Lit Angels: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Do you want to find creative inspiration and overcome writer’s block in a supportive and peaceful community setting? Are you interested in writing professionally or for personal growth and healing but unsure where to begin?
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: Monday the 13th
Time: 9 am – 10 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
World Literature Book Club via West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for an engaging discussion on some of the world’s best short stories! This year’s selections are from the 100 Great Short Stories edited by James Delay and The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction. This month’s selections (from 100 Great Short Stories) are:
April 13: The Parson’s Horse Race by Harriet Beecher Stowe
April 20: How I Killed a Bear by Charles Dudley Warner
April 27: Uncle Remus & the Wonderful Tar-Baby Story by Joel Chandler Harris
RSVP:
For the Zoom link and weekly story to be discussed, email wvally@lapl.org with “World Literature” in the subject line.
We meet every Monday morning (except holidays).
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 13th
Time: 10 am – 11 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-13
Robertson Writers Group at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Writing a book, poem, or screenplay? Need deadlines? Want constructive feedback? Then this is the place for you. Bring 5 – 10 double-spaced typed pages to read. Everyone will get a chance to read.
New: This group is also working to publish a collaborative book through Library resources, specifically through the Indie Author Project, which is accessible to people across California. If you are interested in this, please email Adult Librarian, Michele Robinson at mrobinson@lapl.org for more information.
RSVP:
This group meets in-person and on Zoom every Monday, except holidays. For the Zoom login information, please email the Robertson Library at rbrtsn@lapl.org.
Where: Robertson Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 13th
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 1719 S. Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/robertson-writers-group
Evening Book Club: The Correspondent at Manhattan Beach Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join our book club to enjoy a facilitated discussion of fiction and nonfiction titles. For adults.
April Selection: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Where: Manhattan Beach Library, LACL
Date: Monday the 13th
Address: 1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14757598
Robertson Readers Book Club: A Visit from the Goon Squad at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us every second Monday of the month for a lively book discussion. This month, we will be reading A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.
A Visit from the Goon Squad won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011 and was the National Book Critics Circle Award Winner in 2010. Copies will be available to check out at the next meeting or at the Circulation Desk. New Members welcome.
Any questions? Please email our Adult Librarian, Michele, at mrobinson@lapl.org.
Where: Robertson Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 13th
Address: 1719 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/robertson-readers-0
YA for Adults Book Club: Pick the Lock at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Pick the Lock by A.S. King.
From Michael L. Printz Award winner A.S. King, a weird and insightful new novel about a girl intent on picking the lock of her toxic family.
Jane Vandermaker-Cook would like her mother back. As Jane’s mother tours the world to support the family, Jane lives and goes to school in a Victorian mansion with her younger brother and their mendacious father who confines Jane’s mother to a system of pneumatic tubes whenever she’s at home. And then there’s weirdly ever-present Aunt Finch, Milorad the gardener, and his rat, Brutus. For Jane, this all seems normal until she suddenly gains access to the files for a lifetime of security-camera videos—her lifetime.
A.S. King’s latest surrealist masterpiece follows Jane’s bizarre and brilliant journey to reconnect with her mother by breaking out of her shell and composing a punk opera.
A.S. King is the award-winning author of many acclaimed books for young readers. Her novel Dig won the 2020 Michael L. Printz Award, and Ask The Passengers won the 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. The New York Times called her “one of the best YA writers working today.” In 2022, she was awarded the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant contribution to YA literature. King lives with her family in Pennsylvania, where she returned after living on a farm and teaching adult literacy in Ireland for more than a decade. http://www.as-king.com
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside
Date: Monday the 13th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-04-13/ya-adults-book-club-pick-lock
Baking Book Club: Lebanese Baking at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join us for Village Well’s Baking Club!
This April, we’re discussing Lebanese Baking by Maureen Abood. Bake your favorite recipe from the book(s) and show up ready to eat and share!
To join the Baking Club mailing list, please email events@villagewell.com.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Monday the 13th
Time: 6:30 am – 8 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 13th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com
Monday Night Fiction Workshop with Raquel Baker at 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
Date: Monday the 13th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org
Lit Angels: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Do you want to find creative inspiration and overcome writer’s block in a supportive and peaceful community setting? Are you interested in writing professionally or for personal growth and healing but unsure where to begin?
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: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
NEW! Toddler Tuesdays: A Travelin’ Storytime – Session 1 at Ocean Park Branch Library, SMPL – In-Person Kids Event
This fun and engaging weekly series of stories, songs, and rhymes travels to different library locations. Limited space; first come, first served. For ages walking – 3 years.
Where: Ocean Park Branch Library, SMPL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 10:30 am – 11 am
Address: 2601 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events
Virtual Book Club: The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara via La Crescenta Library, LACL – Online Event
Join us for the Virtual Book Club. In April we will be discussing The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara. For adults.
Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your link to join.
Each week we will read and discuss 1/4 of the book. Please see the weekly discussion breakdown below.
Week 2: April 14: Chapters 6 – 9 — Pages 88 – 159
Week 3: April 21: Chapters 10 – 14 — Pages 160 – 241
Week 4: April 28: Chapters 115 – Epilogue — Pages 242 – to the end of the book
1869. Tibet is closed to Europeans, an infuriating obstruction for the rapidly expanding British Empire. In response, Britain begins training Indians-permitted to cross borders that white men may not-to undertake illicit, dangerous surveying expeditions into Tibet. Balram is one such surveyor-spy, an Indian schoolteacher who, for several years, has worked for the British, often alongside his dearest friend, Gyan. But Gyan went missing on his last expedition and is rumored to be imprisoned within Tibet. Desperate to rescue his friend, Balram agrees to guide an English captain on a foolhardy mission: After years of paying others to do the exploring, the captain, disguised as a monk, wants to personally chart a river that runs through southern Tibet. Their path will cross fatefully with that of another Westerner in disguise, fifty-year-old Katherine. Denied a fellowship in the all-male Royal Geographical Society in London, she intends to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa. As Balram and Katherine make their way into Tibet, they will face storms and bandits, snow leopards and soldiers, fevers and frostbite. What’s more, they will have to battle their own doubts, ambitions, grief, and pasts in order to survive the treacherous landscape. A polyphonic novel about the various ways humans try to leave a mark on the world-from the enduring nature of family and friendship to the egomania and obsessions of the colonial enterprise-The Last of Earth confirms Deepa Anappara as one of our greatest and most ambitious storytellers.
Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14tht
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/
NEW! Toddler Tuesdays: A Travelin’ Storytime – Session 2 at Ocean Park Branch Library, SMPL – In-Person Kids Event
This fun and engaging weekly series of stories, songs, and rhymes travels to different library locations. Limited space; first come, first served. For ages walking – 3 years.
Where: Ocean Park Branch Library SMPL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 11:30 am – 12 pm
Address: 2601 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events
Agoura Readers Book Club: Buckeye at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
This month we’ll discuss Buckeye by Patrick Ryan Copies available at the library. For adults.
This is a historical fiction novel that follows two families in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio, from the 1930s to the 1970s, exploring themes of love, secrets, and forgiveness after a single, impulsive kiss between two married characters, Cal and Margaret, during World War II. The book is a character-driven saga that delves into the lives of Cal and Margaret, their spouses Becky and Felix, and the lasting impact of their choices across generations, examining the complexities of marriage, sexuality, and family secrets.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16191552
Book Club: Velvet Was the Night at Montebello Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a discussion of Velvet was the Night, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. There are copies available at the Circulation Desk upon request. For Adults
Where: Montebello Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 1550 W. Beverly Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15792526
Author Talk: Brad Taylor & Shadow Strike via Virtual Program, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us in conversation with acclaimed author Brad Taylor on his latest work, Shadow Strike, book 20 (yes, you read that right!) of the bestselling Pike Logan series.
After its proxies are devastated and its offensive capability pummeled in the latest war in the middle east, a rogue group of Iranian regime officials create a brazen plot to strike back at their hated enemies once and for all. They envision a series of operational dominos culminating in a devastating attack, and the first step is the assassination of the Israeli prime minister. And there’s only one assassin with the skills to pull it off: Abdul Rahman, known in the shadows as the Ghost.
When a routine prison transfer is ambushed, the Ghost escapes and is given the assignment. The only Operator who can hunt him down is the man who stopped him before: Pike Logan.
Pike and his team soon learn that the mission involves something bigger than just the escape of his old enemy. Working with Mossad agents, the pursuit leads the Taskforce to Argentina. They work to unravel the scope of the attack, and the chase leads them through the tempestuous waterfalls of Iguazu and the Triple Frontier, to the vibrant streets of Buenos Aires, and the tiny village of Ushuaia at the “End of the World”.
As the team races against the clock, Pike learns the stakes are much greater than a single life – the consequences extend into the heartland of America itself. The Ghost may hold the key to an escalation that will upend the worldwide balance of power, and if Pike fails, the fallout won’t just be personal – it’ll be global.
Register today to learn why the Pike Logan series has everyone buzzing!
Brad Taylor is the author of the New York Times bestselling Pike Logan series. He served for more than twenty years in the U.S. Army, including eight years in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, commonly known as Delta Force. He retired as a Special Forces lieutenant colonel and now lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
Where: Virtual Program, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15877740
Writer’s Workshop: How to Start Writing Your Book at Manhattan Beach Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Learn to overcome writer’s block, structure your outline, and start writing your next story with author, writing coach, and editor Jasmyne Boswell. For adults.
Attendance is limited and advance registration is required.
Where: Manhattan Beach Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15951461
Poetry Open Mic via Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Share a poem you wrote or a poem you love. You are also welcome to just listen and enjoy.
RSVP:
To receive a Zoom invitation, please contact wwood@lapl.org
Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/poetry-open-mic-0
Historical Fiction Panel: The Past Is Always Present: Authors Desiree Zamorano, Toni Ann Johnson & Kate Maruyama at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Three authors discuss their new books that are set in 20th century New York and Los Angeles, focusing on how they use memorable characters in historical time frames to tell compelling stories that reverberate with contemporary issues. With Toni Ann Johnson, Kate Maruyama, and Désirée Zamorano.
