NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
Book Club Bonanza: The Last Cuentista via Central Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event
Book Club Bonanza celebrates Latinx Heritage Month with a teen book discussion of The Last Cuentista, by Donna Barba Higuera.
The Last Cuentista is a mesmerizing science-fiction tale for the ages, sprinkled with Mexican folklore. Petra Pena’s journey through space and time is a stunning reminder of the power of stories, and how those stories shape both our past and future. This brilliant space epic is a must-read for fans of The Giver.
Donna Barba Higuera grew up in Central California and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has spent her entire life blending folklore with her experiences into stories that fill her imagination. Now she weaves them to write picture books and novels. Donna’s first book, Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, won a Sid Fleischman Award for Humor and a Pura Belpré Honor.
Her second novel, The Last Cuentista, received the John Newbery Medal and the Pura Belpré Award. It was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and TIME.
NOTE: See site for link, guidelines, and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-celebrate-latinx-voices
Quantum Book Club & Ninth House at The Book Jewel Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Quantum Book Club will read and discuss this month’s selection, Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo at The Book Jewel in Westchester.
This story is a tale of power, privilege, and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite. The author is one of the best writers of literary fantasy writing today.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: The Book Jewel Bookstore
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch71JMCMIV8/?hl=en
Live on Crowdcast: Ama Codjoe, with Aleshea Harris & Ashaki Jackson, & Bluest Nude: Poems at Skylight Bookstore – Online Event
Poet and writer Ama Cudjoe, in conversation with Aleshea Harris & Ashaki Jackson, will discuss her debut poetry collection, Bluest Nude: Poems.
Ama Cadjoe is the author of Bluest Nude: Poems, a highly anticipated collection which brings light of the inner dialogues of women as they bathe, create art, make and lose love, all full of a fully awakened sensual life.
Ama Codjoe is the author of Bluest Nude and Blood of the Air, winner of the Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. She has been awarded support from Cave Canem, Robert Rauschenberg, and Saltonstall foundations as well as from Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, Hawthornden, Hedgebrook, Yaddo, and MacDowell. Her recent poems have appeared in The Atlantic, The Nation, The Best American Poetry series.
Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is (directed by Taibi Magar at Soho Rep/Ola Ince at the Royal Court) won the Relentless Award, an OBIE for playwriting and the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award. What to Send Up When It Goes Down (directed by Whitney White at The Movement Theatre Company), was featured in American Theatre Magazine and received a special commendation from the Blackburn Prize. The play was subsequently re-mounted at Woolly Mammoth, A.R.T., BAM and Playwrights Horizons. Her newest play, On Sugarland (directed by Whitney White) premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in 2022. Awards: Windham-Campbell Literary Prize, Mimi Steinberg Playwriting Award, Hermitage Greenfield Prize, Horton Foote Playwriting Award, Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and elsewhere.
Ashaki M. Jackson, Ph.D., is a social psychologist, program evaluator and poet. Her work has appeared in CURA: A Literary Magazine of Art and Action, Pluck! Journal of Affrilachian Arts and Culture, Midnight Breakfast, McSweeney’s, and Prairie Schooner among other journals and anthologies. The author of two chapter-length books, Surveillance (Writ Large Press) and Language Lesson (Miel), Jackson is also Publisher at The Offing magazine of art and literature. She earned her MFA (poetry) from Antioch University Los Angeles and her doctorate (social psychology) from Claremont Graduate University. She lives in Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, Link, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Kevin Hazzard Book Launch & American Sirens at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Author Kevin Hazzard will launch and discuss his new book, American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics.
This book incorporates the checkered history of paramedicine with the racial and social history of the mid-20th century and a Pittsburgh ambulance service staffed by Black men that led to the emergency services we rely on today.
Kevin Hazzard is a journalist, TV writer, and former paramedic. His first book, A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back, was published by Scribner in 2016. He now writes for film/TV, with work produced by Hulu, CBS, ABC and Universal. His freelance journalism has been published at 99% Invisible, the Atavist, Men’s Journal, Creative Loafing, Atlanta Magazine, and elsewhere. He is also a sought-after voice on emergency medicine. He lives in Atlanta.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Monday Night Fiction Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Zoom Online Event
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 has published poetry and nonfiction and done readings with the Ventura Poetry Project.
Where: Beyond Baroque – Online event (tickets at Eventbrite)
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online (see site)
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-423540138957
Brandon Kyle Goodman & You Gotta Be You Book Release at Dynasty Typewriter at The Hayworth – In-Person Event
Reparations Club presents A Messy Mondays Evening with Brandon Kyle Goodman, in conversation with Griffin Matthews and Traci Thomas, to celebrate the release of their book You Gotta Be You.
As a Black nonbinary, queer person in a dark-skinned 6’1”, 180-pound male body born into a religious immigrant household, Brandon knows the pain of having to hide one’s true self, the work of learning to love that true self, and the freedom of finally being your true self.
In You Gotta Be You, Brandon affectionately challenges you to consider, “Who would I be if society never got its hands on me?” This question set Brandon on a mission to dropkick societal shackles by unlearning all the things he was told he should be in order to step into who he really is. It required him to reexamine messy but ultimately defining moments in his life—his first time being followed in a store, navigating his mother’s born-again Christianity, and regretfully using soap as lube (yes, you read that right!)—to find the lessons that would guide him to his most authentic self.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Dynasty Typewriter, with Reparations Club
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)
Address: 2511 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.visitwesthollywood.com/events/a-messy-evening-w-brandon-kyle-goodman-you-gotta-be-you-book-release-09-26-2022/ or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-messy-evening-w-brandon-kyle-goodman-you-gotta-be-you-book-release-tickets-420768799807
Venice Book Club & How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy at Venice Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Venice Book Club reads both fiction and non-fiction and meets on the last Tuesday of the month. This month’s selection is How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, by Jenny Odell.
NOTE: See site for link, and details.
Where: Venice Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/venice-book-club-1
LA Times Book Club: Silvia Moreno-Garcia, with Steve Padilla, & The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – Online Event
The LA Times Book club presents the September Book Club discussion: Silvia Moreno-Garcia, in conversation with LA Times Editor Steve Padilla, to discuss The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, a science fiction page-turner.
Born in Mexico and now living in Vancouver, Canada, Moreno-Garcia has been evolving across genres for years, moving with ease among fantasy, mystery, science fiction, horror, and noir stories. President Obama included her novel, Velvet Was the Night, a recent L.A. Times Book Prize finalist, on his 2022 summer reading list. She also is the author of Mexican Gothic, and Gods of Jade and Shadow.
NOTE: See site for link, and details. Bookselling partner is Skylight Books.
Where: Los Angeles Times Book Club
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-times-september-book-club-silvia-moreno-garcia-tickets-404149631427
The Mic at Micky’s Open Mic, with Hosts Brian Sonia-Wallace & Nate Lovett at Micky’s Nightclub & Bar – In-Person Event
Join The Mic at Micky’s Open Mic and Literary Readings, hosted by West Hollywood Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace, Nate Lovett and Tony Moore.
This is a weekly event for creatives to collaborate and write something for the Mic and/or sign up for the Open Mic, limited to 3-5 minutes per person, and offering poems, stories and music.
Located in the heart of one of LA’s oldest gay clubs, this space promises connection and community for folks across the LGBTQ+ spectrum (and allies!) before the untz untz starts.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Micky’s Nightclub & Bar in West Hollywood (Upstairs)
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8857 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-mic-mickys-tickets-383607890527?aff=erelpanelorg
Playa Vista Mystery Book Club & The Trespasser at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Playa Vista Mystery Book Club reads mysteries and meets on the last Tuesday of the month. This month’s selection for discussion is The Trespasser, by Tana French.
The Trespassers is part of the Dublin Murder Squad series #6, in which the only female member of the squad investigates a routine domestic murder case that turns out to be anything but that.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, Ca 90094
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-2
AAPI Book Club & Fairest at Bel Canto Bookstore – Online Zoom Event
The AAPI Book Club explores the storytelling talents of authors across the Asian diaspora and meets on the last Tuesday of the month. This month’s selection for discussion is Fairest, by Meredith Talusan.
Fairest: A Memoir was a finalist for the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction. It’s a memoir about a precocious boy with albinism, a “sun child” from a rural Philippine village, who would grow up to become a woman in America. Coping with the strain of parental neglect and the elusive promise of U.S. citizenship, Talusan found comfort from her devoted grandmother, a grounding force as she was treated by others with special preference or public curiosity. As an immigrant to the United States, Talusan came to be perceived as white, and further access to elite circles of privilege but required the author to navigate through the complex spheres of race, class, sexuality, and queerness.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/read-aapi-book-club-269149
Cory Doctorow & Rebecca Giblin, with David Goodman, & Chokepoint Capitalism at Book Soup off-site at Beverly Hills Library Auditorium – In-Person Event
Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Giblin, in conversation with David Goodman, will present and discuss their book, Chokepoint Capitalism.
Corporate concentration (and profits) have breached the stratosphere. An ever-expanding constellation of industries are now monopolies (where sellers have excessive power over buyers), monopsonies (where buyers hold the whip hand over sellers)—or both. Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow argue the result is ‘chokepoint capitalism’: rigged markets where powerful corporations have managed to position themselves between workers and customers in ways that allow them to extract far more than their fair share of value. They present and discuss their book, Chokepoint Capitalism.
Cory Doctorow is a bestselling science fiction writer and activist. He is a special advisor to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, with whom he has worked for 20 years. He is also a visiting professor of computer science at the Open University (UK) and of library science at the University of North Carolina. He is also a MIT Media Lab research affiliate. He co-founded the UK Open Rights Group and co-owns the website Boing Boing. He is the author of more than 20 books, in many genres.
Rebecca Giblin (she/her) is an ARC Future Fellow and Professor at Melbourne Law School, where she leads interdisciplinary teams researching issues around creators’ rights, access to knowledge, and the regulation of technology and culture. She is Director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA) and heads up the Author’s Interest and eLending projects (authorsinterest.org; elendingproject.org), as well as Untapped: the Australian Literary Heritage Project (untapped.org.au). Chokepoint Capitalism is her latest book. She also wrote Code Wars and co-edited What if we could reimagine copyright?.
David A. Goodman has been writing professionally since 1988, when he was hired as a staff writer on THE GOLDEN GIRLS. Since then, he has written for over twenty television series, including WINGS, DREAM ON, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, and FUTURAMA. He has been a showrunner/executive producer for FAMILY GUY, AMERICAN DAD, ALLEN GREGORY starring Jonah Hill, and THE ORVILLE. His recent movie, HONOR SOCIETY, premiered in 2022 on Paramount Plus. He served on the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West from 2006-2014, served as Vice President from 2015-2017, and President from 2017-2021. During his two terms as President he led the successful struggle to eliminate talent agency packaging fees, as well as helping to secure the first portable paid family leave clause in a union contract.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Book Soup at Beverly Hills Library Auditorium
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 444 N. Rexford Dr., Beverly Hills Library, CA 90210
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/cory-doctorow-rebecca-giblin
Book Launch: Harry James Hanson & Devin Antheus & Legends of Drag at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Authors Harry James Hanson and Devin Antheus, in conversation with Frank DeCaro, will launch and discuss their new book, Legends of Drag.
This book is a photo book and archive of living drag history. The authors traveled to 16 cites and met 80 legendary entertainers, who shared boundless wisdom and powerful anecdotes from their lives for this book.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Luis I. Reyes & Viva Hollywood: The Legacy of Latin and Hispanic Artists in American Film at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Luis I. Reyes will present and discuss his new book, Viva Hollywood: The Legacy of Larin and Hispanic Artists in American Film.
Through a narrative and photography, this is an in-depth history of the stars, films, achievements, and influence of the Hispanic and Latino community in Hollywood history from the silent era to the present day.
Overcoming obstacles of prejudice, ignorance, and stereotyping, this group has given the world some of its most beloved stars and told some of its most indelible stories. Viva Hollywood examines the stars in front of the screen as well as the people behind-the-scenes who have created a rich legacy across more than 100 years.
Luis I. Reyes is a renowned scholar, author, and lecturer who specializes in the history of Latinos in the Hollywood film industry. He is the author or coauthor of several books on film, including Hispanics in Hollywood, Made in Paradise: Hollywood’s Films of Hawaii and the South Seas, and Made in Mexico: Hollywood South of the Border. He lives in Pasadena, CA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/luis-reyes-discusses-viva-hollywood
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with Zomkhonto – Virtual Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest Zomkhanto.
Zomkhonto is a poet, storyteller, youth mentor, arts educator, and a mental wellness advocate.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html
The Sunless Sea Open Mic: Poetry and Spoken Word Show – In-Person Event
The Sunless Sea Open Mic: Poetry and Spoken Word Show is offered every week at the Unurban Coffee House. Hosted by DeForest Wright, all are invited to attend.
NOTE: Details at event link.
Where: Unurban Coffee House
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1699147113818899
Da Poetry Lounge Tuesday Open Mic at Greenway Court – In-Person Event
The nation’s largest weekly Open Mic event is 24 years strong. It takes place every Tuesday and is open to all ages. Third Tuesdays are SLAM NIGHTS! A slam is a poetry competition.
$10 donation. Do NOT lineup prior to 7:30 p.m. Free parking adjacent to theatre.
See sites for details.
Where: Greenway Court Theatre and YouTube Live Stream
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLUBSRPCFb/ or https://www.dapoetrylounge.com/admission
SOM Tuesdays Open Mic at Di Piazza’s Pizza, Long Beach – In-Person Event
SOM Open Mic Tuesdays at Di Piazza’s takes place in a casual setting with a lunch & dinner menu that includes pizzas, pastas, salads, sandwiches, burgers and more. Come and share music, comedy, and poetry with SOM and Di Pizza.
Where: Di Piazza’s Pizza (Check to verify)
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 9 pm – 12 am
Address: 5205 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA
Website: https://dipiazzas.com/tickets-%26-events
Mystery Book Club & When the Stars Go Dark, by Paula McLain, at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Mystery Book Club meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month and will discuss this month’s selection, Paula McLain’s novel, When The Stars Go Dark.
Set during World War II about the meaning of family and the limitations of the American Dream. It is the story of a changing American landscape and an examination of one of the darkest periods in this country’s past, told through the stories of the individual loves and losses that weave together to form the fabric of our shared history and how we celebrate the bonds of family against all odds.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, book purchase, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore (outside in front of Star Café)
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 9 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/mystery-book-group-when-stars-go-dark-paula-mclain
Altadena Poets Laureate Present: The Art of Writing Poems for Others– In-Person Event
Learn to write a poem for a loved one or a stranger or request your own poem. Celebrate the On-Demand or Typewriter-Written poetry movement and hear what makes the experience so unique from poets who have created in an Amtrak train, the Mall of America, Union Station, Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade, LA Pride, and a Poetry Hotline.
Featuring: ‘Typewriter Poets’ West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia- Wallace, Fourth generation Southern Californian liz gonzález, and Love on Demand’s Cynthia Alessandra Briano.
Moderated by Carla R. Sameth Altadena Co-Poet Laureate.
This program is made possible by the Friends of the Altadena Library.
Guest Poets:
West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace has spent the last decade writing poems for over 10,000 strangers based on their stories in a string of unlikely residencies, ranging from Amtrak to the Mall of America. In 2021, he was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow for LGBTQ+ poetry activism, and his work has appeared in Poets.org, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. Brian is the author of The Poetry of Strangers: What I Learned Traveling America with a Typewriter (Harper Collins, 2020) and teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. More at briansoniawallace.com.
A fourth generation Southern Californian, liz gonzález is the author of The Original OLG: The First Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Bernardino (forthcoming) and Dancing in the Santa Ana Winds: Poems y Cuentos New and Selected (2018), both from Los Nietos Press. Her creative nonfiction recently appeared in Poets & Writers Magazine and Air/Light. Her poems recently appeared in The International Literary Quarterly and the anthologies What They Leave Behind and Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century. She is the founder of Women’s Write Inn, serves on the Inlandia Institute Publication Committee and Board of Directors, and teaches creative writing at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Cynthia Alessandra Briano is a literary activist and community organizer through the arts. She is director of the Rapp Saloon Reading Series First Fridays, an @HIUSA hybrid event and literary arts series centering voices of Black, Indigenous, and POC writers in a multilingual international setting. In 2003, she founded Love On Demand Global, which creates custom-ordered poetry for charity and opportunities for writers to contribute to causes they’re passionate about. Cynthia is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and grew up in Southeast L.A. She teaches at California State Fullerton in the African American Studies Department as lecturer in the Ethnic Studies Program.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. Livestreamed as well!600
Where: Altadena Library, Main Library Community Room
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 600 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D162188944
Virtual Book Launch: Lygia Day Penaflor, with Kathleen Glasgow, & Creep: A Love Story Launch at Bel Canto Bookstore – Online Event
Lygia Day Penaflor, in conversation with Kathleen Glasgow, will present and discuss her book, Creep: A Love Story.
Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore are the perfect couple: beautiful, popular, talented, and hopelessly in love. Everyone looks up to them at Holy Family High School. But Rafi doesn’t just admire them. She watches them. She’s drawn to them.
Intent on becoming their closest friend, Rafi weaves her way into their lives. She starts small: taking photos of the senior class for the yearbook, joining Laney’s club, and babysitting Nico’s little sister. And it works—soon they invite her to parties, take her on joyrides, and ask her for favors. Rafi’s actions quickly turn invasive, delving deeper and deeper until she’s consumed by their most intimate secrets.
When tragedy strikes the young lovers, Rafi’s obsession spirals, and she will do anything to keep the perfect couple together. Anything.
Lygia Day Peñaflor is the author of Creep: A Love Story, All of This is True, and Unscripted Joss Byrd. She also teaches young Hollywood stars on television and movie sets. Her students have included cast members of Gossip Girl, Boardwalk Empire, Spielberg’s West Side Story, and others. She lives on Long Island, NY, where she rides horses and flies from a trapeze. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @lygiaday.
Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces, You’d Be Home Now, How to Make Friends With the Dark, and The Agathas (with Liz Lawson). She lives in Arizona.
NOTE: See stie for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Bel Canto Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/lygia-day-penaflor/register
Quest Book Club & Somebody’s Daughter at The Book Jewel Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Quest Book Club will read and discuss this month’s selection, Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir, by Ashley C. Ford, at The Book Jewel in Westchester.
This story steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl in Indiana with a family fragmented by incarceration, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she embarks on a powerful journey to find the threads between who she is and what she was born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: The Book Jewel Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch71JMCMIV8/?hl=en
Amy Fusselman, with Sarah Manguso, & The Means at Diesel Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join Amy Fusselman, in conversation with Sarah Manguso, to discuss her new novel, The Means.
This book Shelly Means, a wealthy stay-at-home mom and disgraced former PTA president, is poised to get the one thing in life she really wants: a beach house in the Hamptons. But what should be a simple real estate transaction quickly goes awry as Shelly’s new neighbors disapprove of her proposed shipping container house at the same time that George’s lucrative work as a voice over artist dries up. But Shelly is dogged. She knows how to go into beast mode. But will it ever be enough to realize her beach house dreams?
Amy Fusselman is the author of four books of nonfiction. Her latest, Idiophone, was nominated for The Believer Book Award and the University of Iowa’s Kraus Essay Prize. Her previous three books are: Savage Park: a Meditation on Play, Space, and Risk for Americans Who Are Nervous, Distracted, and Afraid to Die , 8 and The Pharmacist’s Mate. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Believer, ARTnews, Ms., and The Washington Post, among other outlets. Her books have been translated into four languages. She teaches creative writing at New York University and lives in New York City with her family.
Sarah Manguso is a fiction writer, essayist, and poet, and the author, most recently, of the novel Very Cold People (February 2022). Her other work includes the nonfiction books 300 Arguments, Ongoingness, The Guardians, and The Two Kinds of Decay, the poetry collections Siste Viator and The Captain Lands in Paradise, and the story collection Hard to Admit and Harder to Escape. Her work has been recognized by an American Academy of Arts and Letters Literature Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship, and the Rome Prize. She grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in Los Angeles, where she currently teaches creative writing at Antioch University.
NOTE: See site for guidelines & information.
Where: Diesel Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Amy-Fusselman-September-28-Author-signing
Jonathan Ames & The Wheel of Doll: A Novel at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Jonathan Ames will present and discuss his book, The Wheel of Dall: A Novel.
Although badly scarred and down to his last kidney after the previous caper, Happy Doll is back in business. When a beguiling young woman turns up at his door, it’s Doll’s past that comes knocking. Mary DeAngelo is searching for her estranged mother, Ines Candle—a singular and troubled woman Doll once loved. The last he’d seen her she’d been near-death: arms slit like envelopes. Although she survived the episode, she vanished shortly thereafter. Now, years later, Mary claims Ines is alive and has recently made contact—messaging her on Facebook and calling her from a burner phone—only to disappear once again.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/jonathan-ames
At Skylight: Taneum Bambrick, with Dorothy Chan, & Intimacies Received at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Taneum Bambrick, in conversation with Dorothy Chan, will present and discuss her new book, Intimacies Received.
In this astonishing second collection by Taneum Bambrick, violence hides in the glint of the carving knife—every intimacy a shadow, every memory a maze to navigate. Set primarily in rural Southern Spain, Intimacies Received moves through streets and fields, households and years, following a survivor of sexual assault as she painstakingly reassembles a narrative of self.
Taneum Bambrick is the author of Intimacies, Received (Copper Canyon Press, Sept 2022) and Vantage, winner of the APR/Honickman First Book Award (American Poetry Review 2019). A 2020 Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she is currently a Dornsife Fellow in the PhD program at the University of Southern California. Her work appears in New Yorker, The Nation, Academy of American Poets, PEN and elsewhere.
Dorothy Chan (she/they) is the author of most recently, BABE, a book forthcoming with Diode Editions this Winter 2021, in addition to Revenge of the Asian Woman (Diode Editions, 2019), Attack of the Fifty-Foot Centerfold (Spork Press, 2018), and Chinatown Sonnets (New Delta Review, 2017). They were a 2020 and 2014 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship finalist, a 2020 finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Poetry for Revenge of the Asian Woman, and a 2019 recipient of the Philip Freund Prize in Creative Writing from Cornell University. Their work has appeared in POETRY, The American Poetry Review, Academy of American Poets, and elsewhere. Chan is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Editor Emeritus of Hobart, Book Reviews Co-Editor of Pleiades, and Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Honey Literary Inc., a 501(c)(3) literary arts organization. Visit their website at dorothypoetry.com Chan received a PhD from Florida State University in 2019, an MFA from Arizona State University in 2015, and a BA from Cornell University in 2012.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Book Launch: Akil Kumarasamy, with Cathleen Schine, & Meet Us by the Roaring Sea at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Author Akil Kumarasamy, in conversation with Kathleen Schine, will launch and discuss the new book, Meet Us by the Roaring Sea.
Alternating between the young woman’s present life and passages of the translated manuscript, Akil Kumarasamy’s Meet Us by the Roaring Sea explores memory, technology, friendship, love, consciousness, and the costs of caring for others in an age when we are so often lost in the swamps of our own minds.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Tuesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Elissa Bassist & Hysterical: A Memoir at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Author Elissa Bassist will present and discuss her new book, Hysterical: A Memoir.
