It’s been 3 years since our last masquerade, we’ve missed you all and we are so ready to party. Yes, it’s official: the Masquerade of the Red Death is returning. This year, it’s on October 21 at Littlefield in Brooklyn.
If you want to know how to come to the party, you can find out all the details here. (Snag that early bird price…tickets are only $50 until September 30, then $75 after that.) But if you’re wondering why you should come, well—say no more. Here are the top ten reasons to get your tickets now, and make your friends join you.
Pandemic fiction is having a moment.
And we’re here for it! At this year’s masquerade, we’re honoring excellence in pandemic fiction with all kinds of events, giveaways, and even special appearances.
Free books!
We’re stocking up on the best of pandemic books from our sponsors, just for you to take home. Or, you know, crack into in the middle of the dance floor, if that’s your thing. We won’t judge.
Mingle with writers, readers and other literary New Yorkers.
Drink, dance, and talk books with Brooklyn’s best readers and writers. At the party, you can expect to see some authors of amazing pandemic books, including Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers), Jim Shepard (Phase Six), and Gary Shteyngart (Our Country Friends).
It’s spooky season.
It’s getting colder out, and our powers are growing. October is the spookiest season and we’re fully in favor. The dark, the gothic, the macabre: say no more. The Masquerade gives you a chance to embrace the spooky fall vibes, before Halloween even happens.
We’re over the sweatpants era.
Okay, not really. We’re still loving our comfiest clothes BUT any reason to break out a new outfit is absolutely welcome. The dress code is red and black attire, so get your vintage gowns, your impractical shoes, and your campiest accessories out of storage and out on town. Even all black pajamas would fit right in! Get inspired with some outfit photos from 2019.
You get a mask! And you get a mask!
Included in your ticket price ($50 if you buy a ticket before September 30!) is one fancy mask for you to use (the kind you actually want to wear). That’s right, you don’t have to craft your own (although you totally can) for a night of anonymity. Plus, it’s really an investment in your future costumes if you repurpose your mask for Halloween weekend.
A photobooth!
We know the real reason to all get dressed up is to get a good pic for the ’gram and we’ve got you. That’s right…there’s a photobooth. Your IG followers aren’t ready for all the photobooth pics you’re going to be posting.
We know you wanna dance with somebody (us).
Whether you’re up on your trending TikTok dances or not, we promise the dance floor will be going strong all night. DJ “Nice Deal” (aka Ryan Chapman) will be spinning all evening, so get those dancing shoes ready. It’s like the most fun dance you went to in high school, but this time, everyone else is as book-obsessed as you.
You’ll get free access to our virtual salons.
Aside from the real, IRL masquerade, your ticket gets you into our virtual salons (which are otherwise $5 for EL members and $10 for everyone else), including one on “The Craft of COVID in Fiction.” You can hear renowned authors talk about the challenges and opportunities of writing about (and during) COVID. So dust off your pandemic novel draft and get inspired!
And last but not least, it supports an organization you love.
Aside from being the fall’s best literary party, the Masquerade is also EL’s annual fundraiser! We’re a very small non-profit—entirely women-led and women-staffed—operating on a shoestring budget and we rely on donations, memberships, and yes, this masquerade, to pay our writers and our staff. By buying a ticket and attending, you’re supporting our vision of making literature more exciting, relevant, and inclusive. In a year where so many literary magazines have shuttered, what could be better than getting dressed up (and partying hard) for a good cause?