Wajahat Ali & Guests & Go Back to Where You Came From via Skylight Bookstore & Writers Bloc – Online Event
Wajahat Ali will present and discuss his book, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, with his special guests:
Maz Jobrani is a comedian/actor/author and is noted for his book I’m Not a Terrorist But I’ve Played One on TV.
Rabia Chaudry is an attorney, advocate, and author of The New York Times bestseller Adnan’s Story, about the wrongful conviction of Adnan Sayed.
Tonya Mosley, moderator, is an NPR journalist.
“Go back to where you came from, you terrorist!”
This is just one of the many warm, lovely, and helpful tips that Wajahat Ali and other children of immigrants receive on a daily basis. Go back where, exactly? Fremont, California, where he grew up, but is now an unaffordable place to live? Or Pakistan, the country his parents left behind a half-century ago?
Growing up living the suburban American dream, young Wajahat devoured comic books (devoid of brown superheroes) and fielded well-intentioned advice from uncles and aunties. (“Become a doctor!”) He had turmeric stains under his fingernails, was accident-prone, suffered from OCD, and wore Husky pants, but he was as American as his neighbors, with roots all over the world. Then, while Ali was studying at University of California, Berkeley, 9/11 happened. Muslims replaced communists as America’s enemy #1, and he became an accidental spokesman and ambassador of all ordinary, unthreatening things Muslim-y.
Now a middle-aged dad, Ali has become one of the foremost and funniest public intellectuals in America. In Go Back to Where You Came From, he tackles the dangers of Islamophobia, white supremacy, and chocolate hummus, peppering personal stories with astute insights into national security, immigration, and pop culture. In this refreshingly bold, hopeful, and uproarious memoir, Ali offers indispensable lessons for cultivating a more compassionate, inclusive, and delicious America.
Expect a lively discussion of racism, xenophobia, white supremacy, and good food.
NOTE: See Site for RSVP, book purchase, and event details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore & Writers Bloc – Online Event
Date: Monday the 31st
Time: 6 pm
Address: Skylight – Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-books-and-writers-bloc-present-go-back-where-you-came-evening-wajahat-ali-and-others or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/go-back-to-where-you-came-from-an-evening-with-wajahat-ali-and-others-tickets-22559844000
Off-Site Event: John Darnielle & Devil House at Brain Dead Studios – Skylight Off-Site
John Danielle is a bestselling author and singer-songwriter of the Mountain Goats, and here he presents an epic, gripping novel about murder, truth, and the dangers of storytelling in his new book, Devil House.
Gage Chandler is descended from kings. That’s what his mother always told him. Years later, he is a true crime writer, with one grisly success—and a movie adaptation—to his name, along with a series of subsequent less notable efforts. But now he is being offered the chance for the big break: to move into the house where a pair of briefly notorious murders occurred, apparently the work of disaffected teens during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. Chandler finds himself in Milpitas, California, a small town whose name rings a bell––his closest childhood friend lived there, once upon a time. He begins his research with diligence and enthusiasm, but soon the story leads him into a puzzle he never expected—back into his own work and what it means, back to the very core of what he does and who he is.
Where: Skylight Books at Brian Dead Studios – Off-site event (tickets at link)
Date: Monday the 31st
Time: 6 pm
Address: 611 Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/offsite-event-john-darnielle-presents-devil-house-brain-dead-studios or https://dice.fm/partner/brain-dead-llc/event/a9yq7-devil-house-reading-with-john-darnielle-31st-jan-brain-dead-studios-los-angeles-tickets?dice_source=web&dice_medium=organic&dice_campaign=Brain+Dead%2C+LLC&_branch_match_id=735971462737550471&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz8nMy9ZLyUxO1UvL1U8xSE4xMzK0TE1JMQcAxMN0liEAAAA%3D
Quantum Book Club & The Windup Girl at The Book Jewel Bookstore
Join the Quantum Book Club to read and discuss the book, The Windup Girl, by author Paolo Bacigalupi.
The Windup Girl is a bio-punk science fiction novel by American writer Paolo Bacigalupi. It was his debut novel and was published by Night Shade Books on September 1, 2009. The novel is set in a future Thailand and covers a number of contemporary issues such as global warming and biotechnology.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and event details.
