Hate Read Live: the party report

As ever, I hate when the evening ends :)

Earlier this week, Deez Links Media convened the best minds of our generation for Hate Read Live! — our second (annual?) reading + party at the beautiful Georgia Room in New York. Last year’s event was, of course, wayyy more of a cozy friends & family vibe, so I was honestly nervous how a much bigger ticketed 250-some person night would go…

But it was a rather beautiful success! Our readers put on bona fide performances, and as with our inaugural year, the Hate Reads themselves felt much more fully realized while read onstage to a crowd. (I hear they say the same thing about Shakespeare…coincidence?) The difference between snickering to myself in front of my computer back in March and hitting Google Docs —> Insert Comment to write “lol nice” while editing Hate Reads, versus standing in a ballroom of folks laughing out loud at the best lines together was amazing — and it served as the most excellent reminder that we’re better complaining together.

our event producer Rachel! if you want to hire her… :)

Many, many thank yous are in order: First, to all the writers who contributed their time and wit to Hate Read Season 2, and the 11 readers who performed at the event. Thank you to our event producer Rachel Yang, as well as David Potters, Claire Landsbaum, Kate Lindsay, and Steven Huynh for helping out with event particulars. Big thank you as well to Madison Fishman, Brittany Barraza, and the Georgia Room team for hosting us, and to our photographer, Anna Maria Lopez for documenting the evening (Google Drive of pics is here if you’re curious about getting papped!)

Of course, Hate Read Season 2 would not be possible without Ruth Ann Harnisch, whose generous support made the project as accessible (and non-paywalled) as possible, while also making sure we could pay our writers, readers, and collaborators.

All 170+ writers who submitted their Hate Reads for publication this season were incredibly talented; thank you for making the final lineup a very difficult one to assemble. And finally, of course, thank you to everyone who’s been reading and engaging with the newsletter all month.

We’ll be going back to Deez Links regular programming soon, but in the meantime, allow me to thank you for drinking the haterade and believing in the project. Hate Read Season 2 was everything I hoped it would be: a more expansive group project that still got everyone pleasantly riled up and in conversation across the internet — and an evening that translated a certain strain of online snark into some very pleasant and wholesome camaraderie. POSSIBLY THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT.