Join us for any of the upcoming events listed below!
Improv Comedy with Blind Tiger
Get ready for a brilliant night of unscripted comedy!
Join us for a powerhouse double-bill featuring two of Blind Tiger Improv’s iconic house teams: Brunch Punk’s chaotic, high-energy fun and I Love Your Grandma’s hilarious, unexpected twists. Beyond the laughs, it’s the perfect chance to connect, meet fantastic people, and join our incredibly welcoming community. $15!
Short Attention Span Book Club
Short on time? No problem! This book club is designed with minimal reading and maximum impact.
Environmental Book Talk: Whole Earth Farming by Hugh Locke, in conversation with Nancy Rosanoff
With Climate Week on the horizon, join Hugh Locke, author of Whole Earth Farming for a conversation on what happens when smallholder farming, regenerative agriculture and spiritual principles converge. Whole Earth Farming is a book filled with hope and a practical approach to transforming agriculture.
Blind Tiger Drop-In Workshop
Interested in trying out improv comedy? Already experienced and want to sharpen your skills?
Step onto the stage and sharpen your skills! Led by an experienced teacher, Blind Tiger Improv’s drop-in workshops welcome students of all levels to explore the craft of improv. Learn to build razor-sharp focus and heighten any scene with just a few proven techniques. Additional drop-in workshops—in addition to Blind Tiger’s 6-week classes and monthly performances—will be held on October 14 and November 18.
Limit 12 students. Ages 18+
$20 per person
Open Mic at Bethany Arts Community!
Share your talent in a supportive and upbeat setting!
OTown Reads: Make Believe, by Mac Barnett
Join us for a different kind of OTown Reads book club: This time, a focus on children’s books.
Make Believe by Mac Barnett came across our radar in July. It's a tiny book, on the NY Times bestseller list - and its topic intrigued us.
"Kids' books merit grownup conversation," Barnett says. From Goodreads: "From the newly appointed National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a timely and intimate meditation on the ways we think about and interact with children’s literature, and what that says about our opinions of children and childhood."
Although this book has received some controversy, we found it fascinating. There's much fodder for great conversation within these pages.
We also invite all participants to bring a favorite picture book and perhaps share a passage. We will use Make Believe as a springboard for conversation and share our collective passion for great children's books. Of course, we will also have some of our favorites on hand for perusal and purchase for your own collection - including some of Mac Barnett's wonderful work.
Copies of Make Believe are available at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity for a 10% discount to all book club participants.
About the Book
Make Believe is bestselling children's author Mac Barnett's rallying cry for art and imagination, and a celebration of the power of storytelling in all our lives. It's an incisive, intimate, and timely invitation to approach children's literature not only as an art form worthy of deep study and criticism, but as a portal into the lives of the children. And at a time when we are faced with a national literacy crisis, he champions the profound joys of literature and the importance of reading for pleasure.
What if children are a great audience for art?
What if they are in fact better equipped to engage deeply with stories than adults?
What if humans' ability to appreciate art is, if not innate, awakened early in childhood?
Well, then we'd better do our best to make some good kids' books.
Written with humor and academic rigor, Make Believe reads like a letter from your smartest and funniest friend. —from bookshop.org
Poetry for the Planet: Featuring Poet and Author James K. Zimmerman
Join eco-poet James K. Zimmerman for a reading, discussion, and signing focused on sustainability, eco-poetry as a genre, our place on the planet, and more!
This Little Glade: Sharing Plants, Poetry, and Rooted Power
This Little Glade: Sharing Plants, Poetry, and Rooted Power
An Intersectional Writing Event with BAC Artist-in-Residence Rita Mookerjee
Let us come together and create in the name of green life. In this intersectional writing event, we will draw upon the power of rhizomes and root systems to enrich our writing processes with the knowledge and language of plants.
This is a FREE community program. Registration is strongly encouraged (see QR code below). Walk-ins welcome until we reach capacity.
