Thirty years after his last novel, Greg Sarris is back with a story rooted in Pomo culture and California history. @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social editor Oscar Villalon joined him at City Lights Books to dive into his latest, hailed by Dave Eggers as "revelatory on every page."

'The Last Human Bear' came to Jack Kerouac Alley - 48 hills

Author and Native American tribal chairman Greg Sarris discussed his first novel in 30 years, immersed in 1930s Pomo history.

48hills.org

Join us for an unforgettable evening with Greg Sarris, celebrating his new novel 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧, in conversation with @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social editor @ovillalon.bsky.social. 📚 Thursday, July 23 📍 Kerouac Alley at City Lights 🎟️ Free & open to the public Details: citylights.com/events/greg-...

We're excited to be part of the inaugural Temescal Alley Book Festival this Saturday in Oakland! Come visit the Heyday table and celebrate the Bay Area's vibrant community of independent publishers, booksellers, and writers.

Oakland’s Temescal Alley Gets Its First Book Festival | KQED

Womb House Books will gather small publishers, Bay Area authors and readers on July 18.

kqed.org

What do our trails reveal about the landscapes we love? The new book 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠 takes us beyond the beaten path to explore the hidden stories embedded in America's #publiclands.

Episode 178: Dillon Osleger - Trail Work — Noorden Productions

Listen on YouTube

noordenproductions.com

@electricliterature.com's can't-miss summer reading list includes 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧, "a lyrical story of a tenacious Indigenous woman set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing America." See why it's on this summer's must-read list:

The Small Press Titles You Don’t Want To Miss This Summer - Electric Literature

Looking for a great book to take on your next beach trip? Check out some of the best indie titles of the season

electricliterature.com

"California Indian history is the least understood history of all American history." On the eve of U.S.'s 250th anniversary, a trio of Indigenous thought leaders join @kpbssandiego.bsky.social to share their perspectives on the meaning of the moment and the nation's lesser told histories. #250

At 250, America's history from an Indigenous perspective

While Indigenous people are a central part of America's origin story, they are often left out of the narrative. We sit down with three Indigenous scholars to talk about that history and the…

kpbs.org

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧 is a mesmerizing blend of myth, memory, and history." A beautiful review in @thebeliever.net explores how Greg Sarris draws on Coast Miwok and Pomo traditions to create a novel that's both deeply rooted and powerfully imagined.

A Review of The Last Human Bear - Believer Magazine

In Greg Sarris’s sweeping new novel, which takes place over the course of almost the entire twentieth century, Mary, a Pomo child from Santa Rosa, California, is shunned by her fellow tribe members…

thebeliever.net

The @stanforddoerr.bsky.social School of Sustainability recommends 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙖 𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙖 by @rosannaxia.bsky.social—a powerful, deeply reported look at sea level rise, California's coastline, and the communities navigating an uncertain future—it's an essential #climateread.

19 books for reflection and perspective on sustainability

Summer reading recommendations from Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability scholars span topics from oceans to living with machines, in genres from science fiction to thrillers.

sustainability.stanford.edu

Greg Sarris explores the life and experiences behind 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧—his first novel in nearly 30 years. From rediscovering his Native heritage to weaving Pomo storytelling traditions into fiction, it's an illuminating look at one of California's most important literary voices.

He’s wine country's reluctant casino mogul. His new novel is rich with Native history

Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris opens up about discovering his Native lineage at 30, overcoming exclusion and turning trauma into literary inspiration with his new novel 'The Last Human Bear.'

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Every trail has a story. In a new conversation around his book 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠, pro mountain biker and trail steward Dillon Osleger challenges us to look beyond the dirt beneath our tires and see that stewardship is about more than maintenance—it's about protecting the future of #publiclands.

