Thursday, July 16, 2026
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM, (PDT)
Date and Time
Listening to Wine: A Tasting and Storytelling Experience to Benefit Litquake
About the Event
The evening will include a wine tasting (with nonalcoholic options available), fun writing activity, and opportunities for storytelling and connection. We'll also have a raffle with fun prizes from our partners, a contest to name Jered's Pottery's newest glaze color, discounts for wines purchased on site, and other surprises!
Color, fragrance, texture, and taste: many senses are engaged when you enjoy a glass of wine. But have you ever tried listening to a sip of wine? Tuning in to the sounds and whispers of your thoughts and memories, the stories and visions conjured by your imagination? Deliciously original phrases and images await discovery as soon as you expand beyond the familiar vocabulary of oak and tannins, butter and pears.
Join us on July 16 at Jered’s Pottery in Emeryville, where light, color, and craft converge, for this very special evening of tasting and storytelling, to benefit Litquake, San Francisco’s literary festival.
Guided by your hosts, Grant Faulkner (The Art of Brevity) and Elizabeth Rosner (Third Ear), you’ll embark on an adventurous and playful experience tasting a curated series of Saintsbury wines, along with prompts to inspire writing your own 100-word descriptions—or stories, rather, because every sip of wine holds a story. Or a poem. You will come up with your own wine vocabulary, your own wine story, and your words will infuse your senses (while your senses infuse your words) to create a memorable experience—shared with others.
Tickets ($40) support Litquake’s mission to connect readers and writers through memorable literary events and experiences. Optional (non–tax deductible) add-ons include the following:
One or two Richmond wine tumblers, designed by internationally respected potter Jered Nelson ($45/$80)
A Garden Tasting for two ($135 value) at Saintsbury Winery in Napa ($50)
A 2-pack ($107 value) of Saintsbury Sonoma Coast pinot noir and chardonnay ($50)
A pre-order of books by Elizabeth Rosner and Grant Faulkner ($35; books will also be available for purchase on-site)
The evening will include a wine tasting (with nonalcoholic options available), fun writing activity, and opportunities for storytelling and connection. We'll also have a raffle with fun prizes from our partners, a contest to name Jered's Pottery's newest glaze color, discounts for wines purchased on site, and other surprises!
About Grant Faulkner
Grant Faulkner is the co-founder of 100 Word Story, the co-host the Write-minded podcast, and an executive producer on America’s Next Great Author. He has published three books on writing: The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story; Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo; and Brave the Page, a teen writing guide. He’s also published All the Comfort Sin Can Provide, a collection of short stories, Fissures, a collection of 100-word stories, and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. His “flash novel,” Something out there in the distance, a collaboration with the photographer Gail Butensky, was published in January 2026 with the University of New Mexico Press.
About Elizabeth Rosner
Elizabeth Rosner is an author and teacher whose work focuses on the redemptive power of storytelling and deep listening. Her six books have been translated into twelve languages and have received literary prizes in the US and abroad. Her most recent book, THIRD EAR: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening, blends personal stories of growing up in a multilingual household with multidisciplinary research about sound and silence in the natural world. Her previous book, SURVIVOR CAFÉ: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award and was named among the best books of 2017 by the San Francisco Chronicle. Elizabeth travels widely to lecture and lead workshops internationally; her teaching carries forward a message of perseverance and tenacious optimism.
About Litquake
Since being founded by Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware in 1999, Litquake has hosted 10,500 authors for 275,000 attendees and distributed 12,000 free books to San Francisco schoolchildren. With over 225 literary partners, Litquake functions more than ever as an umbrella organization stitching together the Bay Area’s literary scene. In its lively, diverse and inclusive celebration of San Francisco’s thriving contemporary literary scene, Litquake, which entered its second quarter-century in 2025, seeks to foster an interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provides a forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city’s music, film, and cultural festivals. Litquake 2026 will take place October 8–24, with additional events year-round.
