October 25th — How a Book is Made: Gini Alhadeff in Conversation with Barbara Epler and Christine Smallwood

Presented by 192 Books and Paula Cooper Gallery, Gini Alhadeff, Barbara Epler, and Christine Smallwood will discuss the new series by New Directions, Storybook ND.

This event will take place live at 192 Books at 192 10th Avenue, between 21st and 22nd avenue, on Wednesday, October 25th at 7:00 PM ET. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. The discussion will also be streamed directly to this page.

Storybook ND, created and curated by Gini Alhadeff (Published by New Directions)

Created and curated by the writer and translator Gini Alhadeff, Storybook ND—a new series of slim hardcover fiction books—aims to deliver the pleasure one felt as a child reading a marvelous book from cover to cover in an afternoon. The series, beautifully designed by Peter Mendelsund, will feature original works by beloved New Directions authors, and will also introduce new writers to the list. As Alhadeff notes, “There’s nothing sweeter than to fall, for a few hours, between the covers of a perfect little book! And the image on the front, by a contemporary artist such as Francesco Clemente or Kiki Smith, will draw you in. Longer stories or shorter novels with a beautiful face: that’s Storybook ND.”

Gini Alhadeff is author of The Sun at Midday and Diary of a Djinn. She won the 2018 Florio Prize for her translation of Jaeggy’s I am the Brother of XX and is the creator and curator of Storybook ND. 

Barbara Epler joined New Directions as an editorial assistant after graduating from college in 1984. She became editor in chief in 1995; named Publisher in 2008, and in 2011 became president.

Christine Smallwood is the author of the novel The Life of the Mind and a frequent contributor to publications such as the New York Review of Books, Harper’s, Bookforum, and the New York Times Magazine. In 2024, Fireflies Press will publish her short book La Captive, a critical study of Chantal Akerman and Proust.