Podcasts about skylight books

On this week's episode, we welcome back Brea Grant & Mallory O'Meara (Reading Glasses) to chat monkey puns, announce their new podcast, spout Looney Tunes facts, and more.Celebrate their new book, The No-Pressure Book Journal, and get a copy if you're in Los Angeles at Skylight Books on Wednesday, February 5th, 2025 at 7:00pm.Follow Reading Glasses on Instagram!Pre-order The No-Pressure Book Journal!Pre-order Mallory's new book, Daughter of Daring!Want your Capybara roasted? Send to our Instagram!#RoastMyCapyJustice for migrants. Please consider donating to Al Otro Lado this holiday season.Jordan is writing an official Spider-Man comic!Be sure to get our new ‘Ack Tuah' shirt in the Max Fun store.Or, grab an ‘Ack Tuah' mug!The Maximum Fun Bookshop!Follow the podcast on Instagram and send us your dank memes!Check out Jesse's thrifted clothing store, Put This On.Go see Free With Ads and Judge John Hodgman LIVE at SF Sketchfest!Come see Judge John Hodgman: Road Court  live in a town near you! Jesse and John will be all over the country so don't miss your change to see them. Check the events page to find out where!Follow brand new producer, Steven Ray Morris, on Instagram.Listen to See Jurassic Right!

New Book ‘Falling in Love at the Movies” highlights the history of the romantic comedy In her new book Falling in Love at the Movies, entertainment journalist Esther Zuckerman takes readers through the history of romantic comedies. A beloved genre, having built a reliable audience at the box office and some films even winning Academy Awards, the romcom has held a cultural impact that’s left many longing for romances depicted in Roman Holiday and When Harry Met Sally. So for this week’s FilmWeek feature, we speak to Esther Zuckerman about the rich history and extensive research that went into Falling in Love at the Movies: Rom-Coms from the Screwball Era to Today. Esther will be doing a book signing, in partnership with Skylight Books, on Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 PM at the Los Feliz 3. Following that, she’ll be introducing a 7 PM screening of “Broadcast News.” For ticket information, click here.

Notes and Links to Mirin Fader's Work      For Episode 257, Pete welcomes Mirin Fader for her second Chills at Will visit, and the two discuss, among other topics, her love of contemporary fiction, how her second book's release is different than that of her first, seeds for her latest book-Dream, about the great Hakeem Olajuwon-coming from her previous blockbuster about Giannis Antetokounmpo, her finding stories within stories while researching the book, and the wonders and legends of Hakeem Olajuwon, from his start in handball and soccer to the ignorant and racist ways he was often viewed, to the role that discipline, creativity, and his faith play in his daily life.       Mirin Fader is a senior staff writer for The Ringer. Her first book, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion, was a New York Times Bestseller, Los Angeles Times Bestseller, Wall Street Journal Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller. She has profiled some of the NBA's biggest stars, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, DeMar DeRozan, and LaMelo Ball, telling the backstories that have shaped some of our most complex, most dominant, heroes. Fader wrote for Bleacher Report from 2017 to 2020 and the Orange County Register from 2013 to 2017. Her work has been featured in the “Best American Sports Writing” series and honored by the Pro Basketball Writers Association, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America, and the Los Angeles Press Club.    Buy Dream   Mirin Fader's Website   See Mirin on Tour!   At about 2:50, Mirin discusses her love of fiction and beloved contemporary texts, including Tommy Orange's latest, and Sudanese writer, Rania Mamoun's latest At about 4:40, Mirin responds to Pete's question about any sort of competitiveness within writers in Mirin's cohort, and Pete and Mirin stan Wright Thompson  At about 6:30, Pete highlights Demar Derozan's recent book and Mirin's profile of him for The Ringer At about 9:45, Mirin gives background on her profile of Bronny James and what “lane” she focused on for the piece At about 12:30, Some all-time NBA rankings! At about 14:45, Pete cites the book about Giannis and its lasting greatness At about 15:05, Pete asks Mirin about the run-up to her second book and feedback At about 16:10, Mirin mentions the nostalgia associated with Hakeem Olajuwon At about 17:30, Mirin talks about the “unheralded” nature of Hakeem, as well as the emergence of international basketball players, particularly with African players, for which he was a “prequel” At about 19:25, Mirin gives background on Ben Okri's quote for her epigraph and its connection to Hakeem and devotion and creativity At about 20:10, The two discuss the book's Prologue and LeBron James famous trip to train with Hakeem in 2011 At about 22:40, Henri Yranndo and his importance to Hakeem and his spiritual resurgence is referenced At about 24:00, Mirin discusses her wonderful experiences in going to Hakeem's mosque in Houston At about 25:00, Pete asks Mirin to expand on Hakeem as a “hidden one,” and connections to a hadith quoted from the Koran At about 26:30, The two discuss the book's beginning, and Mirin talks about the bustling city of Lagos, Hakeem's childhood (and later American media racism in describing his youth), and how his father taught him to be proud of his size At about 29:10, Mirin talks about Hakeem's early athletic feats outside of basketball, and how he was “recruited” to finally give in and play basketball At about 31:20, Pete and Mirin reflect on the sad fact that so many interviewees for the book have died recently and how this affects her urgency to get stories on paper At about 32:35, Mirin responds to Pete's wondering about how Hakeem's 1980 Nigerian National Team appearance affected his growth At about 34:10, The “Dream Shake” and Yomi Sangodeyi's greatness and tutoring are explored At about 35:00, Christopher Pond and the supposed origin story of Hakeem's Univ. of Houston landing, as well as problematic parts of the story are probed At about 38:50, Mirin talks about Hakeem's time in Houston and the city's growing Nigerian population  At about 40:10, Mirin expands upon the ignorant and racist ways in which Hakeem was written about, especially in his earlier years, and she shares the story of how him “changing his name” Was emblematic of his humble nature At about 42:55, Mirin highlights how Hakeem was never seen as a draft mistake, even though he was drafted over Michael Jordan, and Pete cites Frank Guidry's book on Houston and how the Forde Center helped Hakeem improve greatly as a Rocket At about 44:15, Pete cites Hakeem's moving letter referenced in the book, and how Mirin charts his rediscovering his faith through some amazing and makes it clear that he never “converted” to Islam At about 46:45, The two reflect on and express the amazement and respect for Hakeem's Ramadan fasting during his playing days At about 47:45, Pete and Mirin stan Hakeem's unforgettable series against David Robinson  At about 48:45, Mirin talks about how Hakeem's faith calls for him to not display iconography and show humility and how the book's cover satisfied the requirements of being respectful  At about 50:45, Mirin shouts out Brazos Bookstore and Skylight Books as good places to buy her book, and shouts out her first tour        You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.       I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work. I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 258 with Porochista Khakpour, the critically acclaimed author of two previous novels, Sons and Other Flammable Objects and The Last Illusion; a memoir, Sick; and a collection of essays, Brown Album. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bookforum, Elle, and many other publications. Her latest book, a chaotic and satirical stellar work, is Tehrangeles. This episode will air on October 22. Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Premier fiction interviewer Elodie Saint-Louis is back in conversation, this time with the amazing Danzy Senna, to talk about Senna's new novel Colored Television.   In this episode, Senna reads from her book, followed by an amazing talk about multicultural identity, Senna's relationship to humor, and who she would choose to soundtrack the novel.   Listen in and then stop by Skylight Books on Wednesday, September 4 to see Senna read in person!   ----------------------------------------------- Produced by Elodie Saint-Louis and Mick Kowaleski Music by Duck the Piano Wire

Notes and Links to Jesse Katz's Work      For Episode 249, Pete welcomes Jesse Katz, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood love of baseball, formative and transformative books and writers, lessons learned from early writing, LA and MacArthur Park lore, and salient themes and issues in the book like poverty and the punitive nature of powerful interests, grief, and various forms of violence, as well as larger narratives about the immigration system, family units, and traumas and silences.      Jesse Katz is a former Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Magazine writer whose honors include the James Beard Foundation's M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, PEN Center USA's Literary Journalism Award, a National Magazine Award nomination, and two shared Pulitzer Prizes. As a volunteer with InsideOUT Writers, he has mentored incarcerated teenagers at Central Juvenile Hall and the former California Youth Authority.    Buy The Rent Collectors   Jesse Katz's Website   New York Times Review of The Rent Collectors   At about 2:00, the two discuss Jesse's recent book launch at Skylight Books, which Pete was lucky to attend At about 4:10, Jesse talks about generous feedback, including from those featured in the book At about 6:30, Jesse discusses the experience of recording the audio for his book At about 9:45, Jesse gives background on his relationship with language growing up At about 12:15, The two share memories of reading formative works on Jackie Robinson At about 14:30, Jesse describes takeaways from his adolescent readings of Hemingway, Kerouac, and immersive writers, and college reading that “flipped the switch,” including Joe McGinniss and Hunter Thompson At about 18:15, Jesse talks about his relationship with his alma mater, Bennington College, and Bret Easton Ellis and other standout alumni At about 19:55, Jesse highlights Matthew Desmond and Susan Orlean as contemporary writers (especially Orlean with her The Library Book and Desmond with his Poverty by América, an inspiration for The Rent Collectors) who inspire and thrill At about 22:55, Pete makes a connection between American Psycho and The Rent Collectors, especially with regards to litanies, and Jesse expands on “the cost of being poor” At about 24:50, Pete and Jesse talk about Jesse's book, The Opposite Field, and connections to the great Luis J. Rodriguez At about 27:50, Jesse responds to Pete's questions about how he sees the book now, speaking about The Opposite Field At about 29:00, Pete highlights a generous blurb from hector Tobar, and Jesse outlines how Hector's support propelled Jesse to get to work on realizing the book's finish At about 32:00, Jesse cites Giovanni's (Macedo, the book's protagonist) own healing and his generosity in sharing his story At about 34:00, Pete and Jesse discuss the book's opening, and why Jesse decided to start the book in the middle of the story with Giovanni “rising from the dead” At about 38:50, Jesse gives background on Giovanni's backstory, especially with regard to his father, and not knowing the reason for his father's death At about 42:10, Jesse expands upon the setting of MacArthur Park, the focus of the book's Chapter Two, and its denseness and uniqueness in LA At about 43:30, The two discuss Giovanni's early forays into gang life and some members of the clique featured in the book At about 45:30, Jesse speaks about Reyna, Giovanni's mother, and how she felt powerless in keeping her son from gangs At about 47:40, Jesse speaks to the staying power of gangs and how they “[fill] a void,” and Pete quotes Father Greg Boyle and his thoughts on hopelessness  At about 49:45, Jesse replies to Pete's question about Francisco Clemente, who survived the targeted shooting by Giovanni and how he stood up against the rent collectors At about 51:20, Jesse describes the “older, savvier gang members” who were sought out by Giovanni At about 54:30, Pete and Jesse talk about how he sets the scene in the book for the horrendous events perpetuated by the gang and Giovanni; Jesse also details how he used court transcripts and written correspondence with Giovanni to piece together Giovanni's thoughts before and after the shooting At about 58:30, The backlash and early investigations about the homicide are discussed At about 1:00:45, Pete charts Giovanni's life in the immediate aftermath of the murder, and Jesse responds to a question about his a key decision  At about 1:04:10, Jesse speaks to the naivete of Giovanni's dialogue with Holmes, the investigator  At about 1:05:40, The two discuss sentencing for Giovanni and his reflection on his crimes and aftermath At about 1:07:00, Jesse talks about Daniela, the mother of Luis Angel, and how he tried and failed to find her to speak with for the book, and why it was maybe for the good that she didn't have to relive the trauma At about 1:09:45, Jesse ruminates on Giovanni's future At about 1:11:15, Jesse reflects on how the book may help him with his parole At about 1:13:00, Pete and Jesse trade quotes and meditate on the book's hopeful lessons At about 1:14:50, Jesse gives contact info and book buying information       You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.     I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!       This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 249 with Ben Tanzer. He is an Emmy-award winning coach, creative strategist, podcaster, writer, teacher and social worker who has been helping nonprofits, publishers, authors, small business and career changers tell their stories for 20 plus years.     He produces and hosts This Podcast Will Change Your Life, which was launched in February 2010, focuses on authors and changemakers from around the country and the world, and was named by Elephant Journal as one of "The 10 Best Podcasts to Help you Change your Life.”    His written work includes the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool. His most recent novel is The Missing.    The episode will go live on August 27.    Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Dave and Alonso work through some new titles and some catch-ups. Subscribe (and review us) at Apple Podcasts, follow us @linoleumcast on Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook, Suh-suh-Saturday ni-ight. Join our club, won't you? Alonso hosts a screening of NO TIME FOR LOVE on Sunday, August 18, at 1pm at the Los Feliz 3. (Hollywood Pride book-signing at 12:30pm, courtesy Skylight Books.)

Notes and Links to Kate Brody's Work        For Episode 232, Pete welcomes Kate Brody, and the two discuss, among other topics, her early love of, and interest in, writing and reading, The Dave Matthews Band, formative and transformative teachers in grad school and 2nd grade, and salient themes and topics and craft decisions from her novel, Rabbit Hole, including online sleuthing, true crime, moralizing or lack thereof in fiction, and grieving.        Kate Brody lives in Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Lit Hub, CrimeReads, Electric Lit, The Rumpus, and The Literary Review, among other publications. She holds an MFA from NYU. Rabbit Hole is her debut. Buy Rabbit Hole   Review of Rabbit Hole in Alta Journal by Jessica Blough   Kate Brody's Website At about 1:50, Lukewarm/Warm Dave Matthews Band takes! At about 3:40, Kate talks about growing in New Jersey and about her childhood relationship with the written word, as well as her connections to Maine, a setting for her book At about 7:00, Pete and Kate reflect on beautiful, long reading days At about 8:00, Kate gives background on her reading and writing life in adolescence and beyond At about 10:00, Kate discusses the transformative short story and writing classes and texts at NYU, including inspiration from Mary Gaitskill's work and teaching and Professor ‘s guidance At about 13:00, Tali Axelrod's (Doctor Axelrod) influence on Kate's writing trajectory is highlighted  At about 14:25, Kate shouts out Lindsay Hunter, Alexandra Tanner, and Jennifer Bell as contemporary writers who thrill her At about 16:55, Kate discusses how teaching informs her writing and vice versa At about 20:50, Pete shouts out Rabbit Hole's dynamic first line, as given kudos by Jean Kyoung Frazier on the book blurb, and Kate provides background on the line's genesis and her choice to use present tense right away At about 24:30, Pete remarks on the “banality of grief” done so well At about 25:30, Angie is characterized and the book's exposition discussed; Kate remarks on the memories and objects left behind by Angie, while speaking to experiences in her life that connect to the book's events At about 29:30, The two discuss ideas of legacy and remembrance, as shown through the characters in the book At about 30:15, Clare's marital situations and the unique family background of the Angstroms is highlighted and explained by Kate At about 33:35-Pete asks for casting suggestions for Teddy, the narrator's mother, Clare At about 34:10-Kate discusses research and connections for the parts of the book on Reddit and true crime and crime fiction  At about 39:25, Pete brings up ideas of secrets that Teddy held about his sister and the rearrangement of memory that comes after loss At about 40:30, Michaela, “Mickey,” is characterized At about 46:00, Kate responds to Pete's asking about Bill and how she sees him; she expands on ideas of moralizing in literature  At about 49:30, Kate outlines some “detours” in the plot At about 50:25, Pete highlights a chaotic and funny scene that involves a dinner scene At about 52:00, Kate talks about the scenes involving Teddy and the gun range and the importance of her having a gun At about 56:10, The two discuss a cringeworthy and craftily-drawn and hilarious school dance scene At about 59:15, Pete makes points about loneliness as a theme running throughout the book, and Kate reflects on this throughline At about 1:04:00, Kate discusses ways of coping with trauma in the book At about 1:05:00, Pete highlights Kate keen writing regarding unfulfilled potential and shares a moving  At about 1:08:50, Kate talks about her exciting next book At about 1:10:55, P&T Knitwear, Skylight Books, and Vroman's are highlighted as good places to buy her book       You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.     I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I'm looking forward to the partnership! Check out my recent interview with Gina Chung on the website.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    Thanks to new Patreon member, Jessica Cuello, herself a talented poet and former podcast guest.     This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 233 with Jazmina Barrera Velasquez, who is a fellow at the Foundation for Mexican Letters. Her book of essays, Cuerpo extraño, was awarded the Latin American Voices prize from Literal Publishing in 2013, and she is the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope, and author of, most recently, Cross-Stitch.     The episode will go live on April 30 or May 1.    Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, where you will find 10+ ways to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

#199: Today, we're enlisting some local booksellers to help us understand L.A. better. Staffers from Skylight Books in Los Feliz, The Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood, Book Soup in West Hollywood and Chevalier's Books in Larchmont Village shared their favorite books about Los Angeles: "Amnesiascope" by Steve Erickson "The Dog Park" by Dennis Etchison "City of Quartz" by Mike Davis "Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles" by Rosecrans Baldwin "The Library Book" by Susan Orlean "Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology" edited by David Ulin "Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018" edited by David Kipen "Ed Rusha/ Now Then: A Retrospective" from MoMA Press "The Cobrasnake: Y2Ks Archive" by Mark Hunter "She" by Michelle Latiolais "Seventy-Two and One Half Miles Across Los Angeles" by Mark Ruwedel "Koreatown Dreaming: Stories and Portraits of Korean Immigrant Life" by Emanuel Hahn Stay tuned for more picks from other local indie bookshops in the New Year!

Episode 194 Notes and Links to Ruth Madievsky's Work       On Episode 194 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Ruth Madievsky and the two discuss, among other things, her early relationship with Moldova and the former Soviet Union, her bilingual journey, formative and transformative writers and works, her sensibility as a poet and novelist, and prominent themes and issues about and surrounding her book, such as generational trauma and its effect on families and individuals, sexual violence, homophobia, codependent relationships, and dark humor that comes with pain and trauma.         Ruth Madievsky is the author of a novel, All-Night Pharmacy (Catapult, July 2023), an instant national bestseller. An Indie Next Pick, All-Night Pharmacy has been named a Best/Most Anticipated 2023 Book by over 40 venues, including NPR, The Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Vulture, and Buzzfeed.   Her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry appear in The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Harper's Bazaar, GQ, Tin House, Guernica, them, Ploughshares, The American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collection, Emergency Brake (Tavern Books, 2016), was the winner of the Wrolstad Contemporary Poetry Series and spent five months on Small Press Distribution's Poetry Bestsellers list. She was the winner of The American Poetry Review's Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize, The Iowa Review's Tim McGinnis Award for fiction, and a Tin House scholarship in poetry. She is a founding member of the Cheburashka Collective, a community of women and nonbinary writers whose identity has been shaped by immigration from the Soviet Union to the United States.   She has recently completed a second poetry collection. Originally from Moldova, she lives in Los Angeles, where she works as an HIV and primary care clinical pharmacist. She tweets her existential longings at @ruthmadievsky.       Buy All-Night Pharmacy   Ruth's Website   Review of All-Night Pharmacy from Kirkus Reviews   Article about All-Night Pharmacy in The Los Angeles Times   Conversation and Article with Adrian Florido on NPR's “All Things Considered” At about 2:50, Ruth discusses her mindset in this time immediately after two milestones-the birth of her daughter and great success for All-Night Pharmacy   At about 4:25, Ruth shouts out Skylight Books as a great place, among many, to buy her book-also, Book Soup   At about 5:00, Ruth talks about her family's history with the Russian language and their Jewish identity in the former Soviet Union and reasons for emigration    At about 8:10, Ruth talks about communities of those who spoke Russian and those who shared her love for reading and writing and storytelling    At about 12:15, Pete asks which books and writers were formative and transformative for Ruth   At about 14:20, Ruth talks about the “contradictory, complicated” Los Angeles of her youth and beyond   At about 16:00, Ruth shouts out Richard Siken, Marie Howe, Terrance Hayes, Bryan Washington, Raven Leilani, as inspirational and challenging writers   At about 17:35, Pete compliments the book's “arresting” last image   At about 18:30, Ruth describes why she's “a poet writing novels,” in relation to recent fun viral posts   At about 20:15, Ruth highlights a fun “deleted scene” article from Guernica   At about 22:55, Pete highlights the book's epigraph and an early strong characterization of Debbie   At about 24:10, Ruth gives a characterization of Debbie   At about 26:00, The two juxtapose the narrator and Debbie and shout the “earnest” Ronnie   At about 28:50, Ruth gives background on the “cursed bar game”-“Wealthy Patron” and the bar Salvation    At about 30:30, The two discuss Ronnie as “stable” in light of Debbie and the narrator's troubled parents    At about 31:30, Ruth talks about traumas and how they inform the actions of Debbie and the narrator's mother   At about 33:20, Generational gaps are highlighted, particularly among Debbie and the narrator's grandmother and them; the larger idea of Jewish and other immigrants and ideas of hardship are discussed   At about 35:05, Ruth responds to Pete's question about what one does to “live up to” their forebears' sacrifices; she points to the narrator's guilt/conflicted feelings and trying to “honor”   At about 37:15, A heavy and darkly humorous party from the book is highlighted   At about 37:45, Ruth speaks to the ways in which the sisters acted out in connection to their father as “mostly a nonentity”   At about 39:15, Ruth discusses the knife and statue and ideas of agency in the narrator's life   At about 42:10, The two discuss touch and “cutting” and the transference of pain   At about 43:00, Ruth discusses ideas of “being a victim,” particularly in the ways in which Debbie and her sister deal with their sexual abuse   At about 47:00, The two discuss the codependent relationship between sisters, as well as Sasha's    At about 50:00, Ruth talks about the contrast between the narrator's relationship with Sasha in the US and Moldova and how their relationship evolved    At about 52:50, Pete quotes some meaningful lines from the book that deal with generational traumas    At about 54:00, Pete wonders if Ruth has plans to further explore issues and characters from All-Night Pharmacy in future projects   At about 56:30, An article in Full Stop that cites a reason for the book's title is mentioned  You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 195 with Jessica Cuello, whose book Liar was selected by Dorianne Laux for The 2020 Barrow Street Book Prize; her latest book is Yours, Creature, a creative and stirring look at the life of Mary Shelley.  The episode will air on July 28.

Fire in the hole! Any major dude will tell you that this podcast is a hit. Were you thinking of skipping? Only a fool would say that! That's pretzel logic. On this episode, we host king of the world Alex Pappademas as he discusses his new Steely Dan book QUANTUM CRIMINALS with the razor boy himself, Tyler Austin. Hop in your midnite cruiser, turn that heartbeat over again, and hang with Alex as he discusses doing the dirty work with illustrator Joan Lemay and everything and anything Steely! Then do it again, night by night.  If you like this episode, make sure you stop by Skylight Books on May 31st to see Alex live and in person! Produced by Mick Kowaleski. Music by Duck the Piano Wire.

Full episode at patreon.com/thicklinespod. Sally is back from Canada with a recap of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and Katie recounts her own special trip. Topics discussed include the Chester Brown and Nina Bunjevac panel, Sally's zine round-up, and Katie's upcoming foray into publishing. Thank you to our patrons for making this episode possible! Katie in conversation with Tina Horn on Wednesday, May 3 at Skylight Books: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-katie-skelly-presents-agency-w-tina-horn Benji Nate in conversation with Sally on Wednesday, May 3 at Partners and Son: https://partnersandson.com/ Catch Katie at Vancouver Comic Con on Sunday, May 20: http://vancouvercomicon.blogspot.com  Follow us on Instagram at @thicklinespod.

Full episode at patreon.com/thicklinespod. Katie and Sally discuss "Dog Biscuits" by Alex Graham (Fantagraphics, 2022). Topics discussed include the pandemic, Rodney Greenblat, funny animal comics, painting, Peter Bagge's "Hate," and lots more. Thanks to our Patreon subscribers for making this episode possible! Katie in conversation with Tina Horn on Wednesday, May 3 at Skylight Books: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-katie-skelly-presents-agency-w-tina-horn Benji Nate in conversation with Sally on Wednesday, May 3 at Partners and Son: https://partnersandson.com/ Catch Sally at TCAF April 29 & 30: https://www.torontocomics.com/ Follow us on Instagram @thicklinespod.

Episode 177 Notes and Links to Laura Warrell's Work       On Episode 177 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Laura Warrell, and the two discuss, among other things, her early love of writing and acting, important works and writers who steered her into her own career, how teaching literature at Berklee College of Music informed her writing and creative outlook, and issues in Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm around love, connection, traumas, promiscuity, character development, real-life inspirations, and structural and character-based decisions.       Laura Warrell is a contributor to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Tin House Summer Workshop, and is a graduate of the creative writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her work has appeared in HuffPost, The Rumpus, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm was published in September 2022, and has been rightly lauded since.   Buy Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm   Laura Warrell's Website   Los Angeles Times Portrait of Laura's Journey in Writing Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm   At about 1:40, Laura talks about the “flurry of activity” that followed her book's publication, and Pete asks her to speak about “moving on” to her next project and how she sees her first book now and how she remembers her characters are for her   At about 5:00, Laura gives background on her very early writing (“I came to writing before I came to reading”) and reading    At about 8:20, Laura recalls her early desire (and continuing until college) desire to become an actress/theater major   At about 11:00, Laura and Pete muse on the fading idea of the writer as celebrity   At about 12:50, Laura discusses how acting became secondary to writing in her pivotal college days, as well as writers like Toni Morrison, Toni Cade Bambara, Henry Miller, Anais Nin, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, among others, who inspired her   At about 16:05, Pete asks about how Laura's time as an instructor at Berklee College of Music informed the book and its coverage of art, artists, and creativity   At about 22:20, The two discuss a pivotal and memorable scene where the protagonist Circus receives a wakeup call and    At about 24:30, Laura gives background on the title and its genesis, and she responds Pete's questions about why Laura used jazz as a topic for the book    At about 28:15, Laura speaks to ideas of centering the multiple women in Circus' orbit    At about 32:10, Laura points to a particular book she was reading about a “playboy” that made her sure to have the women's perspective front and center for those in relationships with Circus   At about 34:40, Laura lays our characteristics of Circus' daughter, Koko, and how fleshing her out led to more narration from Circus   At about 36:30, Maggie is described, and the book's opening scene is described and how it leads to a pivotal choice for Circus   At about 37:20, Laura talks about basing Maggie on Cindy Blackman, and Pete and Laura discuss a scene where Maggie delineates differences for her between Tip and Circus   At about 41:20, Pete references the opening scene for Koko, and Koko's “father issues,” and Laura talks about Koko as a caretaker for her mother, Pia   At about 45:05, Pia is described, especially with regard to her maternal outlook   At about 46:05, A key scene involving Odessa (Pete is very complimentary of the craft) is discussed, and Laura talks about readers' feedback involving Odessa    At about 48:35, Pete and Laura discuss key scenes involving Koko, especially in her unease in growing up   At about 50:20, The theme of aging is discussed, especially in terms of creative output and the world's expectations    At about 51:25, Pete marks Raquel as in important character, a barometer, and Laura describes the role of Raquel   At about 55:10, The theme of father-daughter relationships and traumas and love is referenced and examples given, with Laura reflecting on the “broken mechanism” that steers Circus' motivations and actions   At about 1:00:10, Pete and Laura cite a rough scene that calls to mind misogyny in a memorable way   At about 1:01:50, Pia is highlighted for ideas of trauma and ways to cope, and Laura picks up on a thread to reinforce why she wanted to write the book as she did   At about 1:05:40, Treading lightly-not wanting to give plot spoilers, Pete outlines some of the book's twists   At about 1:06:50, Laura highlights ideas from the book on expectations for success, dreams, family life, and the immediacy of these things    At about 1:09:00, Laura gives social media info, and highlights Octavia's Bookshelf and Skylight Books as two of many great places to buy her book   At about 1:10:05, Laura talks about an exciting new book project   At about 1:11:50, Laura gives suggestions on possible actors who might play Circus if the book were ever put on the big/small screen    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.   Please tune in for Episode 178 with Stephen Buoro. Stephen was born in Nigeria in 1993 and at The University of East Anglia in the UK, he was the 2018 recipient of the Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship. He has a first-class degree in Mathematics and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative-Critical Writing at UEA on a fully funded studentship. His book, Andy Africa and The Five Sorrowful Mysteries, is bound to be a sensation. Pete's interview with him regarding the book is forthcoming in Chicago Review of Books.    The episode will air on April 18, the Pub Day for the book!

with Sarah the Human

Surprise! It's a bonus season 1 episode we've been keeping on the back burner! Ted Chiang comes onto the show to have a discussion with Ben about what it means to be a person, whether Alan Turing's test for artificial intelligence still holds up, and the persistent themes of parenting and religion in Chiang's work. Link to upcoming Ben and Ted virtual event for Skylight Books: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/skylit-rosenbaum/register Episode show notes: https://speculativeliterature.org/show-notes-for-ep-39/

In the season finale of LIT ANGELES, Emily and Alena tackle Paul Beatty's classic novel The White Boy Shuffle. They discuss Beatty's poetry background and the book's consistent dark comedy, then invite esteemed novelist Steph Cha for further discussion.    Cha talks about the importance of LA in the 90s for people of color, how difficult it is for POC writers to pull off something as weird as White Boy Shuffle, and her own personal connection to the novel and Skylight Books itself.   You're not going to want to miss this season-capper!   _______________________________________________   Produced by Emily VanKoughnett, Alena Saunders & Michael Kowaleski. Theme: "I Love All My Friends," an unreleased demo by Fragile Gang.

While you're waiting for our Flux issue to drop, why not take a listen to Expo intern alums Leo Smith and Mitchell Evenson talk through the inspiration for Exposition Review's first chapbook, Rearview. Leo Smith is a Black, queer transmasculine poet from Inglewood, CA. They are a graduate of Smith College and associate editor at Exposition Review. Leo's work has been published in Arcanum Magazine, and they recently completed their first poetry chapbook, The Body's Owner Speaks. Coming Soon from Exposition Review: Donate on our Fractured Atlas page to get your copy of Exposition Review's chapbook, Rearview. Join us on June 11th, 2022 at Skylight Books for our Flux issue launch Stay tuned for Season 3 of Exposition Review's literary podcast, dropping June 2022! Help us spread the word! Please download, review, and subscribe to Transposition. Check out our website at www.ExpositionReview.com Thank you to Mitchell Evenson for intro and outro music, and the generous donations from our supporters that allow us to pay our authors. Exposition Review is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas. Transposition is the official podcast of Exposition Review literary journal. Associate Producer: Mitchell Evenson Intro Music by Mitchell Evenson Hosted by Laura Rensing --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exposition-review/support

As the daughter of a traveling salesman in the Midwest, Jami Attenberg was drawn to a life on the road. Frustrated by quotidian jobs and hungry for inspiration and fresh experiences, her wanderlust led her across the country and eventually on travels around the globe. Through it all she grapples with questions of mortality, otherworldliness, and what we leave behind. It is during these adventures that she begins to reflect on the experiences of her youth—the trauma, the challenges, the risks she has taken. Driving across America on self-funded book tours, sometimes crashing on couches when she was broke, she keeps writing: in researching articles for magazines, jotting down ideas for novels, and refining her craft, she grows as an artist and increasingly learns to trust her gut and, ultimately, herself. Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class, and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring story of finding one's way home—emotionally, artistically, and physically—and an examination of art and individuality that will resonate with anyone determined to listen to their own creative calling. Attenberg is in conversation with Patricia Lockwood in this live episode recorded Monday, January 24, 2022. Check out the Skylight Books event page for more events! _______________________________________________   Produced by Natalie Freeman, Lance Morgan, & Michael Kowaleski. Theme: "I Love All My Friends," an unreleased demo by Fragile Gang. Visit https://www.skylightbooks.com/event for future offerings from the Skylight Books Events team.

