Skylight Books Author Reading Series

In This House (Turtle Point Press)

Poet Howard Altmann will read and sign his new poetry collection, In This House.

"Howard Altmann interrogates the sky, the light, the world, about their intentions. If he seldom finds reassuring answers, he finds something better: 'When all that consoled consoles no longer / loneliness finds a room inside the one it knows.' These poems are as essential as a glass of water." --John Ashbery

Howard Altmann's work has appeared in many journals including most recently the New England Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry. In This House is his second book of poems. He is also the author of The Johnsons & The Thompsons (Playscripts 2008). Born and raised in Montreal, he has earned degrees from McGill and Stanford.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 30, 2010.

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The Lovers (Ecco)

Vendela Vida returns to Skylight Books to read from and sign her new novel, The Lovers.

Vendela Vida is the author of Girls on the Verge, a non-fiction investigation of the rituals that help American girls develop their adult identities, and two novels, the New York Times Notable Book Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name and And Now You Can Go. She is co-editor of The Believer magazine, and lives in Northern California with her husband and children.

Photo of the author by Chloe Aftel.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 29,2010.

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Sick City (Harper Perennial)

Tony O'Neill will return to Skylight Books to read from and sign his newest novel, Sick City!

"Sick City is fun, twisted and brutal. One of the best books written about LA in a long time. O’Neill could be our generation’s Jim Thompson." --James Frey (A Million Little Pieces, Bright Shining Morning)

"Fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Warren Ellis will cherish this twisted tale." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Tony O'Neill writes about the Hollywood I know as well as any writer alive. His characters are a punch in the face, scorchingly real. His dialogue is note-perfect and could only have been lived in the moment-by-moment life of one who has sat on a curb and pondered his next jive and shuck while searching for cigarette butts." --Dan Fante (Chump Change, Mooch, Spitting Off Tall Buildings)

Tony O'Neill’s books include Digging the Vein, Down and Out on Murder Mile, and the New York Times bestselling Hero of the Underground (which he co-authored).  He is also the co-author of Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, by Cherie Currie.  O'Neill's essays, poems, and short stories have appeared extensively online and in print. He is a survivor of heroin addiction, crack abuse, rehab, fatherhood, and stints in the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Kenickie, and Marc Almond's band. He lives in New York with his wife and daughter.

THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS ON JULY 28, 2010.

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Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby (Soft Skull Press)

Meet two of L.A.'s own Derby Dolls, Alex Cohen a.k.a. Axles of Evil (also of KPCC renown) and Jenny Barbee a.k.a Kasey Bomber, as they discuss and sign their new book on roller derby, Down and Derby!

Alex “Axles of Evil” Cohen is the host of "All Things Considered" on KPCC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to National Public Radio.

Jennifer “Kasey Bomber” Barbee writes for Blood and Thunder magazine and is a longtime staffer of the WGA.

Both authors have skated with the L.A. Derby Dolls since 2003 and live in Los Angeles.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 26, 2010.

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Door to the River: Essays and Reviews from the 1960s into the Digital Age (Black Sparrow Books)

On the occasion of the release of this new book of nonfiction by the acclaimed writer Aram Saroyan, and the fortieth anniversary of Black Sparrow Press, we're pleased to present Aram Saroyan in conversation with Black Sparrow publisher David Godine.

Aram Saroyan is an internationally known poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright. The recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts poetry awards (one of them for his

controversial one-word poem "lighght"). Saroyan is a past president of PEN USA West and a current faculty member of the Masters of Professional Writing Program at USC. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the painter Gailyn Saroyan.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 22, 2010.

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Deadliest Sea: The Untold Story Behind the Greatest Rescue in Coast Guard History (William Morrow)

A launch party for local author Kalee Thompson and her new nonfiction book Deadliest Sea, about the tragic sinking of the Alaska Ranger, and one of the most remarkable rescue missions in maritime history.

Kalee Thompson is a freelance writer who covers science, the environment, and the outdoors. She was formerly an editor at Popular Science and National Geographic Adventure, and her work has appeared in Women’s Health, Wired, and Popular Mechanics. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.  Visit www.deadliestsea.com.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 20, 2010.

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