Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/19/26 – 10/25/26

Philosophical Horror Book Club: Blood Slaves at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Blood Slaves: Deluxe Stenciled Edges (The Blood Saga #1) by Markus Redmond.

In the Province of Carolina, in 1710, freedom seems unattainable for Willie, for his beloved Gertie, and for their unborn child. They live, suffer, and toil under their brutal master, James “Big Jim” Barrow, whose grand plantation was built by the blood, sweat, and tears of the enslaved. To flee this hell on earth is to be hunted and killed—until one strange night Willie is offered a dark hope by Rafazi, an enigmatic slave with an irresistible and blood-chilling path to liberation.

Hailing from the Kingdom of Ghana, Rafazi is the lone survivor of the Ramanga, an African vampire tribe rendered nearly extinct by plague. Rafazi has roamed the world for centuries with an undying desire to replenish the power that once defined his heritage. In Willie, Rafazi has found his first biddable subject to be turned and to help in a hungry revolt. And Willie desires nothing more than to free his people from malicious bondage. Whatever it takes.

One by one, as an army of blood slaves thirsting for revenge is gathered, the headstrong Gertie fears that no good can come from the vampiric legacy that courses through Rafazi’s veins. Willie knows that only evil can fight evil. And when the woman he loves stands between the reemergence of the Ramanga and the justified slaughter of the oppressors, Willie must make an irreversible decision. Only one thing is certain: on the Barrow plantation, and beyond, blood will spill.

Markus Redmond is an actor, director, screenwriter, and author. Known for his roles on Doogie Howser, MD, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Mad About You, Angel, and Fight Club, he wrote and starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone in the indie film If I Had Known I Was a Genius. He wrote, directed, and starred in the Amazon Prime thriller The 6th Degree, and has multiple screenplays in development. He lives in Los Angeles and Blood Slaves is his first novel.

Where: Cellar Door Books & Coffee

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-19/philosophical-horror-book-club-blood-slaves

Robertson Readers Book Club: Hello Beautiful at Robertson Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please join us every month for an engaging book discussion! New members are always welcome. If you would like to find out about this month’s book selection or need more information, please email us at rbrtsn@lapl.org. Books will be available for checkout at the Circulation Desk and during the meeting.

Oct. 19: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.

Where: Robertson Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

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

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/robertson-readers-book-club-0

Los Feliz Writers: Shut Up and Write in Los Feliz at Sidewalk Grill – In-Person Event

Looking for some dedicated writing time? Come by our weekly neighborhood meetups:

Mondays @ 6:45 pm – 8 pm at Sidewalk Grill (NEW)

Wednesdays @ 6:45 – 8 pm at Bar Alcove & Bakery

All writers and all experience levels are welcome!

We’re starting a Shut Up and Write event on Mondays too, thanks to @jack_andcat.

Hosted by @literarypixie!

RSVP at link in bio.

Where: Sidewalk Grill

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 6:45 pm – 8 pm

Address: 1727 N. Vermont Ave. #102, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: Instagram Page

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!

Where: Back to the Grind, Riverside

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501

Website: Facebook Event Page

ALOUD LFLA Reading Series: Kimberlé Crenshaw, with Chandra Bhatnager, & Backtalker: An American Memoir at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

ALOUD and ACLU of Southern California present an urgent and inspiring conversation with visionary legal scholar and writer Kimberlé Crenshaw and ACLU of SoCal Executive Director Chandra Bhatnagar to discuss Crenshaw’s new memoir. Charting her extraordinary journey from precocious child to one of the most influential thinkers of our time, Backtalker reveals the defining personal experiences that shaped her groundbreaking work on critical race theory and intersectionality—a term she coined in 1989 to shed light on how overlapping forms of inequality rooted in gender, race, and class shape lived experiences.

Where: Central Library, LAPL, Mark Taper Auditorium

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: Eventbrite Page

Nafissa Thompson, with Aimee Bender, & The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford at Reparations Club – In-Person Event

Nafissa Thompson, in conversation with Aimee Bender, will discuss The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford.

From the author of the multi-award-winning, national book award–longlisted, “vivid, fast, funny, way-smart, and verbally inventive” (George Saunders) story collection, Heads of the Colored People, comes a sly, spry, tall tale of a debut novel about the murder of an infamous moonshiner and the cacophony of true stories a small town can tell about itself.

RICH MILFORD IS DEAD. AT LAST.

We find ourselves in Oklahoma, just far enough out of Tulsa, just long enough after the Massacre of 1921. For as long as anyone can remember, the Milfords have led plentiful lives on the backs of the townspeople of Newville. Now, on the ominous brink of the Great Depression and at the height of Prohibition, Richard Milford is an infamous moonshiner and womanizer and, it seems, finally crossed the wrong person at the wrong time. He’s dead and buried with no one but his women to mourn him but a question remains: who killed him, and why?

Top suspects are his four “wives,” Lally, Sophronia, Georgette, and Vivianne. But as their stories burst to light in a volley of competing narratives, the very idea of a true story comes apart before our eyes.

In an electric follow-up to her beloved and critically acclaimed debut collection, Nafissa Thompson-Spires once again serves up a brilliant distillation of front-of-mind happenings—think, cults of personality, capitalism run amok in politics, and rampant societal distrust—this time magicked into taut historical fiction structured as a stupefying line dance. In her uniquely powerful, humorous manner, Thompson-Spires takes on the interdependent clash of the traditional and the new-fangled in this genre-bending, gob-smackingly excellent debut.

Nafissa Thompson-Spires is the author of the award-winning, National Book Award longlisted short story collection, Heads of the Colored People. She earned a doctorate in English from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Illinois. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in The Paris Review Daily, New York magazine’s “The Cut,” The Root, The White Review, Ploughshares, 400 Souls: A Community History of African America 1619–2019,and The 1619 Project, among other publications. In addition to a debut novel, The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Rich Milford, her young adult debut is forthcoming. She is the recipient of a 2024 United States Artists Grant and a 2019 Whiting Award.

Where: Reparations Club

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016

Website: Eventbrite Page

SMPL Virtual Book Group: Hostage via SMPL – Online Event

This community-led, book discussion group meets virtually at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of the month. This group discusses a wide range of books, chosen by the members.

Titles include:

October 19, 2026: Hostage by Eli Sharibi.

RSVP

Where: SMPL Virtual Program

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: Santa Monica Library Event Page

Alexander Maksik, with Scott Burton, & Passengers at Skylight – In-Person Event

Alexander Maksik, in conversation with Scott Burton, will discuss Passengers: A Novel.

A taut, emotionally gripping, and surprisingly funny novel about a father and daughter stranded in an airport at the end of the world. 

Ivan is a solitary man in his seventies, set in his ways and haunted by the failures of his past. His smart and cynical daughter, Nina, is in the twilight of her twenties and has long kept a distance from her sentimental father. But when Ivan proposes a trip to Europe in hopes that it will bring them closer together, Nina reluctantly agrees. They meet at LAX, where their departure is delayed. And delayed again. And again. As the hours drag on, their sharp, caustic and wide-ranging conversation reveals a lifetime of misunderstandings, unhealed wounds, and stubborn love.

Soon more flights are canceled, security tightens, airport staff grow evasive, and it becomes clear to Ivan and Nina that something is wrong. They begin to suspect that they’re being held prisoner—sequestered from the world without explanation. At last, the surreal starts to overtake the mundane, and their need to escape—and to protect each other—turns increasingly urgent.

What begins as a piercing portrait of a father and daughter becomes a novel of eerie suspense, as Nina and Ivan navigate not only their fractured bond but also a world teetering on the brink of collapse. A story of loving across gaps—between parent and child, between things said and unsaid—and about what happens when the outside world finally mirrors the chaos within, Passengers is Maksik’s most timely and accomplished novel yet.

Alexander Maksik is the author of You Deserve Nothing, a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller; A Marker to Measure Drift, which was a New York Times Notable Book, as well as a finalist for the William Saroyan Prize and Le Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, and the basis of the 2023 motion picture Drift; Shelter in Place, named one of the best books of the year by the Guardian and the San Francisco Chronicle; and The Long Corner, a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, and named one of the best books of the year by The Australian. Maksik is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize and The Sewanee Review’s Andrew Lytle Prize. His books have been translated into a dozen languages.

Scott Burton works for the San Diego Public Library. He has previously published author interviews in the LA Review of Books.

RSVP

Where: Skylight

Date: Monday the 19^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-19/alexander-maksik-w-scott-burton-passengers

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 19^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)

Website: Beyond Baroque Event 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 20^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: Event Page

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

Join us in October as we discuss Whistler by Ann Patchett Tuesdays, October 13, 20, and 27. Please contact Marta Wiggins at mwiggins@library.lacounty.gov for your link to join the discussion. For Adults.

The Virtual Book Club meets weekly and discusses section of the book each week. In October we will not meet on Tuesday, October 6 and will begin discussion of the book on Tuesday, October 13.

Tuesday, October 20 — Chapters 3 & 4 — Pages 142 – 233

Tuesday, October 27 — Chapters 5 – 7 — Pages 234 to the end of the book.

When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again.

Whistler is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. It’s a story about bravery, memory, the often small yet consequential moments that define our lives, and the endless stream of loss that in time comes for us all. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is ultimately about how love endures, and how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything. From the Publisher

Where: La Crescenta Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17327534

Bestsellers Book Club: House in the Pine at Stevenson Ranch Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us to discuss House in the Pines by Aba Reyes. For adults

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d started spending time with that summer. Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin.

Where: Stevenson Ranch Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 12 pm – 1 pm

Address: 25950 The Old Rd., Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17418754

Boardwalk Bookworms at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Join us on the third Tuesday of each month for an engaging discussion of our current book selection. Copies are available for borrowing at the front desk.

October 20: A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage.

Where: Venice Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Address: 501 S. Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/boardwalk-bookworms

Tuesday Afternoon Book Club: Pudd’nhead Wilson at Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Join us on the third Tuesday of each month to discuss our current book selection. New members are always welcome. Books are available at the reference desk.

October 20: Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain.

Where: Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 1 pm – 2 pm

Address: 501 S. Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/tuesday-afternoon-book-club-5

Before the Ban Book Club: Banned Together (Weekday Meeting) at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights by Ashley Hope Perez and Debbie Fong.

A dazzling YA anthology that spotlights the transformative power of books while equipping teens to fight for the freedom to read, featuring the voices of 15 diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators.

Books are disappearing from shelves across the country. What does this mean for authors, illustrators, and—most crucially—for young readers?

This bold collection of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres explores book bans through various lenses, and empowers teens to fight back. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, fifteen legendary YA authors and illustrators confront the high-stakes question of what is lost when books are kept from teens.

Ashley Hope Pérez grew up in Texas and is the author of three award-winning novels for young adults, including Out of Darkness, which received a Printz Honor and the Tomás Rivera Book Award—and was one of the top ten most banned books of 2021. Ashley is a former high school teacher and an assistant professor of world literatures at The Ohio State University. In 2023, Ashley was a part of PEN America’s lawsuit against Escambia County, Florida. She lives in Columbus with her two sons; find her online at http://www.ashleyperez.com.

Debbie Fong is an Ignatz-nominated cartoonist, illustrator, and author living in Brooklyn, NY. She is the author/illustrator of Next Stop, and the illustrator of What Can I Say? and How to Be a Person by Catherine Newman. Debbie is the artist behind POMMO Press, an online shop where she sells colorful prints, stationery, and other fun goods. Find her online at http://www.debbiefong.com and @pommopress.

Where: Cellar Door Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 1 pm – 2 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-20/ban-book-club-banned-together-weekday-meeting

Naughty Novel Society Romance eBook Club: God of Fury at Lawndale Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Explore the Romance genre and learn about all the digital resources the library has to offer with this unique book club. We will be primarily utilizing the free digital resources Libby and Hoopla with limited hard copies available. For ages 18+.

October’s Pick: God of Fury by Rina Kent. Available on Hoopla in eAudiobook and eBook format. Limited copies available at the library.

Refreshments will be served.

Where: Lawndale Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 14615 Burin Ave., Lawndale, CA 90260

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17216999

Book Club: The Mystery Guest at Pico Rivera Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join the Pico Rivera Library Book Club as they discuss The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, the second book in the Molly the Maid series. For adults.

Molly Gray has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead on the hotel’s tearoom floor. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste.

Where: Pico Rivera Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 9001 Mines Ave., Pico Rivera, CA 90660

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17035545

Adult Book Club: Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books at Baldwin Park Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join the Adult Book Club for a discussion of our latest selection Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller. For Adults

When Lula Dean, trying to rid public libraries of “pornographic” books, starts her own lending library in front of her home, Lindsay, the daughter of Lula’s arch nemesis, sneaks in nightly, secretly filling it with banned books wrapped in “wholesome” dust jackets, changing the lives of those who borrow them in unexpected ways.

Copies of the Adult Book Club books will be available for pick-up at the Baldwin Park Library one month prior to the book club meeting date, so please drop by Baldwin Park Library to pick up a copy or check the catalog for a digital copy.

Attendance is limited, and advance registration is required.

Where: Baldwin Park Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 4181 Baldwin Park Blvd., Baldwin Park, CA 91706

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17474638

Classic Detectives Book Club: The Moving Toyshop at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss The Moving Toyshop (The Gervase Fen Mysteries) by Edmund Crispin.

When a poet, Richard Cadogan, receives an unexpected £50 advance from his publisher for his new poetry book, he decides to go to Oxford for a well-deserved holiday. The change of scenery and peace of mind is what he needs to recover his inspiration for writing. Little does he know that what he envisioned as a leisurely time spent on long walks and visiting friends will turn into a mystery solving adventure full of unexpected and dangerous twists.

After an eventful train journey, Cadogan arrives in Oxford late at night only to realize that he has forgotten the exact address of his stay. Relying on a distant memory of the place he boarded in years ago he accidentally enters a toyshop where, to his surprise and fright, he finds the dead body of a women. Before he knows it, he is knocked out and spends his first night of the holidays locked in the backroom of the shop. When he finally recovers from the concussion, the body is gone, the toyshop has turned mysteriously into a grocery store, and Cadogan himself is accused of trespassing and stealing food.

Luckily for the puzzled poet his old university friend, the professor of literature, Gervase Fen is there ready to plunge into the midst of this mystery.

Where: Cellar Door Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-20/classic-detectives-book-club-moving-toyshop

Book Club Tuesdays: Listen for the Lie at Hollydale Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us this month for a facilitated discussion of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera. Copies of the current title are available to check-out at the customer service desk while supplies last. For Adults.

Where: Hollydale Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address:12000 Garfield Ave, South Gate, CA 90280

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17500158

Third Tuesday Book Club: My Friends at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please join us to discuss My Friends by Frederick Backman. New members are welcome.

Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 6400 Playa Vista Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90094

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/3rd-tuesday-book-club-9

Cal Hoffman, with Arye Gross, & Judah Can’t Tell at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event

Cal Hoffman, in conversation with Arye Gross, will discuss Judah Can’t Tell.

On the morning a powerful US senator is accused of a long-buried sexual scandal, his son Harris wakes to a world suddenly unrecognizable. A journalist, husband, and father, Harris has built his life on reason, responsibility, and restraint. But as headlines spread and reputations unravel, he is pulled back into the unresolved gravity of his childhood—into memories of political ambition, parental absence, and a father whose public idealism shaped Harris’s private life in ways he is only beginning to understand.

Opening on a single charged day—as Harris navigates work, marriage, parenthood, and a culture hungry for judgment—Judah Can’t Tell becomes a powerful meditation on power, consent, masculinity, and moral inheritance. What do we owe the people we love when the truth threatens to destroy them? And what do we owe our children when silence feels safer than honesty?

Written with emotional acuity and moral clarity, Judah Can’t Tell is a timely, deeply human novel about reckoning—personal, political, and generational.

Cal Hoffman is the author of Easy to Slip, the acclaimed debut novel. He graduated from Catholic University and attended Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the MFA Fiction Writing Program at Columbia University. He taught English and creative writing, and as an actor performed in regional theater across the country, starring in the acclaimed New York revival of Jules Feiffer’s play, Elliot Loves. Cal lives with his wife, Victoria Leacock Hoffman, and their son, Harry, in Washington, DC.

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

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

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-10-20/cal-hoffman-judah-cant-tell

Original Book Club: Song of Solomon at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Our longest running book club! We read mostly contemporary fiction with the occasional non-fic thrown in. To join our mailing list, please email events@villagewell.com.

This October’s pick is Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years.

Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. As Morrison follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, she introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized Black world.

Reserve your seat at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Book Soup & Consulate of Ireland Present: Sally Hayden, with Ky Henderson, & Signing This Is Also a Love Story at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Sally Hayden, in conversation with Ky Henderson, will discuss and sign Signing This Is Also a Love Story: A Reporter’s Search for Goodness in a Cruel World.

Meet Taylor, 2003. She’s a teen who came to Nashville with blisters on her fingers from learning to play a 12-string guitar. In every room she enters, she’s the youngest person (by decades) and often the only woman. And if anyone asked if she could see herself becoming the biggest superstar on the planet, her answer probably would have been yes.

Writing alongside industry veterans after school, Taylor Swift’s songwriting ability set her apart. But her origins are more complex than a teen tapping into a new generation of country music fans. It’s a story of taking risks, like walking away from powerhouse label RCA to strike out with an unknown, unfunded new label, and of trusting her instincts when no one else did.

Washington Post reporter Emily Yahr pulls back the curtain on the country music industry—from executives who said yes to Taylor (and those who regret saying no), to collaborators like Scott Borchetta, Nathan Chapman, and Liz Rose, to Nashville itself. Intimate and immersive, Yahr takes us to iconic locations like Music Row and The Bluebird Cafe, as well as to Hendersonville High and the Swifts’ own lakefront house.

Taylor Swift: The Debut Years tells the definitive origin story of today’s biggest star, with never-before-published interviews. Taylor’s decade in Nashville shaped her as a musician, and ultimately changed country music itself long after she left the genre.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-20/sally-hayden

North Fig Book Club: Ultramarine at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event

Join us to discuss Ultramarine by Mariette Navarro.

Where: North Figueroa Bookshop

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-be2e35c7-560e-454f-97df-ad0e95dfb984

Romance Book Club at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event

Meets monthly, generally on the third Tuesday at 7:00 pm.

We read new release mysteries. Book selection is done by email voting prior to each meeting so that the following month’s book will be available at the preceding month’s meeting.

Facilitated by Lisa Becker

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-20/romance-book-club

Alicia Malone, with Ben Mankiewicz, & Murder at the Movies at Skylight – In-Person Event

Alicia Malone, in conversation with Ben Mankiewicz, will present and discuss Murder at the Movies.

A Hitchcock movie screening turns fatal when a recent transplant to New England discovers a dead body on opening night of the movie palace she’s just inherited. A thrilling first entry in a cozy mystery series by Turner Classic Movies host Alicia Malone.

When Audrey Sullivan moves to Pine Island to take over her family’s theater, the Starlight Movie Palace, following the death of her grandmother, not everyone is thrilled with her arrival. A mysterious note is left at her doorstep telling her to return to L.A. While she’s a little spooked, Audrey is all the more determined to make opening night a success. But when the movie ends and the lights go on, there’s more than popcorn to clean up.

Liam Ross, a wealthy and ruthless real estate developer, is found dead in the theater. The local police insist on shutting down the Starlight until they complete their investigation. With the theater’s future on the line, Audrey takes it upon herself to solve Liam’s murder. But in a town where everyone is a suspect, where does she begin?

Alicia Malone is a host on Turner Classic Movies and an authority on classic, independent, and foreign films. She is particularly passionate about supporting women in film and has given two TEDx talks on the accomplishments and obstacles women have faced throughout cinema’s history. Malone began her television career in her native Australia, working behind the scenes. Her expertise in film led to her transition as a host, interviewer, and film critic for television, radio, print, and online. She has appeared as a film expert on a variety of TV channels and programs, including CNN’s The Movies documentary series, MSNBC, Access Hollywood, E!, Entertainment Tonight, MTV, and ABC.

Ben Mankiewicz is the primetime host of Turner Classic Movies. During his career at TCM, he has introduced thousands of movies on the air. Additionally, he’s become one of the best interviewers in the business, leading thoughtful and entertaining long-form conversations with more than two hundred of the industry’s top talents.

RSVP

Where: Skylight

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-20/alicia-malone-w-ben-mankiewicz-murder-movies

At Dynasty Typewriter: Erika Lust, with Gigi Fong, & Lust, Pleasure, Performance, Power at Dynasty Typewriter – In-Person Event

Erika Lust, in conversation with Gigi Fong, takes a bold look at the unexpected ways porn shapes our lives, with a feminist defense, drawn from Erika Lust’s decades in adult filmmaking, that argues for a more ethical porn that can transform sexual politics.

For more than two decades, Erika Lust has been pushing back against shame and stereotypes, building a new kind of adult cinema―one that is feminist, ethical, and deeply human. In Lust: Pleasure, Performance, Power, she tells the story of how a shy “good girl” from Sweden came to create one of the most talked-about studios in the world. She takes us behind the scenes of her films, where every detail matters: the casting, the consent talks, the way a set can feel safe, playful, and alive. We meet performers who are treated as collaborators, not objects, and glimpse the passion and chaos of making art about sex.

Lust makes the provocative argument that porn is not the root of society’s problems but a mirror of them. Instead of scapegoating it and missing the chance to address those problems, Erika offers pragmatic solutions for how we can develop and improve the industry. She rejects censorship and moral-panic legislation, which history shows only makes things worse, and instead points to the power of telling more complex, nuanced stories of sex and gender. While sharing openly about her experience as a director, Erika argues that pleasure is not shameful or frivolous but a basic right, and that questions of sexuality and representation are inseparable from our broader culture and politics.

Raw, passionate, and inspiring, Lust is a manifesto for anyone who has ever felt ashamed of desire, as well as a reminder that telling the truth about sex can change the world.

*NOTICE: This event features explicit adult entertainment, including depictions of sexual acts and nudity. This content is intended solely for consenting adults. If you find such material offensive, inappropriate, or triggering, please do not enter. Attendees assume all responsibility for their decision to view this media.

Erika Lust is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and entrepreneur whose work has redefined erotic cinema for the 21st century. As the founder of Erika Lust Films, she has spent two decades pioneering ethical, feminist pornography that celebrates pleasure, consent, and diversity. Her films have been featured at film festivals worldwide and praised by The Guardian, The New York Times, Vogue, and Elle for their artistic and cultural impact. Erika is a TEDx speaker and a leading voice in the global conversation on sexuality, feminism, and media ethics. Born in Sweden and based in Barcelona, she continues to create provocative, visually rich work that challenges taboos and inspires dialogue about desire and human connection.

Gigi Fong is a prominent sex journalist and former sex worker based in Chicago and Los Angeles. She is currently a Sex and Wellness Staff Writer for VICE and produces the TABOO newsletter, which focuses on sex, intimacy, and modern dating culture. Before her work at VICE, she wrote for publications such as Lovehoney, Hypebae, Good Vibrations, and Tryst. Gigi has reviewed more than 100 sex toys and produced high-volume, deeply researched content in the intimacy and wellness space, striving to make her content informative, inclusive, and genuinely useful for readers.

RSVP

Where: Dynasty Typewriter

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 2511 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-20/dynasty-typewriter-erika-lust-w-gigi-fong-lust

John Stephens & Age of Fury at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

John Stephens will discuss and sign Age of Fury.

In Gilded Age New York, a fierce seventeen-year-old Irish girl joins forces with a notorious gangster to hunt down her sister’s killer. Told from both perspectives, their search for justice pulls them from the city’s darkest corners to glittering ballrooms, where a secret can mean death, and love comes at a perilous price.

Two unlikely allies must venture into dangerous places—perhaps into each other’s arms—to solve a brutal crime.

Caitlin

Mary, my darling twin. I came on the instant of getting your letter. Leaving home in Ireland, crossing the ocean and still arriving too late. Because you’re gone. Murdered and left in a dark alley! But I will avenge you, my love. I swear it. Even if I must make a deal with the devil. Or, in this case, the most blood-soaked gangster in New York.

William

There is blood on my hands I cannot wash away. But if finding this girl’s killer proves that I am more than the dark thing inside me, more than a monster, then I will. Only I did not foresee Caitlin. Now I have to make a choice. About who I am, who I will be, and who I love.

A producer, director, and writer for shows like Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, The O.C., and Gotham turns his attention to the underbelly of Gilded Age New York in this riveting suspense novel that blends tension and humanity—and deftly showcases a heart-stirring exploration of truth, identity, and love.

John Stephens is a veteran of many highly successful TV shows for teens. He was a writer for Gilmore Girls, producer for The O.C., and executive producer of Gossip Girl and Gotham. He is also the New York Times bestselling author of the middle-grade fantasy trilogy Books of Beginning. He lives with his family in Pasadena, California.

RSVP

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Tuesday the 20^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-20/john-stephens

Tuesday Night Café (Year 28) The Season Closer Features & Open Mic at Union Center for the Arts – In-Person Event

Well, it’s here. Last chance to catch Tuesday Night Cafe until April 2027. We’ve got a punk band, pole dancing, way more vendors than usual, and hopefully really cooperative weather. Make your plans.

FEATURING:

Traci Akemi Kato-kiriyama (@traciakemi1) is a Los Angeles-based author, writer, performer, artivist (artist-activist), and community organizer. Also, author of Navigating With(out) Instruments.

The Sacred (@thesacred.losangeles) is an LA punk rock band known for a raw, Dangerhouse-style sound reminiscent of classic West Coast punk.

Jontha Links (@jonthalinks) is an indie acoustic and alternative pop band and music project based in Los Angeles, California (specifically active around Silver Lake and Little Tokyo.

Ameliabee (@ameliabee ) is an ASMR video creator with over 2,620 subscribers.

@ellis.speakin.words

@thatflypinay.

VENDORS

@narugit

@kenjiliu.art

@lilichin_art

Where: Union Center for the Arts

Date: Tuesday, the 20^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Website: Instagram Page

Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest Gary Grossman, plus Open Reading – Online Zoom Event

Cobalt Poets Reading & Open Mic and host Rick Lupert will welcome guest Gary Grossman, plus an Open Reading online.

Gary Grossman is a professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Georgia and lives in Athens. His poems, short fiction, and essays have appeared in forty-seven literary reviews. His work was nominated for The Best Small Fictions and for the Pushcart Prize for 2023. For ten years, Gary wrote “Ask Dr. Trout” for American Angler Magazine. He is a lover of people, nature, productive gardens, fishing, and the ukulele. He has published two books of poetry: What I Meant to Say Was… and Lyrical Years. In 2023, he released a graphic memoir, My Life in Fish—One Scientist’s Journey.

Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event

Date: Tuesday, the 20^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

Website: Cobalt Event Page

Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic: SLAM Bight Qualifier #2 at Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center – In-Person Event

The nation’s largest weekly spoken word Open Mic event is 28 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.

Hosted by Matthew Cuban Hernandez.

With ALWAYZ.

$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. See website link for details.

Where: The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center

Date: Tuesday, the 20^th

Time: 9 pm – 11 pm (Doors at 8:15 pm)

Address: 4305 Degnan Blvd. #101, Los Angeles, CA 90008

Website: Instagram Page

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 9 am – 10 am

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

Website: Event Page

Coffee Time Book Club: at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event

COFFEE TIME BOOK CLUB: Meets monthly, generally on third Wednesday of each month at 10:00am

We tend to read new release literary fiction. At each meeting we discuss and vote on what we will read and discuss for the following month.

Facilitated by Linda McLoughlin Figel

RSVP for info & title.

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-21/coffee-time-book-club

Book Club for Adults: The Paris Library at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Join us for a lively discussion of the 2020 novel, The Paris Library by Janet Skoslien Charles.

If you are unable to attend in person, please email grnhls@lapl.org for a Zoom invite!

Where: Granada Hills Branch Library, LA\PL

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 1:30 pm – 3 pm

Address: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills CA 91344

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/book-club-paris-library

Book Club for Adults: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau at San Gabriel Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us for book club as we discuss The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Copies of this title are available at the Information Desk. For Adults – Ages 18+

From the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a dreamy reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico. When the arrival of Eduardo Lizalde sets in motion a dangerous chain of events, Carlota Moreau finds her carefully constructed world falling down around her as passion is ignited in the sweltering heat of the jungle where a motley group of monstrosities await.

Where: San Gabriel Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

Address: 500 S. Del Mar Ave., San Gabriel, CA 91776

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/16955646

Graphic Novel Workshop Andrea Bell, Karina Evens, Emma Steinkellner at Once Upon a Time – In-Person Event

Get writing, drawing, and creating!

Meet real graphic novel creators and learn the secrets to making this fun and engaging form of storytelling! Featuring creators Karina Evans, Andrea Bell, and Emma Steinkellner. Best for ages 8+.

Andrea Bell is an illustrator and comic artist who grew up playing in the northern woods of Wisconsin. Her memories of adventure, nature, and adolescent independence are reflected throughout her work. Andrea is the artist behind The Leak, the Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw trilogy, and Crumble. She currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, where she enjoys long walks, baking, and curating dance playlists.

Karina Evans is the author of Grow Up, Tahlia Wilkins! and Audrey Covington Breaks the Rules. She studied English at the University of Delaware before starting a career in the entertainment industry. Some of Karina’s favorite things include: See’s Candies, The Amazing Race, singing show tunes in the car, and volleyball. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her two mischievous cats, Sir Pounce and Taika.

Emma Steinkellner is an illustrator, writer, and cartoonist living in Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated comic Quince. She is the author and illustrator of The Okay Witch graphic novel series.

$5 RSVP required.

Where: Once Upon a Time

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: Once Upon a Time Event Page

Middle Grade Book Club: at pages: a bookstore – In-Person MG Event

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

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

Facilitated by Nedda Lewers. Please RSVP to amy@pagesabookstore.com

Facilitated by Linda McLoughlin Figel

RSVP for info & title.

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 4:30 pm – 5 pm

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-21/coffee-time-book-club

Comedic Storytelling Night at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event

After a successful run last summer, the Comedic Storytelling Night returns to Chevalier’s Books, hosted by Larchmont Village resident Michèle Haines.

Join us for an evening of engaging true stories with a comedic thread, shared by seasoned storytellers and first-time performers alike.

If you have a story to tell, sign up at the event or contact producer and host Michèle Haines on Instagram: @cheleonearth.

Come laugh, connect, and celebrate the art of storytelling with the Larchmont Village community! It’s Free.

Where: Chevalier’s

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 5:30 pm – 7 pm

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

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-10-21/comedic-storytelling-night

Rainbow Reads: Legend of the White Snake at Once Upon a Time – In-Person Teen Event

Our Rainbow Reads Book Club celebrates diversity in Young Adult books as we read books featuring various identities and stories. This is a safe space welcome to teens of all identities and allies! Join Iz and Mia for our proud book club.

In Sher Lee’s Legend of the White Snake a snake spirit transforms into a boy and must hide his true identity after falling for a headstrong prince in this lush, romantic retelling of the traditional Chinese folktale.

Best for ages 13 and up.

This is a discussion based club. Participants should come prepared to share their thoughts about that meeting’s book choice.

Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month @ 6 pm for 1 hour.

Limited space. No drop-ins. Purchase of featured book from Once Upon A Time required for RSVP.

Where: Once Upon a Time

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: Once Upon a Time Event Page

Hosted by Michelle Tea and Dopamine Books Featuring Amelia Ada, with Guests, & Hard and Glad at Stories Books & Café – In-Person LGBTQIA+ Event

Join host Michelle Tea and Dopamine Books to celebrate the release of Amelia Ada’s book Hard and Glad, with guest readers.

Amelia Ada is the author of the book-length poem Hard and Glad (Dopamine Books, 2026). Her writing has appeared widely in journals including ZYZZYVA, Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, Southwest Review, and West Branch. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. She co-hosts the podcast You Shouldn’t Let Poets Lie To You.

Alexandra Hall is from Vermont. Her debut poetry collection, Field Music (Ecco, 2020), was selected by Rosanna Warren as a winner of the National Poetry Series. She holds an MFA from New York University and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Southern California. She was the founder and editor of Tele- Magazine and co-hosted the podcast You Shouldn’t Let Poets Lie to You.

Amanfda-Faye Jimenez is a queer, fat, Blaxican writer and literary performer. She is adequately self-centered and dramatic, but surprisingly does not have a web series yet. Her rejection letter from the PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellowship said her application stood out as one of the stronger submissions. She\’s totally going to submit again someday, but in the meantime she will continue working on her craft, entertaining her 900+ Facebook friends almost daily with her astute observations, and letting her dogs kiss her on the mouth, even though everyone keeps telling her that\’s some white people shit. Other interests include intersectional feminism, cooking, dancing, palm trees, internet research, tiny dogs, and taking multiple-choice tests. She lives in Los Angeles with her person Jo and her dogs Cinder and Freyja.

