Litquake 2026

Litquake is San Francisco's annual literary festival. Originally named Litstock, the festival events took place in a single day in Golden Gate Park in the spring of 1999. It now has a two-week run in mid-October, as well as year-round programs and workshops.

Language

English

Genres

general lit

Format

in-person

Founded

1999

Duration (days)

17

Next edition

8–24 Oct 2026 (Lit Crawl SF 24 Oct)

Author participation

Programme submissions via Litquake Submittable (Feb–Mar cycle); Lit Crawl pitches; book-fair tables at Yerba Buena

Attendance published by the festival

21000

Audience

The festival now features over 100 events and around 600 authors, and draws over 21,000 attendees annually.

Age policy

The annual Kidquake events bring over 800 K-5 students from 34 classes to the San Francisco Public Library for two days of assemblies and workshops with acclaimed children’s authors, and hundreds of free books and giveaways.

Accessibility

e we believe in literature as a public good, we work to produce events that are accessible to all

Language notes

Listed working language: English

Genre notes

Primary focus: general lit

Programme

It now has a two-week run in mid-October, as well as year-round programs and workshops.

Awards

Initiated in 2007, Litquake’s Barbary Coast Award is given for literary achievement and in recognition of those who value the independent—and sometimes unruly—the spirit of the Bay Area and keep it alive in their work.

Past editions

1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021

Festival site