Litquake 2023 — Sheena Patel at the Bookbinder Museum

Black Bird plays pop-up vendor for a Litquake! 2023 author conversation, off-site at the American Bookbinders Museum.

Sheena Patel’s incandescent first novel I'm a Fan (just released in the U.S.) begins with the unnamed narrator describing her involvement in a seemingly unequal romantic relationship. With a clear and unforgiving eye, she dissects the behavior of all involved, herself included, and makes startling connections between the power struggles at the heart of human relationships and those of the wider world. I’m a Fan offers a devastating critique of class, social media, patriarchy’s hold on us, and our cultural obsession with status and how that status is conveyed. Sheena Patel reads from and discusses her work with artist/writer JD Beltran. 

Sheena Patel is a writer and assistant director for film and TV who was born and raised in North West London. She is part of the poetry collective 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE and was named as one of The Observer’s “Best Debut Novelists of 2022.” I’m a Fan was longlisted for the Women’s Prize, shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas prize and the Jhalak Prize, and won the British Book Award in the Discover category.

JD Beltran is a writer, journalist, filmmaker, and the author of a novel in progress, Pay Attention, which illuminates the lives of six working artists at the San Francisco Art Institute as they attempt to launch their careers with skill, genius, or mere provocation. She is a longtime author of columns and essays on art and culture for SFGate, the Huffington Post, Alta Journal, Art at a Time Like This, Fabrik magazine, and Visual Art Source. Her work and experience in the arts, film, and the legal world (she also has a law degree from Berkeley Law) had led to a myriad of collaborations and projects with public figures in government, the film industry, the art world, and the sports world. She has served and continues to serve as a Commissioner on the San Francisco Arts Commission, supporting the city’s artists and stewarding the selection and care of the city’s public art collection.

FREE, $5-10 suggested donation