Dialogue: Grotto Nights at the Library

Campfire Stories and Other Ghostly Narratives
Tuesday, 7/29/2025
6:00 - 7:30
The Page - 1st Floor
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

This month's Grotto Night features Bay Area writers Sezin Devi Koehler, Rowena Singer and Beth Winegarner talking about campfire stories and other ghostly narratives.

Sezin Devi Koehler is a multiracial Sri Lankan/Lithuanian American and author of Much Ado About Keanu: A Critical Reeves Theory (April 2025, Chicago Review Press), a sociocultural deep dive into Keanu Reeves' entire creative catalog. Pop-culture writer, entertainment journalist and Rotten Tomatoes-certified film and TV critic for Black Girl Nerds, her bylines also include Entertainment Weekly, The Daily Beast, Scalawag Magazine, Tasteful Rude, Certified Forgotten, Teen Vogue, and many more. Sezin writes from an East Oakland historic landmark that looks uncannily like the house from Practical Magic, where she can see the San Francisco Bay from her own window.  

Rowena Leong Singer is a Chinese-Filipino writer whose work appears or is forthcoming in The New York Times, North American Review, Black Warrior Review, Narrative, CRAFT and elsewhere. She is the grand prize winner in literary fiction for the Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest and a semifinalist for the James Jones First Novel Fellowship Contest. She received her MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, where she was awarded the Barry Hannah Merit Scholarship in Fiction. She is an associate editor at CRAFT, a co-director of Rooted & Written and a member of The Writers Grotto. Find her on Instagram at @rowenaleongsinger.

Beth Winegarner is an award-winning journalist, author, essayist and pop culture critic who’s contributed to the New York Times, the New Yorker, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Wired, Mother Jones and many others. She is the author of several books, most recently San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History.

The Writers Grotto is a community of working writers and narrative artists who connect in physical and virtual space, pooling our talents to support each other, mentor and teach others and engage the wider world. The Grotto fosters a literary culture that is generous in spirit and deeply inclusive, elevating writers of all backgrounds.

Connect: The Writers Grotto - Website | The Writers Grotto - Instagram | The Writers Grotto - Facebook

 

Author Readings & Lectures

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Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

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The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.