Courtney Fletcher & The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm at Arroyo Seco Regional Library – Kids Event
Please join us for our Summer Author series and meet illustrator Courtney Fletcher, who will present The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm. She is the talented illustrator of popular children’s picture books like The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm by LeVar Burton and Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs by Susan Schaefer Bernardo. You can meet her this summer at this event, and might be the lucky winner of a free copy of the book.
Where: Arroyo Seco Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 23rd
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 6145 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/summer-author-meet-courtney-fletcher
Kathryn Sermak at Westwood Branch Library
Please join us for our Author Talk series and meet author Kathryn Sermak, who will present her memoir, Miss D & Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis. The author will share film clips and answer questions.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 23rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 2146 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/author-talk-kathryn-sermak
Brian Catling & The Cloven at Vroman’s Bookstore
Author Brian Catling joins us to present, discuss and sign his book, The Cloven: The Vorhh. In the stunning conclusion to this endlessly imaginative saga, the young socialite Cyrena Lohr, mourning the death of her lover, the cyclops Ishmael, rekindles a relationship with famed naturalist Eugene Marais. Before departing down his own dark path, he gives her an object of great power that grants her visions of a new world. Meanwhile, the threat of Germany’s Blitz looms over London, and Vohrr seeks revenge against those who invaded and defiled it. This is a book of battles and betrayals leading to an epic conflagration.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/brian-catling-discusses-and-signs-cloven-vorhh
Sally Koslow & Another Side of Paradise at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Sally Koslow, discuss and sign her book, Another Side of Paradise.
In 1937 Hollywood, gossip columnist Sheilah Graham’s star is on the rise, while literary wonder boy F. Scott Fitzgerald’s career is slowly drowning in booze. But the once famous author is charismatic enough to attract her, a woman who exposes the secrets of others while carefully guarding her own. She would stay with him until his tragic death three years later.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/sally-koslow-discusses-and-signs-another-side-paradise
Feminist Book Club Reads A Map of Home at Women’s Center for Creative Work (WCCW)
Please join us for our Feminist Book Club discussion of author Randa Jarrar’s book, A Map of Home, hosted by Yasmine Diaz.
Goodreads notes “Nidali narrates the story of her childhood in Kuwait, her teenage years in Egypt, and her family’s last flight to Texas, offering a humorous, sharp but loving portrait of an eccentric middle-class family.”
Where: WCCW
Date: Monday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 2425 Glover Place, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Website: http://womenscenterforcreativework.com/yasmine-diaz-artist-in-residence/
Jose Lozano & Little Chanclas at John Muir Branch Library – Kids Event
Please join us for our Summer Author series and meet author Jose Lozano, who will present and discuss his book for kids, Little Chanclas.
Refreshments will be provided and lucky winners will receive a free copy of her book.
Where: John Muir Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 24th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 1005 W. 64th St., Los Angeles, CA 90044
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/summer-author-meet-jose-lozano-0
Elyssa Friedland & The Intermission at Diesel Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Elyssa Friedland, in conversation with author Allison Winn Scotch, discuss and sign, The Intermission. Have you ever had a secret so gut-wrenching you couldn’t tell anyone? Told from the alternating perspectives of a husband and wife who both have something to hide, this incisive novel pulls back the curtain on marriage to ask: how much do we really know, or should we know, about the people we love most?
Where: Diesel Bookstore, lower outdoor courtyard
Date: Tuesday the 24th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Chas Smith & Cocaine & Surfing at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Chas Smith discuss and sign his book, Cocaine & Surfing: A Sordid History of Surfing’s Greatest Love Affair.
