LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Marsha Black, author of The Accidental Photographer for the Camera Bag

Saturday, January 9, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Marsha Black has always had a textbook in one hand and a camera in the other. She has been photographing the world around her since childhood.  Decades later, when her niece asked her what she would do if she didn’t have her camera, her answer was simple:  She would never be without it.

Says Marsha, “I think just about anyone who takes a camera on a trip wants to travel with it unencumbered and come home with good photos that can be shared with friends and family. My book, The Accidental Photographer for the Camera Bag, illustrates how to use the camera effortlessly and take good pictures that reflect the passion for travel. The book is aimed at the casual photographer and the techniques described are basic and can be mastered with little practice and used with any camera.”

Colette Obrien

Monday, January 11, 2010 || 5:30pm ||

Left Coast Writers at the Ferry Plaza

Book Passage – Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

Colette Obrien hosts: NEVER AGAIN!

Join us at Book Passage in the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco when some of our favorite writers make their resolutions! We definitely think there are some things that do not need to be repeated. Come to listen in and find out just what they are.

Monday, January 4, 2010 || 7pm ||

Susan West, Founding Editor in Chief of Afar and Editorial Consultant

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Failure to launch? It’ll never happen with Guest Presenter Susan West.

Susan West is a long-time editorial consultant for magazines and websites. Most recently she was the founding Editor in Chief of Afar, a new magazine whose mission is to inspire and  guide those who travel the world seeking to connect with its people, experience their culture, and understand  their perspectives. Afar, which launched in August 2009, was named one of the 15 best launches of the year by “Mr. Magazine,” Samir Husni. Susan was also Executive  Editor of  Smithsonian and a

Nancy Bruning of Nancercize

Join the conversation on blogtalk radio Thursday, December 17th at 9a.m. PST with Nancy Bruning, creator of Nancercize, and author and LCW founder, Linda Watanabe McFerrin. They’ll be talking about family travel … pain or paradise?

A series of workshops set in the South …

April 13-19, 2010

Writing and Photography Workshop with Linda Watanabe McFerrin and featured local photographers …

Charleston and the South Carolina Low Country beckons! Join the organizers of the Southern Sampler Artists Colony on a journey into a place like no other—a place brushed with spirit, dipped in belonging, and brought to life in Gospel, Jazz, Blues, soul food, cooling ocean breezes, wraparound porches, and warm welcomes that begin with y’all. Relax! Let your heart open, soul sing, and spirit soar.

Byron says ...

We had a full house Monday when Byron Belitsos explored the dance of publisher and author at the Literary Salon in a talk that addressed literary matches: Made in heaven? . . . Or hell?

Belitsos, founder of Origin Press, publisher of books on practical spirituality, entertained the group with wild tales about the authors who populate his dreams and nightmares. In addition to an interesting look at some of his list, past and present, he shared his evaluation of what makes a book succeed commercially. Here’s Byron’s test. It’s easy and enlightening. You might want to note that while it applies primarily to non-fiction, fiction writers might want to consider his points as well. We’re sharing it with his compliments.

Roger Housden

Such a simple idea – have an evening of spoken word, poetry and readings in the Bay Area, and send the money raised to those in need. A village in India can then have clean water for the first time and prevent three or four children a month dying from water borne diseases. There are thousands of villages throughout India without clean running water.

All it takes to change that is $8,000 -10,000 per village. That sum pays for a well with simple hand pump, a rainwater collection tank, and eco-sanitation toilets. The groundwork is done by a UK charity, Wherever The Need, which also has non-profit status in the US.

Poetry for Water with Anne Lamott, Roger Housden, Nina Wise

POETRY PUBLICATION WORKSHOP with C.B. Follett, Susan Terris, and Rebecca Foust

Rebecca Foust

Saturday, November 7, 2009 || 10am – 1pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Learn what to do to get your poetry published in literary journals and other publications. Two experienced poet/editors and one relative newcomer to the poetry scene will address questions related to WHEN, WHERE, HOW, and WHAT to submit, with focus on how to get your work out in the world without stress, fear of rejection, or waste of 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, and an inventory of resource books and sample literary journals will be available for review.

