StoryWalk: Cougar Crossing Experience at LAPL Off-site at Fern Dell in Griffith Park – In-Person STEM, Story & Read Alouds Event
Explore and read Los Angeles Public Library’s first hike-and-read StoryWalk on a Griffith Park trail!
Stroll through Fern Dell’s historic trails while reading Cougar Crossing, a picture book about one of Los Angeles’ favorite pumas, P-22.
Cougar Crossing is written by Meeg Pincus and illustrated by local artist Alexander Vidal.
Visit the Los Feliz Branch Library and let us know you visited the StoryWalk for a special giveaway prize!
NOTE: See LAPL Calendar for other Off-site Walkabout events.
Where: LAPL Off-site at Griffith Park
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 9 am – 6 pm (Check site for various dates & times)
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 900266
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/storywalk-cougar-crossing
Second Monday Group Book Club: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (pp. 96-167) by author Rashid Khalidi.
This book is a landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/hundred-years-war-palestine-book-club-discussion-p-96-167
Women Who Submit Anthology Event: Transformation at Cerritos Library – In-Person Event
Join us as the editor and writers from Women Who Submit read their short stories from their anthology “Transformation,” followed by a Q&A. Topics include submitting to an anthology, rejections, and curation.
Readers include:
Marie Cartier is a scholar, visual /performance artist, queer activist, poet and theologian who has been active in many movements for social change. She teaches at Univ. Calif. Irvine in Film and Media Studies, and at California State University Northridge in Gender and Women’s Studies.
Lisbeth Coiman is a bilingual author and educator and the author of I Asked the Blue Heron: A Memoir and Uprising/Alzamiento.
Thea Puschel is a writer, multimedia artist, yoga and meditation teacher, and hypnotherapist. Thematically her work connects through the lens of story and the human condition.
Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley is a writer and filmmaker and her work appears in the anthology Somewhere We Are Human and forthcoming in Made In LA Volume 4 Anthology.
Aruni Wijesinghe is the author of 2 Revere Place, and co-author of The Undulating Line: Writing Poetry through Belly Dance.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cerritos Library, Skyline Room
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 18025 Bloomfield Ave., Cerritos, CA 90703
Book Talk & Signing: TIOH & IKAR & The Amen Effect at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
From one of our country’s most prominent rabbis, an inspiring book about the power of community based on one of her most impactful sermons. Copies of THE AMEN EFFECT can be reserved now or purchased the night of the talk.
In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture, and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society?
Sharon Brous—a leading American rabbi—makes the case that the spiritual work of our time, as instinctual as it is counter-cultural, is to find our way to one other in celebration, in sorrow, and in solidarity. To show up for each other in moments of joy and pain, vulnerability, and possibility, to invest in relationships of shared purpose and build communities of care.
Sharon Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. A leading voice at the intersection of faith and justice in America, she has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast.
Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh has served as Temple Israel’s Associate Rabbi since her ordination from HUC-JIR in 1996. Rabbi Missaghieh also holds a BA in Art History and Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan (1989) and a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education from HUC-JIR, LA (1994). She enjoys teaching people of all ages and empowering them to participate in Jewish living.
Her favorite aspects of the rabbinate are learning, teaching, and pastoral work. She teaches many classes on-line and in person. She takes special interest in working with individuals for conversion, creating meaningful Jewish wedding ceremonies and life cycle events, running TIOH’s yearly Women’s Retreat.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
R.U.P.O. at Back to the Grind in Riverside – In-Person Event
RUPO Open Mic is back every Monday Night at Back to the Grind in Riverside.
Every Monday at a new time- 7pm to 9pm. Sign-ups are at 6:30pm and in person only, $4 cash admission. See you then!
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Back to the Grind, Riverside
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Sign-ups at 6:30 pm)
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com/backtothegrind
At Skylight: Lauren Oyler & No Judgment at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Lauren Oyler will present and discuss her book of essays on cultural criticism, No Judgment: Essays.
In this, her first collection of essays, Oyler writes about topics like the role of gossip in our exponentially communicative society, the rise and proliferation of autofiction, why we’re all so “vulnerable” these days, and her own anxiety. In her singular prose—sharp yet addictive, expansive yet personal—she encapsulates the world we live and think in with precision and care, delivering a work of cultural criticism as only she can.
Lauren Oyler’s essays on books and culture appear regularly in The New Yorker, the New York Times, the London Review of Books, Harper’s, and other publications. Her first novel, Fake Accounts, was a national bestseller when it was published in 2021. She lives in Berlin.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-lauren-oyler-presents-no-judgment
Alexander Hamilton Cherin, with Mike Sonksen, & The Mighty Six-Ninety (690) at Vroman’s Books – In-Person Event
Alexander Hamilton Cherin, in conversation with Mike Sonksen (aka “Mike the PoerT”)will present and discuss his book, The Mighty Six-Ninety (690).
A Holocaust survivor facing eviction, a schoolboy struggling with his identity, a single mother who is on the verge of being exposed for embezzlement, and a speedway daredevil whose bruised body and fragile ego are beyond repair, all find themselves scouring the Southern California landscape for $50,000 in buried cash-the grand prize of a struggling AM radio station’s contest. Unknown to each other but bonded by a common desire for redemption, each is a willing participant in a treasure hunt caught between nostalgia and desperation.
“The Summer of $50,000″ unfolds against a California landscape very much in flux, both culturally and geographically. Only one contestant will call on a troubled past to help walk away with the money – and the salvation that they hope it will bring.
Mike Sonksen, aka Mike the PoeT, is an acclaimed poet, professor, journalist, historian, and tour guide. He teaches at Woodbury University, where he serves as the Coordinator of the school’s First Year Experience Program. He has published over 500 essays and poems, most recently two excerpts in Dear California: The Golden State in Diaries and Letters, edited by David Kipen. He has delivered over 2,000 poetry readings, served as guest speaker at over 100 academic institutions, appeared on radio and television and hosted events in locations like Grand Performances and Getty Center. The second edition of his latest book, Letters To My City was just published by Writ Large Press in Summer 2023.
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Monday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Cherin-discusses-The-Mighty-Six-Ninety
Monday Night Fiction Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Online Zoom 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 25th
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-866381689957
Sharing True Stories Event via Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Come 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 details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/life-stories-open-mic
Phy-Sci Book Club: An Immense World at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Phy-Sci Book Club participants will discuss An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, by author Ed Vong.
In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile’s scaly face is as sensitive as a lover’s fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.
Ed Yong is a Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer on the staff of The Atlantic, where he also won the George Polk Award for science reporting, among other honors. His first book, I Contain Multitudes, was a New York Times bestseller and won numerous awards. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, National Geographic, Wired, The New York Times, Scientific American, and more. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Liz Neeley, and their corgi, Typo.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/phy-sci-book-club-immense-world
Book Talk & Signing: Terry Garcia & Chris Rainier & The Future of Exploration at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join former NatGeo Exec. VP and Chief Science Officer Terry Garcia and nature and cultural photographer Chris Rainier discuss their book.
At this very moment, explorers in some of the most remote and dangerous places on earth, from the deepest parts of the ocean to the highest mountains, and to outer space are enduring unimaginable hardships to expand our knowledge and save what is truly important.
Join former National Geographic Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer Terry Garcia and nature and cultural photographer Chris Rainier, a National Geographic Explorer, on a journey with some of the world’s most renowned and respected explorers, scientists, astronauts, visionaries, thinkers, and authors as they discuss and share their insights about what motivates them, what is left to explore, and why we should care in The Future of Exploration.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Mystery Book Club: The Diamond Eye at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss the novel, The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-47
Conchas y Café Zine Writing Workshop via DSTL Arts – In-Person Event
Conchas y Café is a DSTL Arts bilingual community writing workshop series for adults that produces a biannual zine by the same name, featuring artwork and creative writing produced by our community and program participants.
The goal of Conchas y Café is to bring together our community under the arts, building skills and arts-literacy, so that more adults may appreciate the cultural and economic value the arts bring to our lives. The content taught through this workshop series is primarily for new and emerging poets and writers, or people returning to creative writing after a long-term absence from the craft.
The Conchas y Café workshop series spans 15 weeks, and is an ongoing program offered every trimester. Our program participants write on a new theme for their zine every trimester and celebrate its release with a public reading.
Enrollment via Google Classroom required for workshop participation and full access to session handouts.
For any questions regarding Conchas y Café, feel free to contact us directly by email at Info@DSTLArts.org.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: DSTL Arts
Date: Tuesday the 26th (through April the 30th)
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.dstlarts.org/conchasycafezine
Jordan Mecher & Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Jordan Mechner will discuss and sign Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family.
In this intergenerational graphic memoir, renowned video game designer Jordan Mechner traces his family’s journey through war, Nazi occupation, and everyday marital strife.1914. A teenage romantic heads to the enlistment office when his idyllic life in a Jewish enclave of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is shattered by World War I. 1938. A seven-year-old refugee begins a desperate odyssey through France, struggling to outrun the rapidly expanding Nazi regime and reunite with his family on the other side of the Atlantic. 2015. The creator of a world-famous video game franchise weighs the costs of uprooting his family and moving to France as the cracks in his marriage begin to grow.
Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner calls on the voices of his father and grandfather to weave a powerful story about the enduring challenge of holding a family together in the face of an ever-changing world.
Jordan Mechner is an author, graphic novelist, game designer, and screenwriter. He created the video game Prince of Persia in 1989, rebooted it with Ubisoft in 2003, and wrote the first screenplay for Disney’s 2010 film adaptation, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. His other games include Karateka and The Last Express. In 2017, he received the Pioneer Award from the International Game Developers Association. Jordan’s graphic novels as writer include the New York Times bestseller Templar (from First Second, with LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland), Monte Cristo (Mario Alberti), and Liberty (Etienne LeRoux). Replay is his first book as writer/artist.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Jordan-Mechner-Author-signing
Stan Zimmerman & The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Stan Zimmerman will present and discuss his book, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore.
The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore is the story of Stan Zimmerman, a gawky Jewish boy who dreamed of becoming a wildly successful actor, rich enough to build his own mansion in the Hollywood Hills. While the actor part didn’t quite pan out, Stan found success as a writer, producer, director, and playwright, working on such shows as The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and Gilmore Girls.
Throughout his life, most of Stan’s friendships have been with females. He credits those friendships and the women in his family with his ability to connect with creative women who have played a part in his career success.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/stan-zimmerman
North Fig Book Talk: Max Podemski, with Tom Carroll, & A Paradise of Small Houses at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Max Podemski, in conversation with Tom Carroll, will discuss his book A Paradise of Small Houses.
From the Haitian-style “shotgun” houses of the 19th century to the lavish high-rises of the 21st century, a walk through the streets of America’s neighborhoods that reveals the rich history—and future—of urban housing.
In A Paradise of Small Houses, Podemski charts how these dwellings have evolved over the centuries according to the geography, climate, population, and culture of each city. He introduces the reader to styles like Chicago’s prefabricated workers cottages and LA’s car-friendly dingbats, illuminating the human stories behind each city’s iconic housing type. Through it all, Podemski interrogates the American values that have equated home ownership with success and led to the US housing crisis, asking, “How can we look to the past to build the homes, neighborhoods, and cities of the future that our communities deserve?”
Max Podemski is an urban planner, a writer, and an illustrator who currently serves as a transportation planner for the city of Los Angeles. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, and KCET. His work has been profiled in a range of media, including Curbed, KPCC public radio, and the Jewish Journal. He also runs an architectural print company called Polkela.
Tom Carroll is a content creator for 404 by L.A. Times. Before joining The Times in 2022, he created, produced, and hosted the web series “Tom Explores Los Angeles.” He has produced stories for NPR and Gimlet. His documentary, “Charlie’s Lot,” won Best Short Doc at the 2020 Arizona International Film. A fourth-generation Southern Californian, he is a graduate of Occidental College and the University of Southern California.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Tuesday the 26th
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-lsutq6gp
Non-Fiction Book Club: The Last Island at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Non-Fiction Book Club participants will discuss the book The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth by author Mark Helprin.
This book is about a journey to the coast of North Sentinel Island, home to a tribe believed to be the most isolated human community on earth. The Sentinelese people want to be left alone and will shoot deadly arrows at anyone who tries to come ashore. As the web of modernity draws ever closer, the island represents the last chapter in the Age of Discovery—the final holdout in a completely connected world.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 900266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/non-fiction-book-club-17
Book Launch: Justin Huang, with Sherry Cola, & The Emperor and the Endless Palace at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Author Jusitn Huang, in conversation with actress and comedian Sherry Cola, will discuss his debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Main Street, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club: The City We Became at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join the second Village Well book club offshoot, Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club, where participants will discuss The City We Became by author NK Jemison.
On the fourth Tuesday of every month, we will come together and discuss a story that falls within the realms of either science fiction or fantasy (or sometimes both!). To join our emailing list, reach out to events@villagewell.com. Hope to see you there!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/32913
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic + Featured Reader Gray Brian Thomas – Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Poets Series, presented by Rick Lupert via Zoom, will feature an Open Reading and guest Gray Brian Thomas.
Gray Brian Thomas Gray is a poet from Salt Lake City, Utah. He holds an English degree from the University of Utah and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Communications from Westminster College. He has a passion for typing love letters on a typewriter and then ripping them from the platen, crumpling them into little balls, and tossing them on the floor of his room until there are enough to fall backwards into, like piles of leaves in autumn.
NOTE: Details and Zoom link at event link.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/index.html or https://www.facebook.com/events
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. Check to Verify.
Where: Unurban Coffee House
Date: Tuesday the 26th
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 Open Mic at Greenway Court – In-Person Event
The nation’s largest weekly Open Mic event is 25 years strong. They hold open mic nights. At an open mic, all are welcome to share their poetry or sit in their audience.
Every Tuesday (except for 3rd Tuesdays SLAM and special events) they hold open mic night. In a standard slam, there are five judges that are selected. Before the competition begins, the host may bring up a sacrificial poet who is not competing in the slam but is scored by the judges in order for them to calibrate their scoring.
NOTE: See sign-ups, 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
Date: Tuesday the 26th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLUBSRPCFb/ or https://www.dapoetrylounge.com/events/open-mic-night
Mystery Book Group: Better the Blood at Once Upon a Time – In-Person Event
Mystery Book Group participants will discuss Better the Blood (A Hannah Westerman Thriller) by author Michael Bennett.
Richly textured contemporary crime novel set in Auckland, New Zealand, with pivots back to a major 19th century historical injustice of a Maori chief, this cinematic story introduces a feisty, intuitive female Maori detective, Hana Westerman, as she tracks down a terrifying serial killer intent on righting the historical injustice. Who is evil and why is one of the major themes in this first-rate debut from Bennett. Not to be missed!
(Adult Mystery) Find more Staff Picks by Maureen
— Maureen
Whether you loved it, hated it, or haven’t finished it, we want to see you at our Mystery Book Group at America’s Oldest Children’s Bookstore!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time (in the circle in front of Star Café)
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 9 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/mystery-book-group-better-blood-michael-bennett
Classics Book Club: We Have Always Lived in the Castle at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Book Club participants will discuss the novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by author Shirley Jackson.
RSVP:
Please email grnhls@lapl.org for the Zoom link.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 1:30 pm – 3 pm
Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-other-einstein
Poets Café: Poetry Event via KPFK 90.7 FM – Live On-Air Event
Poets Café hosts poets in discussion and is aired weekly on KPFK.
This program is offered weekly on KPFK Los Angeles 90.7 FM.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: KPFK 90.7 FM
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event (live)
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/oe
Sci-Fi Book Club: Fahrenheit 451 at VanNuys Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Sci-Fi Book Club participants will discuss Ray Bradbury’s seminal classic Fahrenheit 451.
“Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed books, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.”
Moderated by John Tommasino.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/sci-fi-book-club-john-tommasino-0
Feedback Circle Workshop via The Poetry Lab – Online Event
The Feedback Circle workshop is appropriate for writers who have at least 5 poems ready for revision. Participants will have opportunities for feedback in small groups, large groups, and one-on-one settings. Much attention will be paid to giving feedback to others compassionately and equitably. Craft-focused feedback will be strongly encouraged, and a review of elements of craft will be made available to facilitate this focus.
Maximum class size: 12 people
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Poetry Lab
Date: Wednesday the 27th (Six weeks: continues on April 3rd, 10th,17th, and 24th)
Time: 5 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://www.thepoetrylab.com/feedback
Quest Book Club: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
Quest Book Club participants will discuss The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by acclaimed author James McBride.
Danez Smith says this novel is a “murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel…Charming, smart, heart-blistering and heart-healing.”
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Book Jewel
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Westchester, Losa Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.thebookjewel.com/events
Mystery Book Club:Glory Be via Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Mystery Book Club participants will discuss Glory Beby author Danielle Arceneaux.
RSVP:
This program meets via Zoom. Please preregister at site.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Palms-Rancho Perk Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-discussion
Book Club: The School for Good Mothers at Jefferson – Vassie D. Wright Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Book Club participants will discuss The School for Good Mothersby author Jessamine Chan.
This is a story about motherhood set in a dystopian reality.
Hard copies of this book are available at the branch and other LAPL libraries. Electronic formats are available on our online catalog and Libby.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Jefferson Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2211 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-school-good-mothers
Reading in Bed with Jessica: L.A, Poet Society via 101.5 FM – Live On-Air Event
Reading in Bed with Jessica hosts poets and writers in conversation and is aired weekly on 101.5 FM.
Jessica Wilson Cardenas is the founder of Los Angeles Poet Society.
Guests TBA
This program is offered weekly on radioollin Los Angeles 101.5 FM.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: L.A. Poet Society via www.radioollin.com 101.5 FM
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: On-air Event (live at 101.5 FM)
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
Mystery & Thriller Book Club: City Under One Roof at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss City Under One Roof, by author Iris Yamashita.
RSVP:
Please email studio@lapl.org for details.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-thriller-book-club-1
Material Girl: A Marxist Feminist Reading Groupat North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
This Marxist feminist reading group, MATERIAL GIRL, meets monthly and has a different reading each month. Check the Public School LA’s instagram for the latest reading: @thepublicschoolla.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
World Stage Press & Community Literature Initiative: Tide Talks & Open Mic Night at Library Coffee House, Long Beach – In-Person Event
Tommy Domino hosts Tide Talks & Open Mic Night at the CLI Long Beach chapter meeting.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Library House Coffee
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 3418 E. Broadway., Long Beach, CA 90803
Website: https://thelibrarycoffee.com/events/
RECESS Open Mic Is Back at SIPA HQ, Palms Up Academy – In-Person Event
RECESS Open Mic Is Back at SIPA HQ on Wednesdays.
Featuring a Student Showcase in the month of March!
Host Amara Blessing Basco will appear with ROR.
This dynamic open mic is the most accessible public program in our curriculum and manifests our mission statement in a physical (and digital) space.
Join us at the intersection of Historic Filipinotown & The World: Search to Involve Pilipino Americans.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: SIPA
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 6:30; Open Mic at 8 pm)
Address: 3200 W. Temple St., Ste. 100, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://www.palmsupacademy.com https://www.instagram.com/p/C3blXIZJERV/
At Skylight: Catherine Lacey, with Chris Kraus, & Biography of X at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Catherine Lacey, in conversation with Chris Kraus, will present and discuss her book, Biography of X.
When X—an iconoclastic artist, writer, and polarizing shape-shifter—falls dead in her office, her widow, CM, wild with grief and refusing everyone’s good advice, hurls herself into writing a biography of the woman she deified. Though X was recognized as a crucial creative force of her era, she kept a tight grip on her life story. Not even CM knows where X was born, and in her quest to find out, she opens a Pandora’s box of secrets, betrayals, and destruction. All the while, she immerses herself in the history of the Southern Territory, a fascist theocracy that split from the rest of the country after World War II, and which finally, in the present day, is being forced into an uneasy reunification.
Catherine Lacey is the author of the novels Nobody Is Ever Missing, The Answers, and Pew, and the short story collection Certain American States. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, and a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. She has been a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and was named one of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, The Believer, and elsewhere.
Chris Kraus is the author of eight books, including After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography. She is a co-editor of Semiotext(e) alongside Hedi El Kholti. Her next novel, The Four Spent the Day Together, is forthcoming in 2025.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-catherine-lacey-presents-biography-x-w-chris-kraus
Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group: Properties of Thirst at Vroman’s in the Artrium – In-Person Event
The Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 7pm.
This event is free and open to the public.
March’s pick for discussion is Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s Meeting Room in the Atrium
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 709 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 120, Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/vromans-fiction-reading-group-6
Jody Pike & Montaperti: A Question of Loyalty at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Jody Pile presents and discusses her book, Montaperti: A Question of Loyalty.
It is the night of September 3, 1260, and the Sienese army is preparing for war. Vastly outnumbered by the superior forces of Florence, Siena faces certain defeat in the battle, an outcome that would destroy her prosperity and influence.
Montaperti tells the story of a monumental battle shrouded in mystery and myth and of the man Farinata, who finds that loyalty must dictate his destiny.
Jody Pike earned degrees in medieval history and music from Stanford University and Occidental College. She fell in love with Siena over thirty years ago while touring Europe with Vox Feminae, a group of early music singers. In the decades since, she has returned to Siena every year, living within the city walls and immersed in the rich history and culture of Siena. She hopes that in dramatizing this extraordinary battle, others can come to know and find a deeper appreciation for Siena’s medieval history. Jody lives in San Juan Capistrano, California, and continues to spend as much time as possible in Siena. Montaperti: A Question of Loyalty is her first novel.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Jody-Pike-discusses-Montaperti
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 — Pam Ward & Each One Teach One;
- 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 27th
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
Beyond Baroque’s longest-running free poetry workshop is offered on Zoom and welcomes 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 L.A. Johnson, the author of the chapbook Little Climates (Bull City Press, 2017). She holds an MFA from Columbia University and a PhD from the University of Southern California, where she is currently a Mellon Humanities and University of the Future postdoctoral fellow. The winner of the 2022 Mississippi Review Poetry Prize, the 2022 Greensboro Review Poetry Prize, the 2021 Arts & Letters Rumi Poetry Prize, her poems appear in The Atlantic, Poetry Magazine, and The Slowdown. She’s received support for her writing from Vermont Studio Center, Community of Writers, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and elsewhere. Find more about her at http://www.la-johnson.com
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. There’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 27th
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-868274982847
Catherine Lord, with Matias Viegener,& The Effect of Tropical Light on White Men at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event
Catherine Lord in conversation with Matias Viegener, will discuss her book, The Effect of Tropical Light on White Men.