About Jered's Pottery
Jered Nelson has hand-thrown nearly half a million vessels in his three-decade career as a potter. After a stint in the US Navy, Jered completed his academic studies in the art and process of ceramics at university in Minnesota. In 2000 he returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota and began throwing pots in an old dairy barn, firing them in a wood-burning kiln that he built himself and fed with scrap from the local sawmill. For four years Jered honed his craft in this self-imposed isolation, before ultimately moving his studio to the SF Bay Area in 2004. There, Jered developed his skills as a prototyper and problem solver while hand-throwing vessels at the iconic Heath Ceramics for nearly a decade. His work there with Chez Panisse, Dwell and House Industries drew him to the creative collaboration of custom work with local chefs. Since then, he has been the top choice for hand-crafted custom dinnerware for some of the world's top chefs and designers. Visit Jered's Pottery online or at their showroom and studio in Emeryville, California.
About Saintsbury
Family-owned and operated since 1981, Saintsbury was established with a curious spirit and is recognized as an early producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Northern California. Based in the Napa Valley, Saintsbury thoughtfully pursues exceptional vineyards, varieties, and farmers throughout California. A thoughtful, open-minded approach in the cellar balances decades of practice with a playful sense of discovery. After 40 years, Saintsbury's wines have become the centerpiece of their extended family of growers, collaborators, and enthusiasts.
Grant Faulkner is the co-founder of 100 Word Story, the co-host the Write-minded podcast, and an executive producer on America’s Next Great Author. He has published three books on writing: The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story; Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo; and Brave the Page, a teen writing guide. He’s also published All the Comfort Sin Can Provide, a collection of short stories, Fissures, a collection of 100-word stories, and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. His “flash novel,” Something out there in the distance, a collaboration with the photographer Gail Butensky, was published in January 2026 with the University of New Mexico Press.
About Elizabeth Rosner
Elizabeth Rosner is an author and teacher whose work focuses on the redemptive power of storytelling and deep listening. Her six books have been translated into twelve languages and have received literary prizes in the US and abroad. Her most recent book, THIRD EAR: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening, blends personal stories of growing up in a multilingual household with multidisciplinary research about sound and silence in the natural world. Her previous book, SURVIVOR CAFÉ: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award and was named among the best books of 2017 by the San Francisco Chronicle. Elizabeth travels widely to lecture and lead workshops internationally; her teaching carries forward a message of perseverance and tenacious optimism.
About Litquake
Since being founded by Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware in 1999, Litquake has hosted 10,500 authors for 275,000 attendees and distributed 12,000 free books to San Francisco schoolchildren. With over 225 literary partners, Litquake functions more than ever as an umbrella organization stitching together the Bay Area’s literary scene. In its lively, diverse and inclusive celebration of San Francisco’s thriving contemporary literary scene, Litquake, which entered its second quarter-century in 2025, seeks to foster an interest in literature, perpetuate a sense of literary community, and provides a forum for Bay Area writing as a complement to the city’s music, film, and cultural festivals. Litquake 2026 will take place October 8–24, with additional events year-round.
About Jered's Pottery
Jered Nelson has hand-thrown nearly half a million vessels in his three-decade career as a potter. After a stint in the US Navy, Jered completed his academic studies in the art and process of ceramics at university in Minnesota. In 2000 he returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota and began throwing pots in an old dairy barn, firing them in a wood-burning kiln that he built himself and fed with scrap from the local sawmill. For four years Jered honed his craft in this self-imposed isolation, before ultimately moving his studio to the SF Bay Area in 2004. There, Jered developed his skills as a prototyper and problem solver while hand-throwing vessels at the iconic Heath Ceramics for nearly a decade. His work there with Chez Panisse, Dwell and House Industries drew him to the creative collaboration of custom work with local chefs. Since then, he has been the top choice for hand-crafted custom dinnerware for some of the world's top chefs and designers. Visit Jered's Pottery online or at their showroom and studio in Emeryville, California.
About Saintsbury
Family-owned and operated since 1981, Saintsbury was established with a curious spirit and is recognized as an early producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Northern California. Based in the Napa Valley, Saintsbury thoughtfully pursues exceptional vineyards, varieties, and farmers throughout California. A thoughtful, open-minded approach in the cellar balances decades of practice with a playful sense of discovery. After 40 years, Saintsbury's wines have become the centerpiece of their extended family of growers, collaborators, and enthusiasts.
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