This session is a joyful examination of how we can make our personal and communal lives better through collaborative, connected living. In the anthology Living, Together: Reimagining Community in the Age of Disconnection, editor Samantha Paige Rosen brings together essays about the innovative ways people across the country are redefining home and community. In Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City, environmental historian Kate Brown presents a “riveting social history of the world, as seen through gardens” (Kirkus, starred). And in Friends of the Good: How Remarkable Friendships Transform Our Lives, WellWithAll co-founder Demond Martin shares how guiding lights, mentorship, and kinship shaped his life and how the quality of our friendships determines who we become. Presented in partnership with the Authors and Innovators Business Ideas Festival, this inspiring discussion will be moderated by Larry Gennari, founder and curator of Authors & Innovators.

More information here.

Join me and Boston area community builders Rev. Jordan Harris (pastor of Connexion, a United Methodist community focused on social justice) and Willie Burnley Jr. (former Somerville City Councilor At-Large and Mayoral Candidate) as we share ideas around how to build more interdependent lives.

More information and RSVP here.

Join me, Rachel Pastan (We’re So Lucky to Live Here), Diana Lind (Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing), and Elizabeth Greenspan (moderator) at this Design Philadelphia festival event as we discuss all things housing-realted!

Throughout the region and across the country, the cost of housing and changes in family structures are prompting people to look for creative ways to live together. In the process, they often confront cultural judgment and restrictive zoning laws. Three Philadelphia-area writers will discuss the ways current zoning makes finding a way and place to live in the world increasingly and unnecessarily hard. They will share how they have each used research and imagination in their recent books to vividly and engagingly describe the problem and envision alternatives.

More information and RSVP here.

Once a season, we host The New Urban Order Book Club. Past selections have included Stuck by Yoni Appelbaum and Shade by Sam Bloch, and the book club met with each of the authors for an hour-long chat. On September 14 at 6pm ET we’ll be discussing the summer book club selection, Living, Together with the book’s editor, Samantha Paige Rosen, and Gillian Morris from Supernuclear.

​We hope you'll have time to read the book beforehand - you can buy at the bookseller of your choice at the link here - but you are warmly invited to join even if you haven't had time to read the book yet.

More information and RSVP here.

Join me at Third Place Books (Ravenna location) for a conversation with Living, Together contributor Suanne Carlson (co-founder of the Homes on Wheels Alliance), moderated by Daniel Tam-Claiborne (producer, nonprofit leader, and author of Transplants). This discussion highlights Suanne’s anthology Q&A, which reveals the freedom and connection that can be found in a nomadic life, but will also offer insights around communal living and community building as a whole. Bring your burning questions, Seattle!

More information and RSVP here

Join me at Grit City Books for a conversation with Tacoma-based Living, Together contributor Simone Gorrindo (author of the The Wives, a finalist for the Washington State Book Awards). Joyce Chen, executive director of The Seventh Wave, will be moderating. This discussion highlights Simone’s anthology essay, which illustrates the way neighbors—particularly military wives—can become interdependent, but will also offer insights around communal living and community building as a whole. Bring your burning questions about community, friendship, how to be a good neighbor, and how to form close editorial relationships, Tacoma!

More information and RSVP here

Join me at H&H Books during the Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl for an energizing and honest convo about all things debut with Kat Stoddard (Wasp’s Nest), Kim Narby (Saturn Returning), and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow (Names Have Been Changed).

More information and RSVP here

If I’m not coming to your city but you’re interested in attending a Living, Together event, join us virtually through the incredible Asheville, NC-based queer, feminist bookstore and co-op (I’ve been there, it’s amazing), Firestorm Books! I’ll be in conversation with contributors Mary Anne Adams (founder of ZAMI NOBLA) and Elizabeth Hart Bergstrom (New York Times, The Offing). We’ll focus on Mary Anne’s Q&A about ensuring elders, especially Black lesbian elders, aren’t left behind, and Liz’s essay about multigenerational living, chronic illness, and what other species can teach us about community and care. Bring your burning and most liberal questions to this one!

More information here

Mark your calendar for Living, Together in NYC! Mia Arias Tsang (author of Fragments of Wasted Devotion) will moderate this conversation between me and contributors Sarah Thankam Mathews (author of All This Could Be Different) and Alex Alberto (author of Entwined). Discussion will highlight Sarah’s essay about the mutual aid network she founded at the beginning of the pandemic and Alex’s essay about polyamorous home and parenting, but will also offer insights into communal living and community building as a whole. Bring your burning questions, NYC!

Register here.

Join me at Politics & Prose — Union Market for a conversation with DC-based LIving, Together contributors Rhaina Cohen (editor for NPR’s Embedded podcast and author of the NYT bestselling The Other Significant Others) and Hannah Grieco (Washington City Paper Spot LIT columnist and author of First Kicking, Then Not), moderated by Ayesha Rascoe (host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday). This discussion highlights Rhaina’s anthology essay, which illustrates the fun and flexibility of living with her husband and friends, and Hannah’s essay, which reveals the increased support and opportunity for families to grow together that multigenerational living can provide, but will also offer insights into communal living and community building as a whole. Bring your burning questions, DC!

More information here.

Join the Philadelphia Ethical Society, H&H Books, Samantha Paige Rosen, Rhaina Cohen, Alex Alberto, and your favorite Philly organizations for an evening of ideas, community, and food to launch the anthology LIVING, TOGETHER: REIMAGINING COMMUNITY IN THE AGE OF DISCONNECTION!
The event will include:

• short readings from the anthology by Samantha Paige Rosen and contributors Alex Alberto (Entwined) and Rhaina Cohen (The Other Significant Others)

• a Q&A with a focus on practical tips and ideas around communal living and creating community, moderated by Philadelphia Ethical Society leader Philip Lindsay

• a potluck and give/ask boards, designed to foster connection with fellow community members

• appearances by community organizations, including Philly Ethical Society, South Philadelphia Community Fridge, Join Philly, and more TBD

This is a ticketed event (tickets are free unless you want to buy the book/donate to these orgs) so please register here!

Where do you feel most at home? This QTAPI (Queer and Trans Asian and Pacific Islander) Week, come celebrate chosen family and community at San Francisco’s Pier 15! Living, Together contributor Jake Montano will moderate a conversation that includes me and contributor Amanda E. Machado, alongside additional programming around the surprising history of nightlife, a discussion on whether we should inhabit outer space, a drag show, and a dance party.

More information here.

Join me and fellow anthology editors Ilana Masad and Stevie Seibert Desjarlais (HERE FOR ALL THE REASONS: WHY WE WATCH THE BACHELOR) for this one-time virtual class!

A rejection is not a me-jection–but it can feel like that when your personal essay doesn’t make the cut (or The Cut). What gives editors the ick? In the last year, we’ve edited at least 50 essays between us–and that’s just for our two anthologies. We’ve seen it all: submissions that were immediate yeses, voices we were excited to help develop, and those that missed the mark. In this class, we’ll provide insight around structuring a personal story, incorporating research, sharpening voice, effectively collaborating with editors, and more. We’ll demonstrate through sample pitches and essay excerpts what works and what doesn’t. Finally, we’ll answer your burning questions about how to write personal essays that get accepted.

More information here and register here.

By popular demand (jk but it was a great panel), I’m bringing this AWP panel to the virtual space provided by Philadelphia’s own “A Writer’s Party!” Featuirng Philly-based writers Eshani Surya, LindoYes, Elizabeth Austin, Julian Shendelman, and moderated by me.

Approximately 20% of the population identifies as neurodivergent. If you’re among this group, you’ve likely seen your writing benefit from your unique brain through hyperfocus, attention to detail, memory retention, thinking outside the box, and more. You’ve also probably experienced challenges to process and craft around these same skills and qualities. In this panel, genre-diverse writers with ADHD, ASD, OCD, and dyslexia share their strategies and routines, their wisdom and reflections.

Register here.

In a world where authors must do their own promotion, the good news is that you have many tactics available. Even if you avoid social media and no matter how much support your publisher provides, there are ways that authors can raise their profile and find readers. Leslie-Ann Murray moderates a panel of authors who have taken various approaches to publicizing their books and connecting with audiences.

If you could use advice about how to approach social media or need help getting traction with reviews and interviews, join us for this encouraging talk about how writers can actively promote themselves and their works throughout the literary world, before and after a book’s publication. The session will offer practical strategies to:

• Secure book reviews and interviews (even with smaller, emerging platforms)

• Prepare for interviews and confidently own their narrative.

• Elevate their social media presence in authentic, sustainable ways.

• Connect with audiences through book clubs, newsletters, and literary communities.

A Q&A will follow the presentation; you can pre-submit a question when registering for the event. A recording will be made available for those who cannot attend live.

Register here.

In this AWP offiste event, writers read about cats! Hosted by Amelia Possanza, Samantha Paige Rosen, and Gaby Iori, featuring: Kristen Arnett, Krys Malcolm Belc, Megan Okonsky, Mario Elias, Hannah Grieco, Ananda Lima, Eshani Surya, and Jules Wernersbach.

Register here.

At AWP in Baltimore, I’ll be in conversation with writers Emma Copley Eisenberg, Paul Lisicky, Reena Shah, and Rachel Richardson:

Friendships rarely appear as central subjects in stories about adult life, though they are often our sturdiest and longest-lasting bonds. To center friendship is an act of resistance to a dominant heteronormative narrative. This panel seeks to investigate these under-written relationships. In novels, poetry, and essays, the panel will discuss friendship as a topic worth centering in our creative lives and work, and will explore the generative possibilities in the territory.

More information here.