World Literature Book Club via West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for a spirited and engaging discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction (HarperCollins, 2008), eds. Joyce Carol Oates and Christopher R. Beha. This month’s selections are:
January 6: Cinnamon Skin by Edmund White
January 13: Who Invented the Jump Shot by John Edgar Wideman
January 20: Library Closed, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 27: Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff
We meet every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
RSVP:
For the Zoom link, please send an e-mail request to wvally@lapl.org with “World Literature” in the Subject line.
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-45
Senior Writing Group at Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Kathy Katims, founder of Saved by a Story, leads an ongoing writing group for seniors. New members are welcome to all or any sessions.
Write to prompts, share (if you want), connect with fellow seniors in the neighborhood, hone your writing skills and find your story.
RSVP:
An RSVP to palsds@lapl.org is recommended but not required. If you RSVP we will send you a welcome packet, guidelines, and a reminder the day before the meeting.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: 861 Alma Real Dr., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/senior-writing-group-4
Library Book Club at Encino – Tarzana Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Good News! The Encino-Tarzana Library Book Club will kick off its monthly meetings on Monday, January 6, 2025.
Co-chairs Aliki and Jamie are excited to meet you and share ideas. To get started right away, the book chosen for our February discussion is Things You Save in a Fire—a compelling page-turner.
Limited copies of the books will be available for checkout at the library starting January 2nd. Each month, the library will provide a limited number of copies of the upcoming book for discussion. We look forward to many great reading adventures ahead. Please feel free to bring titles of books you’d like to share with the group, and we’ll compile a list for future meetings.
Where: Encino – Tarzana Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: 18231 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/library-book-club
All Genres Workshop with James Coats via Inlandia Institute – Online Event
(All Levels)
Alternating Mondays, 1/6, 1/20, 2/3, 2/17, and 3/3/2025, 6:00-8:00 PM PT, on Zoom.
$50. Registration required. https://tinyurl.com/Winter2025CWW
In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for critique. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face.
James Coats is a poet, performer, and educator born in Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire. You can take a poetry workshop with him through his organization Lift Our Voices Education, which hosts an award-winning workshop monthly called Be the Change. He is the author of four poetry collections. His most recent is Midnight & Mad Dreams.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Inlandia Institute
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/my-calendar/?mc_id=2462
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 6th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com/backtothegrind
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 6th
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-1117030631689
Lit Angeles: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Do you want to write creatively but aren’t sure where to start and just need some inspiring tips and support? Do you have a project that needs revision? Are you feeling stuck creatively? Join acclaimed author and writing instructor Francesca Lia Block for a discussion of her 12 Questions process followed by free writing and Q&A. Come be a part of the supportive Lit Angels writing community!
All levels/all genres welcome!
Francesca Lia Block is the author of more than thirty books of fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetry, and has written screenplay adaptations of her work. She received the Spectrum Award, the Phoenix Award, the ALA Rainbow Award and the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as other citations from the American Library Association, and from the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, and PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY. Currently she teaches creative writing at UCLA Extension, Antioch University, Pocket MFA, and numerous workshops across the country. Francesca also edits LIT ANGELS, a literary journal available on Substack. Her latest novel is HOUSE OF HEARTS now out in paperback. https://www.francescaliablock.com/
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday, the 7th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
Poet-TRY 14 – Back to Basics! Workshop via Inlandia Institute – Online Event
In our FOURTEENTH YEAR of poet-try, we’ll go back to basics for a refresher or else a first time experience with that thing called poetry.
$150 for six weeks. Asynchronous. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Poet-TRY14
What’s a poem anyway? Why does English have that weird system with metric feet? What are forms and do I want to play with them? (Trick question: YES, YOU DO WANT TO PLAY WITH FORMS). What’s a prose poem and why should I care? And more.
Join us for a generative, asynchronous workshop where we write together and give encouraging empowering feedback. Occasional online office hours, and this time, I’ll provide an occasional social hour space for students – also optional.
All levels welcome.
Stephanie Barbé Hammer is a seven-time Pushcart Prize nominee in fiction, nonfiction and poetry and is the author of two poetry collections (How Formal? City Slicker: Encounters with the Outside), two novels (The Puppet Turners of Narrow Interior; Pretend Plumber), a novelette (Rescue Plan), and a how to write magical realism craft book (Delicious Strangeness).
Originally from Manhattan, Stephanie moved to Southern California in 1986. She has lived on the West Coast ever since; she taught at the University of California, Riverside campus for 30 years and she now resides in Santa Barbara, California. A professor emerita of Comparative Literature, she teaches creative writing at Hugo House Seattle and Inlandia Institute, Riverside. She is managing editor at SHARK REEF literary magazine (currently on sabbatical) and is culture editor at large and writer at the Journal of Radical Wonder. She sits on the advisory board of Writers Bloc Presents.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Inlandia Institute
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: Asynchronous (See site for details)
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/my-calendar/?mc_id=2514
Celena’s Scribes Workshop with Wil Clarke via Inlandia Institute – Online Event
(All Levels)
Tuesdays, beginning 1/7/25, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM PT, on Zoom.
Free. Registration required. https://tinyurl.com/Winter2025CWW
Participants respond to prompts about universal themes related to the human condition and are encouraged to explore all genres of writing. Individual writing is shared with a friendly, supportive group who do their best to encourage each member’s success.
Wil Clarke was born in Africa to missionary parents. He’s lived a total of 27 years in Africa. He is a career mathematician and enjoys writing memoirs of his various experiences. His motto is, “You only live life once, so you may as well enjoy it the first time around and do all the good you can.”
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Inlandia Institute
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 11:30 am – 1 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/my-calendar/?mc_id=2487
Fiction Book Club at Donald Bruce Kaufman – Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us on the first Tuesday of each month to discuss a different work of fiction. We read a wide variety of styles, genres, and authors, so please make sure to check in with the branch for a list of what we’re reading.
Where: Donald Bruce Kaufman – Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/brentwood-fiction-book-club
The Darkest Hour Book Club at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Kill for Me. Kill for You by author Steve Cavanagh. For adults.
For fans of The Silent Patient and Gone Girl, a razor-sharp and Hitchcock-inspired psychological thriller about two ordinary women who make a dangerous pact to take revenge for each other after being pushed to the brink.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12371330
Women and Books Discussion: Kindred at West Hollywood Library, LACL – in-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join this book club for a hybrid (in-person and online) discussion of Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.
