Bad Sex on Speed (Barnacle Book/Rare Bird Book) and The Heroin Chronicles (Akashic Books)

Bad Sex On Speed is a savage, careening, hyper-real
nightmare of a novel, taking us to the depths of Amphetamine America.
Told with no concession to traditional narrative, in the voices of those
in the grips and on the fringes, the stories that emerge are at once
devastating, hysterical, and--perhaps most terrifying of all--going on
all around you, all the time. Stahl digs deep into the psyche of the
most demented and dispossessed among us, returning with a vision so
unsparing that those not prepared to experience the screaming depths of
speed psychosis up close and on the page should back slowly away and
return to their lives unscathed.

In The Heroin Chronicles, Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch, and others join Stahl in mining the hazards of this deadly narcotic via original short fiction.

JERRY STAHL has written six books, including the memoir "Permanent Midnight" (made into a film with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson), and the novels "Pain Killers" and "I, Fatty" (optioned by Johnny Depp). Former Culture Columnist for Details, Stahl's widely anthologized fiction and journalism have appeared in a variety of places, including "Esquire, The New York Times, Playboy, The Rumpus, " and "The Believer." The Pushcart Prize-winning author has also written extensively for film and television, including the highest rated episodes of "CSI" and, most recently, the HBO film "Hemingway & Gelhorn, " with Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen.

Five acclaimed Los Angeles-based writers gather for a panel discussion on mothers (and a dad) who write.

Gayle Brandeis is the author of Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for
Women Who Write, The Book of Dead Birds, which won the Bellwether Prize
for Fiction of Social Engagement, Self Storage, Delta Girls, and My Life
with the Lincolns. Her kids are 21, 18 and 2.

Samantha Dunn is the author of several books, including the novel Failing Paris and the memoir Not By Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life. Her essays and short stories have been widely anthologized, including the collection she co-edited, Women on the Edge: Writing from Los Angeles. She teaches in the UCLA Writers
Program and is the adviser for PEN Center's The Mark, a program to help new writers complete finished books. She lives in Southern California with her husband and their son, Benen.

Leslie Schwartz is the author of two award-winning novels, the second of
which, Angels Crest, debuted as a film nationwide in January. She has
published essays, articles and short stories in many newspapers and
magazines. She is the founder of Charlotte: a Journal of Literature and
Art and lives in Los Angeles with her family, a 9-year old daughter and a
17-year old stepson.

Susan Straight's latest novel is Take One Candle Light a Room, which
begins in the neighborhood right around Skylight and features an LA
travel writer who doesn't want to help raise her orphaned godson.  Her
previous novels include A Million Nightingales and Highwire Moon.  She's
published essays and stories in Harpers, The Nation, McSweeney's, The
Believer, and Zoetrope, among others.  She lives in Riverside with her
family.

Antoine Wilson (moderator) wrote the novels Panorama City (forthcoming
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Fall 2012) and The Interloper (Other
Press, 2007). He is a contributing editor of A Public Space and Los
Angeles Review of Books. He lives and surfs in Los Angeles. His son is 4
1/2 years old.

Poetry Through the Eyes of Poets: A free workshop facilitated by Terry Wolverton

In honor of National Poetry Month, Los Angeles poets Ramón Garcia, Eloise Klein Healy, Sarah Maclay, A.K. Toney and poet and instructor Terry Wolverton will reveal a variety of poetic techniques, strategies and styles through their own poems.  Participants will learn to get more from their reading of poetry, as well as new methods of writing poetry.  In addition, they'll have the opportunity to dialogue with notable poets about their practice.  Please reserve your spot by emailing wtrsatwork@aol.com.

Poets At Work Celebrate National Poetry Month

Poems can make you laugh, cry, and think about your world in a completely new way.  Poets At Work members Kim Dower, Yvonne M. Estrada, Steven Fleet, Dylan C. Gailey, Brett Guitar Hofer, Eric Howard, Ronna Perrin, Sharon Venezio and Terry Wolverton will read poems that do all that and then some!

Mystery Writers of America's Southern California chapter presents a pre-Los Angeles Times Festival of Books party here at Skylight Books!  It's a great opportunity to mingle with mystery authors and mystery fans before the hustle and bustle of the country's largest book fair begins the next day. Light refreshments will be provided.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is back!  It's a huge, jam-packed, two-day event at USC celebrating the written word.  There are hundreds of authors speaking on panels, and we're proud to have several of the most high-profile names signing in our booth.

Saturday, April 21:
11:00 to 11:30 a.m. - Alice LaPlante (Turn of Mind)
11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - Eric Erlandson (Letters to Kurt)
12:30 to 1:00 p.m. - T.M. Wolf (Sound)
1:00 to 1:30 p.m. - Adam Levin (Hot Pink)
2:30 to 3:00 p.m. - Denise Hamilton (Damage Control) and Cara Black (Murder at the Lanterne Rouge)
3:30 to 4:00 p.m. - T.C. Boyle (When the Killing's Done)

Sunday, April 22:
11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - Ismet Prcic (Shards)
12:00 to 12:30 p.m. - Aimee Bender (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake)
12:30 to 1:00 p.m. - Hector Tobar (The Barbarian Nurseries)
1:30 to 2:00 p.m. - Michael Ian Black (You're Not Doing It Right)
2:00 to 2:30 p.m. - Etgar Keret (Suddenly, a Knock on the Door: Stories)

Check out the Festival's official website for more info on attending the Festival, public transit, parking, author panels, and so on.  We (and all the author signings listed above) will be in Booth 84, near the Tommy Trojan statue and USC Stage.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is back!  It's a huge, jam-packed, two-day event at USC celebrating the written word.  There are hundreds of authors speaking on panels, and we're proud to have several of the most high-profile names signing in our booth.

Saturday, April 21:
11:00 to 11:30 a.m. - Alice LaPlante (Turn of Mind)
11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - Eric Erlandson (Letters to Kurt)
12:30 to 1:00 p.m. - T.M. Wolf (Sound)
1:00 to 1:30 p.m. - Adam Levin (Hot Pink)
2:30 to 3:00 p.m. - Denise Hamilton (Damage Control) and Cara Black (Murder at the Lanterne Rouge)
3:30 to 4:00 p.m. - T.C. Boyle (When the Killing's Done)

Sunday, April 22:
11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - Ismet Prcic (Shards)
12:00 to 12:30 p.m. - Aimee Bender (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake)
12:30 to 1:00 p.m. - Hector Tobar (The Barbarian Nurseries)
1:30 to 2:00 p.m. - Michael Ian Black (You're Not Doing It Right)
2:00 to 2:30 p.m. - Etgar Keret (Suddenly, a Knock on the Door: Stories)

Check out the Festival's official website for more info on attending the Festival, public transit, parking, author panels, and so on.  We (and all the author signings listed above) will be in Booth 84, near the Tommy Trojan statue and USC Stage.