The Tortured Bloggers Department Nonfiction Reading Series - August Reading

​The next meeting of the Tortured Bloggers Department is happening on August 14th and this one is NOT to be missed.

​Join us for another night of hilariously unhinged love stories! Our August lineup is ready to share their STEAMY, unhinged, chaotic love stories!

​Featuring:

​Chloe Caldwell @chloeeeecaldwell

​Chloe Caldwell is the author of the national bestseller, WOMEN, as well as the essay collection I'll Tell You in Person. Her next book, Trying, will be released from Graywolf in August 2025. Her essays have been published in Vogue, Bon Appetit, The New York Times, and the anthology, SLUTS. She lives in Hudson, NY. 

​Catherine Texier @unevagabonde

​Catherine Texier was born and raised in France. She is the author of six novels, including Love Me Tender, Panic Blood, Victorine (winner of Elle Magazine’s 2004 Readers’ Prize), Russian Lessons and After David (just out with ITNA Press). Her memoir Breakup was an international bestseller. Her work has been translated into 10 languages. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Award and two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships and was co-editor of the literary magazine Between C and D.

​Carly, creator of AURORE @readaurore

​Dating in NYC, Carly knew truth was stranger than fiction and felt a space was needed for women to record and explore our erotic experiences. While definitely aware that a lot of hook-ups can be less than stellar, in a twist of fate, Carly, an eternal cynic, decided to publish only our best stories, in the hopes of spreading the expectation of better sex to women everywhere. The result is smart, sophisticated smut, aspirational but totally relatable, and a growing community of people itching to eroticize their lives and share all the juicy details.

​Sara K Runnels @omgskr

​Sara K. Runnels is a humorist, creative writer, copywriter and screenwriter living in Seattle, WA. She's a regular humor contributor to The New Yorker, with notable work featured in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, McSweeney’s, Betches and Overheard, among other publications that respect scintillating wordplay and bleeding-heart narratives. Her witticisms, viral one-liners and sharp social commentary about modern dating and existing in 2024, can be found, quite literally, all over the internet under the handle @omgskr. She is currently doing two equally tedious things: writing a book and planning a wedding.

​Melissa Meier @love_melissa_nyc

​Melissa is a “reality star” of bravo proportions. She uses the term star very loosely. A 20 year veteran nyc cocktail maven, former improv drop out and avid writer. Founder of the queer Cabaret, two time guest on watch what happens live- once as the bartender and once as drag Sean spicer, she loves making people laugh, even at her own expense. Her biggest claim to fame is being on a TV show with Mr T when she was 7 years old and telling him he was “very scary.” You can find her telling stories to anyone who will listen at various storytelling events throughout NYC and anywhere else she has a captive audience. She prefers dogs to most people. Melissa also runs everything you see here at Kings County distillery, including their social media, the cocktail program and all things bar and bourbon related.

​Cara Alwill @thechampagnediet

​Cara Alwill is a worldwide bestselling author, host and creator of the top-rated podcast, Style Your Mind, and creator of The Champagne Diet brand. Her books have been translated into 10 languages including French, Ukrainian, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Mongolian, and Vietnamese and others. Her work has been featured and recognized by Forbes, Glamour, Marie Claire, The Daily Mail, Oprah Daily and more. She’s a native New Yorker, self-proclaimed nostalgia whore who never seems to learn her lessons (and doesn’t really believe we are meant to), and still believes in the magic of a perfectly curated mixtape.