L.A. Zine Club & James Spooner at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online Teens/Adults Event
L.A. Zine Club on Zoom invites participants to hear from James Spooner, zine maker, graphic novelist & author of the book The High Desert and his new book, Black Punk Now by James Spooner.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 30th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/la-zine-club-james-spooner-author-high-desert-black-punk-now
Book Talk & Signing: Halloween All-Stars: SH Cotugno, Moss Lawton & Mackenzi Leeat Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
SH Cotugno, Moss Lawton & Mackenzi Lee will read and discuss their latest books.
S. H. Cotugno is a queer and mixed-race Victorian horror nerd born and raised in Los Angeles, California. They are a director, writer, and storyboard artist in the animation industry and have previously worked on projects such as Gravity Falls, The Owl House, and Star vs. the Forces of Evil. The Glass Scientists will be their first published graphic novel. You can see more of their work at seegoatrun.com or by following them on Twitter and Instagram (@arythusa).
Moss Lawton is a comic creator and storyboard artist from the Bay Area. They have worked as a story artist for tv and feature at studios including Netflix, Nickelodeon, Disney TV, Dreamworks TV, and Cartoon Network on projects such as Invader ZIM: Enter the Florpus, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans and Monsters at Work, as well as contributing to the Invader ZIM comics with Oni Press. Moss lives for Halloween and is currently working on their debut graphic novel with the support of their cat, Vincent.
Mackenzi Lee holds a BA in history and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Simmons College. She is the New York Times best-selling author of the historical fantasy novels Loki: Where Mischief Lies; The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, which won a 2018 Stonewall Honor Award and the New England Book Award; and its sequel, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Bygone Badass Broads, a collection of short biographies of forgotten women from history. In 2020, she was named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30 for her work in bringing minority narratives to historical fiction. When not writing, she works as an independent bookseller, drinks too much Diet Coke, and naps with her Saint Bernard, Queenie.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Monday the 30th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/halloween-all-stars-sh-cotugno-moss-lawton-mackenzi-lee-tickets-737624383387?aff=oddtdtcreator
Mar Vista Book Club & Communi-Tea: The Orphan Master’s Son at Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Mar Vista Book Club invites participants to discuss The Orphan Master’s Son: A Novel, by author Adam Johnson.
In this Pulitzer Prize winning novel set in North Korea the author follows an epic journey into the heart of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship. Part thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 30th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 12006 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mar-vista-book-club-books-and-communi-tea
Janna Monroe, with Dawn Haghighi, & Hearts of Darkness at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Janna Monroe, in conversation with Dawn Haghighi, will present and discuss her book, Hearts of Darkness: Serial Killers, the Behavioral Science Unit, and My Life as a Woman in the FBI.
Jana Monroe was no ordinary cop. One of the first analysts—and, at the time, the only female agent—in the world-renowned FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit at Quantico, she consulted on more than 850 homicide cases, including infamous serial killers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper, and Aileen Wuornos. Monroe was also the model for Clarice Starling in the movie version of The Silence of the Lambs; she even helped train Jodie Foster for her Oscar-winning role. Monroe’s later years found her dealing with the aftermath of Columbine, heading up the FBI’s post-9/11 investigation in Las Vegas, and much more.
In Hearts of Darkness, Monroe steps out from the shadows to tell the story of her astonishing life in shaping law enforcement and intelligence analysis. She explores the cases that have stayed with her, breaking down victimology, offering new insight into the minds of serial killers, and discussing the psychological toll of the job and the obstacles she faced as a woman in the male-dominated Bureau.
Dawn Haghighi is an independent board director for Elevate Services and general counsel for Murcor Real Estate, law and business school lecturer, global business, trade association and not for profit leader. She previously held senior legal roles at Princess Cruises, RBS/Citizens, and Nordstrom. She is a member of the FBI Los Angeles Citizens Academy 2023. In June 2023, she was selected as an Inaugural Member of The 50/50 Women To Watch In North America For Public Company Board Service.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Monday the 30th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA., 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Jana-Monroe-discusses-Hearts-of-Darkness
Monday Night Fiction Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Zoom Online Event
This free Monday Night Community Writing Workshop led by Raquel Baker is a 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 30th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-744151596457
Young Readers: Halloween at Vroman’s Boo-kstore – In-Person Kids Event
Tuesday, October 31st will be Halloween at Vroman’s Boo-kstore!
There will be a special Halloween themed storytime with Mr. Steve and Halloween crafts starting at 3pm.
After storytime, make your way through Vroman’s for trick-or-treating! We will have designated spots all around the Boo-kstore where young ghouls and goblins can happily haunt for goodies!
Costumes are highly encouraged!
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday the 31st
Time: 3 pm
Address: 695 E, Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA., 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Halloween-2023
Venice Library Book Club: Mexican Gothic via Venice-Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Venice Library Book Club participants will discuss Mexican Gothic, by author Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets…set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Venice-Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 31st
Time: 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/venice-book-club-1
Sharing True Stories via Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Sharing True Stories participants will 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!
RSVP:
To receive a Zoom invitation, please contact wwood@lapl.org.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 31st
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/life-stories-open-mic
Conchas y Café Zine Workshop: Fall Semester Theme: “Out of Place” at DSTL Arts – Online Event
This is a virtual only writing workshop. Register now at Google Classroom (app or web). Registration code: kdcmthg.
For more information: DSTLArts.org/conchasycafezine.
Where: DSTL Arts
Date: Tuesday the 31st (through 12/19/23)
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw0cb1GLt-6/
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Macabre Poetry Night with Brendan Constantine – Virtual Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest Brendan Constantine.
Brendan Constantine is a poet based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in many of the nation’s standards, including Poetry, The Nation, Best American Poetry, Tin House, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, and Poem-a-Day. He has served as a teacher of poetry in local schools and colleges since 1995.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 31st
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 31st
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups or https://www.facebook.com/events/213407634459999/?active_tab=discussion
Da Poetry Lounge: Women + Femmes 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 and special events) they hold open mic nights. At an open mic, all are welcome to share their poetry or sit in our audience.
Every 5th Tuesday is Women + Femmes Night, hosted by Jamine Williams + Yesika Salgado.
See details and guidelines at website link.
$10 donation. Do NOT line up prior to 7:30 p.m. Free parking adjacent to theatre.
Masks are encouraged. All ages are welcome.
Where: Greenway Court Theatre and YouTube Live Stream
Date: Tuesday the 31st
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/womenfemmes-night
Book Club: The Lincoln Lawyer at Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Chatsworth Branch Library Book Club participants will discuss The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.
In June 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven to his family farm in Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm. He plans to pick up his younger brother and go to California to start a new life, but his plans are changed by two friends from the work farm.
RSVP:
Please email Shawn at sstamm@lapl.org for participation details and the Zoom link.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 21052 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, CA 91311
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/chatsworth-branch-book-club-11
Mystery Book Club: The Witch Elm at Slymar Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Sylmar Branch Library Mystery Book Club participants will discuss The Witch Elm: A Novel by Tana French.
Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life—he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden—and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 2 pm
Address: 14561 Polk St., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-34
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, 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 1st
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
Junior Fiction Advanced Readers Group at Flintridge Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
AN INVITATION TO LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE/LA CRESCENTA BOOK LOVERS IN 5TH-6TH GRADES
Members of the Junior Fiction Advanced Readers Group are the first in town to read exciting new books, because they can borrow up to 2 free books each month from not-yet-published books provided by publishers.
The members then review the books and share their opinions with the group. Their suggestions help the bookstore decide which books to purchase.
The group meets from 3:30-4:30 in the bookstore on the first Wednesday of the month. Dates are Sept. 6, Oct 4, Nov 1, Dec 6. There is a total fee of $35. for all four meetings.
Membership in the Junior Fiction Advanced Readers Group is open to students in 5th and 6th grades who live or attend school in the La Cañada/La Crescenta area. Meetings are held at Flintridge Bookstore.
