BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//San Diego Writers Festival - ECPv6.16.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:San Diego Writers Festival X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for San Diego Writers Festival REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20210314T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20211107T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20220313T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20221106T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20230312T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20231105T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20240310T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20241103T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20250309T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20251102T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20260308T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20261101T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251114T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251114T210000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20251016T180053Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251016T180613Z UID:272555-1763146800-1763154000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:11th Annual Memoir Showcase DESCRIPTION:Save the date: \nThe 11th Annual Memoir Showcase theatrical performance \n7 p.m. on Friday\, November 14\,\nDavid & Dorothea Garfield Theatre in UTC. \nGET TICKETS  URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/11th-annual-memoir-showcase/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-16-at-10.45.56-AM.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251010T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251010T100000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20250924T163119Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250924T163434Z UID:272527-1760086800-1760090400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:San Miguel Writers Conference: How To Unblock and Become a Creative Force of Nature with Marni Freedman (virtual) DESCRIPTION:Join acclaimed writer\, teacher\, and therapist Marni Freedman\, a member of our 2026 Conference faculty\, for a 5-week online course inspired by her upcoming Hay House book\, Artistic Badassery: How to Unblock and Become a Creative Force of Nature. \nUnlock Your Writing Creativity Before the San Miguel Writers’ Conference! \nJoin acclaimed writer\, teacher\, and therapist Marni Freedman\, a member of our 2026 Conference faculty\, for a 5-week online course inspired by her upcoming Hay House book\, “Artistic Badassery: How to Unblock and Become a Creative Force of Nature.“ \nThrough lively discussions\, neuroscience-based tools\, and fun exercises\, Marni will help you quiet your inner critic\, unlock your creative flow\, and write with confidence. You’ll learn to: \n\nStep into the Three Mindful Creative States—Allow\, Trust\, and Play—to deepen and enliven your writing practice\nRecognize and silence The Five Faces of the Inner Critic\nUncover your Creative Flow Style for writing that feels effortless\nShape-shift to move past writer’s blocks and stuck spots\nConnect with your Creative Guides to inspire your storytelling\nLearn evidence-based writing practices that will continuously spark the unstoppable force behind your writing\n\nIgnite your creativity and connect with Conference faculty before you even arrive in San Miguel this February! \nCost: $395 \nCourse dates: \nFridays\, October 10 – November 7*\n9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Pacific time / 10:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. San Miguel time \nFriday\, October 10\, 2025\nFriday\, October 17\, 2025\nFriday\, October 24\, 2025\nFriday\, October 31\, 2025\nFriday\, November 7\, 2025 \n*Note: Sessions will be recorded so you can catch up on class if you need to miss one throughout the five-week series.  \n\n\nRegister Here\nAbout Marni Freedman:\nMarni Freedman (BFA\, LMFT) is an award-winning writer and therapist specializing in supporting artists. She began her career with the Disney-produced film\, Playing Mona Lisa. Marni is the Founder and Executive Director of the San Diego Writers Festival and serves as the Programming Director of the International Memoir Writers Association. \nAt the 2026 San Miguel Writers’ Conference\, Marni will be teaching two powerful workshops\, Memoir 101 – How to Write Your Life (on Wednesday\, February 11th) and Writing the Breakthrough Self-Help Book (on Friday\, February 13th). \nLearn more about Marni here. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/san-miguel-writers-conference-how-to-unblock-and-become-a-creative-force-of-nature-with-marni-freedman-virtual/ LOCATION:Virtual ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-24-at-9.24.13-AM.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250920T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250920T170000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20250817T182432Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250817T182502Z UID:272487-1758358800-1758387600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Festival U DESCRIPTION:Welcome to Festival U – SDWF Day Of Online Learning for Writers! Join us for a day filled with insightful workshops and engaging discussions tailored for writers of all levels. Whether you’re a seasoned author or just starting out\, there’s something for everyone at this virtual event. Learn from industry experts\, connect with fellow writers\, and grow your skills in a supportive online environment. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to expand your knowledge and inspireyour creativity. Register now and get ready to take your writing to the next level! \nSee Full Lineup and Register here URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/festival-u-3/ LOCATION:Virtual ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Minimal-Save-The-Date-Adult-Birthday-Party-Instagram-Post.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250709T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250709T200000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20250523T160931Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250523T162337Z UID:272457-1752087600-1752091200@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:"Down to the Bone" Book Release Celebration with Caitlin Rother DESCRIPTION:Please join us Thursday\, July 9 at 7 pm for a lively discussion of New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother’s latest investigative bombshell book\, DOWN TO THE BONE\, about the McStay family murders. The talk at the Coronado Public Library will be followed by a Q&A\, a signing\, and cookies\, where this book\, as well as many of Rother’s back titles\, will be available for purchase.\n\n\n\nNew York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 16 books. Her other recent titles are the updated edition of BODY PARTS\, about serial killer Wayne Adam Ford\, and DEATH ON OCEAN BOULEVARD\, about the mysterious death of Rebecca Zahau. Next up is HOOKED\, the first in Rother’s new “Katrina & Goode” series of thrillers (January 2026/Thomas & Mercer). Formerly an investigative newspaper reporter for 19 years\, Rother has appeared more than 250 times on TV/radio shows and podcasts. In her spare time\, she also works as a writing-research book coach\, plays keyboard and sings in a jazzy bluesy trio\, and swims. \n\n\n\n\n\nCaitlin Rother\nNew York Times bestselling author or co-author of 15 books\, including Down to the Bone; Body Parts; Death on Ocean Boulevard; Naked Addiction; Dead Reckoning; Lost Girls; Hunting Charles Manson; My Life\, Deleted; Secrets\, Lies\, and Shoelaces; Then No One Can Have Her; I’ll Take Care of You; and Poisoned Love. \nFor more info\, go to https://www.caitlinrother.com. \nFollow me on Bookbub: \nhttps://www.bookbub.com/authors/caitlin-rother URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/down-to-the-bone-book-release-celebration/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image001-2.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250405T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250405T170000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240715T195617Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240715T195617Z UID:271515-1743840000-1743872400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:2025 San Diego Writers Festival DESCRIPTION: URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/2025-san-diego-writers-festival/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/APRIL.gif END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250227T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250227T193000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20250116T223457Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250116T231718Z UID:271793-1740679200-1740684600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Author Event: The Adoption Wound - Changing the Narrative: Healing Conversations for Adoptees\, Adopters\, and Birth Parents DESCRIPTION:Join us for a Special Author Event:\nThe Adoption Wound – Changing the Narrative: Healing Conversations for Adoptees\, Adopters\, and Birth Parents a discussion with author and therapist Madeline Falcone LMFT. \nThe Winn Room\nCoronado Public Library\n640 Orange Ave.\nCoronado\, CA \nMadeline Falcone\, LMFT\, is the Founder and Therapeutic Director of Falcone Institure\, a psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational practice based on The Falcone MethodO\, Madeline’s innovative and holistic approach to therapeutic care.\nwww.falconeinstitute.com \n  \n  URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/the-adoption-wound-changing-the-narrative-healing-conversations-for-adoptees-adopters-and-birth-parents/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Adoption-Wound-Flyer-e1737067045580.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250122T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250122T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20241114T172509Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241114T173644Z UID:271753-1737568800-1737568800@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:The Girls of the Glimmer Factory Book Launch at the Coronado Public Library DESCRIPTION:Author Jennifer Coburn – SDWF Instructor in Residence\, launches her latest novel\, The Girls of the Glimmer Factory at the Winn Room at the Coronado Library on January 22nd.\n\nFrom the author of Cradles of the Reich comes a poignant and inspiring tale of resistance\, friendship\, and the dangers of propaganda\, based on the real story of Theresienstadt\, for fans of The Forest of Vanishing Stars and The German Wife. \nHannah longs for the days when she used to be free\, but now\, she is a Jewish prisoner at Theresienstadt\, a model ghetto where the Nazis plan to make a propaganda film to convince the world that the Jewish people are living well in the camps. But Hannah will do anything to show the world the truth. Along with other young resistance members\, they vow to disrupt the filming and derail the increasingly frequent deportations to death camps in the east. \nHilde is a true believer in the Nazi cause\, working in the Reich Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. Though they’re losing the war\, Hilde hasn’t lost faith. She can’t stop the Allied bombings\, but she can help the party create a documentary that will renew confidence in Hitler’s plans for Jewish containment. When the filming of Hitler Gives a City to the Jews faces production problems due to resistance\, Hilde finds herself in a position to finally make a name for herself. And when she recognizes Hannah\, an old childhood friend\, she knows she can use their friendship to get the film back on track. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/the-girls-of-the-glimmer-factory-book-launch-at-the-coronado-public-library/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/the-girls-of-the-glimmer-factory-e1731605099517.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241206T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241206T210000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240923T201614Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241023T233414Z UID:271624-1733511600-1733518800@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:10th Annual Memoir Showcase DESCRIPTION:The10th annual San Diego Memoir Showcase true-life stories based on the 2024 theme “But I Did It Anyway.” t will be performed on stage by professional actors in a live show taking place one night only on Friday\, December 6\, 2024\, at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre in the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center located in La Jolla starting at 7:00 p.m. \nThis year’s winning performed pieces and 20 additional stories will be published in the Showcase Anthology Shaking the Tree: Brazen. Short. Memoir\, Volume VIII. \nGET TICKETS URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/10th-annual-memoir-showcase/ LOCATION:Sample Venue Name\, Sample Venue Address\, Sample Venue City\, CA\, 12345\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Dark-Brown-Classic-Vintage-Book-Club-Logo.