Member News

WNBA-SF Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend board meetings. Some board meetings will be held prior to WNBA-SF events this year in an effort to conserve natural and human resources. Please check the WNBA-SF web site calendar for the date and location of the monthly board meetings. Our next meeting is Oct. 2 from 6-8 at SFMOMA cafe in San Francisco.

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Author Spotlight
Bookworm talks to Patti Breitman author of....

When did you start writing?
In 1988, when the AIDS epidemic was making headlines, and major magazines were hailing condoms as the solution, I kept yelling at the magazine articles, “Nobody wants to wear a condom!” So I wrote my first book, about why and how to persuade your lover to use a condom.   The persusasive arguments are still valid, but the statistics, sadly, are out of date. And the book is out of print now, too.

Why did you choose your particular genre? 
I have always worked with prescriptive nonfiction, first as a publicist, then as an editor and finally as an agent.  Many of these books had a huge, positive influence in my life and I hoped that mine might influence others for the better as well.

What inspired you to choose your subject matter? 
The condom book was inspired by the headlines of the time. My next project, How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty, was the answer to a question my co-author Connie Hatch and I had been playing with: What did we wish we had known when we were in our twenties and thirties that we finally knew in our forties.  My new book is a response to people who enjoy vegetarian meals when they eat in restaurants or when I prepare them, but who say, “I’d eat this way more often if only it didn’t take so much time.” I set out with my co-author, Carol J. Adams, to show that it does not take so much time to prepare delicious and nutritious food from the plant kingdom.
 
How difficult/easy has your experience been as a published writer? 
Having co-authors has made the writing process a delight for me. I work alone most of the time, and I love the collaborative process of creating a book.  The hardest part for me is to think organizationally. My co-authors have always been good at organizing the books and brainstorming  the best ways to communicate the information. Also, they have been very good writers, and that has made the books accessible and fun to read.

What advice would you give other aspiring authors? 
Don’t let the nuts and bolts of getting the book published in the way of the writing. Write the best book proposal you can, and then focus on finding the best agent for the book.
 
Anything else you would like to share with the WNBA? 
I would like to thank the WNBA for its steadfast focus on books and reading. As the industry changes and even what we call a book is redefined to include electronic formats, the WNBA keeps reading front and center and celebrates books with  robust enthusiasm. It has been a pleasure to be a member.

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Would you like to be featured as our Author Spotlight? or Do you have an announcement you would like to see in our newsletter?  

Please email our newsletter editor, Sara Cassella, at newsletter@wnba-sfchapter.org .

Submission are due by the 29th of each month.  

Thank you!

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Book Announcement

Former San Francisco and National WNBA president Patti Breitman has written a new book (with Carol J. Adams) called "How to Eat Like a Vegetarian, Even If You Never Want to Be One" (Lantern Books, September 2008). Filled with more than 250 kitchen shortcuts, strategies and simple solutions, the book is intended for people who want to eat well, but who:

-Think it takes too much time to prepare meals at home;
-Are cutting back on meat and don't know what to serve;
-Do not like following recipes.

Dozens of lists, charts, and hints in How to Eat Like a Vegetarian provide meals, snacks, and surprises that are as easy to make as they are delicious. And whether they become a way of life for the reader of just an occasional experiment, these strategies will help anyone become more at home in the kitchen and more comfortable preparing scrumptious, delightful, health promoting food.

Patti Breitman is also the coauthor with Connie Hatch of How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty (Broadway Books, 2000). She is an expert public speaker and a former food columnist for VegNews magazine. She has been a vegetarian since 1986 and is the founder and director of the Marin Vegetarian Education Group.

"Practical, entertaining, and ingenious! Adams and Breitman prove that we don't need a lot of time—or even recipes—to create delicious, satisfying vegetarian meals."
—Neal Barnard, M.D., President, Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine

This book can be purchased by visiting www.amazon.com.

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Back to School Special – Sept Workshop Fee $199

Simple Abundance Close to-Home  Workshops

Are you stressed? Is the closest you get to a luxurious bubble bath that TV commercial while you are making peanut butter sandwiches for the kids? Is the last time you had 15 minutes to yourself when you arrived early at the dentist?  Would you like to change that?

Simple Abundance Close to-Home  Workshops offer an opportunity for women

who find themselves hurdling thru each day as if it were an out of body experience to slow down, take stock of their world and perhaps make changes in their lives.                    

In a community of like-minded women who share your challenges, dreams and hopes we’ll explore each of the six guiding principles  (Gratitude, Simplicity, Order, Harmony, Beauty and Joy) of  Simple Abundance  through creative and playful encounters.

Workshop fee:   $199  Fee includes  a copy of Simple Abundance , a Daybook  of Comfort and Joy, other materials,  refreshments, and  membership at  SimpleAbundance.com (a $75 value). This on-line community offers a monthly on-line magazine, member forum, classes and on-going tips on how to live an authentic life.
 

Workshop dates:  (Coastside locations)

    * Once a week for three weeks (7-9 pm): 
Sept. 10, 17 & 24
    * One-day retreat just steps from the Pacific Ocean (10 am-4:30 pm):

           Sept. 21, or Nov.  8

Classes are limited so sign up today.

Register on-line  at www.openuptoyourcreativity.com using PayPal or send a check to Creativity Mentor, PO Box 244, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.

A portion of the proceeds from every workshop will be donated to breast cancer research. 

As your Simple Abundance  Close-to-Home  Certified Workshop Leader it will be my privilege to be your guide as you embark on this grand adventure. I have been on this journey with Sarah since first discovering Simple Abundance while on retreat over ten years ago  and continue to delight in finding myself  reflected in Sarah’s words.

Mary E. Knippel, maryeknippel@simpleabundance.com, www.openuptoyourcreativity.com

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Year at a Glance

WNBA-SF Schedule of Events:

Sept. 20  WNBA-SF at Sonoma County Book Festival

Contact Elisa Southard at elisa@marketskills.com if you would like to join the WNBA-SF contingent at this popular summer event. Eight members of WNBA-SF will exhibit at the festival. ($25 to participate).

Oct 16  WNBA National Book Reading Month event!
Featuring Phillipa Gregory, author of  at Book Passage in Marin.
Join us at 7:00 for time with Phillipa Gregory and a reception.
More details coming soon.

Nov. 8th from 4:30-6:30

Where: The Century Club of California 
Cost: Free to members/$15 non-members

Join fellow WNBA members in congratulating Kathi Kamen Goldmark for her meritorious work in the world of books!  

This year’s WNBA Award winner is San Francisco resident Kathi Kamen Goldmark. Goldmark, a singer and musician who was working part time as a media escort in Los Angeles, driving authors around on their book tours, came up with the idea of putting together a literary band to give a benefit concert at a Los Angeles book fair in 1992. The band, known as The Rock Bottom Remainders, includes some of today’s most popular authors such as Amy Tan, Dave Barry, and Stephen King. 

The WNBA Award is presented by the members of the Women's National Book Association to "a living American woman who derives part or all of her income from books and allied arts, and who has done meritorious work in the world of books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her profession or occupation." 

The award was formerly known as the Constance Lindsay Skinner Award. Its namesake was a playwright, critic, editor, and author active from early in the 20th century until her death in 1939. Eleanor Roosevelt, Pearl Buck, Barbara Bush, Patricia Schroeder, Nancy Pearl, Perri Klass and our own Effie Lee Morris have all received this distinguished award. WNBA-SF will have the honor of planning the reception for this year’s winner here in San Francisco.

Nov. 14-16  WNBA-SF at California Library Assn Conference in San Jose

WNBA-SF will have a booth at the California Library Assn Conference in San Jose to share information about our organization with the library association and to continue the literary legacy of our founding president, Ms. Effie Lee Morris. In March 2008 Ms. Morris received ALA's highest honor of honorary membership in the American Library Association in recognition for her vision, advocacy and legacy to children’s services in public libraries. This distinction is conferred in recognition of outstanding contributions of lasting importance to libraries and librarianship.

Dec. 2 WNBA-SF program featuring Christine Comaford Lynch - "How I Made My Book a Bestseller"

Come join the Renegade Writer herself as she discusses her writing career and gives us tips on how to tackle our writing dilemmas.

Dec. TBA  WNBA-SF Holiday party

Don’t miss your chance to raise a glass of holiday cheer and exchange a generous amount of good will with all your WNBA-SF friends.

Jan. TBA WNBA-SF (East Bay) Mixer

Another opportunity to gather writers and readers together to discuss triumphs and challenges of their writing life. Watch the web site for more information about this event.

Feb. TBA Creativity Workshop

This workshop is an invitation to PLAY! We’ll explore new ways to think outside the box and connect to your physical self and literary soul.

Mar. 28 Meet-the-Agents

Get your pitch ready folks. This is your chance to have that long sought after face time with a real agent. You have a manuscript, but are nervous about what to say? You are in luck! This year as an added bonus WNBA-SF members who need coaching around what to say will have help. More information about this will be on the web site soon.

April 16 Author Showcase

Our popular book preview will be chaired by Elisa Southard. She is a Marketing Queen and will undoubtedly have a wonderful “hook” to help us with promotion. Whether your book is a tangible reality, or a phantom dancing in your imagination, Elisa will offer marketing advice to help you on your writing journey. Watch the web site for more information about this event.

May TBA WNBA-SF (Marin) Mixer

Another opportunity to gather writers and readers together to discuss triumphs and challenges of their writing life. Watch the web site for more information about this event.

June TBA Effie Lee Morris Children’s Lecture

Established in 1977 as a tribute to our founding president, this event is held at the San Francisco Public Library and features authors in the Children’s Historical and Research Collection.

Seeking meeting space…

Do you know a terrific restaurant in San Francisco? Or, maybe an art gallery? A community room? We’re looking for a venue to hold a dinner meeting, or Saturday morning event – do you have any suggestions. We need a room that would hold 75-100 people, on public transportation, and preferably with parking near by. Please contact Mary at president@wnba-sfchapter.org with your suggestions.