KGB Bar

In the years since it opened in 1993, KGB has become something of a New York literary institution. Writers hooked up in the publishing world read here with pleasure and without pay to an adoring public over drinks almost every Sunday evening (fiction), Monday evening (poetry), and most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The crowd loves it. Admission is free, drinks are cheap and strong, and the level of excellence is such that KGB has been named best literary venue in New York City by New York Magazine, the Village Voice, and everyone else who bestows these awards of recognition.

We booked Frank Browning for our very first reading in the summer of 1994. Somehow the New York Times heard about it, sent a reporter and photographer, and that week ran an article about the new reading series at KGB. Melvin posted signs at Columbia University: Interns Wanted--No pay. Big Prestige. Help Run Our Reading Series! --along with a copy of the article. We were barraged with offers, both from would-be interns and authors. And it hasn’t let up.
KGB has been rocking along ever since. Its obscure location turned out to be more of an asset than a hindrance, operating as a kind of velvet rope for the uninitiated. We didn’t even bother to put up a real sign until 2000--seven years after we opened--and bankruptcy is the furthest thing from my mind these days. It sure beats working.