Fran Wilde & Rachel Hartman at Children’s Book World – Kids & Teen Event
Meet the authors! Full of adventure and heart, Fran Wilde’s book, Riverland (ages 10-14), is a story about the bond between two sisters and how they must make their own magic to protect each other and save the ones they love. In Tess of the Road (ages 13+) Rachel Hartman returns to the spellbinding world of the Southlands she created in her bestselling Seraphina and explores self-reliance and redemption in this wholly original fantasy.
In late September, 1957, Henry and Effie, very young newlyweds from Georgia, arrive in Cape May, New Jersey for their honeymoon only to find the town is deserted. Then they meet a glamorous set of people who sweep them up into their drama. The empty beach town becomes their playground, and the couple slips from innocence into betrayal, with irrevocable consequences. Erotic and moving, this novel is about marriage, love and sexuality, and the lifelong repercussions they reap.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90064
Website: https://www.childrensbookworld.com/author-events/
Lee McIntyre & The Scientific Attitude at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to welcome author Lee McIntyre to present and his new book, The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience.
Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn’t settled science, that evolution is “only a theory,” and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines form the public are staples of some politicians’ rhetorical repertoire. Defenders of science often point to its discoveries (penicillin! relativity!) without explaining why their claims are superior. In this book the author argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is the “scientific attitude”—caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, California 91101
Christopher Castellani & Leading Men at Book Soup
Join us to hear author Christopher Castellani discuss and sign his book, Leading Men: A Novel.
This novel explores what keeps two people together and what keeps them apart. How can we save someone else if we can’t save ourselves? It tells the story of a glittering party thrown by Truman Capote in 1953 Portofino, Italy, where Tennessee Williams and his longtime lover Frank Merlo meet Anja Blomgren, a mysterious Swedish beauty and aspiring actress. Their encounter will go on to alter all their lives.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/christopher-castellani-discusses-and-signs-leading-men
Abba Gony Mustafa & iVillager at the Last Bookstore
Join us to meet author Abba Gony Mustafa, who will read and discuss his book, iVillager: My Lifetime Journey from Kokoland to America. The author shares the purposeful thirty year journey of a Kokolander to the land of America, discovering enlightenment about the world.
The author is a lecturer of urban planning at the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, and a prolific author and writer, with more than thirty years of experience in a career spanning finance, banking, development, and academia.
NOTE: All of the bookstore’s book clubs and programs are ticketed events, so see website for details.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Celebrating Women of the L.A. Print World at LACMA
Join us to hear the Prints and Drawings Council present the ninth installment of L.A, Print, a program that explores current trends in printmaking and print publishing in Los Angeles. Leslie Jones, Curator of Prints and Drawings, will moderate a discussion with women artists, publishers, and dealers of the L.A. print world. Panelists include: longtime print dealer Tobey C. Moss, artist and former president of the L.A. Printmaking Society Mary Sherwood Brock, Suzanne Felsen and Ayn Grinstein from Gemini G.E.L. and artist and Professor Emeritus in Printmaking at CSU Long Beach Roxanne Sexauer.
NOTE: This is a free, but ticketed event, so check website for details.
Where: Brown Auditorium, LACMA
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: http://www.lacma.org/event/la-print-edition-9-celebrating-women-la-print-world
Mieke Eerkens & All Ships Follow Me at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Mieke Eerkens discuss and sign her book, All Ships Follow Me: A Family Memoir of War Across Three Continents.
In March 1942, Mieke Eerkens’ father was a ten-year-old boy living in the Dutch East Indies. When the Japanese invaded the island he, his family, and one hundred thousand other Dutch civilians were interned in a concentration camp and forced into hard labor for three years. after the Japanese surrendered, her father and family were set free in a country that plunges immediately into civil war. Across the globe, in the Netherlands, police carried a crying five-year-old girl out of her home at war’s end, abandoned and ostracized as a daughter of Nazi sympathizers. This was Mieke’s mother. She would be left on the street in front of her sealed home as her parents were taken and imprisoned in the same camps where the Jews had recently been held.
Years later, her parents met, married, moved to California, and had children. The effects of the war would continue to be felt in their daily lives. This is a saga that spans generations.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
David Diamond & David Weissman & Bulletproof at Book Soup
Join us to hear authors David Diamond & David Weissman discuss and sign, Bulletproof: Writing Scripts that Don’t Get Shot Down..
