Litquake

*WRITE* US IN!

is holding a poll on "What the best San Francisco event?" Answer: L-I-T-Q-U-A-K-E! Their list of go-to's is screaming for a book-ish option, no?

Vote here:

S.F. Chronicle poll: What's the best San Francisco event? Rank the following events in order of your preference. You may rank as many events as you like. You may also leave events unranked. Do not select more than 1 event for a rank. Your vote in that rank and later ranks will not count. Do not select more than 1 rank for the same event. Your vote can be c...

13-'14: 10+ years ago! Litquake 2013 featured a funky steampunk theme and special guest author Jean Christophe Valtat. We're nearing the final lap of Litquake Rewind where we dig through festivals of yesteryear for your (and our) enjoyment. Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with us.

Z Space Make-Out Room

Congrats to the local writers and Litquake alums (and/or soon to be's 😉) Colin Barrett, Rita Bullwinkel, Rachel Kushner, and Tommy Orange on making the Booker prize longlist, which means they are one step closer to winning one of the most influential prizes for a single work of fiction. A huge honor in itself! The Booker Prizes

Yesterday morning, a fire destroyed the building housing Oakland's beloved East Bay Booksellers and several other businesses. East Bay Booksellers has been a home to literature and the arts for the past 30 years, and we mourn the loss of a space that has provided endless joy and connection to the Bay Area community. We encourage those who can donate to the GoFundMe at the link in our bio to support the East Bay Booksellers team as they rebuild.❤️

Donate to Help East Bay Booksellers Come Back!, organized by brad johnson On Tuesday morning July 30th, 2024 the building housing East Bay Booksellers burned … brad johnson needs your support for Help East Bay Booksellers Come Back!

'11-'12: It might have been the final years of the Mayan calendar and a John Cusack vehicle, but Litquake kept on cranking. We gathered everybody and everything from mariachi to Ishmael Reed to The Great Gatsby in a great big literary hug. Apocalypse? No thanks.

Jane Ganahl Chelsea Handler W. Kamau Bell

'09-'10: Ah, back when we only ran a piddly little less-than-100-events festival...and not an it's-so-big-why-is-it-so-big?! festival plus a gaggle of year-round ventures: a community-building project for seniors, several dozen year-round events, a podcast.

We're zeroing in on this October's 25th anniversary Litquake Festival lineup, and it's gonna be a doozy. Current mantra: "Be one with the grind."

New LitCast episode! https://buff.ly/3wa57H2

How They Did It: High-Stakes Memoir Ep. #144

Writing anything for public consumption is an act of bravery, but writing memoir and autobiography requires next-level courage. How can you share a true story that demands to be told—even if it might harm relationships, revisit trauma, unearth secrets—and portray your own life honestly and vulnerably, without the benefit of an Instagram filter?

In the this “How They Did It” conversation, co-presented by Litquake and and recorded at Page Street Co-Working, we’ll hear from five intrepid authors of recent memoirs, all of whom took the heroic step of committing their fascinating stories to the page. (Advocate), (The Whole Staggering Mystery), (Starry Field), (The Manicurist's Daughter), and (Another Word for Love) bravely unfurl stories of family, memory, ambition, healing, and love. Our moderator is (The Lost Night). What did they risk on the page? What, if anything, do they regret? And how can they stir other would-be memoirists to take up the mantel of bravery and write their stories, no matter the stakes?

Thanks to everyone who came out to last week's SongWriter with Emmy- and Peabody-winning television host and producer, comedian, and bestselling author W. Kamau Bell. It was magical to see Las Cafeteras transform Kamau's work into original music. AND THEN to hear Kamau and Las Cafeteras, alongside SongWriter host Ben Arthur and social psychologist Gabriel, discuss identity, home, and collective effervescence. WHAT A NIGHT!

Join us next time at KQED Live!
Photo credit: Alain McLaughlin/KQED

What Great Recession?! We're not 100% sure, but from these pics it looks like Litquake was single-handedly keeping the US economy afloat amidst rough seas in 2007 & 2008. You're welcome!

Has your Norton Anthology been gathering dust since your undergrad days? Have you forgotten the difference between an anapest and a trochee (if you ever knew)? It's time to hit the books and brush up on your knowledge of literature: from A.A. Milne to ZYZZYVA.

Form a team with up to six players (or we'll match you up with some other Dickensian Orphans if you're coming solo), and compete for prizes from Litquake, San Francisco Public Library, Green Apple Books, Shotgun Players, Saintsbury Winery, and many more! Our host for the evening is journalist, author, public speaker, and game show fan Jeneé Darden.

Prizes will be awarded to the three highest-scoring teams, as well as the team with the best team name. Tickets will support the Litquake Foundation in our 25th year of presenting literary events throughout the Bay Area. Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Gilman Brewing and Joyride Pizza. $20 per person

Tickets here: https://buff.ly/3VTQJve

Litquake Literary Pub Trivia Grab up to five of your most bookish friends and compete for prizes in this epic game of literary trivia to benefit Litquake.

