Friday, October 23, 2026, 2:00 AM - 5:00 AM ยท Fabulosa Books, Castro, San Francisco
Release reading for SWANA Dykes, an anthology of creative work by lesbians and queer folk from Southwest Asian and North African diasporas. Readers include Nikki Luna, Mahru Elahi, Janine Mogannam, Zara Jamshed, Jaz Sufi, and Syr Beker.
A queer-focused bookshop opened in 2021 by Alvin Orloff (author and Castro neighborhood fixture) carrying new and used titles with LGBTQ+ literature at the center alongside fiction, mystery, sci-fi, and memoir. The monthly book club meets the second Wednesday with no registration required, and the store helped found Books Not Bans, sending queer books to communities where they are being removed from shelves. It is compact, personal, and built around the idea that the Castro's bookshop should be as particular as the neighborhood itself.