Sci-fi book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Grief & Mourning Book Club
We are grateful to Rachel for bringing us this Grief & Mourning Book Club. Read her bio below to see what inspired her to propose it. Then, come grab the book at Stanza, give it a read, and be ready for a great discussion.
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Rachel Tayler
I am a parent, clinical psychologist and lover of all things Beacon. A few years ago, while going through a significant loss, I found a lot of comfort in books. Whether it was memoir or fiction, I felt that reading stories of others going through this universal experience brought me comfort. It was an antidote to the loneliness that so often accompanies grief and mourning. This book club is for anyone who has gone through, or is going through a loss in their life. In other words, it is for everyone. It is my hope that through this book club we can build community and move gently towards acceptance.
Please note that this book club is not therapy nor a therapeutic group, and that no client/therapist relationship is formed by your participation.
Dark Fiction book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Lit book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Spanish / English book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
This unique book club gives you the chance to read the book in either Spanish OR English ( both if you’re ambitious! ), then show up and have a great discussion, led by an experienced author and teacher. See how nuances in translation may alter your perception of the book! Wow, what a great idea for a book club. Thanks to Celia for proposing it!
Fantasy book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Book club holiday social
We’ll release more details soon, but we wanted y’all to put this one on the calendar. We’re pausing a lot of book clubs in December, due to lotsa holiday stuff. But we didn’t want to go a whole month without seeing you! So we’re throwing a little book club holiday party.
Come celebrate this fantastic community you’ve created! Spot one of those mythic Mystery book club members in the wild. Meet a sci-fi book clubber and learn about space elevators. But most of all, come hang with us. We’ll have some food and drink, and lots of fun.
In Comparison book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Mystery book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
In Comparison book club
Buy the books at stanza
RSVP
Show up ready for a great discussion!
Spanish / English book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
This unique book club gives you the chance to read the book in either Spanish OR English ( both if you’re ambitious! ), then show up and have a great discussion, led by an experienced author and teacher. See how nuances in translation may alter your perception of the book! Wow, what a great idea for a book club. Thanks to Celia for proposing it!
JACKSON BRIGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT
No RSVP, just show up! EVERYONE IS INVITED. It’ a party!
Friendly reminder: no outside books allowed at Stanza events. All books for signing must be purchased at Stanza.
Dan Poblocki
Dan Poblocki is an American author of mystery, horror, and adventure novels for young people. He is the co-author with Neil Patrick Harris of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Magic Misfits (writing under the pen-name Alec Azam). He's also the author of My Brother’s Butt is Haunted, Tales to Keep You Up at Night, More Tales to Keep You Up at Night, the Shadow House series and many more. Jackson Bright in the Spotlight, a joyful middle-grade collaboration with drag-superstar Eureka O’Hara (RuPaul’s Drag Race, HBO’s We’re Here) was given a starred review in Kirkus, whose editors called it: “A fierce and fabulous read . . .” Dan’s novels, The Ghost of Graylock and The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, were Junior Library Guild selections and made the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list. Other books have been honored with multiple state-reading awards. His work has been translated into French, Spanish, Greek, Russian, German, Polish, Czech, and Farsi.
Dan was born in Providence, Rhode Island. During his pre-teen years, his family moved to Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where he often looked for adventure with his best friends. Later, he graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in theater. Dan now writes in Saugerties, NY where he lives with two scaredy cats in a creaky old house. He's probably working on something new this very minute . . .
Angel Elektra
Drag artist Angel Elektra is the executive director of DSH-Westchester County Hudson Valley. Angel Elektra worked with Drag Story Hour NYC & Miami Florida appearing in and helping to organize many events - one of her many special gifts is being able to provide bilingual programming to Spanish-speaking audiences & children with special disabilities. Upon arrival back to New York, she immediately organized a core group of local queens and kings and began actively producing DSH events in the area. Her persistence and dedication to the craft of Drag Story Hour, combined with her experience in hosting DSH events, makes her a natural choice when considering local chapter leadership.
Lit book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Dark Fiction book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Mystery book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Sci-fi book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Fantasy Book Club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Lit book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Echoes of Rylomi launch party
This is an open party. Come and go as you like, hang with creators, celebrate with Stanza’s community.
Deborah Kapchan - Taking Leave
Taking Leave
At a time when divisiveness, xenophobia, and nationalism are surging, Duke University Press
releases Deborah Kapchan’s new memoir, Taking Leave. The story begins in Jerusalem just
weeks before the October 7th attacks as the author embarks on a pilgrimage to understand the
three faiths that have anchored her life—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Weaving in
meaningful experiences from New York, Paris, Casablanca, Abu Dhabi and beyond, Kapchan
explores lineages, identities, and the spaces in between.
