Wednesday 2/12: Yangsze Choo reads from her novel, The Night Tiger, at Bookshop West Portal in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Meng Jin presents her debut novel, Little Gods, at East Bay Booksellers in Oakland at 7 p.m.
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give, On the Come Up) gives a lecture, “Finding Your Activism,” for the 17th installment of the NIA Speaker of Color Series at the Head-Royce School in Oakland at 5:30 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.). Tickets are $10–$100, and all proceeds from ticket sales will go to the NIA Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Elizabeth Pepin Silva and Lewis Watts discuss their book, Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era, at the San Francisco Public Library at 6 p.m.
Jeneé Darden reads from her collection of poetry and essays, When a Purple Rose Blooms, at the Alameda Free Library at 6 p.m.
Elena Schwolsky-Fitch speaks about her book, Waking in Havana: A Memoir of AIDS and Healing in Cuba, at Books Inc. in Alameda at 7 p.m.
Peggy Orenstein speaks about her new book, Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity, at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park at 7:30 p.m. (tickets $10-$40).
Thursday 2/13: Translator and critic Howard Eiland presents two new books, one he translated, Origin of the German Trauerspiel by Walter Benjamin, and his own Notes on Literature, Film, and Jazz, at City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.
Readers of Rachel Kushner’s 2018 novel, The Mars Room, which is set partly in the Tenderloin, may enjoy a walking tour of that neighborhood exploring matchbooks associated with legacy businesses and neon signs. The tour starts at the Tenderloin Museum in San Francisco at 6:30 p.m. (tickets $20).
MacArthur “Genius” winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate, Everybody) reunites with Cal Shakes Artistic Director Eric Ting for the production of Gloria, set in a Manhattan editorial office, that opens at ACT’s Strand Theater in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m. (tickets $25-$55).
Anna Wiener (Uncanny Valley) introduces her film pick at Watch This One, a monthly film/literature series, at Inky Psyche in San Francisco at 6:45 p.m.
Author Elizabeth Pepin Silva and photographer Lewis Watts discuss Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era at Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco at 6:30 p.m. (tickets $0-$15).
The San Francisco Writers Conference starts today and runs through Sunday. Keynote speakers include She Writes Press founder and publisher Brooke Warner. The conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. (tickets $0-$895).
GATZ, an acclaimed, marathon-length reimagining of The Great Gatsby opens at Berkeley Rep in Berkeley at 2 p.m. (tickets $37.50-$125).
Wayne Curtis presents his book, And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails, alongside a rum tasting at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville at 7 p.m.
Elena Schwolsky-Fitch speaks about her book, Waking in Havana: A Memoir of AIDS and Healing in Cuba, at A Great Good Place for Books in Oakland at 7 p.m.
Friday 2/14: Utopia Theatre Project’s adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters opens at The Bindery in San Francisco at 7 p.m. (tickets $20–$25).
Robert Hass reads from his new poetry collection, Summer Snow, at Kaleidoscope Coffee in Richmond at 7 p.m.
Saturday 2/15: Elizabeth Pepin Silva and Lewis Watts discuss their book, Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era, at the San Francisco Public Library – Western Addition at 2 p.m.
Food writer Eleanor Ford presents Fire Islands: Recipes from Indonesia at Omnivore Books in San Francisco at 3 p.m.
Join poets Ellen Bass, Jane Hirshfield, and Marie Howe for a reading benefiting the Safe House Education Fund for Maasai Girls at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley in Kensington at 7 p.m. (tickets from $30).
Nomadic Press hosts the release of Tureeda Mikell’s first full-length collection of poetry, Synchronicity: The Oracle of Sun Medicine, at East Side Arts Alliance in Oakland at 7 p.m.
Sunday 2/16: Poetry reading featuring Laura Schulkind (The Long Arc of Grief), Kathleen McClung (The Typists Play Monopoly), Grace Marie Grafton (LENS), and Lynne Barnes (Falling into Flowers) at Green Apple Books and Music on Clement Street in San Francisco at 4 p.m.
Gish Jen is in conversation with Helen Zia (Last Boat Out of Shanghai, Asian American Dreams) about Jen’s book, The Resisters, at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center at 3 p.m.
Monday 2/17: Oakland-based Conor Dougherty discusses his new book about affordable housing, Golden Gates: Fighting For Housing in America, with Nellie Bowles at East Bay Booksellers in Oakland at 7 p.m.
Gish Jen presents her new book, The Resisters, at Book Passage in Corte Madera at 7 p.m.
Tuesday 2/18: Elena Schwolsky-Fitch speaks about her book, Waking in Havana: A Memoir of AIDS and Healing in Cuba, at a Book Passage Ferry Building in San Francisco at 6 p.m.
Conor Dougherty discusses his new book, Golden Gates: Fighting For Housing in America, at Green Apple Books on the Park in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.
Dennis Baron, professor emeritus of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois, discusses his new book What’s Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She at City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco at 7 p.m.
Devi S. Laskar discusses The Atlas of Reds and Blues at Pegasus Books in downtown Berkeley at 7:30 p.m.
Lewis Watts discusses his new book (co-authored with Elizabeth Pepin Silva) about the golden era of jazz in San Francisco’s Fillmore District, Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era, at East Bay Booksellers in Oakland at 7 p.m.
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