Historical novels, thrillers, fantasies, non-fiction, memoirs and literary fiction by local and visiting award-winning writers are subjects of sessions this summer. To submit an event to the calendar, email books@baycitynews.com.
Aug. 1
James Michael Buckley: The San Francisco urban planner and architectural historian discusses “City of Wood,” his book exploring how redwood logging shaped the region’s economy, labor systems and environment—from remote forest camps to the urban center of San Francisco. [3 p.m., SF Public Library, Ocean View Branch, 345 Randolph St., San Francisco]
Aug. 1
Dr. Michelle Perro: The North Bay pediatrician, integrative medical physician, author of “What’s Making Our Children Sick?” and co-founder and director of gmoscience.org, a website dedicated to the effects of genetically modified organisms, speaks about her new title, “Making Our Children Well: A Parent’s Guidebook: Empowering Healthy Families with Nutrition and Homeopathy.” [11 a.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 1
Matthew Spence: The Mill Valley executive coach, leadership consultant and TEDx speaker discusses “Lessons from the Wall,” his new book detailing his experiences upon undertaking an ultra-endurance hiking event in which he attempted to climb the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest (29,029 feet) in a weekend. He says the book isn’t about climbing, but about paying attention to lessons learned by trying difficult tasks. [4 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 4
Larry Hayes: The emerging Northern California writer, who has been a 911 emergency dispatcher, teacher, tour guide and worked for Major League Baseball, speaks about “14 Going on 24: Growing Up with Willie Mays,” his fictional nostalgic account of the American baseball icon. [7 p.m., Green Apple Books, 1231 Ninth Ave., San Francisco]
Aug. 4
Emil Wilson: The San Francisco artist shares his debut graphic novel “The Nightingales,” a fact-based story about a transformative friendship between a teen girl and a newcomer, who is dying of AIDS, who moves into her family’s home. [5:30 p.m., Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco]
Aug. 5
s.e. smith: The Northern California journalist, cultural critic and cofounder of The Flytrap, a worker-owned feminist media collective, shares their new book, “All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning,” which explores grief and mourning as activities best undertaken in community, in conversation with Beth Winegarner. [6:30 p.m., Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda]
Aug. 6
Story Is the Thing: Four Bay Area writers read from their current titles: Grant Faulkner’s “flash novel” is a collaboration with photographer Gail Butensky about two lovers on a road trip through the American desert; Vanessa Hua’s East Bay set novel “Coyoteland”; Lindsay Kent’s “My Twin the Murderer,” a psychological thriller rooted in the history of Menlo Park and nearby; and J.P. Lacrampe’s “Valet,” a whimsical novel about a helper robot and his 35-year-old ward’s madcap adventure. [6 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 6
Nina LaCour: Appearing in conversation with local young adult fiction writer Jandy Nelson, the Bay Area Lambda Literary Award-winning author of picture books, a chapter book series, young adult novels and adult literary fiction, speaks about her new title “Meet Me In The Garden,” a New Orleans-set historical novel and family saga inspired by her own Creole roots. [6:30 p.m., Books Inc., 1344 Park St, Alameda]
Aug. 7
Elisa Sunga: The Bay Area founder of Cake Picnic —community gatherings in which every attendee brings a whole cake — speaks about and signs copies of her new book “Cake Picnic: Recipes for the Love of Cake & Friends” at a ticketed ($22-$53) event; ticketholders are welcome to bring a cake. [5 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 7
James Wang: The Bay Area technologist, investor and writer with over a decade of experience in artificial intelligence speaks about his book “What You Need to Know About AI,” his crash course on AI’s powers. limits and how it actually affects people’s lives, with Google technologist Justin Kuczynski. [3 p.m., Atherton Library, 2 Dinkelspiel Station Lane, Atherton]
Aug. 8
Jude Berman: The Berkeley writer and editor meets and greets readers to promote her new thriller “The Lie,” described as “Dan Millman’s ‘Way of the Peaceful Warrior’ meets Dave Eggers’ ‘The Circle,’ in a tale marrying visionary and political fiction.” [11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Copperfield’s Books, 1300 First St., Suite 398, Napa]
Aug. 11
S.C. Godfrey: The Bay Area novelist launches her new mystery “The Enigma Challenge,” an action-packed story about an unlikely duo who race across Europe in a dangerous, high-stakes puzzle-solving competition worth millions. [7 p.m., Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]
Aug. 11
Randy Ribay: The Bay Area Filipino American author of young adult fiction whose novel “Patron Saints of Nothing” was a finalist for the National Book Award, discusses his new YA title, “Nest of Tongues,” a horror story about vampires from the Philippines. [7 p.m., Books Inc., 317 Castro St., Mountain View]
Aug. 12
Jill Bronfman: The award-winning Bay Area fiction writer, essayist and poet launches her debut novel “Thanks for Meeting Me Here,” a futuristic story about a woman with biological and artificial body parts who is in danger because the government hasn’t determined if she deserves human rights. [7 p.m., Green Apple Books, 1231 Ninth Ave., San Francisco]
Aug. 12
Joseph Ogilvy: The chef and writer shares “Tin Can Coast: A History of Industry, Greed, and Fishing in the Golden State,” in which he explores the hidden history of the California coast, with writer-entrepreneur-natural resources expert James Workman, in a ticketed ($12-$45) talk. [6 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 14
Robert Hass: The Berkeley author, poet laureate of the United States in the 1990s, and Pulitzer Prize winner shares his latest book ‘A Third Commonness: Essays on Poetry, Poetics, and the Natural World” in conversation with poet Brenda Hillman. [7 p.m., Mrs., Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]
Aug. 15
Richie Unterberger: The Bay Area rock ‘n’ roll historian speaks about his newest title “Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground,” described as the “authoritative tome on the band that changed music, fashion and culture forever.” [1 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 15
Scott Simon: The longtime host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday appears in conversation with his wife Caroline Simon to promote his memoir, “Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known,” which is filled with tales of critters that crossed his path. [4 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 16
Lina Fein: The San Francisco writer shares her memoir “Shattering the Mirror,” in which she describes growing up with a violent, controlling mother, techniques she used to survive a high-pressure career and two marriages, and how, at age 51, she faced her dying mother and began to reclaim her true voice. [1 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 16
Catherine Marshall Smith: The Bay Area novelist shares “The Resilience of Red Thread,” a Santa Cruz-set thriller and look at emotional manipulation about a woman who escapes her abusive ex-husband with a safe and steady man, only to discover he may not be what he seems. [1 p.m., Books Inc. Pruneyard, 875 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell]
Aug. 17
Jen Fisher: The TEDx Speaker, host of the WorkWell Podcast, and, at Deloitte, the first chief well being officer in the professional services industry, speaks about her book “Hope Is the Strategy: The Underrated Skill That Transforms Work, Leadership, and Wellbeing,” in which she makes the case that hope is a practical, learnable skill. [7 p.m., Cupertino Library, 10800 Torre Ave., Cupertino]
Aug. 17
Téa Obreht: The award-winning, bestselling author of “The Tiger’s Wife,” appearing in conversation with “The Bandit Queens” Bay Area novelist Parini Shroff, is promoting her new novel “Sunrise,” a Wyoming ghost town-set story spanning three lives and 100 years. [6 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 18
Mike Huguenor: The San Jose writer and musician releases “Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive! The Story of Asian Man Records,” his account of the independent label that local and beloved ska musician Mike Park founded in his parents’ garage in May 1996 and built into a catalog of more than 400 albums. [7 p.m., Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga]
Aug. 19
Andrew Sean Greer: The Pulitzer Prize winner discusses “Villa Coco,” his new novel about an aspiring archivist who becomes an assistant to a 92-year-old baroness, with Santa Cruz writer Karen Joy Fowler, author “The Jane Austen Book Club” and numerous other award-winners, in a ticketed ($12-$45) event. [7 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 20
Chang-rae Lee: Speaking with “The Incendiaries” novelist R.O. Kwon, the award-winning author of “Native Speaker” and writing instructor at Stanford University releases “A Tender Age,” his new novel exploring American masculinity and family dynamics while detailing challenges facing Korean-American Jeon-Gi, an 11-year-old child of immigrants. [7 p.m., Green Apple Books, 1231 Ninth Ave., San Francisco]
Aug. 20
Shelby Ann Harms: The Bay Area bookworm and romantasy writer, in conversation with bookseller Danielle DeVeaux, shares her debut novel “By the Order of the King,” which, she says, has “enemies to lovers, magical powers, and a found family coming together while living under the rule of a tyrannical king.” [7 p.m., Books Inc., 317 Castro St., Mountain View]
Aug. 20
Bora Lee Reed: The Korean writer, a Berkeley resident and director of communications at UC Berkeley’s public policy school, shares her novel “Song for Another Home,” described as a “‘Pachinko’-meets-’Homegoing’ story of a family’s separation and reunion amid love and war in Korea,” speaking with Bay Area writer-filmmaker Natalie Baszile a ticketed ($15-$43) event. [7 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 21
Dorothy Lazard: Appearing in conversation with Oakland children’s book author Angela Dalton, the retiree known for her long career at the Oakland Main Library and her 2023 memoir “What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World,” is promoting her new title, “Behind the Desk at the Main,” which takes readers through the day-to-day life of library work with love, wit and candor. [6:30 p.m., Books Inc., 1344 Park St, Alameda]
Aug. 21
Chang-rae Lee: Speaking with award-winning Bay Area bred novelist Elaine Castillo, the author of “Native Speaker” shares his new novel “A Tender Age,” an exploration of American masculinity and family dynamics as seen through the eyes of a young Korean-American boy, a child of immigrants, at a ticketed ($12-$45) event. [6 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 21
Claudia Hagadus Long: The Bay Area novelist and attorney speaks about “Sisters at an Exhibition: A Zara and Lilly Mystery,” her new title about sister sleuths who take up the search for a prized Caravaggio sketch that goes missing from a San Francisco museum. [7 p.m., Copperfield’s Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa]
Aug. 22
Haiku In The Alley: “The San Francisco Haiku Anthology” editors Susan Antolin, Garry Gay and Carolyn Hall host a celebration of San Francisco Bay Area haiku featuring local poets reading their work. [1 p.m., Kerouac Alley, between City Lights Bookstore and Vesuvio Cafe, San Francisco]
Aug. 22
Lexie Sharabianlou: The East Bay author shares her debut novel “The Blue Moon Cafe & 24-Hour Occult Emporium,” a queer cozy fantasy about the loves and adventures of a sorceress-in-training, in conversation with Oakland artist-writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall. [7 p.m., Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]
Aug. 23
K. Lang-Slattery: Appearing in conversation with award-winning cookbook writer Georgeanne Brennan, the California writer shares her second historical fiction novel “Ashes and Ruins”; the stand-alone World War II-set tale features courageous characters she introduced in “Immigrant Soldiers” who are based on the lives of her grandmother and aunt. [1 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 23
Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche: The Bay Area meditation master shares “The Tibetan Book of Success: A Guide to Relationships, Leadership, Communication, and Happiness,” of compilation of his four newly translated texts drawn from secular Tibetan teachings on how to live a good life. [4 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 23
Jared Huffman: Appearing with actor Peter Coyote, the congressman from Marin speaks about his new title “No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism,” his behind-the-scenes examination of Christian nationalism’s reach in the current U.S. government, and the fight to defend church-state separation; tickets ($40) for the talk include a copy of the book. [7 p.m., Dominican University, Angelico Hall, 20 Olive Ave., San Rafael]
Aug. 25
Joss Richard: The Los Angeles romance writer, author of “It’s Different This Time,” speaks about her new book “Let’s Kiss and Tell,” about a sex columnist and a news reporter who get into a fake relationship, in conversation with local romance author Jessica Joyce; the ticketed ($25) event includes admission and a copy of the book. [7 p.m., Books Inc., 317 Castro St., Mountain View]
Aug. 26
Susanna Kwan: The Bay Area writer speaks about her acclaimed debut novel “Awake in the Floating City,” the story of the friendship between an artist and the elderly woman she cares for, who are among the few remaining residents in futuristic San Francisco, which has flooded. [6:30 p.m., Millbrae Library, 1 Library Ave., Millbrae]
Aug. 26
Eleanor Vincent: The local writer reads from and answers questions about her acclaimed memoir “Disconnected: Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage,” which tells the story of a high conflict marriage with an autistic partner and provides resources for couples with opposite brain wiring. [5:30 p.m., San Ramon Library, 100 Montgomery St., San Ramon]
Aug. 27
Robert Reich: The former U.S. Secretary of Labor, bestselling author and UC Berkeley professor emeritus appears at a screening of “The Last Class,” the documentary capturing his final semester teaching his legendary “Wealth and Poverty” course, followed by a conversation exploring his new memoir “Coming Up Short” at a ticketed ($35-$55 includes book) event. [7 p.m., Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St., San Francisco]
Aug. 27
Greg Sarris: The Sonoma writer, who’s serving his 17th term as chairman of Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria discusses “The Last Human Bear,” his coming-of-age story following a Native Pomo woman from the Great Depression to 21st century (and inspired by the Native women elders he knew in his youth) with Bay Area novelist Jon Hickey, author of “Big Chief” at a ticketed ($12-$49) event. [7 p.m., Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Aug. 28
Analeigh Sbran: The Sunday Times bestselling author of “Lore of the Wilds” launches her new romantasy novel “Heir of Prophecy” in conversation with Northern California young adult novelist and podcaster Angela Montoya; registration required due to limited seating. [7 p.m., Copperfield’s Books, 1300 First St., Napa]
Aug. 29
John Brackett: Appearing in conversation with Grateful Dead podcaster Mike McClure, the writer and historian discusses his new title “Touch of Grey, or How the Grateful Dead Became Pop Stars,” which tells the story of how one song transformed the legacy of one of rock’s most iconic groups. [1 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 30
Lily Kanter: The Marin-based serial entrepreneur and coufounder of the home decor brand Serena & Lily speaks about “Woven For Purpose: How Design, Business, and Heart can Stitch a Better World, “in which she details how to grow a successful company while maintaining principles and family life. [1 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera]
Aug. 31
Chloe Benjamin: The bestselling Bay Area author of “The Immortalists” launches “Under Story,” her new novel telling the epic love story of scientists who find themselves at an isolated research station in Antarctica, in conversation with novelist Kirsten Chen. [7 p.m., Mrs. Dalloway’s, 2904 College Ave., Berkeley]