30 Years of Homeboy Industries & Radical Kinship at Central Library, LAPL
Celebrate 30 Years of Homeboy Industries, which has provided hope, training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of our community. This public panel will examine their work, and the evolution of Homeboy Industries, founded by Father Gregory Boyle, and recounted in his most recent book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 630 West 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/radical-kinship-celebrating-30-years-homeboy-industries
Louisa Hall, with Ivy Pochoda, & Trinity at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Louisa Hall, with author Ivy Pochoda, discuss and sign her book, Trinity: A Novel, which offers a fictional account of the life and influences of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Trough narratives that cross time and space, a set of characters bears witness to the life of Oppenheimer, who was a brilliant scientist, a champion of liberal causes, and a complex and often contradictory person who also betrayed his Communist friends under questioning, repeatedly lied about love affairs, and defended the use of the atomic bomb he helped create, before ultimately lobbying against nuclear proliferation.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/louisa-hall
Erika Kotite & She Sheds Style at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to hear Erika Kotite discuss and sign her book, She Sheds Style: Make Your Space Your Own. This is a guide to using space and/or repurposing it into service as a refuge from the intense pace of modern life.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/erika-kotite-discusses-and-signs-she-sheds-style
Chris Gethard & Lose Well at Book Soup
In Lose Well, you will find a laugh-out-loud, kick-in-the-pants self-help narrative for anyone who felt they don’t fit in or can’t catch a break. Join us to hear author Chris Gerhard discuss and sign his book, Lose Well.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://booksoup.com/event/chris-gethard%C2%A0discusses-and-signs%C2%A0lose-well
A Night of Victor Hugo at the Hammer Museum
Please join us for Ceiling of Shadows: A Night of Victor Hugo, a performance installation of Victor Hugo’s writing, in which artists bring to life a compilation of works that made Hugo a pivotal figure in the social, political, and cultural life of 19th-century France through live music, readings, dance and shadow play.
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Nadya Tolokonnikova & Read & Riot at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Nadya Tolokonnikova, with Shepard Fairey, discuss her activism book, Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism.
This timely guide to radical protest provides the words, actions, and inspiration to ignite the power of individuals to passionately resist and productively plan our way to the change we wish to see.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Diane Leslie’s Book Group & Edan Lepucki at Diesel Bookstore
Please join us for a discussion with author Edan Lepucki, who will discuss and sign her book, Woman No. 17, at Diane Leslie’s Book Group.
Darkly comic, twisty and tense, this mesmerizing novel defies expectation and proves the author is one of the most talented and exciting voices of her generation.
NOTE: Seating is limited and reservations are required for this event. There is a $20 fee, and you must purchase your copy of the book from Diesel.
Where: Diesel Bookstore, lower outdoor courtyard
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 5 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Kiese Laymon & Heavy: An American Memoir at Eso Won Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Kiese Laymon present and read from his latest book, Heavy: An American Memoir.
This fearless writer invites us to consider the consequences of growing up in a nation wholly obsessed with progress, yet wholly disinterested in the messy work of reckoning with where we’ve been. The author writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. By attempting to name secrets and lies he and his mother spent a lifetime avoiding, he asks if few actually know how to responsibly love, and even fewer want to live under the weight of becoming free.
Where: Eso Won Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 4327 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://www.esowonbookstore.com/event/kiese-laymon-booksigning
Robert K. Elder & The Mixtape of My Life at Book Soup
Join us to hear Robert K. Elder discuss and sign his book, The Mixtape of My Life: A Do-It-Yourself Music Memoir. This book provides more than 200 questions and prompts to help readers chronicle their lives through music and explore their personal soundtrack.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Hope Ewing & Movers and Shakers at Vroman’s Bookstore
We are happy to welcome author Hope Ewing to discuss her book, Movers and Shakers: The Women Making Waves in Spirits, Beer & Wine. This is a look at how women broke barriers and forged careers in a challenging industry.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/hope-ewing-discusses-and-signs-movers-shakers
Joe Ide & Wrecked: A Novel at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Join us to welcome mystery author Joe Ide, and hear him discuss his new book in the IQ series, Wrecked: An IQ Novel.
