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You are here: Home / Archives for Elise Collins

Dendrofemonology

By Elise Collins

Thursday, March 6, 6:00 pm

at the Mechanics Institute Library

57 Post Street, San Francisco 

Join writer and bestselling author Tiffany Shlain as she discusses her sculpture, Dendrofemonology: A Feminist Tree Ring, a thought-provoking exploration of history through a feminist lens. Shlain, author of 24/6: Giving Up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection, will share insights on her work at this special event co-presented by the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter and Mechanics Institute Library.

This Thursday at 6:00 pm at Mechanics Institute Library

Use Code WNBA to sign up for FREE!

More information about this event & Sign up HERE. 

Fall WNBA-SF writers panel Date TBD at Mechanics Institute Library. Would you like to be a presenter at one of our Mechanics Institute Events, respond to this email and let us know?

Use the code WNBA to sign up FREE for Dendrofemonology HERE

TOMORROW: Sept 12 – Stranger Fiction: The Art of Crafting Speculative Fiction and World-Building With Words, 6PM

By Elise Collins

Mechanics Institute Library 2nd-floor (epic reads)

Happy Wednesday!   

REMINDER and CORRECTION-Stranger Fiction: The Art of Crafting Speculative Fiction will take place Thursday night, September 12, from 6-7:30PM NOT 12pm-1pm as previously announced!

Sign up HERE and use the code WNBA for free admission!

Author Panel, Mechanics’ Institute Library
Thursday, September 12, 2024, 6pm-7:30pm
57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104
4th Floor, Chess Room
F
ree admission for Mechanics’ Institute and WNBA members, $10 tickets for the public

The Women’s National Book Association San Francisco Chapter is thrilled to present this exciting member panel at the Mechanics Institute Library! As our home planet Earth grows ever hotter, crowded, and more polluted, we look to other realms for new hope and relief from our terrain concerns. Thankfully, brilliant minds and bold thinkers have already created places and spaces to which we can journey in books and take armchair travels to new worlds beyond our wildest imagining. These creative writers will discuss their craft and the art of world-building through fiction.

Sign up HERE and use the code WNBA for free admission!
 

Ellen McBarnette is a lifelong writer whose nonfiction work has been published as testimony, fact sheets, and opinion pieces for organizations that include the Sierra Club and the American Bar Association. A professional storyteller, she is a recent transplant from Washington, DC where she ran the Arlington Creative Nonfiction Writers Group. She now runs the Beta Readers and Writers Group and is an active participant in critique groups in the Bay. She lives in Hayward with her partner Ben and their cat Java.

 

 

Mary MackeyMary Mackey is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels, including The Earthsong Series—four novels which describe how the peaceful Goddess-worshiping people of Prehistoric Europe fought off patriarchal nomad invaders (The Village of Bones, The Year The Horses Came, The Horses at the Gate, and The Fires of Spring). They have made The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller Lists, been translated into twelve foreign languages, and sold over a million and a half copies. She has published several collections of poetry, including Sugar Zone and The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams. You can get the latest news about Mary’s books, public appearances, newsletter, and writing advice at marymackey.com.

 

Sheila Smith McKoy, PHD is an award-winning poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker. She is the recipient of the 2020 Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Prize in poetry. Her poetry collections include The Bones Beneath (Black Lawrence Press, 2024) One Window’s Light: A Haiku Collection, a collaboration of five Black poets; the collection won the 2017 Haiku Society of America’s Merit Book Award for best haiku anthology. In addition to her poetry and fiction, Smith McKoy has authored and edited numerous scholarly works. She focuses on vital conversations about equity, inclusion and the Black speculative. A native of Raleigh, NC, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Vanessa MacLaren-Wray writes science fiction and fantasy about people—human and otherwise—connecting in our complex universe. She’s the author of the Patchwork Universe series: All That Was Asked, Shadows of Insurrection, and Flames of Attrition. She also writes for the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy shared-world series and guest-hosts for the podcast Small Publishing in a Big Universe. She’s an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, the California Writers Club, and (of course) the WNBA. When not arguing with her cats, she works on new stories, her email journal, Messages from the Oort Cloud, and her website, Cometary Tales.

