Andrea Bajani joins us with The Anniversary, his subtle yet heartrending portrait of an abusive marriage in patriarchal Italy and a son’s liberating decision to cut contact with his parents.
Sona Movsesian, New York Times bestselling author and co-host of the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, joins us with her hilarious, irreverent book about the expectations versus reality of parenthood. Parents, let’s let our hair down–without fear of it getting pulled!
Join us for a joyful, all-ages block party! If you filled out the Kepler’s passport, come by to get your passport stamped and a piece of cake. Drop by anytime for community, crafts, and stories!
In the spirit of American cultural prophecy from Malcolm Harris to Rebecca Solnit, acclaimed writer Casey Gerald (There Will Be No Miracles Here) joins us to offer a groundbreaking work of joyous dissent and stunning vision, a survival guide to a society in crisis.
Award-winning children’s authors Alan Barillaro and Dashka Slater share their unforgettable tales of brave bunnies at this family-friendly event of hoppin’ good fun.
FREE! Naturalist-poet Charles Hood returns to Kepler’s with Acorns In a Nutshell, his reflections on the oak trees’ “dark pearls” with many charming tangents on the bugs, birds, bears, and botany buffs who love them.
The celebrated thinker and author of international bestseller The End of History and the Last Man returns with his strikingly personal intellectual memoir.
Ke Huy Quan, Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, joins us to talk about his outstanding memoir, Never Say Die.
Join us in making a story rug for Kepler’s and read aloud of Sophie Blackall’s Story Rug.
Michael Moritz joins us with his deeply moving family story of displacement and otherness in the wake of the Holocaust—a legacy that must be heeded today.
Tech leader Kamini Ramani joins us with her modern playbook for success, culled from the inspiring stories of a largely unrecognized cadre of luminary women of Indian heritage.
Robert Harris, bestselling author of Fatherland and Conclave, joins us with his new historical thriller that plunges us into Rome’s descent into dictatorship.
Hard Fork co-host Kevin Roose joins us with the story of the twenty-first century’s Manhattan Project: the race to create artificial general intelligence.
The bestselling author of Queen Sugar returns to Kepler’s with Friends and Family, a piercing examination of friendship and loyalty as two best friends find themselves at odds over their beliefs when it comes to their teenage children.
The New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road joins us with The Vanishing Family, the heart-wrenching journey of a family whose flawed genetic code might hold the long-sought key to a cure for dementia.
In a world flooded with conflicting diet advice, how do we choose what to eat? Renowned Stanford nutrition scientist discusses the findings of his over two dozen studies to end the diet wars, debunk myths, and provide health insights to inform our everyday food choices.
Local author Jon Else joins us with Frenchman Flat, the story of a single nuclear bomb’s deep origins, brief life during the Cold War, and lasting environmental and political legacies.
Join us for the unveiling of the Kepler’s Story Rug and for a reading of Home Is a Door We Carry by Constantin Satüpo.
National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower, reveals how California’s Gold Rush forged the modern United States—and lit the long fuse to civil war.
Award-winning historian Douglas Smith joins us with a gripping account of the destruction of Jewish Vienna, as seen through the eyes of an extraordinary woman who witnessed it all.
What if joy was a resource to draw from, and not something to fear? Bestselling author and psychologist Kelly McGonigal shows us how to find and embrace the feeling of joy–even in tough times.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Barbara Kingsolver receives the 2026 "In the Souls of the People" John Steinbeck Award, which is given annually by San José State University and she will read from her latest novel “Partita. This event will take place at San José’s Hammer Theatre and is being hosted by San José State University, with Kepler’s as the official bookseller.
Come and join us to talk about Her Right Foot! Illustrator Shawn Harris will be lead an interactive collage workshop and we would love you to join us for an open discussion about this brilliant title.
Acclaimed author Andrew Miller joins us to talk about his Booker-shortlisted novel, The Land in Winter.
The Booker Prize–winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo has cemented his place as a leading contemporary literary voice. Join us to hear him discuss his latest Booker Prize Longlisted novel, John of John.
Leading cancer researcher Bryant Lin distills the lessons for living that he’s learned as a physician—and as a patient, after being diagnosed with his own terminal illness.
Bing Gordon and Chloe Gordon join us with their guide to building better products and delighting customers using the billion-dollar secrets of video game design.
Please join us for our annual fundraising event celebrating over 70 years of storytelling. This year we are celebrating bestselling author and beloved community member, Abraham Verghese.
Greg Sarris returns to Kepler’s with The Last Human Bear, an epic story of curses, love, hard-won independence, and healing—and the first novel in 28 years by a widely acclaimed Native writer.
Chang-rae Lee, the acclaimed author of Native Speaker, returns to Kepler’s to talk about his coming-of-age novel, A Tender Age.
Bora Lee Reed joins us to discuss Song for Another Home, her Pachinko-meets-Homegoing story of a family’s separation and reunion amid love and war in Korea.
Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Less, joins us to discuss Villa Coco, a novel that showcases his wit, sophistication, and deep knowledge of focaccia.
Joseph Ogilvy surfaces the previously hidden story of the California Coast. By turns paean to nature and cautionary tale, Tin Can Coast stars three marine species caught in the dragnet of human history.
Join us at Kepler’s to celebrate the love of cake! We could not be more delighted that Elisa Sunga will be joining us to talk all about the CAKE PICNIC™phenomenon and her brand new part how-to guide, part recipe collection.
Free! Meet and hear from local authors Grant Faulkner, Gordon Jack, Lindsay Kent, and J.P. Lacrampe.
Why do accents develop, and how do they shape our professional and social lives? Valerie Fridland explores the history, science, and power of accents.
In the award-winning book The Mind Electric, Pria Anand, a neurologist described by the Times Literary Supplement as “Oliver Sacks’ most obvious heir,” reckons with the stories we tell about our brains–and the stories our brains tell us.
Vinita Gupta joins us to share her memoir, The Woman In Deed, which traces her extraordinary life story from India to America, her startup’s inception to IPO, and her rebirth as a bridge champion.
Publishing a book can expand your influence and help more people benefit from your ideas. Book coaches Elizabeth Dougherty and Marisa Solis talk through every stage of writing a non-fiction manuscript for professional experts who want to become authors.
This summer we are thrilled that bestselling author Daniel Mason is returning to Kepler’s to discuss Country People, his rollicking new novel.
Native journalist and world traveler Terria Smith (Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla) joins us with her memoir of adventure, love, and self-discovery.
The indefatigable and incomparable Rebecca Solnit returns to Kepler’s with The Beginning Comes After the End, described as an “urgent manifesto for our tumultuous time.”
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, New York Times journalist Jesse Wegman joins us to tell the story of James Wilson, a Founding Father whose bold vision shaped American democracy but whose legacy was lost to scandal.
Enshittification author Cory Doctorow joins us with his short, provocative guide to AI: the good, bad, and stupid.
New York Times bestselling author John Kenney joins us with his darkly funny and yet heartfelt novel I See You’ve Called In Dead, now available in paperback.
Dave Eggers, the award-winning and bestselling author of The Circle, Hologram for the King, and The Eyes & the Impossible, returns to Kepler’s with Contrapposto, his sweeping new novel about friendship, love, and the lifelong pursuit of art.
James Ellroy joins us with Red Sheet, his most daring and subversive work of fiction to date.
Join Kepler’s and Brooke Averick to celebrate the publication of PHOEBE BERMAN'S GONNA LOSE IT. Your ticket to the event guarantees a copy of Brooke's debut novel and a signed, Phoebe Berman cherry-designed bookplate. This is Brooke’s first ever tour so be ready for an amazing time!
Bestselling author Ruth Ozeki returns to Kepler’s with The Typing Lady, her riveting new short story collection.
Eric Ries, creator of The Lean Startup, shares how success can betray even the most principled organizations, and offers an incorruptible design plan for making the organization you’ll be proud to build.
Nothing to See Here bestselling author Kevin Wilson joins us with his raucous and moving new novel about an unexpected road trip across America that brings a family together.
From slush funds to yacht parties to fraud Theo Baker shares his account of the investigation that led to the resignation of Stanford's President.
Free! Meet and hear from local authors Ellen Barker, Portia Elan, Andrew Lam, and Victoria Tatum.
Nobel Prize–winning economist Alvin E. Roth reframes some of our fiercest moral debates as markets, offering a solution that protects the vulnerable while preserving people’s rights to pursue their own interests.
Join us to celebrate Karen Nelson’s thrilling new novel, The Last Summer at Feather River which has been described as “a genuine page turner, driven by a galloping sense of suspense and delivered in deft and assured prose.”
Is AI ushering us into a utopian future or dragging us toward existential ruin? Josh Tyrangiel of The Atlantic makes the case for how artificial intelligence, in itself a neutral tool, can be used for good in the here and now.
Preeminent Martin Luther King, Jr., scholar Dr. Lerone A. Martin joins us with Young King, the origin story of the man, minister, and civil rights hero who would lead the nation and change the world.
Lindy West has become an inspiration to many through her book Shrill and TV adaptation of the same name. We are delighted to welcome her to Kepler’s to discuss her new memoir, Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane, in which she unpacks her last few tumultuous years, hits the road, rediscovers herself, and reinvents her marriage in the process.
© 2026 Kepler's Literary Foundation Menlo Park, California
