Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/21/22 – 11/27/22

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”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/31/22 – 11/06/22

Trick or Treat Event at Main Library, SMPL – In-Person Kids & Teens Event

Arrive in your Halloween costume at the library’s youth services desk for something fun and frightening! For kids and teens ages 0-17.

NOTE: See site for guidelines, and details.

Where: Main Library, SMPL

Date: Monday the 31st

Time: 10 am – 5 pm

 Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Website: http://calendar.smgov.net/library/eventsignup.asp?ID=34301  

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/31/22 – 11/06/22”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/24/22 – 10/30/22

It’s another busy week in the Los Ángeles literary community featuring in-person, virtual and hybrid open mics, workshops and book clubs. There are even several middle grade, kids and teen events for young literary lovers. Local writers reading this week are: Cynthia Guardado, Seth Fishman, Jean-Pierre Rueda, Natalie Sierra, Sheila J. Sadr, Peter J. Harris and Christopher Soto, among others. Continue reading Los Angeles Literature Events: 10/24/22 – 10/30/22

Los Angeles Literature Events: 07/18/22 – 07/24/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Philosophical Horror Book Club: RINGS (Rings Trilogy) at Cellar Door Bookstore – In-Person Event

Join the Philosophical Horror Book Club to discuss the book, RINGS (Rings trilogy), by Koji Suzuki.

A mysterious videotape warns that the viewer will die in one week unless a certain, unspecified act is performed. Exactly one week after watching the tape, four teenagers die one after another of heart failure.

Asakawa, a hardworking journalist, is intrigued by his niece’s inexplicable death. His investigation leads him from a metropolitan Tokyo teeming with modern society’s fears to a rural Japan–a mountain resort, a volcanic island, and a countryside clinic–haunted by the past. His attempt to solve the tape’s mystery before it’s too late–for everyone–assumes an increasingly deadly urgency. Ring is a chillingly told horror story, a masterfully suspenseful mystery, and post-modern trip.

The success of Koji Suzuki’s novel the Ring has led to manga, television and film adaptations in Japan, Korea, and the U.S.

NOTE: See site for RSVP, book purchase, guidelines, and details.

Where: Cellar Door Bookstore

Date: Monday the 18th   

Time: 6 pm

Address: 5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Suite 30A, Riverside, CA 92507

Website: https://www.cellardoorbookstore.com/event/philosophical-horror-book-club-rings

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 07/18/22 – 07/24/22”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/27/22 – 07/03/22

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”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/20/22 – 06/26/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Cleyvis Natera, with Steph Cha, & Neruda on the Park at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event

Cleyvis Natera, iin conversation with Steph Cha (Your House Will Pay), will discuss his new novel, Neruda on the Park, a beautifully layered portrait of family, friendship, and ambition. 

Neruda on the Park weaves a rich and vivid tapestry of community as well as the sacrifices we make to protect what we love most, announcing Cleyvis Natera as an electrifying new voice.

The Guerreros have lived in Nothar Park, a predominantly Dominican part of New York City, for twenty years. When demolition begins on a neighboring tenement, Eusebia, an elder of the community, takes matters into her own hands by devising an increasingly dangerous series of schemes to stop construction of the luxury condos. Meanwhile, Eusebia’s daughter, Luz, a rising associate at a top Manhattan law firm who strives to live the bougie lifestyle her parents worked hard to give her, becomes distracted by a sweltering romance with the handsome white developer at the company her mother so vehemently opposes.

As Luz’s father, Vladimir, secretly designs their retirement home in the Dominican Republic, mother and daughter collide, ramping up tensions in Nothar Park, racing toward a near-fatal climax.

NOTE: See site for tickets, link, and details.

Where: Skylight Bookstore

Date: Monday the 20th

Time: 7 pm – PST

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

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-cleyvis-natera-presents-neruda-park-steph-cha

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/20/22 – 06/26/22”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/13/22 – 06/19/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Tween Book Club via Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Tween Event

Kids ages 9 to 12 are invited to a monthly book discussion, to share other books they have read and to get new reading recommendations.

In June, we’ll discuss Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick. The book should be read in advance of the meeting. Find a copy to borrow at the library site link.  

NOTE: See site for Zoom link and details. 

Where: LAPL Online event

Date: Monday the13th  

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/tween-book-club  

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/13/22 – 06/19/22”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/05/22 – 04/10/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Mac Barentt & Marla Frazee Present The Great Zapfino via Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Zoom Event

Two bestselling and popular children’s book creators, author Mac Barnett and illustrator Marla Frazee will present their sweet, inspiring story, The Great Zapfino, for children ages 5 and up, about a runaway circus performer.

When The Great Zapfino climbs to the top of the circus platform, all eyes are on him, waiting for his incredible leap. But Zapfino is afraid of heights! He can’t take the pressure and flees, boards a plane, and runs away to start a new life. 

In the city, Zapfino starts work as an elevator operator in a tall building but soon learns you can never really outrun your fears. When disaster strikes, can Zapfino find the strength to be great?

NOTE: See site for RSVP, link and details. 

Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Event – Zoom Online

Date: Tuesday the 5th

Time: 5 pm

Address: Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Online Zoom Event (see site)

Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/great-zapfino

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/05/22 – 04/10/22”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/07/22 – 03/13/22

Many/Most Events Are Online/Virtual DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Book Club Bonanza: Women’s History Celebration via Central Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event

Join us to pick a book to read via Hoopla in celebration of Women’s History Month. We will pitch each other YA fiction, nonfiction or graphic novels, and return on March 14 for read-alikes on the book(s) we’ve chosen, and on March 21 for our book discussion.

NOTE: See site for event detail and to RSVP.        

Where: Central LIbrary, LAPL – Online event

Date: Monday the 7th

Time: 4:30 pm

Address: LAPL Online Event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-womens-history-celebration

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/07/22 – 03/13/22”

Los Angeles Literature Events: 02/14/22 – 02/20/22

Many/Most Events Are Online/Virtual DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

45th Annual UCR Writers Week Festival via UC Riverside – Online Event

Join the 45th Annual UCR Writers Week Festival of Events: February 12 and 14-18, 2022. This series of events is online, free and open to the public, (captioned & ASL translated), and you may register at site link or on any session time listed there.

DAY 2 of 6, EVENTS:

Session 1: 3 pm PST:

Edgar Gomez is the author of High Risk Homosexual: A Memoir, which follows a touching and often hilarious spiral-like path to embracing his gay, Latinx identity against a culture of machismo. This is a crackling, witty and poignant debut.

Daniel Olivas is the author most recently of How to Date a Flying Mexican, New and Collected Stories (University of Nevada Press, 2022). He is the author of ten books and editor of two anthologies, as well as plays produced for the stage and readings by Playwrights’ Arena, Circle X Theatre Company, and The Road Theatre Company. He has written for many publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, LARB, La Bloga, BOMB, and others

Steve Erickson is the author of ten novels, and has written two books about American politics and popular culture, Leap Year and American Nomad. He has also written for Esquire, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, Salon, and other publications and journals. He was editor and co-founder of Black Clock literary journal, and is now film/TV critic for Los Angeles magazine and a Distinguished Professor at UC Riverside.

Session 2: 5 pm PST:

Jamaica Heolimeleikatani Osorio is the author of Remembering Our Intimacies (University of Minnesota Press, 2021). She interlaces stories from her forebears with cultural artifacts from her own life to explore questions of cultural inheritance and the particular danger, as a Native woman, of relaxing into romantic love under colonial rule. Dr. Osorio is a Kanaka Maoli artist and scholar and an Assistant Professor of Indigenous and Native Hawaiian Politics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Elisa Washuta is the author most recently of White Magic (Tin House, 2022), long-listed for the PEN Open Book Award and the PEN/Jean Stein Award, a collection of intertwined essays about land, heartbreak, and colonization, about life without the escape hatch of intoxication, and about how she became a powerful witch. She interlaces stories from her forebears with cultural aspects of her own life to explore questions of cultural inheritance and the particular danger, as a Native woman, of relaxing into romantic love under colonial rule. She is a member of the Cowlitz Indian tribe and an assistant professor of creative writing at the Ohio State University.

Session 3: 6:30 pm PST

Anthony Cody is the author most recently of the 2021 American Book Award winning Borderland Apocrypha (Omnidawn, 2020). He has a lineage in both the Bracero Program and the Dust Bowl and his poetry has appeared widely. He has taught eco-poetry at Fresno State University, and read and led workshops across the country. He continues to run the Laureate Lab Studio with Juan Felipe Herrera at Fresno State, and serves as poetry editor for Noemi Press and a poetry editor for Omnidawn.

Carribean Fragoza is a passionate writer, journalist, and artist from South El Monte, and is the author most recently of the collection Eat the Mouth that Feeds You (City Lights), and is also co-editor of East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte. She is also founder and co-director of the South El Monte Art Posse (SEMAP), a multi-disciplinary arts collective.  

Sesschu Foster taught composition and literature in East L.A. for over 20 years, and also taught at the University of Iowa, CalArts and UC Santa Cruz. His most recent books are City of the Future, poetry; World Ball Notebook, poetry; and Atomik Aztex, a novel. His has won numerous literary awards, including the Paterson Poetry Prize for City Terrace Field Manual. He is based in Alhambra, CA.

NOTE: See site for event link and details. 

Where: UC Riverside Writers Week – Online Event

Date: Monday the 14th

Time: 3 pm – 8 pm (Day 2 of 6)

Address: UC Riverside – Online (see site)

Website: https://writersweek.ucr.edu/schedule22

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 02/14/22 – 02/20/22”