Few other species turn on their own members with the ferocity that human beings demonstrate. Our historical path is strewn with warfare, torture, mass murder and the abuse of women and children. Is it inherent our genes? Our souls? In the shapes of our societies? And is there any promise of improvement?

Get a taste of Berkeleyside’s stimulating, annual Uncharted Festival of Ideas (every October). See your surroundings afresh, understand the neurobiological benefits of being around water, and learn how to captivate your own audiences—all in twenty-minute, TED-style bites.

“The Internet Is Not the Answer claims that the only real best friend today’s tech titans have is money, and until policymakers intervene, or until the ‘digital elite’ adopt a more altruistic posture, the Internet will remain a winner-take-all marketplace that’s widening a yawning gulf between society’s haves and have-nots.” (San Francisco Chronicle). Kristen V. Brown, tech reporter, seeks what is the answer.

Award-winning authors share their experiences on writing middle-grade fiction, describing what makes a book successful for this hyper-critical audience. From characters to plot to that all-important voice, what are the ingredients readers are hungry for?

Two leading journalists explore one of the most controversial topics of our time: drugs. Use of both marijuana and opiates is rising, the former gaining legitimacy, the latter greater regulation. Come peek behind the scenes of the dispensary, down the halls of government, and into Americans’ medicine cabinets as these journalists masterfully unpack these urgent issues.

Narrative Technologies founder and CEO Lise Quintana, digital author Eli Horowitz, digital polymath Russell Quinn and media inventor and novelist Robin Sloan share a free-flowing discussion illuminating the platforms, purposes, joys and pitfalls as tech innovations breathe new life into storytelling forms and formats.

How do journeys across continents, countries and time impact writing and storytelling? Four recent Stanford University Stegner Fellows discuss their work as well as the inspiration, research and travel that shapes it.

“This is not a book. This is a guest list for a party of my heroes,” raved Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket. Like all A-Z books, this one illustrates the alphabet — but instead of “A is for Apple”, A is for Angela — as in Angela Davis, the iconic political activist. B is for Billie Jean King, who shattered the glass ceiling of sports; C is for Carol Burnett, who defied assumptions about women in comedy; D is for Dolores Huerta, who organized farmworkers. Author Kate Schatz and illustrator Miriam Stahl celebrate all these heroes with a dazzling visual presentation — and silkscreenings! Bring your own t-shirt, onesie, or tea towel with you to have a vibrant rad woman silkscreened on it!

Four writers look back at key social and political movements in 1960s America, and discuss their relevance in light of today’s headlines of racial, social, and cultural intolerance.

A panel of today’s top travel writers and editors discuss the discoveries, inspiration and practical preparations and planning that goes into their work, as well as their individual tales of how they first fell in love with the world.

Kim Stanley Robinson writes award-winning science fiction that deals with ecology, politics, and sustainability on earth and on earth colonies. Here the science fiction icon turns to an examination of John Muir in an oral biography, with visuals, of Muir as writer and as key player in the environmental movement. Robinson also explores how Muir and his network accomplished so much.

Based on Whidbey Island, Hedgebrook is a writer’s colony and literary nonprofit with a mission to support visionary women writers whose stories and ideas shape our culture. Join the conversation among these alumnae about the ripple effect of radical hospitality, the collective power of a female network and the movement for equal voice.

Does acting matter? David Thomson, one of our most respected and insightful writers on movies and theater, answers this question with intelligence and wit. Thomson tackles this most elusive of subjects, examining the allure of the performing arts for both the artist and the audience member while addressing the paradoxes inherent in acting itself. He reflects on the casting process, on stage versus film acting, and on the cult of celebrity.

Terrorism hurts us all, if not with direct violence, injury or death then by eroding peace, community life and civil liberties. But public discourse around it is often shallow and manipulative. It’s time for a deeper look at this issue: what is terrorism and what should we do about it?

Many of us are living longer than ever but are we living any better? Are we dying any better? In this panel, doctors, writers and caregivers will challenge our society’s current approach to death and dying and discuss how telling our stories can be a catalyst for change.

