Join us on Thursday, October 29th at 7pm as we welcome Dana Moshoian Walrath to the shop for the release of The Book of Genocides. Save the date! RSVP is not required, but appreciated. Seats are limited and on a first-come, first served basis. You can reserve a seat in advance with the purchase of a book or a $3 sliding scale donation to our program.

About the book

Ten genocides. Five centuries. An award-winning writer, artist, and descendant of genocide survivors captures humanity’s darkest horrors in an immersive, fully illustrated graphic history; the first of its kind.

The Book of Genocides is a haunting graphic narrative that compels readers to confront the most harrowing chapters of human history not as distant events but as visceral experiences. Dana Mashoian Walrath covers ten major atrocities across five centuries: the mass slaughter of the First Peoples of the Americas, the brutalization of Black Americans, the devastation of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian killing fields, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian genocide, the deadly persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and the genocide in Gaza.

Walrath makes plain that the purpose of genocide is always a land grab, and its central apparatus is dehumanization: each chapter delves into how dehumanization operates, not just through violence but through the political and intellectual systems that enable it. The book’s unique interactive design allows readers to reshape images of victims into grotesque forms mirroring the mental mechanisms of dehumanization. With each page turn, the victims’ humanity is restored, making their suffering undeniable.

The Book of Genocides is an unsettling experience, shot through with the emotional gravity of horrific events―not just historical memories but ongoing realities, painful truths that shape our world and demand our action.

About the author

Dana Mashoian Walrath’s award-winning books include Aliceheimer’s, a graphic memoir, and Like Water on Stone, a verse novel about the Armenian genocide. Her comics, art, essays, and poetry have been featured by The Nation, The Lancet, Slate, and NPR.

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. 
• 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.
• 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? tickets@booksmith.com