For questions, e-mail gailm@flintridgebooks.com. OTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Flintridge Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 858 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge, CA, 91011
Website: https://www.flintridgebooks.com/instore-events/2023/11/1/junior-fiction-advanced-readers-group
Graphic Novel Workshop Series at Will & Ariel Durant Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Graphic Novel Workshop Series is an opportunity to plan, write, and design your own graphic novel during this multi-week program. Each week, participants will explore diverse graphic novels and comics in our collection, complete shorter activities in design and creation, and work on a longer project to author their own pieces. Materials provided.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Will & Ariel Durant Branch Library
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 4 pm
Address: 7140 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website:https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/graphic-novel-workshop-series
Feedback Circle Workshop with Danielle Mitchell via The Poetry Lab – Online Event
The Feedback Circle is a 6-week series and is set up as both a large group and a small group breakout workshop led by Diane Mitchell where participants will take turns giving and receiving feedback on one poem. Then the whole group works together in a “traditional” workshop setting. Each class time, 2-3 people will have a chance to receive feedback on one poem from the entire group, including the workshop facilitator. Every participant will have the opportunity to schedule a 1:1 editorial session with the Feedback Circle facilitator, Danielle Mitchell.
Danielle Mitchell (she/her) is an intersectional feminist, poet, and teaching artist. She is the Founding Director of The Poetry Lab and author of Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry, winner of the Clockwise Chapbook Prize (Tebot Bach, 2017). Danielle is a survivor of sexual assault, chronic illness, and generalized anxiety disorder. As such, both her writing and her work as a mentor are informed by empathy, equity, and radical self-compassion.
Her poems have appeared in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Vinyl, Four Way Review, Transom, New Orleans Review, Nailed Magazine, and many other journals and anthologies. She holds a dual B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies and Creative Writing from the University of Redlands and is an alumna of the Community of Writers. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems about misogyny and the Internet.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, costs, and details.
Where: The Poetry Lab
Date: Wednesday the 1st (8th, & 15th)
Time: 5 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (via Zoom)
Website: https://www.thepoetrylab.com/feedback
Be the Change: Social justice Writing Workshop with James Coats – Online Event
Be the Change, a Social Justice Writing Workshop, is held every 1st Wednesday of the month and led by poet and author James Coats.
Workshop is free: name your own price.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Online Event
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event Zoom ID: 826 5843 0669 Password: justice
An Evening with Angie Kim: Angie Kim, with Elise Hu, & Happiness Falls at Bel Canto Book, KUBO LB – Online Event
Bel Canto Books and the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) LA chapter are honored to host an Evening with Angie Kim, bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek, at KUBO LB in Bixby Knolls. Angie will be joined in conversation by Elise Hu, journalist and author of Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture From the K-Beauty Capital.
In Happiness Falls, when a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and each other.
Angie Kim moved as a preteen from Seoul, South Korea, to the suburbs of Baltimore. After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied philosophy at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her debut novel, Miracle Creek, won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award, and the Pinckley Prize and was named one of the best books of the year by Time, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and the Today show. Angie Kim lives in northern Virginia with her family.
Elise Hu is a correspondent and host at-large for NPR, the American news network; and since April 2020, the inaugural host of TED Talks Daily, the daily podcast from TED that’s downloaded a million times a day in all countries of the world. For three years, she was the NPR bureau chief responsible for coverage of North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. Her work has earned a DuPont Columbia Award, a Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism, a National Edward R. Murrow award, and beat-reporting awards from the Texas Associated Press. She lives in Los Angeles with her three daughters.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Bel Canto at KUBO LB
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach CA
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/angie-kim-happiness-falls-tickets-726769064837
History Book Club: Killers of the Flower Moon at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
History Book Club participants will discuss this month’s selection, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by author David Grann.
Killers of the Flower Moon is set in the 1920s, when the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off.
David Grann is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON was a finalist for The National Book Award and won an Edgar Allan Poe Award. He is also the author of THE WHITE DARKNESS and the collection THE DEVIL AND SHERLOCK HOLMES. Grann’s storytelling has garnered several honors, including a George Polk Award. He lives with his wife and children in New York.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/history-book-club-killers-flower-moon
Reading in Bed with Jessica via Los Angeles Poet Society – Online Event
Reading in Bed with Jessica is offered every Wednesday from 6 pm – 8 pm at 101.5FM, where host Jessica Wilson Cardenas hosts literary and performance artist guests in conversation.
Guests TBA
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Online Event
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: www.radioollin.org
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
David Ulin & Alta Journal Issue Party at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
David Ulin will present and celebrate Alta magazine’s Issue 25. The event will feature readings by authors David L. Ulin and Jonathan Lethem and a live version of Alta’s “Ask a Californian” column by Stacey Grenrock Woods and Gustavo Arellano.
Alta books editor Ulin will read from his new novel, Thirteen Question Method, and author Lethem will present his latest, Brooklyn Crime Novel. Making their first-ever live appearance together will be their Ask a Californian advice columnists, Arellano and Woods—so come ready with all your pressing California questions!
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Alta-Journal_issue-25-Party-Author-signing
Nathan Hill & Wellness: A Novel at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Nathan Hill will present and discuss his novel, Wellness, which reimagines the love story with a healthy dose of insight, irony, and heart.
When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the ’90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars, and something called Love Potion Number Nine.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/nathan-hill
Rosanna Xia & California Against the Sea at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Rosanna Xia will present and discuss her book California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline.
Rosanna Xia is an environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. Her work covers feature writing to investigative reporting and engages themes of climate and social justice. Xia’s reporting has uncovered the dumping of toxic DDT waste off the Los Angeles coast; set the record straight on the seizure of Bruce’s Beach from its Black proprietors (prompting an unprecedented reparative land return in 2022); explored the impacts of coastal gentrification; and articulated the dangers posed to shorelines by pollution and heating oceans. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting on sea level rise, which inspired the work that culminated in California Against the Sea. Her writing has been anthologized in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 6040 N, Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lnml3tf0
Marissa Crawford, with Guests, & Dairy at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event
Marissa Crawford will present and discuss her book Diary.
Dopamine and the Poetic Research Bureau present the book launch of Marisa Crawford’s new poetry collection, Diary, hosted by Michelle Tea. Joining Crawford will be literary luminaries Myriam Gurba, Tara Jepsen, Morgan Parker, Amanda Faye-Jimenez, and Amelia Ada.
Marisa Crawford is the author of the poetry collections The Haunted House, Reversible, and, most recently, DIARY (Spuyten Duyvil, 2023). She is the editor of The Weird Sister Collection (Feminist Press, forthcoming 2024), and co-editor, with Megan Milks, of We Are The Baby-Sitters Club: Essays & Artwork from Grown-Up Readers. Marisa is co-host of the 90s rock podcast All Our Pretty Songs. She lives in New York.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/marisa-crawford-diary
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 — 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@gmail.com or call (323) 293-2451
Where: The World Stage
Date: Wednesday the 1st
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 this quarter is James Fujinami Moore, whose debut poetry collection is indecent hours (Four Way Books, 2022), winner of the GLCA New Writers Award in Poetry and finalist for the Golden Poppy’s Martin Cruz Smith Award & the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Poetry. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Barrow Street’s 4×2, The Brooklyn Rail, Guesthouse, Jet Fuel Review, The Margins, the Pacifica Literary Review, and Prelude. He has received fellowships from Poets House, Bread Loaf, and the Frost Place, and received his MFA from Hunter College in 2016. He lives 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 1st
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-night-poetry-workshop-tickets-746129131317
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg & Jess June Kato 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 Jess June Kato.
Jessica June Cato (she/they) is a writer, poet, and Lead Astrologer at The Poetry Lab, a community learning space for creative writers. Her work has been published by Nightingale & Sparrow, Sampaguita Press and Chicanx Writers and Artists Association, with forthcoming publications in anthologies from Decolonize Your Mind and Querencia Press. Her debut poetry chapbook, Through The Red Door’s Open Maw, is available now from Beyond The Veil Press. Her favorite things include making memes, writing workshops, Nintendo switch, and her two small poodles. You can find her on socials talking about Astrology For Poets, her series of articles, videos, podcast episodes and upcoming workshop on astrology, poetry, and the ways they intertwine @jessjunewrites.
