Welcome to the 12th annual Litquake, which this year features an astonishing 850+ authors. From outside the Bay Area, we welcome such noteworthy participants as Chelsea Handler, James Ellroy, Jeffrey Eugenides, Thomas McGuane, Deepak Chopra, and Karen Russell, as well as authors from Ireland, Sweden, Norway, and Mexico, making this the most international Litquake ever. Add superb Bay Area talents like Chris Adrian, Cyra McFadden, David Meltzer, Karen Joy Fowler, Jeff Chang, and Guillermo Gomez-Peña, and you can see why we’re so excited about this year’s lineup.
The full list of events for the main Festival is online now. The San Francisco Lit Crawl schedule is on the Crawl website (litcrawl.org/sf).
From its origins in 1999, our festival has always striven to present the broadest spectrum of literary entertainment, and this year is no exception. From events featuring Stanford and UC Berkeley faculty to an evening of recovery-themed readings, from an expanded Teenquake that includes a teen writing contest to a series of panels on the craft of writing, there is literally something for everyone at Litquake 2011.
Our 2011 Barbary Coast Award honors the legendary Ishmael Reed, and is hosted by comedian W. Kamau Bell, with multimedia tributes, special guests, and live jazz from the local treasure known as Broun Fellinis.
In addition to our infamous closing night Lit Crawl (October 15), and its Manhattan version, the Lit Crawl NYC (September 10), this year we proudly introduce a brand-new Lit Crawl in Austin, Texas (October 22), and also a unique Words on the Waves event series aboard the houseboats of Sausalito (October 15). The octopus continues to spread!
As you peruse the schedule, please note our many sponsors and individual donors. It’s through their generosity that we are able to bring you Litquake year after year. Thanks for coming, and enjoy the festival!
—Jack Boulware and Jane Ganahl
Litquake co-founders
General notes
All events are in San Francisco unless otherwise noted. All events requiring advance tickets or registration include a link for purchase/reservation in their full description.
Our primary event spaces this year will be Z Space (450 Florida St. @ 17th), Swedish American Hall (2170 Market St. @ Sanchez), Variety Preview Room (582 Market St. @ Montgomery), and Delancey Street Screening Room (600 The Embarcadero @ Brannan).
