October 10 — An Evening with Sandra Cisneros in conversation with Hector Tobar

Wednesday, October 10, 2012
8:00pm

An Evening with Sandra Cisneros
in conversation with Hector Tobar
discussing her new book, Have You Seen Marie?

Track 16 at Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Avenue, Bldg C-1
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS
$20, $40 includes Cisneros’ book,
$28 signed book purchase only (shipping included to US destinations)

The internationally acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street shares a deeply moving tale of loss, grief, and healing.

The word “orphan” might not seem to apply to a fifty-three-year-old woman. Yet this is exactly how Sandra Cisneros felt in the aftermath of her mother’s passing, alone like “a glove left behind at the bus station.”

What just might save her is her search for someone else gone missing: Marie, the black-and-white cat of her friend, Roz, who ran off the day they arrived from Tacoma. As Sandra and Roz scour the streets of San Antonio, the pursuit of this one small creature takes on unexpected urgency and meaning.

With full-color illustrations by artist Ester Hernandez that bring this transformative quest to vivid life, Have You Seen Marie? is a lyrically told fable for grownups that showcases a beloved author’s storytelling magic.  Hear Cisneros, in her return to Live Talks LA, discuss this tale that reminds us how love, even when it goes astray, does not stay lost forever.

Hector Tobar is the son of Guatemalan immigrants and a native of the city of Los Angeles. He is the former Buenos Aires and Mexico City Bureau Chief for the LA Times and shared a Pulitzer for the paper’s coverage of the 1992 riots. He is currently a Los Angeles-based columnist for the paper and also writes about books, arts and culture. His most recent novel is The Barbarian Nurseries. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Tattooed Soldier and an essay collection, Translation Nation.

PURCHASE TICKETS

$20, $40 includes Cisneros’ book

Track 16 at Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Avenue, Bldg. C-1
Santa Monica, CA 90404

October 11 — An Evening with Chris Elliott in conversation with Merrill Markoe

Thursday, October 11, 2012
8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)

An Evening with Chris Elliott
in conversation with Merrill Markoe
discussing his memoir, The Guy Under the Sheets: The Unauthorized Autobiography 

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA

PURCHASE TICKETS
$20, $40 includes Elliott’s book,
$34 signed book purchase only (shipping included to US destinations)
$95 includes the book + pre-event reception*

A behind-the scenes memoir so personal, so provocative–that Chris Elliott nearly sued himself to halt publication

Because no one will write an unauthorized biography about comedian Chris Elliott, he’s had to do it himself.   Reader, you are hereby warned that much of The Guy Under the Sheets: The Unauthorized Autobiography will be disturbing.

The most shocking revelation is that Elliott is not the absurdist comedian that Rolling Stone once called a “genius”–but that he’s a slightly dim-witted no-talent from a celebrity family who managed to convince a whole generation of disillusioned youth that he was funny.

While there are plenty of fictional anecdotes, like the torrid affair with Kathy Lee, or his first job dismembering bodies for the mob, Elliott weaves in wonderful real-life ones, too–including his start at Late Night alongside the likes of Andy Kaufman, and his work in films from Groundhog Day to Cabin Boy.  An evening with Elliott is guaranteed to be at least somewhat funny and wholly entertaining.

Merrill Markoe graduated from UC Berkeley with a masters degree in art, then went on to use her degree in the most pragmatic way possible by becoming a writer of comedy for assorted venues, including television, movies and magazines. Along the way she won five Emmys for Late Night with David Letterman and a Writer’s Guild Award for HBO’s Not Necessarily the News. These days she is STILL writing books and making short films.  Her most recent book, is Cool, Calm and Contentious: Essays. Visit her website for more on Merrill Markoe.

PURCHASE TICKETS

* Proceeds from tickets to the reception support the upcoming Live Talks Los Angeles emerging voices/authors series of events that commence in 2013.

$20, $40 includes Elliott’s book,
$95 includes pre-event reception (6:00-7:00pm) plus book

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA

October 5 — An Evening with Bishop Gene Robinson in conversation with Bradley Whitford

Friday, October 5, 2012
7:30pm (Reception 6:00-7:00pm)

An Evening with Bishop Gene Robinson
in conversation with Bradley Whitford
discussing his book, God Believes in Love: Straight Talk on Gay Marriage

All Saints Church, Pasadena
132 North Euclid Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101

PURCHASE TICKETS

$20, $40 includes Bishop Robinson’s book,
$34 signed book purchase only (shipping included to US destinations)
$95 includes the book + pre-event reception*

The religious leader at the forefront of the gay rights movement in a frank discussion of the critical civil rights issue of our time.

In his new book, God Believes in Love: Straight Talk on Gay Marriage, Bishop Gene Robinson makes the case for same-sex marriage. For him, it’s a personal issue; after being married to a woman with whom he had two children, Bishop Robinson has been married to his long-term partner, a man, for the last four years.  He is the first openly gay person to be elected bishop in the Episcopal church.

Bishop Robinson’s book is an exploration of faith and morality that will help readers to better understand why full marriage equality is vitally important — why it is a violation of civil rights to deny access to marriage because of sexual orientation.

In his visit to Live Talks Los Angeles, he’ll address important, frequently-asked questions like: What’s wrong with civil unions? Don’t children need a mother and a father? Why should straight people care about gay marriage?   Join us for a provocative and personal discussion of one of the most important–and divisive–issues of our day.

Bradley Whitford‘s credits in film, television and theater include work with some of the most noted writers, directors and playwrights in the arts, and constitute a career worthy of a Juilliard-trained actor — which he is.  He starred in NBC’s  political drama, The West Wing.

Some of Whitford’s most memorable performances include roles in such films as The Muse (1999) with Albert Brooks and Bicentennial Man (1999) with Robin Williams. He has also appeared in Scent of a Woman (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Philadelphia (1993), The Client (1994), My Life (1993/I), Red Corner (1997), Presumed Innocent (1990) and My Fellow Americans (1996).

PURCHASE TICKETS

* Proceeds from tickets to the reception support the upcoming Live Talks Los Angeles emerging voices/authors series of events that commence in 2013.

$20, $40 includes Robinson’s book,
$95 includes pre-event reception (6:00-7:00pm) plus book

All Saints Church, Pasadena
132 North Euclid Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101

October 3 — An Evening with Penny Marshall in conversation with Garry Marshall

Wednesday, October 3, 2012
(note date changed from September 26)

8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)

An Evening with Penny Marshall
in conversation with Garry Marshall
discussing her memoir, My Mother Was Nuts

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA

PURCHASE TICKETS
$25, $45 includes Marshall’s book,
$34 signed book purchase only (shipping included to US destinations)
$95 includes the book + pre-event reception*

A memoir by this Hollywood legend filled with humor and heart–and plenty of behind-the-scenes talk of her work with the stars.

Most people know Penny Marshall as the director of Big and A League of Their Own. What they don’t know is how her trailblazing career was a happy accident. In this funny and intimate memoir, My Mother Was Nuts, Penny takes us from the stage of The Jackie Gleason Show in 1955 to Hollywood’s star-studded sets, offering up some hilarious detours along the way.

From her childhood spent tap dancing in the Bronx, to her rise as the star of Laverne & Shirley, Penny writes that she’s lived by these simple rules: “Try hard, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have fun.”

In her first Live Talks Los Angeles appearance, Marshall will discuss her marriages, her friendships, her breakout role on The Odd Couple, her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle.

Garry Marshall  has excelled as a writer, producer, director, and actor in a career spanning 50 years, earning him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and acclaim from critics and fans alike. He was born to work in Hollywood—his mother was a tap dancer and his father was a producer and director of industrial films, and his sister is Penny Marshall.  Among his credits —  for writing are  The Tonight Show, The Lucy Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show; producing, Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, and Laverne & Shirley; and feature directing are Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Beaches, The Other Sister, and The Princess Diaries.

We recently hosted him at Live Talks Los Angeles on the occasion of the release of his memoir, My Happy Days in Hollywood. See the video.

PURCHASE TICKETS

* Proceeds from tickets to the reception support the upcoming Live Talks Los Angeles emerging voices/authors series of events that commence in 2013.

$25, $45 includes Marshall’s book,
$95 includes pre-event reception (6:00-7:00pm) plus book

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA

September 27 — An Evening with T.C. Boyle

Thursday, September 27, 2012
8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)

An Evening with T.C. Boyle
discussing his new novel, San Miguel

Track 16 at Bergamot Station
2525 Michican Avenue, Bldg. C-1
Santa Monica, CA

PURCHASE TICKETS

$20, $40 includes Boyle’s book,
$34 signed book purchase only (shipping included to US destinations)
$95 includes the book + pre-event reception 

The inimitable and acclaimed writer returns to Live Talks LA with his newest and fourteenth novel, San Miguel 

See a book trailer for T.C. Boyle’s San Miguel.

Boyle’s latest, San Miguel is a soaring historical narrative about two families trying to start new lives on a windswept, near-desolate island just off the coast of southern California.  Publishers Weekly says, “Boyle’s epic saga of struggle, loss, and resilience tackles Pacific pioneer history with literary verve….”

Hear the prolific Boyle read from and discuss this latest book, along with his writing process, and his thoughts on living the literary life.

“Each day,” he says, “I try to enter another world and stay there until my mind gets fuzzy and I have to quit work till the next day.  In the interim, whether I’m sitting miles out in the Sierras with a book , doing yard work, cooking dinner or pouring a glass of wine, the artistic questions and choices of the story or novel stay with me until I can sit down again at the computer the following morning and move forward.”

 PURCHASE TICKETS

* Proceeds from tickets to the reception support the upcoming Live Talks Los Angeles emerging voices/authors series of events that commence in 2013.

$20, $40 includes Boyle’s book,
$95 includes pre-event reception (6:00-7:00pm) plus book

 

September 23 — An Evening with Wyclef Jean

Sunday, September 23, 2012
7:30pm (Reception 6:00-7:00pm)

An Evening with Wyclef Jean
in conversation with Geoff Boucher
discussing his memoir, Purpose: An Immigrant’s Story
and an acoustic performance 

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA

PURCHASE TICKETS
$25, $45 includes Jean’s book,
$34 signed book purchase only (shipping included to US destinations)
$95 includes the book + pre-event reception*

 The multi-platinum musician, producer and actor talks candidly about his life as an immigrant and the inside story of the Fugees.  The son of a pastor and grandson of a priest, Wyclef Jean was born and raised in the slums of Haiti.  His family migrated to the US when he was nine, eventually settling in Newark, where his father converted a burnt down funeral parlor into a home and church.

In his memoir, Purpose, Wyclef reveals how music–rap in particular– helped him to cope and adjust to life in a new country.  How his passion became a wedge between him and his father.   About his work in his native country after the devastating earthquake there, including his exploratory bid for president.

On his visit to Live Talks Los Angeles, this major voice in the music scene won’t just talk–expect to be regaled with some new acoustic sounds.

Geoff Boucher is a veteran journalist with more than 2,800 stories published in the Los Angeles Times, where he most recently covered entertainment. He also created the award-winning website, Hero Complex, and is the author of Two Badges, the biography of a gang member turned cop.  He interviewed John Lithgow at Live Talks Los Angeles in 2011.  See the video.

PURCHASE TICKETS

* Proceeds from tickets to the reception support the upcoming Live Talks Los Angeles emerging voices/authors series of events that commence in 2013.

$25, $45 includes Jean’s book,
$95 includes pre-event reception (6:00-7:00pm) plus book

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA