Dear Literary Folk,

Michaelmas, Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead, Feast of All Souls—celebrations to mark our entry into the dark half of the year. Now we begin that graceful descent down the spiral stairs into the halls of Dis. So Lawrence wrote in “Bavarian Gentians.”

Happy Wayzgoose!

In centuries past, the beginning of autumn marked when the shortening day required writers and printers to do their work by candlelight. The master printer would provide a feast to mark the season, featuring a roasted goose (or wayzgoose), for journeymen and apprentices. It’s lovely to think such changes were noticed and honored. Nowadays, we mark the shift by setting our clocks back and enjoying an extra hour of sleep.

After a brief poetic interlude, you’ll find in this issue the November calendar of events, news from across the county, calls for submission, new Sonoma County publications, current and upcoming workshops, and ongoing reading series and writers’ groups. You can also find a reader-friendly version of all this on the Update’s website: www.literaryfolk.wordpress.com.

Bavarian Gentians

D.H. Lawrence

Not every man has gentians in his house

in Soft September, at slow, Sad Michaelmas.

Bavarian gentians, big and dark, only dark

darkening the daytime torchlike with the smoking blueness of Pluto’s

gloom,

ribbed and torchlike, with their blaze of darkness spread blue

down flattening into points, flattened under the sweep of white day

torch-flower of the blue-smoking darkness, Pluto’s dark-blue daze,

black lamps from the halls of Dis, burning dark blue,

giving off darkness, blue darkness, as Demeter’s pale lamps give off

light,

lead me then, lead me the way.

Reach me a gentian, give me a torch

let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of this flower

down the darker and darker stairs, where blue is darkened on blueness.

even where Persephone goes, just now, from the frosted September

to the sightless realm where darkness was awake upon the dark

and Persephone herself is but a voice

or a darkness invisible enfolded in the deeper dark

of the arms Plutonic, and pierced with the passion of dense gloom,

among the splendor of torches of darkness, shedding darkness on the

lost bride and groom.

As part of Petaluma’s El Dia de los Muertos celebration, many gathered at the Art Center on October 23 to honor those we have lost with our poems. Among those remembered were David Bromige and Don Emblen. Art Hoffman, Don’s good friend, wrote a poem for the occasion, but wasn’t able to read it. With his permission, I present it for you here.

Questions for DLE

by Art Hoffman

I make it a point to ask you questions

because I am at a loss,

despite your irritation with such things,

questions that I pose again and again;

about my weary laughter when I dreamed

that houses grew round as they aged,

lost shape, and began to fall,

and mostly about the old world messenger boy

on his bicycle with his blonde hair combed back.

I think it something he does for money

to amuse tourists – that uniform and all.

Why isn’t he excited by his life? the way I was yesterday,

seated in the garden, as the leaves dropped quickly

from the silver maple, puff clouds above,

the sun peeking through, while the woodpecker

gleaned insects from the bark,

working her way up the stout branch,

inch by inch, chased by a titmouse,

who took over the task,

one moist bug after another,

hummingbirds chased one another

in tight formation, and last of the season

butterflies roamed the air.

Right now, I want to ask you this:

What is it that we have on our hands here?

Why are we not excited by our lives?

I will hang on every word of your answer.

If anyone has remembrances of Don Art reminds us that his website is still running at http://sonic.net/~art/DLE%20memoriam/DLE%20project/Memorial%20Sheaf.html

♦♦♦

November Calendar of Literary Events

The monthly calendar reflects announcements that literary folk from the area have sent to me. To get a more complete list of author-events and workshop schedules, addresses and directions to the event locations, as well as bios of the presenters, you can use these links.

Book Passage www.bookpassage.com

Center Literary Café centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Copperfield’s Books http://www.copperfields.net/

Petaluma Writers’ Forum and Jumpstart Writing Workshops: www.thewritespot.us

Poetry Azul Reading Series edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.

Readers’ Books www.readersbooks.com

Sebastopol Center for the Arts http://www.sebarts.org/index.htm

Sitting Room www.sittingroom.org.

Sonoma Arts Literary Calendar www.sonomaarts.com

WordTemple Poetry Series http://www.wordtemple.com

Sunday, November 1, 1-3 PM: Redwood Writers general meeting at Copperfield’s Books, 2316 Montgomery Dr., Santa Rosa. $5 for nonmembers. Details in the Ungoing Writers Groups section of the Update.

Sunday, November 1, 7:00 PM: Parthenon West Review Reading featuring Camille Dungy,Chad Sweeney, Russell Dillon. Location: Pegasus Books Downtown Berkeley, 2349 Shattuck Ave. (510) 649-1320.

Monday, November 2, 12:00-1:00 PM: Donna Emerson reads from her new book of poems, Body Rhymes, at Newman Auditorium, Santa Rosa Junior College, 1501 Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. Jared Emerson-Johnson will play introductory and closing music on violin and mandolin.

Monday, November 2, 4 – 6 pm: The next UUCSR Writers meeting date is at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 547 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa.

Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 PM: Reynolds Series Presents, Blackfeet Novelist, Stephen Graham Jones & Creek/Cherokee O’Henry Award Short Story Writer, Eddie Chuculate–Fine Arts Building, Studio Theatre. Book Sales & Signing follow reading performances. Free admission. Details about location were not provided with this announcement. For more information, contact allison a. hedge coke: emailahc@yahoo.com.

Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 PM: Sonoma State University’s Associated Students Productions is proud to bring Ariel Luckey’s inspiring theatrical production of his one-man play “Project Freeland.” Luckey’s hip-hop theatre experience will be performed in Warren Auditorium. This event is free to all.

Friday, November 6 at 7:00 PM: Sonoma State University’s Associated Students Productions is proud to bring a special poetry event to campus. ASP Poetry Nite featuring internationally renowned slam poet Carlos Andrés Goméz in the Student Union MPR. This event is free to all and refreshments will be provided.

Friday, November 6 at 7 PM: WordTemple presents Sixteen Rivers poets Lynne Knight and Carolyn Miller, both reading from their books released earlier this year: Again and Light, Moving. WordTemple is now located in the Sonoma County Museum, 425-7th Street, in Santa Rosa.

Saturday, November 7, 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. Meet & greet Sher Lianne Christian with her book Star Kissed Shadows, Divining Poetry and CD Sweet Tongue, Assorted Poetry & Music. Copperfield’s, 138 N. Main, Sebastopol, 707 823-8991.

Saturday, November 7, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM: C.B. Follett, Susan Terris, and Rebecca Foust lead a workshop on poetry publication. Fee: $50. Location: Book Passage,51 Tamal Vista Blvd. Corte Madera, CA 94925. Phone: (415) 927-0960(800) 999-7909. Sign up at http://www.bookpassage.com

Saturday, November 7, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Sebastopol Center for the Arts hosts “Get Published: Independent Publishing and Self-Publishing Today” with author and publisher Lindsay Whiting of Paper Lantern Publishing. Fee $50.00, Non-member: $55.00. Half-Day Seminar (3 hours). Limit 18 attendees. Details in “Current and Upcoming Workshops” section of the Update below.

Sunday, November 8 at 2:00 PM: Poetry Azul  Reading Series  – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series at  Cafe Azul located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa.    Featured readers will include Larry Robinson,  Penelope La Montagne, Alexandra Appel, Todd Melicker, Diana Gordon, and Peter Bullen.  Admission is free.  573-5935.

Tuesday, November 10, 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Café presents Novelist Lian Gouw and Poet Sher Lianne Christian. Doors open at 6:30. Open mic. Bring prose or poetry to share. Light refreshments. Donations appreciated. Parking available right behind the Senior Center. 133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza), Healdsburg, CA 95448.

Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111 or centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Saturday, November 14 at 7:00 PM: Women’s Day of Poetry: Come to hear four Bay Area Poets whose poems appeared in the Summer 2009 Issue of Calyx. Featured poets include Dian Duchin Reed, Connie Post, Nancy Cherry, Theresa Whitehall. Location: Rebound Bookstore, 1611 4th Street, San Rafael, CA. Phone: (415) 482-0550

Sunday, November 15, 12:30 to 1:30 P.M. Third Sunday Poetry Reading & Poetry Open Mic:  Featured reader, Stefanie Freele, Healdsburg Literary Laureate. Coffee Catz, 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. Donation appreciated, $1 to $10.  707 829-6600.

Sunday, November 15 at 5 PM: Sixteen Rivers hosts a champagne reception and benefit reading in Sausalito, featuring David St. John and Sandra Gilbert. The cost is $100 for one ticket, $150 for two. For more information, contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net or Email the press directly at info@sixteenrivers.org.

Wednesday, November 18 at 7 PM: Sunset Poetry Poetry by the Bay at Studio 333
Diane di Prima, Gary Gach and Geri Digirono

Thursday, November 19 at 7-9 PM: Writers Forum of Petaluma presents a workshop by Gretchen Giles,“Tell Your Story.” Location: Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma. Admission: $15 at the door. For more information: www.thewritespot.us Marlene – mcullen@comcast.net

Sunday, December 6, 3:00 to 5:00 PM: At its monthly meeting, the Redwood Writers present Janis Bell at Copperfield’s Book Store in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village (2316 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-578-8938).  The general public is welcome. A small fee of $3 for members, $5 for nonmembers, is asked to cover speaking fees and light refreshments.

Don’t see your event in the calendar? Check to make sure you sent your announcement by the deadline and in the abbreviated, plain-text format. I am happy to include all announcements, text only (no PDF please), sent to me no later than noon on the last day of each month.  Calendar entries are easier to include if they follow the format you see above, and if you can keep the information brief.

County-Wide News

Congratulations to Stephanie Freele, Healdsburg’s New Literary Laureate

At a specially-staged and programmed Third Sunday Salon event last Sunday, October 18, Stefanie Freele of Healdsburg was selected to be Healdsburg’s next, and sixth, Literary Laureate.  After a short traditional induction ceremony to be held at City Hall in December, her two-year term will begin on January 1st.  It is expected that there will be a public reception to celebrate the honor with her;  look for announcement of this special event to be held probably in January.

The laureatship has no official job description, but is an honor that has been bestowed upon an outstanding writer every two years by the Healdsburg Literary Guild.  Honorees have always, however, been writers who have not only been well-thought of by their literary colleagues, but have been visible to the greater community in various ways that have encouraged participation in, and appreciation for, the literary arts.

Previous Healdsburg laureates were Doug Stout, co-founder of the Farmer’s Market and later the “Literary Produce table” there, that featured the works of .local authors, and mentor to many of them; Armando Garcia-Davila, known as the “blue-collar poet” or the “gourmet poet”, who writes bilingually, and brought the poetry slam movement to Sonoma County; Penelope LaMontagne, who for years began the KRCB public radio programming day with her Morning Haiku, was a poet-in-the-schools and popular writing workshop leader; Chip Wendt, who began the Third Sunday Salon in 2000 and, as Running Wolf publisher, published the first poetry collections of many area writers; and the current laureate, Vilma Ginzberg, who now hosts the Third Sunday Salon and has been an active board member of the Healdsburg Literary Guild.

Stefanie, who has recently published a collection of short stories, Feeding Strays, can be seen at “meet-and-greet” book signings around the area, has a degree in creative writing, and will soon lead a writing workshop at Healdsburg Plaza Arts.  She can be reached at stefanie@stefaniefreele.com.

Call for Writing about the Petaluma River
The City of Petaluma’s Petaluma River Access Partners (PRAP), with help from the National Park Service, and the Petaluma Planning Department, is asking for ONE PAGE of your creative inspiration based on the Petaluma River. Landscape architects for the Petaluma River Access Blueprint for Action will use your ideas, input, reflections, and memories, as they design paths, signs, sculpture, and other elements of future Petaluma River access. THIS IS NOT A CONTEST: ALL submissions will be “published” in a big community book and shared with planners: with additional exhibits and readings planned for Spring 2010!!

Details in the “Calls for Submission” section of the Update below.

Prose Writer’s Group Forming

John Heide writes that his group is looking for two more experienced writers to join our new group.  Our focus will be on fiction and non-fiction novel or short story writing for mutual support and honest critiquing of our work.  We’ll meet once or twice a month in the Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol area.  For more information call John at 707 326 5810 or email jhinkona@hotmail.com

Sixteen Rivers Press’s Benefit Reading with David St. John and Sandra Gilbert

On Sunday, November 15, Sixteen Rivers Press will host a champagne and hors d’oevres

reception and reading at a private home in Sausalito, featuring David St. John and Sandra Gilbert. The reception begins at 5:00 PM followed by the reading at 6:00 PM. The cost is $100 for one ticket, $150 for two. For more information, contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net or Email the press directly at info@sixteenrivers.org.

Sixteen Rivers Press is a shared-work, nonprofit poetry collective dedicated to providing an alternative publishing avenue for San Francisco Bay Area poets. Founded in 1999 by seven writers, the press is named for the sixteen rivers that flow into the San Francisco Bay. Since 2001, we have produced twenty outstanding books of poetry and a CD, sharing our commitment to excellence with the poetry world.

West Ireland Literary Tour and Writing Workshop, Summer 2010, deadline November 15.

I am offering a twelve-day literary tour and writing retreat in West Ireland in the summer of 2010. The deadline for signing up is November 15, 2009. The trip is limited to 5 travelers.  Currently the dates I am looking at are the first two weeks in July.

Participants will stay at a private lodge or bed and breakfast in the County Clare village of Ballyvaughan. The itinerary includes day trips to various sites in Counties Galway and Clare, including Coole Park, the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, an excursion by boat to the Aran Islands, and W.B. Yeats’s homes at Thoor Ballylee and Sligo. Travel will be by private car/minivan. To cap the twelve-day literary adventure, participants will enjoy a Medieval banquet with Irish song and poetry at Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara.

Ballyvaughan and its neighboring villages of Kinvara (to the west) and Doolin (to the east) are among the most scenic places in Ireland, nestled between the hills of the Burren and the sea, on the southern shore of Galway Bay. We are a short drive from Poulnabrone Dolmen, a burial tomb more than 5,000 years old. The area surrounding Ballyvaughan is a limestone or karst region of haunting beauty.

Besides the tour described above, this is also planned as a writers’ workshop, including eight writing sessions with the chance to share your work in a supportive group.

The cost for the literary tour and workshop is $2,350 for twelve days. The price includes private room, breakfast, lunch, some dinners, transportation, writing sessions, and all the side trips listed above. Air fare is not included in the price, but currently the cost of a round-trip flight in July is around $1,000.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.westireland.wordpress.com or contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net.

LIBRARY HOLDS WRITE-INS FOR NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH

Got the urge to write? The Sonoma County Library is holding write-ins for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) an annual event in which aspiring writers attempt to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

Several of the library branches will make space, time and coffee available to writers as they sprint through their literary efforts.

Writers are invited to attend a launch event at the Central Branch on Third and E Streets in Santa Rosa on Monday, Oct. 26th at 6:00 p.m.  Veteran NaNoWriMo participant and municipal liaison Debbie Koehler will explain the program and talk about the origins of National Novel Writing Month.

Library write-ins will take place in November at the following branches: Central, Mondays 5:00 – 8:30 p.m.; Healdsburg, Mondays 5:00-8:30 p.m.; Rincon Valley, Mondays 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; Petaluma, Tuesdays 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. except Nov. 17th; Sebastopol, schedule varies, please see the calendar at the web site www.sonomalibrary.org

For more information on the Library write-ins call Robin Watters at 545-0831 x539 or see the library web site, www.sonomalibrary.org.  For more information on National Novel Writing Month see the web site, www.nanowrimo.org

Congratulations to Redwood Writers Prose Contest Winners:

Claudia Reed and Jeanne Miller

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces the winners of its Prose Contest, held in conjunction with our 2009 Writers Conference.

The contest was, in part, a celebration of the California Writers Club centennial. It was open to all residents living in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. All winning submissions were previously unpublished works and they were judged on clarity, originality, and cohesion. Karen Batchelor, past President of the Redwood Writers and prose contest organizer, highlights that, “we’re delighted to encourage and reward good writing in our communities.”

Winners were announced at the Redwood Writer’s 2009 Conference held on Saturday, October 24th.

First and Second Place—Claudia Reed for “Make Believe” and “The Spider”

Third Place–Jeanne Miller for “The First Day of School”

The prose contest was organized by the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference Committee and judged by B. Lynn Goodwin, J.J. Wilson and Laura McHale Holland.

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Hosts Two Talks

The Redwood Writers invite members and nonmembers to attend their meetings. The November meeting features guest author Verna Dreisbach. The December meeting features Janis Bell. Meetings run from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Copperfield’s Book Store in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village (2316 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-578-8938).  The general public is welcome. A small fee of $3 for members, $5 for nonmembers, is asked to cover speaking fees and light refreshments.

November 1 Verna Dreisbach

Verna Dreisbach’s talk, “Perceptions of an Agent,” will discuss how to attract an agent’s attention, how to build an author platform, and identify common mistakes writers often make in trying to secure an agent. She will provide handouts as well as examples of query letters and book proposals, and talk about why most fiction writing doesn’t make it past an agent. Verna represents both fiction and nonfiction titles.

About Verna Dreisbach:

Verna Dreisbach is an award winning writer who has been featured in books, literary journals, magazines, and newspapers. Prior to founding Dreisbach Literary Management in 2008, she spent nearly two years working for a reputable literary agency and has established numerous contacts in the publishing industry. A frequent traveler to writing conferences, Verna also serves on the board of directors for the CSUS Writers Conference in Sacramento and is the president and founder of the Capitol City Young Writers, a non-profit writing organization for students in both junior high and high school. In addition, Verna serves as an editor to the Calaveras Station, Sacramento State University’s literary journal.

December 6 Janis Bell

Janis Bell’s talk is entitled, “Final Edit: A Discussion of the Grammar and Punctuation Questions That Even Good Writers Ask.”

About Janis Bell:

Janis Bell’s book, Clean, Well-lighted Sentences, was published in September 2008.  It has enjoyed a warm reception (selling solidly, making the San Francisco Bay Area and Marin Best-Seller Lists for several weeks, gaining favorable reviews in print), and it has opened doors for her to speak (on television, on NPR, in bookstores).  She’s had a delightful time talking about the trickier aspects of grammar, usage, and punctuation that even good writers question.  Her presentations are lively because she adores her subject. www.janisbell.com

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 18 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Its motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Photos available upon request.

Dee Sunshine’s Book Art and Cover Art

I am an artist, illustrator and graphic designer.  If you need an illustration for a book cover, or if you need a book jacket design I can offer up my services.  I have an online gallery of over 1,000 images that are available for reproduction at http://www.rimbaud.org.uk/artmainpage.html.

I have provided artwork for books by Clarinda Harriss, Kay Green, Janet Buck, David Bircumshaw, Marcy Jarvis, Rupert Loydell and Norman Jope among others; and I’ve had my art published in numerous periodicals including The North American Review, International Poetry Review, Orbis, Ambit, Cimarron Review, Black Mountain Review, Rattapallax and Bayou Review.  You can see sample book jackets at http://www.rimbaud.org.uk/jacketmain.html

I work in acrylic, pastel, charcoal, pen & ink, photomontage & collage: each medium having it’s own specific style; and am sure I would have something in stock that would suit most needs.  As the works are already completed (rather than produced to commission) I can be flexible about reproduction fees, depending on the budget of your publisher, or indeed your own budget, if you are self-publishing.  If you like my work and want to use it, write to me and I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.
Website - www.thunderburst.co.uk
Blogger - http://deerimbaud.blogspot.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/captainmelted
Facebook - www.facebook.com/captainmelted

News from East County

UniverSoul Reading Series

The first Sat of each month, 5:30-7 pm (Note new time) is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

News from West County

Thanks to Pat Nolan and Dixie Lewis for providing this month’s West County news.

Low Power Literary Radio in West Sonoma Co.

There are two monthly book shows on local low power FM radio stations.  Nearing its second anniversary, Off The Shelf, airs at 8 PM on the first Sunday of the month on Guerneville’s KGGV 95.1FM.  The program is hosted by Peter Andrews and Pat Nolan. KGGV offers streaming at www.kggvfm.org. Book Flaps, the nexus between Books and Life, hosted by Suzanne Lang and Pat Nolan is offered on Occidental’s brand new radio station, KOWS 107.3 FM, on the last Thursday of the month at 5 PM.  Previous shows have featured discussions on consciousness and guest poets from the West County.

Brian Martens hosts” The Poetry Hour” on KOWS-FM radio 107.3 fm. Every Wednesday from 5:00-6:00 pm. Poetry is read mixed with eclectic music. The program is also streamed over the internet at: www.kows.fm When you arrive at the site click on the streaming link. Thanks for listening. Feedback appreciated at b-r-m@sbcglobal.net

News from North County

Thanks to Cynthia Beecher and Vilma Ginzberg for providing this month’s North County News.

Center Literary Café

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 7-9 PM
Novelist Lian Gouw

Poet Sher Lianne Christian

Lian Gouw’s debut novel, Only A Girl, is a finely detailed portrait of three courageous Chinese women finding their way in a world of cultural melding and upheaval as Western progress clatters against customary Chinese mores.

Sher Lianne Christian is the author of Star Kissed Shadows and Divining Poetry. She is co-creator of Sweet Tongue, Assorted Poetry and Music with husband John Christian, who will provide musical accompaniment during her reading.

For all events: Doors open at 6:30

Open mic    Bring prose or poetry to share

Light refreshments   Donations appreciated

Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center.

Healdsburg Senior Center

133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza)    Healdsburg, CA 95448

Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111       centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Healdsburg Literary Arts Guild

The Third Sunday Salon of the Healdsburg Literary Guild will be featuring Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County’s present Poet Laureate, reading from his poetry and prose on Sunday, November 15, 2009 at the Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove Street. This event runs from at 2 to 4 PM.

This is the program that was postponed from August 16th.

If you have not heard this wise, warm, and witty writer, do not miss this chance; if you have, come and enjoy him again.  Bring friends of all ages.

As usual, there will be open mic the first hour for poetry and other short literary works; doors open at 1:30 for sign-up.

A book table will feature books for purchase, including Mike Tuggle’s works, publications of the Healdsburg Literary Guild, and works by Guild members.

For more info: healdsburgliteraryguild@gmail.com or 433-7119.

Sonoma County in Print

If you are a Sonoma County writer with a book or chapbook newly published, let’s help you celebrate! Just send your announcement to tehret99@comcast.net. Be sure to include information on how your readers can find out more about you and your work or order a copy. You’re announcement will run for three Updates.

Pat Nolan’s newest publication is Intellectual Pretensions, from editions de jabob, is  a beautifully bound, hand-made collection of prose poems. You can see Pat Nolan at the Guerneville Poetry Walk on October 3.

PANGAIA CD RELEASE

Spanish visionary poet Joaquin Lopez de San Roman presents the release of their fist Pangaia CD “Earth veins”, an integration of Shamanic poetry & Indigenous instruments.
www.myspace.com/pangaiaartensemble

New from Iota Press

Iota printed a new chapbook by the elusive & allusive poet, Erst Weill.

It’s called ‘Could Be Verse” and… it could be…. ordered on line at: http://www.iotapress.com/books/index.html . Paypal or credit card….$10

Don’t wait to order…the three scandals swirling around this book will make it a collector’s item. First of all, rumors fly that Mr Weill did not actually LIVE the poems in the book. He did not, for example, “…crimp a jutty cornwolf in a  swedenbitter cold.”

Secondly, one of his acolytes in the ancient Non-Sequiturian Order appeared on Oprah and accused him of  NOT being truly off-the-wall – yelling at one point: “One thought has  led to another! A disgrace!”

Lastly, Mr Weill has authorized us to say that there is no truth to the other rumor : that he is under investigation for using the outlawed versifying software: META4.0 …  We quote: “Anyway, they’re all using it now; all the big names are juicing… quiet as it’s kept.” But it is just possible that there will always be an asterisk next to the name of Erst Weill.

Eugene Ruggles’s Collected Works, a posthumous collection of his poems, is in production and readying for publication. Go to www.eugeneruggles.com

to see cover mock–up.

Stefanie Freele’s Motel

The innovative new publisher “Bannock Street Books” presents the artbook/chapbook MOTEL: a short story by Sonoma County author Stefanie Freele paired with color photography contributed by Sarah Black.

MOTEL will soon be available on the Bannock Street Books Website. http://www.bannockstreetbooks.com/

In the meantime, signed copies of MOTEL are available from the author:

$7 and $2 ship.

Paypal: Babingas@aol.com

Check:
Stefanie Freele
1083 Vine St. #352
Healdsburg, Ca 95448
www.stefaniefreele.com

Redwood Writers Vintage Voices Anthology Released

Contact: Linda Loveland Reid

president@redwoodwriters.org

707-484-4153

Redwood Writers, the Sonoma County branch of the California Writers Club, has published its fourth anthology, Vintage Voices: Cent’Ani: May You Live 100 Years, (ISBN: 978-0-9816848-2-6). Pre-publication orders may be placed here:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org/vv4orders.pdf.

Release Celebration

Redwood Writers will celebrate the release of Vintage Voices with a reading and book signing on September 26th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at North Light Books and Café, 550 E. Cotati Ave., Cotati. Linda Reid, president of Redwood Writers will host this event. Food and wine will be available for purchase as well as copies of the anthology. Authors will be on hand to sign your copy. There is no charge to attend.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Redwood’s motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

Jeanne Miller’s On the Brink of Nora

On the Brink of Nora, was chosen by Redwood Writers for a joint publication project with Unlimited Publishing.

Set in the Northern California Wine Country, On the Brink is a true coming of age story. When Nora embarks on a radical journey of self-discovery, her family is called upon to evolve as individuals, and in concert with one another.

jcmillerwriter.com
http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com/miller/

Linda Loveland Reid’s novel, Touch of Magenta,

will be available on May 9 at local bookstores and on Amazon.com.  For more information go to www.lindalovelandreid.com

Touch of Magenta explores, through the lives to two women, the right we all have to know our personal history; that all secrets be revealed, all lies untold.

The story is set in Sonora’s California gold country, Chinatown, Italy, Singapore, and England.

Donna Emerson’s Body Rhymes from Finishing Line Press

I am happy to announce to my friends and acquaintances that my poetry collection from Finishing Line Press, Body Rhymes, comes out this spring. Since this is a limited edition collection, you may order now to reserve a copy. The press run will be determined by the number of orders made before April 10.The book, with a color photograph of mine on the cover, will be mailed to you by the end of May.

“Donna Emerson’s poems—each a small, complete world—reveal their tenderness in detail. The poet William Carlos Williams once said ‘Perception is the first act of imagination,’ and with her photographer’s eye, Emerson invites the reader to see, as if for the first time, what is extraordinary even in the most familiar.  But as a poet, she also listens, deeply and intently, to her subject, whether it is a landscape, a memory, or one of the unforgettable souls she has counseled, struggling to reconcile themselves with mortality. And it is with a listening heart that the reader feels with her a wonder at the courage she has witnessed, and inspiration at the truth she captures.”

Terry Ehret, author of Lucky Break

“A lilting voice from a new poet.  A new daughter is not all that Donna Emerson gave birth to in her 50s.  Her poems are loaded with rich imagery and memory.”
Susan Swartz, author of The Juicy Tomatoes Guide to Ripe Living After 50

Books can be pre-ordered through the website at  www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases and Forthcoming Titles,” scrolling down alphabetically.

Sagittarius Agitprop by Matthew Gavin Frank

Franks collection of poems is available from Black Lawrence Press at:

http://www.blacklawrence.com/frank.html

To see and hear Frank reading from his book, check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdOR3_jrx88

www.matthewgfrank.com

Pierette Mimi Poinsett

Rose-Anne Clermont has written an article about my challenges in the Women’s International Perspective e-zine.  The photographer who is uncredited is Michi Adams of Rohnert Park Petaluma. Below is the link:

http://thewip.net/contributors/2009/02/living_one_day_at_a_time_in_th.html
Over the last three years, I have been writing creative non-fiction and poetry. Going into “the family business”:)  A memoir cookbook is in the works.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD

http://www.snapdiva.blogspot.com

aka the Yayayarndiva on http://www.ravelry.com

Bill Vartnaw ‘s new book, Suburbs of my Childhood, came out on January15th.  Bill says, “This is a book of mostly early poems, lots of seventies, a few eighties and a couple of nineties about my mother, 74 pages.” For more information or to order the book, contact Bill at  taureanhorn@hotmail.com.  Taurean Horn Press’ address is P.O. Box 641097, San Francisco, CA 94164-1097.

Jeane Slone has just published She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases. People can order it from my web site at www.jeaneslone.com.

Jean Heglund writes, “She Flew Bombers is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. Anyone interested in Aviation History, Women’s History, or the World War II “war effort” will appreciate Jeane Slone’s careful research, as well as her ability to bring this little-know aspect of the US history to life so vividly.”

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro has just published an anthology entitled Hair Pieces, containing the poetry and prose of 51 of her writing students. Hair Pieces is available for purchase at Copperfields and also at harlmarg@sonic.net. For information about Margaret’s Writing Practice workshops, scroll down to the section “Current and Upcoming Workshops.”

Ann Wilkes’s Awesome Layratt

Ann Wilkes’ first book, Awesome Lavratt (2009) is a tongue-in-cheek space opera with mind control, passion and adventure. Her stories have appeared in online zines and anthologies.  She lives in California’s wine country with her husband, Patrick and their youngest son. She’s working on two novels while still cranking out the short funny stories that characterize her writing style. Visit her website, http://www.annwilkes.com, for a full bio, her blog and links to online stories.

Calls for Submission

If you have a call for submission or a contest of interest to Sonoma County writers, send it to tehret99@comcas.net.

If you’d like to explore ways to get your writing out of the drawer and into print, check out the information on the Literary Folk website and on my personal website:

http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/recommended-northern-california-journals-and-presses/

http://www.terryehret.com/consulting.htm
VOICE OF THE RIVER CALL FOR WRITERS!

Calling all Sonoma County writers, wanderers, scouts, rowers, sailors, poets, painters, picnickers, photographers, otter-admirers, homeowners, historians, octogenarians, scientists, cloud-watchers, Insomniacs, fisherpeople, cyclists, taxpayers, and community leaders!

The City of Petaluma’s Petaluma River Access Partners (P-RAP), with help from the National Park Service, wants ONE PAGE of your creative thoughts. Landscape architects for the Petaluma River Access Blueprint for Action will use your ideas, input, reflections, and memories, as they design paths, signs, sculpture, and other elements of future Petaluma River access. THIS IS NOT A CONTEST: ALL submissions will be “published” in a big community book and shared with planners: with additional exhibits and readings planned for Spring 2010!

If you love the river, we want your page! What spots on the river are special to you? Do you have a favorite river memory? Do you have a story about the biggest fish, the best kayak ride, the rarest bird, the olden days, the here and now, a stroll after the farmer’s market, a child’s view, ideas for pathways and parks, an historical fact?

We’re looking for River-inspired creative work in ALL GENRES: Send a one-page essay, a poem, interview with an elder, adventure story, nature writing, children’s artwork, thoughts while rowing, maps or design idea, collage, drawing, previously published writing, notes while jogging, wildlife description, historical document, cartoon, Native American stories, plein air painting, architectural schematic, science writing, historical writing, letter to planners, letter to the river, song lyrics, etc.

HOW TO SUBMIT: Make one page, must be 8 _ x 11. Please, only writing and/or artwork specifically about the Petaluma River, and suitable for family reading. We can’t return originals, so photocopies are good. We won’t retain rights, but by sending in your work, you give us permission to exhibit it, read it to a crowd, or post it on the internet. Pages will be accepted from Oct 15 through April 1, 2009. Please write your name on your page, and enclose a card or post-it with your 1) name and 2) email or phone #.
Mail it or drop it off-

Voices of the River Patti Trimble c/o Scott Duiven
Petaluma City Hall, 11 English Street, Petaluma, CA 94952

OR

Voices of the River Patti Trimble c/o Donnie Frank
Petaluma Community Center, 320 N McDowell Blvd
Petaluma, CA 94954-2352

Sixteen Rivers Press Call for Poetry Manuscripts

If you are interested in working with a poetry publishing collective, and you have a book-length manuscript of poems (60-80 pages), check out the submission guidelines now available at www.sixteenrivers.org. Manuscripts received between November 1 and February 1 will be considered.

Colorado State University Call for Poetry Manuscripts

The Center for Literary Publishing on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, CO, is accepting submissions for the 2010 Colorado Prize for Poetry from October 1 through January 14, 2010. The prize is given annually for an outstanding book-length collection of poems. The winner will be awarded a $1,500 honorarium and his or her book will be published by the Center. Anyone may submit (with the exception of CSU students, alumni, and employees). The $25 entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Colorado Review. For complete guidelines, please go to http://coloradoprize.colostate.edu or call 970-491-5449.

Permanent Vacation: Living and Working in our National Parks

Bona Fide Books seeks literary essays about experiences living and working in Yellowstone National Park for a collection about life in our parks. Some go seeking commune with nature; others to escape. Diverse park experiences are desired. Although we enjoy tree-hugging epiphanies, we also want to read about day-to-day life, and the societal, environmental, and existential implications of life in the park. What happened there, and how did it influence your life? (Humor also welcome.) Writers will receive $100 for their essay and one copy of the collection.

Deadline: January 5, 2010. Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and 12 point Times New Roman or Courier font with standard formatting applied; word count is limited to 5,000. Send to submissions@bonafidebooks.com with “Permanent Vacation” and the title of work in the subject line.

For more information, please go to www.bonafidebooks.com.

West Marin Review

West Marin Review is accepting submissions of prose, poetry, and visual art for its 2010 volume. Submissions should be of previously unpublished work. Very important to follow “submission guidelines” at www.westmarinreview.org. (For poetry, no more than 25 lines per poem, no more than three poems per submission.) Submissions for Volume 3 must be postmarked no later than October 7, 2009. Questions? Write to us at info@westmarinreview.org.

Zaum Literary Journal

Sonoma State University’s award-winning literary magazine, ZAUM, is ooking for student artists to submit their work for our upcoming forteenth issue. ZAUM is a very unique magazine in that it is produced solely by SSU students.  Not only is ZAUM a vehicle for
Sonoma State students’ artistic expression, the magazine publishes work from students around the world! By combining the creative dynamic of students in the community with that of national and international students, ZAUM consistently presents diverse and unique work in an accessible medium.

ZAUM is named for the symbolic language created by Russian Futurist poets. Its meaning—that which exists above and beyond rational thought—represents the standard of excellence to which we aspire. Therefore, we seek to publish the works of student artists who are
eager to push the limits of their art, and take a few risks with us! Please urge any Undergrad or Graduate students who are interested to send copies of their prose, poetry, or visual art to be considered for our publication. Feel free to check out our website
atwww.zaumpress.net for further details. All selections to be published in ZAUM 14 must be received no later that November 15, 2009.
Sincerely,

Colin Partch

Senior Editor of ZAUM

Ginosko Literary Journal’s Call for Submissions

Accepting short fiction & poetry, audio recordings, creative non-fiction, interviews, social justice concerns for the 9th issue of the literary journal ginosko, the summer issue.

Editorial lead time 1-2 months; accept simultaneous submissions and reprints; length flexible, accept excerpts. Receives postal submissions & email—prefer email submissions as attachments in Microsoft Works Word Processor or Rich Text Format. Copyright reverts to author.

Publishing as semiannual ezine, winter & summer. Selecting material from ezine for printed anthology.
Check downloadable issues on website for style & tone: http://www.ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/
Use latest version of Adobe Reader.

ezine circulation 4500+. Website traffic 750-1000 hits/month.
Also looking for artwork, photography, to post on website and links to exchange.

Ginosko (ghin-océ-koe)
To perceive, understand, realize, come to know; knowledge that has an inception, a progress, an attainment. The recognition of truth by experience.

Member CLMP.  Listed in Best of the Web 2008.

Ginosko Literary Journal
Robert Paul Cesaretti, Editor
PO Box 246
Fairfax, CA 94978
USA

MEMOIR (and) Call for Submissions

MEMOIR (and) is an up-and-coming print journal for the exploration of memoir as “the” genre of the 21st century. Our nonprofit mission is to publish traditional as well as nontraditional forms of nonfiction allied with memoir. This includes, but is not limited to, autobiography, personal and critical essay, graphic narratives, narrative poetry, “flash memoir,” autobiographical fiction, alternative histories, journalistic accounts, narrative photography and more. We award four cash prizes twice yearly and charge no entry fee. All work submitted to MEMOIR (and) is eligible to win a prize. The reading period for Spring+Summer 2010 (Issue 6) is upon us! Accepting traditional and experimental prose, poetry, graphic memoir, narrative photography, lies, and more from 5/1/09 through 8/15/09.

Four prizes up to $500 available for prose, poetry and graphic memoirs. All submissions eligible for contest entry.

For guidelines, contest info and online submissions, visit www.memoirjournal.com.

New Millennium

Poetry Judge Nikki Giovanni has chosen Barbara Knott, of Lawrenceville, GA, as winner of the $1,000 New Millennium Writings Poetry Award in our Summer Awards competition for “Boxwood,” a poem about the life and death of a beloved Grandmother, “Della by name…” Honorable Mentions follow Contest Guidelines below. Ms. Giovanni said her task of choosing a winner was “really difficult because there were so many excellent poems.” All poets who received an honorable mention will be published in the 2010-11 issue, which comes out in one year.

Watch for other prize recipients to be announced in coming weeks.

Those who entered contests between Feb. 1, 2008 and Feb. 1, 2009., should receive their new books in late November and December. This book contains the new Study Guide for Teachers and Writers. For more information about resources and discount book rates for classroom use, visit http://newmillenniumwritings.com/teachers.php .

The deadline in our Winter Awards program is November 17, 2009. This deadline may be extended once only. Enter as often as you like at www.writingawards.com or by U.S. Mail or other carrier. Guidelines Follow.
Awards Contests

$4,000 in Prizes, plus publication in NMW and at the New Millennium Writings website
$1,000 for best Story; $1,000 for best Poem; $1,000 for best Short-short Fiction (1,000-word limit), $1,000 for best Nonfiction
(Nonfiction includes humor, memoir, creative nonfiction, travel, opinion, essay, interview, features, investigative reporting, etc.)
Winners of NMW Awards are showcased along with interviews, profiles and tributes to famous writers, past and present, such as

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., J. D. Salinger, Julia Glass, Shel Silverstein, Khaled Hosseini, George Garrett, Ken Kesey, John Updike, Lee Smith, Cormac McCarthy, Lucille Clifton, Shelby Foote, Paul West, Norman Mailer, Sharyn McCrumb, William Kennedy, Faulkner, Hemingway, Dickinson, Keats, Percy, Warren and many others. Also, prize-winning stories, poems & articles, humor, graphic arts, writing advice and more.
To Enter, follow these Guidelines, or enter on-line at www.writingawards.com.
1. No restrictions as to style, content or number of submissions. Enter as often as you like. Previously published materials OK if online or under 5000-circulation in print.
2. Winners and selected finalists—including all poetry finalists—will be published in our 2010-11 issue–which all contestants will receive, and on-line.
3. Send between now and midnight of Nov. 17, 2009 (postmark ok).
4. Simultaneous & multiple submissions welcome.
5. Each Fiction or Nonfiction piece is counted as a separate entry, and should total no more than 6,000 words except Short-short Fiction (no more than 1,000 words).
6. Each Poetry entry may include up to three poems, not to exceed five pages total per entry. All 20 poetry finalists will be published. If entering online, upload all 3 poems in a single file, per entry.
7. Include name, phone, address, email & category on cover page or letter only and submit with the submission. If entering online the cover page is optional, as our online site automatically uploads contact information you provide.
8. Manuscripts not returned except in hardship cases. Include email address (preferable) or SASE for list of winners. Yes, we recycle.
9. Include $17 check payable to NMW with each submission.
10. Send to: “NMW” Room EM, PO Box 2463, Knoxville, TN, 37901 (unless entering online). To order our current issue, add $12.

Current and Upcoming Workshops

Many Sonoma County writers offer their expertise and writing support through local workshops, classes, and consultations. Some are day-long, some are ongoing, and some are retreats. Workshops for this month are listed below.

If you have a workshop you’re offering, send a short description (150 words or less) to tehret99@comcast.net.

Sonoma County Writing Teachers and Consultants

Stephen Altschuler www.firstpersonwriting.com

Guy Beiderman www.lowfatfiction.com

Susan Bono sbono@tiny-lights.com

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro harlmarg@sonic.net

Dan Coshnear dan@coshnear.org

Sher Christian poetrytalks@neteze.com

Marlene Cullen www.thewritespot.us/ or mcullen@comcast.net

Georgette G. deBlois GGdeB@aol.com.

Nancy Dougherty and Geri Digiorno ncaversd@sonic.net

Terry Ehret tehret99@comcast.net

Stefanie Freele Stefanie@stefaniefreele.com

Susan Hagenhagen@womenatgroundzero.com

Eric Johnson iota@sonic.net

Suzanne Murray suzmurr@yahoo.com

Laure Reiche p.reiche@comcast.net

Pauline Reif paulineerh@yahoo.com

Clara Rosemarda rosen@sonic.net

Scott Reid Serkes www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/workshop/intro.html>http: //www.sonic.net

Lisa Shulman www.lisashulman.com.

Shelley Singer http://www.shelleysinger.com

Andrew Todhunter workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa, m.a.,Writing & Creative Projects Coach

www.centatheresa.com

creatvitycoaching@centatheresa.com

Pat Tyler www.writetoday.net

Stephen Altschuler’s Coaching Service for Non-fiction Writers.

My speciality is personal experience writing, but cover all aspects of the non-fiction genre. I’ve been writing and getting published since 1969. My latest book is The Mindful Hiker (2004), and have written four other books. My website which tells more of my work and this service is www.firstpersonwriting.com .

Stephen Altschuler
stephenaltschuler@mac.com

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro’s Sonoma County Writing Practice

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro teaches eight week long writing semesters out of her Santa Rosa downtown office. Three different class times are offered each week. Margaret uses poetry and meditation for inspiration and writers are encouraged to read their work in a supportive atmosphere. The memoir is a valuable form for dropping deeper into the self allowing memories to come forth. This process allows space for self-knowledge to occur. For more information or to receive a flyer call (707)575-8820 or email Margaret at harlmarg@sonic.net. The website for Sonoma County Writing Practice is www.handwritingonline.net

Sher Christian’s Intuitive Coaching

Sher Christian offers coaching for writers, plus proofing, & editing. For books on audio: voiceover, recording, organ/accordion/keyboard tracks. Demos available. Sher Lianne Christian. poetrytalks@neteze.com, www.lusciouspoetry.typepad.com/

C.B. Follett, Susan Terris, and Rebecca Foust

POETRY PUBLICATION WORKSHOP

($50)
Saturday, November 07, 2009 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
(415) 927-0960
(800) 999-7909

Sign up at http://www.bookpassage.com

Learn what to do to get your poetry published in literary journals and other publications. Two experienced poets and editors and one newcomer to the poetry scene will address questions related to WHEN, WHERE, HOW, and WHAT to submit, and will focus on how to get your work out in the world without stress, fear or rejection, or wasting valuable writing time. When is your work ready to submit? Where should you send it? What is the most efficient way to get the work out? What goes into a submission? Sample cover letters, lists of how-to’s, and website resources will be provided on class handouts, and a large inventory of resource books and sample literary journals will be available for review.  For seven years, CB Follett was publisher and co-editor, with Susan Terris, of the highly acclaimed Runes, A Review of Poetry, an annual themed anthology. Her Arctos Press has published 16 poetry collections. Both poets have authored several collections and have published hundreds of poems in literary journals. Rebecca Foust’s chapbooks won the Robert Phillips Poetry Prize in 2007 and 2008, and her full length manuscript recently won the Many Mountains Moving Prize.

Fiction Writing – Stefanie Freele

This new class is open to the new, the curious and the comfortable short story writer. Prompts and freewrites will generate new and unexpected writing in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. Freele’s goal is to encourage turning ideas into stories. Students will read and discuss examples of stellar short fiction—prim arily stories under 1000 words, fine-tune workshop pieces, and explore the craft of writing: plot, dialogue, point-of-view, descript ion, setting, and voice.

Requirements: a sense of humor, a pen, and a few pieces of paper.

Stefanie Freele is the Sonoma County author of the short story collection, Feeding Strays, published by Lost Horse Press (2009). Her recent and forthcoming work can be found in Glimmer Train, American Literary Review, Night Train, The Pedestal Magazine, Necessary Fiction, Boston Literary Review,  Literary Mama, and Hobart. Stefanie has an MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts: Whidbey Writers Workshop. Stefanie is an editor with Smokelong Quarterly and is also the Fiction Editor for the Los Angeles Review.

4 Week session $100

9-11 am Fridays:  10/23, 11/6, 11/13 and 11/20

Location: Plaza Arts Center – Healdsburg

Contact Stefanie – Stefanie@stefaniefreele.com – 707-889-0473

Suzanne Murray

The Heart of Writing – Four-Week Classes & One-Day Workshop with Suzanne Murray

Tuesday Mornings, 9:30 am to noon, November 17 to December 8

$100 paid by 11/10, $115 after, west Santa Rosa

register early limited to 12

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00 to 9:30 pm, November 17 to December 8

$100 paid by 11/10, $115 after, downtown Sebastopol

register early limited to 12

One-Day Writing Workshop

Saturday, November 21, 10 am to 4 pm, $75 paid by 11/13, $85 after

register early limited to 12

Small supportive group. Good for beginners and experienced writers as well as all styles of writing.

Learn simple, powerful techniques to find your voice, tell your stories, calm your inner critic, enter the creative flow, jumpstart your writing and support your creative self. Find support and encouragement and an understanding of the craft of writing and the joyful heart of the creative process.

for more information call or email Suzanne at 707.360.7776 or suzmurr@yahoo.com or website:www.creativitygoeswild.com

Gwynne O’Gara’s Writing Workshops

Lighting Our Own Flames —Writing That Frees Our Genius

How do we address the gift of writing? Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, Genius is the power for lighting your own flame. The Romans believed genius (or for women, juno) to be a guardian spirit that comes to us at birth with the fullness of our undeveloped powers, which it offers to us as we grow. A sense of gratitude moves a person to labor in the service of their genius, which finds freedom through our work.

Each week we’ll warm up with a different poet—T.S. Eliot, Seamus Heaney, Kevin Young, Gabriela Mistral, Sylvia Plath and Eavan Boland. We’ll write and share our own work, and explore how to keep our individual flames burning. Excellent for prose writers as well as poets.

Tuesday Nights, 7—9, Oct. 20—Nov. 24. All levels, genders, and ages are welcome, $75 for all six classes. For more information and to register, contact Gwynn O’Gara at gwynn@sonic.com or call (707) 823-2993.

Gwynn O’Gara is the author of Snake Woman Poems, Fixer-Upper and Winter at Green Haven. Her poems have been published in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, The Evansville Review and Yellow Silk, and will appear in future issues of Calyx, Sage Woman and descant. Her personal essays have been published in Image Magazine and Tiny Lights.

For more information and to register, call (707) 823-2993 or e-mail gwynn@gwynnogara.com.

The workshops will be held at the Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati, Cotati, CA.

Petaluma Writers Forum

Writers Forum of Petaluma proudly presents Gretchen Giles

November 19, 2009    7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma

$15 at the door

Gretchen Giles Tell Your Story

This workshop will be a hands-on critique for those interested in

magazine-style journalistic narrative. Learn to love the power of the

rewrite! Bring your 500-word piece, telling your own story or that of

someone else, to the workshop and we’ll read it, red-line it, discuss it and

perhaps even “fix” it.

GRETCHEN GILES is the editor of the North Bay Bohemian, the award-winning

alternative newsweekly serving Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties.

For more information: www.thewritespot.us

Marlene – mcullen@comcast.net

Laurie Reiche ‘s Writing Soiree

Laurie leads writing workshops the third Sunday of every month, 3-6 PM at her home.

The focus is generating new work, both poetry and prose. Sliding scale. For more information, call 415-892-9430 or e-mail p.reiche@comcast.net.

Lessen-Reiche has facilitated workshops for many years. She was the 2006 Winner of Lilith Magazine's Second Annual Charlotte Newberger National Poetry Award. Her work has also appeared in magazines such as SUNY Upstate Medical Journal: The Healing Muse, and The Southern Poetry Review. 
 

Scott Serkes Reid

Updraft: An Online Poetry Workshop to Ignite Your Imagination

This long-distance learning adventure is for all ages and levels ofexperience. All you need is the desire to make better poems and a willingness to study the craft of poetry. In this workshop, you have the opportunity to:* Meet poets from around the world * Make new friends * Write a new poem every week * Take a class that fits into your schedule * Have fun We meet online Saturday mornings for guided writing exercises. Studentsengage in brainstorm techniques and writing assignments that focus on various aspects of poetry. Upon finishing the first draft, we post ourwriting to a private discussion board and then

critique follows. Throughoutthe week, we revise and post our second drafts. Students receive peerfeedback as well as individual mentoring from the instructor. Class begins Late October, 2009 and runs for six weeks.

Instructor Scott Reid, MA presents poetry writing classes for children in Sonoma County with California Poets in the Schools. His poems have appeared in Blue Unicorn, The Berkeley Poetry Review, Melic Review, Sow’s Ear and The Dickens, and he has received writing fellowships to the Squaw ValleyWriters’ Conference, Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. As presenter of poetry for adults since 1989, he

hastaught many classes in poetry at the Albany Adult School. The Updraft poetry workshop is starting its tenth year.For information about the class, please visit:  http://www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/workshop/intro.html

Clara Rosemarda’s Write Mind™ Workshops

CREATIVE WRITING AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
6 sessions begin
Wednesday, November 11th, 7 – 9:30pm OR
Thursday, November 12th, 10am – 12:30pm
fee $180  ($170 if paid by November 2nd) Space is limited.
These classes will be conducted in a comfortable environment near Downtown Santa Rosa.
Contact Clara: 707:579-2081 rosen@sonic.net

Strong attention allows us to drop into deep writing. Creative writing propels the writer into the unknown. Whether you write prose or poetry, letters or fiction, this workshop will inspire your muse to write from a core place. Through meditation, visualizations, and other exercises that quiet the mind and expand the imagination, you will access and activate your creative muse. A comfortable, safe environment is provided for the writer to emerge. Open to beginning as well as seasoned writers.

WRITE ON! A Revision Workshop
3 Tuesdays: November 10, 24, & December 8
10am to Noon. Fee $90

Have you been filling notebooks with writings that get tossed in a box and are crying to get out? Are you ready to pull some of your prose and poetry out of those voluminous notebooks, polish them up, and take them to the next level? Do you want to continue with your novel or memoir? Then, this is the workshop for you. We will meet every other week for three weeks. (A new class will begin
after the holidays.) Class size will be limited. Contact Clara: 707:579-2081 rosen@sonic.net
Private consultations with writers by appointment.

CLARA ROSEMARDA, MA, writer, writing coach, counselor, and workshop leader, has been working with writers for over twenty-five years. A memoirist and poet, Clara works with beginning and emerging writers as well as mainstream authors, and teaches workshops internationally. In 2008 she was nominated for the Sonoma County Artists Awards Program in Literary Arts. She is co-creator and coordinator of The Writer’s Sampler, of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Her essays and poetry have been published in literary journals and anthologies including Tiny Lights; The Dickens; ZEBULON NIGHT; JASMINE NIGHTS & MONKEY PLUCK. She is co-editor and co-author of the anthology, STEEPED: IN THE WORLD OF TEA. Clara has been in private practice in Santa Rosa, California as a counselor and healer for thirty years.

Centa Theresa: Creative Projects Coaching/Consultation for Artists & Writers

THE POD: ART & WRITING

workshops & monthly creative projects coaching circle…

Centa Theresa, M.A.

www.centatheresa.com 707-478-5903 vicenta@sonic.net
CREATIVE PROJECTS COACHING: Whether you have a manuscript in the making that

you can¹t seem to finish, a body of artwork that needs more of your time, an

idea you¹d like to see manifest but have no plan, etc., I help you to

clarify the vision, identify challenges, claim successes and keep

accountable for stated intentions. Private sessions held in my home

office/studio in Santa Rosa. Call for further inquiry.

ART/WRITING PROCESS: Through dialogue, meditation, free-writing exercises

and the exploration of various art media, focus on a question or theme of

present concern and let the process unfold. Come one time or for a

predetermined series of private sessions in my home studio. Call for further

inquiry.

Call for free consultation. 707-478-5903. www.centatheresa.com

<http://www.centatheresa.com> . vicenta@sonic.net

Centa Theresa M.A. has exhibited her art in Bay Area galleries & had poems

appear or are forthcoming in such journals as Harpur Palate, Eclipse, The

Hurricane Review, Tiny Lights, and DrumVoices Revue. Centa has authored the

letterset edition, Blameless Recognition of Natural Light. She currently

teaches art at Napa State Hospital and has trained in ³creativity coaching²

with Eric Maisel.

Lindsay Whiting Workshop on Publishing

SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Saturday, November 7, 2009

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Fee $50.00      Non-member: $55.00

Get Published: Independent Publishing and Self-Publishing Today

With author and publisher Lindsay Whiting

Paper Lantern Publishing

Half-Day Seminar (3 hours)

Limit 18 attendees

With the help of today’s technology there are now more affordable ways than ever to publish your own book. The purpose of this publishing seminar is to help attendees make informed decisions about their own publishing options, including the economics, current business models, and changing technology. Learn about the promise and pitfalls of traditional publishing, self-publishing, print-on-demand, and e-books.

Join other professionals and writers in a setting where you can ask questions to learn more about the possibilities of publishing. The seminar includes a presentation, interactive discussion, and a question and answer session,  with handouts for all participants.

Writing a book is the single most effective tool for entrepreneurs, specialists and artists to market their work and to gain credibility, visibility, and income. By sharing your special expertise, or telling a story through a book, you position yourself as an author and an expert-and can gain new opportunities.Marketing your business through your book will attract speaking engagements, consulting possibilities, and new clients and customers. Published authors can increase their value by bundling books with their other products and services.

Facilitator Lindsay Whiting

Drawing from over twenty years of experience in print production and

publishing, author and publisher Lindsay Whiting consults with individuals

who have written information to share and want to self-publish their material

in book or electronic formats.

Lindsay@paperlantern.biz

Paper Lantern Publishing

www.paperlantern.biz

707-935-7001

Writers’ Connections

If you’d like to invite others in the literary community to join your writers’ group or network, send an announcement to tehret99@comcast.net.

Prose writer’s group forming

We are looking for two more experienced writers to join our new group.  Our focus will be on fiction and non-fiction novel or short story writing for mutual support and honest critiquing of our work.  We’ll meet once or twice a month in the Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol area.   For more information call John at 707 326 5810 or email jhinkona@hotmail.com

Welcome to WritingRaw.com

Writing Raw is a FREE literary ezine dedicated to new and emerging writers of the following categories: FICTION, POETRY and ASSORTED writings. Our goal at Writing Raw is simple – to serve the literary community with the opportunity to have their work online and out in the world. In this world of disappearing literary magazines, Writing Raw is providing the blank pages for writers to fill.

UUCSR Writers

“TaP” Thursdays at Peet’s
The UUCSR Writers meet once a week, 10 am, for coffee and conversation at “Peet’s” in Copperfield’s located in Montgomery Village at the corner of Montgomery Drive and Farmers Lane, (across the street from St. Eugene’s Church) Santa Rosa. Parking is Free.

Join us on Thursday mornings at 10 am. Buy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, add a pastry and enjoy the pleasure of chatting with writers about writing. We have no set agenda. Also, be sure to save some time to browse the books at Copperfield’s.

NaNoWriMo – Write-Ins!
November is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is sponsored by the Central Library in Santa Rosa. The UUCSR Writers who take on the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days meet in the Forum Room of the Central Library located on the corner of Third & E Streets, Santa Rosa. Monday’s: *Nov 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30th from 5:00 – 8:30 pm. *Note: participating UUCSR Writers usually go to the Library after our regular monthly meeting on Nov 2.

Focus
Whatever your creative endeavor: fiction, non fiction, memoirs, letters, history, biography, the Great American novel, poetry, essays, dissertation, thesis, song lyrics, report, term paper, cook book, web pages, blogging, twittering, etc., our focus is to provide an atmosphere where serious writers improve and hone their writing skills.

The UUCSR Writers is open to the novice, the more experienced, and the published author. Membership at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa (UUCSR) is not required. We meet once a month at UUCSR in Santa Rosa, CA on the First Monday of the month, except September, from 4:00-6:00pm.

UUCSR Online Writers
Can’t attend monthly meetings? Live in another City, State or Country? Join our “Online Writers” Blog. You can learn more about our group, and current “Works-in-Progress”, at the UUCSR Writers Blog.

Information
UUCSR Writers, Georgette G. deBlois, GGdeB@aol.com, http://uucsrwriters.blogspot.com

WESTWORD SECOND SUNDAY SALONS @ SEBASTOPOL, 4-6PM

All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549

Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.)

GOR YASWEN
YASWEN@AOL.COM

Blog with me about: “Inspiring Young Children to Read”…

Reading aloud to young children yields benefits aplenty. The NAE sez it this way:

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required
for eventual success in reading – is reading aloud to children.”
– Commission on Reading of the National Academy of Education

There are five well defined ‘Facts, Advantages and Benefits’ to reading aloud
that I’ve summarized here in relation to Ocean Rudee & Company’s program offerings:
https://www.oceanrudee.com/what.is.ocean.rudee.and.company.html#readaloud

I’d love to hear other thoughts and ideas (from any of you within the Sonoma County
Literary Update universe) in relation to your experiences, ideas and outlooks toward
the future – in regards to reading, books, reading aloud, inspiring young children,
early childhood education, multi-media programming, literacy and the like.

My blog is located here: http://oceanrudee.blogspot.com/

I await hearing the sounds of your keystrokes and absorbing your insights accordingly.

Responsively Reading Aloud I am,

Paul Ennis
pwe@ oceanrudee.com

Sitting Room Book Discussion Group

We meet 2-4 on the third Wednesday of every month, skipping December, at The Sitting Room and are always open to new readers. For more info, email Joanne Page at jpage@sonic.net.  (The January 21 book is Pat Barker’s first novel in her trilogy about World War I, “Regeneration.”)

The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club.

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Its motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa. Our one-day conference, part of CWC Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Call for Scriptwriters on Weekly Radio Show

Are you an accomplished scriptwriter looking for a long-term project to sink your creativity into? Ocean Rudee & Company of Sebastopol is in the process of pulling together a team of 4 to 6 ‘scriptors’. Project responsibilities will include: the development of an ongoing series of radio serial dramas and related multi-media programs for children from 4 to 8-years of age (as well as their parents, teachers and primary caregivers).

Prior experience writing for children is not necessary. An understanding of how to write for continuity, how to maintain and adhere to a well developed set of character profiles, the ability to function well as a team player, a love of children’s literature and an abiding commitment to the muse – are essential.

If this is you, please visit Ocean Rudee’s website (www.oceanrudee.com) and send them off an e-mail expressing your interest in learning more.

.

Join the Staff of First Leaves
If you have ever wanted to be on the staff of an energetic, literary journal and learn the process of compiling a publication, plan to join English 80 (3 unit, CSU transferable) for the Spring ’09 semester. Students enrolled in English 80 are involved in all aspects of producing a literary journal (with the guidance of the instructor), from approving submissions to putting the actual journal together. Evaluating other people’s work is a great way to learn your own strengths and weaknesses. The class is fun, collaborative, and project-based: we will produce a high-quality, well-designed magazine. We welcome the participation of people throughout the North Bay, including mature working adults, young adults, teens and retirees.

Contact Instructor Abby Bogomolny for more information: (707) 522-2779

Have You ‘Jacket-Flapped’ Lately?
JacketFlap is an international social networking community where you can connect with upwards of 5,000 published authors and illustrators of books for Children and Young Adults. Paul Ennis of Sebastopol reports: “I’ve been a member of JacketFlap (http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=OceanRudee) since late-June of 2008. My efforts to produce audio books for children and source read-aloud materials for my radio program production project (targeting an October 2009 broadcast premiere) have been greatly enhanced by the people I’ve been able to meet through JacketFlap. It’s FREE to join, the community is a vibrant one that does not seem to generate junk e-mails to any great degree and the atmosphere is very professional. If you are ready to network with folks around the world in the children’s book publishing industry this is an online community you need to be a part of. Their membership includes: children’s book authors, illustrators, editors, agents, publishing companies, designers, publicists, booksellers, librarians, teachers, students and just plain old ordinary folks who love children’s literature. Check it out – you’ll have fun in the process!”

The International Women’s Writing Guild

The IWWG is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. As such, it has established a remarkable record of achievement in the publishing world, as well as in circles where lifelong learning and personal transformation are valued for their own sake. The Guild nurtures and supports holistic thinking by recognizing the logic of the heart—the ability to perceive the subtle interconnections between people, events and emotions—alongside conventional logic. For more information about how to join the IWWG, contact Caroline Brumleve: e-mail iwwg@iwwg. org or visit their website at www.iwwg.org.

Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings

SUNDAYS

First Sunday of the month: The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club general meetings are held on the first Sunday of the month, (except for holiday weekends), from 3-5 pm. at Copperfield’s Book Store in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village (2316 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-578-8938). A small fee of $3 for members, $5 for nonmembers is asked to cover speaking fees and light refreshments. For more information see www.redwoodwriters.org or call Linda at 707-484-4153.

Second Sunday of the month: Westwood Second Sunday Salons, 4-6 PM. All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549. Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.) For more information, contact GOR YASWEN YASWEN@AOL.COM

Sunday afternoons at 2 PM: Poetry Azul Reading Series – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series (formerly “Sococo At the Toad”) has moved to Cafe Azul located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa.  Following the successful first reading at the new location in July, future scheduled Sunday 2PM readings include Sept 13, Nov. 8, Jan 10, and March 14.  Admission is free.  573-5935. For further information contact director and emcee Ed Coletti at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net

Third Sundays 11:30-1:00pm: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H street, hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! Last month, twelve people showed up and we had a great time! Couldn’t drag myself out of there! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Third Sundays12:30 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. Poetry Reading & Open Mic: Coffee Catz

Poetry Reading. Donations Appreciated. 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-5643.

Fourth Sundays 4-6 PM. An open reading the 4th Sunday of each month is taking place at the Saint Rose Cafe, 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol, from 4 to 6 pm. The next reading will be Sunday, August 23rd. Come and read your latest work.

Last Sunday of each month, 6-8:30 PM: Poetry, Pints, and Prose will not be meeting in October, November, or December. The series will resume in January. For more information, contact Michelle at 707-326-3773 or Catherine at 707-338-1554 or e-mail them at PoetryPintsProse@aol.com.

MONDAYS First Monday of the Month: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa (UUCSR) Writers meet in the “New Room”, Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa, 547 Mendocino Ave.Santa Rosa, Ca 95401, 707-568-5381 or http://www.uusantarosa.org/ Meetings are held in the afternoon, 4 – 6 pm, and again in the evening, 6:45 – 8:45 pm. Focus: Whatever your creative endeavor: memoirs, letters, history, biographies, the Great American novel, poems, essays, song lyrics, reports, term papers, cook books, web pages, blogs, etc., our focus is to provide an atmosphere where you can improve and hone your writing skills.The UUCSR Writers is open to the novice, the more experienced, and the published author. Membership at UUCSR is not required. UUCSR Writers, Georgette G. deBlois, GGdeB@aol.com, http://uucsrwriters.blogspot.com

TUESDAYS

Second Tuesday of each month 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Cafe hosts a featured writer and an open mic reading at the Healdsburg Senior Center 133 Matheson St. (one block east of the Plaza). Light refreshments are served. Admission is free ($5.00 donation encouraged).  Contact: Cynthia Helen Beecher (707) 696-1111.

THURSDAYS

“TaP” Thursdays at Peet’s:The UUCSR Writers meet once a week, 10 am, for coffee and conversation at “Peet’s” in Copperfield’s located in Montgomery Village at the corner of Montgomery Drive and Farmers Lane, (across the street from St. Eugene’s Church) Santa Rosa. Parking is Free. Join us on Thursday mornings at 10 am. Buy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, add a pastry and enjoy the pleasure of chatting with writers about writing. We have no set agenda. Also, be sure to save some time to browse the books at Copperfield’s.

SATURDAYS

The first Sat of each month, 5:30-7 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

Intermittently Scheduled Events

ODD Month Readings is sponsored by the Redwood Writers Club. The readings are open to non-members, but are not open mic format. Contact Ann Wilkes at critiquegrpcoord@redwoodwriters.org or 707-792-1704 to get on the list or for more information. Redwood Writers roves the county with talented writers for your listening pleasure.

Haiku Poets of No. California. Join us for our free quarterly readings & workshops. A featured reader, often longtime HPNC members, will present a short reading of haiku and/or other Japanese genre poetry. Each meeting also offers a lengthier program (usually a presentation or workshop related to one of the Japanese forms). There will be one or more round-robin readings, where all attendees have an opportunity, open-mic style, to read and share one or more haiku and tanka. Also news and announcements, including upcoming events, submission calls and brief introductions of any new books of interest, as well as time for socializing and refreshments. A book table is set up for the sale and purchase of HPNC and other books (you may bring your own publications if you have some to sell). Our meetings and special events, which are open to both members and nonmembers, are held quarterly at San Francisco’s Fort Mason, building C, room 235, from 1 to 5 PM. For more information, or to become an HPNC member (which includes a subscription to our renowned semiannual journal Mariposa and a quarterly newsletter) go to the HPNC website at www.haiku-poets-northern-california.com.

How to List Your Announcements in the Literary Update

General Information

The Literary Update is a compilation of announcements which I receive from members of the Sonoma County literary community about workshops, readings, ongoing literary and writing groups, calls for submissions, and contests. Events should be primarily literary in nature, and should be located in, or within an hour’s drive of, Sonoma County.

I aim to make the monthly updates as inclusive as possible. If you have a workshop, event, contest, or call for submission to announce to the Sonoma County literary community, please send it to me as an e-mail message by noon on the last day of each calendar month. Any notices received after this deadline will not be included, but may be added to the next month’s Literary Update, if still relevant.

Here are the basic guidelines for announcements.

1. Include the words “Literary Update” in your subject heading.

2. Make sure your announcement is concise, carefully proofread, and copy-edited. Also keep in mind that I can only include announcements that are plain text and presented in the e-mail message (no flyers, PDF’s, or attachments with special formatting please). Retyping text and reformatting special fonts from flyers takes time, sometimes causes errors, and may result in announcements being left out of the Update.

3. If you have an event or workshop you want included in the monthly calendar, as well as listed in another category of the Update, please include an abbreviated version of your announcement in the following format:

Day, Date, Time: Event title, featured authors, cost (if any), location, contact information.

4. Suggest the category where you’d like it placed. These are listed here:

• County-Wide Literary News (general interest announcements)
• Sonoma County in Print (new books/chapbooks/CDs by Sonoma County writers)
• News from East County (Sonoma area)
• News from North County (Healdsburg area)
• News from West County (Occidental/Guerneville area)
• Writers’ Connections (invitations to join groups, formal or informal)
• Upcoming Workshops and Conferences (current workshops you are offering)
• Call for Submissions (local literary journals, magazines, contests)
• Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings
• Monthly Calendar of readings, events and workshops
• Sonoma County Workshop Leaders (e-mail and website contacts)
• Details about Workshops, Calls for Submission, Contests (information that is too lengthy to include in the short features or calendar listings)

Deadline

The deadline for announcements is noon on the last day of each calendar month. If your event is early in the month, send it two months ahead to make sure it gets in the calendar in a timely fashion

Donation

For those who regularly announce their workshops, readings, or services here, a donation of $10/year is appreciated to keep the update and its website going. Donations from regular readers are welcome, too! If you’d like to find out how you can help, please contact me at tehret99@comcast.net.

Dear Literary Folk,

Below are some announcements that are top of the news this month. This is followed by the October Calendar of events, and then the news from across the county, calls for submission, new Sonoma County publications, current and upcoming workshops, and ongoing reading series and writers’ groups.

Those of you whose announcements run regularly in the Literary Update may want to consider making a small annual donation to keep the Update going. Details at the end of the newsletter.

Guerneville Poetry Walk this weekend!

Hot on the heels of another fabulous Petaluma Poetry Walk comes the Guerneville Poetry Walk, an extravaganza on the river on Saturday, October 3 from 11 Am to 4 PM. The event is organized by judi Goldberg and Dixie Lewis of PenHouse Ink Press, and features Bart Rawlinson, Bob Jones, Alexandra Ellen Appel, River Ranger & the Stumptown Posse, Pat Nolan, Gail King, judi goldberg, and Dixie Lewis. For details, check the “News from West County” section of the County-Wide Literary News.

Sixth Annual Poetry of Remembrance/Poesia del Recuerdo Community Reading

On Friday, October 23 from 5:30-9 PM, members of the community are invited to the Petaluma Arts Center (230 Lakeville Street) for the sixth annual Bilingual Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading. Those who would also like to be part of the community reading are welcome to read a poem (limited to one page) they have written for the occasion or a favorite poem that expresses their feelings.  If you are interested in reading a poem, please contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net.

Redwood Writers Conference kicks off with a pre-Conference Dinner with former California State Poet Laureate, Al Young

Al Young is the keynote speaker for the October 23, 2009 pre-Conference dinner event at Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Hotel and Resort, running from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Al’s talk will be “How the Rainbow Works: Reflections on Poetry and Survival.” He recently returned from three days of Smithsonian interviews for their jazz history archives and will have lots to share. Cost for the evening is $30.00 per ticket. The all-day conference follows the next day, October 24. Details about the other featured poets and the conference can be found in the County-Wide Literary News below.

♦♦♦

October Calendar of Literary Events

The monthly calendar reflects announcements that literary folk from the area have sent to me. To get a more complete list of author-events and workshop schedules, addresses and directions to the event locations, as well as bios of the presenters, you can use these links.

Book Passage www.bookpassage.com

Center Literary Café centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Copperfield’s Books http://www.copperfields.net/
Petaluma Writers’ Forum and Jumpstart Writing Workshops: www.thewritespot.us
Poetry Azul Reading Series edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.

Readers’ Books www.readersbooks.com
Sebastopol Center for the Arts http://www.sebarts.org/index.htm
Sitting Room www.sittingroom.org
Sonoma Arts Literary Calendar www.sonomaarts.com
WordTemple Poetry Series http://www.wordtemple.com

Saturday, October 3, 11 Am to 4 PM: Guerneville Poetry Walk, various locations in downtown Guerneville. Details in the News from West County section below.

Saturday, October 3 at 8 PM: Stories Seldom Told: A feminist retelling of some familiar and not so familiar Biblical Stories. Written and directed by Lizann Bassham. Featuring, West County favorites, Shoshana Geller, Pam Tinnin, Katie Ketchum, Evelyn McFadden, Krissy Campbell, and Michal Victoria. Fifteen characters have the opportunity to speak, and sometimes sing, their own version of the story and share their own experience. Location: Cloverdale Performing Arts Center (Grange Theater). Tickets $10

Saturday, October 3 starting at 8:30 AM: Menocino Watershed Celebration Day & Eco Groups Expo begins with an Open Mic Poetry Reading from 8:30 AM -12:30PM  at Alex Thomas Park held in collaboration with the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Produced by Larry Sheehy and Doug Strong. For more information about this and other Watershed Celebration Day readings and events, contact Larry at 485-7072 or ecotopialarry@pacific.net . You can also visit the website at http://watershedpoetrymendocino.wordpress.com/

Sunday, October 4, 2009 from 2-4 p.m Dublin’s Poet Laureate, Ronnie Holland, will host the “Three Muses” event featuring poets Jeanne Lupton, Ruth L. Schwartz and Andrena Zawinski. Location: Old St. Raymond’s Church, 6600 Donlon Way in Dublin. Complimentary refreshments and open mike.  Admission $5, free to students with ID. Register in advance (925) 556-4500, or online at www.DublinRecGuide.com.

Monday, October 5, 7-9 PM: Sebastopol Center For the Arts Writers Sampler presents Barbara Baer – SMALL PRESS PUBLISHING, SELF-PUBLISHING, PUBLISHING ON DEMAND. @ SCA, 6780 Depot Street in Sebastopol. Fees: $15 per class; $50 for all four. Call 829-4797 for details

Thursday, October 8 at 7:00 pm. Real Women Have Curves “A Staged Reading ” at the Petaluma Arts Center. A benefit for The Day of the Dead/ El Dia de los Muertos, sponsored by the Petaluma Arts Council. For details and to RSVP, follow the link below:http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=143142214249&mid=12ce97bG3ffb03c8G888c62G7.

Thursday, October 8, 7:30 pm: Rose Black reads from her books Clearing and Winter Light with Rafaella Del Bourgo and Joe Zaccardi at Moe’s Books, Berkeley,2476 Telegraph Avenue. Presented by Poetry Flash.

Friday, October 9, 7 to 9: The Sitting Room presents a Night with Three Writers: Christine Sunley, author of  “Tricking of Freya”; Christine Radich, author of  “Our Mother’s War: A Biography of a Child of the Dutch Resistance”; and Linda Loveland Reid, author of “ Touch of Magenta.” All of these authors are interested in history, all are interested in STORY, all are interesting….come meet them and hear how they “met” their characters. And for refreshments, we will enjoy pies made by one of our authors! The Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati Ave. Cotati, CA 94931 www.SittingRoom.org

Saturday, October 10 at 7 PM: Pedestal Magazine’s Bay Area Writers/Poets read at Book Passage in Corte Madera. 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 94925-1145
(415) 927-0960.

Monday, October 12, 7-9 PM: Sebastopol Center For the Arts Writers Sampler presents Lizann Bassham – WHEN YOUR CHARACTERS HAVE MORE TO SAY: Moving From Short Fiction To The Novel@ SCA, 6780 Depot Street in Sebastopol.Fees: $15 per class; $50 for all 4. Call 829-4797 for details

Tuesday, October 13, 7pm: Rose and Stefanie Freele read their work at Healdsburg Senior Center, Healdsburg, 133 Matheson Street. Presented by Center Literary Café.

Thursday, October 15, 7:00- 9:00 PM: Petaluma Writers Forum presents Clara Rosemarda. “DEEP INQUIRY: A Memoir Workshop” Location: Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma. Cost: $15 at the door. For more information: www.thewritespot.us, or contact Marlene Cullen mcullen@comcast.net.

Friday, October 16, 7-9 PM: WordTemple Poetry Series presents Rebecca Foust, Opal Palmer Adisa, devorah major, and Donna Emerson. NOTE: BEGINNING WITH THE FALL 2009 SEASON, THE WORDTEMPLE POETRY SERIES WILL BE HELD AT THE SONOMA COUNTY MUSEUM, 425-7th Street, Santa Rosa. Visit www.sonomacountymuseum.org. For details about the featured poets, visit the website at www.wordtemple.com.

Saturday, October 17, 1:00-3:00 PM: Meet & Greet Sher Lianne Christian at Copperfield’s Books and Music, 176 N. Main in Sebastopol on Saturday, October 17 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 17, 9:00 A M to 3:00 P M: In Search of Lorca’s Duende, Guy Biederman and Ken Rodgers, $75.00, Iota Press, 925-C Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, CA. Details in the Current and Upcoming Workshops section of the Update. guyb@sonic.net, kennetherodgers@msn.com.

Saturday, October 17, 4-8 PM: A coming-out-party hosted by Barbara Baer for Grisha the Scrivener at the Graton Community Clubhouse on the corner of Graton Rd/ N Edison. Music, food and drink with a Russian flavor to welcome Barbara’s novella (Ghost Road Press, Denver) whose dissident protagonist, hack journalist and secret poet Grisha Greogorovich, survives three decades of Soviet dominion by keeping his head down like Melville’s Bartleby, and creating an oasis for an individual to breathe.

Sunday, October 18, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM: Eric Johnson and Iota Press workshop in Printing Poetry. Basics of letterpress. Details appear in the Current and Upcoming Workshops section. For all information on classes, call Eric at 823-6152. iota@sonic.net

Sunday, October 18 , 11:30 Am to 1:00 PM: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H Street. Hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Bring a poem to share (written by your favorite poet or your own!). Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Sunday, October 18, 12:30-1:30 PM: Third Sunday Poetry Reading & Poetry Open Mic: Featured reader is Gor Yaswen, artist and writer. Hosted by Sher Lianne Christian, poet, accompanied by John Christian on piano & accordion. Share a poem you or someone else has written if you like. The theme is FEAR, how it can titillate us, slow us down, or hold us back. Donation appreciated, $1 to $10. **Note: October location: Sebastopol Memorial Lawn, 7951 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol. Weather permitting. Bring a folding chair. Costumes welcome. Rain/cold location: Coffee Catz, 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-6600. Sher: 530 277-0147.

Monday, October 19, 5:30-8:45 PM: Soundscapes to delight the senses. Monday, October 19. A private dinner party with poetry and music by Sher Lianne and John Christian Jaquelyn Paull, visualizer and artist from San Francisco will discuss opportunities for artists through various media. Open mic. $7 cover charge includes 25% discount on all purchases of food and beverage, and participation in the art raffle, as well as the drawing of a door prize. Reservations, 415 492.8870. Cafe Arrivederci, 11 G. Street, San Rafael.

Monday, October 19, 7-9 PM: Sebastopol Center For the Arts Writers Sampler presents Ken Rodgers – LYRIC ESSAY: Where The Lyrical Meets The Personal @ SCA, 6780 Depot Street in Sebastopol.Fees: $15 per class; $50 for all 4. Call 829-4797 for details

Wednesday, October 21 at 6:30 PM: The Sonoma County Public Library Foundation’s annual Chocolate and Cinema fundraiser features award-winning chocolatiers and the classic film, The Philadelphia Story, staring Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart and Cary Grant. Location: Rialto Cinemas, Lakeside, 551 Summerfield Rd, Santa Rosa. Reservations: $30.00/each or two for $50.00.

Thursday, October 22 at 5:30 PM: The Writers at Sonoma series presents Yusef Komunyakaa and Dara Wier at Sonoma State University in Charles W. Schulz Library, Room 3001. The event is free and open to the public. Yusef Komunyakaa is the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of 16 books of poetry. His most recent collection is WARHORSES.   Dara Wier’s just released SELECTED POEMS encompasses work from 1977-2006, drawing from 11 books of poetry.

Thursday, October 22  at 7 PM: Diane Hales, author of La Bella Lingua — My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language will read and talk about her explorations of Italy’s language, history, literature, art, music, movies, lifestyle and food — a true opera amorosa — at Trattoria Cattaneo, 2700 Yulupa Avenue (across the street from Safeway).  Introduced by Katherine Hastings, Hales will be joined by Sebastopol poet Nancy Dougherty who will read from her new collection of poems, Levee Town, written during a visit to post-Katrina New Orleans.  Reservations are recommended:  542-4090

For more information, contact Katherine Hastings at khastings@wordtemple.com

Friday, October 23, 5:30-9 PM: Sixth annual Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading at the Petaluma Arts Center, Lakeville Hwy and D Street, Petaluma, CA. This evening of music, food, and poetry is sponsored by the El Dia de los Muertos Committee of the Petaluma Arts Council. All are welcome to come and share. For information about being part of the reading, contact Terry Ehret by October 16 at tehret99@comcast.net.

Friday, October 23, 5:30 – 9:00 PM: Redwood Writers hosts a pre-conference poetry dinner with Al Young, Armando Garcia-Davila, Mike Tuggle, and more. See information above for details about the dinner or visit http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Friday, October 23, 6:30-9 PM: Come celebrate the release of PanGaia’s first CD, Earth Vein. Join PanGaia for light dinner (Organic soups, pasta, salad..) and a 7:15pm Concert. Location: SUBUD HALL 234 Hutchins Ave, Sebastopol, CA, 95472Tickets @ Door $15-40 Sliding Scale. No one turned away for lack of funds. For Reservations, call 328-1793.

Saturday, October 24, 7:30 Am to 6 PM: Redwood Writers Conference. Conference details are included in the County Wide News below, or visit http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Saturday, October 24, 1-3 PM: International Day of Climate Action poets’ march on the Golden Gate Bridge. Details in “County Wide News.” For more information, check out www.350.org, or contact Phyllis Meshulam at bplucky2@yahoo.com or 707-486-7450.

Monday, October 26, 7-9 PM: Sebastopol Center For the Arts Writers Sampler presents Clara Rosemarda – MEMORY AND IMAGINATION: Writing Memoir @ SCA, 6780 Depot Street in Sebastopol.Fees: $15 per class; $50 for all 4. Call 829-4797 for details

Friday, October 28: Making an Impression: writing & printing—first of 5 meetings with Eric Johnson and Guy Biederman. Details in the Current and Upcoming Workshops section of the Update. For all information on classes, call Eric at 823-6152. iota@sonic.net

Saturday, October 9:00-12:30: Letterpress Basics  $50. Learn basics of letterpress…. and design & print a card with type & graphics. Details in the Current and Upcomng Workshops section of the Update. For all information on classes, call Eric at 823-6152. iota@sonic.net

Saturday, October 31, 2:00-3:30 PM: All Hallows’ Eve Poetry Reading & Open Mic. Featured reader, Sher Christian accompanied by John Christian on keyboard. Come in costume and share your gift!  Refreshments served.  Suggested donation: $5. CSL (Center for Spiritual Living) Petaluma. 921 Transport Way, off of McDowell. Directions at http://www.petalumacrs.org/ CSL Petaluma, 765-1528 or Sher, 530 277-0147. www.lusciouspoetry.typepad.com/

Sunday, November 1, 3-5 PM: Redwood Writers general meeting at Copperfield’s Books, 2316 Montgomery Dr., Santa Rosa. $5 for nonmembers. Details in the Ungoing Writers Groups section of the Update.

Monday, November 2, 12:00-1:00 PM: Donna Emerson reads from her new book of poems, Body Rhymes, at Newman Auditorium, Santa Rosa Junior College, 1501 Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. Jared Emerson-Johnson will play introductory and closing music on violin and mandolin.

Tuesday, November 10, 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Café presents Novelist Lian Gouw and Poet Sher Lianne Christian. Doors open at 6:30. Open mic. Bring prose or poetry to share. Light refreshments. Donations appreciated. Parking available right behind the Senior Center. 133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza), Healdsburg, CA 95448.Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111 or centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Don’t see your event in the calendar? Check to make sure you sent your announcement by the deadline and in the abbreviated, plain-text format. I am happy to include all announcements, text only (no PDF please), sent to me no later than noon on the last day of each month.  Calendar entries are easier to include if they follow the format you see above, and if you can keep the information brief.

County-Wide News

West Ireland Literary Tour and Writing Workshop 2010

Once again, I am offering a twelve-day literary tour and writing retreat in West Ireland in the summer of 2010. The deadline for signing up is November 15, 2009. The trip is limited to 5 travelers.  Currently the dates I am looking at are the first two weeks in July.

Participants will stay at a private house or bed and breakfast in the County Clare village of Ballyvaughan. The itinerary includes day trips to various sites in Counties Galway and Clare, including Coole Park, the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, an excursion by boat to the Aran Islands, and W.B. Yeats’s homes at Thoor Ballylee and Sligo. Travel will be by private car/minivan. To cap the twelve-day literary adventure, participants will enjoy a Medieval banquet with Irish song and poetry at Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara.

Ballyvaughan and its neighboring villages of Kinvara (to the west) and Doolin (to the east) are among the most scenic places in Ireland, nestled between the hills of the Burren and the sea, on the southern shore of Galway Bay. We are a short drive from Poulnabrone Dolmen, a burial tomb more than 5,000 years old. The area surrounding Ballyvaughan is a limestone or karst region of haunting beauty.

Besides the tour described above, this is also planned as a writers’ workshop, including eight writing sessions with the chance to share your work in a supportive group.

The cost for the literary tour and workshop is $2,350 for twelve days. The price includes private room, breakfast, lunch, some dinners, transportation, writing sessions, and all the side trips listed above. Air fare is not included in the price, but currently the cost of a round-trip flight in July is around $1,000.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.westireland.wordpress.com or contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net.

Chocolate and Cinema Fund Raiser, October 21 at the Realto Theater

The Sonoma County Public Library Foundation’s annual Chocolate and Cinema fundraiser is coming up on October 21.

As always, it will be held at the Rialto and feature award-winning chocolatiers. We will be showing the classic film, The Philadelphia Story, staring Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart and Cary Grant.

This is a fun event for a great cause. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Jenni E. Klose
jklose@abbeylaw.com

October 24 Golden Gate Bridge Walk for International Day of Climate Action

October 24 is an international day of “climate action” intended to motivate world leaders to make decisive policy when they meet in Copenhagen in December for the climate summit.

Here is an action designed to engage poets’ skills in the cause and make use of poetry’s ability to touch hearts and transport people to beloved places. Let’s meet at the parking lot on the north/east side of the Golden Gate Bridge at 1 pm on October 24. But first visit www.350.org and click on “search for actions near me.” By the afternoon of Friday, October 2, I will have posted a sample poetry leaflet, with an environmental poem and a tag that explains the action and the significance of the number 350, the upper limit of parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere for survival of life-as-we-know-it-on-earth. (We are already almost at 390, by the way.) Please feel free to modify this leaflet by adding your own environment poem. (If you use other people’s, you should get their permission.) Then print a bunch up and head for the bridge! I plan on being there from 1 pm to 3 pm that day. Pouring rain would cancel.

To get additional inspiration, you might also come to “An Evening with Bill McKibben” on Friday, October 2, 7 pm at the Sonoma Country Day School near the airport. $10 in advance through www.scdsevents.org, or $15 at the door. Bill is known as the Paul Revere of climate change, a motivational speaker, and the founder of 350.org.

For more information, check out www.350.org, or contact Phyllis Meshulam at bplucky2@yahoo.com or 707-486-7450.

SPEND an AFTERNOON with ALICE WALKER

Sonoma County, CA, August 26, 2009:  A Conversation With Alice Walker is being produced by Palm of Her Hand, and is a benefit for the Margaret Okari Children’s Foundation in Kenya, East Africa which works with educating children who have been orphaned by AIDS.  Join Alice at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg, on Sunday, October 25th at 3:00 p.m.  The afternoon holds live music, tea, chocolate, an art auction, and of course, the gift of hearing from Alice Walker, including poems from her forthcoming book, ‘Hard Times Require Furious Dancing’, as well as a question and answer period.

The founder of the Margaret Okari Children’s Foundation, Kwamboka Okari will be joining Alice and sharing about her work with children in Kenya. Shiloh Sophia McCloud, the founder of Palm of Her Hand, will MC the day.  The afternoon will conclude with a reception at Electric Rose Gallery on the plaza, which is donating 20% of proceeds to the Foundation.

“If you have ever heard Alice Walker speak, you will know what I mean when I say that her presence is the very impartation of being “peace” even in the middle of a war zone. Whether that war is metaphoric, personal, or political, the space she holds of how we can continue to choose happiness despite our challenges, is riveting and transformational” says Shiloh McCloud.

Alice Walker, a visionary for our times, continues to share her wisdom and inspire our hearts and minds through a series of conversations happening internationally, and online in her “living book”,www.alicewalkersblog.com.  From Mexico to Burma, from Rwanda to Egypt, from Berkeley to Healdsburg, we get to share in her experiences through her teachings on topics all of us can relate to:  love/hate, justice/injustice, war/awakening. Through all of her work, central messages emerge that are that ultimately call us to compassionate action.

This event, takes place on the 3rd day of a Visionary Conference called Bountiful which features teachings by Bay Area women visionaries on creativity, transformation and thriving during challenging times.

Ticket sales open today at http://www.palmofherhand.com
We will sell out, so get your ticket now! You can also get your tickets at Copperfield’s Books in Sonoma County locations. Learn more about the Margaret Okari Children’s Foundation at http://www.okarichildren.com.

Visit Alice on-line at http://www.alicewalkersgarden.com

To learn more about the three day Visionary Conference for Women called Bountiful: http://www.cosmiccowgirls.com

LIBRARY HOLDS WRITE-INS FOR NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH

Got the urge to write? The Sonoma County Library is holding write-ins for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) an annual event in which aspiring writers attempt to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

Several of the library branches will make space, time and coffee available to writers as they sprint through their literary efforts.

Writers are invited to attend a launch event at the Central Branch on Third and E Streets in Santa Rosa on Monday, Oct. 26th at 6:00 p.m.  Veteran NaNoWriMo participant and municipal liaison Debbie Koehler will explain the program and talk about the origins of National Novel Writing Month.

Library write-ins will take place in November at the following branches: Central, Mondays 5:00 – 8:30 p.m.; Healdsburg, Mondays 5:00-8:30 p.m.; Rincon Valley, Mondays 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; Petaluma, Tuesdays 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. except Nov. 17th; Sebastopol, schedule varies, please see the calendar at the web site www.sonomalibrary.org

For more information on the Library write-ins call Robin Watters at 545-0831 x539 or see the library web site, www.sonomalibrary.org.  For more information on National Novel Writing Month see the web site, www.nanowrimo.org

Redwood Writers Announces Its Conference

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 from 7:30 am – 6:00pm (check-in from 7:30 – 8:15am), at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa, 2777 Fourth Street, 95405, (707) 545-8530. This one-day conference, part of the California Writers Club Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting. Copperfield’s Books is our exclusive on-site bookstore seller.

Conference web site: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

Contact: Linda Loveland Reid

president@redwoodwriters.org

707-484-4153

The following workshops will be offered:

Craft of Writing

9:30 – 10:30 am       Jordan Rosenfeld & Jody Gehrman – How to Structure A Story

10:45 – 11:45 am     Mark Sloan – The Art of Efficient Research

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Adair Lara– First Person Writing that Sells

3:15 – 4:15 pm         B. Lynn Goodwin – Finding Your Writing Voice

Genre

9:30 – 10:30 am       Arlene Mandell – Non-fiction Writing

10:45 – 11:45 am     Tamim Ansary – Memoir: Your Life as Story

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Steve Hockensmith – Fiction Writing: What’s Your Hook

3:15 – 4:15 pm         Christine Nora – Children’s Picture Book Writing and Illustrating

Technology & Business

9:30 – 10:30 am       Catharine Bramkamp – Self-publishing

10:45 – 11:45 am     Laurie McLean – Agents

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Gil Mansergh, Seth Harwood, Scott Kemble & Patricia V. Davis

– New Ways to Get Published

3:15 – 4:15 pm         Ann Wilkes – Developing Your Online Presence

Three areas of writing – the craft of writing, genre, and technology & business – offer registrants an opportunity to pick and choose workshops that suit their specific needs.

Our morning and luncheon keynote speakers, Tamim Ansary and Steve Hockensmith, will both lead workshops about memoir and fiction, respectively.

Register on-line at http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html or download a registration form and mail it to the address shown below. Lunch is included in the price of registration.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Redwood Writer’s motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members include Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Specify “Attention: Conference Registration” if registering by snail mail.

Photos of keynote speakers and workshop facilitators available upon request

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club presents a talk by Verna Dreisbach.

Verna Dreisbach’s talk, “Perceptions of an Agent,” will discuss how to attract an agent’s attention, how to build an author platform, and identify common mistakes writers often make in trying to secure an agent. She will provide handouts as well as examples of query letters and book proposals, and talk about why most fiction writing doesn’t make it past an agent. Verna represents both fiction and nonfiction titles.

The November 1st meeting runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Copperfield’s Book Store in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village (2316 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-578-8938).  The general public is welcome. A small fee of $3 for members, $5 for nonmembers, is asked to cover speaking fees and light refreshments.

About Verna Dreisbach:

Verna Dreisbach is an award winning writer who has been featured in books, literary journals, magazines, and newspapers. Prior to founding Dreisbach Literary Management in 2008, she spent nearly two years working for a reputable literary agency and has established numerous contacts in the publishing industry. A frequent traveler to writing conferences, Verna also serves on the board of directors for the CSUS Writers Conference in Sacramento and is the president and founder of the Capitol City Young Writers, a non-profit writing organization for students in both junior high and high school. In addition, Verna serves as an editor to the Calaveras Station, Sacramento State University’s literary journal.

Iota Press has a New Location

Iota Press has moved into a studio in Sebastopol and will operate a letterpress print shop.  There is a separate hosting space available for workshops or other kinds of events.

Starting in the fall, classes in letterpress printing will be offered, with an eye to helping writers and artists see (& feel) the aesthetic power of hand-made typography. Check the Current and Upcoming Workshop section of the Update for details.

Although the letterpress work is tilted toward making chapbooks and broadsides, the shop can take on other projects where the unique tactile art of metal type and good paper are desired. Visitors welcome. Call Eric Johnson first at 823-6152; email at <iota@sonic.net>; or look for the shop at 925 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol (by the sign of the Bee).

WordTemple Readings hosted by Katherine Hastings has a New Location, too!

Location, Location, Location. A reminder that the Fall ‘09 season of the WordTemple Poetry Series will be held at the Sonoma County Museum, 425-7th Street, in Santa Rosa.  The Museum is located directly across the street from the Santa Rosa Plaza parking garage.  Although the Museum initially said all readings would take place in the main gallery, they had to change their plans this week due to exhibit needs; all readings will take place in the newly painted reading room downstairs.

Still Free.  All WordTemple events are free, free, free.  There is no change here.  What has changed is that you will see a receptacle provided by the Museum for “Donations.”  This has nothing to do with WordTemple but is a way you can donate directly to the Museum for providing space and staff if you would like.

Copperfield’s. Many people have asked why WordTemple is not being held at Copperfield’s this season.   The only reason is that there was a serious scheduling problem, the first in four years.  In order to have the readings there, I would have had to ask several poets to cancel their readings; I just couldn’t do this.  Everyone has been looking forward to reading at WordTemple for a long time, some traveling from New York and Michigan.  Copperfield’s is still our good friend and has offered to advertise WordTemple events this season even though the events aren’t being held in their store.  I hope you will continue to support this lovely, community-minded, independent bookstore in Montgomery Village.  We definitely don’t want them to go away.

The Sonoma County Musuem

425 – 7th Street

Santa Rosa

(across the street from the SR Plaza parking garage)

On  Friday, October 16, WordTemple presents Rbecca Foust, Daughters of Yam (devorah major, Opal Palmer Adisa), Donna Emerson

Rebecca Foust’s book, all that gorgeous pitiless song, won the 2008 Many Mountains Moving Book Award and will be released next year, and her books, Dark Card (Texas Review Press 2008) and Mom’s Canoe (TRP 2009) won the 2007 and 2008 Robert Phillips Poetry Prizes.  Her recent poetry appears or is forthcoming in Hudson Review, Los Angeles Review, Margie, North American Review, Spoon River and elsewhere and has received awards and distinctions including two 2008 Pushcart nominations and International Publication Prizes from Atlanta Review in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Daughters of Yam — Poet and writer Opal Palmer Adisa and former San Francisco Poet Laureate devorah major — have performed at Lincoln Center Outdoors Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s, Brava, Oakland Ensemble Theater and many other clubs, theaters and community centers.  They have published a book, “Traveling Women” and two full length poetry and jazz recordings, “Fierce//Love”  and “The Tongue is a Drum.”   In a harmonic blending of voices, they lift poetry off the page yet preserve the integrity of language. They continue in the tradition of the African Griot (storyteller and historian) who gave birth to the Last Poets, Jayne Cortez and Sonia Sanchez, et al.

Daughters of Yam performs poetry, which is cultural, social and political centering on the reality of being of African descent, women, mothers, lovers, human beings in today’s world.

Donna Emerson is a college instructor, licensed clinical social worker, photographer, and writer of poetry and prose. Recent poetry publications include California Quarterly, The South Carolina Poetry Review, Phoebe, and So To Speak, among many others. Recent prose publications include Stone Canoe, Tiny Lights, Crone, and Passager. Her latest award was “Best of the Best” from the California State Poetry Society in December, 2008.Her second chapbook, Body Rhymes, was selected by Finishing Line Press, for publication in May 2009.

Dee Sunshine’s Book Art and Cover Art

I am an artist, illustrator and graphic designer.  If you need an illustration for a book cover, or if you need a book jacket design I can offer up my services.  I have an online gallery of over 1,000 images that are available for reproduction at http://www.rimbaud.org.uk/artmainpage.html.

I have provided artwork for books by Clarinda Harriss, Kay Green, Janet Buck, David Bircumshaw, Marcy Jarvis, Rupert Loydell and Norman Jope among others; and I’ve had my art published in numerous periodicals including The North American Review, International Poetry Review, Orbis, Ambit, Cimarron Review, Black Mountain Review, Rattapallax and Bayou Review.  You can see sample book jackets at http://www.rimbaud.org.uk/jacketmain.html

I work in acrylic, pastel, charcoal, pen & ink, photomontage & collage: each medium having it’s own specific style; and am sure I would have something in stock that would suit most needs.  As the works are already completed (rather than produced to commission) I can be flexible about reproduction fees, depending on the budget of your publisher, or indeed your own budget, if you are self-publishing.  If you like my work and want to use it, write to me and I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.
Website - www.thunderburst.co.uk
Blogger - http://deerimbaud.blogspot.com
MySpace - www.myspace.com/captainmelted
Facebook - www.facebook.com/captainmelted

News from East County

UniverSoul Reading Series

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

News from West County

Thanks to Pat Nolan and Dixie Lewis for providing this month’s West County news.

Low Power Literary Radio in West Sonoma Co.

There are two monthly book shows on local low power FM radio stations.  Nearing its second anniversary, Off The Shelf, airs at 8 PM on the first Sunday of the month on Guerneville’s KGGV 95.1FM.  The program is hosted by Peter Andrews and Pat Nolan. KGGV offers streaming at www.kggvfm.org. Book Flaps, the nexus between Books and Life, hosted by Suzanne Lang and Pat Nolan is offered on Occidental’s brand new radio station, KOWS 107.3 FM, on the last Thursday of the month at 5 PM.  Previous shows have featured discussions on consciousness and guest poets from the West County.

Brian Martens hosts” The Poetry Hour” on KOWS-FM radio 107.3 fm. Every Wednesday from 5:00-6:00 pm. Poetry is read mixed with eclectic music. The program is also streamed over the internet at: www.kows.fm When you arrive at the site click on the streaming link. Thanks for listening. Feedback appreciated at b-r-m@sbcglobal.net

Third Annual Guerneville Poetry Walk Saturday, October 3, 2009

11:00AM – 4:00PM Guerneville, CA

A literary walk through downtown Guerneville.

Bart Rawlinson

Nexus, 11—11:45

Introduced by Carol Singleton

Bob Jones

River Reader, 12—12:45

Introduced by Mike Tuggle,

Sonoma County Poet Laureate

Alexandra Ellen Appel

Main Street Station, 1:00—1:45

Introduced by Gail King

River Ranger & the Stumptown Posse

Club Yamagata, 2:00—2:45

Introduced by Pat Nolan

Pat Nolan, Gail King, judi goldberg, Dixie Lewis

Sonoma Nesting Company, 3:00—4:00

Introduced by Haley Yount Severe

Reception to follow

About the Featured Writers and Performers

Alexandra Ellen Appel has lived on and off in Sonoma County since 1971. Her work has appeared in a variety of literary magazines, most recently PenHouseInk Press, Volume 5, 2007, and Crosscurrents North: Alaskans on the Environment, University of Alaska Press, 2008. She has been a Scholar at the Breadloaf Writers Conference, the Aspen Writers Conference, and the Squaw Valley Writers Conference where she received a California Arts Council Grant.

judi goldberg is co-founder and co-editor of PenHouseInk Press, which hosts a yearly poetry walk and publishes an anthology of local, and not so local, writing. Her poems have been published in Red River Review, The Dickens: A Literary Journal, in each of the five PenHouseInk anthologies, and she has upcoming publications in Salamander and The Paterson Literary Review. Judi plays Bach on the banjo and is the oldest beginning surfer in Sonoma County.

Bob Jones has lived in Guerneville since 1965 through floods, fires, and a changing scene. His poems “Prayers for Puppies,” “Aging Autos,” and “Sleepless Nights” were published by Westminster, John Knox Press in 1990. Other work has appeared in Green Fuse, The Christian Century, and Theology Today. Bob has published two books about philosophy and theology, the most recent one in 2005. He has written a column for The Paper since its founding thirty years ago, and writes columns for other news weeklies. Bob participated in the Iowa Writers Workshop in poetry this past summer.

Gail King has been a part of many women’s writing groups in the Russian River area since the mid ’70s. A California native, she writes stories of growing up in the East Bay as well as poetry that often focuses on the California landscape. Gail was the publisher of Doris Green Editions, a small literary press active in the ’70s and ’80s. Boxes & Chairs, published in 2006 by What Leaf Press, is her second collection of poems.

Dixie Lewis, poet, editor, and publisher, is inspired by nature and encouraged by the stories of others. She is a fourth generation Californian, and has been a resident of Sonoma County since 1988. Dixie is a co-founder of PenHouseInk Press, whose mission is the relentless pursuit of courageous creativity. Her poetry and prose have been published locally, and she has read throughout Sonoma County. Dixie is a member of the Poet Laureate Selection Committee for Sonoma County.

Pat Nolan’s poetry and prose have been published in numerous magazines in Europe and Asia as well as North America. He is the author of CARBON DATA, Last Cookie Press (2008) and a selection of prose poems titled Intellectual Pretentions, Editions de Jacob (2009). Pat has lived along the lower Russian River since 1973.

Bart Rawlinson, a native Texan, is the recipient of the Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award, the Robert Browning Prize in Dramatic Monologue, and the Eugene Ruggles Poetry Prize, among other awards. His work has been published in a variety of literary journals including Phoenix, Santa Clara Review, Access magazine, and Ink. He earned his MFA, Creative Writing from San Francisco State University in 2003 and teaches English full-time at Mendocino College. Bart lives in Forestville with his partner, Bill Boucher.

River Ranger: “Now, poetry pards, here we are again with the seasons turnin’ us to another chance to sharpen the old pencil and scratch up a poem or two to share with you folks in Guerneville. This year should be a real humm-dinger. The posse is rounded up and we’ll see y’all there.”

Stumptown Poetry Posse: River Ranger, Redwood Wrangler, Calamity Kit, Long Tall Sally, Wyomin’ Jim Bodie, Dusty Beatrhymes, Holstein Hester, South Fork Boots, Frenchie Twosaints, Cow-Tow Edy

News from North County

Thanks to Cynthia Beecher and Vilma Ginzberg for providing this month’s North County News.

Center Literary Café

Tuesday, October 13, 7-9 PM:

Book Author Stefanie Freele and Poet Rose Black

Healdsburg resident Stefanie Freele’s short story collection Feeding Strays was published by Lost Horse Press in September. Her recent writing is in Glimmer Train, American Literary Review, Wigleaf, Night Train, Literary Mama, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Frigg, Dogplotz, and Hobart.Stefanie has an MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts: Whidbey Writers Workshop. She is on the editorial staff for SmokeLong Quarterly and is the Fiction Editor for the Los Angeles Review.    www.stefaniefreele.com

Rose Black lives by the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Oakland, California. Her poetry is in The South Carolina Review, Runes, Wisconsin Review, Hampton-Sydney Poetry Review, Spillway, and Slant. Her books, Clearing (2005) and Winter Light, (2008), were accepted by Yale’s Beinecke Library for the Yale Collection of American Literature.

http://renaissancestone.com/rose-blackWL.html

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 7-9 PM
Novelist Lian Gouw and Poet Sher Lianne Christian

Lian Gouw’s debut novel, Only A Girl, is a finely detailed portrait of three courageous Chinese women finding their way in a world of cultural melding and upheaval as Western progress clatters against customary Chinese mores.

Sher Lianne Christian is the author of Star Kissed Shadows and Divining Poetry. She is co-creator of Sweet Tongue, Assorted Poetry and Music with husband John Christian, who will provide musical accompaniment during her reading.

For all events: Doors open at 6:30

Open mic    Bring prose or poetry to share

Light refreshments   Donations appreciated

Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center.

Healdsburg Senior Center

133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza)    Healdsburg, CA 95448

Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111       centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Healdsburg Literary Arts Guild

As we went to press, the Third Sunday Salon has not sent its announcements for October. For information, contact healdsburgliteraryguild@gmail.com

Sonoma County in Print

If you are a Sonoma County writer with a book or chapbook newly published, let’s help you celebrate! Just send your announcement to tehret99@comcast.net. Be sure to include information on how your readers can find out more about you and your work or order a copy. You’re announcement will run for three Updates.

Pat Nolan’s newest publication is Intellectual Pretensions, from editions de jabob, is  a beautifully bound, hand-made collection of prose poems. You can see Pat Nolan at the Guerneville Poetry Walk on October 3.

PANGAIA CD RELEASE-FUNDRAISER IN SEBASTOPOL
Spanish visionary poet Joaquin Lopez de San Roman presents the release of their fist Pangaia CD “Earth veins”, an integration of Shamanic poetry & Indigenous instruments.
Where: Friday Oct 23 at the Subud Hall (234 Hutchins Av), Sebastopol
Time: 6:30-7′15 light dinner followed by concert
Price: sliding scale $15-40
For reservations, call 328-1793
If you want to have a preview of our work, visit  www.myspace.com/pangaiaartensemble

New from Iota Press

Iota printed a new chapbook by the elusive & allusive poet, Erst Weill.

It’s called ‘Could Be Verse” and… it could be…. ordered on line at: http://www.iotapress.com/books/index.html . Paypal or credit card….$10

Don’t wait to order…the three scandals swirling around this book will make it a collector’s item. First of all, rumors fly that Mr Weill did not actually LIVE the poems in the book. He did not, for example, “…crimp a jutty cornwolf in a  swedenbitter cold.”

Secondly, one of his acolytes in the ancient Non-Sequiturian Order appeared on Oprah and accused him of  NOT being truly off-the-wall – yelling at one point: “One thought has  led to another! A disgrace!”

Lastly, Mr Weill has authorized us to say that there is no truth to the other rumor : that he is under investigation for using the outlawed versifying software: META4.0 …  We quote: “Anyway, they’re all using it now; all the big names are juicing… quiet as it’s kept.” But it is just possible that there will always be an asterisk next to the name of Erst Weill.

Eugene Ruggles’s Collected Works, a posthumous collection of his poems, is in production and readying for publication. Go to www.eugeneruggles.com to see cover mock–up.

Stefanie Freele’s Motel

The innovative new publisher “Bannock Street Books” presents the artbook/chapbook MOTEL: a short story by Sonoma County author Stefanie Freele paired with color photography contributed by Sarah Black.

MOTEL will soon be available on the Bannock Street Books Website. http://www.bannockstreetbooks.com/

In the meantime, signed copies of MOTEL are available from the author:

$7 and $2 ship.

Paypal: Babingas@aol.com

Check:
Stefanie Freele
1083 Vine St. #352
Healdsburg, Ca 95448
www.stefaniefreele.com

Redwood Writers Vintage Voices Anthology Released

Contact: Linda Loveland Reid

president@redwoodwriters.org

707-484-4153

Redwood Writers, the Sonoma County branch of the California Writers Club, has published its fourth anthology, Vintage Voices: Cent’Ani: May You Live 100 Years, (ISBN: 978-0-9816848-2-6). Pre-publication orders may be placed here:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org/vv4orders.pdf.

Jeanne Miller’s On the Brink of Nora

On the Brink of Nora, was chosen by Redwood Writers for a joint publication project with Unlimited Publishing.

Set in the Northern California Wine Country, On the Brink is a true coming of age story. When Nora embarks on a radical journey of self-discovery, her family is called upon to evolve as individuals, and in concert with one another.

jcmillerwriter.com
http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com/miller/

Linda Loveland Reid’s novel, Touch of Magenta,

will be available on May 9 at local bookstores and on Amazon.com.  For more information go to www.lindalovelandreid.com

Touch of Magenta explores, through the lives to two women, the right we all have to know our personal history; that all secrets be revealed, all lies untold.

The story is set in Sonora’s California gold country, Chinatown, Italy, Singapore, and England.

Donna Emerson’s Body Rhymes from Finishing Line Press

I am happy to announce to my friends and acquaintances that my poetry collection from Finishing Line Press, Body Rhymes, comes out this spring. Since this is a limited edition collection, you may order now to reserve a copy. The press run will be determined by the number of orders made before April 10.The book, with a color photograph of mine on the cover, will be mailed to you by the end of May.

“Donna Emerson’s poems—each a small, complete world—reveal their tenderness in detail. The poet William Carlos Williams once said ‘Perception is the first act of imagination,’ and with her photographer’s eye, Emerson invites the reader to see, as if for the first time, what is extraordinary even in the most familiar.  But as a poet, she also listens, deeply and intently, to her subject, whether it is a landscape, a memory, or one of the unforgettable souls she has counseled, struggling to reconcile themselves with mortality. And it is with a listening heart that the reader feels with her a wonder at the courage she has witnessed, and inspiration at the truth she captures.”

Terry Ehret, author of Lucky Break

“A lilting voice from a new poet.  A new daughter is not all that Donna Emerson gave birth to in her 50s.  Her poems are loaded with rich imagery and memory.”
Susan Swartz, author of The Juicy Tomatoes Guide to Ripe Living After 50

Books can be pre-ordered through the website at  www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases and Forthcoming Titles,” scrolling down alphabetically.

Sagittarius Agitprop by Matthew Gavin Frank

Franks collection of poems is available from Black Lawrence Press at:

http://www.blacklawrence.com/frank.html

To see and hear Frank reading from his book, check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdOR3_jrx88

www.matthewgfrank.com

Pierette Mimi Poinsett

Rose-Anne Clermont has written an article about my challenges in the Women’s International Perspective e-zine.  The photographer who is uncredited is Michi Adams of Rohnert Park Petaluma. Below is the link:

http://thewip.net/contributors/2009/02/living_one_day_at_a_time_in_th.html
Over the last three years, I have been writing creative non-fiction and poetry. Going into “the family business”:)  A memoir cookbook is in the works.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD

http://www.snapdiva.blogspot.com

aka the Yayayarndiva on http://www.ravelry.com

Bill Vartnaw ‘s new book, Suburbs of my Childhood, came out on January15th.  Bill says, “This is a book of mostly early poems, lots of seventies, a few eighties and a couple of nineties about my mother, 74 pages.” For more information or to order the book, contact Bill at  taureanhorn@hotmail.com.  Taurean Horn Press’ address is P.O. Box 641097, San Francisco, CA 94164-1097.

Jeane Slone has just published She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases. People can order it from my web site at www.jeaneslone.com.

Jean Heglund writes, “She Flew Bombers is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. Anyone interested in Aviation History, Women’s History, or the World War II “war effort” will appreciate Jeane Slone’s careful research, as well as her ability to bring this little-know aspect of the US history to life so vividly.”

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro has just published an anthology entitled Hair Pieces, containing the poetry and prose of 51 of her writing students. Hair Pieces is available for purchase at Copperfields and also at harlmarg@sonic.net. For information about Margaret’s Writing Practice workshops, scroll down to the section “Current and Upcoming Workshops.”

Ann Wilkes’s Awesome Layratt

Ann Wilkes’ first book, Awesome Lavratt (2009) is a tongue-in-cheek space opera with mind control, passion and adventure. Her stories have appeared in online zines and anthologies.  She lives in California’s wine country with her husband, Patrick and their youngest son. She’s working on two novels while still cranking out the short funny stories that characterize her writing style. Visit her website, http://www.annwilkes.com, for a full bio, her blog and links to online stories.

Calls for Submission

If you have a call for submission or a contest of interest to Sonoma County writers, send it to tehret99@comcas.net.

If you’d like to explore ways to get your writing out of the drawer and into print, check out the information on the Literary Folk website and on my personal website:

http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/recommended-northern-california-journals-and-presses/

http://www.terryehret.com/consulting.htm

West Marin Review

West Marin Review is accepting submissions of prose, poetry, and visual art for its 2010 volume. Submissions should be of previously unpublished work. Very important to follow “submission guidelines” at www.westmarinreview.org. (For poetry, no more than 25 lines per poem, no more than three poems per submission.) Submissions for Volume 3 must be postmarked no later than October 7, 2009. Questions? Write to us at info@westmarinreview.org.

Zaum Literary Journal

Sonoma State University’s award-winning literary magazine, ZAUM, is ooking for student artists to submit their work for our upcoming forteenth issue. ZAUM is a very unique magazine in that it is produced solely by SSU students.  Not only is ZAUM a vehicle for
Sonoma State students’ artistic expression, the magazine publishes work from students around the world! By combining the creative dynamic of students in the community with that of national and international students, ZAUM consistently presents diverse and unique work in an accessible medium.

ZAUM is named for the symbolic language created by Russian Futurist poets. Its meaning—that which exists above and beyond rational thought—represents the standard of excellence to which we aspire. Therefore, we seek to publish the works of student artists who are
eager to push the limits of their art, and take a few risks with us! Please urge any Undergrad or Graduate students who are interested to send copies of their prose, poetry, or visual art to be considered for our publication. Feel free to check out our website
atwww.zaumpress.net for further details. All selections to be published in ZAUM 14 must be received no later that November 15, 2009.
Sincerely,

Colin Partch

Senior Editor of ZAUM

Ginosko Literary Journal’s Call for Submissions

Accepting short fiction & poetry, audio recordings, creative non-fiction, interviews, social justice concerns for the 9th issue of the literary journal ginosko, the summer issue.

Editorial lead time 1-2 months; accept simultaneous submissions and reprints; length flexible, accept excerpts. Receives postal submissions & email—prefer email submissions as attachments in Microsoft Works Word Processor or Rich Text Format. Copyright reverts to author.

Publishing as semiannual ezine, winter & summer. Selecting material from ezine for printed anthology.
Check downloadable issues on website for style & tone: http://www.ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/
Use latest version of Adobe Reader.

ezine circulation 4500+. Website traffic 750-1000 hits/month.
Also looking for artwork, photography, to post on website and links to exchange.

Ginosko (ghin-océ-koe)
To perceive, understand, realize, come to know; knowledge that has an inception, a progress, an attainment. The recognition of truth by experience.

Member CLMP.  Listed in Best of the Web 2008.

Ginosko Literary Journal
Robert Paul Cesaretti, Editor
PO Box 246
Fairfax, CA 94978
USA

MEMOIR (and) Call for Submissions

MEMOIR (and) is an up-and-coming print journal for the exploration of memoir as “the” genre of the 21st century. Our nonprofit mission is to publish traditional as well as nontraditional forms of nonfiction allied with memoir. This includes, but is not limited to, autobiography, personal and critical essay, graphic narratives, narrative poetry, “flash memoir,” autobiographical fiction, alternative histories, journalistic accounts,  narrative photography and more.  We award four cash prizes twice yearly and charge no entry fee. All work submitted to MEMOIR (and) is eligible to win a prize.

The reading period for Spring+Summer 2010 (Issue 6) is upon us! Accepting traditional and experimental prose, poetry, graphic memoir, narrative photography, lies, and more from 5/1/09 through 8/15/09.

Four prizes up to $500 available for prose, poetry and graphic memoirs. All submissions eligible for contest entry.

For guidelines, contest info and online submissions, visit www.memoirjournal.com.

New Millennium

OK, I know it’s confusing. We hold two competitions annually in four categories (fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short-short fiction). As a result, I often find myself sending emails regarding up to three contests at once. This is just such an email. Here’s the skinny.

1. Judging has begun for those who entered our Summer 2009 Writing Awards program, and we hope to begin announcing winners in October.

2. As previously announced, names of winners in our Winter 2008-09 contest follow Grants & Awards guidelines below.

3. Our next deadline is November 17, midnight, all time zones. In keeping with tradition, this deadline may be extended once only. This is what we call our Winter 2009-10 Writing Awards program. Enter as often as you like at www.writingawards.com or by U.S. Mail or other carrier (postmark ok.) Guidelines Follow.

Grants & Awards

$4,000 in Grants and Awards, plus publication in NMW and at the New Millennium Writings website
$1,000 for best Fiction; $1,000 for best Poem; $1,000 for best Short-short Fiction (1,000-word limit), $1,000 for best Nonfiction
(Nonfiction includes humor, memoir, creative nonfiction, travel, opinion, essay, interview, features, investigative reporting, etc.)
Recipients of NMW Awards are showcased along with interviews, profiles and tributes to famous writers, past and present, such as

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., J. D. Salinger, Julia Glass, Shel Silverstein, Khaled Hosseini, George Garrett, Ken Kesey, John Updike, Lee Smith, Cormac McCarthy, Lucille Clifton, Shelby Foote, Paul West, Norman Mailer, Sharyn McCrumb, William Kennedy, Faulkner, Hemingway, Dickinson, Keats, Percy, Warren and many others. Also, prize-winning stories, poems & articles, humor, graphic arts, writing advice and more.
To Enter, follow these Guidelines, or enter on-line at www.writingawards.com.
1. No restrictions as to style, content or number of submissions. Enter as often as you like. Previously published materials OK if online or under 5000-circulation in print.
2. Winners and selected finalists—including all poetry finalists—will be published in our 2010-11 issue–which all contestants will receive next fall, and on-line.
3. Send between now and midnight of November 17, 2009 (postmark ok). This deadline may be extended once only.
4. Simultaneous & multiple submissions welcome.
5. Each Fiction or Nonfiction piece is counted as a separate entry, and should total no more than 6,000 words except Short-short Fiction (no more than 1,000 words).
6. Each Poetry entry may include up to three poems, not to exceed five pages total per entry. All 20 poetry finalists will be published. If entering online, upload all 3 poems, plus cover page (optional) in a single file, per entry.
7. Include name, phone, address, email & category on cover page or letter only and submit with the submission. If entering online the cover page is optional, as our online site automatically uploads contact information you provide.
8. Manuscripts not returned except in hardship cases. Include email address (preferable) or SASE for list of winners. Yes, we recycle.
9. Include $17 check payable to NMW with each submission.
10. If entering by mail, send to: “NMW” Room EM, PO Box 2463, Knoxville, TN, 37901 (unless entering online). To order our current issue, add $12.

Current and Upcoming Workshops

Many Sonoma County writers offer their expertise and writing support through local workshops, classes, and consultations. Some are day-long, some are ongoing, and some are retreats. Workshops for this month are listed below.

If you have a workshop you’re offering, send a short description (150 words or less) to tehret99@comcast.net.

Sonoma County Writing Teachers and Consultants

Stephen Altschuler www.firstpersonwriting.com

Guy Beiderman www.lowfatfiction.com

Susan Bono sbono@tiny-lights.com

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro harlmarg@sonic.net

Dan Coshnear dan@coshnear.org

Sher Christian poetrytalks@neteze.com

Marlene Cullen www.thewritespot.us/ or mcullen@comcast.net

Georgette G. deBlois GGdeB@aol.com.

Nancy Dougherty and Geri Digiorno ncaversd@sonic.net

Terry Ehret tehret99@comcast.net

Stefanie Freele Stefanie@stefaniefreele.com

Susan Hagenhagen@womenatgroundzero.com

Eric Johnson iota@sonic.net

Suzanne Murray suzmurr@yahoo.com

Laure Reiche p.reiche@comcast.net

Pauline Reif paulineerh@yahoo.com

Clara Rosemarda rosen@sonic.net

Scott Reid Serkes www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/workshop/intro.html>http: //www.sonic.net

Lisa Shulman www.lisashulman.com.

Shelley Singer http://www.shelleysinger.com

Andrew Todhunter workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa, m.a.,Writing & Creative Projects Coach

www.centatheresa.com

creatvitycoaching@centatheresa.com

Pat Tyler www.writetoday.net

Stephen Altschuler’s Coaching Service for Non-fiction Writers.

My speciality is personal experience writing, but cover all aspects of the non-fiction genre. I’ve been writing and getting published since 1969. My latest book is The Mindful Hiker (2004), and have written four other books. My website which tells more of my work and this service is www.firstpersonwriting.com .

Stephen Altschuler
stephenaltschuler@mac.com

Workshop with Guy Biederman and Ken Rodgers

In Search of Lorca’s Duende.

October 17, 2009 9:00 A M to 3:00 P M at Iota Press, 925-C Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol

Cost: $75.00

Come and help us find the blood and the skin, the muscle, the tendons of our poetic souls.

Find the flamenco spirit inside our writer’s minds. Come discuss the philosophy of Lorca’s duende. Come write, write write.

Contacts: guyb@sonic.net or kennetherodgers@msn.com

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro’s Sonoma County Writing Practice

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro teaches eight week long writing semesters out of her Santa Rosa downtown office. Three different class times are offered each week. Margaret uses poetry and meditation for inspiration and writers are encouraged to read their work in a supportive atmosphere. The memoir is a valuable form for dropping deeper into the self allowing memories to come forth. This process allows space for self-knowledge to occur. For more information or to receive a flyer call (707)575-8820 or email Margaret at harlmarg@sonic.net. The website for Sonoma County Writing Practice is www.handwritingonline.net

Workshops with Eric Johnson and Iota Press

Sunday, October 18:  10:00-4:00  Printing Poetry.  $75

Basics of letterpress: typesetting and presswork… but the focus is on the particular art of setting a poem as a graphic experience that heightens the meaning. Bring in a short poem; experiment with leading, fonts & graphic touches. Then print it on the old press.

Starting Oct. 28   Making an Impression: writing & printing   5 meetings   $150

Wednesday-evening class, with Guy Biederman leading the writing workshop. We’ll go back & forth from the discussion of literary shapes… to the print shop where even a single letter has a sculptural potency.  Each session has some time for writing and evaluating the piece…and then shop time to design, typeset, and eventually print it as a broadside.

Saturday, October 31:  9:00-12:30   Letterpress Basics  $50

Learn basics of letterpress…. and design & print a card with type & graphics.

For all information on classes, call Eric at 823-6152…or respond to this email… <iota@sonic.net>

Fiction Writing – Stefanie Freele

This new class is open to the new, the curious and the comfortable short story writer. Prompts and freewrites will generate new and unexpected writing in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. Freele’s goal is to encourage turning ideas into stories. Students will read and discuss examples of stellar short fiction—prim arily stories under 1000 words, fine-tune workshop pieces, and explore the craft of writing: plot, dialogue, point-of-view, descript ion, setting, and voice.

Requirements: a sense of humor, a pen, and a few pieces of paper.

Stefanie Freele is the Sonoma County author of the short story collection, Feeding Strays, published by Lost Horse Press (2009). Her recent and forthcoming work can be found in Glimmer Train, American Literary Review, Night Train, The Pedestal Magazine, Necessary Fiction, Boston Literary Review,  Literary Mama, and Hobart. Stefanie has an MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts: Whidbey Writers Workshop. Stefanie is an editor with Smokelong Quarterly and is also the Fiction Editor for the Los Angeles Review.

4 Week session $100

9-11 am Fridays:  10/23, 11/6, 11/13 and 11/20

Location: Plaza Arts Center – Healdsburg

Contact Stefanie – Stefanie@stefaniefreele.com – 707-889-0473

Suzanne Murray

The Heart of Writing – Four-Week Classes with Suzanne Murray

Tuesday Mornings, 9:30 am to noon, October 13 to November 3

$100 paid by 10/6, $115 after, west Santa Rosa

register early limited to 12

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00 to 9:30 pm, October 13 to November 3

$100 paid by 10/6, $115 after, downtown Sebastopol

register early limited to 12

Writing in Nature on Point Reyes (Bear Valley, Olema area)

Saturday, October 24, 10 am to 4 pm, $75 paid by 10/16, $85 after

register early limited to 12

Small supportive group. Good for beginners and experienced writers as well as all styles of writing.

Learn simple, powerful techniques to find your voice, tell your stories, calm your inner critic, enter the creative flow, jumpstart your writing and supportyour creative self. Find support and encouragement and an understanding of the craft of writing and the joyful heart of the creative process.

for more information call or email Suzanne at 707.874.9614 or suzmurr@yahoo.com or website:www.creativitygoeswild.com

What her students say:

Suzanne is more than an excellent teacher. She is an inspiration. Her writing workshops are not only about the craft of writing, but are a journey into the heart of the writing experience. . . – Jill Cagan

Suzanne’s class was tremendously inspiring. She offers a nearly endless variety of tools and creates an atmosphere that is both challenging and unconditionally supportive. She showed me how to side step blocks and let the creativity flow. No question, it is the best writing class I’ve ever taken. – Ed Richards

Suzanne has just the right touch, so supportive and gentle as we birthed our little word babies, she showed us how to see the beauty in them. And it

wasn’t fake! Once she pointed out the beauty, it was there! – Martha Stedman

Suzanne’s knowledge and ability to facilitate the writing process is incredible. – Janice Taylor

Taught by Suzanne Murray. A gifted teacher and creativity coach, now if her eighteenth year offering these classes and workshops, she brings to class a passion for books and working with words and an ability to inspire others to write. An award winning essayist and poet, Suzanne’s work appears in various literary journals including Orion and The Sun.

The North Bay Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Seven Magical Ways to Bring out the Storyteller in You

presented by author Marsha Diane Arnold.

This meeting will be held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts at 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA on Sept 21, 7-9 pm and is open to the public. Donation $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

Labeled a “born storyteller” by the media, Marsha wrote the popular, award-winning Sonoma County newspaper column  “homegrown treasures” from 1985 to 1995.  She has authored eleven picture books including the soulful Ridgway award winner, HEART OF A TIGER, the Smithsonian Notable PUMPKIN RUNNER, based on a real event, and the uproarious ROAR OF A SNORE. Marsha travels nationally and internationally as a speaker and writing workshop leader for schools and conferences.  She has taught aspiring authors for nine years, both privately, with the Institute of Children’s Literature, and online with Mediabistro.com. In 2008 Marsha was honored to be the only children’s author ever invited by the Sequoia Parks Foundation to participate in their “Artists in the Back Country” program.

Visit Marsha at www.marshadianearnold.com or at her blog, www.storymagician.blogspot.com.

SCBWI is a professional organization for writers and illustrators of children’s books. For more information contact Charles Markee, charles-t@charlesmarkee.com To find out more about the society visit the website at www.scbwi.org and to learn more about events in the North Bay go to http://www.scbwinorthca.org

Gwynne O’Gara’s Writing Workshops

Lighting Our Own Flames —Writing That Frees Our Genius

How do we address the gift of writing? Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, Genius is the power for lighting your own flame. The Romans believed genius (or for women, juno) to be a guardian spirit that comes to us at birth with the fullness of our undeveloped powers, which it offers to us as we grow. A sense of gratitude moves a person to labor in the service of their genius, which finds freedom through our work.

Each week we’ll warm up with a different poet—T.S. Eliot, Seamus Heaney, Kevin Young, Gabriela Mistral, Sylvia Plath and Eavan Boland. We’ll write and share our own work, and explore how to keep our individual flames burning. Excellent for prose writers as well as poets.

Tuesday Nights, 7—9, Oct. 20—Nov. 24. All levels, genders, and ages are welcome, $75 for all six classes. For more information and to register, contact Gwynn O’Gara at gwynn@sonic.com or call (707) 823-2993.

Gwynn O’Gara is the author of Snake Woman Poems, Fixer-Upper and Winter at Green Haven. Her poems have been published in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, The Evansville Review and Yellow Silk, and will appear in future issues of Calyx, Sage Woman and descant. Her personal essays have been published in Image Magazine and Tiny Lights.

For more information and to register, call (707) 823-2993 or e-mail gwynn@gwynnogara.com.

The workshops will be held at the Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati, Cotati, CA.

Petaluma Writers Forum

Writers Forum of Petaluma proudly presents Clara Rosemarda

Thursday, October 15,  2009 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma

$15 at the door

Clara Rosemarda   DEEP INQUIRY: A Memoir Workshop

Seven techniques to deepen and expand the inquiry into our lives, will be

the focus of this evening’s presentation. It is not the story but “the depth

of inquiry” says Vivian Gornick, “that guides us into memoir.”  Bring

notebooks and pens. We will write from a deep place, and learn how to make

art out of our lives.

CLARA ROSEMARDA, MA, writer, writing coach, counselor, and workshop leader,

has been in private practice in Santa Rosa for over twenty-five years. A

memoirist and poet, Clara works with beginning as well as mainstream

writers, and teaches workshops internationally.  She is co-creator and

coordinator of the popular writer’s program, The Writer’s Sampler, of the

Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Her prose and poetry are published in

literary journals and anthologies. Her most recent book, published by

Interlink Books, 2004, is STEEPED: IN THE WORLD OF TEA

For more information: www.thewritespot.us

Marlene – mcullen@comcast.net

Laurie Reiche ‘s Writing Soiree

Laurie leads writing workshops the third Sunday of every month, 3-6 PM at her home.

The focus is generating new work, both poetry and prose. Sliding scale. For more information, call 415-892-9430 or e-mail p.reiche@comcast.net.

Lessen-Reiche has facilitated workshops for many years. She was the 2006 Winner of Lilith Magazine's Second Annual Charlotte Newberger National Poetry Award. Her work has also appeared in magazines such as SUNY Upstate Medical Journal: The Healing Muse, and The Southern Poetry Review. 
 

Scott Serkes Reid

Updraft: An Online Poetry Workshop to Ignite Your Imagination

This long-distance learning adventure is for all ages and levels ofexperience. All you need is the desire to make better poems and a willingness to study the craft of poetry. In this workshop, you have the opportunity to:* Meet poets from around the world * Make new friends * Write a new poem every week * Take a class that fits into your schedule * Have fun We meet online Saturday mornings for guided writing exercises. Studentsengage in brainstorm techniques and writing assignments that focus on various aspects of poetry. Upon finishing the first draft, we post ourwriting to a private discussion board and then

critique follows. Throughoutthe week, we revise and post our second drafts. Students receive peerfeedback as well as individual mentoring from the instructor. Class begins Late October, 2009 and runs for six weeks.

Instructor Scott Reid, MA presents poetry writing classes for children in Sonoma County with California Poets in the Schools. His poems have appeared in Blue Unicorn, The Berkeley Poetry Review, Melic Review, Sow’s Ear and The Dickens, and he has received writing fellowships to the Squaw ValleyWriters’ Conference, Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. As presenter of poetry for adults since 1989, he

hastaught many classes in poetry at the Albany Adult School. The Updraft poetry workshop is starting its tenth year.For information about the class, please visit:  http://www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/workshop/intro.html

Clara Rosemarda’s Write Mind™ Workshops
CREATIVE WRITING AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
4 sessions begin:
Wednesday, October 7th, 7 – 9:30pm OR
Thursday, October 8th, 10am – 12:30pm
fee $120 Space is limited.
Contact Clara: 707:579-2081   rosen@sonic.net

Strong attention allows us to drop into deep writing. Creative writing propels the writer into the unknown. Whether you write prose or poetry, letters or fiction, this workshop will inspire your muse to write from a core place. Through meditation, visualizations, and other exercises that quiet the mind and expand the imagination, you will access and activate your creative muse. A comfortable, safe environment is provide for the writer to emerge. Open to beginning, emerging, and experienced writers.

DEEP INQUIRY: An Evening of Memoir
at The Petaluma Writer’s Forum, $15 at the door

Thursday, October 15th, 7–9pm (starts promptly at 7pm)

Seven techniques to deepen and expand the inquiry into our lives, will be the focus of this evening’s presentation. It is not the story but “the depth of inquiry” says Vivian Gornick, “that guides us into memoir.”  Bring notebooks and pens. We will write from a deep place, and learn how to make art out of our lives.    Location: Petaluma Community Center at Lucchesi Park, 320 No. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, For  more information go to the Writer’s Forum site at: http://www.thewritespot.us/gpage2.html

MEMORY AND IMAGINATION: Writing Memoir

Writer’s Sampler: with Clara Rosemarda

Monday, October 26th, 7 – 9pm, $15 at the door
at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot St. Seb., 707:829-4797

Imagination is the vehicle that transports memory. We do not invent our past; we recall it and allow it to emerge through our imagination. The memory of a momentary event can be expanded to include not only the happening but also your reactions to it and its effect on who you have become. Learn to make your memories and thoughts enticing, interesting, and universal. We will write using exercises to invigorate our memories and take leaps into the unknown.

TOPPER’S HAIR SALON POETS
A Poetry Reading at Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Thursday, October 29th, 7:30pm, Free

THE NEXT LEVEL: A Revision Workshop
with Clara Rosemarda, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts
4 sessions begin:
Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17, & 24
10am to Noon. Fee $100

Have you been filling notebooks with writings that get tossed in a box and are crying to get out? Are you ready to pull some of your prose and poetry out of those voluminous notebooks, polish them up, and take them to the next level? Then, this is the workshop for you. Class size will be limited. Contact Clara: 707:579-2081 rosen@sonic.net or SCA 707:829-4797

Private consultations with writers by appointment.

CLARA ROSEMARDA, MA, writer, writing coach, counselor, and workshop leader, has been working with writers for over twenty-five years. A memoirist and poet, Clara works with beginning and emerging writers as well as mainstream authors, and teaches workshops internationally. In 2008 she was nominated for the Sonoma County Artists Awards Program in Literary Arts. She is co-creator and coordinator of The Writer’s Sampler, of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Her essays and poetry have been published in literary journals and anthologies including Tiny Lights; The Dickens; ZEBULON NIGHT; JASMINE NIGHTS & MONKEY PLUCK. She is co-editor and co-author of the anthology, STEEPED: IN THE WORLD OF TEA. Clara has been in private practice in Santa Rosa, California as a counselor and healer for thirty years.

Sebastopol Writer’s Sampler Sampler XXl

Lively, homework-free workshops for writers. 7-9 pm @ SCA, 6780 Depot Street in Sebastopol.

Fees: $15 per class; $50 for all 4

Call 829-4797 for details

The Writer’s Sampler XXI is supported by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from The James Irvine Foundation.

October 5: Barbara Baer – SMALL PRESS PUBLISHING, SELF-PUBLISHING, PUBLISHING ON DEMAND

The publishing business has gone from simple to very complex in the thirteen years since I established Floreant Press, but the writer’s desire to create and publish has not changed. From my experience with Floreant Press you will learn about genre, subject matter, and good distribution prospects with a small press or a self-published book. I also offer a never-give-up story about re-writing and shopping a small book for decades and finally finding a home with a medium-small press that puts out a small print run and then offers more by Print on Demand.

Barbara Baer has won a national journalism prize from Columbia Missouri. Forthcoming from Ghost Road Press, GRISHA, a novella; Inclusion in anthologies: 125 Years of Writing in The Nation; America’s Working Women, and more. Stories and essays in Redbook, The Nation, The Progressive, North American Review, Orion Magazine, Traveler’s Tales and other publications. From Floreant Press: CARTWHEELS ON THE FAULTLINE; SALTWATER, SWEETWATER; THE HORSE ORCHARD; POMEGRANATE ROADS and more.

October 12: Lizann Bassham – WHEN YOUR CHARACTERS HAVE MORE TO SAY: Moving From Short Fiction To The Novel

The idea of sitting down to write a novel or book-length memoir can be daunting. In this workshop, we will look at (and practice) several forms of writing, as a way to help aspiring novelists break the process down into pieces and steps that can make it feel less overwhelming. The workshop will help writers explore how poetry, journal writing, flash fiction, theater, and even emails can be helpful in constructing a novel.

Lizann Bassham writes in several forms including novels, plays, curriculum, songs and poems. Parts of both her novels,BAREFOOT and ONE OF ANOTHER were workshopped with Frank Conroy at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2004. Her play, STORIES SELDOM TOLD was revived this year and performed in several venues in Sonoma County. Once, quite by accident, she won a salsadance contest in East L.A.

October 19: Ken Rodgers – LYRIC ESSAY: Where The Lyrical Meets The Personal

We will investigate the border regions where the writer embraces both the personal and the lyrical. Where how it felt, smelled, looked, sounded like supersedes the fact of the matter. Where poems and experience bang up against each other. We will look at form and

style and language in an attempt to give our work the essential force that allows us to fracture our narrative essays.

Ken Rodgers received an MFA from USF where he also did post-doctoral work in teaching and writing. He was awarded the Duncan Fraser Creative Writing Award from SRJC; was nominee for Best New American Voices, USF; placed second, twice, in essay

contests in Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Essay. His poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Ken is the author of two books of poetry: TRENCH DINING, and BARSTOW AND OTHER POEMS.

October 26: Clara Rosemarda – MEMORY AND IMAGINATION: Writing Memoir

Imagination is the vehicle memory travels on. We do not invent our past; we recall it and allow it to emerge through our imagination The memory of a momentary event can be expanded to include not only the happening but also your reactions to it as well as its effect

on who you have become. Learn to make your memories and thoughts enticing, interesting, and universal. We will write using exercises to invigorate our memories and take leaps into the unknown.

Clara Rosemarda has taught creative writing for over two decades. She has worked with emerging writers as well as published mainstream authors. In 2008 she was nominated for the Sonoma County Artists Awards Program in Literary Arts. Her essays and poems have been published in various literary journals and anthologies including Tiny Lights; The Dickens; ZEBULON NIGHT; JASMINE

NIGHTS & MONKEY PLUCK. She is co-editor and co-author of the anthology, STEEPED: IN THE WORLD OF TEA.

Andrew Todhunter

A Writers’ Workshop in Paris

October 12th through 16th, 2009 – Paris, France

Open to all writers, this five-day intensive workshop concentrates on strengthening the fundamental elements of strong, clear writing in fiction and non-fiction.

While suitable for newer writers, the Paris workshop also serves experienced and published writers who wish to develop the stylistic and structural principals at the heart of their craft.

The workshop format is highly interactive and includes lecture, written exercises, group editing exercises and extensive Q & A.

Andrew Todhunter’s Paris Workshop is lively and deeply collaborative. Participants return engaged and inspired, with closely revised material and renewed passion for the written word.

About the Instructor:

Born in Paris, raised in the US and educated at UC Berkeley, award-winning author and participatory journalist Andrew Todhunter has been teaching writing for more than fifteen years, including appearances at the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference and workshops in Paris. His work has been published in numerous journals and periodicals, including The Atlantic Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, National Geographic and the Washington Post Sunday Magazine. His subjects range widely, from ice climbing in the Scottish Highlands to animal rescue, French cuisine and early medieval history. He is the author of three books, including the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller Fall of the Phantom Lord and the PEN USA Award-winning A Meal Observed. His work has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Italian.

“Andrew’s warmth, his sincerity and his ability to create an inspirational learning environment all combine to make him an excellent workshop leader… His dedication to his students is inspirational.”

—Charlotte Gullick, Director, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference

“Andrew is a born public speaker and a superb presenter… Whether speaking to a group of ten or two hundred, he is riveting in his honesty, his insight and his ability with words.”

—Steve Mandel, President and Founder, Mandel Communications

Course Tuition: $1195

(Includes 5 days of instruction, a personal coaching session and lifetime email support)

Friend Discount: Any student who brings a paying friend will receive a $100 discount, one discount per person. Larger groups of friends may “chain” this discount to maximize savings.

Deposit: $500 due by September 1, 2009.

Class Size: 8-12 Students.

Other Features: Optionally, participants may gather in the evenings at a neighboring watering hole or stroll beloved Parisian neighborhoods with Todhunter as their guide.

Travel, Lodging and Meals: To control costs, travel, lodging and meals are not included in the course fee.  When the classroom location is finalized, several hotels, restaurants and cafes within walking distance will be suggested.

For more information on the Paris Writers’ Workshop, or to register, please email:

workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa: Creative Projects Coaching/Consultation for Artists & Writers

THE POD: ART & WRITING

workshops & monthly creative projects coaching circle…

Centa Theresa, M.A.

www.centatheresa.com 707-478-5903 vicenta@sonic.net
CREATIVE PROJECTS COACHING: Whether you have a manuscript in the making that

you can¹t seem to finish, a body of artwork that needs more of your time, an

idea you¹d like to see manifest but have no plan, etc., I help you to

clarify the vision, identify challenges, claim successes and keep

accountable for stated intentions. Private sessions held in my home

office/studio in Santa Rosa. Call for further inquiry.

ART/WRITING PROCESS: Through dialogue, meditation, free-writing exercises

and the exploration of various art media, focus on a question or theme of

present concern and let the process unfold. Come one time or for a

predetermined series of private sessions in my home studio. Call for further

inquiry.

Call for free consultation. 707-478-5903. www.centatheresa.com

<http://www.centatheresa.com> . vicenta@sonic.net

Centa Theresa M.A. has exhibited her art in Bay Area galleries & had poems

appear or are forthcoming in such journals as Harpur Palate, Eclipse, The

Hurricane Review, Tiny Lights, and DrumVoices Revue. Centa has authored the

letterset edition, Blameless Recognition of Natural Light. She currently

teaches art at Napa State Hospital and has trained in ³creativity coaching²

with Eric Maisel.

Writers’ Connections

If you’d like to invite others in the literary community to join your writers’ group or network, send an announcement to tehret99@comcast.net.

WESTWORD SECOND SUNDAY SALONS @ SEBASTOPOL, 4-6PM

All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549

Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.)

GOR YASWEN
YASWEN@AOL.COM

Blog with me about: “Inspiring Young Children to Read”…

Reading aloud to young children yields benefits aplenty. The NAE sez it this way:

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required
for eventual success in reading – is reading aloud to children.”
– Commission on Reading of the National Academy of Education

There are five well defined ‘Facts, Advantages and Benefits’ to reading aloud
that I’ve summarized here in relation to Ocean Rudee & Company’s program offerings:
https://www.oceanrudee.com/what.is.ocean.rudee.and.company.html#readaloud

I’d love to hear other thoughts and ideas (from any of you within the Sonoma County
Literary Update universe) in relation to your experiences, ideas and outlooks toward
the future – in regards to reading, books, reading aloud, inspiring young children,
early childhood education, multi-media programming, literacy and the like.

My blog is located here: http://oceanrudee.blogspot.com/

I await hearing the sounds of your keystrokes and absorbing your insights accordingly.

Responsively Reading Aloud I am,

Paul Ennis
pwe@ oceanrudee.com

Sitting Room Book Discussion Group

We meet 2-4 on the third Wednesday of every month, skipping December, at The Sitting Room and are always open to new readers. For more info, email Joanne Page at jpage@sonic.net.  (The January 21 book is Pat Barker’s first novel in her trilogy about World War I, “Regeneration.”)

The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club.

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Its motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa. Our one-day conference, part of CWC Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Call for Scriptwriters on Weekly Radio Show

Are you an accomplished scriptwriter looking for a long-term project to sink your creativity into? Ocean Rudee & Company of Sebastopol is in the process of pulling together a team of 4 to 6 ‘scriptors’. Project responsibilities will include: the development of an ongoing series of radio serial dramas and related multi-media programs for children from 4 to 8-years of age (as well as their parents, teachers and primary caregivers).

Prior experience writing for children is not necessary. An understanding of how to write for continuity, how to maintain and adhere to a well developed set of character profiles, the ability to function well as a team player, a love of children’s literature and an abiding commitment to the muse – are essential.

If this is you, please visit Ocean Rudee’s website (www.oceanrudee.com) and send them off an e-mail expressing your interest in learning more.

.

Join the Staff of First Leaves
If you have ever wanted to be on the staff of an energetic, literary journal and learn the process of compiling a publication, plan to join English 80 (3 unit, CSU transferable) for the Spring ’09 semester. Students enrolled in English 80 are involved in all aspects of producing a literary journal (with the guidance of the instructor), from approving submissions to putting the actual journal together. Evaluating other people’s work is a great way to learn your own strengths and weaknesses. The class is fun, collaborative, and project-based: we will produce a high-quality, well-designed magazine. We welcome the participation of people throughout the North Bay, including mature working adults, young adults, teens and retirees.

Contact Instructor Abby Bogomolny for more information: (707) 522-2779

Have You ‘Jacket-Flapped’ Lately?
JacketFlap is an international social networking community where you can connect with upwards of 5,000 published authors and illustrators of books for Children and Young Adults. Paul Ennis of Sebastopol reports: “I’ve been a member of JacketFlap (http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=OceanRudee) since late-June of 2008. My efforts to produce audio books for children and source read-aloud materials for my radio program production project (targeting an October 2009 broadcast premiere) have been greatly enhanced by the people I’ve been able to meet through JacketFlap. It’s FREE to join, the community is a vibrant one that does not seem to generate junk e-mails to any great degree and the atmosphere is very professional. If you are ready to network with folks around the world in the children’s book publishing industry this is an online community you need to be a part of. Their membership includes: children’s book authors, illustrators, editors, agents, publishing companies, designers, publicists, booksellers, librarians, teachers, students and just plain old ordinary folks who love children’s literature. Check it out – you’ll have fun in the process!”

The International Women’s Writing Guild

The IWWG is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. As such, it has established a remarkable record of achievement in the publishing world, as well as in circles where lifelong learning and personal transformation are valued for their own sake. The Guild nurtures and supports holistic thinking by recognizing the logic of the heart—the ability to perceive the subtle interconnections between people, events and emotions—alongside conventional logic. For more information about how to join the IWWG, contact Caroline Brumleve: e-mail iwwg@iwwg. org or visit their website at www.iwwg.org.

Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings

SUNDAYS

First Sunday of the month: The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club general meetings are held on the first Sunday of the month, (except for holiday weekends), from 3-5 pm. at Copperfield’s Book Store in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village (2316 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 95404, 707-578-8938). A small fee of $3 for members, $5 for nonmembers is asked to cover speaking fees and light refreshments. For more information see www.redwoodwriters.org or call Linda at 707-484-4153.

Second Sunday of the month: Westwood Second Sunday Salons, 4-6 PM. All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549. Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.) For more information, contact GOR YASWEN YASWEN@AOL.COM

Sunday afternoons at 2 PM: Poetry Azul Reading Series – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series (formerly “Sococo At the Toad”) has moved to Cafe Azul located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa.  Following the successful first reading at the new location in July, future scheduled Sunday 2PM readings include Sept 13, Nov. 8, Jan 10, and March 14.  Admission is free.  573-5935. For further information contact director and emcee Ed Coletti at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net

Third Sundays 11:30-1:00pm: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H street, hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! Last month, twelve people showed up and we had a great time! Couldn’t drag myself out of there! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Third Sundays12:30 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. Poetry Reading & Open Mic: Coffee Catz

Poetry Reading. Donations Appreciated. 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-5643.

Fourth Sundays 4-6 PM. An open reading the 4th Sunday of each month is taking place at the Saint Rose Cafe, 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol, from 4 to 6 pm. The next reading will be Sunday, August 23rd. Come and read your latest work.

Last Sunday of each month, 6-8:30 PM: Poetry, Pints, and Prose at Maguires Pub 145 Kentucky Street in Petaluma. Hosted by Michelle Baynes, the readings begin with a featured reader, followed by open-mic. For more information, contact Michelle at 707-326-3773 or Catherine at 707-338-1554 or e-mail them at PoetryPintsProse@aol.com.

MONDAYS

First Monday of the Month: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa (UUCSR) Writers meet in the “New Room”, Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa, 547 Mendocino Ave.Santa Rosa, Ca 95401, 707-568-5381 or http://www.uusantarosa.org/ Meetings are held in the afternoon, 4 – 6 pm, and again in the evening, 6:45 – 8:45 pm. Focus: Whatever your creative endeavor: memoirs, letters, history, biographies, the Great American novel, poems, essays, song lyrics, reports, term papers, cook books, web pages, blogs, etc., our focus is to provide an atmosphere where you can improve and hone your writing skills.The UUCSR Writers is open to the novice, the more experienced, and the published author. Membership at UUCSR is not required. UUCSR Writers, Georgette G. deBlois, GGdeB@aol.com, http://uucsrwriters.blogspot.com

TUESDAYS

Second Tuesday of each month 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Cafe hosts a featured writer and an open mic reading at the Healdsburg Senior Center 133 Matheson St. (one block east of the Plaza). Light refreshments are served. Admission is free ($5.00 donation encouraged).  Contact: Cynthia Helen Beecher (707) 696-1111.

SATURDAYS

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

Intermittently Scheduled Events

ODD Month Readings is sponsored by the Redwood Writers Club. The readings are open to non-members, but are not open mic format. Contact Ann Wilkes at critiquegrpcoord@redwoodwriters.org or 707-792-1704 to get on the list or for more information. Redwood Writers roves the county with talented writers for your listening pleasure.

Haiku Poets of No. California. Join us for our free quarterly readings & workshops. A featured reader, often longtime HPNC members, will present a short reading of haiku and/or other Japanese genre poetry. Each meeting also offers a lengthier program (usually a presentation or workshop related to one of the Japanese forms). There will be one or more round-robin readings, where all attendees have an opportunity, open-mic style, to read and share one or more haiku and tanka. Also news and announcements, including upcoming events, submission calls and brief introductions of any new books of interest, as well as time for socializing and refreshments. A book table is set up for the sale and purchase of HPNC and other books (you may bring your own publications if you have some to sell). Our meetings and special events, which are open to both members and nonmembers, are held quarterly at San Francisco’s Fort Mason, building C, room 235, from 1 to 5 PM. For more information, or to become an HPNC member (which includes a subscription to our renowned semiannual journal Mariposa and a quarterly newsletter) go to the HPNC website at www.haiku-poets-northern-california.com.

How to List Your Announcements in the Literary Update

General Information

The Literary Update is a compilation of announcements which I receive from members of the Sonoma County literary community about workshops, readings, ongoing literary and writing groups, calls for submissions, and contests. Events should be primarily literary in nature, and should be located in, or within an hour’s drive of, Sonoma County.

I aim to make the monthly updates as inclusive as possible. If you have a workshop, event, contest, or call for submission to announce to the Sonoma County literary community, please send it to me as an e-mail message by noon on the last day of each calendar month. Any notices received after this deadline will not be included, but may be added to the next month’s Literary Update, if still relevant.

Here are the basic guidelines for announcements.

1. Include the words “Literary Update” in your subject heading.

2. Make sure your announcement is concise, carefully proofread, and copy-edited. Also keep in mind that I can only include announcements that are plain text and presented in the e-mail message (no flyers, PDF’s, or attachments with special formatting please). Retyping text and reformatting special fonts from flyers takes time, sometimes causes errors, and may result in announcements being left out of the Update.

3. If you have an event or workshop you want included in the monthly calendar, as well as listed in another category of the Update, please include an abbreviated version of your announcement in the following format:

Day, Date, Time: Event title, featured authors, cost (if any), location, contact information.

4. Suggest the category where you’d like it placed. These are listed here:

• County-Wide Literary News (general interest announcements)
• Sonoma County in Print (new books/chapbooks/CDs by Sonoma County writers)
• News from East County (Sonoma area)
• News from North County (Healdsburg area)
• News from West County (Occidental/Guerneville area)
• Writers’ Connections (invitations to join groups, formal or informal)
• Upcoming Workshops and Conferences (current workshops you are offering)
• Call for Submissions (local literary journals, magazines, contests)
• Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings
• Monthly Calendar of readings, events and workshops
• Sonoma County Workshop Leaders (e-mail and website contacts)
• Details about Workshops, Calls for Submission, Contests (information that is too lengthy to include in the short features or calendar listings)

Deadline

The deadline for announcements is noon on the last day of each calendar month. If your event is early in the month, send it two months ahead to make sure it gets in the calendar in a timely fashion

Donation

For those who regularly announce their workshops, readings, or services here, a donation of $10/year is appreciated to keep the update and its website going. Donations from regular readers are welcome, too! If you’d like to find out how you can help, please contact me at tehret99@comcast.net.

Book Festival in France (photo by Allison Moe)

Dear Literary Folk,

September is Festival Month. There will be Kids’ Chalk Poems and Artwork Chalk Up  at Water Street Plaza in Petaluma on September 13, The Sonoma County Book Festival  in Courthouse Square, downtown Santa Rosa on Spetmber 19, and the fabulous Petaluma PoetWalk on September 20. Mark your calendars, and check the “County Wide News” for details about these and many more literary ways to celebrate the new season.

Back in 2004, my daughter Allison was studying abroad in Bordeaux, France. She clicked this photo above during a local book festival. I have no idea how the woman got up there, but she’s an inspiration!

Trouble with the August Update

Last month, many of you wrote to me to say you hadn’t received the August 1 Literary Update. Others of you may have just assumed that the June and July hiatus had been extended. The August 1 Update was sent to you all just before midnight on July 31. However, it didn’t arrive in everyone’s e-mail box. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for who received it and who didn’t, as I had followed my usual protocol. In following up with the requests to resend the Update, what I’ve come to realize is that many e-mail servers now limit, or even block e-mails with attachments, even if they aren’t group messages. It may depend on the size of the attachment. The Literary Update runs between 25-30 pages each month, so that may exceed the e-mail box limits.

I’ve always attached a printer-friendly version, knowing that e-mailing can distort the format and make the Update difficult to read. Starting with this September Update, I will no longer be including the word-document attachment.

My apologies for this slight inconvenience, but, alas, there is no way for me to know whose e-mail server is now refusing to accept the Update attachment, and it is labor intensive to resend the update to individuals after the group mailing goes out, then follow-up on each to see if they were received.

If you find that the e-mail version doesn’t work for you, you can still read and print the current Update on its website. In fact, I’ve reworked the website presentation so that it is very user friendly. You can click on different sections of the Update without having to scroll through the entire newsletter. You may find that you prefer the website format after all. In that case, feel free to let me know if I should take you off the monthly e-mail distribution list

West Ireland Literary Tour

Some of you have been asking for details about the Ireland trip in June/July. You are all welcome to visit the website for this: http://www.westireland.wordpress.com.

Included there is a link to the photo gallery slideshow of this year’s trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/tehret99/WestIrelandPhotoGallerySlideshow#

There are eleven galleries (whew!), each running 2-5 minutes and set to Irish music. Pick one and enjoy! Gallery 4 on the Aran Island of Inisheer is one of my favorites.

I might be available to lead a return trip next summer, so if you or anyone you know is interested in a writing workshop and literary tour in Yeats county–the traditional land of the druids–send them to the website or to me at my e-mail address: tehret99@comcast.net.

Upcoming Readings

I will be reading new poems at the Forum Room of the Santa Rosa Regional Library as part of the Sonoma County Book Festival on Saturday, September 19. My reading will be 2:00-2:30, but you might enjoy coming early and visiting the booths, exhibitors, and vendors on Courthouse Square. For information about the Book Festival, scroll down to the “County Wide News,” or visit their website at www.socobookfest.org.

Upcoming Workshops

As usual, I will be leading two workshops this fall through the Sitting Room in Cotati. The Monday workshop will focus on the Imagist Movement and the poetry of H.D. In the Friday workshop, which focuses on the prose poem, we’ll be discussing the short prose of Polish writer Wislawa Szymborska and Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. The Imagist/H.D. workshop is currently filled. One seat is still open in the Prose Poem workshop. Click this link for details: http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/spring-2008-workshops/

♦♦♦

List Your Readings and Events on BookTour.com

In addition to sending your announcements to me for the Literary Update each month, a great way to get the word out about your readings and events is to send your listing to the website BookTour.com.

I met Kevin Smokler of BookTour.com at the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and I really like the service his website provides. You can look up readings by author or location. There is even a way to find venues to promote your own publications and build your own book tour.

Here’s the link: http://www.booktour.com/.

September Calendar of Literary Events

The monthly calendar reflects announcements sent to me. To get a more complete list of author-events and workshop schedules, addresses and directions to the event locations, as well as bios of the presenters, you can use these links.

Copperfield’s Books http://www.copperfields.net/

Readers’ Books www.readersbooks.com

WordTemple Poetry Series http://www.wordtemple.com

Petaluma Writers’ Forum and Jumpstart Writing Workshops: www.thewritespot.us

Sebastopol Center for the Arts http://www.sebarts.org/index.htm

SoCoCo Poetry Reading Series edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.

The Sitting Room www.sittingroom.org.

Sunday, Sept. 6 2-4 M:The City of Livermore and poet laureate Cher Wollard invite the public to attend a special literary event. Featured poets Lynne Knight and Carolyn Miller will read, followed by an Open Mic. Refreshments will be provided by Checkers Catering. Admission is $5 at the door. For information, contact Wollard at 925 824-4824 or cherw@livermorelit.com.

Tuesday, September 8, 7-9 PM: Center Literary Café Presents Book Author Jeane Slone and Poet Donna Emerson. Open mic. Bring prose or poetry to share. Doors open at 6:30
Light refreshments. Donations appreciated. Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center, 133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza), Healdsburg, CA 95448.
Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111 centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Wednesday, September 9 at 7 PM: “Making and Impression” Workshop with Eric Johnson and Guy Beiderman begins.  Anatomy of writing Lowfat fiction and poems meet the metal type & printing presses at Iota Press studio(925-c Gravenstein Hwy S., Sebastopol). Compose two short pieces, learn to set type, exult in pulling your very own proof. Get down to the bones of your work – letter by letter. Wednesday evenings, September 9, 16, 23, 30.7:00PM     $150 Contact: Eric: 823-6152   <iota@sonic.net>, or Guy:<guyb@sonic.net>

Friday, September 11, 7-9 PM: WordTemple Poetry Series presents John Olivares Espinoza and Rusty Morrison, with opening poet George Stenger. NOTE: BEGINNING WITH THE FALL 2009 SEASON, THE WORDTEMPLE POETRY SERIES WILL BE HELD AT THE SONOMA COUNTY MUSEUM, 425-7th Street, Santa Rosa. Visit www.sonomacountymuseum.org. For details about the featured poets, visit the website at www.wordtemple.com.

Saturday, September 12, 1:30-3:30 PM: Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma presents Donna Emerson reading from her new book Body Rhymes. Jared Emerson-Johnson will play introductory and closing music on violin and mandolin. Location: 140 Kentucky Street, Petaluma.

Sunday, September 13 at 2 PM: Poetry Azul Reading Series  – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa. Featured readers will include Michael Rothenberg, Sue Stephenson, Carl Macki, Phyllis Meshulam, Centa Theresa, and Park Teter. Admission is free. 573-5935.

Monday, September 14 at 7pm: Rose Black reads from Clearing and Winter Light at Dr. Insomnia’s Café, 800 Grant Avenue, Novato. Open mic to follow, presented by Poetry Farm.

Wednesday, September16, 7-9 PM: Sunset Poetry by the Bay at Studio 333 hosts readings by three widely published Bay Area Rebecca Foust, Jannell Moon and Connie Post. Location: Studio 333, 333 Caledonia Street, Sausalito, Calif. More info poetnews@sonic.net or visit www.studio333.info.

Thursday, September 17, 7:00 to 9:00 pm: Writers Forum of Petaluma proudly presents J.T. Bymaster’s workshop on “Relaxing into (and through) the Creative Process.” Location: Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma. $15 at the door. Details available in the “Current and Upcoming Workshops” section of the Literary Update. For more information: www.thewritespot.us or contact Marlene – mcullen@comcast.net.

Saturday, September 19, 10 AM to 5 PM: Sonoma County Book Festival at Courthouse Square, downtown Santa Rosa. For exhibitors and vendors, authors, and events, check out the website at www.socobookfest.org.

Saturday, September 19, 2-3 PM: Donna Emerson reads from her new collection of poems Body Rhymes at the Rincon Valley Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd. in Santa Rosa.

Sunday, September 20, 10 AM-8 PM: Petaluma Poetry Walk at various venues in downtown Petaluma, starting at the Petaluma Arts Center at Lakeville and D Streets. Every hour participants may stroll from venue to venue to see poets and musicians. For details available in “County Wide News.”

Sunday, September 20, 2-4 PM: Healdsburg Literary Arts Guild presents featured writer Penelope LaMontagne, Healdsburg’s literary laureate 2004-2006. Location: Healdsburg City Hall,401 Grove Street. Open mic. Free admission. Open to the public. For more information, check “News from North County” in the “County-Wide News” section, or contact healdsburgliteraryguild@gmail.com.

Sunday, September 20, 12:30 to 1:30 P.M. Third Sunday Poetry Reading & Poetry Open Mic: Featured reader is Jewel Mathieson, poet Laureate of 5 Rhythms International Dance Community, Gabrielle Roth. Hosted by Sher Lianne Christian, poet, accompanied by John Christian on piano & accordion. Donation appreciated, $1 to $10. Coffee Catz, 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-6600.

Monday, September 21, 7-9 PM: The North Bay Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) presents Seven Magical Ways to Bring out the Storyteller in You by author Marsha Diane Arnold. This meeting will be held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts at 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA and is open to the public. Donation $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Contact charles-t@charlesmarkee.com

Thursday September 24, 9:30 to 11:30: Poetry and Esoteric Tradition, a workshop given by Daniel Polikoff. $60. Kentfield. Contact Rose Black at 510.633.1888 or moorpak@ix.netcom.com.

Thursday, September 24 at 7 PM: Quicksilver Mine Co. presents Storytelling, Gardening & Healing with Chester Arnold &  Shepherd Bliss. Location: The Quicksilver Mine Co., 6671 Front St./Hwy 116, Forestville, CA 95436, (707) 887-0799 www.quicksilvermineco.com.

Saturday, September 26, 2-4 PM: Redwood Writers will celebrate the release of Vintage Voices: Cent’Ani: May You Live 100 Years with a reading and book signing at North Light Books and Café, 550 E. Cotati Ave., Cotati. Linda Reid will host the event. Food and wine will be available for purchase as well as copies of the anthology. Authors will be on hand to sign your copy. There is no charge to attend. Pre-publication orders may be placed here: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/vv4orders.pdf.

Saturday, September 26, 7-9 PM: Poets Rose Black, Donna Emerson, and Janet Jennings read at Book Passage, Corte Madera, 51 Tamal Vista Avenue, Corte Madera.

Saturday, October 3 starting at 8:30 AM: Menocino Watershed Celebration Day & Eco Groups Expo begins with an Open Mic Poetry Reading from 8:30 AM -12:30PM  at Alex Thomas Park held in collaboration with the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Produced by Larry Sheehy and Doug Strong. For more information about this and other Watershed Celebration Day readings and events, contact Larry at 485-7072 or ecotopialarry@pacific.net . You can also visit the website at http://watershedpoetrymendocino.wordpress.com/

Thursday, October 8, 7:30 pm: Rose Black reads from her books Clearing and Winter Light with Rafaella Del Bourgo and Joe Zaccardi at Moe’s Books, Berkeley,2476 Telegraph Avenue.Presented by Poetry Flash.

Tuesday, October 13, 7pm: Rose and Stefanie Freele read their work at Healdsburg Senior Center, Healdsburg, 133 Matheson Street. Presented by Center Literary Café.

Friday, October 16, 7-9 PM: WordTemple Poetry Series presents Rebecca Foust, Opal Palmer Adisa, devorah major, and Donna Emerson. NOTE: BEGINNING WITH THE FALL 2009 SEASON, THE WORDTEMPLE POETRY SEat Copperfield’s Books, Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa, CA. For details about the featured poets, visit the website at www.wordtemple.com.

Don’t see your event in the calendar? Check to make sure you sent your announcement by the deadline. I am happy to include all announcements, text only (no PDF please), sent to me no later than noon on the last day of each month.  Calendar entries are easier to include if they follow the format you see above, and if you can keep the information brief.

County-Wide News

Who Will Be Sonoma County’s Next Poet Laureate?

Sonoma County’s Poet Laureate Selection Committee is announcing open nominations for the County’s sixth Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate is a person who is a resident of Sonoma County, whose poetry manifests a high degree of excellence, who has produced a critically acclaimed body of work, and who has demonstrated a commitment to the literary arts in Sonoma County. If chosen, the Poet Laureate must agree to participate from time to time in the official ceremonies and poetry readings of Sonoma County.

The Poet Laureate Selection Committee is composed of representatives from the five County Supervisory Districts, and from Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, the Sonoma County Library, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, the Literary Arts Guild and the previous poets laureate. Each member of this panel has demonstrated a profound knowledge of and an active commitment to, the life of poetry in our county.

Deadline for nominations is September 25, 2009 and the new Poet Laureate will be announced in December.

Consistent with tradition, the Sonoma County Poet Laureate will not have a formal job description but will be encouraged to develop an agenda promoting poetry and the literary arts in Sonoma County. Organizers of various community events in Sonoma County may invite the poet laureate to participate in their events. There is no stipend or compensation for this position.

Download the submission requirements and application form from the Center for the Arts’ website at www.sebarts.org under the Calls for Entry tab or email lindag@sonic.net.  For questions please contact Linda Galletta at lindag@sonic.net or call the Center for the Arts at 829-4797.

Linda Galletta, Executive Director

Sebastopol Center for the Arts

6780 Depot Street

Sebastopol, CA 95472

lindag@sonic.net

707.829.4797

Nominations for Healdsburg Literary Laureate

The Healdsburg Literary Guild, in anticipation of the ending of the term of its fifth Literary Laureate at this year’s end, is seeking applicants and nominations for the 2010-2011 Healdsburg Literary Laureate. Candidate must live in either of these two zip codes: 95448 or 95441, be an active writer, and be willing to serve for two years. Deadline for applications is September 30, 2009. For application and more information: healdsburglaureate@gmail.com.

Sonoma County has named a Poet Laureate every two years since 2000, but Healdsburg has been the only community in Sonoma County that has named its own Literary Laureate during that same decade.  Previous Healdsburg Laureates have been Doug Stout [2000-2001], Armando Garcia-Davila [2002-2003], Penelope LaMontagne [2004-2005], Chip Wendt [2006-2007], and the present Laureate, Vilma Ginzberg [2008-2009].  In April of this year, in celebration of National Poetry Month, the Healdsburg Literary Guild hosted, at its monthly Third Sunday Salon, a gathering of 18 northern California county and community Poets Laureate in reading from the first anthology of California laureates’ poetry, “Sometimes in the Open”.  A DVD of that event is available from the Healdsburg Literary Guild, proceeds going to its Laureate program.

Sonoma County Book Festival, Saturday, September 19th

The Literary Arts Guild will present another wonderful Book Festival and once again raise our flags on Courthouse Square to celebrate the literary arts.

For the past decade, the Sonoma County Book Festival has provided a free day of locally treasured and nationally recognized poets, novelists, essayists, reporters, children’s writers, aspiring writers, book group experts, publishers, bookstores, and other delightful and instructive displays on Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa. This year we are proud to continue this tradition of bringing the literary arts to the public connecting authors, readers, and publishers. Come and join us for a day of fun and inspiration.

For more information, check out the schedule, exhibitors, and authors at www.socobookfest.org.

Petaluma Poetry Walk, Sunday, September 20th

Sunday, September 20th starting at 10:00am at the Petaluma Art Center and concluding

at Aqus Cafe at 5:00pm until 8:00pm. Every hour participants may stroll from venue to

venue to see poets and musicians. Event is created by Geri DiGiorno

10 AM ART CENTER 30 LAKEVILLE ST.

CAROLYN MILLER, LYNNE KNIGHT, DONNA EMERSON

11 AM JUNGLE VIBES 136 PETLUMA BLVD. N.

JOAN GELFAND, GINI SAVAGE, NANCY DOUGHERTY

12 NOON APPLE BOX (AT THE MILL) 6 PETALUMA BLVD. N.

JUDY GRAHN AND JULIA VINOGRAD

1 PM APPLE BOX (AT THE MILL) 6 PETALUMA BLVD. N.

RACHEL GUIDO DEVRIES AND GREG SARRIS

2 PM BELLA LUMA CAFE 125 PETALUMA BLVD.N. (HELEN PUTNAM PLAZA)

ELLEN BASS AND HER STUDENTS

3 PM COPPERFIELDS BOOKS 140 KENTUCKY ST.

JOANNE KYGER AND BILL BERKSON

4 PM PHOENIX THEATER 201 WASHINGTON ST.

LUKE WARM WATER, KIRK LUMPKIN, DAVID MADGALENE

5 PM AQUS CAFE 89 H STREET (FOUNDRY WHARF)…

FIVE MINUTE PLAYS

6 PM AQUS CAFE 89 H STREET (FOUNDRY WHARF)

BILL VARTNAW, CHARLES CURTIS BLACKWELL
and G.P SKRATZ with SMOOTH TOAD

7:00 PM AQUS CAFE 89 H STREET (FOUNDRY WHARF)

DAVID MELTZER, MICHAEL ROTHENBERG

Petaluma Poetry Walk’s 5 Minute Play Festival

Newest feature organized by Nancy Long is Street Theatre! Plays will be performed in alleyways and street corners in between venues and concluding at Aqus Cafe.(see schedule)

Events sponsored by the Arts Council of Sonoma.

Free. Donations greatly appreciated!

For more info.: Nancy Long  nsasha@earthlink.net

Sixth Annual Poetry of Remembrance/Poesia del Recuerdo Community Reading

On Friday, October 23 from 5:30-9 PM, members of the community are invited to the Petaluma Arts Center for the fifth annual Bilingual Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading.

This year’s event will be hosted by Beatriz Lagos and co-hosted by Jabez Churchill, Geri Digiorno, and Terry Ehret. It will include a special children’s program from 5:30-6:30. This will be followed by a pot-luck supper, in addition to the traditional treats of horchata, hot chocolate, tamales, and bread-of-the-dead. Those who wish to honor the memory of someone who has died are asked to bring a favorite dish of the person they wish to honor.

Those who would also like to be part of the community reading are welcome to read a poem (limited to one page) they have written for the occasion or a favorite poem that expresses their feelings.

The Bilingual Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading is part of a two-week celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, Petaluma 2008, featuring community altars, bilingual storytelling, sugar skull workshops, music, dance, and a Procession with Giant Puppets: from Helen Putnam Plaza to St. Vincent de Paul Plaza.

If you are interested in reading a poem, please contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net.

For the community reading, poems may be in Spanish, English, or both. Participants are asked to limit their presentation to one-page (or no more than 250 words), and to make sure their introduction and the reading of the poem do not exceed the three-minute limit.

Admission is free. For more information about the Dia de Los Muertos events, check out the website at www.petalumaartscouncil.org. Click on “Programs.”

Al Young to be Keynote Speaker for October Conference of Redwood Writers

Redwood Writers, the Redwood branch of the California Writers Club, is pleased to announce Al Young as our keynote speaker for the October 23, 2009 pre-Conference dinner event at Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Hotel and Resort, running from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

Al’s talk will be “How the Rainbow Works: Reflections on Poetry and Survival.” He recently returned from three days of Smithsonian interviews for their jazz history archives and will have lots to share.

Cost for the evening is $50.00 per ticket. Al Young is part of an evening of poetry featuring Armando Garcia-Davila, Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County Poet Laureate, and two members of Sixteen Rivers Press, Carolyn Miller and Lynne Knight. The all-day conference follows the next day, October 24th

Redwood Writers Announces Its Conference

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 from 7:30 am – 6:00pm (check-in from 7:30 – 8:15am), at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa, 2777 Fourth Street, 95405, (707) 545-8530. This one-day conference, part of the California Writers Club Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting. Copperfield’s Books is our exclusive on-site bookstore seller. Conference web site: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

Contact: Linda Loveland Reid

president@redwoodwriters.org

707-484-4153

The following workshops will be offered:

Craft of Writing

9:30 – 10:30 am       Jordan Rosenfeld & Jody Gehrman – How to Structure A Story

10:45 – 11:45 am     Mark Sloan – The Art of Efficient Research

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Adair Lara– First Person Writing that Sells

3:15 – 4:15 pm         B. Lynn Goodwin – Finding Your Writing Voice

Genre

9:30 – 10:30 am       Arlene Mandell – Non-fiction Writing

10:45 – 11:45 am     Tamim Ansary – Memoir: Your Life as Story

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Steve Hockensmith – Fiction Writing: What’s Your Hook

3:15 – 4:15 pm         Christine Nora – Children’s Picture Book Writing and Illustrating

Technology & Business

9:30 – 10:30 am       Catharine Bramkamp – Self-publishing

10:45 – 11:45 am     Laurie McLean – Agents

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Gil Mansergh, Seth Harwood, Scott Kemble & Patricia V. Davis

– New Ways to Get Published

3:15 – 4:15 pm         Ann Wilkes – Developing Your Online Presence

Three areas of writing – the craft of writing, genre, and technology & business – offer registrants an opportunity to pick and choose workshops that suit their specific needs.

Our morning and luncheon keynote speakers, Tamim Ansary and Steve Hockensmith, will both lead workshops about memoir and fiction, respectively.

Register on-line at http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html or download a registration form and mail it to the address shown below. Lunch is included in the price of registration.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Redwood Writer’s motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members include Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Specify “Attention: Conference Registration” if registering by snail mail.

Photos of keynote speakers and workshop facilitators available upon request.

Iota Press has a New Locaton

Iota Press has moved into a studio in Sebastopol and will operate a letterpress print shop.  There is a separate hosting space available for workshops or other kinds of events. Starting in the fall, classes in letterpress printing will be offered, with an eye to helping writers and artists see (& feel) the aesthetic power of hand-made typography. Although the letterpress work is tilted toward making chapbooks and broadsides, the shop can take on other projects where the unique tactile art of metal type and good paper are desired. Visitors welcome. Call Eric Johnson first at 823-6152; email at <iota@sonic.net>; or look for the shop at 925 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol (by the sign of the Bee).

News from East County

Thanks to Juanita Martin for this month’s announcements from the Sonoma/Glen Ellen/Valley of the Moon Area

UniverSoul Reading Series

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

News from West County

Thanks to Pat Nolan for providing this month’s  news from the Guerneville Area

Low Power Literary Radio in West Sonoma Co.

There are two monthly book shows on local low power FM radio stations.  Nearing its second anniversary, Off The Shelf, airs at 8 PM on the first Sunday of the month on Guerneville’s KGGV 95.1FM.  The program is hosted by Peter Andrews and Pat Nolan. KGGV offers streaming at www.kggvfm.org. Book Flaps, the nexus between Books and Life, hosted by Suzanne Lang and Pat Nolan is offered on Occidental’s brand new radio station, KOWS 107.3 FM, on the last Thursday of the month at 5 PM.  Previous shows have featured discussions on consciousness and guest poets from the West County.

Brian Martens hosts” The Poetry Hour” on KOWS-FM radio 107.3 fm. Every Wednesday from 5:00-6:00 pm. Poetry is read mixed with eclectic music. The program is also streamed over the internet at: www.kows.fm When you arrive at the site click on the streaming link. Thanks for listening. Feedback appreciated at b-r-m@sbcglobal.net

News from North County

Thanks to Cynthia Beecher and Vilma Ginzberg for providing this month’s Healdsburg/Cloverdale News.

Center Literary Café

Tuesday September 8, 7-9 PM
Center Literary Café Prresents Book Author Jeane Slone and Poet Donna Emerson

Jeane Slone has published her work of historical fiction She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases During World War II.  The Sonoma Arts Council is sponsoring her novel. This book “is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II.” (Jean Hegland, Reviewer)

Donna Emerson, award winning Petaluma poet, presents her just released chapbook, Body Rhymes, from Finishing Line Press.  Her poetry and prose are published in many journals and anthologies.  She will be accompanied by son Jared Emerson-Johnson on violin and mandolin.“She writes eloquently and elegantly about the body, focusing on sexuality, as well as love and loss.” (Susan Terris, Reviewer).

Tuesday, October 13, 7-9 PM:

Book Author Stefanie Freele

Poet Rose Black

Healdsburg resident Stefanie Freele’s short story collection Feeding Strays was published by Lost Horse Press in September. Her recent writing is in Glimmer Train, American Literary Review, Wigleaf, Night Train, Literary Mama, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Frigg, Dogplotz, and Hobart.Stefanie has an MFA from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts: Whidbey Writers Workshop. She is on the editorial staff for SmokeLong Quarterly and is the Fiction Editor for the Los Angeles Review.    www.stefaniefreele.com

Rose Black lives by the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Oakland, California. Her poetry is in The South Carolina Review, Runes, Wisconsin Review, Hampton-Sydney Poetry Review, Spillway, and Slant. Her books, Clearing (2005) and Winter Light, (2008), were accepted by Yale’s Beinecke Library for the Yale Collection of American Literature.

http://renaissancestone.com/rose-blackWL.html

Doors open at 6:30

Open mic    Bring prose or poetry to share

Light refreshments   Donations appreciated

Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center.

Healdsburg Senior Center

133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza)    Healdsburg, CA 95448

Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111       centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Healdsburg Literary Arts Guild

Third Sunday Salon

proudly presents

Featured Writer: Penelope LaMontagne

Healdsburg Literary Laureate 2004/2005

Sunday, September 20, 2009

2:00 – 4:00 PM

Healdsburg City Hall

401 Grove Street

Penelope La Montagne is the author of River Shoes by Running Wolf Press and co-author of Fruit of Life, Poems of Passion and Politics by dpress. She will be reading from a new collection of poems called When Nature Chooses You Back which is scheduled for publication in 2010.

Penelope was the founder of Morning Haiku which ran for 6 years on KRCB, is a California Poet in the Schools. She is also Literary Laureate Emerita of Healdsburg, 2004-2005. She lives on the banks of the Russian River, and has learned much of what she knows about life from watching the river, not pushing, not holding back.

OPEN MIC   …..  OPEN TO THE PUBLIC   …..  FREE

healdsburgliteraryguild@gmail.com

Sonoma County in Print

If you are a Sonoma County writer with a book or chapbook newly published, let’s help you celebrate! Just send your announcement to tehret99@comcast.net. Be sure to include information on how your readers can find out more about you and your work or order a copy. You’re announcement will run for three Updates.

Eugene Ruggles’s Collected Works, a posthumous collection of his poems, is in production and readying for publication. Go to www.eugeneruggles.com

to see cover mock–up.

Stefanie Freele’s Motel

The innovative new publisher “Bannock Street Books” presents the artbook/chapbook MOTEL: a short story by Sonoma County author Stefanie Freele paired with color photography contributed by Sarah Black.

MOTEL will soon be available on the Bannock Street Books Website. http://www.bannockstreetbooks.com/

In the meantime, signed copies of MOTEL are available from the author:

$7 and $2 ship.

Paypal: Babingas@aol.com

Check:
Stefanie Freele
1083 Vine St. #352
Healdsburg, Ca 95448
www.stefaniefreele.com

Redwood Writers Vintage Voices Anthology Released

Contact: Linda Loveland Reid

president@redwoodwriters.org

707-484-4153

Redwood Writers, the Sonoma County branch of the California Writers Club, has published its fourth anthology, Vintage Voices: Cent’Ani: May You Live 100 Years, (ISBN: 978-0-9816848-2-6). Pre-publication orders may be placed here:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org/vv4orders.pdf.

Release Celebration

Redwood Writers will celebrate the release of Vintage Voices with a reading and book signing on September 26th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at North Light Books and Café, 550 E. Cotati Ave., Cotati. Linda Reid, president of Redwood Writers will host this event. Food and wine will be available for purchase as well as copies of the anthology. Authors will be on hand to sign your copy. There is no charge to attend.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Redwood’s motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

Jeanne Miller’s On the Brink of Nora

On the Brink of Nora, was chosen by Redwood Writers for a joint publication project with Unlimited Publishing.

Set in the Northern California Wine Country, On the Brink is a true coming of age story. When Nora embarks on a radical journey of self-discovery, her family is called upon to evolve as individuals, and in concert with one another.

jcmillerwriter.com
http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com/miller/

Linda Loveland Reid’s novel, Touch of Magenta,

will be available on May 9 at local bookstores and on Amazon.com.  For more information go to www.lindalovelandreid.com

Touch of Magenta explores, through the lives to two women, the right we all have to know our personal history; that all secrets be revealed, all lies untold.

The story is set in Sonora’s California gold country, Chinatown, Italy, Singapore, and England.

Coming bookstore events include:

May 9 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30, at Copperfield’s Books, Santa Rosa in Montgomery Village

May 16, Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Healdsburg

June 6 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma

June 13 Meet & Greet, Sat 1-3:00 at Copperfield’s Books in Napa

June 18 Book Signing, Thur 7pm at River Reader in Guerneville

June 27 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Calistoga

Stand by for more bookstore events in July and August.

Donna Emerson’s Body Rhymes from Finishing Line Press

I am happy to announce to my friends and acquaintances that my poetry collection from Finishing Line Press, Body Rhymes, comes out this spring. Since this is a limited edition collection, you may order now to reserve a copy. The press run will be determined by the number of orders made before April 10.The book, with a color photograph of mine on the cover, will be mailed to you by the end of May.

“Donna Emerson’s poems—each a small, complete world—reveal their tenderness in detail. The poet William Carlos Williams once said ‘Perception is the first act of imagination,’ and with her photographer’s eye, Emerson invites the reader to see, as if for the first time, what is extraordinary even in the most familiar.  But as a poet, she also listens, deeply and intently, to her subject, whether it is a landscape, a memory, or one of the unforgettable souls she has counseled, struggling to reconcile themselves with mortality. And it is with a listening heart that the reader feels with her a wonder at the courage she has witnessed, and inspiration at the truth she captures.”  Terry Ehret, author of Lucky Break

“A lilting voice from a new poet.  A new daughter is not all that Donna Emerson gave birth to in her 50s.  Her poems are loaded with rich imagery and memory.”
Susan Swartz, author of The Juicy Tomatoes Guide to Ripe Living After 50

Books can be pre-ordered through the website at  www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases and Forthcoming Titles,” scrolling down alphabetically.

Sagittarius Agitprop by Matthew Gavin Frank

Franks collection of poems is available from Black Lawrence Press at:

http://www.blacklawrence.com/frank.html

To see and hear Frank reading from his book, check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdOR3_jrx88

www.matthewgfrank.com

Pierette Mimi Poinsett

Rose-Anne Clermont has written an article about my challenges in the Women’s International Perspective e-zine.  The photographer who is uncredited is Michi Adams of Rohnert Park Petaluma. Below is the link:

http://thewip.net/contributors/2009/02/living_one_day_at_a_time_in_th.html

Over the last three years, I have been writing creative non-fiction and poetry. Going into “the family business”:)  A memoir cookbook is in the works.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD

http://www.snapdiva.blogspot.com

aka the Yayayarndiva on http://www.ravelry.com

Mary Lynn Archibald named in national “Best Books” 2008

USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced that Mary Lynn Archibald was a finalist in THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA). Awards were presented for titles published in 2008 and late 2007.

This is the third finalist award (the second in the HUMOR category) for Mary Lynn Archibald, for her book, Accidental Cowgirl: Six Cows, No Horse and No Clue, which has attained something of a cult following here in the west. “Always a bridesmaid,” she says.

Mary Lynn Archibald is available interviews to discuss her latest book and related topics. Contact 707-395-0542 or marylynn@winecountrywriter.com

Bill Vartnaw ‘s new book, Suburbs of my Childhood, came out on January15th.  Bill says, “This is a book of mostly early poems, lots of seventies, a few eighties and a couple of nineties about my mother, 74 pages.” For more information or to order the book, contact Bill at  taureanhorn@hotmail.com.  Taurean Horn Press’ address is P.O. Box 641097, San Francisco, CA 94164-1097.

Jeane Slone has just published She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases. People can order it from my web site at www.jeaneslone.com.

Jean Heglund writes, “She Flew Bombers is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. Anyone interested in Aviation History, Women’s History, or the World War II “war effort” will appreciate Jeane Slone’s careful research, as well as her ability to bring this little-know aspect of the US history to life so vividly.”

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro has just published an anthology entitled Hair Pieces, containing the poetry and prose of 51 of her writing students. Hair Pieces is available for purchase at Copperfields and also at harlmarg@sonic.net. For information about Margaret’s Writing Practice workshops, scroll down to the section “Current and Upcoming Workshops.”

Ann Wilkes’s Awesome Layratt

Ann Wilkes’ first book, Awesome Lavratt (2009) is a tongue-in-cheek space opera with mind control, passion and adventure. Her stories have appeared in online zines and anthologies.  She lives in California’s wine country with her husband, Patrick and their youngest son. She’s working on two novels while still cranking out the short funny stories that characterize her writing style. Visit her website, http://www.annwilkes.com, for a full bio, her blog and links to online stories.

Calls for Submission

If you have a call for submission or a contest of interest to Sonoma County writers, send it to tehret99@comcas.net.

If you’d like to explore ways to get your writing out of the drawer and into print, check out the information on the Literary Folk website and on my personal website:

http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/recommended-northern-california-journals-and-presses/

http://www.terryehret.com/consulting.htm

Ginosko Literary Journal’s Call for Submissions

Accepting short fiction & poetry, audio recordings, creative non-fiction, interviews, social justice concerns for the 9th issue of the literary journal ginosko, the summer issue.

Editorial lead time 1-2 months; accept simultaneous submissions and reprints; length flexible, accept excerpts. Receives postal submissions & email—prefer email submissions as attachments in Microsoft Works Word Processor or Rich Text Format. Copyright reverts to author.

Publishing as semiannual ezine, winter & summer. Selecting material from ezine for printed anthology.
Check downloadable issues on website for style & tone: http://www.ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/
Use latest version of Adobe Reader.

ezine circulation 4500+. Website traffic 750-1000 hits/month.
Also looking for artwork, photography, to post on website and links to exchange.

Ginosko (ghin-océ-koe)
To perceive, understand, realize, come to know; knowledge that has an inception, a progress, an attainment. The recognition of truth by experience.

Member CLMP.  Listed in Best of the Web 2008.

Ginosko Literary Journal
Robert Paul Cesaretti, Editor
PO Box 246
Fairfax, CA 94978
USA

MEMOIR (and) Call for Submissions

MEMOIR (and) is an up-and-coming print journal for the exploration of memoir as “the” genre of the 21st century. Our nonprofit mission is to publish traditional as well as nontraditional forms of nonfiction allied with memoir. This includes, but is not limited to, autobiography, personal and critical essay, graphic narratives, narrative poetry, “flash memoir,” autobiographical fiction, alternative histories, journalistic accounts,  narrative photography and more.  We award four cash prizes twice yearly and charge no entry fee. All work submitted to MEMOIR (and) is eligible to win a prize.

The reading period for Spring+Summer 2010 (Issue 6) is upon us! Accepting traditional and experimental prose, poetry, graphic memoir, narrative photography, lies, and more from 5/1/09 through 8/15/09.

Four prizes up to $500 available for prose, poetry and graphic memoirs. All submissions eligible for contest entry.

For guidelines, contest info and online submissions, visit www.memoirjournal.com.

New Millennium

OK, I know it’s confusing. We hold two competitions annually in four categories (fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short-short fiction). As a result, I often find myself sending emails regarding up to three contests at once. This is just such an email. Here’s the skinny.

1. Judging has begun for those who entered our Summer 2009 Writing Awards program, and we hope to begin announcing winners in October.

2. As previously announced, names of winners in our Winter 2008-09 contest follow Grants & Awards guidelines below.

3. Our next deadline is November 17, midnight, all time zones. In keeping with tradition, this deadline may be extended once only. This is what we call our Winter 2009-10 Writing Awards program. Enter as often as you like at www.writingawards.com or by U.S. Mail or other carrier (postmark ok.) Guidelines Follow.

Grants & Awards

$4,000 in Grants and Awards, plus publication in NMW and at the New Millennium Writings website
$1,000 for best Fiction; $1,000 for best Poem; $1,000 for best Short-short Fiction (1,000-word limit), $1,000 for best Nonfiction
(Nonfiction includes humor, memoir, creative nonfiction, travel, opinion, essay, interview, features, investigative reporting, etc.)
Recipients of NMW Awards are showcased along with interviews, profiles and tributes to famous writers, past and present, such as

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., J. D. Salinger, Julia Glass, Shel Silverstein, Khaled Hosseini, George Garrett, Ken Kesey, John Updike, Lee Smith, Cormac McCarthy, Lucille Clifton, Shelby Foote, Paul West, Norman Mailer, Sharyn McCrumb, William Kennedy, Faulkner, Hemingway, Dickinson, Keats, Percy, Warren and many others. Also, prize-winning stories, poems & articles, humor, graphic arts, writing advice and more.
To Enter, follow these Guidelines, or enter on-line at www.writingawards.com.
1. No restrictions as to style, content or number of submissions. Enter as often as you like. Previously published materials OK if online or under 5000-circulation in print.
2. Winners and selected finalists—including all poetry finalists—will be published in our 2010-11 issue–which all contestants will receive next fall, and on-line.
3. Send between now and midnight of November 17, 2009 (postmark ok). This deadline may be extended once only.
4. Simultaneous & multiple submissions welcome.
5. Each Fiction or Nonfiction piece is counted as a separate entry, and should total no more than 6,000 words except Short-short Fiction (no more than 1,000 words).
6. Each Poetry entry may include up to three poems, not to exceed five pages total per entry. All 20 poetry finalists will be published. If entering online, upload all 3 poems, plus cover page (optional) in a single file, per entry.
7. Include name, phone, address, email & category on cover page or letter only and submit with the submission. If entering online the cover page is optional, as our online site automatically uploads contact information you provide.
8. Manuscripts not returned except in hardship cases. Include email address (preferable) or SASE for list of winners. Yes, we recycle.
9. Include $17 check payable to NMW with each submission.
10. If entering by mail, send to: “NMW” Room EM, PO Box 2463, Knoxville, TN, 37901 (unless entering online). To order our current issue, add $12.

Current and Upcoming Workshops

Many Sonoma County writers offer their expertise and writing support through local workshops, classes, and consultations. Some are day-long, some are ongoing, and some are retreats. Workshops for this month are listed below. A more complete list of workshop leaders and their contact information appears at the end of this article.

If you have a workshop you’re offering, send a short description (150 words or less) to tehret99@comcast.net.

Stephen Altschuler’s Coaching Service for Non-fiction Writers.

My speciality is personal experience writing, but cover all aspects of the non-fiction genre. I’ve been writing and getting published since 1969. My latest book is The Mindful Hiker (2004), and have written four other books. My website which tells more of my work and this service is www.firstpersonwriting.com .

Stephen Altschuler
stephenaltschuler@mac.com

Workshops with Guy Biederman and Eric Johnson

Making an Impression: Anatomy of writing
Lowfat fiction and prose poems meet the metal type & printing presses at Iota Press studio. Compose two short pieces, learn to set type, exult in pulling your very own proof. Get down to the bones of your work – letter by letter.

Wednesday evenings, September 9, 16, 23, 30
7:00 p.m.
925-C Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol

$150.

For more information, call Eric Johnson first at 823-6152; email at iota@sonic.net.

In Search of Lorca’s Duende.

October 17, 2009 9:00 A M to 3:00 P M at Iota Press, 925-C Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol

Cost: $75.00

Come and help us find the blood and the skin, the muscle, the tendons of our poetic souls.

Find the flamenco spirit inside our writer’s minds. Come discuss the philosophy of Lorca’s duende. Come write, write write.

Contacts: guyb@sonic.net or kennetherodgers@msn.com

For monthly calendar in Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, 10/19/09, 9:00 A M to 3:00 P M: In Search of Lorca’s Duende, Guy Biederman and Ken Rodgers, $75.00, Iota Press, 925-C Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, CA: Contacts—guyb@sonic.net, kennetherodgers@msn.com.

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro’s Sonoma County Writing Practice

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro teaches eight week long writing semesters out of her Santa Rosa downtown office. Three different class times are offered each week. Margaret uses poetry and meditation for inspiration and writers are encouraged to read their work in a supportive atmosphere. The memoir is a valuable form for dropping deeper into the self allowing memories to come forth. This process allows space for self-knowledge to occur. For more information or to receive a flyer call (707)575-8820 or email Margaret at harlmarg@sonic.net. The website for Sonoma County Writing Practice is www.handwritingonline.net

Terry Ehret’s Workshops at the Sitting Room

The Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati Avenue

Cost: $180 for eight week session

plus $20 donation to the Sitting Room

Workshops are open to all writers, prose and poetry, beginning and experienced, male and female, young and old, or anything in between. To reserve a space or find out more about these workshops, e-mail tehret99@comcast.net.

$50 deposit required to hold your space.

The Imagists and the Poetry of H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)

Meeting times: Mondays 9 AM to noon                                 Meeting Dates: September 21, 28; October 5, 12, 19, 26; November 2, 9

This workshop will give those who enjoy reading and writing poetry a chance to gather with like-minded folk to explore in depth a particular poet or poetic movement and to take from this inspiration for our own writing.

In the fall, we will read selections by the poets of the Imagist movement, focusing on the early poetry of H.D. (Hilda Doolittle).

H.D. was an American poet, novelist, and memoirist, who lived from 1886-1964. She moved from Philadedelphia to London in 1911, and joined a circle of avant garde writers which included Ezra Pound, D.H. Lawrence, Richard Aldington, Wallace Stevens, and others. The Imagist style emphasized clarity of imagery (“no ideas but in things”), and free-verse. H.D.’s later writing developed this aesthetic to incorporate a more female-centric version of modernism.

Discussion of the Imagists and H.D.’s work will be linked with writing prompts and exercises for writers interested in generating new work. The workshop will continue in the Spring of 2010, for those interested in H.D.’s later visionary work.

Prose Poem Workshop: Jorge Luis Borges and Wislawa Szymborska

Meeting Times: Fridays 9 AM to noon
Meeting Dates: September 25; October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; November 6, 13

What exactly is a prose poem? Happily, the form defies strict definitions, leaving its practitioners free to invent and discover. The prose poem can be lyrical or narrative, philosophical or musing. It can be as brief as a sentence and as long as a page or two.

During the first four weeks, we will read and discuss selected short prose pieces by the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, and the Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges, exploring each author’s approach to the prose poem form. Though quite different in their linquistic and cultural heritages, their prose pieces often conjure deep existential puzzles of the human condition rendered with wit, economy, and courage.  Our readings will be drawn from Szymborska’s Nonrequired Reading Prose Pieces (translated by Clare Cavanagh) and Borges’s Collected Fictions (translated by Andrew Hurley).

Each of these classes will include a free-write or a structured writing exercise, using the week’s featured author for inspiration. During the second four weeks, participants will bring in their own prose poems for workshop discussion and conversation.

Suzanne Murray

The Heart of Writing – Four-Week Classes with Suzanne Murray

Tuesday Mornings, 9:30 am to noon, September 15 to October 6

$100 paid by 9/7, $115 after, west Santa Rosa

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00 to 9:30 pm, September 15 to October 6

$100 paid by 9/7, $115 after, downtown Sebastopol

register early limited to 12

Small supportive group. Good for beginners and experienced writers as well as all styles of writing.

Learn simple, powerful techniques to find your voice, tell your stories, calm your inner critic, enter the creative flow, jumpstart your writing and supportyour creative self. Find support and encouragement and an understanding of the craft of writing and the joyful heart of the creative process.

for more information call or email Suzanne at 707.874.9614 or suzmurr@yahoo.com or website:www.creativitygoeswild.com

What her students say:

Suzanne is more than an excellent teacher. She is an inspiration. Her writing workshops are not only about the craft of writing, but are a journey into the heart of the writing experience. . . – Jill Cagan

Suzanne’s class was tremendously inspiring. She offers a nearly endless variety of tools and creates an atmosphere that is both challenging and unconditionally supportive. She showed me how to side step blocks and let the creativity flow. No question, it is the best writing class I’ve ever taken. – Ed Richards

Suzanne has just the right touch, so supportive and gentle as we birthed our little word babies, she showed us how to see the beauty in them. And it

wasn’t fake! Once she pointed out the beauty, it was there! – Martha Stedman

Suzanne’s knowledge and ability to facilitate the writing process is incredible. – Jody Tucker

Taught by Suzanne Murray. A gifted teacher and creativity coach, now if her eighteenth year offering these classes and workshops, she brings to class a passion for books and working with words and an ability to inspire others to write. An award winning essayist and poet, Suzanne’s work appears in various literary journals including Orion and The Sun.

The North Bay Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Seven Magical Ways to Bring out the Storyteller in You

presented by author Marsha Diane Arnold.

This meeting will be held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts at 6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol, CA on Sept 21, 7-9 pm and is open to the public. Donation $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

Labeled a “born storyteller” by the media, Marsha wrote the popular, award-winning Sonoma County newspaper column  “homegrown treasures” from 1985 to 1995.  She has authored eleven picture books including the soulful Ridgway award winner, HEART OF A TIGER, the Smithsonian Notable PUMPKIN RUNNER, based on a real event, and the uproarious ROAR OF A SNORE. Marsha travels nationally and internationally as a speaker and writing workshop leader for schools and conferences.  She has taught aspiring authors for nine years, both privately, with the Institute of Children’s Literature, and online with Mediabistro.com. In 2008 Marsha was honored to be the only children’s author ever invited by the Sequoia Parks Foundation to participate in their “Artists in the Back Country” program.

Visit Marsha at www.marshadianearnold.com or at her blog, www.storymagician.blogspot.com.

SCBWI is a professional organization for writers and illustrators of children’s books. For more information contact Charles Markee, charles-t@charlesmarkee.com To find out more about the society visit the website at www.scbwi.org and to learn more about events in the North Bay go to http://www.scbwinorthca.org

Gwynne O’Gara’s Writing Workshops

Lighting Our Own Flames —Writing That Frees Our Genius

How do we address the gift of writing? Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, Genius is the power for lighting your own flame. The Romans believed genius (or for women, juno) to be a guardian spirit that comes to us at birth with the fullness of our undeveloped powers, which it offers to us as we grow. A sense of gratitude moves a person to labor in the service of their genius, which finds freedom through our work.

Each week we’ll warm up with a different poet—T.S. Eliot, Seamus Heaney, Kevin Young, Gabriela Mistral, Sylvia Plath and Eavan Boland. We’ll write and share our own work, and explore how to keep our individual flames burning. Excellent for prose writers as well as poets.

Tuesday Nights, 7—9, Oct. 20—Nov. 24. All levels, genders, and ages are welcome, $75 for all six classes. For more information and to register, contact Gwynn O’Gara at gwynn@sonic.com or call (707) 823-2993.

Gwynn O’Gara is the author of Snake Woman Poems, Fixer-Upper and Winter at Green Haven. Her poems have been published in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, The Evansville Review and Yellow Silk, and will appear in future issues of Calyx, Sage Woman and descant. Her personal essays have been published in Image Magazine and Tiny Lights.

For more information and to register, call (707) 823-2993 or e-mail gwynn@gwynnogara.com.

The workshops will be held at the Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati, Cotati, CA.

Petaluma Writers Forum

Writers Forum of Petaluma proudly presents J.T. Bymaster

September 17, 2009 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma

$15 at the door

Relaxing into (and through) the Creative Process

In this workshop you will learn how the things that normally keep you from experiencing creative confidence, momentum and flow (i.e. ‘writer’s block,’ procrastination, lack of experience, etc.) can actually serve to deepen your creative work. You will learn simple yet effective approaches to transform your obstacles into your most powerful resources and even have some fun in the process.

J.T. BYMASTER is a body worker, musician, writer, tai chi/meditation instructor, and process oriented life coach. His passion is in helping people find their own unique power through ease and effortlessness instead of struggle and pain.

Supported by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from the Hearst Foundation.

For more information: www.thewritespot.us Marlene – mcullen@comcast.net

Daniel Polikoff

New Workshop on Poetry and Esoteric Tradition

Always and everywhere Western esotericism involves conscious cultivation of the spiritual imagination, and so bears an intrinsic relation to the impetus underlying art. In these workshops we’ll explore the intersection of art and esotericism in continuing pursuit
of a spirituality consonant with the genius and passion of the contemporary soul.

The workshops will be held in Kentfield on Thursdays: 9/24, 11/5,and 12/10, 9:30-1:30. $60each. For more information, please contact

Rose Black at 510.633.1888 or <moorpak@ix.netcom.com>.

Poet and Rilke scholar Daniel Polikoff (Ph.D.Comparative Literature, Cornell) has just completed In the Image of Orpheus: Rilke—A Soul History. He has also published two poetry collections (Dragon Ship; The Hands of Stars) as well as a translation of a dramatic version of Parzival.

Laurie Reiche ‘s Writing Soiree

Laurie leads writing workshops the third Sunday of every month, 3-6 PM at her home.

The focus is generating new work, both poetry and prose. Sliding scale. For more information, call 415-892-9430 or e-mail p.reiche@comcast.net.

Lessen-Reiche has facilitated workshops for many years. She was the 2006 Winner of Lilith Magazine’s Second Annual Charlotte Newberger National Poetry Award. Her work has also appeared in magazines such as SUNY Upstate Medical Journal: The Healing Muse, and The Southern Poetry Review.

Clara Rosemarda’s Write Mind™ Workshops

Creative Writing as Spiritual Practice

6 sessions begin

Thursday, September 17th, 10am – 12:30pm  OR

Wednesday, September 23rd, 7 – 9:30pm

fee $180 ($170 if paid by September 10th)  Space is limited.

These classes will be conducted in a comfortable environment near

downtown Santa Rosa.  Contact Clara: 707:579-2081   rosen@sonic.net

Strong attention allows us to drop into deep writing. Creative writing propels the writer into the unknown. Whether you write prose or poetry, letters or fiction, this workshop will inspire your muse to write from a core place. Through meditation, visualizations, and other exercises that quiet the mind and expand the imagination, you will access and activate your creative muse. A comfortable, safe environment is provide for the writer to emerge. Open to beginning as well as seasoned writers.

“One can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one’s own personality. Good prose is like a window pane.” George Orwell from “Why I Write”

Writing with Images: A Creative Writing Workshop

Saturday, September 26th, 10am – 4pm, at SRJC!

Section #9086, 1509 Emeritus Hall, SR Campus, Fee $67

To register contact SRJC at 707:527-4372

Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, poetry or articles, the use of imagery will super-charge your writing. Through meditation and other exercises that expand the imagination you will learn to access and integrate images into your prose and poetry.  Work with this published writer and workshop leader to generate new material and leave with new writing tools. Open to beginning as well as seasoned writers. We will write and write some more!

For over 25 years Clara Rosemarda, writer and inspirational teacher, has been creating workshops that help writers of all kinds release their deepest and truest writing voices. Clara’s poems and essays have been published in literary journals. Co-creator and coordinator of the Writer’s Sampler at the Sebastopol Center for  the Arts, she offers private consultations and coaching sessions for writers who  want to move to their next level.  She is co-author and co-editor of the anthology, STEEPED: In the World of Tea.

Andrew Todhunter

A Writers’ Workshop in Paris

October 12th through 16th, 2009 – Paris, France

Open to all writers, this five-day intensive workshop concentrates on strengthening the fundamental elements of strong, clear writing in fiction and non-fiction.

While suitable for newer writers, the Paris workshop also serves experienced and published writers who wish to develop the stylistic and structural principals at the heart of their craft.

The workshop format is highly interactive and includes lecture, written exercises, group editing exercises and extensive Q & A.

Andrew Todhunter’s Paris Workshop is lively and deeply collaborative. Participants return engaged and inspired, with closely revised material and renewed passion for the written word.

About the Instructor:

Born in Paris, raised in the US and educated at UC Berkeley, award-winning author and participatory journalist Andrew Todhunter has been teaching writing for more than fifteen years, including appearances at the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference and workshops in Paris. His work has been published in numerous journals and periodicals, including The Atlantic Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, National Geographic and the Washington Post Sunday Magazine. His subjects range widely, from ice climbing in the Scottish Highlands to animal rescue, French cuisine and early medieval history. He is the author of three books, including the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller Fall of the Phantom Lord and the PEN USA Award-winning A Meal Observed. His work has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Italian.

“Andrew’s warmth, his sincerity and his ability to create an inspirational learning environment all combine to make him an excellent workshop leader… His dedication to his students is inspirational.”

—Charlotte Gullick, Director, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference

“Andrew is a born public speaker and a superb presenter… Whether speaking to a group of ten or two hundred, he is riveting in his honesty, his insight and his ability with words.”

—Steve Mandel, President and Founder, Mandel Communications

Course Tuition: $1195

(Includes 5 days of instruction, a personal coaching session and lifetime email support)

Friend Discount: Any student who brings a paying friend will receive a $100 discount, one discount per person. Larger groups of friends may “chain” this discount to maximize savings.

Deposit: $500 due by September 1, 2009.

Class Size: 8-12 Students.

Other Features: Optionally, participants may gather in the evenings at a neighboring watering hole or stroll beloved Parisian neighborhoods with Todhunter as their guide.

Travel, Lodging and Meals: To control costs, travel, lodging and meals are not included in the course fee.  When the classroom location is finalized, several hotels, restaurants and cafes within walking distance will be suggested.

For more information on the Paris Writers’ Workshop, or to register, please email:

workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa: Creative Projects Coaching/Consultation for Artists & Writers

THE POD: ART & WRITING

workshops & monthly creative projects coaching circle…

Centa Theresa, M.A.

www.centatheresa.com 707-478-5903 vicenta@sonic.net
CREATIVE PROJECTS COACHING: Whether you have a manuscript in the making that

you can¹t seem to finish, a body of artwork that needs more of your time, an

idea you¹d like to see manifest but have no plan, etc., I help you to

clarify the vision, identify challenges, claim successes and keep

accountable for stated intentions. Private sessions held in my home

office/studio in Santa Rosa. Call for further inquiry.

ART/WRITING PROCESS: Through dialogue, meditation, free-writing exercises

and the exploration of various art media, focus on a question or theme of

present concern and let the process unfold. Come one time or for a

predetermined series of private sessions in my home studio. Call for further

inquiry.

Call for free consultation. 707-478-5903. www.centatheresa.com

<http://www.centatheresa.com> . vicenta@sonic.net

Centa Theresa M.A. has exhibited her art in Bay Area galleries & had poems

appear or are forthcoming in such journals as Harpur Palate, Eclipse, The

Hurricane Review, Tiny Lights, and DrumVoices Revue. Centa has authored the

letterset edition, Blameless Recognition of Natural Light. She currently

teaches art at Napa State Hospital and has trained in ³creativity coaching²

with Eric Maisel.

A list of other Sonoma County writing workshop leaders appears in the details about workshops and events at the end of the update. Feel free to contact them about their private consultations or to find out when their next workshops will be.

Sonoma County Writers

Offering Workshops and Consultation

Stephen Altschuler www.firstpersonwriting.com

Guy Beiderman www.lowfatfiction.com

Susan Bono sbono@tiny-lights.com

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro harlmarg@sonic.net

Dan Coshnear dan@coshnear.org

Sher Christian poetrytalks@neteze.com

Marlene Cullen www.thewritespot.us/ or mcullen@comcast.net

Georgette G. deBlois GGdeB@aol.com.

Nancy Dougherty and Geri Digiorno ncaversd@sonic.net

Terry Ehret tehret99@comcast.net

Susan Hagenhagen@womenatgroundzero.com

Eric Johnson iota@sonic.net

Suzanne Murray suzmurr@yahoo.com

Laure Reiche p.reiche@comcast.net

Pauline Reif paulineerh@yahoo.com

Clara Rosemarda rosen@sonic.net

Scott Reid Serkes www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/workshop/intro.html>http: //www.sonic.net

Lisa Shulman www.lisashulman.com.

Shelley Singer http://www.shelleysinger.com

Andrew Todhunter workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa, m.a.,Writing & Creative Projects Coach

www.centatheresa.com

creatvitycoaching@centatheresa.com

Pat Tyler www.writetoday.net

Writers’ Connections

If you’d like to invite others in the literary community to join your writers’ group or network, send an announcement to tehret99@comcast.net.

WESTWORD SECOND SUNDAY SALONS @ SEBASTOPOL, 4-6PM

All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549

Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.)

GOR YASWEN
YASWEN@AOL.COM

Blog with me about: “Inspiring Young Children to Read”…

Reading aloud to young children yields benefits aplenty. The NAE sez it this way:

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required
for eventual success in reading – is reading aloud to children.”
– Commission on Reading of the National Academy of Education

There are five well defined ‘Facts, Advantages and Benefits’ to reading aloud
that I’ve summarized here in relation to Ocean Rudee & Company’s program offerings:
https://www.oceanrudee.com/what.is.ocean.rudee.and.company.html#readaloud

I’d love to hear other thoughts and ideas (from any of you within the Sonoma County
Literary Update universe) in relation to your experiences, ideas and outlooks toward
the future – in regards to reading, books, reading aloud, inspiring young children,
early childhood education, multi-media programming, literacy and the like.

My blog is located here: http://oceanrudee.blogspot.com/

I await hearing the sounds of your keystrokes and absorbing your insights accordingly.

Responsively Reading Aloud I am,

Paul Ennis
pwe@ oceanrudee.com

Sitting Room Book Discussion Group

We meet 2-4 on the third Wednesday of every month, skipping December, at The Sitting Room and are always open to new readers. For more info, email Joanne Page at jpage@sonic.net.  (The January 21 book is Pat Barker’s first novel in her trilogy about World War I, “Regeneration.”)

The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Its motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa. Our one-day conference, part of CWC Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Call for Scriptwriters on Weekly Radio Show

Are you an accomplished scriptwriter looking for a long-term project to sink your creativity into? Ocean Rudee & Company of Sebastopol is in the process of pulling together a team of 4 to 6 ‘scriptors’. Project responsibilities will include: the development of an ongoing series of radio serial dramas and related multi-media programs for children from 4 to 8-years of age (as well as their parents, teachers and primary caregivers).

Prior experience writing for children is not necessary. An understanding of how to write for continuity, how to maintain and adhere to a well developed set of character profiles, the ability to function well as a team player, a love of children’s literature and an abiding commitment to the muse – are essential.

If this is you, please visit Ocean Rudee’s website (www.oceanrudee.com) and send them off an e-mail expressing your interest in learning more.

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Join the Staff of First Leaves
If you have ever wanted to be on the staff of an energetic, literary journal and learn the process of compiling a publication, plan to join English 80 (3 unit, CSU transferable) for the Spring ’09 semester. Students enrolled in English 80 are involved in all aspects of producing a literary journal (with the guidance of the instructor), from approving submissions to putting the actual journal together. Evaluating other people’s work is a great way to learn your own strengths and weaknesses. The class is fun, collaborative, and project-based: we will produce a high-quality, well-designed magazine. We welcome the participation of people throughout the North Bay, including mature working adults, young adults, teens and retirees.

