Festivals

Litquake 2019: Words Around the World

Oct 12–13, 2019

San Francisco, California

This event has already taken place.

Now the largest independent literary festival on the West Coast, Litquake is a ten-day spectacle for booklovers, complete with cutting-edge panel discussions, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings. Enjoy a wide variety of authors and translated works from throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America at Litquake’s Words Around the World series of international events. More information about the 2019 Litquake festival here.

All events sponsored by the Center

Crime Outside the Mainstream

Saturday, October 12 | 12:00-1:00 pm | Hotel Emblem

Three diverse voices share their new novels of murder and mayhem. With S.S. Massouf (pulpy Pakistani neo-noir), Anita Felicelli (surreal Tamil-American legal thriller), and Naomi Hirahara (murder mystery on the island of Kaua’i). Moderated by author Margaret Dumas. Coffee provided by Bluestone Lane. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

Passports to the World

Saturday, October 12 | 1:30-2:30 pm | Hotel Emblem

Leading Bay Area author-translators shine a light on their practice, passion, and process to bring readers new work in English. With Dick Cluster, Jeffrey Leong, and Katie Silver. Moderated by Olivia E. Sears, founder of Center for the Art of Translation. Coffee provided by Bluestone Lane. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

The Enduring Influence of Persian Poetry

Saturday, October 12 | 3:00-4:00 pm | Hotel Emblem

Two Iranian-born authors discuss their recent work and how their influences, Sufi poet Attar and trailblazing female poet/film director Forugh Farrokhzad, can appeal to a new generation. With Jasmin Darznik and Sholeh Wolpé. Coffee provided by Bluestone Lane. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

I am God, A Diary of the Almighty

Saturday, October 12 | 4:30-5:30 pm | Hotel Emblem

Italian author Giacomo Sartori discusses his diabolically funny novel I Am God, the Almighty’s diary of the existential crisis that ensues when, inexplicably, he falls in love with a human. In conversation with writer/translator Sara Marinelli. Coffee provided by Bluestone Lane. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

The Thomas Mann House

Saturday, October 12 | 6:00-7:00 pm | Goethe Institut San Francisco

In 1942, Germany’s Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann moved into his new house in Pacific Palisades, California, which quickly became a gathering place for émigrés. Thomas Mann’s grandson Frido Mann remembers his grandfather’s famed residence in his recent book The White House of Exile, which presents a radical case for responsibility and communication in an age of global crisis. Moderated by U.C. Berkeley professor Lilla Balint. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

Child Immigrants

Sunday, October 13 | 12:00-1:00 pm | Hotel Emblem

Authors Katya Cengel and Gabriel Mendez discuss their recent and forthcoming oral histories and nonfiction, about the impact of immigration on children who undertake epic journeys to flee their home countries. Moderated by Voice of Witness editor Steven Mayers. Coffee provided by Bluestone Lane. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

Lost Children and Absent Fathers

Sunday, October 13 | 1:30-2:30 pm | Hotel Emblem

Two leading international contemporary novelists discuss their young female protagonists’ fantastical search for their fathers. Hagar Peeters (Netherlands) imagines the voice of Malva, an eight-year-old ghost of the daughter of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and Michelle Steinbeck (Switzerland) follows a young woman named Loribeth on a disturbing quest through nightmares reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch. Moderated by Neruda biographer Mark Eisner. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

Family Trauma and Literary Catharsis

Sunday, October 13 | 3:00-4:00 pm | Hotel Emblem

Three powerhouse contemporary female writers explore the pain of bereavement, the impact of mental illness, and the isolation of immigration, in searing new works which span from Russia and Sweden, to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. With Linda Boström Knausgård, Chia-Chia Lin, and Sophia Shalmiyev. Moderated by San Francisco Chronicle book columnist Barbara Lane. Coffee provided by Bluestone Lane. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation