The idea didn’t come from the first call. Nor the second.

But after a third prosecutor in another part of the country reached out to ask, “How do I successfully try a member of law enforcement?” Keith Ellison decided he might have thoughts to share.

Ellison is Minnesota’s attorney general, and he famously oversaw the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the officer who murdered George Floyd. On Saturday, Ellison spoke at the University of San Diego about his new book, “Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence,” as part of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s annual Festival of Books.

“If you read this book, we’re not there to trash the cops,” he said. “We’re there to polish off the badge which he” — meaning Chauvin — “sullied.”

Ellison was one of around 100 authors who appeared in-person and virtually to give advice, unpack how they write and share what authors inspire them. Bernie Taupin, the lyricist behind Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” was there, as was Alice Hoffman, the writer of the book-turned-movie “Practical Magic.” Dialing in remotely was the “Love & Basketball” actor Omar Epps as well as Tony-winner Idina Menzel.

“We at the Union-Tribune value the written word,” said Lora Cicalo, who made her first public appearance as the paper’s top editor since assuming the role earlier this month. From the main stage, she thanked the crowd for being a “dedicated community of readers who not only support our work but the work of authors throughout our region and throughout the world.”

The ongoing AI revolution makes events like these even more important, said Noelle Norton, dean of USD’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Literacy and the support of reading is one of the most important challenges that humanity faces.”

Cameron Wolfe, right, has his picture taken with Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” at the 7th Annual San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books at the University of San Diego on Aug. 19, 2023.

(Sandy Huffaker/for the SDUT)

Even as Hurricane Hilary loomed, hundreds of people browsed books and listened to music during what might have been the region’s last stretch of good weather before the storm.

By the children’s stage, 5-year-old Marlowe Jones sat in a plush chair.

She was dressed in a pink and yellow dress, a costume representing Fancy Nancy, the hero of a book and TV series. Jones had heard one of the story’s creators would show up, and she’d never before talked to somebody who’d made a book.

“I really want to meet her,” she said.

Moments later, a woman in all white spotted Jones’ outfit. “Fancy Nancy!” the woman exclaimed. It was the book’s illustrator, Robin Preiss Glasser.

Jones jumped from the chair, her face a beam of light.

Many authors had deep San Diego roots. The Los Angeles Times columnist Jean Guerrero used to report for KPBS. Miles McPherson pastors the local Rock Church. Joseph Wambaugh’s classic “Lines and Shadows” chronicled the still-unbelievable story of San Diego cops who posed as migrants to capture bandits, while the Coronado-based Brett Crozier discussed a memoir about his famous firing in the Navy.

Kevin Eastman, who lives in the area, marveled that it had been nearly 40 years since he and a collaborator first released an original comic book they thought would go nowhere.

It was called “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

“I’m still getting up and living that childhood dream of writing and drawing comics every day,” he said.

Book lovers at The San Diego Union-Tribune’s annual Festival of Books on the University of San Diego’s campus on Aug. 19, 2023.

(Sandy Huffaker/for the SDUT)

The newest selections for the reading program “One Book, One San Diego” were also announced. “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” was chosen for adults. Teens get “Iveliz Explains It All,” a Newbery Award-winning novel, while “Nigel and the Moon” will be for kids. The latter two have been translated into Spanish and are part of the companion initiative “One Book Sin Fronteras.”

Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, noted that storytelling had been central to the Floyd case even before he decided to publish something about it.

Once when the prosecution was still in its early days, Ellison was discussing the case with his brother, who marveled that so many passersby had stopped to document the assault. Some even tried to stop it.

The more they talked, the more Ellison realized: The case needed to be built around those witnesses.

“Every case is a story,” he said. “You gotta tell the story in a way the jury can understand.”