Desiree Zamorano is the author of Dispossessed(Running Wild Press, 2024). She was born and raised inLynwood, California, a small town nestled between Compton and Los Angeles. She always wanted to go to new places and try new things. At the age of three, she even set off, out of the yard, walking down the street, in search of adventure. A kind stranger brought her back to her overwrought mother.
Toni Ann Johnson won the 2024 Screen Door Press Prize for Fiction with her linked collection, But Where’s Home? (UPK 2026). In 2021, she won the Flannery O’Connor Award for her linked short story collection Light Skin Gone to Waste (UGA Press 2022). The collection was shortlisted for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, and also shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize. A novella, Homegoing, won Accents Publishing’s inaugural novella contest in 2020 and was released in May of 2021. Short fiction and essays have been published in The Emerson Review, Hunger Mountain, Fiction Magazine, Callaloo, The Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.
Kate Maruyama is the author of Alterations, The Collective, Bleak Houses, and Harrowgate and her novella Family Solstice was named Best Fiction Book of 2021 by Rue Morgue Magazine. Her short work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and she is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and winner of the Uncharted Short Story Prize. She served on the working Board for Women Who Submit, and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Shirley Jackson Awards. She writes, teaches, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles.
RSVP at website!
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Silver Lake Book Club: This House of Grief at Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join the Silver Lake Book Club as they discuss This House of Grief by Helen Garner. This club is held in person in the Community Meeting Room. Copies of the book are available at the Reference Desk.
New members are always welcome!
Where: Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 2411 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/silver-lake-book-club-2
Comic Book & Graphic Novel Discussion for Adults at Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us each month for our graphic novel and comic book discussion. This is a great starting point for both new and devoted fans of the genre. Copies are available at the reference/information desk and as ebooks on Hoopla and/or Overdrive.
April 14, 2026: Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons by Frank Tieri.
Where: Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/comic-book-graphic-novel-discussion-adults
Booked & Busy Book Club: One Hundred Years of Solitude at Leland R. Weaver Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a facilitated discussion of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez. For Adults.
Copies of the current title are available to check-out at the customer service desk while supplies last. The eBook is available via Hoopla, while the audiobook is available through Libby. New members are always welcome!
Where: Leland R. Weaver Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 4035 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, CA 90280
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16034261
Alison Winn Scotch, with Laura Dave & The Insomniacs at Diesel, A Bookstore– In-Person Event
Alison Winn Scotch, in conversation with Laura Dave, will discuss The Insomniacs.
The lives of four sleepless strangers intersect late at night as they attempt to solve not just their own anxieties but also the mysterious disappearance of one of their own, from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.
In the city that never sleeps, it’s not always easy to share what’s on your mind with the people who know you best. Huddled in an all-night diner over coffee and pancakes, a lonely middle-aged mom, an injured baseball pro, an elusive retiree, and a young waitress examine the thoughts that plague them in the middle of the night.
Empty-nester Sybil does what she does best: rolls up her sleeves and spearheads the efforts to turn this group of strangers into friends. Aimless after an injury threatens to ruin his career, Zeke finds genuine connection among the unlikely group. Tight-lipped Julian, who’s seemingly adrift in retirement and attempting to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, expands their circle when he takes their cagey diner waitress, Betty, under his wing. Betty, cautious about strangers and uncertain about strokes of good luck, entertains the trio in an attempt to resolve her own problems, which she keeps close to the vest.
Within a few restless months, the group of strangers have become a fragile family. And when one of them goes missing in the dead of night, they’re thrust into a propulsive mystery pulled straight from the true-crime podcasts Sybil obsesses over. Though ill-prepared and unequipped for the job, they begin to piece together the clues left behind. In chasing down answers, they uncover a reason for their friend’s disappearance, and are forced to wrestle with the question of how well you can really know anyone—and once you do, how much are you willing to risk to save them? And in doing so, save yourself?
Allison Winn Scotch is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing, In Twenty Years and Time of My Life. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and their two rescue dogs, Hugo and Mr. Peanut.
Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me. Her novels have sold more than five million copies and have been translated into thirty-eight languages. The Last Thing He Told Me was the Goodreads Mystery & Thriller of the Year for 2021 and is now a series on Apple TV+, cocreated by Laura. She resides in Santa Monica, California.
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-04-14/allison-winn-scotch-Laura-Dave-insomniacs
Activism Book Club: Leonardo Vilchis & Abolish Rent at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Join us for the newest addition to the Village Well Book Club family, the Activism Book Club!
Each month, we’ll dive into a book that informs and directs us about the state of the world, and how we can put what we learn into practice. We’ll have guest speakers, workshops, volunteer activities, and discussions of how we can positively impact the community. We’re looking forward to building a community that’s more connected around our collective well-being.
This April, we’re thrilled to welcome author Leonardo Vilchis for a conversation about his book Abolish Rent.
Leonardo Vilchis has been organizing tenants in Boyle Heights for more than thirty years. Trained in liberation theology, he co-founded Union de Vecinos in 1996 and the L.A. Tenants Union in 2015. He lives in Los Angeles.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday the 14th
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 14th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 14537 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Merlin Holland & After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Merlin Holland will present and discuss The Legacy of a Scandal.
Written by Oscar Wilde’s only grandson, After Oscar recounts the gripping story of Wilde and his enduring legacy.
Oscar Wilde died in November 1900, exiled in Paris, his reputation in tatters, exhausted by scandal and prison life. While the details of his life in the limelight are well known, often ignored are the reverberations of the Wilde scandal over the decades following his trial and death.
With pathos, humor, and his grandfather’s signature wit, Merlin Holland charts the extraordinary afterlife of the legendary writer and thinker, tracing the dramatic fluctuations in Wilde’s posthumous reputation.
A true feat of storytelling and scholarship, After Oscar documents decades of sensationalist conjecture surrounding the Wilde family and exposes a century of bigotry and hypocrisy within the cultural establishment. Here is a book that will amuse, infuriate, fascinate, and shock. Readers beware—you’re in for a Wilde ride.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-04-14/merlin-holland-discusses-signs-after-oscar-legacy-scandal
Mystery Book Club: Her Last Breath: A Novel at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Our Mystery Book Club meets monthly, generally on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm.
A pages bookclub exploring the mysteries of life.
Facilitated by Bobby McCue, participants will discuss the novel Her Last Breath by author Taylor Adams.
From the bestselling author of No Exit and The Last Word comes a heart-pounding thriller that plunges readers into the suffocating darkness of a cave—and the even darker secrets that lie within.
When Tess reluctantly joins her adventurous best friend Allie on a caving expedition, she expects to confront her claustrophobia—not a stranger whose chilling retaliation traps her in a fight for her life. A man who claims to be a fellow caver harasses them at the cave’s entrance. Confident, take-no-shit Allie insults the guy—and he retaliates. Soon, Tess is trapped inside a narrow crawl space hundreds of feet underground, fighting to stay alive.
Hours later, Tess emerges alive—but the nightmare is far from over.
As Tess recounts her harrowing story of survival, the detective interviewing her shares new and shocking secrets about Allie’s true past. Together, they begin to suspect the brutal attack wasn’t so random after all. In the hospital, as Tess pieces together the events with a detective, she learns shocking truths about Allie’s past that reframe everything. Was the attack truly random? Who was Allie beneath her dazzling interior? And most chilling of all—has Tess really escaped the danger, or is it still closing in?
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-04-14/mystery-book-club
At Bar Henry: Anna Dorn, with Special Guests, & American Spirits at Skylight Books Off-site at Bar Henry – In-Person Event
Anna Dorn, in conversation withspecial guests, will present and discuss American Spirits, a love letter to pop music, American Spirits charts an icon’s fall—and an obsessive fangirl’s rise.
Thirty-eight-year-old Blue Velour has finally achieved the critical acclaim she’s long been chasing. Over the last decade, she’s released six studio albums to mixed reviews, landing her somewhere between performance artist and niche legend. But her latest album, Blue’s Beard—a cheeky reference to the subreddit fanatically dedicated to her suspected secret relationship with longtime producer Sasha Harlow—has rocket-launched her reputation. Blue hires nerdy superfan Rose Lutz as her assistant to handle the pressures of the upcoming tour.
When the pandemic shuts down the tour, however, Blue decides to hole up in the redwoods with Sasha to make another album. An aspiring singer herself, Rose is frothing at the mouth to be isolated in a cabin with these two legends, but what begins as a creative retreat spirals into a flurry of chaos and betrayal—culminating in a tragic act that changes their lives forever.
Smart, entertaining, and edgy, American Spirits is a compelling exploration of the dark side of fame.
Anna Dorn is the author of the novels Perfume and Pain, Exalted, Vagablonde, and American Spirits. She was a Lambda Literary Fellow and Exalted was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She lives in Los Angeles.
Melissa Broder is the author of the novels Death Valley, Milk Fed, and The Pisces, and the forthcoming Empty and Marvelous from Scribner, the essay collection So Sad Today, and five poetry collections, including Superdoom. Her books are translated in over twelve languages.
Catie Disabato‘s romance debut, Rooting Interest, was released by 831 Stories in January 2026. Her second novel, U Up? was named one of the best mystery novels of 2021 by The New York Times. Her first novel, The Ghost Network, was published in 2015 and was called a “smart and thorny debut,” by The New York Times Book Review. Disabato has written essays and criticism for outlets including the LAist, Buzzfeed, and LA Weekly. She lives in Los Angeles.
Nada Alic is the author of Bad Thoughts, a New York Times Editors’ Choice Pick and finalist for the Danuta Gleed award. Her novel is forthcoming from Knopf.
Aiden Arata is the bestselling author of You Have a New Memory.
Where: Skylight at Bar Henry
Date: Tuesday the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1228 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/bar-henry-anna-dorn-presents-american-spirits-w-special-guests
Kelly Yang, with Lisa Ling, & The Take at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Kelly Yang, in conversation with Lisa Ling, will discuss The Take: A Novel.
