Young Readers Book Club at Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person YA Event

This month, we are reading The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu. Participants must be old enough to read the book and attend the program by themselves.

Where: Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Address: 12006 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066

Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/young-readers-book-club-2

Evening Book Club: Homeseeking at Manhattan Beach Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Patrons can enjoy a facilitated discussion of fiction and nonfiction titles. A limited amount of titles are available for attendees at the library. For adults.

September selection: Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

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. Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me.

Where: Manhattan Beach Library, LACL

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14268705

Mystery Book Club: Dark Maestro at Lake Los Angeles Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join our book club as we discuss a different mystery book each month. This month’s selection is Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb. Copies of the book are available at customer service desk for checkout. For Adults.

Where: Lake Los Angeles Library, LACL

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 16021 East Avenue O., #A, Palmdale, CA 93591

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14406321

YA for Adults Book Club: Compound Fracture at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White.

A queer Appalachian thriller that pulls no punches—following a trans autistic teen who’s drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them.

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.

The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.

In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidently kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line: is Miles?

Andrew Joseph White is the New York Times and #1 Indie bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us and The Spirit Bares its Teeth. A queer, trans writer from Virginia, he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 6 pm

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

Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/ya-adults-compound-fracture

Robertson Readers Book Club at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person YA Event

Join us for book club at Robertson Branch. We will discuss the book and share other interesting books we have been reading. New members are welcome!

Print copies of each book will be available for checkout in the branch beginning three weeks prior to the book club meeting date, while supplies last.

Upcoming meeting:

September 8: The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

Where: Robertson Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 1719 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035

Every Monday from 7 pm to 9 pm. Sign-ups are at 6:30 pm 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 8^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501

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

At Skylight: Leigh Stein, with Fortesa Latifi, & If You’re Seeing This It’s Meant for You at Skylight – In-Person Event

Leigh Stein, in conversation with Fortesa Latifi, will discuss If You’re Seeing This It’s Meant for You.

Fates collide after a tarot influencer disappears from a decaying Hollywood mansion in this unnerving gothic mystery and “incisive social satire” (Town & Country) from the acclaimed author of Self Care.

After her boyfriend dumps her in a Reddit post, unemployed thirty-nine-year-old Dayna accepts an unusual opportunity from a man she stopped speaking to twenty years ago: If Dayna can help Craig transform his crumbling mansion into a successful hype house of influencers, he can restore his birthright to its former glory, and she can bring her career back from the dead.

But missing from the mansion is Becca, an enigmatic tarot card reader who built a rabid fandom with her cryptic, soul-touching videos…and then vanished. With nineteen-year-old Olivia, the newest member of the hype house (and one of Becca’s biggest fans), Dayna begins to build a social media campaign around Becca’s disappearance that will catapult the creators to new heights of success. Too bad Craig forbids Dayna from pursuing the mystery at its heart.

As Olivia searches for traces of Becca in a labyrinthine house that seems intent on hiding its secrets, and Dayna becomes entangled with both Craig and Jake, the resident heartthrob and the last person to see Becca, the two women make a shocking discovery that will upend everything.

The internet: You may think you’re inhabiting it, but is it really inhabiting you?

Leigh Stein is the author of six books, including the critically acclaimed satirical novel Self Care, and the creator of the Attention Economy newsletter on Substack. She has also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Allure, ELLE, Airmail, and The Cut.

Fortesa Latifi is a journalist based in Los Angeles, California.

Where: Skylight

Date: Monday, the 8^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

1941, Pittsburg, California. Sixteen-year-old Annalisa Aiello huddles around the radio with her family when a special announcement shatters her world: Pearl Harbor has been bombed—where her brother is stationed on the USS Arizona. After the United States declares war, Annalisa watches in horror as her father, a Sicilian fisherman, is arrested as an “enemy alien.” Grappling with grief and harsh wartime restrictions, Annalisa is forced to undertake an unexpected journey across the country to find her father and uncover the sacrifices of the past.

Meanwhile, in war-torn Sicily, her cousin Alberto navigates bombing raids as ancient fishing traditions crumble around him. But the forces tearing this family apart began decades earlier with a desperate choice made on a Sicilian shore—a secret pact sealed beneath the stars that promised a brighter future across the sea.

As Annalisa searches for her father and Alberto seeks his place in a changing world, they both discover that even in the darkest times, hope for a better future can endure.

From an American internment camp to Sicily’s bombed villages, Beneath the Sicilian Stars follows one family’s fight for survival, identity, and hope during World War II.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Monday, the 8^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-09-08/lindsay-marie-morris-discusses-signs-beneath-sicilian-stars

Continuing the Series Book Club: Eclipse fromthe Twilight Saga at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event

Our next Continuing the Story: The Twilight Saga Book Club will discuss Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer, and be led by General Manger Taylor C.

Join us each month, as we sink our teeth into a new installment of the series that changed our lives. Everyone is welcome.

RSVP required.

Where: The Ripped Bodice

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232 

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

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 is passionate about discussing everything related to the craft and social significance of literature!

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – Online event

Date: Monday the 8^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)

Do you want to write professionally or for personal satisfaction and healing but aren’t sure where to start and 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 followed by free writing and Q&A. Come be a part of the supportive Lit Angels writing community and consider writing a story to share at our Valentine’s event on 2/7 for possible submission in Lit Angels Journal.

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/

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: https://shop.villagewell.com

Tuesday Tales: A Travlin’ Storytime, Session 1 at Ocean Park Library, SMPL – In-Person Kids Event

This fun and engaging weekly series, featuring stories, songs, and rhymes, travels to a different library location each week. Limited space; free tickets available. For ages 3 – 5.

Where: Ocean Park Library, SMPL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 10:30 am – 11 am

This fun and engaging weekly series, featuring stories, songs, and rhymes, travels to a different library location each week. Limited space; free tickets available. For ages 3 – 5.

Where: Ocean Park Library, SMPL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 11:30 am – 12 pm

Address: 2601 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events

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

Join us weekly on Zoom on Tuesday mornings at 11 am for the Virtual Book Club. In September we will be discussing Isola by Allegra Goodman. For adults.

Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your invite to join the Zoom discussion and other details about the Virtual Book Club. You can pick up your copy of Isola at the La Crescenta Library Customer Service Desk. Below is the breakdown for the weekly discussion.

Tuesday, September 2: Pages 1 – 79, Prologue through Chapter 10

Tuesday, September 9: Pages 80 – 177, Chapter 11 through Chapter 22

Tuesday, September 16: Pages 178 – 260, Chapter 23 through Chapter 33

Tuesday, September 23: Pages 261 – end of the book, Part VI, Chapter 34 to end of the book

Tuesday, September 30: Final discussion of Isola and free flow discussion for book, movie, video recommendations

“France, 1531. Orphaned by the age of five, Marguerite de la Rocque was heir to a chateau with its own village and lands. But her guardian, Jean Francois de la Rocque de Roberval, sells Marguerite’s property to embark on an expedition to New France, bringing Marguerite and her maidservant with him. Aboard the ship, the women are limited to the company of the captain, the navigator, Roberval, and his secretary—a man whose musical talent, literary knowledge, and dark eyes intrigue Marguerite. It isn’t long before the two of them are meeting secretly to declare their love for one another. When Roberval discovers this transgression, he is furious, seeing their affection as betrayal. As punishment, he maroons them on a small island off the coast, condemning them to certain death.”

Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14499060

Virtual Book Club via Northridge Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Join us for our monthly Zoom book club! We read and discuss a mix of fiction and nonfiction, and we vote on titles every few months.

RSVP:

Email eaaronson@lapl.org for Zoom and title information.

Where: Northridge Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

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

Nonfiction Book Club: Say Nothing at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us to discuss Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Northing. For adults.

Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14186704

Kids Book Club: Impossible Creatures at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Kids Event

Participants will discuss Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.

The day that Christopher saved a drowning baby griffin from a hidden lake would change his life forever.

It’s the day he learned about the Archipelago, a cluster of unmapped islands where magical creatures of every kind have thrived for thousands of years, until now. And it’s the day he met Mal, a girl on the run, in desperate need of his help.

Mal and Christopher embark on a wild adventure, racing from island to island, searching for someone who can explain why the magic is fading and why magical creatures are suddenly dying. They consult sphinxes, battle kraken, and negotiate with dragons. But the closer they get to the dark truth of what’s happening, the clearer it becomes: no one else can fix this. If the Archipelago is to be saved, Mal and Christopher will have to do it themselves.

The author’s story crackles and roars with energy and delight. It is brought vividly to life with more than 60 illustrations, including a map and a bestiary of magical creatures.