Between 2016 and 2018, Elissa Bassist saw over twenty medical professionals for a variety of mysterious ailments. Bassist had what millions of American women had: pain that didn’t make sense to doctors, a body that didn’t make sense to science, a psyche that didn’t make sense to mankind. But then an acupuncturist suggested some of her physical pain could be caged fury finding expression, and that treating her voice would treat the problem. It did.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/elissa-bassist-discusses-hysterical
Anansi Virtual Writers Workshop at The World Stage – In-Person Event
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. Our 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. For general information and booking, contact V. Kali, the Anansi Writers Workshop Coordinator, at vkaliflowers@gmail.com.
• 7:30p.m.–8:30p.m. — Formal workshop;
• 8:30p.m.–9:00p.m. — Featured reader;
• 9:05p.m.–10:00p.m. — Open mic
Suggested: $5.00 Donation via PayPal: The World Stage Gallery.
NOTE: See site for further details, and any change in the schedule. Contact kaliflowers@gmial.com or call (323) 293-2451
Where: The World Stage
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.theworldstage.org/events.html
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 Jose Hernandez Diaz.
Jose Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020). His work appears in The American Poetry Review, Boulevard, Colorado Review, Huizache, Iowa Review, Poetry, The Southern Review, The Yale Review, and in The Best American Nonrequired Reading Anthology 2011. He teaches creative writing online and edits for Frontier Poetry.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-night-poetry-workshop-tickets-425177315797?aff=erelexpmlt
Flight School Open Mic Has Returned at Playground Hookah Lounge – In-Person Event
Flight School Open Mic is offered every Wednesday.
All arts are welcome: singing, dance, poetry, improv, comedy, music, and we learn to fly together, all balanced by host O. Smith and a full live band and DJ D-Major.
$10 Entry at the door. $8 tickets at Eventbrite.
NOTE: Check site for further details, updates, and information.
Where: Flight School Open Mic at the Playground
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm – 12 am
Address: 630 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA 90302
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/flight-school-open-mic-tickets-362732993147?aff=erelpanelorg
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry & Gustavo Hernandez at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Join Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Night for our Reading & Open Mic, featuring Gustavo Hernandez.
The format is to welcome a featured poet for a reading, and an Open Mic reading. Tonight’s featured reader is Gustavo Hernandez.
Gustavo Hernandez is the author of the poetry collection Flower Grand First (Moon Tide Press). He holds a degree in creative writing from California State University Long Beach and is a poetry editor for The Cortland Review. His poems have been published in Reed, Acentos Review, Sonora Review and other publications. He was born in Jalisco, Mexico and lives in Southern California.
$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
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Two-Idiots-Peddling-Poetry/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/2280669772091093
Book Talk: Santino Zafarana & Think Before You Shoot: The Art of Taking Creative Photographs at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Santino Zafarana will present and discuss his book, Think Before You Shoot: The Art of Taking Creative Photographs.
This book is a deep dive into why images matter and how to create consistently powerful and captivating ones, from the perspective of a renowned photographer.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Writer’s Workshop with Editor-in-Chief of Dryland Literary Journal, Viva Padilla at Re/Arte – In-Person Event
Join us for a Writer’s Workshop led by writer Viva Padilla to focus on getting your work published. Bring your work to get feedback. Donation of $15 minimum encouraged.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, further details, guidelines & information.
Where: Re/Arte Centro Literario
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 2123 East Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/eve nts%2Feventos
Melanie C., with Dawn O’Porter, & The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Melnaie C., in conversation with Dawn O’Porter, will present and discuss her book, The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl.
This is an intimate memoir from international pop star Melanie Chisholm—better known as Mel C. or Sporty Spice—chronicling her trajectory from small-town girl to overnight icon as part of the Spice Girls.
25 years ago, The Spice Girls, a girl band that began after five women answered an ad in the paper, released their first single. ‘Wannabe’ became a hit and from that moment and, almost overnight, Melanie Chisholm went from small town girl to Sporty Spice, part of one of the biggest music groups in history.
Beginning in her bedroom in the north-west of England dreaming of performing on stage, The Sporty One follows the meteoric rise of the Melanie and The Spice Girls, from the incredible highs of becoming one of the world’s most recognizable popstars—playing at Wembley, conquering the BRITs, closing the Olympics—to the difficult lows. For the first time ever, Melanie talks about the pressures of fame, the shaming and bullying she experienced, the struggles she has had with her body image and mental health, and the difficulty of finding yourself when the whole world knows your name.
Dawn O’Porter is the bestselling author of The Cows and the Richard and Judy Book Club pick So Lucky, and her latest non-fiction title Life in Pieces was also a Sunday Times bestseller. Her new novel, Cat Lady, is out on October 27th.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/book-soup-presents-melanie-c
Pippa Grant IN-PERSON Launch Party for Irresistible Trouble, with Kayley Loring, at The Ripped Bodice Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice will host an IN-PERSON book launch for Pippa Grant, in conversation with Kayley Loring, to discuss her new book, Irresistible Trouble, and all things romance. There will be a book signing to follow.
Irresistible Trouble is about a baseball player whose ego is catching up to him, a pop star who’s a bit of a hot mess when the cameras aren’t looking (and sometimes when they are), and the kind of family and teammates that everyone deserves…in small doses.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm
Address: Main St., Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Architecture and Beyond at the Los Feliz Library, & The Speculative City via Skylight Bookstore – Online Event
Architecture and Beyond features a discussion of The Speculative City: Art, Real Estate, and the Making of Global Los Angeles, by Susanna Phillips Newbury.
Underlying every great city is a rich and vibrant culture that shapes the texture of life within. In The Speculative City, Susanna Phillips Newbury teases out how art and Los Angeles shaped one another’s evolution. She compellingly articulates how together they transformed the Southland, establishing the foundation for its contemporary art infrastructure, and explains how artists came to influence Los Angeles’s burgeoning definition as the global city of the twenty-first century.
Susanna Phillips Newbury is associate professor of art history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
NOTE: See site for further details, link, & information.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/architecture-and-beyond-los-feliz-library-6
At Skylight: Raymond B. Craib, with Cory Doctorow, & Adventure Capitalism via Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Raymond B. Craib, in conversation with Cory Doctorow, will present and discuss his new book, Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age.
Imagine a capitalist paradise. An island utopia governed solely by the rules of the market and inspired by the fictions of Ayn Rand and Robinson Crusoe. Sound far-fetched? It may not be. The past half century is littered with the remains of such experiments in what Raymond Craib calls “libertarian exit.” Often dismissed as little more than the dreams of crazy, rich Caucasians, exit strategies have been tried out from the southwest Pacific to the Caribbean, from the North Sea to the high seas, often with dire consequences for local inhabitants. Based on research in archives in the US, the UK, and Vanuatu, as well as in FBI files acquired through the Freedom of Information Act, Craib explores in careful detail the ideology and practice of libertarian exit and its place in the histories of contemporary capitalism, decolonization, empire, and oceans and islands.
Raymond B. Craib is the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of History at Cornell University and the author of The Cry of the Renegade: Politics and Poetry in Interwar Chile, Cartographic Mexico: A History of State Fixations and Fugitive Landscapes, and with Barry Maxwell, co-editor of No Gods No Masters No Peripheries: Global Anarchisms.
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest book is ATTACK SURFACE, a standalone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER; his next nonfiction book is CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, with Rebecca Giblin, about monopoly, monopsony and fairness in the creative arts labor market, (Beacon Press, 2022). In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
NOTE: See site for further details, link, & information.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N, Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Writing Class with Carlos Allende Gonzalez, PhD at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
This is the second part of a two-day course that teaches you how to turn your story into a page-turner by applying principles from prevalent theories of motivation and gamification. There is no requirement that you attend both classes. The course is FREE with any book purchase from Village Well.
Carlos Allende González has a Ph.D. in Media Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. He teaches the Psychology of Compelling Storytelling in the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension. His research focuses on narrative persuasion and narrative engagement. As Carlos Allende, he writes dark comedy and social satire. His newest book, Coffee, Shopping, Murder Love, from Red Hen Press, came out last June.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and event details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/19730
Char Miller & Natural Consequences at Vroman’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Char Miller will present and discuss his memoir, Natural Consequences: Intimate Essays for a Planet in Peril.
Drought and fires, floods and rising tides: These and other climate-driven forces are compelling us to examine our role as inhabitants of our imperiled planet. In over forty essays and vignettes, Natural Consequences is Char Miller’s tells the historical background of how we got here, what we need to do now, and how we can thrive into the future.
Professor of Environmental Analysis and History, and author of books, articles, and essays, Char Miller’s narratives are not only expansive in scope, but also intimate and personal. Living in Southern California, he walks us through the environmental touchstones of his backyard, through his neighborhood, into the widely varied ecospheres of California, and then the world beyond.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/char-miller-discusses-natural-consequences
Fos–Thursday & FOST Artistic Collective Presents: Freedom of Speech Open Mic with Sabor y Cultura Café – In-Person & Online IG Event
Please help FOS’s in-person venue Sabor y Cultura with the link in the bio. Open Mic is currently only on IG Live at 8 pm, with sign-ups open on Wednesday at 3pm.
NOTE: See site for cost, event details.
Where: Freedom of Speech (FOS) Open Mic – In-Person & Online IG event
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 665 N. Heliotrope Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.instagram.com/fos_thursdays/
Spectacular Storytime for Children at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Spectacular Storytime is offered every Friday morning at 9:30 am. It is ready to delight and dazzle with troubadour Maddie, it and is geared for children ages 3-6.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose CA 91020
Website:https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/spectacular-story-time-7
Poetry Reading & Conversation with Briana Munoz & Iris DeAndaat Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Briana Muñoz is a Poet from Southern California. She is the author of Loose Lips published by Prickly Pear Publishing (2019) and of Everything is Returned to the Soil published by FlowerSong Press (2021). She has performed poetry in places like UNEAC (The National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba), CECUT (The Tijuana Cultural Center), El Centro Cultural de la Raza in San Diego and beyond.
Iris De Anda is a Guanaca Tapatia poet, speaker & musician who has been featured with KPFK & KPFA Pacifica Radio, organized with Academy of American Poets, performed at Los Angeles Latino Book Festival, Feria del Libro Tijuana, Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba and is named one of Today’s Revolutionary Women of Color. Author of Codeswitch: Fires from Mi Corazon & Roots of Redemption: You have No Right to Remain Silent.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and event details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/19957
Rina Raphael, with Jane Marie, & Gospel of Wellness at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Rina Raphael, in conversation with Jane Marie, will present and discuss her book, Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/rina-raphael
Raymond B. Craib & Adventure Capitalism via Page Against the Machine Bookstore – In-Person Event
Raymond B. Craib will present and discuss his new book, Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age.
𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 presents a detailed examination of the ideology and practice of libertarian exit and its place in the histories of contemporary capitalism, decolonization, empires, oceans, and islands.
Raymond B. Craib is the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of History at Cornell University and the author of The Cry of the Renegade: Politics and Poetry in Interwar Chile, Cartographic Mexico: A History of State Fixations and Fugitive Landscapes, and co-editor of No Gods No Masters No Peripheries: Global Anarchisms.
NOTE: See site for further details, link, & information.
Where: PATM Bookstore
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
True Tales of Family: A Reading by Five Macondistas at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event
This event is a reading with Macondo Writers Workshop alums: Pat Alderete, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley, Cecilia Caballero, Juanita E. Mantz, & Allison Hedge Coke.
These five writers and alumni of the Macondo Writers Workshop will present True Tales of Family, a reading that explores family history, conflict, and relations through the lens of authors from different regions of Latin America. The readers will illustrate how writing about family can be transformative, both in the process of writing the story and in the process of publication.
Pat Alderete, born and raised in East Los Angeles, writes about the beauty and brutality of barrio life, rendering the complex inner worlds and strict social hierarchies of a community seldom observed in literature. Her short stories are published in Joteria and PEN Center Journal and have been anthologized in Hers 2 and 3; Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Latino Arts Anthology 1988-2000; A Geography of Rage; Afro-Hispanic Review; and Love West Hollywood. She has written two one-act plays, Ghost and the Spirit and Love and Fire. Pat was an inaugural member of PEN Emerging Voices. She is also a member of Macondo, a writers homeland founded by author Sandra Cisneros. Alderete is a member of Writers At Work, led by Terry Wolverton. Alderete is currently working on her memoir about Chicana life in East L.A.
Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley is a Dominican American creative non-fiction writer, filmmaker and mother of two. Her memoir in progress, Late Bloomer, explores the themes of migration, assimilation and maternal rage. Her work is featured in The Latinx Project at NYU, Gathering: A Women Who Submit Anthology, Made in LA Volume 4: Beyond the Precipice and Harper Via’s Somewhere We Are Human edited by Reyna Grande and Sonia Guiñansaca. Lucy advocates for representation of BIPOC women and non-binary writers. She is the Chapters Liaison for Women Who Submit and has a Leadership role with the Long Beach Literary Arts Center. http://www.lucyrodriguezhanley.com/ Instagram: @lucyrodriguezhanley, Twitter: @lucyrodriguez, Facebook: Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley
Cecilia Caballero, based in Los Angeles, is a poet, creative nonfiction writer, adjunct professor of Ethnic Studies, and co-editor of the bestselling book The Chicana Motherwork Anthology. Cecilia’s prose and poetry has been published in Dryland, Epiphany, The Acentos Review, Raising Mothers, Gathering: A Women Who Submit Anthology, and elsewhere. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart and a Rhysling and she is an alum of workshops and fellowships with Tin House, Macondo, VONA, and the Women’s National Book Association. She is currently a Visiting Teaching Artist with the Poetry Foundation and her goal is to cultivate more communal spaces of storytelling and social justice for BIPOC folks. Cecilia is currently at work on a memoir and two book-length poetry collections. Twitter: la_sangre_llama, Instagram: @bookworm_por_vida
Juanita E. Mantz (“JEM”) is a writer, a USC Law educated lawyer, performer and podcaster. Her YA memoir Tales of an Inland Empire Girl was published by Los Nietos Press in January 2022 and her hybrid chapbook Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender, or how I became a punk rock lawyer was released by Bamboo Dart Press in 2021. JEM has been published widely in literary journals, magazines and anthologies. She is VP on the BOD of the Inlandia Institute and an alum of the Macondo & VONA Writing Workshops & has presented at UCR Writers Week, Pasadena LitFest, the UCR Punk Conference, AWP and will be the writer in residence at PCC in October. She produced the ASA 2020 Freedom Course on Combatting Mass Incarceration. JEM is in the low residency MFA program at Univ. of New Orleans where she is adapting her memoir into a stage play and by day, she works as a deputy public defender in Riverside County specializing in mental health. On her Life of JEM live video podcast, she interviews writers. Find her on twitter @lifeofjem & on Insta @lifeofjem1 & on her author’s website at https://juanitaemantz.com/.
Allison Hedge Coke’s recent honors include a 2022-2023 UC Mellon Dean’s Professorship, the 2021-2022 California Arts Council Legacy Artist Fellowship, 2021 AWP George Garrett Award, 2021 induction into the Texas Institute of Letters, 2020 Daniel & Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at the University of Hawai‘i, 2019 Fulbright in Montenegro, 2018 First Jade Female Poetry Festival Sihui China Excellent Foreign Poet, 2016 US Library of Congress Witter Bynner Fellow. Her latest release is Look at This Blue, from Coffee House Press, 2022.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice CA 90291
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/true-tales-of-family-a-reading-by-five-macondistas-tickets-400249576257
Sims Library of Poetry: 44 Class on When Poets Meditate, with Karo Ska at Sims Library of Poetry – Online Event
This workshop is part of an introductory poetry craft and generative series. You will have a chance to write and share your work.
In this class, we will use meditation practices, specifically breath exercises, to unlock the power of poetry
Through guided prompts, we will plant poem seedlings.
Poets we will look at include: Yesenia Montilla, Rudy Francisco, Sumita Chakraborty, and Linda Hogan.