Linda Watanabe McFerrin

This time last week I was still in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I was a workshop leader and panelist at the 31^st Nimrod Literary Awards Conference for Readers and Writers 2009 at the University of Tulsa. Other Faculty included Peter S. Beagle (a past LCW Presenter), Marvin Bell, Robert Olen Butler, Marie Howe, W. Scott Olsen, James Ragan, and Nimrod International Journal Editor in Chief, Francine Ringold. The judges for the 2009 Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction and the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry were novelist Robert Olen Butler and poet Marie Howe. The winners were Alicia Case (fiction) and Mike Nelson (poetry).

The theme of this year’s Awards Celebration was “Words at Play,” a topic that award winning poet and Iowa’s first Poet Laureate, Marvin Bell, tackled creatively. Here’s an excerpt:

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, author of Love in Translation

Saturday, December 12, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

IT’S NOVEL OR NEVER ,,,,

Tim Urlaub

The folks at National Novel Writing Month have devised a plan so simple that even a knucklehead like me has trouble messing it up.  My mistake:  not taking advantage of the opportunity to stretch out.  Me thinks I doth text too much.  Hence, the bad facial hair to conceal my identity until I get it write.

Monday, December 7, 2009 || 7pm ||

Phil Cousineau, Author of The Meaning of Tea: A Tea Inspired Journey

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

A Health-filled Holiday and The Meaning of Tea

“When we drink tea with others we shorten the distance between people.”

—Feng Ming-Chung, a Bao Zhong tea grower, in The Meaning of Tea.

Join writer, filmmaker, photographer, teacher and editor Phil Cousineau for an exploration of the history, health benefits, rituals, spirituality and simple pure enjoyment of tea. The Meaning of Tea: A Tea Inspired Journey offers wisdom ideally suited for modern citizens facing the stress of economic uncertainty. San Francisco tea experts James Norwood Pratt and Imperial Tea Court Teamaster Roy Fong are featured in the book. Culled from more than 50 conversations with tea pickers and plantation owners, street sellers, traders, teapot makers and eloquent tea scholars spanning eight countries—from India to Ireland and Taiwan to Tea, South Dakota—readers learn about how tea has brought peace, calm, health, friendship and often wisdom into their lives. The Meaning of Tea (Talking Leave Press, 2009)

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Mary Lou Peters Schram, author of Pursuing Happiness … One More Time

Saturday, November 14, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

LOOKING FOR LOVE AND HAPPINESS

Four women, a dead husband, a not-so-great boyfriend, a little extra weight and lots of money—is this a recipe for joy or disaster?

If a good book and a glass of wine is your idea of happiness, please grab a friend and join us for a delightful evening with local author Mary Lou Peters Schram.

“Although the pursuit of happiness is one of our inalienable rights, nowhere is it guaranteed that we shall catch it.  Mary Lou Peters Schram’s witty new novel chronicles the lives of four women, all residents of Shady Acres, an adult community in California’s wine country, as each pursues her own particular vision of happiness.

Colette Obrien Hosts

Monday, November 9, 2009 || 5:30pm ||

Left Coast Writers at the Ferry Plaza

Book Passage – Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

Join us at Book Passage in the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco when some of our favorite writers get up on the soapbox!

Monday, November 2, 2009 || 7pm ||

Byron Belitsos, Publisher, Origin Press, talks about the complex dance of author and publisher

Book Passage – Corte Madera

51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Byron Belitsos

Marin-based small press publisher Byron Belitsos of Origin Press will share stories and wisdom drawn from his experiences of the publishing business over the last 15 years—with special focus on his perceptions of the many authors with whom he has worked. Belitsos has edited and published books on health, consciousness, spirituality, and politics, including Faith and the Placebo Effect by Lolette Kuby, Mind Science by Charles Tart, The Unfolding Self by Ralph Metzner, and Waking Up in Time by Peter Russell. He has also played the roles both of coauthor and publisher for several

For an evening of readings, laughter, wine and more wine, why don’t you come to Writers with Drinks after Litquake’s Off the Richter Scale reading on Saturday? OTRS ends at 6pm and we begin at 7:30! Come early for a good table. A line-up of awesome presenters. Check it out.

The long-running spoken word series Writers With Drinks has finally gone too far—in every possible direction!

Saturday, October 10, 2009, 7:30 to 9:30 PM, doors open at 6:30 PM

• Linda Watanabe McFerrin
• Anthony Swofford
• Roz Savage
• Irina Slutsky
• Doug Dorst
• Joe Loya

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Stan Goldberg, author of  Lessons for the Living, an evening of laughter, tears, music and wine

Stan Goldberg

Saturday, October 10, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Call in ...

FCCFREERADIO 107.3 FM SAN FRANCISCO’S ALTERNATIVE RADIO

Lilycat on Stuff

Sunday, October 4, 2009

12-2pm

Host Melinda Adams chats with Linda Watanabe McFerrin on things dark and delectable, including Linda’s upcoming reading at Writers with Drinks on Saturday, October 10th.

West Marin Review, a literary and art journal sponsored by the Tomales Bay Library Association and Point Reyes Books, is now accepting submissions of literary works and visual art for the 2010 volume. Submissions should be of previously unpublished work. Members of the Review’s steering committee and review boards may not submit works. Submissions for Volume 3 must be postmarked no later than October 7, 2009.

Submission Guidelines

LCW member and how-to writer Elisa Southard loves to stir up new perspectives and take the guesswork of out risky endeavors.  In October, Elisa’s article, Make Road Kill out of Three Myths for Beginning Riders, will be published in HelmetHairMagazine.com, the online quarterly magazine serving the female motorcycle fan.

The author of the Amazon best seller, Break Through the Noise, 9 Tools to Propel Your Marketing Message,  Elisa cruised into the California DMV with her Motorcycle Safety Foundation certification just this summer, and now cruises on a Honda Rebel 250. Elisa is also working on her second book, Bring Your Inner Newbie Out for professional women launching into a new sport or pursuit.

Linda Watanabe McFerrin

What is it about mountains—super-high mountains—that is so attractive? Is it the challenge they represent? The excitement they provoke? The wonder they inspire? Even if it weren’t the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, rising 19,304 feet above the Great Rift Valley in northern Tanzania, would be awe striking. I remember seeing it from a distance on a long-ago trip to Africa when I was writing a story on the Lunatic Express for the San Francsico Examiner/Chronicle travel section. I was reading Ernest Hemingway’s classic The Snows of Kilimanjaro at the time. I’m crazy about mountains, but I never dreamed of climbing Kilimanjaro, so I was delighted to hear about the 2009 publication of Michel Moushabeck and partner Hiltrud Schulz’s book, Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa (Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., 2009). If, like me, you are mesmerized by this particular mountain and have no immediate plans to scale it, you should get the book. Moushabeck’s pleasant, diaristic narrative and Schultz’s well-edited images make you feel as if you are along for the climb.

Instructor Lowry McFerrin

Self-Publishing in the 21st Century

Saturday – October 10, 2009, 10 am – 4 pm

You’ve plotted, planned, revised, agonized over, edited and re-written three books just to finish one. Still, you can’t find an agent or publisher to carry your project forward. But you don’t want to self-publish, because a “real” writer… a SERIOUS writer… wouldn’t dream of resorting to that. Well, not necessarily. Did you know that many notable writers self-published:

• Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tarzan
• Benjamin Franklin: Poor Richard’s Almanack
• Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Sheldon Siegel

Literary luminaries will join members of Homeward Bound’s creative writing groups to present a special fundraising event from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at The Next Key Center.

“How I Became a Writer … An Afternoon of Inspiration” will feature readings and commentary by a stellar lineup of Marin’s published talent along with residents of Homeward Bound programs who participate in focused writing groups that work on journaling, poetry, and more.

The speakers include Sheldon Siegel, writer of bestselling thrillers.

Do What You Love and Make a Living

Learn how at the Simplie Indie writer’s workshop this weekend on September 19, 2009. Four panelists will cover the information essential to achieving your writing goals in a new, fast paced, internet based environment.

Bill Walker on new publishing

Jennifer Bourn on personal branding

Jerry Kennedy on sales

Stephanie Chandler on tricks of the trade.

Panelists include Social Networking Strategist Peter Lang.

Register Today: simplieindie.com/writer-event.html

When: September 19, 2009, 8 am to 5 pm—includes rolls and coffee and catered lunch. Where: The Clubhouse at Woodcreek Golf Club, 5880 Woodcreek Oaks Blvd, Roseville, CA Questions? Contact Roxanne Dodge at 916.531.3470 or roxanne.dodge@SimplieIndie.com

All attendees receive a goodie bag containing books, CDs, and coupons worth hundreds of dollars.

The deadline for this year’s Solas Awards for Best Travel Story of the Year is just a few days away. To enter this year’s competition, go to BestTravelWriting.com and follow the instructions.

As of today, competition is light in the following categories:

* Animal Encounter

* Cruise Story

* Doing Good or the Kindness of Strangers

* Elder Travel

* Love Story

* Men’s Travel

* Travel and Healing

* Travel and Shopping

* Travel and Sports

* Young TravelerTr

Colette Obrien

Don’t miss tonight’s event at Book Passage in the San Francisco Ferry Plaza as Left Coast Writers Paul McHugh, Maria Finn, Diana Kelly, Marylou Schram and Linda Watanabe McFerrin read tales of “Trauma and Drama” at 5:30 pm.  Colette Obrien hosts. Join some of the readers after the event for a toast and literary chat.

Ayelet Waldman’s presentation Tuesday eve was terrific. She read from the new bestselling book and talked about FAILURE. And guess what … it was enlightening and uplifting. I love a woman unafraid. Great night at the ol’ Left Coast Writers Literary Salon! For a dose of more drama and … trauma, join the group at Book Passage in the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco as writers, Griffin Dix, Maria Finn, Diana Kelly, Marylou Schram and Paul Mchugh share tales of wonder and woe.

It has actually taken weeks to come down to earth after the Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference this year. I don’t know how it happens … maybe it’s Book Passage—that magical, marvelous combination of publications and personalities; maybe it’s Donald George and the way he’s able to frame an event so that it seems to kind of lift off and fly. Whatever the reason, the conference carries everyone away. I have a very tough time actually landing after being part of it all.

Monday, October 5, 2009 || 7pm ||

Mary Roach, Author of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Mary Roach

Mary Roach is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook:  Science Tackles the Afterlife, and Bonk:  The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.   Stiff has been translated into 17 languages, and Spook was a New York Times Notable Book of 2005.  Bonk was chosen as a 2008 best book by the San Francisco Chronicle, the St. Louis-Post Dispatch, and the Boston Globe.  Mary has written for Outside, National Geographic, Wired, New Scientist, The New York Times Magazine, and NPR’s “All Things Considered,” among many others.  She is a contributing editor at the science magazine Discover, a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review, and a winner of the American Engineering Societies’ Engineering Journalism Award, in a category for which, let’s be honest, she was the sole entrant.   More info at www.maryroach.net

The Dallas Morning News, one of America’s premier daily newspapers with an outstanding Sunday Travel section, published Dick Jordan’s story “Glacial pace: Go with the floe and see what southeast Alaska has to offer” on August 16, 2009.

The story (not yet available on the newspaper’s Web site) and three of Dick’s photos took up an entire page of the paper’s Travel section.

This is Dick’s second story on glacier touring in Southeast Alaska.  His first story on this part of America appeared on Mother’s Day in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Linda Watanabe McFerrin

If you didn’t make it to the Ferry Plaza on Monday, you really missed out. Four excellent writers shared stories of Wipe Outs. One of them was Paul McHugh, who used to be the Outdoor Editor for our local S.F. paper. Now he’s freelancing and he has a book coming out early next year. Since he’s one of us, we’ll be planning a launch event, you can be sure. Also reading was Joanna Biggar, who used to write for the Washington Post and who’s taught workshops with me in Greece, Ireland and Italy. We’ll be taking a group to Costa Rica in January. Still a little room; you’ll have to let me know if you’re interested. The brilliant, very talented Natalie Galli read as well. You can read her work in Italy, A Love Story and many of the Tavelers’ Tales Best Women’s Travel collections. Elisa Sawyer was also back with a performance piece.

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Bill Keener, author of  Gold Leaf on Granite and Kathryn Ridall, author of The Way of Stones

Saturday, August 8, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com
Celebrating the new work of two poets …

William Keener

William Keener has been writing and publishing poetry for the past ten years.  He is also an environmental lawyer, and the former director of the Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.  His first chapbook, titled Three Crows Yelling, was co-authored with Marin County poets Bill Noble and Michael Day in 2000.  Tonight we celebrate the launch of his first solo collection of poetry Gold Leaf on Granite, which recently won the annual Anabiosis Press contest.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 || 7pm ||

Ayelet Waldman, Author of Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Clamities and Occasional Moments of Grace, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Ayelet Waldman

Ayelet Waldman is the author of The New York Times bestseller Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities and Occasional Moments of Grace, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Daughter’s Keeper and the Mommy-Track Mysteries. Her personal essays have been published in a wide variety of newspapers and magazine, including The New York Times, the Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle, Elle Magazine, Vogue, Allure, Cookie, Child, Parenting, Real Simple, Health and Salon.com. Her radio commentaries have appeared on “All Things Considered” and “The California Report.” Ayelet’s missives also appear on Facebook and Twitter. Her books are published throughout the world, in countries as disparate as England and Thailand, the Netherlands and China, Russia and Israel.

Monday, August 3, 2009 || 7pm ||

Scott Rosenberg, author of DREAMING IN CODE and SAY EVERYTHING: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors. Made and lost fortunes. Brought couples together and torn them apart. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone’s hands. Regularly dismissed as trivial and ephemeral, they have proved that they are here to stay.

Dick Jordan has become a an active member of the Bay Area Travel Writers, a not-for-profit, professional association of writers and photographers with outstanding achievements in travel journalism. These professionals share their unique stories in newspapers, magazines, books, Internet publications, and travel industry publications.

In June he joined Left Coast Writers, a prestigious group of well-known as well as new writers of all genres, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, sci-fi, and travel, which holds its monthly “salon” meetings at one of America’s premier independent book stores, Book Passage, in Corte Madera.

©2009 by Chana Wilson

The tiny Calistoga airport sits at one end of the Napa Valley town of Calistoga, a tourist resort known for its hot springs.  Along the town’s one main street are the spas boasting various treatments: mud baths, hot whirlpools, massage.  My mother and I have come here for my 30th birthday, but not to seek the waters. 

Monday, July 6, 2009 || 7pm ||

Andy Ross, Agent at Andy Ross Literary Agency

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Andy Ross

Andy Ross has worked in the book business for 36 years, all of his working life. He was owner and general manager of Cody’s Books in Berkeley, California from 1977-2006. Cody’s has been recognized as one of America’s great independent book stores.

During this period, Andy was the primary trade book buyer. This experience has given him a unique understanding of the retail book market, of publishing trends and, most importantly and uniquely, the hand selling of books to book buyers.

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Rebecca Foust, Mom’s Canoe

Saturday, June 13, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Left Coast Writer Rebecca Foust will read from her new book, Mom’s Canoe, at Book Passage on Saturday, June 13, at 7:00 pm, with champagne and Ruli’s cookies to follow during the book signing.  Mom’s Canoe, winner of the 2008 Rpbbert Phillips Chapbook Prize, collects poetry about the author’s childhood in western Pennsylvania, an area devestated by the decline of the coal mining and railroading industries of the last century. Foust’s first book, Dark Card, sold out of its first print run and was reviewed in more than 20 journals including American Book Review, Hudson Review and Rattle; the reviews are posted at www.rebeccafoust.com .

