Events

Tarot is a window into the soul. Feeling Blocked?
Seeking Guidance? Tarot can help you find the way.
Book a reading with Marguerite Recupero in-person or via video chat.
$30 for 30 minutes.

Sundays, March 12th & 26th  12-3pm at A Novel Idea on Passyunk

Marguerite is a Death Doula, Tarot Reader, and Writer. As an extension of her work with the Tarot, in 2021, she became a certified Death Doula through the Conscious Dying Institute. Her work with Death and Tarot is largely based in the Mundane as she seeks to destigmatize what is often seen as the mystical. She hosts a podcast, called Death Becomes Tarot, where she discusses each tarot card through this Mundane lens to help people deal with the Changes of Life. 2023 marks her ten-year anniversary of her Tarot Journey. For more information about her work, visit her website: wickedwitchywriter.com

Survivors of gender-based violence are punished by the criminal legal system every day.  Leigh Goodmark, author of Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism and Jill McCorkel, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Justice Project for Women and Girls, will talk about how their clients are arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated for crimes related to their own victimization, how abolition feminism can prevent that punishment, and how local communities can get involved in the work.

Thursday, May 30th 6pm at A Novel Idea on Passyunk

*Masks optional!

Suggested $5 Donation

About the Authors

Leigh Goodmark (she/hers) is the Marjorie Cook Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Frances King Carey School of Law.  Professor Goodmark co-directs the ClinicalLaw Program, teaches Family Law, Gender and the Law, and Gender Violence and the Law, and directs the Gender Violence Clinic.  Professor Goodmark’s scholarship focuses on intimate partner violence.  She is the author of Imperfect Victims: CriminalizedSurvivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism (University of California Press 2023); Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach toIntimate Partner Violence (University of California Press 2018) and A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System (New York University 2012), which was named a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of2012.  She is the co-editor of Comparative Perspectives on Gender Violence: Lessons from Efforts Worldwide (Oxford 2015).  Professor Goodmark’s work on intimate partner violence has also appeared in numerous journals, law reviews, and publications, including Violence Against Women, the New York Times, the Harvard Civil Rights-CivilLiberties Law Review, the Harvard Journal on Gender and the Law, and the YaleJournal on Law and Feminism. From 2003 to 2014, Professor Goodmark was on the faculty at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she served as Director of Clinical Education and Co-director of the Center on Applied Feminism.  From 2000 to 2003, Professor Goodmark was the Director of the Children and Domestic Violence Project at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law. Before joining the Center on Children and the Law,  Professor Goodmarkrepresented clients in the District of Columbia in custody, visitation, child support, restraining order, and other civil matters.  Professor Goodmark is a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law School.

Dr. McCorkel is Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Villanova University. She holds faculty affiliations in Africana Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Irish Studies. Dr. McCorkel’s research investigates the social and political consequences of mass incarceration in the United States.  She focuses primarily on how law and systems of punishment perpetuate race, class, and gender inequality. Her critically acclaimed first book, BreakingWomen: Gender, Race, and the New Politics of Imprisonment (New York University Press, 2013), explores the impact of the War on Drugs and punitive crime policies on incarcerated women. The book was a finalist for the prestigious C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems. Her research appears in leading scientific journals and has been featured in a variety of news outlets including Boston Globe, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Public Radio International. She received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology Division of Women and Crime for her ethnographic research in women’s prisons as well as VillanovaUniversity’s Mid-Career Scholar Award. She is currently writing a second book that examines why both mainstream and progressive efforts to reform the criminal legal system have largely failed incarcerated and system-impacted women. Dr.McCorkel serves on the editorial boards of Punishment & Society and Journal of Higher Education in Prison.

Throughout her academic career, Dr. McCorkel has provided pro bono assistance to incarcerated women and men on petitions for commutation and parole, and has offered research and expert testimony in criminal and civil cases and appellate matters. In 2020, Dr. McCorkel founded the Philadelphia Justice Project for Women and Girls, a non-profit research and advocacy organization dedicated to ending mass incarceration and gender violence. The organization provides:1) direct assistance to incarcerated women and girls fighting wrongful convictions and unjust sentences, 2) policy-relevant research on gender & mass incarceration that centers the voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls, and 3) training and educational programming for legal professionals, students, and system-impacted communities.

Nicks @ Nite is back for Season 2, this time live and in-person at A Novel Idea on Passyunk! Join local writers Nick Gregorio, Nick Mehalick, and Nick Perilli on March 31st at 6:30 PM for an evening of reading, bits, Nickish musings, surprise special guest stars and a certain uncanny quality. Scale the Aggro-crag, grab a six-pack of Sunny D, and stay up with us until the shows become black and white. There will be no green slime this time because one Nick breathed some of it in last year and now he has something called Mary Tyler Morbius Syndrome. Paramount Global has no affiliation with any of these Nicks and does not endorse, condone, or sponsor this event.

Friday, March 31st 6:30pm at A Novel Idea on Passyunk
*Masks optional!
Suggested $5 Donation

About the Nicks

Nick Gregorio is a husband, writer, teacher, dog-dad, punk, nerd, teeth-grinder, and mall-walker living and writing just outside of Philadelphia. He is the author of five books, and his work has appeared in many print and online journals. He earned his MFA from Arcadia University in 2015, and his second novel, Launch Me to the Stars, I’m Finished Here, is forthcoming from Trident Press in the summer of 2023.

Nick Mehalick is a son of Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He is the author of the chapbook, “Melissa Etheridge’s Seminal 1993 Album Made of Two Overlapping Triangles Instead of One” (2021) Ethel Zine & Press and has a poem featured in Bone and Ink Press’s “This Is Not a Punk Anthology, It’s a New Wave Anthology” (2023). He teaches in Philadelphia, is the host of the podcast Book.Record.Beer. and drummer for various Philadelphia-based bands. Twitter: @NMehalick

Nick Perilli is also named Nick and his debut novel Cul-de-sac was recently released by Montag Press. He is also the author of Child Lucia and Other Library Fabula from Ethel Zine & Press. You can find him online at nickperilli.com and he’s on social media as @nicoloperilli where he’s trying to be a microinfluencer but with spooky skeletons.

Join us for an evening with local author Linda M. Romanowski, in celebration of her debut Fijnal Touchstones.

Friday, April 7th 5:30pm at A Novel Idea on Passyunk

*Masks optional!

Suggested $5 Donation

About the Author

Linda M. Romanowski, a 1975 alumna of Rosemont College, with a BA in Psychology and Elementary Education, returned to earn her MFA in Creative Writing, Non-Fiction in 2021, where she was awarded the college’s President’s Medal. Several of her prose and poetry works, and book reviews have appeared in The City Key, The Mario Lanza Facebook Page, Ovunque Siamo, Moonstone Arts Center, Vine Leaves Press, and Philadelphia Stories. She is a contributing feature writer for The City Key, a former assistant editor for Rosemont’s Rathalla magazine, and a submissions reader for Philadelphia Stories, the Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry, and the McGlinn Fiction Prize contest. Linda is the Immediate Past President of the Rosemont College Alumni Board.

Her Italian heritage-based thesis, Final Touchstones, earned with distinction, is the subject of tonight’s launch, published last month by Sunbury Press. Linda is a Nonna Leenda, a Grandmother of an about-to-walk 9 month old grandson, James Matthew. He’s an avid reader, who chews the pages of his books for additional fiber.

Join us for a book launch party for Adam Gianforcaro’s next poetry collection Every Living Day (Thirty West Publishing). The evening will feature readings from kat giordano and Todd Dillard.

Saturday, April 8th 6:30pm at A Novel Idea on Passyunk
*Masks optional!
Suggested $5 Donation

About the Authors

kat giordano was born in philadelphia and it’s been downhill ever since. they are the author of two poetry collections, THE POET CONFRONTS BUKOWSKI’S GHOST and TELL ME YOU’VE EARNED IT, and one novel, THE FOUNTAIN. kat is also the guest managing editor of thirty west publishing house. you can find them pretty much everywhere as @giordkat or on their website at katgiordano.com.

Todd Dillard‘s work has appeared in Guernica, Poet Lore, Waxwing, The Adroit Journal, Best New Poets, and elsewhere. His debut collection of poetry Ways We Vanish (Okay Donkey Press) was a finalist for the 2021 Balcones Poetry Award. He is a Poetry Editor at The Boiler Journal.

Adam Gianforcaro is the author of the poetry collections, Every Living Day, Morning Time in the Household, Looking Out, and the children’s picture book, Uma the Umbrella. His work can be found in Poet Lore, Palette Poetry, Northwest Review, RHINO, Third Coast, Maudlin House, The Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere.
He lives in Delaware.

Join us for Community Drafts, A Novel Idea’s open mic. Open to artists of all genres. We hope you’ll join us.

Performances will begin at 6:30pm. We ask all performers to keep performances to 5 minutes or less.

Wednesday, April 12th 6:30pm at A Novel Idea

Signups will be taken care of at the beginning of the event. Suggested $5 donation. Free tickets are always available.

A Novel Idea is thrilled to partner with VENUE TBD to host The Hebridean Baker, Coinneach MacLeod! We’ll be celebrating his newest cookbook, The Hebridean Baker: My Scottish Island Kitchen (available now).

The event will be taking place at VENUE TBD on Friday, April 14th at 6:30pm. Join us to learn about Coinneach and his home in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, try your best at Scottish trivia, Scottish songs, and get your copy of his newest cookbook signed!

This event requires a ticket which can be found at the bottom of this page. The ticket includes:

• Event admission
• 1 copy of The Hebridean Baker: My Scottish Island Kitchen ($29.99)

Don’t miss Coinneach MacLeod’s first cookbook, The Hebridean Baker: Recipes and Wee Stories from the Scottish Islands, which can be found at the bottom of this page as well!

Please email events@anovelideaphilly.com if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you!

More about Coinneach:

COINNEACH MACLEOD was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis, the most northerly of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Inspired by traditional family recipes and homegrown produce, Coinneach rose to fame as the Hebridean Baker on TikTok. He has motivated his worldwide followers to bake, forage, learn Gaelic, enjoy a dram or two of whiskey, and to seek a more wholesome, simple life. Along with his partner Peter and their Westie pup Seoras, Coinneach’s aim is to bring the best of the Scottish islands to a worldwide audience. Visit him online at: https://hebrideanbaker.com/.

Praise for The Hebridean Baker:

‘Beautiful recipes and what looks like a perfect life.’ – Philip Schofield, This Morning

‘Serving his sumptuous food with a side of Hebridean folklore, Scottish Gaelic & traditional music.’ – BBC Travel

More about The Hebridean Baker: My Scottish Island Kitchen: 

The landscapes, stories, history and culture of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland are what make our islands unique. In this book, I’m sharing recipes filled with tradition, Scottish flavors and local ingredients that you will love to make in your kitchen, from hearty dishes and comforting desserts to delicious cakes and perfect biscuits to dunk in your tea!

The book is jam-packed with the stories behind the recipes; some I’ve found in my much-loved old cookbooks, others I’ve persuaded friends and family to share, as well as lots of new recipes which put a twist on a classic dish. So, get the oven on and choose your first recipe!

Other Cookbooks by Coinneach:

The Hebridean Baker : Recipes and Wee Stories from the Scottish Islands (released May 2022)

Join us for an evening with local author James R. Hagerty, the Wall Street Journal’s lead obituary writer, as he discusses the importance of telling your life story.

Wednesday, April 19th 6:30pm ET via Zoom
Suggested $5 Donation

About the Author
James R. Hagerty, known as Bob, has been a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal for more than 40 years. He has been based in New York, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Brussels, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. For the past seven years, he has been the WSJ’s lead obituary writer. His new book, “Yours Truly,” a guide to writing life stories, was named by the Washington Post as one of 10 noteworthy books published in December. Hagerty grew up in Grand Forks, N.D., and studied economics at the University of North Dakota.