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Lori Noack will discuss how the Afghan Women’s Writing Project (AWWP) provides a platform for Afghan women to share the stories of their lives. From 10 writers in 2009 to nearly 300 in 2015, over 1900 poems and journalistic essays are published on awwproject.org. Lori will share highlights of AWWP’s new projects, including an oral history initiative with illiterate women, a monthly radio series in Afghanistan, and online writing workshops in Dari. Lori and audience members will read chosen selections from the newly released AWWP anthology, Washing the Dust from our Hearts, a bi-lingual collection that covers such themes as marriage and family, love and forgiveness, education, and human rights. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
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Have we got a program year for you! The mission of WNBA is to promote literacy and women’s role in the world of the book. Every event and sponsorship we have planned advances that mission. Our board and our chairs have been working over the summer to prepare these wonderful events. We will again be exhibitors at the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference, September 12th, to begin our year. We encourage you to attend. Join us the next day, Sunday, September 13th, to learn how you can participate in the global community of Afghan women writers at the Second Act on Haight Street. Enjoy the fabulous pair of October author panels we have lined up with Litquake, Books, Inc., Opera Plaza, and Bookshop West Portal, and celebrate women novelists, travel and food writers, who will take us on their fascinating journeys. There will be wine and delicious treats, along with free paperbacks, giveaway raffles, and other swag. Encourage your writing and reading friends to celebrate the joy of shared reading and our discussions! Take a peek at the winter events coming soon to start your new year– we will share the expertise and access that only WNBA can provide.  Kate Farrelly Above all, don’t forget to renew your membership. We hope to see you at many of our events! |
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NATIONAL READING GROUP MONTH EVENTS An Atmospheric Afternoon:
Carolina De Robertis, THE GODS OF TANGO Kelli Estes, THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK, Kathryn Ma, THE YEAR SHE LEFT US Janis Cooke Newman, MASTER PLAN FOR RESCUE Lucy Sanna, THE CHERRY HARVEST |
October Readings ’Round the Bay
Refreshments, wine, French amuse-bouche.* Giveaway raffle of all four books, a bonus paperback and resources for Book Clubs, the Great Group Reads list and much more! Moderated by Elise Frances Miller. Featuring Women’s National Book Association Lisa Alpine, award winning travel book, WILD LIFE: TRAVEL ADVENTURES OF A WORLDLY WOMAN. http://www.LisaAlpine.com/ Carole Bumpus, historical novel, A CUP OF REDEMPTION and new companion, RECEIPES FOR REDEMPTION. http://carolebumpus.com/ Martha Conway, award winning historical novel, THE THIEVING FOREST. http://marthaconway.com/ |
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Humaira Ghilzai Written by Catharine Bramkamp
“Our media rarely reports success stories in Afghanistan. I feel it’s my job to let people know that Afghanistan is not a lost cause. I love sharing stories of the small successes that make a big difference in individual lives and cause a ripple effect in their community. “I was in Kabul in the spring to attend to some business for Afghan Friends Network, the non-profit I co-founded 12 years ago. Meeting with our University Scholarship Program students was the highlight of my trip.” |
The Fire Inside: When Writers Must Write
Written by Rita M. Gardner A friend recently told me she’d been thinking about writing, one of the things that brings her true joy. But, she said, she was absolutely fearful of anyone reading or commenting on her output. She wrote: “I think of you because you are so courageous as to allow anyone in this world – people you don’t even know – to read the words you have dared to put on paper.” I just want to say—to her—and to anyone who has fears about writing down their inner thoughts, that sometimes it’s not really a courageous act at all; it’s a necessary act. And we all find some time in life when we must do something—and we do it. What that thing is could be anything at all. It isn’t something that fits with our “life plan” and yet we do it. People call us courageous, but we don’t see it that way. Often, however, I think inspiration comes from a fire that burns within—and a moment arrives… |
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President: Kate Farrell Communications: |
Membership 2015-2016
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