Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

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Publishing the Future Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

To write an inclusive future, we must publish diverse voices who represent our collective interests and stories. The publishers and imprints represented in this headliner panel will discuss the implications of the current political climate on the future of publishing and put forward creative solutions to the lack of opportunities for publishing underrepresented stories. Tiny Reparations Press, founded by standup comedian, bestselling author, producer, and actress Phoebe Robinson, is a highly curated imprint dedicated to fiction and nonfiction that pushes the conversation forward. HeartDrum, an acclaimed imprint of HarperChildren's featuring stories that emphasize the present and future of Native peoples and the strength of young Indigenous heroes, will be represented by its author-curator and award-winning writer Cynthia Leitich Smith. Turning the page to publishers, Palestinian American author and book worker Hannah Moushabeck runs Interlink Publishing alongside her family, the only Palestinian-owned independent publishing house in the United States offering global perspectives to readers through works of literature-in-translation, history, activism, politics, art, cultural guides, award-winning cookbooks, and illustrated children's books. Through publishing talented writers whose works have been overlooked by large-scale publishers, co-founder Kate Gale of Red Hen Press fosters diversity, promotes literacy in local schools, and supports the Greater Los Angeles Area and international communities with arts-based events and literary advocacy. Moderated by acting Co-CEO of the intersectional, feminist press Aunt Lute, María Mínguez Arias, this inspiring panel is a celebration of the innovative and diverse members of the publishing industry dedicated to creatively curating and publishing the voices of our future.

Introductory live music performance by Tristan Marcelle of Bushwick Book Club Oakland

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Best of California Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

What makes Californian literature shine? Writer Kathleen Alcott suggests that the diversity of California's landscape has gifted a unique sense of time and change to its inhabitants, who are "used to the colors out the window turning over entirely, and to stop seeing trees and to start seeing water" within a few hours' drive. In California Rewritten, editor, author, and host of Alta's California Book Club John Freeman captures the evolution of the Golden State's literary life. He traces our literary history from early myths to the arrivals and migrations chronicled by works including The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande's memoir about her experiences as an undocumented child immigrant from Mexico, and America is Not the Heart, Elaine Castillo's novel about a queer war veteran's journey from the Philippines to the insular immigrant community in Milpitas. Following building cities, exploding fantasias, and digital dystopias, Freeman then directs readers to the ruptures, the fraying connections to reality that can follow the traumatic loss of a family member, as portrayed in Venita Blackburn's Dead in Long Beach, California. Moderated by editorial director of Alta Journal,Blaise Zerega, this panel will explore the featured works individually and as part of the road map to Californian literature that can help us uncover our history, confront pressing issues that face our society, and imagine our shared future.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Shells, Lions, and Pomegranate Trees: Picture Books Approaching Difficult Topics Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

In times of danger and despair, kid-friendly stories and symbols can help families approach heavy topics, such as the ones in this panel. Touching on the difficult experiences of Japanese-Americans during the Japanese Incarceration in Hawai'i during World War II, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson'sShell Song tells ofthe true story of her grandfather's detainment in an island prison, where he collected, labelled, and carefully saved tiny seashells that were later passed down to his children and grandchildren. In Lion's Water,Sheila Hackbarth depicts the story of a Ugandan girl who must find the courage to protect herself and her brother after escaping the bad men who want to take control of their village. Another tender story that deals with hardships in an age-appropriate way, Yasi and Mina's Pomegranate Tree by Nikoo Yahyazadeh is about two friends living in Tehran during the war with Iraq who get separated when one of them has to move to the United States. Oriented toward adults and older kids, this panel moderated byauthor, illustrator, and activist Innosanto Nagara will highlight the role of stories in helping children navigate difficult topics to find resilience and strength when they need it most.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Getting Unstuck with Ramona Ausubel Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Being a writer means coming up against self-doubt. But what if it doesn't have to be so scary? What if the blank page felt more like an invitation than a cliff?

Does it sometimes seem like your novel is trying to kill you? Have you considered divorcing a story? Me too.

In this gathering we will work through a few exercises designed to bring joy and a sense of possibility and invention so that you and your writing will once again be besties (or at least unlikely to murder each other).

Based on my new book UNSTUCK: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page (Tin House, 4/14/26)

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Dreams Can Be Deceiving: Asian American Identities Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Where is the boundary between a dream and a lie? The award-winning authors of this panel write about the elusive and deceptive dreams—of assimilation, of youth, of success— that impact their Asian American communities. In Lisa Lee's American Han, the Kim family dutifully embodies the model minority myth in 1980s San Francisco, until their son goes missing, and they are forced to confront the facade of the American Dream as their lives unravel in a country that isn't all it promised it would be. For Jin Chang from Vanessa Hua's Coyoteland, moving his family to the privileged community of El Nido after years of scraping by is a great achievement, but he decides to bend the rules for one final deceitful scheme to make it big in real estate. As fire season escalates and coyote attacks plague the town, the characters become embroiled in scandals and secrets that unflinchingly reveal our current moment. Definitions for success vary greatly, and Kelly Yang explores the ways that society shapes women's ideals in The Take, a fast-paced novel about a young writer and an older producer who undergo an age-reversal treatment. What starts as a professional transaction of exchanging blood quickly becomes a complex psychological dance, leaving both women questioning what they're willing to sacrifice to rewrite their stories of success. Where Are You Really From also features complex and flawed AAPI characters, from a mail order bride from Taiwan who is packed up in a cardboard box and sent via express shipping to California, to two teenage girls who meticulously plan how to kill and cook their downstairs neighbor. This surreal multi-genre collection of stories by Elaine Hsieh Chou confronts the ways storytelling enables our capacity for self-deception and cruelty. In search of the truth behind the headlines is Emmy-winning journalist and author of Amplify! My Fight for Asian America Dion Lim, who will draw on her experience reporting on AAPI issues to moderate this panel that honors the depth and diversity of Asian American identities.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Academic Free Speech Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

What is it like to stand up for our beliefs as members of universities in today's social and political climate? UC Davis free speech and equity law scholar Brian Soucek argues that institutional neutrality is a myth in The Opinionated University, which takes a deep dive into prominent campus controversies that demonstrate how those pushing for neutrality are only preventing universities from standing up for their values. Independent history researcher Aleida García documents inspiring instances of on-the-ground union organizing and power building in Out of the Lab, Into the Street: An Oral History of the 2022 UAW Strike at the University of California, a nuanced account of the largest strike in the history of American higher education. As the leader of several impactful organizations such as American Muslims for Palestine, the Northern California Islamic Council, and the Dollar for Deen Charity, UC Berkeley and Zaytuna College professor of Islamic law and theology Hatem Bazian exemplifies standing up for one's beliefs and being outspoken in a university environment. Join this powerful panel, moderated by Michael Mark Cohen, that educates and urges community members to keep collective power alive as we fight for a future of free speech in our academic institutions.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Bright Futures Ahead for Native Youth Lit Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

Providing stellar examples of excellence in youth literature, the acclaimed authors of this panel pave the way for Native youth readers to see their own cultures reflected in stories that are written by authors with similar backgrounds. In her picture book I Love Salmon and Lampreys, Brook M. Thompson draws from her experiences growing up in the Yurok and Karuk Tribes to tell an inspiring story about a river, a successful Native-led movement for environmental justice, and the making of a scientist. Ojibwe and Lakota author Byron Graves' young adult novel Medicine Wheels tells the unforgettable story of a gifted young Ojibwe learning to ride in his father's footsteps while practicing for a skateboarding championship. Printz Award-winning Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In, edited by Cynthia Leitich-Smith, features the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers in a collection of interconnected stories about laughter, love, Native pride, and the world's best frybread. The future of youth literature is brightly paved by the remarkable authors of this panel moderated by Muriel Ammon, and there is no doubt that they will continue to enhance and expand the worldviews of young readers.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Taking the Long Roadtrip Home Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

From a Tennessee farm to California's Central Coast, the action-packed road trips of this panel navigate the complicated, winding paths of familial connection with heart, humor, and sincerity. Kevin Wilson's Run for the Hills takes off with an unexpected road trip across America when Madeleine's long-lost half brother asks her to leave home to join him on a crazy road trip to track down every single one of their half siblings. Irena Smith veers toward the West Coast in Troika: Three Generations, Three Days, and a Very American Road Trip, her lyrical memoir about a Gen X narrator's three-day road trip with her mother and daughter, which traverses the landscapes of identity and family history and stretches from the horrors of the second world war and an escape from Soviet Russia to adolescence and motherhood in the suburbs of Silicon Valley. At times chaotic, at times tedious, and always eventful, the family road trips of this panel, moderated by Julie Coryell, literary publicist.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Artful Solutions Middle Grade and YA Graphic Novels Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

Drawing from real-life situations that kids may face, the graphic novels of this panel combine art and words to tell meaningful stories. In Marshmallow & Jordan,Alina Chau depicts a young basketball player's experience after an accident leaves her paralyzed from the waist down, whose encounter with a mysterious elephant helps her discover a brand new sport. It can be hard to feel different from our friends, but Maia Kobabe and Swati "Lucky" Srikumar's Opting Out, a middle grade graphic novel about a kid who just isn't interested in any of that boy/girl stuff or the way their body is changing, shows us how we can find our own options and create our own stories. For teenagers Franny and Sam in As I Dream of You,illustrated by LeUyen Pham, the reality of love feels completely different from the tales of heartbreak and loss they have come to understand, but their quest to stay together soon takes a supernatural twist after they see their relationship as something that could possibly conquer death. In the autobiographical Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide, Nadine Takvorian chronicles her quest to uncover her family's history during the Armenian genocide through interwoven historical, contemporary, and fantastical sequences. Perfect for middle and high schoolers, educators, and parents, this panel moderated by librarian Elaine Tai will showcase the rich diversity of the graphic novel genre.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

Preserving Press Freedom Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

As authoritarian assaults increasingly restrict our media, championing press freedom and critical media literacy is more important than ever. From The Censored Press editorial board member T.M. Scruggs is State of the Free Press 2026: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, a collection that highlights the year's most significant independent journalism—including original, investigative reports on ICE surveillance, Meta censorship, and police violence—and tracks emerging threats to press freedom. Political analyst and critical media literacy scholar Nolan Higdon will bring expertise about podcasting, digital culture, news media history and propaganda, and critical AI literacy, offering insights from the media spotlight. As an educator of the next generation of media actors, award-winning journalist and UC Berkeley journalism professor Lisa Armstrong will discuss what it means to steward a future of free and responsible press. Frances Dinkelspiel, award-winning author and journalist, will bring unique perspectives as a co-founder of Cityside, the nonprofit news organization behind Berkeleyside, Oaklandside, and Richmondside. Moderated by KALW Public Media Executive Producer Ben Trefny, this timely panel brings together distinguished voices from media to reflect on how we fund, create, and educate about media in an age when press freedom and democracy are under attack.

This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.

Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org

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