Past Events Archives - Page 17 of 19 - Women's National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter

September 25 – WNBA-SF Chapter Virtual Happy Hour Mixer

Join us:

Friday, September 25, 2020

5pm-7pm

We miss you! Let’s get together and catch up on what you’re up to and share how everyone is doing while social distancing and devouring epic reads in your bathtub. Everyone will get time to share including any writing, new articles, books, virtual classes or awards. Please do share your latest news as we need all the good news we can get nowadays, right? It’s a MIXER, so bring a literary friend or two to join the fun. We appreciate our members and would love for you to join us so we can hear about the past months. We’d love to hear about books you have read, books you are writing, books you are publishing, books you are promoting, or libraries you support. We are enthusiastic for anything about the written word.

Zoom is super easy: you just click on the link we will send you once you rsvp and host Elise Marie Collins will invite you in to the Happy Hour.

All you will need is a smart phone, laptop or desktop with camera so you can join via both audio and video.

Some inspired ideas to consider:

Bring your own cocktail and snacks, wine and cheese, coffee, tea, or your favorite literary drink

May we suggest these book and wine pairings:

https://lithub.com/8-novels-for-the-literate-oenophile/

https://www.winemag.com/2011/09/29/wine-ink/

You might also consider a bookish background for your Zooming. Here are some fab options:

https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=great-libraries-for-your-zoom-background

Whatever you decide, we are really looking forward to connecting, hearing what you are up to and getting inspired. Please rsvp and tell a friend!

Take very good care and see you soon!

Click the button below to RSVP for the mixer; we are limited to 100 total attendees, so please let us know early!

Summer 2020 WNBA-SF Chapter Member News

By Admin

Many of our members have been busy lately! Look at what they’ve accomplished during the time of COVID-19…

María Ochoa‘s work as a writer-photographer was highlighted in a recent East Bay Times news article about how individuals were coping with the shelter in place orders. The article can be found at https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/04/15/coping-during-covid-19-photography-brings-me-closer-to-family-friends/

Recently, Judith Field gave an author talk for The Original Book Club using Zoom. It will be about her short story called “The Foster Child,” and included a discussion of the way Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey formula provides structure in the story.

Diane LeBow, BATW President Emerita, has won Traveler’s Tales Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing for two of her stories:
“Women in Morocco: Up against the wall but laughing together” and “An Unexpected New Year’s in Luxor“.
These are Diane’s 10th and 11th Solas Awards, dating back 13 years.

And hurrah! Diane recently finished her travel memoir and is shopping it with publishers.

The New York Times Magazine recently described Ellery Akers’ new poetry book,

Swerve: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Resistance, as “powerful.”

Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte‘s short story “The Last Collard Green” will be published in the upcoming Colossus:Home anthology. Slated for summer 2020 release, all proceeds will be donated to Oakland’s Moms4Housing.

And her first novel, Betrayal on the Bayou, was released June 19.

Seven of Nanci Woody’s poems were just published online. Here’s the link. Issue 6.

WNBA-SF past president Kate Farrell released her storytelling book June 16th, Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories. She’s had both online and in-person events, with more to come.
https://katefarrell.net/

One of Jeanne Powell‘s poems was chosen for an anthology edited by SF Poet Laureate emeritus Jack Hirschman, for publication in summer 2020. jeanne-powell.com
starkinsider.com/author/jeannep

B. Lynn Goodwin had a piece on journaling posted on the San Francisco Writers Conference blog.

And her website Writer Advice’s Flash Prose Contest closes on September 1, 2020. Details at www.writeradvice.com.

San Francisco Values: Common Ground For Getting America Back On Track, by Geri Spieler and Rick Kaplowitz, published by Palmetto Publishing Group, looks at America’s values and follows how they begin in the Bay Area and then are adopted throughout the rest of the country. While the phrase has garnered some negative responses, in truth, they are America’s values.

Lisa Braver Moss‘ novel Shrug has won the gold in YA fiction in the 2020 IPPYs, as well as the silver in general fiction in the 2020 IBPA Benjamin Franklin awards.

Joan Frank reviewed Anne Raeff’s new novel, Only the River, for the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/anne-raeffs-only-the-river-travels-the-globe-and-spans-decades-to-explore-one-familys-secrets/2020/05/06/9cbaac38-8ef8-11ea-a9c0-73b93422d691_story.html

Joan Gelfand launched her debut novel, Extreme on July 14th, 2020: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BX7RJQL/ref=dp-kindle-redirect

She also spoke on “Getting Published” with the California Writer’s Club/Orange County chapter, on July 11th based on her book You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C’s of Successful Authors, published by Mango Press.

Maxine Schur advanced picture book, Brave with Beauty, was named a 2020 Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies by the Children’s Book Council. Also, her wacky fun alphabet book, Pigs Dancing Jigs will be published in October by Lawley Publishing.

Beatrice Bowles’ Spider Grandmother’s Web of Wonders, an illustrated storybook, is out and available in all bookstores.

With members achieving so much, don’t forget to support your fellow WNBA-SF peers and purchase one of their books. Connect with the author via social media and review their work.

SF Membership Directory

While this time of year can be a period of reading, reflection, and promoting your work, it is also a great time to plan for the fall. What events will you be attending? What writing goals do you have? Will you be starting a new manuscript?

As you begin to plan for a strong finish to the year, keep in mind the WNBA-SF can help you to achieve your goals.

Enjoy the long days and warm temperatures!

August 21 – Finding #GoalTopia: A Vision Board Workshop for Writers

By Admin

To get what you want, you need to know what you want. It’s even better when you can see the goals you are aspiring to achieve.

In this fun, interactive workshop, Goal Coach Debra Eckerling will lead you through a series of exercises to help you hone in on what you want and then create a vision board – aka Goal Map – for your #GoalTopia. #GoalTopia is that magical place where you are achieving your goals and living your ideal life.

Join Deb, the founder of the D*E*B METHOD® and author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning, and Achieving Your Goals, for this #GoalTopia Virtual Scavenger Hunt on Zoom.

Visual cues are an inspirational and motivating part of the goal-setting process, and Deb wants to set you up for success. We hope to see you at noon on August 21.

Title: Virtual Networking Goals for Writers

When: Friday August 21, 12pm PT

Where: Zoom –Zoom (link provided via email – RSVP to deckerling@gmail.com – and in the Facebook Event)

About the Book: One of the biggest reasons goals fail is that people often don’t put enough thought into what they really want before diving in. Your Goal Guide by Debra Eckerling starts with that first, crucial step: figuring out your goals and putting a plan in place. Eckerling presents readers with her own tested and proven method: the D*E*B METHOD®, a brainstorming and task-based system, which stands for: Determine Your Mission, Explore Your Options, Brainstorm Your Path. Through a combination of writing exercises and systems, Eckerling provides readers with a process for making and setting goals that is stress-free, easy-to-manage, and even fun.

Debra Eckerling is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning, and Achieving Your Goals (Mango Publishing, January 2020), as well as the self-published Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages.
A goal coach, project catalyst, and founder of the D*E*B METHOD®, Debra works with individuals and businesses to set goals and manage their projects through one-on one coaching, workshops, and online support. Note: DEB stands for Determine Your Mission, Explore Your Options, Brainstorm Your Path. She is the founder of Write On Online, a live and online community for writers, creatives, and entrepreneurs, as well as host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat (Sundays at 7pm PT) and the Guided Goals Podcast.

Featured Member Interview – Mag Dimond

By Admin

World Traveler Credits “Patience, Courage, Compassion, and Perseverance” for Writing Success

by Nita Sweeney, author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink.

Interviewing WNBA-SF member Mag Dimond offered yet another opportunity to learn from this fine, diverse, talented, intelligent group of women writers. I hope her answers inspire you as much as they did me.

Nita Sweeney (NS): I’m so intrigued by your extensive travel. Do you have a favorite place you would visit again and again if you could? If so, what draws you there?

Mag Dimond (MD): There are two places:

Italy because it is another home for me, dating back to the time I lived there as a young girl. I speak the language, adore the culture, and feel as though I belong there – particularly the region of Tuscany/Umbria/and Venice…. In Italy, there is deeply familiar comfort and sensual pleasure, and in Africa, a vast adventure with wildlife that has so much to teach us…

Africa – In the African bush I met the elephant, and it was then that I felt this mysterious connection with this wise matriarchal creature for the first time. Being a human being in the African bush is to understand how small we really are in relation to other living creatures, and I find this awareness hugely refreshing. It is time we humans stopped considering ourselves center of the universe.

NS: You are an avid meditator. Would you be willing to share your history around meditation? How did you begin and how has that woven into your life?

MD: I was living in Taos, NM, working hard at my teaching and trying to hold on to the belief that the person I loved was going to love me eventually. I was carrying a great deal of suffering – both physical (as I had been neglecting my body for many, many years), and psychic. I had left a long marriage to create a new life with this person, only to find out that he was incapable of responding to me emotionally. A friend – also a bodyworker – noticed my suffering and talked about the healing that comes with mindfulness practice. Eventually her gentle words sunk in and I decided to join a meditation group. From the first time I sat amidst quiet and gentle people on their cushions I realized that this was my path. Everything I heard of the Buddha’s teachings made infinite sense and reminded me of my beloved grandmother’s wisdom. Do no harm? Love yourself and respect your fellow beings? Be present so you can understand how you feel, who you are? Absolutely sensible! I became a weekly meditator, eventually taking the practice into my daily life. That was over 20 years ago, and my heart is filled with gratitude for the wisdom and goodness that has come my way as a result. The practice has helped me in challenging circumstances, whether I’m in India dealing with the injustice of the caste system, or in Cambodia, feeling the deep dark despair of their holocaust, or in Paris, just dealing with my family and their issues…

NS: Does meditation feed your writing? If so, how?

MD: Staying in the present moment, which comes about from a continuing practice of mindfulness, allows you to both see and translate what you see with immediacy. It also allows you to peel away layers of the stories you’ve lived with and discover the core of your life’s path. You can travel back in time and look deeply into your past and discover what you actually experienced. No matter what our creative medium, meditation practice allows us to see the moment by moment unfolding of our journey.

NS: Tell us about your teaching career. Is there a moment you would like to share?

MD: When I was teaching in Taos, NM, I had a young married woman in my creative writing class who felt driven to write a story about an elder in her family. When her husband found this out, he harshly objected, telling her it was not her business to write such stories. When she shared this with me, I told her without hesitation that as long as she was telling the truth to the best of her ability, and not intending any harm, she had a perfect right to write the story that lived in her imagination. She went ahead and followed my guidance and wrote the story; I was so proud of her. All humans have stories in their lineage that need to be told.

NS: How did you find your way to Taos?

MD: A busted-up marriage and a brand new (ultimately misguided) relationship were the catalysts. I left my family and the Bay Area to head to Taos with a charismatic artist so that he could build a studio in Taos and I could start a “new life.”

NS: How did living there impact you?

MD: A great deal unfolded during the thirteen-year period I lived in Taos: my spiritual practice was born, my college teaching career took off, and I explored jewelry design – not to mention discovering a close and intense community of friends. I was always a bit of a misfit (being an urban girl), but somehow, I trusted that this path was taking me where I needed to go, and when I looked at the vast and exquisite northern New Mexico skies I realized I didn’t miss the Pacific Ocean so much!

The most powerful pieces of the Taos experience were the beginning of my mindfulness practice, and my teaching experience at University of New Mexico – Taos, where I taught creative writing and literature courses that I designed myself. With the wonderful mix of ages in all my classes and the sense of real commitment to the work of writing, I was able to open up doors for my students.

Additionally, Taos offered me a close-knit multicultural landscape to discover myself in, and this felt somewhat natural, given that I had lived abroad as a young girl and was comfortable with people who were different from myself. I learned a great deal about the Taos Pueblo culture, and I worked alongside Hispanic Taosenos. Though these different ethnic cultures here were often separate and distinct, it was a privilege to learn from them up close.

NS: What led you back to the Bay Area?

MD: I came to San Francisco as a three-year-old with my young parents who moved there from the East Coast. So, you could almost say I was “native” to San Francisco! I have traveled all over the world, but I have always carried San Francisco inside me, have always thought of it as my home.

NS: What prompted you to volunteer as a tutor?

MD: I dearly missed teaching since leaving Taos and giving up my teaching job there. Though I launched a jewelry business and worked as a hospice volunteer, I never forgot the joy and inspiration of being a writing teacher. I longed to return to some form of teaching…

NS: Tell us about Bowing to Elephants. Is there something we might not know from reading the blurb?

MD: This book is an affectionately crafted narrative I would have loved my beleaguered and confused mother to read, for if she had she would have seen the love I held for her despite all that separated us. In peeling away the layers of my past with careful attention, I discovered that my mother had given me some great gifts – not only of my life, but also art, beauty of all kinds, humor, good food, a love of cats, a sense of daring and adventure, the notion of standing out as different from all the rest. When I pause to feel the gratitude for those gifts, I feel a great warmth in my heart that I hope is evident in Bowing to Elephants. It would have been a great thing if she had been able to understand this…

NS: The book has received high praise. What has been your proudest moment?

MD: Sitting in front of 60 people or more at the launch event for the book at Book Passage in Corte Madera and really hearing myself read my own words – words that I had agonized over, played with, questioned, and delighted in for so long as I worked on completing the manuscript. In that moment I had the heart-warming experience of offering up my own experience to the world and loving what I was hearing. There was a welling of pride, a voice inside that said, “Yes, you’re a good writer … you finally made it!!”

NS: Do you have any writing tips to share with the WNBA-SF members?

MD: Patience, trust, more patience, courage, compassion, and perseverance – Without these, you will have a hard time finishing your project. And I also have some words of wisdom from my writing coach Sean Murphy, words that literally saved my sanity as I flailed about in fear and trepidation… these words: don’t believe everything your brain tells you. Use the Buddhist wisdom that reminds us that the supreme truth teller is the heart, while the mind often operates contrary to our best interests as it tries to dictate non-existent perfection. Trust the heart and tell that brain of yours to take a break every so often!

NS: What’s on the horizon? Do you have any other projects in the works?

MD: I want to write a book about elephants from a historical and personal perspective. I want to educate readers about this magnificent endangered species and galvanize people to advocate for them. Not sure exactly what this would look like, but it is calling to me. I’m also keen on writing a book about food – have been a foodie all my life since living in Italy – I want to share the history of certain foods and talk about the role they play in healing our bodies and minds. I see it as a book that would include an array of lovely illustrations of food.

NS: Would you like to add anything else?

MD: I want to put some gratitude out there to all the writers who are busily trying to make their written dreams come true. It takes amazing courage and stamina. I was surrounded by a community of such writers back when I worked on Bowing to Elephants, and they provided a scaffolding that held me in place and provided continual support. I don’t think I could have completed the book without them. There are communities of writers large and small all over the world who are working hard at this very lonely job, and I want to say that I’m glad for the bravery and heart they all have to muster to do their work, to tell their very important truths, to give their gifts to the world. Hooray for the writers!

Mag Dimond has been a world traveler since her mother took her to live in Italy from ages eleven to fourteen. She traveled extensively in Europe and Central America, and ventured to such exotic landscapes as India, Cambodia, Bhutan, Japan, Kenya, China, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cuba. In her seventies now, she continues traveling, the most recent adventure being to Machu Picchu and the Amazon jungle. After a career teaching writing to college students in San Francisco and Taos, she often volunteers as a writing tutor at 826 Valencia, an esteemed literacy program launched by David Eggers. She has been a practicing Buddhist for twenty years and is a dedicated member of Spirit Rock Meditation Center north of San Francisco. She is a mother to two daughters, grandmother to five grandchildren, and great grandmother to a young boy living in Oregon. She is a classical pianist, photographer, gourmet cook, animal rescuer, and philanthropist.

Most recently, Mag’s memoir, Bowing to Elephants, has been honored by Kirkus Review as one of the best Indie memoir/biographies of 2019 (it received a starred review). Prior to publication, excerpts from Bowing to Elephants were honored in American Literary Review, Travelers Tales Solas Awards, the Tulip Tree “Stories that Must be Told” awards, and the 2017 William Faulkner Wisdom awards. Additionally, Dimond has published essays in Elephant Journal, an online magazine with a readership of almost two million. You can find her essays on her website: www.magdimond.com. Dimond is offering a 10-minute lovingkindness meditation for all new readers at this site: www.bowingtoelephants.com/gift. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Summer 2020 Newsletter

By Admin

Post Pitch-O-Rama Expert AMA: Next Steps to Getting Published

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Noon – 1pm
Online, via Zoom

Free to Pitch-O-Rama PLUS 2020 attendees

$20 for WNBA-SF members, $35 general

Here is your chance to ask anything in this virtual event featuring publishers. As everyone probably knows, you or your agent needs to get your book or proposal into the hands of an interested editor; that’s the first hurdle. A well-crafted proposal, an agent with good relationships, and choosing the right editors to approach are the first steps.

Note: we are limited to 90 attendees at this event, so register early!

Check out full details here…

First Ever Effie Lee Morris Writing Awards & Mixer!

Friday, July 24, 2020

5pm
Online, via Zoom

Free! Please come celebrate with us!

Join the WNBA-SF for our First Ever Effie Lee Morris Writing Awards & Mixer!

The Women’s National Book Association San Francisco Chapter is pleased and proud to debut the first-ever Effie Lee Morris WNBA Literary Awards in honor of our founder.

Click here for more details…

Note: we are limited to 90 attendees at this event, so register early!

Create Your Online Style to Sell Yourself… and your book

Friday, Aug 12, 2020

noon PDT
Online, via Zoom

Authors recognize the importance of making connections with the right people in the publishing industry. A fabulous first impression can be your doorway into a valuable relationship, book deal, or partnership. Since COVID-19, your first meeting will probably be on a video call. Projecting your personality through the eye of a camera is an art and demands a carefully curated shift from in-person to online conversations and presentations.

Do you impress and connect with your audience on a Zoom call?
Shelley Golden from Shelley Golden Style and Judy Baker from Book Marketing Mentor will show you the way. They have been sharing their insights over Zoom with writers like you. They will show how to pivot your online presence, so you feel more confident and become irresistible within the confines of a small screen.

You will learn to:

Create an outline of talking points to stimulate authentic conversations
Stage your setting to express yourself and impress your audience
Design your look for maximum impact
Define your signature style
Amplify your message

To Register, and for more information, click HERE!

Dear WNBA-SF Members,

This year is zooming by, literally as we are all on Zoom for work, for family hangouts, happy hours, book club get togethers and even birthday parties. In addition to all the video chats, we sincerely hope you are getting some summer vacation reading time. And writing time! Speaking of that, make sure to attend our First Ever Effie Lee Morris Writing Awards & Mixer coming right up! https://wnba-sfchapter.org/july-24-effie-lee-morris-writing-awards-mixer/

A gentle reminder to renew; if you have not yet had a chance, please do before the end of the year.

Your membership allows the SF Chapter to present events and resources for YOU!

Keep your eyes on our website and Friday email updates for when the WNBA-SF Writing Contest starts back up this fall so YOU can have the opportunity to be an Effie Lee Morris Award Winner.

We are very pleased to be able to honor the founder of our chapter, Ms. Effie Lee Morris, who was a pioneering Black librarian who worked assiduously to help underserved communities and children had access to books. We are inspired by her life and legacy and aspire to continue her advocacy.

Last month, we also had our first ever Virtual Pitch-O-Rama and it was wild, wooly and wonderful. Big shout out to the team that made it happen, especially Sue Wilhite who made it work and is an exemplar of good-natured grace under pressure. We were thrilled that so many writers got quality pitching time with publishers, agents and editors.

A most unexpected dividend was that the *breakout room rooms* become literary support groups cheering each other on. We even got feedback that some folks prefer the virtual platform as it was more relaxed. We are taking all the feedback so we can bring Pitch-O-Rama 2021 to the next level and make it the best it can be. We have a follow up session which is free to all POR attendees and highly affordable for anyone else looking for coaching, agent advice and insight from publishing pros. Be sure to register on this link and bring all your questions to this event.

Save the dates for fall big-deal event that will help you become a star on Zoom: https://wnba-sfchapter.org/aug-12-judy-baker-create-online-author-style/ Shelley Golden from Shelley Golden Style and Judy Baker from Book Marketing Mentor will show you the way.

They have been sharing their insights over Zoom with writers like you. They will show how to pivot your online presence, so you feel more confident and become irresistible within the confines of a small screen.

We would also love to hear YOUR news and welcome you to consider penning a blog post for our weekly newsfeed and website.

We also have openings for board members and if you are interested, please contact me at the Brenda.Knight@gmail.com We are also very happy to set up a call with you to see if you have any ideas, question or suggestion for making WNBA-SF even better. We love nothing better than learning from the wise women who comprise the WNBA-SF.

In closing, I’ll remind you our membership renewal period starts August 1st and we very much appreciate your continued support and contributions to our community.

Many thanks and keep the pages turning,

Elise Marie Collins, President

president@wnba-sfchapter.org

Brenda Knight, Immediate Past President

Featured Member Interview – Geri Spieler

Interview by Nita Sweeney

Self-Proclaimed “Political Junkie” Reveals Her Writing Secrets

The members of the Women’s National Book Association of San Francisco come from a variety of backgrounds and careers. I’m grateful for the opportunity to ask questions of smart, successful authors like Geri Spieler. Every interview provides splendid takeaways. I hope you enjoy the ones I heard in our conversation.

Nita Sweeney (NS): What draws you to the type of writing you do?

Geri Spieler (GS): I’m strictly nonfiction. Fiction is much too difficult for me. I’m sure it has to do with being a newspaper reporter and total political junkie. My book, Taking Aim at the President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, was written in the creative nonfiction genre. It was very difficult for me to write it the way I wanted–like a novel but, entirely nonfiction. I took writing courses to understand things like “scene.” I hired a number of editors along the way.

NS: Your publication credentials are impressive. Please tell us how you got started and what helped you land those projects.

GS: Thanks. My interest in writing started with an awareness of news and politics. My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor in that she realized early on things were going downhill for the Jews in Poland. She left before it got really bad and tried to convince her siblings to come with her to the states. They thought she was over reacting and hence were killed by the Nazis. She taught me early on to pay attention to the government because things can get very bad and you need to be alert. My mother was a political junkie and she taught me the same lessons.

I realized pretty fast that if an event did not get covered in the press it might as well not have happened at all. I wanted to have that control, so to speak. I was always interested in news and politics.

NS: Taking Aim at the President has been optioned for a major motion picture. How did that come about and what has that process meant for you?

To read more click HERE!

Featured Member Interview – Annemarie O’Brien

Interview by Nita Sweeney

Each time I interview a WNBA-SF member, the opportunity reminds me how fortunate we are to be part of a group of such interesting women. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Annemarie O’Brien and learn as much from her as I did.

Nita Sweeney (NS): As a fellow dog-lover, I must ask about yours. Please tell us about your dogs.

Annemarie O’Brien (AO): When I wrote Lara’s Gift, I had two borzoi, Zola and Zar. They inspired the key fictional canine characters in Lara’s Gift of the same name. Borzoi are also known as Russian wolfhounds. They were the dogs of the Tsar during the Imperial era and considered a national treasure. They are very tall, slender, super-fast dogs that belong to the sight hound group. The Tsar and his court used them to hunt wolves. Today, many Russians use them to hunt hare. Beyond the squirrels who dare to steal fruit from the trees in my garden, neither of my borzoi hunt. Unfortunately, Zola passed away two years ago. She was a sweet, outgoing borzoi with a golden retriever personality. To keep Zar company we now have a silken windhound named Zeus. This is a newer breed of sighthounds developed in California, I believe, that looks like a miniature borzoi. Both of my dogs like to go to Stinson Beach and play tag with other dogs. They are both loyal and great companions.

NS: Each of your dogs sounds lovely. I’m sorry to hear about Zola. Our pets are such gifts. Changing the subject a bit, can you tell us more about Lara’s Gift, perhaps something that isn’t in the blurb?

AO: Lara’s Gift is a girl empowerment, father-daughter, historical fiction, dog story for young adults. It is set in Russia in the early 1900s during the Imperial era. The main character, Lara, wants to breed borzoi worthy of the Tsar, just like her father and her ancestors have done for hundreds of years. Lara has a special gift, or sixth sense as I’d liked to call it, regarding the borzoi such that she sees things before they happen. I got the idea from my own sixth-sense sort of experiences I had with my first childhood dog, Emma. Once when she was at a kennel while we were on vacation, I had a strong feeling that she had escaped and was lost. I begged my parents to call the kennel to check on her, but they assured me that there was no way she could escape from the kennel. Sure enough, when we picked her up upon our return, they told my parents that she had escaped and had, indeed, been lost on the same morning I had felt that something was wrong…

NS: How interesting that dogs have played such an important role all of your life. Your bio explains that you worked in Russia which inspired the setting for Lara’s Gift. Which part were you in?

To read more click HERE!

10 Goals for Writers for 2020

By Debra Eckerling, author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals (January 2020)

It’s an opportunity to jump into new writing projects … and perhaps revisit some old ones. Whether your long-term goal is to sell a manuscript, get an agent, or break into a new publication, start by setting some short-term writing goals.

I’ve made it easy, and listed some goals to get you started. Keep the ones that resonate, tweak the ones that don’t quite hit the spot, and add new ones that will help you reach your long-term goals.

Here are 10 goals to set you up for writing success in 2020.

Journal Regularly. I’m not going to say journal daily, because for most people that’s not realistic. However, you can make some time for journaling. Spend 5 or 10 minutes, a few days a week, brainstorming your projects, retelling funny people-watching stories, or sharing thoughts of what’s going on in your life. A journal is multipurpose, in that it’s a tracking document for what’s going on in your life, personally, professionally, and creatively. Use it as such.
Research. This is going to be the year you get a leg up as a professional writer, right? Well, if what you’ve been doing is not quite working, try something new. Research new publications, agents, and professional development groups. And don’t stop there. Write a pitch, send a book proposal, go out networking, or all of the above. You never know where research and new connections may lead.
Explore a New Genre or Format. Just like researching new places and people to pitch, why not switch up your writing too. Are you a horror writer? Try writing something personal. A technical writer? Give poetry a try. Here’s a secret, this is for fun. You don’t have to show your work to anyone, unless of course you love it and you want to.
Learn. There is no shortage of continuing education opportunities for writers, both in person and online. Find a conference or workshop to attend. Even better, offer to volunteer at one. By working at an event, you will make even more connections, in addition to learning new things.
Do Something Creative. What – besides writing – gets your creative juices flowing? Painting? Playing or listening to music? Cooking? Gardening? Dancing? If you don’t have a go-to creative outlet beyond writing, it’s time to find one. Try new things throughout the year, and stick with the ones that resonate.

To read more click HERE!

It’s Complicated: 3 Rules for Writing about Difficult Relationships

By Nita Sweeney, author of Depression Hates a Moving Target

“Love truth, but pardon error.” – Voltaire

If my mother hadn’t died, she would have been 89 on March 1st. And if she hadn’t died, I might not have written Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink because I’m not sure I would have taken up running. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the book tells that story.

When I posted a photo of Mom on social media, as I do nearly every year on her birthday, friends and family commented with fond memories. They weren’t making it up. She could be kind, thoughtful, generous, creative, witty, and brilliant.

But she was the most confusing person in my life.

Mom only appears on a few pages of my running and mental health memoir, but she might be the most interesting person in the story. The year after she died, I wrote a first draft of a memoir about our relationship. I found the writing so painful that I set it aside to heal and gain perspective.

Her birthday and my reaction to the social media comments (curiosity and a bit of terror at the thought of what people who loved her might think after they read the book) led me to ponder how we can love someone so much yet also find the relationship so hard. As a writer, I reflected on how to write about difficult relationships.

Did her death grant me artistic license to tell the truth?

I’ve written before about Mary Karr’s admonition to memoirists. Karr, author of the memoir The Liar’s Club, one of the first memoirs about dysfunctional families to hit the best-seller list, has been referred to as “grande dame memoirista.” When she spoke at a nonfiction conference I attended years ago, Karr didn’t mince words. “Don’t make shit up.”

When I wrote this memoir (and the other memoir drafts sitting in files on my computer and in boxes in our basement) I heeded Karr’s words. “Don’t make shit up” was my canon, my lodestar, my guiding light. I wrote with abandon while compulsively checking journals, running logs, and datebooks to ensure accuracy.

Then came the revisions where I had to decide what I really wanted to say. How could I portray my experience without making any of the people in the book, and especially my mother, look like either monsters or saints?

To read more click HERE!

WNBA-SF 2020-2022 BOARD

President: Elise Marie Collins
Vice President: Renee Jadushlever
Vice President: Earlita Chenault
Treasurer: A Leslie Noble
Secretary: Kathleen Archambeau
Membership Chair: Julianne Reidy
Board Development: Sheryl Bize-Boutte
Past President: Brenda Knight
Member at Large: Fran Quittel, Marketing
Member at Large: Mary Volmer, Events Co-chair
Member at Large: Nicole Wong, Events Co-Chair
Member at Large: Joan Gelfand

Communications
Social Media Manager: Elise Marie Collins
Web Editor: Sue Wilhite
Newsletter Editor: Nita Sweeney
Featured Member Interview Editor: Nita Sweeney
Bookwoman Correspondent: Jennifer Griffith
Webmaster: Linda Lee

Mailing address:

4061 E. Castro Valley Blvd.
Castro Valley, CA 94552-4840

The Women’s National Book Association has been a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) member of the United Nations since 1959. A NGO is defined as “any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group that is organized on a local, national or international level.”

WNBA-the National Organization

The Women’s National Book Association, established in 1917, before women in America had the right to vote.

The WNBA’s founding idea—that books have power and that those involved in their creation gain strength from joining forces—reaches across the decades to now serve members in 11 chapters across the country and network members in between.
Read More…

Check out: NEW NATIONAL DIRECTORY!

DIRECTORY HOME | DIRECTORY LOGIN

You must be an ACTIVE MEMBER to be listed in the new directory and have login access to your personal profile and all other members.

Aug 12 – Create Your Online Style to Sell Yourself… and your book with Judy Baker

By Admin

How to Gain Attention and Respect from Agents, Editors, Publishers, and Readers

You will learn to:

Create an outline of talking points to stimulate authentic conversations
Stage your setting to express yourself and impress your audience
Design your look for maximum impact
Define your signature style
Amplify your message

Leave this workshop with tangible results and the ability to:

Craft a powerful statement about who you are and the book(s) you are promoting
Know what it takes to engage the support of your reader tribe in an “on-line” format
Learn the 5 keys to looking your best on camera: camera angle, lighting, background, clothing color, and make-up.
Gain greater respect when inviting people into your home
Show your passion, confidence, and professional image
Create conversations that magnetize your audience

Shelley Golden from Shelley Golden Style will help you enhance your screen presence and signature look, including lighting, background, and image, in real-time.

Judy Baker, Book Marketing Mentor, will help you create a provocative and memorable message that integrates with your image and resonates with your readers. Your authentic, best self is the result.

Where: Zoom (link provided via email – RSVP below)

When: August 12, 2020 Noon PDT

Judy Baker is a professional business coach serving entrepreneurs and authors since 1994. She is an active member of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA), Napa Valley Writers, the San Francisco Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association, Women in Publishing, and serves on the board of Redwood Writers. We know Baker for her informative and valuable workshops on marketing and skill-building workshops for the Sonoma Chamber of Commerce, The Volunteer Center of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Adult School, the Small Business Development Center, BAIPA and Redwood Writers. judyb@bookmarketingmentor.com bookmarketingmentor.com

Shelley Golden is an International Personal Branding Image Consultant with over 20 years of experience. Shelley is passionate about helping create your unique style to boost your confidence and attract the people you want into your life by creating a powerful unique personal brand through your clothing and overall image.

As 4th generation in the clothing and fashion business, Shelley’s rich experience as a fashion stylist, costume designer, costume historian, tailor, and certified color consultant puts her in a unique category to understand what it takes to create a powerful and successful personal brand

July 24 – First Ever Effie Lee Morris Writing Awards & Mixer

By Admin

Friday, July 24, 2020

5pm
Online, via Zoom

Free! Please come celebrate with us!

Join the WNBA-SF for our First Ever Effie Lee Morris Writing Awards & Mixer!

The Women’s National Book Association San Francisco Chapter is pleased and proud to debut the first-ever Effie Lee Morris WNBA Literary Awards in honor of our founder.

Ms. Morris was a pioneering Black librarian and the founder of this chapter of the Women’s National Book Association in 1968. She first started her library career in Cleveland, Ohio. She became the first female chairperson of the Library of Congress and was the president of the National Braille Association for two terms. She was dedicated to literacy for children as well as children in underserved and those who learn differently. Ms. Morris was the first Coordinator of Children’s Services at the San Francisco Public Library and established the Children’s Historical and Research Collection at the Children’s Center of the San Francisco Library. She went on to become the first African American president of the Public Library Association. In 1968, Ms. Morris founded the San Francisco Chapter of the Woman’s National Book Association, which began in 1917. The WNBA SF Chapter is continuing our advocacy for the voices of women and diverse authors.

In tribute to Ms. Morris’s important work and legacy, we are announcing the first winners of the Effie Lee Morris WNBA Literary award.

The WNBA SF chapter received many wonderful entries in the genres of fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. With the help of judges specializing in each genre, we found first, second, and third place winners for each genre.

Note: we are limited to 90 attendees at this event, so register early!

The list of winners [drum roll, please!]:

In the Fiction category:

First Place: Butterfly Girl by Anne Marie O’Brien
Annemarie O’Brien grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts, and now lives in the San Francisco Bay area where she teaches writing courses at UC Berkeley Extension, Stanford Continuing Studies, and Pixar. She is known for writing dog books for children, especially her book Lara’s Gift.

Second Place: The Mounted Position by Vera Chan
Vera Chan is a senior manager at Microsoft News Labs and storyteller based in Oakland and Seattle. She has worked as a senior editor/trends reporter for Yahoo! and did her newspaper stint covering features, entertainment and outdoor living at the Contra Costa Times (now The East Bay Times). She has contributed chapters to Asia in the San Francisco Bay Area and Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation and won the Sisters in Crime award for a mystery-in-progress for an unpublished writer of color (now a finished manuscript, FOLLOWING.)

Third Place: Someone Else by Harriet Garfinkle
Harriet Garfinkle is an award-winning painter, dancer, and choreographer who danced professionally in San Francisco. She has choreographed the original play “Purple Breasts” and has her own experimental theatre group called The Bureau of Western Mythology and dance group TALLGIRLS. She teaches Pilates and is currently working her way through a novel.

In the Non-Fiction Category:

First Place: Refugees in the Promised Land by Ellie Bozmarova
Ellie Bozmarova is a Bulgarian-American writer and writing coach who received her B.A of English from UC Berkeley and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College. Her work has been featured in The Common, phoebe, TIMBER Journal among others.

Second Place: And Now for the Beloved Trees by H.L. Onstad
H.L Onstad is the founder of H2O content strategy which aims to provide engaging digital experiences. She has over 15 years of experience working with developing teams in education technology and trade book publishing. She uses her acute storytelling ability to help her clients in communicating their ideas through visual components.

Third Place: I Was Just Three by Maureen Lechwar
Maureen Lechwar is an alumna of the University of San Francisco. She is a big fan of the Don’s basketball team and was featured in a YouTube video highlighting USF athletic fans.

In the Poetry Category:

First Place: The Blues by Joan Gelfand
Joan Gelfand is an award-winning author and writing coach. Her reviews, stories, and poetry have appeared in both national and international literary journals and magazines. She is a lecturer on her “4 C’s” system which boasts how to become a successful writer and is also a past president for the WNBA SF Chapter. Her poetry has had both a film based on it and has won a Certificate of Merit in a juried art show at the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

Second Place: Seoraksan by Lucille Lang Day
Lucille Lang Day received an M.F.A in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in mathematics/science from UC Berkeley. She married at age 14 and had her first child at 15, which led to both a pause in her education from ages 14-17 and her memoir Married at Fourteen: A True Story. Her memoir received a 2013 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award and was a finalist for the 2013 Northern California Book Award in Creative Nonfiction. She had a successful career as a science writer and director of the Hall of Health in Oakland which has since closed and has numerous full-length poetry collections.

Third Place: Pivot by Joan Gelfand
Joan Gelfand is an award-winning author and writing coach. Her reviews, stories, and poetry have appeared in both national and international literary journals and magazines. She is a lecturer on her “4 C’s” system which boasts how to become a successful writer and is also a past president for the WNBA SF Chapter. Her poetry has had both a film based on it and has won a Certificate of Merit in a juried art show at the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

Congratulations to all of the winners and those who entered the competition. Our next writing contest will begin on July 24th at 5 PM. A concrete link to enter will be sent at a further date.

July 18 – Post Pitch-O-Rama Expert AMA: Next Steps to Getting Published

By Admin

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Noon – 1pm
Online, via Zoom

Free to Pitch-O-Rama PLUS 2020 attendees

$20 for WNBA-SF members
$35 general

What most would-be authors don’t know is that the editor has to turn around and sell YOU to an editorial board. The sales management, more often than not, makes the decisions. If sales and marketing think they can sell your book, then you’ve got a wonderful chance of getting published. Publishing veterans Jan Johnson, Nancy Fish, Annemarie O’Brien and Brenda Knight, and publicity expert Jill Lublin will help you navigate the rapids of book publishing so you can find the perfect home for your books. Bring all your questions about book publishing and publicity so you can learn from some of the best in the business!

Note: we are limited to 90 attendees at this event, so register early!

Distinguished panelists:

Brenda Knight, author of Women of the Beat Generation, will read new work and a tribute to “Beat Goddess” ruth weiss. Brenda began her publishing career at HarperCollins. An author of ten books, she won the American Book Award for “Women of the Beat Generation.” In 2015, she was named Indiefab Publisher of the Year. She is Editorial Director at Mango Publishing and is President of WNBA-SF Chapter.

