More CA tour dates

It's been so much fun getting out and reading from Damascus that we've added a bunch more California events.  I hope to see you at one of these fine soirees!!

Jan 11 - Radar Reading Series, SF public library with Michelle Tea's gang

Jan 17 - Pints and Prose, Fairfax, CA

Jan 19 - Inside Story Time, Cafe Royale, SF, CA

Jan 27 - A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland, CA

Feb 8 - Skylight Books, LA (Los Feliz), CA

Feb 11 - Vermin on the Mount Series, San Diego, CA

Feb 12 - Vermin on the Mount Series, LA (Chinatown), CA

Feb 13 - River Reader, Guerneville, CA

Feb 22 - Noisepop Festival (with Litquake kids) SF, CA

Feb 23 - Books Inc, Palo Alto, CA

Feb 25 - Books Inc, Alameda, CA

March 12 - S.H.A.R.P series, SF, CA

March 13 - Diesel Books, in conversation with Johnny Evison, Oakland, CA

Brad Listi's Other People Podcast

There's this great guy, Brad Listi, who everyone should know about.  Not only is he the commander-in-chief over at The Nervous Breakdown, a great online culture magazine.  But he's a kickass author in his own right.  As if that doesn't keep him busy being awesome, he's started a new project called Other People, in which he chats with writers about their process and all kinds of odd byproducts thereof.  We just did one together.  It was a blast.



All Brad's podcasts are available on iTunes.

I've listened to previous ones with Ron Currie and Gina Frangello, and they're both fantastic.  And free.  And that's a winning combination.  Brad does a lot to support indie authors, so let's support him right back!

Happy early Thanksgiving, if you're into that sort of thing.  If you're not, I hope you spend the day doing something amazing that I don't even know about yet.

Josh

PS: Nice review of Damascus in this weekend's Wall Street Journal.
PPS: If you're in the Seattle area, I'm reading this Thurs, 11/17, with Johnny Evison at University Books; we'll all go out for drinks afterward.  I'd love to buy you a cocktail.
PPS: Here's a podcast of my reading from City Lights a couple weeks back.

My Dearest San Francisco

Why hello there, friends:

How are you?  I've been running around doing lots of readings in support of "Damascus".  And it's finally time for my favorite part of all this craziness: my hometown events. 

I'll be reading tonight at City Lights, 7pm.

And this Monday, the 24th, I'll read at Booksmith on Haight at 7:30.

Hope to whisper sweet nothings in your ear soon,
Josh

PS: The SF Chron has been incredibly supportive of "Damascus."  Here's a profile they ran on Tuesday.  And here's another piece they ran today.  Thanks for the local love!!

Happy Hour reading this Sunday

Hola, literati:

I hope to see you this Sunday afternoon for a late afternoon beverage.  I'll be reading at Vesuvio in North Beach with a bunch of talented folk from 4-6pm.  Event is free and I'll have advanced copies of Damascus.

Come through and say hi!!

Hope you're happy,
Josh

PS: If you happen to be down in Santa Cruz county tomorrow, I'm reading at the Capitola Book Cafe for a live taping of the Agony Column.  Event starts at 6:30.

Cabaret Bastille!

Hello, everybody:

How goes it?  I'm participating in a super-fun event tomorrow night, the 14th, in San Francisco.  Litquake is celebrating Bastille Day by throwing a party to honor the ex-pat writers of the 20s and 30s. I'll be playing Henry Miller, which if you've ever met me, does make quite a bit of sense...

Here's the whole line-up:

Matt Stewart as Ford Maddox Ford
Alia Volz as Anais Nin
Mac Barnett as F. Scott Fitzgerald
Alan Black as James Joyce
Andrew Dugas as Ernest Hemingway
Sarah Fran Wisby as Djuna Barnes
Joshua Mohr as Henry Miller
Daphne Gottlieb as H.D.

The event will be at Cell Space. All specific info is here.  KQED had some nice things to say about it.  So did the SF Examiner.

I hope to see you there.  Remember to introduce yourself.  Did I mention there's going to be an absinthe fountain?  Seriously.

Zum wohl,
Josh

New excerpt from Damascus

Hello, beautiful members of the literati:

How are you?  I performed a couple weeks back at Cafe du Nord, as a part of the Quiet Lightning literary series.  If you've never been it's amazing.  Every month features a new cast of authors and it moves locations every time, keeping the show fresh and lively.