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.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday the 1st
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/people/Two-Idiots-Peddling-Poetry/ or https://allevents.in/mobile/amp-event.php?event_id=200025661056133
Book Talk & Signing: Richard Sandler & Witness to a Prosecution at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Richard Sandler will read from and discuss his new book, WITNESS TO A PROSECUTION: THE MYTH OF MICHAEL MILKEN.
In 1986, the SEC and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York began an investigation into Michael Milken, Drexel Burnham Lambert, and its High Yield and Convertible Bond Department, a department Michael created and was head of. Michael was the most successful and innovative financier of his time. Drexel, an upstart investment bank was also the most successful securities firm on Wall Street.
What was the investigation into Michael Milken going to focus on, other than his innovation in the financial markets? Richard Sandler decided to represent Michael as his personal lawyer, and to be responsible for working with the lawyers they hired as well as overseeing the defense. But they could never have dreamed of the chaos that lay ahead.
A veteran investor, Richard Sandler has overseen partnership investments in securities, business transactions and various commercial and industrial real estate projects. He serves on a number of for profit and nonprofit boards and is a past chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, and UCLA Law School Board of Advisors and is current chair of Milken Community School. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles Law School.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Public Works Improv Presents: Art Night of Artists & Poets at Alexandria Hotel – In-Person Event
Public Works Improv presents an Art Night of artists and poets at the Alexandria Hotel, hosted by Lee Boek/DJ Peter Woods and featuring performers:
Hendy Foote (Music)
Traci Kato-Kiriyama, author of Navigating With(out) Instruments (Writ Large Press), is an award-winning multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, community organizer, and audiobook narrator.
Bridgette Bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Howard University and her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Otis College of Art & Design. bridgette bianca’s work as a writer and an educator seeks to serve the people and moments most forget or ignore. Her first book of poetry, be/trouble, was released by Writ Large Press in 2020. bridgette bianca also guest hosts literary events across Los Angeles.
Jeff Rogers is a poet and writer and the author of Right Wrong Night Song from Writ Large Press.
Iya Isoke-Hurd has a poetic voice. Her mantra is “language is a code, use it, or be used by it.”
Anna Broome is a poet, writer and performer, and the author of Orthodox Bats and Women Napping with Animals.
Linda Kaye is a poet, theatrical poetry producer, retired social worker and professor.
Lisbeth Coiman is a bilingual writer, educator, cultural commentator, and rezandera from Venezuela. She is the author of two books, I Asked the Blue Heron: A Memoir, 2017. And Uprising / Alzamiento, from Finishing Line Press, June 2021.
Richard McDowell N/A
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Alexandria Hotel
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 501 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (Corner of 5th and Spring St.)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/
CJ Leede, with Diablo Cody, & Maeve Fly at Book Soup – In-Person Event
CJ Leede, in conversation with Diablo Cody, will present and discuss her novel Maeve Fly.
By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess. By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes. But when Gideon Green—her best friend’s brother—moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/cj-leede
Pop Pantheon Live: Britney’s Memoir, Music + Legacyat North Figueroa Bookshop off-site at The Crawford Center – In-Person Event
She’s so lucky, she’s a star. But Britney Spears has charted one of the most challenging, complex paths through the music business since the dawn of pop. Following the release of Britney’s new memoir, The Woman in Me, Pop Pantheon podcast host DJ Louie XIV (he/him) has gathered an all-star panel of guests to discuss Britney’s life and music LIVE. Louie will be joined onstage by Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music Jason King (he/him), Beyond The Blinds podcast host (and Britney superfan) Troy McEady (he/him), and podcaster and journalist Kirbie Johnson (she/her) to tackle how Britney’s public narrative has impacted her legacy as the definitive pop superstar of her generation, discuss her innovative music and parse apart where she sits in the current pop firmament. And stick around after the show for a special Britney edition of Gorgeous Gorgeous, a pop party for queer and trans hotties by DJ Louie and friends! Buttery Popcorn Co. will be onsite starting at 6:15 p.m. to serve up some fresh POPcorn and North Figueroa Bookshop will be selling Britney’s new memoir along with other pop culture picks!
This event is part of Studios Presents—a series of live podcast events and tapings, featuring the best of LAist Studios as well as curated podcasts from other creators.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop Off-site at The Crawford Center
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 474 S. Raymond, Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lnwcwqyn
Scripps Presents: U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, in conversation with Lynne Thompson, at The Garrison Theatre – In-Person Event
Ada Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of The United States. She is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her book Bright Dead Things was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Limón’s work has been supported most recently by a Guggenheim Fellowship. She was the host of the critically acclaimed poetry podcast, The Slowdown. She grew up in Sonoma, California and now lives in Lexington, Kentucky where she writes and teaches remotely. Her new book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, is out now from Milkweed Editions.
Ada will be joined in conversation by Lynne Thompson, former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles and Poet Laureate Fellow of the Academy of American Poets. The author of three collections of poetry, Beg No Pardon, winner of the Perugia Press and Great Lakes Colleges New Writers Award; Start With A Small Guitar; and Fretwork, winner of the 2019 Marsh Hawk Poetry Prize. Lynne’s newest collection, Blue on a Blue Palette, will be published in Spring 2024. Thompson sits on the Boards of The Poetry Foundation, Cave Canem, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. In June of 2022, she completed her four-year service as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Scripps College and continues serving as a member of the Board.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Garrison Theatre
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 231 E 10th St., Claremont, CA 91711
Website: https://www.scrippscollege.edu/events/calendar/scripps-presents-ada-limon-in-conversation
At Skylight: Chris L. Terry & James Spooner, & BLACK PUNK NOW at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Chris L. Terry and James Spooner will present and discuss their anthology, BLACK PUNK NOW.
This anthology, Black Punk Now, is created by generations of Black punks—featuring both new voices and those from the not-so-recent past. It contains contemporary nonfiction, fiction, illustrations, and comics that collectively describe punk today and give punks—especially the Black ones—a wider frame of reference. It shows all of the strains, styles, and identities of Black punk that are thriving, and gives newcomers to the scene more chances to see themselves.
James Spooner is known for directing the seminal documentary Afro-Punk (2003) and co-creating the Afro Punk Festival. His graphic memoir The High Desert, about being Black in small-town California and finding salvation in punk, came out in 2022.
Chris L. Terry is the author of the novel Black Card, one of NPR’s best books of 2019. Terry’s debut novel Zero Fade was on Best of 2013 lists by Slate and Kirkus Reviews. Born in 1979 to a Black father and white mother, Terry spent his late teens and early twenties touring as the vocalist for different Richmond, Virginia punk bands. He has a Creative Writing MFA from Columbia College Chicago, and now lives and teaches in Los Angeles. His recent work has appeared in Pitchfork, Stereogum, Razorcake, Very Smart Brothas/The Root, Catapult and theLAnd Magazine.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm
Where: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-chris-l-terry-james-spooner-present-black-punk-now
Book Launch: Fariha Rosen, with Gabi Abrāo, & Survival Takes a Wild Imagination at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Stories presents the book launch of Survival Takes a Wild Imagination,byauthor Fariha Rosen, with a reading by Gabi Abrāo (Notes on Shapeshifting).
Poet and activist Fariha Róisín is writing, praying, clawing, and scratching her way out of the grips of generational trauma on the search for the freedom her mother never received and the kindness she couldn’t give.
Fariha Róisín is a multidisciplinary artist, born in Ontario, Canada. She was raised in Sydney, Australia, and is based in Los Angeles, California. As a Muslim queer Bangladeshi, she is interested in the margins, liminality, otherness, and the mercurial nature of being. Her work has pioneered a refreshing and renewed conversation about wellness, contemporary Islam, and queer identities and has appeared in The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Vice, Village Voice, and others.
Gabi Abrāo is an artist, writer, and digital creator that was born and raised in West Los Angeles. She is also known under her Internet username, @sighswoon. All of her life’s work is devoted to developing a language with the invisible.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Tonalli Open Mic Event via Los Angeles Poet Society – Online Event
The Tonalli Open Mic is offered every 1st Thursday of the month online via L.A. Poet Society.
