Wed, Feb 8 at 7 pm $27; Member $23; 30 & Under $15 literature Selected Shorts

Welcome to the world of the wacky and endearing New Yorker cartoonist and stories about her most favorite least favorite things.  Chast shows appealingly gloomy cartoons from her new book, What I Hate from A to Z, and introduces stories read by Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld), Anne Meara (Sex and the City),  and Stephen Lang (Avatar) that feature her favorite combo -- humor and dread -- by gothic humorist Shirley Jackson, dark comic genius Bruce Jay Friedman.

The evening will include a reading of "Havahart" by Belle Boggs, performed by Merritt Weaver (Nurse Jackie), from the Selected Shorts Commissioning Project.

Sat, Feb 11 at 4 pm $15; Member $12 literature family Thalia Kids’ Book Club

Writers and actors, including award-winning novelist Rebecca Stead (When You Reach Me), R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street), Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia) and Lois Lowry (The Giver) celebrate the Newbery Medal-winning classic.  The discussion will be moderated by NYPL Children's Librarian and Fuse #8 blogger Betsy Bird. The event will also include a special introduction by children's book historian Leonard Marcus.  Excerpts from the book will be performed by Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun) and others.

Wed, Feb 22 at 7 pm $27; Member $23; 30 & Under $15 literature Selected Shorts

Come celebrate 10 years of One Story, the unique, award-winning literary magazine that publishes one short story at a time. Co-founders Maribeth Batcha and Selected Shorts literary commentator Hannah Tinti will be joined by contributors Tom Barbash, L.Annette Binder, Seth Fried and Jim Shepard, who will introduce their stories. The stories will be performed by Tom Cavanagh (Royal Pains, Ed) and others.  All ticket holders will receive a free issue of the magazine!

Sat, Mar 3 at 3 pm $20, students/seniors $15. Call (310) 440-7300 literature Selected Shorts

Objects of Desire: Stuff Happens 

A great lineup of actors from stage and screen read funny, passionate, and mysterious classic and modern tales about objects of desire. Historical, religious, magical, humorous, beloved, or bewitched-every object tells a story. Cast includes Leonard Nimoy, Tate Donovan, and Corey Stoll.

Sat, Mar 3 at 7 pm $20, students/seniors $15. Call (310) 440-7300 literature Selected Shorts

Objects of Desire: The Lives of Things

A great lineup of actors from stage and screen read funny, passionate, and mysterious classic and modern tales about objects of desire. Historical, religious, magical, humorous, beloved, or bewitched-every object tells a story. Cast: Jane Kaczmarek, Isaiah Sheffer, Bryan O'Beirn, and Kate Burton

Sun, Mar 4 at 3 pm $20, students/seniors $15. Call (310) 440-7300 literature Selected Shorts

Objects of Desire: Lost and Found

A great lineup of actors from stage and screen read funny, passionate, and mysterious classic and modern tales about objects of desire. Historical, religious, magical, humorous, beloved, or bewitched-every object tells a story. Cast includes Kirsten Vangsness, Edi Gathegi, and Robert Sean Leonard.

Mon, Mar 5 at 7:30 pm $37; Reduced $32; Student $15 literature Selected Shorts

Selected Shorts returns to the Dallas Museum of Art for an evening of stories about Behaving Badly by Stephen King, A.M. Homes and Lewis Robinson. Performances by host Isaiah Sheffer, Michael Imperioli and Jane Kaczmarek.

Wed, Mar 7 at 7:30 pm $25; Member $21; 30 & Under $15 literature Thalia Book Club

Towles discusses his irresistible and gorgeously written first novel about three characters starting out in New York City in the late 1930s.  It's as much a love letter to the city as it is a page-turning love story.

Mon, Mar 12 at 8 pm $12 literature Uptown Showdown

Two teams of comedians, writers and performers including a team led by Michael Ian Black and a team including The Talent Show's Elna Baker (This American Life) and Kevin Townley (Bambi) square off in head-to-head debates that tackle some of the most important issues of our time-the eighties vs the nineties, cake vs pie, pirates vs ninjas and more. The winner will be decided by the audience.

Wed, Mar 14 at 7 pm $27; Member $23; 30 & Under $15 literature Selected Shorts

NPR's Planet Money, the public radio team that demystifies the world of money, introduces an evening of funny, fun, smart, lively, and poignant tales.

Tonight is a MEMBER MIXER! Enjoy a complimentary drink in the Members Lounge during intermission. Click here to become a member of Symphony Space.

Thu, Mar 29 at 7:30 pm $29-$39 literature Selected Shorts

Springtime, Sex & Baseball!

Isaiah Sheffer is joined by series favorites Tony winner Rene Auberjonois (Star Trek Deep Space 9 and Boston Legal) and multiple Emmy nominee Christina Pickles (St. Elsewhere, Friends) for an evening of hilarious and unforgettable short stories about baseball and romance. Stories include W.P. Kinsella's ode to the pure pleasure of the game in a stadium with grass, "The Thrill of the Grass, and Padgett Powell's tale of an eccentric Southern couple's wacky and endearing road to love, "The Winnowing of Ms. Schuping."

Sat, Mar 31 at 8 pm $30 - $50 literature Selected Shorts

Shorts Host Isaiah Sheffer is joined by series favorites Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds) and multiple Emmy nominee Christina Pickles (St. Elsewhere, Friends) for an evening of hilarious and provocative tales about people in unexpected predicaments.

Sun, Apr 1 at 1 pm $15; Member $12 literature family Thalia Kids’ Book Club

The bestselling author of Hoot and Flush takes a bite out of reality TV in his hysterical new eco-centric mystery. As with his previous novels for young readers, his latest adventure is jam-packed with quirky characters, comic twists and all the elements of the classic whodunit.

Sun, Apr 1 at 2 pm and 7 pm All seats $35. Half price if you're under the age of 30. literature Selected Shorts

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker (longtime leads of the hit TV series L.A. Law) join host Isaiah Sheffer to perform a trio of luscious, hilarious and provocative tales of food and love. Audiences can enjoy Selected Shorts live in performance on April 1 at 2pm and 7pm in the Roda Theatre. This event is produced by Berkeley Rep in association with Jonathan Reinis Productions.

Wed, Apr 4 at 7:30 pm $25; Member $21; 30 & Under $15 literature Thalia Book Club Gertrude's Paris

Siri Hustvedt (The Sorrows of an American) and Margot Livesey (The House on Fortune Street) who have brought the classics Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina and Middlemarch to life on this stage, are joined this season by fellow novelist Hannah Tinti (the editor of One Story magazine and literary commentator of the Selected Shorts radio show) at the book club where the trio revisit F. Scott Fitzgerald's romantic and poignant novel of love and madness, Tender is the Night. 

This event is part of Symphony Space's spring festival, Gertrude's Paris.

Wed, Apr 11 at 7 pm $27; Member $23; 30 & Under $15 literature Selected Shorts Gertrude's Paris

Stories by writers from the Bohemian circles of Montparnasse and Montmartre in the early 1900s alongside the work of today's Brooklyn writers.

Sun, Apr 22 at 1 pm $15; Member $12 literature family Thalia Kids’ Book Club

Fans of the author's bestselling The Mysterious Benedict Society will finally learn the story of the genius Nicholas Benedict in the long-awaited prequel to the popular series.

Wed, Apr 25 at 7 pm $27; Member $23; 30 & Under $15 literature Selected Shorts

The friends and authors of the novels White Teeth and Brooklyn join forces to present stories they love.  Stories performed by Alec Baldwin and others.

Mon, May 14 at 8 pm $12 literature Uptown Showdown

Two teams of comedians, writers and performers square off in head-to-head debates that tackle some of the most important issues of our time-the eighties vs the nineties, cake vs pie, pirates vs ninjas and more. The winner will be decided by the audience.

Wed, May 16 at 7:30 pm $25; Member $21; 30 & Under $15 literature Thalia Book Club

The author of Bel Canto and Truth & Beauty delves deeply into the backstory of her latest creation, a thought-provoking literary thriller, set deep in the Amazon jungle, with fascinating characters that defy our expectations, and chockful of suspense, romance, and betrayal.

"Patchett is a master storyteller who has an entertaining habit of dropping ordinary people into extraordinary and exotic circumstances to see what they're made of. [An] expansive page-turner."—Publishers Weekly

Sun, May 20 at 1 pm $15; Member $12 literature family Thalia Kids’ Book Club

The New York Times bestselling author of the NERDS series talks about the final installment of the hugely popular The Sisters Grimm series — a funny, suspenseful, and fast-paced series spun off of classic fairy tales.

Wed, Jun 6 at 7 pm $27; Member $23; 30 & Under $15 literature Selected Shorts

If objects could talk, what stories they would tell? Historical, religious, beloved, passed along, cast aside — every object tells a story.

Sat, Jun 16 at 7 pm $25; Member $20; 30 & Under $15 literature

The annual celebration of James Joyce's Ulysses will once again follow selected adventures of Joyce's hero, Mr. Leopold Bloom, as he makes his way through his ordinary Dublin day, and back home to his ever-loving Molly.

The 31st Bloomsday will focus on "Music in Bloom" and will feature readings from the Sirens episode in Ulysses, as well as performance of many songs found in the book and those being "rehearsed" by Molly Bloom at her afternoon assignation. It will also feature the premiere of composer Victoria Bond's oratorio for chorus and actors, with a libretto by Isaiah Sheffer, drawn from the high romance and violent drama of the Cyclops episode in Ulysses.

As on every Bloomsday, a cast of Broadway and film stars, Selected Shorts regulars, and avid Joyceans will join in the carefully crafted excerpts staged by Isaiah Sheffer.