You can pay $25 for one class or sign up for the monthly offerings: $44/month for two classes that meet on the first and third Saturday of the month.
Karo Ska (she/they) is a South Asian and Eastern European gender-fluid poet living on unceded Tongva land. Their writing focuses on identity, mental health, survivorship and the intersections of trauma and politics. They have been published in Dryland Literary Journal, Cultural Daily, Altadena Poetry Review, Marías at Sampaguitas, Glass: A Journal of Poetry among others. They are a 3-time 2020 Pushcart Prize nominee, a 2021 Cal Arts Artist Fellow, and were a 2020 semi-finalist in the Jack Grapes Poetry Prize. Their first full-length collection, loving my salt-drenched bones was released in February 2022 through World Stage Press.
NOTE: See site for cost, link and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 10 am – 12 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-as-meditation-tickets-422893113687
Navigating With(out) Instruments: A Workshop with traci kato-kiriyama at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event
This is an in-person intensive workshop which focuses on themes of memory, belonging, “Death Moments” and transformation with traci kato-kiriyama.
How do we navigate through the many layers of our Self while trying to create? How do we write through our constant transformations that include processes of reckoning, relearning, excavation, healing? How do we honor our life experience(s) within the context of Other / the community / the world? Navigating With(out) Instruments is a collection of “poetry, micro essays, and notes to self” authored by multi-disciplinary artist traci kato-kiriyama.
The NWI workshop will focus on: 1) themes of memory, belonging, “Death Moments” and transformation; and 2) the very real and difficult process behind any soul-baring, creative project – from a single poem to an entire collection of writing. traci will discuss some of her hard-earned process in developing NWI over many years and offer prompts and exercises (from letters to dialogue to a “Table of Contents”) to stimulate and support the continuance of your writing and creative journey.
NOTE: See site for tickets, costs, guidelines, and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 12 pm – 4 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice CA 90291
Special Storytime: Mirelle Ortega & Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event
Join us for a special story time with children’s author Mirelle Ortega, who will present her new book, Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land.
In this debut as author and illustrator, Mirelle Ortega shares her own story of growing up near her family’s pineapple farm in Mexico, where she learned the true meaning of magic. She learned that magic isn’t good or bad, it just is. Sometimes it gives, sometimes it takes. Sometimes life blossoms, sometimes it wilts.
Growing up on a pineapple farm in Mexico, a girl discovers the true meaning of the word magic in this truly magical picture book about change and transformation of all kinds—what we can’t control, such as natural disasters and loss, and what we can. Magic can transform dirt into pineapples, seeds into trees, wool into blankets, words into stories, blank pages into pictures—a story into a picture book.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday the 1ST
Time: 11 am
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/mirelle-ortega-presents-magic-once-upon-a-faraway-land
Autumn Moon Celebration with Author Tran Thi Minh Phuoc & All About Vietnam at Lincoln Heights Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids Event
Meet and greet award-winning author Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival. Enjoy storytelling, crafts, songs and dancing with choreographer Thuy Duong. Those attending will have a chance to win a copy of the author’s newest book All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids.
Where: Lincoln Heights Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 2530 Workman St., Los Angeles, CA 90031
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/harvest-moon-celebration-author-tran-thi-minh-phuoc
Expressions LA Poetry Reading & Open Mic at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Meet every 2nd & 4th Saturday for Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series, featuring poetry readings and open poetry mic.
Please email studio@lapl.org for instructions on how to join the program.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 3 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/expressions-la-poetry-reading-series-and-open-mic
Saturday Afternoon Poetry & Writing Workshop with Don Kingfisher Campbell – In-Person Event & Online Event via Zoom
Saturday Afternoon Poetry presents an in-person and online hybrid event to participate in a writing workshop led by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
(Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines for Spectrum 33: You and Me by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm October 1st).
THIS MEETING CAN ALSO BE ACCESSED THROUGH OUR USUAL ZOOM PORTAL. All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Rosebud Coffee Patio
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 2302 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena CA & Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Poetry In Productions, with Terrell M. Green at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
This workshop focuses on adding poetry in theatrical productions and how to turn your poetry into visual concepts. This free 60-minute workshop led by Terrell M. Green will address how to add poetry to theatrical productions and turning poetry into visual concepts.
Terrell M. Green is an artist, advocate, and educator based in Los Angeles, CA. Hailing from Philadelphia, PA, Terrell has attended: Central High School; Marymount Manhattan College in NYC (B.A in Theatre Performance); The British American Drama Academy at Oxford University’s Magdalen Campus in Oxfordshire, England (Professional Certificate in Shakespeare Performance); and marionette puppetry training in Cork and Dublin, Ireland. Terrell is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Digital Media Management from USC (2023). Terrell has spent the past 10+ years providing arts-integrated youth programming in the areas of: literacy enrichment, social and emotional learning, sexual and reproductive health, and conflict resolution. Terrell believes that art access is one of the many tools to help combat public health issues and strives to use storytelling as a data collection metric. Terrell’s work and advocacy has been featured in American Theatre Magazine, Philly Mag, Philly Gay News, Shoutout LA, The Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY and Philly’s KYW news radio.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-in-productions-tickets-411532353347
Pondwater Society Presents: Matt Rouse & Marc Cid at PondWater – In-Person Event
PondWater Society and host Joanne Qualey will feature a reading with two talented and explosive poets sparring and dancing.
Matt Rouse is a queer pansexual poet from Orange County, California. He is a gadfly at the Ugly Mug in Orange on Wednesday nights. He has been published online at Cultured Vultures, Meteoritic, Right-Hand Pointing, and Cadence Collective.
Marc Cid is a twenty-something from Downey, and semi-fresh out of college. He finds himself writing throughout all the indecisiveness on what to do next.
The event is free and everyone is welcome, although it’s not necessarily child friendly, it’s an environment to celebrate being an adult.
There will be wine and cheese, coffee and baked goods. If you would like to stay for dinner there is a $10.00 suggested donation.
Where: PondWater
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 5 pm
Address: 16504 E. Masline St., Covina, CA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PondWater or https://www.facebook.com/events/1425325904628474/?ref=newsfeed
At Skylight: Nolan Knight, with Jim Ruland, & Beneath the Black Palms at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Nolan Knight, in conversation with Jim Ruland, will discuss his book. Beneath the Black Palms.
Beneath the Black Palms lurks the other side of living. Los Angeles—the siren, the beast—is the central antagonist within these eleven masterful, stylistically-diverse short stories. Nolan Knight maneuvers The City to destroy with open arms, its warm torments ushered for lonesome dreamers, outcasts, squares, con men and have-nots. Come for the sunshine, stay for the dread. No one is spared. Beneath the Black Palms is the most unforgettable short story collection in recent years.
Nolan Knight is the author of The Neon Lights Are Veins, a fourth generation Angeleno whose short fiction has been featured in various publications including Akashic Books, Thuglit, Crimespree Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Tough and Needle. He is a former staff writer for Los Angeles’ Biggest Music Publication, the L.A. Record, and currently resides in Long Beach. Beneath the Black Palms is his first collection of short stories.
Jim Ruland is the LA Times bestselling author of Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records. He also co-authored My Damage with Keith Morris, the founding vocalist of Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and OFF! and Do What You Want with Bad Religion. Ruland has won awards from Reader’s Digest and the National Endowment for the Arts. His work has appeared in The Believer, Esquire, Granta, Hobart, Los Angeles Times, McSweeney’s, Oxford American, Zyzzyva, and many others. His new novel, Make It Stop, will be published by Rare Bird Books on February 14, 2023.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-nolan-knight-presents-beneath-black-palms-jim-ruland
Voices of California: Poetry and Prose Reading with: Mike “the Poet” Sonksen, F. Douglas Brown, traci kato-kiriyama, Bridgette Bianca, Jessica Wilson, Jeremy Greene, Brenda Vaca, Carla Castle, Gina Duran, Salome Agharaji & Adolfo Guzman-Lopez at Tia Chucha’s Bookstore – In-Person & YouTube Event
Nervous Ghost Press founder Matthew Mejia will join the voices of guest readers:
Mike “the Poet” Sonksen is an acclaimed journalist, historian, poet, and professor at Woodbury University. He is the author most recently of the collection, Letters to My City, and his work has been featured at KCET and other media outlets. His mission is to uplift the next generation of voices and build bridges across varying segments of society.