It's not every day we get to welcome a rock star to A Mighty Blaze! Frontman and author Mikel Jollett visited Authors Love Bookstores to talk with fellow author Joe Moldover about his love for music, writing, and his fave bookstore: Skylight Books in Los Angeles. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

In this week's episode of Living in the Sprawl: Southern California's Most Adventurous Podcast, host Jon Steinberg shares his list of top ten list of cool, independent bookstores to buy from instead of Amazon. His list includes: Book Monster in Santa Monica, Verbatim Books in San Diego, Stories Books in Echo Park, Book Soup in West Hollywood, Vromans in Pasadena, Page Against the Machine in Long Beach, Dave's Old Works Books in Redondo Beach, The Last Book Store in Downtown Los Angeles, Skylight Books in Los Feliz and Bart's Books in Ojai.Instagram: @livinginthesprawlpodcastEmail: livinginthesprawlpodcast@gmail.comWebsite: www.livinginthesprawlpodcast.comCheck out our favorite CBD gummy company...it helps us get better sleep and stay chill. Use code "SPRAWL" for 20% off.  https://www.justcbdstore.com?aff=645Check out Goldbelly for all your favorite US foods to satisfy those cravings or bring back some nostalgia. Our favorites include Junior's Chessecakes from New York, Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza from Chicago and a philly cheesesteak from Pat's. Use the link https://goldbelly.pxf.io/c/2974077/1032087/13451 to check out all of the options and let them know we sent you.Use code "SPRAWL" for (2) free meals and free delivery on your first Everytable subscription.Support the podcast and future exploration adventures. We are working on unique perks and will give you a shout out on the podcast to thank you for your contribution!Living in the Sprawl: Southern California's Most Adventurous Podcast is on Podfanhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/sprawl  Looking to start a podcast? Buzzsprout is the best and easiest way to launch, promote and track your podcast...trust me, I did a lot of research beforehand. Let Buzzsprout know we sent you, support the show and get a $20 Amazon gift card when you sign up.  https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1735110Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/livinginthesprawlpodcast)

The veteran bookseller on audiobooks, the Annex, Roxane Gay, Ken Layne, Trump's influence on sales and the challenges of competing with the largest online retailer in history.

The celebrated author of the critically acclaimed novel "Grace," talks about her new book "The Perishing;" the vision that spawned her writing career; the courtroom incident that spawned her legal career (she was thrown out of court); the Intro To Writing course that has brought her career full circle; and her hobby of getting a new degree every decade. Pre-order your copy of "The Perishing" RIGHT NOW at: Bookshop.org, Skylight Books, Third Eye Bookstore, or Barnes & Noble. Also available in bookstores everywhere November 9th, 2021!! Learn more about Natashia on her website: https://natashiadeon.com/ You can follower her on Instagram and Twitter. -- Follow the show on... Instagram: www.instagram.com/make_that_paper_podcast/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/makethatpaperpodcast/ Twitter: twitter.com/makethatpaperpc/ Follow Jaime on... Instagram: www.instagram.com/jaimeparkerstickle/ Twitter: twitter.com/JaimeStickle Follow Jason on... Instagram: www.instagram.com/jjbeebstagram/ Twitter: twitter.com/jasonjackbeeber --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/makethatpaperpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/makethatpaperpodcast/support

I was very excited to have Duncan Birmingham on the show for this week's episode. He is a writer, producer, filmmaker and his new book of short stories, The Cult in My Garage was released today on Maudlin House. Duncan was a writer and executive producer on the IFC series Maron starring Marc Maron. He also wrote on the Jonathan Ames Starz series Blunt Talk starring Patrick Stewart. Two amazing shows if you have not had the change to see them. I absolutely love Duncan's book and I highly recommend that you pick up a copy at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. I'm confident you'll love it too. Thanks for listening!

I love synchronistic moments; that's how I met this week's first guest, Kerry Slattery. Now retired, Kerry was the original general manager of Skylight Books in Los Angeles. Before this, she acted in shows such as It's Gary Shandling, The Twilight Zone, Hunter, and Code Red. Kerry shares her knowledge of years in the bookshop industry and offers suggestions for anyone considering opening an indie bookshop.My second guest, Katya Cengel, is an author, journalist, and teacher based in California. Her work has appeared in New York Times Magazine, Marie Claire, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other publications. She has reported from North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and Africa and was based in the former Soviet Union for half a decade. She was a features and news writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal from 2003 to 2011.Links from the show:Kerry Slattery's Blog – Jack and ViolaSkylight BooksPaz Book BizKatya Cengel  Exiled: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to California and Back, Katja CengelBluegrass Baseball: A Year in the Minor League Life, Katya CengelFrom Chernobyl with Love: Reporting from the Ruins of the Soviet Union, Katya CengelMy Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein  Just Like Us, Helen ThorpeEmma's War, Deborah ScrogginsMary Williams Skylight BooksSupport the show (https://paypal.me/TheBookshopPodcast?locale.x=en_US)

This week, I enjoyed chatting with Mary Williams, general manager of Skylight Books in Los Angeles. Mary tells us how the store is coping in pandemic mode and what makes the booksellers at Skylight Books stand out. I later chat with the author, actress, screenwriter, and super fun lady Heidi Mastrogiovanni about her comedic series Lala Pettibone, adopting senior dogs and finding joy in life.Enjoy!MandyHere's a list of links mentioned in this episode: Skylight Books Los AngelesGriffith ObservatoryAmerican Booksellers AssociationThe Memory Police, Yoko OgawaHeidi MastrogiovanniLala Pettibone BooksThe Count Of Monte-Cristo, Alexandre DumasA Christmas Carol, Charles DickensSupport the show (https://paypal.me/TheBookshopPodcast?locale.x=en_US)

Since it opened in 1996, Skylight Books has become a fixture in the Los Feliz and a center of the neighborhood's literary community by hosting readings, book clubs, and launch parties. In the second installment of our “Art of Bookselling” podcast series, Air/Light‘s Claire Robertson talks to Mary Williams, the general manager of Skylight. Mary tells us about her favorite book of the year, comfort book buying in the run-up to the first lockdown, and how their customers are helping support the store throughout the pandemic. And remember: after you've listened, visit Skylight (or your own local bookshop) in person or online and buy a book or two. If you missed it, be sure to check out the first episode in the “Art of Bookselling” featuring Josh Spencer of Los Angeles' The Last Bookstore.

Ep 43 Samira Yamin & Gina Osterloh: The People On this episode our guests are Gina Osterloh and Samira Yamin. Gina Osterloh is a Los Angeles artist who works with elements of performance and drawing in photography. She has recently shown at Ms. Barbers, Francois Ghebaly, Armory Center for the Arts in Los Angeles among many other and she is in an upcoming group exhibition at Arizona State University Museum entitled Energy Charge: Ana Mendieta and her influences. Samira Yamin is an artist and a native Angelena who has recently shown at the Craft and Folk Art Museum and at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Her work explores issues of representation through photography. In a new edition of Notes from the People we have Harold Abramowitz reading from his new book Blind Spot at Skylight Books in Los Angeles on September 2nd, 2016. You can and should find and purchase a copy of Blind Spot from Civil Coping Mechanisms press at CopingMechanisms.net And we close out the episode with a song by Los Angeles artist Geneva Skeen from her forthcoming album Dark Speech, available September 23rd, 2016 from Dragon's Eye Recordings. You can find it online at DragonsEyeRecordings.com ... and the name of the track is Ambivalence

Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America (Farrar Strauss Giroux) Skylight Books is over the moon excited to welcome one of our favorite directors, writers and all-around cultural icons,John Waters for the launch of the paperback edition of Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America, his wild and wonderful memoir about what happened (and what might've happened) while hitchhiking across this great nation of ours. NOTE: As with all Skylight Books events, this reading is free and open to the public (first come, first served).  But because we're expecting a large crowd at this event, we'll be giving out numbered tickets to the signing line to keep things organized.  To get a ticket to the signing line, you must purchase a paperback copy of Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America here at Skylight Books.  Tickets will be available starting May 12, 2015, the official release date for the paperback version of Carsick.  They will be available in-store, or you can order on our website and leave a note in the "Order Comments" field.  We will also hold a ticket for you if you order and pay for a book over the phone.  In addition to books, John Waters will sign memorabila and will pose for photographs with individual attendees. Thank you! From acclaimed filmmaker and cult artist, John Waters, comes a cross-country hitchhiking journey with America's most beloved weirdo. John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads "I'm Not Psycho," he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash?  Before he leaves for this bizarre adventure, Waters fantasizes about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? His real-life rides include a gentle eighty-one-year-old farmer who is convinced Waters is a hobo, an indie band on tour, and the perverse filmmaker's unexpected hero: a young, sandy-haired Republican in a Corvette.  Laced with subversive humor and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion--and a celebration of America's weird, astonishing, and generous citizenry. Praise for Carsick: “Waters idiosyncratically cuts to the core of American diversity, finding the good (and bad) in any situation with biting wit…Waters devotees take note: this is required reading.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review “Waters has made a funny engaging and—of course—occasionally outrageous book . . . All in all a cool trip and a delightful book." - Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post “Fantastical and plush . . . Carsick becomes a portrait not just of America's desolate freeway nodes — though they're brilliantly evoked — but of American fame itself.”  – NY Times Book Review   “Travel—uh, hitchhiking—book of the year?" —Ray Olson, Booklist   "A flavorful book, with the same cheeky sentimentality we experienced in Water's memoir Role Models plus a Divine-sized dose of kitsch. John Waters fans like me will be ecstatic." —Annie Coreno, Publishers Weekly “Waters gives full rein to his trash roots with fictional creations that rival anything he's ever put on screen…Waters, in short, discovers Middle America, somewhere safely between his imaginary world of trash and the glitz of high culture.” –Norman Powers, New York Journal of Books   “A good helping of unbridled lewdness is surely to be expected, and no doubt cherished, from the man known as the king of filth and the pope of trash.”—Geoff Nicholson, San Francisco Chronicle   “Waters doesn't bore us with theories as to why the open road has become so much less open; he allows his nasty nostalgic fantasies to hint at the abandon so absent from our lives.”— Michael Andor Brodeur   “Waters offers readers an outlandish glimpse into his mind in vintage Waters fashion…the book is also an homage to a lost American pastime of getting into cars with strangers.”—Justin Snow, Metro Weekly   “The book, a kind of ode to America, fits with Mr. Waters's belief that New York is no longer the creative center of the universe” M.H. Miller, New York Observer   “The novellas read like short stories that could be made into films… Funny and shocking…yet fans of the filmmaker's work will likely be more amused than shocked.”—Gary M. Kramer, Frontiers John Waters is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist best known for his cult films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Cecil B. DeMented. He is also the author of a memoir, Role Models. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Please join the UC Irvine MFA Programs in Writing Reading Series on Saturday, May 9 at 5 pm in Skylight Books for their third event of the spring 2015 quarter. The reading will feature poets Nicholas Reiner and Lynn Wang and fiction writers Jill Kato and Jennifer Milton. Please come and enjoy the work of these emerging voices.  For more information on the UC Irvine Programs in Writing and the MFA Reading Series, you may check out their website at: http://www.humanities.uci.

Pleasantville (Harper)  One of Skylight Books' favorite local authors Attica Locke returns with her most ambitious novel to date, taking on business corruption, scheming local politicians and murder in Pleasantville, which brings back Black Water Rising's morally conflicted environmental attorney Jay Porter. It's now 1996, fifteen years since Black Water Rising, and Porter is struggling to cope with a family tragedy.  He's decided to quit the law after he wraps up his final case: representing the citizens of Pleasantville, a storied neighborhood on the north side of Houston, against the chemical giant ProFerma. Houston's mayoral election is pending, and Pleasantville is a key electoral district due to the long-time organizing efforts of its now elderly “patriarch” Sam Hathorne. Its endorsement can make or break a candidate's chances. Sam's son, Axel, Houston's former police chief and a favorite of Pleasantville faces a run-off against the city's current District Attorney, Sandra Wolcott. Then Axel's nephew, Neal, is arrested for the murder of a young woman who disappeared while campaigning in Pleasantville. Sam coerces Jay into serving as Neal's defense attorney, even though Jay insists he's not qualified. As he tries to untangle the complicated knot of politics, lies, and family secrets at the heart of the Hathorne campaign, Jay finds that the case puts an entire electoral process on trial, revealing the lengths to which those with power are willing to go to keep it. Attica Locke's first novel, Black Water Rising, was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award, an NAACP Image Award, as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the prestigious Orange Prize in the UK (now the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction).  Her second book, The Cutting Season, published by Dennis Lehane books, is a national bestseller, and, like her debut, was a finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award.  It was also named an Honor Book by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, was long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize, and is the 2013 winner of the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, the largest literary prize for African-Americans. A graduate of Northwestern University, Locke was a fellow at the Sundance Institute's Feature Filmmakers Lab and had planned a career as a movie director, but got derailed along the way, spending many years as a screenwriter-for-hire.  She wrote scripts for Paramount, Warner Bros, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, HBO, and Dreamworks.  Highly paid, yet unproduced, Locke grew restless with the Hollywood studio system. “There were days I felt like I was writing solely for the pleasure of a group of studio execs, all with a fifteen-mile radius of Burbank, California, that my work had no meaning beyond that.”  In 2005, she gave herself one year to change this – during which she wrote the first draft of Black Water Rising.  “Besides motherhood, it was the single most transformative experience of my life.” After two books, she felt pulled toward Hollywood again, explicitly television, where great drama is being produced “like I haven't seen in my lifetime.”  She is currently co-producer and writer on the upcoming Fox drama, Empire, created by Lee Daniels (The Butler, Precious) and Danny Strong (Game Change, The Hunger Games) and premiering in January 2015. Locke is a member of the academy for the Folio Prize in the UK and is also on the board of directors for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.   A native of Houston, Texas, Attica lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and daughter.

Sur La Route (Quale Press)  Please welcome back to Skylight Books, local poet Cecilia Woloch! Sur la Route is a novella in postcard-like vignettes — a series of brief, vivid, poetic episodes that trace the path of a disaffected American woman “on the road” in France and western Europe. It's the winter of 1994 and she's fled the blandness of Los Angeles for Paris, carrying with her only a list of the names of friends-of-friends, a couple of battered suitcases and a longing to be part of a more sensual, nuanced, mysterious world. She moves breathlessly through that world, the peripatetic rhythm of events mirrored in the restless, lyrical narrative. Along the way, she falls in love with a man, a woman, a city, a way of being in the world, and her own life. By turns sexy, intriguing, and passionate, her experiences require her to open her own heart as widely as possible, even (and always) at the risk of breaking it. Cecilia Woloch is the author of six collections of poems, most recently Carpathia (BOA Editions 2009)and Tzigane, le poème Gitan (Scribe-l'Harmattan 2014), the French translation of her second book, Tsigan: The Gypsy Poem. The text of Tsigan has also been adapted for multi-media performances in the U.S. and Europe. Her novella, Sur la Route, a finalist for the Colony Collapse Prize, is being published by Quale Press in 2015, along with a new collection of poems, Earth, winner of the Two Sylvias Press Prize for the chapbook. Other honors include The Indiana Review Prize for Poetry, The New Ohio Review Prize for Poetry, the Scott Russell Sanders Prize for Creative Nonfiction, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, CEC/ArtsLink International, Chateau de la Napoule Foundation, the Center for International Theatre Development and others. Her work has been translated and published in French, German, Polish and Ukrainian. The founding director of Summer Poetry in Idyllwild and The Paris Poetry Workshop, she has also served on the faculties of a number of creative writing programs and teaches independently throughout the U.S. and around the world.

You Are Here (Writegirl Publications)  WriteGirl is an innovative nonprofit organization that empowers teen girls through creative writing. Join us for this special chance to hear our WriteGirl teens speak their minds and read their original poetry and prose. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be surprised—you won't want to miss this one! Skylight Books has truly become a part of WriteGirl tradition. WriteGirl's latest anthology, You Are Here: The WriteGirl Journey, showcases the stories of 161 women and girls navigating their way through small moments and big adventures. You Are Here is available for purchase at Skylight Books. Praise for WriteGirl “These girls started with a few words and the seed of an idea. With WriteGirl's encouragement, each girl allowed the words to keep coming until her idea grew into an essay, a story, or a poem. What do writers do? They write. And how lucky we are to have these writers' words to inspire us!” – Carole King, GRAMMY Award-winning singer and songwriter “The work of these young women reminds me what it's like to be young. Their voices are clear and passionate, carefully observant and exuberant. They celebrate their friends, their neighborhoods, new love, and mourn the losses from which their youth can't shield them. They tell the truth.” – Terry Wolverton, author WriteGirl is a nonprofit organization for Los Angeles high school girls (ages 13-18) centered on the craft of creative writing and empowerment through self-expression. Through one-on-one mentoring and monthly workshops, girls are given techniques, insights and hot tips for great writing in all genres from professional women writers. Founder and Executive Director Keren Taylor and WriteGirl's unique programming have received numerous awards and commendations for exemplary community service, including being honored with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award by First Lady Michelle Obama. While such recognition is much appreciated, WriteGirl is most proud of the accomplishments of its teen members—100% of our graduating seniors have entered college, many on full or partial scholarships. For more information, please visit http://www.writegirl.org or email info@writegirl.org

Aquarium (Grove Press)  Please welcome back to Skylight Books one of our favorite authors, David Vann!  Twelve-year-old Caitlin lives alone with her mother—a docker at the local container port—in subsidized housing next to an airport in Seattle. Each day, while she waits to be picked up after school, Caitlin visits the local aquarium to study the fish. Gazing at the creatures within the watery depths, Caitlin accesses a shimmering universe beyond her own. When she befriends an old man at the tanks one day, who seems as enamored of the fish as she, Caitlin cracks open a dark family secret and propels her once-blissful relationship with her mother toward a precipice of terrifying consequence. In crystalline, chiseled, yet graceful prose, Aquarium takes us into the heart of a brave young girl whose longing for love and capacity for forgiveness transforms the damaged people around her. Relentless and heartbreaking, primal and redemptive,Aquarium is a transporting story from one of the best American writers of our time. Published in twenty languages, David Vann's previous books—A Mile Down; Legend of a Suicide; Caribou Island; Last Day On Earth; Dirt; and Goat Mountain—have won enormous critical acclaim. A former Guggenheim fellow, Wallace Stegner fellow, John L'Heureux fellow, and NEA fellow, he has taught at Stanford, Cornell, FSU, USF, holds degrees from Stanford and Cornell, and is currently a Professor at the University of Warwick in England and Honorary Professor at the University of Franche-Comté in France.

Turtleface and Beyond: Stories (Farrar Straus Giroux) Please welcome back to Skylight Books, one of our favorite short story writers, Arthur Bradford!  Paddling down a remote, meandering river, Georgie's friend Otto decides to do something both spectacular and stupid: He scales a sandy cliff that rises from the water and runs down its steep face, preparing for a triumphant running dive. As his friends look on, they watch something awful unfold: Otto lands with an odd smack and knocks himself unconscious, blood spilling from his nose and mouth. Georgie arrives on the scene first and sees a small turtle, its shell cracked, floating just below the water's surface. Otto and the turtle survive the collision, though both need help, and Georgie finds his compassions torn. This title story sets the tone for the rest of Arthur Bradford's Turtleface and Beyond, a strangely funny collection featuring prosthetically limbed lovers, a snakebitten hitchhiker turned wedding crasher, a lawyer at the end of his rope, a menage a trois at Thailand's Resort Tik Tok, and a whole host of near disasters, narrow escapes, and complicated victories, all narrated by Georgie, who struggles with his poor decisions but finds redemption in the telling of each of his tales. Big-hearted and hilariously high-fueled, Turtleface and Beyondmarks the return of a beloved and unforgettable voice in fiction. Praise for Turtleface and Beyond: “Arthur Bradford's work is uncategorizable and unprecedented, but if pressed, you could call it the improbable spawn of Raymond Carver and Roald Dahl. His stories are hilarious and strange, playful and deadpan, and often involve animals and strange injuries to these animals or their human friends. The world of Bradford's fiction is populated by dreamers, doofuses, banalities, and mysteries, and somehow it's a world you don't want to leave.”—Dave Eggers “Turtleface and Beyond is filled with glorious little fables that are both yummy and nourishing.”—Matt Stone, co-creator of South Park and The Book of Mormon “Arthur Bradford has the strange, poetic humor of a real writer, but his outlandish plots involving animals and/or underachievers read like pulpy page-turners. While reading Turtleface and Beyond, I couldn't wait to find out what happened to these injured reptiles and oversexed beach bums.”—Sarah Vowell “Arthur Bradford's stories are told plainly yet seductively. You might call them funny and lovely and laconic until you get to the twist and damage that swims beneath them like an unseen snapping turtle. They take straight roads to crooked places and I would read them all day until I was done and you should too.”—John Hodgman “Writer and filmmaker Bradford will appeal to David Sedaris fans willing to visit the wrong side of the tracks . . . With bad choices and bizarre situations aplenty, Turtleface and Beyond encourages the reader simply to laugh at the strange turns life can take.”—Booklist Arthur Bradford is an O. Henry Award–winning writer and Emmy-nominated filmmaker. He is the author of Dogwalker, and his writing has appeared in Esquire, McSweeny's, VICE, and Men's Journal. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and serves as the co-director of Camp Jabberwocky, the nation's longest-running residential summer camp for people with disabilities.

