Bookstore & Café-Bar
Bookstore & Café-Bar Hours:
11am – 8pm Daily
15 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
The Center for Fiction Bookstore carries fiction and nonfiction for all ages, featuring bestsellers, imports, and rare finds alike. We are open every day for in-story shopping. Please visit our online store to order items for pick-up and delivery. Stop by the Café & Bar for coffee, tea, espresso, beer, wine, cocktails, and light bites!
Please review our Health and Safety Protocols in advance of your visit. For the safety of our employees and community, anyone who enters the building must wear a face mask. Questions for the bookstore? Email books@centerforfiction.org or give us a call at (212) 755-6710 ext. 1.
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Bookstore Picks
Hot Town, Summer in the City
The dog days of summer are here, and we turn to books that are hot and sultry, too. Like the weather, the four novels here take... -
Bookstore Picks
Busy Minds
These fine books represent some of the best writing of the summer. Their authors drill deep down into human psyches -
Bookstore Picks
Abounds
Short and long fiction abounds this week, as well as an essay collection that gives wise advice for the changing ways in which... -
Bookstore Picks
Take a Trip
Forget about the books on your nightstand, this week we have the perfect vacation read for you. There is a wide range of styles... -
Bookstore Picks
At Home in the World
In four wildly different fictions, characters seek to find themselves, and their place. Two are faced with sudden fortune and... -
Bookstore Picks
Mood Swings
What type of escape are you seeking for this long summer weekend? Choose from linked stories set on a Down East reservation... -
Bookstore Picks
Summer Arrivals
It’s now officially summer and the novels and short fiction this week are all good choices for the season’s reading—whether... -
Bookstore Picks
Second Thoughts
These books feature both imagined worlds and characters who recreate themselves in new worlds. From medieval times to modern... -
Bookstore Picks
All Rise
All the books this week introduce individuals overcoming odds. There are three novels that find their strong female leads facing... -
Bookstore Picks
Proud
June is Pride Month, and we launch it with four new titles—two first novels from Asian American authors, an audacious first... -
Bookstore Picks
Going in Style
This week we have five expert stylists playing with form: a modern twist on classic fairy tales, a writer’s homage to romance... -
Bookstore Picks
Against the Grain
The exceptional characters in this week’s selection include a college student pursuing the meaning of life, a hired mercenary... -
Bookstore Picks
Seize the Day
Five very different stories address the powerlessness one can feel when facing daily life. All are beautifully told, and find... -
Bookstore Picks
Come What May
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and to celebrate, we are featuring a wonderful second novel from a... -
Bookstore Picks
What a Character
Happy Independent Bookstore Day!The four works of fiction this week, including two debuts, are character-driven stories -
Bookstore Picks
For the Love of Bookstores
This week we have a lovable heroine (whose story should continue in successive books), new translations of a dazzling... -
Bookstore Picks
Language Itself
The books this week include a debut novel by one of our own, two books from the ’60s by a highly admired Danish writer... -
Bookstore Picks
Unbroken
This week we continue to highlight a significant new book of poems for National Poetry Month; an exceptional memoir; plus, three... -
Bookstore Picks
Poetic / Justice
April is National Poetry Month, and it coincides with the much-awaited publication of Ocean Vuong’s new collection -
Bookstore Picks
Ukraine on the Page
We’d like to offer a small collection of exceptional fiction—new and old, long and short—from Ukraine
Featured
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BYOBook: A Quiet Happy Hour for Readers
Monday, 5:00 pm EDT - 7:00 pm EDT August 15, 2022
Dedicate some time for reading with fellow book lovers at BYOBook, our weekly quiet happy hour for readers! Visit The Center for Fiction Café... -
45:15 Online: A Communal Writing Experience
Saturday, 4:00 pm EDT - 6:00 pm EDT August 20, 2022
Approaching creative projects with a clear and focused mind can be a challenge. Revive your motivation to write at 45:15, a free community writing event! -
Hobby Hour: Crafts + Craft Cocktails
Sunday, 5:00 pm EDT - 7:00 pm EDT August 21, 2022
Cozy up in the Café & Bar with creative bookworms and their crafts. Bring your knitting, crochet, embroidery, sketching, etc
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The First Novel Prize
Announcing The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize Longlist
We are pleased to announce the longlist for The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize. The twenty-four debut novels were... -
The First Novel Prize
2021 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2021 First Novel Prize was awarded to Kirstin Valdez Quade for her debut novel The... -
The First Novel Prize
2020 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2020 First Novel Prize was awarded to Raven Leilani for her debut novel Luster (Farrar... -
The First Novel Prize
2019 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2019 First Novel Prize was awarded to De’Shawn Charles Winslow for his debut novel... -
The First Novel Prize
2018 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2018 First Novel Prize was awarded to Tommy Orange for his debut novel There There (Alfred A -
The First Novel Prize
2017 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2017 First Novel Prize was awarded to Julie Lekstrom Hines for her debut novel Mikhail... -
The First Novel Prize
2016 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2016 First Novel Prize was awarded to Kia Corthron for her debut novel The Castle... -
The First Novel Prize
2015 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2015 First Novel Prize was awarded to Viet Thanh Nguyen for his debut novel The Sympathizer... -
The First Novel Prize
2014 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2014 First Novel Prize (then called the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) was awarded to Tiphanie... -
The First Novel Prize
2013 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2013 First Novel Prize (then called the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) was awarded to Margaret... -
The First Novel Prize
2012 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2012 First Novel Prize (then called the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) was awarded to Ben... -
The First Novel Prize
2011 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2011 First Novel Prize (then called the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) was awarded to Bonnie... -
The First Novel Prize
2010 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2010 First Novel Prize (then called the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) was awarded to Karl... -
The First Novel Prize
2009 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2009 First Novel Prize (then called the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize) was awarded to John... -
The First Novel Prize
2008 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2008 First Novel Prize (then called the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize) was awarded to Hannah... -
The First Novel Prize
2007 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction 2007 First Novel Prize (then called the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize) was awarded to Junot... -
The First Novel Prize
2006 First Novel Prize
The Center for Fiction’s inaugural First Novel Prize (then called the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize) was awarded... -
The First Novel Prize
First Novel Prize Winners: The Complete List
Debut novels from Marisha Pessl, Junot Díaz, Hannah Tinti, John Pipkin, Karl Marlantes, Bonnie Nadzam, Ben Fountain, Margaret...
Featured
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Story Time
Ann Dowd Reads Story Boat by Kyo Maclear
Luminous, award-winning actor Ann Dowd joins us once again to share Kyo Maclear’s Story Boat, an imaginative and lyrical picture... -
Story Time
André Holland Reads Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
Based on the Oscar-Winning short film, Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry tells the story of Zuri, a young girl with beautiful hair, who... -
Story Time
Lili Taylor Reads The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Actress Lili Taylor joins us again to share The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfield. With its spare, poignant text and irresistibly sweet...
