Contra Costa Times

That rumbling you hear growing louder across the Bay is preparation for San Francisco’s Litquake, the annual celebration of authors and books that has grown in five years from a three-day event to a massive nine-day festival featuring more than 175 Bay Area writers. Beginning with a launch party at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 featuring authors in rock bands at Cafe Du Nord and winding up with a final day of readings in the San Francisco Public Library’s Koret Auditorium from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 15, the festival features panel discussions, readings, performances — even a literary pub crawl dubbed "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Pint," sponsored by 826 Valencia and the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto that will involve some 100 authors. High-profile names you can expect to see participating include Dave Eggers, Maxine Hong Kingston, Ann Packer, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Don Novello, Amy Tan and many, many more. For a complete schedule of events and author bios, visit www.litquake.org.