WNBA-SF 2023 Group Book Release Party

By Elise Collins

WNBA-SF 2023 Group Book Release Party

December 1, 2023, 5:00-6 P.M. PT

Join us as we CELEBRATE the past year’s book releases of WNBA-SF members. Hear the triumphs and lessons learned by women authors who have published a book in 2023. 

If you aspire to write or publish a book, or you love to hang out with fellow writers and book lovers, you won’t want to miss this fun event. Plus, when you attend, you’ll automatically enter a giveaway to win great books! There will be an author’s giveaway of Jill Lublin’s Publicity Breakthrough Bootcamp. The giveaway will be done live at the end of the event.

During the book release party, the authors will discuss their books and the challenges and joys of their publishing journey. You will find many inspirational journeys to learn from given this diverse roster of authors, from the genre they write in and their publication path to their ethnicity and their topics.

The celebration will include an opportunity to mix and mingle in small breakout rooms where you’ll have the opportunity to talk to the authors directly and receive the answers to all your burning questions. It will be fun, lively, and instructive. Get inspired and gather ideas for wonderful gifts for everyone on your holiday list!

Meet the authors and their books.

Leslie Kirk Campbell – The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs: Stories, February 2022, Sarabande Books

The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs, an award-winning short story collection and WNBA Great Group Read Selection, is about the ways our bodies are marked by memory, often literally – scars, tracks, tattoos – and the risky decisions we make when pushed to the extreme.

 

 

 

Elise Marie Collins – Social Work Education and The Grand Challenges, Chapter 5 Advancing Long and Productive Lives, April, 2023, Routledge

This chapter explores the opportunities and challenges in improving the quality of life for the increasing global and U.S. population aged 65 and above. Emphasizing the importance of equitable aging, it introduces gerontological theory and offers practical guidance for elders’ engagement in paid work, volunteering, and caregiving roles.

 

 

 

Joan Gelfand – Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution,  January 16, 2024, Post Hill Press

Living in Berkeley in the early ’70s, Joan was immersed in second-wave feminism. Among a vibrant community of musicians, painters, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and activists, she is empowered to find her writer’s voice while exploring the limits of spirituality, sexuality, and politics.

 

 
 
 
Joanie Osburn – Café Society: Time Suspended, The Cafés and Bistros of Paris, December 27, 2022, Goff Books
The Parisian café is an integral part of the city’s daily life no matter the weather, the time of day or year, the
mood or neighborhood. It is the spirit of the café, the dance of the waiters, the camaraderie of the patrons,
the perpetual movement and joy, that brings Joanie Osburn to share a dollop of history, a shot of insight,
and a boatload of images that celebrate the Paris café as a cultural heritage worth preserving in her book, Café Society: Time Suspended, The Cafés and Bistros of Paris.
 
 

 

Pamela K. Peirce – Golden Gate Gardening: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Food Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area & Coastal California, 30th Anniversary Edition, August 15, 2023, Sasquatch Books 

I wrote Golden Gate Gardening to help people grow food in the climate and microclimates of central and northern California, where our weather is Mediterranean (dry summer, mild wet winter), and often influenced by the ocean. It has succeeded, helping several generations of gardeners, and this new edition keeps the information it offers up to date.

 

 

Maxine Rose Schur – Places in Time: Reflections on a Journey, January 23, 2023, Legacy Books Press

A vivid travel narrative recounting a young woman’s around-the-world journey in the early 70s. The rare and powerful experiences are given significance as the now much older author understands the significance of her youthful adventures. Named Best Travel Book of the Year by the North American Travel Journalists Association and Winner of the Gold Award by the Society of American Travel Writers.