This book confronts the flammable history of colonialism on an insignificant Caribbean island. Using sardonic humor, well-honed critical rage, hundreds of photographs, and an abiding love of the tropics, the author queers the patriarchal skeleton by which an ambitious nineteenth century plantation owner organized his knowledge and reshuffles the master’s cards to dismantle the master’s house.
Catherine Lord is an artist and writer who divides her time between Hudson, NY and Manhattan. A long-time resident of Los Angeles, where she taught at CalArts and UC Irvine, her previous books include The Summer of Her Baldness: A Cancer Improvisation and the survey, with Richard Meyer, Art and Queer Culture. She has exhibited her work as an artist at Site Santa, Calllicoon Gallery, Thomas Jancar, the One Institute, the New Museum, and the Dorsky Museum. Her essays and autofiction have been widely published and anthologized.
Matias Viegener, a member of the CalArts critical studies faculty, is a writer, artist and critic who works in the fields of writing, visual art, and social practice. He is the author of 2500 Random Things About Me Too.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Wednesday the 27th
Time: 8 pm (Doors at 7:30 pm)
Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/catherine-lord-with-matias-viegener
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Nights offers a Reading & Open Mic.
$4 cover fee, cash only
NOTE: See site for further details.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday the 27th
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://www.facebook.com/events/7175630129158945/?ref=newsfeed
We Love L.A. Book Club: In a Lonely Place at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
We Love L.A. Book Club examines books and authors that weave the diversity and rich history of our city into their works.
The selection for March is In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes.
This 1947 noir mystery, the first to be told from the serial killer’s perspective, follows Dix Steele as he terrorizes women throughout Los Angeles. He must stay one step ahead of his friend and LAPD detective Brub, as well as his beautiful and perceptive love interest, Laurel.
The library will have copies to check out, or you may check our e-media page for electronic access on Libby and hoopla.
Note: See site for details.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/we-love-la-book-club-8
Poetry Writing Workshop with Jared Stanley at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a writing workshop with acclaimed poet Jared Stanley. For this workshop, Stanley will lead exercises in ‘writing the senses.
Jared Stanley teaches in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is the author of four collections of poetry—So Tough, EARS, The Weeds, and Book Made of Forest—as well as many chapbooks and pamphlets, most recently The Blurry Hole (with Sameer Farooq, Artspeak, 2022), and SHALL, (Black Rock Press, 2019). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Bennington Review, Harvard Review, VOLT, Folder Magazine, and many others. Stanley’s writing has won the The Saturnalia Prize, Harvard’s Woodberry Poetry Room Creative Fellowship (with Sameer Farooq), a Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, as well as fellowships from the Nevada Arts Council and the Center for Art + Environment. Recent collaborative art exhibitions have been shown at the Atheneum Art & Music Library (La Jolla), in collaboration with Matthew Hebert, and at the Lilley Museum (Reno), in collaboration with Sameer Farooq.
Note: See site for details.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-writing-workshop-jared-stanley
Sci-Fi Short Story Club: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress at Mark Twain Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join Sci-Fi lovers from across the universe via Zoom for the next meeting of the Sci-Fi Short Story Club. We will be discussing Nancy Kress’ 1991 novella Beggars in Spain. Available in print, eBook and eAudiobook.
Please note that the novella is contained within the novel of Beggars in Spain as “Book I.” RSVP:
RSVP:
For the Zoom link, please send an email request to mtwain@lapl.org.
Note: See site for details.
Where: Mark Twain Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/sci-fi-short-story-club-beggars-spain-nancy-kress
Cover-to-Cover Book Club: The Glass Hotel at Mid-Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss this monthly book selection: The Glass Hotel by author Emily St. John Mandel.
Note: See site for details.
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills, CA 91343
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/cover-cover-book-club-3
LGBTQ+ Book Club: Milk Fed at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
LGBTQ+ Book Club participants will discuss Milk Fed: A Novel, by author Melissa Broder.
This darkly hilarious and “delicious new novel that ravishes with sex and food” (The Boston Globe) from the acclaimed author of The Pisces and So Sad Today is a “precise blend of desire, discomfort, spirituality, and existential ache” (BuzzFeed).
Melissa Broder is the author of the novels Milk Fed, The Pisces, and Death Valley, the essay collection So Sad Today, and five poetry collections, including Superdoom. She has written for The New York Times, Elle, and New York magazine’s The Cut. She lives in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @SoSadToday and @MelissaBroder and Instagram @RealMelissaBroder.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/lgbtq-book-club-milk-fed
Exploring Ghana: Meet Mystery Writer Kwei Quartey at El Sereno Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Ghanaian American author Kwei Quartey has traveled extensively through Ghana and will share how he researches and writes his popular mystery novels, which include The Missing American (Winner of the 2021 Shamus Award for Best First PI novel), Sleep Well, My Lady and Last Seen in Lapaz.
Quartey is a renowned crime fiction writer and practicing physician, born in Ghana to a Ghanaian father and a Black American mother. He was deeply influenced by Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his youth. He hails from Pasadena, California. There will be time for Q&A after the program.
Note: See site for details.
Where: El Sereno Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 5226 S. Huntington Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90032
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/exploring-ghana-meet-mystery-writer-kwei-quartey
Cookies & Comics Graphic Novel Book Club at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Cookies & Comics Graphic Novel Book Club participants meet online to discuss graphic novels.
RSVP:
RSVP to cookiesandcomicsclub@gmail.com to be included on the monthly mailing list and for the Zoom link.
Note: See site for details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/cookies-comics-graphic-novel-book-club
Becky Ellis & Little Avalanches at pages: a bookstore – Online Event
Author Becky Ellis will present and discuss her memoir, Little Avalanches.
A daughter’s quest for truth. A soldier’s fight for survival. Their shared search for understanding.
Little Avalanches is a gorgeously written memoir of breathtaking scope that propels readers from the beaches of California in the early ‘70s to the battlefields of World War II.
As a young girl, Becky is forced to hide from phantom Nazis, subjected to dental procedures without pain medication, and torn from her mother again and again. Growing up in the shadow of her father’s PTSD, she wants to know what is wrong but knows not to ask.
Her father won’t talk about being a Timberwolf, a unit of specially trained night fighters that went into combat first and experienced a 300 percent casualty rate. He returns home with thirteen medals, including a Silver Star, and becomes a doctor and well-respected member of the community, but is haunted by his past.
Becky Ellis is a Timberwolf Pup. The daughter of a highly decorated World War II combat sergeant, she is a veteran of a war fought at home. She earned a BA in English Literature at UC Berkeley and has over twenty years of experience in the publishing industry. She teaches writing in Portland, Oregon, where she lives, plays, and has raised three daughters. Little Avalanches is her debut memoir.
Note: See site for tickets and details.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/author-becky-ellis-shares-her-new-memoir
Read the Room Event at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
We know it can be so hard to keep up with reading. As a bookstore team, we’ve all been there. So, we’re creating a monthly space where we can come together to read, by ourselves, in community. We’ll have light snacks and drinks covered, along with comfy seating and strong (quiet!) vibes. See you there.
NOTE: See site for sliding scale tickets and details.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 pm
Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016
Website: https://rep.club/products/march-28th-event-read-the-room
ALOUD Reading Series: Ideas | Mind and Machine: Understanding AI’s Impact on Youth Mental Health at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join us for the first of a special ALOUD series on AI, where we take a compelling look into the interaction between young people and AI systems, exploring subconscious perceptions and the significant effects of AI on youth mental health and development.
ALOUD on Ideas is an ongoing series that will take a thematic look at subjects that are particularly relevant to our time. This season, ALOUD presents Navigating the AI Maze: Investigating Artificial Intelligence in Our Lives: A Three-Part Series curated by Avriel Epps aimed at demystifying Artificial Intelligence, exploring its multifaceted impact on both society-at-large and our individual well-being.
Note: See site for details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Mark Taper Auditoriunm
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St.., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Saffron Coffee Presents: Consent Workshop with Mia Schachter, with Hannah Said,at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Mia Schachter, in conversation with Hannah Said,will discuss consent, boundaries, and Mia’s newest workbook, Boundaries + Consent for People Pleasers.
They’ll talk about boundaries, consent with yourself and others, authenticity, self-exploration, and finding your voice and using it.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Thursday the 28th
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-lsuypawo
At Skylight: Rita Bullwinkle, with Kathryn Scanlon, Amina Cain, Rachel Khong, & Kelsey Shell, & Headshot at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Rita Bullwinkle, in conversation with Kathryn Scanlon, Amina Cain, Rachel Khong, and Kelsey Shell, will discuss her book, Headshot: A Novel.
In Headshot, each of the eight teenage girl boxers in this blistering debut novel has her own reasons for the sacrifices she has made to come to Reno, Nevada, to compete to be named the best in the country. Through a series of face-offs that are raw, ecstatic, and punctuated by flashes of humor and tenderness, prizewinning writer Rita Bullwinkel animates the competitors’ pasts and futures as they summon the emotion, imagination, and force of will, that is required to win.
Frenetic, surprising, and strikingly original, Headshot is a portrait of the desire, envy, perfectionism, madness, and sheer physical pleasure that motivates young women to fight—even, and perhaps especially, when no one else is watching.
Rita Bullwinkel is the author of Belly Up, a story collection that won the Believer Book Award. The winner of a 2022 Whiting Award, she is an Editor at Large for McSweeney’s, the Deputy Editor of The Believer, a Contributing Editor at NOON, and an Assistant Professor of English at University of San Francisco where she teaches courses on creative writing, zines, and the uses of invented and foreign languages as tools for world building.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Nicholas George, with Cody Sisco, & A Deadly Walk in Devon at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Nicholas George, in conversation with Cody Sisco, will discuss his new book A Deadly Walk in Devon (A Walk Through England Mystery #1).
After a long career as a detective in San Diego, Rick “Chase” Chasen has traded in his badge for a change of scenery in the coastal comforts of Devon, England, until a local murder takes him on a deadly detour.
Still grieving the death of his long-time partner, Chase reunites with his dear friend and fellow Anglophile Billie Mondreau for a seacoast holiday of historic sightseeing. Chase, whose investigative instincts remain sharp, knows Gretz’s death was no accident. While helping the police investigate, he discovers that members of the tour group not only disliked the victim but had legitimate motives for wanting him dead.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Nicholas-George-discusses-A-Deadly-Walk-in-Devon
Tia Chucha’s Book Club: Funeral for Flaca at Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss Funeral for Flaca by author Emily Prado.
Funeral for Flaco is an explanation of things lost and found, including: identity, family, trauma, borders, cultures, and generations. Emilly Prado retraces her experience coming of age as a prep-turned-chola-turned-punk in this collection that is one-part memoir-in-essays, and one-part playlist, charging across genres and decades.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 28th
Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 12677 Glenoaks Blvd., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: https://www.tiachucha.org/events https://www.instagram.com/p/C38k6c8SSDe/?img_index=1
Spectacular Storytime at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Spectacular Storytime is a weekly time to have fun with books with enthusiastic troubadour, Maddi!
Open to all ages. Free to attend.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Friday the 29th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
At Skylight: Sasha LaPointe & Thunder Song at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Sasha La Pointe will discuss her book, Thunder Song.
Thunder Song is a collection of essays on what it means to be a proudly queer indigenous woman in the United States today, from the author of the award-winning memoir Red Paint.
Unapologetically punk, the essays in Thunder Song segue from the miraculous to the mundane, from the spiritual to the physical, as they examine the role of art—in particular music—and community in helping a new generation of indigenous people claim the strength of their heritage while defining their own path in the contemporary world.
Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is a Coast Salish author from the Nooksack and Upper Skagit Indian tribes. She is the author of Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk, winner of a Pacific Northwest Book Award, the Washington State Book Award for Creative Nonfiction/Memoir, and an NPR Best Book of the Year, and the poetry collection Rose Quartz. She received a double MFA in creative nonfiction and poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She lives in Tacoma, Washington.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Friday the 29th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-sasha-lapointe-presents-thunder-song-3
Slanguage Poetry Show: Hosted by AKoldPiece at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
AKoldPiece hosts the Slanguage Poetry Show, with music by DJ Westwood.
AKoldPiece is a Los Ángeles native, educator, spoken word artist and host. He is also the author of the poetry collection The Weather Report (World Stage Press).
NOTE: See site for details. Presale tickets $10; $15 at the door.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Friday the 29th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.instagram.com/akoldpiece/?hl=en
L.A. Book Launch: Linda Ravenswood & a poem is a house, with Guests – In-Person Event
Join us for the launch of Linda Ravenswood’s new book, a poem is a house. The author will be joined by Senator Anthony Portantino, Allegra Parks, Christina Cha, Bernadette McComish, Brian Sonia-Wallace, Diana Dinerman, Tom Laichas, and Kendalle Getty. Book signing to follow the reading.
This book [a poem is a house] is a revelation. Ravenswood shows us that—a poem is a house—as well as a housefire, a history, a family, a stranger, a choir. Stunning poems such as “The children turn themselves into ICE” and “names of Malinche / names of her children” are full of command and compassion, grit ,and grace.
Please note Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo won’t be able to join this reading.
About the authors:
Linda Ravenswood is a poet and performance artist from Los Angeles. Her new book–a poem is a house–was just published by Madville Press.
Senator Anthony Portantino is the representatIve for our California 25th district. Politician, LGBTQIA+ rights champion, and poet, he lives in Glendale with his wife and two daughters.
Tom Laichas is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Three Hundred Streets of Venice California (FutureCycle Press, 2023). His work has appeared in Los Angeles Times, The Irish Times, The Moth (Ireland), Aesthetica (UK) and elsewhere. He lives with his family in Venice, California.
Christina Cha is a writer of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Her work has been published in The Coachella Review, Pratik, and The Los Angeles Press, and was shortlisted for the 46th New Millennium Writing Award for Nonfiction. One of her pieces was nominated for this year’s Pushcart Prize. She is featured in and a consulting producer for You Are My Audience, a documentary in 10 self-portraits, which released in December 2023. Her portrait is about her writing and relationship to her aunt, the artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Christina is also an editor and writing mentor and has been teaching in Sarah Selecky’s Writing School since 2013. She currently lives and writes in Los Angeles, after many years in San Francisco.
Kendalle Getty is a poet, performance artist, and visual artist from Los Angeles. A philanthropist and champion of the arts, she is working on a solo collection that will come out in 2025 with the Los Angeles press.
Brian Sonia-Wallace was poet laureate of West Hollywood, 2020-2024. His books include I wrote these poems, now I want them back (yak press); California, a book of essays on traveling the country with a typewriter (Harper Collins), and most recently maze mouth (Moon Tide Press, 2023).
Diana Dinerman is a writer and performer. Her work has been featured in Los Angeles Times, The Sun, and The Los Angeles Press.
Allegra Parks is a poet and psychotherapist based in LA and NYC.