F. Douglas Brown is a Black and Filipino poet, educator, and DJ, and the author most recently of ICON (Writ Large Press, 2018); and Zero to Three (University of Georgia Press, 2014), winner of the 2013 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. His poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals, including Teaching Black: The Craft of Teaching on Black Life and Literature, which presents the experiences and voices of Black creative writers who are also teachers. The authors in this collection engage poetry, fiction, experimental literature, playwriting, and literary criticism.
traci kato-kiriyama is a multidisciplinary artist, actor, arts educator & community organizer, and the author most recently of Navigating With(out) Instruments. In this book she uses her present-political unrest, family love and loss, her own cancer diagnosis to join the traumas of the past generations with the hope of the future ones. It moves from genre to genre, from poetry to essays to plays to letters. It uses the history of US colonialism and war mongering, urging readers to protect and share their legacies.
Bridgette Bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Howard University and her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Otis College of Art & Design and has performed her poetry all around Southern California. She is one half of the literary curating team, Making Room for Black Women, with Sanura Williams of My Lit Box and co-host of the quarterly reading series at the Women’s Center of Creative Work with Nina Rota. Her work as a writer and an educator seeks to serve the people and moments most forget or ignore. Her first book of poetry, be/trouble, was released by Writ Large Press in 2020.
Jessica Wilson is a Chicana and Beat poet, writer, teacher, activist, and founder of the LA Poet Society. She has launched and overseen many literary events and writing workshops in Southern California, and she is the author most recently of the collection, Serious Longing, now in its fourth printing.
Jeremy Greene N/A
Brenda Vaca is a former pastor, realtor, and entrepreneur, whose debut poetry collection, Riot of Roses, shares her journey to self-discovery and the writing and publishing life. This book tells an ancient truth of survival, thriving, death, and the awesome power of regeneration. Through her many new ventures, she now encourages others to rise and stand in their truth and to take back their power.
Cerisa Castle is a Los Angeles-based journalist specializing in arts & culture, civil rights, crime, etc., and has several years of experience as a multimedia journalist across print, television, and audio. She wrote the first history of deputy gangs inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and produced and hosted segments for the Emmy-award winning nightly news program, VICE News Tonight, NPR and nationally syndicated radio program Marketplace, among others.
Gina Duran is a poet and writer, educator, non-profit entrepreneur, and the author of … And So the Wind Was Born. This book of poetry shows us how love is an ouroboros, constantly reshaping our love for ourselves and others and making room for more-it is limitless and ineffable. It shows us how we are all connected and that love of self is love for others, and vice versa.
Salome Agharaji is the Los Angeles County Youth Poet Laureate of 2022-23, making her the first African with this title. She is a Nigerian-American poet that has written and/or performed spoken word poetry for numerous venues and companies. She performs her work at poetry slams, schools, open mics, and elsewhere.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez is a journalist and writer who covers education and social issues throughout Southern California at KPCC 89.3FM. He knows something about cross-border and cross-cultural life. Born in Mexico City, he was raised in Tijuana, Mexico and, at a young age, moved to San Diego, and has maintained ties across borders and cities.
NOTE: See site for link, guidelines, and details. Join in-person or on Nervous Ghost Live YouTube Channel!
Where: Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore & chillsatwill podcast
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 5 pm
Address: 12677 Glenoaks Blvd., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: https://www.facebook.com/riotofroses/photos/a.124318990008877/193188306455278/
Live on Crowdcast: Death in the Mouth Launch Event at Skylight Bookstore –Online Event
Five contributors will read and discuss the release of Death in the Mouth, An Anthology of Original Horror From People of Color. In this anthology, Sloane Leong and Cassie Hart bring you an incredible range of stories and illustrations that celebrate the voices of those overlooked to show you the terrifying and exquisite scope of what horror can be.
Beatrice Iker grew up in the picturesque (and undoubtedly haunted) valley of the Great Smoky Mountains. A member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA), they are a 2022 Voodoonauts Fellow and the Managing Editor of the winnow, an LGBTQ+ literary magazine. Their work appears/is forthcoming in issues of FIYAH Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, and others. Additionally, they are a contributor in the DEATH IN THE MOUTH horror anthology (fall 2022). Beatrice lives in New England where they enjoy the snow with their husband, dog, two cats, and robust tarot deck collection.
K-Ming Chang is a Kundiman fellow, a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. She is the author of the New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice novel BESTIARY (One World/Random House, 2020), which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. In 2021, her chapbook BONE HOUSE was published by Bull City Press. Her most recent book is GODS OF WANT (One World/Random House, 2022). Her next book is a novel titled ORGAN MEATS. She lives in California.
Karin Lowachee was born in South America, grew up in Canada, and worked in the Arctic. She has been a creative writing instructor, adult education teacher, and volunteer in a maximum-security prison. Her novels have been translated into French, Hebrew, and Japanese, and her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies, best-of collections, and magazines. When she isn’t writing, she serves at the whim of a black cat.
Sloane Leong is a self-taught cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. She is the creator of several graphic novels: From Under Mountains, Prism Stalker, A Map to the Sun, and Graveneye and her fiction has appeared in many publications including Dark Matter Magazine, Apex Magazine, Fireside Magazine, Analog, Realm Media and many more. Sloane is currently living on Chinook land near what is known as Portland, Oregon with her family and three dogs.
Cassie Hart is a Māori speculative fiction writer who enjoys delving into human nature in all its beauty and disarray. Over the past five years she has published over ten novel and novellas and has had her work printed in various anthologies including: A Foreign Country, Baby Teeth: Bite-sized Tales of Terror, Cthulhu: Land of the Long White Cloud, Regeneration, and Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy Volume 1. She also co-edited and contributed to the Sir Julius Vogel winning benefit anthology, Tales for Canterbury. She has been a finalist for the SJV’s many times, as well as a finalist for short fiction for the Australian Shadow Awards. In 2018 she was selected as one of six emerging Māori writers to participate in the Te Papa Tupuincubator programme, where she worked on her novel, Butcherbird, a supernatural suspense set under the watchful gaze of Mount Taranaki. Butcherbird is releasing in 2021 from Huia. She lives with her husband, three daughters, and assortment of animals in beautiful Aotearoa.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (live on Crowdcast)
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-death-mouth-launch-event
J.J. Anselmi & Out Here on Our Own at Page Against the Machine Bookstore – In-Person Event
Long Beach writer and musician J.J. Anselmi will discuss and sign his new book, Out Here on Our Own: An Oral History of an American Boomtown.
𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙊𝙬𝙣 tells the story of the author’s hometown of Rock Springs, Wyoming, a mining boomtown with a history of brutal racial violence, widespread addiction, prostitution, and a staggeringly high per-capita suicide rate. Though a series of intimate and wrenching personal accounts from community members, Anselmi paints a stark rendition of an American community in crisis, whose problems are fanned by severely limited mental health resources, dying industries, and a still-pervasive mythology of rugged individualism that pushes citizens to deal their troubles alone and “on their own.” From the horror of the massacre of Chinese miners in 1885 to modern day opioid and methamphetamine epidemics, the book details the ongoing struggle of a community that’s as tough, weathered, and resilient as the sagebrush and sandstone
The book features the equally stark and haunting black and white photographs of filmmaker and photojournalist Jordan Utley, who will also be joining us for this event. surrounding it.
J. J. Anselmi is the author of two previous books, Doomed to Fail: The incredibly Loud History of Doom, Sludge, and Post-Mental and Heavy: A Memoir of Wyoming, BMX, Drugs and Heavy Fucking Music. His writing has been featured in numerous publications, including: Vice, The New Republic, and the A.V. Club
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Page Against the Machine
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
October Happily Ever After Book Club & Duel Vampire Lord at The Ripped Bodice Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice will host a Happily Ever After Book Club discussion of this month’s selection. Duel Vampire Lord by Elise Kova at The Actors’ Gang.