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T203000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20241008T214703Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241017T235723Z UID:271637-1730743200-1730752200@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:WOMAN POWERED Book Launch +: Book Fair @ The Mingei DESCRIPTION:San Diego Writers Festival (SDWF) in partnership with the Community Mondays program at the Mingei Museum is proud to present an evening of joyful celebration and inspiration\, honoring the creative contributions of San Diego’s women authors. The event includes the book launch and presentation of POWER POINT by Jane Muschenetz\, SDWF’s 2024 Poetry Collection of the Year Winner\, and a lively book fair featuring the works of local powerhouse women authors and women-powered literary organizations. \nMingei Museum\n1439 El Prado\nSan Diego\, CA 92101 \n\nREGISTER URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/woman-powered-book-launch-book-fair-the-mingei/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/WOMAN-POWERED-5-IG-Promo.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240914T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240914T170000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240506T152047Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240804T005617Z UID:271418-1726308000-1726333200@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Festival U DESCRIPTION:Festival U 2024 – A Fundraiser for SDWF\nOne Day ~ Online ~ 8 Amazing Workshops for only $60\nSpaces are limited\nGet Tickets \nSDWF is Proud to Partner with Zibby’s Bookshop! \n \nSDWF Festival U is our yearly fundraiser and online day of learning. The virtual program runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes 7 stellar classes\, workshops\, and discussions from world-class talent. This year our focus is on PUBLISHING and we are including some pre-recorded bonus material. This fundraiser helps the in-person festival remain 100% free. \nSpeakers for Festival U\n \nAnne Lamott\nAnne Lamott is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Hallelujah Anyway; Help\, Thanks\, Wow; Small Victories; Stitches; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; Bird by Bird; and Operating Instructions. She is also the author of seven novels\, including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame\, she lives in Northern California.\nNeal Allen\nNeal Allen is a writer and spiritual coach. His focus is on removing the obstacles of the ego\, with the faith that whatever shines through the opening is your own personal freedom. A former journalist and corporate executive\, he holds a Master’s degree in Eastern Classics. His book Shapes of Truth was released in 2021. Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic is due out later this year from Namaste Publishing. Anne Lamott is the renowned feminist\, Christian\, lefty author and speaker whose 19 best-sellers include novels\, books on faith\, hope\, and recovery (most recently Dusk Night Dawn)\, the classic on writing Bird by Bird\, and Operating Instructions on Childrearing. Married\, Annie and Neal live in Fairfax\, California. \nAgent Elise Capron\nSession: Ask an Agent Anything! \nAn hour to ask a top agent any question you have about the current state of the publishing industry\, query letters\, what agents are looking for\, how to avoid the slush pile\, best practices when reaching out to an agent\, and more! \nBio: Elise is an agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. In addition to handling her own list\, she oversees the daily operations of the SDLA office. She is most interested in well-written narrative non-fiction (particularly trade-friendly history\, cultural studies\, and science) as well as character-driven literary fiction for the adult market. (Please note that she is handling much more non-fiction than fiction at this particular time.) \nA graduate of Emerson College\, Elise holds a BFA in Writing\, Literature and Publishing. She has been with the Dijkstra Agency since 2003. \nOn the non-fiction front\, Elise is looking for fascinating true stories told in a compelling way. She is especially interested in working with up-and-coming scholars (particularly historians) who are looking to transition from the academic market to a trade readership\, as well as journalists. Some of Elise’s representative non-fiction titles include Cynthia Barnett’s The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans (Norton) and Rain: A Natural and Cultural History (Crown)\, which was long-listed for the National Book Award and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award; Meera Subramanian’s A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis\, from the Barren Cliffs of Rajasthan to the Farmlands of Karnataka (Public Affairs); Luis J. Rodriguez’s From Our Land to Our Land: Essays\, Journeys\, and Imaginings from a Native Xicanx Writer (Seven Stories); Andrew Baker’s To Poison a Nation: The Murder of Robert Charles and the Rise of Jim Crow Policing in America (New Press); Jack Shuler’s This Is Ohio: The Overdose Crisis and the Front Lines of a New America (Counterpoint); Onaje X. O. Woodbine’s Take Back What the Devil Stole: An African American Prophet’s Encounters in the Spirit World (Columbia University Press); Tom Chaffin’s Odyssey: Young Charles Darwin\, The Beagle\, and The Voyage that Changed the World (Pegasus); Jonathon Keats’s You Belong to the Universe: Buckminster Fuller and the Future (Oxford University Press); and more. \nOn the fiction side\, Elise is interested in manuscripts that have unforgettable writing\, a distinctive narrative voice\, and memorable characters. She loves novels with an unusual or eccentric edge and is drawn to stories she has never heard before. She aims to work with writers who are getting their work published regularly in literary magazines and who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience. Some of Elise’s representative fiction titles include Tiphanie Yanique’s Monster in the Middle (Riverhead)\, Land of Love and Drowning (Riverhead) and How to Escape from a Leper Colony (Graywolf); Howard A. Rodman’s The Great Eastern (Melville House); Courtney Brkic’s The First Rule of Swimming (Little\, Brown); Rachel Toor’s On The Road to Find Out (FSG); Jonathon Keats’ The Book of the Unknown (Random House); Rikki Ducornet’s Netsuke (Coffee House Press); Maureen McHugh’s After the Apocalypse (Small Beer Press)\, which was picked as a “Top 10 Best of the Year” by Publishers Weekly\, and more. \nWebsite: https://www.dijkstraagency.com/agent-page.php?agent_id=Capron \nApril Eberhardt\, Agent\, Author Consultant and Retreat Leader in Chateau-du-Loir\, France\nApril Eberhardt is a self-described “literary change agent” and author advocate passionate about helping authors be published in the most satisfying way. After 25 years as a corporate strategist and management consultant\, April joined the literary world\, where she saw strategic opportunity to play a role in the changing world of publishing. She advises and assists authors as they choose the best pathway to publication\, and serves as a consultant to publishing startups serving indie authors. She represents a diverse group of clients in the U.S. and abroad\, and speaks at conferences worldwide. April serves on the Advisory Council for The American Library in Paris\, and is a reader for The Best American Short Stories series published annually by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. April divides her time between San Francisco\, New York and Paris. \nWebsite: https://aprileberhardt.com/ \n  \nNY Times Bestselling Author and Thought Leader\, Chip Conley\nSession: An Hour with NY Times Bestselling Author on his new book\, Learning to Love Midlife. \nFestival Director\, Marni Freedman sits down with Chip Conley to discuss his book\, his career\, and his profound business experiences that opened up a new way of viewing and dynamically living midlife. \nBio: New York Times bestselling author\, multiple-time TED talk speaker and MEA founder. \nA three-time TED speaker on the big stage\, Chip Conley is one of the world’s leading experts at the intersection of business innovation\, psychology and spirituality. As one of the creators of the boutique hotel movement and the ‘modern elder’ to the young Airbnb founders\, Chip’s been a disruptor and expert on entrepreneurship and business leadership. But what sets him apart as a speaker is the fact that he’s written 7 popular book and is a globally recognized thought leader on the future of work\, the value of corporate culture\, and the competitive advantage of a multi-generational workplace. Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring as a ‘modern elder’ at Airbnb\, where his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary transformation from fast-growing start up to the world’s most valuable hospitality brand\, Chip founded MEA (Modern Elder Academny.) The world’s first midlife wisdom school.” Dedicated to reframing the concept of aging\, Chip and MEA support students in navigating midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. \nWebsite: https://chipconley.com/ \nThe midlife crisis is the butt of so many jokes\, but this long-derided life stage has an upside. What if we could reframe our thinking about the natural transition of midlife not as a crisis\, but as a chrysalis-a time when something profound awakens in us\, as we shed our skin\, spread our wings\, and pollinate our wisdom to the world? Drawing on the latest social science research\, inspiring stories\, and timeless wisdom\, Chip reveals 12 reasons why life gets better with age. \nChip Conley Featured on Oprah.com: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/health/a44052600/modern-elder-academy-chip-conley/ \n  \nFamed Psychologist and Author\, Peter A Levine\, Phd\nSession:  Writing about Trauma – A Path to Healing \nFestival Director Marni Freedman sits down with famed psychologist and author Peter A. Levine\, Phd\, for a candid and thoughtful discussion of his latest book\, An Autobiography of a Trauma: A Healing Journey. The discussion will cover his wide-ranging career\, during which he developed Somatic Experiencing\, a therapeutic approach that has transformed modern therapy. \nBio: Peter A Levine\, PhD\, is the renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing\, the founder and faculty of the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education\, and the Founder and Advisor of Somatic Experiencing International. He holds a doctorate in medical and biological physics from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in psychology from International University. The recipient of four lifetime achievement awards\, Peter is the author of several world-renowned books\, including Waking the Tiger\, which has now been printed in 33 countries and has sold over a million copies. \n“The most essential figure in the Somatic Therapy movement”  – The New York Times \n  \n  \nIn The Autobiography of  Trauma\, Peter Levine shares his personal journey to heal his severe childhood trauma\, describing the inner experience of being guided through Somatic Experiencing to untangle his traumatic wounds. He reveals the mysterious and unexpected dreams that have guided him through his life’s work as well as his breakthroughs on the path to create Somatic Experiencing. \n  \n  \n  \nAuthor and Woman Building an Empire\, Zibby Owens \n“NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” — Vulture \nBio: Zibby Owens is the author of Blank: A Novel\, Bookends: A Memoir of Love\, Loss and Literature and children’s book Princess Charming\, and the editor of two anthologies. A frequent contributor to Good Morning America and other outlets\, Zibby has been called “NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” (Vulture). Zibby is the creator and host of the award-winning\, daily podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books\, co-founder and CEO of publishing house Zibby Books\, owner of Zibby’s Bookshop\, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica\, CA\, and creator of “ the Zibby-verse” community of book lovers for which she offers retreats\, classes\, special events\, a book club\, a writing group\, and more under the Zibby Media umbrella. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School\, Zibby currently lives in New York with her four children ages 9 to 16 and her husband Kyle Owens\, co-president and founder of Morning Moon Productions. Follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens and Substack where she tells it like it is. www.zibbyowens.com \nA wife\, mother\, and frustrated writer faces an impossible deadline for turning her life around in a hilarious debut novel about family\, friendship\, success\, and exhilarating self-(re)discovery. \nPippa Jones is a fortyish former literary sensation who fears she will be a one-hit wonder. After the follow-up book she was almost done writing\, Podlusters\, had to be tossed (it ended up sharing a plot and title with superstar author Ella Rankin’s summer blockbuster!)