Memoirs by notable local personalities, thrillers, historical novels, photography books and poetry are among the topics of author talks kicking off 2026 across the Bay Area. To submit an event to the calendar, email books@baycitynews.com.
Jan. 3
Randy Ribay: The award-winning author of young adult fiction, joined by fellow author Thien Pham, speaks about “The Awakening of Roku,” the latest title in his Chronicles of the Avatar series. [6 p.m. Books Inc., 317 Castro St., Mountain View]
Jan. 6
Kelli Stanley: The award-winning mystery writer of the Miranda Corbie series speaks about “The Reckoning,” a Humboldt County set novel and the first of a new series featuring investigator Renata Drake. [6 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Jan. 6
Corey Rosen: The longtime Berkeley host of “The Moth,” performer, producer and screenwriter speaks about “A Story for Everything: Mastering Storytelling for Any Occasion” at an interactive ticketed ($20 includes book) event. [7 p.m., Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]
Jan. 7
Claire Kahane: In her tell-all memoir, “Nine Lives,” the University of California, Berkeley scholar who was born during the Great Depression to Jewish immigrants, unveils her intimate self-transformations in the course of nine decades. [6 p.m., North Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda, Berkeley]
Jan. 8
Alix Christie: The part-time San Francisco writer’s historical novel “The Shining Mountains,” about a family caught in the crossfire of westward colonial expansion, is based on the true story of Angus McDonald, the brother of the author’s great-great-grandfather Duncan McDonald. [4 p.m., SF Public Library, Bernal Heights Branch, 500 Cortland Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 8
Julia Park Tracey: The Northern California historical fiction writer shares her new romantic comedy, “Whoa, Nelly!: A Love Story with Footnotes,” about a “Little House on the Prairie”-obsessed woman who goes on a journey following in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s footsteps to discover that the prairie isn’t as romantic as she imagined. [6:30 p.m., Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda]
Jan. 8
Bay Area Suite Chapbook Celebration: Poets Randy Prunty (“Gravity Catches All Things”), Elizabeth Robinson (“for the catechists”), Denise Newman (“Reality Is Occurring in the Cracks of Reality”), and George Albon (“26 Haibun”) speak about their work, which appears in “Bay Area Suite: Four Chapbooks from Three Count Pour.” [7 p.m., Green Apple Books, 1231 Ninth Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 10
Robert Liu-Trujillo: The Oakland writer and illustrator of children’s books shares his most recent title “Fresh Juice/ Jugo Fresco” at an event for families with kids ages 12 and under. [Noon, El Sobrante Library, 4191 Appian Way, El Sobrante]
Jan. 10
Richard Beal: The author, dubbed Tenderloin’s Ambassador for Recovery, discusses the experience of writing “Recovering From The Game, in which he shares his own and others’ experiences with addiction and recovery in San Francisco, in a panel session featuring some individuals whose stories are told in the book. [2 p.m., Main Library, first floor, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco]
Jan. 10
Jacob Anthony Rose: The San Francisco resident (aka drag queen Sheen Rose) shares the new memoir, “Stillness and Survival: A Life Between Trauma, Glitter, and the Echo of My Own Voice.” [3 p.m., Books Inc., Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 10
David D. Schmidt: Green Apple Books presents the Bay Area naturalist discussing “San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History,” in which he traces how natural forces and human choices have shaped the local landscape over centuries. [3 p.m., SF Botanical Garden, 1199 Ninth Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 10
Brian Brady: The Sonoma County crime novelist, a former police chief of Novato, speaks about his newest thriller “Greed,” a mystery about thieves working out of New York, Amsterdam and Paris that mastermind complex art forgeries and thefts. [4 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Jan. 11
Lisa Towles: The Oakland thriller writer speaks about “Switch,” in which investigators Mari Ellwyn and Derek Abernathy, tracking bank robberies, find their case taking a turn with the bizarre disappearance of a body from the local morgue, a mystery connected to the vanishing of the previous medical examiner. Towles appears in conversation with Ana Manwaring, author of JadeAnne Stone thrillers. [1 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Jan. 11
Nina Schuyler: The award-winning Northern California fiction writer shares her collection “In This Ravishing World,” a compilation of nine connected short stories featuring a “cast of dreamers, escapists, activists, and artists, creating a kaleidoscopic view of the climate crisis.” [2 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Jan. 11
Rebecca Elegant: The Marin poet The Marin poet, journalist and creative writing teacher speaks about “Tell Me Something True,” her collection of 35 original poems paired with images of Northern California’s natural beauty. [6 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Jan. 15
Maya Shanker: The Mountain View cognitive scientist and former senior policy advisor in the Obama White House, who headed the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team, speaks about “The “Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans,” with “Liar’s Poker” and “Moneyball” author Michael Lewis; RSVP required. [6 p.m., Shack 15, Ferry Building, San Francisco]
Jan. 16
Jason Buchholz: The Santa Rosa novelist speaks about “The Cartographer of Sands,” the story of two brothers (a recent parolee and a Berkeley professor) who set out across California in search of their missing teen sister who vanished and trying to understand why she left home. [7 p.m., Copperfield’s Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa]
Jan. 17
Dick Evans, Hannah Hindley: Evans, the San Francisco photographer and author of “San Francisco and the Bay Area: The Haight-Ashbury Edition,” “The Mission” and “San Francisco’s Chinatown,” and Hindley, an award-winning journalist and wilderness guide, share “In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area,” a book with 200 color photographs celebrating the abundant avian biodiversity of the region. [4 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Jan. 17
Karl Ove Knausgaard: The acclaimed Norwegian author appears in conversation with “Creation Lake” writer Rachel Kusher to promote “The School of Night,” the fourth title in his “Morning Star” six-novel series featuring an aspiring photographer; the ticketed ($42.99) talk is presented by Green Apple Books and Litquake and sponsored by Norway House. [6 p.m., Calvary Presbyterian Church at 2515 Fillmore St., San Francisco]
Jan. 18
Jenny Brandemuehl: The Bay Area advocate and speaker shares her award-winning memoir “Forever Fly Free: One Woman’s Story of Resilience and the Power of Hope and Love,” in which she describes her journey caring for her husband, who suffered life-threatening burns in a plane crash, in conversation with Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors program director Jill Sproul. [2 p.m., Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco]
Jan. 20
Broke-Ass Stuart: Aka Stuart Schuffman, the San Francisco writer and self-described cultural instigator appears in conversation with Tayler Mehit, creator of @taylesofthecity on Instagram, to promote “The Worst of Broke-Ass Stuart,” a collection of 20 years of stories, ruminations and poems about “scraping by, speaking up and falling in and out of love” in San Francisco. [6 p.m., Koret Auditorium, Main Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco]
Jan. 20
John Sayles: The Oscar-nominated director, screenwriter and novelist shares “Crucible,” his sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford, and the mogul’s attempt to rule not only an automotive empire, but the city of Detroit from the 1920s through World War II. [7 p.m., Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]
Jan. 21
Dick Evans, Hannah Hindley: Evans, a San Francisco photographer and author of “San Francisco and the Bay Area: The Haight-Ashbury Edition” and “San Francisco’s Chinatown,” and Hindley, an award-winning journalist and wilderness guide, share “In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area” in conversation with Meredith Elliott of Point Blue Conservation Science. [7 p.m., Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]
Jan. 21
John Sayles: The director, screenwriter and author discusses his new historical novel “Crucible,” described as a “brutally honest look at legendary industrialist and automobile titan Henry Ford” in a live event that also streams. [7 p.m., City Lights, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 22
James Cagney: The Oakland poet reads from “Ghetto Koans: A Personal Archive” in which he tells tales of “the forgotten, quiet hustlers…not con artists…but real, breathing, blue collar hustlers whose lives have been shoehorned into the influence industry against their own dreams.” [7 p.m., Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda]
Jan. 22
Natan Last: The New Yorker crossword contributor and immigration policy advocate speaks about “Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle,” in which he covers how a common, seemingly apolitical topic has become more and more popular and controversial. [7 p.m., Bookshop West Portal, 80 West Portal Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 22
David Weill: The New Orleans resident, a former Stanford University professor and renowned transplant doctor, discusses his new memoir, “Tell Me I Belong: A Journey Across Faiths and Generations” in which he details his experiences growing up as an agnostic, marrying a Catholic and then embarking on an intense search for his Jewish roots. [7 p.m., Books Inc., 74 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto]
Jan. 23
John Sayles: The acclaimed filmmaker, screenwriter and author discusses “Crucible,” his sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford, who attempted to rule not only an automotive empire, but the city of Detroit from the 1920s through the Second World War. [7 p.m., Copperfield’s, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa]
Jan. 24
Dick Evans, Hannah Hindley: Evans, a San Francisco photographer and author of “San Francisco and the Bay Area: The Haight-Ashbury Edition” and “San Francisco’s Chinatown,” and Hindley, an award-winning journalist and wilderness guide, share “In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area,” their book with 200 color photos celebrating the avian biodiversity of the region at a ticketed ($12-17) event joined by John Epperson, president of the San Mateo County Bird Alliance. [4 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Jan. 29
Tom Bentley-Fisher: The Bay Area theater director and writer speaks about “The Boy Who Was Saved by Jazz,” his coming-of-age story about a young man who finds an old pump organ in a derelict farmhouse to discover a love of and talent for performing music. [6:30 p.m., Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda]
Jan. 29
Grant Faulkner, Gail Butensky: Flash-fiction writer Faulkner and photographer Butensky appear in conversation with moderator/East Bay poet Maw Shein Win about “Something Out There in the Distance,” their photo-filled volume about lovers on a reckless, searching road trip through the American West. [7 p.m., City Lights, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco]
Jan. 30
Grant Faulkner, Gail Butensky: Flash-fiction writer Faulkner and photographer Butensky launch “Something Out There in the Distance,” their photo-filled volume about two lovers on a reckless, searching road trip through the American West. [7 p.m., Copperfield’s, 140 Kentucky St., Petaluma]
Jan. 31
Jill Damatac: The Filipino-American writer, now a British citizen, speaks about “Dirty Kitchen,” her memoir of family, food and growing up undocumented for 22 years in the United States. [3 p.m., Foster City Library, 1000 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City]
Jan. 30
Rich Kitchens: The longtime Piedmont High School educator speaks about his most recent book “Murder at the Old Tunnel” and answers questions about his three Phil Gibson mystery novels. For more information, email richkitchens@gmail.com. [4 p.m., Kingfish Pub, 5227 Telegraph Ave., Oakland]