Evening Book Club: The Paris Novel at Manhattan Beach Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss The Paris Novel by author Ruth Reichl.

When her mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure, but when her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes. A feast for the senses, this novel is a testament to living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home.

Where: Manhattan Beach Library, LACL

Date: Monday the 9^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

Address: 1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11179095

Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini & That Time We Ate Our Feelings at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini shared their kitchens, hearts, anxieties, and good humor, and broadcast their culinary adventures during the Covid-19 lockdown and the dark days that followed, and in the process connected with a hungry audience that spans the globe. Here they share their most beloved dishes along with never-before-shared creations and the top-voted dishes of members of the Corona Kitchen community, and the result is a colorful cookbook and cathartic read all in one.

They will present and discuss their book, That Time We Ate Our Feelings: 150 Recipes for Comfort Food from the Heart. This quirky, hands-on volume features original recipes for all meals of the day, plus snacks, side dishes, cocktails and mocktails, and options for vegans, vegetarians, gluten-free, and dairy-free diets. It will meet you where you are, no matter if you are stressed, sad, thriving, or nostalgic, and in the spirit of spontaneity, resourcefulness, and all things unscripted, all you have to bring to the table is yourself.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Monday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/lisa-lucas-debrianna-mansini

Meditation Monday: Workshop with Alex Petunia via Los Angeles Poet Society – Online Zoom Event

Alex Petunia hosts Meditation Monday every 2^nd Monday of the month.

NOTE: See site for details.

Where: L.A. Poet Society: Zoom ID: 840-2975-5764

Date: Monday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: Online event

Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events

R.U.P.O. Open Mic at Back to the Grind in Riverside – In-Person Event

RUPO Open Mic is every Monday Night at Back to the Grind in Riverside.

Every Monday at: 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 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501

Website: https://www.facebook.com/backtothegrind

Martha Blanding, with Tim O’Day, & Groundbreaking Magic at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Martha Blanding, in conversation with Tim O’Day, will discuss her book, Groundbreaking Magic: A Black Woman’s Journey Through the Happiest Place on Earth.

This book is a story of a young woman from South Central Los Angeles (Watts and Compton) who took a chance, defied the odds, and became the first-ever Black American to achieve a half-century-long career with The Walt Disney Company.

Disneyland was groundbreaking when it opened in 1955 and continues to possess a legacy of being a trend setter in both the world of themed, immersive, entertainment and workplace culture, experiences, and training. Although change was inevitable it didn’t always come easy.

In addition to all the Disney pixie dust, an incredibly loving, resilient, and close American family is at the heart of this book. With her bedrock parents who had joined the Great Migration out of the Deep South, her family witnessed firsthand some of our country’s most shameful events while never faltering in their faith or pride in being Black Americans.

Part memoir and part cultural history, Groundbreaking Magic is sweet, insightful, and often funny and surprising, providing the first-ever account of Disney history as seen through the eyes of “Martha B.”

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Monday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2024-12-09/martha-blanding-conversation-tim-oday-discusses-groundbreaking-magic-black-womans

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 Literary Arts Center – Online event

Date: Monday the 9^th

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-1104477966329

No Pulp Open Mic at Work Evolution Laboratories, Long Beach – In-Person Event

No Pulp Open Mic, every 2nd and 4th Monday. 8th floor.

All ages. Doors open 7:30 pm.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Work Evolution Laboratories, Long Beach

Date: Monday, the 9^th

Time: 8:30 pm – 11 pm

Address: 235 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/

Virtual Book Club: Life Impossible via La Crescenta Library, LACL – Online Event

Participants will discuss December’s selection, Life Impossible by author Matt Haig.

From the best-selling author of The Midnight Library, Life Impossible is a story of wild adventure, deep transformation and gloriously heart-warming characters. It shows how a new outlook can burst into life at any moment and change everything.

Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your Zoom invite to attend the book club.

Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12061802

Becoming a Youth Poet Laureate: Info Session & Q&A, Online via Long Beach Library, LBPL – Online Event

Join us for a live Zoom presentation to learn more about the Youth Poet Laureate program! Discover what poets can expect to gain from participating in the program, understand what is needed for the application, and get your questions answered during a dedicated Q&A session.

Parents and interested poets are welcome!

Registration is required to join the Zoom meeting.

Registration link: longbeach-gov.zoom.us…

Where: Billie Jean King Main Library, LBPL

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm

Address: Online Event

Website: https://www.longbeach.gov/library/events/

Poetry Open Mic via Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Share a poem you wrote or a poem you love. You are also welcome to just listen and enjoy. Emceed by Wyatt Underwood.

RSVP:

To receive a Zoom invitation, please contact wwood@lapl.org

Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 6 pm

Address: Online Event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-open-mic

Book Club: By Any Other Name at The Book Jewel. Westchester – In-Person Event

Emerson Avenue Community Garden Book Club will discuss the novel By Any Other Name by author Jodi Piccoult.

Where: The Book Jewel

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 6 pm

Address: 6259 W. 87^th St., Westchester, CA 90045

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCuPMk8Tkcp/?hl=en&img_index=1

Community in Conversation: Highest Law in the Land at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Cellar Door Bookstore is partnering with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to bring our community together for a conversation on Jessica Pishko’s must-read book The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, December 10th at 6:00pm in which we will discuss why we’ve partnered for this event and why this issue matters so much to our community. We will have four more meetings throughout January and February in which we will discuss the actual book in parts, and will have a conversation about how to move forward and what actions we can take both individually and as a community.

In The Highest Law in the Land: The figure of the American sheriff has loomed large in popular imagination, though given the outsized jurisdiction sheriffs have over people’s lives, the office of sheriffs remains a gravely under-examined institution. Locally elected, largely unaccountable, and difficult to remove, the country’s over three thousand sheriffs, mostly white men, wield immense power—making arrests, running county jails, enforcing evictions and immigration laws—with a quarter of all U.S. law enforcement officers reporting to them. In recent years there’s been a revival of “constitutional sheriffs,” who assert that their authority supersedes that of legislatures, courts, and even the president. They’ve protested federal mask and vaccine mandates and gun regulations, railed against police reforms, and, ultimately, declared themselves election police, with many endorsing the “Big Lie” of a stolen presidential election. They are embraced by far-right militia groups, white nationalists, the Claremont Institute, and former president Donald Trump, who sees them as allies in mass deportation and border policing.

How did a group of law enforcement officers decide that they were “above the law?” What are the stakes for local and national politics, and for America as a multi-racial democracy? Blending investigative reporting, historical research, and political analysis, author Jessica Pishko takes us to the roots of why sheriffs have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment, and uncovers how sheriffs have effectively evaded accountability since the nation’s founding.

Future discussion dates:

Tuesday, January 14th at 6:00 pm

Tuesday, January 28th at 6:00 pm

Tuesday, February 11th at 6:00 pm

Wednesday, February 26th at 6:00 pm

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 6 pm

Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508

Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/highestlawinthelandintro

Book Club Tuesday: Happy Place at Leland R. Weaver Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will enjoy a facilitated discussion of December’s selection, Happy Place by author Emily Henry.

Copies of the current title are available to check out at the customer service desk while supplies last. New members are always welcome! This is an in-person event.

Where: Leland R. Weaver Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 4035 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, CA 90280

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12061802

Nonfiction Book Club: The Mango Tree via Agoura Hills Library, LACL – Online Event

Participants will discuss December’s selection, The Mango Tree by author Annabelles Tometich.

Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12066783

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 10^th (through 12/17/24)

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

Todd Lerew will present and discuss his book, Also on View: Unique and Unexpected Museums of Greater Los Angeles.

This book celebrates LA’s most fascinating and underappreciated collections, from the deeply culturally significant—such as the Garifuna Museum—to the highly specific and unusual, like the City of Los Angeles’s Streetlight Museum. There are more than 750 museums in the greater Los Angeles area, many of which lie beyond the beaten path and may not be familiar to even the most seasoned explorers. With striking photographs and a staggering range of critical, curious, and incredible histories, Also On View presents an unparalleled survey of all the diversity and wonder that Los Angeles has to offer.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/todd-lerew

Verse 4 Verse Open Mic: Chosen Family, Queer Insurgency at Heavy Manners Library – In-Person LGBTQIA Event

Verse 4 Verse Open Mic Poetry is hosted by Vinylowl and the theme is Chosen Family. Queer Insurgency.