\, she couldn’t write a thing. Months of staring at a blank page made her confidence vanish like a one-night stand. When she finds out that she has only five days left to finish (or rather\, start) or repay an advance she’s already spent\, Pippa has a brilliantly original idea. Okay\, fine\, her twelve-year-old son came up with it as a joke\, but Pippa and her teenage daughter approved. \nPippa’s not only going to make a bold statement\, but she’ll change the book world while she’s at it! Can she pull it off? At this point\, she doesn’t have a choice. \nWhen Pippa’s publisher gets intimately involved\, it unlocks a series of plot twists she never saw coming. From the courtyards of posh Beverly Hills hotels and Malibu mega-mansions to Brentwood and Santa Monica bookstores\, Pippa races against time―in her used Volvo―and discovers more about her career\, marriage\, family\, friends\, and herself than she ever could have dreamed up. \nTupelo Press\nSession: What Every Writer Needs to Know About Small Publishers \n \n  \n  \nThree Successful Small Publishers (Tupelo Press\, Agate Press\, and Ashland Creek Press) Discuss The Publishing Industry\, Common Mistakes Writers Make\, and Insider Tips to Connect with a Stellar Small Publisher \nKristina Marie Darling\, Editor-in-Chief for Tupelo Press and Tupelo Quarterly \nBio: Kristina Marie Darling is the author of over thirty books. An expert consultant with the United States Fulbright Commission\, a twice-awarded Fulbright Scholar\, and a member of the peer review panel for Fulbright grants\, Dr. Darling’s work has also been recognized with three residencies at Yaddo\, where she has held the Martha Walsh Pulver Residency for a Poet and the Howard Moss Residency in Poetry\, a 2024 Villa Lena Foundation Fellowship\, a 2024 Civita Institute Fellowship\, and ten juried residencies at the American Academy in Rome. Currently a faculty member at The Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop\, she has taught at Yale University\, the American University in Rome\, Stanford University\, where she leads a workshop in professional empowerment through their Continuing Studies Division\, the New School\, the University of Cyprus\, San Diego State University\, where she has served as Editor-in-Residence in partnership with Poetry International on three occasions\, and in Cedar Crest College’s Pan-European M.F.A. Program. Dr. Darling currently teaches in the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University and will serve as Visiting Researcher at Universidad Complutense de Madrid for the 2025-2026 academic year. Born and raised in the American Midwest\, she now divides her time between Greece\, Madrid\, and the Amalfi Coast. \nWebsite: https://www.tupelopress.org/tupelo-team/ \nAbout Tupelo Press: Tupelo Press\, Inc.\, which released its first five books in fall 2001\, is an independent\, literary press devoted to discovering and publishing works of poetry\, literary fiction\, and creative nonfiction by emerging and established writers. Tupelo Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit company. What we look for is a blend of urgency of language\, imagination\, distinctiveness\, and craft. What we produce and how we produce it — from design to printing to paper quality — honors the writing in books which boast the uniquely sensual look and feel of a Tupelo Press book. Readers and writers alike have already come to recognize both the aesthetic appeal and unique literary merit of Tupelo publications. No other press in America approaches the production standards of Tupelo Press. Tupelo has quickly established itself as the new standard among independent literary presses. \n \nDoug Seibold\, Founder of Agate Publishing \n \nBio: Doug Seibold has been a writer\, editor\, and publisher for 40 years. In 2002\, he founded Agate Publishing\, based in Evanston\, Illinois. Today\, the company comprises four trade imprints\, an educational content development division\, and a new career development and training program for publishing launched in late 2023. \n  \n  \n  \nWebsite: https://www.agatepublishing.com/ \nAbout Agate Press: Chicago-based indie publisher of food and lifestyle books; leadership and business books; and literature for all ages from African American voices. \nLatest news: Agate Rolls Out Its Publishing Academy \nDoug Seibold\, founder of Evanston\, Ill.–based Agate Publishing\, has begun the official rollout of the Agate Publishing Academy (APA). The goal of APA\, Seibold said\, is to provide an affordable professional development program for those interested in joining the publishing industry\, as well as for publishing professionals looking to improve their understanding of the business. \nAshland Creek Press \n \n Midge Raymond\, Co-Founder\, Author and Editor \nBio: Midge has more than twenty years of experience in writing\, editing\, and publishing. In addition to being a published fiction writer and journalist\, she has worked as an editor and copywriter with several New York publishing houses\, including Penguin and St. Martin’s. \nShe has held classes in writing and publishing at Boston’s Grub Street Writers\, San Diego Writers\, and Seattle’s Richard Hugo House\, and for six years she taught communication writing at Boston University\, where she earned her master’s degree in international communication. An award-winning writer\, she has published dozens of short stories in literary magazines\, including Bellevue Literary Review\, TriQuarterly\, Indiana Review\, North American Review\, Ontario Review\, and the Los Angeles Times magazine\, and has written articles about the art and craft of writing for such publications as Poets & Writers magazine and The Writer. \nAbout:  Ashland Creek Press is a boutique publisher dedicated to publishing books with a world view. We’re passionate about the environment\, animal protection\, ecology\, and wildlife\, and our goal is to publish books that combine these themes with compelling stories. \nOur books have received critical acclaim from Publishers Weekly\, Library Journal\, Booklist\, and Kirkus Reviews\, among others\, and have been recognized by national award juries\, including the Chautauqua Institution and the Lambda Literary Foundation. \nWebsite: https://ashlandcreekpress.com/ \nPraise for Ashland Creek Press \n“In an atmosphere of increasingly dire predictions for the future of the printed book\, Ashland Creek Press\, a small publishing house based in Oregon\, offers a flag not of surrender but of vigorous synergy and growth…The publishers are not only devoted to their authors\, as evidenced by the loving care of editing\, cover design\, and publicity but are equally committed to the happiness of their readers\, providing great works of stunning diversity…to thrill book readers everywhere.” — Huffington Post Books \nAnastasia Zadeik\nSession: Alternative Paths to Publishing with Award-Winning Author\, Anastasia Zadeik \nAnastasia Zadeik will discuss often uncovered paths to publishing to help writers break through myths and common misconceptions to uncover dynamic roads many writers miss. \nBio: Anastasia Zadeik is a writer\, editor\, and storyteller.  After graduating from Smith College with a degree in psychology\, she had an international career in neuropsychological research while raising her children. She now serves as Director of Communications for the San Diego Writers Festival\, as a mentor for the literary nonprofit So Say We All\, and as a board member for the International Memoir Writers Association. \nAnastasia’s debut novel\, Blurred Fates\, won both the 2023 Sarton Award and the 2023 NIEA for Contemporary Fiction. Her second novel\, The Other Side of Nothing (released May 28\, 2024) was chosen as a Zibby Summer Read and was awarded the 2024 IPPY Gold for Popular Fiction. \nLearn more about Anastasia on her website\, www.anastasiazadeik.com (check out the storytelling videos!) and follow her on Instagram\, Facebook\, Threads\, and X @anastasiazadeik. \nA moving exploration of family\, friendship\, and how far we are willing to go for the ones we love\, The Other Side of Nothing is a powerful read about loss\, self-determination\, and second chances. \n2024 IPPY Awards Gold Medalist for Popular Fiction \n2024 Zibby Summer Reads Selection \nThe day after her eighteenth birthday\, Julia Reeves checks herself into a psychiatric facility\, longing to find a way out of the grief and guilt that have engulfed her since her father’s untimely death. What she finds is fellow suicide attempt survivor Sam Lorenzo\, a brilliant twenty-three-year-old photographer. Sam brings beauty and light back into Julia’s life\, so when he asks her to escape with him on a cross-country odyssey\, she agrees. \nBefore Julia can process what she’s done\, the two young lovers are on the run. \nWhen Julia’s mother\, Laura\, learns Julia has disappeared and authorities will do nothing to help find her\, Laura forms an uneasy alliance with the sole person who has as much to lose as she does: Sam’s mother\, Arabella. Armed with only a handful of clues\, the two mothers embark on a journey of their own\, desperately hoping to save their children before they are lost forever \nElizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez\nSession: An Interview with celebrated Memoirist\, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez \nIMWA President Tracy Jones Interviews author Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez about publishing her debut memoir\, My Side of the River and what it meant to her to be a New York Times Editor’s Pick. \nA New York Times Editor’s Pick\nA People Magazine Best Book to Read in February\nA Goodreads Most Anticipated Book of 2024 \n“My Side of the River is both fierce and poetic. It brilliantly reframes border writing while embracing nature and familial history. There are moments one sees greatness appear. This is one of those moments.” ―Luis Alberto Urrea\, New York Times bestselling author of Good Night\, Irene \nElizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez reveals her experience as the U.S. born daughter of immigrants and what happened when\, at fifteen\, her parents were forced back to Mexico in this captivating and tender memoir. \nBorn to Mexican immigrants south of the Rillito River in Tucson\, Arizona\, Elizabeth had the world at her fingertips. She was preparing to enter her freshman year of high school as the number one student when suddenly\, her own country took away the most important right a child has: the right to have a family. When her parents’ visas expired and they were forced to return to Mexico\, Elizabeth was left responsible for her younger brother\, as well as her education. Determined to break the cycle of being a “statistic\,” she knew that even though her parents couldn’t stay\, there was no way she could let go of the opportunities the U.S. could provide. Armed with only her passport and sheer teenage determination\, Elizabeth became what her school would eventually describe as an unaccompanied homeless youth\, one of thousands of underage victims affected by family separation due to broken immigration laws. \nMy Side of the River explores separation\, generational trauma\, and the toll of the American dream. It’s also\, at its core\, a love story between a brother and a sister who\, no matter the cost\, is determined to make the pursuit of her brother’s dreams easier than it was for her. \nBio: Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez is a storyteller\, advocate\, and the author of\, My Side of the Riber\, a memoir published by St.Martins Press in February of 2024. Born and raised near the U.S.-Mexican border in Tucson\, Arizona\, Elizabeth’s upbringing was marked by resilience and determination. At 15\, when her parents were forced to return to Mexico due to issues with their immigration status\, Elizabeth chose to remain in the U.S.\, navigating homelessness while fiercely pursuing her education. Her journey from adversity to achievement culminated in her graduation as valedictorian\, a testament to her unwavering resolve. Elizabeth then pursued higher education at the University of Pennsylvania\, where she graduation in 2018. During her time at Penn\, Elizabeth was selected as The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Scholar of the year\, as a U.S. Department of State Gilman Scholar\, and as part of competitive business programs at both Harvard and Stanford. Since the publication of her memoir\, My Side of the River\, in February of 2024\, she has been featured on Hola Magazine & NPR. Her book has also been praised as a New York Times Editor’s Pick\, People Magazine Best Book to Read in February\, and as one of Goodreads Most Anticipated Books of 2024. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/festival-u-2/ LOCATION:Virtual ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_5425.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240815T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240815T170000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240529T011209Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240529T011209Z UID:271454-1723741200-1723741200@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:SDWF+Warwick’s Book Club: “The Majority” by Elizabeth L. Silver DESCRIPTION:Inspired by history\, a riveting novel of love and friendship\, motherhood and ambition\, and one woman’s fight to be a Supreme Court justice. \nHalf of the United States is waiting for Justice Sylvia Olin Bernstein to die. The other half is praying for her to hold on. At 83\, “the contemptuous S.O.B.” doesn’t have much time left. What she has is a story\, one she has wrested from the grip of history to tell herself—of how she rose to her historic position on the Supreme Court\, and the barriers she broke along the way. \nTold over fifty years\, from losing her mother at a young age\, to falling in love\, to navigating an unplanned pregnancy and motherhood\, to learning how to spar with a sexist mentor\, Sylvia’s personal story reveals the intimate truth about who she was as she ascended to her modern throne: not just a brilliant mind\, but a daughter\, a best friend\, a wife\, mother\, and advocate. While caught in a dramatic tug of war between career and family\, truth and convenience\, progress and patience\, she will be given a chance to change the course of American history – and give voice\, at last\, to the majority. \nSet against the vibrant sweep of the 20th century\, THE MAJORITY brings us into the sacrifices\, heartaches\, and complex emotional life of a powerful woman ahead of her time\, whose life and work turn out to have supreme stakes. \n\nabout the author\n\nElizabeth L. Silver is the author of the novel\, The Execution of Noa P. Singleton\, which was an Amazon Best Book of the Year and published in seven languages. Silver has also worked as an attorney in California and Texas\, where she was a judicial clerk for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals\, and currently teaches creative writing with UCLA. She has written for Harper’s Bazaar\, New York Magazine\, The Washington Post\, and lives in Los Angeles with her family.\n\npraise for…\n\nPraise for The Majority: \n“Silver is particularly persuasive when dramatizing what women faced when trying to maintain careers and families in the 1970s.”—The Washington Post \n“[Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s] legend lives on\, most recently in Elizabeth Silver’s new novel The Majority. It’s RBG-esque protagnist\, Sylvia Olin Bernstein\, 83\, considers her life as she looks back to her decades on the highest court. . .stealthily devastating . . . [an] important novel.”—The Los Angeles Times \n“Engrossing and thought-provoking. . .While The Majority is a clear homage to Ginsburg\, Silver paints a full portrait of Sylvia\, whose life unfolds during some of the most consequential events in American history. . .The Majority is more than an entertaining read\, although it is certainly that. It’s a profound contemplation of how women are treated by the law and how they administer the law. The Contemptuous S.O.B. is both a brilliant jurist and an all-too-human woman fighting against a system stacked against her.”—BookPage\n\n“Readers will\, of necessity\, think of real-life trailblazers Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg\, but Silver wisely brings a universality to Sylvia’s story of sacrifice and determination\, making it recognizable to women of every era\, background\, and profession who battle to forge their own paths against society’s limiting expectations.”—Booklist \n“Incisive. . .Silver wisely gives Sylvia her own path to travel\, emphasizing how her professional goals both shape and are shaped by her experiences as a woman. Ginsburg’s many admirers will be captivated by her literary counterpart.” —Publishers Weekly \n“Drawing from the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg\, Silver’s novel depicts a fictionalized Supreme Court justice who navigates the misogyny of the world in which she finds herself. Even as she shoulders her own burdens of love\, career\, and motherhood\, Justice Sylvia Olin Bernstein also seeks to be a force of moral reckoning. In The Majority\, readers are given a look at a vivid life.”—Alta\n\n“A story of secrets\, impossible choices\, and how we negotiate the uneasy space between our personal and public lives. Like Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife\, The Majority transforms the life of a singular woman into a compelling narrative that illuminates the most important themes playing out in America today.”—Amanda Eyre Ward\, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters \n“This is Justice Sylvia Olin Bernstein’s story but make no mistake\, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is hammering her heavenly gavel in approval. The Majority is replete with raw emotional context\, perception\, and humanity that resonates far beyond the page. Sure to be one of the most unforgettable reads of the year. It already holds that distinction for me.” —Sarah McCoy\, New York Times bestselling author of Mustique Island and Marilla of Green Gables \n“With the story of one remarkable woman’s life\, The Majority reveals how the lives of ALL women have been altered over the course of the last eighty-some years. Exploring important questions about the sacrifices we both should and shouldn’t make for those we care about\, Silver has written a novel at once intimate and epic\, about how we are changed by experience\, and how the people we love are central to these transformations.” —Edan Lepucki\, New York Times bestselling author of California \n“The Majority is the great American novel you will urge your daughters and sisters and friends to read. From post-war Brooklyn to the gold-trimmed curtains of the Supreme Court\, the story of Sylvia Olin Bernstein is rendered with such clarity and compassion that readers will reconsider everything they thought they knew about the remarkable women who transformed American history.” —Julia Fierro\, author of Cutting Teeth and The Gypsy Moth Summer\n\n“This book should be required reading. The Majority is a tiny hammer in Silver’s hand\, undetectable and hovering overhead\, the act of reading like a trigger breaking you apart over and over again. I was literally lost in The Majority and it changed me.”—Natashia Deon\, NAACP-nominated author of Grace\n\n“Surprisingly personal . . .The complexity of Sylvia’s background and the personal cost of her commitment make for a thought-provoking read with many echoes of a certain departed Supreme Court Justice also known by three initials.” —Janet Fitch\, New York Times bestselling author ofWhite Oleander and The Revolution of Marina M.\n\n“Restored my faith in justice. I loved this novel.”—Lynn Steger Strong\, author of Want URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/sdwfwarwicks-book-club-the-majority-by-elizabeth-l-silver/ LOCATION:Virtual ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Book-Club-for-Writers-by-Writers.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240624T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240624T203000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240528T233522Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240528T233522Z UID:271426-1719257400-1719261000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Zibby Owens discusses “Blank” in Conversation with Anastasia Zadeik DESCRIPTION:On Monday\, June 24th at 7:30pm Warwick’s and The San Diego Writer’s Festival will host Zibby Owens as she discusses and signs her new book\, Blank\, in conversation with Anastasia Zadeik. Zibby Owens — like Pippa Jones — wears a lot of hats. She is the award-winning podcast host of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books; founder and CEO of Zibby Media\, which includes the publishing house Zibby Books\, an online magazine\, a book club\, retreats\, classes\, and events; and is the proud owner of Zibby’s Bookshop\, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica. Her previous books include Bookends: A Memoir of Love\, Loss\, and Literature\, children’s book Princess Charming\, and two anthologies that she edited. A frequent contributor to Good Morning America\, Katie Couric Media\, and other outlets\, she is – most of all! – the mother of four fabulous kids ages 9 to 16 — and wife to Kyle Owens\, founder of Morning Moon Productions. \nReserved Seating is available when Blank is pre-ordered from Warwick’s through the linked green “Reserve Seats Here” button above. Only books purchased from Warwick’s will be signed. \nReserve seats here URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/zibby-owens-discusses-blank-in-conversation-with-anastasia-zadeik/ LOCATION:Warwick’s Boosktore\, 7812 Girard Ave\, La Jolla\, CA\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Zibby-Owens-in-conversation-with-Anastasia-Zadeik.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240529T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240529T203000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240528T233832Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240528T233832Z UID:271432-1717011000-1717014600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Anastasia Zadeik discusses “The Other Side of Nothing” with Marni Freedman DESCRIPTION:On Wednesday\, May 29th at 7:30pm Warwick’s will host Anastasia Zadeik as she discusses and signs her new book\, The Other Side of Nothing\, with Marni Freedman. Anastasia Zadeik is a writer\, editor\, and storyteller. After graduating from Smith College\, she had an international career in neuropsychological research while raising her children. She now serves as Director of Communications for the San Diego Writers Festival\, as a coproducer of the San Diego Memoir Showcase\, and as a mentor for the literary nonprofit So Say We All. She also sits on the board of the International Memoir Writers Association. A frequent performer of narrative non-fiction in a hushed bar or on a stage\, her work has appeared in the San Diego Decameron Project\, LitHub\, writeordietribe.com\, and the award-winning anthology Shaking the Tree: Short. Brazen. Memoir. Her debut novel\, Blurred Fates\, won the 2023 Sarton Award for Contemporary Fiction and the 2023 National Indie Excellence Award for Contemporary Fiction. She lives in San Diego with her husband and their empty-nest rescue dog\, Charlie. \nReserved Seating is available when The Other Side of Nothing is pre-ordered from Warwick’s through the linked green “Reserve Seats Here” button above. Only books purchased from Warwick’s will be signed. Please call the Warwick’s Book Dept. (858) 454-0347 for details. \nReserve your seat here URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/anastasia-zadeik-discusses-the-other-side-of-nothing-with-marni-freedman/ LOCATION:Warwick’s Boosktore\, 7812 Girard Ave\, La Jolla\, CA\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3873.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240406 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240407 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20240119T235523Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240119T235523Z UID:270505-1712361600-1712447999@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:The Fifth Annual San Diego Writers Festival DESCRIPTION:Join us at Coronado Public Library for the 5th Annual San Diego Writers Festival. Full festival schedule coming soon! URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/the-fifth-annual-san-diego-writers-festival/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SDWF-header.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231214T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231214T210000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20231117T024258Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231117T024335Z UID:270467-1702580400-1702587600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:The 9th Annual Memoir Showcase DESCRIPTION:Save the date for the 9th Annual MEMOIR SHOWCASE \nFunny\, Not Funny\nThursday\, December 14\n7:00 PM\nThe Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center\n7600 Fay Avenue La Jolla\, CA 92037 \nGet Tickets   URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/the-9th-annual-memoir-showcase/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Untitled-design-1-e1700188941941.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231213T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231213T193000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20231117T021203Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231117T022630Z UID:270456-1702492200-1702495800@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Neal Allen and Anne Lamont discussing Better Days with Marni Freedman DESCRIPTION:Warwick’s\, in partnership with the San Diego Writers Festival and the Coronado Public Library \nPresents Neal Allen and Anne Lamott with Marni Freedman  \nBETTER DAYS\nTAME YOUR INNER CRITIC\nTicket sales are limited!\nReserve your seat today! \nGET TICKETS \nIn this life-changing book\, writer and spiritual coach\, Neal Allen\, teaches us a stunning new method for quieting the inner critic. \n“Better Days will help you get to know your inner critic\, and quiet its yammering\, and in so doing\, get to know the person you were born to be.” – Anne Lamott\, Author of Dusk Night Dawn\, Bird by Bird and others \nWhat if your superego has it wrong?\nThat snarky little bully in your head…you know the one.\nYou’ve lived under its weight for decades. \n  \nI’m a fraud\, I’m lazy\nI need to work harder\nI need to be tougher\, funnier\, calmer…\nI need to stay quiet\, look pretty\, stop showing off\nI need to put others before me\, I need to put myself first\nI need to be perfect\nI need to hide who I really am \nSound familiar? \nYou know that its scolding voice is harmful to you\, but you can’t will it away. You accept a life with short periods of peace and long stretches of stress and anxiety. But you don’t have to. \nIn this revolutionary new book\, Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic\, writer and spiritual coach\, Neal Allen\, examines a critical aspect of the human psyche that often gets ignored – the superego. \nBuilding on Freud’s idea that the superego necessarily forms a person’s moral conscience\, Neal explains how this voice in your head develops in childhood as a survival mechanism\, but when no longer needed for protection\, camps out in your mind like a personal parasite. A parasite that doesn’t belong. \nThrough simple and engaging exercises and explorations\, Neal leads you into meeting\, confronting\, and ultimately quieting your own inner critic. \nBy shedding off the burden of the superego\, you can overcome tired patterns of reward and punishment\, reduce the self-talk that harms you\, and ultimately clear an open space for the life you deserve\, one that is gentler and more peaceful. \nJust imagine…if all that nasty\, negative chatter in your head just evaporated … what would you do next? \nBetter days are just ahead. \n  URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/neal-allen-and-anne-lamont-with-marni-freedman/ LOCATION:Coronado Performing Arts Center\, 650 D Ave.