Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/26/26 – 11/01/26

L.A. Zine Fest: Zine Week Workshop at Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Get ready for L.A. Zine Fest by joining our zine workshop leading up to #LAZineWeek!

Join our monthly makerspace in the community room! Learn 3-D printing, sewing, button making, zine making, custom sticker design and more! This program is geared towards teens but open to all.

Where: Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Address: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401

Website: Instagram Page

Author Event: Kyung-Sook Shin: Inside the Korean Family at UCLA Bunche Hall – In-Person Event (1 of 2 LA events)

Author Kyung-Sook Shin will present and discuss her work: Please Look After Mom and I Went to See My Father

Please Look After Mom, the story of a family searching for a mother who goes missing in a crowded Seoul subway station, became a New York Times bestseller and brought contemporary Korean fiction to readers around the world. In I Went to See My Father, Shin turns to the other parent: a daughter returns to her hometown to stay with her aging father and comes to know the life he carried in silence.

Drawing on Please Look After Mom and I Went to See My Father, Shin will talk about the Korean family at the heart of her fiction. The program includes a reading in Korean with its published English translation, a conversation about Korean words for family and everyday life and how they are translated, and a look at how readers around the world have responded to her work.

Kyung-Sook Shin was born in Jeongeup, South Korea, and made her literary debut in 1985. Her novels include Please Look After Mom, The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness, I’ll Be Right There, The Court Dancer, Violets, and I Went to See My Father. Please Look After Mom, translated by Chi-Young Kim, became a New York Times bestseller, has been published in more than 40 countries, and in 2012 made Shin the first Korean writer and the first woman to win Man Asian Literary Prize. Her honors also include Frances’s Prix de I’lnaperçu and, in Korea, the Yi Sang Literary Award and the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts.

Christopher Hanscom is a professor of modern Korean literature in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA. He is the author of Impossible Speech (2024) and The Real Modern (2013), as well as coeditor of The Affect of Difference (2016) and Imperatives of Culture (2013).

RSVP: koreanstudies@international.ucla.edu

Where: UCLA Bunche Hall, Room 10383

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 4 pm

Address: 315 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Website: https://www.international.ucla.edu/cks/event/17825

Fiction Book Club: The Monsters of Templeton at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event

Please join us to discuss The Monsters of Templeton: A Novel by Lauren Groff.

This is a novel spanning two centuries: part a contemporary story of a girl’s search for her father, part historical novel, and part ghost story. In the wake of a disastrous love affair with her older, married archaeology professor at Stanford, brilliant Wilhelmina Cooper arrives back at the doorstep of her hippie mother-turned-born-again-Christian’s house in Templeton, NY, a storybook town her ancestors founded that sits on the shores of Lake Glimmerglass. Upon her arrival, a prehistoric monster surfaces in the lake bringing a feeding frenzy to the quiet town, and Willie learns she has a mystery father her mother kept secret Willie’s entire life. The beautiful, broody Willie is told that the key to her biological father’s identity lies somewhere in her family’s history, so she buries herself in the research of her twisted family tree and finds more than she bargained for as a chorus of voices from the town’s past—some sinister, all fascinating—rise up around her to tell their side of the story. In the end, dark secrets come to light, past and present day are blurred, and old mysteries are finally put to rest.

Lauren Groff is the author of The Monsters of Templeton, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers; Arcadia, a New York Times Notable Book, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and finalist for the L.A. Times Book Award; and Fates and Furies, a National Book Award finalist. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Tin House, One Story, McSweeney’s, and Ploughshares, and in the anthologies 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and three editions of The Best American Short Stories. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and two sons.

Where: Chevalier’s

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm

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

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-10-26/fiction-book-club

Queer Book Club: Disco Witches of Fire Island at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person & Online Zoom Hybrid Event

Participants will discuss Disco Witches of Fire Island: A Novel by Blair Fell.

It’s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island—and young men like Joe—from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven’s protective powers have been seriously damaged.

Unaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe’s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island—a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom.

The Disco Witches need to find help—fast—if they’re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how? Fans of spicy queer romances with a dash of fantasy will fall in love with this stunning novel of community, love, sex, magic, and hope in desperate times.

Blair Fell is the author of The Sign for Home, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Book Prize, was the winner of the Doris Lippman Prize, and was selected as both an Indies Introduce and Indies Next pick. He’s written dozens of plays that have been performed all over NYC’s downtown as well as in cities across the country and around the world. His TV work as a writer includes Queer as Folk (Showtime) and California Connected (public TV). His first-person essays have appeared in Out Magazine, NY Daily News, Huffington Post, and more. He’s also been an actor, director, and producer—and was once a bartender for the summer on Fire Island, an experience that greatly informed this novel.

Where: Cellar Door Books & Coffee

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-26/queer-book-club-disco-witches-fire-island

Adult Book Club: The Sentence at Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please join us for a conversation about The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich.

This story spans from All Souls’ Day in November 2019 to November 2020. It follows Tookie, an Indigenous woman who survived a long prison sentence by reading voraciously and now works at the bookstore. When the store’s most annoying customer, Flora, dies unexpectedly on All Souls’ Day, her ghost refuses to leave and persistently haunts Tookie. Tookie must figure out why Flora is haunting the shop.

Where: Mar Vista Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 6:30 pm

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

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/mar-vista-book-club]

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

Looking for some dedicated writing time after work to focus on your passion projects? Come join us! We are your weekly neighborhood writing meetups.

All writers and all experience levels are welcome!

Hosted by Jackie Mansky and Sammy (@literarypixie)

RSVP at link in bio.

Where: Sidewalk Grill

Date: Monday the 26^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 26^th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 3575 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501

Website: Facebook Event Page

Susan Orlean, with Patton Oswald, & Joyride: A Memoir at Book Soup Off-stie at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles – In-Person Event

Susan Orlean, in conversation with Patton Oswald, will discuss Joyride: A Memoir.

“The story of my life is the story of my stories,” writes Susan Orlean in this extraordinary, era-defining memoir from one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time. Joyride is a magic carpet ride through Orlean’s life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, her curiosity has drawn her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular ten-year-old boy for a legendary profile (“The American Man Age Ten”) to reporting on a woman who owns twenty-seven tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji.

Not only does Orlean’s account of a writing life offer a trove of indispensable gleanings for writers, it’s also an essential and practical “master class” (The New York Times) to embracing any creative path. She takes us through her process of dreaming up ideas, managing deadlines, connecting with sources, chasing every possible lead, confronting writer’s block and self-doubt, and crafting the perfect lede—a Susan specialty.

While Orlean has always written her way into other people’s lives in order to understand the human experience, Joyride is her most personal book ever—a searching journey through finding her feet as a journalist, recovering from the excruciating collapse of her first marriage, falling head-over-heels in love again, becoming a mother while mourning the decline of her own mother, sojourning to Hollywood for films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush, and confronting mortality. Joyride is also a time machine to a bygone era of journalism, from Orlean’s bright start in the golden age of alt-weeklies to her career-making days working alongside icons such as Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Anna Wintour, Sonny Mehta, and Jonathan Karp—forces who shaped the media industry as we know it today.

Infused with Orlean’s signature warmth and wit, Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build, and sustain a creative life. Orlean inspires us to seek out daily inspiration and rediscover the marvels that surround us.

Where: First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-26/susan-orlean

Under the Tree We Dream: A Monthly Writing Circle with Alex Petunia at Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea – In-Person Event

An invitation to write and dream with generative prompts and creative community. Hosted by Alex Petunia (Tending My Wild) on every last Monday of the month, 7 pm – 8:30 pm at Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea.

All writing levels are welcome.

Entrance requires a drink purchase.

Where: Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

Address: 5371 Alhambra Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90032

Website: Instagram Page

Ben Ehrenreich, with Sesshu Foster, & Hold Still at Skylight – In-Person Event

Ben Ehrenreich, in conversation with Sesshu Foster, will discuss Hold Still.

A profound and deeply personal, genre-bending book about finding one’s way back to life after the death of a parent.

In the months after his mother Barbara’s death, Ben Ehrenreich set himself the task of writing a story every day. Leaving open the question of what a “story” might be, he wrote daily entries for three or four months as a way to grapple with his grief and to try to understand this new phase of life, which meant continuing on after his mother’s death. Some of these daily entries ended up being short stories of a sort, often fable-like tales involving animals doing surprising things. Others were closer to journal entries, many of them about his daughter, who was nearly three at the time, and who was trying to understand death herself at the same time that she was voraciously exploring the living world. Other entries raised the question: What is it that even makes a story a story?

This deeply moving collection of those daily journeys into storytelling—a finely crafted combination of fiction, memoir, and poetic prose—is both profound and satisfyingly whimsical. An innovative, versatile writer, Ben Ehrenreich takes his reader into the difficult emotional terrain of grief, and then safely escorts them to the other side, leaving them inspired, uplifted and hopeful.

Ben Ehrenreich is the author of four previous books, most recently, of the New York Times Notable Book, Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time. He has also published The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine, based on his years of reporting from the West Bank, as well as two novels, The Suitors and Ether, which was also published by City Lights.

Sesshu Foster’s City Terrace Field Manual was featured on the L.A. Times’ “Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf: 110 essential Los Angeles books,” his City of the Future won a 2019 Firecracker Award, and he won Beyond Baroque Literary Center’s George Drury Smith Award in 2024. An essay, “Practicing Poetry in L.A. 1983 – 1992,” is forthcoming in Tripwire Journal. His novels with City Lights include Atomik Aztex and ELADATL: A History of the East Los Angeles Dirigible Air Transport Lines.

RSVP

Where: Skylight

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-26/ben-ehrenreich-w-sesshu-foster-hold-still

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 26^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Zoom Online Event (see site)

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

Midnight Maas-Querade: A Court of Splintered Harmony Release Party at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event

Join us for our Midnight Release Party as we await the release of the newest book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series!

A Court of Splintered Harmony: The Valkyrie Cycle, Movement I (A Court of Thorns and Roses #6) by Sarah J. Maas.

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 bestselling author of the Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City series. Her books have sold more than seventy-five million copies and are published in forty languages.

Pre-order your copy now!

Where: Chevalier’s

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 10 pm – 1 am

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

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-10-26/midnight-maas-querade

Midnight Release Party: A Court of Splintered Harmony at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Join us for a midnight release party for A Court of Splintered Harmony, the highly anticipated sixth installment in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas!

Games will be played. Crafts will be crafted. Snacks will be noshed. Prythian fun will be had by all, and Maasverse activities shall abound!

No blood rites required, just a ticket.