Where: The Book Jewel Bookstore, in Westchester
Date: Monday the 31st
Time: 6 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BookJewelBookstore
Local Author Day: Robert Abad, Dr. Ian Brooks, Gregory Deinzer via Vroman’s – Online Event
Join Vroman’s Bookstore to hear three local authors present their work through a virtual event. The authors featured include:
Sandra Tsing Loh is a writer and performer. Her work has been heard on NPR’s Morning Edition and This American Life. Her book The Madwoman in the Volvo was a New York Times Notable Book of 2014. Loh lives in Pasadena, California. presents his book, Moment, a critically acclaimed, thought-provoking book for children about children. It aims to dispel biases and misconceptions by presenting young readers with over 100 images of places, faces and landscapes from around the “emerging world.” It is meant to be used as an educational tool to use to explore the rich cultural diversity in the world
Dr. Ian Brooks presents his book, Intention, which helps one build and transform the story of their own personal journey. To build capabilities to manage change, for an unknown future, one must begin with “intention.”
Gregory Deinzer presents his novel, The Path We Follow. A few years ago the author was inspired by a man he met in the Himalayas, and decided to write an inspirational story of courage, perseverance, compassion and selflessness.
NOTE: See Site for RSVP, book purchase, and event details.
Where: Vroman’s – Online Event
Date: Monday the 31st
Time: 6 pm
Address: Vroman’s – Online Crowdcast event (see site)
Monday Night Fiction Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Zoom Online
This free Monday Night Fiction Workshop led by Raquel Baker is a community writing workshop in which participants are asked to bring copies of 2-3 pages of fiction to read, and to use for critique and discussion. Registration is required.
Raquel Baker earned a PhD in English Literary Studies from the University of Iowa and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. She is currently Assistant Professor of Postcolonial Studies and Transnational Literatures at CSU Channel Islands. She also has published poetry and non-fiction, and done readings with the Ventura Poetry Project.
Where: Beyond Baroque – Online event (tickets at Eventbrite)
Date: Monday the 31st
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-255432695067
Wil Haygood, with Helena Echegoyen, & Colorization via Skylight Bookstore – Online Event
Join us to hear Wil Haygood, in conversation with Helena Echegoyen, to discuss his new book, Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World.
Wil Haygood here presents a film book, a history book, and a civil rights book, and one of the best books of the year in any genre, according to Shondaland. This unprecedented history of Black cinema examines 100 years of Black movies—from Gone with the Wind to Blaxploitation films to Black Panther—using the struggles and triumphs of the artists, and the films themselves, as a prism to explore Black culture, civil rights, and racism in America. From the acclaimed author of The Butler and Showdown.
The author makes clear the effects of changing realities and events on the business of making movies and on what was represented on the screen: from Jim Crow and segregation to white flight and interracial relationships, An important, timely book, Colorization gives us both an unprecedented history of Black cinema and a groundbreaking perspective on racism in modern America.
Wil Haygood is a former Boston Globe (where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist) and Washington Post reporter. Haygood has received writing fellowships from the Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Alicia Patterson Foundations. His biographies of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, and Thurgood Marshall have been widely acclaimed. He also wrote the New York Times bestseller, The Butler: A Witness to History, which was adapted into an award-winning movie. He is currently serving an appointment as Boadway Visiting Distinguished Scholar at his alma mater, Miami University, Ohio.
Helena Echegoyen was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Friday (1995), Love Jones (1997) and Above the Rim (1994).
NOTE: See site for book purchase, link, and event details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore – Online event
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 5 pm PST
Address: Skylight Bookstore – Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-wil-haygood-conversation-helen-echegoyen
Scott Meslow, with Kerensa Cadenas, & From Hollywood with Love via Book Soup – Online Event
Join author Scott Meslow, in conversation with editor and writer Kerensa Cadenas, to hear him discuss his book: From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy.
No Hollywood genre has been more misunderstood—or more unfairly under-appreciated—than the romantic comedy, which have been the essential backbone of the Hollywood landscape. This book constructs oral histories of our most celebrated romantic comedies, for an informed and entertaining look at this beloved genre. It includes original sketches of iconic movie scenes and exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers behind them.
NOTE; See site for RSVP, tickets, and event details.
