December 1st. our third anniversary!!!

December 1st. is our third anniversary of opening the bookstore. Save 10% off your entire purchase the month of December.

Now open Mondays until the end of the year

We are now open Mondays from 11-5 thru the holiday season. We will extend our store hours the last two weeks before Christmas.

Coming December 5th. 4:00 pm. The Good Men Project

The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood (Edited by James Houghton, Larry Bean, & Tom Matlack) is an anthology of stories by men-rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight, urban, rural, famous, ordinary--all first-person narratives about a moment of insight in their lives. Collectively, their experiences help define what it means to be a man in America today. The Good Men Project includes the book, a documentary film, live events and an online discussion. All proceeds go to The Good Men Foundation, which supports at-risk boys.

Jeffrey K. Wallace lives in Orange County, California. When he's not reading, writing, parenting, or teaching (at Chapman University), he's busy enjoying his family. Wallace's essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Family Circle Magazine, the Orange County Register, Toastmaster International, and the anthology I Wanna Be Sedated: 30 Writers on Parenting Teachers.

Kent George is an actor, writer, and filmmaker living with his wife and two children in Los Angeles. As an actor he has appeared in numerous theater, television, and film projects over the past twenty years. He is a longtime company member of Circus Theatricals in Los Angeles, and he has presented two original plays at the Powerhouse Theater in Santa Monica. In 2006, George wrote and produced the semiautobiographical feature film Puff, Puff, Pass. He currently is editing a feature-length documentary titled Inside the Box, which is about Circus Theatricals and the lives of theater actors in Los Angeles .

Publisher's Weekly covers National Bookstore Day

Here is a reprint of Wendy Werris article in Publisher's Weekly.

Among the many events held November 7 to mark the first National Bookstore Day was a program put together by Skylight Books in Los Angeles which held a wine and cheese reception for local booksellers--old, new and former--who came to celebrate the continuing relevance of independents across the country.Skylight’s owner Kerry Slattery introduced each bookseller to the gathering of customers and writers and had them say a few words about their store and its context in the Southern California book community.

Most of the speakers acknowledged the “interconnectedness” among booksellers and the allegiance toward one another that outweighs the idea of being competitors. Tyson Cornell, director of marketing for Book Soup, described an event at his store that had to be canceled due to a power outage. “Skylight saved the day for us, though,” Cornell said. “When I phoned Kerry at the last minute she told me to move the event over to her store, which we did, and then she insisted that Book Soup keep the profits from that night’s signing.” That kind of generosity of spirit also brought new customers to Skylight and an awareness of the choices available to the book-buying public in Los Angeles.Claudia Colodro, owner of Stories Books and Café in Echo Park and a former staffer at Dutton’s in North Hollywood described her store’s policy of selling both used and new books and holding events twice a week. Portrait of a Bookstore in Studio City was represented by gift buyer B.J. Hegedus. “We’re now discounting all hardcovers 20% - all the time,” Hegedus told the group, articulating a possible sales strategy for the other booksellers. Every store at Skylight’s celebration is struggling with ways to bring in new customers as they try to compete with the price wars between Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Portrait’s book buyer Lucia Silva is a regular book commentator and reviewer on NPR. Also on hand was Julie Swayze, co-owner of Metropolis Books in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. The store, surrounded by artist’s lofts, participates in the monthly Art Walk by having a signing, poetry reading or art-related event. Metropolis has a page on Goodreads.com as well as Facebook.Slattery, who opened Skylight 13 years ago, made nametags for the guests based on the paintings of their stores found in The Art of the Bookstore: The Bookstore Paintings of Gibbs M. Smith (Gibbs Smith). “If your local independent bookstore is out of a title you want, there’s no need to order it from Amazon,” she told the customers. “All of us have web sites with ordering capability, and we can also download and sell you the e-books you’re interested in.”