A provocative, fast-paced novel about two creative women—a young writer fighting to be heard and an older producer clinging to relevancy—and the age reversal treatment that intertwines both of their lives…from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Front Desk series.
Would you sell your youth for $3 million?
Maggie Wang, a broke young Asian American writer, needs a lifeline. Ingrid Parker, a veteran white Hollywood producer with her career on the edge, offers an irresistible deal: $3 million for ten experimental medical sessions to reverse her aging, using Maggie as a transfusion partner, and mentorship.
For Ingrid, it’s a chance to reboot her fading career. For Maggie, it’s access and freedom—money to support her parents and the connections to finally get her novel published.
What starts as a professional transaction exchanging blood quickly becomes a complex psychological dance. As Maggie gains unprecedented access to Ingrid’s hard-earned wisdom, Ingrid sees in Maggie a weapon against an industry that’s been trying to sideline her.
As their relationship intensifies, the rules around aging begin to shift. So does the balance of power between the two women, leaving both questioning who holds the upper hand and what they’re willing to sacrifice to succeed.
Sharp, timely, and utterly compelling, The Take is perfect for readers of Yellowface and Such a Fun Age—a searing portrait of two women fighting to rewrite their story.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday, the 14th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 695 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-04-14/kelly-yang
The Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert presents Gray Davidson Carroll – Online Zoom Event
Cobalt Poets Reading & Open Mic and host Rick Lupert welcomes featured poet Gray Davidson Carroll.
Gray Davidson Carroll is a transfemme writer, dancer, singer, cold water plunger and (self-proclaimed) hot chocolate alchemist hailing from Brooklyn by way of western Massachusetts and other strange and forgotten places. They are the author of the poetry chapbook Waterfall of Thanks (Bottlecap Press, 2023), and their work has further appeared or is forthcoming in Rattle, The Common, Frontiers in Medicine, and elsewhere. They have received fellowships from Brooklyn Poets, and Columbia University, and are currently pursuing an MFA in poetry at NYU.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 14th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com
Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic at COC – COMMUNITY OWNED CENTER in Leimert Park – In-Person Event
The nation’s largest weekly spoken word Open Mic event is 26 years strong. DPL is a community space for every poet to be heard. They provide a platform to celebrate poetry while using it as the foundation for creativity, innovation, and expression across an array of media outlets.
$10 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: COC – COMMUNITY OWNED CENTER, New Leimert Park Location
Date: Tuesday, the 14th
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm (Doors at 8:15 pm)
Address: 4276 Crenshaw 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
Do you want to find creative inspiration and overcome writer’s block in a supportive and peaceful community setting? Are you interested in writing professionally or for personal growth and healing but unsure where to begin?
Come join acclaimed author and writing instructor Francesca Lia Block MWF 9-10 am and TuTh 10 am for a brief intro, discussion of her highly-effective 12 Question method, and 40 minutes of free writing on any topic without judgment. Afterwards you will be able to share a bit about your process and ask Francesca brief 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 15th
Time: 9 am – 10 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Coffee Time Book Club at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event
Meets monthly, generally on the third Wednesday of each month at 10 am.
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.
Facilitated by Linda McLoughlin Figel
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 10 am
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-04-15/coffee-time-book-club
Book Club: Good Dirt at Washington Irving Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Good Dirt by Charmine Wilkerson. Copies are available for check out in the branch or on your mobile device as an e-book/e-audiobook.
Where: Washington Irving Branch Library,LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 12 pm
Address: 4117 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-10
Book Club: Such a Fun Age at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – Online Zoom Event
Join us for a lively discussion of the 2019 novel Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.
RSVP:
If you are unable to attend in person, please email grnhls@lapl.org for a Zoom invite.
Where: Granada Hills Branch Library,LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 1:30 pm – 3 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-such-fun-age
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 15th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
Book Club for Adults: My Next Breath at San Gabriel Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for book club as we discuss My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner. Copies of this title are available at the Information Desk. For ages 18 and up.
In this debut memoir, two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner writes in blistering detail about his snowplow accident and the aftermath. This retelling is not merely a gruesome account of what happened to him; it’s a call to action and a forged companionship between reader and author as Jeremy recounts his recovery journey and reflects on the impact of his suffering. Ultimately, Jeremy’s memoir is a testament to the human spirit and
its capacity to endure, evolve, and find purpose in the face of unimaginable adversity. His writing captures the essence of profound transformation, exploring the delicate interplay between vulnerability and strength, despair and hope, redemption and renewal.
Where: San Gabriel Library,LACL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 500 S. Del Mar Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91776
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/14840607
Middle Grade Book Club at pages: a bookstore – In-Person MG Event
Meets monthly, generally on the third Wednesday of each month at 4:30 pm.
We tend to read new-release middle grade fiction. At each meeting we discuss and vote on what we will read and discuss for the following month.
Facilitated by Nedda Lewers
Please RSVP to amy@pagesabookstore.com
Where: pages: a bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-04-15/middle-grade-book-club
2026 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Awards Reading and Reception at Lyman Hall, Pomona College Music Department – In-Person Event
Please join us for a celebration of the 2026 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Award winners. Our winners will be announced in April!
This event is free and open to the public.
Join us for the 2026 Tufts Poetry Award Reading & Reception at the Los Angeles Public Library, where we’ll honor our Kate Tufts Award Winner and our Kingsley Tufts Award.
Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, including Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems, The Absurd Man, Roll Deep, Holding Company, Hoops, and Leaving Saturn, which won a Cave Canem Poetry Prize for a first book of poems. His edited volumes include: Best American Poetry 2019, Renga for Obama, and Library of America’s Countee Cullen: Collected Poems. He is also the author of A Beat Beyond: The Selected Prose of Major Jackson edited by Amor Kohli. Jackson is a recipient of fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. He has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and has been honored by the Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. Jackson’s poems and essays have been published in American Poetry Review, The New Yorker, Orion Magazine, Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry London, and many distinguished journals. He currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee where he is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University and serves as the Poetry Editor of The Harvard Review. He recently completed a 2-season post (443 episodes!) hosting The Slowdown poetry podcast.
Donika Kelly is the author of The Natural Order of Things, (forthcoming in Fall 2025!), The Renunciations (Graywolf), winner of the Anisfield-Wolf book award in poetry, and Bestiary (Graywolf), the winner of the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Poetry and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Kelly’s poetry has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Publishing Triangle Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and longlisted for the National Book Award. A Cave Canem graduate fellow, she has also received an NEA fellowship, a Lannan Residency Fellowship and a summer workshop fellowship from the Fine Arts Work Center. She earned an MFA from the Michener Center at the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in English from Vanderbilt University. Her poems have been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. Kelly is an assistant professor of English at the University of Iowa and lives in Iowa City.
Ed Pavlić is an American writer whose work travels across, and often blurring, genres: poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and scholarship. Centered in African American and diasporic life and culture, most of his work explores racial dynamics in the experiences of persons: fictive, actual, historical, and contemporary, whose placement and perspectives aren’t neatly classifiable in contemporary vocabularies, theirs or ours. His awards include The American Poetry Review / Honickman First Book Award (2001), The National Poetry Series Open Competition (2012, 2014), The Author of the Year Award from the Georgia Writer’s Association (2009, 2023), and the Darwin Turner Memorial Award from African American Review (1997). He is Distinguished Research Professor of English and African American Studies at the University of Georgia and lives in Athens, GA with his family.
Francine J Harris’ most recent book of poetry is Here is the Sweet Hand (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2020), winner of the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Publisher’s Weekly, in a starred review, said “no list of topics or themes can capture the erotic heat, imaginative breadth, and syntactical daring of this poet’s voice.” Her second book, play dead (Alice James, 2017) won a LAMBDA Literary Award, a Publishing Triangle Award, and was nominated for the 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Poetry. Her debut collection, Allegiance (Wayne State University Press, 2012) was a finalist for both the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the PEN Open Book Award. Her poetry has appeared in many journals, including McSweeney’s, Ploughshares, Poetry, Meridian, Indiana Review, Callaloo, and Boston Review. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, and Cave Canem.
Vievee Francis is the author of four books of poetry: The Shared World (Northwestern University Press, 2023); Forest Primeval (TriQuarterly Books, 2015), winner of the 2017 Kingsley Tufts Award and the Hurston Wright Legacy Award; Horse in the Dark (Northwestern University Press, 2012), winner of the Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize; and Blue-Tail Fly (Wayne State University Press, 2006). Forthcoming are a memoir, Ugly, and her fifth volume of poetry, Cleaning the Houses of the Dead. Her work has appeared in numerous print and online journals, textbooks, and anthologies including Poetry, Best American Poetry, spin.com, and Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry. Born in West Texas and raised in Metropolitan Detroit, Francis, along with composer Jonathan Berger and artist Enrico Riley, wrote the libretto for the transdisciplinary opera The Ritual of Breath. She received a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2021 Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry. She has also been the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Award and a Kresge Fellowship. She is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College.
Where: Lyman Hall, Pomona College Music Department
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 5 pm – 8 pm
Address: 340 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA 91711
Website: https://www.cgu.edu/event
Book Club for Adults: The Women on Platform Two at San Fernando Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we discuss The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony. Copies of the current title are available at the Information Desk. New members are always welcome! For adults
In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this sweeping, timely novel inspired by a remarkable and little-known true story. Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal. Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them.
Where: San Fernando Library,LACL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Address: 217 N. Maclay Ave., San Fernando, CA 91340
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15892476
WeHo Reads Event: Poets Laureate Lee Herrick and Jen Cheng via West Hollywood Library, LACL – Online Event
This National Poetry Month discussion features two poets laureate in a conversation on how language can shape identity, spark imagination, and build bridges between cultures and communities. For adults.
Lee Herrick is the 10th California Poet Laureate and the first Asian American to serve in the role. He is the author of four poetry collections, including In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems (2024).
