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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Unite with Authors Against Book Bans! Join us to hear all-star local authors Joanna Ho and Caroline Kusin Prichard talk about their brilliant book The Day The Books Disappeared and the unsettling rise of book bans. After the presentation we’ll be writing postcards to our favorite authors of banned books.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

The celebrated thinker and author of international bestseller The End of History and the Last Man returns with his strikingly personal intellectual memoir.

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.

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.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED

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!

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.

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.

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.