Events

Join us for the culminating event for One Book One Marin 2012. Marin County residents started reading and discussing the 2012 selection, Michael David Lukas’ The Oracle of Stamboul in January. Michael Krasny is an author, professor of English, and host of KQED’s Forum.

Join Julia Alvarez for lunch as she discusses A Wedding in Haiti, a story about three of Alvarez’s most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage and charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested. Alvarez is the author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.

Be sure and check out this interview with Julia Alvarez on Shelf Awareness.

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo.

Doron Weber presents Immortal Bird: A Family Memoir ($25.00). Born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery when he was a baby, Damon Weber lives a big life with spirit and independence that have always been a source of pride to his parents, Doron and Shealagh. But when Damon is diagnosed with a new illness as a teenager, his triumphant coming-of-age tale turns into a darker and more dramatic quest: his family’s race against time and a flawed heath care system.

Terri Glass, Marin Coordinator for California Poets in the Schools will host a lively reading celebrating selected student poets from all over the county. Poet Teachers, Karen Benke, Lea Aschenas, Sasha Eakle, Claire Blotter, Kathy Evans, giovanni singleton, and Brian Kervin will be on hand to introduce their students. Come hear these talented children surprise you and feed your heart.

THIS CLASS HAS BEEN CANCELLED 

Thinking about reentering the workforce, but don’t know how to begin? This workshop is for moms who are ready to get back to work. Whether you want a job while the kids are in school, or you’re an empty nester, you will need to reassess your wants, needs and opportunities. Come to an interactive supportive group with networking, goal setting and action steps. Linda Lesem is a Certified Career Counselor and Life Coach with “Moms in Transitions” and Alison Berka has an MBA in marketing and has worked for nonprofits in marketing and fundraising.

This is your chance to fix short stories that are “almost there”—the little heartbreakers that are still not exactly right. Often it just takes a slight adjustment, but sometimes it takes a sharp kick—this class offers both. Molly Giles is a novelist and short story writer. She teaches at the University of Arkansas and is an editor for Penguin Putnam. Giles has worked with Amy Tan and many other successful writers.

Marika Blossfeldt presents Essential Nourishment. Blossfeldt's thoughtful holistic approach to nutrition combined with her extensive knowledge of natural ingredients make for a pleasurable read. In her well-articulated book, she considers all aspects of food: eating, nutrition, spirituality, ritual and social connection. Her tables for cooking grains and legumes take the guesswork out of preparing these important foods from scratch.

Elizabeth Gilbert signs copies of At Home on the Range (or, How to Make Friends with Your Stove) ($24.00). While moving into a new house, Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love, found an old cookbook by her great-grandmother, Margaret Yardley Potter. This new edition of Yardley’s cookbook features a spirited introduction by Gilbert, who discovers she has much in common with her great-grandmother. Buy a book and get it signed.

Lynn Andrews discusses her novel Coming Full Circle:Ancient Teachings for a Modern World ($17.95). Shamanic, philosophical, and inspirational teaching from the Sisterhood of the Shield are now condensed into one very important book. The author reminds us that there is no beginning and no end to the circle of life. She shows that there is a spiritual solution to every one of life’s problems.

VIP Pre-Party 6:30 pm
Tickets start at $50
Visit www.notesandwords.org for more information about the Notes & Words Essay Contest and tickets for the Oakland event.

Join us for the annual Oakland event celebrating literary and musical talent. Book Passage is a proud sponsor of Notes & Words 2012, where writers and musicians share the stage at The Fox Theater in Oakland to benefit Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland, including the fantastic pediatric care now available at the Larkspur Specialty Clinic.

What does it take to write a book review that will get published? Former S.F. Chronicle Book Editor and ZYZZYVA Managing Editor Oscar Villalon shows how to write a smart, entertaining book review. He explains what works best in long and brief reviews, what to keep in mind when assessing a book, and how to shape the tone of your review.

Victoria Sweet talks about God’s Hotel: A Doctor, A Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine ($27.95). San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital is the last almshouse in the country, a descendant of the “Hotel-Dieu” (God’s hotel) that cared for the sick in the Middle Ages. Ballet dancers and rock musicians, professors and thieves—anyone who had fallen, or, often, leapt, onto hard times—and needed extended medical care-ended up here. So did Sweet, who came for two months and stayed for 20 years.

Join us for the documentary film Holy Land Hardball from 7th Art Releasing and hear from its co-director, Brett Rapkin, and pitcher Aaron Pribble, Tamalpais High School teacher and author of Pitching in the Promised Land.

Rabbi Michael Lerner talks about Embracing Israel/Palestine ($17.95). This work presents Lerner’s continuing attempt to explain the current struggles between Israel and Palestine in a way that is sympathetic to both sides and provides a strategy to building a lasting peace based on acceptance, generosity, and open- hearted reconciliation.

IMPORTANT: Registration closes at 5:00pm on Saturday, April 28. For reservations before then, please call (415) 927-0960 ext. 1 and request to speak with a manager. 

Admission $115 per person
Introduced by Dave Eggers

Join Elizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of  Eat, Pray, Love, for a tribute to our mothers and our mother's mothers. For decades, they cooked and celebrated life in the kitchen. That was true for Margaret Yardley Potter, Gilbert's great grandmother and a longtime cooking columnist in the early decades of the 20th century. An accomplished cook and an epicurean adventurer in her day, Potter encouraged interest in farmer's markets, ethnic foods, and other approaches far ahead of their time. Be it luck or fate, Gilbert recently stumbled upon her great grandmother's collection of recipes. She has now revived this heirloom collection and given it new life in a lovely new edition from McSweeney's, At Home on the Range. [ For more about this remarkable book, check out this just published Huffington Post interview with Elizabeth Gilbert.]

"This book is a beautiful time capsule that looks back to the roots of American gastronomy, when the values of gardening and fresh ingredients were the primary inspiration. Margaret Yardley Potter's warm, witty stories and recipes show us that our great-grandmothers instinctually understood that food is central to a life well-lived." - Alice Waters

Don't miss this very special event! Elizabeth Gilbert will be introduced by McSweeney's publisher Dave Eggers, who will speak a bit about ScholarMatch, the organization to which a portion of the proceeds of this new book are being donated. Tickets are $115 per person. Price includes meal, wine, coffee, tax, tip, & a signed copy of the book. Proceeds benefit the educational nonprofits 826 National and ScholarMatch.

Can't attend the event? Order a signed copy

Six Mondays, Apr. 30-June 11 (No class May 28)

Develop reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Readings include examples of Italian poetry, plus short stories and plays by Moravia, Calvino, and Ginzburg.

Spending the night in Paris? The precious hours can slip away faster than a good bottle of Bordeaux. Nicolas Wolff provides an overview of everything a night in Paris has to offer: museums, walks, underground movie theaters, jazz clubs and, of course, food and wine. Bring questions about your upcoming trip and get expert, tailored advice. Nicolas Wolff grew up in Paris and teaches French.

Seven Tuesdays: May 1-June 12
This class is for beginners and for those who have previously had some exposure to German. You’ll focus on conjugating verbs in the present tense, declension of nouns, articles, and your ability to carry on a simple conversation with a native German speaker. Hamid Emami has a Masters from the University of Hamburg, and he is fluent in German, English, French, Spanish & Farsi. He has taught German for many years.

Melina B. Jampolis M.D. discusses The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life ($16.95). If you've ever been on a diet, you probably noticed that life got in the way. Holidays, weekends, summer barbeques, and vacations can derail the most dedicated dieter's efforts. The Calendar Diet delivers easy-to-follow diet advice and more.

Melina B. Jampolis, M.D. Dr. Melina is one of only several hundred board certified physician nutrition specialists in the United States. She was the host of Fit Tv's Diet Doctor and has served as the diet and fitness expert for CNN.com since 2008. Her first book, The No Time to Lose Diet was released in 2007.

San Geronimo Valley School students from the first through sixth grades read their original poems — poems about their lives, their interests, their worries, and the natural world. Almost all of the work presented at this special event will be read for the first time in public. Come meet the future poets of America!

San Geronimo Valley Elementary School is located in San Geronimo, CA and is one of two elementary schools in the Lagunitas Elementary School District. It is a public school that serves students in grades K-6.

Six Wednesdays, May 2-June 6

Develop listening, speaking and reading skills through literary texts, news clippings, and film. The class covers the subjunctive and other grammatical structures.

Six Meetings: May 2, 9, 17, 23, 30 and June 6
The idea of Islamic Art as being aniconic is entirely mistaken. We shall examine many fascinating figurative paintings that tell intriguing stories. The heyday of Islamic civilization was the millennium from the 7th century to the 17th century when Central Asia and Persia were the pivots of transcontinental trade in luxury goods such as silk, paper, ceramics and spices. We’ll look at mosques, madrasas, caravanseries, and palaces as well as painting, book illustrations and textiles Recommended Reading: Islamic Art and Architecture, by Robert Hillenbrand (Thames and Hudson).

Rajesh Parameswaran reads from I Am an Executioner: Love Stories ($24.95), a funny, riotous and wildly original fiction debut. These nine stories focus on the power of love and the love of power, two urgent human desires that inevitably, and sometimes calamitously, intertwine.  This book “… gets the pulse racing from word one. Bravo!” — Gary Shteyngart

“To claim that an author has written inventive stories about love conjures up many possibilities, but none will compare to the fertile imaginings of Rajesh Parameswaran. His debut collection, I Am an Executioner, is filled with the voices of astonishing characters — a misunderstood tiger, a strip mall con man who opens a medical clinic with only library texts to guide him, an executioner, a surveillance agent, a pompous railway manager, and more — whose pitch-perfect stories recalibrate the notion of love and power with dark humor and unbearable tenderness.” — Walter Mosley

Hollister Rand discusses I'm Not Dead, I'm Different: Kids in Spirit Teach Us About Living a Better Life on Earth ($14.99). Working as a medium for the last 15 years, Rand has reached out to many loved ones, including fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and children. She talks about what she feels these spirits are saying, claiming that they still have things to say to those they have left behind.

Rand is clairvoyant, clairaudient and clairsentient (meaning that she can see, hear and feel the presence of spirits as well as get a sense of their personalities, emotions, physical attributes and illnesses). An internationally renowned medium, Rand is known for her extraordinarily detailed work; she provides specific messages from loved ones living in the spirit world with feeling, heart, and grace.

Six Wednesdays: May 2-June 6
Everybody writes poetry, it sometimes seems. It’s the discerning readers that are scarce. “To have great poets,” Walt Whitman said, “there must be great audiences, too.” In this reading group we look at English-language poetry of many styles and periods, taking nobody’s word for it about what is “great.” What makes poetry tick? What makes a poem worth the effort of reading it? How do we enjoy and judge the seemingly obscure or difficult poem? Widely-published local poet and author John Hart co-edits the venerable all-poetry journal Blue Unicorn, now in its 34th year.

Kim Henderson speaks on 50 Simple Steps to Save the World's Rainforests ($10.95). Despite the very best conservation and environmental policy-making efforts, some 80,000 acres of tropical rainforest disappear each day. If action is not taken now, experts estimate that the world's rainforests will mostly disappear within 50 years. This new book tells what you can do to help.

Kim Henderson grew up in the rural Santa Monica Mountains of California where she developed a deep love of nature. As both a member of The Green Patriot Working Group and managing editor of Freedom Press, she is intimately involved in environmental, health and conservation issues.

Ron Rash reads from The Cove ($26.99). The New York Times bestselling author of Serena returns to Appalachia, this time at the height of World War I, with the story of a blazing but doomed love affair caught in the turmoil of a nation at war. This lyrical tale, as mesmerizing as its award-winning predecessor, shows once again a novelist at the height of his powers.

Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner finalist and New York Times bestselling novel Serena, in addition to three other prizewinning novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; four collections of poems; and four collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, and Chemistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O. Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.

Special for kids! Or just about anybody!! Trenton Lee Stewart talks about The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict ($17.99). Before there was a Mysterious Benedict Society, there was a somewhat ordinary narcoleptic genius named Nicholas Benedict. Meet the boy who started it all... and prepare yourself for adventure, danger, cleverness, and dry wit — lots of dry wit!

Trenton Lee Stewart is the author of the award-winning and New York Times bestselling Mysterious Benedict Society series. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he lives with his wife and two sons in Arkansas.

