KPBS San Diego Book Festival

Join us for the inaugural KPBS San Diego Book Festival presented by the University of San Diego, Saturday, August 23, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees will enjoy panel discussions with award-winning authors, activities, live entertainment, exhibitors including local authors, independent booksellers, and more. Let’s bring our community closer together through the shared experience of reading and discussing great books!

The festival is a FREE* event for book lovers of all ages. Guests must register via Eventbrite to receive important day-of information. Printing tickets is NOT necessary. We strongly encourage you to download the Eventbrite app to manage your tickets easily. The app is free for iOS and Android - search Eventbrite in the app store.

What to expect:

• The announcement of the 2025 One Book, One San Diego selections!
• More than 40 award-winning authors will participate in interactive panel sessions and book signings.

• For the young and young at heart, check out the youth reading stage and exploration area with hands-on activities. Meet PBS Kids beloved friends Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George and Cat in the Hat!
• Additional highlights include poetry readings, live music and entertainment, exhibitors, and food trucks. Check out the website for entertainment details. Truly something for everyone!

*A nominal ticket fee will be applied to reserve your spot for headliner interviews (not Ziggy Marley). Space is limited.

The agenda above is subject to change. Please subscribe to the email list for updates.

ADA accommodations are available. If you require accommodations, please email jmdean@kpbs.org.

We appreciate our community partners: The Book Catapult, Camino Books, Joyride Bookshop, La Playa Books, Libélula Books & Co, The Library Shop, Meet Cute Romance Bookshop, Mysterious Galaxy, UC San Diego Bookstore, USD Torero Store, Warwick's, San Diego Council on Literacy, San Diego Public Library, Children's Museum of Discovery, Center for World Music, and Words Alive!. We encourage you to visit and support each of these partners at the festival!

The KPBS San Diego Book Festival is presented by the University of San Diego. Other sponsors include Bright Event Rentals, Broadway San Diego, San Diego County Library, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, Lloyd Pest Control, Parent Institute for Quality Education, AuthorHouse Kids, US Bank, HandsOn San Diego, San Diego Theatres, Friends of the San Diego Public Library, Bona Fide Bookworm, Coronado Public Library, University of San Diego School of Law, Habbi Habbi Bilingual Books & Toys, Jane Austen Society of North America, San Diego Region, Books for Ages Bookmobile, Write Out Loud, LoveLitCon, Printers Row Publishing Group, California Retired Teachers Association, The Learning Choice Academy, and the San Diego State University Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Have questions about the festival? Check our FAQ.

Featured Authors! (new featured authors will be announced each week)

Kim Fay - Author of "Kate and Frida"

From the author of instant national bestseller Love & Saffron, this bright and comforting novel follows the surprising friendship between two young women in 1990s Seattle and Paris, illuminating the power of books to change our lives. Sometimes a book can change your life... Twentysomething Frida Rodriguez arrives in Paris in 1991, relishing the city’s butter-soaked cuisine and seeking her future as a war correspondent. But then she writes to a bookshop in Seattle, and receives more than just the book she requests. A friendship begins that will redefine the person she wants to become. Seattle bookseller Kate Fair is transformed by Frida’s free spirit, spurred to believe in herself as a writer, to kiss her handsome coworker, and to find beauty even in loss. Through the most tumultuous years of their young lives—personally and globally—Kate and Frida sustain and nourish each other as they learn the necessity of embracing joy, especially through our darkest hours. This mouthwatering oasis of a novel is a love letter to bookshops and booksellers, to the passion we bring to life in our twenties, and to the last precious years before the internet changed everything.

Born in Seattle and raised all over Washington State, Kim Fay is the author of the national bestseller Love & Saffron and Edgar Award–nominated The Map of Lost Memories. A former independent bookseller, she lived for many years in Vietnam, the inspiration for Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam. Fay now lives in Los Angeles with her musician husband, Jim Vitale, and their dog, Mabel.

Chris Baron - Author of "Spark"

As a community recovers from a devastating wildfire, two friends find their way back to each other and their homes, by award-winning author Chris Baron. Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz and Lauren Tarshis. Finn and his friend, nicknamed Rabbit, live in a rural area that's been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering -- animals and plants haven't been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there's anything they can do to help. Rabbit's uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest -- the forest heart -- that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen. For any young person who's ever felt powerless against the world, here is a story about two kids doing all they can to understand their natural world and preserve it.

Chris Baron is a professor of English at San Diego City College. He's also the author of the (adult) poetry collection, Lantern Tree, which was published as part of a poetry anthology, Under the Broom Tree, winner of the San Diego Book Award. He lives in San Diego, California, with his wife and their three children. All of Me was his first novel.

CB Lee - Author of "Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe"

When Brenda’s internet goes out right before an important scholarship deadline, she stumbles right into Kat’s family’s coffee shop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can’t stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn’t seem to care that Kat is the prophesized Chosen One.

The only problem? Kat and Brenda are from different universes. Like need-to-find-a-portal-to-go-on-a-second-date different universes.

As their universes collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to outrun her destiny?

C.B. Lee is an author of young adult and middle grade fiction including the NYT Bestseller Minecraft: The Shipwreck. Their works also include the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selected A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix, the Lambda Literary Award nominated Sidekick Squad series, Ben 10 graphic novels, Out Now: Queer We Go Again, and From A Certain Point Of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Lee’s work has been featured in NPR, Teen Vogue, Wired Magazine, Hypable, Tor’s Best of Fantasy and Sci Fi and the American Library Association’s Rainbow List.

Martha Barnette - Author of "Friends With Words"

With warmth, a popular radio and podcast host shares her love of language, weaving together linguistic history, regional phrases, the hidden poetry in etymologies, new words, and stories from her life and time on the air Martha Barnette has spent two decades as the co-host of A Way with Words, lauded by Mary Norris in The New Yorker as “a virtual treasure house” and “‘Car Talk’ for Lexiphiles.” Over that time, she’s developed a keen sense of what fascinates people about language. They are curious about etymology and revel in slang, are surprised by regional vocabulary and celebrate linguistic diversity. Idioms both puzzle and delight word lovers, and they are eager to share family neologisms and that weird phrase Grandma always used to say. In Friends with Words, Barnette weaves together all these strands in a clear, informative, highly entertaining exploration of language. Chock-full of anecdotes, humorous asides, new words, trivia, and other lexicological delights, Friends with Words also tells Barnette’s story—from her Appalachian roots through her study of Ancient Greek, and on to the making of a beloved and enduring show. Friends with Words is an expert, good-humored, joyful book.

Chris Ahrens - Author of "Windansea"

“If the wave doesn’t drown you, the locals probably will.”

That was the first thing surfer, historian, and author (and then 16-year-old) Chris Ahrens heard about Windansea, the infamous La Jolla, California reef break equally notorious for its local crews throughout the decades as for its waves. The statement came from the legendary Dale Velzy and at that moment, Ahrens’ interest in the spot was piqued. He spent the next 20-plus years surfing the storied break and getting to know the interesting (and sometimes raucous) cast of characters that made Windansea their stomping grounds.

Now, over five decades after first hearing about the renowned spot, Ahrens has published “Windansea: Life, Death, Resurrection”, a 156-page tome recounting the break’s rich history and culture from 1937 through 1981.

Devin Elle Kurtz - Author of "Bakery Dragon"

The heroic tale of a tiny dragon with a heart of gold and a taste for treats! A scrumptious picture book for fans of funny fairy tales and fantastic beasts. Ember has always been different from the other dragons. His fearsome roar sounds more like a polite sneeze, and when he breathes fire, the villagers just pat his head and say awwww. Ember fears he’ll never collect a respectable hoard of gold until a chance encounter with a baker causes his fortunes to turn (and his stomach to grumble). As the little dragon soon discovers, the gold you make is way better than the gold you steal—and gold that is shared? That’s best of all. Magic shimmers on every page of Devin Elle Kurtz's feel-good picture book that celebrates baked goods, dragons, and generosity in equal measure. Filled with adorable illustrations, this is a perfect read aloud for bedtime or brunch time!

Jordan Thomas - Author of "When It All Burns"

Eighteen of California’s largest wildfires on record have burned in the past two decades. Scientists recently invented the term “megafire” to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have been nearly impossible just a generation ago, burning through winter, exploding in the night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction.

In When It All Burns, wildland firefighter and anthropologist Jordan Thomas recounts a single, brutal six-month fire season with the Los Padres Hotshots—the special forces of America’s firefighters. Being a hotshot is among the most difficult jobs on earth. Thomas viscerally renders his crew’s attempts to battle flames that are often too destructive to contain. He uncovers the hidden cultural history of megafires, revealing how humanity’s symbiotic relationship with wildfire became a war—and what can be done to change it back.

Thomas weaves ecology and the history of Indigenous peoples’ oppression, federal forestry, and the growth of the fire industrial complex into a riveting narrative about a new phase in the climate crisis. It’s an immersive story of community in the most perilous of circumstances, told with humor, humility, and affection.

Kashana Cauley - Author of "The Payback"

Jada Williams is good at judging people by their looks. From across the mall, she can tell not only someone’s inseam and pants size, but exactly what style they need to transform their life. Too bad she’s no longer using this superpower as a wardrobe designer to Hollywood stars, but for minimum wage plus commission at the Glendale mall.

When Jada is fired yet again, she is forced to outrun the newly instated Debt Police who are out for blood. But Jada, like any great antihero, is not going to wait for the cops to come kick her around. With the help of two other debt-burdened mall coworkers, she hatches a plan for revenge. Together the three women plan a heist to erase their student loans forever and get back at the system that promised them everything and then tried to take it back.

“A novel of great fun and unforgettable fury” (Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning) The Payback is a razor-sharp and hilarious dissection of race, power, and the daily grind, from one of the most original and exciting writers at work today.

Mallory Marlowe - Author of "Love at First Sighting"

A chance at love might not be out of this world in this astronomically charming romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of Love and Other Conspiracies. Los Angeles social media influencer El Martin seems to have a picture-perfect life. But what El wants more than anything is to find something real to make her heart race in a way it hasn’t in years. She doesn’t expect that feeling to come from capturing footage of an unidentified flying . . . thing, much less from the charming Man in Black who keeps following her around. Agent Carter Brody is trying his best to keep the Private Intelligence Sector afloat by dragging their hopelessly out-of-date office into this century, even though what he really wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps by identifying and hiding extraterrestrial sightings. He gets his chance after being assigned to El’s case and is stopped in his tracks not only by her ingenuity and confidence but also by an unnerving coincidence—her sighting looks eerily like what Carter himself saw right before a family tragedy. The deeper El and Carter fall into the mystery, the harder it is for them to ignore their growing chemistry as their own alien feelings become dangerously terrestrial.

Moses Ose Utomi - Author of "The Memory of the Ogisi"

The epic conclusion to Moses Ose Utomi's critically-acclaimed Forever Desert series, The Memory of the Ogisi shatters every truth, interrogates every lie, and is a story of oppression you'll never forget. Even deserts have a beginning. Even gardens have an end. Even water has a story. The City of a Thousand Stories stands resolute on the edge of the Forever Desert. It is a lush metropolis, where water flows into every mouth that thirsts and knowledge sprouts in every mind that craves it. Yet despite their prosperity, no one can remember how the city began. It is a dire state of affairs: a people who do not learn their past cannot chart their future. Ethike is an Ogisi, one of the City's many historians, who has devoted his life to studying a little-known figure named Osi. He believes Osi to be the key to the city's origins, but his years of research have only raised more questions about Osi’s identity. Until, one day, he believes he has found the answer. Spurred by his love for his city and his family, Ethike ventures into the Forever Desert in search of the Lost Tomb of Osi. If he can find it, he will finally be able to prove his worth to the City’s Elders and cement Osi’s role in history. But history is a story told by the powerful. What Ethike uncovers beneath the sand is a power far beyond anything he could have expected...and it wants vengeance.

Nana Malone - Author of "Gold Coast Dilemma"

From USA TODAY bestselling author Nana Malone, a romance about a Ghanaian American heiress faced with the dilemma of choosing between culture and a love connection. During an opulent publishing party, Ofosua Addo crosses paths with Cole Drake for the first time. Their flirtatiously witty exchange culminates in a kiss that etches a permanent mark on both their hearts. But Ofosua’s identity as a Ghanaian heiress comes before Cole. She loves the vibrant traditions of Ghana’s Gold Coast, and her hand is already promised to a man that even her overbearing mother loves. Yet, when her big Ghanaian wedding transforms from a fairy tale into a spectacle, she’s thrust into a whirlwind of heartbreak and self-discovery. In the midst of it all, Cole enters her life once again, under circumstances far different from their magical first encounter. Can Ofosua and Cole’s rediscovered spark overcome the weight of tradition?

Rebecca Thorne - Author of "Alchemy and a Cup of Tea"

Reyna and Kianthe have no trouble commanding the Realm, running a bookshop, or rescuing baby dragons...but can they save their town from the swarming influx of...tourists?!?

On the night of her kidnapping, all Reyna wanted was a relaxing cup of tea. She didn’t expect to be dropped in a hidden prison cell, but what the hells. She’s flexible.

