The most storied basketball game in literary history returns on June 15!
The Other NBA 2016, presented by Out of Print and Litsy, features award-winning writers defending their title against publishing powerhouses, including Katie Freeman, Alex Gilvarry, Mitchell S. Jackson, Chris Jackson, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Kristen Radtke, and Tina “The Other Michael” Jordan. (Full roster below.)
All proceeds will support BookUp, the National Book Foundation’s reading program for underserved youth, which recently launched its first site for LGBTQ readers.
Beer is lovingly provided by The Brooklyn Brewery. Wine is generously donated by Archer Roose. And snacks are graciously provided Shake Shack. (The food is free at halftime, and beverages are available throughout the game with a suggested donation.)
Writers team: Reginald Dwayne Betts (Bastards of the Reagan Era) Natalie Diaz (When My Brother Was an Aztec) Alex Gilvarry (From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant) Mitchell S. Jackson (The Residue Years) Jeffrey McDaniel (Chapel of Inadvertent Joy) Tea Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife) Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Heaven) Kristen Radtke (Imagine Wanting Only This) Coach: Dan P Sheehan
Publishers team: Stephanie Anderson (Darien Library) Jonny Diamond (Literary Hub) Katie Freeman (Riverhead) Chris Jackson (One World) Tina Jordan (Association of American Publishers) Steph Opitz (Marie Claire) Calvin Reid (Publishers Weekly) Matt Ringler (Scholastic) Jon Schulman (Word Bookstore) Coach: Lisa Lucas
Announcers: Jason Diamond (Men’s Journal) Yahdon Israel (#LiterarySwag) Lincoln Michel (Upright Beasts) Kevin Minh-Huy Nguyen (Google Books)
Referees: Dave Hatchett Rob Spillman (All Tomorrow’s Parties) Paul W. Morris (PEN)
For just $20, you can see some of award winning writers play basketball against publishing powerhouses, including Jonny Diamond (Lit Hub), Katie Freeman (Riverhead), Mitchell S. Jackson (The Residue Years), Téa Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife), and Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Heaven). There’ll be drinks and snacks at the game donated by Brooklyn Brewery, Archer Roose, and Shake Shack.
The Other NBA, sponsored by Out of Print and Litsy, will help BookUp students develop a lifelong passion for reading and start their first personal libraries.
You can go the park almost any weekend in the summer and see the same thing. But this game, this could be the first and the last. Don’t do for us. Do it for those kids in Detroit. Don’t forget we have Pulitzer winner Greg Pardlo’s playlist. Where else can you hear his DJ skills?
On June 15, your favorite writers take on publishers in the National Book Foundation’s charity basketball game.
Proceeds from The Other NBA will benefit BookUp, our reading program for underserved youth that just launched its first site dedicated to LGBTQ readers.
TONIGHT, Mitchell S. Jackson, author of The Residue Years and an instructor for BookUp, the Foundation’s after-school reading program, will be awarded the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. This $10,000 prize for emerging African-American fiction writers honors the legendary American writer who published the classic works The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying.
According to The Root, Jackson sees many parallels between events in his own life and that of the protagonist of A Lesson Before Dying. “You don’t often find stories that show the humanity of people who are outcasts. To capture their struggles, the angst and loneliness of being segregated from other inmates, that means a lot,” the writer says.
You can read an excerpt from The Residue Years here.
Photo credit (top image): Joe Sanford Pelican Pictures
This week, we were thrilled to announce the Longlists for the 2019 National Book Awards. These titles in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature represent some of the best writing of the year. The Finalists will be announced October 8, all in the lead up to the 70th National Book Awards on November 20.
Barnes and Nobles is gonna start serving food and alcohol.
Everybody’s cracking jokes about how it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the age of Amazon.
But you know what? Props to them. This is exactly what Blockbuster didn’t do. At no point was Blockbuster like “Hey, movie rentals aren’t the lucrative enterprise they once were. Perhaps it’s time we become known for our cheesy garlic bread.”
patrexes
that’s a fantastic plan, honestly? i would 100% go sit at a bookshop, buy a glass of wine, and pick up the newest biography. 50/50 i’d decide to buy it after a couple chapters, and even if i don’t, that’s still money i spent at B&N!
They could host book clubs with food and drinks where one of the employees shares their experiences with a book of their choice and tries to convince the guests to buy it.
Barnes and noble realizing the only reason people go to brick and mortar stores is for the experience and access to an enjoyable physical space they can socialize in (sure isnt for the price) and capitalizing on that is a stroke of genius and a really refreshing approach to the dilemma of competing with online stores