by Anniqua Rana
My journey to the Women’s National Book Association – San Francisco Chapter (WNBA-SF) began in the front seat of my car—laptop propped open, phone tethered, rain streaking the windows. It was during the pandemic, the power was out at home, and Starbucks was too noisy. Still, I wasn’t about to miss Pitch-O-Rama, my first introduction to this dynamic writers’ community.
Despite the storm, I found myself in an online room filled with warmth—writers from across the country encouraging one another, sharing stories, and building something far more profound than a typical networking event. It felt like a place to linger—like Rumi’s Guesthouse, Quintilian’s Memory Palace, or perhaps more aptly, Woolf’s Room of One’s Own.
And somewhere in the courage of that gathering, I was reminded of the defiant verse by Kishwar Naheed, one of Pakistan’s most fearless feminist Urdu poets:
“Yeh hum gunahgaar auratein hain… hum ne bachpan mein khelon se mohabbat ki thi, aur ab qalam se karte hain”—
We are the sinful women… who as children loved our toys, and now we love our pens.
That sense of purpose and belonging has never left me. The WNBA, founded in 1917 by women originally excluded from the male-dominated publishing world, was built on the belief that everyone deserves a seat at the literary table. Those values continue to guide the San Francisco chapter today. But what drew me in wasn’t just the history—it was what I saw happening: active support for BIPOC writers, a commitment to equity, and a space where ideas are nurtured and voices are heard.
The WNBA–San Francisco Chapter was founded in 1968 by the remarkable Effie Lee Morris, a pioneering Black librarian and activist who became the first Coordinator of Children’s Services at the San Francisco Public Library. Her vision established a chapter rooted in diversity, literacy, and community engagement—principles that remain central to our mission.
Becoming a board member wasn’t a difficult leap. Elise Marie Collins (now the National Board President) encouraged me to join. I wasn’t sure what role I would play, but after attending a few meetings, I couldn’t resist joining such an engaged and empowering group.
From Elise Marie Collins, I learned the value of leading with care and intention—she brings a deep sense of compassion to everything she does, whether guiding a yoga class, supporting fellow writers, or creating spaces where community and well-being thrive. From Brenda Knight, I learned the power of combining literary passion with purposeful leadership to uplift diverse voices and create a lasting impact in the publishing world. From Joan Gelfand, I learned that a true literary life is built through generosity, creativity, and a deep commitment to nurturing both words and writers. And from Ellen McBarnette, I learned how to actively build community and reach out to fellow writers with generosity, purpose, and a deep love for the written word.
Each past and present board member has been equally inspiring. Just attending a board meeting fills me with energy and purpose. Now in my third year on the board, I continue to learn how to stay connected to a community devoted to making unheard voices heard—and taken seriously.
As a writer, my work explores identity, culture, and the courage it takes to find one’s voice—threads that echo my journey growing up in Pakistan and living across continents. My novel, Wild Boar in the Cane Field, is rooted in my childhood village, and my nonfiction spans topics from Virginia Woolf and knitting to women athletes in Pakistan and a visit to Harley’s Goat Farm in Pescadero.
I’m currently working on a collection of essays titled Kneading Life, which explores the intersection of cooking and writing through my experiences as a writer and educator, shaped by a childhood between Pakistan and the UK, and my journey as an immigrant in California. The work is inspired by the kitchen philosophies of Mexican nun, poet, and feminist Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. It is guided by the voices of women writers who have stirred my imagination and shaped my thinking, including Virginia Woolf, Fatima Mernissi, Amy Tan, Kishwar Naheed, and Doris Lessing.
As an educator in the California Community College system, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of storytelling, especially for students just beginning to trust that their voices matter. That’s what WNBA-SF offers: a space where storytellers and readers of all backgrounds can grow together.
Today, I continue to be inspired—not only by Pitch-O-Rama, but also by our author mixers, our partnerships with organizations like the San Francisco Writers Conference, and our vibrant readings and workshops. The magic of this chapter lies in its ability to connect people across genres, identities, and generations. It’s not just about writing—it’s about finding a creative home.
If you’re looking for a literary community that values equity, imagination, and connection, I hope you’ll consider joining us. WNBA-SF is always open to new members, and we’re especially excited to welcome those who want to help shape the future of our work as board members.
Reach out—I’d love to discuss how your story might fit into ours.
Nita Sweeney is a longtime meditator and published author of four books: You Should Be Writing, Depression Hates a Moving Target, Make Every Move A Meditation, and A Daily Dose of Now. Sweeney’s books are infused with her personal experiences of life, depression, running, writing, and mindfulness. 
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Brenda 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 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 and is President of WNBA National.
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 
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 
Paul S. Levine “wears two hats:” he is a lawyer (www.paulslevine.com) and a literary agent (www.paulslevinelit.com). Mr. Levine has practiced entertainment law for more than 40 years and established his first solo practice in 1992. Seeing an underserved niche on the West Coast, he decided early on to focus on serving book authors. This naturally evolved into his work as a literary agent. Seeking to expand the range of services he could offer his clients to include the representation of books, Levine opened The Paul S. Levine Literary Agency in 1996, which he has recently expanded. Whether he is considering fiction or non-fiction, Levine will not take on a project unless he feels certain he can sell it. With a preference for politically and socially important works, he represents more than 200 book authors, the vast majority of whom are new, unpublished, or self-published writers. For Levine, the most rewarding moment is holding his client’s published book in his hands at a well-attended book signing and seeing the smile on his client’s face. Enjoying public speaking and teaching, Levine presents extensively at writers’ conferences throughout the country and at entertainment law-related classes and seminars.
Naleighna Kai is the USA TODAY, Essence®, and national bestselling and award-winning author of several controversial novels. She is a literary agent with The Seymour Agency and also a contributor to a New York Times bestseller, one of AALBC’s 100 Top Authors, a member of the Chicago Vocational School Hall of Fame (CVS), Mercedes Benz Mentor Award Nominee, and the E. Lynn Harris Author of Distinction.
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. 
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.
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.
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 
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.
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.
A well-established agent, who began her career as an editor at major publishing houses, Rita Rosenkranz represents almost exclusively adult non-fiction titles. Her wide-ranging list includes health, history, parenting, music, how-to, popular science, business, biography, sports, popular reference, cooking, writing, humor, memoir, spirituality, illustrated books and general interest titles. She represents first-time as well as seasoned authors, and looks for projects that present familiar subjects freshly or lesser-known subjects presented commercially. Rita works with major publishing houses, as well as regional publishers that handle niche markets. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA), The Authors Guild, and Women’s Media Group.
Jacklyn Saferstein-Hansen is a literary agent at boutique Los Angeles agency Renaissance Literary & Talent. She represents commercial fiction, nonfiction, and illustrated books. Her authors include Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, thriller novelist Jennifer Moorhead, cookbook author and novelist Allyson Reedy, and many more. Her agency represents big names including Cher, Goldie Hawn, Heidi Murkoff, and Vanity Fair writer Sam Kashner, as well as several prominent literary estates. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, she earned her BA in English, Classical Civilization and Medieval Studies and her MFA in Screenwriting, both from Boston University. She is looking to add fresh literary voices to her list in the areas of general and women’s fiction, thriller, history, Jewish issues, and pop culture.
Isabelle Bleecker is a book publishing industry veteran based in New York’s Hudson Valley. In her over 30 years in publishing, she has held positions across editorial, production, and subsidiary rights in several houses including Rizzoli, Tuttle, Basic Books, Da Capo Press, PublicAffairs, and Running Press, giving her a thorough insider’s understanding of every aspect of the trade book business. With Jennifer Thompson she established Nordlyset Literary Agency in 2018 and has placed works of fiction and nonfiction with such imprints as Random House, Algonquin/Little Brown, St. Martin’s Press, Dutton Books for Young Readers, Shambhala, and Broadleaf Books, among others.
Celebrating 48 years working in publishing, John Willig often says to friends that his career actually began as a Newsday paperboy growing up on Long Island, New York. After graduating from Brown University, his first job was as a sales representative in academic publishing. He soon began work as a marketing manager and then editor for HarperCollins where he published in 1984 one of the first books on AI Artificial Intelligence: Tools, Techniques and Applications by Tim O’Shea and Marc Eisenstadt. As his interests moved to trade publishing, he became an executive editor at Prentice Hall for business books. While at P-Hall, John enjoyed working with such authors as Henry Mintzberg, Philip Kotler and Jim Collins. He acquired and edited Jim’s first book Beyond Entrepreneurship which now has a new edition B.E. 2.0. In 1991 he decided to become a literary agent to work more closely with writers. Throughout his career as an editor and agent, John has successfully negotiated over 850 publishing agreements and worked with many award-winning authors. John participates at many industry events including the 
Throughout her career, Jen Newens has been an author, editor, and publisher, giving her experience in all sides of the publishing business. In her new role as agent, Jen applies her 360-view of the publishing world, seeking out original voices and developing exciting new talent in children’s literature and adult nonfiction categories.
Noelle Armstrong is an Acquisitions Editor at New World Library, a publisher dedicated to books that inspire and challenge us to improve the quality of our lives and the world. She is the host of 
Katharine Sands has worked with a varied list of authors who publish a diverse array of books including fiction, memoir and non-fiction. Among the books she represents are: The Apothecary’s Curse, nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in the First Novel category by Barbara Barnett and its sequel, Alchemy of Glass; Girl Walks Out of a Bar, a memoir by Lisa Smith that was featured by People Magazine as Notable Nonfiction and I’m Speaking: Every Woman’s Guide to Finding Your Voice and Using It Fearlessly by Jessica Doyle-Mekkes. Katharine likes books that have a clear benefit for readers’ lives in categories of food, travel, lifestyle, home arts, beauty, wisdom, relationships, parenting, and fresh looks, which might be at issues, life challenges or popular culture. When reading fiction, she wants to be compelled and propelled by urgent storytelling and hooked by characters. For memoir, femoir, and himoir, she likes to be transported to a world rarely or newly observed. She is the agent provocateur of Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye, a collection of pitching wisdom from leading literary agents.
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About Debra: Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of 
Pitch-O-Rama Prep Workshop & AMA
Holiday Storytelling Fest: True Stories of Grace and Gratitude
Holiday Storytelling Fest: True Stories of Grace and Gratitude
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 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.