A monthly series of lively literary conversations at Tosca, San Francisco’s elegant and storied North Beach saloon.
Beginning in January 2012, San Francisco’s Litquake literary festival unveils its revamped monthly “Epicenter” series, to feature select national and international touring authors in lively conversations at Tosca, the city’s elegant and storied North Beach saloon. The new series is modeled after London’s Shoreditch House Literary Salon, and embraces a similar philosophy to create a theater of ideas between writers and readers. With cocktails and free admission, of course.
Epicenters will occur on the final Tuesday evening of each month (plus a special event on Wednesday, March 27). Events begin at 7 pm (unless otherwise noted). Each conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A. Venue capacity is limited, so admission is first come/first served.
Epicenter dates through June are as follows:
- February 28 see more info
- Steve Erickson (These Dreams of You, editor of Black Clock) & journalist Kevin Berger
- March 14 (Wednesday) see more info
- Geoff Dyer (Zona; Paris Trance; Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It) & David Thomson (The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood)—co-presented by The Believer
- March 27 see more info
- Adam Johnson (The Orphan Master’s Son; Parasites Like Us) and Litquake’s own Jack Boulware
- April 24
- ZYZZYVA Launch Party with Rob Ehle, Peter Orner, Elena Mauli Shapiro
- May 29
- to be announced
- June 26
- to be announced
Book sales and signings will utilize Litquake’s retail/ promotional partnerships with local bookstores City Lights and Green Apple Books. Conversations will be audio recorded and released as free podcasts. The series will continue throughout September, in advance of Litquake’s nine-day October festival.
For more information on events, and how to schedule an author, please contact Litquake directly:
Elise Proulx, ep@litquake.org
Jack Boulware, jb@litquake.org
Phone: 415-440-4177
About Litquake
Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival, was founded by Bay Area writers in order to put on a week-long literary spectacle for book lovers, complete with cutting-edge panels, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings. Since its founding in 1999, the festival has presented more than 3,650 author appearances for an audience of over 83,500 in its lively and inclusive celebration of San Francisco’s thriving contemporary literary scene. Litquake seeks to foster interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provide a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city’s music, film, and cultural festivals. Dates: 10/5-13, 2012. litquake.org
About Tosca
Tosca Cafe was founded in November 1919 by co-owners Baldo Francesconi, Ugo Perry and Fred Landi, and since 1978 has been owned and operated by Jeannette Etheredge. Legend has it that in the early ‘60s a scraggly Bob Dylan and a barefoot Joan Baez were asked to leave. For decades it has been the preferred watering hole of celebrity guests like Sam Shepard, Sean Penn, George Lucas, Winona Ryder, Jim Harrison, and Hunter S. Thompson, as well as book launches, film festivals, local weddings, political victory parties, and the occasional appearance by the Chinatown funeral band. toscacafesf.com
