Nonprofit Publishing Since 1982
EVENTS
Want to collaborate on an event with Aunt Lute Books? Email us at marketing@auntlute.com. We love to work with local organizations whose work aligns with our mission.
Visioning Beyond the Parameters of Realism
November 1, 2023
Visioning Beyond the Parameters of Realism is a virtual panel centering Black women writers on the power of literature to envision futures outside the limitations of racism and patriarchy.
This panel featured debut Aunt Lute authors Kathya Alexander and Michele Berger alongside queer Afrofuturist and CEO/Founder of Sistah Scifi, Isis Asare, and Poetry for the People program director and Creative Writing instructor at UC Berkeley, Aya de Leon. These panelists discussed the power of literature to envision futures outside existing systems of oppression. Author and organizer of the Afrosurreal Writers Workshop of Oakland, Ellen C McBarnette, moderated the panel discussion.
This panel was part of a larger project that includes the publication of upcoming projects from both Kathya Alexander and Michele Berger, reading events, and a workshop for Black femme, nonbinary, cis, and trans women writers. This project is funded in part by the Zellerbach Family Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Home in the Bay Release Party
October 21, 2023
To celebrate the arrival of the Home in the Bay ebook, and we held a reading as part of Lit Crawl 2023. As part of this special night, and in the spirit of the Home in the Bay series, we welcomed some poets to the stage: Kim Shuck, devorah major, Landon Smith, Jan Steckel, Norman Antonio Zelaya, Tiny (aka Lisa Gray-Garcia), Tongo Eisen-Martin and Shikha Malaviya.
Stay True to Your Shelf Reading
June 28, 2023
On June 28, 2023, we hosted the Stay True to Your Shelf Reading. At a time when LBGTQ+ communities and works are being targeted, we wanted to continue doing what we've always done: center these voices. With our Stay True to Your Shelf Reading we hoped to provide a space to celebration the 40+ years Aunt Lute has spent publishing and supporting LGBTQ+ voices. Our readers included Aunt Lute authors Julián Delgado Lopera, Judy Grahn, and Ginny Z Berson.
The Unburied: A Poetics of Indigenous Memory and Movement
June 20, 2019
On June 20th at Alley Cat Books in the Mission, Aunt Lute hosted a dialogue between SF Poet Laureate Kim Shuck and award-winning, Texas-based author ire'ne lara silva, who was also one of the editors of Imaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands.
Shuck and silva read from their latest poetry collections and then held an in-depth discussion about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), histories of violence, and the role of poetry in memory and healing.
Would You Be Caught Dead In That Outfit?
December 6, 2018
A multimedia event at the STUD in San Francisco, "celebrating the aesthetics of '80s and '90s underground clubbing by pájaros, maricones, mariposas, mariquitas and those who love them".
Curated by artists Juliana Delgado Lopera & Rebeka Rodriguez in collaboration with Aunt Lute Books.
Photography by Rebeka Rodriguez. You can find all of the photos from that evening at rebekarodriguez.com!
Borderlands: An Aunt Lute Open Mic
May 31, 2018
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Aunt Lute hosted our very first open mic! SF Poet Laureate, Kim Shuck, led our open mic at Alley Cat Books in the Mission. Thanks to everyone who signed up to read your in-progress and unfinished poetry.
Look out for future events like this one in the future!
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¡Cuéntamelo! A Night of Celebration / Una Noche de Celebración
oCTOBER 27, 2017
On October 27th, we celebrated the new release of Juliana Delgado Lopera’s book, ¡Cuéntamelo! Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants. Doors opened at 5:30pm at The Laundry in San Francisco.
We had a full house, and the night included readings by Juliana Delgado Lopera, musical performances by Reina de Aztlan and Catherine White, and a special appearance by Juliana’s mom, Adela. An altar was erected to honor Marlen Hernández, who passed earlier this year, and for whom the new edition of the ¡Cuéntamelo! is dedicated.
Thanks to everyone who came out and created such a powerful space!
Photography by Kiwii McLaurin.
