AWP x Reading the City
March 26 to 29
Reading the City, my weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC, is packing its bags and heading to Los Angeles for AWP Conference 2025. How to navigate this writerly goliath as a first-timer? I’d love to hear your tips and hot takes in the comments, please!
Consider this a scrappy, highly-subjective selection of off-site events, because there’s more going on in 3 days than I can fathom (AWP has its own schedule here, but its missing a bunch). I’d also love to spotlight RtC readers’ events, so send anything over you’d like me to include or that I should have on my radar. I’ll keep updating it until the conference begins.
This won’t go out via email, as it’s not relevant to everyone, so please share far and wide with anyone who might find it helpful. And I’d love to meet some of you in person while we’re out there! Say hi!
Tuesday, March 25
Liquid, A Love Story LA Book Launch - Mariam Rahmani In Conversation with Justin Torres
Mariam Rahmani launches her debut novel, Liquid, A Love Story—a queer adjunct professor in LA tries to marry rich, but when a family emergency pulls her to Tehran, this satirical take on the politics of love gets serious—in conversation with Justin Torres.
Free; 7pm; Book Soup WeHo 8818 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood
Wednesday, March 26
Night of Clowns
presents Stop Me If You've Heard This One— a sparkling and funny new novel of entertainment, ambition, art, and love—with special guests (Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls), Morgan Parker (You Get What You Pay For), Isle McElroy (People Collide), Vanessa Chan (The Storm We Made), and Alissa Nutting (Tampa).
Free; 7pm; Skylight Books, 1818 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles
Coast to Coast: An Evening of Poetry
Join poets and educators, Jane Wong, ángel García, Kim Young, MT Vallarta, and Alina Nguyễn, who hail from both coasts, for an evening of poetry readings, presented by Bellingham Review.
Free; 7-9pm; Oxy Arts, 4757 York Blvd. Los Angeles
Love in a Time of Crisis
With Jackson Bliss, Annie Liontas, Minelle Mahtani, Grace Loh Prasad, Shze-hui Tjoa, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal, and hosted by Katie Lee Ellison.
Free; 6.15pm; 1642 BAR, 1642 West Temple St. Los Angeles
Thursday, March 27
MORNING, F*CKERS
The early-riser reading series presented by
, is coming to Los Angeles. Beloved Little Engines writers (Duplex), (The Burden of Joy), Frayn Masters (of ), Kevin Maloney, (Night Rooms), Kyle Seibel, and editor will read. Complimentary coffee and pastry from LA’s Proof Bakery, a worker-owned co-op. There is limited availability for $10 transport to Nico’s from downtown and back, with entertainment included on the ride.Free; 9.30-11.30am; nico's, 3111 Glendale Boulevard #2, LA
Holding Court Literary Salon
This salon features literary luminaries, a lightning round of diverse poets and writers, and comedians, at an outdoor plaza in Los Angeles Chinatown. Performers are too many to list, but include: Ruben Quesada, Jen Cheng, Kai Coggin, Penehuro Williams, Chen Chen, Muriel Leung, Alejandro Heredia, Gina Chung, and Edgar Gomez. Book signings and DJ afterwards. Dinner and drinks specials available.
$25.31, ticket reservation required; 5.30-9pm; Studious Coworking Space, 418 Bamboo Lane #A Los Angeles
Poetry Is Not A Luxury Reading and Celebration
Join Poets House, The New School, and poets featured in the new anthology Poetry Is Not A Luxury, curated by the creator of the PoetryIsNotaLuxury Instagram account, for drinks, cake, and poetry readings from J. Mae Barizo, Victoria Chang, Camonghne Felix, Megan Fernandes, Timothy Liu, and Charif Shanahan. Free beverage for the first 50 people to arrive!
Free with RSVP: 5.30-7.30pm; Far Bar, 347 1st St, Los Angeles
Horny Poets: An Evening of Sexy Queer Poems
An evening of queer sex poems hosted by , with poets including Chen Chen, Donika Kelly, Sam Sax, Gabrielle Bates, T Bambrick, and more. Food will be available for purchase, and the reading will be followed by a gay dance party!
Free; 6-7.30pm; Melody LA, 751 N Virgil Ave, Los Angeles
The Offing’s Birthday Celebration and LA Fire Recovery Fundraiser
Celebrate a decade of creativity, community, and culture from The Offing at the Institute of Contemporary Art, with birthday cake, a toast, and the release of The Offing's anniversary anthology. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to rebuilding the Palisades Public Library and repopulating books burned in Pasadena Unified School District libraries.
$5; 6-8pm; Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA-LA), 1717 E 7th St, Los Angeles
Celebrating Outside Women
Bel Canto Books hosts Roohi Choudhry as she launches her debut novel, Outside Women, joined by Lisa Ko (Memory Piece), Tamiko Beyer (Last Days) and Chris Yi Suh, with moderator Yu-Mei Balasingamchow (Names Have Been Changed).
Free; 7-9pm; KUBO LB (hosted by Bel Canto Books) 3976 Atlantic Avenue Long Beach
Epiphany Magazine Off-Site Reading
Join Epiphany Magazine, No, Dear Magazine, and the New School Writing MFA for a night of readings from NYC writers. Hosted in the backroom spekeasy of iconic LA venue Cole's French Dip, hear from Christina Cha, Quincy S. Jones, Marianne Villanueva, Kristin Lueke, Bri Stokes, and more. Mingle, drink, buy magazines, and chat with the editors.
Free, RSVP required; 8-10pm; Cole's French Dip 118 E 6th St, Los Angeles
Friday, March 28
Mix And Mingle
Join an unofficial cocktail happy hour(s) with Alta Journal, Stranger's Guide, Virgina Quarterly Review, and Zyzzyva. No-host bar. All are welcome!
5:30-8pm; Golden Gopher 417 W 8th Street, Los Angeles
House Party: A Tin House Prose Reading
Nine authors from Tin House perform “lightning readings” from their fiction and nonfiction books, featuring Alisa Alering (Smothermoss), Myriam J.A. Chancy (Village Weavers), Talia Lakshmi Kolluri (What We Fed to the Manticore), Cleo Qian (Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go), Shze-Hui Tjoa (The Story Game), Lena Valencia (Mystery Lights), Elissa Washuta (White Magic), Jane Wong (Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City), and Ghassan Zeineddine (Dearborn).
Free; 5.30-7pm; Other Books, 2006 E Cesar E Chavez Ave, Los Angeles
Writers Grotto Reading & Soiree
Join members of the Writers Grotto for a reading and soiree as the Bay Area-based organization celebrates thirty years of providing support and community to writers of every stripe.
Free; 6-9pm; Address with registration
Trans Horror
An evening of readings and conversation with trans and nonbinary writers whose work engages the horror genre. Featuring M.M. Olivas, Eve Harms, Bri Gonzalez, and more.
Free; 6-8pm; Creature Comforts Taproom and Brewery, 1124 San Julian Street
Debuts: Now & Then
Electric Literature and Debutiful are teaming up to throw another AWP Off-Site reading and party with: Karissa Chen (Homeseeking); (Mostly Dead Things); Natalie Guerrero (My Train Leaves at Three); Marie-Helene Bertino (Beautyland); Jon Hickey (Big Chief, forthcoming); (The Queen of the Night); Denne Michele Norris (When the Harvest Comes, forthcoming); Rebecca Makkai (I Have Some Questions For You); AJ Romriell (Wolf Act); and Danzy Senna (Colored Television). They will be accepting donations to support the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
Free, donations; 7-9pm; Bar Henry, 1228 Sunset Blvd, Echo Park
Lit Up
Presented by The Kenyon Review, The Adroit Journal, and Pleides, enjoy tacos, drinks, and poetry from Kim Addonizio, Chen Chen, Melissa Ferrer Civil, Sarah Ghazal Ali, Crystal AC Salas and Maria Zoccola.
Free; 7pm; Pico Union Project, Los Angeles
All Power Read 4 Change
A leftist AWP off-site reading, hosted by All Power Books, Delta Mouth, AAWW, New Delta Review, and The Journal. Great authors, free snacks. Featuring Gina Chung, Alejandro Heredia, Ajanaé Dawkins, Meg Kim, Diamond Braxton, Ani Cooney, Vida James, Rob Colgate, Annell López, an chang joon, noam keim, Mariah Rigg, Misha Ponnuraju, and Jalen Giovanni Jones.
Free; 7-9pm; 4749 W Adams Boulevard, LA
Nonfiction for No Reason
Nonfiction for No Reason literary series heads to AWP for a panel about building community and opportunities to share art with: Chloe Caldwell, Freda Epum, Porochista Khakpour, Amy Hirayama, Anastacia Renee, Ariel Aberg Riger, and Chyana Marie Sage. Fundraiser for LA Wildfire. Gofundme $5-$50 and put “LA Fires” in the comments to get on the list.
From $5, donation; 7pm; 1922 E 7th Place, #5
Must Love Memoir Reading
Must Love Memoir, a reading series dedicated to telling personal stories, hosted by
and Hope Elizabeth Kidd, welcomes nonfiction readings from the following authors: (First Love), @Shannon Gibney (The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be), Nicole Graev Lipson (Mothers and Other Fictional Characters), (Hell If We Don't Change Our Ways), Anna Qu (Made in China), and Deborah Jackson Taffa (Whiskey Tender).$5; 7.30-10.30pm; The Love Song Bar 450 Main Street Los Angeles
Sunday Salon + Writ Large Projects
The Sunday Salon teams up with Writ Large Projects for an off-site event featuring , J.L. Akagi, Sidik Fofana (Stories from the Tenants Downstairs), Trista Hurley-Waxali (A Smoke Stained Cab), and Irvin Weathersby Jr. (In Open Contempt), co-hosted by Wil Turner and Chiwan Choi.
Free; 6pm; The Falls, 626 S. Spring St, Los Angeles
Saturday, March 29
Spill the Beans
Nonfiction reading featuring Amanda Fletcher, Jen Shin, Emilly Prado, Kati Standefer, Connie Pertuz Meza, Athena Dixon, Minda Honey, Natassja Schiel, Lilly Dancyger, Angelique Stevens, Edgar Gomez, and Hannah Matthews, hosted by . Sunny's Bookshop On-site.
Free; 5-6.30pm; Sunset Strip Tattoo, 5638 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
West Branch & Ninth Letter Off-site Reading
West Branch and Ninth Letter host this off-site reading—with free drinks—featuring Lisa Horiuchi, Christina Sun, Chen Chen, Jacques Rancourt, Lena Valencia, Daniel Uncapher, Weijia Pan, and Steven Espada Dawson.
Free; 6.30pm; The Library Bar 630 W 6th St Suite 116 A
AWP After Party
With Car Crash Collective, Crash Books, and Rose Books, and hosted by , among others, expect DJs, drinks, and dancing—and no readings!
9pm; Bar Henry, 1228 W Sunset Blvd, Echo Park
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based journalist and author. My debut novel Amphibian is out now from Ig, as well as Virago in the UK, and forthcoming from dtv in Germany. My first book, No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press, 2018) followed my childhood as the daughter of an international pot smuggler and federal fugitive. I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!