Books, magazines, and pirate stores: writing and activism in California and beyond
From the Beat poets of the 1950s to Summer of Love musicians and Silicon Valley innovators, California's San Francisco Bay Area is renowned for bold and often irreverent pioneers. The region’s contemporary literary scene is no exception. Once…
Poetry from Kabul
Directly from the Writer’s House in Kabul: meet poets, translators, visual artists and activists making a mark on their time and society. Participants Baktash Rawesh, Mujib Mehradad, Ramin Naqshbandi, Sajad Ahmad Shakeeb and Tamana Tawangar…
Live from Perth/Whadjuk Noongar Boodja
The year 2020 has been a time of chaos and uncertainty. It began in Australia with raging wildfires and devastating floods. The pandemic followed. In this conversation with Gillian O’Shaughnessy, award-winning Noongar author Kim Scott reflects…
From Bodice Rippers to Trailblazers: Feminism through Romance
Romance is one of the most maligned genres of the literary world, despite being a billion-dollar business. Maybe it’s because the books are written by, about, and for women. Misogyny at work? Who’s to say? But unlike other literature, romance…
Work in Progress: Interior Landscapes in Poetry and Prose
It won't surprise anyone to hear that fiction, non-fiction, and poetry demand vastly different skill sets. Susan Griffin, who has written in these genres (and more), will moderate a discussion with two other multi-genre masters, Anita Barrows…
How Much Should a Book Cost?
The proliferation of chain bookstores in the ’90s, the more recent dominance of Amazon, and the advent of easy access to self-publishing tools has not only rocked the book world but redefined the expectations of readers. Amazon says books…
Good Girls Write Bad
Want to know how to commit murder on the page? From five best-selling mystery writers, get all the low-down on the tricks-of-the-trade, including how to develop believable characters, a rich plot, and the sort of dramatic tension that keeps…
Why Write Memoir? A Conversation about Truth, Exposure, and the Genre People Love to Hate
Memoirists face both internal and external pressures when they write and publish their stories. Memoir is both more popular than it’s ever been—and more reviled. In this conversation, four published memoirists unpack the complexities of…
Possum's Forest: We Made Our Own Book!
Rosa and Juliette introduce their collaboration, Possum's Forest. How did Rosa think about writing about a possum as if she herself were that possum? How did illustrator Juliette come to give Possum so much personality? Was Rosa's and Juliette's…
Amplifying Unheard Voices: Voice of Witness Editors on Social Justice Storytelling
How can journalists and writers engage with important issues that might seem abstract, distant, or simply too big to take on? The editors of Voice of Witness, one of the Bay Area's vital non-profits, discuss their experiences using oral history…