Invoking the power of personal narrative to communicate across boundaries, Taking Leave
reveals Kapchan’s path to reconcile what history has deemed irreconcilable, sharing practical
ways to forgo tribalism and “either-or” paradigms to experience empathy and peaceful
coexistence.
A must-read for anyone interested in transcending borders, as well as scholars, students, and
professionals in the humanities, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution.
~ Praise for Taking Leave ~
“In this moving memoir Deborah Kapchan artfully unveils the connections among Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam. Stretching beyond Kapchan’s journey of personal and intellectual self-discovery, this
wonderful literary achievement brings us much-needed measures of inspired hope to our troubled times.”
~ Paul Stoller, author of Wisdom from the Edge: Writing Ethnography in Turbulent Times
“This book is a joy to read, speaking deeply and powerfully to a shared and fundamental human
experience by means of Deborah Kapchan’s unique vision and voice. I adore this touching and
remarkable book.” ~ Martin Shuster, author of How to Measure a World? A Philosophy of Judaism
Deborah Kapchan
DEBORAH KAPCHAN is an American writer, translator and ethnographer, specializing in
North Africa and its diaspora in Europe, professor emerita of performance studies at New York
University and former director of The Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies at the
University of Texas, Austin. Kapchan’s book, Poetic Justice: An Anthology of Contemporary
Moroccan Poetry was shortlisted for the American Literary Translators Association’s prize for
poetry in 2021, and her forthcoming memoir, Taking Leave, is the latest entry in
Duke’s Practices series.
in conversation with
Jackie Corley
In past lives, Jackie Corley was a reporter, a drone operator, and the publisher of Word Riot. In the current one, she's VP of Content for a radio company. Corley received an MFA from the Bennington College. Her fiction has appeared in BULL, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Redivider and Fourteen Hills, among others. She lives in the Hudson Valley but will always be a Jersey girl at heart.
Spirit of Beacon Day
Stanza will be participating in Spirit of Beacon day! More details to come soon…
Calladita No More: My Latina Journey and the Lessons that Shaped Me - Hady Mendez
Calladita No More: My Latina Journey and the Lessons that Shaped Me
Calladita No More is a powerful collection of stories about the lived experiences of a Latina who dared to dream big—only to find that the world wasn’t built for her ambitions. Through the lens of familiar Latinx cultural sayings, or refranes, Hady Méndez shares the lessons she learned navigating identity, leadership, and belonging in a world fueled by bias, discrimination, racism, and sexism.
Each chapter holds a different refrán and lesson, blending personal storytelling with cultural reflection to spotlight hard-earned insights on empowerment, resilience, and reclaiming one’s voice. This is not a step-by-step guide. It is a deeply personal narrative—an offering of wisdom and encouragement to Latinas and Women of Color who are carving their own paths through systems that were never designed with them in mind.
Hady’s journey is a testament to what is possible when one learns to champion themselves, celebrate their successes, foster community, and prioritize self-care. Written with joy, clarity, and mucho orgullo, the book invites readers to reflect on the lessons they’ve learned and the insights they’ve gained.
This book is a call to remember who you are, where you come from, and the power you already hold. You are not alone on this journey. The wisdom and strength you desire are already within.
Hady Mendez
Hady Mendez is a NY-based bestselling author, Latina speaker, and ERG coach. She currently serves as the Director of Programs for Lean In Latinas. She is also the founder and CEO of Boldly Speaking LLC, a company that is transforming the professional experiences of underestimated professionals by providing them with the skills to rise andthrive in the corporate world or in whatever path they choose.
With a diverse career spanning over twenty-five years, Hady has served as head of equality for a major tech firm, held multiple customer-facing roles in high tech and financial services, served as a leader and advisor across various ERGs, dedicated two years to working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women internationally, and served as Community School Director at an elementary school in the South Bronx.
Hady’s essays have been featured in Business Insider and #WeAllGrow Latina and her thought leadership has been leveraged by organizations such as Lean In Latinas, Power To Fly, Prospanica, and many others.
Hady is a Latinas in Tech Luminarias 2022 honoree, a Women of ALPFA 2023 Latinas to Watch, a 2024 LinkedIn Top Coaching & Mentoring Voice, and the recipient of HACE’s 2025 Mujer Maravilla Award.
in conversation with
Vanessa Schwippert
Founder of the Latina Writing Comunidad: Newsletter, virtual workshops, in-person events, and podcast episodes centering Latinas who are breaking barriers, embracing passions, and sharing their stories.
Why I Wrote Calladita No More
By Hady Méndez
There comes a time in life when you can’t help but reflect on the impact you’ve made and assess whether the outcomes align with your expectations.
That time came for me shortly after getting laid off in 2023. After losing my dream job as head of equality at a major tech firm, I had some thinking to do. Life was offering me an opportunity to keep going down the path I was on or hit the reset button.
