Bay Area Literary Arts

Photo: Sarah Dawson McClean

This is, by no means, neither a comprehensive nor exhaustive list… but we hope that they can help point you towards what you’re looking for.

Feel free to suggest others we’d missed on the comment box below or via email, and we’ll add them to this list. Thanks!

Updated: Jan 2024

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Open Mics, Slams & Readings

• Bandung Books: Open Mic

• Berkeley Slam

• The Break Room

• Happy Endings

• Kitchen Table SF

• Living Room SF

• Lyrics & Dirges

• Oakland Slam

• The Racket

• Starting Points

• UC Berkeley: Lunch Poems

• Writers with Drinks

• YBCA: Poet’s Lunch

Classes & Communities

• Kearny Street Workshop

  • APAture Festival

  • Interdisciplinary Writers Lab

• Kundiman: NorCal Region

• Left Margin Lit

• Maker, Mentor, Muse

• Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators: SF North and East Bay

  • Tapestry of Voices

• SFSU: Poetry Center

• UC Berkeley: Arts Research Center (ARC)

• Write Now!

• Writer’s Grotto

• Writing Salon

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Literary Festivals

• Jun: Bay Area Book Festival

• Jul:

  • Beast Crawl

  • SF Art Book Fair

• Sep:

  • SF Zine Fest

  • Bay Area Queer Zine Fest

• Oct:

  • Litquake & Lit Crawl

  • SCBWI Oktoberfest

• Nov: Bay Area Kids’ Book Fair

• Dec: Social Justice Book Holiday Fair

Local Booksellers

• Bandung Books

• Eastwind Books

• Fabulosa Books

• Green Apple Books

• Medicine for Nightmares

• Pegasus Books

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