The last time any of the Litquake staff saw each other in person was March 12 of this year. Our office is quite small, and when all five of us are there, it can sometimes feel like we’re piloting a tiny submarine. But it has always been a fun and productive environment, alive with ideas for creating world-class literary programs.

A few days later, we heard the somber news and learned the new phrase “shelter-in-place.” And like so much of the Bay Area and world, we have not returned to our office since. We don’t have to tell you that 2020 has been a year like no other — plagued by racial injustice, political turmoil, and the dread, anger and divisiveness spawned by a global pandemic.

And yet, we are here today with a profound sense of gratitude. Because not only did Litquake survive this year, we thrived. Within a few weeks, we pivoted to offer streaming programming throughout the spring and summer, and presented a robust festival in October, with headliners like Joy Harjo, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Kevin Kwan and Amy Tan, Tom Perrotta, Natasha Trethewey, Claudia Rankine, Matt Ruff, and many more.

We sometimes wonder, how did we manage to make all of this come together? It’s all thanks to you. Our supporters understand that in this dark year of uncertainty, words mattered more than ever. And if we can keep the lights on for the literary community, a well-told story can bridge gaps once thought impossibly wide. So we’re here to say thanks for supporting Litquake and for believing in our mission. With your help, we look forward to a brighter 2021!

—Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware, Litquake co-founders

About Litquake
Litquake’s diverse live programs are created with the aim of inspiring critical engagement with the key issues of the day, bringing people together around the common humanity encapsulated in literature, and perpetuating a sense of literary community, as well as a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing. We believe in literature as a public good, so we work to produce events that are accessible to all. www.litquake.org

Litquake is grateful for the support of the following funders who help make our programming possible. Institutional Giving: Adobe Employee Community Fund, Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, California Arts Council, California Humanities, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Fleishhacker Family Foundation, Grants for the Arts, Margaret and William R. Hearst III Foundation, Mary A. Crocker Trust, Miner Anderson Family Foundation, Mystery Writers of America, Northern California Chapter, National Endowment for the Arts, The Bernard Osher Foundation, Zellerbach Foundation. Individual Giving: Frances Dinkelspiel and Gary Wayne, Margaret and Will Hearst, Scott James and Gerald Cain, Craig Newmark, and Nicole Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson. Media Sponsors: San Francisco Chronicle, 7 X 7, Bay Area Reporter, Johnny Funcheap, and KALW 91.7