Litquake's Lit Cast

Together with Green Apple Books, we copresented the launch party celebrating R.O. Kwon's highly-anticipated second novel, EXHIBIT, the exhilarating, blazing-hot story of a woman caught between her desires and her life. On this night in May at San Francisco’s historic Verdi Club, Kwon was in conversation with friend and fellow author Ingrid Rojas Contreras. 

Writing anything for public consumption is an act of bravery, but writing memoir and autobiography requires next-level courage. How can you share a true story that demands to be told—even if it might harm relationships, revisit trauma, unearth secrets—and portray your own life honestly and vulnerably, without the benefit of an Instagram filter?

In the this “How They Did It” conversation, co-presented by Litquake and LitCamp and recorded at Page Street Co-Working, we’ll hear from five intrepid authors of recent memoirs, all of whom took the heroic step of committing their fascinating stories to the page. Eddie Ahn (Advocate), Sylvia Brownrigg (The Whole Staggering Mystery), Margaret Juhae Lee (Starry Field), Susan Lieu (The Manicurist's Daughter), and Carvell Wallace (Another Word for Love) bravely unfurl stories of family, memory, ambition, healing, and love. Our moderator is Rachel Howard, author of the memoir The Lost Night. What did they risk on the page? What, if anything, do they regret? And how can they stir other would-be memoirists to take up the mantel of bravery and write their stories, no matter the stakes?

In early April, we celebrated IAIA with a reading from students, alumni, and faculty at Green Apple Books on the Park. You’re gonna hear from Tracey Abeyta, a current Institute student pursuing a MFA in Fiction; alumna Jennifer Elise Foerster; recent IAIA graduate, Ibe Liebenberg; and Deborah Jackson Taffa, the director of the MFA Creative Writing program at IAIA. 

We’re going way back to Litquake Festival 2012. It was a Sunday evening early in the festival at Z Space, the same Sunday that Hardly Strictly Bluegrass wrapped. That night, Hardly Strictly lent us some special guests with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James enjoying from the stands. On stage to celebrate Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, we had Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo fame, as well as surprise guest alt-country legend Steve Earle who closed the night out. 

Keep an ear/eye out for more archival recordings and stories as we count down to the 25th anniversary Litquake Festival, October 10-26, 2024. 

Sure, you might not have made the cut for "5 Under 35," but that certainly doesn't mean you need to give up on your dreams of writing and publishing a book! In the first installment of our ongoing "How They Did It" series, Litquake and LitCamp have brought together six authors who found their way to publishing success after the age of 40.

Recorded live at Page Street Co-Working’s space in Berkeley this spring, Alka Joshi, Anita Amirrezvani, Barbara Graham, Jacqueline E. Luckett, and Mark Ernest Pothier shared practical advice and inspiration in this lively discussion moderated by LitCamp's Janis Cooke Newman. 

Famed bohemian saloon Vesuvio Café welcomes Litquake for an edgy and hilarious North Beach reading celebrating 2020 authors (who didn’t get to have any damn fun). Featuring Vanessa Hua, A.H. Kim, Roberto Lovato, Caitlin Myer, and Maggie Tokuda-Hall. Hosted by Alia Volz. A rare opportunity to glimpse authors performing new work in their natural habitat. Held outdoors in Kerouac Alley.

Sponsored by Yerba Buena Community Benefit District

Co-presented by Healdsburg Jazz Festival and Poets & Writers

In the great tradition of San Francisco jazz and spoken-word basement readings first forged by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Rexroth, and Bob Kaufman, Litquake is proud to bring back this festival favorite, showcasing world-class poets accompanied by improvised music created on the spot. With Genny Lim, devorah major, Paul S. Flores, and Brontez Purnell. Music by the Marcus Shelby Trio.

Co-presented with MOAD. From The Guardian’s Georgina Lawton, a moving examination of how racial identity is constructed—through the author’s own journey grappling with secrets and stereotypes, having been raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she looked black. Raised in sleepy English suburbia, Georgina Lawton was no stranger to homogeneity. Her parents were white; her friends were white; there was no reason for her to think she was any different. But over time her brown skin and dark, kinky hair frequently made her a target of prejudice. In Georgina’s insistently color-blind household, with no acknowledgement of her difference or access to black culture, she lacked the coordinates to make sense of who she was.

This event is now available to watch on our YouTube page, along with the rest of our 2020 festival programming. Co-presented by City Lights Booksellers & Publishers “This notable achievement...is a harrowing account of how Sneed transforms violence and pain into an artist's life." —Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen: A Lyric In this collection of personal essays and poetry, acclaimed Brooklyn-based poet/performer Pamela Sneed details her coming of age in New York City during the late 1980s. Funeral Diva (City Lights) captures the impact of AIDS on Black Queer life, and highlights the enduring bonds between the living, the dying, and the dead. Sneed's poems not only converse with lovers past and present, but also with her literary forebears—like James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde—whose aesthetic and thematic investments she renews for a contemporary American landscape. Offering critical focus on matters from police brutality to LGBTQ+ rights, Funeral Diva confronts today's most pressing issues with acerbic wit and audacity. The collection closes with Sneed's reflections on the two pandemics of her time, AIDS and COVID-19, and the disproportionate impact of each on African American communities. Sneed discusses and reads from her work, alongside poet and Literary Hub editor Tommy Pico. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation Buy the authors' books: Pamela Sneed -- http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100510140&fa=description Tommy Pico -- https://bookshop.org/a/11096/9781947793576 Browse Litquake's bookstore here -- https://bookshop.org/shop/litquake

Co-presented by The Ruby and Left Margin Lit The best short stories evoke a whole world in a small space. But how do they get written? Join Litquake as we hear five writers (and readers) of short stories discuss their different approaches to writing the form. They'll discuss their own methods, philosophies, and techniques behind telling stories with economy and heart. With Yalitza Ferreras, Rachel Khong, Mimi Lok, Shruti Swamy, and C Pam Zhang. Remember to subscribe to Lit Cast to be notified the minute we release our episodes -- and subscribe to our Youtube channel to watch all of our archived readings and discussions from our 2020 Litquake festival.

Follow us on social media @litquake.  Buy the authors' books at Litquake's bookstore here -- https://bookshop.org/shop/litquake