Workshop: Writing From Experience at 1888 Center for the Arts
Please join us for the Creative Writing Workshop: Writing From Experience, which will give participants tips on how to write novels loosely based on their own experience, and turn real life events into compelling fictional narratives.
Helene is an Orange County novelist and the author of Diary of a 99%-er, and its sequel Back in OC: Almost Homeless.
NOTE: This workshop costs $30, and tickets can be purchased at website.
Where: 1888 Center for the Arts
Date: Monday the 10th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 115 N. Orange St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: http://1888.center/calendar/workshop-writing-from-experience/
WeHo Reads Congo Stories at Book Soup
Join us at WeHo Reads to hear co-author John Pendergast present his book, Congo Stories: Battling Five Centuries of Exploitation and Greed, featuring the life story of Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the photographs of Ryan Gosling. Through photographs of Congolese daily life and narratives of the extraordinary history and evolving social movements that could change the course of Congo’s destiny, we find the compelling ways that the past is now transforming for the better in this country.
NOTE: This is a ticketed event, so see website for details.
Where: West Hollywood City Council Chambers
Date: Monday the 10th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Susan Jacques & The Ceasar of Paris at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to welcome author Susan Jacques who will present and discuss her book, The Ceasar of Paris: Napoleon Bonaparte, Rome, and the Artistic Obsession That Shaped and Empire. In this book she reveals how Napoleon’s dueling fascination and rivalry informed his effort to turn Paris into “the New Rome”—Europe’s cultural capital—through architectural and artistic commissions around the city.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 10th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www. vromansbookstore.com/event/susan-jaques-discusses-and-signs-caesar-paris
Workshop: Novel Beginnings at 1888 Center for the Arts
Please join us for the Creative Writing Workshop: Novel Beginnings, in which writers will learn how to entice the reader from the first page. Specifically, we’ll explore effective craft and storytelling techniques for hooking the reader from the very beginning of a novel. Students should bring the first pages of their novels for review.
Amy Meyerson teaches in the writing department at the University of Southern California, where she completed her graduate work in creative writing. Her first novel, The Bookshop of Yesterdays, is an international bestseller and will be translated into eight languages.
NOTE: This workshop costs $25, and tickets can be purchased at website.
Where: 1888 Center for the Arts
Date: Tuesday the 11th
Time: 5 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 115 N. Orange St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: http://1888.center/calendar/workshop-novel-beginnings/
Catherine Coan & Friends at the Annenberg Beach House
Join us for Writer-in-Residence Catherine Coan’s culminating event, featuring a reading from her new collection of poetry, accompanied by live painting from Bert Esenherz and music by Stephen Rowe and the Lonely Loners.
Please RSVP at website link for this free event.
Where: Annenberg Beach House
Date: Tuesday the 11th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://www.annenbergbeachhouse.com/activities/cultural-programs-events-and-tours.aspx
Simon Stalenhag & The Electric State at Book Soup – YA Event
Join us to hear Simon Stalenhag present his illustrated sci-fi story, The Electric State, perfect for fans of Ready Player One and Black Mirror. In late 1997, a runaway teenager and her small yellow toy robot travel west through a strange American landscape. As they approach the edge of the continent, the world outside the car window seems to unravel at an ever faster pace, as if the hollow core of civilization has finally caved in.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/simon-stålenhag-presents-and-signs-electric-state
Andrew Bernstein & The Mamba Mentality at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to welcome hall of fame photographer Andrew Bernstein who will present and discuss his book, Kobe Bryant: The Mamba Mentality. In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, Bryant has decided to share his vast knowledge and understanding of the game, and his accounts are paired with Bernstein’s stunning photographs for an unprecedented look at his career.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www. vromansbookstore.com/event/hall-fame-photographer-andrew-bernstein-presents-and-signs-mamba-mentality
Adult Book Club & Pachinko at Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Join us for our Adult Book Club, which meets on the second Tuesday of each month, when we read and discuss the book, Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. This is a fascinating fictional family saga set in Korea and the countries surrounding it, and has been a best seller for many months.
