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.
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: Monday the 17th
Time: 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd, Suite 1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://villagewell.com
Book Club: West With Giraffes at Fairfax Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a conversation about West With Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge.
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West With Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.
Where: Fairfax Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 11 am
Address: 161 Gardner St., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-west-giraffes
Robertson Writers Group at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Writing a book, poem, or screenplay? Need deadlines? Want constructive feedback? Then this is the place for you. Bring 5 – 10 double-spaced typed pages to read. Everyone will get a chance to read.
RSVP:
This group mostly meets in person, but email rbrtsn@lapl.org if you’d prefer to join via Zoom.
Where: Robertson Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1719 S. Robertson Blvd.. Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/robertson-writers-group-2
Philosophical Horror Book Club: American Rapture at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss American Rapture by C.J. Leede.
A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust.
Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the Midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin…
CJ Leede is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly and American Rapture. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. When she is not driving around the country, CJ can be found in LA with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/philosophical-horror-book-club-american-rapture
Live Talks LA Presents: Elyse Meyers, with Trevor Jones, & That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You via Virtual Event Tickets – Online Event
Elyse Meyers, in conversation with Trevor Jones, will discuss That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You.
Writer and comedian Elyse Myers gets real about life’s awkward moments in her bold, funny, and unfiltered debut book.
Elyse Myers is a writer and comedian who’s known to her twelve million followers as “The Internet’s Best Friend,” sharing relatable stories and comedic sketches and serving as an advocate for topics such as neurodivergence, impostor syndrome, body image, and more. Elyse lives in the Midwest with her husband, two sons, and her pillow pet named Wallace.
Trevor Jones is a creative leader and marketer from Southern California, and proud older brother of Elyse Myers. He’s spent the last 19 years working in film and entertainment, helping teams tell meaningful stories.
Whether she’s making people laugh with stories of disastrous dates or giving a voice to that awkward internal monologue many of us have, she has three simple goals behind everything she makes: To make people feel known, loved, and like they belong. She hopes that by sharing her authentic and unfiltered self with the world, others will feel comfortable doing the same.
In That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You, Elyse delivers a debut collection of deeply personal stories and hand-drawn illustrations, offering even more intimate reflections beyond what fans have seen on her social media, including: Spending 7 Minutes in Heaven accidentally friend-zoning her crush; How Lucy, the Magic 8 Ball keychain, changed her life by accident; Moving from California to Australia to Texas to Nebraska to like (maybe even love!) herself; How to Fold Hospital Corners in 10 EASY STEPS!—a practical guide and a rumination about…everything; The “meat cute” when she met her smoke show of a husband at a butcher’s counter in Australia—and how she revealed herself to be an emotional runner.
RSVP for tickets.
Where: LiveTalks LA Online Event
Date: Monday, the 17th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/elyse-myers/
Memoir Launch: Alissa Kriegel, with Lisa Cheek, & From Sexless Marriage to Sex Goddess at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Alisa’s bold and vulnerable memoir, From Sexless Marriage to Sex Goddess, told with honesty and humor, shows us that it’s possible to have a sexual awakening—and to experience the thrill of feeling desired—at any age.
Along with a reading and discussion, Alisa and Lisa Cheek, who will moderate, will conduct an anonymous Ask the Sex Therapist Q&A with the audience.
This memoir is a therapist’s tale of mid-life sexual awakening as she bravely explores relationships, sex, and pleasure—and learns that it’s never too late to desire and be desired.
Is it ever too late to connect to the sexual part of yourself? At forty-eight years old, after her husband announced he had fallen in love with a man, Alisa Kriegel was determined to finally figure out this essential part of herself. As a psychologist, she had the tools to help others; now, it was time to help herself.
Alisa’s bold and vulnerable story told with honesty and humor, shows us that it’s possible to have a sexual awakening—and to experience the thrill of feeling desired—at any age. Letting go of decades of shame and giving herself permission for pleasure was just the beginning of jumping into a series of adventures in online dating, sex, and romance. From sex clubs in New York City to a canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness, this memoir offers readers an insight-filled journey into one woman’s mid-life discoveries about sex, love, and relationships—and a behind-the-scenes, in-depth analysis of women’s sexuality.
NOTE: Reserve your seat at website.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://villagewell.com
Rupo Open Mic at Back to the Grind in Riverside – In-Person Event
RUPO Open Mic is every Monday Night at Back to the Grind in Riverside.
Every Monday 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 17th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com
Kelly Foster Lundquist. With Charles Jensen, & Beard: A Memoir of Marriage at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Join Kelly Foster Lundquist, in conversation with Charles Jensen, to discuss Beard: A Memoir of a Marriage.
Kelly Foster Lundquist was nineteen when she met Devin at church camp in the late ’90s. Immediately inseparable, the two bonded over bootleg Tori Amos recordings and a sense of disconnection from the spiritual fervor of their fellow camp counselors. Devin was classically handsome and Kelly on the plain side of pretty, but they matched. Their twinned search for God, acceptance, and love would profoundly shape the rest of their lives.
In this striking debut memoir, Lundquist revisits her relationship with Devin twenty years after their divorce, as she investigates the “beard” trope in literature, culture, and her own romantic life. The straight woman who unwittingly marries a gay man is either a laughingstock or a fool—or both—in the popular imagination. And yet reality—much like desire—is more wild. Reality is midnight pad Thai, tenderness in Ralph Lauren sheets, ritual visits to Blockbuster, and beginning a PhD in queer theory while your husband secretly struggles to reconcile his double life.
A tour de force of empathy and vivid prose, Beard reckons honestly with the harm done to both husband and wife by churches that required rigid performances of gender and sexuality. In contrast, Lundquist learns to let go of brittle certainties as she embraces what her first marriage taught her about risk and redemption.
NOTE: See website for further details and guidelines.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Joy Frequencies: A Fun Poetry Show& Open Mic at Bar Covell – In-Person Event
Join a super fun poetry show with live band. Hosted by Derrick C. Brown and Linda Ravenswood.
NOTE: See website for further details and guidelines.
Where: Covell
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4628 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joy-frequencies-tickets-1935584678879
Main Library Book Club: Tar Baby via Main Library, SMPL – Online Event
Participants will meet virtually to discuss Tar Baby by Toni Morrison.
To register, email library@santamonica.gov.
Where: Main Library, SMPL
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events
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 17th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html
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: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://villagewell.com
Tuesday Tales: A Travelin’ Storytime, Session 1 at Fairview Branch 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: Fairview Branch Library, SMPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 10:30 am – 11 am
Address: 2101 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events
Virtual Book Club: The Listeners 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 The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater. 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.
Each week we read and discuss 1/4 of the book. Please see the weekly discussion breakdown below.
Week 3: November 18: Part 2: Chapters 8 – 15, Pages 97 – 190
Week 4: November 25: Part 3: Chapters 16 – 22, Pages 197 – 278
Week 5: December 2: Part 4: Chapters 23 – Epilogue, Pages 283 – to end of book.
January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa is where high society goes to see and be seen. Located deep in the West Virginia mountains, where healing sweetwater flows, the hotel is managed by a local, June Hudson, whose skills were noted by the wealthy Guilfoyles who own the place. War has begun, and June is trying to shield the Avallon from it, but when the owner’s son makes a deal with the State Department to house dozens of Axis diplomats, June must convince her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to battle—to offer luxury to Nazis for the war effort. Peacefully.
Meanwhile, FBI agent Tucker Minnick is searching for a spy among the detainees. He has his own history with West Virginia and would have done anything to avoid coming back, but this mission is an exile that he can’t escape unless he earns it. As tension grows between locals and the detainees, Tucker’s spy games disturb the peace, and the eerie sweetwater proves more dangerous than once thought. June’s future at the Avallon hangs in the balance—but who is she without the hotel? And what is it without her? Maggie Stiefvater makes her adult fiction debut in this mesmerizing portrait of an unlikely heroine, a hotel—and a world—in peril, and the love that can bloom even in such unlikely circumstances.
Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14602516
Books & Bagels Book Club: Table for Two at Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Table for Two by Amor Towels. Copies available at the library. For adults.
Love books and good company? Join us for a lively discussion of our current selection over fresh bagels and coffee. New members are always welcome! Copies of the current book are available at the front desk.
Where: Venice – Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 12:30 pm
Address: 501 S. Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/books-and-bagels-2
Before the Ban Book Club: Drama at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join participants to discuss Dram: A Graphic Novel by Raina Telgemeier.
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s production of Moon over Mississippi, she can’t really sing. Instead, she’s the set designer for the drama department’s stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn’t know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!
Raina Telgemeier is the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award–winning creator of Smile, Sisters, and Guts, which are all graphic memoirs based on her childhood. She is also the creator of Drama and Ghosts, the adapter and illustrator of the first four Baby-sitters Club graphic novels, and, with Scott McCloud, the co-creator of The Cartoonists Club. Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier is based on an exhibition that was held at The Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Raina lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more, visit her online at goraina.com.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/ban-book-club-drama-0
Agoura Readers Book Club: The Names at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss The Names by Florence Knapp. For adults.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14982128
Zine Making Workshop with Darrell Fusaro at San Pedro Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Explore your creative side through the art of zine making with artist and author Darrell Fusaro. Join us for a fun, imaginative, and inspirational afternoon.
Where: San Pedro Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, CA 90731
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/zine-making-workshop-darrell-fusaro
Teen Book Club & Uno Tournament at Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Teen Event
This month, we are reading books by Indigenous authors! We will talk a bit about the history of Indigenous people in North America. Come prepared to discuss the book you’ve read, learn about history, and play some Uno.
This program is for grades 6-12.
Where: Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 12006 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/teen-book-club-uno-tournament
Book Party: Because of Winn-Dixie at Lancaster Library, LACL – In-Person Kids Event
Participants will discuss Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamimllo. For adults.
This book is about a quiet girl who finds a dog that changes her life, friends, and family. Afterwards we will create our own dog from Crayola Model Magic Clay. For Grades 4 – 8.
Attendance is limited, and advance registration is required. Please register every individual in your party, including kids. This will be used to save your spots in the program. We cannot guarantee availability for any unregistered attendees.
Where: Lancaster Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14713467
The Naughty Novel Society eBook Club: Lights Out at Lawndale Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Lights Out by Navessa Allen. For adults.
Explore the Romance genre and learn about all the digital resources the library has to offer with this unique book club. We will be primarily utilizing the free digital resources Libby and Hoopla with limited hard copies available. November’s Pick: Lights Out by Navessa Allen. Available in Audiobook and eBook on Libby and a limited number of hard copies for attendees at the library. Refreshments will be served.
For adults.
Where: Lawndale Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 14615 Burin Ave, Lawndale, CA 90260
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14693736
Book Club: The Blessing Way at Pico Rivera Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss The Blessing Way by Tony HIllerman for Native American Heritage Month. For adults.
Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn investigates a strange homicide involving a victim found with a mouth of sand, found at an abandoned crime scene seemly devoid of tracks or clues. Leaphorn cannot help but suspect the hand of a supernatural killer, leading him on a chilling trail that winds perilously between mysticism and murder. The Blessing Way is the first book in the Leaphorn and Chee series by Tony Hillerman which has been adapted into a TV show, Dark Winds, on AMC.
Where: Pico Rivera Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 9001 Mines Ave, Pico Rivera, CA 90660
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14117800
Adult Book Club: Fire Exit at Baldwin Park Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Fire Exit by Morgan Talty. For adults.
Charles Lamosway is at a crossroads: Dementia threatens to engulf his mother; he has been evicted from the Native reservation where he has always lived; his stepfather has died; and, most painful of all, his daughter, Elizabeth, doesn’t know him. He strongly feels that she needs to know that her blood was his blood and for her to be aware of her connection to a past time and people. Would his daughter want to know the truth, even if it could cost her everything she’s ever known?
If you would like a copy of the book, please drop by Baldwin Park Library to pick up a copy.
Attendance is limited. RSVP
Where: Baldwin Park Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 4181 Baldwin Park Blvd., Baldwin Park, CA 91706
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14857415
Classic Detectives Book Club: The 39 Steps at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join participants to discuss The 39 Steps by John Buckan.
As war looms in Europe, Richard Hannay returns from Rhodesia to his home in London. His neighbor, an American freelance spy named Franklin Scudder, claims to know of an assassination plot to destabilize Europe. When Hannay finds Scudder dead in his flat he is drawn into a fast-paced labyrinthine adventure that takes him from the hills of Scotland to an unassuming location by the sea. The progenitor of the classic man-on-the-run thriller, The Thirty-Nine Steps first appeared as a serial adventure story in Blackwood’s Magazine from August to September 1915 and in book form in October of that year. Since its publication it has never been out of print and has been frequently adapted for television, radio, theater, and film, including, quite famously, a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/classic-detectives-book-club-39-steps
The 3rd Tuesday Book Club: Malibu Rising at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. All are welcome!
Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/3rd-tuesday-bookclub-0
World Cultures Reading Circle: James: A Novel at Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss James: A Novel by Percival Everett. All are welcome!
Where: Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-cultures-reading-circle-15
Agoura Readers Book Club: The Names via Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Please join us virtually to discuss The Names by Florence Knapp.
To attend this meeting virtually, contact Nina Hull at 818-889-2278 or nhull@library.lacounty.gov
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14982133
Original Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Our longest running book club! We read mostly contemporary fiction with the occasional non-fiction thrown in.
This month’s pick is I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman.
About the book:
Ursula K. LeGuin meets The Road in a post-apocalyptic modern classic of female friendship and intimacy.
Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.
As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman’s modern classic is an important addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd.,1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://villagewell.com
Open Mic Readings Every Tuesday at the Aftermath Bar, Sherman Oaks – In-Person Event
CALLING ALL WRITERS! Every Tuesday we’ll be having Open Mic Readings open to the public! Read your poems, fiction, and spoken word at our open mic reading EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT from 7 pm – 10 pm!
Read your poetry, fiction, spoken word, or lyrics.
Free event. 21+
Note: Please RSVP at site.
Where: The Aftermath Bar
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 14537 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Scott Eyman & Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Scott Eyman will present and discuss Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face.
Film historian and acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman has written the definitive biography of Hollywood icon Joan Crawford, drawing on never-before-seen documents and photos from the Crawford estate.
Joan Crawford burst out of her poverty-stricken youth to become a bright young movie star in the 1920’s, drawing the admiration of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the attention of audiences worldwide. She flourished for decades, working for multiple studios in every genre from romance to westerns (Mildred Pierce, Johnny Guitar), musicals to noir (Torch Song, A Woman’s Face), and being directed by a young Steven Spielberg in one of her last appearances. Along the way she accumulated four husbands, an Academy Award for Best Actress, and the undeniable status of a legend.
Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face looks at the reality of this remarkable woman through the prism of groundbreaking primary research, interviews with friends and relatives, and with the same insightful analysis of character and motive that author Scott Eyman brought to John Wayne and Cary Grant, among others.
Joan Crawford was a woman like no other, and Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face is the first full telling of her dazzling, turbulent life.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2025-11-18/scott-eyman-discusses-signs-joan-crawford-womans-face
Book Launch: Rachel Cohn and Melissa De La Cruz & My Ex-Husband’s Ex-Husband at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event
Join us to hear authors Rachel Cohn and Melissa De La Cruz discuss My Ex-Husband’s Ex-Husband.
This book a freewheeling journey through Vienna where two estranged friends search for their mutual ex—and a long-lost bond.
Audrey and Ian were best friends—until they fell in love with the same man. To be precise, they fell in love with, married, and divorced the same man. And there’s no coming back from that.
Twenty-odd years later, they’re right back at the beginning: Vienna, where their university study abroad turned into a love triangle from which they never quite recovered. But it’s Christmas, and Audrey’s daughter is getting married. Time to let bygones be bygones.
Not for the sake of the holiday or even because they’ve matured with age…but because their mutual ex is nowhere to be found. It’s up to Audrey and Ian to track him down.
As wedding plans go further awry, the former besties race to find the father of the bride. Juggling complicated family dynamics (and the cocktails required to cope), they learn that, sometimes, it’s not about the search but the friendships rediscovered along the way.
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2025-11-18/book-launch-my-ex-husbands-ex-husband
North Fig Book Club: The Piano Teacher at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss The Piano Teacher by author Elfriede Jelinek.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Romance Book Club: The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by author Jean Meltzer.
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2025-11-18/romance-book-club
Book Launch Event: Emily Charlotte, with Clare Osongco, & Heart Check at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Emily Charlotte, in conversation with Clare Osongco, will discuss her debut romance, Heart Check.
A book signing will follow the discussion.
RSVP: Ticketed event
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://www.therippedbodice.com/events-and-tickets
Mystery & thriller Book Club: Malice via SMPL – Online Event
This community-led, monthly book discussion group meets virtually at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month. This book group discusses domestic and international titles in the mystery and thriller genres. To register, email library@santamonica.gov.
November 2025: Malice by Keigo Higashino
Where: Virtual Event, SMPL
Date: Tuesday the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events
At Skylight: Roddy Bottum, with Margaret Cho, & The Royal We at Skylight – In-Person Event
Roddy Bottom, in conversation with Margsaret Cho, will discuss The Royal We.
A founder of the iconic band Faith No More shares his coming-of-age and out-of-the-closet story in pre–tech boom San Francisco.
The Royal We is a poetic survey of a time set in a magical city that once was and is no more. It is a memoir written by Roddy Bottum, a musician and artist, that documents through prose his coming of age and out of the closet in 1980s San Francisco, a charged era of bicycle messengers, punk rock, street witches, wheatgrass, and rebellion. The book follows his travels from Los Angeles, growing up gay with no role models, to San Francisco, where he formed Faith No More and went on to tour the world relentlessly, surviving heroin addiction and the plight of AIDS, to become a queer icon.
The book is an elevated wallop of tongue and insight, much more than a tell-all. There are personal tales of historical pinnacles like Kurt and Courtney, Guns N’ Roses, and recaps of gold records and arena rock—but it’s the testimonies of tragedy and addiction and preposterous life-spins that make this work so unique and intriguing. Bottum writes about his dark and harrowing past in a clear-eyed voice that is utterly devoid of self-pity, and his emboldened and confident pronouncements of achievement and unorthodox heroism flow in an unstoppable train that’s both captivating and inspirational.
Roddy Bottum is a musician, writer, creator, and actor based in New York City. He started the band Faith No More in San Francisco in the early 1980s and toured the world, selling millions of records. In 1992, he came out of the closet and blew open the spectrum of what being gay in the world of rock music meant. That same year he also formed the critically acclaimed band Imperial Teen, cited as the original pioneers of alternative queer rock. Bottum moved to New York City in 2010 and has performed and created records with Crickets, JD Samson, Nastie Band, and Man on Man, a band with his partner, Joey Holman. He’s developing his Sasquatch opera project into a musical in New York City where he continues to live.
Comedian. Actor. Musician. Advocate. Entrepreneur. Five-time Grammy and Emmy nominee. Margaret Cho’s strong voice has been lighting the path for other women, other members of underrepresented groups, other performers, to follow. Her recent television appearances – guest star on Season 2 of The Flight Attendant (HBO Max), guest star on Season 2 of Hacks (HBO Max) and two Netflix is a Joke comedy specials: Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration and Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin: Ladies Night Live – have expanded an already wide-ranging career, and her role as the ‘mother hen’ in the well-reviewed movie Fire Island solidifies why we all love Margaret in the first place.
As a comedian Margaret has been named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time, one of Vogue magazine’s Top 9 Female Comedians of all time, while CNN chose her as one of the 50 People Who Changed American Comedy. Thankfully, Margaret has more stories to tell, and her production company, Animal Family Productions, has multiple scripted shows in development for 2022 and beyond.
Where: Skylight
Date: Tuesday, the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-roddy-bottum-presents-royal-we
Book Event: Alex Moreno & Sticky Time at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Alex Moreno, and guests, will present her collection Sticky Time.
In Sticky Time’s visceral, synesthetic poems, our speaker chronicles her quest for stability during a year of emotional and physical scattering. Ripe with surreal language and grotesque images, the poems toy with metaphysical questions concerning the nature of time, psychosomatics, technology, and conflicting visions of self. A full spin through the organs and the instants.
Alex Moreno is a writer and visual artist born in New York City and based in Los Angeles. Her work has been published with Spectra Poets, Lit Angels, Scaffold Lit, Dream Boy Book Club, and more. Sticky Time is her first book. She earned a BA from Bowdoin College, eats 1-2 apples a day, and really likes it.
With readings from:
Katja Grober is an American writer from Massachusetts. She currently lives and writes in Los Angeles.
Paasha Motamedi is an Iranian-Indonesian-American artist, raised on Coronado Island, educated in New York City, and currently based in Los Angeles. His multidisciplinary practice—shaped by poetry, cooking, music, and visual arts—took a decisive turn after embracing sobriety in 2015, leading him to explore slow-motion videography, photography, painting, and most recently, fragrance composition.
Veronika Kelemen is a New York-based writer. She received her MFA from Columbia University, where she was a Chair’s Fellowship recipient. Her chapbook, As Above So Below, was published in 2020 by Choo Choo Press, and her novel Good Thing is forthcoming.
Where: Stories Books & Cafe
Date: Tuesday, the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Book Event: Pyet Despain, with Dr. Claudia Serrato, & Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Next Level Chef winner Pyet De Spain celebrates her Mexican and Native American heritage in this collection of mouthwatering recipes, a vibrant fusion that ties us to the land and to one another.
Star Chef Pyet DeSpain rose to prominence as the first winner of Gordon Ramsey’s Fox television show Next Level Chef. Now, in her debut cookbook, she shares the joy of cooking fueled by her burning passion for Native American and Mexican American cuisine. Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking is a tribute to her dual heritage—a gorgeously crafted celebration of the diversity of food and the stories, traditions, culture, and profound philosophies of Indigenous people that season each meal.
Pyet shows you how to incorporate a delicious range of key ingredients—from venison, dandelion greens, and wild salmon to sunchokes, bison, and native berries—into more than sixty fusion dishes. Family and friends will be excited to gather around the table to enjoy sweet and savory food,
In addition to her inventive and palate pleasing recipes, Pyet invites home cooks to honor the seasons on our beautiful Earth and connect with essential foodways. “This is more than just a cookbook,” Pyet writes. “It’s giving a voice to Indigenous people, while also highlighting the fusion of my two cultures with fire and purpose.”
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday, the 18th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-18/pyet-despain
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Alex S. Johnson – Online Zoom Event
Cobalt Poets Reading & Open Mic and host Rick Lupert welcomes featured poet Alex S. Johnson.
Alex S. Johnson is a sometime English professor and author of Bizarro, erotica, horror, and science fiction works. They are the author of two novels, Bad Sunset and Jason X IV: Death Moon, the collections Wicked Candy and Doctor Flesh: Director’s Cut, the co-author of Fucked Up Shit! with Berti Walker, as well as numerous Bizarro, horror, science fiction, and experimental literary stories, including works published in Full-Metal Orgasm, Bizarro Central, Gone Lawn, Ugly Babies Volume 2, Master/slave, Noirotica III, Cthulhu Sex, The Surreal Grotesque, Cease, Cows, and many other venues.
They are the creator/editor of the Axes of Evil heavy metal horror anthology series. They have also been a music journalist for such magazines as Metal Hammer, Metal Maniacs and Zero Tolerance.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 18th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com
Da Poetry Lounge: Qualifying Slam #4 & 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.
Slam Night is every 3rd Tuesday of the month.
$10 suggested donation. Pay what you can. Do NOT line up prior to 7:30 pm Free parking adjacent to the theater.
Masks are encouraged.
Where: Ora Café
Date: Tuesday, the 18th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm
Address: 4331 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park, CA 90008
Website: https://www.instagram.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 19th
Time: 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Coffee Time Book Club: What We Can Know at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Meets monthly, generally on third Wednesday of each month at 10:00am. RSVP for more information.
We tend to read new release literary fiction. At each meeting we discuss and vote on what we will read and discuss for the following month.
Participants will discuss What We Can Know: A Novel by Ian McEwan.
From the Booker prize–winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known.
2014: At a dinner for close friends and colleagues, renowned poet Francis Blundy honors his wife’s birthday by reading aloud a new poem dedicated to her, ‘A Corona for Vivien’. Much wine is drunk as the guests listen, and a delicious meal consumed. Little does anyone gathered around the candlelit table know that for generations to come people will speculate about the message of this poem, a copy of which has never been found, and which remains an enduring mystery.
2119: Just over one hundred years in the future, much of the western world has been submerged by rising seas following a catastrophic nuclear accident. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost. In the water-logged south of what used to be England, Thomas Metcalfe, a lonely scholar and researcher, longs for the early twenty-first century as he chases the ghost of one poem, ‘A Corona for Vivian’. How wild and full of risk their lives were, thinks Thomas, as he pores over the archives of that distant era, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the elusive poem’s discovery, a story is revealed of entangled loves and a brutal crime that destroy his assumptions about people he thought he knew intimately well.
What We Can Know is a masterpiece, a fictional tour de force, a love story about both people and the words they leave behind, a literary detective story which reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost.
