Upcoming Events

Loft Events

For In-person events: Advanced tickets guarantee a general admission seat and help cover the Loft's costs to host the event. We are committed to accessibility at our events. If the event cost is a barrier, please show up to the event and we will accommodate you at the door through pay-what-you-can admission.  

Date
Time
7pm-9pm
Valeria Luiselli Author Talk: A Reading & Conversation with the 2025 McKnight Judge in Creative Prose

Please join us for a public reading by the 2025 McKnight Judge in Creative Prose, acclaimed writer of both fiction and nonfiction, Valeria Luiselli. Luiselli will be joined in conversation with the Loft's Executive and Artistic Director, Arleta Little.

Presenters
Valeria Luiselli
Arleta M. Little
Price
$10.00
$5.00 (Friend)
Location
The Loft at Open Book
Graphic with Valeria Luiselli and her book cover for Lost Children Archive. Features the logos of McKnight Foundation and the Loft Literary Center.
Date
Time
2pm-4pm
Revolutions Are Made of Love Book Launch

Celebrate the launch of Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs with authors Sun Yung Shin and Mélina Mangal. This is a family friendly event. Bring the kiddos!

Presenters
Melina Mangal
Mélina Mangal
신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin
Price
$0.00
$0.00 (Friend)
Graphic for Revolutions are Made of Love event featuring book cover by Grace Lee Boggs
Date
Time
5pm-6pm
Loft Book Club: Hieu Minh Nguyen's Not Here

Please join us for a series of book club events where we will discuss select titles and the different themes they explore by some of the renowned authors featured at the Loft this fall! Come even if you haven’t read the book! 

For our second book club, join the Loft’s Senior Director of Craft, GE Patterson, to discuss the 2025 Year-Long Poetry Apprenticeship Project mentor Hieu Minh Nguyen's Not Here (Coffee House Press, 2018).

Presenters
G.E. Patterson
Price
$0.00
$0.00 (Friend)
Location
The Loft at Open Book
Hieu Minh Nguyen Not Here Book Club features a headshot of artist, book cover for Not Here, and Loft logo
Date
Time
7pm-9pm
Mentor Series Reading with Vanessa Hua and Sarah Ghazal Ali

The Loft Literary Center Presents a 2025-2026 Loft Mentor Series Reading with mentors Vanessa Hua and Sarah Ghazal Ali and fellows Sook Jin Ong, Madeleine Wolfe, Ellen Rogers.

Presenters
Vanessa Hua
Sarah Ghazal Ali
Sook Jin Ong
Madeleine Wolfe
Ellen Rogers
Price
$10.00
$5.00 (Friend)
Location
The Loft at Open Book
Graphic depicting the 5 authors reading at the Mentor Series
Date
Time
6pm-8pm
The Loft's Young Writers Anthology Release Party

Celebrate the launch of the inaugural Loft Youth Anthology! Enjoy a reading by young writers from Loft classes (Sept 2024–Aug 2025), followed by a book signing and reception. Tickets include a copy of the anthology, with proceeds supporting the Loft's mission to inspire and nurture young writers. This event is open to family, friends, and the public—come celebrate the creativity of these emerging voices!

Presenters
Marianne Manzler
Price
$20.00
$18.00 (Friend)
Location
The Loft at Open Book
Youth anthology release party Dec 4
Date
Time
7pm-8:30pm
2025 Year-Long Poetry Writing Project Final Reading (Summer Online Cohort)

Please join us to celebrate the conclusion of the 2025 Year-Long Poetry Writing Project. Participants from the Year-Long 2025 Poetry Writing Project with Hieu Minh Nguyen will read from their completed manuscripts at this culminating event.

Presenters
Hieu Minh Nguyen
Price
$0.00
$0.00 (Friend)
Location
Online—Zoom Classroom
Graphic for the final reading of the 2026 poetry cohort in the year-long writing project led by Hieu Minh Nguyen
Date
Time
7pm-8:30pm
2025 Year-Long Fiction Writing Project Final Reading (Summer Online Cohort)

Please join us to celebrate the conclusion of the 2025 Year-Long Fiction Writing Project. Participants from the Year-Long 2025 Fiction Writing Project with Junauda Petrus will read from their completed manuscripts at this culminating event.

Presenters
Junauda Petrus
Price
$0.00
$0.00 (Friend)
Location
Online—Zoom Classroom
Graphic for the final reading of the 2025 Fiction Cohort led by Junauda Petrus
Date
Time
6pm-8pm
The Loft's Spring 2026 Student Reading

The Loft presents an evening of student readings! Come join us for a showcase of some of our talented students, as they read some of their own work.

Price
$0.00
$0.00 (Friend)
Location
The Loft at Open Book
Spring Student Reading
Date
Time
4pm-7pm
The Loft's 2026 Writers of Color and Indigenous Writers Mixer + Open Mic

Join us as we celebrate our diverse writing community! During this social hour, we encourage current and prospective friends of the Loft to come hang and write with us from 4:00 - 5:30 PM at Open Book and join us for the Writers of Color Open Mic Reading afterwards at 6:00 PM. Drinks and light snacks are provided. $10 or pay as you can at the door for general public; $5 for Friends of the Loft!

Presenters
Marianne Manzler
Price
$10.00
$5.00 (Friend)
Location
The Loft at Open Book
2026 Writers of Color and Indigenous Writer Reading