I am definitely not the debutante ball type.
But last Friday, the folks at
One Story threw a very unique coming out party. Take an old
factory turned creative space in Gowanus, mix up some emerging writers with literary luminaries, add a dj and dancing, throw in a guerilla theater performance and a silent auction with original art inspired by the stories, call it a
Literary Debutante Ball: A Celebration of Emerging Writers - and you've got the recipe for a truly original benefit.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the literary "debutantes" - writers whose work first appeared in an issue of
One Story - who were escorted by their mentors. John Hodgman from The Daily Show, who authored the very first issue of One Story ("my second and last short story", he quipped), served as emcee.
During the evening, the short story
Bar Joke, Arizona (issue #97) by "debutante" Sam Allingham (whose escort was none other than one of my favorite writers, Dan Chaon) was presented in two acts by
Wingspace Theatrical Design. While the winner of the iPad raffle got an impromptu serenade by Hodgman, I got an original artwork by Linda Ganjian, inspired by Rachel Carpenter's
The Qualifications of Regina White(One Story issue #9).
The boldface names were everywhere....though our little group did have some fun trying to convince ourselves who was who as a result of those highly unreliable book jacket photos. Is that or isn't that Dan Chaon? Well, it was and we missed our chance. Better luck with Jonathan Lethem, who we met while talking to Ben Greenman (issue #113), who's also got a book coming out soon. Early on, we chatted with "debutante" Amelia Kahaney (issue # 98) and were thrilled to find out that her mentor was Michael Cunningham ("running late, but he'll be here!"). By the time he arrived, we had unfortunately lost Amelia in the crowd. I had just finished the terrific new book
American Subversive by David Goodwillie, so when I spied a very tall, good looking guy with a striking resemblance to the author photo, I couldn't resist saying hello. Turns out, he wrote some of the book right here in the Library's Green Alcove. NYSL members, old and new, are everywhere.
And there were other, stranger connections. My husband, a sportswriter, once played in an
ice golf championship in Greenland. Wouldn't you know, in that crowd, we met a Danish writer who now calls Brooklyn home and was born and raised in Greenland.
So kudos to Hannah, Maribeth, and Tanya, our friends at One Story. It was a heck of a party!
Tuesday, July 27, 7:30 pm
Lauren Belfer's novel A Fierce Radiance is a mystery and romance set at the outset of WWII and has already picked up a starred review from Booklist and a nod in the latest O Magazine.
Ann Brashares's My Name is Memory is the first in a planned trilogy that spans multiple lifetimes (think The Time Traveler's Wife).
Alan Furst's new WWII thriller Spies of the Balkans is bound to be a hit. He's following up his bestselling Spies of Warsaw, which was the 9th most circulated title at NYSL last year.
Cait Murphy dishes up real law & order, New York nineteenth-century style with Scoundrels in Law: The Trials of Howe & Hummel, Lawyers to the Gangsters, Cops, Starlets, and Rakes Who Made the Gilded Age
Lose yourself in beautiful landscapes in Elizabeth Barlow Rogers's Romantic Gardens: Nature, Art, and Landscape Design, the catalog for the exhibition of the same name at the Morgan Library and Museum, ongoing now through August 29.
