• The Center for Fiction has multiple weekly writing workshops kicking off this Fall. From short fiction for beginners to crafting nonlinear narratives, writers of all levels can find something that meets their needs. Some last 6+ weeks while others are intensives over the course of a weekend. 

• BKLYN Clay semester-long classes begin the week of September 26th across their Prospect Heights and Tribeca locations. There are wheel throwing and handbuilding courses available across all levels. If you’re not ready to commit to a full semester, you can also drop into open studios or night classes.

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden has a 6-week Fall Plein Air Pastel Painting in the Garden class beginning September 10th. It’s taught studio-style with individual attention and critiques to discuss ideas and learn from one another’s work. If this class doesn’t work or you’re looking for something better suited for beginners, they have a ton of other options as well.

• Brooklyn Brainery hosts affordable, crowdsourced classes on literally everything. Some are single sessions while others last a few weeks. To give you an idea of the variety, a few of the classes they’re hosting this fall include Alternative Photography, Cocktail Bitters History, Marketing and Branding for Small Businesses, and Food Illustration with Watercolors.

Performances & Talks

• Ben Platt in Conversation & Performance at 92NY. Platt will discuss what drives him and how it fuels his acting, Broadway performances, and singing. Following the conversation he’ll perform a special acoustic version of songs from his new record.

• Maria Bamford has a 4-day only comedy solo show at The Bell House. She’s best known for her voiceover work on characters like Big Mouth & BoJack Horseman as well as her experimental comedy about mental illness. Tickets are almost sold out so move quickly on this one.

• Joe’s Pub had to make the list, but I couldn’t decide on a single show. Habibi Festival is a 5-day show giving you a snapshot into the traditional music of the South West Asia/North Africa region. Tiger Daughter: Or how I brought my immigrant mother ultimate shame is an emotional rollercoaster detailing Kaye’s tumultuous relationship with her immigrant Chinese mother. It recently had a sold-out run at Fringe.

• St Paul & The Broken Bones has an 8 show, 4 night stint at Blue Note. The fact that he’s performing at a (somewhat) intimate venue is just the cherry on top. Only half of the shows have tickets left so move quickly here too.

Book Clubs

• Archestratus was hard to pick a category for between Book Clubs and Workshops. Ultimately settled on their book club because it focuses on memoirs (my favorite genre) and is held every 6 weeks instead of monthly which feels like an unrealistic cadence for me to aim for. Their next one is on October 9th and covers Small Fires An Epic in the Kitchen by Rebecca May Johnson.

• McNally Jackson must have 20+ ongoing book clubs. Most of them are monthly. There’s themes like True Crime to Virginia Woolf to International Literature.

• Book Club Bar is one of my favorite places to post up for a solo reading night in NYC. Probably because it’s also a bar. Anyway, they have a few upcoming book clubs. The next one is Lorrie Moore’s I Am Homeless If This is Not My Home, a ghost story set in the 19th and 21st centuries.

• Yu & Me Books has monthly book club. The next one is Romance Club themed on September 26th and will cover Between Friends & Lovers by Shirlene Obuobi.

Art Shows/ Exhibits

• Field of View, a solo show by Jordan Casteel, is being presented at The Hill Art Foundation beginning on September 13th. Jordan is a painter who captured moments of proximity with people and environments encountered within the New York City subway and the streets of Harlem. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’m passionate about NYC subway moments.

• City Streets is a solo show of Mark Lewis’s recent graphite collages of the city streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He works on-site so that he can become entrenched in the community and make the collages feel more like a short story rather than a snapshot of a place. The show runs through September 28th.

  

   

• Edges of Ailey opens at the Whitney on September 25th. It will feature drawings and dance notes by Alvin Ailey and also give visitors the opportunity to watch live performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in the museum’s theatre area.

   

And one more just because

NYC Trivia League has a hold on me like no other. I can’t emphasize enough how much better this league is than a regular trivia night. The new season is starting next week.