Quantum Book Club: Gideon the Ninth Discussion at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
The Quantum book Club reads and discusses literary fiction and fantasy fiction on the last Monday of every month.
Book Club participants will discuss June’s selection, Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb Series #1) by Tamsyn Muir.
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.
Where: The Book Jewel, Westchester
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtCFCElu5h7/
Loren Stephens and Aimee Lui Present: All Sorrows Can Be Borne and Glorious Boy, respectively at Zibby’s Bookshop – In-Person Event
Loren Stephens and Aimee Lui will present and discuss their most recent books: All Sorrows Can Be Borne and Glorious Boy, respectively.
Loren Stephens’ All Sorrows Can Be Borne is inspired by true events, and is the story of Noriko Ito, a Japanese woman faced with unimaginable circumstances that force her to give up her son to save her husband. Set in Hiroshima, Osaka, and the badlands of eastern Montana and spanning the start of World War II to 1982, this breathtaking novel is told primarily in the voice of Noriko, a feisty aspiring actress who fails her audition to enter the Takarazuka Theater Academy. Instead, she takes the “part” of a waitress at a European-style tearoom in Osaka where she meets the mysterious and handsome manager, Ichiro Uchida. Soon after Noriko becomes pregnant during their seaside honeymoon, Ichiro is diagnosed with tuberculosis destroying their dreams. With depth and tenderness, All Sorrows Can Be Borne is a harrowing and beautifully written novel that explores how families are shaped by political and economic circumstances, tremendous loss and ultimately forgiveness.
Aimee Lui’s Glorious Boy is a World War II story unlike any you’ve ever read before, with characters and settings you’ll never forget. Claire and Shep Durant journey to the Andaman Islands, a remote part of colonial India, in1936, where they dive deep into their work: Claire, as scientists. Claire’s plans change when she becomes pregnant and gives birth to Ty, whose ability to speak never materializes and who develops a strong attachment to Naila, a household employee. When the war escalates, the Andamans become a target, and the Durants prepare to evacuate. But Ty goes missing, and all allegiances and obligations are tested.
NOTE: See site to RSVP and for further details.
Where: Zibby’s Bookshop
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403
Website: https://www.zibbysbookshop.com/event/loren-stephens-and-aimee-liu
Book Club: The Guncle by Stephen Rowley via Sherman Oaks Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
For Pride Month, this book club group will discuss The Guncle, by Stephen Rowley.
The Guncle is a National Bestseller, Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, Wall Street Journal Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, an NPR Book of the Year, and Finalist for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards.
From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. So when tragedy strikes and Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian, he is, honestly, overwhelmed. Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. But when his waggish set of “Guncle Rules” no longer appease Maisie and Grant’s parental void, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.
Please email shrmno@lapl.org for participation details.
Where: Sherman Oaks Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/sherman-oaks-book-club-guncle-steven-rowley
Poetry Night Monday Open Mic & Featured Guests at The Platform, DTLA – In-Person Event
Join the Poetry Night Open Mic (Before the Comedy Open Mic) with Featured Guests, offered every Monday of the month at The Platform in DTLA.
Must RSVP on Instagram @ thekaliclub213.
Hosted by Lida Parent.
Featured poets TBA.
NOTE: RSVP required.
Where: The Platform, DTLA
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1056 Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159766485254891&set=a.263642949890
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 an Assistant Professor of Postcolonial and Transnational Literatures at California State University Channel Islands, teaching courses on creative writing and contemporary African literatures. Raquel has published poetry in Africology and The Arrow; fiction in Enculturation, The Daily Palette, The Womanist, and Crux; and non-fiction in Little Village; and has done readings with the Ventura County Poetry project. Raquel lives for talking about all things about the craft and social meanings of literature!
Where: Beyond Baroque – Online event
Date: Monday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-663031614407
Your Author Series: Ashlyn Anstee & Shelby & Watts: Tidepool Troubles at Atwater Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids Event
Your Author Series presents L.A.-based author and illustrator Ashlyn Anstee to discuss her book, Shelby & Watts: Tidepool Troubles.
Ashlyn Antsee will discuss her graphic novel for young readers, Shelby & Watts: Tidepool Troubles. Shelby loves a good mystery. And her best friend, Watts, is never without his encyclopedia. When Shelby gets a letter from Fred the hermit crab claiming that all the shells are missing from the beach, she and Watts are just the duo to help him. With Shelby’s deductive skills and Watts’s scientific knowledge, there’s no case the two of them can’t solve–one environmental mystery at a time!
Those attending the program will have an opportunity to win a free book.
Where: Atwater Village Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 3379 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/your-author-series-ashlyn-anstee
Venice Branch Book Club: John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charlie at Venice-Abbot Kinney Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Venice Book Club participants will read and discuss a classic book from Pulitzer Prize winning author John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie.
Where: Venice-Abbot Kinney Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/venice-book-club-1
Sharing True Stories Event at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Westwood Branch Library presents Sharing True Stories online event, where participants are invited to share something that happened to you. You can read a piece that you wrote or speak off-the-cuff. You are also welcome to just listen. The stories can be funny, sad, or simply slice-of-life. This is your opportunity to express yourself!
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/life-stories-open-mic
Writer’s Workshop, with Jenise Miller & Letter Headsat Buena Vista Branch of Burbank Library – In-Person Event
Guest poet Jenice Miller will lead a writer’s workshop titled Letter Heads.
Join us for a fun evening of writing exercises, brainstorming, and discussion.
Led by professional writers, our monthly, 90-minute workshops provide unique opportunities for you to develop your craft and make connections with other local creatives. Everyone is welcome—no experience necessary.
This month, we welcome and celebrate the new season. We’ll find inspiration in poems by Nikki Giovanni and others and draw upon memories, senses, place, and images to write poems that bask in summertime joy. Come write with us!
Registration is required.
About Jenise Miller:
Jenise Miller is a Black Panamanian, Compton-based writer, poet, and urban planner whose work explores art, archives, geographic mapping, and intersectional history. She is a 2021 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow and PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow. She coordinates the Compton Arts Oral History Project and co-produced “Reading the City” with Sēpia Collective, a conversation series with artists and cultural producers from Compton. She is the author of the poetry chapbook “The Blvd.”
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details. Now Full, but join Wait List at site.
Where: Buena Vista Branch of Burbank Library
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 300 N Buena Vista St, Burbank, CA 91505
Website: https://burbank.libnet.info/event/8541523
The Mystery Book Club: Two Nights in Lisbon at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join Mystery Book Club participants to discuss Two Nights In Lisbon, by author Chris Pavone, an expertly crafted thriller about a woman under pressure, and how far she will go when everything is on the line.
Where: Playa Vista Branch Library
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-17
Conchas y Café–Bilingual Community Writing Workshop Series via DSTL Arts – Online Event
Conchas y Café bilingual community writing workshop series is a 12-week virtual course that explores skills in poetry and other forms of creative writing. Writers of all skill levels are welcome to join.