 

 

Geri Spieler – Housewife Assassin, February 7, 2023, Diversion Books

Housewife Assassin is the 45-year-old mother and doctor’s wife who shot at Pres. Ford in 1975 and missed his head by six inches. 

 

 

 

 

Nita Sweeney – A Daily Dose of Now: 365 Mindfulness Meditation Practices for Living in the Moment, November 1, 2023, Mind, Mood, and Movement

Reduce stress, ease anxiety, and increase inner peace—one day at a time—with a year of easy-to-follow mindfulness meditation techniques. Certified mindfulness teacher, bestselling author, ultramarathoner, wife, and dog-mom, Nita Sweeney, shares mindfulness meditation practices to help anyone break free from worry and self-judgment, feel calmer, think more clearly, and enjoy a more fulfilling life.

 

 

Jia Ling Wang (Karen Wang Diggs) – 10 Super Asian Women Who Shaped History (Volume One), August 8, 2023, Words Alight Publishing

10 Super Asian Women Who Shaped History (Volume One) reveals the remarkable lives of 10 Asian women from the 1st to 13th centuries who never received proper recognition or honor for their brilliant and fearless contribution to society due to racial bias and patriarchy. 

 
 
 
 
 
Seina Wedlick – Naming Ceremony, Illustrated by Jenin Mohammed, April 11th, 2023, Adams Kids Publishing
 
Naming Ceremony is a story about rich traditions and the unique bond between sisters, celebrating a multigenerational Nigerian family and Black joy. 
 
 

Stephanie Wildman – Breath by Breath, (illustrated by Estefania Razo) from Lawley Publishing (coming January 23, 2024).

In this bedtime (or anytime) story, twins Flor and Roberto wonder how they can possibly go on an adventure at the same time as they go to sleep. Big brother Luis, guides them in an adventure through their bodies, from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes. (Spanish language version, Respiro a Respiro coming in May 2024) 

 

Vanessa MacLaren-Wray – Flames of Attrition, August 9, 2023, Water Dragon Publishing

Flames of Attrition is a secondary-world science fantasy that blends political commentary with humor, action, and technological wizardry, as the newly-appointed king of a small matriarchal nation faces down an insurrection. 

 

 

 

 

If you do not see a sign-up form below, or it is not secure, please go to our website to register for this event: https://wnba-sfchapter.org/

Native American Heritage Month-Poetry Reading

By Elise Collins

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month and the Publication of A Light to Do Shellwork By

A Virtual Poetry Reading on Zoom – Thursday, November 3rd, 4 P.M. PDT

Join Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez, Deborah A. Miranda, and Linda Hogan to celebrate the publication of the poetry collection A Light to Do Shellwork By: Poems by Georgiana Valoyce–Sanchez, on Zoom as they read their work in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
A Light to Do Shellwork By: Poems is available for pre-order before its November 14th release date.
To register for this event, please sign up via our website.
 
Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez, author of A Light to Do Shellwork By: Poems (Scarlet Tanager Books, 2022), is a descendant of Islander and Coastal Chumash Peoples from her father’s lineage, and O’odham (Akimel and Tohono) from her mother’s lineage.
Currently, she is an enrolled member of The Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation and chair of the Chumash Women’s Elders Council for the Wishtoyo Foundation.
Formerly, Valoyce-Sanchez was an instructor at California State University, Long Beach, where she taught for their American Indian Studies Program, including two classes she designed: “World Genocides: An American Indian Perspective,” designed in collaboration with graduate student Anna Nazarian-Peters, and “Conduits of California Indian Cultures: Art, Music, Dance and Storytelling.” After 27 years with CSULB, she retired from teaching in 2014.
In addition, she was a board member for many years at the California Indian Storytelling Association, and she continues to be an advocate for California Indian languages and sacred sites. 
Her poem “I Saw My Father Today” is on display at the Embarcadero Muni/BART station as one of twelve poems cast in bronze and placed prominently in San Francisco. 
 
