Dan Fante and Mollena Williams at Writers With Drinks

San Francisco's spoken-word variety show goes noir, with a slew of detective tales, plus literature, poetry and erotica.

When: Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, 7:30 to 9:30 PM, doors open at 6:30 PM
Who: Dan Fante, Joshua Mohr, Mark Coggins, Mollena Williams, Meliza Banales and Seanan McGuire
Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St. between Mission and Valencia, San Francisco
How much: $3 to $5 sliding scale, all proceeds benefit the Center for Sex & Culture

About the readers/performers:

Dan Fante's latest book is 86'd. His previous books are Short Dog, Chump Change, Mooch and Spitting Off Tall Buildings. He's also the author of two plays, The Closer/The Boiler Room, which the L.A. Times described as "ferociously profane," and Don Giovanni. He's written a book of poetry, "A Gin-Pissing-Raw-Meat-Dual-Carburetor-V8-Son-Of-A-Bitch From Los Angeles." He's the son of legendary writer John Fante.

Joshua Mohr is the author of Some Things That Meant The World To Me, which Oprah's O Magazine included among its "10 Terrific Reads of 2009."

Mollena Williams is a founding member of the Crowded Fire Theater Company, where she's performed in three solo shows as well as many other productions. She's also an editor with Bondage.com and Alt.com's magazine. She was the co-host of the Queer Open Mic.

Meliza Banales is the author of Say It With Your Whole Mouth and the forthcoming 51 Poems About Nothing At All. She was the first Latina to win a poetry-slam championship in 2002, and won the People Before Profits Poetry Prize that year. Her work has appeared in Revolutionary Voices, Without A Net: The Female Experience of Growing-Up Working-Class, The First Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Change, Baby Remember My Name: New Queer Girl Writing, and Word Warriors.

Mark Coggins writes mystery novels starring the wisecracking, jazz-bass-playing P.I. August Riordan. So far, they are The Immortal Game, Vulture Capital, Candy From Strangers, Runoff and The Big Wake-Up.

Seanan McGuire has written two fairy detective novels, Rosemary And Rue and A Local Habitation. Writing as Mira Grant, she's written the zombies-and-bloggers Newsflesh trilogy, which consists of the novels Feed, Blackout and Deadline.

About Writers With Drinks:
Writers With Drinks has won "Best Literary Night" from the SF Bay Guardian readers' poll five years in a row and was named "Best Literary Drinking" by the SF Weekly. The spoken word "variety show" mixes genres to raise money for local worthy causes. The award-winning show includes poetry, stand-up comedy, science fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery, literary fiction, erotica, memoir, zines and blogs in a freewheeling format.

Hostess Charlie Jane Anders blogs about science fiction and futurism at io9.com. She's the author of the Lambda Award-winning Choir Boy (2005 Soft Skull Press) and the co-editor, with Annalee Newitz, of She's Such A Geek (Seal Press 2007). She also published other magazine, which is on hiatus. Follow her on twitter as charliejane.