Salons - Left Coast Writers

Literary Salon: Mary Jo McConahay, Author of The Tango War in conversation with Andy Ross 🗓

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Mary Jo McConahay, Author of The Tango War in Conversation with Agent Andy Ross

Monday, October 1, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

Journalism and journalists continue to be blasted by our current national administration and have never been more important. The same thing goes for professional women in general.

In this context, we feel especially honored to be able to celebrate the work of award-winning journalist Mary Jo McConahay and delighted to share an evening with her.

An LCW member for years, Mary Jo will discuss her work with her agent, Andy Ross, and tell us about her latest book, The Tango War and answer questions about this recent publication and her profession. Hers is the kind of reportage we need. Come and help us make this a truly welcoming and highly informative evening.

The Tango War by Mary Jo McConahay fills an important gap in WWII history. Beginning in the thirties, both sides were well aware of the need to control not just the hearts and minds but also the resources of Latin America. The fight was often dirty: residents were captured to exchange for U.S. prisoners of war and rival spy networks shadowed each other across the continent. At all times it was a Tango War, in which each side closely shadowed the other’s steps.

Though the Allies triumphed, at the war’s inception it looked like the Axis would win. A flow of raw materials in the Southern Hemisphere, at a high cost in lives, was key to ensuring Allied victory, as were military bases supporting the North African campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic and the invasion of Sicily, and fending off attacks on the Panama Canal. Allies secured loyalty through espionage and diplomacy—including help from (more…)

Literary Salon: Your Path to Publishing 🗓 🗺

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Your Path to Publishing with Laurie McAndish King, Jim Shubin and Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Tuesday, September 4th, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

Writers, published and otherwise, the mysteries of successful publishing will be revealed on this September night at our next Left Coast Writers Literary Salon. Please note that we will be meeting TUESDAY, September 4th! Mark your calendars and settle in to find out how to avoid becoming one of self-publishing’s epic fails.

We will cover the following:

Understanding the process: Which indie publishing model is the best fit for me and my book? What costs are involved? Do I need an editor? Do I also need a proofreader? How does print-on-demand work? How many books will I sell, and how long does it take?
Planning and getting organized: Understanding how long each step takes (editing, design, production, marketing). Building your list, planning ahead for marketing (short vs long lead time activities), using an ARC, submitting your manuscript for reviews/awards, pricing your book properly.
Marketing: Defining your goals, developing a marketing plan, building your platform, understanding your audience, developing a relationship with your readers, setting up your online presence, optimizing your website, mastering social media.

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Literary Salon: Larry Habegger 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Larry Habegger, Executive Editor and Publisher, Travelers’ Tales

Larry Habegger

Monday, August 6th, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

Our Salon Speaker for Monday, August 6th is Larry Habegger, Executive Editor and Publisher, Travelers’ Tales. Larry will be talking about his experience as a writer, editor and publisher and giving advice to folks in the travel and fiction categories. What some might not know is that Larry, along with James O’Reilly, wrote a serialized novel for the San Francisco Examiner some years back and that it’s going to be making a comeback in book form.

Larry is a writer and editor who has been covering the world since his international travels began in the 1970s. As a freelance writer for more than three decades, his work has appeared in many major newspapers and magazines, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Travel & Leisure, and Outside. (more…)

Literary Salon: Storytelling Workshop with Paul McHugh 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Storytelling Workshop with Paul McHugh

Paul McHugh

Monday, July 2nd, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

Don’t miss the July salon. We have a special treat for all the members!

Paul McHugh, long-time journalist, novelist, raconteur and author of The Blind Pool, will present his tip-top top tips for bringing plots to life via dynamic character development. He teaches how a storytelling toolkit can operate across all genres, using fiction techniques to improve narrative journalism, and using reportorial skills to enhance fiction.
A vivid character who has to confront a life-changing choice is an essential formula for a vibrant and meaningful story. McHugh will illustrate this rule with examples and a reading from his new political thriller, The Blind Pool.

Paul McHugh‘s byline is well-known to many readers in the Bay Area and Northern California. A major factor of McHugh’s writing career was 22 years as an award-winning feature writer and editor of the Outdoors Section of the San Francisco Chronicle (1985-2007). Deadlines, Paul McHugh’s first crime novel (2010), won the best mystery prize from National Indie Excellence Awards, and another from the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association. The Blind Pool—his new political thriller—draws from his years as an investigative journalist and writer for the Chronicle and other major U.S. newspapers.

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Literary Salon: Non-Fiction Panel with Mikkel Aaland, Joanna Biggar, Joan Steidinger and Linda Watanabe McFerrin 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Non-Fiction Panel with Mikkel Aaland, Joanna Biggar, Joan Steidinger and Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Moderator)

Monday, June 4th, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

The fascinating and intriguing Non-Fiction Panel will be discussing the current state of the art at Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe in Corte Madera, California on Monday, June 4th, 2018.
We’re hoping we can continue a discussion that began at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, here on the mainland.
Panelists include Mikkel Aaland, Joanna Biggar and Joan Steidinger. Linda Watanabe McFerrin will moderate and plans to address some of the most interesting points of discussion from the Hawaii panel. The writers will be talking about the anxiety riddled membrane that separates fiction and non-fiction, journalism and memoir, truth and lies. So join us! It’s going to be an enlightening evening.

Mikkel Aaland is a photographer and bestselling author of 12 bestselling books on digital photography. His (more…)

Literary Salon: In Conversation: Laurie McAndish King and Bradley Charbonneau 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Bradley Charbonneau, Author of Every Single Day and Laurie McAndish King … in Conversation

Bradley Charbonneau

Monday, May 7th, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

Writing habits that really work, boosting visibility through a mailing list and and Advance Reader Team, long-term strategies for writing a series of books—we are delighted to feature one of two of our favorite writers, Laurie McAndish King and Bradley Charbonneau, who is visiting from the Netherlands, in a literary conversation.

Bradley Charbonneau has written for numerous magazines and anthologies and his “Urban Travel Guide San Francisco” is a hip guidebook full of insider tips. He’s been around the world and around the block—always on the lookout for a unique angle for an article. His work has appeared in national magazines such as Writer’s Digest, travel writing anthologies like Travelers’ Tales, and also in that off-the-beaten path market such as Going Places (the in-flight magazine for Malaysia Airlines).

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Literary Salon: Bill Petrocelli 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Bill Petrocelli, Co-owner of Book Passage and Author of Through the Bookstore Window

Bill Petrocelli

Monday, April 2nd, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

A rare treat: Join in for an evening with our favorite bookseller and one of the key sponsor of our Left Coast Writers Literary Salons and Events. That’s right; Book Passage co-owner Bill Petrocelli has a new novel out.

“I don’t know if I sought out bookselling, or whether bookselling sought me out. But when you are hiding from a past that can blow up in your face at any minute, immersing yourself in the stories of others may be a good place to hide.”

Bill’s new book is about a bookseller, of course!

Gina Perini manages a bookstore in one of San Francisco’s most lively neighborhoods. Although she thrives in her world of books, her harrowing escape from the war in the Balkans years earlier remains fresh in her mind. There are still those who are searching for her and who are intent on vengeance. Gina suddenly gets news that someone from her past is still alive–someone she had given up hope of finding. This sets in motion a chain of events that will stretch across the country and push her love and resourcefulness to the limit. (more…)

Literary Salon: Jasmin Darznik 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Jasmin Darznik, Author of Song of a Captive Bird and The Good Daughter

Jasmin Darznik

Monday, March 5th, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
www.bookpassage.com

Do not miss this event. Jasmin Darznik is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life.

Her new novel Song of a Captive Bird is a fictional account of Iran’s trailblazing woman poet, Forugh Farrokhzad. Jasmin was born in Tehran, Iran and came to America when she was five years old. She holds an MFA in fiction from Bennington College and a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University. Now a professor of English and creative writing at California College of the Arts, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. (more…)

Literary Salon: Chinese New Year Celebration with Author Rosemary Gong 🗓 🗺

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: Chinese NewYear’s Celebration with Rosemary Gong, Author of Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture

Rosemary Gong

Monday, February 5th, 2018 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Help us celebrate Chinese New Year 2018 and the incredible cornucopia of cultures that we enjoy as citizens of this country with bestselling author, Rosemary Gong. Let’s ring in the New Year with a nod to the diversity that makes the Left Coast magical.

Rosemary is an expert on the joy of researching, writing about and sharing your personal and cultural heritage with others. Her book, Good Luck Life, is packed with historical facts, legends, foods, old village recipes, and quick planning tools for celebrating Chinese festivals and life’s special milestones with wit, warmth and considerable flair. Whatever you are writing—fiction, memoir, history, travel, self-help or more—we know you will come away (more…)

Literary Salon: New Year’s Celebration with Matthew Felix 🗓

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LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON: New Year’s Celebration with Matthew Felix, Author of A Voice Beyond Reason

Matthew Felix

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2017 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera || 51 Tamal Vista Dr.
Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com

Join us on Tuesday January 2nd at 7:00pm at Book Passage Corte Madera for the annual LCW Literary Salon New Year’s Celebration featuring Writer/Performer Matthew Felix. Please Note: Book Passage will be closed on Monday January 1st, 2018. Our Salon will be on Tuesday night!

We’ll be in a party frame of mind, serving wine, great writing and writing information, and a peek at what’s up for 2018.

Looking forward to seeing you there, Tuesday Eve. (more…)

Literary Salon: Mary Jo McConahay, Author of The Tango War in conversation with Andy Ross 🗓

Literary Salon: Your Path to Publishing 🗓 🗺

Literary Salon: Larry Habegger 🗓

Literary Salon: Storytelling Workshop with Paul McHugh 🗓

Literary Salon: Non-Fiction Panel with Mikkel Aaland, Joanna Biggar, Joan Steidinger and Linda Watanabe McFerrin 🗓

Literary Salon: In Conversation: Laurie McAndish King and Bradley Charbonneau 🗓

Literary Salon: Bill Petrocelli 🗓

Literary Salon: Jasmin Darznik 🗓

Literary Salon: Chinese New Year Celebration with Author Rosemary Gong 🗓 🗺

Literary Salon: New Year’s Celebration with Matthew Felix 🗓

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