Writers Group at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Calling all writers! Get those creative juices flowing and join our writers group as everyone shares their work and gives feedback.
This group mostly meets in person, but email rbrtsn@lapl.org if you’d prefer to join via Zoom.
Where: Robertson Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 1719 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/writers-group-1
Senior Writing Group at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Kathy Katims, founder of Saved by a Story, leads an ongoing writing group for seniors. New members are welcome to all or any sessions.
Write to prompts, share (if you would like to), connect with fellow seniors in the neighborhood, hone your writing skills, and find your story.
RSVP:
RSVP is recommended but not required. RSVP to palsds@lapl.org. We will send you a welcome packet, guidelines, and a reminder the day before the meeting.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 861 Alma Real Dr., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/senior-writing-group-1
Your Author Series: Lilliam Rivera & Barely Floating at Jefferson – Vassie D. Wright Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person MG Event
Join us in welcoming Lilliam Rivera as she shares Barely Floating, a dazzling story full of heart, about how one twelve-year-old channels her rage into synchronized swimming dreams.
Lilliam is a MacDowell fellow, a screenwriter, and an award-winning author of nine works of fiction: a forthcoming horror book, four young adult novels, three middle-grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpré Honor, been featured on NPR, New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, and multiple “best of” lists. Her novel Never Look Back is slated for an Amazon movie adaptation. A Bronx, New York native, Lilliam currently lives in Los Angeles. Barely Floating explores what it means to sparkle in your skin, build community with those who lift you up, and keep floating when waters get rough.
Those attending the program will have the opportunity to take home a copy of Barely Floating. Intended for middle readers. Fifth grade and up.
Where: Jefferson – Vassie D. Wright Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 2211 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/your-author-series-lilliam-rivera
Book Club: Parable of the Sower at Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us on the second Monday of every month for the adult fiction book club. Participants will discuss the novel Parable of the Sower by author Octavia E. Butler.
RSVP:
Please email ebarrera@lapl.org for the monthly Google Meet virtual link.
Where: Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 4:45 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/sun-valley-branch-book-club-3
Evening Book Club: After Annie at Manhattan Beach Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a facilitated discussion of fiction and nonfiction titles. A limited number of titles are available for attendees at the library. For adults.
Participants will discuss the August selection: After Annie by author Anna Quindlen
When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her children, and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the lynchpin of all their lives. Over the course of the next year what saves them all is Annie, ever-present in their minds, loving but not sentimental, caring but nobody’s fool, a voice in their heads that is funny and sharp and remarkably clear.
Where: Manhattan Beach Library, LACL
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/10632581
NEW: YA for Adults Book Club: Lightlark at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
YA for Adults Book Club participants will discuss the YA fantasy novel Lightlark (The Lightlark Saga Book 1), by author Alex Aster.
Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.
Alex Aster is an author of YA fiction as well as award-winning middle grade fiction, including the Emblem Island series, which was published to critical acclaim. Alex graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied creative writing. Find out more on TikTok (@alex.aster) or Instagram (@byalexaster).
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Monday, the 12th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/new-book-club-ya-adults-book-club-lightlark
Book Talk & Signing: Scott Phillips, with Gary Phillips, & The Devil Raises His Own at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Join us for a book talk and signing with Scott Phillips, in conversation with Gary Phillips, to discuss The Devil Raises His Own.
Scott Phillip’s newest historical mystery/noir The Devil Raises His Own is set in the early days of the film industry in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, 1916: Photographer Bill Ogden has opened a portrait studio in the seedy noir world of early Hollywood, where he is joined by his granddaughter, Flavia—a woman in need of a fresh start after bludgeoning her drunken, abusive husband to death in Wichita. Though his business is mainly legit, Bill finds himself brushing up against the “blue movie” porn industry growing in the shadows of the motion picture mainstream.
When a series of grisly murders take place across the city, Bill and his capable granddaughter are pulled into events as tricky and tangled as anything this side of The Big Sleep. We meet dreamers, opportunists, washed-up former stars and starry-eyed newcomers, a cast of unforgettable characters living on the margins looking to make a quick buck, launch a career, or just keep their family together. The Devil Raises His Own is at once a stripped-down noir thriller and a panoramic look at Los Angeles at the beginning of motion pictures—a Boogie Nights set in the era of D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin from one of the best crime novelists working today.
Scott Phillips is a screenwriter, photographer and the author of seven novels and numerous short stories. His debut novel was a New York Times Notable Book and was adapted as a major motion picture starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. He is the winner of the California Book Award, as well as being a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Hammett Prize and the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Scott was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, and lived for many years in France. He now lives with his wife and daughters in St. Louis, Missouri.
Gary Phillips has published novels, comics, novellas, short stories and edited or co-edited several anthologies, including the Anthony-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Almost thirty years after its publication, his debut, Violent Spring, was named one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer and co-producer on Snowfall, a show streaming on Hulu about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central, where he grew up.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Book Club: The Marriage Portrait at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a discussion of The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. We will discuss the book and share any other interesting books we have been reading.
New members are welcome!
Copies of the book are available for checkout at Robertson Branch.
Where: Robertson Readers Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 1719 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/robertson-readers-book-club-3
Guy Trebay, with Lisa Birnbach, & Do Something at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Guy Trebay, in conversation with Lisa Birnbach, will discuss his book Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of ‘70s New York
An evocative coming-of-age memoir—the story of the education of a wayward wild child and acidhead who, searching for meaning and purpose, found refuge in the demimonde of the ruined but magical metropolis that was New York City in the 1970s.
Unschooled and on his own, Trebay became a striver, wending his way through a seemingly apocalyptic landscape populated by a vibrant cast of characters, including washed-up Hollywood screenwriters of the ’30s; Warhol superstars like Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling; fashion geniuses like Charles James; and emerging artists, filmmakers, writers, designers, photographers, and deejays who would powerfully influence mainstream culture in the decades to come.
Lisa Birnbach is an editor and writer of The Official Preppy Handbook, writer of True Prep, award-winning broadcaster, and recovering podcaster. She writes book reviews for The Washington Post and is trying to figure out the fastest way to get from Griffith Park to Zabar’s.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday, the 12th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/guy-trebay
Meditation Monday with Alex Petunia via Los Angeles Poet Society – Online Event
Meditation Monday with Alex Petunia is offered every 2nd Monday of the month via Zoom online.
Each session includes: breathing meditation, journaling time, creative writing prompts, and affirmations creation.
Come relax and write and be in community.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: L.A. Poet Society
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event: 840 2975 5764
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8DWCs5yB_C/?img_index=1
R.U.P.O. Open Mic at Back to the Grind in Riverside – In-Person Event
RUPO Open Mic is 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 12th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com/backtothegrind
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 12th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-966973181817
No Pulp Open Mic at Work Evolution Laboratories, Long Beach – In-Person Event
The No Pulp Open Mic is offered every 2nd and 4th Mondays on the 8th Floor of the building.
More info at https://www.instagram.com/nopulp_media/
Where: Work Evolution Laboratories
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 8:30 pm – 11 pm
Address: 235 E Broadway, Suite 800, Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/
Virtual Book Club: Love Clancy at La Crescenta Library, LACL – Online Event
The La Crescenta Library Virtual Book Club meets weekly on Tuesdays at 11am on Zoom. Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your Zoom invite to attend the book club. For adults.
In July we will be reading Love Clancy, Diary of a Good Dog by W. Bruce Cameron. You’ve probably never met someone like Clancy. He’s keeping a diary, he’s falling in love, there are rivals for his affections, he lives with his best friend and his worst enemy – even taken together, these factors are maybe not that unusual, except that Clancy is a dog.
