SCHEDULE 2026

2026 SCHEDULE:
Sunday, August 16, 2026
1:00 - 5:00PM
San Jose Woman's Club
75 South 11th Street, San Jose, CA
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12:00pm I PRIVATE EVENT I BALLROOM

AUTHORS MEET-UP
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12:30PM I REGISTRATION OPENS I LOBBY
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1:00PM I WELCOME I BALLROOM


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1:30 PM I AUTHORS PANEL I TEA ROOM

EVERY CHILD
This panel will unite children's authors whose stories about children struggling with different abilities and life circumstances help to foster empathy, inclusion and inspiration. 

MODERATOR: 
San Jose Unified School District, Library Media Resources

PANELISTS:
Gwen Lee 

Serena Arvayo 

Lindsay Lackey 

Jennifer Dickinson
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2:00PM I AUTHOR PRESENTATION I FIREPLACE ROOM

by Gini Grossenbacher

A debut historical novel that chronicles the struggles, loves and joy of a notorious madam in the 19th century and her journey from the bawdy streets of New Orleans to the rowdy frontier of San Francisco.
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2:00PM I BEHIND-THE-SCENES CLUBHOUSE TOUR I LOBBY
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2:30 PM I AUTHORS PANEL I TEA ROOM

BESTSELLERS
Let's talk about Humanoids, Family Drama, Murder Mysteries and a Life-Changing Journey and how all these stories made them bestselling authors with thousands of positive reviews.

MODERATOR

PANELISTS
Joan M. Griffin

Victoria Kazarian

S. J. Kincaid
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3:00PM I AUTHOR PRESENTATION I FIREPLACE ROOM

by Evelyn Kohl LaTorre 

Meet Evelyn Kohl LaTorre who will share her memoir of meeting Antonio, a penniless university student when she was a strong-willed Peace Corps volunteer in Peru. After succumbing to their attraction to one another, she became pregnant, they married, and began a new life in Northern California. That’s when real life began with the trials and joys of blending two cultures inspiring her book Love in Any Language.
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3:30PM I AUTHORS PANEL I TEA ROOM

UNTOLD STORIES
This panel will discuss the importance of sharing our stories - Black, Brown, Women and others. We will discuss acknowledging our stories and how we can prevent our history from being changed or erased.

MODERATOR: 
Carmen Estela Kennedy Saleh

PANELISTS: 
Eddie Garcia

Tshaka Campbell

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4:00PM I AUTHOR PRESENTATION I FIREPLACE ROOM

Family Thorns & Scars
by Debbie Snow

Meet Debbie Show author of Paper Roses, an emotionally resonant novel from the sister of Tracii Show Hutsona - Breakfast Bitch Owner and New York Times featured serial con artist - about family secrets, inherited trauma, and the long shadow of betrayal. Some families leave you money. Others leave you scars.
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5:00pm
EVENT ENDS