Join us at an upcoming intimate dinner with award-winning, bestselling journalists Katherine Stewart and Marie Arana! All proceeds go to support Litquake's work to keep literature alive in the Bay Area. Attendees will enjoy a delicious dinner accompanied by a variety of exclusive Saintsbury wines, and will receive a complimentary signed copy of the author's book. Ask your burning questions, gain context and comfort, and gather strength for the work ahead—we hope you'll join us for a memorable, one-of-a-kind evening.
PS. More info on the authors, their related public events, and books below!
A New Day with KALW
A new series that seeks to understand the many forces and people behind the rise of American authoritarianism and how we can arrive somewhere better.
Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy America (a part of A New Day series) Thursday April 17 · 7:00pm KALW · 220 Montgomery, SF CA
Co-presented with KALW & the Fulbright Association
Why have so many Americans turned against democracy? In this deeply reported book, Katherine Stewart takes us to conferences of conspiracy-mongers, backroom strategy gatherings, and services at extremist churches, and profiles the people who want to tear it all down. Along the way, Stewart provides a compelling analysis of the authoritarian reaction in the United States and demonstrates that the movement relies on several distinct constituencies, with very different and often conflicting agendas. Stewart's reporting and comprehensive political analysis helps reframe the conversation about the moral collapse of conservatism in America and points the way toward a democratic future. In conversation with KALW’s Angie Coiro. Donate to reserve a seat, FREE to walk-ups.
LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority Thursday May 8 · 7:00pm KALW· 220 Montgomery St, SF
Co-presented with KALW
“A perfect representation of Latino diversity” (The Washington Post), Marie Arana’s LatinoLand draws from hundreds of interviews and prodigious research to give us both the little-known history and a vibrant portrait and of our largest and fastest-growing minority, in “a work of prophecy, sympathy, and courage” (Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize–winning author). By 2050, census reports project that one in every three Americans will claim Latino heritage. But Latinos are not a monolith. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, and Cubans—each has a different cultural and political background, very much in flux. Once overwhelmingly Catholic, they are becoming increasingly Protestant and Evangelical. Formerly solidly Democratic, they now vote Republican in growing numbers. “Thorough, accessible, and necessary” (Ms. magazine), LatinoLand unabashedly celebrates Latino resilience and character and shows us why we must understand the fastest-growing minority in America. In conversation with KALW’s Johanna Lopez Miyaki. Donate to reserve a seat, FREE to walk-ups.
Their Accomplices Wore Robes: The Supreme Court vs. Black America Thursday June 26 · 7:00pm KALW· 220 Montgomery St, SF
Co-presented with KALW
A magisterial new history of the role of the Supreme Court as an ally in implementing and preserving a racial caste system in America, Brando Simeo Starkey’s Their Accomplices Wore Robes takes readers from the Civil War era to the present and describes how the Supreme Court aligned with enemies of Black progress to undermine the promise of the Constitution’s Reconstruction Amendments: to abolish slavery, establish equal protection under the law, and protect voting rights. Time and again, when petitioned to make the nation’s founding conceit—that all men are created equal—real for Black Americans, the nine black robes have chosen white supremacy over racial fairness. Their Accomplices Wore Robes brings to life dozens of cases and their rich casts of characters—petitioners, attorneys, justices—to explain how America arrived at this point and how society might arrive somewhere better, even as today’s federal courts lurch rightward. In conversation with KALW’s Sunni Khalid. Donate to reserve a seat, FREE to walk-ups.
PS. My Dinner with...Brando Simeo Starkey to be announced!
About Litquake Litquake seeks to foster interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provide a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city's music, film, and cultural festivals. 2025 Dates: Oct. 9-25. www.litquake.org
Litquake is grateful for the support of the following funders who help make our programming possible. Institutional Giving: Alta: Journal of Alta California, Amazon Literary Partnership, Bernard Osher Foundation, California Arts Council, California Humanities, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Center for the Art of Translation, Grants for the Arts, Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme, HarperOne, Hawthornden Foundation, Joseph and Vera Long Foundation, Margaret and William R. Hearst III Foundation, Mary A. Crocker Trust, Miner Anderson Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Rock Foundation, Norway House, Sam Mazza Foundation, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, Zellerbach Family Foundation; Individual Giving: Jared Bhatti, Lisa Brown and Daniel Handler, Frances Dinkelspiel and Gary Wayne, Karyn DiGiorgio and Steve Sattler, Scott James and Gerald Cain, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, Greg Sarris, and Ellen Ullman Media Sponsors: San Francisco Chronicle, Publishers Weekly, 7x7, KALW, KEXP, KQED, SF Arts Monthly, Bay Area Reporter, Johnny Funcheap.
