Readings at the Bookstore

City Lights has an ongoing series of readings and events, usually at least one or two each week during the Winter, Spring, and Fall. Our online calendar is updated regularly, but if you want to be sure not to miss out on anything, be sure to sign up for our Newsletter to receive weekly updates on what's happening at the bookstore.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public and take place at City Lights Bookstore | 261 Columbus Avenue | San Francisco, CA 94133
For more information, call us at 415-362-8193 | Map & Directions

Subscribe on iTunes to our podcast series, Live From City Lights–broadcasting events & interviews from City Lights.

The Event Season continues in September 2018...... City Lights will take a break from events for the months of July and August. We will resume events in September.		Gabriela Alemán City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 7:00 p.m. celebrating the release of Poso Wells published by City Lights Books with special guests Mauro Javier Cardenas and Dick Cluster

Vanessa Hua City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, Sept 6, 2018, 7pm celebrating the release of A River of Stars published by Ballentine Books		R.O. Kwon City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, Sept 11, 2018, 7pm celebrating the release of The Incendiaries from Riverhead Books

Ingrid Rojas Contreras City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Wednesday, Sept 12, 2018, 7pm celebrating the release of her debut novel Fruit of the Drunken Tree from Random House		The Situationists and May 1968: An Evening with Ken Knabb City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, Sept 13, 2018, 7pm A discussion exploring the situationists' key influence on the nationwide May 1968 revolt in France

Margaret Randall City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018, 7pm celebrating the release of Time's Language: Collected Poems from Wings Press		Peter Phillips City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, 7:30 p.m. discussing the subject of his new book Giants: The Global Power Elite By Peter Phillips Introduction by William I. Robinson published by Seven Stories Press

Forrest Gander in conversation with Jonathan Santlofer (moderated by Susan Steinberg) City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, 7pm celebrating two new books: Be With - by Forrest Gander - from New Directions Widows Notebook - by Jonathan Santlofer - from Penguin		Eileen Truax in conversation with Lauren Markham (moderated by Ian Gordon) Mechanics' Institute Library, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 (Admission : Public $10.00, Members FREE Tuesday, September 25, 6:30 pm discussing the subject of We Build the Wall: How the US Keeps Out Asylum Seekers from Mexico, Central America and Beyond by Eileen Truax (from Verso Books)

Preti Taneja City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, 7 pm reading from her new debut novel We That Are Young published by Alfred Knopf		Léonora Miano City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018, 7 p.m City Lights in conjunction with the Cultural Services of the Consul General of France in San Francisco and Seagull Press present Léonora Miano in a special appearance

Voices of Witness @ City Lights City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, October 9, 2018, 7 pm celebrating the release of Six By Ten: Stories From Solitary Confinement published by Haymarket Books		John Freeman in conversation with Rebecca Solnit City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, 7:30 pm celebrating the release of Freeman's Literary Journal: POWER Issue published by Grove Press This event cosponsored by LITQUAKE

Preserving Fire: A meditation on the prose of Philip Lamantia City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 7:00 p.m. with Garrett Caples and Friends		In Situ: Guy Debord, Raoul Vaneigem, and the Situationist Moment City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 7 pm with Donald Nicholson Smith with Anselm Jappe

Toward a Calculus of Transgression: Appreciating Jean Patrick-Manchette City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Sunday, October 28, 2018, 5:00 pm Donald Nicholson-Smith and James Brook discuss the life and work of the seminal genre-bending writer		Juliana Spahr City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 7pm discussing the subject of her new book De Bois' Telegram : Literary Resistance and State Containment published by Harvard U. Press

The Residents City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 7 pm signing copies of their new book The Brickeaters published by Feral House		Adam Hochschild City Light Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, November 1, 2018, 7:00 p.m. discussing the subject of his new book Lessons from a Dark Time and Other Essays published by University of California Press

L.A. Kauffman City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, November 8, 2018, 7:00 p.m. discussing the subject of her new book How to Read a Protest: The Art of Organizing and Resistance published by University of California Press		Peter Nathaniel Malae in conversation with Alan Soldofsky City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Sunday, November 11, 2018, 5:00 p.m. celebrating the release of Son of Amity by Peter Nathaniel Malae - published by Oregon State University Press

Daniel Levin Becker on the Oulipo City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Thursday, November 15, 2018, 7:00 p.m. celebrating the release of All That is Evident is Suspect published by McSweeney's		Jeffrey Yang City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Tuesday, November 27, 2018, 7:00 p.m. reading from new poetry and a new book: Hey Marfa! poems published by Graywolf Press

Kevin Killian City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 7:00 p.m. celebrating the release of Fascination: Memoirs from Semiotexte