Kathrine Rundell is the author of Rooftoppers (an ALA-ALSC Notable Book, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize), Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner), The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer (winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award), and The Good Thieves. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford. Her books for adults include Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize) and Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise.

Ashley Mackensie is a Canadian artist and illustrator with a special affinity for dragons, dryads, and all magical creatures.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 4 pm

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

Copies of the current title will be available to check-out at the customer service desk while supplies last.

Where: Hollydale Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 12000 Garfield Ave., South Gate, CA 90280

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14292172

Graphic Novel & Comic Book Discussion Group: The Flintstones at Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Join us each month for a graphic novel & comic book discussion. A great starting point for new or devoted fans of the genre. Copies available at reference/information desk & as ebooks (hoopla and/or Overdrive).

September 9, 2025: The Flintstones by Mark Russell

RSVP:

This program meets via Google Meet. Email prncho@lapl.org for the meeting link.

Where: Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/graphic-novel-comic-book-discussion-group

World Cultures Reading Circle: Little Fires Everywhere at Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please join the World Cultures Reading Circle in the Community Room to discuss Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.

New members welcome!

Where: Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 7114 W. Manchester Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Known for entertaining friends and family at her 100-acre farm in Catskill, New York (followers regularly tune in to her “Cooking for Friends” Instagram series), Alexis was unexpectedly thrust into a full-time caretaker role a few years ago, which shifted her perspective on how to get interesting yet quick dinners on the table. Alexis was inspired to write her second book, Nights & Weekends, guided by the desire to nourish quickly after a long day, and host more leisurely on the weekends. The book features more than 100 new recipes that are both practical and inspiring, and it is divided into two sections: Nights, dishes to cook on busy weeknights less than 40 minutes, Weekends, meals to make when you have more time on your hands.

Alexis deBoschnek is a recipe developer and cookbook author based in the Western Catskills in upstate New York. Her debut cookbook, To the Last Bite (guiding home cooks to make the most of each and every ingredient and eliminate food waste in creative ways), was featured as one of “The Best Cookbooks of 2022” by The New York Times, and her work can regularly be seen on Today.com, Food52, The Kitchn and Bon Appetit. In addition to sharing recipes on Instagram and her Side Dish Substack, Alexis regularly gives her followers a front row seat to her everyday life gardening, hosting, and entertaining at her 100-acre farm.

Ben Mims is a former cooking columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has written three cookbooks and has worked as a food editor and recipe developer for several food media publications, such as Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Buzzfeed/Tasty. Born and raised in Mississippi, he spends his weekends stocking his freezer with biscuits and making fruit jam.

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

Address: 225 26^th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2025-09-09/alexis-deboschnek-Ben-Mims-nights-and-weekends-recipes

Activism Book Club: Pleasure Activism at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Each month, we’ll dive into a book that informs and directs us about the state of the world, and how we can put what we learn into practice. We’ll have guest speakers, workshops, volunteer activities, and discussions of how we can positively impact the community. We’re looking forward to building a community that’s more connected around our collective well-being.

Our selection for September is Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown.

About the book:

How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Author and editor adrienne maree brown finds the answer in something she calls “pleasure activism,” a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work. Drawing on the black feminist tradition, she challenges us to rethink the ground rules of activism. Her mindset-altering essays are interwoven with conversations and insights from other feminist thinkers, including Audre Lorde, Joan Morgan, Cara Page, Sonya Renee Taylor, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Together they cover a wide array of subjects—from sex work to climate change, from race and gender to sex and drugs—building new narratives about how politics can feel good and how what feels good always has a complex politics of its own.

Building on the success of her popular Emergent Strategy, brown launches a new series of the same name with this volume, bringing readers books that explore experimental, expansive, and innovative ways to meet the challenges that face our world today. Books that find the opportunity in every crisis!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Read your poetry, fiction, spoken word, or lyrics.

Free event. 21+

Note: Please RSVP at site.

Where: The Aftermath Bar

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 10 pm

Address: 14537 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

All ages.

Where: The Library Coffee House

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm (Doors at 6:45 pm)

Address: 3418 E Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803

Website: https://www.lbpoetry.com/open-mics

Adult Book Club: The Square of Sevens at Once Upon a Time, Montrose – In-Person & Zoom Online Hybrid Event

Join our discussion of Shepherd-Robinson’s The Square of Sevens!

This “intricately plotted, epic” (The Times, London) international bestseller—in the vein of the vivid novels of Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry—follows an orphaned fortune teller in 18th-century England as she searches for answers about her long-dead mother.

Email to Request Zoom Meeting Invite.

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!

Where: Once Upon a Time, Montrose

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

We read new release mysteries. 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 Mccue

Note: Please RSVP at site.

Where: pages, a bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90042

The forms of intimacy and care that we’ve been sold are woefully inadequate and problematic. In a world that treats those who are sick and traumatized as problems in need of a cure, nonbinary writer, artist, educator, and Instagram creator Margeaux Feldman offers a different story.

Trauma, which all too often manifests as chronic illness, tells us that there is something deeply wrong with the world we live in. A world that promotes individualism, fractures us from community through violence and systemic oppression, and leaves us traumatized. That is what we need to cure.

While unveiling their own lived experiences caregiving for their sick father, losing their mother, surviving sexual abuse, and grappling with their own chronic illness, Feldman provides roadmaps for embracing queer modes of care, or “hysterical intimacies,” that reject the notion that those who have been labeled sick are broken. Feldman looks at the lengthy history of branding girls, women, and femmes—and their desires—as sick, from the treatment of hysterics by Jean-Martin Charcot and Sigmund Freud in the 19th and 20th centuries. What emerges is a valiant call for rethinking the ways we seek healing.

This compelling blend of theory, personal narrative, and cultural criticism offers a path forward for reimagining the shapes and forms that intimacy, care, and interdependence can take.

Margeaux Feldman (they/them) is a writer, a public educator, and an artist. They hold an MFA in Creative Writing from CalArts and a PhD in English Literature and Sexual Diversity Studies from the University of Toronto. Their essays have been published in The Sonora Review, GUTS: A Canadian Feminist Magazine, PRISM, Rabble, and The Ex-Puritan, amongst others. They also run the popular Instagram meme account @softcore_trauma where they write about their experiences living with trauma and chronic illness. They currently live in Los Angeles with their 2 elderly cats. You can learn more about them on their website http://www.margeauxfeldman.com.

In conversation with:

Natalie Amber is a Certified Canadian Counsellor (C.C.C), working from Treaty 6 territory, Edmonton/ Amiskwacîwâskahikan / ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, homeland of many First Nations and Métis peoples. She offers psychotherapy services to clients across Canada, with an Internal Family Systems and parts work lens. She believes that nature is our most wise teacher, and when not working as a therapist, devotes herself to her decades-long passion for organic gardening. One of her main goals in life is to be as nerdy and informed about roses and rose care as possible, and to take a full account of all the different kinds of bugs who’ve made a home in her backyard garden’. She’s delighted to be here to celebrate her dear friend Margeaux’s memoir, and to discuss the important topic of illness and intimacy.

Varia Erochina is a somatic teacher and practitioner dedicated to personal and collective healing. Queerness, immigration, class struggle, and lived experience of complex trauma orient their work towards justice for all. Varia takes an integrated approach to long term healing, combining their training in Alchemical Alignment trauma resolution, Gestalt psychotherapy, spirituality and somatic parts work. Their popular course How to Feel offers practical education and embodied practice for feeling your feelings. They are the creator of Cards for Self-Care and offer 1-1 and group support, lead workshops, retreats, classes and more. Varia lives as a settler on Dish With One Spoon treaty territory in Toronto, Canada, and spends their free time making ceramics, taking road trips, walking in nature, and pulling tarot cards. Learn more at their website.

Where: Stories Books & Café

Date: Tuesday the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 1718 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 

From a clinical psychologist and expert in complex trauma recovery comes a powerful guide introducing fawning, an often-overlooked piece of the fight-flight-freeze reaction to trauma—explaining what it is, why it happens, and how to help survivors regain their voice and sense of self.

Most of us are familiar with the three F’s of trauma—fight, flight, or freeze. But psychologists have identified a fourth, extremely common (yet little-understood) response: fawning. Often conflated with “codependency” or “people-pleasing,” fawning occurs when we inexplicably draw closer to a person or relationship that causes pain, rather than pulling away.

Fawning explains why we stay in bad jobs, fall into unhealthy partnerships, and tolerate dysfunctional environments, even when it seems so obvious to others that we should go. And though fawning serves a purpose—it’s an ingenious protective strategy in unsafe situations—it’s a problem if it becomes a repetitive, compulsory reaction in our daily lives.

But here’s the good news: we can break the pattern of chronic fawning, once we see it for the trauma response it is. Drawing on twenty years of clinical psychology work—as well as a lifetime of experience as a recovering fawner herself—Dr. Ingrid Clayton demonstrates WHY we fawn, HOW to recognize the signs of fawning (including taking blame, conflict avoidance, hypervigilance, and caretaking at the expense of ourselves), and WHAT we can do to successfully “unfawn” and finally be ourselves, in all our imperfect perfection.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Tuesday, the 9^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

M.C. MoHagani Magnetek is M.C. MoHagani Magnetek (pronounced emcee mahogany magnetic) is the proud mom of Sade Adamu. Mrs. Magnetek is an amazing multi-talented individual with bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and English, plus an MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Arts. Right now, she’s diving into her Ph.D. studies in Historical Archaeology, Museology, and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Her published works include “Shhh! Be Quiet” Building Fires in the Snow (2016). “Acrimonious Black Woman Sparks Climate Change Debate with the President” Alaska Women Speak (Spring, 2019). Her novel, “The Mad Fantastic, 2098” (2020). Her play is “for colored ladies who have considered pull-tabs with their last two dollars” (2021). “Death by a Thousand Kisses: A Ms. Mahogany Bones Murder Mystery” Alaska Women Speak (2021). “That One Magnetek Time I Jumped Over Five Cars” Wheels on Ice: Stories of Cycling in Alaska (2022). “Not an Easy Read for “Normal” “Colored” People: Conversations on Shange’s and Rooney’s Literatures of Sexual Citizenship”; Palgrave Handbook of Reproductive Justice and Literature (2022). A play titled, “Ms. Mahogany and the Case of the Microphone Rapist” Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora Journal Issue 48.2 (2023). Falling Star, Make a Wish: Gumbo Cirque Journal Vol. 13 #2 (2023) and “Running Towards Self in Wiseman,” Alaska Forum Magazine (2023).

Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event

Date: Tuesday, the 9^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

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

Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic Night at Ora Café in Leimert Park – In-Person Event

The nation’s largest weekly spoken word Open Mic event is 26 years strong. DPL is a community space for every poet to be heard. They provide a platform to celebrate poetry while using it as the foundation for creativity, innovation, and expression across an array of media outlets.

$10 donation. Do NOT line up prior to 7:30 pm Free parking adjacent to the theater.

Masks are encouraged.

Where: Ora Café

Date: Tuesday, the 9^th

Time: 9 pm – 11 pm

Address: 4331 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park, CA 90008

Website: https://www.instagram.com/  or https://www.dapoetrylounge.com/

Lit Angels: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Come write with us!

Many people believe that morning writing practice is key to finding your voice, your story and, in this case, your community! At the Village Well!

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 8:30 AM come join acclaimed author and writing instructor Francesca Lia Block for a brief intro and 40 minutes of free writing on any topic without judgement. Afterwards, you will be able to share a bit about your process and ask Francesca questions about your writing.

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/

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 8:30 am – 9:30 am

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

Website: https://shop.villagewell.com

Mystery Book Club: The Murder of Mr. Ma at West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us for engaging discussions at our monthly Mystery Book Club meeting! Here’s our upcoming schedule:

09/10: The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee & SJ Rozan

Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 10:30 am – 12 pm

Address: 19036 Vanowen St., Reseda, CA 91335

Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-2

Wilmington Book Club: Five Little Pigs at West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us for a discussion of the book Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie.

All are welcome!

Where: Wilmington Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

No matter who you’re talking to, The Next Conversation gives you immediately actionable strategies and phrases that will forever change how you communicate. Jefferson Fisher, trial lawyer and one of the leading voices on real-world communication, offers a tried-and-true framework that will show you how to transform your life and your relationships by improving your next conversation.

Whether it’s handling a heated conversation, dealing with a difficult personality, or standing your ground with confidence, his down-to-earth teachings have helped countless people navigate life’s toughest situations. Now for the first time, in his book Fisher has distilled his three-part communication system (Say it with control, Say it with confidence, Say it to connect) that can easily be applied to any situation.

The Next Conversation gives you practical phrases that will lead to powerful results, from breaking down defensiveness in a hard talk with a family member to finding your own assertive voice at the boardroom conference table. Your every word matters, and by controlling how you communicate every day, you will create waves of positive impact that will resonate throughout your relationships to last a lifetime.

About the Author: Jefferson Fisher is a board-certified Texas trial lawyer and founder of Fisher Firm. With his extensive experience as a trial lawyer, Jefferson understands the art of persuading and communicating effectively in high-conflict situations. He is one of the most sought-after names in functional thinking for modern-day communication. Known for his practical videos and authentic presence, Jefferson has amassed over 9 million social media followers-making him the most followed litigation attorney in the world in less than a year, all from inside his vehicle. Jefferson’s followers include high-profile names such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jesse Williams, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Sarah Silverman, Lewis Howes, and many more. Jefferson is on a mission to be a messenger of positivity in the world and help people learn to talk to each other again – one conversation at a time.

Where: Virtual Program, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: Online Event

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 10^th

Time: 1 pm – 2 pm

Address: 18801 Elaine Ave., Artesia, CA 90701 

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14484413

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

NOTE: See site for details.

Where: KPFK 90.7 FM

Date: Wednesday, the 10^th

Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: On-air Event (live)

From award-winning and bestselling author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin comes a gorgeously full-color illustrated story about a lion cub and a girl who must open a portal for the spirits, based on Chinese folklore.

Jin is a Stone Lion—one of the guardians of the Old City Gate who is charged to watch over humans and protect the Sacred Sphere. But to Jin, those boring duties feel like a waste of time.

What isn’t a waste of time? Perfecting his zuqiu kick, scoring a Golden Goal, and becoming the most legendary player of all the spirit world.

But when Jin’s perfect kick accidentally knocks the Sacred Sphere out through the gate, he has no choice but to run after it, tumbling out of the realm he calls home and into the human world as the gate closes behind him.

Stuck outside the gate, Jin must find help from unlikely allies, including a girl who can hear a mysterious voice and a worm who claims he is a dragon. Together, they must find the sphere and return it to the world beyond the gate…or risk losing everything.

Meets monthly, generally on the third Wednesday of each month at 4:30 pm.

We read new releases of middle grade fiction. Book selection is done by voting at each meeting for the following month’s meeting.

Please RSVP to amy@pagesabookstore.com

Note: Please RSVP at site.

Where: pages, a bookstore

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 4:30 pm

Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90042

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2025-09-10/middle-grade-book-club

Malibu Library Book Club: Catalina at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event.

Participants will discuss Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicensio.

It’s senior year at Harvard for Catalina, but graduation fills her with anxiety. Having escaped a doomed childhood in Latin America, she has become one of the elite but faces graduation into a world with no place for the undocumented. For adults.

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.

Where: Malibu Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14197106

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 10^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

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

RSVP:

Email pcoima@lapl.org to receive the Zoom link.

Where: Pacoima Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 6:30 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

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

Julie Paiva & Lucky Penny at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event

Julie Paiva will present and discuss Lucky Penny.

Find a penny, pick it up.

All day long, you’ll have good luck!

What started as an ordinary walk to school turned Penny’s day into an extraordinary adventure. This charming story follows a girl who relies on luck but soon discovers that the real magic resides in her gift of positive thinking.

Julie Paiva is an accomplished storyteller whose work spans film, books, and the stage. She is the screenwriter behind Kinda Pregnant, which she co-wrote with Amy Schumer. Also starring Amy Schumer, it is now streaming on Netflix. As an author, Julie is launching her debut children’s book, Lucky Penny, the first in a series of uplifting “self-help” stories designed to inspire joyful, resilient living from an early age. Her writing reflects her belief in helping children grow into their happiest, most emotionally healthy selves. In addition to her creative work, Julie has spent more than 23 years as a beloved first grade teacher on the Westside of Los Angeles. In the classroom, she is known for integrating essential life skills—such as active listening, perspective taking, and self-talk—into her teaching. Born in New York, raised in Northern California, Julie now lives in Santa Monica with her husband and their 11-year-old daughter. Whether on screen, on the page, or in the classroom, she brings humor, heart, and a deep commitment to storytelling that empowers and uplifts.

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 6:30 pm

Address: 225 26^th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2025-09-10/julie-paiva-lucky-penny

Wiseburn Library Book Club: Project Hail Mary at Wiseburn Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us for a book discussion and light refreshments! This month, we will read and discuss Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Copies of the books are available at the library. For ages 18+.

“The sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission to save both humanity and Earth, Ryland Grace is hurtled into the depths of space when he must conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.”