Vaughn Larson N/A

Ali Liebegott is a writer and painter that currently resides in Los Angeles. She’s published four books: The Beautifully Worthless, The IHOP Papers, Cha-Ching!, and The Summer of Dead Birds. She’s the recipient of a Peabody Award, two Lambda Literary Awards and a Ferro-Grumley Award. In addition to writing, she is a painter. Her most recent show was Rooms and Other Feelings at Ochi Gallery in Los Angeles. She also writes for TV.

Brooke Palmieri is a writer and artist working at the intersection of memory, history, and transsexual alternate realities. His writing spans hundreds of years of history; the magic, mystery and deep emotion of working in archives; and the past as a supernatural encounter. Brooke has trained as a historian at the University of Pennsylvania and Oxford, and in 2017 completed a PhD in radical 17th century printing history at University College London. In 2018, Brooke founded CAMP BOOKS to promote access to queer and trans history through rare archival materials, cheap zines, and installations. His book Bargain Witch: Essays in Self-Initiation is a trans spiritual memoir about witchcraft, heresy, and working in an occult bookstore in London. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he spent fifteen years in London and currently lives in the Mojave Desert.

Brontez Purnell is an American writer, musician, dancer, and director born on July 2, 1982, in Triana, Alabama. He is known for his award-winning works, including 100 Boyfriends, which won a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, and has been active in various artistic fields since 2003, including leading the punk band The Younger Lovers and founding the Brontez Purnell Dance Company.

Thomas Renjilian is a fiction writer and poet from Scranton, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Vassar College, he holds an MFA from Oregon State University and PhD in Literature & Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. His stories and poems appear or are forthcoming in The American Poetry Review, Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, The Missouri Review, Denver Quarterly, Electric Literature, and other publications. A former managing editor of Ricochet Editions and editor-in-chief of Gold Line Press, he currently edits fiction for Joyland Magazine. His creative and scholarly work has received fellowship support from The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and Yale’s Beinecke Library. He lives in Los Angeles.

RSVP

Where: Stories Books & Café

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

Address: 1716 W. Sunset Blvd Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://www.storiesla.com/events/6485120261021

Los Feliz Writers: Shut Up and Write (2 sessions) in Los Feliz at Bar Alcove – In-Person Event

Looking for some dedicated writing time? Come by our weekly neighborhood meetups:

Mondays @ 6:45 pm – 8 pm at Sidewalk Grill (NEW)

Wednesdays @ 6:45 pm – 8 pm at Bar Alcove & Bakery

All writers and all experience levels are welcome!

We’re starting a Shut Up and Write event on Mondays too, thanks to @jack_andcat.

Hosted by @literarypixie!

RSVP at link in bio.

Where: Bar Alcove & Bakery

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 6:45 pm – 8 pm

Address: 1929 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: Instagram Page

Malibu Library Speakers Series: Jeffrey Marlow & The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea at Malibu Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Marine microbiologist and explorer Dr. Jeffrey Marlow offers a new perspective on the power and beauty of the deep sea.

The Malibu Library Speaker Series presents Marine microbiologist and explorer Dr. Jeffrey Marlow at Malibu Library on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 7 pm.

Dr. Marlow offers a new perspective on the power and beauty of the deep sea in his first book, The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea. He illuminates the ocean’s scientific marvels, including microbes that breathe metal and fish that withstand crushing pressures, as well as theories about how underwater habitats may have been the cradle of life on Earth. He will reveal the deep sea’s microbial universes, worlds within worlds that have opened new possibilities of survival in extreme environments.

Dr. Marlow is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Boston University, where his lab studies the links between microbes and their surroundings in a range of extreme environments. He has led or participated in 10 deep-sea research expeditions and worked on the science team of three of NASA’s Mars rover missions. He has served as a science advisor at the United Nations’ negotiations for the High Seas Treaty and is a member of the National Academies of Sciences New Voices leadership program. Additionally, he is a National Geographic Explorer and a fellow of The Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society.

RSVPs required. RSVP online or call Malibu Library at 310.456.6438.

Where: Malibu Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17342119

Cal Hoffman, with Penelope Ann Miller, & Judah Can’t Tell at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Cal Hoffman, in conversation with Penelope Ann Miller, will discuss Judah Can’t Tell.

On the morning a powerful US senator is accused of a long-buried sexual scandal, his son Harris wakes to a world suddenly unrecognizable.

A journalist, husband, and father, Harris has built his life on reason, responsibility, and restraint. But as headlines spread and reputations unravel, he is pulled back into the unresolved gravity of his childhood—into memories of political ambition, parental absence, and a father whose public idealism shaped Harris’s private life in ways he is only beginning to understand.

Written with emotional acuity and moral clarity, Judah Can’t Tell is a timely, deeply human novel about reckoning—personal, political, and generational.

Cal Hoffman is the author of Easy to Slip, the acclaimed debut novel. He graduated from Catholic University and attended Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the MFA Fiction Writing Program at Columbia University. He taught English and creative writing, and as an actor performed in regional theater across the country, starring in the acclaimed New York revival of Jules Feiffer’s play, Elliot Loves. Cal lives with his wife, Victoria Leacock Hoffman, and their son, Harry, in Washington, DC.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-21/cal-hoffman-penelope-ann-miller

Flash Fiction to Nonfiction Deep Dive: Daniela Gerson and David Ulin Present New Books at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event

Chevalier’s is thrilled to host Flash Fiction to Nonfiction Deep Dive: A Conversation about Storytelling Across Genres with award-winning writers Daniela Gerson and David Ulin about their new books.

The Wanderers by Daniela Gerson

Journalist Daniela Gerson met her wife, Talia Inlender, at a picnic in Los Angeles, with no idea that 75 years earlier their grandparents had lived just blocks apart in the same small Polish town. Both families fled east when war came and went on parallel 5,000-mile journeys to survive the Holocaust. After a deceptive loyalty test from Stalin, they were loaded onto cattle cars bound for a Soviet Gulag, spent years in limbo in Central Asia, and after a decade on the run built new lives on secrets and silence.

For years, the couple saw this shared history as a sign they were b’shert, meant to be, and it shaped their careers: Daniela as an immigration journalist, Talia as an immigration attorney. But as Daniela dug deeper, she learned that most Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust took this same path through the Soviet Union. This group, sometimes called “the Wanderers,” is almost entirely missing from the popular memory of World War II. Their story is also a universal one about refugees forced to make impossible choices to protect their children and find a new home.

Part genealogical detective story, part history, and part present-day reporting from contested lands stretching from Ukraine to Israel, The Wanderers follows Daniela and Talia as they uncover their families’ past and trace how one desperate journey still echoes across borders and generations.

Daniela Gerson is an award-winning reporter whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Der Spiegel, and the Financial Times. She is an associate professor of journalism at Cal State Northridge and editor-at-large at Zócalo Public Square, and previously worked at the LA Times and as an immigration reporter for the New York Sun. She co-founded the immigration newsletter Migratory Notes and lives in Los Angeles with her wife and their two children.

American Flash Fiction: An Anthology, edited by David L. Ulin

This landmark Library of America collection brings together 100 very short stories by 100 American writers, spanning more than 160 years. The range is wide: literary fiction, noir, speculative fiction, satire, surrealism, horror, humor, fables, and more. It includes Nobel, Pulitzer, and National Book Award winners like Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Alice Walker, and Tim O’Brien; crime writers like Dashiell Hammett; speculative voices from H.P. Lovecraft to Sofia Samatar; Harlem Renaissance writers including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston; and contemporary masters of the form like Lydia Davis, alongside a group of emerging writers. Along the way, it recovers the history of the very short story long before anyone called it “flash fiction.” Ulin’s introduction explores the form’s origins and range, and the book includes notes on the stories and contributors.

David L. Ulin is the author or editor of 20 books, including the novel Thirteen Question Method; Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles, shortlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay; and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, which won a California Book Award. He is the former book editor and book critic of the Los Angeles Times, and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Harper’s, The Paris Review, and The Best American Essays 2020. He also edited the Didion collection for Library of America, and he is a professor of English at the University of Southern California, where he edits the journal Air/Light.

Where: Chevalier’s

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

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

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-10-22/flash-fiction-nonfiction-deep-dive-daniela-gerson-and-david-ulin

Book Launch: Tanaïs, with Chantal Aida Gordon, & Stellar Smoke at Reparations Club – In-Person Event

Tanaïs, in conversation with Chantal Aida Gordon, will discuss Stellar Smoke.

A hypnotically original and lush speculative novel from award-winning author Tanaïs about family secrets and the mother–daughter bond across generations—ultimately blurring the boundary between past and present, human and machine.

Qamar is a musician hustling in a near-future metropolitan city. Struggling to pay rent and heartbroken after a breakup, she decides to return to the island ashram of her childhood. It’s time to finally settle the rift she has with her estranged mother, Veda—a brilliant scientist, actress, and one of the leaders of a now-dissolved cult called the Endless Temple.

But when Qamar arrives, the land is verdant yet neglected, and most troubling, there are no signs of her mother or sister, Palo. Behind a retina scan–locked door, Qamar encounters her mother’s last opus, a machine consciousness called VEDA (Virtual Experiences, Dreams and Afterlife), designed to reveal the story of Veda’s life. The descent into VEDA’s technoscape forces Qamar to confront the taboos and tragedies of their past, while bracing herself for the wild, unexpected possibilities that await.

Tanaïs (née Tanwi Nandini Islam) is a multidisciplinary artist, novelist, memoirist, and perfumer. They are the author of In Sensorium: Notes for My People, which won the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction, and offers an alternative history of South Asia through the lens of scent. Their critically acclaimed queer coming-of-age debut novel, Bright Lines, was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award, and the Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize. They studied at Vassar College and Brooklyn College, and founded the independent artisan perfume house Studio Tanaïs. Their writing and perfumes have been featured in Vogue, Vogue India, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, The Cut, The Nation, and more. They live in New York City with their husband, Mojo.

Chantal Aida Gordon is an award-winning writer and gardener. Her fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction and Vassar Review, and her journalism in T Magazine, Shondaland, Teen Vogue, and others. She’s the co-author of houseplant book How to Window Box, a guide to bringing nature into your home. Born in Brooklyn and raised in the suburbs of DC, she now lives in Northeast Los Angeles.

RSVP

Where: Reparations Club

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)

Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016

Website: Eventbrite Page

Vroman’s & The Braille Institute Present: Barbara Kingsolver & Partita at Pasadena Presbyterian Church – In-Person Event

Barbara Kingsolver will present and discuss her new novel, Patita,

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Demon Copperhead discusses her highly-anticipated new novel.

The story of a brief, passionate, life-changing love affair, wrapped up in what might be the greatest romance of all: our eternal human longing for art and beauty.

Livia Cable has made her peace with her marriage and modest livelihood in the farm country where she grew up, until a shocking phone call from an old lover shakes her to the core. Decades earlier, this man knew her as Livia Bohusz, a music conservatory student estranged from her home and family, uncertain of anything except her passion for music and promise as an extraordinary pianist. His request, now, to see her again stirs up ghosts she’s kept at bay for a lifetime.

Shifting between past and present, Livia’s decision to meet or reject the reunion means confronting step by step, in memories framed as musical dances, the experiences of childhood loss, abandonment, self-immolating passion, and perilous attachment to a man who broke her belief in love and ruptured the course of her life.

With razor-sharp acuity and deep affection, Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver’s unforgettable new novel reflects on class barriers, the risks of ambition, and the timeless power of art and how it can transform a life.

RSVP; ticketed

Where: Vroman’s Off-site at Pasadena Presbyterian Church

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)

Address: 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-21/ticketed-barbara-kingsolver

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 21^st

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: Beginner’s Luck Freestyle.

Where: Art Parlor

Date: Wednesday the 21^st

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 Rooja Mohassessy 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.

Rooja Mohassessy is an Iranian-born poet and educator. Her debut poetry collection, When Your Sky Runs Into Mine, is an Elixir Press Award winner. Her poems and prose appear in Narrative Magazine, Nimrod, Southern Humanities Review, The Rumpus, and The Adroit Journal. Her work is anthologized in Colossus: Body and California Fire & Water: A Climate Crisis Anthology. Poetry media and podcasts that feature Rooja include NPR, The Hive Poetry Collective, and The Slowdown. She is a MacDowell Fellow and serves as a poetry editor for CALYX Journal. Rooja holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Pacific University.

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

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Wednesday, the 21^st

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

Poetry Reading & Open Mic by Two Idiots Peddling Poetry with Ben Trigg & Guest: Michael Cantin at The Ugly Mug – In-Person Event

Host Ben Trigg welcomes guest Michael Cantin.

Michael Cantin is a lapsed poet calmly considering his chrysalis.

He has been published in Red Light Lit, Cadence Collective, and other publications, as well as Moon Tide Press books Lullaby of Teeth and Dark Ink.

One day he hopes for his own book to clutter your shelves.

$5 cover fee, cash only

Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange

Date: Wednesday, the 21^st

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

Address: 261 N. Glassell St., Orange, CA 92866

Website: Facebook Event Page

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: Event Page

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

This senior writing group is held on the fourth Thursday, 1 pm – 2:30 pm.

Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm

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

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

Design Your Own Graphic Novel w/ Karina Evans and Andrea Bell & Framed at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

This is a fun opportunity to design your own graphic novel! Author Karina Evans will teach the basics of writing a graphic novel script – how to think about story, characters, and scenes, and then Illustrator Andrea Bell will take attendees through the visual side and how to bring those ideas to life through drawing and creative choices. You’ll leave with your very own little graphic novel!

And be sure to pick up your very own signed copy of Framed, Karina and Andrea’s new graphic novel!

In Framed, a young middle grade graphic novel about a girl named Toby who has been wrongfully accused of throwing out other students’ art projects.

Lately, Toby has had a bad attitude. In art class, her mood goes from bad to worse when she’s given the assignment to paint something important to her. But before she can finish, she throws it out, snaps at her teacher, and is sent straight to detention. While in detention, Toby’s art teacher storms in makes a big accusation: she says Toby threw out not just her painting, but all of her classmates’ paintings, too…They were found just outside the art classroom in a trash can, and now Toby is in big trouble.

Toby knows she hasn’t been the easiest person to be around lately, but she would never vandalize her classmates’ stuff—she’s been framed! Can Toby get to the bottom of this mystery before the end of the school day, or will she find herself stuck in detention for the foreseeable future?

Karina Evans is the author of Grow Up, Tahlia Wilkins! and Audrey Covington Breaks the Rules. She studied English at the University of Delaware before starting a career in the entertainment industry. Some of Karina’s favorite things include: See’s Candies, The Amazing Race, singing show tunes in the car, and volleyball. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her two mischievous cats, Sir Pounce and Taika.

Andrea Bell is an illustrator and comic artist who grew up playing in the northern woods of Wisconsin. Her memories of adventure, nature, and adolescent independence are reflected throughout her work. Andrea is the artist behind The Leak, the Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw trilogy, and Crumble. She currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, where she enjoys long walks, baking, and curating dance playlists.

RSVP at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Poetry Night: Yesika Salgado & Marchall HS Students at JMHS Auditorium – In-Person Event

Marshall High PTSA & The Marshall English Department present:

🎤 POETRY NIGHT 🎤

Featuring performances by Marshall Students and special guest Yesika Salgado (@yesikastarr) two-time National Poetry Slam finalist, recipient of the 2020 International Latino Book Award in Poetry, and author of best-selling poetry collections, Corazón, Tesoro, Hermosa, and the forthcoming collection Mentirosa.

Entry is free.

Donations and proceeds from refreshment sales will support Marshall’s English Language Learner classrooms.

Where: John Marshall High School, JMHS Auditorium

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm

Address: 3939 Tracy St, Los Angeles, CA 90027 (Located in the Los Feliz neighborhood)

Website: Instagram Page

Notable Fiction Book Club: The Director at Ocean Park Branch Library, SMPL – In-Person Event

Participants will enjoy this community-led, monthly book discussion group when it returns to in-person meetings on the fourth Thursday of the month at the Ocean Park Branch. This book group discusses prize-winning fiction titles.

October 22, 2026: The Director by Daniel Kehlmann.

