World Literature Book Club at West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for a spirited and engaging discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction (HarperCollins, 2008), eds. Joyce Carol Oates and Christopher R. Beha. This month’s selections are:
November 4: Landfill by Joyce Carol Oates
November 11: Library Closed, Veterans Day
November 18: On the Rainy River by Tim O’Brien
November 25: Escort by Chuck Palahniuk
We meet every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
RSVP:
For the Zoom link, please send an email request to wvally@lapl.org with “World Literature” in the subject line.
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 4th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-43
Robertson Writers Group at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Writing a book, poem, or screenplay?
Need deadlines? Want constructive feedback?
Then this is the place for you.
Bring 5 – 10 double spaced typed pages to read. Everyone will get a chance to read.
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 4th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1719 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/robertson-writers-group-0
Zine Club at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for Zine Club, where our group members meet in a virtual space to co-work, chat, and share inspiration for whatever projects we’re working on. Zine Club is based on the idea of gathering together to create zines, share zines we like, zines we are working on, music to make zines to, and much more.
Zine content can be personal, political, niche, artistic, or visual—there are no rules! We have zines for all ages by local and international zinesters. You can browse the collection at any of our eight zine library locations, or search our catalog to place a hold and have your zines delivered to your nearest branch.
RSVP:
Please use this link to join the Zoom meeting.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 4th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 861 Alma Real Ave., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/zine-club-1
Open Mic Night at Altadena Main Library – In-Person Event
Come share your music, story, or latest spoken word poem and cheer on your neighbors’ work.
All ages and genres are welcome. Offered on the first Monday of every month.
Where: Altadena Main Library
Date: Monday the 4th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 600 E. Mariposa, Altadena, CA 90272
Website: https://www.instagram.com/altadenalibrary/p/DA1qNOLOqYD/
Fr. Greg Boyle in Conversation: The Kingdom of the Poor at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Charlie Strobel, a champion of the homeless and dispossessed, wrote Kingdom at the end of his life in hopes his stories of unconditional love could help heal a broken world. Father Boyle, who knew Strobel has said of The Kingdom of the Poor, “This tender book invites us all to a larger love and a flourishing joy. Charlie Strobel was the shape of God’s heart.”
Don’t miss the book Ann Patchett calls “a manual for decency and kindness.
For additional information, and to reserve tickets, visit EVENTBRITE.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Monday the 4th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1341920241104
R.U.P.O. Open Mic at Back to the Grind in Riverside – In-Person Event (Check to Verify)
RUPO Open Mic is every Monday Night at Back to the Grind in Riverside.
Every Monday at: 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 4th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com/backtothegrind
Aaron Carnes, with Dan Ozzi, & In Defense of SKA: Expanded 2nd Edition at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Aaron Carnes, in conversation with Dan Ozzi, will present and discuss his book In Defense of SKA: Expanded 2nd Edition.
With an additional 30,000 words of compelling stories, research, and analysis, music journalist and ‘In Defense of Ska’ podcast creator/host Aaron Carnes presents the case that ska never died, by jumping headfirst into ska’s “lost years,” i.e., the period after the ’90s third-wave ska boom.
New topics covered include LA’s ongoing vibrant traditional ska scene and how young Latinos are keeping the ska torch aflame, how the devastation of Hurricane Katrina inadvertently kicked off a thriving scene focused on keeping community alive in New Orleans, a deep review of Christian ska group Five Iron Frenzy, who broke a Kickstarter record in the ’10s while making progressive activists out of their fan base, a close inspection of a hipster rocksteady scene in Brooklyn that grew so popular it nearly kicked off a nationwide revival, and more secret ska past revelations with none other than Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump—who has a story that, up until recently, was carefully guarded.
Plus, the book re-explores several bands featured in the first edition, revealing new layers and more details about all the bands fans love, like Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Operation Ivy, the Slackers, Hepcat, Mephiskapheles, and Reel Big Fish. With 30,000 additional words, this is the complete ska package.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Monday the 4th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Monday Night Fiction Workshop via 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 4th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monday-night-fiction-workshop-tickets-1064277906869
Lit Angels: Morning Writing: 12 Questions with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Lit Angels offers classes that provide just that—a fun and freeing way to work out the creative muscles and eliminate the stumbling blocks that might be holding you back, not only in your writing, art, or performance projects, but in all areas of your life—uplifting and refreshing your mind and soul, improving relationships, work, and your outlook on the future. Taught by top-level working professionals, Lit Angels classes cultivate community and connection, something we all desperately need in these challenging times.
Come make some magic at the Village Well! All genres and levels are welcome!
Francesca Lia Block is the author of more than thirty books of fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetry, and has written screenplay adaptations of her work. She received the Spectrum Award, the Phoenix Award, the ALA Rainbow Award and the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as other citations from the American Library Association, and from the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, and PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY. Currently she teaches creative writing at UCLA Extension, Antioch University, Pocket MFA, and numerous workshops across the country. Francesca also edits LIT ANGELS, a literary journal available on Substack. Her latest novel is HOUSE OF HEARTS now out in paperback. https://www.francescaliablock.com/
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday, the 5th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1342020241105
Celina’s Scribes Workshop with Wil Clarke via Inlandia Institute – Online Event
(All Levels)
Tuesdays, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 11/5, 11/12, and 11/19/24, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM PT, on Zoom.
Registration required. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Fall2024CWW
Participants respond to prompts about universal themes related to the human condition and are encouraged to explore all genres of writing. Individual writing is shared with a friendly, supportive group who do their best to encourage each member’s success.
Wil Clarke was born in Africa to missionary parents. He lived a total of 27 years in Africa. He is a career mathematician and is enjoying writing memoirs of his various experiences. His motto is, “You only live life once, so you may as well enjoy it the first time around and do all the good you
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Inlandia Events
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 11:30 am – 1 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/my-calendar/?mc_id=2389
NaNo Come Write In Drop-In Space at Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Writers assemble!
National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with a first draft. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.
We will be hosting a series of “Come Write In – Drop In” Spaces throughout the month of November.
Beginning in the first week in November our Community Room will be open most Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 – 2 p.m. to provide a quiet space, water bottles and light snacks for writing your future novel.
Where: Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 21052 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, CA 91311
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/nano-come-write-drop-space
Feminist Book Club: Bite by Bite at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the book of essays Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by author Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
In Bite by Bite, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil explores the way food and drink evoke our associations and remembrances—a subtext or layering, a flavor tinged with joy, shame, exuberance, grief, desire, or nostalgia.
The author restores our astonishment and wonder about food through her encounters with a range of foods and food traditions. From shave ice to lumpia, mangoes to pecans, rambutan to vanilla, she investigates how food marks our experiences and identities and explores the boundaries between heritage and memory.
Bite by Bite offers a rich and textured kaleidoscope of vignettes and visions into the world of food and nature, drawn together by intimate and humorous personal reflections, with Fumi Nakamura’s gorgeous imagery and illustration.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of the New York Times bestselling illustrated collection of nature essays World of Wonders, chosen as Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year and as a finalist for the Kirkus Prize. She has published four award-winning poetry collections and is the poetry editor for Sierra magazine, the storytelling branch of the Sierra Club. She lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with her family and is a professor of English and creative writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Monday the 5th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/feminist-book-club-bite-bite-aimee-nezhukumatathil
Conchas y Café Zine Workshop with DSTL Arts – Online Event
Be a part of a new fall bilingual writing workshop series with DSTL Arts online.
2024 – 2025 Publishing Year
Conchas y Café Zine; Vol. 10
Series/Issue 1: 9/3/24–12/17/24
Theme: Life’s Paths/Los caminos de la vida
Google Classroom Enrollment Code: rvdizwy
See links for details.
