Author Talk: Jayne Anne Phillips, in conversation with Neema Avashia

Join the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Library for a conversation with Pulitzer-winning novelist Jayne Anne Phillips on her newest book, Small Town Girls, in conversation with Neema Avashia. Phillips grew up in the small town of Buckhannon, West Virginia. The distinctly American landscape of Appalachia—dense with forests and small churches, rich in history and misunderstandings—has been the great setting for her fiction, even as she and her boundless imagination have traveled to other times and places. Small Town Girls, Phillips’ ninth book and first nonfiction title, is a luminous “writer’s memoir” in essays. In these pieces Phillips brings us into her childhood and family, most movingly her mother. She recreates the place she calls home, its foundational truths and the densely woven ties between the women of the town. She traces her journey across the country in search of love and work and belonging—her discovery of writing and reading as tools for both survival and revelation—and offers insights into the fellow writers and touchstones that moved and influenced her. From the local beauty salon to the legendary Hatfield–McCoy feud, from Jean Shrimpton and Barbara Stanwyck to Stephen Crane and Breece D’J Pancake, Phillips ponders her relationship with inspiration, spirituality, culture, and the troubled annals of the last American centuries. Tender, inviting, sparkling with wisdom and open-heartedness, Small Town Girls is part coming-of-age story, part social history, Jayne Anne Phillips’s most personal, most accessible book yet—a love letter to the place and the people who have shaped her perceptions and her writing. Neema Avashia is the proud daughter of Indian immigrants, and was born and raised in southern West Virginia. She has been an educator and activist in the Boston Public Schools since 2003. Her first book, Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place, was published by West Virginia University Press in March 2022. The book was named Best LGBTQ Memoir of 2022 by BookRiot, was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022, and was a finalist for the New England Book Award, the Weatherford Award, and a Lambda Literary Award. Avashia was a recipient of the ACLU of West Virginia's 2024 Roger Baldwin Award for her work on behalf of LGBTQIA+ West Virginians. Her second book, ANOTHER MOTHERHOOD, will be published by Beacon Press in April 2027. She lives in Boston with her partner, Laura, and her daughter, Kahani.

Boston Public Library

Dog Circus Block Party

On Saturday, October 10th, we're teaming up with local author Lori Lobenstein &amp; Jamaica Plain branch Library to host the Dog Circus LAUNCH Party! Don’t miss this family-friendly and free event, including book signing, face painting, photo booth, balloon dogs, free swag, clowns, snacks, and the awesome youth acrobats from Circus Up’s Kirkos youth troupe! The event runs from 11-12:30 on the lawn in front of the library. (Inside in Community Room if the weather is bad.) Books—signed by the author and main character!—will be available for purchase. Everything is family-friendly and free for all.

Author Talk: Nora Lange & Julian Zabalbeascoa

Join us for a reading and conversation with Nora Lange and Julian Zabalbeascoa!&nbsp; Nora Lange’s debut novel Us Fools was awarded the The Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, was named a best book of 2024 by The Boston Globe and NPR, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Nora’s short writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The Believer, BOMB, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from Brown University and is a fellow at USC’s Los Angeles Institute of the Humanities. She now lives in Salt Lake City with her family. Julian Zabalbeascoa is the author of What We Tried to Bury Grows Here, which was a finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was called "a fiery, visceral tale of the Spanish Civil War" by the New York Times. Among other journals, his short stories have appeared in American Short Fiction, The Common, Electric Literature, The Gettysburg Review, One Story, and Ploughshares. He is a dual citizen of Spain and the US., earned his MFA in Creative Writing in Madrid, and teaches in the Honors College at UMass Lowell, where he leads annual study abroad programs to San Sebastian, Havana, Madrid, Sorrento, Morocco, and Paris.

Papercuts Bookshop

Literary Magazine Launch: Six Stories A Semester

Join Papercuts Bookshop as we celebrate the launch of Six Stories A Semester, a new literary magazine from the folks at fellow indie bookstore The Book Shop of Beverly Farms. Contributors: Steve Almond is the author of 12 books of fiction and non-fiction, including the NYT bestsellers "Candyfreak" and "Against Football." His work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mysteries, The Best American Erotica, and the New York Times Magazine. His most recent book, "Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow," is about the hardships and joys of storytelling. He can be found at www.stevealmondjoy.org. Celeste Amidon is the winner of the 2025 New Ohio Review Ellis Prize for Fiction. Her work appears in Gulf Coast, New Ohio Review, Polyester, Broad Sound Journal, Rose Books, and is forthcoming in Exacting Clam. She was selected as a semi-finalist for the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards, long listed for the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards and the Hope Prize, and selected as a finalist for the Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize. She is a 2026-2027 Fine Arts Work Center Fellow. Emily Franklin is the bestselling author of 25 books, including “The Lioness of Boston,” based on the life of trailblazer Isabella Stewart Gardner, now in its eleventh printing and recently featured as a clue on Jeopardy! Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Kenyon Review, and The Journal of the American Medical Association, among many other places, as well as featured and read aloud on National Public Radio, longlisted for the London Sunday Times Short Story Award and named notable by the Association of Jewish Libraries. She grew up half in the UK and half in Boston where she lives now with her spouse and four children. Her new novel, Love &amp; Other Monsters, is the untold origin story of Frankenstein told from the perspective of Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley’s erased stepsister, who changed the course of literature forever. Mia Huerta is a Chicana poet and writer, born in Chicago, but now living and teaching north of Boston. Her poetry has previously appeared in Kenyon College’s HIKA and Washington University’s Spires magazines. A recent graduate from Kenyon College, she holds a BA in English and creative writing. Her work explores the intersections between the natural world, ancestral lineage, Chicana identity, and nostalgia. In her free time, she loves hiking in nearby woodlands, scrapbooking and baking. Eliana Ketcham is a Massachusetts writer, born in Beverly, raised in Ipswich. When she was eight years old, she wrote a Christmas short story, which has since thankfully been lost, but nevertheless inspired her lifelong love of writing. Outer space, cats, and the ocean are among her favorite things in the world (or out of it), along with science fiction and any good book she can get her hands on. Jason Rice graduated from The Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Photography, 1991. He has worked in the South of France teaching photography, and spent three years working in the New York City film and television business (circa 1990s) most notably, The Adventures of Pete &amp; Pete, The Joan Rivers Show, Can We Shop?, and the feature “Flirting With Disaster.” He is currently working in the book business on the East Coast of the United States, servicing independent bookstores.

Book Launch: Revelator by Ellie Black, in conversation with Joshua Nguyen

Join us for an evening of poetry as we celebrate the launch of Revelator with author Ellie Black in conversation with Joshua Nguyen. Ellie Black is a Visiting Assistant Professor in English–Creative Writing at Hendrix College. She received both a PhD in Creative Writing (emphasis in memoir/autotheory) and an MFA in poetry from the University of Mississippi. A 2026 Gregory Djanikian Scholar and a finalist for the 2025 Disquiet Prize in Poetry, her work has been published in or is forthcoming from Bennington Review, The Adroit Journal, The Common, The Drift, and elsewhere. Her debut collection, Revelator, received the 2026 APR/Honickman First Book Prize. Joshua Nguyen is the author of Come Clean (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021), winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, the Writers' League of Texas Discovery Award, and the Mississippi Institute of Arts &amp; Letters Poetry Award. He is also the author of the chapbooks, American Lục Bát for My Mother (Bull City Press, 2021) and Hidden Labor &amp; The Naked Body (Sundress Publications, 2023). He is a Vietnamese American writer, a collegiate national poetry slam champion (CUPSI), and enjoys the art of dish drying. He has received fellowships from Kundiman, Kenyon Review, Tin House, Sundress Academy For The Arts, Fine Arts Work Center, and the Vermont Studio Center. He has been published in Wildness, Poetry Northwest, Hayden's Ferry Review, and elsewhere. He is a humor editor for The Offing Mag. He received his MFA/PhD from The University of Mississippi and currently teaches at Tufts University &amp; Boston College. His forthcoming poetry collection, RIPPED, was the winner of the Four Lakes Prize in Poetry, and will be published by The University of Wisconsin Press.

Poetry at Papercuts: PARTY LINE with Kyle Carrero Lopez, Porsha Olayiwola, and Crystal Valentine

Join us for a night of poetry in celebration of Kyle Carrero Lopez's debut full-length collection, PARTY LINE. A humor-filled lyric love letter to queer nightlife, this book is a ki, to say the least. Kyle will be joined by Porsha Olayiwola and Crystal Valentine, the former poets laureate of Boston and New York City (respectively). Kyle Carrero Lopez is the author of MUSCLE MEMORY, the chapbook winner of the 2020 [PANK] Books Contest, PARTY LINE, forthcoming July 2026 from Graywolf, and serves as Editor for the Poetry Project Newsletter. Born to Cuban parents in northern New Jersey, his work centers power, social life, and Afro-Cuban histories, among other subjects. He’s represented by—but not related to—Ashley Lopez at Massie McQuilkin &amp; Altman. He co-founded LEGACY, a Brooklyn-based production collective by and for Black queer artists. His writing has been highlighted in Best New Poets and Best of the Net; round-ups in W Magazine, Current Affairs, and The Atlantic; and episodes of Poetry Unbound and The Slowdown. Kyle has received fellowships from Cave Canem, CubaOne Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, NYC Poets Afloat, and NYU, where he was a Goldwater Writing Workshop Fellow, a Provost’s Global Research Initiative Fellow at NYU Berlin, and earned his M.F.A. in Poetry. He was also a 2022 Tin House Scholar.

Book Launch: Venezuela In Crisis: Socialist Perspectives

Join us for a discussion with the editor of the Venezuela In Crisis: Socialist Perspectives anthology in conversation with two of the anthology's contributors! Dr. Anderson Bean will be joined by Simón Rodríguez and Gustavo Márquez Marín for a timely and worthwhile in-store talk. Anderson Bean is a sociology professor at North Carolina A&amp;T State University, a North Carolina–based activist, and a member of GRS and the Tempest Collective. He is a contributor and editor of Venezuela in Crisis: Socialist Perspectives as well as the author of the book Communes and the Venezuelan State: The Struggle for Participatory Democracy in a Time of Crisis. Simón Rodríguez is a Venezuelan socialist writer and journalist, a founder of the Partido Socialismo y Libertad (PSL), and a former professor at the Universidad de los Andes. He is a founding member of Laclase.info and Venezuelanvoices.org and has published in NACLA, The New Arab, Rebelión, and numerous other outlets. His work has been translated into six languages, and he is coauthor, with Miguel Sorans, of Why Did Chavismo Fail? A Left-Opposition Balance Sheet. Gustavo Márquez Marín is an electrical engineer, former university professor, and longtime Venezuelan political leader. He served as president of the Movement for Socialism (MAS), a deputy in the Venezuelan Congress, and held several positions in the Chávez government, including minister of Industry and Commerce and ambassador to Austria and Colombia. He is currently a member of the Citizen Platform for the Defense of the Constitution.

Book Launch: Names Have Been Changed By Yu-Mei Balasingamchow in conversation with Shubha Sunder

Join us at Eliot Hall as we celebrate the release of Names Have Been Changed by Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, former Papercuts bookseller in conversation with Shubha Sunder! **One of Debutiful's Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2026** Catch Me If You Can meets Counterfeit in this thrilling debut novel about Ophir—not her real name—who starts a confessional podcast about her years on the run around the globe, in an unforgettable story about the costs of freedom and the inescapable pull of home Ophir’s tale begins in Singapore, where a petty crime spins out of control, estranging her from home and family. Resorting to false identities and forged passports (being mixed-race helps), she crisscrosses the globe from a Paris-themed hostess bar in Tokyo, to a bustling Chinese restaurant in London, to a snowbound mountain town in Colorado and beyond. Broadcasting from an undisclosed location, Ophir is funny, prickly, tough, and vulnerable, entrancing her listeners with an irresistible, no-holds-barred recounting of not only her crimes (plural) but also her deepest secrets and regrets. Even as she moves seamlessly across class lines and continents, she grapples with the shock of relentless dislocation, a painful reexamination of identity, and a deep yearning for home. She tries to find comfort in new lovers and ill-gotten luxury goods, but she can’t help attracting trouble, and she soon faces an unexpected, high-stakes choice that could change her fate forever. Names Have Been Changed is a stylish, fast-paced debut novel that reveals the complicated paths we take to build a life and a home. Filled with danger and twists, it’s ultimately a story about immigration and belonging—one unlike any you’ve seen before. Yu-Mei Balasingamchow was born in Singapore and moved to Boston, where she was a bookseller at Papercuts Bookshop and where she teaches writing workshops at GrubStreet. Her short fiction has received a Pushcart Prize special mention and been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize. She has an MFA in creative writing from Boston University and has received grants from the Elizabeth George Foundation, Sewanee Writers Conference, and Singapore’s National Arts Council. Names Have Been Changed is her debut novel. Shubha Sunder is a 2025 Whiting Award winner and the author of Optional Practical Training, an immigrant novel in conversations that won the New American Voices Award and was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her first book, Boomtown Girl, a short story collection set in her hometown of Bangalore, India, won the 2021 St. Lawrence Book Award. She currently teaches in the creative writing MFA program at UMass Boston.

Eliot Hall

From Prisons to Palestine, Reproductive Justice Beyond Abortion: A Discussion Marking the Fourth Anniversary of the Dobbs Decision

Join us at Boston Public Library with Amy Littlefield, author of Killers of Roe: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights, Dr. Rasha Khoury, Feyla McNamara of Tides for Reproductive Freedom, &amp; Sashi James of Families for Justice as Healing. Moderated by Laura Grattan, Co-Director of the Anti-Carceral Co+ Laboratory at Wellesley College. Sponsored by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.&nbsp; Amy Littlefield has reported on abortion rights for more than a decade. She is the abortion access correspondent for The Nation. She's contributed to The New York Times Opinion section and wrote the Times’ Sunday Review cover story “Where the Pro-Choice Movement Went Wrong.” She is a frequent commentator on abortion for TV and radio news outlets and podcasts, including MSNBC and Democracy Now! Littlefield was a lead reporter and narrator on episodes for Reveal, the national investigative journalism show. She lives in Boston with her family.

Queer Horror Night with Zefyr Lisowski and Nicky Gonzalez

Join us for a reading and conversation with Zefyr Lisowski, author of Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival and Love (2026 Finalist for the Lambda Literary Prize in Transgender Nonfiction) and Nicky Gonzalez, author of Mayra: A Novel. We promise not to scare you too much as these two accomplished writers discuss all things spooky. Zefyr Lisowski is the author of Uncanny Valley Girls (Harper Perennial 2025), shortlisted for a 2026 Lambda Literary Award in Nonfiction. She’s also the author of two poetry collections, Girl Work (Noemi Press 2024), winner of the 2025 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Poetry, and Blood Box (Black Lawrence 2019). Raised in the Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, she lives in Brooklyn and at zefyrlisowski.com. Nicky Gonzalez a writer from Hialeah, Florida. Her fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s, BOMB, Kenyon Review, Taco Bell Quarterly, and other publications. Her debut book, Mayra, was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

