Robin L. Flanigan: Secret Rochester

This is a hybrid event, taking place in person at Writers & Books and online via Zoom. All registrants will receive a Zoom link in the registration confirmation email that is automatically sent to your email after checkout.

Rochester has secrets…

Now you know where to find them.

Join us for a reading and conversation about Robin L. Flanigan’s newest book, Secret Rochester: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. Flanigan will be joined by editor of CITY Magazine, Leah Stacy.

Secret Rochester: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure is a reference book like no other, offering a rare, sharply detailed glimpse into what makes this city so intriguing. Meet a shy, 21-year-old hotel maid who secured the right to vote for all Puerto Rican Americans. Learn how a book written by Frederick Law Olmsted—designer of Highland, Maplewood, Seneca, and Genesee Valley Parks—opened Malcolm X’s eyes to the horrors endured by enslaved people. Discover why inspiration for the design of the famed Mushroom House is tied to an empty Coke bottle.

With short narratives, callouts, and pro tips, this book takes you on a kaleidoscopic journey through the past and present. Did you know the cut-out bicycle saddle and reclining shampoo chair were both invented here? Or that you can nab a front-row seat to watch animal exams and surgeries at the Seneca Park Zoo?

Whether you’re a lifelong resident or lucky transplant, may the stories within these pages told by journalist Robin L. Flanigan invite you to become more curious about—and excited to be part of—this place we call home.

Robin L. Flanigan is a national award-winning freelance journalist and author of five books, including the popular guidebook 100 Things To Do In Rochester Before You Die, the celebrity-endorsed children’s book M is for Mindful and the book club pick Climbing Out: An Adventure in Rediscovering Life After Loss. Robin was a newsroom beat reporter for 11 years, and in 2008 she climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, where she saw the curvature of the earth at sunrise.

Leah Stacy is the editor-in-chief of CITY Magazine, Rochester’s monthly arts and culture print publication, and the producer of Rochester Cocktail Revival, New York State’s largest weeklong spirits festival. She is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, where she currently adjuncts for the magazine, newspaper and digital program. In previous lives, she co-founded a social media conference, worked as a full-time college media professor, managed social media and public relations for the Rochester Fringe Festival and ran a company creating content for hospitality groups. She loves to plan travel around dining and theater experiences. Find her reposting poetry and today’s egg at @leahstacy on Instagram.