Brookdale’s Visiting Writers Series will welcome rising literary voice Lior Torenberg for an evening of bold storytelling and conversation on Monday, April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Student Life Center, Navesink I, parking lot 7, 2nd floor.

Torenberg will read from and discuss her debut novel, Just Watch Me, a darkly funny and emotionally charged story already drawing national attention from outlets like The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and TIME. Hailed as “a one-of-a-kind debut” and “the ultimate it-girl book of the year,” the novel blends sharp humor with an unflinching look at grief, identity, and the realities of living life online.

At the center of the story is Dell Danvers, a chaotic yet compelling twenty-something who launches a seven-day livestream to raise money for her comatose sister’s care. What begins as a desperate act quickly spirals into internet notoriety, as Dell’s raw, unfiltered personality, and increasingly extreme antics, draw a growing audience. From eating progressively spicier peppers to confronting a shadowy figure threatening to expose her past, Dell’s journey becomes both spectacle and self-reckoning.

Structured across seven intense days, Just Watch Me explores the intersection of vulnerability, performance, and digital culture. Critics have praised Torenberg’s voice as “funny, chatty, weird, and unexpectedly poignant,” with prose that captures both the absurdity and emotional depth of modern life online.

Torenberg’s work has previously appeared in publications including One Story, MAYDAY, and the Poetry Society of New York. She holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University and is a graduate of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop’s Book Project. Just Watch Me marks her highly anticipated first novel.

The event is free and open to the public, offering students, faculty, and community members the opportunity to engage directly with an emerging author whose work is already sparking conversation nationwide.