Same Page SF | Fantasy, romance, and a book-sale block party

Plus, our inaugural book club meeting!

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 summarize and signal-boost author events, book clubs, and new releases happening across our city.

It’s another great week to be a reader in San Francisco. Here’s what you’ll want to attend if:

1) You’re intrigued by this teaser: “She went to Hell and returned to life. Hell was the easy part.” 

Ilana DeBare on Shaken Free at Green Apple Books on the Park and via Zoom. Wednesday 6/4, 7pm, free. 

Join Oakland-based author Ilana DeBare to celebrate the release of Shaken Free, a contemporary fantasy set in an unjust and unraveling Hell, Heaven, and - intriguingly - Mill Valley; Michael David Lukas called it “magical, satirical, and full of insight about what makes us human.” It’s a standalone sequel to her debut Shaken Loose, and she’s generously gifted two sets to Same Page readers! Enter the giveaway here.

2) You’re looking to write in community

Black Bird is hosting their monthly after-hours writing club - work solo for an hour, then mingle over wine, tea, and snacks (Wednesday 6/4, 7-9pm, $10). And earlier in the day, Andrea A. Firth, who runs Diablo Writers’ Workshop in the East Bay, holds her weekly community co-write over Zoom. Kick off with intros and intention-setting, then settle in for dedicated writing time and a closing check-in (6/4, 9:15-11:30am, free). 

3) You probably do definitely don’t have enough books

Friends of the SFPL Book Sale Block Party on Potrero Hill. Saturday 6/7, 12-5pm, free with RSVP. 

If the massive selection of 12k+ books, comics, and vinyls for sale (!) haven’t convinced you, allow me to introduce the block-party festivities: a live DJ, a Kids Zone, and author talks and readings. Plus, enjoy plenty of food, drinks, and good vibes - especially for Friends of the Library, who get 10% off all purchases and presale access starting at 11am.

4) You want a swoonworthy Sunday

Day of Wine + Romance with Jasmine Guillory at Saintsbury Winery. Sunday 6/8, 4:30-6:30pm, $65 (includes Flirting Lessons). 

Join bestselling author Jasmine Guillory - hailed by Oprah as the “reigning queen of contemporary romance novels” - for an afternoon at Saintsbury’s tasting room. Sample the winery’s latest offerings, snack on small bites, and hear about her brand-new queer romance Flirting Lessons, appropriately set in Napa Valley! Your ticket gets you a signed copy, plus 20% off all bottles of wine - and the warm fuzzies of supporting the Litquake Foundation.

5) You’re showing up for book club!

Same Page x Black Bird Book Club at Black Bird Bookstore and Cafe. Sunday 6/8, 7pm, free with RSVP.  

It’s finally here: the first meeting of the Lit Fic Book Club, a long-time-coming partnership between Same Page and Black Bird! Each month, we’ll select a discussion-worthy novel with a connection to San Francisco, whether through the topic or the author. 

This Sunday, we’ll gather to discuss Tilt - a propulsive debut about natural disaster, motherhood, and what it really means to be prepared - by climate journalist turned novelist Emma Pattee, who’ll be joining for the second half of the conversation.

Everyone’s welcome - there’s no pressure to buy the book from Black Bird, but if you do, you’ll get a free cafe drink with your purchase. Hope to see you there!

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Excited about one of this week’s features? Invite a bookish friend or two to join you (or more, but let’s be real, we’re all introverts here).

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Let’s keep Same Page going, together.

Same Page is a labor of love, but it’s still a labor! I’m committed to continuing it as long as possible, but for that to happen, I at least need revenue to cover the cost of childcare. Otherwise, I’m basically paying to write Same Page.

What that means: I’ve given myself until July to hit 200 paid subscribers. I’m enormously grateful to the 70+ readers who’ve chipped in - THANK YOU. I’m encouraged by your support and kind words:

I'm grateful to you for doing time-consuming but necessary work to help strengthen the fabric of the Bay Area's in-person literary community.

However, we’re entering June and pretty far from that goal. So I’m trying something new!

Paid subscribers will now have full access to the ALSO section - a comprehensive overview, organized by day, of everything local and literary going on that week. They’ll also enjoy BOOK-ADJACENT GATHERINGS - not about books, but around them.

So if you’re up for trivia, launch parties, dumpling workshops, and free ice cream, read on!

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Also

MONDAY Rainbow Zebra presents Reading Series: Magic Classics at Fort Mason Center

TUESDAY  Poetry reading by Jessica Loos and Cara Vida, followed by open mic, at Bird & Beckett  |  Telle Whitney, cofounder of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, on Rebooting Tech Culture at Book Passage  |  Design Trivia Night at Specs’ via William Stout Architectural Books 

WEDNESDAY  Presentation on Frankenstein as gothic literature at SFPL Main in conjunction with their new exhibition  |  Panel on women’s voices and the path to publishing later in life at Bookshop West Portal  |  Beth Le Manach on Entertaining 101 at Book Passage  |  Harvard Design Magazine #52 celebration and discussion at Transamerica Pyramid Annex Gallery