Dana’s torment begins when she suddenly vanishes on her 26th birthday from California, 1976 and is dragged through time to antebellum Maryland to rescue a boy named Rufus, heir to a slaveowner’s plantation. She soon realizes the purpose of her summons to the past: protect Rufus to ensure his assault of her Black ancestor so that she may one day be born. As she endures the traumas of slavery and the soul-crushing normalization of savagery, Dana fights to keep her autonomy and return to the present.
This is a hybrid event and will be hosted in-person in the Community Meeting Room at West Hollywood Library as well as on Zoom. Please register at the link below to receive the link to the meeting via email.
https://library-lacounty-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register
Where: West Hollywood Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12239397
Feminist Book Club: Bliss Montage at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the book of stories, Bliss Montage by author Ling Ma.
In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home. A woman lives in a house with all her ex-boyfriends. A toxic friendship grows up around a drug that makes you invisible. An ancient ritual might heal you of anything—if you bury yourself alive.
These and other scenarios investigate the ways that the outlandish and the ordinary are shockingly, deceptively, heartbreakingly alike.
Ling Ma is a writer hailing from Fujian, Utah, and Kansas. She is the author of the novel Severance, which received the Kirkus Prize, a Whiting Award, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. She lives in Chicago with her family.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event
The Darkest Hour Book Club at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – Online Event
Participants will discuss Kill for Me. Kill for You by author Steve Cavanagh.
For fans of The Silent Patient and Gone Girl, a razor-sharp and Hitchcock-inspired psychological thriller about two ordinary women who make a dangerous pact to take revenge for each other after being pushed to the brink.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event
Creativity Book Club: Writing Down the Bones at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
With insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the writer’s craft: on writing from “first thoughts” (keep your hand moving, don’t cross out, just get it on paper), on listening (writing is ninety percent listening; the deeper you listen, the better you write), on using verbs (verbs provide the energy of the sentence), on overcoming doubts (doubt is torture; don’t listen to it)—even on choosing a restaurant in which to write. Goldberg sees writing as a practice that helps writers comprehend the value of their lives. The advice in her book, provided in short, easy-to-read chapters with titles that reflect the author’s witty approach (“Writing Is Not a McDonald’s Hamburger,” “Man Eats Car,” “Be an Animal”), will inspire anyone who writes—or who longs to.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday, the 7th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee, in conversation with Rebecca Roanhorse, & Breath of the Dragon at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee, in conversation with Rebecca Roanhorse, will discuss & sign Breath of the Dragon.
Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Heaven to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father’s pride—righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother.
But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. He believes there is no future in Jun honing his skills as a warrior, especially considering Jun is not breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities like his twin. Determined to be the next Guardian, Jun stows away in the wagon of Chang and his daughter, Ren, performers on their way to the capital where the tournament will take place.
As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life, but the fate of the country itself and the very survival of everyone he cares about.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/shannon-lee-fonda-lee
Other Worlds Book Club at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
This is a new pages book club exploring the nooks and crannies of speculative fiction: fantasy, science fiction, alternative history, horror, and their intersections.
Participants will discuss The Employees by author Olga Ravn. Facilitated by Leo Lutkin.
The Employees is haunting, poetic, sterile yet bursting with sensation. A series of reflections on what it means to be human, to spend life working, disconnected from the natural world and others. For those who ask ‘is this all there is?’
Henry Williams, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC
Meets monthly, generally on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. A new pages book club exploring the nooks and crannies of speculative fiction: fantasy.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 7th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2025-01-07/other-worlds-book-club
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest Oak Morse – Online Zoom Event
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic with host Rick Lupert presents guest reader Oak Morse.
Oak Morse lives in Houston, Texas, where he teaches creative writing and performance and leads a youth poetry troupe, the Phoenix Fire-Spitters. He was the winner of Pulp Literature’s Magpie Award for Poetry in 2017, and in 2020 was a finalist for the Witness Literary Award as well as a semifinalist for the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry. Currently a Warren Wilson MFA candidate, Oak has received a Pushcart Prize nomination, a fellowship from Twelve Literary Arts and the Stars in the Classroom honor from the Houston Texans. His work appears in Strange Horizons, PANK, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Nimrod, Cosmonauts Avenue and Solstice, among others. This past spring, Oak was named a Brooklyn Poets Fellow for study in Darrel Alejandro Holnes’s Writing Revolutionary Love workshop.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 7th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt
Sunless Sea Poetry Series & Open Mic at the Unurban Coffee House, Santa Monica – In-Person Event
The Sunless Sea Poetry Show & Open Mic is hosted by De
Forest Wright and it performs every First Tuesday of the month at the Unurban Coffee House in Santa Monica.
Where: Unurban Coffee House
Date: Tuesday, the 7th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.instagram.com
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 7th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLUBSRPCFb/ or https://www.dapoetrylounge.com/events/
Kids Story Time at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Join us every Wednesday and Saturday for a story time amongst the cozy bookstacks of Village Well!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Wednesday, the 8th
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
Afternoon Book Club: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter at Westlake Village Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.
Copies of the book can be checked out at the library.
Where: Westlake Village Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Address: 31220 Oak Crest Dr., Westlake Village, CA 91361
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12538072
Artesia Book Club: Real Americans at Artesia Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read Real Americans by Rachel Khong.
Copies of the book can be checked out at the library.
Where: Artesia Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 18801 Elaine Ave., Artesia, CA 90701
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12626240
Adult Mystery Book Club: Two Kinds of Truth at Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us on the second Wednesday of the month for our monthly Mystery Book Club meeting. In January we will be discussing Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly. You can pick up your copy at the circulation desk or download it on the Libby app.
Where: Sylmar Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/adult-mystery-book-club-6
Poets Café: Poetry from Around the World with El Martillo Press 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.
Poetry From Around the World is a segment of this series offered monthly on the 2nd Monday of the month on KPFK Los Angeles 90.7 FM.
Mark Lipman will host and present El Martillo Press cofounders Matt Sedillo and David Romero.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: KPFK 90.7 FM
Date: Wednesday, the 8th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event (live)
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
Classics Book Club: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy at East Los Angeles Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Copies of the book can be checked out at the library.
It’s an ordinary Thursday morning for Arthur Dent…until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. After that, things get much, much worse.
