Ocean Vuong Celebrates The Emperor of Gladness on May 15th at 7 PM

welcomes on Thursday, May 15th at 7pm at The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia (2125 Chestnut Street) for a discussion of , a big-hearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. He will be joined in conversation by .

PLEASE NOTE: This B&N event will be held off-site at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Center City, Philadelphia.

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To make this event safe and enjoyable for all attendees, please read the guidelines below before purchasing a ticket so that you know what to expect on the day of the event.

TICKET INFORMATION

There are two ticket types:

Single Ticket Admission: $32.40(Admission for one person + one pre-signed copy of ) **LIMITED QUANTITY AVAILABLE**:

A ticket PER PERSON includes:

• One pre-signed copy of .
• Admission for one person into the event space with at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. Seating is first-come, first-served.
• Ticket holders will be admitted into the event beginning at 6pm on the day of the event.
• Please have a copy of your ticket available either printed out or on your phone for check-in.
• All books will be pre-signed. There will not be a meet and greet with the author.
• This event will be held off-site at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Center City, Philadelphia.

Student Ticket: $5 Gift Card Admission - $5.00 (Admission + one $5 B&N gift card) **LIMITED QUANTITY AVAILABLE**:

A ticket PER PERSON includes:

• One $5 B&N gift card.
• Admission for one student into the event space with at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. Seating is first-come, first-served.
• Ticket holders will be admitted into the event beginning at 6pm on the day of the event.
• Please have a copy of your ticket available either printed out or on your phone for check-in. Please have your student ID available to show with your ticket.
• This B&N event will be held off-site at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Center City, Philadelphia.

GUIDELINES:

• Due to health and safety and space limitations, those without a ticket will not be permitted into the event space.
• Please note that Eventbrite is the only authorized dealer for this event. Each person must have a ticket to enter.
• All event guidelines are subject to change.
• The exact time at which the event ends will be determined on the night of the event. To avoid disappointment, we strongly advise you to arrive on time for the event.
• Barnes & Noble may cancel this event at any time with or without notice to the ticket holders.

If you have any additional questions, please call the store directly at: 267-234-9790.

REFUNDS

• Attendees can receive refunds up to 1 day (24 hours) before the 7 PM event start time.
• If you are unable to attend the event, Barnes & Noble - Philadelphia, PA will hold your books for seven days after the event. Please contact the store to arrange your pickup.
• Barnes & Noble reserves the right to make new rules and orders in its sole discretion with regard to COVID-19 at any time, and any person not abiding by the Barnes & Noble directives will be refused entrance or directed to leave the premises.Should this event be canceled due to changing COVID-19 concerns, all customers will be refunded their ticket price to the original method of payment per Eventbrite's refund policy.

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Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and Time Is a Mother, as well as the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the American Book Award, he used to work as a fast-food server, which inspired The Emperor of Gladness. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently splits his time between Northampton, Massachusetts, and New York City.

About :

One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink.

Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance.

Emma Copley Eisenberg is the author of the novel Housemates, which was a national bestseller and named a best book of the year by The Boston Globe, People, NBC, Them.Us, Autostraddle, and Kirkus Reviews as well as one of Electric Literature's "Top 5 Novels of 2024" and Time Magazine's "16 Best Books to Read for Pride." Her narrative nonfiction book, The Third Rainbow Girl, was a New York Times Notable Book and Editor's Choice as well as a finalist for an Edgar Award, a Lambda Literary Award, and an Anthony Award, among other honors. Her fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in Granta, Esquire, The New Republic, Lux, The Washington Post Magazine, VQR, and many other publications. She lives in Philadelphia, where she co-founded Blue Stoop, a community hub for the literary arts. Her short story collection, Fat Swim, is forthcoming from Hogarth in 2026.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

2125 Chestnut St, 2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, United States