BrooklynTheBorough.com Presents the Novel-T Team 2 Opening Day Party at powerHouse arena

Literary t-shirt creator Novel-T will debut its second team of ten baseball-jersey style tees at the Novel-T Team 2 Opening Day Party on May 7, from 7pm to 9pm. The free party will feature beer and Cracker Jacks and a Wii home run derby in a bookstore that's itself something of a stadium for the written word: the powerHouse arena in Dumbo.

Hosted cooperatively by BrooklynTheBorough.com and Novel-T, the "Opening Day"-themed party will also feature literary baseball readings by Richard Grayson and David Goodwillie, the musical stylings of DJ DB Wonder (who spins at Piano's and the Diesel store in Union Square), and a special appearance by Brooklyn Cyclones’ mascot Sandy the Seagull. And what kind of athletic event would the party be without tees being shot out of t-shirt cannons?

Novel-T creates super-soft jersey-style literary t-shirts of writers and characters, with an original logo on the front of each shirt and the name and number on the back. Novel-T’s first line of shirts has been a hit since it debuted in September.

Unlike the first team—which included the likes of Ahab, Hester Prynne, Bartleby, Poe, and Thoreau—Novel-T’s second team will feature some international talent, one nonfiction writer, and Jonathan Ames, one living – and local – author. Be the first to come get your hands on the new second team, the National Puncs, featuring Jay Gatsby, Emily Dickinson, Kurt Vonnegut, Alice (from Wonderland), Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Darwin, Don Quixote, Lao Tzu, and Kilgore Trout.

The event, food and drinks are free but participation in the Wii Homerun Derby will cost $1 for five pitches. Half the proceeds raised from the ticket sales will be donated to 826NYC, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills.

"We’ve drafted a solid squad," says Novel-T co-founder David Bukszpan. "We have Ames, our first living author on the team, so that’ll provide a little more speed on the bases. Our pitcher and catcher–Vonnegut and Trout– are totally on the same wavelength, so we should be rack up a lot of K’s. And one of players came with his own helmet—you’ve got to love that level of enthusiasm! If you only buy ten literary jerseys this year, buy these.”

Michael Kravetsky, the other Novel-T co-founder, is similarly optimistic. “powerHouse arena is just the perfect venue. It’s so spacious that if not for the chandeliers, we probably could have hosted a real home run derby there. We’re actually looking into the option of procuring a t-shirt launcher to shoot shirts at our t-shirt launch! And no matter the weather outside, it's going to be t-shirt weather inside."

"They might've taken the Dodgers out of Brooklyn," says BrooklynTheBorough.com editor and publisher Nicole Brydson, "but they can't take our books or our sense of style–which is why BrooklynTheBorough.com is psyched to help jump-start Dumbo's design week with a literary slant. We're bringing authors, readers and designers together at the powerHouse arena for an evening of four of our favorite B things: Brooklyn, booze, baseball, and bliterature."

Richard Grayson, whose work was described in Rolling Stone as being “Where avant garde fiction goes when it becomes standup comedy,” will read from his story “Diary of a Brooklyn Cyclones Hot Dog.” David Goodwillie is the author of the new novel, American Subversive and formerly a professional baseball player.

Novel-T donates $1 from each shirt sold to either 826NYC or Doctors Without Borders. Those interested in attending must RSVP to info@novel-t.com with “RSVP” in the subject line or visit the Facebook invitation.