Bay Area Book Festival Podcast Bay Area Book Festival

Ramona Ausubel, Mary Otis, and Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, moderated by Jasmin Darznik

Relationships between mothers and daughters can be fraught or fruitful—especially for fiction writers. Bring your mom, or your daughter—you might find common ground through some fabulous new fiction in this session.
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With the support of California College of the Arts MFA Writing program

Anthony Cody and Paisley Rekdal, moderated by Tess Taylor

Many of us, when faced by stacks of dusty old documents, might leave the work to the archivists—or consign the mess to the recycling bin of history. In this session, we'll hear from those who instead look at archives and envision poetry. Poet Paisley Rekdal vividly documents how the heroic narrative of the transcontinental railroad is intertwined with the history of Chinese exclusion. Anthony Cody centers on the ongoing legacy of trauma along the US–Mexico border after the end of the Mexican–American War.
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Katy Hays, Marcie R. Rendon, and Brendan Slocumb, moderated by Laurie R. King

Not even the rarified realms of art are safe in the imaginations of these writers, where intrigue lurks even in the concert hall or the museum.
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With support from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria

Chenxing Han, interviewed by Faith Adiele
We instantly fell in love with Chenxing Han’s "one long listening: a memoir of grief, friendship, and spiritual care." A hospital chaplain and caregiver in the making, Han journeys from a mountaintop monastery in Taiwan to oncology wards in San Francisco, from oceanside Ireland to riverfront Phnom Penh. The book's short chapters alternate among narrative, reflections, letters to a dying friend, memories of a migratory childhood, and wry twists and hilarious footnotes everywhere.
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Jonathan Escoffery, Tsering Yangzom Lama, and Jens Liljestrand, moderated by Leslie Carol Roberts
Here's your chance to meet three astonishingly talented young authors, from around the world, at the beginning of their careers—you'll be able to boast that you saw them when! In addition to learning about their new works, we'll hear about these debut authors' paths to publication and heed their advice to aspiring authors.
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Forrest Gander and Olivia E. Sears, moderated by CJ Evans
Voltaire once claimed, "It is impossible to translate poetry. Can you translate music?" If that's true, these talented translators have certainly achieved the impossible—in this session, they'll share insights into how they did so. Olivia Sears and Forrest Gander will read from their translations and also engage in conversation—moderated by CJ Evans, poet and editorial director of Two Lines Press—about the unique (if not impossible) challenges and rewards that poetry grants the translator.
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