World Literature Book Club: Weekly Discussions of Short Stories via West Valley Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
This book club is a spirited and engaging discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from Points of View: An Anthology of Short Stories (New York, 1995) ed. James Moffett and Kenneth R. McElheny. This month’s selections are:
January 9: The Lady’s Maid by Katherine Mansfield
January 16: & Answers by Joyce Carol Oates
January 30: Inter-Office by Rosellen Brown
Meetings are every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
For the Zoom link, please e-mail wvally@lapl.org with “World Literature” in the subject line.
NOTE: See site for link. Repeats via Woodland Hills Branch Library at 2 pm.
Where: West Valley Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 9th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-10
Book Club Bonanza: Happy New Year for Teens via Central Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event
This book club for teens will celebrate the new year by picking book(s) to read via hoopla.
January 09: Let’s meet and pick a YA Fiction book to read this month via hoopla!
January 23: Join us for read-alikes on the book(s) chosen and the book discussion.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 9th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-happy-new-year
Writing Workshop & Open Mic with Mike “the Poet” Sonksen at Cerritos Library – In-Person Adult & Teen Event
This writing workshop for participants ages 13 and older is led by poet and educator Mike Sonksen. The focus for participants will be geographic literacy, writing about California State Parks and locations.
Notebooks and writing materials will be provided, although participants are welcome to bring their own materials. This program is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library. The program is offered as part of the California State Library Parks Pass project.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Cerritos Library, Skyline Room
Date: Monday the 9th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 18025 Bloomfield Ave., Cerritos, CA 90703
Website: http://library.cerritos.us/calendar/cl_calendarNEW.htm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D163826887 or http://library.cerritos.us/calendar/cl_calendarNEW.htm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D163826887
Steven Rosen & Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Steven Rosen will present and discuss his book, Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen.
Steven Rosen, a rock journalist for nearly 50 years, first met Edward Van Halen in 1977 and had a friendship with him that lasted until 2003. Tonechaser chronicles that relationship and describes in poignant and heartfelt detail what it felt like to be friends with the greatest guitar player in the universe. Rosen spent time with Edward up at 5150 as well as his own quaint guesthouse in the Hollywood Hills where the guitarist would simply show up on his front doorstep from time to time. The author even jammed with the legendary instrumentalist on more than one occasion as astounding as that may sound.
This tale of a brilliant musician meeting up and becoming fast friends with a rock journalist seems implausible, but it did happen. Rosen took 14 months to write and craft Tonechaser and that devotion and care is revealed on every page.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 9th
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/steven-rosen
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
Date: Monday the 9th
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-495174037877
Poetry Open Mic with Wyatt Underwood via Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The monthly Poetry Open Mic with Wyatt Underwood is held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6 pm.
Share a poem you wrote or a poem you love! Or, you are welcome to just listen and enjoy. Emceed by Wyatt Underwood.
To receive the Zoom invitation, please contact wwood@lapl.org.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-open-mic
Feminist Book Club & The Soul of a Woman at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Event
The Feminist Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, The Soul of a Woman, by Isabel Allende.
“From the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea comes “a bold exploration of womanhood, feminism, parenting, aging, love and more” (Associated Press).
“When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating,” begins Isabel Allende. As a child, she watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children without “resources or voice.” Isabel became a fierce and defiant little girl, determined to fight for the life her mother couldn’t have.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Books
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside, CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/feminist-book-club-soul-woman
Silver Lake Book Club & A Psalm for the Wild-Built via Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Silver Lake Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, A Psalm for the ThisWild-Built, by Becky Chambers.
This book is Book #1 in the Monk & Robot Series, and it gives us hope for the future. It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask and how. They’re going to need to ask it a lot. Becky Chambers’s new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
To receive the Zoom link, email silver@lapl.org.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details
Where: Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/silver-lake-book-club-3
World Cultures Reading Circle Book Discussion & The Kitchen Front at Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The World Cultures Reading Circle Book Discussion Group will discuss this month’s book selection, The Kitchen Front: A Novel, by Jennifer Ryan.
From the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir comes an unforgettable novel of a BBC-sponsored wartime cooking competition and the four women who enter for a chance to better their lives.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL, Community Room
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm
Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester, CA 90045
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-cultures-reading-circle-book-discussion-3
Boot Camp: Beginning Flash & Micro Fiction Workshop with John Brantingham via Inlandia Institute – Online Event
An Inlandia Institute writing workshop on Beginning Flash & Micro Fiction will be offered online with writer and author John Brantingham.
Boot Camp for Writers is back! Learn how to write flash and microfiction with writer and teacher John Brantingham. For more info on cost and sessions, head over to https://tinyurl.com/BrantinghamWrites
NOTE: See site for RSVP, costs, link, and schedule.
Where: Inlandia Institute
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/events/?cid=all&format=list&mcat=7 or https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=551438373691746&set=a.487476570087927
Peter Blauner & Picture in the Sand: A Novel at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Peter Blauner will present and discuss his novel, Picture in the Sand.
When Alex Hassan gets accepted to an Ivy League university, his middle-class Egyptian American family is filled with pride and excitement. But that joy turns to shock when they discover that he’s run off to the Middle East to join a holy war instead. When he refuses to communicate with everyone else, his loving grandfather Ali emails him one last plea. If Alex will stay in touch, his grandfather will share with Alex—and only Alex—a manuscript containing the secret story of his own life that he’s kept hidden from his family until now.
But Ali’s vision of a golden future as an American movie mogul gets upended when he is unwittingly caught up in a web of politics, espionage, and real-life events that change the course of history.
It’s a narrative he’s told no one for more than a half-century. But now he’s forced to unearth the past to save a young man who’s about to make the same tragic mistakes he made so long ago.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/peter-blauner
Book Launch: Jordan Harper, with Steph Cha, & Everybody Knows at Stories Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Jordan Harper, in conversation with Steph Cha, will present and discuss her LA noir novel, Everybody Knows.
In this novel, a fearless black-bag publicist exposes the belly of the L.A. beast from Edgar Award-winning author Jordan Harper.
Welcome to Mae Pruett’s Los Angeles, where “Nobody talks. But everybody whispers.” As a “black-bag” publicist tasked not with letting the good news out but keeping the bad news in, Mae works for one of LA’s most powerful and sought-after crisis PR firms, at the center of a sprawling web of lawyers, PR flaks, and private security firms she calls “The Beast.” They protect the rich and powerful and depraved by any means necessary.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Iris Yamashita & City Under One Roof at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Iris Yamashita will present and discuss her novel, City Under One Roof.
When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.
After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town–all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before, long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/iris-yamashita-discusses-city-under-one-roof
Book Signing & Traveling Show with GennaRose Nethercott & Thistlefoot at The Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
When Isaac and Bellatine inherit their ancestor Baba Yaga’s sentient house on chicken legs, little do they know that they’ve also inherited the key to an age-old secret, hidden in their blood for generations. A debut novel woven from the threads of Eastern European folklore, Jewish history, and American road trip tales, Thistlefoot is a modern fairytale about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us and the uncanny power of story.
GennaRose Nethercott is a writer and folklorist from the woodlands of Vermont. Her first book, The Lumberjack’s Dove, was selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the National Poetry Series, and she tours nationally and internationally performing strange tales (sometimes with puppets in tow). She’s also an associate producer for the podcast Lore. Thistlefoot is her debut novel.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/22376
SOM Tuesdays Open Mic at Murphy’s Pub, Long Beach – In-Person Event
SOM Open Mic Tuesdays at Murphy’s Pub takes place in a casual setting in Long Beach. Come and share music, comedy, and poetry with SOM in its new venue!
Featured guest: TBA.
Sign-ups at 6:30 pm.
Where: Murphy’s Pub
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 10 am
Address: 4918 2nd St., Belmont Shore, Long Beach, CA 90803
Website: https://www.facebook.com/somopenmic/
Adult Book Group: The Call of the Wrens via Once Upon a Time – Online Zoom Event
The Adult Book Discussion Group has been going strong for 40+ years and loves to see new faces. This month’s selection for discussion is the adult historical fiction novel, The Call of The Wrens, by Jenni L. Walsh.
Crackerjack female motorcycle dispatch riders—of both WWI and WWII—figure prominently in this well-developed historical novel of love’s lost, choices taken and lives entwined by fate. Little known corps of female British WREN volunteers are at the heart of this well told tale.
Books are available in print, and, when possible, as an e-book and a digital audiobook.
Where: Once Upon a Time
Date: Tuesday the 10th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/adult-book-group-call-wrens-jenni-l-walsh-meeting-zoom
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with Christian Perfas via Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest Christian Perfas.
Christian Perfas, aka Soul Stuf, is a second generation Filipino-American poet and teaching artist. His catalogue of work covers a wide range of material, from the seemingly mundane to the heart-wrenchingly familiar. Raised with a background in theatre, improv, and hip-hop, he has been honing his poetic craft for the past five years and has been blessed with the opportunity to work with some amazing artistic institutions, such as the Melrose Poetry Bureau, Spoken Literature Art Movement, Asian Creative Network—Los Angeles, Palms Up Academy, Get Lit! Words Ignite, the Poetry Lab, and the Poetry Brothel, among others. His debut collection of poems is set to release later this year in collaboration with the Community Literature Initiative and his publisher, the World Stage Press, alongside his first ever poetry album produced by Fictitious Professor. Christian loves good quality boba and is often distracted by small to medium-sized dogs.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 10th
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 10th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 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 25 years strong. They hold open mic nights. At an open mic, all are welcome to share their poetry or sit in their audience.
$10 donation. Do NOT line up 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 10th
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
Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson at Los Angeles Breakfast Club – In-Person Event
Enjoy a catered breakfast, silly songs, club traditions, and special presentation each week at the historic Los Angeles Breakfast Club. The featured speaker will be Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson.
Lynne Thompson is Los Angeles’ 2021-22 Poet Laureate and a 2022 Poet Laureate Fellow of the Academy of American Poets. Thompson is the author of three collections of poetry: Beg No Pardon, Start With A Small Guitar, and most recently Fretwork, winner of the 2019 Marsh Hawk Poetry Prize. The recipient of multiple awards and fellowships, including several Pushcart Prize nominations, Thompson sits on the Boards of Cave Canem and the Los Angeles Review of Books and recently completed her term as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Scripps College. Her recent work can be found or is forthcoming in Best American Poetry, New England Review, Black Warrior Review, The Common, and Copper Nickel, among others.
Founded in 1925, the Los Angeles Breakfast Club still thrives with food, friendship, and fun. Our meetings are held in our clubhouse, Friendship Auditorium, located at 3201 Riverside Drive, near the corner of Los Feliz Boulevard, in Griffith Park. Best described as a variety show, attendees enjoy a catered breakfast, silly songs, club traditions, and an interesting presentation from a guest speaker.
Buy Tickets: Deadline is the Monday before the event.
NOTE: See site for costs, guidelines, and details.
Where: Los Angeles Breakfast Club
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 7 am – 9 am
Address: 3201 Riverside Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://allevents.in/los%20angeles/lynne-thompson-poet-laureate-of-los-angeles/200023833483826
Christopher Garcia Presents: Resonancia Flower Songs & Spoken Word at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Edendale Branch Library hosts a special music and performance event!
Join composer and educator Christopher Garcia in the library’s community room for a performance of Mexican flower songs and spoken word, accompanied by percussion, string and breath instruments of Mesoamerica. Garcia has performed worldwide his acclaimed compositions, as well as a repertoire spanning indigenous music of many cultures, jazz and classical works, from canonical to experimental.
This program was made possible with the generous support of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL, Community Room
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/la-made-christopher-garcia-presents-resonancia-flower-songs
Page Turners Book Club: The Sunbearer Trials at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Page Turners is a book club just for 8th and 9th graders, who read and talk about books from all genres, selected by group members from books suggested by a {pages} staff member. Participants join with their friends, meet new friends, and enjoy an hour of “book talk” in the {pages} courtyard.
This month’s selection for discussion is The Sunbearer Trials, by Aiden Thomas.
This book is the first in a duology, an electric Mexican-inspired fantasy.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/page-turners-book-club-0
Amy Lee Virtual Event & Exes & O’s at The Ripped Bodice – Online Event
Amy Lea will celebrate her new book, Exes and O’s, in this virtual event. She will be in conversation with Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka to chat about all things contemporary romance!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Creative Writing Workshop with Tony DuShane at Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Los Feliz Branch Library hosts a free 90-minute monthly writing workshop presented by Tony DuShane, who is a UCLA Extension instructor and a Screenwriter of the film Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, based on his novel of the same name.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-tony-dushane-13
ARTE! Zine Writer’s Workshop with Viva Padilla at Re/Arte Centro Literario – In-Person Event
The Arte! Zine Writer’s Workshop is facilitated by editor in-chief of sin cesar (formerly Drylnad) Viva Padilla.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Re/Arte Centro Literario
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 2123 E. Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/events%2Feventos
Michael Wohl, with Ethan Sandler, & Herschel’s Wake at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Michael Wohl, in conversation with Ethan Sandler, will present and discuss his book, Herschel’s Wake.
This book is a darkly funny examination of faith, funerals, family, and f*cked up fathers, but most of all, it’s about forgiveness.
Herschel Wohl was many things: twice-divorced astrologer, pharmacology professor, failed novelist, on-the-lam drug-runner, manual typewriter thief, Aikido white belt, possible communist, and temporary resident of the little-known island of Statia. He was also a father.
When Herschel dies unexpectedly just before his 71st birthday, his adult son Michael has to travel four thousand miles and overcome four decades of filial resentment to pick up Herschel’s pieces. Along the way Michael must reconnect with a forgotten half-brother, reconcile with an overeducated, underachieving sister, and reckon with his ambivalence about religion.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Joint Book Launch: Ashton Politanoff & You’ll Like It Here, with Kathryn Scanlan & Kick the Latch at Stories Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Ashton Politanoff and Kathryn Scanlan, will present and discuss their new books: You’ll Like It Here and Kick the Latch, respectively.
Ashton Politanoff’s You’ll Like it Here is a haunting bricolage, divided into three parts, that excavates the forgotten history of Redondo Beach in the early 1900’s through old news clippings, advertisements, recipes and other ephemera that speak to the ills of male stoicism, industrialization and capitalism, and environmental displacement.
Kathryn Scanlan’s Kick the Latch vividly captures the arc of one woman’s life at the racetrack—the flat land and ramshackle backstretch; the bad feelings and friction; the winner’s circle and the racetrack bar; the fancy suits and fancy boots; and the “particular language” of “grooms, jockeys, trainers, racing secretaries, stewards, pony people, hotwalkers, everybody”—with economy and integrity.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
W. Bruce Cameron & Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
W. Bruce Cameron will present and discuss his new book, Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog.
Told in Cameron’s signature style, a tremendous cast of characters find themselves jointly and separately navigating the challenges of life, of love, and…other pets, including Clancy’s “worst enemy”—one very disdainful cat. It’s a lot to keep track of, especially when things start to spin hilariously out of control, but fortunately, we’ve got the observations of Clancy, a very good dog, who shares a valuable perspective on what is really important.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 11th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/w-bruce-cameron-discusses-love-clancy-diary-good-dog
Anansi Virtual Writers Workshop & Lester Graves Lennon 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.
- 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm — Formal workshop;
- 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm — Featured reader: Lester Graves Lennon, author of Lynchings: Postcards from America:
- 9:05 pm – 10:00 pm — 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 11th
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 at 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 11th
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-506584446717
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry & Kirby Marquez 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 Kirby Marquez.
Kirby Marquez is a poet and spoken word artist who seeks to combine his love of words with his professional experience in voiceover and mental health. In his work, he explores ideas of love and mental health, cultural identity, as well as music and pop culture. Although he currently works in the field of criminal psychology, he insists that poetry is a medium that reached out to him and begged him to share his story.
The format is to welcome a featured poet for an individual reading, as well as an Open Mic reading.
$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 11th
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/860348138718963
Kids Book Club & Elatsoe at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Kids Event
The Kids Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, Elatsoe, by author Darcie Little Badger, and illustrator Rovina Cat
This award-winning debut is about a Texas teen who comes face-to-face with a cousin’s ghost and vows to unmask the cousin’s murderer.
Darcie Little Badger is an Earth scientist, writer, and fan of the weird, beautiful, and haunting. She is an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. Her Locus Award-winning debut novel, Elatsoe, was a National Indie Bestseller, named to over a dozen best-of-year lists, and called one of the Best 100 Fantasy Novels of All Time by TIME. Her second novel, A Snake Falls to Earth was longlisted for the National Book
Rovina Cai is a freelance illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. She works out of an old convent building that is possibly haunted. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Recently, she has illustrated books by Patrick Ness and Margo Lanagan. Instagram @rovinacai
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Books
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/kids-book-club-elatsoe
Creative Writing Workshop with Novelist/Broadway Writer Ashley Griffin at Main Library, SMPL – In-Person Kids & Teens Event
The Main Santa Monica Library Book Club will offer a creative writing workshop for kids and teens by Ashley Griffin, and a reading from her debut novel “The Spindle,” a retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” from the dark fairy’s point of view. Find out what it takes to be a professional writer and find your own literary voice as we explore how to tell a story. For aspiring writers ages 10-15.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Main Library, SMPL Children’s Activity Room
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA
Website: http://calendar.smgov.net/library/eventsignup.asp?ID=34477
Young Adult Club & Blackout at Cellar Door Books – In-Person YA Event
The Young Adult Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, Blackout: A Novel, by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon.
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark.
A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks…
When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.
Beloved authors—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—celebrate the beauty of six couples and the unforgettable magic that can be found on a sweltering starry night in the city.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Books
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside, CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/young-adult-book-club-blackout
Mystery Book Club: Dark Sky at Venice-Abbot Kinney Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Mystery Book Club will be reading and discussing this month’s selection, Dark Sky, by author CJ Box.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-9
Slow Lightning Lit Anniversary Reading: Janet Fitch, Robin Messing, David Francis; with music by Patty Chavez and curated by Peggy Dobreer – Online Event
The Slow Lightning Lit community of writers celebrates two years of writing together with a reading of their works, facilitated by Peggy Dobreer.
Featured readings by online community members include: Janet Fitch (Los Angeles), Robin Messing (New York), and David Francis (Australia). Music by Petty Chavez (San Fernando Valley). Limited open reading from members of the Slow Lightning Community.
Janet Fitch is the author of White Oleander, Paint It Black, Chimes of a Lost Cathedral, among others.
Robin Messing is the author of Holding Not Having and Serpent in the Garden of Dreams.
David Francis is the author of The Great Inland Sea and Stray Dog Winter.
If you would like to read or to receive a link to attend, please RSVP with RSVP in the menu bar to adhocink@yahoo.com. If you would like to join our morning session, please RSVP to the same address.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Slow Lightning Lit
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/d41d8cd9/slow-lightning-lit-anniversary-reading/473389231617749/
Book Launch: Kashana Cauley, with Natashia Deón, & The Survivalists at Stories Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Kashana Cauley, in conversation with Natashia Deón, will present and discuss her new novel, The Survivalists.
The Survivalists is a darkly humorous novel from a smart and relevant new literary voice that’s packed with tension, curiosity, and wit, and unafraid to ask the questions most relevant to a new generation of Americans: Does it make sense to climb the corporate ladder? What exactly are the politics of gun ownership? And in a world where it’s nearly impossible for young people to earn enough money to afford stable housing, what does it take in order to survive?
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Trenches Full of Poets Reading Series: Carlos Ornelas, Angelina Saenz & Gustavo Hernandez at Page Against the Machine (PATM) – In-Person Event
The Trenches Full of Poets Reading Series returns with live, in-store readings by Carlos Ornelas, Angelina Sáenz, and Gustavo Hernandez. The event is hosted by Nikolai Garcia and Mauricio Andres Moreno.
Carlos Ornelas is a Mexicano Americano poet from Los Angeles whose work highlights the Chicano experience in America.
Born and raised in urban Los Angeles, Angelina Saenz is an award-winning educator and poet whose debut poetry book Edgecliff, was published by FlowerSong Press.
Gustavo Hernandez was born in Jalisco, Mexico and lives in Santa Ana, and is the author of Flower Grand First, published by Moon Tide Press.
Trenches Full of Poets is a monthly poetry series created, curated, and hosted by Los Angeles-based poets and editors, Garcia and Moreno, with the goal of supporting published SoCal authors and the local independent bookstores that carry their works.
The event is free and open to the public, no tickets or reservations required.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Page Against the Machine
Date: Thursday the 12th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Spectacular Story Time at Once Upon a Time – In-Person Kids Event
The Spectacular Story Time event is ready to delight and dazzle with enthusiastic troubadour, Maddi! Geared for ages 3 – 6.
Where: Once Upon a Time
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/spectacular-story-time-14
Current Events Nonfiction Book Club: Rough Draft at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Current Events Nonfiction Book Club will be reading and discussing this month’s selection, Rough Draft: A Memoir, by journalist and author Katy Tur.
From MSNBC anchor and instant New York Times bestselling author Katy Tur, comes a shocking and deeply personal memoir about a life spent chasing the news.
Intimate and captivating, Rough Draft explores the gift and curse of family legacy, examines the roles and responsibilities of the news, and asks the question: To what extent do we each get to write our own story?
Please email studio@lapl.org for details.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/current-events-nonfiction-book-club-0
Self-Care Book Club & The Myth of Normal at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Event
The Self-Care Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture, by Gabor Maté, MD.
By the acclaimed author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, this book is a groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing critique of how our society breeds disease, and a pathway to health and healing.
In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how, in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Books
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/self-care-book-club-myth-normal
Julie D. Summers & Off My Knees: From Skid Row to Sunset Boulevard at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Julie D. Summers will present and discuss her book, Off My Knees: From Skid Row to Sunset Boulevard.
How much trauma can one person survive and still, in the end, thrive? Julie D. Summers’ debut memoir takes readers on an incredible ride through amazing highs and to the depths of hell, then rams back up to a conclusion of success. Hers is not a misery memoir but a challenging story of one woman’s belief in her abilities to overcome the pits she finds herself in.
After many attempts to rebuild her life, the author found success and began an amazing multi-decade rise in political and philanthropic work with the unhoused in West Hollywood. Julie persevered through countless trials, with a resilience that is a tribute to her strength and commitment to help others find their way into the light.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/julie-d-summers
Open Mic Nite, featuring Meliza Banalas, at Village Well Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Open Mic Nite is back and bigger than ever! For the first time, the evening will begin with a performance from featured artist Meliza Bañales.
Meliza is a Bay Area slam poet who has been in the game since 1996. She was the first Latina poet to win a poetry slam championship in 2002, and she also won the People Before Profits Poetry Event in the same year. Her poems have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology, Without A Net: The Female Experience of Growing-Up Working-Class, Baby Remember My Name: New Queer Girl Writing, and Word Warriors.
Village Well is excited to have Meliza kick off the year’s first open mic, and glad to announce that the open mic will now be taking place on the second Friday of every month!
Reminder that all performances must be family friendly!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Cafe
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Washington Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/22629
Pico Iyer, with Alison Singh Gee, & The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Pico Iyer, in conversation with Alison Singh Gee, will present and discuss his new book, The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise.
Traveling from Iran to North Korea, from the Dalai Lama’s Himalayas to the ghostly temples of Japan, Pico Iyer brings together a lifetime of explorations to upend our ideas of utopia and ask how we might find peace, in the midst of difficulty and suffering. Does religion lead us back to Eden or only into constant contention? Why do so many seeming paradises turn into warzones? And does paradise exist only in the afterworld – or can it be found in the here and now?
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/pico-iyer-conversation-alison-singh-gee-half-known-life
Poetry Reading: Nathan McClain, Angela Peñaredondo, & Marci Vogel at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join Beyond Baroque’s poetry reading featuring:Massachusetts poet Nathan McClain and L.A. poets Marci Vogel, and Angela Peñaredondo.
Nathan McClain is a poet and the author of Scale (Four Way Books, 2017) and Previously Owned (Four Way Books, 2022), a recipient of fellowships from The Frost Place, Sewanee Writer’s Conference, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson. His sophomore collection, Previously Owned (Four Way Books, 2022) is a daring collection in which the author interrogates his speaker’s American heritage, history, and responsibility. A Cave Canem fellow, his poems and prose have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Green Mountains Review, Zocalo Public Square, The Critical Flame, On The Seawall, and elsewhere. He teaches at Hampshire College and serves as Poetry Editor for The Massachusetts Review.
Marci Vogel writes across genres and between forms. She is the author of a novella-in-flash, Death and Other Holidays, selected for the inaugural Miami Book Fair Prize, and At the Border of Wilshire and Nobody, winner of the inaugural Howling Bird Press Poetry Prize. She also served as a commentor at Jacket2, producing the digital commentary series, A Poetics of the Étrangère, in collaboration with fellow poet-translators. The recipient of a Willis Barnstone Translation Prize, Vogel’s work has received support from North Street Collective, the Napa Valley Writers Conference, and the Community of Writers. A first-generation scholar and recent Mellon Fellow in the Humanities, Vogel designs and teaches courses in interventionist poetics at USC. She was born in Hollywood, not far from where the beloved big cat P-22 made his home.
Angela Peñaredondo (she/they) is queer, nonbinary Filipinx writer and author of nature felt but never apprehended (Noemi Press, upcoming March 2023), All Things Lose Thousands of Times (winner of the 2016 Inlandia Institute’s Hillary Gravendyk Book Prize) and the chapbook Maroon (Jamii Publishing). An interdisciplinary writer, artist and educator, their work can be found or forthcoming in The Academy of American Poets, Pleiades, Apogee Journal and elsewhere. They are a recipient of fellowships to Kundiman, Macondo, TinHouse, the Community of Writers and others. They are an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at California State University, San Bernardino.
NOTE: See site for further details, guidelines, link, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 13th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Special Storytime: Benson Shum & Anzu the Great Listener at Vroman’s Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
In this follow-up to Anzu the Great Kaiju, created by Walt Disney Studios animator Benson Shum, the reader follows a sweet and well-intentioned Anzu as he learns a valuable lesson about patience and empathy in the face of sadness–perfect for fans of The Rabbit Listened.
In Anzu the Great Listener, Benson Shum illustrates the importance of patience, empathy, and above all, taking the time to listen.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 11 am
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/vromans-special-storytime-featuring-benson-shum
Flash in Four: A Creative Writing Workshop by Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event
Join Beyond Baroque’s next writing workshop, Flash in Four: A Creative Writing Exerience, facilitated by Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera.
Can you write a story in 1,000 words? How about in 100 words? Not sure? Here’s your chance to try. During this four-hour, in-person, creative writing experience for writers at all levels, you’ll learn about flash fiction, flash nonfiction, micro-fiction, and micro-memoir and have time to practice these short forms not once, not twice, but four times! We will look at samples from various online journals, focus on scene building and precise use of language, play with verbs and point of view. Before you leave, you’ll have the opportunity to share your work.
This workshop is for all ages.
NOTE: See site for further details, guidelines, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 12 pm – 4 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Early Readers Book Club & Catalina Incognito at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Kids Event
The Early Readers Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, Catalina Incognito, by Jennifer Torres, and illustrator Gladys Jose.
This is the first book in a charming new chapter book series about Catalina Castaneda, a Mexican American girl with a magical sewing kit!
Catalina Castaneda is not persnickety, even though that’s what her parents and sister, Coco, like to think. Catalina just likes things the way she likes them—perfect.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Books
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/early-reader-book-club-catalina-incognito
Kwame Alexander: An American Story and The Door of No Return at Manhattan Beach Library with pages: a bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Bestselling author Kwame Alexander will present two of his newest books @ Manhattan Beach Library, with sales through {pages} a bookstore, on Saturday, January 14 @ 2:00pm! This is a FREE event, but we would appreciate book purchases be made through {pages} a bookstore. Signed books can be pre-ordered and picked up at the event or purchase your books at the event. All copies will be signed and personalized.
A powerful picture book, An American Story tells the story of American slavery through the voice of a teacher struggling to help her students understand its harrowing history. Multilayered and stunningly illustrated, Alexander, and debut artist Dare Coulter present a sweeping narrative of a history almost impossible to tell, full of tragedy and cruelty that spans both centuries and continents.
The Door of No Return is a story of a people’s struggle and strength, horror, and hope. This is the story of the beginning of America, a story that needs to be told and understood by all of us. A testament to the resilience of the African American community, this book honors what has been and envisions what is to be.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: pages: a bookstore at Manhattan Beach Library
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/kwame-alexander-manhattan-beach-library
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Deep Critique Workshop with G.T. Foster + Open Reading – Online Only Event
Saturday Afternoon Poetry presents a Deep Critique Writing Workshop hosted by G.T. Foster.
All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event Only (see site)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Introduction to Spoke Word Poetry with Andrew Joseph Zaragoza, Jr. at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
This free workshop is designed to foster confidence for first-time open mic’ers, including tips and tricks to return to flow zone for public speaking. Organic conversation around facilitator experiences, mentoring, and rehearsal at end of workshop to carry into following week’s open mic live events with support of facilitators leading by example.
About Andrew: You can expect an approach uncanny to others. Sharing stories from the lived experiences of his past and current journey, Andrew shares insight into the worlds of mental health, resilience, art, education, and work therapy. You can temporarily be immersed into the author poet’s world and return to the world with gems taken from each interaction made.
Andrew Joseph Zaragoza Jr. has contributed to several publications such as BookBaby, Author Reputation Press, BookSavvy International, and Field Trip Health’s Trip.
In addition to numerous contributions to: The Walt Disney Company, ABC Unified School District, Downtown Art Walk, Walk For Art, Dairy Queen, and Cha2o Fusion Asian Restaurants, as well as supporting several community-based organizations, including Autism Learning Partners, LA Mission, Homeboy Industries and BRIDGES, Inc.
He’s also the Founder of grassroots movements designed to uplift and amplifies health, wellness, and those seeking support.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 3:30 pm – 5 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-spoken-word-poetry-tickets-463436951397
ANTICS!: Reading Series with UC Irvine MFA Programs in Writing at LibroMobile – In-Person Event
ANTICS!: Reading Series with UC Irvine at LibroMobile – In-Person Event
Join LibroMoblle for ANTICS!: A New Reading Series by UC Irvine’s MFA Programs in Writing.
This new series presents new voices in poetry & fiction, featuring: WILLIAM ENG, ANDIE KLARIN, SEHRISH RANJHA, and ASUSENA LOPEZ.
Where: LibroMobile
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1150 S. Bristol St., A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Where: LibroMobile
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1150 S. Bristol St., A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
At Skylight: Stephen Markley, with Dan Fogelman, & The Deluge at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
From the bestselling author of Ohio, Stephen Markley, in conversation with Dan Fogelman, will present his new book, The Deluge.
In the first decades of the 21st century, the world is convulsing, its governments mired in gridlock while a patient but unrelenting ecological crisis looms. America is in upheaval, battered by violent weather and extreme politics. In California in 2013, Tony Pietrus, a scientist studying deposits of undersea methane, receives a death threat. His fate will become bound to a stunning cast of characters—a broken drug addict, a star advertising strategist, a neurodivergent mathematician, a cunning eco-terrorist, an actor turned religious zealot, and a brazen young activist named Kate Morris, who, in the mountains of Wyoming, begins a project that will alter the course of the decades to come.
Stephen Markley is the acclaimed author of Ohio, which NPR called a “masterpiece.” A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Markley’s other books include the memoir Publish This Book and the travelogue Tales of Iceland.
Dan Fogelman created and Executive Produced the acclaimed NBC drama THIS IS US, which received thirty-nine Emmy nominations throughout its six season run. Fogelman also serves as an Executive Producer on the Emmy nominated Outstanding Comedy ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING which stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-stephen-markley-presents-deluge-dan-fogelman
Riot of Roses Poetry w/Brenda Vaca Workshop at Cafe con Libros – In-Person Event
Brenda Vaca @iambrendavaca will kick off the new year with a new initiative to have a writing workshop every second Saturday of the month, before Obsidian Tongues Open Mic!!!! Brenda is an amazing poet. She’s the author of the amazing collection, Riot of Roses, and is the owner of Riot of Roses Publishing House! All are welcome! There will be coffee and wine, donations are welcomed, but not required.
Where: Cafe con Libros, Pomoma
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKP7GNvIC5/
Paint and Poetry Event at The Content Home, Inglewood – In-Person Event
Enjoy a great time of painting and poetry. Each attendee is guaranteed 1 complimentary glass of wine. If you would like to share a poem, please be sure to message @ed0tmarie on Instagram.