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Patricia Ljutic. Laura Shumaker and other Contributors to A Cup of Comfort® for Parents of Children with Special Needs.

Patricia Ljutic

Saturday, July 11, 2009 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Patricia Ljutic is joined by four other Bay Area writers: Jennifer Gunter, Jolie Kanat, Harriet Heydemann Cellini and Laura Shumaker, who will read from A Cup of Comfort® for Parents of Children with Special Needs ($9.95). The anthology contains fifty stories by parents who have struggled with a child’s diagnosis only to embrace and celebrate the differences that make their children that much more special—and even more loved. Edited by Colleen Sell this unique story collection offers inspiration for parents of children with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, seizure disorder and autism.

A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Monday, June 1, 2009 || 7pm ||
Christi Phillips, Author of The Devlin Diary and The Rossetti Letter

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

The Devlin Diary

Christi Phillips will discuss the research and creation of her popular novels. She is the author of The Rossetti Letter, which has been translated into six foreign languages. Her research combines a few of her favorite things: old books, libraries, and travel. When she’s not rummaging around in an archive or exploring the historic heart of a European city, she lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is at work on her next novel, set in France.

© 2009 by Joanna Biggar

January 21, 2009…For forty years I have been going to the National Mall to celebrate, to witness and to participate in history. I’ve been there to see marathons and hootenannies, Grandmothers for Peace, Students for the Earth, reunions of the Peace Corps, and a Million Men’s March.

In the early days, the days of Lyndon Johnson in the late ‘60’s, the country was torn asunder by what was perceived as an unjust war. Led by youth – and I was then young – thousands came to march against the relentless killing in Southeast Asia in a fruitless and seemingly endless war. Among those who were dying were thousands of my own generation, drafted, disillusioned, and angry.

Monday, April 6, 2009 || 7pm ||
April Eberhardt, Agent at Reece Halsey North

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

April Eberhardt

April Eberhardt joined Reece Halsey North as a Literary Agent in 2008 after five years of editorial work with Zoetrope: All-Story, a literary magazine, and another agency. Her specialty is adult literary fiction, particularly ironic family dramas and realistic midlife tales, often with a twist, preferably involving strong female characters. She is attracted to collections of interlinked stories with a common character or theme. An original voice and smart, speedy delivery are critical, as is a subtle sense of the absurd. She enjoys working with new authors to edit and streamline their manuscripts before submitting them to publishers. April does consider selected non-fiction works. She does not represent mysteries or murders, thrillers, historical fiction or fantasy, nor does she represent children’s titles.

The Best Women's Travel Writing

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009 (Travelers’ Tales)

Saturday, March 14 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Here’s the exciting line-up for The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009 party on Saturday evening: Laurie McAndish King—tracking lions on foot in Botswana, Natalie Galli—enjoying the delicious spectacle of Easter in Sicily, Ginny Horton—finding her inner Coco at the Paris Ritz, Marybeth Bond—learning more than Spanish in Mexico, Nicole Zimmerman—adventuring to the extreme in New Zealand, Kathryn Kefauver—guarded by monks in Laos, Pamela Alma Bass—developing perspective on “Angels” in Mexico. Publisher Larry Habegger will be on hand to answer questions about the anthology and upcoming Travelers’ Tales titles.

Monday, March 2, 2009 || 7pm ||
David Poindexter, MacAdam/Cage, Founder and Publisher

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Join us in an evening with David Poindexter, MacAdam/Cage founder and publisher.

After twenty years in the commercial printing industry, David Poindexter, inspired by his lifelong love of reading, decided to start an independent trade publishing house. In 1998, he founded MacAdam/Cage in order to bring new voices to the literary marketplace.

© 2009 by Patricia Woeber

Alpes-Maritimes, France

The Cote d’Azur brings to mind luxurious hotels and the cachet of the Mediterranean coast stretching from Cannes to Menton, yet this strip of land is connected to another world. To the north, a mountainous backcountry offers a diversity of cultures and outdoor activities.

Both elegant coast and wild backcountry are part of the Alpes-Maritimes departement, which is tucked along the Italian border in southeastern France. This area of Provence possesses the seaside, the mountains (as high as Mt. Gelas at 10,300 feet) with an alpine landscape of fir forests, and the high rocky land of the Mercantour National Park. So why not enjoy it all? Stay in deluxe hotels, discover ancient hillside villages, puzzle over ancient pictographs, and hike in nature so dramatic it will knock your socks off.

©2009 by Toni Piccinini

Is there a better launching off point for positive change than New Year’s Day? Nope, not much beats January 1st as the beginning of the new you. A whole new year awaits for the writer in you to make your mark.  Fresh and unspoiled by editor rejections and by your own sketchy writing habits, that fat January is all about possibilities.  All the excess of the holiday season, the “might as well wait ‘till the first of the year” procrastination, and the sludgy sloth are but a faint memory after midnight December 31st.  You have improvement plans for this New Year.  This year you will finish that novel, this year you will send out that stack of short stories languishing in the drawer; hell, this year you’re going to quit smoking, lose weight, get fit, and find your soul mate.

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Roccie Hill, Author of Three Minutes on Love.

Roccie Hill

Saturday, January 10 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Roccie Hill talks about Three Minutes on Love. Rosie leaves her desert town to chase her dreams in 1960s S.F. She has a chance encounter with an illegal immigrant who publishes a music magazine. He gives Rosie her first job, photographing a legendary blues guitarist, catapulting Rosie into a hot career on the scene.

ABOUT ROCCIE HILL:

Monday, January 5, 2009 || 7pm ||
Camille Cusumano, Author of Tango, an Argentine Love Story

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

Please join us in a scintillating start for the New Year at the first Left Coast Writers Literary Salon of 2009! Camille Cusumano will light up the evening with a talk about her love of literature and her passion for tango. Camille has even promised a short tango demonstration. You may bring guests to this event. After all, they say it takes two …

Monday, March 9, 2009 || 5:30pm ||
Reading: Poetic License

Book Passage – Ferry Plaza
Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

On the second Monday of every month Left Coast Writers read from their favorite work. Colette Obrien hosts.

This month: Poetic License

Readers so far: Rebecca Foust, Elaine Bond

Please contact us (leftcoastwriters@aol.com) to sign up to read.

Monday, April 13, 2009 || 5:30pm ||
Reading: Intoxicating Ideas

Book Passage – Ferry Plaza
Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

On the second Monday of every month Left Coast Writers read from their favorite work. Colette Obrien hosts.

This month: Intoxicating Ideas

Readers so far:

Please contact us (leftcoastwriters@aol.com) to sign up to read.

Monday, May 11, 2009 || 5:30pm ||
Reading: On Scent and Sensation

Book Passage – Ferry Plaza
Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

On the second Monday of every month Left Coast Writers read from their favorite work. Colette Obrien hosts.

This month: On Scent and Sensation

Readers so far:

Please contact us (leftcoastwriters@aol.com) to sign up to read.

Laurie McQueen presents An Erotic Alphabet on 2/7/09

Laurie McQueen will present An Erotic Alphabet ($9.95) at Book Passage on February 7 at 7 p.m.. This book of rhymes celebrates eroticism in all its forms, from silly to sensual, playful to to x-rated. Laurie reveals the surprising joy she discovered by liberating her “dirty mind” and embracing sexuality … and invites you to join her in the gentle sport of rhyming. This book will be printed in a very limited quantity; please pre-order for Valentine’s Day.

Monday, February 2, 2009 || 7pm ||
Niloufar Talebi, award winning editor and translator of Belonging New Poetry By Iranians Around the World.

Book Passage – Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera

In this time of great international misunderstanding, many things are “lost in translation.” Join us for an exciting and truly enlightening evening that will add a little clarity and introduce new voices with important things to share.