Dear Beasties,

We wanted to make double-extra-positively sure that you are fully empowered to get where you need to go on festival day in... well let's do a quick count here... maybe FIVE different ways? 1. We have a City Guide on our Insta account, 2. we have an interactive street map on Gggle, 3. we have a paper map, which you can grab for free, or 4. we have this map. (5.) It's available on our lintkree too.

Map description:
The format of the map is a tri-fold 11x17 double-sided color pamphlet. The pink page is the top or cover page. The blue page, page one, is Leg 1, folded under that. Inside the top page is a continuation of Leg 1 on a blue panel. Below that is Leg 2, orange. Leg 3 begins on the lower right side of the map and continues on the middle back panel. Every event has a short description to help give an idea of the reading. If you need more info, use the QR code next to that entry.

Whether you print this out yourself or keep it on your phone or smart tablet (or however you fly with the web's wealth of knowledge and power at your disposal) we want to make this guide fully available for all. Feel free to use it in conjunction with our list of events. Underlined locations are hyperlinked from the pdf to gggle maps. They may open up in your maps app, if you happen to slap that flap.

Cordially,
Beast Crawl Literary Festival

PS: For those of you who want to know why the map is all wonky, well when we were out venue scouting we kept passing bus stops so we snapped a photo of the map on one of the bus stops. Here is the original photo. If you look closely you can tell exactly where that bus stop is. The circles mark walking distances of 5 minutes. There's a crack running through the Oakland Convention Center. There's a tag running between Franklin and Webster, yeah. But that's Oakland.

JULY 20, 2023, FIRST EDITION, 1915 BROADWAY, 7:00 PM

Once again,
we are forced to summon that dreaded
literary experiment from the depths of poetry hell.
It is none other than the
IDENTITY CRISIS!
When
PAPER PRESS BOOKS
teams with
COLLAPSE PRESS
the result is a
PAPER COLLAPSE
WOE TO ALL YE WHO ENTER.
***
BE THERE TO RECEIVE YOUR PUNISHMENT!
Victims are the following:
Paul Corman-Roberts
E. Lynn Alexander
Missy Church
Richard Loranger
Youssef Alaoui
KR Morrison
William Taylor Jr
Joel Landmine
with
Musical interludes by the immensely talented entity known as
TÜZ

JULY 20, 2023, FIRST EDITION, 1915 BROADWAY, 7:00 PM

Beast Crawl Literary Festival commemorates the life and legacy of the iconic, bubble-blowing Berkeley poet Julia Vinograd with our first open mic of the festival dedicated to her.

Join us if you know her work or if you want share your crafted words. All are welcome.

Signups onsite.

Leg: 1 4pm - 5pm Venue: Oakland Photo Workshop

Oakland Photo Workshop is a community gallery and workspace, offering exhibitions by local photographers and community groups, as well as photography classes, talks by local artists, photo walks, and meetups.
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We’re in the historic Asian Resource Center building, in the heart of beautiful Oakland Chinatown.

Our third open mic for the festival is dedicated to J. De Salvo and it happens in Leg 3, in front of Dusk Coffee, in the Latham Square Plaza.

Hosted by Laura Zink. Signups onsite. Pull up!

Dusk Coffee is a cafe in Oakland, CA. Our experienced staff provides friendly and prompt service for a remarkable cafe experience. We value our customers and strive to satisfy your coffee cravings by serving you our cafe's best and tastiest recipes. Our coffee shop is the perfect place to meet a high standard of flavor and sustainability. We are friendly and care about the customer experience here. We are confident that one visit will satisfy your cravings and give you an unforgettable day.

Dusk Coffee also offers the following:
Coffee, Matcha, Happy Hour
Wine, Pastries, And More!

​At Dusk Coffee, we treat every customer like family. We are dedicated and committed to providing a comfortable environment. Our team ensures it continues to be the best destination for excellent and tasty beverages for any occasion. We are dedicated to ensuring that our customers are served exceptional quality drinks and food every time. For more information about our cafe and delicious food and drinks, do not hesitate to visit Dusk Coffee today!

Leg 3: 7pm-8pm Venue: Latham Square/ Dusk Coffee

Edward Gunawan (he/they) is an interdisciplinary storyteller whose work meditates upon themes of displacement and (be)longing within the intersectional contexts of post-colonial queer transnationality. The author of two chapbooks The Way Back (winner of Start a Riot! Prize, Foglifter Press) and Press Play (Sweet Lit), Edward has also completed over 25 feature films and shorts projects as producer, writer, actor, and/or director. Other publications include TriQuarterly, Aquifer, and Intimate Strangers anthology (Signal 8). A queer Indonesian-born Chinese immigrant, he now resides on Ohlone land in Oakland, CA where he facilitates workshops and curates creative community gatherings such as HOME MADE @ ARTogether, a literary reading series championing immigrant/refugee writers. Visit addword.com for more.

Night Heron, a colorful cocktail bar that pays homage to Oakland’s history and diversity through the works of talented local artists.

Night Heron is an art-studded destination for craft cocktails, bento boxes, and all the right vibes located across the street from The Fox Theater.

Food is available from neighboring restaurant Itani Ramen, whose chef/owner Kyle Itani curated two Bento Boxes exclusively for Night Heron. Patrons can order via QR code and food will be delivered directly to them.

To Live & Write is a multifaceted online and in-person writing community based in Alameda, accessible on Facebook, and open to writers from all over. We host daily, weekly, and monthly writing events and activities designed to develop creative habits, stretch storytelling skills, and turn fear into thrill within safe spaces. Our focus is on writing, belonging, and community. Our gifting economy is anchored in genuine support, encouragement, and connection. Membership is free, we do not compete with each other or other writing communities (you can double dip!), and new members are always welcome. Reading at Punchdown Wine Bar is a collection of a few of our writers of a certain age and wisdom that we’re calling A Murder of Crones.

Bronwyn Emery is the founder, facilitator, and chief bottle washer of To Live & Write. She is a writing + creativity coach who focuses on habit, practice, and turning the dream of writing into reality. It’s her job to stay ahead of the writers and develop opportunities for each one to start writing, keep writing, stretch their skills, and achieve their ambitions – but most days, she feels like she’s playing catch up with this amazing community of talented storytellers. She hosts a variety of events and activities through To Live & Write that are free to all members, as well as labs, workshops, and retreats with price tags that pay the bills. You can find more about her at Bronwyn Emery ~ writing + creativity coach. Bronwyn is still revising her first mystery, because she still gets sidetracked by the shiny, sparkly short stories and personal narratives she loves to write. And by her grandson. And by her partner. And then there’s her cat, so warm and so fluffy …

Heidi Benson Stagg is a writer with a sailing problem. She used to live on a 42” sailboat with her husband and Chiweenie in Alameda, but after an intense sailing adventure last year, they now call La Paz, Mexico home. Her blog, Vivo O Sonho | Living the Dream, captures the challenges and joys of living aboard, explores the creation of full meals in her tiny kitchen, and shares a collection of memoir and fictional short stories featured at Alameda Shorts over the past several years. She is a regular contributor to the Imagine March project and tries to hit at least one Flash Lit month every year. She was the on-site cook for many a To Live & Write retreat for several years. When she returns to the Bay Area each year to reconnect with friends and family, she joins any handy retreat she can – purely as a writer these days.

Alison Greene’s 30-year career in science has been punctuated by blogging for the NY Times, fiction writing, and the adoption of a stubborn rescue chihuahua, Toby. As a long-time member of To Live & Write, Alison enjoys stretching her skills in writing workshops and retreats (when she isn’t attending her day job or obeying her bossy dog). She is a popular reader at Alameda Shorts, where her honest memoir musing and humorous contemplation really shine, and might have an addiction to the To Live & Write retreats. Alison has yet to miss an Imagine March project and she is in the early stages of writing her first book and having a little too much fun with backstory.

Bethany Polentz is a User Experience Strategist for a large corporation, which often entails using all of her words to explain to executives why they should care about the user experience.. She enjoys spending time with her husband and voicing the interior dialogue of her cat, Lulu, and is dedicated to the art of Tsundoku and collecting random secondhand items. She also has a fair-to-middling cool collection of finger puppets, made a mean mixed-tape back in the day, and is related to a one-time Jeopardy contestant (but not a famous one). Bethany has been an inspired lurker in To Live & Write since 2014 and an active member for the past couple of years. She is currently working on a collection of vignettes on her relationship to material possessions, American consumption and consumerism, and her desire to simplify.

Sherri Jackson divides her time between Sebastopol, California and La Paz Mexico, two beautiful locations that inspire her writing as she expands from non-fiction into fiction. Sherri is the author of Las velas de Pablo, a travel blog detailing her journey with her husband by sailboat and motor home through California, Baja California Mexico, and the Sea of Cortez. Her passions are nature photography, world travel, sunny days, and cooking. Sherri is an active and engaged member of To Live & Write, despite having just joined our community this year. As a brand-new member, she dove right into Flash Lit June to test her skills and courage, and participates in the community’s gifting economy with genuine and helpful feedback, support, and encouragement.

Erica Peck is a self-described mild-mannered, stay-at-home mom and lapsed drama major who likes to write stories. She has been an active member of To Live & Write since 2016 and is currently working on two novels, both in the realms of fantasy and romance. As a longstanding member of The Flash Lit Collective and regular contributor to Alameda Shorts and Imagine March, she also allows herself periodic forays into the world of short stories and poetry. This year, you can find Erica at home, sequestered as much as possible from the chaos of renovation construction in her tiny but mighty upstairs office, which is located directly above said construction—hammers, saws, drills, and all. You can find much of her fiction (and the occasional poem) on her blog, Soundchecking The Void.

Janet Salsman is a writer cleverly disguised as a personal trainer and Pilates instructor. She loves flower photos, picture books, carousels, and single malts, though not usually all at the same time. Janet has been an active member of To Live & Write for five years. She is a great role model for anyone new to the Daily Pages practice and the concept of a regular writing habit and has been a regular contributor to The Flash Lit Collective, Imagine March, and Alameda Shorts over the years. In 2023, she has been querying one novel while working on another in a completely different genre. In her spare time, Janet is the host and official Safe Space Protector of Friday night Proof of Write. She shares her short stories and poetry on her site, JanCanToo.

Leg 1: 4pm - 5pm Venue: Punchdown Wine Bar

THE PUNCHDOWN NATURAL WINE BAR AND KITCHEN: Our selection reflects like-minded, small businesses that do it out of love and passion.  Some are breaking the rules and regulations of their respective regions by choosing to make wine in a natural way. We regard them as heroes in a competitive industry that increasingly manufactures wine as though it is a soft drink or a processed food product (spoofy frankenwines) with a big marketing department.

LEG 3:  7-8p VENUE: Oaklandish 1444 Broadway

Milvia Street produces a print and online journal showcasing the diverse voices and visions of Berkeley City College students. The journal is all student-made to help usher them into professional publishing.

Come hear the work of six up-and-coming and super talented writers and poets!!  This year's readers are Angel Sunlight, Vida Felsenfeld, Tracy Abeyta, Heather Canfield, Mary Magagna, and r.a.d. Leng Leng!!!    Check out the new issue of Milvia Street: www.milviastreet.com.

Leg 1 (4pm - 5pm) Venue: Bookmark Bookstore 721 Washington

ABOUT BOOKMARK BOOKSTORE:
Bookmark Bookstore
The Bookmark Bookstore is a nonprofit used bookstore that is owned and operated by the Friends of the Oakland Public Library and staffed by volunteers. All of the many thousands of books and media in store are donated, and all proceeds support the Oakland Public Library. A true local establishment, the Bookmark celebrated its 30th anniversary this past year. Located at 721 Washington Street in Old Oakland, the store is open Wednesday-Friday from 11:00am – 4:00pm and Saturday-Sunday from 10:30am – 5:30pm. 

1428 Poets is a long running San Francisco poetry reading once hosted by Richard Sanderell. After Richard's passing, Antoinette Vella Payne continued the reading to keep it alive. A group of Richard's friends rescued Richard's poems from a broken laptop, YouTube readings and various anthologies and the much loved, dusty files of friends. Two years after Richard's passing,
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Mitch, who grew up in San Francisco, loves art. It’s her way of shouting at the world. She is a Spoken Word artist and Musician who has hosted Mitch’s Salon, a weekly online Open Mic Poetry series on Friday nights since 2020.

Alan Harris' spoken word is informed by his experience as a performer in sketch, improv and stand-up comedy. He has lived in New York and Los Angeles, but prefers San Francisco because it smells like weed everywhere.

Alice Elizabeth Rogoff grew up in New Rochelle, New York. She received an MA in English: Creative Writing from San Francisco State. She's been in several poetry groups like Noe Valley Poets, LaborFest Writers, and with the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal as an Editor. She's been published in Poetry Pacific, Pudding Magazine, Avocet for nature poetry, Blue Collar Review and the anthologies Fog and Light by Blue Light Press, and Your Golden Sun Still Shines, by Manic D Press. She received a grant for poetry from the San Francisco Arts Commission, was a semi- finalist in the Codhill book award, and has won a Blue Light Book Award, and two District 7 awards. She has several books of poetry, and fiction in the on-line magazines Caveat Lector and So To Speak.

Britt Peter was born in the North Arm of Indian Valley (Plumas County) in 1938. His poems can be found on the internet under britt peter poet (You Tube, Jerry Jazz Musician). He has published in the Richmond Anthology, Poetry Expressed, Grounds Are Sacred, Poetalk, Blue Collar Review and the California Quarterly. He puts great value to the conversations he had with “The Cursive Writer” on the 21 Bus, in Golden Gate Park, Café International, the Chavis Library, Sacred Ground Café and the Pork Shop.

 LEG 1: 4-5p VENUE: Awaken Cafe 1429 Broadway

Afrosurreal Writers Workshop of Oakland is a select group of speculative fiction, memoir and poetry writers whose writing is informed by our personal and individual heritage as members of the African Diaspora in California.

Ellen McBarnette has been organizer of the Afrosurreal Writers Workshop of Oakland for four years. She is a life-long writer whose nonfiction work has been published as testimony, fact sheets and opinion pieces for organizations that include the Sierra Club and the American Bar Association.  A performance storyteller, she writes speculative fiction in the Afrosurreal and Afrofuturist traditions as well as poetry and creative nonfiction. Her work caan be found in Midnight and Indigo and, coming soon, in the award winning Fault Zones. As a native New Yorker, she is delighted to find such a welcoming literary home in the SF Bay. She lives in Hayward with her partner Ben and their cat Java.

Leg: 1, 4pm -5pm Venue: Cape and Cowl Comics