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:
February 6: “A Bundle of Letters” by Henry James
February 13: “A Wilderness Station” by Alice Munro
February 27: “Jupiter Doke, Brigadier General” by Ambrose Bierce
We meet 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 6th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-11
Mystery Book Club: Weekly Discussions of Short Stories via Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
This book club meets monthly via Zoom and will discuss this month’s selection, One Shot Harry, by Gary Phillips. The setting is race and civil rights in 1963 Los Angeles. in Gary Phillips’s riveting mystery about an African American crime scene photographer seeking justice for a friend.
Discussion is facilitated by Mary C. Schaffer. Books are read in advance of the meetings and are available to borrow from the Woodland Hills Branch Library Reference Desk, or you may place a copy on hold through the library catalog or Libby app.
Please call the branch at (818) 226-0017 or email woodln@lapl.org with any questions or for the Zoom link to the meeting.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-10
Storytime Event: Happy Lunar New Year at Pico Union Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids Event
Join the Pico Union library for a hoppin’ good time celebrating the Lunar New Year with a special storytime from author Oliver Chin! Oliver will read his book The Year of the Rabbit: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac from his popular children’s picture book series. There will be a special Q & A after storytime.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Pico Union Branch Library, Community Room
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 1030 S. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, CA 90006
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/year-rabbit-storytime-author-oliver-chin-0
Love Language Writing Workshop with Yesika Salgado via Zoom – Online Event
Love Language is a writing workshop offered by Yesika Salgado, author of Corazon, that focuses on writing new material and is meant for poets of all ages. Cost is $50 and presented via Zoom online.
Register at tothebloomworkshop@gmail.com.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Zoom
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/yesikastarr/
Made in LA: The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
The Made in LA Series Presents: The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice, by Kristina Wong.
Performance artist, comedian, activist, and local elected official Kristina Wong began sewing masks three days into the COVID-19 shutdown and spreading the word through her social media. Due to the overwhelming response, she enlisted friends and strangers to form the Auntie Sewing Squad to provide PPE and other relief to people all over the country. The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice tells the stories of these primarily BIPOC folks who took up the call to fill in the gaps of the U.S. government response by creating a model for mutual aid in the 21st century.
Join Wong and the Aunties at the ALOUD stage as they share their stories ahead of the highly anticipated Los Angeles premiere of Wong’s Pulitzer Prize finalist solo play, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 630 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Meditation Monday Workshop: Self-Care for the Writer with Alex Petunia via L.A. Poet Society – Zoom Online Event
This Meditation Monday Workshop with poet and writer Alex Petunia offers self-care for the writer through breathing, meditation, self-check-in, writing prompts, affirmations and community.
Bring your writing favorites, including pen, journal, soothing tea or beverage, etc.
Where: L.A. Poet Society
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site) 840 2975 5764
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Clt1F_MviPI/
At Skylight: Christopher Michlig, with J.C. Gabrl, & File Under: Slime at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Christopher Michlig, in conversation with J.C. Gable, will present and discuss his book, File Under: Slime.
Who’s ready for slime-time? Join us for a conversation with Christopher Michlig about his deep dive into the pop-culture history of the gooey and stretchy in File Under: Slime.
We are well acquainted with its qualities in conjunction with certain things from which we tend to recoil but to which we are also at times fervently attracted. Despite being everywhere, slime is a surprisingly unexamined cultural phenomenon. File Under: Slime collates a cultural history of “slime” and “sliminess,” with particular emphasis on precedents in pop-culture, contemporary art, ecology, science fiction, literature, critical theory, and cinema.
Christopher Michlig was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and is an enrolled member of the Seldovia Village Tribe. He received an MFA in Sculpture from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California in 2007, and a BA in Fine Art from the University of Oregon. Making work in a wide range of media, the primary focus of Michlig’s practice is the manipulation of public formats of communication to explore, expose, and upend the aesthetics and poetics of urban space. His work has been reviewed and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Proximity Magazine, Mousse Magazine, Saatchi Online, Flavorpill, New City Art Chicago, among others, and his solo debut at Jail Gallery was reviewed in the May 2008 issue of Artforum. Christopher’s 2012 exhibition, White Noise was named one of the 2012 top 100 fall exhibitions by Modern Painters magazine, and was reviewed by Geoff Tuck for Notes On Looking. He lives in Eugene, Oregon.
J.C. Gabel began his career in publishing at the age of 19. In the mid-’90s, he handmade the first issue of Stop Smiling, “The Magazine for High-Minded Lowlifes” and developed it into a full-color glossy featuring timeless themes, original stories, and interviews you couldn’t read anywhere else. It grew for 15 years before transitioning into books.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address:1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-christopher-michlig-presents-file-under-slime-w-jc-gabel
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 6th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-529494882447
Under the Mic Influence & Open Mic featuring Conney D. Williams – In-Person Event
Join host Kuahmel Alyeeus KuahAllah and DJ Kev Jam for poetry, Open Mic, rare grooves, cocktails, tasty bites.
Conney D. Williams is a Los Angeles based poet, actor, and performance artist originally from Shreveport, Louisiana where he worked as a radio personality. He released two critically acclaimed CDs (2015) of his poetry accompanied by music: Unsettled Water and River&Moan. He has three collections of poetry Leaves of Spilled Spirit from an Unta med Poet (2002), Blues Red Soul Falsetto (2012), and most recently The Distance of Observation.
Under the Mic Influence and Open Mic bring you poetry & battle rap dynamo @sistar_outspoken to set off 2023 in @lbunified with @djkevjam and yours truly. Vegan soul food from @anotherside0fsoul on deck all evening. BE THERE!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, and details.
Where: LB Unified Bar & Lounge
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm; Mic at 8 pm
Address: 2222 E. Anaheim, Long Beach, CA 90804
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo/ or
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011056843482
Lunar New Year Storytime: The Year of the Rabbit with Oliver Chin at West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids & Family Event
To celebrate Lunar New Year, Oliver Chin will read his book The Year of the Rabbit and talk about 12 animals of the zodiac.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 10:30 am – 11 am
Address: 19036 Vanowen St., Reseda, CA 91335
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/year-rabbit-storytime
Lunar New Year Storytime: The Year of the Rabbit with Oliver Chin at Alma Reeves Woods-Watts Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids Event
To celebrate Lunar New Year, Oliver Chin will read his book The Year of the Rabbit and talk about 12 animals of the zodiac.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 10205 Compton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90002
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/year-rabbit
Big Read: American Born Chinese at Canoga Park Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Teen Event
The Big Read Discussion will read and discuss the Big Read Teen companion, American Born Chinese, by Gene Yuen Lang.
This award-winning graphic novel tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.
There are 10 free copies available while supplies last. Give yourself enough time to read the book before February 7, when we will have a Teen Big Read chat and enjoy some seasonal snacks.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Canoga Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 2:30 pm
Address: 20939 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, CA 91303
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/big-read-book-discussion-2
Author Talk: Jane Yolen & The Scarlet Circus at Hollywood Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
Award-winning author Jane Yolen will present and discuss her latest book, The Scarlet Circus, a new collection of fantasy short stories that promises passionate treasures,
Jane Yolen is the author of more than 400 books, including children’s fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy and science fiction. Her publications include Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Starship and Sister Light, Sister Dark. Among her many honors are the Caldecott and Christopher Medals and multiple Nebula, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Golden Kite and Jewish Book awards. Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She lives in Western Massachusetts and St Andrews, Scotland. unexpected transformations and witty romance.
Please email holywd@lapl.org for the meeting link.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details
Where: Hollywood Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/author-talk-jane-yolen-zoom
Ann Liang, with Gloria Chao, & This Time it’s Real at The Ripped Bodice – Online Event
Ann Liang in conversation with Gloria Chao, will present and discuss her new novel, This Time It’s Real.
When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin’s essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favorite magazine…and a massive secret to keep.
Eliza made her essay up. She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?
Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend — he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.
But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully laid plans are threatened.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Book Launch: Elana K. Arnold & Harriet Spies at Bel Canto Books at The Hangout – In-Person Event
Elana K. Arnold will launch and discuss her book, Harriet Spies. Arnold is an award-winning local author of many books for children and teens, including the middle grade novels The Question of Miracles, Far from Fair, A Boy Called Bat, The House That Wasn’t There, and Just Harriet; and the YA novels Red Hood, the Michael L. Printz Honor book Damsel, and the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of.
There are a few things you should know about Harriet Wermer:
She always tells the truth.
She’s loving spending her summer on Marble Island, where she is an A+ mystery-solver.
Okay, maybe she doesn’t always tell the truth.
Actually…she has a tendency to lie quite a bit.
Which is why, when one of the guests at her grandmother’s bed-and-breakfast finds that their treasured pair of binoculars has gone missing, no one believes Harriet when she said she had nothing to do with it. But this is one time Harriet isn’t lying—and she knows that if she can find the binoculars and figure out who really took them, she can prove it.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Bel Canto at The Hangout
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 2122 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA,
Website: https://www.shopthehangout.com/product/bcb-author-event-elana-k-arnold-2-7-6pm/28497
Book Talk & Launch: Mackenzi Lee & The Winter Soldier: Cold Front at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Mackenzi Lee will present and launch her most her new Marvel anti-hero book, THE WINTER SOLDIER: COLD FRONT!
1954: The Winter Soldier is the Soviet Union’s greatest weapon. Assigned the most dangerous covert missions from the USSR’s secret military branch, and guided by a handler who knows him better than he knows himself, he has only one purpose: to obey orders.
But he wasn’t always the Winter Soldier…
1941: As World War II begins, sixteen-year-old Bucky Barnes is determined to enlist in the US army—if only the local commander will stop getting in his way. When Bucky is offered enrollment in a training program with the British Special Operations Executive—the UK’s secret service—he leaps at the chance to become a hero. But Bucky has hardly touched down in London when he finds himself running from a mysterious assassin and accompanied by an English chess champion fond of red lipstick and double crosses. She’s in possession of a secret every side is desperate to get their hands on. If only they knew what it was.
Decades later, the Winter Soldier struggles to solve the same mystery Bucky is just beginning to uncover. As their missions intersect across time, their lives collide too—in a way that neither of them would have expected, and that will change the course of their respective wars.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-mackenzi-lee-for-the-winter-soldier-tickets-528671459567
Charmaine Craig & My Nemesis: A Novel at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Charmaine Criag will present and discuss her new novel, My Nemesis.
Tessa is a successful white woman writer who develops a friendship, first by correspondence and then in person, with Charlie, a ruggedly handsome philosopher and scholar based in Los Angeles. Sparks fly as they exchange ideas about Camus and masculine desire, and their intellectual connection promises more—but there are obstacles to this burgeoning relationship.
While Tessa’s husband Milton enjoys Charlie’s company on his visits to the East Coast, Charlie’s mixed-race Asian wife Wah is a different case, and she proves to be both adversary and conundrum to Tessa.
An exercise in empathy, an exploration of betrayal, and a charged story of the thrill of a shared connection—and the perils of feminine rivalry— My Nemesis is a brilliantly dramatic and captivating story from a hugely talented writer whose portrayals are always gracefully phrased and keenly observed.
Charmaine Craig is the author of the novels Miss Burma, longlisted for the National Book Award and the Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Good Men, and My Nemesis. Formerly an actor, she teaches in the program in fiction at UC Riverside and lives in Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA, 90402
Tim Blake Nelson, with Guillermo del Toro & City of Blows at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Tim Blake Nelson, in conversation with Guillermo del Toro, will present and discuss his debut novel, City of Blows.
This novel is an epic group portrait of four men grappling for control of a script in a radically changing Hollywood or the City of Blows.
It’s early 2020, and legendary producer Jacob Rosenthal is eager to make his next film, Coal, adapted from the bestselling novel by the celebrated writer Rex Patterson. The project–which takes on the controversial topic of race in America–is Jacob’s envisioned magnum opus, and likely his swan song. He selects David Levit to direct, a major opportunity for the classically trained actor/director whose own films, while garnering critical acclaim, have not resulted in box office success.
But the announcement of David’s hiring doesn’t sit well with a producer from David’s past, Brad Shlansky, who channels the last remaining vestiges of his creativity into a revenge plot that could very well scupper the making of Coal, and ruin the lives of its producer and director in the process.
A sprawling, character-driven depiction of the modern film industry, City of Blows reaches back decades to the formative experiences of each of the novel’s central figures to explore what first motivated them to become involved in the quixotic and often venal world of movie-making. Driven by their diverse backgrounds, each must navigate the same huckstering circus that puts films on screen.
Tim Blake Nelson is an actor, filmmaker and playwright with over a hundred screen credits to his name. He has directed five films, four of which he wrote, all released theatrically in the United States and internationally. He has written and published three plays produced Off-Broadway in New York as well as regionally, most recently Socrates, which enjoyed a sold-out run through three extensions at the Public Theater in the spring of 2019. City of Blows is his first novel.
Mexican-born filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has created a distinctive cinematic style incorporating a world of monster movies, comic books and exuberant visuals straight from his imagination. Del Toro studied under legendary Oscar®-winning makeup and special effects artist Dick Smith and made his first feature film, Cronos, in 1993. Since then, he has directed and produced numerous films in the United States, Mexico and Spain, including The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, Mimic, Hellboy, Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak. Del Toro wrote and directed The Shape of Water, which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards® and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director. He also received a Golden Globe® and a BAFTA for directing the film. His latest project, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which he directed alongside award winning stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson, marks the filmmaker’s first animated feature and serves as the inspiration for the upcoming MoMA exhibit “Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio.” Del Toro’s work is known for its strong connection to fairy tales and horror, infusing visual or poetic beauty in the monstrous.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/book-soup-tim-blake-nelson
Kwei Quarty & Last Seen in Lapaz at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Kwei Quarty will present and discuss his new book, Last Seen in Lapaz.
When a whirlwind romance leads to a brutal murder and the disappearance of a young Nigerian woman, PI Emma Djan resorts to dangerous undercover work to track her down in Accra.
During Emma’s first week on the case, Femi is found murdered at his opulent residence in Accra. There are no signs of Ngozi at the scene, and fearing the worst, Emma digs further, discovering that Femi was part of a network of sex traffickers across West Africa.
Emma must figure out which of Femi’s many enemies killed him, but more urgently, she must find Ngozi before she, too, is murdered in cold blood.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/kwei-quartey-discusses-last-seen-lapaz
SOM Tuesdays Open Mic at Murphy’s Pub, Long Beach – In-Person Event (Check to verify, pending new location)
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 (Check to verify)
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7 pm – 10 am
Address: 4918 2nd St., Belmont Shore, Long Beach, CA 90803 (Check to verify)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/somopenmic/
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with Darius Atefat-Peckham via Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest Susan Nguyen.
Susan Nguyen is a Vietnamese American poet and the author of Dear Diaspora (University of Nebraska Press, 2021). The recipient of the 2022 Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize from the American Poetry Review, she serves as the senior editor of Hayden’s Ferry Review.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 7th
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 7th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1699147113818899
Whiskey & Words: Poetry and Spoken Word Event by LionLike Mindstate at Fuego Cocina & Cantina – In-Person Event
LionLIke Mindstate Presents Whiskey & Words event at the new venue Fuego Cocina & Canitina in Pomona, CA.
Hosted by Judah 1 & Reesje, plus DJ vibes.
ARTIST SHOWCASE: Featuring:
The IE’s Prince of Comedy
Cizzle C (@cizzleccomedy)
Pssst…it’s his Birthday
NOTE: Details at event link. Pre-sale tickets only.
Where: Fuego Cocina & Cantina
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 205 E. 2nd St., Pomona, CA., Santa Monica, CA 91766
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whiskey-and-words-by-lionlike-mindstate-tickets-515812187137
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.
Every Tuesday (except for 3rd Tuesdays and special events) we hold open mic nights. At an open mic, all are welcome to share their poetry or sit in our audience.
TIME LIMIT: Each artist has 3 minutes at the mic, and if you go over, our DJ will scratch you. Please be respectful of the time limit as we try to accommodate as many people as possible.
$10 donation. Do NOT line up prior to 7:30 p.m. Free parking adjacent to theatre.
See sites for details.
$10 donation. Do NOT line up prior to 7:30 p.m. Free parking adjacent to theater.
Masks are encouraged. All ages are welcome.
Where: Greenway Court Theatre and YouTube Live Stream
Date: Tuesday the 7th
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/events/open-mic-night or
https://mycityscene.com/35908-d9234cc9
New Neverspeak Tuesdays Open Mic with Dr Ka at Dipiazza’s – In-Person Event
The New Neverspeak Tuesdays Open Mic at Dipiazza’s with Shy But Flyy, will feature Dr Ka + an open mic.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Dipiazza’s
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 9 pm
Address: 5205 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://allevents.in/long%20beach/tuesdays-dipiazzas-2-7-featuring-dr-ka-open-mic/200023996043306
Mystery Book Club: Book Discussion of Eternal Lei at West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
The West Valley Regional Branch Library ‘s Mystery Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, An Eternal Lie: A Leilani Santiago Hawai’i Mystery, 2, by Naomi Hirahara.
It’s the middle of the pandemic and Hawaii has been virtually closed to tourists.
So when Leilani Santiago and her young sisters save a mysterious woman wearing an unusual lei from drowning in Waimea Bay in Kaua‘i, questions abound. Who is she and where did she come from? Leilani suddenly finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when the lei is traced back to her best friend, the very pregnant Courtney Kahuakai, and her family’s flower business.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, link, and details.
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 10:30 am – 12 pm
Address: 19036 Vanowen St., Reseda, CA 91335
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-15
Big Read: Book Discussion of Interior Chinatown at Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library’s Big Read Book Discussion will be on its selection, Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu.
The first 10 people to RSVP will receive a complimentary copy of the title. Please RSVP at wstchs@lapl.org. New members welcome!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 11 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/big-read-book-discussion-3
Write Your Novel Event at Platt Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Platt Branch Library invites you to write your novel at their library.
Is writing one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2023? Is completing a book on your bucket list? Whether you shouted an emphatic yes or mumbled a hushed maybe to either of those questions, our new novel writing support group is for you. This new group will be a place to learn, practice, and receive support from other writers. We will use LinkedIn Learning courses available on lapl.org to guide us through the novel writing process one step at a time. With weekly goals and the encouragement of your peers, you can spend the year working your way toward a completed novel.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Platt Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 23600 Victory Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/write-your-novel
Author Henry Lien Performs: Peasprout Chen Series at Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Teens Event
Hermione Granger meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets the Ice Capades.
Author Henry Lien performs songs and stories from his martial arts/figure-skating fantasy series, Peasprout Chen.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 501 S. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Page Turners Book Club: The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Teen Event
The Page Turners Book Club is just for 8th and 9th graders. Join in monthly to read and talk about books from all genres, selected by group members from books suggested by a pages staff member. Join with friends, meet new friends, and enjoy an hour of “book talk” in the pages courtyard.
This month’s selection for discussion is The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond, by Amanda Glaze.
Cross into the spirit realm with this thrilling supernatural debut about sisterhood and female defiance, perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco—inspired by lives of real teenage twin mediums in the 19th century.
Edie and Violet Bond know the truth about death. The seventeen-year-old twins are powerful mediums, just like their mother—Violet can open the veil between life and death, and Edie can cross into the spirit world. But their abilities couldn’t save them when their mother died and their father threatened to commit them to a notorious asylum.
Now runaways, Edie and Violet are part of a traveling Spiritualist show, a tight-knit group of young women who demonstrate their real talents under the guise of communing with spirits. Each night, actresses, poets, musicians, and orators all make contact with spirits who happen to have something to say…notions that young ladies could never openly express.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/page-turners-book-club-1
Book Talk: Kate Spencer & In a New York Minute at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Kate Spencer will present and discuss her most recent book, In a New York Minute.
This book is a clever, tender, and romantic novel for readers of Christina Lauren, Jasmine Guillory, and Sophie Cousens, this laugh-out-loud debut is a perceptive reminder that fate can have a sense of humor, and that love can happen…In a New York Minute.
Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.
Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.
Kate Spencer is the co-host of the award-winning podcast Forever35 and author of the memoir The Dead Moms Club. In a New York Minute is her first novel. She writes a bi-monthly column for InStyle and her work has been published by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, and numerous other places.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Creative Writing Workshop with Tony DuShane at Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us at the library for a 90-minute writer’s workshop. This free workshop is presented by UCLA instructor Tony DuShane, screenwriter of the film Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, based on his novel of the same name. Adults only.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-tony-dushane-14
Reading in Bed: Jessica Wilson Cardenas: Sweet & Soulful! via L. A. Poet Society – Online Event
The Reading in Bed with Jessica Series is held live on Wednesdays at www.radioollin.org and features oldies, interviews, performances, live in-studio.
The mission of the L. A. Poet Society is to create a bridge, fusing the communities of Los Angeles & Southern California Poets. Jessica Wilson Cardenas is a poet, writer, event curator and founder of the L.A. Poet Society. She is the author of the collection Serious Longing.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: L.A. Poet Society
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/losangelespoetsociety/?hl=en
ARTA! Zine Writer’s Workshop with Viva Padilla at Re Arte Centro Literario – In-Person Event
The ARTA! Zine Writer’s Workshop is for mujer-identified writers, and is facilitated by founding editor-in-chief of sin cesar (formerly Dryland) Viva Padilla.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Re/Arte Centro Literario
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2123 East Cesar E. Cjavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/events%2Feventos
WeHo Reads: Toward Better Futures at West Hollywood Library – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
The WeHo Reads event celebrates the creative spirit and our collective, mindful journey toward understanding, empathy, and harmony.
Participating writers will include: bridgette bianca, Shonda Buchanan, Jen Cheng, Lisbeth Coiman, Flint, Charles Flowers, Peter J. Harris, Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett, traci kato-kiriyama, Lester Graves Lennon, Malia Márquez, Thea Pueschel, Luivette Resto, Carla Sameth, Sehba Sarwar, Lynne Thompson, and Hazel Kight Witham.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested. Learn more at www.weho.org/wehoreads.
This event will also serve as a reception for a new exhibition of photographs from a contest that was held around the theme of the 2022 WeHo Reads series about creating joy in times of sorrow. The contest was held in the fall of 2022 and was juried by writers/photographers Lynell George and Marisela Norte. Photographers featured in this exhibition include: Natalia Affonso, Nadia Alamah, Rick Castro, Arpan Basu Chowdhury (who had the first-place winning submission), Gabriella Maria dos Santos Silva, Victoria Goring, Haro Istamboulian, Louis Jacinto,
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: WeHo Reads at West Hollywood Library
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/weho-reads-toward-better-futures-a-celebration-tickets-470752131297
Shaun Anderson & The Black Athlete Revolt: The Sport Justice Movement in the Age of #blacklivesmatter at Diesel: A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Shaun Anderson will present and discuss his new book, The Black Athlete Revolt: The Sport Justice Movement in the Age of #blacklivesmatter.
The Black Athlete Revolt is the first book to take a historical and contemporary look at how Black athletes have used their influence to move beyond protests and create substantial change for Black Americans. Spanning from the civil rights movement to today, this book reveals the ever evolving and important role of Black athlete activism. Specifically, The Black Athlete Revolt explores the influence of black athletes since the late 19th century, through the Civil Rights Movement, and into today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement. As society fights to go from protest to policy reform, the revitalization of athlete activism in recent years has sparked a new platform: The Sport Justice Movement. This book details the ascension of this movement, where it is presently, and what’s next.
Dr. Shaun M. Anderson is an internationally recognized scholar, proud HBCU graduate, and award-winning professor at Loyola Marymount University. As a sought-after expert regarding sport and social issues, he has worked with recognized organizations such as MLB, PBS, ADL, Nike, ESPN, and lectured at several universities. As a scholar, he examines how sport has influenced business, politics, and society. He is also the founder of CSR Global Consulting, LLC, which assists organizations in developing and implementing their social responsibility initiatives.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA, 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Shaun-Anderson-Author-signing
Adam Rubin Shares Stories of Magic & Funat Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Teen Event
Author Adam Rubin will share a sneak peek of his newest books The Human Kaboom and The Ice Cream Machine – coming in paperback with a published short story written by a local student!
Adam will read a story, describe his writing process, and answer questions before signing books. Best for ages 8+.
Connect with the magic of reading and writing!
Adam Rubin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten critically-acclaimed books, including Dragons Love Tacos, Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, High Five, Gladys the Magic Chicken, Secret Pizza Party, Robo-Sauce, and El Chupacabras, which won the Texas Bluebonnet Award. He is also the author of The Human Kaboom, the companion to The Ice Cream Machine. Visit him online at adamrubinhasawebsite.com and follow him on Twitter @rubingo.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/adam-rubin
At Skylight: Delia Cai, with Elaine Hsieh Chou, & Central Places: A Novel at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Join us for a conversation about love and shifting identities with Delia Cai and Elaine Hsieh Chou in support of Cai’s debut novel, Central Places
Audrey Zhou left Hickory Grove, the tiny town in central Illinois where she grew up, as soon as high school ended, and she never looked back. She moved to New York City and became the person she always wanted to be, complete with a high-paying, high-pressure job and a seemingly faultless fiancé, Ben. But if she and Manhattan-bred Ben are to build a life together, in the dream home his parents will surely pay for, Audrey can no longer hide him, or the person she’s become, from those she left behind.
But returning to Hickory Grove is …complicated. Over the course of one disastrous week, Audrey’s proximity to her family and to Kyle forces her to confront the past and reexamine her fraught connection to her roots before she undoes everything she’s worked toward and everything she’s imagined for herself. But is that life really the one she wants?
Delia Cai was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in central Illinois. She is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism and her writing has appeared in BuzzFeed, GQ, The Cut, and Catapult. Her media newsletter, Deez Links, has been highlighted in The New York Times, New York magazine, and Fortune. She is currently a senior correspondent at Vanity Fair and lives in Brooklyn. Central Places is her first novel.
Elaine Hsieh Chou is a Taiwanese American writer from California. Her debut novel DISORIENTATION (Penguin Press) was a New York Times Editors’ Choice Book, a Malala Book Club Pick and an Indie Next Pick. A 2017 Rona Jaffe Graduate Fellow at NYU and a 2021 NYFA Artist Fellow, her Pushcart Award-winning short fiction appears in The Normal School, Guernica, Tin House Online, Ploughshares and elsewhere. Her multi-genre short story collection WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM is forthcoming from Penguin Press in 2024.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-delia-cai-presents-central-places-w-elaine-hsieh-chou
Amy Meyerson, with Christi Clancy, & The Love Scribe at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Amy Meyerson, in conversation with Christi Clancy, will discuss her new novel The Love Scribe.
When Alice’s best friend, Gabby, is reeling from a breakup, Alice writes her a heartfelt story to cheer her up. While reading it in a café, Gabby, as if by magic, meets the man of her dreams. Thinking the story might have some special power to it, Gabby shares it with her sister and other friends, who all find instant love. Word of mouth spreads, and Alice stumbles upon a new calling–to be a love scribe.
But not all the love stories she writes unfold as expected. And while Alice tries to harness her extraordinary gift, she is summoned to a mansion in the woods where she encounters the reclusive Madeline Alger and her mysterious library. As Alice struggles to write a story for Madeline, her most challenging assignment yet, she’s forced to confront her own guarded heart. Because maybe–just maybe–there’s a love story waiting to be written for her, too.
Emotional, deeply imaginative and brimming with valuable life lessons, The Love Scribe explores love, fate and the power of stories when we choose to believe in them.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
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.
- 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm — Formal workshop;
- 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm — Featured readings TBA;
- 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 8th
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 8th
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-531995872977
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry & James Coats 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 James Coats.
James Coats is a poet, performer, and educator born in Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire. He believes that poetry has the ability to bring diverse groups together, offering a way to connect through shared challenges, achievements and experiences. He is the winner of the 2021 San Gabriel Poetry Slam. You can find him attending poetry readings throughout California or follow his poetry via his Instagram @MrLovingWords. Additionally, you can take a poetry workshop with him through his organization Lift Our Voices Education which hosts an award-winning workshop monthly called Be The Change: Social Justice Writing Workshop. He also has three self-published poetry collections: If I had Lived published in 2018, All The Ways You Are Wonderful in 2020, and Home Is A Voice in 2022. His newest poetry collection Midnight & Mad Dreams was published by World Stage Press released Aug. 13, 2022.
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 8th
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/542699967187118
Kids Book Club & You Were Never Here at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
The Kids Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, the engrossing mystery You Were Never Here, by author Kathleen Peacock.
Cat hasn’t been to Montgomery Falls, the town her family founded, since she was twelve years old. Since the summer she discovered she could do things that no normal twelve-year-old could do. Since she had her first kiss with Riley Fraser. Since she destroyed their friendship.
Now, five years later, she’s back and Riley has disappeared.
When Noah, Riley’s brother, asks for help in discovering what happened, Cat is torn between wanting to learn the truth and protecting the secret that she’s been guarding ever since that summer she and Riley stopped speaking. Only one choice will put her in a killer’s sights…
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/kids-book-club-you-were-never-here
Young Adult Book Club & Bless the Daughter at Cellar Door Books – In-Person YA Event
The Young Adult Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, the poetry collection, Bless the Daughter: Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems, by author Warsan Shire.
With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a young girl, who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own way toward womanhood. Drawing from her own life, as well as pop culture and news headlines, Shire finds vivid, unique details in the experiences of refugees and immigrants, mothers and daughters, Black women and teenage girls. In Shire’s hands, lives spring into fullness. This is noisy life, full of music and weeping and surahs and sirens and birds. This is fragrant life, full of blood and perfume and shisha smoke and jasmine and incense. This is polychrome life, full of henna and moonlight and lipstick and turmeric and kohl. The long-awaited collection from one of our most exciting contemporary poets, this book is a blessing, an incantatory celebration of resilience and survival. Each reader will come away changed.
Warsan Shire is a Somali British writer and poet born in Nairobi and raised in London. She has written two chapbooks, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth and Her Blue Body. She was awarded the inaugural Brunel International African Poetry Prize and served as the first Young Poet Laureate of London. She is the youngest member of the Royal Society of Literature and is included in the Penguin Modern Poets series. Shire wrote the poetry for the Peabody Award–winning visual album Lemonade and the Disney film Black Is King in collaboration with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. She also wrote the short film Brave Girl Rising, highlighting the voices and faces of Somali girls in Africa’s largest refugee camp. Warsan Shire lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head is her full-length debut poetry collection.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/young-adult-book-club-bless-daughter
Kim Dower & Ron Koertge Celebrate Poetry and Love at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Kim Dower and Ron Koertge will read from their most recent collections.
Kim Dower’s poetry has been described by the Los Angeles Times as “sensual and evocative…seamlessly combining humor and heartache,” and by O Magazine as “unexpected and sublime.” Acclaimed for combining the accessible and profound, her poems about motherhood are some of her most moving and disarmingly candid. I Wore This Dress Today for You, Mom is an anthology of her poems on being a mother–childbirth to empty nest–as well as being a daughter with all the teenaged messiness, drama and conflict, to finally caring for one’s mother suffering from dementia. Culled from her four collections as well as a selection of new work, these poems, heartbreaking, funny, surprising, and touching, explore the quirky, unexpected observations, and bittersweet moments mothers and daughters share. These evocative poems do not glorify mothers, but rather look under the hood of motherhood and explore the deep crevices and emotions of these impenetrable relationships: the love, despair, joy, humor and gratitude that fills our lives.
I Dreamed I Was Emily Dickinson’s Boyfriend easily solidifies Ron Koertge’s reputation as a poet who is very funny and also very serious. In these surprising and delightful poems, a mannequin joins the Me Too movement, a summer job turns into a lesson in class distinctions, and Jane Austen makes a surprise appearance at a mall. Ron Koertge’s uniquely playful imagination is on display in poem after poem.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Patricia Engel, with Jean Chen Ho, & The Faraway World at DIESEL, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Patricia Engel, in conversation with PEN America and Jean Chen Ho, will present and discuss her new book of stories, The Faraway World
The Faraway World is an exquisite collection of ten haunting, award-winning short stories set across the Americas and linked by themes of migration, sacrifice, and moral compromise.
Patricia Engel is the author of Infinite Country, a New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club selection; The Veins of the Ocean, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize; It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris, winner of the International Latino Book Award; and Vida, a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway and Young Lions Fiction Awards, New York Times Notable Book, and winner of Colombia’s national book award, the Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her stories appear in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and elsewhere. Born to Colombian parents, and herself a dual citizen, Patricia is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Miami.
Jean Chen Ho is the author of Fiona and Jane, named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and one of TIME’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022. Her writing appears in New York Times Magazine, The Cut, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Times, Georgia Review, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Guernica, and elsewhere. Jean is the 2023 Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Scripps College. She is a doctoral candidate in Literature and Creative Writing at USC, and she holds an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: DIESEL, A Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA, 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Patricia-Engel-Jean-Chen-Ho-Author-signing
Book Launch: James Acker & The Long Run at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
James Acker will present and discuss her new novel, The Long Run, and will talk about his YA queer romance with Adam Sass.
There will be a book signing to follow. This event is free to attend and tickets are not required, however, we do appreciate RSVPs when possible!
Can’t attend the event? Signed books are available for in-store pick-up and shipping.
About The Long Run:
Two track and field athletes find an unexpected but powerful love in this YA debut.
Sebastian Villeda is over it. Over his rep. Over his bros. Over being “Bash the Flash,” fastest sprinter in South Jersey. His dad is gone, his mom is dead, and his stepfather is clueless. Bash has no idea what he wants out of life. Until he meets Sandro.
Sandro Miceli is too nice for his own good. The middle child in an always-growing, always-screaming Italian family, Sandro walks around on a broken foot to not bother his busy parents. All he wants is to get out and never look back.
When fate—in the form of a party that gets busted—brings these two very different boys together, neither of them could’ve predicted finding a love that they’d risk everything for…
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Trenches Full of Poets Reading Series at Page Against the Machine – In-Person Event
The Trenches Full of Poets reading series returns, and its February installment features in-store readings by a trio of Oakland-based poets: soledad con carne, hector son of hector, and Lourdes Figueroa.
soledad con carne (he/they) is known as the poet laureate of the San Fernando Valley. They are a first generation Chicanx poet, mixed media artist, and co-editor of the literary journal Acid Verse. Their poetry covers topics like mental illness, taking the bus, punk activities, and loneliness all while exploring their place in the San Fernando Valley and now Oakland.
hector son of hector lives in Oakland, CA. He is the child of Mexican immigrants, currently works in a hospital, dreams of short stories and writes poetry in secret.
Lourdes Figueroa is a California Chicanx poet. Her poems are a constant dialogue of her lived experience when her family worked the soil under the blistering sun of Yolo County. Her work has been published in numerous literary journals and she is a recipient of the 2021 Nomadic Press Literary Award in Poetry. She lives and works in Oakland with her wife, filmmaker Peggy Peralta. Together in July of 2020 they launched Bilbil Projects, a space where poem & film come together.
Trenches Full of Poets is a monthly poetry series created, curated, and hosted by Los Angeles-based poets and editors, Nikolai Garcia and Mauricio Andres 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 guidelines, and details.
Where: Page Against the Machine
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: Facebook.com/events
Mark H. Harris & The Black Guy Dies First at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Mark H. Harris will present and discuss his new book, The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar.
The Black Guy Dies First explores the Black journey in modern horror cinema, from the fodder epitomized by Spider Baby to the Oscar-winning cinematic heights of Get Out and beyond. This eye-opening book delves into the themes, tropes, and traits that have come to characterize Black roles in horror since 1968, a year in which race made national headlines in iconic moments from the enactment of the 1968 Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in April. This timely book is a must-read for cinema and horror fans alike.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/mark-harris-discusses-the-black-guy-dies-first
Current Event Nonfiction Book Club at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Current Events Nonfiction Book Club meets on the 2nd Friday of every month, and will discuss this month’s selection, There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century, by Fiona Hill.
Please email studio@lapl.org for details.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Memorial Library, LAPL
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/current-events-nonfiction-book-club-0
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt & Good Night Sister at Diesel: A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt will read and sign her new book, Good Night Sister.
Good Night Sister is a beautiful bedtime read, celebrating the power and comfort of sisterhood.
Kat is excited to sleep in her own room–the big girl room–for the very first time. But her younger sister, Tina, is nervous to sleep in their old room without her. So Kat comes up with a plan: she’ll give all of her stuffed animals to her younger sister, and every time Tina gets scared, she should hold them close and be reminded of all the wonderful things each animal represents: bravery, creativity, love, and imagination. This is a comforting bedtime story, illuminating the bonds sisters share, and the many ways they are there for one another.
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt is a New York Times best-selling author, mother, and host of BDA Baby. As a passionate animal advocate, Katherine works as an Ambassador for Best Friends Animal Society (bestfriends.org) and the ASPCA (aspca.org). She is also a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics. Katherine lives with her family in Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: DIESEL, A Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA, 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Katherine-Schwarzenegger-Pratt-Author-reading-signing
Your Author Series: Darian Symoné Harvin and Monica Ahanonuvia Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
Los Angeles Public Library in welcoming writer Darian Symoné Harvin and illustrator Monica Ahanonu as they discuss their new book, Black Icons in Herstory – 50 Legendary Women.
Featuring striking portraits and biographies of some of the most admired women in the fields of music, film, literature, politics, and more—from Rosa Parks to Nina Simone, Octavia Butler to Janet Jackson, and Michelle Obama to Amanda Gorman—Each striking portrait illustrated by Monica Ahanonu is accompanied by an original, illuminating biography by Darian Symoné Harvin.
Monica Ahanonu is a Los Angeles-based illustrator and author who has created distinctive work in her signature bold and colorful style for the New York Times, Nylon, Time, InStyle, Vanity Fair, Vice, Adidas, Netflix, Google, and many more trendsetting clients. As IMG Models’ first signed illustrator, Monica is emerging as a leading tastemaker in fashion while she continues to elevate her talents in illustration.
Darian Symoné Harvin is a multimedia reporter using her journalism and curatorial skills to craft distinct narratives on beauty, pop culture, and the intersection of both. Her career has been dedicated to working on thoughtful and viral ways to present news and content to people for platforms like BuzzFeed News, Teen Vogue, NBC News, and Vox.com. She is formerly the Beauty Editor at Large for Los Angeles Times’ culture magazine, Image.
Those attending the virtual program will have an opportunity to win a free book.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Self-Care Book Club & How Emotions Are Made at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Event
The Self-Care Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain, by author Lisa Feldman Barrett.
This book reveals the profound real-world consequences of this scientific breakthrough for everything from neuroscience and medicine to the legal system and even national security, laying bare the immense implications of our latest and most intimate scientific revolution.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She received a National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award for her groundbreaking research on emotion in the brain and is an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada. Barrett is the author of How Emotions are Made and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/self-care-book-club-how-emotions-are-made
Tessa Bailey, with Julia Whelan, & Secretly Yours at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice presents Tessa Bailey, in conversation with Julia Whelan, to discuss her new romance novel, Secretly Yours.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author and TikTok favorite Tessa Bailey comes a steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn…
Tickets must be purchased in advance and include a copy of the book.
Please Note: There also will be a 2nd event for this book, a SIGNING ONLY EVENT TOMORROW ,on February 11th, from 10 am – 11:30 am.
Can’t attend the event? Signed books are available for in-store pick up and to ship.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and further details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
February Open Mic: Meliza Bañales at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event (RESCHEDULED)
After a cancellation of our January Open Mic due to the host being sick, we are happy to still have Meliza Bañales set to open the evening for our first open mic night of the year!
All ages and performers are welcome, performances must be around 5 minutes in length and must be family friendly.
RSVP on Eventbrite!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and further information.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1BCulver City, CA 90323
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/23131
Phil Stamper & Afterglow at Vroman’s – In-Person YA Event
Phil Stamper will present and discuss his new book, the second in his Golden Boys duology, Afterglow.
After a life-changing summer, these four friends are finally ready for senior year.
Gabriel is thrilled to create his school’s first LGBTQ+ advocacy group, but his long-distance relationship is fading from summer love to something else…
Heath feels secure for the first time in years, but with his future riding on a baseball scholarship each pitch triggers his anxiety…
Reese is set on pursuing a career in fashion design, but his creativity takes him in an unexpected direction, he isn’t yet ready to share…
Sal wants to be in politics, specifically local politics. After a chat with his aunt, he is ready for an unlikely path…
As graduation nears and the boys prepare to enter the real world, it feels like everything is changing so fast–including their friendships. Can they find a way to make the most of their senior year even as they eagerly look ahead to the future?
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/phil-stamper-discusses-afterglow
L.A. Book Launch: Cynthia Dewi Oka & A Tinderbox in Three Acts, with Kien Lam, Arthur Kayzakian & Vanessa Angelica Villareal at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event
In her fourth poetry collection, Cynthia Dewi Oka performs a lyric accounting of the anti-Communist genocide of 1965, which, led by the Indonesian military and with American assistance, erased and devastated millions of lives in Indonesia. Under the New Order dictatorship that ruled by terror for over three decades in the aftermath, perpetrators of the killings were celebrated as national heroes while survivors were systemically silenced.
The author will be joined by poets Arthur Kayzakian, Vanessa Angélica Villareal, & Kien Lam for an evening of in-person readings at Beyond Baroque. A reception will be held with food & light refreshments before and after the performances.
Cynthia Dewi Oka is the author of Fire Is Not a Country (2021) and Salvage (2017) from Northwestern University Press, and Nomad of Salt and Hard Water (2016) from Thread Makes Blanket Press. A recipient of the Amy Clampitt Residency, Tupelo Quarterly Poetry Prize, and the Leeway Transformation Award, her writing appears in The Atlantic, POETRY, Academy of American Poets, Poetry Society of America, Hyperallergic, Guernica, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. Her experimental poem, “Future Revisions,” was exhibited at the Rail Park billboard in Philadelphia in summer 2021. An alumnus of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, she has taught creative writing at Bryn Mawr College, New Mexico State University and Voices of Our Nations (VONA). She is originally from Bali, Indonesia.
Arthur Kayzakian is the winner of the 2021 Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series award for his collection, The Book of Redacted Paintings, which was also selected as a finalist for the 2021 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry. He is also the winner of the Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition for his chapbook, My Burning City. He has been a finalist for the Locked Horn Press Chapbook Prize, Two Sylvias Press Chapbook Prize, the C.D. Wright Prize, the Sunken Garden Poetry Prize, and the Black River Chapbook Competition. He is a contributing editor at Poetry International and a recipient of the Minas Savvas Fellowship. He serves as the Poetry Chair for the International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA). His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from several publications including Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art, Portland Review, Chicago Review, Nat. Brut, Michigan Quarterly Review, Witness Magazine, and Prairie Schooner.
Vanessa Angélica Villarreal is the author of Beast Meridian (Noemi Press, 2017), recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award, a Kate Tufts Discovery Award nomination, and winner of the John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Harpers Bazaar, Oxford American, Poetry Magazine, and elsewhere. She is a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellow, and a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she is working on a poetry and a nonfiction collection while raising her son.
Kien Lam is the author of Extinction Theory, winner of the 2021 National Poetry Series. He is a Kundiman fellow and received his MFA from Indiana University. He lives in Los Angeles and works in esports and television.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 8 pm (Doors at 7:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Agents & Clients: Ways to a Partnership by Women Who Submit at Avenue 50 Studio – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Agents & Clients: Ways to a Partnership is a Women Who Submit panel event featuring:
Literary agent Amanda Orozco (Transatlantic) with her client Eva Recinos
Literary agent Dara Hyde (Hill Nadell),with her client Natashia Deon, author of The Perishing and Grace.
The panel will discuss best practices for finding an agent and how to manage and nurture this important relationship. Moderated by Noriko Nakada.
Schedule for the day:
10am-11am: Workshop
11:30am-1pm: New Member Orientation
11:30am-1pm: Current Member Submission Party
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, link, and further information.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 10 am – 1 pm
Address: 131 N. Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://womenwhosubmitlit.org/workshops/
Jenny Liao & Everyone Loves Lunchtime But Zia at Children’s Book World – In-Person Kids Event
Jenny Liao will read and sign her debut picture book, Everyone Loves Lunchtime But Zia.
At school, the other kids are eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and apples on the side. But Zia’s always nervous about opening her lunchbox. Her dumpling and noodle dishes look different and smell different. She dreads lunchtime. Then, during her birthday week, her parents pack her a different Cantonese dish each day and explain what the food represents: a roast pork bun to bring treasure, soy sauce chicken to bring success, and more. At first, Zia doesn’t want to eat her lunch, but once she starts, she just may realize her food could bring her good fortune after all!
Jenny Liao is a Chinese American author of stories that inspire readers to find pride in every part of their identity. Her work has been featured in the New Yorker and Bon Appétit. A proud child of immigrants, Jenny was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two calico cats, Donut and Beignet. When she’s not writing, she’s eating. No matter where she is in the world, she’s always searching for the local form of fried potato or Chinese takeout. Her debut book Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia is releasing February 2023.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and further information.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 10:30 am – 11:15 am
Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Book Club Discussion: The Prince at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Westwood Branch Library book discussion will be about the novel The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli.
The ends justify the means.
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of The Prince is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL, Community Room
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-3
Story Time Event: Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Grumpy Monkey at Once Upon a Time Bookstore– In-Person Kids Event
Join New York Times bestselling author and illustrator team Suzanne and Max Lang for a special holiday story time for Grumpy Monkey Valentine Gross-Out. The two will read their book and host a themed craft activity for kids. Best for ages 4+.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 11 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/grumpy-monkey-valentine
Narrative Poetry Workshop with Xitlalic Guijosa-Osuna at L.A. Poetry Society at South Gate Art Gallery – In-Person Event
Xitlalic Guijosa-Osuna is leading a Narrative Poetry Writing Workshop of 6 sessions, which started in December. Express yourself and share your story. Free journal and pen.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: LA Poet Society at South Gate Art Gallery
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 8680 California Ave., South Gate, CA 90280
Website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclX-SwH95hBJ9UOS8P8Y96J7VsIq_KtmRLucxWe2GRw8icJw/viewform
Early Reader Book Club & The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales #1 at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Kids Event
The Early Readers Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales #1, by author SJ King.
This book dives into the world of The Secret Explorers and learn about ocean life in this action-packed first installment in a brand-new fiction series.
Meet The Secret Explorers! This group of brilliant kids comes together from all four corners of the globe to fix problems, solve mysteries, and gather knowledge all over the planet – and beyond. Whenever their help is needed, a special sign will appear on a door. They step through to the Exploration Station and receive their mission…
In The Lost Whales, marine life expert Connor needs to use his underwater expertise to help save a pod of humpback whales that have lost their way. Along with space expert Roshni, he sets out in a submarine to search for a way to steer the whales back on track, but encounters unexpected problems along the way, including lost baby whales and a fleet of boats. Will The Secret Explorers manage to succeed in their mission?
SJ King loves museums, libraries, and building machines from scrap. King can usually be found exploring – from investigating tiny bugs to trekking up enormous mountains.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/early-reader-book-club-secret-explorers-and-lost-whales-1
Children’s Author Visit: Caroline Perry & The Corgi and the Queen at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Author Caroline Perry will share her new picture book, The Corgi and the Queen in the {pages} courtyard. Caroline will lead children in a crown craft and a book reading while we serve “tea” and cookies. We will also have a local corgi visiting the event for children to meet! Children can learn all about Queen Elizabeth’s fascination with corgis!
Caroline L. Perry has never lived in a palace, but she has lived in four countries (and visited more than sixty others). She has been writing for grown-ups for many years, but this is her first picture book for children. She was born in the UK but currently holds court in California with her husband and three corgi-loving kids. carolineperryauthor.com.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Author Talk: DC Palter & To Kill A Unicorn at West L.A. Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
DC Palter is the author of To Kill a Unicorn, a mystery novel set in Silicon Valley’s Japantown. The novel tells the story of Ted Hara, a young Japanese American hacker working at a tech startup where the chief scientist goes missing. The story explores the conflict between the main character’s Japanese and American sides while poking fun at the craziness all around in Silicon Valley.
To register, please email: westla@lapl.org.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: West L.A. Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/author-talk-kill-unicorn
Civil Rights History Event: Voices from the Bridges That Carried Us Over Project at Feldheym Central Library, CSUSB – In-Person Event
Celebrate Black history Month with Voices from the Bridges That Carried Us Over Project, an event that looks into San Bernardino’s civil rights history, presented by Dr. Jennifer Tilton, Romaine Washington & Jennifer Lee.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: CSUSB, Feldheym Central Library
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 555 W. 6th St., San Bernardino, CA 92410
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn6bkrWuDPx/ or
https://www.csusb.edu/special-collections/projects/bridges-carried-us-over-project or Event PDF Flyer
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Deep Critique Writing Workshop with G.T. Foster – Online Zoom Event
Saturday Afternoon Poetry will host a Deep Critique Writing Workshop with G.T, Foster. (Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines for Spectrum online edition: Spring Solution by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm, February 11th).