Hosted by Angel Miguel Lopez, the event will feature guest poets and offer an open mic via Zoom.
Features TBA
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Los Angeles Poet Society
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event via Zoom: 897 1039 1895
Website: https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesPoetSociety or https://www.instagram.com/lapoetsocietypress/
John Densmore, with Fred Armisen, & The Doors Unhinged at Vroman’s off-site at All Saints Church – In-Person Event
John Densmore, in conversation with Fred Armisen, will discuss his book, The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison’s Legacy Goes on Trial.
In The Doors Unhinged, author and Doors drummer John Densmore offers a powerful exploration of the “greed gene”—that part of the human psyche that propels us toward the accumulation of more and more wealth, even at the expense of our principles, friendships, and the well-being of society. This is the gripping account of the legal battle to control The Doors’ artistic destiny.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s off-site at All Saints Church
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena, CA., 91101
All Women’s Open Mic with Kate Burnsat Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
This Open Mic event will be hosted by local poet and author Kate Burns to provide a platform for female poets, musicians, storytellers, and comedians. While all are welcome to attend, this is an event that aims to amplify women’s voices only.
Acts are limited to 3-5 minutes in length. Sign-ups begin at 7:00 pm and conclude at 7:30 pm!
Also, please note that not all material may be considered “family-friendly” so please use discretion when deciding whether to bring children.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday the 2nd
Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/30981
Live Talks LA Presents Caster Semenya, with Diana Nyad, & The Race to Be Myself at Gloria Kaufman Performing Arts Center – In-Person & Virtual Hybrid Event
Caster Semenya, in conversation with Diana Nyad, will present and discuss her memoir,The Race to Be Myself.
World champion runner Caster Semenya offers an account of her life and career, and her trailblazing battle to compete on her own terms.
Caster Semenya, OIB, is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women’s 800 meters. The Race to Be Myself is her debut. She lives in Pretoria, South Africa.
Diana Nyad is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and long-distance swimmer. Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan (28 miles) and in 1979 when she swam from North Bimini, The Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida (102 miles). In 2013, on her fifth attempt and at age 64, she became the first person to have swum from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, swimming from Havana to Key West (110 miles).
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Gloria Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar
Date: Thursday the 2nd (Virtual event on November 8th)
Time: 8 pm
Address: 3200 Motor Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90034
(Free Parking available at the venue)
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/caster-semenya/
Specktacular 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 3rd
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
Book Reading: Adam Nagourney & The Times at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Adam Nagourney will discuss and read his book, The Times.
The Times is a sweeping behind-the-scenes look at the last four turbulent decades of “the paper of record,” The New York Times, as it confronted world-changing events, internal scandals, and faced the existential threat of the internet.
Adam Nagourney covers national politics for The New York Times. Since joining the newspaper in 1996, he has served as Los Angeles bureau chief, West Coast cultural affairs reporter, chief national political correspondent, and chief New York political reporter. He is the co-author of Out for Good, a history of the modern gay rights movement. His newest book is titled, The Times.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Anna Biller & Bluebeard’s Castle at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Anna Biller will present and discuss her book, Bluebeard’s Castle: A Novel.
When the successful British mystery writer Judith Moore meets Gavin, a handsome and charming baron, at a birthday party on the Cornish coast, his love transforms her from a bitter, lonely young woman into a romance heroine overnight. After a whirlwind honeymoon in Paris, he whisks her away to a secluded Gothic castle. But soon she finds herself trapped in a nightmare, as her husband’s mysterious nature and his alternation between charm and violence become increasingly frightening.
Anna Biller is a filmmaker and a writer known for her feminist point of view, and for her meticulously crafted visual design. The New York Times called her cult film The Love Witch “a hothouse filled with deadly and seductive blooms,” and Indiewire called her debut feature Viva “a pitch perfect resurrection of the Valley of the Dolls days of cinema.” She is currently in development for a ghost movie set in medieval England. Bluebeard’s Castle is her first novel.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/anna-biller
Mobar Coffee Co. Open Micat Mobar Coffee Co. – In-Person Event
Calling all Musicians, Authors, Poets, Stand Up Comedians and much more! Share your art with our local community and enjoy half off drinks!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Mobar Coffee Co.
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 4884 Huntington Drive South, Los Angeles, CA
Website: https://allevents.in/los%20angeles/mobar-coffee-co-open-mic/10000399851395287
Serpentine Monthly Poetry Showcase + Open Micat North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Serpentine is a monthly open mic poetry reading with featured poets curated and hosted by Ingrid M. Calderon-Collins.
Bring us your works-in-progress, your experiments, your magnum opuses – all are welcome!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 6040 N, Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Mimi Tempestt & The Delicacy of Embracing Spirals at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
Multi-disciplinary artist and writer Mimi Tempestt will present and discuss her debut poetry collection, The Delicacy of Embracing Spirals. They will be joined by author, cultural worker + narrative strategist, Jade Daniels and editor, publishing company owner + creative educator, Sondria Bailey.
mimi tempestt (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and daughter of California. She has a M.A. in Literature from Mills College and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Creative/Critical Ph.D. in Literature at UC Santa Cruz. Her first book, the monumental misrememberings, was published with Co-Conspirator Press//The Feminist Center for Creative Work in 2020. In 2021, she was selected for participation in the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices & Writers and was a Creative Fellow at The Ruby in San Francisco. Her works can be found in Foglifter, Interim Poetics, and at the Studio Museum in Harlem. A native of Los Angeles, she currently resides in Berkeley, CA.
Jade Daniels is an author, cultural worker, narrative strategist, and interdisciplinary artist currently based in Long Beach, California. Jade’s motivating force in her work is to create and contribute to generative spaces of healing, connection, storytelling, and culture- building with a focus on anti-imperial, anti-capitalist, global struggle specifically informed and centered by the labor and contributions of Black women, femmes, gender non- conforming and gender expansive people.
Sondria Bailey is an author, editor, publishing company owner, creative educator, and mom. She conducts business from the Inland Empire of southern California and is vehemently enthusiastic about Black folks recording and telling their own stories.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)
Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016
Website: https://rep.club/products/event-mimi-tempestt?_pos=3&_sid=beadb9418&_ss=r
At Skylight: Molly McGhee, with Sarah Rose Etter, & Nathan Abernathy You Are Kind at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Molly McGhee, in conversation with Sarah Rose Etter, will present and discuss her book, Nathan Abernathy You Are Kind, a stunning, critical work of surrealist fiction, a piercing critique of late-stage capitalism, and a reckoning with its true cost.
Molly McGhee touches on themes most people know all too well—the relentlessly crushing weight of debt, the recognition that work won’t love you back and the awkwardness of finding love when you are without hope. A workplace novel, at once tender, startling, and deeply funny, Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind is a stunning, critical work of surrealist fiction, a piercing critique of late-stage capitalism, and a reckoning with its true cost.
Molly McGhee is from a cluster of unincorporated towns outside of Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her M.F.A. in fiction at Columbia University, where, in addition to receiving a Chair’s Fellowship, she taught in the undergraduate creative writing department. She has worked in the editorial departments of McSweeney’s, The Believer, NOON, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Tor. Currently living in Brooklyn, her work has appeared in The Paris Review.
Sarah Rose Etter is the author of the chapbook Tongue Party and The Book of X, winner of a Shirley Jackson Award for best novel. Her work has appeared in Time, Guernica, BOMB, the Bennington Review, The Cut, VICE, and elsewhere. She has been awarded residences at the Jack Kerouac House, the Disquiet International program in Portugal, and the Gullkistan in Iceland. She earned her BA in English from Pennsylvania State University and her MFA in fiction from Rosemont College. She lives in Los Angeles. For more info, visit SarahRoseEtter.com.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm
Where: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Book Launch: Lexi Kent-Monning, with Guests, & The Burden of Joy at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Stories presents the book launch of Lexi Kent-Monning’s debut novel The Burden of Joy, with additional readings from: Gabrielle Korn, Tex Gresham, Grace Krilanovich, and Katya Apekina. Hosted by Kevin M. Kearney.