This month we celebrate Pansexual Pride Day (December 8) with a night of Queer AF poetry so bring your own agenda and a mic-drop attitude.

NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: Heavy Manners Library

Date: Tuesday, the 10^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 1200 N. Alvarado St., Unit D, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://heavymannerslibrary.com/events/verse-4-verse-poetry-open-mic-12-10

Open Mic Poetry at The Library Coffee House, Long Beach – In-Person Event

Open Mic Poetry is hosted by Chad Brian at the Library Coffee House.

Sign- ups at 6:45 pm. All ages.

Ages 21+

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: The Library Coffee House, Long Beach

Date: Tuesday, the 10^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3418 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/

Holiday Author Talk & Book Signing: Aida Miriam Davis &: Kindred Creation at Malik Books – In-Person Event

Aida Miriam Davis, in conversation with Anna Malaika Tubbs, will discuss and sign her book, Kindred Creation: Parables and Paradigms for Freedom.

A vital path home. Employing African epistemologies and an embodied African beingness, this book embraces the revelation and miracle of Blackness.

Creating a world worthy of our children requires recalling the dignity and distinction of the African way of life.

This book is not written for settler consumption. Kindred Creation is a call and response to dream and design better worlds rooted in African lifeways: a path to Black freedom, a love letter to Black futures, and a blueprint to intergenerational Black joy and dignity—all (and always) on Black terms.

Author, organizer, and designer Aida Mariam Davis explores the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism, making explicit the ways that extraction, oppression, and enslavement serve the goals of empire—not least by severing ancestral connections and disrupting profound and ancient relationships to self, nature, and community.

Structured in three parts—Remember, Refuse, and Reclaim—Kindred Creation is a philosophical guidebook and a vital invitation to power and reconnection. Davis employs parable, poetry, theory, memory, narrative, and prophecy to help readers:

Remember: By unforgetting the unending and cascading violence of settler colonialism and other forms of domination and exploring the ways that African land, language, lifestyle, and labor are stolen, distorted, and repackaged for colonial consumption to extract capital and sever ties to ancestral knowledge, lifeways, and dignity

Refuse: By rejecting and interrupting death-making institutions and relationships and choosing kinship and self-determination in the face of settler colonial violence

Reclaim: By revealing that freedom is within us—and within reach. Davis shares how the reader can birth new worlds and relationships and offers strategies for reclaiming land, language, lifestyle, and labor.

The colonial violence and dispossession of African land, language, and labor is inflicted intentionally—and by design. Reclaiming African lifeways and remembering what was forcibly forgotten must be by creation: a remembering of our interconnectedness and kinship.

Where: Malik Books, (Westfield Culver City)

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 6000 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, Ca 90230

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-signing-on-the-kindred-creation-parables-and-paradigms-for-freedom-tickets-1071463499169?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Adult Book Group: Horse at Once Upon a Time – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Participants will discuss the novel Horse by author Geraldine Brooks.

Whether you loved it, hated it, or haven’t finished it, we want to see you at our Adult Book Club that has been going strong for 40+ years at America’s Oldest Children’s Bookstore!

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.

Where: Once Upon a Time

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/adult-book-group-horse-geraldine-brooks-hybrid

Mystery Book Club: The Life and Death of Rose Ducette at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss The Life and Death of Rose Ducette by author Harry Hunsicker.

Dallas PI Dylan Fisher thought he was done with his ex-wife—but now he’s solving her murder.

Book selection is done by email voting prior to each meeting so that the following month’s book will be available at the preceding month’s meeting.

Facilitated by Bobby McGee.

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2024-12-10/mystery-book-club

The Communicator Series #8 at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event

The Communicator Series highlights queer and trans* performance artists whose practice is situated in-between. We’re here for work that is switchy, vers, and language-curious. Work that can’t resist approaching the potential of failure, that the teases the edges of form as a poetic strategy of becoming otherwise, that fucks around and sometimes finds out, or at least challenges you to.

Dissonant presence. Strategic noncoherence. Communicator Series no. 8 offers witness-resistant poetic happenings for raw liberatory combustion. Join us Tuesday December 10th, 7pm at Poetic Research Bureau for performances Punitive Worm, Cedric Tai, and San Francisco-based artist Mason J. You’re welcome.

Mason J (he/they) is a Blaxican-Indigenous and Sephardic Jewish artist, historian, and community organizer based on Ohlone Land (San Francisco). As a queer writer, visual artist, and disability justice advocate, Mason amplifies marginalized voices. They serve as interim Executive Director of Radar Productions, contributing to projects like SFPL’s Show Us Your Spines residency and teaching for the Queer Ancestors Project. Mason’s work with Still Here SF reflects their commitment to challenging societal norms through innovative projects.

IG: @frisco_griot

Punitive Worm is the collaborative project of multidisciplinary artists and partners Nikki Ochoa and Mas Guerrero, known for their fluid approach to performance and music. A performance entity rooted in live improvisational sound, their work spans a wide range of forms, from the duo to a cast of 30, from poetic theatre to improvisational “no wave” music. Punitive Worm is constantly evolving and exploring raw energetic expressionism in every incarnation of the work. Rejecting conventional narratives and oppressive structures, genre defying Punitive Worm is interested in operating alongside resistance, chaos, and the experimental.

Their performances are often unpredictable, raw, and political, emphasizing spontaneity while challenging dominant cultural paradigms and false authority, making poetry that exists in physical space is the aim.

Currently Punitive Worm explores loving irreverence through abstracted poetic narratives. We are inspired by poets of color and their ability to face disappearing with anarchist and alternative narratives brought forth by sound, sculpture, and writing. How can the colonization of art and people be combated? With, “Poems that shoot guns,” as Amiri Baraka writes, “Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step.”

Nikki Ochoa | IG: @vomitchild

Mas Guerrero | IG: @midi_wizard

Cedric Tai is an un-disciplinary artist born in Detroit, currently residing in Los Angeles (Tongva/Chumash/Kizh land). They think through sculpture, talking, writing, performance, and experimental exhibitions.

Her conceptual work focuses on neurodivergent experience, labor, and politics.

Tai has partnered with neuroscientists, academics from critical psychiatry, artist collectives, disability justice social media influencers, and somatic therapists to co-create accessible resources particularly around “mental health” and queer anti-capitalist liberation.

Some of their work is set up systematically (coding/spreadsheets/workshops/repetition) so that they can focus on the spontaneous and experimental way she engages with the audience. Examples include “Brixels” tessellations, her reverse-pick-pocketing workshops, and the list of artists for They Didn’t Go.

Where: Poetic Research Bureau

Date: Tuesday, the 10^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057

Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/communicator-series-8

Celebrating Rumi: Poetry, Philosophy, and Symbols of the Sufi Path at The Philosophical Research Society – In-Person Event

Join us for a special presentation that will explore the facts and legends surrounding Rumi’s life, philosophy, and poetry.

This talk with Fahad Siadat in the PRS Library ill explore the facts and legends surrounding Rumi’s life, philosophy, and poetry.

The 13th Century poet Rumi is one of the most popular poets of the contemporary world. This presentation will explore the facts and legends surrounding his life, the spiritual philosophy that drove his poetry, and the symbolic meaning of the whirling ritual that originated from his greatest tragedy.

This talk is being held at PRS in support of The Resonance Collective’s performance of Rumi’s Sheb e Arus (Rumi’s Wedding Night)—a night of devotional music, sacred movement prayer, life-transforming stories and poetry which would inspire, elevate and empower—happening on Saturday, December 14th at the First Congregational Church LA.

Dr. Fahad Siadat is the director of the Resonance Collective, a multifaceted organization dedicated to unveiling Mystery through the arts. As an academic and writer, he regularly publishes essays and gives lectures on the intersection of art and spirituality, with a focus on music, mystical traditions, and ritual practices. He is the curator of the Golden Thread Concert series, and a co-director of the annual N.E.O. Voice Festival.

Siadat is an award-winning performer and composer who creates interdisciplinary pieces that reclaim and redefine sacred music and are considered to “border on being a spiritual journey” (LA Dance Chronicle). His work is described by the press as “evoking wonder, desire, and terror” (Off Broadway), “hypnotic” (Backstage) and “delivering the critical human element” (Sequenza21). His music has been performed in Europe, China, and across the United States.@theresonancecollectivela@fahad.siadat

Tickets: $15 Suggested Donation

Where: The Philosophical Research Society

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-rumi-poetry-philosophy-and-symbols-of-the-sufi-path-tickets-1041481237417

Richard Walter & Deadpan at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Richard Walter will present and discuss his book Deadpan.

