Literature lovers far & wide: Come visit the Kaya Press and USC Master of Professional Writing Program’s SMOKIN’ HOT LIT LOUNGE (Booth 380 in Founders Park) at the LA Times Festival of Books!
Dedicated to books, writing, independent publishing, and FUN: our booth features interactive lit activities for all ages, LA’s finest small presses, and a literary themed living room in the middle of the nation’s largest book festival! Come hang out in our mini-lounge and play Scrabble, join in a dialogue writing workshop, or listen in to one of our many mini-readings!
SMOKIN’ HOT LIT LOUNGE: Booth 380 (Founders Park – adjacent to Mark Taper Hall 3501 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles CA 90089)
More information on the LA Times Festival of Books here.
Saturday April 20th: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday April 21st: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
SHOW YOUR LIT LOVE: #HOTLIT
Participate in the Smokin’ Hot Lit Lounge and the LA Times Festival of Books from anywhere in the world!
Instagram a pic of your favorite book, quote or word, and tag it with #HotLit during the LA Times Festival of Books on April 20th and April 21st.
Join our virtual community of independent publishers and book lovers during this once-in-a-lifetime pop-up event!
Please Instagram during these times:
Saturday, April 20 from 12:00pm (noon) to 6:00pm PST and
Sunday, April 21 from 11:00am to 5:00pm PST
Freely post as many times as you wish throughout the two days.
(Please remember, you must have an Instagram account. If you’d like to participate, and don’t have an Instagram account, you can simply download the app on your smartphone or get an account here: http://instagram.com/)
FEATURING:
Future Portraits by Stacy Elaine Dacheux
SMOKIN’ HOT LIT LOUNGE WORKSHOPS & READINGS SCHEDULE:
SATURDAY April 20th
10 – 11 a.m.: Open Scrabble Hour
Come play Scrabble in the Smokin’ Hot Lit Lounge.
11 – 11:30: Readings from Tia Chucha Press
Readings by Tia Chucha founder Luis Rodriguez and Daniel A. Olivas.
Daniel A. Olivas is the author of six books including the award-winning novel, The Book of Want (University of Arizona Press).
Luis J. Rodriguez has 15 books in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. He’s also founder/editor of Tia Chucha Press. His latest book is It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing.
11:30 – 12:30: Open Word Game Hour
Come flex your word skill muscle by playing Scrabble, Taboo, and more!
12:30 – 1: Acts of Attention: Writing Poems in the Super Present
Write in-the-moment poetry with Vickie Vertiz.
Vickie Vertiz was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. Her writing explores the intersections of feminism, identity, and Latino sub-cultures. She is a Master of Fine Arts degree candidate at the University of California, Riverside.
1 – 1:30: Dancing Girl Press / Finishing Line Press Reading
Readings by Rachelle Cruz, Kate Durbin, Lauren Eggret-Crowe, & Vickie Vertiz.
Rachelle Cruz is from Hayward, California, and is the author of Self-Portrait as Rumor and Blood (Dancing Girl Press).
Kate Durbin is the author of The Ravenous Audience (Akashic Books), five chapbooks, and co-author of ABRA, forthcoming as an app and artist’s book with the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago.
Lauren Eggert-Crowe is the author of two poetry chapbooks: The Exhibit and In The Songbird Laboratory, and she is the Reviews Editor of Trop.
Vickie Vértiz’s poetry collection, Swallows, was published by Finishing Line Press this year.
1:30 – 2: Strike Out: A Venture into the World of Erasure Poetry
This mini workshop by Angela Penaredondo will explore how the extraction of words can be an act of revelation.
Angela Peñaredondo is a poet, artist and grad student of the University of California, Riverside’s MFA program in Creative Writing. She was runner-up for the 2012 Atlantis Poetry Award and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
2 – 2:30: Nicky Sa-eun Schildkraut & How to Haiku in the Age of Twitter
Poet Schildkraut will read & lead a hands-on haiku workshop. Winning haiku gets a free copy of her book, Magnetic Refrain.
Nicky Sa-eun Schildkraut is the author of the poetry collection Magnetic Refrain, and teaches in Los Angeles.
2:30 – 3:30: Open Word Game Hour
Come flex your word skill muscle by playing Scrabble, Taboo, and more!
3:30 – 4: Mini Workshop: Dialogue Writing Exercise Prince Gomolvilas
USC Master of Professional Writing Professor leads us on a mini-dialogue writing workshop.
4 – 4:30: La Laguna and Other Stories
Reading by winners of the USC Undergraduate Writing Conference.
Eric Weintraub was born and raised in Santa Monica, CA, but defeats his writer’s block by writing a book of short stories about undocumented immigrants living in Tucson, AZ.
Becca Kantor is a North Texas native and creative writing major who hopes to turn this writing thing into a full-time gig.
Andrew Ramirez is a native Texan whose fiction and poetry has appeared in Slake Los Angeles, if&when magazine, and Lit for Life, among others. He currently lives in Hollywood and is working on his first collection of stories, hopefully due out sometime before he dies.
4:30 – 5: Annotations Project with Les Figues
Create one-of-a-kind versions of Les Figues books.
5 – 6: Open Word Game Hour
Come flex your word skill muscle by playing Scrabble, Taboo, and more!
SUNDAY April 21th
10:30 – 11: Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir
Heyday Books author Deborah Miranda reads from her memoir about California natives and her family.
11 – 11:30: Reading Aloud with Lauren Candia
Participants will learn how to perform their words for more dynamic readings.
11:30 – 12: Coffee House Writers Group Reading
Readings by Rick Stepp-Bolling, Heather Lyons, Eric von Mizener, Arial Burnz, and Edward Owens.
Rick Stepp-Bolling lives in San Dimas, California with his wife, daughter, three horses, dogs, cats and tortoises, five chickens, two boas, a cockatiel, two geckos, a couple of goldfish, a hissing cockroach and a mother-in-law. He has published poetry and short fiction in a number of small press publications.
Heather Lyons is the author of A Matter of Fate, her debut novel.
Eric Von Mizener is a graduate of California State University, San Bernardino and the University of Southern California, from which he received his Master of Professional Writing degree.
Arial Burnz is the Content Editor and cover artist for Wild Rose Press, the author of high fantasy fiction, and has her own editing and consultation service, Mystical Press Services.
Edward Owens is a horror writer living in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and the author of five books including The Game.
12 – 12:30: Translation Discussion & Workshop
A short translation workshop and discussion with Andrew Leong, translator of Lament in the Night.
Andrew Leong is a Comparative Literature Fellow at Northwestern University and the translator of Lament in the Night (Kaya Press, 2012)
12:30 – 1: Reading & Chapbook Making w/ Gold Line Press
Make mini chapbooks with our Gold Line Press author Alisa Slaughter using little more than stamps, paper and a stapler!
Alisa Slaughter has published fiction and creative nonfiction in several literary journals, including Santa Monica Review, The Missouri Review, Natural Bridge, Alimentum, and SundaySalon.org.
1 – 2: Whole Lotta (L.A.) Love:…” from Tuesday Night Project
Write & share poetry in pairs and small groups – art+community the Tuesday Night Project way!
traci kato-kiriyama is a Sansei Nikkei, L.A. native, performer/writer/actor/author/educator/organizer and lover of bridging with bridges. Founder/Director of the Tuesday Night Project, traci and the TNP crew are celebrating the beginning of their 15th year of the Tuesday Night Cafe – a curated art+community space & open mic in Little Tokyo that is one-of the longest running free public arts series in Downtown LA and one of the oldest Asian American-focused free series in the nation.
2 – 2:30: LA Indie Authors
Readings by Corrie Greathouse, Wendy C. Ortiz, JT Steiny, Brynn Saito, & Mike the poet Sonksen.
Corrie Greathouse is the author of Another Name for Autumn (Black Hill Press), and a founding member of Hollywood Institute of Poetics.
Wendy C. Ortiz is the author of the upcoming Hollywood Notebook (Writ Large Press); and host of Rhapsodomancy.
JT Steiny is author and illustrator of Fuck, the Dog; and an instructor at OTIS School of Design.
Brynn Saito is the author of The Palace of Contemplating Departure (Red Hen Press), winner of the Benjamin Saltman Award; and a teacher in the Bay Area.
Mike the Poet Sonksen is the author of the upcoming I Am Alive in Los Angeles – the Remix (Writ Large Press), and a weekly columnist on KCET.
2:30 – 2:50: Writing Los Angeles
Mike The Poet leads an exercise in how to write this vast city.
2:50 – 3:10: Mapping Our Literature
Judeth Oden Choi leads writers in “mapping” the city, placing the images and stories they’ve created in the LA geography.
Judeth Oden Choi, is the publisher of Writ Large Press, and a theater artist and educator at Shakespeare Center LA.
3:10-3:30: The Power and Positive Impact of Language
Corrie Greathouse leads a workshop for young writers.
3:30 – 4: Mini Workshop: Fiction Writing Exercise with Richard Rayner
USC Master of Professional Writing Professor Richard Rayner leads a fiction writing workshop.
4 – 5: Smokin’ Hot Lit Lounge Wrap Party
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