7:30 pm
Tao Lin at The Booksmith

Brooklyn-based author and poet Tao Lin returns to San Francisco to read from his newest novel, Richard Yates.

The Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco FREE; Preferred seating voucher with Booksmith purchase of Richard Yates beginning September 7 and while supplies last.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5

6 pm
Lan Samantha Chang at Book Passage, Ferry Building

Based in Iowa City, fiction writer Lan Samantha Chang reads and signs copies of her new novel, All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost.

Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco FREE

7:30 pm
Nick Bilton at The Booksmith

New York Times contributor Nick Bilton comes to San Francisco to read and sign copies of I Live in the Future & Here’s How It Works.

The Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco FREE; Preferred seating voucher with Booksmith purchase of I Live in the Future, beginning September 14 and while supplies last

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6

7 pm
James Howard Kunstler at Books Inc. Berkeley

Author, editor, blogger, and frequent contributor to The New York Times Sunday Magazine, James Howard Kunstler reads from his newest book, The Witch of Hebron, the sequel to his recent World Made by Hand, a novel of America’s post-oil future.

Books Inc., 1760 Fourth St., Berkeley FREE

7 pm
Lorin Stein at City Lights

Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review, in conversation with Oscar Villalon, former SF Chronicle book editor.

City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco FREE

7 pm
Stina Katchadourian at Kepler’s

Join Finnish author Stina Katchadourian at Kepler’s Books.

Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park FREE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7

7 pm
Thaddeus Russell at City Lights

Historian, essayist and cultural critic Thaddeus Russell reads from and signs his latest book, A Renegade History of the United States. In the spirit of the late Howard Zinn, Russell shows that drunkards, laggards, prostitutes, and immigrants were the real heroes of the American Revolution.

City Lights, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco FREE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8

5-7 pm
Not Your Mother’s Book Club

A panel discussion and book signing by authors writing fiction for teens. Co-presented with Not Your Mother’s Book Club, a monthly literary salon for teenagers in the Bay Area that also offers weekly online author interviews, online contests, and in-school author events. For more information check out notyourmothersbookclub.com.

Books Inc. Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco FREE

7 pm
David V. Herlihy at Public Bikes

In the late 19th century, an accountant named Frank Lenz quit his job to cycle around the world. Two years later he mysteriously disappeared during the final leg of the journey. Author David V. Herlihy investigates the mystery in his new book The Lost Cyclist, and will read from the book at Public Bikes, with sales and signing to follow. In conjunction with Green Apple Books.

Public Bikes, 123 South Park Avenue, San Francisco FREE

7 pm
Steve Roby and Brad Schreiber at Book Passage, Corte Madera

Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber, co-authors of the new Hendrix biography Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius, come to Book Passage to read from their book and give away a free electric guitar!

Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera FREE

Lit Crawl launches Phase 1 with readings from local lit orgs, reading series, and indie publishers; themes of food, transgressive lit, spirituality, and online writing; Bomb magazine’s BOMB-aoke!; and our annual Clarion Alley madness!

Access a printable Litquake 2009 Crawl Map.

Clarion Alley, Between 17^th & 18^th, Mission & Valencia

Dirty in the Alley: Literature from the Gutter Up

(Sign up for Phase 2 Open Mic in Phase 1!)

Amanda Coggin, Stefan De La Garza, Cynthia Gentry, D. R. Haney, Diane Karagienakos, Andre Perry, Jen Siraganian,  Tony DuShane

Four Barrel Coffee, 375 Valencia

Kearny Street Workshop: I Left My Heart In…?

Musings on east/west dichotomies, bi-coastal travels, and the meaning of place.
Samantha Chanse, Khoi Nguyen, Brynn Saito, Nina Sharma, Alice Wu

Artzone 461 Gallery, 461 Valencia

Three Rooms Press

Peter Carlaftes, Joie Cook, Kat Georges, Karen Hildebrand, Dominique Lowell, Jane Ormerod

The LAB, 2948 16^th

SFist and SF Appeal Present: Collisions on the Information Superhighway

It’s a two-way street. As opposed to writing for print, online writing is a medium of instant gratification- and immediate pillory. Join some of San Francisco’s freshest online voices as they grapple with the joys and heartaches of being ‘out there’ in the interwebs without a net.

