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5 OCTOBER 2020 — monday

  • Vroman's Bookstore presents Terri Cheney, Manic: A Memoir, discussing her new book Modern Madness: An Owner's Manual, with author and video producer Meredith Skrzypek Arthur, dissecting complicated aspects of mental illness with an approach of love and acceptance, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/terri-cheney-discusses/register)
  • San Diego Writers, Ink presents a Short Story Finishing School Workshop with Cornelia Feye, author and educator, co-editor of a short story anthology that won the San Diego Book Award 2019; this four-week workshop focuses on polishing short story ideas or finished drafts, with an eye for conflict, plot twists, character development, and dialogue to make short stories sparkle, $120 members/$144 nonmembers, online, 10:00 am-Noon PDT (Enroll here: www.sandiegowriters.org/october-short-story-finishing-school-cornelia-feye)
  • Left Margin LIT presents Music of the Mind Poetry Workshop with David Roderick, whose book of poems Blue Colonial (2006) won the APR/Honickman Prize, this poetry workshop explores the sonnet, ode, and pastoral traditions, demonstrating the lyricism inherent in all poetry through creative and playful writing assignments, $355, online, runs six weeks, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.leftmarginlit.org/music-of-the-mind-david-roderick)
  • Diesel Books presents Cassidy Lucas, aka the writing duo Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger, discussing their book Santa Monica, the story of an elite LA community rocked by a murder, revealing that things aren't as perfect as they seem for the residents of this wealthy neighborhood, Fiero and Widger will also sign the book for purchase through Diesel in Santa Monica, free, online, 6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.dieselbookstore.com/event/virtual-event-tuesday-october-6th-630-pm-cassidy-lucas-discusses-and-signs-santa-monica)
  • San Diego Writers, Ink presents a workshop, The Story You Need to Tell—Writing and Resilience, led by Sandra Marinella, The Story You Need to Tell; this class focuses on personal stories and growth, and the reliance and renewal found in sharing our stories, $120 members/$144 nonmembers, online, runs four weeks, 10:00 am-Noon PDT (Enroll here: http://www.sandiegowriters.org/october-stories-writing-resilience-sandra-marinella)
  • Vroman's Bookstore presents Nathan Marsak discussing his book Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir, about Bunker Hill, commemorating the poets, artists, architects, and activists who made the neighborhood what it is, an examination of intense city politics through the destruction and rebuilding of the highest (literally) neighborhood in Los Angeles, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.crowdcast.io/e/nathan-marsak-discusses/register)

6 OCTOBER 2020 — tuesday

7 OCTOBER 2020 — wednesday

  • Iris Jamahl Dunkle, former Poet Laureate of Sonoma County, reads from her new book Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer, a profile of Charmian Kittredge London, pioneering writer and wife of Jack London, free, online, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Email support@readersbooks.com to register or register for the Zoom webinar here.)

8 OCTOBER 2020 — thursday

  • Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena presents esteemed author and activist Eddie R. Cole discussing his book, The Campus Color Line: College Presidents and the Struggle for Black Freedom with David G. Garcia, Associate Professor and researcher at UCLA, Cole's book focuses on the period from 1948 to 1968, and the racial injustices and segregation perpetrated by college presidents even as the country was making strides towards racial equality, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.crowdcast.io/e/ripbiibs/register)
  • Copperfield's Books presents Iris Jamahl Dunkle, former Poet Laureate of Sonoma County, and her new book Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer, a profile of one of California's central literary figures, in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and essayist Forrest Gander, free, online, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend here.)
  • Diesel Books presents novelist and playwright Seth Greenland talking with journalist and author Tom Teicholz about Greenland's book A Kingdom of Tender Colors on his battle with lymphatic cancer, a daunting story filled with Greenland's wit and humor, triumph and hope, free, online, 6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.dieselbookstore.com/event/virtual-event-thursday-october-8th-630-pm-seth-greenland-conversation-tom-teicholz-discusses)
  • Litquake presents a talk with Kevin Kwan, author of the best-selling novel Crazy Rich Asians, and Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, on Kwan's new novel Sex and Vanity, a tale of modern love and comedy of manners, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djD5/sex-and-vanity-kevin-kwan-with-amy-tan)
  • The Mechanics' Institute Library of San Francisco hosts "Write If You Dare," a drop-in writing workshop for all genres and levels with directed free writing and sharing, member-led, free for MI members, 11:00 am–1:00 pm PDT (For questions: tedwards@milibrary.org, online sign up: www.milibrary.org/events)

9 OCTOBER 2020 — friday

  • San Diego Writers, Ink presents a workshop, Bookends: Crafting Compelling Openings and Memorable Endings, with Josiane Chriqui, essay writer and entrepreneur, with extensive experience in book publishing; she breaks down how to grab a reader's attention at the start of a piece and how to craft an ending that is both satisfying and provocative, $30 members/$36 nonmembers, online, 10:00 am-Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.sandiegowriters.org/october-crafting-openings-endings-josiane-chriqui)
  • Nomadic Press hosts a virtual open mic with thirty slots, hosted by Nazelah Jamison, every Friday, three minutes per reader, 6:00–7:30 pm PDT (Sign up to read: forms.gle/1ZNKSnnzRZpXxvUE7; online Zoom link is posted on Nomadic Press Facebook invitation)

10 OCTOBER 2020 — saturday

  • Litquake presents Debut Authors: Making a Splash During the Apocalypse, with author and attorney Adam Smyer talking with several debut authors of this year, including activist Mia Birdsong, essayist Sejal Shah, novelist Carol Stivers, author-agent Danielle Svetcov, and YA author Phil Stamper, $12, online, Noon-1:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dnwi/debut-authors-making-a-splash-during-the-apocalypse)
  • Litquake presents Juan Felipe Herrera, Every Day We Get More Illegal, the twenty-first U.S. Poet Laureate and first Latino to hold the position, with 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry-winner Jericho Brown, author of three collected works, including The Tradition, co-presented by City Lights Books, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register here: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djDE/every-day-we-get-more-illegal-juan-felipe-herrera-with-jericho-brown)
  • San Francisco Center for the Book presents a talk with book artist and paper engineer Shawn Sheehy about his pop-up artist books, connecting his work to politics and environmentalism and exploring interdependence in ecosystems and humans' effect (and often hubris) when it comes to co-existing with these systems, free, online, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfcb.org/events)

11 OCTOBER 2020 — sunday

  • The Workers Circle presents a dramatic reading of Danielle Levin's novel Bérénice 1934-44: An Actress in Occupied Paris, followed by a discussion with author and journalist Isabelle Stibbe and the translators Zack Rogow and Renée Morel, free, online, 2:00-3:00 pm PDT (Register here: circle.org/event/berenice-1934-44-actress-occupied-paris)
  • The Litquake annual festival presents Speaking Axolotl: The San Pancho Edition, a poetry reading featuring four talented poets, Anthony Cody, Borderland Apocrypha, winner of the 2018 Omnidawn Open Book Contest, José Olivarez, whose debut book of poetry, Citizen Illegal, won the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize, Raquel Salas Rivera, poet, translator, and editor, author of while they sleep (under the bed is another country, and Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta, artist and poet whose La Movida is forthcoming from Nightboat Books in 2022, hosted by Josiah Luis Alderete, poet and founding member of The Molotov Mouths spoken word troupe, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djDF/speaking-axoloti-the-san-pancho-edition)
  • The Litquake annual festival presents Forests with Obi Kaufmann with Leslie Carol Roberts, Kaufmann discusses his new book, The Forests of California, with author Leslie Carol Roberts; Kaufmann's book is an exploration of the diversity, power, and beauty within California forests, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djDH/forests-obi-kaufmann-with-leslie-carol-roberts)
  • Bird & Beckett Books and Records presents a talk with poet and essayist Margaret Randall about her latest book My Life in 100 Objects, in conversation with Garrett Caples, poet and editor at City Lights Books, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: birdbeckett.com/sunday-october-11-7pman-online-talk-by-margaret-randallmy-life-in-100-objects)
  • Sixteen Rivers Press celebrates twenty-one years of publishing fine books of poetry with readings by poets Matthew Zapruder, Father's Day, and Prageeta Sharma, Grief Sequence, part of the Press's annual fundraiser, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sixteenrivers.org/october-fundraiser-features-matthew-zapruder-prageeta-sharma)

12 OCTOBER 2020 — monday

  • City Lights Books presents Tim Hwang and his book Subprime Attention Crisis: Advertising and the Time Bomb at the Heart of the Internet, investigating the financial risks and implications of digital advertising, in conversation with nonfiction author Allison Arieff, part of the three-day Logic Book Festival co-hosted by City Lights Books and Gray Area, free, online, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3712)
  • Left Margin LIT presents the More with Less Short Story, a four-week workshop with Hannah Michell, The Defections; her essays and short stories appear in the San Francisco Chronicle and Asian Review of Books, participants read contemporary short stories and workshop their in-progress drafts, $245, online, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.leftmarginlit.org/do-more-with-less-michell)
  • Litquake, San Francisco's annual festival, presents The Rise of Nancy Pelosi, featuring Molly Ball, TIME National Political Correspondent discussing her book Pelosi, a dynamic biography of Nancy Pelosi, her lifetime of politics and iconic leadership in the Democratic Party, joined by Scott Shafer, of KQED, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djDT/the-rise-of-nancy-pelosi-molly-ball-with-scott-shafer)
  • Litquake, San Francisco's annual festival, presents a Foglifter Press reading, with contributors from the LGBTQ+ journal and press, featuring short readings from Ching-In Chen, Piper J. Daniels, Chekwube Danladi, Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, J.S. Kuiken, t. tran le, Wryly T. McCutchen, heidi andrea restrepo Rhodes, Zak Salih, and Mimi Tempestt, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: https://litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djDW/foglifter-press-eyeing-the-margins)
  • Kepler's Books presents a discussion of George Saunders' novella The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, a dark political comedy with familiar motifs, led by educator Kimberly Ford, $30, $48 includes a copy of the book, online, 5:00-6:30 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.keplers.org/upcoming-events-internal/https/wwweventbritecom/e/fall-2020-online-evening-literary-seminar-series-tickets-103964195708affphil)
  • City Lights Books presents a discussion of Ben Tarnoff and Moira Weigel's book Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do, and How They Do It, the founders of the tech magazine Logic are joined in conversation by journalist Anna Wiener, part of the three-day Logic Book Festival co-hosted by City Lights Books and Gray Area, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3712)

13 OCTOBER 2020 — tuesday

  • Beyond Baroque presents "All the Feels: Writing for Emotional Liberation," a workshop with journalist and author Janice Littlejohn, journalism as a way to cultivate emotional self-awareness and compassion, $180 members, $200 nonmembers, online, runs five weeks (October 13-November 10), 6:30-8:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.beyondbaroque.org/intensive_workshops.html)
  • Litquake presents publisher and nonfiction writer Marke Bieschke, Into the Streets: A Young Person's Visual History of Protest in the United States, and writer and photographer Caitlin Donohue, She Represents: 44 Women Who Are Changing Politics and the World, as they discuss their work and answer questions, free, online, 3:30-4:45 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djV9/into-the-streets-politics-activism-and-communities)
  • City Lights Books presents researcher and academic writer Adrian Daub and his book What Tech Calls Thinking, examining and dismantling core ideas of Silicon Valley, in conversation with Joanne McNeil, essayist and art critic, part of the three-day Logic Book Festival co-hosted by City Lights Books and Gray Area, free, online, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3712)
  • Litquake presents Phil Klay reading from his new novel Missionaries, a work of military fiction drawing on Klay's own experiences serving in Iraq and research into the effects of modern war, in conversation with short story writer and novelist Brian Van Reet, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djUw/missionaries-military-fiction-with-phil-klay-and-brian-van-reet)
  • Sixteen Rivers Press presents a reading featuring poets Eliot Schain, The Distant Sound, and Patrick Cahill, The Machinery of Sleep, hosted by poet Stella Beratlis, open mic to follow, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sixteenrivers.org/second-tuesday-reading-eliot-schain-patrick-cahill)
  • Litquake presents a series of literary performances featuring poet Maurisa Thompson, poet and novelist Lauren Wheeler, poet Jayy Dodd, and spoken word artist Brandon Young, hosted by writer and stand-up comedian Baruch Porras-Hernandez, exploring sex, love, and connections during a pandemic, part of the Litquake Out Loud series highlighting queer and POC writers, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/djUr/you-me-and-everyone-weve-boned)
  • City Lights Books presents technologist and writer Xiaowei Wang discussing Blockchain Chicken Farm, an exploration of technology and politics in rural China, in conversation with An Xiao Mina, part of the three-day Logic Book Festival co-hosted by City Lights Books and Gray Area, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3712)

14 OCTOBER 2020 — wednesday

15 OCTOBER 2020 — thursday

  • Left Margin LIT presents The Memoir of Childhood Memoir Workshop with Tommy Moulton, a John Steinbeck Fellow, focusing on childhood memories and the emotion and truth they evoke as a creative foundation for memoir writing, $245, online, runs four-weeks, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: https://www.leftmarginlit.org/memoir-of-childhood-mouton)
  • Litquake presents nonfiction writer Bridget Quinn and her book She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened Next, in conversation with artist and historian Nell Irvin Painter, moderated by author and photographer Tabitha Soren, free, online, 4:00-5:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlQI/she-votes-how-us-women-won-suffrage)
  • Point Reyes Books presents writer and essayist Hugh Raffles discussing The Book of Unconformities: Speculations on Lost Time, a meditation on the suddenness of death and the objects and relationships that can anchor us to the world, in conversation with Stephen Sparks, owner of Point Reyes Books, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/hugh-raffles)
  • The Mechanics' Institute Library of San Francisco hosts "Write If You Dare," a drop-in writing workshop for all genres and levels with directed free writing and sharing, member-led, free for MI members, 11:00 am–1:00 pm PDT (For questions: tedwards@milibrary.org, online sign up: www.milibrary.org/events)

16 OCTOBER 2020 — friday

  • The Elysian Valley Arts Collective and Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice present Reading the River: The Poetry of Lewis MacAdams, a celebration of the life and work of Lewis MacAdams (1944-2020), poet, activist, and founder of Friends of the Los Angeles River, where he worked to clean up the Los Angeles River and advocated for its preservation; featuring readings of MacAdam's poetry by poets Adam Saroyan, Mike Sonksen, and some surprise guests, moderated by journalist Rex Weiner, free, online, 5:00-6:00 pm PDT (Register for the Zoom event here: www.evartscollective.com/event-details/reading-the-river-the-poetry-of-lewis-macadams)
  • Litquake presents Fernanda Melchor and her debut novel Hurricane Season, a thrilling noir that takes place in a Mexican village on the Gulf Coast, in conversation with novelist and professor Yuri Herrera, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlQg/hurricane-season-fernanda-melchor-with-yuri-herrera)
  • Nomadic Press hosts a virtual open mic with thirty slots, hosted by Nazelah Jamison, every Friday, three minutes per reader, 6:00–7:30 pm PDT (Sign up to read: forms.gle/1ZNKSnnzRZpXxvUE7; online Zoom link is posted on Nomadic Press Facebook invitation)
  • Community of Writers presents Poetry First Aid, quick ten-minute consultations where you can bring a poem-in-progress, ask questions, and receive feedback, featuring Community of Writers staff poets Kazim Ali, Brenda Hillman, and Evie Shockley, available only to alums of the Poetry Workshop of the Community of Writers, $18, online, 1:30-5:30 pm PDT (Register here: communityofwriters.org/events/event/poetry-first-aid-session-1)
  • San Diego Writers, Ink presents Using Tarot to Write Love Poems Workshop with poet Tania Pryputniewicz, November Butterfly, on the connection between tarot, poetry, love, and the emphatic emotional connection they draw, $15 members/$20 nonmembers, online, Noon-1:45 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.sandiegowriters.org/ffw-tarot-love-poems-tania-pryputniewicz)
  • San Diego Writers, Ink presents Adapting for Artists, a workshop session with Tim West, noted actor, playwright, and theatre artist, demonstrating that the process of adaptation is a necessary tool for artists, across genres or mediums, $15 members/$20 nonmembers, online, 10:00-11:45 am PDT (Register to attend: http://www.sandiegowriters.org/ffw-adapting-for-artists-tim-west)
  • Point Reyes Book presents naturalist and essayist Terry Tempest Williams discussing her book Erosion: Essays of Undoing, addressing erosion, from environmental crises to the fight for democracy, a benefit event for the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, free with suggested donation, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/terry-tempest-williams)

17 OCTOBER 2020 — saturday

  • Jingletown Reading & Open Mic celebrates writers committed to social justice: José Héctor Cadena, Kin Folkz, Aimee Suzara, open mic limited to five readers, hosted by harold terezόn and Adela Najarro, online, 2:00-3:30 pm PDT (Online: Zoom: 992 1716 1772, password: justice, Facebook Live)
  • Litquake and City Lights Books presents a celebration of the latest issue of Freeman's literary journal, featuring numerous writings on the subject of love, with editor John Freeman, Los Angeles Poet Laureate Robin Coste Lewis, novelist Tommy Orange, and fiction writer Matt Sumell, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlQi/freemans-best-new-writings-on-love)
  • Litquake presents Cockette member Fayette Hauser and her illustrated book The Cockettes: Acid Drag & Sexual Anarchy, stories and rare photos about the legendary San Francisco hippie theater group, also featuring Cockette members Richard "Scrumbly" Koldewyn and Pam Tent, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlQo/the-cockettes-acid-drag-sexual-anarchy-and-san-francisco-craziness)
  • San Diego Writers, Ink presents an Online Showcase: Healing Through Story, performances and readings by students of the six-week class run by Brenda Adelman, actor and storyteller, whose one-woman show My Brooklyn Hamlet has toured in four countries and ten states, $5, online, 7:00-8:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.sandiegowriters.org/online-showcase-healing-through-story-brenda-adelman)
  • Beyond Baroque presents "Discovering a Poet's Aesthetic: a Virtual Writing Retreat" with poet Eric Morago, a workshop emphasizing craft and aesthetic, where participants give and receive constructive critiques of their poetry, $80 members, $100 nonmembers, online, runs two-days, October 17-18, 11:00 am-3:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.beyondbaroque.org/intensive_workshops.html)

18 OCTOBER 2020 — sunday

  • Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Karen Kevorkian, Quivira, and Ramón García, The Chronicles, online via Zoom, free, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: please click here; you will receive an email with a link and information on how to join the reading)
  • Community of Writers presents their Alumni Reading Series, featuring recently published alumni poets Robin Page, Shobha Rao, Marci Vogel, Alia Volz, and Kate Wisel, with host poet and novelist Jimin Han, free, online, 5:30-6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: communityofwriters.org/events/event/2020-alumni-reading-series-1)

19 OCTOBER 2020 — monday

  • The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books presents playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar, Homeland Elegies, in conversation with religious scholar Reza Aslan, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/?3_route=/client-embeds/la-times-festival-of-books-2020/1/3/__/&)
  • Litquake presents Noir at the (Virtual) Bar: Mystery Writers of America, featuring mystery writers Cara Black, Robin Burcell, Rae James, S.A. Lelchuk, Camille Minichino, Jason Ridler, Faye Snowdon, and Jacqueline Winspear, moderated by novelist Laurie R. King, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlRA/noir-at-the-virtual-bar-mystery-writers-of-america)
  • Litquake presents "The Root Slam: Working People's Section," featuring readings from the event organizers, including Isabella Borgeson, Tianna Bratcher, Gabriel Cortez, Ciera-Jevae Gordon, Natasha Huey, Will Smith, and Sandy Vazquez, organizers of The Root Slam, an Oakland poetry venue dedicated to promoting Black, indigenous, people of color, queer, trans, gender-nonconforming, women, working class, disabled, and immigrant artists and poets, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlR6/the-root-slam-working-peoples-section)
  • Folio Books presents The Odd Mondays reading series, featuring three authors reading from new work: host Richard May, Gay All Year, novelist Mathangi Subramanian, A People's History of Heaven, and novelist Michael Nava, Lies With Man, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (RSVP at www.facebook.com/OddMondays or email oddmondaysnoevalley@gmail.com for the Zoom link)
  • Aqus presents Rivertown Poets, featuring a poetry reading by Phyllis Meshulam, Poet Laureate of Sonoma County, and Zoya Ahmed, first Youth Poet Laureate of Sonoma County, open mic to follow, free, online, 6:15-8:00 pm PDT (RSVP and sign up for the open mic here: aqus.com/rivertownpoets)
  • Kepler's Books presents Namwali Serpell discussing Stranger Faces, essays on how people's appearances affect our actions towards them, in conversation with writer Carmen Maria Machado, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.keplers.org/upcoming-events-internal/serpell2020)

20 OCTOBER 2020 — tuesday

21 OCTOBER 2020 — wednesday

  • Litquake presents journalists Dani Anguino and Alastair Gee, Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy, and Scott James, Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for Truth, as they discuss their books about the horrific fires experienced recently in California, moderated by journalist Frances Dinkelspiel, founder of Berkeleyside, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlRS/telling-true-stories-trials-by-fire)
  • Vroman's Bookstore and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books presents Jerry Brown, former governor of California, and biographer Jim Newton to discuss Newton's book Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown, in conversation with Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.vromansbookstore.com/event/la-times-festival-books-jerry-brown-and-jim-newton)
  • College of Marin offers this Poetry Writing Master Class, led by poet Thomas Centolella, where students discuss notable poems each week and critique each other's original work, $119, online via Zoom, runs six-weeks, October 21-December 2, 2:10-5:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: marincommunityed.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=course.classinformation&coursenumber=7412)
  • A memorial reading for poet, teacher, activist, and publisher Les Gottesman (1945-2019), founder of Omerta Publications where he published numerous poets and writers, featuring readings of Les Gottesman's poetry and work by Omerta Publications' poets, including Bill Crossman, Sharon Doubiago, Herb Gold, Jack Hirschman, and more, emceed by poet and novelist Hilton Obenzinger, free, online, 3:00-5:00 pm PDT (Link to the Zoom event here: us02web.zoom.us/j/87097845937?pwd=Q01SYXVoRkRMNTVXNERqMGJnZVhKUT09#success)
  • Spoken Interludes presents novelist Darin Strauss reading from his new book The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story, a mix of fact and fiction in this evocative tale of one of television's greatest stars, $10, online, 8:00-9:00 pm EST/5:00-6:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: spokeninterludes.com)
  • Litquake presents nineteenth U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey reading from her memoir Memorial Drive, about her early adulthood of loss and absence and lingering effects of white racism and domestic abuse, in conversation with poet and professor Tonya M. Foster, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend: litquake2020festival.sched.com/event/dlRR/memorial-drive-natasha-trethewey-with-tonya-m-foster)

22 OCTOBER 2020 — thursday

  • Los Angeles Times Festival of Books presents Roberto Lovato reading from his memoir Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas, a heart-breaking tale of gang life, intergenerational trauma, and interconnectedness between El Salvador and the United States, in conversation with Esmeralda Bermudez, free, online, 4:30-5:30 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/?3_route=/client-embeds/la-times-festival-of-books-2020/1/3/__/&)
  • The Mechanics' Institute Library of San Francisco hosts "Write If You Dare," a drop-in writing workshop for all genres and levels with directed free writing and sharing, member-led, free for MI members, 11:00 am–1:00 pm PDT (For questions: tedwards@milibrary.org, online sign up: www.milibrary.org/events)

23 OCTOBER 2020 — friday

24 OCTOBER 2020 — saturday

  • More than ninety Bay Area poets and writers from the Beast Generation read in an all-day marathon of poetry, streaming on YouTube, hosted by Globus Books and poet Paul Corman-Roberts, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (RSVP on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/events/689743225001174)
  • City Lights Books presents a reading featuring poets published in their Spotlight Series, including Norma Cole, Anselm Berrigan, Micah Ballard, Cathy Wagner, Eric Baus, Julien Poirier, David Brazil, Barbara Jane Reyes, Carmen Gimenez Smith, and Uche Nduka, hosted by series editor Garrett Caples, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3708)
  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents Berkeley City College's Milvia Street Literary Journal, with readings from Jalyce Fairley, Yohana Girma Gebre, and Fungai Gora, free, online, Noon-1:00 pm PDT (Zoom link: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/93007613676)
  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents "Afro-Latinx Craft Talk: On Craft as a Trail Between Ancestors and Ecstatic Blooms," featuring readings from poets Raina J. León, Thea Mathews, and Alan Pelaez, free, online, 2:00-3:00 pm PDT (Zoom link: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/98438359509)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents a Drive-In Book Launch for poet Brian Sonia-Wallace's new book The Poetry of Strangers, featuring readings by L.A. poets Danny Bealo, Linda Ravenswood, Diego de los Andes, Sammy Ginsberg, Kim Dower, and DeShaun Ingram, listen from inside your car via shortwave radio, free, at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Boulevard, Venice Beach, Los Angeles, 2:00-4:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend, parking spaces limited: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)
  • Oakland Public Library Cesar Chavez Branch presents La Palabra Musical (The Music of the World), a multi-lingual reading hosted by poet and musician Avotcja, featuring poets Aideed Medina, Raymond Nat Turner, Nia McAllister, and Benjamin Bac Sierra, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 3:00-5:00 pm PDT (Join via Zoom: www.avotcja.org/upcoming-events.html)
  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents "Speculative Poetic Futures: Looking into the Sun," featuring readings from poets Audrey T. Williams, Trey Keeve, and Amos White, free, online, 5:00-6:00 pm PDT, open mic to follow 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Zoom link for the reading: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/91912279920, Zoom link for the open mic: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/94383369984)

25 OCTOBER 2020 — sunday

  • The Before Columbus Foundation presents the forty-first American Book Awards, honoring Reginald Dwayne Betts (Felon: Poems); Sara Borjas (Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff); Neeli Cherkovski, Raymond Foye, and Tate Swindell (Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman); Staceyann Chin (Crossfire: A Litany for Survival); Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Sabrina & Corina: Stories); Tara Fickle (The Race Card: From Gaming Technologies to Model Minorities); Erika Lee (America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States); Yoko Ogawa (The Memory Police); Jake Skeets (Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers); George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (They Called Us Enemy); Ocean Vuong (On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous); De'Shawn Charles Winslow (In West Mills); Albert Woodfox with Leslie George (Solitary: My Story of Transformation and Hope); Eleanor W. Traylor (Lifetime Achievement Award); Kofi Natambu (Editor Award); Jasper Bernes, Joshua Clover, and Juliana Spahr (Publisher Award); Amalia Leticia Ortiz (Oral Literature Award); Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll (Walter & Lillian Lowenfels Criticism Award), free, online, 2:00-3:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2020/10/25/celebration-columbus-foundation-41st-annual-american-book-award)
  • Kepler's Literary Foundation presents novelist Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series, discussing his book Deny All Charges, his second book about the Fowl twins Myles and Beckett, in conversation with novelist Jonathan Stroud, free, online, 2:00-3:00 pm PDT (RSVP here: www.keplers.org/upcoming-events-internal/2020/10/25/eoin-colfer)
  • The inaugural reading for a new poetry series from Sixteen Rivers Press, Sixteen Rivers Presents, featuring poets Jay Deshpande, Love the Stranger and The Rest of the Body, and Hadara Bar-Nadav, The New Nudity and The Frame Called Ruin, hosted by poet Eliot Schain, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sixteenrivers.org/sixteen-rivers-presents)
  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents Poetry & Dance "To the canvas: are you ready?" featuring performances and readings by poet and dancer Noah James, dancer Ashley Gayle, and the Visceral Roots dance company, free, online, 2:00-3:00 pm PDT (Zoom link: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/95859704475)
  • City Lights Books presents a reading featuring poets published in their Spotlight Series, including Andrew Joron, Cedar Sigo, Will Alexander, Julian Talamantez Brolaski, Lisa Jarnot, Alli Warren, John Coletti, Elaine Kahn, Edmund Berrigan, and Sophia Dahlin, hosted by series editor Garrett Caples, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3708)
  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents Emerging Poets, featuring readings by poets Greer Nakadegawa-Lee, DeMareon Gipson, and others TBA, free, online, Noon-1:00 pm PDT (Zoom link: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/94941304773)
  • The Poetry Salon kicks off National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) with this poetry workshop, exploring the ways poetry and prose are connected and using poetry techniques to ground characters and plot structures, free, online, 10:00 am PDT (email tresha@thepoetrysalon.com to register)
  • Omnidawn Publishing presents a book launch for their new fall titles, featuring readings from poets Claire Marie Stancek, wyrd] bird, Leia Penina Wilson, This Red Metropolis What Remains, Maw Shein Win, Storage Unit for the Spirit House, Nathalie Khankan, Quiet Orient Riot, David Rothman, The Lower East Side Tenement Reclamation Association, and Calvin Bedient, The Breathing Place, hosted by Booksmith and The Bindery, free, online, 2:00 pm PDT (RSVP here: www.booksmith.com/event/virtual-omnidawn-fall-book-launch)
  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents the Lifetime Achievement Award and Reading, honoring poet Michael Warr, featuring readings by poets Chun Yu and Hugh Behm-Steinberg, free, online, 4:00-5:00 pm PDT (Zoom link: cccconfer.zoom.us/j/96612455362)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents "Ekphrastic with the Classics," a workshop with poet Jessica Wilson exploring art history as a way to reevaluate and investigate poetry, $120 members, $150 nonmembers, online, runs six-weeks, October 25-November 29, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.beyondbaroque.org/intensive_workshops.html)

26 OCTOBER 2020 — monday

27 OCTOBER 2020 — tuesday

28 OCTOBER 2020 — wednesday

29 OCTOBER 2020 — thursday

  • Copperfield's Books presents novelist Alice Henderson and her latest book A Solitude of Wolverines, a story of mystery and survival in the wilderness, in conversation with natural historian and author Mary Ellen Hannibal, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.copperfieldsbooks.com/event/alice-henderson)
  • City Lights Books, with The Poetry Center and The Green Arcade, present an evening of poetry and jazz, celebrating City Lights' recent publication of the The Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman, edited by Neeli Cherkovski, Raymond Foye, and Tate Swindell, the evening will feature over thirty video contributions by poets, artists, and musicians, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register via Zoom: linktr.ee/thepoetrycenter)
  • Skylight Books presents librarian and journalist Megan Rosenbloom reading from her latest book Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin, in conversation with Caitlin Doughty, mortician, activist, and founder of The Order of the Good Death, free, online, 7:30 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-megan-rosenbloom-reads-dark-archives-caitlin-doughty)
  • The Mechanics' Institute Library of San Francisco hosts "Write If You Dare," a drop-in writing workshop for all genres and levels with directed free writing and sharing, member-led, free for MI members, 11:00 am–1:00 pm PDT (For questions: tedwards@milibrary.org, online sign up: www.milibrary.org/events)

30 OCTOBER 2020 — friday

31 OCTOBER 2020 — saturday


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