This weekend, come hang out in our indie lit oasis inside the LA Times Festival of Books: The Smokin’ Hot Indie Lit Lounge (Booth 380, near the Poetry Stage) — brought to you by Kaya Press and the University of Southern California Creative Writing Department. Write, edit, and publish your own book! Talk one-on-one with authors! Get your fortune told and illustrated! Free lemonade! $2 books! And much, much more!

Saturday April 18th 10 am – 6 pm

10 am: Open Word Game Hour
Flex your word skill muscles with Boggle & Bananagrams (special guest Runner-Up Boggle Champion Duncan Williams)

11 am: Animals, Art & Poetry (presented by Prospect Park Books)
Learn to love critters with author Diane Lang (Vulture Verses), her pet tarantula, and illustrator Lauren Gallegos!

12 pm: Luis J. Rodriguez and Daniel Olivas (presented by Tía Chucha Press)
Talk shop with the LA Poet Laureate, Luis Rodriguez and author Daniel Olivas!

1 pm: Illustrated Haiku Fortunes
Look into your future with a custom-made, illustrated haiku fortunes by poet Nicky Schildkraut and artist Yumi Sakugawa!

2 pm: Secret Tips & Tricks From LA’s Best Caterers (presented by Prospect Park Books)
Tips, tricks and food ideas for entertaining presented by Jennie Cook of Jennie Cook’s Catering and Plant-Based Parties and Terri Wahl of Auntie Em’s Kitchen.

3 pm: Buried Histories
Excavate the ways in which the past persists into the present with novelist Viet Nguyen (The Sympathizer) and writer/video artist Amarnath Ravva!

4 pm: MultilingüeLAndia: Una aventura del leer y escuchar! / A Reading and Listening Adventure! (presented by Antena)
Listen your way into a wild joyous cacophony that traverses L.A.’s mix of cultures and languages  with Jessica Ceballos (Spanish), Eunsong Kim (Korean), Çağlar Köseoğlu (Dutch and Turkish), Gelare Khoshgozaran (Farsi), and Elena Minor (Spanish).

5 pm: Smokin’ Hot Indie Lounge Social Hour Hosted by Tuesday Night Project and Blk Grrl Book Fair
Party down Lit Lounge style with books and some of LA’s hottest community arts orgs!

Sunday April 19th 10 am – 5 pm

10 am: New Voices
Kaya Students for Independent Publishing show us what they got!

11 am: Living in a Non-Fiction World (presented by USC’s PhD in Creative Writing & Literature)
Discuss the ins and outs of non-fiction writing and publishing with Nikki Darling, Chris Freeman, Robin Coste Lewis, and Sarah Vap!

12 pm: Craft Fiction (presented by USC’s PhD in Creative Writing & Literature)
Learn to distill wisdom from creative ferment with current USC PhD fiction students Leah Bailey, Alexis Landau, Lisa Locascio, and Ryan McIlvain. 

1 pm: Of Poetry and Prizes (presented by USC’s PhD in Creative Writing & Literature)
Explore the trials and triumphs of the writing life with Dexter Booth, Fox Frazier-Foley, Corinna Schroeder, and Marci Vogel, four award-winning poets.

2 pm: What Women Have Wrought
Find out what mystery writer Naomi Hirahara and short story writer Michal Lemberger have to say about taking risks, the Bible, and women who show up in unexpected places.

3 pm: THE LOUDEST VOICE
Keeping it loud and clear with some of LA’s newest voices.