Past Events
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Wednesday, January 17, 2024 - 6:00 PM | Special Event | Members' Room/Peluso Family Exhibition Gallery | for members and guests | free of charge | registration required
Members and their guests are cordially invited to a reception celebrating the opening of the exhibition and of the Library's 270th anniversary year.
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Tuesday, January 9, 2024 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredTake a peek behind the curtain of some of the biggest publishing moments in the past several decades with forty-year industry veteran John Sargent.
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Sunday, January 7, 2024 - 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Sunday, February 4, 2024 - 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Sunday, April 7, 2024 - 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Sunday, May 5, 2024 - 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Sunday, June 2, 2024 - 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Reading Group | Whitridge Room | for members and their guests | free of charge | registration requiredWe gather monthly to read aloud a play by William Shakespeare.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2023 - 3:30 PM | The Writing Life | Whitridge Room | for members only | free of charge | registration required
The practice of literary translation is rarely carried out in isolation.
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Tuesday, December 12, 2023 - 6:00 PM | The Writing Life | Members’ Room | for members and guests | free of charge | registration requiredMembers and guests are cordially invited to a celebration of Library members who have published books in 2023.
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Sunday, December 10, 2023 - 2:00 PM | Performance | Members' Room | open to the public | free of charge | registration requiredSyrian American singer-songwriter Nano Raies presents an afternoon of songs of hope for troubling times, representing her own culture and inspired by others, with pianist Russell Kranes, plus Ameer Armaly on oud, Alber Baseel on percussion, and double bassist Marwan Allam.
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Saturday, December 9, 2023 - 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM | Special Event | First floor | open to the public | $65 per custom portrait | reservations required for custom portraitsArtist and Library member Christina Ruggieri will be on hand to sketch a custom portrait of your or a loved one’s dog - the perfect holiday gift. 100% of proceeds benefit the Library. Reservations are required for custom portraits, but all are welcome to drop by to see the process of creation, enter a raffle for prizes, and get inspired to create their own art! (All portrait slots are now full.)
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Tuesday, December 5, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Special Event | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredThree of today's top mystery writers – Danielle Arceneaux, S.J. Rozan, and Paul Vidich - discuss their newest books and converse together about the writing process and the state of the modern mystery field.
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Tuesday, December 5, 2023 - 5:00 PM | Children | For members and guests | For grades 3-12 | $15 per poet | Registration required
Explore contemporary poetry with Dave Johnson as you learn how writers turn their ideas into poems, gain the inspiration and knowledge to craft your own poetry, and share your writing with others. Snacks will be provided!
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Saturday, December 2, 2023 - 3:00 PM | Special Event | Members' Room | Open to the public | For grades 6+ | Free of charge | Registration requiredCalling all fans of Hamilton and Bridgerton!
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Thursday, November 30, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredA revolutionary guide to flourishing in times of flux and angst by harnessing the overlooked power of our uncertainty, from the award-winning journalist and author of DISTRACTED.
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredVladimir Putin's first invasion of Ukraine, in 2014, set off a global economic clash, as the West used its clout with international markets to deter and penalize the Kremlin. This startling new book by Foreign Policy Research Institute fellow Maximilian Hess lifts the lid on Russia's response to Western sanctions and the resulting conflicts over finance, energy, and capital markets.
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Tuesday, November 21, 2023 - 3:30 PM | The Writing Life | Whitridge Room | for members only | free of charge | registration required
The founder of the Columbia Fiction Foundry discusses the components of the query letter (for fiction) and the proposal letter (for nonfiction), centering on why that agent was selected and how the author’s project compares with the agent&rs
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Thursday, November 16, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredIt's the case of Amanda's lifetime, but solving it will require her to betray another spy - who just so happens to be her father. In this special publication-week event, Anna Pitoniak discusses her globe-trotting new spy thriller with bestselling novelist Cristina Alger.
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Tuesday, November 14, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredA tender biography of one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century and an elegant exploration of artistic endurance, as told by a lifelong lover of Willa Cather’s work.
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Sunday, November 12, 2023 - 3:00 PM | Children | Recommended for ages 3 and Older | Open to the public | $10 per child | Registration requiredJoin us for an afternoon of captivating tales from around the world that celebrate this season of thanksgiving and gratitude. Audience participation is encouraged!
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Wednesday, November 8, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredA memoir of an extraordinary life—from a poet, international human rights activist, founding member of Amnesty International USA, journalist, hostess, famous beauty, foreign policy advisor; friend to politicians, movie stars, the legendary; discoverer of Philip Roth, longtime wife of Bill Styron and half of America’s literary golden couple at home and abroad. “[Rose Styron] has lived a life in interesting times, among legendary characters, a life well worth telling—and reading about.” —The Washington Post
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Tuesday, November 7, 2023 - 11:30 AM | Reading Group | Whitridge Room | for members only | $50 for the two sessions | registration requiredHomer's Odyssey plays against the Iliad's siege of Troy. Ten years later, Troy has been destroyed, Helen rescued, but Odysseus is not home. In 24 books or chapters, the epic poet tells us his tale of exile.
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Monday, November 6, 2023 - 2:00 PM | The Writing Life | Whitridge Room | for members and their guests | free of charge | registration requiredIn this special event, join writer and teacher Esther Cohen for a workshop and party celebrating her new book All of Us: Stories and Poems Along Route 17. All writers are invited to add your US to this story.
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Sunday, November 5, 2023 - 12:00 PM | Children | For Grades K+ | Registration Required | Event will be held off siteJoin us for a tour and treasure hunt at the Upper East Side studio where Mr. Quackenbush made his art and taught generations of aspiring young artists.
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Thursday, November 2, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredRobert Rubin, former secretary of the Treasury and co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, shares thoughts on decision-making developed over more than six decades in markets, business, government, and politics, and offers readers an astute and original guide for navigating uncertain times. In this special event, he discusses his book and its relevance to current events with author and speechwriter David Litt.
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Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Lecture | Members' Room | open to the public | $15 per person | registration requiredTwo of America’s master essayists, Roger Rosenblatt and Lance Morrow, discuss the art of the essay and the state of American journalism, then and now, with Jim Kelly, former managing editor of TIME.
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Wednesday, October 25, 2023 - 5:00 PM | Children | Members' Room | For Grades 3+ | Open to the public | $10 per person | Registration required
These writers know what it’s like to be a New York City kid.
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023 - 6:00 PM | Performance | Livestream | open to the public | free of charge | registration requiredThe Library is pleased to partner with the National Willa Cather Center to commemorate Willa Cather’s 150th birthday. The celebration will include short readings from Cather’s fiction and letters and will also include a reading of Truman Capote’s unfinished reminiscence of his chance meeting with Willa Cather at the New York Society Library in 1942.
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023 - 3:30 PM | The Writing Life | Whitridge Room | for members only | free of charge | registration requiredLearn how to make your books more discoverable with children’s book author and illustrator Betsy Franco-Feeney and Mary Carlomagno, Director of Sales and Business Development at Bowker. In this informative session, you will learn about current publishing trends and best practices for getting your book noticed. Be sure to prepare your questions in advance, as we will have time at the end of the presentation for questions and answers!
