James Ellroy on the Hardboiled School of Language

Author James Ellroy comes to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Tuesday, September 21, to talk about his fascinating and surprising life. He will be in conversation with Tom Barbash, himself an author and a contributing book critic to The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

We're sure the conversation will be interesting. In the video above, you can get a taste of Ellroy's willingness to discuss his life – even the darkest moments – and his work such as L.A. Confidential and his new The Hilliker Curse.

To whet your appetite, we would have included video excerpts of Ellroy's appearances on Conan O'Brien's talk show, but let's just say the language is a wee bit too salty for this blog. How much of that will Ellroy bring to the stage of The Commonwealth Club? Come and find out!

California Book Award Gold Medal Winner Yiyun Li to be at Sonoma County Book Festival

There are many great reasons to visit Sonoma County, but for Bay Area book lovers, the Sonoma County Book Festival on September 25th is a really great reason. This year, Commonwealth Club members and friends will be pleased to see author Yiyun Li at the event. Li won a gold medal in this year's California Book Awards for her novel The Vagrants.

Learn more about the book festival, which is free to the public.


Photo: Author Yiyun Li speaks at The Commonwealth Club's California Book Awards ceremony on June 3, 2010. Photo by Beth Byrne.

Firoozeh Dumas in the News

Firoozeh Dumas does not seem to be a controversial person. The Iranian-born, Southern California-raised author (Funny in Farsi, Laughing Without an Accent>) specializes in humorous and touching stories about her childhood, youth, and her extended family (but especially her parents). So why did someone make bomb threats at a book discussion she held at a California University?

On March 24, Dumas spoke about her books at the University of Southern California. Her talk followed the screening of the animated film, "Persepolis," which is based on a graphic novel about an independent girl's upbringing in Iran after the revolution. The events were subjected to increased security, including searches and scans of attendees, according to the USC student newspaper, the Daily Trojan. Luckily, the evening took place as planned.

The Trojan reports that the police didn't know anything specific about the threats, which apparently weren't aimed at any specific individual or building. Was it someone who was upset that two Iran-themed events took place on the campus? Or was it someone who was upset that the two events both featured independent Iranian (or Iranian-American) women?

We may never know the answer to that. But we will be hearing more about Dumas' family, thanks to ABC TV. A situation comedy pilot is in the works for that network; if it passes muster, a regular series will be in our future.

Until that time, you can get a taste of Dumas' humor and her message by watching the video below. Dumas spoke to The Commonwealth Club's Silicon Valley audiences on May 5, 2008, about the "Adventures of an Iranian American."

Dumas also moderated the audience question and answer session at the end of travel host Rick Steves' January 26, 2009, Commonwealth Club program about his recent travel to Iran. You can see that video here.