My Calendar

The week's events

  • - Writing for Children with José Chávez, Poetry & Prose with James Coats
    Writing for Children with José Chávez

    Writing for Children with José Chávez


    June 3, 2024

    Writing for Children with José Chávez

    (All Levels)

    Alternating Mondays, 6:00-8:00 PM PT 4/22, 5/6, 5/20, 6/3, and 6/17/24 on Zoom.

    $50. Registration required.

    https://tinyurl.com/Spring2024CWW

    This workshop is designed to meet the needs of those who wish to write or are writing for children. We’ll explore the writing voice for children, define a “picture book,” story arc, story introductions, appropriate vocabulary, children’s poetry, and more. There will be time to flex our writing muscles and develop the beauty and strength of our “voice” for children.

    José Chávez is a retired bilingual teacher and dedicates his life to writing. He's had poetry published in the Multilingual Educator Journal, Acentos Review, Inlandia Anthology and has written two award-winning bilingual poetry books for children. He lives in Riverside, CA, is married, and has three grown children.

     

    Poetry & Prose with James Coats

    Poetry & Prose with James Coats


    June 3, 2024

    Poetry & Prose with James Coats

    (All Levels)

    Alternating Mondays, 6:30-8:30 PM PT, 4/8, 4/22, 5/6, 5/20, and 6/3/24

    on Zoom

    https://tinyurl.com/Spring2024CWW

    In this multi-genre workshop, participants receive twice-monthly inspiration in the form of both poetry and prose. Prompts inspire writing in the genre of your choice. Class discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face in generating poetry, memoir, and short and long fiction.

    James Coats is an author, poet, and educator born in Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire. He received his BFA from Cal Poly Pomona and his MBA from Cal State San Bernardino. As a creative change agent, he believes the arts can inspire youth and influence positive change in the world. His first poetry collection, If I had Lived, was published in 2018. In 2021, he founded Lift Our Voices Education, which hosts the monthly “Be The Change: Social Justice Writing Workshop.” His newest poetry collection, Midnight & Mad Dreams, is published by World Stage Press. Follow him on Instagram @MrLovingWords.

  • - Micro Memoir with David Puma
    Micro Memoir with David Puma

    Micro Memoir with David Puma


    June 4, 2024

    Micro Memoir with David Puma

    (All Levels)
    Alternating Tuesdays:  4/23, 5/7, 5/21,  6/4, and 6/18 •  6-8 PM
    In person at Riverside Main Library – Carnegie Room
    3900 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside 92501

    Micro memoirs are short standalone pieces that often explore a moment in time, rather than an expanded life chapter. They are drawn from personal experience. Micro memoirs combine truth-telling with narrative tension and are specific to the writer’s micro-memory. Join instructor David Puma for this in-person workshop at Riverside Main Library as participants unleash the power of micro memoir.

    David Puma obtained his M.F.A. in creative writing at San Jose State University and his B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Redlands. He has been in advanced poetry workshops every semester for the last four years, and has performed spoken word across California, including the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire – as well as in New York City and in London, U.K. Professionally, David’s poetry has been included on streaming platforms like Disney+.

  • - All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle
    All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle

    All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle


    June 5, 2024

    All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle

    (Int.-Adv.)

    Alternating Wednesdays, 6:00-9:00 PM PT, 4/10, 4/24, 5/8, 5/22, and 6/5/24, on Zoom

    $50. Registration required.

    https://tinyurl.com/Spring2024CWW

    In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for biweekly critiques and receive feedback from other group members. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face. The workshop leader provides biweekly articles and links related to participants’ work, particularly to problems that were discussed in the previous session.

    Victoria Waddle is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, with fiction and nonfiction published in literary journals and anthologies, including in Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. A collection of her short fiction, Acts of Contrition, is available from Los Nietos Press and her chapbook, The Mortality of Dogs and Humans, is available from Bamboo Dart Press. Her YA novel about a teen escaping a polygamist cult is coming from Inlandia Books. Previously the managing editor of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, she helped to establish a yearly teen issue. In a previous life, she was a high school English teacher and librarian.

  • - Loud and Clear -- The Voices of Gay and Trans Literature
    Loud and Clear -- The Voices of Gay and Trans Literature

    Loud and Clear -- The Voices of Gay and Trans Literature


    June 6, 2024

    Thursday, June 6, 2024

    First Thursdays Arts Walk – Loud and Clear: The Voices of Gay and Trans Literature

    Riverside Main Library Community Room

    3900 Mission Inn Avenue

    Riverside, CA 92501

    7:00-8:00 PM; doors open at 6:30 PM

    Free and open to the public.

    Celebrate Pride with Inlandia Institute and Riverside Public Library at Riverside Main Library on Thursday, June 6, as LGBTQIA+ community members share literary passages by LGBTQIA+ authors who have influenced, encouraged, shaped, and inspired them. The program begins at 7:00 PM in the Community Room.

    There will also be an open mic that is open to all! Please bring a (3-4 minute) passage by an LGBTQIA+ author you’d like to share.

    Free and open to all. Join us – and be inspired, too.

  • - Writer’s Toolbox with Renee Gurley, Inlandia at the Maloof Artist Series Presents Ellen Estilai and Exit Prohibited, 3-Week Manga Workshop with Sebraé Harris
    Writer’s Toolbox with Renee Gurley

    Writer’s Toolbox with Renee Gurley


    June 8, 2024

    Writer’s Toolbox with Renee Gurley

    (All levels)

    Alternating Saturdays, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM PT, 4/13, 4/27, 5/11, 5/25, and 6/8/22, on Zoom.

    $50. Registration required.

    https://tinyurl.com/Spring2024CWW

    Unlock the door to your storytelling potential with "Writer's Toolbox," a transformative 5-session workshop designed to hone your craft and elevate your writing to new heights. Whether you're an aspiring novelist, seasoned writer, or simply eager to unleash your creative prowess, this course is your gateway to mastering the essential elements of compelling storytelling.

    Throughout this immersive journey, we'll delve deep into the art of characterization, exploring techniques to breathe life into your characters and make them leap off the page. From crafting complex personalities to infusing your characters with depth and authenticity, you'll learn how to create protagonists and antagonists that resonate with readers long after they've turned the final page.

    Renee Gurley, MA, MFA, is a writer and English teacherwith over 20 years of experience with words, whose works have appeared in Coping Magazine, Lehigh Valley Woman’ s Journal, and Budget Press.

    Inlandia at the Maloof Artist Series Presents Ellen Estilai and Exit Prohibited

    Inlandia at the Maloof Artist Series Presents Ellen Estilai and Exit Prohibited


    June 8, 2024

    Saturday, June 8, 2024

    Inlandia at the Maloof Artist Series Presents Ellen Estilai and Exit Prohibited

    12:00-2:00 PM

    Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts

    5131 Carnelian St

    Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701

    Free and open to all ages.

    Inlandia Institute, in partnership with the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts, invites you to a very special afternoon with Ellen Estilai, author of Exit Prohibited: A Memoir of Iran, published by Inlandia Books. A book talk is scheduled for Saturday, June 8, at 12:00 PM, at the Maloof Home, Gardens, and Gallery in Rancho Cucamonga, and will include a discussion of the author’s extraordinary experiences living in—and leaving—Iran, accompanied by selected readings and book signing by the author.

    Books will be available for sale in the Maloof Store, and may be purchased online at https://inlandia-institute.square.site/ and through Amazon.

    Exit Prohibited explores a side of Iran and Iranians seldom portrayed in popular media. It follows Ellen Estilai and her family after the 1979 Iranian Revolution as they attempt to leave Tehran, their home of nine years. At the airport, Ali, her Iranian husband, is inexplicably prevented from leaving. As he confronts hostile colleagues and the Islamic Republic’s opaque bureaucracy, Estilai examines their lives, trying to understand what might have brought them to this point. It is a story of an Iran that is at once welcoming and hostile, progressive and traditional, enamored of and distrustful of the West—an Iran as complex as Estilai’s relationship to it.

    Ellen Estilai has spent much of her career collaborating with artists, writers, and agencies to strengthen communities through the arts.  She has served as the executive director of the Riverside Arts Council and the Arts Council for San Bernardino County, and has taught English language, literature, and writing in universities in Iran and California. Because Ellen and her husband have been immigrants in each other’s countries, her writing frequently explores the joys and tribulations of the immigrant experience.

    3-Week Manga Workshop with Sebraé Harris

    3-Week Manga Workshop with Sebraé Harris


    June 8, 2024

    Saturdays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2024

    3-Week Manga Workshop with Sebraé Harris

    FREE and open to all ages, but registration is required: https://tinyurl.com/MangaRPL

    1:00-3:00 PM

    Riverside Main Library Carnegie Room

    3900 Mission Inn Avenue

    Riverside, CA 92501

    Join Inlandia at Riverside Main Library for a creative workshop introduction to the inner workings of the Japanese comic medium, Manga, which will explore terminology, story, character design, and paneling to create your own one shot or series! Presented by animator and mangaka, Sebraé Harris.

    Sebraé Harris – AKA “StarLite Crystal” – is an African American artist, entrepreneur, and professional mangaka. He started drawing at the age of four and began taking art seriously when he was eight. Sebraé is a graduate of Riverside City College with degrees in Fine & Applied Arts, Animation, and Business & Entrepreneurship. The Vermillion Speedateer is his first manga/comic series.