In August we will be discussing the book in weekly sections of several chapters each. See site for details
Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11078914
Book Club at Northridge Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The Book Club meets every month via Zoom. All are welcome.
RSVP:
Please email Emily at eaaronson@lapl.org for the Zoom link and book information.
Where: Northridge Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-21
Nonfiction Book Club: Charlie Hustle at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Charlie Hustle by author Keith O’Brien. Copies available at the library. For adults.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 6th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11116035
Women in Translation at L.A. County Library, LACL – Online Event
August is a month-long celebration that highlights and promotes the rich literature of translated works by women authors. Join us as we recommend some of our favorite diverse titles from around the globe. For adults.
Where: L.A. County Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11337686
Booked and Busy Masterclass with James Coats – Online Event
Booked and Busy Masterclass is a 4-week professional development workshop for writers, to learn about the business of being a writer, its professional expectations, and how to create one’s own opportunities.
If you are interested in turning your words into more dollars this workshop is for you. Class size is limited
This is the 2nd of 4 meetings.
NOTE: See site for registration, cost, and details.
Where: Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 13th (and Tuesday the 20th, & 27th)
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see above)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BigGameJamesC
World Cultures Reading Circle at Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join the World Cultures Reading Circle to discuss Desert Queen: the Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Advisors to Kings, Ally of Lawerence of Arabia by Janet Wallach.
New members welcome.
Where: Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-cultures-reading-circle
Book Club Tuesday: The Last Apothecary at Leland R. Weaver Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us this month for a facilitated discussion on The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. For adults.
Copies of the current title are available to check out at the customer service desk while supplies last. The book is also available on audiobook and e-Book format through Libby. New members are always welcome! This is an in-person event.
For adults.
Where: Leland R. Weaver Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 4035 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, CA 90280
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11430910
Nonfiction Book Club: Charlie Hustle at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – Online Event
Participants will discuss Charlie Hustle by author Keith O’Brien. Copies available at the library. For adults.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11116039
Gabriella Buba, with Dante Bosco and Danice Cabanela, & Saints of Storm and Sorrow at Bel Canto, KUBO – In-Person Event
Gabriella Buba, in conversation with Dante Bosco and Danice Cabanela, will discuss Saints of Storm and Sorrow.
In this fiercely imaginative Filipino-inspired fantasy debut, a bisexual nun hiding a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people’s struggle against colonization.
María Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister María, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila’s Codicían colonizers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicíans and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent: her lover Catalina, and Cat’s younger sister Inez.
Gabriella Buba is a mixed Filipina-Czech author and chemical engineer based in Texas who likes to keep explosive pyrophoric materials safely contained in pressure vessels or between the covers of her books. She writes adult romantic fantasy for bold, bi, brown women who deserve to see their stories centered. Her debut Saints Of Storm and Sorrow a Filipino-inspired epic fantasy out with Titan Books. Saints 2 to be released July 2025.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto, KUBO LB
Date: Tuesday, the 13th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach CA 90807
James Cox, with Kyle Newman, & Grand Theft AI at Book Soup – In-Person Event
James Cox, in conversation with Kyle Newman, will discuss Grand Theft AI.
San Francisco, 2051. Rising like neo-Shanghai over the Bay, a labyrinth of quantum accelerators, hologram dreams, and fiercely regulated androids. Forget powder, pills, or bud—kids get high slotting wafers of data under the ear, and they’ll pay fat [crypto for the best. At the hottest nightclub in the city…the Fang.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday, the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/james-cox
Open Mic Poetry at The Library Coffee House, Long Beach – In-Person Event
Open Mic Poetry at The Library Coffee House is hosted by Chad Brown.
Sign-ups at 6:45 pm. All ages.
Where: The Library Coffee House
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3418 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/
Book Release After Party: Jay Ellis, with Issa Rae, & Imaginary Friend at Malik Books Off-site at The Miracle Theatre, Inglewood – In-Person Event
Jay Ellis, in conversation with Issa Rae, will discuss his book Imaginary Friend: Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?
Join us for an exclusive book launch event featuring Jay Ellis in conversation with Issa Rae, discussing his new book Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?: Adventures in Boyhood. It’s a memoir of a kid who confided in his imaginary sidekick to navigate parallel pop culture universes (like watching Fresh Prince alongside John Hughes movies or listening to Ja Rule and Dave Matthews) to a lifetime of birthday disappointment (being a Christmas-season Capricorn will do that to you) and hoop dreams gone bad. . . Jay Ellis, renowned for his role in HBO’s Insecure, presents his unforgettable journey growing up with an imaginary best friend, blending elements of Dwayne Wayne from A Different World and Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Experience the magical chemistry of Issa Rae and Jay Ellis on stage once again, promising an evening of entertainment and laughter. Stick around for a book signing and possible photo opportunities after the book talk.
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: The Miracle Theatre
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 226 S. Market St., Inglewood, CA 90301
Website: https://www.malikbooks.com or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jay-ellis-in-conversation-with-issa-rae-tickets-935751025507
Jen Wang + Lilliam Rivera, & Ash’s Cabin at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Jen Wang, in conversation with Lilliam Rivera, will discuss her launch of her new YA novel Ash’s Cabin.
Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life.
The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was their Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin, deep in the California wilderness. Did he ever build it? What if it’s still there, waiting for him to come back…or for Ash to find it? To Ash, that maybe-mythical cabin is starting to feel like the perfect place for a fresh start and an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts their daily life.
But making the wilds your home isn’t easy. And as much as Ash wants to be alone…can they really be happy alone? Can they survive alone?
Jen Wang is the award-winning NYT Bestselling author and illustrator of several graphic novels for young readers including Ash’s Cabin, Stargazing, The Prince and The Dressmaker, In Real Life (co-written with Cory Doctorow), and Koko Be Good. Jen’s honors include two Eisner Awards, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Children’s Literature Award, and the Fauve d’Angoulême Youth Award. She is based in Los Angeles and is a co-founder and organizer for Comic Arts LA.
Lilliam Rivera is a MacDowell Fellow and an award-winning author of eight works of fiction: four young adult novels, three middle grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpré honor and featured on NPR and in The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and multiple “best of” lists. Her novel Never Look Back is slated for a movie adaptation. A Bronx, New York, native, Lilliam Rivera currently lives in Los Angeles.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Tuesday, the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figeroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-lx9qil6w
Adult Book Group: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow at Once Upon a Time – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the novelTomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by author Gabrielle Zevin.
Whether you loved it, hated it, or haven’t finished it, we want to see you at our Adult Book Club that has been going strong for 40+ years at America’s Oldest Children’s Bookstore!
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time
Date: Tuesday, the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Mystery Book Club: Close to Death at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Mystery Book Club participants will discuss the novel Close to Death (A Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery #5) by author Anthony Horowitz.
Detective Hawthorne is once again called upon to solve an unsolvable case—a gruesome murder in an idyllic gated community in which suspects abound.
Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong, and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.
It is the perfect idyll, until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, gaggle of shrieking children, and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and quickly offend every last one of the neighbors.
When Giles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator they can call to solve the case.
