Book and Poetry

Two novelists share the Booksmith stage: Meg Elison presents Foundling Fathers, in which cloned Founding Fathers explore a smartphone in 1750, and Luna McNamara discusses The Witch and the Huntress, a reimagining of Medea and Atalanta. A conversation and signing follow the readings.

Former Broadway performer turned mental health nurse Josh Silver reads and discusses his work at Harvard Book Store. The Friday-evening event in Harvard Square includes a signing.

Dave Zirin, sports editor at The Nation, appears at Harvard Book Store for a talk and audience Q&A. Zirin is one of the country’s most prominent writers on the intersection of sports, politics and power.

Legendary English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock discusses his new book ‘Stranded in the Future’ at Porter Square Books’ Seaport location. A rare chance to hear one of rock’s great eccentrics talk writing rather than sing it.

National Book Award winner Sigrid Nunez discusses her new book ‘It Will Come Back to You’ in conversation with Tara Menon. One of the summer’s marquee author nights at the Coolidge Corner indie.

Part of the global ‘introvert happy hour’ movement, Trident’s Silent Book Club gathers every other Monday for two hours of cozy, no-assigned-reading quiet above the bustle of Newbury Street. Bring whatever you’re already reading, settle in with a coffee or a cocktail, and read alongside fellow book lovers before the optional swap of recommendations. It’s…

A Coolidge Corner landmark since 1961, this rambling, book-stuffed shop is known for drawing marquee authors, often hosting bigger names across the street at the historic Coolidge Corner Theatre. Summer nights bring novelists and essayists into warm, sold-out conversation with a famously literate Brookline crowd. In-store readings are typically free; the larger theater events are…

One of New England’s longest-running open mics, Stone Soup has been gathering poets since the 1970s and still carries that communal, anyone-can-read spirit. On second and fourth Wednesdays it meets in person in the brick-and-timber lofts of Fort Point’s arts district, often with a featured reader before the open list. It’s a welcoming, unpretentious room…

Tucked into the Porter Square Galleria, this fiercely community-minded bookshop pairs a buzzing in-house cafe with one of the city’s most thoughtful author-event calendars. Summer evenings bring novelists, journalists, and big-idea nonfiction writers in conversation with local luminaries, the kind of intimate, question-rich nights that send you straight to the register afterward. Most readings are…

The creaking wooden floors and floor-to-ceiling stacks of this Harvard Square institution have hosted Nobel laureates, novelists, and debut poets alike for nearly a century. Summer brings a steady stream of free evening readings, including the Harvard Science Book Talks co-presented with the University’s Division of Science. Most events are free with no registration; arrive…