Where: Ocean Park Branch Library, SMPL

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 5:30 pm – 7 pm

Address: 2601 Main St., Santa Monica, CA90405

Website: Santa Monica Library Event Page

Cover to Cover Book Club: Before the Fall at Mid-Valley Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Before the Fall by Noah Hawley.

Copies of each month’s selection will be available for check out at the Reference Desk.

New members are always welcome!

Where: Mid-Valley Library, LAPL

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills, CA 91343

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/cover-cover-book-club-2

Between the Lines Book Club: How to Read a Book at Castaic Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. This book is about unlikely friendships and second chances.

Copies of each month’s selection will be available for check out at the Customer Service Desk.

New members are always welcome! For adults.

Where: Castaic Library, LACL

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 27971 Sloan Canyon Rd., Castaic, CA 91384

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17418812

Adaptation Book Club: Frankenstein (2025), Book & Film Discussion at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will be discussing the book and the film we watched the week prior!

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-22/adaptation-book-club-frankenstein-book-and-film-discussion

Special Author Event: Claudia Hinz & Safekeeping at pages: a bookstore– In-Person Event

Join us to welcome Claudia Hinz to present and discuss her book Safekeeping.

Safekeeping unpacks the contradictions of motherhood, the devastation of grief, the blind spots of privilege, the fuel of desire, and one’s own purpose. Safekeeping is a thoughtful, poignant novel that will remain with you long after the last page is turned.

It is 2027, and with the country embroiled in multiple international conflicts, a draft has been instituted in the United States. When Tenley Ward’s 19-year-old son draws a low lottery number, she mobilizes fellow PTA mothers in Dallas, Texas, to form the anti-draft organization MOMS—Mothers Opposing More Senselessness.

As the clock ticks down to her son being called up, Tenley is torn between her duties on the home front–three younger children and a husband who resents her time away from the family–and the need to propel MOMS into the national spotlight. Enter new volunteer Lance Corporal Leland Marks, nicknamed Privately, a Marine veteran who is struggling to adjust to life at home after combat. Privately is drawn to MOMS’ message, as well as its beautiful and charismatic leader, and though he is young enough to be her son, Tenley can’t deny the fireworks between them.

As they work together to try to garner more support for the organization before the president, currently on a national tour, arrives in Dallas in three weeks’ time, Tenley and Privately grapple with both their personal demons and their own growing attraction to each other. Neither is sure what the future holds—not for the war, the draft, or even their own next steps—but what they do know is that meeting each other has changed everything.

Claudia Hinz lives in Bend, Oregon. She graduated from Harvard and received her MA in Literature from Southern Methodist University. She worked as a television reporter for network affiliates in Northern California, Seattle, and Dallas. Her work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, Women Writers, Women’s Books, Story Magazine, The Wrath Bearing Tree, and The Manifest-Station. Her debut novel Safekeeping will be released September 30.

RSVP

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-22/special-author-event-claudia-hinz

Book Launch: Monona Wali & Sutra Americana at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Join us for a conversation with author Monona Wali as she presents her novel Sutra Americana, the decades-long story of a close-knit Indian immigrant family who, in learning to be American, a complex and exhilarating project, find the threads of their relationships unravel.

Monona will read and be in conversation with Neelanjana Banerjee, writer and Managing Editor of Kaya Press.

In 1960 S. K. Sharma, a brilliant young astrophysicist at the beginning of his academic career, has finally succeeded in bringing his wife, Sushila, from India to America. Intensely drawn to one another as star university students, the couple pursue an unlikely affair and marriage that crosses caste lines. Their sweeping, decades-long story of love, forgiveness, and coming of age takes place in a country that is both fascinated by and shuns them. The United States, with its exaltation of individualism, offers immense opportunities, but its looser sexual mores threaten to undermine the family’s happiness and devotion to one another.

As their three daughters become young women, they must navigate the tumultuous decades of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the women’s liberation movement. In their journeys of self-discovery, they upend their parents’ hold on them to craft radically new identities for themselves. As they discover their parents’ faults they grow increasingly puzzled by their devotion to one another, eventually learning how love and forgiveness have the power to overcome the most uncomfortable truths.

Monona Wali is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, and filmmaker. Her debut novel, My Blue Skin Lover, won the Independent Book Publishers Gold award for multicultural fiction. Born in Benares, India, she now lives in Los Angeles, California.

Neelanjana Banerjee’s fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared widely in journals and anthologies. She is based in Los Angeles, where she is the Managing Editor of Kaya Press, and teaches creative writing in the Asian American Studies Department at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University, and in the Literary Editing and Publishing Program at USC.

RSVP at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 6:30 pm

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

Website: Event Page

ALOUD Reading Series: Ayad Akhtar, with Fatima Asghar, & The Radiance at LFLA at Barnsdall Gallery theater Theater – In-Person Event

Join us to welcome literary phenom Ayad Akhtar, in conversation with Fatima Asghar, to discuss The Radiance.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar upends the trope of the Great American Novel in The Radiance, shining a reflection on today’s America, the fractures within, and the promise that remains in its pieces.

Centered on a writer recovering from a hit and run that leaves him torn and caught between revelation and madness, The Radiance is a novel of campus entanglement, academia and cultural warfare; of Christianity and Islam; and the play between the physical and the metaphysical.

Join ALOUD and Skylight Books for a deeper exploration of this one-of-a-kind work: a portrait not only of the present moment, but the landscape around us and our place within it.

Ayad Akhtar is a novelist and playwright. His work has been published and performed in over two dozen languages. He is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction, and an award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other honors. Akhtar is the author of the novels American Dervish, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, and Homeland Elegies, named one of 10 Best Books of 2020 by The New York Times. He has also authored the plays McNeal, Junk, Disgraced, The Who & The What, and The Invisible Hand. Akhtar was named the New York State Author in 2021.

Fatimah Asghar, author of If They Come for Us, is a poet, filmmaker, educator, and performer. They are the writer and co-creator of Brown Girls, an Emmy-nominated web series that highlights friendships between women of color. They also were a co-producer on Ms. Marvel for Disney + and wrote the episode “Time And Again.” Along with Safia Elhillo, they are the editor of Halal If You Hear Me, an anthology that celebrates Muslim writers who are also women, queer, gender-nonconforming, and/or trans.

RSVP: Ticketed

Where: Skylight Off-site at Barnsdall Gallery Theater

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: https://lfla.org/event/ayad-akhtar-he-radiance/

Ben Merlis, with Mario Caldoto Jr. & Daniel Weizman, & Bestie Boys: Licensed to Kill – 40 Years (The Great Albums) at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Ben Merlis, in conversation with Beastie Boys engineer/producer Mario Caldato Jr. and journalist Daniel Weizmann, discusses & signs Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill – 40 Years (The Great Albums).

Fight for your right to celebrate 40 years of Beastie Boys’ groundbreaking debut album—Licensed to Ill—through vivid photography, track-by-track analysis, and new interviews.

When Licensed to Ill hit the Billboard charts in 1986, it didn’t just make history—it rewrote it. The Beastie Boys’ mix of punk energy, streetwise humor, and Rick Rubin’s hard-hitting production propelled the album to become the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200 and one of the fastest-selling debuts in history. Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill – 40 Years invites you into the creative chaos that produced classics like “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” “Girls,” and “Brass Monkey.”

Beautifully packaged and timed to the album’s 40th anniversary, Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill – 40 Years offers the definitive visual history of one of hip-hop’s most influential albums—essential for fans of music, pop culture, the 1980s, and rebellion in all forms.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-22/ben-merlis-conversation-beastie-boys-engineerproducer-mario-caldato-jr-and

Book Launch: Sonny Buttar, with Emelie Pascallbeck, & The Daughters of Rosebud: A Novel at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event

Sonny Buttar, in conversation with Emelie Pascallbeck, will discuss Teacher Salma Chaudhry lives a quiet life, avoiding all attachments. But after a call from her estranged father, the protective shell she lives within starts to crack and the trauma she’s buried for eighteen years emerges.

Salma and her older sister Asma were inseparable growing up in small-town Rosebud. While Asma was bold and fearless, Salma tried to keep the peace in their fractured family. But amid their mother’s decline and their parents’ rigid expectations, Asma makes a choice that tears the family apart. The fallout changes everything—and forces Salma to choose between her sister and her parents.

Salma has spent years trying to forget. But as she recollects her past and considers reconciliation with her father, a young student opens a surprising connection to Asma’s past. In finally facing her history, Salma finds the bravery to love and hope again.

The Daughters of Rosebud is a powerful exploration of sisterhood, family loyalty, and the courage it takes to heal.

Sonny Buttar was born in Pakistan and raised in England and the American Midwest. Her first novel, The Daughters of Rosebud, is out now from Lake Union Publishing.

Emilie Pascale Beck is a transplant from Chicago who makes her home in Los Angeles, where she writes fiction, memoir, and plays. She was named a Best Emerging Writer by The Masters Review in 2024 and won the Levis Prize for Fiction in 2022. She has been a finalist for the Tennessee Williams Prize in Fiction, the Kevin McIlvoy Book Prize, and the Smith Prize in Playwriting.

Where: North Figueroa Bookshop

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

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

Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-a6298704-b4fb-4a09-8415-2096f61c8a14

Lisa Hanawlat, with Priyanka Mattoo, & I Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sex at Skylight – In-Person Event

Join us to hear Lisa Hanawlat, in conversation with Priyanka Mattoo, discuss I Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sex.

A deliciously candid and juicy exploration of platonic and romantic fixations, heartbreak, and the allure of horses.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sex marks the long-awaited return of Tuca & Bertie creator and BoJack Horseman producer/production designer Lisa Hanawalt to comics. This is the honest, silly, horny, and vulnerable memoir of a horse girl, now in her forties and reflecting back on a lifetime of obsessions.

Whether Hanawalt is confronting large life issues like whether or not to have kids, being an anxious lil freak, caring for a sick horse, revisiting childhood trauma, or dealing with a major breakup and the ensuing lustfulness—she delivers a reading experience that’s relatable, affirming, and almost always hilarious. In lush colors and kinetic lines, she charts the strange terrain of life, one bumpy, dusty horseback ride at a time.

Lisa Hanawalt is an artist and writer living in Los Angeles, CA. She is the creator of the animated series Tuca & Bertie and the production designer/producer on BoJack Horseman and Long Story Short. Lisa has published four books with Drawn & Quarterly: My Dirty Dumb Eyes, Hot Dog Taste Test, Coyote Doggirl, and I Want You. Her fifth book, I Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sex comes out later this fall.

Priyanka Mattoo is the author of the memoir Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones (Knopf, June 2024). She was formerly an agent at UTA and WME, as well as Jack Black’s partner at their production company, Electric Dynamite. Priyanka co-founded EARIOS, the women-led podcast network, and co-hosted its critically-acclaimed beauty/wellness podcast, Foxy Browns. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vulture, and The Hairpin, and her film work in festivals from Sundance to Cannes. She was raised in India, England, and Saudi Arabia before moving to the U.S. in high school, and holds degrees in Italian and Law from the University of Michigan.

RSVP

Where: Skylight

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://events.humanitix.com/rsvp-hanawalt

Deep Dive Poetry Reading with Mandy Kahn: Featuring Anders Carlson-Wee & Suzanne Lummis at The Philosophical Research Society – In-Person Event

Host Many Kahn welcomes featured artists Anders Carlson-Wee and Suzanne Lummis to read and discuss their work.

Anders Carlson-Wee is the author of Disease of Kings (W.W. Norton, 2023), The Low Passions (W.W. Norton, 2019), a New York Public Library Book Group Selection, and Dynamite (Bull City Press, 2015), winner of the Frost Place Chapbook Prize. He is the editor of the anthology Best New Poets 2024. His work has appeared in POETRY, The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Harvard Review, BuzzFeed, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Sun, The Southern Review, and many other publications. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Poets & Writers, the Camargo Foundation, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, he is the winner of the Poetry International Prize. His work has been translated into Chinese. Anders holds an MFA from Vanderbilt University.

Suzanne Lummis’s poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, The American Journal of Poetry, and three Knopf “Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets” anthologies: Poems of the American West, Killer Verse, and Monster Verse. Her collections include Idiosyncrasies (1984), In Danger (1999), and Open 24 Hours (2014), which received the Blue Lynx Poetry Prize from Lynx House Press. She teaches poetry through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, and she is the co-editor with Henry Morro of The Pacific Coast Poetry Series from Beyond Baroque Books, and the editor of its first publication, Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond. Lummis was the 2018-19 City of Los Angeles Fellow, an endowment from the Cultural Affairs Department allowing mid-career artists and writers to complete major projects.

Mandy Kahn is the author of three poetry collections. Her work has been included in the Best American Poetry anthology, and she’s given poetry readings at the Getty Museum, MOCA, and Cambridge University. She’s been interviewed on BBC Radio and has been profiled in the magazines Flaunt, Issue and Malibu. In addition to writing books, she makes performance-based works that combine poetry with musical technique; those works are the subject of the feature-length documentary Peace Piece: The Immersive Poems of Mandy Kahn, which is distributed by IndiePix and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Kahn has received poetry commissions from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Black Mountain Institute, the Getty Museum, and Bridge Projects. In April of 2026, she and her work were featured on a billboard in celebration of National Poetry Month. She has been a guest on BBC Radio’s premiere poetry program The Verb, has been interviewed by The Los Angeles Review of Books, and was selected for German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s feature on ten cultural figures based in Los Angeles.

RSVP: Ticketed

Where: Philosophical Research Society

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm

Address: 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: Eventbrite Page

Live Talks LA Presents: Adam Grant, with Jennifer Garner, & VIBE at Robert Frost Auditorium – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Join us to hear Adam Grant, in conversation with Jennifer Garner, discuss his book VIBE.

New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant illuminates the surprising science of chemistry and closeness. His new book, Vibe, will change how you interact with people. No matter how good you are at connecting, you can always get better—and help others get better too.

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. His books have sold millions of copies, he is one of TED’s most popular speakers, and his podcasts have over 100 million downloads; he hosts Re:Thinking and cohosts The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown. Adam has been recognized as the one of the world’s most influential management thinkers. Grant received his BA from Harvard University and his PhD from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver and magician.

Award-winning actress Jennifer Garner has starred in a wide range of films including Alias, Dallas Buyers Club, Love Simon, and Juno. Most recently, she’s appearing in Apple TV’s The Last Thing He Told Me, for which she also serves as executive producer. Previous credits include Family Switch and Yes Day. She will next star in, and executive produce Mrs. Claus, the Yes Day sequel, as well as the upcoming Netflix comedy One Attempt Remaining. Garner is co-founder and chief brand officer of the childhood nutrition company, Once Upon a Farm. She also serves as a trustee with Save the Children

RSVP: Ticketed

Where: Robert Frost Auditorium

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 8 pm

Address: 4401 Elenda St., Culver City, CA 90230

Website: LiveTalks Page

Veronica Gonzalez Peña, with Chris Krause, & Secret Daughter at Poetic Research Bureau – In-Person Event

Poetic Research Bureau hosts a book launch with Veronica Gonzalez Peña, in conversation with Chris Krause, to discuss Secret Daughter.

Exiled from her large extended family in Mexico City, the narrator of Secret Daughter was sent to the United States to live with an uncle’s family when she was six. Her family had hoped to protect the child from her mother’s acute mental illness. Slowly, she adapts to life in a small college town in the Midwest with her loving but weak uncle and his callous wife, but long summer trips back to her extended family in Mexico lead the girl to rightly believe that she is living two separate lives in two separate worlds. Adding to her disorientation is the fact that her adopted parents, when she is twelve, unceremoniously reveal to her that her birth father is, in fact, her presumed father’s best friend.

Years later the narrator begins psychoanalysis to try to understand her perpetual state of displacement and what she has lost. As her analysis and her work on this book progress, she—and the reader—become fully immersed in the pain and confusion of self-revelation. Her seductively lyrical, sharp, and rigorous observations bring the world and mindscape of childhood thrillingly close, while that fractured childhood’s relation to the disruptions of her adulthood becomes achingly clear.

Veronica Gonzalez Peña is a writer and filmmaker. She is author of twin time: or how death befell me, and The Sad Passions; her films include Lawrence Weiner: Writing on the Wall and Pat Steir: Artist. Secret Daughter is her third novel with Semiotext(e).

Chris Kraus’ most recent novel is The Four Spent the Day Together. She is presently Visiting Faculty at Deep Springs College, and is a co-editor of Semiotexte, alongside Hedi El Kholti.

