Celebrate the new year! Join us for an afternoon of writing and community! Learn to name your intentions for the new year, imagine communal and individual visions of the future, and turn your hope into poetry.
Writers of all levels welcome!
Ever wanted to write a manifesto? Join us for a poetry writing workshop! Read and discuss poems of political significance from revolutionary thinkers and writers, then use a series of prompts to create your own poetic manifesto toward protest against injustice, resistance to oppression, and meaningful change. Suggested donation of $10, with funds going towards Palestinian aid.
Get tickets here!
Join us for a love-themed poetry workshop! While Valentine’s Day focuses on romantic love, get ready to explore familial, communal, and platonic love, and learn how to practice love, romance, tenderness, and care in your creative work.
Get tickets here!
Listen to local authors read from their works. Meet them, get copies of their book after the reading and mingle with other book lovers.
About this event's authors
Toti O’Brien is the Italian Accordionist with the Irish Last Name. Born in Rome, living in Los Angeles, she is an artist, musician and dancer. She is the author of four collections of poetry and three of prose. Her short story collection, Alter Alter, was released by Elyssar Press in 2024.
Désirée Zamorano is the author of the groundbreaking historical fiction novel, Dispossessed, and the highly acclaimed literary novel, The Amado Women. An award-winning short story writer, her work is often an exploration of issues of invisibility, injustice or inequity. A selection of her writing appears in Alta, The Kenyon Review Online and Akashic’s South Central Noir. She is a senior fiction editor at Silk Road Review. She lives and thrives in Altadena.
Sofía Aguilar is a Chicana writer, editor, and library professional 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. Her debut children’s picture book, Queer Latine Heroes: 25 Changemakers from Latin America and the U.S. from History and Today, is forthcoming from Jessica Kingsley Publishers in September 2025. She is at work on her third poetry chapbook and her first novel.
Celeste Gomez is a Mexican-Puerto Rican American artist, creator, and entrepreneur. She's the author of the poetry collection, Besos. She strives to use her language and poetry to promote healing. She is currently on her book tour (January - March 2025) promoting Besos and her new work from her upcoming project, which is book 2!
Featuring headlining poets: Salma Alejo, Franceli Chapman-Varela, Lina Belle, Pedro Iniguez
Come out to enjoy as an audience member or sign up on the spot to perform on the mic! All genres welcome.
Join Us for a Night of Art & Solidarity!The South Gate 4 present a mutual aid fundraiser.
Enjoy poetry, live performances, food, tattoos, and more.🌹💌✨
Proceeds will be split equally between Palestine and Los Angeles:
🇵🇸Palestinian Aid:
Part of the donations will go to the Alladaa family in North Gaza, providing urgent support to buy food and continue building their new home. @ayoub.aladaa @mohammad.alladaa The other part will go to the Palestinian volunteer team @Palestinians_11, providing vital aid on the ground.
🏙️Los Angeles Aid:
Funds will support the local initiatives Waterdrop LA, Midnight Books LA and J-Town Action & Solidarity, as well as supporting a comrade in need.
⭐️Huntington Park
📍3382 E Florence Ave
🗓️Saturday, Dec 21
⏰7PM
😷 Wear a mask!
💸 Suggested donation $10 but No one will be turned away due to lack of funds!
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!
A one-day writer's retreat for writers at any stage, whether you're a total beginner or you've been writing your whole life. Includes yoga, panels, workshops, an open mic, and more. A great opportunity to build community, beat your writer's block, and have fun while doing it.
Grab tickets here!
A poetry reading, signing, and workshop that focuses on writing through the lens of coming-of-age.
Books available for purchase. $5 suggested donation.
Ticket link coming soon!
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!
A variety show of essays, original music, poetry, speeches on intriguing topics - it’s everything non-fiction! Hosted by Julie Pearson and Katie Visser.
Purchase tickets here!
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.
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
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.
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!
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!
Join us for an afternoon of journaling and vision board making! Give voice to your manifestations, dreams, and hopes for the new year - supplies provided!
You’re invited!
Via Zoom!
Admission is FREE! Tell your friends!
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
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
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.
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.)
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.
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.
Live screen printing
Tote bag decorating
Vendors!
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
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.
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!
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.
An online lecture from Sofía Aguilar during Professor Marisa Tirado’s “TV and American Culture” class at University of Colorado Boulder, where she will discuss how to pitch TV op-ed pieces and craft your angle and headline, share a glossary of terms, and offer general takeaways and tips.
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
Community! Join us Saturday, April 29th at 6:00 PM for our night of celebrating #independentbookstoreday!
We are so honored to bring you a showcase of poets that never hesitate to build and help community grow and thrive.
See you there!
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.