Binary Star (Two Dollar Radio) Join us tonight at Skylight Books for the brilliant debut from a rising "star" (couldn't help it)  of fiction, Sarah Gerard! The language of the stars is the language of the body. Like a star, the anorexic burns fuel that isn't replenished; she is held together by her own gravity. With luminous, lyrical prose, Sarah Gerard's debut novel Binary Star is an impassioned account of a young woman struggling with anorexia and her long-distance, alcoholic boyfriend, John. On a road trip around the United States, they stumble into a book on veganarchism and believe they've found a direction. Though she has misgivings about their newfound ideology, the narrator's involvement becomes critical to the couple's plan to “take down the sick system.” Trapped in a self-destructive constellation of lies and self-defining, superficial obsessions, she forces herself to complete the semester while preparing the political “action” she and John have planned for the summer. Meanwhile, John's drinking is spiraling out of control with dangerous results, and they're closer together than ever. Sarah Gerard's Binary Star is an intense, fast-moving saga of two young lovers and the culture that keeps them sick; a society that sells diet pills and sleeping pills, magazines that profile celebrities who lose weight, or too much weight, or put on weight; and books that pimp diet secrets or recipes for success—a cataclysmic story of the quest for perfection. Praise for Binary Star "Sarah Gerard's star is rising."--The Millions "A bold, beautiful novel about wanting to disappear and almost succeeding. Sarah Gerard writes about love and loneliness in a new and brilliantly visceral way."--Jenny Offill "I felt a breathless intensity the whole time I read Sarah Gerard's brilliant Binary Star. I sped through it, dizzy, devastated, loving all of it."--Kate Zambreno "Two lost souls hurtle through a long dark night where drug store fluorescents light up fashion magazine headlines and the bad flarf of the pharmacy: Hydroxycut, Seroquel, Ativan, Zantrex-3. Gerard's young lovers rightly revolt against the insane standards of a sick society, but their pursuit of purity--ideological, mental, physical--comes to constitute another kind of impossible demand, all the more dangerous for being self-imposed. Binary Star is merciless and cyclonic, a true and brutal poem of obliteration, an all-American death chant whose chorus is 'I want to look at the sky and understand.'"--Justin Taylor "By now I've read Binary Star twice, and I've become so entwined with it that I'm reluctant to talk about the subject at length. Let me just say that I've never read anything like it."--Harry Mathews "Allegorized by the phenomena of binary stars, Sarah Gerard's first novel confronts the symptoms of modern living with beauty and courage."--Simon Van Booy Sarah Gerard's work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine's "The Cut," Paris Review Daily, Slice Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Bookforum, and other journals. She is the author of the chapbook Things I Told My Mother and a graduate of The New School's MFA program for fiction.

Silver Screen Fiend (Scribner) Skylight Books welcomes back one of our favorite comedic minds --Patton Oswalt -- for a reading and signing of his new book,Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life From An Addiction to Film. NOTE: As with all Skylight Books events, this reading is free and open to the public (first come, first served).  But because we're expecting a large crowd at this event, we'll be giving out numbered tickets to the signing line to keep things organized.  To get a ticket to the signing line, you must purchase a copy of Silver Screen Fiend here at Skylight Books.  Tickets will be available starting January 6th, 2015.  They will be available in-store, or you can order on our website and leave a note in the "Order Comments" field.  We will also hold a ticket for you if you order and pay for a book over the phone.  In addition to books, Patton Oswalt will sign one additional item and will pose for one photograph with individual attendees, though you are welcome to take photos during the event and from the line (no flash please). Lastly, we ask that you please refrain from making an audio or video recording of the event.  Thank you for your cooperation! From New York Times-bestselling author, multifaceted comedian and actor, and social media genius Patton Oswalt, a memoir of coming of age as a performer and writer while obsessively watching classic films at the legendary New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles in the mid-90s: Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film. In Patton Oswalt's own words, Silver Screen Fiend is “the dorkiest addiction memoir ever.” It tells the story of his early days in the comedy scene of Los Angeles. After moving to LA, he started hanging out constantly at the New Beverly Cinema, absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases. The movies he views inform his notions of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships, and the colorful cast of characters he meets at the New Beverly fill in the rest. Praise for Silver Screen Fiend: "Silver Screen Fiend is both a love letter to artistic obsession and string of caution tape around it. Patton describes the ecstatic demands of the arts (in this case, Stand-up and Film) with insight, fond pity, and unfailing humor. This is a book for anyone who strives to be great, or is bored in an airport."--Joss Whedon "Patton Oswalt is one of the most brilliant comedy minds of a generation. This book confirms it."--Ricky Gervais Patton Oswalt is the author of the New York Times bestseller Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. He has released five TV specials and five critically acclaimed comedy albums, including two Grammy-nominated releases, My Weakness Is Strong and Finest Hour. Oswalt has also appeared on many television shows and in more than twenty films, including Young Adult, Big Fan, and Ratatouille. Oswalt was the host of the 29th Independent Spirit Awards and the 18th Annual Webby Awards. He lives in Los Angeles. 

Texas: The Great Theft (Deep Vellum) Please welcome to Skylight Books the author Roberto Bolaño calls "Mexico's best woman writer" Carmen Boullosa! A writer in the tradition of Juan Rulfo, Jorge Luis Borges, and Cesar Aira, Carmen Boullosa shows herself to be at the height of her powers with her latest book. Loosely based on the little-known 1859 Mexican invasion of the United States, Texas: The Great Theftis a richly imagined evocation of the volatile Tex-Mex borderland. Boullosa views the border history through distinctly Mexican eyes, and her sympathetic portrayal of each of her wildly diverse characters—Mexican ranchers and Texas Rangers, Comanches and cowboys, German socialists and runaway slaves, Southern belles and dance hall girls—makes her storytelling tremendously powerful and absorbing. Shedding important historical light on the current battles over the Mexican-American frontier, while telling a gripping story with Boullosa's singular prose and formal innovation, Texas marks the welcome return of a major writer who has previously captivated American audiences and is poised to do so again. PRAISE FOR CARMEN BOULLOSA "A luminous writer . . . Boullosa is a masterful spinner of the fantastic." — MIAMI HERALD "Carmen Boullosa writes with a heart-stopping command of language."— Alma Guillermoprieto "A story and men armed by necessity and by caprice, a tale of indomitable women, a chronicle of cowboys and Indians, of African-Americans and immigrants from other parts, of captives and their keepers, of slavers and rebels." — LA JOURNADA "I don't think there's a writer with more variety in themes and focuses in his or her writing. . . . Boullosa's style and range is unique for its versatility and its enormous courage."— Juan Villoro, author of La Casa Pierde and Aforismos " . . . a cross between W. G. Sebald and Gabriel García Márquez."— El Pais "The world of Carmen Boullosa is revealed as a sui generis form weathering the storms of history."— Letras Libres "Carmen Boullosa is, in my opinion, a true master."— Alvaro Mutis, author of The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll Carmen Boullosa (Mexico City, 1954) is one of Mexico's leading writers. The author of over a dozen novels that have received numerous prizes and honors, Boullosa has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library. Also a poet and playwright, she has taught at New York University, Columbia University, CUNY, and Georgetown, among other universities, and she hosts a television show, Nueva York, on CUNY-TV, which has received five New York Emmys. Her work has been translated into several languages, and she is currently a FONCA fellow in Mexico. She lives in Brooklyn and Mexico City. You can visit her online atcarmenboullosa.net or follow her on twitter: @carmenboullosa.

Guernica Annual Print Edition (Guerinca + Haymarket Press) Join us for the Los Angeles launch of the Guernica Annual at Skylight Books. This year Guernica celebrates ten years of award-winning, free online content. Guernica's first-ever print edition (published in partnership with Haymarket Books) contains fearless reportage, memoir, compelling interviews, and emerging and established poets and fiction writers. This special evening consists of readings from the Annual by local writers and a conversation with the staff and editors of Guernica. Readings from: Matthew Specktor (American Dream Machine, That Summertime Sound), Katherine Taylor (Rules for Saying Goodbye) Michael Archer (editor-in-chief and co-founder of Guernica), Lisa Lucas (publisher of Guernica) and Kima Jones (NPR, Pank, The Rumpus). This event is free and open to the public. All proceeds from the Guernica Annual will go towards compensating writers and editors, and maintaining Guernica's free online access. Matthew Specktor is the author of the novels American Dream Machine and That Summertime Sound, as well as a nonfiction book about the motion picture The Sting. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Paris Review, The Believer, Tin House, Black Clock, and Salon, among other publications. He is a senior editor and founding member of the Los Angeles Review of Books. Katherine Taylor is the author of the novel Valley Fever, a cross-generational tragicomedy set in California's wine-soaked Central Valley, to be published June 2015 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.  She is also the author ofRules for Saying Goodbye, a novel of a young woman's disassembling and reassembling herself, published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 2007. Katherine's stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Town & Country, and Ploughshares, among other publications. She has won a Pushcart Prize and the McGinnis Ritchie Award for Fiction. She has a B.A. from University of Southern California and an MFA from Columbia University, where she was a Graduate Writing Fellow. Katherine lives in Los Angeles. Michael Archer is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder of Guernica. His work has appeared in The Huffington Post, Publishers Weekly ,Biography, Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Woman's Day, Men's Edge, and The New Yorker, among many others. His fiction has appeared in various journals. He has taught in the Czech Republic (Charles University), Costa Rica, and China. He currently teaches English and speech at the City University of New York. Lisa Lucas is the Publisher of Guernica. Previously, she served as the Director of Education at Tribeca Film Institute and consulted for various non-profit arts and cultural organizations, including Sundance Film Festival, San Francisco Film Society and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Lucas is also co-chair of the non-fiction committee for the Brooklyn Book Festival. Kima Jones has received fellowships from PEN Center USA Emerging Voices, Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction and The MacDowell Colony. She has been published at NPR, PANK and The Rumpus among others. Kima lives in Los Angeles and is writing her first poetry collection, The Anatomy of Forgiveness.

