Tag: siel ju

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

November is one of my favorite months — because my birthday falls in it (My wishlist is here, just FYI).

But I’m especially looking forward to it this year because it’s going to be a month of firsts: First time leading a National Writing Month workshop, first time judging a short story contest for Prism Review, first time getting to do a reading in San Diego, and first time visiting Florida for the Miami Book Festival. Help me celebrate my birthday all month by taking part in one or all of these firsts with me —

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First, get your National Novel Writing Month goals started with the Palos Verdes Library District, which has workshops, write-ins, and networking events planned all month. Participants get a chance to be included in a PVLD anthology! I’ll be leading the first event:

National Writing Month workshop with Siel Ju
Title: How to build your author platform: Find, Connect, and Engage with Your Readers
Thursday, November 2, 2017, 6 pm – 7:15 pm
Peninsula Center Library community room, 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.

RSVP to Joshua at jpeck@pvld.org or 310.377.9584 x 214 by Oct. 31 to claim your spot and to find out about future events, which include three write-ins as well as two more workshops, one on editing with Kate Gale and another on publishing with Jennie Nash.

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Then come say hello at the next Dirty Laundry Lit event, where I’ll be reading with Samantha Dunn, Ben Loory, Lauren Eggert-Crowe, Jessica Ankeny, Shaherah White, Tod Goldberg, and Alex Espinosa.

Dirty Laundry Lit: Safe Word
Saturday, November 4, 2017, 7 pm
The Virgil, 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles

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If you’ll be in Miami mid-month, drop by the Miami Book Fair, where I’ll be on a debut authors panel with Achy Obejas, Elizabeth Nunez, and Shani Mootoo:

Fresh Fiction: A Reading at Miami Book Fair (Nov. 12 – Nov. 19)
Sat., November 18, 2007, 10:30 am
Room 8201 (Building 8, 2nd Floor), 300 NE Second Ave.
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus, Miami, Florida

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And if you’ll be in San Diego late November, come to my reading on the college campus:

Living Writers Series: San Diego State University
Wednesday, November 29, 2017, 7 pm
Love Library 430/31, SDSU, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA

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Then you have until the very last day of the month to enter Prism Review‘s annual fiction and poetry contests! I’ll be judging the short stories. Send your short story of 8000 or fewer words for a chance to win $250 and publication in Prism Review, an annual publication put together by creative writing students at the University of La Verne. All entries are considered for publication, and entrants get copies of the review. There’s a poetry contest too, judged by Jared Stanely. Enter here.

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Lastly — My novel-in-stories Cake Time got a sweet review in Necessary Fiction:

The unnamed narrator in Ju’s novel feels like she could be the literary cousin of Denis Johnson’s unnamed narrator in his masterpiece Jesus’ Son. Ju’s narrator wanders forward through time, from one story to another, in much the same way, tracing the arc of her addiction—not to drugs, but to the cycle of reckless relationships with men.

If you haven’t ready it yet, I hope you’ll pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore–or from me at one of the events this month. Happy November everyone —

If you follow me on Facebook, you know I just quit my day job. And while I suddenly have a lot more time for socializing and posing for pics with photogenic purple veggies, I’d love to see you at one of my three September readings — all of which are free and open to the public:
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All Lit Up. (Facebook event page) Thursday, September 7, 7 pm, 126 N Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles

I’ve wanted to be a part of this monthly series at Chevalier’s since forever — so this reading is a dream come true for me! I’ll be reading with poets Charif Shanahan (Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford), Victoria Chang (recipient of a 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship) — and the wonderful Rich Ferguson (New Jersey Me) will emcee
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Siel Ju — Cake Time: One Book / One Glendale. (Eventbrite page) Thursday, September 14, 2017, 7 pm, Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale, CA

Come eat cake from a local bakery and hear me read from Cake Time!
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Griffith Park Storytelling Series (a 90x90LA event). (Facebook event page) Sunday, September 24, 2017, 5 pm – 7 pm. In the Bronson Caves, Griffith Park (follow directions on website), Los Angeles

Back at the beginning of summer, I wrote about 90x90LA — and I’m psyched to be taking part in one of the series’ events! Spend an afternoon in the park listening to lit from Allison Conner, Lynell George, Daniel Jose Ruiz, Oscar Sagastume, and yours truly. Snacks and drinks will be provided.
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Hope to see you at one or all three — Each will be pretty different, and I’ll wear three separate outfits, so you won’t be bored!

Photo by Jesse DeYoung