SMC Literary Series Spring 2024

SMC’s Free Literary Talks & Readings Resume Feb. 8

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica College (SMC) continues its Literary Talks & Readings programs with two series of free online and on-campus presentations — the SMC Literary Series and the SMC Library’s Pearls & Insights series — featuring a noteworthy spectrum of writers reading and discussing their works. The presentations resume Feb. 8 with a talk by Tessa Bailey on “Spice, Spirit, and Swoon – A Guaranteed Happily Ever After with Rom-Com Author Tessa Bailey.”

All presentations are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

The spring 2024 series lineups are:

SMC Literary Series

• Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.: Lucas Rivera: “My AfroRican State of Soul.” Multidisciplinary artist Lucas Rivera has been traveling the country doing spoken word and interactive discussions of his autobiographical “My AfroRican State of Soul,” a blend of narrative nonfiction and poetry that chronicles his journey. Through a book talk and interactive performance, Rivera presents the perspective of an Afro-Latino as he discusses his life, how art — from turntables to dance, spoken word, painting, and stained glass — was a means of survival, and the important influences of the intersections of the Taino, Spanish, and African cultures that make up the history of Puerto Rico. Sponsored by the SMC Associates, SMC Black Collegians, and SMC Adelante Club. Malibu 202 (SMC Malibu Campus, 23555 Civic Center Way, Malibu). Free, but requires pre-registration at link on Feb. 28 listing at smc.edu/events.
  

  

SMC Library’s Pearls & Insights:

• Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m.: Tessa Bailey: “Spice, Spirit, and Swoon – A Guaranteed Happily Ever After with Rom-Com Author Tessa Bailey.” New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey will talk about the launch of her new book “Fangirl Down,” a super hot sports romance duology with a rom-com about a bad boy professional athlete who falls for his biggest fan. Bailey is a romance fiction writer whose works include the New York Times bestselling novels “Hook, Line and Sinker” (Avon, 2022) and “Unfortunately Yours” (Avon, 2023). She is also the author of “Fix Her Up” (Avon, 2019), which received a Publishers Weekly starred review, and “It Happened One Summer” (Avon, 2021), which received a Kirkus starred review. Sponsored by the SMC Library and Library Speakers Consortium. Online. Free, but requires pre-registration at link on Feb. 8 listing at smc.edu/events.
  

  

• Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m.: Jason Mott: “Exploring Identity, Love, and Being Black in America in Fiction Writing.” New York Times bestselling author Jason Mott will talk about his recent novel “Hell of a Book.” Deeply honest, at times electrically funny, the fictional story of an author on a cross-country publicity tour goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans and America as a whole. The novel won the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction and the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction, and was a Carnegie Medals for Excellence Longlist nominee. Mott is the author of two poetry collections and four novels. His first novel — “The Returned” — was adapted for television and aired on ABC under the title “Resurrection.” A brief discussion and audience Q&A follow the talk. Sponsored by the SMC Library and Library Speakers Consortium in collaboration with the SMC Associates. Online. Free, but requires pre-registration at link on Feb. 20 listing at smc.edu/events.
  

  

• Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.: Kim Scott: “Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity.” Kim Scott —New York Times bestselling author of “Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity” — will explain the Radical Candor feedback framework. She will offer practical, tactical tips for how to solicit criticism, give praise and criticism, gauge how what you’re saying is received, and build a culture of Radical Candor. Scott is co-founder of a company that helps leaders put her ideas into practice, and has been a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies; on the faculty at Apple University; a leader of AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google; and an analyst at the Soviet Companies Fund. Sponsored by the SMC Library and Library Speakers Consortium in collaboration with the SMC Associates. Online. Free, but requires pre-registration at link on Feb. 28 listing at smc.edu/events.
  

  

For more than two decades, the SMC Literary Series has brought to campus such acclaimed writers as Khaled Hosseini (author of the bestselling “The Kite Runner”), Steph Cha (writer of the popular ‘Juniper Song’ novels), Audrey Niffenegger (author of the bestselling “Time Traveler’s Wife”), Edward J. Larson (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion”), and Viet Thanh Nguyen (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sympathizer”).

Additional information is available by calling SMC’s Office of Public Programs at (310) 434-4100.

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