NOTE: this book club has been going strong for 40+ years at America’s Oldest Children’s Bookstore.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 11th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: http://w.shoponceuponatime.com/event/adult-book-group-pachinko-min-jin-lee
David Kipen & Dear Los Angeles at ALOUD Reading Series
Join us to hear David Kipen discuss and sign his book, Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018. This book is a rich mosaic of diary entries and letters from notable people, and the story of Los Angeles as told by locals, transplants, and some who are just passing through. It provides a vivid tapestry of insights, personal discoveries, and wry observations that together distill the essence of the city.
Join us for a staged reading of these first-person accounts—representing a range of voices as diverse as Los Angeles itself.
NOTE: See website link for stand-by attendance guidelines.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 11th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://lfla.org/event/dear-los-angeles-city-diaries-letters-1542-2018/
Workshop: Writer’s Circle at 1888 Center for the Arts
Please join us for the Creative Writing Workshop: Writer’s Circle. Do you want someone to read your work and give you some feedback? Abbie Lenzie will lead an intimate writer’s circle for group discussion and feedback on each other’s writing. For an additional fee you may submit up to 50 pages of your work in advance, and you’ll go home with detailed feedback from the instructor.
Abbie Lenzie is a writer from Huntsville, Alabama and author of the award-winning novella, IN THE DESERT.
NOTE: This workshop costs $20 – $50 and tickets can be purchased at website.
Where: 1888 Center for the Arts
Date: Wednesday the 12th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 115 N. Orange St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: http://1888.center/calendar/workshop-writers-circle/
Jo Scott-Coe & Jaunita Mantz & Poetrie Presents Reading Series at Garcia Center for the Arts
Join us as Poetrie Presents: A Reading Series hosts Sin Filtro: Workshops, Readings & Conversations, as this month we welcome author and RCC professor Jo Scott-Coe (Mass) and writer Juanita Mantz.
After their readings there will be a conversation with the writers, and a book signing afterwards. Light refreshments will be provided.
Where: The Garcia Center for the Arts
Date: Wednesday the 12th
Time: 6 pm- 9 pm:
Writing Workshop with Jo Scott-Coe, 6 pm – 7 pm;
Reading & Conversation with Jo Scott-Coe & Juanita Mantz,
7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 536 W. 11th St., San Bernardino, CA 92410
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/298873320744578/
Gil Garcetti & Larry Livingston & Protea at Book Soup
Join us as former Los Angeles District Attorney and current father of the mayor, author and photographer Gil Garcetti and author Larry Livingston discuss and sign Protea: The Magic and the Mystery, in which their dramatic images and prose reveal the unique personality of each bloom.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Jeff Kurtti & From All of Us to All of You at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Jeff Kurtti discuss and sign his book, From All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas Card. for nearly nine decades, Disney artists have created annual Seasonal art for greeting cards, ads, and in support of motion picture releases, TV programs, and the parks. This book contains a center gatefold cover opening, and a dozen removable holiday cards, and showcases both rare and original Disney art and treasures.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/jeff-kurtti-presents-and-signs-all-us-all-you
Jen Sincero & From You Are a Badass Every Day at Pages Bookstore
Author Jen Sincero will discuss and sign her book, You Are a Badass Every Day. Although the talk portion of the event is SOLD OUT, tickets are available for the meet-and-greet that takes place after the reading. See store website for details.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/meet-jen-sincero
History of Central Avenue at CAAM
Join us to hear the third and final conversation about Central Avenue and its history and eventual decline. Central Avenue was a downtown gathering place for Los Angeles’ black residents, and sessions two and three look at the jazz scene and how Central Avenue was pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement. Presented in partnership with CAAM’s History Council and led by Robert Lee Johnson, author of Notable Southern Californians in Black History.
Where: CAAM
Date: Thursday the 13th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 600 State Dr., Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Website: http://www.caamuseum.org/programs/talks-and-workshops
Armine Iknadossian & All That Wasted Fruit at Abril Books
Join us as Abril Books welcomes author Armine Iknadossian, author of All That Wasted Fruit, for a special poetry reading, refreshments, book signing, and special guests TBA.
Street parking is available for this free event.
Where: Abril Books
Date: Thursday the 13th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 415 E. Broadway, Suite 102, Glendale, CA 91205
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/2021611264593970/
Pat Thomas & Ron Schneider at Beyond Baroque
Join us to hear Pat Thomas interview Ron Schneider, manager of the infamous 1969 Rolling Stones tour and talk about his new book, Out of Our Heads: Rolling Stones, Beatles and Me.