Refreshments generously provided by the Friends of the Hawthorne and Wiseburn Libraries.

Where: Wiseburn Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14328561

Book Event: Eva Leigh and Jayci Lee Present: The Sea Witch and King Foretold, respectively, at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event

Eva Leigh and Jayci Lee will present and discuss their new romance novels: The Sea Witch and King Foretold, respectively

There will be a book signing to follow. This ticketed event includes $20 store credit towards purchases.

RSVP required, Ticketed event.

Where: The Ripped Bodice

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232 

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 10^th

Time: 7 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm; Open Mic at 8 pm)

Address: 3200 W. Temple St., Ste. 100, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://www.palmsupacademy.com

At Skylight: Mimi Pond, with Kristen Schaal, & Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me at Skylight – In-Person Event

Join is to hear Mimi Pond, in conversation with Kristen Schaal, discuss Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me, a gorgeous, dazzling biography.

Born with pedigrees but without the pocketbooks to match, The Mitfords were certainly no strangers to lies, intrigue, or scandal. Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. All six sisters were weaned on their family’s well-documented upper class eccentricities: a ne’er do well would-be entrepreneur father; a stern, stiff-upper-lipped mother; a revolving door of governesses of varying propriety, all against the backdrop of a crumbling estate falling into disrepair.

The sisters grew from cloistered turn-of-the-century country girls into debutantes who would marry into political influence—for better or worse. Is it any wonder that a young, working class Mimi in Southern California becomes enamored with The Mitfords’ downright fanciful rich-and-famous lifestyle? This charming, inventively cartooned, and lovingly researched biography captures the dramatic, over-the-top antics of high society’s strongest personalities as they rubbed elbows with some of history’s most infamous fascists and communists.

Pond’s genius for classic cartooning in the vein of the Vanity Fair caricature and the satirical illustrations of Charles Addams brings the aesthetic decadence of the 1920s and ‘30s to life with effortless aplomb, warts and all.

Mimi Pond has been writing and creating comics for a very long time for all mediums, both antique and futuristic. Very long ago, she wrote the first episode of The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” She is the author of a number of books. In 2014 and 2017, Drawn & Quarterly published her fictionalized memoirs about her life as a waitress in late-1970s Oakland, California: Over Easy; and its sequel, The Customer is Always Wrong. 2025 will bring about the graphic biography Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me. She is the recipient of an Eisner Award, Inkpot Award, and the PEN Center USA award for Graphic Literature Outstanding Body of Work. Pond lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the artist Wayne White.

Kristen Schaal is an American actress, voice artist, writer, and comedian. She is best known for her roles as Mel on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, Louise Belcher on FOX animated comedy Bob’s Burgers, and Mabel Pines on Gravity Falls.

Where: Skylight

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027 

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-mimi-pond-presents-do-admit-mitford-sisters-and-me-w-kristen-schaal

Anansi Writers Workshop: Anansi Summer Takeover Series 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. Hosted by Jessica Gallion aka “Yellawoman.”

• 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm — Formal workshop;
• 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm — Thursday Night Vibes on Wednesday;
• 9:05 pm – 10:00 pm — Open mic.

Suggested: $10.00 Donation via PayPal: The World Stage Gallery.

NOTE: See site for further details and any change in the schedule. Contact Jessica via Instagram @ _yellawoman. 

Where: The World Stage (use left rear entrance)

Date: Wednesday, the 10^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm

Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008

Story Salon: Theme: Pumpkin Spice Freestyle at Art Parlor in Valley Village – In-Person & Virtual Hybrid Event

Los Angeles’s longest running storytelling venue now virtual!

An alternative to stand-up clubs + self-conscious performance spaces

#storysalon

Story Salon challenges you all to tell stories in 90 seconds! Can you do it? If you can, join us Wednesday 9/10!

Tickets can be purchased early with the link in bio or at storysalon.com

#storytelling #valleyvillage #storysalon #communitystories #LAthingstodo #northhollywood

Theme: Pumpkin Spice Freestyle.

Where: Art Parlor

Date: Wednesday the 10^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 7 pm)

Address: 5302 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village, CA 91607 

Website: https://www.instagram.com

Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop with Jose Hernandez Diaz via 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 on the site.

The workshop can sometimes reach high levels of attendance, which means not everyone will get a chance to read every session.

Jose Hernandaz Diaz is a 2017 NEA Fellow. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020) Bad Mexican, Bad American (Acre Books, 2024) The Parachutist (Sundress Publications, 2025) and Portrait of the Artist as a Brown Man (Red Hen Press, 2025). He has been published in Bennington Review, The Yale Review, The London Magazine, The Southern Review, Poetry Ireland Review, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011, and in The Best American Poetry 2025. He has taught creative writing at the University of California at Riverside. Currently, he is the Visiting Writer in Residence at the University of Tennessee.

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

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Wednesday, the 10^th

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and guest Pastiche Queen at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event

Host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry welcomes featured guest Pastiche Queen.

Pastiche Queen (They/Them) is a non-binary latindigenous, interdisciplinary performance artist from Denver, CO currently based in Hollywood, CA. Their work as an actor and slam poet has been featured on AppleTV’s “Dear: Viola Davis”, and Facebook’s “Queer Community Leaders of Color Initiative”. Pastiche’s one-person show, originally developed as part of The REDCAT partnership with Da Poetry Lounge in 2022, “Level One Gygax”, won The Theatricum Botanicum Wordsmith Award for Advancing the Artform of Storytelling as well as multiple Producers’ Encore Awards. They are a grand slam championship title-holder in multiple individual slams as well as a proud member of The West Hollywood Slam Team. Pastiche’s book, Trans Velociraptors, officially launched on Feb 11th, 2025!

$5 cover fee, cash only.

Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange

Date: Wednesday, the 10^th

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

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

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

Lit Angels: Heal Through Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Let Francesca help you with all aspects of your writing!

Do you want to write professionally or for personal satisfaction and healing but aren’t sure where to start and 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 followed by free writing and Q&A. Come be a part of the supportive Lit Angels writing community and consider writing a story to share at our Valentine’s event on 2/7 for possible submission in Lit Angels Journal.

About the instructor:

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/

Tuesdays & Thursdays @10AM | $15

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

September’s Pick: Happy Place by Emily Henry. Patrons can enjoy a facilitated discussion of fiction and nonfiction titles. A limited amount of titles are available for attendees at the library.

Despite breaking up months earlier, a picture-perfect couple still haven’t told their friends about the split and attempt to pretend they are still together at an annual Maine getaway, in the new novel from the best-selling author of Book Lovers.

Where: Lawndale Library, LACL

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 14615 Burin Ave., Lawndale CA 90260

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14046803

“Saved by a Story” Seniors Writing Group at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Come enjoy creativity and community in a nonjudgmental environment. Discover the bounty of stories that lies within!

Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/saved-story-senior-writing-workshop-1

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

Join us for a discussion of Lightening Strike by Willaim Kent Kruegar. For Adults.

Summary provided by the publisher:

“Aurora is a small town nestled in the ancient forest alongside the shores of Minnesota’s Iron Lake. In the summer of 1963, it is the whole world to twelve-year-old Cork O’Connor, its rhythms as familiar as his own heartbeat. But when Cork stumbles upon the body of a man he revered hanging from a tree in an abandoned logging camp, it is the first in a series of events that will cause him to question everything he took for granted about his hometown, his family, and himself.”

Where: Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

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

A woman goes head-to-head with the CEO of a corporation threatening to destroy her neighborhood in this fresh and modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by debut author Nikki Payne.

Liza B.—the only DJ who gives a jam—wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in DC. But her planned protest at a corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering-hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly—but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she’ll settle for getting him out of her head.

At first, Dorsey writes off Liza Bennett as more interested in performing outrage than acting on it. As the adopted Filipino son of a wealthy white family, he’s always felt a bit out of place and knows a fraud when he sees one. But when Liza’s protest results in a viral meme, their lives are turned upside down, and Dorsey comes to realize this irresistible revolutionary is the most real woman he’s ever met.

About the Author

By day, Nikki Payne is a curious tech anthropologist asking the right questions to deliver better digital services. By night, she dreams of ways to subvert canon literature. She’s a member of Smut U, a premium feminist writing collective, and is a cat lady with no cats.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 6 pm

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

Our space is food, drink, and pet friendly, so feel free to bring your favorite refreshments and animal companions!

RSVP at website.