Dillon Osleger Wants You to See the Trail Beneath Your Tires

Professional mountain biker and trail steward Dillon Osleger discusses his new book Trail Work, the hidden history of America’s trails, and why stewardship is essential to protecting public lands for…

buff.ly

These five anti-colonial travel narratives challenge conventional ideas about tourism, exploration, and cultural encounter—and offer new ways of thinking about how we move through the world. #TravelWriting

Five Anti-Colonial Travel Narratives You Should Read Before Your Next Trip

I am on a personal campaign to give the travel sphere something no one asked for but definitely—and desperately—needs, an Indigenous perspective. Whether European newcomers know it or not, tribal p…

lithub.com

"The quality of your attention shapes the quality of your life." A fascinating conversation with @johnmuirlaws.com on curiosity, observation, #naturejournaling, and why the simple act of paying attention can be life-changing. 🎧 Listen now:

Full Expression: John Muir Laws: Journaling Will Transform Your Life

In this episode of Full Expression, host Dan Imhoff sits down with naturalist, artist, educator, and lifelong journaler John Muir Laws for a conversation about attention, creativity, and the…

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Travel can be more than list-checking and novelty-seeking—it can be a practice of connection. Terria Smith's new memoir, 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮, reimagines travel through an Indigenous lens—one rooted in community, reciprocity, and building kinship. #NativeStories #TravelMemoir

Native Travel Memoir Lights the Way to Making Kin and Building Community Around the Globe

The genre of travel writing has, for too long, been the domain of settlers: so-called “explorers” whose journeys and way of being in the world have seeped into the foundation of everyday life on the…

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In 𝘽𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣, Dorothy Lazard offers a candid, moving look at library work, public service, and the communities #libraries serve. @publisherswkly.bsky.social calls it “an ode to public service” and praises it as “heartfelt, insightful, and justifiably righteous.” Read the review:

Behind the Desk at the Main: A Librarian’s Memoir by Dorothy Lazard

Lazard (What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World) recounts her career with the Oakland Public Library in this stirring ac...

publishersweekly.com

🎉 Giveaway Alert! Terria Smith’s 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 is part of the @literaryhub.bsky.social Summer Reads Giveaway 2026 ☀️📚 Enter for a chance to win a copy of her must-read travelogue and over 2 dozen other hotly anticipated titles:

Lit Hub Summer Reads Giveaway 2026

Lit Hub has partnered with a slew of publishers to launch its second-ever Summer Reads giveaway. Ten lucky winners will take home all of the below books (more than two dozen!) to get their summer r…

lithub.com

Go behind the novel with Greg Sarris as he reflects on Indigenous storytelling, the complexities of literature's leading ladies, and the inspiration for his critically acclaimed new novel 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧.

Greg Sarris on Telling the Stories of California’s Native Communities

Greg Sarris’s first novel, Grand Avenue, an urban Indian story set in Santa Rosa, California, was published in 1994, during the second wave of the Native American Renaissance, which included first …

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Ken Light’s 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 has earned a ★ starred review from Kirkus, recognizing its powerful photographic portrait of Black life in West Oakland in the 1970s. Through newly presented archival images, Light documents a community marked by creativity and resilience.

SOUL CITY | Kirkus Reviews

Oakland back in the day.

kirkusreviews.com

Enter to win 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧 from @literaryhub.bsky.social—an Indie Next and Amazon Editors’ best new fiction pick. This anticipated novel, described as “lush and gripping” by Rebecca Solnit, delivers an unforgettable Native American anti-heroine "walking her own path through a changing world."

The Last Human Bear giveaway

Win a Copy of The Last Human Bear by Greg Sarris   Enter to win The Last Human Bear—an Indie Next and Amazon Editors’ best new fiction pick. This highly anticipated novel, described as &…

lithub.com

"This Indigenous travel memoir is a must-have addition to every library," raves @libraryjournal.bsky.social in praise of the "engaging, enthusiastic, often humorous" new travelogue from Native journalist Terria Smith, 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮. #IndigenousVoices

libraryjournal.com

As the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, how are Native communities engaging with this moment? 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙒𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 contributors Terria Smith and Ursula Pike join @kalwradio.bsky.social to discuss Indigenous perspectives on history, representation, resistance, and remembrance. 🎧 Listen now.

The US at 250: A Native Perspective with Terria Smith and Ursula Pike

In "Know We are Here: Voices of Native California Resistance," California Indian authors write about how Indigenous communities are resisting the legacies of genocide.

kalw.org

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧 is a "sprawling bildungsroman, complex and intricate," raves @altajournal.bsky.social following the saga of a "fierce, blazing, nuanced" Pomo woman as she navigates love and loss, an enigmatic curse, and a century of change in Northern California Indian Country. #NativeLiterature

‘Out of My Way!’

