City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

08/12/2026

Rest in Power
Johanna Fernandez, 1970 - 2026

Pictured here with Mumia Abu Jamal

Johanna advocated for Mumia's freedom, and she edited his work in the book, "Writing on the Wall: Selected Prison Writings of Mumia Abu-Jamal, published by City Lights, 2015.

"A fight for Mumia is a fight for ourselves and our highest aspirations."—Johanna Fernandez

More about the book here:
https://citylights.com/open-media-series/writing-on-the-wall-sel-prison-writings/

08/10/2026

This week at City Lights LIVE!

🌎 Tuesday 8/11 6pm PT/9pm ET
Mara Wilson with Saumya Roy
HOW WE SEE IT: The World Looks at America in the Age of Trump – Edited by The Dial
The New Press
ONLINE ONLY - Register here: https://citylights.com/events/the-dial-city-lights-mara-wilson-in-conversation-with-saumya-roy/

You can find the rest of August's events here: https://citylights.com/events/

08/10/2026

"Cab drivers would recite Angelos's poetry to me when I would get into their cars."

— Eleni Sikelianos discusses learning about her great grandfather's literary legacy when traveling in Greece for the first time on the Los Angeles Review of Books Podcast, hosted by Kate Wolf 🚕

In her new hybrid memoir, MEMORY REHEARSAL (published by City Lights, May 2026), Eleni unearths the story of her astonishing great grandmother, Eva Palmer Sikelianos 🏛

Listen to the interview:

Eleni Sikelianos discusses her new book 'Memory Rehearsal,' a hybrid-memoir that tracks the history of her great-grandparents

08/07/2026

In the Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) Abigail Susik discusses several recent books about André Breton, including our own CAVALIER PERSPECTIVE: LAST ESSAYS, 1952-1966, translated from the French by Austin Carder
https://citylights.com/city-lights-published/cavalier-perspective/

André Breton, necropolitics, and 100 years of surrealism.

08/07/2026

Congratulations to Genny Lim, recipient of a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets!

Genny Lim is the Poet Laureate of San Francisco ❤️

https://poets.org/twenty-two-poets-laureate-awarded-11-million-community-poetry-projects

08/05/2026

Happiest publication day to translator C Francis Fisher and Joyce Mansour, SATISFIED SARCOPHAGI: Collected Short Stories (City Lights. August 4, 2026) 🌸

More about the book here:
https://citylights.com/city-lights-published/satisfied-sarcophagi-col-ss/

08/03/2026

This week at City Lights LIVE!

⛰️ Monday 8/3 6pm PT/9pm ET
Rayelle Davis with Jolene McIlwain
MONEY IN THE MOUNTAINS: The Cultural Trauma of Appalachia
[Pluto Press]
ONLINE ONLY - Register here: https://citylights.com/events/rayelle-davis-money-in-the-mountains-the-cultural-trauma-of-appalachia/

📽️ Friday 8/7 7pm PT
GUY DEBORD: The Complete Cinematic Works
Hosted by Ken Knabb
[PM Press]
At Artists’ Television Access, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA, 94110
Tickets Required***
https://citylights.com/events/the-cinema-must-be-destroyed-the-films-of-guy-debord/

You can find the rest of August's events here: https://citylights.com/events/

08/03/2026

Thanks for considering to sign!

In a moment when censorship is spreading rapidly, and school libraries remain dramatically under-resourced, this bill sends a clear message

07/29/2026

Get off of my cloud!

07/23/2026

City Lights LIVE! events are back! Join us online and in Kerouac Alley this week!

⭕️ Thursday 7/23 6:30pm PT
THE LAST HUMAN BEAR
Greg Sarris with Oscar Villalon
Heyday Books
In Kerouac Alley, registration not required, find more information here: https://citylights.com/events/greg-sarris-in-conversation-with-oscar-villalon/

🕹️ Saturday 7/25 11am PT/2pm ET
Trevor Paglen
HOW TO SEE LIKE A MACHINE: Images After AI
[Verso Books]
ONLINE ONLY, Registration Required***
https://citylights.com/events/trevor-paglen-how-to-see-like-a-machine-images-after-ai/

📕 Sunday 7/26 12pm PT
Maxine Chernoff with Paul Hoover, Claudia Keelan, Roxi Power Hamilton, and Cole Swensen
DIARY:POEMS
[Quale Press]
In Kerouac Alley, registration not required, for more information visit:
https://citylights.com/events/maxine-chernoff-friends/

🎸 Sunday 7/26 6:30pm PT
Velvet Underground Unbound: An Evening of Discussion and Music
Richie Unterberger with Peter Maravelis live at The Make Out Room in San Francisco!
DO WHAT YOU FEAR MOST: The History of the Velvet Underground
[Omnibus Press]
TICKETS and more information: https://citylights.com/events/velvet-underground-unbound-an-evening-of-discussion-and-music/

Find the rest of our upcoming events here: https://citylights.com/events/