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July 18th Self Publishing 101 with Claire Jones

By Julianna Holshue

Thursday, July 18th at 12pm PDT
 
A FREE Virtual Event
 
Self Publishing 101
A Lunch and Learn Discussion with Claire Jones
 
Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!
 
 
 
There are a whole range of publishing platforms available to those of us who wish to self-publish our book(s). Simply search “Self Publishing Platforms” online and you will find a list of articles touting: “The 17 BEST Self-Publishing Companies of 2023”, “8 Best Free Self-Publishing Sites”, “The 15 Best Self Publishing Companies to Support Your Writing Career”, or “10 Best Self-Publishing Companies You Should Know”.

Each of them explains their rigorous “vetting” process and subsequent “qualified” picks, and, while the same platforms do show up on some of these lists, the rankings are never predictable.

 
So who really knows which one is the best?

It really boils down to how much you want to spend, where and how you want the book distributed, how you want to treat your copyright permissions, and what kind of backend reporting system you want.

I’m not going to list the various features of each of the platforms (that’s what those “Best Of” articles are for). What I will do is tell you why I chose the platforms I did.

Hope to see you there! 

Claire E. Jones (she/her) is a Queer fantasy romance author as well as a small publisher that supports other writers in getting their works shared with the world. As an established small business and entrepreneurship expert of 20 years, she has founded and launched four of her own businesses and now mentors other creatives, visionaries, and innovators to achieve their goals in less time and with less stress.

She shares a range of diverse novels, planners, and journals with the world from Seattle WA, where she lives with her precious pup, Karma.

 

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Meet the Agents & Editors: Virtual Pitch-O-Rama 2024

By Julianna Holshue

Saturday, April 20, 2024, 8:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. PT

Have you been anxiously waiting to meet the agents and editors attending this year’s edition of Pitch-O-Rama? With April soon approaching, Pitch-O-Rama will be just around the corner, so we’re eager to share the talents who will provide their expertise to those attending.

Haven’t registered yet? Head on to this page to register for Pitch-O-Rama 2024!

Meet the Agents and Editors for Pitch-O-Rama 2024:

Laurie McLean spent 20 years as the CEO of a publicity and marketing agency and 8 years as an agent and senior agent at Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco. Following a stint as the CEO of a successful Silicon Valley public relations agency bearing her name, Laurie switched gears to immerse herself in writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the State University of New York and a master’s degree at Syracuse University’s prestigious Newhouse School of Journalism.

Laurie specializes in middle grade, young adult, and adult genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thrillers, suspense, horror). 

 

Andy Ross opened his literary agency in January 2008. Before that, he was the owner for 30 years of the legendary Cody’s Books in Berkeley. The agency represents books in a wide range of subjects including narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, religion,  children’s books, young adult, middle grade, literary and commercial fiction, and cooking. However, he is eager to represent projects in most genres as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will appeal to a wide readership. In non-fiction, he looks for writing with a strong voice and robust narrative arc by authors with the authority to write about their subject. For literary, commercial, and children’s fiction, he has only one requirement– simple, but ineffable–that the writing reveals the terrain of that vast and unexplored country, the human heart.  www.andyrossagency.com,  www.andyrossagency.wordpress.com

 

Born in Port-au-Prince, M.J. Fievre, B.S. Ed, is a longtime educator whose publishingcareer began as a teenager in her native Haiti. At nineteen years old, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps for the publication of a YA book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has released nine YA books in French that are widely read in Europe and the French Antilles, and she is the author of the award-winning Badass Black Girl book series for tweens and teens (in English). As the ReadCaribbean program coordinator for the prestigious Miami Book Fair, M.J. directs and produces the children’s cultural show Taptap Krik? Krak! In addition, M.J. serves as the managing editor of DragonFruit, which publishes high-quality children’s books, which connect with readers by paving the way to lifelong learning.

 

Leland Cheuk is a MacDowell and Hawthornden Castle Fellow and award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN (2019). Cheuk’s work has been covered in Buzzfeed, The Paris Review, VICE, San Francisco Chronicle, and has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as NPR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, among other outlets.

He is the founder of the indie press 7.13 Books, which publishes debut book-length fiction. Cheuk is looking for quality works of fiction and short story collections, favoring literary comedies and genre-bending submissions, as well as work from the queer and/or POC writing community.

 

Georgia Hughes is the editorial director at New World Library, publisher of the Joseph Campbell Library and The Power of Now. She acquires and edits nonfiction books in the areas of spirituality, sustainability, animals, business, women’s issues, and personal growth. Recent acquisitions include, Spiritual Envy by Michael Krasny, Dreaming the Soul Back Home by Robert Moss, Dogs and the Women Who Love Them by Allen and Linda Anderson, Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee, and The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner.

 

Zeynep Sen graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a B.A. in Literature and Creative Writing. Following graduation, she honed her skills as an agent at the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. A few years later, Zeynep moved to WordLink Literary Agency, where she now works as a senior agent and foreign rights agent. At WordLink, Zeynap represents her own lists of authors.

She primarily focuses on non-fiction works and Young Adult books. Her list of authors include Nabila Ramdani, Jaha Dukureh, Erik Edstrom, Elvira Gonzales, Elora Dodds, Airy Sindik, and Asli Pelit. Fluent in Spanish and Turkish, Zeynep is drawn to literary and historical works of fiction and narrative non-fiction of international appeal.

 

Mary E Knippel is an intuitive writing mentor, international speaker, best-selling author, and journalist for over 35 years. She helps women bring their transformational stories to life in the international bestselling Amazon collaboration book series “Written In Her Own Words-Wise Woman Wisdom”. Mary guides her clients through every aspect of the writing journey, from identifying their story to crafting and editing it into their chapter to bringing their stories to the world. She believes everyone has a unique story to tell and encourages daily journaling.

Her memoir, “The Secret Artist-Give Yourself Permission to Let Your Creativity Shine,” came about as she shared how she coped with her breast cancer experiences. You can learn more about how to become an author in the next collaboration book, attend one of her workshops, join her at the next Elite Women’s Writing Retreat, or sign up to receive writing tips on her website: https://yourwritingmentor.com.

 

Dawn Frederick is the owner of Red Sofa Literary, established in 2008. After earningher B.S. in Human Ecology and M.S. in Library and Information Sciences, she moved to the Twin Cities, to work for a publisher after many years working in indie and chain bookstores. She previously worked at Sebastian Literary Agency and co-founded the MN Publishing Tweet Up (a community social monthly meetup). She has been on the Board of Directors for Loft Literary and was once President of the Twin Cities Community Advisory Council for MPR. Wearing both the hat of librarian and agent, she brings an extensive knowledge and appreciation of the publishing and writing processes.

 

Lindsey Smith (Speilburg Literary Agency) represents non-fiction projects. In addition to being a literary agent, she owns a bookstore in her hometown, runs her own publishing press, and is the author of several books and gift products. Having worked in every facet of the publishing industry—from author to publisher, to PR strategist to publicist, she knows the book industry inside and out.

When she’s not helping people write books, she can be found reading old American Girl magazines, listening to Taylor Swift, or playing with her dog, Winnie Cooper.

 

Julia Park Tracey serves as the executive editor for Sibylline and is one of the four founding partners, all book industry women of a certain age. Sibylline publishes the brilliant work of women authors over 50 exclusively and has signed authors through Spring 2025 and now is looking for fiction and memoir for its Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 seasons currently as well as its developing ebook line, Sibylline Digital First, which encompasses all genres, including romance, self-help, and business. Julia is an award-winning journalist, editor, poet laureate, and author of several works of historical fiction for Sibylline Press. After receiving a starred review, The Bereaved: A Novel was named in the top 100 indie books published in 2023 by Kirkus Reviews. Her new novel, Silence, which is due out in Fall 2024, is also based on one of her ancestors, Silence Greenleaf who lived in the Puritan era. Julia lives in the low Sierra of California in a beautifully restored 1880 Victorian, with her family and beloved cats, bees and chickens.

 

Kat Georges is a poet, playwright, editor, publisher, and graphic designer. She is co-director and an acquisitions editor for Three Rooms Press, an independent publisher inspired by diversity, dada, punk, and passion. Her most recent book is the poetry collection Awe and Other Words Like Wow, and she is co-editor of MAINTENANT, the annual journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art. She lives in New York City. Kat is currently looking for LGBTQ+ fiction and young adult fiction that deal directly with current anti-queer attitudes, mysteries that center on bold and daring diverse main characters, and riveting women of history who need to have more attention given to them. Kat welcomes voices that have something different to say, that inspire readers, and that shows the power of innovative, compelling writing. To see the latest Three Rooms Press releases, visit threeroomspress.com. 

 

Becky Parker Geist is CEO of Pro Audio Voices and has been in the audiobook industry since 1981. As an audiobook publisher and producer, Becky has produced and narrated hundreds of titles, helping authors leverage their content through audio – even if it’s their book’s only published format. Typically, working with authors and publishers comes with the challenge of reaching the widest possible audience, which the Audiobook Marketing Program™ intends to resolve.

Becky serves as President of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association and is a Chapter Leader of Nonfiction Authors Association.

 

Randy Peyser sells non-fiction manuscripts in all genres and speaks nationally abouthow to earn book deals. She also serves as faculty for CEO Space International, where she teaches about writing book proposals. She is the author of The Write-a-Book Progra; Crappy to Happy as featured in the move Eat, Pray, Love; and The Power of Miracle Thinking.

Her clients’ books have appeared in Oprah, Time Magazine, the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, in airport bookstores, Office Max and FedEx stores, and on Hallmark TV. Her work is featured in: Healing the Heart of the World, The Marriage of Sex and Spirit, Secrets of Shameless Self-Promoters, and the national bestsellers, Networking Magic Guerilla Publicity and The Profit of Kindness.

 

Kat Neff, Senior Publicist at Llewellyn Worldwide, the oldest and largest publisher in the mind/body/spirit genre, has over 20 years of experience in book publishing. She has helped countless authors achieve national and international media bookings by creating successful broadcast, online, and print media publicity. Kat is also a frequent speaker on various aspects of book publishing. A long-time publishing professional, Neff has worked as Associate Editor and Marketing Manager at Cleis Press & Viva Editions, Insight Editions, and Red Wheel Weiser & Conari Press. 

 

Eric Lincoln Miller is the founder of 3ibooks Literary Agency in Reno, Nevada.3ibooks is a different kind of literary agency that solely focuses on authors and their needs. Their agency looks for fiction of any genre (romance, horror, mystery/crime, women’s fiction, erotica, science fiction, historical, and fantasy).

Other genres of interest are picture books, young readers, intermediate, and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Additionally, 3ibooks are also interested in art, photography, film and TV, business, mind-body-spirit, and memoirs.

 

Natalie Obando is a graduate from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in journalism emphasizing public relations and a minor concentration in creative writing. For nearly two decades, she’s worked in the world of books as a book publicist. Natalie is the founder of Do Good Public Relations Group and the grassroots organization, Women of Color Writers Podcast and Programming. She is the current national president of the 105-year-old non-profit, the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA), overseeing all eleven chapters across the nation. As the first Latina president of the national organization, her goal has been promoting diversity in publishing via strategic grassroots efforts. Her dedication to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the book world led her to found and chair Authentic Voices—a four-month long program that immerses people from marginalized communities in a master class of writing, editing, marketing, and publishing. Always looking to amplify BIPOC writers and create community and discussion around diversity in publishing, she recently joined the Ladderbird Literary Agency team. As a literary agent, she hopes to further usher BIPOC writers into careers as authors.  FICTION, YA/NEW ADULT ROMANCE Non-Fiction.

 

Brenda Knight

Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2014 at the American Literary Association. Knight is the author of Wild Women and Books, The Grateful Table, Be a Good in the World, and Women of the Beat Generation, winner of the American Book Award. 

She is the Editorial Director at Mango Publishing and acquires for all genres in fiction and nonfiction, LGBTQ, as well as children and photography books. She is the immediate past President of the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, and an instructor at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.

 

Peter Carlaftes is a publisher, poet, playwright, author, and actor. The most recent of his seven published books is the poetry collection, Life in the Past Lane. He is co-director and acquisitions editor for Three Rooms Press, with a strong interest in memoirs, literary fiction, mystery, and fantasy by diverse authors.

He is co-editor of the annual Dada writing and art journal, MAINTENANT. He lives in New York City.

 

 

Michael Larsen co-founded Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in 1972.  For over four decades, the agency sold hundreds of books to more than 100 publishers and imprints. The agency has stopped accepting new writers, but Mike loves helping all writers. He gives talks about writing and publishing and does author coaching.

He wrote How to Write a Book Proposal and How to Get a Literary Agent, and coauthored Guerilla Marketing for Writers. Mike is co-director of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference. 

March 7th: The Power and Progress of Women’s Voices — Mechanics’ Institute Library

By Julianna Holshue

Thursday, March 7th at 6 P.M. at The Mechanics’ Institute

The Power and Progress of Women’s Voices:

International Women’s Day Event 

In Conversation with authors Jia Ling Wang, Salumeh Eslamieh, Sheila Smith McKoy, and Christina Vo, Joan Gelfand, and moderated by Elise Marie Collins 

 A co-sponsored in-person event with our friends at the Mechanics’ Institute. Sign up on Eventbrite HERE. Use the code WNBA, free for members of our Meetup!

We welcome authors Jia Ling Wang, Salumeh Eslamieh, Sheila Smith McKoy, Christina Vo, and Joan Gelfand in conversation with WNBA-SF president Elise Marie Collins, in a celebration of women writers, artists, and changemakers for International Women’s Day.

By centering women’s lives – socially, politically, and historically – in their work, these authors faithfully capture the diverse spectrum of women’s stories and perspectives. The panelists will also speak to their own experiences in the field of writing and publishing.

About the authors:

Jia Ling Wang (Karen Wang Diggs) is a certified nutritionist, chef, and entrepreneur by day. By night, she reads, writes, and dreams. She is also a history hound keenly interested in the never-ending struggles of girls, women, and anyone who identifies as female. With a keen awareness of history’s patriarchal dominance and the suppression of female voices and achievements, Jia Ling is on a mission. Her sincere hope is that her writing serves as a source of inspiration and enrichment for everyone, contributing to greater gender equality, social justice, and harmony in these challenging times.

Salumeh Eslamieh received her MA in literature and has been a professor of English since 2005 and most recently, Creative Writing. Always inspired to write based on the world around her, a girl on the bus became the subject of one of her short stories, and that short story turned into the first chapter of her novel, Children of a Revolution, a multigenerational family saga that brings together her study of Postcolonial literature with stories she grew up with about the Iranian Revolution. Publication of her short story about the girl on the bus, A Pair of Candelabras, is forthcoming in the 3rd edition of the Women’s National Book Association Anthology.

Sheila Smith McKoy, Ph.D. is an award-winning poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker. Her full-length poetry collection, The Bones Beneath is a haunting new work from Black Lawrence Press. In addition to her poetry and fiction, Smith McKoy has authored and edited numerous scholarly works. Her books include the seminal text in understanding white race riots, When Whites Riot: Writing Race and Violence in American and South African Cultures. She is co-editor of Recovering the African Feminine Divine in Literature, the Arts, and Performing Arts: Yemonja Awakening (2020), and editor of The Elizabeth Keckley Reader: Writing Self, Writing Nation (2016) and The Elizabeth Keckley Reader: Artistry, Culture and Commerce (2017). Smith McKoy has also written, produced, directed or served as executive producer for four documentary films.

Christina Vo is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work reflects her commitment to understanding and sharing the complexities of the human experience. Christina’s debut memoir, The Veil Between Two Worlds: A Memoir of Silence, Loss, and Finding Home, demonstrates her ability to weave personal experiences into broader narratives about identity, home, and belonging. Her second book, My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, an intergenerational memoir co-written with her father, will be published in April 2024 and was recently selected for the Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024. She has worked internationally for UNICEF in Vietnam, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, as well as served as a consultant for nonprofits.

 

Joan Gelfand‘s debut memoir, Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution, was published in January 2024 (Post Hill Press). The book chronicles second wave feminism as it grew into a national movement. Berkeley, where Joan lived amongst a community of writers, artists, and musicians was ground zero for some of the movements we are focused on today-Black Lives Matter and metoo. Joan is the author of three volumes of poetry, an award-winning chapbook of short fiction, and a novel, Extreme, which was a finalist in the International Book Awards. Her poem about Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the basis for a film, The Ferlinghetti School of Poetics, which was featured in over twenty international film festivals. A beloved teacher and mentor, Joan is President Emeritus of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her guide You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C’s Approach to Author Success is an Amazon #1 bestseller. Joan holds a BA from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Adam Hertz.

Sign up on Eventbrite HERE.  Use the code WNBA, free for members of our Meetup!

March 21st: The Heroine’s Journey — A Template for Writers

By Julianna Holshue

Thursday, March 21st | Noon – 1:00 pm/ PDT

A Paid Virtual Event- $10 for WNBA members, $20 for non-members

The Heroine’s Journey: A Template for Writers

A Lunch and Learn Discussion with Kate Farrell for Women’s History Month 2024

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Ever wonder why the movie Barbie was a “particular ripple in the universe” as Greta Gerwig, its screenwriter/director, described it? How did the movie appeal more than the average chick flick and become a runaway box office success, breaking records worldwide? 

To many, Barbie, in its plot, characters, and tropes is the universal story of the feminine quest based on ancient folk and fairy tales. Barbie is to the heroine’s journey as Star Wars is to the hero’s journey.