PURCHASE YOURS BY CLICKING LINK AT WEBSITE!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Monday the 26^th

Time: 10 pm – 12:30 am

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

Website: 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 27^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 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 27^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17327535

Nonfiction Book Club: Sisters in Science at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us to discuss Sisters in Science by Olivia Campbell. Copies available at Customer Service. For adults

Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 2 pm – 3 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17418852

Zoom Book Club: via Venice Branch Library, LAPL – Online Zoom Event

Join us on the last Tuesday of the month for a lively discussion of our current selection.

Oct. 27: Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden

Where: Venice Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

Address: Online Zoom Event

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

Iacobani Book Club: Flowers for Algernon at Angelo M. Iacobani Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us to discuss Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Copies available at Customer Service. For adults

Where: Angelo M. Iacobani Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 4990 Clark Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17163245

LGBTQ+ Book Club: The Emperor of Gladness at West Hollywood Library, LACL – In-Person & Online Hybrid LGBTQIA+ Event

Join the LGBTQ+ Book Club for a hybrid (in-person and online) discussion of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. For adults.

This is a hybrid event and will be hosted in-person in the West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room as well as on Zoom. Please register at the link below to receive the link to the meeting via email.

https://library-lacounty-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pd-Goqz4uGNNbzVuW720zsRrGxTK1VeLG

West Hollywood Library’s LGBTQ+ Book Club meets on the last Tuesday of the month to discuss literary works of relevance and interest to the LGBTQ+ community.

Please contact the library to borrow a print copy of the book. eBook and downloadable audiobook are available through Libby.

Summary provided by the publisher:

A year in the life of a wayward young man in New England who, by chance, becomes the caretaker for an eighty-two-year-old widow living with dementia, powering a story of friendship, loss, and how much we’re willing to risk to claim one of life’s most treasured mercies: a second chance.

Where: West Hollywood Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17107964

Phy-Sci Book Club: Algospeak at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic.

From “brainrot” memes and incel slang to the trend of adding “-core” to different influencer aesthetics, the internet has ushered in an unprecedented linguistic upheaval. We’re entering an entirely new era of etymology, heralded by the invisible forces driving social media algorithms. Thankfully, Algospeak is here to explain. As a professional linguist, Adam Aleksic understands the gravity of language and the way we use it: he knows the ways it has morphed and changed, how it reflects society, and how, in its everyday usage, we carry centuries of human history on our tongues. As a social media influencer, Aleksic is also intimately familiar with the internet’s reach and how social media impacts the way we engage with one another. New slang emerges and goes viral overnight. Accents are shaped or erased on YouTube. Grammatical rules, loopholes, and patterns surface and transform language as we know it. Our interactions, social norms, and habits—both online and in person—shift into something completely different.

As Aleksic uses original surveys, data, and internet archival research to usher us through this new linguistic landscape, he also illuminates how communication is changing in both familiar and unexpected ways. From our use of emojis to sentence structure to the ways younger generations talk about sex and death (see unalive in English and desvivirse in Spanish), we are in a brand-new world, one shaped by algorithms and technology. Algospeak is an energetic, astonishing journey into language, the internet, and what this intersection means for all of us.

Adam Aleksic is a linguist and content creator posting educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd” to an audience of more than three million. As a linguistics student at Harvard College, he founded and served as president of the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society. He’s discussed online language on NPR and repeatedly contributed to The Washington Post, and his work has been mentioned in The New York Times, The Economist, and The Guardian. He’s lectured on language and social media at Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, and other top universities, including a TEDx talk at the University of Pennsylvania. Aleksic is based in New York City, where he spends a lot of time scrolling TikTok for “research.”

Where: Cellar Door Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

Address: 6675 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92506

Website: https://cellardoorbookstore.com/event/2026-10-27/phy-sci-book-club-algospeak

Walter Mosely, with Andre Hardy, in Conversation: Hanging & Burning, with Diesel, A Bookstore & SMPL, Off-site at Miles Playhouse – In-Person Event

Walter Mosely, in conversation with Andre Hardy, will discuss Hanging & Burning: A King Oliver Novel.

Joe King Oliver is the big man you call to solve the most delicate and dangerous of problems. Fresh off unraveling the mystery of his own parents’ fates, King finds himself accepting (again at his grandmother’s request) a case from Arman Babylon, a powerful Los Angeles gangster now dying from cancer.

Babylon’s granddaughter, Twyla Mann, has been missing for years, and he’s desperate to find her before he passes. The search pulls King into the Babylons’ stained past and the cold case of Dalia Shorts, a torch singer who vanished without a trace and whom Arman was once suspected of killing.

As King follows her trail from L.A. to New York and back, he’ll realize nothing is what it seems as he uncovers a pattern of violence that has targeted the women around Babylon for decades. How much will King be willing to risk to finally set things right?

Walter Mosley is one of America’s most celebrated writers. He was given the 2020 National Book Award’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, and honored with the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award, the Robert Kirsch Award, numerous Edgars, and several NAACP Image Awards. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages. He has published fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker, Playboy, and The Nation. As an executive producer, he adapted his novel The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey for AppleTV+. He co-wrote the adaptation of his novel The Man in My Basement to stream on Hulu, and he served as a writer and executive producer for FX’s Snowfall. He divides his time between Brooklyn and Santa Monica.

Andre Hardy has written across multiple genres, including creative nonfiction, essays and short stories, screenwriting, and long-form narrative. Andre’s essays, interviews, and critical analysis have been published in L.A. Tribe Magazine, Lunch Ticket, Antioch University’s cutting-edge literary and visual arts journal, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. His short story, “Negro in a Hot Tub,” is featured in Made in L.A.: An Anthology of Stories Rooted in the City of Angels, written by Los Angeles-based writers. Andre was the fourth pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1984 National Football League draft. He is a member of the NFL Retired Players Association and the NFL Legends Community, and he earned his MFA through the NFL Players Trust tuition reimbursement program. Andre was born and raised in San Diego and recently moved to Charlotte, NC with his beautiful wife, renowned Buddhist meditation teacher JoAnna Hardy.

Reserve your free seat at website link!

Underground parking is available at the library (which is 2 blocks away from the venue) via 7th St driveway, across from the Fire Department. First half hour is free, and the Library can provide an additional 1-hour free validation ticket.

Where: Diesel Off-site at Miles Playhouse

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm (Doors at 5:30 pm)

Address: 1130 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-10-27/walter-mosley-conversation-andre-hardy-hanging-and-burning

The Mystery Book Club: The Art Forger at Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join for a discussion of The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro. All are welcome!

Where: Playa Vista Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

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

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/mystery-book-club-25

Book Club for Adults: Silver Nitrate at Lynwood Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us for a discussion of Silver Nitrate, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Copies of the book are available at the library for checkout. For Adults.

Montserrat, a talented sound editor in 1990s Mexico City, is secretly in love with her best friend, faded soap star Tristán. When they meet cursed horror director Abel Urueta, he convinces them to help complete a mysterious unfinished film involving occult magic and Nazi sorcery. But as they investigate, Montserrat is haunted by a dark presence and Tristán sees his dead ex-girlfriend. Together, they must uncover the film’s supernatural secrets before the curse consumes them.

Where: Lynwood Library, LACL

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 11320 Bullis Rd, Lynwood, CA 90262

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17482458

Author Event: Kyung-Sook Shin: Inside the Korean Family at UCLA Bunche Hall – In-Person Event (2 of 2 LA events)

Author Kyung-Sook Shin will present and discuss her work: Please Look After Mom and I Went to See My Father

RSVP: https://sca-apply.vercel.app/en/p/us-literature

Where: King Sejong Institute Center USA, 1^st Floor

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6:30 pm

Address: 5509 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Website: https://www.ksicusa.org/announcement/view/?b=1906&p=1

Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club: The Fifth Season at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

The Village Well Book Club offshoot, the Sci-fi Fantasy Book Club! To the Tolkien nerds, SJM stans, and R.F. Kuang enjoyers, this group is for you! On the fourth Tuesday of every month, we will come together and discuss a story that falls within the realms of either science fiction or fantasy (or sometimes both!). To join our emailing list, reach out to events@villagewell.com. Hope to see ya there!

This October’s pick is The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin.

At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this “intricate and extraordinary” Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)

This is the way the world ends…for the last time.

It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.

This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

Read the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.

Reserve your seat at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Jason Neese & The Traveling Audience at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Jason Neese will discuss and sign The Traveling Audience.

When Jacob’s twin brother vanishes without a trace, he begins following a trail of impossible postcards scattered across America—cryptic messages that hint at apocalypse, destiny, and something deeply wrong with reality itself.

Then he finds her.

Naked outside his motel room in Denver, a young woman with no memory of who she is claims she’s supposed to be with him. She remembers obscure details about strangers’ lives but nothing about her own. As Jacob and the mysterious Mia cross a surreal, burning America in search of his missing brother, their journey spirals into a fever dream of roadside prophets, fractured identities, religious cults, motel rooms, tarot omens, and the terrifying feeling that the world is quietly unraveling beneath them.

Part cosmic road novel, part psychological mystery, and part surreal romance, The Traveling Audience is a hypnotic exploration of memory, connection, fate, and what it means to exist in a universe that no longer feels stable.

For readers who love strange literary fiction with the emotional weight of American Gods, the existential surrealism of Twin Peaks, and the road-trip intensity of On the Road, this is a story that lingers long after the final page.

Jason Neese graduated with a BFA in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He went on to become a screenwriter, director, and producer for film and tv.

He was co-executive producer for Netflix mega hit The Umbrella Academy.

He co-produced Kevin Costner’s western epic Horizon.

He more recently wrote and produced the feature film And Out Comes The Wolf starring Giancarlo Esposito and Ryan Hurst and is currently writing and directing a YA paranormal indie series called We Believe You which Kevin Costner will produce.

Looking ahead, Jason with his twin brother, just sold a sci-fi time travel television show starring Nathan Fillion to Netflix which will go into production in 2027 and are attached to direct the feature film Goodman.

The Traveling Audience is his debut novel.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 7 pm

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

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-27/jason-neese

Downbeat 720 Open Stage for Teens at Miles Playhouse at Reed Park – In-Person Teen Event

Jules Paymer will feature at the next Downbeat 720 Open Stage of Teens. This event is held every 2^nd & 4^th Tuesday for teens.

Jules Paymer is a singer/songwriter from and based in Los Angeles, who grew up never missing a Downbeat and feels so lucky for mentors like Joe, Joshua and Jedi.

Downbeat 720 was created by Justin Yoffe, Ameenah Kaplan, Joe Hernandez-Kolski and DJ Jedi in 2001. Professional artists that have been invited to perform for the students in the past have included Grammy award-winning musicians like Aloe Blacc, Raul Pacheco (Ozomatli), comedian Craig Robinson (“The Office”), Akil the MC (Jurassic 5), poet/actress Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) and a host of nationally-ranked HBO Def Poets.

