Alex Palmer and “The Santa Claus
Man” at Book Soup
Alex Palmer discusses and signs “The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York.” The charismatic John Duval Gluck Jr. created the Santa Claus Association, the only group authorized to answer Santa’s mail. Gluck became a Jazz Age celebrity, rubbing shoulders with the era’s movie stars and politicians, and even planned to erect a vast Santa Claus monument in the center of Manhattan until Gotham s crusading charity commissioner discovered some dark secrets in Santa’s workshop. It’s also the larger story of how Christmas became the extravagant holiday we celebrate today, from Santa’s early beginnings in New York to the country’s first citywide Christmas tree and Macy s first grand holiday parade. The Santa Claus Man is a holiday tale with a dark underbelly, and an essential read for lovers of Christmas stories, true crime, and New York City history (Lyons Press)
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday, the 30th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tania Del Rio at Vroman’s
Tania Del Rio discusses and signs “Warren the 13th & All Seeing Eye,” the story of a cursed 12-year-old Victorian bellhop who’s terribly unlucky but perpetually optimistic, hardworking and curious. This middle-grade adventure features gorgeous two-color illustrations and lavish design that will pull readers into a spooky, delightful mystery.
Where: Vroman’s Book Store
Date: Monday the 30th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/tania-del-rio-nov-2015
Cover to Cover Book Club
Mid-Valley Regional Branch Library hosts a discussion of “An Instance of the Fingerpost” by Iain Pears. New members welcome!
Where: Mid-Valley Regional Library
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills, CA 91343
Website: http://www.lapl.org/branches/mid-valley
STAR Volunteer Reader at Central Library—Children’s Literature
One of a series of volunteer reader events in children’s literature offered at LAPL branch libraries. Come share a story with Kate!
Subject to change without notice.
Where: Central Library
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.lapl.org/branches/central-library
Santa Story Time at Vroman’s Hastings Ranch—Children’s Literature
Storytime at Hastings Ranch now happens every Tuesday at 10 AM. This week’s event features Santa Storytime for the holidays.
Where: Vroman’s Books at Hastings Ranch
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 10 am
Address: 3729 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/santa-storytime-hastings-ranch
Chevalier’s Books Anniversary Party
Come celebrate Chevalier’s 75th anniversary in style with food, drinks, books, and you! Come by and buy a book or two to help keep them in Larchmont for another 75 years.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://chevaliersbooks.com/
Anansi Writers Workshops
Founded in 1990, where co-founder Kamau Daaod started his writing career, and coordinated by V. Kali and Conney Williams. Michael Datcher developed the three-part format for the workshop in 1993: Formal workshop (7:30 – 8:30); Featured reader (8:30 – 9:00); Open Mic (9:05 – 10:00).
This week features Karineh Mahdessian, a community social worker, is interested in people and art. She the host of La Palabra and co-facilitator of Las Lunas Locas. She eats tacos. She plays chess. She gives hugs. She writes. She loves. She rights. She eats. She rites. She breaths.
Where: The World Stage Art, Education & Performance Gallery
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4344 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://www.theworldstage.org/anansi-writers-workshop/
Wide Awake Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond at Vroman’s
Suzanne Lummis hosts some of the Poets from Wide Awake anthology, a diverse and experiential collection. Lummis is a poet, anthologist, long-time L.A. literary booster and generous colleague.
Tonight’s guest authors include:
Dana Goia: Poet, critic and teacher, he is the author of many essays and numerous collections; translator of poetry in four languages; noted critic in poetry and music; and founder and co-director of two literary conferences; He was born in LA, attended Harvard and Stanford, and is the Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at USC.
Melissa Roxas: Poet, health worker and human rights activist, she is a survivor of abduction and torture by the Philippine military. A Kundiman, PEN USA Emerging Voices, and Great Leap Collaboratory fellow, her work has been published in Rhino, Boxcar Poetry, and Solo Novo.
Michelle Untch: 2011 Finalist for The Atlantic Review International, and for the 2011 C.P. Cavafy Award; Ruminate Magazine Finalist; semi-finalist for the Puamantock 2012 Poetry Prize.
