Champagne Diet founder Cara Alwill Leyba will be among the culinary writers celebrating Bay Ridge at special library program on May 31
TWELVE LOCAL CHEFS, BAKERS, WRITERS, EDITORS, AND LITERARY AGENTS SHARE THEIR STORIES
Bay Ridge Library, second floor
7223 Ridge Blvd.
Saturday, May 31, free, 1:00
718-748-5709
www.bklynlibrary.org
Does literary Brooklyn have to mean hipsters in coffee shops in Williamsburg? Not at all. Brooklyn’s literary history is long and deep, from Walt Whitman’s lyrical Leaves of Grass to Hubert Selby Jr.’s brutal Last Exit to Brooklyn, but few may realize the rich culture of writers, editors, agents, and booksellers in Bay Ridge, home to numerous literary agents, bloggers, and editors as well as culinary innovators and cookbook creators. On Saturday afternoon, May 31, the Bay Ridge Library is hosting an event celebrating the neighborhood’s wealth of talent, with a pair of panel discussions moderated by literary agent Melissa Sarver White that look at multiple facets of literary and culinary Bay Ridge. “A Writing Life in Bay Ridge: Editors, Writers, Digital Authors & Bloggers Share Their Stories” brings together Cara Alwill Leyba (Sparkle: The Girl’s Guide to Living a Deliciously Dazzling, Wildly Effervescent, Kick-Ass Life; The Champagne Diet: Eat, Drink, and Celebrate Your Way to a Healthy Mind and Body!), Ken Wheaton (Bacon and Egg Man, The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival), HarperCollins Children’s Books executive editor Kristen Pettit, culture editor Henry Stewart, and Sarah Zorn (Brooklyn Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from Coney Island to Brooklyn Heights). “Cooks and Books: Creativity and Entrepreneurship” features authors Allison Robicelli (Robicelli’s: A Love Story, with Cupcakes), Rawia Bishara (Olives, Lemons & Za’atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking), Allison Kave (First Prize Pies: Shoo-Fly, Candy Apple, and Other Deliciously Inventive Pies for Every Week of the Year [and More]), and Zorn, who will be joined by entrepreneurs Katarzyna Ploszaj of Petit Oven, Louis Coluccio Jr. of A.L.C. Italian Grocery, and a surprise guest from Leske’s Bakery. The talks will be followed by a book sale and signing sponsored by Bay Ridge’s BookMark Shoppe.