Literary Salon: Linda Joy Myers

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Linda Joy Myers, Author of Memoir–How to Write Your Healing Story, Founder and President of National Association of Memoir Writers

Linda Joy Myers
Linda Joy Myers

Monday, July 7th, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., MFT, is the President and Founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers. Linda is the author of The Power of Memoir–How to Write Your Healing Story, and a workbook Journey of Memoir–The Three Stages of Memoir Writing. Her passion for memoir writing began many years ago–she likes to talk about the stories her great-grandmother Blanche told her as they shared a featherbed in Iowa when she was 8 years old, the seeds of Linda as storyteller and memoir writer.  She’ll be sharing the story of her literary journey as well as tips on writing a fascinating memoir.

Linda Joy has been a therapist in Berkeley, California for over thirty years, following her belief that deep patterns can be healed and changed. She learned about changing these patterns through her own inner work and writing her memoir Don’t Call Me Mother: A Daughter’s Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness, which received the Gold Medal (more…)

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LIterary Salon: Margery Buchanan, Ingram Publisher Services

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Margery Buchanan

Margery Buchanan
Margery Buchanan

Monday, June 2nd, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Writers, one of the keys to successful publication of literary works is distribution, and in the world of books that responsibility rests in the hands of important and little understood organizations. One of these is Ingram, the nationwide distributor.
We are pleased to invite you to an evening focused on distribution, then and now, with Margery Buchanan, who will share the ins and outs of book distributions as well as her work on Ingram’s new and groundbreaking independent distribution program, Ingram Spark.
It’s bound to be an enlightening evening and one you won’t want to miss!
Margery Buchanan has worked in the publishing industry for over 25 years in the Bay Area. She was with HarperCollins for 17 years. With (more…)
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Literary Salon: Kristin Elizabeth Clark

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Kristin Elizabeth Clark, author of Freakboy

Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Monday, May 5th, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

This month’s literary salon speaker will be Kristin Elizabeth Clark, author of Freakboy.  She will discuss her writing experience, the creation of Freakboy and the kids/young adult market as a whole.

A short synopsis of Freakboy:

“From the outside, Brendan Chase seems to have it pretty easy. He’s a star wrestler, a video game aficionado, and a loving boyfriend to his seemingly perfect match, Vanessa. But on the inside, Brendan struggles to understand why his body feels so wrong—why he sometimes fantasizes having long hair, soft skin, and gentle curves. Is there even a name for guys like him? Guys who sometimes want to be girls? Or is Brendan just a freak?

In Freakboy‘s razor-sharp verse, Kristin Clark folds three narratives into one powerful story: Brendan trying to understand his sexual identity, Vanessa fighting to keep her and Brendan’s relationship alive, and Angel struggling to confront her demons.”
“A sincere, profound rendering of sexuality, queerness, and identity.” 
—The Horn Book
Kristin Elizabeth Clark always knew she wanted to be a writer. She began dabbling in haiku in the third grade – this “experimentation” (more…)
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Literary Salon: Mark Shaw

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Mark Shaw, Lawyer for the Arts and author of The Poison Patriarch and many other books

Mark Shaw

Monday, April 7th, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

You have seen Mark Shaw before, as a fellow Left Coast Writer® and as November’s Book Party at the Ferry Plaza, but not all will know that he is also an accomplished entertainment lawyer. Mark will be sharing his thoughts on “Writers and the Law: Everything You Need to Know that Nobody Told You.”

Located in Burlingame, and a California attorney for 30+ years, Mark Shaw‘s publishing experience as the author of 20+ books sets him apart from other entertainment lawyers. He represents writers whether they are aspiring authors, published authors, or those specializing in other aspects of the literary world. (more…)

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Literary Salon: Brenda Knight

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Brenda Knight, Publisher for Viva Editions, Cleis Press and Author of Women of the Beat Generation

Brenda Knight

Monday, March 3rd, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Our March salon speaker is Brenda Knight. Brenda is is a twenty-two-year publishing veteran, starting at HarperCollins, where she fell in love with publishing and had the thrill of working with major authors like Huston Smith, Paolo Coehlo, and Melody Beatti, whose Co-Dependent No More sold so well that she was able to talk her way into a job at HarperCollins.

From there, Knight went to Conari Press and helped build the Random Acts of Kindness phenomenon and added editing and acquisition to her skill set. She acquired books from Congresswoman Jacky Speier and Phil Cousineau. One of the highlights of the Conari experience for Knight was helping (more…)

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Literary Salon: Don George

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Don George, author of Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing, editor of
Better than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers, and more!

Don George

Monday, February 3rd, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

This month our speaker is noted travel writer and editor Don George, who recently released the latest edition of his highly acclaimed Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing. He has also edited several Lonely Planet anthologies.

Don has made his living as a travel writer and editor virtually since college. His first real job was as a travel writer for the San Francisco Examiner. From there he moved on to a short stint as an editor at the Examiner’s Sunday magazine, then he became the travel editor for the Examiner & Chronicle for nine years.

When the allures of cyberspace became irresistible, Don joined Salon.com and founded their (more…)

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Literary Salon: Phil Cousineau

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Phil Cousineau, author, filmmaker and speaker

Phil Cousineau

Monday, January 6, 2014 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

You have a treat in store in January. Author, filmmaker and Renaissance man, Phil Cousineau, opens the year for us at our first salon of 2014 with a look at the creative process and how and why writers write.

In Burning the Midnight Oil, word-wrangler extraordinaire Phil Cousineau has gathered an eclectic and electric collection of soulful poems and prose from great thinkers throughout the ages. Whether beguiling readers with glorious poetry or consoling them with prayers from fellow restless souls, Cousineau can relieve any insomniac’s unease. From St. John of the Cross to Annie Dillard, Beethoven to “The Song of Songs, ” this refreshingly insightful anthology soothes and inspires all who struggle through the dark of the night. The night writers in Cousineau’s vesperal collection range from saints, poets, and shamans to astronomers and naturalists, and tells of ancient tales and shining passages from the most brilliant (albeit insomniac) writers of today. These poetic ponderances sing of the falling darkness, revel in dream-time, convey the ache of melancholy, conspire against sleeplessness, vanquish loneliness, contemplate the night sky, rhapsodize on (more…)

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Literary Salon: Douglas Cruickshank

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Douglas Cruickshank, photographer and author of Somehow: Living on Uganda Time 

Douglas Cruickshank

Monday, December 2nd, 2013 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

This month’s salon speaker is  Douglas Cruickshank, journalist, travel writer, essayist and author of numerous opinion pieces for magazines, newspapers and websites. Doug has worked in radio, television and film-making. He’s been a photographer for more than four decades, a columnist, and an editor for Salon.com. He was also the co-founder and editor of The Fessenden Review, the noisiest book review in the known world. Later, he was features editor for The Readerville Journal and editor of Edutopia.com, the website of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. In 1965, his sheep, Lambchop, was awarded the Grand Champion ribbon at the Alameda County Fair.

What we love about Doug is his devotion to excellence, his interest in community, and his sense of humor. He’ll be sharing his experience in online publication and new publication models, including crowd funding, as well as the work he has done in Africa. His newest book-length work, Somehow: Living on Uganda Time, contains dozens of essays and powerful photographs. The writing ranges (more…)

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Literary Salon: Bill Petrocelli

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Bill Petrocelli, Author of The Circle of Thirteen and Co-Owner of Book Passage

Bill Petrocelli

Monday, November 4th, 2013 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

This month’s speaker will be none other than our favorite bookseller—Book Passage co-owner and debut novelist, Bill Petrocelli. We have Bill and Elaine Petrocelli to thank for a welcoming venue and a keen dedication to books and the people who write them, especially the writers in our community.

Bill’s new novel, The Circle of Thirteen, is set in a future in which a misogynistic terrorist organization called Patria carries out relentless and vicious attacks on women. Standing between Patria and its nefarious agenda is an organization called the Women of Peace, led by thirteen women who strive for (more…)

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Literary Salon: Gary Kamiya

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Gary Kamiya, Co-Founder of Salon.com and Author of Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco

Gary Kamiya

Monday, October 7th, 2013 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Prepare to be edified, amazed and entertained!!

Whether you be interested in writing for or editing magazines, newspapers, online publications, or even starting your own publications, Gary Kamiya has done it all and is here to talk about it, along with his new critically acclaimed book about San Francisco, Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco. Poetic, dramatic and informative …we guarantee, the writing (and Gary) will blow you away.

Before co-founding Salon.com, Gary Kamiya was at the San Francisco Examiner for five years, where he worked with David (more…)

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