NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
School Visit Signing by George Lopez & Chupa Carter via Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Event
Comedian and actor George Lopez will be visiting a school with Once Upon a Time Bookstore. If you would like a copy of his children’s book, Chupa Carter, signed and personalized, please order from the store.
This is a private event, but signed books are available to the public through Once Upon a Time Bookstore.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 8 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/school-visit-george-lopez
World Literature Book Club via West Valley Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
This Book Club hosts a discussion of the world’s best short stories. All selections are from The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (New York, 2021), ed. John Freeman. This month’s selections are:
Oct. 3 – Freedom from Want by Joan Sibler
Oct. 17 – Fisherman’s Stew by Jowhor Ile
Oct. 24 – White Noise by Emma Cline
Oct. 31 – Delandria by Asali Solom
This group meets every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
This program is repeated at 2 pm by Woodland Hills Branch Library.
NOTE: See site for Zoom link and details.
Where: LAPL Online event
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-4
Mystery Book Club & The Paris Apartment via Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Event
Mystery Book Club will host a discussion of The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley.
The Paris Apartment is a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide.
NOTE: See site for link, guidelines, and details.
Where: Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 4 pm
Address: 22200 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-7
Grisha Gala: 10th Anniversary of the Grishaverse Series – SOLD OUT at Vroman’s at the Ebell – In-Person Event
A celebration of the 10th anniversary of Leigh Bardugo’s blockbuster Grishaverse series, as well as the launch of DEMON IN THE WOOD!
Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details. SOLD OUT ONLINE EVENT
Where: Vroman’s at the Ebell of Los Angeles
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90005
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/grisha-gala
At Skylight: Angie Cruz, with Justin Torres, & How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Angie Cruz, in conversation with Justin Torres, will discuss her new novel, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water, about a woman who has lost everything but the chance to tell her own story.
Angie Cruz is the author of the novels Soledad, Let It Rain Coffee, and Dominicana, which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. She is founder and editor in chief of Aster(ix), a literary and arts journal, and is an associate professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh.
Justin Torres’ novel We the Animals has been translated into fifteen languages and was recently adapted into a film. He has published short fiction in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and Granta, as well as non-fiction pieces in publications like The Guardian and The Advocate.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Taneum Bambrick Book Launch & Intimacies, Received at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Author Taneum Bambrick, in conversation with Aria Aber and Brian Tierney, will read and discuss her new book of poems, Intimacies, Received.
In her second collection, the author painstakingly reassembles a narrative of self, following a sexual assault.
Taneum Bambrick (she/they) is the author of Intimacies, Received (Sept 2022) and Vantage, which was selected by Sharon Olds for the 2019 American Poetry Review/Honickman first book award (APR 2019). Her chapbook, Reservoir, was selected by Ocean Vuong for the 2017 Yemassee Chapbook Prize.
Aria Aber was raised in Germany, where she was born to Afghan refugees, and is based in Oakland, California. She is the author of Hard Damage (2019).
Brian Tierney is the author of Rise and Float, winner of the 20-2021 Jake Adam York Prize. (2022). His poetry and prose have appeared in such journals as Paris Review, Kenyon Review, AGNI, NER, The Adroit Journal, and others
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Monday the 3rd
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 3rd
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-427878404827
Under the Mic Influence & Open Mic featuring Elyse Cizek – In-Person Event
Join host Kuahmel Alyeeus KuahAllah and DJ Kev Jam for poetry, Open Mic, rare grooves, cocktails, tasty bites.
Elyse Cizek is lined up as the featured artist!
Elyse Cizek is a writer, model-actress, singer-songwriter, self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate from Los Angeles, California. She is a bombastic poet, author of the books Nudity and Watermelon, and lead actor of Pickled.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, and details.
Where: LB Unified Bar & Lounge
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 2222 E. Anaheim, Long Beach, CA 90804
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/1938617066334156/
Suzanne Enoch Virtual Launch Party for Something in the Heir, with Virginia Heath, at The Ripped Bodice Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice will host a virtual book launch for Suzanne Enoch, in conversation with Virginia Heath, to discuss her new book, Something in the Heir, and all things romance. There will be a book signing to follow.
Something in the Heir is a novel about a capable heiress, Emmeline Pershing, who will do anything to keep her beloved home; and all it takes is an arranged marriage and a teeny white lie to fulfill her family’s silly inheritance rules. But now her little fib means that she and her completely unsuspecting husband are going to inherit big — and very messy! —trouble.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 5 pm
Address: Main St.at Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
William Shatner, with Joshua Brandon, & Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder via Book Soup – Online Event
William Shatner, in conversation with Joshua Brandon, will present and discuss the new book, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder.
Shatner, the star of Star Trek and a recent space traveler, reflects in this book on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature, and the joy that comes from exploration in this inspiring, revelatory, and exhilarating collection of essays.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/virtual-william-shatner
Feminist Book Club: The Doll Factory at Cellar Door Bookstore– In-Person Event
The Feminist Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, The Doll Factory, by Elizabeth Macneal.
This book set in 1850s London, is the story of a beautiful young woman aspires to be an artist, while a man’s dark obsession may destroy her world forever.
NOTE: See site for link, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside, CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/feminist-book-club-doll-factory
Three Act Writing Workshop: Matt Sedilloat Eastside Café– In-Person Event
The Three Act Writing Workshop will be presented and led by Matt Sedillo.
All donations will go to Eastside Café.
Matt Sedillo is an acclaimed political poet, writer and spoken word performer, and is the author of two books: Mowing Leaves of Grass and City on the Second Floor.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Eastside Café, El Sereno
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5469 Huntington Dr. North, Los Angeles, CA 90032
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10162683988554522&set=a.212071394521
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 4th
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8857 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-mic-mickys-tickets-383607900557?aff=erelpanelorg
Elin Hilderbrand & Endless Summer: Stories at Vroman’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Elin Hilderbrand’s new collection, Endless Summer: Stories, contains nine stories, which are prequels, segues, and “missing chapters” from her books previous books, some of which have never before been published.
Elin Hilderbrand is an American writer whose novels are typically set in and around Nantucket, where she lives. She has been called the queen of the beach reads, and her Paradise Trilogy is being adapted into an ABC series.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/elin-hilderbrand-discusses-endless-summer-stories
Susanne Park, with Stephen Lee, & The Christmas Clash at Diesel Bookstore – In-Person Event
Suzanne Park, in conversation with Stephan Lee, will discuss and sign her new novel, The Christmas Clash.
Chloe Kwon and Peter Li are longtime rivals whose families don’t get along either. Their parents operate rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court—Korean food for the Kwons and Chinese food for the Lis. Chloe and Peter work at their families’ restaurants while also working at different holiday pop-ups—Chloe as a photographer at the mall’s Santa’s Village and Peter at the virtual reality North Pole experience. While neither is sure why there’s bad blood between their families, they dutifully uphold the feud despite an inkling of attraction between them that gets much more difficult to ignore.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Diesel Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, Ca 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/suzanne-park-october-4-Author-signing
At Skylight: Nick Drnaso, with Adam Conover, & Acting Class at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Nick Drnaso, in conversation with Adm Conover, will present and discuss his graphic novel, Acting Class, a suspenseful follow-up to the Booker-nominated graphic novel Sabrina.
Nick Drnaso’s Acting Class creates a tapestry of disconnect, distrust, and manipulation. Ten strangers are brought together under the tutelage of John Smith, a mysterious and morally questionable leader. The group of social misfits and restless searchers have one thing in common: they are out of step with their surroundings and desperate for change. Exploring the tension between who we are and how we present, the author opens his characters’ masks and takes us through an unsettling American journey.