This Spring series will culminate with the publishing of Conchas y Café Zine; Vol. 8, Issue 3.
The theme we will be exploring during this series and zine is “TBD.”
To enroll in our series, visit: https://classroom.google.com/c/NTM3ODEzNTM2NTAw?cjc=gnnidkl
info@dstlarts.org
Created by: luis@dstlarts.org
Where: DSTL Arts
Date: Tuesday the 27th (weekly until June 28, 2023)
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online event (Google Classroom)
Website: https://www.dstlarts.org/calendar
Nick Ebeling & Earthquake Weather at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Nick Ebeling will present and discuss his new book, Earthquake Weather.
Earthquake Weather, the first novel by filmmaker Nick Ebeling, sets a uniquely dark coming-of-age vision against the rapidly changing Los Angeles of 2001.
Haunted by a childhood near-death experience above Sunset Boulevard, McCabe—almost 22, broke, and carrying a massive student loan debt—navigates his final days at a top-rated art school. With a film festival deadline looming and under mounting pressure from the film’s star—a recently sober and notoriously difficult ’70s cult cinema legend—McCabe struggles to edit his film while avoiding his responsibilities and the schemes of his convict father, who (unbeknownst to McCabe) has negotiated a screenwriting deal on his son’s behalf with a former cellmate, a shady (and possibly violent) music producer.
McCabe wanders the record stores, dive bars, parties, and clubs of Silver Lake in search of answers, but his real salvation may lie with the indie rock muse of his dreams.
Nick Ebeling is a filmmaker, artist, and writer. His first feature film, the critically acclaimed Along for the Ride—a documentary about Dennis Hopper through the eyes of his idiosyncratic right-hand man Satya de la Manitou, featuring a score by Gemma Thompson of Savages—was an Official Selection of the Venice Film Festival, and the Critics Selection of Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival of the Bologna Cineteca. A book accompaniment to the film was produced in 2018 by Hat & Beard Press. Ebeling is also the co-creator of the underground cult comic book and soundtrack album Gunwolf, co-founder of independent publishing imprint Dirt Bike Press, and producer of two albums. A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design, he resides in Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/nick-ebeling
Nonfiction Book Club: The Queen at pages: a bookstore– In-Person Event
Join the Nonfiction Book Club to discuss this month’s selection, The Queen, by author Josh Levin., facilitated by Mark Polak.
On the South Side of Chicago in 1974, Linda Taylor reported a phony burglary, concocting a lie about stolen furs and jewelry. The detective who checked it out soon discovered she was a welfare cheat who drove a Cadillac to collect ill-gotten government checks. And that was just the beginning: Taylor, it turned out, was also a kidnapper, and possibly a murderer. A desperately ill teacher, a combat-traumatized Marine, an elderly woman hungry for companionship—after Taylor came into their lives, all three ended up dead under suspicious circumstances. But nobody—not the journalists who touted her story, not the police, and not presidential candidate Ronald Reagan—seemed to care about anything but her welfare thievery.
Josh Levin is the national editor at Slate and the host of the sports podcast Hang Up and Listen. He previously worked at the Washington City Paper and has written for Sports Illustrated, the Atlantic, GQ, and Play: The New York Times Sports Magazine. He was born and raised in New Orleans and is a graduate of Brown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/non-fiction-book-club-12
Thea Glassman, with Rebecca Ballhaus, & Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Author Thea Glassman, in conversation with Rebecca Ballhaus, will present, discuss, and sign her new book, Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television.
IN this book, entertainment journalist Thea Glassman takes readers behind the scenes of seven of the most culturally significant series of the last three decades, drawing on dozens of new interviews with showrunners, cast, crewmembers, and more. These shows not only launched the careers of such superstars as Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Claire Danes, and Seth Rogen, but they also took young people seriously, proving that teen TV could be smart, revolutionary, and “important”—and stay firmly entrenched in pop culture long after it finished airing. And while many critics insist that prestige dramas like The Sopranos and Mad Men paved the way for television, some of the most groundbreaking work was actually happening inside the fictional hallways of high schools across America in teen shows whose impact remains visible on our screens today.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Thea-Glassman-Freaks-Gleaks-and-Dawsons-Creek
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with David Judah Oliver – via Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest David Judah Oliver.
David Judah Oliver is a writer and spoken word poet, and the former Poet Laureate of Pomona. He is an accomplished poet and author of two published books of original poetry. He is the Co-Host and Founder of LionLike MindState Poetry and Art Series at the Pomona Fairplex. He has been a Member of the Los Angeles Slam Team 2005 and 2006.
NOTp: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html
The Sunless Sea Open Mic: Poetry and Spoken Word Show – In-Person Event
The Sunless Sea Open Mic: Poetry and Spoken Word Show is offered every week at the Unurban Coffee House. Hosted by DeForest Wright, all are invited to attend.
NOTE: Details at event link.
Where: Unurban Coffee House
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups
Begin at the Palace of Zero: Poetry Reading with Dana Levin, F. Douglas Brown, and Natalie Graham at Beyond Baroque – Zoom Online Event
Beyond Baroque presents a special evening with Dana Levin, F. Douglas Brown, and Natalie Graham. The three poets will be reading from their recent collections and debuting new work.
F. Douglas Brown is the author of two poetry collections, ICON (Writ Large Press, 2018), and Zero to Three (University of Georgia, 2014), winner of the 2013 Cave Canem Poetry Prize selected by US Poet Laureate, Tracy K. Smith. He also co-authored with poet Geffrey Davis, Begotten (URB Books, 2016), a chapbook of poetry as part of the Floodgate Poetry Series. Brown, an educator for over 25 years, currently teaches African American Poetry and African American Studies at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, where he serves as the Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
Dana Levin was born in Los Angeles, California in 1965 and grew up in the Mojave Desert. Her new book of poetry is Now Do You Know Where You Are (Copper Canyon Press, 2022), a New York Times Notable Book and NPR “Book We Love.” Recent books include Banana Palace (2016) and Sky Burial (2011), which The New Yorker called “utterly her own and utterly riveting.” Levin’s poems and essays have appeared in Best American Poetry, The New York Times, The American Poetry Review, The Nation, Poetry, The Yale Review, and Air/Light, among other publications. She is a grateful recipient of many honors, including those from the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN, and the Library of Congress, as well as from the Rona Jaffe, Whiting, and Guggenheim Foundations. Levin teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and serves as Distinguished Writer in Residence at Maryville University in St. Louis.
