Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

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In Conjuring & Conjugating: Siguanabas in Future Tense, four community-engaged writers of the Central American Diaspora discuss Indigenous mythologies as vessels for embodiment and transformation. Navigating legacies of violence, they reclaim the right to name themselves—writing into futures beyond the erasure of the colonial gaze.

Taking the figure of La Siguanaba as both provocation and portal, these poets ask what happens when we listen again. What wisdom was hidden inside the warnings? What truths were transformed into myth—and what futures might emerge when those truths are spoken aloud once more?

Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta explores identity, lineage, and resistance through a poetics attentive to the long reach of colonial histories, MK Chavez's writes at the crossroads of myth, ecology, and diaspora, exploring how ancestral figures continue to haunt and guide the present, and Neida Chavez Solórzano writes with luminous attention to migration, history, and the enduring presence of land and spirit. Leticia Hernandez Linares brings a community-rooted voice to questions of memory, storytelling, and cultural survival and will share work and lead this panel that explores the myth not as relic, but as a tense we are still learning to speak. To conjure is to call something back into the world. To conjugate is to shift its time.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Short stories are the swift vehicles of the written word that leave lasting impressions on both passengers and bystanders alike. This panel features writers who have experimented with the form in various ways to create unique short story collections that highlight broader issues. With genre-bending fiction, Jude Berman blends social impact fiction and activist fiction in Shot: A Dictionary of the Lost, a collection of short stories about gun violence, organized as a dictionary, with a story for each letter of the alphabet. Lisa Alvarez's Some Final Beauty and Other Stories showcases women and Chicanx characters from the vibrant streets of Southern California to the arid Nevada Nuclear Sites in thematically linked stories exploring self-discovery, rebellion, and solidarity. Set in the dive bars, bathhouses, parks, workplaces, music venues, beaches, and college campuses of 2010s Seattle, Crawl: Stories by Max Delsohn portrays the pleasures and pains of sex, romance, and gender expression in a city and a time that has branded itself a radical queer utopia but proves much more complicated in reality. In Daddy Issues: Stories, a collection of moving and complex stories of queer Asian American experiences in Los Angeles, Eric Wat offers different contemplations on solitude and the vulnerability required for connection. Shifting from the present day to the near future, from China to America and beyond, the stories in M Lin's The Memory Museum offer profound insight into the ambivalence of migration, the perverse ways race and class can operate, and what it means to be Chinese today. Join the talented authors of this panel, moderated by Latine poet, performer, and producer Marcos "Coco" James, to explore the limitless possibilities of the brief yet impactful short story.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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In 2018, only 12% of San Francisco's street names, statues, parks, and public art honored women, but not because they didn't exist. How many notable women who deserve public recognition have been written out of the history of our region? Drawn from award-winning journalist Rae Alexandra's KQED Arts & Culture series "Rebel Girls From Bay Area History," Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area is a collection of 35 short profiles honoring the contributions of a diverse group of women from San Francisco, the East Bay, and the greater Bay Area, from the very first years of the founding of San Francisco to the present day. Together, their stories constitute a new telling of the history of Northern California from the vantage point of women who made a difference. Joining Alexandra to discuss the process of uncovering and writing about these stories is the visionary Jewelle Gomez, activist and author of the double Lambda Award-winning novel, The Gilda Stories. She has served on literature panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and the California Arts Council, and is currently Playwright in Residence at New Conservatory Theatre Center. This triumphant conversation will permanently alter readers' perspective with the realization of just how many untold stories have been lost to time, encouraging them to scan their own environment for traces of women whose stories deserve to be recovered and told. Moderated by author of Where the Girls Were and Rad American Women A-Z Kate Schatz this panel will be, as Gomez declares, "a real celebration of these daring human rights activists who cross boundaries of time, ethnicity, and class and invite us all to join in."

In collaboration with Litquake

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Today's kids are well aware of the many challenges that they face in the world they are inheriting, from climate change to police violence, crowded classrooms to healthcare. The organizers of the amazing Social Justice Children's Book Fair are here to show everyone that a better world is possible, and it can be here today if we choose it! Poetically written and beautifully illustrated in Innosanto Nagara's signature style, Oh, The Things We're For! offers a vision of where we could go for today's kids, who are ready to tackle big issues to build a better world they envision. One way we can fight for our future and make an impact on our community is by voting, but as the kids in Calling All Future Voters! find out, voting isn't easy for everyone. Blending narrative and educational content in her co-written book, Laura Atkins highlights our country's ongoing struggle for a more inclusive democracy and encourages readers to understand their rights and responsibilities toward their community. Joining the fight for a better future is author, illustrator, and organizer Robert Liu-Trujillo, who will moderate this enriching panel about how all of us can build towards a better world.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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From prose to verse to visual art, the powerful narratives of this panel take pride in the intersection of being queer, Latine, and unapologetically proud. Julián Delgado Lopera's Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You depicts Bogotá's underground queer scene, where a luminous travesti steps in as a mother figure to a listless widower's teenage daughter, fearing that his grief and guilt-driven self-destruction may unleash a river of curses on them all. Roque Raquel Salas Rivera turns to epic poetry in Algarabía to describe the journey of Cenex, a trans being who retrospectively narrates his life while navigating the stories told on his behalf, inscribing an origin narrative for trans people in the face of their erasure from both colonial and anti-colonial literary cannons. When Language Broke Open features Afro-Indigenous poet and artist Alan Pelaez Lopez's collection of poetry, prose, and visual art from forty-five queer and trans Black writers of Latin American descent, centering the multifaceted realities of the LGBTQ community by illustrating Blackness as a geopolitical experience that is always changing. Join us to celebrate our talented queer Latine writers in this transformative panel, moderated by Uruguayan writer, professor, and first openly nonbinary person to receive the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature Caro De Robertis.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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This powerful session celebrates two of Berkeley's own creators sharing powerful stories through art and writing. Deeply poignant and relevant, A Time to Hide is Marion Seidemann Fredman and her family's courageous story of surviving the Holocaust told through personal testimony, historical photographs, and evocative illustrations including those by Bay Area author and illustrator Elisa Kleven. Together, they will converse about Marion's experiences as a child born to parents forced into hiding in a Dutch attic, and who is now sharing her family's story with young readers. Moderated by author and activist Rachel Sarah, this illuminating read-aloud and discussion will honor memory, teach history, and help ensure the next generation understands and remembers this powerful legacy of survival.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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When the world ends but life persists, what remnants of humanity, hope, and connection remain? In this futuristic sci-fi conversation, authors T. K. Rex, Chuck Tingle, and Susanna Kwan imagine the strange new worlds that follow catastrophe, confronting ecological collapse, improbable survival, and the fragile bonds that hold us together. T. K. Rex's The Wildcraft Drones charts a near-future shaped by the intertwined evolution of machines, ecosystems, and the people who depend on both. Through stories of AIs, dolphins, and rebel biologists amid environmental decay, Rex explores what intelligence means when nature itself is learning to adapt. Chuck Tingle's Lucky Day shifts the lens to probability run amok, where a world altered by freak chance teeters between chaos and fate. His signature blend of absurdity and heart becomes a meditation on what it means to rebuild meaning and love in the aftermath of statistical disaster. In Awake in the Floating City, Susanna Kwan renders a tender apocalypse in the drowned remains of a futuristic San Francisco, where an artist and an aging woman forge a powerful connection against the inevitable tide. Moderated by Lara Messersmith-Glavin, author of Ruiner and Spirit Things, this panel dives into the new mythologies born after disaster, where the ruins of the past give rise to glittering, uncanny futures.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Join author-illustrator Steph Lau for a sparkly, cryptid and unicorn-tastic read-aloud of The Abominable Snow Dancer and live drawing demo! Steph will read from her picture book about a yeti who dreams of dancing, and then share how to create "squiggle" characters, using audience suggestions and volunteers from the crowd.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Join us for an engaging exploration of mystery and magic in young adult fiction, where the fantastical reveals deeply human truths. Emily Renk Hawthorne, Ama Ofosua Lieb, Lio Min, and S. Hati each craft imaginative worlds shaped by secrets, identity, and transformation. In Of Mountains and Seas, hidden histories and stolen magic ripple beneath the ocean's surface. Goldenborn follows Akoma as she searches for the truth behind her father's mysterious coma, weaving Ghanaian myth with moral reckoning. The L.O.V.E. Club blends music, queer youth culture, and magical realism while asking what really happened to a missing classmate. And in Morbid Curiosities, a teen uncovers unsettling clues, investigates the academy that isn't what it seems, and ultimately must decide how far she's willing to go for the truth. Moderated by playwright and novelist Michelle Ruiz Keil, author of Summer in the City of Roses, this panel explores how YA authors use mystery and magic to uncover powerful truths about belonging, loss, and courage.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Activism can show up in spaces big and small—we just need to keep up the tempo! R. J. Owens shows us the power of taking steps toward meaningful change in his picture book Walk the Walk, which follows Dex's day walking the walk with his Papa by joining the Montgomery Bus Boycott and standing up against segregation. In Searching for Mr. Johnson's Song, music makes the air vibrate like a thousand protesters marching for equality in Ariel Vanece's touching story about a boy who helps his elderly neighbor find the rest of the song that has been forgotten due to dementia. With warmth and gentle authenticity, this read-aloud and discussion moderated by author, illustrator and Social Justice Book Fair co-organizer Rob Liu-Trujillo remind us about kindness and neighborliness, inspiring a new generation of activists willing to keep on walking to fight for our communities.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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In this high-stakes thriller panel, three acclaimed authors explore stories where violence shatters ordinary lives and the search for answers grows increasingly perilous. Each novel begins with a crime but what unfolds is a deeper reckoning with truth, justice, and the forces that shape suspicion.

In Missing Sam, bestselling author Thrity Umrigar crafts a tense, twist-filled tale of a woman who vanishes during a morning run and the spouse left to navigate mounting scrutiny. As the investigation tightens, the novel probes racial bias, queer identity, and the quiet dangers simmering beneath suburban life in today's political climate. Dead Note by Victor Manibo opens with a murder marked by a chilling signature: the same song sung at two separate killings years apart. What begins as an open-and-shut case spirals into an investigation through Manila's criminal underworld, where corruption, memory, and obsession intertwine. In The Reckoning, crime writer Kelli Stanley delivers an atmospheric thriller in which long-buried secrets resurface and past actions demand accountability. As hidden histories come to light, the line between guilt and innocence grows increasingly blurred.

Moderated by Nicholas Louis Baham III, California State University professor and author of The People's Detective, this electrifying panel will explore how contemporary thrillers confront social tensions, moral ambiguity, and the enduring power of the whodunit. From suburban streets to international underworlds, these novels remind us that solving the crime is only the beginning.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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From fractals to spirals to cycles, nature is beautifully arranged in organized ways that are highlighted in the inspiring picture books of this session. In the mountains of Meghalaya, India, a boy learns how to care for and weave the roots of the living tree bridges in Living Bridges: The Hidden World of India's Woven Trees by Sandhya Acharya. But when he notices litter on the bridge and scars on the roots from people stealing sap, he must rally his community to protect the living tree he loves. Colleen Paeff writes about another empowering story in Firefly Song: Lynn Frierson Faust and the Great Smoky Mountain Discovery, a nonfiction picture book about how one woman proved to skeptical scientists that the fireflies of the Great Smoky Mountains put on dazzling synchronized light shows each night! Join this environmentally focused read-aloud and discussion, moderated by author Meera Sriram, that encourages young kids to take wonder in the environment and action to sustain it.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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In this visionary speculative fiction panel, Charlie Jane Anders, Syr Hayarti Beker, and Annalee Newitz explore the craft and theory of queer worldbuilding imagining futures and fantastical realms where queer characters and communities are not exceptions, but the norm. Across their work, queerness is foundational to how magic systems function, how technology evolves, and how societies are structured. In Lessons in Magic, Charlie Jane Anders continues her tradition of expansive, emotionally rich storytelling, building transformative worlds shaped by fluid identity and chosen connection. In What a Fish Looks Like, Syr Hayarti Beker reimagines fairy tale and climate narrative through mutated, lyrical forms that center queer embodiment and ecological intimacy. In Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz envisions near-future solidarity between humans and robots, crafting communities that challenge capitalism while foregrounding queer belonging.

Moderated by Kristina M. Canales, a queer Puerto Rican author and community builder with the LGBTQIA+ Lit Collective, this conversation will dive into craft, theory, and possibility. How do writers construct queer-norm worlds without replicating oppressive structures? What narrative tools allow authors to center fluidity, chosen family, and collective liberation? And how can speculative fiction create blueprints for futures rooted in care, resilience, and radical imagination? Join us for a dynamic discussion about building worlds where queerness shapes the rules of magic, technology, and society itself.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Flap your wings and fly high with these lyrical and poignant picture books about the magnificent birds around us! Learn about the resilient and mysterious crows, who roost together by the thousands and teach us important lessons about cooperation and survival in I Am We: How Crows Come Together to Survive by Leslie Barnard Booth. Soaring alongside the crows is a special type of raven, a leucistic raven, who must rise above rejection to gain self-acceptance with the support of a child's kind and resilient spirit in Kathryn Otoshi's The White Raven. Warble, chirp, and chatter your way through this meaningful session, moderated by Tomiiko Baker, which will feature read-alouds and a discussion between the authors!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Secrets fester in isolated communities. Corporations conceal monstrous truths. Grief curdles into vengeance. In this high-stakes thriller panel, Sarah Gailey, Jendia Gammon, Luke Goebel, and Paddy Hirsch explore conspiracy as both engine and mirror, reflecting our deepest anxieties about belonging, power, and truth. In Make Me Better, Gailey crafts an eerily seductive psychological thriller set on a remote island promising healing, transformation, and the end of suffering. As an exclusive festival draws seekers desperate for connection, the novel interrogates cult psychology, toxic self-improvement culture, and the terrifying allure of surrendering autonomy in exchange for belonging. Goebel, known for his boundary-pushing fiction and screenwriting, brings a raw, literary intensity to the thriller form in Kill Dick. In this dark and satirical collection of short stories, obsession, violence, and fractured identities blur the line between perpetrator and victim while exposing the stories we tell ourselves to survive complicity and guilt. In PRIMED, Hirsch delivers a transatlantic revenge thriller that begins with a decades-old bombing and a single photograph. As a grieving father hunts the man he believes responsible, the chase stretches from Northern Ireland to Los Angeles, unraveling into espionage, political shadows, and the devastating costs of living for vengeance. Across their work, these authors probe the architecture of conspiracy: closed communities that promise salvation, corporations that distort truth, governments that obscure accountability, and individuals whose private grief fuels public violence. Moderated by podcast host of Twisted Passages and Dark Obsessions author Marie Sutro, join us for a conversation discussing writing paranoia in an era of misinformation, sustaining suspense while deepening character psychology, and why the thriller remains one of the most urgent genres for confronting systems of power, and ourselves.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Celebrate laughter, love, Native pride, and the world's best frybread with the phenomenal Cynthia Leitich Smith, critically-acclaimed Mvskoke author and curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins publishing. She has written several bestselling books, including Jingle Dancer, Eternal, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Youth Literature Award. Her latest book, Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, features stories from Indigenous writers connected by the big green-and-gold sign of Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In, and it won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and the American Indian Youth Literature Award! In this incredible session, Cynthia Leitich Smith will be joined by moderator Laura Atkins—children's book author, editor, and co-organizer of the Social Justice Children's Book Fair and YouthLit at the Bay Area Book Festival—to discuss her renowned stories, her advocacy for Native writing, and the inspiration behind her latest legendary book.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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The monsters we fear most often live behind closed doors. In this chilling and deeply human conversation, Eirinie Carson, Victor Manibo, and Tamika Thompson reveal how horror seeps into family ties, domestic spaces, and generational legacies, where the home becomes both refuge and ruin. Eirinie Carson's Bloodfire, Baby reimagines the maternal gothic through the eyes of a new mother unraveling in isolation, haunted by postpartum dread and a centuries-old specter that mirrors her buried fears. In The Villa, Once Beloved, Victor Manibo conjures a decaying ancestral estate in the Philippines, where grief, folklore, and a fractured family collide and the curse of inheritance refuses to stay buried. Tamika Thompson's The Curse of Hester Gardens brings the haunted house to public housing, reworking the genre into a fierce meditation on systemic violence and maternal sacrifice, where every hallway hums with ghosts, both social and supernatural. Moderated by Allison Mick, whose debut novel Humboldt Cutblends eco-horror with ancestral reckoning, this panel examines how horror exposes what families hide, asking what it means to protect those we love when the true terror lives within the walls we've built.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Celebrate joyful and uplifting Black stories at this interactive panel and read-aloud! Alice Faye Duncan will introduce The Dream Builder's Blueprint: Dr. King's Message to Young People, a found poem based on Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Street Sweeper" speech that highlights his principles of excellence, activism, and compassion in a way that kids can understand. Capturing the dreams that parents have for their children, As You Are: A Hope For Black Sons by Kimberley A. Gordon Biddle warmlyreminds every Black boy that he is loved, powerful, and enough just as he is, even if the world may not always see him the same way. Looking toward the future, Natasha Tarpley imagines the endless possibilities for Black and Brown children in The Me I Choose to Be, an uplifting ode to the power of potential and self-love, featuring fabulous afro-futuristic photography! This empowering session, moderated by screenwriter, poet, and educator Shia Shabazz Smith, will combine read-alouds and discussions for families that inspire kids to believe in themselves and dream big!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Magic, masks, and seadragons collide in this YA fantasy panel about young heroes who must face the past to claim their futures, drawing power from the cultures that shaped them. Sandra Proudman, Makiia Lucier, and Samantha Chong craft lush, high-stakes adventures where family, legacy, and identity are as potent as spells. In Salvación, Mexican American author Sandra Proudman reimagines El Zorro through a Latinx heroine who defends her Alta California town's mystical sal negra and her family from encroaching violence, blending swashbuckling romance with Mexican history and resistance. Makiia Lucier, who grew up on the Pacific island of Guam, channels island life and oceanic mythology in Dragonfruit, following exiled Hanalei as she studies seadragons and seizes a single, impossible chance to return home and right a terrible wrong. Malaysian writer S. Chong's Prodigal Tiger sends an exiled witch from a magical academy in New York back to Penang, where Malaysian folklore, Peranakan heritage, and vengeful ghosts force her to confront what it means to belong in the diaspora. Moderated by bookstagrammer and literary influencer Dahlia De La Vega of @ofpagesandprint, who champions YA, fantasy, romance, and historical fiction, this conversation dives into how culture, community, and home shape the new fantasies and futures young readers can now see themselves in.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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What's scarier than ghosts or monsters? Bringing nothing for show-and-tell! Rachel Wilson will show you how to befriend and build the perfect ghost trap in To Catch a Ghost, but when the moment finally arrives, will you be able to catch a friend? Best friends Valentina, Jasmine, Andy, and Xander also face something menacing in The Wild Ones by Megan and Jorge Lacera, and they must turn to the mythical monsters from their respective cultures to help them save the only home they've ever known. This adventurous read-aloud, emceed by the intrepid Cinnamongirl, will be full of mysterious monsters, ghostly encounters, and unexpected twists!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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In this epic dark fantasy panel, three rising stars of the genre: Andrea Stewart, Madeleine Nakamura, and Evan Leikam plunge readers into worlds where power corrupts, gods wage war, and survival demands impossible choices. From grimdark assassins to divine battlefields to queer magic under siege, these stories ask: what does it cost to defy a king, or a god? Moderated by Flight of the Fallen fantasy author Hana Lee, the conversation will explore morally complex heroes, ruthless magic, and the shadowed spaces where crowns are claimed and shattered. In Anji Kills a King, Evan Leikam delivers a brutal, high-velocity debut in which a servant assassinates a king and becomes the target of legendary, magic-wielding mercenaries. As the hunt intensifies, alliances shift and a kingdom's future hangs in the balance. Angel Eye by Madeleine Nakamura returns to a world of inquisitors, forbidden magic, and psychological peril. A string of murders ignites suspicion and witch hunts, forcing a traumatized scholar of magic to confront both external threats and his own unraveling mind. In The War Beyond, bestselling author Andrea Stewart escalates a divine conflict as sisters stand on opposing sides of a war between gods. Faith, loyalty, and destiny collide in a sweeping tale of rebellion and sacrifice.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Laugh out loud with these humorous, unexpected picture books that make us question how we treat different species: who are our friends, and who do we eat? Stephanie Lucianovic's Zombie and Brain Are Friends follows Zeb, a young zombie from a family of brain farmers who suddenly comes across the tiniest, pinkest, squishiest brain he ever did see! Will Zeb successfully convince his parents that his brainy bestie is better off as a member of the family than family dinner? Eight-year-old Beatrice of New York City's Chinatown feels the same way about Lillie, a tic-tac-toe-playing chicken living in a dark arcade. Based on the true story of Lillie, Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken by Kimberly Tso follows Beatrice's clever plan to give Lillie a better environment to live in. Emceed by Cinnamongirls Claire and Devin, this empowering panel showcases the natural empathy that drives us to stand up for all living beings.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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There's nothing like the arts to uncover secrets of the past and kindle buried feelings, as the romantic YA novels of this panel reveal. In Delali Adjoa's The Free Verse Society, two teens desperate to keep their pasts hidden find fresh starts through their high school poetry club, where the power of the written word tears down the walls they've built around their secrets, and their hearts. Taking place at an exclusive writers' retreat, Love on Paper by Danielle Parker features two ambitious teenage writers from rival families of the publishing world, who must fight through writer's block, step out of their parents' shadows, and find the courage to create their own love stories for a chance at publication. For the high school exes in Eva Des Lauriers' I'm Gonna Get You Back, returning to their small town is their only way for one of them to get into their dream film school and the other to maintain a college scholarship, but any time people return to the mountain, drama follows…especially when an anonymous social media account starts airing everyone's dirty laundry. Join this tender and heartfelt panel, moderated by Lauren and Tiina of Boutique Book Retreats, to explore the power of love, arts, and second chances in drawing people together.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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The colorful picture books of this read-aloud explore the changing names and languages we use depending on our environment, which in turn affect the meaning, history, and heritage that those words carry. In Wanjiku, Child of Mine by Ciiku Ndung'u Case, a young Gikuyu girl moves from the Kenya countryside to attend a boarding school in Nairobi, where people call her Catherine, and children are expected to figure things out on their own. But at home, she is again Wanjiku, daughter of the Gikũyũ people, who loves to hear her grandmother Cũcũ tell the origin story of her name. On the Eastern Plains of Taiwan, in Erica Schlaikjer's Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl, a young girl learns that the spiky, stalky weed she is about to pull out has a different name in the Amis language: dadugum. Her ina teaches her about the flowering shrub and its many uses, showing her to appreciate the bounty of nature and the beauty of her indigenous Taiwanese identity. Emceed by Cinnamongirl, this lyrical read-aloud will serve as a gentle reminder that what we call things matters.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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As both a means of empowerment and a magnet for policing, Black dance music has transformed not only Oakland's nightlife, but also its streets, parks, and neighborhoods. From the mobilization of funk music and boogaloo dance during Black Power to the policing of the Hyphy movement in the 2000s, Black dance music is not merely a soundtrack to or record of urban resistance, argues geographer, DJ, and housing justice advocate Alex Werth in On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland. Rather, its very sound waves have animated looping clashes over development, dispossession, and Black freedom. Through studies of downtown nightclubs, Lake Merritt, and the Eastmont Mall—geographies rarely considered, yet critical to Oakland's culture and politics—Werth reveals how the liberatory sonic politics of funk, hip-hop, and hyphy rap have been met with a repetitive "war on nuisance." Joining him is Yakpasua Zazaboi, filmmaker, who is featured in the book .The Oaklandside's arts and community reporter Azucena Rasilla will moderate this discussion about studies of the geographies that are rarely considered, yet critical to Oakland's culture and politics, and how struggles over Black sound have shaped Oakland's culture, politics, and geography.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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From sequoias to salt lakes, deserts to deep connections, the natural world serves as inspiration for the writers of this panel, who place nature's breathtaking landscapes not as a backdrop to, but at the center of their stories. In his 2025 Banff Mountain Book Competition Finalist graphic memoir, Eventually a Sequoia: Stories of Art, Adventure & the Wisdom of Giants, Jeremy Collins documents the people living in the endangered corners of the world whose small seeds produce enormous results. Switching the lens to the uncanny, shimmering ecosystems of salt lakes, whose rapid decline is a harbinger of rising sea levels, life-threatening dust storms, and environmental collapse, Caroline Tracey parallels their environmental journey to her personal story of finding queer love and building a home amidst ecological crises in her book Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History, which blends travel writing, memoir, and reportage in an inspiring call to fight for all that is fragile in our lives. Moderated by Rue Mapp, Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, the nation's foremost non-profit organization inspiring Black leadership and connections in nature, this panel will provide a glimpse into the wondrous and nurturing beauty of our natural world worth protecting.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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From coils and long locs to waves and braids, caring for hair can bring families together! Although going to the salon can feel overwhelming with so many options to choose from, the little girl in Salon Saturday by Janelle Harper learns to see her own kind of beautiful during her first trip to the salon with the guidance of her Grandma, Momma, and Sissy. Tasha from Wash Day Love by Tanisia Moore used to dread washing her hair at home every week because it meant stinging eyes, aching back, and water everywhere, but the weekly ritual soon becomes a special bonding time for singing, dancing, and sharing stories with her sister, Mama, and Granny! This read-aloud, emceed by Cinnamongirls Laila and Zoë, is a joyful and vibrant celebration of Black hair, intergenerational love, and ever-evolving journeys of self-expression.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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If you are a new writer looking for tips on how to live a writer's life in service to your community, this is the panel for you. Join three working poets and organizers doing exciting things in the fields of music, publishing, activism, arts education, and beyond for a discussion on ways new authors can apply their craft in impactful ways once they've chosen the writer's life. Walk away inspired and with a clearer sense of direction as authors Giovanna Lomanto (Game Over Books), Aleah Bradshaw (aka Nyfe of musical duo "Closegood," Youth Speaks), and Daniel Summerhill (Divine, Divine, Divine and Mausoleum of Flowers) share advice from each of their unique paths through the literary world beginning as alums of youth and college writing programs. This panel discussion is open to all, especially alums of the Bay's rich tapestry of youth literary arts organizations and emerging artists looking for advice on what's next.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Breakfast? NO! Sharing? NO! Clean diaper? NO! How do kids with big feelings tell adults what they want? The Baby Who Only Said No! by Sandra Salsbury is a hilarious picture book that will have parents and older siblings laughing along together as they try to get their own ferocious little one to say anything but NO! Eunice Moyle's My Box of Feelings, a bright and colorful collection of six original mini board books all about feelings, will come in handy for any young one learning to identify, describe, and regulate their emotions. Anger, happiness, calm… what about love? Kati Douglas' How We Love, a board book full of stellar photography and LGBTQA+ representation of real families and friends, shows love in action through sharing, hugging, showing kindness, demonstrating bravery, and stepping in to help their families and communities. Celebrate the joys and challenges of toddlerhood and independence at this funny and charming read-aloud, emceed by Cinnamongirls Élan and Grace!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Maker, Mentor, Muse is an online teaching platform founded in 2022 by Dawn Angelicca Barcelona, Mary Volmer, and Maw Shein Win. Hailing from three distinct backgrounds, generations, and spiritual traditions we believe community is essential to building a satisfying and sustainable literary life and that true success requires balancing all three artistic roles: maker, mentor, muse. In this free one-hour workshop, we offer guided writing experiments for poetry and prose that invites participants to explore how their sacred traditions, rituals, and belief systems inform and inspire their writing processes. Join us! Maker, Mentor, Muse

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Featuring critically-acclaimed authors who frequently experience censorship of their books, this rousing panel will highlight the escalation of book bans around the country and how we can fight back against them. While promoting The Day the Books Disappeared, National Leader of Authors Against Book Bans Joanna Ho was forced to leave a school after refusing to comply with the school's demands forbidding them from mentioning book bans or gay books, sparking discourse about the deeply unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read. Palestinian American author and publisher Hannah Moushabeck also faced censorship during a university event, which initially barred Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine, a Palestinian picture book. With support from the campus community, she read her book anyway and inspired a university-wide resolution that affirms the freedom of expression. Also continuing the fight at the legislative level is Dashka Slater, whose book The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives is one of the most banned books in the United States. In 2025, Slater joined the Big 5 Publishers and other authors to sue the State of Idaho over a bill that censored which books youth could read. The scope of today's bans is much wider than before, but the authors of this panel moderated by activist and organizer Alejandra Domenzain are proof that fighting for our most basic freedom to think, to read, and to arrive at our own opinions is necessary for effective change.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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How do we write futures that don't yet exist? How do we map territories we're still dreaming and discovering?

In this hands-on, generative workshop, participants will create new work across three experimental approaches—speculative memoir, multilingual poetry, and hybrid forms. Designed as a space for exploration rather than mastery, the workshop invites writers to take creative risks, work across boundaries, and imagine new literary possibilities together.

Through guided exercises and creative constraints, writers will produce fresh pieces that break conventional forms and chart unknown terrain. Led by three writers whose practices are rooted in experimentation, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary thinking, the session offers prompts, models, and frameworks for writing into the unknown.

Opening Conversation (20 minutes)

A brief panel discussion exploring how experimentation in form, language, and genre can open pathways to futures that traditional narratives cannot reach. Faculty will share generative techniques from their own work before participants choose a breakout workshop.

Three Breakout Mini-Workshops (40 minutes each)

Speculative Memoir: Writing Your Alternative Futures Led by Aimee Phan Participants will write new memoir pieces that blend memory with speculation—generating parallel narratives, alternative outcomes, or projected futures from lived experience. Through prompts that ask "what if?" alongside "what happened?", writers will explore how speculation can deepen truth rather than abandon it. Leave with a draft that reimagines a pivotal moment from your life through multiple possible timelines.
Tongues of the Future: Multilingual & Diasporic PoetryLed by Zeina Hashem Beck Writers will create poems that incorporate multiple languages, experiment with code-switching, or use linguistic hybridity as a generative constraint. Drawing on models from contemporary translingual poets and adapted traditional forms, participants will write pieces that reflect how we actually speak, think, and imagine across cultures. Generate new work that envisions futures where such mixing is not marginal but central.
Hybrid Forms for a Digital AgeLed by Eric Olson Participants will produce experimental pieces using constraints, collage, and unconventional structures that respond to our fragmented, multimedia contemporary moment. Through timed writing exercises and formal experiments influenced by visual art and digital culture, writers will generate work that resists traditional narrative expectations and invents new shapes for new realities.

What You'll Take Away

All participants will leave with new drafts, fresh techniques, and concrete generative methods to continue experimenting in their own practice. This session is especially well-suited for writers drawn to risk-taking, cross-genre work, and expansive notions of voice, form, and belonging.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Given California's reputation as a haven of liberal thinking and the pinnacle of tolerance, many people would be surprised to hear about the stories of educators, librarians, and storytime performers who have been harassed and threatened for teaching honestly about race, gender, immigration, religion, and sexuality. District Teacher Librarian for the Oakland Unified School District Debbie Gibbons will moderate this timely conversation featuring the people at the frontlines of today's escalating culture wars. Veteran California public school teacher Sue Granzella's Pushed to the Edge: Teachers' Stories From the Culture Wars is a collection of first-person accounts of resilience in the face of growing bigotry stoked by the far right. She was inspired to write her book when she heard about the Proud Boys storming a local library to disrupt a Drag Story Hour, which was hosted by Kyle Casey Chu, drag queen and author of The Queen Bees of Tybee County Queen. They will be joined by high school librarian and media specialist Betsy Sergeant as well as former English teacher and program director for the Davis Phoenix Coalition Anoosh Jorjorian to offer a sobering view of what's at stake in our schools, libraries, and for young people today. Their firsthand experiences offer unique perspectives about the impact of California's culture wars on its youth and provide a hopeful testament to those who refuse to back down.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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When trauma and unpredictable life changes demand difficult sacrifices, the inspiring authors and characters of this panel choose to take any risk necessary to preserve the tenderness and creativity of humanity, and the humanities. Inspired by journalists Christiane Amanpour and Sylvia Poggioli, Midnight, at the War is Devi Laskar's novel about a foreign correspondent who leaves New York for the war-torn Middle East after learning she is pregnant, an assignment that forces her to grapple with the physical and emotional tolls of her pregnant body and a turbulent region. A renowned dancer faces a career-ending neurologic disorder and a strained marriage in The Edge of Yesterday by Rita Woods, and she is offered an escape from the sorrow of her "real life" when she stumbles through a vortex that transports her from 2025 back into 1925 Detroit, where she meets a handsome, charming doctor. In her book Sacrament, Susan Straight highlights the quiet heroism and extraordinary bravery of a group of ICU nurses living in a makeshift RV camp close to the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, facing personal and professional challenges as they care for strangers. When big changes blow up our lives, it takes courage to create from the empty space left behind, and life coach Naomi Vladeck's Braving Creativity provides women with creative tools needed to flourish in work and in life, inspiring creatives to ignite their courage to face the unknown path ahead. Moderated by Seema Vennam, this inspiring panel uplifts women's stories about using change as a catalyst for taking the necessary risks to be their creative and human selves.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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This chilling and visionary conversation brings together three groundbreaking voices in contemporary horror and speculative fiction who use storytelling to interrogate history, identity, and the legacies that refuse to stay buried. Through unsettling narratives and fearless imagination, they reveal how horror becomes a vital tool for reckoning, resistance, and truth-telling.

Tananarive Due, award-winning author and scholar, is a leading force in Black horror and speculative fiction whose work draws on Black history, family, and lived experience to explore generational trauma, injustice, and survival. From the multi-award-winning The Reformatory to classics like The Good House and My Soul to Keep, Due transforms real-world horrors into powerful narratives of memory and reckoning. Stephen Graham Jones, The New York Times bestselling author and professor, reshapes contemporary horror through Indigenous perspectives that challenge colonial myths and genre conventions. In works such as The Buffalo Hunters Hunter, The Only Good Indians, and My Heart Is a Chainsaw, he interrogates violence, belonging, and cultural endurance with relentless innovation and emotional force.

Moderated by Ayize Jama-Everett, novelist and cultural thinker whose own boundary-defying work spans horror, science fiction, philosophy, and spirituality, this conversation will explore how horror functions as cultural critique, creative liberation, and a mirror to the fears societies try to bury. Join us for a compelling discussion on the power of horror to illuminate hidden histories, disrupt dominant narratives, and imagine new ways of surviving and storytelling in a haunted world.

Introductory live music performance by Kevin Goldberg (Bushwick Book Club Oakland)

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Have you ever wondered who created the microphone in our phones? Or who discovered the science of black holes? Join this read-aloud to hear about the stories of these inventors of color! Ainissa Ramirez will introduce the man who patented the foil-electret microphone in Spark: Jim West's Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone, inspiring readers of all ages to follow their curiosity and see what it ignites. Shruthi Rao, author of When Science Stood Still: How S. Chandrasekhar Predicted the Existence of Black Holes, will read about Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a brilliant scientist whose theories about black holes were scoffed at when he first presented them to the world's leading Western scientists. This read-aloud is perfect for science lovers, future inventors, and anyone aiming to inspire the next generation, and it will be emceed by the brilliant Cinnamongirls Elle and Naima

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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What if the future of robotics isn't apocalypse, but community? In this imaginative and heartfelt panel, three visionary writers explore whimsical, intimate robotic futures where artificial intelligence becomes companion, collaborator, and catalyst for change. Together, they ask: What does it mean to be human in an age of machines? And what might robots teach us about care, belonging, and family? In Automatic Noodle, acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz imagines a cozy near future where a crew of decommissioned robots reopen a ghost kitchen to serve food in a recovering San Francisco. As their small business faces backlash and sabotage, these leftover machines must rely on the community and each other to survive in a world not built for them. J.P. Lacrampe's Valet offers a chaotic yet tender adventure about a utility-obsessed robot tasked with helping a struggling human find direction. When corporate intrigue and family tensions erupt, robots and humans alike are forced to reconsider purpose, loyalty, and what makes a family worth saving. In Mall of America, Suzanne Wang tells the story of an AI service program whose only customer becomes a recent immigrant grandfather. Through commerce, poetry, and dance, their unlikely bond explores loneliness, capitalism, immigration, and the blurred boundaries between code and consciousness. Moderated by acclaimed author Nina Schuyler, whose work often bridges personal narrative with urgent social questions, this conversation envisions robotic futures grounded not in domination, but in empathy. Join us for a lively discussion about technology, tenderness, and the possibility that in teaching machines how to serve us, we may learn how to better serve one another.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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What kinds of futures unfurl when we stop acquiescing to what we've inherited and start building spaces with intention? In this forward-looking conversation, Shizue Seigel (Courting A Man Who Doesn't Talk; Uncommon Ground: BIPOC Journeys to Creative Activism), Kimi Sugioka (Wile & Wing), Kelechi Ubozoh (We've Been Too Patient), and Andre Le Monte Wilson (Hauntings) gather to talk about how writers and artists of color are imagining and making creative spaces that feel livable and can grow with us.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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The translated works of this poignant panel explore the depths of young adulthood, fraught with fragility and complexity, sincerity and secrets. Night Train by Xu Zechen, translated by Jeremy Tiang, is about an incoming PhD student who tries to swindle money from his father by making up a story about killing someone and needing to flee. But now that lie has taken on a life of its own and everyone—the university, the police, the sprawling campus community—is convinced he's a murderer, and his life begins to spiral out of his control. In Moldovan writer Tatiana Țîbuleac's The Summer My Mother Had Green Eyes, after his mother tells him she is dying, Aleksy returns to the small French village that he left at eighteen years old, where memories of his family's grief following the death of his sister still remain. He spends three months with his mother, reliving the memory of the summer when everything changed and learning to finally lay down their weapons to make peace with each other and with themselves. Living on the precipice, the characters of this panel moderated by award winning author Rita Bullwinkel unravel the complicated, redemptive, and devastating consequences of past mistakes.

Sponsored by the Center for the art of Translation

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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As technology plays an increasing role in every aspect of our lives, the novels of this timely panel grapple with the implications of a technological future and its impact on young people's mental health. Kelly Yang illustrates the impact of social media in Finally Heard, a heartpounding novel about ten-year-old Lina's quest to go viral and her struggle to break free from the allure of comparison and become her authentic self in this fast-paced world. Immersed in an AI-generated, virtual-reality environment, The Vale is Abigail Hing Wen's cautionary tale about thirteen-year-old Bran's technological world that grows by the power of imagination, and the chaos that ensues when it begins to have a mind of its own. Given all the dangers of technology, some parents may decide to send their teenagers off to Mexico for an unplugged summer, as Celi and Elio's parents do in Stream. Aida Salazar's heartwarming dual narrative imagines what happens in the middle of nowhere—without internet, electricity, or even running water—amidst the stark beauty and cultural richness of rural Mexico, with crushes blooming, when teenagers can finally shed their online selves to embrace nature, connect to culture, and cultivate authenticity. With a future of technology written on the horizon, Berkeley High School librarian Allyson Bogie and Berkeley High School senior Penelope will moderate this panel and provide a youth perspective to this thoughtful conversation about technology, mental health, and creating a sustainable digital future.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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The future is not a distant horizon—it is a pressure, a question, a making. In this featured reading, Robert Hass and Tongo Eisen-Martin bring their distinct poetics into shared air. Hass writes from a practice of attention—where the natural world, memory, and language gather to ask how we might live with care inside what is vanishing and what remains. Eisen-Martin's work strikes at the conditions that structure the present, his lines charged with refusal, insurgency, and the demand for otherwise.

Between them, a field emerges: stillness and upheaval, observation and fire. The poems do not resolve the future—they trouble it, press against it, insist on it. Here, poetry becomes a site of reckoning and reimagining, where what comes next is not given, but made.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Join award-winning narrators in this workshop to explore the diversity of a voice acting career! Learn from Elisabeth Lagelée, a multilingual Audie Award-winning voice actor and improviser based in San Francisco, who records from her professional home studio and specializes in fantasy, romance, and historical fiction. With experience in audiobook narration, production and teaching, Society of Voice Arts finalist and Earphones Award-winning Ann Richardson will guide attendees through the process of putting their work into audio via various platforms. This informative workshop, moderated by author Pamela Kelly, is welcome to all who are curious about voice acting!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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In Future Myths: Blood and Chosen Kin three poets explore the shifting terrain of kinship: the families we inherit, the ones we lose, and the ones we build along the way. If blood once defined belonging, these writers ask what else might hold us together as we imagine the futures still forming.

Pretti Vanghni writes with a mythic sensibility, weaving ancestry, cultural memory, and spiritual imagination into poems that feel both ancient and newly born. Achy Obejas brings her luminous clarity to the intertwined questions of exile, language, and queer belonging, reminding us that chosen kinship has long been a survival practice. Ally Ang's work moves through intimacy and rupture, tracing how care and solidarity can grow in the spaces where traditional structures fall away.

Together, these poets reimagine kinship as something living and unfinished. Blood may tell one story. Chosen family tells another, one written in acts of care, resistance, and possibility.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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As women's rights are increasingly violated in the US, the historical narratives and personal accounts of this crucial panel discussion will remind us of the work we've already done and inspire us to continue pursuing a world where women are truly free. Just Pills: The Extraordinary Story of A Revolution in Abortion Care documents journalist Rebecca Kelliher's research into the little-known history of mifepristone and misoprostol, better known as the abortion pills, which are safe, cheap, and clinic-less means of ending a pregnancy that are already changing the fight for abortion access as we understand it. Prior to the approval of abortion pills in the 1990s and 2000s, however, women's options were severely limited. In her historical novel Where the Girls Were,Kate Schatz writes about a pregnant teenager's struggle with agency after being sent to a home for unwed mothers in 1960s San Francisco. Shame, faith, and morality all shape a woman's choice to abort or carry to term, and Judy Juanita reflects on self-induced abortion and California's Therapeutic Abortion Act of 1967 through the poetry, fiction, essays, and creative nonfiction in Abortion (or Woman As Threefold Murderess) which reveal that choosing to abort is not simply a political or moral issue of right and wrong, but one tied to safety, survival, and the meaning of life itself. Moreover, abortion care is ethical care, grounded in competence, compassion, sensitivity, as exemplified by Shelley Sella, a board-certified OB-GYN and the first woman to openly practice third-trimester abortion care in the US. In her book Beyond Limits: Stories of Third Trimester Abortion Care, Dr. Sella challenges preconceived notions of who gets abortions and why, inviting readers into a typical week at her clinic to demystify third-trimester abortion, which is still often stigmatized and misunderstood within both the anti-abortion and pro-choice movements. Carole Joffe, professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences and author of After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe But Not Abortion, will moderate this panel honoring the women affected by abortion and pregnancy, the hard-working individuals who have kept abortion afloat in the wake of Roe v. Wade's destruction, and the continued help urgently needed if we want to sustain our right to abortion care.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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What is it like to work on early chapter book series? The award-winning writers and illustrator on this panel are here to tell us more! Donna Barba Higuera will introduce Don't Eat the Birthday Boy!, the second book in her Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy series, which takes place at Ramón's monster-filled birthday party. The author of the thirteenth book in The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class series, Mike Jung introduces Theo Chang, who must find a way to befriend his family's newly adopted cat before they give up and take him back to the shelter in Theo Chang Is Not a Cat. Twirling in with another feline friend who wreaks havoc, The Princess in Black and its illustrator LeUyen Pham are back with The Princess in Black and the Kitty Catastrophe to share what it's like to illustrate a series that has been in publication for over ten years. The fun never stops with the early chapter book series in this marvelous panel, moderated by Supervising Librarian Librarian Shani B!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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In the midst of white nationalism, global capitalism, and authoritarian regimes that drive individualism and isolation, a look to our past and envisioned futures reveals the prevailing strength of creativity and rebellion across time. By surveying a world that has changed dramatically since 1960 in her book The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit unveils the sheer breadth and scale of social, political, scientific, and cultural changes that have shaped a more interconnected, relational world which embraces antiracism, feminism, a more expansive understanding of gender, environmental thinking, scientific breakthroughs, and Indigenous and non-Western ideas. Because transformation is obscured within a longer arc of history, its scale is seldom recognized, but change is inevitable, brought about by dismantling an old civilization and building a new one, whose newness is often the return of the old ways and wisdoms. Poet, performer, and director Saul Williams charts his own creative visions for change in Martyr Loser King, his graphic novel about a global cyberattack rebellion in a small East African country where the Black population and the land are exploited for the mining of the precious ore coltan. Simultaneously a cautionary tale and hopeful vision for the future, this cyberpunk fable raises incisive questions about capitalism, colonialism, and the future of technology. Moderated by writer, producer, and activist Christie George, who is working at the intersection of media, technology, and social change, this headlining conversation features the creative minds who are mapping and shaping the trajectory of our futures despite the forces seeking to turn back the clock on history.

Introductory live music performance by Origin Stories (Bushwick Book Club Oakland)

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Crime fiction becomes a lens on buried history, fractured families, and the uneasy relationship between past and present in this electrifying conversation featuring Naomi Hirahara, Susie Hara, Faye Snowden, Élan Les Vies, and Shobha Rao. Though their settings range from early 20th-century California to post-1906 San Francisco, from the contemporary South to a fogbound Northern California cove in the 1980s, these authors share a fascination with what lingers: generational trauma, cultural displacement, family secrets, and the long shadow of violence. Their novels probe how history imprints itself on communities and on the individuals who attempt reinvention in places shaped by exclusion, secrecy, and survival. In Crown City, Hirahara uncovers anti-Japanese violence and artistic intrigue in early California, illuminating overlooked chapters of regional history within a classic investigative mystery. Hara's Earthquake Shack introduces Sadie García Miller, a half-Mexican, half-Jewish investigator pulled into a mystery involving a vanished 1906 earthquake cottage and her own family's criminal past. Set in San Francisco's Mission District, Hara's noir blends intergenerational conflict, buried histories, high-stakes danger and the moral gray areas of family loyalty. In A Killing Breath, Snowden continues her gripping Southern gothic series featuring homicide detective Raven Burns, the daughter of a notorious serial killer. As Raven hunts a new predator, she must confront the terrifying possibility that her father's darkness lives on within her. Her work has been called "intense," "and a pulse-pounding contribution to a genre lacking in Black women authors". In Indian Country, Rao's novel about the ramifications of colonialism westward expansion, a young couple moves from India to Montana, where the husband becomes a scapegoat when his colleague is found drowned. This death is one in a long history of people of color paying the price for the white man's arrogance and expansionism. In The Lemon Twist, Les Vies follows a search for truth sparked by a cryptic clue tied to a long-ago disappearance. Through fractured memory, cassette recordings, and coastal isolation, the novel explores identity, shame, and the dangerous undertow of unresolved pasts. Across their work, these writers examine how communities respond to displacement, how families transmit both resilience and harm, and how investigators navigate systems that marginalize or erase. Together, they will discuss historical noir, Southern gothic suspense, California crime fiction, and the craft of writing mysteries that are as socially resonant as they are gripping. The conversation will be moderated by Randal Brandt, Head of Cataloging and Curator of the California Detective Fiction Collection at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley and creator of Golden Gate Mysteries, an annotated bibliography of crime fiction set in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Invocation of the Poetry stage by Nick Johnson

The future is not a clean horizon. In Carrying the Land: Bodies and Belonging, five poets consider how land lives within us and how we are shaped by the terrains we cross, inherit, and survive. If the future is to be imagined differently, it must begin with what we are already carrying.

Abi Pollokoff writes with a fierce tenderness toward landscape and longing, tracing how intimacy with place can be both sanctuary and fracture. Kenneth Wong's work moves through family history and cultural memory, illuminating how inherited stories become tools for navigating what comes next. Daniel Moysaenko's poems dwell in displacement and reinvention, where language itself becomes a provisional homeland. Wendy M. Thompson grounds her work in community and witness, exploring how bodies marked by history still insist on joy, survival, and transformation.

Moderated by Maw Shein Win whose own poetry dissolves the boundary between self and ecosystem, and reality and the magical. This reading considers the body as archive, as borderland, as blueprint.

These poets do not offer utopia. They offer something more durable: language rooted enough to hold grief, bright enough to grow possibility.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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In this workshop, we will focus on setting development which plays a crucial role in situating your reader as well as invigorating and enriching your prose. Participants will leave with a better understanding of the setting's impact on their writing through reading examples, conversation, and generative writing prompts. Exercises and readings will focus on Bay Area locales. This session is designed to help writers of all levels explore how setting can be a powerful element in their storytelling.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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The Center for ArtEsteem (ArtEsteem) presents "Unleashing the Super Hero Within," a panel exploring Executive Director Amana Harris's curriculum Self As Super Hero: Handbook on Creating the Life-Size Self-Portrait.ArtEsteem students and teachers will engage in dialogue about today's youth, their creative needs, and the Self As Super Hero curriculum as a critical catalyst of self-reflection, family and cultural research, societal assessment, and artistic development.

ArtEsteem is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1989 to provide opportunities for personal wellness and creative expression in the Bay Area. Its core programs include academic day, after school, and summer arts education for K-12 students, community engagement through the traveling ArtMobile, public art projects, and professional development for educators.

The Self As Super Hero curriculum is a foundational aspect of ArtEsteem's work, centering the student artist as they reinvent themselves to be the Super Hero they want to see in their communities. Students identify issues, both personal and in the world, and develop super powers based on their talents, the five senses, and objects of importance that can directly solve the problems they have identified. The 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing are at core of this curriculum. Attitudinal Healing is a method for healing that helps individuals transform fears into experiences of self reflection for inner healing, and ArtEsteem encourages students to apply the Principles within their daily lives and artistic practice.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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In this digital age, young people are not only eager to learn about and discuss the realities of media ownership, production, and distribution, they also deserve to understand the differential power structures in how media influences our culture. Professor of media studies and founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, Nolan Higdon brings expertise in podcasting, digital culture, propaganda, and news media history to this important conversation. His book The Media And Me: A Guide To Critical Media Literacy for Young People explores critical inquiry skills to provide young people with the tools and perspectives to become empowered and autonomous media users. As a Fulbright Scholar teaching critical information literacy and media bias workshops to high school students and teachers in Norway, Berkeley City College librarian Heather Dodge offers insight directly from the classrooms about how media literacy education is being implemented to help young people form a multidimensional comprehension of what they read and watch. Berkeley High School librarian Meredith Irby and Washington Elementary School librarian Jackie Overlid bring firsthand perspectives about what media literacy looks like in the public schools. Moderated by Jessica Lee, Coordinator for Library Services and Instructional Technology lead for the Berkeley Unified School District, this illuminating panel will discuss what works well and what gaps we need to fill in order to help our youth evolve from passive consumers of media to engaged critics and creators.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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In this triumphant and revelatory return of the award-winning novelist and Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria Greg Sarris, The Last Human Bear is an epic story about a Pomo woman who is haunted by an inescapable tradition that has been passed down from her stepmother. She has inherited the ability to shapeshift into a Human Bear who can menace and poison enemies. A mystery even to herself, she learns to pass between Native and white societies, tenaciously carving her own path as an independent woman as she comes of age in 1930s California. But as she explores love and desire, family inherited and chosen, and the secrets of the natural world, one question gnaws at her: Is she fated to do harm? This wry and richly lyrical book, inspired by the Native women elders who shaped Sarris' youth, will be on special early sale with the Bay Area Book Festival following an incredible conversation between Greg Sarris and Susan Straight, author of Sacrament, celebrating independence, healing, and brilliant Native writing.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Join the Creative Writing professors of San Jose State University for a combined panel and workshop where the professors will discuss the ins and outs of MFA programs and lead attendees in a series of writing exercises for prose writers and poets. SJSU MFA program coordinator Nick Taylor and faculty members Keenan Norris, J. Michael Martinez and Brook McClurg have guided numerous aspiring writers through graduation and on to publication and they look forward to sharing tools of their trade with the public. Whether you're an aspiring MFA student, a long-time writer, or simply an interested reader, consider yourself invited.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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To write an inclusive future, we must publish diverse voices who represent our collective interests and stories. The publishers and imprints represented in this headliner panel will discuss the implications of the current political climate on the future of publishing and put forward creative solutions to the lack of opportunities for publishing underrepresented stories. Tiny Reparations Press, founded by standup comedian, bestselling author, producer, and actress Phoebe Robinson, is a highly curated imprint dedicated to fiction and nonfiction that pushes the conversation forward. HeartDrum, an acclaimed imprint of HarperChildren's featuring stories that emphasize the present and future of Native peoples and the strength of young Indigenous heroes, will be represented by its author-curator and award-winning writer Cynthia Leitich Smith. Turning the page to publishers, Palestinian American author and book worker Hannah Moushabeck runs Interlink Publishing alongside her family, the only Palestinian-owned independent publishing house in the United States offering global perspectives to readers through works of literature-in-translation, history, activism, politics, art, cultural guides, award-winning cookbooks, and illustrated children's books. Through publishing talented writers whose works have been overlooked by large-scale publishers, co-founder Kate Gale of Red Hen Press fosters diversity, promotes literacy in local schools, and supports the Greater Los Angeles Area and international communities with arts-based events and literary advocacy. Moderated by acting Co-CEO of the intersectional, feminist press Aunt Lute, María Mínguez Arias, this inspiring panel is a celebration of the innovative and diverse members of the publishing industry dedicated to creatively curating and publishing the voices of our future.

Introductory live music performance by Tristan Marcelle of Bushwick Book Club Oakland

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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What makes Californian literature shine? Writer Kathleen Alcott suggests that the diversity of California's landscape has gifted a unique sense of time and change to its inhabitants, who are "used to the colors out the window turning over entirely, and to stop seeing trees and to start seeing water" within a few hours' drive. In California Rewritten, editor, author, and host of Alta's California Book Club John Freeman captures the evolution of the Golden State's literary life. He traces our literary history from early myths to the arrivals and migrations chronicled by works including The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande's memoir about her experiences as an undocumented child immigrant from Mexico, and America is Not the Heart, Elaine Castillo's novel about a queer war veteran's journey from the Philippines to the insular immigrant community in Milpitas. Following building cities, exploding fantasias, and digital dystopias, Freeman then directs readers to the ruptures, the fraying connections to reality that can follow the traumatic loss of a family member, as portrayed in Venita Blackburn's Dead in Long Beach, California. Moderated by editorial director of Alta Journal,Blaise Zerega, this panel will explore the featured works individually and as part of the road map to Californian literature that can help us uncover our history, confront pressing issues that face our society, and imagine our shared future.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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In times of danger and despair, kid-friendly stories and symbols can help families approach heavy topics, such as the ones in this panel. Touching on the difficult experiences of Japanese-Americans during the Japanese Incarceration in Hawai'i during World War II, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson'sShell Song tells ofthe true story of her grandfather's detainment in an island prison, where he collected, labelled, and carefully saved tiny seashells that were later passed down to his children and grandchildren. In Lion's Water,Sheila Hackbarth depicts the story of a Ugandan girl who must find the courage to protect herself and her brother after escaping the bad men who want to take control of their village. Another tender story that deals with hardships in an age-appropriate way, Yasi and Mina's Pomegranate Tree by Nikoo Yahyazadeh is about two friends living in Tehran during the war with Iraq who get separated when one of them has to move to the United States. Oriented toward adults and older kids, this panel moderated byauthor, illustrator, and activist Innosanto Nagara will highlight the role of stories in helping children navigate difficult topics to find resilience and strength when they need it most.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Being a writer means coming up against self-doubt. But what if it doesn't have to be so scary? What if the blank page felt more like an invitation than a cliff?

Does it sometimes seem like your novel is trying to kill you? Have you considered divorcing a story? Me too.

In this gathering we will work through a few exercises designed to bring joy and a sense of possibility and invention so that you and your writing will once again be besties (or at least unlikely to murder each other).

Based on my new book UNSTUCK: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page (Tin House, 4/14/26)

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Where is the boundary between a dream and a lie? The award-winning authors of this panel write about the elusive and deceptive dreams—of assimilation, of youth, of success— that impact their Asian American communities. In Lisa Lee's American Han, the Kim family dutifully embodies the model minority myth in 1980s San Francisco, until their son goes missing, and they are forced to confront the facade of the American Dream as their lives unravel in a country that isn't all it promised it would be. For Jin Chang from Vanessa Hua's Coyoteland, moving his family to the privileged community of El Nido after years of scraping by is a great achievement, but he decides to bend the rules for one final deceitful scheme to make it big in real estate. As fire season escalates and coyote attacks plague the town, the characters become embroiled in scandals and secrets that unflinchingly reveal our current moment. Definitions for success vary greatly, and Kelly Yang explores the ways that society shapes women's ideals in The Take, a fast-paced novel about a young writer and an older producer who undergo an age-reversal treatment. What starts as a professional transaction of exchanging blood quickly becomes a complex psychological dance, leaving both women questioning what they're willing to sacrifice to rewrite their stories of success. Where Are You Really From also features complex and flawed AAPI characters, from a mail order bride from Taiwan who is packed up in a cardboard box and sent via express shipping to California, to two teenage girls who meticulously plan how to kill and cook their downstairs neighbor. This surreal multi-genre collection of stories by Elaine Hsieh Chou confronts the ways storytelling enables our capacity for self-deception and cruelty. In search of the truth behind the headlines is Emmy-winning journalist and author of Amplify! My Fight for Asian America Dion Lim, who will draw on her experience reporting on AAPI issues to moderate this panel that honors the depth and diversity of Asian American identities.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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What is it like to stand up for our beliefs as members of universities in today's social and political climate? UC Davis free speech and equity law scholar Brian Soucek argues that institutional neutrality is a myth in The Opinionated University, which takes a deep dive into prominent campus controversies that demonstrate how those pushing for neutrality are only preventing universities from standing up for their values. Independent history researcher Aleida García documents inspiring instances of on-the-ground union organizing and power building in Out of the Lab, Into the Street: An Oral History of the 2022 UAW Strike at the University of California, a nuanced account of the largest strike in the history of American higher education. As the leader of several impactful organizations such as American Muslims for Palestine, the Northern California Islamic Council, and the Dollar for Deen Charity, UC Berkeley and Zaytuna College professor of Islamic law and theology Hatem Bazian exemplifies standing up for one's beliefs and being outspoken in a university environment. Join this powerful panel, moderated by Michael Mark Cohen, that educates and urges community members to keep collective power alive as we fight for a future of free speech in our academic institutions.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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Providing stellar examples of excellence in youth literature, the acclaimed authors of this panel pave the way for Native youth readers to see their own cultures reflected in stories that are written by authors with similar backgrounds. In her picture book I Love Salmon and Lampreys, Brook M. Thompson draws from her experiences growing up in the Yurok and Karuk Tribes to tell an inspiring story about a river, a successful Native-led movement for environmental justice, and the making of a scientist. Ojibwe and Lakota author Byron Graves' young adult novel Medicine Wheels tells the unforgettable story of a gifted young Ojibwe learning to ride in his father's footsteps while practicing for a skateboarding championship. Printz Award-winning Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In, edited by Cynthia Leitich-Smith, features the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers in a collection of interconnected stories about laughter, love, Native pride, and the world's best frybread. The future of youth literature is brightly paved by the remarkable authors of this panel moderated by Muriel Ammon, and there is no doubt that they will continue to enhance and expand the worldviews of young readers.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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From a Tennessee farm to California's Central Coast, the action-packed road trips of this panel navigate the complicated, winding paths of familial connection with heart, humor, and sincerity. Kevin Wilson's Run for the Hills takes off with an unexpected road trip across America when Madeleine's long-lost half brother asks her to leave home to join him on a crazy road trip to track down every single one of their half siblings. Irena Smith veers toward the West Coast in Troika: Three Generations, Three Days, and a Very American Road Trip, her lyrical memoir about a Gen X narrator's three-day road trip with her mother and daughter, which traverses the landscapes of identity and family history and stretches from the horrors of the second world war and an escape from Soviet Russia to adolescence and motherhood in the suburbs of Silicon Valley. At times chaotic, at times tedious, and always eventful, the family road trips of this panel, moderated by Julie Coryell, literary publicist.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Drawing from real-life situations that kids may face, the graphic novels of this panel combine art and words to tell meaningful stories. In Marshmallow & Jordan,Alina Chau depicts a young basketball player's experience after an accident leaves her paralyzed from the waist down, whose encounter with a mysterious elephant helps her discover a brand new sport. It can be hard to feel different from our friends, but Maia Kobabe and Swati "Lucky" Srikumar's Opting Out, a middle grade graphic novel about a kid who just isn't interested in any of that boy/girl stuff or the way their body is changing, shows us how we can find our own options and create our own stories. For teenagers Franny and Sam in As I Dream of You,illustrated by LeUyen Pham, the reality of love feels completely different from the tales of heartbreak and loss they have come to understand, but their quest to stay together soon takes a supernatural twist after they see their relationship as something that could possibly conquer death. In the autobiographical Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide, Nadine Takvorian chronicles her quest to uncover her family's history during the Armenian genocide through interwoven historical, contemporary, and fantastical sequences. Perfect for middle and high schoolers, educators, and parents, this panel moderated by librarian Elaine Tai will showcase the rich diversity of the graphic novel genre.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

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As authoritarian assaults increasingly restrict our media, championing press freedom and critical media literacy is more important than ever. From The Censored Press editorial board member T.M. Scruggs is State of the Free Press 2026: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, a collection that highlights the year's most significant independent journalism—including original, investigative reports on ICE surveillance, Meta censorship, and police violence—and tracks emerging threats to press freedom. Political analyst and critical media literacy scholar Nolan Higdon will bring expertise about podcasting, digital culture, news media history and propaganda, and critical AI literacy, offering insights from the media spotlight. As an educator of the next generation of media actors, award-winning journalist and UC Berkeley journalism professor Lisa Armstrong will discuss what it means to steward a future of free and responsible press. Frances Dinkelspiel, award-winning author and journalist, will bring unique perspectives as a co-founder of Cityside, the nonprofit news organization behind Berkeleyside, Oaklandside, and Richmondside. Moderated by KALW Public Media Executive Producer Ben Trefny, this timely panel brings together distinguished voices from media to reflect on how we fund, create, and educate about media in an age when press freedom and democracy are under attack.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house" (Audre Lorde), but the tools that have been used for dismantling in the past might just be the ones we use to build the future. For Octavia Butler, science fiction stories were her tools for speculating the devolution of the American empire and simultaneously offered cautionary tales about our propensity for violence and sanguine manifestations that alter our current paradigms and envision Black women at the center of the world. In her cultural biography, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler, Black feminist Afrofuturist writer, scholar, and cultural critic Susana M. Morris places Butler's story within the historical and social contexts that influenced the ideas central to her celebrated writing. Similarly, in Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde, researcher Alexis Pauline Gumbs asks us to look beyond the surface of another iconic writer and symbol of Black feminism. Audre Lorde is well-known for her quotable essays, but Gumbs' groundbreaking research into the full depths of Lorde's manuscript archives reveal her deep engagement with the planetary dynamics of geology, meteorology, and biology. In a society that rejected her Black feminist lesbian warrior poet existence, these ecological images provided the literal guides for self-defense, for survival, and for writing the future. Moderated by Isis Asare of Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore in the nation dedicated to science fiction, this panel will examine the environments that influenced the two visionary Black feminist writers and the wisdom their works provide for dismantling unjust realities as we create our own futures.

Introductory live music performance by selena feliciano (Bushwick Book Club Oakland).

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Sometimes, being forced to work together on a project might not be so bad… especially when it leads to falling in love. At the Crooked Rock Urban Indian Center in Pamela Sanderson's Heartbeat Braves, Rayanne Larson's special project is unexpectedly handed over to the underachieving nephew of the Center's new leader, and she is determined to keep her distance until a crisis forces the two of them closer together. In Native Love Jams by Tashia Hart, Winnow is hired to cook for the first Indigenous Food Days in a rural Minnesota village, where she and her unwelcoming host Niigaanii must pull thorns from their past to harvest their own love story. Dani Trujillo's When Stars Have Teethtakes place in the San Francisco Urban Indian Center, where employee Buffy Yellowbird agrees on an associates-with-benefits arrangement with an ultra-suave immigration lawyer who leaves her longing for more. Emerging from a past abundant with problematic Indigenous tropes, the romance genre is greatly enriched by the novels of this panel, which showcase genre fiction created by authors who identify with the cultures represented. Moderated by the content creator behind publishing imprint Boozhoo Books Naomi Darling, this lovely panel celebrates Indigenous romance writing and the sparks that arise in partnership.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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What happens when visionary worldbuilding meets movement building? In this rare and unmissable conversation, acclaimed novelist Nnedi Okorafor, whose Africanfuturist fiction reshapes the boundaries of speculative literature, sits down with legendary organizer Marshall Ganz, architect of modern grassroots leadership models. Guided by co-founder of Wakanda Dream Lab Calvin Williams, the conversation will travel across story and structure, imagination and power. Together, they will ask: How do the stories we tell determine the futures we fight for? How does organizing become a living narrative of hope and resistance? And how can collective imagination move us closer to liberation? This will be a gathering of minds that reminds us that crafting worlds and building movements are acts born of the same radical impulse: to dream together, and remake what has been made.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Cartoonist Judd Winick's presentation surrounding his latest title, HILO PRESENTS: THE MIGHTY, involves a 17 question Q&A with himself as the creator. From answering questions about his artistic process and the process behind creating a HILO book, to sharing innumerable photos of his two cats (Troy and Abed), Judd's session will cover not only his unique career in the graphic novels/comics space but will also answer burning questions a lot of kids may be already thinking of in the audience!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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The Trump administration is terrorizing our communities with mass deportations, militarized raids, and brutal detainment, tearing families apart and unlawfully withholding immigrants in inhumane conditions. As historian Ana Raquel Minian points out, this is only the latest chapter in a saga in which immigrants to the United States have been held without recourse to their constitutional rights. This imperative panel will trace back to the 1800s with Minian's In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States, which braids together the vivid stories of four migrants seeking to escape the turmoil of their homeland for the promise of America: a Chinese refugee, a European war bride, a Cuban exile, and a Central American asylum seeker. Personal accounts give this history a human face, as with The Poet and the Silk Girl: A Memoir of Love, Imprisonment, and Protest,Satsuki Ina's memoir documenting her parents' forcible removal from their home, their incarceration in wartime American concentration camps, and the generational struggle of Japanese Americans who fought for the restoration of their rights and clung to their full humanity in the face of adversity. As she traces the legacies of trauma, she connects her family's ordeal to modern-day mass incarceration at the U.S.-Mexico border, which is what Daniel A. Olivas bases his modern retelling of "Waiting for Godot" on. Through a darkly comic absurdist lens, Waiting for Godínez: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts features the forever-waiting character Jesús, who is kidnapped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents each night to be deported and thrown into a cage that is left unlocked. Though these "black sites" of rightlessness exist out of view from the average American, their reach extends into our lives, all the way to the gradual unraveling of the right to bail and the presumption of innocence. Veronica Granillo brings a lawyer's perspective from her experience working on affirmative and defensive asylum cases, U Visas, residency, and naturalization as the Senior Staff Attorney at East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, a community organization that provides services to support low-income immigrants and people fleeing violence and persecution. Moderated by Piper Kerman, justice reform activist and author of Orange is the New Black, the narratives of this panel allow us to see how the changing political climate surrounding immigration has played out in individual lives, imploring us to reconsider this country's policies in light of the fact that we are all human and deserve respect, dignity, and democracy as we make our way in this confusing and often indifferent world.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Eighty years of lessons from the Black freedom struggle, labor movements, and internationalism illuminate the path forward in our fight for democracy and never-ending commitment to building a better world. In a multi-generational conversation, legendary Civil Rights organizer Walter Riley andcommunity organizer, musician, and journalist Jesse Strauss will offer insights from their book, Civil Rights and Structural Attacks, drawing parallels between past movements and present injustices. Raised among the entrails of chattel slavery in Durham, North Carolina, Riley brings decades of movement experience from mobilizations against Jim Crow apartheid laws, to student and labor organizing with early Black Panther formations, to organizing against South Africa's apartheid system as a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer. His more recent work involves supporting infrastructure for Haitian movement-building and confronting police violence in Oakland. Strauss is the co-creator of the first-ever daily abolitionist radio show Law & Disorder andan anti-imperialist and abolitionist cultural worker who was raised in Oakland and Berkeley (unceded Ohlone/Chochenyo land). He was also a producer for Al Jazeera during the so-called "Arab Spring" and "Occupy" movements, and together with Riley, they will reflect on the importance of political action as the primary venue for learning and reflection in this insightful and vital conversation moderated by writer, director, and musician Boots Riley.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Blurring the lines between journalism and memoir, the indigenous writers of this panel look outward at the people, cultures, and history around them to form a personal understanding of what it means to be a world citizen today. Terria Smith, who longed for adventure growing up on the Torres Martinez Reservation in Southern California, observed that travel is deeply rooted in Native traditions of reciprocity, risk-taking, bridging, and holding differences, but there remains a lack of Indigenous voices in the travel writing space. Her memoir, I Love You So Many, recounts Smith's stories from her ancestral homelands to Cuba, Iceland, and Guyana with humor and exuberance, an irresistible tribute to getting out and living a life in full. For journalist and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julian Brave Noisecat, correcting the erasure, invisibility, and misconceptions surrounding the First Peoples of this land compelled him to travel across the continent. Translated from "tscwinúcw-k," a traditional Secwépemc morning greeting, We Survived the Night paints a portrait of contemporary Indigenous life by blending history, memoir, and reportage in the style of a "Coyote Story," a legend about the trickster who was revered for his wit and mocked for his tendency to self-destruct. Traverse the roads connecting past, present, and future with the authors of this dazzling panel, moderated by queer Indigenous artist, poet, and curator Viola LeBeau.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Drawing on the expertise of mindfulness educators, frontline organizers, and America's greatest literary voices, this panel provides guidance for navigating political burnout and civic despair. On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World is professor Jeremy David Engels' compact guide offering 27 powerful teachings of interdependence and how to show up for democracy with compassion, clarity, and courage. In this age of disaster, community-shaped strategies are essential for practically navigating the challenges posed by overlapping catastrophes, and Kailea Rose Loften and Kate Rose Weiner present engaging prompts, concise checklists, and heartfelt advice for building and sustaining durable mutual aid networks in Compassion in Crisis: Building Disaster-Resilient Communities. Liza J. Rankow combines the compassion of a seasoned spiritual guide and the insightful analysis of a longtime grassroots activist in Soul Medicine for a Fractured World, which offers questions for reflection as well as an array of spiritual and healing practices to guide readers on an integrative path forward through healing and transformation, rooted in our kinship with one another, the Earth, and all of life. Diving deeply into a dharma of liberation, Rima Vesely-Flad examines the writings of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin through key Buddhist principles, revealing that liberation depends not only on organizing and mass movements, but also the generative power of inner well-being, authenticity, art, and embodiment. Whether you're a seasoned activist or a tender-hearted citizen seeking a new path forward, this nourishing panel moderated by Rev. Dereca Blackmon of the East Bay Church of Religious Science is an invitation into the lifelong work of caring for one another in pursuit of our collective liberation.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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Welcome to the library, the place where you will always belong! Join the Internet's favorite librarian and host of the relaunched Reading Rainbow Mychal Threets as he introduces his bright and exciting picture book, I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy. After a short read-aloud, Mychal and Supervising Librarian Shani B will talk about his experiences and inspiration for writing his book. Then, Samaya, Ash, and Miley—students from local public schools—will join the conversation about the sense of wonder and community that libraries nurture, and what library joy means to them. The possibilities are endless at a library, which has activities, movies, games, and so many stories! Make sure to bring your curious questions and fond library memories to share in this session, which will feature lots of Q&A time with Mychal and the amazing panelists. Whether you're a regular visitor or stepping into the stacks for the first time, we're so happy you're here with us for this interactive celebration of the joy that libraries bring!

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

This episodes features three BABF staff members who describe some of the events coming up, what to expect onsite at the festival, and some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of a jam packed weekend!

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Bridgette Yang who talks to us about YouthSpeaks and the programs they are contributing to the Festival in 2026

Saturday, May 30th Teen Poetry Workshop - rsvp required Youth writer/poet workshop - rsvp required

Sunday, May 31 Teen Open Mic!

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

To find out more about Youth Speaks, go to https://youthspeaks.org/

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Rob Liu-Trujillo who talks to us about what it's like being an author/illustrator for kids, and about organizing for Social Justice Children's Book Fair (SJCBF). SJCBF and BABF have collaborated on the 6 Youthlit Stages that you cna enjoy through the BABF weekend, and two of those programs will be moderated by Rob himself.

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

To fin out more about SJCBF, please go to https://socialjusticechildrensbooks.org/

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Tamika Thompson who talks to us about her new novel The Curse of Hester Gardens https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804756/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-by-tamika-thompson/

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode you get to hang out with our hosts Dora and Sam, who break down how the schedule came about, what the Festival weekend will hold, and walk you through some of the many ways to enjoy the upcoming weekend.

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

Bushwick Book Club Oakland (BBCO) is a community event series co-produced by Claire Calderón, Nikki Bonsol, and Mia Pixley where Bay Area musicians from a wide range of genres compose and debut brand new original songs inspired by books. They will contribute to the Bay Area Book festival by opening up each headline event with a specially composed song inspired by the headliners.

find our more about BBCO on their instagram, https://www.instagram.com/bushwickbookcluboakland

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Tiina and Lauren who talks to us about the renaissance in romance fandom and how they came to help us curate some romance panels for the forthcoming festival. https://www.instagram.com/boutiquebookretreats/

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

#romancebooks #BayArea #Literature #Podcast #BookFestival #booktok #booktube #romantasy #romancerecs #romancereading

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet MK Chavez who talks to us about her process of curating programs for bith of our poetry stages for the Festival. She is also the leader of the Mixed race Affinity lit Group for the Bay Area Book festival.

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

#MKChavez #BayArea #Literature #Poetry #Podcast #BookFestival #booktok #booktube

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Terria Smith who talks to us about her forthcoming memoir I Love You So Many, which will be on early sale at the Bay Area Book Festival! https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/i-love-you-so-many/

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

#TerriaSmith #BayArea #Literature #Podcast #BookFestival #booktok #native #memoir #travel

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Jeremy Engels who is talking to us about his book On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World https://www.parallax.org/product/on-mindful-democracy/

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

#JeremyEngels #BayArea #Literature #Podcast #BookFestival #booktok #booktube #booktube #mindfulness #democracy

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this episode, you get to meet Renee Swindle who is talking to us about her book Francine's Spectacular Crash and Burn.

You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.

Please support our work!

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BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.

In this first episode, you get to meet our new podcast hosts, hear about some of the authors booked for the 2026 festival, find out more about what we do year around and how you can support all of this work!

Upcoming events: Social Justice Children' Book Fair https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-social-justice-childrens-book-fair-tickets-1967246325717?aff=oddtdtcreator Pints and Pages https://www.baybookfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Pints-Pages-V5-scaled.jpg Merritt Dialogues: AI https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-merritt-dialogues-ai-tickets-1769935929009?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Nico Lang is joining us for an event at Kepler's books on September 9th, 2025. Get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trans-narratives-of-america-tickets-1485118843439

Join us for a timely evening at Kepler’s Books as acclaimed authors Carolina De Robertis (So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color) and Nico Lang (American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era) come together for a dynamic conversation about the vital importance of preserving and honoring the lives and voices of trans people. Moderated by Brandy Collins, this event will delve into the connections between the stories of trans youth and elders, exploring how shared histories, struggles, and triumphs form the backbone of resistance and resilience. Whether you are trans, queer, an ally, or someone seeking deeper understanding, this conversation promises to be moving, illuminating, and deeply human.

Nico Lang is the creator of Queer News Daily and an award-winning reporter, editor, essayist, author, and critic. You can read their work in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Teen Vogue, Them, the Advocate, Vice, the Wall Street Journal, Out, the Daily Beast, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News, and the L.A. Times, among others. Their newest book, American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era chronicles trans youth living their lives in seven states across the U.S.

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Join the Bay Area Book Festival and Litquake for an intimate (virtual) conversation with Iman Mersal and Kate Briggs, two writers who reshape our understanding of motherhood and the art of living. Mersal, acclaimed Egyptian-Canadian poet and essayist who most recently authored Motherhood and Its Ghosts, excavates the invisible labor and haunting absences of motherhood, blending irony, empathy, and unsparing honesty as she searches for lost women and lost selves. Her work is a bridge between personal memory and cultural critique, always aware of what remains unsaid. Briggs, Rotterdam-based author of The Long Form, reinvents “mom-lit” with philosophical, fragmentary prose, capturing the daily improvisations of new parenthood and the shifting architectures of care. Together, they invite us to witness the fragile, ever-changing forms of family and friendship, and the radical potential of the everyday. This conversation promises to be as nuanced and expansive as their writing, and will be moderated by beloved Sri Lankan American author Nayomi Munaweera.

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Join us for an insightful conversation surrounding So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro De Robertis. In this groundbreaking work, De Robertis brings together the voices of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit elders of color, offering an intimate look into their personal stories, struggles, and triumphs. This event will include an introductory conversation between De Robertis and acclaimed author Nayomi Munaweera, followed by conversation with narrators from the book—iconic artists and activists Crystal Mason, Tina Aguirre, and Chino Lee Chung—on the past, present, and future of trans BIPOC movements. Don't miss this moving, thought-provoking exploration of gender, culture, resistance, and the transformative power of storytelling.

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A shape is composed of its outline and the space inside, meaning that the people around us play an integral role in forming who we are. In navigating the questions left behind following tragic loss, the authors of this poignant memoir panel honor their loved ones through writing, and, in doing so, redefine their own selves along the way. After grieving in silence for years, Susan Lieu, the daughter of refugees from the Vietnam War, finally tells her family’s story in The Manicurist’s Daughter, which details Lieu’s twenty-year journey of piecing together her mother’s life in Vietnam and the truth behind her botched tummy tuck by a surgeon who continued to operate after her death. Abby Reyes, author of Truth Demands: A Memoir of Murder, Oil Wars, and the Rise of Climate Justice, also takes aim at justice when Colombia invites her twenty years too late into Case 001 of their truth and recognition tribunal about the 1999 murder of her partner Terence Unity Freitas near Indigenous land then coveted by a US oil company. For Eirinie Carson, her book The Dead are Gods is a letter to her best friend Larissa and an attempt to make sense of the events leading up to her sudden death. Moderated by librarian and public historian Dorothy Lazard, this discussion will explore the process of documenting long-buried truths that shape us in our grief.

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This poetry portal explores the wound not as an end, but as a powerful beginning. Join us for a journey where language becomes a site of transformation—where grief, memory, and survival are not just revisited, but reimagined. Mimi Tempestt breaks open conventions with a voice that insists on reclamation and the sacredness of Black queer futurity. Her work spirals through personal and collective histories, creating a radical space for becoming. Salvadoran poet Marian Urquilla mines personal and political terrain, forging poems that speak to displacement, resilience, and empowerment. With precision and heart, her language gives shape to survival. James Cagney, PEN Oakland award-winner and recipient of the Academy of American Poets' James Laughlin Award, delivers poems that honor vulnerability and rage in equal measure. His work reverberates with ancestral echoes and present-day urgency. Together, these poets wield poetry as a technology of resilience and a tool for new world-building. In their hands, the wound becomes a map—leading us toward a future where we do more than survive. We thrive. We bloom.

As the poetry stage draws to a close, we will gather for one final invocation—a moment to honor what has been conjured, created, and carried forward. Incantation for Future is both a celebration and a spell for what comes next. Legendary writer and cultural icon joins us as our closing headliner, offering a rare reading that reaches across generations, geographies, and genres. Her work, rooted in the mythic, the historical, and the personal, has long opened portals for those navigating identity, exile, and transformation.

In this culminating moment, Maxine Hong Kingston offers not just a reading, but a blessing—an incantation for futures rooted in justice, storytelling, and radical interconnectedness. Her presence reminds us that language shapes the world, that memory is a map, and that poetry is a path toward liberation. Together, we will close the portal not with finality, but with intention—carrying the words, visions, and reverberations of the festival into the world beyond. Let this be our collective offering to the future.

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What lengths would you go to to prove your innocence? For Anglo-Indian nurse Sona, it’s following a cryptic note and four paintings that lead her around Europe to uncover details about the complicated personal life of the renowned painter she is suspected of killing in Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. The story of a wrongly accused Irish maid in San Quentin Prison garners the attention of an aspiring photographer grappling with infidelity and gentrification in Meredith Jaeger’s The Incorrigibles, a novel exploring the different ways in which we are imprisoned and how we can break free. Starting anew is no simple task, as Miyoung from Rosa Kwon Easton’s White Mulberry finds out when she faces prejudice after relocating from her impoverished village in northern Korea to Kyoto, Japan in search of a better future as a nurse. From Korea to India to our very own Bay Area, this dynamic discussion moderated by memoirist and travel writer Janis Cooke Newman will transport audiences to the pockets of history around the world that are just waiting to be uncovered.

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This reading celebrates the wild, wired, and the wondrous. Inspired, and the fierce multiplicity of the natural world, this portal brings together five poets whose work transgresses borders—of body, genre, and possibility. These poets will open portals that invite us into places of resistance and rage, that when honored transform into generative and sacred places. Rachel Richardson’s work bends time and language, drawing from historical fragments and embodied memory to question whose stories survive and how. Her poems illuminate what’s hidden beneath the surface of the everyday. Language and spirit commingle in Georgina Marie, Lake County Poet Laureate emeritus’s lyrical activism. She writes poems rooted in place, grief, and renewal—pulling language from the earth and the divine alike. Oakland’s Yaffaz AS words dismantle binaries and build new grammars for queer, trans, and brown becoming. Their poetics are glitchy, expansive, and defiant. Lynne Thompson, former Los Angeles Poet Laureate, explores diasporic identity, lineage, and the many selves we carry through history and into the future. As a conduit of worlds she create poetry that transports and brings communities together. Cinematic and visceral—Shabnam Piryaei’s work shapeshifts across borders and forms. Her work is a philosophical inquiry and a healing journey, and luminous defiance. This is a celebration of what refuses to be defined. Join us where the petals have teeth and language mutates into power.

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Shining a light on the often invisible and incredibly complex experience of migration, the established scholars of this panel examine migration through human-centered lenses by documenting the difficult reasons people move away from an old home and the realities they must face upon arrival in their new one. Sin Padres, Ni Papeles details Stephanie L. Canizales’ academic study about how undocumented Central American and Mexican teens in LA navigate unthinkable material and emotional hardship, find the agency and hope that is required to survive, and discover what it means to be successful as they come of age in the United States. Shifting the focus to Northern California, Cruz Medina’s Sanctuary is a case study following the community of Indigenous Guatemalan Maya people in a Spanish-speaking church in the East Bay, many of whom sought refuge in the United States but were instead met with the dehumanizing and exclusionary rhetoric of US political leaders, militarized immigration enforcement, false promises of empowerment through literacy, and further displacement from gentrification. Journalist Jeanne Carstensen turns an investigative eye to the devastating 2015 shipwreck that resulted in the loss of hundreds of refugee lives during the biggest refugee crisis since World War II in A Greek Tragedy, which includes recollections of the refugees’ lives prior to leaving their home as well as the courageous rescue efforts of the Greek islanders and volunteers who rushed to help, even as their government and the EU failed to act. Moderated by award-winning author and journalist Frances Dinkelspiel.

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From the very first contact, Indigenous people have been spoken about more than they have been heard. Early "autobiographies" of Native individuals were often penned by outsiders, distorting the essence of the genre by denying autonomy to the very subjects for whom autobiography—by definition—should uplift. In recent years, seminal works of First Nations storytelling have come to the forefront, and this panel features three recent additions to the Native voices now taking center stage to tell their own stories. Métis storyteller and Montana Poet Laureate Chris LaTray combines diligent research and compelling conversations in Becoming Little Shell, his story of discovery and embracing his Indigenous identity by joining the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in their 158-year-long struggle for federal recognition. Essayist Terra Trevor turns to memoir in We Who Walk the Seven Ways, which recounts how a circle of Native women elders embraced and guided her through the seven cycles of life, lifting her from grief and instructing her in living following a difficult loss. Published poet and Mvskoke citizen Jennifer Foerster is one of the editors of This Music, a memoir written by—but not finished by—the late Janice Gould, who was a Koyunkowi poet and educator. Former Kansas poet laureate and founding board member of Indigenous Nations Poet Denise Low will moderate this insightful discussion featuring contemporary Indigenous perspectives on the importance of having your story told in your own voice.

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The essay’s subjective and fragmented nature enables writers to grapple with complexities without the restrictions of systematic, traditional approaches to writing (Theodor W. Adorno, “The Essay as Form”). It liberates the essayist to take a nuanced look at the world, as cultural essayist and social critic Steve Wasserman does in Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It’s a Lie: A Memoir in Essays, an exhilarating account of the awakening of an empathetic sensibility and a lively mind, featuring personal reflections on politics, literature, influential figures, and the tumults of a world in upheaval. Award-winning author and “ethnographer on a skateboard” José Vadi turns to skateboarding as a lens to document the world in his latest memoir-in-essays, Chipped, which contemplates how skateboarding redefines space, curates culture, confronts mortality, and affords new perspectives on and off the board. Chi Boy: Native Sons and Chicago Reckonings by Keenan Norris employs the essay form to meld memoir, cultural criticism, and literary biography in a masterful and emotional depiction of the city of Chicago as both a cradle of Black intellect, art, and politics and a distillation of America’s deepest tragedies. These essayists will be in conversation with Chino Lee Chung, who is currently working on a collection of essays that integrate his social activism with his intersectional identities as a recipient of the 2024–2025 San Jose State Steinbeck Fellowship. This enriching panel, moderated by writer and professor Faith Adiele, will explore the essay-writing process with authors who have published essays in diverse contexts.

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Enter the liminal. In this portal, hybridity is power, and contradiction is poetry. Chimera Space brings together a group of poets whose work inhabits the monstrous, the beautiful, and the in-between—bodies, identities, and voices that resist categorization and embrace complexity. Cindy Juyoung Ok writes into multiplicity, turning silence into disruption and fragmentation into form. Her poems invite readers into nonlinear truths. Grayson Thompson conjures the poetic tenderness and fire, exploring queer embodiment and psychic rupture. Adela Najarro brings the force of nature and cultural inheritance to the page, her poetry fusing eco-consciousness with the surreal. Amanda Hawkins explores desire, disorientation, and liminality with language that glows from within. Her work vibrates with strange beauty and invites us into the sensual space of the unknowable. Mia Ayumi Malhotra writes from the rich interstices of lineage and displacement. Her lyric inquiries unfold slowly, like memory, threading together multiple inheritances and the ghosts that come with them. Join us as these poetic guides read us into the borderlands—offering a space where transformation is not only possible, but inevitable. A panel discussion will follow the reading.

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Amidst current challenges like book bans in schools and libraries across the country, record numbers of legal restrictions on the human rights of immigrants and trans people, especially trans youth, in our community, creators play a crucial role when they come together in a unified voice of resistance. We have many models of people who resisted under the most repressive circumstances, including Maria van Lieshout’s Song of a Blackbird, a historical graphic novel based on a true story about a collective of artists in the Dutch Resistance during WWII who used their creativity to save children and to support community resistance in heavily oppressive times.There are also many organizations pushing back now, today, demonstrating the pivotal role of the creative spirit in highlighting problems, providing possible solutions, and bringing us together to lift us up. Hear from Maggie Tokuda-Hall of Authors Against Book Bans, Rhonda Roumani of Story Sunbirds, and Robert Liu-Trujillo of the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair on how they are pushing back against book bans, fighting for children in the face of war, and uplifting social justice children’s books in their community. For everyone and anyone who cares about young humans, this panel, moderated by author and professor Tomas Moniz, will invite creatives and organizers to share what gives them hope, what they do, and how we can all get involved.

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A sense of place is something we all deserve. For children whose roots lie in lands and cultures that are often under- or even mis-represented, the concept of home can be complex. When the politics of war propaganda and media stereotypes permeate our lives, children’s books offer insight, better understanding, and for some a path home. From Iraq, Palestine, and Iran, three authors share their homeland journeys. Mona Damluji (I Want You to Know) and Maysa Odeh (A Map For Falasteen). Moderated by Khalil Bendib, host of Voices of the Middle East and North Africa on KPFA (94.1 FM).

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The talented woman sleuths of this panel have once again found themselves in unexpected conundrums that hit close to home. Join Parisian PI Aimée Leduc on her quest for innocence after being framed for the murder of her daughter’s father in Murder at la Villette, the 21st installment of Cara Black’s New York Times bestselling mystery series. Alternatively, travel from France back to California with The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard, in which the granddaughter of a suspected serial killer suddenly finds herself as the prime suspect for murder. Peaceful seaside town Haven, California is the setting for Rachel Howzell Hall’s latest thriller, Fog and Fury, a town hiding more secrets than LAPD cop Sonny had anticipated when she first relocated there with her elderly mother. Family businesses take the stage in The Library Game, Book 4 of the Secret Staircase Mysteries by Gigi Pandian, which follows Tempest Raj and her family construction business’s newest project to transform a home into a public library that celebrates history's greatest fictional detectives, but the mood quickly sours when their celebratory event, a murder mystery dinner and a literary-themed escape room, ends in murder and a vanished body. Speaking of libraries and detectives, this thrilling discussion will be moderated by the Curator of the California Detective Fiction Collection at the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library, Randal Brandt.

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Whether in a comic panel or at a panel discussion, these earnest graphic novel stories are here to remind us to stay true to ourselves, our beliefs, and our passions! Follow Huda Fahmy’s exhilarating and chaotic family vacation to Disney World, where self-conscious Huda quickly realizes that her family’s public prayers make them stand out; and while she is proud of her religion and who she is, she sure wishes she could just think: Huda F Cares? Like the people Huda encounters in Florida, the students and teachers at Hassan’s middle school are also particularly uninformed about the traditions of Ramadan in Wahab Algarmi’s Almost Sunset, and Hassan must learn to balance it all during this hectic holy month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Time plays a mischievous role in You and Me On Repeat by Mary Shyne, a swoony and hilarious rom-com graphic novel about two former friends who are trapped in a time loop that repeats their high school graduation day over and over and over. Written by high school teacher and award-winning graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, Dragon Hoops recounts his life-changing journey following the men’s varsity basketball team as they shoot for their ultimate goal: the California State Championships. Celebrating both the comical and meaningful moments in life, this compelling panel, moderated by librarian and children’s author Elaine Tai, offers an endearing and intimate look into the multidimensional lives of graphic novel protagonists.

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This panel unites four transformative leaders pioneering the incorporation of healing into activism, demonstrating how personal transformation fuels collective liberation. Their work bridges social justice and healing, emphasizing the need for community care in the fight for a just future. Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, poet laureate of Oakland and founder of Lower Bottom Playaz and BAMBD CDC, uses poetry as a tool for Black liberation. In Sorrowland Oracle, she redefines healing and justice through a Black gaze, centering Black space as essential for universal liberation. Myisha T. Hill, writer, social entrepreneur, and healer, leads a revolution of heart, mind, and soul. Her book, Heal Your Way Forward, challenges us to envision an antiracist future for the next seven generations, offering practical guidance on healing and meaningful change. Kazu Haga, nonviolence and restorative justice educator, argues that activism and healing must be inseparable. His book, Fierce Vulnerability, calls for centering relationships and addressing trauma, reminding us that we cannot “shut down” injustice any more than we can “shut down” pain. Malaika Parker, Executive Director of Black Organizing Project, has worked toward a racially just SF Bay Area for 25 years, addressing police accountability, racial justice in education, and race-based inequities in the child welfare system. She is the founder of Hummingbirds Urban Farming Collective, which promotes food sovereignty and ecological justice for Black children and their communities. Moderated by Renata Moreira, trauma-informed social impact consultant and Reiki Master Teacher, this conversation will explore how embracing vulnerability, addressing trauma, and incorporating healing into activism can create lasting social change.

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As we face increasing attacks on our bodily autonomy from our federal and state governments, these books provide essential resources and narratives that approach the topic with acuity and compassion. Award-winning author Zetta Elliott reflects the voices of Black women and girls for whom body policing has long been an issue in Say Her Name, a collection of poems that pays tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists championing the Black Lives Matter cause, revealing the beauty, danger, and magic found at the intersection of race and gender. In Seema Yasmin’s Unbecoming, a near-speculative novel that has predicted our anti-abortion world with terrifying accuracy, two Muslim teens in Texas create an illegal guide to abortion that includes how to secure safe medications and navigate underground networks of clinics that sprung up in response to unfair laws that prohibit the right to choose. Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding by bestselling author Maia Kobabe and Public Health Assistant Professor Sarah Peitzmeier, offers a real-life a graphic novel guide to chest binding as gender-affirming care not only for trans and nonbinary folks but also for anyone interested in what it means to be on a journey of expressing one’s gender in ways that are joyful, healthy, and affirming. Screenwriter, poet, and educator Shia Shabazz Smith will moderate this panel, building from the crucial book Our Bodies, Ourselves, that advocates for bodily autonomy for all bodies, all selves.

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Long before politicians weaponized book bans across the country, mainstream publishers have controlled which books get published, carrying out “soft book bans” through gatekeeping. For as long as books have been published (and censored), indie and alternative publishers have challenged these gatekeepers, who have often excluded and marginalized diverse voices. As these same institutions preemptively buckle to pressures from above, we must uplift true grassroots, community-based publishers that bring out books by and for their communities. Hear from Zetta Elliott (The Oracle’s Door) of Rosetta Press, a self-publisher of children’s books that reveal, explore and foster a Black feminist vision of the world; Robert Liu-Trujillo (Fresh Juice) of the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair; and Maya Gonzalez (When a Bully Is President) and Matthew Smith of Reflection Press, a POC, queer, and trans-owned independent children’s book publisher. This candid conversation, moderated by Laura Atkins of the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair, will focus on envisioning and creating alternate pathways in order to bring underrepresented stories to life. With expertise in self-publishing, hybrid models, and micropresses, the creative minds of this panel will share about their work, the books they produce, the challenges they face, and how they find ways to thrive as they create important and meaningful books.

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We begin with invocation—of memory, of resistance, of radical possibility. Incantations to Open Portals is the ceremonial opening of the poetry stage at the Bay Area Book Festival, co-sponsored with the Berkeley Poetry Festival, where poetry becomes spell, speech becomes spellwork, and presence becomes protest.

This opening event features incantatory offerings by Aya de León, Berkeley Poet Laureate, celebrated poet, activist, and author, who will bring her fierce, truth-telling lyricism to this moment of collective gathering. Her work bridges the personal and political, and her incantation sets the stage for a festival rooted in justice, joy, and imagination. MK Chavez, Co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival, will introduce the legacy of amplifying the voices of writers who change the world. Together, they will open the portal—with words, intention, and fierce love.

In a world contending with violence and erasure, what does it mean to plant a future? Garden of Possibilities gathers six poets who write toward abundance, resistance, and reimagined ways of being. Through language rooted in care, complexity, and radical imagination, this reading and panel invites us to collectively cultivate what is possible. Audrey T. Williams, a visionary voice in Afrofuturist and Black speculative poetics, crafts worlds where Black liberation blooms beyond the limits of the present. Her work is a call to remember, to dream, and imagine. Gabriel Cortez fuses poetry with movement-building, creating work that uplifts diasporic joy, ecological kinship, and community resilience. Cintia Santana writes into the intersections of language, translation, and exile. Her poetry navigates linguistic borders and personal geographies, tracing beauty through dislocation and cultural memory. Kinsale Drake, a Diné poet and storyteller, brings forth visions rooted in Native sovereignty and survival. Her work speaks of land, lineage, and a future held in Indigenous hands. Maw Shein Win tends the surreal and the sublime, her poetry offering quiet revelations from the edges of reality. Drawing from Burmese heritage and Buddhist philosophy, she brings a meditative force to the page. Bryan Byrdlong blends history, speculation, and Afrosurrealism with craft and fire. His poetry opens portals—honoring memory while daring new futures into being. Together, these poets offer a garden where justice grows, language blooms, and imagination becomes practice.

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In the face of climate catastrophe, it’s natural to react with grief, sorrow, and hopelessness to the constant reminders of how fragile and impermanent our world is. Lauren Markham reckons with her grief in Immemorial, a speculative synthesis of reporting, memoir, and essay describing her desire to memorialize something in the process of being lost and mourn the abstracted casualties of what’s to come. The climate crisis affects all areas of our lives, especially motherhood for Rachel Richardson, who questions how best to raise her young daughters amidst a string of record-breaking fires across the California landscape in Smother, a collection of poems that weaves environmental and physical predation—both on the earth and on the female body. Obi Kaufmann offers a solution in The State of Fire, presenting fire as a force of regeneration rather than apocalypse, essential for a healthy and biodiverse Golden State, and sharing a refreshingly hopeful vision of California’s future in which we learn from the teachings of our surroundings. A future of regeneration is precarious but reassuringly within reach, and this panel, moderated by Environmental Studies Associate Professor Vijaya Nagarajan, will be both a validation of our sorrow for the burning world and a beacon of hope as we work to revitalize it.

Co-presented with Litquake, San Francisco's literary festival. Litquake’s diverse live programs aim to inspire critical engagement with the key issues of the day, bring people together around the common humanity encapsulated in literature, and perpetuate a sense of literary community by providing a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing

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In a country that tries to erase our troubled history of the oppressive treatment of certain groups, today’s youth are forced to find their footing in an increasingly unsteady world that rejects their exploration of different identities and experiences. Join Oakland writers Carolina Ixta (Shut Up, This is Serious) and J.R. Rice (Broken Pencils) for an impactful panel discussion focused on teen mental health and the difficult choices that young people face as they come of age. Cognizant of the unique struggles that come with growing up in diverse Bay Area communities, these novels present adolescence in a brutally honest and heart-wrenching light, touching on topics like teen pregnancy, drugs, and sexual harassment, while treating readers with both tenderness and tough love in a way that teaches us to demand respect for ourselves, no matter our origins. Joining them will be Rhonda Roumani (Tagging Freedom) whose book follows Kareem Haddad, a young graffiti artist from war-torn Damascus, is inspired to use his art to protest the violence around him, while his cousin Samira in the United States grapples with fitting in and standing up for what’s right. As Kareem’s secret messages spark a movement, both teens must confront the power of activism and the personal choices they must make in the face of war and societal pressure. Moderated by social justice advocate and community leader Xochtil Larios, whose social reform work has earned her the California Endowment 2018 Youth Award and a Soros Youth Justice Fellowship, this discussion will resonate with both teens and adults, offering insight into the universal experience of finding one's way through the maze of mental health, difficult choices, family, and identity.

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The for-profit American healthcare model has left gaps in the system that harm everyone by stripping away the human element and emboldening shifty ethical and legal practices. The authors of this panel draw on their medical expertise to propose new frameworks for healing by targeting specific areas of today’s complex healthcare system. In My Brother's Keeper, UCSF psychiatrist Dr. Nicholas Rosenlicht introduces a paradigm shift toward real and lasting solutions in mental health care built on a deep understanding of larger social and economic forces, while clinical psychologist Dr. Yamonte Cooper centers the Black male experience and addresses racial trauma from a clinical lens in Black Men and Racial Trauma: Impacts, Disparities, and Interventions, which equips mental health professionals across all disciplines to be culturally responsive when serving Black men. In All This Safety is Killing Us, a comprehensive, multimedia guide to abolition through the lens of healthcare and medicine, health justice advocate Dr. Carlos Martinez combines political strategy with evidence-based medical and social science research to envision a post-carceral society co-created by the voices our justice systems should be protecting. Those working within public health and medical fields have a critical role to play in ensuring inclusive care, and the advocates of this panel, along with moderator Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, are paving the way toward a truly safe and flourishing society.

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The only thing better than an awesome story? An awesome story with pictures, perfect for early readers and middle graders! Follow along with Stella & Marigold as they explore secrets involving blankets, a terrible storm, and two brave children in Annie Barrows’ bright new series about a pair of sisters adventuring through their imaginary worlds. Nine-year-old Ella from Nina LaCour’s Ella Josephine: Resident in Charge also knows what it’s like to have secrets in her perfect apartment house on Poppy Hill, which is inhabited by residents who are as much family as they are neighbors. The beloved Batcat graphic novel series returns to cook up something special in Batcat: Cooking Contest by Meggie Ramm, a story celebrating food, friends, found family, and festivities. Author Lisa Moore Ramée and Laila of Cinnamongirl Inc. will moderate the joyful discussion between these authors, whose stories help us figure out the world and our place in it—and who we want by our side.

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While the tightrope of technological advancement is proving quite difficult to navigate, experts from the frontlines of the tech industry are here to offer insights on how we can move forward as a society. First, we must look critically to the scars etched by generations of systemic segregation, as journalist Alexis Madrigal does in The Pacific Circuit, using vibrant and untold stories from the city of Oakland as a backdrop to reveal how our markets and our world really function. Vulnerable communities are hurt most by big tech, and former Facebook lead attorney Bärí Williams recounts balancing on glass cliffs while battling the burnout that so often forces out Black women in her book Seen Yet Unseen, which demonstrates how the industry’s lack of Black women not only harms the businesses themselves but has troubling ramifications for their products. The mental health community is also particularly at risk, and science writer Daniel Oberhaus’ The Silicon Shrink tells the inside story of how the quest to use AI in psychiatry has created the conditions to turn the world into an asylum by applying deeply flawed psychiatric models of mental disorder at unprecedented scale. The cost of moving quickly in tech is falling victim to its deception. In Terms of Servitude, Omar Zahzah examines the paradox whereby Big Tech companies and prominent digital platforms that initially facilitated the expression of activism and advocacy for Palestinian liberation have come to fortify Zionist settler-colonialism through censorship and erasure often justified by so-called “terms of service” violations. Join us in this panel, moderated by CalMatters tech reporter Khari Johnson, amplifying counter-narratives in tech.

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Fight hate, make art, and build community with these graphic novels, based on true stories, that depict the importance of fighting for justice in whatever ways we can. For Eddie Ahn, author of Advocate, becoming an environmental justice lawyer for non-profits defies his Korean immigrant family’s notions of economic success but allows him to confront the most immediate issues the country is facing today, from the devastating effects of California wildfires to economic inequality, all while combating burnout and racial prejudice. Maria van Lieshout, inspired by documents written by her grandparents about their experiences during the Nazi occupation, created Song of a Blackbird, which follows a group of artists who helped pull off the greatest bank heist in European history to fund the Dutch Resistance. Also based on a family story, Josh Tuininga’s We Are Not Strangers follows a Jewish immigrant’s efforts to help his Japanese neighbors, whose lives were upended by Executive Order 9066 that authorized the incarceration of nearly all Japanese Americans during World War II. Timely and rousing, this panel portraying the value of a life of service and civic responsibility will be moderated by Breena Nuñez, a cartoonist and educator whose diary comics help BIPOC folks give themselves permission to express their personal stories through the language of comics.

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These days, there are so many ways to get your book out into the world, choosing the best option can be daunting.

Join us as a published author from each pathway — the Big 5 (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette Book Group), other traditional publishers, small presses, university presses, hybrid presses, and self publishing - shares their own experience, both good and bad.

Janis Cooke Newman, Saeeda Hafiz, Janine Kovac, Tania Malik, Joan Steinau Lester, Bridget Quinn

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As critical works and perspectives are being increasingly censored by the federal government’s hypocritical campaign for its distorted vision of “free speech,” our strategies for organizing and mobilizing communities must adapt to most effectively resist these attacks on justice. Here with an urgent reminder that feminism is expansive rather than definitive is Haitian-American writer and self-proclaimed “bad feminist” Roxane Gay, whose latest collection, The Portable Feminist Reader, depicts the feminist canon as one that represents a long history of feminist scholarship, embraces skepticism, and invites robust discussion and debate. According to the Starred Library Journal, she “provides accessible entry points into feminism and offers even advanced scholars new ways of viewing the complex, intersectional histories of feminist thought, literature, and action” by presenting multicultural perspectives, ecofeminism, feminism and disability, feminist labor, gender perspectives, and Black feminism. Intersectionality and having diverse voices is crucial in the fight for justice, and in conversation with Gay is another powerful voice in media and co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Alicia Garza, who will be the first to say that “hashtags don’t start movements. People do.” Thus, the first step forward is to equip oneself with knowledge from experts like Gay and Garza, who encourage people to carry their power within, allowing them to adapt and transform, but never conform, in their intersectionality.

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Within societies that have been constructed in ways that separate generations and sever connections to storytelling traditions, Indigenous and colonized communities see high rates of teen depression, disenfranchisement, and suicide. In response, projects in rematriation and revitalization of land have emerged to restore this lost connection through research, art, and storytelling. Queer Chamoru writer and interdisciplinary artist Lehua Taitano strengthens her communities as the co-founder of Art 25: Art in the Twenty-fifth Century, current Program and Community Manager at Kearny Street Workshop, and author of several award-winning works that investigate modern indigeneity, decolonization, and cultural identity in the context of diaspora. As an educator, Tongan poet, community organizer, and farmer, Loa Niumeitolu uplifts vulnerable groups in many ways through her work within programs that support Tongan writers, Pacific Islander prisoners and ex-prisoners, and the LGBTQ indigenous community. The talented and inspirational writers of this panel will speak about their contributions toward connecting people across generations, addressing some of the cultural damage that has been done, and re-establishing collective and interconnected communities.

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Fiction is often a vehicle for confronting political issues, and the mystery genre is no exception. Former newspaper reporter Jennifer K. Morita’s debut mystery, Ghosts of Waikīkī, features an out-of-work journalist looking into the murder of a controversial land developer and explores timely issues in Hawai’i, including locals getting priced out of paradise. If, as Morita claims, “a good story is like mochi—slightly sweet with a nice chew,” then Leslie Karst takes the phrase quite literally in the second book of the Orchid Isle series, Waters of Destruction, a cozy culinary mystery featuring a feisty queer couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions in tropical Hilo, Hawai’i. Follow Mud Sawpole from D. M. Rowell’s Silent Are the Dead as she investigates a murder while also pursuing evidence to permanently stop frackers from destroying the Kiowas’ ancestral homeland, water, and livelihoods. Large institutions also play a big role in Not Long Ago Persons Found by J. Richard Osborn, a debut novel about a biological anthropologist tasked with explaining (in a way that satisfies multiple political regimes) why the body of a young boy is found floating in a river with little to identify him other than pollen in his lungs from what has to be some warm green valley distant from the city in which he has turned up dead. Moderated by the decorated and beloved detective fiction writer Laurie R. King, this panel will explore mystery stories of the modern day as a voice against corruption, land grabs, and other forms of injustice.

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Nefertiti Asanti, Natasha Dennerstein, Edward Gunawan, Miah Jeffra, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Grayson Thompson

Community members of the Bay Area's beloved LGBTQ+ collaborative, Foglifter Journal and Press, discuss the role of queer and trans publishing in a time when the nation has further precluded being a place of support and comfort, and shape a vision for queer/trans writing both as celebration and resistance. Panelists will share tips and exercises to cultivate writing in this time of duress.

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Join us for an invigorating discussion on the rising influence of Latinx voices in horror fiction. Panelists Daniel A. Olivas, Cynthia Gómez, and M. M. Olivas will delve into how Latinx authors are using the genre to blend culture, resistance, horror, and social commentary, confronting both real and imagined monsters. Daniel A. Olivas, author of Chicano Frankenstein, reimagines the literary classic in a near-future—yet very present—United States, where 12 million “reanimated” people are exploited as a cheap workforce and face pervasive bigotry. This modern retelling of Frankenstein tackles themes of racism, isolation, belonging, and identity, challenging a society that erases the past while exploring the ‘horrors’ of what it means to be human in a dehumanizing world. Cynthia Gómez’s powerful, debut collection, The Nightmare Box, is a magic-infused love letter to Oakland, where Latine, queer, and working-class characters wield supernatural powers against oppression, loneliness, and fear. With feminist rage and dark themes, her stories push back against power structures while offering hope and showcasing the resilience of the human spirit. M. M. Olivas’ Sundown in San Ojuela immerses readers in a supernatural horror world inspired by Mesoamerican mythology. Olivias brings queer and diasporic experiences to the forefront, exploring the duality of monsters and the people who fear them. The novel offers a blueprint for confronting both internal and external darkness, highlighting the strength in resistance. Moderated by Kristina Canales, author of Pull Me from the Deep and founder of Queerthology, this conversation promises to be dynamic as Canales brings her own perspective, blending horror and romance to explore identity, culture, and terror. Join us for an insightful exploration of Latinx horror fiction, where culture, fear, and resilience collide in unexpected and powerful ways.

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Do you have an idea for a reading series, literary podcast, website, or game? Maybe you've imagined starting your own literary nonprofit, magazine, bookstore, or (gasp) book festival. Chances are, if you've dreamed it up, Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner have insights to help make it happen—and can inspire you to turn your literary visions into reality. Brooke, publisher of She Writes Press, memoir coach, author of several books on writing and memoir, and a dedicated member of many literary boards, brings her expertise in publishing and storytelling to the table. Grant, co-host of the podcast Write-minded, former executive director of NaNoWriMo, co-founder of 100-Word Story and the Flash Fiction Collective, and Executive Producer on the upcoming TV series America's Next Great Author, combines practical advice with encouragement. Together, they’ll guide you through the steps to bring your literary dreams to life.

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Featuring stunning literary debuts from authors who are enrolled members of the Akwesasne Kanienkehaka and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, this panel centers the Native experience as influenced by modern political and personal struggles. Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis follows an Ahkwesáhsne man’s reluctant return to his reservation after receiving a diagnosis for a rare disease, where he undergoes a healing at the hands of his wry Great Uncle Budge and finds hope in confronting the parts of himself he’s hidden ever since he left home. In Jon Hickey’s Big Chief, a young law school graduate and aspiring political fixer fights a nationally known politician for control over his tribe’s casino and hotel in an unforgettable story about the search for belonging—to an ancestral and spiritual home, to a family, and to a sovereign people at a moment of great historical importance. Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, will moderate this well-deserved celebration of Native debuts.

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Having witnessed and experienced the American justice system’s unreasonable treatment of incarcerated people, the activists of this panel shed light on the shrouded reality of the ghosts currently being unduly punished. In his polemic Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future, Emile Suotonye DeWeaver combines personal narrative with social commentary to critique the entrenched white supremacy that influences reform efforts, spotlighting the tools we need to address it both within and outside the carceral setting. Dorsey E. Nunn also reflects on lessons he learned in prison, namely that the criminal legal system increasingly targets poor Black and Brown communities with offenses, real or contrived. His memoir What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection details his efforts to liberate those he left behind, exemplifying the importance of centering voices of experience in the fight for freedom and dignified flight. Scott Dozier, the subject of Emmy award-winning investigative reporter Gianna Toboni’s The Volunteer: The Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmate's Quest to Die with Dignity, sought dignity through expedited death but was met with a death penalty system rife with black market dealings, supply chain labyrinths, disputed drugs, and botched executions. Moderated by Piper Kerman, justice reform activist, author of Orange is the New Black, and Chair of the Bay Area Book Festival Board, this panel will take a critical look at a system that has failed the public it claims to serve and discuss the necessary next steps toward justice.

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In times of love and loss, demonstrations of care can be another form of activism. This sentiment is perhaps most evident in the AIDS epidemic, when physical touch became paradoxically a symbol of tenderness yet agonizingly painful for someone with complications from HIV, as Keiko Lane recalls in Blood Loss: A Love Story of AIDS, Activism, and Art, a memoir exploring survival after our loved ones have died and a chronicle of the powerful lives they led in solidarity. Difficult times remind us that All Friends Are Necessary, Tomas Moniz’s novel about a recently divorced middle school teacher who leans on his network of platonic and romantic relationships to put himself back out into the world. Mei, a Dartmouth dropout-turned-limousine driver for questionable clientele from Off the Books by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, also finds herself navigating transition in the form of a cross-country road trip that showcases the resilience of the human spirit and the power of doing the right thing. Moderated by poet, educator, and organizer Gabriel Cortez, this heartfelt and uplifting panel will highlight the power to be found in community as we go through life’s hardships together.

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During the 2024 presidential race, the Trump campaign released an anti-trans ad blitz across swing states. Once in power, he wasted no time issuing an executive order proclaiming there are only two biological sexes. Accordingly, trans protections, gender affirming care, and DEI initiatives are being dismantled nationwide. Philosopher and human rights activist Judith Butler has long been a lightning rod for society’s fears, myths, and projections about the idea of gender. Now, when we need them most, Butler is back with what critics are calling their most mainstream and urgent book yet, Who’s Afraid of Gender? It’s both an intervention and an example of rising to meet the moment. At our Sunday headliner event, Butler will be in conversation with micha cárdenas, a novelist and scholar known for her work on “transreal” identities and digital media, whose latest sci-fi novel, Atoms Never Touch, tackles themes of neurodivergence and trans identity. Moderated by Afro-Latinx educator and writer MK Chavez, Butler and cárdenas will discuss their complementary yet distinct approaches to gender theory and identity: putting Butler’s foundational concepts in conversation with cárdenas’s cutting-edge explorations of biotechnological realities.

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This visionary, multi-generational panel brings together Bay Area authors who weave speculative fiction with powerful messages of resistance, transformation, and justice. Through creative storytelling, these authors tackle the pressing issues of our time—exploring the legacies of the past and imagining a future where change is possible. Angela Dalton’s To Boldly Go celebrates the life of Nichelle Nichols, whose work on Star Trek helped to diversify the space program, inspiring generations of astronauts and STEM professionals. Dalton’s work underscores the vital role of representation in storytelling and its potential to spark real-world change. Tamika Thompson’s Unshod, Cackling, and Naked presents an eclectic collection of stories that range from supernatural encounters to the harrowing realities of the human psyche. With vivid, often haunting tales, Thompson challenges readers to confront what’s real, what’s imagined, and what we choose to accept as truth. Jewelle Gomez, a radical poet, playwright, and “foremother of Afrofuturism,” brings decades of experience as a writer of speculative fiction. Her landmark work The Gilda Stories continues to resonate as a powerful example of fiction as a tool for political and social transformation. Moderated by Isis Asare, CEO and Founder of Sistah Scifi—America’s first Black-owned bookstore dedicated to science fiction and fantasy—this panel invites attendees to engage with these visionary authors and explore the role of speculative fiction in activism, representation, and shaping a more just world.

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Learn from the best of community organization leadership in this empowering panel, which will get to the bottom of how to build resilient and justice-oriented communities. Jaz Brisack, a leader of the Starbucks and Tesla union movements, narrates their stories from the front lines in the context of current social unrest and shows us how we too can organize our workplaces in Get on the Job and Organize: The Making of a New Labor Movement. Shaping strong organizers requires shaping strong individuals, and James Tracy draws on his book A Southern Panther: Conversations With Malik Rahim to highlight Rahim's unique approach to organizing—updating the politics of intercommunalism, rainbow coalitions, and municipalism—offer vital lessons for today's social movements. Certain identities are unjustly disadvantaged by the “game” of the complex modern world, especially women of color as Vanessa Priya Daniel points out in Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning, a playbook based on interviews with 45 of the most powerful women of color movement leaders of our time. This inspiring discussion, moderated by Christina Heatherton (author of Arise! Global Radicalism in the Era of the Mexican Revolution), will lean on our panelists’ valuable experiences to discuss the best strategies for organization—so we can all win.

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“What is the relationship between the role of the outsider and literary writing?” Pulitzer Prize-winning Viet Thanh Nguyen poses this question in his new book To Save and To Destroy, which is based on a series of six lectures at Harvard. Having escaped from the Vietnam War to a refugee camp in Pennsylvania when he was four, Nguyen is no stranger to being an outsider who carries both the burdens and pleasures of being the “minor” writer. In this event, he’ll be joined by two other brilliant literary outsiders: Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and celebrated author of fiction and memoir that delve into complexities of belonging and identity as a Native American, and award-winning novelist and filmmaker Tara Dorabji, the daughter of Parsi-Indian and German-Italian migrants, whose Call Her Freedom won the Simon & Schuster BOOKS LIKE US Grand Prize. In an era of constant “othering” within nations entrenched in colonialism and violence, it is natural for victims to feel their pain is unique. The challenge for “other”-American writers, then, is to practice what Nguyen calls “capacious grief” and to connect our sorrows in an act of radical hope. At our Saturday headliner event moderated by artist, writer, and Professor of African American literature Ajuan Mance, whose work explores the intersection of race, gender, and power, these authors will explore how they use storytelling and cultural sovereignty in the face of dominant ideologies, simultaneously embracing and overcoming their identities as “outsiders".

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Income inequality in the U.S. has reached its highest level in over 50 years, making the American Dream increasingly unattainable—especially for Black Americans. One major factor is “predatory governance,” the racist policies that have systematically undermined Black homeownership and generational wealth. Property law scholar Bernadette Atuahene explores this in Plundered, which illustrates how race influences the ability to pass down wealth. The financial industry also plays a key role; journalist Emily Flitter’s The White Wall exposes corruption and discriminatory policies in banking and insurance that continue to harm Black communities. How can we break this cycle? Edgar Villanueva’s Decolonizing Wealth offers Indigenous wisdom to address inequality in philanthropy and finance. Moderated by Cheryl Fabio, Executive Director of The Sarah Webster Fabio Center For Justice, this panel presents compelling, evidence-based narratives on structural injustice while challenging the harmful myths of personal irresponsibility projected onto disadvantaged communities

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As we emerge from the past few years of collective upheaval, how do we face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Therapist, somatics teacher, activist, and writer Prentis Hemphill shows us how in What It Takes to Heal, a life-affirming framework toward a future in which healing is done in community. In Hemphill’s revolutionary framework, we don’t have to carry our emotional burdens alone. Healing our bodies, minds, and souls starts with the principles of embodiment—the recognition of our body’s sensations and habits, and the beliefs that inform them— and developing the interpersonal skills necessary to break down the doors of disconnection. What currently separates us isn’t only the ever-present injustices built around race, class, gender, values, and beliefs, but also our denial of our interdependence and need for belonging, as researcher and writer Mia Birdsong demonstrates in How We Show Up. Through research, interviews, and stories of lived experience, Birdsong reminds us of our inherent connectedness and provides a blueprint for showing up, both literally and figuratively. Join us to hear from experts and leaders in this enriching conversation that will challenge mainstream models of self-reliance and instead infuse healing with the rigor of justice, vulnerability, repair, and accountability.

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In a moment of global crises and heightened polarization, how do we foster belonging and minimize othering? How and where do we build bridges when so many communities and institutions are fracturing and re-constellating? Drawing on the panelists’ four books and their unique experiences and perspectives, we will speak into a future where generative relationships across boundaries thrive. Leading asexuality and relationship expert David Jay tackles breeding grounds of isolation—from schools to tech to social media—in Relationality, which provides a scientifically-grounded framework for investing in the power of relational work and expands upon the fundamental idea that all entities in the universe are connected. From one point to the next, we can bridge the spaces between us into a network of communication and coexistence toward a shared future where we all belong, as civil rights scholar and Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley john a. powell demonstrates through his book The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. Bridging Indigenous wisdom, traditions, and practices with Western knowledge and ways, Flourishing Kin by Indigenous scholar Yuria Celidwen details our aspirations for sustainable, collective flourishing that goes beyond optimism or resilience and instead leans into the power of community to cultivate happiness. Author, organizer, and designer Aida Mariam Davis envisions better worlds rooted in African lifeways in Kindred Creation, exploring the impacts of intentional colonial acts of violence and dispossession and providing a blueprint to intergenerational Black joy and dignity centered on the concept of creation: a re-membering of interconnectedness and kinship. This hopeful and informative panel, moderated by Tim McKee, publisher of North Atlantic Books, is a much-needed reminder to tap into our innate capabilities to be in dialogue with each other as we co-create a thriving future.

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Celebrate indigenous poetry with these intergenerational poets from different parts of Indian Country, who will share their powerful words that navigate land, memory, music, and more. Diné poet, editor, and playwright Kinsale Drake explores the intricate relationships between Native peoples and the natural world, and her debut collection The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket oscillates between musical influences and time. Poet Laureate Emerita of Lake County and President of the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference Georgina Marie Guardado’s poetry chapbooks, Finding the Roots of Water and Tree Speak, draw inspiration from the natural world and how it witnesses our most emotional and introspective periods of life. Former Kansas Poet Laureate and founding board member of Indigenous Nations Poets Denise Low centers Indigenous peoples’ experience and the intergenerational impacts of the 1782 Gnadenhutten Massacre in House of Grace, House of Blood, a haunting and lyrical reconstruction of an important historical event that challenges the attempted erasure of Indigenous voices. Diné poet and zinester Amber McCrary perceives the enduring bonds between people and place in her debut poetry collection Blue Corn Tongue: Poems in the Mouth of the Desert, which remaps the deserts of Arizona through the blue corn story of a young Diné woman figuring out love and life with an O’odham man. Poet Laureate of El Dorado Stephen Meadows also analyzes place and the natural world in his poetry, and Winter Work paints a beautiful geography of emotions through the lens of natural elements, the damage we inflict upon the land, and our history. Visual artist and Poet Laureate Emerita of San Francisco Kim Shuck will emcee this inspiring poetry reading grounded in understanding, admiration, and deep respect for our natural world.

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This powerful panel showcases three Black women artists, authors, and activists who use their creative practices to challenge oppressive systems and fight for social, cultural, and environmental justice. Through their intersectional approaches, they address race, gender, inequality, and healing. Berkeley Poet Laureate, organizer, activist and author of Undisclosed, Aya de León, explores race, gender, social and climate justice in her writings. As Director of Poetry for the People at UC Berkeley, she empowers marginalized voices through poetry and spoken word. Ashara Ekundayo, Black feminist artist and curator, creates healing spaces rooted in African Diaspora traditions. Through photography, public installations, and altar-making, she amplifies Black womxn’s voices and explores art’s power to heal and resist oppression. Cat Brooks, award-winning playwright, actress, and activist, confronts police violence, racial injustice, and incarceration through theater. As a resident playwright with The Lower Bottom Playaz and host of Law & Disorder on KPFA, she uses storytelling to inspire change. Moderated by Pecolia Manigo.

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Join us for a conversation on the vital role of different forms of community care and mutual aid across California’s diverse communities. Red Flag Warning, a collection of essays and interviews by survivors Dani Burlison and Margaret Elysia Garcia, highlights how grassroots organizing, community care, and resilience help navigate ecological and social challenges. Adéniké Amin, Storytelling Lead at BLACspace Cooperative, will share insights into the power of storytelling and cultural preservation. Through her work with BLACspace, she champions thriving local community arts as a form of mutual aid, fostering cultural permanence, economic opportunity, and collective resilience. Jocelyn Jackson, award-winning chef, artist, teacher, activist, Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora, and co-founder of People’s Kitchen Collective, will discuss her work at the intersection of food justice, environmental education, and radical hospitality. This panel will explore how mutual aid networks across California are reshaping survival, support, and recovery—particularly in the wake of disasters, both natural and human-made. Featuring perspectives from environmentalists, cultural workers, mental health workers and journalists, we’ll examine how communities provide resources, share knowledge, and offer emotional support in times of need. Moderated by Brian Edwards-Tiekert, founder and co-host of UpFront on KPFA radio, this discussion will highlight how mutual aid fosters resilience and solidarity, demonstrating how communities build collective strength and power, and recognize each other as essential resources.

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A competition to find the king’s lost heir. A war fought by a woman soldier in disguise. A quest to escape a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts. The fiery protagonists of this romantasy panel adventure far and wide, questioning their judgments and learning to trust along the way. In Our Deadly Designs, the epic conclusion to Kalyn Josephson’s This Dark Descent duology, spellbinding fantasy meets Jewish mythology in a cut-throat race for the throne ― and humanity's survival. The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song is another mythology-inspired novel based on the legend of Mulan, which follows a young woman’s journey fighting a war between the Three Kingdoms and her conflicting feelings between two handsome princes and a sea dragon spirit. In The Last One, a romantasy debut from Rachel Howzell Hall, Kai wakes up in the woods with no memory and must accept the help of the village blacksmith to journey through the kingdom of Vinevridth in search of answers. Danielle DeVeaux will moderate this panel of best-selling authors whose enthralling novels prove time and time again that romantasy is not for the faint of heart.

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Buckle up for a disorienting launch into the vast unknown with these works of speculative fiction that transcend time and space. How We Know Our Time Travelers is Anita Felicelli’s collection of dark, intellectual, and surreal stories that examine our post-pandemic reality and future, introducing characters such as a bickering couple who use an app to track their fights, a woman who discovers an unseen lodger in her home, and a group of creepy friends who sell jars of fog. The colorful cast of characters continues in Marguerite Sheffer’s The Man in the Banana Trees, with ghosts, aliens, an ice cream consultant who predicts a devastating new flavor trend, and a disgruntled New England waiter who investigates a mysterious tanker crash, diverse characters from the American Gulf South to the orbit around Jupiter who question whether what lurks at the edge of their perception is sinister or miraculous. For the young researcher protagonist resisting insidious pressure from her community in Mending Bodies, written by Hon Lai Chu and translated by Jacqueline Leung, her undoubtedly sinister world is governed by absurd socio-bureaucratic powers, and a new law that forces men and women to be surgically sewn together once they come of age leaves her desperate for ways to resist. Along with moderator Jane Ciabattari, the speculative authors of this panel will just skim the surface of the elusive atmospheric disturbances that fascinate and inspire them.

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The fight for justice and freedom for political prisoners in the US has long been rooted in revolutionary struggle against state violence and political repression. Since the 1960s, resistance to politically motivated incarceration has taken many forms, both inside and outside prison walls. Garrett Felber, author of A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre, highlights Sostre’s legacy as a political prisoner who used his time behind bars to fight against multiple forms of oppression. As a jailhouse lawyer, bookseller, anti-rape organizer, and housing justice activist, Sostre’s work in the 1960s-70s helped shape Black Power movements and redefine resistance, underscoring the need for diverse strategies to challenge injustice. Russell “Maroon” Shoatz’s children, Russell Shoatz III and Sharon Shoatz, join the panel to discuss their late father’s legacy and their advocacy for political prisoners. Russell Shoatz III, who fought for his father’s release after five decades of imprisonment, brings deep experience in restorative justice, anti-racism, and youth development. Sharon Shoatz, a retired NYC educator and civil rights advocate, reflects on her work with the Panther Cubs and the broader liberation movement. Their late father’s memoir, I Am Maroon: The True Story of an American Political Prisoner, co-written with Kanya D’Almeida, provides a firsthand account of resistance and redemption. Moderated by Claude Marks, Director of the Freedom Archives and a former political prisoner, this panel will also highlight the crucial work of The Freedom Archives, which preserves archives of radical movements and political prisoner narratives from the 1960s-1990s, ensuring their legacies endure. This conversation bridges past and present struggles against politically motivated incarceration in the US, and will be a powerful reminder that the fight for freedom is continuous, ever-evolving, and necessary to the transformation of a just and free society.

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In an era of rising authoritarianism, media polarization, and attacks on voting rights, independent journalism plays a critical role in safeguarding democracy. This panel brings together two of the most incisive voices in political reporting—Zack Beauchamp and Ari Berman—to examine the challenges facing American democracy and the essential role of independent media in holding power to account. Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox, covers threats to democracy in the US and abroad, right-wing populism, and the ideological battles shaping our political landscape. His work, funded by the Pulitzer Center, has taken him to Israel and Hungary to report on democratic decline. His book, The Reactionary Spirit, explores the global rise of reactionary politics. Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and reporting fellow at Type Media Center, has spent years documenting voter suppression and the right-wing effort to undermine democratic representation. His latest book, Minority Rule, exposes the coordinated attacks on the will of the people and the ongoing fight to protect voting rights. Together, these journalists will discuss how independent media can counter disinformation, expose threats to democracy, and empower citizens to fight back.

Moderated by Shereen Marisol Meraji, this conversation will explore the intersection of journalism, activism, and the urgent struggle for a more just and representative democracy. Join us for a vital discussion on the power of truth in an era of democratic crisis.

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Making their literary entrance in insightful fiction debuts, the protagonists of this panel reckon with pasts that stretch beyond their own lifetimes. The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne spans eight generations of a Black family in West Tennessee, beginning with the story of Yetunde, who makes a deal with the Devil upon awakening aboard a slave ship en route to the United States. Yefim Shulman, a Ukrainian Jewish WWII veteran from Sasha Vasilyuk’s Your Presence Is Mandatory, also hides a dangerous lifelong secret from his family, which is revealed in a confession letter to the KGB discovered after his death, leaving his family to deal with the repercussions and attempt to find grace in the course of their survival. Too Soon, another generational novel, is Betty Shamieh’s snarky and heart-wrenching homage to Palestinian-American culture that analyzes the lasting impacts of arranged marriage on the lives of theatre director Arabella, her secret-hiding mother, and her matchmaking grandmother. How does our historical memory shape our political and emotional present? Sam Sax explores this question in Yr Dead, a queer, Jewish, diasporic coming of age story which unfolds in fragments of memory that flash in between the space of time when Ezra lights themself on fire and when Ezra dies, a poignant and lyrical look at their experiences that culminated in this final act of protest. Award-winning novelist Sylvia Brownrigg will moderate this evocative panel about generational stories, historical trauma, and the memories we leave behind.

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to showcase some of our featured authors of the 2025 festival.

Meet Carolina Ixta, who was part of our our Family Day programming on May 31st.

For more information, go to our website. baybookfest.org

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet two members of the Social Justice Children's Book Fair who have helped curate our Family Day programming on May 31st.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule is now live!!!! baybookfest.org

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet Wahab Algarmi, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule is now live!!!! baybookfest.org

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet Kinsale Drake, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule is now live!!!! baybookfest.org

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet Susan Lieu, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet micha cárdenas, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet Jon Hickey, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

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Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.

Meet Seema Yasmin, one of the festival speakers who you can see on May 31st at the Berkeley Public Library in Downtown Berkeley.

For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

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A.H. Kim, Emily B Rose, Taleen Voskuni, Dani Trujillo, Anita Gail Jones, moderated by Jeneé Darden

Join an engaging discussion on the art of crafting love stories with a diverse panel of acclaimed authors, whether their novels are shelved with literary fiction or romance. Panelists A.H. Kim (Relative Strangers, a contemporary Korean retelling of Sense and Sensibility), Emily B Rose (Call of the Sea, a genderbent, body-positive retelling of The Little Mermaid), Taleen Voskuni (Lavash at First Sight, an Armenian-American lesbian rom-com), Dani Trujillo (Lizards Hold the Sun, an Indigenous Rez romance), and Anita Gail Jones (The Peach Seed, celebrating 60+ Black love in Georgia) each bring their unique perspectives and storytelling prowess to the table, delving into the intricacies of writing love stories that reach beyond traditional narratives. Moderated by award-winning journalist, author, public speaker, and mental health advocate Jeneé Darden, this panel looks expansively at romance writing, from traditional tropes to contemporary narratives that reflect the complexities of modern relationships. This conversation considers romance and romance writing from multiple angles, including the meaning love stories hold for readers when we see representation, diversity of experience, and ways of writing about love that resonate with readers across genres and cultures.

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Traci Chee, Sarah Lariviere, Darcie Little Badger, Sandra Proudman, Brittany Williams, moderated by Laura Gao Daniel

Sometimes, the darkness can illuminate the imagination—especially in these beautifully wrought novels for teen readers. New York Times bestselling author Traci Chee’s gut-wrenching fantasy Kindling tells the tale of postwar “kindlings,” a corps of elite, magic-wielding warriors whose devastating power comes at the cost of their own young lives. Darcie Little Badger’s A Snake Falls to Earth, longlisted for the National Book Award and winner of the Newbery Award, is a breathtaking saga of Indigenous futurism that draws from the author’s knowledge of Lipan Apache storytelling. Sarah Lariviere’s Riot Act is an alternate history set in 1991 in which theatre kids fight for freedom of expression, while Brittany N. Williams (That Self-Same Metal) melds the world of fae with the grit and excitement of Shakespeare’s London acting troupe; and Sandra Proudman’s anthology Relit, featuring sixteen award-winning and bestselling YA authors, reimagines classic tales through fantasy and science fiction, anchored by a Latinx point of view. Moderated by Laura Gao.

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Faith Adiele, Bill Hing, Tessa Hulls, Lauren Markham, moderated by Tasneem Raja

Immigrant narratives span time, place, and genre to reach deeper universal truths. Four writers join in conversation to explore the many facets of immigrant narratives. Migration and immigration narratives are foundational to how we understand and celebrate culture, and these four panelists grapple with this central theme through various lenses—from Lauren Markham’s exploration of the criminalization of migration, to Tessa Hulls’ depiction of the immigrant experience through multiple generations of Chinese women, to Bill Hing’s analysis of the racial justice implications within the U.S. immigration system, to Faith Adiele’s personal reflections on identity and belonging as an immigrant. Moderated by Tasneem Raja (Berkeleyside), the conversation will venture into intergenerational trauma, social justice and adversity, and narrative form and genre-bending. This event highlights the deepest reflections on identity and belonging, and also celebrates the lasting meaning and social impact of representing immigrant experiences in literature.

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Greg Sarris in conversation with Jane Ciabattari

Join Greg Sarris, acclaimed author and tribal leader, in an engaging conversation with literary critic and interviewer Jane Ciabattari as they explore his latest work, The Forgetters. Don’t miss this insightful conversation between two literary luminaries about a book that is as thought-provoking as it is unforgettable.

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Naomi Klein in conversation with Brooke Warner

Join award-winning author, professor, filmmaker, and activist Naomi Klein in conversation about her latest book, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. Doppelganger offers a unique and dynamic perspective on the absurdity and complexity of our current political moment. Klein uses her own experience of being mistaken for “Other Naomi” (Naomi Wolf, the feminist intellectual turned anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist) as a springboard to explore what she calls the “mirror world,” where conspiracy theories, online paranoia, mimicking, and more are creating a far-right parallel universe that’s been all too tempting for Democrats to dismiss or ignore. With her signature intellectual rigor, Klein refuses to look the other way, and with genuine curiosity and desire to understand what fuels her doppelganger and other conspiracists, she flings herself into the underworld to shine light on its appeal and its real-world consequences. Klein is an associate professor in the department of geography at the University of British Columbia, the founding co-director of UBC’s Centre for Climate Justice, and an honorary professor of Media and Climate at Rutgers University. She is a columnist for The Guardian, and her writing has appeared in leading publications around the world. Klein will be in conversation with Brooke Warner, the Festival’s Board Chair and Publisher of She Writes Press. This is an exciting opportunity to hear one of our most influential social critics unpack and muse on the current political moment and the doubles that haunt us.

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Grace Loh Prasad, Sylvia Brownrigg, Leta McCollough Seletzky, Tarek El-Ariss, moderated by Piper Kerman

Moderated by Piper Kerman (Orange Is the New Black), four panelists share their process and experience of memoir as the telling of a true story, but also as a work of imagination. Our esteemed panelists, Grace Prasad (The Translator’s Daughter), Sylvia Brownrigg (The Whole Staggering Mystery), Leta McCollough Seletzky (The Kneeling Man), and Tarek El-Ariss (Water on Fire), have recently released memoirs that touch upon the authors’relationship to their parents—how they mourn them, imagine them, reconcile with them, and in the process, come to terms with themselves. Writing memoir is a process of self-understanding that also invites the reader into a context and a world that is by definition subjective. Our stories and personal agency can also be circumscribed by institutions and systemic pressures, which may in turn shape memory and imagination. Join this deep conversation about memory, lived experience, and how writers choose the stories they do in a journey of self-understanding, reinvention, and empathy.

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José Vadi, Brontez Purnell, Priscilla Wathington, Adrienne Chung, MC’d by Sam Sax

Come hear some of the Bay Area’s most dynamic poets with new collections of poetry and memoir. Panelists include Brontez Purnell, whose Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt is a wrenching, sexy, and exhilaratingly energetic memoir in genre-defying verse; Priscilla Wathington, whose debut chapbook, Paper & Stick, draws from her experiences as a Palestinian American and her past human rights and humanitarian work with NGOs such as Defense for Children International – Palestine; poet José Vadi, whose book, Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder’s Lens, is a memoir-in-essays that begins with wheels and a mere piece of wood—often chipped; and Adrienne Chung, whose debut collection, Organs of Little Importance, is a winner of the National Poetry Series that claps back at Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. The reading will be emceed by Sam Sax, author of Pig, a collection of poems that uses the humble animal as a lens to explore the body, faith, desire, and power.

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Amy Tan and Jonathan Lethem, moderated by Jane Ciabattari

Honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the National Book Critics Circle, this panel presents a beautiful range of voices representing some of the best and most beloved fiction writers of our times. First books by Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn) and Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club) won NBCC awards. The esteemed panelists will read from recent work and discuss the transformative nature of winning an NBCC award and their writing life since with moderator Jane Ciabattari, NBCC Vice President/Events.

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John King, Eric Porter, moderated by Bianca Taylor

Discover the Bay Area’s architectural gems through a narrative lens, as they unveil the intricate interplay of cultural, social, and technological forces. This panel showcases the authors of two captivating reads: John King, author of Portal, a vivid exploration of the Ferry Building’s rich history and symbolic significance, and Eric Porter, author of A People’s History of SFO, a compelling voyage through the ever-evolving landscape of San Francisco International Airport, beyond its terminals and tarmacs and into the ongoing struggle for regional equity. This panel promises to be as rich as the Bay Area culture and landscape itself, delving into the rise of activism, locally sourced food, globalization and climate change, and regional equity struggles. Moderated by Bianca Taylor (KQED), this conversation promises to unravel hidden narratives embedded within these iconic structures and to explore the insights they offer into our collective future challenges.

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J.K. Fowler of Bay Area Book Festival in conversation with Steve Wasserman of Heyday Books

The arts are widely underfunded at a time when we need meaning and connection more than ever. What can we do as writers, creatives, and community members? Support the Bay Area Book Festival

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Nancy Jooyoun Kim, Ritu Mukerji, Jason Powell, moderated by Heather Young

Moderated by thriller author Heather Young (The Distant Dead), this panel brings together novelists whose books center elements of crime, whether they’re shelved in mystery or literary fiction. Writer and firefighter Jason Powell’s debut novel, No Man’s Ghost, explores the psyches of those who fight fires and those who set them. Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s What We Kept To Ourselves is a historical novel about a Korean immigrant family grappling with the mystery of the mother’s disappearance, only to find a dead body in their yard somehow connected to her. An Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel, Ritu Mukerji’s Murder by Degrees is a historical mystery set in 19th-century Philadelphia, following a pioneering woman doctor as she investigates the disappearance of a young patient who is presumed dead. This panel brings to its audience an expansive celebration of crime fiction from exciting writers whose page-turning stories model why readers love these tales.

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Aida Salazar, Nikki Grimes, Mason Deaver, Dashka Slater, moderated by Mychal Threets

From 2021 to 2023, PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans recorded 5,894 instances of book bans across 41 states and 247 public school districts. The bans show no sign of slowing down, and they’re disproportionately aimed at authors of color, LGBTQ+ authors, and women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, and history are under particular attack. This conversation between some of today’s leading authors of books for young people—many of which tackle the subjects most often targeted for censorship—will examine how the issue impacts kids today and how we fight back. With Aida Salazar (Ultraviolet), Nikki Grimes (A Walk in the Woods), Mason Deaver (I Wish You All the Best) and Dashka Slater (Accountable). Moderated by celebrated public librarian and library advocate Mychal Threets.

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Myriam Gurba and Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Mean, and the recent essay collection, Creep, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award in criticism. Rojas Contreras’s dazzling debut memoir, The Man Who Could Move Clouds, explores her Colombian identity and reckons with the bounds of reality through an oral history that challenges Western notions of history and memory. The two authors will be in conversation, speaking to the urgency of writing our stories as we need to tell them, why there’s more space within creative nonfiction than Western traditions will have us believe, and why confronting oppression in our writing and in our lived experience is essential.

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Charlie Jane Anders, Aya de León, Sim Kern, Rebecca Roanhorse, moderated by Keya Chatterjee

Climate fiction is a unique way to approach the climate crisis through both real and imagined endings and beginnings. This panel, moderated by author and activist Keya Chatterjee, explores why writers are drawn to climate fiction (Cli-Fi), and what they hope to achieve through the genre. Charlie Jane Anders has been writing climate novels for nearly a decade. She is the international bestselling Cli-Fi author of the fantasy YA novel, Promises Stronger Than Darkness. Award-winning author Aya de León writes CliFi in the form of thrillers, heists, spy novels, and dramas set in the contemporary real world of the African Diaspora. New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse is an Indigenous novelist reshaping North American science fiction. Her most recent book, Mirrored Heavens, is the conclusion to her critically acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy.. Sim Kern’s new book, The Free People’s Village, is a YA sci-fi/CliFi alternate history of our time. Come find out how each of these author’s journeys into the climate crisis in fiction can help us chart our path out of it in reality.

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Sonya Renee Taylor, moderated by Cinnamongirl Kailynn and Cinnamongirl Symone

An empowering conversation with one of the world’s most inspirational activists and thought leaders writing and speaking today. You’ll want to bring your daughters, sons, their friends, and your friends to hear the radically powerful message of Sonya Renee Taylor, revolutionary founder of The Body Is Not an Apology, a global digital media and education company exploring the intersections of identity, healing, and social justice through the framework of radical self-love. The author of the bestselling book by the same name and six more, Taylor will be in conversation with the extraordinary young women of Cinnamongirl Inc, Kailynn and Symone.

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Rebecca Roanhorse and Dani Trujillo, moderated by Kristina M Canales

A not-to-be-missed conversation between Indigenous horror writers Rebecca Roanhorse and D.H. Trujillo, both of whom are featured in Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology. This groundbreaking book celebrates Indigenous resistance by highlighting themes of magic, tradition, ancestry, family, and cultural rediscovery. Making connections between horror and settler colonialism, the collection dares to ask the question: “Are you ready to be un-settled?” Both authors are known for their important contributions to speculative fiction, blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror with Indigenous storytelling traditions. This genre-bending approach has earned them both a loyal following as they continue to captivate readers’ imaginations in ways that push the boundaries of conventional stories. Moderated by lifelong reader, writer, and gaymer Kristina Canales.

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Viet Thanh Nguyen, Piper Kerman, Alka Joshi, moderated by Laura Warrell

Turning a beloved book into a compelling film or series is a journey filled with creative collaboration, financial considerations, script development, casting decisions, and years of meticulous preparation. For the authors at the center of these adaptation journeys, it also involves roadblocks, setbacks, near misses, and plot twists, with lessons about letting go of control and outcome. This all-star panel brings us three celebrated authors whose books have been or are being adapted for a viewing audience. Piper Kerman’s internationally renowned memoir, Orange Is the New Black, about her time in a women’s prison, became one of Netflix’s most watched and longest-running series. Pulitzer Prize-winning Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel, The Sympathizer, the story of a Vietnamese communist double agent who infiltrates the South Vietnamese army and later moves to the United States, is now one of the most anticipated series to hit HBO this year. Alka Joshi’s New York Times bestseller, The Henna Artist, centering a young woman who escapes an abusive marriage to build a new life for herself in the vibrant city of Jaipur in the 1950s, is in development with Netflix. This exciting panel offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what adaptation is really like—the surprises, delights, and disappointments of having one’s work reimagined; the power of screen adaptations to reach much broader audiences; and insights into the differences between storytelling on the page and storytelling on the screen. Don't miss this rare opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the fascinating world of book-to-screen adaptations from the perspective of these three acclaimed and beloved authors as they discuss the intricate dance between words and images, imagination and interpretation, in a discussion that promises to be as enlightening as it is inspiring.

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R.O. Kwon, Brontez Purnell, Sam Sax, moderated by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Join us for a captivating panel discussion moderated by author Lucy Jane Bledsoe (author of Tell the Rest and No Stopping Us Now) and featuring three acclaimed writers—R.O. Kwon, Brontez Purnell, and Sam Sax—as they delve into the rich and complex terrain of sexuality, desire, and queerness in literature. From candid reflections on personal experiences to incisive analyses of societal norms and cultural representations, this conversation promises to be both inviting and thought-provoking. R.O. Kwon, author of the bestselling novel The Incendiaries, has recently published Exhibit, an exploration of art, racism, feminism, and desire. Brontez Purnell, author of Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt, brings his unique blend of humor, wit, and raw honesty to this conversation. Sam Sax, acclaimed poet and author of Madness, offers insights from his exploration of desire and mental health in his poetry, and the power of language to articulate the complexities of desire and queerness. All of these authors’ work illuminate the ways in which literature can serve as a vehicle for grappling with questions of desire, longing, and belonging. Don’t miss this chance to engage with writers whose commitment to storytelling makes room for anyone who desires, loves, or lives outside of the heteronormative binary.

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Sara Calvosa Olson in conversation with Terria Smith

Sara Calvosa Olson is a food writer and editor exploring the intersections of storytelling, Indigenous food systems, security, sovereignty, reconnection, and recipe development. Olson’s maternal ancestry is from the Karuk tribe whose lands are part of northwest California, and her new book, Chími Nu’am: Native California Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen, aims to help integrate more traditional ingredients into everyday recipes. Chími Nu’am, which translates to “Let’s eat!” in the Karuk language, is a seasonal guide to gathering, processing, and cooking with Indigenous foods. The book speaks to a variety of audiences—Indigenous readers hoping to embrace cultural foods and non-Indiginous readers interested in ethical ways to decolonize their diets. Olson emphasizes reciprocity and offers Native Californian traditional ingredients with a modern-day twist. Terria Smith, a tribal member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and the editor of News from Native California magazine as well as the director of the Berkeley Roundhouse, Heyday’s California Indian publishing program, will moderate.

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Joan Baez in conversation with Greg Sarris

Ground-breaking Mexican-American musician, artist, and activist Joan Baez joins accomplished writer, professor, and tribal leader Chairman Greg Sarris in a conversation about writing, creating, and legacy. Sarris is co-executive producer of Joan Baez: I Am A Noise, a deeply personal, profound, and haunting documentary that follows Baez on her 2018 Fare Thee Well goodbye tour and explores memory and abuse through home videos, journal entries, photographs, and therapy tapes. In a continued pursuit of an “honest legacy,” Baez’s debut poetry collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, is an intimate and inspiring meditation on her most life-changing moments as an artist. Through never-before-seen poems, Baez reminisces on family, childhood, nature, art, as well as her contemporaries such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix. Greg Sarris is an author, producer, and playwright, and he is serving his sixteenth term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. His most recent play, Citizen, debuted at San Francisco’s Word for Word theater, and his new book, The Forgetters, remembers shared histories and caring for the world. Come listen to these two legendary artists as they discuss creating across genres and forms, the power of vulnerability and detail, and writing into memory, family, finding connection and hope, and moving on.

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Christina Gerhardt, Manjula Martin, Rosanna Xia, Jade S. Sasser, moderated by Maddie Oatman

Join this essential and urgent conversation that examines the changing physical and cultural landscapes of the climate crisis. This panel centers one of the most pressing issues of our times and brings together in conversation four panelists who have written in depth aboutclimate change and its impacts on both the natural environment and human communities. Manjula Martin, Rosanna Xia, Jade Sasser, and Christina Gerhardt approach this topic from different angles, whether it’s through the lens of wildfires in Northern California (Martin), sea level rise along the West Coast (Xia), reproductive anxiety in the face of an uncertain future (Sasser), or the plight of low-lying island nations in the face of rising oceans (Gerhardt). They all shed light on the disproportionate burden of environmental degradation borne by marginalized communities and advocate for approaches to climate action that prioritize equity and justice. Moderated by Maddie Oatman, a senior editor and writer at Mother Jones, this conversation promises to be an urgent call to action that includes equitable climate solutions and addresses how all of us can foster dialogue for a better way forward.

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Steve Phillips, Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, Maurice Mitchell, moderated by Lateefah Simon

In 2024, the threat of authoritarianism is greater than ever before. Yet our nation also has the potential to become a genuine multiracial democracy. How can we help tip the scale? Steve Phillips is a national political leader, bestselling author, and columnist. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Brown Is the New White. His latest book, How We Win the Civil War, charts the way forward for those who wish to build a multiracial democracy and rid our nation of white supremacy once and for all. . He will be in conversation with two veteran political organizers, Ash-Lee Henderson, Co-Executive Director of The Highlander Center, which serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South, with a background in fighting for workers, reproductive justice, LGBTQUIA+ folks, environmental justice, and more, and Maurice Mitchell, a visionary leader in the Movement for Black Lives, and National Director of the Working Families Party. Moderated by Lateefah Simon, this urgent conversation is the reframe that many of us have been hungering for, to move us from anxiety to action. These big-picture thinkers can help us leverage our ostensibly limited voting options into a visionary electoral strategy that can change the game.

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Ramona Ausubel, Mary Otis, and Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, moderated by Jasmin Darznik Relationships between mothers and daughters can be fraught or fruitful—especially for fiction writers. Bring your mom, or your daughter—you might find common ground through some fabulous new fiction in this session.

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With the support of California College of the Arts MFA Writing program

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Anthony Cody and Paisley Rekdal, moderated by Tess Taylor Many of us, when faced by stacks of dusty old documents, might leave the work to the archivists—or consign the mess to the recycling bin of history. In this session, we'll hear from those who instead look at archives and envision poetry. Poet Paisley Rekdal vividly documents how the heroic narrative of the transcontinental railroad is intertwined with the history of Chinese exclusion. Anthony Cody centers on the ongoing legacy of trauma along the US–Mexico border after the end of the Mexican–American War.

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Katy Hays, Marcie R. Rendon, and Brendan Slocumb, moderated by Laurie R. King Not even the rarified realms of art are safe in the imaginations of these writers, where intrigue lurks even in the concert hall or the museum.

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With support from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria

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Chenxing Han, interviewed by Faith Adiele

We instantly fell in love with Chenxing Han’s "one long listening: a memoir of grief, friendship, and spiritual care." A hospital chaplain and caregiver in the making, Han journeys from a mountaintop monastery in Taiwan to oncology wards in San Francisco, from oceanside Ireland to riverfront Phnom Penh. The book's short chapters alternate among narrative, reflections, letters to a dying friend, memories of a migratory childhood, and wry twists and hilarious footnotes everywhere.

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Jonathan Escoffery, Tsering Yangzom Lama, and Jens Liljestrand, moderated by Leslie Carol Roberts

Here's your chance to meet three astonishingly talented young authors, from around the world, at the beginning of their careers—you'll be able to boast that you saw them when! In addition to learning about their new works, we'll hear about these debut authors' paths to publication and heed their advice to aspiring authors.

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Forrest Gander and Olivia E. Sears, moderated by CJ Evans

Voltaire once claimed, "It is impossible to translate poetry. Can you translate music?" If that's true, these talented translators have certainly achieved the impossible—in this session, they'll share insights into how they did so. Olivia Sears and Forrest Gander will read from their translations and also engage in conversation—moderated by CJ Evans, poet and editorial director of Two Lines Press—about the unique (if not impossible) challenges and rewards that poetry grants the translator.

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Cory Doctorow, interviewed by Glynn Washington

In cyber-security, the red team plays attack; the blue team plays defense. Martin Hench, the protagonist of Cory Doctorow’s latest too close to home for comfort thriller, Red Team Blues, was born to play attack. Doctorow’s novels are always feasts for the imagination, and this one is no different. It's jam-packed with cutting-edge ideas, twists and turns, and characters you won’t be able to not care about. In conversation with Doctorow will be Glynn Washington, creator and host of NPR’s Snap Judgment.

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Jamil Jan Kochai, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, and Susanne Pari, moderated by Lance Knobel

Stories transcend borders, build bridges across cultural divides, and foster empathy. Join Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Jamil Jan Kochai, and Susanne Pari to explore themes of identity, displacement, and the impact of historical events on individual lives.

With the support of SACHI

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K-Ming Chang, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Brandon Hobson, moderated by Rita Chang-Eppig

At times in these accomplished writers' fiction, the boundaries between the spirit world and the "real world" grow porous or indiscernible, in ways that expand realities and excite readers' imaginations. Woven throughout all of these masterful works of fiction is a reverence for the resonant power of ancient and mysterious tales and spirits.

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Ava Chin, Fae Myenne Ng, and Paisley Rekdal, moderated by Kathryn Ma

The Chinese exclusion era started in 1882 and ended (at least on paper) some sixty years later, but, as the authors in this session profoundly reveal, its echoes still reverberate from coast to coast.

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Jessica Johns, Nick Medina, Marcie R. Rendon, and Margaret Verble, moderated by Melissa Stoner

These Native American and First Nations authors have published exciting new works in the genres of mysteries, thrillers, psychological horror, and historical suspense. How do these writers incorporate historical and current crises—such as the disappearances of Native women or the atrocities of child separation—into their work? How do their novels re-appropriate racist stereotypes? And how does their fiction shape perceptions of contemporary Indigenous communities among Native and non-Native audiences alike?

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Rina Ayuyang, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Jane Smiley, moderated by Blaise Zerega

The sweeping landscapes of the American West offer writers a broad canvas on which to set epic stories. Three masterful storytellers will transport us through the rich and complex history of California and Colorado as only the best fiction can.

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Kathryn Ma, Cecilia Rabess, and Erik Tarloff, moderated by Michael Shapiro

They say it's easier to make people cry than to make them laugh—in this session, we'll put that theory to the test with three authors who effectively deploy humor in their recent and forthcoming novels. In this craft-focused session, we'll engage deeply with each author's writing, first doing a close reading of specific passages that exemplify their brand of humor and then learning more about how that comedic sensibility informs the totality of the work.

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Darwin BondGraham, Neil Gross, and Ali Winston, moderated by Laura Wenus

From the Panthers to the Riders, Oakland is ground zero for legitimately questioning the very fabric of cop culture. In this session, investigative duo Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, and Colby College sociology professor Neil Gross will present perspectives from individuals who have thoroughly reported on, studied, and worked with populations affected by cop culture, and have ideas about how to enact reform.

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Leslie Absher, Eric Newton, and Leta Seletzky, moderated by Sylvia Brownrigg

We often find ourselves looking back on our parents’ lives to understand our own place in the world. Join the acclaimed Sylvia Brownrigg as she guides authors Leslie Absher, Leta Seletzky, and Eric Newton through this excavation into how the lives of our fathers may offer insight into our own; it’s really only once the digging starts that the real questions come to the surface.

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Rita Cameron, Carmen Kennedy, Amanda Mei Kim, J. Michael Martinez, and Keenan Norris, moderated by Alan Soldofsky

What does it take to get beyond outlines and sh*tty first drafts to a finished manuscript? And, from there, how do you make it across the finish line to publication? Five San José State University faculty members, students, and Steinbeck Fellows with new or forthcoming books will retrace their own publication journeys and inspire you to chase your second (or third) wind in a session that offers equal parts practical advice and writerly motivation.

Sponsored by the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San José State University

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Patricia Quintana Bidar, K-Ming Chang, Grant Faulkner, Molly Giles, Nicole Simonsen, Kara Vernor, hosted by Kirstin Chen and Jane Ciabattari

There's an art to writing a (very) short story, one that includes a captivating opening, a dynamic middle, and a surprising ending—often using fewer words than we're including in this session description. We've brought several authors of flash fiction together for a big celebration of small stories.

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Yohanca Delgado, Jonathan Leal, Antonio López, Ricardo Jaramillo, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon, moderated by Heather Partington

These days, when Goodreads reviews and social media takedowns outnumber dwindling book review publications and shrinking newspaper book pages, what role does professional criticism still play, and how can aspiring critics best prepare to engage in the literary discourse? In this session, recent members of The National Book Critics Circle's Emerging Critics Fellowship will reflect on their own development as critics and discuss what the next generation of book critics will bring to the table.

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In partnership with the National Book Critics Circle.

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Jerry Emory, Dean King, and McKenzie Long, moderated by Toby McLeod

Place is political, especially when it comes to defining and defending public lands. Come hear three fascinating stories of places worth fighting for—and the people committed to preserving them.

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Dorothee Elmiger and Jori Lewis, moderated by Ariana Proehl

Jori Lewis traces both natural and human history as she reveals the long and tortured story of the peanut's entanglement with human bondage. Swiss author Dorothee Elmiger's protagonist (also named Dorothee Elmiger) is an archivist, an obsessive collector of objects related to the violent history of the global sugar trade, which unfolds through a kaleidoscopic narrative that's as intellectually engaged as it is self-reflexive.

With the support of the Center for the Art of Translation

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Ingrid Rojas Contreras, K.M. Soehnlein, and Preeti Vangani, moderated by Dave Madden

Sponsored by University of San Francisco MFA in Writing program

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Lily Chu, Claire Kann, Amy Spalding, and Taleen Voskuni, moderated by Jasmine Guillory

The course of true love never did run smooth," and nowhere is that truer than in contemporary romantic comedies, where creative roadblocks make the journey to Happily Ever After endlessly entertaining, and the destination that much sweeter.

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David Fenton, interviewed by Monika Bauerlein

How can activists create social change today? For starters, they need to be really good storytellers. David Fenton, one of the most effective progressive communicators of the past fifty years, has penned a remarkable book—part rollercoaster memoir, part guidebook—that distills lessons from his experience shaping some of history’s most impactful social movements.

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Andrew Alden and Clare Frank, hosted by John King

Northern California is home to countless compelling stories—in this session, authors of nonfiction books—on geology and wildfires—each get twelve minutes to share one with you.

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Cory Doctorow interviewed by Wendy Liu

Renowned sci-fi author and activist Cory Doctorow has come to the festival to tell a story that we sure wish was science fiction or fantasy. Do you know what the royalties are for the authors with books at this festival, or how much do musicians get paid every time you play their songs on Spotify? How exactly does the opaque film and TV industry work? Prepare to be fascinated, informed, shocked, and activated by this discussion around one of the most important books of the decade, “Chokepoint Capitalism.”

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Erica Berry, Tom Comitta, and Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, moderated by Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí

Readers of fiction (too) often gloss over description of nature, but this session invites readers to really pay attention to nature writing, in all its marvelous variety. Set aside your human concerns for an hour and immerse yourself in the beautiful urgency of nature writing.

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With the support of SACHI

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Margot Douaihy, Catriona McPherson, T. Jefferson Parker, and Kwei Quartey, moderated by Laurie R. King

Get ready to pack your bags—but keep an eye on your passport, your valuables, and your own neck because the global destinations depicted in these mysteries and thrillers are positively perilous! Whether you're headed out on your own global adventures this summer or just plan to do some armchair traveling, these talented novelists are here to wish you bon voyage . . . and to advise you to watch your back.

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Ilyon Woo, interviewed by Dorothy Lazard

Scholars of American history have uncovered and recounted countless remarkable stories of the courage and resourcefulness of enslaved and formerly enslaved people. But it's no exaggeration to say that the one Ilyon Woo relates in her new book is, as Imani Perry writes, "one of the most important stories of American slavery and freedom." Join accomplished researcher and brilliant storyteller Ilyon Woo for an unforgettable journey through, as Marlon James calls it, one of "the truly great American stories."

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Sponsored by the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation

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Kirstin Chen, Brendan Slocumb, and Kyla Zhao, moderated by Cheryl Popp

This one's an ode to the grifters, the con artists, the scammers: the characters who would gleefully pull one over on you—and probably get away with it, too. Even if the characters they depict are complicated (to put it mildly), there's one thing we know for sure—these authors are the real deal.

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Alexandra Petri, interviewed by Joe Garofoli

Alexandra Petri is no stranger to making history—she became the youngest-ever columnist for the Washington Post. Now she casts her withering glance backward, compiling "historical fan fiction" that includes essential chronicles such as John and Abigail Adams's experiments in sexting. If you're a student of history, you emphatically won't want to use Petri's book as a primary source—but this conversation with Alexandra Petri will give you a brand-new way to look (and laugh) at our nation's complicated past.

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With the support of SACHI

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Marie Lu in conversation with Alisha Rai

Falling in love is always a rush—even more so when if you and your sexy sidekick are being chased by mobsters . . . or chasing them down yourselves. Talented authors Marie Lu and Alisha Rai really ramp up the adrenaline and the attraction—one way or another, this session will have your heart racing!.

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With the support of SACHI

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Adam Hochschild, introduced by Monika Bauerlein

In American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis, award-winning historian and journalist Adam Hochschild brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring four years following the U.S. entry into the First World War, spotlighting forgotten repression while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country—and showing how their struggles still guide us today.

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Roxanna Asgarian and Garrett Therolf, moderated by David Barstow

Roxanna Asgarian is joined by Garrett Therolf of the Investigative Reporting Program at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism to discuss, among other factors, the racial biases and corruption that placed children in positions of profound peril. Their conversation will be moderated by David Barstow, the Reva and David Logan Distinguished Chair in Investigative Journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

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Tsering Yangzom Lama, interviewed by Cherilyn Parsons

Very few novels by Tibetans have been translated into English and published in the United States. So we’re fortunate that award-winning writer Tsering Yangzom Lama, who lives in Canada, is joining us to discuss her gorgeous, fascinating debut novel, We Measure the Earth with our Bodies.

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With the support of the Consulate General of Canada San Francisco/Silicon Valley

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Nicole Chung, interviewed by Brooke Warner

Nicole Chung follows up her exquisite debut with a wrenching new memoir, written in the wake of her mother's death from cancer in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Readers will find both sorrow and solace in her open-hearted new book.

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Bay Area Book Festival Podcast: Recent Episodes

Bay Area Book Festival