With appropriate fanfare, Kianthe “rescues” her wife...but Reyna’s actually a terrible damsel in distress. Even worse, Reyna's cell was booby trapped with a mysterious alchemy circle. What does a radical alchemist want with the Arcandor’s wife? And why did they think they could get away with this?

While they investigate, another problem surfaces in their hometown. Word of New Leaf Tomes and Tea—and its celebrity owners—has finally spread. Tourists are everywhere, harassing the locals and ruining the charm of Tawney. As their friends struggle with the sudden influx, Kianthe and Reyna have to face a bigger conundrum than rogue alchemists: the fact that closing their bookshop might be the only way to save their town.

Things can’t just be simple, can they?

Aron Nels Steinke - Author of "Speechless"

From Eisner Award-winning author Aron Nels Steinke comes a heartfelt and funny middle-grade graphic novel about friendship, anxiety, and expressing yourself. Middle school was supposed to be a fresh start for Mira, who struggles to speak in class even though she can speak at home without a problem. Her former best friend, Chloe, has become her worst enemy, and Mira's only solace is making videos for her secret stop-motion animation channel. But when Chloe's mom has to travel for a family emergency, Mira is horrified to learn that her family has volunteered to let Chloe stay with them. When it feels like everything is going wrong, will Mira ever find her voice?

Sally Pla - Author of "The Fire, the Water & Maudie McGinn"

Maudie always looks forward to the summers she spends in California with her dad. But this year, she must keep a troubling secret about her home life—one that her mom warned her never to tell. Maudie wants to confide in her dad about her stepdad's anger, but she’s scared. When a wildfire strikes, Maudie and her dad are forced to evacuate to the beach town where he grew up. It’s another turbulent wave of change. But now, every morning, from their camper, Maudie can see surfers bobbing in the water. She desperately wants to learn, but could she ever be brave enough? As Maudie navigates unfamiliar waters, she makes friends—and her autism no longer feels like the big deal her mom makes it out to be. But her secret is still threatening to sink her. Will Maudie find the strength to reveal the awful truth—and maybe even find some way to stay with Dad—before summer is over?

Dan Santat - Author of "All the Hulk Feels"

When scientist Bruce Banner starts to feel his emotions getting out of hand, he transforms into his alter ego, the Incredible Hulk! Usually Hulk is ready to use his anger and emotions to fight supervillains and threats to the people he cares about, but when Hulk starts transforming during moments where he is not needed to fight a threat, he starts to grow frustrated with Bruce and how he is handling his emotions. What proceeds is an exchange of letters between Bruce and Hulk, shared via their purple pants, as they try to form a greater understanding of their perspectives. But is there more to their conflict that is being instigated by a larger threat? And will they be able to come together to ultimately save the day? From National Book Award–winning author and illustrator Dan Santat comes a heartfelt and emotional super hero story in a brand-new graphic novel picture-book format that explores the nuances of our emotions and the ways in which we can always learn to empathize more with one another.

Charlie Jane Anders - Author of "Lessons in Magic and Disaster"

Jamie is basically your average New England academic in-training--she has a strong queer relationship, an esoteric dissertation proposal, and inherited generational trauma. But she has one extraordinary secret: she's also a powerful witch.

Serena, Jamie's mother, has been hiding from the world in an old one-room schoolhouse for several years, grieving the death of her wife and the simultaneous explosion in her professional life. All she has left are memories.

Jamie’s busy digging into a three-hundred-year-old magical book, but she still finds time to teach Serena to cast spells and help her come out of her shell. But Jamie doesn't know the whole story of what happened to her mom years ago, and those secrets are leading Serena down a destructive path.

Now it's up to this grad student and literature nerd to understand the secrets behind this mysterious novel from 1749, unearth a long-buried scandal hinted therein, and learn the true nature of magic, before her mother ruins both of their lives.

Minh Lê - Author of "Built to Last"

Two kids build entire worlds out of blocks, cardboard, and imagination. From boats attacked by a sea creature to a castle crumbling into the ocean. And they don’t mind when these creations break apart and CRASH to the floor. In fact, they think it’s pretty funny! Every time a creation falls apart, they pick up the pieces and keep building bigger and better.

But when their latest masterpiece tumbles down in spectacular fashion, the boys aren’t laughing anymore. Have these two friends reached their breaking point?

Playful text by wordsmith Minh Lê and dazzling illustrations by artisan Dan Santat showcase their close collaboration in their latest picturebook. As merry as it is moving, here is a story that recognizes the friendships in life that are truly built to last.

