Press Room

Hawaii Book & Music Festival and 5th Annual Mokule’ia Writers Retreat 🗓

Announcements, Events, Press Room, Uncategorized, Workshops and RetreatsNo Comments

Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Hawaii Book & Music Festival: May 6-7, 2017

The Mokulē‘ia Writers Retreat: May 7-12, 2017

Join me this month for two terrific events for writers events in Hawaii.
The Mokulē‘ia Writers Retreat is an annual gathering that brings three dozen writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, and memoir to the North Shore of O‘ahu for a week of intimate workshops and coaching. The retreat is high-level and professional — but also low-key and tuned in to the beauty of the surroundings. It fosters an exchange in two directions — between islanders and mainlanders, published writers and budding writers, Native Hawaiian artistry and mainland publishing.

With the Waianae Mountains as a backdrop and the open ocean in front, participants break bread with colleagues, gather in daily workshops, salute the morning sun in yoga, write privately in the shade of ironwood trees, and wander along the beach. They even dance some hula. The theme, nā wahi ho‘oulu, acknowledges that a sacred spot like this will inspire the assembled to explore other places — whether in the heart, in memory, or in the moment. (more…)

Workshop: Writing Sexy Stuff with Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Laurie McAndish King

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Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Laurie McAndish King

Saturday, January 21st, 2017 || 10am-4pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

If you have trouble steaming up the page or even your life, this is the workshop for you. Spend a day learning the techniques for adding spicy, sensual, and sometimes funny sizzle to your work and your days. The class is full of quick free-writes and entertaining exercises that will have you

moving from comfort to erogenous zones in no time.

A careful investigation will also reveal that you can receive Dominican College credit for this workshop.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, January 21st, from 10am-4pm at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA, 94925. Sign up here.

Poet, travel writer, novelist and Left Coast Writers® founder Linda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) is a contributor to numerous newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She is the author of two poetry collections, past editor of a popular Northern California guidebook and a winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber, was named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public Library. In addition to authoring an award-winning short story collection, The Hand of Buddha, she has co-edited several anthologies, including the Hot Flashes: sexy little stories & poems series. Her latest novel, Dead Love (Stone Bridge Press, 2009), was short-listed as a finalist in the 2007 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Competition and was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel in 2009.

Linda has judged the San Francisco Literary Awards, the Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence and the Kiriyama Prize, served as a visiting mentor for the Loft Mentor Series and been guest faculty at the Oklahoma Arts Institute. A past NEA Panelist and juror for the Marin Literary Arts Council, she has led workshops in Greece, France, Italy, Ireland, Central America, Indonesia and the United States and has mentored a long list of accomplished writers and best-selling authors toward publication.

Laurie McAndish King grew up in rural Iowa, studied science and philosophy at Cornell College, and has (more…)

Anne Sigmon’s story “Moorstones” will be Editors’ Choice on Travelers’ Tales

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Anne Sigmon

Anne Sigmon’s story, “Moorstones,” will appear as the Editors’ Choice Monday, December 12th, on TravelersTales.com and will be the feature story on BestTravelWriting.com. The story was first published in the Wanderland Writers anthology, Wandering in Cornwall: Mystery, Mirth and Transformation in the Land of Ancient Celts. In addition, Anne has stories in the upcoming anthology Wandering in Andalusia: The Soul of Southern Spain, to be published November 1st, 2016. wandering-in-cornwall wanderinginandalusiacover_s

Small Business Saturday with Left Coast Writers 🗓

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Saturday, November 26th, 2016
Small Business Saturday: Meet the Authors from Left Coast Writers®

Small Business Saturday has been gaining momentum each year to the point where it has now become the day for customers to discover the independent merchants in their community. (Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday; they are so over!). This year, we decided to celebrate the day by introducing authors from one of our favorite writing communities, Left Coast Writers®. These are authors who, for the most part, have written and celebrated their work through programs at Book Passage and have learned the ins and outs of being a small business with the help of this bookstore.

Meet these creative writers and find out more about Left Coast Writers®, Path to Publishing and books in general. We’ll have representatives from our programs available to answer your questions and authors on hand to entertain you.

10:00 – 12:00:

Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Dead Love

Left Coast Writers® Founder Linda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) is the editor and author of award winning poetry, travel essays and fiction (Namako, The Hand of Buddha, and Dead Love).

Joanna Biggar

Joanna Biggar, That Paris Year

Joanna Biggar is a writer, teacher and traveler whose articles and essays have appeared in hundreds of publications. She is also a poet and novelist and the co-founder and editor of Wanderland Writers.

(more…)

James A. Jacobs Author Talk at San Geronimo Valley Community Center

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James A. Jacobs will be giving an Author Talk Sunday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. at San Geronimo Valley Community Center regarding his recent historical thriller Days of the Dead. Set in Mexico 1968, the year of the Olympics but also the first and worst government massacre of activist students and their supporters — men, women and children: The Tlatelolco Massacre. Focus will be on elements of memoir (James worked for U.P.I. during that time and witnessed many of the events portrayed in the novel) and themes of ecumenism and diversity, especially as it relates to the main character, Daniel Mendoza, a 28-year-old American journalist who tries, unsuccessfully, to intervene between government forces and activist students intent on shutting down the Olympics as well as reforming government.

While the historical backdrop is the Tlatelolco Massacre, the novel also focuses on Daniel Mendoza’s search for his wife, 8-year-old daughter, and activist nursing student friend who were disappeared after the massacre. A (more…)

Dick Jordan Stars in “The White Bag”!

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Dick Jordan

After joining other travel writers on Saturday, October 8th, to read travel stories at Rebound Bookstore during the Litquake San Rafael event (https://litquakesanrafael2016.sched.org/event/7oyK/characters-i-have-met-on-the-road), LCW member Dick Jordan will head to Benicia to see his short spy spoof film, “The White Bag” (Trailer:https://vimeo.com/131799226), screen at 2 p.m. at the North Bay Art and Film Festival. “”The White Bag” came out of a class project at the Community Media Center of Marin (cmcm.tv) and aired last year on MarinTV. Dick plays himself as the “Ace of Spies” tasked with (more…)

Upcoming Events for John Hewitt’s new book, Reptile Vines

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Here are some upcoming events for John Hewitt’s new book Reptile Vines:

reptile-wines October 1, 2016 – Sat – 12–2:00pm – Napa Book Mine – Oxbow Market, 610 First Street, Napa, CA

October 8, 2016 – Sat – 10:00am–7:00pm – LitQuake 4th Street – San Rafael, CA

October 12, 2016 – Wed – 11:00am–1:00pm – Copperfield’s Books, 850 4th Street – San Rafael, CA

October 22, 2016 – Sat – 12-1:00pm – Depot Bookstore, 87 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA

October 29, 2016 – Sat – 1-2:30pm – Cooperfield’s Books, 3740 Bel Aire Plaza, Napa, CA

November 6, 2016 – Sat – 12-2:00pm – Cooperfield’s Books, 138 North Main, Sebastopol, CA

February 13, 2017 – Mon – 6-7:30pm –Book Passage Bookstore – SF Ferry Building, CA

John Hewitt’s newest novel Reptile Wines opens with a zinger—the race-is-on (more…)

Fall News from Rita Gardner

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October 8th is Indie Author Day! Rita will be participating from 1:00—5:00pm at the Berkeley Public Library (2090 Kittridge) along with other local authors and publishers. Indie Author Day is celebrated across North America in recognition of indie writers and presses. For more information, you can visit this link:https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/events/indie-author-day-central.

October 15th is LitCrawl, the festive finale of events for Litquake 2016. Rita will be joining seven other authors from She Writes Press (SWP) as they read from their books during the Phase I slot. You’ll find them from 6:00—7:00pm at (more…)

Left Coast Writers at Litquake San Rafael 2016 🗓

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Litquake badge Saturday October 8, 2016 1:45pm – 2:45pm
In Her Shoes 1344 4th Street
San Rafael, CA 94901

SF/Bay Area Lit lovers: Left Coast Writers will be part of the LITCRAWL in San Rafael on Saturday, at In Her Shoes on 4th Street. Please join LCW founder Linda Watanabe McFerrin, as moderator, and a great group of Left Coast Writers for Writing on the Edge. Tell your friends and come early!

Readings from the best of Left Coast Writers: Writing on the Edge with Todd Crawshaw, Laurie McAndish King, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, MJ Pramik, and Jonathan Taylor.

San Francisco’s literary legacy has always held a strong North Bay connection, dating back to the Beats, Jack London, and Mark Twain. Litquake San Rafael returns to the downtown 4th Street corridor of cafés, restaurants, and shops, featuring Bay Area writers in this day-long series of free readings and open-mic events. FREE

Click here for the complete schedule.

From the Press Room: Barbara Falconer Newhall

Member News, Press Room, Recognition

Barbara Falconer Newhall’s book Wrestling With God has recently won several accolades. If you haven’t already, check out her now award-winning book!

A first prize gold IPPY in the Religion Eastern-Western category from the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Also a finalist place in three other contests: Foreword Review’s INDIEFAB contest, the American Book Awards, and the Eric Hoffer Book Awards.

“Wrestling with God” also received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-939221-25-4

Congrats, Barbara!

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