Join former New Yorker columnist and preeminent critic of our time Daphne Merkin for a reading from The Fame Lunches, a fearless, darkly observant, refreshingly incautious collection of essays which examine faded icons, famous writers, and our collective fascination with celebrity. Merkin will be joined in conversation by Sasha Weiss, literary editor of newyorker.com.

"Daphne Merkin’s sparkling and unreasonably informed essays are about fame, yes, and lunches, somewhat. Above all, they are strikingly original takes on the human condition."—Woody Allen

Daphne Merkin, a former staff writer for The New Yorker, is a regular contributor to ELLE. Her writing frequently appears in The New York Times, Bookforum, Departures, Travel + Leisure, W, Vogue, and other publications. Merkin has taught writing at the 92nd Street Y, Marymount, and Hunter College. Her previous books include Enchantment, a novel, and Dreaming of Hitler, a collection of essays.

Sasha Weiss has been the literary editor of newyorker.com since 2012 and is a frequent host of the weekly Out Loud podcast. She’s written for the Web site on subjects such as books, fashion, and pop culture. Before coming to The New Yorker, she was an editor at the New York Review of Books.

External Link »