PEN Emerging Voices at Chevalier’s Bookstore
To celebrate the PEN fellowship’s 20th anniversary, PEN Center USA has opened the Emerging Voices Author Series to the public. Free to members who bring their Author Evening ticket; non-members can purchase tickets at https://penusa.org/author-evenings site.
We recommend you read The Stories of Richard Bausch by Richard Bausch, The Color Master by Aimee Bender, and Ron Carlson Writes a Story by Ron Carlson in preparation for the evening, and arrive ready to engage in a discussion about the art of the short story.
Richard Bausch is the author of eleven novels and eight collections of short stories. An acknowledged maser of the short story form, he has won numerous awards and fellowships, and is currently a professor at Chapman University.
Ron Carlson’s most recent novel is Return to Oakpine. In his essay collection Ron Carlson Writes a Story he gives rare insight into a veteran writer’s process by inviting the reader to watch over his shoulder as he creates the short story. He is a professor of English and Co-Director of the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine.
Aimee Bender is the author of five books, her short fiction has been widely published, as well as heard on PRI’s This American Life and Selected Shorts. She is a professor of English at USC.
Marissa Matarazzo is the author of Drenched: Stories of Love and Other Deliriums. She is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Writing Program at tis College of Art and Design.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com
Firooz Zahedi at Book Soup
Firooz Zahedi discusses and signs My Elizabeth. Part memoir, part homage, My Elizabeth offers rare insight into a woman adored by millions but truly known to only a few. The now celebrated photographer fell under Elizabeth Taylor’s spell when he was an unknown, and their lifelong friendship changed his life. Here he presents a loving tribute in words and images to this iconic legend.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/firooz-zahedi-discusses-and-signs-my-elizabeth
Noah Hawley at Skylight Books
Noah Hawley in discussion with Bob Odenkirk, discusses and signs Before the Fall. From the Emmy, PEN, Peabody, Critic’s Choice, and Golden Globe award-winning creator of the TV show Fargo comes “the” thriller of the year.
On a foggy, summer night eleven people—ten privileged, and one not–depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later the plane plunges into the ocean, and only two survive. Chapters weave between the aftermath of the crash and various backstories, and amidst the suspense, the fragile relationship between the two survivors raises questions of fate, human nature, and the ties that bind us.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/noah-hawley-discusses-his-new-novel-fall-together-bob-odenkirk
Emma Straub at Vroman’s Bookstore
Emma Straub, in conversation with Karolina Waclawiak, discusses and signs Modern Lovers. From the best-selling author of The Vacationers, this is a smart, highly entertaining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college and what it means to finally grow up well after adulthood has set in.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
ALOUD Present Judith Freeman at Central Library
Judith Freeman, in conversation with Michelle Huneven, discusses her new book The Latter Days: A Memoir. How does one become a writer? For acclaimed novelist Judith Freeman it was an unlikely path. In this lyrical memoir set in the patriarchal cloister of Utah in the 1950s and 1960s, she explores her course through a thicket of profound difficulties towards becoming a writer.
Where: DNTN Central Branch, LAPL, Mark Taper Auditorium
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://lfla.org/event/the-latter-days-a-memoir/
Broad Influence at Chevalier’s Books
Acclaimed journalist and author Jay Newton-Small will read and sign her new book: Broad Influence: How Women are Changing the Way America Works. This book looks at how women working in the public and private sector are reaching a tipping point—and transforming government, politics and the workforce. What happens next? Join us to hear Newton-Small’s insights on this shifting dynamic in American life.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Dates: Tuesday, the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://chevaliersbooks.com
Ted Geltner, Michael Connelly and Steve Oney at Skylight
Authors Ted Geltner, Michael Connelly and Steve Oney discuss Geltner’s book, Blood, Bone and Marrow: A Biography of Harry Crews, a literary biography of the lasting literary legacy of Harry Crews, who opened a new window into southern life, focusing on the poor and disenfranchised, the “grits” as he called his characters and himself. The stories of his whiskey-and-blood-soaked lifestyle created a myth to match his fictional creations. In 2010 Geltner began interviewing an ill and ailing Crews, and here writes the story of a writer who emerged dirt-poor from a Georgia tenant farm to go on and create a singularly unique voice in fiction.
Where: Book Soup
Dates: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
TrafficKing at Diesel Books
Join us to hear Conchita Sarnoff discuss her work of non-fiction, TrafficKing, which yanks back the curtain on an underworld where children pay the ultimate price as victims. Sarnoff is an investigative journalist who risked her life to expose the brutal reality of human trafficking and the Jeffrey E. Epstein case, and the acts of Epstein, a pedophile billionaire, Wall Street hedge fund manager and registered level-3 sex offender. The revelations in this book could have serious implications in the upcoming 2016 Presidential elections.
