Join us on Tuesday, April 7 as we welcome Kim Samek to the store for the release of I Am the Ghost Here. She will be joined in conversation by Jonathan Escoffery. RSVP is not required, but appreciated. Seats are limited and can be guaranteed with the purchase of a book or a $3 sliding scale donation to our program.

About the book

“The debut by Pushcart-winning short story writer Kim Samek blends subversive humor with the absurd in a memorable collection of stories. . . . Recommended for fans of Ben Loory and Aimee Bender.”—Los Angeles Times (20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2026)

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: Alta, The Millions, Debutiful, Lit Hub, The Seattle Times

A woman’s limbs disappear into “the cloud” during wildfire-induced power outages. A lonely DoorDasher accidentally becomes the star of someone else’s reality show, forced to resolve her fraught relationship with her immigrant mother for the narrative. Succumbing to a widely denied pandemic, a gymnastics coach must carry her heart around in a Mason jar, using her disability to become an influencer. Two chronically single, chronically ill people become soulmates, only to discover their meeting was algorithmically orchestrated by ad tech. Other dramas unfold as icebergs melt and island-sized trash heaps burn.

Threaded with sharp social commentary, these stories question the engineering of human connection through technology, social media, and reality television. Warm, endlessly strange, and filled with dark yet hopeful humor, I Am the Ghost Here casts familiar crises of contemporary life in a wholly unique light, offering a pathway towards our shared humanity even as reality comes crumbling down.

About the author

Kim Samek is a half-Thai Emmy-nominated writer and television producer whose credits include MTV’s Catfish and PBS’s WordGirl. She studied German literature and creative writing at Stanford University. Her stories have appeared in Guernica, Ecotone, Electric Literature, North American Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, swamp pink, Gulf Coast, Southern Humanities Review, The Threepenny Review, Story, and ZYZZYVA. Her short fiction has won a Pushcart Prize. A native of Seattle, she lives in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Escoffery is the author of If I Survive You, a New York Times and Booklist Editor’s Choice, an IndieNext Pick, and an International Bestseller. If I Survive You was nominated for more than a dozen prizes and awards internationally, including the National Book Award, and was a finalist for the Booker Prize. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Observer, Oprah Daily, Electric Literature, Zyzzyva, American Short Fiction, and The Paris Review, where he was awarded the Plimpton Prize for Fiction. 

About the bookstore

The Booksmith is an independent bookstore located in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco since 1976.

Please note:

• Check-in for the event will begin at 6:45pm.
• Priced ticket holders (Book+seat, Pay it Forward!+seat) will have seats held until 7pm. Arrivals after 7pm will be allowed admission, but seats are not guaranteed.
• General admission ticket holders will be offered seats at check-in on a first-come, first-served basis. May be standing room.
• Space at the door on the day of the event is usually available, but not guaranteed.
• Books will be for sale on the night of the event.
• ADA accessible. Bathrooms on site during event hours.
• Events typically end between 8:30 and 9pm.
• Questions? [email protected]