Author: Siel

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3 Los Angeles writing meetups where you can write in company

Writing can get lonely. At writing meetup groups you can meet other writers — so you can be lonely together, sitting inches apart but not talking or making eye contact because, well, you’re writing.

If such get togethers appeal to you as much as they do to me, here are three to check out:

1. Writers Blok. The goal of Writers Blok is simple. You come, you buckle down and write for a set time, then you chat a little about your writing with other writers. The idea is that a little structure and a little company can work wonders for your writing habit — like getting you to actually develop said habit.

Located in the Culver City Arts District, Writers Blok is open every day and offers a break room with free drinks and snacks — including pour over coffee with beans roasted by the local coffee shop Bar Nine — and a sunny writing room with a mix of small and communal tables. More: Setting goals and finding community at Writers Blok.

Writers Blok. 2677 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: $80-$95 a month membership or $10-$30 for single drop-in sessions.

2. NaNo Los Angeles. National Novel Writing Month happens every November — and while that challenge lasts just 30 days, the local organizers in L.A. often keep writing meetups happening at other times of the year.

November really is the best time to get involved with NaNo Los Angeles, since most of the fun events happen then. Stay motivated by following the NaNo Los Angeles Instagram page.

NaNo Los Angeles. Cost: Free.

3. Shut Up and Write! Show up, do quick intros, then shut up and write for a solid hour, at which point you’ll get to pat yourself on the back and socialize. There are three different SUaW locations at the moment — downtown LA, San Fernando Valley, and Conejo Valley.

Shut Up and Write! Check MeetUp page for dates, times, and locations. Cost: Free.
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As a sidenote — All three of the groups I’ve mentioned mostly attract genre fiction writers. If what you really want is to meet with others writing literary fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction, you’re more likely to find them at literary writing workshops.

There are many other writing meetup groups publicized on MeetUp and elsewhere; the above are simply three I’ve tried. Got another group to recommend? Let me know in the comments —

Originally posted 10/19/16; last updated 1/3/19

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6 best literary podcasts in Los Angeles

Want to feel mildly productive when you can’t write — because you’re spending your minutes and hours stuck in Los Angeles traffic? Listen to a literary podcast while you wait on the 405. Here are five entertaining podcasts with an L.A. connection for your listening pleasure:

OtherpplOtherppl with Brad Listi. Hosted by The Nervous Breakdown founder Brad Listi, each weekly Otherppl episode features an intimate interview with a writer, recorded in Brad’s garage in Los Angeles. Interviewees range from well-known authors who are in town on book tour to local, indie press writers — like me.

A unique feature of this podcasts is that the interviews tend to focus on the authors’ personal histories and their thoughts about the writing process. The result is usually an interesting look at the trajectory of a writer’s life.

KCRW BookwormKCRW’s Bookworm. One of local NPR station KCRW’s programs, Bookworm’s hosted by Michael Silverblatt, who talks with an author at length about his or her new big book, usually asking deep questions that delve into the books’ concerns as related to contemporary society.

I’d describe Bookworm as quiet and thoughtful — which is another way of saying that I love the podcast’s moments of wonderful insight, but sometimes find Michael’s slow, measured (halting?) way of speaking lulls me to sleep.

LARB radio hourLARB Radio Hour. This podcast from the Los Angeles Review of Books (more about LARB here) is described as “a weekly variety show” — and really seems to offer something new and different every week.

Tune in to hear anything ranging from a conversation with Future Sex author Emily Witt about sex in the digital age, to a socio-cultural lesson on celebrating the holidays Soviet-style, to readings of poems. Even the hosts change around for each show, though LARB fiction editor Laurie Winer is one of the regulars.

literary discoLiterary Disco. This lively podcast features three hosts, writer-actor Julia Pistell, Tod Goldberg, and Rider Strong (of Boy Meets World fame) — the latter two of whom are in the Los Angeles area — who have energetic, friendly discussions about books they’re reading.

The conversation can get a bit frenetic, with the hosts interrupting and talking over each other. Recent episodes covered Nick Drnaso’s graphic novel Sabrina, Tara Westover’s Educated, and Vulture’s list of 100 books of the 21st century.

SkylightSkylight Books Author Reading Series. Missed a reading at Skylight Books? (more about the bookstore here) You can catch it on the podcast — maybe. The bookstore turns select readings into episodes.

You’ll hear some big name authors who came through town, as well as many well-known local ones like Dana Johnson and Margaret Wappler. Plus, the podcast sometimes includes the more community-based readings — like those featuring WriteGirl mentees or UC Irvine MFA students (more about local MFA programs here).

Drinks with Tony. Local writer Tony Dushane hosts this weekly podcast, which ran from 2002 to 2015, took a hiatus, then returned in 2018.

Each episode features two authors, who are often local. Recent guests include Shawna Kenney, David Ulin, Ben Loory, and Liska Jacobs.

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Are there great L.A.-related literary podcasts I missed? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll start listening. And if you’d like to broaden your listening horizons beyond SoCal, check out The Millions‘s list of literary podcasts from around the world.

Originally posted 1/17/17; last updated 1/4/19

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Setting goals and finding community at Writers Blok

There’s something irresistible about the promise of bottomless mimosas on New Year’s Day. It sounds so — festive — even if I know that in real life, day drinking has a way of turning me into a depressed and maudlin sloth.

I did not want to start the new year as a depressed and maudlin sloth. However, I did want to start the new year writing. So at 9 am on Jan. 1, I found myself at Writers Blok for its Kickstart Your Year in Writing event: three hours of semi-structured writing time intercut with socializing and goal setting with other writers — fueled by coffee, tea, fruit, nuts, and mimosas.

The mimosas came in two varieties: real and virgin.

The goal of Writers Blok is simple. You come, you buckle down and write for a set time, then you chat a little about your writing with other writers. The idea is that a little structure and a little company can work wonders for your writing habit — like getting you to actually develop said habit.

I went to my first Writers Blok event a couple years ago, when these writing sessions were held just one night a week in a garishly-lit upstairs room of a church in Santa Monica. Since then, Writers Blok has gotten its own cute space in the Culver City Arts District. There’s a break room with drinks and snacks — including pour over coffee with beans roasted by the local coffee shop Bar Nine — and a sunny writing room with a mix of small and communal tables.

Sessions happen every day. In fact, most days, writers could conceivably spend up to nine hours at Writers Blok, doing one session after another with breaks for meals.

But really, a few hours is probably enough for most people, most days. The three-hour new year morning event was broken up into two sessions. First, I checked in and got a piece of chalk to write down my writing goal on a board — to journal three pages — then sat down for an hour to try and achieve it. At the end of the hour we all gathered around the board to talk about how we did. I managed to write just two pages, partly because journaling tends to make me ruminate, and partly because of the freezing temperature of the space — It’s been unusually cold in L.A. lately — which prompted me to keep getting hot cups of tea to keep warm.

Then came the extended session — ninety minutes of writing, after which we broke into small groups and ate dark chocolate while answering prompt questions about our writing, which on this day had to do mostly with what we planned to write in 2019.

In our small group of five, I was especially touched by what one woman with a gentle smile shared. She’d recently finished an essay about a medical mishap that had taken away the use of one of her hands. Her goal for 2019 was to turn that into a longer work.

Five cups of chamomile tea, three bananas, two journal pages, and a thousand words in a Google doc later, I left Writers Blok with a goal to keep writing a thousand words a day in 2019, even if I don’t yet know what will become of that freeflow of words.

Interested in trying out Writers Blok for your own writing goals? Until Jan 15, you can sign up for a free 7-day trial. Otherwise, you can opt for the $80-$95 a month membership or pay $10-$30 for single drop-in sessions. Writers Blok also hosts occasional events and workshops, free or discounted for members.

Writers Blok. 2677 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles.

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11 Los Angeles literary presses — with 11 books by local authors

books-by-los-angeles-presses

Not all great publishers are based in New York. Here are 11 local presses to get to know — along with a book from that press by a local author that I’ve read or want to read:

Red Hen Press. A quarter century old, this Pasadena-based literary press has been especially known for its many books of poetry — but has in recent years focused more on literary fiction and nonfiction. My own novel-in-stories Cake Time was published by Red Hen in April 2017! Red Hen also organizes regular readings across L.A., holds annual book contests, and publishes the Los Angeles Review online.

Recommended: Working Backwards From the Worst Moment of My Life by Rob Roberge. This early short story collection by the author of Liar is full of visceral emotion (shame, disgust, all the good stuff) and unforgettable down-and-out characters.

Unnamed Press. Committed to publishing literature from around the world, Unnamed Press puts out mostly fiction, some memoir. It’s run by two locals that met while working for the Los Angeles Review of Books, according to the LA Times. Though this press pulls its authors everywhere from Bangladesh to Nigeria, some local writers find their book homes here too.

Recommended: The Show House by my friend Dan Lopez. Dan likes to combine multiple genres in one book — so this novel is part thriller about a serial killer that targets gay men and part family drama.

Rare Bird Books. Founded by Tyson Cornell, formerly of Book Soup, Rare Bird publishes literary fiction as well as memoir and genre books.

To read: Waiting for Lipchitz at Chateau Marmont by Aris Janigian. I used to drink at Chateau Marmont — so now I want to read about it. Plus the book’s described as “a bold and colorful critique of the California Dream.”

Angel City Press. I’m not sure Angel City qualifies as a literary press, but I wanted to include it because this press’ catalog boasts many nonfiction books about L.A., covering history, music, architecture, and much more. It’s the go-to place for pretty coffee table books featuring Los Angeles.

To read: To Live and Dine in L.A.: Menus And The Making of the Modern City by Josh Kun. The book’s about food, and it’s written by one of this year’s MacArthur fellows. I’m hungry just thinking about it.

Kaya Press. Affiliated with USC, Kaya Press publishes “literature being produced throughout the Asian and Pacific Island diasporas.” Browse the catalog to see the wide variety of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by authors around the world. This press has an open submission process.

To read: Oriental Girls Desire Romance by Catherine Liu. Set in New York in the 80s, this novel apparently combines high-minded theory with exotic dancing in a money-hungry city. I’m wondering if it’ll be like Bright Lights, Big City, but girlier and sexier?

Gold Line Press. This press also has a USC connection, since it’s run by people affiliated to the school’s PhD Program in Creative Writing — where I got my graduate degree, though before the press came about. This small press puts out prose and poetry and holds an annual manuscript competition.

To read: Small Change by Sandra Hunter. Here’s a little excerpt: “Mouna puts a little dog blood in her husband’s soup. Lucee grinds up cockroaches and puts them in her husband’s favorite dessert.” Don’t you want to find out what happens after dinner?

Jaded Ibis Press. Described as a “feminist press committed to publishing socially engaged literature with an emphasis on the voices of people of color,” Jaded Ibis got new leadership a couple years ago and is now co-owned by two women. The press is open to fiction and nonfiction manuscript submissions from women and writers of color.

Recommended: Daughter by Janice Lee. This slim novel is a very poetic work — full of disruptions, non sequiturs, and fractured dialogue. There’s a vague semblance of a plot involving the daughter, her mother, and an octopus found in the desert.

Prospect Park Books. This press publishes everything from literary fiction to humor books — as well as regional titles, like an anthology called Literary Pasadena with a foreword by Michelle Huneven, one of my favorite local authors.

Recommended: Mothers and Other Strangers by Gina Sorell. This book begins thusly: “My father proposed to my mother at gunpoint when she was nineteen, and knowing that she was already pregnant with a dead man’s child, she accepted.” How can you not read on?

Otis Books. A project of the Graduate Writing program at Otis College of Art and Design, this press puts out fiction, nonfiction, and poetry — “with a special interest in work in translation and writing from and about Los Angeles.”

Recommended: Army of One by Janet Sarbanes. This short stories in this collection touch on art and writing, war and politics, money, freedom, and that pesky and elusive goal of self actualization.

Les Figues Press. This nonprofit press is a great place to find experimental, boundary-pushing work — the kind that can’t be pinned down by a genre. The press “embraces a feminist criticality and editorial vision” but does still publish books by men like the following —

To read: 2500 Things About Me Too by Matias Viegener. Did you write one of those “25 Random Things About Me” lists after getting tagged on Facebook? Apparently so did Matias — then wrote another, and another, and another — until he got to 2500.

Writ Large Press. Also on the more experimental side of things is Writ Large, co-founded by Judeth Oden Choi and Chiwan Choi, in whose apartment I once gave a reading organized by Wendy C. Ortiz. This downtown LA-based small press puts out mostly poetry that’s innovative and unexpected.

Recommended: Hollywood Notebook by Wendy C. Ortiz. This fragmentary prose work will take you all over Hollywood — and fill you with desire for the city, its lovers, and its possibilities.
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As with pretty much all my lists, this list is not comprehensive. There are lots of tiny presses — especially of the poetry and/or experimental variety — that I didn’t include (but here are some additional links you can check out: DoppelHouse Press, Penny-Ante, Insert Blank Press, Make Now Books, The Altar Collective, Bombshelter Press, Punk Hostage Press, Tia Chucha). Know of others? Let me know in the comments.

Originally published 10/6/16; last updated 2/17/19

More: 12 Literary journals for Los Angeles Writers.

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Getting Hitched before the New Year

Sometimes you mean to go to a reading series that sounds cool, but you put it off, and a year goes by, then two, then three and four, until finally, when you actually go because it’s the week between Christmas and New Years so you’ve got the time and even traffic in L.A. isn’t too bad, you walk into the event and there’s free champagne and mini cupcakes because it’s the reading series’ eighth anniversary.

Which is to say: Hitched has been around the L.A. literary scene long enough to become a standard feature. The quarterly series was started by local poet Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo (pictured above), who back in 2010, was a recent MFA graduate from Antioch University Los Angeles. Since she knew a lot of faculty mentors from her grad program — and also knew their writing mentees — Xochitl got the idea to start a reading series that featured literary pairings: mentors and mentees, teachers and students, collaborators and collectives, and other writerly partners. “It’s a celebration of those relationships,” she said. 

The series started out at Beyond Baroque in Venice but has since roamed around different locations across the city. The final event of 2019 was held in Other Books, a brightly-lit and eclectically curated book, comics, and record store in Boyle Heights. A couple dozen people filtered in bundled up in coats and rubbing their hands — it was a blustery night in the mid-fifties — mostly ignoring the treats, perhaps already maxed out on holiday indulgences.

I wasn’t. I had two mini cupcakes: one chocolate, one vanilla. Then Xochitl took the mic and introduced the first pair, Rocío Carlos and Rachel McLeod Kaminer, who’d collaborated on a just-published book of poems called Attendance (The Operating System).

Rachel read first (sample line: “A year like this passes so strangely somewhere between sorrow and bliss”), then Rocío took the stage. Her lavender hair matched the lavender book, and the poems she read were sprinkled with lavender (sample line: “Make me lavender, you said to her).

Every writer’s work this night incorporated Spanish words and phrases, which most of the audience seemed to understand, judging by the small murmurs of assent. I did not, though for the most part I could follow along (though does anyone else have the issue of zoning out during poetry readings, regardless of language?). The beginning of Xochitl’s website bio reads, “Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo is a first generation Chicana,” and Hitched reflects Xochitl’s effort to seek out similarly marginalized voices.

Poet Sara Borjas got up next. “I’m gonna read what I’m calling an essay, but it looks like this,” she said, and thrust out a sheet of paper toward the audience. It had fragments of writing segregated into individual small boxes on the page. She started reading; the essay was loosely about her mother’s gastric bypass surgery (sample line: “Her body anchored her to our house.”) but touched heavily on themes of Chicana identity and authenticity. I learned one Spanish word — pocha, a pejorative term used to describe Chicanas deemed too Americanized — that Sara used as a refrain throughout the piece.

Sara’s pair, poet Ruben Quesada, had gone to Chicago for Christmas and ended up staying longer than planned, so the last reader was a last-minute addition: Sonia Guiñansaca, a queer, migrant poet in town from Harlem for the holidays. Xochitl read an exuberant bio (“One of the 13 coolest queers on the internet according to Teen Vogue!”) then Sonia went up to applause.

“This is a poem for all the migrant folks in the room,” she said, then performed a long, expressive poem from memory (sample line: “I call it old school. Some call it poverty.”).

Afterwards Xochitl begged the audience to eat, drink, mingle, and buy books. Rachel and Rocío stood around the front, holding their twin books and smiling. “What was the collaborative process?” I went up and asked, and Rocío said it had happened after the two of them finished their MFAs at Otis College of Art and Design. They decided to check in with other once a week about their writing, and out of that, a book was born. 

I commented on the lavenderness of Rocío hair, book, and poems. “Did you plan it?” I asked. “No,” she said, laughing. Then she touched her hair. “I don’t even know how it looks right now!” 

She spotted a mirror in the corner, walked over to to it, and gently patted loose strands into place.

Hitched. Quarterly, times and days vary (check Facebook for new events), Los Angeles.

Read more: 11 literary reading series in Los Angeles

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6 Best Book Clubs in Los Angeles

If you long to discuss books you love — in real life, outside the confines of Amazon reviews and Goodreads comments — join a local book club. Here are six to check out:

Sweetbitter at The Edison Book Club

For diverse literary reads: PEN America Los Angeles Book Club

Formerly known as The Edison Book Club, the literary nonprofit PEN America used to hold this book club in a dark and cozy nook of The Edison in downtown L.A. over specialty cocktails inspired by the featured book! That’s changing in 2019. PEN America’s website has yet to be updated, but the series is making the move to Blu Elefant Café, with the January event featuring Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ Fruit of the Drunken Tree. The speakeasy vibe of The Edison will be no longer, but but there’ll still be food and drinks available for order — and good discussions led by a different member of the literary community in L.A. Cost: Free, BYOB (buy your own book).

More: The Edison Book Club: Bittersweet cocktails over Sweetbitter

For girls who brunch: L.A. Girly Book Club

With most of the regulars in their twenties and thirties, this book club usually reads novels by female authors, ranging from the more literary to chick-lit-ish to thrillers. The L.A. chapter’s organized by Allison, who picks out a different bar or restaurant for each meeting. Expect a lively conversation over appies and drinks, a raffle for a copy of the following month’s book, and lots of fun post-discussion socializing. Cost: $5 a month, BYOB.

More: L.A. Girly Book Club: Fiction, food, and fun excursions

For the deep-thinking activist: Current Events Reading Group

Hosted by Skylight Books, this club is for “reading and discussing works of nonfiction pertinent to the pressing issues of our day” — like race, gender, politics, and more. The conversation at this club are wide-ranging, passionate, and smart! And in fact, this book club doesn’t stop at just discussing things. Late last year, the group actually had a bake sale to benefit the Fronterizo Fianza Fund, dedicated to winning the release of detained migrants in far west Texas and New Mexico. Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 pm, and future books are selected by attendees’ vote. Cost: Free, BYOB.

More: Current Events Reading Group: Passionate discussions over complex books

For library-loving women: The West Hollywood Women’s Book Club

If you visit the West Hollywood Library, you’ll see flyers for this book club all over the place. Co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood’s Women’s Advisory Board, this book club meets at the library on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss books by local authors and internationally renowned author — while providing a space for women to connect with other women.

The crowd skews older — I’d say about half the women are at or past retirement age — but there are always younger women there too. A WeHo librarian keeps things organized, sending out polls on Meetup to determine the next group’s read. Cost: Free, BYOB.

More: West Hollywood Women’s Book Club: Women connect over books by women.

For themed reading: Book Clubs at The Last Bookstore

Last spring, The Last Bookstore started about a dozen different book clubs on different themes, ranging from poetry to true crime. These fun events featured snacks and libations, local writers and other literary figures as moderators, and other cool extras — The horror book club, for example, was held after hours under the light of one scary bare bulb!

The one holdback: You had to buy a ticket to get into these book clubs, and though the cost included the price of the book itself, not all readers were willing to pay to club. Thus, some clubs died out (goodbye L.A. Lit Fic!). But some are still going strong, including the Feminist Book Club, We’re All Gonna Die! (dystopian), The Thing in the Labyrinth (horror), and more. My writer friend Dan Lopez runs Ficción en Español if you’d like to improve your Spanish by talking about books! Cost: $31-42, depending on the club, including the book plus snacks and drinks.

For literary podcast fans: The TNB Book Club

Too lazy to go buy the book — or to make your way to a book club meeting? Then this is the club for you. TNB stands for The Nervous Breakdown (so yes, the book club is The The Nervous Breakdown Book Club), a literary website founded by L.A.-based Brad Listi, with a book club that for $9.99 a month, will send you a fantastic new book in the mail.

Book picks range from Jonathan Safron Foer’s much anticipated novel Here I Am to The Reactive by Masande Ntshanga, out of a small indie press called Two Dollar Radio. And though there’s no meeting to discuss the book, TNB features a book review on the website and Otherppl a podcast chat with the author. Cost: $9.99 a month for the book.

More: The TNB Book Club: Get literary gems delivered to your door for under $10

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This list is an incomplete and idiosyncratic one. There are many more open-to-the-public book clubs in town, as a casual peruse through Meetup will reveal. L.A.’s many indie bookstores also host additional book clubs, and many local libraries have their own too. There are also endless cool online ones, like Belletrist. And of course, you can always start your own.

Is there a great open-to-the-public book club you think I’d like? Let me know and I’ll drop by the next meeting.

Originally posted 12/23/16; Last updated 12/26/18

Second photo by Libby Flores