Voices from the Hill

Today we’re joined by Kerry Donoghue — poet, writer, and author of the short story collection MOUTH from Unsolicited Press that explores the many forms of consumption — not just food or drink, but emotional, relational, and existential hunger. Kerry’s work blurs the line between poetry and confession, exploring the raw edges of motherhood, desire, and womanhood with unflinching honesty and wit. He...

Phil Cousineau is the author of The Wisdom of the Odyssey and over forty other books. including the bestselling The Art of Pilgrimage, and The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on his Life and Work. Cousineau is a writer, teacher, filmmaker, storyteller, and cultural historian, who has consulted on mythology and story for major studios including Warner Brothers., Pixar, and Lucasfilm, and has led my...

Janis Cooke Newman is the author of 2 award-winning novels and a memoir. She is also the founder of LitCamp, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting writers, as well as Page Street, coworking spaces for writers in SF and Berkeley. Learn more at Janiscookenewman.com Jennifer Barone is an Italian-American poet and author of three poetry collections, including "Saporoso, Poems of Italian Food & Love....

Britta Stromeyer is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her writing appears in The Common, World Literature Today, Tupelo Quarterly, Beyond Words Magazine, Necessary Fiction, On the Seawall, Flash Fiction Magazine, Bending Genres Journal, Marin Independent Journal, and other publications. Britta has authored award-winning children's books and holds an MFA from Dominican University, CA, a...

Kim Shuck was born in San Francisco and is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She received a BA in art and an MFA in textiles from San Francisco State University. Shuck is the author of the poetry collections Deer Trails (City Lights Books, 2019); Clouds Running In (Taurean Horn Press, 2014); Rabbit Stories (Poetic Matrix Press, 2013); and Smuggling Cherokee (Greenfield Review Press, 200...

Maw Shein Win is the author of several beautiful poetry collections, including Percussing the Thinking Jar , Storage Unit for the Spirit House , and Invisible Gifts . Her work pays close attention to memory, the body, and the small, meaningful moments that shape us. She’s also deeply committed to literary community — as a former and first Poet Laureate of El Cerrito CA, a longtime, and active teac...

Andrew Paul Nelson, author of the recent poetry collection, How to Draw a Guillotine , and the owner of The Golden Sardine in North Beach—an intimate wine bar that has quickly become a cultural hub for Bay Area poets and writers. Through his thoughtful curation of wine, his literary journal Apocrypha , and his work organizing the Coit Tower Poetry Club every first Friday, Andrew has helped create...

Today, we're joined by Mark Bittner , a writer whose life has followed anything but a conventional path. You may know him from The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill , his best-selling memoir that chronicled his unlikely relationship with a flock of wild parrots in San Francisco. But in his new book, Street Song , Mark takes us further back to his days wandering Europe to the streets of San Francisco...

Gail Reitano grew up in the southern New Jersey Pine Barrens. After graduating from Rutgers University, Gail lived in New York and London before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. Her fiction, memoir and personal essays have appeared inGlimmer Train, Catamaran Literary Reader, LitHub, Ovunque Siamo, and the recent anthology, “And There Were Red Geraniums Everywhere: Women’s Voices of the Italia...

Bart Schneider grew up in San Francisco and lives in Sonoma. He spent twenty-five years living and working in Minnesota, where he was the founding editor of Hungry Mind Review and Speakeasy Magazine . He is the author of two poetry collections, Morning Opera and Water for a Stranger, and five novels, BGiacometti’s Last Ride, Nameless Dame, Man in the Blizzard, Beautiful Inez, Secret Love, and Blue...

Nadia Terranova is the author of Gli anni al contrario , Casca il mondo , and Bruno, il bambino che imparò a volare . Her first novel translated into English, Farewell Ghosts (Seven Stories, 2020), was awarded the Premio Alassio Centolibri and was a finalist for the Premio Strega. The Night Trembles (Seven Stories Press, 2025), also translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein, is Terranova's second n...

Genny Lim is an American poet, playwright, and performer. She is the ninth poet laureate of San Francisco, California, and the first Chinese American in the role. She was the Chair of Community Arts and Education Committee, and Chair of the Advisory Board for the San Francisco Writers Corps. Genny is author of five poetry collections, Winter Place, Child of War, Paper Gods and Rebels, KRA!, La Mor...

Stuart Schuffman , also known as Broke-Ass Stuart , is an American travel writer, television host, poet, performer, and journalist based in San Francisco. He pioneered budget-living zines and books, created IFC’s travel series Young, Broke & Beautiful , and runs BrokeAssStuart.com as “Editor-in-Cheap.” The Worst of Broke-Ass Stuart: 20 Years of Love, Death & Dive Bars is exactly what it so...

Tania Romanov Amochaev is the author of Mother Tongue: A Saga of Three Generations of Balkan Women , Never a Stranger , a collection of award-winning travel essays, and San Francisco Pilgrimage . Tania’s work has been featured in multiple travel anthologies, including The Best Travel Writing and The Best Women’s Travel Writing series. To learn more about Tania and her work, visit taniaromanov.com...

Gary Kamiya , journalist, historian and author of “C ool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco” and “Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City” with artist Paul Madonna” – His “Portals of the Past” column appears in The Examiner. To learn more about Gary and his work, go to his Substack Kamiya Unlimited and visit garykamiya.com and find his books at Telegraph Hill Books . J...

Welcome to “ Voices from the Hill” from Telegraph Hill Books in North Beach, celebrating the vibrant literary voices of the San Francisco Bay Area. With each episode we sit with a local author to explore their creative process, inspirations, and the unique stories that shape our community. Hosted by Jennifer Barone, poet and Joseph Carboni, owner of Telegraph Hill Books. Visit Telegraph Hill Books...