Brock Keeling, Eve Batey, Katie Ann, Matt Baume, Christine Borden, Phil Bronstein, Ramona Emerson, Tag Savage

Forest Books, 3080 16^th

The Way to Happiness: Spirituality in Challenging Times

Byron Belitsos, Matthew Fox, Brenda Knight, Nina Lesowitz, Kamla K. Kapur

Ti Couz, 3108 16^th

Cherry Bleeds

Cherry Bleeds Presents No F**king Regrets: A loving embrace of our DNA’s inner reptile and transcendent transgression.

Melissa Hansen, Missy Church-Barrow, MK Chavez, Aimee De Long, William Taylor Jr., Daphne Gottlieb

Dalva (21+), 3121 16^th

Instant City Magazine

Jamey Genna, Ana Maria Ventura, Gravity Goldberg, Sherilyn Connelly, Suzanne Kleid, Jim Nelson

Adobe Books, 3166 16^th

Manic D Press

Thea Hillman, Jon Longhi, Tarin Towers, Jennifer Blowdryer, James Tracy, Eric Spitznagel, Jennifer Joseph

Double Dutch (21+), 3192 16^th

Rebel Reading Series

Jason Myers, Karen Finlay, Dan Strachota, Stephanie Pullen

Elixir (21+), 3200 16^th

Babylon Salon Spotlight Reading

Spotlighting readers from Babylon Salon, a quarterly reading series that brings together established authors, emerging writers, a featured literary journal and an author from its pages.

Jay C. Barmann, Kerry Donoghue, Nick Krieger, Anna Leahy, Ann K. Ryles

Creativity Explored, 3245 16^th

Threepenny Review

Kathryn Crim, T. J. Clark, Louis B. Jones, Elizabeth Tallent, Tony Tulathimutte, Anne Wagner, Dean Young

Muddy Waters, 521 Valencia @ 16^th

Mission Street Poets

Readings from a group of poets and performers who meet on the corner of 16^th & Mission.

Charlie Getter, J. Brandon Løburg, m.g. martin, Jonathan Siegel, Amber Bouman, Guinevere Q, Peck The Town Crier (aka Chris Peck), Stellar Cassidy

Casanova (21+), 527 Valencia

San Francisco Writers’ Grotto: Psycho Babble from The Grotto

Oddballs, whack jobs, and loony ideas. The San Francisco Writers’ Grotto celebrates deviating from the norm.

Allison Hoover Bartlett, Elizabeth Bernstein, Po Bronson, Chris Colin, Janis Cooke Newman, Julia Scheeres, Ethan Watters

Mission Street Food, 2234 Mission St.  (Lung Shan Restaurant)

Note changed venue—no longer at Bar Tartine!

Meatpaper

Marissa Guggiana, Heather Smith, Chris Ying

Root Division, 3175 17^th

Root Division: Quaking in the Roots

Root Division, an arts and arts education non-profit in the Mission that provides subsidized studio space to working artists, is proud to host a night of fiction, performance, and creative wizardry by four Bay Area writers.

Mateo Hoke, Miranda Mellis, Eric E. Olson, Christopher Lura, Christopher Cook

18 Reasons, 593 Guerrero

Edible San Francisco

Bruce Cole (emcee), Susan Coss (curator), Molly Watson, Novella Carpenter, Andy Griffin, Jeannette Ferrary

The Dark Room, 2263 Mission

Bomb Magazine Presents: BOMB-AOKE!

Re-enact BOMB’s classic interviews (available at BOMBsite.com) in a karaoke-style format! Act out Jonathan Safran Foer interviewing Jeffrey Eugenides. Or pretend to be Willem Defoe interviewing Frances McDormand! Best performance wins a free vintage issue of BOMB worth lots of dough. Special surprise guests writers!

Judges: Brian McMullen, Laura Howard, Paul W. Morris

Paxton Gate Kids, 766 Valencia

Paxton Gate Kids Presents: Edward Gorey Story Hour

Surprise readers will share classic Edward Gorey stories, like The Blue Aspic or The Remembered Visit.

*Bring your kids!

on to Phase 2

skip to Phase 3

Phase 3 presents publication-curated readings from Ping-Pong, Re/SEARCH, Narrative, Canteen, Tin House, The Believer, & McSweeney’s, S.F. Chronicle, and Watchword Press/Farallon Review; themed fun with Heyday Books, The Rumpus, Philippine-American lit, travel authors, haiku and poetry; comedy group Kasper Hauser, and even more!