Author Event: You've Changed - Benoit Denizet-Lewis and Jabari Asim

Benoit Denizet-Lewis&nbsp;In Conversation with&nbsp;Jabari Asim&nbsp;discussing his newest book&nbsp;You've Changed: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation “A blazingly smart, thoughtful, funny, and moving book about the endless hope—and the occasional limits—of human transformation.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and All the Way to the River From New York Times bestselling author&nbsp;Benoit Denizet-Lewis&nbsp;comes a timely, provocative, and deeply moving exploration of personal transformation in a period of roiling uncertainty.&nbsp;You’ve Changed&nbsp;investigates how we remake ourselves—and how identity, belief, and belonging shift in a world that won’t stop doing the same. We live in an age obsessed with reinvention. On Instagram, in recovery meetings, through name-change petitions, lifestyle pivots, deconversion blogs, and political conversion manifestos, we’re surrounded by stories of radical personal change. But what does it really mean to shed an old skin—and why do some transformations inspire us while others raise our hackles? Benoit Denizet-Lewis&nbsp;is an associate professor at Emerson College and a longtime contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. He has written three previous books, including America Anonymous and the New York Times bestseller Travels With Casey. A New America Fellow and NEH Public Scholar, he divides his time between Boston and Prague. Author and cultural critic&nbsp;Jabari Asim&nbsp;was born and raised in St. Louis. He earned a BA at Northwestern University. His writing engages themes of racism, social justice, and current events. “By the time of Mike Brown’s death at the hands of a police officer, I had already begun scribbling lines and addressing the idea of ‘The Talk’ that many African American parents give to their sons when they reach adolescence,” Asim said in a 2014 statement on the Emerson College website, on the publication of his poem “The Talk” in the Washington Post. “I consider the poem in the tradition of Langston Hughes’s ‘Mother to Son,’ and Dudley Randall’s ‘Ballad of Birmingham.

Independent Bookstore Day

Independent Bookstore Day has arrived once again! Make sure to stop by and join in on the festivities. We will have: Free cake from Odulce! A golden ticket hidden in the store- find it to claim free audiobook credits on Libro.fm! New wearable merch screenprinted by the great people at Speakeasy Printshop (10% off during IBD, with any purchase). Redeem a fully stamped IBD Passport (available for pickup instore any time) for entry into a raffle. Winner recieves a $40 Gift Card &amp; a Papercuts Shirt. Enter into a giveaway for a signed advance copy of Names Have Been Changed, the debut novel of former Papercuts Bookseller Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, along with a tote bag from the publisher, Tiny Reparations Books. Any day is a good day to come browse, but you don't want to miss this one :)

Poetry at Papercuts: All the Possible Bodies by Iain Haley Pollock

Join us for a night of engaging poetry in celebration of Iain Haley Pollock's latest collection All The Possible Bodies! Pollock will join fellow poet Quintin Collins for a reading, conversation, and Q&amp;A. Iain Haley Pollock is the author of three poetry collections, Spit Back a Boy (2011), Ghost, Like a Place (Alice James, 2018), and All the Possible Bodies (Alice James, 2025). His poems have appeared in publications ranging from American Poetry Review to The New York Times Magazine. Pollock has received several honors for his work including the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, a 2023 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Poetry, the Bim Ramke Prize for Poetry from Denver Quarterly, and a nomination for an NAACP Image Award. He serves as Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Manhattanville University in Purchase, NY. Quintin Collins (he/him) is a writer, editor, and associate director of the Solstice Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. His work appears in many print and online publications, such as Sidereal Magazine, Superstition Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Solstice Literary Magazine, and others. Winner of a Pushcart Prize and the 2019 Atlantis Award from the Poet's Billow, Quintin's publishing accolades include multiple Best of the Net Nominations, and he was a finalist for the 2020 Redivider Beacon Street Prize. Steeped in the myths we spin about self, family, and nation, All the Possible Bodies grounds itself in the physical world with evocative imagery and deft narratives that reach out to pose larger questions about violence, America, racial justice, and personal and national identity. Pollock’s third collection is an intimate portrait of an emotionally candid speaker asking himself and the reader to consider who we are in our complexities. These poems explore our varied identities as Americans: the ways we treat one another, the value we assign to each others’ lives, and the persistent internal conflict that tugs between our desires and greater duty. How do we make peace with our hypocrisy and complicity in the social order that harms others and ourselves? Can and should we? Singular in its telling and universal in feeling, All the Possible Bodies seeks to answer this question through its examination of the complicated emotional and spiritual states characteristic of contemporary American life. Resilience abounds here, along with clarity of story-telling, musicality of lyric, and crispness of language and image.

Author Event & Doggy Discussion: Lab Dog by Melanie D.G. Kaplan

Join us at The Footlight Club for a puppy love-filled book talk with&nbsp;Melanie Kaplan, author of&nbsp;Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research, in conversation with&nbsp;Andrew Ryan&nbsp;(of The Boston Globe) and&nbsp;four fabulous beagles! Lab Dog, praised as “remarkable” by the late Dr. Jane Goodall, is the story of a beagle’s past and the future of animal research. When journalist Melanie D.G. Kaplan adopted her beagle Hammy, all she knew was that he had spent nearly four years in a research lab. Curious to know more about this gentle creature’s past, as well as the broader world of animal research, Kaplan—with Hammy in tow—embarks on a quest for answers. How did Hammy end up in a research facility? Why are we still using millions of animals a year in experiments? What have we learned from them? Is there another way? In&nbsp;Lab Dog, Kaplan investigates the breeding and use of beagles for biomedical research, drug and product testing, and education. She takes readers on a journey, peeking behind laboratory doors and visiting with researchers, activists, ethicists, veterinarians, lawmakers, and innovators. Along the way, she finds thoughtful and caring humans on all sides of the debate, explores promising developments in nonanimal testing, and discovers puzzle pieces from Hammy’s past. Equal parts journalism and love story,&nbsp;Lab Dog&nbsp;offers a nuanced view on our relationship with a species that we both love and exploit, and a reason to hope for a better future for all. Melanie D. G. Kaplan&nbsp;is a longtime independent journalist whose travel and science writing has appeared in The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and National Parks magazine. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, a 2021–2022 MIT Knight Science Journalism fellow, and a third-generation Washington, DC, native. Kaplan has lived most of her life with hounds. Andrew Ryan&nbsp;has been an investigative reporter at the Boston Globe for nearly a decade. He was part of the teams behind two of the Globe’s award-winning, investigative podcasts: “Murder in Boston” and “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.” As a member of the Spotlight Team, he was a 2018 Pulitzer finalist in Local Reporting for a series examining race in Boston. He previously worked for the Associated Press, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, The Day of New London, Conn., Highbridge Horizon in the Bronx, and tended bar at the Landor Pub in London and The Whisky River in Dubuque, IA.

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Roundups ⭐️

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added

Just added to Joyraft

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S19: interest based

Kid-friendly events in Boston

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.

Where

papercutsbookshop

Experiences

Author Talk: Jayne Anne Phillips, in conversation with Neema Avashia

Dog Circus Block Party

Author Talk: Nora Lange & Julian Zabalbeascoa

Literary Magazine Launch: Six Stories A Semester

Book Launch: Revelator by Ellie Black, in conversation with Joshua Nguyen

Poetry at Papercuts: PARTY LINE with Kyle Carrero Lopez, Porsha Olayiwola, and Crystal Valentine

Book Launch: Venezuela In Crisis: Socialist Perspectives

Book Launch: Names Have Been Changed By Yu-Mei Balasingamchow in conversation with Shubha Sunder

From Prisons to Palestine, Reproductive Justice Beyond Abortion: A Discussion Marking the Fourth Anniversary of the Dobbs Decision

Queer Horror Night with Zefyr Lisowski and Nicky Gonzalez

Author Event: You've Changed - Benoit Denizet-Lewis and Jabari Asim

Independent Bookstore Day

Poetry at Papercuts: All the Possible Bodies by Iain Haley Pollock

Author Event & Doggy Discussion: Lab Dog by Melanie D.G. Kaplan

Author Event & Doggy Discussion: Lab Dog by Melanie D.G. Kaplan