Facilitated by Linda McLoughlin Figel
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2025-11-19/coffee-time-book-club
Storytime Event: Annie Ranger & Mindful Owl Adventures at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us to hear local author, Annie Ranger read her book, Mindful Owl Adventures: A Magical Journey to Feel Calm, Focused, and Empowered.
Mindful Owl Adventures: A Magical Journey to Feel Calm, Focused, and Empowered brings together the beloved, original award-winning story with a brand-new mindfulness guide. Join siblings Alexa and Chester on a magical adventure guided by Mindful Owl. Along the way, they meet animal friends and discover fun, practical tools: deep belly breaths to calm big emotions, tapping into love for kindness and connection, and affirmations and visualization for safety, confidence, and resilience. Blending heartwarming storytelling with simple, science- backed practices, this interactive picture book and mindfulness guide helps children move through daily challenges with more ease, resilience, and self-awareness.
Join Diesel along with the Brentwood Country Mart and Toy Crazy, in the courtyard each Wednesday morning at 11:00 am for Storytime!
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 11 am
Address: 225 26th St., #33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2025-11-19/storytime-diesel-and-brentwood-country-mart
Author Talk | Q&A | Book Signing Event: Carolina Rivera Escamilla & Coming of Age in Central America at LACC Student Union – In-Person Event
LACC’s Book Program is excited to host Carolina Rivera Escamilla to discuss and read from her book Coming of Age in Central America, November 19th, 1-3 p.m., Student Union, 3rd floor. Please join us!
Carolina Rivera Escamilla is a writer, actor, and documentarian based in Los Angeles, California. Born in El Salvador, she studied theater arts and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied Spanish Literature.
Rivera Escamilla is the director, writer, and producer of the documentary Manlio Argueta, Poets and Volcanoes.
In her writing Rivera Escamilla broadens the horizons of the reading public with regards to its understanding of Latin America’s original and diverse themes. She brings Latin America to life for both English and Spanish reading audiences, by bringing into view stories from her own culture that stand in contrast to Hollywood stereotypes and to other distortions about the Latin American reality.
Rivera Escamilla has finished a collection of poems for theater, and is currently writing a novel, even as she is finishing translation of her published book of short stories …after… into Spanish.
Where: LACC Student Union, 3rd Floor
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Book Club: Dead Heat at Granada Hills Branch, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a discussion about the book Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis.
Where: Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 1:30 pm – 3 pm
Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-dead-heat
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 2nd Monday of the month on KPFK Los Angeles 90.7 FM.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: KPFK 90.7 FM
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event (live)
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
Book Club for Adults: Fahrenheit 451 at San Gabriel Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join us for a lively discussion of the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. For ages 18 and up.
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.
Where: San Gabriel Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 500 S. Del Mar Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91776
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14747620
Book Talk: Keisha N, Blain, with Jehan Guiles, & Without Fear via Chevalier’s – Online Event
Join us to hear Keisha N, Blain, in conversation with Jehan Guiles, discuss Without Fear.
Without Fear is a sweeping manuscript that tells the 200-year history of Black women’s leadership in national and international human rights movements, highlighting how they connected struggles for freedom across the globe and transformed human rights into an active principle of organizing for justice. Featuring both well-known and lesser-known figures, it forces audiences to focus on Black women’s perspectives and strategies for combating systems of injustice by addressing racism, sexism, and classism.
Keisha N. Blain is professor of Africana studies and history at Brown University. She is a Guggenheim, Carnegie, and New America Fellow, and author—most recently of the National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Until I Am Free. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
Jehan Giles is a Teacher-Librarian, community archivist, and 2 time NEH Fellow. Jehan is a cultural worker who focuses on improving the lives of children and Black & Brown Women through pedagogy, programming, and restorative practices.
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Graphic Novel Club: Ilustra Book 1: Daybreaker by Tori Tadiar at Once Upon a Time, Montrose – In-Person Event
Join us to share our love of graphic novels and visual creativity! Iz and Apollo host our ever-popular book club.
Participants will discuss Ilustra Book 1: Daybreaker by Tori Tadiar.
Mika always thought the gods and goddesses of the Philippines were no more than legend—until she wakes one and discovers a destiny she never imagined.
This middle-grade graphic novel series starter by an award-winning Filipina artist, inspired by the folklore of the Philippines, is perfect for readers of Amulet and Percy Jackson.
Best for ages 8+.
This is a discussion based club. Participants should come prepared to share their thoughts about that meeting’s book choice.
Limited space. No drop-ins. Purchase of book from Once Upon A Time required for RSVP.
Where: Once Upon a Time, Montrose
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 4 pm – 4:45 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Los Angeles, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/2025-11-19/graphic-novel-club
Sci-Fi Book Club: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi at Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join our Science Fiction Book Club where author John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War will be discussed. Copies of this novel are available at the library.
Synopsis: John Perry joins the military on his 76th birthday. But the war isn’t what it appears to be.
Where: Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/sci-fi-book-club-old-mans-war-john-scalzi
Book Club for Adults: The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World at San Fernando Library, LACL – In-Person Event
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we’re reading The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Copies of the current title are available at the Info Desk. New members are always welcome! For adults
In this reflection, the author, an Indigenous scientist, harvests serviceberries while contemplating the ethic of reciprocity central to the gift economy. She challenges the dominant economic system, which is built on scarcity, competition, and hoarding, and questions how we might reimagine our values through Indigenous wisdom and the natural world. Kimmerer emphasizes that true wealth is found in the strength of our relationships, not in individual accumulation. Through the example of the serviceberry, she invites us to envision a more relational and reciprocal way of living.
Where: San Fernando Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 217 N. Maclay Ave., San Fernando, CA 91340
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14722683
Diverse Romance Book Club: Liquid: A Love Story at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Liquid: A Love Story by Miriam Rahmani.
In this brilliant debut, a young Muslim scholar stuck in the mire of adjunct professorship in Los Angeles decides to give up her career in academia and marry rich, committing herself to 100 dates in the course of a single summer. By midsummer reality hits, taking her—and her project—to Tehran.
The unnamed Iranian Indian American narrator of Liquid has always believed herself to be the smartest person in the room. And from an early age, she and her best friend—a poet-turned-marketer named Adam—have turned their noses up at other peoples’ riches. But two years after earning a PhD from UCLA, the narrator is no closer to the middle-class comfort promised to her by the prestige of her fancy, scholarship-funded education and the successes of her immigrant parents. Jokingly, Adam suggests she just “marry rich.”
But our protagonist, whose PhD thesis compared Eastern and Western views of marriage in film and literature, takes the idea seriously. She makes a spreadsheet and outlines a goal: 100 dates with people of all genders and a marriage proposal in hand by the official start of the fall semester. What follows is a whirlwind summer packed with dating: martinis sans vermouth with the lazy scion of an Eastside construction empire; board games with a butch producer who owns a house in the hills and a newly dented Porsche; a Venmo request from a “socialist” trust fund babe; and an evening spent dodging the halitosis of a maxillofacial surgeon from Orange County.
Only a tragedy in Tehran and an overdue familial reckoning can alter the narrator’s increasingly manic trajectory and force her to confront the contradictions of her life in Los Angeles. And as doubts begin to creep in about her marriage project, it suddenly seems possible that the eligible prospect she’s been looking for has been beneath her nose the entire time.
Mariam Rahmani is a writer and translator. Her fiction, essays, and translations have appeared in Granta, Gulf Coast, n+1, and elsewhere. Her first book-length translation was named Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker. Rahmani holds a PhD from UCLA and an MFA from Columbia, as well as degrees from Princeton and Oxford. She teaches at Bennington College.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/diverse-romance-book-club-liquid-love-story
Rainbow Reads Teen Book Club: Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig at Once Upon a Time, Montrose – In-Person Event
Join us to celebrate diversity in Young Adult books as we read books featuring various identities and stories. This is a safe space welcome to teens of all identities and allies! Join Iz and Apollo for our proud book club.
Participants will discuss Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig.
This Romeo and Juliet remix features a young aspiring artist searching for true love amid a bloody, centuries-old feud in this fresh take on Shakespeare’s most notorious classic,
Best for ages 13 and up.
This is a discussion based club. Participants should come prepared to share their thoughts about that meeting’s book choice.
Limited space. No drop-ins. Purchase of book from Once Upon A Time required for RSVP.
Where: Once Upon a Time, Montrose
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Los Angeles, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/2025-11-19/rainbow-reads-book-club
Book Talks: The Works of Iris De Anda at Chicano Resource Center, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for an evening with celebrated LA author, poet, and activist Iris De Anda.
The evening will be hosted by poet and Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles Literary Director, Matt Sedillo.
Iris De Anda is a bilingual writer, poet, activist, and speaker. Her work explores themes of social justice, spirituality, identity, and empowerment, reflecting her Mexican and Salvadoran roots. She is the author of Codeswitch: Fires from Mi Corazón, a collection of poetry that blends English and Spanish while celebrating culture and resilience. De Anda has performed her poetry across the U.S. and internationally, advocating for peace, creativity, and community healing through the arts.
Where: Chicano Resource Center, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15033470
Book Club for Adults: The Kitchen House at Valley Plaza Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a lively literary discussion at our book club for adults! New members are always welcome. You may check out the book (or e-book) for free with your library card.
November 19: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.
Where: Valley Plaza Branch Library, LAP9
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 6 pm – 7:15 pm
Address: 12311 Vanowen St., North Hollywood, CA 91605
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-adults-7
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 19th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: On-Air Event (Radio Ollin)
Website: https://www.lapoetsociety.org/events
Malibu Library Speaker Series: Amy Tan at Malibu City Hall, LACL – In-Person Event
The Malibu Library Speaker Series presents Amy Tan at Malibu City Hall on Wednesday, November 19, at 7 pm.
Born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan rejected her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead. Her novels are The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement, all New York Times bestsellers. Her other works include a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, and a book about writing titled Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir. She is also the author of two children’s books, The Moon Lady, and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, along with numerous articles for magazines, including the New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and National Geographic, as well as a short story “Rules for Virgins” published as an audiobook. Her work has been translated into 35 languages, from Spanish, French, and Finnish to Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew.
In keeping with her love of science in the wild and childhood love of doodling, Tan began nature journal sketching leading to her latest book The Backyard Bird Chronicles, which debuted at #1 on both the New York Times and the Indie bestseller lists and has remained on the lists since publication. In his forward David Allen Sibley said, “The drawings and essays in this book do a lot more than just describe the birds. They carry a sense of discovery…, suggest the layers of patterns in the natural world, and emphasize a deep personal connection between the watcher and the watched.”
Amy Tan has been nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the International Orange Prize. She is also the recipient of the Commonwealth Gold Award, the 2005 Commonwealth Award of Distinguished Service, the 2021 Carl Sandburg Literary Award, and other honors. In March 2022 she was voted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She was also awarded the 2021 National Humanities Medal by President Biden in a ceremony at the White House. She was named a 2024 Library Lion by the New York Public Library. In 2025 she was elected into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Malibu Village Books will sell The Backyard Bird Chronicles at the event, and a book signing will follow the talk.
RSVPs are required.
Where: Malibu City Hall, LACL
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3825 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu, CA
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14795101
Emily Redondo, with Jen Pastiloff, & Wife Mother Drunk at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Emily Redondo, with Jen Pastiloff, will discuss Wife Mother Drunk.
Wife Mother Drunk is an intergenerational memoir recounting the author’s harrowing struggle with alcoholism, tracing it back through her ancestry to the times of the pioneers when the seeds of trauma were first planted, long before they overtook her otherwise loving life.
After having her fourth and last baby, Emily Redondo found herself in rehab with a breast pump and a five-week old at home. On the surface, she looked like every other suburban mom, replete with dance bags and mini van, but inside, she was in a harrowing dance with alcoholism, drinking from morning until night, stealing alcohol from liquor stores, and finding herself arrested for a DUI with a four-year old in the backseat.
Wife Mother Drunk tells the story of Emily’s decades-long battle against her disease while also confronting generations of inherited trauma and addiction. In this incredible book, Emily investigates those dusty-earth roots to understand how women process trauma, heartbreak, and centuries of putting their children before their own well-being. As Emily untangles the web of female addiction in her own family line, she uncovers all the ways her life has become the ultimate consequence of others’ unhealed trauma.
This is a book like few others on addiction, in that Emily doesn’t just wake up sober one day. After twenty institutions, Emily walks an awkward yet gentle road towards recovery, even as she is forced to face the consequences of her own trauma, through heart-breaking diagnoses and the long-term neurological damage caused by alcohol.
Wife Mother Drunk is a searing, heartbreaking portrait of a woman caught in the grips of addiction but also a mother whose greatest hope is the love for her children.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2025-11-19/emily-redondo-jen-pastiloff
Book Launch: John Doll, with Manuel Pastor, & St. James Park at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
John Doll, with Prof. Manuel Pastor, will present and discuss St. James Park
Set in Depression-era San Jose, St. James Park is a fast-paced noir novel rooted in California history. Based on real events and family lore, it features a kidnapping, a labor-organizing heroine, and a cynical Bureau of Investigation agent caught in a web of corruption, racial tension, and mob justice. The book resonates strongly with themes of social justice, media manipulation, and community identity—issues that continue to echo today.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Book Event: Ayana Gray, with Dahlia De La Vega, & I, Medusa at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
Ayana Gray, in conversation with Dahlia De La Vega, will present and discuss I, Medusa.
Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else’s story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents—both gods, albeit minor ones—she dreams of leaving her family’s island for a life of adventure. So, when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.
In Athens’ colorful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena’s favored acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy’s promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity—not as a victim, but as a vigilante—and with it, the chance to write herown story as mortal, martyr, and myth.
Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart’s deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.
Ayana Gray is a New York Times bestselling author. Beasts of Prey, her critically acclaimed YA fantasy series, has been translated into eleven languages across five continents. She currently lives in Arkansas, where she writes stories filled with monsters, myths, and magic. I, Medusa is her adult debut.
Dahlia De La Vega is the LA-based content creator and interviewer behind ofpagesandprint on social media. She created ofpagesandprint to support fantasy, romance, and YA authors. She can be found moderating book events at bookstores and conventions across Southern California; hosting her monthly book club, Musings of the Nine; and chatting about her favorite reads on Instagram.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3054 South Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016
RECESS Open Mic is at SIPA HQ, Palms Up Academy – In-Person Event
RECESS Open Mic is at SIPA HQ on Wednesdays.
This dynamic open mic is the most accessible public program in the Palms Up Academy curriculum and manifests their mission statement in a physical (and digital) space.
Join them at the intersection of Historic Filipino town & The World: Search to Involve Pilipino Americans.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: SIPA HQ
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
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: Kevin Moffat, with Eli Horowitz, & Only Son at Skylight – In-Person Event
Join is to hear Kevin Moffat, in conversation with Eli Horowitz, discuss Only Son.
Florida, 1982. A nine-year-old watches as his dead father’s possessions are hauled away: his clothes and tools, his faux-leather recliner. His sensei says it’s a perfect time to turn his weaknesses into weapons. His PE teacher says he runs like a pregnant ostrich. His mother takes out a personal ad. Everyone is trying to teach him a lesson, but he is, it seems, a slow learner. Meanwhile, with each passing day, his father recedes, growing less and less plausible, almost a myth.
Twenty-five years later, adrift in suburban Southern California, married with a son of his own, he’s still trying to sort through the fragments of his father’s death while imparting his own sketchy education onto his son. Which snakes are poisonous? Why did I tell him that Candyland is based on a true story? Why has he stopped asking me to go skateboarding with him and his friends? After discovering a travel journal he didn’t know his father kept, he and his son light out on a road trip, retracing the father’s mystifying journey.
They drive up the Pacific Coast, foggy, overtaken by beauty. As he strains to decipher his father’s notes, his relationship with his son begins to take on new heft and shape. With wit and compassion, Moffett delivers a bracingly intimate account of fatherhood, and discovery, and the experiences of two men far from home.
Kevin Moffett is the author of two short story collections, as well as The Silent History, a narrative app for mobile devices. His work has been awarded the National Magazine Award, the Nelson Algren Award, and a literature fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. Only Son, forthcoming in November, is a longlist finalist for the National Book Award. He teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Virginia and lives in Charlottesville.
Eli Horowitz is the co-creator of Homecoming, both the podcast and television series; The Silent History, a digital novel; The Clock Without a Face, a treasure-hunt mystery; The Pickle Index, a useless cookbook; and Everything You Know Is Pong, an illustrated cultural history of table tennis. He was the managing editor and then publisher of McSweeney’s; his design work has been honored by I.D., Print and the American Institute of Graphic Arts.
Where: Skylight
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-kevin-moffett-presents-only-son-w-eli-horowitz
Reading Event: It Comes in Waves at Stories Books & Café – In-Person Event
Join us for a reading event featuring:
Stella Leoni is the author of I’m Staying In Tonight, which explores e narrator’s complex relationship with identity, truth, and intimacy. The writing is raw and unapologetically honest, as it delves into feelings of disconnection, the search for meaning, and a rejection of societal norms. The narrator’s reflections on hands, attraction, and relationships speak to a longing for authenticity in a world that often feels overly controlled and superficial. The exploration of gender, sexuality, and the impact of family experiences shapes the narrator’s worldview, creating a deep sense of isolation and rebellion.
Maite Munoz is an art curator and researcher based in LA with a foot in Barcelona, working in the contemporary art world, curating exhibitions, writing, editing publications, and doing research projects.
Ethan DeLorenzo is an artist, photographer, and the author of Seen, Foraging Guide, among others.
Allison Bunce is a director, screenwriter, and producer living in Los Angeles, California. She received her BA in Cinema at San Francisco State University.
Charlotte Lansbury N/A
Geshie Wilmot N/A
Marcela Biven is known for Lilo & Stitch (2025), Spider (2022) and Virginia (2017).
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events
Banned Books Club at Underdog Bookstore, Monrovia – In-Person Event
Our Banned Books Club meets to discuss a new banned or challenged book every third Wednesday, in-store and online.
See site for details and information.
RSVP: bit.ly/readbannedbooks
Where: Underdog Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 199h
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 312 South Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA, 91016
Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/banned-books-club-85l6r-ldlt9
Jerry D. Moore & Cat Tales: A History at Vroman‘s – In-Person Event
Jerry D. Moore will discuss and sign his book, Cat Tales: A History.
Feared, revered, respected, and beloved, cats have left an indelible paw print on the histories and civilizations of humankind. Over the last two million years, cats and people have interacted in diverse and unexpected ways, but the predecessors of today’s furry friends were predators, not pets.
Leading anthropologist Jerry Moore charts the cat’s path from deadly enemy to improbable roommate, making use of the latest archaeological evidence to produce an original and revealing narrative. Starting with the terrifying prehistorical scimitar—tooth cat of the Pliocene age and the lion drawings of the Paleolithic Chauvet caverns, Moore journeys through our complicated history with these charismatic creatures. He travels along the Nile and across the Mediterranean, sailing on to South America, exploring pet cemeteries, cat mummies, and exquisite statuary across continents and centuries.
Illustrated throughout with photographs, artifacts, and artworks, this book surveys our relationships with cats from the Paleolithic period to the present day, unlocking the mysteries of these remarkable creatures. While cats are now beloved members of families around the world, our attempts to bring cats in from the cold have not always had happy endings, as Moore explores through such famous feline fanciers as Joe Exotic, Siegfried Fischbacher, and Roy Horn. From incredible archaeological finds to cave paintings, and from classical statues to contemporary social media, Cat Tales surveys ancient and modern interactions between humans and cats, wild and domestic, to ask a simple question: who domesticated who?
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-19/jerry-d-mooreart
Anansi Writers Workshop at The World Stage – In-Person Event
The Anansi Writers Workshop was founded in 1990 by Kamau Daáood, Akilah Oliver, Nafis Nabawi and Anthony Lyons. In 1993, Michael Datcher initiated the development of a three-part format for the workshop. Our tradition of a community workshop began in the late 1960s at the Watts Writers’ Workshop, where World Stage co-founder Kamau Daáood started his writing career. Hosted by Jessica Gallion aka “Yellawoman.”
- 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm — Formal workshop;
- 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm — Poems in Praise of Libraries Launch;
- 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 on Instagram @ _yellawoman
Where: The World Stage (use left rear entrance)
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Story Salon: Urgent Care at Art Parlor in Valley Village – In-Person & Virtual Hybrid Event
Los Angeles’s longest running storytelling venue is now a hybrid event!
An alternative to stand-up clubs + self-conscious performance spaces
Story Salon challenges you all to tell stories in 90 seconds! Can you do it? If you can, join us!
Tickets can be purchased early with the link in bio or at storysalon.com.
Theme: Urgent Care.
Where: Art Parlor
Date: Wednesday the 19th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 7 pm)
Address: 5302 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village, CA 91607
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/story-salon-urgent-care-tickets-1909776074649?aff=Socials
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 19th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org
Ladies Night Reading with El Martillo Press: Sonia Gutierrez, Margaret Elysia Garcia, Natalie Sierra & Jesenia Chavez at The Goddess Mercado Bazaar – In-Person Event
El Martillo Pree is proud to partner with @thegoddessmercadobazaar for our first LADIES NIGHT, Wednesday, November 19th.
Hosted by @feevaone, co-founder of @mujeresdemaiz, the night will feature @_sonia_gutierrez, @writerchickmama, @pandorademise and @chabemucho!
$5 recommended donation for the space.
Open Mic 🎤🎙️ 💐 for women/femmes. All are welcome to attend. Please let us know if you are a woman/femme who can volunteer as a DJ or photographer to help make the night even more special!
@librarygirlpresents couldn’t join us due to a family emergency. We wish her and her family love and light. Glad Jesenia Chavez could join us.
Where: The Godess Mercado Bazaar
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 424 W. Whittier Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640
Website: https://www.instagram.com/elmartillopress/?hl=en
Live Talks LA Presents: Padma Lakshmi, with Molly Baz, & Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond: A Cookbook at Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Padma Lakshmi, in conversation with Molly Baz, will discuss Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond: A Cookbook.
Based on the award-winning Hulu series Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi.
Padma Lakshmi’s newest book is a love letter to the people who create and evolve American cuisine every day—a road map to the foods that give America its vibrant, kaleidoscopic palate.
When Lakshmi arrived in New York City in the 1970s, she witnessed firsthand the cuisines of the immigrant communities around her: uniquely their own and yet quintessentially American.
Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond is the result of seven years of traveling and tasting, listening, and observing. The book includes dozens of mouth-watering recipes from the immigrant and Indigenous communities she has visited, as well as many from her own family, showing us what really comprises American cuisine.
This is a joyful book—a reflection of who we truly are as a nation, from one of our most essential culinarians.
Padma Lakshmi is an Emmy-nominated food expert, television producer, and bestselling author. She is the creator of the critically-acclaimed Hulu series, Taste the Nation. She’s served as host and executive producer of Bravo’s Top Chef. She is co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and an ACLU Artist Ambassador for immigrants’ rights and women’s rights.
Molly Baz is the New York Times bestselling cookbook author of Cook This Book (2021) & More is More (2023), recipe developer, and video host whose number one goal in life is to convince the world that cooking is fun, and not that hard to do if you’re properly set up. When she’s not writing books, Molly hosts a subscription digital recipe club, The Club, where she drops new recipes weekly for her fans.
RSVP for tickets.
Where: Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/padma-lakshmi/
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and Matt Sedillo at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg and Two Idiots Peddling Poetry to welcome feature Matt Sedillo.
Matt Sedillo has been described as the “best political poet in America” as well as “the poet laureate of the struggle”. His work has drawn comparisons in print to Bertolt Brecht, Roque Dalton, Amiri Baraka, Alan Ginsberg, and various other legends of the past. Sedillo was the recipient of the 2017 Joe Hill Labor Poetry award, a panelist at the 2020 Texas book festival, and a participant in the 2011 San Francisco International Poetry Festival, the 2022 Elba Poetry Festival. Sedillo has appeared on CSPAN and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Axios, the Associated Press among other publications. Sedillo has spoken at Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba, at numerous conferences and forums such as the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education, the National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies, the Left Forum, the US Social Forum, and at over a hundred universities and colleges, including the University of Cambridge, among many others. Matt Sedillo is the author of Mowing Leaves of Grass (FlowerSong Press, 2019) and City on the Second Floor (FlowerSong Press, 2022). Both of which are taught at universities throughout the country. His latest book is Mexican Style.
$5 cover fee, cash only
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 19th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
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 20th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com/events
Afternoon Book Club: Typewriter Beach at Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Typewriter Beach: A Novel by Meg White Clayton. For adults.
Where: Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Address: 4975 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA 90230
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14928388
“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 20th
Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: 1246 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/saved-story-senior-writing-workshop-1
Mystery Book Discussion:Killers of a Certain Age at Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for engaging conversation about whodunnits, thrillers, and cri-fi. Copies available at reference and as e-books. Light refreshments provided by Friends of the Palms Rancho Park Library.
November 20: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Where: Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: 2920 Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-discussion-0
Marina Del Rey Book Club: The Library Book at Marina Del Rey Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss The Library Book by Susan Orlean. For adults.
This non-fiction book re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, the Central Library in Downtown LA. For adults 18+.
