Anime Your Way at Littlerock Library, LACL – In-Person Teen Event
Are you a fan of graphic novels, manga, or anime? Join us with our guest artist, former Simpsons and the King of the Hill illustrator Carlos Nieto III, for this workshop on how to design and draw your own cartoon characters! For ages 13 – 17.
Where: Littlerock Library, LACL
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 35119 80th St. E, Littlerock, CA 93543
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16497629
1926 Centennial Book Club: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd at Vermont Square Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a Centennial Book Club discussion of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, part of Los Angeles Public Library’s Central 100 celebration. Published in 1926, this classic mystery follows Hercule Poirot as he unravels a shocking case filled with secrets and twists. Free copies are available at the front desk in limited supply. All are welcome to share or simply listen in a welcoming space.
Where: Vermont Square Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 1201 W. 48th St., Los Angeles, CA 90037
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/1926-book-club
Queer Book Club: Greenland at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Greenland: A Novel by David Santos Donaldson.
Shortlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
A dazzling, debut novel-within-a-novel in the vein of The Prophets and Memorial, about a young author writing about the secret love affair between E.M. Forster and Mohammed el Adl—in which Mohammed’s story collides with his own, blending fact and fiction.
In 1919, Mohammed el Adl, the young Egyptian lover of British author E. M. Forster, spent six months in a jail cell. A century later, Kip Starling has locked himself in his Brooklyn basement study with a pistol and twenty-one gallons of Poland Spring to write Mohammed’s story.
Kip has only three weeks until his publisher’s deadline to immerse himself in the mind of Mohammed who, like Kip, is Black, queer, an Other. The similarities don’t end there. Both of their lives have been deeply affected by their confrontations with Whiteness, homophobia, their upper crust education, and their white romantic partners. As Kip immerses himself in his writing, Mohammed’s story – and then Mohammed himself – begins to speak to him, and his life becomes a Proustian portal into Kip’s own memories and psyche. Greenland seamlessly conjures two distinct yet overlapping worlds where the past mirrors the present, and the artist’s journey transforms into a quest for truth that offers a world of possibility.
Electric and unforgettable, David Santos Donaldson’s tour de force excavates the dream of white assimilation, the foibles of interracial relationships, and not only the legacy of a literary giant, but literature itself.
David Santos Donaldson was raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and has lived in India, Spain, and the United States. He attended Wesleyan University and the Drama Division of the Juilliard School, and his plays have been commissioned by the Public Theater. He was a finalist for the Urban Stages Emerging Playwright Award and has worked as the Artistic Director for the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts in Nassau, Bahamas. Donaldson is currently a practicing psychotherapist, and divides his time between Brooklyn, New York, and Seville, Spain. Greenland is his first novel.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-06-22/queer-book-club-greenland-0
Book Club: George Takei & It Rhymes with Takei via Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
George Takei has shown the world many faces: actor, author, outspoken activist, helmsman of the starship Enterprise, living witness to the internment of Japanese Americans, and king of social media. But until October 27, 2005, there was always one piece missing—one face he did not show the world. There was one very intimate fact about George that he never shared…and it rhymes with Takei.
Now, for the first time ever, George shares the full story of his life in the closet, his decision to come out as gay at the age of 68, and the way that moment transformed everything. Following the phenomenal success of his first graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, George Takei reunites with the team of Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger for a jaw-dropping new testament. From his earliest childhood crushes and youthful experiments in the rigidly conformist 1950s, to global fame as an actor and the terrible fear of exposure, to the watershed moment of speaking his truth and becoming one of the most high-profile gay men on the planet, It Rhymes with Takei offers a sweeping portrait of one iconic American navigating the tides of LGBTQ+ history.
Combining historical context with intimate subjectivity, It Rhymes with Takei shows how the personal and the political have always been intertwined. Its richly emotional words and images depict the terror of entrapment even in gay community spaces, the anguish of speaking up for so many issues while remaining silent on his most personal issue, the grief of losing friends to AIDS, the joy of finding true love with Brad Altman, and the determination to declare that love openly—and legally—before the whole world.
Looking back on his astonishing life on both sides of the closet door, George Takei presents a charismatic and candid account of how far America has come, and how precious that progress is.
Please email shrmno@lapl.org for the Zoom link.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/book-club-it-rhymes-takei-george-takei
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 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501
Website: https://www.facebook.com
Elizabeth Teets, with Greg Mania, & I Blame Television at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Elizabeth Teets, in conversation with Greg Mania, will discuss I Blame Television: Essays on the Pop Culture that Raised, Ruined and Enraptured Me.
Elizabeth Teets, in conversation with Greg Mania, discusses and signs I Blame Television: Essays on the Pop Culture that Raised, Ruined, and Enraptured Me
In her debut essay collection, I Blame Television, writer and comedian Elizabeth Teets has started to notice everything around her seems a little off. She has always used the fluorescent glow of the television to guide her, but there’s a suspicion that everyone else is reading from a completely different script. Born into a body that’s set on permanent “frolic mode” and unable to understand her peers’ ongoing cynicism, Teets wonders if she may be the punchline. With wit, vulnerability, and a feminist eye for the ridiculous, this essay collection explores what happens when you refuse to play the role society assigns you.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-06-22/elizabeth-teets
Gabrielle Korn, with Kendahl Landreth, & Long Island Girls at Skylight – In-Person Event
Gabrielle Korn, in conversation with Kendahl Landreth, will discuss Long Island Girls: A Novel.
A sharply observed, deeply nostalgic coming-of-age story set against the indie music scene of the early 2000s.
It’s 2005, and Susan is barreling down the Long Island Expressway driving a car full of friends to an indie rock show. Eliza is a surprise addition in the backseat: unexpected, out of place, and impossible to ignore. Their connection is immediate, electric, and complicated from the start, shadowed by the kind of small-town rumors that have a way of sticking. As quickly as they come together, they part.
When Susan and Eliza reconnect years later, the pull between them hasn’t faded—but neither have the unresolved histories that first drove them apart. As past and present collide, Susan is caught between two worlds—where she’s from, and where she’s trying to go.
Moving between the raw intensity of youth and the clarity of hindsight, Long Island Girls captures the ache of growing up, the messiness and joy of queer identity, and the way music, memory, and desire shape who we become.
Gabrielle Korn is the author of Everybody (Else) Is Perfect and the former Editor-in-Chief of Nylon. She recently led LGBTQ+ strategy at Netflix, and her writing has been published across the internet since 2011, with bylines in Instyle, Coveteur, Autostraddle, Nylon, Refinery29, Oprah, and more. Originally from New York, she now lives in Los Angeles with her wife, and together they run The Pink Door artist and writer residency.
Kendahl Landreth is a Los Angeles–based character performer, actor, and comedian best known for her spot-on impressions and viral recurring characters. She currently co-hosts two podcasts, including The BCC Club with fellow comedian Sarah Schauer. The show was selected for Spotify’s Replay program and named one of the top new podcasts of 2023. The BCC Club has also hosted live recordings at the New York Comedy Festival and VidCon. Kendahl also hosts Happy Wife, Happy Life with her fiancée, further expanding her presence in comedy and podcasting.
Where: Skylight
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Teo Rivera-Dundas & Slow Guillotine at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Teo Rivera-Dundas will present and discuss Slow Guillotine: A Novel.
Slow Guillotine follows three broke weirdos whose collective desire to make and think about art is constantly interrupted by their art-industry-adjacent minimum-wage jobs. Throughout the novel, the three friends’ day jobs in a failing independent bookstore, a sterile gallery in downtown Manhattan, and miscellaneous living rooms across the Long Island birthday-party-clown circuit interweave with their attempts to come to terms with their precarity, gender-dysphoric embodiment, and the floating dream of collective liberation.
Spanning one year and told through an obsessive first-person present tense, Slow Guillotine brings the bildungsroman structure through the autofictional looking glass, questioning how “coming of age” could be feasible in a society of debtors, wage laborers, and renters.
Teo Rivera-Dundas is a writer in western Massachusetts. His work has received support from the Wassaic Project, Anderson Center at Tower View, California Institute of the Arts, and the University of California, San Diego. His writing has appeared in Gulf Coast, Meridian, Tupelo Quarterly, and Desperate Literature’s annual Eleven Stories anthology, among other publications.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Monday the 22nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-22/teo-rivera-dundas
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 22nd
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)
Website: Free Workshops Page
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 23rd
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Virtual Book Club: The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club via La Crescenta Library, LACL – Online Event
Join us for the weekly Virtual Book Club. In June we will be discussing The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly.
Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your link to join. For adults
Each week we read and discuss 1/4 of the book. Please see the weekly discussion breakdown below.
Week 3: June 23: Chapters 24 – 36 — Pages 157 – 228
Week 4: June 30: Chapters 37 – 49 — Pages 229 to the end of the book
Please note there will not be a meeting on Tuesday, June 2.
Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women-a spectacular novel inspired by true events from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls.
Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16603404
Bestsellers Book Club: Before the Coffee Gets Cold at Stevenson Ranch Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us and enjoy a lively book discussion on this Bestseller book selection: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. For adults.
If you could go back, who would you want to meet? In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.
Where: Stevenson Ranch Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Address: 25950 The Old Rd., Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16603404
Community in Conversation: Banished Citizens at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation by Maria A. Ramirez.
Our community is still being stalked, threatened, and attacked, our family members, friends, coworkers, acquaintances are being kidnapped, but this isn’t the first time in California’s history that this has happened. Cellar Door Bookstore will be partnering with the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California to host another installment of our Community in Conversation series, this time on Marla A. Ramírez’s extremely timely book, Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation. The discussion will be led by Cellar Door friend, journalist, and co-author of the award-winning book, Mexican American Baseball in the South Bay.
There will be two meetings about the book to give folks options to partake in the conversation. The first opportunity is on Saturday, June 13th at 5:00 pm. And the second is on Tuesday, June 23rd at 1:00 pm for those who prefer daytime events. Feel free to come to either meeting, or join in both conversations!
About Banished Citizens: A moving portrait of a grim period in American immigration history, when approximately one million ethnic Mexicans—mostly women and children who were US citizens—were forced to relocate across the southern border. From 1921 to 1944, approximately one million ethnic Mexicans living in the United States were removed across the border to Mexico. What officials called “repatriation” was in fact banishment: 60 percent of those expelled were US citizens, mainly working-class women and children whose husbands and fathers were Mexican immigrants. Drawing on oral histories, transnational archival sources, and private collections, Marla A. Ramírez illuminates the lasting effects of coerced mass removal on three generations of ethnic Mexicans.
Come into the store to buy your copy of Banished Citizens from us, or order it online.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 22nd
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com
Nonfiction Book Club: London Falling at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search of Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe. Copies available at Customer Service. For adults.
Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16452981
Blockbuster Book Club: Farewell to Manzanar at Clifton M. Brakensiek Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for our two-part book club for books that have made it to the screen! Ages 18+
The second meeting, Tuesday, June 23rd from 5 pm – 7 pm, we will watch the film Farewell the Manzanar after reading They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. Film is rated PG. This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Clifton M. Brakensiek Library.
Where: Clifton M. Brakensiek Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 9945 Flower St., Bellflower, CA 90706
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16493467
Hooked on Books Book Club: The Wedding People at Quartz Hill Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we sail through Alison Espach’s The Wedding People. Copies are available at the Customer Service desk and newcomers are always welcome! For adults.
Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe.
Where: Quartz Hill Library, LACL
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 5040 W. Ave M 2, Quartz Hill, CA 93536
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16452987
Phi-Sci Book Club: Gathering Moss at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – Online Zoom Event
Join us to discuss Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
“I’m going to be honest, I had to read this for a class and my first thought was “Seriously? Who gives a shit about moss?” Well, now that I’ve read it, I have an answer, I do, and we all should. Moss is incredibly fascinating, and Kimmerer has such a unique and caring perspective about nature, it is hard not to share this sentiment when reading her work. In each essay Kimmerer explores and shares her experiences with moss and shows how looking at such a small piece of nature can in turn show you something about yourself. We are all just a small piece of our larger society and our impact on the world is often lost or seems inconsequential. Kimmerer shows us that no matter how small, our presence has an impact.”