The authors have been writing movies and mentoring filmmakers for decades. In this practical guide they take writers by the hand and take them through the logistics and tools of writing a successful screenplay. This book will be a must-read of the genre.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tuesday Night Project & Open Mic at Tuesday Night Café
Join us to hear the New(ish) Family Show at Tuesday Night Café, hosted by Sean Miura, with Beats by Fly Jay, featuring:
The Barkada Boys
Azeem M. Khan & Varuna Gunasekera
Laura R, Wu
paru // Frances Leanne Carino Herrera-Lim
Miss Shu Mai and Blasia Discoteca
Where: Tuesday Night Café
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 120 Judge John Aliso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/318926962133178/
True Crime Tuesdays & The Crime of the Century at The Last Bookstore
Please join us for True Crime Tuesdays, hosted by James T. Bartlett, a book club exploration of our dark side.
This month’s book selection is The Crime of the Century: Richard Speck and the Murders That Shocked A Nation, by William Marin and Dennis Breo.
NOTE: All book clubs at his store are ticketed events, so check the website for details.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Redondo Poets Open Mic at Coffee Cartel
Please join the Redondo Poets to welcome this week’s feature, Kim Young, and participate in the weekly Open Mic. Redondo Poets is recommended by Mike “The Poet” Sonksen, and has been a mainstay of the Los Angeles Poetry scene for 20 years.
Where: Coffee Cartel
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1820 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Website: http://www.facebook.com/RedondoPoets
Soapbox Sessions Open Mic at Maui Sugar Saloon
Soapbox Nation’s adventure began in 2006 when founder, Jason Brain, started an open mic at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Encino, CA. This event for musicians, poets, and comedians began slowly building a word-of-mouth following and really hit its stride in 2008. Now Soapbox is at a different location, but still in the Valley.
Where: Maui Sugar Saloon
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 8 pm – 12 pm
Address: 18389 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356
Website: http://www.facebook.com/SoapboxOpenMic/
Da Poetry Lounge-Slam!
About: A poetry slam is a competition at which poets perform their own original work, and are then judged on a numeric scale by previously selected members of the audience. In a standard slam, there are five judges. Before the competition begins, the host will often bring up a sacrificial poet. A sacrificial poet is not competing in the slam, but is scored by the judges in order for them to calibrate their judging. After each competing poet performs, judges award a score to that poem. Scores generally range between zero and ten. The highest and lowest score are dropped, giving each performance a rating between zero and thirty points. A single round at a slam consists of performances by all eligible poets. Most slams last multiple rounds, and many involve the elimination of lower-scoring poets in successive rounds. A standard elimination rubric might run 8-4-2, with eight poets in the first round, four in the second, and two in the last. Some slams do not eliminate poets at all. Additionally, most slams enforce a time limit of three minutes (and a grace period of ten seconds), after which a poet’s score will be docked according to how long the poem exceeded the time limit.
Where: The Greenway Court Theater
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 9 pm – 12 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: http://dapoetrylounge.com/visiting-dpl/slam/
Wendall Thomas & Drowned Under at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Wendall Thomas, in conversation with Tim Hallinan, present his book, Drowned Under: A Cyd Redondo Mystery.
This is a tale of travel agent Cyd Redondo, who is not looking forward to the holidays, eggnog notwithstanding. The borough of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn—along with most of her family—holds her responsible for landing her Uncle Ray in a minimum security prison. So, when her ex-husband, Barry Manzoni, announces his parents have disappeared form an Australian cruise, she rushes Down Under to help. Then things get complicated…
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/wendall-thomas
Chip Cheek & Cape May at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Chip Cheek discuss and sign his book, Cape May: A Novel.
In late September 1957, Henry and Effie, very young newlyweds form Georgia, arrive in Cape May, New Jersey for their honeymoon and find the town is deserted. Before they leave they meet a glamorous set of people who sweep them up into their drama, and the new couple slip from innocence into betrayal, with irrevocable consequences. Erotic and moving, this is a novel about marriage, love and sexuality, and the lifelong repercussions that a group of debauched cosmopolitans has had on a new marriage.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/chip-cheek-discusses-and-signs-cape-may
Ben Mezrich & Bitcoin Billionaries at Book Soup
Join us to hear and meet author Ben Mezrich read and discuss his book, Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption. This book is the definitive one about Facebook’s founding and the basis for the film The Social Network. This is the story of two iconic characters, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, identical twins, Olympic rowers, and foils to Mark Zuckerberg. This is the story of the brothers’ redemption and revenge in the wake of their epic legal battle with Facebook.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Anansi Writers Workshop & Open Mic at the World Stage
The Anansi Writers Workshop was founded in 1990 by Kamau Daáood, Akilah Oliver, Nafis Nabawi and Anthony Lyons. In 1993, Michael Datcher initiated the development of a three-part format for the workshop. Their tradition of a community workshop began in the late 1960s at the Watts Writers’ Workshop, where World Stage co-founder Kamau Daáood started his writing career. The Anansi Writers Workshop is coordinated by V. Kali and Conney Williams.
Tonight, Anansi Writers Workshop will feature Food4Thought, as this Master of his OWN DESTINY, this DEEPLY LIFE-AFFORMING BALANCE in human form, fashioned of Spirit, Freedom, and Love of the Divine, returns to The World Stage.
Where: The World Stage
Date: Wednesday the 22nd
Time: 7:30 pm –10 pm; Reading at 8:30– 9:30 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://theworldstage.org/
Cory Doctorow & Book to Action Event at Exposition Park – Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library, LAPL — YA and Adult Event
Join us to hear and meet author Cory Doctorow, award winning YA author, famed internet Activist, and co-founder of Boing Boing.
Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, journalist, and blogger—the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults, a YA graphic novel called IN REAL LIFE, the nonfiction business book INFORMATION DOESN’T WANT TO BE FREE, and young adult novels like HOMELAND, IRATE CINEMA and LITTLE BROTHER and novels for adults like RAPTU RE OF THE NERDS, and MAKERS.
He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate and is a visiting professor, and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group.
Where: Exposition Park – Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-action-cory-doctorow
Cati Porter Book Launch & The Body at a Loss at ArtSpace at Studio 3, Riverside
Join us to hear and meet author Cati Porter, who will read and discuss her book of poetry, The Body at a Loss, hosted by Inlandia Institute. This book explores the weird world of barium swallow tests, MRIs, mothering, marriage, and post-anesthesia migraines. When her mother began chemo in 2012, Cati became her mother’s patient advocate, shepherding her through an “inconvenient year.” Then, during her mother’s recovery, Cati receives her own diagnosis, quickly transforming from advocate into patient.
Cati Porter is a poet, editor, essayist, arts administrator, and author of eight books and chapbooks. She also is the executive director of Inlandia Institute. Donations will be made to the Pink Ribbon Place, a local nonprofit dedicated to helping cancer patients and their families.
Where: ArtSpace at Studio 3, Riverside
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 3485 University Ave., Studio 3, Riverside, CA 92501
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/2296183164003388
Mieke Eerkens & All Ships Follow Me at Diesel Bookstore
Join us to hear author Mieke Eerkens discuss and sign her book, All Ships Follow Me: A Family Memoir of War Across Three Continents.
In March 1942, Mieke Eerkens’ father was a ten-year-old boy living in the Dutch East Indies. When the Japanese invaded the island he, his family, and one hundred thousand other Dutch civilians were interned in a concentration camp and forced into hard labor for three years. after the Japanese surrendered, her father and family were set free in a country that plunges immediately into civil war. Across the globe, in the Netherlands, police carried a crying five-year-old girl out of her home at war’s end, abandoned and ostracized as a daughter of Nazi sympathizers. This was Mieke’s mother. She would be left on the street in front of her sealed home as her parents were taken and imprisoned in the same camps where the Jews had recently been held.
Years later, her parents met, married, moved to California, and had children. The effects of the war would continue to be felt in their daily lives. This is a saga that spans generations.
Where: Diesel Bookstore, lower outdoor courtyard
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://www.thursday-may-23rd-630-pm-mieke-eerkens-discusses-and-signs-all-ships-follow-me
Launch Party & This Is Long Beach by Leadership Long Beach at Elinor
Join us to celebrate the launch of This Is Long Beach, an informative and entertaining community program that celebrates Long Beach culture and inspires residents to be more conscientious, actively engaged, and inclusive members of the city.
NOTE: This is a ticketed event, but it is also free. See website for further details.
Where: Elinor
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 250 N. Tribune Ct., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/launch-party-for-this-is-long-beach-tickets-60507060246
Beth Caldwell & Deported Americans at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Beth Caldwell, in conversation with Ingrid Eagly, present and discuss her book, Deported Americans: Life After Deportation to Mexico.
In Deported Americans legal scholar and former public defender Beth Caldwell tells the stories of dozens of so-called “dreamers” who are among the hundreds of thousands who have been deported to Mexico in recent years. Many of them had lawful status, held green cards, or served in the U.S. military. Now they have been banished, many with no hope of lawfully returning. The author challenges traditional notions of what it means to be an American and recommends legislative and judicial reforms to mitigate the injustices suffered by millions of U. S. citizens affected by deportation.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/beth-caldwell
Poets Jazz House
A Spoken Word and Music Lounge where spilling your heart is art and searching your soul is mandatory to get in the door. They are a beatnik Tea House where there’s snapping instead of clapping. The atmosphere is lax but it Sssizzles. They invite you to come touch, be touched, hear the answer and heed the call. We’re just a cozy little house where everyone feels at home.
Where: Irie Vibes Art Space
Date: Thursday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 6563 Normandie Ave., Los Angeles, CA 9o044
Rita O’Connor & Your Wow Years at Pages Bookstore
Join us as we welcome local author Rita O’Connor, who will present and sign her book, The Wow Years: Supercharge the Second Half of Life.
Science has proven that people are actually happier in their 50s and beyond, but it just doesn’t happen by default. This book will help you create a more passionate, fulfilling life using empowerment tools and action steps that launch your most awesome year.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesbookstore.coom/event/meet-local-author-rita-connor
Rod Pyle & Amazing Stories of the Space Age at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to hear author Rod Pyle discuss and sign his book, Amazing Stories of the Space Age.
In this book a NASA insider and award-winning science writer profiles the remarkable pilots, scientists, and engineers whose work was instrumental in space missions to every corner of the solar system and beyond. The prose is complimented by many rarely-seen photos and illustrations.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Sita Kaylin & Anything But a Wasted Life at Book Soup
Join us to hear and meet author Sita Kaylin read and discuss her book, Anything But a Wasted Life. This book is the memoir of an orthodox life, about working as a stripper, and about a woman who has rarely said “no” to life.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/sita-kaylin-discusses-and-signs-anything-wasted-life
John Barbour & Your Mother’s Not a Virgin at The Last Bookstore
Please join us to meet author John Barbour, who will discuss his autobiography, Your Mother’s Not a Virgin: The Bumpy Life and Times of the Canadian Dropout Who Changed the Face of American TV!
A high school dropout at age 15, and deported from Canada at 17, John Barbour is recognized as “the godfather of reality TV” for his role in the trendsetting hit Real People.
NOTE: The bookstore’s events are ticketed, so see website for full details.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Peter Holmes & Rob Bell Event at Largo with Skylight Bookstore
Please join us for Comedy Sex God Live! a conversation with Pete Holmes and Rob Bell, who will discuss their podcasts, roots in comedy, and life lessons learned along the way.
Pete Holmes is a comedian, writer, cartoonist, and podcast host of You Make It Weird.
Rob Bell is the author of Love Wins and What Is the Bible?
NOTE: This event is ticketed, so see website for full details.
Where: Largo at the Coronet Theatre
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Carmen Winant Event & Conversation at the Hammer Museum
Artist and writer Carmen Winant utilizes installation and collage strategies to examine feminist modes of survival and revolt. Her recent projects have been widely shown, and she has published two artist’s books: My Life as a Man and My Birth. She is former dean of the Showhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Roy Lichtenstein Chair for Studio Art at Ohio State University.
Where: The Hammer Museum
Date: Thursday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2019/05/carmen-winant-ucla-dept-of-art-lecture/
FANZine Workshop at Book Show LA
Please join us for Rooting for You: A FANzine Workshop, celebrating the people in our community who inspire us. Supplies are provided, but you should bring images of a local band or person you plan to make a zine about (optional).
Where: Book Show LA
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 5503 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://bookshowla.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/zineworkshop.jpg
Amos Mac & Rocco Kayiatos & Original Plumbing at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear authors Amos Mac & Rocco Kayaitos present and discuss their new anthology, Original Plumbing: The Best of Ten Years of Trans Male Culture.