Where: Book Soup – Online event
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Book Soup – Online (see site)
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/scott-meslow
Nancy Balbirer, with Howard Morris, & Almost Romance via Chevalier’s – Online Event
Join author Nancy Balbirer, in conversation with husband Howard Morris, to hear hier discuss her memoir, Almost Romance.
When a mysterious woman summons Nancy Balbirer to a Russian restaurant in New York City, the near stranger’s shocking purple hair and even more shocking news send Balbirer simultaneously reeling back to her past and hurtling toward a future that, at almost fifty years old, she never dreamed possible. This romantic-comedy memoir tells the true story of how a pack of Hollywood television writers and the denizens of a fabled but cursed Manhattan apartment building helped the author and one of her best friends turn a thirty-two-year almost romance into a real one.
NOTE; See site for RSVP and event details.
Where: Chevalier’s – Online event
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online (see site)
Website: https://www.chevaliersbooks.com/february-1-nancy-balbirer
Roski Talks: Nao Bustamnte at USC Roski Graduate Gallery – In-person Event
Join USC’s Roski School of Art and Design for a Roski Talks event and presentation featuring Nao Bustamante.
Nao Bustamante is an internationally known artist, performer and USC Roski professor, who resides in Los Angeles. Bustamante’s precarious work encompasses performance art, video installation, visual art, filmmaking and writing.
NOTE; See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: USC Roski Graduate Gallery – Roski Graduate Building
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1262 Palmetto St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (LA Arts District)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/360714725490810
Tuesdays at the Virtual Cobalt: Poets Series Presents: Open Reading & Erin Elizabeth Smith – Virtual Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest poet Erin Elizabeth Smith.
Erin Elizabeth Smith is a poet and the author of The Fear of Being Found (Three Candles Press 2008) and The Naming of Strays (Gold Wake Press 2011). Her third collection, DOWN, was released form Stephen F. Austin State University Press in 2020. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Mid-American, 32 Poems, Zone 3, Gargoyle, Cimarron Review, and Crab Orchard Review. She teaches a bit of everything in the English Department at the University of Tennessee and serves as the managing editor of Sundress Publications.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html
Da Poetry Lounge Tuesday Open Mic via Da Poetry Lounge – IG Online
Open Mic Tuesdays at Da Poetry Lounge are back! Catch us live on IG for our first Open Mic of the season and hear updates about the 2022 season.
Where: DA Poetry Lounge – IG Online
Date: Tuesday the 1st
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYvULkirZCx/
Lisa Yee & Maizy Chen’s Last Chance via Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Online Kids Event
Join us for the book launch and to hear a discussion by children’s author Lisa Yee, in conversation with Kait Fledmann, to discuss her book, Maizy Chen’s Last Chance.
This story is an irresistible novel celebrating food, fortune and family, and is dedicated to the author’s grandparents and to all the immigrants who made the journey to America.
When Maizy and her family visit her grandparents in Last Chance, Minnesota, they find a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone left a racist note at the family’s Golden Palace restaurant. Maizy decides it’s time to find the answers to the Golden Palace’s secrets.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Zoom online
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 5 pm
Address: Once Upon a Time – Online Event
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/maizy-chen
Young Adult book Club & Heartstopper at Pages Bookstore – On-site in Courtyard
Join our monthly YA Book Club meeting, when we will discuss the novel Heartstopper: A Graphic Novel, by author Alice Osman.
This story is a charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, live and coming out. It’s soon to be streaming on Netflix!
The discussion is facilitated by Charlotte Estrin and Sloan Shevin.
NOTE: Please sign up for the book club at website link.
Where: Pages Bookstore – in the Courtyard
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/young-adult-book-club-6
Vroman’s Live: Marc Brown, with Todd Parr & Believe in Yourself: What We Learned from Arthur at Vroman’s Bookstore – On-site Adult Event
Marc Brown, in conversation with Todd Parr, will discuss his book Believe in Yourself: What We Learned from Arthur.
As the award-winning Arthur TV series reaches its twenty-fifth anniversary, what better way to celebrate America’s favorite aardvark than this collection of life lessons perfect for graduations and other milestones!
Join Arthur and his friends as they share the funniest and most heartfelt moments from the longest running children’s television show in US history and classic book series created by master storyteller Marc Brown. This treasure trove of quotes and life lessons is divided into five sections that will inspire readers of all ages to listen to their hearts, work together, have an original point of view, and most of all, to believe in themselves!
