Kepler's Literary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to enriching and inspiring the community through literary and cultural programs. We provide a forum for celebrated writers, artists, and original thinkers to discuss their ideas, insights, perspectives and stories with audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Our Upcoming Events
Longtime Kepler’s favorite Pico Iyer joins Angie Coiro to discuss what silence can teach us about how to love, how to die, and how to live.
Trans rights activist and athlete Schuylar Bailar presents his urgent guide to gender and why it matters.
Local author Betty Shamieh launches her debut novel, Too Soon, an exploration of the lives of three generations of Palestinian American women.
This month the Kepler’s Non-Fiction Book Club will discuss Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy.
The bestselling author of Your Inner Fish takes readers on an epic adventure to the North and South Poles to reveal the secrets locked in the ice about life, the cosmos, and our planet’s future.
In this two-hour fiction workshop, Simon will cover his six steps to maintaining a long-term writing process.
Bestselling author Allison Saft returns to Kepler’s for the the release of her new sweeping, star-crossed romance, Wings of Starlight.
Free! Hear from and meet Rita Bullwinkel, Yangsze Choo, Anita Felicelli, Cary Groner, and Rajesh C. Oza.
Kevin Fagan’s The Lost and the Found, set in San Francisco, explores the human side of what’s behind the homelessness epidemic.
New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and technology activist Cory Doctorow returns to the world of Red Team Blues to bring us the origin story of Martin Hench and the most powerful new tool for crime ever invented: the personal computer.
Microdosing is proving to be a safe and powerful approach to a wide range of health conditions and enhanced performance. James Fadiman, an early psychedelic researcher, and co-author Jordan Gruber join us to discuss the first comprehensive book on microdosing, Microdosing for Health, Healing and Enhanced Performance.
Joshua Miele’s work has had a profound impact on making the world more accessible, and he joins us to share his groundbreaking work creating equitable access to information and tools for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Two extraordinary voices in contemporary literature join us on the Kepler’s stage to explore one of the must-read books of the year, Tommy Orange’s Wandering Stars.
Award-winning author Laila Lalami joins us with her riveting new novel about one woman's fight for freedom.
In her groundbreaking Eve, Cat Bohannon asks the questions that scientists should have been addressing for decades about female bodies.
Bestselling authors and journalistic titans Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson join us to rethink some of society's most deep-rooted problems.
Environmentalist Paul Hawken takes on a journey into the world of carbon, the most versatile element on the planet.
Bestselling author John Green invites us to join the conversation about the world's deadliest infectious disease. THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT.
Carolyn Huynh joins us on the Kepler’s stage with her stunning new family dramedy Family Recipe.
Bestselling author Alka Joshi returns to Kepler’s with her sweeping new novel, Six Days in Bombay.
Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei joins us with her dazzling debut novel which explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.
"Remarkably Bright Creatures" author, Shelby Van Pelt, joins us to talk about casting a giant octopus at the center of her novel and more!
Premier Events
Kepler's Literary Foundation offers a nationally recognized program of live cultural and literary events for the general public that covers a range of global and local topics.
These events feature a wide variety of public figures, including historians, social commentators, scientists and science writers, physicians, scholars, journalists, educators, novelists, chefs, business and technology leaders, and many other subject matter experts from around the world.
Residents of our community interact with recognized experts face to face and learn from their ideas, insights, and experiences.
Youth Events
Kepler's Literary Foundation produces literary events at Kepler's and in local schools, including the public schools serving East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park.
The goal of the youth program is to ignite a passion in students for reading and writing. Outstanding writers, artists, and original thinkers meet face-to-face with students to discuss the importance and power of storytelling.
These programs encourage students to tackle the challenges intrinsic to their own lives and communities and to find their voice through their own writing.
This Is Now with Angie Coiro
Veteran journalist Angie Coiro hosts a series of smart, funny and insightful on-stage interviews with notable newsmakers, writers, and artists.
Angie's interviews with Roxane Gay, Jane Mayer, Susan Faludi and more have drawn standing room only crowds at Kepler's and displayed the brilliance behind some of today's top thinkers and new insights into some of today's most complex issues.
Literary Seminars
Kepler's Literary Foundation hosts literary seminars and classes for those who are interested in a deeper involvement with reading and writing literature.
Each Literary Seminar combines the profound pleasure of reading an exceptional novel with the depth of a college-level lecture providing insightful interpretation and greater understanding.