Why “826”? Is that the number of children they'd originally aimed to help with their creative writing workshops around the country but just shot past that goal? No, 826 is named after 826 Valencia, the flagship San Francisco location of the Dave Eggers–founded young writers assistance league. Tonight they'll be showcasing recent Garfield High School / 826LA East essays, poems and short stories in the book Sheep Can't Fly (826 Books). The theme this time is a meditation on the nature of the hero and the hero's quest, as told through the eyes of aliens, ferrets and squirrels; just because Joseph Campbell didn't use a ferret as an example to Bill Moyers doesn't mean ferrets can't be heroic. At the absolute least, it's a hell of a lead-in to Mara Altman's 7:30 p.m. signing of Thanks for Coming: One Young Woman's Quest for an Orgasm. O.G. Readmore would be so proud.

Sun., July 26, 8 p.m., 2009

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