Local Authors Discuss, ‘How Stories Saved Us’

– Courtesy photo

How Stories Saved Us by Southland Writers is the highlight of the festive Sierra Madre Library Open House on Saturday, April 15, 2017. Moderator Cynthia Prochaska is joined by Sandy Yang, Victoria Patterson, and Michael Jaime-Becerra at noon.

• Cynthia Adam Prochaska’s stories have appeared in Santa Monica Review, the Florida Review, LA Fiction Anthology: Southland Stories by Southland Writers and Literary Pasadena. In a past life, she was a professor at Mount San Antonio College.

• Victoria Patterson is the author of the novel, “The Little Brother,” which Vanity Fair called “a brutal, deeply empathetic, and emotionally wrenching examination of American male privilege and rape culture.” She is also the author of the novels “The Peerless Four” and “This Vacant Paradise,” a 2011 New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Her story collection, “Drift,” was a finalist for the California Book Award and the Story Prize and was selected as one of the best books of 2009 by The San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in South Pasadena, California, with her family and teaches at Antioch University.

• Sandy Yang’s fiction has appeared in Santa Monica Review, The Los Angeles Review, Juked, Monkeybicyde and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a scholarship from the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop and a Village Voice fellowship for minority writers. Her journalism has been published by The Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly and The Los Angeles Times. She holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Arizona, and is currently working on a novel about stand-up comedy.

• Michael Jaime-Becerra is from El Monte, California. He is the author of “This Time Tomorrow,” a novel awarded an International Latino Book Award, and “Every Night Is Ladies’ Night,” a story collection that received the California Book Award for a First Work of Fiction. His essays have been featured in the Los Angeles Times and on Zócalo Public Square and KCRW, while more recent work is in “ZYZZYVA,” “Black Clock,” and “LAtitudes: An Angeleno’s Atlas.”

The gala Open House on Saturday, April 15, is the focal point of National Library Week, April 9 – 15 at the Sierra Madre Public Library. This year’s theme, “Libraries Transform” celebrates the Library’s transforming of lives and the community through free access to technology, information, diverse collections, and community engagement.

Open House featured events include:

• 11 a.m. – U.S. Representative Judy Chu
• 11 a.m. – Family Comedy Magic Show, Abbit the Average.
• Noon – How Stories Saved Us by Southland Writers. Moderator Cynthia Prochaska is joined by Sandy Yang, Victoria Patterson, and Michael Jaime-Becerra at noon.

Activities from 11:00 a.m. through the afternoon

• Video Interviews: How has the Library transformed my life? Share your story about the positive change Libraries have made in your life.
• Teen Docent Local History Tours
• New Technology Table
• Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society • Friends of the Library Table
• Friends Mini Book Sale
• Light Refreshments
• Free DVD rentals all day

Programs throughout Natiom l Library Week:

• Monday April 10 10:00 am, Preschool Storytime
• Tuesday, April 11 10:00 am, Baby Rhyme Time
• Wednesday, April 12 4:00 pm, T-shirt silk-screening for Teens
• Wednesday, April 12 7:00 pm, Preschool Storytime
• Thursday, April 13 3:30 pm, Barks & Books
• Saturday, April 15 11:00 am, Library Open House

Libraries are not just a place for books, but the heart of a community. You are invited to the National Library Week activities to discover how the Library can transform your life.

Read, Discover, Connect © Sierra Madre Public Library

440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024, (626) 355-7186, Text (626) 662-1254, www.cityofsierramadre.com/departments/library

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