Rebecca Handler: In the Round Launch Party

Join us for the release of Rebecca Handler's novel In the Round, featuring a conversation with Lucy Corin and a special live performance. THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT! PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WAITLIST. If waitlist fills, thank you for your enthusiasm and we encourage you to check out any of Rebecca Handler's other Bay Area events for In the Round. Join us in celebrating the publication of Rebecca Handler's novel, In the Round. Rebecca will be in conversation with Lucy Corin, followed by a live performance of a scene from the book featuring local actors Sheila Balter and Christian Jimenez Solorio. Date: Saturday, November 21 Time: 6:30pm Location: McSweeney's HQ, 849 Valencia St. Tickets are limited! Get yours now! Praise for In the Round "I read the opening pages of this remarkable book with a thrill of finding myself in the hands of a gifted conjuror, and finished in a state of total enchantment, profoundly moved."—Michael Chabon "What a beguiling storyteller Rebecca Handler is! In the Round gives the readers an enthralling pleasure of being inside a character and watching the character from outside, which is perhaps akin to the most important experience of living with attention and reflection."—Yiyun Li "I read the spectacular IN THE ROUND in a single delighted sitting, entranced by the possibilities opened up, the life made urgent and real. Bravissima!"—R. O. Kwon About In the Round Have you ever been dead certain that you’re being observed, that maybe your very existence is predicated on how others see you? A few minutes after she’s become convinced she’s the victim of a home invasion, In the Round’s brilliant and intimate narrator plunges us into a feminist Kafkaesque literary mystery that unfolds over the course of one weird—and dare we say, dramatic—night in San Francisco. Nothing is missing from her family’s home, but everything feels wrong. So begins a sleepless night of questioning, and a novel packed with the kind of astonishing twists that leave readers wondering: Is all the world a stage, after all? Over the course of the evening, theatrical elements creep in: a cast list, a prop list, an intermission. At once an avant-garde thriller, a meditation on motherhood and mortality, a full-throated endorsement of gut-level intuition, and a tribute to the rapture of live theater in a post-pandemic world, In the Round is a lively, inventive, and completely singular story. About Rebecca Handler Rebecca Handler’s debut novel, Edie Richter is Not Alone, received a Kirkus Starred Review and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her short stories have been published and awarded in several anthologies. Rebecca first conceived the idea for In the Round in 2021 while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. During long hours at the UCSF infusion center, often in a semi-hallucinatory state, the story began to take shape. A MacDowell fellow, Rebecca lives in San Francisco with her husband and, when they’re not off pursuing their own adventures, their two daughters. FAQs • Copies of In the Round will be available for purchase at the event, or purchase one with your RSVP while they last. Copies of Handler and Corin's other books will be available for purchase at the event. • This is an in-person, ticketed event and will not be livestreamed. • McSweeney's HQ is located walking distance from major transit hubs (16th St BART) and public transportation is encouraged as neighborhood parking is limited. • We will accept refund requests for bundled tickets up to 24 hours before event start. Refunds requests will not be accepted after that timeframe or after the event itself. • If for whatever reason you are unable to attend but would still like your copy of the book, books will be available for pick up at our 1231 9th Ave location after the event at no extra charge. If you would like your book shipped, additional charges will apply. • Books not picked up at the event will be held for one week at our 1231 9th Ave store after the event (until November 28, 2026). After one week, books will be returned to the publisher. We cannot offer refunds for books that are not picked up or shipped to customer by that date. • To attend the event, you must RSVP through this Eventbrite page. • Purchase of In the Round made through the bookstore website does not grant entry to the event. If you have already pre-ordered a copy of In the Round through the Green Apple Books website prior to October 30, 2026 and would like to attend this event, please contact [email protected]. • We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.