{"id":246188,"date":"2026-04-01T04:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/246188\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T04:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:27:13","slug":"local-lit-april-top-tips-for-book-lovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/246188\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Lit | April: Top tips for book lovers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Saint Mary\u2019s College Visiting Writer Series:\u00a0Carvell Wallace | Apr. \u00a08<\/p>\n

This writer series is a hidden gem, inviting top-flight poets and fiction and nonfiction writers to the college in Moraga \u2014 and opening the doors free of charge to the public. Recent readings and conversations have included literary luminaries such as Leila Mottley, Alexis Madrigal, Jonathan Escoffery, Jamil Jan Kochai, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, and others. <\/p>\n

Wrapping up the spring series, Carvel Wallace will read from and discuss his marvelous memoir, \u201cAnother Word for Love.\u201d Wallace has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Esquire, and the New Yorker. His debut as a memoirist received critical acclaim and landed on numerous best books of 2025 lists. It is raw, elegantly crafted, intensely honest, courageous, and surprisingly, full of hope. <\/p>\n

The series concludes with Maw Shein Win\u00a0on April 29. She will present her new poetry collection, \u201cPercussing the Thinking Jar,\u201d which unfolds in dreamlike lines and is accompanied by ink drawings, reflecting on the experiences of living in an aging body.<\/p>\n

April 8 @ 2:30pm | FREE | De La Salle Hall: Hagerty Lounge @ St. Mary\u2019s College<\/a>, 1928 St. Marys Road, Moraga<\/p>\n

Jill Santopolo\u2019s \u201cCan You Grow a Striped Banana?\u201d Presale @ A Great Good Place for Books | Apr. 21<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The author of five international best-sellers for adults, Jill Santopolo has turned her hand to a children\u2019s picture book. \u201cCan You Grow a Striped Banana?\u201d presents a mother\u2019s funny and tender replies to a demanding daughter. The young girl\u2019s imagination knows no bounds, and the requests become more outrageous until, at last, the mother must admit she may not be able to make a spider laugh or eavesdrop on earthworms. Even so, Mom can show her daughter she is loved,\u00a0despite failing to conquer the elusive striped banana and other impossibilities. Vibrant artwork from Momoko Abe adds depth to the storytelling. Santopolo is the publisher of\u00a0Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, and lives in New York City with her husband and daughter. Special note: This event is a presale offered by Great Good Place for Books in coordination with Santopolo, who will not be at the event. Books available all day April 21 and beyond.<\/p>\n

April 21 | All day | ggpbooks.com<\/a> | 6120 La Salle Ave., Oakland<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Meet the Author: Dani Burlison @ Oakland Public Library Montclair Branch | Apr. 22<\/p>\n

In this 90-minute program editor Dani Burlison will discuss the 2025 book\u00a0\u201cRed Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California\u2019s Fire Country,\u201d which tells the story of two California wildfire survivors who compile a guide for living \u2014 physically, mentally, and emotionally \u2014 amid ecological destruction. The book\u2019s essays and interviews illuminate how wildfire impacts entire communities and offer insight into living with fire risk. The collection sources information from indigenous groups, local community organizers, mental health care workers, environmentalists, fire analysts, sustainable loggers, parents, and others and serves as a resource for anyone living in Northern California. <\/p>\n

Burlison\u00a0has been a staff writer at a Bay Area alt-weekly and a regular contributor at\u00a0Yes! Magazine,\u00a0Chicago Tribune, KQED, and elsewhere. Her journalism, fiction, and personal essays can be found at\u00a0Ms. Magazine,\u00a0Earth Island Journal,\u00a0The Rumpus,\u00a0Portland Review,\u00a0and more. She teaches and lives on un-ceded Southern Pomo land in California. This event is made possible through the generous donation of the Friends of the Montclair Public Library.<\/p>\n

April 22 @ 6:00 pm | FREE | oaklandlibrary.org\/locations\/moa\/<\/a> | 1687\u00a0Mountain Blvd., Oakland<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Meet the Author: Crystal Wahpepah @ Oakland Public Library Main Branch | Apr. 23<\/p>\n

Chef Crystal Wahpepah is a registered member of the Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma. As an educator and practicing chef, her new cookbook, \u201cA Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior,\u201d offers a wealth of information. Wahpepah worked with\u00a0ethnobotanist and food sovereignty advocate Linda Black Elk, and the recipes are accompanied by explanations of the environmental, spiritual, physical, and social benefits of each dish. Preserving Native food ways, promoting heirloom foods, and building connections within communities are core principles the author applies at her restaurant, Wahpepah\u2019s Kitchen in Oakland. <\/p>\n

Wahpepah will be joined in conversation by Librarian Ian Hetzner, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. Registration is encouraged, as are masks. Mrs. Dalloway\u2019s Books will be onsite with copies of the book for purchase.<\/p>\n

April 23 @ 6:00 pm | FREE | oaklandlibrary.org<\/a> | 125\u00a014th St., Oakland\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Motherhood, Adoption, Inheritance: A Conversation with Kate Schatz & Tracy Clark-Flory @ Book Society | Apr. 28<\/p>\n

Book Society<\/a> is exceptional when it comes to curating intimate conversations with local writers and readers. This special evening pairs Schatz, whose new book is \u201cWhere the Girls Were,\u201d with Tracy Clark-Flory, author of the upcoming memoir \u201cMy Mother\u2019s Daughter.\u201d <\/p>\n

Many people will know of Schatz as the New York Times-bestselling author of the \u201cRad Women\u201d book series; the novel \u201cWhere the Girls Were,\u201d the 33 \u2153 book \u201cRid of Me: A Story,\u201d and \u201cDo the Work: An Anti-Racist Activity Book,\u201d co-written with \u201cUnited Shades of America\u201d host W. Kamau Bell. <\/p>\n

Clark-Flory is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in The Guardian, Mother Jones, and The Atlantic. Her previous book, \u201cWant Me,\u201d was an NPR Best Book of the Year. Together, they will speak of women\u2019s stories: about family secrets, sisterhood, societal silencing and shaming, and surviving. The evening comes with light bites, beverages, an opportunity to join in community with other local book lovers, and the option to pre-purchase Clark-Flory\u2019s forthcoming memoir and\/or purchase Katz\u2019s new book.<\/p>\n

April 28 @ 7:50 pm | $30 Members, $45 General Admission (book purchase additional charge) | 2945 College Ave., Berkeley | booksociety.social\/event-details<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Saint Mary\u2019s College Visiting Writer Series:\u00a0Carvell Wallace | Apr. \u00a08 This writer series is a hidden gem, inviting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-246188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}