Keri McAllister uses technology, workstations, and a lot of choice to turn her students loose on a unit on poetry. In workstations students watch "poetry in motion" videos, create a podcast about their chosen poet, and post reflections on a chosen poem on their class blog.

Professor Elleke Boehmer notes the distinct lack of women writers on the Post/Colonial Writing page of the Great Writers website, and explores why this is the case. She draws attention to the phenomenon of double colonization and, taking Scottish/South African author Zoe Wicomb as an example, looks at the marketing and publishing industries to discuss why postcolonial women writers are less well-known than their male counterparts. This audio recording is part the Interviews on Great Writers series presented by Oxford University Podcasts.

Annie Barrows is co-author, with her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer, of 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.' A New York Times bestseller, 'Guernsey' has been translated into twenty-six languages and was named one of the 'Best Books of 2008' by the Washington Post, TIME magazine, and The Christian Science Monitor, among others. Annie is also the author of the award-winning children's series 'Ivy and Bean' and 'The Magic Half.' (58 minutes)

Since the publication of Dashiell Hammett's 'The Maltese Falcon' in 1930, San Francisco has been recognized as the birthplace of modern crime fiction. Join a distinctive panel as they examine the Bay Area as a popular setting for mystery and detective novels. Panelist are Bay Area authors Lucha Corpi, Eddie Muller, and Kelli Stanley and is moderated by Janet Rudolph. This panel was held in conjunction with an exhibit in Doe Library, highlighting the richness of UC Berkeley's collections for the study of genre fiction. (59 minutes)

Ben Bac Sierra's story is one of transformation. Raised in San Francisco's Mission District he lived a harsh existence until the United States Marine Corps set him on a path to becoming a Gulf War veteran, professor, and author of Barrio Bushido. After an honorable discharge, he received a BA at UC Berkeley, a teaching credential and an MA. at San Francisco State University, and a JD at UC Hastings College of the Law. He is a professor at City College of San Francisco and he regularly presents at high schools, colleges, conferences, and writing workshops throughout the country. (52 minutes)

Born in 1940 in Calcutta, Bharati Mukherjee spent her childhood in India and Britain before moving to the United States. Her celebrated titles include 'Days and Nights in Calcutta' and 'The Middleman and Other Stories.' Clark Blaise has published numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including 'If I Were Me' and 'Lunar Attractions.' Both serve as faculty in Berkeley's English department, and they have been married to each other for 45 years. (54 minutes)

Carol Edgarian is an author, editor, and publisher. Her novels include the New York Times bestseller 'Three Stages of Amazement' and the international bestseller 'Rise the Euphrates.' Edgarian and her husband, editor and writer Tom Jenks, founded the non-profit magazine Narrative which publishes more than three hundred artists each year. She speaks to an audience at UC Berkeley. (43 minutes)

in 2010, author Chris Adrian was named to The New Yorker's "20 under 40" list of fiction writers worth watching. He is currently a Fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of California San Francisco. He is also the author of several novels and a collection of short stories. (58 minutes)

Cornelia Nixon is the author of two novels, 'Now You See It' and Angels Go Naked,' as well as a study of D. H. Lawrence. She won first prize in the 1995 O. Henry Awards. She teaches in the M.F.A. program at Mills College, near San Francisco. (56 minutes)

Cristina Garcia is the author of five novels, a collection of poetry, and three works for young readers including her newest release 'Dreams of Significant Girls' about three wealthy and adventurous ninth-grade girls from different worlds who converge upon a Swiss boarding school for a summer of discovery. (44 minutes)

You may know Daniel Handler as Lemony Snicket, the author of the widely read sequence of children's books, 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.' His intricate and witty writing style has won him numerous fans for his critically acclaimed literary work and his wildly successful children's books. (58 minutes)

Gene Yang began publishing comic books in 1996. 'American Born Chinese' was the first graphic novel nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album. (46 minutes)

Judith Freeman is a novelist, essayist, critic, and short story writer. She reads from her new novel to an audience at UC Berkeley. (58 minutes)

Laurie King, a third generation Californian with a background in theology, is best known for her detective fiction. Her yearly novels range from police procedurals and stand-alones to a historical series about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, beginning with 'The Beekeeper's Apprentice.' Her books have won the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards, and appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list. (49 minutes)

Mary Roach is the author of New York Times bestsellers 'Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,' 'Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife', and 'Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex'. She speaks to an audience at UC Berkeley. (47 minutes)

Award winning author and emeritus faculty member at UC Berkeley Maxine Hong Kingston reads and discusses her work, "I Love a Broad Margin to My Life." She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal, and the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. (56 minutes)

Melanie Abrams' novel, Playing, arrived from Grove/Atlantic in April 2008, and has been acquired for translation in three different languages. Here, she reads a section from her debut novel. She currently teaches creative writing at UC Berkeley. (29 minutes)

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, screenwriter, columnist and short story writer Michael Chabon's books include 'Mysteries of Pittsburgh,' 'Wonder Boys,' 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,' and most recently, 'The Yiddish Policeman's Union.' (59 minutes)

Bestselling author Michelle Richmond reads from her novels and discusses her writing process to a group at UC Berkeley. She is author of 'No One You Know,' the New York Times bestseller, 'The Year of Fog,' award-winning story collection, 'The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress,' and the novel 'Dream of the Blue Room,' a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. (56 minutes)

Rabih Alameddine was born in Jordan to Lebanese parents and has lived in Kuwait, Lebanon, England, and the United States. He began his career as an engineer, then moved to writing and painting. He is the author of two novels as well as a collection of short stories, and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He lives in San Francisco and Beirut. He reads from his new novel 'The Hakawati,' set in the Middle East. (52 minutes)