(Livermore, Calif., April 24, 2025) - The fifth annual Las Positas College (LPC) Literary Arts Festival will be held Saturday, May 10, from 9:30 am – 6 pm, featuring internationally-known authors, an Afghan-American master memoirist, award-winning one-act plays, dating sociologist podcasters, a Pushcart Prize nominated poet, a punk rock author, the LPC Poetry Slam, music, food trucks, wine and chocolate tasting, and more.
The festival will be held on the Las Positas College campus at 3000 Campus Hill Drive, Livermore, in The Mertes Center for the Arts (Building 4000). The event is free and open to the public.
More information and tickets can be found at https://link.edgepilot.com/s/1dba6f38/HPJtOubI2kq_n9Cr1625AQ?u=http://www.laspositascollege.edu/literary-festival.
Panels and workshops include sessions on writing nonfiction vs. fiction, publishing, and poetry slam writing; a panel on food & wine writing; talks with bestselling authors; the LPC Poetry Slam; and the publication ceremony for Havik, the award-winning LPC Journal of Arts & Literature.
"This event is truly special as it allows Las Positas College to showcase the incredible programs we have here while bringing world-class authors and speakers to our festival," said LPC English Professor Martin Nash, one of the founders of the LPC Literary Arts Festival. "We’re really excited about the variety in this year’s lineup. We think there’s something for everyone."
Keynote speaker Thrity Umrigar is an Indian-American journalist, critic, and bestselling author of ten novels that have been translated and published worldwide. Her latest novel, The Museum of Failures, was named a Best Book of 2023 by NPR, Harper’s Bazaar, Bookriot, and more.
World-famous author Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) is the author of the bestselling series A Series of Unfortunate Events. His books have sold over 70 million copies worldwide. His newest memoir is titled And Then? And Then? What Else?, and he will be holding a writing workshop called "How to Write Like a Burglar."
Julissa Arce is author of the national bestseller My (Underground) American Dream. Her latest book is You Sound Like a White Girl. In a starred review, Kirkus called the book, “An essential read to better understand America and its immigrant stories.” Arce has contributed to The New York Times and Time Magazine, among others.
Tamim Ansary is an Afghan-American writer of fiction, memoir, and history. He is the author of nine books, including Truther Narratives: Conspiracy Theories Explained, which he’ll discuss at the festival. He facilitated the SF Writers Workshop for over 20 years, and his work has won the 2010 Northern California Book Award, been selected for San Francisco’s One City One Book read, and broadcast on NPR.
The festival will also feature LPC’s 22nd annual poetry slam, hosted by the dynamic performance poets Bri and Tri. Poets attending the event can sign up to read their original poems, and prize money will be awarded to top-scoring LPC poets. The festival will close with the publication ceremony for the 2025 edition of Havik, LPC’s Journal of Arts & Literature. Havik has been awarded Best in Show in Literary Magazines by the Associated Collegiate Press four years running.
The Las Positas College Literary Arts Festival is generously supported by grants from the Las Positas College Foundation, the City of Livermore Cultural Arts Council, the Las Positas College President’s Speaker Series and Dr. Dyrell Foster, Movement API, Puente, the Milanese Family Gift Fund, The Independent (Joan Seppala, publisher), and private donors. |
About Las Positas College
Las Positas College currently enrolls nearly 8,500 day and evening students. The College offers a curriculum for students seeking career preparation, transfer to a four-year college or university, or personal enrichment. The College provides university transfer classes, retraining classes for those in need of employment or career advancement, a first-time educational opportunity for many adults, enrichment classes for those seeking a broader perspective, and career and technical training for those entering the technical and paraprofessional workforce. Las Positas College excels in helping students transfer to the University of California system, the California State University system, and other four-year institutions. Las Positas College is a learning-centered institution focused on excellence and student success and is fully committed to supporting all Tri-Valley residents in their quest for education and advancement. |
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