Kate Farrell, author and storyteller will discuss the basic elements of the heroine’s journey and compare the Hero’s Journey models of Joseph Campbell and filmmaker Christopher Vogler to the Heroine’s Journey of Carl Jung, Marie-Louise Von Franz, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

In this interactive presentation, you’ll hear an age-old folktale of the feminine quest with an emphasis on its main characters, followed by prompts for a free write with time to share a few. We’ll compare iconic films with similar folktale characters like Barbie, Snow White, and the Wizard of Oz.

We’ll discuss how the modern experience for women reflects the basic plot elements of the feminine quest archetype and makes it relevant as a template for writers:

Treachery, Into the Wilderness, Return.

·      Treachery: Entanglements and Jealousies

·      Into the Wilderness: Escape and Initiation

·      Return: Recognition and Self Attainment

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Kate Farrell, author, storyteller, and educator 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. Her 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. She offers workshops on storytelling and the heroine’s journey for libraries and writing groups here.

 

Kate’s new project offers online and in-person classes with WOVEN: Telling the Heroine’s Journey 

February 29th: “Share & Tell” Mixer- Writers Advice Edition

By Julianna Holshue

Thursday, February 29th @ 12pm PDT 

A FREE Virtual Event 

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

 

 

Share what you do and Tell what you need. Think of it as speed-networking with purpose!

Bring your most pressing writing and publishing questions. We will have our publishing, publicity, and the craft of writing experts on hand. Be prepared to share your favorite writing and marketing tips. 
 
During this mixer, everyone will have a few minutes to:
– Share: Introduce Who You Are & What You Know
and
– Tell: Ask a Writing/Marketing/Publishing Question

Then we will all make some new connections!
 
It’s Leap Day! Use this bonus day to leap forward into your writing career! 
 
You can’t reach your goals on your own. You need your community of friends, resources, and champions. Let your WNBA-SF community help you and vice versa.
 
Reminder: If you are reading this in an email, please go to our website to sign up if the link doesn’t work.
 

2024 San Francisco Writers Conference

By Admin

Register for the 20th annual San Francisco Writers Conference

February 15-18, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency

Since 2004, WNBA-SF has partnered with the folks behind the San Francisco Writers Conference to help offer the opportunity for ambitious writers to connect with professionals who can help pave the path to becoming a published author.

If you’re currently in the process of writing a book, getting ready for publication, or interested in promoting a book, this four-day weekend could bring you one step closer to accomplishing your goal.

Register now 

What to Expect at the SFWC

  • 100+ presenters, including over 20 literary agents and acquiring editors!
  • 80+ sessions of lectures and classes throughout the four-day weekend
  • SFWC Poetry Summit and the Writing for Hollywood Summit sessions
  • A free one-on-one consultation with an editor, a promotional pro, and a book coach
  • Various networking events such as the SFWC Gala or the Sunday afternoon no-host banquet

How can the SFWC help me?

  • With the four-day weekend packed full of various presentations and workshops fulfilling certain niches, you have the freedom to check out whatever speaks to your interest.
  • This is your chance to launch your writing career! Get in touch with leaders of the industry who can help you learn the publishing game.
  • As aspiring writers gather at the conference, observant agents assemble to offer their services.
  • The opportunity to refine your work with free editorial feedback from a freelance book editor and consultation sessions with a book coach or marketing expert.  
  • Most importantly, you are a book lover who gets to meet fellow book lovers! The San Francisco Writers Conference offers it all.
Keynote Speakers
 
Maia Kobabe is a nonbinary, queer author and illustrator from the Bay Area, California. Eir first full length book, GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR, was published in May 2019. Maia’s short comics have been published online by The Nib and The New Yorker, and in many print anthologies including THE SECRET LOVES OF GEEKS, FASTER THAN LIGHT Y’ALL, GOTHIC TALES OF HAUNTED LOVE, ADVANCED DEATH SAVES and BE GAY, DO COMICS.

Before setting out to work freelance full-time, e worked for over ten years in libraries. Eir work is heavily influenced by fairy tales, homesickness, and the search for identity.

 
Alka Joshi is the internationally bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy: THE HENNA ARTIST, THE SECRET KEEPER OF JAIPUR, and THE PERFUMIST OF PARIS. Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick. It has been translated into 28 languages and is currently in development at Netflix as an episodic series.

Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Alka Joshi has lived in the U.S. since the age of nine. Joshi graduated with a BA from Stanford University and worked in the fields of advertising and PR before starting her own marketing consultancy. In 2011, she obtained her MFA in Creative Writing from the California College of Arts in San Francisco, California. She lives on the Monterey Peninsula with her husband and Coco, the misbehaving pup. 

We are looking for a few more volunteers for the WNBA-SF table at the SF Writer’s Conference, email sanfrancisco@wnba-books.org

 
WNBA-SF at SFWC
While you’re at the SFWC, be sure to catch up with some of our WNBA-SF members attending the conference.
 
Congratulations to our WNBA Members who are Presenters
  • Sheryl Bize-Boute
  • Carole Bumpus
  • Leslie Kirk Campbell
  • Lucille Lang Day
  • Joan Gelfand
  • Isidra Mencos 

Acquiring Editors/Independent Editors

  • Natalie Obando
  • Brenda Knight
  • Mary Knippel

February 23rd: Celebrating the Hero in You

By Julianna Holshue

Celebrating The Hero in You:
Black History Month Writing Workshop
with Marita Golden

A FREE Virtual Event – Lunch ‘N Learn
Friday, February 23, 2024 
Noon – 1:00 pm / PST      

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay! February is a month in which we celebrate African-American men and women heroes. In addition, this year let’s celebrate ourselves, for the many ways in which we perform big and small acts of heroism for ourselves and others.

As we become more conscious of supporting mental health and wellness, acknowledging our gifts, our value, and our heroism becomes part of the new language we are creating.

In this workshop, we will discuss and write about our daily or regular acts of heroism in our family, friendship, and work circles and how those acts have enlarged us.

We’ll talk and write about how heroism for most of us is not exceptional, but built into the fabric of our lives. And we’ll speak the names of the unsung “ordinary” heroes who inspired us.  

Using prose or poetry we’ll write about our personal heroes, as well as our own heroic moments. 

How have parents, teachers, friends, and strangers, shown up in our lives and lifted us to new heights?

Protected or even saved us?

How have we done the same? 

Bring your pen, paper, questions, and get ready to be inspired!

 

Marita Golden is an award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her books include the novels The Wide Circumference of Love, and After and the memoirs Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons and Don’t Play in the Sun One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex Her most recent work of nonfiction is The New Black Woman: Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, and Heals Every Day, a sequel to her book, The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women.

 

Marita Golden is a popular speaker who has presented keynote addresses, presentations and lectures in diverse venues from HBCUs, colleges and universities to corporations and nonprofits.  She has been a consultant with John Hopkins Medical, presenting quarterly workshops on mental health, radical self-care, and writing as a tool for healing. She has spoken on radical self-care at Yale, MIT, and The Kennedy School of Government.

She is the recipient of many awards including the Writers for Writers Award presented by Barnes & Noble and Poets and Writers, an award from the Authors Guild, and the Fiction Award for her novel After, awarded by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.  She has lectured and read from her work internationally. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, been featured as a question on Jeopardy, and is a two-time NAACP Image Award nominee. She has been frequently interviewed on NPR.

Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation,  Marita Golden is a veteran teacher of writing. She taught at the University of Lagos, in Nigeria and has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA Graduate Creative Writing Programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MA Creative Writing Program at John Hopkins University. She has served as Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of the District of Columbia. As a literary consultant, she offers writing workshops, coaching, and manuscript evaluation services. maritagolden.com

Reminder: If you are reading this in an email, please go to our website to sign up if the link doesn’t work.

Register in advance to confirm and receive the link:

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Featured Member Interview – Leslie Kirk Campbell

By Admin

 

Photo taken by Art Bodner

Leslie Kirk Campbell is the inspiring author of the short fiction collection The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs and the founder of Ripe Fruit Writing in SF. She emphasizes the importance of one’s identity, freedom, and self will through her own personal experiences across her various works.

How would you describe yourself as an author? What inspires your creativity and writing style?

(LKC): I fell in love with language when I was 9 years old, the way a dancer falls in love with her body. I began as a poet, getting an MA in Poetry from San Francisco State and teaching poetry there as well as to children of all ages with California Poets in the Schools. Later in life, I evolved into a short fiction writer, which is where I relish using the art of languaging now. I care about people (my characters) but I also care about ideas: memory, freedom, violation, loving across unexpected borders. More than anything, I thrill at the orchestration of music that words can make. For 30 years, with Ripe Fruit Writing, the creative writing school I founded, I have trained adult students to know what a poet knows about language as a foundation for writing in any genre. Imagination. Perception. Love of Language. Courage. Compassion. Commitment. These are the six qualities that converge to create powerful writing that flows from the heart.

Tell us about your collection of short stories within your book “The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs”. What is the message behind each of these stories?

(LKC): The eight stories in “The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs,” my debut short fiction collection, written in my sixties, are the first stories I have ever written and are where I cut my teeth on fiction. (Note to seniors: it is never too late!) I simply wrote the stories I needed to write, most based on ideas, images, or dreams I had been carrying around with me for the 20 years I was raising my two sons. When gathering stories for a collection, I discovered it had been my body that had been talking to me the whole time. These stories explore ways our bodies are marked by memory, sometimes visibly – scars, bruises, tracks, tattoos – sometimes invisibly over generations. I am interested in stories that balance on a blade of danger, stories with characters who are pushed to the edge. My goal is to create stories that will engage the reader’s heart, mind and body simultaneously. I have no specific message. My hope is that my stories will deepen the compassion of the reader as they have deepened my own through the long process of writing them.

Aside from being a writer, what type of activities/hobbies do you participate in during your free time?

(LKC): I am a woman who loves ritual. My daily sacred place of ritual is my garden. On weekends, I often spend timeless hours tending to my flowers and plants. I talk to them, delight in the visitations of birds, butterflies, the occasional squirrel. I love to read literature daily – poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction – and, occasionally, to see a film that does on the screen what I ache for on the page. I love teaching my students. I fall in love with them and delight in the true, language-loving pieces they write in my Greenhouse of the Imagination. I consider all my time to be free time because I am passionate about everything I do. My friendships, both with friends and family, are my lodestone. My identity as a mother is a primary one.

Panelist Leslie Kirk Campbell at the Podium

How have your personal stories/experiences shaped your short fiction collection in regards to freedom, identity and self-worth?

(LKC): I believe in the ‘writing faith,’ that we always write what we need to write. What my body has experienced, my dreams, my emotional landscape, the people I have known, the places I have been, all gird the stories I write. Writing is an excavation. I have to pull everything out. I come from bi-cultural, bi-regional parents. I am bisexual. I have lived in many places. We hold multitudes. And I, too, am many things. All of who I am converges in my art so that I am most myself when I am absorbed in arranging words on the page. When I received my MFA in fiction from Bennington at 62, I finally felt AUTHORIZED. Having an award-winning book and reading my stories to audiences across the country, has solidified my identity as an artist and made me whole.

What are your plans for the future? Anything we should look forward to such as new book releases?

(LKC): I am deep into working on a second short story collection, Free Radicals. I am fascinated by people whose lives are guided by unusual passions, moved by the bonds between parents and their children, intrigued by mortality, and curious about the meaning of freedom in its many forms. I am exploring these themes in the stories I am currently writing.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

(LKC): THAT’S PLENTY!!

Find out more about Leslie Kirk Campbell. 

Perfect Pitch – February 8 & 15

By Kate Farrell

Perfect Pitch, LIVE and FREE!

Thursday Feb 8, 6 – 7:30 pm
Session A: Create Your Elevator Pitch

Thurs, Feb 15, 6 – 7:30 pm
Session B: Now, Practice It!

Co-hosted by CWC Marin and the Mill Valley Public Library
Both sessions will take place in-person in the Library’s Creekside Room.
RSVP at the Library website: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11602407

Craft and Deliver Your Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a key component to selling your art, whether it’s a novel, a play, or other written concept. Crafting an elevator pitch requires you to think critically about your message and distill it to its core elements. This process helps you gain clarity on your goals, values, and what makes you or your offering unique.

You may not be ready to make a formal pitch to agents and publishers, but you should always be ready to talk about your book with clarity and confidence. You never know who you will meet. The time to practice your pitch is before you find yourself sitting on the plane next to a publisher. This special two-part event will get you ready!

Session A: Create Your Elevator Pitch. Thurs, Feb 8, 6 – 7:30 pm. Pitch-O-Rama and veteran publisher Brenda Knight will coach us through the basics of a great elevator pitch: what do publishers and agents need to hear? What will turn them off, and what will pull them in? 
RSVP here: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11602407

Session B: Now, Practice It! Thurs, Feb 15, 6 – 7:30 pm. Stand up before a friendly, informal audience and deliver your 3-minute pitch. If you wish, the audience can provide feedback. CWC Marin President Daniel Bacon will moderate.
RSVP here: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11602408

 About the Coach

Brenda KnightBrenda Knight is a twenty-year publishing veteran, starting at HarperCollins.  She authored American Book Award-winning Women of the Beat Generation, Rituals for Life and Wild Women and Books. She is Past President of the Women’s National Book Association, which hosts the annual Pitch-O-Rama. Knight has worked with many bestselling authors including Mark Nepo, Phil Cousineau, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and Paolo Coehlo. She is founding editor of Viva Editions, a division of Cleis Press. 
https://wnba-sfchapter.org/participant/brenda-knight/

 

 

March 28th: Pitch-O-Rama Prep Workshop & AMA

By Kate Farrell

Thursday, March 28, 2024
Noon – 1:00 pm / PDT Online via Zoom
Pre-Pitch Coaching Session

By popular demand, WNBA-SF will hold a Pre Pitch-O-Rama Coaching AMA [Ask Me Anything].

Registration is free for anyone already signed up for 2024 Pitch-O-Rama. If you haven’t, prices are $10 for WNBA-SF members and $25 for non-members.

We are VERY excited to hold our fourth virtual Pitch-O-Rama which is looking to be a fabulous event with new agents and editors including those from the New York publishing world. And, since it is virtual, we have many new writers joining us, hailing from all over the country and even a couple of international guests. We have received many questions and suggestions which resulted in this Pre Pitch session.

WNBA-SF stalwarts who have run Pitch-O-Rama for many years will tell you what to expect, tips and strategies for inspired pitching, and how to get the most from this mini-writers conference.

Hosted by Madame President, Elise Marie Collins, this event will feature experts who can answer any question you have, so make your list now! Collins offers techniques on how to overcome nerves and make your best impression. 

Steeped in Pitch-O-Rama history, Kate Farrell will offer insight into effective pitches and the kind of good advice only an experienced author and pitch event coordinator can provide. 

Publisher Brenda Knight will share what editors and agents are looking for, and how to position your project so it will garner real interest from acquiring editors and literary agents.

Ellen McBarnette, an attendee from previous years’ virtual Pitch-O-Rama will tell you “what she wishes she knew last year and what you should know for this year.”

Goal setting expert Debra Eckerling will share tips for networking in the fast-moving, virtual space.

Every year, writers find agents, get publishing deals and get excellent feedback that advances their writing careers. This year, it can be you!

Registration is free for anyone already signed up for 2024 Pitch-O-Rama. If you haven’t, prices are $10 for WNBA-SF members and $25 for non-members.

 

REGISTER HERE!

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Distinguished Panelists

Brenda KnightBrenda Knight, author of Women of the Beat Generation, began her publishing career at HarperCollins working with luminaries including Paolo Coehlo, Marianne Williamson, Mark Nepo, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year at the American Library Association in 2014. She is the author of Random Acts of Kindness, Be a Good in the World, and Women of the Beat Generation which won the American Book Award. She is Editorial Director at Mango Publishing and is Past President of WNBA-SF Chapter.

 

 

Elise Marie Collins has consulted with small businesses, authors, and alumni associations on social media marketing and believes that a social media plan should be intuitive, fun, and seamless. Helping students and clients form healthy lifestyle patterns is Elise Collins’ passion and life purpose. She has taught yoga for the past 20 years and is the author of several books on healthy living, including her latest, Super Ager: You Can Look Younger, Have More Energy, a Better Memory, and Live a Long and Healthy Life. Elise enjoys sharing yoga wisdom and current scientific research.

 

Kate Farrell, author, storyteller, and educator 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. Her award-winning new book is a how-to guide on the art of storytelling for adults, Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories. She offers workshops on storytelling and the heroine’s journey for libraries and writing groups here.

 

Ellen McBarnette is a life-long 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.

 

Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning, and Achieving Your Goals and creator of the D*E*B METHOD®, for Goal-Setting Simplified. A goals strategist, corporate consultant, and workshop leader, Debra offers personal and professional planning content development, event strategy, and team-building for executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, and companies. Debra has spoken on stages for TEDx, Innovation Women, SCORE LA, and more. She is the founder of the Write On Online community, as well as host of the #GoalChatLive show aka The DEB Show and the Taste Buds with Deb podcast.

Christina Vo is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work reflects her commitment to understanding and sharing the complexities of the human experience. Christina’s debut memoir, The Veil Between Two Worlds: A Memoir of Silence, Loss, and Finding Home, demonstrates her ability to weave personal experiences into broader narratives about identity, home, and belonging. Her second book, My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, an intergenerational memoir co-written with her father, will be published in April 2024 and was recently selected for the Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024. She has worked internationally for UNICEF in Vietnam, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, as well as served as a consultant for nonprofits.

 

 

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