2023/2024 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series
The 43rd season of the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series presents 11 of the world’s leading authors from August 2023 through April 2024.
"Inprint has brought the royalty of world literature to town… John Updike, John Irving, Louise Erdrich, Seamus Heaney, Salman Rushdie, Jeffrey Eugenides, Sandra Cisneros—those are just a few of the A-list authors who have read for the Inprint Brown Reading Series."
"Inprint is one of the top three author venues in the country, and you're my #1 favorite organizer."
"Thank you as ever for being the very best host for our authors!"
The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series is one of the nation's leading literary showcases, featuring an inclusive roster of award-winning fiction writers, poets, memoirists, and essayists.
The 43rd season of the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series will present 9 carefully curated and dynamic literary evenings from August 2023 to April 2024. The lineup includes 11 of the world’s leading authors, including Elizabeth Acevedo, Kaveh Akbar, Lauren Groff, James McBride, Jhumpa Lahiri, Tommy Orange, Clint Smith, Patricia Smith, Zadie Smith, and Viet Thanh Nguyen. Each evening will feature one or two of these renowned authors reading from and talking about their new books, followed by a conversation with a local writer, and a book sale and signing. All readings will be conducted in person on Monday evenings, starting at 7:30 pm (with the exception of the Inprint Jhumpa Lahiri Reading, which takes place on a Sunday evening). Events will also be available for viewing via a ticketed online rebroadcast on the Thursday evening following each reading at 7:30 pm CT (details on rebroadcast events coming in August).
For more information on season subscriptions, click here.
For more information on $5 general admission tickets, click here.
For the 2023/2024 Inprint Brown Reading Series brochure, click here.
For the 2023/2024 Inprint Brown Reading Series bookmark, click here.
For the 2023/2024 Inprint Brown Reading Series poster, click here.
In-Person Readings
Online Rebroadcasts
Season Subscriptions
Season tickets for the 2023/2024 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series are no longer available online. For questions, please email info@inprint.org or call 713-521-2026.
Premium Subscription – $450
- Seating for 1 in the reserved section for each of the 9 Series readings
- Signed books by all 11 of the season’s featured authors, available for pickup at the theatre on the night of each event, at Brazos Bookstore after the reading, or sent via U.S. mail afterwards
- Access to the first-served season subscriber book-signing line
- Free parking for all 9 Series readings
- Recognition as a Premium Subscriber in each reading program and on the Inprint website
- Access to the online rebroadcast of each reading (held on the Thursday after each in-person event and available for at least 10 days on an easy access private season subscriber webpage)
Premium + Partner Subscription – $575
- Seating for 2 in the reserved section for each of the 9 Series readings
- Signed books by all 11 of the season’s featured authors, available for pickup at the theatre on the night of each event, at Brazos Bookstore after the reading, or sent via U.S. mail afterwards
- A second signed copy of Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri’s new collection Roman Stories
- Access to the first-served season subscriber book-signing line
- Free parking for all 9 Series readings
- Recognition as Premium Subscribers in each reading program and on the Inprint website
- Access to the online rebroadcast of each reading (held on the Thursday after each in-person event and available for at least 10 days on an easy access private season subscriber webpage)
Classic Subscription – $250
- Seating for 1 in the reserved section for each of the 9 Series readings
- A signed copy of Jhumpa Lahiri’s new collection Roman Stories, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s new memoir The Man of Two Faces, and Tommy Orange’s new novel Wandering Stars available for pickup at the theatre on the night of the events or at the Inprint office afterwards
- Access to the first-served season subscriber book-signing line
- Free parking for all 9 Series readings
- Recognition as a Classic Subscriber in each reading program and on the Inprint website
- Access to the online rebroadcast of each reading (held on the Thursday after each in-person event and available for at least 10 days on an easy access private season subscriber webpage)
General Admission Tickets
General Admission Tickets
General admission tickets for in-person readings and online rebroadcasts are $5 each (unchanged since 1980), except for the Jhumpa Lahiri reading, which will cost $30 and which includes a signed copy of her new collection Roman Stories as part of the ticket. Tickets for each reading will go on sale via the Inprint website several weeks in advance of the event. Check each event page for specific on-sale dates.
Students and senior citizens tickets
Students and senior citizens (65+) get free access to in-person readings and online rebroadcasts upon request, except for October 15 Jhumpa Lahiri reading that includes a book as part of the ticket price and for in-person readings that are sold out. Students and seniors who wish to receive free access to a reading should email info@inprint.org three weeks prior to the event; such access must be requested one event at a time. Student group tickets are also available to high school and college-level educators; please contact the Inprint office for more information about reserving a block of tickets (info@inprint.org or 713-521-2026).
Book Signings and Book Sales
Since 1980, Brazos Bookstore has served as the official bookseller for the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series. To receive a 10% discount on books by the 43rd season’s featured authors, buy the featured author’s select book on the night of the reading at the Brazos Bookstore table or visit brazosbookstore.com and use the coupon code INPRINT. Discounts are available beginning three weeks prior to and ending three days after the in-person reading.
All authors will sign books after the readings. Attendees who would like to have their books signed will be asked to form a line, with season subscribers given priority access to the book-signing line. Inprint reserves the right to limit the number of books an individual may have signed.
For the first reading of the season featuring James McBride on August 21, we are happy to have Kindred Stories serve as our bookseller.
Questions for the authors
FAQs
Are the 2023/2024 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series events in person or online?
The readings will take place in person in Houston, Texas, but an online rebroadcast will take place on the Thursday following each reading at 7:30 pm CT.
What are the Covid safety protocols for the in-person readings?
The safety protocols for each in-person reading will follow the guidelines outlined by each venue and the safety protocols requested by the featured author. We encourage all attendees to keep abreast of the healthcare precautions suggested by local and national officials.
If I miss the in-person reading, can I watch the online rebroadcast?
Free access to the online rebroadcast of each reading will be provided to all season subscribers. All other attendees will need to purchase a $5 general admission ticket for access to the online rebroadcast.
If I buy a general admission ticket to the online rebroadcast, can I watch the reading later?
Yes, the online rebroadcast will remain available to general admission ticket holders via the private viewing link for one week. Selected online rebroadcasts may later appear in the free Inprint Archive of Readings, with the authors’ permission.
How do I watch the online rebroadcast?
The online rebroadcast will play on a hidden page of the Inprint website. When you purchase your general admission ticket to attend the online rebroadcast, you will be provided the website address of the private viewing link in your Eventbrite email receipt. Inprint Staff will also send out a reminder email with the private viewing link to all online rebroadcast ticket buyers and season subscribers an hour before the start time.
What if I’m having trouble accessing the online rebroadcast?
Refresh your browser and check your internet connection. No Zoom or third-party login is required. If you still have a problem, email us at info@inprint.org and an Inprint staff member will get back to you shortly.
About the Series
Nationally renowned, the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series has featured more than 400 of the world’s most accomplished literary writers from 38 countries on six continents, including winners of 12 Nobel Prizes, 70 Pulitzer Prizes, 65 National Book Awards, 54 National Book Critics Circle Awards, and 17 Booker Prizes, as well as 21 U. S. Poet Laureates.
Thanks to the Inprint Brown Reading Series, participating in a book event is an exciting and enlightening part of the Houston cultural scene. Thousands of individuals attend the readings annually in person and online, and the Series continues to receive enthusiastic media coverage. Readings are held at the city’s leading performing arts venues, such as the Alley Theatre in Houston’s downtown theatre district and the Brockman Hall for Opera at Rice University.
The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series is generously underwritten in large part by The Brown Foundation. Margarett Root Brown, an educator who was passionate about books and literature, was one of the Foundation’s directors when it was formed in 1917. The Series is proud to honor Ms. Brown’s service to Houston, her love of books, and her philanthropic support of the arts.
The Series also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Inprint receives support from the Houston Endowment, The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission for the Arts.
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, the cost of general admission tickets – $5 since 1980 – has remained the best cultural bargain in town. Free rush tickets are available for students and senior citizens for most readings, and visiting writers give free talks at the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, University of Houston-Downtown, and Houston Community College.
To see highlights from past seasons of the Series, click here.
To see the full list of authors the Series has presented, click here.
Sponsors