— Steven
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 22nd
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-06-23/phy-sci-book-club-gathering-moss
Mystery Book Club: Alias Grace at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a discussion of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. All are welcome!
Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/mystery-book-club-12
R.J. Valldeperas, with Victoria Aveyard, & Their Will Undone at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us to welcome R.J. Valldeperas, in conversation with Victoria Aveyard, to discuss Their Will Undone.
When a maiden is selected to marry the emperor, her journey to the palace will see her fighting both a spark of magical power and her growing feelings for her broody escort in this romantic fantasy duology opener, inspired by a true story from the Inca empire.
In Amaru, it is an honor to be chosen in the annual harvest and serve the gods’-favored emperor. Nina’s brother has already been chosen, but when the emperor’s men come a second time for her sister, Nina volunteers instead. She is taken to the acllahuasi, a gilded cage where women train to become servants or wives for the ruling class. It is there that a soldier comes to collect her, and Nina learns of her fate—to become a wife…to the emperor.
As the emperor’s trusted friend and soldier, Kasik is ordered to retrieve Nina and deliver her untouched. But the emperor’s betrothed is not as he expected. The distrust between Nina and Kasik is thicker than the trees surrounding them, and Kasik’s honor is put to the test when their path back to the capitol leads them into dangerous territory. Their lives and hearts are in peril as forbidden desires are unearthed, along with a stirring of dark magic in Nina that inexplicably ties her to the gods.
What begins as a simple task becomes a tense journey that forces Nina and Kasik to confront where their true loyalties lie—with the emperor and the fate of their people, or with the desires of their own hearts.
R.J. Valldeperas is a Peruvian Venezuelan writer living in South Florida with her husband and five children. She has experience in academics as a teacher and tutor and also in the creatives sphere as a photographer, content creator, and small shop owner selling custom-designed bookmarks. She enjoys writing fantasy and contemporary novels with characters that look like her and live in worlds steeped with culture.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-06-23/rj-valldeperas-victoria-aveyard-their-will-undone
Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club: The Night Circus at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
The Village Well Book Club offshoot, the Sci-fi Fantasy Book Club! To the Tolkien nerds, SJM stans, and R.F. Kuang enjoyers, this group is for you! On the fourth Tuesday of every month, we will come together and discuss a story that falls within the realms of either science fiction or fantasy (or sometimes both!). To join our emailing list, reach out to events@villagewell.com. Hope to see you there!
This June’s pick is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
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 23rd
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 14537 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Website: Instagram Page
Editor Lili Anolik & Too L.A.: Letters Never Sent (But Some Were) at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Lili Anolik will present and discuss Too L.A.: Letters Never Sent (But Some Were) by Eve Babitz.
Pore over the letters of Eve Babitz—queen of the witty, gossipy, and thoroughly engrossing missive.
Joan Didion, Joseph Heller, Annie Leibovitz, Paul Ruscha, Anne Rice, Steve Martin, and many others appear in this first-of-its-kind collection.
Eve Babitz was a pure product of Los Angeles. The goddaughter of the avant-garde composer Igor Stravinsky, she made the scene of just about every midcentury California scene there was: from the artists of the Ferus Gallery forging a wholly West Coast art, to the genre-creating rock-and-roll bands of the 1960s and ’70s, to the literary-cum-Hollywood crowd orbiting Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. In between the partying, the drugs, the love affairs, the “squalid overboogie” of it all, Babitz made time to chronicle the world as she saw it in works like Eve’s Hollywood; Slow Days, Fast Company; and Sex and Rage. Modest successes in their time, these books have found their audience in the twenty-first century, establishing themselves as the final word in literary cool.
Babitz considered her letters “the kind of writing I do best,” calling them “practically a diary,” and rarely depositing them into a mailbox. Her missives to friends like Joseph Heller, Annie Leibovitz, Paul Ruscha, and Steve Martin—fresh and frank, dashing and droll-are irresistible, as highly spirited as they are acutely perceptive.
These unsent letters constitute an alternate body of Eve Babitz’s work, one that might have been lost had not her sister, Mirandi, found them after her death, packed in unremarkable file boxes taped securely decades before. In Too L.A., Babitz’s biographer, Lili Anolik, has performed a remarkable feat, not only raising these letters from the tomb but accompanying them with informative and irreverent commentary, guiding the reader through the uproarious lifelong party that was Eve Babitz’s real masterpiece.
Eve Babitz (1943–2021) was the author of several books of fiction, including Sex and Rage: Advice to Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time, L.A. Woman, and Black Swans: Stories. Her nonfiction works include Fiorucci, the Book and Two by Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night. She has written for a variety of publications including Ms. and Esquire and in the late 1960s designed album covers for the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and Linda Ronstadt. New York Review publishes Eve’s Hollywood, Slow Days, Fast Company, I Used to Be Charming, and Too L.A.: Letters Never Sent (But Some Were).
Lili Anolik is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a writer at large for Air Mail. Her work has also appeared in Harper’s, Esquire, and The Paris Review, among other publications. She is the creator of the podcast Once Upon a Time…at Bennington College. Her most recent books are Hollywood’s Eve and Didion & Babitz. She is the editor of Eve Babitz’s Too L.A.: Letters Never Sent (But Some Were).
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/book/9781681379593/
David Litt & It’s Only Drowning: A Memoir at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
David Litt will present and discuss It’s Only Drowning: A Memoir.
A former Obama speechwriter moves to the Jersey Shore and learns to surf with the help of his brother-in-law: a tattooed, truck-driving Joe Rogan superfan.
David, the Yale-educated writer with a fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with a shed full of surfboards, had never been close. But as America’s crises piled up and David spiraled into existential dread, he noticed that his brother-in-law was thriving. He began to suspect Matt’s favorite hobby had something to do with it.
David started taking surf lessons. For months, he wiped-out on waves the height of daffodils. Yet, after realizing that surfing could change him both in and out of the water, he set an audacious goal: riding a big wave in Hawaii. He searched for an expert he could trust to guide and protect him—and when he couldn’t find one, he asked Matt. Together, they set out on a journey that spanned coasts, and even continents, before taking them to Oahu’s famously dangerous North Shore.
It’s Only Drowning is a laugh-out-loud love letter to surfing—and so much more. It’s an ode to embarking on adventures at any age. It’s a blueprint for becoming braver at a time when it takes courage just to read the news. Most of all, it’s the story of an unlikely friendship, one that crosses the fault lines of education, ideology, and culture tearing so many of us apart.
RSVP at website link.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-23/david-litt
At Skylight: Coyotes Fiction Reading Club: Chain Gang All Stars at Skylight – In-Person Event
The Coyotes meet on the 4th Tuesday of every month here at Skylight at 7:30 pm!
NEXT OFFICIAL MEETING: Tuesday, JUNE 23 @ 7:30 pm
Participants will discuss the June selection Chain Gang All Stars: A Novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own in this explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Friday Black.
If you’ve made it to this page, it means you’re interested in books and literature and sharing your reading experiences with fellow readers—that’s awesome! We’d love to have you at our meetings. And it’s free to come! The group is open to the public, there’s no need to sign up, and no mandate to come.
If you’d like to get on the Discord and receive book club updates from us, email bo@skylightbooks.com. If not, check in here for information about this month’s book and meeting.
To join the mailing list, contact Bo!
Coyote members save 15% on each month’s pick. Mention that you’re a member at the register or in the order comments field.
Where: Skylight
Date: Tuesday the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest: NO READING THIS DATE – Online Zoom Event
Cobalt Poets Reading & Open Mic will have NO READING THIS DATE.
Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event
Date: Tuesday, the 23rd
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: Event Page
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 23rd
Time: 9 pm – 11 pm (Doors at 8:15 pm)
Address: 4276 Crenshaw Blvd., Leimert Park, CA 90008
PARKING:
Street parking: Crenshaw and Degnan
Parking Lot: 3416 W 43rd St Leimert Park, Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: Instagram Page
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: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 9 am – 10 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Classis Book Club: Steppenwolf at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us for a lively discussion of the 1927 novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. Copies are available for check out in the branch or on your mobile device as an e-book/e-audiobook.
Where: Granada Hills Branch Library,LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 1:30 pm – 3 pm
Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/classics-book-club-steppenwolf
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 24th
Time: 2 pm – 2:30 pm
Address: On-air Event
Website: https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/poets-cafe/
Sci-Fi Book Club: The Castle at Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join our Science Fiction Book Club to discuss The Castle by Franz Kafka. Copies of the novel are available at the library.
Synopsis: A surveyor arrives in a remote village and is subject to a harrowing bureaucratic nightmare. On the 100th anniversary of the publication of this novel and the 100th anniversary of Central Library, the book club will be examining this novel’s dystopian elements.
Where: Van Nuys Branch Library,LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 5 pm – 6 pm
Address: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/sci-fi-book-club-castle-franz-kafka
The Canyon Readers Collective: Dandelion Wine at Topanga Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join Canyon Readers Collective to discuss Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, a nostalgic and beautifully written story that captures the magic, wonder, and bittersweet moments of one summer. For adults.
Where: Topanga Library, LACL
Date: Wednesday, the 24th
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 122 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16633950
Romantasy Book Club: As Many Souls as Stars at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss As Many Souls as Stars by Natasha Siegel. Copies available at Customer Service. For adults.
For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women—a witch and an immortal demon—who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes.
Where: Agoura Hills Library,LACL
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 29901 Ladyface Ct., Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16452995
Melinda Hsu, with Michael Narducci, & Lead with Kindness at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us to welcome Melinda Hsu, in conversation with Michael Narducci, to discuss Lead with Kindness: How to Change the Culture of the Workplace and the World.
You don’t have to be a leader or an altruist to benefit from this book. Hsu’s proven and result-oriented strategies, tactics, and methods can be applied from anywhere within a workplace ecosystem or a group of individuals. In ten brief (because time is precious) chapters, she presents a compelling and accessible roadmap for implementing kindness—and its supporting tenets of inclusion, trust, love, calm, transparency, work-life integration, accountability, safety, and service—as a means to achieve a more effective and lasting impact in every sphere of your life.
Melinda Hsu is a TV writer-producer who was the showrunner of Nancy Drew as well as the showrunner/co-creator of Tom Swift; currently, she’s writing for the FOX drama The Interrogator while developing projects for Universal Television Studios. Her TV credits include Lost, The Vampire Diaries, and the reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In her nonprofit life, she has received national awards for leadership and mentorship from the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment as well as Girls Inc. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Sarah Jones Film Foundation, which fosters set safety through awareness and accountability. In 2024, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West, where she’s helped design, launch, and teach the WGA Leadership Training Program to create humane, respectful workplaces.
Her podcast about the strategy of culture change, Lead With Kindness, is the basis for her book of the same title, published by Post Hill Press.
Michael Narducci is a TV writer-producer who was the co-showrunner of The Originals. His credits include Medium, The Vampire Diaries, and Superman and Lois. He’s developed shows for Amazon, Warner Brothers, ABC, and Marvel. Raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Michael is a former high school teacher who continues to work in the classroom as a lecturer for UCLA. He’s also taught at schools in Massachusetts, Georgia, Texas, and South Korea. He lives in Los Angeles with his family.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-06-24/melinda-hsu-lead-kindness
Los Feliz Writers: Shut Up and Write in Los Feliz at Big Bar, The Alcove – In-Person Event
WRITE | HANG | REPEAT
Every Wednesday we have our weekly @shutupwrite at @bigbaralcove.
Time to focus on your dreams!
Hosted by @literarypixie! We’re looking for a co-host. DM if interested!
Where: Big Bar, The Alcove
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm
Address: 1929 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz, CA 90027
Website: Instagram Page
Bob Spitz, with Mikael Wood, & The Rolling Stones: The Biography at Book Soup – In-Person YA Event
Bob Spitz, in conversation with Mikael Wood, will discuss The Rolling Stones: The Biography, to reexamine one of popular music’s greatest stories. There are myriad revisions to the conventional narrative which underscore just how in control of that narrative the band has been up to now.
