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Not only is January the month of fresh starts and setting goals, but it also brings weather that can be particularly inspiring for staying in and picking up a good book. That dovetails nicely with many a New Year’s resolution to read more.
With that in mind, we’re kicking off 2026 by reviving our Title Pages section, highlighting new works by local writers. Look for this section quarterly, though we’ll still have stories about books in our regular coverage, too.
In this section, Palo Alto-raised author Chanel Miller discusses her new YA book and Los Altos writer Elizabeth Kemp shares the inspirations for her Silicon Valley-set thriller.
Read on for a sampling of recent releases or soon-to-be-published works by Bay Area authors, plus a listing of special book events coming up in the next few months.
Recently published or upcoming books
A book with a title that seems perfect for any time of year, but perhaps especially now, How to Live a Meaningful Life channels the minds behind the Stanford Life Design Lab, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, into a guide about for how to find purpose, but also wonder and community. Burnett and Evans are the bestselling authors of “Designing Your Life.”
To be published Feb. 3; Simon & Schuster
Burnett and Evans will appear Feb. 3 at Kepler’s Books
For bird-watchers or just those who’d like to learn more about our local fauna, photographer Dick Evans, writer and nature guide Hannah Hindley and environmental writer Mary Ellen Hannibal explore the lives of many of San Francisco Bay’s avian residents. In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area tracks its subjects all around the bay, from far-flung bits of the region’s wilderness to the marshes near Oakland Airport.
Published November 2025, Heyday Books
Hindley and Evans will appear Jan. 24 at Kepler’s Books
Bay Area author Susie Nadler drew on her own memories of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake with her YA book The Lies We Tell About the Stars. Set in San Francisco in the near future, the novel follows teen Celeste as she grapples with the devastation after a massive earthquake hits the Bay Area. Her journey to reunite with her missing best friend takes her to some surprising places, including the launchpad to an upcoming mission to Mars.
To be published March 3, 2026, Penguin Young Readers
Lunar New Year is almost here. Kids and their families can celebrate with Bay Area author Oliver Chin’s The Year of the Horse: Tales of the Chinese Zodiac, featuring illustrations by Jennifer Wood. It’s part of a series of picture books by Chin exploring the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. The book tells of Hannah, a foal, who must help her young human friend Tom find a way to get an important painting to a faraway city — a task that will take all of the little horse’s courage. A revised edition of The Year of the Horse published last fall features a new bilingual translation in simplified Chinese.
Published November 2025; Immedium
Chin appears Jan. 25 at Linden Tree Books
Menlo Park author Scott D. Carlson drops a famous socialist into one of the United States’ early capitalist free-for-alls, the 1849 California Gold Rush, with Karl Marx and the Lost California Manifesto. The book is a speculative adventure that imagines Marx joining the prospectors seeking gold as he tries to escape debtors’ prison and get cash for the revolution.
Published October 2025, Chucklehead Press; scottdcarlsonbooks.com.
Housing costs and homelessness in the Bay Area are possibly the region’s most infamous issues — and solutions to this hydra of a dilemma are still few. With his book Front Street: Resistance and Rebirth in the Tent Cities of Techlandia, Northern California-based investigative journalist Brian Barth introduces readers to residents living in encampments in Cupertino, San Jose and Oakland, and explores how and why current measures for addressing homelessness often fall short. The book delves into causes and possible solutions, but also highlights the sense of community that encampments can foster among their residents that helps them survive.
Published November 2025; Penguin Random House
Barth will appear Feb. 2 at Kepler’s Books
Local author T.A. Chan taps into a classic seafaring tale and takes it to space in her queer science fiction adventure The Celestial Seas. Ishara Ming is the sole survivor of a whaling spacecraft that falls under attack by a shadowy spaceship, the Ballena, a vessel that is legendary — and sentient. To hunt this galactic white whale, she enlists a crew of misfits, whose courage and support buoy her up, and bring her a surefire way to track the ship, but might also be the makings of a love triangle between her and her crew.
To be published March 31; Viking Books for Young Readers
Chan will appear March 31 at Books Inc. Mountain View
Special events
Silicon Valley Reads
“Bridges to Belonging” is the 2026 theme of this annual series that takes place January through March at venues throughout the South Bay and Peninsula. Join friends and neighbors in reading and discussing this year’s three selections: John A. Powell’s The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong; Keonna Harris’ Mainline Mama and Annie Hartnett’s Unlikely Animals. Hear from the authors themselves at book talks, take part in discussions and enjoy a variety of other events, including related film screenings, concerts, workshops and children’s activities, as well as online events.
Through March 31 at various venues and online; siliconvalleyreads.org.
Young Adult Novelist Convention
Peninsula Libraries host their 11th annual convention for young writers, called YANovCon for short. Peninsula Libraries is a consortium of public and community college libraries based on the Peninsula. The libraries team up each year to host YANovCon, which focuses on books for young adults, for readers around the ages of 13 to about 17 or 18, and offers info, resources and support for young writers. This year’s attendees can look forward to a teen writing workshop led by novelist Arriel Vinson, a keynote address by author Don Martin, plus a Q&A and three panel discussions centered around this year’s theme, “Fantasy vs. Reality: Escape Into Fiction.”
Feb. 28, Belmont Library; smcl.org/yanovcon.
Rinconada Book Fair
The Palo Alto Library hosts a day highlighting local authors, as well editors, publishers and writing groups. The event will feature a panel discussion and presentations by individual authors.
April 4, Palo Alto Art Center auditorium; paloalto.bibliocommons.com