Where: Poetic Research Bureau

Date: Thursday the 22^nd

Time: 8 pm – 9:30 pm (Doors at 7:30 pm)

Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057

Website: https://www.poeticresearch.com/events/veronica-gonzalez-pea-secret-daughter

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 23^rd

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 23^rd

Time: 9:30 am

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: Once Upon a Time Event Page

Book Club: You Like It Darker at La Mirada Library, LACL – In-Person Event

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life. For adults.

NOTE: Free to attend.

Where: La Mirada Library, LACL

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Address: 13800 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, CA 90638

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17394714

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 23^rd

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: Event Page

River of Angels, City of Words: Stephen Cooper on John Fante & Writing LA at Central Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us for an author chat with Stephen Cooper about writing L.A. and the legendary John Fante. Dive into tales of the City and get inspired by one of its coolest voices. Don’t miss this chance to connect with fellow book lovers and Angelenos!

Stephen will delve into his latest story collection, River of Angels (2025), a ten-story collection about blood relations, ancestral revenants, random forces, and the often-violent folly of love. Set against the double-edged splendors of greater Los Angeles, from downtown streets to studio soundstages to gated mansions, from desert to mountains to sea, these are stories of people striving to reckon with the American hands they’ve been dealt in the marked-card gamble of their lives.

We’ll also discuss John Fante and why some of his writings, dating back to the 1930s, have become such touchstones in our regional literary history, perhaps more today than ever.

Stephen Cooper, a born and raised Angeleno, is a veteran professor of English at California State University, Long Beach, and the winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant for his fiction. His Full of Life: A Biography of John Fante was named a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, and he co-wrote and produced the Netflix Original Documentary Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski.

NOTE: Free to attend.

Where: Central Library, LAPL, Meeting Room B

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 1 pm – 2:30 pm

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

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/river-angels-city-words-stephen-cooper-john-fante-writing-la

Writing Gets Lonely at Heavy Manners Library – In-Person Event

No frills, No prompts, Just write!

Join host Katja Bartholmess for an open writing studio at Heavy Manners Library from 1-3! No frills, no prompts, just write!

Originally from East Germany, Katja Bartholmess is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her (as yet unpublished) debut novel Former Hopeful was shortlisted for the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Award 2025 and nominated for the 2026 James Kirkwood Prize.

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

Katja Bartholmess is a graduate of the UCLA Masterclass in Novel Writing and current student at Granta’s Literary Novel Workshop, she has published journalistic and literary work in English and German, most recently in The Journal of the Westbrae Literary Group and Lit Angels. She hosts Writing Gets Lonely, a local writers’ community, and is never far from a hiking trail, gallery or concert venue.

NOTE: Ticketed.

Where: Heavy Manners Library

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 1 pm – 3 pm

Address: 2115 Sunset Blvd,, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://www.heavymannerslibrary.com/events/writing-gets-lonely-open-writing-studio-10-23

Afternoon Book Club: Raising Hare: A Memoir at Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join Culver City Julian Dixon Library’s Afternoon Book Club to discuss Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton. For adults.

Summary provided by the publisher:

“A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss, and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman’s unlikely friendship with a wild hare. Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and slept in your house for hours on end and gave birth to leverets in your study. For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, far away from her usual busy London life, this became her unexpected reality.”

NOTE: Free to attend.

Where: Culver City Julian Dixon Library, LACL

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17365725

Horror Book Club: Black River Orchard at Compton Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us to discuss Chuck Wendig’s Black River Orchard. To borrow a print copy of the book, 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.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples, and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples…and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

Even if something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraordinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. It’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

Attendance is limited, and advance registration is required.

NOTE: Free to attend.

Where: Compton Library, LACL

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: 240 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17500684

Teen Book Club: Heartless at Live Oak Library, LACL – In-Person Teen Event

Join us as we discuss Heartless by Marissa Meyer. For ages 13-17 Books will be available at the Customer Service Desk.

Synopsis:

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

NOTE: Free to attend.

Where: Live Oak Library, LACL

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm

Address: 22 W. Live Oak Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17315685

Poetry Reading & Spoken Word at Bookman Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants participate in a poetry reading and spoken word event every last Friday of the month, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm.

Where: Bookman Bookstore

Date: Friday, the 23^rd

Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., Orange, CA 92867

Website: Instagram Page

Black Lit Book Club: Dominion at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss the novel Dominion by Addie E. Citchens.

Reverend Sabre Winfrey, Jr., shepherd of the Seven Seals Missionary Baptist Church, believes in God, his own privilege, and enterprise. He owns the barbershop and the radio station, and generally keeps an iron hand on every aspect of society in Dominion, Mississippi. He and his wife, Priscilla, have five boys; the youngest, Emanuel, is called Wonderboy—no one sings prettier, runs as fast, or turns as many heads. But Wonderboy, his father, and all the structures in place that keep them on top are not as righteous as they seem to be. And when Wonderboy is caught off guard by an encounter with a stranger, he finds himself confronted by questions he’d never imagined. His response sends shock waves through the entire community.

Priscilla and Diamond, two women who love these men, bear witness to their charms and bear the brunt of their choices. Through their eyes and their stories, Dominion offers an intricate, intimate view of how secrets control us, how shame stifles us, how silence implicates us, and how even love plays a role in the everyday violence and casual sins of the powerful.

Addie E. Citchens was born in the Mississippi Delta and lives in New Orleans. A graduate of Jackson State University, she studied at the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, the Oxford American, Midnight & Indigo, Mississippi Folklife Magazine, and other publications. She was the inaugural recipient of the Farrar, Straus and Giroux Writer’s Fellowship, and her short story “That Girl” was an O. Henry Prize winner. Dominion is her first novel.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-23/black-lit-book-club-dominion

Kerry Kennedy, with Darren Walker, & Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event

Kerry Kennedy, in conversation with Darren Walker, will discuss Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy.

A vivid, intimate biography of American icon Ethel Kennedy by her daughter Kerry Kennedy, told through her firsthand memories and exclusive access to Ethel’s personal papers.

When her husband Robert F. Kennedy was killed in 1968, Ethel Skakel Kennedy—then pregnant with their eleventh child—drew national attention for her grace, dignity, and resolute commitment to furthering his work in human rights, even in her grief. But as her daughter Kerry witnessed, Ethel was so much more than a dutiful wife and keeper of Robert’s legacy of service. She was courageous, curious, compassionate, boisterous, and witty, always guided by faith and an instinct for speaking truth to power.

Kerry delves into her own memories, her family’s recollections, and her mother’s private papers.

Kerry Kennedy is a human rights lawyer, activist, New York Times-bestselling author, and daughter of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Kerry is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the organization Ethel founded in 1968 to continue Robert’s unfinished work, and served as chair for the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council for over a decade. During her forty years working in human rights, she has led hundreds of delegations and negotiated with leaders around the globe. She is the author of three previous books: Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope; Speak Truth to Power; and Being Catholic Now.

As President and CEO of Anonymous Content, Darren Walker is leading the company’s next phase of growth—overseeing its management and commercial business, guiding its international partnerships, and shaping a global strategy across film, television, and emerging media. He is advancing a slate of ambitious, talent-driven projects that reflect the company’s commitment to storytelling that is both artistically compelling and culturally resonant.

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-10-23/kerry-kennedy-ethel-kennedy-extraordinary-life-and-bold-legacy

11^th Annual Katipunan Poetry SLAM at Filipino American Community of LA (FACLA) – In-Person Event

Join us for the 11th Annual Katipunan Poetry Slam (KPS) on Fri, Oct. 23. Don’t miss a night of poetry, culture, and community in the heart of Historic Filipinotown.

Inspired by balagtasan, a poetic, political debate, and the revolutionary spirit of the Katipunan, a revolutionary group in the Philippines who fought for independence against Spanish colonization in the 1890s, the KPS stage carries forward a legacy of resistance, storytelling, and truth.

Your 2026 lineup:

Born in Baguio City, Philippines, Abigail Pidazo (@abi.gailpidazo) is an amateur writer, poet, mental health advocate, and community organizer prioritizing underserved and marginalized populations based in Southern California. She strongly believes in grassroots arts and cultural programming from a decolonized perspective as a person with Igorot roots. A portfolio of her community work can be accessed on theabigailarchive.com.

Marc Cid (@thefinalbossofpoetry) has been doing poetry in the Greater Los Angeles area for over a decade. He helped run The Definitive Soapbox open mic for several years and is one of the founders of Fresh Grounds open mic. Marc is working on publishing his first manuscript, Your Funeral Sucked, By The Way, a collection of poems about mental health from the perspective of growing up in a highly-religious Filipino-American community.

Lorenz Dumuk (@lorenzdumuk) is a poet, spoken word artist, and curator. He is a VONA alumnus and a MALI (Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute) alumnus. His two book collections of poetry are Ay Nako: Writing Through the Struggle, and I Think in Poetry. Lorenz has curated various events such as ReWrite Open Mic, Glowing with the Moon, and the Eastridge Open Mic. His wish to create a nourishing experience at his events pushes his desire to connect communities and their people.

Soul Stuf (@soulstuf) is a second generation Filipino-American spoken word poet who speaks on the Song, Truth Universal, and Flow of his own wandering spirit. Originally trained in the art of hip-hop and improv, Christian has learned from legendary spaces such as The Spoken Literature Art Movement at Art-Share LA, The Upright Citizens Brigade on Sunset, and Richard Horvitz’s 5 Steps To Success in North Hollywood. He published the poetry collection Play (World Stage Press, 2022).

*Apply to compete at https://linktr.ee/thesundayjump (link in bio)

Host:

Eddy M. Gana | @eddytherapy

🎧Sound Selection: Caroline | @thatflypinay

 🍱Food: TITA’S Lumpia | @lumpiabytita  🍹Drinks: Halo-Hafu | @halo_hafu

Sponsors:

Sunday Jump | @thesundayjump

Pilipino Workers Center | @pwcsc

Da Poetry Lounge | @dapoetrylounge_co

Street Poets | @streetpoetsinc

Tuesday Night Project | @tnproject

🎟️ Grab your tickets now (link in bio)

Where: Filipino American Community of LA (FACLA)

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 1740 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: Eventbrite Page or Instagram Page

Open Mic Night at The Untold Story – In-Person Event

Join us for an incredible Open Mic night. Showcase your talent to the community and fellow artists in a safe and welcoming environment, or be part of our amazing audience.

Where: The Untold Story

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

Address: 301 N. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92805

Website: Instagram Page

Comic Collection Launch: Beetle Moses by Harris Fishman at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Join us for the west coast launch of Beetle Moses, the new comic collection from author and artist by Harris Fishman!

Harris will share the process behind creating his hilarious work and sign copies of his book.

Sharp, surreal, and endlessly quotable, this debut collection from one of the most mind-bending new voices in webcomics pairs bold neon art with absurdist wit.

Harris Fishman, known professionally as Beetle Moses, has quickly become one of the most original voices in contemporary comics. His self-titled collection—a stream of beautifully bizarre panels starring aliens, apes, bugs, dinosaurs, and deep-sea creatures—has earned a devoted following and made waves well beyond comic circles.

Surreal, unexpected, and relentlessly funny, Beetle Moses comics feel both futuristic and timeless.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Katie Sanders, with Hector R. Alejandro, & Ortiz’s War at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event

Join us for a fascinating conversation with award-winning journalist Katie Sanders about her new book, Ortiz’s War: The Allies’ Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France, which she co-wrote with Nicholas Reynolds. Maj. Hector R. Alejandro, USMC. will join Sanders in conversation.

Peter J. Ortiz became the most battle-decorated member of America’s first spy agency and one of the most decorated Marines of World War II, by a path unlike anyone else’s. Born in New York and raised between California and France, he worked at various points as a merchant seaman, dude ranch manager, race car driver, lion tamer, circus performer, and Hollywood stuntman and actor.

As a teenager, he ran away from a French boarding school to join the French Foreign Legion, first seeing combat in North Africa in the Sahara. Badly wounded and captured while fighting the Germans in 1940, he escaped repeatedly, once slipping off a hospital train by taking on the identity of a dead soldier. He arrived back in the U.S. the day after Pearl Harbor and enlisted in the Marines, where his native-level French, plus working Arabic, German, and Spanish, quickly set him apart.

Rather than shipping out to the Pacific like most Marines, Ortiz was recruited by the OSS, the wartime forerunner of the CIA, for special operations in North Africa and Europe. In 1944 he parachuted into France on two top-secret inter-Allied missions. Working deep behind enemy lines in Southeastern France, sometimes in full Marine uniform, he armed and trained the French Resistance, sabotaged Nazi infrastructure, and helped downed Allied airmen. He moved among the Germans under a range of covers, including a fashion designer and a minor Vichy official, and became one of the Gestapo’s most wanted men. In the end he surrendered to spare local villagers from German reprisals and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. A rare Marine in the European Theater, he received two Navy Crosses, yet his story stayed classified for decades after the war.

Katie S. Sanders is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Washington Post Magazine, TIME, Smithsonian, and Vanity Fair, among others. Her reporting has taken her to the CIA, the White House, and into the homes of many World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors. The book has a personal connection for her: she discovered that her late grandfather, a Jewish-American pilot shot down over France, had been rescued by Peter Ortiz, and she teamed up with Reynolds to write the book.

Nicholas Reynolds earned his PhD at Oxford before joining the Marine Corps as an infantry officer and later a historian. He went on to serve as a CIA officer, finishing his career as historian for the CIA Museum. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the Hemingway biography Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy, and The New Yorker named his Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence one of the best books of 2022. He also appeared in the HISTORY Channel docuseries World War II with Tom Hanks.

Maj. Hector R. Alejandro, USMC, leads the Marine Corps’ Entertainment Media Liaison Office in Los Angeles, where he oversaw the Marines’ support for the post-production and release of the Netflix docuseries Marines. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he completed Officer Candidates School at Quantico in 2009 and has spent his career in military public affairs. His deployments include Operation Inherent Resolve, hurricane relief in Haiti and the Caribbean, the international search for the Argentine submarine ARA San Juan, and Exercise Nordic Response 24 in Norway. He has also served with Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command and the II Marine Expeditionary Force. He holds a master’s degree in mass communication from San Diego State University. His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Where: Chevalier’s

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

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

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-10-23/katie-sanders-author-ortizs-war

Samuel Lamontagne and Darol Olu Kae with moderator Evan Nicole Brown & Leave It for the Children at Reparations Club – In-Person Event

Samuel Lamontagne and Darol Olu Kae with moderator Evan Nicole Brown, will discuss Leave It for the Children: A Visual Hisotryof the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, the community music ensemble formed in Los Angeles by Horace Tapscott.

Leave It for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra explores the sixty-plus years of the legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, the community music ensemble formed in Los Angeles by Horace Tapscott. Through a deep and sustained relationship with a wide range of visual material connected to the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra—personal and sourced photographs, album covers, poster art, music sheets, international newspaper clippings, concert flyers, documentary and feature films, and collected ephemera, this publication traces the history of The Ark, its ongoing iterations, and speaks to Los Angeles’s shifting social and political landscape. Punctuating these sourced materials will be a series of commissioned texts from musicians, poets, historians, writers and artists. These contributions will take various forms—from poetry and essays to interviews and first-person reflections, creating a visual document based on, and serving as a testament to, The Ark’s sixty-plus year living history of music and community art.

Samuel Lamontagne lives in Los Angeles anis a writer and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Music and Black Study at UC Riverside. His research traces the histories of hip hop and Black music, exploring how they generate critical knowledges and connect to broader Pan-African imaginaries. He is also the co-director of the documentary film In the Hour of Chaos: Hip Hop Art & Activism with Public Enemy’s Chuck D (2024). Lamontagne’s work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, NPR’s The World, and international outlets such as RFI and EFE. Beyond his scholarship, he collaborates with community-based organizations including dublab radio, KAOS Network, and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra.

Darol Olu Kae is an artist and filmmaker from and based in Los Angeles. His practice combines narrative, documentary, and experimental filmmaking to explore Black American life and culture. Kae’s highly collaborative and research-based approach often draws inspiration from local community histories and the legacy of creative Black art forms, like jazz. His work challenges conventional cinematic forms by blurring the lines between fact and fiction, pushing the medium to render the full complexity and profound lyricism of Black experience visible on screen. Kae’s films have screened at festivals and institutions worldwide, including Sundance, SXSW, Locarno Film Festival, MoMA, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). In 2020, his short film i ran from it and was still in it won the Pardino d’oro for Best International Short Film at Locarno and received a Special Jury Recognition for Poetry at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival. Recognized as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2022, Kae is a 2024-25 Creative Capital Awardee and an inaugural 2025 Black Film Project Fellow at Harvard University. He is currently writing his feature film debut, Without a Song, and is starting production on his documentary feature Message to the Messenger.

Evan Nicole Brown is a Los Angeles-born writer, editor, and journalist who covers the arts and culture. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, CULTURED, The Fader, Getty Magazine, the Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Times Image, the New York Times, and elsewhere. She is the managing editor of Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles and the founder of Group Chat, a conversation series and creative salon in L.A.

Where: Reparations Club

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)

Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016

Website: Eventbrite Page

Adam Wilson, with Allie Rowbottom, & Fail Sons at Skylight – In-Person Event

Join us to hear Adam Wilson, in conversation with Allie Rowbottom, discuss Fail Sons: A Novel.

When Scott Platt’s brother, Nick, calls to ask him to fly to Arizona and retrieve their father’s body from the Cryo Center where it’s been frozen since the nineties, the timing couldn’t be worse: He’s forty, unemployed, and spiraling as he and his wife await the birth of their first child. Nick’s as tightly wound as Scott is adrift, and the brothers have never gotten along. But the Cryo Center’s shutting down, and they’ve got six days to haul their father’s frozen body to a new facility in Massachusetts—without letting it thaw past –109°. And Scott needs to get back home to New York before his wife goes into labor.

It’s the summer of 2022. The country’s still reeling from the pandemic. And driving a corpse cross-country in a U-Haul through Red State America proves predictably chaotic. Nick insists on wearing a KN95 the entire time. They pass through deserts, mountains, and plains, encountering Aryan cops, ex-Mormon hitchhikers, a Gen Z commune, and MAGA-hat-wearing Walmart clerks. They play blackjack, take shrooms, and swim under the stars—all while trying to keep the body frozen and their relationship from melting down.

Fail Sons is a brilliant exploration of masculinity, grief, and the ways we carry the dead—and each other—across a divided America.

Adam Wilson is the author of the short story collection What’s Important Is Feeling, and the novels Sensation Machines and Flatscreen, which was an Indie Next Pick and a National Jewish Book Award finalist. In 2012, Wilson received The Paris Review’s Terry Southern Prize for Humor. His work has appeared in Harper’s, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Bookforum, The Paris Review, and The Best American Short Stories among many other publications. Wilson has taught in the creative writing programs at Columbia University and NYU. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their two sons.

Allie Rowbottom is the author of the novel Aesthetica and the memoir Jell-O Girls. Her writing can be found in The New York Times, Elle, Playboy, and Vanity Fair. She holds a PhD in literature and creative writing and lives in Los Angeles.

Where: Skylight

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-23/adam-wilson-w-allie-rowbottom-fail-sons

Mandylion Press Live at Stories Books & Cafe – In-Person Event

Join us to hear editors Mabel Taylor and Madeline Porsella, in conversation with Lena Redford and Lily Napach for the release of their 2 newest titles:

Love Days by Ettie Stettheimer and The Story of Avis by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps.

Mandylion Press, founded by Mabel Taylor and Madeline Porsella, unearths lost literary gems written by women and weirdos in the (very) long nineteenth century.

Where: Stories Books & Cafe

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)

Address: 1716 W, Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://storiesla.com/events/6487520261023

DC Frost and Gary Phillips Dual Launch: An Evening of Contemporary LA Noir, Moderated by Saul Gonzalez at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Gary Phillips will read from his latest book, The Haul, and DC Frost from A Shadow of Jaguars, followed by a conversation moderated by Saul Gonzalez.

The Haul: A Heist Novel by Gary Phillips.

A professional thief takes the chance of a lifetime when he agrees to mastermind the raid of a tech billionaire’s secret bunker in this action-packed heist thriller set in the heart of contemporary Los Angeles, from master of West Coast noir Gary Phillips

A Shadow of Jaguars (Detective DJ Arias Mystery #2) by DC Frost:

A Shadow of Jaguars by D.C. Frost is a gripping cross-border noir thriller that follows Detective DJ Arias as he navigates murder, Hollywood intrigue, and immigrant struggles across Mexico City and Los Angeles, blending fast-paced suspense and richly drawn characters.

In Mexico City for a family funeral, Detective DJ Arias encounters a group of Robin Hood-style thieves who call themselves the Jaguars. Their activities reach across the border into Los Angeles with a Hollywood murder that entangles LA’s elite and the nannies, housekeepers, and gardeners who serve them, and threatens DJ’s own loved ones. A sequel to the mystery A Punishing Breed, A Shadow of Jaguars finds DJ and partner Bobby Talbot struggling to untangle a murder where Hollywood, wealthy powerbrokers, and an immigrant population struggle to coexist and survive. Throughout it all, his faithful dog Evidence is by his side.

RSVP: ticketed

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-23/dc-frost-gary-phillips

Double Exposure: A Cinematic Journey Through Poetry at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center– In-Person Event

Double Exposure: A Cinematic Journey Through Poetry is written and performed by: California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, actor Corinne Conley, poets and performers Harry E. Northup, Joseph Paulson, Amy Raasch, Rich Ferguson and Benin Lemus, former San Francisco Poet Laureate Kim Shuck, Poet Laureate of Pacific Palisades Michelle Bitting, and Los Angeles poets and performers Conney Williams, Suzanne Lummis, S.A. Griffin, Pam Ward, Luivette Resto, AJ Luxton, Dennis Cruz, jimmy vega, Nicelle Davis, Elaine Mintzer, Dig Wayne, and Kathleen Florence.

Opening film: featuring Amy Raasch, Harry E. Northup, Rich Ferguson, Benin Lemus, and Joseph Paulson, directed by Kathleen Florence.

Vignettes performed by: Joseph Paulson and Amy Raasch

Original live score by: Butch Norton

Directed by: Rich Ferguson and Kathleen Florence

RSVP: ticketed

Where: Beyond baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Friday the 23^rd

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

13^th Annual Poetic Convergence Event with Get Lit Poets at Wende Museum – In-Person Event

The Poetic Convergence is a one-day convening of teachers, student leaders, arts champions, and poetic giants for the purpose of creating and sustaining poetic communities inside Los Angeles County schools and their neighborhoods.

This year, we are bringing California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick to LA for you to study directly with him! Plus, train with Spoken Word legend Matthew Cuban (@matthewcuban), coach of the Da Poetry Lounge’s Slam Team (#2 in the nation), and enjoy workshops, speakers such as LA Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace (@rentpoet), and opportunities for sharing and feedback.

Lee Herrick is the California Poet Laureate. He is the author of four books of poems: In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems (Gunpowder Press, September 2024); Scar and Flower, finalist for the 2020 Northern California Book Award; Gardening Secrets of the Dead; and This Many Miles from Desire. He was born in Daejeon, Korea and adopted as an infant. He lives with his family in Fresno, California and served as Fresno Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. He teaches at Fresno City College.

Matthew Cuban is a poet, educator, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu Dhabi and nearly every major city in the United States and Europe, performing, teaching and coaching poetry. A teaching artist for nearly 20 years, Matthew has spent the last 13 years working in youth detention centers, high schools, community centers, and other various orgs across Los Angeles County. Currently serving as the Director of Juvenile Programming for Street Poets Inc, Matthew has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang, performed for platforms such as BuzzFeed, LAist, NPR and even appeared on the award-winning television show, Better Things. He is the author of 3032 and All Brown Boys Get Trumpets (El Martillo Press, 2025).

Brian Sonia-Wallace was born in St. Louis and raised in Culver City, California, and Santiago, Chile. He holds an MA in sustainable development from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The author of the memoir The Poetry of Strangers (Harper Collins, 2020), Sonia-Wallace’s other publications include the chapbook, I sold these poems, now I want them back (Yak Press, 2016), a chapter on poetry-as-placemaking for Art & The City (Routledge, 2018), and writing in the Guardian, LitHub, and Rolling Stone. He is the current Poet Laureate of Los Angeles.

FREE: RSVP

Please note: capacity is limited to 100 people, and we will sell out, so RSVP in advance at the link in our bio! 🔗You will be informed via email if we reach capacity, and we will add you to the waitlist.

Where: Wende Museum

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 9 am – 4 pm

Address: 10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230

Website: Instagram Page

Book Club for Middle Grade Readers: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman via Palisades Branch Library, LAPL – Online Zoom Event

Middle-grade readers in grades 4-7 are invited to join our fun monthly book discussions. This month, we will be reading The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubey Hartman.

Please email Ms. Gail at gkim@lapl.org to obtain the Zoom login information.

Where: Palisades Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

Address: Online Event

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/book-club-middle-grade-readers-undead-fox-deadwood-forest-aubrey-hartman

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: Event Page

Between Drafts Story at Underdog Bookstore – In-Person Event

Join us for the new Between Drafts Story Lab at Underdog Bookstore!

This lab is designed for writers looking for manuscript feedback that is grounded, honest, and respectful.

How does it work?

Writers will bring in up to 1,500 words of their work for feedback. Each writer will receive a 30-minute slot that includes a reading, silent reflection, open discussion, and response time.

There are four submission slots available, with others welcome to critique, provide feedback, and enjoy the creative talents of our local writing community.

RSVP at website.

Where: Underdog Bookstore

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/between-drafts-august-bajk3-slh3w

Shut Up & Write! at The Wicked Wolf – In-Person Event

Bring your writing project for a focused session at The Wicked Wolf, followed by optional conversation with fellow writers. All experience levels are welcome. There are no critiques or readings. Nonalcoholic drinks are available.

Free writing session; please support the venue by purchasing a drink.

Check to verify this date.

Where: Wicked Wolf

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 10 am – 12 pm

Address: 2332 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806

Website: https://longbeacheventscalendar.com/event/8b6b81c9-26e5-5c78-b0b0-3986ee4db3cf/2026-10-31

Baila Baila Bilingual Story Party with Isabel Brazon at Children’s Book World – In-Person Kids Event

Get up and dance with this bilingual mini concert and silly spooky storytime for the whole family!

Join us on for a Bilingual Song & Silly Spooky Story Party for the littlest readers & listeners!

Baila Baila bilingual concerts for children are an amazing energy filled interactive show. Isa plays her guitar enticing everybody to dance and have fun while learning Spanish together. The show is tailored to kids of all ages and does not limit to Spanish speaking audiences.

For more information about classes and concerts with Isabel Brazonvisit:

https://www.bailabailaonline.com

Where: Children’s Book World

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 10:30 am – 11 am

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

Website: https://childrensbookworld.com/event/2026-10-24/baila-baila-isabel-brazon-mini-concert-bilingual-storytime

Mystery Book Club: Cold to the Touch at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Read the book and join our lively discussion!

October 24: Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda.

Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 1246 Glendon Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/mystery-book-club-17

Book Club: This Cursed House at Gardena Mayme Dear Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join our book club for a lively discussion. Copies of the book are available at the customer service desk and on Libby/Overdrive. The selection for October is This Cursed House by Del Sandeen.

In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: they’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.

Where: Gardena Mayme Dear Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 1731 W. Gardena Blvd., Gardena, CA 90247

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17534999

Generative Workshop with Atina Hartunian: Twinship Between the Haunted and the Nostalgic at Beyond Baroque – In-Person Event

In Person at Beyond Baroque

In this three-hour generative workshop, we’ll examine how contemporary writers evoke the eerie and create emotional tension through absence, memory, and longing. Drawing on the work of Carmen Maria Machado, Angela Carter, Helen Oyeyemi, and their reimaginings of familiar folktales, we’ll translate literary theory into practical craft techniques through close reading, discussion, and a sequence of interconnected writing exercises. Designed for writers of all genres and experience levels, each prompt builds upon the last, allowing participants to leave with the beginnings of a new story or a deeper understanding of an existing project while discovering new craft tools for creating atmosphere, emotional resonance, and narrative tension.

Atina Hartunian is a writer, independent scholar, educator, and first-generation Armenian American based in Los Angeles. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University in 2023. Her honors include a Teaching Fellowship from Anaphora Arts (2024), the Pacific University MFA Merit Scholarship (2021), and residencies with the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop, Rockvale Writers’ Colony (2025), and the Carolyn Moore Writing Residency (2026). Hartunian’s work explores horror, perception, memory, diasporic identity, and the unseen through fiction, flash nonfiction, and craft scholarship. Her talks have been presented through ThunderDome Conference, The Writer’s Center, CALYX Press, Anaphora Arts, and Portland Community College. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of PACT DeskSet Substack, an independent literary arts community dedicated to craft, conversation, and creative experimentation.

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 11 am – 2 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

Liz Brizzi & Milo & Twig at Vroman’s – In-Person Kids Event

Author Liz Brizzi presents Milo & Twig, a Heartwarming story about the quiet courage it takes to let go and the joy in helping someone you love become their truest, happiest self.

Twig is Milo’s best friend. But what will happen when Twig needs to spread his wings?

The day Twig falls from his nest, he meets a boy named Milo. As Milo tends to Twig’s broken wing, he learns what it means to truly love a friend. Twig grows stronger and stronger, and soon Milo must make a difficult decision about the last thing his new best friend needs to heal.

Milo and Twig shows readers what it means to love someone for exactly who they are, helping kids understand how their actions can positively affect others and, in turn, not only brighten their world but also make it a better place.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., CA 91101

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-17/liz-brizzi

Blockbuster Book Club: The Haunting at Clifton M. Brakensiek Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join our book club for our two-part book club for books that have made it to the screen! During the second session, Saturday October 24 from 2 pm – 4 pm, we will watch the 1999 film adaptation, The Haunting. For ages 18+

Film is rated PG-13. This program is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Clifton M. Brakensiek Library.

*Please be aware that light refreshments will be served. A list of ingredients will be available.

Where: Clifton M. Brakensiek Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

Address: 9945 Flower St., Bellflower, CA 90706

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17440047

Weekend Book Club: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng at Carson Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Patrons can join a facilitated discussion of fiction and nonfiction titles. A limited number of titles are available to pick up at the library. October’s book: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker. For adults.

Where: Carson Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

Address: 151 E. Carson St., Carson, CA 9074

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17516172

hoopla Book Club: Man Made Monsters at Hermosa Beach Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us for a lively conversation about Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers. Copies are available to check out on hoopla. For adults.

Where: Hermosa Beach Library, LACL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

Address: 550 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA 90354

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17626655

Fourth Saturdays Poetry Readings: Elva Braden & Penelope Moffet at Claremont Helen Renwick Library – In-Person Event

Join us to meet poets Elya Braden and Penelope Moffet and hear them read their poetry.

Elya Braden, a retired corporate lawyer, is a poet and mixed-media artist living in Channel Islands Harbor and is assistant editor for Gyroscope Review. Her work has been published in Anthropocene, Pine Row Poetry Journal, Rattle Poets Respond, RHINO, Sequestrum, South Florida Poetry Journal, The Shore, Thimble, Wild Roof Journal, and elsewhere. Her poems have been nominated several times for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, as well as twice for Best New Poets. Her chapbooks, Open The Fist (2020) and The Sight of Invisible Longing (2023) were both released by Finishing Line Press. Sheila-Na-Gig Editions recently published her first full-length collection Dragonfly Puzzle Box. Elya also leads a nonprofit, HaGomel, which provides expressive arts programs for women who have experienced trauma, to support their emotional and psychological healing. www.elyabraden.com

Penelope Moffet is the author of the poetry collection, Think of It As Music, which is just out through Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. She is also the author of three chapbooks: Cauldron of Hisses (Arroyo Seco Press, 2022), It Isn’t That They Mean to Kill You (Arroyo Seco Press, 2018) and Keeping Still (Dorland Mountain Arts, 1995). Her poems appear in many journals, including Calyx, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, and Vox Populi. New work is upcoming in Eclectica and Rattle. Watch an interview with Penelope at the website link.

Where: Claremont Helen Renwick Library

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

Address: 208 N. Harvard Ave., Claremont, CA 91711

Website: https://www.claremontlibrary.org/monthly-poetry-readings.html

Manhattan Beach Library Speaker Series with Michael Connelly & The Hollow at Manhattan Beach Library, Off-site at Mira Costa High School – In-Person Event

Manhattan Beach Library for their Fall 2026 Speaker Series with best-selling thriller author, Michael Connelly! The first 1,000 attendees will receive a complimentary signed copy of Michael’s newest book, The Hollow.

Welcome best-selling novelist and author of The Lincoln Lawyer and the Bosch Novels, Michael Connelly, to the Mira Costa High School auditorium on Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm.

Pages: A Bookstore will be on site with Michael’s backlist and guests are welcome to bring a book from home. Michael will be signing one additional book per guest, but he will not be personalizing or writing messages.

Michael Connelly is the author of forty-three novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Ironwood, The Proving Ground, Nightshade, The Waiting, Resurrection Walk, Desert Star, The Dark Hours, and The Law Of Innocence. His books, which include the Harry Bosch series, the Lincoln Lawyer series, the Renée Ballard series, the Jack McEvoy series, and the Catalina series, have sold more than ninety-two million copies worldwide. Connelly is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels. He is the executive producer of the tv series Bosch and Bosch: Legacy and Ballard on Prime Video, and The Lincoln Lawyer series on Netflix, and the documentary films Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story, and Tales of the American, and Power Trip. He is the creator and host of the podcasts Killer In The Code, Murder Book, and The Wonderland Murders & The Secret History Of Hollywood, and the audio drama The Safe Man on Audible. He spends his time in California and Florida.

Where: Mira Costa High School

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2 pm – 5 pm

Address: 1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17276844 or https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-24/michael-connelly-manhattan-beach-speaker-series

Miriam’s Garden Poetry Reading Series: at Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Miriam’s Garden Poetry Reading Series is hosted by Yago Cura. This month’s featured poets are:

Juan Amador is a spoken word artist, actor, and poet from South Central Los Angeles, California. He is the author of Pimping My Trauma.

Julia C, Gaytan is a self-proclaimed math geek who spends her weekdays teaching high school math and her weeknights reading and writing poetry and short stories. Recently, her work was published in MALCS Chicana/Latina Studies Journal and before that in The Waiting Room, an anthology by Nervous Ghost Press. Her debut poetry collection, Ion Love was published in 2026 by Riot of Roses Publishing House.

Alberto Vaca Flores is the author of La Noche de Los Coyotes/The Night of the Coyotes, illustrated by Bianca Pérez.

Where: Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2:30 pm – 4 pm

Address: 2205 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043

Website: Instagram Page

Zine Workshop: Reggie Burrows Hodges: A Theater of Miracles at California African American Museum (CAAM) – In-Person Event

Join us for a zine-making workshop inspired by Reggie Burrows Hodges: A Theater of Miracles. The workshop is led by Able ARTS Work—a nonprofit offering opportunities in the creative arts for people of all abilities.

Free RSVP is encouraged, but not required. Walk-ins are welcome.

Bringing a large group? Email the CAAM team at iDesk@caamuseum.org.

RSVP at website link.

Where: CAAM

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm

Address: 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90037

Website: https://caamuseum.org/programs/talks-and-workshops/zine-workshop-reggie-burrows-hodges-a-theater-of-miracles

Saturday Afternoon Poetry: Featured Readers: Bill Cushing, Joseph Milosch, Andy Palasciano, Penny Perry + Poets published in Four Feathers Press TURTLE ISLAND POETRY #10 – Online Zoom Event

Join us online for readings by featured guests: Bill Cushing, Joseph Milosch, Andy Palasciano, Penny Perry + Poets published in Four Feathers Press TURTLE ISLAND POETRY #10.

Bill Cushing lived in numerous states along with the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico before moving to California where he lives in Glendale with his wife and their son. As an undergrad, he was called the “blue collar” writer because of his years working as an electrician on oil tankers, naval vessels, and fishing boats. Earning an MFA in writing from Goddard College, he recently retired from teaching at area colleges. A variety of his writing has appeared in print and online. He’s published three books of poetry and is finishing up a memoir about his life working on ships.

Joseph Milosch N/A

Andy Palasciano is a poet who lives in Old Town San Diego. He formerly co-hosted Broken Anchor Poetry along with Ying Wu and Michael Klam. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from San Diego State in English Literature. He has helped run several Kids San Diego Poetry Annual Events. He has two books published by San Diego Poetry Annual publisher Bill Harding through Garden Oak Press or Lymer and Hart. One is his memoir The Warrior: The Tales of a Substitute Teacher and Job Coach, which covers his whole life including his rough career as a substitute teacher where he “survived” and his current job as a job coach where he mentors disabled adults at their places of employment.

Penny Perry is a six-time Pushcart nominee in fiction and poetry, Perry is the author of an honorable mention chapbook “What Women Do” for Earth’s Daughters, and a winner for the west coast poets for Persimmon Magazine. She is a co author of the chapbook “Maiden, Mother, Crone.” Garden Oak Press published her poetry collection “Santa Monica Disposal and Salvage” in 2012. She was a screenwriting fellow at AFI. PBS funded and screened a film she wrote from her own short story. Her first novel Selling Pencils and Charlie (Garden Oak Press) published in 2020.

All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.

Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry, Online

Date: Saturday, the 24^th

Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm

Address: Online SAP Zoom Event

Website: https://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/

Unsoupervised Readers Club: Hungerstone at Book Soup – In-Person LGBTQIA+ Edition Event

UNSOUPERVISED READERS’ SEPTEMBER EDITION WILL BE:

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn.

It’s the height of the Industrial Revolution, and ten years into Lenore’s marriage to steel magnate Henry, their relationship has soured. When Henry’s ambitions take them from London to the remote British moorlands, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into their lives. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night. Carmilla, who stirs something deep within Lenore.

Soon, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger, and Lenore begins to unravel. Torn between regaining her husband’s affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, Lenore must confront a darkness that will place her at risk.

This immersive reworking of Carmilla, the queer novella that inspired Dracula, delivers a richly atmospheric look at feminine rage and the desires that feed our hunger.

Kat Dunn is the Lambda Award-winning and nationally bestselling author of Hungerstone. She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick, has written about mental health for Mind, and worked as a translator for Japanese television. Kat grew up in London and has lived in Japan, Australia, and France.

Hosted by Book Soup Bookseller, Jessica!.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-24/unsoupervised-readers-club

Sarah Rafael Garcia & Santana’s Fairy Tales at The Untold Story Bookstore – In-Person Event

Join us to hear Sarah Rafael Garcia present and discuss Santana’s Fairy Tales.

A joint event between 2 Latina-owned bookstores in OC: The Untold Story in Anaheim and LibroMobile in Santa Ana.

Where: The Untold Story Bookstore

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Address: 301 N. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92805

Website: https://www.libromobile.com/event-details/beyond-latinx-heritage-month

Arts Night & Open Mic via Nervous Ghost Press – Online Zoom Event

Welcome to the Nervous Ghost Press ARTS NIGHT!

Join us every last Saturday of every month (unless otherwise noted) as we engage in the arts with our communities. The event hosted in East Los Angeles County at our Community Arts workspace. The Open Mic portion is streamed live through YouTube, so no matter where you are, you’re here!

Sign up today to share your work during the open mic portion, or tune in as a member of the audience. You are all welcome, always. Each month, we have a different Community Guest Emcee that runs the show. If you would like to be considered for a future open mic, email us today.

The Arts Night painting and creation aspect is in-person with limited seating so RSVP as soon as possible. We have art supplies provided, but feel free to bring your own.

See you there!

Where: Nervous Ghost Press

Date: Saturday the 23^rd

Time: 5 pm

Address: Online Zoom Event

Website: Eventbrite Page

Book Launch Celebration: Conney Williams & If You’re Going to Live on Mars at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event

Join us for the book release and signing event for Conney Williams and his book If You’re Going to Live on Mars.

HIs latest book is a hybrid including poems, stories, and essays. All pre-orders will be signed and available for pickup at this event.

These poems, stories, essays, and commentary examines the macro & micro impact of racism upon individuals, families, communities, and this country. It also critiques the impact racism has in our lives internally. The way we see ourselves and others is a direct result of societal pressure imposed by a racist America.

“So, this book is not actually about Mars or space travel. The idea of being told to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, to me, was tantamount to being taken to an alien planet; then being told to breathe an alien atmosphere without the assistance of an oxygen tank. The atmosphere on this alien planet, Mars, doesn’t have an atmosphere that is conducive to our living and would require a breathing apparatus.”

Where: Sims Library of Poetry

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm

Address: 2702 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043

Website: Facebook Event Page

Historical Fiction Book Club: Buffalo Hunter Hunter at Cellar Door – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones.

A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.

Stephen Graham Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, and I Was a Teenage Slasher. He has been an NEA fellowship recipient and a recipient of several awards including the Ray Bradbury Award from the Los Angeles Times, the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Jesse Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction, and the Alex Award from American Library Association. He is the Ivena Baldwin Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Where: Cellar Door

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-24/historical-fiction-book-club-buffalo-hunter-hunter

Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Talk: Horde of the Counterwind by Alain Damasio at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Join us for a conversation with Alain Damasio, author of the sci-fi/fantasy classic Horde of the Counterwind!

Alain will be joined by translator Alexander Dickow to discuss the book’s long legacy as a beloved French novel, the basis for the video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and its long road to availability in the English language.

France’s defining fantasy/science fiction odyssey of the 21st century, the basis of the award-winning video game Expedition 33 and now published in English for the first time, celebrates twenty-three brave warriors of the wind.

Twenty-three adventurers—each with a unique personality and a precise duty, some trained since birth, some joining over the course of a long journey—climb endlessly against the wind that plagues their desolate homeland. Their only purpose: to make it to the Upper Reaches and identify the wind’s mysterious source. Over the course of eight hundred years, thirty-three hordes before them have tried and failed.

In this masterwork whose epic scope and visionary world-building are commonly compared to the universe of Dune, author Alain Damasio moves among narrators, alternating between breathtaking descriptions of the unique and bewildering world he has invented—ruled by seven types of wind, classified by their forces—and gripping, rhythmic dialogue.

Horde of the Counterwind has ignited the imaginations of more than a million French fans since its publication in 2004. Voted the best book of the twenty-first century by readers of Sens critique and the twelfth-greatest book of all time by Le Monde’s subscribers, the novel served as a major inspiration for the celebrated video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. At last, English-speaking audiences will get the chance to shoulder their packs and join the adventure.

Alain Damasio is the author of three bestselling French novels: La Zone du Dehors (1999 and 2007), winner of the European Utopiales Prize 2007, the Imaginales high-schoolers Prize 2006 and adapted for the stage in 2016; Horde of the Counterwind (2004), winner of three literary prizes including the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2006 in the category “Francophone novel” and adapted into a graphic novel in 2017; and Les Furtifs (April 2019). Damasio is a triple recipient of the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, France’s most prestigious science fiction award, and his most recent novel was voted best overall book of 2019.

Alexander Dickow is a poet, novelist, translator and literary scholar who works in French and English. He grew up in Moscow, Idaho, in the Pacific Northwest, and after living in France at irregular intervals for seven years, is now professor of French at Virginia Tech. He has a long-standing interest in science fiction, weird fiction and fantasy, and is the author of a science fiction novel in French, Le Premier Souper, along with several works of poetry in both languages. His full-length translations include: The Central Laboratory by Max Jacob, The Neverending Quest for the Other Shore by Sylvie Kandé, Showers and Bright Spells: Selected Poems 2009–2019 by Henri Droguet, and Air of Solitude, followed by Requiem by Gustave Roud (co-translated with Sean T. Reynolds).

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Queer Book Club: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil at Bel Canto Books Retro Row – In-Person LGBTQIA+ Event

Join us for the Queer Book Club hosted monthly by LogansLovelyLibrary at Bel Canto Books Retro Row! Dive into diverse and thought-provoking queer literature with a group of like-minded book lovers.

Participants will discuss the October selection Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, a fantasy novel by V.E. Schwab.

This is a story about hunger.

1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.

1827. London.

A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.

2019. Boston.

College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers…and revenge.

This is a story about life—how it ends, and how it starts.

Each month we will be reading a queer fiction book with different genres and queer representation. Whether you’re a seasoned reader or just starting to explore LGBTQ+ literature, this club is the perfect place to share your thoughts and connect with others.

If you live in the Long Beach/LA area, you may purchase books directly from Bel Canto Books by visiting our Retro Row location (2106 E 4th Street) or our KUBO LB location (3976 Atlantic Avenue). A link is included below to purchase the book online via open_in_newBookshop.org.

Where: Bel Canto Books Retro Row

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 106 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814

Website: Withfriends Event Page

OC Poetry SLAM! at The Den Café – In-Person Event

10 poets will compete on stage to be crowned champion of the OC Poetry Slam!

Where: The Den Café

Date: Saturday the 24^th

Time: 7 pm – 10 pm

Address: 125 Broadway #D, Santa Ana, CA 92701

Website: Eventbrite Page

This Is a (Rep Club) Book Club: Mazywood by Tananarive Due at Reparations Club – In-Person Event

Award-winning author Tananarive Due returns with the follow-up to the multi-award-winning The Reformatory in this generational novel of rage. With flashbacks to Johnny’s grandmother—who brushed shoulders with giants like Lena Horne, Clark Gable, and Hattie McDaniel—this novel explores three generations, beginning with Mazelle Washington’s life as a young actress. Fifty years after Mazelle’s death, Johnny will discover the secret she kept and nurtured since she was a child, when she had a dark wish come true.

A monster lurks outside Mazywood, hidden for generations, and Johnny brought his family to its hunting grounds.

Tananarive Due is an American Book Award and NAACP Image Award–winning author, who was an executive producer on Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror for Shudder and teaches Afrofuturism and Black Horror at UCLA. She and her husband, science fiction author Steven Barnes, cowrote the graphic novel The Keeper and an episode for Season 2 of The Twilight Zone for Paramount Plus and Monkeypaw Productions. Due is the author of several novels and two short story collections, Ghost Summer: Stories and The Wishing Pool and Other Stories. She is also coauthor of a civil rights memoir, Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights (with her late mother, Patricia Stephens Due). Learn more at TananariveDue.com.

Where: Reparations Club

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 10 am – 11:30 am

Address: 3054 S. Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90016

Website: Eventbrite Page

The 3rd Annual Belmont Shore Book Fair at Chase Bank Parking Lot, Belmont Shore – In-Person Event

Spend a Sunday on 2nd Street with the writers, poets, and storytellers who make Long Beach a reading town. The Belmont Shore Book Fair is free and family-friendly. It’s presented by the Belmont Shore Business Association and sponsored by Melanie Rae Storytelling Café. Browse and buy books from dozens of local authors, meet them at their tables, and catch live readings, conversations, and music all afternoon.

See site for complete details.

Highlights include:

11 am – 11:40 am: Poetry Set: Nancy Lynee Woo and the Long Beach Youth Poet Ambassadors.

12 pm – 12:30 pm: Singer/Songwriters: Latrice McGothin & Stan DeWitt

12:45 pm – 1:15 pm: Independent Authors Panel

2:15 pm – 2:35 pm: Telling Your Own Story

3 pm – 3:30 pm: KLBP Authors Interview

3:35 pm – 4 pm: Writing About the Community

Where: Chase Bank Parking Lot, Belmont Shore

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 11 am – 4 pm

Address: 5200 E. 2^nd St., Long Beach, CA 90803

Website: Instagram Page

Typewriter Poets On Demand with L.A. Poet Society at Melrose Trading Post – In-Person Event

Poets with L.A. Poet Society participate in providing typewritten poetry on demand for customers each Sunday at Melrose Trading Post.

No cover. Donations appreciated.

Where: Melrose Trading Post

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 11 am – 5 pm (specific times and stage may vary)

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

Website: Instagram Page

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Middle Grade Book Club: The Ming & Wah Detective Agency at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person MG Event

Join us for the launch of the middle grade title The Ming & Wah Detective Agency: Summer Drama!

Authors Ming and Wah Chen will be joined by illustrator Sarah Morrissette for a discussion.

M I N G is an identical twin sister and an author. She has co-authored several books with her twin, W A H: The Ming and Wah Detective Series, Escape: One Day We Had to Run, Ling Ling Looked in the Mirror and Sassparilla’s New Shoes. Ming has run ninety full marathons and earned a Bachelor’s and an MBA from Harvard. She is based in Hong Kong.

W A H loves big words, beautiful suburbs, and British mystery series. With degrees from Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles, Wah works as an affordable housing real estate developer in L.A. She and her identical twin sister M I N G live across the world from each other but are in communication daily, conferring, conspiring, and co-creating.

Sarah Morrissette is an illustrator from California, based in Vienna. She grew up on a Greek island and spent her teen years on a hippie commune in Northern California. After studying English at UCLA, she met her husband and moved to Austria. Her cartoons have appeared in publications like The New Yorker, Narrative, Alta, and Woman’s World. This is her first time illustrating a children’s book.

RSVP at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Grown-Up Book Fair: Halloween Edition at Beachwood Brewing & Distilling – In-Person Event

The Flerua is excited to share the incredible authors joining us for our Halloween Book Fair at Beachwood Brewing & Distilling!

Attending authors:

Emma R Alban writes Queer Historical Romance about finding yourself, falling in love, and making a loving world for you, your family, and your friends. She is the author of Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, You’re the Problem, It’s You, Like in Love with You, and Happily Ever Afterlife.

Julia Bianco is the USA Today bestselling author of Witch Season and its upcoming sequel, Heat Spell.

Kate Golden is a bestselling author of A Promise of Peridot and former professional golfer/coach, most commonly known as either the USA Today and New York Times bestselling fantasy author or the longtime collegiate golf coach and LPGA veteran.

Jillian Graves is an author of paranormal and monster romance. Jillian lives in Southern California with her partner, Bill, and their three cats, Gomez, Salem, and Luna. When not writing, she can be found trolling the Halloween section of Target.

Brittany Johnson is a fantasy author, storyteller, and journalist based in Southern California. She loves writing fairytales and stories that empower the individual, champion self-love, and humanize all of the messy parts that come with, well, being human.

Keala Kendall is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of How Far I’ll Go and Nobody Gets Left Behind in Disney’s A Twisted Tale series. Her groundbreaking YA horror debut, That Which Feeds Us: A Hawaiian Gothic, was the May pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Sunnie Reads book club and longlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Chloe Lauter’s debut novel The Flayed Man has been praised by Kirkus, Booklist and Library Journal, and is a CALIBA Golden Poppy Book Award Finalist and an August 2026 Indie Next pick. Chicago Review of Books called it “everything you want in a literary horror novel.”

Clare Osongco is a mixed Filipino American author living in Los Angeles who likes to write about falling in love, messy family relationships, and ghosts. (In other words: she writes happy endings for haunted people). She is the author of Unfinished Business, Suddenly I Miss Everyone, and Midnights With You. You can find her on Instagram at @clareosongco.

Liz Parker is the author of Witches of Honeysuckle House, In the Shadow Garden, and The Other March Sisters. An herbalist and a witch, Liz lives in Los Angeles with their husband and loves tarot, astrology, and talking to plants. When she’s not writing or casting spells, you can find Liz on most social media sites at @LizParkerWrites.

CD Reiss is an American novelist best known for contemporary and erotic romance. Reiss is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist. In 2016 Reiss was nominated for two Audie Awards in one category for the audio books, Beg Tease Submit and Control Burn Resist

Meet the authors behind some of our favorite spooky, magical and romantic reads and discover your next favorite book at our spooky little book fair. We’ll have authors signing throughout the afternoon, plus the book truck, local vendors, and plenty of Halloween fun.

Where: Beachwood Brewing & Distilling

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 12 pm – 4 pm

Address: 3630 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

Website: Instagram Page

Zine-Making at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

All ages are invited to participate in this open studio-time dedicated to zine-making.

A zine is pronounced [zeen], and it is short for “magazine.” These handmade books can be easily reproduced using a copy machine and distributed to your community. Rooted in countercultural movements to spread info for social good, zines are low-budget and low-tech ways to spread your message.

We encourage you to stop by Village Well every Sunday in July to celebrate International Zine Month! Bring your big ideas, browse our zine collection for sale, and create a zine of your own.

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 12 pm – 2 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Daniel Quon, with Julia Pott, & Have You Ever Seen a Ghost? at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Daniel Quon, in conversation with Julai Pott, will discuss Have You Ever Seen a Ghost?

Help a shy ghost overcome their anxiety in time to attend a party in this whimsical picture book written by one of the creators of Everything Everywhere All at Once and the creator of Summer Camp Island!

Ghost is going to a party tonight, and they are a little nervous. In fact…would you go to the party with them? Maybe they would feel better if you were there!

This sweet and luminously illustrated picture book makes for a perfectly spirited, interactive read-aloud that will charm and inspire even the shyest of partygoers.

Daniel Kwan has been making films for more than fifteen years as a part of the directing duo known as Daniels. Their film Everything Everywhere All at Once was liked by enough people that they’re now letting him do whatever he wants. And what he wants is to write children’s books. Daniel made his publishing debut with a pair of books: I’ll Get to the Bottom of This! and 24 Minutes to Bedtime!. He’s also the coauthor of Have You Ever Seen a Ghost?. Visit him on social media @DunKwun.

Julia Pott is a British animator and illustrator. She is best known for creating the Peabody–, GLAAD Media Award–, and Emmy Award–nominated show Summer Camp Island for Cartoon Network and HBO Max, as well as her work as a writer on Adventure Time. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son and a couple ghosts. She is the coauthor of picture book Have You Ever Seen a Ghost?. Visit her on social media @JuliaPott.

Sean Lewis is an illustrator living in an old house in Toronto, Canada. He would like to think his home is ghost-free, but his dog keeps barking in empty rooms. He’s the illustrator of Have You Ever Seen a Ghost?. You can find more of his work at SeanIsLewis.com or on social media @SeanIsLewis.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 1 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-25/daniel-kwan-julia-pott

La Palabra Poetry Reading Series & Open Mic at Avenue 50 studio – In-Person Event

Pam Concepcion hosts featured guests and an Open Mic on the 4^th or last Sunday of the month.

Be brave this Oct 25th 2 pm and face your fears with our features: Mylo Lam and Rosa Christina at La Palabra!

Mylo Lam is a writer, author producer and performer of poetry, children’s media, and all the lovely things. Lam is the author of And Not/and Yet.

Rosa Christina is a Latina poet living in Southern California. She likes to write stories to share around the campfire, and poems for you alone.

Host Pam Concepcion is the author of Unbecoming: Poems and Visual Art (Riot of Roses Publishing House, 2026). She is an interdisciplinary artist from Metro Manila, Philippines, delving into poetry, screenwriting, graphic design, digital collages, and more. Her writing is heavily influenced by music, books, art, her experiences growing up as an athlete, her time in a Catholic all-girls school, and later, her bachelor’s degree.

Where: Avenue 50 Studio

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

Address: 3714 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, 90065 (Street Parking only)

Website: Instagram Page

Author Event: Ming and Wah Chen & The Ming and Wah Chen Detective Agency at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event

Ming and Wah Chen will discuss The Ming and Wah Chen Detective Agency.

In this lighthearted, illustrated, chapter book series, ten-year-old twin detectives Ming and Wah invite readers to hunt for clues and solve neighborhood mysteries. No case too small, for fees not too large!

Ten-year-old twins Ming and Wah can get to the bottom of any mystery! Sometimes they disagree on methods, but they’re always in sync when they crack a case. With a librarian mother and a journalist father, they were practically born to be detectives. They’re bursting with useful information from all the books they devour, and they know exactly what questions to ask in an investigation.

So, the summer before fifth grade, they decide to go pro and open up The Ming and Wah Detective Agency: “No case too small for fees not too large!” Their best friend, Aileen, soon joins the team. Luckily, their small town in New Jersey is filled with mysteries, big and small: a vandalized neighborhood, a rigged horseshoe contest, and even a masked burglar! Will the young sleuths be able to connect the dots in each case and prevent jerks from spoiling everyone’s summer?

The first installment of The Ming & Wah Detective Agency series introduces the curious, clever, and determined suburban sleuths, Ming and Wah. With a sweet, lighthearted tone, clear writing, and one case per chapter, this is the perfect book to introduce young readers to the mystery genre, and the satisfaction of deducing solutions.

Ming and Wah Chen are identical twins who love history, plucky heroes and anything by Agatha Christie. Graduates of Harvard and Columbia Universities respectively, they have authored three picture books together, including the Kirkus Reviews-starred picture book Escape: One Day We Had to Run. They live in Hong Kong and Los Angeles and have six wonderful children between them.

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm

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

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-10-25/ming-and-wah-chen-ming-and-wah-chen-detective-agency

Author Event: Kutter Callaway & Be Afraid: What Horror Reveals about Facing the Darkness at Flintridge Bookstore – In-Person Event

Kutter Callaway will discuss his book Be Afraid: What Horror Reveals about Facing the Darkness.

Theologian and psychological scientist Kutter Callaway explores the surprising relationship between fear, horror, and Christian faith. Drawing from film, psychology, and theology, he engages popular horror narratives to ask what our deepest fears reveal about what we love, long for, and believe. According to Callaway, Christian life isn’t about eliminating fear, it’s about redirecting it. Be Afraid offers a fresh, often funny, and deeply honest theological reflection on the shared fears and anxieties of our culture.

Where: Flintridge Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm

Address: 858 Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011

Website: https://www.flintridgebooks.com/instore-events/2026/10/25/author-appearance-kutter-callaway-be-afraid-what-horror-reveals-about-facing-the-darkness

Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga & California Quarterly Vol. 52 No. # (Autumn 2026) at Bolton hall Museum – In-Person & Online Zoom Hybrid Event

Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga present California Quarterly Vol. 52 No. 3 (Autumn 2026) at its Monthly Poetry Reading on Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 4:30 pm.

The reading will include a live component and Zoom for presenting poets based outside of Southern California. The location is Los Angeles’s Historic Monument No. 2, built in 1913, Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga (10110 Commerce Ave, Tujunga, CA 91042), with street parking available. Free admission with $5 donation suggested.

Copies of the CQ will be available for purchase at a special discounted price. The reading will be moderated by Maja Trochimczyk, CSPS President and editor of the issue, and the Zoom site will be managed by Joe DeCenzo. To request Zoom link, email CaliforniaStatePoetrySociety@gmail.com.

Where: Bolton Hall Museum

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Address: 10110 Commerce Ave, Tujunga, CA 91042

Website: Village Poets Event Page

What Books Press Poetry Launch: at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person MG Event

Join us to celebrate this year’s fiction slate from What Books Press!

Join us to hear Amy Elizabeth Davis, James Cushing, Celeste Boyer, and Bill Mohr read from and discuss their new work.

Amy Elisabeth Davis, a historian, and poet who studied at Cornell and Columbia and grew up between Van Cortlandt Park’s forested land and the Hudson River in New York City. A longtime resident of Southern California, her poems have appeared in Tar River Poetry, December, The Southern Humanities Review, and elsewhere. She co-edited Written Here: The Community of Writers Poetry Review 2016 and was the recipient of a writing residency at Yefe Nof in autumn 2018.

Leaving the Grid by Amy Elisabeth Davis ponders constraints and forms of freedom—how we approach them and choose the roads we might best follow. It touches on memory, grief, the earth and its waters, and family. This is a book about the ability to see and create the most nourishing ways to be, about finding agency and hope. Leaving the Grid is about where we want to be going and how we might get there.

James Cushing holds a doctorate in English from UC Irvine. From 1989 through 2020, when he retired, he taught literature and creative writing at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and served as the community’s Poet Laureate 2008 – 2010. Cushing’s poems have appeared in many journals, and 35-year association with Cahuenga Press has resulted in seven full-length collections of poetry.

Spoken in the Dark by James Cushing is a collection of sixty poems which were written three years before and during the first days of the Covid-19 pandemic, These poems are rooted in the American tradition of Wallace Stevens, John Ashbery, James Tate, and W. S. Merwin, but speaks in the language of the 21st century. Readers will find pantoums, prose-poems, references to popular culture, and an overall sense that Rimbaud was right when he said, “I is someone else.”

Celeste Goyer is a poet and artist living in Los Angeles. Her New England childhood in Northampton, Massachusetts, informs her work, as do the many years she spent in remote California desert and mountain towns. She edited a literary quarterly for 14 years and her work has appeared in numerous journals as well as anthologies, including Poetry Goes to the Movies from Beyond Baroque Books and Women in a Golden State, from Gunpowder Press.

The poems in In the Style of Falling by Celeste Boyer see the consistent absurdity and mystery of the world as something both beautiful, and in an odd way, comforting. The tone is akin to a hushed but matter-of-fact tour guide through lands where much cannot be understood, but the view from the ruins still dazzles. Celeste’s poems, like her visual art, owe much to the layering and leaps of collage. Through her lens, has something to say, so we hear from bread (a woman, naturally) postcards, and hurricanes, among many others. Like falling in love, this book’s journey into mystery is led by the heart, though the wry Observer is never far away.

Bill Mohr has worked as an editor, publisher, literary historian, and poet since the early 1970s. His books include Holdouts: The Los Angeles Poetry Renaissance 1948-1992 (University of Iowa Press; 2011) and a bilingual edition of poems, Pruebas Ocultas (Bonobos Editores, Mexico; 2015). His newest book is Remiges: Three Extended Poems (1985-2025).

RSVP at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 4:30 pm – 6 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Earthseed Symposium Book Club: Our Cut of Salt at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person Event

The Earthseed Symposium Book Club meets to discuss Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm.

Earthseed Symposium reads speculative fiction in the tradition in Octavia E. Butler – political, provocative, and literary sci-fi, fantasy, and horror by marginalized or under-represented writers.

Participants will discuss Our Cut of Salt by author Deena Helm.

In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.

And, in return, the house did the same for her.

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina’s mother, Haifa – named for the city that was lost to their family – reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all.

All are welcome! Email info@northfigbookshop.com for more info.

Where: North Figueroa Bookshop

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 5 pm – 7 pm

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

Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-1f0fa1e0-8891-42fa-b032-cb9f08e1a9db

Latinx Book Club: The Nightmare Box & Other Stories at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Participants will discuss The Nightmare Box & Other Stories by Cynthia Gomez.

A young queer man finds love at a magical clothing shop-and the courage to stand up to the homophobic cops. A witch who makes custom nightmares wonders why all her victims are connected to the Black Panthers-and who she’s really working for. A soon-to-be father encounters a mysterious hitchhiker who tries pulling him back to the days of his violent past. A brand-new vampire, freshly hired at the blood bank, delights in her heightened sexual desire and superhuman strength.

Cynthia Gomez’s debut collection is a magic-soaked love letter to Oakland, brimming with feminist rage. Its twelve stories center ordinary people-Latine, queer, working class-as they wield supernatural powers against oppression, loneliness, and dread.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-25/latinx-book-club-nightmare-box-and-other-stories

Zillennial Book Club: You Weren’t Meant to Be Human at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Participants will discuss You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White.

Festering masses of worms and flies have taken root in dark corners across Appalachia. In exchange for unwavering loyalty and fresh corpses, these hives offer a few struggling humans salvation. A fresh start. It’s an offer that none refuse.

Crane is grateful. Among his hive’s followers, Crane has found a chance to transition, to never speak again, to live a life that won’t destroy him. He even met Levi: a handsome ex-Marine and brutal killer who treats him like a real man, mostly. But when Levi gets Crane pregnant—and the hive demands the child’s birth, no matter the cost—Crane’s desperation to make it stop will drive the community that saved him into a devastating spiral that can only end in blood.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is a deeply personal horror; a visceral statement about the lives of marginalized people in a hostile world, echoing the works of Stephen Graham Jones and Eric LaRocca.

Andrew Joseph White is the trans, autistic, and bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and Compound Fracture. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he received his MFA in creative writing from George Mason University and lives in Virginia with his wife and their antisocial cat. Learn more at AndrewJosephWhite.com.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-25/zillennial-book-club-you-werent-meant-be-human

The Witching Hour Poetry Show at The Glendale Room – In-Person Event

L(it) Girl Presents – The Witching Hour: Join us for a bewitching evening of poetry. $10 to watch. $5 to sign up.

The Witching Hour Poetry Show & Open Mic.

$5 For Performers // $10 To Watch.

Come cast a spell.

Where: The Glendale Room

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address:127 N Artsakh Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206

Website: Eventbrite Page

Historical Romance LA Book Club: The Death Do We Start at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event

Historical Romance book club meets at 7:15 pm on the fourth Sunday in the main store! It focuses on examining popular romance novels from a writer’s viewpoint. Everyone is welcome; you don’t have to be a writer!

No membership is necessary, but RSVP is required.

Book for October: Fruit of the Flesh by I.V. Ophelia.

Where: The Ripped Bodice

Date: Sunday the 25^th

Time: 7:15 pm – 8:15 pm

Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90232

Website: https://therippedbodice.com/event/2026-10-25/historical-romance-book-club-october-2026

Los Angeles Literature

Online magazine covering L.A.'s vast literary community.

Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/19/26 – 10/25/26

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