Nancy Fish

In her long career in publishing, Nancy Fish has worked in almost every iteration of the book business. Having been publicity and marketing director for major houses including Farrar, Straus & Giroux, HarperCollins and Perseus as well as small indies, freelance publicist and copywriter, and bookseller at legendary shops on both coasts, Nancy now manages the Path to Publishing Program, and all the writers programs, at Marin County’s three-store treasure trove, Book Passage. Ask her about them.

Jan Johnson is Publisher Emeritus at Red Wheel Weiser & Conari Press, acquiring select books for each imprint. Before launching Red Wheel/Weiser, Johnson worked at Tuttle Publishing, HarperOne (when it was known as HarperSanFrancisco), and Winston/Seabury Press and as an independent book doctor, rewrite editor and editorial consultant for corporate and independent publishers. Johnson has worked on many bestsellers including Codependent No More, Random Acts of Kindness, Oprah pick The Book of Awakening, and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

Annemarie O’Brien is an award-winning children’s author and marketing professional with twenty-plus years of global brand experience. She has a BBA in marketing, an MBA in international business, and an MFA in writing for Children & Young Adults. She teaches story marketing at Stanford Continuing Studies and writing courses at UC Berkeley Extension and Pixar. She is a frequent conference speaker on story marketing.

Jill Lublin is an international speaker on the topics of Radical Influence, Publicity, Networking, Kindness and Referrals. She is the author of 4 Best Selling books including Get Noticed…Get Referrals (McGraw Hill) and co-author of Guerrilla Publicity and Networking Magic. Her latest book, Profit of Kindness went #1 in four categories. Jill is a master strategist on how to position your business for more profitability and more visibility in the marketplace. She is CEO of a strategic consulting firm and has over 25 years experience working with over 100,000 people plus national and international media. Jill teaches Publicity Crash Courses as both live events and live webinars and consults and speaks all over the world. She also helps authors to create book deals with major publishers and agents, and well as obtain foreign rights deals. Visit publicitycrashcourse.com/freegift and jilllublin.com

Michael Larsen co-founded Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in 1972. 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 Guerrilla Marketing for Writers. Mike is co-director of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference. larsenauthorcoaching.com/

June 6 – You Can Be a Winning Writer: the 4 C’s of Successful Authors w/Joan Gelfand

By Admin

The 4 C’s of Successful Authors: Craft, Commitment, Community and Confidence

Not all writing careers are created equal. Why are some authors quickly catapulted to publishing success while other authors languish? Learn the secrets of how to become a successful author.

In this class, you will learn how to make the 4 C’s approach work for you.

During this workshop, Joan will discuss:

your writing challenges
how to put together a winning book proposal
the difference between a non-fiction and a fiction proposal
cover letters
finding the right agent (or publisher)
what to do once your book is published

Join us on June 6 at Noon for a fun, interactive session.

Where: Zoom (link provided via email – RSVP below)

Author of the #1 Amazon Best Seller, “You Can Be a Winning Writer” (Mango Press), Joan Gelfand’s three volumes of poetry and chapbook of short fiction have garnered over twenty awards and commendations. Joan’s novel “Extreme” set in a Silicon Valley startup will be published by Blue Light Press in July 2020. Joan has taught the 4 C’s approach at conferences and in libraries in the US and Mexico. Her key publications include Los Angeles Review, PANK!, Rattle, Huffington Post, Poetry Flash, Prairie Schooner, Kalliope, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Joan coaches writers in person, via Zoom and Skype. http://joangelfand.com

Meet the Agents & Editors: Virtual Pitch-O-Rama Plus 2020

By Kate Farrell

We’re going virtual!

Saturday, June 13, 2020
8:00 am – 12:30 pm

It’s Pitch-O-Rama PLUS!
Includes pre-pitch coaching.
$65 WNBA members, $75 Non-members
Men Welcome!
Limited to the first 60 ticketed attendees

Meet the Agents and Editors for Pitch-O-Rama Plus 2020!
These impressive publishing professionals bring years of experience and will provide advice, direction, and next steps for your literary project!

Jim Azevedo is the marketing director at Smashwords, the largest distributor of self-published ebooks, serving over 130,000 independent authors, publishers, and literary agents. Since 2008, Smashwords has helped authors around the world release more than 470,000 titles and distribute their work globally to top ebook retailers, subscription services and public libraries. Prior to joining Smashwords in 2011, Jim built his career in marketing & PR for high-tech companies. Although Smashwords is a self-publishing platform, Jim loves helping authors sharpen their pitches and book descriptions. He credits his journalism education when it comes to guiding authors, and himself, to “get to the point” with messaging. Jim is open to discussing all genres.

Peter Beren, formerly Vice President, Insight Editions, Publisher of Sierra Club Books, Publisher of VIA Books and an Acquisitions Editor for Jeremy Tarcher. Peter Beren is a literary agent and a book publishing consultant to authors and independent publishers. He is the founder of The Peter Beren Agency, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also author or co-author of eight books, including The Writers Legal Companion (Basic Books), California the Beautiful (Rizzoli) and The Golden Gate (Insight Editions). As a publishing consultant, Peter works with independent publishers, self-publishers, and authors to help them make the most of their publishing opportunities. He represents selected nonfiction projects as a literary agent to help authors obtain publishing contracts. https://peterberen.com/

Karly Caserza, Associate Agent, Fuse Literary, was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Northern California as a child. She obtained her Business Marketing degree and has been a Freelance Graphic Designer for over 10 years. In addition to designing a wide range of print and web promotional material for clients, Karly creates book covers for Short Fuse and promotional graphics for Fuse authors. Karly has a deep love for characters with a strong voice and seeks out stories she can get lost in. Diversity in genre fiction is a major bonus. She specializes in middle grade and young adult genre fiction (fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary). https://www.fuseliterary.com/karly-caserza/

Michele Crim is the West Coast literary agent for Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management, a boutique agency based in New York City. They represent authors such as Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Cal Peternell and Mads Refslund, co-founder of Noma, and MBG recently signed Moby to do a cookbook for his new award-winning restaurant, Little Pine. They work with chefs, food, and lifestyle writers and also represent fiction and narrative nonfiction writers, worldwide. Among others, Michele now represents Yumiko Sekine, founder of the beloved international brand Fog Linen Work; Allison Arevalo, best-selling cookbook author with a new book, The Pasta Friday Cookbook, coming out in September of 2019; and Charleen Badman, James Beard nominee and celebrated chef-owner of FnB Restaurant and Bar in Scottsdale.

