milner (Perfecting Sound Forever) and Amanda Petrusich (It Still Moves). Moderated by Sukhdev Sandhu (Night Haunts).   Target Children’s Area (Borough Hall Plaza) The Target Children’s Area provides day-long literary activities for children ages 2-9 10:00a.m.        Troupe – Performs classic children’s books 10:30a.m.        Mo Willems 11:00a.m.        Alison Joseph/MaureenSullivan 11:30a.m.        Tom Tomorrow 12:00p.m.       Sahar Simmons 12:30p.m.       Victoria Kann 1:00p.m.         Nick Bruel 1:30p.m.         Judi Barrett 2:00p.m.         Christopher Myers 2:30p.m.         Randall & Peter de Seve 3:00p.m.         Ayun Halliday 3:30p.m.         Grace Lin 4:00p.m.         Paul O. Zelinsky 4:30p.m.         Troupe – Performs classic children’s books Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza) The Youth Stoop provides day-long literary activities for youth ages 10-18 10:00 a.m. Brooklyn Next Lit Match Awards.  Come hear some of the most talented students writing in the borough who are the finalists in the “Brooklyn Next” borough-wide writing contest. Hosted by  Jamie Hector of The Wire. 11:00 p.m. Fantastical Journeys. Join award-winning middle grade authors and illustrators Kate DiCamillo (The Magician’s Elephant), Christopher Myers (Wings) and Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm) and step into a world of whimsical imagination where elephants guide, boys fly and humans and fairy-tale creatures live side by side. 12:00 p.m. Keeping it Honest. Coe Booth (Tyrell) and Matt de la Peña (Mexican White Boy) write books for teenagers that are smart and honest and never talk down to their audience. Join them as they talk about their work and about how they keep it real. 1:00 p.m. Breaking Through. Critically acclaimed authors Laurie Halse Anderson (Chains), Gayle Forman (If I Stay), and G.Neri (Surf Mules) discuss some of this year’s most talked about novels featuring teens forced to make difficult decisions under extraordinary—and less than favorable—circumstances. 2:00 p.m. Love and Longing. How far will you go for love and how far will love go for you? Ned Vizzini (Be More Chill), Aimee Friedman (Sea Change) and Anna Godbersen (The Luxe) reveal very different approaches to succeeding in love as they read and discuss their books.  3:00 p.m. Love, War and Adventures in Babysitting…Transforming Stories into Comics. How does a comic artist take a favorite story and make it new? Three new stars in the literary comics cosmos shine the light on their process, adapting award-winning fiction, found historical materials and one of the most popular teen series of all time into graphic novels. Raina Telgmeier (The Babysitters Club graphic novel series), Danica Novgorodoff (Refresh, Refresh) and George O’Connor (Journey into Mohawk Country). 4:00 p.m. Adventures in the Past. Critically acclaimed authors M.T. Anderson (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing), Marilyn Nelson (The Freedom Business) and Margaret Peterson Haddix (Shadow Children and Missing series) take us into a thrilling tour of the past where King Edward V lives, and the eighteenth century comes alive with adventure—giving us a new understanding of race then and now. Moderated by Stacey Barney.   NEW YORK COMIC CON AT THE BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL 11:00 a.m. Fact vs. Fiction in Action-Adventure Comics. Comics artists and writers Matt Loux, Fred van Lente, Chris Giarruso, Kevin Pyle and Barry Lyga discuss how they are inspired by real events, scientific research and even math and physics to come up with action-packed adventure stories. They give a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating comics. For kids of all ages. Moderated by Alex Simmons. 12:00 p.m. Sci Fi and Fantasy in NYC. Is there anything hotter than sci-fi and fantasy right now? We don’t think so. Join authors S.C. Butler, Peter Brett, Anton Strout and Dave Roman as they discuss all that is paranormal in NYC. 1:00 p.m. Marvel Writers. How do they do it? Some of Marvel’s hottest writers talk about their work on your favorite comics. Moderated by Jim McCann. 2:00 p.m. Spotlight on Tom DeFalco, Phil Jimenez and Dennis O’Neil. Veteran artists Tom DeFalco, Phil Jimenez and Dennis O’Neil gather to speak about their common influences, current projects and the trends that are shaping the future. Moderated by Danny Fingeroth. 3:00 The ACT-I-VATE Renaissance. There is a comic book renaissance happening in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and members from both DEEP6 and XOXOs Studios, featuring Dean Haspiel, Mike Cavallaro, Tim Hamilton, Joe Infurnari, Simon Fraser, Molly Crabapple and Mike Dawson (among others) will discuss the genesis of ACT-I-VATE, their premier webcomix collective, and sneak-peek their upcoming print anthology, THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER. Moderated by Jeff Newelt, who will also announce two new members to ACT-I-VATE. 4:00 p.m. Hip Hop Hearts Anime. A conversation on the cross-pollination of urban culture in Japan and hip hop into popular anime. Our group of anime fanatics, hip hop artists, activists and social entrepreneurs will come together based on their love for anime culture to discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of this cultural exchange and how it will stay with our youth in the years to come. 5:00 p.m. Toon Books “Benny and Penny” Readers Theater for Children. See one of the Toon Books come alive with a performance by Geoffrey Hayes and Leigh Stein. Pirates and princesses, sweet mice and monsters next door in a staged reading of the Toon “Benny and Penny” books, author Geoffrey Hayes and actress Leigh Stein bring comics to life! For kids of all ages.

The New Yorker Festival has put out a series of “Just Asking” posts which go a little ways towards revealing this year’s festival lineup. Here are my guesses at the “not-so” blind items that have been posted thus far:

Just Asking: Round One

Which author said that her most famous short story took twice as long to write as a novel “because I had to imagine my way into the minds of two uneducated, rough-spoken, uninformed young men”?
E. Annie Proulx

This creator of an Emmy Award-winning drama was once a contestant on “Jeopardy!” (Answer in the form of a question, please.)
Matthew Weiner

Which young movie actor pretended to have different accents—“Italian, Russian, Irish”—when he worked at a McDonald’s drive-thru?
James Franco

Just Asking: Round Two

Which television personality got her big break when she won a contest to be a radio host on WRNX, in Holyoke, Massachusetts?
Rachel Maddow

What actor and playwright once played a New Yorker theatre critic in a movie?
Anna Deavere Smith Wallace Shawn – Thanks MM!

Which singer-songwriter once said, “I’m one of those people that will probably look better and better as I get older—until I drop dead of beauty”?
Rufus Wainwright