Brittle Paper and the Schomburg Center are co-presenting a LIVE from NYPL event. Book lovers will be treated to a literary happy hour of readings and drinks atop the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, overlooking stunning views of New York City. The featured writers are Sierra Leonean author Namina Forna and Boston-based Nigerian author Buki Papillon. Attendees will enjoy a night of stories celebrating fantasy worlds inspired by African mythological and folkloric traditions.

Join us on June 17 at any point between 5:30-7:30 PM. Readings will begin at about 6:15 PM. Learn more.

We are delighted about this collaboration with the Schomburg Center, one of the world’s leading cultural institutions focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences and LIVE from NYPL, the New York Public Library’s premier cultural series. The event is a celebration of Schomburg literary festival, now in its fourth year and a vibrant space for exploring global black literatures. Find more information about the festival here.

We are also excited about the featured authors. Forna and Papillon’s works represent some of the boldest and most inventive writing in African literature today, so we are excited about this opportunity to engage with their writing. Papillon’s debut novel, titled An Ordinary Wonder (2021), is the first Nigerian novel to feature an intersex character. Her writing is a fine example of the power of fiction to expand the lens of our perception and capacity for sympathy. The book lightly incorporates magical realist elements to challenge entrenched beliefs about gender and sexuality. The Merciless Ones (2022) is the second book in Namina Forna’s Deathless series. It is a feminist anthem steeped in richly imagined fantasy worlds inspired by west African folklore.