Six Fridays: May 4-June 8
Emphasis is on building vocabulary and using basic structures in conversation. Gisella Petrone has a Masters degree from the University of Calabria. She has taught English, Italian, Latin, Roman History, and Italian cooking.

Classicist Madeline Miller reads from The Song of Achilles ($25.99), her epic retelling of the Trojan War. This thrilling, moving, and blisteringly paced tale of gods, kings, immortality and the human heart is a dazzling feat of imagination and “A startlingly original work of art” (Ann Patchett) sure to be one of the most talked about debuts of the year.

Madeline Miller was born in Boston. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. For the last ten years she has been teaching and tutoring Latin, Greek and the works of Shakespeare to high school students. She also studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms. The Song of Achilles is her first novel.

Dominican University credit available
The new wave of nature writing emphasizes the relationship between outer landscapes and the inner terrain of psyche and soul. In this workshop, we will focus on the natural world in order to turn inwards. We’ll review nature writing by Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, and Gretel Ehrlich and discuss our own experiences to find nature’s metaphors and craft our personal stories in striking new ways. Mary Reynolds Thompson is founder of Write the Damn Book. She is author of Embrace Your Inner Wild: 52 Reflections for an Eco-Centric World, as well as numerous essays on eco-spirituality.

See the jewelery designs of a distinctive local artist • Coffee and tea will be served

Since 1996 Che Bella Designs has been providing beautiful jewelry to clients all over the world. Belinda Wickwire pours her heart into every piece that she makes. Her business is small and personal, and every piece is handmade by her in her Marin County studio.

Wickwire began designing jewelry at age of fifteen, purchasing her first metal-smith equipment and learning the techniques of jewelry making. At twenty, she went to work for Tiffany & Co. where she refined her skills and learned the business of retail jewelry. During that time she obtained a graduate Gemologist degree from The Gemological Institute of America.

Your website is your store window for potential clients. Learn how to maximize the qualities that will engage website visitors and add sales punch to your homepage. In this roll-up-your-sleeves clinic, you’ll receive individual coaching on how to make your website more attractive, valuable and accessible. You’ll leave with specific actions that you—or your Webmaster—can easily implement. Bring your laptop, your URL, and a notepad, and get ready to look anew at your online presence. Keith Bailey is an author of seven business books and a branding and marketing specialist who has worked with some of the most prestigious companies in the world, including Oracle, Microsoft, Marriott Hotels and Lufthansa.

Barry Spitz discusses To Save A Mountain The 100-Year Battle For Tamalpais ($29.95). Why does Marin County, inside one of the nation's most populous metropolitan areas, have so much public open space? Marin author Spitz tells the colorful story of how Mt. Tamalpais was transformed from all-private ownership during the 20th century. This event is co-sponsored with Tamalpais Conservation Club.

Barry Spitz is the author of nine local interest outdoors and history books, including histories of Mill Valley, Marin, and San Anselmo.

The time when book deals were made during a leisurely publisher’s lunch is long dead. Publishers are owned by multimedia conglomerates now and the acquistion of books is a business decision. Book editors decide to publish a non- fiction book almost exclusively based on the book proposal. This class will teach you how to write an effective book proposal. We will discuss the basic structure of the proposal and the points that you need to make to convince an acquisition editor to acquire your book. We will also discuss how to write an effective query letter that will grab the attention of a literary agent. Andy Ross is a literary agent in Oakland. He founded the Andy Ross Agency in 2009. Prior to becoming an agent, Andy owned the legendary Cody’s Books in Berkeley for 30 years. Check out Andy’s website at www.andyrossagency.com and read his blog, “Ask the Agent” at www.andyrossagency.wordpress.com.

Francis Tapon discusses The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us ($25.99). Yearning for a European adventure, but feeling Western Europe too tame, Tapon spent three years visiting all 25 countries in Eastern Europe at least twice. The result is an insightful, inspiring and humorous look at a very old though newly emerging part of the world.

Francis Tapon was born in San Francisco, where he attended the French American International School for 12 years. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and struggles with Italian, Portuguese, Slovenian, and Russian. The Hidden Europe is the second book in the author’s WanderLearn Series. In 2012-2015, Tapon plans to visit every country in Africa and write a book about his experience in 2016. He is also the author of Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America.

Deborah Michel reads from Prosper in Love ($15.00). This debut novel is both a richly detailed comedy of manners and an insightful look at modern marriage. It tells the story of a couple whose love is meant to last forever, until it doesn’t. “A charming novel!  Michel writes with intelligence, humor, and grace about the tricky terrain of marriage.” — Ellen Sussman

Deborah Michel, a former magazine editor and freelance writer, lives in Palo Alto and has worked at a long list of publications including House Beautiful, Premiere, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She worked as an editor and nightlife columnist for Avenue Magazine, was the west coast correspondent for Spy, and served as a contributing editor at Buzz.

Agatha Hoff presents Judge* Hoff, Jesus Loves You, but the Rest of Us Think You're an A**hole! ($12.95), an account of the author’s 20 years as a San Francisco Court Commissioner. From prostitutes she recognized on a first-name basis to out-of-towners trying to navigate the big city, Hoff depicts life with a keen eye and wry sense of humor.

Early in her legal career, Agatha worked in poverty law where clients often abandoned her for a “real lawyer” (someone they paid). When she became a real lawyer, her personal injury clients termed it “the armpit of the law.” When she was appointed a court commissioner, her favorite moniker was a “fascist terrorist cross-dressed in the cloak of justice.” When at last a British tourist called her “Your Worship,” she thought she’d retire before it went to her head. Her new book is a compilation of her “Tales from the Bench” column for San Francisco Attorney Magazine.

Renowned art historian Nancy Boas talks about David Park: A Painter's Life ($49.95). Park, a transplanted Bostonian turned ground-breaking West Coast painter, led the way in creating what became known as Bay Area Figurative Art — a daring move at a time when Abstract Expressionism dominated the art world. "An enthralling read." — San Francisco Magazine

Nancy Boas is the author of The Society of Six: California Colorists and a contributor to the exhibition and catalog Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area. She was Adjunct Curator of American Paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Joan Frank reads from Make it Stay ($26.00), a moving reflection on the nature of friendship and love, how past informs present, and of life’s magnificent interconnectivity. Recounting three love stories, this new novel deftly weaves a tale that illuminates the lives of its characters, especially their imperfections and desires when revealed in the least expected moments.