Isaiah Quintabe–IQ for short– has never been more successful or felt more alone. A series of high profile wins in his hometown of East Long Beach has made him notorious and well recognized, and now his partner Dodson is hell bent on promoting their PI business. When a new client and confidant turn out to be connected to a dangerous paramilitary operation, IQ falls victim to a threat even a genius can’t see coming.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/joe-ide
Some Favorite Writers: Emily Wilson at the Hammer
Please join us for our Some Favorite Writers series, to hear renowned classics scholar Emily Wilson bring a fresh perspective to Homer’s masterpiece, The Odyssey, in her stunning new translation which conveys the humanity and heroic power of the original Greek.
Readings are followed by a discussion with author and UCLA professor Mona Simpson, who organizes this series.
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2018/10/some-favorite-writers-emily-wilson/
Phoebe Robinson & Everything’s Trash at the Largo
Please join us to hear Phoebe Robinson, who will discuss her new book, Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay.
There will be two shows celebrating the release of her book, and the author will be in conversation with Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) during her early show at the Largo, and with Naomi Ekperigin (Broad City) during her late show at the Coronet.
NOTE: This is a ticket event, so see Skylight website for costs and details.
Where: Largo at the Coronet
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 336 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048
Suitcase of Chrysanthemums at Stories Books & Café
Celebrate the publication of poetry and fiction in great weather for MEDIA’s latest anthology, Suitcase of Chrysanthemums, and meet an indie press looking for new voices.
Featuring contributors and special guests: Daniel Dissinger, Tanya Ko Hong, Richard Loranger, Sophie Malleret, Yan Sham-Shackleton, Christian Georgescu, Doug Knott, and Daniel Yaryan, plus editor Jane Ormerod.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Megan Willoughby & Open Mic at Redondo Poets Open Mic at Coffee Cartel
Please join us to hear Megan Willoughby present and read from her work at our weekly Redondo Poets Open Mic.
Where: Coffee Cartel
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 8 pm
Address: 1820 Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Website: http://www.facebook.com/RedondoPoets
Robyn McGee & Fierce Feminism at the Last Bookstore
Please join us to hear author and editor Robyn McGee present the story collection, #Fierce Feminism: Women in the 21st Century, An Interdisciplinary Approach. There will be readings by contributors: Cherise Charleswell (Misognoir), Dr. Kendra Flores DSW (Postpartum Wellness), Dr. Tamanika Ferguson (Women Behind Bars: Breaking the Silence), and much more.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Literature for Justice: Incarceration at Central Library, LAPL
Literature can transform the way we look at the world, deepening our understanding of even the most complex issues of today. Acclaimed author Rachel Kushner, author of The Flamethrowers and Telex from Cuba, will moderate a panel discussion, and Heather Ann Thompson will host a discussion of: Five Books that Will Change the Way We Think about Incarceration. Our panelists include:
James Kilgore (Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People’s Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time),
Avelet Waldman, Robin Levy and Theresa Martinez (Inside This Place, Not Of It: Narratives From Women’s Prisons),
Kalisha Buckhanon (Upstate: A Novel),
Antonio Baca (Jimmy Santiago Baca’s son, A Place to Stand).
Join us for the launch of this program!
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
CJ Chivers & The Fighters at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Join us to hear Pulitzer Prize winner CJ Chivers, in conversation with Jack Walker, discuss and sign his book, The Fighters: Americans in Combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. This book vividly conveys the physical and emotional experience of war as lived by six combatants who have served among those who have waged America’s longest wars.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/cj-chivers
Maura Milan & Ignite the Stars at Vroman’s Bookstore – YA Event
You are welcome to join us to hear author Maura Milan, in conversation with Romina Russell & Bree Barton, discuss and sign her book, Ignite the Stars.