At its heart the story is about two boys, Mick and Keith, and their unique, fraught, alchemical bond, often tested, never sundered. The Glimmer Twins. The bandmates, like Charlie Watts, who found their groove in relation to this double star made the trip intact, while those who struggled, like Brian Jones and Mick Taylor, were chewed up and spit out. This is a story with many dark corners, including a surprising number of deaths. But whether Jagger and Richards sold their souls to the devil is at the crossroads for blues greatness or just squeezed their heroes for every drop of inspiration, in the end their connection to their music and to each other put them in a category of one, where they very much remain.
Bob Spitz is the award-winning author of the biographies Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child and The Beatles, both New York Times bestsellers, as well as seven other nonfiction books and a screenplay. He helped manage Bruce Springsteen and Elton John at crucial points in their careers. He’s written hundreds of major profiles of figures, ranging from Keith Richards to Jane Fonda, from Paul McCartney to Paul Bowles.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-06-24/bob-spitz
Courtney Maum, with Rufi Thorpe, & Alan Opts Out at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event
Courtney Maum, in conversation with Rufi Thorpe, will discuss Alan Opts Out: A Novel.
Alan Opts Out is the story of an ad exec who bombs the biggest pitch of his career and decides to forgo capitalism and live off the land of his suburban Connecticut home.
Maum’s latest novel is a timely and comedic take on ambition, consumerism, and the sticker price of privilege from an author known for her stealth, comedic satires of the industrial happiness complex.
Funny, sexy, intelligent, and poignant, Alan Opts Out is the most ambitious novel to date by celebrated author Courtney Maum, acclaimed for her stories that tackle big, chewy subjects of our post-modern America with wit and heart.
Courtney Maum is the author of five previous books, including the romantic comedy Touch (New York Times Editors’ Choice) about a tech worker’s efforts to reclaim her humanity and the memoir The Year of the Horses chosen by the Today show as one of the best reads for mental health awareness. The author also of the groundbreaking publishing guidebook Before and After the Book Deal and the bestselling Substack newsletter by the same name, She is an educator and writing coach helping people hold on to the joy of art making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. In addition to her creative writing, teaching, and advocacy work for writers at the Authors Guild, She worked internationally as a brand strategist and corporate namer in the advertising world for twenty years.
Rufi Thorpe received her MFA from the University of Virginia in 2009. She is the author Margo’s Got Money Troubles, published in June 2024 and is now an Apple TV series starring Elle Fanning, Nick Offerman, and Michelle Pfeiffer. She has written four novels, The Girls from Corona Del Mar, Dear Fang, With Love, and her most recent, The Knockout Queen, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award.
Where: Chevalier’s
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-06-24/alan-opts-out-novel-courtney-maum
The New Short Fiction Series: Santa Monica Review with host Sally Shore – Online Event
Please join us for The New Short Fiction Series presenting exciting new voices:
Craig Chen’s writing is influenced by a childhood of gaming and a late-blooming enjoyment of mathematics. He likes playing the piano, woodworking, and making coffee for friends.
Halina Duraj joined USD after receiving her PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Utah in 2010. She also holds a B.S. in biological sciences and an M.A. in creative writing from the University of California, Davis. Her debut collection of short stories, The Family Cannon, won Augury Books’ Editors’ Prize and was published in 2014. She teaches literature and creative writing, and she directed USD’s Lindsay J. Cropper Center for Creative Writing from 2012 to 2019.
Maceo Montoya is a California-based author and artist who has published books in a variety of genres, including four works of fiction: The Scoundrel and the Optimist, The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, You Must Fight Them: A Novella and Stories, and Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces. Other works include Letters to the Poet from His Brother, a hybrid memoir combining images, prose poems, and essays, and Chicano Movement for Beginners, a work of graphic nonfiction. His most recent book, coauthored with Javier O. Huerta, is Imaginative Possibilities: Conversations with Twenty-First-Century Latinx Authors, which won a 2025 American Book Award.
NOTE: Tickets & registration on Crowdcast
Where: Santa Monica Review Online
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: Online Event
Website: https://www.newshortfictionseries.net/
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.
Guest Host: Majik and Shannon
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 24th
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: Instagram Page
At Skylight: Rasheed Newson, with Manuel Betancourt, & There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood at Skylight – In-Person Event
Rasheed Newson, in conversation with Manuel Betancourt, will present and discuss There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood.
A cinematic, razor-sharp novel following a backlot fixer’s daring investigation into the suspicious death of a closeted Black actor within the glamorous world of Hollywood.
Xavier C. Barlow, one of Hollywood’s young Black stars taking the industry by storm in the late 1950s, is Skyline Studios’s ambitious attempt to rival Sidney Poitier. His arrival into the industry is calculated, his charm is magnetic, and his seductive screen presence appeals to both audiences and celebrities across generations.
But years later, after Xavier dies at the height of his fame, Aaron Touissant—Skyline’s designated backlot fixer who helps the studio’s stars stay as deep in the closet as humanly possible—is finally ready to expose the powerful culprits responsible for his untimely death.
Written from Aaron’s panoramic lens, There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood is a searing portrait of the movie industry as a manicured minefield and a compelling journey into the queer history of Los Angeles.
Rasheed Newson is the author of the national bestseller My Government Means to Kill Me, which was selected as a Lambda Literary finalist for Gay Fiction and was named one of the “100 Notable Books of 2022” by The New York Times. He is also a television drama writer, producer, and showrunner. He codeveloped Bel-Air and worked on The Chi, Animal Kingdom, and Narcos, among other drama series. Newson is a 2025–26 American Library in Paris Visiting Fellow. He currently lives with his husband and their two children in Pasadena.
Manuel Betancourt is a Los Angeles-based queer Colombian writer and film critic. He is the assistant editor at Documentary magazine and the author of The Male Gazed: What Hunks, Heartthrobs and Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men (2023) and Hello Stranger: Musings on Modern Intimacies (2025).
NOTE: See site to RSVP.
Where: Skylight
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group: The Safekeep at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
The Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month at 7 pm.
The Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group explores contemporary fiction—long and short—from a diverse selection of writers.
Enjoy lively discussions at our one-hour meetings. Our Fiction Reading Group is free and inclusive – there are no requirements nor criteria to join. We announce upcoming titles 3-6 months in advance and choose titles that are available in paperback. Drop by our next meeting!
June’s pick is The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden.
Fiction Reading Group meetings are held inside Vroman’s Bookstore on the second floor in the event space.
NOTE: See site to RSVP.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-24/vromans-fiction-reading-group
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 — TBA
- 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 24th
Time: 7:30 pm – 10 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: Instagram Page
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: Equal Time: “Boys Will Be Boys”
Where: Art Parlor
Date: Wednesday the 24th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 7 pm)
Address: 5302 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village, CA 91607
Website: Instagram Page
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 24th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: Free Workshop Page
Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg and guest poet Aleis Jaimes at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event
Host Ben Trigg welcomes Alexis Jaimes to read and discuss her work.
Alexis Jaimes is a poet and educator from Santa Ana, California. As the proud son of Mexican immigrants, his work explores the intersections of cultural memory, language, generational trauma, and healing. He is the author of The Seeds We Sow (Daxson Publishing, 2026) and Corazón Coalesced (Bottlecap Press, 2024). His work has appeared in numerous presses as well as showcased at the Fullerton Museum Center and the Huntington Beach Art Center. He teaches in a dual-language classroom, believing in the power of language in all its forms. Alexis can also be found hosting or attending open mics throughout Orange County.
$5 cover fee, cash only
$5 cover fee, cash only
Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange
Date: Wednesday, the 24th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/4535184926703001
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 25th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Afternoon Book Club: This Is How You Lose the Time War at Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL – Online Event
Join Culver City Julian Dixon Library’s Afternoon Book Club to discuss This is How you Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. For adults.
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
Where: Culver City Julian Dixon Library,LACL
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Address: 4975 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 90230
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16448515
Book Discussion: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao at Sunland Tujunga Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for this community-led discussion of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.
Where: Sunland Tujunga Branch Library,LAPL
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 7771 Foothill Blvd., Tujunga, CA 90042
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/book-discussion-10
Marina del Rey Book Club: The Villa at Lloyd Taber Marina del Rey Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us for a discussion of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. A wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware. For adults.
As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So, when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to discover that there might be something more sinister to the story of that fateful summer in 1974.
Where: Marina del Rey Library,LACL
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm (Repeats book discussion at 6 pm – 7 pm)
Address: 4533 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16484918
Eagle Rock Book Club: The Verifiers at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event
Join us to explore both acclaimed newer books and rediscovered classics of the past.
The selection for June is The Verifiers by Jane Pek. This debut novel introduces Claudia Lin, who thinks she’s landed the perfect job, verifying people’s online lives for a dating detective agency in New York. When a client with an unusual request goes missing, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate, uncovering a web of personal and corporate deceit.
The library will have copies to check out or check our e-media page for electronic access on Libby and hoopla.
Please bring book suggestions for future meetings.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library,LAPL
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., CA 90041
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/eagle-rock-book-club-11
Between the Lines Book Club: Atmosphere at Castaic Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us as we launch into Taylor Jenkin Reid’s Atmosphere: A Love Story. Copies are available at the Customer Service desk and newcomers are always welcome! For adults.
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.
Where: Castaic Library,LACL
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 27971 Stone Canyon Rd., Castaic, CA 91384
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16453003
Adaptation Book Club: King Lear/RAN Book and Film Discussion at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
We will be discussing the book and the film we watched the week prior!
The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now in a dazzling new series design
Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition
Gold Medal Winner of the 3×3 Illustration Annual No. 14
This edition of King Lear presents a conflated text, combining the 1608 Quarto and 1623 Folio Texts, edited with an introduction by series editor Stephen Orgel and was recently repackaged with cover art by Manuja Waldia. Waldia received a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for the Pelican Shakespeare series.
The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With stunning new covers, definitive texts, and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
NeuroDIVE Open Mic: Mr. Chai Tea & Laura Holliday at The Pop Hop Book Co-Op – In-Person Event
NeuroDIVE returns to The Pop-Hop for an open mic night specifically geared towards neurodivergent artists, poets, comedians, and storytellers. Hosted by Mr. Chai Tea and featuring multi-hyphenate artist Laura Holliday, the event aims to create a dedicated third space for visibility and connection within the community.
Sign-ups happen at the door. People of all abilities are welcome. $5 suggested donation. Check for tickets or submissions on the profile.
Laura Holliday (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist and writer originally from West Virginia. Laura studied filmmaking at Idyllwild Arts Academy and Art Center College of Design, and is a graduate of the improv comedy programs of Second City Hollywood and UCB LA. Laura has written, directed, and acted in original content for Comedy Central, Funny or Die, and Lifetime, including the Comedy Central Digital series “Brief and Futile Love Stories.” In 2017, they were selected for the Sundance Ignite Fellowship based on the short film they wrote, directed, and starred in, “Persephone Goes Home.”
Where: The Pop Hop
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 5002 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: https://ma.to/event/neurodive-open-mic-25-june-2026
Cookies & Comics Graphic Novel Book Club via LAPL – Online Zoom Event
Do you love graphic novels? Then this is the club for you!
This month’s title is Heretic by Robbie Morrison, illustrated by Charlie Adlard. Set in Belgium in 1529, the city of Antwerp is shaken by a series of gruesome killings. The powerful Inquisition assigns a knight, a doctor, a lawyer, and the rumored black magician Cornelius Agrippa, along with his young apprentice, Johan Weyer, to investigate. They find themselves caught in a chaotic web of murder, madness, and magic. You can access this title on Hoopla using your library card.
This monthly Zoom event is intended for teens aged 16 and older, as well as adults.
Email wwood@lapl.org for the Zoom link and to be included on the monthly mailing list.