Joan Frank is the author of four prior books of fiction. She is a MacDowell Colony Fellow, Pushcart Prize nominee, winner of the Richard Sullivan Prize, Dana Award, Michigan Literary Fiction Award, Iowa Writing Award, and Emry's fiction award, and recipient of grants from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund and Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation. She has taught Creative Writing at San Francisco State University and lives in Northern California.

Editor Kim Stanley Robinson and illustrator Tom Killion discuss In the Sierra: Mountain Writings by Kenneth Rexroth ($16.95). The late San Francisco poet wrote about the Sierra Nevada better than anyone. Progressive in his environmental ethics, Rexroth’s poetry and prose described the way Californians have long experienced and long loved the High Sierra.

Poet-essayist Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) was a high-school dropout, disillusioned ex-Communist, pacifist, anarchist, rock-climber, critic and translator, Catholic-Buddhist spiritualist and central figure of the San Francisco Renaissance and Beat scene. Kim Stanley Robinson is the Hugo and Nebula prize–winning author of the Mars Trilogy as well as a trilogy of novels about climate change that go under the title Science in the Capital. Tom Killion is a much admired artist whose woodcuts and prints have been inspired by the rugged scenery of Marin County and Northern California.

Eleni Gage reads from her new novel Other Waters ($25.99). "A Jane Austen-ish plot gets a delicious Indian accent in this effervescent novel . . . in this exotic, mysterious setting, cultures collide, love grows more complicated and Maya finally discovers just whom – and where – she is really meant to be." – Caroline Leavitt

"In a first novel of impressive ambition, this fine young writer dives into deep waters, giving the reader a story that explores the tug of family ties that occasionally feel more like shackles, the legacy of a culture that both nourishes the soul, and curses it. Writing with assurance and an unblinking eye for the telling detail, Gage explores what it means to be a woman of two cultures, and sometimes of neither. Other Waters is a story that manages to be deeply satisfying in its description of a foreign land and at the same time, universal in what it tells us about family, culture, and the quest — that knows no geographic boundaries — for love." — Joyce Maynard

Eleni Gage writes regularly for InStyle, Real Simple, Travel+Leisure, and Elle, among others, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, and Parade. A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University’s MFA Program, she now lives in Miami, Florida.

Steve Coll talks about Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power ($36.00), the first hard-hitting examination of the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States.  Coll, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, investigates the notoriously secretive corporation and reveals the true extent of its enormous economic and political influence.

Steve Coll, winner of a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, has been managing editor of the Washington Post since 1998. He covered Afghanistan as the Post's South Asia bureau chief between 1989 and 1992. Coll is the author of four books, including On the Grand Trunk Road and The Taking of Getty Oil.

Benjamin Busch talks about Dust to Dust ($26.99), an extraordinary memoir about ordinary things: life and death, peace and war, the adventures of childhood and revelations of adulthood. Busch — a decorated infantry officer, actor on The Wire, and son of novelist Frederick Busch — has crafted a book to stand with the finest work of our finest writers.

Benjamin Busch was born in Manhattan and grew up in rural New York State. He is an actor, a photographer, a film director, and a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer who served two combat tours in Iraq. He played the role of Officer Anthony Colicchio on the HBO series The Wire and has appeared on Homicide, The West Wing, and Generation Kill. His writing has been featured in Harper's and has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has also been a guest commentator on NPR's All Things Considered. He lives on a farm in Michigan.

 6 Tuesdays: May 8 - June 12

A very basic introduction for students who have never studied Spanish. Study guide can be purchased onthe first day of class.

Don't miss the fun! Book Passage is pleased to present A Summer Lovin' Book Tour special event for younger readers in San Francisco! Come meet three new authors as they celebrate the publication of their new books. Jenny Han celebrates the publication of We'll Always Have Summer ($9.99). Morgan Matson celebrates the publication of Second Chance Summer ($16.99). And Jessi Kirby celebrates the publication of In Honor ($16.99). 

Jenny Han has her master's degree in creative writing from the New School. Her previous books include Shug and The Summer I Turned Pretty. She lives in New York City, and works part time as a school librarian. /// Morgan Matson also received her MFA in Writing for Children from the New School. She was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for her first book, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, which was also recognized as an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults in 2011. She lives in Los Angeles. /// Jessi Kirby is a former English teacher and librarian, as well as a wife, mom, beach lover, runner, and lover of contemporary YA, strong coffee, and dark chocolate.  In that order.

Garry Marshall discusses My Happy Days in Hollywood ($25.00). Once called a "legend in his own time slot," Marshall has been among the most successful comedy writers, directors, and producers for more than five decades. His new memoir details his involvement with some of the most beloved TV sitcoms of all-time, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy.

Garry Marshall is a veteran producer, director, and writer of film, television, and theater. He learned his craft writing jokes for Lucille Ball, Dick Van Dyke, and Danny Thomas. He also directed some of America’s favorite romantic comedies including The Flamingo Kid, Pretty Woman, and The Princess Diaries.

For this special event, Garry Marshall will be in conversation with Lori Marshall, his daughter and co-author. Lori Marshall has written eleven produced children’s plays, co-written two books, and contributed to the New York Times,  Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. Like her father, she is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She has been writing with her father since the eighth grade, when he helped her punch up an English paper on Franz Kafka. 

S.G. Browne reads from Lucky Bastard ($23.00). Meet Nick Monday: a private detective who’s more Columbo than Sam Spade, more Magnum P.I. than Philip Marlowe. As San Francisco’s infamous luck poacher, Nick doesn’t know whether his ability to swipe other people’s fortunes with a simple handshake is a blessing or a curse.

S.G. Browne is the critically acclaimed author of Fated and Breathers, which has been optioned by Fox Searchlight with Diablo Cody (Juno) producing.  He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, spending most of his formative years in Fremont. From 1984 to 1989 he attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, where he majored in business organization and management and eventually realized that he wanted to be a writer. We are glad he did.

Paul French talks about Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China ($26.00). "Clue by clue, Paul French uncovers the truth of a bizarre murder case that shocked Peking in 1937. Fascinating and irresistible. I couldn't put it down."  – John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Paul French lives in Shanghai, where he is a business advisor and analyst. He frequently comments on China for the English-speaking press around the world. French studied history, economics, and Mandarin at university and has an M.Phil. in economics from the University of Glasgow.

Pushcart Prize nominee Elizabeth Percer reads from her debut novel, a coming-of-age story titled An Uncommon Education ($24.99). A young woman learns that college isn't the bastion of solidarity and security she had imagined. Amid hundreds of other young women, she is consumed by loneliness — until the day she sees a girl fall into the freezing waters of a lake.

Elizabeth Percer is a transgenre author and a recovering academic, as well as a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and has twice been honored by the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Foundation. She received a BA in English from Wellesley and a PhD in arts education from Stanford University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship for the National Writing Project at UC Berkeley.

**CANCELLED** 

Dominican University credit available
In this workshop for women, you’ll learn to listen for your own voice and nurture it. Molly Fisk looks at writers like Mary Oliver and Anne Lamott to show why they have connected with women so deeply. Using model poems, prose excerpts, playful writing exercises, and discussion, participants will discover what to say in a uniquely personal way. Fisk is a lecturer, teacher, and a fellow with the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the author, most recently, of the poetry collection The More Difficult Beauty. Molly will present new exercises, teach you to quiet the voices in your head, and take the class into in-depth discussion. New and returning students are welcome.

Jennifer Futernick discusses I Never Expected This Good Life ($14.00). More moving and wonderfully strange than Futernick’s certainty at age seventeen that she would never be happy is her effortless joy in being proved wrong. Her response has been to teach herself thankfulness, and here she has produced a book making it an art form.

Jennifer Futernick holds a B.A. in Humanities from U.C. Berkeley and an M.L.S. from San Jose State. She was a research librarian for over twenty years. Currently a poet and freelance editor, she lives in San Francisco.

Spiritual memoir uses the raw material of your life to reveal the deeper intelligence of your soul’s journey. The class provides a relaxed space in which to write and to receive supportive feedback. You will be encouraged to reach down into events or themes in your life and feel, intuit, and express the deeper layers of wisdom and healing. Beginners and advanced writers are welcome. Roger Housden is the author of 20 books. His newest title is Ten Poems to Say Goodbye.

2:00 pm • Group Run
3:00 pm • Event

Dean Karnazes runs into the store (literally!) to talk about RUN! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss ($15.99). In the follow-up to his bestselling Ultra-Marathon Man, the world-renowned ultra-marathoner chronicles his nearly unbelievable exploits in gripping detail as he runs for days on end without rest and across some of the most exotic and inhospitable places on earth.

Dean Karnazes was named by Time magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World. A New York Times bestselling author, he has written for Runner’s World and Men’s Health and lives in the San Francisco Bay area. “The undisputed king of the ultras, who has not only pushed the envelope but blasted it to bits.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

Left Coast Writers book launch: Kirby Surprise discusses Synchronicity: The Art of Coincidence, Choice, and Unlocking Your Mind ($16.99). The experience of meaningful coincidences is universal. They are reported by people of every culture, every belief system, and every time period. This new book examines the evidence for the human influence on the meaningfulness of events.

Dr. Kirby Surprise received his doctorate in counseling psychology from the Institute for Integral Studies. He works in an advanced outpatient program for the State of California where he assesses, diagnoses, and treats clients with psychotic and delusional disorders. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Two poets read from their work. National Book Award finalist David St. John reads from The Auroras: New Poems ($24.99), a long-awaited collection from a poet of wild imagination and formidable accomplishment. Debut poet Anna Journey reads from If Birds Gather Your Hair for Nesting ($16.95), a spellbinding collection by a poet of kindred feverish imagination.

David St. John is the author of ten collections of poetry, including Study for the World's Body: New and Selected Poems, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, as well as Where the Angels Come Toward Us, a volume of essays, interviews, and reviews. He is the co-editor, with Cole Swenson, of American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry. He teaches at the University of Southern California and lives in Venice Beach.

Anna Journey's poetry collection, If Birds Gather Your Hair for Nesting (Georgia, 2009), was selected by Thomas Lux for the National Poetry Series. She’s received a fellowship in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Southern California. Her second book, Vulgar Remedies, is forthcoming in the fall of 2013.

April is swell but May and June are just possibly even better — it’s warmer, drier, and still spring! Join David Downie and Don George in conversation about “Springtime in Paris.” “I have walked some of the city’s streets with him, and reading this book is just as tactile an experience.” — Michael Ondaatje on Downie’s Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light ($15.00).

David Downie’s book Paris, Paris is now into its 9th printing. An irreverent, witty romp featuring 31 short prose sketches of people, places and daily life in the City of Light it’s illustrated with striking B&W photos by Alison Harris. A native San Franciscan, Downie has lived in Paris, Burgundy, Rome and on the Italian Riviera since 1986. He’s the author of a dozen books — crime novels, travel, food — including the critically acclaimed Food Wine Rome, also lavishly illustrated by Harris’s photos. The photographer will be on hand with the catalogue of her latest photo show, Chiaroscuro.

Left Coast Writers book launch: Lindy Hough presents Wondrous Child: The Joys and Challenges of Grandparenting ($19.95). “The delightfully honest essays of Wondrous Child illuminate the warm and loving yet complicated (even occasionally fraught) relationships between parents, grandparents, and the children they all love. It's a must-read across the generations.” — Ayelet Waldman

Contributors to this anthology will join editor Lindy Hough.

A journalist and dance critic, Lindy Hough has taught writing and literature in colleges and universities in Michigan, Maine, Vermont, and California. She cofounded the Berkeley-based mind/body/spirit publishing company North Atlantic Books with Richard Grossinger in 1974, and was publisher and editorial director for many years. She coedited Nuclear Strategy and the Code of the Warrior: Faces of Mars and Shiva in the Crisis of Human Survival and is the author of five books of poetry, including the recent Wild Horses, Wild Dreams: New and Selected Poems 1971–2010.

Kevin Wilson reads from The Family Fang ($13.99), a novel described by Ann Patchett as a "comedy, a tragedy, and a tour de force.” Annie and Buster Fang have spent most of their adult lives trying to distance themselves from their famous artist parents. But when a bad economy and bad personal decisions converge, the two siblings have nowhere to turn but their parents.

Kevin Wilson is the author of the collection, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, which received both an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Shirley Jackson Award. His fiction has appeared in Ploughshares, Tin House, One Story, and elsewhere, and has appeared in four volumes of the New Stories from the South: The Year's Best anthology. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee where he teaches fiction at the University of the South and helps run the Sewanee Writers' Conference.

