Mission and Values

The Bay Area Book Festival is the main project of the Foundation for the Future of Literature and Literacy,
a California non-profit organization created to present the festival and related events.

Land Acknowledgment

We acknowledge that we are gathering on the unceded ancestral lands of the Cochenyo-speaking people, known as Huchiun. We are committed to living our values by promoting the history of these people, recognizing that they are still here as vital members of our community, and creating a space where all literary voices are celebrated and all stories are honored.

Mission and Scope

The mission of the Bay Area Book Festival is to celebrate a wide spectrum of literary voices, nurture literary culture and community, cultivate literacy, and promote great literary work, with special attention to work that engages with pressing social issues.

We carry out this mission by creating relevant, thoughtful programming that we present at an annual, inclusive, weekend literary festival and in year-round literary events. The Festival features dozens of keynotes, interviews, panels and performances by hundreds of notable writers across literary genres and backgrounds. The festival also includes a robust outdoor fair with hundreds of literary exhibitors and a range of children’s activities.

Core Values

  • Inclusivity

In recognition of the myriad social and economic barriers to literary participation, we strive to present programming that highlights the voices of marginalized communities and engages with issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and belief. We are stronger when the full spectrum of our community’s members is welcomed at our events and represented responsibly in our programming.

  • Access

We believe that all people deserve to access world-class literary programming. We keep much of the Festival free of charge and other parts very low-cost to enable enjoyment by all sectors of the community. In this way we endeavor to provide a true public service.

  • Exchange of Ideas

We welcome critical dialogue, creative expression, and discussion of controversial issues that is respectful and never intended to appropriate, discriminate, or harm. We value literary exchange that inspires, surprises, and challenges us.

  • Roots in Community, Embrace of Wider World

We are an international festival rooted in local community. The Bay Area is a region with rich artistic and cultural history as well as global impact. We highlight the work of our community by collaborating with universities, literary organizations, local publishers, youth programs, local businesses, independent booksellers, and other partners. Our region also is an international hub that welcomes people of many cultures and exerts a profound influence around the world; we collaborate with consulates and cultural institutes to bring authors to our events. We work with a range of publishers, from large mainstream houses to small presses, across all genres of literature.

  • Appreciation

As a nonprofit public literary festival, we rely on the generosity of individual donors, foundations, sponsors, and local governments as well as cooperation with corporate partners for financial support.