Anthony Horowitz is one of the UK’s most prolific and successful writers, unique in being active in both adult and YA fiction, TV, theater, and journalism. Several of his previous novels were instant New York Times bestsellers. His bestselling Alex Rider series for young adults has sold more than nineteen million copies worldwide and has become a hugely successful show on Amazon Prime TV. His breakthrough murder mystery Magpie Murders was adapted into a miniseries for PBS. He lives in London with his wife and dog.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 13th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/mystery-book-club-25
Environmentalist Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Are you passionate about the environment? Do you love to read? Do you want to engage in meaningful discussions about pressing environmental issues with likeminded folks? Look no further! The Central Group and West LA Group of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter are thrilled to announce the launch of its Environmentalist Book Club!
Every month, we will discuss a book that revolves around nature, the environment, or environmentalism. We will read capaciously, and will discuss books old and new, fiction and nonfiction, sobering and hopeful.
This month participants will discuss Braiding Sweetgrass by author Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Bring your enthusiasm, questions, and a passion for the environment.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday, the 13th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
Ellen Byron, with Naomi Hirahara, & A Very Woodsy Murder at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Ellen Byron, in conversation with Naomi Hirahara, will present and discuss her book A Very Woodsy Murder.
Down-on-her-luck sitcom writer Dee Stern is flipping the script. Twice divorced and wasting her talents on an obnoxious kids’ show, the lifelong Angeleno embraces the urge to jump in her car and keep driving. It’s a road trip with no destination—until she pulls into a mid-century motel filled with cobwebs and retro charm. Nestled in the shadow of a national park, it’s a time capsule of a place that, like her, could use some work. So, in the most impulsive move of her life, Dee teams up with best friend, Jeff Cornetta—who happens to be her first ex-husband—to transform the aging ranch into the Golden Motel-of-the-Mountains, a hiker’s oasis on the edge of the wilderness . . .
But Dee and Jeff soon realize there couldn’t be two people more unprepared for the hospitality business. There’s also the panic-inducing reality of prowling bears and a general store as the only shopping spot for miles. Living and working in the middle of nowhere takes some getting used to—especially when a disrespectful guest ends up murdered! Now, with the motel duo topping the suspect list, Dee must steer clear of a meddling park ranger, face her past in show biz, and determine if the killer is a local or tourist. Because as she quickly finds out, there are many things worse than a one-star review.
Ellen Byron is the Agatha and Lefty Award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of the Golden Motel Mysteries, the Vintage Cookbook series, and the Cajun Country Mysteries, as well as the Catering Hall Mysteries written under the name Maria DiRico. She is also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and The Fairly OddParents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. A native New Yorker, Ellen is a graduate of Tulane University and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and a rotating crew of rescue pups. Visit her at ellenbyron.com.
Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries, which have been published in Japanese, Korean and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. Her first historical mystery, Clark and Division, which won a Mary Higgins Clark Award, follows a Japanese American family’s move to Chicago in 1944 after being released from a California wartime detention center. A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Naomi has also written numerous non-fiction history books and curated exhibitions. She has also written a middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes. Her follow-up to Clark and Division, Evergreen, was released in August 2023 and was on the USA Today bestseller list for two weeks.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday, the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Ellen-Byron-discusses-A-Very-Woodsy-Murder
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest Reader – Online Zoom Event (Cancelled)
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with host Rick Lupert presents guest reader TBA and an open mic.
Note: No Reading Today
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 13th – Cancelled
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt
Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic Night at Greenway Court – In-Person Event
The nation’s largest weekly Open Mic event is 25 years strong. They hold open mic nights. At an open mic, all are welcome to share their poetry or sit in their audience.
Every 5th Tuesday of the month we celebrate Women and Femme voices only on the mic. This open mic is hosted by Yesika Salgado and Jasmine Williams, with music and vibes by DJ Faucet.
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 13th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLUBSRPCFb/
Book Club: All Summer Long at Wilmington Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss All Summer Long byauthor Dorothea Benten Frank. All are welcome!
Where: Wilmington Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 1300 N. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington, CA 90744
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/wilmington-book-club-11
Adult Book Club: Lessons in Chemistry at Wahington Irving Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Lessons in Chemistry byauthor Bonnie Garmus. All are welcome!
Where: Washington Irving Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 4117 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/washington-irving-adult-book-club-5
Wednesday Book Club: The Scent Keeper at Westchester – Loyola Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss The Scent Keeper byauthor Erica Baumeister. All are welcome!
Where: Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/wednesday-morning-book-club-6
Artesia Book Club: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers at Artesia Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the novel Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. For adults.
Copies of the book are available for check-out at the library. New members welcome!
Where: Artesia Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 18801 Elaine Ave., Artesia, CA 90701
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11435293
Adult Mystery Book Club: The Golden Gate at Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the novel The Golden Gate by Amy Chua. For adults.
Copies of the book are available for check-out at the library. New members welcome.
Where: Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 2 pm – 2:45 pm
Address: 14561 Polk St., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/adult-mystery-book-club-1
Poets Café: Celebrating Poetry 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 of this series 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 14th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event (live)
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
West Covina Book Club: Evergreen at West Covina Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read the novel Evergreen by author Naomi Hirahara
This novel explores the experiences of a Japanese nurse’s aide as she navigated the dangers of post-WWII and post-Manzanar life. For adults.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: West Covina Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 1601 W. Covina Pkwy., West Covina, CA 91790
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11426430
Stonewall Honor Book Discussion Series: Only This Beautiful Moment at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event
Join the Palisades and Robertson Branch Libraries on Zoom for a monthly teen book discussion series as we feature five Stonewall honor books in Young Adult Literature. The first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table.
Participants will discuss Only This Beautiful Moment by author Abdi Nazemian.
From the award–winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Darius the Great Is Not Okay.
RSVP:
Submit your email address here to receive a Zoom link.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Middle Grade Book Club: The Cookie Crumbles at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Kids & MG Event
Join pages for the Middle Grade Book Club to read and discuss The Cookie Crumbles by authors Tracy Badua and Alicia Dow.
The Great British Bake Off meets Knives Out in this fun and propulsive middle grade novel following two best friends who must solve the mystery behind a baking competition gone awry.
Tracy Badua is an award-winning Filipino American author of books about young people with sunny hearts in a sometimes stormy world. By day, she is an attorney who works in national housing policy, and by night, she squeezes in writing, family time, and bites of her secret candy stash. She lives in San Diego, California.
Alechia Dow is a former pastry chef, librarian, and award-winning author of acclaimed young adult sci-fi fantasies, several short anthology pieces, and magical (sometimes mysterious) middle grade stories. When not writing, you can find her having epic dance parties with her family, baking, reading, and exploring her local food scene.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/middle-grade-book-club-18
Malibu Library Book Club: Caste at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read the novel Caste by author Isabel Wilkerson.
This novel explores the eight pillars that underlie the system in the United States and other civilizations. For adults.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Malibu Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 23519 West Civic Center Dr., Malibu, CA 90265
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11427617
Adult Book Club: See Now Then at Sorensen Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read the novel See Now Then by author Jamaica Kincaid.
Books are available for check-out at the library.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Sorensen Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6934 Broadway Ave., Whittier, CA 90606
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/events
Creative Writing Workshop with Tony DuShane at Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a free writer’s workshop presented by UCLA instructor Tony DuShane, screenwriter of the film Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, based on his novel of the same name. This workshop is open to adults only.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-tony-dushane-0
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 14th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: On-air Event (live at 101.5 FM)
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
Book Club: The Maid at Pacoima Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
This is an online mostly fiction book club. We select book titles throughout the year. For August we will be reading The Maid by Nita Prose.
RSVP:
Email pcoima@lapl.org to receive the Zoom link.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Pacoima Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/pacoima-book-club-2
Poetry Open Mic at Di Piazza’s, Long Beach – In-Person Event
Join us on the second Wednesday of every month for Poetry Open Mic at Di Piazza’s with host Tamara Madison. Ages 21+.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Di Piazza’s Pizza
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8;30 pm
Address: 5205 E Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups
Wiseburn Library Book Club: Her Hidden Genius at Wiseburn Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read the novel Her Hidden Genius by author Marie Benedict. For ages 18+.
Books are available for check-out at the library.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Wiseburn Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm
Address: 5335 W, 135th St.., Hawthorne, CA 90250
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/events
Carrin Jade, with Rachel Koller Croft, & The Astrology House at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Carrin Jade, in conversation with Rachel Koller Croft, will discuss her book The Astrology House.
A group of wealthy Manhattanites escape to an astrology-themed retreat, where simmering resentments and long-held secrets lead to a shocking death in this fresh, twisty, and suspenseful debut in the vein of Liane Moriarty and Katy Hays.
No one holds a greater secret than their astrologer host, Rini. She has a plan for all of her guests, and one of them won’t be leaving Stars Harbor alive.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday, the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/matthew-kennedy
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 the Palms Up Academy curriculum and manifests their mission statement in a physical (and digital) space.
Join them at the intersection of Historic Filipinotown & The World: Search to Involve Pilipino Americans.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: SIPA HQ
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
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
At Skylight: Navid Sinaki, with Jen Winston, & Medusa of the Roses at Skylight – In-Person Event
Navid Sinaki, in conversation with Jen Winston, will discuss his book Medusa of the Roses.
Join us for sex, vengeance, and betrayal in modern day Tehran—Navid Sinaki’s bold and cinematic debut is a queer literary noir following Anjir, a morbid romantic and petty thief whose boyfriend disappears just as they’re planning to leave their hometown for good.
Steeped in ancient Persian and Greek myths, and brimming with poetic vulnerability, subversive bite, and noirish grit, Medusa of the Roses is a page-turning wallop of a story from a bright new literary talent.
Navid Sinaki is an artist and writer from Tehran who currently lives in Los Angeles. His works have been exhibited at museums and art houses around the world, including the Lincoln Center, British Film Institute, Cineteca Nacional in Mexico, and the Modern Museum in Stockholm. His first solo art exhibition The Infinite Garden debuted at Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture, and Design, and the Honolulu Museum of Art.
Where: Skylight
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-navid-sinaki-presents-medusa-roses
Book Launch: Daniel Borzutsky & The Murmuring Grief of the Americas at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
In The Murmuring Grief of the Americas, 2016 National Book Award winner Daniel Borzutzky holds to account the private interests driving Western humanitarian decisions, laying bare the immense toll of exploitative labor practices and the self-serving nature of authoritative bodies. These powerful, musical poems explore our hemispheric grief under the yokes of labyrinthine immigration policies, militarized policing, and mass capitalism.
Daniel Borzutzky is a poet and translator. His 2016 collection, The Performance of Becoming Human, received the National Book Award. Lake Michigan (2018) was a finalist for the Griffin International Poetry Prize. His most recent translation is Paula Ilabaca Nuñez’s The Loose Pearl (2022), winner of the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. He teaches English and Latin American and Latino studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
With readings from Rachel Galvin, Amina Cain, Adam Novy
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Body Horror Reading at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join E.K. Sathue and CJ Leede as they discuss the goopy gory world of Sathue’s satirical send-up of NYC It-Girl culture and the beauty industry. Attend the event and never moisturize the same way again.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
American Psycho meets The Devil Wears Prada: outrageous body horror for the goop generation.
A 29-year-old copywriter realizes that beauty is possible—at a terrible cost—in this surreal, satirical send-up of NYC It-girl culture.
From Sophia Bannion’s first day on the Storytelling team at HEBE, a luxury skincare/wellness company based in New York’s trendy SoHo neighborhood, it’s clear something is deeply amiss. But Sophia, pushing thirty, has plenty of skeletons in her closet next to the designer knockoffs and doesn’t care. Though she leads an outwardly charmed life, she aches for a deeper meaning to her flat existence—and a cure for her brutal nail-biting habit. She finds it all and more at HEBE, and with Tree Whitestone, HEBE’s charismatic founder and CEO.
Soon, Sophia is addicted to her HEBE lifestyle—especially youthjuice, the fatty, soothing moisturizer Tree has asked Sophia to test. But when cracks in HEBE’s infrastructure start to worsen—and Sophia learns the gruesome secret ingredient at the heart of youthjuice—she has to decide how far she’s willing to go to stay beautiful forever.
Glittering with ominous flashes of Sophia’s coming-of-rage story, former beauty editor E.K. Sathue’s horror debut is as incisive as it is stomach-churning in its portrayal of all-consuming female friendship and the beauty industry’s short attention span. youthjuice does to skincare influencers what Bret Easton Ellis did to yuppies. You’ll never moisturize the same way again.
E.K. Sathue is a pseudonym for the author Erin Mayer. A native New Yorker, she wrote her first haunted house story in Mr. Palladino’s third-grade class and never looked back. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications including Bustle, Travel + Leisure, Better Homes & Gardens, Literary Hub, CrimeReads, Business Insider, and Man Repeller. She lives in Maine with her partner, Benjamin Perry, and their beloved haunted doll, Persephone.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/39855
Daniel A. Olivas, with Stephanie Yu, & My Chicano Heart at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Daniel A. Olivas, in conversation with Stephanie Yu, will discuss his new book My Chicano Heart.
My Chicano Heart is a collection of author Daniel A. Olivas’s favorite previously published tales about love, along with five new stories, that explore the complex, mysterious, and occasionally absurd machinations of people who simply want to be appreciated and treasured. Readers will encounter characters who scheme, search, and flail in settings that are sometimes fantastical and other times mundane: a man who literally gives his heart to his wife who keeps it beating safely in a wooden box; a woman who takes a long-planned trip through New Mexico but, mysteriously, without the company of her true love; a lonely man who gains a remarkably compatible roommate who may or may not be real—just to name a few of the memorable and often haunting characters who fill these pages. Olivas’s richly realized stories are frequently infused with his trademark humor, and readers will delight in—and commiserate with—his lovestruck characters.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Daniel-A-Olivas-discusses-My-Chicano-Heart
August Hype Book Club: Savor It at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
August’s HYPE Book Club is led by bookseller Paola, and participants will discuss the novel Savor It by author Tarah DeWitt.
Everyone is welcome!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
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 — TBA;
- 9:05 pm – 10:00 pm — Open mic.
Suggested: $5.00 Donation via PayPal: The World Stage Gallery.
NOTE: See site for further details and any change in the schedule. Contact kaliflowers@gmail.com or call (323) 293-2451.
Where: The World Stage
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.instagram.com/anansiwritersworkshop/ or https://www.facebook.com/anansiwritersworkshop/
Special Author Event with Sidney Morrison: Frederick Douglass: A Novel at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Join pages for an event with Sidney Morrison for his book, Frederick Douglass: A Novel on Wednesday, August 14th at 7:30 pm.
Frederick Douglass: A Novel is based on the life of Frederick Douglass, the most prominent African American of the 19th Century, Sidney Morrison has created a mesmerizing and important historical novel richly detailing the Civil War Era and the Institution of Slavery that Douglass was instrumental in ending.
This is a free event but we hope you will consider supporting Sidney and {pages} by pre-ordering a copy of Frederick Douglass: A Novel here or at the event. Please RSVP.
Frederick Douglass escapes enslavement in Maryland and becomes a prominent abolitionist leader; one of the nation’s most skilled orators; and publisher of an antislavery newspaper called The North Star. He lives with his wife, Anna Murray Douglass, who helps him escape slavery, and their five children in Rochester, New York. Frederick participates in the Underground Railroad and works with William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, and Presidents Abraham Lincoln to Grover Cleveland. Frederick and Lincoln become friends as the president changes his war policies, issues the Emancipation Proclamation, and enlists Black soldiers, which include Frederick’s three sons. Frederick’s advocacy for equality includes women’s suffrage and his motto for The North Star is: “Right is of no sex, Truth is of no color, God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren.” He attends the Seneca Falls Convention and befriends Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Frederick becomes the first African American to hold esteemed political positions including U.S. Marshal of the District of Columbia and Minister to Haiti.
Sidney Morrison was born in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Karan. He is a retired teacher and school principal (elementary, middle, and high school, one of the few serving as principal at all three levels), and now a part-time educational consultant and leadership coach for school leaders in school districts in Southern California. He also provides professional development in workshops about ethical leadership and diversity/equity issues in schools. Before retiring he worked in the public schools for 36 years serving as a History and English teacher, then as an assistant principal and principal. Elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of California School Administrations, representing the LA South Bay area, he was then elected as state president for 1998-1999. He is proud of ACSA’s recognition of his leadership through two major awards. He is also proud of the Bronze Star earned as a medical corpsman assisting the wounded in a minefield during the Vietnam War.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 14th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/special-author-event-sidney-morrison
Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Online Zoom
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 14th
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-970439720327
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and Featured Guest: Erick Garske at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Nights.
Erick Garske is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He lives in Anaheim, California. He has visited most states including Alaska and Hawaii and the countries of Mexico, Argentina, the UK, Poland, and Ukraine. His work appeared first in the Baltimore literary magazine, The Pearl in 1980 and more recently in the January 2022 anthology, My Glorious Quill, the 2024 issue of the Anaheim Poetry Review, and the upcoming June anthology of the Eccentric Orbits. His first chapbook, Terms and Conditions of Endearment, was published in February 2022. He is working on a chapbook, Angels of Ukraine and a poetry collection, Words Alone. He has has been a featured Poet from the LA Poets Society at the Melrose Trading Post in 2024 for Poetry Month. His work may be viewed on Instagram @erickpoetry.
$4 cover fee, cash only
NOTE: See site for further details.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 14th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events https://www.facebook.com/events/1007588027595177
Mystery Book Discussion: Blood Orange at Lawndale Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Our mystery book discussion has shifted back to meeting in person! Join us in exploring a kaleidoscope of mysteries across time and place. Copies available at the Reference Desk and as ebooks (Libby and hoopla).
Participants will discuss 2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox.
Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Palms Rancho Park Library.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 12:30 pm
Address: 2920 Overland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-discussion-person
Brentwood Writers Workshop at Donald Bruce Kaufman – Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Are you a writer looking for creative ways to manifest your story and, most importantly, keep moving forward? Are you interested in collaborating with others to explore:
What makes a story interesting?
Why do audiences invest in characters?
How to inject insight into your stories?
How to strengthen story elements?
The Brentwood Writers Workshop is looking for fellow writers to gather, brainstorm, and bring their experience and skills to their fellow writers. We’re here to workshop ideas, coach each other through challenges, and support and inspire one another, all with the goal of making traction on our writing projects.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Donald Bruce Kaufman – Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 5:30 pm
Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/brentwood-writing-group
Comic Book & Graphic Novel Discussion Group via Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us each month for a comic book & graphic novel book discussion. We will rotate between indie titles and titles from Marvel & DC. It’s a great starting point for new readers or devoted fans of the genre
Participants will discuss Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2022) by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, & Matheus Lopes.
RSVP:
This program meets via Zoom. Please pre-register
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/comic-book-graphic-novel-discussion-group-adults
Book Club for Adults: The House in the Cerulean Sea at Castaic Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will meet to discuss the novel The House in the Cerulean Sea by author T.J. Klune.
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He’s tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Castaic Library, LACL
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 27971 Sloan Canyon Rd., Castaic, CA 91384
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11333542
Mystery Book Club: A Disappearance in Fiji at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss the book A Disappearance in Fiji by author Niluna Rao.
1914, Fiji: Akal Singh, 25, would rather be anywhere but this tropical paradise—or, as he calls it, “this godforsaken island.” After a promising start to his police career in Hong Kong, Akal has been sent to Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake. Lonely and grumpy, Akal plods through his work and dreams of getting back to Hong Kong or his native India.
When an indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji’s newspapers scream “kidnapping,” the inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees—but soon finds himself far more invested than he could have expected.
Now not only is he investigating a disappearance, but also confronting the brutal realities of the indentured workers’ existence and the racism of the British colonizers in Fiji—along with his own thorny notions of personhood and caste. Early interrogations of the white plantation owners, Indian indentured laborers, and native Fijians yield only one conclusion: there is far more to this case than meets the eye.
This novel is a sparkling debut mystery offers an unflinching look at the evils of colonialism, even as it brims with wit, vibrant characters, and fascinating historical detail.
Nilima Rao is a Fijian Indian Australian who has always referred to herself as “culturally confused.” She has since learned that we are all confused in some way and has been published on the topic by Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service as part of the SBS Emerging Writers Competition and now feels better about the whole thing. When she isn’t writing, Nilima can be found wrangling data (the dreaded day job) or wandering around Melbourne laneways in search of the next new wine bar. A Disappearance in Fiji is her first novel, and she is currently working on the second in the series.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/mystery-book-club-disappearance-fiji
Vision, Sound & Voice: Something in the Water at Cerritos Library – In-Person Event
Join Mike the Poet, Rhettmatic of the Beat Junkies and artist Mark Bijasa will indulge your senses with a night of poetry, DJing and art. Hailing from Cerritos, the evening is a celebration that connects different genres of art forms. Audience participation will be encouraged.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cerritos Library, Skyline Room
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 18025 Bloomfield Ave., Cerritos, CA 90703
At Skylight: Lena Valencia, with Ilana Masad, & Mystery Lights at Skylight – In-Person Event
Lena Valencia, in conversation with Ilana Masad, will discuss her book of stories, Mystery Lights.
Set against the stark background of the Southwestern desert, Mystery Lights glows with the promise—and fear—of the world we know and the worlds we don’t, following women and girls as they navigate dangers both supernatural and existential.
From the all-too-real horror of a sexual predator on a college campus to a lost sister transformed by cave-dwelling creatures, Mystery Lights grapples with terrors both familiar and fantastic, introducing an electrifying new voice in contemporary fiction while bringing to light the many faces of the forces that haunt us.
Lena Valencia is the author of the debut story collection Mystery Lights (Tin House). Her fiction has appeared in Ninth Letter, Epiphany, Joyland, the anthology Tiny Nightmares, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a 2019 Elizabeth George Foundation grant and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School. Originally from Los Angeles, she lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she is the managing editor and director of educational programming at One Story and the co-host of the reading series Ditmas Lit.
Ilana Masad is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and book criticism; holds a PhD in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and is the author of the novel ALL MY MOTHER’S LOVERS.
Where: Skylight
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N, Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-lena-valencia-presents-mystery-lights-w-ilana-masad
Tessa Hicks Peterson (editor) & Practicing Liberation at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Editors Tessa Hicks Peterson and Hala Khouri, with guest contributors Nkem Ndefo, Valorie Thomas, Kerri Kelly & Vanessa Reyes will discuss Practicing Liberation: Transformative Strategies for Collective Healing & Systems Change: Reflections on burnout, trauma & building communities of care in social justice work.
This book show readers how to:
-Embody healing, wellness, and beloved community
-Guard against replicating systems of harm
-Disrupt racist, classist, anti-queer, and anti-trans behavior and systems
-Celebrate creativity and radical imagination in movement work
-Center healing from intergenerational trauma, white supremacy culture, and extractive capitalism
-Honor that self-care is a necessity—not a luxury—that strengthens our collectives
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday, the 15th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Spectacular Storytime at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Spectacular Storytime is our most popular story time and 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 16th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
Dreaming in Poetry at Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
This is a fun, 6-week program to write poetry. Improve your English reading, writing, and presentation skills too! At the end of the program, we will present your poem(s) to an audience. Everyone is welcome; different age groups are encouraged.
This is the final meeting of the series.
For all ages.
Where: Sun Valley Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Friday, the 18th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 7935 Vineland Ave., Sun Valley, CA 91352
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/dreaming-poetry
Stranger Than Fiction Book Club: Finding Gobi at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Stranger Than Fiction Book Club Reading of Finding Gobi: The True Story of One Little Dog’s Big Journey by Dion Leonard. For ages 8 – 12.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Friday, the 16th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11121778
Book Talk: Madeline Ashby, with Cory Doctorow, & Glass Houses at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
Madeline Ashby, in conversation with Cory Doctorow, will discuss her futuristic novel Glass Houses.
A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-algorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island.
Luckily, those who survived have found a beautiful, fully-stocked private palace, with all the latest technological updates (though one without connection to the outside world). The house, however, has more secrets than anyone might have guessed, and a much darker reason for having been built and left behind.
Kristen, the hyper-competent “chief emotional manager” (a position created by her eccentric, boyish billionaire boss, Sumter) is trying to keep her colleagues stable throughout this new challenge, but staying sane seems to be as much of a challenge as staying alive.
Being a woman in tech has always meant having to be smarter than anyone expects—and Kristen’s knack for out-of-the-box problem-solving and quick thinking has gotten her to the top of her field. But will a killer instinct be enough to survive the island?
This book is a gleefully decadent near future whodunit from Madeline Ashby, the acclaimed futurist and author of Company Town..
Madeline Ashby is a consulting futurist and novelist based in Toronto. She is the author of the Machine Dynasty series, Company Town, and contributor to How to Future: Leading and Sense-making in an Age of Hyperchange. She has developed science fiction prototypes for Changeist, the Institute for the Future, the Smithsonian Institution, SciFutures, Nesta, The World Health Organization, the World Bank, the Atlantic Council, and others. She is a member of the AI Policy Futures Group at the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination, and the XPRIZE Sci-Fi Advisory Council. Her work has appeared in BoingBoing, Slate, MIT Technology Review, WIRED, The Atlantic, and elsewhere.
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, including The Lost Cause, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His recent nonfiction The Internet Con: How To Seize The Means of Computation is a Big Tech disassembly manual. Other recent books include Red Team Blues, a science fiction crime thriller; Chokepoint Capitalism, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the Little Brother series for young adults; In Real Life, a graphic novel; and the picture book Poesy The Monster Slayer. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
NOTE: See for details.
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Friday, the 16th
Time: 6 pm – 7 :30 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Book Signing: T.L. Swan & The Bonus at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Celebrate T.L. Swan’s book The Bonus with a special signing event at The Ripped Bodice.
Everyone is welcome!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Friday the 16th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
The Poetry Brothel LA: Secret Summer Event at El Cid Cabaret Concert Theater – In-Person Event
What does it mean to have a Secret Summer? It means anything is possible. At the Poetry Brothel you can explore every nuance of who you are or who you want to be, and tell your deepest truths.
Enjoy a two-hour vaudeville show featuring the Blue Wago Trio, local artists and writer and the tantalizing “poetry of the flesh.”
Learn more at https://poetrysocietyny.org/join
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: El Cid Cabaret Concert Theater
Date: Friday the 16th
Time: 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Address: 4212 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-poetry-brothel-la-secret-summer-tickets-943698406337
Orinda Fink & The Witch’s Daughter at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Orinda Fink will discuss and sign her novel The Witch’s Daughter.
From indie musician Orenda Fink, a memoir of a tumultuous childhood growing up with a mother who may have borderline personality disorder.
Orenda Fink was raised by a darkly charismatic mother who insisted that they were both MAGIC. In The Witch’s Daughter, Orenda chronicles her years spent navigating this ominous power, alongside her mother’s substance abuse and hyper-controlling, often destructive, grip on the family, later suspected to be a subtype of borderline personality disorder classified as “The Witch.” Fink’s searing prose brings the reader through these tumultuous highs and lows of childhood, through her adulthood and early days as a musician, and into a healed version of herself who is able to walk through the world without being crushed under the baggage of her childhood.
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday, the 16th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/orenda-fink
In-Store Ticketed: Maria Bamford and Scott Marvel Cassidy Signing: Hogbook and Lazer Eyes at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Authors Maria Bamford and Scott Marvel Cassidy will discuss Hogbook and Lazer Eyes.
For those unfamiliar with the story, newly single fortysomethings Maria Bamford and Scott Cassidy each signed up on the dating site O.K. Cupid, under the respective usernames “Hogbook” and “Lazer Eyes.” They went on a date, and then another, and soon, despite a history of Bipolar II disorder and unhealthy relationships for each of them, they fall in love and are married in 2015. We view all of this through the prism of their pug housemates, including Blueberry and Bert (who has an unnatural obsession with Michael Flatley of “Riverdance” fame), and the elderly bonded pair Betty and Arnold (who recount their star turn as interplanetary canine scientists in the second season of Lady Dynamite).
Cassidy’s fine art training translates with ease into graphic storytelling, with a naturalistic illustrative style that is a pitch-perfect match Bamford’s comic timing, making Hogbook and Lazer Eyes a beautifully illustrated love story, told by some incredibly charming pugs.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday, the 16th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
SWAAM Spoken Word Art & Music Event at Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center – In-Person Event
SWAAM Spoken Word Art & Music is offered every 1st & 3rd Friday of the month and hosted by Loranzo Frank.
Featured guest TBA.
Tickets at Eventbrite.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Date: Friday, the 16th
Time: 8 pm – 12 am
Address: 4305 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.depoet.info/swaam or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/swaam-spoken-word-art-music-tickets-935630063707?aff=oddtdtcreator
Third Fridays Rapp Saloon Reading Series & Open Mic, 13th Anniversary, with host Elena Secota at Rapp Saloon, Santa Monica – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
The 13th Anniversary of Third Fridays at Rapp Saloon: Open Mic & Featured Readers, will be this week, and is offered every 3st Friday of the month by host Elena Secota.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Rapp Saloon Poetry Reading Series will return to its original format with each Friday hosted and curated as follows:
First Friday: Cynthia Alessandra Briano
Second Friday: Russell Greene
Third Friday: Elena Secota
Fourth Friday: Jim Bolt
Fifth Friday: James Evert Jones
This is a HYBRID event, live in-person while offering a Zoom option for our performers and guests.
Our featured guest poets and artists this month TBA.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Rapp Saloon at HISUA – In-Person & Online Event
Date: Friday, the 16th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 1436 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.facebook.com/RappSaloonReading or https://www.instagram.com/rappsaloon/?hl=en
LGBTQIA Book Club: Less Is Lost via Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us on the third Saturday of the month for an engaging book discussion.
Participants will discuss Less Is Lost by author Sean Greer.
RSVP:
Email silver@lapl.org for the Zoom link!
Where: Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 11 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/lgbtq-book-club
Poetry Workshop: Gathering Imagery from the Internal Well with Holaday Mason at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center– In-Person Event
Come join us for a two-part creative workshop with Holaday Mason where we will div deep onto writing from within.
This intensive workshop is designed to help writers at all levels to tap into their own internal emotional worlds and receive imagery from their less conscious minds, hearts, and histories. Using meditation, selected readings, breathwork, sound, guided meditative journeying, participants will gather material which they will write and share in a safe environment.
This workshop will be conducted on two consecutive Saturdays: Saturday August 17th & Saturday August 24th.
Holaday Mason is the award-winning author of five full-length collections of poetry. Her sixth collection, As If Scattered, will be published by Giant Claw Press in 2025. She is also a portrait and fine art photographer and served as an editor for Beyond Baroque’s anthology Echo 681.She has been a poetry editor, and a practicing psychotherapist since 1993. See www.holadaymason.com or www.holadymasonphotography.com
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Saturday, the 17th and Saturday the 24th
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd Venice Beach Los Angeles, CA 90291
Bookstore Romance Day at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us for 6th annual Bookstore Romance Day—a celebration of all things romance book-related—on Saturday, August 17 from 11:00 – 1:00. We’ll have signings by some of your favorite romance authors, raffles, treats and more. Making appearances include:
Please RSVP at site if you plan to join us.
Kate Spencer is the co-host of the award-winning podcast Forever35 and author of the memoir The Dead Moms Club. In a New York Minute is her first novel. She writes a bi-monthly column for InStyle and her work has been published by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, and numerous other places. Previously she worked as a senior editor and producer at VH1. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.
Katelyn Doyle is a writer who lives in Los Angeles. Her debut rom-com, Just Some Stupid Love Story.
Amy Spalding is the author of several novels, including the bestselling For Her Consideration, We Used to Be Friends and The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), which was named a best book of 2018 by NPR. She is a recipient of the 2023 Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award for the authentic, funny, and diverse representation of the LGBTQ+ community in her books.
Jayci Lee writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance every free second she can scavenge. She lives in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction.
Emily Wibberley/Austin Siegemund-Broka met and fell in love in high school. Austin went on to graduate from Harvard, while Emily graduated from Princeton. Together, they are the authors of The Roughest Draft and Do I Know You?, as well as several novels about romance for teens. Now married, they live in Los Angeles, where they continue to take daily inspiration from their own love story.
Holly James is the author of adult romance and commercial fiction. She holds a PhD in psychology and has worked in both academia and the tech industry. When she’s not reading or writing a book, she can be found on the beach or hiking in the woods. Born and raised in Northern California, she currently lives at the southern end of the state with her husband and their dog. Find her on Instagram at @hellohollyjames.
Lisa Becker is an award-winning romance writer who spends her time like she spends her money – on books and margaritas. As Lisa’s grandmother used to say, “For every chair, there’s a tush.” Lisa is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach, California with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for anyone! You can share your love stories with her at www.lisawbecker.com.
NOTE: Please RSVP at site if you plan to join us.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Saturday the 17th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/bookstore-romance-day-2024
Kids Storytime: Deanna Baron & Are Rules for Bears Too? at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Author Deanna Baron will host a storytime and read her book Are Rules for Bears Too?
Reserve a spot on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/40575
Jubilations Outdoor Poetry Reading & Open Mic at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join former Malibu Poet Laureate Ann Buxie for selected poets, open mic, and conversation.
Where: Malibu Library, LACL
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 2 pm
Address:23519 West Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/events
Book Launch & Signing for Unico: Awakening with Samuel Sattin at Once Upon a Time Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Step into a new magical world with the launch of Unico: Awakening – the first volume in a new graphic novel adaption of an original Japanese manga. Author Samuel Sattin will be in conversation with author Rex Ogle to share with attendees the process behind the story and answer questions from the audience. After presenting, the authors will be available to sign books. Best for ages 8+.
Open to all ages. Free to attend.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/unico-awakening
Abigail Hing Wen, with Martie Lu, & Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Abigail Hing Wen, in conversation with Martie Lu, will discuss Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies.
Tan Lee finds himself embroiled in an unusual love triangle, all while trying to defuse a heist, unravel a conspiracy, and navigate the most complicated babysitting assignment ever in this YA novel by New York Times and Indie bestselling author Abigail Hing Wen.
After a magical kiss at Prom, best friends Tan Lee and Winter Woo agree to cool it off, a plan that goes awry when their parents jointly head off to Hawaii and leave Tan and Winter to babysit Tan’s sister Sana together. If that isn’t complicated enough, Tan’s ex-girlfriend from Shanghai arrives on his doorstep with money stolen from her billionaire father and thugs on her heels.
Tan soon finds himself on the run through the San Francisco Bay Area, trying to out-maneuver international hackers and protect his friends, family and sister—and his own heart.
Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Legend series, The Young Elites trilogy, the Warcross series, the Skyhunter series, Batman: Nightwalker, and The Kingdom of Back. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, where she worked as an artist. A full-time writer, she spends her spare hours reading, drawing, playing games, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in the traffic-jam capital, Los Angeles, with her illustrator/author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their son.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91001
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Abigail-Hing-Wen-discusses-Kisses-Codes-and-Conspiracies
Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series & Open Mic at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join us in-person or via Zoom for Expressions L.A. Poetry Reading Series, featuring poetry readings and open poetry mic.
RSVP:
Please email studio@lapl.org for participation details.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/expressions-la-poetry-reading-series-and-open-mic-3
Saturday Afternoon Poetry – Online Zoom Event
All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines including the subject of or at least mentioning school or shoes for Four Feathers Press online edition: School Shoes by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm, August 16th.
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (See site)
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club: Stories of Your Life and Others at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss Stories of Your Life and Others, by author Ted Chiang.
Stories of Your Life and Others delivers dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar, often presenting characters who must confront sudden change—the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens—with some sense of normalcy.
Ted Chiang was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and holds a degree in computer science. In 1989 he attended the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Workshop. His fiction has won four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards, and he is the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. Stories of Your Life and Others has been translated into ten languages. He lives near Seattle, Washington.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/sci-fi-fantasy-book-club-stories-your-life-and-others
Live Reading: Fernando A. Fuenes, and Guests, & Working Class PTSD: Or How I Learned to Code Switch + Love Poems at LibroMobile, Santa Ana – In-Person Event
Fernando A Funes will read form his manuscript Working Class PTSD: Or How I Learned to Code Switch + Love Poems.
Are you ready to get a sneak peak of a new manuscript by a local writer?
RSVP
Where: LibroMobile
Date: Saturday, the 17th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1150 S. Bristol St. A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Mobile Data Mag Open Mic Poetry Series: 2024 Summer Series at 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 and Jennifer Baptiste.
This event is the LAST of the Summer Series’ 4 readings offered monthly at The Pop Hop in Highland Park Los Angeles.
This month’s features:
Jay Cherie is known as The Real Ghetto Poet. She tells her story, inhabits ghetto persistance and promotes realness.
Grace is a lover of food, music and dreams.