Admission $25 per person (includes breakfast and a book) 

Michael Sandel discusses What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of a Market. In this timely work, a political philosopher takes on one of the biggest ethical questions of our time: Is there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? And if so, how can we prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they don’t belong?

Please note: This special early morning Business Breakfast takes place in Caleruga Hall at Dominican University. Admission is $25.00 and includes breakfast and a copy of the book. Further information and ticket availability HERE.

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University. His work has been the subject of television series on PBS and the BBC. His most recent book is the international bestseller Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?

We’ll read three unforgettable stories by three giants of the genre: Bartleby the Scrivener (Herman Melville), Guests of the Nation (Frank O’Connor), and Carried Away (Alice Munro). We’ll take a good look at how craft and content meet in these stories that address some of life’s most elemental and mysterious and unsolvable aspects of being, Love, War, and Loneliness. We’ll also discuss the techniques these writers employ and how they can help us write better stories. Peter Orner is the author of Love and Shame and Love, Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, and Esther Stories. Orner’s fiction and nonfiction has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Granta, The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, The Southern Review, The Forward, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Ploughshares.

Isha Judd talks about Love Has Wings: Free Yourself from Limiting Beliefs and Fall in Love with Life ($14.95). In her book, Isha teaches a simple system that shows how to find the luminous state of mind she calls “love-consciousness,” in which every moment of life — even the most challenging and frustrating — can be filled with love, peace, and self-acceptance.

Isha Judd is the founder of Isha Educating for Peace and the author of Why Walk When You Can Fly? She travels throughout the world teaching diverse groups, including prisoners, ex–guerrilla soldiers, troubled youths, and the general public. Born in Australia, she now lives in Uruguay.

4 Thursdays: May 17 - June 7

A very basic introduction for students who have never studied Spanish. Study guide can be purchased on the first day of class.

Bill Bradley discusses We Can All Do Better ($24.99). In response to the financial meltdown and intensifying political gridlock which have overtaken the country, a widely admired former United States Senator, Presidential candidate and NBA athlete offers his own concise, personal review of the state of the nation. We can do better. Here’s how.

Bill Bradley served in the U.S. Senate from 1979-1997 representing the state of New Jersey. In 2000, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Before serving in the Senate, he was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and a professional basketball player with the New York Knicks from 1967-1977 during which time they won two NBA championships. Bradley is also the author of six books on American politics and culture.

New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry reads from The Columbus Affair ($27.00), a new thriller which features a disgraced investigative journalist, a scholarly fanatic, a 500-year-old mystery, and a hidden treasure with explosive political significance which challenges everything we thought we knew about Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America.

Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key, The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, The Amber Room, and other works. He has 14 million books in print, which have been translated into 40 languages and sold in 51 countries.

Explore the creative and exciting world of children’s books in this insightful seminar. Learn how to generate story ideas, develop plot and characters, and find an illustrator. Sharpen your writing talents, and develop a story. Investigate ways to approach editors and agents. Discuss the nature of the publishing industry, how to research the market, and methods for presenting your work professionally. Discover the secrets of making the final sale, and get the best financial reward for your writing. Ying Compestine’s award-winning books include Revolution is Not a Dinner Party.

Tickets $55 (includes lunch & a signed book)
Call (415) 927-0960, ext. 1 to reserve

Join Marcia Clark for lunch as she reads from and talks about Guilt by Degrees ($25.99). Harrowing, smart, and entertaining, Guilt by Degrees is a thrilling ride through the LA courts with an unforgettable character, Rachel Knight. "It's no big surprise that Marcia Clark knows her way around a courtroom, and a murder mystery — but she's also a terrific writer and storyteller." — James Patterson

Marcia Clark is a former prosecutor for the State of California, County of Los Angeles, in the O.J. Simpson murder case. She has written a bestselling nonfiction book, Without a Doubt, about the case, and is a frequent media commentator on legal issues. Now a Special Correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, Clark provides coverage of high profile trials and contributes a column for The Daily Beast.

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo. 

If you have a fantastic idea for a book, or are currently developing your masterpiece and are interested in learning how to market it, join this informative workshop and discover what you need to know to get your manuscript published. Learn what editors look for, how to create a winning book proposal, and how to sell your idea before you’ve completed your project. Find out how to convince a reputable publisher to publish your book, and whether you should hire an agent or negotiate a contract yourself. Ying Compestine’s award-winning books include Revolution is Not a Dinner Party.

EXTREMELY LIMITED SPACE!

PLEASE CALL STORE TO REGISTER: (415) 927-0960, ext. 1

Calling all fourth grade girls...this is the “play-shop” for you. We’ll erect a tent of wonder, make magic word tickets, experiment with poems and mini story “blasts,” and take our creations home. All materials provided. All that’s required is a sense of wonder and a willingness to surprise yourself. Karen Benke has inspired kids’ creative journeys in the form of poem-making for 17 years as a California Poet in the Schools and has authored a collection of poems, Sister, and a new book for kids and kids-at-heart, Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing. Class limited to 15.

John Bateson presents The Final Leap ($29.95). The Golden Gate Bridge, which celebrates its 75th anniversary, is one of the most beautiful structures in the world. It's also the most deadly. Weaving together drama, politics and design against the backdrop of Bay Area life, this new book is the first ever written on a tragic subject which has touched many lives, including the staff at Book Passage, who last year lost a member of our bookselling family to a suicide off the bridge.

John Bateson is Executive Director of the Contra Costa Crisis Center in Contra Costa County, California and the author of Building Hope. He has served on the steering committee of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In 2007 he was appointed to a blue-ribbon committee charged with creating the California Strategic Plan on Suicide Prevention.

Mastering Children’s Writing
A New Workshop Salon Led by Andrea Alban
2nd Sunday each month • Corte Madera
5:00-8:00 pm • $180 per year (annual membership comes with one free private consultation with Andrea, a $60 value!) or $30 per monthly meeting

Spark your imagination and polish your manuscript in a community of enthusiastic writers. Listen to an engaging craft presentation, practice new writing and editing techniques, give and receive peer feedback, and go home to your desk with a monthly assignment — energized and inspired. Craft topics will include style and voice, point of view, characterization, fictional time and place, plot and story arc, and the art of revision. We will also explore manuscript submission, book promotion, and establishing an online presence and platform as a writer. Andrea Alban is the author of nine books including The Happiness Tree and a YA novel, Anya’s War. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing.

Novelist and anthologist Victoria Zackheim and contributors present Exit Laughing: How Humor Takes the Sting Out of Death ($18.95). This is more than a collection of twenty-four personal stories, written by some of our country's finest authors, on the subject of death and humor. It's a reminder that all of us approach “the end” in very different ways.

Among the contributors expected to participate in this event are Sherry Glasser, Barbara Lodge, Zoe Carter, Bonnie Garvin, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, and Sam Barry.

Victoria Zackheim is author of The Bone Weaver, a novel, and the editor of five anthologies including The Other Woman, which was on the national bestseller list in Canada for several weeks. Her play based The Other Woman will begin a six-week theater run in summer 2012.

Two-time Booker Prize winner Peter Carey reads from The Chemistry of Tears ($26.00), a story of secret grief assuaged, an automaton, a man and woman who can never meet, an affair, and the fate of the warming world brought to incandescent life in a haunting new novel from one of the most admired writers of our time. Carey’s books include the bestselling Oscar and Lucinda.

Peter Carey is the author of eleven previous novels and has twice received the Booker Prize. His other honors include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which he has won 5 times. Born in Australia, he has lived in New York City for twenty years.

Paul Goldstein reads from his new legal thriller, Havana Requiem ($26.00). Fueled by alcohol and legal brilliance, Michael Seeley once oversaw his law firm’s most successful litigation. Until it all fell apart. Recklessness and overreach cost him his wife, his job, and likely the life of his last client…. Then a renowned Cuban musician enters his office with a simple request.

Paul Goldstein is the Lillick Professor of Law at Stanford University and the author of two previous novels.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Linda Gray Sexton talks about Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide ($15.95). After the agony of witnessing her mother's multiple — and ultimately successful — suicide attempts, Linda Gray Sexton, daughter of the acclaimed poet Anne Sexton, struggles with an engulfing undertow of depression. Here, she speaks about the need to escape the legacy of suicide.

This special event is co-sponsored by National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). This is a fundraiser. Book Passage will donate a portion of proceeds from book sales during the event to NAMI San Francisco.

A gifted writer in her own right, Linda Gray Sexton has written four novels; her first memoir Searching for Mercy Street was published to critical acclaim.

Admission $115 per person/ $185 per couple

Call (415) 927-0960, ext. 1 to reserve

Join Cindy Pawlcyn, one of America's leading chef's, for what we know will be a very special event! Twice nominated as the James Beard Best Chef in California, Pawlcyn is rocking the food world with her new cookbook, Cindy's Supper Club.

It's no secret that legions of fans flock to Pawlcyn's restaurants for her globally influenced signature dishes. What is not so well known is that Cindy has turned her passions for cooking and travel into a popular supper club, where she creates an adventurous menu celebrating a different international cuisine each week. Cindy's Supper Club has become a destination event, presenting a world tasting tour on a plate. Pawlcyn's new book, drawn from the weekly menus of her supper clubs, is a collection of 125 complete recipes and menus from around the globe - as well as a delicious delight.

Pawlcyn helped make the Napa Valley a destination for food and wine in Northern California. Today, her trio of restaurants -  Mustard’s Grill, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, and Brassica - are as much loved among locals as they are popular with visitors. Besides owning three of region's popular restaurants, Pawlcyn is also the author of four award-winning cookbooks including Mustard's Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, Big Small Plates, and Cindy Pawlcyn's Appetizers. She received a James Beard award for Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook and is the author of Fog City Diner Cookbook.

Don't miss this event! Tickets are $115 per person / or $185 per couple. Price includes meal, wine, coffee, tax, tip, & a signed copy of the book. 

Eugenia Bone speaks about Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms ($25.99). Engrossing, earthy, surprising, and packed with up-to-date science and cultural exploration, Mycophilia is part narrative and part primer for foodies, science buffs, environmental advocates, and anyone interested in learning more about ‘shrooms.

Eugenia Bone is an author and a food writer who has been featured in numerous national publications. She writes a blog on preserving foods for the Denver Post, and lives in New York City.

Cosponsored by CUESA

Ani Phyo presents Ani's 15-Day Fat Blast: The Kick-Ass Plan to Get Lighter, Tighter, and Sexier . . . Super Fast ($24.00). On Saturday mornings, chefs and cookbook authors lead free cooking demonstrations using seasonal ingredients from the Farmers Market. Join us out front of the Ferry Building in the Farmer's Market for tips, recipes, and a sample. We’ll be there with the books.

In the context of two very different 1960s communities, two UC Santa Cruz faculty members will discuss the overlapping theme of the desire for community, and also the desire for freedom from it.  Karen Yamashita discusses I Hotel ($19.95), a multi-voiced fusion of prose, playwriting, graphic art, and philosophy which spins an epic tale of America’s struggle for civil rights. Micah Perks discusses her Pagan Time: An American Childhood ($15.95), a memoir about the 1960s which also conveys the texture of those wild times.

Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of four previous novels and the recipient of an American Book Award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Award. I Hotel was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Award. A California native, Yamashita teaches at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Micah Perks is also the author of a novel, We Are Gathered Here. She has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and currently lives in Santa Cruz where she also teaches at the University of California-Santa Cruz.

Yamashita and Perks codirect the Living Writers Series at UC Santa Cruz, which brings visiting writers, poets and publishing professionals to campus to give students an in-depth look into the world of the working writer.

Roger Housden
May 28 to June 5, 2012

A unique and leisurely journey through southern England and the landscape that inspired Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, TS Eliot, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare.

While visiting their homes and the places that inspired them, Roger will draw from the work of these authors as a guide for our own soul's journey.

We visit Jane Austen's house in Hampshire, as well as the City of Bath; Thomas Hardy's home in the county town of Dorchester, and Stonehenge along the way. Then to the village of East Coker, location for one of TS Eliot's Four Quartets, and Tintern Abbey, the subject of Wordsworth's famous poem. We spend a day at Hay on Wye Literature Festival, the greatest festival of its kind in the world, which takes place every year in the Welsh border country. After visiting Stratford on Avon we shall attend a performance at the Globe Theatre in London, and then spend our final day visiting our own choice of London's great sights. We never drive more than a hundred miles in a day at most, and usually much less, so this is indeed a leisurely pilgrimage with no early starts.