In this YA novel, no one knows that notorious outlaw la Cocha is a seventeen-year-old girl. But when the Olympus Commonwealth captures her and learns her true identity, they hope to force her to serve them, to prove no one is beyond their control.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
PEN Los Angeles Book Club & The Sellout at The Edison
You are welcome to join PEN America’s October Book Club to discuss The Sellout by Paul Beatty. The evening will be hosted by novelist Chris L. Terry (Zero Fade).
This event is free to all, but requests an RSVP at the event website.
Where: The Edison
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 108 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Jeff Jackson, with Janet Fitch, & Destroy All Monsters at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Jeff Jackson, with author Janet Fitch, discuss his new novel, Destroy All Monsters: The Last Rock Novel.
In this story, an epidemic of violence is sweeping the country: musicians are being murdered onstage in the middle of their sets by members of their audience. This book is a haunted and romantic story of overdue endings and unlikely beginnings that will resonate with anybody who has ever loved rock and roll.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Rajiv Mohabir at Otis College Visiting Writers Series
Please join us for our Visiting Writers Series to hear Rajiv Mohabir, an Indo-Caribbean American author of two poetry collections, The Taxidermist’s Cut and Cowherd’s Son, and four chapbooks. He is the winner of the 2015 Kundiman Prize and a finalist for the 2017 Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry. He is currently on staff at Auburn University in Alabama.
Where: The Forum, Goldsmith Campus
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 9045 Lincoln Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: http://www.otis.edu/mfa-writing/visiting-writers-series
Vagabond Anthology at the World Stage Art & Performance Gallery
Please join us to hear Vagabond celebrate the launch of their new book, EXTREME, an anthology for social and environmental justice, featuring:
Michael C. Ford, Gloria Vando, Henry Howard, Martin Ott, Lee Thunders, Shakira Peterson, Victor Avila, Samir Delgardo, Rex Butters, Elizabeth Marino, Eric Vollmer, Alexander James, Chris Devcich, Charlie Becker, Don Kingfisher Campbell, Rolland Vasin, Jessica M. Wilson Cardenas, Terry Wolverton, Rondell E. Johnson, Carl “Calokie: Stilwell, Anika Paris, Julio Rodriguez, Antonieta Villamil, with host Mark Lipman.
$5 donations requested to the World Stage Performance Arts Gallery requested.
Where: The World Stage Art & Performance Gallery
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/2133411460264595/
History of Central Avenue at CAAM
From the 1920s to the 1950s, Central Avenue was the hub of West Coast jazz. “The Avenue” as it was lovingly called, was a must-visit destination for jazz lovers. Join us for a series of discussions about Central Avenue and its history and eventual decline, led by Robert Lee Johnson, author of Notable Californians in Black History.
Where: California African American Museum
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/1858098234225870/
Tammy Lynne Stoner & Sugar Land at Book Soup
Join us to hear author Tammy Lynne Stoner, in conversation with Jillian Lauren & Siel Ju, discuss her debut book, Sugar Land.
This book is a southern fried novel about love, Lead Belly, and liberation. It takes place in 1923 in Midland, Texas, and Miss Dara falls in love with her best friend—who also happens to be a girl.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Rebecca Brown at CalArts Writing Now Reading Series
Join us to hear Rebecca Brown discuss and sign her work at our Writing Now Reading Series. She is the author of ten books of prose, and her most recent book, Not Heaven, Somewhere Else, is just out from Tarpaulin Sky Press. She is a faculty member in the Plainfield, Vermont residency option of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College.
Where: CalArts
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355
Website: http://criticalstudies.calarts.edu/events/rebecca-brown
Sean Wilentz & No Property in Man at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Join us to hear Sean Wilentz, in conversation with Rebecca Brown, discuss and sign his book, No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding, which is a radical restructuring of the founders’ debate over slavery and the Constitution and upends orthodox views of it and describes it as a tortured paradox that abided slavery without legitimizing it.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/sean-wilentz
Nancy Boyarsky & Liar Liar at Vroman’s Bookstore
You are welcome to join us to hear author Nancy Boyarsky, who will discuss and sign her new book, Liar Liar: A Nicole Graves Mystery.
This story is about a young woman who sues her university’s star quarterback for rape when the authorities won’t act. After the investigator assigned to the case fails to do his job, and the key witness goes missing, Nicole is determined to find the killer on her own.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/nancy-boyarsky-discusses-and-signs-liar-liar
Judy Grahn, In Conversation at West Hollywood Library
Please join the Lesbian Speakers series to hear author Judy Grahn in conversation. She is the author of thirteen books, including The Common Woman Poems, and holds over 20 awards for her writing. She is also the namesake of The My Good Judy Foundation, which serves the community through literary, critical, educational, and live performance programs.
Admission and parking are free!
Where: West Hollywood Library
DATE: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.weho.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/19105/15
Book Presentation: Chicana Movidas at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Please join us to hear readings from the groundbreaking anthology, Chicano Movidas: New Narratives of Activism & Feminism in the Movement Era. This is the first collection of scholarly essays and testimonies that focuses on Chicana organizing, activism, and leadership in the early years of the movement.
Where: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
DATE: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 501 N. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/235950430596718/
Tim Burgess & California Son at Flintridge Bookstore
Please join us to celebrate the book launch for Book II in Tim Burgess’ Liam Sol Mystery Series, California Son.
On a foggy night in 1969, Julio Garza is run down by a hit-and-run driver, and his mother begins a daily vigil in front of the La Bolsa Police Department demanding justice for her son. When she too becomes a victim, found dead in her home, reporter Liam Sol believes the deaths are connected and seeks out the answers.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1010 Foothill Blvd., La Canada-Flintridge, CA 91o11
Pierre Alex Jeanty & HIM at the Last Bookstore
Join us to welcome author Pierre Alex Jeanty to discuss his book, HIM. The author has written eight books, and this one is a tribute to men, their undelivered feelings, unrecognized strength, their loud silence, and their neglected complaints.
NOTE: See details on reserving your seat and pre-purchasing the book at the store website.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Kwame Anthony Appiah & The Lies That Bind at ALOUD Reading Series
Please join us to hear author, professor, and New York Times Ethicist columnist Kwame Anthony Appiah, in conversation with Njideka Akunyili Crosby, to discuss his book, The Lies That Bind, which challenges our assumptions of identities—or rather mistaken identities. Questions of gender, religion, race, nationality, class, culture, and all our polarizing, contradictory natures permeate this exploration of who we are and who we think we are.
NOTE: This event is currently full, but check website for guidelines for standby attendance.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, LAPL
DATE: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 630 West 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://lfla.org/event/lfla.org/event/lies-bind-rethinking-identity/
Mandy Kahn & Lois P. Jones at Open Door Poetry Reading at Battery Books
Please join us for the Open Door Poetry Reading, with our featured guests:
Mandy Kahn is the author of two poetry collections, Glenn Gould’s Chair and Math, Heaven, Time. She is the co-author, with Aaron Rose, of the nonfiction book, Collage Culture.
Lois P. Jones has had her work widely published, and her first collection, Night Ladder, won Glass Lyre Press’s Editor’s Choice Award and was listed for the Julie Suk Award. She hosts KPFK’s Poets Café in Los Angeles, is the editor of Kyoto Journal, and co-hosts the long-running Moonday Poetry Series at the Flintridge Bookstore.
Where: Battery Books, Pasadena
DATE: Thursday the 25th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 28 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/2078303245832181/
L.A. Comic Con at Los Angeles Convention Center
Please join us for our 8th Annual Comic Con in L.A.! This pop culture event hosts over 700 diverse artists, comics, vendors and others, and includes panels, events, and many memorable experiences.
