L to R: Kundiman Programs Director Gina Chung with readers Megha Majumdar, Joseph Lee, and Kimberly Alidio. *Photo credit: Cathy Linh Che*

On February 13th, 2026, Kundiman and the NYU Creative Writing Program co-presented a New Books Reading at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House in New York City. Over the years, our New Books Reading series has offered us a chance to gather in person and celebrate recent publications and achievements from the Kundiman community. This energizing and inspiring evening was the perfect way to kick off our 2026 reading series.

We enjoyed hearing from Kimberly Alidio, who shared poems from her collection Traceable Relation; Joseph Lee, who read from his memoir Nothing More of This Land; and Megha Majumdar, who shared an excerpt and some craft insights from her novel A Guardian and a Thief. Thank you to Kimberly, Joseph, and Megha for sharing the gifts of their time and words, and to everyone who attended.

Our next reading will be a featured event during AWP 2026 in Baltimore: Towards a Liberatory Literature: A Palestinian Voices Reading and Conversation featuring Sarah Aziza, Fargo Nissim Tbakhi, and moderator leena aboutaleb. If you’re heading to the AWP Conference and Bookfair, check out our AWP page for a full schedule of conference and off-site events from Kundiman and our community. We’ll also be hosting the AAPI Caucus and Hard Times Require Furious Dancing, an off-site dance party. We hope to see you in Baltimore!