Freelance Journalism 101 Retreat
Nov
2
11:30 AM11:30

Freelance Journalism 101 Retreat

calling all journalist hopefuls! this is a one-day retreat where you will learn the 101, the ins and outs, and the inside scoop about working as a freelance journalist. join us for five workshops, a panel of experienced journalists and freelancers, an ask-me-anything session with the co-founder and lead editor of http://LatinaMedia.Co , practice pitch sessions, and more. food by @perhaps.japanese and coffee by @‌cafedepluto will be available for purchase throughout the day.

Get tickets HERE!

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Camp Queer
Jun
15
2:00 PM14:00

Camp Queer

Are y'all ready, campers?! Join us for a one-day queer-themed, adult "summer camp" with vendors, food, arts and crafts, board games, a photo booth, and campfire-style open mic and live music. Dress up in your camp-best and celebrate Pride Month with us!

This event will be indoors and outdoors.

Tickets here!

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Sofia Aguilar of WriteGirl, Poetry Performance
Apr
21
4:40 PM16:40

Sofia Aguilar of WriteGirl, Poetry Performance

Poetry Stage

An alum of WriteGirl and a first-generation college graduate, Sofía Aguilar's writing and performance covers breaking news, politics, pop culture, media and entertainment, and representation of marginalized communities. Since 2015, she has performed at the L.A. Festival of Books, Barnes & Noble Eastchester, Wadham College at Oxford University, the Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo, the Tepoztlán Ex Convento Museum, LA Public Counsel, and New York's 9th Judicial Court District at the invitation of the Honorable Kathie E. Davidson.

Full schedule here.

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NaPoWriMo Poetry Club: A Four-Week Workshop
Apr
6
to Apr 28

NaPoWriMo Poetry Club: A Four-Week Workshop

Celebrate National Poetry Writing Month with us! Whether you join us for one session or all four, get ready to expand your understanding of poetry and the joy of writing it. No previous writing experience necessary!

Facilitated by LA poet and author SOFÍA AGUILAR.

SOFÍA AGUILAR is a Chicana writer and editor based on the traditional homelands of the Tongva and Chumash peoples, now known as Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in the L.A. Times, Refinery29 Somos, and New Orleans Review, among other publications. As an alum of WriteGirl and a first-generation college graduate, Sofía earned a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she received the Andrea Klein Willison Prize for Poetry and the Spencer Barnett Memorial Prize for Excellence in Latin American and Latinx Studies. She is the author of self-published chapbooks STREAMING SERVICE: golden shovels made for tv (2021) and STREAMING SERVICE: season two. She is currently at work on her third poetry chapbook and her first novel.

WEEKLY TICKETS

WEEK 1: “Nature” Tickets

WEEK 2: “Grief” Tickets

Week 3: “Food” Tickets

Week 4: “Identity” Tickets

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Still We Rise: Poems as Political Anthems
Mar
30
11:00 AM11:00

Still We Rise: Poems as Political Anthems

What do you want to fight for? In this generative writing workshop, Sofía Aguilar will faciliate a group-led reading and discussion of political poetry poems from revolutionary thinkers and writers, then offer a series of questions as prompts for attendees to create their own politically driven poem. Attendees will learn how to use and identify strategies for using poetry as a medium for social justice, call to action, community empowerment, protest against injustice, resistance to oppression, and meaningful change.

This class is “Pay What You Want” with a minimum of $10.

Buy tickets here.

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Spring Fling!
Mar
24
6:00 PM18:00

Spring Fling!

MUSIC | $10 | 18+ | Folks are encouraged to dress up in spring colors and come out to dance, listen to live music, eat good food, and have some mocktails!

COVID-19 vaccinations are mandatory to attend events at Junior High. Proof must be available upon request. You may access your Digital Vaccination Record here.

This event will be indoors.

Purchase tickets here!

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Be My Valentine: Queer Love Letter Writing
Feb
16
1:00 PM13:00

Be My Valentine: Queer Love Letter Writing

Celebrate Valentine's Day with a fun-filled afternoon of love letter writing with writer, teaching artist, and hopeless romantic Sofía Aguilar! Get ready to read some queer love poems and writings for inspiration, then write your own love letter - or as many as you want! - for yourself, your partner, and your loved ones! Stationery, stickers, envelopes, and other letter-writing supplies will be provided!

COVID-19 vaccinations are mandatory to attend events at Junior High. Proof must be available upon request.

This event will be indoors.

Purchase tickets here!