Bernadette McComish is a poet, educator, and producer from NewRochelle. A fast- talking kid from New York, she attended Hunter College, and received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She has two chapbooks out, Florence Nightingale‘s lost log, and the Book of Johns from Dancing Girl Press, and Lily Poetry, and has her first Solo Collection–Prophets of Los Angeles–coming out this spring from The Los Angeles Press. She is the West Coast producer of the world-famous Poetry Brothel, and she is Director of events with the Poetry Society of New York. A champion for kids in art and theater, and a champion for her friends and colleagues in art, Bernadette is a wonderful friend and supporter of poetry as a living force for change.
NOTE: See site for guidelines & details.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Friday the 29th
Time: 8 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-book-launch-a-poem-is-a-house-by-linda-ravenswood-tickets-861796635937
Creative Lab: Community Open Mic via Get Lit Players – In-Person Teen Event
Creative Lab: Community jam day. All 4 pathways in one space working together. Followed by an open mic with 20 slots for kids who sign up and a headlining performance from GLPS. This event is for current Get Lit Players and Creative Lab students.
NOTE: See site for Zoom details.
Where: Get Lit Office
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 10 am – 1 pm
Address: 672 S. La Fayette Pl., #10, Los Angeles, CA
Website: https://www.getlit.org/events
Book Club for Middle Grade Readers at Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL – Online MG Event
Middle-grade readers are invited to participate in our fun monthly book discussions. This month, we will be reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
RSVP:
Please e-mail Ms. Ashley at akagan@lapl.org or Ms. Gail at gkim@lapl.org for the Zoom login information.
Where: Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 10:30 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-middle-grade-readers-22
Book Club for Middle Grade Readers at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online MG Event
Middle-grade readers are invited to participate in our fun monthly book discussions. This month, we will be reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
RSVP:
Please email akagan@lapl.org or gkim@lapl.org for the Zoom login information.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 10:30 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-middle-grade-readers-phantom-tollbooth-norton-juster
Writing Workshop with Jen Cheng: Writing Memorable Characters at West Hollywood Library – In-Person Event
West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng offers a workshop to inspire memorable characters using prompts and improv exercises to sharpen characters for writers of all levels. For adults.
Whether it’s narrative or poetry, bring your work-in-progress or start something new. In celebration of Women’s History Month, there will be a component of the class about writing strong female characters. Refreshments provided by the Friends of the West Hollywood Library.
Jen Cheng is the Fifth West Hollywood Poet Laureate, author of Braided Spaces, a 2023 California Arts Council Fellow, and a multidisciplinary storyteller who amplifies under-represented voices. Jen is the founder of Palabras Literary Salon, celebrating BIPOC poets and writers. Jen blends East-West cultural influences in a new form, Feng Shui Poetry. With stories for tween audiences, mystery detective fans, and queer love, Jen is a cross-pollinator. Find her on Twitter/IG @JenCvoice or JenCvoice.com.
NOTE: See site to join WAIT LIST.
Where: West Hollywood Library
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 10:30 am
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/9937182
Writers Festival: Author Sessions Presented by Friends of Cerritos Library and Bel Canto Books Off-site – In-Person Event
The Writers Festival includes a series of author and illustrator events.
This event will include lunch, entertainment, and an opportunity for guests to engage with six authors about their work! Bel Canto books will be the book seller available at the festival to sell copies of the authors latest books for purchase. Participants will also have an opportunity to get their books signed by the authors. The confirmed authors are as follows:
Alka Joshi: An internationally bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy: The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris. Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a New York Times Bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Pick and was LongListed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. It has been translated into 29 languages and is currently in development at Netflix as a tv series. Joshi was born in India and came to the U.S. with her family at the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts.
Belinda Huijuan Tang: Author of the novel Map for the Missing, Belinda Huijuan Tang is a 2021 graduate of the Iowa Writer’s workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow and recipient of the Michener-Copernicus Fellowship. She earned a BA from Stanford University and was a 2019 work-study fellow at the Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She lived in China from 2016 to 2018 where she earned a MA from Peking University in Beijing.
Carolyn Huynh: Carolyn Huynh loves writing about messy Asian women who never learn from their mistakes. After living up and down the west coast, she now resides in Los Angeles with her partner and her chaotic dog. The Fortunes of Jaded Women is her debut novel and was a Good Morning America book club pick. She is at work on her next novel, The Breadwinner, out from Atria in 2024.
Diane Marie Brown: Author of the novel Black Candle Women, Diane Marie Brown is a professor at Orange Coast College and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department. She has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program. Black Candle Women was selected for “Read with Jenna” featured on the Today show.
Melissa Chadburn’s writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, The New York Review of Books, Longreads, and Paris Review online. Her debut novel, A Tiny Upward Shove, was longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway award. She was recently awarded her doctoral degree from USC’s Creative Writing Program.
Zara Raheem: Author of The Retreat and The Marriage Clock, which was named a “must-read book of the summer” by Cosmopolitan, POPSUGAR, Bustle, Book riot, among others. She is the recipient of the James I. Murashige Jr. Memorial award in fiction and was selected as one of 2019’s Harriet Williams Emerging Writers. She received her MFA from California State University, Long Beach.
NOTE: See site for complete schedule.
Where: Bel Canto Books off-site at Cerritos Library
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 11 am – 3 pm (Author Panel from 1:15 pm – 2 pm)
Address: 18025 Bloomfield Ave., Cerritos, CA 90703
4th Annual 30 in 30 Workshop with Brendan Constantine at Beyond Baroque – Online ZOOM Event
Beyond Baroque’s 4th Annual, online poetry workshop focused on getting you through poetry month and beyond!
Poet Brendan Constantine returns to Beyond Baroque for National Poetry Month and his popular 30/30 Challenge Workshop! Beginning on the last Saturday of March and through every Saturday in April, participants will engage in projects and discussions to inspire even the most reluctant writer. At the end of each session, everyone receives a packet of prompts and materials to keep you writing a poem a day! This is its fourth popular year in a row and spaces will go fast!
This workshop will be conducted across five Saturdays, beginning on Saturday March 30 – Saturday April 27, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. pdt.
All workshops will be held via Zoom.
Brendan Constantine is a poet based in Los Angeles. He is the author of five full-length collections and his work as appeared in many standards including Poetry, The Nation, Best American Poetry, and Poem-a-Day. A popular performer, Brendan has presented his work to audiences throughout the U.S. and Europe, also appearing on NPR’s All Things Considered, TED ED, numerous podcasts, and YouTube. He currently teaches creative writing at the Windward School and at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Since 2017, he has been developing poetry workshops for people with Aphasia and Traumatic Brain Injuries.
NOTE: See site for costs, guidelines & details.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Saturday the 30th (weekly through April 27th)
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291
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 and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Literature $ Fiction Rooms
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 11 am
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-workshop-1
Sí Sabo! Storytime with Mike Alfaro and Gerardo Guillén at Casita Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us for Sí Sabo! Storytime with Mike Alfaro and Gerardo Guillén.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Casita Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1440 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://www.casitabooks.com/
Children’s Storytime: Ty-Juana Taylor & Life of Song at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Join us to celebrate Women’s History Month with a reading from the book A Life of Song. Written by local author Ty-Juana Taylor, this wonderful story teaches us about the incredible life of Ms. Ella Jenkins and all of her many musical achievements.
Make sure to RSVP on our EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/35638
Release Party: Isabel Quintero & Mama’s Panza at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Author Isabel Quintero will be at Cellar Door Bookstore for the release party of her new book Mama’s Panza . Local celebrated Mexican-American artista Cynthia Huerta will be joining the celebration by leading art activities as well!
