Meet author SL Carroll and learn about the launch of the new indie press, Terrazzo.

Hear from our lead author, Patricia Lockwood, author of Will There Ever Be Another You, No One is Talking About This, and Priestdaddy. In conversation with Anna Shechtman. Lockwood will be signing books after the talk. Sponsored by Humanities Scholars Program.

Join housing activists and authors Madeleine Hamlin and Gretchen Purser at Autumn Leaves Books for a discussion of the new book Housing Justice: A Lexicon for Building Solidarity (PM Press, 2026).

Housing is being reshaped by financialization, dispossession, displacement, and resistance across global contexts. Housing Justice dissects common concepts such as “eviction,” “property,” and “social housing” and analyzes emerging terms like “carceral shelter" and “déracinement.” The book illuminates how language mediates the spatial, institutional, and affective dimensions of housing injustice and offers a shared starting point for imagining—and organizing—alternative futures.

Authors Aurora Rey, Isabel Sterling, & Leigh Hays discuss writing sapphic romance. Conversation led by John Jacobson. Book signing at the end of the event.

Live at Autumn Leaves Books, labor activists Eli Friedman, Ellen David Friedman, and Kevin Lin will discuss Involution (Verso, 2026) and China in Global Capitalism (Haymarket, 2024), two recent books on the work culture and employment crisis in China.

Amid record high unemployment and savage competition in schools and the workplace, China's youth have becoming increasingly disconsolate. Previous generations of Chinese workers largely believed in the promise of their country's hyper-speed development. But today's youth feel they are being shut out. This conversation will draw on years of research and activism in China to assess the situation for young workers. It will also highlight instances of resistance and possibilities for building solidarity across borders.

How do we make locations come alive in our speculative worlds? What techniques for writing environs, cities or places have you found useful in your own writing? What settings of speculative works come alive and feel like a character in and of itself? Join authors D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Risa Wolf, Brian Hugenbruch and Amelia Buzzard as they discuss how to make a place shine.

Meet author Cat Willett while cuddling kittens from Browncoat Cat Rescue! Willet will sign copies of Unconditional: Stories of Women and the Animals They Love after the event.

Don’t miss this chance to browse offerings from 25+ publishers, authors, vendors, and indie bookstores!

Autumn Leaves is excited to welcome nutrition expert Marion Nestle for the local launch of her new book Sugar Coated: Unboxing the Hidden Forces Shaping America's Favorite Breakfast Food. With co-author and former cereal executive Dr. Lisa Sutherland, Nestle examines what cereal boxes reveal about American culture and food politics.

Booksellers from three mission based bookstores in conversation about their roles in their communities. With Hillary Smith (Black Walnut Books - Glens Falls, NY), Hannah Oliver Depp (Loyalty Books - Washington, DC), and Danielle King (Left Bank Books - St. Louis, MO), moderated by Lisa Swayze, Buffalo Street Books.

Meet the illustrator and take a peek behind the cover on how a picture book is made with illustrator Nickie Carrier-Titti. Ages 8+

Join panelists Alyssa Hassan (Beacon Press), Ramsey Kaanan (PM Press), Gina Nutt (Terrazzo Editions) for a discussion of what it means to be an independent publisher and the state of indie presses. Moderated by Alejandra Chaisson (Buffalo Street Books).

Free performance Saturday, September 12th, at 1:00 pm, at the Tompkins County Public Library, Thaler/Howell Room, 101 East Green St, Ithaca, NY.  Families will receive a free "All Are Welcome" book. Sponsored by Children’s Reading Connection.

Join author Emily Sun Li and illustrator Julian Plum to hear their books and create together. For ages 3+.

Join authors Kalynn Bayron and Bethany C. Morrow for a conversation about their most recent books: Tell the Ghosts I’m Gone (Bayron) and The Body (Morrow). The conversation, led by Dr. Misha Ailsworth, will consider how the authors use genre fiction to highlight contemporary topics, among other things. Author book signing after conversation. Sponsored by Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures.

Don’t miss this chance to browse offerings from 25+ publishers, authors, vendors, and indie bookstores!

Storytime for kids and families of all ages at TCPL.

Story time with local illustrator Nickie Carrier-Titti.  Includes coloring & activity pages.  Ages 2-6.

Join us for this reading and discussion of McConigley's How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder. Author will be signing books after the event. Sponsored by Ithaca College Department of Literatures in English and Cornell University Department of Literatures in English.

Join writers of speculative fiction for an "en plein... ear" narrative and drawing live experience.

The Judgment of Gender: How Women are Centered and Silenced in Pop Culture, with media scholar and author Allison T. Butler. Butler will discuss her new book citing historic examples of how women are represented and treated in popular culture, tying her thesis to more current events which she analyzes through a critical media literacy lens. This event is sponsored by

Join Project Censored, The Censored Press, and The Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM) at Autumn Leaves Books to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Project Censored. Founded in 1976, the organization's mission is to bring critical media literacy training to students and the public and fight overt and subtler forms of news censorship. Director Mickey Huff and Senior Manager of Engagement Mischa Geracoulis will be joined by Robin Andersen, author of the new book The Complicit Lens: US Media’s Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza, and Nolan Higdon, author of MagAcademy: How Corporatism Paved the Way for the Hostile Take Over of Higher Ed, to talk about the evolving state of media, journalism, and accountability. Co-sponsored by Project Censored, The Censored Press, and The Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM) at Ithaca College

Join us for the last local showing of this film about the poet Mary Oliver. Odyssey booksellers will introduce, share, and sell Mary Oliver poetry and titles at this viewing. Anyone who presents a Cinemapolis ticket stub/proof of ticket purchase from this limited run is eligible for a 15% discount off ANY Mary Oliver title available at Odyssey. 

Former Ithaca Mayor and current President of People for the American Way, Svante Myrick, in conversation with NYS Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles. Tabling from local political organizations to share more information.

Listen to stories and make a craft at TCPL. For kids 5+.