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In This
Issue
From Our Chapter
President
WNBA-SF
News
Announcements
From Our Literacy
Liaison
Bookworm Talks
To.....
WNBA National
News
Patricia McKissack, ELMCLS Guest
Lecturer
Poets' Corner
Link to Renew Membership (General
Member - $45)
Link to Renew Membership (Senior/Student -
$25)
WNBA-SF Holding
Elections
WNBA-SF
holding elections!
Here’s your chance to meet
interesting people, learn new skills and be a part of
the guiding force shaping WNBA-SF. Being a part of
the Board offers a rich and rewarding experience,
filled with networking opportunities and the chance
to really make an impact on the careers of authors
and the lives of readers. Please go to the web
site to submit nominations and to read job
descriptions for the open board
positions.
Contact
Mary at president@WNBA-SF chapter.org if you have any
questions.
Slate
of Officers so far…
Linda Lee and Mary E. Knippel co-presidents
Vice-President:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
***********************
SAVE THIS
DATE!
JUNE 7, 2008
MAKE YOUR
RESERVATIONS TODAY!
Pay right now online
The
40th Anniversary of the San Francisco Chapter
of WNBA will be celebrated with a dinner at Sir
Francis Drake Hotel on Sat., June 7 in the
heart of San Francisco.
Highlights include:
•
Keynote speaker: Beth Lisick, local
best selling author and performance artist. Beth’s
recent book, Helping Me Help Myself,
was praised in Entertainment News and the San
Francisco Chronicle.
• Honoring Effie Lee Morris, our
founding president and also recognized by the
American Library Association as a living legend.
Ms. Lee has served the cause of children’s literacy
around the globe.
• Come greet our national
officers, make new friends, network and make
coast-to-coast connections. Presidents from all of
the National WNBA branches will be in attendance.
This is a great opportunity for WNBA-SF authors to
schedule events in other WNBA chapter
cities.
Reservations need to be secured right now. Contact
Vick Weiland at Hospitality@wnba-sfchapter.org.
We look forward
to seeing you there and celebrating with
you!
********************
From our Literacy
Liaison Dear WNBA-SF Chapter
Members,
Roya Yasharpour,
Statewide Program Director of Reach Out and
Read,
was in San Francisco in April for a
conference. So, yours truly and Joan Gelfand,
WNBA National Vice President/President-Elect,
met with Ms. Yasharpour to discuss creative
ways to link WNBA members to Reach Out and
Read programs.
Email
me if
you are interested in this awesome
organization.
Our Literacy
Partnership list is growing:
REACH OUT AND
READ
Email:
Roya Yasharpour
BRING ME A
BOOK
BAY
AREA LITERACY
PROJECT READ-SF CHAPTER
If you are
involved with these or other literacy advocates,
please email me and I'll showcase you in this
Column. Please put "WNBA and Literacy" in your
subject line.
Be
well.
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan
LiteracyLiaison@wnba-sfchapter.org
********************
Bookworm Talks To Cheryll W. Crane,
author of Lady
Lazarus
Cheryll is
an avid
reader and playwright. She is currently writing her second novel
and finding the experience to be both challenging and
rewarding. Cheryll
lives in
California with her husband and son.
Please visit www.cheryllwcrane.com for more information
highlighting Cheryll
's past and
present endeavors.
(Interview questions posed by Sara Cassella, WNBA-SF Newsletter
Editor to author, Cheryll W. Crane.)
When did you start
writing?
I began writing about 15 years
ago. I wrote a short story and then a short play. Finally, I wrote
a first novel.
Why did you choose your particular
genre?
I always read a lot of stories and
novels. I love fiction. I especially liked stories about women from
all backgrounds, but especially African American and other American
minority group women. I also enjoyed theater. I studied acting for
two years, so I have a fondness for drama. I also write
screenplays.
What inspired you to choose your
subject matter?
For my novel, Lady Lazarus, I was
inspired by the struggles some women have, especially psychological
struggles. I was interested in how their concerns and illnesses
affect their families and especially their children. I also read an
article in a newspaper about a woman who had drowned her children.