Kate Golden - Author of "If Not for My Baby"

Clementine Clark isn’t looking for love. Growing up with a single mom who weeps over a new guy each week tends to have that effect on a girl. But Clementine doesn’t mind being the rational one—she’s even buried her musical dreams so deeply within herself that she hardly notices the hole it’s left in her life.

That is until her best friend calls her with a life-changing opportunity: to join Irish megastar Halloran on his first US tour as a backing vocalist. Clementine wants to reject the offer, but the pay is enough to change her and her mom’s life. Overnight, Clementine goes from serving enchiladas at the Happy Tortilla to belting high notes before a cheering crowd.

But the whiplash of trading small-town Texas for sold-out stadiums is nothing compared to the rush of performing with the enigmatic Thomas Patrick Halloran. Poet, introvert, and lyrical genius, Halloran quickly gets under Clementine’s skin. The two couldn’t see the world more differently. And yet, over the course of the next eight weeks on tour, the romantic rockstar might just strike an unforgettable chord in Clementine. But will it be enough for an encore?

Amy Spalding - Author of "On Her Terms"

Fresh off breaking up with her boyfriend and swerving away from the conventional married life she never wanted, Clementine is ready to explore the alternatives. Not that she wants to be single forever, much less die alone. But at thirty-six, it’s time for her to experience new things—including in her love life. And though an invitation to a fake relationship to appease family sounds like a recipe for disaster, Clem finds herself saying yes to smart, spirited dog groomer Chloe Lee anyway . . . Chloe is long past her own baby gay era, but even before they’ve tackled Clem’s parents’ anniversary party and Chloe’s friend’s wedding, the two of them end up spending a lot of time together. As the attraction between them grows stronger, it all begins to feel pretty real to Clem. Chloe, however, is fine as just friends—plus she’s convinced Clem is just eager for “someone” to take her off the singles list. How to persuade her otherwise? After all, Clem is starting to realize her life is wonderfully full and being “alone” doesn’t scare her a bit. Still, being without the tiny powerhouse that is Chloe, specifically? That’s a whole other story . . .

Wise, witty, and full of heart, here is an uplifting love story with an ending worth waiting for.

Annalee Newitz - Author of "Stories Are Weapons" and "Automatic Noodle"

In Stories Are Weapons, best-selling author Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda, and violent threats—the essential tool kit for psychological warfare—have evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools in domestic culture wars. Newitz delves into America’s deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklin’s Revolutionary War–era fake newspaper and nineteenth-century wars on Indigenous nations, and reaching its apotheosis with the Cold War and twenty-first-century influence campaigns online. America’s secret weapon has long been coercive storytelling. And there’s a reason for that: operatives who shaped modern psychological warfare drew on their experiences as science fiction writers and in the advertising industry.

Now, through a weapons-transfer program long unacknowledged, psyops have found their way into the hands of culture warriors, transforming democratic debates into toxic wars over American identity. Newitz zeroes in on conflicts over race and intelligence, school board fights over LGBT students, and campaigns against feminist viewpoints, revealing how, in each case, specific groups of Americans are singled out and treated as enemies of the state. Crucially, Newitz delivers a powerful counternarrative, speaking with the researchers and activists who are outlining a pathway to achieving psychological disarmament and cultural peace.

Incisive and essential, Stories are Weapons reveals how our minds have been turned into blood-soaked battlegrounds—and how we can put down our weapons to build something better.

--

Automatic Noodle: You don’t have to eat food to know the way to a city’s heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food—the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around—for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.

But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they’ll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other—and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn’t built for them.

Nancy Goldstone - Author of "The Rebel Empresses"

When they married Emperor Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria—more familiarly known as Sisi—and Eugénie of France became two of the most famous women of their time. Young and beautiful, each represented, in her way, a new kind of empress—one who rebelled against traditional expectations and restrictions. Yet both women endured hardship in their private and public lives. Free-spirited Elisabeth was plagued by a mother-in-law who snatched her infant children away and undermined her authority at court. Fearless Eugénie was married to an infamous philanderer who could not match the military prowess of his namesake. Between them, both women were personally involved in every major international confrontation in their turbulent century, which witnessed thrilling technological advances as well as revolutions, assassinations, and wars. Filled with passion and poetry, humor and pathos, The Rebel Empresses brings to life the story of these two fascinating women and the wildly entertaining century in which they reigned.

Nick Brooks - Author of "Up in Smoke"

After Cooper King is pressured by big brother figure Jason to go on a looting spree during a local march, the unthinkable happens: gunshots ring in the air and someone ends up dead. After Cooper flees, the news shows four teens in ski masks near the scene of the murder—Cooper and his friends. Cooper fears the cops will come knocking at his door, and the pressure only mounts when a suspect is taken into custody: Jason.

Monique, Jason's sister and Cooper's longtime crush, is willing to go any length to clear her brother's name. Even if she needs to go into the belly of the beast and confront the killer herself. When she teams up with Cooper, they fall down the investigation rabbit hole and start to fall for each other. But little does Monique know that within this web of deception, Cooper is shrouding the truth that he was there when the shots went off. If the pair fail to uncover the real murderer, Jason will get locked up for a crime he didn't commit—and drag down Cooper with him.

Mac Crane - Author of "A Sharp Endless Need"

Star point guard Mack Morris’s senior year of high school begins with twin cataclysms: the death of Mack’s father and the arrival of transfer student Liv Cooper. Playing side by side for their high school basketball team, Mack and Liv discover an electrifying, game-winning chemistry on the court. Off the court, they fall into an equally intoxicating more-than-friendship—one that feels out-of-bounds in their small Pennsylvania town. Mack teeters on the precipice of adulthood as desire and grief collide with drugs, sex, and the looming college signing deadline. Caught between the dual impulses of ambition and self-destruction, Mack must decide what kind of life they want to fight for.

Written with the lush longing of André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name, the obsessive attention of Jean Kyoung Frazier’s Pizza Girl, and the sweeping romance of the beloved film Love & Basketball, A Sharp Endless Need is a stunning testament to the big feelings of coming of age, falling in love, and, of course, playing sports.

Andrea Zuill - Author of "Bob the Vampire Snail"

In this hilarious and heartwarming picture book, join Bob the vampire snail as he embraces his unique love of tomatoes, discovers new and peculiar sleeping talents, and forms an unexpected friendship.

Did you know all snails are named Bob? It’s a fact! And this is the story of one of those Bobs and the night his life changed forever. First, he heard a SCREAM… then a C-R-A-C-K… and then he felt a drip, drip, drip… and then, poof! He was a vampire snail.

Fangs? Check. No reflection? Check. Wings? You bet. And so Bob, now very different from all the other Bobs, sets out to live life as a vampire snail, discovering his knack for sleeping upside down and his taste for tomatoes. He’s alone in his vampire-ness, until one day Bob meets someone very similar….

Endearing and laugh-out-loud funny, this is a story about individuality, friendship, and tomatoes, as only beloved creator Andrea Zuill can tell it.

Kyra Davis Lurie - Author of "The Great Mann"

In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions.

In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into the vibrant tapestry of Los Angeles. Lured by his cousin Marguerite’s invitation to the esteemed West Adams Heights, Charlie is immediately captivated by the Black opulence of L.A.’s newly rechristened “Sugar Hill.”

Settling in at a local actress’s energetic boarding house, Charlie discovers a different way of life—one brimming with opportunity—from a promising career at a Black-owned insurance firm, the absence of Jim Crow, to the potential of an unforgettable romance. But nothing dazzles quite like James “Reaper” Mann.

Reaper’s extravagant parties, attended by luminaries like Lena Horne and Hattie McDaniel, draw Charlie in, bringing the milieu of wealth and excess within his reach. But as Charlie’s unusual bond with Reaper deepens, so does the tension in the neighborhood as white neighbors, frustrated by their own dwindling fortunes, ignite a landmark court case that threatens the community’s well-being with promises of retribution.

Told from the unique perspective of a young man who has just returned from a grueling, segregated war, The Great Mann weaves a compelling narrative of wealth and class, illuminating the complexities of Black identity and education in post-war America.

Vanessa Le - Author of "His Mortal Demise"

These Violent Delights meets Divine Rivals in the explosive finale to The Last Bloodcarver duology—with a riveting medical magic system and lush Vietnam-inspired romantasy world.

Kochin is a heartsooth—a rare being with the ability to heal any wound. Any wound, that is, except death.

Intent on defying nature and bringing Nhika back to life, Kochin keeps her body in a life-preserving casket and waits for a miracle. Stricken with grief and descending into madness, Kochin realizes the answer to his desperate quest can only lie in one place: Yarong, the lush yet battle-ridden island the first heartsooths called home.

Months later, Nhika wakes in a familiar manor-house, with Kochin nowhere to be found. As she traces his footsteps across Theumas, she discovers the haunting path he walked to bring her back, and a world changed by war.

When Kochin discovers the true and grisly way to resurrect a person from the grave, he must decide exactly how much he is willing to sacrifice, in order to reunite with the woman he loves...

Don't miss this stunning dual-POV follow up to The Last Bloodcarver, where morals will be tested, hearts pushed to the limit, and fates determined once and for all. Vanessa Le's jaw-dropping sequel is a bloody and luscious spectacle to be devoured in one sitting.

Claudia Lebenthal - Author of "Surfer Stories"

Surfer Stories is an unrivaled collection of unique, revealing, and intimate stories about twelve of the world’s greatest surfers.

From the monstrous walls of water at Teahupoo, to the reef-scraping barrels of Pipeline, to the endless peeling break of Jeffreys Bay, legendary surfers have made their mark on surf history, distinguished by the fearlessness, grace, and artistry displayed while riding the most exalted waves.

Each surfer’s story is told by a different writer—fellow surfers, famed authors, celebrities, musicians, and surf journalists—who shares a passion for surfing. Surfer Stories offers an insightful perspective on the life of each surfer, both in and out of the water, as could only be told by the writer with whom they are paired:

Shaun Tomson on Kelly Slater, Sam George on Laird Hamilton, Holly Peterson on Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, Gerry Lopez on Garrett McNamara, Chris Carter on Shaun Tomson, Liza Monroy on Keala Kennelly, Chris Shiflett on Tom Curren, Jamie Brisick on Derek Hynd, Brett Crozier on Bethany Hamilton, Jim Kempton on Gerry Lopez, Karen Rinaldi on Rell Sunn, Selema Masekela on Michael February, The sport of surfing has a mystique and allure that has transformed many of these icons into mythical figures. Surfer Stories brings them together in one definitive collection that will appeal to those who surf and those who don’t!

María Delores Águila - Author of "Barrio Rising"

A vivid historical fiction account of the community activism behind San Diego’s Chicano Park—home to the largest outdoor mural collection in the U.S.—and just one example of the Mexican American community’s rich history of resistance and resilience.

Barrio Logan, one of San Diego’s oldest Chicane neighborhoods, once brimmed with families and stretched all the way to the glorious San Diego Bay. But in the decades after WWII, the community lost their beach and bayfront to factories, junkyards, and an interstate that divided the neighborhood and forced around 5,000 people out of their homes. Then on April 22, 1970, residents discovered that the construction crew they believed was building a park—one the city had promised them years ago—was actually breaking ground for a police station. That’s when they knew it was time to make their voices heard. Barrio Rising invites readers to join a courageous young activist and her neighbors in their successful twelve-day land occupation and beyond, when Barrio Logan banned together and built the colorful park that would become the corazón of San Diego’s Chicane community.

Also available in Spanish/también disponible en español: El barrio se levanta

Karen Hao - Author of "The Empire of AI"

From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman’s OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy.

When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong?

Over time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the “compute” power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans “cleaning up” that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all. The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations?

An astonishing eyewitness view from both up in the command capsule of the new economy and down where the real suffering happens, Empire of AI pierces the veil of the industry defining our era.

Susan Lee - Author of "Julia Song is Undateable"

Julia Song, CEO of Starlight Cosmetics, is at the height of her career. Then why does she feel like such a failure? Maybe because she’s thirty and single, with a terrible track record at dating. And in the eyes of her Korean family, that is just unacceptable. It never really bothered her—that is until her beloved grandmother drops the bomb that she is sick and her dying wish is for Julia to get married. Impossible. So in a moment of weakness, Julia asks her family for help. Set her up on three dates to help her find The One. But it will never work—Julia is undateable. If only there was a coach for that…

Tae Kim knows about the weight of familial expectation. He’s currently unemployed, living in his parents’ basement to care for his ill father. Sure, he’s become somewhat of a fix-it man for the Korean community around town, but that’s not a real job. And the pressure to get his life together is getting to be too much. So when the Julia Song—his childhood crush—asks for his help, it may be just the distraction he needs. He’ll do whatever it takes, even coach her for these three dates. Problem is, the more time they spend together and the closer they get, the more Tae wonders if anyone is good enough for Julia…including him.

Elizabeth DeLozier - Author of "Eleanore of Avignon"

Rich with unforgettable characters, gorgeously drawn, and full of captivating historical drama, Eleanore of Avignon is the story of a healer who risks her life, her freedom, and everything she holds dear to protect her beloved city from the encroaching Black Death Provence, 1347. Eleanore (Elea) Blanchet is a young midwife and herbalist with remarkable skills. But as she learned the day her mother died, the most dangerous thing a woman can do is draw attention to herself. She attends patients in her home city of Avignon, spends time with her father and twin sister, gathers herbs in the surrounding woods, and dreams of the freedom to pursue her calling without fear. In a chance encounter, Elea meets Guigo de Chauliac, the enigmatic personal physician to the powerful Pope Clement, and strikes a deal with him to take her on as his apprentice. Under Chauliac’s tutelage she hones her skills as a healer, combining her knowledge of folk medicine with anatomy, astrology, and surgical techniques. Then, two pieces of earth-shattering news: the Black Death has made landfall in Europe, and the disgraced Queen Joanna is coming to Avignon to stand trial for her husband’s murder. She is pregnant and in need of a midwife, a role only Elea can fill. The queen’s childbirth approaches as the plague spreads like wildfire, leaving half the city dead in its wake. The people of Avignon grow desperate for a scapegoat and a group of religious heretics launch a witch hunt, one that could cost Elea—an intelligent, talented, unwed woman—everything.

Georgeanne Irvine - Author of "Amazing Omeo: A Baby Koala's True Story of Survival"

When Omeo, a 5-month-old koala joey, was still in his mother's pouch she died of cancer. Against all odds, Omeo survived and thrived, thanks to a strong will to live and the expert care of the San Diego Zoo's veterinary and wildlife care teams. Amazing Omeo is part of the Zoo's award-winning, non-fiction Hope & Inspiration children's book collection.

Susie Ghahremani - Author of "Rosemary Long Ears"

A little mess turns out to be a lot of fun in this delightful adventure starring Rosemary and her very long ears.

Join Rosemary on a walk through her neighborhood with her best friend. There are puddles to splash through and leaves to play in—OH NO! Before too long, Rosemary is a mess. But she knows that if you never get dirty, you may miss out on all the fun!

This charming story from award-winning creator Susie Ghahremani introduces a lovable, joyful pup and celebrates the thrill of letting loose.

Zohreh Ghahremani - Author of "Memory Garden"

A lively afternoon together in Nana’s garden is full of laughter, discovery, and connection. In lyrical text that blends past and present, Memory Garden takes us to the places we leave behind but never forget.

Written and illustrated by a loving mother daughter duo, the nostalgic text and vibrant illustrations invite us to enjoy the beauty of Iranian gardens – and culture - in an adventure that will resonate with readers of all backgrounds.

Steve Breen - Author of "Sib Squad"

Bask in the gleeful rebellion of three younger siblings as they seek bold adventures far away from their older siblings in this hilarious early graphic novel from a Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist.

The youngest of seven siblings, Lucy, Bruce, and Oliver are sick and tired of being told that they are too little to do the things their older siblings do. In a bout of bored frustration, they band together to form Sib Squad—a club of their own dedicated to having "amazing, mind-blowing adventures." And adventures they have! Award-winning cartoonist Steve Breen crafts a riotously fun look at sibling dynamics that will be beloved by downtrodden younger siblings everywhere.

In this first book in the series, the Sib Squad launches the club at their tree house headquarters, then find themselves drawn into multiple adventures that include wishes at a wishing well gone wrong and an unlikely encounter with a younger sibling from outer space. As young readers delve into the trio’s hijinks, they will find themselves struck with uncontrollable giggles and an unquenchable desire to seek adventures of their own.

Clare Frank - Author of "Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire"

Burnt is a book about finding your calling, even if it’s an unexpected one. It’s about finding your home, even if you aren’t immediately welcomed. And it’s about reaching the top and making a difference, even if you don’t look like you fit in.

When Clare Frank was 17 years old, she became a firefighter in Northern California. Clare was five-foot-two and officially too young to join the service—she left her birthdate blank on her paperwork, hoping no one would notice. And she didn’t look like her peers, who sported an Adam’s apple and a mustache. But her brother was a firefighter and loved it, so she thought she’d try it out, too. Very soon, she knew she had found her calling.

Burnt is Frank’s inspiring, richly detailed, and open-hearted account of an extraordinary life in fire. It chronicles the transformation of a young adult determined to prove her mettle into a scarred and sensitive veteran, grappling with the weight of her duties as chief of fire protection—one of the highest-ranking women in Cal Fire history—while record-setting fires engulf her home state.

Mentors and mediocre managers, funerals and scandal, pickup basketball, car crashes, and always fire—no one has written about this world, from this perspective, like Clare Frank. She masterfully mixes irreverence and awe, taking readers inside firehouses, on daily calls, and along to gigantic wildfires where antics and dark humor balance terrifying risk, trauma, and a sense of almost holy responsibility.