Shaping the Future of Literary California

Gather with us for a literary afternoon on the coastline with The Center for California Literature. We will be hosting a panel discussion with some of the country's leading writers, literary critics, and arts administrators in order to discuss the future of the literary arts in California and the urgent need for structural change. After the panel discussion, we will open the room to community feedback—because all ideas are needed in order to build the future of literary California together. This event is part of the Center’s broader mission to build a more vibrant and accessible literary arts ecosystem. Come be part of the movement shaping California’s literary future.

Myriam Gurba is a writer and activist. Her first book, the short story collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. O, the Oprah Magazine ranked her true-crime memoir Mean as one of the “Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” Her recent essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award for Criticism and won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction.

Anahid Nersessian is a literary critic and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of three books—Keats's Odes: A Lover's Discourse (Verso, 2022; U of Chicago P, 2021), The Calamity Form: On Poetry and Social Life (Chicago, 2020), and Utopia, Limited: Romanticism and Adjustment (Harvard UP, 2015)—and is currently writing a book called How to Have Sex in a Poem, under contract with FSG. The former poetry editor of Granta magazine, she is also a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books.

Daniel Reid is an Associate Director at Getty Foundation, where he oversees local, national, and international grantmaking to the arts. Reid previously served as executive director of the Whiting Foundation in New York, where he revitalized the foundation’s programs and operations. During his decade of leadership, Whiting launched multiple new programs dedicated to literature, the humanities, and education.

Luis J. Rodriguez has 16 books authored across genres, including the best-selling memoir, Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. Among his many awards and fellowships, includes a California Arts Council Legacy Fellowship and a Los Angeles Times' Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award. Luis is founding editor of Tia Chucha Press.

By registering for this event, you’ll be subscribed to both the City of Santa Monica Arts & Culture and The Center for California Literature newsletter.

Getting Here

The Annenberg Community Beach House is located at 415 Pacific Coast Hwy. Parking is available for $3 per hour or $8 per day. Please pay for parking at the machine upon your arrival. Exact change cash and credit cards are accepted. Ample bike parking is available; please bring a lock.

Access

The Annenberg Community Beach House is wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. Two beach wheelchairs will be available for this activity. To reserve, call Guest Services at (310) 458-4904 or email [email protected]. For disability related accommodations, please call Guest Services at (310) 458-4904.

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