Patron Saints of Influence Reading #2 takes place on Sunday, September 26, 5-7PM at Shady Oak Barrel House with featured readers Scott Russel Duncan, Miah Jeffra, and Tomas Moniz. January’s “influencer” is James Baldwin.
More about the featured readers:
Scott Russell Duncan, a Xicano writer, was editor on the first Chicano sci-fi anthology, El Porvenir, ¡Ya!, which was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He is creator and editor of Xicanxfuturism, a raza futurology anthology containing poetry, art, nonfiction, and fiction about or set in the future for raza to be published 2025. He is director of Palabras del Pueblo, an accessible and affordable writing workshop for la raza. He is co-creator of Maíz Poppin’ Press, a decolonial press, launching 2025. His nonfiction piece “Mexican American Psycho is in Your Dreams” won first place in the 2019 Solstice Literary Magazine Annual Literary Contest. He is at work on a collection of speculative short stories called Plurality. His novel, Old California Strikes Back, a magic memoir and meta-novel tour of California with the head of Joaquin Murrieta, is published through FlowerSong Press. www.scottrussellduncan.com
Miah Jeffra is author of four books—most recently The Violence Almanac (finalist for several awards, including the Grace Paley and Robert C Jones Book Prizes) and the novel American Gospel, finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Prize—and is co-editor, with Arisa White and Monique Mero, of the anthology Home is Where You Queer Your Heart. Miah is co-founder, with Chad Koch, of Whiting Award-winning queer and trans literary collaborative, Foglifter Press, and teaches writing, decolonial studies and cultural theory at Santa Clara University. Their favorite color is fried chicken. www.miahjeffra.com
Tomas Moniz is a latinx writer living in East Oakland, CA. His debut novel, Big Familia, was a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Hemingway and the LAMBDA. His new novel, All Friends Are Necessary published by Algonquin Books, was named a finalist for the California Golden Poppy Award. He teaches at Berkeley City College and the Antioch MFA program. He has stuff on the internet but loves pen pals: PO Box 3555, Berkeley CA 94703. He promises to write back. www.tomasmoniz.com
More about the event:
Patron Saints is a literary reading series & open mic in Santa Rosa, CA hosted by Sarah Broderick and Gaia Patience Veenis with featured readings by published writers sharing their own original work and space for writers from all backgrounds to share their work aloud. For each event, we also select a dearly departed literary “influencer” to honor and get inspired. You are welcome to share poetry, stories, essays, lyrics, memoir, or any sort of written work at our open mic. We just ask that you keep it under 5 minutes and, if you’re not sharing work inspired by our latest influencer, feel free to tell us at least one writer or artist who did influence you!
Arrive early (by 4:30PM) to sign up for the open mic, do some spontaneous writing if you’d like, and get your free gift.
If you want a writing prompt and something to read by James Baldwin ahead of time, have a suggestion for a future influencer, or have other questions, head to https://tinyurl.com/Patron-Saints-form
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Shady Oak Barrel House
420 First St
- Santa Rosa