Writers + Audiences

House of SpeakEasy brings writers to the forefront of public life through live literary performance, in-school programs, and Bookmobiles that delivers free books to communities across New York City.

House of SpeakEasy believes in the power of community and stories to inspire and change lives. SpeakEasy was founded to connect authors and audiences by using books to help bring people from diverse backgrounds together and to foster a love of reading. We believe it’s vital in our discordant times to educate audiences and students, especially the next generation of readers and writers, to think constructively and engage critically with books. We also firmly feel that book ownership should be a right, not a privilege, and are committed to increasing access to books and literary programming in NYC’s “book deserts”—communities with little or no access to libraries and bookstores.

SpeakEasy is dedicated to the idea that literature matters, and that the essence of literary culture is the relationship between writers and their readers.

We seek to: 1) bring authors out from behind the book, screen, and lectern into direct contact with audiences; 2) ensure that writers are compensated for their work and time and that their books are made available to educators and students; and 3) stimulate the audiences of tomorrow by exposing them to the best writing of today through initiatives aimed at expanding access to authors and book culture for underserved communities.

SpeakEasy’s programs are bound by the belief that storytelling, and the sharing of stories, build empathy. Our focus on the performative component of storytelling allows literature to come alive, especially when authors are allowed to address audiences directly, with no book or screen separating them. SpeakEasy provides literary programming to students and communities and delivers literature to “book deserts,” areas deprived of bookstores and without access to libraries, via The SpeakEasy Bookmobile.