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Bay Area Book Festival
Media Contact: Julia Drake
Three Sonoma County Children’s Book Authors at Bay Area Book Festival Family Day May 4, 2024
Three Sonoma County authors are part of the First Annual Bay Area Book Festival Family Day this Saturday, May 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Berkeley Library Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge St. It's a free, day-long book festival just for kids, featuring more than 90 authors from across California and the U.S.
Family Day festival events include story-time readings, a comic book giveaway, Star Wars cosplay, and awards for student writers. Also on the schedule are presentations and Q&A sessions from best-selling and award-winning children’s, middle grade, and young adult authors; family-friendly, youth-oriented author panel discussions on writing books in categories including graphic novels, fantasy, SciFi, mystery, superheroes, coming of age stories, Black joy, Latina expressions, Asian American Pacific Islander themes, and more.
And since it's May 4th, Star Wars themed cosplay costumes are encouraged (but not required). Star Wars and SciFi lovers can attend a free lightsaber sparring demonstration. (May 4th is the unofficial “May the Fourth Be With You” day around the world.)
Sebastopol author Megan McDonald, award-winning writer of the “Judy Moody” and “Stink” novel series for middle graders, as well as award-winning picture books and new young adult fiction books, will be one of the story-time presenters for young children.
Windsor author T.J. Hendrix is one of 25 Bay Area authors chosen to participate in the Family Day book market, and will be on hand signing copies of her award-winning debut middle grade novel “The Pack, The Dare and The Draugar.”
Graton Rancheria Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris, award-winning author of the acclaimed memoir “Becoming Story” and the forthcoming new work of fiction “The Forgetters,” will emcee “A Showcase of Young Native Voices.” The live performance of reading and poetry spotlights the works of more than a dozen Native American teens from across California.
The teen writers are graduates of the 2024 annual Graton Writing Project, co-sponsored by the Graton Rancheria and the Bay Area Book Festival. The annual project, started in 2018, brings dozens of high school students from the California Indian Nations together for a weeklong creative writing workshop guided by professional instructors.
As the final part of the annual writing project, the students create an original essay, short story, or sequence of poems in response to the same writing prompt. The experience culminates in a public performance of the students’ work at the Bay Area Book Festival, shepherded by Sarris.
Find the schedule of workshops, author discussions, story times, and list of presenting authors at BABF Family Day, visit the festival website at www.baybookfest.org/familyday.
This year marks the 10th annual Bay Area Book Festival. The Childrens and Youth events at the festival have always been among the most popular. To mark the 10th anniversary, the festival created a separate, full day of children’s and youth book festival events. Family Day, May 4, is the launch of the festival’s children, youth, young adult, and family-focused event.
The separate Bay Area Book Festival is set for June 1 and 2 in San Francisco.
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