Guy Gavriel Kay at Writers With Drinks

This month, Writers With Drinks features a fantasy version of Venice, real stories of space, Afro-Futurism, and tons more!

When: Saturday May 21 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, doors open 6:30 PM
What: WRITERS WITH DRINKS!
Who: Guy Gavriel Kay, David Lau, Yangsze Choo, Kwan Booth and Ariel Waldman!
How much: $5 to $20, all proceeds benefit the CSC [Center for Sex and Culture]
Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco, CA

About the readers/performers:

Guy Gavriel Kay's latest novel is Children of Earth and Sky. His previous novels include River of Stars, Under Heaven, Ysabel, The Last Light of the Sun, The Sarantine Mosaic, The Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, Tigana and The Fionavar Tapestry. He has been awarded the International Goliardos Prize for his work in literature of the fantastic and won the World Fantasy Award for Ysabel in 2008. In 2014 he was named to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

Ariel Waldman is the author of What’s It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who’ve Been There and the co-author of a congressionally-requested National Academy of Sciences study on the future of human spaceflight. She's the founder of Spacehack.org, a directory of ways to participate in space exploration, and the global director of Science Hack Day, a 20-countries-and-growing grassroots endeavor to make things with science. She sits on the council for NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), a program that nurtures radical, sci-fi-esque ideas that could transform future space missions. She is also a fellow at Institute for the Future. In 2013, Ariel received an honor from the White House for being a Champion of Change in citizen science.

Yangsze Choo's debut novel The Ghost Bride is a historical fantasy set in 1890s colonial Malaya and the Chinese world of the dead. It was an Oprah.com Book of the Week, NYTimes bestseller, Carnegie Medal nominee, Indie Next List Pick, Barnes & Noble Fall 2013 Discover Great New Writers selection, Indigo Spotlight Pick, Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for Best Fantasy , Glamour Magazine Beach Read, Good Housekeeping Magazine August Book Pick.

David Lau's first book of poetry, Virgil and the Mountain Cat, was described by the Believer as "simultaneously creative and destructive … grounded in—or rather, trapped by—the present." He was chosen as a Poetry Society of America New American Poet. Lau is also the author of the chapbook Bad Opposites (2012). With Cal Bedient, he edits the journal Lana Turner.

Kwan Booth is the editor of Black Futurists Speak: an Anthology of New Black Writing and producer of the Black Futurists Speaks literary series. He is currently editing a book on transformative leadership and management for arts organizations through a grant from the Emerging Arts Professionals Bay Area. He is also the creator of the Soul of Oakland and “Sit Next to a Black Person Month.” community media projects.

About Writers With Drinks:

Writers With Drinks has won numerous "Best ofs" from local newspapers, and has been mentioned in 7x7, Spin Magazine and one of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City novels. The spoken word "variety show" mixes genres to raise money for local 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.