Haiku Challenge at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person and Online Hybrid Event
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we’re celebrating with poetry by supporting one of our favorite Eagle Rock local Asian-owned businesses. Discover your inner poet and submit your original haiku in person or by email at eaglrk@lapl.org for a chance to win a gift card. All ages are welcome to participate! Submissions will be accepted through May 31.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday, the 20th (Every Day in May)
Time: 9:30 am – 8 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/haiku-challenge
Book Club: Trust at Fairfax Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Trust by author Hernan Diaz.
This is a complex work of historical fiction is set in New York, where money, power and class interact and demonstrate how trust and betrayal play huge roles in human affairs and throughout society.
NOTE: See site for details. NO RSVP required.
Where: Fairfax Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 11 am
Address: 161 S. Gardner St., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-trust-hernan-diaz
Big Read Book Discussion: Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Valley Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Participants will discuss the Big Read Book of 2024, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast.
NOTE: See site for details. NO RSVP required.
Where: Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 4:45 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/big-read-book-discussion-27
Philosophical Horror Book Club: Monnnatrilio at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Philosophical Horror Book Club participants will discuss Monstrilio, by author Gerardo Samano Cordova.
In this literary horror debut, a boy who transforms into a monster, who tries to be a man, and the author meditates on the people who love him in every form he takes and the monstrous sides of love and loyalty.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Monday, the 20th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event
Book Talk for Young Adult Readers: Rex Ogle & Road Home at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person YA Event
L.A.-based author Rex Ogle will discuss his YA memoir, Road Home, the “finale” to this memoir trilogy written for ages 14+.
Here, Rex tells the story of his coming out and his father’s rejection of his identity, navigating abuse and survival on the streets. Road Home is a devastating and incandescent reflection on Rex’s hunger—for food, for love, and for a place to call home—completing the trilogy of memoirs that began with the award-winning Free Lunch.
Rex Ogle is the author of Free Lunch, which won the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award; Abuela, Don’t Forget Me, a finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award; and Punching Bag, a NYPL Best Book of the Year. Rex lives in Los Angeles.
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Monday, the 20th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-rex-ogles-road-home-tickets-883842315157?aff=oddtdtcreator
Book Discussion: Hidden Los Angeles: The Story of Our Water at Sherman Oaks-Martin Pollard Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The story of water in our city is a fascinating one. Join us via Zoom for the story of this precious resource. Our guest speakers, Ben Wong and Kharla Pimentel, work in the Strategic Planning Group of LADWP Water Resources, and they will share information about the history of our city’s water.
RSVP:
Please register at site. A link to the Zoom event will be forwarded to those with tickets.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 6:15 pm
Address: Online Event
Writing Workshop: Poetry & Prose with James Coats via Inlandia Institute – Online Zoom Event
In this multi-genre workshop, participants receive twice-monthly inspiration in the form of both poetry and prose. Prompts inspire writing in the genre of your choice. Class discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face in generating poetry, memoir, and short and long fiction.
James Coats is an author, poet, and educator born in Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire. He received his BFA from Cal Poly Pomona and his MBA from Cal State San Bernardino. As a creative change agent, he believes the arts can inspire youth and influence positive change in the world. His first poetry collection, If I had Lived, was published in 2018. In 2021, he founded Lift Our Voices Education, which hosts the monthly “Be The Change: Social Justice Writing Workshop.” His newest poetry collection, Midnight & Mad Dreams, is published by World Stage Press. Follow him on Instagram @MrLovingWords.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, schedule of alternating Mondays, and details.
Where: on Zoom through Inlandia
Date: Monday, the 20th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/events/
Ticketed: Kathleen Hanna & Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk at Book Soup Off-site at Wilshire Ebell Theatre – In-Person Event
Kathleen Hanna will present and discuss her memoir, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk.
Kathleen Hanna’s band Bikini Kill embodied the punk scene of the 90s, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like “Rebel Girl” and “Double Dare Ya” are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from?
In Rebel Girl, Hanna’s raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumul-tuous childhood to her formative college years and her first shows. As Hanna makes clear, being in a punk “girl band” in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, options, and details.
Where: Wilshire Ebell Theatre
Date: Monday, the 20th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 4401 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, CA 90005
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/book-soup-presents-kathleen-hanna
Meet the Author: Rod Pulido, with Damien Jackson, & Chasing Pacquiao, at Cerritos Library – In-Person Event
Author Rod Pulido will be in conversation with the amazing Damien “DJ” Jackson, discussing CHASING PACQUIAO, and Asian Am and queer representation. They’ll also be giving out cool prizes. See you there!
Casitas Bookstore will be partnering in this event.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Cerritos Library, Skyline Room
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 18025 Bloomfield Ave., Cerritos, CA 90703
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7EwrDLRBRJ/
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 20th
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: Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Faith Schaffer & The Worst Ronin at Skylight Books – In-Person YA Event
Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Faith Schaffer will present their book, The Worst Ronin.
When an unlikely pair of female samurai join forces, what begins as your run-of-the-mill quest for glory and revenge evolves into something much more complicated. Turns out fighting actual demons doesn’t mean you’re not running from your own internal ones. Nimona meets Attack on Titan in this edgy, unexpectedly hilarious, genre-defying young adult graphic novel.
Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies; The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea; Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle; and Love in the Library, illustrated by Yas Imamura. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog.
Faith Schaffer is a designer and visual development artist for animation. Her art has been featured in Disenchantment, Amphibia, The Owl House, and more.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-maggie-tokuda-hall-faith-schaffer-present-worst-ronin
Tom Hoffarth and Contributors & Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Tom Hoffarth and Contributors will present and discuss Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully.
Joining Tom Hoffarth for this panel discussion will be Perfect Eloquence contributors, Patt Morrison, Chris Erskine, Paul Haddad, Sammy Roth, and Fred Claire.
In this book, sixty-seven essayists-one representing each season of Vin Scully’s career calling games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1950 through 2016-reflect on the ways his professional and private life influenced them. The contributions include a range of stories and remembrances from those who knew and followed him.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Monday, the 20th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Tom-Hoffarth-discusses-Perfect-Eloquence
Monday Night Fiction Workshop at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – 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 20th
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-906087561287
LiveTalks LA: An Evening with Amy Tan & The Blackbird Chronicles at Neighborhood Congregational Church, Laguna Beach – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Amy Tan, acclaimed author of The Joy Luck Club,in conversation with Rev. Rodrick Echols, will discuss her book The Blackbird Chronicles, a witty account of birding, nature, and the beauty around us that hides in plain site.
Amy Tan is the author of several novels, including The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter’s Daughter. She is a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club and is on the board of American Bird Conservancy. She lives in Sausalito, California.
In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world. In search of peace, the bestselling author turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. What began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.
Rev. Rodrick Echols serves as Pastor at Neighborhood Congregational Church, UCC in Laguna Beach, CA. He is a graduate of both Brown University and the School of Theology at Boston University. With 20 years of professional experience in the religious ecosystem, he is a pastor in transition to a new world where the largest religion in America is now no religion. His insatiable curiosity causes him to wonder about the possibilities of human spirituality untethered from religion.
Where: Neighborhood Congregational Church, Laguna Beach
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 340 St. Ann’s Dr., Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/amy-tan-laguna-beach/
Virtual Book Club: Real Americans via La Crescenta Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
The La Crescenta Library Virtual Book Club meets weekly on Tuesdays on Zoom. Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your Zoom invite to attend the book club. For adults.
Real Americans by author Rachel Khong begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew, pharmaceutical empire heir. They couldn’t be more different; despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love.
Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with this read from upcoming Asian American author and editor Rachel Khong, based in San Francisco.
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/10782245
Before the Ban Book Club: Knight’s Gender Queer at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Before the Ban Book Club participants will discuss Gender Queer: A Memoir by author Maia Kubabi.
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
Maia Kobabe is a nonbinary, queer author and illustrator from the Bay Area, California. Eir first full-length book is GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR. Maia’s short comics have been published by The Nib and in many anthologies and her work is heavily influenced by fairy tales, homesickness, and the search for identity.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 12 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/ban-book-club-gender-queer
Tuesday Afternoon Book Club: Possession at Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Tuesday Afternoon Book Club meets every monthly and all are welcome.
Participants will discuss the novel Possession, by A.S. Byatt (Part 2).