All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Lynn Goldsmith & Music in the 80s at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Lynn Goldsmith presents her book of photography, Music in the 80s, which showcases an incredible range of artists during a decade when many new forms of music were gaining popularity: New Wave, Electronica, Rap, Metal, and Ska had chart topping success, as did R&B and Pop. Michael Jackson, Philip Glass, Run DMC, Miles Davis, Judas Priest – these are but a few of the names that during this period became icons. The 80’s was a time like no other in history, and the photographs chosen for this book are as diverse in their style as the music and dress of the decade.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/lynn-goldsmith
Stories of Reunion: Finding El Salvador’s Disappeared Children, with Elizabeth Barnert at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Elizabeth Barnert, in conversation with Philippe Bourgois, will present and discuss her book, Reunion: Finding the Disappeared Children of El Salvador.
This captivating ethnography reveals the impact of forced family separations and the eventual reunifications in communities affected by El Salvador’s civil war. In 2005, medical student Elizabeth Barnert traveled to El Salvador to build a DNA bank for reuniting families forcibly separated during the Salvadoran Civil War. Based on fifteen years of interviews and field notes, Reunion chronicles families’ experiences with military attacks, child disappearances, family separations, joyful reunions, and arduous processes of reintegration.
Elizabeth Barnert is a pediatrician and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research, grounded in human rights and social action, examines children affected by violence, family separation, and incarceration. She is the author of Reunion: Finding the Disappeared Children of El Salvador.
Philippe Bourgois is a medical anthropologist and professor of anthropology and psychiatry at UCLA. He is also the author of In Search of Respect, Righteous Dopefiend, and Violence in War and Peace.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and further information.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1BCulver City, CA 90323
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/23183
Romance Panel: Sofia Lapuente & Jarrod Shusterman, with Nicola & David Yoon, & Retro at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person YA Event
The Ripped Bodice presents an amazing YA romance panel with real-life author couples Jarrod Shusterman & Sofía Lapuente and Nicola & David Yoon on February 11th at 5pm. They’ll be chatting about Jarrod and Sofia’s new release, RETRO.
RETRO is a pulse-pounding thriller with a visceral, high-stakes exploration of social devastation.
After a cyberbullying incident at her school goes viral, Luna Iglesias finds herself at the heart of a brewing controversy. When the social media company Limbo—who are also implicated in the scandal—sweeps in with an offer that sounds like an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, she’s happy to jump on the new trend. It’s called the Retro Challenge, where contestants live without modern technology, wear vintage clothes, party as if the future wasn’t already written, and fall in love as if they were living in a movie. And the winners get a scholarship to the college of their dreams.
At first, the challenge is fun. But then things get dangerous.
There will be a book signing to follow. This event is free to attend and tickets are not required, however, we do appreciate RSVPs when possible!
Can’t attend the event? Signed books are available for in-store pick up and to ship.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Black History Month Lecture: Jennifer Harvey & Raising White Kids at La Canada Congregational Church – In-Person Event
The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey’s work focuses on ethics and race, gender, sexuality, activism, spirituality and politics—with particular attention to how religion shows up in these dimensions of our shared social life. Her greatest passion and longtime work, however, persistently, and pointedly, return to racial justice and white anti-racism.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: La Canada Congregational Church
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1200 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-history-month-lectures-tickets-457221430607
Woodrow Bailey & Freedom Multimedia at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
CLI Alumni Woodrow Bailey will present and sign his book, Freedom Mulitmedia.
You may see a book review at woodartpress63.com,
You may also join the Zoom meeting at ID: 897 6202 3425 and Passcode: 965052.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, costs, guidelines, and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Obsidian Tongues Open Mic: Cory “Besskepp” Cofer & Dreaming Under Polka Dot Stars at Café Con Libros, Pomona – In-Person Event
Obsidian Tongue Open Mic is offered by Café con Libros every 2nd Saturday of the month and is hosted by Pomona Poet Laureate Ceasar Avelar. Open Mic Night is for everyone-play a song on your guitar, read a poem, or share a story. The spoken word is celebrated!
Cory “Besskepp” Cofer is the featured spoken word artist, and performer. A member of two Los Angeles National Poetry Slam Teams, He is also co-founder and host of A Mic and Dim Lights, one of the nation’s longest running open mic poetry readings based in Southern California, established in 2000. He is the author previously of Up the Street and Around the Corner.
Cory Cofer will present and sign his new book, Dreaming Under Polka-Dot Stars.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Café con Libros, Pomona
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA 91766
Website: https://cafeconlibrospress.org/event-calendar/
L.A. Book Launch: Linda Ravenswood & Cantadora, with Lynn Thompson, Matt Sedillo, Caribbean Fragoza, Jennifer Lewis & Brian Sonia-Wallace, at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event
Join celebrated poet Linda Ravenswood and her guests in celebration of her newest collection, Cantadora: Letters from California, a collection of 44 hybrid texts which read as maps, diary entries, manifestos, dream fragments, and lists. Her branching perspective of the 500+ years span of the (so-called) Conquest of Mexico by Cortés and the Spanish army (1521-present) explores reverberations across landscapes & cultures of the American West that are still being navigated. The voices explore past, present, & future histories of those who dwell in the West.
The author will be joined by Chicano poet Matt Sedillo, writer and editor Caribbean Fragoza, author Jennifer Lewis, & L.A. Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson for an evening of poetry readings in-person.
Linda Ravenswood is a mixed Indigenous, Mestiza, European & Jewish scholar & performance artist from California. Recent publications include XLA Poets (Hinchas Press, 2021) & The Stan Poems (Pedestrian Press, 2022). She is the founder & editor-in-chief at The Los Angeles Press. Find her at thelosangelespress.com.
Jennifer Lewis is a writer, editor, and the publisher of Red Light Lit. Her debut short story collection, The New Low, was released in October 2022 by Nomadic Press, where her short story, “New Low,” was the winner of the Bindle Award in 2018. In 2020, she won the Los Angeles Review Flash Fiction award for “Put a Teat in It.” She received her MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State University in May 2015. She teaches at The Writing Salon in San Francisco.
Carribean Fragoza is a fiction writer and journalist from South El Monte, CA. Her collection of stories Eat the Mouth That Feeds You was published in 2021 by City Lights and was a finalist for a 2022 PEN Award. Her co-edited compilation of essays, East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte was published by Rutgers University Press and her forthcoming collection of essays Writing Home: New Terrains of California will be published by Angel City Press in 2023. She has published in Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times, Zyzzyva, Alta, BOMB, Huizache, KCET, the Los Angeles Review of Books, ArtNews, and Aperture Magazine. She is the Prose Editor at Huizache Magazine and Creative Nonfiction and Poetry Editor at Boom California, a journal of UC Press. Fragoza is the founder and co-director of South El Monte Arts Posse, an interdisciplinary arts collective. She lives in the San Gabriel Valley in Greater Los Angeles.
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, Massachusetts Review, The Common, and Copper Nickel, among others.
Matt Sedillo has been described as the “best political poet in America” as well as “the poet laureate of the struggle” by academics, poets, and journalists alike. He has appeared on CSPAN and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. He has spoken at Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba, at numerous conferences and forums such as the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education, National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies, The Left Forum, The US Social Forum, and at over a hundred universities and colleges, including the University of Cambridge, among many others. He is the current literary director of the Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles and author of Mowing Leaves of Grass (FlowerSong Press, 2019) and City on the Second Floor (FlowerSong Press, 2022).
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, link, and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 8 pm (Doors at 7:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
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
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1001 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://shadesofafrika.com/griot-cafe-open-mic-poetry/
Love on Demand Poetry Booth with Cynthia Alessandra Briano & James Coats at The Book Jewel, Farmers Market – In-Person Event
At the Live on Demand Poetry Booth you can find custom-ordered poems type don vintage typewriters, ready to pick up in real time, by local poets and poetry event curators Cynthia Alessandra Briano and James Coats.
The cost is donations-based, and a portion of the proceeds will go to support Planned Parenthood.
Where: The Book Jewel, Farmers Market
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 10 am – 1 pm
Address: 6250 W. 87th St., Westchester, CA 90045
Website: https://twitter.com/book_jewel/status/1620968434489065479/photo/1
Authors Meet + Greet: The Kimchingoos at Bel Canto Books at The Hangout – In-Person Event
Join Bel Canto Books to hear the Kimchingoos as they discuss reading, writing, and finding your book community, featuring:
Graci Kim, NYT bestselling author of the Rick Riordan Presents middle grade fantasy books including THE LAST FALLEN STAR.
Jessica Kim, author of the critically acclaimed middle grade contemporary novel, STAND UP, YUMI CHUNG!
Grace Shim, author of the YA contemporary novel THE NOH FAMILY.
Sarah Suk, author of the YA contemporary novel MADE IN KOREA, and the forthcoming YA spec novel THE SPACE BETWEEN.
Susan Lee, author of the YA romance novel SEOULMATES.
RSVP required; $10 event voucher can be used for day-of purchase at Bel Canto Books. We will have copies of the authors’ featured books for sale.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Bel Canto Books at The Hangout
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 2122 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://www.shopthehangout.com/product/bcb-author-event-kimchingoos-2-12-11am/28675
Book Release & Open Mic: Red Flags: Tales of Love and Instinct at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
For this special book release celebration of Red Flags: Tales of Love and Instinct, there will be an author panel of: Christopher Gauntt, Rebecca Rush, Clay Hunt, and Christina Hoag, and publisher, Lisa D. Kastner.
Have you ever been in a situation when you ignored internal warning signals but forged ahead anyway? Or in a situation where you were about to leap into something, but your inner voice stopped you? The Red Flags: Tales of Love and Instinct anthology is a collection of stories about what happens when you listen to your intuition and when you don’t. The authors in this book bare all to readers about consequences that range from amusingly relatable to heart-breaking and life changing.
Come share your own stories and poems in the open mic, alongside the authors!
*You must be in-person to receive goodie bags (while they last), and to participate in the raffle and open mic. 10 first come, first-serve open mic spots (5 minutes per person).
Order your copy of Red Flags: Tales of Love and Instinct now at http://www.runningwildpress.com. If you wish to have a copy signed at the event, you must bring one with you. Also, we will be raffling off THREE free copies!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, guidelines, link, and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 12 pm – 3 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Slow Lightning Wide Open Global Online Poetry Event: Alicia Elkort, Jamie O’Halloran, Richard Modiano & Celia Chavez, with host Peggy Dobreer – Online Event
Slow Lightning Lit open Mic, curated by Peggy Dobreer, will host a reading of online poetry with guests: Alicia Elkort, Jamie O’Hallorna, Richard Modiano & music by Celia Chavez.
Slow Lightning Lit delights in bringing poets together from across the globe.
From right here in Los Angeles, Richard Modiano, author of Forbidden Lunchbox and former Executive Director of Beyond Baroque; Jamie O’Halloran living in and writing about Connemara County, Ireland; Alicia Elkort, author of just released A Map of Every Undoing; and poet/songstress, one half of Petty Chavez Music, Celia ‘Cha Cha’ Chavez.
To RSVP for the ‘limited’ open reading or to register and receive the link to attend the reading…send your name and city to curator, Peggy Dobreer, at adhocink@yahoo.com
NOTE: See site for link and details. RSVP to ADHOCINK@YAHOO.COM TO RECEIVE THE LINK TO JOIN!
Where: Slow Lightning Lit Open Mic
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm PST
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/842925190123808/?ref=newsfeed or https://www.shopthehangout.com/product/bcb-author-event-kimchingoos-2-12-11am/28675
Cellar Door Book Club & The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois (1st Half) at Cellar Door Books – In-Person Event
The Cellar Door Book Club will discuss this month’s selection, The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois (1st Half), by author Honoree Fannonne Jeffers.
This award-winning debut novel chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era.
The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.
To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., #30A, Riverside CA 92507
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/cellar-door-book-club-love-songs-web-du-bois-1st-half
Book Launch: Falon Ballard & Just My Type at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice presents a book launch for author Falon Ballard’s new release, Just My Type. She will chat about her new contemporary romance with Elissa Sussman.
There will be a book signing to follow. This event is free to attend and tickets are not required, but RSVPs are appreciated.
About Just My Type:
To win the job of her dreams, a relationship-prone journalist needs to learn how to stay single in this heartwarming and hilarious new romantic comedy from the beloved author of Lease on Love.
Lana Parker is an expert girlfriend. After a disastrous breakup with her high school boyfriend, she’s bounced from long-term relationship to long-term relationhip and even works as the dating and relationships columnist for one of Los Angeles’s trendiest websites. But when Lana suddenly finds herself single, she’s ready to take a break, both personally and professionally.
That is, until her high school ex, Seth Carson, takes an assignment at Lana’s site. Having spent years traveling the world as a freelance journalist, Seth’s finally ready to put down roots. Seth and Lana’s chemistry is just as combative—and undeniable—as ever and quickly leads to a competition that could shape both of their careers. Pitted against each other by Lana’s boss, they are each tasked with writing an article series that goes against their usual dating type: Lana needs to write about being single and staying single, while Seth must learn to settle down and become boyfriend material. Whoever’s series is most popular winds a highly coveted dream job. But when the two square off, it’s not only their careers on the line—it’s also their hearts.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Writing Workshop & MIc: Writing as Healing, with Karo Ska at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
This in-person creative writing and poetry workshop will encourage you to UNLEASH that piece waiting to be released from inside you. What does it mean to give ourselves permission to express and write back to ourselves? In this all-levels creative writing workshop, you’ll leave feeling centered, inspired, and connected to community and your craft.
HOSTED BY RAVINA (author of YELLOW) In this month’s writing as healing workshop, we are honored to have KARO SKA feature as our guest poet, professor and published author. They are the author of LOVING MY SALT DRENCHED BONES.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Beatnik Café Open Mic Event: Brian Sonia-Wallace, with Hannah Pachman – In-Person Event
The Beatnik Café Open Mic poetry show, hosted by Hannah Pachman, is held on the second Sunday of every month and presents another night of hearing truth from lesser heard perspectives.
This month’s feature is Brian Sonia-Wallace, author of The Poetry of Strangers.
Schedule as follows:
4:50-5 pm- Open Mic Sign Up
5-5:10 pm- Intro
5:10- 5:30 pm- Brian Sonia-Wallace Reading
5:30- 6:50 pm- Poetry Open Mic (3 minutes per poet)
6:50- 7 pm- Close
Consider using this writing prompt.
Write a poem as an ode to the last object you touched today
NOTE: See site for RSVP, open mic guidelines, and further information.
Where: Hey Hey Café
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1555 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/hey-hey/beatnik-cafe-poetry/1121190481787008/
Second Sundays Reading Event: Christopher Geo, with Alex M. Frankel – In-Person Event
This Open Mic poetry show, hosted by Alex M. Frankel, happens on the second Sunday of every month. Great poets perform their work, sell and sign books, plus mingle with audience members and open mic participants.
This month’s feature is Christian Geo.
Christian Georgescu was born in Bucharest, Romania and emigrated to New York City at the age of five. A writer, performer and visual artist graduating from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, his work is anthologized in You Say, Say, Hell Strung and Crooked, It’s Animal but Merciful, I Let Go of The Stars in My Hand, The Understanding Between Foxes and Light, The Careless Embrace of the Bone Shaker, Birds Fall Silent in the Mechanical Sea from Great Weather for Media, Selfie and Levure Literaire. His visual art appears in numerous DADA Maintenant Journals from Three Rooms Press. As part of The Poetry Brothel lineup, Christian has thrilled Johns and Janes on the East and West Coast with his character Monsieur Le Fever. Christian created his multimedia genre-bending production, House of ME, setting off verbal pyrotechnics in a tongue-twisting, pill-popping, foot-stomping romp through the human condition. House of Me featured at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, New York’s United Solo Festival and Hollywood Fringe Festival. Pedestal Magazine writes of his work: “An exceptionally crafted inside joke, hitting hard with truth that alters perception.”
NOTE: See site for RSVP, open mic guidelines, and further information.
Where: The Studio Theatre at St. Denis
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 3433 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Website: https://www.secondsundaypoetry.com/index.html
Amok Presents: Dissident Dispatches at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Jeff Drake, in conversation with Pleasant Gehman, will present and discuss their books.
Stories Books and Café hosts an evening of Amok Presents, First-Hand reports from the Frontlines of the Underground featuring Jack Sargeant, Michelle Carr and Stuart Swezey.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Fantasy Romance Book Club: Legendborn at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice presents the Fantasy Romance Book Club discussion of Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn, led by bookseller Taylor C.
Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and “braids together Southern folk traditions and Black Girl Magic into a searing modern tale of grief, power, and self-discovery” (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles).
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 7:15 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Narratophia Event: Community Art & Poetry at Poetik LA – In-Person Event
Poetik LA presents a Narratophia of community art and poetry
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Poetik LA- IG Event
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 2930 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake, CA 90027
Website: https://www.facebook.com/poetikla
Los Angeles Literature 