Poetiscape Podcast this Sunday, plus a new event for LA Festival of Books

This Sunday J Ryan Stradal and I will be guests on the Poetiscape Podcast, chatting with Rich Ferguson about Hot Dish and the Los Angeles literary scene.

We'll be taping on Sunday morning and you can tune in to hear it Sunday 2pm PST/5pm EST. Go here to check it out.

Also, on Thursday April 10 Hot Dish will be joining forces with The Rumpus and The Nervous Breakdown to produce an event celebrating the LA Festival of Books, with readings and performances by Gina Frangello, Jerry Stahl, Dana Johnson, xTx, Ted Travelstead, and DJ Mira Gonzalez. For more info, click here.

Hot Dish 12 and an Abandoned Hostess Factory

 

We just celebrated our 12th Hot Dish with a mimosa brunch for more than 100 people last Sunday at 826LA, featuring readings by Zoe Ruiz, Sara Benincasa, Thomas Moore, Cari Lynn, Eric Stolze, and Erin Hickey.  And we were joined by the folks from Book Bound Mobile Library, too.

 

Gillian and Maureen came, too!

 

The Mobile Library

Elina Shatkin serving up Scooby-Doo-shaped pancakes

 

Thank you to Brooke Healy for getting all these wonderful photos!

Last weekend I also did a reading in an abandoned Hostess factory (well, okay, I guess it was just vacated, not abandoned, but that sounds more dramatic).  Curator Martina Dolejsova selected six works of art and architecture and assigned each to a different writer to write a 500-word story inspired by the artwork.  It was incredibly fun to write and to read.

 

Gillian standing on an old factory scale

Thank you, Martina, for organizing this wonderful event!

Hot Dish in the L.A. Weekly

And now we're in the L.A. Weekly!

"Attracting a crowd for a literary event can be tough, but Hot Dish founders Summer Block Kumar and J. Ryan Stradal have found a way to make readings more appetizing: Provide homemade brunch and mimosas."

Come see what everyone is talking about this Sunday at 11:30am.

A Picture Is Worth 500 Words

This Saturday night I'll be reading at this awesome combination of art, architecture, and literature. Check it out!

Hot Dish in Time Out

Thanks to Time Out Los Angeles for highlighting our next Hot Dish.  We'll be serving up brunch (and mimosas) on Sunday, March 16 at 11:30am!  As always, all proceeds go to support the wonderful work of 826LA.

If the winning combination of "day drinking, literature and humanitarian work" sounds good to you, RSVP here!