Access a printable Litquake 2009 Crawl Map.

Between 17th & 18th, Mission & Valencia

Clarion Alley: In the Dirty Crevices with Kasper Hauser

Kasper Hauser will transform Clarion Alley into a different kind of alley: an alley of ideas, of the mind, an alley of fast-paced live comedy and dynamic book readings, an alley of getting to know your body.

Gravel & Gold, 3266 21st

Ping-Pong!

Gravel & Gold and the Henry Miller Library invite you to a reading from the Ping-Pong journal of art and literature.

James Maughn, Dan Linehan, Kimberly Jean Smith, Charlie Anders, Maria Garcia Teutsch

Ritual Roasters, 1026 Valencia

Narrative Magazine Presents: The Seven Deadly Sins

Narrative Magazine joins Litquake with six great authors whose work has helped narrativemagazine.com become the gold standard of online literary magazines.

Tom Barbash, Carol Edgarian, Melanie Gideon, Charlie Haas, Kara Levy, Matthew Zapruder

The Marsh Mock Café, 1062 Valencia

Inside Storytime Hustlers

InsideStorytime HUSTLERS features sex-worker literati, some from Soft Skull’s anthology Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money and Sex.

David Henry Sterry, R.J. Martin, Diana Morgaine, Juliet November, Juliana Piccillo

The Marsh Upstairs, 1062 Valencia

Small Press Distribution Presents New Lit Generation

Trade a poem for a free book at SPD’s Poetry Trading Post! SPD makes literature by independent publishers widely available, and encourages young people to read and write with classes, events, and by putting books into their hands. Find books, New Lit poems, and much more at spdbooks.org.

Barbara Jane Reyes, Cedar Sigo, Kaya Oakes, Kiala Givehand, Alexandra Tremblay-McGaw, Ashley Redfield, Kaila Wilkey

Laszlo Bar, 2526 Mission // 21 + over

Re/SEARCH

James Charles Gatewood and V. Vale will present an audio-visual presentation encompassing the best-selling Modern Primitives book, with graphic illustrations. Charles will read a recent short story.

Doc’s Clock, 2575 Mission // 21 + over

SF Chronicle Presents…

Mark Morford, Joe Garofoli, Leah Garchik, Don Asmussen

The Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd // 21 + over

The Rumpus Presents…

John Wesley Harding, Vendela Vida, Bucky Sinister, Kevin Smokler,  Michelle Richmond,
Stephen Elliott (host)

Revolution Café, 3248 22nd

Canteen Presents…Overflowing with Inspiration

Canteen is the literature and arts magazine that reveals more about creativity. Experience  five of the contributors to our fourth issue—novelists and poets who let it spill into the night.

Helena Echlin, Keith Ekiss, Andrew Sean Greer, Heather Kirn, Peter Orner

Latin American Club, 3286 22nd // 21 + over

The Believer Magazine and McSweeney’s Present…

The Believer magazine and McSweeney‘s present poets Troy Jollimore, Joshua Clover,  and Rae Armantrout.

Fabric8 Gallery, 3318 22nd

PAWA & Arkipelago Bookstore Present: Of History & Myths — Writings from Philippine-American Authors

PAWA (Philippine American Writers and Artists) encourages the creation of literature and arts among its members. For information about their latest anthology, Field of Mirrors, and their Author Workshop and Reading series, log on to pawainc.com.

Emcee and curator Karen Llagas
Luis H. Francia, Aimee Suzara, Rona Fernandez, Jenesha “Jinky” de Rivera, Eileen Tabios, Benito M. Vergara, Jr.

Lone Palm, 3394 22nd // 21 + over

Tin House Presents…

An evening with four Tin House authors, with a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Thai restaurant featured in Katie Crouch’s story, “But First, Let Me Tell You What We Ate.”

Lucy Corin, Katie Crouch, CJ Evans, D. A. Powell

The Liberties, 998 Guerrero // 21 + over

Glamorous in Retrospect

Travel writers share insights, adventures, and mishaps from around the world.

Pamela Alma Bass, Carl and Karl (aka Geoff Bolt and Michael O’Brien), Francesca De Stefano, Natalie Galli, Don George, Jeff Greenwald, Larry Habegger, Laurie McAndish King

Cafe QueTal, 1005 Guerrero

The International Poetry Library of San Francisco

The International Poetry Library of San Francisco, a non-profit library for working poets and poetry enthusiasts, provides online and on-site poetry resources to browse, rent, or purchase.