Downbeat 720 is a City of Santa Monica Recreation and Arts Department Cultural Affairs Division program.

Where: Miles Playhouse at Reed Park

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 7 pm sign-ups; 7:20 pm start

Address: 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403

Website: Downbeat 720 Event Page

Coyotes Fiction Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men at Skylight – In-Person Event

Participants will discuss I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman; translated by Ros Schwartz.

Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.

Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman’s modern classic is an essential addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

We’d love to have you at our meetings. And it’s free to come! The group is open to the public, there’s no need to sign up, and no mandate to come.

If you’d like to get on the Discord and receive book club updates from us, email misha@skylightbooks.com. If not, check in here for information about this month’s book and meeting.

RSVP

Where: Skylight

Date: Tuesday the 27^th

Time: 7:30 pm

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

Website: https://live-skylight1737733057.pantheonsite.io/coyotes

Virtual Cobalt Series & Open Mic: Rick Lupert & Guest Sasha Elise Tobin, plus Open Reading – Online Zoom Event

Cobalt Poets Reading & Open Mic and host Rick Lupert will welcome guest Sasha Elise Tobin, plus an Open Reading online.

Sasha Elise Tobin is a poet, educator, and general ADHD dyslexic weirdo. She currently resides in Keene, New Hampshire. She is actively involved in the poetry and slam communities of Slam Free of Die in Manchester, Untitled Open Mic in Lowell, and reads poetry at Burlesque shows in Keene. That’s right! She reads poetry around clothed and naked people. When she is not working on poetry, you can find Sasha reading banned books with children, drinking too much coffee, hiking, dancing, or engaging in some other whimsical venture.

Where: Cobalt Poets – Online Zoom Event

Date: Tuesday, the 27^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

Website: Cobalt Event Page

Muse on Fire Open Mic at The Wicked Wolf – In-Person Event

Muse on Fire – Storytelling, Spoken Word & Open Mic is back!

Join us at 7pm for the Meet and greet and 7:30pm sharp we will start the open mic. Lift a classic cocktail to the sky, listen to creatives sketch their truth on page, and embrace the welcoming atmosphere that the @thewickedwolflb has to offer. We will see you Scholars soon.

Hosted by Philosophy.

Where: The Wicked Wolf

Date: Tuesday, the 27^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

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

Website: Instagram Page

Da Poetry Lounge Open Mic: Fright Night 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 Jasmine Williams.

With DJ 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 27^th

Time: 9 pm – 11 pm (Doors at 8:15 pm)

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

Website: Instagram Page

Loyola Village Book Club Discussion: Something in the Water at Westchester – Loyola Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us for a lively discussion of Something in the Water: A Novel by Catherine Steadman.

Where: Westchester – Loyola Village Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 12 pm – 1 pm

Address: 7114 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles, CA el90045

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

Day of the Dead Poets at El Tranquillo Gallery – In-Person Event

Join us for a lively discussion of the 1989 novel Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel by Laura Esquivel.

Ginette Rondeau, The Merchants of Olvera Street, El Tranquilo Gallery, Poet & Curator, Lupe Montiel, proudly invite you to an art exhibition & poetry reading in honor of: Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead.

Poetry Host: Lupe Montiel

🌸Kayla Lieras (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist working across photography, poetry, zines, printmaking, spellwork, performance, and more. Her practice is rooted in raw emotion, spirit, and lived experience, moving through themes of identity, transformation, ancestry, and the spaces that often go unnoticed. Whether behind the camera, painting, or crafting something sacred by hand, her work holds space for honesty, feeling, and quiet magic. It’s not about perfection, it’s about presence, process, and the power of speaking your truth.

🌸Mónica Salazar is a spoken word poet and author of the poetry book, Wisdom Looks Good on Her published with Alegría Publishing and soon to be published For the Girls. She is a curator, a facilitator of self-love poetry workshops; a business owner and founder of Typaway Poetry, creating custom on the spot poems using a vintage typewriter.

🌸Mariana Francois is a Latinx author, poet and many other titles from Pacoima, CA. Promoting body positivity and sensual womaness as @nakedpoet & as @nopal_flower. her poetic free verse fights against xenophobic-racist barriers. She is part of a large group of Los Angelean poets in an anthology titled Coiled Serpent: Poets Arising from the Cultural Quakes & Shifts of Los Angeles Los Angeles. Her first chapbook Heart of Fire and her first full length poetry book Family & Other Problems are available. Additionally, she is an editor, photographer, an event curator/ community organizer, under the business name Prickly Pear Productions & Services @pricklypearproductions4.

🌸Cynthia A. Briano is Director of the Rapp Saloon Reading Series and Founder of Love On Demand Global. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, grew up in Southeast L.A., and at 14, attended boarding school in Massachusetts. She earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a Master in Fine Arts in Poetry from UC Riverside. Cynthia teaches at Cal. State University Fullerton in the African American Studies Department as part of the Ethnic Studies Program. She has been recipient of the Lois Morrell & J. Russell Hayes Poetry Prize and finalist in the James Hearst Poetry Prize.

🌸Aruj Khan is a writer and film director based in Anaheim.

🌸Lupe Montiel is a writer and filmmaker from LA’s South Bay, at is interviewed at the Sounds of California: Boyle Heights Festival. Recorded at the Sounds of California: Boyle Heights Festival (October 2021).

Thank you for supporting our work, the arts, & artists 🙏🏼♥️

Where: El Tranquillo Gallery

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 1 pm – 4 pm

Where: W-19 Olvera St, Los Angeles, C 90012

Website: Instagram Page

Classics Book Club Discussion: Like Water for Chocolate at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join us for a lively discussion of the 1989 novel Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel by Laura Esquivel.

Where: Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 1:30 pm – 3 pm

Where: 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills, CA 91344

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/classics-book-club-water-chocolate

Sci-Fi Book Club: The Penultimate Truth By Philip K. Dick at Granada Hills Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Join our Science Fiction Book Club to discuss The Penultimate Truth by Philip K. Dick. Copies of the novel are available at the library.

Synopsis: In this dystopian novel of future America, citizens live underground like ants while their mysterious President doesn’t seem to age at all.

Where: Van Nuys Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

Where: 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/sci-fi-book-club-penultimate-truth-philip-k-dick

Book Club for Adults: The Silent Patient at El Monte Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us each month for a facilitated discussion of fiction and non-fiction titles. A limited number of copies are available for book club attendees at the library. Light refreshments will be served. For adults.

October’s Book Pick is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

A psychological thriller about a famous painter who stops speaking after being accused of murdering her husband. Years later, a psychotherapist becomes determined to uncover the truth behind her silence.

Where: El Monte Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

Address: 3224 Tyler Ave., El Monte, CA 91731

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17361325

The Canyon Readers Book Club: Commonwealth at Topanga Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us for a discussion of Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth” a captivating story of family, love, secrets, and the ties that bind us. For adults 18+.

Where: Topanga Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm

Address: 122 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17419148

Author Event: Jim Ellis, with C.L. Max Nikias, & A Journey of Insights at pages: a bookstore – In-Person Event

Jim Ellis, in conversation with C.L. Max Nikias, will discuss his book A Journey of Insights

A Journey of Insights draws upon the lessons James G. Ellis learned while a teacher and dean of USC’s Marshall School of Business as well as those he absorbed during his preceding years at Harvard Business School and in business. In trying to plot the roadmap for a successful business life, his stories show illustratively the secrets or ingredients of how business schools and their students can prosper. At the core of his message is the central theme that listening to voices around you throughout life is the key to success. In essence, ears can speak louder than voices.

James G. Ellis was dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California from April 2007 until June 2019, where he was responsible for the education and well-being of some 5,700 students, both graduate and undergraduate. In addition, he had a full-time tenured appointment as professor of Marketing, where he was since 1997, retiring in July 2021. Prior to being appointed dean, he was vice provost, Globalization, for the university, responsible for building the USC name worldwide.

At USC, he was awarded both the Teaching Has No Boundaries award, given by the faculty, and the Golden Apple Award, given by the students. He also was given the Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award from the USC Parents’ Association and was named one of the top five professors at USC by the students.

C.L. Max Nikias: Max served as the eleventh president of the University of Southern California, a position he held from August 3, 2010, to August 7, 2018. He is currently the president emeritus and life trustee of the USC and the holder of the Malcolm R. Currie chair in technology and the humanities. He joined USC in 1991, and in addition to his work as a professor, he served as director of a media center, dean of engineering, provost, and president of the university. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. He is the recipient of the UNICEF Spirit of Compassion Award and the Academic Leadership Award of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He is recognized internationally for his pioneering research in digital signal processing and digital media. The U.S. Department of War has adopted a number of his innovations and patents in sonar, radar, and communication systems.

RSVP

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 6 pm – 7 pm

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-28/special-author-event-jim-ellis

Local Authors Meetup at Underdog Bookstore – In-Person Event

At Underdog Bookstore we love supporting local authors on the shelves and at our signings and panels, but sometimes you just want to turn off the book selling brain and enjoy each other’s company instead.

We hope that these meetups will provide an opportunity to connect, collaborate, and spend time in community. Whether you’re self-published and new to the industry or have trade tales to share from your experience in indie or trad publishing – all writers are welcome here.

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

RSVP at website link.

Where: Underdog Bookstore

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/local-authors-meetup-september

Romantasy Book Club: Dearly Departed at Agoura Hills Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Join us for a discussion of Dearly Departed by Chip Pons. Copies available at Customer Service. For adults.

In this Hades-inspired gay rom-com, the former god of the Underworld turned grumpy funeral director must find a loophole in the Immortality Retirement Act that banished him to Earth, until the florist next door who sees life in full bloom begins to unravel all his carefully laid plans. Hayden, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood by the allegedly irreversible Immortal Retirement Act, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home—a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he’s lost. Still, he’s determined to claw his way back…if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him. Enter Levi : a florist with an artist’s heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life’s messiest moments. As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew, and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine. But trusting Levi means risking the walls he’s kept in place all these years—and it’s not just his heart on the line. Because in the threads of fate, one choice can change everything.

Where: Agoura Hills Library, LACL

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

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

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17419153

Shut Up & Write! with Los Feliz Writers at Alcove Café & Bakery – In-Person Event

Looking for some dedicated writing time after work to focus on your passion projects? Come join us! We are your weekly neighborhood writing meetups.

All writers and all experience levels are welcome!

Hosted by Sammy (@literarypixie!)

RSVP at link in bio.

Where: Bar Alcove & Bakery

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 6:45 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Instagram Page

ALOUD Reading Series: Built for the Future—Saved for the Next Century: Panel Discussion at Central Library, LFLA – In-Person Event

Co-presented with the Los Angeles Conservancy.

For 100 years, Los Angeles Central Library has been an architectural icon and a cornerstone of civic life—but its future was once uncertain. In 1978, a powerful preservation effort led by community advocates and the Los Angeles Conservancy saved the historic building from demolition, securing its place at the heart of the city.

Join us for a dynamic conversation on the Library’s past, present, and bold look ahead at the next one hundred years. Moderated by Madeleine Brand, broadcast journalist and host of KCRW’s Press Play, the conversation will examine the legacy of the historic Central Library and what it means to preserve, steward, and reimagine the role of this civic monument in Los Angeles’ future.

Panelists include: Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, Susan Orlean, bestselling author of The Library Book, and John Welborne, attorney and preservation leader whose work with the Los Angeles Conservancy and Citizens’ Task Force helped secure the preservation and expansion of the Central Library.

As President and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, Adrian Scott Fine provides overall leadership for the nation’s largest local, nonprofit membership-based heritage conservation organization. He oversees the Conservancy’s strategic direction across the greater Los Angeles region—spanning 88 cities and unincorporated communities over more than 4,000 square miles—guiding teams that set priorities, build public awareness, and advance programs that protect and celebrate historic places.

Susan Orlean is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside.

John Welborne was born in Los Angeles and is a corporate, general Land use and zoning property and estate development lawyer. He worked to preserve the Central Library.

RSVP: Ticketed.

Where: Central Library, LAPL, Mark Taper Auditorium

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: Eventbrite Page

Marcy Kelly, with Colin Campbell, & The Porcelain Heart: A Mother’s Memoir of Unexpected Loss at Book Soup – In-Person Event

Marcy Kelly, in conversation with Colin Campbell, will discuss The Porcelain Heart: A Mother’s Memoir of Unexpected Loss.

This is a mother’s memoir about the year following her son’s sudden death.

When Marcy learns her beloved forty-five-year-old son, Michael, has died, she refuses to believe it. He was her only child. Later, she blames herself because she didn’t recognize the signs of his illness. She has disturbing dreams about not saving him and spirals through the various stages of grief as she waits months for the coroner to render a cause. But the fifth and final stage of grief, Marcy rejects. In her mind, if she accepts Michael’s death, he won’t ever return.

The Porcelain Heart chronicles her raw emotional journey the year following Michael’s death. Marcy endures all the firsts without him—the holidays, his birthday. She joins grief groups, remembers frightening and fun times together, questions whether she was a good mother, and tries to distract herself with travel. She creates a golf scholarship in his name and commissions a stone people and pet fountain to be built on the path where he used to hike.

Her journey culminates when she takes his ashes to his favorite place, a lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and finally begins moving toward acceptance.

Colin Campbell is the author of Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose. Colin is a writer and director and was nominated for an Academy Award for his film Seraglio.

Where: Book Soup

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/2026-10-28/marcy-kelly-colin-campbell

New Short Fiction Series: Series Finale: Emerging Voices with Sally Shore & Guests – Online Crowdcast Event

Please join us for the final 30th season of L.A.’s longest running spoken word series: Presenting the freshest short fiction by exciting new voices.

The 26^th Emerging Voices Group show features new stories by: C.D. Elliott, Xochiitl Huerta, and Allison Lynch, with host Sally Shore’s guest cast: Jill Remez (Yellowstone, This Is Us) and Allison Walter (Law & Order, FBI).

Tickets are $15.00 early bird by 10/18/26, $20 advance purchase.

RSVP: TICKETED

Where: New Short Fiction Series Finale via Crowdcast

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: Online Event via Crowdcast

Website: https://www.newshortfictionseries.net/

Ed Lin and Kate Maryuma at Kaya Press Spooky Salon – In-Person Event

Come to the Kaya Press Spooky Salon featuring Ed Lin and Kate Maryuma, and bring your own scariest writing to share!

You are invited to the Kaya Press Spooky Salon, with featured readers Ed Lin and Kate Maryuma. Please bring your own scariest (open to interpretation!) writing of any genre to share, or better yet—write something new. We’ll be sharing some writing prompts as the event gets closer.

Food and drink provided.

Kate Maruyama is the author of Alterations, The Collective, Bleak Houses, and Harrowgate and her novella Family Solstice was named Best Fiction Book of 2021 by Rue Morgue Magazine. Her short work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and she is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and winner of the Uncharted Short Story Prize. She served on the working Board for Women Who Submit, and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Shirley Jackson Awards. She writes, teaches, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles.

Ed Lin, a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards and is an all-around standup kinda guy. His books include Waylaid, and a mystery trilogy set in New York’s Chinatown in the ‘70s: This Is a Bust, Snakes Can’t Run and One Red Bastard. Ghost Month, published by Soho Crime, is a Taipei-based mystery. Incensed, 99 Ways to Die, Death Doesn’t Forget and The Dead Can’t Make A Living continue that series. David Tung Can’t Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets Into an Ivy League College, his first YA novel, was published by Kaya Press. Lin lives in Brooklyn with his wife, actress Cindy Cheung, and son.

Where: Kaya Press

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 2133 Park Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: Eventbrite Page

Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group: Lincoln in the Bardo at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

The Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month at 7pm.

The Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group explores contemporary fiction -– long and short -– from a diverse selection of writers. Enjoy lively discussions at our one-hour meetings. Our Fiction Reading Group is free and inclusive – there are no requirements nor criteria to join. We announce upcoming titles 3-6 months in advance and choose titles that are available in paperback. Drop by our next meeting!

October’s pick is Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

Fiction Reading Group meetings are held inside Vroman’s Bookstore on the second floor in the event space.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-28/vromans-fiction-reading-group

Anansi Writers Workshop: Blacklandia Anthology Launch 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 — 88 Unashamed Black Mental Health Stories: Editor Romaine Washington and contributors Angela M. Frankin, Akilah M. Brown, Justin C. Key, Jasmine Vllejo-Love.
9:05 pm – 10:00 pm — Open mic.

Romaine Washington is the editor of the new anthology 88 Unashamed Black Mental Health Stories (Inlandia Institute, 2026), These Black Bodies Are…A Blacklandia Anthology (Inlandia Institute, 2023), and the author of two poetry books, Purgatory Has an Address and Sirens in Her Belly. Washington’s poetry has been nominated for Best of the Net and she is a twice-nominated Pushcart Prize poet. Her work has been in local and national publications including Women Who Submit anthologies, Gathering and Accolades; Lullwater Review; and Cholla Needles issues 32, 36, 39 and 59. She has presented her poetry in many programs, including Inside Socal CBS2/KCSL9, NPR, and KPFK. To find out more, visit her website at: www.romainewashington.com.

Angela M. Frankin is a poet, essayist, visual artist, activist, and documentarian. She holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and is a fellow of Cave Canem, VONA fellow, and Hurston Wright. Her work is published in anthologies such as Korean Anthology Flowers Blooming from Scars: 30 Year Anniversary of LA Riots, The Gathering, Peregrine: Black Voices Speak, The Best of Poetry Salon, Voices of Leimert Park Redux, and online publications Cultural Weekly, Portside and Spectrum.

Akilah Brown is an award-winning professor who teaches first-year composition, creative writing, children’s literature, and mystery and crime fiction. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; a Master’s degree in English, Creative Writing (Fiction) from Iowa State University; and ABD status in the PhD program at the University of Florida in English, Children’s Literature. In 2023, she won a fellowship to be Writer-in-Residence at the Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency. Originally from Bladensburg, MD, she now lives and writes in Los Angeles, CA.

Justin C. Key wanted to write for as long as he can remember. He blended his passions for science and writing by penning short stories in middle school and sat down to draw up his first novel while studying Biology at Stanford University. He’s been writing ever since. Justin’s medical training richly informs his writing, and the power of story and narrative allows him to connect with patients on a deeper level. Justin lives in Los Angeles with his wonderful wife, two sons, and daughter.

Jasmine Vallejo-Love is a disabled Poet, Writer, Coach, and former HR Leader raised in the South Bronx and living in Los Angeles. On good health days, she stows away to write. Her work focuses on her formative experiences, ancestors, challenges, and triumphs in Corporate America, living with multiple disabilities, and it addresses social issues such as mental illness, domestic violence, addiction, and sexual assault. She was a 2025 Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow and was selected for the 2025 PEN America Emerging Voices Workshop.

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 28^th

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: TBA.

Where: Art Parlor

Date: Wednesday the 28^th

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 28^th

Time: 8 pm – 10 pm

Address: Online event (see site)

Website: Beyond Barooque Event Page

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

No event on this date. Returns Nov 4.

$5 cover fee, cash only

Where: The Ugly Mug, Orange

Date: Wednesday, the 28^th

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 29^th

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: Event Page

Marina Del Rey Book Club: The Measure at Marina Del Rey Branch Library, LACL – In-Person Event

This month, we’ll explore The Measure by Nikki Erlick. When every person, all over the globe, receives a small wooden box bearing the same inscription and a single piece of string inside, the world is thrown into a collective frenzy. For adults 18+.

It seems like any other day: You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise? As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

This is the afternoon session.

Where: Lloyd Taber Marina Del Rey Library, LACL

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

Address: 4533 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

Website: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/17135192

Rebekah Moyer, with Bekah Martinez, & Simple Kitchen Magic at Diesel, A Bookstore – In-Person Event

Simple Kitchen Magic is Rebekah Moyer’s delicious recipes and warm, comforting nutritional advice in book form. The simple, whole-food recipes—like Curried Turkey Meatball Soup, Harissa Roasted Eggplant, and Black Bean Brownies—highlight functional ingredients to help you embrace food as medicine for a healthy lifestyle.

She will be in conversation with Bekah Martinez.

Simple Kitchen Magic will leave you feeling like health is attainable, nutrition is simple, and cooking from scratch is doable. With whimsical, illustrated spreads on topics like adrenal health and menstrual cycle syncing, recipes for healing tinctures and basic kitchen remedies, this is the essential first book for any wannabe homesteader, ancestral eater, or cottagecore dreamer.

Rebekah “Ebby” Moyer is a content creator, artist, and third-generation nutrition fanatic. She grew up in Cornwall, England, reading Brambly Hedge, picking wild elderflowers, and taking tinctures from the local herbalist. Her world-traveling foodie family inspired her love of flavor and cooking, and her kombucha-brewing mom sparked her interest in food’s healing “magic.” For the past 10 years, she has pursued her curiosity about holistic nutrition through independent study and all the teaching she can access, and she shares that journey on her social media channels. Through sharing, she hopes to encourage others in their health journeys and show that anyone can learn if they know where to look. She makes simple, nourishing meals using accessible, whole-food ingredients and home remedies for common ailments, and seeks to find the magic in every day while raising two rambunctious boys with her husband, Kandreas.

Bekah Martinez is a content creator and mom of three who enjoys sharing her family life, creativity, and pursuit of simpler living. You can find her on Instagram documenting her life at home in Southern California and her weekends building a cob house in the Sierras @bekah.

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://dieselbookstore.com/event/2026-10-29/rebekah-moyer-simple-kitchen-magic

Book Launch: Matthew Aldrich & The Natural Order at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Join us for the launch of Matthew Aldrich’s debut novel The Natural Order!

Matthew will be joined by author Carrie Seim to discuss this provocative, page-turning satire about immortality, technology, and sabotage that Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins calls “haunting, humane, and utterly compelling.”

Paul Whitmore, the world’s wealthiest man, begins each day on his secluded Marin, California, estate with a guided meditation, an hour of exercise, and a proprietary nutritional shake. These are the first three steps in a strict, monastic protocol known as The Method—a protocol which arrests the aging process. Paul is 122 years old, yet he appears no older than fifty; he has unlocked the secret to eternal life and is ready to bring his breakthrough to market. The world is poised to enter a post-aging future.

But not everyone wants Paul to succeed, and his enemies are prepared to use violence to keep The Method from launching. Alone in his private Xanadu, Paul is well-insulated from the steady stream of death threats. But when a new threat emerges that targets Paul’s estranged son, Max, he is forced to take action. Max is eighty-five years old, living in a nursing home, and has not spoken to his father since he was a child. As far as he’s concerned, Paul Whitmore can rot in hell. Paul brings Max to his compound to protect him, but the real test soon becomes clear: can he care for his son? Is it ever too late to be a father, or a son? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions require time—and time is suddenly in short supply. The men who have threatened his son are coming for them both, and the gates surrounding his compound are less secure than he realizes.

Matthew Aldrich, a renowned writer for film and television, is best known for cowriting Disney Pixar’s Coco, which won two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature. His screenplay also won top prize at the International Animated Film Association Awards and was nominated for the Humanitas Prize. The Natural Order is his first novel.

Carrie Seim is author of bestselling book series The Flying Flamingo Sisters and Horse Girl. Her TV writing credits include Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, Megan & Cupcake and Blippi’s Job Show. You can hear her voice in several audiobooks and commercials, where she’s played everything from a robot to a sassy pickle.

RSVP at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 6;30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Ticketed: Book Soup + Harmony Gold Present: Christopher Lloyd & In My Own Time: A Memoir at Book Soup Off-site at Harmony Gold – In-Person Event

Emmy Award-winning actor Christopher Lloyd—one of the most iconic performers of his generation—shares an intimate portrait drawn from the defining moments of his life, from his early years in theater to his time on the sets of iconic television and film, his struggles with addiction, and an isolated childhood of privilege.

Whether appearing as a disembodied head in Wednesday or taking on the title role in a stage production of King Lear, Christopher Lloyd has become known for portraying larger-than-life characters with a singular intensity and imagination. Now, for the first time, Christopher shares stories from his life that he has rarely spoken about before.

In My Own Time begins with Christopher’s childhood at Waveny, the sprawling Connecticut estate. Raised primarily by governesses and wandering the grounds, he became a quiet observer of the people and relationships around him, including the complicated dynamic between his creative mother and his stern father.

With New York already a familiar part of his world, Christopher immersed himself in the demanding life of the theater. On stage he developed the intensity, imagination, and fearlessness that would come to define his work. From there, Christopher’s career expanded across television and film, where audiences came to know him as the intense and unpredictable Taber in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the eccentric and beloved Reverend Jim Ignatowski on Taxi, and the wild-eyed genius Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy—performances that helped define some of the most enduring films and television of their time.

Christopher Lloyd offers a rare and deeply personal reflection on a life spent both onstage and on screen, told with charm, dry wit, and honesty. In sharing the stories behind his work, his struggles, and the people and places that shaped him, In My Own Time reveals the thoughtful and deeply observant man behind the iconic characters.

Christopher Lloyd is an Emmy Award-winning actor whose career spans more than five decades across theater, television, and film. Widely regarded as one of the most distinctive character actors of his generation, he is known for creating some of the most iconic roles in entertainment, including Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown in the beloved Back to the Future trilogy and Reverend Jim Ignatowski on the television series Taxi. His performances also include the unforgettable Taber in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Uncle Fester in The Addams Family. A three-time Emmy Award winner and four-time nominee, Lloyd most recently received a 2024 nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor for his role in the Max comedy series Hacks.

Where: Book Soup Off-site at Harmony Gold

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

Address: 7655 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046

Website: https://booksoup.com/event/christopher-lloyd-discussing-my-own-time

Author Talk: Rosa Kwon Easton, with Lisa See, & Red Seal at Chevalier’s – In-Person Event

Chevalier’s Books is honored to host a conversation with Rosa Kwon Easton about her new novel, Red Seal. She will be joined in conversation by Lisa Lee, author of American Han. This free event is presented in partnership with the Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles and the K-Book program of the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea.

Red Seal follows a Korean mother and son as they navigate wars, displacement, and identity across decades and borders. In 1943 Japan, as the Pacific War rages on, Miyoung, a Korean-born single mother and nurse, defies an order to serve in the Imperial Japanese Army and flees with her six-year-old son, Ko-chan. Their trek to Miyoung’s homeland takes them first to Japan-occupied Manchuria, where Miyoung’s brother offers shelter and Ko-chan begins to question where his future lies. Japan’s defeat in World War II forces them to escape again, triggering a decades-long odyssey of survival, sacrifice, and a search for identity across three nations.

Red Seal is the sequel to Easton’s bestselling debut, White Mulberry. Readers of that novel will recognize Miyoung, whose journey continues here against the backdrop of World War II and its aftermath. Both books are inspired by the true stories of Easton’s grandmother and father.

Rosa Kwon Easton is a Korean American lawyer, a library trustee, and the author of White Mulberry, a #1 bestseller in historical fiction that was named a “Best Book” by Parade, BookBub, and Book Riot and has been translated into multiple languages. A graduate of Smith College, Columbia University, and Boston College Law School, she lives in Southern California.

Lisa Lee is the author of the debut novel American Han, described by Joumana Khatib of The New York Times Book Review as “one of the best things I’ve read in ages” and named a “most anticipated” book by The New York Times, TIME, Harper’s Bazaar, LA Times, Publishers Weekly, Alta Journal, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, Goodreads, The Millions, Debutiful, Book Riot, Audible, and more. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and awards from the Key West Literary Seminar, the Center for Fiction, Millay Arts, Hedgebrook, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, Tin House, and others. She holds an MFA from the University of Houston and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles.

Where: Chevalier’s

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm

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

Website: https://chevaliersbooks.com/event/2026-10-29/author-talk-rosa-kwon-easton-and-lisa-lee

K-Ming Chang, with Carribean Fragoza, & Needlemouth at Skylight – In-Person Event

Join us to hear K-Ming Chang, in conversation with Carribean Fragoza, discuss Needlemouth: A Novel.

From the award-winning author of Bestiary, three cousins are forced to complete an impossible and violent task set by a vengeful demon.

Cousins Cindy, Yangyang, and Mandy’s hot, tedious summer unfolds in their grandmother’s hauntingly familiar house. Mandy, the eldest, seeks connection online and exchanges emails with a stranger. Yangyang, the youngest, retreats into her own imagination in search of meaning. But every morning Cindy wakes with strange objects in her mouth: a button, a berry, a coin.

One night, a starved figure with a mouth the size of a needle-tip appears at Cindy’s bedside. She is hunger-afflicted, a demon with no descendants to feed from: she is Needlemouth. Part vampire, part hungry ghost, Needlemouth forces the girls into a grim task to end a man’s life.

Cindy, Yangyang, and Mindy are plunged in and out of the demon realm, where they are called to break out of the indifference and numbness of their claustrophobic worlds, and where they are met with the most rageful and resistant parts of themselves. In a quest to satisfy the demon’s hunger, they unravel their shared grief and reckon with the cyclical violence that shaped their family. For readers of Akwaeke Emezi and Carmen Maria Machado, K-Ming Chang has crafted a reimagined coming of age novel that asks: what does it mean to become the monster instead of slaying it?

K-Ming Chang is a Lambda Literary Award winner, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and an O. Henry Prize winner. She is the author of Bestiary, Gods of Want, Organ Meats, and a novella titled Cecilia. She has been longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and the Otherwise Award.

Carribean Fragoza is a writer and artist from South El Monte, CA, and the founder and co-director of the South El Monte Art Posse (SEMAP), a multi-disciplinary arts collective. She is the author of Eat the Mouth That Feeds You (City Lights, 2021) and editor of the anthology East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte (Rutgers University Press, 2020).

RSVP

Where: Skylight

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-29/k-ming-chang-w-carribean-fragoza-needlemouth

Kevin Waite & The Boundless Biddy Mason: An Odyssey From Slavery to Freedom Across the American West at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Join us to hear from author Kevin Waite how Biddy Mason crossed the continent, broke free from slavery, and built Black Los Angeles. He will present and discuss The Boundless Biddy Mason: An Odyssey From Slavery to Freedom Across the American West.

Born in bondage, Biddy Mason endured one of the longest forced migrations in American history—three thousand miles on foot from Georgia to California. She and her daughters labored in slavery in the “free” state of California for five years before launching a landmark emancipation suit in 1856. Free at last, she defied barriers of race and gender, rising to prominence as a healer, philanthropist, church builder, and real estate entrepreneur whose commercial properties stood at what became known as the “Wall Street of the West.” By the time of her death in 1891, she had laid the foundations of Black Los Angeles and ranked among the richest women of color in the United States.

In this first book-length biography of Mason, prizewinning historian Kevin Waite uncovers an extraordinary story of survival that carries readers from the cotton South to metropolitan California, and through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the dawn of Jim Crow. By retracing Mason’s odyssey, he illuminates both the continental sweep of American slavery and the fragile, hard-won possibilities of freedom in the West.

Kevin Waite is the Watson Distinguished Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Dallas. His first book, West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire (UNC Press), won the 2022 Wiley-Silver Prize from The Center for Civil War Research and was a finalist for three other book awards, including the Lincoln Prize. He’s currently writing a biography of Biddy Mason, the founding mother of Black Los Angeles. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic, The Los Angeles Times, Slate, The New Republic, and The Washington Post, among others.

RSVP

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 7 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-29/kevin-waite

Skulls & Stairs: S.A. Griffin, Bibiana Padilla, Phillip T. Nails, Manuel Chavarria at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center– In-Person & Online Hybrid Zoom Event

Join us for October’s Skulls & Stairs! A reading series where poets take over the staircase of the original city hall building. This Halloween edition features S.A. Griffin, Bibiana Padilla Maltos, Manuel Chavarria, & Phillip T. Nails in the infamous staircase of the original Venice City Hall. Costumes encouraged!

Phillip T. Nails is a lovechild born at the base of Mt. Diablo in Northern California. He was first put in touch with the muse when some Beat poets visited his high school at it was then, Nails decided he wanted to be a performance poet. Decades later, Nails continues in the lineage of The Beats and has studied with poets and performance artists Brett Bevell, Tim Miller, Mary Overlie and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. It is in these veins that Nails explores poetry and performance.

S.A. Griffin is a Carma Bum, father, husband, and Vietnam era U.S. Air Force veteran. He co-edited the Firecracker Award-winning Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and authored Pandemic Soul Music (Punk Hostage Press). From April through June 2010, he toured the United States with Elsie the Poetry Bomb, a seven-foot-tall Vietnam era practice bomb transformed into an art object and filled with poetry from around the world to inspire civil disagreements. Vote!

RSVP: ticketed

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

LA Book Launch: Eric Beck Rubin & Ten Clear Days at The Loved One/Hat & Beard Press – In-Person Event

Join us to hear cultural historian/PhD Eric Beck Rubin discussing his new novel Ten Clear Days (Turtle Point Press, 2026) with author @joanneislurking.

Sheila Heti called it “a beautiful and important book” and we’re very happy to have found it. The discussion will include a book reading and signing. Hope you’ll join us! RSVP in the @thelovedone_la bio.

Eric Beck Rubin is a Novelist, Cultural Historian and Lecturer. As a Doctor of Literature and Master of Architectural History and Theory, Eric’s broad and varied expertise focus on the cultural artifacts–artistic, literary and architectural–of history, memory and trauma. He has taught internationally, including at the University of Toronto and Bergen Arkitektskole, and consulted for institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and Facing History. His debut novel School of Velocity was named one of the Guardian’s Best Books of the Year, and his acclaimed second novel Ten Clear Days was published in April.

RSVP

Where: The Loved One/Hat & Beard Press

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 7:30 pm

Address: 1634 West Temple St., Echo Park, CA 90026

Website: Instagram Page

Live Talks LA Presents: Thomas Frank & The Creativity Con at Glorya Kauffman Performing Arts Center – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Join us to hear Thomas Frank, discuss his book The Creativity Con: How Innovation Became America’s Biggest Racket.

A bold indictment of America’s chronic obsession with creativity and innovation, tracing how these beloved ideas came to dominate our political and economic conversation while serving to mask inequality and protect elite interests. Thomas Frank’s new book is, The Creativity Con: How Innovation Became America’s Biggest Racket.

Thomas Frank is the bestselling author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?; Listen, Liberal; The People, No; and other books. Frank is a founding editor of The Baffler and a former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and has written regularly for Harper’s Magazine, The Guardian, and Le Monde Diplomatique.

RSVP: Ticketed

Where: Robert Frost Auditorium

Date: Thursday the 29^th

Time: 8 pm

Address: 3200 Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034

Website: LiveTalks Page

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 30^th

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 30^th

Time: 9:30 am

Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020

Website: Once Upon a Time Event Page

Bilingual Storytime at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Bilingual Storytime! Exposing your children to multiple languages is highly beneficial for their learning and development, and what better way to do it than through this fun activity where we will read a wonderful story in both English and Spanish.

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: Event Page

All Hallows Eve at Outpost Books LA – In-Person Event

Gather with us for an All Hallows’ Eve celebration at Outpost Books! 🎃✨

Pick up your weekend spooky reads and spin our prize wheel to claim a trick or treat!

Bring a friend and kick off Halloween weekend with us!🖤

Where: Outpost Books

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 4 pm – 6 pm

Address: 1010 ½ Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena, CA 91030

Website: Instagram Page

Speculative Fiction Book Club: This Is How You Lose the Time War at West Hollywood Library, LACL – In-Person Event

Are you a fan of science fiction or fantasy? If so, you should join our Speculative Fiction Book Club! We’ll supply copies of the book a month in advance, meet every month, and dive deep into discussion about the reading! For adults.

For this month’s meeting, we’ll be reading: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

Please contact the library to get a print copy of the book. No registration required.

Where: West Hollywood Library, LACL

Date: Friday, the 30^th

Time: 5 pm – 6 pm

Address: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Website: Event Page

Irresistible Resistance in SELA: Dichos y Nichos at El Indio Azteca – In-Person Event

Remembering Our Ancestors Through Art and Words.

Join us for a night of food, local vendors, and live performances hosted by author and poet, Solany Lara.

Solany Lara is a Mexican-American poet and the author of Hija De Mi Padre (2023, Alegría Publishing), a bilingual collection that explores themes of grief, memory, and generational healing. Her work has been published in Breadfruit Magazine, Azahares Literary Magazine, and the Sim’s Library of Poetry’s Poem-a-Week series. She loves to foster community engagement through writing workshops, where she emphasizes the accessibility of writing as a tool for healing and bridging connections. Currently she is working on multiple writing projects, where she hopes to continue to weave storytelling by finding connections with herself, others, and the world.

Josie Vazquez is a multidisciplinary artist and high school art teacher from Southeast Los Angeles. She is passionate about making art more accessible in her community through free and low-cost workshops. Her work has been featured in publications and community murals, and she currently organizes figure drawing sessions at Art Space HP and teaches at art events throughout SELA. Through art, Josie hopes to bring people together and create opportunities for people to connect with themselves and others. She works across a variety of mediums, with a particular love for watercolor.

Xitlalic Guijosa is a poet, writer, printmaker and community organizer from Southeast Los Angeles. She’s been part of Alivio open mic and other art events in SELA. Her work has been published in different literary magazines, zines and anthologies. Currently she has been on the journey of teaching surrounding communities about printmaking, journaling, and creative writing as a form of reconnecting with self. Xitlalic’s new art form has been teaching poetry and gardening.

Jesenia Chavez is a proud Chicanita, public-school teacher, poet and storyteller. Her writing is inspired by her parents’ migration to Los Angeles from Chihuahua, México. She is the author of a poetry collection, This Poem Might Save You (me). Her second poetry collection, Pocha Prayers, will be out later this year. She has an MFA in creative writing from UCR. Find more at jeseniachavez.com (http://jeseniachavez.com/)

Vickie Vertiz was born and raised in Bell Gardens, in southeast Los Angeles. Her writing has been published in the New York Times Magazine, the Academy of American Poets, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Huizache, among many others. She is the author of Auto/Body and Palm Frond with Its Throat Cut, which won a 2018 PEN America literary prize. Vickie teaches writing at UC-Santa Barbara. She lives on Tongva land in Los Angeles.

Irresistible Resistance in SELA is a pop-up series partnering with small businesses and local artists who use their art as a form of resistance to recent ICE enforcement actions in Southeast LA, creating paid opportunities for artists and renewed foot traffic for participating businesses.

This program is presented by the SELA Arts Foundation and Latinas Art Foundation and supported by the City of Maywood, Port of Long Beach, and Eastside Arts Initiative.

FREE

Where: El Indio Azteca

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 4229 Slauson Avenue, Maywood, CA 90270

Website: Eventbrite Page

Book Launch: Graveyard by Kyle Kouri, with Special Guests at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Event

Join us for the launch of Graveyard, the debut novel from Kyle Kouri, author of The Problem Drinker!

Kyle will be joined by an all-star ensemble of writers—Jean Kyoung Frazier, Luke Goebel, Brittany Menjivar, and Travis Sedg Bacon—to discuss their approaches to writing Los Angeles and read from their work.

“…it was moments like these that I felt bad for rich people. They owned everything and built monoliths, but would never know the romantic interludes that took place in them when they were gone.”

So says Stud Calloway, guest services agent, in Kyle Kouri’s gritty, literary fiction debut. Written by the best-selling author of The Problem Drinker, Graveyard is an LA novel about kids who hate their jobs, and make terrible decisions, but somehow are having more fun than anybody else.

Kyle Kouri (@kylekouri on Instagram) received his MFA in Fiction from Columbia University. He is the co-founder of Slashtag Cinema, a film production company, and has directed and acted in several films and plays. This includes directing and starring in the award-winning horror short film Keep Coming Back, and acting in Family Movie, which premiered at SXSW. The Problem Drinker, his first book, is an LA Times best-seller. His first novel, Graveyard, comes out October 30th.

Jean Kyoung Frazier is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her debut novel Pizza Girl was published in 2020. She also writes for television.

Luke Goebel is an award-winning author and screenwriter known for his novel Fourteen Stories, None of Them Are Yours, and his screenwriting work on the films Eileen and Causeway. His novel, Kill Dick (Red Hen Press) is out now.

Brittany Menjivar was born in the DMV; she now works and plays in the City of Angels. Her poetry and prose collection Parasocialite has been praised by the likes of Nylon, Office, and the LA Review of Books. As a screenwriter, she is represented by Untitled Entertainment; she has multiple features in pre-production, including an adaptation of Alex Kazemi’s novel New Millennium Boyz. Follow her on Insta @BrittMenjivar if you know what’s good for you.

RSVP by clicking link at website!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Limpias, Libros & Libations: Party at LibroMobile Bookstore – In-Person Event

Join us for a Espooky Book Swap y Más with limpias by Soul 333, book swap curated by Brewjas Book Club & seltzer tastings by Common Corners Brewery! *Free event curated for 18+, children are welcomed with parents. Espooky attire optional.

**All limpia or book swap participants get 10% off books.

RSVP

Where: LibroMobile

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

Address: 1150 S. Bristol St. A3, Santa Ana, CA 92704

Website: https://www.libromobile.com/event-details/limpias-libros-libations

The Definitive Soapbox Open Mic (TDSB) at The Nest: A Brunch Joint – In-Person Event

October is here, and the mic is waiting. Whether you’re stepping up with something fresh, bringing a piece you’re still wrestling with, or simply coming to sit, breathe, and listen—your presence is what makes this space whole. No theme needed, no pressure to perform. Just open hearts, real stories, and room for you. Come as you are. Bring the poem anyway.

Theme: Blooming

Stephanie Gilmore is a renowned author of five books, spoken word artist, and self-care coach whose Afro-Cuban heritage and sensual, empowering poetry invite us all deeper into self-love and healing. Come open, come ready to be witnessed, and come celebrate what it means to bloom together.

William Alisca is an LA-based neurodivergent creative writer and Associate Marriage and Family Therapist working to dismantle mental health stigma and champion open, honest vulnerability—especially for men. Bring your full, authentic self. The mic is ready for your story.

Where: The Nest: A Brunch Joint

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm (Doors at 6:30 pm)

Address: 16916 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, CA 90706

Website: Instagram Page

Janet Reitman, with Madeleine Brand, & The Inheritance at Skylight – In-Person Event

Join us to hear Jant Reitman, in conversation with Madeleine Brand, discuss The Inheritance.

A thrill-seeking former Navy pilot chases adventure in Afghanistan, while in suburbia, his teenage son spirals into extremism. The grandson of African freedom fighters joins the FBI to save America from terrorism and ends up terrorizing the African immigrants he’d sworn to protect. A young Marine who sees himself as a true-blue American goes to war in Iraq, comes home broken, and is reborn as white nationalist. An idealistic young attorney defends a Palestinian engineer she believes is wrongly accused of funding Hamas. These four people, and five others, struggle to find their way in a country reimagining itself in the wake of 9/11.

In The Inheritance, Janet Reitman, the bestselling author of Inside Scientology, delivers an intimate and urgent account of American disillusionment—and a paean to hope. From the bucolic suburbs of Boston to the immigrant enclaves of Dallas, from the deserts of Iraq to the encrypted chatrooms that fuel hatred and extremism, The Inheritance unfolds in repeating narratives of people moving through the decades, from the end of the Reagan era to the present day, painting a sweeping and deeply affective portrait of how a country revered for its democratic ideals became a nation defined by its fears.

Rigorously reported and brimming with novelistic detail, The Inheritance reveals the hidden cost of the war on terror, exposing the psychic wounds that haunt us to this day.

Janet Reitman is an award-winning journalist and contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. Formerly a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, she has twice been a finalist for the National Magazine Award and was a fellow at the New America Foundation. Reitman’s previous book, Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion, was a national bestseller and New York Times Notable Book.

Madeleine Brand is an award-winning American journalist, interviewer and radio host whose career has spanned more than three decades in public media. A Los Angeles native, she has become one of Southern California’s most recognizable voices in journalism, known for combining serious reporting and probing interviews with an accessible, conversational style. Brand is currently the host of KCRW’s Press Play, the award- winning daily news and culture program she created in 2013. The show covers politics, culture, and the defining issues of the day. Previously, she worked at NPR for 13 years, where she was a correspondent and later the host for the news magazine show, Day to Day. She has won numerous national and local awards for her reporting and interviewing. A Los Angeles native, she graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in English and earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, where she later taught documentary radio.

Where: Skylight

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://skylightbooks.com/event/2026-10-30/janet-reitman-w-madeleine-brand-inheritance

Banned Books Club: Beloved at Underdog Bookstore – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Banned Books Club meets the last Friday of each month at Underdog Bookstore to discuss a new banned or challenged book.

For those wishing to join virtually, a Zoom link will be shared with all attendees prior to the event.

Our October pick is: BELOVED by Toni Morrison

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

You can pick up a copy in store or keep supporting Underdog by listening to the audiobook from our libro.fm or downloading the ebook from our bookshop.org.

RSVP at website.

Where: Underdog Bookstore

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/banned-books-club-october

Book Launch Celebration: Brenda Vaca & Odes Y Oraciones (Y Unas Pocos Maldiciones) at The Untold Story Bookstore & Café – In-Person Event

Join us for a Book launch Celebration for Odes Y Oraciones (Y Unas Pocos Maldiciones) by Brenda Vaca.

You are invited to a special reading celebrating the newly released second collection of poetry by independent author and publisher, Brenda Vaca, of Riot of Roses Publishing House.

Brenda Vaca is a Xicana poet, author, and independent publisher from Sejatnga, Unceded Tongva Territory, known as South Whittier, CA. She earned her B.A. in English at U.C.Berkeley with a Minor in Creative Writing. Later she went on to graduate school in Berkeley earning a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages from the Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union. Poetry and writing have been lifelong passions. Riot of Roses is her debut collection of poetry published by her indie house, Riot of Roses Publishing House. Her new collection of poems is Odes Y Oraciones (Y Unas Pocos Maldiciones) (Riot of Roses Publishing House, 2026).

Join us for a meaningful time of poetry and community. Special guest poets announced soon!

Find and follow author Brenda Vaca @iambrendavaca and @riotofrosespublishing

Where: The Untold Story Bookstore & Café

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: Instagram Page

Francine Berman, with Andy Maltz, & Better Tech: Putting People First in Cyberspace at Vroman’s – In-Person Event

Francine Berman, in conversation with Andy Maltz, will discuss Better Tech: Putting People First in Cyberspace.

How to fix the tech we depend on to empower, rather than endanger, the people who use it.

From an award-winning pioneer in data infrastructure and leader in tech policy, lauded by the Library of Congress, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Newsweek.

Technology powers our world. But we often give it the upper hand, treating tech solutions as right by default and accepting online risk as the price we have to pay. Rampant security breaches, unwanted surveillance, predators, and misinformation are just a normal part of cyberspace. But what if tech was designed and managed to empower and protect the people who use it? In Better Tech, Francine Berman explores this question and argues that for society to advance and humanity to thrive, technology must put people first.

Berman focuses on the riskiest and most essential technologies—social media, AI chatbots, search engines—all of which serve as digital critical infrastructure. She argues that the risk-mitigation strategies for critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, food systems, and the electrical grid can also be used for cyberspace because we should be able to expect that our technology is similarly safe, dependable, and trustworthy. Better Tech goes beyond identifying the problems of technology and provides an actionable playbook of responsible design, development, use, and regulatory strategies that can be used by everyone from policymakers to students and general readers to reduce technology’s risks and advance the public good.

Francine Berman is Director of Public Interest Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7 pm – 9 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-30/francine-berman

L.A. Dual Book Launch: Bob Haas and Brenda Hillman at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center– In-Person & Online Hybrid Zoom Event

Join us for an evening celebrating new books by Robert Hass and Brenda Hillman in The Wanda Coleman Theater at Beyond Baroque.

Robert Hass’s A Third Commonness: Essays on Poetry, Poetics, and the Natural World, published by Copper Canyon Press, traces a literary and ecological lineage through poets, writers, landscapes, and traditions.

Brenda Hillman’s twelfth collection, Still House in the Desert: An Eco-Contemplation, published in the Wesleyan Poetry Series, brings together meditations on time, domestic spaces, childhood, family, and non-human life.

Reception and book signings to follow.

RSVP: ticketed

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Friday the 30^th

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

Kids Storytime at pages: a bookstore– In-Person Kids Event

Join us every Wednesday and Saturday for a storytime amongst the cozy bookstacks of Village Well!

Where: pages: a bookstore

Date: Saturday the 31^st

Time: 9:30 am – 10 am

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

Website: https://pagesabookstore.com/event/2026-10-31/kids-storytime

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

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Saturday the 31^st

Time: 10 am – 11 am

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

Website: Event Page

Kids Storytime at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person Kids Event

Join us every Wednesday and Saturday for a storytime amongst the cozy bookstacks of Village Well!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Saturday the 31^st

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Book Discussion: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson at Felipe de Neve Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please join us on Halloween for a discussion of the fascinating and chilling creative non-fiction book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be served. Interested? Email felipe@lapl.org.

Please contact the library to get a print copy of the book. No registration required.

Where: Felipe de Neve Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday, the 31^st

Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Address: 2820 W. 6^th St., Los Angeles, CA 90057

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/book-discussion-devil-white-city-erik-larson

Read Between the Lines: a Library Murder Mystery Game at Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Kids & Family Event

Please join us to play an interactive murder mystery game for ages 11 and older. Search for clues and evidence hidden throughout the branch and connect the dots between our fictional victim and suspects.

Where: Silver Lake Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday, the 31^st

Time: 12 pm – 3 pm

Address: 2411 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039

Website: Instagram Page

Graphic Novel Author Panel With Cherish Chen, Shannon Watters, & Branden Boyer-White at Westwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online Hybrid Event

Please join us to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Cookies and Comics Graphic Novel Club! This in-person event honors a decade of the LAPL-hosted graphic novel club, which is designed for and by adults and teens aged 16 and up.

We invite you to participate in a discussion with our panel of industry professionals: Shannon Watters from Lumberjanes, Branden Boyer-White from Hollow, and Cherish Chen from Star Wars: Doctor Aphra – Chaos Agent.

We will have a cookie exchange, so please bring your favorite baked treats to share! We also encourage you to bring dishes for our comic community potluck. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow adults who enjoy graphic novels of all genres. There will be plenty of time for questions as well. We hope to see you there!

We will stream the author panel to the Westwood Library via Zoom for those who cannot attend in person. Please email wwood@lapl.org to request a link.

And if you can, attend the “Think It, Ink It: Comic Basics” workshop earlier in the day at 11 a.m.

Where: Westwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday, the 31^st

Time: 12 pm – 1 pm

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

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/graphic-novel-author-panel-cherish-chen-shannon-watters-branden-boyer-white

October Book Club: Silver Nitrate at Panorama City Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Our October read is Silver Nitrate by Silvia Garcia-Moreno, “a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film—and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.”

Where: Panorama City Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday, the 31^st

Time: 1 pm – 2 pm

Address: 14345 Roscoe Blvd., Panorama City, CA 91402

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

El Día de Muertos With Martin Espino at Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person Event

Please join us to hear Martin Espino use music and poetry to teach about this beautiful cultural celebration. He will play from a huge collection of instruments, and he’ll have the audience singing “easy-to-sing-songs” in native languages like Nahuatl, Huichol, and Maya. He will also read the poetry of King Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472), whose writings teach the value of life and doing the best we can while here on Earth. A very uplifting and endearing program dedicated to all our loved ones who have passed on. All ages.

For Latino Heritage Month.

Where: Brentwood Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Saturday, the 31^st

Time: 1 pm – 2 pm

Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049

Website: https://www.lapl.org/events/el-dia-de-muertos-martin-espino

Poe-Etic License: See Edgar Allan Poe as You Never Have Befo’ at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center– In-Person & Online Hybrid Zoom Event

Join us for a night inspired by the author of classic gothic poems and stories, Edgar Allan Poe. For Halloween, Beyond Baroque presents an Edgar Allen Poe-inspired variety show full of 19th century American gothic and tragicomedy, starring Dr. Bradley Bobbs and Alayha Aquarian as The Raven! Additional cast includes Ellen Rooney as Funereal Chanteuse, Alan Ishii as The Mysterious Stranger, and Music Director Janet Housden with a live band!

