Sad Dads Book Club Presents An Evening of Literary Conversation

The Sad Dads Book Club is bringing together a live author panel featuring a group of writers whose books have been central to conversations in our community: Megan Nolan (Acts of Desperation), Liz Riggs (Lo Fi), Sam Sussman (Boy From the North Country), Julian Tepper (Between the Records), and Katie Yee (Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar).

The conversation will be moderated by Brandon Stosuy (The Creative Independent, former Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief).

The evening is designed to feel open and conversational rather than formal — a discussion around writing, relationships, friendship, love, and the themes that run through each of their work, with audience Q&A and time to connect afterward.

Meet the panel

MEGAN DOLAN was born in 1990 in Waterford, Ireland and is currently based in New York. Her essays and reviews have been published by the New York Times, White Review, Guardian and Frieze amongst others. For her debut novel, Acts of Desperation, Nolan was the recipient of a Betty Trask Award, shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Ordinary Human Failings was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, and shortlisted for the Nero Book Award for Fiction, the Gordon Burn Prize and the RSL Encore Award.

LIZ RIGGS is a writer based in Nashville. She holds an MFA in Fiction from NYU and her work has been published in The Atlantic, Bon Appétit, American Songwriter, MTV and others. Her debut novel, Lo Fi is out now from Riverhead Books.

SAM SUSSMAN is the author of the debut novel , published by Penguin Press in September 2025. The novel was reviewed by Kirkus as “the most beautiful and moving mother-son story in recent memory,” became an instant USA Today Bestseller, and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Fiction. Sam previously won the BAFTA New Writing Award and wrote the Harper’s memoir, “The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan’s Son.” He has received a Yaddo residency to work on his second novel.

JULIAN TEPPER is the author of four novels, Cooler Heads, Between the Records, Balls, and Ark. His writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Playboy, The Brooklyn Rail, Zyzzyva, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. His essay, "Locking Down with the Family You've Just Eviscerated in a Novel" was a "Notable Essay of 2022" in Best American Essays 2022. As a member of the band, The Natural History, he co-wrote the song “Don’t You Ever,” which was later turned into a hit by the legendary band, Spoon. He was born and raised in New York City and lives there still.

KATIE YEE is a writer from Brooklyn. She has received fellowships from the Center for Fiction, the Asian American Writers' Workshop, and Kundiman. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Joyland, No Tokens, The Believer, the Washington Square Review, and Literary Hub. By day, she works at the Brooklyn Museum. By night, she writes, usually under the watch of her judgmental rescue dog, Ollie. Maggie; or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar is her first novel.

BRANDON STOSUY is the cofounder and editor in chief of The Creative Independent, published by Kickstarter. He previously worked as director of Editorial Operations at Pitchfork. Brandon curates the annual Basilica SoundScape festival in Hudson, New York, and has been a music curator at both MoMA PS1 in New York City and the Broad museum in Los Angeles. He is the author of three books on creativity, Make Time for Creativity, Stay Inspired, How to Fail Successfully, two children’s books, Music Is... and We Are Music, and the anthology Sad Happens: A Celebration of Tears.

He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

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