Where: Marina Del Rey Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 4533 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90232
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14742126
Eagle Rock Book Discussion:The Berry Pickers at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a discussion of The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters.
This debut novel explores the life of a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia. When the four-year-old daughter goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, it becomes a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a family, and remains unsolved for almost fifty years.
The library will have copies to check out, or check our e-media page for electronic access on Libby and hoopla. Please bring book suggestions for future meetings.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/eagle-rock-book-club-4
Book Club for Adults: The Paranormal Ranger at Chet Holifield Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss The Paranormal Ranger by Stanley Milford, Jr. for Native American Heritage Month. For adults.
Pick up a copy of the book at the information desk today!
Where: Chet Holifield Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 4533 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90232
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14818838
Poetry in the Afternoon: Reading Event at SPARC Centre Gallery – In-Person Event
Join us for our monthly Poetry in the Afternoon! Hear from featured poets, Toti O’Brien and Tom Laichas and share your prose with us too!
Toti O’Brien was born in Rome, then moved to Los Angeles, where she makes a living as a self-employed artist, performing musician, and professional dancer. Her work has recently appeared in Ragazine, Colorado Boulevard, Abstract Contemporary Expression, and The Moth.
Tom Laichas is the author of Three Hundred Streets of Venice California (FutureCycle Press, 2023), Sixty-Three Photographs from the End of a War (3.1 Press, 2021), and Empire of Eden (High Window Press, 2019). Trained as a historian, he was founding co-editor of the journal World History Connected (George Mason University) and currently serves on WHC’s editorial board. He lives with his wife Donna in Venice, California.
Hosted by Aaron Hernandez
Refreshments for the body and poetry for the soul.
Where: SPARC Center Gallery
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 1000 Fremont Ave., Suite 120, South Pasadena, CA
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Open Mic Night: Cat Davis at Euclid Branch Library, Anaheim – In-Person Event
Open to performers and spectators of all ages.
Special guest: Cat Davis
Poets, Singers, Songwriters, Storytellers, and Listeners are welcome.
A sign-up sheet will be provided at the event for performers to register to participate.
Based on the number of participants, performers will be allotted 4-6 minutes for their performance.
Where: Euclid Branch Library, Anaheim
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1340 South Euclid Street, Anaheim, CA 92802
Myriam Gurba’s Book Launch of Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings at Cypress Park Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for the book launch event for Myriam Gurba’s newest book Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings.
“From the award-winning author of Creep comes a powerful book by a writer at the peak of her powers—at once a love letter to California and a literary tour de force that tells the story of resilience and reclamation through a relationship with plants, memory, myth, and indigenous knowledge.” Author Myriam Gurba will read from her new book, Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings.
Join us for this free event. Light refreshments will be served and there will be an opportunity to win a hardcover copy of the book.
Where: Cypress Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 5:30 pm
Address: 1150 Cypress Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/myriam-gurba-poppy-state-book-launch
Cover-to-Cover Book Club: Liar, Dreamer, Thief at Mid-Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Liar, Dreamer, Thief by author Maria Dong.
Copies of each month’s selection should be available for check-out at the Reference Desk. New members are always welcome.
Where: Mid-Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills, CA 91343
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/cover-cover-book-club-1
Between the Lines Book Club: The Might Red at Castaic Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss The Might Red by author Louise Erdrich, for Native American Heritage Month.
In the Red River Valley of North Dakota, several lives revolve around a wedding fraught with desire, jealousy, and uncertainty. A novel of tender humor, disquietude, yearning, community, and family, The Might Red is about ordinary people who dream, grow up, fall in love, struggle, endure tragedy, carry bitter secrets; men and women both complicated and contradictory, flawed and decent, lonely and hopeful.
Copies of each month’s selection should be available for check-out at the Reference Desk. New members are always welcome.
Where: Castaic Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 27971 Sloan Canyon Rd., Castaic, CA 91384
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14722759
Poetry Workshop with Martin Jago at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The Poetry Workshop invites new and seasoned poets to share new work and provide feedback, facilitated by British-American poet Martin Jago.
This one and a half hour workshop is suitable for adults, and the group is limited to a maximum of 12 participants.
Attendees should bring their own poetry to share, a notebook, and a pen.
RSVP:
Email eaglrk@lapl.org to reserve a place in the class.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-workshop-martin-jago-0
Mystery Book Club: Detective Aunty at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Detective Aunty: A Novel by Uzma Jalaluddin.
When her grown daughter is suspected of murder, a charming and tenacious widow digs into the case to unmask the real killer in this twisty, page-turning whodunnit—the first book in a cozy new detective series from the acclaimed author of Ayesha at Last.
After her husband’s unexpected death eighteen months ago, Kausar Khan never thought she’d receive another phone call as heartbreaking—until her thirty-something daughter, Sana, phones to say that she’s been arrested for killing the unpopular landlord of her clothing boutique. Determined to help her child, Kausar heads to Toronto for the first time in nearly twenty years.
Returning to the Golden Crescent suburb where she raised her children and where her daughter still lives, Kausar finds that the thriving neighborhood she remembered has changed. The murder of Sana’s landlord is only the latest in a wave of local crimes which have gone unsolved.
And the facts of the case are troubling: Sana found the man dead in her shop at a suspiciously early hour, with a dagger from her windowfront display plunged in his chest. And Kausar—a woman with a keen sense of observation and deep wisdom honed by her years—senses there’s more to the story than her daughter is telling.
With the help of some old friends and her plucky teenage granddaughter, Kausar digs into the investigation to uncover the truth. Because who better to pry answers from unwilling suspects than a meddlesome aunty? But even Kausar can’t predict the secrets, lies, and betrayals she finds along the way…
Uzma Jalaluddin is a critically acclaimed and bestselling novelist, playwright, and teacher. She writes nuanced and entertaining stories about Muslims, South Asians, and Canadians and is the author of Much Ado About Nada, Three Holidays and a Wedding, Hana Khan Carries On, and Ayesha at Last. as well as her first play, The Rishta. Her novels have been optioned for film and television, including by Amazon Studios and Mindy Kaling. A high school English teacher, Jalaluddin is also a former contributor to the Toronto Star and the Atlantic. She lives near Toronto with her family.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/mystery-book-club-detective-aunty
Local Authors Meet-Up at Underdog Bookstore, Monrovia – In-Person Event
At Underdog Bookstore we love supporting local authors on the shelves and at our signings and panels, but sometimes you just want to turn off the book selling brain and enjoy each other’s company instead.
We hope that these meetups will provide an opportunity to connect, collaborate, and spend time in community. Whether you’re self-published and new to the industry or have trade tales to share from your experience in indie or major publishing—all authors are welcome here.
Our space is food, drink, and pet friendly, so feel free to bring your favorite refreshments and animal companions!
RSVP at website link.
Where: Underdog Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 312 South Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA, 91016
Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/local-authors-meetup-segb8-sfzbl-mrthn-sghhl-cm4gp-2npwb
Bel Canto Book Group at Union Compound, Long Beach – In-Person Event
This community-led, monthly book discussion group meets in person at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month at the Montana Branch. This book group discusses a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, often on topics chosen from current events.
Join us for the Bel Canto Book Club hosted by Union @ Compund (1395 Coronado Avenue, Long Beach CA 90804). We’ll meet every third Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm to discuss a book of contemporary fiction or non-fiction handpicked by bookstore owner Jhoanna Belfer of Bel Canto Books.
Learn more and RSVP at website.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Union Compound, Long Beach
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1395 Coronado Ave., Long Beach, CA 90804
Website: https://belcantobooks.net/events
The Last Book Group #6: Jon Klassen at The Last Bookstore, Studio City – In-Person Event
Join us for a conversation with Caldecott Medal winning author and illustrator Jon Klassen, creator of I Want My Hat Back, The Rock From the Sky, and The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale.
NOTE: $5 donation, See site for details. Book early with Eventbrite!
Where: The Last Bookstore, Studio City
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 4437 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91602
Website: https://www.instagram.com or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-last-book-group-6-jon-klassen-tickets-1968323773392
Fred Mollin, with Caryn Richmond, & Unplugged at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Fred Mollin, in conversation with Caryn Richman, will discuss and sign Unplugged: Stories and Secrets from a Life Making Records, Scoring Film, and Working with the Legends of Music.
In 1977, at age twenty-four, Fred Mollin co-produced a record that became one of the most successful ballads in pop music history. How do you follow that?
Unplugged answers that question with a journey through a musical and creative life well-lived. The adventures in Mollin’s memoirs, the disclosure of previously untold behind-the-scenes stories, and the incredible array of personalities who make these tales so rich, is a fascinating, humorous, educational, no-holds-barred, and inspiring story.
Unplugged is more than a memoir. It is a book that recounts a life and untold stories from a musical career that involves the world of record production and film composing, spanning over fifty years and counting. Told with humility and humor, Fred Mollin’s journey among so many legends and fascinating people and projects, gives the reader a chance to see behind closed doors.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website https://booksoup.com/event/2025-11-20/fred-mollin
Book Event: Ashley D. Farmer, with Robin D.G. Kelly, & Queen Mother at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
Ashley D. Farmer, in conversation with Robin D.G. Kelly, will present and discuss Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the untold story of Audly Moore.
In the world of radical Black politics, the name Audley Moore commands unquestioned respect. Across the nine decades of her life, Queen Mother Moore distinguished herself as a leading progenitor of Black Nationalism, the founder of the modern reparations movement, and a mentor to some of America’s most influential Black activists from her homes in North Philadelphia and Harlem.
And yet, she is far less remembered than many of her peers and protégés—Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ahmad, to name just a few—and the ephemera of her life are either lost or plundered. In Queen Mother, celebrated writer and historian Ashley D. Farmer restores Moore’s faded portrait, delivering the first ever definitive account of her life and enduring legacy.
Deeply researched and richly detailed, Queen Mother is more than just the biography of an American icon. It’s a narrative history of 20th-century Black radicalism, told through the lens of the woman whose grit and determination sustained the movement.
Ashley D. Farmer is an award-winning writer, researcher, and cultural analyst who explores Black history and its implications today. Her first book, Remaking Black Power, was shortlisted for numerous awards, and she has received awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the Whiting Foundation. Farmer’s ideas and insights have appeared in numerous venues, including Harper’s Bazaar, NPR, The Washington Post, and Teen Vogue. Farmer lives, reads, and writes in Austin, Texas, and is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Robin D. G. Kelley is Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Freedom Scholar Award. His books include the prize-winning Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression; Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America, and Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class.
His essays have appeared in dozens of publications, including The Nation, New York Times, New Yorker, New York Review of Books, Hammer and Hope, American Historical Review, American Quarterly, Black Scholar, Dissent, Counterpunch, African Studies Review, Social Text, Journal of American History, Journal of Palestine Studies, New Labor Forum, and The Boston Review, for which he also serves as Contributing Editor.
He is currently completing two books, Making a Killing: Cops, Capitalism, and the War on Black Life and The Education of Ms. Grace Halsell: An Intimate History of the American Century.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3054 South Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016
All Women’s Open Mic at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Village Well is partnering with local trauma-healing poet Kate Burns to provide a platform for female poets, musicians, storytellers, and comedians. While all are welcome to attend, this is an event that aims to amplify women’s voices only.
Acts are limited to 3-5 minutes in length. Sign-ups begin at 6:30 pm and conclude at 7:00 pm!
Also, please note that not all material may be considered “family-friendly” so please use discretion when deciding whether or not to bring children.
Get your tickets at website!
Get your seats on EVENTBRITE!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Thursday the 20th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Brian Schaefer, with Marc Malkin, & Town & Country at Vroman‘s – In-Person Event
Brian Schaefer, in conversation with Marc Malkin, will discuss and sign his book, Town & Country.
A “big-hearted and true” (Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize winner) debut novel set in a small rural town amid a congressional race that forces the candidates, their families, and a clique of gay second homeowners to confront lies, betrayals and shifting allegiances.
The trendy rural town of Griffin has become a popular destination for weekenders and the city’s second homeowners, but now a congressional race in this swing district is highlighting tensions between life-long residents and new arrivals. The campaign pits local pub owner and town supervisor Chip Riley against the wealthy young carpetbagger Paul Banks, challenging the social and political loyalties of their families and friends with lasting repercussions.
Diane Riley, Chip’s wife, is a religiously devout real estate agent who feels conflicted about selling second homes—including to Paul and his much older husband, Stan. Their elder son, Joe, is grieving the recent overdose death of his best friend and spiraling into drugs himself, while their younger son, Will, is a newly out college student seduced by the decadent lifestyle of Paul’s circle.
