Litquake A two-week SF literary festival every October, with year-round events, service projects, and Lit Crawls worldwide.

Originally hatched over beers at the Edinburgh Castle pub in 1999, Litstock debuted as a free one-day reading series in a fog-bound Golden Gate Park. Local writers Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware realized quickly that booklovers craved something grander. Against the backdrop of a technology-crazed San Francisco, writers were still drawn to the city, and readers still appreciated the written word. In

2002, the festival was rechristened Litquake, and began expanding its programming to include all elements of the Bay Area literary scene. Taking a cue from a USA Today report that San Franciscans spend twice the nation’s average on books and booze, in 2004, the festival inaugurated an immediately successful closing night Lit Crawl bacchanal throughout the city’s Mission District. Popular demand drove Litquake to expand even further, adding more national and international authors, youth programs, classroom visits and book giveaways, monthly literary Epicenters, and special localized editions of the Lit Crawl now held each year in Austin, Seattle, New York City, Iowa City, Los Angeles, Portland, London, and Helsinki. Whether it’s poets reciting in a cathedral, authors discussing science versus religion in a library, or novelists reading in a beekeeping supply store, the goal remains the same: whet a broad range of literary appetites, present the literary fare in a variety of traditional and unlikely venues, and make it vivid, real, and entertaining. Now grown to the largest independent literary festival on the West Coast, Litquake continues its mission as a nine-day literary spectacle for booklovers, complete with cutting-edge panel discussions, unique cross-media events, and hundreds of readings.

Tickets are going fast! https://buff.ly/up5Vt0l 🗓️September 23 · 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM📍Calvary Presbyterian Church · 2515 Fi...
08/24/2026

Tickets are going fast!
https://buff.ly/up5Vt0l

🗓️September 23 · 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM
📍Calvary Presbyterian Church · 2515 Fillmore St, SF

08/20/2026

Join our friends at KALW Public Media for a special 85th Birthday Benefit Concert at the The Warfield on Sept 29 to see:

✨BADBADNOTGOOD
✨Digable Planets
✨Rozzi
✨DJ Wonway Posibul

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime celebration featuring iconic artists and culture-makers. Come dance your heart out and party with KALW! Tickets at kalw.org/85

LittyQ & Co. are obsessed with the cover for R.F. Kuang's new book, Taipei Story☁️  Tickets for the release event are ru...
08/18/2026

LittyQ & Co. are obsessed with the cover for R.F. Kuang's new book, Taipei Story☁️ Tickets for the release event are running low! Snag them at https://buff.ly/8oeLlEv

🗓️ Sep 23 | 7:00 PM
📍Calvary Presbyterian Church, SF

08/18/2026

Join us on 9/17 for Songs of Earth - author Rebecca Solnit's pick for ZYZZYVA Movie Night with Ingrid Rojas Contreras.

🗓️September 17 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📍Roxie Theater · 3117 16th St., SF
🎟️tix on website under "upcoming events"..
Doors at 5:30 pm
Show at 6:00 pm
Q&A with the author follows the movie
Book signing and a chance to shop Rebecca Solnit’s recommended reading list (courtesy of Dog Eared Books) will be available both before and after the show.

08/16/2026

We couldn't do this without you! Volunteering is a great way to attend events, get free Litquake swag, and otherwise gain our undying gratitude. More info and registration at: https://buff.ly/aF6lrvx

Volunteer opportunities available at:
📚Litquake Festival October 8th-24th: evening weeknight and daytime/evening weekend shifts
📚Kidquake programs
📚Lit Crawl: evening of Saturday, October 24th

🤩Litquake 2026 poster reveal, thanks to the amazing artist Breena Nuñez!Headliner + full schedule drop coming next month...
08/11/2026

🤩Litquake 2026 poster reveal, thanks to the amazing artist Breena Nuñez!

Headliner + full schedule drop coming next month! In the meantime, check out our pre-festival events starting in September at https://buff.ly/4Lg171r.

Interested in volunteering? Registration is open now at https://buff.ly/X106Vn8

08/11/2026

Join us on Sept. 10 as leading trans scholar Susan Stryker discusses her latest book in conversation with award-winning filmmaker Cheryl Dunye.

🗓️ Sept. 10 | 7pm
📍Oakstop - California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin St, Oakland
🎟️Tix on our website under "upcoming events"

Address

San Francisco, CA
94112

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+14154404177

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Litquake posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Litquake:

Shortcuts

Share