It wouldn’t be a Bay Area Book Festival without a panel on the quintessential Bay Area band. Four of the leading experts and insiders on all things Dead gather today to share their experiences, their knowledge and their appreciation for the band once known as the Warlocks.

“Vendela Vida’s work is utterly compelling, surprising, economical, lush, beautifully written. Reading her inspires me, and reminds me of how powerful the novel can be — how addictive and vital — and of how rarely a writer as precise, artful, and passionate as her comes along” (George Saunders, author of Tenth of December). Discover Vida’s work, especially her new novel, as Anne Germanacos engages her in conversation.

Haruki Murakami fans, rejoice! Jay Rubin has been a longtime translator of the famed Japanese author. Here he gives us an inside view of the translation process, the experience of working with Murakami, and the world of Murakami’s novels, stories and essays.

What are the ingredients of good storytelling? Join Mark Trautwein, editor of the KQED’s daily listener commentary series “Perspectives,” and Jon Funabiki, professor of journalism of San Francisco State University, for an interactive discussion about what makes a short essay strong and memorable. Attendees are encouraged to bring a draft of a short essay for discussion, time permitting…

Buried far within headline news and political controversies are human stories. A veteran journalist and a younger journalist help tell the unforgettable, real stories of the people caught inside the conflict over Palestine.

We, inhabitants of the islands of Earth, are surrounded by oceans. This panel of scientists, environmental activists, explorers and photographers examines the centrality of the oceans to our ecosystem, our psyche and our economy and considers the rising threats — and global response — to the environmental challenges facing our marine-waters.

Literature can take us into the minds and hearts of people in dire situations, safely expanding our own experience. In this panel, a human rights journalist and a novelist bring us directly into the experience of PTSD — McClelland via memoir, and Mazzucco through a story of a female veteran wounded in Afghanistan. How can literature capture PTSD? What are the limitations? What’s it like to write this kind of story?

One of the most popular and acclaimed science fiction authors to emerge in the last decade, John Scalzi is becoming known far beyond the genre for his accessible and thoroughly entertaining books. Hilarious and creative both on and off the page, Scalzi has his finger on the pulse of pop-culture and publishing. His books include The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, Lock In (currently in development as a television series by Legendary TV), and Redshirts (winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and currently being turned into a television series for FX), and the forthcoming The End of All Things.

Transcending nationalities and borders, poetry is indeed global. Get a solid taste of what drives these poets — one from Switzerland, one from India, two from the US — to write and inspire readers and listeners alike.

Get the benefits of attending a writers’ conference in one lively hour! Literary agent Danielle Svetcov and McSweeney’s editor Jordan Bass join three authors — masters of the short story, the novel and the memoir — for a topical discussion in which they will share their trade secrets.

Cozy, quirky and noir — what more could a mystery-loving dame or fella want? Divas of crime fiction spill how they do “whodunits” and why this form is so much fun, and challenging, to write.

One of the most heart-catching sessions at the Bay Area Book Festival is this one. The moment of learning to read is truly magical. Here, new adult readers will tell their stories and share the book from which they learned to read and the impact it has had on their life. BALIT will offer attendees a printout compilation of the book testimonials.

Spanning four generations and moving between New York, Jamaica, and China, Paula Madison’s powerful memoir is a universal story of one woman’s search for her maternal grandfather and the key to her self-identity. It is a story about love and devotion that transcends time and race, and a beautiful reflection of the power of family and the interconnectedness of our world.

Call it “cli-fi,” “eco-fiction” or even “eco-fabulism,” there’s a movement afoot to address climate change through storytelling. What can literature reveal about how we will cope with dramatic alterations to the environment? A dynamic discussion moderated by San Francisco Chronicle science fiction and fantasy columnist Michael Berry.

The head of People Operations at Google — which handles over 2 million resumes a year — Laszlo Bock pioneered a new way of analysing, attracting, developing and retaining talent. He offers a counterintuitive look behind the metrics of 21st-century hiring, showing how to strike a balance between creativity and structure to build a better company from within.

Writers from Mexico, France, Norway and Iceland discuss how fiction can convey unique cultural and social experiences but also transcend differences.

Of politics, poetry, memoirs and art: A dynamic set of readings by six brilliant writers who teach at California College of the Arts, as well as one CCA alumna! Come and relish this wealth of home-grown literary riches, delivered by the artists themselves.

What do we want our cities and residential neighborhoods to look and feel like in the future? San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic John King leads a riveting conversation with two of our leading social critics and commentators on the benefits of — and challenges to — the New Urbanism movement.

Walt Whitman did it. So did Irma Rombauer (The Joy of Cooking). Marcel Proust, whose novel everyone said was be to long (imagine that!), published on his own. Join this panel of experts to learn how you too can take advantage of self-publishing, which has never been easier.

Two veteran environmental journalists, Mark Schapiro and Mark Hertsgaard, discuss the state of play as the world maneuvers toward climate negotiations later this year. They explore how the stakes are rising as climate change transforms our economy, politics and culture.

Working with and writing about some of the key and most influential artists in American music history, these writers will be sharing the story of American rock from the inside out, including how it intersects with the vagaries of politics, publicity and power.

The publishing industry has brought us every book at this festival, but this industry has undergone massive change in response to the digital revolution and faces pressure from companies such as Amazon. How does the publishing industry work today? What are the challenges for new authors? Smaller independent publishers are thriving; how is this happening despite the consolidation of the “Big 5” publishing houses? The experts offer facts, observations, and opinions.

The New York Times writes, “Wendy Lesser is a serious reader — a quality reader — and this book is a serious pleasure,” referring to her recent Why I Read. Don’t miss this conversation in which Lesser, editor of the arts journal The Threepenny Review discusses what it means to read great books, why books and reading matter, and how to enhance your own reading pleasure.

These authors cover vastly different genres and eras yet hit strikingly similar themes: the disorientation of travel, the ability to see one’s land through foreign eyes, and the definition of home. Nimura writes a biography of three 19th-century Japanese girls who grew up as Americans, and Mockett delivers a memoir of grief and consolation in the wake of 2011’s Fukushima earthquake.

We salute the brilliance of the venerable Jaipur Literature Festival in welcoming a marvelous group of Indian writers who will talk about their work, the literary atmosphere in which they work, and their delights and concerns with Indian literature today.

Bring the little ones to enjoy a story time in eight languages! Children will explore their senses through story and play, learning the names for each sense in a multi-lingual environment. Interested in learning more about raising a bilingual child? Readers from Bilingual Books will be on hand to provide free bilingual resources after the event.

Whether it’s via fiction, memoir, essays or journalism, writers and readers alike are drawn to stories about ourselves and our families, whatever form they take. A heralded fiction writer and two memoirists discuss their choice of genre and the compelling pull of family stories as well as the individual’s tale.

What do the literary arenas of science fiction and speculative fiction reveal about contemporary society’s hopes, fears, inequalities, missteps and desires? A lively discussion with a vibrant group of PM Press’s Outspoken Authors promises to be perceptive, entertaining and thought-provoking.

Three California Native Americans will share their experience of documenting, interpreting and sharing the stories of their communities. They will explore social justice, cultural resistance, the maintenance of traditional values and languages through education, and means for increasing their visibility through self-expression and social media.

Get bio-logical, argues Andres Roemer, San Francisco’s provocative new Mexican consul general and creator of Mexico City’s provocative “Ciudad de Ideas” festival. Why do some societies and individuals move up? He contrasts Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with 4 S’s: Survival, Sex, Security, and Success.

In fiction, memoir, essays and poetry, three spectacular writers, two born in China (Li and Min) and one in California of Chinese immigrants (Kingston), explore life in China and the experiences of immigration and assimilation in the United States. The discussion is led by human rights activist, journalist, author and renowned China scholar Orville Schell.

One of the world’s most renowned travel writers, Pico Iyer discusses what may be the most important, challenging and satisfying journey of all: the journey within. It is arrived at by stillness, that rarest of experiences in our era of speed and distraction. Iyer converses with Gopi Kallayil, Chief Evangelist, Google Social for Brands, and writer on spirituality and technology.

