Great historical fiction rewards readers with entertainment and education at the same time. With the support of the Consulate General of Canada, San Francisco/Silicon Valley.

This versatile author has written more than 45 chart-topping books — from the historical love story of Alex and Eliza Hamilton to the fantastical prequel to “The Descendants.” She talks the challenges of risky writing and how she finds her groove.

Through her characters, Pakistani-American young adult fiction writer Sabaa Tahir shows us what’s right, what’s possible, and what sorts of governance need not be tolerated.

The New York Times bestselling suspense writer is interviewed by Mystery Writers of America NorCal President, a bestselling author of 25 novels. They talk Coulter’s craft, art and life of writing. Sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America, Northern California Chapter.

The “SpaceGal” delivers a new character, Ada, who inspires young readers to ask questions and lean into their curiosity, showing them that scientists and engineers can look just like them!

The process of writing something daring doesn’t end with publication — authors have to live with the consequences of taking these risks, personally and socially. These panelists invite audience members to ask their own risky questions. Sponsored by the University of San Francisco, MFA in Writing Program.

The small country of Ireland has always had an outsize influence on world literature. For the third year in a row, the festival showcases some of today’s most powerful writers who come from this land of literary pioneers. With the support of Culture Ireland.

After every mass shooting, calls for stricter gun regulations ring out on one side; on the other, an insistence on guns, even on campuses, in the name of protection. Famed activist and feminist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz discusses her new book on the second amendment with Pulitzer Prize winner T.J. Stiles.

Compared to a feminist James Joyce, McBride comes to us from Ireland to talk about writing, life, feminism and communicating consciousness through deconstructive writing. With the support of Culture Ireland.

Phoebe Hearst was the eclectic mother of the University of California at Berkeley, just as Jane Stanford co-founded her namesake university through hands-on activism. What lessons do the stories of these brilliant, empowered women hold today for any woman who wants to use financial resources to shape society? Sponsored by the Journal of Alta California.

Is best-selling history bad history? Does good history have to be dull reading? Award-winning historians and biographers reveal how they explore big questions of American history through captivating narratives that win esteem in the academy yet appeal to wide audiences. Sponsored by Reed Schmidt, with partial support from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

This diverse panel — a former U.S. Border Patrol agent haunted by the job he quit, a novelist-historian and a journalist — provides a sweeping perspective on this vital issue. Sponsored by Mother Jones.

The purchase, preparation and experience of food are choices that profoundly shape not only our individual lives but social justice and our entire ecosystem. Alice Waters (“the most important figure in the culinary history of North America”) and San Francisco Chronicle food writer Jonathan Kauffman highlight the implications. Sponsored by Mother Jones.

Taken prisoner by the Kenyan government in 1977 because of artistic defiance of the regime, this Nobel Prize short-listed writer will recount this experience, its effect on his art and the freedom to write. Sponsored by UC Berkeley Arts + Design.

Interviewed by Dacher Keltner Zen Roshi (teacher) and anthropologist Joan Halifax ventures to answer the enduring question: How do we live well for ourselves and others at the same time? Emotion expert and director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center Dacher Keltner will interview. Sponsored by UC Berkeley Arts + Design.

An absolute must-see: 92- year-old Auschwitz survivor and trauma psychologist comes to us to discuss one of the most compelling books we’ve read this year, which Desmond Tutu called “a gift to humanity.” Sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay with the generous support of Eve Gordon-Ramek; in memory of Mayer Goldberg and Henry Ramek.

What has happened to civility and civic responsibility? What makes a good citizen in today’s America? Reich makes a heartfelt call to a nation on the brink as he shows us how to do our part in saving America’s soul.

The former president of the American Civil Liberties Union presents her book “HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship” — released for the first time at the festival in the home of the Free Speech Movement. Interviewed by the dean of UC Berkeley Law. Sponsored by UC Berkeley Arts + Design.

Drawing upon his 32 years as a writer and his 44 years as a traveler, Iyer will close the festival with a keynote illuminating the power of literature to create a world beyond walls. Iyer will then be interviewed by renowned literary critic John Freeman.

Together these writers, who have plumbed the topic of sexual assault deeply (and personally), will deconstruct the movement and explore its future. Sponsored by Zoetic Press.

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 turkey on making money funny. Take a break from all the seriousness out there. Don’t wait to cash in on this opportunity.

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, revising, publishing and marketing their books different and similar across these regions and writers?

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 cyberculture. A fresh review of fifty years!

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 Vanessa Hua, also a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle. Characters cope with mental illness in ‘The Border of Paradise’ (“stunning,” said the New York Times) by Esme Wang, who also blogs about cultivating resilience amidst disabilities. Start the morning with pathos, truth and wisdom from three dazzling fresh voices.

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 and the ways in which we come to terms with devastation.

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.” Armistead Maupin wrote of Jones, “Some people witness history; other actually make it happen.” Hear Jones’ personal telling of nearly four decades at the heart of the gay rights movement, and learn about his latest work in activism.

“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 the legend to life, vividly coloring in his time and place—imagine trying to write erotic poetry under the seige of Genghis Khan—and reminding us that the power of poetry transcends time and place, much like Rumi himself.

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 hear one of the great voices of children’s literature and take part in the debut of this picture book (already a favorite of festival staff) that is sure to become a classic. In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut San Francisco.

“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. (Book signings follow; you may buy books at the festival, and bring a few from home, too!)

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, and what the consequences are of letting those around us languish in powerlessness.

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 in having their own opinions in the digital age.

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 Man Falls From the Sky’ is “completely captivating…whether you’re in Nigeria or Chicago” (Ebony); Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s ‘Kintu’ has been called “a masterpiece of cultural memory” (Publishers Weekly), and Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s ‘Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun’ is one of the “brilliant books that you really need to read” (Buzzfeed).

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 authors.

 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 identity and ability play in the intersectional feminist landscapes of their stories? 

Gentrification has become a buzzword, but this profound social and economic shift involves far more than trendy boutiques, hipsters, and fancy lattes. Journalists Peter Moskowitz (‘How to Kill a City’) and Paul Madonna (‘All Over Coffee’) uncover the massive, systemic forces behind gentrification evictions, how this phenomenon changes our cities for the worse, and how we can fight back.

Four established authors take the mystery out of writing mysteries. Whether inspired by real life (like Dr. Ellen Kirschman), folklore (like Vidar Sundstol with his epic tales involving Nordic superstition), deeply-hidden family secrets, (like Wendy Hornsby’s filmmaker sleuth uncovers), or humor, mixups, and disasters (see: Steve Hockensmith), these hard-boiled mystery writers will clue you in on what makes a suspenseful “whodunit?”

Four bestselling thriller authors will reveal the trade secrets of crafting a thriller. Lescroart’s newest book is “a psychological thriller in bed with a homicide investigation.” Rydahl’s hero is “one of the most distinctive detectives you will meet this year.” Spinelli is both a writer and film director. Moderator Keith Raffel, a writer himself, formerly served as counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee overseeing the CIA, NSA, and other clandestine agencies.