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Fund Fest Poetry Hour
Nov
18
3:00 PM15:00

Fund Fest Poetry Hour

Junior High Fund Fest is proud to host a Poetry Hour with Danielle P. Williams. Spend your afternoon listening to beautifully crafted sonnets, limericks, epics + more! 📚️ You can purchase a ticket to the Poetry Hour and get free access to the Fund Fest market! Or buy an All Day Access ticket in order to be able to attend all of the great programming we have planned for you. ❤️ Make sure to go to the link in our bio to learn more about Fund Fest and Junior High's fundraising goals. 🎪⭐️🤹

Tickets can be purchased here: http://juniorhighlosangeles.com/fundfest

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dig in: a writer's benefit
Nov
4
6:00 PM18:00

dig in: a writer's benefit

poetry and music by pluto’s archive!

support your local writers and come out to participate in our next event! we’ll have an open mic, tattoos, yummy desserts, free dinner, and so much more.

Performances by: cheri mae, AJB, Samantha Sao, Paula Macena, and Sofía Aguilar

Music: dear danna and riccy deleon

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Grief Writing Workshop
Nov
3
6:00 PM18:00

Grief Writing Workshop

Join us for a generative writing workshop led by writer and teaching artist Sofía Aguilar for Día de Los Muertos! Featuring readings and prompts, learn how to center and write about grief, loss, and rememberance in honor of your ancestors and loved ones.

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2 ‘n’ Sync Poetry Reading
Oct
27
5:30 PM17:30

2 ‘n’ Sync Poetry Reading

Listeners! To celebrate Season 2 coming to a close, we are hosting a Poetry Reading/Open Mic! We hope you’ll join us and a spectacular lineup of writers for a night of artistry and, since Halloween is approaching, spookiness 🎃 (Though if you’re not into spook, that’s okay. It’s completely optional.)

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Trenches Full of Poets
Oct
12
7:00 PM19:00

Trenches Full of Poets

Reading featuring Bill Cushing, Sofía Aguilar, Kuahmel, and you!! Masks encouraged.

More info: For its first year, Trenches Full of Poets was a monthly reading series featuring a diverse lineup of, mostly, four local SoCal poets. Beginning in year two, hosts and poets Nikolai Garcia and Mauricio Moreno, turned it into an open mic. The audience can still attend to hear a diverse group of local authors read each month at Page Against the Machine.

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Oct
11
10:00 AM10:00

Celebrate Give to Women and Girls Day

Give to Women and Girls Day brings together hundreds of women’s and girls’ organizations and leading partners including Giving Tuesday, Impact 100 Global, the Magee Women’s Research Institute, the Ms. Foundation, National Women’s Hall of Fame, Philanos, Philanthropy Together, Pivotal Ventures, Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Together Women Rise, United Nations Foundation, Vital Voices, and Women Moving Millions.

Join us on Wednesday, October 11 at 1 p.m. ET, as we highlight findings from the 2023 Women and Girls Index with a distinguished panel of leaders in the women’s and girls’ space. Confirmed panelists include, Teresa Younger, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation; Jennifer Gabriel, CEO of the National Women’s Hall of Fame; and Deborah Vagins, National Campaign Director and Director of Equal Pay Today with Equal Rights Advocates. Special guest, Sofía Aguilar, poet and WriteGirl alum will help us celebrate with a spoken word performance.

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Para la Cultura: a generative open-genre writing workshop
Oct
8
11:00 AM11:00

Para la Cultura: a generative open-genre writing workshop

Where do you or your family come from? What traditions bring you together? What do you wish others knew? In this two-hour generative writing workshop, attendees will learn how to identify and use strategies to use writing as a vehicle for exploring culture and cultural identity. As we all have different relationships with our cultures, if at all, this workshop is designed to encourage attendees to embrace and be proud of where they come from, their traditions, their family history, and their heritage. But we will also challenge and question preconceived notions of nationalism, pride, and erasure, as well as think deeper about our place in the world and what we want the future of our community to look like. Workshop includes pdf of the syllabus, readings, discussion, writing time, opportunities for optional sharing, and Q&A. Writers of all genres and experiences are encouraged to attend. 

This class is “Pay What You Want” with a minimum of $10.

Learn more at https://www.abodepress.com/events

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Writer Wednesday: An Instagram Chat with Mentee and Mentor from our Writers Mentorship Program
Sep
13
2:30 PM14:30

Writer Wednesday: An Instagram Chat with Mentee and Mentor from our Writers Mentorship Program

Join us this upcoming Wednesday for a special IG Live chat featuring Melissa Rivero and Sofía Aguilar!

Melissa Rivero is the author of The Affairs of the Falcóns and the forthcoming novel, Flores and Miss Paula (Ecco/HarperCollins). She won the 2019 New American Voices Award, a 2020 International Latino Book Award, and was longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize. Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Brooklyn, she is a graduate of NYU and Brooklyn Law School, where she was an editor of the Brooklyn Law Review. Melissa still lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Sofía Aguilar is a Chicana writer and editor based on the traditional homelands of the Tongva and Chumash peoples, now known as Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in the L.A. Times, Refinery29 Somos, and New Orleans Review, among other publications. As an alum of WriteGirl and a first-generation college graduate, Sofía earned a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she received the Andrea Klein Willison Prize for Poetry and the Spencer Barnett Memorial Prize for Excellence in Latin American and Latinx Studies. Additionally, she is the 2022 recipient of the Sandra Cisneros Fellowship from Under the Volcano, a two-time Best of the Net nominee, and a finalist for the Academy of American Poets College Prize. STREAMING SERVICE: golden shovels made for tv (2021) is her self-published debut poetry chapbook. Its sequel STREAMING SERVICE: season two, also self-published, was released in June 2022. She is currently at work on her third poetry chapbook and her first novel. 