The Happily Everyone After Book club is lead by bookseller Sarah S. and reads widely across the romance genre. Everyone is welcome!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice at The Actors’ Gang
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Address: Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Book Launch Readings: Reyna Grande and Maria Amparo Escandon at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes – In-Person Event
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes will present a book launch event, panel discussion with moderator and actress Yareli Arizmendi, and readings by Reyna Grande and Maria Amparo Escandon.
Books will be available for sale.
Reyna Grande will present excerpts from her most recent novel, Corrido de amor y gloria. She is the author of the memoirs The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, and the novels Across a Hundred Mountains, Dancing With Butterflies, and A Ballad of Love and Glory. Her books have been adopted as the common read selection by schools, colleges, and cities across the country.
Maria Amparo Escandon will present excerpts from her most recent novel, El Clima de Los Angeles. She is a Mexican-born American blingual novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, advertising creative director, and film producer. Her award-winning literary work is known for addressing bi-cultural themes that deal with the immigration experience of Mexicans crossing over to the United States
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: La Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 2 pm
Address: 501 N. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
At Skylight: Chris Harris & If You Laugh, I’m Starting This Book Over at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Chris Harris will present and discuss his children’s book. If You Laugh, I’m Starting This Book Over.
In this riotous read-aloud from the bestselling author of I’m Just No Good at Rhyming and The Alphabet’s Alphabet, the reader insists that listeners MUST. NOT. LAUGH—but the demand NOT to laugh leads to the irresistible temptation to do just that! Chock full of silly narrative twists, giggle-worthy character names, and ridiculously goofy illustrations by Serge Bloch, this book from Chris Harris is an interactive romp
NOTE: See site for RSVP guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 2 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Horror Reading Event: Kate Maruyama, Jo Kaplan, Michael Paul Gonzalez, and Lisa Morton at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
This Horror Reading Event will be full of terrifying tales and spooky stories! We’ll be kicking off our spooky season with four local horror authors, all with their own unique styles.
Kate Maruyama is the author of the novel Harrowgate (2013) and the novella Family Solstice (2021). Her stories have been published in numerous journals and in the anthology Accolades: A Women Who Submit Anthology.
Jo Kaplan is a horror and suspense writer, and the author of the novels It Will Just Be Us and When the Night Bells Ring. Her short stories have been widely published. She teaches at Glendale Community College and plays cello in the Symphony of the Verdugos.
Michael Paul Gonzalez is a scary and funny writer, and the author of the novels Angel Falls and Miss Massacre’s Guide to Murder and Vengeance. His short stories have been published in print and online, and in several anthologies.
Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, and prose writer whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening.” She is a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, the author of four novels and over 150 short stories, and a world-class Halloween and paranormal expert. Her latest releases include Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances and Haunted Tales: Classic Stories of Ghosts and the Supernatural (co-edited with Leslie S. Klinger).
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday the 1st
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/20115
Open Words Poetry Reading at San Dimas Canyon Park – In-Person Event
The Open Words Poetry Reading will again be held on the first Sunday of the month, outdoors at San Dimas Canyon Park.
Bring poetry or prose, bring friends or relations, or just bring yourself. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
We’ll be at our usual location in San Dimas Canyon Park.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: San Dimas Canyon Park
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 5 pm
Address: San Dimas Canyon Rd., east of Sycamore Canyon (see site)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1484372082076249/?ref=newsfeed
At Skylight: DELUGE BOOKS & LARB Present: Irene Silt & Two Books at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
DELUGE BOOKS & LARB will present author Irene Silt, who will launch two books:
The essays in The Tricking Hour envision a world organized around collective autonomy, survival, and care, instead of the compulsory exploitation of the body.
My Pleasure asks: Where do we extract pleasure, and what pleasure do we find in extraction? Is there sex without work, or only before, during, and after? My Pleasure Unfurls the binary distinctions between freedom and control, language and pause, and mind and body.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-deluge-books-larb-present-irene-silt
Sunday Jump Open Mic: at Pilipino Workers Center – In-Person Event
This is Sunday Jump’s 10th season! Our theme for the year is “in(ten)tion.” Cheers to a journey of purpose, embracing mistakes, and being present in all aspects of our lives. For the past ten years and into the next, our intention is maintain a safe space to share stories and create genuine connections through the arts. What is yours?
Women and marginalized genders are prioritized and encouraged to share on the open mic, but all are welcome to sign up.
Indoor seating is provided with discretion about maximum capacity. Overflow seating will be available outside with access to the food vendor and audio of the show with window viewing.
If you are not able to attend in-person, we will also stream the event live on twitch.tv/thesundayjump and youtube.com/thesundayjump.
OPEN MIC:
Due to the increasing number of participants, open mic-ers have 4 minutes MAX. First ten performers on the list are guaranteed, with the rest on on-call. Women and marginalized genders are prioritized and all are welcome to sign up. Order is randomized. For on-call, priority is then given to first timers.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Pilipino Workers Center
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 5 pm
Address: 153 Glendale Blvd., 1st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://allevents.in/los%20angeles/sunday-jump-open-mic-series/10000318627572647
NDA Autofiction Reading, with Jonathan Ames, Ashton Politanoff, Ariana Reines, Allie Rowbottom and Jack Skelley at Stories Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Join Stories Books & Café for its autofiction reading series, inspired by the forthcoming anthology form Archway Editions.
Guest readers include:
Jonathan Ames is an American author who has written numerous novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, Bored to Death (HBO) and Blunt Talk (STARZ). In the late ’90s and early 2000s, he was a columnist for the New York Press for several years and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventure. Ames was also responsible for the Most Phallic Building contest which followed an article he wrote for Slate magazine where he claimed that the Williamsburg Bank Building in Brooklyn, New York, was the most phallic building he’d ever seen.
Ashton Politanoff lives in Redondo Beach, California and teaches at Cypress College. He would write a short story in a journal and once finished, he would go to his job as a production coordinator on Showtime projects such as “Californication.”
He wrote a series of short stories that way, got one published in 2014 and his first book published is You’ll Like it Here, which stems from items in South Bay newspapers from 1911-18. Politanoff is a frequent contributor to the literary annual NOON.
Ariana Reines is an American poet, playwright, performance artist, and translator. Her books of poetry include The Cow (2006), which won the Alberta Prize from Fence Books; Coeur de Lion (2007); Mercury (2011); and Thursday (2012). She has taught at UC Berkeley (Roberta C. Holloway Lecturer in Poetry, 2009), Columbia University (2013), The New School (2013), and Tufts University (2014). Reines has been described by Michael Silberblatt of NPR’s Bookworm as “one of the crucial voices of her generation.” She describes the subject matter of her work as “bearing witness to the search for the sacred in the 21st century.”
Allie Rowbottom’s critically acclaimed debut memoir, Jell-O Girls (Little Brown and Company) was a 2018 NYT Editor’s Choice Selection, Amazon Best Book of the Month, Indie Next Pick, and Real Simple Best Book of the year. Her debut novel, Aesthetica, is forthcoming from Soho Press in November of 2022. Her essays and short fiction can be found in Vanity Fair, Salon, Lit Hub, No Tokens, NY Tyrant, The Drunken Canal, Alta Journal, Bitch and elsewhere. She holds a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught fiction and non-fiction at the University of Houston, CalArts, and Catapult.
Jack Skelley’s books include Monsters (Little Caesar Press, 1982) and Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson (Fred & Barney Press, 2021). Interstellar Theme Park: New and Selected Writing will appear from BlazeVOX [books] in fall 2022. Semiotext(e) will publish his novel Fear of Kathy Acker in spring 2023. His psychedelic surf band Lawndale (SST Records) will release a new album in 2022.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Stories Books & Cafe
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Los Angeles Literature 