Name: Brian Platzer with Adam Gidwitz
Start: 2026-03-18T19:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-03-18T20:30:00-04:00
Location: Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene

Local author Brian Platzer presents his fiercely original novel about a beloved schoolteacher who narrates the meteoric rise of his student.
About this Event

Brian Platzer presents The Optimists
In conversation with Adam Gidwitz
Wine reception to follow
Local author Brian Platzer presents his fiercely original novel, The Optimists, about a beloved schoolteacher who chronicles the meteoric rise of his most dazzling student. An ambitious, big-hearted story of learning and legacy, The Optimists is, at once, a love story, a joke book, and a meditation on the meaning of life and death; and a profound testament to the lessons that reach far beyond the classroom. Adam Gidwitz, author of the Newbery Honor book The Inquisitor's Tale—and former NYC middle school English teacher—joins Platzer for a discussion on the tender and insightful novel, before an audience Q&A and signing.