Lexi Kent-Monning is an alumna of the Tyrant Books workshop Mors Tua Vita Mea in Sezze Romano, Italy, taught by Giancarlo DiTrapano and Chelsea Hodson. Lexi’s writing has been published or is forthcoming in XRAY, Joyland, Tilted House Review, Neutral Spaces, Little Engines, and elsewhere. A native Californian, she now lives in Brooklyn, NY.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Vroman’s Presents: Reggie Watts & Great Falls MT at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Comedian and musician Reggie Watts will present and discuss his story of growing up in Montana as a biracial oddball struggling to navigate life, girls, drugs, and his own identity in America’s heartland—and having a blast doing it.
Reggie Watts is weird. But you knew that. Anyone who’s seen his multifaceted, entirely improvised comedy and music shows knows that. Reggie Watts is also from the town of Great Falls, MT.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, options, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E, Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA., 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Vromans-presents-Reggie-Watts-discussing-Great-Falls-MT
An Evening of Poetry: Zack Rogow, Lynne Thompson, Michelle Bitting at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Live YouTube Hybrid Event
Beyond Baroque hosts an evening of poetry with the incredible poets Zack Rogow, Lynne Thompson & Michelle Bitting.
The authors will be reading new and selected works at Beyond Baroque. Books of the authors’ most recent titles will be available for purchase and signing.
Enjoy a reception with light refreshments before and after the program.
Zack Rogow is the author, editor, or translator of more than twenty books or plays. His ninth poetry collection, Irreverent Litanies, was issued by Regal House. His play Colette Uncensored had its first staged reading at the Kennedy Center and ran in London, Indonesia, San Francisco, and Portland. His blog, Advice for Writers, has more than 275 posts. He serves as a contributing editor of Catamaran Literary Reader. http://www.zackrogow.com.
Lynne Thompson is the former 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.
Michelle Bitting was short-listed for the 2023 CRAFT Character Sketch Challenge, the 2020 Montreal International Poetry Prize, the 2021 Fish Poetry Contest judged by Billy Collins, and a finalist for the 2021 Coniston Prize and 2020 Reed Magazine Edwin Markham Prize. She won Quarter After Eight’s 2018 Robert J. DeMott Short Prose Contest and was a finalist for the 2021 Ruminate Magazine, 2019 Sonora Review and New Millennium Flash Prose contests. She is the author of five poetry collections, Good Friday Kiss, winner of the inaugural De Novo First Book Award; Notes to the Beloved, which won the Sacramento Poetry Center Book Award; The Couple Who Fell to Earth; Broken Kingdom, winner of the 2018 Catamaran Poetry Prize; and Nightmares & Miracles (Two Sylvias Press, 2022), winner of the Wilder Prize and recently named one of Kirkus Reviews 2022 Best of Indie. Her chapbook Dummy Ventriloquist is forthcoming in 2024. Bitting is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Literature at Loyola Marymount University.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 8 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 7:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291
SWAAM Spoken Word, Art & Music Event at Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center – In-Person Event (Check to Confirm)
SWAAM Spoken Word, Art & Music is hosted by Loranzo Frank and features an Open Mic, Live Band, food and drinks, plus featured guests.
Don’t miss featured guest TBA live at SWAAM.
This event is offered every 1st & 3rd Fridays of the month.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 8 pm
Address: 2851 Overland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: N/A (Check to Confirm)
First Fridays Rapp Saloon Reading Series, with host Cynthia Alessandra Briano, via Rapp Saloon – Hybrid In-Person & Online Event
First Fridays at Rapp Saloon: Open Mic & Featured Readers, is offered every 1st Friday of the month by host Cynthia Alessandra Briano.
This event is a HYBRID event, with a return to live in-person events while maintaining at HISUA Zoom option for our performers and guests.
Our featured guest poets and artists this month TBA
We invite you to join us in amplifying and celebrating Black voices by bringing a poem or prose excerpt by a Black author to read alongside your own work. All themes/formats welcome. All languages welcome.
Share your voice at the Open Mic, where there is a time limit of 4 minutes max. Sign-ups are at 8:15 pm. Zoom ID posted 3 hours prior to event.
NOTE: See site for event details.
Where: Rapp Saloon at HISUA – In-Person & Online Event
Date: Friday the 3rd
Time: 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Address: 1436 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Website: https://www.facebook.com/RappSaloon
Western Edge Writers Workshop at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Writers and aspiring writers, join us for a group that supports writing endeavors of all genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction and memoir.
Please email eaglrk@lapl.org for the writing prompt.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 10 am
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90041
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/western-edge-writers
1st Annual Indie-Pendant Voices Festival: A Celebration of the Written Word and Self Expression & DIY Culture at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The first annual Inde-Pendant Voices Celebration will be full of panel discussions, workshops, and other events and is free to attend.
Some selected events are highlighted individually in the listings below.
Check further details and information at www.lapl.org/indie
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 10 am – 3 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/indie-pendent-voices
1st Annual Indie-Pendant Voices Festival: A Celebration of Authors and Zines at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Do you like to make things? Do you love the process of a project? Are you zine passionate, OR perhaps zine curious?
Join Candace Hansen to learn a brief history of zines and make your own! See, touch, feel, and read zines from the Los Angeles zine community at our zine petting zoo, and make your own zine with our special materials as well as guided activities inspired by the library to get your creative juices flowing.
No experience is required. This one-hour workshop will kick off the library’s Year-End Reading Challenge. We will provide materials to create experimental collages and poetry zines, but anything goes. Have fun! Make friends! Make art!
The Octavia Lab is a do-it-yourself maker space located inside the Los Angeles Public Library’s historic Central Library.
RSVP:
Registration is required to attend this in-person program. For participation details, please email rsvpoctavialab@lapl.org.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Octavia Lab
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 10 am – 3 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/indie-pendent-voices-zine-making-zinester-candace-hansen
Bel Canto Books Indie Bookstore Field Trip #16 to Zibby’s & Diesel in Santa Monica – In-Person Event
Bel Canto Books will lead their 16th Indie Bookstore Field Trip, this time to Zibby’s Bookshop and Diesel Bookstore in Santa Monica.
Schedule:
1) We’ll meet at 10am at Zibby’s Bookshop and browse for a bit, gathering at 10:45am for introductions and a group photo.
2) Then we’ll head to Diesel Bookstore (a 6-minute drive) for more bookstore browsing and a group photo at 11:45pm.
3) For those interested, we’ll convene afterwards at a nearby coffee shop or restaurant for a quick lunch or snack (meal on own).
Your Field Trip Leader:
Jhoanna Belfer is a lifelong book nerd, travel addict, and owner/founder of Bel Canto Books in Long Beach, California, which was featured in Bibliophile: Diverse Spines. Her favorite genres to read are literary fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, and graphic memoir. Two bookstores on her travel bucket list are Loyalty Bookstore in Washington, DC and Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Zibby’s Bookshop & Diesel Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 10 am at Zibby’s and 11 pm at Diesel
Addresses: Zibby’s: 1113 Montana Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90403;
Diesel: 225 26th Street, Suite #33, Santa Monica CA 90402
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/indie-bookstore-field-trips-16-santa-monica-tickets-740596814007
Westwood Book Club: The Swimmers at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss The Swimmers, by author Annie Proulx.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-3
Poetry Workshop at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join this inclusive, in-person poetry workshop where poets of all levels can come together, share their work, and foster a vibrant poetry community. Participants are invited to bring a poem, no longer than one page, to read and receive valuable feedback from fellow poets. Engage in thoughtful discussions and provide your own insights on the work of others. Whether you’re a seasoned poet or just starting out, this workshop offers a supportive environment to refine your craft, connect with like-minded individuals, and celebrate the power of words.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL Literature & Fiction Study Rooms
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-workshop-0
So You Want to Be a Writer: Workshop with James Coats at Riverside Main Library – In-Person Teen Event
Author and writer James Coats will lead a free writing workshop for teens ages 13-19 on Saturdays from September 9 through November 11, 2023.
