The KGB Bar Reader

The KGB Bar Reading Series, originally conceived as a small literary series in a funky bar in New York City’s East Village, has grown into a showcase for daring, lively writing that draws a response from listeners — and readers — and is quickly earning national recognition. Finally, fiction and nonfiction selections from the series are gathered together in this unique anthology.This edgy, energetic collection represents more than twenty of today’s best young writers. Kathryn Harrison, Rick Moody, Jennifer Egan, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Gilbert, Luc Sante, and others appear here with up-and-coming new voices. While some of these pieces have been published in magazines such as The New Yorker, GQ, Harper’s, and Story, many were read first at KGB, and others are in print here for the first time.

This writing is often unpredictable, taking readers by surprise with the same anything-might-happen feel of the bar itself. (After all, the tenement that houses KGB once served as U.S. headquarters to the Ukrainian Communist Party.) This wholly original collection will appeal to readers eager to discover new favorites.