Join us as Arthur and his friend Ford Prefect fly across the galaxy trying to make sense of everything while remembering the Guide’s most important piece of advice: DON’T PANIC!
Copies of the book will be available at the circulation desk. The program will take place in the Chicano Resource Center. Space is limited to ten participants, so pick up your copy soon!
Where: East Los Angeles Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 4837 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90022
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12415164
Zibby’s Book Club: Glory Edim & Gather Me at Zibby’s – In-Person Event
Join Zibby and Glory Edim at Zibby’s Book Club! The first 30 minutes will be Q&A with Glory about her memoir Gather Me. The second 30 minutes will be club discussion!
Zibby’s Book Club started in 2020. Read a book a month with us in fiction or memoir! At every monthly book club meeting, you’ll have 30 minutes of Q&A with the book club author, followed by a private conversation with the group. All are welcome!
Where: Zibby’s Bookshop
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/glory-edim-zibby-owens-zibbys-book-club-january-tickets-1127122296129
2nd & 3rd Grade Book Club: Oliver’s Great Big Universe at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Kids Event
Participants will discuss Oliver’s Great Big Universe: A Novel by author Jorge Cham. Facilitated by Ms. Amy.
This laugh-out-loud illustrated series is “mind-expanding and hilarious!” says Jeff Kinney, author of the international bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Oliver has a lot going on as he starts his first year of middle school—new friends, new classes, new everything. But at least there’s one thing that still makes sense: science!
Determined to be an astrophysicist one day, Oliver explains everything he learns—like how the sun burps, how ghost particles fly through you, the uncanny similarities between Mercury and cafeteria meatballs, and most important, how the Big Bang is basically just like a fart in the school hallway.
Also, there are time-bending black holes, exploding supernova stars, and aliens! Well, there could be aliens.
Oliver finally feels like he’s starting to figure things out…but can he stay out of the principal’s office or catch a break from his annoying sister?
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/2025-01-08/2nd-3rd-grade-book-club
Malibu Library Book Club at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Tom Kreider asks big questions about human-sized problems. With humor and pathos, these essays and Kreider’s signature cartoons leave us with newfound wisdom to examine our own chaotic journeys through life.
The Malibu Library Book Club is now available on Zoom. Participate from the comfort of home! Contact the librarian at cfischer@library.lacounty.gov or call 310.456.6438 to be added to Zoom participation.
Copies of the book can be checked out at the library.
Where: Malibu Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 23519 West Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12371555
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 8th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz, CA 90027
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-tony-dushane-4
All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle via Inlandia Institute – Online Event
Alternating Wednesdays, 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/19, and 3/5/25, 6:00-9:00 PM PT, on Zoom.
$50. Registration required. https://tinyurl.com/Winter2025CWW
In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for biweekly critiques and receive feedback from other group members. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face. The workshop leader provides biweekly articles and links related to participants’ work, particularly to problems that were discussed in the previous session.
Victoria Waddle is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, with fiction and nonfiction published in literary journals and anthologies, including in Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. A collection of her short fiction, Acts of Contrition, is available from Los Nietos Press and her chapbook, The Mortality of Dogs and Humans, is available from Bamboo Dart Press. Her YA novel about a teen escaping a polygamist cult is coming from Inlandia Books. Previously the managing editor of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, she helped to establish a yearly teen issue. In a previous life, she was a high school English teacher and librarian.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Inlandia Institute
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://inlandiainstitute.org/events/?month=1&yr=2025
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 8th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: On-air Event (live at 101.5 FM)
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
Book Club: Clan of the Cave Bear at Pacoima Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for an online, mostly fiction book club. We select book titles throughout the year. January’s book is Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel.
Where: Pacoima Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event (sees site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/pacoima-book-club
Poetry Open Mic at DiPiazza’s Long Beach – In-Person Event
Hosted by Tamara Madison. Ages 21+.
Where: Di Piazza’s
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 5205 Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, CA 90804
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups
Wiseburn Library Book Club: Anxious People at Wiseburn Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a book discussion and light refreshments! This month, read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. Copies of the books are available at the library.
Refreshments generously provided by the Friends of the Hawthorne and Wiseburn Libraries.
Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that: a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the eight strangers begin opening up to one another. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.
Copies of the book can be checked out at the library.
Where: Wiseburn Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 6:45 pm
Address: 5335 W. 135th St., Hawthorne, CA 90250
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12436824
Tripp Whetsell & Norman Lear: His Life & Times at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Tripp Whetsell will discuss & sign Norman Lear: His Life & Times.
Norman Lear: His Life and Times is the unforgettable story of an extraordinary seven-decade career. Veteran author and entertainment journalist Tripp Whetsell offers an intimate portrait of Lear that is the product of years of research and numerous interviews. Whetsell shows how Lear created the gold standard for television comedies, producing shows that were the first to give underrepresented members of society an authentic prime-time voice, while encouraging audiences to confront their own humanity and shortcomings. In the process, he explores one of television’s most transformative periods, detailing Lear’s legacy as one of its chief architects and catalysts.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 8th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/tripp-whetsell
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 8th
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
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 8th
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.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Wednesday, the 8th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-night-poetry-workshop-tickets-1129200461979?aff=erelexpmlt
Poetry Nights with East Los Soul at East Los Angeles Rising Youth Club – In-Person Event
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 2nd Wednesday will be a poetry contest with a $200 prize for the poet winner, via unanimous vote.
Every 4th Wednesday will be an art contest with a $200 prize for the artist winner, via unanimous vote.
$2 entrance fee
Where: East Los Angeles Rising Youth Club
Date: Wednesday, the 8th
Time: 8 pm – 9:45 pm
Address: 324 N. McDonnell Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90022
Website: N/A
LionLikeMindState Poetry SLAM of Pomona Valley Poetry at The Fairplex – In-Person Event
Hosted by Judah 1.
6 slots for Slam Poets. Hosted by Judah 1 x Ces One. Winner gets $100 Cash.
Sign up and get your tickets NOW at: LionLikeMindState.com
Where: Pomona Fairplex
Date: Wednesday, the 8th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, CA 90022
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDuDga4pOvq/?hl=en
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and Guest Malcom Mitchell at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug on Wednesday Nights and the January feature is Malcom Mitchell.