Deborah A. Miranda is an enrolled member of the Ohlone-Costanoan Esselen Nation of the Greater Monterey Bay Area in California, with Santa Ynez Chumash ancestry. In addition to Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir (winner of the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award), she is also the author of four poetry collections (Indian Cartography, The Zen of La Llorona, Raised by Humans, and Altar for Broken Things). 
In 2021, she resigned from her tenured teaching position at Washington and Lee University to focus on scholarships and poetry involving Indigenous California’s history and literatures.
Miranda’s current project is a collection of essays based on the stories of Isabel Meadows, an Indigenous woman born in Carmel, 1846, who left behind extensive documentation of Indigenous cultures and histories in and around Carmel Mission in California.
 
Linda Hogan is a Chickasaw novelist, essayist, and environmentalist. She was born in Denver, Colorado, where she earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and an MA in English and creative writing from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Hogan is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Seeing Through the Sun (1985), the winner of the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, and The Book of Medicines (1993), a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and recipient of the Colorado Book Award.
Recognized for her contributions to indigenous literature, Hogan was inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame in 2007.
In addition to her writing, she is also an instructor, teaching creative writing workshops for students of all ages, and a lecturer, frequently participating at national and international conferences.
 
To register for this event, please sign up via our website.

San Francisco Writers Conference 2022

By Elise Collins

July 21 to July 24, 2022 
Hyatt Regency San Francisco

If you’re a member of WNBA-SF, then you understand the value of honing your writing craft. You also know how important it is to promote and sell your work and to network with your fan base and other writers.

The San Francisco Writers Conference understands all those things, too. That’s why they continuously bring together the best speakers, teachers, agents, and editors at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.

As a proud sponsor of the SFWC since its inception in 2004, WNBA-SF is delighted for the conference to return this July after the pandemic cancelled its 2021 event.

Learn From the Best in the Business

At the conference, there will be nearly 100 presenters, consisting of experts who will help you improve your writing and teach you what it takes to market and sell your book. You can expect to hear from the following professionals:

  • Bestselling authors
  • Literary agents
  • Acquisition and independent editors
  • Book tech company reps
  • Self-publishing gurus
  • Pitching pros

Events for Everyone

Throughout the weekend of the conference, the SFWC will have various events such as:

  • Three keynote speakers who will share not only their journeys to fame but also how to deal with setbacks and overcome obstacles
  • Writing for Change, a 3-hour extravaganza, free to the public, teaching you how to change the world through your writing
  • Meet the Agents and Editors, a panel during Saturday morning breakfast at the Grand Ballroom
  • The Ask A Pro session, an opportunity to ask any professional all your burning publishing questions
  • Writing for Hollywood, for writers interested in the entertainment industry
  • Poetry Summit, an all-day event poets for who want to share their work to the world
  • The Gala Party, a cocktail party that is perfect for networking
  • The Poetry and Jazz session, an evening party following the Poetry Summit featuring a performance and an open mic event

New to the conference this year are the optional manuscript and screenplay critiques, where you go one-on-one with a professional who will critique your work ahead of time and discuss it with you in a private consultation at the conference. 

This may be a lot to pack into a 4-day weekend, but the SFWC will also be providing every attendee the opportunity to view video recordings of all the sessions for up to a year following the conference.

WNBA-SF at the SFWC

Congratulations to WNBA-SF Board Member Sheryl Bize-Boutte for winning the Adult Fiction writing contest with an excerpt from her upcoming novel The Burden Keeper.

Elisabeth Kauffman (also the marketing director for SFWC) will be appearing at the conference store with her Lunaria Tarot Deck for Writers.

During the conference, a number of WNBA-SF Board Members will speak on various panels. Have a look at their schedule below:

Friday, July 22

10:15-11:15 a.m.

  • Elisabeth Kauffman, “General Session: What is Discord and Why are so Many in Publishing Using it?”

Saturday, July 23

10:15-11:15 a.m.

  • Elisabeth Kauffman, “Nonfiction Session: Capture Readers in the Gift Section”

1:00-2:00 p.m.

