March 19, 2025 · 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT
How do writers channel their imaginations to confront fear, champion equity, and reimagine the world? How can their fearless storytelling inspire advocacy and action?
WeHo Reads: Feminism and Fearlessness During Women’s History Month
Wednesday, March 19 · 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT
How do writers channel their imaginations to confront fear, champion equity, and reimagine the world? How can their fearless storytelling inspire advocacy and action?
As part of Women’s History Month, this literary reading and panel discussion in the WeHo Reads 2025 series explores feminism and bold creative expression. Four exceptional writers—each with a unique voice and perspective—will discuss their artistic journeys, inspirations, and how their work uplifts communities and advocates for social justice.
The event will feature: Katya Apekina, an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and translator, whose second novel, Mother Doll, was named a Best Book of 2024 by Vogue; Olga García Echeverría, a bilingual poet and cultural archivist whose work amplifies queer and feminist voices, including her stewardship of the literary legacy of lesbian Colombian writer tatiana de la tierra; Angelina Sáenz, an award-winning educator, poet, and author of Waiting for Luna and two poetry collections, Edgecliff and Maestra; and Kate Stayman-London, the bestselling author of One to Watch and Fang Fiction, a screenwriter, and a political strategist.
The event is free and available to watch via YouTube Live on the WeHo Arts channel. Learn more at www.weho.org/wehoreads.
WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. For more information and events, visit www.weho.org/wehoreads. The 2025 season is produced by BookSwell, a literary media company amplifying historically excluded voices. Additional support is provided by Poets & Writers and media partnerships with Book Soup and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Authors
Katya Apekina
Katya Apekina is a novelist, screenwriter and translator. Her debut novel, The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, was named a Best Book of 2018 by Kirkus, Buzzfeed, LitHub and others, was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and has been translated into Spanish, Catalan, French, German and Italian. Her second novel, Mother Doll, was named a Best Book of 2024 by Vogue. She has published stories in various literary magazines and translated poetry and prose for Night Wraps the Sky: Writings by and about Mayakovsky (FSG, 2008), short-listed for the Best Translated Book Award. She co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film New Orleans, Mon Amour, which premiered at SXSW in 2008. She is the recipient of an Elizabeth George grant, an Olin Fellowship, the Alena Wilson prize and a 3rd Year Fiction Fellowship from Washington University in St. Louis where she did her MFA. She has done residencies at VCCA, Playa, Ucross, Art Omi: Writing and Fondation Jan Michalski in Switzerland. Born in Moscow, she grew up in Boston and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and dog.
More information: www.apekina.com
Olga García Echeverría
Olga García Echeverría (She/Her/Ella). Creator and destroyer of language. Daughter of migrating dreams. Published in The Sun Magazine; Imaniman: Poets Writing on the Anzaldúan Borderlands; Lavandería: A Mixed Load of Women, Wash, and Words; U.S. Latino Literature Today, among others. As co-literary executor of the beloved lesbian Colombian writer, tatiana de la tierra, Olga has worked with queer & feminist presses to help bring to fruition such projects as the republishing of de la tierra’s For the Hard Ones: A Lesbian Phenomenology (Sinister Wisdom 2018) and Redonda y radical: antología poética de tatiana de la tierra (Sincronía Casa Editorial 2022).
More information: olgagarciaecheverria.com
Angelina Sáenz
Angelina Sáenz is an award-winning educator and accomplished writer. Her literary works include the children’s book Waiting for Luna and two poetry collections, Edgecliff and Maestra. Her poetry has appeared in notable venues like Diálogo, Split This Rock, and The Acentos Review. She’s a fellow of the UCLA Writing Project, VONA/Voices, and Macondo Writers’ Workshop. Growing up in downtown Los Angeles, her complicated home life, being a high school dropout and surviving chronic childhood violence continues to inform her work and advocacy. In 2024, Sáenz was selected as a finalist for the City of Los Angeles Cultural Olympiad, where she will present new work leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Her latest collaboration, Escaramuza: The Poetics of Home, is currently displayed at the National Cowgirl Museum in Texas.
More information: www.angelinasaenz.com
Kate Stayman-London
Kate Stayman-London is a screenwriter, political strategist, and author of two bestselling novels. Her debut, One to Watch, was named a best book of the year by Time, NPR, and more; her second novel, Fang Fiction, was named a best romance by Amazon, Powell’s, and Entertainment Weekly. Kate has written for political icons including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Cher; she is also a television writer-producer and proud WGA captain. When not writing, Kate enjoys fabulous trips with friends, rewatching Buffy, and fighting for reproductive justice–as well as justice for Speak Now, Evermore, and Reputation. She lives in Los Angeles.
More information: https://www.katestaymanlondon.com/