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WriteGirl Book Launch: What’s Behind the Blue Door?
Aug
26
3:00 PM15:00

WriteGirl Book Launch: What’s Behind the Blue Door?

WriteGirl is very excited to celebrate the release of our very own creativity journal, What’s Behind the Blue Door!

To officially launch this book, we are partnering with beloved local Pasadena bookstore, Octavia’s Bookshelf, for a special book launch event on Saturday, August 26, 2023 from 3 - 4:30 PM (PT)!

Join us for an afternoon of celebration, cupcakes, and of course, writing! Several WriteGirl alums will be reading their creative work, and we’re thrilled to have WriteGirl volunteer DaVida Chanel Baker emceeing the event!

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Big Gay Reading
May
21
7:00 PM19:00

Big Gay Reading

Hosted by Sofia Fey! Featuring: Melissa Ximena Golebiowski, Dare Williams, Sofía Aguilar, Angela Peñaredondo, Aman K. Batra, Olivia Gatwood, Brian Sonia Wallace, Edwin Bodney, Brian Kim, Amelia Ada, Danielle P. Williams, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal

Tix: https://juniorhighlosangeles.com/calendar

$10 for all ages

COVID-19 vaccinations are mandatory to attend events at Junior High. Proof must be available upon request. You may access your Digital Vaccination Record here. 

This event will be indoors. Accessible Pricing options are available.

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Obsidian Tongues Open Mic ft. Sofía Aguilar
May
13
7:30 PM19:30

Obsidian Tongues Open Mic ft. Sofía Aguilar

Community! Obsidian Tongues is so proud and honored to feature an amazing author Sofia Aguilar @sofiaxaguilar.


Bio: Sofía Aguilar is a Chicana writer and editor based on the traditional homelands of the Tongva and Chumash peoples, now known as Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in Los Angeles Times, Refinery29 Somos, and New Orleans Review, among other publications. As an alum of WriteGirl and a first-generation college graduate, Sofía earned a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she received the Andrea Klein Willison Prize for Poetry and the Spencer Barnett Memorial Prize for Excellence in Latin American and Latinx Studies. She is currently a 2023 Mentee in the Latinx in Publishing Writers Mentorship Program, working on her first novel.
Names of books: STREAMING SERVICE: golden shovels made for tv; STREAMING SERVICE: season two

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GLAAD Hangout w/ Special Guest Sofía Aguilar
Apr
18
3:00 PM15:00

GLAAD Hangout w/ Special Guest Sofía Aguilar

GLAAD Hangout with GLAAD's Communities of Color and Media Junior Associate Kayla Thompson (@kaylamarie_99) and special guest Sofía Aguilar (@sofiaxaguilar), a queer Chicana writer and editor based on the traditional homelands of the Tongva and Chumash peoples, now known as Los Angeles, CA. Kayla and Sofía discuss Sofía's role as the Editor-in-Chief of Mag 20/20 (@magtwentytwenty), efforts to champion the rights and representations of marginalized communities in pop culture, media, and entertainment, and their written work, which has appeared in Los Angeles Times, Refinery29 Somos, and Them, among other publications.

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Still We Rise Poetry Workshop
Mar
31
4:00 PM16:00

Still We Rise Poetry Workshop

What do you want to fight for? In this generative writing workshop, Sofía Aguilar will faciliate a group-led reading and discussion of three political poetry poems from revolutionary thinkers and writers, then offer a series of questions as prompts to create their own political poem, with an optional opportunity for sharing. Attendees will learn how to use and identify strategies for using poetry as a medium for social justice, call to action, community empowerment, protest against injustice, resistance to oppression, and meaningful change. This will be a free workshop for writers of any level with an emphasis on youth attendance, and will close the workshop schedule to encourage youth to apply to our SCC YPLP application.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3JAqjtP

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2nd Annual Women's History Month Hands Off Panel & Assembly
Mar
3
9:00 AM09:00

2nd Annual Women's History Month Hands Off Panel & Assembly

Featuring a Q+A panel with Sofía Aguilar, a published poet and writer who has been featured in THEM magazine; Carol Downer, a feminist lawyer, activist, and creator of the at-home abortion method: menstrual extraction, as well as the co-founder of the Feminist Women's Health Center in Los Angeles; and Senator Menjivar, who made history in the last election and, among many other projects, advocates for LGBTQ+ youth. 

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