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:20200308T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20201101T090000 END:STANDARD 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 END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T133000 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210426T151131Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210629T005057Z UID:263765-1626525000-1626528600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Interview with Dr. Edith Eva Eger\, author of The Gift DESCRIPTION:Dr. Edith Eva Eger\, international bestselling author of The Choice\, about her newest New York Times bestselling book\, The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life joins the San Diego Writers Festival\, in conversation with Phyllis Olins\, award-winning conflict resolution counselor\, and author of How Not to Be a Jerk (or a Victim): Journaling from Conflict to Healthy Relationships in Eight Easy Steps. \nDr. Eger’s powerful first book The Choice told the story of her survival in the concentration camps\, her escape\, her healing\, and her journey to freedom. Oprah Winfrey says\, “I will be forever changed by Dr. Eger’s story.” Thousands of people worldwide wrote Dr. Eger to share how The Choice inspired them to confront the past and try to heal their pain—and many readers asked her to write another\, more “how-to” book. The Gift is just such a book. In it\, Dr. Eger expands on her message of healing and provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages us to change the thoughts and behaviors that may be keeping us imprisoned in the past. \nDr. Eger explains the worst prison she experienced was not the one the Nazis put her in\, but the one she created for herself—the prison within her own mind. She describes the twelve most pervasive imprisoning beliefs she has known—including fear\, grief\, anger\, secrets\, stress\, guilt\, shame\, and avoidance—and the tools she has discovered to deal with these universal challenges. Accompanied by stories from Dr. Eger’s own life and the lives of her patients\, each chapter includes thought-provoking questions and takeaways. Filled with empathy\, insight\, and humor\, The Gift captures the vulnerability and common challenges we all face and provides encouragement and advice for breaking out of our personal prisons to find healing and enjoy life. \n \n \n \n \n \n Event Sponsor: Will Cooper\, Playwright of The Book of Leaves\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet Our Sponsor\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Speakers\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A native of Hungary\, Dr. Edith Eva Eger was just a teenager in 1944 when she experienced one of the worst evils the human race has ever known. As a Jew living in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe\, she and her family were sent to Auschwitz\, the heinous death camp. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Phyllis Olins holds a master’s degree in counseling and has trained extensively in conflict mediation. She was appointed to the California State Advisory Commission for at-risk intervention and was awarded by the San Diego County of Education in May of 2009 for work in community relations. She has had over 20 years of experience in applying counseling and conflict-mediation strategies to dilemmas in all walks of life. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/interview-with-edith-eger-author-of-the-gift/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:2022 Writers Festival,Keynote Author ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-05-17-3.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T111500 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T121500 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210426T150742Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210630T201707Z UID:263763-1626520500-1626524100@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Discovering New Voices - Writing About Culture  DESCRIPTION:Join Laura Cathcart Robbins\, host of the popular podcast\, The Only One in the Room\, as she moderates an unflinching discussion about the challenges and rewards inherent in writing about culture. \n\nGabriel Bump\, author of Everywhere You Don’t Belong\nAnisha Bhatia\, author of The Rules of Arrangement\nCarlos De Los Rios\, author of Kids in Cages\nLindsey Salatka\, author of Fish Heads and Duck Skin\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Event Sponsor: The SDWF LOCAL AUTHOR PROGRAM\nAt the San Diego Writers Festival\, we are passionate about supporting writers and lifting up voices. Check out our local author spotlight for a peek at what’s happening with San Diego’s local writing talent and support local!! \nSupport our Local Authors  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet The Speakers\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Laura Cathcart Robbins is an author\, freelance culture writer\, and host of the popular podcast\, The Only One In The Room\, living in Studio City\, California.  She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity\, Equity\, and Inclusion. Her recent articles in Huffpo and The Temper on the subjects of race\, recovery\, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2018 LA Moth StorySlam winner and currently sits on the advisory board for the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival.  Laura is also a monthly contributor for The Tempest and a founding member of Moving Forewords\, the first national memoirist collective of its kind. Find out more about her on her website\, or you can look for her on Facebook\, on Instagram\, and follow her on Twitter. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Gabriel Bump grew up in South Shore\, Chicago. He received his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts\, Amherst. His debut novel\, Everywhere You Don’t Belong\, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2020 and has won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence\, the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award for Fiction\, the Heartland Booksellers Award for Fiction\, and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award. Bump teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Born and brought up in Mumbai\, India\, Anisha Bhatia now lives in San Diego\, California with her husband and their two children. She loves tea\, biryani\, books and beaches\, not necessarily in that order. THE RULES OF ARRANGEMENT is her first book. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Carlos de los Rios has written and published six books of prose and poetry. He is also a working filmmaker who has written/produced seven acclaimed films for Academy Award-winners Lauren Bacall and Harvey Fierstein\, Academy Award-nominee Elliot Gould\, Emmy Award-winners Johnny Galecki\, Golden Globe-nominee Hayden Panettiere as well as movie stars such as Scott Eastwood (“Texas Chainsaw 3-D”) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta from the blockbuster hit\, “The Hunger Games”). Carlos has worked on more than 20 books\, 30 films and has written and or produced seven films. Carlos lectures throughout California and is a sought-after script doctor\, writing coach and story consultant. Carlos’ clients include top Hollywood screenwriters and New York Times best-selling writers. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Lindsey Salatka is a mother\, author\, ghost-writer\, and editor. Her writing has been featured on blogher.com\, ewriterscoach.com\, In The Loop\, Shanghai Family Magazine\, Urbanatomy: Shanghai\, and thefeistywriter.com\, where she also served as managing editor for two years. A non-fiction essay she wrote was recently chosen to be in the Shaking the Tree Anthology\, volume 3. She is on the Advisory Board of the San Diego Writers Festival and served as a judge for the KidsWrite Children’s Writing Contest in 2020. Her debut novel\, Fish Heads and Duck Skin\, will be available in the summer of 2021. She is currently in-process on several projects including a sequel to her novel and a non-fiction collection. Most nights (both pre- and during Covid) find Lindsey curled up with her family or musing about life\, love\, and culture on her blog\, fishheadology or on Instagram\, @mywhatlovelygillsyouhave. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/discovering-new-voices-writing-about-culture/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:2022 Writers Festival,On Writing ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Writing_About_Culture.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T110000 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210426T150426Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210629T014856Z UID:263760-1626516000-1626519600@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Laraine Newman - May You Live In Interesting Times DESCRIPTION:Laraine Newman\, original cast member of SNL discusses her life in comedy and her experiences on SNL in her new audiobook/memoir – May You Live In Interesting Times \nListen in as festival co-founder\, Marni Freedman talks with Laraine Newman\, one of the original cast members of SNL\, about her sometimes wild\, often groundbreaking life in comedy\, her experiences on SNL\, and her new audiobook/memoir – May You Live In  Interesting Times.  \nMay You Live in Interesting Times is a warm\, funny\, heartfelt snapshot of 1970s New York City and SNL’s unexpected rocket to success\, with all the giddy headiness it entailed. Along with famous cast members John Belushi\, Dan Aykroyd\, Chevy Chase\, Jane Curtain\, Garret Morris\, and Gilda Radner\, Laraine was part of the show that changed TV—and comedy—forever. But it wasn’t all yuks and glamour. Laraine struggled with demons; she arrived in New York City with an attraction to drugs that started as a vice\, but grew to be an all-consuming addiction even as she skyrocketed to fame via her memorable characters on SNL.  \n \n \n \n \n \n Event Sponsor: Valerie Sussman\, author of Diary of an Ex-Mad Ex-Desperate Ex-Housewife\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet Our Sponsor\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet The Speakers\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Laraine Newman \nFrom growing up in Los Angeles with movie star neighbors\, bearing witness to the music scene in the 1960s and seeing the rise of comedy in the early 70s\, to studying mime in Paris under the tutelage of Marcel Marceau to becoming a founding member of the seminal comedy troupe The Groundlings\, it’s no wonder that Lorne Michaels offered Laraine Newman a spot in the original cast of Saturday Night Live.  \nThere\, along with famous cast members John Belushi\, Dan Aykroyd\, Chevy Chase\, Jane Curtin\, Garret Morris\, and Gilda Radner—Bill Murray was passed over at first and joined in a later season—Laraine was part of the show that changed TV—and comedy—forever.  \nBut it isn’t all yuks and glamor. Laraine struggled with demons. \nArriving in New York City with an attraction to drugs that started as a vice and grew to be an all-consuming addiction even as she sky-rocketed to fame via her memorable characters on SNL. \nMay You Live in Interesting Times is a warm\, funny\, heartfelt snapshot of 1970s New York City and SNL‘s unexpected rocket to success\, with all the giddy headiness that that entailed. \nAfter 5 seasons\, Laraine left SNL\, worked in movies and television\, while having adventures and relationships in Hollywood that\, in her words\, “should have gotten me killed.”  \nNow with long term sobriety\, she became a parent and reinvented herself as a voice-over actor and has a thriving career working on such animated favorites including Finding Nemo\, Monsters\, Inc.\, Despicable Me\, Inside Out\, Shrek\, and Minions. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Marni Freedman (BFA\, LMFT) is a screenwriter\, playwright\, award-winning author\, writing coach\, and co-founder of the San Diego Writers Festival. After graduating from USC film school\, Marni began her career bringing her play\, “Two Goldsteins on Acid” to the stage\, after which it was made into the film\, “Playing Mona Lisa\,” produced by Disney. She co-authored the play\, A Jewish Joke\, about a 1950s comedy writer facing the Hollywood Blacklist\, which won the NY Solo Show for best drama\, critics’ choice for the San Diego Union-Tribune\, and was recently produced Off-Broadway. Marni leads the Memoir Certificate Program for San Diego Writers\, Ink\, produces the San Diego Memoir Writers Association’s theatrical Memoir Showcase\, and is an editor of Shaking the Tree: short. brazen. memoir. She is also a writing coach and a therapist for artists and writers. Her first book\, 7 Essential Writing Tools: That Will Absolutely Make Your Writing Better (And Enliven Your Soul) is an Amazon Bestseller. Her second award-winning book is Permission to Roar: For Female Thought Leaders Ready to Write their Book. You can find Marni at www.marnifreedman.com\, a writing hub to help writers find their authentic voice. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/laraine-newman-may-you-live-in-interesting-times/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:2022 Writers Festival,Comedy Writing ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Newman_Laraine_July17.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210717T100000 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210423T183739Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210702T005518Z UID:263748-1626514200-1626516000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:2021 San Diego Writers Festival Kicks Off with Spoken Word from Gill Sotu DESCRIPTION:Join us as we officially launch the 2021 San Diego Writers Festival with a celebration of words—spoken\, written\, and performed! After a brief welcome from festival cofounders\, Marni Freedman and Jeniffer Thompson\, we will start things off with beloved spoken word artist\, Gill Sotu\, who\, along with teen poet laureates\, Marissa Michel and Sasa Aakil\, and award-winning poet and author\, Tania Pryputniewicz will speak to our 2021 Theme: What the World Needs Now. We will also announce a series of book giveaways from some of our notable 2021 speakers. Come soak up the excitement\, get inspired\, discover what we have in store\, and enter to win a book! \nSpoken word poet and artist in residence with the Jacobs Center\, Gill Sotu\, along with teen poet laureates speak to our 2021 Theme: What the World Needs Now. \n \n \n \n \n \n Event Sponsor: Kathy Pease\, author of Don’t Let the Kids Bite the Dog and a generous sponsor of our KidsWrite! program\n  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet Our Sponsor\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Speakers\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Gill Sotu is a multi-faceted artist weaving poetry\, music\, soul\, humor\, and thought provoking passion into captivating and memorable performances. He is a two time Grand Slam Poetry Champion\, two time Raw Performing artist of the year\, and a three time TEDx San Diego presenter. He has opened for rap legend Talib Kweli at the San Diego Symphony. Currently he is a teaching artist and a commissioned playwright with The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego as well as the Artist In Residence at Makers Church. He has been commissioned to produce original pieces for leading arts and community organizations such as: The San Diego Symphony\, San Diego Fashion Week\, The Unity Way of San Diego County\, Feeding America\, SD Fringe Fest\, and the San Diego Museum of Man to name a few. A magnetic performer\, Sotu uses his words and energy to bring stories to life on stage and screen and leaves audiences of all sizes entertained and inspired. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Jeniffer Thompson is an author branding expert\, publishing consultant\, and founder of Monkey C Media. MCM specializes in author websites\, award-winning book cover design\, book trailers\, and digital marketing tools to help authors sell more books. She is a co-founder of the San Diego Writers Festival\, serves on the board of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association\, and is the host of the Premise Podcast. Visit MonkeyCMedia.com and listen to The Premise podcast and learn more about Jeniffer’s personal branding at her website\, JenifferThompson.com. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Marni Freedman (BFA\, LMFT) is a screenwriter\, playwright\, award-winning author\, writing coach\, and co-founder of the San Diego Writers Festival. After graduating from USC film school\, Marni began her career bringing her play\, “Two Goldsteins on Acid” to the stage\, after which it was made into the film\, “Playing Mona Lisa\,” produced by Disney. She co-authored the play\, A Jewish Joke\, about a 1950s comedy writer facing the Hollywood Blacklist\, which won the NY Solo Show for best drama\, critics’ choice for the San Diego Union-Tribune\, and was recently produced Off-Broadway. Marni leads the Memoir Certificate Program for San Diego Writers\, Ink\, produces the San Diego Memoir Writers Association’s theatrical Memoir Showcase\, and is an editor of Shaking the Tree: short. brazen. memoir. She is also a writing coach and a therapist for artists and writers. Her first book\, 7 Essential Writing Tools: That Will Absolutely Make Your Writing Better (And Enliven Your Soul) is an Amazon Bestseller. Her second award-winning book is Permission to Roar: For Female Thought Leaders Ready to Write their Book. You can find Marni at www.marnifreedman.com\, a writing hub to help writers find their authentic voice. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Sasa Aakil is an 18 year old multi-media artist\, writer\, and the 2021 Montgomery County Youth Poet Laureate. She is a co-author of I Am The Night Sky and Other Reflections by Muslim American Youth and the artist behind the A Man Was Lynched Yesterday Project. Sasa is also a brown belt in Tung Su Do and a frequent maker of mistakes. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Marissa Michel served as the 2020 Prince George’s County Youth Poet Laureate. She is the recipient of multiple national gold medals for poetry in the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards. Marissa was also a 2020 American Voice Nominee\, and the 2020 Diaz-Mattison Poetry Prize recipient. Her newest works can be found in The Rising Phoenix Review\, the Bridgewater International Poetry Festival\, Love Letters To the Mothers and Fathers of the African Diaspora\, and elsewhere. More information about her can be found on www.marissamichel.com. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop\, Tania Pryputniewicz is the author of the poetry collection November Butterfly (Saddle Road Press\, 2014) and Heart’s Compass Tarot (Two Fine Crows Books\, 2021). Recent poems appeared in America\, We Call Your Name: Poems of Resistance and Resilience\, Borderless / Bilingual\, NILVX: A Book of Magic (Tarot Series)\, Climbing Lightly Through Forests: A Poetry Anthology Honoring Ursula K. Le Guin and are forthcoming at Juked. She teaches poetry and tarot-inspired writing classes at San Diego Writers\, Ink and Antioch University’s Continuing Education program. Tania lives in Coronado\, California with her husband\, three children\, one blue-eyed Husky\, and a formerly feral cat named Luna. Her online home is: www.taniapryputniewicz.com \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Marjha Paulino originates from Tuxtepec\, Oaxaca México and currently resides in the city of Leon\, Guanajuato\, Mexico. Her first poetry collection\, Adopté un sol en la tierra\, ( I Adopted a Sun in the Land)\, was published by the editorial press El Principio del Caos\, located in Leon\, Gto. Her work also appears in a collection titled Las Avenidas del Cielo (2018)\, a collaborative publication between the University of Aguascalientes and the University of Guanajuato; and one of her poems is part of the San Diego Poetry Annual Fractal (2020-2021). Paulino’s forthcoming book\, CUENCA\, will be published this year by the Instituto Cultural de Leon. In 2020 she won the Programa de Estímulos a la Creación y Desarrollo Artístico (Program for Artistic Creation and Development) of Guanajuato in the poetry category in 2020. Marjha is co-founder of Bilingual/Borderless with poet and translator Corinne Stanley\, where she translates poetry from English to Spanish. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/2021-san-diego-writers-festival-kicks-off-with-spoken-word-from-gill-sotu/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:2022 Writers Festival,Poetry ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SOTU_GILL_JULY17.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210615T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210615T180000 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210602T214851Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210602T215209Z UID:264815-1623776400-1623780000@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:BOOK CLUB: The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano\, A Novel by Donna Freitas DESCRIPTION:Join us for the SDWF’s June Book Club!\nA Facebook Live Event. Click here to join. \n\nFeatured Book: The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano \nRose Napolitano is fighting with her husband\, Luke\, about prenatal vitamins. She promised she’d take them\, but didn’t. He promised before they got married that he’d never want children\, but now he’s changed his mind. Their marriage has come to rest on this one question: Can Rose find it in herself to become a mother? Rose is a successful professor and academic. She’s never wanted to have a child. The fight ends\, and with it their marriage. \nBut then\, Rose has a fight with Luke about the vitamins–again. This time the fight goes slightly differently\, and so does Rose’s future as she grapples with whether she can indeed give up the one thing she thought she knew about herself. Can she reimagine her life in a completely new way? That reimagining plays out again and again in each of Rose’s nine lives\, just as it does for each of us as we grow into adulthood. What are the consequences of our biggest choices? How would life change if we let go of our preconceived ideas of ourselves and became someone completely new? Rose Napolitano’s experience of choosing and then choosing again shows us in an utterly compelling way what it means\, literally\, to reinvent a life and\, sometimes\, become a different kind of woman than we ever imagined. \nA stunning novel about love\, loss\, betrayal\, divorce\, death\, a woman’s career and her identity\, The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano is about finding one’s way into a future that wasn’t the future one planned\, and the ways that fate intercedes when we least expect it. \n\n\n  \nAbout the Author: \nThis is Donna Freitas’s first adult novel. She is the author of Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention\, as well as books for young adults. Donna has written for The Washington Post\, The New York Times\, and The Wall Street Journal\, and has appeared on NPR and the TODAY show. She’s on the faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s MFA program and lives in Brooklyn and Connecticut. \nPraise for The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano: \n“Freitas’s prose is engaging and precise\, and her what-if format proves ideal for elegantly unpacking the tensions of the plot. She balances tightly written scenes of confrontation with Rose’s poignant reflections on how much she can compromise without losing herself completely. This isn’t one to miss. “—Publishers Weekly (starred) \n“Reminiscent of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life or the movie Sliding Doors\, Freitas’ novel explores nine (but certainly not all) possible outcomes when a woman who has never wanted children marries a man who gradually decides he does….Following the maze of numbered takes becomes an addictive game\, highly literate escapism\, like watching The Queen’s Gambit….Highly readable and provocative.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred) \n“Fans of Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life\, Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot\, and the film Sliding Doors will find themselves happily lost in this charming\, heartfelt\, thought-provoking novel.”—Booklist (starred) \n“A serious yet fantastical look at relationships\, family\, and feminism told in a unique voice\, and book groups should take note. The closest readalikes are Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and Replay by Ken Grimwood.”—Library Journal (starred) URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/book-club-the-nine-lives-of-rose-napolitano-a-novel-by-donna-freitas/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SDWF-Book-Club-Donna-Feitas-iamge.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210428T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210428T181500 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210414T142405Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210415T142130Z UID:263648-1619629200-1619633700@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:Interactive discussion and Q and A session with author\, Liese O’Halloran Schwarz DESCRIPTION:Join us for an interactive discussion and Q and A session with author\, Liese O’Halloran Schwarz. \n“This brilliant portrayal of the lives of expats and their servants is also a suspenseful mystery with ever-darkening twists. For fans of A Little Life and The Goldfinch.” —People\, Book of the Week \nWashington\, DC\, 2019: Laura Preston is a reclusive artist at odds with her older sister Bea as their elegant\, formidable mother slowly slides into dementia. When a stranger contacts Laura claiming to be her brother who disappeared forty years earlier when the family lived in Bangkok\, Laura ignores Bea’s warnings of a scam and flies to Thailand to see if it can be true. But meeting him in person leads to more questions than answers. \nBangkok\, 1972: Genevieve and Robert Preston live in a beautiful house behind a high wall\, raising their three children with the help of a cadre of servants. In these exotic surroundings\, Genevieve strives to create a semblance of the life they would have had at home in the US—ballet and riding classes for the children\, impeccable dinner parties\, a meticulously kept home. But in truth\, Robert works for American intelligence\, Genevieve finds herself drawn into a passionate affair with her husband’s boss\, and their serene household is vulnerable to unseen dangers in a rapidly changing world and a country they don’t really understand. \nAlternating between past and present as all of the secrets are revealed\, What Could Be Saved is an unforgettable novel about a family shattered by loss and betrayal\, and the beauty that can exist even in the midst of brokenness. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/interactive-discussion-and-q-and-a-session-with-author-liese-ohalloran-schwarz/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:Book Club ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/what_could_be_saved.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210424T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210424T100000 DTSTAMP:20260606T033150 CREATED:20210414T142008Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210419T213457Z UID:263646-1619258400-1619258400@sandiegowritersfestival.com SUMMARY:The Art of Motion and Reveal in Poetry and Short Story with Carlos De Los Rios DESCRIPTION:Want your words to have more impact?  \nThis class will explore the various techniques that can be employed to make your writing more engrossing\, more powerful\, and more relevant. By looking at the work of master poets and short story writers we will explore how you can make your words resonate. \nCarlos de los Rios is a 20 year veteran of the movie business. He is a writer and producer of 10 feature films including studio movies for Academy Award-winners Lauren Bacall and Harvey Fierstein\, Academy Award-nominee Elliot Gould\, Emmy-Award winners C. Thomas Howell and Johnny Galecki as well as Golden Globe-nominee Hayden Panettiere and movie stars like Danny Glover and Josh Hutcherson. URL:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/event/master-class-the-art-of-motion-and-reveal-in-poetry-and-short-story-with-carlos-de-los-rios/ LOCATION:Virtual CATEGORIES:MASTER CLASS ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sandiegowritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Carlos-de-los-Rios-Color-Headshot-e1615586013862.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR