Litquake

Bawdy Storytelling

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:32:44 +0000

Bawdy Storytelling is a monthly event in San Francisco that features real people sharing their bona fide sexual exploits in ten minutes or less. Storytellers are an eclectic mix of authors, poets, comedians, and actors—along with a handful of real people just like you, who have submitted their stories online and were chosen for their panache and sense of misadventure. Hosted by Bawdy founder Dixie De La Tour.

With Tim Barsky, Stephen Elliott, Johnny Funcheap, Joe Klocek, Joe Kukura, and Morgan

Doors open 7 pm

Original Shorts: Bottoms Up

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:44:33 +0000

Each year, Litquake asks a select group of authors to write new stories on a specific theme. Join this year’s esteemed scribblers as they reveal their original takes on the theme “Bottoms Up.”

With Dodie Bellamy, Elizabeth Bernstein, Joshua Braff, Anne Finger, Shanthi Sekaran, Namwali Serpell, and James Warner

21 and over

Feast of Words: A Storytelling Potluck

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:39:51 +0000

Presented by SOMArts Cultural Center

Join co-hosts Lex Leifheit and Irina Zadov at Litquake’s edition of this monthly event— part potluck, part inspiration, and part quick-write for foodies and writers.

October’s theme is “healing,” in honor of the upcoming Day of the Dead exhibition at SOMArts.

Discover local writers and featured foodies, pick up your pencil (or smartphone) to participate in the Three-Sentence Throwdown, bring a theme-based work of eight minutes or less for open mic, or just sit back and enjoy the show! Featured guests are author Darren De Leon and the SF Food Adventure Club.

With Darren J. de Leon, Lex Leifheit, Jill Soloway, and Irina Zadov

Open mic sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m

Admission: $10 suggested donation, free with potluck dish; advance tickets and information at somarts.org

Words and Waves: An Evening of Surf Lit

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:59:57 +0000

Litquake’s first-ever surf-themed event combines specialty cocktails, videos, music, and readings in a heady mix that’s sure to result in a great party!

If you think that the surfing scene only includes dunderheaded slackers who can’t put two sentences together, prepare to be stunned by the eloquence of these authors’ words about the lifestyle, the joys of riding the waves, and the humbling powers of nature.

To be held—where else?—at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. Co-sponsored by the Park Chalet, and featuring deluxe Blue Angel Vodka cocktails. Emceed by surfing environmental lawyer Mark Massara.

With Krista Comer and Elizabeth Pepin, Doug Dorst, Daniel Duane, Thomas Farber, Steven Kotler, emcee Mark Massara, Michael Scott Moore, and Matt Warshaw

Admission: $5-10 donation entitles you to order off the Happy Hour menu all night!

New Writers Night: Authors Reveal All & How to Navigate the New World of Publishing

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:53:18 +0000

Targeted toward new and aspiring writers, these two panels feature first-time (and one second-time) authors discussing their individual journeys from manuscript to published book, and publishing professionals discussing the ins and out of the book publishing world—both print and digital.

A co-production with the Foundation Center

3-4:30 pm
Authors Reveal All!
With Elaine Beale, Jason Headley, Joanna Smith Rakoff, Vanitha Sankaran, Shanthi Sekaran, and Michael Sledge
Register online
5-6:30 pm
How to Navigate the New World of Publishing
With Eileen Gittins, Jay A. Hartman, Bridget Kinsella, Ethan Nosowsky, and Amy Rennert
Register online

The Lit Show: Songs by Literary Lions

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:28:24 +0000

You’ve read the books, now come hear the songs. Join Los Angeles “Diva Deluxe” Suzy Williams and Brad Kay to celebrate the convergence of music and literature, as they perform songs based on words by Edna St. Vincent Millay, J.D. Salinger, Samuel Beckett, Truman Capote, Vladimir Nabokov, and more.

With Brad Kay and Suzy Williams

21 and over

Barely Published Authors

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:21:26 +0000

Readings by the best up-and-coming masters of prose in the Bay Area. Emceed by Ransom Stephens.

With Elissa Bassist, Jeremy Hatch, Mimi Lok, Andre Perry, Paul Spinrad, Ian Tuttle, Alia Volz, and Olga Zilberbourg

21 and over

The Literary Tour Stops Here

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:15:00 +0000

Wisdom, humor, and a dose of reality in North Beach: Are we still a wellspring of hope or is there a spreading stain of despair? Maybe it’s something in between?

Join political satirists, socially savvy novelists, outlaw poets, and cultural historians as their disparate views of the world today might just reveal some common clues for saving it. Hosted by Jody Weiner.

With Phil Bronstein, Will Durst, Ben Fong-Torres, Alan Kaufman, Ellen Sussman, and Jody Weiner

Enviro-Lit Panel: The Sustainable Solution to the Economy

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:09:43 +0000

Polar ice caps are melting while the economy is in a meltdown. More and more people in the U.S. lack jobs, homes, and medical care. And the BP crisis in the Gulf has destroyed a fragile ecosystem and many people’s livelihoods.

Are solutions to climate change and economic recovery interlinked? Expert panelists will discuss the economic repercussions of NOT addressing climate change, and the steps government and individuals must take to care for our planet. Moderated by Felicity Barringer, environmental reporter and editor of Bay Area Report for The New York Times

With Felicity Barringer (moderator), Rosalind Creasy, Duane Elgin, David B. Goldstein, Susan Leal, and Alexis Madrigal

Admission: $5-$10 donation to Litquake entitles you to order from the restaurant’s low-price happy hour menu all night long!

The CLA All-Stars: 25 Years of San Jose’s Center for Literary Arts

Jeannine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:09:19 +0000

For 25 years, the Center for Literary Arts has hosted writers of exceptional voice and vision, including five winners of the Nobel Prize and dozens of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners. CLA visitors give readings and public conversations at San Jose State University and at a public high school on the eastside of San Jose. Hosted by CLA director Andrew Altschul.

With Kim Addonizio, Daniel Alarcón, Andrew Altschul, Andrew Sean Greer, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Mary Roach

VIP wine reception at 5:30 pm
Program at 6:30 pm

Admission: $25 VIP wine reception, $10 general, $5 for California Historical Society members, and San Jose Center for Literary Arts members