Category: Blog

BookSwell is producing the WeHo Reads 2022 literary season!

Posted onAuthorcodysisco

Great news! BookSwell has been selected by the City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division to produce the 2022 WeHo Reads season. BookSwell founder and managing editor Cody Sisco proposed a series of eight online events on the theme of creating joy in the midst of sorrow that will take the audience on a memorable journey throughout 2022.

Literary communities have continued to struggle through difficult times and yet many writers are not only confronting sources of pain and injustice but also creating paths toward healing, lightness, and joy. We aim to recognize the contribution of writers and lift up their voices.

Stay tuned for more info!

You can sign up to receive email updates here:

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If you missed our events in 2020 and 2021, catch up on our YouTube channel or check out the highlights below:

  • WeHo Reads: Going Dark to Bring Light

    Wednesday, December 3, 2025 | 6:30–8 p.m. (PT) Heading into the winter season, we explore dark themes in fiction to shed light on humanity’s capacity for grace and terrible crimes.

  • WeHo Reads: Wild and Powerful Imaginations

    Wednesday, November 12, 2025 | 6:30–8 p.m. (PT) How do writers harness their imaginations to create new worlds, reshape realities, and advocate for justice? How can their stories help us envision more inclusive futures?

  • WeHo Reads: Voices of Transformation

    Wednesday, October 8, 2025 | 6:30–8 p.m. (PT) To achieve transformation, we must first imagine it.

  • WeHo Reads: Richard Blanco and Kim Dower in Conversation During National Poetry Month

    April 16, 2025 · 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT What role does poetry play in shaping our sense of self and our connection to the world? How can poetic expression illuminate identity, belonging, and universal truths?

  • WeHo Reads: Feminism and Fearlessness During Women’s History Month

    March 19, 2025 · 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT How do writers channel their imaginations to confront fear, champion equity, and reimagine the world? How can their fearless storytelling inspire advocacy and action? 

  • WeHo Reads: Power and Progress During Black History Month

    February 26, 2025 · 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT Watch WeHo Reads: Power and Progress During Black History Month How do writers use their imaginations to empower themselves and their audiences? How do their stories shape the future?

  • WeHo Reads: Through a Lens Queerly

    Wednesday, December 11, 2024 | 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT What makes a memory? What makes an idol? Through what lens do we examine ourselves and our community?  Join us for a discussion about queer lives, the stories we tell both in words and images, and how we see each other.

  • WeHo Reads: Imagining and Building Restorative Communities 

    Wednesday, November 20, 2024 | 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT 2024 is a year of possibilities and perils, and it’s more important than ever for writers to share their thoughts on imagining and building restorative communities.

Queer Slam Fundraiser for AIDS Walk LA 2021

Posted onAuthorcodysisco


Monday, August 23 at 7 pm via Zoom

Queer Slam is a monthly podcast featuring stories, spoken word, and poetry from LA’s queer community.

Join us to hear headlining and open mic poets and storytellers in celebration of queerness.

Before COVID-19, there was “the other pandemic” of HIV/AIDS, which took an immeasurable toll on the LGBTQ+ community and many other marginalized communities. AIDS Project Los Angeles, and later APLA Heath & Wellness, responded early and swiftly to provide care and resources to those who were affected. Today, they provide comprehensive healthcare, dental, and behavioral health services to people with and without private insurance, on Medicaid—anyone who needs care can access it there. The quest to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues with treatment and prevention services and advocacy.

This online event, produced by Cody Sisco and Colby Cameron Holt and hosted by Tony Soto, is free to attend via Zoom. All proceeds from pay-what-you-will ticketed donations will go to APLA Health and Wellness for AIDS Walk LA 2021.

This event raised $120 for AIDS Walk LA 2021.

About the Headlining Poets

Gordon Blitz

After spending forty years as an accountant, Gordon retired in 2017 and became a writing machine. During 2020, Gordon had published work in Wingless Dreamer, Two Hawks Quarterly, The Doctor T.J.Eckleburg Review, Issue #22 of Really Systems, Gay Wicked Ways and Emeritus Chronicles. On January 1st 2021, his novella Shipped Off was published as part of the Running Wild Press Novella Anthology Volume four, book one. He’s a standup comic who has performed at Canter’s and The Blackbox Theater at the GLBT Village in Hollywood. He was also a contestant on “Hear My Story” that was featured on

IMRU. You can listen to his very own special episode of Queer Slam called “Just Gordon”. We love him very much here at Queer Slam!

His blog URL is: https://culturecritique.blog/

C.R.U.S.H. (Creating.Realities.Using.Spiritual.Hands)

C.R.U.S.H. is a literary and spoken word artist who has performed internationally and is a nationally ranked slam poet. They are the15th ranked female poet in the nation (Women of the World Poetry Slam 2020) and the 30th ranked poet in the world (iWPS). They are a member of the Dallas Poetry Slam Team where they took 1st place at Southwest Shootout 2019 Team Competition and 2nd Place at SoFried 2019 and IPS 2021 Regional Poetry Team Competition Their purpose is merging poetry, art, and positive energy to help others find healing and inner power to create their desired realities.

Their website is: https://crush-crave.square.site/