NYC NOW - How a Comic and an Actress Started a Rikers Women's Book Club

Episode Date: July 15, 2026

In 2024, comedian Nora Fried started a monthly book club for women incarcerated at Rikers Island. What began with nine women and a copy of Tara Westover's "Educated" has grown into a nonprofit called Rosebuds Reading Collective, with actress and author Julia Fox now leading a monthly creative writing workshop inside the jail. Nora joins Janae to talk about how it all came together. Photo: Rosebuds Reading Collective Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. They come here for a safe space where they can just let go, where they can just talk about something that isn't them being in jail, but more about like a concept around a book, and then write about their experience in a way that feels non-judgmental. A book club for women at the Rikers Island Jail is helping them imagine life beyond bars. On today's episode, we meet the founder of,

of the Rosebud's Reading Collective and discuss the books giving hope to those who often feel hopeless. But before we get into that, here's what we're following. The New York City Council held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would phase out horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park.

City Council Speaker Julie Minnan is the first council speaker to publicly support the proposal. It follows the death of 18-year-old tourist Romance Mahajan, who was thrown from a runaway carriage in the park last month. Menon says it's time to move on from the industry. Romance's death was heartbreaking and infuriating, and sadly, it was preventable. The day has come for our city to begin the transition away from horse-drawn carriages as a tourist

attraction. The bill would gradually end the carriage industry while creating a transition plan for drivers and protections for the horses. New York is enacting the first statewide AI data center moratorium in the country. That's thanks to a new executive order signed this week by Governor Kathy Hokel. New York will require data centers to either produce their own energy or pay a premium to tap into our grid. It's the only way to ensure that our residents and businesses have affordable energy that they need. The governor says her order pauses environmental permits for one year so the state can build a regulatory framework to protect the environment and rate payers. However, state lawmakers passed a similar measure just last month, which representatives for the governor say is too complicated and would take some time to work through.

We know that we needed an immediate moratorium, which the governor signed. And this moratorium now gives us the time to work with her office on getting a version of our bill. signed. That's state senator, Kristen Gonzalez. She represents parts of Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. She says the bill state lawmakers put together does go further than the executive order in some pretty key areas. Our bill creates renewable energy standards. So when hyperscale centers are brought online, they have clear targets for renewable energy. It discusses in-depth public engagement, requiring a public engagement session in five areas across the state so New Yorkers have a chance to share with our government how they are feeling on data centers.

In addition to every data center project being required to do one public engagement session in their host community to answer key questions about how their project will impact local residents. Even though the state bill hasn't been signed yet, Senator Gonzalez says the governor's executive order is still an example of good governance. We're still keeping an eye on that conversion project at the Midtown Manhattan Building that almost collapsed last week. Meanwhile, city buildings officials are conducting safety inspections at other construction sites across the five boroughs. A Department of Building spokesperson says

the new enforcement sweeps are part of an ongoing investigation into what caused columns to bend and floors to sag at the Pfizer building on 42nd Street. In case you may, it, developers are turning that old office tower into hundreds of apartments. It's the largest conversion project of its kind in New York City. Happy National Hot Dog Day. You know, New York City's favorite street food has come a long way. There's so many interesting hot dogs, and you may be just tired of the regular Nathan's hot dog, although maybe not.

That's food critic Robert Sitsima. He's been visiting restaurants across the region to find the best. best and most interesting hot dogs. The first place I want to mention is S&P Lunch, where they offer a hot dog that comes from Plattsburgh, New York. S&P Lunch is located in Manhattan, but Plattsburgh, New York is all the way up near the Canadian border. I know what you're thinking.

Those weaners are traveling a mighty long way to get to New Yorkers. But Robert says it's worth it. They're all beef hot dogs with a really snappy kind of skin, so it pops when you bite into them. And they've been cooked on a flat top with like maybe a little bit of tallow, so they glisten. They eat a hot dog that's put in a kind of lobster roll, piece of bread, and they put chili on top of it without beans, and they put chopped onions and mustard. And it is just the most delectable thing. Robert also has a recommendation if you're looking for a hot dog with a little Latin flare. Dykeman dogs up on Dykeman Street and

Inwood has a number of kind of like Latin American hot dogs where they reproduce the kind of fussy hot dog that they make in Latin America. And in this case, it has potato sticks on it and mayo. Can you imagine putting mayo on a hot dog? White cheese, onion, and shredded cabbage. Now, that's a lot going on, in my opinion. But Robert enjoyed it. However you decide to enjoy your hot dog, there's one guy to thank for Franks, Charles Fulner. Feltman. Here's Brooklyn native and Coney Island history buff Michael Quinn. Charles Feltman was the inventor of the hot dog, the American version of it, at least. He invented the hot dog in 1867 and Coney Island from Pye Wagon.

Feltman was a German immigrant who came to New York City with practically nothing, Quinn says. He says one day while Feltman was out selling breakfast buns on Coney Island, he thought to himself, you know, what's an easy way that I could serve them lunch? Well, Frank, what a sausage in a bun, and they could walk the beach with it, feed a baby, you know, eventually go on rides, you know. So it was just a portable lunch that had everything you need, right? Bread, toppings, onions, mustard. Everything you need for a classic New York City grab and go lunch. Thanks a lot, Charles Feldman. Your invention continues to fill the bellies of millions each day. I'm pretty sure of it. All right, still ahead.

A book club for women incarcerated at Rikers Island is bringing hope and helping some women think about life beyond bars. More on that in a moment. Welcome back. In 2024, comedian Nora Fried started a monthly book club for women incarcerated on Rikers Island. She called it Rosebud's Reading Collective. The book club's first pick was Tara Westover's Educated, which brought nine women together in a jail classroom back in February 2025. Next, the group picked Down the Drain, a memoir by Julia Fox. So Nora reached out to ask if Julia would be available to come in and speak to the group. Now Julia Fox teaches a monthly creative writing workshop to women on Rikers and the two have launched Rosebuds as a nonprofit. Norah Freed is with me now to talk all about it. Welcome to the show.

Hi. Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to talk with you. I want to, you know, I threw out there, you're a comedian by training. They're a specific experience that pushed you to reach out to folks at Rikers with this idea? Yeah, so I get this question a lot. Basically, it stemmed from, I was kind of in a low place in my life. And I started reading a lot of books specifically around civil rights leaders. And something that I noticed as a consistent theme was that a lot of them had been incarcerated. And during that time, they were reading and then upon release starting these really beautiful movements, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther Luther King. And so I just started reaching out. Once I get an idea, I can't stop thinking about it.

And so, because I'd love to bring the experience of reading to more people and hopefully see some change in the world. It was around the time that Trump got elected to. So I was like, we got to do something. Like, you know, so I started reaching out to jails and prisons throughout New York being like, hey, do you guys want a book club? And everyone was like, nope, who are you? you're a total random and so I was like You're a comedian and it sounds like a joke Yeah exactly

But then finally someone at Rikers was like Sure you can come with some books So you have no connection to the prison system Now not at all I am a total random Okay Well so we got the why I want to talk about your first pick

Educated a book by Tara Westover That's a book about a woman escaping one world to build an entirely different life. What was your thinking, you know, just coming out the gates with that one? Yeah, I mean, okay, so Tara Westover's book, Educated, is about a woman living in Idaho. And she basically is living in a really rural town where her father is abusive and her mother is kind of silent throughout it. And one of the main themes throughout the book is that her family does not want her to be educated,

does not want her to be able to read and write and succeed in that realm. And so they're bringing her down a lot. They're pushing her down and she keeps fighting her way back up. So I was like, that's such an interesting concept, right? Like that's what we see in society right now. We have people who want to move up in the world and we have a system that does not allow for that and is constantly pushing people down. A lot of, I'm not saying everyone who's in our, you know, spaces, I don't, we don't know

all their cases and whatnot, but I do think. But they can relate. Yeah, they can relate to that. And also I think it's important to remember, like, there's a system that creates this space for people. We have a lot of things working against us. So how are you going to fight those things to get to where you want to be? And I think that was a lesson that Tara was really able to.

show us was that no matter what the situation is, you can push yourself out. And so I want that to be the message to the women as well, of like, you know, there's going to be a lot of people who are going to say, well, you were in jail, so you can't do this or you can't do that. But you got to look past that and remember that you are more than the women love the book. Yeah, let's talk a bit more about how the women related to this book. Yeah, for sure. They loved it. They were like, that is the craziest growing up experience that we've ever heard of. Like that is so wacky. And like I can't believe now she's just living her life in Brooklyn.

And then when she came in and spoke to the women, that was really like they, she did, she did such a good job of connecting with them and and just being up front of like I don't really talk to my family anymore. Like, and I created that boundary. And that's okay. You know, there are certain people that. she talks to, but others that she doesn't, and they don't agree with my lifestyle now. And, like, you're going to lose people along the way. So all those themes are so important to remember as you move through life, especially when you're dealt not the best hand. And so when the girls read it, I really wanted, and I wanted to keep this theme of, like, making sure that we're reading books

where people not only just get out of their current situation, but also do better. So that was really inspiring for them. And then I think something after that I wasn't expecting was they, they said, well, when are you coming back? And I was like, all right, I guess I'm coming back in a month. And then they were like, well, can more people join? And I'm like, okay, well, I just, yeah, I think, I think more people can join. I just need to get some more cash to bring the books. But yeah, I'll just, and we'll get another book. And then slowly I started realizing, okay, maybe I should create a GoFundMe link. for this because I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing necessarily, but it seems like it's

growing and it seems like it's something good's happening. Wow. That's where it started. What are you looking for when you pick a book? So a couple things. I want to make sure that it's accessible to everyone because we have a lot of different reading levels. The other thing is making sure that we're reading a diverse selection of books is really important. And then I also want to make sure that it's something that they want to read. We've really been leaning into memoirs and kind of this like autobiography realm. I usually create a list and then like kind of surface it around with other people that I like some of my reader community people that I'm like, hey, do you think this is a good list? And then I'll send it in. We have to get all the books approved.

And then they'll vote on them. And then also making sure that it's, you know, not something super dense and huge, like a really long read, something that they can read in a month. Yeah. So it's not always something that you've read already. Oh, no. I haven't read like the majority of the books now. So I'm reading with them. Yeah. I'm literally reading with them months to month. So I have like the book that I'm usually reading personally. Then I have the Riker's book and I just like flip back and forth. Let's talk about that growth that this book club has gotten. I mean, how did you get to Julia Foxes down the drain? Is that something you were reading on your own as well? Yeah.

So this is the funny part of it. I was at a Charlie X, the X, Yax concert, and I saw Julia at the show. And I was like, the women had already, I'll backtrack a second. When I brought in Tara Westover, it then set the precedent that I was going to bring in all authors. Yeah, you started all too big. Women were like, in the club were like, well, when's Julia coming in? And I was like, you guys, like, I don't know if I can get Julia Fox to come in, but I'll try. Like, I just don't think it's going to work out. So they really, really pushed for it. And I was like,

I don't know. It's not going to work out. I go to this concert. I see her. And I'm like, this is a sign from God. I have to get to her and tell her that the girls at Rikers want to see her. Just like that. Yeah, literally. So like, I literally take out my phone and I write, Julia, I need to talk to you about my book club at Rikers. You know, when you play heads up. Yeah. I did that on my phone. And then later I posted on Instagram just saying Julia, I saw you at the Charlie X-EX concert and I really need to talk to you about my book club.

And so she DMs me and she's like, the women at Rikers are reading my book? And I was like, yes. I was like, do you want to come in and talk to them? She's like, of course. That next thing I knew, she came in. She like did one-on-ones with everyone. And then we kind of stayed in touch.

And like, then this year, I get a text from Julia just being like, Nora, I can't stop thinking about Rosebuds and you and this whole thing, what can I do to, like, be more involved? And I was like, maybe she could come and do the writer's workshop. And then so she's like, I kind of want to be like fully in this thing. And I'm like, so you want to be like my partner in this? And she's like, yeah.

And I was like, yeah, that's going to work. That works. I think that was a sign from God at that Charlie X, X, EX. I know, I know. It sounds like. It sounds like, I know. Do the women tell you? what they want to get from this program?

Yeah, the main piece of feedback that we get is Rikers, when they're out in the main space of Rikers, whether it's in their dorms or whatnot or the cafeteria or wherever they are, they have to always have their guard up and they always have to make sure that they're protecting themselves. When they come to our space, it's safe. And that's something that we've consistently gotten as feedback is that they come here for a safe space where they can just let go,

where they can just talk about something that isn't them being in jail, but more about like a concept around a book, and then write about their experience in a way that feels non-judgmental. And a lot of them, like, haven't been able to socialize with other people from different houses. So this is a space where, like, a lot of different people from different houses come together. And they're like, I've gotten to know new people. And it just feels like a safe space. space. So I think a lot of them come for safety and comfort, and we make sure to show up and

provide them that space. And how many women are we talking about here? Anywhere from 20 to 30 at a time. Wow. Yeah. Do you do anything? You said you create a safe space, and I'm wondering like what that looks like. I work at ACLU right now on the organizing team, so I do have that background of like social justice work. But at the same time, like, I'm not a teacher. I'm not anything. so I was very open with them. I'm like, I stopped drinking three years ago now. I went through a really tough time and like with some mental health stuff. And now I'm here because I read a lot during that period and it really helped me.

And I think it would help for you guys as well if you're interested. But like if not, that's cool too. Like make sure this place is just for you. And they loved that. They loved that I was open about being sober. they love that I was just like very upfront about like my mental health and like just kind of overcoming some obstacles and just I'm a very transparent person. You have a question. I'll answer it. So yeah, I think just providing that space of like we're all we all have our flaws. Like I have flaws too, you know. And so that I think that helps a lot. Are there opportunities where the women actually share what they've written every time? Every single time? Yeah.

And we have officers who also share and write with us. Are there dry eyes in the room? Yeah. But here's the thing. We do, we cry. We also laugh. We like, we have so much. There's, it's a roller coaster.

And we have officers who are participating as well. And I think that's really what I want to communicate to people is this systemic change that we're really gearing towards right now is creating this space where people are, you know, there's obviously you have officers and you have the people in custody and there's a hierarchy there. But when you're at Rosebuds, we're all people and we're all writers and we're all readers. And that's something we actually like get excited for our one, there's one officer who we love her writing and all the girls are like at the end when we're all done sharing. We're all like, okay, it's time for officer so and so to come up and read her piece. Everyone gets so excited.

So it's just like it's a nice space of like community. And I'm hoping that that trickles out into the day to day as well. And there are some really amazing writers within that space. I'm blown away. Yeah. You talked about creating a safe space for the ladies in this collective, but officers are still there. So can you talk about like the balance, I guess, of that dynamic? make. Yeah. So we only have one officer, one to two officers, like kind of in the space with us.

There's usually like a couple sitting outside. It just depends what the shift looks like. There's one officer in particular who works with us every time. So she's built a level of trust and respect with the women. So yeah, we basically just like allow them to come in and read with us in a, in the same way and sitting in the same way that we are all sitting in. So like, We sit in a chapel at Rikers, so like everyone's kind of in an audience setting, and then there's like one person standing up to read their piece or, you know, their piece of work. So we'll have them go up and stand at the front, and then we'll have the officer go up and stand in the front when it's her turn to read too.

And I like to sit in the audience chairs as well to make sure that everyone feels the respect of like what it feels like to read to an audience. We don't talk a lot about the hierarchy because I think that it, it's known, you know, like it's already there. But I do think what we, we, we ask for everyone to be quiet when anyone else is reading or speaking about a book or anything. And that goes for everyone, whether it's the officer or the people or, you know, me or whoever it is. So it's just basically creating the same rules for everyone. Everyone's able to like see each other and hear each other at the same moment, if that makes sense. But yeah, it's, it's, I mean, it's definitely, it's interesting.

