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When Reality Meets Science Fiction

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

Release Date: 12/04/2019

Mindful Democracy show art Mindful Democracy

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

Drawing on the expertise of mindfulness educators, frontline organizers, and America’s greatest literary voices, this panel provides guidance for navigating political burnout and civic despair. On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World is professor Jeremy David Engels’ compact guide offering 27 powerful teachings of interdependence and how to show up for democracy with compassion, clarity, and courage. In this age of disaster, community-shaped strategies are essential for practically navigating the challenges posed by overlapping catastrophes, and...

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Library Joy with Mychal Threets! show art Library Joy with Mychal Threets!

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

Welcome to the library, the place where you will always belong! Join the Internet’s favorite librarian and host of the relaunched Reading Rainbow Mychal Threets as he introduces his bright and exciting picture book, I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy. After a short read-aloud, Mychal and Supervising Librarian Shani B will talk about his experiences and inspiration for writing his book. Then, Samaya, Ash, and Miley—students from local public schools—will join the conversation about the sense of wonder and community that libraries nurture, and what library joy means...

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Short Cuts: Bay Area Book Festival Week is Here! show art Short Cuts: Bay Area Book Festival Week is Here!

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  This episodes features three BABF staff members who describe some of the events coming up, what to expect onsite at the festival, and some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of a jam packed weekend!  You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.  Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Short Cuts: Bridgette Yang of Youth Speaks - Workshops and Open Mic at the Festival! show art Short Cuts: Bridgette Yang of Youth Speaks - Workshops and Open Mic at the Festival!

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  In this episode, you get to meet Bridgette Yang who talks to us about YouthSpeaks and the programs they are contributing to the Festival in 2026 Saturday, May 30th - rsvp required - rsvp required Sunday, May 31 You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.  To find out more about Youth Speaks, go to https://youthspeaks.org/ Please support our work!...

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Short Cuts: Rob Liu-Trujillo: YouthLit at BABF 2026 show art Short Cuts: Rob Liu-Trujillo: YouthLit at BABF 2026

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  In this episode, you get to meet Rob Liu-Trujillo who talks to us about what it's like being an author/illustrator for kids, and about organizing for Social Justice Children's Book Fair (SJCBF). SJCBF and BABF have collaborated on the 6 Youthlit Stages that you cna enjoy through the BABF weekend, and two of those programs will be moderated by Rob himself.  You can find more 2026 festival authors and...

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Short Cuts: Tamika Thompson - The Curse of Hester Gardens show art Short Cuts: Tamika Thompson - The Curse of Hester Gardens

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  In this episode, you get to meet Tamika Thompson who talks to us about her new novel The Curse of Hester Gardens https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804756/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-by-tamika-thompson/ You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.  Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Short Cuts: The 2026 Festival Schedule is LIVE! show art Short Cuts: The 2026 Festival Schedule is LIVE!

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  In this episode you get to hang out with our hosts Dora and Sam, who break down how the schedule came about, what the Festival weekend will hold, and walk you through some of the many ways to enjoy the upcoming weekend.  You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.  Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture

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Short Cuts - Bushwick Book Club Oakland: opening for all headliners of 2026 show art Short Cuts - Bushwick Book Club Oakland: opening for all headliners of 2026

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  Bushwick Book Club Oakland (BBCO) is a community event series co-produced by Claire Calderón, Nikki Bonsol, and Mia Pixley where Bay Area musicians from a wide range of genres compose and debut brand new original songs inspired by books. They will contribute to the Bay Area Book festival by opening up each headline event with a specially composed song inspired by the headliners.  find our more about...

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Short Cuts: Boutique Book Retreats - A Romance Renaissance at BABF! show art Short Cuts: Boutique Book Retreats - A Romance Renaissance at BABF!

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  In this episode, you get to meet Tiina and Lauren who talks to us about the renaissance in romance fandom and how they came to help us curate some romance panels for the forthcoming festival. You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.  Please support our work! #romancebooks #BayArea #Literature #Podcast #BookFestival #booktok #booktube #romantasy...

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Short Cuts: MK Chavez - Poetry Stages show art Short Cuts: MK Chavez - Poetry Stages

Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

BABF Short Cuts is a Podcast of the Bay Area Book Festival where we introduce some of the authors and partners who will join us for the 2026 Festival in Berkeley from May 29–May 31.  In this episode, you get to meet MK Chavez who talks to us about her process of curating programs for bith of our poetry stages for the Festival. She is also the leader of the Mixed race Affinity lit Group for the Bay Area Book festival.  You can find more 2026 festival authors and upcoming events at www.baybookfest.org.  Please support our work! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture #MKChavez...

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Large-scale, far-in-the-future stories tend to get most the glory in the sci-fi canon. But what happens when reality already feels like science fiction? Like George Orwell’s ‘1984,’ near-future narratives exploit current technology, politics, and fears to explore what life could be like in 10 years, one year, or even a hour. Our panelists consider how to predict the tantalizing possibility of what might be.