Litquake is

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's annual literary festival. Originally named Litstock, the festival events took place in a single day in Golden Gate Park in the spring of 1999. It now has a two-week run in mid-October, as well as year-round programs and workshops. Litquake consists of readings, discussions, film screenings, and themed events held at hundreds of

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

venues, in an attempt to bring as many disparate types of literary art to as many people as possible. The festival now features over 100 events and around 600 authors, and draws over 21,000 attendees annually. In 2021, 96% of all events were free and open to the public.

History

Jack Boulware and Jane Ganahl are the co-founders and operate the festival as Executive Director and Artistic Director. Hatched over beers at the Edinburgh Castle pub in 1999, Litquake debuted as "Litstock" a free one-day reading series in a fog-bound Golden Gate Park. In 2002, the festival was rechristened Litquake and began expanding its programming to include writing from around the world. In 2004, the festival inaugurated a closing night literary pub crawl (Lit Crawl) throughout San Francisco's Mission District. In the years following, Litquake added more national and international authors, youth programs (Kidquake), workshops for the elderly (Elder Project), a podcast (Lit Cast Live), and special localized editions of the Lit Crawl held each year in Austin, Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, Boston, Chicago, Kells (Ireland), Cheltenham (England), Angers (France), Naples (Italy), and Wellington (New Zealand) with more being added every year. Litquake is now the largest independent literary festival on the West Coast. Litquake began hosting online programs in 2020.

Notable author appearances over the years

Chris Adrian Chris Adrian (born November 7, 1970) is an American author. Adrian's writing styles in short stories vary greatly; from modernist realism to pronounced lyrical allegory. His novels both tend toward surrealism, having mostly realistic characters ...

Hilton Als Hilton Als (born 1960) is an American writer and theater critic. He is a teaching professor at the University of California, Berkeley, an associate professor of writing at Columbia University and a staff writer and theater critic for ''The New Yor ...

Daniel Alarcón Daniel Alarcón (born March 5, 1977 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian-American novelist, journalist and radio producer. He is co-founder, host and executive producer of '' Radio Ambulante'', an award-winning Spanish language podcast distributed by NP ...

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

Rabih Alameddine Rabih Alameddine ( ar, ربيع علم الدين; born 1959) is a Lebanese-American painter and writer. His 2021 novel ''The Wrong End of the Telescope'' won the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Early life Alameddine was born in Amman, Jor ...

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, '' Bored to Death'' ( HBO) and ''Blunt Talk'' ( STARZ). In the late '90s and early ...

Nicholson Baker Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is an American novelist and essayist. His fiction generally de-emphasizes narrative in favor of careful description and characterization. His early novels such as ''The Mezzanine'' and ''Room Temperature'' we ...

Elif Batuman Elif Batuman (born 1977) is an American author, academic, and journalist. She is the author of three books: a memoir, ''The Possessed'', and the novels ''The Idiot,'' which was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and ''Either/Or'' ...

* Peter S. Beagle *

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', ''Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: Fi ...

T.C. Boyle Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...

NoViolet Bulawayo NoViolet Bulawayo is the pen name of Elizabeth Zandile Tshele (born 12 October 1981), a Zimbabwean author. In 2012, the National Book Foundation named her a "5 under 35" honoree. She was named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by ''New ...

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...

* Vikram Chandra * Jeff Chang * Emma Cline *

Natalie Diaz Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie Shahan Natalie ( hy, Շահան Նաթալի; July 14, 1884 – April 19, 1983) was an Armenian wri ...

Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born 24 October 1969) is an Irish-Canadian playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Her 2010 novel ''Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donoghue's 1995 novel '' Hood'' ...

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, sta ...

* Akwaeke Emezi *

Jeffrey Eugenides Jeffrey Kent Eugenides (born March 8, 1960) is an American novelist and short story writer. He has written numerous short stories and essays, as well as three novels: ''The Virgin Suicides'' (1993), ''Middlesex'' (2002), and'' The Marriage Plot'' ...

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. The author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, an ...

Ben Fong-Torres Benjamin Fong-Torres ( 方振豪; Cantonese: Fong Chan Ho; born January 7, 1945) is an American rock journalist best known for his association with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine (until 1981) and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' (from around 1982). B ...

Karen Joy Fowler Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation. She is best known as the author of the best-selling novel ''The Jan ...

* John Freeman *

Mary Gaitskill Mary Gaitskill (born November 11, 1954) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's Magazine'', ''Esquire'', ''The Best American Short Stories'' (1993, 2006, 2012, 2020), and ...

Julia Glass Julia Glass (born March 23, 1956) is an American novelist. Her debut novel, '' Three Junes'', won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2002.

Andrew Sean Greer Andrew Sean Greer (born November 1970) is an American novelist and short story writer. Greer received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel ''Less''. He is the author of ''The Story of a Marriage'', which ''The New York Times'' has ...

Yaa Gyasi Yaa Gyasi (born 1989) is a Ghanaian-American novelist. Her debut novel ''Homegoing'', published in 2016, won her, at the age of 26, the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award for best first book, the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first ...

* Robert Haas *

Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show ''Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, ...

Daniel Handler Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970) is an American author, musician, screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is best known for his children's book series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and ''All the Wrong Questions ...

(

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...

) *

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetr ...

Chinaka Hodge Chinaka Hodge (born 1984/1985) is an American poet, educator, playwright and screenwriter. She has received national recognition for her publications, especially her artistic work on gentrification. Biography Chinaka Hodge was born in Oakland ...

Juan Felipe Herrera Juan Felipe Herrera (born in December 27, 1948) is an American poet, performer, writer, cartoonist, teacher, and activist. Herrera was the 21st United States Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. Herrera's experiences as the child of migrant farmers ...

* Adam Johnson *

Denis Johnson Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, '' Jesus' Son'' (1992). His most successful novel, ''Tree of Smoke'' (2007) ...

Piper Kerman Piper Eressea Kerman (born September 28, 1969) is an American author. She was indicted in 1998 on charges of felonious money-laundering activities, and sentenced to 15 months' detention in a federal correctional facility, of which she eventually ...

Warren Hinckle Warren James Hinckle III (October 12, 1938 – August 25, 2016) was an American political journalist based in San Francisco. Hinckle is remembered for his tenure as editor of '' Ramparts'' magazine, turning a sleepy publication aimed at a li ...

Maxine Hong Kingston Maxine Hong Kingston (; born Maxine Ting Ting Hong;Huntley, E. D. (2001). ''Maxine Hong Kingston: A Critical Companion'', p. 1. October 27, 1940) is an American novelist. She is a Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, wher ...

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for '' Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magazine''. K ...

* Michael Krasny *

Rachel Kushner Rachel Kushner (born 1968) is an American writer, known for her novels ''Telex from Cuba'' (2008), ''The Flamethrowers'' (2013), and '' The Mars Room'' (2018). Early life Kushner was born in Eugene, Oregon, the daughter of two Communist scientists ...

Victor LaValle Victor LaValle (born February 3, 1972) is an American author. He is the author of a short-story collection, ''Slapboxing with Jesus'', and four novels, ''The Ecstatic,'' ''Big Machine,'' ''The Devil in Silver,'' and '' The Changeling''. His fanta ...

Yiyun Li Yiyun Li (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor in the United States. Her short stories and novels have won several awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award and Guardian First Book Award for ''A Thousand Years of Good Pra ...

Tao Lin Tao Lin (; born July 2, 1983) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment of ...

Édouard Louis Édouard Louis (born Eddy Bellegueule; 30 October 1992) is a French writer. Biography Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule was born and raised in the town of Hallencourt in northern France, which is the setting of his first novel, the autob ...

Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was publishe ...

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induct ...

Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ) (born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for ''Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

Joyce Maynard Daphne Joyce Maynard (born November 5, 1953) is an American novelist and journalist. She began her career in journalism in the 1970s, writing for several publications, most notably '' Seventeen'' magazine and ''The New York Times''. Maynard contr ...

Michael McClure Michael McClure (October 20, 1932 – May 4, 2020) was an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous ...

Thomas McGuane Thomas Francis McGuane III (born December 11, 1939) is an American writer. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors. He is a member of the American A ...

* Christopher Moore *

Maggie Nelson Maggie Nelson (born 1973) is an American writer. She has been described as a genre-busting writer defying classification, working in autobiography, art criticism, theory, feminism, queerness, sexual violence, the history of the avant-garde, aes ...

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

Chinelo Okparanta Chinelo Okparanta (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American novelist and short-story writer. She was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where she was raisedRae Winkelstein-Duveneck"Religion, The Bible, and Personal Morality: An Interview with Chinelo Okp ...

ZZ Packer Zuwena "ZZ" Packer (b. January 12, 1973) is an American writer. She is primarily known for her works of short fiction. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois, Packer grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and Louisville, Kentucky. "ZZ" was a ...

Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British Indian academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social ju ...

Tom Perrotta Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Anne Perry Anne Perry (born Juliet Marion Hulme; 28 October 1938) was convicted of murder in New Zealand when a teenager, later moved to England and became an author. In 1954, at the age of fifteen, she and her 16-year-old friend Pauline Parker were tried ...

Michael Pollan Michael Kevin Pollan (; born February 6, 1955) is an American author and journalist, who is currently Professor of the Practice Non-Fiction and the first Lewis K. Chan Arts Lecturer at Harvard University. Concurrently, he is the Knight Professo ...

* D.A. Powell *

Boots Riley Raymond Lawrence "Boots" Riley (born April 1, 1971), is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He made his feature-film directorial ...

Mary Roach Mary Roach (born March 20, 1959) is an American author specializing in popular science and humor. She has published six New York Times bestsellers: '' Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers'' (2003), '' Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife ...

Karen Russell Karen Russell (born July 10, 1981) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her debut novel, ''Swamplandia!'', was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2009 the National Book Foundation named Russell a 5 under 35 honore ...

Ishmael Reed Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, composer, playwright, editor and publisher known for his satirical works challenging American political culture. Perhaps his best-known work is '' M ...

Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez (born Wilsonia Benita Driver; September 9, 1934) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays ...

George Saunders George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', '' Harper's'', ''McSweeney's'', and '' GQ''. He also contributed a w ...

Adam Savage Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, and television personality and producer, best known as the former co-host (with Jamie Hyneman) of the Discovery Channel televisi ...

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...

Jane Smiley Jane Smiley (born September 26, 1949) is an American novelist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992 for her novel ''A Thousand Acres'' (1991). Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a su ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

Tracy K. Smith Tracy K. Smith (born April 16, 1972) is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published four collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 2011 volume ''Life ...

Rebecca Solnit Rebecca Solnit (born 1961) is an American writer. She has written on a variety of subjects, including feminism, the environment, politics, place, and art. Early life and education Solnit was born in 1961 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to a Jewish fa ...

* Ron Stallworth *

Susan Straight Susan Straight (born October 19, 1960) is an American writer. She was a National Book Award finalist for the novel ''Highwire Moon'' in 2001. Biography Susan Straight attended John W. North High School in Riverside, California and took classes ...

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...

Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born on February 19, 1952) is an American author known for the novel '' The Joy Luck Club,'' which was adapted into a film of the same name, as well as other novels, short story collections, and children's books. Tan has written ...

Michelle Tea Michelle Tea (born Michelle Tomasik, 1971) is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, sex work, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachuset ...

Jose Antonio Vargas Jose Antonio Vargas (born February 3, 1981) is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. Born in the Philippines and raised in the United States from the age of twelve, he was part of ''The Washington Post'' team that won the P ...

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

* Esmé Weijun Wang *

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work '' The Intuitionist''; '' The Underground Railroad'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Awa ...

Tobias Wolff Tobias is the transliteration of the Greek which is a translation of the Hebrew biblical name he, טוֹבִיה, Toviyah, JahGod is good, label=none. With the biblical Book of Tobias being present in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha of the Bible, To ...

Al Young Albert James Young (May 31, 1939 – April 17, 2021) was an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. He was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2005 to 2008. Young's many books includ ...

Lit Crawl

In 2004, Litquake launched its first “Lit Crawl,” a literary pub-crawl through the Mission District of San Francisco. Readings and performances were rolled out in three sequential phases over the course of the crawl. In 2005, the crawl closed the festival, a place in the schedule it has maintained ever since. By 2018 the Lit Crawl had expanded to over 100 venues, including bars, cafes, bookstores, theaters, galleries, clothing boutiques, furniture showrooms, parking lots, a laundromat and a bee-keeping store. ''The New York Times'' wrote about the crawl in "In San Francisco, Literature as Carnival" and again in 2013 in an article entitled "A Heady Cocktail of Books and Booze" about Lit Crawl in New York City's Lower East Side. Other crawls have been added over the years: Lit Crawl NYC debuted in 2008; Lit Crawl Austin in 2011 as a part of

Texas Book Festival The Texas Book Festival is a free annual book fair held in Austin, Texas. The festival takes place in late October or early November. It is one of the top book festivals in the United States. Beginnings The festival was established in 1995 by L ...

; Lit Crawl Brooklyn and Lit Crawl Seattle in 2012. Lit Crawl Iowa City and Lit Crawl Los Angeles 2013. Lit Crawl London, Lit Crawl Portland ( Portland Book Festival), and Lit Crawl Boston ( Boston Book Festival) was added in 2014. Since 2015, Lit Crawl NYC is a project of Litquake an
PEN America
a global community of more than 4,400 writers, translators, and literary professionals dedicated to protecting free expression and promoting literary culture.

Kidquake, Teenquake, and Elder Project

Kidquake

The annual Kidquake events bring over 800 K-5 students from 34 classes to the San Francisco Public Library for two days of assemblies and intimate workshops with acclaimed children’s authors, and hundreds of free books and giveaways. In 20202, Litquake released "virtual classroom visit" videos direct to teachers for use in the classroom. These pre-recorded videos featured authors' presentations paired with writing, illustration, and book-making prompts. Teaching materials were made available for download.

Teenquake

Teenquake partnerships with San Francisco Public Library, NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Project, and Writopia Labs inspire young writers through public readings and open mics, literary crawls, and awards events. 2018’s Teen Writing Awards brought in 225 entries with ten of the teens featured at an awards ceremony for family and friends during Lit Crawl SF.

Elder Project

Now in its fourth year and serving multiple sites, the Elder Project brings writing and storytelling workshops to retirement communities across Oakland and San Francisco. After two months of opening new pathways to self-expression and greater socialization, each class publishes an anthology and performs at a live reading for friends and loved ones. The program has even helped several emerging writers to publish their work, perform in local reading series, and even launch careers.

Lit Cast Live!

With 164,000 downloads and listeners in over 100 countries, Lit Cast brings select Litquake programming to an enormous, worldwide audience. In 2018, through partnerships with local bookstores and arts organizations, Litquake began broadcasting both emerging and award-winning authors on book tours, as well as various special events.

Barbary Coast Award (2007-2016)

Initiated in 2007, Litquake’s Barbary Coast Award is given for literary achievement and in recognition of those who value the independent—and sometimes unruly—the spirit of the Bay Area and keep it alive in their work. Its name is meant to evoke San Francisco’s storied pirate and nonconformist beginnings as well as a nod to

’s quixotic characters who made their home on Barbary Lane. Recipients through 2016: * 2007:

* 2008:

* 2009:

* 2010:

City Lights Books City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected tit ...

* 2011:

* 2012:

Poetry Flash ''Poetry Flash'' (founded 1972) is a literary magazine and website based in the San Francisco Bay Area; it has been called "an institution in the Bay Area's literary culture". It publishes literary reviews, poetry, interviews, and essays as well as ...

* 2013: Ron Turner & Last Gasp Comics * 2014:

826 Valencia 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, United States, dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It was ...

with Dave Eggers and

Vendela Vida Vendela Vida (born September 6, 1971) is an American novelist, journalist, editor, screenplay writer, and educator. She is the author of multiple books, has worked as a writing teacher, and is a founder and editor of '' The Believer'' magazine. ...

*2015:

Community of Writers at Squaw Valley The Community of Writers is a writers' conference held each summer in Olympic Valley, California. Founded in 1969, it is the oldest annual writers' conference on the West Coast of the United States. The Community of Writers is a nonprofit 501(c)(3 ...

*2016:

, Alejandro Murguia,

Thomas Sanchez Tomás Sánchez (1550 – 19 May 1610) was a 16th-century Spanish Jesuit and famous casuist. Life In 1567 he entered the Society of Jesus. He was at first refused admittance on account of an impediment in his speech; however, after imploring ...

Jewelle Gomez Jewelle Gomez (born September 11, 1948) is an American author, poet, critic and playwright. She lived in New York City for 22 years, working in public television, theater, as well as philanthropy, before relocating to the West Coast. Her writing� ...

, Michael Krasny, ''

The Threepenny Review ''The Threepenny Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1980. It is published in Berkeley, California, by founding editor Wendy Lesser. Maintaining a quarterly schedule (March, June, September, December), it offers fiction, memoirs, ...

'',

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

, Paul Yamazaki, and

Justin Chin Justin Chin (1969–2015) was a Malaysian-American poet, essayist and performer. In his work he often dealt with queer Asian-American identity and interrogated this category's personal and political circumstances. Biography Chin was born in Mala ...

References

External links

Litquake website

Article on 2007 Litquake and Lit Crawl

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080716210734/http://litminds.org/blog/2007/10/post_5.html , date=2008-07-16
Ashcan Magazine's coverage of Litquake 2009
* Reyhan Harmanci

''New York Times'', September 23, 2011 * Allison McCarthy
"Pop Culture Know-It-All & Litquake Performer Chuck Klosterman Talks Beards, Crystals and Writer's Block"
7x7 magazine, September 28, 2011

HuffPost San Francisco, June 10, 2011 Culture of San Francisco Festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area Literary festivals in the United States Recurring events established in 1999 1999 establishments in California Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco Organizations based in San Francisco