Father Gregory Boyle at Vroman’s Bookstore (Off-site at All Saints Church)
Come to hear author and founder of Homeboy Industries, Father Gregory Boyle, discuss and sign his new book Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship.
The author of Tatoos on the Heart leads the largest gang intervention program in the world, and his first book was hailed as an astounding literary and spiritual feat. Now, in a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, he offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins in Barking to the Choir. This book is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers.
NOTE: You must RSVP at website link to eventbrite to pay $34 for admission for two and one copy of book.
Where: All Saints Church
Date: Monday the 11th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101
Lusitania Lost at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Leonard Carpenter discuss and sign his spy thriller, Lusitania Lost, set during the real-life history of World War I and the final voyage of the Lustania, the world’s fastest luxury liner torpedoed by a German U-boat in the first year of the Great War. This book is a change from the author’s Conan the Barbarian series, and offers romance, intrigue and murder.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/leonard-carpenter-discusses-and-signs-lusitania-lost
Matt Coyle and Patricia Smiley at Vroman’s Bookstore
Come to hear authors Matt Coyle and Patricia Smiley discuss and sign their new books.
Blood Truth is author Matt Coyle’s latest in his Rick Cahill series. Rick has long feared the truth about his own blood—relentlessly searching for answers after he opens a safe hidden in his childhood home for decades. He uncovers layers of clues to his father’s disgrace and painful death, and forces intent on keeping the past buried.
In Outside the Wire author Patricia Smiley tells the tale of Homicide detective Davie Richards who must investigate the shooting of a retired U.S. Army Ranger. When one murder becomes two and a pattern emerges, the race is on to save the killer’s next victim.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 11th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Barking to the Choir at Diesel’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author, Jesuit priest, and the founder of Homeboy Industries Father Gregory Boyle discuss and sign Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship. This book is about the challenges and joys of life on the margins, and Father Greg will be donating all net proceeds of sales of this book to Homeboy Industries and its endeavors.
Where: Diesel’s Bookstore, Brentwood, Courtyard
Date: Tuesday the 12th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/gregory-boyle-discusses-and-signs-barking-choir
CSU Long Beach MFA Students at Gatsby’s Bookstore
Join us to hear CSU Long Beach students present new works in creative writing, poetry and prose.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/book-signings/2017/12/12/csulb-art-creative-writing-student-showcase
Inside Private Prisons at the Last Bookstore
Author Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, presents her new book, Inside Private Prisons: An American Dilemma in the Age if Mass Incarceration. When the tough-on-crime politics of the 1980s overcrowded state prisons, private companies saw potential profit in building and operating correctional facilities. Today more than a hundred thousand of the 1.5 million incarcerated Americans are held in private prisons in 29 states and federal corrections. This book blends investigative reportage, and quantitative and historical research to analyze this development.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 12th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Ed Rosenthal & Redondo Poets at Coffee Cartel
Join us for our weekly series of Redondo Poets and Open Mic, this week featuring Ed Rosenthal.
Where: Coffee Cartel
Date: Tuesday the 12th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 1820 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Website: http://www.facebook.com/RedondoPoets/
Michele Zack at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Michele Zack present and sign The Lisu: Far from the Ruler. In this first-ever book about the Lisu, their ironic world view is brought to life through vivid, often amusing accounts of individuals, communities, religions, and practices. One of the smallest and last groups of stateless people and the most egalitarian of all Southeast Asian highland minorities, the Lisu have survived extremes at the crossroads of civil wars, the drug trade, and state-sponsored oppression, and adapted to modern politics and technology without losing their identity.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 13th
Time: 7 am
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/michele-zack-discusses-and-signs-lisu-far-ruler
Sam Wasson at Book Soup
Author Sam Wasson will discuss and sign his book Improv Nation: How We Made Great American Art, the story of how at the height of the McCarthy era, an experimental theatre group grew into the Second City in Chicago—a massively influential force with many offshoots—the Groundlings, Upright Citizen’s Brigade, SNL, and others. Wasson shows why improve deserves to be considered the great American art form of the last century—and the most influential one today.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Father Gregory Boyle at Pages Bookstore (Off-site at St. Cross Church)
Please join us to welcome and hear Father Gregory Boyle discuss and sign his new book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, the story of the challenges and joys of life on the margins. This is the second book from the author of Tatoos on the Heart and the founder of Homeboy Industries. Proceeds of this event will go to fund Homeboy Industries.
NOTE: To attend you must RSVP at website link and pay $30, which includes the book.