\, Coronado\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AnnLamottWarwicks-e1700186941362.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231019T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231019T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230829T224149Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230829T224149Z UID:270121-1697734800-1697738400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club - “Unearthing” with Kyo Maclear DESCRIPTION:An unforgettable memoir about a family secret revealed by a DNA test\, the lessons learned in its aftermath\, and the indelible power of love—for readers of Dani Shapiro’s Inheritanceand Katherine May’s Wintering. \n“Magnificent…I will never forget it.” —Dani Shapiro\, author of Inheritance \n“A mind-altering and supremely generous exploration of kinship\, selfhood\, memory\, and the roots we share across time\, space and species.” —Naomi Klein\, author of This Changes Everything \nThree months after Kyo Maclear’s father dies in December 2018\, she gets the results of a DNA test showing that she and the father who raised her are not biologically related. Suddenly Maclear becomes a detective in her own life\, unravelling a family mystery piece by piece\, and assembling the story of her biological father. Along the way\, larger questions arise: what exactly is kinship? And what does it mean to be a family? \nUnearthing is a captivating and propulsive story of inheritance that goes beyond heredity. Infused with moments of suspense\, it is also a thoughtful reflection on race\, lineage\, and our cultural fixation on recreational genetics. Readers of Michelle Zauner’s bestseller Crying in H Mart will recognize Maclear’s unflinching insights on grief and loyalty\, and keen perceptions into the relationship between mothers and daughters. \nWhat gets planted\, and what gets buried? What role does storytelling play in unearthing the past and making sense of a life? Can the humble act of tending a garden provide common ground for an inquisitive daughter and her complicated mother? As it seeks to answer these questions\, Unearthingbursts with the very love it seeks to understand. \n“[A] masterful\, original and poetic memoir… As Kyo slowly realizes that the father she’s mourning isn’t actually her father\, she unearths truths she never saw coming. A mix of literary tactics like repetition and short form sections\, this unique\, powerful and captivating memoir mixed with gardening and plant life\, is truly a wow.”–Zibby Owens\, Good Morning America  \n“Many memoirs have examined issues of paternity and parental infidelity\, but Maclear’s stands out due to elegant writing and insightful musings on the making and shaping of identities\, always with the garden behind her to provide an anchor… A lovely  meditation on the hidden past and the blossoming present.”–Kirkus Reviews \n“In this magnificent\, searing memoir\, Kyo Maclear takes us on a journey that is at once singular and utterly universal. What forces contribute to who we are and who we become? And what happens when the story we know to be true of ourselves is uprooted\, unearthed? In poetic language that cuts to the bone\, Maclear grapples with these questions and the result is a profound reading experience. I will never forget it.”– Dani Shapiro\, author of Inheritance  \n“Unearthing is simply staggering. Maclear takes the shocking revelations of a DNA test and transforms them into a mind-altering and supremely generous exploration of kinship\, selfhood\, memory\, and the roots we share across time\, space and species. A quantum leap for an already brilliant and profound writer and thinker.” –Naomi Klein\, author of This Changes Everything\nAbout The Author: \nKyo Maclear was born in London\, England\, and moved to Toronto at the age of four. Her most recent book\, Birds Art Life\, was published in seven territories and became a Canadian #1 bestseller. Kyo received a PhD from York University in the environmental humanities. Her short fiction\, essays\, and art criticism have been published in Orion Magazine\, Asia Art Pacific\, LitHub\, Brick\, The Millions\, The Guardian\, Shambhala Sun\, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)\, among other publications. She is also a children’s author\, editor\, and teacher. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/warwicks-sdwf-book-club-unearthing-with-kyo-maclear/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/KyoMaclearBC.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231007T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231007T160000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230829T224951Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231013T210457Z UID:270127-1696672800-1696694400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Festival U DESCRIPTION:Festival U – A Fundraiser benefiting the San Diego Writers Festival\n One Day ~ Online ~ 6 Amazing Workshops ~ $60 \nFestival U Schedule \nSession 1 (10 am to 11 am PT)\nBooks that Change the World – How Authors with a Cause Can Impact Us All with Winnie Li and Valena Beety. Moderated by Anastasia Zadeik \nSession 2  (11 am – 12 pm PT)\nOn Memory and Metaphor – Bringing the Past to Life with Sue William Silverman \nSession 3  (12 – 1 pm PT)\nThe Art and Craft of Middle Grade Fiction with Award Winning Author\, Chris Baron \nSession 4  (1pm – 2pm PT)\nHistorical Fiction: Keeping it Real While Keeping it Interesting with Jennifer Coburn \nSession 5 (2 pm – 3 pm)\nNothing is Wasted – The Art of How the Writer Brings It All Together with Judy Reeves  \nSession 6 (3 pm to 4 pm)\nAsk An Agent  – An Hour to Ask Any Question You Have Ever Had! With Lilly Gharhamani \nRegister Now \nPRESENTERS: \nChris Baron\nChris Baron is the award-winning author of Novels for young (and young at heart) readers including All Of Me an NCTE Notable Book\, The Magical Imperfect a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book/ a SLJ Best Book of 2021 & the forthcoming novels\, The Gray (23) Forest Heart (24) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan\, and The Secret of the Dragon Gems\, a Middle Grade novel co-authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books (23) and editor of ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS: A MIDDLE GRADE PASSOVER ANTHOLOGY\, from Abrams (24)\, He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center. He grew up in New York City\, but he completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998 at SDSU. He lives in San Diego with his family.  \n  \nValena Beety\nValena Elizabeth Beety is an innocence litigator\, a law professor\, and a former federal prosecutor. She teaches at Indiana University in Bloomington\, and previously served as the Founding Director of the West Virginia Innocence Project. Beety has successfully exonerated wrongfully convicted clients\, obtained presidential grants of clemency for drug offenses\, and served as an elected board member of the National Innocence Network. Her experiences as a federal prosecutor in Washington\, D.C.\, and as an innocence litigator in Mississippi and West Virginia\, shape her research and writing on wrongful convictions\, forensic evidence\, prosecution\, and incarceration. She is the co-editor of The Wrongful Convictions Reader and author of the award-winning book Manifesting Justice: Wrongly Convicted Women Reclaim Their Rights. valenabeety.com. \n  \nJennifer Coburn\nJennifer Coburn is the author of Cradles of the Reich\, a historical novel about three very different women living at a Nazi Lebensborn breeding home at the start of World War ll. \nShe has also published a mother-daughter travel memoir\, We’ll Always Have Paris\, as well as six contemporary women’s novels. Additionally\, Jennifer has contributed to five literary anthologies\, including A Paris All Your Own. \nJennifer lives in San Diego with her husband\, William. Their daughter\, Katie is currently in graduate school. When Jennifer is not going down historical research rabbit holes\, she volunteers with So Say We All\, a live storytelling organization\, where she is a performer\, producer\, and performance coach. She is also an active volunteer with Reality Changers\, a nonprofit that supports low-income high school students in becoming the first in their families to attend college. She specializes in college essay development and interview prep. \n  \nWinnie M. Li\nWinnie M Li is an author and activist. Her latest novel Complicit draws from her earlier career in the film industry. It was a New York Times’ Editors’ Choice\, and listed among the Best Crime Novels of 2022 by CrimeReads and The Irish Times. A Harvard graduate\, she previously wrote for travel guidebooks\, produced independent feature films\, and programmed for film festivals. Her debut Dark Chapter won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize\, was nominated for an Edgar Award\, and was translated into ten languages. She is currently adapting it for the screen. Driven by her own experience of rape\, Winnie advocates publicly around sexual violence and consent\, and holds an honorary doctorate of law from the National University of Ireland in recognition of her writing and activism. A New Jersey native\, Winnie has lived and worked abroad for over 20 years\, primarily in England. (She does come to Southern California once a year\, though!) http://winniemli.com. \n  \nLilly Ghahremani\nLilly is co-founder of Full Circle Literary\, “a Literary agency representing a diverse and inclusive family of authors & artists whose books break barriers and stand the test of time.” Lilly is a graduate of the University of Michigan\, Ann Arbor\, UCLA School of Law (JD)\, and San Diego State University’s School of Business (MBA). Happy to be back in San Diego after a few years living in Seattle\, she can be found strolling in the sun\, drinking too much coffee at her local coffee shop\, driving and singing with the windows down\, or reading with her daughter\, a bookworm in training. \n  \n  \nJudy Reeves\nJudy Reeves is an award-winning writer whose books include A Writer’s Book of Days and Wild Women\, Wild Voices. In addition to her books on the craft of writing\, she has also published fiction\, poetry\, and nonfiction. When Your Heart Says Go is her first memoir. A long-time instructor of creative writing\, she teaches at writing conferences internationally and at San Diego Writers\, Ink\, a nonprofit literary center she cofounded. Judy lives and writes in San Diego\, amid bulging bookshelves and an ancient Underwood typewriter that claims its own social media fan base. You can find Judy and her Underwood on her website\, judyreeveswriter.com. \n  \nSue William Silverman\nSue William Silverman is an award-winning author of eight works of nonfiction and poetry. Her forthcoming book\, available for pre-order\, is Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul. Her previous book\, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences\,won the gold star in Foreword Reviews Indie Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature. Other books include Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction\, made into a Lifetime TV movie; Because I Remember Terror\, Father\, I Remember You\, which won the AWP Award; and The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew.She teaches at the low-residency MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.www.SueWilliamSilverman.com \n  URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/festival-u/ LOCATION:Virtual ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/U-Facebook-Cover-2160-x-1080-px-3.