Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival #UNBOUND — the online incarnation of the annual Bay Area Book Festival, which each spring for the past five years has filled the streets and theaters of Downtown Berkeley with hundreds of notable authors and tens of thousands of readers. #UNBOUND launched on May 1, 2020 — the weekend originally scheduled for the sixth edition of the in-person festival — and is rolling out several programs each week, all FREE, through the end of the year.

#UNBOUND programs are highly relevant and present authors and activists at the top of their game. These conversations will inform, inspire, console, and engage you. Check out our six-part series on how the right to vote, the foundation of democracy, is being dangerously undermined. Hear from literary writers passionately describing their craft, and journalists delving into vital topics. Scientists, physicians and psychologists will help you live your best life. Provocative thinkers, “do-ers,” and literary and social icons will open their minds and hearts to you in conversation. Plus, leading children’s and Young Adult authors perform for kids and are interviewed by young readers, the toughest interrogators of all.  Each program (pre-recorded) has a “premiere” showing, which allows for live audience chat, then remains on the site. Enjoy!