Jen Cheng is the 5th West Hollywood City Poet Laureate and the first Asian American to serve in the role. A Poet Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets and a California Arts Council Fellow, she is the author of Braided Spaces and teaches with organizations including The Poetry Society of New York, The Loft Literary Center, and UCLA Extension.
Where: West Hollywood Library,LACL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16215564
Fiction Book Club: Twice at Studio City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us on the third Wednesday of every month for our long-running book club for adults!
Upcoming meeting:
April (4/15): Twice by Mitch Albom
Where: Studio City Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 12511 Moorpark Street, Studio City, CA 91604
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/fiction-book-club-0
Creative Writing Workshop at Sherman Oaks Martin Pollard Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Explore creative writing in a fun, supportive environment! Each session will include some combination of writing exercises, readings, discussion, and opportunities for sharing and feedback. Suggested homework will also be provided to keep you writing between sessions.
Writers are welcome to bring up to 500 words (about 2 typed, double-spaced pages) to read aloud each session. Open to adults and teens ages 16+.
Email katie.wright@lapl.org with any questions.
Where: Sherman Oaks Martin PollardBranch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address:14245 Moorpark Street, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-7
Book Club: Tommy Siegel & Extremely Accurate Birds: An Anatomically Precise Field Guide to Common Backyard Birds of North America at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us to welcome Tommy Siegel to discuss his book, Extremely Accurate Birds: An Anatomically Precise Field Guide to Common Backyard Birds of North America.
Have you ever taken a really good look at the bottom half of a bird? At long last, this birding guide from esteemed birder and New Yorker cartoonist Tommy Siegel, author of Candy Hearts, reveals the truth about the powerful legs and shapely rear ends that power our feathered friends to the skies!
There’s a reason that brilliant naturalists from Audubon to Sibley have relied on illustration to bring birds to life on the page: Birds move remarkably fast and are often obscured by foliage; it would be nearly impossible to photograph them. But birding enthusiast and comic artist Tommy Siegel noticed a theme in these artists’ guides: Their renderings focus too heavily on birds’ wings and plumage while reducing their lower limbs to simple sticks. Could birds really achieve such varied feats of athleticism and migratory endurance if they had such rudimentary legs?
Now, Tommy is poised to revolutionize the field of ornithology with his interpretation of how birds’ beautiful legs and posteriors must truly appear (based on educated scientific guesses gleaned from observing their behavior in the field). The result is Extremely Accurate Birds, perhaps the most anatomically precise collection of bird illustrations ever assembled. Pairing his trailblazing bird drawings with (actually accurate, for real) birding tips on more than eighty common species found across North America, Tommy has created an essential addition to any birder’s shelf.
Tommy Siegel is a birding enthusiast, cartoonist for the New Yorker, and touring musician. As a cartoonist, his challenge to draw 500 consecutive days of comics led to a viral fanbase of hundreds of thousands worldwide and eventually spawned his popular Candy Hearts and Extremely Accurate Birds series, among others. As a musician, he has played more than 1,000 shows around the world as a singer and guitarist in Jukebox the Ghost, a long-running piano-pop band with a cult fanbase whose tour history includes festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza as well as late-night TV shows including Letterman and Conan. He juggles both pastimes with copious amounts of coffee.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite #33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Shut Up and Write in Los Felizat Big Bar with Los Feliz Writers, The Alcove – In-Person Event
Come write with us! Every Wednesday (April 8, April 15, April 22, April 29) we’re writing at the @bigbaralcove.
We’re always on the side!
6:45 to 7 pm getting settled.
7 pm check in.
Write for an hour!
8ish check out!
All writers of all levels welcome!
WRITE | HANG | REPEAT
Where: Big Bar, The Alcove
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm
Address: 1929 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz, CA 90027
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Christopher Castellani & Last Seen at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Christopher Castellani will discuss Last Seen: A Novel.
Caleb was driving home for Christmas. Steven was pounding beers at a local bar. Matthew was out looking for his ex-girlfriend. Leo was walking in the woods on a winter night. Then they disappeared.
Days, weeks, years later, their bodies turn up in icy rivers hundreds of miles apart. How did they get there? What, if anything, connects them? Some of their loved ones believe the official answers. Some are convinced the boys are victims of an insidious network called the Smiley Face Killers. Some are trying to forget them altogether. Meanwhile, Caleb, Steven, Matthew, and Leo find one other—and other boys like them—in the murky depths of the afterlife. Each tells his story in his own way, speaking his version of truth, confessing his desires and grievances and even his hopes for a future he still somehow believes belongs to him. Each revelation brings the reader deeper into their intertwined fates, along a journey through the landscapes of identity, intimacy, and the haunting echoes of unresolved grief.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-04-15/christopher-castellani-discusses-signs-last-seen
RECESS Open Mic: PUA Turns 8 at SIPA HQ, Palms Up Academy – In-Person Event
RECESS Open Mic is at SIPA HQ on Wednesdays.
Come celebrate 8 years of RECESS Mic! There wit be a roster of special performances this year in #HistoricFilipinotown.
Standard mic RSVP; rules and entry apply.
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.
Host: Lady Basco
NOTE: Only self-sign-ups are allowed.
20 slots available; 15 slots for dinner served; remaining slots for faculty.
See site for further details,
NOTE: See site for RSVP, cost, guidelines, and details.
Where: SIPA HQ
Date: Wednesday, the 15th
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.instagram.com
Amy Coombe & Stay for a Spell at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Amy Coombe will discuss and sign Stay for a Spell.
A cursed princess must discover what her heart truly longs for in this charmingly cozy romantic fantasy for everyone who’s ever lost – or found – themselves in a bookshop.
Princess Tanadelle of the Widdenmar is disillusioned with life as a princess. She longs for real conversation, the chance to build a life of her own making, and uninterrupted reading time.
During a routine royal visit to the town of Little Pepperidge, Tandy’s dream comes true when she finds herself cursed to remain in a run-down bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire. Certain that someone will figure out how to break the curse eventually, and delighted by the prospect of an entire bookstore of her own, Tandy settles into life among the stacks. She finds it easy to exchange balls and endless state dinners for teetering piles of books and an irritatingly handsome pirate who seems bent on stealing her stock.
She even starts to believe she’s stumbled into her very own happily ever after.
There’s just one, minor problem: as Tandy’s royal duties go unfulfilled, her frantic parents start sending princes to woo her, each one of them certain their kiss will break the curse. After all, what more could a princess want but a prince?
Amy Coombe grew up in California and lived in Chicago and New Haven before moving to the UK, where she puts her degrees in law and modern history to good use by doing something else entirely. She lives in London with her family and three cats. Stay for a Spell is her first novel.
RSVP
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E, Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event
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 — Theresa Robbinson AKA Poetress &From Seed to Spirit (World Stage Press, 2026).
- 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 15th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Story Salon LA at Art Parlor, 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: Freestyle with a Twist of Lime
Where: Art Parlor
Date: Wednesday the 15th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 7 pm)
Address: 5302 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village, CA 91607
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop with Martin Jago 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.
Martin Jago is a British American poet based in Los Angeles. Author of Photofit (Pindrop Press, 2023) and a forthcoming chapbook, Black Plastic Blues (Finishing Line, 2026), his writing has appeared widely in literary magazines like Agenda, Acumen, The Moth, LIT Magazine, Presence, The Penn Review, The High Window, The Indianapolis Review, Tupelo Quarterly, and Sierra Nevada Review, among others. He holds a Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford where he was an F.H. Pasby Prize finalist.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Wednesday, the 15th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://beyondbaroque.org
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and Guest Micah Bournes at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg welcomes Micah Bournes for a reading and open mic.
Micah Bournes is a Black American musician and poet from Long Beach, California. His work is full of personal narratives touching on themes of culture, justice, and faith. Over the past decade, Micah has performed at concerts, conferences, and universities around the world. Most recently he released an album of protest music titled “Til We All Free”. He is the author of Don’t Look Away, and two collections of poetry; Stay. and Here Comes This Dreamer. He is also the co-editor of the Fight Evil With Poetry anthology, and has released albums in various genres including Blues, Folk, Spoken Word and Hip Hop.
$5 cover fee, cash only
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 15th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events
Lit Angels: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Do you want to find creative inspiration and overcome writer’s block in a supportive and peaceful community setting? Are you interested in writing professionally or for personal growth and healing but unsure where to begin?
Come join acclaimed author and writing instructor Francesca Lia Block MWF 9-10 am and TuTh 10 am for a brief intro, discussion of her highly-effective 12 Question method, and 40 minutes of free writing on any topic without judgment. Afterwards you will be able to share a bit about your process and ask Francesca brief 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: Thursday the 16th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Sensory Storytime at Casitas Books, Long Beach – In-Person Kids Event
Join us for Sensory Storytime with Artsy Wagon.
Where: Casitas Books
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 11 am
Address: 272 Redondo Ave., Long Beach, CA 90803
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Mystery Book Discussion: All the Other Mothers Hate Me at Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for an engaging conversation about whodunnits, thrillers, and cri-fi. We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month, except in June this year. Copies available at reference and as e-books. Light refreshments provided by Friends of the Palms Rancho Park Library.
Apr. 16: All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sara Harman
Where: Palms – Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 1:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-discussion-2
One Book, One Coast: The Power of Visual Storytelling: They Called Us Enemy at Duarte Library, LACL – In-Person Teen Event
Join us to discuss George Takei’s graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, exploring how visual storytelling conveys depth. We’ll talk about Mr. Takei’s internment camp experience and create prints about our personal experiences. For teens ages 12 – 18.
This program is held in partnership with the County of Los Angeles Probation Department and is funded through the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA). It requires the collection of data on program participants.
Where: Duarte Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 1301 Buena Vista St,. Duarte, CA 91010
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16058066
Book Club for Adults: Twice at Chet Holifield Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Whether you like historical fiction, sci-fi, romance, or memoirs, this book club reads it all. This month, join us for a discussion of Twice by Mitch Albom. Pick up a copy at the information desk today! For adults.
Where: Chet Holifield Library, LACL
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 1060 S. Greenwood Ave., Montebello, CA 90640
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15982579
That Book is Dangerous! How Culture Wars are Remaking Publishing at Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center (KDC) USC – In-Person Event
Adam Szetela and Jake Mackey discuss the changing culture of literary publishing.
Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center (KDC), Room 235
In That Book Is Dangerous! How Moral Panic, Social Media, and the Culture Wars Are Remaking Publishing, Adam Szetela investigates how well-intentioned and often successful efforts to diversify American literature have also produced serious problems for literary freedom. Cancelation campaigns against authors, “sensitivity readers,” and “morality clauses” in publishing contracts are all challenging free expression.
Szetela and Jake Mackey, Associate Professor of Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture at Occidental College and co-founder of Free Black Thought, will discuss how these changes are reshaping the publishing industry. Audience Q&A to follow.
A free copy of That Book is Dangerous! will be available to first arrivals.
Hosted by the USC Heterodox Academy Campus Community and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future.
Where: Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center (KDC) Room 235
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 849 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Free Author Reading: Karlos Dillard at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Karlos Dillard will present a free author meet and greet event and discuss his work, including: My Story to Share, Ward of the State, and Abort the Adoption.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 5:30 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Online Book Club: Book Women of Troublesome Creek via West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event
The West LA Book Club meets on the third Thursday of each month. We alternate between fiction and nonfiction. Digital copies of selected titles are generally available on Libby or Hoopla three weeks before the discussion date.
Apr. 16: Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Richardson
RSVP:
For Zoom link, please contact Carrie at cdavies@lapl.org
Where: West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/online-book-club-1
Adaptation Book Club: The Thin Man Film Screening at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Join us to watch the film the Thin Man (1934) dir. W.S. Van Dyke. Have Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man read before this film screening. The discussion on the book and the film will be the week after on April 23rd at 6:00 pm!
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-04-16/adaptation-book-club-thin-man-film-screening
Montana Branch Book Group: Table for Two at Montana Branch Library, SMPL – 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.
The titles include:
April 2026: Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles
Where: Montana Branch Library,SMPL, Community Room
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 1704 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403
Website: https://www.santamonica.gov/events
Bel Canto Book Club: Night Owl at Bel Canto Book Retro Row, Long Beach – In-Person Event
Join us in-person at Bel Canto Books Reto Row to discuss the Bel Canto Book Club selection for April: Night Owl: Poems, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, her fifth collection of poetry. which explores love, nature, and the transformative powers of the night.
Night Owl navigates questions and concerns for the environment that envelops us. It meditates on our connections to family and beloveds, and explores our position within the broader beauty of the planet. Just as the night transforms how we see things, love in its many forms shifts our understanding of togetherness and the natural world. And these poems are deeply suffused with love—each an expression of Nezhukumatathil’s captivating responses to the animals, plants, and people who have her heart and enliven her world.
Bel Canto Book Club meets in person on the third Thursday of each month at our bookstore (2106 E 4th Street, LB) to discuss a hand-picked favorite chosen by bookstore owner Jhoanna.
Past book club favorites include: Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, and Yellowface by R. F. Kuang.
If you live in the Long Beach/LA area, you may purchase books directly from Bel Canto Books by visiting our Retro Row location (2106 E 4th Street) or our KUBO LB location (3976 Atlantic Avenue). A link is included below to purchase the book online via open_in_newBookshop.org.
See site for guidelines.
RSVP
Where: Bel Canto Books Retro Row, Long Beach
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 2105 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90418
Website: https://withfriends.co/event
Book Event: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, with Traci Thomas, & The Edge of Space-Time at Reparations Club – In-Person Event
Join Rep Club for a discussion on The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie by author Chanda Prescod-Weinstein in conversation with Traci Thomas
In her highly acclaimed debut, distinguished cosmologist and particle physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shed light on the entrenched injustices plaguing her field, while at the same time sharing with her audience her abiding sense of wonder at the cosmos from a Black feminist perspective. Now, in The Edge of Space-Time, she leans into that wonder, taking readers on a mind-altering journey to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time and about ourselves.
Guided by her conviction that science is for everybody, Prescod-Weinstein renders accessible some of the most abstract concepts of theoretical physics and draws on poetry and popular culture—from Queen Latifah to Lewis Carroll to Big K.R.I.T. to Sun Ra and Star Trek—to tell fascinating stories about the fundamental quantum nature of space-time and everything inside of it. Here we meet the quantum cat that is both dead and alive, learn the difference between dark matter and dark energy, explore the inner workings of black holes, investigate the possibility of a unified theory of quantum gravity, and map out the meeting place of the unimaginably vast with the confoundingly small, following our guide out to the far reaches of the particle horizon and down to the tiniest (and queerest) neutrino. Prescod-Weinstein shows us how spending time with the cosmos is a vital human activity that enriches all our lives. Along the way, she calls on us to resist colonial approaches to space exploration and instead imagine a better path forward in our pursuit of humanity’s undeniable connection with the stars.
Through Prescod-Weinstein’s clear-eyed and unique perspective, and informed by her deep knowledge of post-colonial history and Black feminist thought, The Edge of Space-Time argues that physics is an essential way for everyone to look at the universe and presents a compelling case that “the edge” is a powerful vantage point from which to see the big picture.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She conducts award-winning theoretical physics research on dark matter, the early universe, and neutron stars, while also researching Black feminist science studies. Her first book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, won the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science and technology, the 2022 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, and a 2022 Josephine Miles Award from PEN Oakland. A columnist for New Scientist and Physics World, she is originally from East L.A., California, and now divides her time between the New Hampshire Seacoast and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Traci Thomas is the creator and host of The Stacks, a podcast about books and the way they shape culture. The show asks the questions that provoke meaningful, poignant, and often hilarious conversations. Traci also hosts a live literary series with LAist called One for the Books, is a monthly contributor for NPR’s Here & Now, and she writes a monthly column on shereads.com.
Where: Reparations Club
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3054 South Victoria Avenue, Los Angeles, CA90016
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!
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://villagewell.com
Lisa Lee, with Muriel Leung, & American Han at Vroman’s, Pasadena – In-Person Event
Lisa Lee, in conversation with Muriel Leung, will discuss American Han: A Novel.
Jane and her brother Kevin Kim embody the model minority myth until both depart from the path: Jane drops out of law school without telling her parents, and her brother Kevin gives up his promising tennis career and cuts himself off from the family. Their parents feel equally lost in a country that claims to support them and yet in which they can find no place. When Kevin goes missing, no one recognizes his absence as the warning sign it is, until it erupts in a moment that indicts them all.
Both deeply serious and absurdly funny, AMERICAN HAN is a story about striving and assimilation, difficult love, and family fidelity. A searing and probing portrait that challenges assumptions about the immigrant experience, Lisa Lee’s debut introduces a powerful new voice on the literary landscape.
Lisa Lee is the recipient of the Marianne Russo Emerging Writer Award from the Key West Literary Seminar, an Emerging Writer Fellowship from the Center for Fiction, and a Pushcart Prize. She has received other fellowships and awards from Kundiman, Millay Arts, Hedgebrook, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, Tin House, Jentel Artist Residency, and the Korea Foundation. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, VIDA, North American Review, Sycamore Review, Gulf Coast, and elsewhere. Lee holds an MFA from the University of Houston and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles.
RSVP
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 16th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E, Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-04-16/lisa-lee
Lit Angels: Morning Writing with Francesca Lia Block at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Do you want to find creative inspiration and overcome writer’s block in a supportive and peaceful community setting? Are you interested in writing professionally or for personal growth and healing but unsure where to begin?
Come join acclaimed author and writing instructor Francesca Lia Block MWF 9-10 am and TuTh 10 am for a brief intro, discussion of her highly-effective 12 Question method, and 40 minutes of free writing on any topic without judgment. Afterwards you will be able to share a bit about your process and ask Francesca brief 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: Friday the 17th
Time: 9 am – 10 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
Date: Friday, the 17th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event
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 April 17through Friday May 22
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: https://shop.villagewell.com
Isabel Quintero Writing Workshop: Picture Book Basics: From Idea to Dummy at Urge Palette, Riverside – In-Person Event
Award-winning author Isabel Quintero will lead a six-week writing workshop titled Picture Book Basics: From Idea to Dummy at Urge Palette, on Fridays, April 17 – May 22, 2026.
See link for further information.
Sliding scale: $325 – $425
Where: Urge Palette
Date: Friday April 17 through Friday May 22, 2026
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 3635 9th St, Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Author Event: Carolina Ixta, with Jade Sassr, & Few Blue Skies at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Carolina Ixta, in conversation with Jade Sasser will discuss her novel Few Blue Skies.
The reach of the amazonian corporations that destroy our landscapes and air, influence our elections, and lull us into complacency by the promise of more, more, more is the subject of many books, but I have never seen one that so brilliantly reveals the devastation on people. From the health of the workers in the warehouses to the manipulation flagrantly utilized to enhance the company’s image, Ixta’s characters valiantly struggle to maintain their health and sense of honor in the face of monstrous odds. Imagine the impact if this book was the Inland Empire’s next Community Read? ¡Ojalá que sí!
In her latest novel, Pura Belpré Award–winning author Carolina Ixta weaves a tender story about love and hope, following a teen as she works to protect her family and community from a major corporation taking over her town.
Paloma Vistamontes is heartbroken. A year ago, her ex-boyfriend, Julio Ramos, broke up with her after his father’s death, a tragedy that drove Paloma and him apart. Ever since then, the mountains have felt flatter, the sky farther away.
Now, her hometown of San Fermín, a place where honest people work on farms and in factories, is in danger. Selva, a massive e-commerce conglomerate, threatens to open one of their warehouses beside her high school.
This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. Since Selva arrived, they’ve opened warehouses everywhere where there used to be green spaces. Because of them, the air pollution is so bad that school is often canceled. Many people, including Paloma’s ever-practical Ma, want to leave.