Natalie J. Graham is an award-winning author and performer who has toured nationally with her collection of poems, Begin with a Failed Body. In August 2021, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Orange County. Natalie is also professor of African American Studies and the Director of the Institute of Black Intellectual Innovation at Cal State University Fullerton. This institute works to create initiatives that support Cooperative Economics, Artistic Development, and Community-Based Research in Orange County. When she isn’t making poems, teaching, or planning events, she loves perfecting her chocolate chip cookie baking skills and learning about science with her son, Ronald.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/begin-at-the-palace-of-zero-tickets-639598565527
Live Talks: An Evening with Frances Haugen & The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook at New Roads School – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Live Talks LA presents an evening with Frances Haugen to discuss her book,The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook
Frances Haugen is an American data engineer and scientist, and whistleblower. A graduate of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and Harvard Business School, she worked at Google, Yelp, and Pinterest before joining Facebook in 2019 and working in its civic integrity department. In the spring of 2021, she disclosed tens of thousands of internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Wall Street Journal, revealing Facebook’s awareness and complicity in radicalization and political violence around the world…
In 2021, when news outlets feasted on “the Facebook Files,” Frances Haugen went public as the former employee who blew the whistle on the company by copying tens of thousands of pages of documents. She testified to Congress and spoke to the media. She was hailed at President Biden’s first State of the Union Address. She made sure everyone understood exactly what the documents revealed: Facebook knew it had accidentally changed its algorithm to reward extremism and refused to fix it; it knew that its customers were using the platform to foment violence, to spread falsehoods, to diminish the self-esteem of young women, and more. But how was it that Haugen was the only employee at the company who dared to step forward?
Her story is an inspiring tale of one young woman’s life and the choices she made. From an isolated childhood in Iowa to an unaccredited college, to one among the few women at Google in its heyday, Frances Haugen learned how to focus on what mattered, and to ignore her critics. To harness the strength of standing in the truth.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School, Herb Alpert Educational Village
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404 (Free Parking available at the venue)
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/frances-haugen/
Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic Night 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 which is Slam Night) 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.
Masks are encouraged. All ages are welcome.
Where: Greenway Court Theatre and YouTube Live Stream
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLUBSRPCFb/ or
https://www.dapoetrylounge.com/events/open-mic-night
Neverspeak Tuesdays Open Mic at DiPiazza’s – In-Person Event
The Neverspeak Tuesdays Open Mic at DiPiazza’s with Shy But Flyy, will feature guest poet TBA + an open mic.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: DiPiazza’s Pizza
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 9 pm
Address: 5205 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-mic-w-shy-but-flyy-music-poetry-tickets-533965133087
Mystery Book Group: Blacktop Wasteland at Once Upon a Time Books – In-Person Event
Join Mystery Book Group participants to read and discuss this month’s selection, Blacktop Wasteland by author S.A. Cosby.
A husband, a father, a son, a business owner…And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can’t-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver’s seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.
And if you are a super fan of this hard-charging crime fiction writing, grab yourself a copy of Maureen’s favorite new mystery by Cosby: ALL THE SINNERS BLEED.
Where: Once Upon a Time (outside in front of Star Café)
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 9 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/coffee-time-book-club-18
Wednesday Book Club: The Silver Star at Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Wednesday Book Club participants will discuss The Silver Star: A Novel, by author Jeannette Walls.
It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their widowed Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.
New members welcome!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL, Community Room
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 11:30 am
Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/wednesday-book-club-1
Classics Book Club: The Metamorphosis at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Classics Book Club participants will discuss The Metamorphosis, by author Franz Kafka.
This 1915 novella has been cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is studied in colleges and universities across the Western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Samsa’s transformation is never revealed, and Kafka himself never gave an explanation. The rest of Kafka’s novella deals with Gregor’s attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repulsed by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, link, and details.
Where: Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 11:30 am
Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/classics-book-club-metamorphosis
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 28th
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
Quest Book Club: Exit West Discussion at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
The Quest book Club reads and discusses literary fiction and nonfiction related to journeys of the spirit on the last Wednesday of every month.
Book Club participants will discuss June’s selection, Exit West: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid. Exit West follows two remarkable characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are. Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time.
Where: The Book Jewel, Westchester
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.instagram.com/thebookjewel/?hl=en
Mystery & Thriller Book Club: Magpie Murders at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Mystery & Thriller Book Club participants will discuss Magpie Murders: A Novel, by author Anthony Horowitz.
Masterful, clever, and relentlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction in which the reader becomes the detective.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-thriller-book-club
ALOUD Reading Series: Tess Gunty & The Rabbit Hutch at Central Library, LAPL
The ALOUD reading Series presents author Tess Gunty, in conversation with Claire Vaye Watkins, to discuss her debut novel The Rabbit Hutch, the winner of this year’s National Book award.
In this darkly funny and remarkable novel we’re introduced to a string of overlapping characters and plots mostly centered around La Lapinière otherwise known as “The Rabbit Hutch,” a run-down apartment building in Vacca Vale, Indiana. The novel unconventionally jumps among perspectives, mediums and tenses revealing the buildings quirky residents. Gunty keeps the plot moving creating a story that has you hooked from the first page until the surprising finale. The novel touches on so many important issues—loneliness, consumerism, community, and mental illness all with a great subtly and intelligence.
Tess Gunty’s debut novel, The Rabbit Hutch, won the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction, the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, and the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize. It was named one of twelve essential reads by The New Yorker, and a best book of the year by TIME, NPR, the Chicago Tribune, People, the New York Times, and others. Her work has appeared in The Iowa Review, Granta, LitHub, Joyland, Freeman’s, and elsewhere. Gunty holds an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU, where she was a Lillian Vernon Fellow. She grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and now lives in Los Angeles.
Claire Vaye Watkins is the author of three works of fiction: I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, Gold Fame Citrus, and Battleborn, winner of the Story Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Claire is a professor in the Programs in Writing at the University of California, Irvine. She lives in Tecopa, California.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 630 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-rabbit-hutch-registration-640958362717
Matt Baume & Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Matt Baume will present and discuss Hi Honey, I’m Homo!
For decades, amidst the bright lights, studio-audience laughs, and absurdly large apartment sets, the real-life story of American LGBTQ+ liberation unfolded in plain sight in front of millions of viewers, most of whom were laughing too hard to mind.
From flamboyant relatives on Bewitched to closely-guarded secrets on All in the Family, from network-censor fights over Soap to behind-the-scenes activism on the set of The Golden Girls, from Ellen’s culture clash to Modern Family’s primetime power-couple, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America.
Accessible, entertaining, and informative, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! is filled with exclusive commentary and interviews from celebrities, behind-the-scenes creators, and more. (SmartPop)
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/matt-baume
Book Talk: Christine Sneed, with Colette Sartor, & Direct Sunlight at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Christine Sneed, in conversation with Colette Sartor, will present and discuss her collection of stories, Direct Sunlight.
