Shaken, Stirring

Litquake is San Francisco's big sparkly literary festival, and its material ranges from kid stuff to X-rated — everyone's sure to find a little something to love. Not that you could see everything it has to offer, even if you tried. The star-speckled events at august venues, panel discussions in library rooms, and the seething mass of readings at bars, bookstores, laundromats, and schools together feature more than 300 authors. The week of reading, writing, and trying to find a place to sit (insider tip: Arrive at all events early or wear incredibly comfortable shoes) this year promises a Literary Death Match, a Book Group Therapy panel, and advice on Getting Your First Book Published. Of course, there's also the annual Litquake Porchlight storytelling night, the Off the Richter Scale mega-readings, the famous Lit Crawl. Armistead Maupin is the honoree at the glamorous opening night event, Tales: An Evening with Armistead and Friends, which finds authors, musicians, comedians, and Laura Linney reading their favorite bits from Maupin's famous Tales of the City at the Herbst Theater.

Off the Richter Scale starts at 11 a.m. at the Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin (at Grove), S.F.
Oct. 6-13, 2007