But Paloma wants nothing more than to stay. Because when the smog clears, there is still hope. That hope drives Paloma to reconnect with Julio to expose and challenge the dangers that Selva introduces to communities like their own. Can they stop Selva from destroying everything they know? Is there still a chance for their budding romance?
Carolina Ixta is a writer from Oakland, California. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she received her BA in creative writing and Spanish language and literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and obtained her master’s degree in education at the University of California, Berkeley. Her debut novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious, was a Morris Award finalist, an LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the Pura Belpré Award. Few Blue Skies is her sophomore novel.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/fewblueskies
Author Event: Ty Herndon & What Mattered Most at Chevalier’s Books – In-Person Event
Country music trailblazer Ty Herndon celebrates the release of his new memoir, What Mattered Most (on sale March 31, 2026), a candid look at his life in and beyond the spotlight.
The chart-topping artist behind 17 Billboard hits shares his journey through fame, addiction, mental health struggles, and his groundbreaking decision to become the first openly gay male country superstar. With honesty, warmth, and resilience, Herndon reflects on three decades in the music industry and the personal challenges that shaped him, offering a powerful story of survival, healing, and living authentically.
Herndon’s career began at the Opryland theme park as a member of The Tennessee River Boys, the group that would later evolve into hitmakers Diamond Rio. After signing with Epic Records, Herndon skyrocketed to solo fame in 1995 with the chart-topping single “What Mattered Most,” the first of his seventeen Billboard charting hits. Yet behind the scenes, his life was no fairy tale.
Confronting addiction, mental health struggles, and the weight of hiding his true self in a traditionally conservative industry, Herndon’s journey was anything but easy. His path wound through an arrest, marriages, lawsuits, secret relationships, and a devastating relapse in 2020. The breaking point came on New Year’s Day 2021, when he nearly ended his life; a moment that led to intensive rehab and, at last, the chance to confront and release the traumas that had haunted him for decades.
Out of those darkest hours emerged a renewed sense of purpose, first expressed in his most personal song, “God or the Gun,” and now revealed with uncompromising honesty and depth in his memoir. In these pages, Herndon offers not only a window into his private battles, but also a story of resilience, redemption, and the hard-won healing that comes from choosing to live—and to live authentically.
More than a memoir, What Mattered Most is a testament to survival and transformation. Herndon lays bare the trials that shaped his life and the strength he discovered in moving through them. By sharing his path with openness, he offers readers a story meant to connect, encourage, and light the way for anyone seeking renewal in their own lives.
RSVP
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-04-17/ty-herndon
2026 LA Times Book Festival Awards Ceremonyat USC Campus, Bovard Auditorium – In-Person Event
Celebrate the best books of last year at the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Act fast, limited public tickets are available.
RSVP & tickets at website link.
Where: USC Campus, Bovard Auditorium
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3551 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089
Website: https://www.latimes.com/events/festival-of-books/book-prizes
Open Mic Nightat Underdog Bookstore – In-Person Event
We host an Open Mic Night at Underdog Bookstore 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 here.
Suggested donation $5-20 or donate a gently used book by an LGBTQIA+, BIPOC or Disabled author.
Where: Underdog Bookstore
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 312 S. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia, CA 91016
Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events
10th Annual LA Get Down Festival: The Joy who speaks up (Improvised monologue/ storytelling show) at Greenway Court Theatre – in-Person Event
A night of storytelling and improv with featured guests from LA’s theater and comedy scene along with UCB’s all trans/nonbinary improv team, QTs! Our monologists will share stories of trans joy and improvisers will bring those experiences to life in spontaneous scenes.
Get tickets: https://www.ticketsource.com/greenway-court-theatre/t-oeeqaod
Where: Greenway Court Theatre
Date: Friday the 17th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA
Website: https://calendar.google.com/calendar
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
Tickets at Eventbrite.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Date: Friday, the 17th
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.
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 or flyer for details.
Where: Rapp Saloon at HISUA
Date: Friday, the 17th
Time: 8 pm – 11 pm
Address: 1436 2nd St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://www.facebook.com
2026 L.A. Times Festival of Books (Day 1 of 2) at University of Southern California – In-Person Event
The annual LA Times Festival of Books will again offer two days of dozens of literary events. author panels, a poetry stage, outdoor children’s and musical events, and bookseller venues to explore and enjoy.
Some highlights include: LAT Book Prize winner Amy Tan in conversation at Bovard; Legacy of Jesse Jackson with Abby Phillip; and at The Poetry Stage: William Archilla, Garrett Hongo, Nicelle Davis, and more!
See site for complete schedule of speakers (dates & times) and event venues, plus tickets and book prize and special events available.
Don’t miss it!
Where: University of Southern California
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 10 am – 6 pm
Address: 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Website: https://www.latimes.com/events/festival-of-books
Punk’s Not Dead! Make Zines With UCLA’s Punk Archive at Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a rad zine collaboration with The UCLA Library Punk Collective! You’ll get to learn from archivists about UCLA’s punk collection and make zines about all things punk. All materials will be provided.
The UCLA Library Punk Archive aims to document punk as it has developed and been expressed in L.A., both within and outside the traditional L.A./Hollywood punk narrative. They collect primary-source materials from punk musicians, promoters, producers, managers, photographers, roadies, groupies, reviewers, artists, and other voices involved to highlight L.A. punk’s diverse music and culture.
Where: Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address:1250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/punks-not-dead-make-zines-uclas-punk-archive-0
Poetry Writing Studio at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join Malibu Poet Laureate Charlotte Ward for a generative poetry writing studio where we will cycle with each other’s energies, discuss poems to stimulate our imaginations & write original poems from prompts or personal impetus. For adults.
We’ll explore, express, and celebrate all forms of energy.
This studio environment provided by the City of Malibu is designed for everyone, regardless of experience. Come prepared with pen, notepad, and fervor. Led by Malibu Poet Laureate Charlotte Ward.
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 23519 West Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265,
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/15892606
Creative Writing Workshop at Lake View Terrace Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Your imagination can take you anywhere! Where do you want your writing to take you in 2026? Do you want to publish a short story? Are you writing a blog? Do you want to sell your screenplay? Share your work in this supportive Writer’s Circle or just listen.
Where: Lake View Terrace Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 11:30 am – 1 pm
Address: 12002 Osborne Street, Lake View Terrace, CA 91342
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/creative-writing-workshop-9
Fear Poetry Workshop at Underdog Bookstore – In-Person Event
This free poetry workshop, led by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, is open to all ages, explores fear and comfort through community activities.
Where: Underdog Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 11:30 am – 1 pm
Address: 312 S. Myrtle Ave,, Monrovia, CA 91016
Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/fear-poetry-workshop
10th Annual LA Get Down Festival: A Youth Slam Show with “Get Lit” at Greenway Court Theatre – in-Person Event
The 10th Annual LA Get Down Festival of spoken word presents a Youth Slam Show with “Get Lit.”
The Classic Slam is one of the largest youth poetry gatherings in the country, an electrifying stage where young voices rise to share their truth, stories, and power.
Presented by Get Lit – Words Ignite, the Classic Slam is the culminating event of the organization’s in-school literacy programs, bringing together school teams from across Los Angeles for bold performance and storytelling. Students perform original spoken word pieces alongside responses to classic literature, embodying Get Lit’s signature approach of connecting canonical texts to contemporary lived experience. Now in its 15th year, and marking Get Lit’s 20th anniversary, the Classic Slam brings together hundreds of students, educators, and community members for a powerful celebration of youth voice, creativity, and fearless expression.
Get tickets: https://www.ticketsource.com/greenway-court-theatre/t-oeeqaod
Where: Greenway Court Theatre
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 12 pm – 3 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Topanga Actors Company presents The Year of Magical Thinking: A Play by Joan Didion at Topanga Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Distinguished novelist and essayist Joan Didion, often wrote about Los Angeles where she lived for years with her husband and daughter. Now, join us for a reading of Didion’s acclaimed solo play ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’. For adults.
Written after the sudden loss of her husband and daughter, Didion’s mystical, beautiful prose explores those tragedies. In doing so, Didion not only examines her own emotions but also offers hope and meaning to those who need it most.
Where: Topanga Library, LACL
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 2 pm – 3:15 pm
Address:122 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16191566
In Conversation with Ibtisam Barakat at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Teen Event
Award-winning, Palestinian-American author, poet, translator, artist, and educator. Ibtisam Barakat (pronunciation) (Arabic spelling: ابتسام بركات ) will discuss her books and her life story. She will also discuss how to write your own life story and how you can guide yourself through the process.
Join us in Teen’Scape for the watch party, or watch from home via Zoom at https://lapl.zoom.us/j/81210420799.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/conversation-ibtisam-barakat
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Featured Poetry Readings led by DKC – Online Zoom Event
Join us to hear featured: Four Feathers Press 4 in 1 Book Ten poets.
Dan Flore III poems have appeared in many publications. His 6 poetry books are Lapping Water, Humbled Wise Men Christmas Haikus, Home and other places I’ve yet to see, Pink Marigold Rays (Gen Z Publishing), Written in the Dust on the Ceiling Fan, (Dead Man’s Press Ink.) and Hospital Issued Writing Notebook (Querencia Press).
Karen Pierce Gonzalez’s work has appeared in numerous traditional and digital platforms. Her chapbooks include Coyote in the Basket of My Ribs (Kelsay Books, 2023) and forthcoming: Down River with Li Po (Black Cat Poetry Press) and more.
Connie Johnson is a Los Angeles-based poet known for her jazz poetry and personal narratives that honor historic jazz musicians. She has published several poetry collections, including Everything is Distant Now (BLue Horse Press, 2024) and In a Place of Dreams, and has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations for her work.
Marie C Lecrivain is a poet, publisher, and curator of the literary blog, Dashboard Horus: A Bird’s Eye of the Universe. Her work has been published in Gargoyle, Nonbinary Review, OMNI Reboot, Orbis, Pirene’s Fountain, and various online/print journals.