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 1 pm
Address: 2411 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/tuesday-afternoon-book-club-6
Nonfiction Book Club: Travels with Charlie at Donald Bruce Kauffman-Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Nonfiction Book Club participants will discuss the book Travels with Charlie, by John Steinbeck.
Titles for the upcoming month are available to check out at the Brentwood Branch Library circulation desk.
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: Donald Bruce Kauffman-Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 1 pm
Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/nonfiction-book-club
Mysterious Book Club: The Expendable Man at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Mysterious Book Club participants will discuss the book The Expendable Man by Doroty B. Hughes.
Why does Hugh Denismore, a seemingly comfortable new intern driving his mother’s Cadillac from LA to Phoenix, get so upset at the sight of a few redneck teenagers in Indio? Why is he reluctant to pick up a disheveled girl hitchhiking along the desert highway? And why is he the first person the police suspect when she is found dead in Arizona a few days later?
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 861 Alma Real Dr., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mysterious-book-club-21
Virtual Book Club: Rebecca F. Kuang & Yellowface via Los Angeles County Library, LACL – Online Event
Join us for a conversation with author Rebecca F. Kuong as she discusses her novel Yellowface, which grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as social media alienation.
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: Los Angeles County Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/10712843
Kids Creative Writing Workshop: The Expendable Man at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids Event
Join us for an engaging series of writing workshops designed for children in grades 1-3. Led by experienced high school volunteers, these workshops will help foster literary skills. No prior experience necessary!
The workshop on Tuesday, May 21 will start at 5 p.m. instead of 4 p.m.
RSVP:
To reserve a spot for your child, please complete this google form.
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 5 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/kids-creative-writing-workshop
Classic Detectives Book Club: Knight’s Gambit at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Classic Detectives Book Club participants will discuss Knight’s Gambit: The Restored Edition, by author William Faulkner.
Faulkner’s six dectective stories feature attorney Gavin Stevens, a recurring character from Faulkner’s novels, as he investigates violent crimes. This newly restored edition presents the stories the way Faulkner intended them.
William Faulkner was born in 1897 and raised in Oxford, Mississippi, where he spent most of his life. One of the towering figures of American literature, he is the author of The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and Absalom, Absalom!, among many other remarkable books. Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1949 and France’s Legion of Honor in 1951. He died in 1962.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/classic-detectives-book-club-knights-gambit
Rabbi John Rosov & From the West to the East at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Rabbi John Rosov will present and discuss the book From the West to the East, by author James S. Gibson.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 900004
Website: https://www.chevaliersbooks.com/calendar
3rd Tuesdays Book Club: Lessons in Chamistry at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the novel Lessons in Chemistry by author Bonnie Garmus.
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/3rd-tuesday-book-club-9
Graham Moore, with Antoine Wilson, & The Wealth of Shadows at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Graham Moore, in conversation with Antoine Wilson, will discuss his novel, The Wealth of Shadows.
In 1939. Ansel Luxford has everything a man could want, but he is consumed by his belief that the war in Europe will spread, despite that the United States is neutral in the conflict. When he moves to Washington, D.C., to join a clandestine team within the Treasury Department trying to undermine Nazi Germany, he takes on the challenge of a lifetime. To thwart the Nazis without firing a bullet, Ansel and his team invent a powerful kind of economic warfare. As the U.S. remains officially neutral, Ansel secretly crisscrosses the globe to broker backroom deals designed to cut off the German supply of gold. These efforts plunge him into a startling new world of espionage, which extends close to home.
Graham Moore is the New York Times bestselling author of The Holdout, The Last Days of Night, and The Sherlockian; and the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game, for which he also won a Writers Guild of America Award; and director and co-writer of The Outfit, which was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. Moore was born in Chicago, received a B.A. in religious history from Columbia University. He lives in Los Angeles.
Antoine Wilson is the author of the novels Mouth to Mouth, Panorama City, and The Interloper. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, StoryQuarterly, and Best New American Voices, among other publications, and he is a contributing editor of A Public Space. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and recipient of a Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellowship from the University of Wisconsin, he lives in Los Angeles.
Note: RSVP early for seating.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St. Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Graham-Moore-May-21-Author-signing
Ticketed: Steven Rowley, with Jordan Moblo, & The Guncle Abroad at Book Soup Off-site at Beverly Hills Library– In-Person Event
Steven Rowley, in conversation with Jordan Moblo, will present and discuss his new novel, The Guncle Abroad.
It’s been five years since his summer as his niece Maisie and nephew Grant’s caretaker after their mother’s passing. The kids are back in Connecticut with their dad, and Patrick has relocated to New York to remain close by and relaunch his dormant acting career. After the run of his second successful sit-com comes to a close, Patrick feels on top of the world…professionally.
When Patrick’s brother, Greg, announces he’s getting remarried in Italy, Maisie and Grant are not thrilled. Patrick feels drawn to take the two back under his wing. Author Steven Rowley charms with a beloved story about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Beverly Hills Library
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 444 N. Rexford Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/steven-rowley-guncle-abroad
North Fig Book Club: Long Division at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Long Division by author Kiese Laymon.
Written in a voice that’s alternately humorous, lacerating, and wise, Long Division features two interwoven stories. In the first, it’s 2013: after an on-stage meltdown during a nationally televised quiz contest, fourteen-year-old Citoyen “City” Coldson becomes an overnight YouTube celebrity. The next day, he’s sent to stay with his grandmother in the small coastal community of Melahatchie, where a young girl named Baize Shephard has recently disappeared.
Before leaving, City is given a strange book without an author called Long Division. He learns that one of the book’s main characters is also named City Coldson—but Long Division is set in 1985. This 1985-version of City, along with his friend and love interest, Shalaya Crump, discovers a way to travel into the future, and steals a laptop and cellphone from an orphaned teenage rapper called…Baize Shephard. They ultimately take these items with them all the way back to 1964, to help another time-traveler they meet to protect his family from the Ku Klux Klan.
City’s two stories ultimately converge in the work shed behind his grandmother’s house, where he discovers the key to Baize’s disappearance.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
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-lv75vsb9
Kiss & Tell Romance Book Club: You With a View at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will read and discuss the novel You With a View by author Jessica Joyce.
Two high school enemies must reunite for a road trip inspired by their grandparents’ broken engagement in this electric debut romance.
Noelle Shepard is unemployed, living with her parents, and grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos of Gram and a smitten man, tucked alongside a love letter. She creates a TikTok to search for the mystery man, which goes viral, and she’s shocked when his grandson responds—a man who happens to be her high school nemesis, Theo Spencer.
Jessica Joyce is the author of the debut novel You With a View.
This is a free event, but we appreciate RSVPs!
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: pages: a bookstore (on the Patio)
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/kiss-tell-romance-book-club
At Skylight: Aidan Koch, with Matthew James-Wilson, & Spiral and Other Stories at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Aiden Koch, in conversation with Matthew James-Wilson, will discuss her book, Spiral and Other Stories.
This is a delicate, dreamlike, and lushly detailed comics collection by a contemporary artist whose work explores the enmeshment of the human and non-human worlds.
For years, Aidan Koch’s comics have been pushing the boundaries of the medium, reimagining what a comic can look like and how it can tell a story. Koch has been living and working in the desert of California, turning her focus toward the ways humans and the natural world converge. Spiral and Other Stories is a triumph of that continuing process. With an accompanying essay by the author and critic Nicole Rudick, who explores Koch’s craft and her move into environmentally focused comics, Spiral and Other Stories is a showcase of Koch’s mastery of comics as a medium that can contain astonishing forms and offer new kinds of storytelling for our uncertain times.
Aidan Koch is a multimedia artist and author of several book-length comics. An educator and key figure in the environmental comics movement, she is the founder of the Institute for Interspecies Art and Relations, a publisher and educational organization. She has exhibited in galleries in North America, South America, and Europe. She lives in the Mojave Desert.
Matthew James-Wilson is the founder of Heavy Manners Library, an art space in Echo Park Los Angeles. From 2012-2018 Matthew ran the online art magazine FORGE. Matthew has curated art exhibits, worked for various independent record labels, and written for publications including Pitchfork and VICE.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Adam Higgenbotham & Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Adam Higgenbotham will present and discuss Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.
This book follows a handful of central protagonists—Including each of the seven members of the doomed crew—through the years leading up to the accident and offers a detailed account of the tragedy itself and the investigation afterward. It’s a compelling tale of ambition and ingenuity undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and later hidden from the public.
Higginbotham reveals the history of the shuttle program and the lives of men and women whose stories have been overshadowed by the disaster, as well as the designers, engineers, and test pilots who struggled against the odds to get the first shuttle into space. A masterful blend of riveting human drama and fascinating and absorbing science,
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Adam-Higginbotham-discusses-Challenger
Tuesday Night Café/Project Open Mic & Featured Readers at Union Center for the Arts – In-Person Event
Remember Tuesday Night Project is every 1st & 3rd Tuesday in the Courtyard at the Union Center for the Arts. This Tuesday join them for another evening of art, community, friends, and vibes. They have an incredible lineup prepared for you, featuring:
Zenith Creates is a Bangladeshi Muslim self-taught artist and writer, currently residing on Tongva Land, what is now Los Angeles. She draws inspiration from South Asian cultures, anime, BTS, and fantasy.
Mike Madrilejo N/A
Isha Skahalkar is an LA-based singer-songwriter blending indie rock, theater, and Hindustani classical influences. 1/2 of @cosmoddityband.
Chris Siders & The SOS Orchestra
The Open Mic Lottery
Music by DJ Waxstyles.
Vendor: API Rise
For this show, we will be starting the night off with the Open Mic Lottery! Sign-ups start 6:40pm, so be sure to get there early!
NOTE: See sign-ups, details, and guidelines at website link.
Where: Union Center for the Arts
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 120 Judge John Also St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo
Writing Studio: Playwriting with Laurel Ollstein at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Village Well is kicking off a new writing studio in collaboration with author Francesca Lia Block. Each workshop will feature a different instructor teaching on a specific writing-related topic. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on the Village Well website.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/38181
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: NO READING TODAY – Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with host Rick Lupert announces: NO READING TODAY.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt
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 21st
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/groups/1699147113818899/
LiveTalks LA: An Evening with Casey Wilson & Jessica St. Clair, with Danielle Schneider & June Diane Raphael & The Art of Small Talk at Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Casey Wilson & Jessica St. Clair, with Danielle Schneider & June Diane Raphael, will discuss their audio book, The Art of Small Talk.
Hilarious and practical advice for how to up your small talk game from comedians, actors and self-appointed experts on chit-chat, Casey Wilson and Jessica St. Clair.
The Art of Small Talk is about hilarious and practical advice for how to up your small talk game from comedians, actors and self-appointed experts on chit-chat, Casey Wilson and Jessica St. Clair.
Where: Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar
Date: Tuesday the 21st
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 3200 Motor Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90034
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/casey-wilson-jessica-st-clair/
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.
The 3rd Tuesday of the month will be SLAM NIGHT.
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 the theater.
Masks are encouraged. All ages are welcome.
Where: Greenway Court Theatre
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
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
Mystery Book Group: Thief of Souls at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Event
Mystery Book Group meets on the 4th Wednesday morning of the month.
Participants will read and discuss Thief of Souls (Inspector Lu Fei Myatery #1) by author Brian Klingborn.
In Brian Klingborg’s Thief of Souls, the brutal murder of a young woman in a rural village in Northern China sends shockwaves all the way to Beijing—but seemingly only Inspector Lu Fei, living in exile in the small town, is interested in justice for the victim.
We will be meeting to discuss the book outside of the shop in the circle in front of Star Cafe. You may still email your thoughts to share with our club if you are unable to attend in-person.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 9 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
Wednesday Book Club: The Vaster Wilds at Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss The Vaster Wilds by author Lauren Groff.
The Vaster Wilds is a taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, about one spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying to survive.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 12 pm
Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/wednesday-book-club-2
Classics Book Club: Lost Horizon at Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Book Club participants will discuss Lost Horizon by author James HIlton.
RSVP:
Please email grnhls@lapl.org for the Zoom link.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada HIlls, CA 91344
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/classics-book-club-lost-horizon
Poets Café: Celebrating Poetry Month via KPFK 90.7 FM – Live On-Air Event
Poets Café celebrates Poetry. This program is a weekly half-hour literary arts discussion and reading program featuring guest authors and their works.
NOTE: Poetry From Around the World is a segment offered monthly on the 2nd Monday of the month on KPFK Los Angeles 90.7 FM.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: KPFK 90.7 FM
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event (live)
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
Good Trouble Reading Group: Haitian Poetry at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for our next Good Trouble Reading Group. We’ll be discussing a selection of Haitian poetry from anthologies available at the Los Angeles Public Library.
Email eden@lapl.org for the link to read the poetry selection online, as well as the Zoom link to attend.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/good-trouble-reading-group-haitian-poetry
Book Club: My Murder at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for the first meeting of our new book club for adults. Each month, we’ll select a title to read and discuss. Plus, there will be cookies!
This month’s book is My Murder by Katie Williams. You may check out the book (or e-book) for free with your library card. The club will decide which books to read and discuss at future meetings. Hope to see you there!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Valley Plaza Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 4 pm
Address: 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-9
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 the Los Angeles Poet Society.
Guests TBA
This program is offered weekly on radioollin Los Angeles 101.5 FM.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: 101.5 FM
Date: Wednesday the 22nd
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: On-air Event (live at 101.5 FM)
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
Bonnie Hammer, with Gian Torres, & 15 Lies Women Are Told at Work …and the Truth We Need to Succeed at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Bonnie Hammer, in conversation with Gina Torres, will discuss her book, 15 Lies Women Are Told at Work…and the Truth We Need to Succeed.
What holds women back at work? Bonnie Hammer, one of the most powerful women in corporate America, debunks the bad advice that too many women get—and reveals the surprising, yet straightforward truths that will help all of us succeed.
Bonnie Hammer’s legendary career spans five decades in a turbulent, male-driven industry. Today, Bonnie is a powerful leader at the very top of her field, and women at all levels constantly ask her: What is your secret to success? Her power—and her staying power—comes from rejecting common myths about how women are “supposed” to act in the workplace. Bonnie challenges conventional workplace wisdom and shares the uncommon sense women need to succeed.
Written with humor and heart, and full of insights and research that illuminate her points, 15 Lies Women Are Told at Work is a portable mentor for working women. It doesn’t just explain one woman’s rise to the top in a tough industry; it shows how any woman can rise as high as she wants in her own work world.
Bonnie Hammer is Vice Chair of NBCUniversal, where she’s spent decades transforming every facet of the television business. Under her leadership, the company’s cable group and studios achieved record-setting profits, garnered 167 Emmy nominations, and launched hit series including Suits, Psych, The Sinner, Battlestar Galactica, Mr. Robot, and hundreds more. She’s occupied virtually every industry position from production assistant to studio head—often being tapped for cutting edge roles Lauded by the New York Times as “the Queen of Cable” and hailed as “the most powerful woman in entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter, Bonnie started her TV career picking up dog poop on the set of a Boston-based children’s show.
Gina Torres has spent the past thirty years establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the screen. With her fan-favorite character of Jessica Pearson on USA Network’s hit original series “Suits,” Torres broke boundaries when, in 2019, she became the first Afro-Latina to create, star in and produce a TV series, “Pearson,” which saw Jessica take on the world of Chicago politics.
Note: RSVP early for seating.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St. Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Bonnie-Hammer-Gina-Torres-May-22-Author-signing
Material Girl: A Marxist Feminist Reading Group at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
North Fig’s Marxist feminist reading group, MATERIAL GIRL, meets monthly and has a different reading each month. Check 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 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 6040 N, Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
RECESS Open Mic Is at SIPA HQ, Palms Up Academy – In-Person Event
RECESS Open Mic is at SIPA HQ on Wednesdays.
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 22nd
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
L.A. Book Launch: Christine Riccio, with Natasha Polis, & Attached at the Hip at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Christine Riccio, in conversation with Natasha Polis, will discuss her new romance novel Attached at the Hip.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Wednesday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
At Skylight: R.O. Kwon, with Margaret Cho, & EXHIBIT at Skylight Books – In-Person TICKETED Event
Author R.O. Kwon, in conversation with Margaret Cho, will present and discuss her book, EXHIBIT.