Deadpan follows the misadventures of a vaguely antisemitic West Virginia Buick dealer who wakes up one day transformed into the world’s most popular Jewish comedian. Steeped in magical realism, the narrative confronts the pivotal issues of our day: identity, intolerance, tribalism and the redemptive force of humor.

The story is set during the world-wide oil crises of the 1970s, alternating among locations in West Virginia, Las Vegas, Washington, Tehran, and Sinai, and featuring characters as diverse as Sarah Palin, Mel Brooks, and the Shah of Iran. This phantasmagorical tour-de-force not only constitutes a satirical takedown of antisemitism (and bigotry in general), it is also a dazzling display of human dignity, resilience, and humor.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Tuesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2024-12-10/richard-walter-discusses-deadpan

The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest Helene Achanzar – Online Zoom Event

The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with host Rick Lupert presents guest reader Helene Achanzar.

Helene Achanzar is a poet and editor whose writing has been published in The Georgia Review, Sixth Finch, Best New Poets, and elsewhere. Winner of the 2022 New England Review Award for Emerging Writers, her work has also been supported by Bread Loaf and the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event

Date: Tuesday, the 10^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

Website: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html

Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic 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.

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 10^th

Time: 9 pm – 11 pm

Join us for our monthly Mystery Book Club meeting!

Participants will discuss The Thin Man by author Dashielle Hammett.

RSVP:

Please email wvally@lapl.org with “Mystery Book Club” in the subject line for information on the title to be discussed and the Zoom link.

Where: West Valley Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 10:30 am – 12 pm

Address: 19036 Vanowen St., Reseda, CA 91335

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-43

Wilmington Book Club: Wallflower Christmas at Wilmington Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Wallflower Christmas, by author Lisa Kleypas.

All are welcome.

RSVP:

For more information please contact: klarson@lapl.org

Where: Wilmington Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 1300 N. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington, CA 90744

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/wilmington-book-club-15

Author Talk: Laura Dave & The Night We Lost Him via Online Event, LACL – Online Event

Laura Dave, author of the bestselling novelThe Last Thing He Told Me,will be in conversation with participants about her new novel, The Night We Lost Him.

This story focuses on estranged siblings who discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal…

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

About the Author: Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me and Eight Hundred Grapes. Her novels have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and six of them, including The Night We Lost Him, have been optioned for film and television. She resides in Santa Monica, California.

Where: Virtual Program, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12156246

Artesia Book Club: The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times at Artesia Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss December’s selection, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, by author Jane Goodall.

Books are available for checkout at the library. Some titles are available as free downloadable eBooks or digital audiobooks from LA County Library at lacountylibrary.org. All interested persons are welcome and invited to attend.

Where: Artesia Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 1 pm

Address: 18801 Elaine Ave., Artesia, CA 90701

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12316843

Miriam’s Garden Poetry Reading & 20^th Anniversary Library Event with Featured Guests at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please come through the Hyde Park/Miriam Matthews Branch on Wednesday, December 11th from 11-2:30 PM and celebrate our 20th Anniversary with us! We have programs, giveaways, and speeches by local dignitaries and Linda Ricks, the Library Lady of South Central.

As part of the 20^th anniversary of the Hyde Park Miriam Matthew’s Branch Library, librarian and series host Yago Cura will offer a special edition of Miriam’s Garden Poetry Reading series, from 1:30-2:30 PM, featuring:

Jesenia Chavez is a Chicana poeta, writer, and bilingual educator, and the author of This Poem Might Save You (me).

Nikolai Garcia is the author of two chapbooks, Nuclear Shadows Palm Trees and the upcomingAll the Sad Music, both from DSTL Arts Press. He is cohost, (with Mauricio Moreno), of Trenches Full of Poets, an open mic in Long Beach.

Peter Woods is a partner at Writ Large Projects, and a writer and producer of literary, musical, and cultural events, among his numerous endeavors.

Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: Celebration,11 am – 2:30 pm; Poetry Reading at 1:30 pm.

Address: 2205 Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDK-URoy8B9/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/DDIdB7cThLn/

Adult Mystery Book Club: Evergreen at Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss the novel Evergreen by author Naomi Hirahara.

You can pick up your copy at the circulation desk or download it on the Libby or hoopla apps.

Where: Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 2 pm

Address: 14561 Polk St., Sylmar, CA 91342

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/adult-mystery-book-club-5

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 2^nd Monday of the month on KPFK Los Angeles 90.7 FM.

NOTE: See site to CHECK LISTINGS FOR NEW TIME SLOT.

Where: KPFK 90.7 FM

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: On-air Event (live)

Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/

Kids Storytime with Joel Stern at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Joel will guide us in creating our own pop-up Christmas cards, as well as read from his new book In the Holly Jolly North Poel!

RSVP at site!

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

Participants will discuss December’s selection, Zero-Sum, by author Joyce Carol Oates.

In Zero-Sum, Joyce Carol Oates, one of our most brilliant writers, presents human beings as predisposed for competition, exploitation, and profiting at others expense whether in love, professional life, family or friendships.

Contact the librarian at cfischer@library.lacounty.gov or call 310-456-6438 to be added to Zoom participation.

Where: Malibu Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 5 pm

Address: 23519 West Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12067434

Creative Writing Workshop With Tony DuShane at Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us for a free writer’s workshop presented by UCLA instructor Tony DuShane, screenwriter of the film Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, based on his novel of the same name. This workshop is open to adults only.

Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 6 pm

Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-tony-dushane-3

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 11^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Address: On-air Event (live at 101.5 FM)

Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events

Romantasy Book Club: A Broken Blade at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss December’s selection, A Broken Balde, by author Melissa Blair.

Keera is a killer. As the King’s Blade, she is the most talented spy in the kingdom. And the King’s favored assassin. When a mysterious figure called the Shadow starts making moves against the Crown, Keera is forced to hunt the masked menace down. She crosses into the magical lands of the Fae, trying to discern if her enemy is Mortal, Elf, or a Halfling like her. But the Faeland is not what it seems, and neither is the Shadow. Keera is shocked by what she discovers and can’t help but wonder who her enemy truly is….

Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12067115

Open Mic Poetry at DiPiazza’s, Long Beach – In-Person Event

Open Mic Poetry at DiPiazza’s is hosted by Tamara Madison.

Ages 21+

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: DiPiazza’s, Long Beach

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 5205 Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA 90804

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/

WeHo Reads Event: Through a Lens Queerly at West Hollywood City Council Chambers – LGBTQIA In-Person Event

What makes a memory? What makes an idol? Through what lens do we examine ourselves and our community?

Our host for the evening will be three-time Emmy award-winning makeup artist Glen Alen, who will be in conversation with a poet and author, a photographer, and a culture writer to discuss how they point a critical lens at themselves and their community.

Charles Jensen is the author of Splice of Life: A Memoir in 13 Film Genres (Santa Fe Writer’s Project 2024) and the collection of poetry Instructions between Takeoff and Landing (University of Akron Press 2022).

Manuel Betancourt is the author of The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men (Penguin Random House 2024).

Aaron Jay Young is a portrait photographer and the author of Queen (Padlock Publishing 2023).

The event will open with an original poem read by Jen Cheng, current West Hollywood Poet Laureate and author of Braided Spaces (2023).

Where: West Hollywood City Council Chambers

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/weho-reads-through-a-lens-queerly-tickets-1021837733167

Wiseburn LIbrary Book Club: The Wishing Game at Wiseburn Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss December’s selection, The Wishing Game, by author Meg Shaffer.

Copies of the books are available at the library. For ages 18+.

“The Clock Island books were Lucy Hart’s passion and refuge as a child, and now she shares them with Christopher, a seven-year-old orphan. No matter how badly Lucy wants him in her life, even the idea of adopting him seems out of reach without proper funds and stability. Then a blue envelope arrives at her school, inviting Lucy to compete for the one and only copy of Jack Masterson’s final novel in the iconic Clock Island series. No one has seen or heard from Jack Masterson in years, but now four diehard Clock Island fans have received the invitation of a lifetime to stay on his private island and compete for the final installment, and un-published manuscript, of the well-loved series.”

Where: Wiseburn Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm

Address: 5335 W. 135^th St., Hawthorne, CA 90250

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11762792

Maria Baltazzi & Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Marie Baltazzi will present and discuss her book, Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want.