Special guest Danny Benair, who was also at Altamont as a teenager, will also join us.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Thursday the 13th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Writ Large Press at 10: Mixtape Release at The Grand Star Jazz Club
Come join us for a night of music, literature, dancing, and pick up a copy of limited edition (100 copies) of our mixtape, which includes our amazing artists:
Scott Woods (Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods)
Melora Walters (Sugar Mountain)
Traci Akemi Kato-kiriyama (Tuesday Nights Reading Series)
Mike Sonksen (I’m Still Alive in Los Angeles forthcoming and Poetics of Location)
Soham Patel (and nevermind the storm and Riva: A Chapter)
Douglas Brown (ICON and Zero to Three)
Teka Lark (The Queen of Inglewood)
Chiwan Choi (The Yellow House, Abductions, The Flood)
Khadija Anderson (Poets & Allies for Resistance reading events)
Wendy C. Ortiz (Excavation, Bruja, Hollywood Notebook)
Rachel McLeod Kaminer (Attendance, with Rocio Carlos)
Hugo F Dos Santos (Then, there forthcoming, A Child in Ruins)
Andrew Choate (Learning and Language Makes Plastic the Body)
Ernest Hardy (Love Thy Nature and Sold)
Where: The Grand Star Jazz Club
Date: Thursday the 13th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 943 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/568673293563798/
Memory Lab Archivist Workshop at Central Library, LAPL
To many people, archiving is a mystery. This workshop will cover the basic, Library of Congress-approved methods for organizing and preserving your personal records, family keepsakes, and personal materials. Space is limited. Register by emailing site at website link.
Where: Carson Center for New Technologies, Central Library, LAPL
Date: Friday the 14th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/memory-lab-think-archivist
Donika Kelly & J. Jennifer Espinoza Poetry Reading at the Last Bookstore
Please join us for the Otherwise reading series, The Other Side of Sadness, and a night of poetry and conversation with Donika Kelly and J. Jennifer Espinoza. Our discussion will be moderated by F. Douglas Brown (ICON)
Donika Kelly’s fierce debut collection, Bestiary, was longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award and winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and it questions what makes us human, what makes us whole.
Jennifer Espinoza’s debut, There Should Be Flowers, is a searing interrogation of the world and the self at once, and how we trespass ourselves seeking safer spaces. This book “…simply needs to be read,” states Ocean Vuong, author of Night Sky with Exit Wounds.
NOTE: See website link to RSVP and pre-purchase their books.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Friday the 14th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Book Club Reads The Year of Magical Thinking at Side Show Books
Please join us for our December Book Club selection and discussion of The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion. Meet new friends and share your thoughts about this fascinating book.
Participants are encouraged to bring snacks. Beverages will be available.
Where: Side Show Books
Date: Friday the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 1639 La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
Website: http://sideshowbooks.com/#events
The Very Difficult to Name Holiday Spectacular at Stories Books & Café
Join us for our Very Difficult to Name Holiday Spectacular, hosted by Ryan Sartor, and featuring readings and performances by:
Hallie Bateman is the author of What to Do When I’m Gone: A Mother’s Wisdom and Bad Drawings by Bad Women.
Aubrey Bellamy is an actress and the author of Hipster Holocaust.
Katrina Davis is the author of Her View From Home.
Crissy Milazzo is an independent copywriter and a writer for Teen Vogue, among others.
Aatif Rashid is the author of Portrait of Sebastian Kahn: A Novel.
Edward Voccola is a writer for the show The Last Man on Earth.
Plus we will hear a conversation with Vivian Bang, and songs by Chris Crofton.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Friday the 14th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1716 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.storiesla.com/?q=h.calevents
Brendan Constantine Poetry Workshop at Camera Obscura
Please join us for a Poetry Writing Workshop with poet and author Brendan Constantine on the theme of “Repeat After Me,” where we ask: Are you writing the same poem over and over, and feel you need to break out of a rut?
NOTE: This workshop has a cost of $30, and you can see details at website.
Where: Camera Obscura
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Address: 26oo Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library
Please join us to hear our featured readers and for an Open Reading:
Michelle Bitting’s latest collection, Broken Kingdom, won the Catamar Poetry Prize in 2018, and her third collection, The Couple Who Fell to Earth was named to Kirkus Reviews’ best Books of 2016.
