2019/2020 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series
The 2019/2020 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series continued virtually this month with Emily St. John Mandel & Colum McCann on Monday, May 18.
"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
The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series is one of the best author series in the nation featuring award-winning writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
Click here to view the 2019/2020 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series brochure.
Click here to view the 2019/2020 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series poster.
Click here to view the 2019/2020 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series bookmark.
The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series launches its 39th season this year and will feature 10 award-winning literary writers from September 2019 through April 2020, whose work is powerful, bold, and inspiring.
The season consists of seven evenings, each centered on a reading by one or two writers, followed by an on-stage interview conducted by a local writer, community leader, or scholar, and concluding with a book sale. All of the authors, with the exception of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Elizabeth Gilbert, will participate in a book signing, where audience members have a chance to meet the authors. Readings begin at 7:30 pm (doors open at 6:45 pm) and are held at Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston, Stude Concert Hall at Rice University, and Alley Theatre in Downtown Houston.
Ticket Information
Season tickets for the 2019/2020 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series are now sold out.
Season tickets cost $225 (a value of more than $400) and benefits include:
- Seating in the reserved section for each of the seven readings. Seats held until 7:25 pm, at which time all unclaimed seats will be released to the general public.
- A copy of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s new novel The Water Dancer available for pick up at the reading.
- A signed copy of Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys available for pick up at the reading. (Those who purchase two season tickets per household will receive one signed copy of Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys and one signed copy of Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman for pick up at the readings.)
- Free parking for all seven readings.
- Access to the first-served “Season Subscriber” book-signing line. Please note that Ta-Nehisi Coates and Elizabeth Gilbert will not participate in a book signing.
- Recognition as a “Season Subscriber” in each reading program and on the Inprint website.
General Admission Tickets
Tickets for individual readings are $5 each—unchanged since 1980—plus a small service fee, with the exception of the reading by Ta-Nehisi Coates, at which tickets are $30 and include a copy of his new novel The Water Dancer. Tickets for each reading go on sale online through the Inprint website at 12 pm noon the day following the latest reading. Seats provided are general admission, not assigned or reserved. Purchasing a ticket guarantees seating in the theater, but you must be in your seat by 7:25 pm. Check the event pages for each reading for on sale dates.
If a reading is not already sold out, general admission tickets will be available for purchase at the door starting at 6:45 pm from the Inprint table in the lobby of the theater. Only cash or check will be accepted at the door.
Rush Tickets
If a reading is sold out, all unclaimed seats will be released to the general public as rush tickets starting at 7:25 pm, with the exception of the Ta-Nehisi Coates reading at which no rush tickets will be available. Rush tickets will cost $5 and will be available from the Inprint table in the lobby of the theater. Only cash or check will be accepted at the door.
Student and Senior Citizen (65+) Tickets
If a reading is not already sold out, students and senior citizens 65+ will be provided with free general admission rush tickets, starting at 6:45 pm. These free rush tickets for students and senior citizens are available only at the door on the night of the reading from the Inprint table in the lobby of the theaters. Please note that free rush tickets for students and senior citizens will NOT be available for the Ta-Nehisi Coates reading.
We encourage you to call the Inprint office or check the website to assess the availability of free student or senior tickets closer to each event. For guaranteed seating we recommend purchasing general admission tickets in advance.
Student groups are encouraged to contact the Inprint office at least one month in advance of a reading to request a free block of tickets.
Book signings and book sales
Brazos Bookstore serves as the official bookseller for the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series and offers discounts on featured books by the authors appearing in the series. Receive a 10% discount on the featured title by purchasing books online or buying a book at the event. Use the coupon code INPRINT to receive the discount online. To learn more, visit the Inprint virtual store on Brazos Bookstore’s website.
All authors will sign books after the readings, with the exception of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Elizabeth Gilbert who will not participate in a book signing. 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.
Please note that new titles must be purchased through Brazos Bookstore to have books signed by the author(s). Inprint reserves the right to limit the number of books an individual may have signed.
About the Series
Nationally renowned, the Series has featured close to 400 of the world’s most accomplished literary writers from more than 35 countries on six continents, including winners of 9 Nobel Prizes, 63 Pulitzer Prizes, 56 National Book Awards, 48 National Book Critics Circle Award, and 15 Man Booker Prizes, as well as 19 U. S. Poets Laureate. Click here to see the full list of authors the series has presented.
Thanks to the Series, going to a reading is an exciting and enlightening cultural activity in Houston. Thousands of individuals attend the series readings annually and the series continues to receive enthusiastic media coverage. The Houston Chronicle says of the Series, “These authors—these books—are the equivalent of a rock star line-up.”
The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series is generously underwritten in large part by The Brown Foundation, Inc. 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 Mrs. Brown’s service to Houston and her philanthropic support of the arts.
Readings are held in the city’s leading performing arts venues, this season at Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston, Stude Concert Hall at Rice University, and in Downtown Houston’s Alley Theatre.
Thanks to the support of our donors, the cost of general admission remains the best cultural bargain in town at $5 (since 1980), with free rush tickets for students and senior citizens whenever the readings are not sold out. Some of the visiting writers also give talks at the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, University of Houston-Downtown, and Houston Community College, which are free and open to the public. To see highlights from past seasons click here.
To receive a series brochure email info@inprinthouston.org and join our email list to receive reminders about upcoming readings.
Questions for the authors
The Inprint Emily St. John Mandel & Colum McCann Virtual Reading will include an interview led by Maggie Galehouse, Editor of TMC Pulse – the magazine of the Texas Medical Center – and former Houston Chronicle Book Editor. Submit questions for the authors here and we will share them with the interviewer for possible inclusion in the interview. Thanks in advance for participating!
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