Sunday: Or The Whale

Don’t ask me my qualifications. Suffice to say that I was in communication with the right people at the right time. That’s how I’ve ended up with a slot in the Moby-Dick Marathon NYC, in which the great book is read aloud from spout to tail. The event gets underway tonight and goes to Sunday afternoon. (Paul Dano will have kicked off the marathon by the time I get this posted.) The event website/blog and event details are here; a write-up in the New York Times is here. I’m one of about 150 readers. (We all are all listed here. Note Sophie Blackall at 10:50 on Saturday!) Each of us will take a ten-minute go at the book. My slot is on Sunday at 2:50, at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe at 126 Crosby Street, 10012. It’s only an estimate but by that time on Sunday we should be up to chapter 134 or so. Chapter 134! This means no disquisitions on the subtleties of right whales, et cetera, et cetera, for this reader. We are talking “The Chase—The Second Day,” or something in that neighborhood. Don’t let the damp, drizzly November in your soul (or out your window) keep you away. A dead whale or a stove boat!  I hope to see you there!

Saturday: Brooklyn Museum + powerHouse events

From 12:00 to 4:00 on Saturday, November 17, I’ll join forty or so (!) other Brooklyn authors and illustrators at the Brooklyn Museum’s annual Children’s Book Fair. Says the museum: “Meet your favorite Brooklyn authors and illustrators at this year’s fair, featuring storybooks, picture books, and graphic novels. Enjoy readings, games, and activities for all ages.” Details are here.

Following that event a group of us will lock arms and head over to a fundraising event at powerHouse Books in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo. I know powerHouse because my studio used to be around the corner from the store, because it’s a great bookstore and event space, and because back when the Book Maker’s Dozen was more of a going concern we had a great time showing some of our prints there. Two weeks ago, powerHouse took a pounding from Sandy — read more about that at Publishers Weekly, here — and Saturday’s event is to help the store recoup. The event runs from noon to 9:00. A formidable collection of authors will be on hand to read and sign (Jonathan Franzen, Rick Moody, Paul Auster, Sarah Vowell, more) and then by around 5:00 our group from the Brooklyn Museum should have staggered in to round out the lineup and sign books. At 6:00, happily, powerHouse will start serving drinks. Come for the sake of the store, come for the children’s literature, or come for the Côtes du Rhône, but come!

PowerHouse will be requesting a $10 donation. Available for purchase will be a variety of donated books and prints, including prints from The Racecar Alphabet and Moonshot. (See above, click to enlarge.)

More information is here and here.


Whether you can make it to the museum or the bookstore or both, I hope I’ll see you on Saturday!

Sketch the vote

This morning I walked to my neighborhood elementary school and exercised my franchise. The lines were long, the lines were slow—not a good situation in many ways but good for sketching or for staring at a phone and especially good for sketching someone staring at a phone. Click the image for a larger version.