Wednesday 10/15: Litquake continues with another day of tough decisions! French author Marc Levy is in conversation with SF Chronicle book editor John McMurtrie ($5, 6 p.m., Modernism Gallery).
A panel discussion with Steve McQuiddy, Vladimir Dupre, and Steve Dickison, celebrating McQuiddy’s recent book Here on the Edge, which is the story of a World War II conscientious objectors camp on the Oregon Coast that became a center of activity for artists and writers and a major influence on the Beat Generation and beyond (Free, 7 p.m., City Lights).
Macondo in San Francisco: A Tribute to Colombian Novelist Gabriel García Márquez features Rebecca Solnit and Héctor Hoyos, hosted by SF Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía and KPOO announcer Chelis López (Free, 7 p.m., SFPL, Mission Branch).
An evening with Nicholson Baker, in conversation with Steve Winn ($10, 7 p.m., Z Space).
The Poetry World Series features two teams of poets going head to head on a theme, announced by the moderator (in this case, Daniel Handler). Poets include Ellen Bass, Victoria Chang, Mark Bibbins, Gillian Conoley, Kevin Killian, Cate Marvin, Indigo Moor, Tomás Q. Morín, and Chad Sweeney ($5, 7 p.m., The Make-Out Room).
Dark and Stormy: Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass is in conversation with translator Malena Mörling about The Star By My Head, a new anthology of eight contemporary Swedish poets (Free, 7 p.m., Green Apple Books on the Park).
Lyrics and Dirges features Miquila Alejandre, Carlota Caulfield, T. Geronimo Johnson, Siamak Vossoughi, and Sandra Wassilie (Free, 7:30 p.m., Pegasus Books Downtown).
Thursday 10/16: A heady quintet of storytellers converge for Lit on the Lake: Opal Palmer Adisa, Novella Carpenter, Joseph Di Prisco, Heather Mackey, and Nayomi Munaweera (6 p.m., $5-10, Lake Chalet).
Estonian poet Kristiina Ehin read from her new book Walker on Water (Free, 6 p.m., Book Passage Ferry Building).
MFA Mixer 2.0 returns to Litquake with readings by a lineup that includes Jennifer Lewis, Candance Eros Diaz, Trinidad Escobar, and Alex Gilliam (Free, 6:30 p.m., Cat Club).
Hollie Hardy’s annual Flight of Poets event pairs poets and wines, with the help of sommelier Christopher Sawyer. This year: Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Major Jackson, James Ragan, Tera Vale Ragan, Chad Sweeney, and Arisa White ($20, 7 p.m., Hotel Rex).
Hot Flash Fiction: Steamy, Sexy, Super-Short Original Fiction by Women Old Enough to Know Better features readings by a dozen writers, including Beth Lisick, Molly Giles, Ellen Sussman, and April Sinclair ($10, 7 p.m., Z Space).
Maggie Nelson reads as part of the Center for Literary Arts series (Free, 7 p.m., San Jose State University).
David Henry Sterry hosts Smart Smut: A Celebration of Baghdad by the Bay Doing the Nasty, with Sherilyn Connelly, Nina Hartley, Scott James, Richard Martin, Dylan Ryan, and Madison Young ($7, 8 p.m., The Make-Out Room).
Poets Maw Shein Win, Inna Nopuente, Joyce Jenkins, Kristen Hanlon, Sharon Coleman, and Jennifer Arcuni read poetic responses to “Silences,” a series of monotypes by Barry Ebner (Free, 6 p.m., FM).
Friday 10/17: Shaken and Stirred: An Evening of True-Life Tales Making the 25th Anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake features JD Beltran, Frank Jordan, Gary Kamiya, Josh Kornbluth, C.W. Nevius, Johny Steele, and Ethan Waters ($15, 4:30 p.m., Alfred’s Steakhouse).
Gabrielle Calvocoressi and Maggie Nelson read as part of the Re@ds series ($7, 5:30 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum).
Andrew Sean Greer reads as CCA’s MFA Program in Writing Master Writer in Residence (Free, 6 p.m., Timken Lecture Hall).
A Tribute to Octavio Paz w/Rafael Vargas marks the poet’s 100th birthday, with conversation between Paz scholar Rafael Vargas and Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Free, 6 p.m., The Mexican Art Museum).
Parisian Lola Lafon performs a passage from We Are the Birds of the Coming Storm ($5, 6 p.m., Modernism Gallery).
Italy’s Paolo Giordano reads from his novel The Human Body (Free, 6:30 p.m., Italian Cultural Institute).
Litquake presents the annual Barbary Coast Award to Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida on behalf of McSweeney’s and beyond, with live music by Harper Simon and Alexei Wajchma, a special performance by Arthur Bradford, and the first live reading of a screenplay by Boots Riley ($15, 8 p.m., Z Space).
Lauren Becker is in town from Austin and will celebrate her superb collection of stories If I Would Leave Myself Behind (Free, 7 p.m., E.M. Wolfman General Interest Small Bookstore).
Saturday 10/18: The Art of Poetry is a panel with Elizabeth Block, Robin Ekiss, Judy Halebsky, Roxane Beth Johnson, and Zack Rogow, followed by a Q&A ($8, 11 a.m., Z Space).
The Art of the Short Story is a panel with Molly Antopol, Lorraine Babb, Nona Caspers, Michelle Richmond, and Namwali Serpell ($8, 1 p.m., Z Space).
The Art of the Novel is a panel with Richard Kadrey, Yiyun Li, Kathryn Ma, Joshua Mohr, and Angela Pneuman, followed by a Q&A ($8, 3 p.m., Z Space).
Lit Crawl features 101 events in 3.5 hours, all in the Mission district. The three phases begin at 6 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. (Free). The Rumpus will be at the Make Out Room from 8:30–9:30 PM! With readings from Molly Antopol, Courtney Moreno, and Maisha Z. Johnson, comedy by Nato Green and Bucky Sinister, and music by the incomparable Jane Lui. Check out our Facebook event page to RSVP. See you there!
Sunday 10/19: Diane di Prima launches her first full length collection of all-new poems in decades, The Poetry Deal, with QR Hand and pianist Walter Earl (Free, 2 p.m., Bird & Beckett).
Emily Abendroth and Miranda Mellis are in conversation (Free, 3:30 p.m., Carville Annex).
Quiet Lightning collaborates with Name Drop Swamp Records to present readings by Bucky Sinister, Derrick Brown, Alexandra Naughton, and Casey Childers, and music by Randall Sena and Vince DeWald ($10, 5 p.m., The Emerald Tablet).
Small Press Traffic hosts an evening with Ed Roberson and Truong Tran ($6-10, 5 p.m., Artists’ Television Access).
Monday 10/20: Garth Stein reads from his new novel A Sudden Light (Free, 6 p.m., Book Passage Ferry Building).
Derrick Brown, Daphne Gottlieb, Bucky Sinister, and Jason Bayani read ($8, 8 p.m., Cynic Cave).
James Lefenesty reads from and discusses Seeking the Cave (Free, 7 p.m., City Lights).
Héctor Tobar reads from and discusses Deep Down Dark, about the 33 Chilean miners who survived being trapped underground for 69 days (Free, 7:30 p.m., The Booksmith).
The Lit Slam features two-time Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion Dominique Christina (Free, 7 p.m., Shelton Theater).
Don Waters reads from his new novel Sunland (Free, 7 p.m., San Francisco State University).
Reese Erlich reads from and discusses his new book, Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect (The Green Arcade).
Tuesday 10/21:
The Booksmith presents An Evening with Chuck Palahniuk ($34-40, 7:30 p.m., DNA Lounge).
Anthology SF returns with Nayomi Munaweera, Candy Shue, Earle McCartney, and Heather Tuberville, as well as an open mic for the chance to read in next month’s show (Free, 7 p.m., La Movida Wine Bar & Community Kitchen).
Weekday Wanderlust features Paul Rauber, Marcia DeSanctis, and James Nestor (Free, 7 p.m., Hotel Rex).
Diane Cook reads from and discusses Man V. Nature (Mrs. Dalloway’s)
Jeff Chang discusses his highly anticipated, just-released second book, Who We Be (Free, 6:30 p.m., Pegasus Books Downtown).
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Videos and reviews from some of last week’s notables: Writers With Drinks ( David Gborie, Natashi Moni, Mallory Ortberg, NoViolet Bulawayo, Molly Antopol, and Jonathan Lethem); Steven Gray reviews Gillian Conoley‘s presentation of Henri Michaux.
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This week’s featured local author is Soma Mei Sheng Frazier (click to read an interview):