NOTE: See site for costs, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Content Home
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3214 West 113th St., Inglewood, CA 90303
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paint-and-poetry-tickets-496565218937
Poetry Reading & Discussion: Sandra Simonds, Harmony Holiday & Rodrigo Toscano at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event
Sandra Simonds is a poet and critic. She is the author of eight books of poetry: Triptychs (Wave Books, 2022), Atopia (Wesleyan University Press, 2019), Orlando (Wave Books, 2018) and others. She is also the author of Assia, a forthcoming novel based on the life of Assia Wevill. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, and is an associate professor of English at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia. She is currently a visiting professor at Bennington College in Vermont.
Harmony Holiday is a writer, dancer, archivist, and the author of 5 collections of poetry including Hollywood Forever and Maafa. She curates an archive of griot poetics and a related performance series at LA’s MOCA and the music and archive venue 2220 Arts+Archives that she runs with several friends, also in Los Angeles. She has received the Motherwell Prize from Fence Books, a Ruth Lilly Fellowship, a NYFA fellowship, a Schomburg Fellowship, a California Book Award, and a research fellowship from Harvard.
Rodrigo Toscano is a poet and dialogist based in New Orleans. He is the author of ten books of poetry. His latest book is The Charm & The Dread (Fence Books, 2022). The Cut Point (Counterpath) is due in spring 2023. His Collapsible Poetics Theater was a National Poetry Series selection. His poetry has appeared in over 20 anthologies, including Best American Poetry and Best American Experimental Poetry (BAX). Toscano has received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. rodrigotoscano.com @Toscano200
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/sandra-simonds-harmony-holiday-rodrigo-toscano
Obsidian Tongues Open Mic Night at Café con Libros, Pomona – In-Person Event
Obsidian Tongues Open Mic is hosted by poet, writer, and new Pomona Poet Laureate Cesar Avelar, and it presents special guests and open mic readers every 2nd Saturday of the month.
January’s feature is Alma Rosa Rivera, Mexican American poet, mom and wife who doesn’t like to water down her brownness. She was raised in Santa Clarita and politics play a huge role in her poetry.
Where: Café con Libros Press, Pomona
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA 91766
Website: https://cafeconlibrospress.org/event-calendar/
Griot Café Open Mic with Sistah Shy & Samuel Rain at Shades of Africa, Long Beach – In-Person Event (Check to Verify)
Sistah Shy & Samuel Rain host the Griot Café Open Mic & Poetry event every Saturday evening at Shades of Africa in Long Beach. See site to subscribe for reminders, etc.
Where: Griot Café at Shades of Africa (Check to Verify)
Date: Saturday the 14th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1001 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://shadesofafrika.com/griot-cafe-open-mic-poetry/
I’d Rather Be Called a Nerd Book Signing & Reading with Dominic “Nerd” McDonald at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
On Saturday, June 11, 2022 three impressive D.C. poet finalists entered the Shaw/Watha T Daniel Public Library for the culminating reading event in the 2022 DC Poet Project. Only one emerged the winner: Dominic ‘Nerd’ McDonald.
Born and raised in various cities in Los Angeles, California, Dominic describes himself as a Black entrepreneur and spoken word artist. He describes his writing as expressing his views on growing up in the inner city between two households, Hip Hop music, being a social outcast, college experiences, and more. McDonald moved to the DC area six years ago and works in building management while hosting open mics and performing his poetry.
As the winner of the 2022 D.C. Poet Project, Dominic received a $1,000 book contract and Day Eight will now publish his first collection of poetry.
I’d Rather Be Called A Nerd is a memoir-in-poems of a Black Male born and raised in inner city Los Angeles, CA expressing tales of turmoil and triumph.
Dominic “Nerd” McDonald also known as Nerd, the Poet, is a Published Poet, Host and Spoken Word Artist from various cities Los Angeles, California. He is the 2022 winner of the DC Poet Project by Day Eight Publishing in which he launched a memoir-in-poems titled I’d Rather Be Called A Nerd. Dominic has put his views of growing up in inner Los Angeles in poetry, magazine articles, and screenplays. With a Bachelor of Arts in English: Creative Writing, from California State University, Long Beach he boasts back to back runs of being a competitive poet from the CSULB Slam Team as well as a 10 year professional poetry career. Led to the Washington DC metro area in 2019, his impact has rapidly spread within a short period of time. He is the C.E.O and owner of Nerd the Poet Productions and curator of Refresh Open Mic, Refresh Comedy Night, and An Evening With Authors Networking Series. He passion is in serving the community and he hopes to be a “change agent” for the unheard.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guideline and details for this event.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 1 pm – 5 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Alexis Smith & The American Way: Book Launch & Discussion at Hauser & Wirth – In-Person Event
Artist Frances Stark in conversation with Museum of Contemporary Art Curator Anthony Graham will discuss the work of Alexis Smith and celebrate the release of the exhibition catalogue.
PRE-ORDER A COPY OF THE AMERICAN WAY STAMPED WITH ALEXIS’ SIGNATURE
This fully illustrated catalogue is the first comprehensive monograph on Alexis Smith in 30 years and presents the full range of the artist’s dynamic output, from her intimate artist books and collages to large wall paintings and installations.
NOTE: See site for free tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Hauser & Wirth
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 917 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Romance Writing 101 Workshop at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
We read romance novels. Maybe even devour them! But how many of us secretly (or not so secretly) want to try our hand at writing romance? Whether you’ve never written a word or have ten books hidden in a drawer, please join us for Romance Writing 101.
This interactive workshop will teach romance writing fundamentals including: structuring plot, conflict, and resolution; creating romance; setting your story in a time and place that feels real (even if you write shape-shifters or sci-fi); writing believable character development; modeling realistic dialogue; crafting intimacy between your characters (from sweet to hot).
In addition to the essentials of romance writing, we’ll discuss the current publishing market and some ways authors can find an agent, sign with a publisher, and connect with readers who will want to buy your book—including some methods you might not believe actually work.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Speculative Fiction Poetry Reading & Discussion with Poets of the SFPA at COLLAGE – In-Person Event
A group of science fiction poets read their work, followed by a discussion of the attraction of SF poetry and a Q&A session, including:
Wendy Van Camp is the Poet Laureate of the city of Anaheim as well as a seasoned fiction author and editor. She will be joined by Denise Dumars, who has appeared at Collage reading horror poetry, and Jean-Paul Gariner, whose poetry and short fiction have been collected in anthologies. Jean-Paul is also the Editor of Star*Line, one of the largest and best-known magazines in speculative poetry. Together they will explore universes both distant and internal and seek to show in poetry the strangeness and wonder of the cosmos.
NOTE: See site for free tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: COLLAGE: A Place for Art and Culture
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 731 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731
Bucket List Book Club & Bleak House at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Event
The Bucket List Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens.
This is Dickens’ masterful assault on the injustices of the British legal system
As the interminable case of ‘Jarndyce and Jarndyce’ grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens’s most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Books
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/bucket-list-book-club-bleak-house
Poetry Reading: Sandra Simonds, Rodrigo Toscano, Prageeta Sahrma & Harmony Holiday at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join Beyond Baroque’s poetry reading, celebrating the November 2022 release of Sandra Simonds’ Triptychs, Sandra will be joined by authors, Rodrigo Toscano, Prageeta Sharma, and Harmony Holiday for an in-person reading of new and selected work at Beyond Baroque.
Sandra Simonds is a poet and critic. She is the author of eight books of poetry: Triptychs (Wave Books, 2022), Atopia (Wesleyan University Press, 2019), Orlando (Wave Books, 2018) and others. She is also the author of Assia, a forthcoming novel based on the life of Assia Wevill. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, and is an associate professor of English at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia. She is currently a visiting professor at Bennington College in Vermont.
Rodrigo Toscano is a poet and dialogist based in New Orleans. He is the author of ten books of poetry. His latest books are The Charm & The Dread (Fence Books, 2022), The Cut Point (Counterpath Books, 2023). His Collapsible Poetics Theater was a National Poetry Series selection) His poetry has appeared in over 20 anthologies, including Best American Poetry and Best American Experimental Poetry (BAX). Toscano has received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. rodrigotoscano.com @Toscano200.
Prageeta Sharma is the author of the poetry collections Grief Sequence (Wave Books, 2019), Undergloom (Fence Books, 2013), Infamous Landscapes (Fence Books, 2007), The Opening Question (Fence Books, 2004), which won the 2004 Fence Modern Poets Prize, and Bliss to Fill (Subpress, 2000). She is the founder of Thinking Its Presence, an interdisciplinary conference on race, creative writing, and artistic and aesthetic practices. Her recent poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry 2022, The New Republic, and Yale Review. She is the Henry G. Lee ’37 Professor of English at Pomona College.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa, poet and choreographer Harmony Holiday is the daughter of Northern Soul singer/songwriter Jimmy Holiday. Her father died when she was five, and she and her mother moved to Los Angeles. Holiday earned a BA in rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA at Columbia University. She is the author of Negro League Baseball (2011), winner of the Fence Books Motherwell Prize; Go Find your Father/A Famous Blues (Ricochet Editions, 2013), a “dos-a-dos” book featuring poetry, letters, and essays; and Hollywood Forever (Fence Books, 2017), which she is turning into an afroballet. She is currently working on a biography of Abbey Lincoln and an epic called M a a f A (Fence, 2020), an exploration of reparations and the body.
NOTE: See site for further details, guidelines, link, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Author Reading & Discussion: Staci Greason & Christine Sneed at Village Well Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Two authors will present and discuss their works:
Staci Greason has written award-winning television pilots and screenplays. Her stories and essays have appeared in Brevity, Slate, Lunch Ticket, AFLW, the Same, and Huff Post. In her past life, she played the late Isabella Toscano Black on Days of Our Lives. She lives with her husband in Southern California.
Christine Sneed is the award-winning author of the novels, Paris, He Said and Little Known Facts and the story collections Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry and The Virginity of Famous Men. She teaches for the MFA Programs at Northwestern University and elsewhere. She lives in Pasadena.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Cafe
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 9900 Washington Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/21796
Author Reading & Discussion: McKenzie Wark, with Jackie Wang, at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event
McKenzie Wark is the author of REVERSE COWGIRL, PHILOSOPHY FOR SPIDERS and various other things. Her next book, RAVING, will be out in Spring
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/mckenzie-wark-amp-jackie-wang
Archways 10 Authors Reading: Helen Donahue, Claire Dougherty, Boris Dralyuk, Ruth Madievsky, Iván Salinas & John Tottenham – In-Person Event
Archways 10 authors will read their new works, including:
Helen Donahue, Claire Dougherty, Boris Dralyuk, Ruth Madievsky, Iván Salinas and John Tottenham
Archways Editions is the literary imprint of powerHouse Books, the artbook publisher distributed by Simon & Schuster.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Sunday the 15th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1001 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Los Angeles Literature 