At a lavish party in the hills outside of San Francisco, Jin Han meets Lidija Jung and nothing will ever be the same for either woman. A brilliant young photographer, Jin is at a crossroads in her work, in her marriage to her college love Philip, and in who she is and who she wants to be. Lidija is an alluring, injured world-class ballerina on hiatus from her ballet company under mysterious circumstances. Drawn to each other by their intense artistic drives, the two women talk all night.
Cracked open, Jin finds herself telling Lidija about an old familial curse, breaking a lifelong promise. She’s been told that if she doesn’t keep the curse a secret, she risks losing everything; death and ruin could lie ahead. As Jin and Lidija become more entangled, they realize they share more than the ferocity of their ambition and begin to explore hidden desires. Something is ignited in Jin: her art, her body, and her sense of self irrevocably changed. But can she avoid the specter of the curse? Vital, bold, powerful, and deeply moving, Exhibit asks: how brightly can you burn before you light your life on fire?
R.O. Kwon is the author of the nationally bestselling novel The Incendiaries, which was translated into seven languages, named a best book of the year by over forty publications, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award. With Garth Greenwell, Kwon coedited the bestselling Kink, a New York Times Notable Book and the recipient of the inaugural Joy Award. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Yaddo, and MacDowell. Born in Seoul, Kwon has lived most of her life in the United States.
Comedian. Actor. Musician. Advocate. Entrepreneur. Five-time Grammy and Emmy nominee. Margaret Cho’s strong voice has been lighting the path for other women, other members of underrepresented groups, other performers, to follow. Her recent television appearances – guest star on Season 2 of The Flight Attendant (HBO Max), guest star on Season 2 of Hacks (HBO Max) and two Netflix is a Joke comedy specials: Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration and Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin: Ladies Night Live – have expanded an already wide-ranging career, and her role as the ‘mother hen’ in the well-reviewed movie Fire Island solidifies why we all love Margaret in the first place.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-ro-kwon-presents-exhibit-w-margaret-cho
Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group: The Arsonist’s City at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group meets every 4th Wednesday of the month.
Participants will discuss The Arsonist’s City, by author Hala Alyan.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s, 2nd Floor
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/vromans-fiction-reading-group-8
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 — QUINOAA;
- 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 22nd
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 Rooja Mohassessy, an Iranian-born poet and educator. She is a MacDowell Fellow and an MFA graduate of Pacific University, Oregon. Her ekphrastic debut collection, When Your Sky Runs Into Mine (Feb 2023) was the winner of the 22nd Annual Elir Poetry Award. Rooja has been featured on NPR, The Hive Poetry Collective, and other poetry podcasts and radio stations. Her poems and reviews have appeared in Narrative Magazine, Nimrod, Poet Lore, RHINO Poetry, Southern Humanities Review, CALYX Journal, Ninth Letter, Cream City Review, The Adroit Journal, New Letters, The Rumpus, The Journal, Verse Daily, Poetry Daily, and elsewhere. Her work is also anthologized in California Fire & Water, A Climate Crisis Anthology, and Colossus: Body, a compilation of writings by Californians writing on the themes of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. Rooja is an editorial assistant at the journal Prairie Schooner.
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 22nd
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-907560356457
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and Feature LeAnne Hunt 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 with featured guest LeAnne Hunt.
LeAnne Hunt (she/her) is a Pushcart-nominated poet living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She proofreads manuscripts for Arroyo Seco Press and has poems published in Cultural Weekly, Spillway, Honey & Lime, Hybrid Harpy Review and Lullaby of Teeth: An Anthology of Southern California Poets. She publishes a blog of writing prompts and apologies at leannehunt.com.
$4 cover fee, cash only
NOTE: See site for further details.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 22nd
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/850564413548785/?ref=newsfeed
Big Read: Grief, Loss, Laughter, and Other Topics From Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? via Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
Los Angeles Public Library is proud to present this thoughtful conversation examining the themes of this year’s Big Read book, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? in a conversation titled:
A Rabbi and a Poet Walk into a Library: Grief, Loss, Laughter and Other Topics From “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?”
The death of a loved one is both singularly unique as well as a universal experience that people of every background share. Whether the passing is shockingly immediate or excruciatingly long, the journey from grief to acceptance is one that we all will take at some point in our lives. Join Rabbi Steve Leder and poet Victoria Chang as they explore these topics in a heartfelt conversation, seeking to uncover perspectives that transcend differences and foster connections in our shared human experience.
Streaming live on the Library’s YouTube channel.
Victoria Chang received a 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship as well as the 2023 Chowdhury Prize in Literature. She served as a contributing editor of Copper Nickel, On the Seawall and poetry editor of The New York Times Magazine and Tupelo Quarterly. She currently serves as the Bourne Chair of Poetry at Georgia Tech and the Director of Poetry@Tech.
Rabbi Steve Leder currently serves as the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a prestigious synagogue in Los Angeles with two campuses and 2,400 families. He is the author of five books, including For You When I Am Gone. Newsweek Magazine twice named him one of the ten most influential rabbis in America, but most important to Steve is being Betsy’s husband and Aaron and Hannah’s dad.
This Big Read program was made possible with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Cover to Cover Book Club: The Lost Girls of Paris at Mid-Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the May monthly book selection, The Lost Girls of Paris, by author Pam Jenoff.
Copies of each month’s selection will be available for check out at the Reference Desk. New members are always welcome.
Where: Mid-Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills, CA 91343
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/cover-cover-book-club-3
Sci-Fi Short Story Club: “Counterweight” with E. Tammy Kim via Mark Twain Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Explore Djuna’s 2023 cyber-corporate thriller novella Counterweight with sci-fi lovers from across the universe via Zoom, as selected by special guest, journalist, and critic E. Tammy Kim, who will be joining us for the discussion. Tammy wrote about author Djuna and Counterweight for The Nation magazine’s November 13/20, 2023 issue.
Counterweight is available in print, eBook and eAudiobook.
Where: Mark Twain Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/sci-fi-short-story-club-counterweight-e-tammy-kim
Trespass: Portraits of Unhoused Life, Love, and Understanding: A Book Talk with Kim Watson at Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
Photographer Kim Watson spent three years on the streets of Los Angeles documenting his intimate and deeply felt relationships with the unhoused. Trespass offers an honest and unflinching depiction of the beauty and humanity of unhoused life.
Books available for purchase following book talk and Q & A.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Mark Taper Auditorium
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 630 W, 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/trespass-portraits-unhoused-life-love-and-understanding-book-talk
Heart and Hand Virtual Book Club: The Storm We Made via Los Angeles County Library – Online Event
Heart and Hand Virtual Book Club presents a chat with literary rising star, Vanessa Chan, author of The Storm We Made. This critically acclaimed novel follows a mother and her children as they confront colonial power in Malaya (now Malaysia) during World War II. For adults.
Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with an exclusive Heart and Hand Virtual Book Talk featuring Vanessa Chan, acclaimed author of the best-selling novel, The Storm We Made.
Join us as Library Director Skye Patrick and author Vanessa Chan delve into the novel’s captivating saga, which unfolds against the backdrop of Malaya (now Malaysia) during World War II, weaving together the gripping narrative of an unlikely spy, a clandestine love affair, and the relentless forces that challenge even the strongest bonds.
NOTE: See site for details. RSVP required.
Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday, the 21st
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/10737494
LGBTQ+ Book Club: Gods of Want at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Gods of Want: Stories by author K. Ming Chang.
Startling stories center the bodies, memories, myths, and relationships of Asian American women from the National Book Award “5 Under 35” honoree and author of Bestiary.
K-Ming Chang is a Kundiman fellow, a Lambda Literary Award winner, and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. She is the author of Gods of Want, winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, and Bestiary, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/lgbtq-book-club-gods-want
Book Talk & Signing: Dana Schwartz & The Anatomy Duology, consisting of Anatomy: A Love Story and Immortality: A Love Story at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Dana Schwarts will discuss her book The Anatomy Duology: A Love Story, a gothic tale full of mystery and romance. Coming soon in paperback!
The paperback edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling gothic about a willful female surgeon, a resurrection man who sells bodies for a living, and the buried secrets they must uncover together.
Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story is a gothic tale full of mystery and romance.
Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.
Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.
When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books—she’ll need corpses to study.
Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.
Dana Schwartz is the creator and host of the history podcast Noble Blood, produced by iHeartRadio, in which she tells the lesser-known stories of royals throughout history. Dana is also a frequent co-host on the Crooked Media podcast, Hysteria, and the host of the iHeartRadio podcasts Haileywood and Stealing Superman.
