The Women’s National Book Association is home to a talented membership who do so much to promote literacy in our communities. Kudos to these members for their outstanding work!
South Florida
Congratulations to Lee Ravine on the publication of her new novel, Villa Paraiso. Villa Paraiso reveals the secrets and lies hidden behind the gates of a resort lifestyle community located on Florida’s Gold Coast. Is it possible this microcosm of society is a fool’s paradise?
Compiled by Ronni Sandroff
New Orleans
Anne Babson‘s chapbook Dolly Shot was just released by Dancing Girl Press. It is about women in twentieth century film.
Photo credit: Sally Asher
Miki Pfeffer read letters of Grace King and Mark Twain at the Center of Mark Twain Studies, October 10. She will read Grace King’s birthday reminiscences on November 29 at a woman’s club the writer founded.
Whitney Stewart‘s new children’s picture book, What Do You Celebrate? Holidays and Festivals Around the World, is available for preorder. She recently published award-winning mindfulness books for kids: Mindful Me, Mindful Me Activity Book, and Mindful Kids Activity cards.
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Laura Mullen has translated Hero by Veronique Pittolo, from the French, published by Black Square Editions, available December 2018.
Pam Ebel joined the New Orleans board and hosted the first new-board meeting at her home on August 19. She attended Heather Graham Writers’ for New Orleans conference, held at the Monteleone Hotel, on Labor Day weekend. September 25, she read from Fahrenheit 451 as part of a Banned Books Week program at the Main Jefferson Parish Library. As an Assistant Editor for The Bookwoman, she helped create and launch the new WNBA blog in October. Pam is also a volunteer faculty member for the seniors’ People Program, teaching the preparation of effective speech writing.
Compiled by Teresa Tumminello Brader
New York City
Diana Altman led a writing workshop on August 19 called Prompt! This was her second year running the workshop with the Raymond Arts Alliance.
Sheila Lewis recently co-authored Spanda Cards for the Entrepreneurial Spirit an inspirational card deck with booklet for your work/life issues. It was published on September 25 by Beyond Words.
Dina Di Maio‘s nonfiction book, Authentic Italian: The Real Story of Italy’s Food and Its People, was released on March 19, 2018. It is a history of Italian-American food and immigration.
Barbara Brett‘s novel, Secret Agenda: Who’s Castrating the Wolves of Wall Street?, won the Silver Medal in the Mystery Division of the 2018 Global Ebook Awards.
Deborah Batterman‘s novel, Just Like February, has been named a finalist in American Book Fest’s International Book Awards and American Fiction Awards.
Compiled by Rina Mody
San Francisco
Rina Z. Neiman’s debut novel, Born Under Fire, was published in May 2018.
Janis Couvreux‘s Sail Cowabunga! A Family’s Ten Years at Sea vies as a semi-finalist for Chanticleer’s 2018 Journey Book Award.
Megan Sweet is publishing a new book on ways to transform our education system. Go to www.your3eyes.com to learn more.
Lynn Goodwin will be teaching Independent Study through Story Circle Network starting again in January. To see their latest contest, go to https://www.writeradvice.com.
Open: Journal of Arts & Letters published Harriet Garfinkle’s short story, “The Ghoul and the Gunslinger,” and artwork, Oberon.
Brenda Knight has been promoted to Director of Editorial for Mango Publishing and will be teaching at the San Fransciso Writers Conference. She will also emcee the WNBA-San Francisco Member Showcase!
Renate Stendhal’s Kiss Me Again, Paris is Finalist in 2018 Best Book Awards (LGBTQ nonfiction). Her contribution to #MeToo, the “Sexual Harassment Log of a German Girl,” was also published.
The Secret Life of Mrs. London, the love triangle between Houdini, Jack London, and his wife Charmian, by Rebecca Rosenberg has been named one of 12 Marvelous Novels about the early twentieth century and is now ranked #17 in Historical Fiction (Amazon)!
Aline Soules had two poems, “Gutting” and “Witching Hour,” published in the Galway Review on Ocotber 28, 2018. She also received third place for her poem, “Night of Thick Clouds,” in the Ina Coolbrith Circle content announced on November 3, 2018.
Megan Clancy‘s debut novel, The Burden of a Daughter, was published in November by Sand Hill Review Press.
Mary Mackey’s new collection of poetry The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams has won a California Institute of Integral Studies Women’s Spirituality Book Award. Also, her work Jaguars has made the Small Press Distribution Bestseller List
Fran Quittel’s, The Central Park Lost Mitten Party (September 2018) is now available for purchase in the Central Park Conservancy’s visitor centers.
We Make It Better: The LGBTQ Community and Their Positive Contributions to Society by Kathleen Archambeau, along with Eric Rosswood, is trending #1 or #2 on Amazon New Releases in five categories. They are excited to bring this book forward and into schools across America. It’s due out in January 2019.
Cathy Fiorello’s new memoir, Standing at the Edge of the Pool, relates how, at age seventy-five, the author “defies the constraints of ageism.”
My Patients Like Treats: Tales from a House-Call Veterinarian by Duncan MacVean was recently released from Skyhorse Publishing.
Humaira Ghilzai has been the Afghan Cultural Consultant on the theatre production of A Thousand Splendid Suns (based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini).
Joan Gelfand‘s new book, You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C’s of Successful Authors, was recently published by Mango Press.
Kate Farrell’s YA novella, Strange Beauty, is now available for pre-release.
Lisa Braver Moss‘s Young Adult novel, Shrug, will be published by SheWrites Press in Fall 2019.
Margie Yee Webb‘s Cat Mulan’s Mindful Musings was featured at Face In Book’s “Celebrate Local Authors!” El Dorado Hills, California.
Martha Conway’s novel The Underground River (Simon & Schuster) was recently released in paperback and was a New York Times Notable Book.
Mary Jo McConahay‘s new book, The Tango War: The Struggle for the Minds, Hearts and Riches of Latin America during World War II (St. Martin’s Press) was released this fall and has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly.
Nisha Zenoff’s book, The Unspeakable Loss: How Do You Live After a Child Dies, recently won the gold medal from Independent Publisher’s Living Now Book Awards in the grief category.
Vicki DeArmon has taken on a new position as the Director of Programming for the Bay Area Book Festival.
Compiled by Martha Conway and Jennifer Griffith