This fall, Inlandia brings college-level creative writing workshops to teen-aged creatives thanks to a unique partnership with the City of Riverside Library. Led by James Coats, working writers drawn from the area community will lead teens through a ten-week progressive series. The program will be held at the Riverside Main Library on Saturdays beginning September 9, from 12:00 – 2:00 PM.
Workshop leader James Coats, himself an author, poet, and educator, will welcome a new guest writer each week, offering teens the opportunity to learn from professional working writers in a library environment. Topics will include: poetry, and the different modes of poetic expression; memoir and memory; fiction writing including micro fiction, flash, short stories, and long-form fiction; journalism and the newspaper industry; writing for magazines and periodicals; reading and performing your work for an audience; strategies for revising work toward publication; what it’s like to be an editor; and getting published. The final session will be a public reading and discussion.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Riverside Main Library
Date: Saturday the 4th (through November 11th)
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: 3900 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA 92501
Kids Graphic Novel Book Club: Shakti at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Kids Graphic Novel Book Club participants will discuss this month’s selection, Shakti, by author SJ Sindu & Nabi H, Ali.
Shakti is at another new school, but her mom’s promise this move will hold for at least the four years it will take to complete one of her mom’s PhD in Microbiology. With a new brother on the way, Shakti is ready to make friends and settle in, but something is off in her new town…
SJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora writer whose works include the novels Marriage of a Thousand Lies (winner of the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction and an ALA Stonewall Honor Book) and Blue-Skinned Gods (finalist for a Lambda Literary Award) as well as the graphic novel Shakti, the short story collection The Goth House Experiment, and the chapbooks I Once Met You But You Were Dead and Dominant Genes. Sindu holds a PhD in English and creative writing from Florida State University and is an assistant professor of creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University. More at sjsindu.com.
Nabi H. Ali is a Tamil American illustrator based in Orange County, California. He is passionate about being a voice for representation in children’s media. When he’s not painting, you can find him reading poetry and studying South Asian history.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/kids-graphic-novel-book-club-shakti
Indie-Pendant Voices: Get Your Creative Juices Going with WriteGirl at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Interactive writing workshop for teens with writing prompts and tips to fire up your creativity facilitated by WriteGirl.
WriteGirl is a creative writing and mentoring organization that promotes creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills to empower teen girls.
WriteGirl members are anyone who identifies as woman, girl, nonbinary, or femme. No matter where you are on your journey and exploration of personal identity, all are welcome here.
This program is made possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities via the LA Made Fund.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Central Library, Teen Scape
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 1 pm – 1:45 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/indie-pendent-voices-get-your-juices-flowing-writegirl
Indie-Pendant Voices: Los Angeles-based Indie Author Panel at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join Indie authors Tim Cummings and Julie Nisargand as they discuss the art of writing amidst the demands of a busy life.
Tim Cummings is the author of the best-selling coming-of-age novel Alice the Cat, published in May of 2023 by Fitzroy Books/Regal House. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.
Julie Nisargand received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California. In 2013, she became a PMP (Project Management Professional). Julie now consults for companies in the energy, financial services, health care, and entertainment industries on matters regarding cybersecurity.
This program is made possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities via the LA Made Fund.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Central Library, Meeting Room A
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 1 pm – 1:45 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/indie-pendent-voices-los-angeles-based-indie-author-panel
Indie-Pendant Voices: Chronicle Your Journey, with Shonda Buchanan at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a conversation with award-winning author, educator, poet, and memoirist Shonda Buchanan, author of Black Indian, Equipoise: Poems from Goddess Country, and Who’s Afraid of Black Indians.
Kalamazoo, Michigan native Shonda Buchanan is a poet, essayist, and memoirist with a mission to inspire, educate and heal. An Oxfam Ambassador, Master Artist for the City of Los Angeles, USC Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities Fellow and PEN America Fellow, Shonda currently teaches at Loyola Marymount University and in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Alma College.
This program is made possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities via the LA Made Fund.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 2 pm – 2:45 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/indie-pendent-voices-chronicle-your-journey
Indie-Pendant Voices: How to Graphic Novel at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Author, artist, director, and animator Brianne Drouhard on how to get started on your own graphic novel or webcomic.
Drouhard grew up in the country and works in the animation industry. During her free time, she makes comics and short animated films. She lives with an orange cat named Bert.
This program is made possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities via the LA Made Fund.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Teen Scape
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 2 pm – 2:45 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/indie-pendent-voices-how-graphic-novel
Neal Shusterman and Andrés Vera Martinez & Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust via Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
National Book Award winner Neal Shusterman and acclaimed illustrator Andrés Vera Martínez present a graphic novel exploring the Holocaust through surreal visions and a textured canvas of heroism and hope.
Neal Shusterman is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers, Everlost, and the National Book Award winning Challenger Deep.
Andrés Vera Martínez is the co-author of the acclaimed graphic memoir, Little White Duck: A Childhood in China and illustrator of Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust. Andrés’s work has been recognized by the New York Times, School Library Journal, The Horn Book, NPR, the Society of Illustrators, Junior Library Guild, and Slate Cartoonist Studio. Andrés currently lives in New England with his family.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Neal-Shusterman-discusses-Courage-to-Dream
Artist Only Event: Poetry Art, Music, Dance, Cats, Free Food at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
Performance artists will share their work.
Poets reading include: Quinn Robinson, Madi Stamm. Dane Clemens.
See site for further details.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Book Jewel, Westchester
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 2 pm – 5 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyl1Ci9hMjM/
Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series & Open Mic at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
RSVP:
Please email studio@lapl.org for instructions on how to join the program.
Description:
Join us in-person or via Zoom for Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series, featuring poetry readings and an open mic poetry opportunity.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 92604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/expressions-la-poetry-reading-series-and-open-mic-0
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Poetry Writing Workshop – In-Person Event
Poetry Writing Workshop (Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines including the subject of or at least mentioning points and/or lines for Four Feathers Press online edition: Points & Lines by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm, November 17th)
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry in Chucka’s Backyard
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 3090 Sparr in Glendale, CA (Chucka’s Backyard)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Author Talk: Melissa Chadburn & Laura Warrell at Buena Vista Library, Burbank Public Library – In-Person Event
National Novel Writing Month festivities kicks off in style with this very special conversation between Melissa Chadburn and Laura Warrell. Join them as the authors read excerpts from their acclaimed debut novels—A Tiny Upward Shove and Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm—and delve into the art of storytelling. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and get your books signed too!
Registration is required.
Melissa Chadburn’s debut novel A Tiny Upward Shove was longlisted for the 2023 PEN/Hemingway Award. Her extensive reporting on the child welfare system appears in the Netflix docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernández. Melissa is a worker lover and through her own labor and literary citizenship strives to upend economic violence. She received a Ph.D. in Creative Writing at the University of Southern California, and lives in greater Los Angeles. Her mother taught her how to sharpen a pencil with a knife and she’s basically been doing that ever since.
Laura Warrell is the author of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, a finalist for the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. She has taught Creative Writing and Literature through the Emerging Voices program at PEN America Los Angeles, at Writing Workshops Los Angeles, and at the Berklee College of Music and other academic institutions in Los Angeles and Boston. Laura’s writing has been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Lit Hub, Los Angeles Review of Books, Huffington Post, The Rumpus, The Writer, and other publications.
NOTE: See site for REGISTRATION, guidelines and details.
Where: Buena Vista Branch Library, Burbank
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 4:30 pm – 6 pm
Address: 300 N Buena Vista St, Burbank, CA 91505
Website: https://burbank.libnet.info/event/9206701
At Skylight: K-Ming Chang, with Xuan Juliana Wang, & Organ Meats at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
J K-Ming Chang, in conversation with Xuan Juliana Wang, will present and discuss ORGAN MEATS.
Best friends Anita and Rainie find refuge by an old sycamore tree with its neighboring lot of stray dogs who have a mysterious ability to communicate with humans. The girls learn that they are preceded by generations of dog-headed women and woman-headed dogs whose bloodlines bind them together. Anita convinces Rainie to become a dog with her, tying a collar of red string around each of their necks to preserve their kinship forever. But when the two girls are separated, Anita sinks into a dreamworld that only Rainie knows how to rescue her from.
K-Ming Chang is a Kundiman fellow, a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. She is the author of the novel Bestiary, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award.
Xuan Juliana Wang is the author of the short story collection Home Remedies, which received the California Book Award for First Fiction and was a New York Public Library Young Lions and PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize finalist. Her writing has appeared in New York Times, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, and Aperture. She teaches creative writing at UCLA.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 5 pm
Where: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-k-ming-chang-presents-organ-meats-w-xuan-juliana-wang
Community Thanksgiving: Jessica C. Williams & Turkey Savvy at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Jessica C. Williams will launch and discuss her new holiday cookbook, Turkey Savvy.
Enjoy a cooking demo and tasting of a few recipes in her cookbook. Bring a favorite holiday dish to share if you wish and leave with a free grocery shopping list designed to save you both time and effort. Books signing and meet and greet to follow.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 5 pm
Where: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/31268
Local Monthly Open Mic with Local Poet Kunthon “Katon” Meas at LibroMobile Bookstore – In-Person Event
LIbroMobile’s Monthly Open Mic series is hosted on 1st Saturdays by Local Poet Kunthon “Katon” Meas, and he’ll be featuring local writers & hold the mic for all of you!
RSVP
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: LibroMobile Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Where: 1150 S Bristol St A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Beat Not Beat 2023 California Road Tour Finale Reading at Pondwater Society – In-Person Event
The Beat Not Beat anthology contributors will present a reading to conclude their 2023 California Road Tour, presented by Pondwater and hosted by Rich Ferguson, and presented by Joanne Qualey Baines.
Featured readers include:
Jennifer Bradpiece was born and raised in the multifaceted muse, Los Angeles, where she still resides. She has a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She is the author of Ophelia on Acid. Her poetry has been published in various journals and online zines.
King Daddy N/A
Nicelle Davis is a multidisciplinary artistic who uses video, poetry, performance, and publication to discuss topics ranging from artistic collaboration, feminist identity, poverty and power, and the environment. Her most recent book is The Language of Fractions.
Peggy Dobreer is a poet, editor, and host of poetry readings who migrated to poetry through a career in dance and live theatre. She is an author and the editor of the new release, Slow Lightning: Astonished Poetry.
Milo Martin is a utopian nihilist spoken word poet, who has a beat and blended style.
Aruni Wijesinghe is a Sri Lankan-American writer. A project manager, ESL teacher, erstwhile belly dance instructor, and occasional sous chef, she has been published in anthologies and journals both nationally and internationally. She is the author of 2 Rever Place and The Litany of Missing.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Pondwater Society
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm (Doors at 5 pm)
Where: 16504 E. Masline St., Covina, CA 91722
Website: https://www.facebook.com
A Celebration of W.S. Merwin at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event
Beyond Baroque hosts a celebration of the life and work of poet W.S. Merwin and a screening of the documentary titled Even if the Whole World Was Burning, accompanied by a panel and readings from Susan Suntree, Cheri Colby [Davis] Langdell, Tim Langdell, and Daniel E. Lambert.
Susan Suntree is an award-winning poet, performer, essayist, and environmental activist whose recent books of poetry included Dear Traveler and the updated paperback and audiobook release of her non-fiction epic poem Sacred Sites: The Secret History of Southern California. This book won the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association Award for Nonfiction, the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Narrative Poetry, a Mellon Foundation Elemental Arts Award, and the audiobook was a finalist for a Society of Voice Arts and Sciences prize. Her many performances, including the quartet, Seed to Snow: Plays for the Seasons and the one-woman piece Origins of Praise, commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club and first performed in Nevada City. http://www.susansuntree.com/
Cheri Colby [Davis] Langdell has published articles on poetry in the Emily Dickinson Journal, Over Here, a publication of the University of Nottingham (UK), Nineteenth Century Literature and other journals. She brought out the first book on WS Merwin’s work—WS Merwin (G K Hall & Co., Twayne US Authors’ Series), which she is now revising and updating. She later published Adrienne Rich: The Moment of Change, Coping with Vision Loss (Praeger), and most recently, Reading WS Merwin in a New Century: American and European Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan 2023), a collection of essays on Merwin’s poetry. She has a PhD and master’s in comparative literature from the University of Southern California and a degree in Romance Languages and Literatures (French) from Boston University. She now teaches at Los Angeles Valley College and East Los Angeles College. She loves to write poetry and prose and lives in Pasadena with her husband, two cats and a cockatoo. cherilangdell@gmail.com http://www.heartwalking.org
Tim Langdell teaches Psychology, Buddhist Studies, and Chaplaincy at Buddha Dharma University. He is the author of Beginner’s Mind: An Introduction to Zen Buddhism (Oxbridge Publishing, 2020), Christ Way, Buddha Way: Jesus as Wisdom Teacher and a Zen Perspective on His Teachings (Oxbridge Publishing, 2020). Tim has also written on a variety of other subjects as well as being a novelist. He has a PhD in psychology from University College, London and is a Zen Master Teacher at StillCenter Zen in Pasadena, California. timlangdell@gmail.com http://www.stillcenter.org http://www.timlangdell.com
Daniel E. Lambert teaches English at East Los Angeles College and California State University, Los Angeles. He was a finalist for the Distinguished Faculty of the Year Award at Colorado Technical University in 2020. Dan holds a master’s degree in English and a bachelor’s degree in history from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He lives in Inglewood with his wife (poet and educator Anhthao Bui). Dan enjoys writing fiction, essays, and poetry. He published a poetry collection, Love Adventure (with his wife), in 2017. He published his first collection of short stories, Mere Anarchy, in 2016. His fiction appears in the anthologies When Words Collide, Flash It, Daily Flash 2012, and Daily Frights 2012. His writing also appears in the periodicals Silver Apples, The Daily Breeze, Easy Reader, Other Worlds, and Wrapped in Plastic. You can visit Daniel Lambert on the Web at http://dan_lambert.homestead.com/.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291
At Re/Arte: Mimi Tempestt & the delicacy of embracing spirals at Re/Arte Centro LIterario – In-Person Event
Mimi Tempestt, and Guests,will launch and discuss her new book,the delicacy of embracing spirals, from City Lights Books.
Mimi Tempestt is a multidisciplinary artist and poet. She is a daughter of California, being born and raised in Los Angeles and currently lives in the Bay Area. She is a graduate of Mills College with a MA in Literature. Tempest is known for poetry that blurs convention and questions everything from gender to gentrification. Her debut poetry collection is, The Monumental Misrememberings and her knew collection is embracing spirals (City Lights Books, 2023).
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Re/Arte Centro LIterario
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 7 pm
Where: 2123 East Cesar Chavez Ave., Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://reartela.com/pages/calendar-of-events
Griot Café Open Mic with Sistah Shy & Samuel Rain & Featured Guest TBA 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.
Featured guest TBA.
Where: Griot Café at Shades of Africa
Date: Saturday the 4th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1001 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://shadesofafrika.com/griot-cafe-open-mic-poetry/
Agatha Isabel, with Karen Nepacena: Design and Grow Dual Book Launch at Bel Canto Books at KUBO LB – In-Person Event
Bel Canto Books hosts “Design and Grow,” a dual book release celebration event with Filipina Authors, Agatha Isabel and Karen Nepacena.
Agatha Isabel will present her book, Houseplant Hookups. explores the pros and cons of cohabitating with different houseplants. The perfect gift for any plant or gardening enthusiast, these illustrated dating profiles are as hilarious as they are informative.
Karen Nepacena will present Midcentury Modern Style: An Approachable Guide to Inspired Rooms. This book shows how easy it is to bring midcentury modern touches to every room in the house whether you’re a seasoned designer or starting from scratch.
