Five Reasons to Love the Bay Area Lit Scene

Home to more than just famous authors from the past, the Bay Area has a tourist spot, a bar, a walking tour, a festival and thensome that fits every bookworm’s occasional need to venture out into the real world and meet a few fellow readers. But what’s the best way to really get your lit nerd on in the Bay?

Lit Festivals Are…Lit

Packed to the brim with authors, publishers and avid readers alike, a bevy of bookish festivals and pub crawls litter Bay Area social calendars.

Litquake runs for a full week in San Francisco in October, with readings, workshops, pub quizzes and author talks culminating in Litcrawl, a raucous evening in the Mission when attendees can swing from one event to another with their fellow writers and book lovers.
Across the bridge is Beast Crawl in September, which leads participants through downtown Oakland via a series of free literary events in various bars and galleries.
Fast approaching this April is Bay Area Book Festival, a three-day event in Berkeley that is perhaps the most prolific in its programming and the most widely attended from this list. This year’s highlights include a keynote opening with Pico Iyer and interviews with Viet Thanh Nguyen, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer.

Meet Your Faves in Real Life

Because the Bay is such a hub for entertainment tours, regardless of the medium, it’s possible to hear some of your all-time favorite authors speak and read excerpts just a few minutes away from your home.

East Bay Booksellers hosts weekly readings and book-launch celebrations with local authors. Guests have included Jasmine Guillory, Akwaeke Emezi and “U-God” Hawkins of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Given its history and in-house publishing selection, City Lights Booksellers is worth a visit regardless, but this well-loved favorite also hosts a number of author readings and conversations that you shouldn’t miss.
Book Passage is a local Bay Area chain with locations in San Francisco, Corte Madera and Sausalito, and they specialize in bringing some big literary names to the Bay. Just by looking at their calendar, you could spend entire days swinging between locations, going from event to event.

Workshop, Workshop, Workshop

If you’re ready to take the leap from reader to writer, then the Bay has no shortage of places to hone your craft.

The Writing Salon has been offering classes in various genres of writing, including poetry and playwriting, for nearly 20 years. They offer courses in San Francisco and Berkeley.
Via some fancy footwork in moving and rent, The Grotto has managed to continue offering writing classes in San Francisco since 1994. In addition to helping you hone craft and technique in various genres, the staff of the Grotto also offer workshops and courses in monetizing your writing and figuring out that #FreelancerLife.
Finally, if you want some feedback or just a group of fellow writers to keep you accountable, but you don’t have the cash for a workshop or a course, a ton of meet-ups around writing and learning how to write happen in the Bay regularly.

A Home for Fellow Bookworms

Just like the aforementioned writer meet-ups, the Bay is home to some great places for socializing in a bookish way.

If you’re feeling ready to join a book club but your friends don’t like reading and you hate your coworkers, there’s any number of book-club meet-ups happening in all parts of the Bay. Again, meet-ups are great because they’re usually free!
If you’re looking for a more prolific and historic book-club experience, then check out the Book Club of California, which is a century-old publishing and book-exhibiting institution!
OK, all right, maybe neither of these is an option for you. Why not embrace the enterprising spirit that Silicon Valley is famous for co-opting and start your own book club? You can do it; we believe in you.

Libraries. Full Stop.

Look, I’m just gonna come out and say it: libraries are cool as hell, and they are especially cool in the Bay. Here’s why.

The San Francisco Public Library is a work of art that houses works of art. The architecturally stunning building regularly hosts different art exhibits on its various floors, including full displays and exhibitions on its top floor, which visitors can access for free.
In addition to its roster of free workshops and classes — free tax help, y’all, so get over there — Oakland Public Library also hosts art and dance performances as well as history exhibitions that pertain especially to Oakland’s own cultural history.
If you’re more of a “buy the book” type of person, that’s OK. Libraries are free to enter, and some of the most beautiful reading rooms in the area are available to you this way — like the UCSF library that overlooks Parnassus Heights.