An evening holiday bike ride and talk from one of the nation’s leading bike advocates, the critically acclaimed author of “Joyride,” Mia Birk,  a pioneering bike advocate, visionary government leader, principal of Alta Planning + Design, and Adjunt Professor at Portland State University
5-6 pm: “Joyride” bike ride with Mia from Bikestation in downtown Long [...]

Sunday, October 30 · 6:00pm – 9:00pm
The Southern California Book Release Party for AIM FOR THE HEAD is in full swing! Jeremy Radin, Brendan Constantine, Andy Buell, David Ohlsen, Raundi Moore, Daniel McGinn, Savanah Kondo, and Rick Lupert will be leading this zombie march.
Wear your Halloween costume or come as a zombie!
BRAAAAAAAAINSSSSS!

Event begins at 7pm. Stay tuned for more details.
Join us in welcoming back our great friend and amazing artist, Mr. Blaine Fontana, for the book release event for…
AMALGAMATE

From ZERO+ Publishing:
AMALGAMATE surveys the richly detailed, highly imaginative world of Blaine Fontana. Imbuing his vision with the divine symbolism of religious myths, worldly folklore and current social [...]

Art Show starts at 4pm; Film starts at 8pm.
Introducing WATCH THIS BOOK, a new series of free film screenings celebrating family-friendly classics that are adaptations of beloved literary works! This series – presented by Lola’s Mexican Cuisine , {open}, Laughing Stock Development – will also feature artists and exhibitors, and will take place on the [...]

f you’ve been to the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts festival, you know about its awesomeness, with everything from clothes, home decor accessories and notepads from local handcrafters like the Long Beach Craft Mafia to homemade jams and preserves from folks like the Road Less Traveled Store owner and Patchwork founder Delilah Snell.
If you haven’t [...]

Saturday, June 4 // 8pm // FREE
Join us for the debut readings from the Write Bloody’s Dirty Dozen writing workshop.
Stay tuned for details!

Friday, April 29 // 8-10pm // FREE
A Write Bloody Book Release Party for

Sunset at the Temple of Olives
by Paul Suntup
Featuring performances from
Paul Suntup
and Mindy Nettifee
PLUS … Free olive oil to the first 25 guests!!
About Sunset at the Temple of Olives
Sunset at the Temple of Olives is the first full-length collection of poetry from [...]

Saturday, April 23 // 7-9pm // FREE
Launch party for AIOP (Ashes in Orange Peels) magazine issue one and special edition hom[ep]rairie EP

featuring Joy Shannon and Will Morrison, performing the EP in its entirety

copies of AIOP and the EP will be available for sale ($15)

adelaida by AIOP recordings
hutch fire by AIOP recordings

Book-release party for Greggory Moore’s The Use of Regret
Saturday, March 19 // 7 pm // FREE
The novel is complicated, but the event is simple. Come hang out for a bit, then listen to Greggory’s first-ever reading of a few selections from the 100+ sections of The Use of Regret, afterwhich DJ Bill [...]

Friday, March 11 // 8-11pm // FREE
Release party for
Jason Bowe’s poetry book “All the Pennies Wishes Bring”
and
Eminent Ruth’s EP “Live at the Dark Room”
With performances by
Michael Roberts, Jeremy Radin
Jason Bowe (accompanied on piano and synth by Brenda Carsey)
Eminent Ruth

NOTE! This is a special Monday show!
Monday, April 25 // 7pm // FREE
Book release party for Marie-Elizabeth Mali’s book Steady, My Gaze
Performances by
Marie-Elizabeth Mali
Taylor Mali
and
more
About Mari-Elizabeth Mali – www.floweringlotus.com
Marie-Elizabeth Mali is the author of Steady, My Gaze (Tebot Bach, 2011). She is a co-curator for louderARTS: the Reading Series and Page Meets Stage, both [...]

It’s the launch partay for this “unique spoken word heart change party experience” …
join us for the very first Whirlwind Company performance ever and we’ll all get caught up in some whirlwinds together!
Featuring performances from
Mindy Nettifee (LBC)
Jon Sands (NYC)
Brian Ellis (Boston)
and Mike McGee (Everywhere)

Thursday, Feb 3 // 7:30pm // $5

FREE TREATS AND FREE MATCHES!

Friday, January 28 || 7pm || FREE
{open} and Write Bloody present …
Detroit author Idris Goodwin’s first West Coast book release party!
Idris will be reading from her new book, For These Are The Breaks
Plus performances from Mindy Nettifee and Derrick Brown and the House Party 2 band!
Poetry, hip hop, weirdness, prizes!

Entasis is a new, online literary quarterly based out of Irvine, California.  Their focus is “poetry, with fiction, literary non-fiction, and art at our discretion.”
Join us for the release party for the inaugural issue, Entasis 1: Faustian Falls, celebrating the theme “things we agree to out of desperation.”
Saturday, January 22 || 7pm || FREE

Sat, Dec 11 // 7pm // FREE
We’re celebrating SEVEN years of {open}! We’re also celebrating the holiday season and the end of the year and the beginning of the new one and everything in between.
Featuring The Greater California Holiday Folk Choir, with members of: Miniature Houses / The Fling / Year Zero / EXTRA / [...]

