Friday, November 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Skylight Books, Los Angeles
 Come and join us for a celebratory reading of the 2026 edition of LACC's literary journal _The Citadel_. Featuring readers: **Melissa Arechiga** is an activist and advocate from Los Angeles on Kizh Nation territory. She is the founder of Buried Under the Blue, an organization working for justice, reparations, and correcting the false narratives about the communities violently destroyed to build Dodger Stadium. Her work centers on the history of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. A UC Berkeley graduate and formerly incarcerated, Melissa continues to stand for accountability and community rights. **Scott Clapson** is a Social Sciences major focusing on creativity, mental health and movement. They are a community organizer, podcaster, artist, gardener, photographer, poet and singer. They developed a podcasting guide for mentoring new podcasters and are working on their first book about the LGBTQIA+ history of Silverlake and Hollywood. **Ian Deleón** (he/him) is a writer, filmmaker, programmer and performer based in Los Angeles, CA. His work is informed by the warmth of a multicultural upbringing in the tropics and the icy demeanor of a lifetime steeped in the strange and grotesque. His first major narrative work, Velvet Cry was screened nationally and received numerous commendations for its excellence in production design and montage. Ian was recently awarded a master’s degree in Screenwriting + Film Studies from Hollins University, where his thesis project focused on the Hollywood life of early-talkies Mexican starlet Lupita Tovar. He is currently pursuing union membership at the IATSE Camera Local 600 through Hollywood CPR and West LA College. **Mariana Drove** published her first poem in The Citadel in 2022. She graduated from LACC and transferred to USC to study Comparative Literature with a minor in Communication Design. Olga Jerrard is a Psychology major who found a passion for art and for painting furniture to give it a second life. Olga was born in Tobolsk, Russia. She is a writer, artist, and cat lover. Olga published her first poem in The Citadel in 2024. She plans to attend Cal State L.A. next Spring where she will major in Psychology. **Quinn Kealey** was born and raised in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. He’s a production coordinator at FS Media and writes in his free time. Quinn enjoys hiking, coffee, and a good book. **Rhyan Rose Kirsch** is a poet, playwright, actor, and singer-songwriter who creates with love, joy, and compassion. He strives to spark meaningful thought and honest reflection through every word and performance. **Charlie Makary** is an LACC student, early-career painter, and gay life-drawing artist whose work explores desire, longing, and the idea that we, ourselves, are worthy of myth. **Elizabeth Ogaz Ruiz** treasures writing and an eclipse’s allure—gifts she thanks God for. Since the 2024 Citadel published “Catching Shadows,” she was motivated to write the sequel, furthering the adventures of a courageous little moon, Luna. **Alexis Silva** (he/him) is a poet from California. He earned his BA from the University of California, Davis. He works as a seasonal park ranger and enjoys sipping on iced matcha lattes.