San Francisco's Literature Mapped

'Occasionally a cable car passed, trundling heavily, with a strident whirring of jostled glass ...' - from McTeague (1899) a novel by Frank Norris

Ever since the days of the Californian gold rush San Francisco has held a special position in the myths and literature of America. To celebrate San Francisco's status as one of the most vibrant literary cities in the world the San Francisco Chronicle has created The Bay Area Literature Map.

The map features locations of booksellers, writers' passages related to locations in the city, literary landmarks and highlights 300 authors who live in the Bay Area. The map also shows the dates and locations for events taking placing in the city during this month's Litquake literary festival.


During this month's Litquake you can also take a cycling tour of the city's literary history using the Bikes to Books map. This 7.1 mile cycling tour takes in the 12 San Francisco streets named for authors and artists and a number of other important locations in the city's literary heritage.