Just Buffalo Literary Center's 2023-24 BABEL season announced

Lahiri, Zauner, Irving and Laymon to anchor four-event author series

Just Buffalo Literary Center announced the 2023-24 season of its BABEL author series, featuring Jhumpa Lahiri on Oct. 6; Michelle Zauner on Nov. 9; John Irving on March 21, 2024; and Kiese Laymon on April 25. Season subscriptions for the series, which takes place at Kleinhans Music Hall, are now available for purchase at justbuffalo.org.

Organizers noted:

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and National Humanities Medal recipient, Jhumpa Lahiri’s recent novel, “Whereabouts” chronicles the quest to find one’s place in the world and the crucial importance of finding commonality in language.

Named a TIME 100 Most Influential Person, Michelle Zauner might have been best known as the frontwoman for her acclaimed indie pop band, Japanese Breakfast, until her bestselling memoir, “Crying in H Mart,” skyrocketed to the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for over a year.

John Irving has written 15 novels over the course of his prolific career – including international bestsellers “The World According to Garp,” “A Prayer for Owen Meany” and “A Widow for One Year,” which led TIME magazine to compare him to a “contemporary Dickens” declaring: “It is impossible to imagine the American – or international – literary landscape without John Irving.” BABEL readers will focus on his novel, “The Cider House Rules,” amidst current discussions of reproductive rights.

MacArthur “genius” Kiese Laymon is the author of the groundbreaking essay collection “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America,” and the genre-defying novel “Long Division,” but his award-winning memoir “Heavy” – on Black abundance and the weight we carry – was named one of the “Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years” by The New York Times.

“We’re so excited for readers to delve into the works of these writers,” said Barbara Cole, Just Buffalo Literary Center artistic and associate executive director, and curator of the BABEL series. “On the surface, each one seems so different from the others but, once you dig down a little deeper, what you find is that all four of them are writing about life’s most universal experiences – love and loss, grief and fear – and how we find the courage to walk our own path.”

Season subscriptions include a ticket to attend all four events at Kleinhans Music Hall, as well as virtual links, offering flexibility for attendees to attend in-person or from home. New this year, audience members can select their seats at the time of purchase. Early bird discounts are available through May 15. General admission subscriptions are available for $110 and patron subscriptions, which include a pre-event reception with the author, for $320. Student subscriptions, which require a student ID, will be available for $36 after May 16.

To learn more about Just Buffalo Literary Center’s BABEL series or purchase season subscriptions, visit justbuffalo.org.

About Just Buffalo Literary Center

Just Buffalo Literary Center’s mission is to create and strengthen communities through the literary arts. For over 45 years, the organization has brought the world’s greatest writers to Buffalo, hosted poetry events and readings, and supported the development of young writers. For more information, visit justbuffalo.org.