They Become Her (What Books)                                                   Perfecta (What Books) Join us tonight for the fall launch party for one of Skylight Books' favorite local presses, What Books! Rebbecca Brown's debut novel, They Become Her, received Honorable Mention in the 2009-2010 Starcherone Innovative Fiction contest. It tells the story of Delia Bacon, the first to propose that Shakespeare did not write his own works and whose own literary ambition inspired a life filled with fame and scandal. Three fictional biographies of contemporary writers--all sharing the name Rebbecca Brown--become involved in Delia's quest, complicating who is writing whose fictional biography. They Become Her is poetically rich, provocatively questioning identity, the relationships between texts and their authors, and the predicaments in which many artists inevitably find themselves. It invites a self-reflexive entanglement with the reader, who won't be able to resist playing along to the unexpected end. Smart and funny, gorgeous and frightened. Whether at the racetrack or in the cul-de-sac. Asking questions of the flawed self or of the idyllic, Patty Seyburn's poems look headlong at the living world and use all of it. The poems are winding and discursive but also include short, eye-rolling lyrics. Dinner party politics join with lines from Hass, the Bible, and the memory of Detroit. Characters in Seyburn's poems do what we all do, only with the skepticism of Plato. Rebbecca Brown received her Ph.D. in Creative Writing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2007. Her work has appeared in journals such as American Literary Review, Confrontation, 88: A Journal of Contemporary American Poetry, Eclipse, Requited, H_ngm_n and Ekleksographia. She received an Honorable Mention from the Academy of American Poets, the Rachel Sherwood Prize for Poetry, First Place in the LACC Writing Contest for Creative Nonfiction, and has taught as a Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Lecturer at Kannur University in Kerala, India. THEY BECOME HER is her first novel. She lives in New York City and teaches at Hunter College. Patty Seyburn has published four books of poems, Perfeccta (What Books, 2014), Hilarity (New Issues Press, 2009), Mechanical Cluster (Ohio State University Press, 2002), and Diasporadic (Helicon Nine Editions, 1998). She teaches at California State University, Long Beach, and co-edits Pool: A Journal of Poetry.

Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe (Adams Media) Please join us as one of Skylight Books' favorite (and best-selling) artists celebrates the launch of her newest book. Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe erases the boundaries of the standard self-help book and sets you free on a visual journey of self-discovery. Inside you will find nine metaphysical lessons set against a surreal backdrop of intricate ink illustrations and dreamlike instructions that require you to open your heart to unexplored inner landscapes. From setting fire to your anxieties to sharing a cup of tea with your inner demons, you will learn how to let go and truly connect with the world around you. Whether you need a little inspiration or a completely new life direction, Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe provides you with the necessary push to find your true path—and a whimsical adventure to enjoy on the way there.  Yumi Sakugawa is a comic book artist and the author of I Think I Am in Friend-Love with You. She is a regular comic contributor to The Rumpus and Wonderhowto.com, and her short comic stories “Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years” and “Seed Bomb” were selected as Notable Comics of 2012 and 2013 respectively by the Best American Comics series editors (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Her comics have also appeared in Bitch, the Best American Non­Required Reading 2014, Folio, Fjords Review, and other publications. A graduate from the fine art program of University of California, Los Angeles, she lives in southern California. Visit her on the web atwww.yumisakugawa.com.

The Book With No Pictures (Dial Books for Young Readers) We're delighted to present the Los Angeles launch event for The Book With No Pictures, the new children's book from actor and author B.J. Novak (One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories). NOTE: As with all Skylight Books events, this reading is free and open to the public (first come, first served). But, because we're expecting a large crowd at this event, we'll be giving out numbered tickets to the signing line to keep things organized. To get a ticket to the signing line, you must purchase a copy ofThe Book With No Pictures here at Skylight Books. Signing line tickets will become available the day the book goes on sale: Tuesday, September 30, 2014. They will be available in-store, or you can order on our website and leave a note in the "Order Comments" field. We will also hold a ticket for you if you order and pay for a book over the phone. Once you have your signing line ticket, these are the guidelines for the signing: For every copy of The Book With No Pictures purchased, B.J. Novak will sign one copy of One More Thing Only The Book With No Pictures will be personalized; copies of One More Thing will be signed only This signing is for books only; please leave other memorabilia at home We won't be able to accommodate posed photos, but you are welcome to take photos from the line as he signs (no flash, please) Thank you for your cooperation! B.J. Novak's The Book With No Pictures turns the turns the notion of the picture book on its head, by delivering a text-only story book for young children. You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except . . . here's how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say . . . BLORK. Or BLUURF. Even if the words are a preposterous song about eating ants for breakfast, or just a list of astonishingly goofy sounds like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and GLIBBITY GLOBBITY. Cleverly irreverent and irresistibly silly, The Book with No Pictures is one that kids will beg to hear again and again. (And parents will be happy to oblige.) B.J. Novak is well known for his work on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series The Office as an writer, actor, director, and executive producer. He is also known for his work as a standup comedian and his performances in motion pictures such as Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Disney's Saving Mr. Banks. Novak's collection of short stories One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories (Knopf) was published earlier this year to rave reviews. The New York Times Book Review called it “hugely pleasurable...droll and smart in spades, but often humane and vulnerable, too..." The Washington Post called Novak “a gifted observer of the human condition and a very funny writer capable of winning that rare thing: unselfconscious, insuppressible laughter.” He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in English and Spanish literature.

Tomboy (Zest Books) Razorcake and Skylight Books are teaming up to present graphic novelist Liz Prince, presenting her new graphic memoir Tomboy!  Growing up, Liz Prince wasn't a girly girl, but she wasn't exactly one of the guys either (as she learned when her little league baseball coach exiled her to the distant outfield). She was somewhere in between. But with the forces of middle school, high school, parents, friendship, and romance pulling her this way and that, the middle wasn't exactly an easy place to be. Tomboy follows award-winning author and artist Liz Prince through her early years and explores—with humor, honesty, and poignancy—what it means to “be a girl.” From staunchly refuting ”girliness” to the point of misogyny, to discovering through the punk community that your identity is whatever you make of it, Tomboy offers a sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking account of self-discovery in modern America. Praise for Tomboy “Liz Prince tells gender norms to eat dirt. A delightful, thoughtful, and compulsively readable memoir. And an important one.” —Ariel Schrag, author of Adam and Potential  “Liz Prince may have been an uncertain, confused kid, but she's a confident and sincerely expressive cartoonist. Tomboy is a funny and relatable look at what every child has to deal with at some point—figuring out who you really are inside, when everyone else only sees what they think you should be on the outside.” —Jeffrey Brown, author of Clumsy, Jedi Academy andDarth Vader and Son “It's hard to imagine anyone failing to be charmed by this entertaining, clever, and genuinely funny memoir of growing up with gender identity confusion. Even this pretty unconfused regular old dude found plenty to identify with in Liz Prince's story of adolescent bafflement, exploration, and discovery—all delivered, like all the best such stories, with a light touch, wry wit, understated irony, and not one iota of preachiness. Meaning: I'm a fan. Go Liz!” —Frank Portman, author of King Dork  “Tomboy is a thoughtful, honest look into the evolution and acceptance of personal gender identity, as told by a smart-mouhed punk named Liz Prince. I wish it had existed when I was in high school.” —Nicole Georges, author of Calling Dr. Laura “Liz Prince portrays the awkwardness and humiliation of childhood with wonderful (not to mention painful) accuracy. Any kid that picks up this book is going to be privy to secrets most of us don't learn until it's too late, and any adult who reads it will be reminded of an essential truth: that's it's okay to be exactly who we want to be, no matter how weird everyone else thinks we are. Tomboy isn't a self help book, but it should be.” —Julia Wertz, author of Drinking at the Movies and The Infinite Wait “It's not very often you read a goofy coming-of-age comic written with an astutely critical lens… and then there's Liz Prince'sTomboy. By tackling everything from Green Day to girl-hate, Prince does a kick-ass job at dissecting gender politics (and playground politics) through riotous anecdotes from her childhood, making this feminist inquiry, well, fun.” —Suzy X., illustrator at Rookie Mag  “Navigating life as a young tomboy would have been a lot easier if I'd had Liz's brave, hilarious, and honest story to guide me. Reading this book will make weird kids like us feel a little less alone.” —Melissa Mendes, author of Freddy Stories  Liz Prince's first book, Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed?, was nominated for several awards and won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Debut in 2005. Born in Boston, MA, she grew up in Santa Fe, NM, and has been drawing comics since the third grade. She has since produced many of her own comics and mini-comics, which mix her real-life foibles with charming cartooning and comic timing. Fans have described her work as being "cute," making them feel "warm and fuzzy," or simply being "too much information." She now lives outside of Boston and drinks more than her fair share of coffee. 

Last Stories and Other Stories (Viking Books) In this magnificent new work of fiction, his first in nine years, celebrated author William T. Vollmann offers a collection of ghost stories linked by themes of love, death, and the erotic. NOTE: We're expecting a big crowd for this event.  As always, our events are free and open to the public, but we will be issuing numbered singing line tickets to keep the line organized (the number is your place in line).  To get a ticket to go through the signing line, you must purchase a copy of Last Stories and Other Stories here at Skylight Books.  Tickets will become available on the day the book is released -- July 10.  You can purchase the book and get a ticket in our store, over the phone (at 323-660-1175), or on our website (just leave a note in the "order comments" field that you'd like a ticket).  Members in our Friends with Benefits program get 20% off the event book and a ticket to the priority signing line, so sign up or mention your membership when you buy. A Bohemian farmer's dead wife returns to him, and their love endures, but at a gruesome price. A geisha prolongs her life by turning into a cherry tree. A journalist, haunted by the half-forgotten killing of a Bosnian couple, watches their story, and his own wartime tragedy, slip away from him. A dying American romances the ghost of his high school sweetheart while a homeless salaryman in Tokyo animates paper cutouts of ancient heroes. Are ghosts memories, fantasies, or monsters? Is there life in death? Vollmann has always operated in the shadowy borderland between categories, and these eerie tales, however far-flung their settings, all focus on the attempts of the living to avoid, control, or even seduce death. Vollmann's stories will transport readers to a fantastical world where love and lust make anything possible. Praise for Last Stories and Other Stories "Vollmann's fiction has always defied easy categorization. Here, he straddles, twists, and morphs action-adventure, horror, political thriller, fantasy, and literary fiction. What gives the book coherence is his singular style: elaborate and picaresque, with a rich vocabulary. . .Mainstays of horror and the supernatural figure prominently, and it's especially exciting to read these pop-fiction conventions treated with Vollmann's narrative richness."--Publishers Weekly "Creatively sourced, boldly imagined, and incandescently written supernatural stories. . . Throughout this ingeniously fabulist, erotic, musing, and satirical treasury, Vollmann gives monstrous and alluring form to the forces that haunt us, from desire and love to regret and loss, as he contemplates with ardor, sorrow, bemusement, and wonder the beauty and terror of life and death and the vast mystery of the hereafter."--ALA Booklist William T. Vollmann is the author of seven novels, three collections of stories, and a seven-volume critique of violence, Rising Up and Rising Down. He is also the author of Poor People, a worldwide examination of poverty through the eyes of the impoverished themselves; Riding Toward Everywhere, an examination of the train-hopping hobo lifestyle; and Imperial, a panoramic look at one of the poorest areas in America. He has won the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction, a Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize and a Whiting Writers' Award. His journalism and fiction have been published in The New Yorker, Esquire, Spin and Granta. Vollmann lives in Sacramento, California.

On the eve of Los Angeles Pride, Skylight Books presents its third annual celebration of LGBT writing.  The work of James Baldwin, Eloise Klein Healy, Oscar Wilde, Lidia Yuknavitch, and Jerome Stueart will be explored by some of our favorite writers including Jervey Tervalon, Naomi Hirahara, Ali Liebegott and Wendy Ortiz.  Curated by Noel Alumit

The Snow Queen (Farrar Straus Giroux) Skylight Books is very excited to welcome to Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours. NOTE: We're expecting a big crowd for this event.  As always, our events are free and open to the public, but we will be issuing numbered singing line tickets to keep the line organized (the number is your place in line).  To get a ticket to go through the signing line, you must purchase a copy of The Snow Queen here at Skylight Books.  Tickets will become available on the day the book is released -- May 6. You can purchase the book and get a ticket in our store, over the phone (at 323-660-1175), or on our website (just leave a note in the "order comments" field that you'd like a ticket).  Members in our Friends with Benefits program get 20% off the event book and a ticket to the priority signing line, so sign up or mention your membership when you buy.  Michael Cunningham's luminous new novel begins with a vision. It's November 2004. Barrett Meeks, having lost love yet again, is walking through Central Park when he is inspired to look up at the sky; there he sees a pale, translucent light that seems to regard him in a distinctly godlike way. Barrett doesn't believe in visions--or in God--but he can't deny what he's seen. At the same time, in the not-quite-gentrified Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, Tyler, Barrett's older brother, a struggling musician, is trying--and failing--to write a wedding song for Beth, his wife-to-be, who is seriously ill. Tyler is determined to write a song that will be not merely a sentimental ballad but an enduring expression of love. Barrett, haunted by the light, turns unexpectedly to religion. Tyler grows increasingly convinced that only drugs can release his creative powers. Beth tries to face mortality with as much courage as she can summon. Michael Cunningham follows the Meeks brothers as each travels down a different path in his search for transcendence. In subtle, lucid prose, he demonstrates a profound empathy for his conflicted characters and a singular understanding of what lies at the core of the human soul. The Snow Queen, beautiful and heartbreaking, comic and tragic, proves again that Michael Cunningham is one of the great novelists of his generation. Michael Cunningham is the author of six novels, including A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours (winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize), Specimen Days, and By Nightfall, as well as Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown. He lives in New York.

Unlovable, Vol. 3 (Fantagraphics Books) OH NO, you did not just get invited to the Unlovable Volume 3 Launch Party, we were just SHOWING you that there is one. Kim said that she and Erick were gonna like, crash it, but we just got these swede pants from the thrift store and new earrings from the Collin Creek Mall---OH FINE, EVERYONE IS INVITED! Skylight Books is proud to host the Unlovable Volume 3 Launch Party with cartoonist Esther Pearl Watson onSunday, May 4th. Summer vacation is here and Tammy Pierce is back with more sometimes ordinary, often humiliating, occasionally poignant, and usually hilarious exploits from the pages of Bust magazine! Her hopes, dreams, agonies, and defeats are brought to vivid, comedic life by Watson's lovingly grotesque drawings, filled with all the eighties essentials - too much mascara, leg warmers with heels, and huge hair, etc. - as well as timeless teen concerns like acne, dandruff, and the opposite sex (or same sex, in some cases). Tammy's life isn't pretty, but it is endlessly endearing and hilarious especially under the pen of Esther Pearl Watson. Esther Pearl Watson lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and fellow artist, Mark Todd. Together they authored the influential D.I.Y. tome, Whatcha Mean, What's A Zine? 

Over Easy (Drawn & Quarterly) Artist and Los Angeles resident, Mimi Pond comes to Skylight Books with her sort-of memoir Over Easy, a brilliant portrayal of a familiar coming-of-age story. After being denied financial aid to cover her last year of art school, Margaret finds salvation from the straightlaced world of college and the earnestness of both hippies and punks in the wisecracking, fast-talking, drug-taking group she encounters at the Imperial Cafe, where she makes the transformation from Margaret to Madge. At first she mimics these new and exotic grown-up friends, trying on the guise of adulthood with some awkward but funny stumbles. Gradually she realizes that the adults she looks up to are a mess of contradictions, misplaced artistic ambitions, sexual confusion, dependencies, and addictions. Over Easy is equal parts time capsule of late 1970s life in California--with its deadheads, punks, disco rollers, casual sex, and drug use--and bildungsroman of a young woman who grows from a naive, sexually inexperienced art-school dropout into a self-aware, self-confident artist. Mimi Pond's chatty, slyly observant anecdotes create a compelling portrait of a distinct moment in time. Over Easy is an immediate, limber, and precise semi-memoir narrated with an eye for the humor in every situation. Praise for Over Easy: "As funny and warm-hearted as a memoir about a bunch of punks, drug dealers, hippies, and art school dropouts screwing in the 1970s can get. Mimi Pond's coming-of-age graphic novel, "Over Easy", is a delicious charmer." --Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins Mimi Pond is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. She has created comics for the Los Angeles Times, Seventeen Magazine, National Lampoon, and many other publications too numerous to mention, and has written and illustrated five humor books. She has also written for television: her credits include the first full length episode of The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" in 1989, and episodes for the television shows Designing Women and Pee Wee's Playhouse. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the painter Wayne White.

Ink Is Thicker Than Water (Entangled Publishing) One of Skylight Books' favorite YA authors returns with a novel about the lengths we go to find out who we are. For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie's the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie's sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger. But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she's sure he's totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn't always a good thing, it's yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control. It'll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom's tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.  Amy Spalding grew up outside of St. Louis. She now lives in Los Angeles with two cats and a dog. She works in marketing and does a lot of improv. She has more tattoos than she can count. Amy would love for you to visit her online at www.theamyspalding.com or on Twitter @theames. 

Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive On Ideas Alone (Grand Central Publishing) Bo Burnham, one of America's most popular young comedians (chosen by Vulture as one of the “50 Comedians You Should and Will Know”) has accomplished quite a lot -- considering he's only 23-years-old.  With three Comedy Central Records albums and an MTV series under his belt, Bo is no doubt a rising star -- and tonight he brings his award-winning brand of brainy word play to Skylight Books with EGGHEAD: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone. Teaming up with his longtime friend, artist, and illustrator Chance Bone (yes, that is his real name), Bo takes on everything from painful breakups to bald barbers to farts in EGGHEAD. Showcasing Bo's utterly original voice, this collection of off-kilter writings, poems, and thoughts makes you think, laugh, and then think, “why did I just laugh?” And like his stand-up and music, EGGHEAD displays surprisingly mature insights. Praise for Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive On Ideas Alone: "You have to be brave to be this hilarious, and this sweetly romantic. And of course, a lot of talent helps. Egghead is a remarkable piece of writing!"--Jack Handey, author of The Stench of Honolulu and the Deep Thoughts series. "Like Walt Whitman, Bo Burnham has made the transition from an internet comedy sensation to a soulful poet. No, not that Walt Whitman. A different guy."--Conan O'Brien "I would love Bo Burnham's hilarious book even if he weren't my son."--Judd Apatow Bo Burnham was a precocious teenager living in his parents' attic when he started posting material on YouTube. One hundred million people viewed those videos, turning Bo into an online sensation with a huge and dedicated following. Bo taped his first of two Comedy Central specials four days after his 18th birthday, making him the youngest to do so in the channel's history (and his new album entitled what. will be released later this year). His MTV series "Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous," a mockumentary which Bo created, wrote, directed, and starred in, premiered in May 2013 to rave reviews. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 5, 2014.

Traveling Sprinkler (Blue Rider Press) We're very excited to host acclaimed and best-selling novelist Nicholson Baker (The Mezzanine, The Anthologist, House of Holes) at Skylight for his new novel, Traveling Sprinkler!  Baker will be in conversation with Los Angeles Times book critic (and author himself) David Ulin. As with all Skylight Books events, this discussion is free and open to the public (first come, first served).  But, because we're expecting a large crowd at this event, we'll be giving out numbered tickets to the signing line to keep things organized.  To get a ticket, you must purchase a copy of Traveling Sprinkler here at Skylight Books.  The tickets will be available starting Tuesday, September 17, when the book goes on sale.  They will be available in-store, or you can order on our website and leave a note in the "Order Comments" field.  We will also hold a ticket for you if you order and pay for a book over the phone.  There's no limit on the number of copies of Traveling Sprinker you can get signed, but we are limiting the number of backlist titles to three per ticket holder.  Thank you for your cooperation! Paul Chowder, the poet protagonist of Nicholson Baker's widely acclaimed novel The Anthologist, is turning fifty-five and missing his ex-girlfriend Roz rather desperately. As he approaches the dreaded birthday, Paul is uninspired by his usual artistic outlet (although he's pleased that his poetry anthology, Only Rhyme, is selling “fairly well in a steady sort of way”).  Putting aside poetry in favor of music, and drawing on his classical bassoon training, Paul turns instead to his new acoustic guitar with one goal in mind: to learn songwriting. As he struggles to come to terms with the horror of America's drone wars and Roz's recent relationship with a doctor whose voice can often be heard on a local NPR station, Paul fills his days with Quaker meetings, Planet Fitness workouts, and some experiments with tobacco.  Written in Baker's beautifully unconventional prose, and scored with musical influences from Debussy to Tracy Chapman to Paul himself, Traveling Sprinkler is an enchanting, hilarious—and very necessary—novel by one of the most beloved and influential writers today. The author has recorded an album of songs in the style of his protagonist.  Check one out here!   Nicholson Baker was born in New York City in 1957 and grew up in Rochester, where he played bassoon in high school and spent a year at the Eastman School of Music before transferring to Haverford College. His first novel, The Mezzanine, was about a man riding an escalator.  His second novel, Room Temperature, was about a man feeding a bottle to his baby.  In his many other works of fiction and nonfiction, he has written about John Updike, about getting up early in the morning, about the inner life of a nine-year-old girl, about the beginnings of the Second World War, and about sex. His book Double Fold, about libraries shedding their paper holdings, won a National Book Critics Circle Award.  His poet protagonist Paul Chowder, who first appeared in The Anthologist, is reintroduced in the forthcoming Traveling Sprinkler, his tenth novel, and fifteenth book overall.  He lives in Maine with his family.