Bay Area Book Festival

Bay Area Book Festival The San Francisco Bay Area is a legendary literary mecca and the global capital of innovation.

Join us in Berkeley May 29-31, 2026 for a series of world-class literary events for all ages Also featuring bookstores, publishers, writing programs, book art, individual authors, family activity zone, and more. It's the perfect home for a world-class international book festival celebrating the past, present, and future of the book. Stay tuned for details about our 10th Anniversary festival taking place in Downtown Berkeley in late spring 2024.

Next year’s festival will take place June 4–6, 2027, guided by the theme: Reconstruction We can’t iterate enough how spe...
06/05/2026

Next year’s festival will take place June 4–6, 2027, guided by the theme: Reconstruction

We can’t iterate enough how special this year’s festival was to us. Thank you to every reader, writer, volunteer, small press, community org, local bookstore, exhibitor, and behind-the-scenes human/dog/cat who helped bring this annual beloved gathering to life.

Stay tuned in BABF world for year-round programming and storytelling: including with our Affinity Lit Collectives and at the Merritt Dialogues (the next one is July 8)

Donate and become a Friend of the Festival if you’re able to 💛

More to come soon.

Thank you for Writing the Future with us.

Happy Day 3 of Bay Area Book Festival Weekend.Today is the big day. Wander through 100+ book and community vendors, cele...
05/31/2026

Happy Day 3 of Bay Area Book Festival Weekend.

Today is the big day.

Wander through 100+ book and community vendors, celebrate at the Bookworm Block Party, explore 43 free panels across five historic Berkeley venues, and finish out this chapter with us at two evening headliners.

A few essentials for the day:
🌼 Our new CHILL ZONE at MLK Jr. Civic Center Park, featuring cozy seating from Sports Basement and Silent Book Club reading hours
🌼 Beloved Bay Area booksellers & bookstores hosting author signings and book sales at each stage
🌼 Health in Community Row + other creative activations imagining and building the future today

BART will take you straight to the heart of the festival.

Physical program guides can be found at any venue, stage, or BABF info booth. Stop by an info booth for any questions or needs on-site.

Just show up, we got you ❤️

FOR EATS:
CHECK OUT OUR FOOD TRUCKS + VENDORS
SUPPORT BERKELEY LOCAL BIZ

We hope everyone has an incredible time. One more day to gather around stories, ideas, and what makes us human.

See you in Berkeley.

05/28/2026

Over 43 free panels and activities to choose from on Sunday at the Bay Area Book Festival!

There will be 10 Inside Ideas at from 11 am–5 pm 🌿

The Marsh was founded on the belief that writers and performers should have space to develop their work and creative practices within the urban environment.

We’re excited to continue this legacy of shared storytelling and experimentation at the Bay Area’s Book Festival

Panel themes at The Marsh include: cults & conspiracies, sci-fi, crime fiction, mental health in translation, robots & relationships, and more. Some of our most unique programming of the festival, centered around the “dark arts”

See our page for the full Pocket Guide to the weekend, and step into The Marsh soon

One of the best parts of the festival is wandering the many exhibitors who help make the weekend feel so alive.Beyond th...
05/27/2026

One of the best parts of the festival is wandering the many exhibitors who help make the weekend feel so alive.

Beyond the stages and panels, the festival is a gathering of creators, publishers, artists, organizers, and community orgs — transforming our public streets into spaces for storytelling, resource sharing, and exploration.

Check out the slides to see where you can find exhibitors during festival weekend.

120+ exhibitors will be joining us across Saturday and Sunday, and a few food vendors too.

There’s going to be a lot going on, so take your time, discover something unexpected, and support the vibrant people that make the Bay Area and literary world so special.

05/27/2026

There’s just something that will always feel so special about the Berkeley Public Library.

YouthLit is for everyone. From 10:30 am–5:00 pm this Saturday 5/30, the library will be buzzing with read-alouds, panels, discussions, and interactive fun across five activated spaces.

The perfect balance of imagining the future, while creating safe spaces where it can be nurtured today.

Thank you Elaine for sharing bits of the library’s story with us and being our main point of connection with the library since the very beginning.

Warm thanks to our friends at for partnering with us once again to bring YouthLit to life

Bookmark this Pocket Guide for Bay Area Book Festival weekend!Inside: the complete schedule, headliners, our 6 venues an...
05/26/2026

Bookmark this Pocket Guide for Bay Area Book Festival weekend!

Inside: the complete schedule, headliners, our 6 venues and 21 stages — all in one lil digital guide.

The full exhibitor list for Saturday and Sunday will be shared in a separate post.

The guide can also be downloaded at the link in our bio ❤️

See everyone soon! Thank you for being part of this story we’re writing together.

05/25/2026

Down to volunteer at the Bay Area Book Festival?

Here’s what to know:

✿ Volunteer orientations are TOMORROW Tue 5/26 and Wed 5/27, both via zoom at 6pm - 7:30 pm PST (please attend one if you’re able to)

✿ There are still a variety of roles we need to fill! No experience required

✿ More info can be found at the link in bio or by emailing [email protected]

Come be part of a growing literary community movement in the Bay Area and connect with neighbors and strangers alike.

This festival isn’t possible without the people who show up and help build it behind the scenes. Huge thanks to everyone who volunteers with us each year.

Can’t wait to welcome more folks into the Bay Book Festival village soon

The Future of Democracy Is Being Written Now.On Saturday, 5/30, join us for five Democracy Dialogues exploring communiti...
05/23/2026

The Future of Democracy Is Being Written Now.

On Saturday, 5/30, join us for five Democracy Dialogues exploring communities of care, mutual aid, incarceration, political organizing, press freedom, academic free speech, and the relationship between activism, healing, and collective responsibility.

Mindful Democracy | 11–12 PM

Shadows of Liberty: Immigrant Detention, Incarceration, and the Demand for Dignity in the United States | 12:15–1:15 PM

Civil Rights and Structural Attacks | 1:30–2:30 PM

Preserving Press Freedom | 2:45–3:45 PM

Academic Free Speech | 4–5 PM

Free and open to the public at the Freight 📚

Spend the day moving between Democracy Dialogues, YouthLit festivities at the Berkeley Public Library, writers’ workshops, and conversations unfolding across Downtown Berkeley — then meet us back at the Freight for the evening headliners.

Democracy depends on public conversation, collective care, and the courage to imagine otherwise.

05/22/2026

What kind of spaces and stories do we need right now?

Beautiful chat with Maria Hassid from the on art, books, ideas, and what it has to do with our current moment.

During the Bay Area Book Festival, the Brower will host 15 writers’ workshops on Saturday 5/30 and 14 Inside Ideas panels on Sunday 5/31.

Writers’ workshops are filling up fast, RSVP soon :)

🎤 Inside Ideas topics include:
global climate action, youth writers from the Graton Writing Project, restorative resistance in yoga and meditation, audiobook production, confronting racism in American healthcare, landscape as dreamscape, indigenous memoirs, and more

Full schedule at baybookfest.org

Address

Oakland, CA
94601–94615, 94617–94624, 94649, 94659–94662, 94666

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