Suzy Evans (remote access only) is a literary agent, attorney, and author who holds a Ph.D. in history from UC Berkeley. In the adult market, she’s looking for narrative nonfiction, history, science, big idea books on controversial social issues, riveting, elegantly-written memoir (recent favorites include Barbarian Days and When Breath Becomes Air), self-help, parenting (bonus points for humor!) and small quirky books that make her smile and think about the world in new and surprising ways. On the children’s front, she’s seeking MG nonfiction, YA fiction that tackles difficult issues in bold, daring ways, and graphic novels that bring history, literature, and fascinating historical figures (think Socrates! Machiavelli! Hamilton!) to life. She’d also love to find a thriller that has “MOVIE!” written all over it. Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

Nancy Fish: In her long career in publishing, Nancy Fish has worked in almost every iteration of the book business. Having been publicity and marketing director for major houses including Farrar, Straus & Giroux, HarperCollins and Pereus as welll as small indies, freelance publicist and copywriter, and bookseller at legendary shops on both coasts, Nancy now manages the Path to Publishing Program, and all the writers programs, at Marin County’s three-store treasure trove, Book Passage. Ask her about them. Nancy is open to discussing all genres.

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/or narrated hundreds of titles, helping authors leverage their content through audio – even if it is the first or only format of their book to get publishedTypically working with authors and publishers who are challenged in reaching their widest audience, the Pro Audio Voices team provides audiobook production, including complex and unusual projects, and the Audiobook Marketing Program™ to help authors increase their impact. Committed to leadership, Becky serves as President of Bay Area Independent Publishers Assoc. and a Chapter Leader of Nonfiction Authors Association. proaudiovoices.com

Georgia Hughes is 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.

Jan Johnson is Publisher Emeritus at Red Wheel Weiser & Conari Press acquiring select books for each imprint. Before launching Red Wheel/Weiser, Johnson worked at Tuttle Publishing, HarperOne (when it was known as HarperSanFrancisco), Winston/Seabury Press and as an independent book doctor, rewrite editor and editorial consultant for corporate and independent publishers. Johnson has worked on many bestsellers including Codependent No More, Random Act of Kindness, Oprah pick The Book of Awakening, and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2014 at the ALA, American Library 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, which won an American Book Award. Knight is Editorial Director at Mango Publishing and acquires for all genres in fiction and nonfiction as well as children and photography books. She also serves as President of the Women’s’ National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter and is an instructor at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference.

Georgia Kolias is an Associate Acquisitions Editor with New Harbinger Publications, the foremost publisher in proven-effective psychology and personal growth books for adults and teens. Before joining New Harbinger, she worked in nearly every other aspect of the book world, including: literary management, publicity, book selling, the public library system, and teaching creative writing. She is actively acquiring books in the areas of psychology, self-help, spirituality, social justice, gift books, women’s issues, third phase of life, teen empowerment, spiritualism/occult, practically applied spirituality, LGBTQ+ queer, and POC issues. She is always interested in work from authors who are emerging leaders in their fields and actively engaged with their potential readers. She welcomes proposals from LGBTQ+ queer, POC, and all other underrepresented voices interested in making positive change. Georgia holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, The Advocate, Role Reboot, The Manifest-Station, and various anthologies. Her debut novel, The Feasting Virgin, will be published July 2020.

Lisa McGuinness is a twenty-five-year veteran of the publishing industry. As publisher of Yellow Pear Press, Lisa has worked in the editorial, sales, and production divisions during her tenure at Chronicle Books. In addition, as a writer, developmental editor, and project manager, she has worked on books for Running Press, Barefoot Books, Chronicle Books, and Accord Publishing, as well as custom publications for Starbucks, Gap, the Exploratorium, Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Nordstrom. She has authored several books including Hoppy Trails, Catarina’s Ring, Meaningful Bouquets, Caffeinated Ideas Journal, Bee & Me and Baby Turtle’s Tale (the later two co-authored under the pen name Elle J. McGuinness ), and The Dictionary of Extraordinary Ordinary Animals. She is the founder of Yellow Pear Press (yellowpearpress.com) and acquires books in the categories of lifestyle, gift, self-help, inspiration, children’s and fiction. You can find her at lisamcguinnesswrites.com.

Laurie McLean, Partner, Fuse Literary, Laurie McLean spent 20 years as the CEO of a publicity agency and 8 years as an agent and senior agent at Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco. Following her stint as the CEO of a successful Silicon Valley public relations agency bearing her name, Laurie was able to switch gears in 2002 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. At Fuse Literary, Laurie specializes in adult genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thrillers, suspense, horror, etc.) plus middle-grade and young adult children’s books.

Randy Peyser sells non-fiction manuscripts in all genres and speaks nationally about how to get book deals. She also serves on faculty for CEO Space International where she teaches about writing book proposals. She is the author of: The Write-a-Book Program; Crappy to Happy as featured in the movie, Eat Pray Love; and The Power of Miracle Thinking. Her clients’ books have been in Oprah and Time Magazines, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestseller Lists, in airport bookstores, Office Max and FedEx/Office 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, Guerrilla Publicity, and The Profit of Kindness. AuthorOneStop.com.

Andy Ross opened his literary agency in January 2008. Prior to 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 reveal the terrain of that vast and unexplored country, the human heart. (AAR). www.andyrossagency.com, www.andyrossagency.wordpress.com

Lara Starr has made her mark in publishing starting at Collins, Conari Press, and Chronicle Books. A bestselling author of several books, she is also a producer to KGO Radio. Starr is a creative professional with expertise in public relations, marketing, media production, and special events. Currently at Insight Edition, Starr is a children’s book specialist for Path to Publishing.

Elisabeth Kauffman is an editor, an author, and an artist. She is NOT taking pitches, but will help you hone your pitch. She edits fiction and memoir for independent clients as well as for publishing companies, and coaches writers to find their voices and connect to the magic in their creative lives. Using creative writing exercises along with tarot, visualization, and more tactile forms of art, she encourages her clients to take risks and tell stories that matter. She volunteers for and speaks at the San Francisco Writers Conference, and with local writers’ groups. She is currently represented by Bradford Literary Agency and hopes to publish her first book (a tarot deck and guide for writers) in the near future. Elisabeth grew up reading Mary Stewart, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the like. She loves creative, imaginative storytelling, and regularly obsesses over board games, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. Learn more about her at www.writingrefinery.com or email her at ekauffman@writingrefinery.com.

If you want to see what they all look like, click here!

Better yet, register and meet them in person with your pitch!

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