In is likely not terribly surprising that surfers like to party. As the 1960-70s cultural image of drinking and smoking joints morphed into a mega-million dollar industry, cocaine use and wild parties only grew with it. This book peels the curtains back on this deadly relationship.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Daniel Lewis & Belonging on an Island at Vroman’s Bookstore
Author Daniel Lewis joins us to present, discuss and sign his new book, Belonging on an Island: Birds, Extinction, and Evolution in Hawai’i. This natural history takes readers on a thousand-year journey as it explores the Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful birds and a variety of topics, including extinction, evolution, survival, conservationists and their work, and, most significantly, the concept of belonging. This book is built around the stories of four species, and the author offers innovative ways to think about what it means to be native, and proposes new definitions that apply to people as well as birds.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/daniel-lewis-discusses-and-signs-belonging-island
From Prison to President: The Letters of Nelson Mandela at the ALOUD Reading Series, Central Library
On the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, comes a new portrait of one of the most inspiring historical figures of the twentieth century. Arrested in 1962 by South Africa’s apartheid regime, he would spend the next twenty-seven years in jail before his release and subsequent rise to the presidency of his country.
On this anniversary, we will discuss and celebrate his life through readings of his letters written during incarceration, with an event led by Mandela’s granddaughter, Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, and journalist and editor of this collection, Sahm Venter, who will share the stage with activists and actors to bring these deeply moving letters to life, including guest readers:
Ashaki Jackson is a social psychologist and poet, the author of Surveillance and Language Lesson, co-founder of Women Who Submit, and has worked with youth in the juvenile justice system for one decade.
Colm Toibin is the acclaimed author of many books, many prize-winning and/or also presented as motion pictures, and his most recent book is House of Names, a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra and her children.
Amanda Gorman is a poet, author, activist, Harvard sophomore, first Youth Poet Laureate of the U.S., and has been called the next great figure in poetry.
Nnamdi Moweta is a musician, expert on African culture and music, and currently hosts the long-running radios show Radio Afrodicia.
NOTE: See website for RSVP and stand-by seating guidelines.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library
Date: Tuesday the 24th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://lfla.org/event/prison-letters-nelson-mandela/
Un::fade::able – Reading Honoring the Legacy of Sandra Bland at ArtShare LA
Please join us for an all-women reading series honoring the legacy of Sandra Bland. This is part of an ongoing reading series that honors and holds place for the sacrifices of those who have been killed by unjustifiable police activities.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 24th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 801 E. 4th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://artsharela.org/event/un-fade-able-sandra-bland-series/2018-07-24/
Tao Nyeu at Eagle Rock Branch Library – Kids Event
Please join us for our Summer Author series and meet author Tao Nyeu, who will present and discuss her book for kids, Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always.
Refreshments will be provided and lucky winners will receive a free copy of his book.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 25th
Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Address: 5025 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/summer-author-meet-tao-nyeu-0
Nilah Magruder & M.F.K. at Exposition Park-Mary McLeod Bethune Branch Library – Teen Event
Please join us for our Summer Author series and meet Nilah Magruder, who will present and discuss her graphic novel, M.F.K. She received the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity, in recognition of her web comic, M.F.K, which was later published as a graphic novel. She has also written for Marvel and illustrated children’s books, film, and commercial TV, as well as Disney and Dream Works.
Refreshments will be provided and lucky winners will receive a free copy of the author’s book at this event.
Where: Exposition Park-Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 25th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/summer-author-meet-nilah-magruder
Charles Rosenberg & The Trial & Execution of the Traitor George Washington at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Charles Rosenberg, in conversation with author Lee Goldberg, discuss and sign, The Trial & Execution of the Traitor George Washington, in which British special agent Jeremiah Black lands on a lonely beach in late November 1780 to kidnap George Washington and spirit him back to London in a British warship waiting offshore to face charges of high treason. This story draws inspiration from a rumored kidnapping plot hatched in 1776 by George Washington’s own Commander-in-Chief Guard.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 25th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Chelsea Hodson, with Wendy C. Ortiz, & Tonight I’m Someone Else at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Chelsea Hodson, in conversation with author Wendy C. Ortiz, present and discuss her collection of essays, Tonight I’m Someone Else. This highly anticipated collection explores the myriad ways in which desire and commodification intersect. The author explores our self-worth and asks what our privacy, our intimacy, and our own bodies are worth in the increasingly digital world of liking, linking, and sharing.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 25th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Robin Benway & Far From the Tree at Porter Ranch Branch Library – Teen Event
Please join us for our Summer Author series and meet amazing author Robin Benway, who will present and discuss her YA book, Far From the Tree, which won the 2017 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Refreshments will be provided and lucky winners will receive a free copy of the author’s book at this event.
