What’s New with WNBA Members?
WNBA members can submit their news at any time, and then the Bookwoman staff shares members’ news in the Bookwoman Newsletter and on the Bookwoman Blog. Below, you’ll find the WNBA Members’ News for March 2022.
Member Appearances
Lucille Lang Day (WNBA-SF) did a reading on March 3 with Lyla June and Andrina Smith in celebration of Native American poetry for the Matwaala poetry festival.
Sue Wilhite (WNBA-SF) presented “Forget Your Bliss: Follow Your Fear!” at the Voices of Women Summit on March 8.
Joan Lester (WNBA-San Francisco) invites you to Creating an Anti-racist Culture where Joan will be interviewed by “Pro-culturator” Oakland author Jill Nagle on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 12 – 2 pm PT. Please join us as we create a world that works for everyone!
WNBA-LA members Kim Gottlieb-Walker and Angela Shanté Johnsonand WNBA-Network member Tamara Davis will be speakers at Bookfest on April 2 & 3.
Writing and Publishing Announcements
Megha Sood’s (WNBA-Network) debut full-length poetry collection, My Body Lives Like a Threat, was published on January 26 by FlowerSong Press. Her chapbook My Body Is Not an Apology was published in October 2021 by Finishing Line Press. An anthology she co-edited, The Medusa Project, has been selected as a digital payload to be sent to the Moon in 2023 as part of the LunarCodex Project in collaboration with Nasa and SpaceX. The project is one of the historical projects to send the creative works of almost 6,000 artists and one AI to the Moon by 2024.
Kim Gottlieb-Walker (WNBA-LA) is thrilled that her ’60s/’70s romance Lenswoman (winner of the Georgia Romance Writers Maggie award for best mainstream novel with a strong romance) is now represented by Eric Miller of 3iBooks, an enthusiastic agent currently submitting the manuscript to publishers.
Jeanne Bandolina’s (WNBA-Charlotte) novel, Long Journey Back, was reviewed in the January 2022 issue of Publishers Weekly and was given A/A+ ratings in all categories. It is receiving 5-star ratings on Amazon and GoodReads as well.
MaryEllen Beveridge (WNBA-Network) gave a reading from her collection of short stories, Permeable Boundaries, on February 19. The event was sponsored by the James Blackstone Memorial Library in Branford, Connecticut.
Harikleia Sirmans (WNBA-Network) published two articles on Medium: Buried Treasures: The Significance of Wool Artifacts in the Pazyryk Tribe and The Discovery of the Indigo Plant and Dye.
Lisa Braxton (WNBA-Boston) had a personal essay published on You Might Need to Hear This during Black History Month. Her essay focuses on her mother.
Joan Lester’s (WNBA-San Francisco) memoir, Loving before Loving: A Marriage in Black and White, was published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 2021. The Story Circle Women’s Book Awards named the book a 2021 Sarton Award Finalist.
Elisa Speranza’s (WNBA-New Orleans) new book, The Italian Prisoner, will be published April 11. Inspired by little-known historical events and set to a swing-era soundtrack, The Italian Prisoner is an engrossing story of wartime love, family secrets, and a young woman’s struggle to chart her own course at an inflection point in American history. The novel was a William Faulkner—William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition 2019 Novel-in-Progress Finalist.
Maggie Smith’s (WNBA-Network) debut novel, Truth and Other Lies, was published on March 8, 2022 by Ten16 Press. Readers who love Jodi Picoult’s topical plot twists and Liane Moriarty’s character-driven novels will devour this fast-paced tale of three women whose lives converge as one fights a devastating accusation, another campaigns for a contested seat in Congress, and one, the young reporter with ties to both, navigates the tricky line between secrets and lies.
Leslie Ferguson’s (WNBA-Network) memoir, When I Was Her Daughter, was published on November 12, 2021 by Acorn Publishing. When I Was Her Daughter is a found-family story of compassion and forgiveness. With raw honesty, Ferguson depicts her journey through madness, loss, and a broken child-welfare system where only the lucky and most resilient succeed.
Chloe Louvouezo’s (WNBA-DC) book Life, I Swear: Intimate Stories from Black Women on Identity, Healing and Self-Trust was published by Harper Design in November 2021. In this stunningly illustrated essay collection inspired by the popular podcast Life, I Swear, prominent Black women reflect on self-love and healing, sharing stories of the trials and tribulations they’ve faced and what has helped them confront pain, heal wounds, and find connection.
Congratulations to our WNBA members on your achievements.
Feel free to share WNBA Members’ News for March 2022 with your fellow booklovers!