Contact Instructor Abby Bogomolny for more information: (707) 522-2779

Have You ‘Jacket-Flapped’ Lately?
JacketFlap is an international social networking community where you can connect with upwards of 5,000 published authors and illustrators of books for Children and Young Adults. Paul Ennis of Sebastopol reports: “I’ve been a member of JacketFlap (http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=OceanRudee) since late-June of 2008. My efforts to produce audio books for children and source read-aloud materials for my radio program production project (targeting an October 2009 broadcast premiere) have been greatly enhanced by the people I’ve been able to meet through JacketFlap. It’s FREE to join, the community is a vibrant one that does not seem to generate junk e-mails to any great degree and the atmosphere is very professional. If you are ready to network with folks around the world in the children’s book publishing industry this is an online community you need to be a part of. Their membership includes: children’s book authors, illustrators, editors, agents, publishing companies, designers, publicists, booksellers, librarians, teachers, students and just plain old ordinary folks who love children’s literature. Check it out – you’ll have fun in the process!”

The International Women’s Writing Guild

The IWWG is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. As such, it has established a remarkable record of achievement in the publishing world, as well as in circles where lifelong learning and personal transformation are valued for their own sake. The Guild nurtures and supports holistic thinking by recognizing the logic of the heart—the ability to perceive the subtle interconnections between people, events and emotions—alongside conventional logic. For more information about how to join the IWWG, contact Caroline Brumleve: e-mail iwwg@iwwg. org or visit their website at www.iwwg.org.

Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings

SUNDAYS

First Sunday of the month: The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club general meetings are held on the first Sunday of the month, (except for holiday weekends), from 3-5 pm. at the Star Restaurant, 8501 Gravenstein Hwy, corner of Old Redwood Hwy and Hwy 116, in Cotati. A small fee of $4 for members, $6 for nonmembers is asked to cover room rental and light refreshments. For more information see www.redwoodwriters.org or call Karen at 795-4591.

Second Sunday of the month: Westwood Second Sunday Salons, 4-6 PM. All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549. Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.) For more information, contact GOR YASWEN YASWEN@AOL.COM

Sunday afternoons at 2 PM: Poetry Azul  Reading Series  – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series (formerly “Sococo At the Toad”) has moved to Cafe Azul located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa.  Following the successful first reading at the new location in July, future scheduled Sunday 2PM readings include Sept 13, Nov. 8, Jan 10, and March 14.  Admission is free.  573-5935. For further information contact SoCoCo-At-the-Toad director and emcee Ed Coletti at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net

Third Sundays 11:30-1:00pm: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H street, hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! Last month, twelve people showed up and we had a great time! Couldn’t drag myself out of there! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Third Sundays12:30 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. Poetry Reading & Open Mic: Coffee Catz

Poetry Reading. Donations Appreciated. 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-5643.

Fourth Sundays 4-6 PM. An open reading the 4th Sunday of each month is taking place at the Saint Rose Cafe, 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol, from 4 to 6 pm. The next reading will be Sunday, August 23rd. Come and read your latest work.

Last Sunday of each month, 6-8:30 PM: Poetry, Pints, and Prose at Maguires Pub 145 Kentucky Street in Petaluma. Hosted by Michelle Baynes, the readings begin with a featured reader, followed by open-mic. For more information, contact Michelle at 707-326-3773 or Catherine at 707-338-1554 or e-mail them at PoetryPintsProse@aol.com.

MONDAYS

First Monday of the Month: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa (UUCSR) Writers meet in the “New Room”, Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa, 547 Mendocino Ave.Santa Rosa, Ca 95401, 707-568-5381 or http://www.uusantarosa.org/ Meetings are held in the afternoon, 4 – 6 pm, and again in the evening, 6:45 – 8:45 pm. Focus: Whatever your creative endeavor: memoirs, letters, history, biographies, the Great American novel, poems, essays, song lyrics, reports, term papers, cook books, web pages, blogs, etc., our focus is to provide an atmosphere where you can improve and hone your writing skills.The UUCSR Writers is open to the novice, the more experienced, and the published author. Membership at UUCSR is not required. UUCSR Writers, Georgette G. deBlois, GGdeB@aol.com, http://uucsrwriters.blogspot.com

TUESDAYS

Second Tuesday of each month 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Cafe hosts a featured writer and an open mic reading at the Healdsburg Senior Center 133 Matheson St. (one block east of the Plaza). Light refreshments are served. Admission is free ($5.00 donation encouraged).  Contact: Cynthia Helen Beecher (707) 696-1111.

SATURDAYS

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

Intermittently Scheduled Events

ODD Month Readings is sponsored by the Redwood Writers Club. The readings are open to non-members, but are not open mic format. Contact Ann Wilkes at critiquegrpcoord@redwoodwriters.org or 707-792-1704 to get on the list or for more information. Redwood Writers roves the county with talented writers for your listening pleasure.

Haiku Poets of No. California. Join us for our free quarterly readings & workshops. A featured reader, often longtime HPNC members, will present a short reading of haiku and/or other Japanese genre poetry. Each meeting also offers a lengthier program (usually a presentation or workshop related to one of the Japanese forms). There will be one or more round-robin readings, where all attendees have an opportunity, open-mic style, to read and share one or more haiku and tanka. Also news and announcements, including upcoming events, submission calls and brief introductions of any new books of interest, as well as time for socializing and refreshments. A book table is set up for the sale and purchase of HPNC and other books (you may bring your own publications if you have some to sell). Our meetings and special events, which are open to both members and nonmembers, are held quarterly at San Francisco’s Fort Mason, building C, room 235, from 1 to 5 PM. For more information, or to become an HPNC member (which includes a subscription to our renowned semiannual journal Mariposa and a quarterly newsletter) go to the HPNC website at www.haiku-poets-northern-california.com.

How to List Your Announcements in the Literary Update

General Information

The Literary Update is a compilation of announcements which I receive from members of the Sonoma County literary community about workshops, readings, ongoing literary and writing groups, calls for submissions, and contests. Events should be primarily literary in nature, and should be located in, or within an hour’s drive of, Sonoma County.

I aim to make the monthly updates as inclusive as possible. If you have a workshop, event, contest, or call for submission to announce to the Sonoma County literary community, please send it to me as an e-mail message by noon on the last day of each calendar month. Any notices received after this deadline will not be included, but may be added to the next month’s Literary Update, if still relevant.

Here are the basic guidelines for announcements.

1. Include the words “Literary Update” in your subject heading.

2. Make sure your announcement is concise, carefully proofread, and copy-edited. Also keep in mind that I can only include announcements that are plain text and presented in the e-mail message (no flyers, PDF’s, or attachments with special formatting please). Retyping text and reformatting special fonts from flyers takes time, sometimes causes errors, and may result in announcements being left out of the Update.

3. If you have an event or workshop you want included in the monthly calendar, as well as listed in another category of the Update, please include an abbreviated version of your announcement in the following format:

Day, Date, Time: Event title, featured authors, cost (if any), location, contact information.

4. Suggest the category where you’d like it placed. These are listed here:

• County-Wide Literary News (general interest announcements)
• Sonoma County in Print (new books/chapbooks/CDs by Sonoma County writers)
• News from East County (Sonoma area)
• News from North County (Healdsburg area)
• News from West County (Occidental/Guerneville area)
• Writers’ Connections (invitations to join groups, formal or informal)
• Upcoming Workshops and Conferences (current workshops you are offering)
• Call for Submissions (local literary journals, magazines, contests)
• Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings
• Monthly Calendar of readings, events and workshops
• Sonoma County Workshop Leaders (e-mail and website contacts)
• Details about Workshops, Calls for Submission, Contests (information that is too lengthy to include in the short features or calendar listings)

Deadline

The deadline for announcements is noon on the last day of each calendar month. If your event is early in the month, send it two months ahead to make sure it gets in the calendar in a timely fashion

Donation

For those who regularly announce their workshops, readings, or services here, a donation of $10/year is appreciated to keep the update and its website going. Donations from regular readers are welcome, too! If you’d like to find out how you can help, please contact me at tehret99@comcast.net.

Tribute to Don Emblen

A website has been established by Art Hoffman and Brian Boldt dedicated to Don’s memory. It can be accessed at the following link. It is open-ended. If you have any thoughts about Don, please send them to Art.
http://sonic.net/~art/DLE%20memoriam/DLE%20project/Memorial%20Sheaf.html

Dear Literary Folk,

Here’s a recording of one of my prose poems with vocals by Caitlin Ehret Moe and instrumentals by Tim Sullivan. Caitlin recently graduated from Mills College. She and her husband Tim performed this at Caitlin’s senior recital. The  poem was written on the anniversary of the bombing of Baghdad, March 18, 2004, and is the companion piece to “What It’s About” and “Forecast” from Lucky Break (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2008). Click on the title below to listen.

“All of Us Must Have Been Asleep”

When it happened, some of us were planting in the garden or spreading manure and digging the pungent soil into beds. Some of us were looking into the eyes of the beloved, or into reflections of self we mistook for the beloved. Some of us were finding it hard to breathe. Some of us were trying to keep the house clean, making plans or canceling them. When it happened, some of us left the television sets and the news of bombs hammering against the night and sat down in chairs and tried to explain to ourselves what it was about. Some of us couldn’t bear to come out at all, but stood alone in the spring evening and stroked softly, softly our fear. All of us must have been asleep to have let so many lies slip by like the hundreds of days between now and then, slip by like this silence we
have not learned yet how to break.

Sonoma County Writers’ Guide Update

August 1, 2009

Dear Literary Folk,

I’m back from my travels: my daughter’s wedding in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and a two-week writers’ retreat and literary tour of West Ireland.

Some of you have been asking for details about the Ireland trip. You are all welcome to visit the website for this: http://www.westireland.wordpress.com.

Included there is a link to the photogallery slideshow of this year’s trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/tehret99/WestIrelandPhotoGallerySlideshow#

There are eleven galleries (whew!), each running 2-5 minutes and set to Irish music. Pick one and enjoy! Gallery 4 on the Aran Island of Inisheer is one of my favorites.

I am considering leading a return trip next June, limited to 5 writers, so if you or anyone you know is interested in a writing retreat in the traditional land of the druids, send them to the website or to me at my e-mail address: tehret99@comcast.net.

Tribute to Don Emblen

A memorial for Don Emblen is slated for August 16th.  It will take place in the Newman Auditorium at Santa Rosa Junior College.  Please mark the date on your calendar if you plan to attend.

Meanwhile, a website has been established by Art Hoffman and Brian Boldt dedicated to Don’s memory. It can be accessed at the following link. It is open-ended. If you have any thoughts about Don, please send them to Art.

http://sonic.net/~art/DLE%20memoriam/DLE%20project/Memorial%20Sheaf.html

List Your Readings and Events on BookTour.com

In addition to sending your announcements to me for the Literary Update each month, a great way to get the word out about your readings and events is to send your listing to the website BookTour.com.

I met Kevin Smokler of BookTour.com at the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and I really like the service his website provides. You can look up readings by author or location. There is even a way to find venues to promote your own publications and build your own book tour.

Here’s the link: http://www.booktour.com/.

August Calendar of Literary Events

The monthly calendar reflects announcements sent to me. To get a more complete list of author-events and workshop schedules, addresses and directions to the event locations, as well as bios of the presenters, you can use these links.

v      Copperfield’s Books http://www.copperfields.net/

v      Readers’ Books www.readersbooks.com

v      WordTemple Poetry Series http://www.wordtemple.com

v      Petaluma Writers’ Forum and Jumpstart Writing Workshops: www.thewritespot.us

v      Sebastopol Center for the Arts http://www.sebarts.org/index.htm

v      SoCoCo Poetry Reading Series edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.
v      The Sitting Room www.sittingroom.org.

Saturday, August 1, 2-5 PM: Benefit for Sonoma County Book Festival. Enjoy an afternoon of wonderful local food, wine, and beer, and a celebration of Jonah Raskin’s most recent book, Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California. Location: Windrush Farm, 2263 Chileno Valley Rd, Petaluma. $40 per person, with courtesy discounts for the un or under-employed, for students, and for retirees. Children free. For details, scroll down to “County Wide News” below, or contact J.J. Wilson at boxcar@sonic.net or at 707-795-9028.

Sunday, August 2, 2-4 PM: Trinity Poetry Series at Trinity Episcopal Church in Sonoma re-introduces its poetry series featuring Sonoma area poets on four Sunday afternoons in the church’s Abbot Courtyard at 75 East Spain St., Sonoma. The theme for this Sunday is

Poetry of Wit – from the light to the rambunctious. Readers include Debbie Cooper, Vilma Ginzberg, Tom Mariani, Don Hagelberg, Chris Giovacchini Ramirez, Diane Rawicz. Shotsie Gorman and Terry Ehret. For more information, see the notice in “News from East County” below.

Monday, August 3, 4-6 PM: The: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa (UUCSR) Writers regular monthly meeting will resume on Monday August 3 in the Green Room at 547 Mendocino Ave. For more information about UUCSR, see the “Ongoing Writer’s Groups and Open Mic Readings” at the end of the update.

Tuesday, August 4 at 7:30 PM: Marin Poetry Center Summer Traveling Show presents Rose Black, Briana Rose, Ken Hoffman, Joe Zaccardi and Gabrielle Rilleau. Location: Mill Valley Library, 375 Throckmorton, Mill Valley

Saturday, August 8, 6-8 PM: The Barking Dog will hold the UniverSoul Open Mike Event. This is a special time. The regular schedule of the first Sat of each month resumes on Sept 5, 2009, 6-8 pm.

Sunday, August 9, 2-4 PM: Trinity Poetry Series at Trinity Episcopal Church in Sonoma re-introduces its poetry series featuring Sonoma area poets on four Sunday afternoons in the church’s Abbot Courtyard at 75 East Spain St., Sonoma. The theme for this Sunday is

Poetry of Love and Otherwise– sweet, tragic or missing. Beatriz Lagos will be among the readers. For more information, see the notice in “News from East County” below.

Tuesday, August 11 7-9 PM: Center Literary Café Presents “Word Weavers,” Six Sonoma County Women Writers: Karen Batchelor, Ann Laura McHale, Kerry Grenshaw Kathy Rueve, Ana Manwaring. Open mic. Bring prose or poetry to share. Doors open at 6:30. Light refreshments. Donations appreciated. Location: Healdsburg Senior Center, 133 Matheson St. (One block east of plaza), Healdsburg, CA 95448. Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111 centerliterarycafe@gmail.com.

Wednesday, August 12 at 6 PM: Jonah Raskin Book Passage, Ferry Building San Francisco talking about farming and food and his new book Field Days. For more information, call 415. 835.1020.

Saturday, August 15: Deadline for Redwood Writers Contest. For details, see “Call for Submissions” section below.

Sunday, August 16th  11:30-1:00pm: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H Street. Hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Bring a poem to share (written by your favorite poet or your own!). Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Sunday, August 16, 12:30 to 1:30 PM: Third Sunday Poetry Reading & Poetry Open Mic: Featured reader is Coya Steele Silverlake, poet, guitarist, & photographer. “Bring a poem and/or photo of a wild animal or pet… and your best animal call.” Hosted by Sher Lianne Christian, poet, accompanied by John Christian on piano. Donation appreciated. Coffee Catz, 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-6600.

Sunday, August 16, 2 PM: Memorial for Don Emblen at Newman Auditorium on the Santa Rosa Campus of SRJC.

Sunday, August 16, 2-4 PM: Trinity Poetry Series at Trinity Episcopal Church in Sonoma re-introduces its poetry series featuring Sonoma area poets on four Sunday afternoons in the church’s Abbot Courtyard at  75 East Spain St., Sonoma. The theme for this Sunday is

Poetry of performance, passion and politics.

Sunday, August 16, 2-4 PM: The Third Sunday Salon of the Healdsburg Literary Guild will be featuring Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County’s present Poet Laureate, reading from his poetry and prose at the Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove Street. Oen mic the first hour for poetry and other short literary works; doors open at 1:30 for sign-up.For more info: vilmaginz@aol.com or 433-7119

Thursday, August 20, 7:00- 9:00 PM: Petaluma Writers Forum presents Chris Baty “The Joys Of High-Velocity Fiction: Writing A Novel in 30 days.” Location: Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma. Cost: $15 at the door. For more information: www.thewritespot.us, or contact Marlene Cullen – mcullen@comcast.net

Saturday August 22, 2009: DAVID BECKMAN, DAVID MADGALENE, JUDY IRWIN, and

MISSING GIRLS (MICHELE SALVAIL AND TAWNYA KOVACH). Poetry and Music. MC:

Michele Salvail. Free & open to the public. Must be 21 and over to attend.

The Wine Emporium, Inc., 125 North Main Street,Sebastopol, CA 95472. 6:00

pm to 9:00 pm. 877-349-2285 www.the-wine-emporium.com

Sunday, August 23, 2-4 PM: Trinity Poetry Series at Trinity Episcopal Church in Sonoma re-introduces its poetry series featuring Sonoma area poets on four Sunday afternoons in the church’s Abbot Courtyard at  75 East Spain St., Sonoma. The theme for this Sunday is

Poetry for a Changing Life. Juanita Martin will be among the featured readers. For more information, see the announcement in “News from East County” below.

Sunday, August 23, 4-6 PM: An open reading the 4th Sunday of each month is taking place at the Saint Rose Cafe, 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol. Come and read your latest work. Details about the Saint Rose readings can be found in the “Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings” section below.

Monday, August 24, 7-9 PM: Juanita Martin will be featuring at Cafe Greco, 423 Columbus Ave. San Francisco, Ca.

Monday, August 31, 6-7 PM: Donna Emerson reads from her new book Body Rhymes. Jared Emerson-Johnson will play introductory and closing music on violin and mandolin. Location: Mahoney Library, Santa Rosa Junior College Petaluma Campus, 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma.

Tuesday, September 8, 7-9 PM: Center Literary Café Presents Book Author Jeane Slone and Poet Donna Emerson. Open mic. Bring prose or poetry to share. Doors open at 6:30
Light refreshments. Donations appreciated. Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center, 133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza), Healdsburg, CA 95448.
Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111 centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Wednesday, September 9 at 7 PM: “Making and Impression” Workshop with Eric Johnson and Guy Beiderman begins. See details in the “Upcoming Workshops” section below.

Sunday, September 13 at 2 PM: Poetry Azul Reading Series  – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa. Featured readers will include Michael Rothenberg, Sue Stephenson, Carl Macki, Phyllis Meshulam, Centa Theresa, and Park Teter. Admission is free. 573-5935.

Don’t see your event in the calendar? Check to make sure you sent your announcement by the deadline. I am happy to include all announcements, text only (no PDF please), sent to me by noon on the last day of each month.  Calendar entries are easier to include if they follow the format you see above, and if you can keep the information brief.

County-Wide News

Benefit for Sonoma County Book Festival

2 to 5 pm, Saturday, August 1, 2009

Local Food, Local Farm, Local Writer, Local Photographer:The Locavore Event of the Season.

YES, Another (fun) benefit for the annual Sonoma County Book Festival!

WHERE; at Mimi’s Windrush Farm, 2263 Chileno Valley Rd, Petaluma

WHAS HAPPNIN’: a field day to celebrate Jonah Raskin’s most recent book, “Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California” from the University of California

Press that Readers’ Books calls “A delicious and accurate depiction of life in Sonoma, part memoir, part travel guide and part love letter to organic growing and eating.”

A special Exhibit in the barn of Paige Green’s photographs that appear in the book, enlarged especially for this event.

The Pizza oven will be fired up, and there will be veggies from Oak Hill Farm and from Green String Farm to sample too

A variety of exquisite local wines + beer as usual from Lagunitas + the delicious Higgs lemonade

What else? A Raffle in which you may want to participate even if not able to attend the event, as there are some snazzy prizes: Cowgirls cheeses; a tour of Oak Hill Farm with a $25 gift certificate for their produce; a copy of Jonah’s book; a copy of Mimi’s “Terrific Tomatoes”; and then, best for last here, an original photograph by Paige Green! (Chances the usual $1 per ticket or 6 for $5—at the event, they will be sold in ingenious ways, wingspan or height, for example, so tall people have a decided advantage….)

At about 3:30 we will sit in the shady paddock and listen to Jonah read from

Field Days and tell us why he wrote it, along with some of the comments he has

heard on his book tour from farmers, chefs, and field workers. Afterward he will

sign books, of course. (Readers Books will sell them at the event, with profits

going to our beloved but ever voracious Book Festival, held on Saturday,

September l9.

For more information or directions, contact J.J. Wilson at boxcar@sonic.net or at 707- 795-9028. We are asking a minimum of $40 per person, with courtesy discounts for the un or under-employed, for students, and for retirees. Children free.

P.O. Box 159

Santa Rosa, CA 95402

707.527.5412

www.socobookfest.org

info@socobookfest.org

Who Will Be Sonoma County’s Next Poet Laureate?

Sonoma County’s Poet Laureate Selection Committee is announcing open nominations for the County’s sixth Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate is a person who is a resident of Sonoma County, whose poetry manifests a high degree of excellence, who has produced a critically acclaimed body of work, and who has demonstrated a commitment to the literary arts in Sonoma County. If chosen, the Poet Laureate must agree to participate from time to time in the official ceremonies and poetry readings of Sonoma County.

The Poet Laureate Selection Committee is composed of representatives from the five County Supervisory Districts, and from Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, the Sonoma County Library, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, the Literary Arts Guild and the previous poets laureate. Each member of this panel has demonstrated a profound knowledge of and an active commitment to, the life of poetry in our county.

Deadline for nominations is September 25, 2009 and the new Poet Laureate will be announced in December.

Consistent with tradition, the Sonoma County Poet Laureate will not have a formal job description but will be encouraged to develop an agenda promoting poetry and the literary arts in Sonoma County. Organizers of various community events in Sonoma County may invite the poet laureate to participate in their events. There is no stipend or compensation for this position.

Download the submission requirements and application form from the Center for the Arts’ website at www.sebarts.org under the Calls for Entry tab or email lindag@sonic.net.  For questions please contact Linda Galletta at lindag@sonic.net or call the Center for the Arts at 829-4797.

Linda Galletta, Executive Director

Sebastopol Center for the Arts

6780 Depot Street

Sebastopol, CA 95472

lindag@sonic.net

707.829.4797

Nominations for Healdsburg Literary Laureate

The Healdsburg Literary Guild, in anticipation of the ending of the term of its fifth Literary Laureate at this year’s end, is seeking applicants and nominations for the 2010-2011 Healdsburg Literary Laureate. Candidate must live in either of these two zip codes: 95448 or 95441, be an active writer, and be willing to serve for two years. Deadline for applications is September 30, 2009. For application and more information: healdsburglaureate@gmail.com.

Sonoma County has named a Poet Laureate every two years since 2000, but Healdsburg has been the only community in Sonoma County that has named its own Literary Laureate during that same decade.  Previous Healdsburg Laureates have been Doug Stout [2000-2001], Armando Garcia-Davila [2002-2003], Penelope LaMontagne [2004-2005], Chip Wendt [2006-2007], and the present Laureate, Vilma Ginzberg [2008-2009].  In April of this year, in celebration of National Poetry Month, the Healdsburg Literary Guild hosted, at its monthly Third Sunday Salon, a gathering of 18 northern California county and community Poets Laureate in reading from the first anthology of California laureates’ poetry, “Sometimes in the Open”.  A DVD of that event is available from the Healdsburg Literary Guild, proceeds going to its Laureate program.

Sonoma County Book Festival, Saturday, September 19th

The Literary Arts Guild will present another wonderful Book Festival and once again raise our flags on Courthouse Square to celebrate the literary arts.

For the past decade, the Sonoma County Book Festival has provided a free day of locally treasured and nationally recognized poets, novelists, essayists, reporters, children’s writers, aspiring writers, book group experts, publishers, bookstores, and other delightful and instructive displays on Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa. This year we are proud to continue this tradition of bringing the literary arts to the public connecting authors, readers, and publishers. Come and join us for a day of fun and inspiration.

For more information, check out the schedule, exhibitors, and authors at www.socobookfest.org.

Petaluma Poetry Walk, Sunday, September 20th

10 AM ART CENTER 30 LAKEVILLE ST.

CAROLYN MILLER, LYNNE KNIGHT, DONNA EMERSON

11 AM JUNGLE VIBES 136 PETLUMA BLVD. N.

JOAN GELFAND, GINI SAVAGE, NANCY DOUGHERTY

12 NOON APPLE BOX (AT THE MILL) 6 PETALUMA BLVD. N.

JUDY GRAHN AND JULIA VINOGRAD

1 PM APPLE BOX (AT THE MILL) 6 PETALUMA BLVD. N.

RACHEL GUIDO DEVRIES AND GREG SARRIS

2 PM BELLA LUMA CAFE 125 PETALUMA BLVD.N. (HELEN PUTNAM PLAZA)

ELLEN BASS AND HER STUDENTS

3 PM COPPERFIELDS BOOKS 140 KENTUCKY ST.

JOANNE KYGER AND BILL BERKSON

4 PM PHOENIX THEATER 201 WASHINGTON ST.

LUKE WARM WATER, KIRK LUMPKIN, DAVID MADGALENE

5 PM AQUS CAFE 89 H STREET (FOUNDRY WHARF)…

FIVE MINUTE PLAYS

6 PM AQUS CAFE 89 H STREET (FOUNDRY WHARF)

BILL VARTNAW, CHARLES CURTIS BLACKWELL
and G.P SKRATZ with SMOOTH TOAD

7:00 PM AQUS CAFE 89 H STREET (FOUNDRY WHARF)

DAVID MELTZER, MICHAEL ROTHENBERG

Sixth Annual Poetry of Remembrance/Poesia del Recuerdo Community Reading

On Friday, October 23 from 5:30-9 PM, members of the community are invited to the Petaluma Arts Center for the fifth annual Bilingual Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading.

This year’s event will be hosted by Beatriz Lagos and will include a special children’s program from 5:30-6:30. This will be followed by a pot-luck supper, in addition to the traditional treats of horchata, hot chocolate, and bread-of-the-dead. Those who wish to honor the memory of someone who has died are asked to bring a favorite dish of the person they wish to honor.

Those who would also like to be part of the community reading are welcome to read a poem (limited to one page) they have written for the occasion or a favorite poem that expresses their feelings.

The Bilingual Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading is part of a two-week celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, Petaluma 2008, featuring community altars, bilingual storytelling, sugar skull workshops, music, dance, and a Procession with Giant Puppets: from Helen Putnam Plaza to St. Vincent de Paul Plaza.

If you are interested in reading a poem, please contact Terry Ehret at tehret99@comcast.net.

Admission is free. For more information about the Dia de Los Muertos events, check out the website at www.petalumaartscouncil.org. Click on “Programs.”

Al Young to be Keynote Speaker for October Conference of Redwood Writers

Redwood Writers, the Redwood branch of the California Writers Club, is pleased to announce Al Young as our keynote speaker for the October 23, 2009 pre-Conference dinner event at Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Hotel and Resort, running from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

Al’s talk will be “How the Rainbow Works: Reflections on Poetry and Survival.” He recently returned from three days of Smithsonian interviews for their jazz history archives and will have lots to share.

Cost for the evening is $50.00 per ticket. Al Young is part of an evening of poetry featuring Armando Garcia-Davila, Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County Poet Laureate, and two members of Sixteen Rivers Press, Carolyn Miller and Lynne Knight. The all-day conference follows the next day, October 24th

Redwood Writers Announces Its Conference

About Redwood Writers 2009 Conference

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 from 7:30 am – 6:00pm (check-in from 7:30 – 8:15am), at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa, 2777 Fourth Street, 95405, (707) 545-8530. This one-day conference, part of the California Writers Club Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting. Copperfield’s Books is our exclusive on-site bookstore seller. Conference web site: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

Contact: Linda Loveland Reid

president@redwoodwriters.org

707-484-4153

The following workshops will be offered:

Craft of Writing

9:30 – 10:30 am       Jordan Rosenfeld & Jody Gehrman – How to Structure A Story

10:45 – 11:45 am     Mark Sloan – The Art of Efficient Research

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Adair Lara– First Person Writing that Sells

3:15 – 4:15 pm         B. Lynn Goodwin – Finding Your Writing Voice

Genre

9:30 – 10:30 am       Arlene Mandell – Non-fiction Writing

10:45 – 11:45 am     Tamim Ansary – Memoir: Your Life as Story

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Steve Hockensmith – Fiction Writing: What’s Your Hook

3:15 – 4:15 pm         Christine Nora – Children’s Picture Book Writing and Illustrating

Technology & Business

9:30 – 10:30 am       Catharine Bramkamp – Self-publishing

10:45 – 11:45 am     Laurie McLean – Agents

2:00 – 3:00 pm         Gil Mansergh, Seth Harwood, Scott Kemble & Patricia V. Davis

– New Ways to Get Published

3:15 – 4:15 pm         Ann Wilkes – Developing Your Online Presence

Three areas of writing – the craft of writing, genre, and technology & business – offer registrants an opportunity to pick and choose workshops that suit their specific needs.

Our morning and luncheon keynote speakers, Tamim Ansary and Steve Hockensmith, will both lead workshops about memoir and fiction, respectively.

Register on-line at http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html or download a registration form and mail it to the address shown below. Lunch is included in the price of registration.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Redwood Writer’s motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members include Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Specify “Attention: Conference Registration” if registering by snail mail.

Photos of keynote speakers and workshop facilitators available upon request.

Iota Press has a New Locaton

Iota Press has moved into a studio in Sebastopol and will operate a letterpress print shop.  There is a separate hosting space available for workshops or other kinds of events. Starting in the fall, classes in letterpress printing will be offered, with an eye to helping writers and artists see (& feel) the aesthetic power of hand-made typography. Although the letterpress work is tilted toward making chapbooks and broadsides, the shop can take on other projects where the unique tactile art of metal type and good paper are desired. Visitors welcome. Call Eric Johnson first at 823-6152; email at <iota@sonic.net>; or look for the shop at 925 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol (by the sign of the Bee).

Five-Minute Plays Needed for Petaluma Poetry Walk

Call for Entries: Five-Minute Plays are needed for the 5 Minute Play Festival on Sunday, Sept. 20th with the Petaluma Poetry Walk. Writers, now is your chance to put pen to paper and create a funny or serious dialogue about love, death, taxes, pumpkin pie, anything! Plays chosen will be read by actors on stage at Aqus Cafe and alleyways/street corners of Petaluma. A new twist on theatre: let’s bring drama to the streets! Deadline: August 15th. Contact: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net for more info. Event is organized by Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon and Geri DiGiorno of the Petaluma Poetry Walk.

News from East County

 
Trinity Poetry Series is Back and looking for Local Poets to Read

After a six-year absence, Sonoma’s Trinity Episcopal Church is re-introducing its popular Trinity Poetry Series.  A number of well-known Sonoma-area poets will read from their latest works in the church’s Abbott Courtyard from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the first four Sundays in August. Each set of readings has been grouped around broad themes, the poetry of wit, the poetry of love, the poetry of performance and poetry for a changing life.

Poets reading on the August 2 date include Debbie Cooper, Vilma Ginzberg, Tom Mariani, Don Hagelberg, Chris Giovacchini Ramirez, Diane Rawicz. Shotsie Gorman and Terry Ehret. Other confirmed poets for other dates include Beatriz Lagos, Sher Lianne Christian, Lin Marie de Vincent, Shawn Louden, Selene Steese, Jeanne Powell, Lenore Wilson, Joan Brady, Janine Canan, Michael Sheffield, Ted Sexauer, Theresa Whitehill, Viola Weinberg Spencer, Ed Coletti, Juanita J. Martin and Jean Wong.

The readings are free. For more information Patricia Bradley at 707-721-6777 (cell) or bradley2006@gmail.com

Location: Abbot Courtyard at 275 East Spain St., Sonoma

Sunday, August 2

Poetry of Wit – from the light to the rambunctious

Sunday, August 9

Poetry of Love and Otherwise– sweet, tragic or missing

Sunday, August 16

Poetry of performance, passion and politics

Sunday, August 23

Poetry for a Changing Life

Poets interested in reading please email Trinity Poetry Series at bradley2006@gmail.com.

UniverSoul Reading Series

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

News from West County

Thanks to Pat Nolan for providing this month’s West County news.

Low Power Literary Radio in West Sonoma Co.

There are two monthly book shows on local low power FM radio stations.  Nearing its second anniversary, Off The Shelf, airs at 8 PM on the first Sunday of the month on Guerneville’s KGGV 95.1FM.  The program is hosted by Peter Andrews and Pat Nolan. KGGV offers streaming at www.kggvfm.org. Book Flaps, the nexus between Books and Life, hosted by Suzanne Lang and Pat Nolan is offered on Occidental’s brand new radio station, KOWS 107.3 FM, on the last Thursday of the month at 5 PM.  Previous shows have featured discussions on consciousness and guest poets from the West County.

Brian Martens hosts” The Poetry Hour” on KOWS-FM radio 107.3 fm. Every Wednesday from 5:00-6:00 pm. Poetry is read mixed with eclectic music. The program is also streamed over the internet at: www.kows.fm When you arrive at the site click on the streaming link. Thanks for listening. Feedback appreciated at b-r-m@sbcglobal.net

News from North County

Thanks to Cynthia Beecher and Vilma Ginzberg for providing this month’s North County News.

Center Literary Café

Tuesday, August 11 709 PM
Word Weavers

Six Sonoma County Women Writers

Karen Batchelor, English teacher and former Peace Corps Volunteer, has published textbooks, poetry, essays, short stories and a novel, Murder at Ocean View College.

Ann Philipp is editing her first novel Legacy and Larceny, a humorous murder mystery.  She is the originator of the Redwood Writer’s motto “Writers Helping Writers.”

Laura McHale Holland is a journalist, storyteller and author of Reversible Skirt, a memoir under contract with RockWay Press.

Kerry Grenshaw has several published short stories. Her novel, The Other Twin is a fantasy now in the final revision stage.

Kathy Rueve writes about things as they are–essays, as they were –historical fiction, and as they might be–short stories.  She facilitates a writing workshop at Oakmont Retirement Community and writes one-act plays.

Ana Manwaring is writing the second of her thriller series set in Mexico. She teaches creative writing in Sonoma County and the Napa Valley. Ageing and immigration are themes in her short stories. She has just completed her first play.

Open mic    Bring prose or poetry to share

Doors open at 6:30

Light refreshments   Donations appreciated

NB: The Tuesday Farmers Market and live music concert are in the Plaza. Come early, enjoy all three events!   Latecomers are always welcome.

Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center.

Healdsburg Senior Center

133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza)    Healdsburg, CA 95448

Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111       centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Tuesday September 8, 2009     7-9 PM

Center Literary Café Prresents Book Author Jeane Slone and Poet Donna Emerson

Jeane Slone has published her work of historical fiction She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases During World War II.  The Sonoma Arts Council is sponsoring her novel. This book “is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II.” (Jean Hegland, Reviewer)

Donna Emerson, award winning Petaluma poet, presents her just released chapbook, Body Rhymes, from Finishing Line Press.  Her poetry and prose are published in many journals and anthologies.  She will be accompanied by son Jared Emerson-Johnson on violin and mandolin.“She writes eloquently and elegantly about the body, focusing on sexuality, as well as love and loss.” (Susan Terris, Reviewer).

Open mic    Bring prose or poetry to share
Doors open at 6:30
Light refreshments   Donations appreciated

Parking is also available right behind the Senior Center.

Healdsburg Senior Center
133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza)
Healdsburg, CA 95448

Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111       centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Healdsburg Literary Arts Guild

The Third Sunday Salon of the Healdsburg Literary Guild will be featuring Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County’s present Poet Laureate, reading from his poetry and prose on Sunday, August 16, 2009 at the Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove Street. This event runs from at 2 to 4 PM.

If you have not heard this wise, warm, and witty writer, do not miss this chance; if you have, come and enjoy him again.  Bring friends of all ages.

As usual, there will be open mic the first hour for poetry and other short literary works; doors open at 1:30 for sign-up.

For more info: vilmaginz@aol.com or 433-7119

Sonoma County in Print

If you are a Sonoma County writer with a book or chapbook newly published, let’s help you celebrate! Just send your announcement to tehret99@comcast.net. Be sure to include information on how your readers can find out more about you and your work or order a copy. You’re announcement will run for three Updates.

Eugene Ruggles’s Collected Works, a posthumous collection of his poems, is in production and readying for publication. Go to www.eugeneruggles.com

to see cover mock–up.

Jeanne Miller’s On the Brink of Nora

On the Brink of Nora, was chosen by Redwood Writers for a joint publication project with Unlimited Publishing.

Set in the Northern California Wine Country, On the Brink is a true coming of age story. When Nora embarks on a radical journey of self-discovery, her family is called upon to evolve as individuals, and in concert with one another.

jcmillerwriter.com
http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com/miller/

Linda Loveland Reid’s novel, Touch of Magenta,

will be available on May 9 at local bookstores and on Amazon.com.  For more information go to www.lindalovelandreid.com

Touch of Magenta explores, through the lives to two women, the right we all have to know our personal history; that all secrets be revealed, all lies untold.

The story is set in Sonora’s California gold country, Chinatown, Italy, Singapore, and England.

Coming bookstore events include:

May 9 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30, at Copperfield’s Books, Santa Rosa in Montgomery Village

May 16, Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Healdsburg

June 6 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma

June 13 Meet & Greet, Sat 1-3:00 at Copperfield’s Books in Napa

June 18 Book Signing, Thur 7pm at River Reader in Guerneville

June 27 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Calistoga

Stand by for more bookstore events in July and August.

Donna Emerson’s Body Rhymes from Finishing Line Press

I am happy to announce to my friends and acquaintances that my poetry collection from Finishing Line Press, Body Rhymes, comes out this spring. Since this is a limited edition collection, you may order now to reserve a copy. The press run will be determined by the number of orders made before April 10.The book, with a color photograph of mine on the cover, will be mailed to you by the end of May.

“Donna Emerson’s poems—each a small, complete world—reveal their tenderness in detail. The poet William Carlos Williams once said ‘Perception is the first act of imagination,’ and with her photographer’s eye, Emerson invites the reader to see, as if for the first time, what is extraordinary even in the most familiar.  But as a poet, she also listens, deeply and intently, to her subject, whether it is a landscape, a memory, or one of the unforgettable souls she has counseled, struggling to reconcile themselves with mortality. And it is with a listening heart that the reader feels with her a wonder at the courage she has witnessed, and inspiration at the truth she captures.”

Terry Ehret, author of Lucky Break

“A lilting voice from a new poet.  A new daughter is not all that Donna Emerson gave birth to in her 50s.  Her poems are loaded with rich imagery and memory.”
Susan Swartz, author of The Juicy Tomatoes Guide to Ripe Living After 50

Books can be pre-ordered through the website at  www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases and Forthcoming Titles,” scrolling down alphabetically.

Sagittarius Agitprop by Matthew Gavin Frank

Franks collection of poems is available from Black Lawrence Press at:

http://www.blacklawrence.com/frank.html

To see and hear Frank reading from his book, check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdOR3_jrx88

www.matthewgfrank.com

Pierette Mimi Poinsett

Rose-Anne Clermont has written an article about my challenges in the Women’s International Perspective e-zine.  The photographer who is uncredited is Michi Adams of Rohnert Park Petaluma. Below is the link:

http://thewip.net/contributors/2009/02/living_one_day_at_a_time_in_th.html
Over the last three years, I have been writing creative non-fiction and poetry. Going into “the family business”:)  A memoir cookbook is in the works.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD

http://www.snapdiva.blogspot.com

aka the Yayayarndiva on http://www.ravelry.com

Mary Lynn Archibald named in national “Best Books” 2008

USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced that Mary Lynn Archibald was a finalist in THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA). Awards were presented for titles published in 2008 and late 2007.

This is the third finalist award (the second in the HUMOR category) for Mary Lynn Archibald, for her book, Accidental Cowgirl: Six Cows, No Horse and No Clue, which has attained something of a cult following here in the west. “Always a bridesmaid,” she says.

Mary Lynn Archibald is available interviews to discuss her latest book and related topics. Contact 707-395-0542 or marylynn@winecountrywriter.com

Bill Vartnaw ‘s new book, Suburbs of my Childhood, came out on January15th.  Bill says, “This is a book of mostly early poems, lots of seventies, a few eighties and a couple of nineties about my mother, 74 pages.” For more information or to order the book, contact Bill at  taureanhorn@hotmail.com.  Taurean Horn Press’ address is P.O. Box 641097, San Francisco, CA 94164-1097.

Jeane Slone has just published She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases. People can order it from my web site at www.jeaneslone.com.

Jean Heglund writes, “She Flew Bombers is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. Anyone interested in Aviation History, Women’s History, or the World War II “war effort” will appreciate Jeane Slone’s careful research, as well as her ability to bring this little-know aspect of the US history to life so vividly.”

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro has just published an anthology entitled Hair Pieces, containing the poetry and prose of 51 of her writing students. Hair Pieces is available for purchase at Copperfields and also at harlmarg@sonic.net. For information about Margaret’s Writing Practice workshops, scroll down to the section “Current and Upcoming Workshops.”

Ann Wilkes’s Awesome Layratt

Ann Wilkes’ first book, Awesome Lavratt (2009) is a tongue-in-cheek space opera with mind control, passion and adventure. Her stories have appeared in online zines and anthologies.  She lives in California’s wine country with her husband, Patrick and their youngest son. She’s working on two novels while still cranking out the short funny stories that characterize her writing style. Visit her website, http://www.annwilkes.com, for a full bio, her blog and links to online stories.

Marisol Schowengerdt.’s A Selfish Life?

Marisol is a first-time author with a self-published book, A Selfish Life?, released in October 2008.  This fictional work sells throughout Sonoma and Napa county.

The book focuses on the other side of motherhood; the not-so-perfect, yet rarely admitted, side of childrearing.  The confrontation to an unspoken reality is embedded in the lives of four women who confront the dilemma of choosing freedom over motherhood, guilt over consequence, and nature over science.

Please visit the website at www.aselfishlife.com for an author biography and a listing of outlets currently carrying this book.

Post your comments on our blog at www.aselfishlife.blogspot.com.  Whether or not you have read my book, I am sure most of you know people who have had to deal with teenage pregnancies, infertility, and/or indecision about becoming a parent.  I would like to give others a complete perspective about the choices being made and the circumstances that drive the decision of whether or not to have a baby, keep the baby, or buy a baby.

It’s a complicated topic and everyone has an opinion so let’s all share them so that others can take from them for their own decision making.  Please feel free to send this around to everyone you know, the more feedback the better.

Mariam Stephens has just published the first of her tales from her Irish childhood, Healings; as well as a CD of the stories read in her own lilting voice. See her website www.MariamStephens.com for information.

Shelley Singer’s Blackjack

BLACKJACK–now available also in E-book and CD-Rom from SynergEbooks.com and major ebookstores–starring Rica Marin, spy and torch singer in the Balkanized world of 2066. Written as Lee Singer. Read the first chapter on Singer’s website.
.
Shelley Singer also does manuscript consulting, mostly fiction, fiction of all kinds. Singer will be teaching a workshop on Dialogue for the Redwood Writers at the end of January.

Calls for Submission

If you have a call for submission or a contest of interest to Sonoma County writers, send it to tehret99@comcas.net.

If you’d like to explore ways to get your writing out of the drawer and into print, check out the information on the Literary Folk website and on my personal website:

http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/recommended-northern-california-journals-and-presses/

http://www.terryehret.com/consulting.htm

Redwood Writers Writing Contest

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces a writing contest for registered attendees of the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference. The theme of the contest is “Beginnings” and entries may be written as fiction or nonfiction. Entry details are found on our web site: http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conferencecontestbeginnings.pdf.

The contest is, in part, a celebration of the joy of writing expressed through the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference and part of the California Writers Club centennial celebration. It begins immediately and is open to all residents living in California who are registered for the October 24th Redwood Writers 2009 Conference. All submissions must be unpublished works and be postmarked by August 15, 2009.

The cost is $10 per story submitted to a maximum of three stories for $30. Winners will be announced at the Redwood Writers 2009 Conference on October 24th. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three entries as follows: first place – $100, second place – $50 and third place – $25. Fourth and fifth place entries will each receive an honorable mention. Winners will also have their writing published in the Redwood Writers newsletter and be considered for publication in a future Redwood Writers’ Anthology.

Submissions will be judged on clarity, originality, and cohesion. Judging will be done by B. Lynn Goodwin of Danville, a CWC Member; J.J.Wilson of Penngrove; and, Laura McHale Holland, a Redwood Writer from Rohnert Park.

Ginosko Literary Journal’s Call for Submissions

Accepting short fiction & poetry, audio recordings, creative non-fiction, interviews, social justice concerns for the 9th issue of the literary journal ginosko, the summer issue.

Editorial lead time 1-2 months; accept simultaneous submissions and reprints; length flexible, accept excerpts. Receives postal submissions & email—prefer email submissions as attachments in Microsoft Works Word Processor or Rich Text Format. Copyright reverts to author.

Publishing as semiannual ezine, winter & summer. Selecting material from ezine for printed anthology.
Check downloadable issues on website for style & tone: http://www.ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/
Use latest version of Adobe Reader.

ezine circulation 4500+. Website traffic 750-1000 hits/month.
Also looking for artwork, photography, to post on website and links to exchange.

Ginosko (ghin-océ-koe)
To perceive, understand, realize, come to know; knowledge that has an inception, a progress, an attainment. The recognition of truth by experience.

Member CLMP.  Listed in Best of the Web 2008.

Ginosko Literary Journal
Robert Paul Cesaretti, Editor
PO Box 246
Fairfax, CA 94978
USA

MEMOIR (and) Call for Submissions

MEMOIR (and) is an up-and-coming print journal for the exploration of memoir as “the” genre of the 21st century. Our nonprofit mission is to publish traditional as well as nontraditional forms of nonfiction allied with memoir. This includes, but is not limited to, autobiography, personal and critical essay, graphic narratives, narrative poetry, “flash memoir,” autobiographical fiction, alternative histories, journalistic accounts,  narrative photography and more.  We award four cash prizes twice yearly and charge no entry fee. All work submitted to MEMOIR (and) is eligible to win a prize.

The reading period for Spring+Summer 2010 (Issue 6) is upon us! Accepting traditional and experimental prose, poetry, graphic memoir, narrative photography, lies, and more from 5/1/09 through 8/15/09.

Four prizes up to $500 available for prose, poetry and graphic memoirs. All submissions eligible for contest entry.

For guidelines, contest info and online submissions, visit www.memoirjournal.com.

New Millennium Contest Deadline July 31, 2009

$4,000 in Grants and Awards, plus publication in NMW and at the New Millennium Writings website
$1,000 for best Story; $1,000 for best Poem; $1,000 for best Short-short Fiction (1,000-word limit), $1,000 for best Nonfiction
(Nonfiction includes humor, memoir, creative nonfiction, travel, opinion, essay, interview, features, investigative reporting, etc.)
Recipients of NMW Awards are showcased along with interviews, profiles and tributes to famous writers, past and present, such as

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., J. D. Salinger, Julia Glass, Shel Silverstein, Khaled Hosseini, George Garrett, Ken Kesey, John Updike, Lee Smith, Cormac McCarthy, Lucille Clifton, Shelby Foote, Paul West, Norman Mailer, Sharyn McCrumb, William Kennedy, Faulkner, Hemingway, Dickinson, Keats, Percy, Warren and many others. Also, prize-winning stories, poems & articles, humor, graphic arts, writing advice and more.
To Enter, follow these Guidelines, or enter on-line at www.writingawards.com.
1. No restrictions as to style, content or number of submissions. Enter as often as you like. Previously published materials OK if online or under 5000-circulation in print.
2. Winners and selected finalists—including all poetry finalists—will be published in our 2010-11 issue–which all contestants will receive, and on-line.
3. Send between now and midnight of July 31, 2009 (postmark ok). This deadline will not be extended.
4. Simultaneous & multiple submissions welcome.
5. Each Fiction or Nonfiction piece is counted as a separate entry, and should total no more than 6,000 words except Short-short Fiction (no more than 1,000 words).
6. Each Poetry entry may include up to three poems, not to exceed five pages total per entry. All 20 poetry finalists will be published. If entering online, upload all 3 poems, plus cover page (optional) in a single file, per entry. We are pleased to have Nikki Giovanni serving as final poetry judge in this contest.
7. Include name, phone, address, email & category on cover page or letter only and submit with the submission. If entering online the cover page is optional, as our online site automatically uploads contact information you provide.
8. Manuscripts not returned except in hardship cases. Include email address (preferable) or SASE for list of winners. Yes, we recycle.
9. Include $17 check payable to NMW with each submission.
10. If entering by mail, send to: “NMW” Room EM, PO Box 2463, Knoxville, TN, 37901 (unless entering online). To order our current issue, add $12.

Current and Upcoming Workshops

Many Sonoma County writers offer their expertise and writing support through local workshops, classes, and consultations. Some are day-long, some are ongoing, and some are retreats. Workshops for this month are listed below. A more complete list of workshop leaders and their contact information appears at the end of this article.

If you have a workshop you’re offering, send a short description (150 words or less) to tehret99@comcast.net.

Stephen Altschuler’s Coaching Service for Non-fiction Writers.

My speciality is personal experience writing, but cover all aspects of the non-fiction genre. I’ve been writing and getting published since 1969. My latest book is The Mindful Hiker (2004), and have written four other books. My website which tells more of my work and this service is www.firstpersonwriting.com .

Stephen Altschuler
stephenaltschuler@mac.com

Guy Biederman and Eric Johnson

MAKING AN IMPRESSION: Anatomy of writing
Lowfat fiction and prose poems meet the metal type & printing presses at Iota Press studio. Compose two short pieces, learn to set type, exult in pulling your very own proof. Get down to the bones of your work – letter by letter.

Wednesday evenings, September 9, 16, 23, 30
7:00 p.m.
925-C Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol

$150.

For more information, call Eric Johnson first at 823-6152; email at iota@sonic.net.

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro’s Sonoma County Writing Practice

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro teaches eight week long writing semesters out of her Santa Rosa downtown office. Three different class times are offered each week. Margaret uses poetry and meditation for inspiration and writers are encouraged to read their work in a supportive atmosphere. The memoir is a valuable form for dropping deeper into the self allowing memories to come forth. This process allows space for self-knowledge to occur. For more information or to receive a flyer call (707)575-8820 or email Margaret at harlmarg@sonic.net. The website for Sonoma County Writing Practice is www.handwritingonline.net

Gwynne O’Gara’s Writing Workshops

For more information and to register, call (707) 823-2993 or e-mail gwynn@gwynnogara.com.

The workshops will be held at the Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati, Cotati, CA.

Gwynn O’Gara is the author of Snake Woman Poems (Beatitude Press) and the chapbooks Fixer-Upper (dpress) and Winter at Green Haven (Word Temple Press). She is active with California Poets in the Schools, and performs with The Redheads and pianist Rob Catterton. In addition to various anthologies, her work has been published in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, Minnetonka Review and Yellow Silk, and will appear in future issues of Argestes, descant, Evansville Review and Beatitudes Golden Anniversary Edition.

Suzanne Murray

The Heart of Writing – Four-Week Classes with Suzanne Murray

Tuesday Mornings, 9:30 am to noon, September 15 to October 6

$100 paid by 9/7, $115 after, west Santa Rosa

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00 to 9:30 pm, September 15 to October 6

$100 paid by 9/7, $115 after, downtown Sebastopol

register early limited to 12

Small supportive group. Good for beginners and experienced writers as well as all styles of writing.

Learn simple, powerful techniques to find your voice, tell your stories, calm your inner critic, enter the creative flow, jumpstart your writing and supportyour creative self. Find support and encouragement and an understanding of the craft of writing and the joyful heart of the creative process.

for more information call or email Suzanne at 707.874.9614 or suzmurr@yahoo.com or website:www.creativitygoeswild.com

What her students say:

Suzanne is more than an excellent teacher. She is an inspiration. Her writing workshops are not only about the craft of writing, but are a journey into the heart of the writing experience. . . – Jill Cagan

Suzanne’s class was tremendously inspiring. She offers a nearly endless variety of tools and creates an atmosphere that is both challenging and unconditionally supportive. She showed me how to side step blocks and let the creativity flow. No question, it is the best writing class I’ve ever taken. – Ed Richards

Suzanne has just the right touch, so supportive and gentle as we birthed our little word babies, she showed us how to see the beauty in them. And it

wasn’t fake! Once she pointed out the beauty, it was there! – Martha Stedman

Suzanne’s knowledge and ability to facilitate the writing process is incredible. – Jody Tucker

Taught by Suzanne Murray. A gifted teacher and creativity coach, now if her eighteenth year offering these classes and workshops, she brings to class a passion for books and working with words and an ability to inspire others to write. An award winning essayist and poet, Suzanne’s work appears in various literary journals including Orion and The Sun.

Petaluma Writers Forum

Writers Forum of Petaluma proudly presents Chris Baty

Thursday, August 20,  2009 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma

$15 at the door

The joys of high-velocity fiction: Writing a novel in 30 days

Do you have a novel in you? Of course you do! This workshop will serve as a friendly kick in the pants for anyone who has wanted to write a book, but struggled to find the time to do it. Join Chris Baty—founder of the world’s largest writing event—as he details the surprising benefits of cramming a daunting project like novel-writing into such a short amount of time. After laying out the pernicious misconceptions that tend to sabotage creative projects, Chris will offer a few practical strategies that will enable anyone to seize the literary reins and become a more productive (and happier!) writer. In the second half of the workshop, we’ll tackle a few fun exercises to help get you started on your new novel.

CHRIS BATY Founder and Director of National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org), Chris Baty is also the author of “No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days.” His freelance work has appeared in such publications as the Washington Post, the SF Weekly, and Lonely Planet guidebooks. Chris’s quest for the perfect cup of coffee is never-ending, and will likely kill him someday.

“No Plot? No Problem!” will be available for purchase.

Supported by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from the Hearst Foundation.

For more information: www.thewritespot.us

Marlene – mcullen@comcast.net

Laurie Reiche ‘s Writing Soiree

Laurie leads writing workshops the third Sunday of every month, 3-6 PM at her home.

The focus is generating new work, both poetry and prose. Sliding scale. For more information, call 415-892-9430 or e-mail p.reiche@comcast.net.

Lessen-Reiche has facilitated workshops for many years. She was the 2006 Winner of Lilith Magazine’s Second Annual Charlotte Newberger National Poetry Award. Her work has also appeared in magazines such as SUNY Upstate Medical Journal: The Healing Muse, and The Southern Poetry Review.

Clara Rosemarda’s Writing Workshops

WRITEMIND™ WORKSHOPS: Creative Writing as Spiritual Practice
with CLARA ROSEMARDA

On-going classes on Wednesday evenings & Thursday Mornings

Through meditation, visualizations, and other exercises that quiet the mind and expand the imagination, you will access and activate your creative muse. I provide a comfortable safe environment for the writer to emerge.

Open to beginning as well as seasoned writers.
For dates & times contact Clara: 707:579-2081 rosen@sonic.net

Clara Rosemarda, MA, writer, counselor, coach, and
workshop leader, has been working with beginning and mainstreams writers for over 25 years. Her prose and poetry is published in literary journals. She is coauthor of STEEPED: In the World of Tea.

Andrew Todhunter

A Writers’ Workshop in Paris

October 12th through 16th, 2009 – Paris, France

Open to all writers, this five-day intensive workshop concentrates on strengthening the fundamental elements of strong, clear writing in fiction and non-fiction.

While suitable for newer writers, the Paris workshop also serves experienced and published writers who wish to develop the stylistic and structural principals at the heart of their craft.

The workshop format is highly interactive and includes lecture, written exercises, group editing exercises and extensive Q & A.

Andrew Todhunter’s Paris Workshop is lively and deeply collaborative. Participants return engaged and inspired, with closely revised material and renewed passion for the written word.

About the Instructor:

Born in Paris, raised in the US and educated at UC Berkeley, award-winning author and participatory journalist Andrew Todhunter has been teaching writing for more than fifteen years, including appearances at the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference and workshops in Paris. His work has been published in numerous journals and periodicals, including The Atlantic Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, National Geographic and the Washington Post Sunday Magazine. His subjects range widely, from ice climbing in the Scottish Highlands to animal rescue, French cuisine and early medieval history. He is the author of three books, including the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller Fall of the Phantom Lord and the PEN USA Award-winning A Meal Observed. His work has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Italian.

“Andrew’s warmth, his sincerity and his ability to create an inspirational learning environment all combine to make him an excellent workshop leader… His dedication to his students is inspirational.”

—Charlotte Gullick, Director, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference

“Andrew is a born public speaker and a superb presenter… Whether speaking to a group of ten or two hundred, he is riveting in his honesty, his insight and his ability with words.”

—Steve Mandel, President and Founder, Mandel Communications

Course Tuition: $1195

(Includes 5 days of instruction, a personal coaching session and lifetime email support)

Friend Discount: Any student who brings a paying friend will receive a $100 discount, one discount per person. Larger groups of friends may “chain” this discount to maximize savings.

Deposit: $500 due by September 1, 2009.

Class Size: 8-12 Students.

Other Features: Optionally, participants may gather in the evenings at a neighboring watering hole or stroll beloved Parisian neighborhoods with Todhunter as their guide.

Travel, Lodging and Meals: To control costs, travel, lodging and meals are not included in the course fee.  When the classroom location is finalized, several hotels, restaurants and cafes within walking distance will be suggested.

For more information on the Paris Writers’ Workshop, or to register, please email:

workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa: Creative Projects Coaching/Consultation for Artists & Writers

THE POD: ART & WRITING

workshops & monthly creative projects coaching circle…

Centa Theresa, M.A.

www.centatheresa.com 707-478-5903 vicenta@sonic.net
CREATIVE PROJECTS COACHING: Whether you have a manuscript in the making that

you can¹t seem to finish, a body of artwork that needs more of your time, an

idea you¹d like to see manifest but have no plan, etc., I help you to

clarify the vision, identify challenges, claim successes and keep

accountable for stated intentions. Private sessions held in my home

office/studio in Santa Rosa. Call for further inquiry.

ART/WRITING PROCESS: Through dialogue, meditation, free-writing exercises

and the exploration of various art media, focus on a question or theme of

present concern and let the process unfold. Come one time or for a

predetermined series of private sessions in my home studio. Call for further

inquiry.

Call for free consultation. 707-478-5903. www.centatheresa.com

<http://www.centatheresa.com> . vicenta@sonic.net

Centa Theresa M.A. has exhibited her art in Bay Area galleries & had poems

appear or are forthcoming in such journals as Harpur Palate, Eclipse, The

Hurricane Review, Tiny Lights, and DrumVoices Revue. Centa has authored the

letterset edition, Blameless Recognition of Natural Light. She currently

teaches art at Napa State Hospital and has trained in ³creativity coaching²

with Eric Maisel.

A list of other Sonoma County writing workshop leaders appears in the details about workshops and events at the end of the update. Feel free to contact them about their private consultations or to find out when their next workshops will be.

Sonoma County Writers

Offering Workshops and Consultation

Stephen Altschuler www.firstpersonwriting.com

Guy Beiderman www.lowfatfiction.com

Susan Bono sbono@tiny-lights.com

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro harlmarg@sonic.net

Dan Coshnear dan@coshnear.org

Sher Christian poetrytalks@neteze.com

Marlene Cullen www.thewritespot.us/ or mcullen@comcast.net

Georgette G. deBlois GGdeB@aol.com.

Nancy Dougherty and Geri Digiorno ncaversd@sonic.net

Terry Ehret tehret99@comcast.net

Susan Hagenhagen@womenatgroundzero.com

Eric Johnson iota@sonic.net

Suzanne Murray suzmurr@yahoo.com

Laure Reiche p.reiche@comcast.net

Pauline Reif paulineerh@yahoo.com

Clara Rosemarda rosen@sonic.net

Scott Reid Serkes www.sonic.net/poetry/albany/workshop/intro.html>http: //www.sonic.net

Lisa Shulman www.lisashulman.com.

Shelley Singer http://www.shelleysinger.com

Andrew Todhunter workshops@andrewtodhunter.com

Centa Theresa, m.a.,Writing & Creative Projects Coach

www.centatheresa.com

creatvitycoaching@centatheresa.com

Pat Tyler www.writetoday.net

Writers’ Connections

If you’d like to invite others in the literary community to join your writers’ group or network, send an announcement to tehret99@comcast.net.

WESTWORD SECOND SUNDAY SALONS @ SEBASTOPOL, 4-6PM

All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549

Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.)

GOR YASWEN
YASWEN@AOL.COM

Blog with me about: “Inspiring Young Children to Read”…

Reading aloud to young children yields benefits aplenty. The NAE sez it this way:

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required
for eventual success in reading – is reading aloud to children.”
– Commission on Reading of the National Academy of Education

There are five well defined ‘Facts, Advantages and Benefits’ to reading aloud
that I’ve summarized here in relation to Ocean Rudee & Company’s program offerings:
https://www.oceanrudee.com/what.is.ocean.rudee.and.company.html#readaloud

I’d love to hear other thoughts and ideas (from any of you within the Sonoma County
Literary Update universe) in relation to your experiences, ideas and outlooks toward
the future – in regards to reading, books, reading aloud, inspiring young children,
early childhood education, multi-media programming, literacy and the like.

My blog is located here: http://oceanrudee.blogspot.com/

I await hearing the sounds of your keystrokes and absorbing your insights accordingly.

Responsively Reading Aloud I am,

Paul Ennis
pwe@ oceanrudee.com

Sitting Room Book Discussion Group

We meet 2-4 on the third Wednesday of every month, skipping December, at The Sitting Room and are always open to new readers. For more info, email Joanne Page at jpage@sonic.net.  (The January 21 book is Pat Barker’s first novel in her trilogy about World War I, “Regeneration.”)

The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club.

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces that its April 5th meeting will feature author Kevin Smokler. He will give a talk called, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Publishing, But Were Afraid to Ask.”

The meeting runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Star Restaurant, 8501 Gravenstein Hwy, corner of Old Redwood Hwy and Hwy 116, in Cotati.

The general public is welcome. A $6 fee is charged for non-members.

About Kevin Smokler:

Kevin Smokler is the editor of Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times (Basic Books, 2005) which USA Today called “provocative, irreverent and fun.” He speaks throughout North America on writing, publishing and the endurance of the arts in the digital 21st century. He lives in San Francisco.

For more information please visit http://www.kevinsmokler.com/.

About Redwood Writers:

Redwood Writers is one of 17 branches of the California Writers Club, the nation’s oldest professional club for writers, founded in 1909.  Its motto is “writers helping writers.” Early members included Jack London, George Sterling, John Muir, Joaquin Miller and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. The Club has more than 1,200 members statewide.

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place on October 24, 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa. Our one-day conference, part of CWC Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Call for Scriptwriters on Weekly Radio Show

Are you an accomplished scriptwriter looking for a long-term project to sink your creativity into? Ocean Rudee & Company of Sebastopol is in the process of pulling together a team of 4 to 6 ‘scriptors’. Project responsibilities will include: the development of an ongoing series of radio serial dramas and related multi-media programs for children from 4 to 8-years of age (as well as their parents, teachers and primary caregivers).

Prior experience writing for children is not necessary. An understanding of how to write for continuity, how to maintain and adhere to a well developed set of character profiles, the ability to function well as a team player, a love of children’s literature and an abiding commitment to the muse – are essential.

If this is you, please visit Ocean Rudee’s website (www.oceanrudee.com) and send them off an e-mail expressing your interest in learning more.

.

Join the Staff of First Leaves
If you have ever wanted to be on the staff of an energetic, literary journal and learn the process of compiling a publication, plan to join English 80 (3 unit, CSU transferable) for the Spring ’09 semester. Students enrolled in English 80 are involved in all aspects of producing a literary journal (with the guidance of the instructor), from approving submissions to putting the actual journal together. Evaluating other people’s work is a great way to learn your own strengths and weaknesses. The class is fun, collaborative, and project-based: we will produce a high-quality, well-designed magazine. We welcome the participation of people throughout the North Bay, including mature working adults, young adults, teens and retirees.

Contact Instructor Abby Bogomolny for more information: (707) 522-2779

Have You ‘Jacket-Flapped’ Lately?
JacketFlap is an international social networking community where you can connect with upwards of 5,000 published authors and illustrators of books for Children and Young Adults. Paul Ennis of Sebastopol reports: “I’ve been a member of JacketFlap (http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=OceanRudee) since late-June of 2008. My efforts to produce audio books for children and source read-aloud materials for my radio program production project (targeting an October 2009 broadcast premiere) have been greatly enhanced by the people I’ve been able to meet through JacketFlap. It’s FREE to join, the community is a vibrant one that does not seem to generate junk e-mails to any great degree and the atmosphere is very professional. If you are ready to network with folks around the world in the children’s book publishing industry this is an online community you need to be a part of. Their membership includes: children’s book authors, illustrators, editors, agents, publishing companies, designers, publicists, booksellers, librarians, teachers, students and just plain old ordinary folks who love children’s literature. Check it out – you’ll have fun in the process!”

The International Women’s Writing Guild

The IWWG is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. As such, it has established a remarkable record of achievement in the publishing world, as well as in circles where lifelong learning and personal transformation are valued for their own sake. The Guild nurtures and supports holistic thinking by recognizing the logic of the heart—the ability to perceive the subtle interconnections between people, events and emotions—alongside conventional logic. For more information about how to join the IWWG, contact Caroline Brumleve: e-mail iwwg@iwwg. org or visit their website at www.iwwg.org.

Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings

SUNDAYS

First Sunday of the month: The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club general meetings are held on the first Sunday of the month, (except for holiday weekends), from 3-5 pm. at the Star Restaurant, 8501 Gravenstein Hwy, corner of Old Redwood Hwy and Hwy 116, in Cotati. A small fee of $4 for members, $6 for nonmembers is asked to cover room rental and light refreshments. For more information see www.redwoodwriters.org or call Karen at 795-4591.

Second Sunday of the month: Westwood Second Sunday Salons, 4-6 PM. All poets and writers are welcome to hear and read at monthly gatherings in the quiet comfort of the Center’s west-corner Library Room. Come hear and share home-grown literature, and your writing process, problems, and motives with colleagues in our sessions facilitated by Gor Yaswen, for $1 donation to the Center. Listeners also are cordially invited to these-smoke-and-fragrance-free meetings. For info. call: 707-829-1549. Location: SEBASTOPOL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 6780 DEPOT STREET (@ BROWN ST. & behind Seb. Deli.) For more information, contact GOR YASWEN YASWEN@AOL.COM

Sunday afternoons at 2 PM: Poetry Azul  Reading Series  – Ed Coletti’s popular reading series (formerly “Sococo At the Toad”) has moved to Cafe Azul located at 521 4th St. in Downtown Santa Rosa.  Following the successful first reading at the new location in July, future scheduled Sunday 2PM readings include Sept 13, Nov. 8, Jan 10, and March 14.  Admission is free.  573-5935. For further information contact SoCoCo-At-the-Toad director and emcee Ed Coletti at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net

Third Sundays 11:30-1:00pm: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H street, hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! Last month, twelve people showed up and we had a great time! Couldn’t drag myself out of there! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Third Sundays12:30 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. Poetry Reading & Open Mic: Coffee Catz

Poetry Reading. Donations Appreciated. 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-5643.

Fourth Sundays 4-6 PM. An open reading the 4th Sunday of each month is taking place at the Saint Rose Cafe, 9890 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol, from 4 to 6 pm. The next reading will be Sunday, August 23rd. Come and read your latest work.

Last Sunday of each month, 6-8:30 PM: Poetry, Pints, and Prose at Maguires Pub 145 Kentucky Street in Petaluma. Hosted by Michelle Baynes, the readings begin with a featured reader, followed by open-mic. For more information, contact Michelle at 707-326-3773 or Catherine at 707-338-1554 or e-mail them at PoetryPintsProse@aol.com.

MONDAYS
First Monday of the Month: Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa (UUCSR) Writers meet in the “New Room”, Unitarian Universalist Congregation Santa Rosa, 547 Mendocino Ave.Santa Rosa, Ca 95401, 707-568-5381 or http://www.uusantarosa.org/ Meetings are held in the afternoon, 4 – 6 pm, and again in the evening, 6:45 – 8:45 pm. Focus: Whatever your creative endeavor: memoirs, letters, history, biographies, the Great American novel, poems, essays, song lyrics, reports, term papers, cook books, web pages, blogs, etc., our focus is to provide an atmosphere where you can improve and hone your writing skills.The UUCSR Writers is open to the novice, the more experienced, and the published author. Membership at UUCSR is not required. UUCSR Writers, Georgette G. deBlois, GGdeB@aol.com, http://uucsrwriters.blogspot.com

TUESDAYS

Second Tuesday of each month 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Cafe hosts a featured writer and an open mic reading at the Healdsburg Senior Center 133 Matheson St. (one block east of the Plaza). Light refreshments are served. Admission is free ($5.00 donation encouraged).  Contact: Cynthia Helen Beecher (707) 696-1111.

SATURDAYS

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

Intermittently Scheduled Events

ODD Month Readings is sponsored by the Redwood Writers Club. The readings are open to non-members, but are not open mic format. Contact Ann Wilkes at critiquegrpcoord@redwoodwriters.org or 707-792-1704 to get on the list or for more information. Redwood Writers roves the county with talented writers for your listening pleasure.

Haiku Poets of No. California. Join us for our free quarterly readings & workshops. A featured reader, often longtime HPNC members, will present a short reading of haiku and/or other Japanese genre poetry. Each meeting also offers a lengthier program (usually a presentation or workshop related to one of the Japanese forms). There will be one or more round-robin readings, where all attendees have an opportunity, open-mic style, to read and share one or more haiku and tanka. Also news and announcements, including upcoming events, submission calls and brief introductions of any new books of interest, as well as time for socializing and refreshments. A book table is set up for the sale and purchase of HPNC and other books (you may bring your own publications if you have some to sell). Our meetings and special events, which are open to both members and nonmembers, are held quarterly at San Francisco’s Fort Mason, building C, room 235, from 1 to 5 PM. For more information, or to become an HPNC member (which includes a subscription to our renowned semiannual journal Mariposa and a quarterly newsletter) go to the HPNC website at www.haiku-poets-northern-california.com.

How to List Your Announcements in the Literary Update

General Information

The Literary Update is a compilation of announcements which I receive from members of the Sonoma County literary community about workshops, readings, ongoing literary and writing groups, calls for submissions, and contests. Events should be primarily literary in nature, and should be located in, or within an hour’s drive of, Sonoma County.

I aim to make the monthly updates as inclusive as possible. If you have a workshop, event, contest, or call for submission to announce to the Sonoma County literary community, please send it to me as an e-mail message by noon on the last day of each calendar month. Any notices received after this deadline will not be included, but may be added to the next month’s Literary Update, if still relevant.

Here are the basic guidelines for announcements.

1. Include the words “Literary Update” in your subject heading.

2. Make sure your announcement is concise, carefully proofread, and copy-edited. Also keep in mind that I can only include announcements that are plain text and presented in the e-mail message (no flyers, PDF’s, or attachments with special formatting please). Retyping text and reformatting special fonts from flyers takes time, sometimes causes errors, and may result in announcements being left out of the Update.

3. If you have an event or workshop you want included in the monthly calendar, as well as listed in another category of the Update, please include an abbreviated version of your announcement in the following format:

Day, Date, Time: Event title, featured authors, cost (if any), location, contact information.

4. Suggest the category where you’d like it placed. These are listed here:

• County-Wide Literary News (general interest announcements)
• Sonoma County in Print (new books/chapbooks/CDs by Sonoma County writers)
• News from East County (Sonoma area)
• News from North County (Healdsburg area)
• News from West County (Occidental/Guerneville area)
• Writers’ Connections (invitations to join groups, formal or informal)
• Upcoming Workshops and Conferences (current workshops you are offering)
• Call for Submissions (local literary journals, magazines, contests)
• Ongoing Writers’ Groups and Open Mic Readings
• Monthly Calendar of readings, events and workshops
• Sonoma County Workshop Leaders (e-mail and website contacts)
• Details about Workshops, Calls for Submission, Contests (information that is too lengthy to include in the short features or calendar listings)

Deadline

The deadline for announcements is noon on the last day of each calendar month. If your event is early in the month, send it two months ahead to make sure it gets in the calendar in a timely fashion

Donation

For those who regularly announce their workshops, readings, or services here, a donation of $10/year is appreciated to keep the update and its website going. Donations from regular readers are welcome, too! If you’d like to find out how you can help, please contact me at tehret99@comcast.net.

Dear Literary Folk,

Again, I have sad news to offer. Our dear friend David Bromige, poet, teacher, mentor, trickster and artist extraordinaire, passed away yesterday, June 3. To Cecelia and family, the thoughts and heartfelt sympathy of the literary community are with you. David’s remarkable career and his wide influence on so many writers earned him a place of honor and esteem all our minds and hearts.

To read the many comments and tributes from the writers who knew David, and to leave a comment of your own, visit this link: http://bromige.wordpress.com/memories-thoughts-reflections/.

To read more about David’s life and work, here are some links:

David Bromige 1933-2009

http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/05.27.09/lit-0921.htm

http://bromige.wordpress.com

http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/bromige/

Photo by Rychard Denner

]]> http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/in-memoriam-david-bromige/feed/ 0 literaryfolk Photograph of David Bromige Photo by Rychard Denner http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/poetry-flash-needs-our-support/ http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/poetry-flash-needs-our-support/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 19:17:30 +0000 literaryfolk http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/?p=284 ]]>

Dear Literary Folk,

As you know, I’m going to be taking a break from producing the Literary Update in June and July. It’s a labor of love, but always well worth it, if just for the pleasure of staying in touch will all of you. Of course, such efforts help nourish the literary community, keeping you all in touch with each other, too.

I want to acknowledge someone who’s been at this far longer than I, someone who is in many ways an inspiration to me and my work, and who is the engine behind so much of what goes on the literary world in the Bay Area and beyond.

Joyce Jenkins, founding editor and publisher of Poetry Flash and its online incarnation (www.poetryflash.org), has been creating the literary calendar and providing us with the news of readings, events, workshops, new publications and much more for decades! Along with her business partner Richard Silberg, Poetry Flash has run an important poetry and literature reading series, originally at Cody’s, and now at Moe’s Books and Diesel, A Bookstore in Berkeley. They have sponsored and organized the annual Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival and the Northern California Book Reviewers Awards.

Poetry Flash has been an essential part of my own writing career starting in the early 1980s when I was a grad student at San Francisco State. I looked to Joyce’s notes in every issue and followed her recommendations on where to send my work;  I relied on the calendar to find open mic venues and reading series where I could try out new poems and join in the live literary scene; and I followed closely the ongoing,  passionate debates on both sides of the  Language Poetry/Neo-Formalists gang skirmishes.

When I moved to Petaluma in 1990, Poetry Flash helped me discover my new community here in Sonoma County, and even to advertise my creative writing workshops when I was ready to launch those. Joyce and Richard have been welcome faces at local literary events, such as the Sonoma County Book Festival, the Petaluma Poetry Walk, WordTemple Poetry Series where we’ve all been able to sample their publications and to read or listen to their own poetry.

When Sixteen Rivers Press began its fledgling experimental poetry publishing venture, Joyce and Richard were always supportive, and always made room in their popular reading series for our newly published authors.  And just this past April, Joyce sent me the letter announcing that Lucky Break, my newest publication, had been nominated by the Northern California Book Reviewers. The photograph above was taken at the Awards Ceremony on April 19.

Lucky me. Lucky us.

But to survive these tough times, Poetry Flash needs our help and support.  I encourage you to consider making a donation, however small, to Poetry Flash. You can do so by sending a check to:

Poetry Flash,

1450 Fourth Street, #4

Berkeley, California 94710
Or, if it is easier, just visit www.PoetryFlash.org and click on Donate. [tax-deductible donation, 501(c)3, federal tax #94-3096270]

Thank you all, and may the muses in all their forms be with you.
Terry Ehret

Sonoma County Writers’ Guide Update

May 1, 200

Dear Literary Folk,

Farewell to Don Emblen—poet, mentor, friend

Brian Boldt sends this message:

“Don Emblen, who taught English at SRJC for nearly 30 years until his retirement in the mid-’80s, died on April 27 at his home in Santa Rosa. He was chair of the English Department in the ’70s, chosen as the county’s first poet laureate in 2000, the proprietor of the Clamshell Press and a friend and major supporter of Sonoma County poets for decades. Biographer of Peter Mark Roget, Don published a dozen volumes of first-rate poetry.”

Besides his own accomplishments as a prolific and skilled poet, Don published many Sonoma County poets and mentored many more. He was dedicated to a life of letters, metaphorically and physically, setting type in his workshop for broadsides and chapbooks by writers both local and international stature, including Tomas Transtromer, Al Young, and our own dear Judy Stedman.

Don and I worked together on several projects, including the Poetry on the Bus project, which he started during his tenure as poet laureate. He is pictured above with me and Geri Digiorno on the day the project was re-launched, each bus carrying broadsides of poems by Sonoma County  adults and youth which he had hand-set and printed.

He will be deeply missed as he was deeply loved. On behalf of the Sonoma County literary community, I wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Linda and family.

On the occasion of his 90^th birthday last October, I composed a poem based on a dream in which Don made a spectacular appearance. Here it is:

Man of the Seas, Maker of Metaphors

for Don Emblen

I dreamed last night of a poet’s gathering

in a small room behind your house, smelling of inks

and hand-made paper, cradles of broadsides, drawers of fonts,

letters waiting to be arranged. Tranströmer was there.

Szymborska, too. It seemed you’d invited the living

and the dead from the six directions to raise

a glass of wine or smoke or sage or darkness.

I stood outside, peering through a tiny window

at this gathering, ingathering, and troubled by—

oh, I don’t know what—mistakes, or muteness.

What in our dreams can feel like nakedness.

And so instead I walked the garden, remembering

how once you’d said, “Come, pick the strawberries.

They’re small and sweet, and more than I can use.”

But the time for fruit was behind me, the autumn light

already shifting into minor key.

I walked along the wooden fence, and you

were there beside me. “Look!” you said, and pointed

to a hill in the distance near my house, but green,

as you’d once seen it in a New Year’s poem.

“The hills don’t need our words,” you said. But in October

would the grass be green if you hadn’t

written it one fine January morning?

Far away, and just across the garden,

the poets laughed and talked, some living in

their bodies still, some climbing down from shelves

to raise a toast to you, the man of the seas,

maker of metaphors. And how you came

to be beside me as we walked and in the crowded room

with all your guests and ghosts, I cannot say.

I know that suddenly the fence between

your October garden and my life

made me sad, made my heart sore, as if

every swan had flown away. You opened

your hand, and there inside your palm were letters,

tiny metal blocks as in a child’s game.

I studied them, trying to find the word

that you were offering me. Once I thought “dread,”

once “shore,” and one time “music.”  All the while

you smiled, chuckling at my confusion, opened

and closed your hand. Each time I thought

that I could see the word, a new one formed.

And then you were gone. I was alone. But the fence

that had made me so sad, so angry, was rolled up

like a Torah scroll, holding perhaps, the letters

from your hand, or the green hills of winter,

or the far-off laughter of things about to be born.

Terry Ehret

Literary Update Takes a Break in June and July

For those of you who depend on the Literary Update to announce readings and workshops, or to find the literary events you’re looking for, please know that I will be taking a break from producing the Literary Update this summer. There will be no Literary Update in June and July. A wedding and travel plans will be keeping me busy and out-of-touch for a couple of months.

For all events in June and July, please send your announcements to Tom Lombardo, who has graciously agreed to post them on his website:

www.sonomaword.org. You can reach Tom via e-mail at tomlombardo@comcast.net. For more information about Tom’s website, scroll down to the County Wide News category.

Call for Poetry – Your Favorite Poems

In celebration of our love of Poetry, Sebastopol Center for the Arts will present a Favorite Poems Community Reading hosted by Larry Robinson on Thursday, June 4th at 7:00 pm at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

Modeled on the readings initiated by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, this event will bring together a wide range of people and poems into one memorable evening. You are invited to submit a copy of your single favorite poem, famous or otherwise, one that is not a poem written by you, a friend or relative, but one that you have read, perhaps many times, and to which you feel a personal attachment, along with a brief statement about the poem’s significance in your life. Readers will be selected from among the entries to give a wide variety and breadth to the evening’s readings.

Deadline to enter is May 1, 2009.

Entry Guidelines:

• Entries must be typed in a font no smaller than 12 pt. Times New Roman (or equivalent).

• Entries must be submitted on 8½ x 11″ pages, with margins no less than 1 inch around.

• Entry must identify the person submitting the poem, as well as the author.

• Entries mailed to SCA must have a S.A.S.E. (self addressed stamped envelope) for

notification of selection status. Entries will not be returned.

Selection:

• The host will select 10 – 15 pieces to be read the evening of June 4. Poems should take no more than 5 minutes to read or recite.

• The reading will be Thursday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. at SCA.

• Selected entries will be displayed in a binder at SCA during the month of June.

Deadlines & Fees:

• There is no entry fee, but entries must be received by May 1, 2009.

• Only one entry per person may be submitted.

• Mail or deliver hard-copy entry with completed entry form to: Favorite Poems, SCA , 6780

Depot St., Sebastopol, CA 95472

• Selections will be made by May 20, 2009.

• For more information, call Sebastopol Center for the Arts @ 707-829-4797 or email

Larry Robinson at Lrobpoet@sbcglobal.net

May/June Calendar of Literary Events

The monthly calendar reflects announcements sent to me. To get a more complete list of author-events and workshop schedules, addresses and directions to the event locations, as well as bios of the presenters, you can use these links.

Copperfield’s Books http://www.copperfields.net/

Readers’ Books www.readersbooks.com

WordTemple Poetry Series http://www.wordtemple.com

Petaluma Writers’ Forum and Jumpstart Writing Workshops: www.thewritespot.us

Sebastopol Center for the Arts http://www.sebarts.org/index.htm

SoCoCo Poetry Reading Series edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.

The Sitting Room www.sittingroom.org.

Friday, May 1: Deadline for submitting your favorite poem entry in the Sebastopol Center for the Arts Favorite Poem Community Reading. Guidelines can be found in the previous section of the Update. For more information, call Sebastopol Center for the Arts @ 707-829-4797 or email Larry Robinson at Lrobpoet@sbcglobal.net

Friday, May 1 at 7 PM: Pat Nolan and Keith Abbott will give a reading and talk on Japanese linked verse.  They will be joined by Mendocino poet Sandy Berrigan.  The event will be held at Many Rivers Books & Tea  103 S. Main St. in Sebastopol. For details, scroll down to “News from West County.”

Saturday, May 2 at 3 PM: Pat Nolan and Keith Abbott will be reading works of original literature. This reading will inaugurate the 2009 Snake River Reading Series hosted by Sonoma County Poet Laureate, Mike Tuggle.  Location: Gold Coast Coffee, Moscow Rd and Hwy 116 in Duncans Mills. For details, scroll down to “News from West County.”

Saturday, May 2, 5-7 PM: Poetry Out Loud, a nation-wide poetry recitation program for high-school students, will be having a reprise of our illustrious county-wide event. Several of the school champions will be reciting, as well as their poet-coaches and the judges who evaluated their work. The event will be at Copperfield’s Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol, CA 95472, 707-823-261. In-store contact: Robin Laine, Manager. Learn more about POL at www.poetryoutloud.org.

Sunday, May 3, 2-4 PM: Wine and Words: Livermore’s Poet Laureate, Connie Post, invites you toattend a continuing Livermore Poetry Series, held at the Martinelli Conference and Event Center, catered by Garre Winery and Café, 3585 Greenville Rd. Featured poet is Rick Campbell, followed by open mic (one poem per reader- 40 lines or less). $5.00 for admission; free to students with valid ID. Contact: Connie@poetrypost.com for further information or visit www.poetrypost.com.