Dana is the author of five books, including the #1New York Timesand #1 Indie bestseller Anatomy: A Love Story and its sequel, Immortality: A Love Story. Her books have been published in over 20 countries and translated into more than a dozen languages.
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Emanuel Xavier & Love(ly) Child at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Emanuel Xavier will discuss his poetry collection, Love(ly) Child.
Love(ly) Child is a thought-provoking collection of poetry that delves into themes of identity, love, and self-discovery. Each poem is a journey into the complexities of the human experience navigating sensitive topics with honesty and vulnerability. With a unique blend of personal anecdotes and social commentary, Love(ly) Child offers a captivating exploration of life’s highs and lows, leaving a lasting impact on those who immerse themselves in its pages.
Born in Brooklyn, Emanuel Xavier lives in New York City. One of the first openly queer spoken word poets to emerge from the Nuyorican Poets Café slam scene, he helped open the doors for LGBTQ+ poets of color to take centerstage and speak their truths.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/emanuel-xavier
J. Nicole Jones, with Kate Brody, & The Witches of Bellinas at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
J. Nicole Jones, in conversation with Kate Brody, will discuss her book, The Witches of Ballinas.
A dreamy California Gothic about a woman who moves to the mysterious town of Bellinas to save her marriage, only to be swept up in a hedonistic cult that isn’t what it seems.
Tansy and her husband Guy are the newest arrivals in Bellinas, a lush oasis tucked into the coast of northern California where a reclusive, creative community is beginning to take shape. Helmed by Guy’s cousin Mia, a famous model -turned -wellness -luminary, and her tech mogul husband, the group renounces the outside world in pursuit of purity, fashioning their own rules about what to eat and how to live.
Everything seems perfect in Bellinas: food is abundant, flowers are always in bloom, and nearby wildfires leave the town remarkably unscathed. While Guy is happy in their new lives, Tansy becomes more and more suspicious of the community and increasingly desperate to save her already-fragile marriage. And as lonely women have throughout the ages, she wants to believe in what may only be a beautiful lie.
The Witches of Bellinas unfolds as a confession from Tansy, filled with anguish over the life, and sense of self, she’s surrendered in her desperation to belong. In J. Nicole Jones’s clever reimagining of cult power and groupthink, the question isn’t why join, but rather, what happens when you understand the danger, but can’t conceive of a way out?
J. Nicole Jones received her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University and has since held editorial positions at VICE magazine and Vanity Fair. Her viral essay defending the art of memoir, “Why’s Everyone So Down on the Memoir?” was published by the Los Angeles Review of Books and Salon, and her reviews and other writings have appeared in magazines including Harper’s. She grew up in South Carolina, and now lives in Brooklyn and Tennessee.
Kate Brody lives in Los Angeles, California. Her work has previously appeared in Lit Hub and The Literary Review, among other publications. She holds an MFA from NYU. Rabbit Hole is her debut novel.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lv79wjx7
At Skylight: Anna Dorn, & Perfume and Pain, at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Anna Dorn will present and discuss her novel, Perfume and Pain.
This is the story about a controversial LA author who attempts to revive her career and finally find true love in this hilarious nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction.
Unapologetically feminine yet ribald, steamy yet hilarious, Anna Dorn has crafted an exquisite homage to the lesbian pulp of yore, reclaiming it for our internet and celebrity-obsessed world. With notes of Southern California citrus and sultry smokiness, Perfume and Pain is a satirical romp through Hollywood and lesbian melodrama.
Anna Dorn is the author of the novels Vagablonde and Exalted. She is an associate editor at Hobart Pulp. She was a Lambda Literary Fellow and her second novel Exalted is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She lives in Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-anna-dorn-presents-perfume-and-pain
Soon Jin Lee, Linda Yoon & Elise Hu Discuss: Asian American Mental Health & The Beauty Industryat Vroman’s – In-Person Event
The authors of Where I Belong and Flawless tackle the subject of Asian American Mental Health & the Beauty Industry.
Where I Belong: Healing Trauma and Embracing Asian American Identity by Soo Jin Lee and Linda Yoon.
An essential resource that addresses the unique experiences of trauma, healing, and mental health in Asian and Asian American communities.
Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu.
An audacious journalistic exploration of the present and future of beauty through the lens of South Korea’s booming “K-beauty” industry and the culture it promotes.
Soo Jin Lee, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, executive director of Yellow Chair Collective, and cofounder of Entwine Community. As a previously undocumented Asian immigrant who struggled to access mental healthcare, she brings a unique perspective to her work. Lee has a degree in fine arts, and creativity plays an essential role in her personal and therapeutic process. When she’s not spending quality time with her family, she can often be found exploring nature on a hiking trail or offering expert guidance in psychotherapy to individuals and groups alike.
Linda Yoon, LCSW, is a licensed therapist and social worker who has dedicated her career to helping people along their healing journey find a sense of belonging. As a survivor of C-PTSD and having received a late adult diagnosis of ADHD, Linda is passionate about serving Asian American communities, survivors of violence, and those who are neurodivergent. Growing up, Linda was drawn to yellow, which symbolizes resilience, joy, and hope. This deep personal connection inspired her to name her founding practice Yellow Chair Collective. She is also a cofounder of Entwine Community. Linda currently resides in Los Angeles with her spouse, Mathew, and her furry companion, Mini, who has been by her side for eighteen years.
Elise Hu is the host of TED Talks Daily, a host-at large at NPR, and the author of Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital, which is based on her years as a foreign correspondent in Seoul, South Korea. Previously, Elise helped found The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital startup, after stops at many stations as a television news reporter. Her journalism work has won the national Edward R. Murrow and duPont Columbia awards, among others. As a podcaster, she’s the co-founder of the all-woman production house Reasonable Volume and the host of the second most popular Spotify podcast in the world, trailing woefully behind…Joe Rogan. Find her on Instagram @elisewho or on TikTok as @whoelise.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday, the 23rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Environmentalism Book Launch: Jonathan Blake, with Nicole Twilley, & Children of a Modest Star at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Village Well hosts Jonathan Blake, in conversation with Nicole Twilley, to discuss his book Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises.
The DTLA-based Berggruen Institute scholar will present his vision for a new political system in Children of a Modest Star. The book not only challenge dominant ways of thinking about humanity’s relationship to the planet and the political forms that presently govern it, but also present a new framework that corresponds to our inherently planetary condition.
Jonathan S. Blake is Associate Director at the Berggruen Institute, where he leads the Planetary Program. He is the author of Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland (2019).
Nicola Twilley is author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves, forthcoming from Penguin Press on June 25, 2024. Her first book, Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine, was co-authored with Geoff Manaugh and was named one of the best books of 2021 by Time Magazine, NPR, the Guardian, and the Financial Times. She is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, as well as co-host of the award-winning Gastropod podcast, which looks at food through the lens of history and science and is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network in partnership with Eater.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/36844
Writing Studio: Screenwriting with Joshua Malkin at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Village Well is kicking off a new writing studio in collaboration with author Francesca Lia Block. Each workshop will feature a different instructor teaching on a specific writing-related topic.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on the Village Well website.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday, the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/38183
Spectacular Storytime at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Spectacular Storytime is our most popular story time is ready to delight and dazzle! This is also the prime time to see Pippi Longstocking, our bookstore cat in action.
Open to all ages. Free to attend.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Friday, the 24th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
Author Event: Deena Kong & Grateful Being Me at Long Beach Main Library – In-Person Kids Event
Meet Deena Kong, Khmer author of the picture book, Grateful Being Me, as she reads her book and provides interesting insight to the creation of the story in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage. The storytime will follow with a craft for all to enjoy. Registration is not required.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Long Beach Billie Jean King Main Library
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 3pm
Address: 200 W. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://www.longbeach.gov/library/events/
Poetry Reading and Spoken Word at Bookman Bookstore, Orange – In-Person Event
Poetry Reading and Spoken Word at Bookman is an event offered every fourth Friday of the month at Bookman Bookstore in Orange,
All are welcome.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Bookman Bookstore
Date: Friday, the 24th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 320 E. Katella Ave., Orange, CA 92867
Website: https://www.instagram.com/bookmanorange/?hl=en
Book Soup & KPFK Present: Serj Tankian & Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts) at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Book Soup & KPFK Radio Present: Serj Tankian signing Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts).