Emmy Award-Winning Producer and Happiness Explorer Maria Baltazzi empowers readers to discover what truly makes them happier in her award-winning debut book Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want. Drawing from familiar movies, world events, her extensive entertainment industry experience, and transformative global travels, Maria presents her eight critically acclaimed Happiness Essentials. She combines research-based, practical advice with a unique approach that integrates camera phone photography, journaling prompts, and her Take a Shot at Happiness app, offering invaluable tools for those seeking to enrich their lives and track their progress on their happiness and whole-being journey (mind, body, and spirit).

Where: Book Soup

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/maria-baltazzi

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 11^th

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

Winter Reading Event at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!

About the participants:

Greg Mania is a writer whose words have been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, and elsewhere. He is the author of the celebrated debut memoir Born to Be Public, which was named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, O, The Oprah Magazine, Electric Literature, among others. He lives in Los Angeles, where he co-hosts Empty Trash, a bi-monthly reading series.

Genevieve Hudson is the author of the novel Boys of Alabama, which was a finalist for the 2021 Oregon Book Award and the short story collection Pretend We Live Here, which was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Their work has appeared in Elle, Oprah Magazine, Tin House, McSweeney’s, Bomb, Electric Literature, and other places. They’ve received fellowships from the Fulbright Program, MacDowell, Caldera Arts, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and the Vermont Studio Center. They teach Creative Writing in the MFA Program at Antioch University, Los Angeles and also work in advertising.

Tomas Moniz is a Latinx writer living in East Oakland, CA. His debut novel, Big Familia, was a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Hemingway and the LAMBDA. His new novel, All Friends Are Necessary, is out now from Algonquin Books. He teaches at Berkeley City College and the Antioch MFA program. He has stuff on the internet but loves penpals: PO Box 3555, Berkeley CA 94703. He promises to write back.

Morgan Parker is a poet, essayist, and novelist. She is the author of the young adult novel Who Put This Song On? and the poetry collections Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night, There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, and Magical Negro, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship and winner of a Pushcart Prize, Parker has been hailed by The New York Times as “a dynamic craftsperson” of “considerable consequence to American poetry.” She received her Bachelor’s in Anthropology and Creative Writing from Columbia University and her MFA in poetry from NYU. Parker is a Cave Canem graduate fellow and creator and co-curates the Poets With Attitude (PWA) reading series with Tommy Pico. With Angel Nafis, she is The Other Black Girl Collective. She lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Shirley.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 9900 Culver Blvd.. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232

40 years of stunning basketball photography—both on the court and off—from one of the sport’s greatest chroniclers

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.

Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography is a spectacular photographic collection spanning the first four decades of Butler’s career, including the current draft class’s rookie season.

With commentary from NBA legends across generations, including Patrick Ewing, Steph Curry, Jeremy Lin, and Victor Wembanyama, this is the insider look at the National Basketball Association and the man whose photographs have helped define its rise.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Wednesday the 11^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2024-12-11/nathaniel-butler-and-andy-bernstein-discuss-courtside-40-years-nba-photography

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 11^th

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 Literary Arts Center

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

East Los Soul presents Poetry Nights every Wednesday from 8 pm – 9:45 pm at East L.A. Rising Youth Club. Poetry starts at 8:15 pm.

Every 2^nd Wednesday will be a poetry contest with a $200 prize for the poet winner, via unanimous vote.

Every 4^th Wednesday will be an art contest with a $200 prize for the artist winner, via unanimous vote.

$2 entrance fee

Where: East Los Angel Rising Youth Club

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 8 pm – 9:45 pm

Address: 324 N. McDonnell Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90022

Terri Niccum is the author of a full-length collection, The Knife Thrower’s Daughter, released in 2022 from Moon Tide Press. She is also the author of the chapbooks Dead Letter Box (Moon Tide Press) and Looking Snow in the Eye (Finishing Line Press). Her upcoming chapbook from Moon Tide is Sky Leaning Toward Winter. Niccum was a finalist and runner-up for the 2020-2021 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize and a finalist for the Atlanta Review 2024 International Poetry Competition.

Her work has appeared in A Moon of One’s Own, an online journal from Picture Show Press; Atlanta Review; Nimrod International Journal; Golden Streetcar; The Maine Review; Oberon Poetry; and the Pomona Valley Review, among others.

$4 cover fee, cash only

NOTE: See site for further details.

Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange

Date: Wednesday, the 11^th

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866

Website: https://www.facebook.com/events

Mystery Book Club: The Resemblance at Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss The Resemblance by author Lauren Nossett.

Summary provided by the publisher:

“On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling.

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. But in the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university’s most elite and connected students.”

To borrow a print copy of the book, please contact the library.

Where: Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Address: 4975 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA 90230

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12101470

Mystery Book Club: Reykjavík via Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Join us on Zoom the second Thursday of each month for a thoughtful discussion of our latest selection. Copies available at the front desk. For Zoom link and more information please email venice@lapl.org.

Participants will discuss Reykjavík by author Ragnar Jónasson.

Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 5 pm

Address: Online Event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club

Writing Group at Donald Bruce Kaufman – 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 welcome writers of all genres, styles, and experience levels.

Where: Donald Bruce Kaufman – Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 5:30 pm

Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/brentwood-writing-group-0

Thrival Open Mic at Hot Java, Long Beach – In-Person Event

Thrival Open Mic at Hot Java welcomes all arts and community plugs.

More info on Instagram @thrivalopenmic

All ages.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Hot Java, Long Beach

Date: Thursday, the 12^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Address: 2101 E. Broadway., Long Beach, CA 90803

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/

Lit Angels: Open House with Francesca Lia Block, Melissa Pleckham, Tracey Simmons, Sara Phoebe Miller, and More at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

About Lit Angels Writing Studio:

There are so many fitness classes available for the body, but what are you doing to exercise your creative mind?

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.

RSVP at site!

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Thursday, the 12^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Muriel Leung, in conversation with T.K. Lê, will present and discuss her new novel, How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster.

From Queens, New York, Muriel Leung is the author of the novel How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster (W.W. Norton & Company) in addition to other books that include the Poetry Society of America’s 2022 Four Quartets Prize winning Imagine Us, The Swarm (Nightboat Books), Bone Confetti (Noemi Press) and Images Seen to Images Felt (Antenna) in collaboration with artist Kristine Thompson. She serves on the Board of Directors for Apogee Journal, a journal dedicated to uplifting historically marginalized writers and artists. She received her PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from University of Southern California where she was an Andrew W. Mellon Humanities in a Digital World fellow. She is permanent faculty at the California Institute of the Arts.

T.K. Lê is a queer Viet writer, artist, and editor living on Tongva land (also known as Long Beach, CA). Her work can be found at tk-le.com.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Bel Canto KUBO

Date: Thursday, the 12^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-muriel-leung-in-conversation-with-tk-le-tickets-1082681783359?aff=oddtdtcreator

Ryan Alavarez and Adam Merrin & That Takes the Cookie at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Ryan Alavarez and Adam Merrin will present their book, That Takes the Cookie: 85 Tasty Treats for Every Occasion (A Cookbook).

Enjoy decadent, delicious cookies for every occasion with this easy-to-follow cookie-baking cookbook.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/ryan-alvarez-adam-merrin

Trenches Full of Poets Reading Series & Open Mic at Page Against the Machine – In-Person Event

Trenches Full of Poets is a monthly reading series that features three SoCal poets reading their work, plus an Open Mic opportunity this holiday season.

Raquel Reyes-Lopez is a first-generation chicane poet. Her poetry advocates mental health awareness, speaks of infertility struggles, highlights tones of death, and loss. Her debut poetry chapbook, Born to Electrify, was published by Sadie Girl Press. She can be found on Instagram @raquel4poet

Where: Page Against the Machine

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 2714 E. 4^th St., Long Beach, CA 90814

Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=965192735645296&set=gm.584705564237215

Book Launch: Elisa Albert, with Jennifer Romolini and Merritt Tierce, & The Snarling Girl at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event

In sixteen essays published over the past decade, acclaimed novelist Elisa Albert considers everything from the creative process to reproductive justice, ambition to Ani DiFranco, Judaism to the ethos of punk, all in the midst of making a home in the strange city of Albany, New York.

Elisa Albert is the author of the novels Human Blues, After Birth, The Book of Dahlia, and the story collection How This Night is Different. She has worked as a bookseller, barista, executive assistant, full-spectrum doula, housewife, Hebrew School teacher, and professor of creative writing.

