Publishers Weekly - Daily Newsletter for Booksellers

Bridget Kinsella

October 15, 2002

It didn’t register on the Richter scale (thankfully), but the more than 60 authors and 2,000 book lovers who attended the first Litquake in San Francisco this weekend felt good vibrations nonetheless.

The brainchild of a handful of Bay Area authors (once in a while an idea hatched by a bunch of writers sitting around a pub turns out to be brilliant), Litquake highlights reflected the diversity of writers and readers in the City by the Bay. Saturday–a day shuck full of readings–got off to a grand start with Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading a poem he wrote specifically for Litquake. The roster of featured authors gyrated in all directions and included Terry McMillan, Robert Hass and Susie Bright. Dave Eggers yielded much of his allotted 10 minutes to a 17-year-old poet named Yalie Kamara, who not only held her own with an audience perhaps a bit more excited about the author of A Breathtaking Work of Staggering Genius, but made them think again about those DeBeers diamonds they might own.

Even with the Giants vying for the pennant and the Blue Angels flying above on a beautiful Indian summer’s day, Litquake attracted crowds all day and was full of surprises. Winona Ryder dropped by. Don Novello, a.k.a. Father Guido Sarducci of Saturday Night Live fame, was an emcee. Po Bronson previewed his forthcoming January title, What Should I Do With My Life, that details the hilarity of being a numbers cruncher with a greeting card business on the side. And somehow writer/performer Josh Kornbluth managed to make the U.S. Tax Code (yes, the actual U.S. Tax Code) both funny and poignant. Amy Tan showed up for the after-event party, her beloved Yorkshire terriers in tow. And reportedly at the after- after-party, National Book Award nominee Kim Addonizio decided to take a moonlight swim only to be graciously aided out of the pool by a handful of sailors in full dress, most likely in town for Fleet Week.

San Francisco columnist Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware, author of San Francisco Bizarro: A Guide to Notorious Sights, Lusty Pursuits and Downright Freakiness in the City by the Bay (St. Martin’s) are the executive producers of Litquake. With help from writers friends, they solicited support from literary organizations and others, including Chronicle Books, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Public Library, The Grotto (a semi-official collective of writers) and that great literary establishment where it all began, the Edinburgh Castle Pub.

“Everyone knows everyone and they were more than happy to pitch in,” Boulware told PW Daily. “With the overall response, there is no reason that we should even blink about doing it again next year.”