With affirming text by Isabel Quintero and vivid art by Iliana Galvez, Mamá’s Panza is a young boy’s love letter to his mother, along with a celebration of our bodies and our bellies.
Isabel Quintero was born in the Inland Empire of Southern California and grew up in the city of Corona. Quintero attended California State University in San Bernardino where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English, and later a Master of Arts in English Composition. She is the author of the young adult novel Gabi, a Girl in Pieces (Cinco Punto Press, 2014).
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 11 am
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/mamaspanza
AAWU Long Beach Meeting & Featured Guests Jodi Balma & Iris Yamashita at Long Beach City College with Bel Canto Books Off-site – In-Person Event
As part of the AAWU Long Beach business meeting and author’s luncheon, they will host Fullerton College Professor Jodi Balma speaking on Reproductive Rights in a Post Dobbs Nation, followed by author Iris Yamashita, author of City Under One Roof.
Jodi Balma started her career as a professor of political science at Fullerton College in 2000. She has served as the faculty coordinator of the Honors Program since 2012. She has been awarded Fullerton College Teacher of the Year in 2021 and 2014. She was named 2022 Orange County Community College Teacher of the Year.
Professor Balma specializes in American politics and California state and local government. Her goal is to help students learn how to think about politics and community problems with an emphasis on critical thinking and analysis, regardless of political party or ideology. She helps students understand how they can become involved in working with community leaders to find solutions.
She is a regular on-the-record analyst for newspaper and radio media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, Voice of OC, KNX 1070, KPCC, and NPR. California Senator Josh Newman named her as the 2021 Woman of the Year for Senate District 29. She served as the President of the Honors Transfer Council of California from 2013-2017 and remains active in the organization.
Iris Yamashita is a talented screenwriter, known for her work Iwo Jima, and the author of her debut mystery novel City Under One Roof.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, details, and complete schedule.
Where: Bel Canto Books off-site at Long Beach City College, Room T-1200
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 4901 E. Carson St, Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/
Felicia’s Free Form Writing Workshop via Sims Library of Poetry – Online Event
Join the ongoing event, Felicia’s Free Form Writing Workshop online via Sims Library of Poetry.
Felicia Taylor E. is a poet, actress, author, writer, and arts educator. She’s performed with the Award-winning companies, Deaf West Theater and Dallas Children’s Theater. And toured with companies in California performing Shakespeare, Contemporary plays and Poetry. As an Arts Educator, she’s worked within the community creating workshops and performances for museums, schools, libraries, and colleges. Her belief is that “writing and journaling is healing.” Her book Southern Spiced: A Brown Girl’s Tale, is a Reader’s Choice Book Award Finalist.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 12 pm – 1:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.simslibraryofpoetry.org/event-details/felicias-free-form-drop-in-writing-session-15
Natalie Molina, with Yesika Salgado, & A Place at the Nayarit at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join historian Natalia Molina to discuss her award-winning book A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community, in conversation with poet Yesika Salgado.
In 1951, Dr. Molina’s grandmother Doña Natalia Barraza opened the Nayarit restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park. Over the decades, the Nayarit became not only a beloved dining destination frequented by everyone from Hollywood stars to working-class families but also an anchor for the community—a gathering space where a diverse group of locals could celebrate traditional Mexican cuisine and culture and feel at home. Through deep research, vivid storytelling, and family memories, Dr. Molina shows how the restaurant functioned as a microcosm of the neighborhood’s nexus of immigrants, political outsiders, and minorities, all striving to establish a safe space within the larger context of Los Angeles’ explosive and often ruthless development into a megacity. Although the restaurant was sold and converted into The Echo nightclub in 2001, its legacy lives on in the many other restaurants and businesses founded by former Nayarit staffers, as well as the distinctive character of the Echo Park neighborhood Doña Natalia helped establish. The Edendale library is just a block from the Nayarit, whose original facade and sign are still up. So, this is the perfect place to experience the neighborhood of the book for yourself!
Dr. Natalia Molina is a Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and a MacArthur Fellow.
Yesika Salgado is an award-winning poet and body-positive activist based in Echo Park. She is a two-time National Poetry Slam finalist, Long Beach Slam Champion, and recipient of the 2020 International Latino Book Award in Poetry. Yesika is the author of the best-sellers Corazón, Tesoro, and Hermosa, and the writer of the columns Suelta for Remezcla and Relaciones for R29 Somos.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
A Reading with Santa Monica Review at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event
Literary arts journal Santa Monica Review returns to Beyond Baroque, bringing contributors published in the Spring 2024 Issue. Founded by writer Jim Krusoe, the journal publishes fiction and nonfiction. Come and hear readings from writers Denise Heyl McEvoy, Bryan D. Price, Karen Moulding, and James Warner.
Denise Heyl McEvoy lives and writes in Orange County, California. This is her second appearance in Santa Monica Review. Her work also has been published in American Short Fiction and Iowa Review, which nominated her for the Pen America/Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers in 2019. She is an alumna of the Community of Writers Workshop in Olympic Valley, Chapman University Community Creative Writing Workshop, and Amherst College.
Bryan D. Price is the author of A Plea for Secular Gods: Elegies (What Books, 2023) His stories and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Diagram, American Chordata, Boulevard, JMWW, Rhino Poetry, and elsewhere. He lives in San Diego, California.
Karen Moulding’s fiction and poetry have appeared in KGB Online Literary Review, The Capra Review, Nerve.com, and Smut 2, a best of Nerve anthology (Chronicle Books). Her novel, The Naked Shopper, was named first runner-up for the Red Hen Press & Quill Prose Award in 2019. She is founder of the bicoastal East Village Writers Workshop, which features Zoom and in-person workshops and childcare for beleaguered parent-writers during the workshops. She earned an MFA in Fiction from Columbia. A frazzled but happy solo mom, she splits her time between Los Angeles and New York with her nine-year-old daughter Fin, an actress extraordinaire. Karen (who bemoans having the name “Karen”) is currently writing about the hilariously misunderstood plight of a “stage mom.”
James Warner lives in Long Beach, California, where he sometimes teaches yoga classes. Besides Santa Monica Review, his short stories have appeared most recently in Rivet Journal, Your Impossible Voice, and Web Conjunctions. He is one of the moderators of Wednesday Edition, a weekly Zoom writing workshop, which is free to attend for anyone who’s interested.
About Santa Monica Review:
Founded by Jim Krusoe in 1988, Santa Monica Review is a nationally distributed literary arts journal sponsored by Santa Monica College. The journal is published twice yearly, in fall and spring. The Review currently features literary fiction and nonfiction, though in past years also included poetry. SMR represents Santa Monica College’s commitment to the literary arts, community, and literacy. In nearly 30 years of production, the Review has featured both first-time writers and established literary authors, with a focus on showcasing the work of Southern California and Pacific Rim writers.
NOTE: See site for further details, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm (doors a 1:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Creative Writing Group at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Calling all writers of fiction, screenplays, poetry, etc. Get feedback on your writing in a fun, supportive environment. Meetings include a writing prompt/exercise, snacks, and a rollicking good time! Whether you are just starting out or well on your way to glory, join us and banish (at least temporarily) those Lonely Writer Blues!
RSVP:
Please RSVP by emailing fiction@lapl.org today.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Meeting Room B
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/writers-group-0
Author Event: The Girl in the Yellow Poncho at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
Kristal Brent Zook will present and discuss her memoir, The Girl in the Yellow Poncho.