Where: Underdog Bookstore

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 6 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 312 S. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia, CA 91016

Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/local-authors-meetup-segb8-sfzbl-mrthn-sghhl

Special Author Event: David Litt & It’s Only Drowning at pages, a bookstore – In-Person Event

{pages} is pleased to welcome David Litt to an evening event celebrating the publication of his new book, It’s Only Drowning on Thursday, September 11th at 6:30 pm. The event will be held at {pages} a bookstore.

A former Obama speechwriter moves to the Jersey Shore and learns to surf with the help of his brother-in-law: a tattooed, truck-driving Joe Rogan superfan.

David, the Yale-educated writer with a fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with a shed full of surfboards, had never been close. But as America’s crises piled up and David spiraled into existential dread, he noticed that his brother-in-law was thriving. He began to suspect Matt’s favorite hobby had something to do with it.

David started taking surf lessons. For months, he wiped out on waves the height of daffodils. Yet, after realizing that surfing could change him both in and out of the water, he set an audacious goal: riding a big wave in Hawaii. He searched for an expert he could trust to guide and protect him—and when he couldn’t find one, he asked Matt. Together, they set out on a journey that spanned coasts, and even continents, before taking them to Oahu’s famously dangerous North Shore.

It’s Only Drowning is a laugh-out-loud love letter to surfing and so much more. It’s an ode to embarking on adventures at any age. It’s a blueprint for becoming braver at a time when it takes courage just to read the news. Most of all, it’s the story of an unlikely friendship, one that crosses the fault lines of education, ideology, and culture tearing so many of us apart.

David Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011 and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David has written speeches, op-eds, and jokes for Fortune 100 CEOs, professional athletes, leading philanthropists, and prominent political figures.

His New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. He is currently developing a sitcom for ABC based on his life in DC.

RSVP at website.

Where: pages, a bookstore

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2025-09-11/special-author-event-david-litt

Gretchen McNeil, with Kevin Wetmore, & They Fear Not Men in the Woods at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Gretchen McNeil, in conversation with Kevin Wetmore, will discussThey Fear not Men in the Woods.

When Jen Monroe hears her father’s remains have been found, she returns home to disprove his death, only to find the forests of rural Washington are hiding something ancient and dangerous…

Seven years ago, Jen Monroe left behind her hometown of Barrow, Washington after her father, a forest ranger passionate about protecting old trees from the aggressive logging business that runs their small town, vanished seemingly into thin air. She vowed never to return…until she gets a text from her estranged mother. Her father’s remains have been found.

It seems impossible to Jen who has always believed her father is still alive, and she returns home, determined to find out what really happened. When her ex-boyfriend proposes a camping trip into the woods in her father’s memory, it feels like the opportunity Jen had been hoping for: to find her father. To find the truth.

But what she finds lurking in the forest may be deeper, darker and deadlier than she could have ever imagined. And it has no intention of letting her leave.

Unsettling, tense, and atmospheric, this is a feminist suspense novel for those who have always known there’s something hungry waiting in the woods.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

From supply chains to surveillance, how logistics drives modern power—and its consequences.

Movement is the lifeblood of capital, even more so than growth. If goods, people, and information don’t flow, then profits don’t either. Ensuring that laborers, shipping containers, media, commercially valuable data, and much else are in the right place at the right time demands a subtle choreography. Enter logistics.

Susan Zieger argues that logistics is the foundation of power in our time. Blending detailed historical research with real-life stories that crystallize the human and ecological consequences of supply chains, Logistics and Power shows how the pursuit of efficient movement has come to organize economies while disordering societies and selves. Logistics emerges as the key to consumerism and the experience of work. It justifies corporate and police surveillance, illuminates patterns of migration and exploitation, and explains why the oceans are clotted with plastic. It is in the sphere of logistics that capitalist motives are most dramatically in tension with planetary needs.

A headfirst encounter with the obscure forces subordinating all goals below those of capital, Logistics and Power points the way to an alternative: a mindful and politically attentive kind of movement compatible with human thriving.

Susan Zieger is Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside and author of The Mediated Mind and Inventing the Addict.

Alexis Madrigal is a journalist in Oakland, California. He’s the co-host of KQED’s current affairs show, Forum, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic, where he co-founded The COVID Tracking Project. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Fusion and a staff writer at Wired.His new book, The Pacific Circuit, was published in March 2025 from MCD x FSG.

Where: Skylight

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 1818 N, Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-susan-zieger-presents-logistics-and-power-w-alexis-madrigal

L.A. Dual Book Launch: Gail Wronsky and Paul Lieber at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event

About the authors:

Gail Wronsky’s previous books include Born in a Barn on Venus (Walton Well Press), a collection of ekphrastic poems with drawings by renowned artist Gronk Nicandro. A chapbook of poems called Some Disenfranchised Evening, winner of the Swan Scythe Chapbook Prize, was published in 2024. Other books include The Stranger You Are, also with artwork by artist Gronk (Tía Chucha Press), Dying for Beauty (Copper Canyon) and Under the Capsized Boat We Fly: New & Selected Poems (White Pine Press). The recipient of an Artists Fellowship from the California Arts Council, and a finalist for the Western States Arts Federation Poetry Prize, Gail and her partner Chuck Rosenthal are the founders of What Books Press and Giant Claw, two publishing houses dedicated to discovering and publishing new literary prose and poetry.

Paul Lieber’s first collection, Chemical Tendencies, (Tebot Bach) was a finalist in the MSR poetry contest. He also received an honorable mention in the Allen Ginsberg Contest. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Paul produces and hosts “Why Poetry” on Pacifica radio in L.A. and Santa Barbara. Guests have included Poet Laureates, National Book Award Winners and many known and lesser-known poets. Paul’s poems have appeared in The Moth, N.Y. Quarterly, Patterson Review, Askew, Poemeleon, Alimentum, and many other journals and anthologies. He has taught creative at Loyola Marymount University and facilitates the poetry workshop at Beyond Baroque, the oldest literary institute in Los Angeles. Paul works as an actor and has performed on and off-Broadway and in numerous films and TV shows.

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 7 pm)

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

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-book-launch-gail-wronsky-paul-lieber-tickets-1579101447939

Poetry Diet Open Mic: Pastiche Queen at The Living Room, DTLA – In-Person Event

Share the magic of your verses, captivate an audience, enjoy a community of poetic expression at Poetry Diet Open Mic.

Pastiche Queen will feature.

Poetry & Hookah

Where: The Living Room

Date: Thursday the 11^th

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

Address: 1041 S. Main St., Door 123, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 8:30 am come join acclaimed author and writing instructor Francesca Lia Block for a brief intro and 40 minutes of free writing on any topic without judgement. Afterwards, you will be able to share a bit about your process and ask Francesca questions about your writing.

About the instructor:

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/

Come make some magic at the Village Well! All genres and levels are welcome!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 8:30 am – 9:30 am

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

Website: https://shop.villagewell.com

Weekly Pajama Storytime at Once Upon a Time, Montrose – In-Person Kids & Family Event

Our most popular story time is ready to delight and dazzle! This is also the prime time to see Pippi Longstocking, our bookstore cat in action.

There is a large FREE parking lot off Florencita Dr. as well as metered parking along Honolulu Ave. and Montrose Ave.

Free to attend.

NOTE: Free to attend.

Where: Once Upon a Time, Montrose

Date: Friday, the 12^th

Time: 9:30 am

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

¡Hora de cuentos bilingüe! Exponer a tus hjijos a varios idiomas es de gran beneficio para su aprendizaje y desarrollo, y qué mejor que hacerlo en esta divertida actividad en donde leeremos un maravilloso cuento en inglés y en español.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 11 am

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

Upcoming meeting:

September 12: Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Harari

Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 12 pm

Address: 12511 Moorpark Street, Studio City, CA 91604 

Manuscripts, Screenplays, Articles…whatever you’re working on, let’s do it in each other’s company!

Afternoon Writing Session

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Drop in and stay a while!

RSVP Here (Pay What You Want Donation)

Where: Heavy Manners Library

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 1 pm – 3 pm

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

Website: https://heavymannerslibrary.com/events/writing-get-lonely-open-writing-studio-9-12

Self-Care Book Club: Breaking Generational Silence at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Breaking Generational Silence: A Guide to Disrupt Unhealthy Family Patterns and Heal Inherited Trauma by Nicole Russell Wharton.

From regarded mental health expert Nicole Russell-Wharton, a guide to disrupt family patterns and heal from inherited trauma so you can break the cycle of silence for generations to come

What if one conversation was able to redirect a person’s life and create a ripple effect of healing that spans generations? It took a life-threatening experience for mental health expert Nicole Russell-Wharton to realize that after 35 years, she didn’t know the body she was living in. After being diagnosed with a rare life-altering genetic condition that others in her family had, Nicole couldn’t understand how everyone remained silent. “I’ve suffered through many things in silence over the years,” says Russell-Wharton. “It wasn’t until I started collecting data on generational issues like poverty and trauma that I had this awakening: our healing challenges are rooted in our families’ silence and psychological pathology.”