Where: St. Cross Episcopal Church, Parker Hall
Date: Wednesday the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 Monterey Blvd., Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/father-greg-boyle-author-event
Annual Holiday Rep Picks Night at Pages Bookstore
Please join us to hear reps from Penguin, Random House and Simon and Schuster talk about their favorite gift books for the holidays. There will be a reception beginning at 6:30 pm, followed by presentations, and books and prizes to be raffled off.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm reception; 7 pm presentations
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/annual-holiday-rep-picks-night
I Am Underdog Book Reading at Avenue 50 Studio
Please join us to hear first time author and former NFL player Tony Covington for a listening party, when Tony will read from his book, I Am Underdog – A Journey of Adversity and Blessings, where he shares how he rose up from the same struggles we all encounter, as well as the different sides of his life.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Thursday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 131 N. Avenue 50, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/184793958742676/
On Love & Writing About the Self at Book Soup
Join us for an author panel discussion on Love & Writing About the Self, featuring: Melissa Febos (Whip Smart), Merritt Tierce (Orange Is the New Black), Mark SaFranco (No Strings, The Suicide), Lisa Eve Cheby (Love Lessons from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), David A. Rojas, and moderated by Dave Willis. There will be gift card give-aways and refreshments. Enjoy a night of talks, readings, and fun interactions.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 14th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Jay Paris and Rams Football at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us to hear award-winning sports writer Jay Paris discuss and sign Game of My Life Rams: Memorable Stories of Rams Football. The author relates many stories of legends on both the Los Angeles and St. Louis teams.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 14th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Sam Sax at Beyond Baroque
Celebrate the release of Sam Sax’s debut poetry collection Madness (Penguin Books), which was called “astounding” by Terrance Hayes, and was the winner of the 2016 National Poetry Series Competition.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Thursday the 14th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Drunken Masters Event at the Escondite (Hideout)
Join us for our monthly event, Drunken Masters: Sex + Romance, in which three writers read/perform short excerpts from a work-in-progress in front of a panel of three established writers in the field who provide on-the-spot feedback. The only catch is that these master writers have been plied with drink or a PG indulgence of their choosing. This is a laid-back, entertaining, (and sometimes riotous) reading!
Our featured panel of writers/judges this month:
Wendy C. Ortiz (Excavation, Hollywood Notebook, Bruja)
Zoe Ruiz (The Millions, LitHub)
Frederick Smith (Play It Forward, Down for Whatever)
Send your submissions to: DMastSub@gmail.com.
Deadline: 12/11, 8AM.
Where: The Escondite (Hideout)
Date: Thursday the 14th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 410 Boyd St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/1956582287916562/
Readings at Poetic Research Bureau
Join us for an evening of poetry readings by our featured guests:
Paige Elizabeth Gretsky, Jeremy Hight (American Mary), Megan Lent (editor, poet, artist), Rachel Olson, Viva Padilla (Soul Central Writers Workshop, founder of Dryland) and author Matthew Sherling.
Hosted by Alexandra Naughton and Yesenia Padilla.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Friday the 15th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 951 Chung King Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.poeticresearch.com/
Poetry y Pan Readings & Open Mic at Café Con Libros
Join us for an evening of poetry and readings by bringing your words and sharing with community. Our feature is BessKepp, an award-winning educator, poet, author, and founder of A Mic and Dim Lights open mic in Pomona. “Poetry, like bread, is for everyone.”
Hosted by Irene Sanchez and Matt Sedillo
Where: Café Con Libros
Date: Friday the 15th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 951 Chung King Rd., Pomona, CA 90012
Website: http://www.facebook.com/poetryypan/
Authors/Poets at Beyond Baroque
Please join us to hear new poems from three reunited Squaw Valley Community of Writers Alumni: Berkeley poet and translator Dan Bellm, reading from his latest collection, Deep Well; L.A. poets Sarah McClay and co-author Holaday Mason, of the “She” series; and Lynn Thompson, author of Beg no Pardon.
The event will be hosted by David St. John.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 15th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
East Side Rose Night of Poetry at Tonalli Sudio
Join ObedSilva and Mike the Poet at Tonalli Studio in Old Town Maravilla as we co-host East Side Rose: A Night of Poetry. The award-winning Vickie Vertiz (Palm Tree with Its Throat Cut) is one of the poets featured, and the rest of the lineup will be announced shortly. Three generations of poets will be representing.
Thanks to Rosanna Esparza Ahrens & Ofelia Esparza for inviting us into their breathtaking space. Come join us!
Where: Tonalli Studio
Date: Friday the 15th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 4539A E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90022
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/1715154755169904/
Dylan Thomas Reading at Palms-Rancho Park Library, LAPL
Join us to hear Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” and other holiday poems performed and read by Joe Prami.
Where: Palms-Rancho Park Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: 2920 Overland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Conchas y Café Zine Release at Junipero Serra Branch Library, LAPL
Join us for the Conchas y Café Zine Vol. 3, Issue 2 Release Party hosted by DSTL Arts. The theme for this zine is Ekphrasis, and this rhetorical exercise of creating art, in this case poetry, inspired by other works of art, has led to a lot of beautiful pieces of writing, which will be read and celebrated.
Where: Junipero Serra Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 4607 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90037
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1660476097356448/
Poetry Workshop at Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Join us for a poetry workshop, and bring ten copies of your poem-in-progress to share for constructive critique and suggestions from other writers. This workshop is led by poet David del Bourgo.
Where: Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 22200 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-workshop-9
Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library, PPL
Join us for an Open Reading and to hear our three features: Chuka, Susan Chesney, and Jeffrey Martin (Jus Sayin’).
Weekly event curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell
Where: Santa Catalina Branch Library, Pasadena PL
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 999 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 90405
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Author Kwei Quartey at John Muir Branch Library, LAPL
Join us for a Meet the Author event, featuring popular Ghanaian American mystery writer Kwei Quartey, who will talk about his life and his newly published fifth novel in the Darko Dawson series, Death By His Grace. The author is also a physician living in Pasadena, who has practiced medicine for more than 20 years, while simultaneously working as a writer.
Q&A and refreshments will follow.
Where: John Muir Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 1005 W. 64th St., Los Angeles, CA 90044
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/meet-author-kwei-quartey
Ed Asner, with Ed Weinberg, at Santa Monica Main Library
Join us to meet actor Ed Asner, who will talk with Ed Weinberg, about his life and his new book, The Grouchy Historian. The author is best known for his role as cantankerous news editor Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Check website for details on this free, ticketed event, and book signing to follow.
Where: Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, Main Library, SMPL
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://calendar.smgov.net/library/eventsignup.asp?ID=25311
Matt Coyle and Patricia Smiley at Gatsby’s Bookstore
Please join us to welcome mystery and thriller writers Matt Coyle and Patricia Smiley, who will read and discuss their latest books.
Matt Coyle presents and signs Blood Truth, the fourth in his Rick Cahill crime series.
Patricia Smiley presents and signs Outside the Wire, the second in her new series about LAPD Homicide Detective Davie Richards.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/book-signings/
Man’s Wars and Wickedness at Poetic Research Bureau
Amanda Ackerman and Harold Abramowitz invite you to join us for the launch/reading of their new collaborative book, Mans Wars and Wickedness: A Book of Proposed Remedies and Extreme Formulations for Curing Hostility, Rivalry, and Ill-Will.
Joining us will be the Nine Herbs Charm Collective (Saewon Oh, Eric Kim, Hannah Mjolsnes) conducting a plant ceremony; and
The Readers Chorus (Joseph Mosconi, Sam Cohen) performing a newly written score based on text from the book.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Saturday the 16th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 951 Chung King Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.poeticresearch.com or https://www.facebook.com/events/333720857102947/
826LA Event at the Hammer Museum—Children’s Event
826LA @Hammer presents a workshop for kids ages 8-14, Mapping Your Life, Telling Your Legend. Kids are invited to turn themselves into a superhero based on a map of their lives. Tell their own origin story and walk away with a life map, a poem, and a short story featuring themselves as the hero and personal obstacles as villains.
Hosted and taught by Neelanjana Banerjee, managing editor of Kaya Press and writing teacher in Los Angeles.
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Sunday the 17th
Time: 11 am -1 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2017/12/826lahammer-mapping-your-life-telling-your-legend/
Mercado del Pueblo at the Eastside Café
Join us at the Eastside Café for Mercado del Pueblo for art, music, gifts and food, and to celebrate the holidays and help raise money for our effort to save the Eastside Café and its literary programs, and support our Barrio economies.
Where: Eastside Café
Date: Sunday the 17th
Time: 12 pm -7 pm
Address: 5469 Huntington Dr. N., Los Angeles, CA 90032
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/369831403460812/
Beyond Words Special Program at Beyond Baroque
Join us for our monthly Beyond Words event, which will be a special holiday program!
Hosted by Jon Hess
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 17th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Poet Jami Macarty at Gatsby’s Bookstore
Come join us for a poetry reading to hear Jami Macarty read from her acclaimed book, Landscape of the Wait. The author teaches contemporary poetry and creative writing at Simon Fraser University, advises and edits the online poetry journal The Maynard, and writes a blog series for Drunken Boat.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 17th
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/poetry-events-1/2017/12/17/poetry-reading-jami-macarty
Los Angeles Literature 