The stories in Direct Sunlight, award-winning author Christine Sneed’s latest, are inspired by the memorable strangeness of everyday life. The characters in these topically diverse tales experience events that bring the terms of their day-to-day lives and their relationships into focus in a way hitherto foreign to them. These stories rely on humor but are balanced by Sneed’s clear-eyed sobriety about the sorrows inherent in the human condition.
Christine Sneed was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for her first book, Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry, which received AWP’s Grace Paley Prize, and a number of other awards including the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year Award. She has published 4 other works of fiction with Bloomsbury USA and UK that have been widely reviewed, her second, the novel Little Known Facts, received a cover review in the New York Times Book Review; it was also an Editor’s Choice selection and later featured in Paperback Row, as was her second novel Paris, He Said. Along with the Grace Paley Prize, Christine has received the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, Ploughshares’ Zacharis Award, among other honors. She’s had stories published in The Best American Short Stories and O. Henry Prize Stories and journals including Ploughshares, New England Review, Story, and many other periodicals.
Colette Sartor the author of the Flannery O’Connor Award-winning story collection Once Removed, teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program as well as privately and is an executive director of the CineStory Foundation, a mentoring organization for emerging TV writers and screenwriters. Her writing has appeared in Carve Magazine, Slice Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Kenyon Review Online, Colorado Review, and other publications. Among other awards, she has been granted a Glenna Luschei Award, a Reynolds Price Short Fiction Award, and a Truman Capote fellowship from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she completed her MFA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 133 Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/direct-sunlight-by-christine-sneed-tickets-658092782227
At Skylight: Daniel Meyers, with Dana Levin, Amy Gerstler, & Victoria Chang, & Bert Meyers: On the Life and Work of an American Master at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Daniel Meyers, in conversation with Dana Levin, Amy Gerstler, & Victoria Chang, will present and discussBert Meyers: On the Life and Work of an American Master.
The latest volume in the Unsung Masters Series brings to readers the work of Bert Meyers. Here, we offer a large selection of his very best poetry alongside essays and appreciations from Jos Angel Araguz, Jim Bogen, Victoria Chang, Amy Gerstler, Garrett Hongo, Daniel Meyers, Barry Sanders, Ari Sherman, Maurya Simon, and Sean Singer, and others. The Unsung Masters Series exists to bring great but largely overlooked writers to new generations of readers.
Dana Levin is the author of five books poetry. Her latest is Now Do You Know Where You Are (Copper Canyon Press), a 2022 New York Times Notable Book and NPR “Book We Love.” Other books include Banana Palace (2016) and Sky Burial (2011), which The New Yorker called “utterly her own and utterly riveting.” She is a grateful recipient of many honors, including those from the NEA, PEN, and the Library of Congress, as well as from the Rona Jaffe, Whiting, and Guggenheim Foundations. Currently she serves as Distinguished Writer in Residence at Maryville University in St. Louis. With Adele Elise Williams, she is the editor of Bert Meyers: On the Life and Work of an American Master.
Known for its wit and complexity, Amy Gerstler’s poetry deals with themes such as redemption, suffering, and survival. Author of over a dozen poetry collections, two works of fiction, and various articles, reviews, and collaborations with visual artists, Gerstler won the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry for Bitter Angel (1990). Her early work, including White Marriage/Recovery (1984), was highly praised. Gerstler’s more recent works include Nerve Storm (1993), Medicine (2000), Ghost Girl (2004), Dearest Creature (2009), which the New York Times named a Notable Book of the Year, Scattered At Sea (2015), which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Index of Women (2021).
Victoria Chang’s forthcoming book of poems, With My Back to the World will be published in 2024 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Corsair Books in the U.K. Her most recent book of poetry, The Trees Witness Everything was published by Copper Canyon Press and Corsair Books in the U.K. in 2022 and was named one of the Best Books of 2022 by the New Yorker and The Guardian.
Her nonfiction book, Dear Memory (Milkweed Editions), was published in 2021 and was named a favorite nonfiction book of 2021 by Electric Literature and Kirkus. OBIT (Copper Canyon Press, 2020), her most recent poetry book, was named a New York Times Notable Book, a Time Must-Read Book, and received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Poetry, and the PEN/Voelcker Award. It was also longlisted for a National Book Award and named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Griffin International Poetry Prize. She has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Chowdhury Prize in Literature.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group: White Tears at Vroman’s Off-site/The Atrium – In-Person Event
Vroman’s Fiction Reading Groupmeets every 4th Wednesday of the month, andparticipants will discuss this month’s selection, White Tears, by author Hari Kunzru.
Ghost story, murder mystery, love letter to American music—White Tears is all of this and more, a thrilling investigation of race and appropriation in society today. It is a literary thriller and a meditation on art—who owns it, who can consume it, and who profits from it.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s at The Atrium
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 709 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 120, Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/vromans-fiction-reading-group-2
Ottessa Moshfegh, with Yxta Maya Murray, & LAPVONA at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Ottessa Moshfegh, in conversation with Yxta Maya Murray, will discuss LAPVONA: A Novel.
Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, believes his mother died giving birth to him. One of Marek’s few consolations is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby. For some people, Ina’s ability to receive transmissions of sacred knowledge from the natural world is a godsend. For others, Ina’s home in the woods is a godless place.
The people’s desperate need to believe that there are powers that be who have their best interests at heart is put to a cruel test by their depraved lord and governor, especially in this year of record drought and famine. But when fate brings Marek into violent proximity to the lord’s family, new and occult forces arise to upset the old order. By year’s end, the veil between blindness and sight, life and death, and the natural world and the spirit world will prove to be very thin indeed.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Otessa-Moshfegh-discusses-Lapvona
A Mic and Dim LightsReading Event at DTLA Location – In-Person Event
A Mic and Dim Lights will reconvene for a beautiful evening of Poems, Songs and Beats at @theheartdept.
We welcome @treesjempowers and @stayonthemic as they continue their Good News Tour.
We had the opportunity to watch them perform one of their collaborative pieces in Long Beach and was blown away! We are honored to have them as our feature 🙏🏾
The listen is open.
We encourage new and seasoned poets. Poems straight off your Chipotle napkin, Dollar Tree receipt, or beat up journal. All ❤️
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. $10 at the door.
Where: A Mic & Dim Lights
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1327 Willow St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cte1OogvNzn/
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 — Reading: Aural/Oral History;
- 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 28th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.instagram.com/anansiwritersworkshop/
Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Online Zoom Event
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. Please be prepared to share one poem. This workshop will be hosted via the Zoom video-conferencing platform. Please sign up for each workshop session at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, and you will be contacted with instructions on how to join the meeting.
The workshop facilitator is James Cushing, who retired in 2020 after thirty-five years teaching literature and creative writing in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he served as the community’s poet laureate in 2008-2010. Cushing’s poems have appeared widely and his collections include The Length of an Afternoon, Undercurrent Blues, Pinocchio’s Revolution, The Magicians’ Union, Solace, and Tangled Hologram, all from Cahuenga Press in Los Ángeles.
Please spend some time before the workshop learning how to share documents via Zoom. It will keep the session moving if you’re able to make your poem viewable quickly and easily. Here’s an instructive video that might help.
The workshop can sometimes reach high levels of attendance, which means not everyone will get a chance to read every session.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-night-poetry-workshop-tickets-664560617697
Michael Milken, with Frank Luntz, & Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health at New Roads School – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Live Talks LA presents Michael Milken, in conversation with Frank Luntz, to discuss his book,Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health.
Beginning with a description of the culture that helped shape Milken’s early views, Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health traces the life-extending acceleration of progress in medical research, public health, and clinical treatments over the seven decades since Milken’s childhood—and shows how he helped transform the process of developing disease cures to accelerate medicine’s evolution from a dark past to a bright future.
Frank Luntz is a three-time New York Times best-selling author, a sought-after political, business and media consultant, a professor at almost a dozen universities and a regular commentator on television, radio and newspapers.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School, Herb Alpert Educational Village
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404 (Free Parking available at the venue)
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/michael-milken/
Author Talk: Tananarive Due & The Wishing Pool via Long Beach Public Library – Online Event
Join us for an Author Talk with Tananarive Due to discuss her book of stories, The Wishing Pool, as well as Black Panther.
Tananarive Due talks about her newest work, The Wishing Pool and Other Stories. Her stories offer readers horror, science fiction, and suspense while confronting monsters of all kinds, including racism, the monster within, and the supernatural. Due’s prolific body of work cements her as a leading voice in black speculative fiction.
Tananarive Due is an American Book Award–winning, Essence bestselling author of sixteen books. An award-winning writer, educator, and producer, Due’s body of work includes the Blood Colony, The Living Blood, The Good House, Joplin’s Ghost, Devil’s Wake, and the forthcoming The Reformatory. She is a contributing author of Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda and Black Panther: Sins of the King. Collaborating with her partner Steven Barnes, she also co-wrote “A Small Town” for Season 2 of Jordan Peele’s “The Twilight Zone” on Paramount Plus and two segments of Shudder’s anthology film Horror Noire. She was also a contributor to Jonathan Maberry’s middle grade anthology, Don’t Turn Out the Lights. She has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award. She teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Long Beach Public Library
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm – 9 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://longbeachpl.librarycalendar.com/event/author-talk-tananarive-due-zoom
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg & Feature Arthur Kayzakian at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Join host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Night for our Reading & Open Mic, with featured guest Arthur Kayzakian.
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 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry. He is also the author of the chapbook My Burning City, and a contributing editor at Poetry international. He serves as Poetry Chai for International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA). His work has appeared or is forthcoming from numerous publicaitons.
The format is to welcome a featured artist for an individual reading, as well as an Open Mic reading.
$4 cover fee, cash only.
NOTE: See site for further details, guidelines & information.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday the 28th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/497625285694161
Your Author Series: Brandy Colbert & Black Birds in the Sky at Memorial Branch Library, LAPL– In-Person Event
Your Author Series presents author Brandy Colbert to celebrate the launch of her latest nonfiction book, Black Birds in the Sky.
Brandy Colbert’s work has been recognized by the American Library Association, Kirkus Reviews, Vulture, Buzzfeed, Seventeen Magazine, and numerous other organizations and publications. Originally hailing from Springfield, Missouri, she resides in Los Angeles and is a faculty member at Hamline University’s MFA program in writing for children.
Those attending the program will have an opportunity to win a free book.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details.
Where: Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 4625 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/your-author-series-brandy-colbert-0
Author Event: Jacqueline Stolos, with Alexandria Hall, & Edendale at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Edendale Branch Library welcomes author Jacqueline Stolos, in conversation with Alexandria Hall, to discuss her novel, Edendale, which takes place in the community where the library is based.
This eco-horror debut explores the ways rape culture can permeate relationships of all kinds, making us examine our agency in our own lives and the world at large.
Jacquelyn Stolos is a writer living and teaching in Los Angeles. She holds an MFA in fiction from New York University where she was a Writers in the Public Schools Fellow. Jacquelyn is also the co-founder of LA’s Something Something Reading Series. Edendale, her first novel, was named a literary finalist in the 2020 Forward INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
Alexandria Hall is the Los Angeles-based author of Field Music, a winner of the National Poetry Series. She holds an MFA from NYU and is a Ph.D. candidate in Literature and Creative Writing at USC. She is a founding editor of tele- and co-host of You Shouldn’t Let Poets Lie to You. Her work has appeared in LARB Quarterly Journal, The Yale Review, DIAGRAM, No Tokens and The Bennington Review, among other publications.
The Edendale Library is at 2011 Sunset Blvd., enter through the parking lot on the Alvarado side. Email eden@lapl.org for more information. .
Copies are available to check out or check our e-media page for electronic access. Please bring book or author suggestions for future meetings.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/jacquelyn-stolos-author-edendale-conversation-alexandria-hall
Write Here Now Poets at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
The Write Here Now Poets event is listed on the store calendar with no details given See site or store for clarification.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 133 Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.chevaliersbooks.com/calendar
Open Mic: Besos y Puñales at Re/Arte Centro Literario – In-Person Event
Re/Arte presents our weekly Open Mic: Besos y Puñales.
Musica, poesia, comedia, lectura every Thursday.
Doors open at 6pm
Where: Re/Arte Centro Literario
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2123 East Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/pages/calendar-of-events or https://www.instagram.com/re.arte.la/?hl=en
Tim Z. Hernandez & Some of the Light at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Tim Z. Hernandez will present and discuss his poetry collection Some of the Light.
Some of the Light gathers the first 25 years of Hernandez’s award-winning poetry, offering 28 new poems and a glimpse at the trajectory of a rising contemplative American author.
At its core, Some of the Light contains collected poems of love, told through the lens of a single father raising two children alone in the borderlands. They are at times intimate and confessional, ranging from personal relationships to spiritual inquiry, from human rights to the environment, while between the cracks of the poems are poetic contemplations, chronicling the passing days of the pandemic.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/Tim-Z-Hernandez
At Skylight: Brandon Hoàng, with Maureen Goo, & Gloria Buenrostro Is Not My Girlfriend at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Brandon Hoàng, in conversation with Maureen Goo, will discuss his YA debut novel, Gloria Buenrostro Is Not My Girlfriend.
This book is a contemporary YA debut about a Vietnamese American boy who tries to attain popularity by befriending the most beautiful girl in school, inspired by the Vietnamese American author’s teen experience.
Gary Võ is one of the few Vietnamese kids in his school and has been shy for as long as he can remember—being ignored and excluded by his classmates comes with the territory. So when the most popular guy in his grade offers Gary the opportunity to break into his inner circle, Gary jumps at the chance. All he needs to do is steal the prized possession of the most beautiful and untouchable girl they know—Gloria Buenrostro.
But as Gary gets to know Gloria, he’s taken in by her authenticity and genuine interest in who he really is. Soon, they’re best friends. Being part of the “in crowd” has always been Gary’s dream, but as he comes closer to achieving infamy, he risks losing the first person who recognizes his true self. Gary must consider if any amount of popularity is worth losing a true friend.
Brandon Hoàng is the author of the YA debut, Gloria Buenrostro Is Not My Girlfriend. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Brandon grew up coveting The Baby-Sitters Club books and slurping noodles. Before he was a writer, Brandon spent 10 years as an animation executive. Now a television writer by day and novelist by night, he currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters.
Maurene Goo is the author of several acclaimed books for young adults, including I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Somewhere Only We Know. Her next book, Throwback, will be out in April from Zando Young Readers. She’s also written for Marvel’s Silk series. She lives and writes in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and cats.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Book Talk: Susan Hayden, with Steve Leder, & Now You Are a Missing Person at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join Susan Hayden, In conversation with Steve Leder, to discuss her new book, Now You Are a Missing Person.
This book is a new memoir about the marriage of love and grief.
Susan Hayden is a multigenre writer on a scavenger hunt for love, magic, and home in a disappearing landscape. Hayden is the creator and producer of Library Girl, an award-winning literary series now its 14th year at Ruskin Group Theatre. Now You Are a Missing Person is her first published book.
Steve Leder is the senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple. He is the author of five books: The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things, More Money Than God: Living a Rich Life Without Losing Your Soul, and the bestsellers More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us, The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift, and his newest release, For You When I Am Gone: Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story.
RSVP for the reading on our Eventbrite!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/27519
Vroman’s ED Presents: Dr. Kathleen Fitzgerald & Dreams: The Royal Road to Your Unconscience at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Dr. Kathleen Fitzgerald will present and discuss her new book, Dreams: The Royal Road to Your Unconscience.
Dreams are a portal into the deepest parts of our selves.
Illuminating all aspects of our inner world, we can tap into them to help us with healing and knowing ourselves better. Dreams can become a fountain of creative inspiration as we allow them to carry us toward what we value, awaken our instinctual wisdom, and express our wholeness.
This evening will support you in nurturing your inner wisdom. Bring your journal, pen, and some dreams.
Dr. Kathleen Fitzgerald, a Psychoanalyst, and Marriage and Family Therapist, working 30 years in diverse settings: community mental health, clinics, hospitals, schools, and colleges while maintaining a private practice. She is an adjunct faculty member at ArtCenter College of Design and Newport Psychoanalytic Institute.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, cost, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Boom Chicago Event: Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History at Book Soup Off-site at Gold-Diggers – In-Person Event
Book Soup presents the Boom Chicago! event, celebrating the Akashic Books publication of Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History by Boom founders Andrew Moskos, Pep Rosenfeld and Saskia Maas (along with co-author Matt Diehl), comedy icon Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II, Blockers) hosts a special evening never to be repeated – laughing, reminiscing, and improvising with Moskos, Rosenfeld, and an all-star cast of Boom alumni including Suzi Barrett (Drunk History, Kirby Buckets), Jill Benjamin (History of the World, Part II, GirlBoss), Liz Cackowski (SNL, Community), Heather Anne Campbell (Rick and Morty, Twilight Zone), Colton Dunn (Key & Peele, Superstore), Josh Meyers (History of the World, Part II, Red Oaks), and Nicole Parker (Wicked, MadTV). The night is capped by a rare performance by Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso’s Coach Beard) in his “Elvis Prestello” persona, along with appearances by surprise special guests… (A signed copy of Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History will be included in the event’s ticket price).
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Book Soup at Gold-Diggers
Date: Thursday the 29th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 5632 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/book-soup-presents-boom-chicago
Spectacular Storytime at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Spectacular Storytime is a weekly time to have fun with books with enthusiastic troubadour, Maddi!
Free to attend.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/spectacular-story-time-38
Friday Fire Event with Brenda Vaca & Quetzalcoatl Band – Online YouTube Event
Friday Fire Reading Event hosted by Branda Vaca presents Quetzalcoatl Band live on YouTube to celebrate its anniversary.
Free to attend.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Friday Fire
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 10 am PT
Address: Online YouTube Event
Website: https://www.instagram.com/iambrendavaca/?hl=en
Book Talk: Nathan Masters, with Greg Goldin, & Crooked at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Nathan Masters, in conversation with Greg Goldin, will discuss his book Crooked, about the forgotten narrative of the most corrupt attorney general in American history and the maverick senator who stopped at nothing to take him down.
Many tales from the Jazz Age reek of crime and corruption. But perhaps the era’s greatest political fiasco—one that resulted in a nationwide scandal, a public reckoning at the Department of Justice, the rise of J. Edgar Hoover, and an Oscar-winning film—has long been lost to the annals of history. In Crooked, Nathan Masters restores this story of murderers, con artists, secret lovers, spies, bootleggers, and corrupt politicians to its full, page-turning glory.
Packed with political intrigue, salacious scandal, and no shortage of lessons for our modern era of political discord, Nathan Masters’ thrilling historical narrative shows how this intricate web of inconceivable crookedness set the stage for the next century of American political scandals.
Nathan Masters has hosted and produced the Emmy Award-winning public television series Lost LA since 2016. He’s the author of hundreds of articles about Los Angeles history, and his true-life, longform story about America’s first policewoman is currently under development at Amazon Studios as a feature film. He works at the USC Libraries and lives in the mountains of Southern California with his wife, the author and television writer Kseniya Melnik, and their two children. Crooked is his first book.
Greg Goldin has spent the last decade writing about and curating exhibitions on Never Built Architecture. In his forty-plus years of journalism, he has covered everything, from the wrongful prosecutions of former Black Panther Party leader Geronimo Pratt and American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier, to wars in Central America, Apartheid in South Africa, and the nitty-gritty of Los Angeles’ streets. His newest books, the Phaidon Atlas of Never Built Architecture and Concrete will appear in 2024.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 133 Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crooked-by-nathan-masters-tickets-659982945757
LGBTQ+ Open Mic Night at Café con Libros Press, Pomona – In-Person Event
Liam and Charlie host a fun LGBTQ+ meeting. Share in a poem (serious, fun, or saucy) or enjoy a fun round of BEST STORY WINS!
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Café con Libros
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA 91766
Website: https://cafeconlibrospress.org/event-calendar/
Open Mic Night at Nervous Ghost Press, Pico Rivera – In-Person Event
Nervous Ghost Press offers an Open Mic every last Friday of the month. Community guest emcee is MZ Lavender.
Sign up today at ghosts@nervousghostpress.org.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Nervous Ghost Press at Brewjeria Co,
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 4937 Durfee Ave., Pico Rivera, CA
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs9mgsmpiSo/
SKEW Magazine Issue 04: Black Embodiment Launch Event at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
SKEW is a Black Art & Culture magazine produced annually by Level Ground. SKEW is a cooperatively owned magazine, and all sale profits go directly to the artists that create each issue. We are celebrating the release of our fourth issue, which explores the theme of Black Embodiment, and features the work of over 40 Black, predominantly queer artists.
SKEW will present a live poetry reading and screening of short films featured in our digital hub hosted by Langston Alimayu with performances from Bri Stokes, Rhys Langston, and more.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Friday the 30th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Japanese Storytime: Storytime & Read Alouds at Little Tokyo Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids & Family Event
Children, parents, and caregivers, please join us for our fun-filled Japanese storytime with our STAR volunteer readers! Geared for families and children of all ages.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Little Tokyo Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 11 am
Address: Online event
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/japanese-storytime-1
Book Discussions Group: Strangers to Ourselves at Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join your neighbors for lively discussions of a wide range of books and topics. Copies available at reference/information desk and as ebooks.
At this meeting participants will discuss Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us (2022) by Rachel Aviv.
In this book the acclaimed, award-winning New Yorker writer Rachel Aviv offers a groundbreaking exploration of mental illness and the mind, and illuminates the startling connections between diagnosis and identity.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 11 am
Address: 2920 Overland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-discussions
Book Club: Less Is Lost at Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join Los Feliz Branch Library Book Club participants to read this month’s selection for Pride Month, Less Is Lost by author Andrew Sean Greer.
This book is the sequel to the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Less, about Arthur Less, who yet again finds himself running away from his problems when he faces the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 11 am
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90021
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-8
Children’s Book Launch: Donn Swaby & It’ll Be Irie at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Join Donn Swaby to celebrate the debut of his picture book, It’ll be Irie: Staying True to Yourself.
Donn will talk about finding inspiration for the book, read the book, and host a Q&A session. There will also be refreshments (Jamaican Christmas cake and Hibiscus Tea with mint) as well as a table for kids’ activities (drawing, coloring, writing, etc.)
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/27336
Special Storytime: Brigette Barrager & Harmony & Echo: The Mermaid Ballet at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event
Brigette Barrager will discuss her new children’s book, Harmony and Echo: The Mermaid Ballet.
In a magical underwater world, a mermaid learns to overcome shyness and stage fright as she prepares for the Mermaid Ballet. A picture book that dazzles readers with the debut of two irresistible mermaids—Harmony and Echo—from the co-creator of the bestselling Uni the Unicorn!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 11 am
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Storytime-Brigette-Barrager-reading-Harmony-and-Echo
Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series & Open Mic at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Tell your story…
Join us in-person or via Zoom for Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series, featuring poetry readings and open poetry mic.
Please email studio@lapl.org for instructions on how to join the program.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/expressions-la-poetry-reading-series-and-open-mic-0
Deep Critique Writing Workshop via Saturday Afternoon Poetry – Online Zoom Event
A Deep Critique Poetry Writing Workshop will be held on Zoom only.
Meeting ID: 759 9367 3202 (no spaces required) Password: poetry
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Pondwater Presents: Lori & Daniel McGinn at Pondwater Society – In-Person Event
Pondwater Society and Joanne Qualey Baines welcome Lori & Daniel McGinn for poetry with a grand mystic couple, with Mello Lando.
We paint, we write, we read, we create things, we talk, we listen.
Join us for poetry, music, stories, or rants. This is an adult event and admission is free. A suggested donation of $10 if you would like to stay for dinner,
Where: Pondwater Society Presents
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 5 pm
Address: 16504 E. Masline St., Covina, CA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/991165691890613/
At Skylight: Liz Kerin, with Brea Grant, & Night’s Edge at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Liz Kerein, in conversation with Brea Grant, will discuss her novel, Nights’ Edge, about the darkest secrets we hide and how monstrous we can be to those we love most.
Having a mom like Izzy meant Mia had to grow up fast. No extracurriculars, no inviting friends over, and no dating. The most important rule: Tell no one of Izzy’s hunger—the kind only blood can satisfy.
But Mia is in her twenties now and longs for a life of her own. One where she doesn’t have to worry about anyone discovering their terrible secret or breathing down her neck. When Mia meets rebellious musician Jade she dares to hope she’s found a way to leave her home—and her mom—behind.
It just might be Mia’s only chance of getting out alive.
Liz Kerin is an author, playwright, screenwriter, and graduate of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is also the author of The Phantom Forest (2019). She lives in Southern California.
Brea Grant is an award-winning filmmaker, comic book writer, podcaster, and actor. She most recently directed the horror thriller TORN HEARTS for Blumhouse/Epix/Paramount starring Katey Sagal. She also wrote/directed 12 HOUR SHIFT (Tribeca 2020, winner of Best Screenplay at Fantasia 2020) starring Angela Bettis and David Arquette. The same year, she wrote/starred in the film LUCKY (SXSW 2020). She has also written/directed for Netflix and the CW and recently wrote/directed on the upcoming series UNCONVENTIONAL. She has written four comic series including the recent, MARY. She co-hosts a book podcast called Reading Glasses.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-liz-kerin-presents-nights-edge-w-brea-grant
Monthly Open Mic Event at LibroMobile, Santa Ana – In-Person Event
LibroMobile’s monthly Open Mic is hosted by Poet Kunthon “Katon” Meas.
Join us on 1st Saturdays for our open mic series hosted by Local Poet Kunthon “Katon” Meas, he’ll be featuring local writers & hold the mic for all of you!
RSVP
Where: LibroMobile
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1150 S. Bristol, #A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
El Martillo Press & FlowerSong Press Poets Group Reading at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Founded in Los Angeles in 2023 by Matt Sedillo and David A. Romero, and launched with a diverse group of celebrated and hardworking writers who embody the working-class intellectual spirit, El Martillo Press maintains an editorial board that makes its selections for publishing.
Poets featured at this reading include:
Caesar K. Avelar is the second poet laureate of Pomona, CA. As a poet, he is dedicated to the working class. His poems speak the truth, not only to people in a position of power, but also to the everyday person that views the working class as a stigmatized identity. Ceasar is of Central American descent. His mother is an immigrant from Honduras and his father is from El Salvador. Ceasar’s poems tell the stories of workers of color, their families, and the obstacles they face in the United States; not just as workers, but as immigrants living in a country where their existence is commodified.
Ceasar is the author of God of the Air Hose and Other Blue-Collar Poems. He is resident poet for Café con Libros Press, a cultural center and bookstore, and runs Obsidian Tongues open mic, which strives to bring poetry, art, and free expression to the community of Pomona.
