A tidal wave of literary enthusiasts, avid readers, book influencers and media hit the community for the annual Authors Night in East Hampton, NY on Saturday evening. This event attracts the crème de la crème of the literary world: critically acclaimed authors, Pulitzer Prize winners, celebrity authors, and enthusiastic bibliophiles from around the world. An extravaganza, this event sparks an electric atmosphere with an undeniable buzz that adds an air of sophistication and intellectual richness to the east end of Long Island.
When I arrived, the huge white tent in Herrick Field was in full swing with excited readers cued up to speak with New York Times reporter and author Maggie Haberman, scientist Neil De Grasse Tyson, ballerina Misty Copeland, and others. Authors Night is a rare opportunity to meet famous authors, engage them in conversation and get your book signed.
I love attending Authors Night, and this year I decided to do something a little different. In BookTrib style, I asked authors what they were reading right now. I received some terrific answers.
Here’s what I found out:
The first person I wanted to chat with was Jann Wenner – longtime publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine. Wenner, author of the brand-new memoir Like a Rolling Stone, just finished reading Be Mine by Richard Ford.
Ballerina Misty Copeland, author of The Wind at My Back, was reading First Position by debut author Melanie Hamrick in which a dancer’s fall from grace ignites a dark ambition in this propulsive novel about the seductive, cutthroat world of professional ballet. Hmmmm.
Maggie Haberman, New York Times reporter and author of the highly acclaimed Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, said she reads The New York Times and is too busy doing her job to read anything right now.
Daisy Alpert Florin, author of My Last Innocent Year published in February by Henry Holt, was reading Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver.
Robert Caro has been called “one of the great reporters of our time and probably the greatest biographer” by The Sunday Times (London). He is the author of The Power Broker, The Path to Power and many others about Lyndon Johnson. The long queue was comprised of major fans. I asked what he was reading, he said, Anthony Trollope’s The Prime Minister, which came out in 2011. Books never die!
Sara Divello is author of Broadway Butterfly, a thriller about New York in the Roaring Twenties — a riveting true-crime novel, based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the era, where power, politics, and secrets conspire to bury the truth. Sara told me she was reading an advance reading copy of The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok.
Podcaster and author of On Brand, Aliza Licht just finished two books she raved about: The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz and In Five Years by Rebecca Serle.
Steve Madden, our friendly neighborhood shoe guy, was there. He’s the author of The Cobbler (we went to the same high school). Steve was super animated and excited about reading Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy.
Carmela Ciuraru is the author of Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages, a book that came out last February that The Washington Post calls “a tour de force … the stories Ciuraru tells are gripping, horrific, and sometimes even funny — but most of all they are important.” She is reading Real Estate by Deborah Levy.
If you are a contemporary fiction fan, you’ll be happy to know that Susan Isaacs, author of Compromising Positions (made into a film), Shining Through (also made into a film with Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith), Past Perfect, Almost Paradise, Lily White and many others, is back with a new book called Bad, Bad Seymour Brown and she’s reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning G Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage.
Paulina Porizkova, you may remember, the first woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, is the author of No Filter: The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful, and she was reading the new book people are raving about by Abraham Verghese, The Covenant of Water.
Prudence Peiffer, author of a book getting a ton of buzz called The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever, is reading August Blue by Deborah Levy.
Linda Villarosa, author of Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation, enthusiastically recommended Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H.
Steve Trebing, who wrote a memoir about his daughter called Saving Katie A Father’s Story, was reading one of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels.
East Hampton Library board chair Sheila Rogers is reading The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell on audio.
Proceeds from Authors Night benefit the East Hampton Library, a private, not-for-profit organization providing outstanding library services to the community.
After 19 years, Authors Night continues to reinforce the significance of reading, writing and storytelling, igniting a passion for literature that extends far beyond the boundaries of East Hampton. The event serves as a testament to the power of words and the profound impact they can have on individuals and communities.
Please stay tuned for more stories about what authors are reading. At BookTrib we are also interested in what you’re reading. If you want to share, please send an email to me at [email protected].