NOTE: See website for details and ticket information.
Where: Los Angeles Convention Center
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 1 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/223478491774122/
Reading by Iris Jamahl Dunkle at Bellflower 102
Please join us to hear the current Poet Laureate of Sonoma County, CA. Iris Jamahl Dunkle has published her third collection of poetry, Interrupted Geographies, which was featured as a Rumpus Poetry Book Club selection for July, 2017. She teaches at Napa Valley College and is Poetry Director of the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference.
Where: Bellflower 102
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
Address: 1777 North Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90815
Website: http://www.pw.org/literary_events/a_reading_by_iris_jamahl_dunkle_cwru_alum
Activities & A Long Pitch Home at Vroman’s Bookstore – Kids Event
Please join us as we decorate and create cricket bats, plus other activities inspired by the 2018 Young Readers League book, A Long Pitch Home, by Natalie Dias Lorenzi.
RSVP at website link to attend this event.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/young-readers-league-cricket-bats-more
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o & Wrestling with the Devil at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside
Please join us to meet and hear author and Distinguished Professor at UC Riverside, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, who will discuss and sign his new book, Wrestling with the Devil: A Prison Memoir. The author is known for several books and memoirs, and his books have been translated into more than 30 languages. He is the recipient of many honors and was forced into exile from Kenya after surviving the Mau Mau War of Independence. He has edited several literary journals and continues to speak around the world.
RSVP at website link to attend this event.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside, CA 92507
Website: http://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/ngũgĩ-wa-thiongo
Geoffrey Eugenides & the 25th Anniversary of The Virgin Suicides at Book Soup
Belletrist and The Paris Review invite you to join us to hear author Geoffrey Eugenides, in conversation with Emma Roberts & Karah Preiss, discussing and signing the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Virgin Suicides.
This book announced the arrival of a major new American novelist, and concerns the mystery of a family’s fatal melancholia. This is a hypnotic, unforgettable novel of adolescent love, disquiet, and death. The author creates an ideal of teenage life that never existed, and then he takes it all away. Later adapted into a critically acclaimed film by Sofia Coppola, it takes place over the course of a single year in the lives of the five Lisbon sisters.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid at the Last Bookstore – Kids Event
Please join us to hear author Dylan Thuras, and special guest moderator Michael Stevens, present The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid. Join us to learn more about obscure places around the world, Los Angeles’ hidden gems, and more.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
TDSB October Open Mic at the Fox Coffee House
Please join us for The Definitive Soap Box Open Mic to hear the poetic duo of Matt Sedillo and Irene Monica Sanchez, ready to bring down the house with Matt’s revolutionary and confrontational brand of humor, history and political theory, and Irene’s compelling experiences of growing up in between, yet rooted in the strength of knowing who she is and where she comes from.
Our musical feature, Leo Xia, is a singer-songwriter from Beijing currently studying at USC, and familiar to folks who frequent the open mic scene.
This event is hosted by Antonio PazOne Appling, and sign-ups start at 6:30 pm.
Where: Fox Coffee House
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 437 W. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90806
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/1151248075023237/
Authors & 131 Different Things at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear authors Nick Zinner, Zachary Lipez, and Stacy Wakefield present their book, 131 Different Things. In this book it begins to seem that 131 different things are keeping two lovers apart. Before the night is over Sam will have to wrestle with whether Vicki is really what he is looking for.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Brian Dunlap & Open Mic at Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Brian Dunlap, present and read from his debut chapbook, Concrete Paradise, and for our weekly Open Mic.
Brian Dunlap is a native Angeleño who still lives in Los Ángeles. He is the author of the chapbook Concrete River (Finishing Line, 2018). Dunlap is also the winner of the 2018 Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry Prize from december magazine judged by former Los Ángeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez. His poems and book reviews have been published in Angel City Review, CCM-Entropy, California Quarterly and Dryland, among others. He runs the blog site www.losangelesliterature.wordpress.com, a resource to explore L.A.’s vast literary culture.
Where: Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 13197 Gladstone Ave., Unit A, Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/711327132584691/
Friday Night Poetry: They’re Just Words at Book Show LA
Please join us to hear Luis Antonio Pichardo (DTSL Arts Director and educator) & Raul Macias Casas, feature at Friday Night Poetry: They’re Just Words.
There will be an Open Mic form 8 pm to 9 pm, and our featured poets will perform from 9 pm – 10 pm.
Where: Book Show LA
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 5503 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://facebook.com/events/2185250831747330/
Matthew Mars & Thee Holy Brothers at Beyond Baroque
Please join us to hear Thee Holy Brothers, in concert with Matthew Mars, a well- known poet and former lead singer of The Clear & Superman Loses the Girl. FREE.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Alivio Open Mic at Alivio Open Mic in Bell, CA Location
Please join us for the free monthly Alivio Open Mic and to hear our features: Jaden, Vida Montez & You Know Yara. There will be food and local vendors and epic poetry.
Where: Alivio Open Mic
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 6328 Orchard Ave., Bell, CA 90201
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/2322270441348365/
Story Time with Mr. Steve at Vroman’s Bookstore – Kids Event
Please join us for Story Time with Mr. Steve at our main store.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 10 am
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/story-time-mr-steve-236
Authors Day at the Fullerton Public Library
Join us to meet local authors, learn about writing and publishing, and obtain signed copies of our authors’ books. Twenty authors will be participating in this event.
Panel#1: Authors: 11 am – 11:45 am:
John Blaydes will moderate these panelist/authors:
Lis Leyson (Boy on the Wooden Box)
Debra Holland (The Montana Sky Series)
Ron Baesler (God’s Rejected King: A Story of Saul)
Jeanette Reese (It Wasn’t Supposed to End This Way)
Panel #2: Poetry for Pleasure: 1 pm -2 pm:
Veronica Michalowski (Body Landscapes)
Fritz Von Coelln (Catharsis, Coming to Grips with Grief)
Natalie Graham. Associate Professor, CSUF, (Begin with a Failed Body)
Panel #3; Fiction vs. Memoir: 1 pm – 2 pm:
John Fox (fiction): I Will Shout Your Name
Florine Miller (fiction): The Quilter’s Flu
Ron Baesler (fiction & memoir): God’s Rejected King and The Good, The Bad and the Holy
Jeanette Reese (memoir): It Wasn’t Supposed to End This Way.
Panel #4: Children’s Books: Writing & the Challenges of Illustration: 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm:
Rayleen Williams (Red Finds His Way: a Trilobite Tale)
Shirley Jordan (Benjamin Brown and the Great Steamboat Race)
Fritz Von Coelln (Charlie’s Challenge, a “True” Story About Polar Bears)
Curt Abdouch (BIG M: The Mammouth of Moorpark)
Craig Smith, author of Two Tales, and publisher of Dockside Sailing Press.
Writers Workshop: Crafting Chapter Endings: 3 pm – 5 pm:
Workshop Leader: John Matthew Fox, MFA, MA, author and editor.
Where: Fullerton Public Library
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 11 am – 5 pm
Address: 353 Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832
Website: https://fritzvoncoelln,net/2018/10/09/authors-day-fullerton-library-october-27/
30th Anniversary Celebration of the Santa Monica Review & Reading at the Montana Branch of Santa Monica Library
Join the editor and founder of one of the West Coast’s leading literary journals for an afternoon of short readings by three of its most beloved frequent contributors: Rhoda Huffey (The Hallelujah Slide), Brian Ingram (short story writer), and editor Lisa Alvarez.
Published twice yearly, SMR is a project of Santa Monica College and is distributed nationally.