Mobile Data Mag Open Mic+ Feature Series is about celebrating poetry and prose. Mobile Data Mag on Substack and Systemic Dreaming on Threads exists on the internet because the site(s) are for individuals who web surf to stumble across the selection of writers on this digital literary journal. Reading in non-English is always welcome.
This is the final event of this 4-part series.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Pop Hop
Date: Saturday the 17th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 5002 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6pyPUPrtwA/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/C85GK1MST-S/?hl=en
Author & Book Signing: Casey McQuiston & The Pairing at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Celebrate Casey McQuiston’s release of The Pairing with a conversation between the author and Cameron Esposito and Katy Nishimoto.
Everyone is welcome!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Saturday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Melrose Trading Post Event by Greenway Arts Alliance at Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax H.S. – In-Person Event
The Melrose Trading Post is a pioneering arts-based marketplace held every Sunday at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, CA with 275 local creative small business vendors, delicious food booths and local live music.
MTP was founded in 1997 with a mission to champion small businesses, art and community. The market funds Greenway Arts Alliance’s arts education programming and provides employment and leadership development opportunities for students at Fairfax High School.
NOTE: Check every Sunday for story time and reading events
Where: Melrose Trading Post, Greenway Main Stage at Fairfax HS
Date: Sunday, the 18th (Every Sunday)
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Address: 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website: https://melrosetradingpost.org/tickets/
826LA @Hammer: Vignettes: Style and Vivid Imagery at the Hammer Museum – In-Person Kids Event
This series offers free collaborative workshops, presented with 826LA, combine writing with creative activities for groups of up to 20 students.
Recommended for ages 8–14.
Reservations encouraged. Visit 826la.org or call 310-915-0200.
Explore stylized writing through activities like Mad Libs and 6-word stories to create your own original vignette full of vivid imagery.
Facilitated by author and artist, Carina Tovar.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 11 am
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2024/826lahammer-vignettes-style-and-vivid-imagery
Storytime + Signing: Erica Lee Schlaikjer & Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl at Bel Canto, KUBO – In-Person Event
Erica Lee Schlaikjer will present her children’s book, Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl.
On the eastern plains of Taiwan, a young girl and her mother pick wild greens before a rainstorm drenches them and their garden. When she goes to pull at the roots of a spiky, stalky weed, she learns that the plant is not what it seems. A lyrical story that shows young readers how to appreciate the bounty of nature and the beauty of identity.
Chinese and Pinyin translations are included in pages and backmatter features additional information on the indigenous Amis people of Taiwan. An Own Voices, Own Stories award winner and Junior Library Guild Selection.
Erica Lee Schlaikjer grew up as a mixed-race “Third Culture Kid” in a Foreign Service family, living in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and the United States. Her mother is Falangaw Amis, indigenous to Taiwan. Her father is White American. She writes stories about the joy of belonging, the beauty of fleeting moments, and the wonders of nature. She currently lives with her husband in Los Angeles—the ancestral lands of the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto, KUBO LB
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach CA 90807
Anthology Launch: The House Where Death Lives at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Authors Gina Chen, Shelly Page, Justine Pucella Winans, and Alex Brown will discuss The House Where Death Lives: An Anthology.
All of the stories in this anthology exist in the same place—within the frame of a particular house that isn’t bound by the same laws of time and space. This YA speculative fiction anthology explores how permanence of home can become a space of transition and change for both the inhabitants an the creatures who haunt them.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 695 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Author-Event-The-House-Where-Death-Lives
2024 Romance Day Afternoon Tea Party at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
We’ll be celebrating all things Romance at Chevalier’s this day…author appearances, afternoon tea (and cake!). and book discounts.
Featuring Romance writers: Amy Spaulding, Elissa Sussman, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, Kate Stayman-London, Celia Laskey, among others.
NOTE: See site for tickets and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Bucket List Book Club: I, Claudius at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the novel I, Claudius by author Robert Graves.
Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Agustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emperor in 41 A.D. A masterpiece.
Robert Graves (1895-1985) was a poet, novelist, and critic. His first volume of poems Over the Braziers (1916) reflects his experiences in the trenches, and was followed by many works of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. He is best known for his novel I, Claudius (1934).
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/bucket-list-book-club-i-claudius
Heart. Soul. Pen. Women’s Writing Group at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
In this women-empowered writing workshop, we will focus on creativity, community, and connection. Come ignite your creative spark, cultivate an attitude of exploration and play, and share in an uplifting environment. Heart. Soul. Pen. is open to all creatives, searchers, writers of all levels, and the ‘writer curious.’ Get inspired and discover yourself to be more creative than you ever imagined.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Inspired by the acclaimed program sharing its name, Heart. Soul. Pen. has already brought about a sea change in innumerable lives. Now, it extends an invitation to anyone on the transformative journey that is unlocking one’s true potential as a writer.
Robin Finn, MPH, MA, is the author of the Heart. Soul. Pen.: Find Your Voice on the Page and in Your Life and the novel Restless in L.A. She is the founder of Heart. Soul. Pen.® women’s writing workshops and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and more. She has master’s degrees in public health and spiritual psychology.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 4:30 pm – 6 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/40798
Speech Bubble Comic Club: Shuna’s Journey at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join North Figueroa Bookshop for Speech Bubble Comic Club.
Book Club participants will read and discuss Shuna’s Journey by author Hayao Miyazaki.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar/
Kids Manga Launch Samuel Sattin &: Unico: Awakening at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join us in store for the launch of a brand new manga for kids, Unico: Awakening! This adaptation of the classic tale by “The Godfather of Manga” Osamu Tezuka is a dynamic reimagining for a new generation of readers. Author Samuel Sattin will host a conversation about the adaptation process and sign copies.
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UNICO tells the unforgettable story of a young unicorn who, after enraging the goddess Venus with his ability to positively impact human emotions, is banished from the heavens and taken across space and time until he forgets all he once was. Saved from oblivion by the West Wind, Unico continues to help others, before having toe escape the gods again and begin a new adventure.
In this first adventure, Unico is befriended by a resourceful watch-cat, Chloe, who feel protective of the young unicorn. When they find themselves near a small village in the forest, they take refuge with a kindly but helpless old woman. To take care of her, Chloe begs Unico to turn her into a human girl, but that act of kindness has unforeseen consequences: Unico’s love has awakened the evil goddess Venus and her minion Byron, who want to destroy them both!
Conceived anew by author Samuel Sattin and artist team Gurihiru, and developed in collaboration with Tezuka Productions, Unico: Awakening is a groundbreaking reboot of a beloved story by Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka, the “God of Manga.” With striking full-color artwork and reading left to right in the Western comics style, it’s a brilliant manga series featuring storytelling at its best. Join Unico on his unforgettable journey!
Samuel Sattin is an American writer. His books include Buzzing, Side Quest, The Silent End, and (as co-author) both A Kid’s Guide to Anime & Manga and The Essential Anime Guide: 50 Iconic Films, Standout Series, and Cult Masterpieces. He has also adapted the Academy Award-nominated films Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea, and The Secret of Kells to the graphic novel format. He graduated with an MFA in comics from the California College of the Arts and works as a studio writer for Schulz Creative Associates, aka Snoopy Central. Samuel resides with his wife in Northern California and travels frequently to Japan.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday, the 18th
Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/41227
Focus on Craft Book Club: Lore of the Wilds at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
August’s Focus on Craft Book Club is led by editor and teacher Jeanne De Vita, and participants will discuss the novel Lore of the Wilds by author Analeigh Sbrana.
Everyone is welcome!
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 18th
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 