Category: Events

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Why There Are Words LA: A nationwide lit series comes to LA

Lots of cities have great literary reading series — and whenever I happen by one while traveling, I wish there were something like it in L.A. too. Other writers, apparently, have also had this same thought — then actually taken action to make it happen. One San Francisco-area reading series has now spread to seven cities across the United States, from Austin to New York to Los Angeles!

That series is Why There Are Words. Founded by Peg Alford Pursell in Sausalito back in 2010, the series came to Los Angeles in February 2017, thanks to a couple of my favorite local literary people, Ashley Perez and Patrick O’Neil. Each event is held in a different space, featuring a motley crew of writers, some published, some not, some local, some on tour.

And I got to read in the series back in April last year! It happened in a sunny Koreatown living room — readers at the mic up front, wine, drinks, and Skylight Books selling books in the back.

The event happens every other month 2nd Sunday of the month, and the next one — themed “Spring is In the Air” — is coming up Sun., April 8 at 6:30 pm at KaffeBaren in downtown LA. Be there to hear Dana Johnson, Yelena Moskovich, Julia Fierro, Kate Maruyama, and Lisbeth Coiman.

Follow Why There Are Words’ Facebook page to hear of future events.

Earlier: 12 literary reading series in Los Angeles

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Chat L.A. fiction with me and Scott O’Connor at LA Lit Fic book club 4/17

Thanks to everyone who came to the very first LA Lit Fic — a new book club on L.A. fiction hosted by The Last Bookstore and moderated by me. We talked about Woman No. 17  by Edan Lepucki, who came by at the end to answer questions, mingle over wine and cheese, and sign books.

Sad you missed it? Then get your ticket now for the next LA Lit Fic — so you have time to read the book! We’re reading Scott O’Connor‘s fantastic short story collection, A Perfect Universe. Published just a couple months go, A Perfect Universe tells ten L.A. stories, starring a teenage bicycle thief, an aging actor, coffee shop regulars, and other very L.A. types.

There will be wine and an equally festive non-alcoholic drink, plus cheese, crackers, cookies, and crudite. And yes, Scott himself will drop at the end to answer burning questions, sign books, and hang out with the fans!

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LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju
(Facebook event page)
Our April read: Scott O’Connor’s A Perfect Universe
Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 pm – 9 pm (Edan arrives 8:30 pm)
The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles
Tickets: $35.95 (includes a copy of the book, party, and more)
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Be there! Feel free to email or tweet me with any questions.

Earlier:
* 6 best book clubs in Los Angeles
* 11 best bookstores in Los Angeles for writers

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LA Lit Fic: A new monthly book club party at The Last Bookstore

LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju book club at The Last Bookstore

LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju book club at The Last Bookstore

After blogging about all the great book clubs in L.A., I’m now taking the only logical next step. I’ve teamed up with The Last Bookstore to start a brand new book club on L.A. fiction!

Called LA Lit Fic, this book club will read novels by L.A. writers, or from L.A. presses, or featuring L.A. in a big way. The goal is to get L.A. people reading L.A. fiction — and meeting L.A. writers too!

At each monthly book club party, I hope to have the author her or himself drop at the end to answer burning questions, sign books, and hang out with the fans. Yes, I said book club party (not meeting). There will be wine and an equally festive non-alcoholic drink, plus cheese, crackers, cookies, and crudite.

Get your ticket now! Your $35.95 party ticket includes the month’s book, party eats and libations, entree to a cool off-limits nook of The Last Book Store, a chance to meet the author and get your book signed — plus good times with fellow L.A. book lovers, including me!

Edan Lepucki Woman No 17We’ll kick off our inaugural book club party with Edan Lepucki’s Woman No. 17 — a fun, snarky, and emotionally-charged read starring a recently-separated memoir writer and her nanny — who’s really a performance artist playing the part of a nanny. There’s intrigue, illicit romance, estranged mothers, and lots of SoCal sun — basically all the things you might look for in a good L.A. novel.
___

LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju
(Facebook event page)
Our March read: Edan Lepucki’s Woman No. 17
Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 pm – 9 pm (Edan arrives 8:30 pm)
The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles
Tickets: $35.95 (includes a copy of the book, party, and more)
___

I hope to see you there! Feel free to email or tweet me with any questions. And if you’re an L.A. novelist with a book that’s just out or about to come out — and you’re game for a future book club party — get in touch with me.

Earlier:
* 6 best book clubs in Los Angeles
* 11 best bookstores in Los Angeles for writers

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See you at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery 3/1 (or in Mexico / La Verne)

I’ve never been to Mexico, but that’s about to change. Next week, I’m heading south to San Miguel de Allende for the San Miguel Writer’s Conference and Literary Festival. The event features literary luminaries like Sandra Cisneros and Rita Dove — plus a workshop by me!

Will you be there? If so, I hope to see you at the workshop I’m teaching:

Writing Creatively in the Second Person
Sunday, Feb. 18, 9 am to 10:30 am
Hotel Real de Minas, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Can’t make it that far? Then drive just an hour or so to my FREE reading at the University of La Verne:

Cake Time: A Reading at University of La Verne
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, 5 pm
University of La Verne, 1950 3rd St, La Verne, Calif.

Or just stay in L.A. and wait for me to read a true story next month. I’m really psyched to be part of the March lineup for a new monthly hit storytelling, literary series in Los Angeles called The Secret Society of The Sisterhood!

Come to The Masonic Lodge in Hollywood Forever Cemetery and join this “secret society” for women on the full moon. I’ll be one of six women who’ll share a personal story. Here’s what the Los Angeles Times wrote about the first show.

This month’s topic: “I thought I was going to die!” I’ll be on stage with Pamela Des Barres, Nicole Byer, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Michelle Tea, Venus and The Moon, and the event producer and host, Trish Nelson.

The Secret Society of The Sisterhood
The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles
Thu., March 1, 2018, doors 7 pm, show 8 pm
Tickets: $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Proceeds donated to Planned Parenthood.

Hope to see you IRL soon —

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See you at Vermin on the Mount San Diego 1/20!

I realize this is rather late notice, but I’m reading from Cake Time tonight Vermin on the Mount San Diego and would love to see you there!

What: Vermin on the Mount San Diego
When: Saturday, January 20, 2018, 7 pm
Where: La Bodega Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., San Diego.

Hosted by Jim Ruland, Vermin on the Mount is one of my favorite reading series — so much so that I wrote a long piece about it for Literary Hub — and the only one I know of with events in both San Diego and Los Angeles.

For each event, Jim asks the readers to answer this question: “What’s the most unusual experience you’ve had at a reading?.” I ended up writing a personal essay of sorts in response that’s longish without really answering the question. Here’s an excerpt:

I took a Lyft to Ball and Chain. I danced. People kept asking if I lived in Miami, or was visiting. The first guy told me he used to live in Malibu, he liked sunsets and walks on the beach. The next guy told me he used to live in Redondo Beach. He’d gone to UCLA for business school. Now he sold motorcycle helmets on the internet. The music got louder and then there was less talking. One guy tried to get me to dance on two; it didn’t go well. The Redondo Beach guy came back and tried to get me to dance Cuban style. This went better, but was disorienting. I moved closer to the glass wall, where it was a little quieter. One guy told me he was from Irvine, but he didn’t learn to dance there, he’d picked it up after he moved. Save me another one for later, he said, then disappeared into the crowd.

Read the rest at Vermin on the Mount’s website — and while you’re there, check out the responses from my fellow readers tonight: Ryan Bradford, Suzanne Hoyem, Paul Lopez, and Colin Winnette.

Hope to see you all soon!

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See you at a literary celebration 12/10

Celebrate the literary holiday season with me and last month’s featured author, David Rocklin! The two of us will be reading together at a very special event: a joint Library Girl and Roar Shack reading and celebration.

Both Library Girl and Roar Shack are local monthly reading series that happen on the second Sunday of the month — the former on the westside, the latter on the east. Now the two have joined forces for a big end-of-the-year event!

Library Girl & Roar Shack Present: (This Is S’posed To Be) The New World
Sunday, December 10, 2017, 7 PM
Ruskin Group Theater, 3000 Airport Ave, Santa Monica

Tickets — which cost $10 and include snacks and dessert — sell out sometimes, so get yours now!

In other personal news: Juked, one of my favorite online literary journals, nominated me for a Pushcart Prize! Thank you to the editors for championing my work. Read the nominated story, “The Supplies,” at Juked. That story’s one of many included in my novel-in-stories, Cake Time. If you don’t have a copy yet, treat yourself to one for the holidays —

And lastly, PEN Center USA, one of my favorite local literary nonprofits, profiled me in a member feature! Here’s an excerpt:

If you could be one fictional character, who would you be and why?

Alice in Wonderland, but only if it’s a lucid dreaming type situation where I know it’s just a dream so I don’t get too frightened. Also, the Cheshire Cat would need to be hypoallergenic.

Read the full feature at PEN Center USA.

And drop me a note to let me know what you’re reading and writing — and what you’d like to see more of here on my blog in 2018. Happy holidays —

Earlier: 5 ways to give back to literary nonprofits in Los Angeles

Photo by Wes Kriesel