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231002T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231002T200000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230907T164833Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230926T002232Z UID:270135-1696271400-1696276800@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:GupShup: Immigrant Stories\, A Conversation DESCRIPTION:The San Diego Writers Festival in collaboration with Mingei Museum Community Monday series is delighted to present an honest\, delicious dialogue about immigrant experiences and the food that shapes our lives. Sample foods and stories from India\, Ukraine\, Iraq\, Sudan and San Diego in the newly renovated\, beautiful cultural hub of Balboa Park. The panel will include Huda Al-Marashi\, author of First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story and Jane Muschenetz\, co-founder of Table M and author of All the Bad Girls Wear Russian Accents\, with insightful moderation by Madhushree Ghosh\, author of Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food\, Memory and Family. \nThe presentation will also feature a visit with farmers from City Heights’ groundbreaking New Roots Community Garden\,recognized by Michelle Obama as “a model for the nation\, for the world.” \nEnjoy a feast for the mind and heart with nibbles\, chit chat\, and Q&A at the end\, along with a short book signing and selling from our featured authors. \nTime: Monday\, October 2\, 6:30 PM Location: Mingei Museum Balboa Park\, Plaza de Panama\, 1439 El Prado San Diego\, CA 92101 Cost: $20.00 (proceeds support the 2024 San Diego Writers Festival) \nTickets \nHuda\, Al-Marashi is a public speaker and author of books for both adults and children. The Washington Post called her bestselling memoir First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story “a charming\, funny\, heartbreaking memoir of faith\, family\, and the journey to love.” She is a co-author of the middle-grade novel Grounded and the author of Not Only an Only in the anthology Once Upon an Eid. \nHuda’s other writing has appeared in various news outlets such as the New York Times\, Washington Post\, LA Times\, and al Jazeera. She has been awarded a Cuyahoga County Creative Workforce Fellowship\, an Aspen Summer Words Emerging Writer Fellowship\, and a Highlights Foundation Muslim Storytellers Fellowship. First Comes Marriage was longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize and a finalist for the Southern California Independent Booksellers’ Award. View her TEDx talk on Eliminating Cultural Bias here. \nJane Muschenetz is a Ukrainian-born\, Russian-speaking\, Jewish refugee who fled the Soviet regime as a child. Recognized for excellence in Poetry Performance by the County of San Diego\, Jane is a 2023 City of Encinitas Exhibiting Artist and winner of the 2022 Good Life Review Poetry Prize. Her debut poetry collection\, All the Bad Girls Wear Russian Accents (KelsayBooks\, 2023)\, is a Readers’ Favorite 5 Star Book and a finalist for the Jacar Press Chapbook Prize. Jane is also the “butter half” of the husband-and-wife team behind the long-running food and photography blog\, Table M. \nPassionate about building inclusive\, resilient communities\, Jane serves on the boards of several nonprofits\, including Temple Emanu-El\,  MIT Sloan Alum Club of San Diego\, and International Memoir Writers Association. She is the Director of Partnerships at San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild and co-founder of the San Diego chapter of Women Who Submit Lit. Her previous work includes advising Fortune 500 companies as a strategy consultant at Bain & Co. View her Poetry Salon feature on using humor in poetry to approach difficult topics here. \nphoto by: Natalie Joy Photography \nThe panel will be moderated by Madhushree Ghosh\, author of Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food\, Memory and Family.  \nHailed by Ms Magazine as a ‘Most Anticipated Read for the Rest of Us in 2022’\, Madhushree Ghosh’s debut food narrative memoir\, KHABAAR: An Immigrant Journey of Food\, Memory\, and Family (2022) marries lives of chefs\, home cooks\, and food stall owners\, with the author’s own immigrant journey as the daughter of refugees\, questioning belonging and the concept of home. View her TEDx talk\, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Food” here. \nHer work has been a Notable Mention in Best American Essays in Food Writing\, Pushcart nominated and published in The New York Times\, Washington Post\, LA Times\, Longreads\, LA Review of Books\, and others.  Madhushree works in oncology diagnostics and can be reached at @writemadhushree and her website (www.writemadhushree.com) \nNew Roots Garden Founded in 2007\, New Roots Farm is a vibrant 2.3 acre sanctuary of healthy food\, community\, and active living right in the heart of City Heights’ concrete jungle. Recognized by Michelle Obama as “a model for the nation\, for the world\,” New Roots is one of the first and most celebrated refugee community gardens in the nation. Integrated into the local economy and infrastructure through on-the-ground\, collaborative advocacy and community support\, New Roots provides opportunity\, healing\, purpose and a sense of home. Learn more here. \nTickets URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/gupshup-immigrant-stories-a-conversation/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230720T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230720T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230621T171137Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T224148Z UID:270004-1689872400-1689876000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club - “Go as a River” with Shelley Read DESCRIPTION:National Bestseller \n“An auspicious debut.”—Kirkus (starred review) \n“Shelley Read’s lyrical voice is a force of nature\, and when she lends it to a woman leading a hardscrabble life in rural Colorado\, the result is tragic\, uplifting—and completely unforgettable.”—Bonnie Garmus\, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry \nRights Sold in 30 Territories * March Indie Next Pick * Apple Books\, Most Anticipated Books of 2023 * Barnes & Noble\, Most Anticipated Books of March * Barnes & Noble\, Exclusive Edition * Amazon\, Editors’ Pick * Publishers Marketplace\, Buzz Books Editors Panel Pick * Zibby Magazine\, Most Anticipated Books of 2023 * Thoughts From A Page\, Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of 2023 * Book Girls Guide\, Best Book Club Books for 2023 * Real Simple\, Best Books of 2023 \n\n“Affecting.”—Publishers Weekly \n“Beautiful . . . A striking first novel of love and strength and growth\, set against the forests and rivers of Colorado’s high country. Read is a gifted writer\, and the book is a literary triumph.”―Denver Post \n“With gorgeous descriptions of the great outdoors\, an illicit love story\, and an unforgettable protagonist\, Go as a River offers something for everyone.”―Real Simple \n“Evocative . . . moving . . . fascinating. . . .Through lush imagery of the natural world\, GO AS A RIVER shows the possibility of growing in the most challenging of circumstances\, the power that flows through us\, and how the natural world can give us the strength to keep on going.”―The i Paper \n“In this lyrical debut novel\, a “small fateful twist” overtakes an isolated young woman seeking the courage and resilience to keep flowing forward\, as a river\, against all obstacles\, in post-WWII Colorado… Read\, a fifth-generation Coloradan\, draws characters and settings with period authenticity\, stunning imagery\, and deft metaphors.”—Booklist \n“GO AS A RIVER is a stunning debut set in the soul of the American dream.”—Adriana Trigiani\, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone \n“Completely spellbinding\, vivid\, and luminous.”—Jane Green\, bestselling author of Sister Stardust \n“In GO AS A RIVER\, Shelley Read delivers a heartbreaking and uplifting tale of a girl becoming a woman in a man’s world. Young Victoria Nash is as tough and resilient as the Colorado mountains where she takes refuge\, and as tender as the peaches that are her family legacy.”—Tiffany Quay Tyson\, author of The Past Is Never \n“Shelley Read’s devastatingly beautiful debut\, GO AS A RIVER\, delivers so very much: the tenderness and curiosity of young love\, the eternal pangs of loss\, the brutality of racism\, the sustaining power of nature even in the face of man’s destruction\, and the precarious miracle of a mother’s love. Suffused with wisdom and compassion\, this shattering testimony to life is one to be savored\, treasured\, shared.”—Meg Waite Clayton\, bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris \n“This soaring\, compassionate tale of female resilience is set against a breath-taking picture of our natural world—its trees and mountains and light.”—The Independent (UK) \nSet amid Colorado’s wild beauty\, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss\, family\, and survival—and hope—for readers of Great Circle\, The Four Winds\, and Where the Crawdads Sing. \nSeventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola\, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past\, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.  \n  \nVictoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner\, a meeting that profoundly alters their young lives\, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes\, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains\, where she struggles to survive in the wilderness\, with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change\, she also charts the changes in herself\, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost\, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland—its ranches\, farms\, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.  \n  \nRead is a fifth-generation Coloradan who received her MFA in her twenties but then went on to teach literature and environmental studies and raise two kids. Now in her 50s\, she finally returned to the novel she’d started many years ago. She writes: \n  \n“This novel gets at the heart of what is most valuable to me and what I think the world needs now: a strong connection to nature\, a belief in love\, and a deep faith in personal resilience. I hope that my novel will leave readers exploring some of the relevant issues of our time—displacement\, prejudice\, and notions of progress; the value of women\, mothers\, and the natural world; resilience in the face of adversity; and\, of course\, the extraordinary power of love.” \n  \nInspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s\, GO AS A RIVER is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss\, but also of finding courage\, resilience\, friendship\, and\, finally\, home—where least expected. \nShelley Read is a fifth-generation Coloradoan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of the Western Slope. She was a senior lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades\, where she taught writing\, literature\, environmental studies\, and Honors\, and was a founder of the Environment & Sustainability major and a support program for first-generation and at-risk students. Shelley holds degrees in writing and literary studies from the University of Denver and Temple University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing. She is a regular contributor to Crested ButteMagazine and Gunnison Valley Journal and has written for the Denver Post and a variety of publications. Go As A River is her first novel\, and is being published in 30 territories around the globe. ShelleyRead.com\n  URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/warwicks-sdwf-book-club-go-as-a-river-with-shelley-read/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1A45F28D-AB19-4A5B-A087-FC48639E0F3C.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230615T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230615T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230523T212138Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230523T212138Z UID:269974-1686852000-1686852000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Dean Nelson and Rabbi Steve Leder in Conversation about Journaling and his new book\, For You When I am Gone (open to all) ONLINE DESCRIPTION:Register here URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/dean-nelson-and-rabbi-steve-leder-in-conversation-about-journaling-and-his-new-book-for-you-when-i-am-gone-open-to-all-online/ LOCATION:Virtual ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/0411E8A1-33C3-4323-A665-40CE6C34A8E8.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230420T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230420T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230210T200021Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230620T033742Z UID:269646-1682010000-1682013600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club presents "The Matchmaker's Gift" with Lynda Cohen Loigman DESCRIPTION:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club present The Matchmaker’s Gift with Lynda Cohen Loigman\nTime: Thursday\, April 20\, 2023\, 5:00-6:00 PM Pacific Time \nBuy the Book: Click here to buy from Warwick’s \nA Facebook Live Event: Join us here \n\nNamed a Best Book of Fall by Parade • BuzzFeed • New York Post • GMA.com • People\n\n“Loigman’s latest is a gem. A scrappy Jewish teenager newly arrived in 1920s New York struggles to follow her calling as a matchmaker––seventy years later\, her cynical divorce-attorney granddaughter realizes she has very inconveniently inherited the family gift for matching soulmates. Both funny and moving\, The Matchmaker’s Gift made me smile from start to finish.”\n––Kate Quinn\, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code \nIs finding true love a calling or a curse? \nEven as a child in 1910\, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side\, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade\, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers\, and to demand the recognition she deserves. \nTwo generations later\, Sara’s granddaughter\, Abby\, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney\, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies\, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes\, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight? \n\n\nAbout the author:\nLynda Cohen Loigman is the author of The Wartime Sisters and The Two-Family House. She received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She grew up in Longmeadow\, MA\, and now lives in Chappaqua\, NY. \n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\nPraise for The Matchmaker’s Gift:\n“Insightful\, charming and packed with historical New York details\, The Matchmaker’s Gift is a tribute to the bonds of family and taking a chance on true love.” ––Shelf Awareness \n“Loigman has a gift herself: the ability to evoke places and scenes with the subtlest of details. She takes us all over town in time and space: a crowded French bakery on the Upper East Side and narrow streets lined with sweltering tenements; the audience gathering at dusk for the Shakespeare Festival in Central Park and a Tribeca party sparkling with celebrities and high fashion.” ––BookTrib \n“The plot employs some mag­i­cal real­ism [and] sim­mers with vibrant detail…Loigman’s research exudes authen­tic­i­ty\, invok­ing the sights and smells of a bygone Low­er East Side. The his­tor­i­cal chap­ters are com­pelling; the more con­tem­po­rary ones are equal­ly so. A fas­ci­nat­ing nar­ra­tive.” ––Jewish Book Council \n“As we follow these parallel storylines\, Sara and Abby follow their destinies with an abundance of character and charm. Plus\, the dual timelines are rife with fun historical details.” ––BuzzFeed \n“Loigman’s thorough exploration of turn-of-the century\, Jewish immigrant culture and her smooth transitions into the 1990s give the reader a full and satisfying picture of Manhattan across the twentieth century. The details are painstaking but never tedious\, and the relationships are exciting\, sincere\, and beautiful.” ––Booklist URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/warwicks-sdwf-book-club-present-the-matchmakers-gift-with-lynda-cohen-loigman/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_2184.