Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

A call for authenticity in life and literature: The author of the award-winning speculative feminist novel "The Book of Joan" and the hypnotic memoir "The Chronology of Water" and selfproclaimed "misfit" has penned a book, enhanced by interviews, called "The Misfit's Manifesto."

Pulitzer Prize winning poet Snyder and renowned science fiction writer and environmentalist Robinson climbed a mountain in the Sierras to christen it Mt. Thoreau. With their editor and publisher, they talk about civil disobedience, nature writing, the environmental movement, poetry and naming the unnameable. Sponsored by the Journal of Alta California.

This Pulitzer Prize winner and MacArthur awardee talks about the role of the writer in society, the importance of art to politics and the power of the written word. Sponsored by UC Berkeley Arts + Design.

Border-crossers and novelists Lesley Nneka Arimah ("What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky"), Laleh Khadivi ("A Good Country") and Pajtim Statovci ("My Cat Yugoslavia") contemplate a life between the lines. Sponsored by the Center for the Art of Translation, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, FILI - Finnish Literature Exchange, and Finlandia Foundation National.

Susan Griffin celebrates the 40th anniversary reissue of her feminist classic "Woman and Nature."

Jakobson Ramin ("Carved in Sand") took a look at the reality of spine medicine. The results were not pretty. She explains what works, what doesn't and how to get on the road to recovery.

In 1941, young Fred Korematsu refused to be forced into the United States' Japanese internment camps. Atkins and Yogi share Fred's courageous story, how he made the United States a fairer place for all and how you too can speak up for what matters. 

Marijuana expert Beau Kilmer and author Emily Brady will divulge the latest in pot policy and explore whether California's hopes for a smooth transition should remain, well, high. Moderated by David Downs, Cannabis editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Slimani, author of "The Perfect Nanny," is a bold, eloquent speaker on writing, women, and society today. She was born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1981 and now lives in Paris with her French husband and their two young children. Come see this extraordinary writer! She will be interviewed by Brooke Warner, Publisher, She Writes Press.

Debut novelist Krys Lee, in "How I Became A North Korean," focuses on individuals in desperate circumstances. Lee's characters, forced into exile, must find ways to retain their humanity in the midst of aching upheaval. Berkeley author Elizabeth Rosner talks with Lee, considering the multitude of ways that literature can address modern life's most urgent and painful challenges.

Money can't buy happiness. Except when these whip-smart, hilarious authors are writing about money, that is. Jonas Luscher (author of the German Book Award nominated 'Barbarian Spring'), Paul Murray ('The Mark and the Void,' which has been described as "probably the funniest novel ever written about a financial crisis"), and Doree Shafrir ('Startup', a novel about a $600 million idea) will talk tu...

There's a book in all of us, but what does it take to get it out into the world? Hear four successful authors give their expert advice on writing their first books and navigating the sometimes bumpy road to publication. They come from Ireland, Switzerland, Finland, and Mexico, and all saw publication in their home countries and recently in the United States. How was the process of writing, revisin...

You've no doubt heard the adage, "Write what you know," but what if you want to write about aliens, dragons, wizards, or people from an entirely different culture? Four writers debunk the myth that "knowing" trumps all, and how it's far more important to write what you imagine, what inspires you, and what story you want to tell.

The Summer of Love brought us sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, but it was also a decade of extremes and radical cultural change that, in many ways, mirrors what's going on today. A renewed interest in psychedelic drugs? Check. Women organizing for vast social change? Check. The back-to-the-land movement? You bet. Join historians, and journalists, for an explosive look at how counterculture meets cyb...

Behind appearances are stories — and sometimes they're complex, frightening stories that people hide. People milling through The Cheeseboard on Shattuck Avenue are harboring heart-stopping secrets in Shanthi Sekaran's page-turner, 'Lucky Boy.' That normal-looking guy at the Chinatown restaurant is actually fleeing a scandalous Hong Kong celebrity career, in 'Deceit and Other Possibilities' by Vane...

How do we process loss? What role does memory play in mourning? The novelists gathered here—from Iceland, Sweden, and the United States—all use extraordinary restraint and carefully structure their work in order to create great emotional impact. Why do they take this approach; how do they sustain it; and what it is like personally to write these stories? They also discuss the psychology of grief a...

Mentored by LGBT rights pioneer Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones is an activist and author whose new memoir, 'When We Rise,' inspired an ABC TV mini-series of the same title. Rebecca Solnit said, "You could read Cleve Jones's book because you should know about the struggle for gay, lesbian, and transgender rights from one of its key participants—but really, you should read it for pleasure and joy." Armist...

"Everyone is born once. I have been born many times," wrote Rumi, the beloved Persian poet, whose words often draw comparisons to Shakespeare. But who was the person behind the poems? And why does a fairly obscure 13th-century mystic continue to captivate contemporary audiences? Brad Gooch, formidable biographer and bestselling author of 'Smash Cut,' 'Flannery,' and 'City Poet,' brilliantly brings...

Join beloved children's author Cornelia Funke, the award-winning German storyteller and illustrator of 'Inkheart,' the Reckless series, 'Lilly and Finn,' and her latest, 'The Book No One Ever Read.' A children's story that Cornelia calls "her 'Inkheart' for kindergarteners," this new picture book is a magical journey into the experience of a book that longs to be read. Don't miss your chance to he...

"Read it again!" So goes the litany of kids wanting their favorite book again. Adults too have favorites among authors they read to their children or enjoyed in their youth. Stellar, much-loved authors and illustrators gather here, for a perfect Sunday morning for kids, families, and book-loving avid fans, to talk about their love of storytelling, of making books, and what they're working on now....

Power: We all want it, but how do we get it? Many have assumed that acquiring power involves force and manipulation. But psychologist Dacher Keltner turns those notions on their heads in 'The Power Paradox,' arguing that empathy and humility are far more influential. Power is not something we create; it is something we earn. Keltner will lay out how to gain and retain power, when we may abuse it,...

It's not a pretty place, the Internet. Especially for an outspoken woman. Two years ago, Lindy West's confrontation with a nasty troll showed the world how to fight back via technology. With her debut memoir, 'Shrill,' Lindy tells that tale and more, sharing her truths about #ShoutYourAbortion!, being a large woman, being loud, being a feminist, and being funny. This event is for anyone interested...

Where is Africa in world literature? After centuries of being confined to a cramped corner of the literary world—to being described by explorers, tourists, journalists, and activists—African writers discuss what it means to tell their own stories, in their own words and languages, and the journey their work takes to arrive in print, at home and abroad. Lesley Nneka Arimah's 'What It Means When A M...

Short stories are, in the words of the great Lorrie Moore, "second to none in power and efficiency." There's a reason we love short stories as much as we do, and why many of the best movies are based on short fiction rather than novels. Hannah Tinti, co-founder of the literary short story magazine One Story, explores the power and timelessness of the American short story with three One Story autho...

 In today's popular culture, "strong female lead" characters and "difficult women" are more common than ever before. How are women writers using popular fiction genres (mystery, sci-fi/fantasy, street lit, women's fiction) to go beyond the "strong female lead" protagonists to share visions of feminist activism and social change? What role do race, class, nationality, sexual orientation, gender ide...