+ Poets published in Four Feathers Press online edition: FISH,
Don Kingfisher Campbell is a poet hosts and curates Saturday Afternoon Poetry.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry Online
Date: Saturday, the 18th
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Before the Ban Book Club: Golden Compass: His Dark Materials (Book 1) at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Golden Compass: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullaman.
Discover the modern fantasy classic that kicked off the epic trilogies His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust—a world where humans have animal familiars and parallel universes are within reach.
A war is brewing in Lyra’s world between those who would keep people in ignorance and those willing to fight for freedom. Lyra is thrust into the middle of the conflict when her uncle Asriel comes to Oxford, fomenting rebellion, and when her best friend, Roger, suddenly disappears.
Lyra learns that Roger was kidnapped by a shadowy organization that is rumored to experiment on children. To find him, she will travel to the cold, far North, where armored bears and witch clans rule—and where Asriel is attempting to build a bridge to a parallel world.
What Lyra doesn’t know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other—and that her actions will have consequences not just in her world, but in all the worlds beyond.
Philip Pullman is one of the most acclaimed writers working today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass), which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. He is also the author of another trilogy set in the same world, The Book of Dust (La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth, and The Rose Field) as well as numerous other much-loved novels, a collection of fairy tales, and a volume of essays and speeches on writing. He has won many distinguished prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread (now Costa) Award, Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Pullman was knighted for services to literature in the New Years Honours 2019. He lives in Oxford, England.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-04-18/ban-book-club-golden-compass
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Club: She Knows Who at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss She Knows Who by Nnedi Okorafor..
Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, this is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy.
When there is a call, there is often a response.
Najeeba knows.
She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What’s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it’s not a terrible thing, just strange. So, when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there’s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it’s a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she’s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba’s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.
Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress.
Nnedi Okorafor is an international award-winning New York Times–bestselling author. Born in the United States to Nigerian immigrant parents, Nnedi is known for drawing from African cultures to create captivating stories with unforgettable characters and evocative settings. Nnedi’s works have received the World Fantasy, Nebula, Eisner, Lodestar, Nommo, and Hugo Awards, amongst others. Nnedi holds a PhD in Literature and two Master’s Degrees (Journalism and Literature). Learn more at nnedi.com.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-04-18/sci-fi-fantasy-book-club-she-who-knows
Book Launch: Whitney Koo, with Janet Danielo, Kristi Osorio, and Kaina Shaley, & Any Gesture at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join us to celebrate the launch of her debut poetry collection, Any Gesture, with the author, Whitney Koo, and guest readers: Janet Danielo, Kristi Osorio and Kiana Shaley.
Whitney Koo is the author of Any Gesture (Black Lawrence Press, 2026). Her work has appeared in Poetry Magazine, Georgia Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, the Los Angeles Review, Colorado Review, and others. She holds a PhD in English from Oklahoma State University and an MFA from the University of Colorado Boulder. Whitney is the Executive Editor of Gasher Press.
Janet Danielo is a poet based in Long Beach, CA, originally from Queens, NY. She has won several awards, including the River Heron Editors’ Prize, the Fischer Prize, and the Dorland Prize. Her acclaimed chapbooks include This Body I Have Tried to Write and The Song of Our Disappearing.
Kristi Osorio holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University and a BA in English – Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida. She was the winner of the 2023 Indiana Review Creative Nonfiction Prize selected by Camonghne Felix and the 2023 Sonora Review “Mercy” Contest in Nonfiction selected by Maggie Nelson. Her work has appeared in New Delta Review, Blue Mesa Review, The Adroit Journal, and elsewhere. Her areas of interest include memoir, the personal essay, trauma studies, hybrid nonfiction, rhetoric and composition, true crime criticism, archival studies, and the criminal justice system. Prior to joining Texas Tech, she taught at the California State University, Monterey Bay, where she also served as an Assessment Coordinator and an Inclusive Teaching Ambassador. Her writing and teaching have been supported by fellowships from Columbia University, Wesleyan University, and the Kenyon Review. Her first book is forthcoming from the University of Georgia Press.
Kiana Shaley Martin writes and lives in Long Beach, CA. Currently, she teaches poetry at CSU, Long Beach, and coordinates the Youth Poet Laureate program through the Long Beach Public Library. Previously, she was a Teaching Assistant at Community Literature Initiative. Previous work of hers has appeared in Annex Magazine, Fugue, The Racket, and Sim’s Library of Poetry’s Poem-a-Week. She is available for workshops and can be reached via email at hikianashaley@gmail.com.
RSVP at website.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Saturday, the 18th
Time: 5:30 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Mystery Book Club: Shanghai at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Shanghai: A Novel by Joseph Kanon.
After the violence of Kristallnacht (1938), European Jews, now desperate to emigrate, found the consular doors of the world closed to them. Only one port required no entry visa: Shanghai, a self-governing Western trading enclave in what was technically Chinese territory, a political anomaly that became an escape hatch—if you were lucky enough to afford a ticket on one of the great Lloyd liners sailing to the East and safety.
Daniel Lohr was one of the lucky ones—lucky enough to have escaped the Gestapo when his colleagues in the resistance were caught, lucky to have an uncle waiting in Shanghai, lucky to find a casual shipboard flirtation that turns unexpectedly passionate. But even lucky refugees have to confront the reality of Shanghai. With all their assets and passports confiscated by the Nazis, they arrive penniless and stateless in a tumultuous, nearly lawless city notorious for vice. When you can sink fast, how far are you willing to go to survive? What lines do you cross? As Daniel tries to navigate his way through his uncle’s world in Shanghai’s fabled nightlife, he finds himself increasingly ensnared in a maze where politics and crime are two sides of the same shiny coin. The trick, his uncle tells him, is to stay one step ahead. But how do you stay ahead of murder? How do you outrun your own past?
Joseph Kanon is the Edgar Award–winning author of Los Alamos and nine other novels: The Prodigal Spy, Alibi, Stardust, Istanbul Passage, Leaving Berlin, Defectors, The Accomplice, The Berlin Exchange, and The Good German, which was made into a major motion picture starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. Other awards include the Hammett Award of the International Association of Crime Writers and the Human Writes Award of the Anne Frank Foundation. He lives in New York City.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-04-18/mystery-book-club-shanghai
Open Mic Poetry Night at Wood Coffee Company, Long Beach – In-Person Event
Open Mic Poetry Night returns at Wood Coffee on Saturday April 18th!
The night will begin with local queer POC poets Cris Hernandez and Jaya Pettiford.
Doors at 6. Featured readers at 6:30 pm. Sign up list opens after!
Where: Wood Coffee Company
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 6:30 pm (Doors at 6 pm)
Address: 2728 E. 10th St., Long Beach, CA 90804
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Book Event: Scott Kurashige, with Mia Yamamoto & American Peril at Village Well Bookstore – In-Person Event
Scott Kurashige, in conversation with Mia Yamamoto, will discuss his book American Peril.
American Peril is a probing account shines a new light on the problem of anti-Asian violence and inspires us to build lasting solidarity.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, racist demagoguery fomented a campaign of terror against Asian Americans. But these attacks were part of a much longer pattern that made anti-Asian racism integral to the outbreak of white supremacist, misogynist, and colonial violence across 175 years of U.S. history. Written in the radical spirit of Howard Zinn, American Peril represents the culmination of thirty-five years of study and activism by award-winning scholar Scott Kurashige.
From the lynching of Asian immigrants during the exclusion era to the ongoing slaughter of Asian civilians by the U.S. military, the book connects domestic and global events that have been erased from the official record. Going beyond victimhood, Kurashige traces the rise of Asian American community protest and activism in response to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin and other overlooked tragedies. While many have worked to legislate and prosecute hate crimes, Kurashige argues that hope lies in grassroots activism for multiracial solidarity.
Scott Kurashige is author of The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles and coauthor, with Grace Lee Boggs, of The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century.
Mia Frances Yamamoto is one of the most distinguished and successful criminal defense attorneys in Southern California. She has tried over 200 jury trials and represented thousands of clients accused of criminal offenses, including murder, assault, sex offenses, drug offenses, theft, white-collar offenses, regulatory offenses and DUI. She is a well-known media commentator for print, radio, and television. She is the recipient of the Golden Key Award by the City of West Hollywood, The Liberty Award by Lambda Legal, The Harvey Milk Legacy Award by Christopher Street West/LA Pride and she has also been honored by API Equality and the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission for her advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 312 S. Myrtle Ave,, Monrovia, CA 91016
Website: https://villagewell.com
10th Annual LA Get Down Festival: The Art of Imagery Workshop with Ayanna Florence at Greenway Court Theatre – in-Person Event
The 10th Annual LA Get Down Festival of spoken word presents the workshop The Art of Imagery: Remixing Shakespeare with Ayanna Florence.
Through the use of metaphor, creative language, and pure imagination, “Synesthesia and the Art of Imagery” gives the poet tools to create work that is tangible, sensory, and visceral. The writer will draw from their senses to capture and convey their personal experiences on paper, and paint their writing as colorful as possible. Workshop participants can expect to leave inspired and enlightened on how to captivate audiences and pull readers into their world.
Ayanna Florence is a poet, national slam champion, creative, and teaching artist residing in Charlotte, NC. She is a Brave New Voices alum, a Southern Fried Poetry Slam finalist, and has been performing spoken word across the country since 16 years old. Ayanna is the 2023 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam Champion, the 2023 Grand Slam champion for the city of Charlotte, a 2023 Queen of the South winner, and much more. Her work has been published alongside icons in literary magazine, “African Voices” and featured on Button Poetry. As a queer black woman, Ayanna exists on the fringes and outside the box, and her artistry reflects this reality.
Get tickets: https://www.ticketsource.com/greenway-court-theatre
Where: Greenway Court Theatre
Date: Saturday the 18th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: https://greenwaycourttheatre.org/2026-la-get-down/
2026 L.A. Times Festival of Books (Day 2 of 2) at University of Southern California – In-Person Event
The annual LA Times Festival of Books will again offer two days of dozens of literary events. author panels, a poetry stage, outdoor children’s and musical events, and bookseller venues to explore and enjoy.
