Tickets to the 8th Annual New Yorker Festival - on sale Sept. 15 - should disappear in a flash. Look for head-butting between Martin Amis and Norman Mailer on the subject of “Monsters,”as well as conversations between A.M. Homes and Miranda July on “Deviants” and Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pahmuk on “Homeland.” French acrobat David Belle will show you how to do Parkour just like James Bond, and David Byrne will demonstrate “How New Yorkers Ride Bikes.” Check out http://festival.newyorker.com.

New Yorker Festival thanks to the news that David Byrne is organizing and hosting an evening of music and stories dedicated to atlernative transportation methods on October 6th at Town Hall. Byrne joins other popular New York City personalities as Brian Lehrer and Blonde Redhead’s Amedeo Pace as bicycle enthusiasts.

On his blog, he writes:

Had a very exciting meeting on Wednesday re: the Bike Forum project. The New Yorker will produce this event as part of their fall festival. It will be a forum, with entertainment, at Town Hall on Saturday October 6 on the subject of bikes in NYC. I’ve been trying to get this to happen for a while and now it’s picking up steam and momentum. As someone who has biked here as a means of transportation for many many years I sense a growing acceptance of the human-powered machine with two wheels. Some fears and hurdles to be dealt with for sure — but I sense a tipping point looming.

In related news, Gothamist reports that David Byrne’s bike was stolen the other day. Some douchebag took it while he was checking out a flick at the IFC Center.

The New Yorker Festival takes place on October 5th, 6th and 7th.