Announcements - Left Coast Writers

Workshop: Expanding Travel Writing to Fiction with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Expanding Travel Writing to Fiction Workshop
with Linda Watanabe McFerrin
Saturday, February 7th, 2015, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, CA 94925
$140 (includes copy of Dead Love)

Register here

You love writing beautifully about place, but as markets shrink, you might want to stretch your horizons. The great news is that, in an age where navigating the globe has never been more important, fabulous settings—along with super dialog—have become one of the keys to the best fiction, both speculative and reality-based. So leap into this bold new travel writing terrain.

Join award-winning travel writer and novelist, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, in a workshop designed to show you how to take your writing about place to a whole new dimension that is out of this world. Exciting info on craft, exercises, and work on your individual projects are all part of this day-long adventure.

Students will receive a complimentary copy of Dead Love (with slipcover) on the day of class.

Poet, travel writer, and novelist Linda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) is a contributor to numerous newspapers, magazines and anthologies. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber, was named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public Library. In addition to (more…)

Reminder: Limited Availability – Workshop: Southern Sampler Artists Colony

Charleston, South Carolina. April 15-22, 2015
Southern Sampler Artists’ Colony: Words and Rhythm – High Notes in the Lowcountry

Write . . . Embrace Music . . . Create Art . . . Relish Culinary Delights . . . Set your Pace to a Southern beat while Celebrating the Charleston New Renaissance.

Be Inspired
• Writing workshops taught by award-winning author, LINDA WATANABE MCFERRIN, as well as individual consults on your literary and creative projects and an opportunity to contribute to the next SOUTHERN SAMPLER anthology.
• HARLAN GREENE, author and historian extraordinaire at the College of Charleston, introduces the Charleston Renaissance. Discover how Charleston “reinvented” itself in the 1920’s.
• Swing low at THE MEZZ: A lunch and special jazz concert with THE CHARLESTON JAZZ INITIATIVE, QUENTIN BAXTER and his quintet.
• Share perspectives with MARY EDNA FRASER, internationally renowned aerial photographer and batik artist. See Mary Edna’s exhibit at City Gallery and create a collective art project at her studio. Music by the Lime and the Coconuts is guaranteed to provide a glorious toe-tapping finale.
• THE GULLAH LADY, aka Sharon Cooper-Murray, and Captain Anton will take you to sea and present a new twist on a Tidal Adventure. Prepare to be surprised!
• Take a Literary Walking Tour through historic Charleston with HARLAN GREENE. Discover where legendary writers, such as DuBose Heyward, lived and worked, catch a Lowcountry creative breeze, and celebrate stories embellished in time.
• Music Café Evening: A potluck of food, wine, friends and, of course, music in the lovely historic home of Charleston friends. Wether you’re dancing the shag or the Charleston that night or simply soaking up the musical vibes, it’ll be a celebration of notes and rhythm like no other.
• Farm to Plate Supper: Be prepared for a gastronomical adventure hosted by renowned chef and chocolatier, DAVID VAGASKY, and popular (more…)

Workshop: Writing Sexy Stuff with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

WRITING SEXY STUFF
with Linda Watanabe McFerrin
Saturday, January 24th, 2015, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, CA 94925
$120

Register here

Does having to write sexy stuff make you a little nervous? It’s time to overcome your trepidation. If you have trouble steaming up the page, this is the workshop for you.

Spend a day with poet, travel writer and novelist Linda Watanabe McFerrin loosening up and learning the techniques for adding spicy, sensual, and sometimes hilarious sizzle to your work. Whether you write commercial or literary fiction, poetry, screenplays, plays, creative nonfiction or even journalism, there are times when you want to be able to subtly articulate the sensual/sexual realm of experience with greater finesse, humor and originality. The class is full of quick free-writes and entertaining exercises that will have you moving from comfort zones to erogenous zones in no time.

Award-winning poet, travel writer, and novelist, Linda Watanabe McFerrin has also served as the editor for eight literary anthologies and a California guidebook. Linda has judged the San Francisco Literary Awards, the Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence and the Kiriyama (more…)

Ethical Traveler’s Biggest Annual Event

The Ten Best Ethical Destinations Awards

Monday, December 8, 2014

Jeff Greenwald, Executive Director, Ethical Traveler

Malia Everette, Founder, Altruvistas

We’re big fans of the emphasis that Ethical Traveler places on responsible tourism.

One of the best things mindful travelers can do is spend their tourist dollars in countries that uphold core values like human rights, civil society and environmental protection. Every December, Bay Area-based Ethical Traveler (a project of the Earth Island Institute) lists “The World’s Best Ethical Destinations.” The independent non-profit honors 10 countries – all in the developing world – that are protecting their environments and promoting a socially just, sustainable tourism economy. Join the architects of this list, and representatives from the award-winning countries, for a (more…)

Workshop: Location, Location, Location with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Location, Location, Location Workshop
with Linda Watanabe McFerrin
Saturday, December 6, 2014, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, CA 94925
$120

Register here

All the world is a stage, and so is the narrative that frames your characters. Whether it’s poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction, a well-conveyed sense of place is key. Jump on a magic carpet to other places and times in this one-day workshop.

Poet, travel writer, and novelist 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 Californiaguidebook 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 (more…)

Left Coast Writers® Christmas List

Hey guys,

I just put together a Christmas list of books authored or edited by current Left Coast Writers® members. I thought you might like to have it as you consider gifts for friends and family.

Happy Holidays,
Jack Betterly-Kohn
Left Coast Writers® Administrator

Left Coast Writers® Christmas List

Books by Left Coast Writers®

Amundsen, Adrienne Reclaiming the Apple: Poems from Afghanistan
Cassandras Falling
Ashdown, Lynne One American Woman Fifty Italian Men: A Journey of Cycling, Love, and Will
Biggar, Joanna That Paris Year
Wandering in Costa Rica: Landscapes Lost and Found

Wandering in Bali: A Tropical Paradise Discovered

Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light
Black, Marsha The Accidental Photographer (more…)

Workshop: Making a Scene with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Making a Scene Workshop
with Linda Watanabe McFerrin
Saturday, November 22nd, 2014, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, CA 94925
$120

Register here

In this one-day workshop, you’ll learn to balance setting, character, and dialogue to create stellar scenes. Some of the exercises have given birth to award-winning work by past participants. Bring your laptop and/or paper and pen and discover how a good writer takes center stage on the page and holds it.

Poet, travel writer, and novelist 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 Californiaguidebook 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 (more…)

Workshop: Southern Sampler Artists Colony, Words and Rhythm

Charleston, South Carolina. April 15-22, 2015

Southern Sampler Artists’ Colony: Words and Rhythm – High Notes in the Lowcountry

Write . . . Embrace Music . . . Create Art . . . Relish Culinary Delights . . . Set your Pace to a Gullah Geechee Beat while Celebrating the Charleston New Renaissance.

Be Inspired
• Writing workshops taught by award-winning author, LINDA WATANABE MCFERRIN, as well as individual consults on your literary and creative projects and an opportunity to contribute to the next SOUTHERN SAMPLER anthology.
• HARLAN GREENE, author and historian extraordinaire, introduces the Charleston Renaissance. Discover how Charleston “reinvented” itself in the 1920’s.
• Swing low at THE MEZZ: A lunch and jazz concert with THE CHARLESTON JAZZ INITIATIVE, QUENTIN BAXTER and his quintet.
• Share perspectives with MARY EDNA FRASER, internationally renowned aerial photographer and batik artist. See Mary Edna’s exhibit at City Gallery and create a collective art project at her studio. Music by the Lime and the Coconuts is guaranteed to provide a glorious toe-tapping nale.
• THE GULLAH LADY, aka Sharon Cooper-Murray, and Captain Anton present a new twist on a Tidal Adventure. Prepare to be surprised!
• A Literary Walking Tour through historic Charleston, led by HARLAN GREENE. Discover where legendary writers, such as DuBose Heyward, lived and worked, catch a Lowcountry creative breeze, and celebrate stories embellished in time.
• Music Café Evening: A potluck of food, wine, friends and, of course, music in the lovely historic home of Charleston friends. It’ll be a celebration of notes and rhythm like no other.
• Farm to Plate Supper: A gastronomical adventure hosted by renowned chef and chocolatier, DAVID VAGASKY, and horticulturist, JIM MARTIN. (more…)

Workshop: Poetry: The Long & Short of It with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

POETRY: The Long & Short of It
with Linda Watanabe McFerrin
Saturday, July 19th, 2014, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, CA 94925
$105

Register here

Ever wondered where the poetry is today? We’ve never needed it more. Join poet, travel writer and novelist, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, for a look at how to push the envelope and integrate poetry into our lives and work. You’ll spend a day filled with terrific poetic prompts. Come prepared to write and read your work..

Poet, travel writer, and novelist 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 (more…)

Wandering in Paris Wins Again, in Paris!

Congratulations to the writers, editors, designer, and printer of Wandering in Paris for doing a beautiful job! The anthology has won another award; this time at the 2014 Paris Book Festival.

Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light, edited by Bay Area poet, novelist and travel writer, Linda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) and Bay Area author and journalist, Joanna Biggar (www.joannabiggar.org), won an honorable mention in the anthologies and collections category.

The anthology includes a foreword by noted Paris-based author and travel writer David Downie and the work of talented Bay Area writers. It is the third in a series from the Wanderland Writers workshops (www.wanderlandwriters.com), which have also produced collections of essays on Costa Rica and Bali. Writers in this anthology include: Unity Barry, Daphne Beyers, Sandra Bracken, Mary Brent Cantarutti, Antoinette Constable, Kitty Hughes, Laurie McAndish King, Ethel Mussen, Catherine Pyke, Cindy Rasicot, and Anne Sigmon. Cover and interior page design were done by Jim Shubin, the Book Alchemist, production by Proforma Mactec Solutions.

Phil Cousineau, author of The Art of Pilgrimage and The Book of Roads, has this to say about the anthology: (more…)

Workshop: Expanding Travel Writing to Fiction with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Reminder: Limited Availability – Workshop: Southern Sampler Artists Colony

Workshop: Writing Sexy Stuff with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Ethical Traveler’s Biggest Annual Event

Workshop: Location, Location, Location with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Left Coast Writers® Christmas List

Workshop: Making a Scene with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Workshop: Southern Sampler Artists Colony, Words and Rhythm

Workshop: Poetry: The Long & Short of It with Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Wandering in Paris Wins Again, in Paris!

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