Events - Month View

Boston-based author and journalist Luke O‘Neil will visit the club for a Q&A to promote his new book "We Had it Coming" The book is "a collection of stories that pulse with both the familiar and the uncanny. O’Neil’s characters struggle to survive in a reality rife with violence, addiction, fascism, and the crushing weight of modern life. From the threat of mass shootings to the absurdity of predatory healthcare, his sharp observations of societal decay leave a lasting impact." Featuring readings from Speedy Ortiz’ Sadie Dupuis, Defector Media’s Dan McQuade, and ‘Not Great / Thanks For Asking’ author Cody Roggio, as well as an interview with Luke by The Culture Journalist co-host Emilie Friedlander.” Presented by The Culture Journalist and Lot 49 Books. This event is open to the public!

DJ Sean SmooVe plays Thursday nights from midnight to closing for members and guests of members.

Track Changes is a listening, reading, and conversation series where writers chat about their favorite records. Each event features one Philly-based writer and one out-of-town writer. Join us for a night of music, readings, and conversation at the Pen & Pencil Club—the oldest continuously operating press club in the country. This Month‘s Guests: Ryan Skrabalak most recently wrote National Lube (speCt, 2024), The Technicolor Sycamore 10,000 Afternoon Family Earth Band Revue (Ursus Americanus, 2024) and the chapbook The Orchids (above/ground press, 2025). He lives in "Kingston, New York," where he runs and edits Spiral Editions, a poetry press and occasional tape label. Gina Myers is the author of four books of poetry and numerous chapbooks. She lives in Philadelphia where she co-edits the tiny with Ebs Sanders and Cul-de-sac of Blood with J †Johnson. Ticket Info: This is a ticketed event. Getting tickets in advance is strongly encouraged; availability at the door is not guaranteed. Online sales end at 6pm day-of; door sales end at 7:15pm. Sliding-scale donation tickets ($5–15 suggested) support honoraria for our terrific readers and the P&P, which generously provides space for this public event. Want to gift a ticket to someone else? Use the pay-it-forward community ticket option. Want to claim a ticket from the community pool? There are currently 4 tickets available! Just email alinapleskova[at]gmail.com—no explanation needed, just a name!

Come talk about what happened in the NJ gov race with an all women‘s panel of reporters!

New SEPTA GM Scott Sauer will sit for an OFF THE RECORD conversation with Inquirer columnist Dan Pearson to get into the nitty gritty of SEPTA‘s long-runnming budget crisis, Harrisburg horse trading, and revelations that its workhorse commuter train cars could be defective. This event is OFF THE RECORD - No recording, no photos, nothing discussed will be repeated outside of the club.

DJ Sean SmooVe plays Thursday nights from midnight to closing for members and guests of members.

La Table Secrète features six expert pairings of wine, cheeses, and french culinary classics: with commentary from world renowned experts. More information at the registration link through Eventbrite below.

Our monthly Quizzo contest. Compete as an individual or a team. The winning competitor (solo or team) gets a $50 bar credit.

Author talk by award-winning Russian writer Evgenia Nekrasova titled: She-Bears, House Spirits and Baba Yaga: Folkloric Characters and Motifs in Contemporary Russian Literature, followed by a reading of one of her folk tales in English translation by Marianna Suleymanova. Evgenia Nekrasova is a Russian feminist writer and poet, as well as the co-founder of the School of Modern Literature Practices in Moscow. Her plays have been staged in the main experimental theaters in Moscow and other cities. Her novel Kalechina-Malechina (AST/Elena Shubina, 2018) was short-listed for the most prestigious Russian literary awards (Big Book, NOS, the National Bestseller). She has authored five collections of short stories, also on AST/Elena Shubina: Unhappy Moscow (2017), Sistermom (2019), Home Love (2021), She-Bear (2023), and Baba Yaga’s Lawyer (2025); her newest novel, Kholodov Street, was published by Polyandria Publishing House in 2025. Nekrasova writes about women in today’s Russia; her work explores themes of corporeality, power, violence, magic, and folklore. According to some critics, she is the founder of magical pessimism in contemporary Russian literature. Despite her vocal anti-war position, Nekrasova remains in Russia. Marianna Suleymanova is a literary translator from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, currently living in Philadelphia. Her translations of Nekrasova’s work have appeared in Washington Square Review, Words Without Borders, The Offing, The Kenyon Review, and Khoréo. Her work has received support from Words Without Borders, Bread Loaf Translators Conference, and the American Literary Translators Association.

An event for Inquirer reporters to meet hang out with, and get to know, their colleagues outside of work.

November is rough: It’s dark early, there’s politics and the grind is grinding. Come to the Pen & Pencil on Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. and we’ll help. Lauren Vidas will set you straight, then we’ll play our improv writing game, a.k.a. Slam and all will feel right (or at least ok) again. Drinks and prizes—who could ask for more? Lauren Vidas is an attorney and government relations professional, but a real pro at making us laugh. Get to know her @broadandmarket