Jennifer Romolini is an author and podcast host. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Cut, ELLE, Fast Company, Vogue, and many others.

Merritt Tierce is the author of the novel Love Me Back, for which she received a Whiting Foundation award. She wrote for the Netflix show Orange Is the New Black and has published numerous essays about abortion, including a 2021 cover story for The New York Times Magazine called “The Abortion I Didn’t Have.”

Where: Stories Books & Café

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://storiesla.com/events

California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley Creative Writing Conservatory presents: End of Semester Showcase at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Come and hear what the voices of the (next) generation have been working on all semester!

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Thursday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2024-12-12/california-school-arts-san-gabriel-valley-creative-writing-conservatory-presents

Skulls & Stairs: Reading Series with Rhiannon, Valerie darling, Maestro, Tyler, Oren Pine at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event 

Join us for the fourth installment of Skulls and Stairs at Beyond Baroque. Featuring poets reading at the staircase. Music by Oren Pine.

Tyler Neufeld (he/him) is a playwright, scenic artist and immersive experience designer. He is currently studying playwriting and scenic design as a senior at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. He has workshopped plays with Untitled Theatre Company’s Playwrights Circle, which he cofounded in 2022, and has created one-acts 3 years in a row at UCLA’s Bruin Fringe Fest. He is excited to read at Beyond Baroque as he wraps up his marketing internship!

Maestro Gamin This underwhelming bio was very self-consciously written and rewritten after another long night of karaoke while sitting on the toilet with the shower running. Striving to be better, suspiciously bored in the middle of his 5th or 6th Sag Aftra strike, and cynically against the performative or cliche, maestro can be found either at the Offbeat or Cuevita, when he’s not eating bugs on the L.A. river bike path, or inhaling thc vape pens losing at dominoes 25 miles somewhere from his house. He has released rap albums, gotten Drew Barymore high, drag raced Michelle Rodriguez, and had his finger bitten off in the first season of HBO’s Westworld, but wont admit any of that in real life. “I’m angry and I write, and I love and I write. all the other shit is pageantry for ego.” also singing bohemian rhapsody is needy and safe, and baby got back is no risk at all. What the fuck were you thinking. This is not your babyshower it’s a salon for words.

NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information. 

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Thursday, the 12^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skulls-stairs-rhiannon-valerie-darling-maestro-tyler-oren-pine-tickets-1093811532739?aff=oddtdtcreator%22

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 13^th

Time: 9:30 am

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/spectacular-story-time-105

Current Events Nonfiction Book Club: Empress of the Nile at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us on the second Friday of every month for the current events nonfiction book club.

Participants will discuss December’s selection, Empress of the Nile;The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples From Destruction by author Lynne Olson.

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 13^th

Time: 12 pm

Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/current-events-nonfiction-book-club-1

Writing Group for Seniors at Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Kathy Katims, founder of Saved by a Story, leads an ongoing writing group for seniors. New members are welcome to all or any sessions. Participants are given writing prompts to spark creativity, share stories and build community. Participants write to explore the bounty of stories that lie within. Seniors come together to write, share (optional), and listen. This is creativity and community in a non-judgmental environment.

RSVP:

Reserve your space with kathleenkatims@gmail.com to receive welcome materials.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library

Date: Friday, the 13^th

Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: 501 S. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/writing-group-seniors

Stranger Than Fiction Book Club: History Smashers: The Titanic at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Kids & Family Event

Participants will discuss History Smashers: The Titanic by author Kate Messner. For ages 8 – 12 with parent or caregiver.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL

Date: Friday, the 13^th

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12125672

Mental Health Journaling & Open Mic at Café con Libros Press, Pomona – In-Person Event

Participants will enjoy Mental Health Journaling & Open Mic workshop from 4 pm – 9 pm. Take time to reflect and share in this special event dedicated to mental health and creativity.

NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: Café con Libros Press, Pomona

Date: Friday, the 13^th

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: 208 W. 2^nd St., Pomona, CA 91766

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDGfYSVJLkY/?img_index=1

Mundial Holiday Night Market at Cellar Door Bookstore Off-site – In-Person Event

Riverside’s Mundial Coffee will be hosting one of their Night Markets and Cellar Door Bookstore will be there selling our books along with other vendors from our community! Stop by to get some coffee, food, books, and more!

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 5 pm – 9 pm

We’re back. It’s time to join the community for another Swing Set Open Mic night.

Calling all poets, musicians, comedians, and performers of all kinds.

RSVP via Eventbrite link in our bio.

Where: The Center, Long Beach

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Address: 2017 E. 4^th St., Long Beach, CA 90814

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/

Thrival Open Mic at Confidential Coffee, Long Beach – In-Person Event

All arts and community Open Mic. All ages. More info on IG.

Where: Confidential Coffee, Long Beach

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Address: 137 W. 6^th St., Long Beach, CA 90602

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/

Laurie Raskin & Joyce King: Help! We Can’t Stop Aging: Wit and Wisdom on the Art of Aging at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Laurie Raskin and Joyce King Heyruad created this handy little book because…Help! We Can’t Stop Aging. Longevity is both a challenge and a gift. The book includes art by Laurie and poems by Joyce as well as inspiring and whimsical quotes on the aging process for all women.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/laurie-raskin-joyce-king-heyraud

Comics O’Clock Reading at Heavy Manners Library – In-Person Event

Comics O’Clock Reading Event is a gala edition featuring live readings by local cartoonists hosted by Mikey Heller. This event will be pay what you want, with donations going to Heavy Manners Library.

For more work by the readers visit:

Yasmeen Abedifard (https://www.instagram.com/yasmeen.abedi/)

J. Marshall Smith (https://www.instagram.com/jmarshallsmith/)

Caroline Cash (https://www.instagram.com/cash_browns/)

Chelsea Akpan (https://www.instagram.com/thankscocoa/)

Pearl Law (https://www.instagram.com/pearlperoni/)

Tara Booth (https://www.instagram.com/tarabooth/)

Evan Salazar (https://www.instagram.com/evan_saladbar/)

Adam De Souza (https://www.instagram.com/kumerish/)

Nate Garcia (https://www.instagram.com/nategarciascartoons/)

Kruttika Susarla (https://www.instagram.com/kruttika/)

RSVP (Pay What You Want Donation)

NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: Heavy Manners Library

Date: Friday, the 13^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 1200 N. Alvarado St., Unit D, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://heavymannerslibrary.com/events/comics-o-clock-a-comic-reading-12-13

Open Mic Night at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Every second Friday of the month, Village Well stays open later to provide a platform for local performers through our open mic! All performers are welcome, including musicians, poets, storytellers, comedians, and magicians!

Acts are limited to 3-5 minutes in length and must be family friendly. Sign-ups begin at 6:30 pm and conclude at 7:30 pm!

Where: Village Well

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232

Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/13043

Ilana Kaplan, with Kristin Marguerite Doidge, & Nora Ephron at the Movies at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Ilana Kaplan, in conversation with Kristin Marguerite Doidge, will discuss: Nora Ephron at the Movies: A Visual Celebration of the Writer and Director Behind When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and More.

The first illustrated monograph on writer, journalist, and director Nora Ephron, the visionary behind When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail

Nora Ephron at the Movies offers an unfiltered look at Ephron as a champion of the rom-com and as a feminist Hollywood trailblazer. It explores her life and work by pairing detailed criticism with exclusive interviews with Ephron’s key collaborators, including Andie MacDowell and Jenn Kaytin Robinson, to add color and nuance to her life and legacy.

With her singular voice, Nora Ephron flourished as a dominant force in the entertainment industry, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of romance that were universally relatable.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event

POMONA POETRY Final SLAM OF 2024, LIONLIKE Mindstate at Millard Sheets Art Center | Fairplex, Pomona – In-Person Event

Calling all Poets, Wordsmiths and Lyricists. The Pomona Poetry Slam.is Returned. $100 Cash prize to the Winner.

RULES:

3 Rounds. 3 mins Time Limit per poem. Judges come from the Audience! No Props.

Parents: This is a PG-13 event. However, SLAM IS NOT FOR CHILDREN SHARP WORDS AND CONTENT. * Warning**

Parental GUIDANCE: We are not responsible for what everyone says on the MIC.

Sign Up at the Door.

$2 for Competing Poets.

$5 for Students

$10 General Entry.