Meanwhile, Stan Banks uses the race to give purpose to the pain of losing a loved one to AIDS, even as he begins to doubt Paul’s readiness for office. And within their growing fraternity of city transplants, Eric Larimer finds unexpected connection with a local farmer that opens his eyes to the region’s complexity as Leon Rogers, still reeling from a divorce, becomes increasingly desperate to infiltrate the Banks’s exclusive crew.
Spanning six months from Memorial Day to Election Day, Town & Country paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of a community in flux. For readers of Fredrick Backman and Jen Beagin, this “powerful and extremely well-written book” (Colum McCann, National Book Award winner) asks the essential and timeless questions: What makes a home, and what do we owe our neighbors?
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday, the 20th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-20/brian-schaefer
Three Omnidawn Poets Celebrate New Books at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Livestream Hybrid Event
Celebrate with Jennifer Hasegawa, Martha Ronk, and Molly Bendall.
Join us in the Wanda Coleman Theater for an evening celebrating three new Omnidawn book releases. Featured poets are: Molly Bendall, reading from her collection Turncoat, Jennifer Hasegawa, reading from NAOMIE ANOMIE: A Biography of Infinite Desire, and Martha Ronk, reading from CLAY bodies+matter. Reception and book signings to follow.
Molly Bendall is the author of six collections of poetry, including Watchful from Omnidawn Press and Under the Quick from Parlor Press. Her new collection Turncoat has just appeared from Omnidawn. Her chapbook of translations of the Egyptian-French poet Joyce Mansour came out from Toad Press (2022). Her poems have appeared in anthologies, such as American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology, Satellite Convulsions: Poems from Tin House, and Wide Awake Los Angeles. She teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California. http://www.mollybendall.com
Jennifer Hasegawa is a poet and community archivist. Her latest poetry collection, NAOMIE ANOMIE: A Biography of Infinite Desire (Omnidawn, 2025), is an experimental poetic take on anti-memoir. Her debut collection, La Chica’s Field Guide to Banzai Living (Omnidawn), won the Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award and was long-listed for The Believer Book Award in Poetry. Her work has appeared in The Adroit Journal, Bamboo Ridge, Bennington Review, jubilat, takahē magazine, Tule Review, and Vallum. She was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and currently resides in the SF Bay Area.
Martha Ronk is the author of 13 books of poetry, most recently CLAY bodies+matter, focused on pottery and the intersection of self and matter (Omnidawn 2025). Transfer of Qualities was long-listed for the National Book Award; Vertigo was a National Poetry selection. She has received an NEA, residencies at Djerassi and MacDowell and is included in the Wesleyan series of 21st century poets. At Occidental College she was Professor of English and coordinator of creative writing.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Thursday, the 20th
Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm (Doors at 7 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach Los Angeles, CA 90291
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/three-omnidawn-poets-celebrate-new-books-tickets-1944054030939
Lit Angels: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
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.
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 21st
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 21st
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14944400
Book Club: A Court of Thorns and Roses at La Mirada Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will read and discuss A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. For adults.
Where: La Mirada Library, LACL
Date: Friday, the 21st
Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Address: 13800 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, CA 90638
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14944400
Bilingual Storytime at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Bilingual Storytime! Exposing your children to multiple languages is highly beneficial for their learning and development, and what better way to do it than through this fun activity where we will read a wonderful story in both English and Spanish.
¡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 21st
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Horror Book Club: Killer on the Road at Compton Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Participants will read and discuss Killer on the Road by Stephen Grqaham Jones. For Ages 18+.
Sixteen-year-old Harper has decided to run away from home after she has another blow-out argument with her mother. However, her two best friends, little sister, and ex-boyfriend all stop her from hitchhiking her way up Route 80 in Wyoming by joining her on an intervention disguised as a road trip. What they don’t realize is that Harper has been marked by a very unique serial killer who’s been trolling the highway for the past three years, and now the killer is after all of them in this fast-paced and deadly chase novel that will have your heart racing well above the speed limit as the interstate becomes a graveyard.
Attendance is limited, and advance registration is required.
Where: Compton Library, LACL
Date: Friday, the 21st
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 240 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14944575
Teen Book Club: Elatsoe at West Hollywood Library, LACL – In-Person Teen Event
Participants will read and discuss Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. For Teens ages 13- 17.
Set in contemporary Texas, Elatsoe is a 17-year old Lipan Apache girl. She has the ability to recall the ghosts of deceased animals, due to knowledge passed down through her family. Using this ability, Elatsoe sets out to solve the tragic murder of her cousin and bring her cousin’s killer to justice.
Please contact the library to get a print copy of the book prior to the event. No registration required.
Where: West Hollywood Library, LACL
Date: Friday, the 21st
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14929025
Black Lit Club: Colored Television at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Colored Television: A Novel by Danzy Senna.
A brilliant take on love and ambition, failure and reinvention, and the racial-identity-industrial complex from the bestselling author of Caucasia.
Jane has high hopes that her life is about to turn around. After a long, precarious stretch bouncing among sketchy rentals and sublets, she and her family are living in luxury for a year, house-sitting in the hills above Los Angeles. The gig magically coincides with Jane’s sabbatical, giving her the time and space she needs to finish her second novel—a centuries-spanning epic her artist husband, Lenny, dubs her “mulatto War and Peace.” Finally, some semblance of stability and success seems to be within her grasp.
But things don’t work out quite as hoped. Desperate for a plan B, like countless writers before her Jane turns her gaze to Hollywood. When she finagles a meeting with Hampton Ford, a hot producer with a major development deal at a streaming network, he seems excited to work with a “real writer,” and together they begin to develop “the Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies.” Things finally seem to be going right for Jane—until they go terribly wrong.
Funny, piercing, and page turning, Colored Television is Senna’s most on-the-pulse, ambitious, and rewarding novel yet.
Danzy Senna is the author of four previous works of fiction, including the bestselling Caucasia and, most recently, New People, as well as a memoir. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, she teaches writing at the University of Southern California.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday the 21st
Time: 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/black-lit-book-club-colored-television
Open Mic Night Every Friday Night at The Den Café, Santa Ana – In-Person Event
See you NEXT WEEK for a night of local talent, food, coffee and cocktails at The Den Cafe. A stage that’s been a home for OC’s artist since 1999.
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 21st
Time: 6 pm (Doors at 5:30 pm)
Address: 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 9270
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Adam Nimoy & The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Adam Nimoy will discuss and sign his memoir, The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy.
While the tabloids and fan publications portrayed the Nimoys as a “close family,” to his son Adam, Leonard Nimoy was a total stranger.
The actor was as inscrutable as the iconic half-Vulcan science officer he portrayed on Star Trek, even to those close to him.
Now, his son’s poignant memoir explores their complicated relationship and how it informed his views on marriage, parenting, and later, sobriety. Despite their differences, both men ventured down parallel paths: marriages leading to divorce, battling addiction, and finding recovery. Most notably, both men struggled to take the ninth step in their AA journey: to make amends with each other.
Discover how the son of Spock learned to navigate this tumultuous relationship, from Shabbat dinners to basement AA meetings, and how he was finally able to reconcile with his father—and with himself.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 21st
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
At Skylight: The Citadel 2025 – Celebration and Reading at Skylight – In-Person Event
Join us for a celebratory reading of the 2025 edition of LACC’s literary journal The Citadel. Featuring readers:
Melissa Arechiga is an activist and advocate from Los Angeles on Kizh Nation territory. She is the founder of Buried Under the Blue, an organization working for justice, reparations, and correcting the false narratives about the communities violently destroyed to build Dodger Stadium. Her work centers on the history of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. A UC Berkeley graduate and formerly incarcerated, Melissa continues to stand for accountability and community rights.
Scott Clapson is a Social Sciences major focusing on creativity, mental health and movement. They are a community organizer, podcaster, artist, gardener, photographer, poet and singer. They developed a podcasting guide for mentoring new podcasters and are working on their first book about the LGBTQIA+ history of Silverlake and Hollywood.
Ian Deleón (he/him) is a writer, filmmaker, programmer and performer based in Los Angeles, CA. His work is informed by the warmth of a multicultural upbringing in the tropics and the icy demeanor of a lifetime steeped in the strange and grotesque. His first major narrative work, Velvet Cry was screened nationally and received numerous commendations for its excellence in production design and montage. Ian was recently awarded a master’s degree in Screenwriting + Film Studies from Hollins University, where his thesis project focused on the Hollywood life of early-talkies Mexican starlet Lupita Tovar. He is currently pursuing union membership at the IATSE Camera Local 600 through Hollywood CPR and West LA College.
Mariana Drove published her first poem in The Citadel in 2022. She graduated from LACC and transferred to USC to study Comparative Literature with a minor in Communication Design. Olga Jerrard is a Psychology major who found a passion for art and for painting furniture to give it a second life. Olga was born in Tobolsk, Russia. She is a writer, artist, and cat lover. Olga published her first poem in The Citadel in 2024. She plans to attend Cal State L.A. next Spring where she will major in Psychology.
Quinn Kealey was born and raised in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. He’s a production coordinator at FS Media and writes in his free time. Quinn enjoys hiking, coffee, and a good book.
Rhyan Rose Kirsch is a poet, playwright, actor, and singer-songwriter who creates with love, joy, and compassion. He strives to spark meaningful thought and honest reflection through every word and performance.
Charlie Makary is an LACC student, early-career painter, and gay life-drawing artist whose work explores desire, longing, and the idea that we, ourselves, are worthy of myth.
Elizabeth Ogaz Ruiz treasures writing and an eclipse’s allure—gifts she thanks God for. Since the 2024 Citadel published “Catching Shadows,” she was motivated to write the sequel, furthering the adventures of a courageous little moon, Luna.
Alexis Silva (he/him) is a poet from California. He earned his BA from the University of California, Davis. He works as a seasonal park ranger and enjoys sipping on iced matcha lattes.
Where: Skylight
Date: Friday the 21st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-citadel-2025-celebration-and-reading
Open Mic Night at Underdog Bookstore, Monrovia – In-Person Event
Underdog Bookstore hosts an Open Mic Night on the third Friday of every month to showcase and celebrate the creative talents of our local community, including poetry, music, and more!
While walk-in sign-ups are welcome on the night, if you’d like to be listed as a featured performer and guarantee your spot, you can apply at website.
Where: Underdog Bookstore
Date: Friday the 21st
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 312 South Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA, 91016
Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events
Tareq Baconi, with Robin D.G. Kelley, & Fire in Every Direction at Vroman‘s – In-Person Event
Tareq Baconi, in conversation with Robin D.G. Kelley, will discuss and sign his book, Fire in Every Direction.
From the renowned Palestinian scholar, a memoir of political and queer awakening, of impossible love amidst generations of displacement, and what it means to return home.
Both a love story and a coming-of-age tale that spans countries and continents, Fire in Every Direction balances humor and loss, nostalgia and hope, as it takes us from the Middle East to London, and from 1948 to the present. Tareq Baconi crafts a deeply intimate, unforgettable portrait of how a political consciousness—desire and resistance—is passed down through generations.
In 1948, Tareq’s grandmother, Eva, would flee Haifa as Zionist militias seized the city. In the late 1970s, she would flee Beirut with her daughter, Rima, as the country was in the throes of a civil war. In Amman, the family would eventually obtain the comfort of middle-class life—still, a young Tareq would feel trapped: by cultures of silence, by a sense of not belonging, by his own growing awareness that he is in love with his childhood best friend, Ramzi.
After relocating to London for college, Tareq hopes to put aside his past, and begins to work through an understanding of self as a queer man. Yet as the Iraq War radicalizes young people around the world towards anti-war protest, history comes back to him: hushed whispers overheard, stories of his mother’s years as an activist in Beirut and her return to Palestine during a moment of calm.
Living between the region and London, Tareq fits in neither and feels alienated from both. Queerness is policed back in Amman, just as his Palestinian-ness is abroad. These gradual estrangements escalate, forcing him to grapple with what it means to live in liminal spaces, and rethink the meaning of home. Eventually, tracing the journey of his family before him, Tareq returns to Palestine.
This is an account of finding oneself through histories of dispossession and reclaiming what has been silenced.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday, the 21st –
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-21/tareq-baconi
An Evening with What Books Press & Giant Claw at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Livestream Hybrid Event
Join us for an evening with What Books Press, releasing a brand new catalog of book titles for 2025.
Welcoming What Books Press and their imprint, Giant Claw, at Beyond Baroque, join us for an evening showcasing the release of four new collections. Readings from authors Stephen Cooper, Patty Seyburn, Suzanne Lummis, and jimmy vega in The Wanda Coleman Theater.
Stephen Cooper’s book, River of Angels: Stories, features ten stories of blood relations, family skeletons, random forces, and the often-violent folly of love.
Patty Seburn’s Jukebox, is a collection that moves from poems about music made by people to poems about music made by birds to poems that must live on their own music.
Suzanne Lummis’s Crime Wave touches on street crime, the international drug trade, and present-day political corruption are among the subjects of these poems that showcase Lummis’ signature noir style. Lastly, jimmy vega’s debut collection, zirconium ash, centers around loss—death of individuals, relationships, and ways of communicating, the poems psychically map the geography of Los Angeles.
Stephen Cooper is the author of Full of Life: A Biography of John Fante, a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. He has worked as a longshoreman on the docks of Los Angeles Harbor, a mule packer in the Eastern Sierra, a guard in Stockholm’s subway system, and at sundry other jobs. Long a Professor of English at California State University, Long Beach, he has written and published on both literature and film. He also cowrote and produced the Netflix Original Documentary Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski. River of Angels is his first story collection.
Patty Seyburn has published six books of poems: Jukebox (What Books Press, 2025), Threshold Delivery (Finishing Line Press, 2019); Perfecta (What Books Press, Glass Table Collective, 2014); Hilarity, (New Issues Press, 2009), Mechanical Cluster (Ohio State University Press, 2002) and Diasporadic (Helicon Nine Editions, 1998). She earned a BS and an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University, an MFA in Poetry from University of California, Irvine, and a Ph.D. in Poetry and Literature from the University of Houston. She is a professor at California State University, Long Beach, and was a 2024 Fulbright Scholar in Iasi, Romania. Featuring Jukebox, this collection moves from poems about music made by people to poems about music made by birds to poems that must live on their own music.
Suzanne Lummis edited the new anthology, national in scope, Poetry Goes to the Movies (2025). Her poems have appeared in New Ohio Review, Ploughshares, Plume, Catamaran, Rattle, The New Yorker and elsewhere. She is an influential poet and teacher in Los Angeles and 2018-19 City of Los Angeles (COLA) fellow. Featuring Crime Wave, street crime, the international drug trade, and present-day political corruption are among the subjects of these poems that showcase Lummis’ signature noir style.
jimmy vega is the child of Mexican immigrants, a Chicano Los Angeles poet, educator, and interdisciplinary artist. vega is the author of zirconium ash (What Books Press, 2025). He holds a BA from UCLA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from CalArts. vega’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Diode, Dunce Codex, Maintenant, and elsewhere. vega is currently the Interim Executive Director of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center. He lives and works in Los Angeles. More @jimmyyvega or jimmy-vega.com.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Friday, the 21st
Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm (Doors at 7 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach Los Angeles, CA 90291
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-what-books-press-giant-claw-tickets-1670236475259
SWAAM Spoken Word Art & Music Event at Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center – In-Person Event
SWAAM Spoken Word Art & Music is offered every 1st & 3rd Friday of the month and hosted by Loranzo Frank.
Featured guests: TBA
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Date: Friday, the 21st
Time: 8 pm – 12 am
Address: 4305 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.depoet.info/swaam
Third Fridays Rapp Saloon Reading Series & Open Mic with host Elena Secota at Rapp Saloon, Santa Monica – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Third Fridays at Rapp Saloon: Open Mic & Featured Readers, will be this week, and is offered every 1st Friday of the month by host Elena Secota.
First Friday: Cynthia Alessandra Briano
Second Friday: Russell Greene
Third Friday: Elena Secota
Fourth Friday: Jim Bolt
Fifth Friday: James Evert Jones
This is a hybrid event, live in-person while offering a Zoom option for our performers and guests.
Our featured guest poets and artists this month TBA.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Rapp Saloon at HISUA – In-Person & Online Event
Date: Friday, the 21st
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 1436 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.facebook.com
Book Club for Middle Grade Readers: Mascot via Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online MG Event
Middle-grade readers are invited to participate in our fun monthly book discussions. This month, we will be reading Mascot by Charles Waters and Traci Sorrell.
RSVP:
For more information email gkim@lapl.org for the Zoom link.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Sandra Martín Denis Storytime and Pajama Party with Baila Baila Music from Isabel Brazon at Children’s Book World – In-Person Event
Put on your craziest PJs and join author Sandra Martín Denis and musician Isabel Brazon for a fun filled Saturday story time and mini concert celebrating Sandra Martín Denis’ newest picture book, Marisol Can’t Sleep/Marisol No Puede Dormir.
Sandra Martín Denis was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, and raised in California. She is the author of a picture book, Why the Turtle Walks So Slowly (Reycraft Books, 2025). Lewellyn Obispo is a Filipino illustrator with a passion for storytelling through art.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 10:30 pm – 11:15 am
Address: 10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Mystery Book Club: Notes on an Execution at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Read the book and join our lively discussion!
November 22: Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 11 am
Address: 1246 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-14
View Park Library Book Club: What You Leave Behind at View Park Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Join us to read and discuss What You Leave Behind by Wanda Morris. For adults.
The View Park Library Book Club meets monthly on a Saturday, 11 – 12:30 pm, in person at View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library or via Zoom. Please visit the library, call, or email cray@library.lacounty.gov to be added to the email list.
Where: View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library, LACL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 3854 W. 54th St., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14928925
Book Signing & Reading: Kam Redlawsk & Yumi and Monster at The Last Bookstore, Studio City – In-Person Event
Join us for a book signing and reading with author and illustrator Kam Redawsk, creator of Yumi and Monster.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: The Last Bookstore, Studio City
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 11 am
Address: 4437 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91602
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Jumpstart Storytime: See Marcus Grow at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join Jumpstart at the Village Well as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Read for the Record” with this year’s featured book, See Marcus Grow. Illustrator Reggie Brown will be here to read the book and sign copies!
Learn more about Jumpstart’s work to ensure every child enters kindergarten prepared to succeed, and lend a hand in assembling literacy kits that will be distributed to under-resourced children and families in the community.
Marcus Bridgewater, known on social media as Garden Marcus, is also the author of How to Grow: Nurture Your Garden, Nurture Yourself.
Reggie Brown also illustrated the New York Times bestselling picture book Who Are Your People? Reggie is passionate about bringing stories of Black children and families to life, one picture at a time. When he’s not busy in his studio, you can find him indulging in his love for fantasy, superheroes, and science fiction.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Morgan Stevenson Cooper, with Azie Tesfai, & I Can Make a Movie at Vroman‘s – In-Person Kids Event
From self-taught, award-winning director Morgan Stevenson Cooper comes a heartfelt picture book about a girl on a mission to make her first movie—and lift her grandpa’s spirits along the way.
Norah Rose loves movies—action, comedy, drama—you name it! She dreams of becoming a director, but Hollywood feels a long way from home. When her grandpa falls ill, Norah decides to make a movie just for him, because no one loves a good story more than Grandpa. Armed with her mom’s phone, a head full of ideas, and the wide-open backdrop of Kansas City, Norah sets out to write, cast, shoot, and edit her very first film. There’s a lot of work ahead, but Norah’s sure of one thing: her movie is going to shine.
With a spirited how-to approach and lively artwork by Geneva Bowers, Morgan Stevenson Cooper shows young readers how creativity, heart, and a little hustle can turn any dream into a reality.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday, the 22nd
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-22/morgan-stevenson-cooper
Book Discussion: Wired for Love – A Neuroscientist’s Journey Through Romance, Loss, and the Essence of Human Connection at Felipe de Neve Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Please join us for a book discussion of Stephanie Cacioppo’s Wired for Love: A Neuroscientist’s Journey Through Romance, Loss, and the Essence of Human Connection.
Coffee and snacks will be served.
RSVP:
Sign up by email at felipe@lapl.org or in person at the info desk.
Where: Felipe de Neve Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 11:30 am – 12: 30 pm
Address: 2820 W. 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Mystery Book Club: Notes on an Execution at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Read the book and join our lively discussion!
November 22: Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 1 pm
Address: 1246 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-14
Open Mic Poetryat Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Share your original poems, lyrics, spoken word, or just enjoy listening. Each poet will have five minutes to read an original work. If you wish to read, sign up when you arrive.
Our featured speaker will be Steve Cohen. Cohen is a professional photographer and self-taught, published poet who has read his work at various venues in Los Angeles for more than 20 years. He loves to make people think and also make people laugh, stating, “My funny pieces can be very funny and my serious pieces can be intense and disturbing and sometimes weird.” The 81-year-old Cohen has read for many years at the L.A.-based Second Sunday Poetry Series and is currently working on a photography book of images of Santa Monica at night.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 1 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/open-mic-poetry
2024 Launch: Writing from Inlandia Anthology at Casa Blanca Library, Riverside – In-Person Event
This is the first of two Inlandia Institute launch events, this one in-person at Casa Blanca Library on November 22 from 1 pm – 3 pm.
Where: Casa Blanca Library, Riverside
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: 2986 Madison St., Riverside, CA 92504
Website: https://www.instagram.com
La Palabra on the Fall of Democracy at Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Democracy is in a fragile state while fascism continues to rise around the globe. This past year we have seen enough ICE kidnappings, budget cuts in several programs that people rely on, increased military funding, rising death tolls in Gaza, wildfires, flash floods, the current government shutdown leading to unpaid federal workers, and low-income families not receiving their SNAP benefits. This is clearly not a system by the people, for the people. Where is the taxpayer money going to, if not back to the people?
Join us this November 22 with features @subject_matter__the_artist and Quinoaa as they share their poetry to reflect on our current state of affairs.
NOTE: Live on FB & IG. See site for further details.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Saturday, the 22nd
Time: 2 pm
Address: 3714 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park, CA 90065
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Alabaster Anniversary: Celebrating 37 Years of The Santa Monica Review at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Livestream Hybrid Event
Join us at Beyond Baroque for readings by four frequent contributors to The Santa Monica Review to mark a special anniversary. Founded by writer/teacher Jim Krusoe and sponsored by Santa Monica College in 1988, The Santa Monica Review celebrates its commitment to Southern California community of writers. Featuring Jeffery Bills-Solomon, Kareem Tayyar, Lisa Alvarez, and Stephen Cooper. Hosted by Andrew Tonkovitch.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Saturday, the 22nd
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm (Doors at 1:30 pm)
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach Los Angeles, CA 90291
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/index.html
S. Pearl Sharp: The Seeds She Planted at Matter Studio Gallery – In-Person Event
Come Help us Commemorate and Honor our Sister and Shero S. Pearl Sharp, the Activist, the Poet, the Journalist, the Filmmaker, and Actress, and dear friend who blessed so many!
Participants include: @dorothyrandallgray @angelamurielfranklin @stellathepoet1 @_yellawoman @pamwardgraphics @venelaflagg #poetry #localartists #poetsandwriters #holdingspace #artmatters #umatter #umatter2me
Dorothy Randall Gray is an artist, activist, poet, master teacher, and the author of the best-selling book Soul Between the Lines (Avon Books, 1998).
Angela Franklin is a poet, essayist, visual artist, activist, and documentarian. She holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and is a fellow of Cave Canem, VONA fellow, and Hurston Wright.
Stella the Poet is a community activist and healer with a journalism degree from Howard University. She is the author of Truth Shots & Ida’s Brew and is working on her second book, Love, Magic & Maroon Moons.
Jessica Gallion, AKA yellawoman, is the author of Can’t No Woman Woman Like Me, and also hosts the Anansi Writers Workshop.
Pam Ward recently released her poetry anthology, Between Good Men and No Men at All, World Stage Press.2024. She is also the author of two novels, Want Some Get Some, and Bad Girls Burn Slow, Kensington, a UCLA graduate, California Arts Council Fellow, Pushcart Poetry Nominee and founding member of the Leimert Park Book Fair.
V. Kali, a poet and performer from Los Angeles known for her collection of poetry, Hymn, is described as one of the city’s well-known voices. She is associated with The World Stage Performance Gallery.
Where: Matter Studio Gallery
Date: Saturday, the 22nd
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 5080 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Miriam’s Garden Poetry Readings at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Please join us for “Miriam’s Garden.” This month, host Yago Cura welcomes the work of Laura Sermeño, Pam Concepcion, and Special Guests.
Laura Sermeño was born in Montebello, CA, raised and educated in Sur El Monte, (UCLA matriculated), educated by her people—from the classrooms to the streets. In 2012, she began auditioning for spoken word performances. In 2015, she was accepted into the Voices of our Nation’s (VONA) Southern California Regional Workshop, focusing on “Poetry as Documentary.” Last year she published her first full-length poetry collection, born to cry. She teaches and resides in Pasadena, CA.
Pam Concepcion is an interdisciplinary artist, experimenting with different mediums like poetry, screenwriting, graphic design, digital collage art, and video editing. She loves writing about how complex social phenomena intimately affect our relationships with ourselves, friends, loves, family, and everyone else around us. She is currently working on her first book, Unbecoming, a collection of poetry, photos and collages about a young girl’s coming of age. pamconcep5
Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 2:30 pm – 4 pm
Address: 2205 W. Florence Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/miriams-garden-2
Creative Writing Group at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Calling all writers of fiction, screenplays, poetry, etc. Get feedback on your writing in a fun, supportive environment! The Central Library Creative Writing Group meets every other Saturday for fellowship, feedback, and snacks. Meetings start out with a short writing prompt exercise, then writers are invited to share up to five pages of their work for feedback from the group. Whether you are just starting out or well on your way to glory, join us and banish (at least temporarily) those Lonely Writer Blues!
RSVP:
Please RSVP by emailing fiction@lapl.org.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Meeting Room B
Date: Saturday, the 22nd
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-group
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: ZZYZX WRITERZ + Poets published in Four Feathers Press – Online Zoom Event
Readings by features: ZZYZX WRITERZ + Poets published in Four Feathers Press online edition: Face Features.
Don Kingfisher Campbell hosts and curates these events.
Where: Online Zoom Event
Date: Saturday, the 22nd
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com
Historical Fiction Book Club: Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul.
A multigenerational saga that traverses the glamour of old Hollywood and the seductive draw of modern-day showbiz
When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions.
A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could—and between a cheating fiancé and the fallout from a controversial social media post, there are plenty.
The truth behind Kitty’s ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed, and debatable crimes that could, with one pull, unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them.
As Elise digs deeper into Kitty’s past, she must also turn the lens upon herself, confronting the gifts and burdens of her own choices and the power that the secrets of the dead hold over the living. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine, an insightful and nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race, and gender—and the choices some women make to break free of them.
Crystal Smith Paul attended Spelman College and UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and received her master’s in journalism from NYU. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in Salon, Jezebel, and HuffPost. She currently works in digital marketing for wellness and beauty brands. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is her first novel.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Tutafarel, with John Zinonos, & Monte Casanova at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Tutafarel, in conversation with John Zinonos, will discuss and sign Monte Casanova.
Monte Casanova is Succession meets Romeo & Juliet in a crumbling Los Angeles ruled by media spectacle. This two-act queer tragedy follows Monte, a fallen icon born into power, as he confronts intimacy, betrayal, and the politics of influence. Told through a Chorus of journalists, influencers, and digital onlookers, it’s a sharp portrait of intimacy, image, and survival in a world where pausing means being forgotten.
Tutafarel is a Brazilian artist whose work spans literature, music, and digital media. His debut book, Monte Casanova, anchors a larger multimedia project that also includes an album, music videos, and a serialized TikTok series. He has worked with institutions including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and is the founder and creative director of Seventh Press, an imprint for experimental storytelling.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Frog Town Reading with Carolina Rivera Escamilla and others at Frog Town – In-Person Event
Join us for a featured readers’ sharing of sharing stories and more with:
Carolina Rivera Escamilla is a writer, actor, and documentarian based in Los Angeles, California. Born in El Salvador, she studied theater arts and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied Spanish Literature. Rivera Escamilla is the director, writer, and producer of the documentary Manlio Argueta, Poets and Volcanoes and is currently writing a novel, even as she is finishing translation of her published book of short stories …after… into Spanish.
Anna Schott writes the Substack She’s Gone Chilaquiles where she is attempting to serialize her memoir. She is the author of The End by Fanny Middleton.
John L. Lynch is the author of New Persia and Endemic. He was a sailor in the US Navy and a soldier in the US Army National Guard. In the Navy, John was a CTR, a “Spook,” and specialized in radio interception. He was stationed on Adak island in the Aleutian chain and on Okinawa. After the military, John earned a BA in Political Science from Fort Lewis College.
Bringing his military experience to his writing is a natural fit for his books, which are about exceptional people in exceptional circumstances. Featuring soldiers in science fiction settings, John L. Lynch weaves together what is timeless about human nature with what is possible in the future.
Roberto Leni N/A
Katrina Rivers N/A
Dierdre Lewis was a prolific actress who created a name for herself largely on the big screen. Lewis found her beginnings in film with roles in the James Russo drama “Condition Red” (1995) and “Two Plus One” (1995). She is now a writer who lives in L.A.
Where: Frog Town Reading
Date: Saturday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 2860 Glenview Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039
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 for Poetry on Demand 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 23rd
Time: 10 am – 5 pm (market); 12 pm – 5 pm (poets on demand)
Address: 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Sunday Storytime with Dara Henry & Mazel Tov Baby at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event
Join us for a joyful celebration of stories with author Dara Henry reading Mazel Tov Baby. Kids will enjoy a fun read-aloud, themed activities, and stories that celebrate joy and togetherness.
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. Dara’s debut picture book, Hanukkah Pajamakkahs (Sourcebooks Kids), was published in 2024. Her second book, Mazel Tov, Baby! (Sourcebooks Kids), will be out in the world as of September 16, 2025. She’s honored and excited to share her stories with readers.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Knowledge of Self Circle with Kuahmel at Black Lantern Books, Inglewood – In-Person Event
Join us for alternative thinking ppl to build with, together in community. Why not swing by @blacklanterncoop and give our growing circle a shot Sunday afternoon 11/23 for an empowering knowledge & philosophy exchange you might dig. A taste of what some of my poems talk about! Just builders meeting builders and the legacy library, bookstore, and the nerch are worth supporting! 1 pm – 3 pm if you’re interested. If not, we’re still friends.
With that out the way, how are ya?
Where: Black Lantern Books
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: 6533 West Blvd., Inglewood, CA
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Zillennial Book Club: The Indifferent Stars Above at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown.
In April of 1846, Sarah Graves, 21 years old and newly married, set out with her husband, her parents and her eight siblings; their destination was California. Seven months later, after joining a party of emigrants led by George Donner, Sarah and her family arrived at Truckee Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains just as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. The group was trapped.
On December 15, Sarah and 14 other young, healthy people set out for California on foot, hoping to get relief for the others. Over the next 32 days they endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors. In this gripping and richly informative narrative, Daniel James Brown takes students along on every step of Sarah’s journey. Brown clarifies rumors about the Donner Party and highlights just how difficult life was for the first Western pioneers.
Daniel James Brown is the author of the critically acclaimed history Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. He has taught writing at San Jose State University and Stanford University and is the author of two textbooks on writing. Brown grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended the University of California at Berkeley and UCLA. He now lives with his wife and two daughters in the country east of Redmond, Washington.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/zillennial-book-club-indifferent-stars-above
2024 Launch: Writing from Inlandia Anthologyvia Inlandia Institute – Online Zoom Event
This is the first of two Inlandia Institute launch events, this one online via Zoom on November 24 from 1 pm – 3 pm.
ZOOM launch registration: https://tinyurl.com/2024ZOOMGuest
Where: Inlandia Institute Zoom Online
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Latinx Book Club: Guatemalan Rhapsody at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Guatemalan Rhapsody: Stories by Jared Lemus.
A vibrant debut story collection—poignant, unflinching, and immersive—masterfully moving between sharp wit and profound tenderness, Guatemalan Rhapsody offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of an ever-changing country, the people who claim it as home, and those who no longer do.
Ranging from a custodian at an underfunded college to a medicine man living in a temple dedicated to San Simon, the patron saint of alcohol and cigarettes, the characters in these stories find themselves at defining moments in their lives, where sacrifices may be required of them, by them, or for them.
In “Saint Dismas,” four orphaned brothers pose as part of a construction crew, stopping cars along the highway and robbing anyone foolish enough to hit the brakes. In “Heart Sleeves,” two wannabe tattoo artists take part in a contest, where one of them hopes to win not only first place but also the heart of his best friend’s girlfriend. And, in “Fight Sounds,” a character who fancies himself a Don Juan is swept up in the commotion of an American film crew shooting a movie in his tiny town, until the economic and sexual politics of the place are turned on their head.
Across this collection, Lemus’s characters test their loyalty to family, community, and country, illuminating the ties that both connect us and constrain us. Guatemalan Rhapsody explores how we journey from the circumstances that we are forged by, and whether the ability to change our fortunes lies in our own hands or in those of another. Revealing the places where beauty, desperation, love, violence, and hope exist simultaneously, Jared Lemus’s debut establishes him as a major new voice in the form.
Jared Lemus is a writer of short fiction whose stories have appeared in or are forthcoming in The Atlantic, Story, The Kenyon Review, among other places. A Latine writer, Lemus has been a Tin House Scholar and Colgate Writers’ Conference fellow. He holds an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh and is Visiting Writer at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2025-11-23/latinx-book-club-guatemalan-rhapsody
Local Author Day: Pamela Nickel Williams & Donna R. Phillipsat Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event
Pamela Nickel Williams presents Clearly Lies Are True
The memoir, Clearly Lies Are True, is a compelling and powerful firsthand narrative account of the childhood and sexual abuse of Pamela Nickel Williams. Written from her perspective as a young child and teenager, and told through vivid, detailed memories and experiences, Pamela’s story captures a unique period of time within the Church of Scientology.
Donna R. Phillips presents Among The Reeds & Other Stories of The Supernatural
The veil between the living and the dead is gossamer-thin in this haunting collection of supernatural tales, where the familiar becomes strange and the strange, achingly human. From a lakeshore to a basement apartment, each story unveils a hidden world, pulsing just beneath the surface of our own.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 2 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-23/local-author-day
Celebrating Art Above Everything by Stephanie Elizondo Griestat Bel Canto KUBO – In-Person Kids Event
Bel Canto Books is delighted to celebrate Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life by Stephanie Elizondo Griest.
Meet queer, BIPOC, and women artists around the world as they discuss the gifts, costs, and redemptive power of pursuing a creative life.
Is the all-encompassing quest to become a self-sustaining artist worth the sacrifices it often requires? Throughout her 20s and 30s, Stephanie Elizondo Griest could not help worrying if constantly prioritizing her writing over everything else—from postponing children to living nomadically to save on rent—was leading her to fulfillment or regret. After a break-up and serious health crisis in her early 40s, she decided to turn to other women artists for their perspectives on that perennial question: is art enough?
Art Above Everything introduces us to legendary writers, visual artists, dancers, and musicians across the globe, who talk intimately about their art, what it requires, what it gifts them, and what it costs them. Opening in a classical Indian dance village, Elizondo Griest goes on to meet 100+ artists in Rwanda, Romania, Qatar, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, Cuba, and the United States. She discovers artists from Rwandan playwright Hope Azeda, who navigated ethnic tensions as she attempted to bring about reconciliation through theater in the aftermath of genocide; to Romanian painter Florica Prevenda, who got assigned to a provincial factory during Ceaușescu’s dictatorship but never relinquished her brushes.
Art is inheritance, dissent, devotion, revenge, celebration, and more. Yet though each artist’s relationship to their craft is different, their need to create in the face of economic hardship, misogyny, sexual violence, and family ostracization is wholly akin.
Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a globetrotting author from South Texas. Her 6 books include: Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana; Mexican Enough; and All the Agents and Saints: Dispatches from the US Borderlands. She has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Believer, BBC, VQR, and Oxford American. Her work has won a Margolis Award for Social Justice Reporting, an International Latino Book Award, a PEN Southwest Book Award, and a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Prize. She currently serves as a professor of creative nonfiction at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Where: Bel Canto KUBO
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA
Bag of Tricks with Ruby Dee Philippa at Stories Books & Cafe – In-Person Event
Bag of Tricks is a compilation of short stories about San Francisco punks In the early 80’s.
Ruby grew up in the foothills of Northern CA and the West Texas flatlands, riding horses in the back woods near Folsom Prison, and singing with family on the back porch. She attended SDSU at fifteen- studying electrical engineering and drama- then stumbled into life on the streets of San Francisco, enchanted by all the grime and glitz, the drugs and wild nights, even the discordance and insanity of life as a punk in those early days. Moving on, Ruby co-founded the North Coast California Earth First! in Arcata, CA while attending Humboldt State, and fished across Alaskan waters. Eventually, she moved to Seattle, WA where she opened a series of restaurants, then transitioned from restaurateur to singer/songwriter when she started the roots-rockabilly band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers in 2002. Thrice Grammy-considered, they tour the world and produce award-winning records. In 2023, Ruby wrote Bag of Tricks after reconnecting with old punk friends and reminiscing about those lost years. Most of what she wrote came from events that really occurred, though Ruby took liberties and changed some details because she could.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://storiesla.com/events/4037720251123
November 2025 Historical Romance Book Club: The Gilded Heiress at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
November’s Historical Romance Book Club is led by Orders Manager Katie S. This group examines historical romance novels from all eras, both new and old.
Participants will discuss The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe.
Everyone is welcome.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 23rd
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232
Los Angeles Literature 