Skylight Books Podcast Series

Serpant's Storm (Ace) by Benson; The Wise Man's Fear (Daw) by Rothfuss

Authors Patrick Rothfuss and Amber Benson will be vigorously debating urban fantasy vs epic fantasy, as well at taking questions and chatting about whatever else comes to mind. We're excited to have these two creative folks here at Skylight Books to do one of our rare Speculative Fiction events. Patrick Rothfuss burst onto the fantasy literature scene with the 2007 publication of his debut novel The Name of the Wind.  This first book of a planned three-book epic fantasy series called The Kingkiller Chronicle drew comparisons to the works of several of the top modern writers in the genre as well as the groundbreaking classic The Lord of the Rings. Readers quickly caught on to Rothfuss and as word of The Name of the Wind spread, he developed a cult-like following, attracting big crowds at bookstores and convention appearances. The paperback edition of The Name of the Wind debuted on the New York Times Mass Market Paperback Bestseller List and has been consistently selling ever since. At 700 pages, The Name of the Wind took Rothfuss seven years to write, and readers have been waiting to enjoy its highly anticipated sequel for four long years. The Wise Man’s Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day Two (DAW) was published on March 1st, 2011 and debuted at #1 on the New York Times Hardcover bestseller list. Patrick Rothfuss teaches at the college he grew to love as a student, and acts as advisor for the College Feminists and the local Fencing Club. When not reading and writing, Pat wastes his time playing video games, holds symposia at his house, and dabbles with alchemy in his basement. Amber Benson's Calliope Reaper Jones series published by Ace Books is an action-packed adventure that demonstrates Benson’s colorful imagination and wit. Not only is she a talented actress and a wonderful writer, she also produces and directs her own work!  She co-created, co-wrote, and directed the animated supernatural web-series Ghosts of Albion with Christopher Golden, followed by a series of novels including Witchery and Accursed, and the novella Astray.  Benson and Golden also co-authored the novella The Seven Whistlers.  As an actress, she has appeared in dozens of roles in feature films, TV movies, and television series, including the fan favorite role of Tara Maclay on three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Benson wrote, produced, and directed the feature films Chance and Lovers, Liars, and Lunatics. Photo of Patrick Rothfuss by Jamie Rothfuss. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS APRIL 8, 2011.

Black Clock 13

An amazing lineup of writers -- Aimee Bender, Janet Fitch, Jonathan Lethem, Susan Straight, and Lisa Teasley --  will read from their pieces in Black Clock 13, the latest issue of this great literary journal.  Author Steve Erickson, Black Clock's editor, will moderate.

Aimee Bender is the author of four books; the most recent is The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, winner of the SCIBA award. Her short fiction has been published in Granta, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, Black Clock and more, as well as heard on "This American Life" and "Selected Shorts."

Janet Fitch is the author of Paint it Black and White Oleander, an Oprah's Book Club selection from which a 2002 motion picture was made starring Michelle Pfeiffer. Her fourth novel will be published next year. Fitch teaches writing at the University of Southern California.

Jonathan Lethem has written eight novels, including Girl in Landscape and Chronic City, and four collections of stories and essays, including the forthcoming The Ecstacy of Influence. His monograph on John Carpenter's They Live was published in November last year. He's lived in New York, Vermont, Oakland, Toronto, and now Los Angeles.

Susan Straight’s new novel is Take One Candle Light a Room, named one of the best novels of 2010 by The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Kirkus. Highwire Moon was a Finalist for the 2001 National Book Award, and A Million Nightingales was a 2006 Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. Her short story "The Golden Gopher," a chapter in the novel, won the 2008 Edgar Award for best Mystery Story. She has published stories and essays in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Harpers, Salon, Zoetrope, McSweeneys, The Believer, Black Clock, and elsewhere. She was born in Riverside, California, where she lives with her family, whose history is featured on susanstraight.com.

Lisa Teasley is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Heat Signature and Dive, and the award-winning story collection, Glow in the Dark, all published by Bloomsbury. Lisa Teasley is writer and presenter of the BBC television documentary "High School Prom," and currently teaches poetry and fiction at UC Riverside.

Steve Erickson is the Editor of Black Clock. He is the author of eight novels, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007. In 2010 he was nominated for the National Magazine Award for his film criticism and was the recipient of one of seven awards in literature given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His novel novel These Dreams of You will be published in early 2012 by Europa.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 13, 2011.