Join the authors for a discussion on plants, plant care, and how to integrate plant styling and midcentury modern design touches into your home.
Kindly RSVP so we can plan accordingly!
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto Books at KUBO LB
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Avenue Long Beach, CA 90807
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com
Indie Author Day: Workshop & Panel Events at Anaheim Public Library – In-Person Event
Celebrate a vibrant world of literature at Anaheim Central Library. Indie Author Day is a literary gathering, hosting a diverse array of activities. Explore the book fair, discovering hidden literary gems along with writing groups and small press publishers. Engage with local authors in autograph sessions and lose yourself in captivating readings. Our poetry tent offers an intimate space for verse enthusiasts. Join writing workshops, where seasoned authors and poets share their craft. It’s a day dedicated to fostering literary connections, indie authors, and embracing the magic of storytelling in all its forms.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Anaheim Central LIbrary
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 11 am – 4 pm
Address: 500 W. Broadway, Anaheim, CA 92805
Website: https://www.anaheim.net/6272/Indie-Author-Day
The Brothers Lee and Tod Goldberg: Crime Writers in Conversation with Susan Straight at Barbara and Art Culver Center, Riverside – In-Person Event
Inlandia Institute and UCR Arts will host the brothers Lee and Tod Goldberg, both New York Times best-selling crime writers. The Brothers Goldberg will be in conversation with Riverside’s own best-selling novelist Susan Straight.
Admission is free. Book sales will be provided by Mystery Ink. Come hear how a connection to place and family ties have influenced their work as well as their working relationship as brothers who write.
Lee Goldberg is the author most recently of Calico.
Tod Goldberg is the author most recently of Gangsters Don’t Die, third in a trilogy.
Sussan Straight is the author most recently of Mecca.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Culver Center, Riverside
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 3834 Main St., Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://riversideca.gov/calendar/event/brothers-lee-and-tod-goldberg-crime-writers-conversation-susan-straight?date=Sunday%2C%20November%205%2C%202023 or https://inlandiainstitute.org/crime-writers-11-5/
Outdoor Lit Book Club: Wild Girls at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Outdoor Lit Book Club participants will discuss the book Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation, by author Tiya Miles.
An award-winning historian shows how girls who found self-understanding in the natural world became women who changed America.
Tiya Miles is the Michael Garvey Professor of History at Harvard University, the author of five prize-winning works on the history of slavery and early American race relations, and a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship recipient. She was the founder and director of the Michigan-based ECO Girls program, and she is the author of the National Book Award–winning, New York Times best-selling All That She Carried. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event
The Pirate’s Curse: Brigands of the Compass Rose: Meet the Authors at The Pop Hop – In-Person Event
Join local authors RUNKLE & WEBB as they celebrate the release of their thrilling YA novel, THE PIRATE’S CURSE: BRIGANDS OF THE COMPASS ROSE. There will be a reading from the book, Q&A session with the writers, and free book signing for the public.
THE PIRATE’S CURSE has been hailed by Booklife as “A rollicking high-seas adventure with surprising depth…Beyond the compelling fantasy setup, this is a deeply emotional exploration of belonging and community.”
RSVP recommended but not required! Refreshments provided, $5 donation suggested.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: The Pop Hop
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 5002 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA., 90042
Poetry Reading: Donna Hilbert and Heather Swanat Page Against the Machine – In-Person Event
Page Against the Machine hosts a poetry reading and book signing with two accomplished poets: Donna Hilbert and Heather Swan. Through their intimate and evocative works, both writers deal with themes of loss and grief and the solace to be found in the redemptive powers of the natural world and in the delights of quotidian rituals. Each will be reading, discussing, and signing copies of their most recent books.
Donna Hilbert is a poet and writer who also leads private workshops in Southern California, where she makes her home. She is a monthly contributing writer to 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦-𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 and has been featured on 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘈𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘤, and 𝘓𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘺, 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺,𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘎𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘢-𝘕𝘢-𝘎𝘪𝘨, 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘡𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘰 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘈𝘙𝘛, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, and numerous anthologies. She is the author of eight books of poetry including 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 (Pearl Editions, 2000), 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦: 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘴 (Pearl Editions, 2004), and 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘕𝘦𝘸 & 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘴 (Tebot Bach, 2018). Her most recent poetry collection, 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘺, was published by Moon Tide Press in 2022.
Heather Swan is a poet, nonfiction writer, and educator who currently teaches environmental literature and writing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of the poetry collection 𝘈 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘴𝘩 (Terrapin Books), which was a finalist for the ASLE Book Award, and the chapbook 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 (Parallel Press), which won the Wisconsin Chapbook Award. She is also the author of the non-fiction book 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦: 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 (Penn State Press), which won the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, and a companion book, 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. She is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, the Maud Weinshenk Award, and the August Derleth Prize for Poetry. Her newest book of poetry, 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯, has just been published by Terrapin Books.
Where: Page Against the Machine
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1008331593553926
Sunday Jump Open Mic Event at Pilipino Workers Center – In-Person Event
Sunday Jump Open Mic is held every 1st Sunday of the month from March to November. It’s an open forum, a creative platform, and the people’s voice.
We curate three featured performing artists, a visual artist, and a community spotlight at every event. In this curation process, we focus on uplifting artists who are people of color.
Open Mic guidelines outlined at site.
Where: Pilipino Workers Center, Pabelonia Room
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 153 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://www.sundayjump.com/programs
Book Launch: Carol Gilligan & In a Human Voice at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Carol Gilligan discusses her new book, In a Human Voice, co-sponsored by Creative Visions.
Carol Gilligan is a renowned feminist, ethicist, psychologist, and University Professor at New York University. She has been described as a “feminist rock star” and “celebrity academic” by the New York Times and celebrated by Time magazine as one of the country’s 25 most influential people in 1996. Her landmark book, In a Different Voice, one of the best-selling psychology titles of all time, has been hailed as the “little book that started a revolution.”
Carol Gilligan’s landmark book, In a Different Voice, has been hailed as the “little book that started a revolution.” Forty years later, Gilligan has re-examined her conclusions in a new book, In a Human Voice. She argues for something radically different, so radical in fact, she has said she has changed the name of her book. The “different voice”, initially heard as a feminine voice, is in fact a human voice. While gender is central to the story Gilligan tells, it is not a story about gender: it is a human story.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/31267
Book Launch: Mimi Tempestt & the delicacy of embracing spirals at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Stories presents the book launch of mimi tempestt’s newest collection, The Delicacy of Embracing Spirals.
Additional readings will be provided by Soledad Con Carne, Aasir Cherot, Fei Hernandez, Edwin Bodney, and Rhys Langston. Hosted and organized by Tori Gesualdo.
Mimi Tempestt’s second book, the delicacy of embracing spirals, presents a blend of theatre and melodrama, narrative and lyricism, and ranges from a confrontation with abusive lovers and predatory promoters, to an excoriation of police brutality and gender oppression, to a critique of the commodification of Black artists for white consumption. Tempestt expresses an ongoing dialectical consciousness about being Black, being woman, being queer, being radical, and most essentially, being complicatedly human.
mimi tempest (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and daughter of California. She has a M.A. in Literature from Mills College and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Creative/Critical Ph.D. in Literature at UC Santa Cruz. Her first book, the monumental misrememberings, was published with Co-Conspirator Press//The Feminist Center for Creative Work in 2020. In 2021, she was selected for participation in the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices & Writers and was a Creative Fellow at The Ruby in San Francisco. Her works can be found in Foglifter, Interim Poetics, and at the Studio Museum in Harlem. A native of Los Angeles, she currently resides in Berkeley, CA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Happily Ever After Book Club: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
November’s Happily Ever After Book Club participants will discuss Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute, by author Talia Hibbert.
From the bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors—and each other.
Talia Hibbert is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who lives in a bedroom full of books in the English Midlands. She writes witty, diverse romances, including Get a Life, Chloe Brown; The Princess Trap; and A Girl Like Her, because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is her debut novel for teens. Talia’s interests include beauty, junk food, and unnecessary sarcasm.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 5th
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Los Angeles Literature 