  • Kate Farrell and Brenda Knight, “Nonfiction Session: Two Views- One Nonfiction Book” 

2:15-3:15 p.m.

  • Elise Collins, “Nonfiction Session: Food Writing Tips: How to Write and Publish Cookbooks”
  • Brenda Knight, “Children’s/YA Session: Kidlit First Pages Critique”

3:30-4:30 p.m.

  • Brenda Knight, “Children’s/YA Session: Children’s Book Agents and Editors Talk About What’s Hot and What They’re Eager to Read”

For more details about the conference, please visit the SFWC website and check out the schedule for July 2022, the list of speakers, and the descriptions of the events.

While you’re there, feel free to stop by the WNBA-SF exhibitor’s table and say hello. And we have a few spots left for volunteers if you are interested, please email sanfrancisco@wnba-books.org we hope to see you there! 

 

 

Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte

By Elise Collins

Interview by B Lynn Goodwin

In honor of Black History Month, WNBA-SF proudly shares this author interview of Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte, author of Betrayal on the Bayou.

WNBA-SF Chapter engages in a continuous commitment and intentional practice of assuring the presence and meaningful participation and celebration of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, historically marginalized identities, and people with disabilities, in its programming, membership and leadership. 

This interview first appeared on the website WriterAdvice.com and is reprinted with permission.

Cover or a book with words and an image of trees and a swamp

Betrayal on the Bayou

Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte’s Betrayal on the Bayou is a fascinating novel that delves into some heartbreaking issues around race, justice, and the noir code in the fictitious Louisiana town of Tassin.

In the midst of the Louisiana Bayou in the 1800s, there was a three-tiered culture: slaves, free people of color, and whites. When a young, white widower from Paris arrives with his daughter he marries a Tassin woman, who has money and power,  and then takes a Creole lover. After a while he builds his lover, Margot, a house identical to his wife, Marie’s, and sets them side by side. He encourages feuds, discord, and his personal superiority. As the story unfolds we learn about the injustices a white man could perpetrate without consequences in the 1800s. Readers will be left wondering how much has changed today in this fast-paced debut novel.

Bize-Boutte is an award-winning writer, poet, and Pushcart Nominee. In this interview she talks about her experiences.

BLG: Tell us when you knew you were a writer. Who encouraged you to tell your stories? 

SJBB: I am from a family of storytellers and voracious readers, so writing was a natural addition to that portfolio.  I knew I was a writer at 12 years old when my parents bought me a Smith Corona typewriter and I wrote my first story. I had imagined stories before then and wrote a few things down in pencil, but my passion was not solidified and off to the races until I was gifted that typewriter.  Incidentally, my first story was about pencils.  

BLG:  Are there real experiences you’ve observed or heard about woven into your novel? Can you give us a couple of examples? 

SJBB: As you know, fiction is always informed by lived reality and for Betrayal on the Bayou that is an embedded fact.  I tell people my imagination has always been my best friend and so, the combination and sometimes hybrid presentation of fact and imagination are present in the novel.   

As an example, one of the lead characters, Margot, is a mixture of the personalities, essences, physical attributes, occupations, and unfathomable heartbreak of several of the most important women in my life, the women who shaped me. In Margot, people who know me will see my mother who never completely overcame her tragedies and yet was a woman of incomparable substance and will, my aunt who made clothing, from the hats to the shoes, for Hollywood’s famous, my great-aunt who flourished in the Jim Crow south despite the restrictions on her very being, and me, a Black woman in America, and all that means. Those who don’t will discover my truths in this work of fiction.

Another example is the phrase, “the rain she come, the bsic pass on you,” from a story my father told us as children.  I took that phrase and re-imagined it as connected to my novel and gave it a new and different life with a more expansive meaning within the Creole and code noir culture I was describing and a commentary on how a myriad of things may have been in the fictional Louisiana town I built. In other words, I did what I do when I write fiction. I took a speck of something, added a dose of imagination, and blew it up into a story all its own. 