Malcolm Mitchell is the husband of Kelly Mitchell and the father of two early teenage boys, Maxwell and Miles. He is a follower of Jesus, an Elementary School Literacy Teacher, and has freelanced as a youth curriculum developer and writer. He is native to and currently resides in Southern California, though he has lived in, or dwelled among each of the major cities along the west coast of the US. His passion for self-expression through writing developed early in life and has been honed into poetry since the early 2000s. His hobbies include bike rides at the beach, summer youth camp counseling, writing, performing spoken word at local community venues, and facilitating what he calls SWAP sessions. This is the interplay between the shared artistic expressions of singers, writers, actors, and poets and the formation of faith, goodwill, and community building.
$4 cover fee, cash only
NOTE: See site for further details.
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 8th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://allevents.in/orange/malcolm-mitchell-at-the-ugly-mug/200027378835931#google_vignette
Mystery Book Club: We Solve Murders at Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss We Solve Murders by author Richard Osman.
Summary provided by the publisher:
“Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job… Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?”
Where: Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 3:30 pm
Address: 4975 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA 90230
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12344514
Mystery Book Club: Force of Nature at Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Participants will discuss Force of Nature by author Jane Harper.
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.
Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club
Altered Parts: A Group Poetry Reading at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for Altered Hearts in Car Parts, a group poetry reading curated by emerging poet Adam Vargas, author of the collection Adamantine. The poets address the power of communion in the face of the 2024 presidential election and growing technology—in quality and usage. Email eden@lapl.org for more information.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/altered-hearts-car-parts-group-poetry-reading
Diverse Romance Book Club: The Emperor and the Endless Palace at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace: A Romantasy Novel, by author Justinian Huang.
A queer romantasy like none you’ve ever read. Taking place within three different timelines, we meet three different reincarnations of two men who are fated to meet again and again. Not everything is as it seems, however. Justinian Huang manages to weave a mystery into this fantasy love story. After all, if love can follow you throughout different lives, so can danger. Filled with Asian culture, queer culture, rich detailed worlds, and exquisite prose, this is one queer read you cannot miss.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/diverse-romance-book-club-emperor-and-endless-palace
Thrival Open Mic at Hot Java Long Beach – In-Person Event
All arts community open mics & community plugs. All ages. More info on Instagram @thrivalopenmic.
Where: Hot Java
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2101 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/
Janice Kaplan, with Amy Ephron, & What Your Body Knows About Happiness at Zibby’s Bookshop – In-Person Event
Zibby’s Bookshop is excited to welcome Janice Kaplan and Amy Ephron to celebrate the release of Kaplan’s WHAT YOUR BODY KNOWS ABOUT HAPPINESS! A special Thrive Cosmetics lipstick will be included with your purchase of Janice’s book!
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Gratitude Diaries, What Your Body Knows About Happiness is an insightful look at how the body-mind connection can guide you to a happier, more fulfilling life.
Happiness isn’t just a state of mind. It’s also a state of body.
Janice Kaplan is a journalist, TV producer, and the author of seventeen popular books including the New York Times bestseller The Gratitude Diaries and her new book What Your Body Knows About Happiness. Janice was editor-in-chief of Parade magazine and the creator and executive producer of more than thirty primetime network television specials. A former producer at Good Morning America, she has appeared regularly on national TV shows including Today and CBS Mornings and hosted the daily podcast “The Gratitude Diaries” for iHeartMedia. An energetic podcast guest and speaker at events around the country, she graduated from Yale University and lives in New York City.
Amy Ephron is a bestselling and award-winning novelist of both adult and children’s novels. Her essays have appeared in Vogue; The New York Times’ T Magazine; The Chicago Tribune; The Daily Beast; Time, and many more. She is currently a contributor to Airmail Weekly. She lives in Los Angeles with her 2nd husband.
Where: Zibby’s Bookshop
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/author-event-janice-kaplan-x-amy-ephron-tickets-1110715823929
Vroman’s ED – Romance Writing Class with Amy Spaulding (8 weeks) – In-Person Event
(Please note: this 8-week class will be held on Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 pm – *1/9, 1/16, 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, and 3/6, with no class on 2/27)
Have you always wanted to write your own HEA (that’s a happily-ever-after)? This class is for anyone interested in writing a romance novel—or who’s started one but feels like they need some help getting to that happy ending! In this 8-week course, bestselling author Amy Spalding will teach you the fundamentals of romance novels.
From Meet Cute to HEA: Writing the Modern Romance Novel will focus on structure, with specialized lectures each week to learn more about each beat, from the setup to the meet-cute, all the way through to that glorious HEA. Topics covered will include genre conventions (yes, like tropes!), dialogue/banter, building tension (sexual and otherwise!), inclusivity/diversity in storytelling, common pitfalls, and more.
Classes will be mostly lecture/discussion, with time set aside each week for writing exercises and brainstorming. The goal is for each writer to leave class with a full outline of their romance novel, as well as some example scenes and exercises they may be able to use in the manuscript as well.
Students will also leave class with resources: each week’s presentation will be sent out to all students, as well as additional links for further examples/education.
Amy Spalding is the author of several adult and YA novels, including the bestselling romance For Her Consideration, We Used to Be Friends and YA romance The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), which was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, the Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, and more. She is a recipient of the 2023 Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award for the authentic, funny, and diverse representation of the LGBTQ+ community in her books.
NOTE: See site for costs and details. Register by 1/8/25.
Where: Vroman’s Meeting Room – In the Atrium
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 709 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 120, Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-01-09/vromans-ed-romance-writing-class-amy-spalding-8-weeks
Shea Andreone, with Sam Shaber, Shayla The Artist, Felicia Andrews, and Abbe Feder & Carry On: True Stories of the Wonder and Heartbreak of Trying to Start a Family at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Shea Andreone, in conversation with Sam Shaber, Shayla The Artist, Felicia Andrews, and Abbe Feder, will discuss and sign Carry On: True Stories of the Wonder and Heartbreak of Trying to Start a Family.
Carry On is a collection of honest, raw, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes hopeful stories about the struggle many people face while on their road to parenthood. Each essay focuses on an individual or couple, and the challenges she or he faced when they began trying to conceive and deliver a baby. These are stories about infertility, adoption, surrogacy, egg donation, miscarriage, stillborn, infant death, and much more. These are also stories of unbounded love, joy, and the realization of dreams. These are stories of perseverance, endurance, resilience, and acceptance.
Today, there is a new openness taking shape, a dialogue about the struggle to have children that did not exist in earlier generations. However, it is still uncharted territory for many.
Carry On is a very human story, one that crosses all cultures, religions, ethnicities and genders. The light at the end of the tunnel is a fervent hope to one day hold a little bundle of joy. Many of the dear people in this book achieve this goal. A few sadly do not. Carry On focuses on all these stories, and offers strength, guidance and hope to all of us.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/shea-andreone
At Skylight: Karissa Chen, with Esther Tseng, & Homeseeking at Skylight – In-Person Event
Karissa Chen, in conversation with Esther Chen, will discuss her novel Homeseeking.
Join us for an epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.
A single choice can define an entire life.
Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years.
To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back.
Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.
Karissa Chen is a Fulbright fellow, Kundiman Fiction fellow, and a VONA/Voices fellow whose fiction and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Eater, The Cut, NBC News THINK!, Longreads, PEN America, Catapult, Gulf Coast, and Guernica, among others. She was awarded an artist fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as well as residences at Millay Arts, where she was a Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellow; the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts; the Ragdale Foundation; and Willapa Bay AiR. She was formerly a senior fiction editor at The Rumpus and currently serves as the editor-in-chief at Hyphen magazine. She received an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and splits her time between New Jersey and Taipei, Taiwan.
Esther Tseng is a Taiwanese American food, drinks and culture writer. Born and raised in Wisconsin, she has lived in Los Angeles for over 25 years. She has contributed to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine and more.
Where: Skylight
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-karissa-chen-presents-homeseeking-w-esther-tseng
Trenches Full of Poets Reading & Open Mic at Page Against the Machine, Long Beach – In-Person Event
Join us for the first series event of the new year, featuring four SoCal poets:
Juan Barragan is a poeta Mexicano, writing out of Inglewood CA and on IG @jack_the_sipper.
Juan Amador is a writer and performer from South Central Los Angeles. He released his first poetry book, 𝘗𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢, with Riot of Roses Publishing House. His poems have been included in the literary journal 𝘔𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘨 and anthologies from Beyond The Veil Press, Golden Foothill Press, and Poetic Underground LLC Press. He can be found on IG @thee_amador.
Guadalupe Salgado Partida loves reading poetry and sauntering. She has received support from Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA) and is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at California State University, Fresno. She can be found on IG @salgadopartida.
Maestro has released rap albums, gotten Drew Barrymore high, drag raced Michelle Rodriguez, and had his finger bitten off in the first season of HBO’s Westworld, but won’t admit any of that in real life. Striving to be better and suspiciously bored in the middle of his 5th or 6th SAG AFTRA strike, and cynically against the performative or cliche, he can be found either at The Offbeat or Cuevita when he’s not eating bugs on the L.A. River bike path, or inhaling the vape pens, losing at dominoes 25 miles somewhere from his house.
Trenches Full of Poets is a monthly poetry series created, curated, and hosted by Los Angeles-based poets and editors, Nikolai Garcia and Mauricio Andres Moreno with the goal of supporting a diverse array of published SoCal authors and the local independent bookstores that carry their works.
Where: Page Against the Machine
Date: Thursday the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 2714 E, 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/440091879037497
Lit Angels: Crime Time with Daniel Weizmann at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
About the instructor:
Daniel Weizmann is the author of the critically acclaimed Pacific Coast Highway Mystery series.
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.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday, the 9th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
Current Events Nonfiction Book Club 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 The art thief : a true story of love, crime, and a dangerous obsession by Michael Finkel.
RSVP:
Please email studio@lapl.org for participation details.
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Friday, the 10th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/current-events-nonfiction-book-club
Big Read Book Discussion: The House on Mango Street at Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss the Big Read Book of 2025, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
Where: Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Friday, the 10th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 4625 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/big-read-book-discussion-house-mango-street-5
New Year Journaling for Kids at Hawthorne Library, LACL – In-Person Kids Event
Feeling inspired by the Owl Diaries or Dork Diaries series? Learn how to start your own journal and the benefits of journaling. Then decorate your own journal to take home.
Attendance is limited and advance registration is required. Please register all members of your party to guarantee their spot in the program.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Hawthorne Library, LACL
Date: Friday, the 10th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 12700 Grevillea Ave., Hawthorne, CA 90250
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event
Self-Care Book Club: Friendship First at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the book, Friendship Frist: From New Sparks to Chosen Family, How Our Friends Pave the Way for Lifelong Happiness, by author Gyna Yankovich.
An ode to group chats and chosen family, Friendship First invites you to care for and count on those who matter most.
Gyan Yankovich has spent the last 12 years writing content to help women better their relationships with themselves, the world, and the people around them. She has worked as a Senior Lifestyle Editor at BuzzFeed and Managing Editor at Man Repeller and has written for The Cut, Vox, Refinery29, VICE, BuzzFeed, Man Repeller, The Sydney Morning Herald, PopSugar, SELF, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She is the lifestyle editor of two of Australia’s leading newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and currently lives in Sydney.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/self-care-book-club-friendship-first
Swing Set Open Mic at The Center Long Beach – In-Person Event
We’re back, baby! It’s time to join in community for another Swing Set Open Mic night @centerlb.
We’re calling all poets, musicians, comedians, storytellers for another magical night. Performers and artists of all kinds, come through!
Swing Set isn’t just about performance—it’s about real connection and finding mirrors in the people all around you. We’re so excited to share space with y’all again.
RSVP via the Eventbrite link in our bio. See you at 6:30pm. Performance sign-ups (and vibes) start at 6!
SIGN UP: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/swing-set-open-mic-64793621533
Where: The Center Long Beach
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2017 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/
Thrival Open Mic at Confidential Coffee Long Beach – In-Person Event
All arts community open mics & community plugs. All ages. More info on Instagram @thrivalopenmic.
Where: Confidential Coffee
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 137 W. 6th St., Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/
Trina Calderon & Once Upon a Time on Grateful Dead Tour at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Trina Calderon will discuss and sign her book,Once Upon a Time on Grateful Dead Tour.
A short story collection about the absurd and often hilarious adventures on the Grateful Dead tour. Based on true stories of the thriving counterculture during the notorious U.S. federal “war on drugs” campaign, experience the magic of driving across the country to get to the next show. Follow the kids from one hotel room to the next, from Haight Street to Vermont, for a strong dose of the real American Dream: sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll!
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/trina-calderon
Author Event: Kristin Cast & The Empress at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Kristin Cast will discuss her adult romantasy The Empress, with Christine and Mo from @TheRoomiesDigest.
There will be a book signing to follow, and this ticketed event includes a copy of the book.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
At Skylight: Manuel Betancourt, with Rashid Newson, & Hello Stranger at Skylight – In-Person Event
Manuel Betancourt, in conversation with Rashid Newson, will discuss his book Hello Stranger.
Hello Stranger is a book about chance encounters—at a bar, through social media, in a bathhouse—and what a stranger can reveal about who we are and who we could still yet be. A stranger, after all, is a site of endless possibilities.
As Manuel Betancourt looks back on his past relationships, he turns to characters and narratives that helped him question notions of what monogamy and coupledom (and relationships and marriage) can and should look like. From films like Before Sunrise and Cruising to the poetry of Frank O’Hara and the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, Betancourt uses pop culture to make sense of the alluring prospect of forging intimacies with strangers—even, or especially, the strangers within ourselves.
At once a personal excavation and a broad cultural critique, Betancourt grapples with everything from online sexting and real-life cruising to divorces and throuples. Hello Stranger examines the intimacies we crave, value, and oftentimes destroy with rote familiarity.
Manuel Betancourt is a queer Colombian culture writer and film critic. His work has been featured in The New York Times, BuzzFeed Reader, Los Angeles Times, Film Quarterly, Los Angeles Review of Books and GQ Style, among others. Manuel is the author of The Male Gazed (Catapult, 2023), Judy Garland’s Judy at Carnegie Hall (Bloomsbury Press, 2020), and a contributing writer to the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel series, The Cardboard Kingdom (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2018 & 2021).
Rasheed Newson is a television drama writer, producer, and novelist. He co-developed and is an executive producer of the drama series Bel-Air. His debut novel, My Government Means to Kill Me, was a 2023 Lambda Literary finalist for Gay Fiction and was named one of “The 100 Notable Books of 2022” by The New York Times. Rasheed lives in Pasadena with his husband and their two kids.
Where: Skylight
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Book Launch: Kevin Maloney & Horse Girl Fever at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Kevin Maloney will discuss his book Horse Girl Fever, a hilariously weird collection, part autofiction, part outlandish daydream, that celebrates the horse girl within all of us.
Kevin Maloney is the author of The Red-Headed Pilgrim (Two Dollar Radio, Jan 2023), Horse Girl Fever (CLASH Books, Jan 2025), and Cult of Loretta (Lazy Fascist, 2015). At times a TJ Maxx associate, grocery clerk, outdoor school instructor, organic farmer, electrician, high school English teacher, and teddy bear salesman, Kevin currently works as a web developer and writer. His fiction has appeared in Fence, Barrelhouse, HAD, Forever Mag, and a number of other journals and anthologies. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Friday the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Open Mic Night at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
This all-inclusive event will create space for local artists of any medium to share their talents with the community. Come hang out, as an audience member, or a performer, and meet some talented locals! Sign-ups for performers are at the door, day of, 30 minutes prior to the event. Sets are limited to 5-10 minutes. All performances must be family friendly. We will provide two microphones and two mic stands. Please bring any other equipment you will need. This event is free, no registration is required!
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Friday, the 10th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd., 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events/1342820250110
Book Club for Adults: The Bookshop on the Corner at Hacienda Heights Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join our monthly book club for an engaging discussion of our latest selection, The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.
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 11th
Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Address: 16010 La Monde St., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event
Glendale Poet Laureate Workshop & Reading: Resolutions at Glendale Central Library – In-Person Event
Join our next poetry workshop event, featuring California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.
We’ll develop poems and explore craft with featured California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, and our special musical guest Paul Sprawl, and Glendale Poet Laureate Raffi Joe Wartanian.
Free and open to the public
All levels of experience are welcome
Light refreshments provided
Activities: reading, writing, workshopping, discovery
NOTE: Learn more and submit poems for Jewel City Review volume 2 at eGlendaleLAC.org/poetlaureate. Deadline: February 21, 2025.
Where: Glendale Central Library, Auditorium
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Address: 222 East Harvard St., Glendale, CA 91205
Website: https://glendaleca.libnet.info/event/12321748
Adult Book Club: The Lost Manuscript at Littlerock Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join Littlerock Library’s Adult Book Club as we discuss our latest selection, The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan.
The story follows Anne-Lise Briard, who finds an abandoned manuscript. She begins to correspond with the author who confesses that he lost the manuscript on a flight to Montreal, and reveals he wasn’t the author of the second half. Anne-Lise sets out to discover who wrote the second half, and in the process uncovers long-lost love stories and secrets.
If you would like to participate, please visit Littlerock Library to pick up a copy or use Libby for a digital version.
Where: Littlerock Library, LACL
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 35119 80th St. E., Littlerock, CA 93543
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event
Book Club: The Covenant of Water at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
This month we will discuss the novel, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-3
AC Bilbrew Writer’s Workshop: Art of Manuscript Writing at Black Resource Center, LACL – In-Person Event
Don’t miss the learning experience!! The AC Bilbrew Library Writers Workshop will host a forum to discuss every aspect of WRITING (writing a manuscript, publishing, marketing) to all aspiring writers!
Where: AC Billbrew Library, LACL, Black Resource Center
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: 150 E. El Segundo Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90061
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/12549788
Author Event: David Rondel, with Claire Stanford & A Danger Which We Do Not Know: A Philosophical Journey into Anxiety at Edendale Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join professor of philosophy David Rondel and author Claire Stanford for a discussion of Rondel’s new book, A Danger Which We Do Not Know: A Philosophical Journey into Anxiety.
A Danger Which We Do Not Know tells a story about how philosophy and anxiety are tangled up with each other. Rondel explores how anxiety is one of the main human contexts in which the inclination to philosophize arises. The experience of anxiety sometimes prompts us to reflect and inquire, drawing us toward perennial philosophical questions about the nature of reality and knowledge, freedom and morality, the meaning of life, and the prospect of death. Anxiety can give these questions fresh urgency, making them vivid and momentous in ways they otherwise might not be. Rondel also considers how turning to philosophy can sometimes offer relief for the anxious sufferer. In the face of the overwhelming force of anxiety, philosophy offers powerful tools.
