Download the Skolay app
Skolay / 1:1 Audio Conversations / 
Patrick Bringley
📆  Select a time
Select a time
💸  Checkout
Checkout
📞  Get called
Get called
Patrick Bringley
Author of All the Beauty in the World, former museum guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Memoir
Art
Culture
Book a 1:1 with PatrickBook a 1:1 with PatrickBook a 1:1 with Patrick
Where else you can find me
Personal website
Substack
Book a 1:1 with Patrick
Hi!

one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty, twenty-one twenty-two twenty-three twenty-four twenty-five twenty-six twenty-seven twenty-eight twenty-nine thirty, thirty-one thirty-two thirty-three thirty-four thirty-five thirty-six thirty-seven thirty-eight thirty-nine forty,

forty-one forty-two forty-three forty-four forty-five forty-six forty-seven forty-eight forty-nine fifty, fifty-one fifty-two fifty-three fifty-four fifty-five fifty-six fifty-seven fifty-eight fifty-nine sixty, sixty-one sixty-two sixty-three sixty-four sixty-five sixty-six sixty-seven sixty-eight sixty-nine seventy, seventy-one seventy-two seventy-three seventy-four seventy-five seventy-six seventy-seven seventy-eight seventy-nine eighty,

eighty-one eighty-two eighty-three eighty-four eighty-five eighty-six eighty-seven eighty-eight eighty-nine ninety, ninety-one ninety-two ninety-three ninety-four ninety-five ninety-six ninety-seven ninety-eight ninety-nine one hundred

Talk soon,
Sam

Hi, thanks for having a look.

On my mind

I’d be happy to talk about art, museums, the writing process, this great big mysterious existence of ours, and whatever else.

Why I'm excited to talk with readers

Oh, I love talking with readers. Are you kidding? That’s why we do this. You write a book in solitude, and it’s amazing to think total strangers are devoting hours to your work in a quiet room somewhere. Actually speaking to those people is a joy.

Also!

I’m working on a new book and adapting All the Beauty in the World into a play.

Best wishes,

Patrick

Let's talk! Open to...👇
Freewheeling conversations
Questions about my writing
Questions about your writing
Writing in general
Getting to know you
🔔 Don't see a time that works?
Propose a time and we'll let you know when it's available to book!
Propose Time
Date
Time
Thank you for proposing a time!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
📚 Bring me to your Book Club!
I love talking with book clubs and would be delighted to meet with yours! Once you submit your request, Skolay will reach back out to you to confirm the details.
Cancel RequestStart Request
Book Club Request 
$500 / Session
Specify a date & time
Propose up to 3 options
:
Add option
Option 2
:
Remove
Remove
Add option
Option 3
Option 2
:
Remove
Remove
Add option
Enter contact info
Send a note
Please share any details about your group that would be helpful: e.g., what you're reading, how many members, etc.
Thank you! Your submission has been received. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
My latest
My Substack
 by 
Patrick Bringley
Where I've written

All the Beauty in the World

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me

Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They’re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Caught up in his glamorous fledgling career at The New Yorker, Patrick Bringley never thought he’d be one of them. Then his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he found himself needing to escape the mundane clamor of daily life. So he quit The New Yorker and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew.

To his surprise and the reader’s delight, this temporary refuge becomes Bringley’s home away from home for a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome, strolls the labyrinths beneath the galleries, wears out nine pairs of company shoes, and marvels at the beautiful works in his care. Bringley enters the museum as a ghost, silent and almost invisible, but soon finds his voice and his tribe: the artworks and their creators and the lively subculture of museum guards—a gorgeous mosaic of artists, musicians, blue-collar stalwarts, immigrants, cutups, and dreamers. As his bonds with his colleagues and the art grow, he comes to understand how fortunate he is to be walled off in this little world, and how much it resembles the best aspects of the larger world to which he gradually, gratefully returns.

In the tradition of classic workplace memoirs like Lab Girl and Working Stiff, All The Beauty in the World is a surprising, inspiring portrait of a great museum, its hidden treasures, and the people who make it tick, by one of its most intimate observers.

“Exquisite . . . A beautiful tale about beauty. It is also a tale about grief, balancing solitude and comradeship, and finding joy in both the exalted and the mundane.”

The Washington Post Book World

See more
See less
See more
See less
What to know in advance of your conversation
Audio-only
All calls on Skolay are audio-only.
Where and how calls happen
You'll receive a phone call from Skolay at the time of your call that will automatically connect you with the writer.
Cancellations
Skolay offers free cancellations when done more than 24 hours in advance of a call. However, calls cancelled within 24 hours of the scheduled start time will incur a fee of 25% of the total price out of respect for the writer’s time.
Late to a call
You have five minutes to join the call after the scheduled start time. After that point the call window will close and you will be charged the full price of the conversation.