Perhaps Iceland’s best known contemporary writer, Sjón has written spellbinding, mind-bending sagas and fables for our age. His novels have been championed by a veritable pantheon of literary luminaries, including Junot Díaz, David Mitchell, A. S. Byatt, Hari Kunzru, and Alberto Manguel. It is a pleasure to introduce this writer, lyricist, poet, and playwright to Bay Area readers.

Come hear work from up-and-coming authors! Middle and high school students from WriterCoach Connection’s East Bay programs participated in a writing competition this past spring. Winners will read selections from their work and answer questions about their writing process. For many of these authors, this will be their first public reading. Make sure to catch them now so you can say you saw them way back when!

We live in an era where women are pitted against each other based on parenting decisions. We hear narratives of “childless by choice” vs. mothers, and those who do parent are conscripted into mommy wars: working mothers vs. stay-at-home moms. This panel will include reports from one particular front of working motherhood: the writer mom. Why and how do they do it? Reports may take the form of coded messages, sleep-deprived scribblings, cries for help and/or reports of victory.

She writes on topics from art to eviction, geography to feminism, environment to politics — all with impeccable, gorgeous prose. Rebecca Solnit is a Bay Area treasure, and here she is joined by Christian Frock, independent curator and author of Unexpected Art, for a free-wheeling hour of inspired conversation.

So you have an idea. How to manifest it? Seelig, a Stanford University professor and a leading expert on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, helps you bring your brainchild into the light with Insight Out: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World.

Bohemia meets academia, and artistic and political idealism leaves victims in its wake. Can you imagine anywhere better for coming-of-age stories, a murder, or tales of families and friends during the turbulent second half of the twentieth century? Turn on, tune in….

Bay Area Hip Hop artists and (rap)tivists discuss the role of hip hop and rap in the lives of urban youth. Panelists will discuss their relationship to writing, how performance differs from writing, and how hip hop creates a narrative, aesthetic, and identity that is uniquely Bay Area.

In the long dark hours between missing deadlines, what to do? Hum? Bang pens on a desk? Talk to yourself — again? We did plenty of all that when we were actually making our deadlines. So we started a band, and started playing some of our favorite rock n’roll songs. Thus was born the Deadliners. We all have day jobs. We love words, in whatever the form, we use them all the time to write ourselves out of jams — and into them. We read a lot of books and sometimes actually write them. We’re pleased to be part of the first ever Bay Area Book Festival. Come. Sing along. Dance. See what happens.

Judy Blume is one of America’s most beloved authors. Her twenty-eight titles include Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Forever; and Summer Sisters. It’s a huge pleasure to welcome her to Berkeley, for a wide-ranging and spirited conversation, touching on her life, her books, her continuing championship of intellectual freedom for children and adults alike, and especially her brand-new book, In the Unlikely Event.

As more critics weigh in on the dehumanizing aspects of professional football, tough questions about this most American of sports are entering mainstream conversation. These thorough and thoughtful journalists and writers offer their insiders’ views, observations and predictions.

From the Castro’s Co-op to Brooklyn’s Writers Room, writing communities are thriving. Join our tribe of participants in scribe communities to learn about how they balance solitude with society, critiquing with camaraderie, and procrastination with professional output.

Dolphins teaching us about flight, clams revealing the best joinery: Identified as a scientific discipline less than 20 years ago, biomimicry uses nature’s lessons to address and solve human problems. Join biomimic CEO Jay Harman, Tamsin Woolley-Barker, and Mikhail Davis, Director of Restorative Enterprise at Interface, as they discuss biomimicry breakthroughs that will impact our environment and economy.

Join two stunning novelists and a philosopher as they explore freedom as a requirement for human fulfillment. Tademy tells the story of a once-enslaved man who buys his freedom after the American Indian wars; Kiefer depicts a man struggling to preserve his freedom and the protection of animals. Svendsen asks: What are the possibilities and limits of freedom within society?

Marriage, writing. Writing and marriage! With kids! How in the world do they make it work? Get an insiders’ view as this well-known and much-loved literary couple talk with author and host of Medium’s digital series “Foreword.”