Where: Virtual Event, LAPL
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/cookies-comics-graphic-novel-book-club-13
Stephen O’Connor, with Aimee Bender, & We Want So Much to Be Ourselves at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us to welcome Stephen O’Connor, in conversation with Aimee Bender, to discuss We Want So Much to Be Ourselves.
In this book a German psychoanalyst, his Jewish wife, and their young daughter are swept up in the rising tide of fascism.
Günter Zeitz, psychoanalyst-in-training and the son of a Catholic country doctor, and Josine Rosen, Sigmund Freud’s patient and the daughter of a Jewish shipping magnate, first meet in 1924, in Freud’s Viennese waiting room. As their intense affair develops, Freud arranges for Günter’s appointment to the newly created Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute. Shortly after the move, their daughter Hannah is born. But less than a decade later, all their hopes and ideals are profoundly challenged by political realities so horrific that they are, initially, beyond comprehension.
A heartrending story of love in a time of hatred, an absorbing investigation into the Nazis’ exploitation of psychoanalysis, and a cautionary tale about self-deception and the failures of a people to recognize the lies of their charismatic leader, We Want So Much to Be Ourselves examines the ways science can be corrupted and one’s very identity transformed by historical circumstance.
Stephen O’Connor is the author of seven books including two novels, Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings and We Want So Much to Be Ourselves, and the short story collection Here Comes Another Lesson. His fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and Best American Short Stories, among other publications, and his nonfiction has been published in the New York Times, Nation, Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He teaches fiction and nonfiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Manhattan.
Aimee Bender is the author of the novels The Color Master, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake—a New York Times bestseller, An Invisible Sign of My Own, and of the collections The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures. Her works have been widely anthologized and have been translated into 16 languages. She lives in Los Angeles.
Where: Diesel, A Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Meryl Branch- McTiernan, withNicola Harrison, & What You Should Worry About at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Meryl Branch- McTiernan, in conversation with Nicola Harrison, will discuss What You Should Worry About.
IT’S JANUARY OF 2020 and thirty-seven-year-old Layla Moody is trying to worm her way into a party at the Sundance Film Festival. When she’s not picking up other people’s abandoned drinks or skinny-dipping in the hot tub, she’s trying to gain access to someone who can jump-start her stymied career as a Hollywood television writer. After a run-in with one of her creative heroines, she lands an opportunity to get her show produced. The only catch is, she has to return to New York, which she’s been avoiding since her father’s death.
But soon all is thwarted when COVID-19 shuts down the entertainment industry and any opportunity to propel her life forward. While quarantining alone in her parents’ apartment in Queens, she wrestles with the ghost of an ex-boyfriend who disappeared unexpectedly, the grief of processing the loss of her father, and the notion that she just might be the one responsible for her current state of solitude.
Finally, in spite of warnings and stay-at-home orders, she throws caution to the wind and joins a share house on Fire Island where she spent summers in her twenties. By returning to the house and its eclectic denizens, she is reintroduced to the comfort and annoying tendencies of other people, and begins to grasp how to find family on her own terms.
Meryl Branch-McTiernan is a novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Her short fiction has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail and the Southampton Review. She cowrote and produced the comedy feature Katie’s Mom, which won the Audience Award for Fusion Features at the 2023 Dances with Films festival. She received her BS in television, radio, and film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and her MFA in creative writing and literature from Stony Brook University. She lives on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. This is her first novel.
Nicola Harrison is the author of three novels: Montauk, The Show Girl, Hotel Laguna, and The Island Club. Born and raised in England, she moved with her family to Southern California when she was 14. She is a graduate of UCLA and received her MFA from Stony Brook University. Prior to writing novels, she worked as a fashion journalist in New York City, where she lived for 17 years. Now she resides in Manhattan Beach, California, with her husband, two sons and a high-maintenance chihuahua puppy named Lily.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-06-25/meryl-branch-mctiernan
At Skylight: Marc Bendavid, with Ryan O’Connell, & The Sapling at Skylight – In-Person Event
Marc Bendavid, in conversation with Ryan O’Connell, will present and discuss The Sapling.
An exquisite debut autobiographical novel about a powerful bond between a young boy and his teacher; an excavation of art, memory, grief, and transformative love.
At the beginning of sixth grade, newly admitted to a special school for the arts, Marc meets Klara Bloem. Klara is an art teacher, an immigrant to Toronto from South Africa, a devoted naturalist, a painter, and a passionate reader. Marc, an introspective boy experiencing upheavals at home and with friends, instantly connects with Klara’s sharp sense of humor, her keen attention, and her passion for books and art—and it’s clear she feels their connection, too.
She is forty-four; he is twelve.
Those first years glow with special intensity. As Marc and Klara spend hours on the phone, snapping photographs in woods and fields, immersed in the art and curios of her past life in South Africa, and exchanging letters over summer break, Marc feels the creative potential she sees in him beginning to take shape. But he also feels the scrutiny their unusual connection attracts. When he moves on to high school, their calls become less frequent, and their visits grow short. As the memories of those days become hazy and hard to access, he misses the brilliance of their early connection. Years later, when he is working as an actor in Los Angeles, Klara’s daughter Eva reaches out to deliver heartbreaking news, and it all comes rushing back in a flush of color.
With a rare and dazzling tenderness, Bendavid offers us a deep glimpse into an unusual bond, its loss, and the questions it raises. In the tradition of writers like André Aciman, Ben Lerner, and Sheila Heti, The Sapling vibrates with the tension of the everyday, and with the world of beauty that lives just beyond.
Marc Bendavid is a writer, actor, and gardener. Originally from Toronto, he now divides his time between that city and Los Angeles. The Sapling is his first novel.
Ryan O’Connell is the Emmy-winning creator, writer, and star of Netflix’s Special, which is based on his memoir, I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves. He’s also written for other TV shows, including Will & Grace, Awkward, and Peacock’s Queer as Folk revival, which he also stars in. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Jonathan Parks-Ramage.
NOTE: See site to RSVP.
Where: Skylight
Date: Wednesday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1818 N Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-marc-bendavid-presents-sapling-w-ryan-oconnell
Tia Chucha’s Book Club: Tender Is the Flesh at Tia Chucha’s Cultural & Bookstore – In-Person Event
Book Club participants will discuss Tender Is the Flesh by author Agustina Bazterrica.
This book isn’t for the easily disturbed 👀 Join us in reading this month’s book club book Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica and join our discussion this month on Thursday, June 25 at 7 pm.
No registration necessary.
Find the book at Tia Chucha’s this week open Tuesday-Friday 2 pm – 9 pm or Saturday 12 pm – 8 pm. Find it on our online bookstore at http://www.tiachucha.org or through the link in our bio.
Where: Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 12677 Glenoaks Blvd., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: Instagram Page
William Loving, with Ivy Pochoda, & Fells Point at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
William Loving, in conversation with Ivy Pochoda, will discuss and sign Fells Point.
What begins as a personal journey of late-life reckoning becomes a noir-tinged meditation on memory, mortality, and the search for purpose. By turns darkly funny and melancholic, Fells Point captures a soul—and a city—at a crossroads.
Daniel Doyle Jr., a jaded, middle-aged corporate communications flack in Baltimore, is drifting through life under a literal death sentence: a congenital heart defect that could take him any day. Determined to reclaim some meaning, he sets out to truly see and understand his city for the first time, creating a “bucket list” of cultural landmarks, lost institutions, and personal haunts across Baltimore. But as he traverses the city’s past and present, he realizes he’s being followed by a mysterious stranger who seems to appear wherever he goes. Is it paranoia, coincidence, or something more sinister?
William Loving is the author of three novels, including City of Angles, Blue Earth River, and his latest, Fells Point. Before turning to fiction, he worked as a journalist at the Los Angeles Times and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, covering city life, politics, and culture. His fiction reflects a journalist’s sharp eye for character and place, blending wit, suspense, and a deep connection to the cities that have shaped him. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his wife.
NOTE: See site to RSVP.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-25/william-loving-ivy-pochoda
Skulls & Stairs: AJ Luxton, Consuelo, J. Saravia, Charlie Stuipat Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center – In-Person Event
Skulls & Stairs is back! This reading series at the infamous staircase of the original Venice City Hall building features poets writing with a countercultural, punk, and goth attitude. This installment features Venice-based AJ Luxton, and hailing from the inlands and concrete streets of Los Angeles, Consuelo, J. Saravia and Charlie Stuip.
AJ Luxton, M.F.A., is a feral queer autistic performance poet, bioethicist by training, and one half of the Venice art collective Faery Church. Luxton’s work is philosophical and raw by turns, throwing multivalent lenses on personhood and alienation, disability and divinity, the limits of embodiment, and the tesseracts of language. Their poems have been featured in Abyss & Apex, Chronogram, Pop Fic Review, Best of Craigslist, and gallery exhibitions “TELEPHONE” and “Mommy Dearest”.
Consuelo is an artivist, student, and Pushcart Prize nominee from the Inland Empire. Her debut poetry book, Water Damage, is published through Riot of Roses Publishing House, and it explores divinity, mental health, queerness, and Chicanisma. You can find her at open mics across the IE and LA, experimental art shows, your local public library, or spiritual apparitions.
Charlie Stuip is a writer and cook from Oakland, CA living in LA. She has written poems since preschool and is now published in WORMS Magazine, Grotto Journal, Midcult, PLAYGIRL and more. Her chapbook Hex of Steel is out from Bottlecap Press.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: Eventbrite Page
LiveTalks LA Presents: Danny McBride, with Walton Goggins, & Thrilling Tales of Modern Men: Stories at Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Danny McBride, in conversation with Walton Goggins, will discuss Thrilling Tales of Modern Men: Stories.
An addictive, unpredictable, darkly hilarious collection of stories from Danny McBride, the beloved creator and star of The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound & Down.
Hilarious, razor-sharp, unexpectedly emotional, and full of wild twists and turns, the stories in Thrilling Tales of Modern Men are like nothing else. And yet they have one thing in common—each probes the fragile masculinity that has become an inescapable part of modern American culture. In this audacious and unforgettable debut collection, McBride redefines the tale of the modern man.
Danny McBride is the writer, producer, and star of the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones. He wrote and executive-produced the Halloween trilogy with David Gordon Green. He’s starred in a variety of motion pictures including, Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, Alien: Covenant, and Mitchells vs. The Machines. McBride co-founded the production company Rough House Pictures. Thrilling Tales of Modern Men is his first short-story collection. He lives in South Carolina with his family.
Walton Goggins is a three-time Emmy nominee, who has starred in Fallout, The White Lotus, Righteous Gemstones, Vice-Principals, The Hateful Eight, Justified and more.
NOTE: See site to RSVP and get tickets.
Where: Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
Website: https://livetalksla.org/events/danny-mcbride/
Poetry Diet Open Mic at The Living Room, DTLA – In-Person Event
An intimate open mic night for poets, storytellers, and lovers of the spoken word.
Poetry Diet Mic Night is a weekly open mic, every Thursday, dedicated to language, rhythm, and truth-telling. Set inside The Living Room DTLA, this night creates space for poets, writers, and creatives to share their work in an intimate, supportive atmosphere.
Whether you’re stepping to the mic or just soaking it all in, expect thoughtful performances, real energy, and a room that listens.
Hosted by: Kerm (Jonathan Kermah)
Music by: DJ Stardust
🎤 Open mic sign-ups available
🕯️ Intimate lounge setting
🍸 Bar open
Where: The Living Room, DTLA
Date: Thursday the 25th
Time: 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Address: 1014 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA (Door 123)
Website: Instagram Page
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: Friday the 26th
Time: 9 am – 10 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
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 26th
Time: 9:30 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020
Website: Once Upon a Time Event Page
Beach City Writer’s Conference with Community Literature Initiative (CLI) – In-Person 3-day Event
It’s June which means the Beach City Writers Conference is right around the corner!!!