Questions? Contact Julia at julias@bethanyarts.org.
Building Bridges Through Books: 1491, by Charles C. Mann
A book club with a purpose: Join us and become part of a community that is curious and open-minded about social issues affecting us today, tomorrow, and yesterday.
Dan Elias Presents
The ever-popular clarinetist Dan Elias returns for his monthly showcase of local jazz (or something else?) talent. Check back here shortly while we work out the details.
ARTober Open Mic @ Bethany Arts Community
Share your talent in a supportive and upbeat setting!
AAPI Family Game Nights: Hosted by The Bittermelon (All ages welcome!)
A space for Asian American families to learn Asian board games and hang! Come play Mahjong, Go/Weiqi/Baduk, and Mancala!
Short Attention Span Book Club
Short on time? No problem! This book club is designed with minimal reading and maximum impact.
Dan Elias Presents
The ever-popular clarinetist Dan Elias returns for his monthly showcase of local jazz (or something else?) talent. Check back here shortly while we work out the details.
Short Attention Span Book Club
Short on time? No problem! This book club is designed with minimal reading and maximum impact.
Blind Tiger Drop-In Workshop
Interested in trying out improv comedy? Already experienced and want to sharpen your skills?
Ready to jump in? Led by one of Blind Tiger Improv’s experienced teachers, drop-in workshops are the perfect playground for improvisers of all levels! Discover how to lock in your focus and dynamically heighten your scenes using a few simple, game-changing techniques.
Limit 12 students. Ages 18+
$20 per person
AAPI Family Game Nights: Hosted by The Bittermelon (All ages welcome!)
A space for Asian American families to learn Asian board games and hang! Come play Mahjong, Go/Weiqi/Baduk, and Mancala!
Short Attention Span Book Club
Short on time? No problem! This book club is designed with minimal reading and maximum impact.
AAPI Family Game Nights: Hosted by The Bittermelon (All ages welcome!)
A space for Asian American families to learn Asian board games and hang! Come play Mahjong, Go/Weiqi/Baduk, and Mancala!
AAPI Family Game Nights: Hosted by The Bittermelon (All ages welcome!)
A space for Asian American families to learn Asian board games and hang! Come play Mahjong, Go/Weiqi/Baduk, and Mancala!
Lower Hudson Valley Bioregional Confluence: Bioregional Kinship
Housing, food, energy, habitat loss, waste, cost of living, climate — we keep responding to these challenges one town, one org at a time. This September, join us to think bioregionally instead. Come with joy, curiosity, and a willingness to weave something together.
"Birdy" by N. West Moss: Author Event for Middle Grade Readers
Calling all readers, age 9 and up...(adults welcome too!)
Do you like writers like Kate DiCamillo, Beverly Cleary, Ann M. Martin and E.B White? How about a great story featuring unforgettable characters and real-life drama? Now, how about a chance to meet and talk with the author of a fantastic new book? We loved it and we think you will, too.
We're very excited to welcome Croton’s very own N. West Moss to Hudson Valley Books For Humanity on Thursday, August 20, to spend some time with readers of her new book, Birdy! This book has quickly become one of the standout middle-grade titles of the year. The novel has received multiple starred reviews and is already being discussed as a Newbery Award contender.
Come and grab your copy and start reading with us! On the 20th, we'll have discussion questions, snacks, and time for you to ask questions and get your book signed by West.
Our events frequently reach capacity, so if you are interested in attending, please register ahead of time to ensure you get a seat!
About Birdy
"This coming-of-age novel delivers a profound exploration of grief, resilience, and the enduring bond between siblings." - Booklist, STARRED review
After the death of their mother, Birdy and Mouse are forced to start over in this debut novel about discovering where you belong—for fans of Forever This Summer and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise.
Eleven-year-old Birdy and her younger brother, Mouse, have always looked out for each other. They make the perfect team: Birdy is realistic and practical, while Mouse is affable and trusting. After their mother dies of cancer, Birdy and Mouse are forced to move out of the city to the country with relatives they’ve never met. Aunt Mitzie and Uncle Shadow’s house is full of organized chaos, and it takes Birdy time to adjust to having adults around. But the kitchen is always stocked, and both kids are allowed to play outside as often as they want. There’s only one problem: it’s all temporary. Their social worker has promised to find them a permanent home by the next school year, whether they want to leave or not. As the summer unfolds, Mouse starts to feel attached to their new life. But Birdy knows better—adults have never been reliable. When Birdy’s fears get the best of her, she makes a big mistake that could jeopardize their future.
Heartfelt and emotionally resonant, this literary coming-of-age novel explores the unbreakable bond between siblings—and how family can be found in the most unexpected places.
N. West Moss is the author of the story collection The Subway Stops at Bryant Park. Her essays and short stories have appeared in the New York Times, Salon, McSweeney’s, and many other publications. The recipient of three William Faulkner–William Wisdom gold medals and winner of the Saturday Evening Post’s Great American Fiction Contest, she holds an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in narrative medicine from Columbia University. She works in New Jersey, where she lives with her husband.
Moss grew up in Croton on Teatown Road. Her childhood around Teatown Lake influenced this book a great deal. In fact, Birdy is dedicated to Warren Balgooyen, who was the first naturalist at Teatown many years ago,
Praise for Birdy
“...first-time novelist Moss’ nuanced portrayal of mourning, paired with richly drawn characters, creates a deeply affecting read. The narrative's unhurried pace allows space for Birdy’s emotions to unfold, making her gradual emergence from sorrow both believable and deeply moving. This resonant story celebrates the healing power of connection and the hope found in chosen family.”
—Booklist, STARRED review
“Moss’s debut for young readers stands out from the crowded shelf of novels about orphaned children by remaining refreshingly soothing and calm. . . A required purchase for elementary school and middle grade libraries and a story to hand any child with a soft heart.”
—School Library Journal, STARRED review
“Moss does an excellent job of bringing the readers into the protagonist’s thoughts … an emotionally complex portrait of a tween at a turning point in her life, offering readers a cathartic and engrossing narrative experience.”
—The Horn Book
"Sensitive language addresses the myriad challenges the protagonist faces, making her efforts to traverse processes of bereavement and change both understandable and heartbreaking."
—Publishers Weekly
“Birdy is spectacular. I was hooked from page one and fell in love with the entire cast of quirky and unforgettable characters, including the animals. Readers will applaud Birdy as she feels her way through the aftermath of her mother’s death.”
—Ann M. Martin, author of the Newbery Honor Book A Corner of the Universe and The Baby-Sitters Club series
“Some writers have a special gift to connect readers with their characters and their story from page one. N. West Moss is one of those writers. With the introduction of each lovable character, we find ourselves hoping, Here, here!"
—Kimberly Willis Holt, author of the National Book Award Winner When Zachary Beaver Came to Town and The Hurricane Girls
Blind Tiger Drop-In Workshop
Interested in trying out improv comedy? Already experienced and want to sharpen your skills?
Dive into the craft of improv! Led by one of Blind Tiger Improv’s experienced teachers, these drop-in workshops are perfect for students of all levels. You’ll learn exactly how to focus your energy and heighten your scenes using just a few simple, highly effective techniques. Additional drop-in workshops—in addition to Blind Tiger’s 6-week classes and monthly performances—will be held on September 16, October 14, and November 18.
Limit 12 students. Ages 18+
$20 per person
Improv Comedy with Blind Tiger's House Teams
Improv comedy show and an opportunity to try it out yourself!
Musicambia: An Afternoon of Music, History, and Social Change: Featuring Kenyatta Emmanuel and Author Colin Asher
Musicambia, where music meets change.
We have a special treat in store for you. Experience the powerful voice and storytelling of Kenyatta Emmanuel, artist, activist, and performer from Sing Sing to Carnegie Hall. Kenyatta will be joined by The Cambia Collective, Musicambia’s band of Teaching Artists and Alumni. Musicambia (“music”+“change”) helps people in prison write, play, and perform music, cultivating collaborative communities that benefit the health and well-being of everyone involved.
Following the musical performance, author Colin Asher will read excerpts from his new book, The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music(W.W. Norton and Company, June 30, 2026). Copies of Colin’s book will be available for purchase and signing afterward.
This event is free to attend; we appreciate RSVPs for planning purposes. You can also pre-purchase The Midnight Special through the link below. During the event, we will collect donations for Musicambia to continue their extraordinary work changing lives through music.
About Kenyatta Emmanuel
Singer and songwriter Kenyatta Emmanuel Hughes offers song and story to contextualize and reinforce the human reality of our movement. Kenyatta is an artist and activist who has shared his music from Sing Sing to the Carnegie Hall, offering a full live concert the same day of his release after serving 24½ years in prison. Kenyatta collaborated with a range of stakeholders in and out of carceral spaces to impact the world artistically and socially, forming initiatives such as Voices From Within, which serves the children of incarcerated parents. His offering of music and message is consistent from his 2014 TEDx talk, through his presentation at the 2022 International Wellbeing Summit, exploring the beauty of life, love, and the human condition, reminding us of all that we hold in common.
Kenyatta Emmanuel is a teaching artist with Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, as well as the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. He is a Galaxy Leaders Fellow, and is currently developing a curriculum for Racial Justice and Abolition Democracy as an Artist in Residence for the Initiative for a Just Society at Columbia Law School.
About Colin Asher
Colin Asher is the author of The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music. He also wrote Never a Lovely so Real: The Life and Work of Nelson Algren, a literary biography written as a work of creative nonfiction. That book was celebrated in The New York Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New York Times Book Review, among others. It was named “One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2019” by Apple Books, a “Book of the Week” by Publishers Weekly, and an “Editors’ Choice” selection by the New York Times Book Review. Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist gave it starred reviews.
Cambia Collective and Musicambia
The Cambia Collective—Musicambia’s band of Teaching Artists and Alumni—performs music written by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
Musicambia (“music”+“change”) helps people in prison write, play, and perform music, cultivating collaborative communities that benefit the health and well-being of everyone involved.
Their Flagship Program, which began at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2014, meets weekly from September to June. Thirty incarcerated participants attend morning and afternoon classes for 4.5 hours, fostering teamwork, empathy, and a sense of responsibility to themselves as well as to their fellow students. Musicambia also has programs at Bedford Hills, Fishkill, and Eastern Correctional Facilities in New York, and in Kansas and California. We annually reach 125 incarcerated participants, as well as audiences of some 220 incarcerated people for concerts. Their Teaching Artists have won GRAMMY awards and collaborated with Pulitzer-Prize winners, and teach at universities including Juilliard, Curtis, Yale, Princeton, and Peabody. In 2026, Musicambia will release their debut album, the Musicambia Songbook. To learn more, visit musicambia.org.
Disfruta Con Nosotros En Familia
Disfruta Con Nosotros En Familia
Por tres sábados, leeremos un cuento infantil in español, haremos una actividad divertida, jugaremos con nuestros padres, y disfrutaremos de una merienda saludable.
Cada familia se llevará a casa una copia del libro y del juego!
La participación es gratuita. El cupo es limitado. Por favor, confirma tu asistencia aquí.
Once I Lived . . .
Once I Lived . . .
An Evening of Stories About Home
Join Amy Alpert, Amy Hall, Betsy Kates, Joyce Markovics, Rochelle Udell, and Barbara Worton as they share stories about home, life, identity, and more.
And then it's your turn!
Do you have a story about home you'd like to share? Submit your name at the event, and we'll randomly select several storytellers. You'll have 5 minutes to tell your story on stage. No notes!
Tickets $10; proceeds to benefit Hudson Link.
This Land is Your Land: A fundraiser in support of Emiljana Ulaj for County Legislator
Say NO to nuclear and NO to data centers.
Join us to support Emiljana in her fight to stop the re-opening of a nuclear facility and data center at Indian Point and learn about why these projects are not right for the Hudson Valley. Say NO to nuclear and NO to data centers.
POSTPONED: Poetry for the Planet: Featuring Poet and Author James K. Zimmerman
Join eco-poet James K. Zimmerman for a reading, discussion, and signing focused on sustainability, eco-poetry as a genre, our place on the planet, and more!
Disfruta Con Nosotros En Familia
Disfruta Con Nosotros En Familia
Por tres sábados, leeremos un cuento infantil in español, haremos una actividad divertida, jugaremos con nuestros padres, y disfrutaremos de una merienda saludable.
Cada familia se llevará a casa una copia del libro y del juego!
La participación es gratuita. El cupo es limitado. Por favor, confirma tu asistencia aquí.
Improv Comedy with Blind Tiger's House Teams
Get ready for a massive night of comedy!
We are always delighted to feature the comedic talent of Blind Tiger Improv in their monthly showcase at the bookstore. You never know what to expect, because, well, it’s improv!
Join us as all four of their powerhouse house teams take the stage for an unforgettable evening of fast-paced, completely unscripted laughs. From brilliant character play to high-energy chaos, you’ll see the very best of theater community.
Following those performances, come on out at 9:15 PM and have some fun with Blind Tiger! Any and all can sign up and play in an improv scene with one of our performers. And the best part? This portion of the evening is absolutely free!
Full show only $15 at the door.
About Blind Tiger
Blind Tiger Improv has performed across the Hudson Valley region at theaters in Peekskill, Beacon, and Suffern, NY. This year you’ll can find them monthly at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity in Ossining. They’re proud to be versatile improvisers, adept at long-form improv performance pieces.
Disfruta Con Nosotros En Familia
Disfruta Con Nosotros En Familia
Por tres sábados, leeremos un cuento infantil in español, haremos una actividad divertida, jugaremos con nuestros padres, y disfrutaremos de una merienda saludable.
Cada familia se llevará a casa una copia del libro y del juego!
La participación es gratuita. El cupo es limitado. Por favor, confirma tu asistencia aquí.
Draft n' Drink: Creative Writers Workshop in Partnership with Hudson Valley Writer’s Center
Are you working through writer's block? Looking for some inspiration? Join us for Draft n’ Drink, a casual, low-stress writing workshop designed to get your writerly juices flowing.
Voices of the Hudson Valley's Indigenous Peoples
About Jean
Jean grew up in Ossining, swimming in the Croton River and climbing on the Muscat Farm tractors. She studied history and museums in college, and started working as assistant curator at the Croton Point Park nature center soon after graduating. She likes taking naps after work, making dinner for people, birdwatching, and her job.
Additional note from the bookstore: Jean’s infectious energy and vast knowledge about the history of the Lenape Peoples will captivate you.
Learn About Swing Left Westchester
Swing Left Westchester is a local grass roots organization committed to electing more Democrats to the House.
Please join them on Wednesday June 24th from 6:30PM -8:30 PM at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity to find out about our activities and how you can get involved.
Sign Up below or go to www.go.swingleft.org to learn more.
Jim Martin’s Tire Isle Band
Music While You Shop
Jim Martin, founding member of How to Change a Flat Tire, continues the group’s exploration and love of the music of the British Isles. With Mr. Martin on mandolin, guitar, mandocello, banjo and vocals, Tatayana Gorbunova on flute and the internationally celebrated accordionist Will Holshouser, Martin’s Tire Isle Band celebrates the dance tunes, ballads and Irish Sean-nós tradition of Ireland, Scotland, England and the Hebrides. For more information, the band’s website: Martinmusicdance.com
Free! Donations for the performers gratefully accepted.
Short Attention Span Book Club
Short on time? No problem! This book club is designed with minimal reading and maximum impact.
Improv Comedy with Blind Tiger's House Teams
Join us for the funnest improv comedy in the Hudson Valley!
We are always delighted to feature the comedic talent of Blind Tiger Improv in their monthly showcase at the bookstore. You never know what to expect, because, well, it’s improv!
For May’s show, you can expect the cream of the crop, the best in the business: Blind Tiger’s House Teams, featuring Play It Forward and Brunch Punk.
Following those performances, come on out at 9:15 PM and have some fun with Blind Tiger! Any and all can sign up and play in an improv scene with one of our performers. And the best part? This portion of the evening is absolutely free!
Full show only $15 at the door.
About Blind Tiger
Blind Tiger Improv has performed across the Hudson Valley region at theaters in Peekskill, Beacon, and Suffern, NY. This year you’ll can find them monthly at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity in Ossining. They’re proud to be versatile improvisers, adept at long-form improv performance pieces.
Draft n' Drink: Creative Writers Workshop with Hudson Valley Writer’s Center
Are you working through writer's block? Looking for some inspiration? Join us for Draft n’ Drink, a casual, low-stress writing workshop designed to get your writerly juices flowing.
Special Author Read-Aloud: Nisha Knows Best by Maryann Jacob Macias
Kids age 3-5: Join us for the reading of this warm and reassuring picture book about listening to your heart and advocating for yourself, even to the people you love most.
Poetry for Strangers
“Poetry for Strangers” is a social art project that grows a poem from a simple dialogue between poet and recipient; between two human beings trying to navigate life.
For a low cost of nothing but a couple minutes of time, Glydel Go will happily listen in on a topic (could be anything!) you want written about, handcrafted on the spot on a typewriter. For some spare dollars more, it can even be fancied up a little with a scrapbook spread or card, if interested.
Stop by any time - no reservation needed - and find Glydel at her typewriter in the back of the store. She’s excited to meet you all!
Short Attention Span Book Club
Short on time? No problem! This book club is designed with minimal reading and maximum impact.
Special Author read-aloud with Joyce Markovics: Huh? Talking Insects
Kids ages 6-10: Listen up. Have you heard the buzz? Humans aren’t the only big talkers out there. Insects also communicate using sound. But what do the sounds mean? Scientists are uncovering the un-BEE-lievable answers—and so will you!
An Evening With Melissa Trombetta
Join Sing Sing Kill Brewery for a night of drinks, bites, and very good conversation with the incredible Melissa Trombetta—celebrating her brand new book The Summer Place to Be (Lainey Springs Book 1).
Meet Charlie Taylor—44, freshly divorced, a little unraveled, and heading home for a “quiet reset” that is… anything but.
Because enter: Jameson Clover. Former country band heartthrob turned small-town bar owner.
What starts as flirty banter (the “I will be thinking about this later” kind) turns into something deeper, messier, and impossible to ignore.
This one’s for anyone who’s ever wondered… what if it’s not too late to start over?
Grab your friends, grab a drink, and come hang with us for a night that feels like the start of your next chapter.
NOTE: This event is taking place at Sing Sing Kill Brewery (75 Spring Street, Ossining) as part of the Compass Reading Series. Hudson Valley Books for Humanity will be onsite for book sales.
Click here or scan the QR code below to sign up.
Author Event: Built for a Better World by Jeffrey Hollender
Join Jeffrey Hollender, author of Built for a Better World and co-founder and former CEO of Seventh Generation, for a conversation about how leadership guided by purpose can drive lasting change for business, humanity, and the planet.
Building Bridges Through Books: May 12
Join us for the May meeting of our Social Justice Book Club. We’ll be discussing Kin, by Tayari Jones.