12th annual Bay Area Book Festival, a bold, Berkeley-based literary extravaganza

BERKELEY, Calif. - Starting this Friday, Berkeley will hold its 12th annual Bay Area Book Festival, a "world-class literary extravaganza", boasting as many as 400 authors on 21 stages at multiple downtown venues. 

A literary extravaganza 

More than 25,000 writers and readers are expected to convene at the festival May 29 through May 31 with more than 95% of the fest's programming presented free to the public. 

This year's theme, 'Writing the Future', is drawn from the works and legacies of revolutionary science fiction writer Octavia Butler and civil rights activist James Baldwin. 

Organizers say the festival is meant to serve as both a cultural celebration and a critical gathering space where authors, organizers and audiences unite around urgent contemporary issues while uplifting marginalized voices. 

J.K. Fowler has been the festival's executive director since 2024. He says the fest has historically made space for local exhibitors. There will be 150 exhibitors, including independent publishers and in some cases, radical ones like, PM Press, AK Press, and City Lights Publishers. 

"Festivals like ours bring so many people together," says Fowler. "Being together physically, asking questions and talking about what you just heard in the theater…those are all building blocks for the future." 

Connections and imaginative collaborations 

The festival's programming leans in on these types of shared experiences and ways in which we can be more collaborative. 

"One of the most challenging things for any group of people in moments like the moments we're in politically, is the shutting down of imagination, a shutting down of ways we would imagine the world to be," Fowler says. 

He says when you look at current authoritarian trends, "whether it be in Hungary or the U.S., one of the first things they do is target arts and culture." 

He says this is done as a tool to prevent the population from seeing beyond what is now, but that arts and culture rebuts that notion in profound ways. 

Referring to old interviews of Octavia Butler being asked about her near-prophetic style of writing books that reflect today's world, he says she answered that she noticed the patterns and trends of her time and what was happening in the world. 

See the full festival schedule here

One of the authors at this year's event is up for a Nebula Award. For published works, this is one of the highest honors in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Annalee Newitz's 2025 novella, Automatic Noodle, is a glimpse at San Francisco's not-too-distant, war-torn and climate-ravaged future. 

Ironically, a personified community of robots, who open an app-friendly, Chinese-style, hand-pulled noodle restaurant, are the story's central characters. They are humanized in a tender way that makes them endearing and universally relatable to the reader, so that the book somehow feels like it's being reined in from the brink of dystopia. 

Despite the othering of the robot community and the rampant ‘"robophobia" they may experience from some sectors of the human population, you get a sense of community building from these characters. For those who are seen as other and marginalized in reality, particularly those from a queer, non-binary and transgender perspective, this notion of building and finding community may feel relatable and could even give hope. 

Newitz is scheduled to appear at two moderated panel events during the festival. Both are on Sunday. 

Speculative Belonging: Crafting Queer-Centered Realities is at the Marsh Berkeley Theater from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Then, at 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., you can catch them at Heartware: Robots, Relationships, and the Future of Us at the Marsh Berkeley's Cabaret. 

Both of these events take on central themes from the book and allow audience members a thought-provoking way to explore them in a collaborative environment. 

Larger than ever 

Fowler says the festival has always been ambitious, even during the remote years of the COVID pandemic. This year's edition is no exception. 

"This year we bumped programming up 40%. This is the largest iteration of the festival that we've had," he says. "Attendance has always been good." 

He says the festival's audience is an accurate representation of what the Bay Area looks like and that's an important component the organizers pride themselves upon. Keeping with the theme, they are constantly conducting outreach to younger demographics.

There are 15, one-hour writers' workshops on several topics, including zines, a teen poetry workshop led by Youth Speaks, an organization that amplifies the voices of youth through spoken word arts and education. On Sunday, a Bookwork Block Party from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be held at Civic Center Park on Allston Way and MLK Jr. Way. 

With workshops high in demand, Fowler reminds attendees that they can join the waitlist if what they're interested in is already full. 

He says the headliner events will be a hot-ticket item. On a personal level, Fowler is looking forward to the interview mashups. Film director and activist, Boots Riley, hot off the theatrical release of his surrealist-tinged I Love Boosters, will moderate an event featuring his father, Walter Riley, also an activist. Another one of these segments will feature "influential thought leaders" and authors, Rebecca Solnit paired with Saul Williams. 

"I do hope that people walk away with ideas," Fowler says. 

Before he was the fest's executive director, he attended for his own enjoyment and said he loved it. Now, with his direct involvement and oversight, and the efforts of some 300 volunteers from across the Bay, he continues to work towards a goal of ensuring that those who attend are altered or challenged in a productive way. 

Andre Torrez is a digital content producer for KTVU. Email Andre at andre.torrez@fox.com or call him at 510-874-0579. 

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