Salons - Left Coast Writers

Literary Salon: Ayelet Waldman

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 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.

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Literary Salon: Scott Rosenberg

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.

In Say Everything, Scott Rosenberg chronicles blogging’s unplanned rise and improbable triumph, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives. He offers close-ups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, software visionary Dave Winer, “mommyblogger” Heather Armstrong, and many others.

These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?

Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV—slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web’s native character into focus—convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can’t match. Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere—one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, Rosenberg writes, it is impossible to imagine us stopping.

In his first book, Dreaming in Code, Scott Rosenberg brilliantly explored the art of creating software (“the first true successor to The Soul of a New Machine,” wrote James Fallows in The Atlantic). In Say Everything, Rosenberg brings the same perceptive eye to the blogosphere, capturing as no one else has the birth of a new medium.

SCOT T ROSENBERG is a cofounder of Salon.com, where he long served as managing editor, and is the author of Dreaming in Code. He blogs at www.wordyard.com.

Literary Salon: Andy Ross

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 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.

Andy is past president of the Northern California Booksellers Association, a board member and officer of the American Booksellers Association and a national spokesperson for issues concerning independent businesses. He has had significant profiles in the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Literary Salon: Christi Phillips

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

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.

Christi’s new book, The Devlin Diary is a dazzling novel of intrigue, passion, and royal secrets that shifts tantalizingly between Restoration-era London and present-day Cambridge. A suspenseful and richly satisfying tale brimming with sharply observed historical detail, The Devlin Diary brings past and present to vivid life. With wit and grace, Christi Phillips holds readers spellbound with an extraordinary novel of secrets, obsession, and the haunting power of the past.

Literary Salon: April Eberhardt

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

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

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.

April earned an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Boston University, a BA in Anthropology and French from Hamilton College, and a CPLF degree from the University of Paris. Her prior careers in banking and management consulting honed her strategic, marketing and presentation skills and serve her well in her literary endeavors.
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.

Literary Salon: David Poindexter

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.

A year later, Poindexter acquired MacMurray & Beck, a Denver-based independent press, well known in the industry for launching authors such as Patricia Henley (Hummingbird House), William Gay (The Long Home), and Susan Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue).

Now, with twelve employees and offices in San Francisco and Denver, MacAdam/Cage remains committed to publishing quality books with the personal attention offered at a small company, and the marketing and distribution strengths often associated with larger houses. MacAdam/Cage currently publishes between 25 and 35 new titles each year, primarily hardcover fiction. They have found both commercial and literary success with a number of works including The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward, A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart, Pinkerton’s Sister by Peter Rushforth, The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger, and Rose of No Man’s Land by Michelle Tea.

MacAdam/Cage has been recognized both for the quality of its list and for its somewhat old-fashioned approach to publishing. Poets & Writers noted “they recreate the culture that thrived in publishing houses during the early part of the last century,” and former Harcourt Brace publisher, André Bernard, called the house a “genuine publishing success story.”

But perhaps more than anything, MacAdam/Cage is known for its dedicated publisher, David Poindexter, who is in turn known in the book world for “going to great lengths to find and serve authors,” as noted in a 2002 Publishers Weekly profile.

Literary Salon: Camille Cusumano

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 …

Camille Cusumano has written on food, fitness, and travel for more than 20 years, and recently on dance and yoga. She was an editor at VIA Magazine for 17 years.

Her work has appeared in many publications, including Islands, Country Living, the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, Yoga Journal, and the Washington Post.

Her cookbook credits include The New Foods (Henry Holt), America Loves Salads (Literary Guild), Rodale’s Basic Natural Foods Cookbook (co-written with Carol Munson, Editor Charles Gerras), and Tofu, Tempeh, and Other Soy Delights (Rodale).

Her novel, The Last Cannoli (Legas, 2000) was inspired by her growing up in a large Sicilian American family. The book, wrote former San Francisco Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “attests to the power of storytelling to hold life together through all its diasporas.” She has contributed essays to travel anthologies and is the editor of the anthology series: France, a Love Story, Italy, a Love Story, Mexico, a Love Story, and Greece, a Love Story, all published by Seal Press, Emeryville, Calif.

Literary Salon: Niloufar Talebi

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.

Award-winning translator, Niloufar Talebi, was born in London to Iranian parents. She received a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Irvine, and an MFA in Writing and Literature from Bennington College. She studied theater with Jean Shelton and Cyril Clayton and has produced and performed nationally. She created The Translation Project (TTP), a literary organization and production company in 2003 to bring contemporary Iranian literature to larger audiences. Her translations have been anthologized and published in Two Lines, Poetry International, CIRCUMFERENCE, Agni on-line and Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and she is the guest editor of the Spring 2006 issue of Rattapallax. She has presented at the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature in NYC, The Asia Society, The New School, UC Irvine, University of Iowa, The National Arts Club, St. Mark’s Poetry Project, Asia Society, the New York Public Library, LitQuake, Theater Artaud, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Actor’s Theater and Intersection for the Arts.

She created “Midnight Approaches”, a DVD of short films, as well as “ICARUS/RISE”, a multimedia theatrical piece, both based on new Iranian poetry. She is the recipient of translation prizes from the International Center for Writing and Translation (2004), the American Literary Translators Association (2005), the PEN/New York State Council on the Arts (2006) and the Willis Barnstone Translation Prize (2006). She is a member of ALTA, MESA and PEN American Center. She is the editor and translator of BELONGING: New Poetry By Iranians Around the World (North Atlantic Books, July 2008).

Literary Salon: Rita Lakin

Monday, August 4, 2008 || 7pm ||
Rita Laki n, screenwriter and author of “Getting Old is the Best Revenge”

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

More writing is being done for the screen than ever before. Would you like to get a successful professional’s tips and advice about the ins and outs of that market?

If so, be sure to come to our Left Coast Writers Literary Salon on Monday, August 4, 2008, at 7pm in the Gallery at Book Passage in Corte Madera for a dynamic presentation by author/screenwriter RITA LAKIN!

Rita Lakin is a highly successful mystery novelist and an established television writer-producer and playwright. Her comedy mystery series revolves around an eccentric group of old ladies who become the oldest living private eyes in Florida. They include: “Getting Old is Murder,” “Getting Old is the Best Revenge,” “Getting Old is Criminal” and “Getting Old is to Die For.”

Rita’s television credits include: Executive Producer of “Executive Suite,” creator and show-runner/ producer of “Flamingo Road” and “Nightingales.” She also created “The Rookies.” She wrote many MOW’S (Movies of the Week) including “Death Takes a Holiday,” “Summer Without Boys,” “Message to my Daughter” and “A Sensitive Passionate Man.” Her mini-series includes “Strong Medicine” and “Voice of the Heart.”

Her two theatrical plays, “No Language but a Cry” and the musical “Saturday Night at Grossinger’s” (co-written) are still being produced.

Her numerous awards include: WGA, EMMY, MWA (Mystery Writers of America) Edgar Allen Poe award adn teh prestigious Avery Hopwood Award from the University of Michigan.

Lakin has just finished writing the fifth in her mystery series: “Getting Old is a Disaster.”

Literary Salon: Wendy Merrill

Monday, April 7, 2008 7pm
Wendy Merrill, Author of Falling into Manholes

Book Passage || 51 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera
For Info: See Book Passage or 415-927-0960

Meet Wendy Merrill, a quirky, attractive, in-recovery-from…well, you can pretty much name it…who, while seemingly on the quest for her perfect mate, keeps falling into manholes. After losing herself in an endless series of attachments, this serial mater comes to see how her relationships with men are indicative of all her relationships – with alcohol, food, drugs, family, friends, and most of all, herself.

Smart, funny and embarrassingly honest, the tales in Falling Into Manholes recount the common experience of looking for love in all the wrong places, and the not-so-common experience of finding it in yourself – and it feels like talking with your best friend. Wendy represents the bad girl/good girl paradox deep within every woman, and writes what women often think, but don’t have the nerve to say. Her favorite books growing up were Little House on the Prairie and The Happy Hooker, and even then she fantasized about a scenario in which Xaviera Hollander lived happily ever after with Laura, Ma and Pa. Wendy was the tall, scrawny late bloomer on the sidelines of the seventh-grade dance who turned into the sweet-sixteen-never-been-kissed good girl yearning to be bad. PhD’s were the norm in her family, yet she aspired to be comfortable on any barstool in the world. In college, she took a class called “Dating and Marriage” – and got an F. “I always aspired to an A+,” she says. “I just didn’t think it would end up being my bra size.”

With honesty, humor and style, Falling Into Manholes explores the contradictions and imperfections of being a woman, in a book about relationships, addiction, self-esteem (and the lack thereof), and going to any lengths to discover what matters. This menmoir gives the reader what we all need more of: a good laugh, an easy read, and hope.

Wendy owns and runs an advertising agency called WAM Marketing Group and lives above ground and beyond her means in Sausalito.

Literary Salon: Ayelet Waldman

Literary Salon: Scott Rosenberg

Literary Salon: Andy Ross

Literary Salon: Christi Phillips

Literary Salon: April Eberhardt

Literary Salon: David Poindexter

Literary Salon: Camille Cusumano

Literary Salon: Niloufar Talebi

Literary Salon: Rita Lakin

Literary Salon: Wendy Merrill

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