Space is limited, so please arrive early.
Where: Montana Branch Library, SMPL
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: 1704 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403
Website: http://calendar.smgov.net/library/eventsignup.asp?ID=28032
Poetry Slam with Hope Anita Smith at Children’s Book World – Kids Event
Our sixth Poetry Slam is a celebration of the spoken word for young poets, ages 7-14, in pursuit of a just society that protects basic human rights for all people. Let your voice sing and your words fly. Each poet will receive three minutes to create or rap a poem or lyric they’ve written, and we will select one poet from each age group to receive a $25 CBW gift card. All other poets will receive a $5 gift card.
See website for details.
This event is for children, ages 7-14. Sign up in advance to perform.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 10580 ½ West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: http://www.childrensbookworld.com/author-events/
Print & Internet Publishing Workshops at Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library
Please join us for Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library for Print & Internet Publishing Workshops led by Elya Braden & Angel Garcia.
Where: Santa Catalina Library, Pasadena
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 999 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Danielle Krysa & A Big Important Art Book at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Danielle Krysa present and discuss her new book, A Big Important Art Book: Profiles of Unstoppable Female Artist—And Projects to Help You Become One.
Join us to celebrate 45 women artists, and gain inspiration for your own practice, from the founder of The Jealous Curator.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/danielle-krysa-discusses-her-art-book-big-important-art-book
5th Annual KATIPUNAN Poetry Slam at Filipino Cultural Center
Please join us as Sunday Jump and Say the Word L.A. host the 5th Annual Katipunan Poetry Slam.
The lineup includes published authors and seasoned slam champions who are recognized both locally and nationally:
Joe Limer – is a poet activist and professor of political science at Palomar College.
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Jade Phoenix – is a fierce story and truth teller, a vulnerable yet dynamic performance poet and actress, an informative and engaging cultural producer of film and media, and activist that uses her platform and art to shift and change the conversations and dialogue, specifically for trans women/femme and gender non conforming people of color in the arts, academia, and film.
Caroline Calderon
Soul Stuf
Nicole Arca
Samantha Magat aka Sav
Jensen Reyes
Janelle Paule
Patrice Mead
and more!
NOTE: See website for Eventbrite link for this event, and further details.
Where: Filipino Cultural Center
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 1740 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/272436603403762/
Angel Garcia & Teeth Never Sleep Launch at Civic Center Studios
Join us for the official book launch of Teeth Never Sleep, winner of the 2018 Canto Mundo Prize, by Angel Garcia. Through the author’s lens, men frequently appear as beasts—as hybrid beings both tender and brutal. In a culture of weaponized masculinity, these poems make a doorway of a wound, inviting readers to walk through and sit down inside the raw pain they harbor to meditate on two central, urgent questions: what it means to be a man and how, as a man, to love.
Guest readers will include: Leticia Hernandez (Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl), F. Douglas Brown (Icon), Joseph Rios (Shadowland), and Sara Borjas (Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff, forthcoming in 2019).
Copies of Teeth Never Sleep will be available, signed and sold. Full bar and music will be available throughout the night.
Where: Civic Center Studios
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 207 S. Broadway, Ste. 1, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/919589181561498/
What Books Press at Beyond Baroque
What Books Press, an L.A. based literary publisher, presents Los Angeles poets:
Bill Mohr, author of HOLD-OUTS: The Los Angeles Poetry Renaissance 1948-1992; and
Paul Lieber, author of CHEMICAL TENDENCIES, who will be reading from their new books:
Headwaters of Nirvana and Interrupted by the Sea, respectively.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Heather W. Ellis & Colors of the World: Adventures at Gatsby’s Bookstore – Kids/YA Event
Please join us to hear Heather W. Ellis present her book, Colors of the World: Adventures.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Nebraska Girl Open Reading at Beyond Baroque
Join us for our monthly open reading, hosted by Wyatt Underwood.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
La Palabra Reading Series at Avenue 50 Studio
Please join us for the La Palabra Reading Series and Open Mic, hosted by Angelina Saenz, and featuring:
Bridgette Bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. Her poetry serves as witness to moments most forget or ignore.
Angel Garcia is the 2018 Canto Mundo Poetry Prize winner, and the author of Teeth Never Sleep: Poems.
Sara Borjas is a poet, writer, and educator from Fresno, California, and her debut collection is forthcoming from Noemi Press in 2019.
Michael Reyes is a freelance writer and copyeditor, poet, and children’s picture book writer.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 151 N. Avenue 50, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://facebook.com/events/542179286222713/
Praise Song to Raspoet Ojenke at World Stage Art & Performance Gallery
Please join us for Praise Song to Raspoet OJENKE, celebrating over 50 years of cultural service, and hosted by The Still Waters Experience.
Come join us for an afternoon of music and poetry in honor of this great spirit, Raspoet Ojenke, an original member of the critically acclaimed Watts Writers Workshop, and a seminal figure in the Black poetry explosion of the 60s and 70s. Coined the “John Coltrane of Black Poetry” he views poetry as an oral art form written on the hearts of people.
NOTE: There is a $20 entry fee (but no one will be turned away).
Where: The World Stage Art & Performance Gallery
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm – 5 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/332450767514298/
Wade Bradford & There’s a Dinosaur on the 14th Floor at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Event
Please join us to hear author Wade Bradford present his new book, There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor.
Will Mr. Snore ever get some shut-eye at the busy Sharemore Hotel? Why is it so hard to find some peace and quiet? This is a laugh-out-loud tale with a thought-provoking final twist.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave, Montrose, CA 91020
Website: http://w.shoponceuponatime.com/event/theres-dinosaur-13th-floor-book-signing
Four SoCal Poets at Beyond Baroque
Please join us to celebrate new books from four poets, featuring:
Blas Falconer is the author of three poetry collections, and his newest is Forgive the Body this Failure.
Katie Ford is the author of If You Have to Go, and three previous poetry collections.
L.A. Johnson is the author of the chapbook, Little Climates.
Carly Joy Miller’s debut full-length, Ceremonial, won the 2017 Orison Poetry Prize judged by Carl Phillips.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Local Author Day at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us to celebrate our local authors:
Dusty Thompson will present and sign his book about inviting his redneck dad to become his roommate, Almost Odis: My Preppy Life with My Redneck Dad.
Josh Hickman will present and sign Five Slices of Fear: A Connoisseur’s Hoagie of Horror: A Comic Horror Novel in Five Parts.
Jess Ponce III will present and sign Everyday Celebrity: A Personal Guide from a Hollywood Media Coach.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Village Poets & Poetry in Tujunga at Bolton Hall
Please join Village Poets for our Sunday Reading Series, with featured poets: Gloriana Casey, ice skater, artist, teacher, rhymer poet and actress ; and Radomir Luza, author of 30 books and editor and publisher of the literary magazine Voices in the Library.
NOTE: Refreshments are served and $3 donations are collected.
Where: Bolton Hall Museum
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 10110 Commerce Ave., Tujunga, CA 91042
Website: http://villagepoets.blogspot.com/p/calendar-of-readings.html
Micah Perks, with Ben Loory, at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Micah Perks, in conversation with Ben Loory, present and discuss her book of stories, True Love and Other Dreams of Miraculous Escape.
Magical and funny, profound and seductive, these linked stories explore the life bending power of love. This book is by the award-winning author of What Becomes Us.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Fred D’Aguiar & Andre Naffis-Sahely at the Last Bookstore
Please join us to hear two authors, when Fred D’Aguiar reads from his latest book, Translations from Memory, and Andre Naffis-Sahely reads from his first book, The Promised Land: Poems from Itinerant Life.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Los Angeles Literature 