Where: Diesel Bookstore, Brentwood
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 1820 s. 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/conchita-sarnoff-discusses-and-signs-trafficking
Luis Rodriguez at Sun Valley Branch Library
Luis Rodriguez, best-selling author of Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., and Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, will share intimate poems and stories of his own life, including as a former gang member and drug addict, as part of the Made in L.A. program.
Where: Sun Valley Branch, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 7935 Vineland Ave., Sun Valley, CA 91352
Website: http://www.lapl.org/branches/sun-valley
Josh King at Chevalier’s Books
Join us to hear White House advance man and author Josh King’s Off Script: An Advance Man’s Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle and Political Suicide. This behind the scenes account of pivotal public moments on the political stage gives us a glimpse of presidential events during the Obama years.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com
Anansi Writers Workshop at The World Stage
The Anansi Writers Workshop presents a featured author/reader each week as part of the program.
Join for the formal workshop, 7:30 – 8:30 pm, followed by our featured reader, 8:30 – 9 pm, and our Open Mic from 9:05 – 10 pm.
Where: The World Stage, Education & Performance Gallery
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: www.theworldstage.org/anansi-writers-workshop/
Authors on Crime Fiction at Book Soup
Alafair Burke, author of the new novel The EX, will be in conversation with Ivy Pochada and Stephanie Cha, and discuss the city as a character in crime fiction. In The EX, a breakout standalone novel, a woman agrees to help an old boyfriend who has been framed for murder, but begins to suspect that she is the one being manipulated. As evidence against him mounts, she is forced to confront her doubts.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Susan Branch at Vroman’s
Author Susan Branch discusses and signs her book Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams. This story of following a long-time dream to live in New England and experience the four seasons, slowly leads to new realizations that nothing stays the same. Starting over is the theme of this book, and the insights gained from trying to make a dream come true.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/susan-branch-discusses-and-signs-martha’s-vineyard-isle-dreams
Lisa Hanawalt at Skylight Books
Join us to hear Lisa Hanawalt discuss her book, Hot Dog Taste Test, a devastatingly funny skewering of the pomposities of the foodie subculture. Hanawalt is an artist living in Los Angeles, and is the production designer/producer of the Netflix original series Bojack Horseman. She has worked in many media, and writes and draws a James Beard award-winning quarterly food column for Lucky Peach magazine, among other endeavors.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/lisa-hanawalt-discusses-her-book-hot-dog-taste-test
Kwei Quartey at Eso Won Books
Please join us for Kwei Quarey’s book discussion and signing of Gold of Our Fathers: A Darko Dawson Investigation, set in Ghana, and often compared to Alexander McCall Smith’s novels. After Darko Dawson receives a promotion he is transferred to the remote Ashanti region, an area now notorious for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines. Complications ensue!
Where: Eso Won Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 4327 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Kevin Kelly at Pages Bookstore
Join us to hear from one of our leading technological thinkers and writers, Kevin Kelly, author of The Inevitable, a guide through the twelve technological imperatives that will shape the next thirty years and transform our lives. The author provides an optimistic roadmap for the future.
Kevin Kelly is the co-founder of Wired Magazine and has written numerous books. Since space is limited, please contact us if you can join us. Call 310-398-0900 or email us!
Where: Pages Bookstore
Time: 7 pm
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://pagesabookstore.com/event/kevin-kelly-author-event
Author Talk at Panorama City Branch Library
Author and Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez will share intimate poems and stories from his own life, and from his books Always Running, La Vida Loca, and Gang Days in L.A., to illustrate the odyssey in everyone’s struggles to find “home.” This is part of the Made in L.A. Program, Culture Shock.
Where: Panorama City Branch, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 14345 Roscoe Blvd., Panorama City, CA 91402
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/luis-j-rodriguez-author-talk
ALOUD Presents Yaa Gyasi at the Central Library
Yaa Gyasi, in conversation with scholar Ayana A. H. Jamieson, presents a debut novel, Homegoing, which traces 300 years of history and family lineage from 18th century Ghana through the Harlem Renaissance and 21st century California.
Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and lives in Berkeley, California.
Where: DNTN Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://lfla.org/event/homegoing-a-novel/
100 Years Strong at Abril Books
Meet Dicran Y. Kassouny, author of 100 Years Strong: The Armenian Genocide in Posters 1915-2015, introduced by Roger Kupelian. This book chronicles the art of the Armenian Genocide poster, examining the diverse commemorative, social and political aspects of depicting the Genocide issue in images and words.
Some prints will be on display in the Roslin Art Gallery.
Where: Abril Books
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 415 E. Broadway, Suite 102, Glendale, CA 91205
Website: https://www.abrilbooks.com/news/100-years-strong/
Luis Rodriguez at Panorama City Branch Library
Author and Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis Rodriguez will read and discuss Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. and share poems and stories from his own life, to illustrate the odyssey in everyone’s struggles to find “home.”
Where: Panorama City Branch, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 14345 Roscoe Blvd., Panorama City, CA 91402
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/luis-j-rodriguez-author-talk
Mixed Remixed Festival at JANM, June 10-11, 2016
The Mixed Remixed Festival is a film, book and performance festival celebrating stories of the Mixed and multicultural experience. All events are free and open to the public.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th
Times: Various, All Day
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.mixedremixed.org/ or http://www.pw.org/calendar
Writing Memoir & Shaping Your Story Panel at JANM
Join this panel discussion, part of the Mixed Remixed Festival, about the authors’ experiences writing and publishing memoirs. Find out all the tips and tricks these writers developed on the road to publication.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 10 am – 11:30 am
Address: 100 N. Central Ave.untington DrHuntington , Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar
Women Who Submit at JANM
This workshop, Bombarding the Slush Pile: Women Who Submit, is open to literary writers interested in creating a submission practice and/or increasing their readership by being published in top tier journals. If accepted, we will provide an overview of basics, and you will leave with simple submission materials. All are welcome.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar
HAPA Writers at JANM
This panel, Hapa Writers: Our Stories in Fiction, is presented as part of the Mixed Remixed Festival. Hapa-identified writers share their stories of crafting fiction that connects to their mixed experiences. Panelists will each speak about the writing process and about sharing their work with the world.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Date: Friday the 10th
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar
Excavating Family Mythology at JANM
Join with panelists on Excavating Family Mythology & Publishing Your First Children’s or YA Book, as part of the Mixed Remixed Festival. Family mythologies are a great well-spring for stories geared to the young and to children. Panelists share their own process, and how they achieved publishing success.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/life-story-writing-class-0
Four Poets and a Dash of Non-Fiction at Beyond Baroque
This event presents four amazing poets and one non-fiction writer:
Sandy Dolan is the author of Children of Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Life, the story of a young Palestinian musician overcoming the struggles of living amidst the Israel/Palestine conflict.
David Hernandez is the author of the new collection Dear, Sincerely, and his book Hoodwinked won the Kathryn A. Morton Prize. He is also the author of two YA novels, and teaches creative writing at CSULB.
F. Douglas Brown, an educator for over 20 years, teaches at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, and his collection Zero to Three was a Cave Canem prize-winner.
Ashaki M. Jackson is a social psychologist and poet. She is a Cave Canem alumna, and her chapbook Surveillance was published by Writ Large Press in March 2016.
Ruth Madievsky is the author of the collection Emergency Brake, published in February 2016. In 2015 she was a Tin House Scholar and winner of the Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday, the 10th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 691 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html .
Storytelling: Art & Activism Panel at JANM
Join us for the second day of the Mixed Remixed Festival, beginning with the panel Storytelling: Art & Activism Unite. This workshop will address how storytelling creates social change. Mixed race people have have many stories to tell as we build within and between communities, create spaces for healing, and develop strategies to strengthen ties and our community.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Saturday, the 11th
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 1oo N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar
Mixed and Queer Panel at JANM
Join this panel at the Mixed Remixed Festival, Mixed and Queer? Write On! to share stories, discover and meet these writers, and maybe share your work with others.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar
Mixed Remixed Featured Authors at JANM
Join us for the 2016 Mixed Remixed Featured Writers, including:
Sunil Yapa, author of Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist;
Jamie Ford, author of Songs of Willow Frost;
Natashia Leon, author of Grace;
Willy Wilkinson, author of Born on the Edge of Race and Gender.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar
Microaggression Zines at JANM
Join the Mixed Remixed Featival’s workshop on Microaggression Zines, where we use zines (handmade magazines) as our medium to get creative and understand how these confusing experiences can make you feel funny, and connect with others who relate.
Where: Japanese American National Museum
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 4 pm – 4:45 pm
Address: 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.pw.org/calendar .
Muse Centennial Edition Book Launch
Kick off the summer and honor 100 years of RCC’s publication, Muse, with the 2016 Spring edition. Contributors to this issue are invited to read their published work (up to 5 minutes) and pick up contributor copies. Reading sign-ups start at 1:30 pm. Books will also be on sale!
