Avsnitt
-
Pearl AuYeung is the absolutely delightful author and illustrator of the 2022 children’s picture book The Best Kind of Mooncake (Page Street Kids). Based in Los Angeles, born in Hong Kong, and raised in Shanghai, China, Pearl works as a Mattel Toy Designer. She is the illustrator of the upcoming children’s picture book Nearly Almost Exactly Like Me (Simon and Schuster, 2025).
Books recommended by Pearl AuYeung:
Babel by R F Kuang
These Olive Trees by Aya Ghanameh
Recommended by VW bookseller, Akosa:
shima by sho yamagushiku
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. A new episode is released every other Wednesday! Need to reach out or have questions? Feel free to email us at [email protected]. If you love the show and want us to keep creating, please leave us a review!
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
-
Brian Sonia-Wallace is a multifaceted author and poet raised in Culver City, California and Santiago, Chile. His memoir, The Poetry of Strangers (Harper Collins, 2020), details his experiences engaging with the world through poetry. Brian has contributed to notable publications like the Guardian, LitHub, and Rolling Stone. His latest publication is Maze Mouth (Moontide Press, 2023). Brian fosters LGBTQ+ voices through a poetry column for The Pride LA and teaches creative writing at UCLA Writers’ Extension and the nonprofit Get Lit—Words Ignite. Sonia-Wallace's impact on the literary community is further recognized by his role as the fourth poet laureate of West Hollywood.
Books recommended by Brian Sonia-Wallace:
A poem is a house by Linda Ravenswood
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen
Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin
Recommended by VW community member, Buzzy Cohen:
Tenth of December by George Saunders
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. A new episode is released every other Wednesday! Need to reach out or have questions? Feel free to email us at [email protected].
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
-
Saknas det avsnitt?
-
An LA native mystery author of 20 novels and short story collections, a television writer on the acclaimed FX series Snowfall, Gary Phillips is the real deal. The sequel to his most recent novel, One Shot Harry (2022), will come out in April 2024, entitled Ash Dark as Night. Gary's classic 1994 LA-based Noir fiction novel Violent Spring has its 30th anniversary edition release in May of 2024.
Books recommended by Gary Phillips:
To Protect and To Serve: The LAPD's Century of War in the City of Dreams By Joe Domanick
City of Quartz by Mike Davis
Fire this Time by Gerald Thorn
Recommended by VW bookseller, Avery Weinman:
James by Percival Everett
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. A new episode is released every other Wednesday! Need to reach out or have questions? Feel free to email us at [email protected].
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
-
Kayla Min Andrews is the daughter of Katherine Min, author of The Fetishist, a book both the LA Times and Washington Post are calling “ahead of its time.” Katherine Min received a National Endowment of the Arts writer’s grant, a Pushcart Prize, and attended 8 different writers residencies. The Katherine Min MacDowell Fellowship exists in her name.
Kayla wrote the afterword to The Fetishist. Her forthcoming essay to be published in The Massachusetts Review.
Books recommended by Kayla Min Andrews:
Little Rabbit by Alyssa Songsiridej
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie
Recommended by community member and local author, Kim Purcell:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarro
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. We release a new episode every other week on Wednesdays. Need to reach out or have questions? Feel free to email us at [email protected].
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
-
Olivie Blake is the massively prolific and impressive New York Times best-selling fantasy and young adult author of The Atlas Six, and it’s sequel, The Atlas Paradox, Alone with You in the Ether, My Mechanical Romance, and many more books. Her newest book, The Atlas Complex, released on January 9th, concludes the Atlas trilogy.
Books recommended by Olivie Blake:
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg
An Impossible Thing to Say by Arya Shahi
Recommended by our bookseller Amri:
Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. We release a new episode every other week on Wednesdays. Need to reach out or have questions? Feel free to email us at [email protected]
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
Follow us on Instagram
Our Website Our Events
-
CJ LEEDE is a horror writer based in Los Angeles. Her debut novel, Maeve Fly, won this year’s Octavia E. Butler 2023 Golden Poppy Award. CJ has an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University, and a BA from NYU's Gallatin School, where she studied Mythology and the Middle Ages. When she is not driving around the country, she can be found in LA with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book- and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book! Check out our events!
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. We release bi-weekly. The hosts are Village Well booksellers Julia Elizabeth Evans and Jared Kassebaum.
Mentioned by CJ Leede in the episode:
Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille
Camp Damascus
Night's Edge by Liz Kerin
Jeff Morrical as our Culver & Duquesne community member recommendation:Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
by Gabrielle Zevin
-
Francesca Lia Block is the wildly prolific author of over 25 books, including her newest novel House of Hearts, and her writing memoir, The Thorn Necklace, and the YA classic Weetzie Bat. We discuss how writing is a source of healing, her parallel career as an MFA instructor, and her position as editor of Lit Angels, an online literary journal.
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. We release bi-weekly. The hosts are Village Well booksellers Julia Elizabeth Evans and Jared Kassebaum.
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book- and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
Check out our events!
Mentioned by Francesca Lia Block in the episode:
Lit Angels
Invisible Man
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Beloved
House of the Spirits
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Mentioned by Abby as our bookseller staff recommendation:
Birnam Wood
-
Colin Hinckley is both a bookseller and an author here at Village Well, and he is joining us on the podcast to talk about his 2023 release, The Black Lord. We discuss his process, journey, and his love for the genre of Cosmic Horror. We are honored to have him with us for our inaugural episode!
SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. We release every other week on Wednesday.
Village Well Books & Coffee is an independent book and coffee-shop in the heart of downtown Culver City. Come through, grab a drink, and read a book!
Purchase The Black Lord.
Mentioned by Colin Hinckley in the episode:
The House of Small Shadows
Follow us on Instagram
Our Website Our Events
This episode of Shelf Talkers is brought to you by Village Well Books & Coffee. It was produced by Jared Kassebaum and Julia Elizabeth Evans, edited by Julia Elizabeth Evans, additional mixing provided by Akaash Tumuluri, and our theme music is from Noah Viklund.
