Fiction & Literature [
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10:30am PDT
Fiction: Stories of Outsiders, Conversation 1051
Moderators 
Dutton owned and operated the iconic Dutton’s Brentwood Bookstore for more than two decades before it closed in 2008. Thousands of authors celebrated their works in Duttons’ central courtyard from Jane Smiley, Robert Stone and T.C. Boyle to Junot Diaz, Chang Rae Lee and Lisa See...
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Baume won the Davy Byrne's Short Story Award in 2014, the Rooney Prize in 2015, and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 2016. She is author of two novels, "Spill Simmer Falter Wither" and "A Line Made by Walking.” She lives on the south west coast of Ireland. Baume's book “Spill...
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Greenwell is the author of "What Belongs to You,” which was longlisted for the National Book Award, shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and named a Best Book of 2016 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, and over 50 other publications. His work has appeared...
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Hoffman is the author of the critically acclaimed novels "Running,” "So Much Pretty" and "Be Safe I Love You.” She has written for the New York Times, Marie Claire, Salon, and National Public Radio, and is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including a Folio Prize...
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Novey is the author of "Ways to Disappear,” a finalist for the 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize for First Fiction and an NPR Best Book of 2016. Her fiction and poetry have been translated into ten languages and she's written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and New York...
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10:30am PDT
Fiction: You Can't Go Home Again, Conversation 1091
Moderators 
Wallen, a novelist and memoirist, is Associate Director of the New York State Summer Writers' Institute. In addition, she teaches private workshops and edits manuscripts. Her essays have been published in The Gettysburg Review, The Normal School, Country Living, The Writers' Chronicle...
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Francis' first novel "The Great Inland Sea" was published in seven languages. His second, "Stray Dog Winter,” named Novel of the Year in the Australian Literature Review, won the American Library Association Stonewall Prize for Literature. His short fiction has appeared in Best...
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Haslett is the author of the novel “Union Atlantic” and the New York Times best-selling short story collection “You Are Not a Stranger Here,” which was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. His current book, “Imagine Me Gone,” was on the 2016 National...
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Hill's short fiction has appeared in many literary journals, including The Iowa Review, AGNI, The Gettysburg Review, and Fiction, where he was awarded the annual Fiction Prize. A native Iowan, he lives with his wife in Naples, Florida. His acclaimed first novel “The Nix” is a...
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Woodson is the bestselling author of "Another Brooklyn" which was a 2016 finalist for the National Book Award, NAACP Image Award, a 2016 Los Angeles Times’ Christopher Isherwood Prize finalist for Autobiographical Prose, and a #1 Indie Pick. Her 2014 New York Times bestseller "Brown...
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11:00am PDT
Everybody's Got One: Fiction & Families, Conversation 1121
Moderators 
Wilson is the author of the novels "Panorama City" and "The Interloper." His work has appeared in The Paris Review, StoryQuarterly, and Best New American Voices, among other publications, and he is a contributing editor of the literary magazine A Public Space.
Dermansky is the author of the novels "The Red Car," "Bad Marie," and "Twins.” Her short stories have been widely published and anthologized. She lives in Montclair, NJ with her daughter.
Frangello is the author of four books of fiction, including "Every Kind of Wanting" (Counterpoint) and "A Life in Men" (Algonquin). She was the longtime editor of Other Voices Books, and has been fiction editor at The Nervous Breakdown and Sunday editor at The Rumpus. She is now the...
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Raymond is the author of the novels "Rain Dragon" and "The Half-Life,” a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2004, and the short-story collection "Livability,” a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and winner of the Oregon Book Award. He is also the screenwriter of...
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See's most recent novel, "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane,” was released by Scribner in March. Booklist said of the new novel, "See's focus on the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, by birth and by circumstance, becomes an extraordinary homage to unconditional love...
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11:00am PDT
Fiction: Classics 2.0, Conversation 1041
Moderators 
Specktor is the author of the novels "American Dream Machine" and "That Summertime Sound,” as well as a nonfiction book of film criticism. He is a founding editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Beauregard has been a university professor, motorcycle journalist, gourmet ice cream manufacturer, film archivist, and funeral home attendant. As a fundraiser, he has helped raise millions of dollars to support nonprofit arts and community service organizations in Tucson, Arizona...
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Chee is the author of the novels "Edinburgh" and "The Queen of the Night.” He has received numerous awards including the Whiting Award and a NEA in Fiction. He is a contributing editor at The New Republic and VQR, a critic-at-large for the Los Angeles Times, and an associate professor...
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Himes' short fiction has been published in Shenandoah, The Florida Review (Editor's Choice Award 2008), Mid-American Review, Fourteen Hills (nominated for Best American Mysteries 2011), and elsewhere. "Mikhail and Margarita" is her debut novel. She lives with her family in Marblehead...
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11:00am PDT
Fiction: The Storytellers, Conversation 1111
Moderators 
Ulin is the author, most recently, of "Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles," a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein- Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, and the novel "Ear to the Ground," co-written with Paul Kolsby. A 2015 Guggenheim Fellow, he is the former book editor...
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Kushner is the author of two novels, "The Flamethrowers" and "Telex from Cuba,” both finalists for the National Book Award, as well as a collection of short prose, "The Strange Case of Rachel K." She is a Guggenheim fellow and winner of the Howard D Vursell Award from the American...
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Simpson was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin to a Syrian immigrant father and the daughter of a mink farmer, who was the first person in her family to attend college. Simpson is the author of six novels (so far), most recently, “Casebook: A novel.” She's received some prizes and two...
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Spiotta’s second novel, "Eat the Document," was a National Book Award finalist, and her book "Stone Arabia" was a 2011 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her most recent book is “Innocents and Others,” a finalist for the 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize in Ficti...
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12:00pm PDT
Chuck Palahniuk in Conversation with Isaac Fitzgerald, Conversation 1032
Moderators 
Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and been given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. He is the editor of BuzzFeed Books and co-author of "Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them" and "Knives & Ink: Chefs and...
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Palahniuk is the New York Times bestselling author of "Fight Club" and "Choke,” which have been made into remarkable films. His other books, all national bestsellers, include "Survivor,” "Invisible Monsters,” "Lullaby,” "Haunted,”"Diary,” "Rant,” "Pygmy,” "Tell-All...
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12:00pm PDT
George Saunders in Conversation with Carolyn Kellogg, Conversation 1132
Moderators 
Kellogg is book editor of the Los Angeles Times. She is a recipient of the paper’s editorial award and a vice president of the board of the National Book Critics Circle. Kellogg has served as editor of LAist.com, web editor of Marketplace and has been widely published. She has an...
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Saunders is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestsellers "Congratulations, by the way" and "Tenth of December,” an essay collection, "The Braindead Megaphone,” and the critically acclaimed collections "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,” "Pastoralia,” and "In...
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12:30pm PDT
Fiction: Girls With Dangerous Friends, Conversation 1112
Moderators AF
Fletcher, a 2012 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellow, was a flash fiction finalist for the Orlando Prize. Her work has appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, the Orange County Register, and Coast Magazine. She is currently working on her memoir, tentatively titled, "Halo.”.
Assadi received her MFA in fiction from the Columbia University School of the Arts. She was raised in Arizona by her Jewish mother and Palestinian father. She lives in Brooklyn. "Sonora" is her first novel.
Carter's work has appeared in the Colorado Review, Meridian, CutBank, and the South Carolina Review, among other literary journals and magazines. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, the artist Rob Carter. “Lucky You” is her new book.
Johnson holds a master of professional writing degree from the University of Southern California and a BA in English from the University of California at Davis. She has served as a tutor at a private learning center, where her focus has been teaching writing to teenagers. Born and...
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Wasserman is the author of the novel "Girls on Fire.” Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The New York Times, Tin House, The VQR, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and several short story anthologies. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of more than ten novels...
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12:30pm PDT
Graphic Novels from All Sides, Conversation 1042
Moderators 
Schwartz has written for "The New Yorker," "Vanity Fair," the 84th Academy Awards, "The Late Show" with David Letterman, and is currently working on a history of American humor set between the world wars.
Chaffee is a professional tattooist and comics artist. His previous books are "The Big Wheels" (1993), "The Most Important Thing & Other Stories" (1995), and "Good Dog" (2013). He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Haifisch was born in 1986 in Leipzig, Germany. She studied at the Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig, and worked as a screen printer in New York. Since 2015, she has been drawing the series “The Artist” for VICE. The Artist collected stories are published by Breakdown Press. “The...
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Kyle lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. He is the author of the graphic novels "Black Mass" (2012), "Distance Mover" (2014), and "Don't Come In Here" (2016). At the 2016 Doug Wright Awards, he won the Pigskin Peters Award for New Comics #6 and #7. “Don't Come In Here” is a finalist...
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2:30pm PDT
Joyce Carol Oates in Conversation with Steph Cha, Conversation 1063
Moderators 
Cha is the author of "Follow Her Home,” "Beware Beware," and "Dead Soon Enough,” all published by St. Martin's Minotaur. She's the noir editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books and a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She lives in her native city of Los Angeles with...
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Oates is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the National Book Award, and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. She has written some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including "We Were the Mulvaneys,” "Blonde" (a finalist for the National Book...
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3:00pm PDT
Fiction: On the Edge, Conversation 1054
Moderators 
Smith is the editor in chief of Kirkus Reviews, the nation's leading prepublication journal of book reviews. A member of the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle, he is also the literary director of the San Antonio Book Festival.
Drager is the author of "The Sorrow Proper" (Dzanc, 2015), winner of the 2016 Binghamton University / John Gardner Fiction Award. Originally from Michigan, she is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the College of Charleston, where she teaches in the MFA program in fict...
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Maazel is the author of “Woke Up Lonely” and “Last Last Chance.” She is winner of the Bard Fiction Prize and a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree. Her work has appeared in the Mississippi Review, the New York Times Book Review, Tin House, Salon and the Yale...
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Oloixarac is a fiction writer and essayist. Her novels, "Savage Theories" and "Dark Constellations,” have been translated into seven languages. Her writing has appeared in n+1, The New York Times, and Granta, which named her to its list of Best Young Spanish Novelists. She wrote...
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Wappler has written for Elle, New York Times, Rolling Stone and several other publications. Her debut novel, "Neon Green" (Unnamed Press) has been praised as "witty and entertaining" by the Los Angeles Times and a depiction of "life in the nineties as it was actually lived?" by Electric...
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3:00pm PDT
Fiction: Writing Gay Literature in Los Angeles, Conversation 1151
Moderators 
Alumit was born in Baguio City, The Philippines, grew up in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles, and is the author of several award-winning books and plays, including “Letters to Montgomery Clift,” “Talking to the Moon” and “Mr. and Mrs. La Questa Go Dancing.” His work...
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Espinoza was raised in Los Angeles. His books include "Still Water Saints" and "The Five Acts of Diego León" (both from Random House). He's written for the NY Times Sunday Magazine, the LA Times, NPR, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. An NEA fellow and winner of an American Book...
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Francis' first novel "The Great Inland Sea" was published in seven languages. His second, "Stray Dog Winter,” named Novel of the Year in the Australian Literature Review, won the American Library Association Stonewall Prize for Literature. His short fiction has appeared in Best...
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Pousson was born and raised in Acadiana, the Cajun French bayou of Louisiana. His novel, "Black Sheep Boy", includes stories that won a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Two stories were finalists for the Glimmer Train Fiction Awards. His collection of poetry, "Sugar", was...
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3:00pm PDT
Not Quite Overnight: The Real Story of Bestselling Debuts, Conversation 1094
Moderators 
French is a staff writer in books at the Los Angeles Times. She has worked as an editor for a number of literary journals and magazines, including the Los Angeles Review of Books. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. Born and raised in California, she has...
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Chang's debut novel, "The Wangs vs. the World,” was published in October 2016. It has been named a New York Times Editors' Choice and is one of Buzzfeed's 24 Best Books of 2016. The Wangs will be published in 11 countries and NPR said this: "Her book is unrelentingly fun, but it...
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Stradal is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel "Kitchens of the Great Midwest,” recipient of the ABA Indie's Choice Award for Best Adult Debut, the SCIBA Award for Fiction, and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Choice Award. He lives in Los Angeles, where he's Editor-at-Large...
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Sweeney is the New York Times bestselling author of "The Nest,” fiction finalist for the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award and one of the best books of 2016 according to Amazon, The Washington Post and others. "The Nest" has been translated into 26 languages and optioned for film by Amazon...
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3:00pm PDT
T.C. Boyle with an Introduction from Alexander Nazaryan, Conversation 1034
Moderators 
Nazaryan is a senior writer at Newsweek. He was previously on the editorial board of the New York Daily News, where he also founded and edited the Page Views book and culture blog. He has a B.A. in English Literature from Dartmouth.
Boyle has published 15 novels and 10 story collections. He won the 1988 PEN/Faulkner award for "World's End," the 1995 Prix Médicis étranger for "The Tortilla Curtain," the 2014 Henry David Thoreau Award for excellence in nature writing and the 2014 Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime...
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3:30pm PDT
Fiction: Writing from History, Conversation 1114
Moderators 
Steinman is curator of the award-winning ALOUD series and co-director of the Los Angeles Institute for Humanities/USC. She is the author of three books: "The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father's War," "The Knowing Body: The Artist as Storyteller in Contemporary Performance...
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Hunt is the author of several books including "Neverhome,” a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice selection, IndieNext selection, winner of The Bridge Prize and finalist for the Grand Prix de Litterature Americaine, as well as the Prix Femina. A resident of Boulder, he is...
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Affinity Konar received her MFA from Columbia University and lives in Los Angeles. Her latest book is “Mischling.”
Lopez lives in Santa Monica. His debut novel "The Show House" was a Chicago Review of Books selection for Best Fiction Books of 2016. His work has appeared in The Millions, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Collagist, Storychord, Time Out New York and Lambda Literary, among others...
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4:30pm PDT
Fiction: The Surreal World, Conversation 1055
Moderators 
Bradfield, born in San Francisco in 1955, has written several novels - including "The History of Luminous Motion" (1989), "Animal Planet" (1994), and the recent "Dazzle Resplendent: Adventures of a Misanthropic Dog" - as well as several collections of short stories, and a collection...
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Erickson is the author of nine novels including, most recently, “These Dreams of You.” He is also the film critic for Los Angeles magazine and editor of Black Clock, published by CalArts, where he teaches writing. In 2010 he was the recipient of the American Academy of Arts and...
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La Farge is the author of "The Night Ocean" and four other books of fiction. His short stories and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's,The Paris Review, The New Republic, McSweeney's, Nautilus, Conjunctions, BOMB, The Believer, The Village Voice, and elsewhere. He lives...
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Gray is the author of four books, including "Gutshot" (FSG). Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and VICE. Her forthcoming novel, “Isadora,” will be published in May.
Silver is the author, most recently, of the novel "Little Nothing.” Her other novels include "Mary Coin,” a New York Times Bestseller and winner of the Southern California Independent Bookseller's Award, and an NPR and BBC Best Book of the Year, "The God of War,” which was...
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4:30pm PDT
Roxane Gay in Conversation with Alexander Chee, Conversation 1064
Moderators 
Chee is the author of the novels "Edinburgh" and "The Queen of the Night.” He has received numerous awards including the Whiting Award and a NEA in Fiction. He is a contributing editor at The New Republic and VQR, a critic-at-large for the Los Angeles Times, and an associate professor...
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Gay is the author of the novel "An Untamed State," a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize; the essay collection "Bad Feminist;" and "Ayiti," a multi-genre collection. She is at work on a memoir, "Hunger," and a comic book in Marvel's Black Panther series. She has received...
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4:30pm PDT
Thomas McGuane in Conversation with Michael Silverblatt, Conversation 1135
Moderators 
Silverblatt is the person authors go to when they want a serious literary conversation about their writing, because he reads everything they’ve ever written, often surprising authors with insights about their work. As host of KCRW’s “Bookworm” since 1989, Silverblatt has introduced...
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McGuane lives in McLeod, Montana. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the author of ten novels, three works of nonfiction, and three collections of stories. “Crow Fair” is his most recent book. McGuane is the winner of the L.A. Times Book Prizes' 2016...
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11:00am PDT
Fiction: Rebel Rousers, Conversation 2021
Moderators 
Sarvas is the author of the forthcoming novel “Memento Park” (Farrar, Straus,Giroux). His debut novel, “Harry, Revised” (Bloomsbury), was published in a dozen languages. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and teaches novel writing at the UCLA Extension Writers...
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Tolkin is an award-winning writer, director, and producer. His novels include "The Player,” "The Return of the Player,” "Among the Dead,” and "Under Radar.” For the film adaptation of "The Player,” Tolkin won the Writers Guild Award, the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
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Winters is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Underground Airlines,” as well as the Edgar Award winning, Philip K. Dick award winning Last Policeman trilogy. He lives in Los Angeles.
Yuknavitch is the author of “The Chronology of Water: A Memoir,” the novel “Dora: A Headcase,”a book of literary criticism, “Allegories of Violence,” and three works of short fiction: “Her Other Mouths,” “Liberty’s Excess,” and “Real to Reel.” Her book “Real...
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11:00am PDT
Viet Thanh Nguyen and Laila Lalami in Conversation, Conversation 2111
Speakers 
Lalami is the author of the novels "Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits,” which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award; "Secret Son,” which was on the Orange Prize longlist; and "The Moor's Account,” which won the American Book Award, the Arab American Book Award, and the...
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Nguyen’s 2015 debut novel, "The Sympathizer,” won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the 2015 L.A. Times Book Prize in Mystery/Thriller. “Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War,” was a finalist for the National Book Award. His newest novel is “The...
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11:00am PDT
Fiction: Disappearing Acts, Conversation 2041
Moderators 
Otis is the author of "Yes, Yes, Cherries" (Tin House). She has been published in Best New American Voices, Electric Literature, The Believer, Zyzzva, and many other publications. Her stories have received an honorable mention for the Pushcart Prize and been named a Distinguished...
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Chee is the author of the novels "Edinburgh" and "The Queen of the Night.” He has received numerous awards including the Whiting Award and a NEA in Fiction. He is a contributing editor at The New Republic and VQR, a critic-at-large for the Los Angeles Times, and an associate professor...
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Gentry is a book reviewer for the Chicago Tribune whose work has also appeared in Salon, Los Angeles Review of Books, and the Best Food Writing of 2014. She lives in Austin, where she volunteered for several years with victims of sexual and domestic violence. "Good As Gone" is her...
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Lepucki is the bestselling author of the novel "California" as well as the novella "If You're Not Yet Like Me.” Her second novel, "Woman No. 17,” will be published this May. She is a contributing editor and staff writer at the Millions and the founder of Writing Workshops Los...
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Millet is the author of 11 books of literary fiction, most recently the novel "Sweet Lamb of Heaven" (2016), a finalist for the National Book Award and 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize in Fiction. Earlier titles include "Mermaids in Paradise" (2014); "Magnificence" (2012), a finalist for...
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12:00pm PDT
Fiction: Slightly Surreal, Conversation 2092
Moderators KM
Maruyama's novel “Harrowgate” was published by 47North. Her short work has appeared in numerous online and print journals as well as in anthologies. She is faculty in the BA and MFA programs at Antioch University Los Angeles and teaches with Writing Workshops LA and inspiration2publication.com...
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Evenson is the author of a dozen books of fiction, most recently "A Collapse of Horses" and "The Warren." His novel "Last Days" won the ALA-RUSA award for Best Horror Novel of 2009 and his novel The Open Curtain was a finalist for an Edgar Award. He is the recipient of three O. Henry...
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Tremblay is the author of six novels including the award-winning "A Head Full of Ghosts,”"Disappearance at Devil's Rock,” and "The Little Sleep.” His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and numerous "year’s best" anthologies. He has a master's degree...
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Wallace is the author of "The Failed Cities" and the novella series "Sin du Jour" and "Rencor.” He's penned over one hundred short stories, some of which have won awards and been nominated for others, in addition to writing for film and television. In his youth he traveled the world...
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Wendig, author of “Thunderbird,” is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. He's the author of many published novels, including but not limited to: "Blackbirds,” the YA Heartland series, and the NYT bestselling series "Star Wars: Aftermath.” He is co-writer of the short...
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12:00pm PDT
Fiction: The New New Narrative, Conversation 2052
Moderators 
French is a staff writer in books at the Los Angeles Times. She has worked as an editor for a number of literary journals and magazines, including the Los Angeles Review of Books. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. Born and raised in California, she has...
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Nao is the author of novel, "Fish in Exile" (Coffee House Press), and poetry collection, "The Old Philosopher" (Nightboat Books). Vi's work includes poetry, fiction, film and cross-genre collaboration. She was the winner of 2014 Nightboat Poetry Prize and the 2016 Ronald Sukenick...
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Ortiz is the author of "Excavation: A Memoir,” "Hollywood Notebook,” and the dreamoir "Bruja.” Her work has been profiled or featured in the National Book Critics Circle Small Press Spotlight blog, the Los Angeles Times, The Rumpus, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Her writing...
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Viegener is a writer, artist and critic who lives in LA and teaches at CalArts. He’s the author of 2500 Random Things About Me Too, and editor of I'm Very Into You, the correspondence of Kathy Acker and McKenzie Wark, and co-editor of Séance in Experimental Writing and The...
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12:30pm PDT
Fiction with a Funny Side, Conversation 2122
Moderators 
21st Century Award. Her work has been featured on NPR's Selected Shorts and adapted for the stage by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater. Her debut novel, "We Only Know So Much,” has been adapted for film, and her second novel, "The History of Great Things,” was released in 2016. Her...
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Prose is the author of twenty-one works of fiction, including NYT bestselling novel, "Lovers At The Chameleon Club: Paris, 1932.” Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, National Book Award Finalist and is the recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim...
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Schine is the author of "The Three Weissmanns of Westport,” "The Love Letter,” "The New Yorkers,” and her most recent, “They May Not Mean To, but They Do,” among other novels. She has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine...
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Shepard is the author of seven novels and four previous story collections, including his latest, “The World to Come: Stories.” He lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with his wife, three children, and three beagles. He teaches at Williams College.
12:30pm PDT
Fiction: Roads Less Traveled, Conversation 2022
Moderators 
Espinoza was raised in Los Angeles. His books include "Still Water Saints" and "The Five Acts of Diego León" (both from Random House). He's written for the NY Times Sunday Magazine, the LA Times, NPR, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. An NEA fellow and winner of an American Book...
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Chang draws upon family legends for historical novels set in China. Janie has lived in the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, New Zealand, and now lives in Vancouver, Canada. Her first novel, "Three Souls,” was a finalist for the 2014 BC Book Prizes Fiction Prize and one of 9 Canadian...
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Deón is a 2017 NAACP Image Award Nominee and author of the critically-acclaimed novel, Grace (Counterpoint Press), which was awarded the 2017 First Novel Prize by the American Library Association's Black Caucus (BCALA), was named Kirkus Review Best Book of 2016, a New York Times...
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Sekaran lives in Berkeley and teaches writing and literature. Her latest novel, "Lucky Boy,” was an Amazon Editor's Pick and an IndieNext Great Read. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Canteen Magazine, Huffington Post and Best New American Voices...
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12:30pm PDT
Fiction: Writing Short Stories, Conversation 2112
Moderators 
Flores is a 2008 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellow. Her short fiction has appeared in Post Road Magazine, The Open Bar at Tin House, The Rattling Wall, Paper Darts, Bridge Eight, FLASH: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, The Los Angeles Review of Books and American...
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Benz has published short stories in The American Reader, Fence, and The Cupboard, and on Granta.com, and is the recipient of an O. Henry Prize. She received her MFA at Syracuse University as well as a BFA in acting from Boston University. She is of British-Antiguan descent and currently...
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Johnson is the author of “Break Any Woman Down,” for which she received the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and the novel “Elsewhere, California.” Born and raised in and around Los Angeles, she is an associate professor of English at USC where she teaches literature...
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Schiff graduated from Columbia University's MFA program, where she received a Henfield Prize. Her stories have appeared in n+1, Electric Literature, The American Reader, Guernica, The Guardian, and Lenny Letter. Her latest book is “The Bed Moved,” is a finalist for the 2016 L.A...
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Unferth is the author of the collection of stories "Minor Robberies,” the novel "Vacation,” and the memoir, "Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War,” which was a finalist for a 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award. Her work has appeared in Harper's...
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12:30pm PDT
Marlon James in Conversation with Davan Maharaj, Conversation 2072
Moderators 
Maharaj, a 27-year veteran of The Times, added publisher to his title in March 2016. He had been named editor and executive vice president in 2011. Prior to that role, he served as managing editor, assistant foreign editor and deputy business editor. A native of Trinidad, he holds...
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James was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1970. His first novel, "John Crow's Devil" was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, as well as a New York Times Editor's Choice. His second novel, "The Book of Night" won the 2010 Dayton Literary...
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1:30pm PDT
Jonathan Lethem in Conversation with Charles Yu, Conversation 2133
Moderators 
Yu is the author of "How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe" and received the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award for his story collection "Third Class Superhero." His work has been published in the Harvard Review and the Gettysburg Review, among other journ...
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Lethem is the author of "The Fortress of Solitude" and numerous other books. His writing has been translated into over 30 languages. He lives in Los Angeles and Maine and his latest book is “A Gambler's Anatomy: A Novel.”
1:30pm PDT
Romance: I'm Too Sexy for this Book, Conversation 2083
Moderators 
Kassia Krozser is a lifelong romance reader, and the former publisher of Booksquare, a website devoted to exploring the intersection of technology and publishing. She's appeared at South by Southwest, on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and at countless publishing industry events. Her many...
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Antoniette is the feminine half of the popular married duo, Ashley and JaQuavis. She has co-written over 40 novels. Several of her titles have hit The New York Times bestsellers list, but she is most widely regarded for her racy four-book saga, “The Prada Plan.” Born in Flint...
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Quinn started writing her first book one month after finishing college and has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since. The New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen novels for Avon Books, she is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and is one of only sixteen...
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Ryan writes sexy, contemporary romance featuring a multicultural cast of flawed, but lovable characters. She secretly enjoys torturing her heroines with family and career drama, reformed bad boys, revealed secrets, and the occasional identity crisis, but always rewards them with supportive...
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2:00pm PDT
Fiction: Culture & Identity, Conversation 2023
Moderators OT
Smith is Executive Editor of the Unnamed Press. She is also a certified silver pin sommelier with the North American Sommelier Association and translator of the graphic novel “Panthers in the Hole,” about the Angola 3.
Craig studied literature at Harvard College, received her MFA from the University of California at Irvine, and serves as a faculty member in the Department of Creative Writing at UC Riverside, where she particularly enjoys teaching literature, the art of the paragraph, and forms of...
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Kimani was born in 1971 in Kenya, and is a leading African writer of his generation. He was one of only three international poets commissioned by NPR to compose and present a poem to mark Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009. Kimani earned his doctorate in creative writing...
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Lee is the author of the short story collection "Drifting House" and the recent debut novel "How I Became a North Korean,” both published by Viking. She is a recipient of the Rome Prize and the Story Prize Spotlight Award, the Honor Title in Adult Fiction Literature from the Asian/Pacific...
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2:00pm PDT
Fiction: Exceptions and Expectations, Conversation 2043
Moderators 
Fierro is the author of the novels The Gypsy Moth Summer and Cutting Teeth. Her work has been published in Buzzfeed, Glamour, The Millions, Poets & Writers, Time Out New York, and other publications. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Julia founded The Sackett Street Writers...
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Frankel is the author of three novels, "The Atlas of Love,” "Goodbye for Now,” and, most recently, "This Is How It Always Is.” She lives in Seattle with her daughter and husband.
Gowda was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. In college, she spent a summer as a volunteer in an Indian orphanage, which seeded the idea for her first novel, "Secret Daughter,” published in 2010. It became an international bestseller, selling well over a million copies worldwide...
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Palmer is the internationally bestselling author of "Conversations with the Fat Girl" and several other novels. An Emmy-nominated writer, she lives in Los Angeles and works for BuzzFeed. “The F Word” is her latest book.
2:30pm PDT
The Handmaid's Tale from Page to Screen: Margaret Atwood & Bruce Miller in Conversation with Mary McNamara, Conversation 2063
Moderators 
McNamara was named assistant managing editor for arts and entertainment in 2016. She was previously the television critic and senior culture editor. A Pulitzer Prize winner in 2015 and finalist for criticism in 2013 and 2014, she has won various awards for criticism and feature writing...
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Atwood is the author of more than 40 books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include “Cat’s Eye,” shortlisted for the Booker Prize; “Alias Grace,” which won the Giller Prize in Canada; “The Blind Assassin,” winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; “Oryx and...
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Miller is a producer and writer, known for “Eureka” (2006), “The 100” (2014) and “ER” (1994). His current project is the Hulu adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
3:00pm PDT
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o in Conversation with Rebecca Carroll, Conversation 2134
Moderators 
Carroll is Editor of Special Projects at WNYC. She is a Critic-at-Large for the Los Angeles Times, and a former Opinion writer for The Guardian. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York magazine, Harper's Bazaar and Esquire, among others. She is the author of five narrative...
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Wa Thiong'o, currently a Professor of Literature at UC Irvine, was born in Kenya. He is a novelist, playwright, journalist, academic and social activist, as well as the recipient of many honors including the 2001 Nonino International Prize for Literature. Wa Thiong'o most recently...
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