Some highlights include: Karla Cordero, Matthew “Cuban” Hernandez & Yesika Salgado at De Los Stage; Democracy, Fascism & America panel; and at The Poetry Stage; Mariano Zaro, Rich Ferguson, Harryette Mullin, Suzanne Lummis, Steven Reigns, Patricia Smith, Jimmy Vega and more!
See site for complete schedule of speakers (dates & times) and event venues, plus tickets and book prize and special events available.
Don’t miss it!
Where: University of Southern California
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 10 am – 6 pm
Address: 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Website: https://www.latimes.com/events/festival-of-books
Storytime with Ophra Ashur & Sailing the ABCs at Chevalier’s Bookstore – In-Person Event
SAILING THE ABCs is a richly illustrated picture book that bridges the gap between the ABC song and early phonics by bringing individual letters to life.
Join ABC, DEF, and their alpha-besties as you sail the alphabet seas with them on a wondrous origami boat!
ABC
sail out to sea
in a boat so grand
to a distant land.
The story is told in lyrical verse with captivating illustrations, presented in small, easy-to-learn clusters of letters.
Little ones will enjoy interacting with their favorite reading companions through a melodic adventure that teaches individual letter names.
Early readers can follow the short, rhythmic verses and progress to reading this poetic story aloud.
Your destination? A tropical island where you’ll explore majestic waterfalls, discover animal shapes in fluffy clouds, hear crashing waves in seashells, and race along the sandy shore.
Meanwhile, watch for small visual surprises hidden throughout the book!
Get ready for some great fun!
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 11 am – 11:45 am
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-04-19/storytime-ophra-ashur
826LA @Hammer: Screenwriting: Writing with Conflict at The Hammer Museum – In-Person Kids Event
Want to write your own script? Then get ready for some conflict! In this workshop, students will learn how to construct engaging conflict-driven scenes that they can take to the screen.
Led by writer/director Marisa Hardwicke, who recently completed her directorial debut, a coming-of-age short called “The Summer After.”
RSVP
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: https://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2026/826lahammer-screenwriting-writing-conflict
OC Poet Laureate Office Hours with Gustavo Hernandez at LibroMobile Bookstore, Santa Ana – In-Person Event
Calling all writers and poets: OC Poet Laureate, Gustavo Hernández, is hosting office hours 12 pm – 2 pm on the following Sundays:
April 19 – with guest poet Anatalia Vallez
Feel free to stop by! Can’t make it into LibroMobile? Need a zoom link? Email libromobile@gmail.com.
RSVP
Where: LibroMobile Bookstore, Santa Ana
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: 1150 S. Bristol St., #A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Banned Books Reading Group at West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
The banned books reading group reads and discusses materials that have been historically challenged or are on the American Library Association’s “Banned and Challenged Books” lists. For current titles, please contact the West LA library at westla@lapl.org or 310-575-8323.
Where: West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 11360 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90025
Website: https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/banned-books-reading-group-1
Writing as Healing Los Angeles (WAHLA) WITH Nate Lovell, Ravina & More at KUBO Long Beach– In-Person Event
In honor of National Poetry Month, join us for ROYAL INK: by Writing As Healing Los Angeles featuring the masterful, words and musings of @thenatelovell , @ravina.340 & MORE.
Thrilled to be ushering in the best month WAHLA style at @kubo.lb, the remarkable community hub, venue, and space of our dreams.
Where: KUBO Long Beach
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 2:30 pm – 5 pm
Address: 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA, 90807
Website: https://www.instagram.com
Bucket List Book Club: Passing at Cellar Door Bookstore – Online Zoom Event
Participants will discuss Passing by Nelia Larsen.
Nella Larsen’s powerful, thrilling, and tragic tale about the fluidity of racial identity that continues to resonate today. A New York Times Editors’ Choice. Now a major motion picture starring Tessa Thompson and Alexander Skarsgård
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
Clare Kendry is living on the edge. Light-skinned, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a racist white man unaware of her African American heritage, and has severed all ties to her past after deciding to “pass” as a white woman. Clare’s childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, and is simultaneously allured and repelled by Clare’s risky decision to engage in racial masquerade for personal and societal gain. After frequenting African American-centric gatherings together in Harlem, Clare’s interest in Irene turns into a longing for Irene’s black identity that she abandoned and can never embrace again, and she is forced to grapple with her decision to pass for white in a way that is both tragic and telling. This edition features a new introduction by Emily Bernard and notes by Thadious M. Davis.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Nella Larsen, one of the most acclaimed and influential writers of the Harlem Renaissance, was born Nellie Walker on April 13, 1891, in Chicago. In the 1910s she came to New York, where she worked as a nurse and a librarian, and in 1919 she married a research physicist. She began publishing stories in the mid-1920s and published her first novel, Quicksand, in 1928. Passing came out the following year. Larsen was awarded a William E. Harmon Bronze Award for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes and a Guggenheim fellowship. Encountering personal and professional struggles, she was unable to have her third novel accepted for publication and by the end of the 1930s had stopped writing altogether. She worked full time as a nurse until her death in 1964.
Emily Bernard is the author of Carl Van Vechten and the Harlem Renaissance: A Portrait in Black and White. Her other books include Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten (2001), which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Some of My Best Friends: Writers on Interracial Friendships (2004), chosen by the New York Public Library as a Book for the Teen Age; and Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs (2009), a book she coauthored with Deborah Willis, which received a 2010 NAACP Image Award. Her essays have been published in several anthologies and journals, such as The American Scholar, Oxford American magazine, The Best American Essays, Best African American Essays, and The Best Creative Nonfiction. She is a professor of English and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of Vermont.
Thadious M. Davis is Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Nella Larsen: Novelist of the Harlem Renaissance. She previously taught at Vanderbilt University, Brown University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been a fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She is the editor of the Penguin Classics edition of Nella Larsen’s Quicksand.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-04-19/bucket-list-book-club-passing
Donna Hay, with Ben Mims, & Sunshine, Lemons, and Sea Salt: A Celebration of Modern Coastal Home Cooking at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Donna Hay, in conversation with Ben Mims, will discuss Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt: A Celebration of Modern Coastal Home Cooking.
Described as Donna Hay’s most beautiful book yet, Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt brings readers fresh, sun-drenched, and vibrant summer food made for sharing. Featuring seasonal produce, effortless recipes, and dazzling flavors set against the sparkling backdrop of Sydney Harbor, the book captures Donna’s signature approach to easy, stylish entertaining. From quick weeknight dinners to lazy summer lunches, beachside gatherings, and elegant garden tea parties, readers will find inspiration for every occasion. In addition to her trusted no-fail recipes, Donna also shares styling tips to bring breezy, coastal magic to any table.
Donna Hay is Australia’s favorite and most trusted home cook, a household name, and an international food-publishing phenomenon. She is the author of 28 bestselling cookbooks, which have sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and been translated into 10 languages. Her award-winning television cooking shows have aired in more than 14 countries, with the recent series, Donna Hay Coastal Celebrations, coming to Disney+ in 2026. In Australia her recent books have dominated the bestseller charts, including Fresh and Light (2012), Life in Balance (2015), Basics to Brilliance (2016), One Pan Perfect (2021) and Too Easy (2024). The Donna Hay brand goes beyond the printed page, featuring an impressive digital presence, branded merchandise, and a baking mix range available in supermarkets across Australia. Donna adores living near the ocean with her partner and boys and still loves cooking every single day.
Ben Mims is a former cooking columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has written three cookbooks and has worked as a food editor and recipe developer for several food media publications, such as Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Buzzfeed/Tasty. Born and raised in Mississippi, he spends his weekends stocking his freezer with biscuits and making fruit jam.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 225 26th St., #33, Santa Monica, CA, 90402
2026 Get Down Festival: Poems Tasty Enough to Eat at Greenway Court Theater – In-Person Event
An inspired evening of eclectic and electric poets hosted by Wendy Florence.
Where: Greenway Court Theater
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 544 North Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
Website: https://greenwaycourttheatre.org/2026-la-get-down/
Speech Bubble Book Club: 100% by Paul Hope at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss 100% by author Paul Hope.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6040 North Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA, 90042
Baby Got Bacchus | Spoken Word Poetry Tasting at Nico’s Bootle Shop, Atwater Village – In-Person Event
A night of spoken word poetry swirled around your favorite wine, hosted by Schwarzenegger Institute Poet-in-Residence Mason Granger.
Come join us as BABY GOT BACCHUS settles into our new regular slot, every 3rd Sunday of the month. Enjoy a night of wine & poetry, hosted by Schwarzenegger Institute Poet-in-Residence Mason Granger, featuring special guest feature performances, an open mic flight (you’ll have to come see what that means), and more! We’ll uncork some of the finest original poetry that pairs perfectly with the sips in your glass. Chill humans, warm hearts, come through.
Doors open at 5 pm, show at 6 pm, and the wine and good vibes continue to flow after the show.
baby battista is the downstairs bar located inside nico’s in Atwater Village. The bar at baby battista is open at 5 so feel free to swing by before and grab a drink and a snack before the show!
All bar guests, performers and ticket holders must be 21+. Lineup is subject to change. There is no outside door or beverage allowed. baby battista is ADA accessible and can provide assistive listening devices upon request. Please contact us at babybattista@nicosla.com if any questions ahead of the show.
Where: Baby Barista at Nico’s
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 6 pm – 7;30 pm
Address: 3111 Glendale Blvd., Ste. 2. Los Angeles, CA 90039
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baby-got-bacchus-3rd-sun-poetry-series-tickets-1982831145332
April Focus on Craft Book Club: The Wicked Bargain at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event
Developmental editor and teacher Jeanne De Vita leads our Focus on Craft Book Club. Meeting is the 3rd Sunday of the month at 7:15 pm.
Participants will discuss The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa.
No membership is necessary, but RSVP is required.
Where: The Ripped Bodice
Date: Sunday the 19th
Time: 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232
Los Angeles Literature 