8th Annual Bay Area Book Festival
May 7 & 8 in Berkeley

Mechanics’ Institute is excited to announce the Bay Area Book Festival, which is back in person

this weekend, May 7 & 8 in Berkeley.

Many authors seen at Mechanics’ Institute will be presented at the festival.

 

See over 250 authors in 127 sessions (in person, with live-stream options) that'll inspire, embolden, and rekindle your creative spark. Hear some of today’s most lauded voices, discover new authors you’ll never forget, and get your books signed.

Plan your perfect literary weekend: browse the schedule!

Some highlights from the 8th annual fest:

A coastal hike guided by Obi Kaufmann (Sunday, May 8, 10:00 a.m.)

Hit the trails with beloved, bestselling naturalist and poet-painter Obi Kaufmann. During this intimate walking tour through the coastal East Bay hike near Berkeley (meeting location will be shared with registered participants), Kaufmann will share his deep knowledge of the ecology and natural history of the East Bay and beyond. Registration includes a copy of his brand-new, stunningly illustrated The Coasts of California.

Rebecca Solnit with Geeta Anand (Saturday, May 7, 2:00 p.m., Freight & Salvage)

Did you know that George Orwell (1984) had a passion for growing roses, a practice intertwined with his political vision? One of our most renowned thinkers, Rebecca Solnit, with Orwell’s Roses, will show us how activism and a reverence for beauty are natural bedfellows. Stop and smell the roses!

Buster Keaton and the Dawn of Cinema (Sunday, May 8, 3:30 p.m., Freight & Salvage)

From Slate’s premier film critic, Dana Stevens, comes a fascinating cultural biography of the silent-film icon that the New Yorker, in a rave review of Stevens’ book, called “a hero of the comedy of the resistance.” A multimedia presentation (in conversation with national treasure David Thomson) that will speak to the part of your soul that never forgot how to play.

 

A full slate of Mother’s Day themed conversations on May 8:

Frances Moore Lappé (Diet for a Small Planet) in conversation with her daughter, food-justice leader Anna Lappé;

“Motherhood: The Glorious Earthquake” with superstars Jokha Alharthi, Jazmina Barrera, and Chloé Cooper Jones;

The Collective Book Studio Presents: Mother’s Day, with Meredith Rose Essalat, Raquel Kelley, Josephine Wai Lin, and Kaitlin Soulé

 

Working on your writing craft? Don’t miss sessions on craft and practice.

Publishing: Who Calls the Shots?

Building a Literary Community

Writing the Story of Displacement

How to Write a Mystery

 

Reserve tickets on the Bay Area Book Festival Website