The Girl in the Yellow Poncho is Zook’s coming-of-age tale about what it means to be biracial in America. Throughout, she grapples with in-betweenness while also facing childhood sexual assault, economic insecurity, and multigenerational alcoholism and substance abuse on both the Black and white sides of her family. Her story is one of strong Black women—herself, her cousin, her mother, and her grandmother—and the generational cycles of oppression and survival that seemingly defined their lives.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Book Jewel
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Westchester, Losa Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.thebookjewel.com/events
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Special Event Readings in Singer Park – In-Person Event
SPECIAL TIME! Saturday, March 30th, 2 to 5 pm in Singer Park on California Blvd & St. John Ave in Pasadena.
Special Event: 2024 San Gabriel Valley Poetry Festival featuring Lee Boek, October Blu, Coco, G.T. Foster, Sean Hill, Sun Luu, Mike Sonksen, Antonieta Villamil & Dig Wayne + S.A.P MAG Poets + Big Open Reading with book prizes for all participants!
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry in Singer Park
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: California Blvd. & St. John Ave.
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Saffron Cowboy Coffee Presents: Summer Farrah, with Samai Saliba, at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join us to hear for the I Could Die Today and Live Again Tour: Summer Farah with Samia Saliba.
Join us for an evening of poetry from two Game Over Books authors celebrating the release of Summer Farah’s Zelda-inspired chapbook, I Could Die Today and Live Again.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lsuyvst2
ROAR VI: Celebrating the Resilient Feminine & Open Mic with LA Poet Society at The Libros, Lincoln Heights – In-Person Event
Join Los Angeles Poet Society and host Jessica M. Wilson for the ROAR VI Reading Event, celebrating the resilient feminine with Open Mic and guest readers:
Queen Quannie, Popcorn, Boog J. Ghosst, Andrea Lee, Alex Petunia, Jocelyn, Lady K Day, Lili of the Valley, Egyptian Princess, Firme Lit, Jesenia Chávez, VOTH, Jessica M. Wilson.
Queen Quannie is the author of the poetry collection A Journey Through Love about a comforting melody of love, a strength only given from God above and a reason to keep moving forward.
Andrea Lee is a poet born and raised in Los Ángeles. Her hope is to better the lives of our youth and improve her community through the life skill classes that she teaches in inner-city group homes.
Alex Petunia is an L.Á. based nurse-poet and a graduate of Community Literature Initiative, a year long program that helps poets and writers complete their books. She hosts Meditation Mondays through the LA Poet Society and is the author of the collecting Tending My Wild (World Stage Press, 2021).
Lady K Day is a spoken word poet and Saxophonist. She has taught workshops at Los Ángeles area venues such as Café con Libros through the LA Poet Society.
Jesenia Chávez is a proud Chicanita, public-school teacher, writer, poet and storyteller. She has kept a diary since elementary school, and it is filled with witty observations on the life of a little Mexican girl in Southeast Los Angeles who keeps losing her chanclas. She is the author of This Poem May Save You (Me) (Alegría Publishing, 2022).
VOTH is a LGBTQIA poet, survivor and mental health advocate from San Pedro, California. His debut poetry collection is Dieagnosis (Riot of Roses Publishing, 2023).
Jessica M. Wilson is a Chicana poet from East Los Ángeles and founder and Executive Director of the Los Angeles Poet Society, an organization aiming to unite literary Los Ángeles. She graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Otis College of Art and Design and is the author of the collection Serious Longing (Swan World Press).
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: The Libros, Lincoln Heights
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3422 N. Broadway., Los Angeles, CA 90031
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4vbl1YrIg2/
The Unbuttoning: A Staged Reading by Beth Henley at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event
Beyond Baroque presents a staged reading of The Unbuttoning, by the award-winning playwright and screenwriter Beth Henley. This surreal romance follows Dollarhide Star, a worn-out salesman climbing to the top of a steep mountain to sell a lightning rod to a young, lone woman by the name of Net Marsh. Each one holds a host of secrets that unbutton, unravel, and reveal dark truths. Both are violent and both are victims. Delusion and lies lead to seduction, destruction, and a broken forgiveness. See this play come to life in The Wanda Coleman Theater.
Beth Henley is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and professor. Her plays include Crimes of the Heart (Pulitzer Prize in Drama, New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play, and Tony Award nominee for best play), The Wake of Jamey Foster, The Miss Firecracker Contest, Am I Blue, The Lucky Spot, The Debutante Ball, Abundance, Control Freaks, Impossible Marriage, Family Week, Ridiculous Fraud, The Jacksonian, Laugh, and The Unbuttoning. Her plays have been produced on Broadway and across the country as well as internationally and translated into 14 languages. Ms. Henley’s screenplays include Crimes of the Heart (Academy Award nominee for best screenplay), Nobody’s Fool, The Miss Firecracker Contest, and David Byrne’s True Stories. Originally from Mississippi, Ms. Henley now lives in Los Angeles.
Carolyn Braver is a director, writer, and actor for theater and film. Some of her favorite acting credits include starring opposite Denzel Washington and Austin Butler in the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh, and playing in Ray Donovan’s origin story in the Emmy -nominated Ray Donovan Movie. She started her career at the famous Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, where she originated the role of Zoe in Airline Highway, as well as in its Broadway transfer. She can also be seen on FBI, Chicago Fire, and Mercy Street. The short film OFF THE HORSE, which she wrote, produced, and directed, starring Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, and Lily Harris, is currently in post-production and is being produced by Mary Ellen Moffat Films and Nomadica Films. She helped develop and directed the workshop of Beth Henley’s The Downstairs Neighbor at Flint New Works Festival and will direct the workshop of Elise Kibler’s Pretty Basic there this spring, as well as many other fun projects in various stages of development.
Christopher Bannow is an actor based in New York City. He was last seen in L.A. as Jud in Oklahoma! (Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theater), which he also performed on Broadway. Bannow received a 2023 Lucille Lortel Award for his work in Wolf Play at MCC Theater and has worked Off-Broadway at Soho Rep, Park Avenue Armory, Ma-Yi, and in Punchdrunk’s immersive Sleep No More. Other theater credits include The Elephant Man, starring Bradley Cooper, both on Broadway and Theater Royal Haymarket in London, and Hamlet, starring Paul Giamatti at Yale Repertory Theater. Film credits include David Chase’s Not Fade Away and Jon Avnet’s Three Christs. He is a member of The Pack, whose new play, The Almonds, is premiering in ‘24/25. He is a graduate of Boston University and Yale School of Drama.
Lily Harris is an L.A.-based actor, collaborator, and animal-lover. Lily helped develop another Beth Henley’s play, Downstairs Neighbor, and she’s thrilled to be back working with Beth alongside Carolyn and Christopher! Catch her on Chicago Med and in the upcoming short films Off the Horse and Overturned. Lily holds an MFA from American Conservatory Theater.
NOTE: See site for further details, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 30th
Time: 7 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Creative Lab: Mixtape Masterclass via Get Lit – Livestream Event
This event is for current Creative Lab students. Fine-tune your musical potential in this production course. You’ll learn the basics of songwriting & lyricism, voice control & flow, rhythm & rhyme, instrumentation, producing, and sound engineering while developing skills with recording equipment, Digital Audio Workstations, and live DJ techniques. This series of handcrafted workshops from seasoned music professionals will take you through the process of creating an album start-to-finish, culminating with the release of a class mixtape.
When: Every Sunday from 2-5pm
Where: Zoom/The Get Lit Office in Los Angeles
Frequency: Weekly for 12 weeks, Jan. 28 – May 5, 2024
Instructor: Austin Antoine
NOTE: See site for Zoom details.
Where: Get Lit – Words Ignite
Date: Sunday the 31st
Time: 2 pm – 5 pm
Address: Livestream Event (see site)
Website: https://www.getlit.org/events
Los Angeles Literature 