Peer Talk Episode 13: J. K. Fowler, Executive Director of the Bay Area Book Festival

The 2026 Bay Area Book Festival heads to Downtown Berkeley from Friday, May 29 to Sunday, May 31, hosting over a hundred panels and special guests. It's an event where readers and writers of all sorts come together to hold meaningful conversations on both local and global interests. The Festival's rebellious, community-focused spirit is in part thanks to its current Executive Director, J. K. Fowler. J. K. is a prolific essayist whose body of work focuses on social justice and human connection. In 2011, J. K. founded Nomadic Press, a community-oriented publishing house in Oakland; Nomadic Press will return as Nomadic Bookshop in 2026, after a three-year hiatus. J. K. is also a Policy and Outreach Analyst with BAMBD, CDC (Black Arts Movement Business District Community Development Corporation of Oakland). He pushes people to think outside their comfort zone and open dialogues with others from all walks of life. We were lucky to have met J. K. just before the end of the school year — AND before the Book Festival — so we could have the students at Willie Brown Middle School interview him. Listen in as Mr. Mathews' Ethnic Studies class speaks to J. K. Fowler!