About American Writers’ Week: Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin is the author of the Tales of the City novels, about a ‘diverse, interconnected community of San Francisco bohemians which shaped our collective fantasy of what LGBT life is and could be’. Most recently he published a long-awaited memoir; chronicling his odyssey from the old South to freewheeling California; from a homoerotic Navy initiation ceremony in the jungles of Vietnam to San Francisco in the early 1970s and from a curious youth to being a ground-breaking writer.
Part of the British Library’s American Writers’ Week (28 September – 2 November 2026), presented in association with Festival America, Vincennes, France. Participating writers include Alison Bechdel, Armistead Maupin, Daniel Kraus, Jeanine Cummins, Joyce Carol Oates, Katie Kitamura and Rabih Alameddine and Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Buy tickets for two or more American Writers’ Week events and save 25% on your basket.
Your support
The British Library is a charity. Your support helps us open up a world of knowledge and inspiration for everyone. Please consider adding a donation to your basket.
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin is an author and and gay rights pioneer best known for the iconic Tales of the City series.
Credit: Christopher Turner More
Launched in 1976 as a groundbreaking serial in the San Francisco it has since blazed a trail through popular culture; from a sequence of globally best-selling novels to the television series in 1993 with Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney and a further series in 2019 as well as a hugely popular musical and a graphic novel. The book series now encompasses ten novels: Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, The Days of Anna Madrigal and most recently Mona of the Manor. The Night Listener, a psychological suspense novel inspired by an eerie episode in Maupin’s own life, became a 2006 feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. In 2017 he wrote a memoir titled Logical Family which grew out of his critically acclaimed one-man show of the same name. The recipient of many awards for his writing and activism Maupin is the subject of a documentary titled Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin.
Venue and bar opening times
This event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre and is also available to watch online. Tickets may be booked to attend in person, or to watch online.
If you are attending in person, please note that the Knowledge Centre and the bar will be open in advance of your event.
Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk
Attending the event online
If you book an online ticket, you will receive the viewing link on the morning of the event. You can either watch the event live or during the next 14 days on catch up.
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16 – 25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
Want to hear more about events like this?
Sign up to our emails to be the first to hear about upcoming events and exhibitions at the Library.
You might also like
American Writers’ Week: Katie Kitamura
With the Booker Prize short listed author of Audition.
American Writers’ Week: Daniel Kraus
A night with the maestro of fantasy horror and collaborator with Guillermo del Toro.
American Writers’ Week: Jeanine Cummins
With the bestselling author of Speak to Me of Home, and American Dirt.