They also create a lit mag, called sPARKLE and bLINK, as a document to the night's festivities.  I read from my upcoming novel "Damascus," and you can check out the excerpt here.

Or maybe you're the sort of person who'd rather have pretty words read to them.  Fair enough.  Let me whisper these sweet nothings to you in the vid below--and by sweet nothings, I, of course, mean urban depravity.

Rumpus Reading This Monday Night

Salutations, lovely people!!  How are you?  A quick note that I'll be reading this Monday, March 14th, as a part of the monthly Rumpus series here in San Francisco.  It's a great line-up.  Also reading will be Andrew Altschul, Beverly Parayno, and Timothy Donnelly.

More important than any of us silly writers, however, will be the performance by Lady Monster, Queen of the Fire Tassels!

Yes, that's right: Fire Tassels...

Also, comedy by W. Kamau Bell and a cartoon slideshow by Fairy Princess Elana Pritchard.

These events almost always sell out so grab tix here.

Hope to see you Monday at the Makeout Room,
Josh

PS: I posted some short-shorts at on online zine.  Here's one about eating clam chowder mixed with whiskey.  Another about bed wetting.  And how about a good ol' fashioned story about relapse?

PPS: If you come to the Makeout, say hi.  I like saying hi.  I like hugging even more than that.  Let's hug.

Live Taping of NPR's "Agony Column"

San Francisco is going through another one of those talent booms--so many great up and coming writers.  One of my favorites is Matt Stewart, whose first novel "The French Revolution" came out last year.  You should buy Matt's book.  Buy 2 and give the extra to a total stranger.  I bet that person will track you down and hug you silly with gratitude.

Matt and I will be doing NPR's Agony Column together February 12th.  The event will be taped live at the Capitola Book Cafe.  It's a perfect way to spend a Saturday night.  The topic is one near and dear to my heart: the personal apocalypse.  So if you'd like to come hear a couple idiots wax poetic about self-destruction and redemption in literature, we'd love to have you there.  We promise to answer your questions like perfect gentlemen.

Here's the official press release:

Saturday, February 12, at 6:30 PM


Join KUSP's Rick Kleffel for another Agony Column Live, featuring novelists Matt Stewart and Joshua Mohr for a discussion of Comedy, Redemption and Creating the Personal Apocalypse.


Matt Stewart is the author of "The French Revolution," which explores and explodes the lives of a San Francisco family, from the birth of twins named Robespierre and Marat to their twin triumphs -- and that of their mother -- in the strange new world of the 21st century.


Joshua Mohr is the author of "Some Things That Meant the World to Me" about a man named Rhonda who faces his past; and "Termite Parade" in which Mired, her boyfriend Derek, and his twin brother Frank forge through an entertainingly surreal world of booze and delusions.


Every day we have a new chance to blow up our lives; these writers help us understand how to do so in the grandest style possible, and laugh our way to our personal Apocalypse.  Flannery O'Connor once wrote that, "If you have a good car, then you do not need to be redeemed!"  On Saturday, February 12, you can seek redemption by getting in your car, good or not, to see Matt Stewart and Joshua Mohr join host Rick Kleffel for The Agony Column Live, a night of literary entertainment.

Boxing Day Pajama Party!!

The Portuguese Artists Colony is have a pajama party on Boxing Day--that's the 26th for all you boxing-day-neophytes...

They were nice enough to invite me to read, which I'm really looking forward to.  It will be the first time testing out material from my next book.

You'll probably be tired of your family by then anyway, so throw on a pair of your favorite PJs, slug a few cocktails, and enjoy some literary camaraderie.

Let's Lit Crawl!

If you've never checked out Lit Crawl, it's a really amazing event in San Francisco.  This Saturday night, Mission district bars, galleries, retail stores, laundromats (hell, even the police station this year) will host readings from an avalanche of writers.  I'm reading during Phase 3 at Casa Bonampak on Valencia btw 21st and 22nd streets, but I wanted to outline my rough itinerary for other delicious ones I planned on popping through.

Phase 1 (6:00-7:00): Quiet Lightning at Gestalt, Couterpoint Press at Muddy Waters (featuring Andrew Altschul), Babylon Salon at the Mina Dresden gallery (Peter Orner), and Why There Are Words at Artzone (Tom Barbash and Kate Brady).

Phase 2 (7:15-8:15): Tobias Wolff will be reading at Bruno's and a great bunch of writers, with the hilarious Chelsea Martin, will be at Dog Eared Books for their Salute to Schlock! 

Phase 3 (8:30-9:30): I'll be reading at Casa Bonampak with Grack Krilanovich, Alvin Orloff, Tom Hansen, and a couple other talented heads.  Our friends from the Rumpus have an event at the Latin American Club, featuring one of my all-time faves, Bucky Sinister.  Also, Susan Steinberg reads at the Revolution Cafe.

It's always a lively romp around the neighborhood, so come out and say hi.  Enjoy the literature and more importantly, the company of other people who love literature the same way you do!

One last LA reading for Termite Parade

I'll be slithering down from San Francisco to LA's Chinatown this weekend.  Jim Ruland runs this kick ass literary series down there called Vermin on the Mount, and I'm excited to play along.  Also reading are Matt Stewart, Grace Krilanovich, and Steve DeJarnatt. 

It's not like you really have anything better to do on a Sunday night anyway... turn off the TV and come say hi.  We both need more social stimuli.  Our therapists said so.  They said, "Make an effort to get out more," and we said, "Okay, we will."  But we didn't really mean it.  We were trying to say the right things.  Sometimes, we confuse saying the right things with doing the right things.  At least, if you come to the reading, I'll give you a hug and say, "See, I knew our therapists were wrong about us!" and we can feel happy, submerged in our blissful embrace.

Reading in LA this Thursday with Grace Krilanovich

Are you still covered in dust from Burning Man?  Any good playa-shenanighans to report?  Any Labor Day debauchery that the rest of us should know about?  There's nothing wrong with vicarious thrills.

Once you get a good night's rest and slug a Gatorade, I'll be in Los Angeles at Skylight Books on 9/9 reading with Grace Krilanovich, whose first novel "The Orange Eats Creeps" came out last week.  I had the pleasure of reading Grace's book on a plane a couple months back.  She's a really talented writer, and I definitely recommend tucking OEC into your literary queue.

After the reading on Thurs, we'll all go out for some celebratory cocktails, so come through, say hi, and I'll even buy you a drink.  Chivalry is alive and well...

Termite Parade on KQED Podcast

I thought maybe you were in the sort of mood where you wanted a writer to read to you today.  You're in your cube, or at home, at home in your cube.  You can't sleep or can't stay awake; you can't stop crying.  Maybe you really want to cry or are laughing hysterically or there's anger slamming around your guts.  Maybe you just got great news, or bad news, or no news.  Maybe your life has changed or you keep thinking Jesus Christ, when will my life change?  Or it's neither a grand nor disastrous day... just another humdrum whiz around your world.

Regardless, sometimes it's nice to have a writer read her/his book to you.  Hear it in my voice, with my rhythms and cadences.  So here's a podcast from KQED's The Writers' Block.  It's early in the book.  From Derek's point of view.  I hope you like it.  Send me a note about it.  I like knowing you're out there.

Rumpus Radio & My Birthday Reading Tonight

I like to tease fiction writer/memoirist/sexual savant Steve Elliott that he's the Mayor of the Mission District, and I'm only sorta kidding. He's got our neighborhood wired. One of the nice things about living around the corner from him is that I can show up at his apartment and harrass him from time to time.

For example, maybe he happens to be recording a broadcast of the Rumpus Radio...maybe he's all dialed in for the show...checking levels, prepping the guest...mic tests, getting in the zone...and I happen to stagger in and say, "Hey man, can I borrow some mayonnaise?" Or: "Do you have any clean socks? Mine are all, like, wet for some reason."

Just such a glorious anomaly happened last week, as Steve was preparing to chat with Nick Flynn on Rumpus Radio. Steve was nice enough to let me co-host. Check it out here. Nick has some wise words and seems like a wise person all the way around. I highly recommend both his memoirs, "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City" and his latest, "The Ticking is the Bomb."

Today is my 34th birthday, and I'm excited to spend the evening reading at the Why There Are Words series in Sausalito. I also think my hair is thinning. In unrelated news, the bags I used to only have sometimes under my eyes are now always there. Getting old is cool...

This is also the last day to subscribe to the Rumpus Book Club and receive a free book. You can choose from one of Steve's ouevre, or the likes of Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, Steve Almond, Tao Lin, and they even have some copies of "Termite Parade" if you're into that sort of thing.

Hope to see you tonight!

Impose Magazine Interview: Joshua Mohr/Master of Disguise

It's a little known fact that I'm a master of disguise. Or at least that I like to play dress up like a lonely school girl. Is that the same thing as being a master of disguise? Please give me the benefit of the doubt on this one...


Anyway, I was excited to see that this interview in Impose Magazine I did last week used the pic over on the left, instead of the standard author headshot. For my first book, my better half and I spent an evening making me look like different characters from "Some Things." That guy is supposed to be Vern. Remember him? Everybody's favorite sadist?

In all honesty, though, the real "diamond in the rough" was our rendition of Old Lady Rhonda. I apologize to transvestites the world over for my shoddy work... guess I should've shaved...



Also, tonight is my book launch party at City Lights for Termite Parade. All the info is here. I hope you're able to come play with us tonight. We'll be celebrating everybody's birthday from the last year, so let's have some laughs, eat a cupcake, all in the name of literature!

In 5-words, describe your relationship with your mom

I'll mail a copy of Termite Parade to the person who posts my favorite 5-word description of her/his releationship with their mother.

An example: Wondrous love scabbed with masochism.

Another: Floundering freedom for hypocrisy ticket.


And one "happy" riff just so nobody says I'm merely a glass-half-empty-sorta-guy: Your dad made me bald.

No rules, except c-bombs = disqualification... maybe. Although, sometimes c-bombs really work.
Mothers from Courtney Love to Michelle Obama want to know your answer!

More Bay Area Readings for Termite Parade

Has it seemed as though there's something looming on the horizon, creating a tangle of anxiety in your guts? Assuming it isn't acid reflux, it might be the anticipation of Termite Parade, which is released this Thursday.

The book release party will be at City Lights on July 6th, and the SF Weekly was nice enough to post this about our shindig:

"Mohr's insistent prose propels the novel's surreal investigation of guilt, love, and duplicity."

Love the Weekly! In addition to the reading, the night will also be a "post modern" birthday, as I'm turning thirty-four on the 8th. What makes it post modern is that I'll be giving presents to people in the audience--chances are I forgot your birthday anyway.

In addition, I'll also be reading in Sausalito on the 8th as a part of the Why There Are Words series. The incredible line up includes Glen David Gold, Jason Roberts, Elissa Bassist, Tatjana Soli, and Anne Raeff.

Then that Friday, the 9th, I'll be at Pirate Cat Radio from 8-10pm. We'll do an on-air interview and I'm told a kick ass band will play. Then we can sit around and giggle. If you've never been to PCR, it's one of the Mission's best kept secrets.

I'd love to see you at one of these events!

Termite Parade Book Trailer

Only about 6 weeks until the new book is out... and some amazing friends helped me put a book trailer together for it.

A couple big thank yous: first, Leota Antoinette is my beautiful girlfriend and she masterminded the whole thing--writing, directing, and editing it. Justin O'leary and Julie Burns "donated" their time (not really donated, since I had to bribe them with a bottle of bourbon, but still, it was pretty nice...).

Anyway, I hope this wets your appetite for the book. For those of you in San Francisco or thereabouts, pencil in a book release/birthday party for July 6th at City Lights.

Golden shower, anyone?

"Termite Parade" is in stores in about 6 weeks and I'm getting super amped up. I read from it for the first time in Berkeley a couple weeks back. Evan Karp was nice enough to shoot some video of the writers doing their thing.

Definitely send me your thoughts on the new stuff... I'd love to hear.

Joshua Mohr Not Your Usual Beach Reading from Evan Karp on Vimeo.

Wrrrrock on! Benefit in Brooklyn

I'm really excited to be hosting a literacy benefit in Brooklyn in a couple weeks. Proceeds benefit an organization called Girls Write Now. My publisher, Two Dollar Radio, is one of the sponsors, as are many other houses: Chin Music, 7 Stories, Coffee House, Tin House, Small Beer, Exterminating Angel, Featherproof, Tyrant, and Unbridled Books.

The night, May 25th, should be a total blast. It's taking place at the Galapagos Art Space. There will be 2 bands, Japanther and Care Bears on Fire (these links are to Youtube vids of them performing). I'll do a short reading, too, though one of my goals is to minimize my blathering.

Most importantly, the evening is an opportunity to promote literacy in the public schools. Come out and join us for a cocktail and give generously. We all want to keep the kids reading: this is a wonderful way to get involved and help Girls Write Now!