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/vromans-live-marc-brown-discusses-believe-in-yourself
Matt Sedillo & The Three Act Poem Writers Workshop at Re/Arte Centro Literario – In-person Event
Please join our Poet-in Residence, author and Chicano political poet Matt Sedillo, to participate in his Writers Workshop: The Three Act Political Poem.
Matt Sedillo is the author of Mowing Leaves of Grass, and is a Chicano political activist and speaker who has performed at colleges and universities nationally and world-wide. This workshop has been taught in many educational venues.
NOTE: See site for guidelines & event details.
Where: Re/Arte centro literario – In-person Event
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Where: 2014 ½ E. Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/events%2Feventos
At Skylight: Leslie Kirk Campbell. With Elena Karina Byrne, & The Man With Eight Pairs of Legs via Skylight Bookstore – On-site Event
Join us to hear Leslie Kirk Campbell, in conversation with author Elena Karina Byrne (If This Makes You Nervous, No Don’t, Squander, MASQUE) to discuss her debut short story collection, The Man With Eight Pairs of Legs.
Leslie Kirk Campbell presents a collection dealing with the ways our bodies are marked by memory, often literally—scars, tracks, tattoos—and the risky decisions we make when pushed to the extreme. Winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction, this collection is a study in compassion and passion, and a must read.
The author is a native Californian with strong ties to L.A, and is a director and master teacher at Ripe Fruit Writing, a creative writing program she founded in San Francisco.
NOTE: See site for book purchase, link, and event details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm PST
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop via Beyond Baroque – Zoom Online
Join Beyond Baroque’s longest running free poetry workshop via Zoom online as we welcome new and seasoned poets to share their work and provide feedback. Facilitators are rotated quarterly, and the current facilitator is Pam Ward.
Pam Ward is the author most recently of Between Good Men and No Man at All (World Stage Press, 2022). Author of two novels, Want Some Get Some, and Bad Girls Burn Slow, she is a California Arts Council Fellow, Pushcart nominee, and Art Center instructor/designer. Her poetry has been published in Calyx, Chiron, The Santa Monica Review, Voices of Leimert Park, and The Los Angeles Times. Pam’s writing sings of her beloved city in prismatic color.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets and information.
Where: Online event (Eventbrite)
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-night-poetry-workshop-tickets-257037495067
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Join Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Nights.
The format is to welcome a featured poet for a reading, and also have an Open Mic reading. Tonight’s featured artist is TBA.
See site for details and/or to verify.
$4 cover fee, cash only. Masks are required unless eating or drinking.
NOTE: See site for further details, guidelines & information.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange – In-person event
Date: Wednesday the 2nd
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/Two-Idiot-Peddling_poetry/
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with America Ferrera, & Just Help! How to Build a Better World via Skirball Words & Ideas Program – Online Event
Join us online to hear author and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in conversation with actor, director, producer and activist America Ferrera, present and discuss her book, Just Help! How to Build a Better World.
Sometimes it takes a children’s book to remind us of how easy it is to be a kinder person, to be a better person.
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Just Ask! comes a fun and meaningful story about making the world—and your community—better, one action at a time, that asks the question: Who will you help today?
In her new book, Just Help! How to Build A Better World, a story inspired by her own family’s desire to help others, Sonia Sotomayor takes young readers on a journey through a neighborhood where kids and adults, activists and bus drivers, friends and strangers all help one another to build a better world for themselves and their community.
With art by award-winning illustrator Angela Dominguez, this book shows how we can all help make the world a better place each and every day.
Books provided for purchase by Eso Won Books.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, book purchase and event details.
Where: Skirball Cultural Center – Online event
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: Skirball Cultural Center – Online (see site)
Joe Ide & The Goodbye Coast: A Philip Marlowe Novel via Vroman’s – Online Event
Join author Joe Ide, to hear him discuss his new book, The Goodbye Coast: A Philip Marlowe Novel.
The seductive and relentless figure of Raymond Chandler’s detective, Philip Marlowe, is vividly re-imagined in present-day Los Angeles. Here is a city of scheming Malibu actresses, ruthless gang members, virulent inequality, and washed-out police. Acclaimed and award-winning novelist Joe Ide imagines a Marlowe very much of our time: he’s a quiet, lonely, and remarkably capable and confident private detective, though he lives beneath the shadow of his father, a once-decorated LAPD homicide detective, famous throughout the city, who’s given in to drink after the death of Marlowe’s mother.
