Litquake 2026

FREE

Part of Words Around the World
Co-presented with Omnivore Books on Food

Over thousands of years, Chinese chefs have mastered how to combine the five tastes―sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent―harmoniously in a dish. In her latest cookbook, Five Tastes, Fuchsia Dunlop shares with home cooks 120 easy recipes inspired by culinary traditions across China. She includes both old-fashioned favorites and her freshly invented dishes that combine Chinese flavors with produce found in any Western market or supermarket. Join us at Omnivore Books to meet this superstar of Chinese cuisine and learn about her processes for recipe research and development. In conversation with Harold McGee.

FREE, $10–15 suggested donation, $33 for signed book

Co-presented with SFPL

In the latest addition to the inimitable Walter Mosley’s  Joe King Oliver series, King finds himself accepting (again at his grandmother’s request) a case from Arman Babylon, a powerful Los Angeles gangster now dying from cancer. Babylon’s granddaughter, Twyla Mann, has been missing for years, and he’s desperate to find her before he passes. The search pulls King into the Babylons’ stained past and the cold case of Dalia Shorts, a torch singer who vanished without a trace and whom Arman was once suspected of killing. As King follows her trail from L.A. to New York and back, he’ll realize nothing is what it seems as he uncovers a pattern of violence that has targeted the women around Babylon for decades. How much will King be willing to risk to finally set things right? In conversation with Carvell Wallace. Doors at 6:00pm. 

FREE, $10–15 suggested donation

Part of Words Around the World
Sponsored by Center for the Art of Translation

Poet, author, translator, and editor Carolina Pihelgas is a leading literary figure in her home country of Estonia. Now, with The Cut Line, translated by Darcy Hurford, Pihelgas’s “extraordinary” (Estonian Literary Magazine) prose writing is available to English readers for the first time. In fewer than 100 pages, Pihelgas takes readers to a near-future Estonian countryside, plagued by the effects of climate change and poised for an impending conflict. These hints of future violence recall the protagonist’s own troubled history, even as she attempts to find serenity and order in the rhythms of nature and simple work. Joining Pihelgas in conversation is Sasha Vasilyuk, award-winning author of the novel Your Presence Is Mandatory. Doors at 6:30pm.

FREE, $10-15 suggested donation

Co-presented with Foglifter and The Stud

Foglifter—created by and for LGBTQ+ writers and readers—continues the San Francisco Bay Area’s tradition of groundbreaking queer and trans writing, with an emphasis on publishing those multi-marginalized (BIPOC, youth, elders, and people with disabilities). Queerly Beloved is a celebration of the latest queer writing coming out in Foglifter's newest journals, online zone, and Start a Riot! Chapbook series. Limited print copies of the newest issue will be available for purchase—get them before anyone else! Featuring: Brent Armendinger, Juda Ātman, KB Brookins, Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez, Alix Perry, and Allegra Wilson! Doors at 6:00pm.

$25 / $3 early bird discount until October 18th (code: earlybird16)

Everyone has a song that found them at the right time. Welcome to Playlist Storytellers, a live event where a curated group of writers share personal stories about a song that found them just when they needed it. Featuring stories from authors Laleh Khadivi, Tomas Moniz, Courtney Desiree Morris, and A. Van Jordan. Doors at 7:30pm.