Where: Millard Sheets Art Center | Fairplex, Pomona

Date: Friday the 13^th

Time: 8 pm – 10:30 pm

Address: 1101 West McKinley Avenue Pomona, CA 91768

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pomona-poetry-final-slam-of-2024-lionlike-mindstate-tickets-1104698546089

Manuscript Lab with Sara Ellen Fowler at Beyond Baroque – Deadline Announced

Beyond Baroque’s inaugural Manuscript Lab seeks eight poets who will each revise and complete their first manuscripts over the duration of eight in-person sessions. The lab will create an active space in which peer feedback, one-on-one conferences, and a braintrust of our community is generated and shared among writers who are working on their first full-length manuscript. The Manuscript Lab will focus on building a workshop community centered around collaborative discussion and discovery

Hosted by author Sara Ellen Fowler, this program is an opportunity to learn with and from an intimate cohort and analyze what compels a successful first book of poetry–the hows and whys of architecture, craft, and thematic energy. Poets will create and develop their first manuscripts in daring new ways which expand the visions of each collection.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 13 11:59 PM PT

To apply or share, please fill out or distribute the form at site.

NOTE: See site for further details. 

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Friday, the 13^th

Time: 11:59 pm

Address: Online Deadline Announced

Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/manuscriptlab.html

Book Club for Adults: The Fountains of Silence at Hacienda Heights Library, LACL– In-Person Event

Join participants to discuss The Fountains of Silence by author Ruta Sepetys.

New members are always welcome.  Copies of the Book Club books will be available for pick-up at the Ask Us Desk one month prior to the book club meeting date.

Where: Hacienda Heights Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Address: 16010 La Monde St., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/11985816

Harry Potter Book Club for Tweens: The Chamber of Secrets at Lancaster Library, LACL– In-Person Tween Event

Join participants to discuss Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by author J.K. Rowling.

Welcome to the Harry Potter Book Club’s second session.

Fun activities await! Costumes are welcomed.

Where: Lancaster Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Address: 601 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster, CA 93534

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12335058

Altadena Poet Laureates: Poetry Workshop with Lynne Thompson at Altadena Main Library – In-Person Event

Join the Altadena Poets Laureate for a poetry workshop with former LA Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson: Chewing on the Alphabet and Stealing from the Best.

Lynne Thompson served as the fourth Los Angeles Poet Laureate and received a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. She is the author of four collections of poetry: Beg No Pardon, winner of the Perugia Press Prize and the Great Lakes Colleges New Writers Award. During this workshop, we’ll look at and discuss the work of poets who have employed a variety of strategies to craft poems and how you may adopt—and even subvert them—to write your own!

NOTE: See site for further details. 

Where: Altadena Main Library

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Address: 600 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, CA 91001

Website: https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D177059959

The Table Reading: “What Is Freedom?” from Between Past and Future by Hannah Arendt at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event

Join us for a table reading discussion of the “What Is Freedom?” chapter in Between Past and Future by Hannah Arendt.

This reading is the 18th installment of a series of Table Reading sessions as part of the Fred Rogers Dewey Legacy Project (FRDLP), hosted by Renée Petropoulos. For the last year we have delved into the final chapter of Fred Dewey’s book, the School of Public Life, reading the text “What Is Power?” This year we will read texts by Hannah Arendt coming back to the historic beginnings of this series of Table Readings initiated by Fred. This project involves participants reading aloud around a table and interpreting the text as each pulls meaning from it. The activity is a public interpretation of ideas, read together without “expertise,” but with mind and heart. There is no need to read anything ahead of time—the text will be passed out at the table. Just come, sit, and read with us.

We will follow Fred’s model for the Working Group, which entails that we, a group of interested individuals, will engage with a text with no prior knowledge of it. So, there is no need to read anything ahead of time—the text will be passed out at the table. Just come, sit, and read with us. We look forward to your presence.

About the facilitator

Renée Petropoulos is an artist living in Venice, California. She has shown and performed her work internationally and is the recipient of many awards for her work. She is also part of the Fred Dewey Legacy Project, a group created to promote the life work of Fred Dewey. Most recently, she has performed at the Broad Museum and the Wende Museum (2022), continuing with her project Among Nations (Mostly).

NOTE: See site for further details. 

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 11 am – 2 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 902921

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/table-reading-what-is-freedom-tickets-1042360276647

Caffeinated Verse: Poetry Open Mic with Malibu Poet Laureate Nathan Hassall at Lancaster Library, LACL– In-Person Event

Join Malibu Poet Laureate Nathan Hassall to hear readings of original pieces written by local poets and bring a poem of your own to read during the open mic.

This event is part of the City’s free poetry workshops in partnership with Malibu Library, the Malibu Poet Laureate Committee, the Malibu Arts Commission, and the Friends of the Malibu Library, offering community members engaging, educational opportunities to find expression through poetry with a renowned local poet.

Where: Malibu Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Address: 23519 West Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12125675

Adult Book Club: The Sign for Home at Littlerock Library, LACL– In-Person Event

Join Littlerock Library’s Adult Book Club as we discuss our latest selection, The Sign for Home by Blair Fell; a coming-of-age romance about a young deafblind man named Arlo Dilly who sets off on a journey to find the love of his life.

Where: Littlerock Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 35119 80^th St. E., Littlerock, CA 93543

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12143438

River Session: Mile 45 | Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area Event at Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area Amphitheater – In-Person Event

Join Tina Calderon and Writers in the Wild of Los Angeles Poet Society for a special River Session, where our lead Cultural Advisor, Tina Calderon—an accomplished poet and songwriter, and Culture Bearer of Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash, Yoeme, and Chicana descent—will ground us at the start of the session. Guided by Indigenous wisdom rooted in the deep interconnection among all living things, we will gather to nurture writing as an act of connecting with nature.

Poets Jessica M. Wilson and Alex Petunia of Los Angeles Poet Society will facilitate a gentle return to the connection with our true selves, inviting us to embrace the beauty of the LA River waterways in the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area.

Whether you prefer to wander freely on your own, or pair up with a fellow writer, you’ll have the opportunity to explore and draw inspiration from this vibrant headwater of the river.

The session will culminate in a gathering, where we will share our poems, reflections, and experiences, celebrating our bond with each other and the riverine landscapes that inspire us.

Meet our guides from LA Poet Society:

Alex Petunia (she/they) released their first poetry collection Tending My Wild in 2021 through World Stage Press. As an alum of Community Literature Initiative, Alex has performed throughout Los Angeles, New York, and Paris. She has performed with the Infinite Poets collective at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, New York Poetry Festival, Fresno LitHop, and the LA County Fair. When not in nursing scrubs or on the mic, Alex offers free monthly writing sessions called Meditation Monday with the Los Angeles Poet Society. She enjoys writing with trees and typing poetry on demand for community wherever she roams.

Jessica M. Wilson Cárdenas, is an International Chicana Poet, born in East Los Angeles, CA, and a founding member of the First Los Angeles Street Poetry Festival Committee. She is a 3rd generation Beatnik, with a BA and MFA in Writing (UCR and Otis) She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Los Angeles (LA) Poet Society, a literary non-profit organization that makes the literary arts accessible, visible, and accessible to the communities across LA County! She’s a California Poets in the Schools Poet Teacher, where she taught Youth US Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman. Jessica is an Artivist, a social justice Publisher for Los Angeles Poet Society Press, amplifying QTBIPOC voices. She’s a DJ for Radio Ollin, (www.radioollin.org) She is a teacher for UCLA Extension’s Writers Program, where she teaches Storytelling for Social Justice. Her books of poetry include: What Breathes, Raw Kit, Marie Morrison, Serious Longing, published by Swan World Press in Paris, France.

Juan Flautista, the flute player and vocalist from Los Angeles, CA that makes the flute cry, and sings his heart out! Experience a mix between the fusion of Latin and Blues Rock from Juan Flautista’s electric flute, influenced by Santana, Tito Puente, Jimi Hendrix and more. Juan is also an accomplished Poet. He is an award-winning author of the book, The Beat of an Immigrant Chicano, which received Honorable Mention from the International Latino Book Awards. He teaches for California Poets in the Schools and is Associate Director of the LA Poet Society. http://www.juanflautista.com

NOTE: See site for costs and further details.

