Michael Krasny

Monday, August 2, 2010 || 7pm
Book Passage || Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Drive, Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Everyone knows Michael Krasny, the award-winning host of NPR/KQED’s Forum with Michael Krasny, a news and public affairs program covering politics, culture, the arts, health, business and technology since 1993 and veteran interviewer for NPR’s nationally broadcast City Arts and Lectures series. He’s also an English professor at San Francisco State University, and a widely published scholar, critic and fiction writer. We are so pleased to have him as a Left Coast Writers Literary Salon Presenter in August.

We are especially interested in listening to  Michael’s views of the literary life. He’s the author of Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio and Literary Life. His new book, Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic’s Quest, is a conversation about morality, eternal life, why we do good, and why evil sometimes triumphs.

Michael always does such an amazing job of interviewing writers. We’re thrilled to be hearing more about him.

Ransom Stephens

Monday, July 5, 2010 || 7pm
Book Passage || Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Drive, Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Ransom Stephens, Ph.D., is a professor of particle physics turned writer and speaker. He has worked on experiments at SLAC, Fermilab, CERN, and Cornell; discovered a new type of matter and was on the team that discovered the top quark. During the tech boom that ended in 2001, he directed patent development for a wireless web startup and, a few years later, became an expert on timing noise. Now he’s turning his considerable mental powers toward the world of writing and publishing, and we’re interested in what he’s learned. He’s a much praised speaker, so it should be an informative evening as Ransom shares his current explorations and his jump into a bold new way of getting the word out.

“What distinguishes this classic battle between faith and free will is its unusually deft infusion of legitimate but accessible science.…an ambitious first novel that uses Stephens’ experience as a particle physicist, director of patents, public speaker and single father in a narrative that sings of the heart and the scientific method as two parts of the same song.”

—The San Francisco Chronicle

“Ransom Stephens skillfully weaves together multiple plot lines and characters in a fast moving story.”

—Book Case, for the Petaluma Argus-Courier

The memo said they’d get bonuses for submitting patents, so why not? Money came easily during the dot-com boom. Concealed in engineering jargon, Ryan McNear submits a patent for the soul disguised as a software algorithm and his best friend Foster Reed rewrites Genesis and calls it a “power generator.” A few years later, amid the fallout of a ruptured technology bubble, his career ruined and family shredded, a desperate Ryan discovers that a company headed by his old friend Foster is developing his patent. What he thought was a joke is generating stacks of money amid claims that it will provide a source of limitless energy and prove the existence of God.Willing to try anything to rebuild his life, Ryan stakes a legal claim to the patent but soon discovers a sinister undercurrent in the venture. Racing against time and aided by a motley group of assistants that includes an attorney/conman, a beautiful and passionate physicist and a death-obsessed adolescent math prodigy, Ryan gets caught in a battle between hard science and fundamentalist religion that threatens his sanity, his freedom and his son. Before long Ryan will test the limits of faith and free will, evaluate the nature of desire, and comprehend the human soul in a way that requires a single step, rather than a great leap, of faith.

…….

Ransom lives in Petaluma, California and makes a living by writing novels, giving speeches, producing and MCing literary events, helping engineers solve problems, and teaching writing seminars. He is the author of over 200 articles on impossible subjects like quantum physics, the future of publishing and parenting teenagers. His first novel, The God Patent, is set in the battle between science and religion over the nature of the soul and the origin of the universe.

Monday, June 7, 2010 || 7pm
Book Passage || Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Drive, Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

We have a “killer evening” in store for everyone at the next Left Coast Writers Literary Salon!

Mixing fun and fundraising for charities seemed like the perfect job for Presley Parker when she’s suddenly downsized from her position teaching abnormal psychological at the university. Pres is psyched about her first big gig—hosting a “surprise” wedding for the San Francisco Mayor at notorious Alcatraz prison.

But the party’s over when the bride bolts faster than an escaping prisoner, and is later found dead floating in the bay, a victim of poisoned chocolates. When Presley becomes prime suspect, she looks to her quirky Treasure Island co-workers for help, but it’s the attractive, mysterious crime scene cleaner Brad Matthews who helps tidy up her tarnished reputation. If she doesn’t solve this mystery, she’ll be exchanging her party dress for prison stripes.

“Penny Warner dishes up a rare treat, sparkling with wicked and witty San Francisco characters, plus some real tips on hosting a killer party.”
~ Rhys Bowen, award-winning author of the Royal Spyness mysteries.

Tim Cahill, Author of Hold the Enlightenment and Lost in my own Backyard: a Walk in Yellowstone National Park

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

We have a real treat in store for you at our May 3rd Left Coast Writers Literary Salon. Travel writer Tim Cahill is in town and will be speaking that night. Tim, who has authored many, many books including Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg, Pass The Butterworms, Pecked To Death By Ducks, Hold The Enlightenment, and Lost in my own Backyard: a Walk in Yellowstone National Park, was a founding editor of Outside magazine and has been known to make readers laugh and cry in the space of a few minutes. He is also an expert on what makes a story work and the creator of Tim’s choo-choo, which is a dynamite way to quickly put an article together.

Neeli Cherkovski, Author of From the Canyon Outward

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

Ying Chang Compestine, Author of A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts

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

Ying Chang Compestine

According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories, Ying takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China. From the building of the Great Wall in 200 BCE to the modern day of iPods, hungry ghosts continue to torment those who wronged them.

At once a window into the history and culture of China and an ode to Chinese cuisine, this assortment of frightening tales — complete with historical notes and delectable recipes — will both scare and satiate!

Award winning author and dynamic public speaker Ying Chang Compestine is the author of many children’s books, cookbooks and novels. Ying has been featured on many national television programs and she has been profiled in national magazines and newspapers. Ying has visited schools throughout the US and abroad, sharing with students her journey as a writer, how her life in China inspired her writing, and the challenges of writing in her second language.
Ying is the spokesperson for Nestle Maggi Foods and Celestial Seasonings and a regular contributor to the national magazines Cooking Light, Ski, EatingWell, Self, Men’s Health, Delicious Living and Diablo. She was the food editor for Body & Soul, a Martha Stewart magazine that focuses on healthy living.

Ying has lectured on a variety of subjects at writer’s conferences and universities, aboard cruise ships, on television and radio programs, and for numerous other organizations. She is the author of many books including her much praised debut novel,  A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts (Henry Holt, 2009).

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

It’s a party!! Join us for major festivities as veteran journalist Paul McHugh celebrates the publication of his new novel, DEADLINES (Lost Coast Press), a tale of murder, conspiracy, and the media. McHugh, a Northern California writer, has worked in journalism for 30 years, eight as a freelancer and 22 at the San Francisco Chronicle where he was an outdoor features writer and editor, focused on sport, environment and state resource issues. Over his career, he wrote for all sections of the paper, including Metro, where he conducted several major investigative series. Adventure has been a way of life for McHugh. He ran his first marathon in 2003, at the age of 53; he celebrated his 50^th birthday by kayaking down 270 miles of the Grand Canyon; he was on the first U.S. Kayak Surfing Team when it won a world championship in Ireland in 1988; he arrived in California after wandering across the U.S. on a motorcycle in the summer of 1973. McHugh undertook many outdoor adventures for the Chronicle. The most striking was a 40-day, 400-mile sea kayak voyage from the Oregon Border to San Francisco Bay, resulting in the popular North Coast Series. Over the course of that  voyage, McHugh filed 36 print and online stories, four podcasts and five videos. This epic series can be found posted at: www.sfgate.com/northcoast/

DEADLINES begins when a land-use activist is slain on a stretch of California shore. The killers work for Cornu Point, an equestrian resort seeking to boost profit from public land along the coast. A young reporter, Sebastian Palmer, pegs the death as a clever murder. When Palmer is killed a friend with a hankering for police work and a veteran columnist team up to solve the murders. Not just lives, but the California coast are at stake when they face the determined killer.

Praise for DEADLINES:

“Every reporter worth his or her notepad is a sleuth at heart. McHugh brings this truth to life…

—Dan Rather, TV anchor

“Rock-solid and soul-satisfying mystery… A superior story.”

—John Lescroart, NY Times best-selling author

Alan Rinzler, Consulting Editor

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

Alan Rinzler

Alan Rinzler began as a book editor in 1962 at Simon and Schuster and has since worked as Senior Editor at the Macmillan Company, Senior Editor at Holt, Director of Trade Book Publishing at Bantam Books, Associate Publisher and Vice President of Rolling Stone Magazine, and President of the Rolling Stone Book Division Straight Arrow Books. He was also West Coast Editor for the Grove Press, Editor of the Berkeley Monthly, and for the past 17 years has been Senior Editor and then Executive Editor of Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons.

Alan has edited and published such authors as Toni Morrison, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Robbins, Claude Brown, Oscar Acosta, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Ludlum, Irv Yalom, Jerzy Kosinski, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Clive Cussler, and others.

Rinzler is Academic Director of Trade Book Publishing for the Stanford University Professional Publishing Courses at Stanford University, and lives in Berkeley, where he worked for many years on the Berkeley Police Department Mobile Crisis Mental Health Team doing street crisis intervention, which he says was excellent graduate training for his ongoing work with authors.

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 co-founder of Hippocrates magazine, now called Health, which won four National Magazine Awards while she was  there.  With West Gold Editorial consulting, she formulated the  editorial blueprint  for and helped to launch Dwell magazine. Other Web and print consulting  clients have included Cooking Light, Reader’s  Digest, Consumer Reports, Family  Fun, Southern Accents, and PC World.

Susan will talk about “how to launch”— a magazine, a story, a writing career.

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) makes clear, that although more popular than ever—the wholesale value of the U.S. tea industry has increased more than 400% since 1990—it is still an underutilized source of health, solace, and friendship for the modern world.

The feature-length documentary that inspired the book, also named The Meaning of Tea, is a poignant search through India, Japan, Taiwan, Morocco, England, France, Ireland, and even Tea, South Dakota for glimpses into the secret character of tea. The Meaning of Tea’s soundtrack, Music of Tea, is a compilation of tea-inspired world music including tracks composed by Joel Douek and Eric Czar and features the song “Marco Polo” written and performed by Loreena McKennitt.

The Meaning of Tea project is an ongoing, tea-inspired journey that celebrates the history, rituals, spirituality and simple pure enjoyment of tea through the eyes of tea lovers from many places around the world. The Meaning of Tea project aims to bring to light the mysteries of the world’s favorite beverage to larger audiences, and, as tea has done for 5,000 years, to stimulate health, friendship and community.

For more information, visitwww.themeaningoftea.com.