Where: DSTL Arts
Date: Tuesday, the 5th (through 12/17/24)
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Google Classroom Event (see site)
Website: https://www.dstlarts.org/calendar or https://www.dstlarts.org/conchasycafezine
Creativity Book Club: Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Creativity Book Clubis led by Judith Martin-Straw, who has been teaching creativity classes, yoga and meditation for almost 20 years. She is also the Publisher of CulverCityCrossroads.com, a daily local news website. Her poetry has been published in the Beyond Baroque anthology Echo 681, and has been featured in the “Readers Write’ section of The Sun.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1342320241105
Other Worlds Book Club: Whalefall at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Other Worlds Book Club participants will discuss the novel Whalefall by author Daniel Kraus, facilitated by Leo Lutin.
This is a new speculative fiction, fantasy and science fiction – related book club and Whalefall is a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.
Suspenseful and cinematic, Whalefall is an “powerfully humane” (Owen King, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a young man who has given up on life…only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.
Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and graphic novels. He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus coauthored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. He has won two Odyssey Awards (for Rotters and Scowler), and The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Top 10 Books of the Year. His books have been Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults picks, Bram Stoker finalists, and more. His work has been translated into over twenty languages. Daniel lives with his wife in Chicago. Visit him at DanielKraus.com.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday, the 5th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2024-11-05/other-worlds-book-club
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest Tim Seibles – Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with host Rick Lupert presents guest reader Tim Siebles and an open mic.
Tim Siebles, the former Poet Laureate of Virginia, was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the author of several books of poetry including Hurdy-Gurdy, Hammerlock, and Buffalo Head Solos. His first collection, Body Moves, (1988) was re-released by the Carnegie Mellon University Press as part of their Contemporary Classics series. Fast Animal was one of five poetry finalists for the 2012 National Book Award. In 2013 he received the Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Award for poetry. In 2014 Tim received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Misericordia University for his literary accomplishments. During that same year, he won the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Award for Fast Animal, a prize given triennially for a collection of poems. In 2015, he chaired the panel of judges that decided the winner of the National Book Award in poetry. One Turn Around the Sun was published in 2017. His most recent collection, Voodoo Libretto: New & Selected Poems, was released in 2022.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 5th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt
The Sunless Sea Open Mic: Poetry and Spoken Word Show – In-Person Event
The Sunless Sea Open Mic: Poetry and Spoken Word Show is offered every week at the Inurbane Coffee House. Hosted by Deforest Wright, all are invited to attend.
Guest poet of the month: TBA
NOTE: Details at event link. Check to Verify.
Where: Unurban Coffee House
Date: Tuesday, the 5th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups or https://www.facebook.com/groups/1699147113818899/
Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic Night: Fright Night at Greenway Court – In-Person Event
The nation’s largest weekly Open Mic event is 25 years strong. At an open mic, all are welcome to share their poetry or sit in their audience.
In celebration of Halloween and good fun, on the last Tuesday of October, we encourage performers and audience members to dress up in Halloween costumes for an exciting night full of poems, costumes, and prizes! Please note that there is no specific poetry theme for this night—it functions as a regular open mic night. All ages welcome.
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 5th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLUBSRPCFb/ or https://www.dapoetrylounge.com/events/fright-night
Storytime: Pete the Cat’s Awesomely Groovy Octoberpalooza Storytime at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event
Pete the Cat has lots of fans
Of his groovy buttons, and his cool, cat dance.
After reading books
About Pete and his friends, activities begin when Storytime ends.
Cat-eared hats
Will make you look like Pete.
Stay in lines
Makes your artwork look neat!
NOTE: Though Pete himself will not appear
YOU’LL look like Pete
Wearing your cool, blue, pointy ears!
Storytime will follow a few SONGS WITH MISS MARIE! Be sure to arrive at 11AM to catch our new Storytime sensation!
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 11 am
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2024-11-06/pete-cats-awesomely-groovy-octoberpalooza-storytime
Book Club: Heaven and Earth Grocery Store or The Color of Water at Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Participants will discuss one of two, or both, books selected:
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. The novel tells the story of Black and Jewish residents of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s and 1930s.
Or
The Color of Water: a Black man’s tribute to his white mother by James McBride. The author paints a portrait of growing up in a black neighborhood as the child of an interracial marriage.
If you are interested in attending by Zoom, please email sstamm@lapl.org.
Where: Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 21052 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, CA 91311
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/chatsworth-branch-book-club
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 6th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event (live)
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
Social Justice Book Club: We Are Water Protectors at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Participants will discuss We Are Water Protectors by author Carole Lindstrom.
Check out the book of the month at your local library and bring your thoughts and feelings to the conversation. Books can transform the way we look at the world. Join children’s librarians from the Library to discuss kid-friendly books related to topics of social justice. This is an all-ages book club for the whole family.
RSVP:
Please register here and for more information, email cquinn@lapl.org.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/social-justice-book-club
Visiting Writers Series: Joseph Earl Thomas via Otis College of Art and Design – Online Event
Joseph Earl Thomas is the author of Sink, a memoir longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach. His writing has been published in The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Dilettante Army, N+1, The Offing, and the New York Times Book Review. His honors include the 2020 Chautauqua Janus Prize and fellowships from Kimbilio, VONA, Tin House, and Bread Loaf. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s MFA program in prose, he earned his PhD in English from The University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, and teaches courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.
NOTE: See site for registration details.
Where: Otis College of Art and Design
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.otis.edu/programs/undergraduate/first-year/liberal-arts-sciences/visiting-writers-series.html or https://otis.zoom.us/meeting/register
2nd & 3rd Grade Book Club at {pages} a bookstore – In-Person Event
We read new releases of early grade fiction. Book selection is done by
Please RSVP to amy@pagesabookstore.comvoting at each meeting for the following month’s meeting.
Where: {pages} a bookstore
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2024-11-06/2nd-3rd-grade-book-club
Be the Change: Social Justice Writing Workshop with James Coats – Online Event
Be the Change, a Social Justice Writing Workshop, is held every 1st Wednesday of the month and led by poet and author James Coats.
Free: name your own price.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and details.
Where: Online Zoom Event Zoom ID: 826 5843 0669 Password: justice
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event Zoom ID: 826 5843 0669 Password: justice
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1qCfCyPfKm/?hl=en
History Book Club: The Playbook at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event The Playbook
Participants will discuss The Playbook: A History of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War by author James Shapiro.
A brilliant and daring account of a culture war over the place of theater in American democracy in the 1930s, one that anticipates our current The Playbook takes us through some of its most remarkable productions, including a groundbreaking Black production of Macbeth in Harlem and an adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’s anti-fascist novel It Can’t Happen Here that opened simultaneously in 18 cities, underscoring the Federal Theatre’s incredible range and vitality. But this once thriving Works Progress Administration relief program did not survive and has left little trace. For the Federal Theatre was the first New Deal project to be attacked and ended on the grounds that it promoted “un-American” activity, sowing the seeds not only for the McCarthyism of the 1950s but also for our own era of merciless polarization.
James Shapiro is Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He has written several award-winning books, including Shakespeare in a Divided America, The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606, and 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and The New York Review of Books, among other places.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/history-book-club-playbook
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 radio in Los Angeles 101.5 FM.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: 101.5 FM
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: On-air Event (live at 101.5 FM)
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle via Iinlandia Institute – Online Event
Alternating Wednesdays, 9/11, 9/25, 10/9, 10/23, and 11/6/24, 6:00-9:00 PM PT, on Zoom.
$50. Registration required. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Fall2024CWW
In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for biweekly critiques and receive feedback from other group members. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face. The workshop leader provides biweekly articles and links related to participants’ work, particularly to problems that were discussed in the previous session.
Victoria Waddle is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, with fiction and nonfiction published in literary journals and anthologies, including in Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. A collection of her short fiction, Acts of Contrition, is available from Los Nietos Press and her chapbook, The Mortality of Dogs and Humans, is available from Bamboo Dart Press. Her YA novel about a teen escaping a polygamist cult is coming from Finlandia Books. Previously the managing editor of Finlandia: A Literary Journey, she helped to establish a yearly teen issue. In a previous life, she was a high school English teacher and librarian.
