Wordstock209 is a proposed week-long, community-based literary festival that will take place in Stockton, California, in 2026. In collaboration with the Behavioral Health Program of Community Medical Centers, our team includes B.C. Leake, the Season 15 America’s Got Talent winner, Orlando “”Zeps” Molina, author of the children’s series Rhymosaurs, the four San Joaquin county poets laureate (Tracy, Stockton, Escalon and Lodi). This event will spotlight all the San Joaquin County Poets Laureate and serve as a platform to uplift local and regional voices, celebrate diverse literary traditions, and engage the public in free, accessible literary programming. The festival will feature readings, workshops, school visits, and hands-on book arts activities for youth and families. In addition to delivering meaningful community impact, Wordstock209 will further elevate Tuleburg Press as a literary leader in planning, coordination, and outreach.
Tuleburg Press publishes local authors and mentors emerging writers at The Write Place, the organization’s creative writing and book arts center. We publish 1-3 books a year. Classes and field trips for people of all ages, with specific attention to low-income and marginalized groups, are held in paper making, book binding, letter press printing and writing in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. We currently service between 30-40 participants a month. Tuleburg Press collaborates with other organizations to provide these same services to specific groups: one.Charter Elementary School for homeless children, Community Medical Centers and the San Joaquin Pride Center are priority partners. Finally, we work with local school districts to enhance elementary school libraries, focusing on reopening shuttered sites, funding acquisitions, and lobbying for trained library technicians. Tuleburg Press is a stakeholder in the revitalization of the downtown Stockton core and a lead organization on arts advocacy and access in Stockton.

