The Stay Home and
Read a Book Ball

35th EDITION Benefiting the Library Foundation of Los Angeles in supporting the
Los Angeles Public Library's work to enrich the lives of every Angeleno
Sunday, Mar 5, 2023 | 12:00am Wherever you are!

benefiting the Library Foundation of Los Angeles in supporting the Los Angeles Public Library’s work to enrich the lives of every Angeleno.

WHEN
Whenever the time feels right on
Sunday, March 5, 2023.

WHERE
Snuggle up in bed with a comfy classic or visit your local park with the newest best-seller. Choose your own literary adventure wherever you are!

HOW
Dust off your “to be read” stack and dive into a great book! While you’re having a ball reading at home, please take a moment to support the Los Angeles Public Library by donating at LFLA.org/StayHome.

Share what you’re reading and how you choose to celebrate! Post photos of you reading solo or with guests for the Ball on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag #StayHomeandRead and tag us @LibraryFoundLA.

ATTIRE
Opt for opulence with your most decadent robe or drape yourself in your best formal wear. Whatever you choose, you and your book(s) are the guests of honor.

FOOD & DRINK
Feast on cookies and cocktails or create a delicious recipe from your favorite cookbook.

RSVP and DONATE HERE

Give now by texting Library to 41444 for an easy and secure way to add your donation via your cell phone. You can also call 213.292.6242 to give your gift over the phone, or mail your completed invitation form to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, 630 W 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

Donations to the Stay Home and Read a Book Ball are fully tax-deductible, and are not a contribution towards Membership. No goods, services, or benefits are provided in exchange for your donation.

To learn more about the Stay Home and Read a Book Ball, please contact Sarah Charleton, Director of Membership and Annual Giving, at 213.292.6242 or [email protected].

Mohsin Hamid | Annual Chair

Read Mohsin Hamid’s Chair Letter here. 

Mohsin Hamid is the author of the international bestsellers Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, both finalists for the Man Booker Prize. His first novel, Moth Smoke, won the Betty Trask Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award. His essays, a number of them collected as Discontent and Its Civilizations, have appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, and elsewhere. He divides his time between Lahore, New York, and London.

Fatimah Asghar | Honorary Chair

“Books have provided me the best comforts of my life– staying in and curling up with a good story, having someone read you a poem out loud, getting lost in a world you had never considered before. Libraries are beautiful places, filled with stories you can explore. I’m so excited to stay at home and read with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.”

Fatimah Asghar is an artist who spans across different genres and themes. A poet, a fiction writer, and a filmmaker, Fatimah cares less about genre and instead prioritizes the story that needs to be told and finds the best vehicle to tell it. Their first book of poems If They Come For Us explored themes of orphaning, family, Partition, borders, shifting identity, and violence. Along with Safia Elhillo, they co-edited Halal If You Hear Me, an anthology for Muslim people who are also women, trans, gender non-conforming, and/ or queer. They also wrote and co-created Brown Girls, an Emmy-nominated web series that highlights friendship among women of color. Their debut lyrical novel, When We Were Sisters, explores sisterhood, orphaning, and alternate family building.

Natalia Molina, Ph.D | Honorary Chair

“LBD and heels? You can stay in the closet! I’ll be hiking Griffith Park in the morning, picking up brisket tacos from HomeState, and then settling in for the evening with a book for the Stay Home and Read a Book Ball.”

Natalia Molina is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. A 2020 MacArthur Grant recipient, she is the author of the recently published, A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community and the award-winning books, How Race Is Made in America: Immigration, Citizenship, and the Historical Power of Racial Scripts and Fit to Be Citizens?: Public Health and Race in Los Angeles, 1879-1940. In addition to publishing widely in scholarly journals, she has also written for the LA Times, Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, and more.

Christina Rice | Honorary Chair

“With the help of a Los Angeles Public Library card, you can attend the Library Foundation’s Stay Home and Read a Book Ball in style. Whether it’s the latest bestseller or an out of print gem, the library has you covered for this special evening out on the couch.”

Christina Rice is the author of Mean…Moody…Magnificent! Jane Russell and the Marketing of a Hollywood Legend, Ann Dvorak Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, and multiple issues of the My Little Pony comic book series. She began her career as a librarian with the Los Angeles Public Library in 2005, and has been overseeing the library’s historic photo collection since 2009.

Yesika Salgado | Honorary Chair

“When days feel too long, and bodies grow tired, the Los Angeles Public Library offers a bit of magic to bring home, a book to dance with in the comfort of your safest place, a new world to get lost in, an adventure to celebrate over and over again.”

Yesika Salgado is an emerging literary superstar and body positivity activist, taking the world by storm with her unconventional take on love and the body. Followed by a devoted fanbase on Instagram called the Mango Mafia, Salgado is a Los Angeles born Salvadorian poet who was raised in Silver Lake and whose books of poetry, Corazón and Tesoro, speak to her tumultuous relationships with family, her take on how her existence is seen in a fat body, and the reality of love and heartbreak that she has experienced. Always having insight into her writing gift, she is now internationally known for her poetry and her body positivity activism.

Alex Segura | Honorary Chair

“The library is a magical place – one that’s played a part in enriching so many lives, including mine. Please support the Stay Home and Read a Book Ball, a fantastic event!”

Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which The New York Times called “wittily original” and named an Editor’s Choice. NPR described the novel as “masterful,” and it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist. It was also listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, LitReactor, Gizmodo, BOLO Books, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His upcoming work includes the YA superhero adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, the spiritual sequel to Secret Identity, Alter Ego, and the sci-fi/espionage thriller, Dark Space (with Rob Hart). Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, Mara Llave – Keeper of Time, Blood Oath, stories featuring Marvel heroes Sunspot, White Tiger, Spider-Man and DC’s Superman and The Question, to name a few. His short story, “90 Miles” was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. Another short story, “Red Zone,” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story.