THE STORY SPOT

I am honoured to have been asked to be a part of Wendy C. Ortiz and Andrea Quaid’s five-year literary triumph, the Rhapsodomancy Reading Series. If you happen to be in Los Angeles in December, come relax to some original contemporary fiction, a few inventive cocktails, and good company.

Rhapsodomancy Announces the Writers Reading on Sunday, December 13th, 2009:

SUSAN TAYLOR CHEHAK
STEVE ABEE
DIANE J. WRIGHT
MEEHAN RASCH

Sunday, December 13, 2009
Doors open at 7:00 – Reading begins at 7:30pm
The Good Luck Bar, 1514 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, 90027
21 and over only.
RSVP at rhapsodomancyla at gmail dot com (RSVP not required, but appreciated)
$3 suggested donation at door.
Proceeds will benefit The Bridge Program at Antioch University Los Angeles.

The Rhapsodomancy Reading Series at The Good Luck Bar, Hollywood

That’s right, book lovers. It’s that time of year once again when the City of West Hollywood throws open its ever-lovin’ arms to welcome readers, writers, and aficionados of all things literary. It’s the 7th annual West Hollywood Book Fair and it’s going to be another beautiful Sunday afternoon in the California sunshine.

More intimate than the splendiferous LA Times Festival of Books, the WeHo Book Fair allows plenty of time and space to leisurely peruse works of local and international authors, chat up your favorites (Bradbury!), take in a spoken word performance or two, nosh and people-watch. All that plus free parking, free shuttle service, and free everything else.

Stop by. Your presence alone shows you care and supports the literary arts in your city.

The West Hollywood Book Fair
Sunday, September 28, 2008
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
West Hollywood Park
647 North San Vicente Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA

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A very exciting project has been happening over at LA Observed, our venerable blog-about-town. Screenwriter Eric Estrin wanted to see what would happen if a group of strangers collaborated publicly on a single screenplay about this, our City of Angels.

He posted a premise, loose guidelines, and an open invitation.
Nineteen writers answered the call and a story was born.

The result, Right of Way, is

…a dark, fictional look at the underbelly of LA transportation politics, complete with glamour, corruption, overweening ambition, betrayal and murder.

And now, THE STORY SPOT has joined the collaboration. What’s not to love?

Read on »

Lists, lists, and more lists! In case you didn’t find what you needed here, try this:

The Los Angeles Times 2008 Summer Reading List compiled by fellow Antioch devotee, Books Editor David Ulin.

They’ve gone crazy again, those politicians. As if cutting funding to schools isn’t enough, they’re rummaging around in the library budgets to ensure an even more ignorant generation than the last.

Fret not! You can do your part to keep the books on the shelves and not sold off in a fire sale, for goodness sake. Here’s the entire appeal from the Library Foundation of Los Angeles:

A drastic cut in the number of books on the shelves and closing libraries on Sundays will be among the effects of the proposed City budget for the Los Angeles Public Library.

Now is the time to voice your support for this essential educational and cultural resource by asking the Mayor and City Council to reverse these devastating cuts to the Library’s budget.

On May 1, the Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to hold public hearings regarding the proposed 2008-2009 City Budget.

We urge you to make your concern known to the Mayor and members of the City Council, whose contact information may be accessed here.

Here’s what you can do:

· E-mail, fax or telephone the mayor or city officials, using the sample letter we have provided for your reference.

· Share these key message points as well as the sample letter with other friends and colleagues who in turn can serve as advocates.

· You or your friends can appear in person at the May 1 public hearings to show your concern with a sign or a T-shirt that indicates your support for restored city funding of the library. Your presence will certainly make a difference. Be sure to check City Hall schedules to confirm day and time of the proposed budget hearings.

By its charter, the Library Foundation is to raise private funds that supplement but do not supplant the City’s responsibility to fund core services. Specifically, the Library Foundation is to fund enhancement programs for children, teens and adults; the City is to fund books, staff, maintenance, security, and infrastructure. Now our city leaders must do their share and meet their obligation to adequately fund the library.

Thank you for your support of the Los Angeles Public Library!

The Library Foundation of Los Angeles

Library Foundation of Los Angeles
630 West Fifth Street
Los Angeles CA 90071
Phone: 213.228.7500
Fax: 213.228.7509
libfnd@yahoo.com
http://www.libraryfoundationla.org