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May 18

Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country, Chavisa Woods's incredible new book of short stories, is out this week. Among those taking notice are Lambda Literary's Sara Rauch, who describes the book as "nuanced and provocative, heartfelt and funny and wise."

March 28

Happy birthday to Nelson Algren, one of Seven Stories's founding authors and patron saints. Algren was the first ever National Book Award winner, the one-time lover of Simone de Beauvoir, and an inspiration to artists as diverse as Kurt Vonnegut and Donald Barthelme, Studs Turkel and Lou Reed. But Algren was much more than his accolades and could ever show, as the following excerpt from his Noncomformity: Writing on Writing will attest. Beginning with an epigraph from F. Scott Fitzgerald in his 'crack-up' years, Algren's essay is, in some ways, the opposite of inspiring. It is a look into the depths of the writer's motivation (hint: vindictiveness), and a hymn to all those who "live underground." Perhaps enjoy is not the world—but we hope you'll find yourself moved and provoked by this lyrical and brilliant piece of writing on writing.

March 15

Happy Birthday, Kate Bornstein! A celebrated pioneer and advocate for the LGBTQ community, Kate Bornstein is the author of My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else EntirelyGender Outlaw: On Men, Women and The Rest of Us; and A Queer and Pleasant Danger: A Memoir. We've excerpted the introduction and first chapter of the inspiring Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws below. We hope you enjoy!

October 18

The Price of the Ticket

by Kia Corthron

Originally published in the July/August 2016 issue of The Dramatist

Three years ago I was standing in the lobby of a theater, the typical Broadway cluster-mob awaiting entrance, with more than half the horde African-American. This would be logical, as the show was the musical revue After Midnight, a refurbishing of a prior concert piece entitled Cotton Club Parade celebrating Ellington-era jazz and dance. Inside, my sister and I were led to our orchestra seats, and I looked around: not another black face in sight. It took me a moment to realize that The Mystery of the Vanishing Black Folks likely would have been quickly resolved had we moved up to the balconies. But from where I sat, observing the complexion of the performers versus that of the onlookers, it was the Cotton Club, the Colors entertaining the Caucasians, and that the upper tiers may have been filled with black faces was not exactly comforting, an economically induced throwback to Jim Crow segregation with African Americans relegated to the peanut gallery.

January 24



by D. D. Guttenplan

Why didn’t we see it coming? And by “we” I include not just the media—mainstream, lamestream, the entire spectrum from, say, The Nation on the left to Commentary and National Review on the right. But also those supposedly hard-nosed empiricists at FiveThirtyEight and the wiseguys (since this was mostly guys) at the New York Times’s TheUpshot, none of whom gave Trump a better than one in three chance of winning.

April 13

The following excerpt, from Walter Mosley's Workin' on the Chain Gang is featured in Voices of a People's History of the United States, edited by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. 

June 28

"Today could be the last day of your life. Whether or not you’re thinking of killing yourself, you could die at any moment. Still here? Excellent! That’s called staying alive." Here is a playful and empowering piece on perseverance, transgression, and shifting identities from Kate Bornstein's Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws. That book, along with many others from our Pride Month Collection, are on sale at 50% through June 30, 11:59PM EST. Have a look!

September 27

May 28

To celebrate Miles Davis's birthday this past Sunday, we're sharing an intimate conversation between Quincy Troupe, Miles's friend, biographer, and author of Miles and Me, and Seven Stories Publisher Dan Simon. Troupe dishes on the curious start to their friendship, the riotous energy of Miles's persona, and the deeply universal nature of his music. Our Spotify playlist at the end lets you groove to the rhythm of Troupe's favorite Davis tracks. 

April 06

The refrain we hear over and over, in the United States at least, is that people today are apathetic about politics. Yet it turns out that this is far from the case. Voters in the U.S. and in democracies around the world are more engaged in politics than they've ever been. The catch is that they're disillusioned with the democratic process itself. Only 33% of Europeans have faith in the EU. The U.S. Congress has a 69% negative rating. So what gives? In Against Elections, set to be published on April 17th, David Van Reybrouck diagnoses the symptoms of our ailing democracies and comes up with a radical solution: drawing lots, rather than voting, to determine our politicians, just as the ancient Athenians did. Here as an exclusive excerpt on the Seven Stories Blog is the book's introduction, from former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, and the first chapter of Van Reybrouck's book. 

March 20

January 16

Introducing a new feature on the Seven Stories blog: an indie bookstore round-up, in which staff and other members of our community write a few words on their other favorite independent bookstores. This week, Ben Hillin writes about Topos, in Ridgewood, Queens.

March 01

October 23

December 20



by Derrick Jensen

When I find myself in times of trouble, I’m less interested in Mother Mary’s wisdom than I am in Joe Hill’s: Don’t mourn; organize.

There’s a sense in which Trump’s election is a surprise, similar to how we somehow seem to be continually surprised when easily predictable negative consequences of this way of life come to pass. So we’re surprised when bathing the world in insecticides somehow causes crashes in insect populations, when covering the world in endocrine disrupters somehow leads to the disruption of endocrine systems

October 06

The chapter below is excerpted from Khary Lazarre-White's Passage. As Farah Jasmine Griffin put it, Passage is "a work of great originality, pain, and aching beauty. Its protagonist, Warrior, a sensitive, haunted and haunting young man, bears the burden of history: the past is always near, shaping and informing present realities of black boys like himself."

June 17

As the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots approaches, it is important to honor the stories of those in pursuit of justice and acceptance for the LGBT+ community. Originally translated and published in 2009, Seba al-Herz's pseudonymously written The Others is one such story, detailing a nameless woman's discovery of her own sexual orientation within a repressive community in Saudi Arabia. The following excerpt from the 2010 Stonewall Book Award nominee illustrates the powerful, yet tortuous intersection between love, faith, and identity.

August 27

In this excerpt from The America Syndrome: Apocalypse, War, and Our Call to Greatness, new in paperback this autumn, Betsy Hartmann discusses what has come to be called "the greening of hate"—that is, the fusion of environmentalism with anti-immigrant bigotry, an ideology which was shared by both the Christchurch and El Paso gunmen. She also touches on modern eugenics in the U.S., and stresses the need to avoid simple dualities in discussing questions of population and environment. 

March 09

Comedian, activist, and author Barry Crimmins died last month at the age of 64. One of the legends of the Boston comedy scene, as well as a childhood abuse survivor and a vigilante anti-pedophilia watchdog who helped expose the prevalance of child pornography on early AOL chatrooms, Crimmins was as influential as he was inimitable. In 2004, he published his personal and political memoir Never Shake Hands with a War CriminalBelow are two representatively eclectic chapters from a very funny and yet very serious book: the first is about starting Boston's first true comedy club, the Ding Ho, while living homeless on the outskirts of town, and the second is about snubbing the "satanic" architect of the United States government's atrocities in Vietnam. 

May 29

"I grew up in the colonies and I may not have learned politically correct English, but I did learn that imperialism always comes bearing the best intentions. It kindly enlightens the benighted, as it offers to cure their frustrations. But to be cured, savages must first mime the idiocies of their conquerors: trade when they trade, pray where they pray."

February15
Head over to Book Culture as they celebrate Crossing Borders: Stories and Essays about Translation, with editor Lynne Sharon Schwartz, at Book Culture on 112th! Lynne will be joined by a panel of contributors to the book, including Michelle Herman, Michae
New York, NY
7.00pm
Book Culture on 112th Street
October26
The International Festival of Authors brings together the world’s best writers of contemporary literature for 11 days of readings, interviews, artist talks, round table discussions, public book signings and a number of special events.
Toronto, ON
6.00pm
Harbourfront Centre
May14

Writers’ power to expose inequalities, mobilize collective resistance, and share unorthodox...

New York, NY
12.00pm
PEN Word Voices Festival
April27

A virtual event on Thursday, April 27, 2023, from 1 - 2pm EDT

The New York Public...

Online, Internet!
1.00pm
Zoom / Live Stream - Hosted by NYPL
May04

City Lights and Seven Stories Press celebrate the publication of the paperback release of Writers...

San Francisco, CA
6.00pm
Canessa Gallery
October17
Join Khary Lazarre-White at Eso Won Books in a discussion about his debut novel, "Passage."
Los Angeles, CA
7.00pm
Eso Won Books
October19
Join author Khary Lazarre-White at the Northwest African American Museum for a discussion and signing of his debut novel, "Passage."
Seattle, WA
7.00pm
Northwest African American Museum
October22
Join author Khary Lazarre-White in a discussion and signing of his debut novel, "Passage."
Oakland, CA
2.00pm
Marcus Books
October14
Join Source Booksellers and Khary Lazarre-White in a discussion of his debut novel Passage
Detroit, MI
6.00pm
Source Booksellers
May03

Join Seven Stories and Haymarket Books for a launch of Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s important new...

Online, Internet!
6.00pm
Zoom / Live Stream
October15
Located in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, the Festival includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging and established authors.
Brattleboro, VT
2.30pm
Robert H. Gibson Literary Garden
February15

Join us on YouTube Live for a live-streamed conversation with playwright and novelist...

Online, Internet!
6.30pm
The Tenement Museum
November03

Loyalty is excited to welcome Cat Fitzpatrick and Cecilia Gentili for a LIVE and IN-PERSON...

Washington, DC
7.00pm
Jackie Lee’s
November18

Second Read is a BPL Presents series that reevaluates canonical classic and contemporary...

Online, Internet!
7.00pm
Brooklyn Public Library (Zoom)
April06

Date and time: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 19:00 - 20:30 BST

Location: Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk...

London, United Kingdom
7.00pm
Frontline Club
May27

How healthy is journalism in the United States today? Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff of Project...

Seattle, WA
7.30pm
Town Hall Seattle (virtual)
June05

This event will take place virtually on Zoom.

Join the Transnational Literature Series at...

Brookline, MA
3.00pm
Brookline Brooksmith (virtual)
September21

Ten Mini-Plays by Barry Gifford - One Night Only!

Join us on Thursday, September 21, for a FREE...

New York, NY
7.30pm
The Players
April25

Join us in marking the publication of world-renowned activist and Egyptian political...

New York, NY
7.00pm
McNally Jackson South Seaport