David Rondel is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Nevada, Reno. His main areas of research and teaching specialization include social and political philosophy, philosophy of law, American Pragmatism, and the philosophy of emotion. He has published widely in these areas. He is the author of Pragmatist Egalitarianism (Oxford University Press, 2018) and, most recently, the editor of The Moral Psychology of Anxiety (Lexington Books, 2024) and A Danger Which We Do Not Know: A Philosophical Journey into Anxiety (Oxford University Press, 2024). He lives in Reno, Nevada, with his wife and two children.
Claire Stanford is the author of the novel Happy for You, which was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and awarded the 2023 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize. Her writing has appeared in Black Warrior Review, The Rumpus, Lit Hub, Electric Lit, The Millions, the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. She lives in Los Angeles, where she is an assistant professor of creative writing at Loyola Marymount University.
Where: Edendale Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/david-rondel-author-danger-which-we-do-not-know
Chill Vibes – Storytelling Open Mic at The Lyric Hyperion Theater & Café – In-Person Event
Lottery-based Storytelling Open Mic. 9 Spots. Hosted by Erica Blumfield and Jen Curcio.
Note: This is not a comedy open mic. Comedic poetry is acceptable.
Where: The Lyric Hyperion Theater & Café
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: 2106 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chill-vibes-storytelling-open-mic-tickets-1095713230769
Kids Book Club: Misfits at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the book A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits) by author Lisa Yee and illustrator Dan Santat.
Olive Cobin Zang has…issues. And they mostly aren’t her fault. (No, really!) Though she often slips under the radar, problems have a knack for finding her. So, imagine her doubts when she’s suddenly dropped off at the strangest boarding school ever: a former castle turned prison that’s now a “reforming arts school”!
But nothing could’ve prepared Olive for RASCH (not “rash”). There, she’s lumped with a team of other kids who never quite fit in, and discovers that the academy isn’t what it seems—and neither is she. In fact, RASCH is a cover for an elite group of misfits who fight crime…and Olive has arrived just in time.
Turns out that RASCH is in danger of closing, unless Olive’s class can stop the heist of the century. And as Olive falls in love with this wacky school, she realizes it’s up to her new team to save the only home that’s ever welcomed them.
Lisa Yee has taken a private-investigator course, and it’s slightly possible that she’s a secret undercover operative. She’s also a Newbery Honoree and a National Book Award finalist for Maizy Chen’s Last Chance. Some of her other twenty-one novels are the groundbreaking Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time; and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A frequent contributor to NPR’s Books We Love, she divides her time between Western Massachusetts and Los Angeles.
Dan Santat is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of over a hundred books. His picture book The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend received the Caldecott Medal. He also illustrated The Blur, Lift, and Drawn Together, both written by Minh Lê, which received critical acclaim. Dan is also the creator of the Disney animated hit The Replacements. He lives in Southern California with his family. Learn more at dansantatbooks.com or visit him on Instagram and Twitter @dsantat.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 111h
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/kids-book-club-misfits
January Book Discussion: Master Slave Husband Wife 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 Lori this month for a discussion on Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo.
Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo tells the true story of an enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, who daringly escaped from slavery in Georgia by disguising themselves as master and slave, with Ellen passing as a wealthy white man and William posing as his servant, allowing them to travel freely across the country to reach freedom in the North.
Where: North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 11th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 5211 Tujunga Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/january-book-discussion-master-slave-husband-wife-ilyon-woo
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Deep Critique Workshop led by DKC – Online Event
Workshop led by DKC (Submit up to 3 poems totaling no more than 150 lines including the subject of or at least mentioning grass or leaves for Four Feathers Press online edition: Grass Leaves by emailing donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59pm, January 17th).
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Date: Saturday, the 11th
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.
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 11th
Time: 3:30 pm – 5 pm
Address: 127 Artsakh Ave., Glendale, CA 91206
Website: https://www.theglendaleroom.com/calendar
Poetry and Prose for Peace: Refaat Alareer Remembrance at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
About Refaat Alareer:
Killed by an Israeli airstrike last December, Refaat Alareer–the poet, the father, the professor, the storyteller– once said, “Palestine is not a distant concept but a living, breathing reality that is constantly shaped and reshaped by the stories and actions of us, its people.” Palestine may feel like a far-off place but to many Americans who are heartbroken over the daily growing number of killed Palestinians including 17,000 children, Palestine symbolizes the resistance to colonial empire and its overreaching military industrial complex. Refaat Alareer is revered as one of the preeminent voices of the Palestinian people.
NOTE: See site for guidelines and details.
Get your tickets on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday, the 11th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
New Year’s Open Mic – In-Person Event
Come out to enjoy as an audience member or sign up on the spot to perform on the mic! All genres welcome. Hosted by Sofía Aguilar.
Where: Matilija Lending Library
Date: Saturday, the 11th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 3571 Lexington Ave., El Monte, CA 91731
Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DETW758yMsM/?img_index=2
Slanguage Poetry Show: Open Mic Edition at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event
Come join our Slanguage Poetry Show [OPEN MIC EDITION]. The dopest open mic poetry show in L.A.
Welcome to the **Slanguage Poetry Show [OPEN MIC EDITION]**!
Get ready for an evening filled with raw emotions, powerful words, and a whole lot of creativity. Join us on Sat, January 11, 2025. Doors open at 7pm. Located at the vibrant Sims Library Of Poetry. This event is all about celebrating the beauty of spoken word poetry. Whether you’re a seasoned poet or someone who has never shared their work before, this is your chance to take the stage and express yourself. We welcome poets from all backgrounds, styles, and experiences. Expect an electric atmosphere as our talented performers captivate you with their lyrical prowess. From heart-wrenching narratives to thought-provoking social commentary, our poets will leave you spellbound. And if you’re feeling inspired, feel free to sign up for the open mic session and share your own piece! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect with fellow poetry enthusiasts, immerse yourself in a world of words, and experience the power of spoken art. Mark your calendars and join us for an unforgettable night at the Slanguage Poetry Show [OPEN MIC EDITION!] We will have a food vendor with amazing food for sale.
Hosted by AKoldPiece OfWork
Produced by Slanguage Poetry Press
Where: Sims Library of Poetry
Date: Saturday, the 11th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 9
Website: https://allevents.in/los%20angeles/slanguage-poetry-show-open-mic-edition/100001049403994597
Obsidian Tongues Open Mic at Café con Libros, Pomona – In-Person Event
Please join host Caesar K. Avelar for Obsidian Tongues Poetry Readings & Open Mic Night.