It’s the silence that’s harming us.

Nicole Russell-Wharton is a certified trauma-informed healing instructor. She’s the founder and executive director of Precious Dreams Foundation, the global nonprofit organization that advocates for mental health and the well-being of children, and owner of Restorative Commons. Nicole is the author of Everything a Band-Aid Can’t Fix and My Busy, Busy Brain. She lives in New York City.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 6 pm

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

Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/self-care-book-club-breaking-generational-silence

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

Thrival Open Mic is hosted by Meryahcology at Confidential Coffee in Long Beach every 2^nd Fridy of the month.

Where: Confidential Coffee

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 6 pm

Address: 137 W. 6^th St., Long Beach, CA 90802

Sign-ups start at 5:30 with @rodharrison66

Music starts at 6 pm

Spoken word and poetry are welcome!

Where: The Den Café

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 6 pm (Doors at 5:30 pm)

Address: 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 9270

Swing Set is happily collaborating with Long Beach Forward and their mission to create a healthy Long Beach by building community knowledge, leadership, and power in collaboration with Long Beach residents and community organizations. LBF serves community health and safety needs and collectively builds people power for racial, economic, and social justice.

Where: Long Beach Forward

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 2217 East 6th Street Long Beach, CA 90814

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://www.booksoup.com/event/mary-kathleen-mehuron

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

This all-inclusive event will create space for local artists of any medium to share their talents with the community. Come hang out, as an audience member, or a performer, and meet some talented locals!

Sign-ups for performers are at the door, day of, 30 minutes prior to the event. Sets are limited to 5-10 minutes. All performances must be family friendly. We will provide two microphones and two mic stands. Please bring any other equipment you will need. This event is free, no registration is required!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-book-launch-penguin-noir-by-nicelle-davis-tickets-1528149108119?aff=oddtdtcreator

Shybutflyy with Guests, at Speakeasy on the Queen Mary, Long Beach – In-Person Event

Next show! Speakeasy on the Queen Mary! Sept 12th 8 pm. Dress to impress and meet us there. DM for password or look on the website.

What’s on the deck: Stoney Gurrola, Chris Smith, Matt Olson.

Where: Speakeasy on the Queen Mary, Long Beach

Date: Friday the 12^th

Time: 8 pm – 12 am

Address: 1126 Queens Hwy., Long Beach, CA 90802

Website: https://www.instagram.com/shybutflyy/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/DOK-de-jhuZ/?hl=en

Get Lit Free Poetry Club: Every Saturday, July through September 27^th – In-Person Teen Event

Get Lit Poetry Club is offered every Saturday through September 27^th, for teens ages 13 – 19.

Link in bio! Every Saturday starting July 19 from 10am-1pm, teens are invited to a free poetry club at the Get Lit office in Los Angeles. This weekly space offers hands-on training in the craft of poetry, performance, and editing.

Writers will receive one-on-one support to help polish their work, connect with a diverse and passionate community, and explore real-world opportunities to share their voice.

No experience needed, just a willingness to show up and speak your truth.

Where: Get Lit Office 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 10 am – 1 pm

Address: 672 S. La Fayette Park Pl. #10, Los Angeles, CA 90057

Ver el horario completo.

The 7th annual Los Angeles Libros Festival will offer a full day of entertainment featuring Spanish-language and bilingual storytelling, musical performances, authors, workshops, books, and community. Free and open to the general public.

Highlights include: 123 Andres at 10 am; Silvia Moreno-Garcia at 12 pm noon; Zine Making with Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural at 12 pm noon; Lilliam Rivera at 1 pm; Selfie Photo Booths all day with CTG.

Full schedule at website.

RSVP:

Reserva tu entrada gratis para el festival en Eventbrite.

Reserve your free tickets for the festival on Eventbrite.

Where: Central Library, LAPL, Various Meeting Rooms

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 10 am – 4 pm

Address: 630 W. 5^th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Website: https://lapl.org/libros

20^th Anniversary of Little Tokyo Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

You are cordially invited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Little Tokyo Branch Library’s permanent building at 203 S. Los Angeles Street.

The celebration will feature live entertainment, history displays and presentations, and light refreshments.

Join us on September 13 to learn about the history of the branch leading up to the permanent building’s opening on September 8, 2005, as well as the subsequent history of our Little Tokyo community’s library.

10:30 a.m. – Opening of the 20th Anniversary Celebration in the Library Garden at Redbird-Vibiana with live entertainment and refreshments

11:30 a.m. – Presentation of the Little Tokyo Branch Library history in the Meeting Room

Where: Little Tokyo Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

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

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.

Please be aware that refreshments will be served at this program. A list of ingredients will be available.

Where: Hacienda Heights Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 Am

Address:16010 La Monde St., Hacienda Heights, CA 91746

Celebrate the start of school with a wonderful new picture book, On Our Way With Mr. Jay, about the amazing school bus driver, Mr. Jay, and his students as they journey on their way to school.

Where: Children’s Book World 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 10:30 am

Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064

Website: https://www.childrensbookworld.com/event/music-dance-story-celebration-author-illustrator-natasha-khan-kazi-saturday-august-23rd-0

Book Club: To a God Unknown at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Read the book and join our lively discussion!

September 13: To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck

Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 1246 Glendon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-3

Caffeinated Verse: Poetry Open Mic at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person Event

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

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 13^th

Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14197110

Table Reading: What Is Freedom? at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event

A participatory reading and discussion of Hannah Arendt’s writings by the Fred Rogers Dewey Legacy Project.

Join for a session of careful, attentive live reading and interpretation of “What is Freedom” from The School of Public Life by the late Fred Dewey. Table Reading sessions are hosted at Beyond Baroque, led by Renee Petropoulos and the Fred Rogers Dewey Legacy Project (FRDLP).

Historically, these sessions presented texts from the work of Hannah Arendt, but the FRDLP is celebrating Dewey’s work by reviving this series with one of his own texts: “What Is Freedom,” the last chapter of his book The School of Public Life. 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. Following Dewey’s commitment to her work, this series will include readings of Hannah Arendt as we move through the months.

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 and 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).

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 11 am – 2 pm

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

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/table-reading-what-is-freedom-tickets-1661429734059?aff=oddtdtcreator

Where: Art Share L.A.

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Address: 801 E. 4^th Pl,. Los Angeles, CA 90013

Website: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOJzA0kkvJW/?img_index=1

Kids Graphic Novel Launch: Karina Evans & Millie of the Manor at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Karina Evans will present her kids graphic novel Millie of the Manor.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: https://shop.villagewell.com

Matthew Forsythe & Aggie and the Ghost at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event

Matthew Frosythe will present his children’s book Aggie and the Ghost.

From Matthew Forsythe, the creator of the acclaimed and beloved Pokko and the Drum, comes a surprising and pleasing picture book about rules. And sharing. And an epic game of tic-tac-toe.

Aggie is very excited to live on her own—until she finds out her new house is haunted. But no fear, the situation is nothing that can’t be fixed with a carefully considered list of rules: No haunting after dark. No stealing socks. No eating all the food.

But the ghost doesn’t like playing by the rules and challenges Aggie to an epic game of tic-tac-toe—winner gets the house.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Lee Herrick was born in Daejeon, South Korea and adopted at ten months old. He teaches at Fresno City College and in the low-residency MFA program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. He is the 10th California Poet Laureate and the first Asian American to serve in the role. He is the author most recently of Gardening Secrets of the Dead, about memory, history, and family.

PANELS & PERFORMANCES:

OC Open Mic Hosts

OC Poetry Slam Team

HOSTED BY: Satnam Narang

Where: Arvida Book Company

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 12 pm – 4 pm

Address: 115 W. Main St., Tustin, CA 92780

Website: https://www.facebook.com

San Pedro Library Book Club: Brideshead Revisited at San Pedro Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

The San Pedro Library will be covering Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited. Come join our Adult Book Club for a lively discussion of this classic novel.

Where: San Pedro Regional Branch Library, LAPL 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Address: 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, CA 90731

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/san-pedro-library-book-club-2

After Lunch Book Club for Adults: The Housemaid at Montebello Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join the discussion for the first book in the Housemaid trilogy. Copies made available at the Circulation Desk. For Adults

In the novel, The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden, Nina has joined the family as a new housemaid. She has secrets of her own but quickly finds out she’s not the only one in the house with secrets waiting to be told.

