May 23 (at The Renberg Theatre)

To kick off Literary Death Match's 20th Anniversary celebrations, we're partnering with the WeHo Pride Arts Festival to put on a West Hollywood spectacular for the ages at The Renberg Theatre. There'll be big laughs, bit talent, and a giant reminder of the illimitable power of books. And it's free! 

What is Literary Death Match? Part literary event, part comedy show, part game show, Literary Death Match brings together four of today’s finest writers to compete in an edge-of-your-seat read-off critiqued by three celebrity judges, and concluded by a slapstick showdown to decide the ultimate champion.

JUDGES: 

Literary Merit: Steven Reigns, poet, educator and author of A Quilt for David, Outliving Michael and Inheritance, and was appointed the first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood 

Performance: Melissa Chadburn, author of A Tiny Upward Shove (longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Debut Novel Award), she's also done extensive reporting on the child welfare system and appears in the Netflix docuseries "The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez"

Intangibles: Rex Ogle, award-winning author of more than a hundred books, comics, graphic novels and memoirs including Free Lunch (winner of the ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction), Abuela Don’t Forget Me (ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction finalist) and Road Home (a Micheal Printz Honor and Stonewall Honor book)

READERS:
Round 1:
* Myriam Gurba, writer and activist, her collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for debut fiction, her true-crime memoir Mean named one of the "Best LGBTQ Books of All Time," and her essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction

* Mac Crane, author of the LAMBDA Literary Award-winning novel, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself and A Sharp Endless Need and the forthcoming short story collection Perverts

Round 2: 
* Rasheed Newson, author of the national bestseller My Government Means to Kill Me, named one of New York Times' "100 Notable Books of 2022," and the follow-up There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood which releases on June 2. He's also a TV writer, producer and showrunner

* Isle McIlroy, author of two novels including The Atmospherians, a New York Times Editors' Choice, and People Collide, named a best book by Vulture, NPR, Vogue and was a New York Times Critics' Pick

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Where: The Renberg Theatre, 1125 N McCadden Place, West Hollywood (map)
When: May 23, 5:15pm sharp (doors at 5pm; over by 6:30pm)
Cost: Free