Open Mic Night is for everyone-play a song on your guitar, read a poem, or share a story. The spoken word is celebrated!
NOTE: See site for details. (Check to verify)
Where: Café Con Libros, Pomona
Date: Saturday, the 12th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 280 W. 2nd St., Pomona, CA 91766
Website: https://cafeconlibrospress.org/event-calendar/
Tavi Gevinson & Fan Fiction: A Satire at Heavy Manners Library – In-Person Event
Join us for a reading featuring writer and actor Tavi Gevinson reading an excerpt from her zine Fan Fiction: A Satire!
The reading will also include readings by local writers Ruby Zuckerman, Briana Gonzales, Marie Lodi, Taneum Bambrick, Maya Binyam, and Dylan Tupper Rupert.
Admission will be by donation. We will also have copies of the zine for sale at the reading.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Heavy Manners Library
Date: Saturday, the 12th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 1200 N. Alvarado St., Unit D, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://heavymannerslibrary.com/events/tavi-gevinson-reads-fan-fiction-a-satire-1-11
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.
JOIN us in space R18 each Sunday, from 11am-5pm.
NOTE: Check every Sunday for story time and reading events
Where: Melrose Trading Post, Greenway Main Stage at Fairfax HS
Date: Sunday, the 12th (Every Sunday)
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Address: 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website: https://melrosetradingpost.org/tickets/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/DC7Q7CxSFcj/
Cellar Door Book Club: Deamon Copperhead at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss the Pulitzer Prize winning Deamon Copperhead: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver.
Barbara Kingsolver is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, including the novels Unsheltered, The Bean Trees, and The Poisonwood Bible, as well as books of poetry, essays, creative nonfiction, and Coyote’s Wild Home, a children’s book co-authored with Lily Kingsolver. She also collaborated with family members on the influential Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Kingsolver’s work has been translated into more than thirty languages and has earned a devoted readership at home and abroad. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and has received numerous awards and honors including the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, Demon Copperhead, the National Humanities Medal, and most recently, the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and its Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives with her husband on a farm in southern Appalachia.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/cellar-door-book-club-demon-copperhead
Palabras Literary Salon: Cassandra Lane at Latinx with Plants – In-Person Event
Theme: retreat
Featuring Cassandra Lane, author of the memoir We Are Bridges. Lane is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. Lane received her MFA from Antioch University LA. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times’s Conception series, the Times-Picayune, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and elsewhere. She is managing editor of L.A. Parent magazine.
Celebrate stories at the green-house with BIPOC posts + writers.
Light reception.
Hosted + curated by Jen Cheng, Poet Laureate of West Hollywood.
RSVP: bit.ly/jan2025palabras
Where: Latinx with Plants
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: 2208 Cesar Chavez, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/jen-cheng-32703818381
Robert Crais & The Big Empty (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel) at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Robert Crais will discuss and sign his latest novel, The Big Empty.
Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, race to find a terrifying, unidentified killer in this twisting, unpredictable thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.
Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. Now, ten years later, Traci is a high-profile influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire the best detective she can find: Elvis Cole.
Elvis heads to Rancha where an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a gang of vicious criminals, the missing persons cold case becomes far more sinister. Elvis calls his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, for help, and they follow Tommy Beller’s trail into the depths of a monstrous, hidden evil. The case flips on its head, victims become predators, predators become prey, and the question becomes: Can Elvis Cole save them all from this nightmare?
Robert Crais is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four novels, twenty of them featuring private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike. Crais was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and has received numerous awards, among them an Anthony Award from the World Mystery Convention, multiple Shamus and Barry Awards, and a Falcon Award from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan. His novels have been translated around the world and have received dozens of rave reviews and the highest praise. The Philadelphia Inquirer says it all: “Robert Crais is one of those rare, treasured writers who combine genuine humanity with tales of crime and detection—not to mention the steadily building tension that always manages to pile up till his books can’t be put down.” A native of Louisiana, Robert Crais lives in Los Angeles.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore (in the Courtyard)
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Robert-Crais-January-12-Author-signing
Second Sunday Poetry: ZZyZx Writerz & The Poet Band at The Studio Theatre – In-Person Event
Alex M. Frankel hosts this monthly reading event.
January’s feature: ZZyZx Writerz & The Poet Band.
ZZyZx is a diverse group of writers from all over Los Angeles. Since 2011, we have been crushing the homogenous writing group paradigm. We have published three anthologies, hosted a myriad of events across Southern California, produced open mics, poetry hikes, and writing workshops called Word Arounds. We collaborate with several arts collectives, bands, and other organizations on projects year-round. Our latest collaboration is with The Poets Band who accompany us on our poetry. Our current creative project is a podcast, ZZyZx SundaZe on SoundCloud where we showcase local literary and musical voices.
You can find us on Facebook: ZZyZx WriterZ; Instagram: @zzyzxwriterz :
Email: zzyzxwriterz@gmail.com; YouTube: ZZyZx WriterZ Channel; and our podcast is available on Soundcloud: ZZyZx SundaZe Podcast.
Where: The Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 3433 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, CA 90068 (Near Universal Studios)
Website: https://www.secondsundaypoetry.com/
Library Girl Presents: From Venice to Venice – Poets of California + Italy / El Martillo Pressat Ruskin Theatre Group – In-Person Event
Celebrating an anthology edited by Mark Lipman + Anna Lombardo. Featuring readings by contributing poets Will Alexander, Iris Berry, S.A. Griffin, Richard Modiano, Harry Northup, El Martillo founders David Romero + Matt Sedillo, Pam Ward and Gail Wronsky.
Books for sale on site! Sunday night, JANUARY 12th at 7pm. We are still in our original space at Ruskin Group Theatre, 3000 Airport Ave, Santa Monica 90405. $20 includes free parking + dessert. Library Girl, now in its 16th year, created + produced by Susan Hayden. For tix: Go to http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com–click SHOWS in top right, look for Library Girl icon. All proceeds donated to Ruskin Group Theatr
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: Ruskin Group Theatre
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 2986 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events
Fantasy Romance Book Club: Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
January’s participants will discuss Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by author Rebecca Thorne.
Events Manager Teresa L will lead this fantasy and paranormal romance book club this month while Tayor is on vacation.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines, and details.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 12th
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90323
Website: https://www.therippedbodicela.com/events-and-tickets
Los Angeles Literature 