Where: Montebello Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

Address: 1550 W. Beverly Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640

Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

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

About Julie Berry:

Julie Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of the 2020 NCTE Walden Award and SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner Lovely War, the 2017 Printz Honor and Los Angeles Times Book Prize-shortlisted The Passion of Dolssa, the Carnegie Medal- and Edgar Award-shortlisted All the Truth That’s in Me, the Odyssey Honor The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, and the Wishes and Wellingtons trilogy. Her picture books include The Night Frolic, Happy Right Now, and Cranky Right Now. Julie holds a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in communication and an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts. Julie lives in western New York, where she owns Author’s Note, an independent bookstore.

Where: Once Upon a Time, Montrose 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/if-looks-could-kill

Ezra Edmond & Cerberus The Tiger: A Middle Grade Portal Fantasy Adventure Full of Mystery, Science, and Myth Cerberus The Tiger (The Tiger Saga, Book One) at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event

Ezra Edmond will present Cerberus The Tiger: A Middle Grade Portal Fantasy Adventure Full of Mystery, Science, and Myth Cerberus The Tiger (The Tiger Saga, Book One).

Cerberus saw the portal open. He saw the beast come through. Now he’ll risk everything to uncover the truth…and stop it from happening again.

Ten years ago, Cerberus witnessed something no one else believes. His father, a brilliant scientist, opened a portal in their lab, and a towering two-headed beast came through. Cerberus watched it take his father. Everyone else called it an accident. He wanted to believe them.

Now, a strange energy signal pulses with the same pattern from that night. It should be impossible. But it could mean that his father is still alive. Somewhere.

With help from Ricky, a childhood friend turned controversial researcher, Cerberus begins tracking ancient energy pulses and fractured time. At the center is MonFus, a strange force binding lost worlds and missing creatures. But each test risks waking something older…something that has waited long enough.

Cerberus is pulled into an unfamiliar world filled with forgotten cities, dangerous beasts, and suspicious allies. High above, a dark castle looms, its roots sunk into rivers of glowing magma. Something waits inside. And it remembers him.

If Cerberus fails, he may lose more than his father. He could unleash a villain powerful enough to bend time itself.

He wants the truth. But the truth might come at a terrible cost.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Saturday, the 13^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-09-13/ezra-edmond

Zines of Resistance: Community Zine-Making Workshop at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event

Unleash your creativity and join us for a zine-making workshop that celebrates resistance and community at Beyond Baroque’s Bookstore.

Enraged? Frustrated? Need a place to let it all out?

In reaction to censorship of free speech and the systematic attacks on marginalized communities in this country, Beyond Baroque is hosting “Zines of Resistance,” a day of cathartic zine creation! Zines have historically been used to spread information and creative expression without going through traditional publishing. We want to uplift and encourage our community to create zines with us during these times in which solidarity is most needed!

The workshop will take place at Beyond Baroque’s Scott Wannenberg Bookstore & Lounge. We will have the essentials to create zines but we encourage participants to bring their own materials and skills to share them with participants!

During the workshop, our bookstore will be open. Come browse through our bookshelves, get inspired, and meet new friends! Our bookstore will be open until 6 pm and for our evening program, The NEW Series: Poetry & Shelter.

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 3 pm – 5 pm

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

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zines-of-resistance-community-zine-making-workshop-tickets-1623274601029?aff=oddtdtcreator

Special Author Event: Raegan Revord & Rules for Fake Girlfriends at pages, a bookstore – In-Person Event

Raegan Revord will celebrate their debut release, Rules for Fake Girlfriends.

This book is a charming and swoony YA rom-com debut from Raegan Revord, star of the CBS hit series Young Sheldon—about a young college student as she navigates her first year abroad, first love, first loss, and finding her place in the world.

Rom-com obsessed but perpetually single Avery Blackwell abandons her plans to attend Columbia in favor of spending her freshman year at her recently deceased mother’s alma mater in a seaside town in England. On the train, Avery makes a deal straight out of one of her beloved romance books with a charming local girl named Charlie: if Avery will pretend to be her girlfriend to make her ex jealous, Charlie will help Avery solve the scavenger hunt her artistic, free-spirited mother left behind on campus decades ago.

As their quest takes them all over Brighton, Avery finally starts to connect with the mother she always loved but never really understood. Before long, pretending to be Charlie’s girlfriend starts to feel like more than just an illusion. But when long-hidden secrets come to light, Avery grapples with an uncertain future, and whether or not love is worth the risk.

About the author:

Raegan Revord starred in the CBS hit series Young Sheldon and its spinoff, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, in the breakthrough role of Missy Cooper. Raegan is a dedicated writer and avid reader who launched the hugely popular book club, Read With Raegan, in 2022. A San Diego native, Raegan now lives in Los Angeles with five rescue pets.

Where: pages, a bookstore 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

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

Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.

Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry

Date: Saturday, the 13^th

Time: 3 pm – 5 pm

Join us for a Bilingual Poetry Night at Stay Studio in Downey.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with us at @staystudio in Downey as we return with new bilingual open mic night

“Poesía for the People presents: Luces de Libertad”

This event features both established poets and first-time readers, celebrating all voices. Come enjoy the vibrant atmosphere.

Half of all proceeds will be donated to @stayartsorg , a non-profit organization dedicated to broadening arts access and empowering local artists and youth.

Let’s raise our voices and celebrate together!

This is a ticketed event✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

RSVP link in BIO 📚❤️🌃

Where: Stay Studio, Downey

Date: Saturday, the 13^th

Time: 5:30 pm

Address: 11140 Downey Avenue, Downey, CA 90241

Ever Jones is a queer/trans writer, artist, and professor of creative writing at the University of Washington Tacoma. Transanything, their forthcoming essay collection (Northwestern University Press) will be out in Summer 2025. Their poetry books include nightsong and Wilderness Lessons. Ever’s work can be found in Kenyon Review, POETRY and many other journals. Visit everjones.com.

CD Eskilson is a trans nonbinary poet and translator. Their work appears in the Kenyon Review, The Offing, Cincinnati Review, among others, and they are the poetry co-editor at Split Lip Magazine. CD’s debut poetry collection, Scream / Queen, is now available from Acre Books. Once, they were in a punk band.

Where: North Figueroa Bookshop 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-bffd2bd3-1ece-4ba8-ac38-07720a05fdf9

Open Mic Night at The Open Book, Woodland Hills – In-Person Event

Open Mic Night at The Open Book in Woodland Hills is a free event with 5 min. time slots.

Come showcase your talent, whether you’re a musician, poet, storyteller, or actor – everyone’s welcome! Want to perform? Apply through the link in our Linktree for more info! Bring your friends and discover amazing books at great prices while you’re here!

We’re so excited to see everyone there! And remember, we are open to the public and are a family friendly store, so all acts must be PG-rated!

RSVP via Linktree.

Where: The Open Book, Woodland Hills 

Date: Saturday the 13^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 6320 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Ste. 1680, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Website: https://www.instagram.com

Melrose Trading Post: 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 11 am – 5 pm.

All poems are donation based, so you name your price.

NOTE: Check every Sunday for story time and reading events

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

Date: Sunday, the 14^th

Time: 10 am – 5 pm (market); 11 am – 5 pm (poets on demand)

Address: 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046

Website: https://www.instagram.com

Book Launch Event: Dara Henry & Mazel Tov Baby! at pages, a bookstore – In-Person Kids Event

Welcome back local children’s author Dara Henry for an exciting launch party celebrating her second picture book MAZEL TOV, BABY! Join us in the courtyard on Sunday, September 14th at 10:30 am for a book signing, kids’ entertainment and activities, snacks, and more.

A sweet, rhyming picture book that is a must-have for any Jewish baby. Parents, grandparents, and any care giver will love to share this with the little one in their lives.

In this adorable novelty format perfect for tiny hands, readers will have fun celebrating all of the wonderful—and sometimes hidden—things that make each baby special and unique. With seven full-sized flaps that lift up, down, and sideways, and surprise mirror at the end, this sweet book is an ideal gift for baby showers!

Dara Henry is a children’s book author living in Southern California. She has a master’s degree in elementary education and worked as an elementary school teacher for many years. While she no longer has a classroom of her own, Dara still finds joy in connecting with children and families—only now, she’s sharing her stories while visiting classrooms and bookstores all over the country. When she is not writing, her favorite pastimes include being active in the beautiful California weather, spending time at the public library, and enjoying time with her husband, children, and three cats.

Where: pages, a bookstore 

Date: Sunday the 14^th

Time: 10:30 am

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

Contact us if you would like to be a volunteer reader, and we will see you at the bookstore!