I decided to hit reset.
First, I launched my business, Boldly Speaking, LLC. It is through this business that I help organizations create inclusive work environments where everyone can thrive. I also motivate and inspire underestimated professionals to own their power and stop waiting for permission to do so.
My mission eventually led me to create two LinkedIn Live series. One for Latinas. The other for Employee Resource Group leaders and professionals. The Latinas: Front & Center series is a passion project that has led to so much personal learning and growth. I’ve met incredible women who embody the spirit of “lifting as you rise” by the way they show up for each other and use their platforms to amplify other voices. What started as a way to shine a light on Latinas has become a source of inspiration and hope for the next generation.
Last year, I finally decided it was time to share my story in an effort to get other women to share theirs. And that’s how “Calladita No More” was born. It’s a compilation of the stories, lessons and people that shaped me. And an invitation for other mujeres to reflect on and honor the ones that shaped them.
We share our stories because they matter. Because representation matters. Because being brave and bold matters. Because no one is coming to save us, and so we must show up for ourselves.
This book is a love letter to Latinas, Women of Color, and the people that love us.
I trust that means you.
Dark Fiction book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Gentle reminder, any books for signing must be purchased at Stanza.
Sci-Fi book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Rachen Harrison - PLAY NICE 2
BOTH EVENTS ARE NOW FULL. PLEASE CLICK THE BUTTON TO JOIN THE WAIT LIST. WE’LL FOLLOW UP CLOSER TO THE EVENT.
Friendly reminder: no outside books for signing at Stanza events.
PLAY NICE
A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Black Sheep and So Thirsty.
Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parents' messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped her of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.
After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, a sinister presence in the house manifests, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.
Rachel Harrison
Rachel Harrison is the USA Today Bestselling author of SO THIRSTY, BLACK SHEEP, SUCH SHARP TEETH, CACKLE, and THE RETURN, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, as an Audible Original, and in her debut story collection BAD DOLLS.
Dennis Mahoney
Dennis Mahoney is the author of Fellow Mortals, a Booklist Top Ten Debut; Bell Weather, an Indie Next pick; Ghostlove; and My Heart Is Full of Blood. He lives in Troy, NY, with his wife, son, and dog.
Rachen Harrison - PLAY NICE
BOTH EVENTS ARE NOW FULL. PLEASE CLICK THE BUTTON TO JOIN THE WAIT LIST. WE’LL FOLLOW UP CLOSER TO THE EVENT.
Friendly reminder: no outside books for signing at Stanza events.
PLAY NICE
A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Black Sheep and So Thirsty.
Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parents' messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped her of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.
After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, a sinister presence in the house manifests, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.
Rachel Harrison
Rachel Harrison is the USA Today Bestselling author of SO THIRSTY, BLACK SHEEP, SUCH SHARP TEETH, CACKLE, and THE RETURN, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, as an Audible Original, and in her debut story collection BAD DOLLS.
Dennis Mahoney
Dennis Mahoney is the author of Fellow Mortals, a Booklist Top Ten Debut; Bell Weather, an Indie Next pick; Ghostlove; and My Heart Is Full of Blood. He lives in Troy, NY, with his wife, son, and dog.
SOLD OUT - Lost and Found Beacon’s Black Community 1850-1930
This event is full. RSVPs are closed. Thanks all who signed up!
LOST and FOUND Beacon’s Black Community 1850-1930
The Current's Black history series, "Always Present, Never Seen," by Chip Rowe (2022), was excellent; but a hole in their historical narrative needed filling. The result was a researched account of we who were "always present," focusing on Beacon's Black community from 1850 to 1930. This accounting is bolstered by careful study of census records and supported by boyhood memories and observations. Boyhood memories and observations of Beacon’s West End and the village (company town) of Brockway that bookend the historical narrative of that earlier Black community.
Daniel W. Pruitt
Born in South Carolina, Daniel W. Pruitt spent much of his childhood growing up and learning in the greater Beacon, New York area. He attended schools in Brockway, Beacon, and Glenham before graduating from Beacon High School. Following graduation from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Dan undertook additional study to complete a second degree at The New School for Social Research in New York City. He is retired from professional undertakings with IBM and currently resides in Dunedin, Florida.
Leonard Sparks
Leonard Sparks has been reporting for The Current since 2020. The Peekskill resident holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and previously covered Sullivan County and Newburgh for The Times Herald-Record in Middletown.
Fantasy book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Caroline Hagood GOBLIN MODE
Friendly reminder: no outside books allowed at Stanza events.
Lit book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Mystery book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
Dark Fiction book club
We got lotsa easy ways to join any Stanza book club!
Buy the book at Stanza(book club members get 10% off book club books!)
Get the book from your local library
Get your audio book from Libro.fm
Then just RSVP on our site and come ready for great discussion!
