Podcast
Bay Area Book Festival Podcast
Hosted by Bay Area Book Festival · EN
Between audio books? Curious about the writers themselves? Listen to full-length sessions from the Bay Area Book Festival, where readers and writers meet each year in Berkeley, CA, to engage with their favorite authors, including Pulitzer Prize winners, chefs, and activists, to discuss writing, race, love, mystery, and more.
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Media Literacy In and Out of the Classroom
2d ago01:01:48Tap to summarizeIn this digital age, young people are not only eager to learn about and discuss the realities of media ownership, production, and distribution, they also deserve to understand the differential power structures in how media influences our culture. Professor of media studies and founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, Nolan Higdon brings expertise in podcasting, digital culture, propaganda, and news media history to this important conversation. His book The Media And Me: A Guide To Critical Media Literacy for Young People explores critical inquiry skills to provide young people with the tools and perspectives to become empowered and autonomous media users. As a Fulbright Scholar teaching critical information literacy and media bias workshops to high school students and teachers in Norway, Berkeley City College librarian Heather Dodge offers insight directly from the classrooms about how media literacy education is being implemented to help young people form a multidimensional comprehension of what they read and watch. Berkeley High School librarian Meredith Irby and Washington Elementary School librarian Jackie Overlid bring firsthand perspectives about what media literacy looks like in the public schools. Moderated by Jessica Lee, Coordinator for Library Services and Instructional Technology lead for the Berkeley Unified School District, this illuminating panel will discuss what works well and what gaps we need to fill in order to help our youth evolve from passive consumers of media to engaged critics and creators. 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →The Last Human Bear: Exclusive Early Book Launch with Greg Sarris
2d ago01:01:52Tap to summarizeIn this triumphant and revelatory return of the award-winning novelist and Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria Greg Sarris, The Last Human Bear is an epic story about a Pomo woman who is haunted by an inescapable tradition that has been passed down from her stepmother. She has inherited the ability to shapeshift into a Human Bear who can menace and poison enemies. A mystery even to herself, she learns to pass between Native and white societies, tenaciously carving her own path as an independent woman as she comes of age in 1930s California. But as she explores love and desire, family inherited and chosen, and the secrets of the natural world, one question gnaws at her: Is she fated to do harm? This wry and richly lyrical book, inspired by the Native women elders who shaped Sarris' youth, will be on special early sale with the Bay Area Book Festival following an incredible conversation between Greg Sarris and Susan Straight, author of Sacrament, celebrating independence, healing, and brilliant Native writing. 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →The Ins and Outs of MFA programs with SJSU
3d ago00:58:24Tap to summarizeJoin the Creative Writing professors of San Jose State University for a combined panel and workshop where the professors will discuss the ins and outs of MFA programs and lead attendees in a series of writing exercises for prose writers and poets. SJSU MFA program coordinator Nick Taylor and faculty members Keenan Norris, J. Michael Martinez and Brook McClurg have guided numerous aspiring writers through graduation and on to publication and they look forward to sharing tools of their trade with the public. Whether you're an aspiring MFA student, a long-time writer, or simply an interested reader, consider yourself invited. 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Publishing the Future
3d ago01:28:19Tap to summarizeTo 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Best of California
4d ago01:03:50Tap to summarizeWhat 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Shells, Lions, and Pomegranate Trees: Picture Books Approaching Difficult Topics
4d ago01:01:22Tap to summarizeIn 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Getting Unstuck with Ramona Ausubel
5d ago00:59:00Tap to summarizeBeing 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Dreams Can Be Deceiving: Asian American Identities
5d ago01:03:06Tap to summarizeWhere 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Academic Free Speech
1w ago01:00:36Tap to summarizeWhat 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
Transcribe →Bright Futures Ahead for Native Youth Lit
1w ago00:49:05Tap to summarizeProviding 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 Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/
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