Free and open to the public
Sharma is a highly decorated short-story writer and novelist; he’s been awarded many of the most prestigious prizes and recognitions that a fiction writer can receive. His first novel, An Obedient Father (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000), hailed in New York Magazine by Jonathan Franzen as “A great novel” and described by Hilary Mantel in the New York Review of Books as “uncompromising,” with a “first chapter . . . [that] blasts off the locks and splinters the wood,” received the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
Sharma’s second novel, the spectacular Family Life (Norton, 2014), received both the International Dublin Literary Award and the Folio Prize. Scholar and writer Edmund White called it “a terse, devastating account of growing up as a brilliant outsider in American culture” and described it as “a near perfect novel.”
Sharma’s third and most recent book, the story collection A Life of Adventure and Delight (Norton, 2017), prompted writer Yiyun Li to describe Sharma as “truly the Chekhov of our time.” His stories have been widely published and anthologized, appearing in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Best American Short Stories, and O. Henry Award Stories.
Indeed, Sharma is such an exacting and rigorous writer that, quite unusually, he recently published a revised and rewritten edition of An Obedient Father (McNally Editions, 2022) more than twenty years after it first appeared in print. The critic Wyatt Mason, reviewing the revised version in The New York Times Magazine, described this as “Something white-rhino rare in the history of literature”, adding, approvingly, “there is scarcely a paragraph that hasn’t been improved . . . ”
Born in Delhi, India, Sharma grew up in Edison, NJ. Before becoming a professor at Duke, where he now teaches, he was on the faculty at Rutgers. He is an engaging and surprising speaker and an excellent reader of his work
This event is sponsored by The Visiting Writers Series, with the Center for the Arts and the Intercultural Center.
Something Special a round robin evening of music featuring a group of the finest singer/songwriter from our local area who come together for this one of a kind show not be missed
Celebrate two legendary voices with Jenna Pastuszek in this soaring tribute to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. Backed by a full live band, she delivers stunning vocals and heartfelt storytelling that honor these icons without imitation-bringing timeless songs like "Over the Rainbow" and "Don't Rain on My Parade" vividly to life.
Usually you’ll find Rick Steves touring the great destinations of Europe. Now you can join him on a different journey: A Symphonic Journey. In this unique concert, Rick Steves teams up with the New Jersey Symphony for a performance that combines Europe’s most stirring romantic-era anthems with beautiful high-definition cinematography and Rick’s insights into European history.
Usually you’ll find Rick Steves touring the great destinations of Europe. Now you can join him on a different journey: A Symphonic Journey. In this unique concert, Rick Steves teams up with the New Jersey Symphony for a performance that combines Europe’s most stirring romantic-era anthems with beautiful high-definition cinematography and Rick’s insights into European history.
Starring Cynthia, The Jets, George Lamond, Johnny O, Nyasia, Denine and hosted by Dom G! Freaturing Dare Goes Da DJzz. After-Party available for additional fee. (Must purchase a show ticket to buy the After Party ticket)
Rick Steves host
Nicholas Hersh conductor
New Jersey Symphony
Rick Steves host
Nicholas Hersh conductor
New Jersey Symphony
Get ready to be part of an extraordinary theatrical experience. PHP, Arts & Entertainment presents It’s a Family Affair—a play like no other, and we want you to be there! 🎉
WBGO presents All That Jazz concert series, a unique series showcasing some of the genre’s most talented and respected performers, featuring the return of 13-time Grammy nominated band Spyro Gyra, back by popular demand! This series is a partnership between WBGO, UCPAC, and Smooth Jazz NJ.
WBGO presents All That Jazz concert series, a unique series showcasing some of the genre’s most talented and respected performers, featuring the return of 13-time Grammy nominated band Spyro Gyra, back by popular demand! This series is a partnership between WBGO, UCPAC, and Smooth Jazz NJ.
(BAYVILLE, NJ) -- The outdoor festival season may be coming to a close, but it's going out in epic style. Raise your glass and join the celebration as the 6th Annual Sip in Autumn Wine Festival returns to Veterans Park in Bayville, NJ, on Saturday, November 7, and Sunday, November 8, 2026 from 11:30am to 4:30pm each day. This event is the grand finale of New Jersey's outdoor wine festival season, and there's no better way to say goodbye to sunny days and crisp fall afternoons than by savoring the very best our state has to offer.
(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- The Maplewood Strollers invite you to celebrate 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a screening featuring a LIVE shadow cast by The Cosmic Light Cabaret for the ultimate interactive movie experience on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts. Showtime is 7:00pm.
(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- Trilogy Repertory presents Clue across two weekends from November 7-15, 2026 at The Sieminski Theater. It's a dark and stormy night. Whodunit? And how? The answer(s) may surprise you.
(WARETOWN, NJ) -- Halloween may have come and gone, but the Jersey Devil is always lurking in the Pines! On Saturday, November 7, 2026, Albert Music Hall will celebrate one of New Jersey's most enduring legends with its annual Jersey Devil Show, an evening combining live music, storytelling, and the rich folklore of the New Jersey Pinelands.
(ORADELL, NJ) -- As September 11 rapidly passes from living memory into recorded history—with well over a third of Americans today knowing that tragic day only through history books—Bergen County Players (BCP) invites the community to meaningfully "never forget" with a special, limited-run Second Stage presentation of Anne Nelson's The Guys.
