826 Valencia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. They offer a range of...
read moreLiterary Places
This database of writerly destinations—places writers can visit for inspiration, to promote their writing, for research, and to discover community—includes historical sites, reading venues, literary collections, writing centers, and writers spaces. Save your selections to My P&W and populate a personal Google Map that can be used to plan reading tours and visits to literary meccas, or just to keep track of your favorite literary locales.
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The primary special collections library at the University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Library houses more than 600,000 volumes, 60,000,000 manuscript items, 8,000,000 photographs/pictorial materials, 43,000 microforms, and 23,000 maps....
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This Barnes & Noble bookstore is located in the Bay Street complex of Emeryville, California. This location hosts frequent literary events including book launches, readings, talks, and conversations. The shop is open seven days a week: Monday...
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Book Passage is the Bay Area’s liveliest bookstore. They host over 1200 events every year, ranging from debut novelists to culinary superstars. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. They also have a second location in...
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Books Inc. is an independently owned and operated bookseller with several locations in California. Its history can be traced back to 1851 making it the West’s Oldest Independent Bookseller.
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Bound Together Bookstore is an Anarchist collective-run bookstore featuring radical literature and events.
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891 Post Street was home to Dashiell Hammett, author of The Maltese Falcon, in the 1920s. An historical marker indicates the location of Hammett’s apartment, but the building itself is occupied by tenants.
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Diesel Bookstore is an independent neighborhood bookstore that hosts regular author events. The store also has a branch in Del Mar.
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Since 1992, Dog Eared Books has been supplying a book-hungry San Francisco with new, used, and remaindered books as well as magazines, calendars, and notebooks. It is a general interest store, so it has a little of everything, but specializes in...
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Formerly known as DIESEL, A Bookstore, the space has transformed into East Bay Booksellers. Still a neighborhood bookstore, the shop was created to provide a place for creating and maintaining community in an atmosphere that promotes the free,...
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Founded in 1967, this independent bookstore provides new and used books of all genres. Green Apple often hosts local authors for readings and book signings. The main bookstore features two floors of new and used nonfiction, new releases, children...
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This second branch of Green Apple Books opened in 2014, and provides new and used books of all genres. The shop hosts readings and book signings and is open seven days a week.
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Located in the Union Square neighborhood of San Francisco, John’s Grill was a setting in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. In the film, Sam Spade asks the waiter to hurry his order of “chops, baked potato, and sliced tomatoes.” The...
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Located in the Japan Center mall of Japantown in San Francisco, this location opened in 1969 and is the first Kinokuniya to open in the United States. The store was originally a second-floor shop with English and Japanese books, and Japan-related...
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Located inside the Mill Valley Library in downtown Mill Valley, the mission of Marin Poetry Center is to nurture the enjoyment of poetry and the craft of writing throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Most of their events, meetings, and other...
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The Mechanics’ Institute is a leading cultural center that includes a vibrant library, a world-renowned chess program, and a full calendar of engaging cultural events, including author readings, writing workshops, technology classes, civic...
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Founded in 1959 by Moe Moskowitz and his wife, Barbara, Moe’s Books has become a beloved Berkeley institution and an emblem of the Beatnik era. Situated just four blocks from the University of California campus, this bookstore hosts a very active...
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Mrs. Dalloway’s hosts over 150 stellar in-store author events each year, serving as a dynamic cultural center and resource for its neighborhood, its ever-expanding and devoted customer base, and as an outreach to the San Francisco Bay Area...
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A seller of used and new books, Pegasus began regularly hosting events in 2008 and to this day, the creative energies of staffers have shaped a unique event program that runs throughout the year. Pegasus has three locations: two in Berkeley and...
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Rock Paper Scissors Collective is a member-led, all volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that fosters creativity and collaboration in order to strengthen local communities, encourage sustainable creative practices, and explore...
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Sacred Ground Cafe’s open mic is one of the longest-running open mic series in the country. They have been serving up poetry and good food since 1972 to discerning San Franciscans and their guests. The series is a free speech zone and appreciates...
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Founded in 2015, the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute offers writing workshops in several genres to writers of all ages, creating a community of writers who continue an open exchange of ideas and inspiration. Their instructors are...
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The Beat Museum is dedicated to spreading the spirit of the Beat Generation, which the museum defines as tolerance, compassion, and having the courage to live your individual truth. The museum is home to an extensive collection of Beat...
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The Book Club of California is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1912. It supports the art of fine printing related to the history and literature of California and the western states of America through research, publishing, public...
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Located in San Francisco’s historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, this venue sells a wide array of books and hosts many literary events throughout the year.