Bruce Smith, Karen Carissimo, Rebecca Foust, Leticia Hernández, Jules Gibbs, Tomás Riley

Artillery Gallery, 2751 Mission

As You Like It: Imaginations without Limit

Emily Mitchell, Joshua Mohr, mimi lok, Warren Hinckle, Scott Keneally

Cafe La Boheme, 3318 24th (across from BART)

Sounds Like Crazy

God and physics, ghosts in Russia, bar mitzvahs in Appalachia, five people living in a house inside a head— one crazy event moderated by a shrink.

Marty Castleberg, Yanina Gotsulsky, Paul R. Linde, M.D., Shana Mahaffey, Ransom Stephens, Ph.D., Barry Willdorf

Muddy Waters, 1304 Valencia @ 24th

Write to Fight: Heyday Books Presents California Rabble Rousers

Emcee: Kate Brumage, Patricia Wakida, Elaine Elinson, Stan Yogi, Nesta Rovina, Jeannine Gendar, Mike Miller

Mission Pie, 2901 Mission

Watchword Press & Farallon Review Present…

West Coast Litmags serve up literature, music, and theater.

Britta Austin, Chris Straffolino, Maw Shein Win, Lewis Buzbee, Laurie Doyle,
James Hass

Receiver Gallery, 1415 Valencia

Lit Up Writers!

Brittny Bottorff, Laurie Frater, Kelly Kelly, Jennifer Lou, Mike Shur

Anthony’s Cookies, 1417 Valencia

Haiku Poets of Northern California

The Bay Area figures prominently in the history of American haiku. The Haiku Poets of Northern California (HPNC) was formed in 1989 to further the writing, study, and appreciation of English-language haiku and related genres.

Susan Antolin, Fay Aoyagi, Garry Gay, David Grayson, Carolyn Hall, Ebba Story

back to Phase 1

back to Phase 2

• 6:30 pm: Berkeley Breathed, author of Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster
• 8 pm: Black, White, and Read: Litquake’s Book Ball

6:30 pm

Berkeley Breathed, author of Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster

Litquake and Kepler’s co-present Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, and the release of his first illustrated novel.

Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; (650) 324-4321 Admission: free

8 pm

Black, White, and Read: Litquake’s Book Ball

Litquake kicks off its ten-year anniversary with our first-ever opening night Book Ball, a mashup of Truman Capote’s legendary Black and White ball and a list of only-in-SF ingredients: recession elegance, literary hijinks and smarty-pants schmooze. Mingle with authors, extend your pinky with a cocktail or down our limited edition Litquake beer, all while enjoying arias from Bay Area Bach, grooving with the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo and taking in a world premiere performance of an original musical tribute to Litquake. DJ dancing to follow. Note our tenth anniversary rollback ticket pricing! Attire: Fabulous and mysterious* * Optional cloaking device: party masks of famous authors will be available at the door — or be who you want to be and concoct one of your own!

Green Room (above Herbst Theatre), 401 Van Ness Avenue at McAllister Street, San Francisco; (415) 392-4400 Admission: $19.99 includes one drink & nibbles; available at www.brownpapertickets.com

• 11 am-5 pm: Off the Richter Scale
• 6 pm: Chaos Is a Friend of Mine
• 7 pm: Color Me SF:The Science Fiction Worlds of Octavia Butler & Carl Brandon (Note: 7 pm is the correct starting time.)
• 8 pm: Be Afraid! Evil Queens, Menacing Dykes, and Secret Gay Agendas

11 am- 5 pm

Off the Richter Scale

Writers who will shake up your literary world! A whirlwind reading tour through a vast array of literary styles and genres, from nonfiction to science fiction to poetry, memoir and visual works. Book sales and signing to follow.

San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
(415) 557-4595
Admission: free

11 am-12 noon

The Way Things Were: Biography and History

Dan Dion, David Helvarg, Gary M. Pomerantz, Kirsten T. Saxton, Linda Himelstein, T.J. Stiles

12 noon-1 pm

As I Recall It: Memoir

Andy Raskin, Canyon Sam, Genine Lentine, Holly Payne, Sophia Raday, Steven Winn

1-2 pm

A Different Way of Seeing Things: Poetry

Diane di Prima, Alexandra Teague, Brian Teare, Camille T. Dungy,  Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet, Paul Corman-Roberts

2-3 pm

In Other Worlds: Science Fiction & Fantasy

David P. Murphy, John Shirley, Peter S. Beagle, S.G. Browne

3-4pm

Visualize This: Graphic & Illustrated Works

Annice Jacoby, Ben Fong-Torres, Camille Picott, Ivory Madison, the Stanford Graphic Novel Project

4-5 pm

May You Live in Interesting Times: Just the Way Things Are

Geoffrey Nunberg, Jane Vandenburgh, Jess Walter, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Wagner James Au

6-8 pm

Chaos Is a Friend of Mine

Authors and musicians spew forth on the topic of music. With Sam Barry, Alan Black, David Comfort, Jon Ginoli, Linda Robertson, RU Sirius, Denise Sullivan, and Richie Unterberger. Emceed by Litquake co-founder Jack Boulware. Book sales and signing to follow.

Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk Street, San Francisco; (415) 923-0923
Admission: $5 at the door
21 and over

7 pm

Color Me SF:
The Science Fiction Worlds of Octavia Butler & Carl Brandon

Join us for a panel on Octavia Butler, one of science fiction’s preeminent authors of color. Readings, audience Q&A, and discussion of the Carl Brandon Society, “dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres.” Moderator: author Terry Bisson. Cash bar to benefit the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Note: 7 pm is the correct starting time.

Variety Preview Room Theatre, 582 Market Street, First Floor, San Francisco
(415)572-1015
Admission: $5 at the door

8 pm

Be Afraid! Evil Queens, Menacing Dykes, and Secret Gay Agendas

From lurid pulp novels to YouTube sermons, America’s fear of the gay menace still runs strong. They could be your neighbors or your children’s teachers. They could be lurking in your locker rooms and your foxholes, moving, one step at a time, closer to world domination. Are these just crazy conspiracies, or is there something real to fear about the shadowy queens and dykes forced to skulk on the edges of society? Readings by Marcus Ewert, Justin Chin, Aaron Shurin, Justin Hall, Monica Nolan, and Meliza Bañales.

Joe’s Barbershop, 2150 Market Street, San Francisco
(415) 255-9096
Admission: $5 at the door

• 12:30-4:30 pm: Shaken and Stirred: Litquake in Conversation
• 3 pm: Roz Savage, author of Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean
• 5 pm:Literary North Beach Walking Tour
• 7 pm: Barely Published Authors
• 7:30 pm: One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

12:30 pm-4:30 pm

Shaken and Stirred: Litquake in Conversation

An afternoon of invigorating panel discussions that highlight the cutting-edge subjects of literary life. Book sales and signing to follow.

San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
(415) 557-4595
Admission: free

12:30-1:25 pm

Genre Writing: Literary Ghetto or Publishing Opportunity?

It’s no secret that the mainstream book business doesn’t consider fiction like thrillers, romances, and mysteries “literary.” And yet these types of novels are not only extremely popular, they’re often easier for writers to sell to agents and publishers. Some of the Bay Area’s top genre authors will talk about this dilemma and about how strong protagonists, good writing, and great storytelling don’t have to be limited to “literary” fiction. Moderator: Pamela Feinsilber. With Jessica Barksdale Inclan, Laurie R. King,  Christi Phillips.

1:30-2:25 pm

Outside the Lab: Meshing Science with the Real World

Science writers and journalists explore the humane and ecological sides of scientific inquiry. Moderator: David Ewing Duncan. With Peter Laufer, Susan Freinkel, Douglas Carlton Abrams.

2:30-3:25 pm

The Value of the Essay in the 21st Century

The essay is a powerful tool for students, scholars, educators and anyone else who wants to persuade and communicate effectively. In a time when anyone’s thoughts can be published almost instantaneously on the web, appreciating the power and understanding the elements of an incisive essay is more pertinent then ever. Presented in conjunction with Stanford Humanities Center. Moderator: Robert Harrison. With Dan Edelstein, Andrea Lunsford, Nicholas Jenkins.

3:30-4:25 pm

Beyond the Book: Adapting Writing for Other Media

What happens when a book attracts interest from other media and vice versa? Two Bay Area writing teams discuss the process of adaptation, and the inherent differences between the printed word and a story told for the screen. Moderator: Oscar Villalon. With Keith and Kent Zimmerman, Logan and Noah Miller.

3 pm

Roz Savage, author of Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean

Litquake and Books Inc. welcome British author Roz Savage, who is also an ocean rower, amateur runner, environmental advocate, and motivational speaker.

Books Inc. in the Marina, 2251 Chestnut Street, San Francisco
(415) 931-3633
Admission: free

5 pm

Literary North Beach Walking Tour

You know Kerouac and Ginsberg, but how about Rexroth and Watts? Get acquainted with the literary lights on this ramble through North Beach (approximately 60-90 minutes in length).

Start at the Beat Museum, 540 Broadway, San Francisco
Admission: free

7 pm

Barely Published Authors

Readings by the Bay Area’s best up-and-coming masters of prose. With Katie Burke, Joshua Citrak, Andrew Dugas, Luke Heyerman, Robert McLaughlin, Shana McLean Moore, Peg Alford Pursell, Matt Stewart. Emceed by Ransom Stephens.

Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco; (415) 647-2888

Admission: free

21 and Over

7:30 pm

One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

Exclusive Bay Area premiere of the 2008 documentary film One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, an evocative account of Jack Kerouac’s soul-searching retreat to a rustic cabin in the fog-banked canyons of Big Sur. Directed by Curt Worden. Featuring Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, Tom Waits, S.E. Hinton, Patti Smith, Amber Tamblyn, Jay Farrar, Jack Hirschman, and more.

Barrel House, 80 Tehama Street, San Francisco

Admission: $15
Tickets available in advance at Brown Paper Tickets

21 and over

• 3-5 pm: Getting Your First Book Published: A Publishing Industry Roundtable FULL
• 5:30-7:30 pm:  Being Discovered: First-Time Authors Tell All FULL
• 7:30 pm: Poets in the Pews
• 8 pm: Journey to the End of the Bay: Punk Rockers Spill Their Guts
• 8 pm: The Play-Makers

3-5 pm

Getting Your First Book Published: A Publishing Industry Roundtable FULL

Hear insiders’ accounts of the publishing process. Learn everything from why your query letter may not be working, to how Web 2.0 might play a role in your publishing plans. Bring your questions.

Moderator: Foundation Center director Janet Camarena. With HarperOne V.P. associate publisher Claudia Riemer Boutote, literary agent April Eberhardt, Scribd.com content and marketing manager Kathleen Fitzgerald, Numina Press Editor-in-Chief Yanina Gotsulsky, literary agent Ted Weinstein.

Foundation Center, 312 Sutter Street, San Francisco; (415) 397-0902

5:30-7:30 pm

Being Discovered: First-Time Authors Reveal All FULL

Learn from a panel of newly published, first-time writers about all that was involved in making their dream of writing a reality. Topics covered will include: finding the time and discipline to regularly write, identifying potential publishers, getting noticed by literary professionals, dealing with rejection, and publicizing your book. The authors will also talk about the literary communities they belong to, and how these played a role in the journey to publication.

Moderator: Kemble Scott. With Allison Hoover Bartlett, Seth Harwood, Linda Himelstein, Kathryn Ma, Shana Mahaffey.

Foundation Center, 312 Sutter Street, San Francisco; (415) 397-0902

7:30 pm

Poets in the Pews

Celebrate Columbus Day with some of the country’s most riveting and electric young poets, in the intimate vaulted chapel of Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral. A rare assembly of spirited, passionate, and powerfully contemplative voices. All donations benefit Poetry Flash, the West Coast’s premiere poetry review and event calendar. With Brendan Constantine, Jericho Brown, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, C. Dale Young, Ilya Kaminsky.

Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street, San Francisco
(415) 749-6300

Admission: $5 suggested donation, no one will be turned away

8 pm

Journey to the End of the Bay: Punk Rockers Spill Their Guts

Litquake and Porchlight Storytelling collaborate for true tales of punk-rock anarchy and excess, launching the new book Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day, by Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor. Book sales and signing to follow.

Hosted by Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte. Storytellers include Lynn Breedlove (Tribe 8), Anna Joy Springer (Sister Spit, Cypher in the Snow), Bucky Sinister (Gilman spoken-word), Oran Canfield (the Farm), Rozz Rezabek (Negative Trend), Jesse Luscious (Blatz, the Gr’ups), John Geek (Fleshies, Triclops!), Chicken John (Circus Redickuless), Kareim McKnight (Barrington/Cloyne), Johnny Strike (Crime), and Hank Rank (Crime). Live music by the Avengers’ Penelope Houston and her band.

Broadway Studios (formerly the On Broadway), 435 Broadway, San Francisco
(415) 291-0333
Admission: $15 General, $30 includes dinner at 6pm; advance tickets to be available at brownpapertickets.com

8 pm

The Play-Makers

New playwrights and supporting organizations talk about how to get started as a playwright in the Bay Area. Staged readings of short plays by local writers, followed by panel discussion on the art,  craft, and business of making plays. With playwrights Eugenie Chan,  Aaron Loeb, and Geetha Reddy. In conjunction with Playwright’s  Foundation, PlayGround, and SF Playhouse.

SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Admission: $5-$10 sliding scale

• noon/7 pm: Mary Roach, author of Stiff, Spook, and Bonk
• 3:30 pm: Christian Siriano, author of Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self
• 6-7 pm: Where the Mind Meets the Brain
• 6 pm: One City One Book’s Doug Dorst in conversation with Adam Johnson
• 7 pm: Collapsing Borders:Reading Global Culture Through Literary Translation
• 7:30 pm: Thad Carhart, author of Across the Endless River
• 7:30 pm: Dreaming Awake: How James Joyce Invented Experimental Cinema and Disguised It as a Book

12 noon Q&A, 7pm reading

Mary Roach, author of Stiff, Spook, and Bonk

Join New York Times bestselling author Mary Roach as she reads from and discusses her three books, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Presented in conjunction with the Center for Literary Arts.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, Room 225-229, 150 E. San Fernando Street, San Jose

(408) 808-2000

Admission: free

3:30 pm

Christian Siriano, author of Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self

Co-presented by Book Passage and Litquake.

Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Fransico
Admission: free

6-7 pm

Where the Mind Meets the Brain

A philosopher, a neurologist, a psychologist and a noetic scientist walk into a library where they meet a novelist. The novelist asks the first question that comes to mind: What is the relationship between the physical body and the sentient spirit? Things get out of hand when he follows up with: What is awareness? Moderator: Joe Quirk. With Robert Burton, Paul Ekman, Alva Noe, Marilyn Mandala Schlitz.

Mechanics Institute Library, 57 Post Street, San Francisco

Admission: $12 to the public; free to Mechanics Institute Members and Litquake Bestsellers
Available at the door; reservations may be made in advance at (415)393-0100 or rsvp@milibrary.org

6 pm

One City One Book’s Doug Dorst in conversation with Adam Johnson

Join us for an insightful and most likely hilarious discussion between Doug Dorst, author of this year’s One City One Book selection Alive in Necropolis, and author/Stanford University lecturer Adam Johnson. FoolsFURY Theater Company will open the evening with a staged reading of an excerpt from Necropolis. Audience questions and booksigning to follow, with book sales by Book Bay. Presented in conjunction with One City One Book.

San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
(415) 557-4277

Admission: free

7 pm

Collapsing Borders:
Reading Global Culture Through Literary Translation

In conjunction with Litquake, the National Book Critics Circle presents a panel discussion on how literature-in-translation explores global socio-political currents and what the role of the translator is in a world of rapidly crumbling borders. With NBCC board members Oscar Villalon and Jennifer Reese, The Quarterly Conversation editor Scott Esposito, Virginia Quarterly Review blogger Michael Lukas, and award-winning translator Katherine Silver.

City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco

(415) 362-8193

Admission: free

7:30 pm

Thad Carhart, author of Across the Endless River

Co-presented by Kepler’s Books and Litquake

Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
(650) 324-4321
Admission: free

7:30 pm

Dreaming Awake:
How James Joyce Invented Experimental Cinema and Disguised It as a Book

Paramedia-ecologist Gerry Fialka’s challenging interactive workshop probes how Joyce’s 1939 meta-narrative book/epic collage Finnegans Wake (and Marshall McLuhan’s Menippean satirized translation) presaged experimental and political activist cinema. Includes ultra-rare film clips from Mary Ellen Bute’s Passages from Finnegans Wake and Hollis Frampton’s Gloria!, and Joyce reading by author/humorist Merle Kessler. Co-presented by S.F. Cinematheque.

Delancey Street Screening Room, 600 Embarcadero Street, San Francisco

(415) 957-9800

Admission: $10  SF Cinematheque members, $15 non-members

Tickets at Brown Paper Tickets