Marlowe, against his better judgement, accepts two missing person cases, the first a daughter of a faded, tyrannical Hollywood starlet, and the second, a British child stolen from his mother by his father. At the center of The Goodbye Coast is Marlowe’s troubled and confounding relationship with his father, a son who despises yet respects his dad, and a dad who’s unable to hide his bitter disappointment with his grown boy.
Steeped in the richly detailed ethnic neighborhoods of modern LA, Ide’s The Goodbye Coast is a bold recreation that is viciously funny, ingeniously plotted, and surprisingly tender.
NOTE: See site for book purchase and event details.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore – Online Event
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: Vroman’s – Online via Crowdcast (see site)
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/vromans-live-joe-ide-discusses-goodbye-coast
Andrea Carter Brown, with Patty Seyburn, & September 12 at Flintridge Bookstore – On-site Event
Join poet and author Andrea Carter Brown, in conversation with poet Patty Seyburn (Threshold Delivery, Perfecta), as they discuss her collection, September 12
Join these in the ongoing process of discovery and recovery.
September 12 illuminates the long-term effects of the attacks that continue to affect us on a global scale. Poems from the book have been recognized by the James Dickey Prize, the River Styx International Poetry Prize, the National Poet Hunt from The MacGuffin, Split This Rock, NPR, and the Library of Congress Online Guide to the Poetry of 9/11. The author’s powerful new collection is a tribute that nurtures remembrance and healing.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and free event details.
Where: Flintridge Bookstore – On-site event
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 858 Foothill Blvd., La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
Website: https://www.flintridgebooks.com/instore-events/2022/2/3/poetry-reading-by-andrea-carter-brown-september-12 or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/award-winning-poet-andrea-carter-brown-reads-from-september-12-tickets-251486732587
Tonalli Thursday Open Mic Presented by Los Angeles Poet Society – Online Event
The Tonalli Thursdays Open Mic is offered every 1st Thursday of the Month by Los Angeles Poet Society.
Host and featured poets TBA.
NOTE: See site for link and event details.
Where: Los Angeles Poet Society – Zoom online (Check to verify)
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: LAPS Online Zoom Event – zoom.us/j/87366570589
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
At Skylight: David Pevsner, with Frank DeCaro, & Damn Shame – On-site Event
Join us to hear author David Pevsner, in conversation with Frank DeCaro, (author of Drag), present and discuss his book Damn Shame: a Memoir of Desire, Defiance, and Show Tunes.
Over the course of his 35-year career in show business, David Pevsner has done it all. He’s acted on Broadway, off-Broadway, in independent films and on numerous TV network shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family and Criminal Minds.
As he continues his career in entertainment, Pevsner has also dedicated himself to exploring his deepest sexual fantasies. In his late 30s he became a mature male escort and over the last several years has attracted a large international fan base through his blog of erotic photographs celebrating nudity and sexuality.
Damn Shame is David Pevsner’s incredible story and is a passionate and poignant look at one man’s journey from a thin, shy boy ashamed of his body and sexuality to a defiant, fearless everyman exploring his erotic desires.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: Vroman’s – On-site event
Date: Thursday the 3rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-david-pevsner-presents-damn-shame-frank-decaro
Bookish Event: Noteworthy Books of 2021 presented by Southern California News Group & Sandra Tsing Loh – Online Event
Join us when Bookish and host Sandra Tsing Loh salute the top 10 noteworthy authors and books for 2021. Selections include:
Myriam J.A. Chancy is the author of What Storm What Thunder. She is a Guggenheim Fellow & HBA Chair of the Humanities at Scripps College. She is a Haitian-Canadian/American writer born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and subsequently raised there and in Canada.
Natashia Deón, an L.Á. native, is the author of The Perishing.
Amanda Gorman is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Call Us What We Carry: Poems, is Goramn’s second full-length collection of poetry.
Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award winning mystery writer from L.Á. Clark and Division is her latest novel.
Viet Thanh Nguyen is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of two novels, his latest being The Committed. He teaches English and American Studies and Ethnicity at USC.
Maggie Shipstead‘s third novel, Great Circle, was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. She is a frequent contributor to magazines including “Condé Nast Traveler” and “Departures.” She grew up in Mission Viejo and currently lives in New York.
Matthew Specktor was born in Los Ángeles. Specktor’s short fiction, essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times,[9] GQ,[10] and The Paris Review, among other publications. He is a former senior fiction editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books. Always Crashing the Same Car: On Art, Crisis, and Los Angeles, California, is his latest book.
In 2012 Claire Vaye Watkins was named a National Book Foundation “5 under 35” honoree. Watkins currently teaches creative writing at the University of California, Irvine. I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness: A Novel, is her latest novel.
Anthony Veasna So’s latest book Afterparties: Stories, was published posthumously. He died from a drug overdose at his residence on December 8, 2020, at age 28. His final novel is slated to be published in 2023.
Danny Trejo is an actor and owner of Trejo’s Tacos. Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood, is his memoir.
Sandra Tsing Loh is a writer and performer. Her work has been heard on NPR’s Morning Edition and This American Life. Her book The Madwoman in the Volvo was a New York Times Notable Book of 2014. Loh lives in Pasadena, California. her latest book is The Madwoman and the Roomba: My Year of Domestic Mayhem.
NOTE: See site for link, book purchases, and free event details.
Where: Bookish & So Cal News Group – Online Event
Date: Friday the 4th
Time: 5 pm
Address: Bookish via Once Upon a Time Books – Zoom Online (see site)
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/bookish-noteworthy-21
LGBTQ+ Youth Poetry Workshop (Ages 14-24) with Johnny Valero via QueerLand Center – Online Event
Join QueerLAnd for an evening of youth poetry (ages 14 – 24) and LGBTQ+ support, led by social worker and poet Johnny Valera.
This workshop will explore several poetry pieces and dissect the feelings that might have motivated each piece, with the idea that through exploring the works of others, we further our own ability to put our own feelings into words. There will be a second meeting next month, in which we will write our own poems.
NOTE: See site for more information & event details. Tickets are free at Eventbrite link.
Where: QueerLand – Online Event
Date: Friday the 4th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: QueerLand (see site)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/256419153295745/
Rare Books LA Convention, Day 1 of 3, at Pasadena Civic Auditorium – On-site Event
Rare Books LA will take place over three days, Friday, Feb. 4th through Sunday, Feb. 6th, 2022, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Booksellers and bibliophiles form around the world may reconnect and share their love of rare books, fine prints, maps, ephemera and more. Opening night benefits the Huntington and ticket holders will receive perks in the month of February.
NOTE: See site for event guidelines and details.
Where: Rare Books LA – Day 1 at Pasadena Convention Center
Date: Friday the 4th
Time: 5 pm – 8 pm
Address: 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.visitpasadena.com/events/rare-books-la/
First Fridays Rapp Saloon Reading Series, with host Cynthia Alessandra Briano, via Rapp Saloon – Online Event
Join First Fridays at Rapp Saloon Open Mic & Featured Readers, offered every 1st Friday of the month by host Cynthia Alessandra Briano.
Our featured guest poets and artists this month TBA
Share your voice at the Open Mic, where there is a time limit of 4 minutes max. Sign-ups are at 8:15 pm. Zoom ID posted 3 hours prior to event.
NOTE: See site for event details.
Where: Rapp Saloon – Online Event
Date: Friday the 4th
Time: 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom event
Rare Books LA Convention, Day 2 of 3, at Pasadena Civic Auditorium – On-site Event
Rare Books LA will take place over three days, Friday, Feb. 4th through Sunday, Feb. 6th, 2022, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Booksellers and bibliophiles form around the world may reconnect and share their love of rare books, fine prints, maps, ephemera and more. Opening night benefits the Huntington and ticket holders will receive perks in the month of February.
NOTE: See site for event guidelines and details.
Where: Rare Books LA – Day 3 at Pasadena Convention Center
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 10 am – 6 pm
Address: 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.visitpasadena.com/events/rare-books-la/
Western Edge Writers Workshop via Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Writers and aspiring writers are invited to meet to support the writing endeavors of all genres. Join us via Zoom for prompted writing exercises and constructive critique of your work.
NOTE: Please email shannah@lapl.org, for the Zoom login information.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – Online
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/western-edge-writers or https://www.facebook.com/events/1481609072192654/
Virtual Storytime with Omid Arabian & Shilla Shakoori: The Donkey’s Gone! via Children’s Book World – Online Kids Event
Join Children’s Book World virtually for a Storytime with author and Rumi scholar Omid Arabian and Iranian-born artist and illustrator Shilla Shakoori, to hear them present their children’s book, The Donkey’s Gone!
This story is based on the 13th century Sufi mystic, Islamic storyteller and scholar Rumi, who remains a towering force. It’s based on a story from The Masnavi, which is an epic compilation of Rumi’s wit and wisdom in the form of poems and short stories. Adapted for children, it retains Rumi’s wit and insight while also relating a cautionary tale about what we stand to lose when we imitate others and conform.
NOTE: See site for book purchase and event details.
Where: Children’s Book World – Online Kids Event
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 10:30 am
Address: Children’s Book World – Online Event (see site)
Book Club & Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid via Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join The Los Feliz Branch Book Club virtually for a discussion of this month’s book selection Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid.
This story follows two lovers on the move form a country on the brink of civil war. While trying to maintain their humanity through catastrophic events, they are rendered homeless, only to find that those across the border they reach do not see them as human at all.
NOTE: Email mpanzera@;apl.org for link and details event details.
Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 11 am
Address: LAPL – Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-exit-west
Writer’s Workshop with Viva Padilla via Re/Arte Centro Literario – In-person Event
Join us for an introduction to submitting your writing to journals and magazines. Incudes career advice, and writing feedback. Bring your work and a notebook.
NOTE: See website for registration, donation, and further details.
Where: Re/Arte Centro Literario – In-person Event
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: 2014 ½ E. Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/events%2Feventos
LatinX Creator Showcase at Golden Apple Comics: Al Madrigal & Kayden Phoenix – In-person Event
Join us for a LatinX Creator Showcase, featuring:
Comedian, creator and writer of the new AWA comic series, Al Madrigal, 1pm – 3pm.
Creator of All Latina Superhero Universe, with the debut of the newest OGN book, Ruca, Kayden Phoenix, 3pm – 5pm.
NOTE: See website for further details.
Where: Golden Apple Comics – On-site Event
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm & 3 pm – 5pm
Address: 7081 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/329026135791490
Eva Chen & Sophie Diao Present: I Am Golden via Vroman’s – Online Kids Event
Join us to hear author Eva Chen, with illustrator Sophie Diao, present and discuss their picture book, I Am Golden.
This lyrical children’s picture book is a moving ode to the immigrant experience, as well as a manifesto of self-love for Chinese-American children.
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Vroman’s – Online
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 3 pm
Address: Vroman’s – Zoom Event
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/eva-chen-i-am-golden
Saturday Afternoon Poetry & Poetry Writing Workshop with Tish Eastman – Online Event
Join us at Saturday Afternoon Poetry for a Poetry Writing Workshop led by Tish Eastman. She is a poet and novelist who writes about the paranormal and sci-fi, and is co-editor of an anthology of Experience poetry.
(Submit up to3 poems totaling no more than150 lines for Spectrum Online Edition).
All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Where: Zoom Online Event
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Café con Libros Open MIc at Café con Libros Press – In-person Event
Join us for a Café con Libros Open Mic with Ceasar K. Avelar, postponed from a previous date.
NOTE: See website for further details.
Where: Café con LIbros Press – In-person Event
Date: Saturday the 5th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm (Check to verify new date & time)
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA 92766
Website: https://www.facebook.com/cafeconlibrospress/posts/463377397434976
Rare Books LA Convention, Day 3 of 3, at Pasadena Civic Auditorium – On-site Event
Rare Books LA will take place over three days, Friday, Feb. 4th through Sunday, Feb. 6th, 2022, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Booksellers and bibliophiles form around the world may reconnect and share their love of rare books, fine prints, maps, ephemera and more. Opening night benefits the Huntington and ticket holders will receive perks in the month of February.
NOTE: See site for event guidelines and details.
Where: Rare Books LA – Day 3 at Pasadena Convention Center
Date: Sunday the 66h
Time: 10 am – 6 pm
Address: 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.visitpasadena.com/events/rare-books-la/
Los Angeles Literature 