Where: Finlandia Institute
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/my-calendar/?mc_id=2365
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 Filipino town & The World: Search to Involve Pilipino Americans.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: SIPA HQ
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
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
Book Event: Glory Edim, with Mara Brock Akil, & Gather Me at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
Glory Edim, in conversation with Mara Brock Akil, will discuss her new book Gather Me.
An inspiring memoir of family, community, and resilience, and an ode to the power of books to help us understand ourselves, from the renowned founder of Well-Read Black Girl.
For Glory Edim, that “friend of my mind” is books. Edim, who grew up in Virginia to Nigerian immigrant parents, started the popular Well-Read Black Girl book club at age thirty, eventually reaching a community of half a million readers. But her own love of books stretches far back.
Edim’s father moved back to Nigeria while she was still a child, marking the beginning of a series of traumatic changes and losses for her family. What became an escape, a safe space, and a second home for her and her brother was their local library. Books were where Edim found community, and as she grew older she discovered authors and ideas that she wasn’t being taught about in class. Reading wherever and whenever she could, be it in her dorm room or when traveling by subway or plane, she found the Black writers whose words would forever change her life: Nikki Giovanni, through children’s poetry cassettes; Maya Angelou, through a critical high school English teacher; Toni Morrison, while attending Morrison’s alma mater, Howard University; Audre Lorde, on a flight to Nigeria. In prose full of both joy and heartbreak, Edim recounts how these writers and so many others taught her how to value herself by helping her to find her own voice when her mother lost hers, to trust her feelings when her father remarried, and to create bonds with other Black women and uplift their stories.
Glory Edim is a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Edim’s leadership, WRBG has grown into a nonprofit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator’s Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Edim has contributed to the literary landscape with her bestselling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library.
Mara Brock Akil has written and produced 400+ episodes of television, leaving a tremendous impact on Hollywood. Akil created the seminal television series Girlfriends, a witty and honest exploration of the multi-faceted nature of Black womanhood, and from there, went on to develop the spin-off series The Game. Since then, she has produced multiple culture shifting series that celebrate the complexity and vulnerability of humanity. She was honored with the prestigious Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award by NATPE in 2019, and in 2017, inducted into Northwestern’s Medill Hall of Achievement. Other accolades include: Essence Visionary Award; Variety and The Hollywood Reporter Showrunner Power Lists and Women in Entertainment Power100. In 2020, Brock Akil signed a deal with Netflix to exclusively produce television shows for the streaming platform under her new banner, story27 Productions, where she continues to expand her accomplished legacy and uplift the talent of tomorrow.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30)
Address: 3054 South Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016
Jason De Léon, with Kelly Lytle Hernandez, & Soldiers and Kings at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Jason De Léon, in conversation with Kelly Lytle Hernandez, will present and discuss his book Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.
Political instability, poverty, climate change, and the insatiable appetite for cheap labor all fuel clandestine movement across borders. As those borders harden, the demand for smugglers who aid migrants across them increases every year. Yet the real lives and work of smugglers—or coyotes, or guides, as they are often known by the migrants who hire their services—are only ever reported on from a distance, using tired tropes and stereotypes, often depicted as boogie men and violent warlords. In an effort to better understand this essential yet extralegal billion dollar global industry, internationally recognized anthropologist and expert Jason De León embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across Mexico over the course of seven years. The result of this unique and extraordinary access is Soldiers and Kings, the first ever in-depth, character-driven look at human smuggling.
Jason De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o and Central American Studies and Director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. His new book Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling was released in March 2024 and is currently a finalist for the National Book Award.
Kelly Lytle Hernández holds The Thomas E. Lifka Endowed Chair in History and directs the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. A 2019 MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, she is the author of the award-winning books Bad Mexicans, Migra!, and City of Inmates. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
For additional information, and to reserve tickets, visit EVENTBRITE.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1353720241106
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 6th
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/
Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop at Beyond Baroque – Online Event
The West Coast’s longest-running free poetry workshop is offered by Beyond Baroque 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 be prepared to share one poem.
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. An instructive video is available at the site.
The workshop can sometimes reach high levels of attendance, which means not everyone will get a chance to read every session.
The workshop facilitator this quarter is Arthur Kayzakian.
Arthur Kayzakian is the finalist for the 2024 Kate Tufts Award, and the winner of the 2021 inaugural Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series for his collection, The Book of Redacted Paintings. He is also a recipient of the 2023 creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
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-1069038606249
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and Guest Victor D. Infante at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Nights will feature Victor D. Infante.
Victor D. Infante is the author of the poetic novella “Suffer For This,” from Moon Tide Press, and the poetry collection, City of Insomnia, from Write Bloody Publishing. He is the features editor for The Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the editor for Worcester Magazine. His fiction and poetry has appeared in dozens of journals, including The Chiron Review, The Collagist, Barrelhouse, Pearl, Spillway and The Banyan Review, as well as in anthologies such as “Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry,” “Spoken Word Revolution Redux,” “The Last American Valentine: Poems to Seduce and Destroy,” “Aim For the Head: An Anthology of Zombie Poetry,” “The Incredible Sestina Anthology” and all three “Murder Ink: Tales of New England Newsroom Crime” anthologies. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, the poet Lea C. Deschenes, and their army of ferrets.
$4 cover fee, cash only
NOTE: See site for further details.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 6th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events or https://www.facebook.com/events/the-ugly-mug/victor-d-infante-at-the-ugly-mug/1074492610766710/
Book Club: The Furies at Hermosa Branch Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a lively discussion of Fates and Furies by author Lauren Groff. Books are available for check-out at the library. For adults.
Where: Hermosa Branch Library, LACL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Address: 550 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11870805
National Novel Writing Month Drop In Space at Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Writers assemble!
National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with a first draft. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.
We will be hosting a series of: Come Write In Drop In Spaces throughout the month of November.
Beginning the first week in November, our Community Room will be open most Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 – 2 p.m. to provide a quiet space, water bottles and light snacks for writing your future novel.
Where: Chatsworth Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 21052 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, CA 91311
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/nano-come-write-drop-space-0
Mar Vista Writing Club at Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Are you passionate about writing or looking for a creative outlet? Our club invites adults of all ages and backgrounds to come together and explore their creativity through writing prompts. Whether you’re an experienced writer or just getting started, our supportive and welcoming environment encourages participants to share ideas, improve their skills, and connect with fellow writers. Meetings are held in the cozy atmosphere of the library, where inspiration flows freely.
Bring your notebook, laptop, typewriter or just your ideas—everyone is welcome!
Where: Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 12006 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mar-vista-writing-club
Author Talk: Stanley Milford & The Paranormal Ranger via Virtual Event, LACL – Online Event
Join our conversation with Navajo Ranger, Stanley Milford, Jr. as he chats about the chilling and clear-eyed memoir of his investigations into bizarre cases of the paranormal and the unexplained in Navajoland.
As a Native American with parents of both Navajo and Cherokee descent, Stanley Milford, Jr. grew up in a world where the supernatural was both expected and taboo, where shapeshifters roamed, witchcraft was a thing to be feared, and children were taught not to whistle at night. In his youth, Milford never went looking for the paranormal, but it always seemed to find him. When he joined the fabled Navajo Rangers—a law enforcement branch of the Navajo Nation who are equal parts police officers, archeological conservationists, and historians—the paranormal became part of his job. Alongside addressing the mundane duties of overseeing the massive 27,000-square-mile reservation, Milford was assigned to utterly bizarre and shockingly frequent cases involving mysterious livestock mutilations, skinwalker and Bigfoot sightings, UFOs, and malicious hauntings.
In The Paranormal Ranger, Milford recounts the stories of these cases from the clinical and deductive perspective of a law enforcement officer. Milford’s Native American worldview and investigative training collide to provide an eerie account of what logic dictates should not be possible. Register now to expand your own worldview and be ready for a chill to run down your spine!
Stanley Milford, Jr., graduated from the United States Indian Police Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, and worked continuously as a sworn law enforcement officer for over twenty-three years. He served as the delegated Chief Navajo Ranger for over two years through March of 2019. While with the Navajo Rangers, Stan oversaw a section called the Special Projects Unit (SPU), whose responsibilities included the investigation of cases that did not fit within everyday parameters of law enforcement or criminal investigation, many of which involved reports of the paranormal or supernatural. After leaving the Navajo Rangers, Stan served as the senior investigator for the Navajo Nation’s White Collar Crime Unit.
Where: Virtual Event, LACL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12154543
Poetry Workshop Series: Generative Grammar with Ivanna Baranova at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event
In this three-session workshop, we’ll explore various experimental grammatical applications in poetry, including abstract meter, parataxis, syntactical turning, punctuation gleams, linguistic refraction, and more. Together, we’ll consider how these modalities can serve as tools for generating new poetic synergies. Through engagement with experimental texts, prompts, and group discussion, participants will develop collaborative analysis and functional writing, expanding their grammatical attunement to initiate both practical and subliminal approaches to creating poems. Potential readings include works by Daniel Borzutzky, Julian Talamantez Brolaski, Larry Eigner, Tilghman Goldsborough, Lyn Hejinian, Ikkyū, Benjamin Krusling, Aaron Kunin, Friederike Mayröcker, Hoa Nguyen, and more.
Ivanna Baranova is a poet and artist from the Pacific Northwest, currently living in Los Angeles and sometimes New York City. Recent books include Threshold (Inpatient Press, 2024) and Continuum (Metatron Press, 2023).
NOTE: See site for cost, details and registration.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Thursday, the 7th (and 14th, 27th)
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057
Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/workshop-generative-grammar
Native American Heritage Month Book Party: Just Like Grandma at East Los Angeles, LACL – In-Person Kids Event
Help us celebrate Native American Heritage Month and enjoy a reading of Just Like Grandma, by Kim Rogers. Create a painted sunset inspired by characters in the book after the reading concludes.
For ages 5-12.
Where: East Los Angeles Library, LACL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 4837 E. 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90022
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12132023
Open Mic Night at Anaheim Central Library – In-Person Event
Calling all performers: join us every first Thursday of the month at 5:00 p.m. for Open Mic Night at the Anaheim Central Library!
Performer sign-ups begin at 4:45 p.m. The event is held in the multi-purpose room on the basement level of the Anaheim Central Library, 500 W. Broadway, Anaheim CA 92805 (near the corner of Broadway & Harbor). Hope to see you there!
Where: Anaheim Central Library
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 500 West Broadway, Anaheim, CA 92805
Writing Group at Donald Bruce Kauffman Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
This group offers time to focus on your writing while providing accountability and encouragement to help you keep moving forward with your projects. We are looking for writers to bring their experience and skills to the table to help other writers flourish through the challenges that come with any writing project, big or small. We welcomes writers of all genres, styles, and experience levels.
Where: Donald Bruce Kauffman Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 5:30 pm
Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/brentwood-writing-group-1
Heart & Hand, Book Talk with Dina Gilio-Whitaker via Virtual Event, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a Heart & Hand, Book Talk with author, educator, and environmentalist, Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes), as we discuss her work, debunk myths about Native peoples, and explore Indigenous environmental justice.
County Librarian and Library CEO, Skye Patrick, will be hosting a discussion with Dina Gilio-Whitaker, author of “All the Real Indians Died Off”: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans and As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock. Dina is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes and a lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos. Her work explores the intersection of environmentalism and American Indians, including an examination of the role of Native women in activism, American Indians and sports, and decolonization.
In addition to her work as an academic, Dina is a journalist who has written for publications like Indian Country Today, the Los Angeles Times, and High Country News. She has also been involved in film projects, both in front of the camera and behind in advisory and educational roles, including Raoul Peck’s Peabody Award winning HBO docuseries, Exterminate All the Brutes, Nia Tero’s Reciprocity Project, and Thomas Rigler’s Emmy Award winning California Coast: Within Sight, Scent and Sound of the Ocean, and numerous others.
Register now and join us for a dynamic conversation in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.
Where: Virtual Event, LACL
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11977282
Self-Care Book Club: The Age Of Magical Overthinking at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by author Amanda Montell.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
Amanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books Wordslut, Cultish, and The Age of Magical Overthinking. Along with hosting the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and more. She holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles with her partner, plants, and pets. Find her on Instagram @Amanda_Montell.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 7th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/self-care-book-club-age-magical-overthinking
Special Author Event: Nathaniel Butler, with Andrew D. Bernstein, & Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Celebrate the release of Nathaniel Butler’s book Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography, in conversation with Andrew D. Bernstein.
As one of the NBA’s premier photographers, Nathaniel S. Butler has shot it all. From iconic moments like Ray Allen’s corner three to intimate portraits of Bill Russell and the NBA50 and NBA75 teams to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and Steph Curry clinching championships, if it was a history-making basketball moment, Butler was there. As one of the founding members of NBA Photos, alongside his friend and colleague Andrew D. Bernstein, Nathaniel’s imagery ranges from posters in childhood bedrooms to Trading Cards and now to the NBA’s millions of social media followers, his work continues to be seen and enjoyed worldwide. A student of both basketball and photography, Nathaniel enjoys shooting portraits, game action, and behind the scenes moments with equal passion.
Andrew D. Bernstein is recognized as an all-star in sports photography. The unique personal rapport Bernstein has developed with athletes, coaches and teams over the years allows him exclusive access to special behind-the- scenes moments. A co-founder of NBA Photos, Bernstein is the key photographic contributor to NBA Entertainment’s global media platforms, which include NBA.com, all league publications and NBA licensed products. He has been the team photographer for twelve professional home teams which won championships in basketball (Lakers in 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020), baseball (Dodgers in 1988) and hockey (Kings in 2012 and 2014).
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 940 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2024-11-07/special-author-event-nathaniel-butler
Book Event: Eliot Schrefer, with Brandy Colbert, & The Brightness Between Us at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Celebrate a book launch with Eliot Schefer, in conversation with Brandy Colbert, for The Brightness Between Us.
In this sequel to The Darkness Outside Us, this is another genre bending novel and epic love story that spans thousands of years and the far reaches of the galaxy. Separated by time and space a young family and two strangers learn their lives are intimately entwined, and race to uncover connections…and perhaps humanity as well.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 3806 Main St, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://www.therippedbodice.com/events-and-tickets
At Skylight: S.H. Fernando, with Peter Agoston, & Chronicles of Doom at Skylight – In-Person Event
S. H. Fernando, in conversation with Peter Agoston, will discuss his book Chronicles of Doom, the definitive biography of MF DOOM, charting the reclusive and revered hip-hop artist’s life, career, and eventual immortality.
Including exclusive interviews with those who worked closely with DOOM and providing an unknown, intimate, behind the scenes look into DOOM’s life, The Chronicles of DOOM is the definitive biography of MF DOOM, a supervillain on stage and hero to those who paid attention.
S. H. Fernando Jr., SKIZ, is a writer/journalist whose byline has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Source. He currently lives in Baltimore, MD.
A veteran music writer/archivist, Peter Agoston first published works began around 1995 while still in high school with pieces on Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Mic Geronimo’s The Natural (among others) for Virginia Tech’s student newspaper The Collegiate Times. His writing and photography would later be featured in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and countless now defunct magazines and websites. In the year 2000, Agoston launched his own independent record label with the inaugural MF DOOM Special Herbs vol. 1 release—the seminal instrumental project DOOM and Agoston conceptualized together after meeting earlier that year. A few years later, Agoston would pen what would later be oft regarded as DOOM’s career defining interview for Elemental Magazine, whose cassette-recorded audio would be released over a decade later on Agoston’s podcast The House List. Peter Agoston lives in Los Angeles now working full time as a touring booking agent and has several book projects of his own in the works.
Where: Skylight
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-sh-fernando-presents-chronicles-doom-w-peter-agoston
Tonalli Open Mic via Los Angeles Poet Society – Online Event
This reading event is held every 1st Thursday of the month by the L.A. Poet Society.
Host and features TBA.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Tonalli Open Mic
Date: Thursday, the 7th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Online Event: Zoom: 897 1039 1895
Website: https://www.instagram.com/losangelespoetsociety/ or https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesPoetSociety/
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 8th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
Current Events Nonfiction Book Club: What an Owl Knows at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Bird by author Jennifer Ackerman.
RSVP:
Please email studio@lapl.org for participation details.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Friday, the 8th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/current-events-nonfiction-selbook-club-1
Swing Set Open Mic at The Center Long Beach – In-Person Event
We’re back, baby! It’s time to join in community for another Swing Set Open Mic night @centerlb.
We’re calling all poets, musicians, comedians, storytellers for another magical night. Performers and artists of all kinds, come through!
Swing Set isn’t just about performance—it’s about real connection and finding mirrors in the people all around you. We’re so excited to share space with y’all again.
RSVP via the Eventbrite link in our bio. See you at 6:30pm. Performance sign-ups (and vibes) start at 6!
Swipe and visit Eventbrite for more information. Feel free to DM us any questions.
SIGN UP: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/swing-set-open-mic-64793621533
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: The Center Long Beach
Date: Friday, the 8th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2017 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/ or https://www.eventbrite.com/o/swing-set-open-mic-64793621533
Thrival Open Mic at Confidential Coffee, Long Beach – In-Person Event
All arts community open mics & community plugs. All ages. More info on Instagram @thrivalopenmic.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Confidential Coffee
Date: Friday, the 8th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 137 W. 6th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/
Book Event: Sanjana Sekhar, with Leah Thomas and Diandra Marizet, & Metamorphosis at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
Sanjana Sekhar, in conversation with Leah Thomas and Diandra Marizet, will discuss Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future.
These twelve stories—winners of the Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest organized by Grist—offer a glimpse of a future built on sustainability, inclusivity, and justice. A beekeeper finds purpose and new love after collaborating on a bee-based warning system for floods. An Indian family preserves its traditions through food, dance, and the latest communication fads. After an oceanic rapture, a lone survivor adapts to living in a tree on a small island with a vulture he befriends. Flickers of hope, even joy, illuminate these alternate realities.
Curated by Grist, the leading media organization dedicated to foregrounding stories of climate change, Metamorphosis is a visionary and speculative collection. Immersive, thought-provoking, and often surprising, these stories serve as a springboard for exploring how fiction can help us envision a tomorrow in which we flourish and thrive.
Sanjana Sekhar (she/her) is an author, filmmaker, and climate activist on a mission to make climate action the hottest place to be. Her work amplifies “thrutopian” stories with a lens on climate justice, radical imagination, and adrienne maree brown’s “pleasure activism.” As the founder of GARMI, a climate newsletter and creative studio, she leverages systems-thinking storytelling to reclaim extractive narratives and world-build towards a healthy human future on Earth. Sanjana has been featured in Grist’s Imagine 2200 Climate Fiction Anthology, the Hollywood Climate Summit, and the Webby Honorees, and she’s worked with organizations such as the Center for Cultural Power, Visit California, and The Washington Post. She is based in LA on Tongva land.
Leah Thomas (@greengirlleah) is a celebrated environmentalist, founder of the non-profit, Intersectional Environmentalist, the music program Earth Sessions and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet. She explores the intersection of climate and culture through her work.
Diandra Marizet Esparza is a digital organizer, cultural researcher, narrative healer and poet whose globally recognized work building Intersectional Environmentalist has reshaped modern environmental movements in the U.S. and amplified the works of hundreds of grassroots environmental justice efforts.
Having reached millions of people through a blend of history, art and culture – Diandra has produced intergenerational tools that position storytelling as a powerful force for environmental advocacy. Diandra is based in Los Angeles and is available to consult, speak and work internationally.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Friday, the 8th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)
Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016
Monthly Open Mic at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
This all-inclusive event will create space for local artists of any medium to share their talents with the community. Come hang out, as an audience member, or a performer, and meet some talented locals! Sign ups for performers are at the door, day of, 30 minutes prior to the event. Sets are limited to 5-10 minutes. All performances must be family friendly. We will provide two microphones and two mic stands. Please bring any other equipment you will need. This event is free, no registration is required!
For additional information, and to reserve tickets, visit EVENTBRITE.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Friday the 8th
Time: 7 pm – 9 PM
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1342820241108
Jesse Katz, with Hector Tobar & The Rent Collectors at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Jesse Katz, in conversation with Hector Tobar, will present and discuss his new book The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murders, and Redemption in Immigrant L.A.
Baby-faced teen Giovanni Macedo is desperate to find belonging in one of LA’s most predatory gangs, the Columbia Lil Cycos—so desperate that he agrees to kill an undocumented Mexican street vendor. The vendor, Francisco Clemente, had been refusing to give in to the gang’s shakedown demands. But Giovanni botches the hit, accidentally killing a newborn instead. The overlords who rule the Lil Cycos from a Supermax prison 1,000 miles away must be placated and Giovanni is lured across the border where, in turn, the gang botches his killing. And so, incredibly, Giovanni rises from the dead, determined to both seek redemption for his unforgivable crime and take down the gang who drove him to do it.
With The Rent Collectors, Jesse Katz has built a teeth clenching and breathless narrative that explicates the difficult and proud lives of undocumented black market workers who are being extorted by the gangs and fined by the city of LA—in other words, exploited by two sets of rent collectors
Jesse Katz is a former Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles magazine writer whose honors include the James Beard Foundation’s M. F. K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, PEN Center USA’s Literary Journalism Award, a National Magazine Award nomination, and two shared Pulitzer Prizes. His writing has appeared in the anthologies Best American Magazine Writing, Best American Crime Writing, and Best American Sports Writing. As a volunteer with InsideOUT Writers, he has mentored incarcerated teenagers at Central Juvenile Hall and the former California Youth Authority. His first book, The Opposite Field, was set in LA’s immigrant suburbs.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday the 8th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Poetry Night in Thee Suite, Open Mic at Backyard Poetry, Pasadena – In-Person Event
This is an amazing night of poetry, music & vegan soul food for purchase. Open Mic Style. Every show is a HIT. Perform or just watch.
Please follow us on IG @ BackyardPoetry_Pasadena
More information is provided there and sign up to hit the Mic.
You must bring your own chair or rent 1 for $1. Doors open at 8pm. There is street parking, come early for ample parking opportunities.
We highly recommend you come hungry the Vegan soul food is always to die for. Follow CafeLiv_Pasadena on IG for a look.
Where: Backyard Poetry, Pasadena
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 463 North Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-night-in-thee-suite-tickets-1043214020217
Pomona POETRY Slam at The Fairplex, Pomona with LionLikeMIndstate – In-Person Event
Come out Wordsmiths and Lovers of SpokenWord. Slam is Back! Come hear the Best or Come Prove you are the Best. $100 cash to the Winner!
LionLike MindState Poetry and Art Series Presents: Pomona Valley Poetry Slam
3 Rounds. 3 Mins Each Round. JUDGES COME FROM THE AUDIENCE. No Props.
Parents this is a PG-13 event. However SLAM IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. SHARP WORDS SHALL ENSUE!
Parental GUIDANCE. We are Not responsible for what everyone says on the Mic.
Sign Up for the Open Mic at the Door.
$10 Entry – $5 for Students.
$2 for Competing Poets
Where: Millard Sheets Art Center | Fairplex, Pomona
Date: Friday the 8th
Time: 8 pm – 10:30 pm
Address: 1101 West McKinley Ave., Pomona, CA 91768
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBL3EVkPRgj/
Book Club: The Four Winds at Hacienda Heights Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join our monthly book discussion!
Participants will discuss the novel The Four Winds by author Kristen Hannah.
Where: Hacienda Heights Library, LACL
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Address: 16010 La Monde St., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11985000
Book Club: Horse at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Read the book and join our lively discussion!
Participants will discuss the novel Horse, by author Geraldine Brooks.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-3
Adult Book Club: Blood Sisters at Littlerock Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Blood Sisters by author Vanessa Lillie.
A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is called back to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women, one of whom is her sister.
If you would like to participate, please visit Littlerock Library to pick up a copy or use Libby for a digital version.
Where: Littlerock Library, LACL
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 35119 80th St. E., Littlerock, CA 93543
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12042477
Special Literary Event: Sobre la migración infantil desde Centroamérica—En conversación con Javier Zamora at Santa Monica College Library – In-Person Event
This event is: (Solamente en Español) – (Event ONLY in Spanish – an English session will be hosted on November 14th).
Sintoniza una conversación especial con el autor más vendido del New York Times Javier Zamora mientras conversa con nosotros sobre su fascinante historia de supervivencia y perseverancia, tal como se cuenta en sus memorias premiadas Solito.
¡egístrese hoy para obtener más información sobre esta apasionante y conmovedora historia!
Sobre el autor: Javier Zamora nació en El Salvador en 1990. Su padre huyó del país cuando él tenía un año y su madre cuando él estaba por cumplir cinco. Las migraciones de ambos padres fueron causadas por la Guerra Civil Salvadoreña financiada por Estados Unidos. Cuando tenía nueve años, Javier emigró por Guatemala, México y el desierto de Sonora. Su primera colección de poesía, Unaccompanied, explora el impacto de la guerra y la inmigración en su familia. Zamora ha sido Stegner Fellow en Stanford y Radcliffe Fellow en Harvard y posee becas del National Endowment for the Arts y la Fundación de Poesía.
Where: Santa Monica College Library
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: i1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.smc.edu/calendar/#event-details/2ccfe5d7-2691-4e6d-955a-f65573a23671
Charla de author: Solito con Javier Zamora via Evento Virtual, LACL
Disfrute de una conversación especial con el exitoso autor Javier Zamora. Compartirá su fascinante cuento de supervivencia y perseverancia, como lo cuenta en su libro galardonado Solito.
Where: Virtual Event, LACL
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: Virtual Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12154545
Molly Ruttan & The Yowlers at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event
Molly Ruttan will discuss her playful picture book about the transformative power of being nice, The Yowlers.
The Yowler family is always in a monstrously bad mood: Papa grumbles, Mama yells, Sara and Sonya bicker, and the baby fusses day and night. They’re so used to being grumpy that when their new neighbors smile at them, the Yowlers are puzzled and are immediately suspicious. And when the new kids ask Sara and Sonya to play? Well, that’s just plain odd. Then again, it does feel good to be treated kindly…and all of a sudden the sisters start acting nicer themselves, causing Mama and Papa to wonder if they’re coming down with something. But as it turns out, even the smallest acts of kindness can be powerful. The weather may have been stormy—but there is friendliness is in the forecast!
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2024-11-09/molly-ruttan-discusses-yowlers
Teen Poetry Club at Altadena Main Library – In-Person Teen Event
Moderated by WriteGirl/Bold Ink Writers, this is a wonderful trans and LGBTQ friendly space to learn and build poetry writing skills, share your work, and get inspired by fellow writers. Bring your imagination and love of writing and join the club!
See also: https://www.writegirl.org/teaching-artists
Where: Altadena Main Library, Teen Space
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: 600 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, California 9100
Website: https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D175806662
The Queer 26 Writing Meetup: A Working Session in Long Beach – In-Person Event
Join The Queer 26 for a Queer Writing Meetup on November 9th at Bixby Park Annex!
Led by Camille Ora-Nicole.
Join us for a productive afternoon of writing at Bixby Annex Park! Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, this meetup is the perfect opportunity to connect with fellow queer writers and get some work done in a supportive environment. Bring your laptop, notebook, or whatever you use to write, and prepare to be inspired by the energy of the group. We’ll have dedicated time for writing, as well as opportunities to share your work and receive feedback.
P.S. If you come a little early, you can catch Yoga on the Bluff ahead of the meetup at 11am! We’ll be there ;). It’s free/by donation.
Drinks and snacks will be provided.
All that identify as LGBTQ+ are welcome to join, however BIPOC participants will be centered.
*Location may change depending on the weather but will remain in downtown long beach.
This session is PAY WHAT YOU CAN. The Queer 26 is a 501(c)3 nonprofit; all donations support our programming. All donations are tax deductible. Details at site.
Where: Bixby Annex Park
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: 30 Junipero Ave., Long Beach, CA 90803
Kids Book Club: Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Kids & MG Event
Participants will discuss Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman by author Diana Lopez.
The twelve-year-old daughter of La Llorona vows to free her mother and reverse the curses that have plagued the magical town of Tres Leches in this delightfully sweet and spellbinding adventure.
This electric middle grade—the first in a series—brims with magic, adventure, and Mexican folklore, and is perfect for fans of Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega and the Jumbies series by Tracey Baptiste.
Diana López is the author of the adult novella Sofia’s Saints and numerous middle grade novels, including Confetti Girl, Nothing Up My Sleeve, and Lucky Luna. Her debut picture book, Sing With Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla, is available in English and Spanish. She also wrote the novel adaptation for the Disney/Pixar film Coco. Diana retired after a 28-year career in education at both the middle grade and college levels, but she still enjoys meeting with students when she visits schools to chat about books and writing. She lives in her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/kids-book-club-los-monstruos-felice-and-wailing-woman
Allen Zadoff, with Yehudi Mercado & The Donut Prince of New York at Vroman’s – In-Person YA Event
Allen Zadoff, in conversation with Yehudi Mercado, will discuss his YA book, The Donut Prince of New York.
Eugene Guterman’s junior year in high school is off to a rocky start. No love life, no new theater production, and if his mother has her way, no more of his favorite comfort food—donuts. Eugene would just as soon spend the year playing small, but that’s hard to do when you’re the biggest kid in your class.
Things change when he accidentally tackles the school’s star quarterback and Coach sees the possibilities and recruits the plus-size playwright onto the varsity football team. Eugene is suddenly catapulted into the world of the “The Pops,” the exclusive clique of popular athletes known for their parties and dating scene. Best of all is the new and mysterious girl Daisy who seems to be noticing him.
Then Eugene discovers that life at the top is more complicated than he imagined—there’s pressure to excel, to fit in, and to uphold a certain image—and Eugene misses his former life and his old friends. Can he find the courage to give it all up, write something real, and maybe, just maybe, be the big guy who actually gets the girl?
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Creative Writing Group at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Calling all writers of fiction, screenplays, poetry, etc. Get feedback on your writing in a fun, supportive environment. Meetings include a writing prompt/exercise, snacks, and a rollicking good time! Whether you are just starting out or well on your way to glory, join us and banish (at least temporarily) those Lonely Writer Blues!
RSVP:
Please RSVP by emailing fiction@lapl.org today.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Meeting Room B
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address:630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/writers-group-0
Book Discussion: Sisters of the Lost Nation at North Hollywood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join our monthly book discussion! Held on the second Saturday of each month. The discussion will be led by a different member of our staff and the book of their choice. Pick up the next book a month before the discussion.
Participants will discuss Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina and join the discussion on November 9 with Kelli!
Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina is a fictional novel that explores real issues in Native American culture. The story follows Anna as she searches for her missing younger sister, Grace, on a reservation, uncovering a sinister plot at the tribe’s casino. The novel is part thriller and part horror, and also explores themes of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage to be who you are.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Meeting Room B
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 5211 Tujunga Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-discussion-sisters-lost-nation
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Deep Critique Workshop with DKC – Online Event
Deep Critique Writing Workshop led by Don KIngfisher Campbell (Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines including the subject of or at least mentioning dead or days for Four Feathers Press online edition: Dead Days by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm, November 15th).
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Asian American Identity, Solidarity, and Self-Love: Conversation & Readings at Bel Canto KUBO – In-Person Event
Bel Canto Books + Gold House are delighted to present Asian American Identity, Solidarity, and Self-Love: A Conversation with Ellie Yang Camp, Soo Jin Lee and Linda Yoon, moderated by Carolyn Huynh.
is an artist and educator from the San Francisco Bay Area. The proud daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she has been a high-school history teacher, a full-time parent, a calligrapher, an anti-racist educator, and now an author. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in education from Stanford.
Soo Jin Lee is a licensed marriage and family therapist, executive director of Yellow Chair Collective, and co-founder of Entwine Community. Soo Jin’s experiences as an undocumented Asian immigrant have significantly shaped her understanding and approach to mental health care, particularly in recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by similar communities. She is co-author, with Linda Yoon, of Where I Belong: Healing Trauma and Embracing Asian American Identity.
Linda Yoon is the founder of Yellow Chair Collective and co-founder of Entwine Community, organizations dedicated to addressing mental health education and service gaps in services for BIPOC communities, with a special focus on Asian Americans. She is recognized as a co-author of the book Where I Belong: Healing Trauma and Embracing Asian American Identity, which delves deeply into themes of Asian American identity and resilience, alongside the racial, cultural, and intergenerational dynamics present within Asian American communities. Linda’s work has been recognized and featured in media outlets including NPR, PBS, CBS, LA Times, and Buzzfeed. With a heartfelt commitment to well-being and community empowerment, Linda drives changes through mental health programs and advocacy initiatives.
Carolyn Huynh loves writing about messy Asian women who never learn from their mistakes. Her debut book, The Fortunes of Jaded Women was a Good Morning America book club pick and is being adapted for television by Heyday Studios and Universal. Her sophomore book, The Family Recipe, comes out from Atria in spring 2025. When she’s not writing, Carolyn daydreams about having iced coffee on a rooftop in Ho Chi Minh City.
Kindly RSVP so we can plan accordingly. Please stay home if you feel sick.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto Books, KUBO LB
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asian-american-identity-solidarity-and-self-love-tickets-1015598631847
Community in Conversation: The Last Fire Season at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History by author Manjula Martin.
This is a timely discussion on a timely book, considering how many fires have been raging in our area lately, and it seems to be a problem that gets worse every year. The meeting will cover the whole book, so read as much of it as you can before November 9th to join the discussion. UCR’s Dr. Jade S Sasser will be guiding our conversation.
H Is for Hawk meets Joan Didion in the Pyrocene in this arresting combination of memoir, natural history, and literary inquiry that chronicles one woman’s experience of life in Northern California during the worst fire season on record.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com
Author Talk: Vivian Chinelli & I’m Not vegan But My Cousin Is at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
I’m Not Vegan But My Cousin Is: An Author Talk with Vivian Chinelli.
We’re proud to welcome author Vivian Chinelli for a presentation on veganism and health in celebration of her book I’M NOT VEGAN BUT MY COUSIN IS: Rhymes, Raps and Other Good Stuff about Respecting and Protecting Animals, Our Health and Our Planet!
Chinelli, a kindergarten teacher, plant-based eater, and activist, shares concise, clever rhymes that deliver the vegan message with a snappy beat.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1353820241109
Montrose Wine Walk Event – Fall 2024 at Once Upon a Time – In-Person Event
Wine and books make a perfect pair!
Sample wines from various pour stations hosted by Montrose merchants and businesses. Each location will be serving red and/or white wines and delicious appetizers for your enjoyment. Complimentary bottled water will also be available. Enjoy live music and activities throughout the Shopping Park.
Tickets are $55 in advance. Purchase a ticket on the Montrose Shopping Park website, or in store at Mountain Rose Gifts, Copy Network, Merle Norman Cosmetics, or It Takes A Village. Hurry, they sell out quick.
To participate in the Montrose Wine Walk, you must purchase a ticket. The bookstore will remain open to the public.
Bubbles, Books and Rebellion (see site for details)
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 5 pm –8 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
Poetry Night: Suffer for This at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
Join us for a Poetry Night event hosted by Rick Lupert, and featuring: Daniel McGuin, Amelie Frank, Beth Marquez, Eric Moraga, and Lea Deschenes.
Flyer to follow.
Where: The Book Jewel
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 6259 W. 8th St., Westchester, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10162472071580400&set=t.100063034609565&type=3
Author Talk: Carol Mithers, with Samantha Dunn, & Rethinking Rescue at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Authors Carol Mithers and Samantha Dunn discuss Mithers’ book Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets, which boldly confronts two of the biggest challenges of our time—poverty and homelessness—in asking the question, “who deserves the love of a pet?”
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1343720241109
Obsidian Tongues Open Mic: Fernando Funes & Gustavo Adolfo Guerra Vasquez at Café con Libros, Pomona – In-Person Event
Ceasar K. Avelar hosts Obsidian Tongues Open Mic every 2nd Saturday of the month and tonight will feature:
Fernando Funes runs improv shows at The Glendale Room, Hyperion and other venues. He’s a copywriter, actor, video producer and director.
Gustavo Adolfo Guerra Vasquez is a poet(a), artist(a) He, cyclist(a) and humanist(a). His work appears in the upcoming anthology Somos Xicanos from Riot of Roses Press.
Come down and sign up; bring your Poems, Music, Art, and most importantly Yourselves.
Where: Café con Libros, Pomona
Date: Saturday, the 9th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St, Pomona, CA 91766
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBoWomKv90u/
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 10th (Every Sunday)
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Address: 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website: https://melrosetradingpost.org/tickets/
Lit Angeles – Mindful Mornings: Journaling Workshop at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Growth Club is a dynamic community for high achievers redefining success on their terms.
Join us for a weekly journaling event to reflect, write, and connect with our inner selves and each other. Designed for those who seek to slow down and find clarity in the chaos of everyday life.
We’ll guide you through prompts that inspire deep introspection and personal growth. Whether you’re a seasoned journaler or new to the practice, this event is a safe haven to express your thoughts, set intentions and uncover the wisdom within.
Bring your favorite journal and a pen and be ready to dive into an enriching experience that nurtures your mind, body, and soul.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday, the 10th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1339620241110
Celebrating Picture Book Month at Bel Canto KUBO – In-Person Event
Bel Canto Books is delighted to celebrate Picture Book Month with Shiho Pate, Joy Hwang Ruiz, Zohreh Ghahremani and Susie Ghahremani.
Joy Hwang Ruiz is an artist who started the popular Instagram account Mom Is Drawing (@momisdrawing) to capture the magic of new parenthood and celebrate family life in a diverse and inclusive world. Now the illustrator of several picture books, including Every Little Letter, My Moms Love Me, Sometimes Love, and the New York Times bestseller I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know, she lives with her husband and two daughters in Southern California.
Zohreh Ghahremani is a former children’s dentist and professor, award-winning adult fiction author, and renowned voice of the Iranian diaspora who has been featured in media internationally. Her debut novel, Sky of Red Poppies, was a KPBS One Book and her sophomore novel, The Moon Daughter, won a Writer’s Digest Book Award for Best Literary Fiction in 2019. Born in Torbat, Iran, she now lives in Southern California. This is her first picture book. zoeghahremani.com.
Susie Ghahremani is an award-winning illustrator, internationally exhibiting artist, designer, and educator. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where she also has taught. http://boygirlparty.com.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto Books, KUBO LB
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 11 am – 3 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-picture-book-month-tickets-1048227595957
David Ciminello, with Dennis Hensley, & The Queen of Steeplechase Park at Book Soup – In-Person Event
David Ciminello, in conversation with Dennis Hensley, will discuss his book The Queen of Steeplechase Park
This book is the absolutely, positively, practically, almost-true story of infamous burlesque queen and magic meatball maker Belladonna Marie Donato.
Pregnant at fifteen after gleefully losing her virginity to pansexual neighborhood strongman Francis Anthony Mozzarelli, Bella is robbed of her baby by a pack of nefarious nuns and her embittered papa has her sterilized without her consent (legal in 1935). With the help of a besotted Francis, her newfound family of queercentric outcasts, and a top-secret meatball recipe, a devastated Bella embarks on a riotous quest through Depression-era Coney Island sideshows, the tawdry world of peekaboo striptease routines, a doomed mob marriage, and a tasty collection of wisdom-filled recipes to find her lost child, herself, and maybe even true love. It all leads Bella back home, to the scene of her original sin, where she boldly faces matters of life and death, questions of forgiveness, and a holy mess only the healing properties of great Italian cooking can fix.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/david-ciminello
Obi Kaufman & The State of Fire: Why California Burns at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Obi Kaufman will discuss his book The State of Fire: Why California Burns.
This book explores how we got here and how we may get out.
The story of California fires is surprising and ancient. Fire has always played a vital role in our ecosystem—it fertilizes the soil, creates easier hunting grounds for certain animals, and gives space for plants to root. In short: life flourishes after fires. But the fires of today are different. Centuries of logging, a lack of controlled burns, and the spread of invasive plant species has given rise to the gigafire and its corollary problems: massive smoke covers, erosion, mass death events in animal populations.
In this new book, Obi Kaufmann delves into the history, science, and future of fire ecology. With Kaufmann’s signature artistry and deep research this book looks at some of the most devastating fires of modern history and also the many ways that our ecosystem benefits from fire. It’s an ultimately hopeful book. One that points to the many ways that we may coexist with fire and responsibly steward California into a more balanced future.
Obi Kaufmann is the author of The California Field Atlas (2017, #1 San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller), The State of Water (2019), The Forests of California (2020), The Coasts of California (2022), and The Deserts of California (2023), all published by Heyday. When he is not backpacking, you can find the painter-poet at home in the East Bay, posting trail paintings at his handle @coyotethunder on Instagram
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Deisel, A Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 3:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90502
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Obi-Kaufmann-Author-signing
Moms Who Write: A Literary Baby Shower for Nancy Lynée Woo at Bel Canto KUBO – In-Person Event
Join us to celebrate the soon-to-be baby of Long Beach poet Nancy Lynée Woo!
This event will feature four esteemed writers/authors from our vibrant Long Beach community who are also mothers with small children (and friends of Nancy):
Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley; Audrey Harris-Fernandez; Michelle Brittan Rosado; Rachael Rifkin
They will each read a brief selection of their work about motherhood, and Nancy will moderate an interactive panel about motherhood and writing.
If time allows, we may offer an open mic for attendees to share 1 poem or short piece of writing about motherhood, pregnancy, birth, or early childhood.
While this event is free and open to the public, attendees are invited to optionally gift a baby or children’s book for baby’s first library. Books may be wrapped or unwrapped. We encourage you to peruse KUBO and Bel Canto’s wide selection of baby and children’s books! KUBO will be open before the event so feel free to come early and choose a book before the event begins. Thank you for your support of early literacy and our wonderful local bookstores!
Light refreshments will be served (non-alcoholic). Guests may receive small party favors while supplies last.
Thank you for joining us to celebrate this momentous occasion! Let’s welcome baby into the world with a strong sense of warm community!
Special thanks to Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley and Jhoanna Belfer for making this event happen!
Nancy Lynée Woo is an eco-centric poet, teaching artist and community organizer based in southern California who harbors a wild love for the natural world. She has released a full-length poetry book entitled I’d Rather Be Lightning from Gasher Press, as well as two chapbooks. Her poems have appeared in over 50 journals and anthologies, including Tupelo Quarterly, Salamander, and Radar Poetry, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Nancy has received fellowships from PEN America Emerging Voices, California Creative Corps, Artists at Work, Arts Council for Long Beach, Plympton Writing Downtown Las Vegas, and Idyllwild Writers Week. Nancy currently serves as the Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Fellow, supporting and mentoring a cohort of talented teen poets. She has an MFA from Antioch University. You can find her online at nancylyneewoo.com and on social media @fancifulnance.
Audrey Harris Fernández teaches Latinx and Latin American Literature at UCLA and has also taught with UCLA’s Prison Education Program. She is a translator of Amparo Dávila’s The Houseguest and Other Stories (New Directions, 2018). Her translations have been published in The Paris Review, Harpers, and elsewhere. Her essays and poetry have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Sunstone, Párrafo, Chasqui, Chiricú, the Stanford Women’s Newsletter, and Huizache (forthcoming).
Michelle Brittan Rosado is the author of Why Can’t It Be Tenderness, winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry (University of Wisconsin Press, 2018), and Theory on Falling into a Reef, winner of the inaugural Rick Campbell Chapbook Prize (Anhinga Press, 2016). Poems have appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Poet Lore, The New Yorker, Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience, and elsewhere. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from CSU Fresno and a PhD in Literature & Creative Writing from USC, where she is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in The Writing Program.
Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley is a Dominican American creative non-fiction writer, filmmaker and mother of two. Her memoir in progress, Late Bloomer explores the themes of migration, assimilation, motherhood and infertility. Her work is featured in HarperVia’s Somewhere We Are Human, Tasteful Rude, Made in L.A. Volume 4 and The Latinx Project at NYU among others. She advocates for representation of BIPOC women and non-binary writers and is the Chapters Director for Women Who Submit.
Rachael Rifkin is a writer and personal historian whose work focuses on using storytelling, surprise, and the things we have in common, to connect and create community. She has written about pregnancy, motherhood, reproductive justice, parenting, and family for a variety of publications, including Good Housekeeping, Parents Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, Next Avenue, Romper, Today’s Parent, Narratively, 23andMe, MyHeritage, and more.
Can’t attend in person? Visit the Book Registry and contribute to the celebration!
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Where: Bel Canto Books, KUBO LB
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807
Best American Series Launch at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join us for a celebration of the newest edition of HarperCollins’ Best American series!
The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of print and online publications. A guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.
This year, we’re honored to host three unique authors–Melissa Johnson (Best American Food and Travel), Sammy Roth (Best American Science and Nature), and Thomas Ha (Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy)—to discuss writing and publication in these esteemed volumes.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday, the 10th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1343620241110
Second Sunday Poetry Series & Open Mic: Dig Wayne at The Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building – In-Person Event
Join host Alex M. Frankel to welcome a featured artist to perform their work.
This month’s featured guest is Dig Wayne.
Dig Wayne grew up in Ohio. He has lived, worked, and practiced his art in New York City and London. He now lives in Los Angeles.
He has published two books of poetry, Hip Pockets and Bongo Skin. His latest poetry collection is called ONE FELL SWOOP and is published by innateDIVINITY books and is available through Amazon. His poetry has been featured in the literary journals, Askew, Spillway, Juke Joint, High Shelf and Ligeiaand many more. Jerry Jazz Musician has published a number of his Jazz poems. Dig teaches Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood.
Where: The Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building
Date: Sunday, the 10th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 3433 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles 90068
(Near Universal Studios)
Website: https://www.secondsundaypoetry.com/
November Fantasy Book Club: God of Jade and Shadow at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Join us for November’s Fantasy Book Club to discuss Gods of Shade and Shadow by author Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
This event is led by bookseller Taylor C and RSVP is required.
Everyone is welcome.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Poetik LA Readings at The Hyperion – In-Person Event
Join us for Poetik LA readings, held every second Sunday of the month.
$10 donation.
NOTE: See site to verify.
Where: The Hyperion
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 2930 Hyperion, Sliver Lake, CA
Website: https://www.instagram.com/poetikla/
Los Angeles Literature 