Same Page SF | A rave-reviewed debut, a storytelling competition, and SF ZineFest
Plus a September sneak peek for paid subscribers ♥️
Welcome back to Same Page SF, your home for all things local and literary!
I'm Christina, your friendly, well-informed, and unabashedly nerdy bookseller. Each week, I share and signal-boost author events, book clubs, new releases, and community gatherings happening across our city.
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On to the goings-on!
Leading up to Labor Day Weekend (and coming off Burning Man), it’s a relatively quiet week on the local and literary front - but you’ve still got options! Here’s what you’ll want to attend if:
1) You’re craving a story that mixes sisterhood and history
Gina María Balibrera on The Volcano Daughters at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Monday 8/26, 7pm, free.
Join Gina María Balibrera, along with Lauren Markham, to celebrate her debut novel. The Volcano Daughters follows two Salvadorian sisters and their flight from genocide, which takes them from Hollywood to Paris to San Francisco’s Cannery Row. The New York Times called it “an epic story, a remarkable achievement for a writer making her first foray into the literary landscape.” (Can’t make it? Balibrera will also be at Medicine for Nightmares Wednesday.)
2) You’re ready for a night of storytelling drama
SF StorySlam at Public Works. Tuesday 8/27, 7:30-10:30pm, $15.
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story centered around the night’s theme - which, this time, is the eminently rich concept of comebacks. Get ready for tales of rising from the ashes - or share your own!
3) You love words and pictures, especially together
Liz Climo on Life in the Present at Booksmith. Thursday 8/29, 7pm, free with registration.
Liz Climo worked on The Simpsons for a decade and she’s written and illustrated 15 books and counting, but she’s arguably best known for her charming animal illustrations like this one:
She’s compiled more than 100 into her sweet and zany new collection Life in the Present: A Joyful Collection of Comics about Living in the Moment. As usual, Booksmith offers three tiers - Free, Pay it Forward ($3), and Seat + Book ($23).
4) You’re looking to expand your literary horizons
Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) Reading Series at Green Apple Books on the Park. Friday 8/30, 7pm, free with registration.
Join DVAN for an evening of poetry, memoir, and fiction. Their summer installment of their quarterly reading series, featuring Angie Chau, Lan Duong, Carolyn Huynh, Anastasia Doan Trinh Le, Frank Thanh Nguyen, and Hieu Minh Nguyen, will explore generational shifts in narratives in Vietnamese American literature.
5) You’re a “creator or appreciator” of zines, comics, and DIY culture
SF Zine Fest at City View at Metreon. Sunday 9/1, 11am-5pm, free entry.
Founded in 2001 to celebrate zines, comics, and DIY culture, this year’s SF Zine Fest will feature 200 zine creators - and guest of honor Eddie Ahn, whose graphic memoir Advocate is a national bestseller. The full programming hasn’t been published yet, but last year’s included button-making, screen-printing, and book giveaways. For accessibility, SF Zine Fest is a masked event!
Also
MONDAY Bimonthly meeting of Babes Who Book at Sour Cherry Comics
TUESDAY Poetry workshop with the North Beach Poets Society | Actor Calahan Skogman, best known for his role as Matthias in the Emmy-nominated Netflix show Shadow and Bone, on his debut novel Blue Graffiti via Book Passage Zoom | Meeting of the Sunset Silent Readers | Grotto Night featuring four writers on love and marriage via SFPL Zoom
WEDNESDAY Poet Rusty Morrison and friends on her collection Risk, which explores constraints from a literal and figurative perspective, at Green Apple Books on the Park | Clinical psychologists Diane Ehrensaft, PhD and Michelle Jurkiewicz, PsyD on Gender Explained: A New Understanding of Identity in a Gender Creative World at Book Passage | Storytelling workshop with Corey Rosen of The Moth at Mechanics’ Institute
THURSDAY Journalist and activist Paula Lehman-Ewing on Reimagining the Revolution: Four Stories of Abolition, Autonomy, and Forging New Paths in the Modern Civil Rights Movement at Book Passage | Restaurant critic and food judge Marisel Salazar on Latin-ish: More Than 100 Recipes Celebrating American Latino Cuisines at Omnivore | Literary speakeasy at Martuni’s | 16th & Mission Open Mic
FRIDAY Thinking Captions Zine Reading featuring Eddie Ahn at Silver Sprocket
SATURDAY Kickoff party for SF Zine Fest at Mission: Comics & Art
SUNDAY Afterparty for SF Zine Fest at Silver Sprocket
Local & literary news
Last chance to take advantage of 30% off applicable titles from Berkeley-based Transit Books to celebrate Women in Translation month | One month left to complete the Summer Reading Challenge held by Green Apple Books and Friends & Neighbors | Christopher’s Books has a delightful new display: Novels with Great Opening Lines | Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe is now accepting proposals for 2025 art shows by Bay Area residents; email Jack at artshow@blackbirdsf.com with your artist’s bio, 5-10 images of hangable artwork, and an exhibition outline
Book-adjacent gatherings
Not *about* books, but around them
🧶 The Glen Park SFPL is holding a knitting circle - bring your own knitting, crochet, weaving, or fiber-art project to share and work on with other crafters. All skills welcome! Tuesday 8/27, 1-2:30pm, free.
🐺 The SFPL is welcoming Janet “The Coyote Lady” Kessler, a self-taught naturalist who maps territories of coyote families here in San Francisco. She’ll discuss where they are and what to expect if you see one (though - at least in my neighborhood - it’s less a question of if but when/how many!). Saturday 8/31, 3-4:30pm, free.
☕ Adobe Books & Arts Cooperative is hosting Bay Area Anarchist Coffeehouse for live music, open mic, tarot, and community. Admission is donation-based, with all proceeds to Stop the Sweep SF. Saturday 8/31, 7:30-9:30pm, $5-10 suggested entry.
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As always, if you have questions, ideas, or events to share, I’d love to hear! Just reply to this email.
Cheers,
Christina
Book recommendations Advance notice is my love language.
A perk for paid subscribers: at the start of each month, I include a sneak peek of what’s going on through the rest of it.
September’s always a busy literary month, and this year’s no exception! Read on for the events you’ll want to plan for now:
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