Attendees can purchase lunch, snacks or beverages in the restaurant. Come read, come listen!
Where: Tios Tacos at Mission Inn
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 3948 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1290551670972349/
PEN Center USA at Skylight Books
This Emerging Voices Meet and Greet presents an informal evening with current and former fellows and mentors for the benefit of interested applicants, and includes: Readings/ Fellowship Overview/ Q&A/ Summer cocktails.
Participants include:
Victoria Chang, author of poetry and children’s books. Her latest poetry book is The Boss, and her book Is Mommy? was a New York Times Notable Book.
Rayne Gasper’s work has appeared in The New Statesman, the Adirondack Review, and World Riot. She was named a PEN fellow in 2012.
Mehanz Sahibzada was born in Pakistan and raised in L.A., and her two poetry chapbooks were published by Finishing Line Press. She is an English teacher and her work has appeared in numerous publications.
Sylvia Sukop was a PEN fellow in 2009, and is a 2016 Fellow in NewGround: The Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. She will enter the Washington University in St. Louis creative writing MFA program this fall.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 5:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/pen-center-usa-presents-emerging-voices-meet-and-greet-0
Coiled Serpent Reading at Gatsby’s Books
The Los Angeles Poet Society and Tia Chucha Press present readings from the anthology, Coiled Serpent: Poets Arising from the Cultural Quakes & Shifts of Los Angeles. This anthology features the vitality and variety of verse in the City of Angels, a city of poets. Well known poets included in this volume include: Holly Prado, Ruben Martinez, traci kato-kiriyama, and Lynne Thompson.
Poets Reception at 6 pm; Readings begin at 7 pm.
Where: Gatsby’s Books
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/book-signings/
Hear. Poetry. Now. Performances at Cal Plaza
Grand Performances helps bring the written word to life through poetry from the City of Los Angeles (C.O.L.A.) Individual Artist Fellows and LA’s Writ Large Press artists Sarah Maclay, Claudia Rodriguez and Lynne Thompson.
Where: Grand Performances, DNTN LA
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 350 S. Grand Ave, Suite A-4, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.grandperformances.org/hear-poetry-now
Vermin on the Mount at BookshowLA
Join us for a night of irreverent readings with:
Bruce Bauman, the author of Broken Sleep, a “big think” book which refuses to be categorized.
Chris Camargo, author of Ali’s Last Fight.
Daniel Hernandez, author of Dear, Sincerely, and creative writing professor at CSULB.
Shawna Kenney, author of the award-winning memoir I Was a Teenage Dominatrix, and journalist for many publications.
Bernadette Murphy, author of Harley and Me: Embracing Risk on the Road to a More Authentic Life, and professor at Antioch University.
Amy Silverberg, writer and comedian, and author of The Escape Artist, among other works.
Hosted by: Jim Ruland.
Where: BookshowLA
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 7 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 5503 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://bookshowla.com/event/vermin-on-the-mount-10/
16th Annual Author Fair at El Segundo Library
This year we welcome 33 authors of books for adults, teens, and children, and host a variety of activities including book signings, poetry readings, live music, storytelling, and more. Our non-fiction author panel “Expressing Yourself Through Writing” features a discussion of writing tips from the authors themselves. The day’s other panel is called “Confessions of the Best Local Mystery Writers” and allows attendees to sneak a peek into the mystery panelists’ writing process.
Where: El Segundo Public Library
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 11:30 am – 4:30 pm
Address: 111 W. Mariposa Ave., El Segundo, CA
Website: http://elsegundo.org/cals/default.asp
Austin Strauss Birthday Reading at Beyond Baroque
Celebrate another year around the globe with poet Austin Strauss and friends. Suggested donation: $5.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 691 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Lamplight Poetry Reading with Eric Morago
Join us for another session of the Lamplight Poetry Reading and let’s leave it all on the floor! Our feature: Eric Morago. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Reading begins at 8:30 pm.
Eric Morago is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet who believes performance carries as much importance on the page, as it does off. His works can be found in numerous print and on-line publications and anthologized in various collections. His first full-length collection of poetry and prose entitled, What We Ache For, is available from Moon Tide Press. He holds an MFA from CSU Long Beach and writes to live in Whittier, CA where he is poetry curator for Half Off Books and runs a quarterly reading series at Vintage Wine Shop.
Where: White Harte Pub (British)
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 8:30 pm – 11:30 pm
Address: 22456 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1938444139715431/
Los Angeles Literature 