Program Schedule
Location
The 2026 SJV BookFest will be held in the beautiful and historic Fresno City College Old Administration Building. The address is:
1101 E. University Avenue
Fresno, CA 93741
2026 Program
Stage One (Theater)
9:00 a.m.
Edward Dennis, Jean Chaffee, Steven Banbury (Young Persons)
10:00 a.m.
Margarita Engle (Young Persons)
11:00 a.m.
City of Fresno Poet Laureate: Aideed Medina Fresno Youth Poet Laureate: Evy Singh; “Transcending Borders” Contest winners: Yessenia Sanchez Cruz, María Izabel Chávez, Cynthia Cornejo
Noon
Manuel Muñoz (Keynote Address)
1:00 p.m.
Apryl Lewis (“Break Free of the Crooked Room”)
2:00 p.m.
Samina Najmi (Non-Fiction)
3:00 p.m.
Brenna Womer (Poetry/Prose)
Stage Two (Room 271)
9:00 a.m.
S. Bryan Medina, Marisol Baca, Megan Bohigian (Poetry)
10:00 a.m.
Scrub Jay Press: Jefferson Beavers, David R. Carrasco-Gomez, Alice Daniel, Angelina Leaños
11:00 a.m.
Janet Nichols Lynch, Kasie West (Fiction)
Noon
Break
1:00 p.m.
Jim De La Vega
2:00 p.m.
Kwamise Fletcher, JP Rapozo (“Loud Mouth Poetry Slam”)
3:00 p.m.
Angelica Shirley Carpenter, Joan Schoettler, Claire Noland (“Will the Kids Like the Book?”)
Stage Three (Room 188)
9:00 a.m.
Roh Morgon, Michele Mills, Matt Abraham, Alyssa Jarrett (“How to Self-Publish Your Book”)
10:00 a.m.
Alena A. Hairston, Connie Owens Patton, Kwamise Fletcher, Prince Marshall (“Spotlighting Black Voices”)
11:00 a.m.
Lilibeth Jimenez, Merry Miller-Gass (“How to Illustrate Children’s Books: Portfolio, Path, and Perspective”)
Noon
Break
1:00 p.m.
Kristin Telles, Joanna Clines (”Stories from Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada: Exploring the Region’s Wildlife, Wildflowers, and Fire”)
2:00 p.m.
Fabiana Sandoval, Gabriela Valencia, Cecilia Madueña-Young (Spanish-Speaking Session)
3:00 p.m.
Aideed Medina, Yeiri Farias (Spanish-Speaking Session)
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