Iris De Anda is a Guanaca Tapatia poet, speaker & musician who has been featured with KPFK & KPFA Pacifica Radio, organized with Academy of American Poets, performed at Los Angeles Latino Book Festival, Feria del Libro Tijuana, Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba and is named one of Today’s Revolutionary Women of Color. She is the author of Codeswitch: Fires from Mi Corazon and Roots of Redemption: You have No Right to Remain Silent.
Donato Martinez was born in in small pueblo, Garcia de la Cadena, Zacatecas, Mexico and immigrated into the USA at six years old. He teaches English Composition, Literature, and Creative Writing at Santa Ana College. He has also taught classes in Chicano Studies. He has been a co-coordinator of the Puente Program for 25 years. He hosts and curates many artistic events that feature poetry and music at his campus or in the community. He is also a poet and writes about his barrio experience, his community, his Chicano culture, bilingual identities, and other complexities of life. He is influenced by the sounds and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language.
Donato has a self-published collection with three other Inland Empire poets, Tacos de Lengua. His work has been published by City Works, East Side Rose, The Acentos Review, San Diego Poetry Annual, Ofrenda Magazine, The Mixtape Literary Journal, Latin@ Literatures, and La Raiz Magazine. He is the author of the collection, Touch the Sky, from El Martillo Press.
Fernando Albert Salinas received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Entertainment from Full Sail University and a Bachelor of Arts in English at California State University, Channel Islands. He has been associated with California Poets in the Schools as a member of the Board of Directors, a Ventura County Area Coordinator, and as a Master Poet-Teacher for over 10 years. He is also an Adjunct Professor of English at Ventura College, the Ventura County Area Coordinator and recitation coach for the California Arts Council’s Poetry Out Loud program, and the Editor-in-chief for Spit Shine Publishing. As Literary Arts Program Coordinator for the Ventura County Arts Council, he focuses on enhancing the presence and appreciation of poetry and the literary arts, raising awareness of the power of literature, poetry, and the spoken word.
In 2012, Salinas initiated the Groundswell Committee: a small collection of local poets, with the support of the Ventura County Arts Council, and created the County’s poet laureate program. In 2018, he implemented a youth poet laureate program for the county. His written poetry has appeared in several publications, including Askew Poetry, Solo Poetry Journal, Miramar, and Lummox Press. He is the author of the collection, Toxic Masculinity, from FlowerSong Press.
Natalie Sierra is a first generation Latinx author and poet. Natalie is the author of the feminist retelling of ‘Medusa’ (2020, DSTL Arts Press), for which her poem ‘Medusa is My Sister’ was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her work has been featured in dozens of publications, including Dryland, WestWind: A Journal of the Arts from UCLA, Medium, and the Los Angeles Times. In addition to her own poetic endeavors, Natalie is the Editor-In-Chief of Disquiet Arts, a Gothic literary magazine that publishes work from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, seeking to change the narrative on gothic & erotic content and the ownership thereof.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/events/71-6pm-el-martillo-press-group-reading/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctkdq-gP0Jq/
Open Night MIcat Vroman’s Hastings Ranch – In-Person Event
Share your talent! Acts must be no longer than 2 minutes, family friendly (appropriate for a 5-year-old) and can be anything! Dance, Acting, Poetry, Music, Magic, you name it. Participants can bring their own instruments but no dj sets. (It’s a small space)
2 Minute Max; Family Friendly; All ages welcome!
To participate: The signup sheet is now available at the Hasting Ranch Info Desk by June 30!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s Hastings Ranch
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3729 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Open-Mic-Night-at-Vromans-Hastings-Ranch-July-2023
Griot Café Open Mic with Sistah Shy & Samuel Rain & Featured Guest at Shades of Africa, Long Beach – In-Person Event
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.
Nopal Flower is the featured guest.
Where: Griot Café at Shades of Africa
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1001 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://shadesofafrika.com/griot-cafe-open-mic-poetry/
FIND WALDO IN La Cañada Flintridge: July Eventat Flintridge Bookstore – In-Person Event
The iconic children’s book character in the red-and-white-striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting twenty-five local businesses throughout our community this July. Find Waldo Local is a free, family-friendly summer activity in La Cañada coordinated by Flintridge Bookstore and a wonderful way to support local businesses, including Round Table Pizza, Constellation Coffee, Dr. Astrid Soegaard’s dentistry for children, Small Shop showroom and architectural offices, Sport Clips Haircuts, Button Nose Grooming and Pet Supply, C2 Education, Glen-Pacific Floor Designs, Golden Donut, La Canada Pool and Patio, Sport Clips, and the UPS store.
The hunt culminates with a party at the bookstore on Saturday, July 29, from 11:00 AM – noon to award prizes to the winners and for all to participate in more Waldo fun. And, pizza will be provided by our local Round Table.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Flintridge Books
Date: Sunday the 2nd (continues all month)
Time: 10 am – 8 pm
Address: 858 Foothill Blvd., La-Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
Book Launch: Artem Mozgovoy, with Madeleine Nakamura, & Spring in Siberia at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Red Hen (@redhenpress) presents the release of Spring in Siberia from their latest debut novelist Artem Mozgovoy (@artemograph).
Ocean Vuong calls the novel about a young boy who falls in love with the son of KGB agents “a work of earnest, grounded, and ultimately hopeful testimony of selfhood at the brink”.
Artem will be joined by Madeleine Nakamura, author of Cursebreakers, for a reading, conversation, and audience Q&A.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Sunday the 1st
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Sunday Jump Readings & Open Mic Series at Pilipino Workers Center – In-Person Event
Sunday Jump Presents Readings and an Open Mic series at the Pilipino Workers Center, every 1st Sunday of the month, May-November.
This is Sunday Jump’s 11th season! We’ll explore the captivating essence of Fluidity.
Features TBA.
Marginalized genders are prioritized and encouraged to share on the open mic, but all are welcome to sign up.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, sign-ups, and details.
Where: Pilipino Workers Center, 1st Floor
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 153 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sunday-jump-open-mic-series-tickets-619259731527?aff=erelpanelorg
July Happily Everyone After Book Club: A Dash of Salt and Pepper at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
The Ripped Bodice presents the July Happily Everyone After Book Club every 1st Sunday of the month, and today’s selection is A Dash of Salt and Pepper by author Kosoko Jackson.
The Happily Everyone After book club is led by bookseller Binta and reads widely across the romance genre. Everyone is welcome!
No membership is necessary, feel free to show up!
Book for July: A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson.
Sometimes two cooks in the kitchen are better than one in this swoony romantic comedy from the author of I’m So (Not) Over You.
Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. But when the heat between them threatens to top the Scoville scale, they’ll have to decide if they can make their relationship work or if life has seasoned them too differently.
Kosoko Jackson is a digital-media specialist, who lives in the New York Metro Area and spends too much time listening to Halsey and Taylor Swift.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 7:15 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Los Angeles Literature 