Sunday, May 3 5-9 PM: Michael Krasny of KQED’s Forum in conversation with

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and A Botany of Desire. Winemaker Dinner

with Robert Sinskey Vineyard, Jeff Virnig, winemaker. (This event is currently sold out.) Location: The French Garden Restaurant and Bistro, 8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol, CA 95472. Tel. 707- 824-2030.For more information, check the website: www.frenchgardenrestaurant.com.

Sunday, May 3 at 4:00 pm: Sonoma County historians Gaye LeBaron and John LeBaron; authors Chester Aaron and Robin Beeman; pianist Gienna Michel Gonnella.  Union Hotel, 3703 Main St ., Occidental. Audience participation with memories, stories, etc. encouraged. Sponsored by Occidental Center for the Arts. Fixed price dinner available after event, $15.00 includes salad, bread, and pasta or pizza. Inquiries and reservations:  (707)- 874-9392 .

Sunday, May 3, 2-5 PM: Celebration of the Sitting Room’s 28th birthday and also of our 2009 publication, “Far From Home:  Lessons Learned,” edited by that indefatigable traveler AND editor, Rosemary Manchester and available for a small donation. Our entertainment will be readings by the authors in our new book. Refreshments will a birthday cake and the traditional Sitting Room punch.  No need to call to reserve your place – just show up with bells on and if you wish, a present for the Sitting Room (anything on paper, from poem to book to check – and some practical people even bring her toilet paper!) Kids are welcome, by the way – last year they seemed to be having more fun than anybody else.  Let’s all have fun and make wishes for the Sitting Room’s future while enjoying some memories from the past.  Old friends and new ones, the best combination. Location: 2025 Curtis Drive, just off Petaluma Hill Rd., south of E. Cotati Blvd. near Sonoma State University. Wear flat shoes and bring a sweater.

Questions:  call JJ Wilson, 795-9028

Saturday, May 9: Susan Hagen’s Spring Story Circles For Women. Details can be found in the “Current Workshops” category below, or by contacting Susan:

www.womenatgroundzero.com.

hagen@womenatgroundzero

707-888-0849 or 209-745-9029.

Saturday, May 9 at 3 PM: Jonah Raskin at the Community Center, Sonoma

Saturday, May 9, 1:30 PM: Copperfield’s in Santa Rosa presents Mary Lynn Archibald and Jeane Slone. Location: 2316 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.

Sunday, May 10 at 2 PM: SoCoCo At the Toad Poetry Reading Series’ featured readers will include Katherine Hastings, Bill Vartnaw, Amy Trussell, Abby Bogomolny, Karl Frederick, and Hannah Wahlstrum.  Location: 116 Fifth St, Santa Rosa (near Old Railroad Square).   Admission is free.  (707) 573-5935.

Tuesday, May 12, 7-9 PM: The Center Literary Café presents Meg Hamill. Meg Hamill’s Trillions & Trillions of Heartbeats (2008), in collaboration with artist Ted Keller, holds 23 poems.  Each lament celebrates a vanished species, lost because of human intervention.  Her poems, wakeup signals to ongoing mass extinction on the planet, speak too of coffee shops and Darwin, duality and nonattachment, Indra’s web and Modern Life.  In Death Notices (2007), Meg extends imagined obituaries of the dead on all sides in Iraq—GIs, suicide bombers, children at play,  Halliburton’s laborers—and addresses America’s inability to grieve the losses of war. Meg is a teacher in the California Poets in the Schools program and is a freelance writer and editor. She was graduated with an MFA from Mills College. Read more at www.meghamill.com.

Open mic: Bring prose or poetry to share. Doors open at 6:30. Light refreshments  . Donations appreciated. Location: Healdsburg Senior Center, 133 Matheson St.  (One block east of plaza) Healdsburg, CA 95448. Call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111.

Thursday, May 14 at 7:00-8:30 PM: Stephie Mendel, Karla Clark, Daniel Polikoff, Catharine Clark-Sayles Rose Black  will be reading new work at the Tuburon-Belvedere Public Library,1501 Tiburon Blvd, Tiburon.

Sunday, May 17, 11:30-1 PM: People, Places and Poetry Discussion Group at Aqus Cafe in Petaluma 189 H street. Hosted by Geri DiGiorno and Nancy Long of LiveWire Literary Salon. Bring a poem to share (written by your favorite poet or your own!). Writing exercise and reading of your work (only if you want to…)All levels welcomed! No experience required! For more info: Nancy Long at nsasha@earthlink.net or Geri DiGiorno at adageri@aol.com

Sunday, May 17, 2-4 PM: Third Sunday Salon presents Jonah Raskin, with his new book, Field Days, A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California. Open mic for short works of literary intent. FREE … Open to the public. Location: City Hall, 401 Grove Street.

Contact: 707-433-7119 or vilmaginz@aol.com

Sunday, May 17, 12:30-1:30 PM: Third Sunday Poetry Reading & Poetry Open Mic presents their featured reader: Award-winning Poet, Geri Digiorno. Hosted by Sher Lianne and John Christian. Poetry open mic. Bring a poem to share. Donation appreciated. 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707 829-6600. http://www.sonomaword.org/Sher_Christian.php

Sunday, May 17, 2:00-3:30 PM: The Power of Writing to Heal, facilitated by Sher Christian, writer and teacher. Bring a journal and pen. Sliding scale $1 – $20. Peace & Medicine Healing Center, 6771 Sebastopol Avenue, (Hwy 12), Sebastopol.  http://www.sonomaword.org/Sher_Christian.php. Details in the “Current and Upcoming Workshops section below.

Thursday, May 21, 7-9 PM: Writers Forum of Petaluma proudly presents Julianne Balmain, aka Nadia Gordon. Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma

$15 at the door. For more details, scroll down to the “Current and Upcoming Workshops section” under Petaluma Writers Forum.

Friday, May 22-Sunday, May 24: Susan Bono and Patti Trimble’s  6th Annual Point Reyes Writing Retreat.  Cost is $185 ($175 members). A no-pressure, focused, writing retreat at the stunning Drake’s Beach Lifeboat Station- for anyone who enjoys writing about-or in- nature: the Pacific Ocean, elephant seals, wildflowers, a sky filled with stars. Short workshops on poetry, memoir, and essay. (Bunk) accommodations w/potluck dinner. Pt. Reyes Field Seminars. www.ptreyes.org/fieldseminars/or (415) 663-1200.

Thursday, May 28 at 7 PM: Jonah Raskin at Copperfields’s Sebastopol

Sunday, May 30, 2-4 PM: The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces that its ODD MONTH READING series returns May 30, 2009. The theme is “Mostly Poetry,” since April was National Poetry Month and we’re having a Poetry Contest as part of our Redwood Writers 2009 Conference in October. We encourage everyone to come out, listen, and relax during this exciting literary afternoon. Sonoma County authors will read excerpts from their original poems or other literary pieces. Local author and Redwood Writer member, Ann Wilkes, will emcee this event, which will take place from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Healdsburg branch of the Sonoma County Library, on 139 Piper Street, Healdsburg, 707-433-3772. Center Street is the cross street. The general public is welcome. This is a free event.

Wednesday, June 3, 7-9 PM: The North Bay Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) presents -How To Get Started As A Children’s Writer: The Ten Things You Need To Know To Blast Your Career From Hobby to Professional by Hillary Homzie. This meeting will be held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Donation $10. SCBWI is a professional organization for writers and illustrators of children’s books. For details, scroll down to the full announcement in “Current and Upcoming Workshops” section below, or visit the website at www.scbwi.org <http://www.scbwi.org>.

Thursday-Sunday, June 4-7: Wellspring Writers Weekend: Treat yourself to an inexpensive, local writers’ retreat at Wellspring, a quiet collection of cabins along the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. This three-day program includes lodging for 3 nights, plus workshops and a consultation with a writer-mentor of your choice: Maya Maya Khosla, poetry, Charlotte Gullick, fiction, Todd Evans, playwriting, Bob Stanley, non-fiction. Details are included below in “County-Wide Information.” www.wellspringrenewal.org or contact Todd Evans at evansol@sbcglobal.net

Thursday, June 4, 7 PM: In celebration of our love of Poetry, Sebastopol Center for the Arts will present a Favorite Poems Community Reading hosted by Larry Robinson on Thursday, June 4th at 7:00 pm at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot Street

Sebastopol, CA 95472.

Saturday, June 6, 2-4 PM: The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club participates each year in Cotati Conversations. The event takes place at the Cotati Community Center – Stony Point Classroom (#7), at E. School and W. Sierra Streets (216 E. School St.), Cotati, CA, 94931, (707) 792-4600 ext. 640. There is no charge to attend. For more information see www.redwoodwriters.org or call Karen at 795-4591.

Sunday, June 7, 3-5 PM: The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces that its June 7th meeting will feature author David Corbett, who will talk on the topic of “Write What You Know.” Location: Star Restaurant, 8501 Gravenstein Hwy, corner of Old Redwood Hwy and Hwy 116, in Cotati. The general public is welcome. A $6 fee is charged for non-members.

Saturday, June 20, 10 AM to 4 PM: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Story Stalking: Historical Fiction Writing Workshop with novelist Molly Dwyer, $75, Mariposa Center, Ukiah, Pre-register through June 5 using on-line form at www.mollydwyer.com; registration information: Dot, (707) 463-2736 or 272-8305; mailing address for completing registration: 1117 West Perkins St., Ukiah, CA. For more information, scroll down to “Current and Upcoming Workshops” section below.

Don’t see your event in the calendar? Check to make sure you sent your announcement by the deadline. I am happy to include all announcements, text only (no PDF please), sent to me by the end of each calendar month.  Calendar entries are easier to include if they follow the format you see above, and if you can keep the information brief.

County-Wide News

Tom Lombardo sends this special message for Sonoma County Authors:

The Arts Council of Sonoma County has launched a new site, www.sonomaword.org, which we hope will make it easier for people to find you and to connect with the literary scene in our area.

The site, which Tom is developing, is free and 100% devoted to marketing you and your books!

You will have your own page, and sometimes you will be the site’s home page, as it randomly selects a writer for the home page every time someone visits.

1.  Your bio

2.  Your photo

3.  Links to your YouTube  videos

4.  Links to your site and your blog

5.  Title of the book you’re promoting, so I can create an Amazon link for it

6.  A summary of your book or a quote from a review — any blurb you want

7.  A passage from your book (this is really important)

8.  Links to any articles written about you

9.  Anything else you want on the page

In the Fall of 2009 the Arts Council will integrate “Word Trails” into the “Art Trails” event that attracts so much attention. Word Trails will be modeled on Art Trails, but it is completely separate. More on that later; but know that it is my intent to have every author in the area promoted at www.sonomaword.org well before then.

I look forward to hearing from all of you soon –

Cheers,

Tom Lombardo
707.338.5337
tomlombardo@comcast.net

Redwood Writers Announces Poetry Contest Winners in Honor of National Poetry Month

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces the winners of its Poetry Contest. The contest was, in part, a celebration of National Poetry Month in April and part of the California Writers Club centennial celebration. It was open to all residents living in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. All submissions were previously unpublished works and they were judged on clarity, originality, and cohesion.

Winners were announced at the Redwood Writer’s – CWC general meeting held on April 5th. More than 40 entries were received from 26 contributors. The following poets won the contest:

First: Arlene L. Mandell for “Spring Thaw, Yosemite”

Second: Ana Manwaring for “View from a Gondola”

Third: Teresa Fahey Roach for “Earth Song”

Cash prizes of $50, $35, and $20 were awarded to the winners during the presentation at the Redwood Writers April 5th general meeting. Their poems will be published in The Redwood Writer newsletter in the near future.

The contest was organized by Juanita Martin and judged by Jennie Frost-Butler and Brenda Bellinger.

Santa Rosa Junior College Announces the Winners of the 2009

Literary Scholarships and Awards Winners

James C. Cortage and Clara Hall Cortage Scholarship:
Nicholas Titman, Jason Rosten, David Chernus, Tessa Rissacher , Julia Davis

Genevieve Mott Memorial Literary Scholarship: Martina Hutchins

American Legion Auxiliary Theodore Roosevelt Post #21, Eliza London Shepherd Literary Scholarship: Morreen Iverson

Don Emblen Literary Scholarship: Ben C, Rutherford

Duncan Frazier Award: Gretchen M. Rowe

Congratulations to all the winners! For more information about the English Department’s Creative Writing Classes, Literary Awards and Scholarships, visit the website: http://www.santarosa.edu/english/srjc_creative_writing.html

The Redwood branch of the California Writers Club announces its support for Cotati Conversations

Local Sonoma County poets and writers will read original works and have their books available for sale. Local author and Redwood Writer president, Karen Batchelor, will emcee the event, which will take place on Saturday, June 6th from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Cotati Community Center – Stony Point Classroom (#7), at E. School and W. Sierra Streets (216 E. School St.), Cotati, CA, 94931, (707) 792-4600 ext. 640, www.ci.cotati.ca.us.

Authors will share stories, poems, essays and conversation with our friends in the community. Come mix and mingle with authors who will answer questions, sign books, and chat about reading and writing. Confirmation of the following authors attending include: Mary Lynn Archibald, Ana Manwaring, Jennie Frost Butler, George Rathmell and Catharine Bramkamp. Our theme is Writers of the West. Redwood Writers Club members will give some historical information about the Club too.

The general public is welcome. This is a free event and no registration is required.

The 29th Napa Valley Writers’ Conference

July 26–31, 2009

Our 2009 conference features poets Elizabeth Alexander, Carl Dennis, Jane Hirshfield, and David St. John, and novelists Robert Boswell, Peter Ho Davies, Antonya Nelson, and ZZ Packer.

Rolling applications begin March 1

Applications to the 2009 program will be considered between March 1 and June 1. Admissions will be announced on a rolling basis, beginning March 15 and continuing at intervals of about two weeks thereafter. We suggest you apply by April 1 for priority admission and a better chance at your choice of workshop.

Please see www.napawritersconf.org for complete information on the Conference and for application forms. To receive a printed brochure and application, call 707-967-2903 or email writecon@napavalley.edu .

Wellspring Writers’ Weekend

June 4-7, 2009

Treat yourself to an inexpensive, local writers’ retreat at Wellspring, a quiet collection of cabins along the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. Work on Poetry, Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, or Drama in small groups with excellent teachers in a beautiful setting. This three day program includes lodging for 3 nights, plus workshops and a consultation with a writer-mentor of your choice:

Wellspring Writers-in-residence for 2009:

Maya Khosla, poetry. Author of Keel Bone, Web of Water and Heart of Tearing, Ms, Khosla has won many awards for her writing, including the Dorothy Brunsman Award in 2003.

Charlotte Gullick, fiction. Recipient of the Christopher Isherwood Fellowship, Ms. Gullick teaches creative writing and directs the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference. Her novel By Way of Water has received much critical acclaim.

Todd Evans, playwriting. With the production of his third play, Battle Road, Mr. Evans continues to explore historical and personal events, to the delight of California audiences.

Bob Stanley, non-fiction. Professor Stanley offers a supportive approach for the first-time writer, as well as a critical eye for advanced memoirists. He has studied with Stephen Yenser, Billy Collins and Galway Kinnell.

Cost of program includes three nights’ lodging, all meals and writers’ program:

Lodges or Cabins with Bath  $345

Rustic Cabins                     $315

Tent Cabins                       $300

To reserve, email Wellspring at wellsprg@pacific.net, or call 707-895-3893

For details, go to Wellspring’s website at  www.wellspringrenewal.org or contact Todd Evans at evansol@sbcglobal.net

Al Young to be Keynote Speaker for October Conference of Redwood Writers

Redwood Writers, the Redwood branch of the California Writers Club, is pleased to announce Al Young as our keynote speaker for the October 23, 2009 pre-Conference dinner event at Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Hotel and Resort, running from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

Al’s talk will be “How the Rainbow Works: Reflections on Poetry and Survival.” He recently returned from three days of Smithsonian interviews for their jazz history archives and will have lots to share.

Cost for the evening is $50.00 per ticket. Al Young is part of an evening of poetry featuring Armando Garcia-Davila, Mike Tuggle, Sonoma County Poet Laureate, and two members of Sixteen Rivers Press, Carolyn Miller and Lynne Knight. The all-day conference follows the next day, October 24th, and pricing for the session will be published in the near future.

The Redwood Writers 2009 Conference takes place the next day, October 24, 2009, from 7:30 am – 6:00pm (including check-in from 7:30 – 8:15am), at the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Santa Rosa, 2777 Fourth Street, 95405, (707) 545-8530. This one-day conference, part of CWC Centennial activities statewide, will feature agents, editors, and writers from all genres. They will offer their insights and experiences in the craft of writing at beginning through advanced levels, as well as the encouragement of fellow writers in a relaxed and friendly, wine-country setting. For more information, go to http://www.redwoodwriters.org/conference.html.

Additional contact information:

http://www.redwoodwriters.org

Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

News from East County

Thanks to Juanita Martin for providing this month’s East County news.

 
UniverSoul Reading Series

The first Sat of each month, 6-8 pm is UniverSoul open mike poetry and music at  Barking Dog Roasters, 18133 Hwy 12, Boyes Hot Springs, Ca. 95476(near Sonoma Mission Inn) This venue is hosted by Juanita J. Martin, Sonoma County Library Slam Champion and member of Redwood Writers. This venue welcomes poets and musicians to read and perform on open mike. This venue will host featured poets as well. For more info, call Juanita at (707) 435-1807 or email her at freelance@jmartinpoetwriter.com. You may also call the cafe at (707) 939-1905. Parking is limited.

News from West County

Thanks to Pat Nolan for providing this month’s West County news.

Many Rivers Book & Tea, Sebastopol
Friday, May 1st at 7PM, Pat Nolan and Keith Abbott will give a reading and talk on Japanese linked verse.  Poet Keith Abbott teaches writing and art at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.  Pat Nolan is a poet and long time Sonoma County resident, and has been writing Japanese linked verse with numerous collaborators for over thirty years.  They will be joined by Mendacino poet Sandy Berrigan.  The event will be held at Many Rivers Books & Tea  103 S. Main St. in Sebastopol.

Gold Coast Coffee, Duncans Mills
Saturday, May 2nd at 3 PM Pat Nolan and Keith Abbott will be reading works of original literature.  Keith Abbott, novelist and poet, had been published widely in numerous literary magazines around the world.  His memoir of Richard Brautigan, Downstream from Trout Fishing in America is reprinted by Astrophil Press in 2009. Pat Nolan is the author of sixteen books of poetry, most recently Ah Bolinas! a limited edition travel journal in the Basho tradition. This reading will inagurate the 2009 Snake River Reading Series hosted by Sonoma County Poet Laureate, Mike Tuggle.  Gold Coast Coffee is located at the intersection of Moscow Rd and Hwy 116 in Duncans Mills.

Low Power Literary Radio in West Sonoma Co.

There are two monthly book shows on local low power FM radio stations.  Nearing its second anniversary, Off The Shelf, airs at 8 PM on the first Sunday of the month on Guerneville’s KGGV 95.1FM.  Hosted by Peter Andrews and Pat Nolan, the May 4th edition of Off The Shelf will feature travel writer Laurie Gough whose latest book is Kiss The Sunset Pig.  KGGV offers streaming at www.kggvfm.org. Book Flaps, the nexus between Books and Life, hosted by Suzanne Lang and Pat Nolan is offered on Occidental’s brand new radio station, KOWS 107.3 FM, on the last Thursday of the month at 5 PM.  Previous shows have featured discussions on consciousness and guest poets from the West County.

Brian Martens has a radio show on KGGV FM in Guerneville, the website is KGGVFM.org and the show is on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday evenings of the month, from 10:00-11:00pm. Brian recites poetry and plays eclectic music. Brian features many other poets as well and often has a theme involved. The station is low power so anyone outside of Guerneville has to go to kggvfm.org and click on the streaming link, wait for the commercial to finish and then the station will come through.

News from North County

Thanks to Cynthia Beecher and Vilma Ginzberg for providing this month’s North County News.

Center Literary Café

Meg Hamill on Tuesday, May 12 7-9 PM

Meg Hamill’s Trillions & Trillions of Heartbeats (2008), in collaboration with artist Ted Keller, holds 23 poems.  Each lament celebrates a vanished species, lost because of human intervention.  Her poems, wakeup signals to ongoing mass extinction on the planet, speak too of coffee shops and Darwin, duality and nonattachment, Indra’s web and Modern Life.  In Death Notices (2007), Meg extends imagined obituaries of the dead on all sides in Iraq—GIs, suicide bombers, children at play,  Halliburton’s laborers—and addresses America’s inability to grieve the losses of war.

Meg is a teacher in the California Poets in the Schools program and is a freelance writer and editor. She was graduated with an MFA from Mills College. Read more at www.meghamill.com.

Open mic    Bring prose or poetry to share
Doors open at 6:30
Light refreshments   Donations appreciated

centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Healdsburg Senior Center, 133 Matheson St.  (one block east of plaza), Healdsburg, CA 95448. For information, call Cynthia Helen for info 707 696-1111

centerliterarycafe@gmail.com

Healdsburg Literary Arts Guild

Sunday, May 17, 2 to 4 PM

Third Sunday Salon  at City Hall, 401 Grove Street

Featured reader: Jonah Raskin,

with his new book, Field Days, A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California

Open mic for short works of literary intent. FREE … Open to the public

Contact: 707-433-7119 or vilmaginz@aol.com

Sunday, May 24, 2 to 4 PM : Tenth annual Graveside Readings

Oak Mound Cemetery  on Piper Street

A program of reverent and irreverent poems and short prose relevant to the Memorial Day weekend, read by members and friends of the Healdsburg Literary Guild

FREE … Open to the public

Contact: Chris Peasley, 838-7497

Sonoma County in Print

If you are a Sonoma County writer with a book or chapbook newly published, let’s help you celebrate! Just send your announcement to tehret99@comcast.net. Be sure to include information on how your readers can find out more about you and your work or order a copy. You’re announcement will run for three Updates.

Linda Loveland Reid’s novel, Touch of Magenta,

will be available on May 9 at local bookstores and on Amazon.com.  For more information go to www.lindalovelandreid.com

Touch of Magenta explores, through the lives to two women, the right we all have to know our personal history; that all secrets be revealed, all lies untold.

The story is set in Sonora’s California gold country, Chinatown, Italy, Singapore, and England.

Coming bookstore events include:

May 9 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30, at Copperfield’s Books, Santa Rosa in Montgomery Village

May 16, Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Healdsburg

June 6 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma

June 13 Meet & Greet, Sat 1-3:00 at Copperfield’s Books in Napa

June 18 Book Signing, Thur 7pm at River Reader in Guerneville

June 27 Meet & Greet, Sat 1:30-3:30 at Copperfield’s Books in Calistoga

Stand by for more bookstore events in July and August.

Donna Emerson’s Body Rhymes from Finishing Line Press

I am happy to announce to my friends and acquaintances that my poetry collection from Finishing Line Press, Body Rhymes, comes out this spring. Since this is a limited edition collection, you may order now to reserve a copy. The press run will be determined by the number of orders made before April 10.The book, with a color photograph of mine on the cover, will be mailed to you by the end of May.

“Donna Emerson’s poems—each a small, complete world—reveal their tenderness in detail. The poet William Carlos Williams once said ‘Perception is the first act of imagination,’ and with her photographer’s eye, Emerson invites the reader to see, as if for the first time, what is extraordinary even in the most familiar.  But as a poet, she also listens, deeply and intently, to her subject, whether it is a landscape, a memory, or one of the unforgettable souls she has counseled, struggling to reconcile themselves with mortality. And it is with a listening heart that the reader feels with her a wonder at the courage she has witnessed, and inspiration at the truth she captures.”

Terry Ehret, author of Lucky Break

“A lilting voice from a new poet.  A new daughter is not all that Donna Emerson gave birth to in her 50s.  Her poems are loaded with rich imagery and memory.”
Susan Swartz, author of The Juicy Tomatoes Guide to Ripe Living After 50

Books can be pre-ordered through the website at  www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases and Forthcoming Titles,” scrolling down alphabetically.

Pierette Mimi Poinsett

Rose-Anne Clermont has written an article about my challenges in the Women’s International Perspective e-zine.  The photographer who is uncredited is Michi Adams of Rohnert Park Petaluma. Below is the link:

http://thewip.net/contributors/2009/02/living_one_day_at_a_time_in_th.html
Over the last three years, I have been writing creative non-fiction and poetry. Going into “the family business”:)  A memoir cookbook is in the works.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD

http://www.snapdiva.blogspot.com

aka the Yayayarndiva on http://www.ravelry.com

Mary Lynn Archibald named in national “Best Books” 2008

USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced that Mary Lynn Archibald was a finalist in THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA). Awards were presented for titles published in 2008 and late 2007.

This is the third finalist award (the second in the HUMOR category) for Mary Lynn Archibald, for her book, Accidental Cowgirl: Six Cows, No Horse and No Clue, which has attained something of a cult following here in the west. “Always a bridesmaid,” she says.

Mary Lynn Archibald is available interviews to discuss her latest book and related topics. Contact 707-395-0542 or marylynn@winecountrywriter.com

Bill Vartnaw ‘s new book, Suburbs of my Childhood, came out on January15th.  Bill says, “This is a book of mostly early poems, lots of seventies, a few eighties and a couple of nineties about my mother, 74 pages.” For more information or to order the book, contact Bill at  taureanhorn@hotmail.com.  Taurean Horn Press’ address is P.O. Box 641097, San Francisco, CA 94164-1097.

Jeane Slone has just published She Flew Bombers From the Factories to the Bases. People can order it from my web site at www.jeaneslone.com.

Jean Heglund writes, “She Flew Bombers is a fascinating account of one woman’s love of flying and her involvement with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. Anyone interested in Aviation History, Women’s History, or the World War II “war effort” will appreciate Jeane Slone’s careful research, as well as her ability to bring this little-know aspect of the US history to life so vividly.”

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro has just published an anthology entitled Hair Pieces, containing the poetry and prose of 51 of her writing students. Hair Pieces is available for purchase at Copperfields and also at harlmarg@sonic.net. For information about Margaret’s Writing Practice workshops, scroll down to the section “Current and Upcoming Workshops.”

Ann Wilkes’s Awesome Layratt

Ann Wilkes’ first book, Awesome Lavratt (2009) is a tongue-in-cheek space opera with mind control, passion and adventure. Her stories have appeared in online zines and anthologies.  She lives in California’s wine country with her husband, Patrick and their youngest son. She’s working on two novels while still cranking out the short funny stories that characterize her writing style. Visit her website, http://www.annwilkes.com, for a full bio, her blog and links to online stories.

Marisol Schowengerdt.’s A Selfish Life?

Marisol is a first-time author with a self-published book, A Selfish Life?, released in October 2008.  This fictional work sells throughout Sonoma and Napa county.

The book focuses on the other side of motherhood; the not-so-perfect, yet rarely admitted, side of childrearing.  The confrontation to an unspoken reality is embedded in the lives of four women who confront the dilemma of choosing freedom over motherhood, guilt over consequence, and nature over science.

Please visit the website at www.aselfishlife.com for an author biography and a listing of outlets currently carrying this book.

Post your comments on our blog at www.aselfishlife.blogspot.com.  Whether or not you have read my book, I am sure most of you know people who have had to deal with teenage pregnancies, infertility, and/or indecision about becoming a parent.  I would like to give others a complete perspective about the choices being made and the circumstances that drive the decision of whether or not to have a baby, keep the baby, or buy a baby.

It’s a complicated topic and everyone has an opinion so let’s all share them so that others can take from them for their own decision making.  Please feel free to send this around to everyone you know, the more feedback the better.

Mariam Stephens has just published the first of her tales from her Irish childhood, Healings; as well as a CD of the stories read in her own lilting voice. See her website www.MariamStephens.com for information.

Shelley Singer’s Blackjack

BLACKJACK–now available also in E-book and CD-Rom from SynergEbooks.com and major ebookstores–starring Rica Marin, spy and torch singer in the Balkanized world of 2066. Written as Lee Singer. Read the first chapter on Singer’s website.
.
Shelley Singer also does manuscript consulting, mostly fiction, fiction of all kinds. Singer will be teaching a workshop on Dialogue for the Redwood Writers at the end of January.

Calls for Submission

If you have a call for submission or a contest of interest to Sonoma County writers, send it to tehret99@comcas.net.

If you’d like to explore ways to get your writing out of the drawer and into print, check out the information on the Literary Folk website and on my personal website:

http://literaryfolk.wordpress.com/recommended-northern-california-journals-and-presses/

http://www.terryehret.com/consulting.htm

Glimmer Train Call for Submissions

The Short Story Award for New Writers competition closes May 31. We’re looking for original, unpublished stories by writers whose fiction has not been presented in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. Word count range: 500 – 12,000. First-place wins $1,200 and publication in Glimmer Train Stories Issue 74. Second- and third-place winners win $500/$300 (or, if chosen for publication, $700).

For details, visit the website: http://www.glimmertrain.com/shorawfornew2.html

MEMOIR (and) Call for Submissions

MEMOIR (and) is an up-and-coming print journal for the exploration of memoir as “the” genre of the 21st century. Our nonprofit mission is to publish traditional as well as nontraditional forms of nonfiction allied with memoir. This includes, but is not limited to, autobiography, personal and critical essay, graphic narratives, narrative poetry, “flash memoir,” autobiographical fiction, alternative histories, journalistic accounts,  narrative photography and more.  We award four cash prizes twice yearly and charge no entry fee. All work submitted to MEMOIR (and) is eligible to win a prize.

The reading period for Spring+Summer 2010 (Issue 6) is upon us! Accepting traditional and experimental prose, poetry, graphic memoir, narrative photography, lies, and more from 5/1/09 through 8/15/09.

Four prizes up to $500 available for prose, poetry and graphic memoirs. All submissions eligible for contest entry.

For guidelines, contest info and online submissions, visit www.memoirjournal.com.

The Los Angeles Review, established in 2003, is the voice of Los Angeles, and the voice of the nation. With its multitude of cultures, Los Angeles roils at the center of the cauldron of divergent literature emerging from the West Coast. Perhaps from this place something can emerge that speaks to the writer or singer or dancer or wild person in all of us, something disturbing, something alive, something of the possibility of what it could be to be human in the 21st century.

We dedicate the sixth issue of The Los Angeles Review to Wanda Coleman. We invite both published and emerging writers to submit their work to the editors listed below, and we thank you for being part of The Los Angeles Review.

Submission Guidelines:
Issue No. 6¨is scheduled to be released in 2009. Submissions accepted from March 1 to June 1 via email only.

Indicate title and word count in the subject heading. Please include a cover letter and bio in the body of the email and attach your piece as a single .doc or .rtf attachment.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted if noted in the cover letter. No multiple submissions, please. Response tim
e is 2-3 months.

Writers published in the 2009 Los Angeles Review will receive one contributor copy in exchange for first North American serial rights.

Guidelines:
Fiction and nonfiction: We seek essay, memoir, and commentary told as compelling, focused, sustained narrative in a distinctive voice, rich with detail. Send 1,000-4,000 words or delight us with flash nonfiction that cat-burgles our expectations. In fiction we’re looking for to hard-to-put-down shorties under 500 words and lengthier shorts up to 4,000 words–lively, vivid, excellent literary fiction.

Poetry: Please submit 3-5 poems that will surprise us, wow us, and make us wish we’d written them ourselves. We are open to form, free verse, prose poems, and experimental styles. Our only criterion is quality.

Reviews: We welcome reviews of new and recent books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, particularly of books that have not received the critical attention they deserve. Send reviews of three to six pages. No need to query the editor beforehand.

Translations: Please submit 3-5 translated poems that open the poet’s original vision to an English-speaking audience.

Send all submissions to appropriate department email:
Editor: lareview.editor@gmail.com
Fiction Editor: lareview.fiction@gmail.com
Poetry Editor: lareview.poetry@gmail.com
Nonfiction Editor: lareview.nonfiction@gmail.com
Translation Editor: lareview.translations@gmail.com
Review Editor: lareview.bookrevie
ws@gmail.com

New Millennium Contest Deadline June 17, 2009
To Enter our Summer 2009 New Millennium writing awards, read on.

$4,000 in Prizes, plus publication in NMW and on the Web at www.NewMillenniumWritings.com

$1,000 for best Fiction; $1,000 for best Poem; $1,000 best Nonfiction; $1,000 best Short-short Story

(Nonfiction includes humor, memoir, creative nonfiction, travel, opinion, essay, interview, features, investigative reporting, etc.)

Winners of NMW Awards are showcased along with interviews, profiles and tributes to writers such as Khaled Hosseini (The Kite-Runner), J. D. Salinger, Julia Glass, Kurt Vonnegut, Shel Silverstein, George Garrett, Ken Kesey, John Updike, Lee Smith, Cormac McCarthy, Lucille Clifton, Shelby Foote, Paul West, Norman Mailer, Sharyn McCrumb, William Kennedy, Walker Percy, Robert Penn Warren, Faulkner, Hemingway, Dickinson, Keats and many others. Also, prize-winning stories, poems & articles, humor, graphic arts, provocative commentary and more.

To Enter, follow these Guidelines, or enter on-line at www.NewMillenniumWritings.com and click on awards and contests or click here www.writingawards.com (shortcut). When entering online, include title page or cover letter in the file with your submission. It’s easy.

1. No restrictions as to style, content or number of submissions. Enter as often as you like.
2. Winners and selected finalists—including all poetry finalists—will be published in our 2009-10 issue and/or on-line at www.NewMillenniumWritings.com.
3. Send between now and midnight of June 17, 2009. This deadline may be extended once-only.
4. Simultaneous & multiple submissions welcome.
5. Each fiction or nonfiction piece is counted as a separate entry, and should total no more than 6,000 words except Short-short Fiction (no more than 1,000 words). Winners plus selected finalists will be published.
6. Each poetry entry may include up to three poems, not to exceed five pages total per entry. Famed poet and essayist Nikki Giovanni will serve as top poetry judge, and all 20 poetry finalists will be published.
7. Include name, phone, address, email & category on cover page only and upload along with each submission in a single file.
8. Manuscripts not returned. Include email address or SASE for list of winners.
9. Include $17 check payable to NMW with each submission.
10. Enter online at www.writingawards.com or send by U.S. Mail or other carrier to: “NMW” Room EM, PO Box 2463, Knoxville, TN, 37901.

To order a sample issue, add $12.

Current and Upcoming Workshops

Many Sonoma County writers offer their expertise and writing support through local workshops, classes, and consultations. Some are day-long, some are ongoing, and some are retreats. Workshops for this month are listed below. A more complete list of workshop leaders and their contact information appears at the end of this article.

If you have a workshop you’re offering, send a short description (150 words or less) to tehret99@comcast.net.

Stephen Altschuler’s Coaching Service for Non-fiction Writers.

My speciality is personal experience writing, but cover all aspects of the non-fiction genre. I’ve been writing and getting published since 1969. My latest book is The Mindful Hiker (2004), and have written four other books. My website which tells more of my work and this service is www.firstpersonwriting.com .

Stephen Altschuler
stephenaltschuler@mac.com

Susan Bono and Patti Trimble’s 6th Annual Point Reyes Writing Retreat

With poet/essayist Patti Trimble and essayist/publisher Susan Bono

May 22-24  7:30 PM Fri – 4 PM Sun  $185 ($175 members)

A no-pressure, focused, writing retreat at the stunning Drake’s Beach Lifeboat Station- for anyone who enjoys writing about-or in- nature: the Pacific Ocean, elephant seals, wildflowers, a sky filled with stars. Short workshops on poetry, memoir, and essay. (Bunk) accommodations w/potluck dinner. Pt. Reyes Field Seminars. www.ptreyes.org/fieldseminars/ or (415) 663-1200.

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro’s Sonoma County Writing Practice

Margaret Caminsky-Shapiro teaches eight week long writing semesters out of her Santa Rosa downtown office. Three different class times are offered each week. Margaret uses poetry and meditation for inspiration and writers are encouraged to read their work in a supportive atmosphere. The memoir is a valuable form for dropping deeper into the self allowing memories to come forth. This process allows space for self-knowledge to occur. For more information or to receive a flyer call (707)575-8820 or email Margaret at harlmarg@sonic.net. The website for Sonoma County Writing Practice is www.handwritingonline.net

Sher Christian Workshops and Consultations

The Power of Writing to Heal

Sunday, May 17, 2:00 to 3:30 P.M. facilitated by Sher Christian, writer and teacher. “Through story we draw connections between the happenings of life and the lessons of Spirit. Such awareness transforms life from a series of random events to the poetic realm of a sacred tale.” Sue Monk Kidd.  Healing unfolds as we express our attempts to understand our experiences, ourselves, our truth. Join us on a journey into your personal story through writing exercises. Bring a journal and pen. Sliding scale $1 – $20. Peace & Medicine Healing Center, 6771 Sebastopol Avenue, (Hwy 12),  Sebastopol,

707 823-4206 Sher’s blog is www.lusciouspoetry.typepad.com/ or go to http://www.sonomaword.org/Sher_Christian.php

Intuitive, Poetic Phone Consultations

Understand and transcend life challenges, fulfill potential, meet goals, increase well being through attunement to the inner voice, instinct, and poetry of the soul. Life purpose clarity.

MONTHLY COACHING SPECIAL; $50 per month for 45 minutes or $90 per month for 1 1/2 hours. Minimum sign-up for three months. Email poetrytalks@neteze.com for more information. Learn more about Sher at www.lusciouspoetry.typepad.com.

Sher Christian has 20 years experience with intuitive coaching. She is a Certified Flower Essence Practitioner and iridologist and has studied aromatherapy. She is the author of “Star Kissed Shadows, Divining Poetry” and co-creator with her husband John Christian of the CD “Sweet Tongue”. She taught creative writing and poetry courses for Sierra College. Sher was a highlighted presenter at The International Flower Essence Conference in Australia and was a core leader of Nourish, the successful women’s retreat in Sonoma last October.

Expressive voice, recording, and/or music and sound effects for your book on CD

Sher Christian is available for voiceover. John Christian does recording, sound effects, and original music on keyboard, accordion, or Hammond organ for your projects.

E-mail for information and a demo on Mp3.

poetrytalks@neteze.com

Book: Star Kissed Shadows, Divining Poetry

CD: Sweet Tongue, Assorted Poetry and Music

www.lusciouspoetry.typepad.com

Dan Coshnear’s Writing Workshop

There are a few slots open for the Spring/summer writing workshop led by Dan Coshnear. Class meets at a home in Rohnert Park on Tuesday nights from 6:00 – 9:00. We meet every other week – the following dates: 4/7, 4/21, 5/5, 5/19, 6/2, 6/16. Cost is $150. for 6 classes. (Rates are negotiable and payment can come in installments.)

If interested or you would like more info please contact Dan Coshnear – dan@coshnear.org – or 707-869-0329 as soon as possible.

Amber Coverdale Sumrall’s Writing Retreat in Point Reyes

There is one opening available for the May 15 – 18 Point Reyes three-night writing retreat. Lodging will be in a rustic four-story house on seven acres of forested land, just up from the water on Tomales Bay in Inverness. Carpooling will be available.

We will meet to write Friday evening Saturday, Sunday, and Monday mornings with the rest of the days free for exploring the area, as we choose. Cost for the three nights will be $275 with breakfasts included Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. There is a large kitchen for meal preparation if you want to bring your own food. Markets and restaurants are nearby, some within walking distance.

Point Reyes, as many of you know is a stunningly beautiful place, especially in the spring, with many amazing places to walk, write and explore. This retreat is limited to twelve participants. All participants will need to bring either a set of twin sheets or sleeping bag, and towel. No linens are provided.

Please let me know if you would like to come or want more information.

Amber Coverdale Sumrall

841 Laurel Glen Rd.

Soquel, CA 95073

(831)477-4375

acsumrall@cruzio.com

www.ambersumrall.com

Marlene Cullen’s Writing Workshops

Jump into writing with Marlene Cullen. Bring a notebook and fast moving pen.

Next Jumpstart session: May 5 – May 26 – 4 weeks

Tuesdays, 9:30 to 11:30 am      $60 (Petaluma resident); $65, (non-resident)

Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd.,  Petaluma, CA

Register online:   http://activenet6.active.com/petalumarec/

Register in person: Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma

For more information:  www.thewritespot.us or mcullen@comcast.net

Molly Dwyer Historical Fiction Workshop

Registration is now open for Story Stalking: Historical Fiction Writing Workshop with novelist Molly Dwyer in Ukiah.

This historical fiction writing workshop, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on June 20 takes place at Mariposa Center, a rural retreat in an oak-filled canyon ten minutes from Ukiah/Highway 101 in Mendocino County. The $75 workshop fee includes a copy of Dwyer’s award-winning novel, “Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein” and a box lunch. Early registration is advised, as space is limited.

For registration forms and workshop details, go to www.mollydwyer.com or call Dot at (707) 463-2736 or 272-8305.

Molly Dwyer’s debut novel, published last year, won a national award for historical fiction and was recently nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Fiction as one of the best works by a Northern California author published in 2008.

During the daylong workshop, Molly will use guided and free writing experiences, conversation, and presentation to explore four aspects of writing historical fiction: research, framing, structure, and ethics. She goes beyond standard linear approaches to research, such as internet and primary sources, to include intuitive methods, such as dreaming and synchronicity. In framing a story, Molly addresses how to shape fact into fiction and develop a strong sense of time and place with special attention to the sensibilities of characters living in another period or culture. She’ll suggest ways to structure a complex story that facilitate movement between research and writing, exploring background, foreground and back-story elements. Finally, Molly will examine ethical questions in writing historical fiction, including how to stretch the facts to fit the fiction and how to transform fiction to fit the facts, as well as how to strike a balance between the two.

Dwyer has received glowing reviews for her presentations and workshops throughout the western United States and internationally. “Molly Dwyer gave one of the best, most articulate presentations about writing I have ever experienced, at any venue,” says Cindy Pavlinac, Vice President of th