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September 2020
Tara Fickle in Conversation with Andrew Way Leong
Join us for a book talk with Tara Fickle about her new book The Race Card: From Gaming Technologies to Model Minorities and Aiiieeeee!: An Anthology of Asian American Writers (3rd Edition) in which she wrote the forward for. Hosted by Andrew Way Leong and followed by a Q&A session with the audience. --- About the book: As Pokémon Go reshaped our neighborhood geographies and the human flows of our cities, mapping the virtual onto lived realities, so too has…
Find out more »A Reading of Osip Mandelstam in English, with Ilya Bernstein
Globus Books presents a reading of Osip Mandelstam's poetry in English. Mandelstam is one of the dozen luminous names in Russian poetry. Mandelstam (1891–1938) began as one of the more original poets of the Russian avant-garde before the First World War, but his extraordinary growth as a poet over the next quarter-century set him a great distance apart from almost all of his contemporaries. By the 1930s he was writing the most memorable poems in the language. In English, Mandelstam has…
Find out more »Zoom Book Launch of The Lines Between Us: Author Rebecca D’Harlingue in Conversation with Author Jill G. Hall
Please join us on Thursday, September 24 at 5 PM PDT for a Zoom book launch with author Rebecca D'Harlingue discussing her new novel, THE LINES BETWEEN US, with author Jill G. Hall. Pre-registration is required for this event. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pc-6oqjwpE9xcv83NvpIf6Tp_XiOXeWba. (Registrants will receive a confirmation email with entry link from Barbara Kridl.) (Order your copy of THE LINES BETWEEN US at https://bit.ly/ggpLinesBetweenUs.) Description In 1661 Madrid, Ana is still grieving the loss of her husband when her niece, sixteen-year-old Juliana, suddenly vanishes. Ana frantically searches…
Find out more »Virtual Event: Rowan Ricardo Phillips and Marcelo Hernadez Castillo
Join us on Thursday, September 24 at 6pm PDT when Rowan Ricardo Phillips reads from his latest collection, Living Weapon, with Marcelo Hernandez Castillo on Zoom! Zoom Login Info Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83770739482 Webinar ID: 837 7073 9482 Praise for Living Weapon "Over and again, Phillips strives—within his own poems—to chip away at an explicit definition of what exactly we mean when we say 'poetry' . . . Throughout the collection, Rowan Ricardo Phillips…
Find out more »Kerri Arsenault and John Freeman Discuss Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains
Kerri Arsenault joins us via Crowdcast to discuss her debut book, Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains (St. Martin's Press), with poet, editor, and writer John Freeman. The pair will discuss slow violence, the need to live together, the difficulty of doing so, and why even when we find ourselves within an idyllic setting - a park or a small town -- the gremlins of humanity are already inside the keep. This event is co-sponsored by Orion Magazine and will be presented on our Crowdcast…
Find out more »Presentation: Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era
Elizabeth Pepin Silva and Lewis Watts will present an illuminating slide show and talk about the new edition of Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era. Through dozens of archival photographs and oral accounts from the neighborhood residents and musicians who experienced it at its height, the Harlem of the West SF Project celebrates this unique and rediscovered chapter in jazz history and the African-American experience on the West Coast. The Project is a platform for the Fillmore’s…
Find out more »Writer As Fearless Citizen Workshop Featuring Cheryl Strayed
Topic: "Writer as Fearless Citizen" featuring Cheryl Strayed Join us for this extraordinary *benefit* writing workshop featuring bestselling writer Cheryl Strayed where we will explore the role of the writer-citizen in these unprecedented times. This is a full day 10:00-3:30PM (Pacific Time) Writing Workshop with a morning AND afternoon session, including a 1 hour lunch from 12:00-1:00 PM. The morning session (10:00-12:00) will be hosted by memoirist, novelist, and nonfiction writer, Albert Flynn DeSilver, and include innovative "warm-up" writing exercises,…
Find out more »Bookshop’s Independent Bookstore Day
Independent Bookstore Day looks a little bit different this year. While we had planned to celebrate virtually alongside more than 450 other bookstores nationwide on August 29th, the devastating Santa Cruz County wildfires and the need to care for our community took prirority. We are confident in the resilience and compassion of our community and have rescheduled Bookshop's celebration of Independent Bookstore Day for Saturday, September 26th. SHOP THE EXCLUSIVE 2020 IBD ITEMS HERE. Our Independent Bookstore Day Line-Up for September 26th: Get…
Find out more »Eastwind Book Club: Exit West
Join Eastwind's (virtual) Book Club!This September, we will be reading Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. The book club meeting will take place via Zoom on Saturday, September 26 at 2pm PST. Register to receive the meeting link. https://exitwest.eventbrite.com Join our Book Club Facebook* group to engage in conversation throughout the month: www.tinyurl.com/ewclub Book Club members can use coupon code BOOKCLUB2020 for a 10% discount at www.asiabookcenter.com *If you do not have Facebook, please email us for Book Club updates. This…
Find out more »Jorma Taccone in Conversation with Tony Taccone-VIRTUALLY!
Jorma Taccone, member of the hit comedy trio The Lonely Island, (and Berkeley High alum), presents his debut picture book, Little Fox and the Wild Imagination, a rollicking adventure story illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Dan Santat. Jorma will be in conversation with his father, Tony Taccone, former artistic director of Berkeley Rep. This is sure to be a lively discussion about the book, their latest projects, fatherhood and more! Saturday, September 26, 2020 - 2:00pm This event will take place live on Crowdcast. Register ahead of time…
Find out more »Conversations with Authors – Terry Virts (Virtual Event)
Terry Virts‘ How to Astronaut is an insider’s guide to an experience few will ever know firsthand—the highs, lows, humor, and wonder of experiences including survival training, space shuttle emergencies, bad bosses, putting on a spacesuit, time travel, and more. Colonel Terry Virts is a pilot, astronaut, author, and photographer. Terry earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the United States Air Force Academy in 1989, and a master of aeronautical science degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He…
Find out more »Conversations with Authors – Michael Ian Black (Virtual Event)
Michael Ian Black's A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son, is both poignant look at boyhood in the form of a heartfelt letter from the comedian to his teenage son before he leaves for college, and a radical plea for rethinking masculinity and teaching young men to give and receive love. Michael is an actor, comedian, and writer who started his career with the sketch comedy show The State on MTV, and has created and starred in many other television shows.…
Find out more »BAWDY STORYTELLING: THE OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY OF FOLSOM STREET FAIR
We need Kink Community, now more than ever. And Bawdy Storytelling is the perfect way to come together this year - right after Folsom Street Fair, hosted by Margaret Cho! Date: Sunday, September 27th, 2020 Time: 7 PM PST/9 PM CST/10 PM EST. Tickets are available in Tiered Pricing (starting at $10 for Pandemic Pricing, all the way up to our Exhibitionist Panel - where you’re a part of the show, and join our performers on the screen!) The Best…
Find out more »Joe Clifford in conversation with Jennifer Hillier – The Lakehouse (Virtual Event)
After being cleared of his wife’s murder, Todd Norman returns to her small Connecticut hometown in order to finish building their dream house by the lake. He is eager to restart his life and cast aside any remaining suspicious—but all of that is dashed when a young woman’s body washes up on the beach next door. When Tracy Somerset, divorced mother from the small town of Covenant, CT, meets a handsome stranger in a midnight Wal-Mart, she has no idea…
Find out more »Virtual Event: Andreas Karelas, Katharine Hayhoe, & Bill McKibben
Presented by Beacon Press Join us on Tuesday, September 29 at 1pm PDT for the book launch of Andreas Karelas' Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Economy, and Bridge the Political Divide in America with special guests Katharine Hayhoe and Bill McKibben Register for the event here Andreas Karelas is joined by climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe and environmentalist Bill McKibben in a roundtable discussion on how saving our planet, our economy, and our democracy are not mutually exclusive goals. Andreas…
Find out more »[Virtual Ruby] Q&A with Brit Bennett, author of THE VANISHING HALF
Join us for a Q&A with New York Times–bestselling author Brit Bennett! We encourage you to read The Vanishing Half before this event. Find it at local booksellers including Green Apple Books. About Brit Bennett Brit Bennett is the author of the New York Times–bestselling novel The Mothers; a finalist for the NBCC John Leonard Prize for the best first book, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Award; and a National Book Foundation…
Find out more »ReTargeting Iran
Event will be held on Zoom. Click the link in the event description for info. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ltKvFjldSkuS9Em-JDXLgQ What will it take to reverse the current US escalation trajectory, and what about after the election? Is there a potential for a diplomatic solution, and can Washington and Tehran find common ground? David Barsamian is the author of ReTargeting Iran, a new book of conversations with experts on the US-Iran relationship. Register for this virtual book talk, co-sponsored by Institute for Policy Studies and…
Find out more »Eileen Myles
eading from her new book For Now published by Yale University Press --- This is a virtual event that will be hosted by City Lights on the Zoom platform. You will need access to a computer or other device that is capable of accessing the internet. If you have not used Zoom before, you may consider referencing Getting Started with Zoom. ---------- Event is free, but registration is required. (Click Here) to register. Link to be posted soon. Check back with…
Find out more »David Eagleman
This event is online. With rave reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly, from Khaled Hosseini and Russell Brand alike, Livewired is a fascinating review of the brain that you absolutely need right now. With his usual clarity, approachability and brilliance, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers with this book a hope that even 2020 cannot crush: the ability of your brain, perhaps the world’s most complex machine, to adapt constantly to change. How does the brain absorb new experiences, sensory input,…
Find out more »Perfectly Queer “A Very Gay Book Reading”
The Perfectly Queer reading series returns to host "A Very Gay Book Reading" online via Zoom Tuesday, September 29, 7pm to 8:15pm. Four Gay authors will read from brand new books: Rick May (GAY ALL YEAR), Wayne Goodman (ALL THE RIGHT PLACES), Rob Rosen (TED OF THE D'UBERVILLES), and Jim Provenzano (FINDING TULSA). The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84457652109pwd=aVJGenpUa3F5Ym11VDNwVHNtNllVZz09 This event is free. Copies of all four books are available at Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro St., San Francisco or…
Find out more »Juan Felipe Herrera & Naomi Shihab Nye: Every Day We’re More Illegal
Tuesday, Sept 29, 7-9pm Pacific time KPFA Radio 94.1 FM with City Lights Books presents a webinar Juan Felipe Herrera & Naomi Shihab Nye Every Day We're More Illegal with Sabrina Jacobs After two years on the road as United States Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera reports back on his travels through contemporary America. Poems written in the heat of witness, and later, in quiet moments of reflection, here coalesce into an urgent yet hope-filled portrait. The struggle and pain…
Find out more »Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Ingrid Rojas Contreras was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. Her first novel Fruit of the Drunken Tree won the Silver Medal in First Fiction from the California Book Awards. Fruit of the Drunken Tree was an Indie Next selection, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, and a New York Times editor's choice. her writing as appear in the New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, Buzzfeed, The Believer, Nylon, Guernica, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, the Camargo Foundation, and…
Find out more »VIRTUAL EVENT: Sy Montgomery, Becoming a Good Creature
Join us on the Crowdcast platform for an event with National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery (Soul of an Octopus) for her new book, Becoming a Good Creature. Based on the New York Times best-selling adult memoir, Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's beautiful, friendly guide is for readers young and old who wish to be better creatures in the world. Go ahead, pass it on. Register for this free Crowdcast event here! This is a free event. The book may be purchased below. You can…
Find out more »Rachel Hollis with Brit Barron – Didn’t See That Coming (Virtual Event)
I want you to know that what’s been good will always be good: the smell of coconut sunblock, a five year old showing you the spot where his front tooth used to be, a home-cooked meal, when your love kisses that exact spot on your neck, a grandmother’s handwriting, a job well done, the kindness of strangers, the human spirit, an Appaloosa horse, the ritual of your faith, laughing until you pee your pants a little, holiday dessert tables, first…
Find out more »Virtual Event: francine j. harris
Join us on Wenesday, September 30 at 6pm PDT when francine j. harris joins us to read from her new collection, Here is the Sweet Hand on Zoom! Zoom Login Info Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83537126052 Or iPhone one-tap : US: +16699009128,,83537126052# or +12532158782,,83537126052# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 301 715 8592…
Find out more »Virtual Event: francine j. harris
Join us on Wenesday, September 30 at 6pm PDT when francine j. harris joins us to read from her new collection, Here is the Sweet Hand on Zoom! Zoom Login Info Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83537126052 Webinar ID: 835 3712 6052 Praise for Here is the Sweet Hand "Entering mid-career with her extraordinary third book, harris . . . fully emerges as one of the best and most relevant contemporary poets. She writes with a historical and linguistic…
Find out more »VIRTUAL: Caitlin Doughty / Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?
Booksmith and The Bindery host a virtual event with Caitlin Doughty for the paperback release of her New York Times bestseller Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?! More information to come, but please save the date and join us! Please note: this is a ticketed event, with each ticket including a signed copy of the book. Tickets can be purchased in advance here. Advance tickets are highly recommended, as tickets are not guaranteed to be available at the door. Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens…
Find out more »SFPL Live – Benjamin Bac Sierra in convo with Luis Rodriguez
In conjunction with iVIVA!: Latino Heritage Month SFPL is honored to host Benjamin Bac Sierra as our On the Same Page author. We will celebrate this local author, educator, poet, activist and Mission District native. Bac Sierra’s new book Pura Neta, the long awaited sequel to Barrio Bushido is due out in mid September Pochino Press. Benjamin Bac Sierra will be interviewed by Luis Rodriguez, author of Always Running: La Vida Loca and most recently From Our Land to Our…
Find out more »October 2020
Reverend Al Sharpton – Rise Up (Virtual Event)
A rousing call to action for today's turbulent political moment, drawing on lessons learned from Reverend Sharpton's unique experience as a politician, television and radio host, and civil rights leader. When the young Alfred Charles Sharpton told his mother he wanted to be a preacher, little did he know that his journey would also lead him to prominence as a politician, founder of the National Action Network, civil rights activist, and television and radio talk show host. His enduring ability…
Find out more »Zoetrope Magazine Fall Issue Celebration
City Lights celebrates the award winning literary periodical's fall issue. Editor Michael Ray and Managing Editor Manjula Martin are joined by several contributors in an afternoon of readings and celebration. ------ This is a virtual event that will be hosted by City Lights on the Zoom platform. You will need access to a computer or other device that is capable of accessing the internet. If you have not used Zoom before, you may consider referencing Getting Started with Zoom. ---------- Event…
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