Serj Tankian will be the first to admit that his band, System Of A Down, was “unlikely a chart-topper as had ever existed in modern music history: a band of Armenian-Americans playing a practically unclassifiable clash of wildly aggressive metal riffs, unconventional tempo-twisting rhythms, and Armenian folk melodies, with me alternately growling, screaming, and crooning lyrics that could pivot from avant-garde silliness to raging socio-political rants in the space of a single line.” After all, as Serj concedes, “it’s not easy listening.”
Braiding together Serj’s thought-provoking insight with heartfelt and poetic prose, Down with the System retraces his remarkable and unlikely journey, and explores what it’s taught him—about music, about art, about activism, and about himself. It’s an unforgettable ride that will leave you breathless—and an absolute delight for new fans and old ones alike.
Please note that Serj Tankian will sign copies of Down with the System ONLY. No memorabilia and no photos.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday, the 24th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/serj-tankian
Black Lit Book Club: Take My Hand at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Take My Hand by author Dolen Perkins-Valdez.
Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench and Balm. She was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for fiction, and she was awarded the First Novelist Award by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday, the 24th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/black-lit-book-club-take-my-hand
QT Open Mic Night at Café con Libros, Pomona – In-Person Event
QT Open Mic Night is held every 4th Friday at Café con Libros, Pomona.
Liam and Charlie host a fun LGBTQ+ meeting. Share in a poem (serious, fun, or saucy) or enjoy a fun round of BEST STORY WINS!
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Café con LIbros, Pomona
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA 91766
Website: https://cafeconlibrospress.org/event-calendar/
Myriam Gurba & Creep at Midnight Books Art Space, Huntington Park – In-Person Event
Midnight Books welcomes legendary writer and activist Myriam Gurba, in conversation with Cindy Macias, to discuss her latest book, Creep.
Myriam Gurba is a writer and activist. Her first book, the short story collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for debut fiction. O, the Oprah Magazine, ranked her true crime memoir Mean as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time. Creep, her most recent book, is a finalist for a National Book Critics’ Circle award in criticism. The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Vox, and Paris Review have published her work. She is a co-founder of Dignidad Literaria, a grassroots organization committed to combatting racism in the book world. She is active in the anti-rape movement.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Midnight Books, Huntington Park
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3382 E. Florence Ave., Huntington Park, CA 90255
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6zMjHQvl9g/?hl=en
Aisha Sabatini Sloan + Vickie Vértiz Present Books at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Aisha Sabatini Sloan + Vickie Vértiz will present and discuss their books.
Aisha Sabatini Sloan is the author of The Fluency of Light, Borealis, and Captioning the Archives. Her work has appeared in Guernica, the Paris Review, and the New York Times, among other places, and she teaches at the University of Michigan.
The oldest child of Mexican immigrants, Vickie Vértiz was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. Vértiz‘s writing is featured in the New York Times magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, McSweeney’s, the Academy of American Poets, and KCET, among many publications. She’s been a fellow at the Mellon Foundation, Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference, and CantoMundo. Her new book Auto/Body won the 2022 Sandeen Poetry Prize from the University of Notre Dame and is in bookstores now. She teaches writing at UC-Santa Barbara. Follow her work at vickievertiz.com
Aisha Sabatini Sloan is the author of The Fluency of Light, Borealis, and Captioning the Archives. Her work has appeared in Guernica, the Paris Review, and the New York Times, among other places, and she teaches at the University of Michigan.
The oldest child of Mexican immigrants, Vickie Vértiz was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. Vértiz‘s writing is featured in the New York Times magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, McSweeney’s, the Academy of American Poets, and KCET, among many publications. She’s been a fellow at the Mellon Foundation, Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference, and CantoMundo. Her new book Auto/Body won the 2022 Sandeen Poetry Prize from the University of Notre Dame and is in bookstores now. She teaches writing at UC-Santa Barbara. Follow her work at vickievertiz.com
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Friday, the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 6040 N, Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lurgc6nf
Mobile Data Mag Open Mic Poetry Series: 2024 Summer Seriesat The Pop Hop – In-Person Event
Mobile Data Mag’s Open Mic Poetry, 2024 Summer Series, will feature local poets and is hosted by Jesse Tovar.
This event is the first of the Summer Series’ 4 readings offered monthly at The Pop Hop in Highland Park Los Angeles. This month’s features are Fetus Vomit and N/A.
Future events will be offered on June 22, July 20 and August 17.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Pop Hop
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 5002 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6pyPUPrtwA/
At Skylight: Kit Schulter & Cartoons and Garrett Caples & Proses at Skylight Books – In-Person Event
Kit Schulter will discuss his book, Cartoons and Garrett Caples will discuss his book, Proses.
Kit Schulter’s Cartoons is set in the uncanny valley between Bugs Bunny and Franz Kafka, Cartoons is an explosive series of outrageous, absurdist tales.
More than simply a book, Cartoons proposes itself as a genre of imaginary writing in opposition to the realism of most contemporary U.S. fiction, aligning itself with the French symbolism and Latin American fabulism its author is known to translate.
Kit Schluter’s recent work has appeared in The Baffler, Boston Review, BOMB, and Brooklyn Rail. He is author of the new book Cartoons, published by City Lights, the poetry collection Pierrot’s Fingernails (Canarium Books) as well as numerous chapbooks and artist editions of poems and stories. Schluter is included in the latest edition of Best American Experimental Writing (Wesleyan UP, 2020), edited by Carmen Maria Machado, Joyelle McSweeney, Jesse Damiani and Seth Abramson. He has translated widely from the French and Spanish.
Garrett Caples’ Prose: Incomparable Parables Fabulous Fables Cruel Tales is a collection of nine phantasmagorical stories by beloved poet and City Lights editor Caples. Resolutely turning its back on the ethos of traditional narrative, Proses draws on Marcel Schwob, magical realism, and speculative fiction for inspiration, projecting worlds dominated by dream logic and impossible (and often hilarious) dimensions.
Garrett Caples is the author of the Wave Books publication Proses: Incomparable Parables! Fabulous Fables! Cruel Tales! as well as the poetry collections Lovers of Today (Wave, 2021), Power Ballads (Wave, 2016), Complications (Meritage, 2007), and The Garrett Caples Reader (Black Square, 1999). Wave published his book of essays Retrievals in 2014. He is an editor at City Lights Books, where he curates the Spotlight Poetry Series, and has edited books by such poets as Will Alexander, mimi tempest, Joyce Mansour, Norma Cole, Frank Lima, Stephen Jonas, and Diane di Prima, among numerous others. He is also the co-editor of The Collected Poems of Philip Lamantia (California, 2013).
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Skylight
Date: Friday the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-kit-schluter-cartoons-garrett-caples-proses
Sara H. Hodson & I Promise You I’ll Be Home at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Sara H. Hodson will present and discuss her book she edited with author Al Martinez, I Promise You I’ll Be Home: Korean War Letters of a U.S. Marine, (paperback).
As a 21-year-old Marine sent to the front lines of the Korean War, Al Martinez dispatched letters almost daily to his young bride, Joanne. In battle, he experienced the worst that war can bring, and then he served as a combat correspondent and as writer and editor of his regimental newsletter, the Ridgerunner. After the war, he entered a career in journalism, becoming a featured columnist for the Los Angeles Times where he would earn three shared Pulitzer Prizes. Written from the unique perspective of an obviously gifted, professional writer at the beginning of his career, his letters home capture his experiences eloquently and with depth of understanding as they express the dangers, hardships, fear, friendships, and even humor of life at the front. His vivid, often humorous pen-and-ink drawings portray scenes from the front lines.
Sara S. “Sue” Hodson is the retired curator of literary manuscripts for The Huntington Library. A fellow of the Society of American Archivists, she writes and lectures widely on archival and literary topics. She lives in Pasadena, California.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday, the 24th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Sue-Hodson-discusses-I-Promise-You-Ill-Be-Home
Tween Zine Workshop with Rachel Curry at Altadena Main Library – In-Person Tween Event
Zines, or self-published DIY magazines have been used for decades as a tool for radical communication and creative self-expression.
In this tween workshop with teaching artist and zinester Rachel Curry, participants will learn about the history of zines while creating their own one-of-a-kind zine using collage and mixed media techniques. Registration required. Ages 8-12 welcomed.
