Gelf's Varsity Letters sports reading series returns to New York on Thursday, February 5, at 8 p.m. At this free monthly event at a Lower East Side bar, hosted by Gelf, David Harris, Will Leitch, and Jon Wertheim will read from and talk about their work, and take questions. Harris is the biographer of legendary 49ers coach Bill Walsh. Leitch will share all-new material from the paperback edition of his manifesto on behalf of the modern fan. And Wertheim profiles a mixed-martial arts legend and the meteoric rise of his sport. (See photos and videos from the event.)

Admission is FREE. Please spread the word to sports fans and book lovers.

Event Details:

Happy Ending Lounge (official site, CitySearch, MySpace)
302 Broome St.
(between Forsyth and Eldridge)
212-334-9676
J/M/Z/F to Delancey
B/D to Grand Street
Look for the hot-pink awning with the words "Health Club" on it.

Doors open at 7:30.
Readings start at 8 sharp.
FREE!

More on this month's authors:

•David Harris is the author of The Genius: How Bill Walsh Reinvented Football and Created an NFL Dynasty
Read Gelf's interview with Harris

•Will Leitch is contributing editor at New York Magazine, columnist for Sporting News, founder/emeritus at Deadspin, and the author of God Save the Fan: How Steroid Hypocrites, Soul-Sucking Suits, and a Worldwide Leader Not Named Bush Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (and a Varsity Letters guest in March 2007 and January 2008).
Read Gelf's latest interview with Leitch

•Jon Wertheim is the author of Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC (and a Varsity Letters guest in September 2007)
Read Gelf's latest interview with Wertheim

Upcoming Varsity Letters

March 5: March Madness

•Eric Angevine and Marco Anskis from the college-hoops blog Storming the Floor
•Luke Winn, college-hoops writer for Sports Illustrated
•John Hanc, author of a book on the other March Madness: The Coolest Race on Earth: Mud, Madmen, Glaciers, and Grannies at the Antarctica Marathon

April 2: Baseball's back

•Greg Prince, Mets blogger and author of Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal
History of the New York Mets (and a Varsity Letters guest in March 2007)
•Matt McCarthy, author of Odd Man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit
Another author TBA.

May 7: Hockey night in New York

•Laura Robinson, author of Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada's National Sport
Other authors TBA.

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