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Venue: Kerouac Alley clear filter
Saturday, October 17
 

12:00pm PDT

Read the Room: Books Not Bans
Saturday October 17, 2026 12:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
FREE, $10-$15 suggested donation

Books Not Bans together with City Lights and Litquake present a party for everyone who loves reading. Join us for an afternoon filled with connection, revelry, music, games and stories. Featuring performances, readings, and all kinds of stuff from Syr Hayati Beker, Shoshana von Blanckensee, Kevin Dublin, W.S. Gong, Hyazinth, Sean Owens, and Sumiko Saulson. Hosted by Books Not Bans founder Becka Robbins. Proceeds from this event support Books Not Bans.


Moderators Speakers
avatar for Sean Owens

Sean Owens

Dubbed "SF's Best Comic Playwright" by the now-defunct SF Weekly, Sean Owens has written (and performed) over 50 short and full-length plays in the Bay Area and abroad. Their solo musical, "GIRLESQUE" has delighted audiences in the Bay Area, New York and Canada.  Sean created the... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Dublin

Kevin Dublin

Kevin Dublin is an educator, advocate, and writer of poetry, prose, scripts, and code from Smithfield, NC. Currently Director of the Elder Writing Project, a community-based outreach program of the Litquake Foundation that brings creative writing and storytelling workshops to retirement communities... Read More →
avatar for Shoshana von Blanckensee

Shoshana von Blanckensee

Shoshana von Blanckensee lives in Berkeley, California, with her partner and kids. She is an Oncology Nurse by day, and a writer by any available moment. Girls Girls Girls is her debut novel.
avatar for W.S. Gong

W.S. Gong

W.S. Gong is a writer and editor based in San Francisco. An alumnus of Bread Loaf, Tin House, Kenyon, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, his work appears in Fourteen Hills. He is at work on a novel.
avatar for Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson is the BayCon/Westercon 2026 Poet Laureate, a Two-Time Bram Stoker Award® for Poetry for The Rat King (2022, Dooky Zines) and Melancholia (2024, Bludgeoned Girls Press). Four-Time Elgin Speculative Poetry Award nominee for these and Doodooality: Shots fired from U... Read More →
avatar for Syr Hayati Beker

Syr Hayati Beker

Syr Hayati Beker (they/them) is a writer and experience creator in search of the queer love language of climate change. Their first book, What A Fish Looks Like, was a 2025 Otherwise Honoree. Syr is the co-founder of Queer Cat Productions immersive theater company and is part of the experimental performance group GH{}ST. Find their work at syrbeker.com and in theaters, pirate ships, galleries, and queer bars near you... Read More →
avatar for Hyazinth Baumann

Hyazinth Baumann

Hyazinth Baumann is a trans multi-discplinary artist living in Oakland, CA. They currently work for Books Not Bans as an outreach coordinator. You can find their work on their website at Hyazinths.com
Saturday October 17, 2026 12:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Kerouac Alley 275 Columbus Ave, San Francisco
 

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