My Dinner With...Jane Smiley
Saturday, August 3, 6–9 pm
A private home in Berkeley

In prior novels, Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley has taken readers from an Iowa farm to the heart of Paris, from nineteenth-century Monterey to twenty-first century Hollywood. Now, in Lucky, Smiley invites readers onto the tour bus with folk rocker Jodie Rattler, in a gorgeously adventurous coming-of-age story that’s infused with romance and the 1970s music scene. We can’t wait to hear the dinner music playlist for this one!

Join us for another intimate dinner in support of our 25th anniversary year. We promise delicious food, dazzling conversation, delectable wine provided by Saintsbury Winery, and lots of laughs! Space extremely limited!

Tickets here: https://buff.ly/4bEjGBl

Intimate Dinner with Jane Smiley Check out Intimate Dinner with Jane Smiley by Litquake Foundation!

In early April, we celebrated with a reading from students, alumni, and faculty at In this episode, you’ll hear from Tracey Abeyta, a current Institute student pursuing a MFA in Fiction; alumna Jennifer Elise Foerster; recent IAIA graduate, Ibe Liebenberg; and Deborah Jackson Taffa, the director of the MFA Creative Writing program at IAIA.

Download or listen most anywhere you find your podcasts...or at https://buff.ly/3wa57H2

Last week at Litquake:
Griffin Dunne with Tobias Wolff at Green Apple Books on the Park for Dunne's book tour for The Friday Afternoon Club, a memoir of growing up among larger-than-life characters in Hollywood and Manhattan that finds wicked humor and glimmers of light in even the most painful of circumstances

How They Did it: Bio Fic—nearly a full house at Page Street Writers space in Berkeley this past weekend to mark our latest How They Did It series. Thanks to all who came out to the series this spring!

My Dinner With...—happy diners helped fundraise for Litquake Festival 2024 while hanging with Joyce Maynard on the night before the pub date of her latest novel The Best of Us. What a night! Thanks for the support. More My Dinner With dinners upcoming this summer with Jane Smiley, Annalee Newitz, and Daniel Handler.

Litquake 2005-2006 saw big, big shows decked out in mid-aughts fashion, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous HOWL reading, Allen Ginsberg's first public exhibition of the poem, alongside some of the original lineup and fresher faces of SF's literary scene. A still nascent Lit Crawl San Francisco began to bloom nicely – and anarchically – all over the Mission.

Pic 1: devorah major at HOWL 50th
Pic 2: Dan the Automator
Pic 3: Michael McClure & Peter Coyote
Pic 4: Ray Mazarek (The Doors)
Pic 5: Andrew Sean Greer & Armistead Maupin
Pic 6: 50th anniversary of the HOWL reading
Pic 7: Anne LaMott, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Peter Place & unknown outside of City Lights
Pics 8-10: Lit Crawl SF!

Litquake Festival 2024 EARLY RELEASE! Join us for...

Jenny Slate: LIFEFORM Tour
Sunday October 27 • 7:30pm
Palace of Fine Arts · 3601 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Spend an evening of nearly impossible-to-describe strangeness, whimsy, and hilarity with the one and only, Jenny Slate. As she reads you pieces from Lifeform—her brand new book of essays—join Jenny on a journey through all of the relatable phases of life from heartbreak to true love to pregnancy, parenthood, not to mention all of the tiny, odd details that make up a life.

The actor, comedian, co-creator of Marcel the Shell, and New York Times bestselling author will host an evening complete with a live reading, a moderated conversation, and an audience Q&A. Tickets to this event will also include a signed copy of Lifeform.

Access Book Festival Presale NOW with code LIFEFORM24 at https://buff.ly/45Ms9RF

So great to have Joyce Maynard for our My Dinner With... series in San Francisco the night before her pub date! Congrats, Joyce! And thanks to all those who wined and dined to help fundraiser for Litquake 2024!

More My Dinner With... fundraiser dinners upcoming with Daniel Handler Annalee Newitz and Jane Smiley!

Tickets at https://www.litquake.org/mydinnerwith.html

It’s publication day for How the Light Gets In. I’ve waited a LONG time to share this book with you.

Last night I drove over the SFBay bridge to the home of a couple I did not know: Karyn DiGiogio and Steve Sattler, who hosted a fundraising dinner in support of a terrific group here in the Bay Area called Litquake , that celebrates books and writers and readers.

We shared a fabulous meal with a view of the bay and the boats going out and talked about… oh, you name it.

Everyone went home with a copy of How the Light Gets In. I went home with new friends.

Stories do that. They connect us.

(Look closely and you’ll see Coit Tower behind us.)

Seven New Humanities for All Project Grants Receive $174,405 To Support Community Storytelling in California - California Humanities California Humanities is proud to announce its latest Humanities for All Project Grant awards totaling $174,405 to seven nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the state.

My Dinner With...
6-9pm
Private homes in SF & Berkeley
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Want to be among the first to spend more precious time with Joyce Maynard’s beloved characters? Would you like to talk folk music and fame with Jane Smiley? Or are you prepared to hear from journalist Annalee Newitz about how the techniques of storytelling have been weaponized? Or to learn about Daniel Handler’s own journey as a master storyteller (sold out!)?

Here’s your chance. Check out the link below for tickets.

My Dinner With Intimate evenings with authors to benefit the Litquake Foundation.

How They Did It: Biographical Fiction
Sunday June 23 · 3pm
Page Street Co-Writing · 2508 San Pablo Ave Berkeley, CA 94702
co-presented by LitCamp
$25 tix at https://buff.ly/3UyGRYr

Novelist Louisa Treger once called biographical fiction "the lie through with truth can emerge." In the third of our "How They Did It" series, we'll hear from four talented novelists who have blended fact with their fiction, with dazzling results. Novelist Jasmin Darznik, who has written biographical fiction about Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad and photographer Dorothea Lange, will moderate a wide-ranging conversation with novelists Karen Joy Fowler (author of the Booker longlisted Booth), Dawn Tripp (author of national bestseller Georgia and her latest novel, Jackie), and Gail Tsukiyama (author of Bright Star, about the Hollywood trailblazer Anna May Wong)

How They Did It: Biographical Fiction We'll hear from four talented novelists who have blended fact with their fiction, with dazzling results.

Our Elder Project helps fight isolation among Bay Area seniors by bringing creative writing and storytelling workshops to retirement communities in San Francisco and Oakland.

Every year, we publish an anthology of our elder students’ writing. We are excited to share that for the first time ever, a professionally bound edition is available at ! The book includes writing from students at Downtown Oakland Senior Center, George Davis Senior Center, San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living, and Community Living Campaign.

Interested in attending Elder Project classes? Email [email protected]!

Win Tickets to SongWriter Live at KQED Headquarters Win Tickets to SongWriter Live w/ Susan Orlean + Diana Gameros at The Commons, KQED Headquarters, June 13, 2024 on DoTheBay

The pandemic taught us many lessons. For many, the experience of isolation and loneliness felt unfamiliar. For seniors, however, loneliness is a growing epidemic often exacerbated by lack of access to services, health issues, or major life changes.

Support Litquake’s Elder Project fight against isolation and help build community through writing and storytelling in senior communities around the Bay: https://buff.ly/3Nbkjqe

Elder Project is a place to share laughter, tears, fears, joys, and all the stories that make up a life. New friendships develop in classes with participants gathering outside their weekly meetings. And all participants feel seen and heard in their weekly sharing.

Classes are held online for those who for mobility or health prefer to stay home, or in gatherings at senior facilities around the Bay. Writing prompts, music, and photos elicit trips down memory lane and offer a chance to revisit forgotten moments or rejoice in recent experiences. Empowered and inspired by their found community, some even go on to publish their work widely and read alongside dance companies, reading series, and performance groups.

Last year, Litquake’s Elder Project reached 170 seniors in five facilities. In 2024, we’re gearing up to add classes at two additional community sites, but we need your help to guarantee these classes can become a staple for these new elder students for years to come.

Help make this dream a reality and create connections and richness for elders in their later years!

Litquake Foundation Litquake, San Francisco's Literary Festival

How They Did It: Biographical Fiction
Sunday June 23 · 3pm
Page Street Co-Writing · 2508 San Pablo Ave Berkeley, CA 94702
co-presented by LitCamp
$25 tix at https://buff.ly/3UyGRYr

Novelist Louisa Treger once called biographical fiction "the lie through with truth can emerge." In the third of our "How They Did It" series, we'll hear from four talented novelists who have blended fact with their fiction, with dazzling results. Novelist Jasmin Darznik, who has written biographical fiction about Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad and photographer Dorothea Lange, will moderate a wide-ranging conversation with novelists Karen Joy Fowler (author of the Booker longlisted Booth), Dawn Tripp (author of national bestseller Georgia and her latest novel, Jackie), and Gail Tsukiyama (author of Bright Star, about the Hollywood trailblazer Anna May Wong).

In 2003 and 2004, Litquake grew beyond its original one-day bounds and singular venue. Now a whole week in October and all over the city, we looked for more ways to do a book festival the San Francisco-way. Cue the first Lit Crawl in '04, an immediate, oddball success. We didn't know how the Mission or literary community would take to its then pretty unconventional concept. No books for sale. Everything for free. Local presses, writing groups, mags, zines—everything in bars, alleys, furniture stores, laundromats, adult toy boutiques. It strays far from the typical book festival setup—nothing corpo, no conference center with rows of exhibitor booths under fluorescent lights, no stanchioned lines of fans waiting 45 minutes to get a book signed. Just local voices for local people, the truest celebration of what this community has to give. Long live the Crawl!

Pic 1: Amy Tan performs with her author-supergroup, the Rock Bottom Remainders. Pic 2: Poet Kim Addonizio Pic 3: Iris Chang, RIP. Pic 4: First Lit Crawl out front of a vacuum repair store. Pic 5: Bright lights, big crowd for Porchlight Storytelling.