Two Friends Press presents the publication reading of
Tequila Tales: An Anthology of Short Fiction
A collection of stories unified by the presence of the iconic alcoholic beverage, tequila. It spans genres from humor to romance to science fiction to mystery. There are short anecdotes and longer works of creative fiction. Some pieces are gritty while others [...]

Dec 4, 2010 // 7pm // FREE
Members of the UC Irvine MFA program will be reading from their work!
Hear new poems from Austin Ellis and Mike Liaw and new fiction from Jon Keeperman and Tarah Scalzo. Plus … light refreshments!

Sunday, October 17 //7-10pm// $5 suggested donation
Featuring Karen Finneyfrock, Mike McGee, Brian Ellis, Jon Sands and Mindy Nettifee.

Saturday, Oct 2 // 2-4pm // FREE
Join us for a reading and discussion with Pen Farthing, author of One Dog at a Time and founder of the charity Nowzad, with the mission to rescue stray and abandoned animals in Afghanistan and Iraq. They provide and maintain rescue facilities for the care and treatment of the [...]

Gerald Locklin
+
Raindog
7pm // FREE
Gerald Locklin will be reading from Modest Aspirations, new poems by Gerald Locklin and short stories by Beth Wilson, new from Lummox Press.

Long Beach resident Rob Gokee joined the website Twitter as a composer for film and television looking for work. What he found there was that and so much more. In fact, it changed his life … so much so that he wrote a book “In The Belly of the Fail Whale.”
Join us [...]

Fri, July 9 // 8pm // free
Join us for the book release party for Mindy Netifee’s
Rise of the Trust Fall
Details coming forthwith …

mon. june 21 // 8pm // $5
PRISM-index Release Party
Performances by: Castanets + Ohioan + Chris Schlarb
Projections and Presentation by PRISM-index editor Jeffrey Bowers.

sat, june 19 // 8pm // free
Black Candy book release party

music from Alyssandra Nighswonger
poetry from Kyle Moreno and Raul Ruiz
theatre sketch featuring Jasper Oliver + members of the Alive Theatre Co.

plus an art-and-craft storybook workshop!
FREE!

We’re very excited to team up with the lovely Delilah Snell, of the Road Less Traveled store and the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival, to bring you one of her one-of-a-kind workshops!
Delilah will demonstrating how to infuse plain ole’ liquor, like vodka, with fresh, real flavors, like kumquats! The workshop includes all supplies, stuff [...]

We’re kicking off Pride weekend with author Abby Dees, who will be reading and signing her brand-new book, “Queer Questions Straight Talk: 108 Frank, Provocative Questions it’s OK to Ask Your Lesbian, Gay or Bi Loved One.” Plus, she’ll have a very special guest with her to join in on the discussion… her mother, Cathy, [...]

{open}’s 3rd 4th Street anniversary
+
Book release party for Karen Finneyfrock’s Ceremony for the Choking Ghost
with music by Vancouver’s CR Avery
and Jay Buchanan
–
words by
Mindy Nettifee and Derrick Brown
–
apr 3 // 8pm // all ages // $6

Reading from and going-away party for MATTY BYLOOS
also featuring:
- readings from Michael Roberts + Maggie Wells
- visual accompaniment by Josh Atlas
- acoustic performance by The Soft Hands
sat, apr 17 // 8pm // FREE

The Garage Theatre just opened their 2010 season with “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” and to celebrate, we’re teaming up to host an open mic tribute to the poet himself!
It’s pretty simple: Bring your favorite Shel Silverstein poems to read! or just come listen! The folks from The Garage will be on hand to [...]

Share your reflections (i am) or impressions (you are): iamyouare.blog.com
Saturday, February 13 // 8-11pm // free
• Purchase a limited edition signed copy of the book I AM. YOU ARE.
Written by Kevin Staniec and Melanie Moore. Illustrated by Emilio Santoyo.
• Get a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s card drawn by artist Emilio Santoyo.
• Share your personalized I AM or [...]

The Garage Theater presents an evening of Christmas stories! Plus hot cocoa (with marshmallows).
Tuesday, December 15 | 6:30pm | FREE

Join us for the February edition of Second Tuesdays, featuring Alive Theatre!

thurs, oct 9 | 8-10pm
free
book release party for
Radio Silence:
A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music
acoustic performances by Jeff Caudill + Popeye | drinks by Independent Truck Co.
www.radiosilencebook.com
(Check out the New York release party’s hilarious result on Craigslist!)
 
 

{open} is turning 5! Join us Saturday, December 13 for our fifth anniversary party featuring super-special performances, including Derrick C. Brown, the dublab djs, Greater California and Free Moral Agents.

Please join us for this special literary event on
Sunday, December 17th
@ 2pm with the release of “Book by Authors”

‘Book by Authors’ is an anthology of creative works by local writers and artists. Presented by the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, Book by Authors [...]