VersoFest 2026 Author Talk: Actress and Performer Gina Gershon on Her New Memoir, ‘AlphaPussy,’ with Alisyn Camerota

Event Details

Celebrated actress Gina Gershon will be one of the highlight performers on VersoFest Saturday, discussing her recent memoir, AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, with award-winning journalist and rock memoirist Alisyn Camerota.

From a wayward California girl growing up in the heart of San Fernando Valley, Gershon found herself on a journey that has been anything but traditional. Along the way, she had to learn how to spot the toxic types — in both her personal life and her career — and figure out how to dodge, outsmart, or hustle her way through. From the Valley to the slums of Beverly Hills to New York City, she was confronted with shady characters and sketchy situations, all the while fighting to protect her autonomy as a woman and as an actress with a decidedly unconventional path.

Tickets are $35 and include a copy of AlphaPussy.

Additional programs scheduled for this year’s VersoFest include a February 27 performance by rising rockers The Thing; a Verso Visionary conversation with folk-rock legend and cultural icon Ani DiFranco (March 26); a Friday night (March 27) concert with former Fugees star, celebrated rapper and singer, and multi-time Grammy winner Wyclef Jean; keynote conversations with performers, actors, and authors; plus panel discussions, an interactive art installation, and much, much more.

Why You Should Come

“Gina G is a national treasure, a rare kind of legend who’s more than an actress and storyteller. She’s a rock and roll goddess, proof that grit, glamour, and guts are still stitched into the fabric of fame. Opening up about her times with Prince and wild days in the deep Valley, for fans and friends alike, it’s a ride as electric as she is.” —Miley Cyrus

“Just like Gina, this book is … wild, soulful, hilarious, and somehow looks you directly in the eye and tells it like it is. LET THE GERSHONAISSANCE BEGIN!” —Aubrey Plaza

“Gina Gershon is the coolest woman on the planet, and AlphaPussy is the coolest, most fun, hottest, most punk book of the year.” —James Frey, author of Next to Heaven

And this is your opportunity to see this one-of-a-kind talent in an intimate venue, as one of just 450 attendees in the Library’s unique Trefz Forum space.

About Gina Gershon

Gina Gershon has been starring on stage, screen, and television for more than 40 years. She has recorded albums and toured across America, and performed at Carnegie Hall three times, playing her Jew’s harp with Sting, Laurie Anderson, Joan Baez, and Gogol Bordello. Gershon is the author of In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind, which she also performed as a one-woman show with an accompanying album, and co-author (with her brother Dann) of the young adult novel Camp Creepy Time. In 2019, she performed another one-woman show, Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues, at the Café Carlyle.

Gershon’s film credits include Bound, Showgirls, The Insider, Face/Off, and The Player, among others. Her television credits include The Assassin, Elsbeth, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Riverdale, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, to name just a few. Her Broadway credits include Sam Mendes’s Cabaret, the Tony Award–winning Boeing-Boeing, and more. She lives in New York City.

About Alisyn Camerota

Alisyn Camerota is a journalist, author, anchor, and correspondent for CNN. In her three decades in journalism, Camerota has covered stories nationally and internationally, earning two Emmy Awards for her breaking news coverage of the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the on-air arrest of Roger Stone. She has also received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her breaking news coverage of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico, and a duPont-Columbia Award for her coverage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Camerota’s debut novel, Amanda Wakes Up, was selected by National Public Radio as one of the best books of 2017, and by Oprah Magazine as “a must read.” Her 2024 memoir Combat Love instantly became an Amazon best-seller. She is on the national advisory council of The News Literacy Project, which works to teach middle and high school students how to spot misinformation and fake news.

About AlphaPussy

AlphaPussy is a collection of true stories that explore themes of experience, survival, and the art of figuring it out as you go. They include strange encounters with celebrities and film directors such as Paul Verhoeven, Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, Prince, Jennifer Tilly, Sylvester Stallone, David Mamet, Bob Fosse, and so many others. Often hilarious, usually cautionary, and almost always wrapped in absurdity, Gershon’s tales explore how she found herself through bad decisions, awkward moments, and cringe-worthy encounters that somehow gave rise to survival skills.

Gershon stresses that while it can be important to listen to others, it’s more important to listen to oneself. To trust your gut. In a world full of bullies, predators, and people trying to tell her who she was, or who she should be, it was crucial for Gershon to become an AlphaPussy: a woman who navigates through this perilous jungle of a world with personal agency and responsibility.

About VersoFest

VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge. VersoFest includes conversations where experts share their perspective and vision. Intimate workshops provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft. Performances entertain and inspire.

This year’s festival, our fifth, is shaping up to be the best yet, headlined by a February 27 kickoff concert by rising rock band The Thing, our March 26 Verso Visionary conversation with folk-rock legend Ani DiFranco, and a special March 27 Friday night performance featuring Grammy Award-winning artist, producer, composer and Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean. Our weekend guests include David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets); Adria Petty on the legacy of her dad, Tom Petty, and the legendary Heartbreakers; a VersoFest author talk with Claire Dederer on her book, Monster; a conversation with renowned music promoter Peter Shapiro (Capitol Theare, Brooklyn Bowl); an appearance by the African dance and music troupe Cumbe Dance; an interactive art installation exhibited by award-winning, video-based artist Holly Danger; and a screening of the film Baristas vs. Billionaires, directed by Academy Award nominee Mark Mori.

Past VersoFest guests include hip hop legend Chuck D; established hit-makers the Wallflowers, Spin Doctors, and the Smithereens; up-and-coming bands Sunflower Bean and the Lemon Twigs; the Roots lead emcee Black Thought; hardcore punk pioneer Henry Rollins; rockers Lez Zeppelin; famed producers Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex); Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler; the Doors drummer John Densmore; Cramps drummer Miriam Linna; Alice Cooper Group bassist Dennis Dunaway; hip-hop originators Tony Crush and Grand Wizzard Theodore; David Letterman music director Paul Shaffer; SNL Beehive Queen Christine Ohlman; and a wide array of authors, photographers, artists, and thought leaders.

Visit our VersoFest website to see the lineup and schedule for 2026 (with announcements on all guests coming throughout January and into February).

Refund Policy

Programs, prices, and dates are subject to change. Tickets are transferable. There are no refunds unless The Westport Library cancels an event. If you are unable to use your tickets, please notify us more than three hours prior to the start of the event; in that case, the cost of the tickets can be considered a tax-deductible contribution supporting the Library. In the case of a postponed or rescheduled event, the Library is not obligated to offer refunds if the event is rescheduled within 12 months of the original date. No cash refunds.