Hosted by the Community Literature Initiative (CLI), this three-day experience (June 26th-28th) is open to CLI students, alumni and the public. This year’s conference theme is: In the Margins. We will be exploring what it means to own your space and celebrating marginalized voices!
🎟️ Your ticket includes 3 days of:
🍽️ Delicious lunches
🎧 Emcee, music and vibes by DJ Pw
📚 Workshops, CLIque Talks, games, and panels led by our incredible CLI teachers & teacher assistants
🎤 Live performances, networking, and surprises you won’t want to miss!
General Public Admission is $150
Locations will include Friday on the local beach, Saturday and Sunday on the campus of the illustrious USC! We will also be hosting a gala at the Sims Library of Poetry. Register today using the link in our bio!
Where: Community Literature Initiative (CLI)
Date: Friday through Sunday, the 26th – 28th
Time: TBA
Address: MULTIPLE LOCATIONS: The Beach, USC, Sims Library
Website: Instagram Page
Bilingual Storytime at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Bilingual Storytime! Exposing your children to multiple languages is highly beneficial for their learning and development, and what better way to do it than through this fun activity where we will read a wonderful story in both English and Spanish.
¡Hora de cuentos bilingüe! Exponer a tus hjijos a varios idiomas es de gran beneficio para su aprendizaje y desarrollo, y qué mejor que hacerlo en esta divertida actividad en donde leeremos un maravilloso cuento en inglés y en español.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Horror Book Club: Wolf Worm at Compton Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to discuss T. Kingfisher’s Wolf Worm. To borrow a print copy of the books, please contact the Compton Library directly. For Ages 18+
Do you find yourself attracted to the strange and unusual? Do you enjoy what others may find frightening? If so, join the Horror Book Club where each month we’ll provide you with diverse horror authors and titles to discuss with people who enjoy the same genre as you.
The year is 1899 and Sonia Wilson is a scientific illustrator without work, prospects, or hope. When the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use. But soon enough she finds that there are darker things at work than the Carolina woods. What happened to her predecessor, Halder’s wife? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thiefs?” With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a dark road full of parasitic maggots that burrow into human flesh, and that his monstrous experiments may grow to encompass his newest illustrator as well.
Attendance is limited, and advance registration is required. This will be used to save your spot in the program. We cannot guarantee availability for any unregistered adult. To sign up, see library staff, or register online at Visit.LACountyLibrary.org/Events and filter by location or event date. For Ages 18+.
Where: Compton Library,LACL
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 240 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16568957
Author Event: An Evening with Jabril Langston & Indigo Men: A Novel at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join us to hear Jabril Langston discuss and sign his debut Indigo Men: A Novel.
Set in 1920s Alabama, the novel centers on Isiah Calhoun and a group called the “Indigo Men” who’ve developed an audacious strategy to fight back against the injustice plaguing their community. Their methods are unconventional, their disguises are strategic, and their mission goes deeper than simple revenge.
Woven throughout Indigo Men is also a love story between Isiah and Lola, a local librarian and singer, creating tension between Isiah’s quest for vengeance and the possibility of a different future.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 5:30 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Black Lit Book Club: MARCH (Omnibus Edition): The Complete Trilogy in One Volume at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Join participants to discuss MARCH (Omnibus Edition): The Complete Trilogy by John Lewis and illustrator Nate Powell.
Discover the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller that brings the Civil Rights Movement to life—the stunning graphic memoir of the man called “the conscience of America.”
Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) was an American icon who repeatedly made history as one of the key figures of the Civil Rights Movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence brought him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.
To share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis turned to the graphic novel format, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, and inspired by a 1950s comic book that helped prepare his own generation to join the struggle. The resulting trilogy, March, became a groundbreaking and definitive work of graphic memoir—a perennial bestseller, a vital resource in classrooms across America, the recipient of countless honors, and the first comic to win the National Book Award. Today, March continues to animate the lessons of history with vivid life for new generations, powerfully and urgently relevant for our world. It is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader Civil Rights Movement, with a particular focus on young adults. Through an unforgettable literary and artistic narrative, March portrays the surpassing courage, sacrifice, and revolutionary nonviolence that transformed American society in the 1960s, guided by principles and tactics that remain vitally relevant in the present day.
This new single-volume edition features a detailed index.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-06-26/black-lit-book-club-march-omnibus-edition
Open Mic Night at The Untold Story Bookstore, Anaheim – In-Person Event
Come showcase your talent or be part of our audience and create a supportive and welcoming environment for your fellow community members!
Where: The Untold Story Bookstore
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Address: 301 N. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92805
Website: Instagram Page
Jessica Handler, withSuzanne Van Atten, & The World to See: A Novel at Book Soup – In-Person Event
Jessica Handler, in conversation with Suzanne Van Atten, will discussThe World to See: A Novel.
When teenager Nadine Harvey helps her best friend hide a disturbing secret, she’s also concealing her own deepest truth: she’ll do almost anything to be wanted. Five years and three thousand miles later, Nadine is thrilled when her idol, Celeste—a rock singer known as ” the oracle”—befriends her. As Celeste’s career begins to falter, she launches a bold program encouraging women to speak their truths. Nadine eagerly becomes her business partner, but as their ambitions clash, their alliance starts to unravel. Determined to hide their growing rift, Celeste and Nadine invite their mothers to a high-profile awards gala. When painful histories resurface, each woman must confront how she sees herself—and how the world sees her.
Jessica Handler’s novel The Magnetic Girl was awarded the 2020 Southern Book Prize. She is the author of the memoir, Invisible Sisters, and the craft guide, Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss. Her writing has appeared on NPR, in Tin House, The Bitter Southerner, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, the Washington Post, Oldster, and elsewhere. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, author Mickey Dubrow. http://www.jessicahandler.com.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 8818. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-06-26/jessica-handler
An Evening of Poetryat Heavy Manners Library – In-Person Event
Join us for an evening of poetry featuring: Daryl Gussin , Violetta Balkoff, Hanna Pachman, Candace Hansen, Charlie Stuip, Katherine Charney, Briana Gonzales, Laura Mathis, and Andra Knox.
Daryl Gussin @darylgussin is a writer and musician who has been awkwardly standing around at punk shows for the last twenty-something years. In 2006, he became integrally involved in Razorcake fanzine where he is currently the managing editor. He is the author of A Year in Submission and $22 Chessecake and more!
Violetta Balkoff is a twenty-three-year-old essayist from Los Angeles. She has lived in Los Angeles for her whole life—other than her four years living in Providence, RI while attending Brown University, where she studied English Creative Nonfiction and History. Her preferred genres are nonfiction and autofiction.
Hanna Pachman is a poet, whose work has been published by Rattle, Catamaran, Maudlin House, The MacGuffin, and others. Hanna was an Assistant Editor for the poetry magazine, Gyroscope Review for two years.
Candace Hansen is a musician, journalist, zinester, organizer, educator, and scholar. They earned their PhD at UCLA where they are an adjunct professor. Hansen is a freelance writer for publications like LA Times, Spin, and LA Mag. They are a drummer and have recently written and performed with artists like like Alice Bag Band, dimber, and Reckoner.
Charlie Stuip is a writer, video artist and co-founder of HIGHBALL MEDIA. She studied writing at Oakland School for the Arts where she wrote her first novella, Everyone’s Itching for a Good Drive.
Katherine Charney is the author of Polis Polite, is a collection of poetry and artifacts examining ecological anxiety and a longing for the way things used to be.
Briana Gonzales is a writer of poetry and fiction, with experience as an editor and publisher.
Lora Mathis is a poet, essayist, and artist who grew up in between Southern California and Québec. She’s written three books of poetry, including the most recent, The Snakes Came Back from Metatron Press. Her first book of poems, The Women Widowed to Themselves, was published by Where Are You Press in 2015, and republished by Party Trick Press in 2021.
Andra Knox is a truth teller, expressing all forms of this truth through written story/press releases/screenplays/poetry/spoken word & acting.
This reading will also include a fundraiser with tons of prizes to benefit Heavy Manners Library!
Buy a ticket at website.
Where: Heavy Manners Library
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 1200 N. Alvarado St., Unit D, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: https://heavymannerslibrary.com/events/an-evening-of-poetry-6-26
Queer and Transgender Dissidence in El Salvador at Midnight Books – In-Person Event
Please join as we celebrate Pride Month and highlight the longstanding resistance within LGBTIQ+ communities in El Salvador. As historically marginalized individuals, queer and transgender Salvadorans today live under intensified vulnerability due to the State of Exception. This teach-in will discuss the specific realities of what it means to be LGBTIQ+ in El Salvador as well as, in the spirit of Pride/Orgullo, emphasize this group’s revolutionary capacity in their struggle for liberation across space and time. As we fight back against assaults on LGBTIQ+ life in the United States, we offer this space to think transnationally about queer and transgender liberation as a means to better inform our solidarity praxis. This presentation will be facilitated by Katherine Funes, a PhD Candidate at the University of California, Irvine whose research is at the intersection of LGBTQ+ resistance and carceral expansion in El Salvador.
Where: Midnight Books
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 941 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: Instagram Page
The Definitive Soapbox Open Mic (TDSB): Micah Bournes & Beth May at The Nest in Bellflower – In-Person Event
Please join us every 4th Friday of the month for TDSB, The Definitive Soapbox Open Mic, at The Nest in Bellflower.
This June at TDSB, we’re celebrating the theme of Seasons through poetry, music, storytelling, and community.
Featuring performances by Micah Bournes and Beth May, we’re reflecting on transition, resilience, healing, and the beauty of becoming. Join us for a night full of connection, honesty, laughter, and art that brings people together.
Join us at The Nest: A Brunch Joint for a night of stories, connection, and discovery. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Open Mic begins at 7 pm. Entry $5 at the door.
See you all so soon!
Where: The Nest
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)
Address: 16916 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, CA 90706
Website: Partiful Page
El Martillo Press Readings: Herbert Siguenza & Anthology of Latino Plays, with Special Guests at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Herbert Siguenza, a founding member of the celebrated Chicano/Latino performance troupe CULTURE CLASH, unveils his first collection of plays, crafted during his impactful tenure as a solo playwright at the San Diego Repertory Theater. Each play in this collection was fully produced, garnering acclaim for its creativity, wit, political commentary, and innovative exploration of societal and cultural themes.
This collection is not just a journey through diverse narratives; it’s an invitation to reflect on the complexities of the human experience through the lens of Chicano/Latino culture and history.
Herbert Siguenza was recently the Playwright in Residence for the San Diego Repertory Theatre, thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Herbert is also a founding member of the performance group CULTURE CLASH.
Lorna Dee Cervantes was a self-taught activist by fifteen, taught herself how to run her own printing press and was founding editor/publisher of MANGO Publications at twenty, and author of the American Book Award winning EMPLUMADA at twenty-four. Rooted in her Chicana heritage, these poems illuminate the American experience of the last quarter century and, at a time when much of what is merely fashionable in American poetry is recondite and exclusive, Cervantes has the ability to speak to and for a large audience.
Paul S. Flores is one of the most influential Latino performance artists in the country and a nationally respected arts educator. He creates plays, oral narratives, and spoken word about transnationality and citizenship that spur and support societal movements that lead to change.
Sonia Gutiérrez is the author of Spider Woman / La Mujer Araña and the recipient of the Tomás Rivera Book Award 2021 and the International Latino Book Awards 2022 for her novel, Dreaming with Mariposas.
Ceasar K. Avelar is the second poet laureate of Pomona, CA. His poems speak the truth, not only to people in a position of power, but also to the everyday person that views the working class as a stigmatized identity.
NOTE: See site to RSVP.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-26/el-martillo-press-reading
The Cherry Blossum Poetry Collective, Volume 2: Conney D. Williams, Pam Ward, F. Douglas Brown & Open Mic at Fragrance of Elegance, Inglewood – In-Person Event
Join host Conney D. Williams for the Cherry Blossum Poetry Collective, Volume 2, featuring:
Pam Ward is an L.A. native, a UCLA graduate, California Arts Council Fellow, Pushcart Poetry Nominee and founding member of the Leimert Park Book Fair. Publications include: Voices of Leimert Park, Renaissance Noir, and the LA Times and was recently honored by LA Department of Cultural Affairs as a Trailblazer writer, 2025 after her participation in the first literary Olympics, Paris, 2024. Pam’s been a writer in residence, a board member of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Foundation and The World Stage, conducted workshops for Black Women for Wellness, Art Center College of Design and runs her the community press, Short Dress Press. Her YA novel is entitled, Stoves Don’t Cry and her just completed novel, I’ll Get You My Pretty, is based on her aunt’s role in the Black Dahlia murder.
F. Douglas Brown, an educator for over 25 years, currently teaches African American Poetry and African American Studies at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, where he serves as the Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
He is both a Cave Canem and Kundiman fellow and was selected by Poets & Writers as one of their ten notable Debut Poets of 2014. His poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies such as the Academy of American Poets, The PBS News Hour, The Langston Hughes Review, The Virginia Quarterly, and Teaching Black: The Craft of Teaching on Black Life and Literature (University of Pittsburg, 2021).
Brown proudly sits on the advisory circle for the Lorca Latinx Poetry Prize and the boards for Beyond Baroque and Cultural Daily. He co-founded and curated of two reading series: un::fade::able – The Requiem for Sandra Bland, a quarterly reading series examining restorative justice through poetry as a means to address racism; and The Friday Framework, through Hidden Timber Books, where Brown serves as the Poetry Editor. The Friday Framework connects three BIPOC poets whose work serves both as a springboard for a greater understanding of the self while also providing an example of how one fearlessly counters the duress their work addresses or may have been created under.
And an Open Mic!
Where: Fragrance of Elegance
Date: Friday the 26th
Time: 7:30 pm – 11 pm (Doors at 7 pm)
Address: 10925 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Inglewood, CA (free parking on site)
Website: Instagram Page
L.A. Book Launch & Theatrical Reading: at Beyond Baroque – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event
Told entirely in rhyme, an ensemble of 10 actors will bring 24 characters to life in this staged reading.
The Sun Has Fallen is an epic poem and Tyler Neufeld’s authorial debut. It follows a fateful tale of magic, ghosts, children, second chances, and a battle between good and evil across an abstracted chessboard fantasy map. Told entirely in rhyme, an ensemble of 10 actors will bring 24 characters to life in this staged reading accompanied by props, costumes, and animated background visual graphics.
Content advisory: This piece contains gun violence and suicide.
Join us on June 26th for this theatrical reading and book launch celebration!
Doors Open: 7:30 pm I Staged Reading: 8:00 pm
(Playwright / Director) – Tyler Neufeld (he/him) is a professional scenic artist, playwright, & immersive experience designer. He is a 2025 graduate of the UCLA School of Theater. His work often revolves around his queer identity, climate justice, science fiction, & fantasy. Tyler currently works in the escape room and theater industries wearing many hats. The Sun Has Fallen is his first book, and he is so excited to present this work with an amazing cast! https://tylerneufeldesign.myportfolio.com
(The Queen) – Noite is an actor, full‑time artist, and stilt‑walking beam of chaos who believes creativity should shake the world awake. Whether towering above crowds or creating from the ground up, she aims to spark imagination and reminds people that change begins with the brave, the curious, and the delightfully unhinged dreamers. She builds stories, characters, and vibrant worlds with one mission: to inspire others to believe they can transform their own. If you’re into big art, big energy, and someone who literally refuses to stay small, Noite is exactly who you’re looking for.
(The King) – Tristian Kinney, born in Cleveland, Ohio, cultivated his passion for the arts within a musical family. His journey reached a milestone during his senior year of high school, propelling him to pursue a career in the arts. This dedication guided him to UCLA, where he majored in Theater, Film, and Television, showcasing his commitment to mastering the diverse realms of storytelling and visual expression.
(Kam / The Advisor) – Ari Villalon (they/he) is a silly actor and a few other colors outside the lines. Although their background had primarily been in theatre, they’ve explored film, scaring, and voiceover in indie animation + games. On occasion, they enjoy sketching the world around them and within, and developing plays. He was last seen as Mary Shelley’s trans son Florence Percy Shelley, in the staged reading of Miss Godwin & The Monster Within, written by E.M. Lark / directed by Bi Muse Lee. They’d like to thank Tyler, everyone for having them onboard, and their friends and family. https://linktr.ee/ari_villalon
(Cory / Torin) – Zayas Lanier is an Afro-Puerto Rican actor with a background in theatre, film, music, and graphic design. A classically trained tenor, Zayas has performed chorally at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall. Prior to focusing on theatre and film, Zayas spent six years working in live entertainment before pursuing further training and mentorship with industry professionals. Alongside performance, Zayas works as a graphic designer and business consultant, collaborating with artists and creatives throughout the entertainment industry. Outside of performing, Zayas enjoys video games, anime, yoga, and baking, and looks forward to continued growth through new creative collaborations.
(Amilie / Vareyr) – Haven Schneider, a 2020 USC Theater Arts graduate, moved to LA from NYC. They began their professional acting career at 14 in the television show Most Likely To and never looked back. Some of their most exciting roles have been Nikko in Disney’s Miraculous Ladybug: Stellar Force and Alice Worthington in Stardust. They enjoy long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners. Additional acting credits include a few roles in the Trails and Yakuza video game series, Ferrah/Evil Gabby in She Kills Monsters, Chris Parton in Signals, Vulcara in Reforged, and more. They are excited to be a part of the show, and you can follow their journey on instagram @haven.g.schneider.
(Renny / Mora) – Envy! (they/them) is an actor, writer, and clowning enthusiast from San Diego, California. In 2023, they graduated with their B.F.A in acting from AMDA. Since graduating they have been in a lot of fun projects. Including, starring in Last Call Theatre’s Reforged and voice acting for an upcoming project from Sandglass Studios. While not acting you can find Envy! crocheting with a ball of yarn and falling down while learning to ice skate! They are so grateful for this opportunity to work with such a fantastic team to bring to life Tyler’s amazing work!
(Jack) – Joseph Rosales is a Latino actor, singer, dancer, voice actor, and fight choreographer of Mexican and Salvadorean descent. Originally from Sacramento, CA, Joseph graduated from the California School of the Arts San Gabriel Valley’s Musical Theater Conservatory and later became a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television with a B.A. in Theater with an Acting Emphasis. Joseph has been seen on stage and on-camera and uses his wide range of skills to be a multi-faceted performer.
(Raysha) – L Siswanto (they/it) is an aroace genderqueer creature. They have just graduated with an education major at UCLA and are interested in working in crime scene investigation, escape rooms, and immersive theater. We’ll see how life turns out…
(Dite) – Ryan Madariaga (she/her) is a musician and cartoonist based in LA who typically works under the Celestial Cyclops title. Her music can be found on bandcamp or any streaming service, and her zine “Strikeout’s First Pitches” can be purchased at Beyond Baroque, Stories Books & Cafe, or the Mystery Shop in Oxnard. She is also the keyboardist for the SFV’s surf punk band The Martian Sunset, whose music can be found anywhere.
(Stage Manager /The Mother) – Jerry Dwyer (she/they) has been performing in productions both on camera and on stage since she was a child. She excelled in her High School’s Theater program in Boston, MA. In her 20’s she booked roles in commercials where she made Car Insurance, Life insurance, and furniture shopping “look easy”. In 2012 she booked the lead on a feature length Horror film and lived on a Haunted ship for a month while shooting. Her most recent performance was in a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. Today she is returning to acting after 10 years of prioritizing her career as a Casting Director.
(Costume Designer) – Siavash Ford is an East Bay Area based costume designer. He is a 2025 graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, and most recently completed his fellowship role at Shotgun Players’ production of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? His experience in costumes overlaps with his exploration of wearables, puppetry, and other art utilizing soft goods. siavashford.com
(Costume & Props Assistant) – Clover Kustak (they/any) I’m currently double majoring in Art and Philosophy at California State University of Northridge. I work as an art educator and artist for various groups. Art is my life, I’m always involved in various projects and various mediums. I enjoy board games, reading, swimming, and meeting new people.
NOTE: See site for further details, tickets, and information.
Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
Date: Friday, the 26th
Time: 8 pm – 10 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach Los Angeles, CA 90291
Website: Eventbrite Page
Book Club for Middle Grade Readers: Escape From Mr. Limoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein via Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online Kids/MG Event
Middle-grade readers are invited to participate in our fun monthly book discussions. This month, we will be reading Escape From Mr. Limoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein.
Please email: gkim@lapl.org for the Zoom login information.
Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: Online Zoom Event
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: Saturday the 27th
Time: 10 am – 11 am
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Father-Con Event: Fathers Read: Kids Succeed at Downey Public Library – In-Person Kids/Family Event
Join us for Fathers Read: Kids Succeed at the Downey Public Library.
There will be Free books and Free lunch, authors & dads reading, and fun for kids and families!
Information: 310-994-11421 or patrick@father-con.org
Where: Downey Public Library
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 11 am – 3 pm
Address: 11121 Brookshire Avenue #586, Downey, CA 90241
Website: Instagram Page
View Park Library Book Club: Palaver at View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Zoom Hybrid Event
Join us to read and discuss Palaver by Bryan Washington. For adults.
The View Park Library Book Club meets monthly on a Saturday, in person at View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library or via Zoom. Please visit the library, call, or email cray@library.lacounty.gov to be added to the email list.
Where: View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library, LACL
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Address: 3854 W. 54th St., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16430629
Book Club: The Emperor of Gladness at Gardena Mayme Dear Library, LACL – In-Person Event
Join us to read and discuss The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. For adults.
Copies of the book are available at the customer service desk and on Libby/Overdrive.
In The Emperor of Gladness, over the course of the year, 19-year-old Hai and Grazina, an elderly widow, develop a life-altering bond built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak.
Where: Gardena Mayme DearLibrary, LACL
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 3854 W. 54th St., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16106660
Glendale Poets Laureate Event: Poetry Reading & Workshop: Stepping into the Unknown at Glendale Central Library – In-Person Event
The Glendale Poet Laureate program invites you for the next installment of our workshop-reading series. We’ll develop poems and explore craft alongside featured poets William Archila (Cánicula/Dog Days), Amber West (Hen & God), jimmy vega (zirconium ash). Learn more and submit poems for Jewel City Review publication by July 1, at eGlendaleLAC.org/poetlaureate.
William Archila’s first collection The Art of Exile was awarded the International Latino Book Award, an Emerging Writer Fellowship Award from the Writer’s Center and was selected for The Fifth Annual Debut Poets Round Up” in Poets & Writers. The Gravedigger’s Archaeology, Archila’s second book, received the Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize. His new collection Canícula/Dog Days is a bilingual selection of his first two books of poetry, The Art of Exile and The Gravedigger’s Archaeology.
Amber West is a writer, educator, and community arts producer originally from the central coast of California and with roots in Tennessee and Oklahoma. Her poems and essays have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Calyx, Puppetry International, The Feminist Wire, Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge, Furies: A Poetry Anthology of Women Warriors, and The Routledge Companion to Puppetry & Material Performance. Her poetry chapbook, Daughter Eraser, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2015, and her genre-bending “puppet poems” have been performed nationally. West’s full-length poetry collection, Hen & God, was published by The Word Works in 2017 and described by the Washington Independent Review of Books as “out of the ordinary writing.”
jimmy vega is the child of Mexican immigrants, a Chicano Los Angeles poet, educator, and interdisciplinary artist. vega is the author of future shock which was a finalist in the 2025 Alta California Chapbook Contest sponsored by Gunpowder Press. vega’s debut poetry collection zirconium ash (What Books Press) was named one of 25 Best L.A.-Centric books of 2025 by L.A. Taco. A pushcart nominated writer, vega holds a BA from UCLA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from CalArts; their poems are widely anthologized. vega is the Executive Director of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center.