Adele Wallace opened Sisterhood Bookstore in Westwood in 1972. “We did wonder at the time if there were even enough books by and about women to stock our shelves!” Wallace mused. “But Alice Walker was coming into the mainstream then, and Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. Eventually we began running out of room for all the books on women’s studies.” Sisterhood, one of the first feminist bookstores in the country, was in business for 28 years before a Borders store opened across the street and forced them to close in 1999. “The great irony is that the very same Borders closed a year ago.” Now a librarian, Wallace remains a staunch supporter of indie bookstores.Doug Dutton, whose eponymous bookstore in Brentwood closed in 2007 after a 20-year run, seemed bemused by his current status of eminence as one of the legends of Los Angeles bookselling. “Perhaps it’s my gray hair that’s granted it to me,” he joked. Reflecting on the staying power of indie bookstores he said, “We share insights and common ground, and in spite of all rational thinking I’m considering getting back into it.” Dutton mentioned, too, that the book he’s reading – Atmospheric Disturbances, by Rivka Galchen (FSG, 2008) – came to his attention by listening to a review of it by Portrait of a Bookstore’s Silva on NPR.In other parts of California, the three-store Diesel Books chain co-owner John Evans said that all of his locations participated in the event, with staff at the Malibu store serving hot apple cider and pastries to customers who also enjoyed a special visit of support by Mayor Andy Stern. In Brentwood, customers who bought over $100 worth of books received free Diesel Books t-shirts to commemorate the day, and a quiz was held in the Oakland store with winners presented with $25 gift certificates. “We designed the questions to reward our regular customers,” Evans said. “We asked things like, ‘which staff member has been listed in a bestselling memoir (Evans, in Norman Ollestad’s Crazy for the Storm)?’ and ‘name three books published by Diesel staff members in the last five years.’ “We had a very positive response to National Bookstore Day. Several ex-employees stopped by, and customers were glad the event was happening,” Evans continued. “Everyone liked the concept of it. For us it was National Reader Appreciation Day as well.”

LA Times article about Indie bookstores on Twitter

Here is a reprint of Carolyn Kellogg's L.A. Times article about Bookstores and Twitter

Throw another big shining coin in our overflowing treasure chest of evidence that Los Angeles is a highly literary city. Turns out that of the 10 most popular bookstores on Twitter, four are based in Los Angeles. In descending order, that's Skylight Books with 2,426 followers, Vroman's with 2,248, Book Soup with 2,175 and newcomer Metropolis Books in downtown Los Angeles with 1,820.
OK, we're not home to the biggest bookstore on the Twitter block. That place is claimed by Powell's, the independent, Portland, Ore.-based bookseller that went online early and in a big way. Powell's beyond-Portland online presence is reflected in its 10,132 followers. It's in a class by itself.
Although the four L.A. bookstores in the top 10 total fewer than 9,000 followers, they still make an impressive bundle. The second-most popular bookstore is Tattered Cover in Denver (3,359 followers), the only Denver bookstore on the list. Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge (3,182) is the only Boston-ish store. And Bookpeople in Austin (1,966) is the lone representative for the Lone Star state.
The two New York bookstores to make the top 10 -- Word and Book Culture -- are both in Brooklyn. Together, they total 3,937.
If you look into the entire top 20 list, more New York and Boston bookstores begin popping up -- as do stores in New Hampshire, Maryland, Minnesota and Vermont. Not so much Los Angeles -- it appears we have a handful of bookstores that have already established themselves as strong Twitter players.
Which means next time you go to a reading, don't turn off your cellphone, as they always advise. Instead, turn off your ringer, and feel free to Tweet, as long as you mention where you're at -- @skylightbooks, @vroman's, @metroplisbooks or @booksoup.
-- Carolyn Kellogg

Poetry and Ghosts Oh My!! October Events

Saturday, October 24th 4:00 pm
Glass Table Poetry Collective

Karen Kevorkian has published poems in White Stucco Black Wing (Red Hen Press), and poetry and fiction in journals such as Shenandoah, VOLT, Witness, and in the Antioch, Hayden’s Ferry, Los Angeles, Mississippi, Massachusetts, and Virginia Quarterly reviews. Formerly teaching at the University of Virginia, she teaches teaches creative writing at UCLA. She has worked as an editor of museum books.

Katharine Haake’s newest book is The Origin of Stars and Other Stories. Other recent work includes a novel, That Water, Those Rocks, a story collection, The Height and Depth of Everything, and What Our Speech Disrupts: Feminism and Creative Writing Studies. A recipient of Artist’s Grant from the City of Los Angeles, she teaches at California State University, Northridge.

Chuck Rosenthal is the author of seven novels and a memoir, as well as his ninth book, Are We Not There Yet?: Travels in Nepal, North India and Bhutan. He teaches creative narrative writing and narrative theory in the Syntext Program at Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles. He is a founding member of The Glass Table Artists’ Collective and What Books. He lives in Topanga Canyon, California.

Gail Wronsky is the author, coauthor, or translator of nine books of poetry and prose, including Dying for Beauty (Copper Canyon Press), Blue Shadow Behind Everything Dazzling (Hollyridge Press), and Volando Bajito (translated poetry of Alicia Partnoy, Red Hen Press). She is the Director of Creative Writing and Syntext (Synthesizing Textualities) at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Molly Bendall is the author four collections of poetry, After Estrangement, Dark Summer,

Ariadne’s Island and most recently, Under the Quick from Parlor Press. She also has a co-authored with the poet Gail Wronsky Bling & Fringe. Her poems have appeared in the anthologies: American Hybrid: The Norton Anthology of the New Poem, American Poetry: The Next Generation, and The Gertrude Stein Awards in Innovative Poetry. She teaches at USC.

October 31st. 4:00 pm

Author Sue Ann Jaffarian

Signs and discusses-Ghost A' La Mode, her new Paranormal mystery

Art Walk Night October 8th. 7:00 pm

Julienne Le Fleur's Lessons from Oz is a new book that recaptures the magic of the classic film The Wizard of Oz while pondering life, and illuminating over 35 lessons that we, as grown-ups, tend to forget. Some are whimsical, some are serious and some might make you want to go skipping. (and the very cool added feature – sparkles on the cover!)
Dorothy’s journey through Oz is an allegory that directly parallels our lives. In each scene, from the beginning of the movie to the end, a lesson can be found in Dorothy’s experiences.
These lessons are good reminders of things we already know but sometimes forget—ways to be and live that make us feel great about ourselves and our lives. If we learn from these lessons, we will begin to see that our actions and positive attitudes influence the world around us, making it a better place.
Dorothy’s lessons can be our lessons.

Author Event-Saturday September 26th.5:00 pm

Are we simply a collection of cells in a human body that eventually becomes ill and perishes when it fails? Is there a greater plan? As a scientist developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer, Dr. Leo Kim felt powerless as he watched patients die, an experience that led him on a decade-long quest to understand human existence. Healing the Rift chronicles his fascinating metaphysical and scientific journey. Kim reveals how recent scientific breakthroughs led him to the belief that the world is a blending of mind and spirit, explaining the science behind his discovery in entertaining, approachable terms that help readers make sense of their own search for answers.

Leo Kim is a scientist and biotechnology executive with over 50 scientific publications and patents to his credit. Leo’s journey includes research and management in chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biotechnology, information technology, molecular biology, microbiology, physics, and clinical trial studies. He has been active in new pharmaceutical and biotechnology disease treatment modalities as well as alternative medicine regimes. He has studied with Deepak Chopra, Bernie Siegel, and many others who offer spirituality based supplements or alternatives to traditional healing. Leo has a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry from the University of Kansas and continued his education as a research associate at MIT. Leo is a CEO and general partner in a biotechnology venture capital firm where he is tracking the progress of thousands of companies utilizing the latest developments in science.