She looked devastated and yet blank. The report stated that she had
tried to pull her baby out of the water, but it was too late. I
wondered how things might have been different for that family. So I
wrote a story about a woman and her children who are
saved.
How difficult/easy has your
experience been as a published writer?
I have found the difficulty of
obtaining agent or publisher interest to be disappointing and even
a deterrent to writing; however, I always get back to writing
eventually, because I enjoy it. I believe I should try a lot harder
to promote my work than I do. I also have a demanding full-time job
and a family. Excuses, excuses.
What advice would you give other
aspiring authors?
The advice I need to give to
myself. Write as often as possible. Believe in yourself and your
story and have the courage to share with others.
Anything else you would like to
share with the WNBA?
It has been wonderful to meet and
share with other writers. I appreciate the support of the
WNBA.
Would like to be
featured as our Author Spotlight? Please email Sara
at newsletter@wnba-sfchapter.org.
******************
Poets'
Corner
Poetry
Review
God
of the Jellyfish: Lucille Lang
Day
Cervena Barva Press,
2007
“God of the Jellyfish” is WNBA member Lucille Lang Day’s
seventh poetry book and tenth book length
publication. A poet, scientist/naturalist and
publisher of Scarlet Tanager Books, Day has been publishing
to critical success for over thirty years.
The title poem, “God of the Jellyfish” sets the tone for a
weighty topic explored with a light touch. Jellyfish
introduces us to Day’s aesthetic and world view that a
higher power exists in the natural world, a higher power
that does not “expect worship or even praise:/the
iridescence /of their umbrellas will suffice.”
In “14 Stations,” the centerpiece of this packed chapbook,
Day uses the metaphor of the Stations of the Cross to
explore death and resurrection. Inspired by the art
installation “14 Stations” in which artist Robert Wilson
abandoned traditional iconography to open the story of the
14 Stations into something more universal, Day explores
womanhood, fear of living as well as fear of dying, the
banalities of daily life and the transcendent
moments. Always accessible, the accomplishment of
“God of the Jellyfish” is Day’s ability to be both
lighthearted and profound at once:
“Dressed in white/like an angel or bride,/she is larger
than life/like Alice, or a mother, seen by a small child.
What can she offer?/A kerchief to wipe/sweat from a brow?
A/week’s worth of ironing?”
Day’s themes are the unceasing search for answers
surrounded as we are by the detritus of life - domestic
life and furnishings, the natural world’s rhythms and
constraints. In “11. Bed Pierced by Light” our
protagonist experiences enlightenment, but only just for a
moment before “one by one the stars/blink out,
constellations/disappear, and you/are a barren cave.”
Day’s love and knowledge of the natural world also inform
her poetry in the most delightful use of sounds and
language:
“Silvery monkfish, with sickle-shaped fins,/flick
forked tails. Moon jellies throb-/lustrous round bells with
eggs/lodged in frills of their oral arms.”
Bookending the long poem “14 Stations” are an homage to her
father, a meditation on the color red and “Heaven on Earth”
in which Lang tells us it is good to be alive, fully
inhabiting the moment, reveling in the natural
world.
********************
WNBA-National
News
One of the benefits of being a WNBA-SF member is that you
are connected to seven chapters nationwide.
Here a few benefits the National organization has for
you:
1: Permanent Collection of WNBA member books. In 2007 the
Boston Public Library set aside a section for a permanent
collection of all WNBA authored books.
Please contact Katherine Dibble to have your book included
in the collection: kdibble@att.net
2: Have your book listed on our National Web
site/WNBA Author's page. National web site member password
is included in your membership kit.
Please contact Shyne Lunning for more information:
lunni8@aol.com
3: Get published in WNBA's National Newsletter, The
Bookwoman. Send us a short article on a favorite book you
read while traveling for our "Have Book Will Travel"
section. Contact Joan Gelfand for more information
about The Bookwoman: joangelfand@pacbell.net
4: Nominations for our bi-annual WNBA award are due
in May. Please nominate your favorite 'bookwoman' for
the award. See www.wnba-books.org for more
information on the WNBA Award.