RSVP: ticketed

Where: Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center

Date: Saturday the 31^st

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Website: Beyond Baroque Event Page

Saturday Afternoon Poetry: 4^th Annual Celebration of the Poetic Libretto! + DKC Birthday – Online Zoom Event

Special Event: KINGFISHER’s 67th B-Day + 4th Annual Celebration of the Poetic Libretto!

All events are curated by Don Kingfisher Campbell.

Where: Saturday Afternoon Poetry, Online

Date: Saturday, the 31^st

Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm

Address: Online SAP Zoom Event

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

Young Readers Halloween at Vroman’s Boo-kstore– In-Person Event

Join us on Saturday, October 31st for Halloween at Vroman’s Boo-kstore!

We will have a special Halloween themed storytime with Mr. Steve and Halloween activities starting at 4 pm.

After storytime, make your way through Vroman’s for trick-or-treating! We will have designated spots all around the Boo-kstore where young ghouls and goblins can happily haunt for goodies!

Costumes are highly encouraged!

Where: Vroman’s

Date: Saturday the 31^st

Time: 4 pm

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

Website: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-10-31/halloween

Slanguage Poetry Show: Halloween Costume & Open Mic at Sims Library of Poetry – In-Person Event

Slanguage Poetry Show (HALLOWEEN COSTUME OPEN MIC EDITION). Come check out great poetry & fun energy! You can perform or enjoy the night. Hosted by AKoldPiece.

We are excited to invite you to our OPEN MIC EDITION where you the audience is our feature! This show will be a costume party. Come dressed in a costume and share your poem on the mic. Come join us for an evening of powerful spoken word performances, great food, and an amazing community of poets and poetry lovers.

Our event promises to showcase some of the most talented poets in the city, who will take to the stage to share their unique perspectives and experiences through their art. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to be inspired and moved by the power of poetry.

So mark your calendars and join us for an unforgettable evening on Saturday, October 31st. Doors open 7 pm at Sims Library of Poetry in Los Angeles, CA.

AKoldPiece is a father, educator, writer, poet, spoken word artist & host. He is a graduate of UCLA with a B.A. in History. This gentle giant has a special gift for creating haiku and short stories accented with his wit and humble personality. AKoldPiece has traveled as far as the motherland “Afraka” to share his artistry. His book, called The Weather Report (World Stage Press, 2017), is a book of haiku, which he calls “my-ku.”

We have 10 slots for people who by presale tickets.

The Mic is open for you to share a poem, story, jokes, or songs.

RSVP

Where: Sims Library of Poetry

Date: Saturday the 31^st

Time: 7 pm – 11 pm

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

Website: Eventbrite 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 1^st

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 1^st

Time: 11 am – 12 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Book Launch: The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight by Jendia Gammon, writing as J. Dianne Dotson at Underdog Bookstore – In-Person MG Event

The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight by Jendia Gammon, writing as J. Dianne Dotson, is the adult prequel to the Nebula and BSFA Award finalist YA book, The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern and its sequel, BSFA Award finalist The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel. This is the third book of a trilogy.

An island, an inn, a lighthouse, a moment that changes life forever!

The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight is a prequel starting in our present, spanning centuries, with the characters facing the end of the world, their many dramas, and how they built hope from despair, for the future.

Jendia Gammon is the author of, most recently, The Dwan of Dusk and Twilight (Android Press, 2026). She is a Nebula and three-time BSFA Awards finalist author of horror, fantasy, thriller, and science fiction novels and short stories. She is also CEO of Roaring Spring Productions, LLC and Editor-in-Chief of its publishing imprint, Stars and Sabers Publishing. She has also written under the pen name J. Dianne Dotson. Born in Southern Appalachia, Jendia now lives in Los Angeles with her family.

RSVP at website link!

Where: Underdog Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm

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

Website: https://www.underdogbookstore.org/events/book-launch-the-dawn-of-dusk-and-twilight

Book Launch Party & Open Rehearsal: KCRW & Leave It for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra at The World Stage – In-Person Event

Free for All!

Leave It For The Children:

A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra

November 1st, 2026 @ The World Stage, 2 pm – 4 pm

Music Food Books

Where: The World Stage Performance Gallery

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 2 pm – 4 pm Arkestra performs; Followed by 5 pm book signing at Lore Bookstore.

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

Website: KCRW Event Page

Dia de los Difuentos at Midnight Books (new location) – In-Person Event

As Central Americans we celebrate Dia de los Difuntos, let’s pay tribute to our loved ones, commemorate the lives of our ancestors, & remember who gave their lives fighting for justice together.

🌼 We invite you to bring flowers, photos/mementos of your loved ones, or fruit to add to the community altar

🌼 As tradition, this event will be a potluck. Please bring what you can to share if able to.

🌼 Poetry reading & procession led by Rossana Perez

🌼 We’ll be learning more + collectively creating a mural of our revolutionary ancestors

Midnight Books (new location)

607 E 4th St

Los Angeles CA 90013

Where: Midnight Books

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 3 pm – 4 pm

Address: 607 E. 4^th St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Website: Instagram Page

Author Event: Mark Schroeder & When Things Get Personal: A Philosophical Guide to Conflict at Flintridge Bookstore – In-Person Event

Mark Schroeder, in conversation with Robin Jeshian, will discuss his book When Things Get Personal: A Philosophical Guide to Conflict.

We’re all imperfect. Good relationships require seeing each other through these imperfections—distinguishing what is signal, and what is noise. But sometimes we mistake noise for signal—or worse, signal for noise. And even when we get things right, the other person can be getting them wrong.

In When Things Get Personal, Mark Schroeder shows that the better we can learn to tell the difference between signal and noise in our relationships, the better we can predict and avoid everyday misunderstandings that, if left unchecked, can lead to “discord”—fundamental, sometimes chronic failures to see eye to eye that lead us to take things personally that we shouldn’t, to treat others in ways that they take personally, to abandon relationships that are worthwhile, and to stay in relationships that we’d be better off without.

Mark Schroeder is professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California (USC), where he is founding director of the Conceptual Foundations of Conflict Project. His research interests have included topics in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, the philosophy of language, and the history of ethics. His current work largely concerns what it is to be a person, and how our answer to that question can help us understand and navigate interpersonal relationships and interpersonal conflict, as well as the applications of these ideas to other topics in philosophy.

Schroeder’s other books include Reasons First, Being For, and Slaves of the Passions.

Robin Jeshion is a professor at USC and a fellow at the Conceptual Foundations of Conflict Project. She does research on philosophy of language and social philosophy, and is writing a book on slurs. She is also currently working on the philosophy of love and its relationship to sexuality.

Where: Flintridge Bookstore

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm

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

Website: https://www.flintridgebooks.com/instore-events/2026/11/1/author-appearance-mark-schroeder-when-things-get-personal-a-philosophical-guide-to-conflict

Condensed Book Club: The Veldt by Ray Bradbury at Village Well Books & Coffee – In-Person MG Event

Book clubs can be intimidating, especially when you haven’t finished the book. That’s why we’ve created a Condensed Book Club, where we read short stories together, and discuss. No prior reading required. All you have to do is show up. All the thoughtful discussion of a traditional book club with none of the pressure.

For our November meeting, we’ll be reading “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury from the collection The Illustrated Man. Facilitated by Dylan Joyner.

RSVP at website link!

Where: Village Well Books & Coffee

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

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

Website: Event Page

Writing Group at North Figueroa Bookshop – In-Person MG Event

Bring paper and a pen, bring your laptop, bring a prompt to share, bring a project to work on or just come prepared to free-write among other writers, and perhaps exchange projects and feedback!

Where: North Figueroa Bookshop

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Address: 6040 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90232

Website: https://northfigbookshop.com/event/#calendar-8a0f87f6-17d6-4f10-9815-04df4c8251ba-event-mabtzxoz-1793579400000

Noches de Poesia Open Mic at Picaresca Barra de Cafe – In-Person Event

Share your poetry, stories, songs, or spoken word; preferably related to the theme of the event “Day of the Dead” but not required.

🎤 Poetry reading begins at 6 pm! Sign up at the door for a slot. Only 20 slots available!

🍔 Delicious food by @riverbedbums

🍰 Baked goods by @silver4dinner

Where: Picaresca Barra de Cafe

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 5 pm – 8 pm

Address: 2931 East 4^th St., Los Angeles, CA 90033

Website: Instagram Page

Sunday Jump Open Mic at Pilipino Workers Center – In-Person Event

First Sunday of every month!

We invite everyone to join us at the Pilipino Workers Center in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles! On November 1^st from 5 pm – 7 pm, we’ll be celebrating with performances, good vibes, and of course Filipino American History Month.

You definitely won’t want to miss it! Open mic sign-ups start at 4:30 pm and will be a lottery based system to ensure fair chances for all. 🙌

Our theme this season is: Heat Rising. 🔥⬆️

Heat is a powerful form of energy, vital for survival. It is supplied from the sun, the stove for a home-cooked meal, the hugs we give each other, redistributed through touch and connection. It is light, warmth, and care in times of turmoil. It can be found in the fire ignited within ourselves. Fire can burst into chaos, a symbol for uprisings and revolution, but also renewal. It rises and inspires change. It can also burn out and in the aftermath, allow growth and new life to emerge.

#SundayJump #Season14

See site for details, features, and open mic information.

Where: Pilipino Workers Center

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 5 pm – 7 pm (Sign-ups at 4:30 pm)

Address: 153 Glendale Blvd, Floor 1., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Website: https://www.sundayjump.com/

Queer Romance LA Book Club: Glory Gold at The Ripped Bodice – In-Person Event

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

No membership is necessary, but RSVP is required.

Book for November: Glory Gold by V.F. Mejia.

Sinchinrei has one goal: rise through the ranks of the Inkan army and prove her worth to the mother who abandoned her.

So, when the empire’s sacred Guardians choose her, not the legendary princess, as the hero against an age-old calamity, Sinchinrei is eager to take up the mantle of savior. But calamity strikes early, forcing her and the furious princess together on a quest across the empire…unprepared and at each other’s throats.

With the princess determined to escape their shared fate and an empire on the brink of ruin, Sinchinrei’s relentless ambition could cost her everything: her glory and her heart.

Where: The Ripped Bodice

Date: Sunday the 1^st

Time: 7:15 pm – 8:15 pm

Address: 3806 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90232

Website: https://therippedbodice.com/event/2026-11-01/queer-romance-la-book-club

Los Angeles Literature

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

Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/26/26 – 11/01/26

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Published by

Brian Dunlap

Share this:

Related

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Published by

Brian Dunlap