Tag: Fiction

L.A. Book Launch & Theatrical Reading: The Sun Has Fallen by Tyler Neufeld

Told entirely in rhyme, an ensemble of 10 actors will bring 24 characters to life in this staged reading

The Sun Has Fallen is an epic poem and Tyler Neufeld’s authorial debut. It follows a fateful tale of magic, ghosts, children, second chances, and a battle between good and evil across an abstracted chessboard fantasy map. Told entirely in rhyme, an ensemble of 10 actors will bring 24 characters to life in this staged reading accompanied by props, costumes, and animated background visual graphics.

Content advisory: This piece contains gun violence and suicide.

Prologue Excerpt

Heaven and hell are no longer.

They’ve left their stations and come to Earth,

the winters colder, the summers stronger,

the sun so hot that it melted the needle

atop the pointed cross on the highest steeple

of the church. The metal drip dropped down.

The young ones watch from the bottom ground.

It looked as though the needle ripped a hole in the sky.

The sun melted things now that it hung so nigh.

Off in the distance the ghosts sang and laughed.

It was heaven that made them laugh like that.

But the living, no, they were still facing the sun,

disease, and rot, and the devil’s gun,

and they knew there was only one escape –

off to the graveyard where ghosts await…

Join us on June 26th for this theatrical reading and book launch celebration!

Doors Open: 7:30 PM I Staged Reading: 8:00 PM

About the cast and creative team:

(Playwright / Director) – Tyler Neufeld (he/him) is a professional scenic artist, playwright, & immersive experience designer. He is a 2025 graduate of the UCLA School of Theater. His work often revolves around his queer identity, climate justice, science fiction, & fantasy. Tyler currently works in the escape room and theater industries wearing many hats. The Sun Has Fallen is his first book, and he is so excited to present this work with an amazing cast!

(The Mother) – Amanda Kang is an LA based actor working in theatre and film. Additional theater credits include Into the Woods (The Moonlight Stage), The Chinese Lady (Chance Theater), and The Addams Family (Berkeley Playhouse). Film Credits include Ladke (VC Film Fest, UK Asian Film Fest, San Diego Film Fest) and Call Earl (Overlook Film Fest, Grimm Fest, Final Girls Berlin). Amanda is a graduate of UCLA’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program. Keep up with her at amandakangofficial.com or follow her on Instagram @amandakang_.

(The Queen) – Noite is an actor, full‑time artist, and stilt‑walking beam of chaos who believes creativity should shake the world awake. Whether towering above crowds or creating from the ground up, she aims to spark imagination and reminds people that change begins with the brave, the curious, and the delightfully unhinged dreamers. She builds stories, characters, and vibrant worlds with one mission: to inspire others to believe they can transform their own. If you’re into big art, big energy, and someone who literally refuses to stay small, Noite is exactly who you’re looking for.

(The King) – Tristian Kinney, born in Cleveland, Ohio, cultivated his passion for the arts within a musical family. His journey reached a milestone during his senior year of high school, propelling him to pursue a career in the arts. This dedication guided him to UCLA, where he majored in Theater, Film, and Television, showcasing his commitment to mastering the diverse realms of storytelling and visual expression.

(Kam / The Advisor) – Ari Villalon (they/he) is a silly actor and a few other colors outside the lines. Although their background had primarily been in theatre, they’ve explored film, scaring, and voiceover in indie animation + games. On occasion, they enjoy sketching the world around them and within, and developing plays. He was last seen as Mary Shelley’s trans son Florence Percy Shelley, in the staged reading of Miss Godwin & The Monster Within, written by E.M. Lark / directed by Bi Muse Lee. They’d like to thank Tyler, everyone for having them onboard, and their friends and family.

(Cory / Torin) – Zayas Lanier is an Afro-Puerto Rican actor with a background in theatre, film, music, and graphic design. A classically trained tenor, Zayas has performed chorally at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall. Prior to focusing on theatre and film, Zayas spent six years working in live entertainment before pursuing further training and mentorship with industry professionals. Alongside performance, Zayas works as a graphic designer and business consultant, collaborating with artists and creatives throughout the entertainment industry. Outside of performing, Zayas enjoys video games, anime, yoga, and baking, and looks forward to continued growth through new creative collaborations.

(Amilie / Vareyr) – Haven Schneider, a 2020 USC Theater Arts graduate, moved to LA from NYC. They began their professional acting career at 14 in the television show Most Likely To and never looked back. Some of their most exciting roles have been Nikko in Disney’s Miraculous Ladybug: Stellar Force and Alice Worthington in Stardust. They enjoy long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners. Additional acting credits include a few roles in the Trails and Yakuza video game series, Ferrah/Evil Gabby in She Kills Monsters, Chris Parton in Signals, Vulcara in Reforged, and more. They are excited to be a part of the show, and you can follow their journey on instagram @haven.g.schneider.

(Renny / Mora) – Envy! (they/them) is an actor, writer, and clowning enthusiast from San Diego, California. In 2023, they graduated with their B.F.A in acting from AMDA. Since graduating they have been in a lot of fun projects. Including, starring in Last Call Theatre’s Reforged and voice acting for an upcoming project from Sandglass Studios. While not acting you can find Envy! crocheting with a ball of yarn and falling down while learning to ice skate! They are so grateful for this opportunity to work with such a fantastic team to bring to life Tyler’s amazing work!

L.A. Book Launch: Rogue Astronaut by Mitchell Jacobs

Book Launch for “Rogue Astronaut” (University of Arizona Press) featuring Mitchell Jacobs and featured guests

Join us for the book launch of Rogue Astronaut by Mitchell Jacobs. The author will be joined by Darren Donate, Maxwell Suzuki, and Jorrell Watkins for a poetry reading in The Wanda Coleman Theater. Reception & book signings to follow.

Finalist for the 2026 Miller Williams Poetry Prize, at the core of Rogue Astronaut, Mitchell Jacobs’s debut poetry collection, is a mystery: Was the poet’s father abducted by aliens as a teenager? From this uncanny family lore spins a gravitational field of theory, grief, and imagination, spurring speculations about the extraterrestrial as well as the terrestrial question of familial bonds: What are the limits of understanding between two alien anatomies, between two unlike minds? Are we, after all, finally alone?

In poems that continually veer from play to reverence, from body horror to bodily delight, encounters with bed bugs and cuttlefish appear side by side with retro gaming and phantom light. A brother living with delusions turns toward the sky. The poet also peers skyward in search of connection—across family lines, across the body’s borders, across galaxies. Outer space becomes a metaphorical terrain where queer desire and spiritual longing collide. Just as Agent Mulder’s iconic X-Files poster declares “I WANT TO BELIEVE,” so do these poems ache to trust in something more—extraterrestrial life, divine presence, intimacy.

Jacobs’s electrifying collection offers readers a singular voice attuned to the strangeness of living now—where science fiction and memory, tenderness and dissociation, belief and doubt pulse in tangled orbit. With wit, vision, and formal inventiveness, Rogue Astronaut charts a course through the mysterious and the intimate, inviting us to imagine new ways of connecting across distance, time, and the alien terrain of self.

Doors Open: 7:00 PM I Readings: 7:30 PM

About the authors

Mitchell Jacobs is a PhD candidate at the University of Southern California, where he served as managing editor of Ricochet Editions. His poems have won the Iowa Review Prize and the Prufer Prize from Pleiades. His debut book of poems, Rogue Astronaut (University of Arkansas Press, 2026), was selected by Patricia Smith as a finalist in the Miller Williams Poetry Series.

Darren Donate is a PhD candidate in Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Southern California. His poetry is forthcoming in The Penn Review and has been recently published in Hunger Mountain Review, issue #33. He is currently working on a small chapbook of poems.

Maxwell Suzuki is a queer writer who lives in Los Angeles. He is on the staff of The Rumpus and Split Lip Press. Maxwell is the author of the fiction chapbook, Voyager 2, This is Voyager 1, Over (Gold Line Press, 2024), and the poetry chapbook, Bust of an Athlete (Iron Horse Literary Review, 2024). His work has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Craft Literary, Lunch Ticket, The Normal School, and South Dakota Review.

Jorrell Watkins is from Richmond, VA. His disability inclusive play Meet us at the Horizon was produced by Combined Efforts Theater Co. for its 2019 world premiere. His chapbook If Only the Sharks Would Bite won the inaugural Desert Pavilion Chapbook Series in Poetry (Black Rock Press, 2020). He is also the coauthor of Studies in Brotherly Love (Prompt Press, 2021), a poetry chapbook based on Malcolm Corley’s paintings, with Claretta Holsey, DJ Savarese, and Lateef McLeod. His debut full-length collection, Play|House was published by Northwestern University Press in 2024.

About Beyond Baroque

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States’ leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public’s knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

Livestream: If you can’t join us in person the event will be livestreamed on Beyond Baroque’s YouTube channel at the scheduled time of the event. If you are tuning in this way, no ticket purchase is necessary.

If you are attending in person, ticket purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. Please arrive early.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.

Sikivu Hutchinson on Humanists in the Hood: Book Talk and Music

Book talk on Sikivu Hutchinson’s Humanist in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist and Heretical, centering Black secular humanism

On Sunday, May 31, Sikivu Hutchinson will give a book talk with guitar music on Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist and Heretical . The talk will address explorations of atheism and secular humanism amongst Black folks in the midst of white supremacist Christian nationalist backlash against Black civil and human rights and self-determination.

Over the past decade, greater numbers of African Americans have embraced secular and/or non-religious views and perspectives. In her talk, Hutchinson will examine some of the following questions: What is Black Feminist Humanism? Why and how is it relevant to Black women and Black people seeking alternatives to the dogmas, hierarchies, constraints and judgment of organized religion in an era of unrelenting white Christian nationalist attacks? What are the social and historical origins of Black secular humanism in the U.S.? Why are more young African Americans across gender and sexuality critiquing and rejecting organized religion, making Gen Z youth and young adults (especially queer young adults) the most secularized demographic in modern American history? How is Black secular humanism relevant to contemporary social, racial and gender justice movements? How is it relevant to K-12 education and gender-based violence prevention education?

Sikivu will explore these questions and more at a book talk and musical performance with friends at Lore Leimert Bookstore on Sunday, May 31st.

SIKIVU HUTCHINSON is based in South L.A. Her plays include White Nights, Black Paradise (based on her 2015 novel), Grinning Skull, Narcolepsy, Inc. and Rock ‘n’ Roll Heretic, which is adapted from her 2021 novel Rock ‘n’ Roll Heretic: The Life and Times of Rory Tharpe. Her books include Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist and Heretical; Imagining Transit, Race, Gender and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles; and Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars. She is the founder of Black Skeptics Los Angeles, and the Women’s Leadership Project, a Black feminist mentoring program for Black girls, girls of color and queer youth in South L.A. She is also a guitarist-singer-songwriter. Her folk/rock/cowpunk work can be found on Spotify. IG @sikivu and www.sikivuhutchinson.com

Shay Kauwe, in conversation with Keala Kendall, discusses & signs The Killing Spell

In this spellbinding fantasy debut set in a future where language magic reigns, a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name.

Kea Petrova is dealing with more than her fair share of trouble. At just twenty-five years old, she’s the youngest of five Hawaiian clan leaders living on the Homestead in outer Los Angeles. Nearly 200 years ago, when a catastrophic flood submerged the Hawaiian islands and unleashed magic into the world, these clans forged a treaty with the city, establishing a new Hawaiian homeland. But that treaty is about to expire.

“Deadweight” Q&A and Book Signing with BOBBY LEE

The LAST BOOKSTORE Studio City welcomes comedian Bobby Lee as he discusses his debut graphic novel “Deadweight” with Matthew Medney!

Bobby Lee visits The LAST BOOKSTORE Studio City to discuss his debut graphic novel Deadweight!

From the twisted minds of Bobby Lee, Matthew Medney, Steve Orlando, and GUNGNIR, DEADWEIGHT is a blood-soaked, nut-cracking, soul-reclaiming battle royale that mashes Bruce Lee, John Wick, and Scott Pilgrim into one gloriously deranged saga of destiny and demons.

Bobby Lee was just a grease-stained loser scrubbing dishes in a decaying hell tower–until a haunted sword showed up and everyone in his building turned into flesh-hungry death cultists armed with blenders, bug zappers, and bloodlust.

Now Bobby’s slashing his way floor by floor through possessed neighbors, chainsaw perverts, satanic raver armies, and a hallucinogenic horde of suburban nightmares. Every kill drags him deeper into a war he doesn’t understand, but the sword in his hand has other plans–and it’s not letting go.

Destiny called. Bobby sent it to voicemail.

Now it’s kicking in the door with a flaming stripper pole.

Rune Edition

In Norse mythology, runes are not merely letters–they are sacred, magical symbols drawn from the ancient Germanic alphabets such as the Elder Futhark, used by Vikings for writing, divination, and the public display of power. Each rune was believed to carry cosmic knowledge, a fragment of the universe’s hidden order, first revealed when Odin sacrificed himself to Yggdrasil, hanging between life and death to seize wisdom from beyond the veil. More than phonetic marks, runes embodied gods, elemental forces, and spiritual truths, functioning as a living bridge between the material world and the unseen. Even the word rune comes from the Old Norse rún-meaning “secret” or “mystery.” Our Rune Editions honor this legacy: books forged not simply to be read, but to be held as vessels of power, knowledge, and myth, carrying stories meant to endure.

Presented as a GUNGNIR Rune Edition in a custom magnetic case.

Bobby Lee is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. He co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends with Andrew Santino and TigerBelly with Khalyla Kuhn. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on MADtv, and from 2018 to 2019 he co-starred in the ABC sitcom Splitting Up Together alongside Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson. His film credits include Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), Pineapple Express (2008), and The Dictator (2012). He also appeared as the cynical, burned-out Dr. Kang in FX on Hulu’s comedy series Reservation Dogs.

Steve Orlando is a comic book writer best known for his work with DC and Marvel Comics, including acclaimed runs on Justice League of America, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, X-Men, and The Avengers. In 2015, he wrote Midnighter for DC Comics, which was recognized by io9 as one of the “20 Best Comics of 2015” and “The Best Portrayal of a Gay Superhero in Mainstream Comics.” His two Midnighter series went on to receive GLAAD Media Award nominations in 2017. Currently, Orlando writes Scarlet Witch for Marvel Comics, and his work has earned him an Eisner Award nomination, cementing his place as one of the most dynamic voices in modern comics. approved

Matthew Medney Founder, Publisher, Creator

Matt Medney is a visionary storyteller, co-founder of Iconic Arts LTD, and Founder, Publisher of Gungnir Books. Former CEO of Heavy Metal Magazine and co-founder of Hero Projects, he is a best-selling author of Beyond Kuiper, Above The Ground, Dark Wing, and The Adventures of Adrienne James. Medney has led major collaborations with icons like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shaggy, Steve Aoki, and brands such as Disney, the NFL, Coca-Cola, and Live Nation’s Rolling Loud. He made history by bringing comic books to the NFL with the Bobby Wagner and Seattle Seahawks graphic novel on Monday Night Football. Medney was also Head Writer for the $300M-raised MMO Star Atlas and continues to innovate in online gaming.