New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray and the Gracie Mansion Conservancy yesterday announced the launch of the Gracie Book Club, a collaborative effort between McCray and renowned New York City authors to foster conversation on a curated selection of literary works.
For the 2016-17 inaugural season, McCray and three Gracie Book Club moderators – authors James Hannaham, Jacqueline Woodson and A.M. Homes – will select six books to read and discuss with fellow New Yorkers over the next year.
The theme of this season of the Gracie Book Club is “Envisioning Distant Neighbors,” which aims to open dialogue on New York City’s diversity and rich immigrant community. All of this year’s books will touch on that theme.
“The many immigrant groups that have sought refuge here, and the beautiful languages and traditions they brought with them, help define New York City. We are proud to shine new light on the often untold stories of our city’s diverse communities with the new Gracie Book Club,” said McCray. “I hope New Yorkers will join me and our talented moderators in this first season of exploring how our multicultural population has helped us build a more dynamic city through our selected books and the discussions to follow.”
The first Gracie Book Club selection will be Bright Lines, written by Tanwi Nandini Islam. Bright Lines tells the story of three young women and a Bangladeshi immigrant family as they struggle to reconcile the competing identities of Brooklyn, New York and Dhaka. The novel explores the characters’ search for a home built upon unconditional love as well as the meaning of family across cultures distinguished by time and place.
Bright Lines was picked by First Lady McCray and Hannaham, who will moderate the first Gracie Book Club discussion. That event will be held at Gracie Mansion at 6 p.m., May 17. Ticket giveaway information will be made public in the coming weeks.
Along with Bright Lines, three other books will be chosen by First Lady McCray with Hannaham and Homes for an adult audience. The two remaining books will be selected by First Lady McCray and Woodson for two student audiences.
Information on upcoming Gracie Book Club selections and discussion events, as well as discussion topics, will be made available at nyc.gov/graciebookclub and will be emailed to New Yorkers who sign up for the Gracie Book Club.
“Brooklyn Public Library is proud to join the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, First Lady Chirlane McCray and thousands of New Yorkers to share in one of life’s greatest pleasures: reading and discussing a good book,” saidBrooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda Johnson. “As an institution whose mission is to nurture writers and share their work with as wide a readership as possible, we’re particularly pleased that a Brooklyn author and story have been selected to inaugurate the Gracie Book Club, and we encourage our patrons to join the club and read along.”
“Storytelling is a powerful political tool that many immigrants in our City hold – regardless of legal status in this country. I applaud First Lady McCray in opening up the space for immigrant stories to be shared and absorbed by all those who participate,” said Sunset Park/Red Hook City Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Chair of the Committee on Immigration.
New Yorkers of all ages are encouraged to sign up for the Gracie Book Club at nyc.gov/graciebookclub.
Free, guided tours of Gracie Mansion are available every Tuesday. Interested individuals can sign up for a tour at on.nyc.gov/gracietour.