Rachel Curry is a teaching artist, letterpress printer, bookbinder, zinester, and fiber artist from Los Angeles, California. She received her BA in Art Education with an emphasis in Fiber Arts from CSULB and has experience teaching at institutions such as Otis College of Art and Design, The Huntington Library, and Craft Contemporary, as well as high schools and community organizations across Southern California. As a queer feminist punk, Rachel’s practice as an artist and an educator is rooted in the belief that art is for everyone, that it is possible to build a better world through creative expression.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Altadena Main Library, Community Room
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 10 am – 12 pm
Address: 600 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, CA 91001
Website: https://eventactions.com
Writing Workshop: Writer’s Toolbox with Renee Gurley via Inlandia Institute – Online Zoom Event
Unlock the door to your storytelling potential with “Writer’s Toolbox,” a transformative 5-session workshop designed to hone your craft and elevate your writing to new heights. Whether you’re an aspiring novelist, seasoned writer, or simply eager to unleash your creative prowess, this course is your gateway to mastering the essential elements of compelling storytelling.
Renee Gurley, MA, MFA, is a writer and English teacher with over 20 years of experience with words, whose works have appeared in Coping Magazine, Lehigh Valley Woman’ s Journal, and Budget Press.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Inlandia Institute Online
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 10:30 am
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/events/
Shay Fan and Tara Han-Tran Johnson & What in the World is Ezra’s Art? at Children’s Book World – In-Person Kids & Family Event
Author Shay Fan and illustrator Tara Han-Tran Johnson present a story time and book party for their picture book, What in the World is Ezra’s Art?
Ezra is a seven-year-old boy who likes cheese-flavored ice cream, flying off the couch with his superhero cape, and peeling dried glue off his fingers. And he LOVES making art. Every day at Braddock Elementary, he doodles, draws, paints, and crafts with abandon. When he makes something, the entire world melts away, his heart feels warm, and his entire body wants to wiggle. But there is one problem. Even though he loves making it, no one understands it. In this heartwarming picture book, little Ezra questions whether he should continue to make art when his parents, teachers, and classmates don’t seem to get, or even like, his creations. What in the World Is Ezra’s Art explores the question: Can he feel good about his art when no one else does?
Author Shay Fan writes family-friendly comedic adventure stories featuring Asian American protagonists that want to change their world. She has consulted for technology and healthcare companies including YouTube, Microsoft, Roche, and AbbVie. She is passionate about advocating and uplifting marginalized communities and has started a blog series about the revision process of published authors. This is her first book. She lives with her family in Los Angeles.
Illustrator Tara Hân-Trần Johnson is a Vietnamese American designer working in animation. She has worked in prop design, dolor design, and visual development at studios such as Disney Television Animation, Nickelodeon, and Oddbot. Inspired by nature, anime, and all things cute and creepy, she loves playing with shapes and color in her work. When she’s not catching up on her media backlog or spending time with family, you can find her bullet journaling with a cup of milk tea and various let’s plays in the background.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 11 am
Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Mystery Book Club: Fatherland at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss the novel Fatherland by author Robert Harris.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 11 pm
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-14
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 details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Literature & Fiction Rooms
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-workshop-1
Book Launch Slumber Party with Katy Farina & Karen’s Sleepover at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids & Family Event
Calling all kiddos! You’re invited to a Village Well Slumber Party to celebrate the release of the newest Babysitter’s Little Sister Graphic Novel, Karen’s Sleepover!
Author Katy Farina will be joining us for a Q&A and a Comic Art Demo. Come in your favorite pair of pajamas and bring your best stuffed animal friend. We can’t wait to see you there!
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/38380
Zine-Making Event at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids & Family Event
Join us for a free Zine Making Workshop for all ages.
Get free zines, learn how to make zines, and meet local artists.
Enjoy snacks, raffles, and games!
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
Address: 2205 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6WylrhvGDA/
Felicia’s Free-Form Writing Session via Sims Library of Poetry – Online Zoom Event
Join Felicia’s “Free-form” Drop-in Writing Workshop with the Sims Library of Poetry. Bring your favorite recipe to share! Free drop-in writing sessions 12 pm PT-1:30 pm PT on the last Saturday of every month
Suggested donation: $5-15
Join us for a session cranking out, creating, or finishing a writing goal or idea for 2024.
Felicia will provide a prompt or you can use your own.
Connect with community.
Gain writing accountability & support for your efforts.
RSVP for link.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday, the 25th
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-17
Layne Wong & Shaghai Love at Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Author Layne Wong will discuss her novel Shanghai Love, a gripping novel about the unlikely love story between Peilin, a Chinese herbalist, and Henri, a Jewish refugee in Shanghai during World War II. It’s a classic story of love’s triumph over adversity. Wong will also discuss Chinese medicine compared to Western medicine, and Chinese cultural beliefs involving matchmaking and ghost marriages.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/shanghai-love-author-layne-wong
Open Mic Poetry at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Share your original poems, lyrics, spoken word, or just enjoy listening. Each poet will have five minutes to read an original work. If you wish to read, sign up when you arrive.
Our featured speaker will be Mona Jean Cedar. Her poetry is composed and performed simultaneously in Spoken Word and American Sign Language (ASL). She has performed and interpreted all over Los Angeles, the U.S. and Europe. She has interpreted for The National Poetry Slams and The Women of the World Poetry Slams. She represented the United States in Paris, France, for their Coupe du Monde de Poesie as both interpreter and competitor. Mona-Jean Cedar choreographs her poetry in collaboration with her husband, Jeff Boynton, a composer/sound artist. Their initial collaboration was performed at Burning Man.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/open-mic-poetry-5
Ticketed: Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum & From the World of Minor Threats: The Alternates at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Spinning out of the world of the hit Minor Threats superhero series created by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn comes a new tale of costumed underdogs—featuring a support group for superheroes, struggling to reclaim their mediocre lives after tasting their true potential.
Mary the Multi-Monster! The Tripper! Crab Louie! Kid Curious! Persona! These offbeat b-list superheroes, formerly known as The Alternates, seemingly sacrificed themselves to stop an invasion from another dimension. Instead they were transported to a mirror reality where they lived complex lives in a more four-dimensional existence—expanding both their powers and consciousness.
Five years later they’ve returned to Twilight City, struggling to reacclimate to their old lives in a traditional two-dimensional superhero world—in withdrawal from the vivid ones they left behind. When elements from this alternate reality turn up as a dangerous new street drug, some of the heroes band together to destroy it, while others succumb to its temptation.
Illustrated by Tess Fowler (Rat Queens) and Christopher Mitten (Hellboy, 30 Days of Night) and featuring pinups by Fabio Moon, Tony Fleecs, Ryan Browne, Martin Simmonds, and more!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/patton-oswalt-and-jordan-blum
Book Discussion: When We Fell Apart at San Pedro Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with the San Pedro Library Book Club. We will discuss the novel When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley. Set in Korea and California, the novel is about a young Korean American man’s search to find answers about his girlfriend’s mysterious death. This soon leads him into questioning who he is and lets him discover more about his own bi-cultural identity.
The Los Angeles Public Library has a number of copies of this book in paper and electronic format, so participants can read the novel ahead of time and be better prepared to discuss the work.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: San Pedro Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, CA 90731
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-discussion-when-we-fell-apart-soon-wiley
GLP Practice at Get Lit – Words Ignite – In-Person Teen Event
This event is for current Get Lit Players.
213.388.8639
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Get Lit
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 672 S. Lafayette St., #10, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.getlit.org/programs?loxi_pathname=%2Fglp-practice-587
Fourth Saturdays Reading Series: Angela Narciso Torres & Timothy Steele at the Claremont Helen Renwick Library – In-Person Event
Angela Narciso Torres has written three books of poetry, including her latest, What Happens Is Neither. A graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program and Harvard Graduate School of Education, she serves as a senior and reviews editor for RHINO.
Timothy Steele settled in Los Angeles in 1977. His collections of verse include: Toward the Winter Solstice, The Color Wheel, and Sapphicand Uncertainties: Poems1970-1986. He has written two books about poetry: Missing Measures and All the Fun’s in How You Say a Thing. He also has edited The Poems of J.V. Cunningham. He is an emeritus professor of English at CSU, Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Claremont Helen Renwick LIbrary
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 208 N. Harvard Ave., Claremont, CA 91711
Website: https://www.facebook.com/fourthsaturdayspoetry/
Miriam’s Garden: Monthly Poetry Reading Series at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join host Yago Cura for the Miriam’s Garden monthly poetry reading series, featuring:
Nadia Hunter Bey is a poet and author of The Restoration of Orange (World Stage Press).
Nomad the Poet aka Sakile is a writer and filmmaker and you can find her work @sakileodimo on Instagram.
Alexander James is a poet, father, pastor, truth teller, and professional in his field. As 2022 Addy and Webby Award-winning poet, he has made a name for himself in the creative world.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: 2205 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.instagram.com/laplhydepark/
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Anna May Wong and the Golden Age of Asian American Cinema at Santa Monica Main Library – In Person Event
Authors Katie Gee Salisbury (Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong) and Jeff Yang (The Golden Screen: How Movies Made Asian America) discuss Anna May Wong and other underappreciated stars of Hollywood. Arthur Dong (Hollywood Chinese) moderates.
A book sale and signing will follow the discussion.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Santa Monica Main Library, SMPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Website: https://smpl.org
Arroyo Seco Branch Library Book Club at Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join us in-person or via Zoom for a lively book discussion. Email ayosco@lapl.org with questions or for participation details.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 6145 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/arroyo-book-club-1
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 details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Meeting Room B
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/writers-group-0
Keepers of Culture: Poetry Reading Series at Northridge Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join us for a multinational spoken word event that will take place on the fourth Saturday of each month on-site at the Northridge Branch and online via Zoom. There will be an open reading included.
RSVP:
Please email Emily at eaaronson@lapl.org for the Zoom link.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Northridge Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 9051 Darby Ave., Northridge, CA 91325
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/keepers-culture-poetry-reading-series
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Publishing Party for Jeanne Marie Spicuzza & Guests – In-Person Event
Jeanne Marie Spicuzza + Poets published in Four Feathers Press 4 IN 1 BOOK SEVEN (DKC, Dan Garcia-Black, Jeffry Michael Jensen, Tim Tipton) and SPEECHES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: MOTIVATIONAL POETRY.
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Recreation Room 119 at 65 N. Allen Ave. in Pasadena, CA
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Writing Studio: Writing For Young People with Tim Cummings at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Village Well is kicking off a new writing studio in collaboration with author Francesca Lia Block. Each workshop will feature a different instructor teaching on a specific writing-related topic. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on the Village Well website.
NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/38185
True Crime All the Time Virtual Book Club: Under the Banner of Heaven via Altadena Main Library – Online Event
Calling all true crime aficionados! Join us for a virtual gathering where we will discuss this true crime hit:
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Altadena Main Library
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://eventactions.com
Friends of Hyde Park Book Club at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Please join us for the Friends of the Hyde Park Book Club. Every month we read a different book for discussion. To learn what book will be discussed on this date, call the branch at 323-750-7241.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 2205 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/friends-hyde-park-book-club
Poetry Author: Donato Martinez & Touch the Sky at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Cellar Door Bookstore welcomes poet Donato Martinez for a conversation about his poetry, and specifically his new book, Touch the Sky.
Touch the Sky is a poetry collection about family, of barrio, of dirt, of work, of play, of celestial dreams, and more, adding up to what it is to be Mexican in the United States.
Donato Martinez is an English professor at Santa Ana College. He has taught PUENTE for 23 years. Martinez was born in Mexico and grew up in Corona, CA. Much of his work centers around his experiences of growing up in the California barrio. His poetry highlights the beauty and joy of his Chicano identity, his culture, and his community. He is influenced by the sound and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com
Historical Fiction Book Club: & Last Night at the Telegraph Club at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Last Night at the Telegraph Club by author Malinda Lo.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily Hu. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and her first love Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
Malinda Lo is the New York Times bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. Malinda’s short fiction and nonfiction has been published by The New York Times, NPR, Autostraddle, The Horn Book, and multiple anthologies.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday, the 25th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event
Melrose Trading Post Event by Greenway Arts Alliance at Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax H.S. – In-Person Event
Melrose Trading Post is a reading and spoken word event held every Sunday, rain or shine, at Fairfax High School, and tickets are available online as well as at the ticket booth on Sunday at the event.
Where: Melrose Trading Post, Greenway Main Stage at Fairfax HS
Date: Sunday, the 26th (Every Sunday)
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Address: 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website: https://melrosetradingpost.org/tickets/
Burning Issues Book Club (BIBC): Year of the Tiger via Bel Canto Books – Online Event
Participants will discuss Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by author Alice Wong.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Bel Canto Books
Date: Sunday, the 26th
Time: 12 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Latinx Book Club: What’s Mine and Yours at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Latinx Book Club participants will discuss What’s Mine Is Yours by author Naima Coster.
From the author of Halsey Street, comes a sweeping novel of legacy, identity, the American family—and the ways that race affects even our most intimate relationships.
In the Piedmont area of North Carolina, two families’ paths become unexpectedly intertwined over twenty years. Jade and Lacey May are two mothers determined to give their children the opportunities they never had. After a harrowing loss, Jade wants to hand down the tools her son, Gee, will need to survive in America as a sensitive young Black man. Meanwhile, Lacey May, having left the husband she loves, strives to protect her three half-Latina daughters from their charming father’s influence.
When a county initiative draws students from the largely Black east side of town into a predominantly white high school on the west, each mother stands on different sides of the integration debate. Gee meets Lacey May’s daughter Noelle during the school play, and their families begin to form deeply knotted, messy ties that will shape the trajectory of their adult lives. And their mothers make choices that will haunt them for decades to come.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday, the 26th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/latinx-book-club-whats-mine-and-yours
La Palabra Poetry Reading Series: Chloe Daiz hosts Open Mic & Featured Poets at Avenue 50 Bookstore – In-Person Event
La Palabra Poetry Reading Series is held every 4th Sunday of the month and hosted by Chloe Diaz. This month’s features are Brian Dunlap and TBA. Open Mic.
Brian Dunlap is a native Angeleño capturing the city’s stories hidden in plain sight. He is the author of the chapbook Concrete Paradise (Finishing Line Press, 2018), the winner of a Marvin Bell Memorial Poetry Prize from december magazine judged by former Los Ángeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez and a reader for december magazine. His poems, book reviews and nonfiction have been published in PacificREVIEW, Compulsive Reader, Our California from California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, L.A. Parent, and the anthology Reimagine America (Vagabond, 2022), among others. He’s the Editor-in-Chief of Los Angeles Literature, an online publication covering the Greater Los Ángeles literary community.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 131 N. Avenue 50, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5zSE1NPOt6/?hl=en
Vroman’s Local Author Day: Alan Michale Karbelnig & Lover, Exorcist, Critic at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Alan Michael Karbelnig will present and discuss his book, Lover, Exorcist, Critic.
Since the introduction of psychoanalysis, radical paradigm shifts have occurred in philosophy, science, mathematics, and the arts. How we exchange information, how we interact on the global stage, and how we conceive of ourselves as citizens have also evolved. And yet, depth psychotherapy remains locked within its nineteenth-century image, poorly understood by those not intimately involved in its processes. Lover, Exorcist, Critic dives deeply into the field’s history, examining the cultural and historical context from which it emerged, and explaining how it evolved into a better methodology.
Dr. Karbelnig demonstrates the myriad ways psychoanalytic processes unfold and why they remain an effective, even vibrant way to reduce pain, grow, and live a more authentic life.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Sunday, the 26th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Vromans-Local-Author-Day-May-2024
Earthseed Symposium Book Club: Black Sun at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join North Figueroa Bookshop and the Earthseed Symposium Book Club: A Speculative Fiction Book Club for a discussion of the novel Black Sun by author Rebecca Roanhorse.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the “engrossing and vibrant” (Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Riot Baby) first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Sunday, the 26th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 6040 N, Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lv77y2gq
Historical Romance Book Club: My Beautiful Enemy at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
May’s Historical Romance Book Club is led by Orders Manager Katie S and meets on the 4th Sunday of the month.
This month’s discussion will focus on My Beautiful Enemy (Heart of Blade #2) by author Sherry Thomas.
In this story a beautiful and cunning woman meets her match in a man just as dangerous and seductive as she is, putting both her heart and her future at risk…
Please join us. No membership is required.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 26th
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Los Angeles Literature 