As always, our storytime events are always free to attend, but we strongly recommend you RSVP so that we can accommodate all who wish to attend.

Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 4^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Where: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2025-09-14/sunday-storytime

Kids Storytime with Rachel C. Katz & Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Rachel C Katz will be reading from her book Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History, a picture book designed to inspire young activists.

Reserve your seats on EVENTBRITE!

From the Boston Tea Party to the Capitol Crawl, inspire young activists in this bold nonfiction picture book that explores 25 moments of protest, resistance and revolution throughout American history. In a powerful celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday, teach kids how we campaign and vote. We challenge tradition. Protest is American by definition!

About the author:

Rachel C. Katz taught middle school humanities for many years and introduced hundreds of students to her passions: writing, literature, American history, and civics. Now, she writes the books she always dreamed of sharing with her students.

Rachel writes nonfiction, from picture books to YA, about the histories left out of textbooks. She is drawn to stories of imperfect people who tried their best to make a complex world better. Rachel also writes fiction: silly stories, graphic novels, and mysteries.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 14^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: https://villagewell.com/

BCB x Ambitious Ales Boozy Book Fair at Ambitious Ales, Long Beach – In-Person Event

More information coming soon!

Where: Bel Canto Books at Ambitious Ales, Long Beach

Date: Sunday, the 14^th

Time: 12 pm – 4 pm

Address: 4019 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

BOSTON GLOBE–HORN BOOK AWARD–WINNING AUTHOR BRANDY COLBERT GIVES THE PARENT TRAP A FRESH, FUNNY, AND DELIGHTFULLY UNEXPECTED UPDATE IN THIS STORY OF TWO GIRLS—ONE RAISED BY HER SINGLE FATHER, THE OTHER IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM—WHO MEET BY CHANCE…ONLY TO DISCOVER THEY’RE IDENTICAL TWINS.

Kenya Norwood likes things just the way they are. She’s lived all her life in Pasadena with her dad and grandmother, she’s attended the same school with the same friends since pre-K, and she’s always the center of attention. Even as she’s about to start middle school, she knows one thing for sure: none of that is going to change.

For Liberty Perry, change is all she’s ever known. Her mother disappeared when she was a toddler, and ever since, she’s never stayed in one place for very long. But things seem different with her new foster mother, Joey. Maybe in this home, in this school, change won’t come so quickly.

Except everything changes the day Liberty and Kenya meet—and discover they are identical.

Neither of them is ready to find out she has a twin sister (in fact, they’re unsure if they even want one), and when the girls learn the truth of how they were separated, it’s clear that no one else in their lives was ready for this, either. But the connection they share might be even stronger than the things that kept them apart—and teaming up might be the only way to set everything right.

Brandy Colbert is the award-winning author of several books for children and teens, including Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which was the winner of the 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and a finalist for the American Library Association’s Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award. Her other acclaimed books include The Blackwoods, Pointe, The Voting Booth, The Only Black Girls in Town, and the Stonewall Book Award winner Little & Lion. A member of the faculty at Hamline University’s MFA program in writing for children, Brandy lives in Los Angeles. You can find her online at brandycolbert.com.

Elise Bryant is the NAACP Image Award-nominated author of Happily Ever Afters, One True Loves, Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling, and It’s Elementary. For many years, Elise had the joy of working as a special education teacher, and now she spends her days reading, writing, and eating dessert. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Long Beach, California. You can visit her online at http://www.elisebryant.com.

Where: Reparations Club

Date: Sunday the 14^th

Time: 3 pm (Doors at 2:30 pm)

Address: 3054 South Victoria Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90016

Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event-lets-get-together-w-brandy-colbert-tickets-1607822142309?aff=oddtdtcreator

Second Sunday Poetry Series& Open Mic: Rich Ferguson and Kathleen Florence at The Studio Theatre – In-Person Event

This event is an Open Mic poetry show, hosted by Alex M. Frankel, and it happens on the second Sunday of every month. Great poets perform their work, sell and sign books, and mingle with audience members and open mic participants.

Upcoming Poets: Rich Furguson and Kathleen Florence

Pushcart-nominated poet Rich Ferguson has shared the stage with Patti Smith, Wanda Coleman, Moby, and other esteemed artists. He is a featured performer in the film What About Me? featuring Michael Stipe, k.d. lang, and others. His poetry has been widely published, and his spoken word videos have appeared in international film festivals. He is the author of two poetry collections and the novel, New Jersey Me (Rare Bird Books). Ferguson is the lead editor of an anthology of CA poets entitled Beat Not Beat, and his third poetry collection, Somewhere, a Playground, will be released by Moon Tide Press in October of this year.

Kathleen Florence is a poet whose artistic practice spans screen, stage, and page. Her work has been featured in journals and anthologies, including L.A.’s Cultural Daily and Paris Lit Up, and has been supported by grants from the Ontario and Canada Arts Councils. An accomplished performer, she has shared her work at venues like Poets House in NYC and Beyond Baroque in L.A. Prayers With a Side of Cash, her debut poetry collection, will be released this fall by Moon Tide Press.

Where: The Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building

Date: Sunday the 14^th

Time: 5 pm

Address: 3433 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, CA 90068

Website: https://www.secondsundaypoetry.com/upcoming-poets.html

Short Story Reading: Anna Siri, Janis Robertson, Kacie Tergesen and Natalija Vekic & Girl in Trouble at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Come celebrate as we release the short story zine collection: Girl in Trouble Stories | Volume 2 & 3. This is a free event! Everyone is welcome.

Reserve your seat at Eventbrite!

Girl in Trouble Stories is a creative experiment. A literary studio. We are independent writers unafraid of the power of words. Even if they get us into trouble. We write, share and curate short stories that embody our theme and writing muse––the Girl in Trouble. We also sprinkle in a dose of our current obsessions, offer writing workshops, and highlight honorary Girls in Trouble. When you subscribe to our Substack: https://girlintroublestories.substack.com. You’ll get a short new story every month, extra sizzling content, and join our creative community. Trust us, your inboxes will be super into it. We’re always looking for ways to connect with other writers and storytellers—so get in touch.

(And when we say girls, we mean––in the most inclusive, big hug, get under this umbrella, we’re making space for everybody, sort of way. We mean––queer girls, trans girls, non-binary g*rls, boy girls, gurls that say it like this.)

Original Troublemakers:

Anna Siri is an award-winning writer and producer who grew up in Central America, Mexico, Washington, DC, and Chicago before landing in California. She filled her head with knowledge at Northwestern University and UCLA, and when she’s not trying to get her projects off the ground, spends most of her time traveling to interesting places and writing at airport gates and other people’s kitchen tables.

Janis Robertson grew up among oak trees, rattlesnakes, and coyotes howling at night. After starting a stable career in San Francisco, she decided to blow it all up and spend a year hiking volcanoes in the Andes, climbing glaciers in Norway, assisting artists in the Outback. Janis made her way to LA, earning an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA and forging a career specializing in animation. Her short film, THE HEART ERRS, was selected for the newly revived Spike and Mike’s Festival of Animation.

Kacie Tergesen has been writing stories for as long as she can remember—her childhood was full of sketchbooks brimming with cartoons and comic strips. Kacie’s experience includes writing for Disney Television Animation, development on a Mattel preschool series, and staffing on a female- led Netflix animated series (where she met Janis!). Currently, she is the lead Narrative Writer on the upcoming video game, “Five Mics”. Going forward, she’s excited to tell more stories that underrepresented viewers can see themselves reflected in. In her free time, Kacie enjoys eating eel sushi, trying to force “sweater weather” in the summer, and getting way too excited about a well-executed professional wrestling storyline.

Natalija Vekic is Bosnian and Serbian and immigrated to Chicago when she was a pint-sized six-year-old. She’s convinced that not being able to speak English taught her to be a keen observer and sparked her love of storytelling. Dreaming up stories was a way to regain her voice and make sense of her new home. Her experience as an immigrant, growing up with a single mom profoundly influences the stories she tells. Natalija writes and directs suspenseful dramas from the perspective of immigrants, outsiders and women who boldly shape history, but are forgotten. Family turmoil, forgiveness and how the past creeps into the present are at the heart of her scripts. She loves to tackle complex and gritty women characters. And is currently

developing several original TV series –– The Golden State and Beautiful Dreamers.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 14^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Fantasy Romance Book Club is led by bookseller Grace. It meets on the 2^nd Sunday of the month, and participants read all paranormal and other worlds romance novels. Everyone is welcome.

This month’s selection is Cemetary Boys by Aiden Thomas.

RSVP required.

Where: The Ripped Bodice

Date: Sunday the 14^th

Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232 

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