Upcoming Events and Readings
All and Then None of You Book Launch and Reading — Saturday, October 4, noon to 2 p.m.
Hops and Fog Brewery, 511 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Featuring JD Clapp and Amy Marques
Bio: JD Clapp is a writer based in San Diego, CA. His creative work has appeared in over 70 different literary journals and magazines including Cowboy Jamboree, trampset, and Revolution John. His work has been nominated for several awards including the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. He is the author of two story collections—Poachers and Pills (2025), and A Good Man Goes South (2024). His debut novel, Grit Before Grace, will be published by Cowboy Jamboree Press in fall 2026.
Bio: Amy Marques grew up between languages and places and learned, from an early age, the multiplicity of narratives. She has visual art, poetry, and prose published in many journals and is editor & artist for the Duets anthologies, contributor to the collective The Pride Roars, author & artist of the found poetry book PARTS and co-author of the chapbook Are You Willing? More at https://amybookwhisperer.wordpress.com.
Taking a Dive Literary Reading
Nov. 22, time and location TBD
Get Lit DC Public Library Podcast – TBD
Reviews and Articles
Local Boooks: Author Sets Stories to Songs (Monterey County Herald, Sept. 28, 2025)
Local Books: Author Sets Stories to Songs (Reprint, Sacramento Bee, Sept. 29, 2025)
Lavin on Flores Anderson in Grit Quarterly September 2025
Interviews
Interview with Andrew Careaga Friday Five Blog September 2025
Interview on collaboration with Nina Miller in Icebreakers Lit April 2024
Interview with Will Woolfit for Speaking of Marvels Blog March 2024
Interview on collaboration with Gavin Turner in Icebreakers Lit Sept. 2023
Interview with “Shine A Light Series” with Bulb Culture Collective Sept. 2023
An interview with Play on Words about writing during the Pandemic, immigrant heritage and favorite books.
An interview with Let’s Get Real about being a working mother during the Pandemic.
Past events and readings
Women of Grit Lit with Cowboy Jamboree and Roi Fainéant Press
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025
Writer Karaoke hosted by Holly Pelesky at AWP 2025 (Los Angeles)
March 27, 2025, 7 p.m. The Stowaway, 416 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Grit and Indie Lit with Cowboy Jamboree and Roi Fainéant Press
March 28, 2025, 4 to 6 p.m., West Hollywood
JAKE’s Summer Reading and Bonfire
Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, 7 p.m., Bolsa Chica State Beach
Launch party and readings with Maud Lavin and François Bereaud
Printers Row Wine in Chicago
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, 2 p.m. at Printers Row Wine in the South Loop, 719 S. Dearborn
Maud Lavin, François Bereaud and Melissa Flores Anderson will give short readings from their new books, along with Mallory Qiu and Graciela Gonzales dueting, and Faylita Hicks reading from her new book, A Map of My Want (Haymarket Books). Wine bar open. Free sweets from Tropicake Bakery will be served during intermission and after the reading.
Flores Anderson will read from her recently published chapbook “A Body in Motion” from JAKE and novelette “Roadkill” from ELJ Editions.
Panel: “Working with Small Presses,” hosted by BRIDGE and Open Books Pilsen: Open Readings Series,
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2 p.m., at Open Books Pilsen, 905 W. 19th Street
Author panelists discuss and respond to questions about publishing books with small presses. With the consolidation of traditional publishing in the Big Five presses (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster), both established and emerging writers have turned to independent presses for freedom of expression, exploration, risk taking, experiment, and reaching diverse readers. The indies range from university presses like MIT to high literary ones like Graywolf to small presses. The small presses, like BRIDGE, sprout everywhere, sometimes devoted to genre like horror and fantasy or grit lit. Small presses, publishing roughly ten books a year, pay great attention to each book, and their authors devote themselves to readings, communities, and public appearances that go beyond the conventional.
The Big Stream Part 3 with JAKE the Anti-Literary Magazine, (around 5:56 hour mark)
Motel Anthology Book launch with Cowboy Jamboree, (1hr:08 min mark — short due to technical difficulties!)
“Faultlines” Book Launch with the voidspace, as a guest reader (6:45 min mark)
The Big Stream with JAKE the Anti-Literary Magazine (Live on JAKE’s Youtube channel, recording TBD)
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m, PST
“Awakenings Book Launch 1, Oct. 29” Virtual Reading (Passcode: LZ40+PjT) (My introduction and reading of an excerpt of Layers starts around 38 minutes in)
On the Occasion of Your Fourth Birthday, audio recording.
City Lights Theater Company The Next Stage: Storytelling with Play on Words
“Not a Gardener” read by Play On Words’ Melinda Marks, followed by a Q&A with Melissa Flores Anderson, Melinda Marks and Julia Halprin-Jackson.
Play on Words San Jose/San Jose Museum of Art Third Thursdays Our Stories, Ourselves
Listen to “Not a Gardener” as read by Melinda Marks (fourth in the lineup) and hear other stories, poetry and more from dozens of authors/performers.
Virtual Reading with JAKE: The Anti-Literary Magazine on May 12, from 6-8:30 p.m. (PDT)
“Cherry Cheri” Flash Fiction Forum SJ Reading Series – March 9, 2022
“Catfish” Flash Fiction Forum SJ Reading Series – August 11, 2021
“Cork.” Quiet Lightning Reading Series – August 2, 2021
“Not a Gardener,” performed by Melinda Marks at Play on Words San Jose – June 17, 2021
“Not a Gardener,” performed by Melinda Marks at City Lights Next Stage – May, 2021
Photography
“Spring” in Raw Lit Magazine (photograph) June 2023
melissa.anderson.writes 