In this program, Moses Ose Utomi shares his empowering debut novel, "Daughters of Oduma." This program is part of Pittsburgh Playhouse’s the Parable Path, a series of local events designed to enrich our communal experience with Octavia E. Butler’s "Parable of the Sower," a musical adaptation of Butler’s groundbreaking Afrofuturist novel created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon.

Presented in partnership with the Center for Bioethics & Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh, City of Asylum welcomes Travis Rieder for an eye-opening exploration of his 2019 memoir, "In Pain: A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle with Opioids."

In this third installment of our International Reading Series, curated by Anderson Tepper, City of Asylum welcomes Zakes Mda. In this program Zakes and Anderson will discuss the breadth of Zakes’ work and the ways in which it reflects and relates to the shifting landscape of South African literature. 

To live is to tell stories. Embracing that truth, Story Club Pittsburgh (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh), organizes and hosts a monthly nonfiction storytelling series at City of Asylum. The theme for March 2023 is "Last Call." 

The trials of the outcast might be a tale as old as time, but never before has there been a story quite like Joseph Earl Thomas’ memoir, "Sink." In a series of exacting and fierce vignettes, Joseph guides readers through the unceasing cruelty that defined his circumstances, laying bare the depths of his loneliness and illuminating the vital reprieve geek culture offered him.

Jade Song shares her visceral debut novel, "Chlorine." This chilling and addictive work blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, creating a shrewd commentary on the trials of growing up in a society that puts monstrous pressure on young women and their bodies.