Amy Uyematsu: A sansei poet from Los Angeles, her publications include three collections, as well as a fourth book published in 2015, “The Yellow Door.” Now retired, she worked as a high school math teacher for over three decades.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/wide-awake-poets-los-angeles-and-beyond-hosted-suzanne-lummis
Michael Cunningham at Stories LA
Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Cunningham (“The Hours”) presents “A Wild Swan and Other Tales,” which is illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. He is a Senior Lecturer at Yale and lives in New York.
Here are the moments that our fairy tales forgot or deliberately concealed, reimagined by one of our most gifted storytellers, and exquisitely illustrated.
Where: Stories Books & Cafe
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://storiesla.com/blogs/events
Book Launch for Francois Pointeau
Meet author Francois Pointeau, author of “Good feeling: Seven Short Stories” and co-host and producer of Writing on the Air, a KOOP.org 91.7FM Austin, Texas original show, from 2009-2015, where he interviewed countless poets, novelists, journalists and other writers and storytellers about their craft and lives.
Where: Gatsby’s Books
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 5 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/events/
Noches de Canto y Poesia at Tia Chucha’s
Noches de Canto y Poesía son un tiempo dedicado a músicos, poetas y cantantes de la comunidad para que expresen su arte en español o con influencia Latina. Esto incluye pero no es limitado a boleros, baladas, rock en español, folklórico, latinoamericano, ranchera, trova, canto nuevo, jarocho, huapango y más. Todos están bienvenidos! Entrada gratis. Hosted by Victor Sotomayor
Where: Tia Chucha’s
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Date: Friday the 4th
Address: 13197 Gladstone Ave., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: http://www.tiachucha.org/calendarevents/
B.J. Novak, Drew Daywalt & Pharrell Williams at Children’s Book World—Children’s Literature
Children’s Book World is elated to host a book signing with B.J. Novak, Drew Daywalt and Pharrell Williams. Meet the authors and get signed copies of Pharrell’s “Happy!” and Novak’s “The Book With No Pictures” and Daywalt’s “The Day the Crayons Came Home” and “The Day the Crayons Quit.”
This is a ticketed event. Please see site for guidelines.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 2:00 pm
Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: http://www.childrensbookworld.com/Calendar/calendar.htm
Women Word Workers of Long Beach
Fiction, Poetry, and Spoken Word at Uptown Village Market, featuring:
Three Long Beach Women Writers Who Promote the Literary Arts (extended bios and pics in the comments)
liz gonzalez, poet, fiction writer, and host and organizer of Uptown Word Reading & Arts Series
Sarah Thursday, poet, editor and publisher of CadenceCollective.net, co-host of a monthly reading, and founder of Sadie Girl Press
Nancy Lynée Woo, poet and founding editor of social justice literary press Lucid Moose Lit.
OPEN MIC: Share your story, poem, spoken word, monologue, song… Time includes introductions. Get there early to sign up.
Where: Expo Arts Center
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 4321 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/596689480469591
UC Irvine MFA Reading Series at Last Bookstore
Attend the UC Irvine MFA Reading Series, a program that provides current graduate students in fiction and poetry the opportunity to showcase their work to an audience of their peers and the greater community of Southern California. The reading will feature pieces by poets Megan Grant and Corinna Rosendahl, and fiction writers Shane Crosby and Julie Shulte.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Saturday, the 5th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Ground Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/events/uc-irvine-mfa-reading-series/
Amy Gerstler at Beyond Baroque
AMY GERSTLER’s ten previous poetry collections include Bitter Angel, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Dearest Creature, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She was also editor of The Best American Poetry (2010). Amy will read from her recently published Penguin Poets volume, Scattered at Sea, which was a finalist for this year’s National Book Award. Come and hear this Angelino poet read from her work.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Bill Mohr & Dale Herd at Gatsby’s
Stories and Poetry with Dale Herd and Bill Mohr live at Gatsby’s.
Dale Herd is the author of three short story collections: “Early Morning Wind,” “Diamonds” and “Wild Cherries.” He lives in California.
Bill Mohr is the author or editor of nine books of poetry and criticism and New Alliance Records issued his spoken word collection “Vehemance” in 1993. His literary history of Los Angeles poetry, Holdouts: The Los Angeles Poetry Renaissance 1948-1992, has gone into a second printing. He has authored numerous anthologies and publications, and is currently an associate professor at CSU Long Beach.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday, the 6th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/events/
Los Angeles Literature 