Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

Aya de Leon's women characters rob the rich and protect the exploited, Laura Lindstedt depicts seven women meeting after death, Lisa Locascio tells of a young woman discovering her sexual power and Tamsen Wolff traces the path of friendship, love and heartbreak between two women. With the support of FILI - Finnish Literature Exchange, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and Women Lit members.

Winner of the prestigious Windham-Campbell prize for his body of work, Trinidad-born and Ottawa-raised André Alexis sits down with National Book Award and National Humanities Medal winner, and author of over 40 novels, Joyce Carol Oates. The pair will discuss genre-bending, world-building and their shared obsession with storytelling. With the support of the Consulate General of Canada, San Francisco/ Silicon Valley and Zoetic Press.

Join this cross-generational conversation between two dynamic Black American writers and cultural critics exploring the history and future of the American literary landscape. The legendary Ishmael Reed, Macarthur Genius Fellow, founder of the Before Columbus Foundation, and author of over 30 books including his newest "Conjugating Hindi," sits down with rising literary star Morgan Parker, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, Pushcart Prize winner, and author of the new poetry collection "Magical Negro." Sponsored by Zoetic Press.

Two bestselling authors who are also top editors and critics come together to discuss their writing, the editing process, the state of the publishing industry in the U.S. and Europe, and translation. Geir Gulliksen is among Norway's leading novelists; his latest is "The Story of a Marriage," a searing novel about a man who attempts to empathetically understand his wife's infidelity. John Freeman is one of today's preeminent literary critics who also publishes literary nonfiction, much of it focused passionately on social justice issues, as well as poetry.

These novelists have received considerable praise, including a top ten nod from the New York Times and an Oprah's Book Club pick. Edugyan's magical realism explores slavery and freedom, and Jones depicts a modern marriage wrenched apart by a discriminatory American justice system. With the support of the Consulate General of Canada, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, She Writes Press and Zoetic Press.

These authors create worlds where secrets bubble just under the surface and protagonists must ask themselves who to believe and who to blame. With the support of "Wunderbar Together," initiated by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe Institut, and supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI); the Goethe-Institut San Francisco and "Books First."

"Vagina Monologues" creator Eve Ensler discusses her groundbreaking new book, "The Apology," in which she imagines an apology from her long-dead father who physically and sexually abused her as a child. Ensler is interviewed by Brooke Warner of SheWrites Press.

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner discusses her newest book, "Mrs. Everything."

After being detained in a notorious Iranian prison, Shane Bauer returned to journalism and took on an astonishing assignment: to go undercover as a guard in a private prison in Louisiana. His book "American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment" was one of President Obama's favorite books of 2018. Sponsored by Mother Jones Magazine.

An early proponent of intersectionality, Adrienne Rich's ideas have profoundly shaped feminism. In celebration of "Essential Essays," a new collection of Rich's work edited by poet-scholar Sandra Gilbert, join Rich's friends, colleagues, literary and scholarly descendants and longtime editor as they pay homage to Rich's legacy. Sponsored by Reed Schmidt.