APAture 2017: Unravel
Book Arts Showcase
oCTOBER 15, 2017
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On October 15th, Aunt Lute co-sponsored Kearny Street Workshop's APAture Book Arts Showcase at Arc Gallery & Studios. APAture is a multi-day, multidisciplinary arts festival featuring a lineup of some of today's most exciting emerging artists from the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the course of the afternoon there was a Make Your Own Zine workshop; readings by featured artist Innosanto Nagara; a panel on resistance through self-publishing led by Aunt Lute staff featuring the creators of Mixed Rice Zines, This Asian American Life, Nasi Mag, and Burton High School’s Comic Book & Arts Club; and tables featuring other local zinesters and artists. There was food, zine tabling, and art from APAture artists hanging in the gallery. Thank you Kearny Street Workshop for hosting this event and bringing together all these amazing Asian American artists!
Imaniman POETRY WORKSHOP AND READING
June 3, 2017
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Our night of poetry was a packed event! We filled the room and even had to pull out extra chairs to accommodate all our guests. The night began with readings by emerging writers from Dan Vera and Kim Shuck’s afternoon workshop, which was held earlier that day. The evening continued with readings by Imaniman poets reflecting on fronteras, identity, art, and Gloria Anzaldúa’s poetry and writing.
Throughout the event, guests enjoyed appetizers and beverages from La Mediterranée and Rainbow Grocery. After the readings, Aunt Lute staff member Maya Sisneros facilitated a panel discussion between our featured poets: Tomas Moniz, Suzy de Jesus Huerta, Adela Najarro, Dan Vera, and Kim Shuck. Once the discussion ended, guests bought copies of Imaniman, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, and Borderlands mugs.
We would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who made this event possible. Thank you to Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts for providing the space for this event. Thank you to Rainbow Grocery for the generous donation toward our refreshments. Thank you to all attendees who donated to Aunt Lute Books at this event. Finally, thank you to our panelists for taking the time to share their poetry and reflections on Gloria Anzaldúa’s impact on their lives: Tomas Moniz, Suzy de Jesus Huerta, Adela Najarro, Dan Vera, and Kim Shuck.
Good Girls Marry Doctors
October 13, 2016
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The Good Girls Marry Doctors: South Asian American Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion was a wonderful success, drawing a crowd of over three hundred people to Southern Exposure in San Francisco, on October 13th. Piyali Bhattacharya, Nayomi Munaweera, Tara Dorabji, Ayesha Mattu, Tanzila Ahmed, and Neelanjana Banerjee were the readers of the evening, transfixing the audience with six different stories (Tara Dorabji performed poetry inspired by the anthology!) and ending with a question and answer session. Our favorite hashtag to come out of the night? #BeTheAuntyYouWishYouHadInThisWorld
Editor and event moderator, Piyali Bhattacharya, said of the night: “I am truly stunned and humbled by the response to our book launch in San Francisco last night. Over 300 people in attendance. Hundreds of books sold. Lines out the door. Wow. Wow. Wow. Thank you, Bay Area, for seeing us, for listening to us, for holding us. To all the incredible women who stood in line for over an hour to meet us writers just so you could come to us in tears and tell us that this is the first time you’ve ever felt truly seen: I want you to know that this project – all eight years of it, all the uphill battles for it – it’s for you. We love you, we hear you, and we’re here.”
Side by side with Good Girls, we were excited to also feature Our Feet Walk the Sky: Women of the South Asian Diaspora, an Aunt Lute classic from 1993, which influenced many contributors to the Good Girls anthology. Many audience members went home with both titles that night.
Keep an eye out for photos and videos from the event and make sure to join the conversation at www.goodgirlsmarrydoctors.net, and tag your own photos or memories from the event with #GoodGirlsMarryDoctors. Again, thank you so much.
Our Indigenous Flesh
September 24, 2015
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Aunt Lute Books Presents: Our Indigenous Flesh
Co-sponsored by Galería de la Raza
Thursday, September 24th, 7pm, Galería de la Raza, SF
Join LeAnne Howe (Choctaw, author of Choctalking on Other Realities) and ire’ne lara silva (Xicana, author of flesh to bone) as they read from their most recent titles and engage in a far-ranging discussion about the role of indigenous literatures: in naming, healing, and remembering personal and communal histories; indigenous queerness; and the mystique of women of color writers.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Galería de la Raza is a wheelchair accessible venue. For more information, and to RSVP, click here.