Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

As we emerge from the past few years of collective upheaval, how do we face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Therapist, somatics teacher, activist, and writer Prentis Hemphill shows us how in What It Takes to Heal, a life-affirming framework toward a future in which healing is done in community. In Hemphill's revolutionary framework, we don't have to carry our e...

In a moment of global crises and heightened polarization, how do we foster belonging and minimize othering? How and where do we build bridges when so many communities and institutions are fracturing and re-constellating? Drawing on the panelists' four books and their unique experiences and perspectives, we will speak into a future where generative relationships across boundaries thrive. Leading as...

Celebrate indigenous poetry with these intergenerational poets from different parts of Indian Country, who will share their powerful words that navigate land, memory, music, and more. Diné poet, editor, and playwright Kinsale Drake explores the intricate relationships between Native peoples and the natural world, and her debut collection The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket oscillates between musical i...

This powerful panel showcases three Black women artists, authors, and activists who use their creative practices to challenge oppressive systems and fight for social, cultural, and environmental justice. Through their intersectional approaches, they address race, gender, inequality, and healing. Berkeley Poet Laureate, organizer, activist and author of Undisclosed , Aya de León , explores race, ge...

Join us for a conversation on the vital role of different forms of community care and mutual aid across California's diverse communities. Red Flag Warning , a collection of essays and interviews by survivors Dani Burlison and Margaret Elysia Garcia , highlights how grassroots organizing, community care, and resilience help navigate ecological and social challenges. Adéniké Amin , Storytelling Lead...

A competition to find the king's lost heir. A war fought by a woman soldier in disguise. A quest to escape a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts . The fiery protagonists of this romantasy panel adventure far and wide, questioning their judgments and learning to trust along the way. In Our Deadly Designs, the epic conclusion to Kalyn Josephson 's This Dark Descent duology, spellbinding f...

Buckle up for a disorienting launch into the vast unknown with these works of speculative fiction that transcend time and space. How We Know Our Time Travelers is Anita Felicelli 's collection of dark, intellectual, and surreal stories that examine our post-pandemic reality and future, introducing characters such as a bickering couple who use an app to track their fights, a woman who discovers an...

The fight for justice and freedom for political prisoners in the US has long been rooted in revolutionary struggle against state violence and political repression. Since the 1960s, resistance to politically motivated incarceration has taken many forms, both inside and outside prison walls. Garrett Felber , author of A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre , highlights Sostre...

In an era of rising authoritarianism, media polarization, and attacks on voting rights, independent journalism plays a critical role in safeguarding democracy. This panel brings together two of the most incisive voices in political reporting— Zack Beauchamp and Ari Berman —to examine the challenges facing American democracy and the essential role of independent media in holding power to account. Z...

Making their literary entrance in insightful fiction debuts, the protagonists of this panel reckon with pasts that stretch beyond their own lifetimes. The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne spans eight generations of a Black family in West Tennessee, beginning with the story of Yetunde, who makes a deal with the Devil upon awakening aboard a slave ship en route to the United States. Yefim Shulman,...

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to showcase some of our featured authors of the 2025 festival. Meet Carolina Ixta, who was part of our our Family Day programming on May 31st. For more information, go to our website.  baybookfest.org

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet two members of the Social Justice Children's Book Fair who have helped curate our Family Day programming on May 31st. For more information, go to our website. The full schedule is now live!!!! baybookfest.org

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet Wahab Algarmi, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley. For more information, go to our website. The full schedule is now live!!!! baybookfest.org

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet Kinsale Drake, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley. For more information, go to our website. The full schedule is now live!!!! baybookfest.org

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet Susan Lieu, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley. For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet micha cárdenas , one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley. For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet Jon Hickey, one of the festival speakers who you can see on June 1st in Downtown Berkeley. For more information, go to our website. The full schedule will be live April 5.

Welcome to the Bay Area Book Festival Short Cuts. This is a podcast meant to introduce our audience to some of our featured authors of the festival, prior to the 2025 Festival.  Meet Seema Yasmin , one of the festival speakers who you can see on May 31st at the Berkeley Public Library in Downtown Berkeley. For more information, go to our website . The full schedule will be live April 5.

A.H. Kim, Emily B Rose, Taleen Voskuni, Dani Trujillo, Anita Gail Jones, moderated by Jeneé Darden Join an engaging discussion on the art of crafting love stories with a diverse panel of acclaimed authors, whether their novels are shelved with literary fiction or romance. Panelists A.H. Kim ( Relative Strangers, a contemporary Korean retelling of Sense and Sensibility ), Emily B Rose ( Call of the...

Traci Chee, Sarah Lariviere, Darcie Little Badger, Sandra Proudman, Brittany Williams, moderated by Laura Gao Daniel Sometimes, the darkness can illuminate the imagination—especially in these beautifully wrought novels for teen readers. New York Times bestselling author Traci Chee 's gut-wrenching fantasy Kindling tells the tale of postwar "kindlings," a corps of elite, magic-wielding warriors who...

Faith Adiele, Bill Hing, Tessa Hulls, Lauren Markham, moderated by Tasneem Raja   Immigrant narratives span time, place, and genre to reach deeper universal truths. Four writers join in conversation to explore the many facets of immigrant narratives. Migration and immigration narratives are foundational to how we understand and celebrate culture, and these four panelists grapple with this central...

Greg Sarris in conversation with Jane Ciabattari Join Greg Sarris, acclaimed author and tribal leader, in an engaging conversation with literary critic and interviewer Jane Ciabattari as they explore his latest work, The Forgetters . Don't miss this insightful conversation between two literary luminaries about a book that is as thought-provoking as it is unforgettable.

Naomi Klein in conversation with Brooke Warner Join award-winning author, professor, filmmaker, and activist Naomi Klein in conversation about her latest book,  Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World . Doppelganger offers a unique and dynamic perspective on the absurdity and complexity of our current political moment. Klein uses her own experience of being mistaken for "Other Naomi" (Naomi Wol...

Grace Loh Prasad, Sylvia Brownrigg, Leta McCollough Seletzky, Tarek El-Ariss, moderated by Piper Kerman Moderated by Piper Kerman ( Orange Is the New Black ), four panelists share their process and experience of memoir as the telling of a true story, but also as a work of imagination. Our esteemed panelists, Grace Prasad ( The Translator's Daughter ), Sylvia Brownrigg ( The Whole Staggering Myster...

José Vadi, Brontez Purnell, Priscilla Wathington, Adrienne Chung, MC'd by Sam Sax Come hear some of the Bay Area's most dynamic poets with new collections of poetry and memoir. Panelists include Brontez Purnell, whose Ten Bridges I've Burnt is a wrenching, sexy, and exhilaratingly energetic memoir in genre-defying verse; Priscilla Wathington, whose debut chapbook, Paper & Stick, draws from her exp...