Nick Drnaso was born in 1989 in Palos Hills, Illinois. His debut, Beverly, received the Los Angeles Times Book prize for Best Graphic Novel. His follow-up, the graphic novel Sabrina, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2018 and received nominations for the Booker Prize, the Eisner Award, the LD and LaVerne Harrell Clark Fiction Prize, the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, and the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award. Sabrina has been published in fifteen countries. He lives in Chicago with his wife and their two cats.
Adam Conover is a comedian and the creator, writer and star of the hit series ADAM RUINS EVERYTHING, an educational comedy that dispels common misconceptions. The New York Times calls it “one of history’s most entertaining shows dedicated to the art of debunking” and refers to Adam as a “genial provocateur.” On YouTube, his video have amassed hundreds of millions of views, and he has over a million followers on TikTok. In 2022, his new series THE G WORD premiered on Netflix. Produced in partnership with Barack Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, it pulls the curtain back on how the federal government works using comedy and documentary storytelling.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 4th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-nick-drnaso-presents-acting-class-adam-conover
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with Jon Wesick – Virtual Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest Jon Wesick.
Jon Wesick is a poet and writer, hosts Southern California’s best ice cream parlor poetry reading, and is a regional editor of the San Diego Poetry Annual. He’s published hundreds of poems and stories in journals such as the Atlanta Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, Metal Scratches, Pearl, Slipstream, Space and Time, Tales of the Talisman, and Zahir. The editors of Knot Magazine nominated his story “The Visitor” for a Pushcart Prize. His poem “Meditation Instruction” won the Editor’s Choice Award in the 2016 Spirit First Contest. Another poem “Bread and Circuses” won second place in the 2007 African American Writers and Artists Contest. He is the author of the poetry collection Words of Power, Dances of Freedom as well as several novels. He is the author most recently of Shaman in the Library.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 4th
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 4th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1699147113818899 CHECK WEBITE
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 4th
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 4th
Time: 9 pm – 12 am
Address: 5205 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA
Website: https://dipiazzas.com/tickets-%26-events
Be the Change: Social Justice Writing Workshop with James Coats via LA Poet Society – Online Event
Join the Be the Change Social Justice Writing Workshop led by poet and writer James Coats and offered by Los Angeles Poet Society every 1st Wednesday of the month.
James Coats is the author most recently of the collection Midnight & Mad Dreams.
This workshop isa welcoming one and you can name your own price, and connect at the Zoom ID: 826 5843 0669 (password: justice)
Where: Los Angeles Poet Society
Date: Wednesday the 5th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesPoetSociety/photos/a.1425045900868190/5410742512298489
Rainbow Reads Teen Book Club & Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Allre Saenz at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Rainbow Reads Book Club will meet on the 1st Wednesday of the month and will discuss this month’s selection, Benjamin Allre Saenz’s book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
Back by popular demand, this teen book Club is now year-round, and will celebrate diversity in Young Adult books while reading books featuring various identities and stories. This will be a safe space welcome to teens of all identities and allies! Join Isabel and Apollo for our proud book club.
Club participation requires purchase of featured title from Once Upon a Time and registration during checkout.
Best for ages 13 and up. Masks required.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, book purchase, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 5th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
History Book Club & Separate at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
The History Book Club will read and discuss this month’s selection, Separate: The tory of Plessy v. Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, by Steve Luxenberg, at Cellar Door Bookstore in Riverside.
This story was the winner of the J. Anthony Lucas Award and longlisted for the Cundill History Prize.
Separate is a myth-shattering narrative of one of the most consequential Supreme Court cases of the nineteenth century, Plessy v. Ferguson. The 1896 ruling embraced racial segregation, and its reverberations are still felt today. Drawing on letters, diaries, and archival collections, Steve Luxenberg reveals the origins of racial separation and its pernicious grip on American life. He tells the story through the lives of the people caught up in the case: Louis Martinet, who led the resisters from the mixed-race community of French New Orleans; Albion Tourgée, a best-selling author and the country’s best-known white advocate for civil rights; Justice Henry Billings Brown, from antislavery New England, whose majority ruling sanctioned separation; Justice John Harlan, the Southerner from a slaveholding family whose singular dissent cemented his reputation as a steadfast voice for justice.
Steve Luxenberg is the author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation and the critically acclaimed Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret. During his thirty years as a Washington Post senior editor, he has overseen reporting that has earned numerous national honors, including two Pulitzer Prizes.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 5th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside, CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/history-book-club-separate
WeHo Reads: Poet Laureates Across America via City of West Hollywood Reads Arts Division – Online Event via Zoom & YouTube
Join WeHo Reads to hear from anointed Poet Laureates across the country for evidence of joy and creativity, and major lessons on forging paths our of darkness.
In 2020, the Academy of American Poets awarded over $1 million to 23 poets laureate as part of a year-long Fellowship to support their creative and organizing work. One of these awards went to our West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace who also serves as this event’s host. This reading brings together a group of these Fellows from across the country in the aftermath of their Fellowships to share what they did, read their writing, and reflect on the state of poetry across the United States. Readers include Semaj Brown, Poet Laureate of Flint, MI; Magdalena Gomez, Poet Laureate of Springfield, MA; Chasity Gunn, Poet Laureate of Elgin, IL; Luisa Igloria, Poet Laureate of Virginia; Georgina Marie, Poet Laureate of Lake County, CA; and Lloyd Schwartz, Poet Laureate of Somerville, MA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, & information.
Where: WeHo Reads
Date: Wednesday the 5th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/weho-reads-poets-laureate-across-america-tickets-241438106877
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 5th
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 5th
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-429235102747
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 5th
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-362733003177?aff=erelpanelorg
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry & Dania Ayah Alkhouli 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 Dania Ayah Alkhouli.
The format is to welcome a featured poet for a reading, and an Open Mic reading. Tonight’s featured reader is Dania Ayah Alkhouli.
Dania Ayah Alkhouli is a Southern California born & bred Syrian writer, poet, author, and real estate business manager. She holds a B.A. in Sociology, an M.P.A. in Public Policy & Administration, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration. In 2012, Alkhouli and her mother co-founded the nonprofit A COUNTRY CALLED SYRIA (@acountrycalledsyria), a traveling arts exhibition and set of events on the history, culture, and stories of their homeland, Syria. With over 500 artifacts directly from Syria, their goal is to establish a permanent exhibition in California. Alkhouli has authored three poetry books, with a fourth pending. Her latest release, CONTORTIONIST TONGUE, was published by Moon Tide Press in early 2020. Her written work centers on domestic violence/sexual assault, feminism, death & grief, religion, culture, and her homeland, Syria
$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 5th
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/728545261847605
Opening Day Luncheon: Author Lisa See in Conversation at The Ebell of Los Angeles – In-Person Event
Lisa See will be featured at the kick-off luncheon on October 6. 2022 for the new season of events at The Ebell Theater.
New York Times best-selling author and Angeleno Lisa See will share insights into her life, her writing process, and the importance of women in her stories. Her books have been celebrated for their authentic, researchs, lyrical stories about Chinese characters and their stories. There will also be a program of musical excerpts from the opera composed by Nathan Wang, and based on her first book, On Gold Mountain, featuring soprano Brooke Iva Lohman who debuted in the role of Ticie in the LA Opera staging of the opera.
The Ebell of Los Angeles is a woman-led and women-centered non-profit housed in an historic campus in the Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles, California. It includes numerous performance spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms and the 1,238-seat Wilshire Ebell Theatre.
Tickets for this event are available to both members and non-members.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: The Ebell Theater
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 11:30 am
Address: 741 S. Lucerne Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90005
Website: https://ebellofla.org/event/opening-day-lunch-2022/
Brick Box Paradox: Introduction to Prose Poems with Danielle Mitchell at The Poetry Lab – Online Event
Danielle Mitchell will instruct a workshop titled Brick Box Paradox: Introduction to Prose Poems.
For this 2nd section of the writing workshop she offers the following definition: A prose poem is a poem without line breaks, it may appear as a text block or a paragraph. It may appear as a series of single sentences that do not use enjambment, but rather follow the natural margins of a page. The margins of the page may be unusually wide, moderate, or normal.
Regardless of the formatting, you’ll know a prose poem when you read one because that block of text will retain the qualities of poetry.
See more information at website.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: The Poetry Lab
Date: Thursday the 6th (and on October 13 & 20)
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://www.thepoetrylab.com/brick-box-paradox
South Central Spits Fire: Bridgette Bianca & GusTavo Adolfo Guerra Vasquez & Guests at Exposition Park Regional Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for South Centra Spits Fire, an evening of self-expression through poetry, featuring tow poets representing the resilient neighborhood of South-Central Los Angeles at Exposition Park – Dr; Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library.
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. bridgette bianca has performed her poetry all around Southern California, including features at The World Stage, the Southern California Poetry Festival, Los Angeles Lit Crawl, the Table Lit, LitFest Pasadena, Rapp Saloon, La Palabra, and the un::fade::able Reading Series. 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.
GusTavo Adolfo Guerra Vasquez uses he and TheY pronouns. His art and writing have been recently featured in Fingir’s “Somewhere between” exhibition, “Arte Latino Now/ Label me Latino/a,” The Coiled Serpent, and The Wandering Song. During quarantine, GusTavo gathered an array of poets, including wonderful voices from the San Jo(sé) area, in the #PoeticPandemic virtual poetry readings.
Jaha Zainabu is the author most recently of I’m Writing to Tell You, a collection of vulnerable, transparent, inspiring poetry about the author’s journey as a woman and mother. She lives with bipolar 1 and talks about her life with depression. But she is also encouraging and witty in her poetry.
LuatanI Flores N/A
Birdsong the Poet or Destiny O. Birdsong is the author of the novel, Nobody’s Magic, a meditation of grief, female strength and self-discovery
Yusef Doucet is a faculty member of the Santa Monica College English Department. He co-founded and facilitated the Dyamsay Writers’ Workshop in Santa Monica, CA, the Third Root Writers’ Workshop in Pomona, CA, a poetry reading series at the Velocity Café in Santa Monica, CA,, among others. His work has been published in several anthologies and poetry journals. Yusef keeps a blog at freeignace.wordpress.com and edits the creative writing class blog http://www.profoundlettuce.blog. Twitter: @johnbrownbrigad
NOTE: See site for RSVP, free ticket link due to limited capacity, guidelines & details.
Where: Exposition Park Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 3900S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062
Educators Book Club: Our Kids Part 2at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Educators Book Club will read and discuss this month’s selection, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert D. Putnam, at Cellar Door Bookstore in Riverside.
Central to the very idea of America is the principle that we are a nation of opportunity. But over the last quarter century we have seen a disturbing “opportunity gap” emerge. We Americans have always believed that those who have talent and try hard will succeed, but this central tenet of the American Dream seems no longer true or at the least, much less true than it was.
In Our Kids, Robert Putnam offers a personal and authoritative look at this new American crisis, beginning with the example of his high school class of 1959 in Port Clinton, Ohio. The vast majority of those students went on to lives better than those of their parents. But their children and grandchildren have faced diminishing prospects. Putnam tells the tale of lessening opportunity through poignant life stories of rich, middle class, and poor kids from cities and suburbs across the country, brilliantly blended with the latest social-science research.
Robert D. Putnam is the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and a former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Nationally honored as a leading humanist and a renowned scientist, he has written fourteen books, including the bestselling Our Kids and Bowling Alone, and has consulted for the last four US Presidents. In 2012, President Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities. His research program, the Saguaro Seminar, is dedicated to fostering civic engagement in America.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside, CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/educators-book-club-our-kids-part-2
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 6th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 2123 East Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/eve nts%2Feventos
Brian McAuley & Curse of the Reaper at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Brian McCauley, In conversation with Philip Fracassi, will present his new book, Curse of the Reaper.
When aging actor Howard Browning learns that Hollywood is rebooting his iconic 80s horror franchise, he’s crushed to learn he’s being replaced in the killer role by Trevor Mane, a former child-star who’s fresh out of rehab. As Howard fights to reclaim his legacy, the sinister alter ego consumes his unraveling mind, pushing him to the brink of violence. Is the method actor succumbing to madness or has the devilish Reaper taken on a life of its own?
Brian McAuley is a WGA writer of film and television whose credits range from family sitcoms to horror films for major studios and networks. His fiction and non-fiction have been published in Dark Matter Magazine and Nightmare Magazine. Brian teaches in the Creative Writing MFA program at Mount Saint Mary’s University LA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and event details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/20017
Say Yes to the Small Press: Writing Workshop with Authors Sean Pravica, Romaine Washington, Allen Callaci & Ruth Nolanat Riverside Main Library – In-Person Event
Authors Sean Pravica, Romaine Washington, Allen Callaci and Ruth Nolan will lead a FREE writing workshop and read and discuss their work at the Riverside Main Library titled Say Yes to the Small Press. All have had work published in a variety of small press organizations.
Sean Pravica is a Californian writer. His fiction and poetry have appeared in over 40 journals. His novels include STUMBLING OUT THE STABLES (Pelekinesis, 2015) and HOLD STILL FAST (Pelekinesis, 2020). His writing has run the gamut from ghostwriting about consumer goods and health topics to penning press releases and newspaper articles. His work has been nominated for several writing awards including the Bea Hollefelder Award in Creative Writing, which he won.
Romaine Washington (she/her) is the author of the poetry collection, Purgatory Has an Address, (Bamboo Dart Press, 2021) nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and Sirens in Her Belly, (Jamii, 2015). Washington’s poetry has appeared in local and national publications including New Direction: Howard University, Lullwater Review: Emory University, The Black Scholar, California English, and Gatherings: A Women Who Submit Anthology, among others.
She has presented her poetry in community and national venues including Inside Socal CBS2/KCAL9, NPR, KPFK, and the National Poetry Slam. Washington is a fellow of The Watering Hole, South Carolina and Inland Area Writing Project, UCRiverside. She has been an educator for more than twenty years and considers all forms of writing and reading to be a source for learning, healing and growth.
Allen Callaci is the author of the debut memoir Heart Like a Starfish (Parakinesis Press 2016) and a novella-length memoir 17 & Life(Bamboo Dart Press 2021). The first memoir is the author’s account of his death-defying journey form a heart transplant. The second is his account of a childhood friend, on whom he once had a school crush, and her death as a teenager. It’s a meditation on life and loss of the young person which still haunts a community three decades later.
Ruth Nolan is a native of the Mojave Desert and an Associate Professor of English at the College of the Desert near Palm Springs. She is a poet, writer, and book editor of No Place for a Puritan: the literature of California’s deserts (Heyday Books). She’ll be reading and speaking from After the Dome Fire for the Inlandia Institute’s Say Yes to Small Press event.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Riverside Main Library, Community Room
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm (Doors at 6 pm)
Address: 3900 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/small-press-workshop-10-6/ or https://www.facebook.com/ruth.nolan.31
Tea Hacic Vlahovic, with Nada Alic, & A Cigarette Lit Backwards at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Tea Hacic Vlahovic, in conversation with Nada Alic, will present and discuss her book, A Cigarette Lit Backwards: A Novel.
This novel is set in the punk-rock scene of the early 2000s and vibrating with the intense ache of bad choices and deep longing, It is a needle-sharp portrait of a young woman who makes a series of poor choices, and how far she’ll go to find acceptance.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/tea-hacic-vlahovic
Mobar Coffee Co. Open Mic at Mobar Coffee Company – In-Person Event
Calling all Musicians, Authors, Poets, Stand Up Comedians and much more! Share your art with our local community and enjoy half off drinks!
This event is held the 1st Thursday of every month.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Mobar Coffee Company
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 4884 Huntington Dr. S., Los Angeles, CA 90032
Website: https://allevents.in/los%20angeles/mobar-coffee-co-open-mic/10000399851385257
Char Miller & Natural Consequences at Page Against the Machine Bookstore – In-Person Event
Char Miller will discuss and sign his new book, Natural Consequences: Intimate Essays for a Planet in Peril.
In this collection of over forty vital essays and vignettes, author and professor Char Miller explores the impact of fire, drought, development, and fracking on our planet, and offers historical background mixed with personal reflections as he travels through Southern California. Along with outrage over environmental disasters, he offers encouragement to find solace and wonderment, and connection to the planets creatures and phenomena in order to build a more sustainable co-existence.
Char Miller is the W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History at Pomona College. He is the author of more than fifteen books, including Westside Rising: How San Antonio’s 1921 Flood Devastated a City and Sparkes a Latino Environmental Justice Movement and Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Page Against the Machine
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
At Skylight: Beat Not Beat Anthology Launch Event with Contributor Readers at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Beat Not Beat: An anthology of California Poets Screwing on the Beat and Post Beat Tradition presents a Launch Event which will host guest contributors and readers hosted by Rich Ferguson and S. A. Griffin.
Beat Not Beat, edited by Rich Ferguson and published by Eric Morago’s Moon Tide Press, is an anthology of California poets screwing on the Beat and post-Beat tradition. Co-edited by Alexis Rhone Fancher, S.A. Griffin and Kim Shuck, this dynamic anthology spans the postwar, atomic-bomb-obsessed American landscape to the here and now: a period when Beat poets, the Vortex, Baby Beats, and their progenitors inspired one another through cultural, political, and humorous means to create new forms of consciousness weaponizing pen and paper to enact mighty forms of lyrical rebellion. The collection features notable poets such as Bob Kaufman, Diane di Prima, Jack Hirschman, Wanda Coleman, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Charles Bukowski. It also features contemporary poets such as Douglas Kearney, Brendan Constantine, Kim Addonizio, Ellyn Maybe, Will Alexander, and former United States Poet Laureate Robert Robert Haas.
Rich Ferguson has shared the stage with Patti Smith, Wanda Coleman, Moby, and other esteemed poets and musicians. Ferguson has been selected by the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc. (NBPF), to serve as the State of California Beat Poet Laureate (Sept. 2020 to Sept. 2022). He is a featured performer in the film, What About Me? featuring Michael Stipe, Michael Franti, k.d. lang, and others. Ferguson is the editor of the Beat Not Beat poetry anthology.
S.A. Griffin, co-editor of Beat Not Beat, is the co-editor of The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Firecracker Award). In 2010, he created The Poetry Bomb, a former Vietnam era practice bomb converted into an art object filled with almost 900 poems from around the world, in an effort to inspire civil disagreements culminating in The Poetry Bomb Couch Surfing Across America Tour of Words. Named Best Performance Poet by the LA Weekly, in 2011 he was the first recipient of Beyond Baroque’s Distinguished Service Award.
Alexis Rhone Fancher is published in Best American Poetry, Rattle, Verse Daily, The American Journal of Poetry, Plume, Diode, Flock, and elsewhere. She’s authored nine poetry collections, most recently, Junkie Wife (Moon Tide Press), The Dead Kid Poems (KYSO Flash Press), Stiletto Killer (Edizone Italia), EROTIC: New & Selected (NYQ Books), and DUETS (Small Harbor). Her photographs are featured worldwide, including the covers of Witness and Pedestal Magazine. A multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Alexis is poetry editor of Cultural Daily. She lives with her husband on the bluffs of San Pedro, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just a stone’s throw from downtown Los Angeles. They have an extraordinary view.
A 2022 recipient of a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets, Lynne Thompson currently serves as the Poet Laureate of the City of Los Angeles. She is the author of three collections of poetry: Beg No Pardon, Start With A Small Guitar, and Fretwork. Thompson’s poetry is widely published and anthologized, most recently in Best American Poetry, Colorado Review, Pleiades, and The Common, among others.
Luis J. Rodriguez is former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles. He has 16 books in all genres, including the bestselling memoir Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. He is founding editor of Tia Chucha Press and co-founder of Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore, both in the San Fernando Valley. He last poetry book was Borrowed Bones. His latest book is From Our Land to Our Land: Essays, Journeys & Imaginings of a Native Xicanx Writer.
Brendan Constantine is a poet based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in many standards, including Poetry, The Nation, Best American Poetry, Tin House, Ploughshares, and Poem-a-Day. He is the author of four collections of poetry and a fifth, The Opposites Game is forthcoming. A popular performer, Brendan has presented his work to audiences throughout the U.S. and Europe, also appearing on NPR’s All Things Considered, TED ED, numerous podcasts, and YouTube. He currently teaches at the Windward School and, since 2017, has been working with speech pathologists across the country to develop poetry workshops for people with Aphasia and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Jamie Asaye FitzGerald is a Los Angeles mixed race/hapa poet from Hawai’i with work in journals and anthologies, including The American Poetry Review, Works & Days and Mom Egg Review. She earned an MFA in poetry from San Diego State University and a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. For over a decade, she has worked for Poets & Writers in its Los Angeles office.
David L. Ulin is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles, shortlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and Ucross Foundation. He is a professor of English at the University of Southern California, where he edits the journal Air/Light.
Conney D. Williams is a poet, actor, community activist, and performance artist with three collections of poetry “Leaves of Spilled Spirit from an Untamed Poet (2002)” and “Blues Red Soul Falsetto (2012); his new collection “the distance of observation” was released August 2021 on World Stage Press. He also has two critically acclaimed poetry CDs: River&Moan and Unsettled Water.
Iris Berry is an author, L.A. historian, actress, and musician. In the 1980s & 90s, she wrote, performed, and recorded with bands such as the Lame Flames, the Ringling Sisters, and the Dickies. She has served on the Board of Directors for Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts and has received a Certificate of Merit Award from the city of L.A. for her contribution as a writer, and for her charity work. Berry is the co-founder of Punk Hostage Press, where continues to champion and advocate for original voices.
Annette Cruz has resided in North East LA since 1974. She has performed her poetry in various LA venues ranging from Beyond Baroque, The World Stage, Library Girl, Avenue 50 Studio and Timothy Leary’s final birthday party at his home in the Hollywood Hills. After going into hiatus in 2002 to concentrate on raising her youngest son, she has now re-emerged with conviction and purpose and is writing her first book.
Dennis Cruz has been writing and performing his poetry for over 20 years. He has been published in anthologies as well as online publications including THE CHIRON REVIEW, the Nervous Breakdown, Crush Fan Zine, and Sensitive Skin Magazine. He has lectured at the USC Community Literature Incentive, the Harvard-Westlake preparatory school, as well the LA county Jail for men AND women. His latest collection of Poems, THE BEAST IS WE, is available from PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS.
NOTE: See site for further guidelines, & information.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N, Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-beat-not-beat-anthology-launch-event
Tonalli Thursdays Open Mic via Zoom – Online Event (Check to verify)
Tonalli Thursdays Open Mic is offered on Zoom online by L A Poet Society and Eastsie Arts Collective every 1st Thursday of the month.
All artists are welcome at this Open Mic.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Tonalli & LAPS
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
Hip Hop & Poetry Nightat The Virgil – In-Person & Online Event
Enjoy a curated lineup of some of the best Hip-Hop & Spoken Word artists you’ll ever see perform live. It’s the perfect blend for an entertaining night out with friends. There’ll be a few breaks during the show, creating the perfect time to let loose and catch a good vibe.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Virgil Theater & Also available on YouTube
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 11 pm (Show begins at 8 pm)
Address: 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hip-hop-poetry-night-in-la-tickets-367750520707
Alexa Donne, with Liz Parker, & Pretty Dead Queens at Vroman’s – In-Person YA Event
Alexa Donne, in conversation with Liz Parker, will present and discuss her YA novel, Pretty Dead Queens.
After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town…until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/alexa-donne-discusses-pretty-dead-queens
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 6th
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 7th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/spectacular-story-time-8
Your Author Series: Dr. Gloria Arjona & The Story of Selena Quintanilla at Central Library, LAPL – Online Kids & MG Event
Dr. Gloria Arjona will present and discuss her latest Middle Grade book, The Story of Selena Quintanilla.
Selena Quintanilla was the queen of Tejano music. But before she became a star, Selena was a charismatic young girl who loved singing and performing. She made a lot of sacrifices to become a famous musician and her hard work paid off as she became the first 15-year-old girl to win a Tejano music award and went on to break many records during her career. This Selena biography explores how she went from being a talented girl growing up in Texas to a fashion icon and a world-famous singer.
Dr Gloria Arjona is a musician and educator and teaches Spanish at the California Institute of Technology. She is also the author of Posadas Unknown Calaveras and ¡Lotería!.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/your-author-series-dr-gloria-arjona
Jennifer Freed, with Emily Morse, & A Map to Your Soul at Dynasty Typewriter – In-Person Event
Jennifer Freed, in conversation with Emily Morse, will present and discuss her book, A Map to Your Soul.
According to this book, there are four elements—fire, earth, air, and water—that exist in nature and within us all. Knowing your personal map of these four elements offers a way to personalize your self-care rituals and design your best life: one that fully expresses your special gifts.
Jennifer Freed PhD is a renowned psychological astrologer and social and emotional education trainer. She has spent over thirty-five years consulting clients and businesses worldwide on psychological, spiritual, and educational topics. A regular contributor to goop and Maria Shriver’s newsletter The Sunday Paper, she has penned ten books relating to personal growth,
Doctor of Human Sexuality, Emily Morse, is on a mission to liberate the conversation about sex and pleasure. Over the last 15 years, Morse’s work has made her the best-selling author of Hot Sex: Over 200 Things You Can Try Tonight!,
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Dynasty Typewriter at The Hayworth
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 2511 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90057
Website: https://allevents.in/los%20angeles/a-map-to-your-soul-jennifer-freed-in-conversation-w-emily-morse/10000416929386017 or https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/dynasty-typewriter-jennifer-freed-presents-map-your-soul-emily-morse
SF/LA Poets Meeting with: Lynne Thompson, Tongo Eisen Martin, Cassandra Dallet & Linda Ravenswood at Small World Books – In-Person Event
Lynne Thompson is the current Los Angeles Poet Laureate and in 2022 received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. She is the author of three collections: Start With a Small Guitar, Beg no Pardon, and most recently Fretwork.
Tongo Eisen Martin is the current San Francisco Poet Laureate and is a poet, movement worker and educator. His latest curriculum on extrajudicial killing of Black people, We Charge Genocide Again, has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His books include: Heaven Is All Goodbyes, Someone’s Dead Already, Blood on the Fog.
Cassandra Dallet lives in Oakland CA and has published multiple chapbooks and full-length books of poetry, (two of which On Sunday, A Finch and Collapse, both on Nomadic Press, were nominated for CA Book awards.) She has been nominated for six Pushcart Prizes and was recently in the running for Oakland’s first Poet Laureate, Cassandra is co-host of the quarterly-themed reading series MoonDrop Productions, host of The Badass Bookworm Podcast, and The Badass Bookworm’s Lit Loft. Her most recent book of poetry, A Pretty Little Wilderness, came out on Be About It Press June of 2020.
Linda Ravenswood is a Poet and Performance artist from Los Angeles. Her work aims towards inquiry and uncovering, holding memory, history, place and lineage as meaningful, and available markers. She was short listed for Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, 2017, and is founder and editor in chief of The Los Angeles Press and BeSpoke Poets.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and event details.
Where: Small World Books
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1407 Ocean Front Walk,Venice, CA 90291
Website: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=small%20world%20books
Nicole Stuart, Andrea Orbeck & Desi Bartlett & Total Body Beautiful at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Nicole Stuart, Andrea Orbeck & Desi Bartlett will present their book, Total Body Beautiful, which provides women from age 35 and older with practical, research-backed advice for physical, mental, and emotional health. Advice on staying healthy through the aging process along with strength and mind-body exercises and workouts will help women understand how to feel their best at any age.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/nicole-stuart%C2%A0andrea-orbeck-and%C2%A0desi-bartlett
At Skylight: Stephanie Lacava, with Anna Biller, & I Fear My Pain Interests You at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event
Stephanie Lacava, in conversation with Anna Biller, will present and discuss her novel, I Fear My Pain Interests You.
This book is a sexy and moving exploration of culture and connections, trauma and disaffection, bodies and breakdown, for the millennial generation.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Bruce Davis & The Academy & The Award at Vroman’s – In Person Event
Bruce Davis will present and discuss his book, The Academy & The Award: the Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This is the first behind-the-scenes history of the organization behind the Academy Awards. Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy for over twenty years, was given unprecedented access to its archives, and the result is a revealing story of the men and women, famous and infamous, who shaped one of the best-known organizations in the world.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/bruce-davis-discusses-the-academy-and-the-award
TIACUILX: Tongues in Quarantine Reading from Hinches Press at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person & Online Event
Join the writers of Poetry Project 1521 for an in-person reading of “Tlacuilx: Tongues in Quarantine” published by HINCHAS Press.
In October 2021, HINCHAS Press published Tlacuilix: Tongues In Quarantine, a collection of contemporary poetry. Like their counterparts during the 1560’s pandemic in Mexico after the arrival of Hernan Cortés, the poets of Project 1521 wrote through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The poetry anthology represents 10 poets of myriad ethnicities, but of similar political and historical opinions reacting to 500 years of mestizaje. Tlacuilx: Tongues In Quarantine represents the first book by Project 1521, a California cadre of poets, writers, scholars, and artistst. Join Yago Cura, Linda Ravenswood, Adolfo Guzman Lopez, Darren de Leon, and Sara Harris in a reading from the anthology in-person at Beyond Baroque. Guided by the tlaquilos who wrote the Florentine Codex, the poets touch on the themes of cultural subjugation, hybridity, and intertextuality.
Project 1521 writers created new texts in response to original artworks by painter Sandy Rodriguez included in the anthology. As such, Project 1521 contends with the living history of the Spanish decimation of the Aztec people and actively seeks ways to mitigate the effects on the children of the Americas, highlighting the skills, concepts, and knowledge of past scribes as a way to understand our current textual landscape.
The book honors people who have endured family separations, colonialism, and institutional violence through cultural affirmation and various forms of resistance. Tlacuilx serves as an act of cultural affirmation, resistance, and mestizaje born from the themes already articulated in the group’s popular podcast, Project 1521.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez co-founded the performance poetry group The Taco Shop Poets in 1994. His writing has appeared in Huizache: The Magazine of Latino Literature and other journals. Since 2000 he’s been a reporter at NPR affiliate KPCC 89.3FM.
Darren J. de Leon is an award-winning poet from San Bernardino, California. He is co-editor of TLACUILX: Quarantined Tongues (Hinchas Poesía Press) and co-producer of the RAMA Blueprints and Project 1521 podcasts. His work has appeared in various publications including New Chicano/Chicana Writings (University of Arizona Press), Word Descarga and Raza Spoken Here (Calaca Press); Cipactli, and Fourteen Hills. Currently, he is finishing Cumbia Combat, a contextual translation of the 1982 LP Combat Rock by the Clash into the current asylum movement. Contact info: deleon.darren@gmail.com Instagram/Twitter: @aztecparrot WordPress Blog: https://aztlanisthefirstline.wordpress.com/
Sara (Harris) Ben- Ari is a Los Angeles-based assemblage + audio artist + journalist with 20 + years experience focusing on land-use + abandoned landscapes + environmental equality. Co-founder of neighborhood- based nonprofit 1866 (www.solanocanyon.org), Host of Hear in the City; Radio Realities from the Urban Landscape (www.soundcloud.com/hearinthecity.) Co-director The Fragementartions Only Mean, with Jesse Lerner: thefragmentationsonlymean.com)
Yago S. Cura is a Bilingual Outreach Librarian with the Los Angeles Public Library. He runs HINCHAS Press which publishes the “Librarians with Spines” series, with the help of Max Macias and Autumn Anglin, and the online literary journal, Hinchas de Poesia, with the help of Jim Heavily and Jennifer Therieau. Yago makes zines, writes poems in his spare time, which is never, so don’t ask.
Linda Ravenswood is a poet and performance artist from Los Angeles. Co-founding member of Melrose Poetry Bureau and founder & editor in chief of The Los Angeles Press, she has a new collection, Cantadora—Letters from California (Eyewear London/Black Spring Press) coming out in Winter 2022. Find her at thelosangelespress.com and on Instagram @theLosAngelesPress and @bespokepoets.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice CA 90291
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tlacuilx-tongues-in-quarantine-reading-book-signing-tickets-420653304357
SWAAM Spoken Word Art & Music Event & Ephraim Nehemiah, by Lorenzo Frank at Park Hills Community Center – In-Person Event
Join us to hear featured poet Ephraim Nehemiah, plus an Open Mic, hosted by Lorenzo Frank on the third Friday of the month.
Ephraim is a writer, educator, and award-winning performance Poet. He has showcased his work with Tedx Talks, Saul Williams World Tour, National Basketball Association, and countless other venues, colleges, and institutions across the nation. His first full-length poetry book The Autobiography of Absence was published in 2021 with Twelve Arts Press and will be available for purchase. Show starts promptly at 8pm, early arrival suggested
NOTE: See site for costs, guidelines, and details.
Where: Park Hills Community Center
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 8:30 pm
Address: 5245 Overdale Dr., Los Angels, CA 90043
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/swaam-spoken-word-art-music-tickets-427628888517?aff=ebdssbeac
First Fridays Rapp Saloon Reading Series, with host Cynthia Alessandra Briano, via Rapp Saloon – Hybrid In-Person & Online Event
First Fridays at Rapp Saloon Open Mic & Featured Readers is an event offered every 1st Friday of the month by host Cynthia Alessandra Briano.
This is a HYBRID event, with a return to live in-person events while maintaining at HISUA Zoom option for our performers and guests.
All languages are welcome.
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 pm – 8:30 pm. Zoom ID posted 3 hours prior to event.
NOTE: See site for event details.
Where: Rapp Saloon at HISUA
Date: Friday the 7th
Time: 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Address: 1436 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90401 (Zoom link in bio @RappSaloon)
Website: https://m.facebook.com/events/rapp-saloon-reading-series/rapp-saloon-reading-series-first-fridays-open-mic or https://www.facebook.com/RappSaloonReadingSeries/photos/
Westwood Book Club & Beowulf (poem) Translated by Seamus Heaney at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Westwood Branch Library, LAPL will host a Book Club discussion of the classic poem, Beowulf, the translation by Seamus Heaney.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-12
Teen Book Club & Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Studio City Branch Library, LAPL will host a Teen Book Club discussion of the book Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld.
This book is the first installment of Scott Westerfeld’s New York Times bestselling and award-winning Uglies series, which helped to start the dystopian trend.
Please email studio@lapl.org for details.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL, Community Room
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/teen-book-club-0
Poetry Reading by Sherman Pearl at Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Woodland Hills Branch Library will host a Poetry Reading by Sherman Pearl.
Sherman Pearl is a retired journalist and freelance writer who started writing poetry after age 50. He has published many collections, and his work has appeared in more than 50 literary journals and anthologies. His awards include the National Writers Union Prize, the Anderbo Prize, the Margie Review Prize, and second place in the Strokestown (Ireland) International Poetry Prize. Join us as he reads from his works of poetry.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL, Community Room
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 22200 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-reading-sherman-pearl
Tracy Badua & Freddie vs. The Family Curse at LibroMobile – In-Person Kids Event
LibroMobile welcomes children’s author Tracy Badua, who will present her debut Middle Grade book, Freddie vs. The Family Curse.
In this funny debut Middle Grade story a young Filipino American boy must team up with his ancestor to break the curse that’s haunted their family for generations…or be trapped in an amulet forever.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: LibroMobile
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 1150 S. Bristol St., A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Website: https://www.libromobile.com/event-details/freddie-vs-the-family-curse-by-tracy-badua
Saturday Afternoon Poetry & Deep Critique Workshop with G.T. Foster – Online Event via Zoom
Saturday Afternoon Poetry presents an online event to participate in a Deep Critique writing workshop led by G.T. Foster.
All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
At Skylight: Gail Lerner & The Big Dreams of Small Creatures at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Gail Lerner will present and discuss her book. The Big Dreams of Small Creatures.
Ten-year-old Eden’s quiet life is upended when she saves a paper wasp nest from destruction and discovers, to her awe and amazement, that she and its haughty queen can talk to each other. This first conversation is the start of a grand adventure, leading Eden to The Institute for Lower Learning, a secret laboratory devoted to the peaceful coexistence of humans and insects. The Institute is more fantastic and idyllic than Eden could’ve imagined but hidden deep within its tunnels is an old secret that could spell the end for all insects on earth.
Nine-year-old August, an aspiring actor and bullied fourth-grader, is looking for that very secret after a few disastrous encounters have left him wanting to squash every annoying bug into oblivion. After all insects are small—he is big. And if there is anything he’s learned from the bullies at school—it’s that being bigger is what counts.
But in the world of the Institute where insects have a place of their own, both Eden and August discover being bigger isn’t necessarily better and sometimes the most courageous thing to do is to set out to make a new friend.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-gail-lerner-presents-big-dreams-small-creatures
A Reading with Molly Bendall & Karen Kevorkian at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person & YouTube Hybrid Event
Beyond Baroque present a Poetry Reading with Molly Bendall & Karen Kevorkian
These two poets and authors will present new and selected poems in an evening reading
Molly Bendall is the author of five collections of poetry, including Watchful from Omnidawn Press and Under the Quick from Parlor Press. Omnidawn will be publishing her next collection entitled Turncoat. She has also recently published a chapbook of translations of the Egyptian-French poet Joyce Mansour out from Toad Press. She has received the Lynda Hull Award from Denver Quarterly, the Eunice Tietjens Prize from Poetry magazine and two Pushcart Prizes. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Southern California.
Karen Kevorkian has published three previous poetry collections, White Stucoo Black Wing, Dream, and Quivira, and poems in numerous journals and anthologies. In LA she has taught creative writing workshops at UCLA and before that at U of Virginia. She’s received multiple artist residency fellowships and is a founding member of What Books Press. She’ll be reading new work from her 4th collection. Her website is https://karenkevorkian.com.
NOTE: See site for tickets, costs, guidelines, and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 8th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice CA 90291
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-reading-with-molly-bendall-karen-kevorkian-tickets-422833675907
National Hispanic Month Storytime with Monica Mancillas & Mariana and Her Familia at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Inn honor of National Hispanic Month, Monica Mancillas will present her children’s book, Mariana and Her Familia.
This is a heartwarming picture book about a young girl on her first trip to visit family in Mexico, who learns there is no language barrier when it comes to love.
Mónica Mancillas is a musician and educator who authors books for children. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. Her upcoming releases include MARIANA AND HER FAMILIA (Balzer + Bray, October 4, 2022), THE WORRY BALLOON (Roaring Brook Press, 2023), HOW TO SPEAK IN SPANGLISH (Penguin Workshop, 2023), and VIVA! (Chronicle, 2024). Learn more at www.monicamancillas.com.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday the 9th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/20311
Braintrust Sunday Series Workshop with BRIDGETTE BIANCA: Guide to Revision via The Poetry Lab – Online Event
The Poetry Lab offers the next in its Braintrust Series of generative writing workshops, Fresh Eyes: Guide to Revision, with professor. Poet, and performance artist bridgette bianca.
The class is a combination of craft talk and generative writing workshop. Even though we are a community of self-guided learners we do not skimp on academic rigor. Our classes are based on the best of the MFA residency experience.
Workshops are interactive. At times you will listen, take part in discussion, or be asked to follow a writing prompt. Towards the end of every Workshop there is time to share something you’ve written. We also reserve 30 minutes at the end of the session for a Q&A with the teaching artist. This is your opportunity to ask questions about publishing, touring, the writing life, craft, process, poetry in general, and any other topics that come up during Workshop.
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. She has performed her poetry all around Southern California, including features at The World Stage, the Southern California Poetry Festival, Los Angeles Lit Crawl, the Table Lit, LitFest Pasadena, Rapp Saloon, La Palabra, Beyond Baroque, and the un::fade::able Reading Series. She is one half of the literary curating team, Making Room for Black Women, with Sanura Williams of My Lit Box, and co-hosts the Women’s Center for Creative Work’s Reading Series with Nina Rota. Her work as a writer and an educator seeks to serve the people and moments most forget or ignore. Her debut collection be/trouble, was released by Writ Large Press in February 2020.
Where: The Poetry Lab
Date: Sunday the 9th
Time: 1 pm – 4 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.thepoetrylab.com/register/sunday-series/bridgettebianca
Slow Lightening Lit Reading Event & Open Mic: Roberta Martinez, Ruthie Marlenee & Angelina Saenz at The Book Jewel Bookstore – In-Person Event
In Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Slow Lightening Lit with host Peggy Dobreer welcomes three poets and writers to read their work, plus an Open Mic.
Roberta Martinez is a writer, historian, and educator from Los Angeles who is also an expert on the Latino community in Pasadena. She is the author of Latinos in Pasadena (2009), is a Reader at the Huntington library, and has shared knowledge and artifacts at numerous schools, businesses, and other venues. She has served as Executive Director of Latino Heritage and as Chair of the Arts Commission and Library Commission for the City of Pasadena and on the boards of the Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena Community Access Corporation, and the Pasadena Senior Center.
Ruthie Marlenee is a Mexican American novelist, poet, and the author of Isabela’s Island, Curse of the Ninth, and most recently, Agave Blues.A Pushcart nominee, Her work can be found in several literary publications. She was born and raised in Orange County, California, and lives in Los Angeles and the desert in the Coachella Valley with her husband.
Angelina Sáenz is an award-winning public school teacher and poet whose work focuses on memory, mujeres and motherhood. She is a UCLA Writing Project fellow, an alumna of the VONA/Voices Workshop for Writers of Color and a Macondo Writer’s Workshop Fellow. Her poetry has appeared in venues such as Diálogo, Split this Rock, Out of Anonymity, Angels Flight Literary West, Every Other, Cockpit Revue Paris and The Acentos Review. She is the author of the debut collection Edgecliff (2021).
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, Open Mic sign-ups, and details.
Where: The Book Jewel
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 3 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, Westchester, CA 90045
Website: https://www.facebook.com/108349435089503/photos/a.108368191754294/176003898324056/
At Skylight: Nicole Goux & Dake Baker, with Sarah Kuhn, & The Forest Hills Bootleg Society at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person YA Event
Nicole Goux and Dake Baker, in conversation with Sarah Kuhn, will present and discuss Their graphic novel, The Forest Hills Bootleg Society.
Set in 2005, this graphic novel follows four teens who stumble into an illicit anime DVD-burning business that shakes up their conservative small town…and their friendship. Will the four girls’ shared history be strong enough to see them through this upheaval? Or will they learn that some things can only end in heartbreak?
Nicole Goux (she/her) is an Eisner nominated illustrator and cartoonist from Los Angeles. She’s the artist of DC’s Shadow of the Batgirl and cocreator of Everyone is Tulip at Dark Horse Comics and F*ck Off Squad at Silver Sprocket. She has been published by DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and Boom! Studios. Her work often explores the themes of coming of age, interpersonal drama, and learning how to be a human. Visit her at NicoleGoux.com, on Twitter @NicoleGoux, or on Instagram @NGoux.
Dave Baker (he/him) has written everything from infomercials to feature films. He’s worked for companies such as 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal, and Disney XD. He also writes the comic books Suicide Forest, F*ck Off Squad, Teenage Switchblade, This Is Not a Girl Gang, and Professor Cuties. He’s currently writing and codrawing the comic book Action Hospital. Visit him at HeyDaveBaker.com or @xDaveBakerx.
Sarah Kuhn is the author of the popular Heroine Complex novels—a series starring Asian American superheroines. The first book is a Locus bestseller, an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee, and one of the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog’s Best Books of 2016. Her YA debut, the beloved Japan-set romantic comedy I Love You So Mochi, is a Junior Library Guild selection and a nominee for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her latest novel for young adults, From Little Tokyo, With Love—a modern fairy tale featuring a half-Japanese heroine—is a Junior Library Guild Selection, a nominee for the Golden Poppy Award, and Penguin Random House’s One World, One Book title of the year. She has also penned a variety of short fiction and comics.
NOTE: See site for RSVP guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 9th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Georja Umano, with Kat Kramer, & Terriers in the Jungle at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Georja Umano, in conversation with Kat Kramer, will present their children’s book, Terriers in the Jungle.
This story is about Roxie and Romeo, two rescued dogs who get adopted by a wildlife conservationist in Santa Monica. The two fall in love with each other and their guardian Kate. Kate decides they should all move to Kenya to help save endangered elephants. The entire story is told from the voices of the two dogs and is Inspired by real life experiences.
Besides being a guardian of two very charming dogs, Georja Umano’s experiences as a journalist and conservationist precede her novel writing. But it’s also her work as a stand-up comedienne crafting witty phrases and her many professional acting gigs studying and performing offbeat characters that have informed her first novel, so far capturing three gold and four silver medals.
Katharine Kramer is the founder of Kat Kramer’s Films that Change the World, an international cinema series that showcases motion pictures and documentaries that raise awareness of important social issues.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday the 9th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/20564
Second Sunday Poetry Series: traci kato-kiriyama & Alex M. Frankel at Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building – In-Person Event
Join us for the Second Sunday Poetry Reading Series to hear traci kato-kiriyama and host Alex M. Frankel at Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building.
Traci kato-kiriyama is a multi-media artist and the author of the collection Navigating With(out) Instruments. She is an award-winning artist, community arts builder, and cultural producer. She is an educator and springtime Teaching Artist-in-Residence for Grand Park; Arts & Culture Consultant for NeighborWorks America; Director/Co-Founder of Tuesday Night Project (presenter of art+community series, Tuesday Night Cafe, now in its 19th year and the longest-running Asian American mic series in the country). She is the writer/actor for PULLproject Ensemble, and has received recognition from several institutions and juries including two consecutive national grant awards from the Network of Ensemble Theaters.
Throughout each year for over the last two decades, she has toured to hundreds of venues throughout the country as a performer/actor, writer, theatre deviser, educator, speech coach, facilitator, speaker, cultural producer and artist-in-residence [Presenters include The Getty Foundation (L.A.), Skirball Cultural Center (L.A.), The Smithsonian (D.C.), The Ford Amphitheater Inside The Ford (L.A.), LaMaMa Cabaret (NYC), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia), EnWave Theatre (Toronto)]. Her writing and commentary have been featured by numerous print and online publications including Tia Chucha Press; Elle.com for Melissa Harris-Perry; The Hollywood Reporter; The Rafu Shimpo; Regent Press; Chapparal Canyon Press. Her newest book is Navigating With(out) Instruments, about which Naomi Hirahara has written “Traci Kato-Kiriyama is our time’s flame bearer, warning us of past wrong turns and shining light immediately in front of us. She belongs to the circle of poets who release words to restore, galvanize, and goad.”
Alex M. Frankel left Spain in the 1990s to settle in Southern California. In addition to poetry, he writes plays and nonfiction. During his youth he mostly wrote short stories, many of which were eventually published in little magazines. After a long delay, his (perhaps only?) short story collection, Flame at Door and Raisin, has come out. Kirkus has praised it: “Powerfully haunting tales of love, betrayal, and heartbreak in the Europe of decades past.”
NOTE: See site for guidelines and event details.
Where: Studio Theatre at. St. Denis Building
Date: Sunday 9th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 3433 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Website: https://www.secondsundaypoetry.com/index.html
Library Girl Series: Tribute to Audra Lorde by Brian Sonia-Wallace at Ruskin Group Theatre – In-Person Event
Join us for the Library Girl Series presented by Susan Hayden, for a Tribute to Audre Lorde event by Brian Sonia-Wallace, to celebrate International LGBTQ+ History Month!
Featured artists reading for this event include:
Dorothy Randall Gray has facilitated creative writing, personal development, and empowerment sessions for women’s groups, incarcerated youth, homeless populations, professional writing associations, HIV positive men, cancer survivors, university students, and business executives. She is author of the acclaimed bestseller, Soul Between The Lines: Freeing Your Creative Spirit Through Writing (Avon/HarperCollins.) Her other published works include Muse Blues, Woman, Creative Rituals for Daily Living, Family, The Passion Collection, A Taste of Tamarinda, and her ever popular book of poetry Sharing the Same Sky.
Nate’Eya Kahsai cured a childhood stutter when she wrote her first poem and by the time she reached film school at UCLA, she knew she had something to say, both as a black queer woman and as an outsider. Since then, Nate’Eya has written and directed six films, four music videos and partnered with countless diverse voices to bring their stories to screen. With her finger on the pulse of the inclusion movement in Hollywood and her eye on the mic, Nate’Eya crafts and contributes to projects across platforms–as writer and/or director. See her work at http://www.nateeyakahsai.com/
Michael Kearns is a writer and respected coach who teaches writers of all levels of their careers. He is a theatre artist, teacher, activist, father–can be found in his 2012 autobiography, THE TRUTH IS BAD ENOUGH, What Became of The Happy Hustler?
Frankie Tan is a writer, movement artist, and artistic director of The Poetry Brothel. Frankie Tanimal is a queer, femme, multimedia artist of color inhabiting the cityscapes of Los Angeles and the Bay Area. A scholarship graduate of Alonzo King Lines Ballet’s esteemed training & pedagogy programs, her work has been shown globally and spans the mediums of ground & aerial dance, performance, sculpture, and poetry. Through art that examines the function of trauma in interpersonal experience, she aims to undo ancestral pain, perpetuate compassion, and heal the self & the audience simultaneously
Brian Sonia-Wallace is the author of the memoir The Poetry of Strangers (Harper Collins, 2020), his other publications include the chapbook, I sold these poems, now I want them back (Yak Press, 2016), a chapter on poetry-as-placemaking for Art & The City (Routledge, 2018), and writing in The Guardian, LitHub, and Rolling Stone. Sonia-Wallace curates an LGBTQ+ poetry column for The Pride LA and teaches creative writing through UCLA Writers’ Extension and Get Lit—Words Ignite. He has held residences from Amtrak, Dollar Shave Club, and the Mall of America, and runs the custom poetry business RENT Poet. Sonia-Wallace is the 4th Poet Laureate of the City of West Hollywood, and in 2021, he received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.
Victor Yates. s the winner of the 2017 Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging LGBTQ Writers. He won the 2016 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction for his book, A Love Like Blood. His novel also won Honorable Mention at The New England Book Festival. Recently, he was awarded a grant from the City of West Hollywood to record narratives of older gay men to preserve for younger generations. He received an Oprah Winfrey Scholarship in college and appeared on Oprah’s Surprise Spectacular show. In 2012, and he had two poems published in the anthology, For Colored Boys, which won the American Library Association’s Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines and event details.
Where: Ruskin Group Theatre
Date: Sunday 9th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 3000 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://goallevents.com/e/library-girl-brian-sonia-wallace-present-revolution-is-not-a-one-time-event-audre-lorde-tribute-E200023361396854 or https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=rgt
Fantasy Romance Book Club & The Dead Romantics at The Ripped Bodice Bookstore – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice will host a Fantasy Romance Book Club discussion of this month’s selection. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. This story follows a disillusioned millennial ghostwriter for a famous romance author who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, and has to find her way back home
Bookseller Taylor C. leads this fantasy and paranormal romance book club. If witches, vampires, ghosts, and other worlds are your jam, join us.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 9th
Time: 7:15 pm
Address: Main St. at Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Los Angeles Literature 