Las Positas College (LPC) will host its annual Literary Arts Festival at the Mertes Center for the Arts on the Livermore campus from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 13.
Among the highlights, Tommy Orange, author of "There There," which won the American Book Award in 2019, will sit down for a “fireside chat” with Michelle Cruz Gonzales, LPC English professor and the author of the autobiographical "The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band.”
In addition, Bruce Henderson, New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 nonfiction books, will discuss “The Untold Story of Japanese Americans in WWII” with LPC English professor Jim Ott.
Henderson’s most recent book, “Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in World War II,” tells the story of Japanese American U.S. Army soldiers who fought in the Pacific theater, even as their families back home in America were being held in government internment camps.
The festival will also include LPC student veterans sharing their thoughts on writing about their military experiences, readings by California poet laureate Lee Herrick and Livermore poet laureate Peggy Schimmelman, a discussion with drag performers Ava LaShay and Avery Night entitled “Drag Queen Storytime for Kids and Kids at Heart,” and several writing and publishing workshops.
The festival is free, but seating is limited and registration is encouraged.
To register and for a complete list of activities, go to laspositascollege.edu/literary-festival.