Injuring Eternity (World Nouveau)

Millicent Borges Accardi will read and sign her most recent poetry collection, Injuring Eternity. Millicent Borges Accardi, a Portuguese-American poet, is the author of two books: Woman on a Shaky Bridge (Finishing Line Press chapbook) and Injuring Eternity (World Nouveau). She has received literary fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the California Arts Council, Barbara Deming Foundation, and was a Formby Fellow at Texas Tech, researching the work of writer-activist Kay Boyle.  Millicent’s work has appeared in Nimrod, Tampa Review, New Letters, and Wallace Stevens Journal, as well as in Boomer Girls (Iowa Press) and Chopin with Cherries (Moonrise Press) anthologies. Residencies include Yaddo, Jentel, Vermont Studio, Fundación Valparaíso in Mojacar, and Milkwood in Cesky Krumlov. She received degrees in English and writing from CSULB, holds an MPW (1993) from USC and works as a freelance writer (theater reviews, grants and instructional design). THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 10, 2011.

If You're Not Yet Like Me (Flatmancrooked)

Edan Lepucki, a writer for book blog The Millions (and a former Skylight staffer!) presents her acclaimed debut novella. "Edan Lepucki's sly, smart novella is never quite a love story—in fact, rarely has the edict 'only connect' seemed more difficult to enact than among her small tribe of underachievers.  Sex, however, retains its reliable consequences.  And therein lies the beauty and the gut punch of this sneaky, deft book. "  --Michelle Huneven, author of Blame "If You’re Not Like Yet Like Me tells quite a few damn good jokes before it decides to twist your heart apart. Gracefully written, barbed and biting; a touching meditation on the mistakes we make before meeting the ones who truly deserve our love.  --Victor LaValle, author of Big Machine Edan Lepucki is a staff writer for The Millions. She is a fiction writer and instructor living in Los Angeles, and her stories have been published in Narrative Magazine, Meridian, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, among others. She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and an excerpt of her recently-completed novel, The Book of Deeds, won the 2009 James D. Phelan Award. Her novella, If You're Not Yet Like Me, is newly published by Flatmancrooked. Learn more about her writing classes at writingworkshopsla.com. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 20, 2010.

Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir (Monster Girl Media)

A launch party for this new book -- "a love letter to those who've hit the skids but clawed back to kick the world in the crotch . . . tenderly" -- from self-proclaimed monster girl Erika Lopez.

Erika Lopez lives a much too happy life in San Francisco being the sidekick to her two best friends, Mark and Mary. They all live on the same block. They walk big, leaky dogs and forget to whisper when they talk about other people's butts. Previously she launched "Lap Dancing for Mommy" into the world and her new book is "They Call Me Mad Dog!: A Story for Bitter, Lonely People, " but that won't be all. She's got plans. Big plans for big girls in little clothes.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 18, 2010.

Mary Ann in Autumn: A Tales of the City Novel (Harper)

Armistead Maupin, author of the Tales of the City novels, returns to Skylight to read from and sign his latest, Mary Ann in Autumn! "Perhaps the most sublime piece of popular literature America has ever produced … As with the Beatles, everyone seems to like Maupin's Tales – and, really, why would you want to find someone who didn't?" --Laura Miller, The Salon.com Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Authors Armistead Maupin is the author of the Tales of the City series, of which Mary Ann in Autumn is the eighth book and which includes Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You and Michael Tolliver Lives. Three television miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. Maupin is also the author of Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener, the latter of which became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. A stage musical version of Tales of the City will have its world premiere at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in May 2011. Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner. Photo of the author by Christopher Turner. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 11, 2010.

Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae (Titan Books)

A launch party for the new photo book by Kim Gottlieb-Walker! The photographer will discuss and sign her book of rare and never-before-seen photos of Bob Marley and other reggae musicians and producers.

Kim Gottlieb-Walker’s incredibly varied career has covered everything from classic rock and roll, reggae and politics in the 60’s and 70’s to working on major motion pictures and television shows. While still at UCLA (where she received a BA in Motion Picture production) and shortly thereafter, she shot for underground LA newspapers and magazines like Crawdaddy and Music World. Her classic portrait of Jimi Hendrix was shot when she was only 20 and her High Times cover of Bob Marley remains their most popular cover ever.  She also shot the stills for John Carpenter’s Halloween, The Fog, Christine and Escape from New York and worked at Paramount for nine years as the production photographer for Cheers and five years for Family Ties.

In 1975 and 1976 she covered Bob Marley both in California (behind the scenes, in interviews and performances) and at his home in Jamaica as well as traveling all over Jamaica to document reggae musicians and producers. Those rarely and never-before-seen photos appear in her new book Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae which includes commentary by writer/director Cameron Crowe, her husband Jeff Walker (who was the national director of publicity for Island Records in the USA in the '70s) and reggae historian Roger Steffens.

She has served as one of the elected representatives for still photographers on the National Executive Board of IATSE Local 600, the International Cinematographers Guild for over two decades.

Her website is  www.Lenswoman.com

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 7, 2010.

Air Kissing on Mars (Red Hen Press)

Local poet Kim Dower will read and sign her new collection, Air Kissing on Mars. "Kim Dower writes jazzy, sassy, sexy poems that move fast, are full of surprise and tweak the heartstrings like Arkhipovsky tweaks the balalaika.: --Stephen Dobyns "Kim Dower's poetry is absolutely charming and compelling. She combines humor and heartbreak, while exploring the personal and universal. Her poems are both accessible and profound. What I love most is that the poet herself is so present in her images and emotions. What a big, beautiful, generous, and funny heart she has!" --Lisa See Kim Dower grew up in New York on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and received a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston. Upon graduating, Kim stayed at Emerson where she taught Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry for two years before moving to Los Angeles where she pursued other writing projects and began her own literary publicity company called Kim-from-L.A., the name for which she has become famous in the world of book publishing. Kim’s poetry has appeared in Ploughshares, The Seneca Review, and in the on-line video magazine, Guerilla Reads. She lives with her family in West Hollywood, California.

The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Are So Important in a Distracted Time (Sasquatch Books)

Los Angeles Times book critic David L. Ulin will discuss and sign his new boook on the importance of reading in a digital culture, The Lost Art of Reading. Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions — why is literature important? What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them on screen — it doesn’t matter. The key is the act of reading, the seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is not one's own. Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, pages. David L. Ulin was book editor of the Los Angeles Times from 2005–2010. He is the author of The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith (Viking, 2004; Penguin, 2005), selected as a Best Book of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune. He has edited two anthologies of Southern California literature: Another City: Writing from Los Angeles (City Lights, 2001), a Los Angeles Times Book Review Best Book of 2001; and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology (Library of America, 2002), which received a California Book Award from the Commonwealth Club of California, and was selected by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as a Best of the Best for 2002. He has written for The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, LA Weekly, Los Angeles, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered; his essay "The Half-Birthday of the Apocalypse" was nominated for a 2004 Pushcart Prize. For the 2008–2009 academic year, he was a visiting professor in the MFA in creative writing program at the California Institute of the Arts. Currently, he teaches in USC's Masters of Professional Writing program, and in the low residency MFA in creative writing program at the University of California, Riverside's Palm Desert Graduate Center. Photo of the author by Noah Ulin. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 27, 2010.

Full Frontal Nudity: The Making of an Accidental Actor (Scribner)

Actor Harry Hamlin (LA Law) will discuss and sign his highly entertaining new memoir Full Frontal Nudity. "Hamlin’s life has been filled with drama in more ways than one, and his skill at colorful, vibrant storytelling makes this a rewarding read." —Publishers Weekly Harry Hamlin is an American film and television actor. Born in Pasadena, California, he attended the University of California at Berkeley, Yale University, and the American Conservatory Theater. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Lisa Rinna, and their children, all of whom appear in the new reality show Harry Loves Lisa, which debuts on TV Land in October 2010. Photo of the author by Dana Patrick. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 24, 2010.

The Reversal (Little, Brown & Co.)

Michael Connelly returns to Skylight to read from and sign his new novel The Reversal, in which lawyer Mickey Haller and LAPD detective Harry Bosch reunite for another case! Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of the Harry Bosch mystery novels as well as the recent #1 bestsellers The Lincoln Lawyer, The Brass Verdict, and The Scarecrow. He is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels. He divides his time between California and Florida. Photo of the author by Miriam Berkley. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 18, 2010.