When the authors first launched Original Plumbing in 2009, they created a magazine the world needed: a creative and celebratory biannual publication about trans men, by trans men. For ten years it was an inspired response to the lack of meaningful representation of trans lives and culture. Collecting the best of the magazine’s run, this is a remarkable archive, and it includes interviews, artwork and photography, political essays and personal reflections, and much more.
The evening will also feature:
Michelle Tea is the author of several books, including the children’s book Astro Babies, and founded RADAR Productions and Drag Queen Story Hour.
Alex Blue Davis is an actor and singer/songwriter best known for his role as Dr. Case Parker on Grey’s Anatomy.
Texas Isaiah is on Instagram as @KingTexas and Twitter as @TexasIsaiah.
Emerson Whitney is the author of Heaven (2020) and Ghost Box (2014).
Ryan Cassata is an award-winning singer/songwriter, actor, performer, writer and LGBTQ activist and motivational speaker.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Open Mic Events at Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Please join Tia Chucha’s Open Mic event every 2nd, 4th, and 5th Friday for a welcoming, creative sanctuary where people are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings and talents through various styles of expression. This can be a poem, story, song, joke, freestyle, or just something they feel they need to express. Everyone is welcome to be themselves. It’s FREE and participants sign up upon arrival.
Please also note that Tia Chucha’s Noches de Canto y Poesia, a Spanish language Open Mic is held every 1st and 3rd Fridays at this location.
Where: Tia Chucha Bookstore
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 13197 Gladstone Ave., Unit A, Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: https://www.tiachucha.org/programming
Poetry Workshop at Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Please join poets David del Bourgo and Jacqueline Tchakalian for a workshop that gives writers a chance to share their poems-in-progress and to hear constructive critique and suggestions. Bring ten copies of your poem so others will be able to read along.
Where: Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: 22200 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-workshop-free
Book to Action: Stories from the Truly Free at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Please join us for a reading featuring writers from residents of Francisco Homes, transition housing for men re-entering society from prison. This reading will include short pieces from the publication Stories from the Truly Free: 48th Street Anthology as well as some new works about time spent behind bars, the challenges of reintegrating into the community, reflections on healing and the connections that bind us together.
Rachel Kushner’s book The Mars Room is the chosen book this year in the Book to Action program, and the topics discussed are incarceration and reentry.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/stories-truly-free-readings-residents-francisco-homes
Elly Dallas & Daryl Gussin Reading at Book Show LA
Please join us for a reading tour of sorts, featuring two people near and dear to Book Show: Elly Dalla and Daryl Gussin. This event will also be featuring: CJ Miller and Mari Naomi.
Where: Book Show LA
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 2:30 pm – 5 pm
Address: 5503 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://bookshowla.com/event/elly-dallas-daryl-gussin-reading/
Cathleen Young & The Pumpkin War at Children’s Book World – Kids Event
Please join us to celebrate the publication of The Pumpkin War with an author talk, Q&A, and treats! In Cathleen Young’s story for children 8-12, best friends can’t wait to compete and see who can grow the biggest pumpkin and win the annual giant pumpkin race on the lake. This year one friend is determined to get revenge on another for last year’s results.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 2:30 pm
Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: https://www.childrensbookworld.com/author-events/#young
Last Saturday Poetry Reading & Open Mic at Encino-Tarzana Branch Library, LAPL
Please join us for Last Saturday of the Month Poetry. This is an Open Mic event and all are invited to participate. You may read a classic poem, or your own composition. Each reader will have six minutes to perform. Sign-ups begin at 1:45 pm.
Where: Encino-Tarzana Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: http://www.etlibraryfriends.org
Lummis Day Poetry Workshop at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Please join us for the Lummis Day Poetry Workshop titled “Meeting the Mysterious Self,” led by poet and museum educator Alicia Vogi Saenz. Evolve a new poem by slowing down the internal chatter so that you can get to the essential good stuff, the material that makes strong poems.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/lummis-day-poetry-workshop-0
Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library
Join Saturday Afternoon Poetry for a Print & Internet Publishing Workshop led by Gabby Parker.
Where: Santa Catalina Library, Pasadena
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 999 Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Blanc Noir Graphic Novel Launch at Gatsby’s Bookstore
Join us for our Blanc Noir Graphic Novel Launch Party and meet author Phillip C, Barragan II & artist/illustrator Mason Arrigo.
Marabou Mule, Private Eye, joins her old friend Alabaster Sconce in a new mystery. This time, it’s his own family, the Woods: cousins Ash, Red and Cherry. Everyone shows up for the reading of Aunt Cherry’s will at the family mansion, but dark supernatural forces serve some tasty desserts before the main course for the covetous siblings.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/event#/blanc-noir-graphic-novel-launch-party-sat-may-25th-3pm
Book to Action: Stories from the Truly Free at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Please join us each moth as we discuss a book that revolves around the Book to Action topics of incarceration and re-entry. This month we are discussing The Mars Room, by Rachel Kushner.
Rachel Kushner’s book The Mars Room is the chosen book this year in the Book to Action program, and the final community service project is to create welcome home kits for the women in the re-entry program, A New Way of Life.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-action-monthly-book-discussions
Malaka Gharib & I Was Their American Dream at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear Malaka Gharib discuss her graphic novel, I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir, in discussion with Michael Nailat.
This graphic novel is a triumphant tale of self-discovery, a celebration of a family’s rich heritage, and a love letter to American immigrant freedom. The author formed her Egyptian and Filipino customs into a white culture while trying to understand the tension between her competing values and search for a better life.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/malaka-gharib
Las Fotos Project’s 5th Annual Viva La Muxer Festival at Plaza de la Raza
Please join us for Viva La Muxer, Las Fotos Project’s annual fundraising benefit that celebrates and uplifts women-identified artists, entrepreneurs, and change-makers form across L.A. 100% of the proceeds go to Las Fotos Project programs, a brave space where teenage girls gather to collaborate, learn, and be inspired through photography.
NOTE: This is a ticketed event so check website for details.
Where: Plaza De La Raza
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 6 pm – 10 pm
Address: 3540 N. Mission Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90031
Website: http://www..facebook.com/events/743511646025621/
The Valley Poets Summer Bash at The dA Center for the Arts
Please join us for a fantastic mini-festival to start off your summer, featuring a great range of talent and personality. This event will NOT feature an Open Mic, but the rest of the summer will. So join us to hear features:
Irene Sanchez is an educator, poet, writer, and public scholar. She centers social justice in her work and her poetry and writing have been featured in many venues.
Shannon Phillips is founding editor of Picture Show Press and recipient of the 28th Moon Prize for Writing in a Woman’s Voice. Her most recent chapbook is Body Parts (2017).
Thomas Thomas publishes the small press Arroyo Seco Press. His books are: Scorpio, Five Lines, Climbing Eternity, and a forthcoming book published by Los Nietos Press.
,,, and the Poets of Pomona!
Where: The dA Center for the Arts
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 252 S. Main St., Suite D, Pomona, CA 91766
Website: http://www..facebook.com/events/820506814990756/
ORIGINS Release Series: Natashia Deon Presents Sara Borjas Launch at The Virgil
Join us for a Release Party/Series produced by Natashia Deon, and hosted by Randa Jarrar and Bridgette Bianca, sponsored by My Lit Box, with live set by DJ Shai.
This is the newest reading series and focuses on one artist and book release while also celebrating the entire writing community in L.A. Featured writer and poet Sara Borjas will present her new book, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff.
A slate of superstars will also appear and read, including:
Angela Aguirre is a published poet Chicana feminist, and advocate for students with special needs. She is co-founder of Chingona Fire collective. She is living and thriving with ADHD.
Jeff Eyres is a TV writer, pundit and commentator. He is a graduate of the Second City Writers Program and the UC Riverside MFA program.
Reggie Juarez is a superstar reader for ORIGINS, and a former bike messenger. She will debut celebrating the release of Sara Borjas’s new work.
Jessica “Yellawoman” Gallion is the author of Can’t No Woman Woman Like Me (2017).
Charles Jenson is the author of the poetry collection Nanopedia, as well as six chapbooks of poems. He directs the Writers Program at UCLA Extension
Yennie Cheung is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her book DTLA/37: Downtown Los Angeles in Thirty-seven Stories is out now!
Marcus Omari is a six-time National Speech and Debate Award winner, and has authored several chapbooks. He has served as co-editor of the manuscript Speak Child, and teaches at Orange County School of the Arts.
Rocio Carlos is a workshop leader, poet and writer, and the author of [the other house].
Lady Narrator is a Syrian American poet and writer, and blogger.
Amanda Fletcher is a 2012 PEN Emerging Voices Fellow, and has been their program manager since 2015. A prolific travel and freelance feature writer, she is working on her memoir, HALO.
Where: The Virgil
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 900029
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/663873700709669/
Influx Collective Presents: Queer Poetry Night at Pieter Space Studios
Please join us for our May queer poetry night featuring:
Muriel Leung is the author of the poetry collection, Bone Confetti, which won the 2015 Noemi Press Book Award.
Jos Charles is the author of [feeld] and a winner of the 2017 National Poetry Series and a Finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.
Ryka Aoki is a poet and the author of Seasonal Velocities, Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon this Soul, and A Hilo Song.
Yoismar Reyes is a poet and public speaker who explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. He is the author of For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly.
Tommy Pico is awriter and karaoke enthusiast. He is the founder and editor in chief of birdsong, an antiracist/queer positive collective, small press and zine.
Where: Pieter Space Studios
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 420 W. Avenue 33, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Website: http://www.influxcollectiv.org/events
8th Annual Los Angeles Zine Fest at Helms Bakery Building in Culver City
The 8th Annual Los Angeles Zine Fest will showcase local and worldwide zine makers with self-published books in genres ranging from per-zine to mental health to art.
See website links for exhibitors list, costs and additional details.
Where: Helms Bakery Building
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 12 pm – 6 pm
Address: 8711 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Website: http://lazinefest.com/
Surprise the Line: Bending Time, A Generative Workshop at Grounds Café Long Beach
You are invited to a one-day generative poetry workshop led by Nancy Lynee Woo. Surprise the Line is a small-group workshop that is curiosity driven and process oriented. We meet wherever we’re at in our creative journeys and have a good time exploring our inner worlds.
NOTE: See website for further details and costs.
Where: Grounds Bakery & Café
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 1:30 pm – 4 pm
Address: 6277 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/855940434759458/
La Palabra Reading Series & Open Mic at Avenue 50 Studio
Join us for another edition of the La Palabra Reading Series, curated by Angelina Saenz. The featured poets and writers today are:
Yago Cura is an Argentine-American poet, librarian, and is co-author of Odas a Futbolistas (Hinches 2010). He co-edits Hinces de Poesia, an online journal, wirh Abel Folgar.
Sehba Sarwar is a transnational writer, workshop leader, artist and community activist. She is the author of Black Wings.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 151 N. Avenue 50, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/NA
Sehba Sarwar & liz gonzalez Readings at Gatsby’s Bookstore
Join us for our Book Celebration of two authors and their recently released books.
Sehba Sarwar is the author of Black Wings (Veliz Books 2019).
liz Gonzalez is the author of Dancing in the Santa Ana Winds (Los Nietos Press 2018).
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/event#/book-celebration-sehba-sarwar-and-liz-gonzlez-sunday-may-26th-3pm
Three Local Authors at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us to met three local authors who will present their work:
Kevin Foster presents and signs The Gospel According to Song of Solomon: A Fruitful Marriage.
Maria A. Nodarse presents and signs Approaching Freedom: An Exile’s Quest for a New Self.
Beverley Clarkson presents and signs It’s of No Consequence.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Brandy Spaethe Reading & Farewell at Beyond Baroque
Join Anglea Penaredondo, Douglas Manuel, Elizabeth Houston, Jamie Fitzgerald, and Beyond Baroque in a reading and send-off for poet Brandi Spaethe before she departs L.A. for Europe. Her chapbook, To You Who Wants In, was released in December 2012. She has served literary LA. as coordinator for Poets & Writes and Lambda Literary, and as an instructor at CSULA.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Artist Sandy Fisher & Poet Pamela Shea at Village Poets of Sunland & Tujunga
Join featured artist Sandy Fisher and poet Pamela Shea for a presentation of Ekphrastic Poetry Inspired by the Artist Sandy Fisher – Workshop by Pamela Shea. The reading will include poems inspired by the art of Sandy Fisher, and a feature by Pamela Shea, Sunland-Tujunga’s Poet Laureate in 2018-2020.
NOTE: Refreshments will be served and $3 donations collected for cost of the venue.
Where: Bolton Hall Museum
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 10110 Commerce Ave., Tujunga, CA 91042
Los Angeles Literature 