Alexis Rhone Fancher is a poet and photographer and the author of Enter Here: poems, among many others.
Ellaraine Lockie is the author of four chapbooks, three nonfiction books, also teaches school and poetry workshops, and has eleven Pushcart nominations.
Where: Santa Catalina Library, Pasadena
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 999 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Sunset Poetry Hike with Sierra Club at Griffith Park
Please join the Sierra Club Central Group for a Sunset Poetry Hike at Griffith Park. Climb to the top of Mt. Hollywood, enjoy poems, watch the sun set, then we’ll come down a different way, past the Observatory. Organizers are Rick Farber & Will McWhinney.
Hike at your own pace, about 3 miles and 800 feet of gain.
Meet at the Vermont/Sunset Metro Station, where we’ll board the Observatory DASH.
Newcomers are welcome. Poetry provided, or you can bring your own.
Bring water, hat, snack/dinner, comfortable hiking boots or trail shoes and a warm jacket. A flashlight or headlamp, and a hiking stick or trekking poles, are optional.
In case of rain, we’ll visit the Observatory instead.
Level: Moderate
Where: Griffith Park
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 3:10 pm
Address: Vermont/Sunset Station, METRO, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Coiled Serpent Reading at 8th Annual Winterlandia, Pacoima Youth Center
Please join poets from the Coiled Serpent anthology, published by Tia Chucha Press, who will be giving a reading during our annual Winterlandia holiday event.
Where: Pacoima Community Youth Culture Center
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4 pm
Address: 11243 Glenoaks Blvd., Pacoima, CA 91331
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/662346700827060/
Marci Vogel & Janet Fitch at Beyond Baroque
Join us for a reading in celebration of Marci Vogel’s new book, Death and Other Holidays, winner of the inaugural Miami Book Fair/de Groot Prize. She is also the author of At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody.
Appearing with her will be Janet Fitch, author of the novels White Oleander, Paint It Black, and now The Revolution of Marina M. Janet Fitch’s very first reading was at Beyond Baroque.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Workshop: So You Want to be a Published Author at 1888 Center for the Arts
Please join us for the Creative Writing Workshop: So You Want to Be a Published Writer. Using his recent journey, Brian Fitzpatrick will discuss the pros and cons of being an indie author in today’s world, and discuss writing process, publishing paths, and marketing methods.
Brian Fitzpatrick has been writing since a young age, but didn’t get serious until lured into screenwriting. With his latest project, sci-fi thriller, Mechcraft, he returns to fiction and looks forward to writing the entire trilogy and accompanying story lines.
NOTE: This workshop costs $5 and tickets can be purchased at website.
Where: 1888 Center for the Arts
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 115 N. Orange St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: http://1888.center/calendar/workshop-o-you-want-to-be-a-published-author/
The Typewriter Underground at Beyond Baroque
Join us as poet Marc Zegans reads from The Typewriter Underground, offering a literary performance that plunges the audience into a circle of renegades who have abandoned the Internet for the thrilling physicality and sensual allure of hot type. He is the author of La Commdia Sotterena de Macchine da Scrivera (forthcoming in 2019) from Pelekenesis.
He will be joined by poet and novelist Kareem Tayyar, founding director of World Parade Books. He is the author of The Prince of Orange County (forthcoming in 2019) from Pelekinesis.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 15th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Sandra Evers-Manly & Raised Up by Mrs. Manly & Her L’s at Crenshaw Plaza
Please join us for an author discussion and book signing of Raised up by Mrs. Manly and Her Ls, by author Sandra Evers-Manly, and illustrated by Wendell Wiggins.
This inspirational book makes a wonderful gift, and all proceeds will benefit MAAA. Please RSVP at website link.
Where: Museum of African American Art, Macy’s 3rd Floor
Date: Sunday the 16th
Time: 2 pm – 5 pm
Address: 4005 Crenshaw Blvd., 3rd Floor Macy’s, Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://maaala.org/
Amnesty International Reading Group & From a Low and Quiet Sea at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us when the Amnesty International Reading Group reads and discusses the book, From a Low and Quiet Sea, by Ryan Donal.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 16th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/amnesty-international-reading-group-2
Los Angeles Literature 