* Free and open to the public
* All levels of experience are welcome
* Light refreshments provided
* Activities: reading, writing, workshopping, discovery
Where: Glendale CentralLibrary
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Address: 222 East Harvard St., Glendale, CA 92105
Website: Instagram Page
5th Annual Zine Fiesta at South Gate Museum and Art Gallery – In-Person Event
Zine Fiesta is entering its 5th year! Come celebrate Zine Fiesta 5 with us on Saturday, June 27 from 1 pm – 5 pm. Save the date so you don’t miss out on all the fun!
¡Zine Fiesta cumple cinco años! Ven a celebrar con nosotros el quinto aniversario de Zine Fiesta el sábado 27 de junio, de 1 pm – 5 pm. ¡Apúntate la fecha para no perderte toda la diversión!
See site/flyer for zine details.
Where: South Gate Museum and Art Gallery
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 1 pm – 5 pm
Address: 8680 California Ave., South Gate, CA 90280
Website: Instagram Page
4th Saturdays Poetry Reading: Ron Koertge & Nancy Lynee Woo at Claremont Helen Renwick Library – In-Person Event
Fourth Saturday Poetry Readings are free and open to the public. Books will usually be available for purchase. The June features are Ron Koertge and Nancy Lynée Woo.
Ron Koertge (pronounced KUR-chee) taught at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California, for thirty-seven years. Now retired. His many books of poetry including Sex Object, 12 Photographs of Yellowstone, The Hired Nose, The Father Poems, The Jockey Poems, Men Under Fire, Diary Cows, Life on the Edge of the Continent, High School Dirty Poems, Making Love to Roget’s Wife (University of Arkansas Press, 1997), and Geography of the Forehead (University of Arkansas Press, 2000). 1990 N.E.A. fellowship in Literature (Poetry). 1993 California Arts Council grant (Poetry). Included in Best American Poetry, 1999. An actual Pushcart Prize winner. A short animated film made from one of his prose poems (“Negative Space”) was Oscar-nominated in 2018. His most recent books are I Dreamed I Was Emily Dickinson’s Boyfriend and Pandora’s Kitchen, both from Red Hen Press.
Nancy Lynée Woo is an eco-centric poet, teaching artist, and community organizer based in Long Beach, California, on traditional Tongva land. Her first full-length poetry collection, I’d Rather Be Lightning (Gasher Press), is a love song to the earth, celebrating what we stand to lose. She is the winner of the 2024 Brett Elizabeth Jenkins poetry prize and has received fellowships from PEN America Emerging Voices, California Creative Corps, and Writer’s Block Las Vegas, among others, with an MFA from Antioch University. She is the Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Mentor and serves on the Arts Education Leadership Circle with LA County, and she believes in the power of the arts to bring people together. Find her at nancylyneewoo.com and Instagram @fancifulnance.
Where: Claremont Helen Renwick Library
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 208 Harvard Ave., Claremont, CA 91711
Website: https://www.claremontlibrary.org/monthly-poetry-readings.html
Jeremey Atherton Lin, with Rasheed Newson & Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Jeremey Atherton Lin, in conversation with Rasheed Newson will discuss Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told.
It’s 1996, and Jeremy Atherton Lin has met the boy of his dreams—a mumbling, starry-eyed Brit—just as, amid a media frenzy, US Congress prepares the Defense of Marriage Act, denying same-sex couples federal rights including immigration. The pair steals away to remote forests and vast deserts, London fashion shows and Berlin sex clubs, dinner parties, back alleys, East Village hotel rooms, and San Francisco dives. Finding no other way to stay together, they shack up illicitly among unlikely allies in a “city of refuge.”
With Atherton Lin’s inimitable blend of tenderness and wicked humor, Deep House moves through the couple’s string of rented apartments while unlocking doors to a lineage of gay men who have come before—smuggling a foreign partner through national checkpoints or going public to stand up for the right to get down in the privacy of their own homes. They include hapless criminals, sexpot bartenders, friars, pirates, government workers who subverted the system, activists who went all the way to the Supreme Court, and the celebrated artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Following Gay Bar—called “a rich tapestry” by Vanity Fair and “an absolute tour de force” by Maggie Nelson—Deep House juxtaposes whispered disclosures of undocumented domesticity with courtroom drama and political stunts to explore myriad forms of intimacy while questioning the mechanisms that legitimize love. Deep House is at once a historical kaleidoscope and the innermost tale of two boyfriends who made a home in the shadows of a turbulent civil rights battle.
A Recommended Book in the Washington Post, the New York Times Style Magazine, Observer, W Magazine, NBC News, E! Online, Queerty, Literary Hub, Stylist, & Dazed
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-27/jeremy-atherton-lin
Miriam’s Garden Poetry Reading: Teresa Mei Chuc, Lisbeth Coiman & Shahe Monkerian at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library – In-Person Event
Host librarian and curator Yago Cura welcomes three poets to the monthly poetry meeting held in Miriam’s Garden at the Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Library. Featured poets include:
Teresa Mei Chuc @tue_my_chuc was born in Sài Gòn, Việt Nam shortly after the Việt Nam War and grew up in Pasadena and Altadena, California on unceded Tongva Territory. Altadena Poet Laureate, Editor-in-Chief from 2018 to 2020 and a Pasadena Rose Poet since 2016, Teresa Mei Chuc is the author of three books of poetry, Invisible Light (Many Voices Press, 2018), Keeper of the Winds (FootHills Publishing, 2014) and Red Thread (Fithian Press, 2012). Her recent poetry chapbook, Incidental Takes, was published by Hummingbird Press in 2023. She is co-editor of the anthology, Convergence: Poetry on Environmental Impacts of War (Scarlet Tanager Books, 2026). Teresa is a public high school English teacher in Los Angeles in her twenty-first year of teaching.
Lisbeth Coiman @lisbethcoiman is a bilingual writer, educator, cultural commentator, and rezandera from Venezuela. She is the author of two books: I Asked the Blue Heron and Uprising/Alzamiento.
Shahe Monkerian@shahemankerian is a poet, educator, and school principal in Pasadena, California. He is the author of History of Forgetfulness, a poetry collection that explores memory, war, and identity, drawing from his childhood experiences during the Lebanese Civil War. He has dedicated much of his teaching career to elevating minority and diasporan voices in literature, guiding students to see poetry as both inheritance and responsibility. Alongside his 8th grade students at St. Gregory Hovsepian School, he curates annual public recitations that foster intergenerational dialogue through poetry and song, empowering young writers to respond to transformative narratives with their own emerging voices.
Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 2:30 pm – 4 pm
Address: 2205 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043
Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/miriams-garden-poetry-reading
Saturday Afternoon Poetry: ZZYZX WRITERZ + Poets published in Four Feathers Press at Lamanda Park Library, Pasadena – In-Person Event
Featured: Published Book Readings by: ZZYZX WRITERZ + Poets published in Four Feathers Press TURTLE ISLAND POETRY #6 (June 2026 Issue)
All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.
Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Lamanda Park Library
Date: Saturday, the 27th
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 140 S. Altadena Dr., Pasadena, CA 91107
Website: https://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Historical Fiction Book Club: Lion Women of Teheran at Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside – In-Person Event
Join participants to discuss Lion Women of Teheran by Marjan Kamali.
In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams for a friend to alleviate her isolation.
Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.”
But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.
Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.
Marjan Kamali, born in Turkey to Iranian parents, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran, The Stationery Shop, and Together Tea. She is the 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Award. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages. Marjan lives with her family in the Boston area.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 20th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-06-27/historical-fiction-book-club-lion-women-tehran
Barbara McQuade, with Todd S. Purdum, & The Fix: Saving America From the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event
Join us to welcome New York Times bestselling author and former U.S Attorney Barbara McQuade, in conversation with local author and journalist Todd S. Purdum, to discuss The Fix: Saving America From the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government and how Americans can reclaim the rule of law.
McQuade’s new book The Fix offers a piercing, urgent, and deeply informed exposé on the escalating threat of far-right politics to American democracy and national security—and a clear roadmap for how to stop it.
McQuade draws on her decades of legal experience to reveal how systems of organized crime and political opportunism exploit the levers of power—using corruption, cruelty, and chaos as tools to dominate institutions and eliminate accountability. With clarity, precision, and moral force, she exposes the tactics of today’s far-right MAGA system: information warfare, aggressive retribution, conformism enforced by fear, and pervasive dismantling of legal checks and balances necessary to defend the public interest and uphold justice.
Weaving together courtroom stories, real-time political analysis, and cautionary lessons from history and democratic backsliding abroad, McQuade makes the case that the threats we face are not future possibilities—they’re already here. Yet The Fix is not just a warning; it is a call to action. In the book’s final chapters, McQuade outlines common-sense reforms and strategies that can reclaim the rule of law and recenter democracy with the power of the people.
Accessible, eye-opening, and grounded in constitutional faith, The Fix is essential reading for everyone concerned about the future of America—and ready to work together to take a stand for it.
Barbara McQuade is a professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School, her alma mater, where she teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, and data privacy. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and a co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw. From 2010 to 2017, McQuade served as U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ms. McQuade was appointed by President Barack Obama, and was the first woman to serve in her position. Earlier in her career, she worked as a sports writer and copy editor, a judicial law clerk, an associate in private practice, and an assistant U.S. attorney. She and her husband, Dan Hurley, have four children and live in Ann Arbor.
Todd S. Purdum is a veteran journalist and author. In a career of more than forty years, he has written widely about politics and culture, starting at The New York Times, where he spent twenty-three years, covering politics from city hall to the White House, later serving as diplomatic correspondent and Los Angeles bureau chief. He has also been a staff writer at Vanity Fair, Politico, and The Atlantic. He is the author of Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television, Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution, and An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He lives in Windsor Square with his wife, the former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, with whom he has two grown children.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Saturday the 27th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
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: Sunday the 28th
Time: 11 am – 12 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Burning Issues Book Club (BIBC): Oil Beach: How Toxic Infrastructure Threatens Life in the Ports of Los Angeles and Beyond via Bel Canto Books – Online Zoom Event
Participants will discuss Oil Beach by author Christina Dunbar Hester.
Can the stories of bananas, whales, sea birds, and otters teach us to reconsider the seaport as a place of ecological violence, tied to oil, capital, and trade?
San Pedro Bay, which contains the contiguous Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, is a significant site for petroleum shipping and refining as well as one of the largest container shipping ports in the world—some forty percent of containerized imports to the United States pass through this so-called America’s Port. It is also ecologically rich. Built atop a land- and waterscape of vital importance to wildlife, the heavily industrialized Los Angeles Harbor contains estuarial wetlands, the LA River mouth, and a marine ecology where colder and warmer Pacific Ocean waters meet. In this compelling interdisciplinary investigation, award-winning author Christina Dunbar-Hester explores the complex relationships among commerce, empire, environment, and the nonhuman life forms of San Pedro Bay over the last fifty years—a period coinciding with the era of modern environmental regulation in the United States. The LA port complex is not simply a local site, Dunbar-Hester argues, but a node in a network that enables the continued expansion of capitalism, propelling trade as it drives the extraction of natural resources, labor violations, pollution, and other harms.
Where: Bel Canto Books
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
Address: Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: Withfriends Page
La Palabra Reading Series & Open Mic: Eddie M. Gana & Erick Aguinaldo at Avenue 50 Studio – In-Person Event
Host Pam Concepcion welcomes featured poets and an open mic opportunity to La Palabra Reading Series, held every 4th Sunday of the month at Avenue 50 Studio.
Erick Aguinaldo is a spoken word poet and professor, born in LA and raised in the IE. For him San Bernardino is home. He embraces the good, the bad, and the ugly. He firmly believes true power is in the people.
Eddie M. Gana is a therapist, spoken word poet, and community organizer. He hosts and curates the Sunday Jump Open Mic which is held every 1st Sunday of the month in the Pilipino Workers Center in DTLA.
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 3714 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park, CA 90065
Website: Instagram Page
Local Author Event: Desiree Zamorano, with Tisha Reichle Aguilera and Daniel Olivas, & Amarisa’s Cooking Pot at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
Join author Desiree Zamerono, and her guest authors Tisha Reichl Aguilera and Danial Olivas, to celebrate her debut short story collection, Amarisa’s Cooking Pot: Tales of Life in All Its Wonders.
Désirée Zamorano is the author of The Amado Women, published by Cinco Puntos Press, which was book-of-the-month pick for the national organization Las Comadres, an excerpt of which was published the Los Angeles Times magazine West. More recently, her stories have appeared in Huizache and her essays on the invisibility of her demographic have been in Publishers Weekly and The Toast. Her e-book, Human Cargo, was a Latinidad mystery pick of the year. She last attended the Community of Writers in 2005. www.desireezamorano.com.
Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera (she/her) writes so the desert landscape of her childhood can be heard as loudly as the urban chaos of her adulthood. A former high school teacher, she earned an MFA at Antioch University Los Angeles and a PhD at the University of Southern California. She is the author of the YA novel, Breaking Pattern (Inlandia Books), which received Honorable Mention for First Book of Fiction in English from the International Latino Book Awards, and a prose chapbook, Stories All Our Own (Bottlecap Press). Her short stories have been anthologized in Rural Writers of Color, Made in L.A. Volume 4 & 5, Ramblings & Reflections: SouthWest Writers Winning Words Anthology, and Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century. Her fiction has been nominated for Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, and was spotlighted in Best Small Fictions 2022. Her play Blind Thrust Fault was featured in Center Theater Group Writers’ Workshop Festival, and her one-act play “Temporary Arrangement” was featured in the Latinx group of Short + Sweet Festival Hollywood. She is a Macondista and works for literary equity through Women Who Submit.
Daniel A. Olivas is the grandson of Mexican immigrants, is a fiction writer, poet, playwright, book critic, and attorney. He is the author of 13 books and editor of two anthologies. Daniel’s books include Waiting for Godínez: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts (University of New Mexico Press, 2025), My Chicano Heart: New and Collected Stories of Love and Other Transgressions (University of Nevada Press, 2024), Chicano Frankenstein: A Novel (Forest Avenue Press, 2024), Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press, 2017), and Things We Do Not Talk About: Exploring Latino/a Literature through Essays and Interviews (San Diego State University Press, 2014).
Daniel’s plays have been produced for the stage or readings by Playwrights’ Arena, Circle X Theatre Company, Garry Marshall Theatre, The Road Theatre Company, the Instituto Arte Teatral Internacional (IATI), and Teatro Espejo. Widely anthologized, Daniel has written for many publications including the New York Times, The Guardian, El Paso Times, Los Angeles Times, Alta Journal, Los Angeles Review of Books, Latino Book Review, High Country News, La Bloga, Zócalo, BOMB, The Rumpus, and the Jewish Journal.
Daniel is co-editor (with Lisa Alvarez) of the University of Nevada Press’s book series, The New Oeste: Literatura Latinx of the American West in the 21st Century.
Where: The Book Jewel
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm – 4 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: Instagram Page
Latinx Book Club: Libertad at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Libertad: A Novel by Bessie Flores Zaldivar.
As the contentious 2017 presidential election looms and protests rage across every corner of the city, life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, churns louder and faster. For her part, high school senior Libertad (Libi) Morazán takes heart in writing political poetry for her anonymous Instagram account and a budding romance with someone new. But things come to a head when Mami sees texts on her phone mentioning a kiss with a girl and Libi discovers her beloved older brother, Maynor, playing a major role in the protests. As Libertad faces the political and social corruption around her, stifling homophobia at home and school, and ramped up threats to her poetry online, she begins dreaming of a future in which she doesn’t have to hide who she is or worry about someone she loves losing their life just for speaking up.
Bessie Flores Zaldivar (all pronouns) is a queer writer and educator from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They teach fiction at Quinnipiac University and are a Lambda Literary LGBTQ Writer in Schools. Bessie received her MFA in Fiction from Virginia Tech. Libertad is Bessie’s debut novel.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 2 pm – 3 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-06-28/latinx-book-club-libertad
Author Conversations Event: Vanessa Diaz at Casitas Bookstore – In-Person Event
Join us for an author conversation with Vanessa Diaz.
Vanessa Diaz is a professor at Lyola Marymount University, an author and filmmaker, and co-creator of bad bunny syllabus and PFKNRbook. She is most known for her work on Latin Music, in particular on Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.
Where: Casitas Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 272 Redondo Ave., Long Beach, CA 90803
Website: Instagram Page
A Conversation with Zahabiyah (Zabie) Yamasaki and Eileen S. Rosete at Bel Canto Books – In-Person Event
Zahabiyah (Zabie) Yamasaki, in conversation with Eileen S. Rosete, will discuss their books and the many issues surrounding personal health care.
Zahabiyah (Zabie) Yamasaki, MEd, RYT, is an award-winning trauma-informed educator, yoga trainer, and sought-after consultant and speaker, as well as the founder of Transcending Trauma through Yoga. Her work has been featured on CNN, NBC, and more. Her yoga as healing program is implemented at several universities including the University of California (UC) system, USC, Stanford, Yale, University of Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins University. She is a 7-time published author and some of her titles include: Protect Your Energy, Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors, and two children’s books: Your Joy is Beautiful and H is for Healing. Learn more at open_in_newzabieyamasaki.com and on Instagram at @transcending_trauma_with_yoga.
Eileen Santos Rosete, MSMFT, PCD(DONA), CYT 200 holds a Master of Science in marriage in family therapy from Northwestern University and is certified as a DONA International postpartum doula, trauma-informed yoga teacher, and grief educator. Eileen is known for her warmth and intuitive ability to hold space with compassion. Her platform, Our Sacred Women, is known for its elevated offerings that help women feel seen, held, and honored. She is especially passionate about supporting all who give birth and are postpartum—both after live births and after loss—as well as offering education and training to help others hold space for the tender intersection of postpartum care, grief, and trauma. Her work is inspired by simple yet profound moments of feeling witnessed and at ease in her body, and her longing to help others feel the same.
Where: Bel Canto Books, KUBO LB
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: KUBO LB, 3976 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807
Website: Withfriends Page
Zillennial Book Club: Swordcrossed at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event
Participants will discuss Swordcrossed by Freya Marske.
Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.
What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.
Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.
However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?
Freya Marske is a USA Today bestselling author and has been nominated for two Hugo Awards. Her books include Swordcrossed and A Marvellous Light, which was an international bestseller and won the Romantic Novel Award for Fantasy. She lives in Australia.
Where: Cellar Door Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Suite B, Riverside, CA 92508
Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-06-28/zillennial-book-club-swordcrossed
Condensed Book Club: The Veldt by Ray Bradbury at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event
Book clubs can be intimidating, especially when you haven’t finished the book. That’s why we’ve created a Condensed Book Club, where we read short stories together, and discuss. No prior reading required. All you have to do is show up. All the thoughtful discussion of a traditional book club with none of the pressure.
For our June meeting, we’ll be reading “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury from the collection The Illustrated Man.
RVSP by clicking at website link!
Dylan Joyner is a writer, curator, and native Angeleno. She brings a deep and rich love for the city of Los Angeles to her work. Dylan is interested in narrative traditions, whether expressed in written, oral or visual form, for the space they allow for personal inquiry and connection. She believes that free, in-person creative and educational opportunities are indispensable, and that they equip community members with the tools they need to build meaningful connections.
Where: Village Well Books & Coffee
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 9900 Culver Blvd. #1B, Culver City, CA 90232
Website: Event Page
Local Authors Day: Introducing Brian W. Armstrong and Dan Joyce at Vroman’s – In-Person Event
Brian W. Armstrong and Dan Joyce will present and discuss their books: Templar Quest for the Holy Grailand Have You Taken Your Meds Part 1, respectively.
Brian W. Armstrong presents Templar Quest for the Holy Grail.
Step into a sweeping historical epic where faith, destiny, and valor collide. Templar Quest for the Holy Grail follows Laird Kelan Armstrong—a warrior monk of the Knights Templar—on a perilous journey from the Scottish borderlands to the heart of Jerusalem. Amid the brutality of the Third Crusade, Kelan must confront his past, protect the sacred, and choose between love and duty. Inspired by real events and richly woven with legend, this gripping tale invites you into a world where the Holy Grail is more than a relic—it’s a test of the soul.
Dan Joyce presents Have You Taken Your Meds? Part 1.
Have You Taken Your Meds? Part 1 is an illustrated autobiographical graphic novel by Dan Joyce exploring mental illness, addiction, homelessness, family conflict, and survival with humor, raw honesty, and surreal imagination Through art, storytelling, and dark comedy, Joyce invites readers into a chaotic yet journey understanding, recovery, and hope.
Where: Vroman’s
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-06-28/local-author-day
Village Poets Monthly Reading Series & Open Mic: Judith Pacht & Joe Decenzo at Bolton Hall Museum, Tujunga – In-Person Event
The Village Poets Monthly Readings are usually held on the 4th Sunday of the month, at 4:30 p.m., at Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Avenue, Tujunga, CA 91042.
The readings include 2 featured poets (20 min. for each poet) and 2 open mic segments. Refreshments are served and donations collected also go for the cost of the venue, the second historical landmark in the City of Los Angeles, that celebrated its centennial in 2013. The Museum is managed by the Little Landers Historical Society. Extra Parking available across the street in the Elks Club parking lot, 10137 Commerce Ave.
Judith Pacht’s third full-length book Precarious was published by Giant Claw Press in 2025. Her recent books include Infirmary for a Private Soul (Tebot Bach) and A Cumulus Fiction (Finishing Line Press). Her book Summer Hunger (Tebot Bach), won the 2011 PEN Southwest Book Award for Poetry. Earlier chapbooks include User’s Guide, St. Louis Suite (Finishing Line Press), and Falcon.
Joe Decenzo grew up in Los Angeles and majored in theater and English Literature. From 2004-06 he served as poet laureate of Sunland-Tujunga. He produced the Shouting Coyote performing arts festival and was a Department of Cultural Affairs grant recipient. His published works include The Ballad of Alley and Hawk and the Study Guide and Poetry Primer. His poems appeared in Meditations on Divine Names anthology (2012).
Joe currently serves on the planning committee for the Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga and as Chair of Poet Laureate Search Committee.
Where: Bolton Hall Museum
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: 10110 Commerce Avenue, Tujunga, CA 91042
Website: https://villagepoets.blogspot.com
Earth Seed Symposium: A Speculative Fiction Book Club: The Gilda Stories at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event
Join participants to discuss The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez.
First published in 1991, The Gilda Stories is a groundbreaking speculative fiction vampire novel that begins in 1850s Louisiana, where a young Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who “shares the blood” by two women there, Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home. Taking only blood as sustenance, killing as a last resort, Gilda moves through the centuries up to the dystopian future of 2050. Gomez’s classic, with a Black lesbian heroine, has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of Blackness, radical ecology, redefinitions of family, and the erotic potential of the vampire story.
Where: North Figueroa Bookshop
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 6040 N. Figuroa St., Los Angeles, CA, 90042
The Witching Hour Poetry Show & Open Mic by Lit Girl at The Glendale Room – In-Person Event
Join Lit Girl every 4th Sunday for the Witching Hour Poetry Show & Open Mic at The Glendale Room.
Cast your spell!
RSVP: Tickets on Eventbrite.
Where: The Glendale Room
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 127 N. Artsakh Ave., Glendale CA 91206
Website: https://www.theglendaleroom.com/calendar
Historical Romance Book Club: After Hours at Dooryard Books at The Ripped Bodice LA – In-Person Event
Join us for the June Historical Romance book club discussion of After Hours at Dooryard Books by author Cat Sebastian. This meeting will be led by orders manager Katie S. and everyone is welcome.
This event reads all historical romance titles. All eras, both new and old.
RSVP
Where: The Ripped Bodice, LA
Date: Sunday the 28th
Time: 7:15 pm
Address: 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA, 90323
Los Angeles Literature 