Since the publication of Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon” in 1930, San Francisco has been recognized as the birthplace of modern crime fiction. Join a distinctive panel as they examine the Bay Area as a popular setting for mystery and detective novels. Panelist are Bay Area authors Lucha Corpi, Eddie Muller, and Kelli Stanley and is moderated by Janet Rudolph. This panel was held in conjunction with an exhibit in Doe Library, highlighting the richness of UC Berkeley’s collections for...

Story Hour in the Library celebrates the writers in the Berkeley campus community with an annual student reading featuring short excerpts of work by winners of the year’s biggest prose prizes, Story Hour in the Library interns, and faculty nominees. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20630]

Award winning author and emeritus faculty member at UC Berkeley Maxine Hong Kingston reads and discusses her work, "I Love a Broad Margin to My Life." She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal, and the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20629]

Li is author of “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” and “The Vagrants.” A Beijing native and graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she has received numerous awards. She reads and speaks at UC Berkeley. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20628]

in 2010, author Chris Adrian was named to The New Yorker's "20 under 40" list of fiction writers worth watching. He is currently a Fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of California San Francisco. He is also the author of several novels and a collection of short stories. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20627]

Gene Yang began publishing comic books in 1996. “American Born Chinese” was the first graphic novel nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20626]

Laurie King, a third generation Californian with a background in theology, is best known for her detective fiction. Her yearly novels range from police procedurals and stand-alones to a historical series about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, beginning with “The Beekeeper's Apprentice.” Her books have won the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards, and appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20625]

David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction, a New York Times #1 bestseller. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20624]

Rabih Alameddine was born in Jordan to Lebanese parents and has lived in Kuwait, Lebanon, England, and the United States. He began his career as an engineer, then moved to writing and painting. He is the author of two novels as well as a collection of short stories, and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He lives in San Francisco and Beirut. He reads from his new novel “The Hakawati,” set in the Middle East. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20017]

Bestselling author Michelle Richmond reads from her novels and discusses her writing process to a group at UC Berkeley. She is author of “No One You Know,” the New York Times bestseller, “The Year of Fog,” award-winning story collection, “The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress,” and the novel “Dream of the Blue Room,” a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18752]

Sara Houghteling reads from her novel “Pictures at an Exhibition” that tells the story of a family of Parisian Jewish art dealers whose art collection is looted during World War II. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18543]

Daniel Alarcón is the Associate Editor of “Etiqueta Negra,” an award-winning monthly magazine published in his native Lima, Peru, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin America Studies at UC Berkeley. In 2007, the journal Granta named Alarcón one of the Best Young American Novelists. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18506]

Annie Barrows is co-author, with her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer, of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” A New York Times bestseller, “Guernsey” has been translated into twenty-six languages and was named one of the “Best Books of 2008” by the Washington Post, TIME magazine, and The Christian Science Monitor, among others. Annie is also the author of the award-winning children’s series “Ivy and Bean” and “The Magic Half.” Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID:...

You may know Daniel Handler as Lemony Snicket, the author of the widely read sequence of children’s books, “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” His intricate and witty writing style has won him numerous fans for his critically acclaimed literary work and his wildly successful children's books. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18504]

Mary Roach is the author of New York Times bestsellers “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” ”Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife”, and “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex”. She speaks to an audience at UC Berkeley. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 17973]

Named one of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists, ZZ Packer has received a Commonwealth Club Fiction Award, Wallace Stegner and Guggenheim Fellowships, and a Whiting Award. Her acclaimed 2003 collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere features eight stories whose subjects range from Girl Scouts to expatriates in Japan. Originally from Chicago, Packer is currently writing a novel set in the post-Civil War period. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15438]

Judith Freeman is a novelist, essayist, critic, and short story writer. She reads from her new novel to an audience at UC Berkeley. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15437]

Sylvia Brownrigg’s newest novel, Morality Tale, is an analysis of a modern marriage. She has written four other works of fiction, including the New York Times Notable Book “The Metaphysical Touch” and the Lambda Award-winning “Pages for You.” She divides her time between Berkeley and England. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15436]

Cornelia Nixon is the author of two novels, “Now You See It” and “Angels Go Naked,” as well as a study of D. H. Lawrence. She won first prize in the 1995 O. Henry Awards. She teaches in the M.F.A. program at Mills College, near San Francisco. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15743]

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, screenwriter, columnist and short story writer Michael Chabon’s books include “Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” “Wonder Boys,” “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” and most recently, “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union.” Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 15434]

Born in 1940 in Calcutta, Bharati Mukherjee spent her childhood in India and Britain before moving to the United States. Her celebrated titles include “Days and Nights in Calcutta” and “The Middleman and Other Stories.” Clark Blaise has published numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including “If I Were Me” and “Lunar Attractions.” Both serve as faculty in Berkeley's English department, and they have been married to each other for 45 years. Series: "Story Hour in the Library"...

Melanie Abrams' novel, Playing, arrived from Grove/Atlantic in April 2008, and has been acquired for translation in three different languages. Here, she reads a section from her debut novel. She currently teaches creative writing at UC Berkeley. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14978]

Vikram Chandra has won many awards and critical acclaim for his novels and short stories. The best selling Sacred Games was published in 2007. Born in New Dehli, he now teaches creative writing at Berkeley. He reads from his most recent novel to an audience at UC Berkeley. Series: "Story Hour in the Library" [Humanities] [Show ID: 14980]