Greg Sarris’s The Last Human Bear traces the life of a Pomo girl who grows up in small-town Santa Rosa in the 1930s.

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Join Greg Sarris at The Center for Fiction for a conversation on #NativeLiterature, history, storytelling, and Indigenous futures with Eliana Ramage, Linford D. Fisher, and moderator Joseph M. Pierce. In person and livestreamed.

Indigenous Narratives of the Past, Present, and Future | The Center for Fiction

Long before the first Europeans set foot on Turtle Island, Indigenous people shared and recorded their stories and histories. In a conversation moderated by scholar Joseph M. Pierce (Cherokee…

centerforfiction.org

“Lush and gripping.” —Rebecca Solnit "Astonishing." —Alta "Unscientifically calculated reading time: One and a half sleepless nights." —The Believer Greg Sarris's first novel in 28 years, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧, is out from @heydaybooks.com today! www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/the-...

The Last Human Bear: A Novel

An epic story of curses, love, hard-won independence, and healing—and the first novel in 28 years by a widely acclaimed Native writer.

heydaybooks.com

@wsj.com hails 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧 as a compelling exploration of identity, fate, and belonging told through the voice of Mary Hatcher—the fierce Native American antiheroine at the novel's center, rumored to be a shapeshifter and the last of her kind. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙧 is available now. #booksky

Fiction: ‘The Last Human Bear’ by Greg Sarris

Plus Amitav Ghosh’s “Ghost-Eye” and Keith Ridgway’s “Dooneen.”

wsj.com

"With so few contemporary travel books by Indigenous writers out there, 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 is a gift," raves @msmagazine.com.

June 2026 Reads for the Rest of Us

Each month, <em>Ms.</em> provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. Happy June! Happy Pride! Happy Caribbean-American Heritage Month!…

msmagazine.com

A 15-year-old Native American girl refused to be turned away from her public school—and in doing so, helped prove that every student belongs in the classroom. Today we honor Alice Piper, and a fight that is as urgent now as it was in 1923. #AlicePiperDay

Before Brown v. Board | NEA

Thirty years before Brown transformed public education in the United States, a 15-year-old Paiute student named Alice Piper stood at the center of a landmark legal victory that challenged school segregation.

nea.org

Today marks the anniversary of the court decision that helped end Native American school segregation in California, and it is named #AlicePiperDay in honor of the Paiute teenager who made it possible. Out now, 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙋𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙐𝙥 is the first-ever book about her historic fight for justice.

Alice Piper Speaks Up

New richly illustrated book for middle grade readers chronicles the pathbreaking Native American student who desegregated California schools.

heydaybooks.com

This week in Oakland: 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠 author Dillon Osleger and @baynature.org's Victoria Schlesinger unpack what's at stake in the fight to protect public lands.

This week in Oakland: Art Murmur’s 20th anniversary, and the ‘Winning and Losing’ exhibit

Art Murmur’s 20th anniversary, the ‘Winning and Losing’ exhibit, El Tímpano's screening of ‘En El Séptimo Día’ and more.

oaklandside.org

𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙋𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙐𝙥 is the first-ever book about the Native American teenager who, at 14 years old, successfully fought for the right of Indigenous students to attend public school in California. @kqedarts.bsky.social lauds the book as "beautiful", "vivid," and "powerful."

A New Children’s Book Honors an Indigenous Teen Heroine

‘Alice Piper Speaks Up’ tells of one girl’s legal fight for a fair education in 1920s California.

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The travel memoir that Smithsonian Magazine says "upends the genre" is available in audiobook and on sale through June 2. Tune in and take a trip you won't soon forget. 🗺️

70% OFF An Indian Among los Indígenas: A Native Travel Memoir

A gripping, witty memoir about indigeneity, travel, and colonialism. 'Ursula Pike's memoir is unlike any other I've read, with her perceptive, always-seeking, and lovely narrative voice.'…

buff.ly