I really didn't expect the officers to be so excited to read. Like they hear us laughing in the room and they'll come in and be like, what's going on? And I'll be like, do you want to come sit and read? And they're like, sure. Like they, I think there's a lot of, it's a lively room. So there, and you don't hear that type of laughter and, you know, community in the space. So people are kind of like poking their head in. So, and I always welcome them in to, you know, sit down.

did have a male officer once who like was was helping us get the book together and I have to admit a lot of our reading sessions end with us talking about how annoying men are so like at one point I looked to the officer and I'm like sorry this like really isn't the space for you and he was laughing and he's like yeah I'm just like on call for today but he's like I get it like you can keep going and I was like yeah so men are trash and all the women are like mm-hmm but yeah so other than that um I think they all feel welcomed. Even the guy, he was, he was fine. Yeah. He knows his story. He knows his story. Where do you see Rosebuds in three years? Yeah. So we are trying to expand to all of the prisons and jails throughout New York City and then open up at least one other in one other state.

We want to include other things as well like any sort of arts like, you know, drawing, painting, yoga, meditation, basically creating this hub of like rosebuds, and then you have like the reading collective, the writing collective, you know, the yoga collective, and basically creating

as many rehabilitation outlets as possible. And then on top of that, also doing some sort of publishing house or we can publish the women's work. So that's, I know that sounds like a lot in three years, but that's the plan. It's possible.

You've done a lot. I think it's going to happen. Like I literally think it's going to happen. When a woman leaves Rikers, what do you hope she carries out from this program? I want them to feel empowered. And I think a lot of the women that we work with, they hold so much regret and shame. But my hope is that they feel connected to something new creatively and that they also feel inspired to do something without the regret and shame that they're holding, like, as a new person. And yeah, I think, you know, I want them to know that we're also there to support them.

One of the women actually on Tuesday was like, when I get out, like, can I start a book club under Rosebuds? I'm like, yeah, sure, we'll start a book club. You can be the first one to start it. You know, why do you think Rikers told you yes? I have absolutely no idea. I have no idea. I created a proposal and I really laid it out. But I also think they were looking for more rehabilitation programs within Rikers.

I think Rikers is hard because it's a jail. So people are not there for a long period of time, whereas in a prison, you have a longer sentencing. So unfortunately, because of the way the system works, people end up at Rikers for several years sometimes. But they really shouldn't be there for longer than, you know, a couple months at a time. Now, we have people who have been there for up to like six years because their cases are in limbo. But that doesn't really allow for like a lot of programming. And so they do have some programs. But I think the more programming we can provide to jails, which I feel like is so essential.

If you're in that limbo state, oh, my God, you need something to like get your head out of it, you know? And so they were very open to the idea. And working with them has actually been really great. Like we have a lot of, we have a programming team that we work with there. and they're super just helpful. And at one point, like, I was sending books to an officer's house, and she was bringing them in personally and distributing them. Like, they want it to work.

It takes a village. It literally takes a village. It was crazy. So what's the next read? We just read Trevor Noah's book. Born a crime? Born a crime. Which was great.

It's a funny one. Yeah, it's really good. And, like, he just has such an art, a beautiful way of, like, articulating an upbringing. Yeah. And talking about really hard things, like racism, systemic oppression. Like, he's just, he's amazing, but he does it in this, like, kind of funny way that the women really loved. And then we read All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kylie. That was a great read as well.

We have women who send them to their family. I have one woman who's sending them to her. her mother who's been creating a library for her when she gets home of all the books. We've read over like 16 books now. Wow. And then she'll have like a little library when she gets back. So yeah, that's the goal to read as much as possible. That's beautiful.

Yeah. Nora Freed is a comedian and the founder of this book club on Rikers Island called Rosebud's Reading Collective. You can follow them on Instagram at Rosebud's Reading Collective. I'm Jene Pierre. Thanks for listening to NYC Now. See you next time.