Is world-changing inherent in poetry? Are there poems that change the world for the worse? These working poets share a concern for the environmental crisis and for issues around societal agreement. They’ll discuss the premise behind Hirshfield’s title: not only how great poems transform the world, but whether poems should do that and if, in fact, these poets think that they do.

Like mysteries? Try your hand solving a crime from the headlines and pit your wits against the pros in this interactive session. They set the scene: It’s up to you to figure out who dunnit.

From Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to On the Road, the road trip is as much a part of the American Dream as apple pie and baseball. Join Moon Guides’ authors and seasoned travelers for a conversation about roadtripping, hidden gems along U.S. highways and off-the-beaten-path adventures.

Counterpoint is a publishing house that calls itself “author-driven.” What does that mean — to editors, to marketing and publicity people, and most importantly to writers? What are the components of a perfect fit of writer to publisher, of publisher to writer? Join Counterpoint’s co-founder and editorial director and three of its stellar writers as they discuss their relationships.

Water is power. In the near future, a severe drought in the southwest has demolished Texas, and Phoenix is ravaged and desolate, on the verge of total breakdown. While the wealthy stay wet, the poor get the dust, buying water by the ($6-plus) gallon and struggle to find ways north through militarized borders at state lines. Welcome to The Water Knife by National Book Award winner Paolo Bacigalupi — and to a world that seems terrifyingly possible given the ongoing drought plaguing the west and southwest.

Listen in to this conversation among acclaimed young authors who came of age overseas. This new generation of first-generation Americans is transforming the American literary landscape. They will look back at global events that shaped their home regions and led to their arrival to California, and tell us how and why they transformed the experiences into fiction.

These three writers use language creatively, sometimes bending it wildly, to express human truths across people and cultures. They also play with myth and metaphor. What happens when their language and stories are translated? How do the different forms in which they write — fiction, poetry, playwriting, essays, lyrics — convey meaning differently?

In order to address climate change, we need to understand ourselves as part of nature, deeply connected to one another. How do the events in Ferguson relate to the Western-states drought? What does the experience of extreme weather events reveal about ourselves? This panel of experts will discuss how a scientific understanding of systems might help.

Join two publishers, a literary agent, and an author whose hybrid point of view of technology’s impact on the book industry is both eye-opening and enlightening. They’ll discuss how authors are thriving outside of traditional publishing models and what it means to publish independently without necessarily being self-published.

In an historic meeting of poetry and music, the acclaimed poet Michael McClure and saxophonist extraordinaire George Brooks take the stage to create a tapestry of words and music from the influences and experiences of two long and remarkable careers.

With issues ranging from physical safety to performance enhancing drug use, the world of sports has been undergoing major upheavals and self-reflection. This panel — moderated by Gary Pomerantz (​Their Life’s Work: the Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now) — addresses the changing challenges of covering a money-spinning industry in some of its darkest hours.

Moderated by the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, our experts will assess the extent of threats to American liberty presented by today’s alarmingly shrouded surveillance state, and the precarious yet critical role of journalists in this context.

Celebrate the stunning new book of poems from one of American poetry’s most distinctive and essential voices. With a pen faithful to the actual yet dipped at times in the ink of the surreal, Hirshfield considers the inner and outer worlds we live in yet are not confined by. For this poet, “Zero Plus Anything Is a World.” Hirshfield’s riddling recipes for that world (“add salt to hunger”; “add time to trees”) offer a profoundly altered understanding of our lives’ losses and additions, and of the small and larger beauties we so often miss.

Forty years after the Fall of Saigon, Vietnamese American writers produce diverse literature that moves beyond classic immigrant/refugee narrative into genres of memoir, experimental poetry, graphic novel and espionage thriller. This panel engages some of our most prominent writers — novelists, memoirists and cartoonists — as they discuss the flourishing and the future of Vietnamese American literature.

“One of the United States’ finest writers,” according to Joshua Ferris, “full of wit, humanity, and fearless curiosity,” gives us a novel that will join the short list of classics about children caught up in the Holocaust. Jim Shepard has made this child’s-eye view of the darkest history mesmerizing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and sometimes comic despite all odds.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to writing. Valuing enthusiasm, determination and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever considered novel-writing. Join NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty, executive director Grant Faulkner and writer Rachael Herron to explore NaNoWriMo’s high-velocity approach, helping writers overcome fears, inhibitions and excuses.

If you think Bay Area readers are immune to the lure of the romance novel, think again. Bring your own love of this hugely popular genre out in the open — or get a taste of it for the first time — as three very popular practitioners share their work and observations on the books that really shouldn’t hide in plain brown covers!

Presenting a global vision based on decades of personal experience and insight, cellular geneticist-turned Buddhist monk Ricard’s masterwork, Altruism, reveals that altruism is not an abstract ideal, but an essential dimension of our nature which can resolve the main challenges of our time: economic inequality, environmental sustainability, and life satisfaction.

There are no better guides to the magic, mystery, lore, and, yes, science of alcohol and the drinks that are made with it. Expect a very spirited discussion, one from which you’ll learn a treasure trove of very useful information!

Join writers from Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Australia discussing how setting and nationality influence their work. Is one a nationality first and a writer second?

On an idyllic island in Norway, 69 young people were shot by a fellow Norwegian. In the U.S., gunshots rang out at Columbine, Aurora, Sandy Hook. The atrocities that occurred in Srebrenica and Rwanda are almost unimaginable. What makes a human being capable of perpetrating them? What social factors increase it? What impacts do these acts have? In “One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre of Norway,” journalist Åsne Seierstad brilliantly paints a psychological and social portrait of homegrown terrorism and its victims. Mark Danner has covered conflict zones for 25 years, producing award-winning reporting from Srebrenica, Haiti, and most recently the complex front of the U.S.’s own “war on terror.”

There’s nothing more exciting than the best new voices in fiction, and the presence of the debut novel has never been stronger. Hear from these marvelous writers, moderated by Book Passage’s Bill Petrocelli, and make some terrific reading discoveries. You’ll be able to say “you knew them when.”

To tell a sad story is an age-old impulse, but to do so in a way that makes others want to read that story is something else again. In this panel, four prose masters discuss the emotional and intellectual processes of penning and publishing their moving books.

The Raising a Reader staff offers read-aloud demonstrations and strategies specifically designed to build early literacy and support learning standards, including Common Core and The Preschool Learning Foundations. Bring the kids and learn new strategies for reading together as a family.

The mindfulness boom is having an impact in many areas of life, from therapy to child-rearing, from the military to prisons, from the boardroom to the health clinic. But there is growing concern that a focus on “non-judgmental present awareness” can be used to support the status quo — a way to make things better instead of making things different. Join experts in the field to discuss the current wave of interest and ask what might come next.

They both live in San Francisco. One is a native San Franciscan, the other a Lebanese American born in Jordan. What could they possibly have in common? Come and see! From The Basic Eight to Lemony Snicket and the new We Are Pirates, Daniel Handler’s books entertain young, old, and in-between. Rabih Alameddine’s most recent book, An Unnecessary Woman, is a nuanced rendering of one woman’s life in the Middle East; it is a love letter to literature and its power to define who we are.

The guiding metaphor in Peter Coyote’s new spiritual biography is drawn from a line in a famous Bob Dylan song. For Coyote, the twin forces Dylan identifies as Texas Medicine and Railroad Gin represent the competing forces of the transcendental, inclusive, and ecstatic world of love and the competitive, status-seeking world of wealth and power. The Rainman’s Third Cure: An Irregular Education is the tale of a young man caught between these options and the journey that leads him through Greenwich Village jazz bars, government service, and success on stage and screen, and ultimately deep into Zen.

Led by Bay Area-based Cara Black, author of the popular Aimee Leduc mystery series set in Paris, three Scandinavian masters of murder and mayhem discuss their work — from popular series to standalone stories — and our ongoing fascination with chilling thrillers set in Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Join this eclectic group of writers, editors and publishers — including the editorial director of digital library Scribd — as they discuss how technology impacts storytelling, and vice versa.

Hear from foragers of all kinds — urban, sea, Bay Area and Native — about how to forage sustainably, harvesting wild plants in ways that enhance rather than degrade our environment. These four experts will reveal ways in which gathering wild edibles promotes seed dispersion and soil repair, keeping plants, animals, and wild environments happy.

Trans authors illuminate the profoundly liberating experience of living an authentic life, challenging readers to question traditional notions of gender and vocalizing the impact of all-too-pervasive discrimination. Join this diverse panel of trans authors as they discuss how their work addresses the interplay between trans experience and race, culture, family, politics and community membership.

In partnership with the Bay Area Book Festival, students and staff from UC Berkeley’s BUILD literacy program have written and illustrated a children’s book all about the exciting life of a Cal student as told by… a Cal campus squirrel! Follow that squirrel to see the most interesting sights on campus and learn about what kinds of things students study. Each family attending the reading will receive a free copy of the book, donated generously by Snapfish.

Do you have a budding author in your family? Or, because you’re a kid, you don’t think you could write your own book? Come find out how an ordinary eight-year-old girl wrote and published her first bilingual book and became an Amazon bestselling author. Michelle Longega Wilson, author of the bilingual book series “The Adventures of Giulia” will present her own book writing experiences and explain to kids how they can write their own book. Open to children and adults of all ages, Michelle will walk us through her simple step-by-step plan.

A lively roster of multi-genre writers discuss how to document the changing face of the Bay Area and embody our new multicultural, multilingual story. Arab American writer/performer/activist/teacher Elmaz Abinader will announce a new series of regional workshops led by VONA/Voices of Our Nations Arts, for writers of color. One of the major voices in Chicana literature, poet Lorna Dee Cervantes explores the cultural differences between natives and waves of immigrants in her native Bay Area. Karen Tei Yamashita’s polyphonic epic novel, I Hotel, documents Bay Area historical politics through ordinary and immigrant voices. Odilia Galván Rodríguez, eco-poet, writer, editor, and activist, is the author of four volumes of poetry, including Red Earth Calling.

Novelist and journalist Daniel Alarcón will share some of the work that has made his Spanish-language podcast, Radio Ambulante, such a success. Alarcón’s At Night We Walk in Circles was a finalist for the 2014 PEN-Hemingway Award. A graphic novel, City of Clowns, illustrated by Sheila Alvarado, is due this fall.

California businesswoman and mother Eleni Kounalakis’s memoir of her posting as Ambassador to Hungary is a serious yet often humorous insider’s view of diplomacy and the challenges of helming an embassy in a former Soviet satellite nation. It also is an illuminating, timely look at the experience of a woman in political leadership.

Travel the world without leaving your seat; leap throughout time. These fiction writers take us from the mid-1950s Texas-Mexico border to the Himalayan foothills, from Indian palaces to aboriginal Australia to contemporary family homes in Finland.

There’s nothing more delightful than a tempting, well-put-together cookbook, whether to browse or actually use to prepare meals. Whet your appetite for all things foodie and literary with this panel of Chez Panisse’s head chef (Peternell), two stellar writers on food, and an editor of one of the leading cookbook publishers.

Who’s afraid of 2043? No, really? At this un-panel, author Jeff Chang, award-winning visual artist Favianna Rodriguez, and comedian/philosopher W. Kamau Bell riff and rant on art, culture, race, and demographobia. Sure to be provocative and fun, if not completely terrifying.

Munro, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, is a master of the short story. Here is an excerpt from Word For Word’s production of “The Office” from Munro’s first collection. A young housewife is convinced that an office of one’s own is what she needs to be a writer. But when she finds the perfect place, her landlord present an unexpected and surprising obstacle. A Q&A session will follow the performance.

A world premiere staged reading of Writers, the new play by Barry Gifford, author of numerous books and screenwriter of David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Wild at Heart. Ten legendary (if rumored) meetings between writers (Beckett, Borges, Bowles, Camus, Dickinson, Kerouac, Proust, and more) and their sometimes unlikely companions (Humphrey Bogart, Crazy Joey Gallo, a prostitute named Pixie, The Angel of Death, and others). Directed by Joe Christiano in a bookstore after hours (which is everything you’ve dreamed). Post-performance discussion with Barry Gifford.