Make Me a Woman (Drawn & Quarterly)

Vanessa Davis will discuss and sign her new graphic novel, Make Me a Woman. "In fact, if you don’t like [Vanessa Davis], you don’t like anything good." —Vice "What distinguishes Davis's take is a reflective hunger for meaning and connection in the very mundane." —Bust "Vanessa Davis’s autobiographical slice-of-life drawings are both totally relatable and sweetly surreal." —Bitch Vanessa Davis is the award-winning cartoonist of the graphic novel and minicomic, Spaniel Rage. Her new Drawn & Quarterly book Make Me A Woman was serialized online for Tablet Magazine and will confirm Vanessa's spot as one of the leading cartoonist and humorists of her generation. Using beautiful watercolors, refreshing honesty and humor, her comics made an immediate impression and have appeared in such anthologies as Kramers Ergot, Best American Comics, Stuck in the Middle, Papercutter and An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons and True Stories. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 13, 2010.

Half a Life by Strauss; The Instructions by Levin (both books published by McSweeney's)

Darin Strauss, author of More Than It Hurts You, will discuss and sign his heartbreaking memoir about how one outing in his father's Oldsmobile during his last month of high school resulted in the death of a classmate and the beginning of a different, darker life for the author. Joining him, Adam Levin will read and sign his new novel, The Instructions, which begins with a chance encounter with the beautiful Eliza June Watermark and ends, four days and 900 pages later, with the Events of November 17; this is the story of Gurion Maccabee, age ten: a lover, a fighter, a scholar, and a truly spectacular talker.

Advance praise for Half a Life: “Half a Life is the best anything I’ve read—novel, memoir, story—in a very long time. Incredibly, it’s also the most moving."  —David Lipsky, author of Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself “This book will break your heart. It’s a great and moving book about a boy becoming a man, and it belongs on the shelf with just a precious few others—The Catcher in the Rye, The Moviegoer, Joe Gould’s Secret. It should be read and re-read. It’s a treasure.”  —Rich Cohen, author of Tough Jews and Sweet and Low Advance praise for The Instructions: "A great big novel, shaggy and undisciplined, but with moments of brilliance." —Publishers Weekly "The Instructions is a sizzling fire-cracker of a book. Readers beware: you will not be able to put this book down, you will not be able to get ten-year old Gurion Maccabee's fevered voice out of your head, and you will not be able to read anything else for like six months without thinking back to this book. The Instructions is a thrilling hurricane of an epic—1,000 pages that takes places over a mere four days—and it will chew you up and spit you out and you will be better for it." —Rachel Meier, Booksmith (San Francisco, CA) Darin Strauss is the best-selling author of Chang & Eng, The Real McCoy, and More Than It Hurts You. The recipient of a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship in fiction writing and -numerous other awards, Strauss’s work has been translated into fourteen langauges, and published in over twenty countries. He is a Clinical Associate professor of Writing at New York University. Adam Levin's stories have appeared in Tin House, McSweeney's, and Esquire. Winner of the 2003 Tin House/Summer Literary Seminars Fiction Contest and the 2004 Joyce Carol Oates Fiction Prize, Levin holds an MA in Clinical Social Work from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University. His collection of short stories, Hot Pink, will be published by McSweeney's in 2011. He lives in Chicago, where he teaches writing at Columbia College and The School of the Art Institute.

Richard Yates (Melville House)

We're thrilled to have Tao Lin here for the first time, to read and sign his new novel, Richard Yates (yes, named after the famous author of Revolutionary Road). Several of his books have staff recommendations here, and we're really looking forward to this new one! Tao Lin was born in 1983, and raised in Orlando, Florida. In 2007 Melville House published his first two works of fiction, the short story collection Bed, and the novel Eeeee Eee Eeee, simultaneously. And in 2008, published his poetry collection, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. It has been assigned as a text book in several college-level psychology courses. In 2009, Melville House published his novella Shoplifting From American Apparel. His books have been translated into German, Spanish, Japanese, Norwegian, and Serbian. He lives in Brooklyn. Photo of the author by Noah Kalina. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 30 ,2010.

The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women (Knopf)

James Ellroy returns to Skylight to discuss and sign his new memoir, The Hilliker Curse! James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. His L.A. quartet -- The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz -- were international bestsellers. American Tabloid was Time's Novel of the Year in 1995; his memoir My Dark Places was Time's Best Book and a New York Times Notable book for 1996. His novel The Cold Six Thousand was a New York Times Notable Book and Los Angeles Times Best Book for 2001. He lives on the coast of California. Photo of the author by Marion Ettlinger. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 24, 2010.