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230407T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230407T210000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230216T003851Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230301T234000Z UID:269753-1680892200-1680901200@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:2023 Kowit Awards and San Diego Poetry Celebration DESCRIPTION:A do-not-miss event!\nThe San Diego Writers Festival and The San Diego Poetry Celebration & 2023 Kowit Awards will take place this year at the San Diego Central Library. Come hear Lee Herrick\, the California Poet Laureate\, and Jason Magabo Perez\, the 2023 San Diego Poet Laureate and celebrate the winners of the Kowit Awards! \nGet Tickets URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/2023-kowit-awards-and-san-diego-poetry-celebration/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1E015EC8-E95F-403F-9198-A4A662B19802.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230223T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230223T190000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230216T005549Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230222T021925Z UID:269756-1677178800-1677178800@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Meet the Author- Edward Zuckerman at the Coronado Public Library DESCRIPTION:The San Diego Writers Festival is proud to partner with the Coronado Public Library on Feb 23rd.\nEmmy-award-winning writer Edward Zuckerman will be discussing his new novel\, Wealth Management\, at 7:00 p.m.in the Winn Room.\nFree to the public. Join us! \nAbout the Author:\n\nEdward Zuckerman began his career as a journalist\, writing for Rolling Stone\, Spy\, the New Yorker\, Harper’s\, Esquire\, and many other magazines.  He wrote two well-reviewed nonfiction books\, The Day After World War III and Small Fortunes\, and then moved into writing for television dramas\, including “Law & Order” (50+ episodes)\, “Blue Bloods\,” and “Law & Order: SVU.”  He has won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and an Emmy for his work on “Law & Order.”  He lives in Manhattan and Manhattan Beach\, California.  Wealth Management is his first novel.\n\n\nAbout Wealth Management:\n\nFor Fans of Elmore Leonard\, Jess Walter and Gary Shteyngart\, a Financial Thriller Featuring Three Ivy League MBAs who Must Put Their Lopsided Love Triangle Aside to Snare International Terrorists \nIn the lush world-banking capital of Geneva\, Switzerland\, three friends from Harvard Business School find their lives and their work unexpectedly intertwined. Catherine and Majid are handling investments for clients with dubious pedigrees. When their friend Rafe shows up in Geneva\, he claims to be just another start-up hedge fund manager. But Rafe\, after a moral awakening\, is now an undercover agent with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and he’s in Geneva secretly investigating his old friends\, one of whom was his former lover. \nCatherine and Rafe pick up right where they left off\, even though she’s now seeing Majid\, but she’s soon in a tangle bigger than infidelity when her biggest client appears to be leading her into a trap of money laundering co-conspiracy. And then there’s Majid\, who would be more jealous of Rafe if he didn’t have more worrisome problems\, such as his biggest client shorting a Nigerian oil company stock right before a catastrophic “accident.” As the CIA closes in on the terrorists themselves\, Rafe\, with the help of Detective Emmanuel Okoro of the Nigerian police\, works to find a way to save his friends and the world at the same time. \nFast-paced and entertaining\, Wealth Management shows that Emmy award-winning TV writer Edward Zuckerman is at the top of his game. \n\n\n“Edward Zuckerman\, an award-winning TV scriptwriter\, also brings energy and engaging characters to his impressive debut thriller. Wealth Management is a clever\, entertaining romp through the world of high finance and dirty money.”—Financial Times \n \n“Zuckerman\, who has won two Edgars and an Emmy for his work on Law & Order\, makes his fiction debut with a gripping thriller. Zuckerman makes the intricate plot accessible for the financially illiterate while keeping readers invested in how everything plays out.” —Publisher’s Weekly \n“This first novel by Edgar and Emmy Award winner Zuckerman (a writer for TV shows Law & Order and Blue Bloods) is a well-plotted\, intricate\, and diverting thriller set in beautiful Geneva. Zuckerman [keeps] a lot of thematic balls in the air; he really hits his stride in his first time out\, telling a story torn from the headlines with a quick-read focus.”—Library Journal \n“A pure joy to read with a wickedly clever plot\, vivid characters\, and a fabulously droll sense of humor that emerges even with the novel’s deadpan title. If you are a fan of Leonard or Le Carré\, you are going to love Zuckerman.”\n—DOUGLAS PRESTON\, #1 New York Times bestselling author  \n“An exciting and suspenseful state-of-the-art thriller about money\, terrorism\, and the way we live now. Ed Zuckerman makes the leap from being a big-time TV writer into novel world as gracefully as he made the leap from investigative journalism into writing for the likes of Miami Vice and Law & Order. You’ll be up late turning the pages. Highly recommended.” —PETER BLAUNER\, New York Times bestselling author of The Intruder and Picture in the Sand \n“A polished debut novel that seamlessly blends twisty\, original characters with an ingenious plot and glittering foreign locales. An international financial thriller that’s camera ready for a feature film\, the tale simmers with the chilling suspense of David Baldacci’s best work and the wry humor of Elmore Leonard’s iconic novels. The fast-paced\, tangled-web plot crackles with energy and high adventure and will keep you up past your bedtime. An original voice in the thriller genre\, Zuckerman moves to the head of the class.” —PAUL LEVINE\, author of the bestselling Jake Lassiter Series \n“An intriguing\, sexy\, wild ride through the high-stakes world of international finance with a criminal twist\, Ed Zuckerman’s novel dazzles with wit\, humor\, and immaculate attention to detail. But the emotional heart is what stays with you: the story of love gained and lost\, of betrayals and regrets\, an unflinching recognition of the weaknesses\, foibles\, ambition\, greed\, and the deep-rooted need for understanding that makes us all human.” —JULIE MARTIN\, Humanitas Prize–winning television producer and writer of Homicide \n“Suspenseful\, funny\, and thrilling. Zuckerman’s writing propels you through the seedy side of international banking\, money laundering\, and the consequences of letting morals slide for big sums of money. A must-read for fans of Succession and Billions.” —LAUREN FORRY\, author of They Did Bad Things URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/meet-the-author-edward-zuckerman-at-the-coronado-public-library/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/587C5027-936F-45A5-8C19-F73DC8F82238.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230214T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230214T000000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230203T000313Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230203T001033Z UID:269639-1676332800-1676332800@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:KidsWrite! Submissions Open DESCRIPTION:KidsWrite! Submissions Open February 14\, 2023 \nAll writers in Kindergarten through 12th Grade who reside in San Diego County are welcome to submit.  The three literature categories are Poetry\, Short Story\, and Graphic Story (illustrated story). \n\nPoetry may be in any format\, rhyming or free verse;\nShort Story is generally (but does not have to be) a work of fiction;\nGraphic Story is a poem\, essay\, or short story told in illustrations\, no more than 4 pages long\, either hand-drawn and scanned or using a graphic drawing program such as ProCreate. Entries may or may not have captions or speech/thought bubbles.\nWriters may submit works in one or more categories—for example\, one Poem and one Short Story—but may submit only one work per category. Please see Section 4: Entry Rules / Requirements / How-To’s\, below\, for more entry information.\n\nLearn More: https://sandiegowritersfestival.submittable.com/submit URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/kidswrite-submissions-open/ LOCATION:Sample Venue Name\, Sample Venue Address\, Sample Venue City\, CA\, 12345\, United States CATEGORIES:Kids Programming ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Kidswrite-theme-2023png-e1675383008231.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230126T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230126T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20230116T211021Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230116T211630Z UID:269614-1674752400-1674756000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club present Hester: A Novel by Laurie Lico Albanese DESCRIPTION:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club: Hester: A Novel by Laurie Lico Albanese\nTime: Thursday\, January 26\, 2023\, 5:00-6:00 PM Pacific Time \nBuy the Book: Click here to buy from Warwick’s \nA Facebook Live Event: Join us here \nNamed a Most Anticipated Book for Fall by Goodreads • Washington Post • New York Post • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • Business Insider • An October Indie Next List Pick • An October LibraryReads Pick \n“A hauntingly beautiful––and imagined––origin story to The Scarlet Letter.” ––People \nWHO IS THE REAL HESTER PRYNNE?Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband\, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium\, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they’ve arrived in Salem\, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country\, forced to make her way by any means possible. \nWhen she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne\, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors\, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker\, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward’s safe return grows increasingly unlikely\, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together\, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which? \nIn this sensuous and hypnotizing tale\, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country’s complicated past\, and learns that America’s ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel’s story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a “real” American in the first half of the 19th century\, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England\, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of “unusual” women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined\, Laurie Lico Albanese’s Hester is a timeless tale of art\, ambition\, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down. \n\n\n\n“A unique take on a story that tackles what it costs to be an “unusual” woman.” ––BuzzFeed \n“Albanese’s novel will engage readers seeking racial themes\, a resilient heroine\, and a feminist origin story for one of America’s always relevant nineteenth-century classics.” ––Booklist \n“A lovely fictional look at the origins of [Hawthorne’s] masterpiece…the rich details of life in Salem in the early 19th century\, and especially about Isobel’s creative work as a seamstress and designer\, enliven the tale.” ––Kirkus \n“A standout historical… Even those unfamiliar with the classic will be hooked by this account of a capable woman standing up to the sexist and racial prejudices of her time.” ––Publishers Weekly \n“Hester is a vividly reimagined portrayal of the tragic heroine in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. “Full of lush and colorful prose\, this is a tale of one woman’s determination and self-reliance amid the ‘new world’ of 19th-century Salem\, which teems with festering secrets and alluring prospects. A message of resilience\, Hester proves that a woman will do whatever she must to prosper\, even when she is left with nothing but courage―and a few secrets of her own.” ––Sarah Penner\, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary \n“Albanese has written a masterpiece that should be required reading alongside Hawthorne’s classic tale of adultery. Rich in detail and hauntingly lyrical\, she examines the myriad ways that extraordinary women are judged harshly and forced to downplay their gifts in order to conform to society’s demands. Enthralling\, ambitious\, and a total knock-out.” ––Fiona Davis\, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue \n“A rich tapestry of a novel. In dreamlike yet vivid prose\, Albanese weaves a story about 19th century Salem\, a place with a dark history where secrets still abound\, and conjures the life of Hawthorne’s muse\, a woman whose skill and imagination are both the key to her survival and the source of others’ mistrust and envy. Vivid\, complex\, and intricately detailed.” ––Christina Baker Kline\, #1 New York Times bestselling author \n“This page-turning and poignant novel beautifully imagines the untold life story of the woman who went down in literary history wearing a scarlet letter. Albanese lets the reader accompany her through an early life of secret powers and difficult attachments on her way to becoming a strong and independent woman.” ––Alice Elliott Dark\, author of Fellowship Point \n“The diverse women at the heart of The Crucible\, the Salem witch trials\, and The Scarlet Letter at last get their say―in full-throated technicolor. A luminous blend of fiction and truth\, with an extraordinarily gifted heroine at its center\, Hester weaves together a spellbinding tapestry of Salem history as it has never been told before.” ––Afia Atakora\, author of Conjure Women \n\n\nLaurie Lico Albanese has published fiction\, poetry\, journalism\, travel writing\, creative nonfiction\, and memoir. Her books include Stolen Beauty\, Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir\, Lynelle by the Sea\, and The Miracles of Prato\, co-written with art historian Laura Morowitz. Laurie is married to a publishing executive and is the mother of two children. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/warwicks-sdwf-book-club-present-hester-a-novel-by-laurie-lico-albanese/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2-14.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221008T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221008T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20220819T214447Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220827T160804Z UID:268877-1665221400-1665252000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:2022 Writers Festival DESCRIPTION:Full Schedule\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Local award-winning author\, Shilpi Somaya Gowda\, author of Secret Daughter\, The Golden Son\, and The Shape of Family (Keynote) \nQian Julie Wang\, author of Beautiful Country: A Memoir (A NYT Bestsellter and Notable Book of 2021; One of President Obama’s Favorite Books of 2021; NPR Best Book of 2021) (in conversation with Marni Freedman) \nAuthors Madhushree Ghosh (Khabaar) and Keith Corbin (California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival) (on Food Writing as Metaphor) \nLaura Cathcart Robbins host of The Only One in the Room podcast and author of Stash (workshop on the publishing process from query to cover art) \nSan Diego’s own Dean Nelson\, author of Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions\, Get Better Answers\, and Interview Anyone – (Art of the Interview workshop and panel on the current state of journalism) \nSDWF Poet in Residence\, Gill Sotu – (performance and creative writing workshop) \nKirsten Grind\, WSJ reporter and author of Happy At Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh \nAward-winning mystery writers panel with Matt Coyle (author of the Rick Cahill Series); Naomi Hirihara (Clark and Division); Joe Ide (The Goodbye Coast and the IQ series); and Gary Phillips (One Shot Harry). \nHistorical fiction panel with Jennifer Coburn (Cradles of the Reich); Nicola Harrison (The Showgirl); and Jill Hall (The Green Lace Corset) \nAuthor Amy Wallen (How to Write a Novel in 20 Pies) (workshop on Striving for Imperfection) \nKidlit authors\, Virginia Loh-Hagan\, and Lee Wind (on speaking out against book banning) \nAward-winning actress\, screenwriter\, and comedian\, Renee Taylor (The Nanny) \nMemoir panel with Jesse Leon (I’m Not Broken); Sonora Jha (How to Raise a Feminist Son); Laura Engel (You’ll Forget This Ever Happened) \nZibby Owen\, host of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast and author of Bookends (on building community and being an author advocate and book influencer) \nand Dave Putnam (author of the Bruno Johnson series); Linda Moore (Attribution); Leslie Johansen Nack (The Blue Butterfly); and Anastasia Zadeik (Blurred Fates) (on Developing a Book Marketing Plan) \n…and more to come! URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/2022-writers-festival/ LOCATION:Coronado Public Library\, 640 Orange Avenue\, Coronado\, California\, 92118 CATEGORIES:2022 Writers Festival ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SDWF-2022-Save-the-Date.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220929T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220929T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20220821T003443Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220822T183911Z UID:268964-1664470800-1664474400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Virtual Book Club: Warwick's + SDWF Book Club Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda DESCRIPTION:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club: Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda \nTime: September 29\, 2022\, 5:00-6:00 PM Pacific Time \nBuy the Book: Click here to buy from Warwick’s \n\nA Facebook Live Event. Click here to join. \n\n\n\n\n\nMoving and thought-provoking and informative and imaginative and beautifully executed.  What a wonderful story!”\n—Mary Jane Clark \n“This book is a must for anyone touched by adoption\, or India\, or the delicate dynamic between adolescent girls and their mothers.”\n—Sujata Massey\, author of Shimura Trouble \nSecret Daughter\, a first novel by Shilpi Somaya Gowda\, explores powerfully and poignantly the emotional terrain of motherhood\, loss\, identity\, and love through the experiences of two families—one Indian\, one American—and the child that binds them together. A masterful work set partially in the Mumbai slums so vividly portrayed in the hit film Slumdog Millionaire\, Secret Daughter recalls the acclaimed novels of Kim Edwards and Thrity Umrigar\, yet sparkles with the freshness of a truly exciting new literary voice. \n  \n\n\n\n\nAbout the Author:\nShilpi Somaya Gowda was born and raised in Toronto\, Canada. Her previous novels\, Secret Daughter and The Golden Son became international bestsellers\, selling over one million copies worldwide. She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\, where she was a Morehead-Cain scholar. She lives in California with her husband and children. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/virtual-book-club-warwicks-sdwf-book-club-secret-daughter-by-shilpi-somaya-gowda/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/C69AE2DA-EA75-4DC0-8BCD-DBC49C499990.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220616T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220616T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20220503T210019Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220822T183614Z UID:268772-1655398800-1655402400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Virtual Book Club: Warwick's + SDWF Book Club Never Simple: A Memoir\, featuring Liz Scheier DESCRIPTION:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club: Never Simple: A Memoir\, featuring Liz Scheier  \nTime: June16\, 2022\, 5:00-6:00 PM Pacific Time \nBuy the Book: Click here to buy from Warwick’s \n\nA Facebook Live Event. Click here to join. \n\n\n\nLiz Scheier’s darkly funny and touching memoir—with shades of Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle and Mira Bartók’s The Memory Palace—of growing up in ’90s Manhattan with a brilliant\, mendacious single mother. \nScheier’s mother Judith was a news junkie\, a hilarious storyteller\, a fast-talking charmer you couldn’t look away from\, a single mother whose devotion crossed the line into obsession\, and—when in the grips of the mental illness that plagued every day of her life—a violent and abusive liar whose hold on reality was shaky at best. On an uneventful afternoon when Scheier was eighteen\, her mother sauntered into the room to tell her two important things: one\, she had been married for most of Scheier’s life to a man she’d never heard of\, and two\, the man she’d told Scheier was her father was entirely fictional. She’d made him up. Those two big lies were the start\, but not the end; it took dozens of smaller lies to support them\, and by the time she was done she had built a farcical\, half-true life for the two of them\, from fake social security number to fabricated husband. \nOne hot July day twenty years later\, Scheier receives a voicemail from Adult Protective Services\, reporting that Judith has stopped paying rent and is refusing all offers of assistance. That call is the start of a shocking journey that takes the Scheiers\, mother and daughter\, deep into the cascading effects of decades of lies and deception. \nNever Simple is the story of learning to survive—and\, finally\, trying to save—a complicated parent\, as feared as she is loved\, and as self-destructive as she is adoring. \n\n\n\nLiz Scheier is a former Penguin Random House editor who worked in publishing and content development for many years\, including at Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon. She writes book reviews and feature articles for Publishers Weekly. She is now a product developer living in Washington\, D.C.\, with her husband\, two small children\, and an ill-behaved cat. Never Simple is her first book. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/never-simple-a-memoir-featuring-liz-scheier/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SDWFWarwicks_Book_Club_Never_Simple1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220414T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220414T180000 DTSTAMP:20260605T213950 CREATED:20220302T013618Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220302T013951Z UID:268657-1649955600-1649959200@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Virtual Book Club: Warwick's + SDWF Book Club Beneficence featuring bestselling-author Meredith Hall DESCRIPTION:Warwick’s + SDWF Book Club: Beneficence featuring bestselling-author Meredith Hall \nTime: Apr 14\, 2022\, 5:00-6:00 PM Pacific Time \n  \n\nBuy the Book: Click here to buy from Warwick’s\nA Facebook Live Event. Click here to join. \n\nAfter a sudden and terrible loss\, how does a loving family find their way back to the goodness and peace they once shared? Reviewers and readers have called this literary historical novel “hauntingly beautiful\,” “a masterpiece of compassion\,” “a page-turner and an artistic triumph.”\nWritten by a masterful storyteller\, this is a book that illuminates the journey we make through grief to healing. \nIn the midst of a nearly perfect life\, Doris Senter is thankful but wary. “We can’t ever know what will come\,” she says. When an unimaginable tragedy turns the family of five into a family of four\, everything the Senters held faith in is shattered. The family is consumed by sorrow and guilt. Slowly\, the surviving family members find their way to forgiveness―of themselves and of each other. \nFew writers know the human heart and the burden of grief as New York Times bestselling author Meredith Hall (Without a Map). This is a radiant novel of goodness and love―both its gifts and its obligations―that will stay with readers long after the last page. With a rare tenderness and compassion\, Beneficence shows broken hearts becoming whole as this family reclaims their love and peace. \n\nWhat people are saying: \n\n“People stay together\, fall apart\, come back together\, altered. It is a book about work\, about grief\, about thick ongoing love. Hall’s prose is hewn\, sinewy\, with moments of electrifying beauty and grace.”―Boston Globe \n“One of the best books I’ve ever read.”―Simon Van Booy \n“As organically as it traveled to heartbreak\, Beneficence progresses to the place of wisdom that lies beyond it\, where we learn that a home is part of the ‘vast world of innocence and harm\,’ not an island beyond it.”―Wall Street Journal \n“A modern American masterpiece.”―Dani Shapiro \n“If the word ‘luminous’ didn’t already exist\, you’d have to invent it to describe Meredith Hall’s radiant new novel Beneficence.”―Richard Russo \n“These voices from the past speak so clearly to our time\, at a moment when many of us wonder whether we’ll lose the things that we consider blessings….Beneficence is a quiet but steady book\, one that echoes ancient and important rhythms.”―Washington Post \n“A quiet gem…hard to put down.”―Library Journal\n\n\nMeredith Hall‘s memoir Without a Map was instantly recognized as a classic of the genre and became a New York Times bestseller. It was named Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and BookSense\, as well as Elle’s “Readers’ Pick of the Year.” Ms. Hall was a recipient of the 2004 Gift of Freedom Award from A Room of Her Own Foundation. Her work has appeared in The New York Times\, Paris Review\, Five Points\, Gettysburg Review\, Kenyon Review\, Southern Review\, and many other journals. Hall divides her time between Maine and California. \nWebsite: https://meredithhall.org \nTwitter: @MerHallBooks URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/virtual-book-club-sdmwa-warwicks-sdwf-book-club-beneficence-featuring-bestselling-author-meredith-hall/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Beneficence-Cover.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR