Reading

An in-person reading and conversation with author and Wall Street Journal reporter Kris Maher. 

Damon Galgut joins us live from his home in Pretoria, South Africa to read and discuss his new novel The Promise, winner of the 2021 Man Booker Prize. 

Brittany Thurman writes stories for middle grade readers that soar with warmth and imagination. Brittany joins us live, virtually, to celebrate the launch of her new picture book Fly, released in January 2022. 

Journeys From There to Here is a stirring set of essays from leading immigration lawyer Susan Cohen, inviting us to walk alongside her clients as they share incredible journeys coming to America while overcoming unimaginable dangers and often heartbreaking obstacles.

Join City of Asylum and Story Club Pgh for a new monthly nonfiction storytelling series, mixing the spontaneity of an open mic with the experience of live theater. With featured performers and open mic storytellers. February's theme: For the love of the game 

Jonathan Gottschall joins us live at Alphabet City to share the science behind storytelling and his quest to ask “How can we save the world from stories?” 

In her early career, Emily Maloney worked as an emergency room technician: a job undertaken to pay off the crippling medical debt brought about by years spent in and out of hospitals and doctor’s offices while grappling with life-changing depression.  Doing the grunt work in a hospital, and taking care of patients at their most vulnerable moments, Emily chronicles her interactions and offers  a brilliant examination of just what exactly our troubled healthcare system asks us to pay.

Award winning writers Patrick Rosal and David Wright Faladé join us in virtual conversation to celebrate the launch of their new works, Faladé’s novel Black Cloud Rising and Rosal’s poetry collection The Last Thing.

Cole Arthur Riley is a Pittsburgh raised writer and creator of Black Liturgies (@blackliturgies), daily spiritual reflections on Instagram. Cole joins City of Asylum to read from her debut collection, This Here Flesh, which weaves stories from three generations of her family to discover the “necessary rituals” that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.

This is a virtual-only event hosted via City of Asylum @ Home. A poetic and raw coming-of-age memoir about Blackness, masculinity, and addiction, Punch Me Up to the Gods is... more →

In person tickets for this event are SOLD OUT but you can still join in virtually!

Storytelling is a tradition that spans across cultures, countries, and centuries. Storytelling traditions span across cultures, countries, and centuries. Stories bring us together to experience joy, wonderment, and intrigue—and they allow us to build deeper empathy and understanding.

Film historian and writer Wil Haygood visits City of Asylum to discuss his newest book “Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World. Wil is joined in conversation by Pittsburgh filmmaker and activist Emmai Alaquiva.

Join the staff writers from Sampsonia Way Magazine for a launch party celebrating the magazine’s new website and its newest series: “The Everyday Pandemic.”

Please note this program is in person only.
A live reading and conversation with translator and poet Yasmine Seale, the first female translator to release The Thousand and One Nights in English. 

In her new book, "Healing," former oncology nurse Theresa Brown vividly chronicles her journey from the mammogram appointment that would change her life to her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Despite years working in oncology and hospice, Brown is constantly surprised by the lack of compassion she experiences during her treatment. And she can’t help reflecting on her time caring for patients. Did she treat them with the dignity and respect that she now craves? What could she have done to make other people’s suffering even a little bit easier?

The in-person event is sold out! You can still tune in online. 

Join City of Asylum and Story Club Pgh for a new monthly nonfiction storytelling series, mixing the spontaneity of an open mic with the experience of live theater. Organized and hosted by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh. 
Every show has both spontaneous tellers and featured performers, all taking the stage to share stories based on a theme.

The Steel City Slam is bringing the city’s top 13 poets together to battle it out at City Of Asylum. This is the poetry show we wait ALL year for! The top 4 scoring poets from this annual GRAND SLAM show will create a team to represent the Steel City in a regional tournament and the Steel City Team plans to bring BRING THE HEAT!  

Each June since 2010, City of Asylum has been home to Cave Canem's annual reading to coincide with the week-long Cave Canem Retreat, their long-standing flagship program.  This year we are thrilled to welcome Cave Canem back in person to read and celebrate, featuring an evening of poetry with 2022 retreat faculty. 

In person tickets are SOLD OUT. You can still join us via livestream.