Where: Porter Ranch Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 26th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 11371 Tampa Ave., Porter Ranch, CA 91326
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/summer-author-meet-robin-benway
Translator Boris Dralyuk, with Mikhail Zoshchenko’s Sentimental Tales at Book Soup
Please join us to hear translator Boris Dralyuk discuss and sign Mikhail Zoshchenko’s book, Sentimental Tales.
These are satirical portraits of small-town characters on the fringes of Soviet society in the first decade of Bolshevik rule. The prose is beautifully mangled, filled with overloaded flights of metaphor, tortured cliché, and misused bureaucratese, in the tradition of Gogol. Yet beneath it all, they are genuinely moving, and a biting critique of Soviet life.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 26th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Two Authors & Rad Girls Can at Vroman’s Bookstore
Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl present and sign their book, Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women. Here you will learn about a diverse group of young women (historical and contemporary) who are living rad lives, and each profile is paired with the dynamic paper-cut art that made the authors’ first two books best sellers. This book aims to offer hope, inspiration, and motivation to readers of all ages and genders.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 26th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/kate-schatz-miriam-klein-stahl-discuss-and-sign-rad-girls-can
Marina Shifrin & 30 Before 30 at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Marina Shifrin present and discuss her memoir, 30 Before 30. This is a charming, relatable and hilarious collection of essays documenting a young woman’s attempt to accomplish thirty life goals before turning thirty. Each story of a goal she tried to reach ultimately shows readers that we don’t have it all figured out, and that’s okay.
The author became internet famous and now works for Comedy Central’s hit show @Midnight, and is an in-demand stand-up. None of it would have happened if she didn’t start her list that night and document what happened.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/marina-shifrin-discusses-her-memoir-30-30
John Michael Varese & The Spirit Photographer at the Last Bookstore
Please join us to hear John Michael Varese, with filmmaker and screenwriter Spencer McCall, discuss and sign his debut novel, The Spirit Photographer. This is a novel of historical suspense about a charismatic con man haunted—perhaps too literally—by a ghost from his past.
Loosely based on the spirit photography craze that swept the country during and after the Civil War, this novel explores America’s various challenges around loss, hauntings, slavery, hypocrisy, racial injustice, and lots more.
NOTE: You can purchase a book and reserve a seat at the website.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 26th
Time: 7:30 am
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Jose Lozano & Little Chanclas at Frances Howard Goldwyn-Hollywood Regional Library – Kids Event
Please join us for our Summer Author series and meet Jose Lozano, who will present and discuss his children’s book, Little Chanclas.
Refreshments will be provided and lucky winners will receive a free copy of the author’s book at this event.
Where: Frances Howard Goldwyn-Hollywood Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Friday the 27th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 1623 Ivar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/summer-author-meet-jose-lozano
Megan Abbott, with Tom Perotta, at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Megan Abbott, in conversation with author Tom Perotta, present and discuss her new novel, Give Me Your Hand. This is the story of two teens, who after meeting in high school chemistry class develop an unlikely friendship, until one shared a secret that changed everything. More than a decade later, the two former friends are scientists, and now find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Friday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/megan-abbott-reads-her-new-novel-give-me-your-hand-tom-perrotta
Alexis Rafael & #MeToo Novel at Stories Books & Café
Please join us to hear Alexis Rafael, discuss and sign her #MeToo novel, Sex and the Cyborg Goddess, a fascinating narrative about coming-of-age during the social transformation of the 1970s.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Friday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1718 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.alexiskrasilovsky.com/books.html
Plant Perspectives at Beyond Baroque
Writer, curator, and editor Janice Lee leads a multi-disciplinary reading and discussion on the knowledge gained from trees, and the importance of that knowledge to language and creativity. Featuring: noted poet and homeopath Amanda Ackerman; film maker Saewon Oh; and farmer, chef and poet Stephen Alton Lewis.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 27th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Santa Monica Rep Play Reading & Top Girls at Santa Monica Library
Please join us to hear Santa Monica Rep perform Caryl Churchill’s poignant drama Top Girls, examining the role of women in society and what being a successful woman means. Seating is limited and provided on a first come basis. Early arrival is recommended.
Where: Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, Main Library, SMPL
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 2 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Website: http://calendar.smgov.net/library/eventsignup.asp?ID=26732
Lillian Faderman & Harvey Milk at Skirball Cultural Center
Please join us to hear distinguished scholar and author Lillian Faderman discuss her lively and engaging biography of the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S. In her book, Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death, she covers a man fiercely committed to protecting all minorities, who was shot by a homophobic assassin/ associate on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978.
NOTE: There is a $10 admission charge, so see website for details.
Where: Skirball Cultural Center
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Website: http://www.skirball.org/programs/words-and-ideas/lillian-faderman-harvey-milk-his-lives-and-death
14th Annual Play Reading Series at Boston Court Playhouse
Discover your voice. Join dA Literary Director Matt Sedillo and Amazing Guest Writers. This weeks guest writer is Hector Solorzano who will discuss, share and explore Latinx poetry.
Where: Boston Court, Pasadena
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106
Website: http://bostoncourtpasadena.org/events/14th-annual-new-play-reading-festival/
dA Summer Saturday Writing
Please join us to hear the conclusion of our annual play reading series, July 19-28, with Drunk at the Base of the Bodhi Tree, by Julie Hebert. See website for tickets and details.
Where: dA Center for the Arts
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 252 Main Street, Pomona, CA 91766
Website: http://www.dacenter.org/literture/da-summer-saturday-writing-workshops/
Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library
Please join us for a Print & Internet publishing Workshop led by Erika Ayon, author of the poetry collection Orange Lady.
Curated by: Don Kingfisher Campbell
Where: Santa Catalina Library, Pasadena Public Library
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 999 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Melissa Broder & Alex Dimitrov at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Melissa Broder and Alex Dimitrov discuss and sign their respective work, including: The Pisces and Together and by Ourselves.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Sonia Greenfield, Donna Hilbert & Martin Ott at Beyond Baroque
Please join us for poetry readings given by three authors:
Sonia Greenfield’s book Boy with a Halo at the Farmer’s Market won the 2014 Codhill Poetry Prize.
Donna Hilbert’s latest book is Gravity: New & Selected Poems from Tebot Bach.
Martin Ott has published eight books of poetry and fiction, most recently Lessons in Camouflage.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 28th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Local Authors Day—Kids Edition/Event at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us for Local Authors Day as children’s authors present their work:
Bryson Reaume presents and signs The Woogilyboo and the Hot Lava.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 29th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Charles Rosenberg & The Trial & Execution of the Traitor George Washington at Diesel Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Charles Rosenberg discuss and sign, The Trial & Execution of the Traitor George Washington, in which British special agent Jeremiah Black lands on a lonely beach in late November 1780 to kidnap George Washington and spirit him back to London in a British warship waiting offshore to face charges of high treason. This story draws inspiration from a rumored kidnapping plot hatched in 1776 by George Washington’s own Commander-in-Chief Guard.
Where: Diesel Bookstore, lower outdoor courtyard
Date: Sunday the 29th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Green Tara Press at Beyond Baroque
Join us as Green Tara Press presents works that promote compassion, healing and love, with: Jerry Garcia, Sandra Sloss Geideman, Margaret Drewry Walsh, Bob Alonzi, Cynthia Gregory and Catherine Auman.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 29th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Local Authors Day at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us for Local Authors Day as the following authors present their work:
Keith Fahey discusses and signs Falcon Will Give Birth to the Rover.
Thomas M. Hewlett discusses and signs One Death at a Time (Volume One).
Karen Rae discusses and signs Stage Fright Free.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 29th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/vroman’s-bookstore-local-author-day
Horror Book Club at the Last Bookstore
Please join us for The Thing in the Labyrinth Book Club with Kathryn E. McGee. This month we are reading The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay.
NOTE: RSVP and buy your copy of the book at the website link.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 29th
Time: 9:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Los Angeles Literature 