BLG: I’ve been fascinated by Creoles since I found a reference to them in a poem in my 7th grade reader. What inspired you to write about Creoles and their struggles in Louisiana? 

SJBB: My father was a Creole from Louisiana. I did not want to write a biography; I have already done many published stories and articles on my parents.  Yet, I was compelled to write something about the Creoles and one day, after ten years of procrastination, all the stories I had been told over the years, all the summer visits, all the food and the joy, and the deceptions came together with imagination and boom, it was all just there, fully formed, the words hitting the pages like magic.   

But the book is not just about the Creoles. Far from it. There are many human and structural characters woven into the novel. In addition to the people in the story, I explore aspects of colorism, elitism, gender bias, inequality, sexism, and what I consider other “betrayals” in the world I created inspired by a culture with which I am familiar.  I put it all in.  I let it all out. 

BLG: Which characters and events were hardest to write about? Why? 

SJBB: The hardest was Margot’s heartbreak.  It is a horrifying cruelty born of racial hatred.  It was the scene that took me 10 years to be able to write.  It was extremely difficult and written through a torrent of tears. Once I knew I could write the passage, I knew the rest of the book would just fall out.  And it did. Another difficult character was Marie.  Her torment was inspired by the life of a close relative, who floated on the surface to avoid destruction.   

BLG: How did writing poetry influence your process? 

SJBB: My penchant for the poetic often results in uniquely formed prose in my story writing.  In poetry, I believe that every line is a poem, and my stories are heavily influenced by that. It also means that in my story writing, I do not always adhere to traditional grammatical and phraseology conventions, which can be misunderstood or unaccepted by some and cause “editors” to pull out the red pen and provide “corrections.”  But it is my voice, and I will always be true to it. Because the ultimate gift to me as a writer is reaching those who can “see” my writing.

BLG: I admire your confidence. Has teaching improved your writing? How? 

SJBB: I don’t think teaching has improved my writing, but I do feel strongly that sharing what I have learned with others is a part of the circle of writing.  By that I mean, I am comfortable with the way I express myself with words and I teach to help others feel the same and to share what I know, what I have learned and what I am still discovering. 

BLG: What do you hope readers will take from  Betrayal on the Bayou? 

SJBB: That there are many stories of people, particularly Black people, that some may not know.  That we are complex beings.  That colorism and racism are cruel and not always visible. That just because you don’t know about something, doesn’t mean it did not happen.  That things that went on, pairings that occurred, are not new things, but existed long ago in different and sometimes, the same, settings. That there are some very bad people in this world.  That there are angels. That we must save and nourish the angels among us.

BLG: Was it always your intention to publish the book independently or did you submit to agents first? What advice can you give readers about independent publishing?  

SJBB: When an unplanned opportunity arose to “pitch” the story to a traditional publisher, I took advantage of it, but I knew there was no interest when their eyes glazed over and they said, “Well it sounds like a story worth telling.” Since I had always wanted to publish on my own to protect my “voice,” I took that route, and I am happy that I did.  I feel I told the story I wanted to tell in the ways that I wanted to tell it, without interference or lack of understanding by an outside party. 

My advice for independent publishing is twofold: 

Make sure you carve out adequate time to market your work. People need to see you and your writing in as many venues as you can reach. 

Invest in a good editor. I thought I had, but unfortunately, I had not.  The bad thing is copies got out with mostly punctuation errors.  The good thing is, since my independently published book is print on demand, I was able to get the mistakes corrected and have the book re-posted.  But I also have to say that some of the strongest and best reviews I received were on the early uncorrected copies, proving that for some, even the worst editing job can’t get in the way of a solid story.  Even now, I suspect we did not catch all the errors, but neither did Ernest Hemingway, Walter Mosley, or Sue Grafton, and many other famous, best-selling authors.  I consider myself to be in good company and am happy about the response to my book. 

BLG: What are you working on now and where can people learn more about you?  

SJBB: In a bit of a departure from Betrayal on the Bayou, which is, at times, dystopian, I am in the process of writing a sci-fi novel. The first chapter won an award in the 2021 San Francisco Writers Conference Writing Contest and is published in their 2021 anthology.   

You can read more about me and what I am up to at: www.sheryljbize-boutte.com. Thank you again for this interview opportunity. 

BLG: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I agree that your voice comes through loudly and clearly. You’ve done a great job of sharing a part of the culture that many people would like to know more about.

Looking for a book that is both historical and timely? Looking for a fast-moving story that will grab and hold you? Get a copy of Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte’s Betrayal on the Bayou.

November 18 – Holiday Storytelling Fest

By Elise Collins

Thursday, November 18, 2021
H
oliday Storytelling Fest 
5:00 – 6:00 pm/ PT
FREE Virtual Event!

Join WNBA-SF Chapter in our virtual storytelling fest to celebrate the holidays as only book women writers can! Five brilliant, talented writers will share their personal stories of gratitude to bring us cheer during this wonderful season of thanksgiving and joy.

After our five presenters tell their stories of thankfulness, we’ll open it up to our virtual audience—that’s you! We want to encourage the sharing of stories during the holidays with friends and family in the spirit of deep gratitude this year.

Storytellers

Co-chair of this event and Pushcart Prize nominee Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte (she/her) is an Oakland multidisciplinary writer whose autobiographical and fictional short story collections, along with her lyrical and stunning poetry, artfully succeed in getting across deeper meanings about the politics of race and economics without breaking out of the narrative. Her writing has been variously described as “rich in vivid imagery,” “incredible,” and “great contributions to literature.” Her first novel, Betrayal on the Bayou, was published June 2020 and a poetry collection she has written with her daughter Dr. Angela M. Boutte, No Poetry No Peace, was published August 2020.  She is also a popular literary reader, presenter, storyteller, curator, and emcee. Website: www.sheryljbize-boutte.com

Co-chair and emcee of this event, Kate Farrell (she/her), storyteller, author, librarian, founded the Word Weaving Storytelling Project and published numerous educational materials on storytelling. She has contributed to and edited award-winning anthologies of personal narrative, Times They Were A-Changing: Women Remember the 60s & 70s, and Cry of the Nightbird: Writers Against Domestic Violence. Farrell’s award-winning new book, is a timely, how-to guide on the art of storytelling for adults, Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories. Kate offers virtual workshops for libraries and writing groups, as well as performing virtually as a storyteller. Website: https://katefarrell.net/ Blog: https://storytellingforeveryone.net/

Gini Grossenbacher (she/her), novelist, poet, certified editor, educator, publisher, founded Elk Grove Writers and Artists and JGKS Press in Sacramento County. She has thirty-six years of experience teaching English/language arts to adolescents and adults. Her debut American Madams series novel, Madam of My Heart, was a silver medalist for historical fiction in the 2018 Independent Publisher awards; Madam in Silk was runner up for historical fiction in the 2020 National Indie Excellence Awards. Her next novel, Madam in Lace, will release October 2021, and Glimpses, her first poetry collection in March 2022. As well as offering virtual fiction workshops for aspiring writers, Gini provides developmental, copyediting, and assisted publishing services to novelists and poets. Website: http://ginigrossenbacher.com/  https://www.facebook.com/ginigrossenbacherauthor

Diane LeBow (she/her) has worked for women’s rights in Afghanistan, ridden a camel through locust swarms on the Libyan Sahara, and searched for Amazon women’s descendants among Mongolian horsewomen. Her work has appeared in anthologies and publications: Salon, Via, Image, Cleis, Seal, Schocken, Travelers’ Tales, and has won many awards, including thirteen Solas Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Douglass College—Rutgers University for her writing, photojournalism, women’s rights work all over the world. She earned a Ph. D, one of the first in Women’s Studies, at the University of California. Her new travel memoir has just launched, Dancing on the Wine Dark Sea: Memoir of a trailblazing woman’s travels, adventures, and romance. Website: www.dianelebow.com Book launch 2021:  https://www.facebook.com/diane.lebow.9/videos/562680831567057

On July 17, 1955, Richelle Lee Slota (she/they) was one of 200 third graders selected to open Disneyland by running across the drawbridge into Fantasyland. She’s been running into Fantasyland ever since. She performs her one-transwoman show, Kind of a Drag under the drag name, Drama Queen. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London produced her short play, We All Walk in Shoes Too Small. Her one-act play, Famous Michael was staged by Solano Repertory Company. She has published much poetry, a novel, Stray Son, and, with co-author, Yaw Boateng, the non-fiction book, Captive Market: Commercial Kidnapping Stories from Nigeria. https://www.facebook.com/richard.slota

 

Join us for our WNBA November Holiday Storytelling Fest!
Register here to receive the Zoom link:

WNBA SF Chapter Emphasizes Diversity in Bylaws

By Elise Collins

Black lives matter international activist movement protesting against racism and fighting for justice - Demonstrators from different cultures and race protest on street for equal rights

The Women’s National Book Association would like to formally announce the passage of a preamble to our By Laws. With the help of board members Renee Jadushlever and Sheryl Bize-Boutte, the preamble was penned in late 2020 and officially added to our by-laws in May 2021. The Preamble will be added to our national website in the members’ section: www.wnba-books.org.

Preamble 

The following bylaws shall be governed and executed through an active and demonstrative practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter’s mission. The WNBA-SF Chapter will engage in a continuous commitment and intentional practice of assuring the presence and meaningful participation and celebration of Black, indigenous and people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, historically marginalized identities, and people with disabilities, in its programming, membership and leadership. 

Please take a moment to reflect and remember that the Women’s National Book Association was founded to give voice through the written word to those who have had a history of not having a voice. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of our chapter, Ms. Effie Lee Morris, a pioneering educator, activist and librarian. We honor her legacy of continuous commitment and intentional practice and celebration of Black, indigenous and people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, historically marginalized identities, and people with disabilities in our programming, membership and leadership. This Preamble, embedded in the bylaws of our organization, serves to assure that the implementation of equity and non-discrimination is included in all WNBA-SF programming, policy and business operations and remains a permanent and integral aspect of WNBA-SF culture. 

Thank you for your continued support of WNBA-SF,

Elise Marie Collins, President

September 9 – WNBA-SF Membership Orientation

By Elise Collins

Join us:

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

at Noon – bring your lunch!

There are so many benefits for members of the WNBA-SF and many of our members don’t take advantage of all of the events, workshops and networking opportunities available. 
 
We welcome new and seasoned members to this live interactive workshop(we will record it!) Join past president Joan Gelfand and current president, Elise Marie Collins.
In this interactive virtual workshop, past president Joan Gelfand and current president, Elise Marie Collins will give you the scoop on navigating your member benefits. Women’s National Book Association was founded in 1917 and has 12 local chapters. WNBA is a United Nations nongovernmental organization.
You will learn:
  • How to be listed in the National Women’s National Book Association Directory
  • How to get your book featured on the WNBA National website.
  • How to get your book in the Bookwoman Newsletter
  • Where to join the WNBA book club
  • Where to find other WNBA local and national events(right now we can join fantastic events hosted by other chapters.)
  • Find out how to volunteer for WNBA-SF and connect with other women in publishing, writing, and promoting books.
  • Discover how you can write articles for the WNBA-SF Chapter website, blog, and newsletter!
  • Reduced entry fee to submit to the Effie Lee Morris Writing Contest.
  • How to propose an event for our local chapter.
  • How to propose an event for the national chapter.
Believe it or not, because events are now virtual, you have a great opportunity to interact with even more phenomenal women in the world of words, so don’t wait, know your benefits!
 
RSVP here (link will be emailed to you once you register). We have a limit of 100 attendees at this event, so register early!

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