Another busy week full of literary events: readings, open mics, book clubs and workshops all throughout the L.Á. area. There is even a few YA and teen events. Local writers reading this week are: Linda Ravenswood, Xochitl-Julissa Bermejo, Vanessa Diaz, Jose Hernandez Diaz, Gustavo Hernandez, Marvinlouis Dorsey and William P. Cushing, among others. Continue reading Los Angeles Literature Events: 01/23/23 – 01/29/23
The first list of weekly events of the year. There are readings, open mics, book clubs and workshops from Pomona to Venice to Orange and Santa Ana to Long Beach to everywhere in-between. There is even a few YA and kids events. Local writers reading this week are: poet Alma Rosa Rivera, novelist Jordan Harper, spoken word poet Christian Perfas “Soulstuf,” novelist Janet Fitch, poet Patty Chavez and poet Carlos Ornelas, among others. Continue reading Los Angeles Literature Events: 01/09/23 – 01/15/23
World Literature Book Club: Weekly Discussions of Short Stories via West Valley Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
This book club is a spirited and engaging discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from Points of View: An Anthology of Short Stories (New York, 1995) ed. James Moffett and Kenneth R. McElheny. This month’s selections are:
December 5: A Telephone Call by Dorothy Parker
December 12: I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olson
December 19: Straight Pool by John O’Hara
Meetings are every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
For the Zoom link, please e-mail wvally@lapl.org with “World Literature” in the subject line.
NOTE: See site for link. Repeats via Woodland Hills Branch Library at 2pm.
Where: West Valley Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 5th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-9
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 12/05/22 – 12/11/22”
Book Club Bonanza and Indigenous Voices: YA Reads A Snake Falls to Earth via Central Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event
This book club for teens will read a YA fiction book to read to celebrate Indigenous Voices month, and today will have an activity related to this month’s selection, A Snake Falls to Earth, by Little Darcie Badger.
NATIONAL BESTSELLERNEWBERY AWARD HONORAMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD HONORNATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST, among others.
In this work of Indigenous futurism, the author draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family.
Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.
Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.
Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 14th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-indigenous-voices-0
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/21/22 – 11/27/22”
MOIRA First Press Reading Series & Chloe Martinez at Woodbury University – In-Person Event
The olive is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world, grown before the written language was invented. In California, there are many isolated trees or fragments of old groves, such as the trees that still stand on the Woodbury campus. Traditionally, after harvest, oil was pressed in screw or hydraulic presses. The paste was subjected to increasingly high pressures with subsequent degradation in the flavor of the oil. Thus, the “first press” of oil was considered the most flavorful and desirable. ~ the Olive Oil Source, 2018.
Chloe Martinez will be the featured guest at this second event in this year’s series. is a poet and a scholar of South Asian religions. She is the author of the collection Ten Thousand Selves (The Word Works) and the chapbook Corner Shrine (Backbone Press). Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, POETRY, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Beloit Poetry Journal and elsewhere. She works at Claremont McKenna College. See more at www.chloeAVmartinez.com.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, guidelines and details.
Where: Woodbury University
Date: Monday the 14th
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm
Address: 7500 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91504
Website: https://www.moriaonline.com/first-press-reading-series
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/14/22 – 11/20/22”
World Literature Book Club via West Valley Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
This Book Club hosts a discussion of the world’s best short stories. All selections are from The Best Short Stories 2021-The O. Henry Prize Winners, edited by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This month’s selections are:
Nov. 7 – Antediluvian by Ben Hinshaw
Nov. 14 – Grief’s Garden by Caroline Albertine Minor
Nov. 21 – To the Dogs by Jianan Qian
Nov. 28 – Color and Light by Sally Rooney
This group meets every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
This program is repeated at 2 pm by Woodland Hills Branch Library.
NOTE: See site for link and details.
Where: West Valley Regional Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 7th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-short-stories-book-club-0
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/07/22 – 11/13/22”
Book Club Bonanza: Frightening Reads! & White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson via Central Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event
The Book Club Bonanza Book Club for Teens will host read-alikes and an activity for this month’s selection, White Smoke, by Tiffany D. Jackson.
In this chilling psychological thriller, Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its…secrets. That’s only half the problem. Cedarville has secrets too.
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link, and details.
Where: Central Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 17th
Time: 4:30 pm
Address: Online event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-frightening-reads
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/17/22 – 10/23/22”
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
School Visit Signing by George Lopez & Chupa Carter via Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Event
Comedian and actor George Lopez will be visiting a school with Once Upon a Time Bookstore. If you would like a copy of his children’s book, Chupa Carter, signed and personalized, please order from the store.
This is a private event, but signed books are available to the public through Once Upon a Time Bookstore.
NOTE: See site for details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 8 am
Address: 2207 Honolulu Ave., Montrose CA 91020
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/school-visit-george-lopez
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/03/22 – 10/09/22”
Los Angeles Literature Events: 09/12/22 – 09/18/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
Woodland Hills Mystery Book Club Discussion: Your House Will Pay at Washington Irving Branch Library, LAPL – In-Person & Online (Hybrid) Event
A novel about racial tensions in Los Angeles, following two families—one Korean-American, one African-American—grappling with the effects of a decades-old crime.
In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it’s been since the unrest of the early 1990s. But Grace Park and Shawn Matthews have their own problems. Grace is sheltered and largely oblivious, living in the Valley with her Korean-immigrant parents, working long hours at the family pharmacy. She’s distraught that her sister hasn’t spoken to their mother in two years, for reasons beyond Grace’s understanding. Shawn has already had enough of politics and protest after an act of violence shattered his family years ago. He just wants to be left alone to enjoy his quiet life in Palmdale.
But when another shocking crime hits LA, both the Park and Matthews families are forced to face down their history while navigating the tumult of a city on the brink of more violence.
Discussion is facilitated by Mary C. Schaffer. Books are read in advance of the meetings and are available to borrow from the Woodland Hills Library Reference Desk or you may place a copy on hold through the library catalog or Libby app.
Please call (818) 226-0017 for more information.
NOTE: See site for link, guidelines, and details.
Where: Woodland Hills Branch Library, LAPL Community Room
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 4 pm
Address: 22200 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364 (or online; see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/mystery-book-club-8
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 09/12/22 – 09/18/22”
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
Quantum Book Club: The Candle and the Flame at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event
The Quantum Book Club reads selections from literary fiction and nonfiction, on the last Monday of every month. Join us to discuss the June selection, The Candle and the Flame, by Nafiza Azad.
This sophisticated debut novel combines basic Islamic concepts and Middle Eastern mythology in a YA fantasy set in a city along the along the Silk Road that is a refuge for those of all faiths, where a young woman is threatened by the war between two clans of powerful djinn. This book weaves an immersive tale of magic and the importance of names; fiercely independent women; and, perhaps most importantly, the work for harmony within a city of a thousand cultures and cadences.
NOTE: See site for book purchase and details6259
Where: The Book Jewel
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 6 pm
Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BookJewelBookstore/photos/pcb.731164534965353/731164484965358/
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/27/22 – 07/03/22”
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