Where: Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area Amphitheater

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 11 am – 2 pm

Address: 6100 Woodley Ave., Los Angeles, CA 91406

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/river-session-mile-45-sepulveda-basin-wildlife-area-registration-1031328379947?aff=oddtdtcreator

Laura Taylor Namey, with Alexis Castellanos, & With Love, Echo Park at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL– In-Person Event

Join Laura Taylor Namey, in conversation with Alexis Castellanos, for a discussion of Laura’s book, With Love, Echo Park.

With Love, Echo Park tells the story of two Cuban American teens in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood as they try to come to terms with their families and their community, and romantic sparks begin to fly. Seventeen-year-old Clary is set to inherit her family’s florist shop, one of the few remaining Cuban-owned businesses in a neighborhood that once boasted many. Emilio works at his family’s Avalos Bicycle Works nearby, but his willingness to leave Echo Park to seek his future elsewhere is a major turn-off to Clary. As the summer unfolds, they start to share their hopes and fears and find there’s something stronger than local history tying them together. It’s all set against the backdrop of Echo Park’s once-thriving Cuban American community, which originated in the 1960s with refugees fleeing the Castro regime and opening businesses and restaurants around downtown Los Angeles.

Laura Taylor Namey is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult fiction, including Reese’s Book Club pick A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak, and When We Were Them. A proud Cuban American, she lives in San Diego with her husband and two children.

Alexis Castellanos is the author of Guava & Grudges and Isla to Island, an Eisner-nominated and award-winning graphic novel. Born in Miami, Fl, she studied theatre design and technology in college and landed in New York City after graduation working as a scenic artist before transitioning into publishing as a graphic designer. When she’s not working she can be found tackling a new sewing project, playing D&D, or cooking up a storm. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and two spoiled cats.

Email eden@lapl.org for more information.

Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 12 pm

Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/author-laura-taylor-namey-discusses-love-echo-park

Cuentitos con Crafts at Café con Libros Press, Pomona – In-Person Event

Participants will enjoy Cuentitos con Crafts, storytime and crafting for the little ones!

NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: Café con Libros Press, Pomona

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Address: 208 W. 2^nd. St., Pomona, CA 91766

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDGfYSVJLkY/?img_index=1

SoCal Manga Book Club: at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL– In-Person Event

Join our book club dedicated to uniting manga and anime enthusiasts. Each month, we cover a different series and focus on the first volume. Come by and suggest your favorite series that rarely gets discussed.

Where: Little Tokyo Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: 203 S. Los Angeles St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/socal-manga-book-club

The Writing Life: 56 Years at Beyond Baroque Celebration at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Live on YouTube Hybrid Event

Join us for our final program of the year! Featuring poets, open mic, food, and community! in celebration of the anthology, The Writing Life.

In 2023, Beyond Baroque Books published The Writing Life: 55 Years at Beyond Baroque, a unique historical narrative—told by those who know it best—about the legendary literary arts center, Beyond Baroque in Venice, California. Much more than commemorative, the book serves as a creativity handbook appealing to anyone with an interest in becoming a writer.

This anthology of personal pieces, poems, and prompts touch on aspects of craft, community, publishing, and performance…including contributions from Amanda Gorman, Lee Herrick, J. Ryan Stradal, Will Alexander, Dana Gioia, Amy Gerstler, Amy Uyematsu, Janet Fitch, and many more!

In the holiday spirit of community celebration, we invite authors and the community of Los Angeles to celebrate with us! The event will feature readings in The Wanda Coleman Theater, A Book Raffle, Food & Drink, and an Open Mic.

Stay tuned for more details and save the date, December 14, 2 pm – 6 pm.

This event is Free & In-Person at Beyond Baroque. Masks are encouraged while inside our center.

NOTE: See site for further details. 

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 2 pm – 6 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 902921

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-writing-life-a-book-community-celebration-tickets-1096787664429?aff=oddtdtcreator

Book Discussion: The Midnight Library at North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Branch Library, LAPL– In-Person Event

Join our monthly book discussion! It is 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.

Join Kianna this month for a discussion on The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

This is a novel that follows the life of Nora Seed, who finds herself in a library between life and death, with the opportunity to try out alternate versions of her life and find the one where she truly belongs.

Where: North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 14^th

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

Address: 5211 Tujunga Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-discussion-midnight-library         

Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Deep Critique Workshop – Online Event

Deep Critique Writing Workshop will be led by Don Kingfisher Campbell. (Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines including the subject of or at least mentioning shooting or stars for Four Feathers Press online edition: Shooting Stars by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm, December 20th).

Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.

Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 3 pm – 5 pm

Address: Online Zoom Event

Website: https://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/

Words: A Literary Reading & Open Mic at The Glendale Room – In-Person Event

Words…A Literary Reading & Open Mic is hosted by Eric Blumfeld.

Come hear LA’s finest writers share their words. Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry. featured Spot + 10 Open Mic Spots (6 mins)

Where: The Glendale Room

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 3:30 pm – 5 pm

Address: 127 Artsakh Ave., Glendale, CA 91206

Website: https://www.theglendaleroom.com/calendar

Graphic Novel Launch: Joe Casey & Blood Squad at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Thirty years ago, they were America’s premier celebrity superhero team. Seen on television, on tabloid magazine covers, scoring million-dollar endorsement deals…they were everywhere! Now, a new generation takes up the mantle—or perhaps the poisoned chalice—fulfilling the promise made decades ago, to be the heroes that a fractured America needs! Fully loaded and jam-packed with extras!

Joe Casey is one of the founders of the Man of Action development and production house whose credits include the hit cartoon Ben 10 and Generator Rex. As a comic book writer, Casey has worked for many companies within the industry including DC, Marvel, Image, and more. His work includes runs on major titles such as Adventures of Superman, Uncanny X-Men, Wildcats, G.I. Joe: America’s Elite, and much more.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

Please join us for a night of Art & Poetry at our 2024 Holiday art show and poetry book signing.

Author Hannah Shebar will read and sign Letters you will never read: poems.

Also includes live music and giveaway.

Where: Rebecca Molayem Gallery

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 6 pm – 9 pm

Address: 481 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036

Website: http://www.rebeccamolayemarts.com/a-night-of-art-poetry/

Anthology Celebration: Somos Chicanos & Contributor with Riot of Roses Press & ESMoA at El Camino College Art Gallery – In-Person Event

Join us for an enchanting evening as we celebrate the release of “Somos Xicanas”, a multi-genre anthology that amplifies the voices of 80 Xicanas from across Turtle Island and beyond. Curated and edited by Luz Schweig, this collection is a vibrant tapestry of stories that honor the depth and diversity of the Xicana experience.

Hosted by Riot of Roses Publishing House and founder Brenda Vaca, in collaboration with ESMoA and El Camino College, this special event also aligns with the XICANA! exhibit curated by Dulce Stein. Together, we’ll bring to life the spirit of xochitl in cuicatl—flower and song—where creators will share their powerful narratives amidst stunning artistic expressions.

A portion of Somos Xicanas book sales will go toward supporting Xicana presses and community projects.

Where: El Camino College Art Gallery at the Art & Behavioral Science Building

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 6 pm – 10 pm

Address: 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, CA 90506

Website: https://esmoa.org/event/somos-xicanas-book-launch-xicana/

Obsidian Tongues Open Mic at Café con Libros Press, Pomona – In-Person Event

Obsidian Tongues Open Mic is hosted by Ceasar K. Avelar at Café con Libros Press, Pomona every 2^nd Saturday of the month.

NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: Café con Libros Press, Pomona

Date: Saturday, the 14^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm

Address: 208 W. 2^nd. St., Pomona, CA 91766

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDGfYSVJLkY/?img_index=1

Melrose Trading Post Event & L.A. Poet Society at 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.

LA Poet Society presents Poetry on Demand during Merry Melrose at Melrose Trading Post!

JOIN us in space R18 each Sunday, from 11am-5pm. Holiday Poems & Cheer just for you!

NOTE: Check every Sunday for story time and reading events

Where: Melrose Trading Post, Greenway Main Stage at Fairfax HS

Date: Sunday, the 15^th (Every Sunday)

Time: 10 am – 5 pm

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 15^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

Free collaborative workshops, presented with 826LA, combine writing with creative activities for groups of up to 20 students.

Reservations encouraged. Visit 826la.org or call 310-915-0200.

Create stories of imagined futures based on personal memories and our favorite objects. Bring a non-digital memento to think about how it might save the world in the future!

Facilitated by playwright and experimental theater artist with the Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, Adam Smith.

