April's Reading & Meeting features Grotto writers with new books out. Sezin Devi-Koehler, Khan Wong, Swetha Amit and Janine Kovac will read from their recently released or forthcoming books and will have books for sale. Light refreshments served, $10 suggested donation but no one turned away for lack of funds.
Terry Tierney is the author of two poetry collections, Why Trees Stay Outside and The Poet’s Garage, and the novels Lucky Ride and The Bridge on Beer River. His poems and stories recently appeared in The Bellevue Literary Review, Remington Review, Reed Magazine, Ghost Parachute, Rust + Moth, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and other publications.Khan has a past as a poet, cellist, arts funder and internationally known hula hooper. His debut novel, The Circus Infinite, was published by Angry Robot Books in 2022. It was longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Best Novel category, and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. His next novel, Down in the Sea of Angels, comes out on April 22. He's been a Grotto member since 2024.Sezin Devi Koehler is a multiracial Sri Lankan/Lithuanian American and the author of upcoming Much Ado About Keanu: A Critical Reeves Theory (April 29, 2025, Chicago Review Press), a sociocultural deep dive into the wonder that is the one and only Keanu Reeves. As a pop-culture journalist her bylines include Entertainment Weekly, Scalawag Magazine, Tasteful Rude, Black Girl Nerds, Certified Forgotten, Teen Vogue, and many more. Sezin lives and writes in an Oakland historic landmark that looks uncannily like the house from Practical Magic, where she can see the San Francisco Bay from her bedroom window. Swetha is a writer from Palo Alto, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She has authored a memoir, Turbulent Mind, and three chapbooks, Cotton Candy from the Sky, Mango Pickle in Summer, and Sailing Paper Boats. Her works across genres appear in Cream City Review, Monkey Bicycle, Ginosko Literary Journal, Gone Lawn, Ghost Parachute, & others. A Rooted and Written fellow in 2024, Swetha’s writing has received support from the Kenyon Review writer’s workshop, Tin House, Community of Writers, and Writers Grotto. Her stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, best of the Net, and Best Small Fiction. She is currently working on a novel tracing the journey of an Indian immigrant woman battling with her culture and identity. Swetha can be seen participating in running and triathlon events, playing pickleball, or hiking when she's not writing or reading.Janine Kovac writes about power dynamics and women’s bodies. She is the author of SPINNING: Choreography for Coming Home and THE NUTCRACKER CHRONICLES. Her distinctions include: the Elizabeth George Foundation Fellowship, the San Francisco Foundation/Nomadic Press Literary Award for Nonfiction, and the Calderwood Fellowship for Journalism from MacDowell. Her fiction is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas and supported through a “Courage to Writer/Writer of Note grant from the deGroot Foundation.