Events

Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore and Berkwood Hedge School are excited to present a unique evening with KWAME ALEXANDER along with special guest W. KAMAU BELL. Gather with us at First Congregational Church, Berkeley on Wednesday, May 31, at 7pm, for a night of spoken word, poetry, and music. Kwame Alexander will read from, discuss, and sign his brand new memoir Why Fathers Cry At Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances. Kwame will be joined in conversation by W. Kamau Bell (right). Click here to preorder a copy of Why Fathers Cry at Night.

This is a ticketed event. Your purchase of one or two seats through Eventbrite includes a copy of Why Fathers Cry at Night. This event will take place at First Congregational Church Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way.

In an intimate and non-traditional (or "new-fashioned") memoir, Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships—his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try and understand his greatest love: his daughters.

Full of heartfelt reminisces, family recipes, love poems, and personal letters, Why Fathers Cry at Night inspires bravery and vulnerability in every reader who has experienced the reckless passion, heartbreak, failure, and joy that define the whirlwind woes and wonders of love.

KWAME ALEXANDER is a poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times Bestselling author of 38 books, including An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali  (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. In January 2023, a Kennedy Center-commissioned national tour began for Alexander’s musical Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie: Starring Indigo Blume. He is the writer and executive producer of  The Crossover TV series, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney Channel and Disney+ in April 2023.

W. KAMAU BELL is a stand-up comedian, director, and executive producer. He directed and executive produced the four-part, award-winning Showtime docu-series, We Need To Talk About Cosby, which premiered at Sundance. He is the host and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. He is also the author of the NYT bestselling book Do The Work: An Antiracist Activity Book, co-written with Kate Schatz. Kamau is the ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice and serves on the board of directors of Donors Choose and the advisory board of Hollaback!

THIS EVENT is ticketed and pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 4:30 pm on May 31st.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:30 and 6:45 PM for the event.

Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Tuesday, June 6th at 7:00 PM when award winning author and poet ANA CASTILLO joins us for an in-person event. Ana will read from and discuss her brand new book of short stories Doña Cleanwell Leaves Home. Ana will sign copies of her book after the presentation. Ana will be joined in conversation by ROSA MARTINEZ (right).

Register for this free event through Eventbrite or at the bookstore. Click Here to preorder a copy of Doña Cleanwell Leaves Home.

Literary legend Ana Castillo explores the secrets that are kept within households and the women they impact the most in this breakout collection that cements her place as a leading voice in feminist fiction.

The first person in her traditional Mexican American family to graduate from high school, Katia is entering adulthood at a time of turbulent change. Across the nation young people are fighting for civil and women’s rights and protesting the Vietnam War and brutal dictatorships in South America. Like so many of her generation, Katia wants to make the world a better place, and is determined to follow her own path. As she considers moving to California to join La Causa, Mexican American activist Cesar Chavez’s movement to improve the working conditions of migrant farmer workers, Katia receives an unexpected gift from her father: a plane ticket to Mexico City. Bring back your mother, he says, tell her, her children need her. And so Katia joins this cause, to get Tina back to Chicago. But it won't be easy. Katia must learn to navigate a liberated version of her mother in a new country where she is now hawking supposedly superior cleaning products, called Donna Clean Well.

Katia is but one of the voices introduced in this dazzling collection of short fiction. Spanning from Chicago to Mexico to New Mexico, the stories in Doña Cleanwell Leaves Home illuminate a chorus of people whose stories will leave you breathless.

“Ana Castillo is an American treasure. Fearless, compassionate, and flat-out brilliant—she is the writer we need as we navigate the challenges of our ever-changing world.”— Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

“Ana Castillo is de primera storyteller.”—award-winning author Julia Alvarez

ANA CASTILLO is a celebrated poet, novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator, and scholar. Born and raised in Chicago, her award winning, bestselling titles include the novels So Far from God, The Guardians, Peel My Love like an Onion, and Sapogonia, which was a New York Times Notable Book, and the poetry collection I Ask the Impossible. She has received numerous awards, including the 2018 PEN Oakland Lifetime Achievement Award, the Fuller Award for Lifetime Achievement, and this year was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

ROSA MARTINEZ is Associate Professor in the English Department at California State University, Sacramento, where she teaches Chicano/Latino/a literature courses. She received her Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Her poetry has been named a finalist in the Boston Review’s annual poetry contest, and her scholarly publications include a chapter on Herman Melville and Miguel de Cervantes, and a forthcoming article about Ellen Craft’s famous 1848 escape from American Slavery. 

THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 4:30 pm on July 18th.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged. 

WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.

PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.

OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.

Local author and NPR personality AISHA HARRIS comes to Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Wednesday, June 14th, 7pm to launch her new book Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me. Aisha will read from and discuss her book and will sign copies after the presentation. In nine lively, incisive essays, the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour co-host reflects on the cultural touchstones of her childhood and adolescence that have shaped her, setting them in context with current sensations transforming culture now. (Aisha's photo courtesy of Sheilby Macena)

This event is free, but you must register on Eventbrite or contact us a the store prior to the talk.

NPR listeners trust Aisha Harris for her engaging and incisive insights on popular culture and the music, television, movies, and more that are influencing our lives today. In this insightful collection, she uses her keen analytical skills to examine her own life and the culture that defined who she is and how she thinks. In essays that span the personal and political, the high-brow and low, she explores how elements of popular culture became the formative touchstones of her youth in the 1990s. Aisha probes the most personal aspects of her life, including her family, her adolescence, her relationships, and her work. In the opening essay, an interaction with Chance the Rapper prompts an investigation into the origin myth of her name that becomes an ode to Stevie Wonder, Roots, and her parents. In another, she takes us back to the days of the Spice Girls and being pressured by friends to dress up as Scary Spice even though she preferred Ginger—and how perfectly that feeling is captured in an episode of the award-winning series Pen15 streaming on Hulu. She traces the evolution of the “Black Friend” trope from its Twainian origins through Clueless and She’s All That to New Girl and the recent Sex and The City reboot. She also zooms way out into the overlap of taste and identity today, arguing for us to let go of the patriarchal ethos of selfhood that limits us to “you are what you like.”

Wannabe is a peak into Aisha’s brilliant mind and caring heart, an opportunity and a pleasure to sit back and jam with a smart, hilarious, pop-culture obsessed friend who opens new worlds with each entertaining and thought-provoking observation.

AISHA HARRIS is the co-host of the popular NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour. From 2012 to 2018, she covered culture for Slate magazine as a staff writer, editor, and host of the film and television podcast, Represent. She joined the New York Times in 2018 as the assistant television editor on the Culture Desk and became culture editor for the Opinion Desk, where she wrote and edited a variety of pieces on the arts, society, and politics. Born and raised in Connecticut, she earned her bachelor's degree in theatre from Northwestern University and her master's degree in cinema studies from New York University. She lives in Oakland, California. Wannabe is her first book.

THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 4:30 pm on June 14th.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.

PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.

OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.

Our annual tradition continues as THOMAS LYNCH continues his Bloomsday reading of James Joyce's Ulysses on Friday, June 16, 1pm in the store. At this performance, Thomas will be reading the second half of Chapter 10, "The Wandering Rocks." Reservations not required. This is a free event, but part of our tradition calls for passing the hat for Thomas following the reading.

Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Sunday, June 18th, 2:00 PM when author-illustrator SENDY SANTAMARIA comes to present her debut picture book at her launch event for Yenebi's Drive to School, a vibrant story that puts a whole new spin on one family's morning drive to school. "A trip to school takes on new meaning with the addition of a border crossing". --Kirkus, starred review

This is a free event, but attendees must register through Eventbrite or at the bookstore. Click Here to preorder a copy of Yenebi's Drive to School.

Every morning, I'm up at four o'clock.

I brush my teeth, get dressed, and drag my sister Melanie to the car where Mami's waiting for us.

¡Se nos va hacer tarde! ¡Apurarse!

For the next two hours, we'll be in the car driving—past tamale vendors (my favorite part), through la linea (my least favorite part), and across the US border. That's how we get to school every day. This is our normal. ¡Vamos!

In a winning, sunny voice in a bright, friendly palette, debut author-illustrator Sendy Santamaria tells the story of one girl's commute—a commute Sendy herself made growing up as an American citizen living in Mexico. Yenebi's Drive to School takes readers on a trip to school that many will recognize as very similar to their own.

SENDY SANTAMARIA is an Oakland-based Xicana author and illustrator. She received her BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts. She grew up along both sides of the border between San Diego and Tijuana and spent a lot of time daydreaming on the San Diego Blue Line trolley. Her work celebrates everyday narratives and Chicanx culture. She is inspired by migration, perseverance, pigeons and love. 

THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 12:00 pm on June 18th.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 1:45 and 2:00 PM for the event.

PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.

Bestselling author ELISSA SUSSMAN comes to Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Thursday, June 22nd at 7:00 pm to read from, discuss, and sign her new novel Once More With Feeling. In Elissa's latest, a former pop star finds herself back in the spotlight—along with an old flame from her past—in this friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers story from the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask, the sensational TikTok romance! (photo (c) John Petaja)

In order to attend, you must register on Eventbrite or at the store. Click here to preorder a copy of the book.

Then. Katee Rose is living the dream as America’s number one pop star, caught in a whirlwind of sold-out concerts, screaming fans, and constant tabloid coverage. Everyone wants to know everything about her and her boyfriend, Ryan LaNeve, the hottest member of adored boy band CrushZone. Katee loves to perform but hates the impossible demands of stardom. Maybe that’s why she finds herself in the arms of another CrushZone member, Cal Kirby. Quiet, serious Cal, who’s always been a good friend to Katee, is suddenly Cal with the smoldering eyes and very good hands. One unforgettable night is all it takes to blow up Katee’s relationship with Ryan, her career, her whole life.

Now. Kathleen Rosenberg is okay with her ordinary existence, and leaving her pop star image in the past. That is, until Cal Kirby shows up with the opportunity of her dreams—a starring role in the Broadway show he’s directing and a chance to perform the way she’s always wanted. The two haven’t spoken since the joint destruction of their careers, and each of them blames the other, making their reunion a tense battle of wits and egos. Kathleen reluctantly agrees to the musical, as long as she keeps her guard up around Cal. But rehearsals are long, those eyes still smolder, and those hands are still very good. Despite everything, Kathleen can’t deny the chemistry between them. Is it ever a good idea to reignite old flames? Especially if you’ve been burned in the past?

“This book is catnip for those of us who love boybands, musical theater, and second chances at first love. Written with humor and a fan's eye for adoration, Elissa Sussman has given us another hit.”—Emma Straub, bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

ELISSA SUSSMAN is the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask and three young adult novels. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MFA from Pacific University and lives in her hometown of Los Angeles with her family.

THIS EVENT is free but pre-registration is required. Registration ends at 4:30 pm on June 22nd.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.

PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.

OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.