Lastly, tell us about your successes with WNBA for our
endorsements page.
Joan Gelfand
Vice President, National Women's Book Association
joangelfand@pacbell.net
(510) 757-5626
Blog: http://jg.typepad.com/ciel
WNBA: http://www.wnba-books.org
********************
EDITCETERA
Workshops
EDITCETERA, an association of freelance
publishing professionals, presents the following
workshops in May. For registration and more info:
www.edicetera.com; 510-849-1110; also learn about
correspondence courses and freelance editorial
services.
• Building Your Editorial
Career: Opportunities and Strategies
Instructor: Barbara
Fuller
When: Tuesday, May 20;
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian
Church, 2407 Dana Street, Berkeley
Cost: $75 for enrollments
paid on or before May 13; $85 after
Details: Learn the nuts
and bolts of starting and running a freelance
business.
• Technical Editing: 2008
and Beyond
Instructor: Susan
Ledford
When: Wednesday, May 28;
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian
Church, 2407 Dana Street, Berkeley
Cost: $75 for enrollments
paid on or before May 21; $85 after
Details: Explore the
elements that define technical editing as a profession and
the areas of expertise that are required of technical
editors in and beyond 2008.
• Freelancing as a
Business, Not as a Hobby
Instructor: Robyn Brode
Orsini
When: Saturday, May 31;
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian
Church, 2407 Dana Street, Berkeley
Cost: $135 for
enrollments paid on or before May 23; $145
after
Details: Learn the nuts
and bolts of starting and running a freelance
business.
***************
History
The Woman's National Book Association is a national
organization of women and men who work with and value
books. WNBA exists to promote reading and to support the
role of women in the community of the book. The San
Francisco Chapter of WNBA was founded in 1968 by Effie Lee
Morris, then coordinator of Children's Services for the San
Francisco Main Public
Library.
Membership has ranged from sixty to one hundred. Our
members are writers, booksellers, agents, editors,
publishers, publicists, librarians, graphic designers,
career coaches, marketing specialists, conference planners,
aspiring authors and avid
readers.
The San Francisco branch of WNBA is one chapter in a
vibrant organization with over 800 members across the
county. Each branch has its own flavor and lively events to
honor books, the creation of books, the world of books, and
allied arts.
The Women's National Book Association has been a
Non-Governmental Organization member of the United Nations
since 1959. An NGO is defined as "any non-profit, voluntary
citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or
international level. Task-oriented and driven by people
with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services
and humanitarian functions, bring citizens' concerns to
governments, monitor policies and encourage political
participation at the community
level."
In effect, WNBA members are to be ambassadors for the UN.
Our organization disseminates information about the United
Nations through all the means at our disposal, especially
through our national and chapter publications and monthly
programs.
****************
WNBA-SF Chapter Board
Members
President: Mary E. Knippel
president@wnba
-sfchapter.org
Vice President: Linda Lee
vicepresident@wnba-sfchapter.org
Treasurer: Allegra Harris
treasurer@wnba-sfchapter.org
Literacy Liaison: Teresa LeYung Ryan literacyliaison@wnba-sfchapter.org
Membership Chair: Mary "Shyne" Lunning membership@wnba-sfchapter.org
Newsletter Editor: Sara Cassella
newsletter@wnba-sfchapter.org
Publicity Chair: Barbara Whittaker
Hospitality Chair:
Vicki
Weiland
Founding Member: Effie Lee
Morris
Immediate Past President and Secretary:
Joan
Gelfand
WNBA
National Board Members
President: Laurie Beckelman
lbeckleman@aol.com
SF Chapter Correspondent, National Book Woman:
Joan
Gelfand
secretary@wnba-sfchapter.org
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From Our Chapter President
Dear WNBA-SF
Friends,
The Merry Month of May is upon us and it will be busy as we
approach the final days before we celebrate our 40th anniversary as
a chapter and host the annual WNBA National Board meeting here in
San Francisco. Any WNBA-SF member is welcome to sit in on the WNBA
National board meeting on Sat., June 7, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., or Sun.
morning, June 8, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. It is an opportunity to make
a personal connection with WNBA chapter presidents across the
country and hear what all of us have been doing on the local
level.
Our Gala 40th anniversary celebration on Sat., June 7promises to be
an occasion you won’t want to miss with a banquet at the historic
Sir Francis Drake hotel, speaker Beth Lisick and distinguished WNBA
guests. Lisick was our speaker for our October Book Group Month
launch at BookShop West Portal where she read from and talked about
the writing of, "Helping Me Help Myself." WNBA-SF members (and
guests) should take advantage of this opportunity to network with
WNBA chapter presidents who are here for the National meeting. If
you are planning a book tour to the East Coast, just think of the
insider information you could glean from our Boston, Washington
D.C., or New York associates.
Our next WNBA-SF board meeting will be held a little early on May
29 (same time and place, 6-8 p.m. at the San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art Café) to allow for any last minute discussions about the
40th anniversary preparations and details about hosting the WNBA
National board meeting. All WNBA-SF members are welcome to attend
board meetings. WNBA-SF is the wonderful organization it is because
of all of us working together, so please stop by and join us on May
29.
Temperatures were hot, but WNBA-SF had a warm reception at April
26’s Mixer in Pleasanton. It was a gorgeous Saturday and we spent
the afternoon talking, laughing, eating, networking and getting to
know each other. Everyone was part of the program as we went around
the group introducing ourselves and sharing projects we were
working, or success stories of accomplishments. One of our authors
was there with a copy of her book hot off the press! I met
her when I first became your president and told her about WNBA. She
took her book project to our Meet-the-Agents event, got an agent,
got a contract, and attended the Mixer with the final results in
hand. That is a true WNBA-SF milestone and success story.
I consider my time as your president a success story, but is almost
up and I urge you to consider becoming a part of the WNBA-SF board.
Linda Lee and I are teaming up to be co-presidents next year.
There’s still time for you to step forward; the vice-president,
secretary and treasurer positions are still open. A position on the
board is a great way to meet some terrific women (and men), hone
your skills and contribute to the growth of our organization. Is
there a program/event you'd like to see WNBA-SF sponsor? Don't
think you have the time to commit to a specific board position, but
would be willing to take on a specific project? Let us know. Anyone
who wants to coordinate a program for the WNBA-SF members should
bring their suggestion to the board. If you would like to nominate
anyone for an office, please visit the web site where we'll have a
page set up for this purpose. Our new board will take their
positions at the June board meeting (to be held May 29).
Finally, if you are someone who feels you are juggling too much in
your life and would like to learn strategies to slow down and add
yourself as a priority on your “to do” list, please join me for a
Free Talk in Pacifica on Sat., May 31. See the Member News section
of this newsletter for all the details.
Please note that our “June” board meeting is taking place on May 29
to accommodate the details we may need to address before the 40th
anniversary gala and the National Board Meeting.
Be
well,
Mary
********************
WNBA-SF
News
Mixing and
Mingling in Pleasanton
By Beth Schaefer
On the sunny Saturday afternoon of April 27, about 25 members
of the WNBA gathered at Faz restaurant in Pleasanton for hors
d'oeurves, networking, ideas, and mutual support. After mingling
and talking books and articles, publishing and media opportunities,
each person stood and introduced herself to the group. Members,
both new and long-time, described their literary projects,
interests, and connections to the WNBA.
The group included authors and poets, some of whom displayed their
works. I know I was delighted to again thank the WNBA for helping
me find my agent at its meet-the-agents event 18 months ago -- as a
result, my book, Writing through
the Darkness: Easing Your Depression with Paper and Pen, is
being published by Ten Speed Press in June.
Members spotted at the Mixer in Pleasanton: Rebecca Martin,
Mary E. Knippel, Elisa Southard, Connie Post, and Deborah
Grossman.
Teresa LeYung Ryan and Glenda G. Ewing discuss advertising in the
Bay Area
Business Woman.
Members at WNBA-SF Mixer
********************
Patricia McKissack to present The
12th Annual Effie Lee Morris Lecture
Storytelling, the Heart of
Literacy
Guest lecturer: Patricia
McKissack
12th Annual Effie Lee
Morris Children’s Lecture
Series
June 6 at San Francisco
Main Library, Koret
Auditorium
(3:30 p.m. reception, 4:30
p.m. lecture)
Please join us Friday, June 6 at 3:30 p.m., for our 12th
Annual Effie Lee Morris Children’s Lecture featuring
Patricia McKissick at the San Francisco Main Library. Ms.
McKissick will discuss how she brings the past to life
through the stories she tells of African American
historical characters. Ms. McKissick has received the 1993
Coretta Scott King Author Award and Newbery Honor Award
for The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the
Supernatural 2002 WNBA Award 2007 ALA Notable Books
For Children for Porch Lies: Tales of
Slicksters,Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters.
The WNBA Award is presented by the members of the Women's
National Book Association to "a living American woman who
derives part or all of her income from books and allied
arts, and who has done meritorious work in the world of
books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her
profession or occupation." Ms. Effie Lee Morris received
the WNBA Award in 1984.
WNBA-SF established this lecture series in 1996 as a
tribute to our founding president. During her long career
at the San Francisco Library, Ms. Morris was instrumental
in taking aside books from the children’s collection that
portrayed racist stereotypes and placing those books in a
separate historical collection. Not only did she help to
bring an awareness of racism to the public, but The
Children’s Historical and Research Collections Ms. Morris
began in 1964 exists today as an incredible resource for
authors, historians and librarians to use in their research
and writing.
Previous series participants:
2007 - Javaka Steptoe
2006 - Tommie dePaola
2005 - Pamela Munoz Ryan
2004 - Nikki Grimes
2003 - Daniel and Robert San Souci
2002 - Milly Lee
2001 - Thacher Hurd
2000 - Alma Flora Ada
1999 - Ashley Bryan
1998 - Laurence Yep
1997 - Linda Geistlinger, Karey Wehner and Toni
Bernardi
********************
Introducing
Simple
Abundance
Close-to-Home
Workshop
Free talk, Sat., May
31
Sponsored by
Collective Fitness and Fitness for Every Body
104 & 108 Paloma Ave, Pacifica
Hello Kindred
Spirits,
Is the closest you get
to a luxurious bubble bath that TV commercial
while you are making peanut butter sandwiches
for the kids? Is the last time you had 15
minutes to yourself when you arrived early at
the dentist? Would you like to change that?
Please join us. We’ll discuss coping
strategies for those who find themselves
hurdling through each day as if it were an
out of body experience. Learn how to slow
down, take stock of your world and perhaps
make changes in your life. Celebrate quiet
joys, simple pleasures and everyday
epiphanies.
Are you ready to join
the company of like-minded women who share
your challenges, dreams and hopes? More
importantly, are you ready to begin a journey
which will lead you on an amazing quest to
become acquainted with the most important
woman in your world?-Your Authentic
Self.
Simple Abundance
Close-to-Home
Workshop
Mary
E.
Knippel
Writer and Creativity
Mentor
Simple Abundance
Close-to-Home Certified
Leader
info@openuptoyourcreativity.com
www.simpleabundance.com
********************
Reminder: WBNA-SF Board
Meetings
Board meetings are open to the
entire membership and are usually held the first
Thursday of the month at the San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art; however, the next board meeting will be
May 29, 6-8 p.m. to allow adequate time to
prepare for the upcoming events: the Effie Lee
Morris Children’s Lecture on June 6, the 40th
Anniversary Gala on June 7 and the National Meeting
June 7-9.
********************
Joan Gelfand, SF
Chapter Board Secretary and WNBA National
Vice President will be interviewed live on
"Poetry Scene"
The half hour radio show, hosted by San Francisco
poet Stephen Kopel, will be broadcast from City
Hall on Friday, May 16th at 10:30 AM. Joan will
read from "Seeking Center" as well as a manuscript
in process.
You can find the show, streaming at:
www.lighthouse-sf.org/audio/streaming.php
The show will be re-broadcast five additional times
in the month of May.
**********************
WNBA
Members Get to Read Their Works-in-Progress or Published
Works at
BookShop West
Portal
We've been having such good times at this beloved bookstore
that Pam Reitman, our new Open Mike Liaison, suggested
having our next event on
Thursday, July 10, 7:00-9:00 pm.
The first 6 members to email Pam will get to read their
works-in-progress or published works. Each reader will get
7-10 minutes at the microphone. After the readings,
we will have time to network. So, email Pam
immediately if you'd like to be in the line-up at
pamreitman@california.com.
If you don't get in this time, Pam will add your name to
the waiting-list.
Take a look at our April newsletter at wnba-sfchapter.org
to see who the
stars were in March.
*********************
California
Writers Club-San Francisco Peninsula
Branch
GROUP MENTORING
May 17, 2008
12:15-1:15pm
"Before
or After Publication-Build Your Career NOW!" with
Teresa LeYung Ryan
Whether you are pre or
post publication, Guest Mentor Teresa LeYung Ryan
will help you take 2
steps forward toward reaching your writer's
dreams
by:
1) showing you how to get endorsements or advance
praises
2) giving you leads to get more connected with the
reading community
3) sharing her extensive resources with
you
Teresa says: "Behind
every face is a compelling story. I encourage
everyone to step into
their dearest dreams."
Priority is given to
members of the CWC SF/Peninsula branch members, then
other branch members,
then non-members. Tell Teresa and Joyce which branch
of CWC you're with.
Non-members can attend one group mentoring session
per
year.
Email Teresa LeYung Ryan
and Joyce Robins, CWC's Group Mentoring Co-Chairs
at Mentoring@sfpeninsulawriters.com
and they will email back confirmation
or put your name on
the wait list. Put "May CWC Group Mentoring" in
the
subject
line.
*********************
CWC Writer's
Forum Open Mic Night: 10 Writers Read, for 10 minutes
each
When: Third
Wednesday of every month
Hosted by: Borders Books and Music, 2925 El Camino Real,
San Mateo, CA (On El Camino Real, 1 mile south of Highway
92, across from the Hillside Shopping
Center.)
Time: 7:30
pm
Cost:
Free
Details: This
is a great opportunity for authors to get exposure and to
practice public speaking skills. Open to all writers
and listeners, including CWC members and non-members.
Each reader is given a choice of whether or not they wish
to receive feedback.
If you would like a free one-hour speech coaching lesson to
prepare for our Open Mic, contact Geri through
CWC.
************************
ADVANCED PLOT WORKSHOP
By Martha Alderson
Author of Blockbuster Plots
Pure & Simple
Saturday May 17, 2008 10am-3pm
The
Advanced Plot Workshop is for any writer looking for an
advanced, practical, hands-on approach to plotting and is willing
to have their work used as an example. Rather than "tell" you about
the plot structure of scenes and an overall story through lecture
using published works, Martha will "show" you by using your own
individual work as example.
Cost is $100. Class size is limited. Workshop to be held in
Los Gatos. To qualify, each writer must have read Blockbuster Plots
Pure and Simple, viewed a Blockbuster Plot DVD, or attended a live
workshop. For more information click
here.
Martha Alderson, M.A., is an international plot consultant, an
award-winning writer of historical fiction, and speaker. She
teaches plot writing workshops privately and through UC Santa Cruz
Extension, Learning Annex, East of Eden Writers Conference, Jack
London Writers Conference, and elsewhere. Join Martha to explore
the critical relationship between characterization and plot.
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