Where: Hammer Museum

Date: Sunday the 15^th

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024

Website: https://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2024/826lahammer-future-perfects

Children’s Reading with Dr. Kamshia Childs & I Am More Than My Name at Octavia’s Bookshelf – In-Person Kids Event

The children’s book, I Am More Than My Name by Dr. Kamshia Childs, is a poetic tribute to having a unique or unusual name (in sound or spelling). From facing stereotypes and being misunderstood, to lacking self-esteem to pursue dreams due to underrepresentation, this book—narrated with the use of various diverse characters—centers on empowerment and pursuing hopes and future goals. Illustrated with vibrant textures, colors, and geometric shapes, using the eclectic style of artist Brionya James, I Am More Than My Name paints a beautiful journey of claiming ownership of one’s given name—and finding pride in its uniqueness.

Where: Octavia’s Bookshelf

Date: Sunday the 15^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 1353 North Hill Ave, Pasadena, CA 91104

Website: https://www.octaviasbookshelf.com/events/i-am-more-than-my-name

Author Written Workshop at Café con Libros Press, Pomona – In-Person Event

Author Written Workshop is an event to be held form 1 pm – 4 pm.

Writing Hours: 1 pm – 4 pm

Social Hour: 4 pm – 5 pm

A free event for authors at all stages of their career.

NOTE: A similar UPCOMING event will be on Wednesday, December 18, 2924:

December 18: Author Workshop with Natalie Sierra | 6-8 PM

Get personalized feedback on your writing. 🎟️ Tickets on Eventbrite.

NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: Café con Libros Press, Pomona

Date: Sunday, the 15^th

Time: 1 pm – 4 pm

Address: 208 W. 2^nd. St., Pomona, CA 91766

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDGfYSVJLkY/?img_index=1

Banned Books Reading Group at West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

The banned books reading group will be reading materials that have been historically challenged or are on the American Library Association’s current challenge list. For current titles, please contact the West LA library at westla@lapl.org or 310-575-8323.

Where: West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Sunday the 15^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

Address: 11360 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/banned-books-reading-group

Kaya Press Book Launch & Reading: Maya Lu & double happiness at Neighbors & Friends Café, Pasadena – In-Person Event

Join us for an intimate reading in celebration of the launch of double happiness by Maya Lu, with readings by Maya Lu, Jen Cheng, and Kaitlin Hsu.

Where: Neighbors & Friends Café

Date: Sunday the 15^th

Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm

Address: 88 Union St., Pasadena, CA 91103

Website: https://www.instagram.com/kayapress/p/DDAcVEWScbt/

Special Author Event: Rosa Kwon Easton & White Mulberry at pages: Off-site at Malaga Cove Library – In-Person Event

Author Rosa Kwon Easton, in conversation with Velveth Schmitz, will present and discuss her debut novel, White Mulberry.

Inspired by the life of Easton’s grandmother, White Mulberry is a rich, deeply moving portrait of a young Korean woman in 1930s Japan who is torn between two worlds and must reclaim her true identity to provide a future for her family.

1928, Japan-occupied Korea. Eleven-year-old Miyoung has dreams too big for her tiny farming village near Pyongyang: to become a teacher, to avoid an arranged marriage, to write her own future. When she is offered the chance to live with her older sister in Japan and continue her education, she is elated, even though it means leaving her sick mother—and her very name—behind.

In Kyoto, anti-Korean sentiment is rising every day, and Miyoung quickly realizes she must pass as Japanese if she expects to survive. Her Japanese name, Miyoko, helps her find a new calling as a nurse, but as the years go by, she fears that her true self is slipping away. She seeks solace in a Korean church group and, within it, finds something she never expected: a romance with an activist that reignites her sense of purpose and gives her a cherished son.

As war looms on a new front and Miyoung feels the constraints of her adopted home tighten, she is faced with a choice that will change her life—and the lives of those she loves—forever.

Rosa Kwon Easton is a writer, attorney, elected trustee of the Palos Verdes Library District, and mother of two adult children. She is an Anaphora Writing Residency Fellow and has been published in CRAFT Literary, Writer’s Digest, StoryCenter.org and others. She has also been published in numerous newspapers and anthologies, performed a story on stage at the Expressing Motherhood show in L.A., and spoken in front of various organizations, including Kia USA and Peninsula Friends of the Library. She believes in the power of story to educate, broaden cultural understanding, and inspire others to discover their own stories.

Velveth Schmiitz is the Chief Executive Officer of HireBetter. HireBetter is a strategic talent firm who helps good people build great companies by recruiting and placing impactful talent to support growth. In 2016 Velveth was elected to the City of Rolling Hills Estates City Council where she is currently serving her second term on council and as Mayor. She serves on a variety of boards and gives of her time to many non-profits. She is currently the scholarship chair for the National Charity League Peninsula Chapter.

Part of the proceeds of this event will benefit the Scholarship Program of National Charity League, Peninsula Chapter.

This is a free event. We ask that you please support the author and pages by purchasing a copy of the book.

Where: pages: at Malaga Cove Library

Date: Sunday the 15^th

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

Address: 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274

Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2024-12-15/special-author-event-rosa-kwon-easton-malaga-cove-library

Celebrating Clare Osongco, with Hannah Sawyerr, & Midnights with You at Bel Canto KUBO, Long Beach – In-Person Event

Clare Osongco, in conversation with Hannah Sawyerr (All the Fighting Parts),will present and discuss her debut novel, Midnights with You.

Seventeen-year-old Deedee’s life is full of family ghosts and questions she can’t ask. She longs to escape her stifling home, but guilt holds her back—that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won’t let her learn to drive.

But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise.

As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.

Clare Osongco is a biracial Filipina American author who likes to write about diaspora feelings and complicated relationships. Midnights With You (Disney-Hyperion, Nov. 12, 2024) is her debut novel.

Hannah V. Sawyerr is a Sierra Leonean-American writer with a passion for people and storytelling. For Hannah’s literary and community involvement, she was recognized as the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore. Her spoken word has been featured on the British Broadcasting Channel’s (BBC) “World Have Your Say” program, as well as the National Education Association’s “Do You Hear Us?” campaign. Her written word has been featured in several publications such as Essence, gal-dem, and xoNecole. She holds a BA in English from Morgan State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her debut novel ALL THE FIGHTING PARTS was selected as an American Booksellers Association’s (ABA) Kids’ Indies Introduce Pick, a September/October Kids’ Indie Next Pick, a William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor Book, an American Library Association’s (ALA) Rise: A Feminist Book Project Top Ten Title, and a Kirkus Best Book of the year. Sawyerr lives in Los Angeles, California.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details. 

Where: Bel Canto KUBO

Date: Sunday, the 15^th

Time: 4 pm – 6 pm

Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-midnights-with-you-with-clare-osongco-hannah-sawyerr-tickets-1083157175269?aff=oddtdtcreator#search

Ethiopian Poetry Night at Hermosa Beach Community Theatre – In-Person Event

Join us for a night of beautiful Ethiopian poetry, where we celebrate the rich literary tradition of our culture! የማይቀርበት ልዪ የስነ ፅሑፍ ምሽት።

Yebeltal Kelkay hosts this event.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, tickets, and details. 

Where: Hermosa Beach Community Theatre

Date: Sunday, the 15^th

Time: 5 pm – 8 pm

Address: 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

This month we are reading Volume 1 of Hellboy Omnibus!

.NOTE: See site for details. 

Where: North Figueroa Bookshop

Date: Sunday, the 15^th

Time: 5 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042

Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-m3nsmqqf

Lit Angeles: L.A. Writers Event: Francesca Lia Block in Conversation with Anna Dorn and Special Guest Gary Phillips at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

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/

Anna Dorn is an author and editor living in Los Angeles. She teaches writing classes at Write or Die and is an associate editor at Hobart Pulp. She was a Lambda Literary Fellow and her second novel Exalted was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize. Her next book American Spirits is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster.

With roots in the Texas Hill Country and the Mississippi Delta, Gary Phillips must keep writing to forestall his appointment at the crossroads. He has written novels, short stories, comics and worked in TV. Publishers Weekly chose his latest novel, Ash Dark as Night as one of the best mysteries of 2024.

NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.

Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday, the 15^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232

Development editor and teacher Jeanne De Vita leads this event and focuses on romance novels from a writer’s perspective.

Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to be a writer.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.

Where: The Ripped Bodice

Date: Sunday the 15^th

Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323

Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets