Philip Roth Lecture 2025
October 21, 2025 | 5:30 - 9:00 PM
The Newark Public Library
Centennial Hall | 5 Washington Street, Newark, NJ
The Newark Public Library welcomes Steven Zipperstein, whose new Roth biography, Stung By Life, will be published this October. The Library is the second stop on the author’s book tour. He will be in conversation with novelist Sam Graham-Felsen, previously the Historian of the library’s Philip Roth Personal Library.
To watch this year's livestream, please click the "Watch Lecture" button above.
The new Zipperstein Roth biography stands out as “a work of literature itself” (Judith Thurman), and as a “revelatory portrayal” of Roth, “solemn and hilarious, voraciously curious, a boundless sensual spirit riven by his craft” (Sean Wilentz).
The biography’s intelligence and prose capture Roth’s own powers of observation and linguistic wit.
The author will be on hand to sign books following the presentation.
Monthly Creative Writing Workshops
The PRPL hosts free creative writing workshops each month that are open to the public. Workshops are led by published poets, novelists, and memoirists from Newark, New York City, and the surrounding areas. To find out about this month’s workshop, follow us on Instagram or X.
Past PRPL Events
For a list of past PRPL events, click here.