March 28, 2026 - 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

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Coronado Public Library

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2026 Keynote Speaker

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thirty novels, including By Any Other Name, Mad Honey (co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan), Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband.

Our 2026 Festival Partners

2026 Featured Speakers

Katherine Woodward Thomas

David Ambroz

Jeanell English

Laura Cathcart Robbins

Luke Dumas

Dean Nelson

Our 2026 Festival Sponsors

Chasing Shadows - Christina Adams - Christina Adams

Join our monthly newsletter for writing events, festival updates, book giveaways and more!

Sponsor Interview: Jerry Berberet

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here? I became interested in writing a memoir five years ago and then enrolled in Marni and Tracy's IMWA course in January 2023. I found it so interesting that I...

Sponsor Interview: Janet Kintner

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here? I handwrote a newspaper when I was in second grade and planned to sell it for two cents, but instead I gave it away. I drew a picture of my teacher...

Sponsor Interview: Anthony Green

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here? I’ve had a strong desire to be a writer since my sophomore year of high school. During that time I was heavily influenced by music and film and I knew I wanted to...

Sponsor Interview: Lisa Cheek

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here? In fourth grade, I wrote a short story my teacher liked. I held on to that praise, but my father didn’t encourage me, even though he was a prolific reader who...

Sponsor Interview: Anthony and Christina Adams, Chasing Shadows

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here? We started writing short stories and poems in our early teens, then moved on to songs, plays, musicals, screenplays, and articles for publications such as...

Sponsor Interview: Dr. Gina Simmons Schneider

1) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what has your path looked like to get here? As a pre-teen, I was inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank. Diaries and poetry became my earliest forms of self-expression. Eventually, I branched into...

Called by Authors Marlena Fiol and Ed O’Connor

A handsome physician. A devout Mennonite nurse. And an Argentinian activist. Welcome to CALLED… Against the backdrop of World War II, Nazi uprisings, political unrest in Argentina and Paraguay, and the scourge of leprosy left untreated, Dr. John and Clara Schmidt are...

Interview with Festival Sponsor Helga Conklin

Q & A with Summer Festival Sponsor Helga Conklin and San Diego Writers Festival SDWF: What inspired you to write The Trinity Knot? HC:  I became curious about my ancestry and started reading about the UK. I already loved European fairy tales and Greek...

Tommy Orange – Beyond the Pages: Exploring Identity and Inheritance

In this episode, Jeniffer sits down at Warwick's Books with Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Tommy Orange. He is the author of There There, and most recently, Wandering Stars. Tommy is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and writes about the...

Belo Cipriani – Oleb Books – Digital Inclusion Strategist, Author, and Teacher

In this first episode of the fifth season Jeniffer and Chad welcome Belo Cipriani for his second interview with them. This episode was timed to air on Global Accessibility Awareness Day because Belo is not only an author and advocate but a digital inclusion...

Alice Hoffman – Author – The Invisible Hour

Jeniffer is joined via Warwick’s Books by prolific writer Alice Hoffman. Hoffman is most known for her book, Practical Magic, which was made into a film of the same name. The Invisible Hour is her latest novel and she talks about how it came about. You’ll learn how...

Smith Publicity

The guests so nice, we had them twice! Because their last episode was one of our most listened to, Dan and Sandy from Smith Publicity are back. They share inside information on the publishing world and discuss the new tools and processes that have come about in the...

Sophie Mackintosh – Author – Cursed Bread

Sophie Mackintosh’s debut novel, The Water Cure, was nominated for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. Now, her latest novel, Cursed Bread, inspired by a mass poisoning that actually happened, has been nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. She’s a writer who uses...

Shelby Stanger – Journalist, Speaker, Podcaster, Adventurer TEDxSanDiego Speaker

Shelby Stanger is another podcaster, author, and big adventurer. Truly. She adventures for a living pretty much. And she inspires others to find their own adventure through her journalism, podcasting, and now her book! Will to Wild was just released on June 6th and...

KishaLynn Moore Elliott – Author – TEDx speaker

Words are KishaLynn Elliot’s superpower. She uses that superpower to tell stories, educate, and inspire. She’s an author, speaker and Vice President of Operations and Evaluation at The Monarch School. She’s also a 2023 TEDx San Diego speaker on Education. She talks...

Jesse Leon – Author TEDx Speaker

Jesse Leon is a San Diegan, TED X speaker, Harvard graduate, consultant and survivor. Jeniffer speaks to him about his memoir, I’m Not Broken, and the story of his past that it covers. Jesse is the embodiment of resilience and living proof that you can come out on the...

Gina Simmons Schneider, Ph.D. – Author – Frazzlebrain

Gina Simmons Schneider, PhD, is a Psychotherapist and expert in coping skills. And she used this expertise to write a book about dealing with the common anxieties and stressors we all face in the modern world. Listen to her speak with Jeniffer and Chad...

Cecile Pin – Author – Wandering Souls

This episode comes to you via Warwick’s Books. Jeniffer speaks with the author of Wandering Souls, Cecile Pin. Her much praised debut novel was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023, and she’s been compared to Joan Didion by Kirkus Review. Wandering Souls...

San Diego Celebrates Storytelling

Thank you San Diego!

We are so proud of what we have built together. We could not have accomplished all that we have without you! In 2019, our inaugural year brought out more than 1,200 people (live and in person); 2020 marked our first virtual event and was a huge success with more then 6,000 people checking in to join the fun across all four days! 2021, also virtual, brought in more than 10,000 viewers. On October 08, 2022 we were back in person at the Coronado Public Library and we are pleased to announce that more than 2,500 people came out to enjoy the festivities.

Storytelling matters! Your story matters, which is why all of our events are FREE and open to the public. If you have joined us in previous years, you are now part of our storytelling family.

Be sure to get on our mailing list too—scroll up to sign up for future events, giveaways, and updates!

The San Diego Writers Festival Uniting San Diego—One Story at A Time