House of SpeakEasy NYC
We bring writers & audiences together in innovative & sustaining ways.
On stage. In schools. On the road.
Our Mission
House of SpeakEasy is grounded in the belief that the ability to read and write enables a person to know their rights, be confident in their identity, and engage boldly and empathetically with the world around them. All of our programs support reading, writing, and public participation in literary culture.
On Stage
Seriously Entertaining
“This was something else altogether. I knew and loved all the writers I was sharing the stage with . . . Plus the audience and the other writers and folks running the event were beyond kind.”
October 6 | Joe's Pub at The Public Theater
Seriously Celebrating "The New Yorker: From Cover to Cover"
House of SpeakEasy and The New Yorker return to Joe’s Pub for another Seriously Entertaining collaboration, celebrating the release of "The New Yorker: From Cover to Cover", the definitive presentation of the world’s most popular and evocative magazine covers.
Featuring Barry Blitt, Grace Lynne Haynes, Anita Kunz, and Ricardo Siri, with James Yang as quizmaster, and co-hosted by House of SpeakEasy co-founder and chairwoman Amanda Foreman and Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker and author of "The New Yorker: From Cover to Cover".
November 17 | Joe's Pub at The Public Theater | 7 PM
Truth of the Matter
What are the truths in fiction, and where is the factual accountability in nonfiction? This November, House of SpeakEasy's literary cabaret, Seriously Entertaining, turns its spotlight on the slippery line between story and fact. Join hosts Lucas Wittmann and Peter Godwin for an evening of riffing and ruminating with four extraordinary authors: biologist Stuart Firestein, biographer and historian Amanda Foreman, scholar and lecturer Emily Hauser, and journalist Mikhail Zygar. From the lab to the archive to the front lines of reporting, each writer brings a different discipline's answer to the show's central question.
In Schools
SpeakTogether
“Our students were guided to produce their most thoughtful and reflective creative work to date. The program provided a vital outlet for self-expression, culminating in a powerful showcase where students performed their original pieces for an audience of classmates and parents.”
On the Road
Bookmobiles
“Reading should not be a privilege — and the SpeakEasy Bookmobile has been invaluable in expanding access to resources to our neighbors in NYCHA and throughout the community.”
Writer Spotlight
André Aciman
Novelist, Essayist, Proust Scholar
"I came because there’s nothing more exciting than writers talking about what makes them write."
André Aciman’s body of work spans memoir, essay, and fiction: from Out of Egypt, his Whiting Award-winning account of his family’s expulsion from Alexandria to his essay…
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