Cost: $3750
Maximum participants: 12 Includes all hotels ( 3x3 star and 2x5 star), tips for hotel staff, seven dinners, six breakfasts, group transport by minibus, airport transfers, services of Roger Housden and Braeda Horan.

Not included: international airfare, lunches, all beverages except for included breakfasts.
 

Full itinerary and registration form:
Download Itinerary

You can email Roger at info@rogerhousden.com. Visit Roger on the Web at www.rogerhousden.com.

About Roger Housden:
Roger Housden has written some twenty books, including the best-selling Ten Poems series, three travel books, the novella Chasing Rumi, and a book on Rembrandt. All his books, whatever the subject, encourage us to ask questions that help us to live into the best that we are. His Ten Poems series has shown many thousands of readers how literature can be a guide for the soul. He will be assisted by his partner, English designer Braeda Horan.

Thomas McNamee talks about The Man Who Changed The Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne and the American Food Renaissance ($27.00). In the 1950s, America was a land of overdone roast beef and canned green beans — a gastronomic wasteland. Many restaurants relied on frozen ingredients, and served bogus “continental” cuisine. One man helped changed all that.

Thomas McNamee is the author of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. His writing has been published in The New Yorker, Life, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He lives in San Francisco.

Ambassador and political insider Henry Crumpton discusses The Art of Intelligence ($27.95). This legendary CIA spy and counterterrorism expert tells the spellbinding story of his high-risk, action-packed career while illustrating the growing importance of America's intelligence officers and their secret missions.

With the rank of ambassador at large, Henry Crumpton served as the coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State from August 2005 until February 2007. Crumpton joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1981 and spent most of his twenty-four-year career working undercover in the foreign field. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA's highest award for achievement.

3 Minute Reads
from San Francisco Grotto Writers
50+ Writers, 3 Minutes Each!

Joins us for a fast-paced and irreverent evening, showcasing new work from the students of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto writing classes. On this Friday evening, both fiction and nonfiction writers will read their work — but only for 3 minutes each! Their instructors (Grotto authors) will enforce the time limit. Join us for wine, fun, and fresh new writing.

Melanie Gideon reads from Wife 22 ($26.00). For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again in the middle of her life. Wife 22 is praised by Elizabeth Berg as a book “… wise in matters of the heart.”

Melanie Gideon is the bestselling author of The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After, which was named an NPR and San Francisco Chronicle best book of the year. She is also the author of two young adult novels: Pucker and The Map That Breathed. Gideon was born and raised in Rhode Island, and now lives in the Bay Area.

Please note new date and time! 

Bring your laptop! Blogger extraordinaire Sophie Epstein, from the young adult book blog MrsMagooReads.com, teams up with her mother Liz Epstein (Jane Austen Literary Salon) as they present their ever-popular blogging workshop—now with a twist! Beginning bloggers of all ages are invited to learn how to start a blog, how to attract readers, how to position your blog, and much more. New to this workshop, using Blogger.com as a platform, you will receive hands-on help to create your own blog before you leave class!

Special teen event! Stages on Pages presents five YA authors reading from their work. Don’t miss Gretchen McNeil (Possess), Kim Culbertson (Instructions for a Broken Heart), Elise Allen (Populazzi), Stasia Kehoe (Audition), and Katherine Longshore (Gilt) debut new fiction for young adults.

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford reads from Canada ($26.99), a deeply affecting new novel of boundaries traversed, of innocence lost and reconciled, and of the mysterious and consoling bonds of family. Told in spare, elegant prose both resonant and luminous, Canada is a masterwork of haunting, even spectacular vision from one of our great writers.

Richard Ford is the acclaimed author of the Bascombe novels, which include The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day — the first novel to win the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award — and The Lay of the Land, as well as the short story collections Rock Springs and A Multitude of Sins, which contain many widely anthologized stories.

Lindsay Whiting shows the Sonoma Collage Studio method—a process in which artists create collages and then hang them up to engage with the work. It provides a direct and powerful way of approaching your inner world and imagination by combining the art of collage with the art of dialogue. The class format is hands-on practice using magazines, calendars, and images. Whiting has six years of experience in collaging at the Sonoma Collage Studio. She is the author of Living into Art: Journeys Through Collage. New and continuing students welcome! Artists should bring 5-7 favorite magazines to cut for making a finished collage. Pre-cut images okay. Bring images to share. $5 materials fee due to instructor during first class.

Anthony DeBenedict discusses his debut novel Culpable Innocence: The American Dream Reprised ($25.95). Set in the 1960s and against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, this recently published novel traces the story of Regis Fallen as he attempts to secure the promise of his American birthright in the midst of racial, political, and military strife.

Born in Philadelphia, Anthony DeBenedict grew up in California. He was drafted and sent to Vietnam, and for his service was awarded the Bronze Star. Upon his return to the States, DeBenedict pursued a career in systems development.

Ayesha Mattu talks about Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lifes of American Muslim Women ($15.95). Romance, dating, sex and Muslim women? In this groundbreaking collection, 25 writers sweep aside stereotypes and share stories of their search for love — from singles' events and online dating to college flirtations and arranged marriages, all with a Muslim twist. For this special event, Ayesha Mattu will be joined by local contributor and comedian, Zahra Noorbakhsh.
 
Pakistani-American Ayesha Mattu is a writer and international development consultant. Her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, CNN.com, the International Museum of Women, Religion Dispatches, and the award-winning blog, Rickshaw Diaries. She was selected a Muslim Leader of Tomorrow by the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the ASMA Society in 2009. She lives in Northern California.

Everyone has a unique life story, so whether you’re writing for publication or to give the gift of family history to your children and grandchildren, you’re never too young or too old to write your memoirs. In this half-day course, Mary will show you how to find your personal voice, help you decide what to put in and what to leave out, and teach you techniques to make your memoir vivid and compelling. Mary Mackey is the New York Times bestselling author of 14 novels. Her latest novel is The Widow’s War.

Special for kids! Gena Dawn reads from The Rainbow’s Journey ($19.95), a children’s book that uses colorful photography and rhyming poetry to take children on a magical journey through the cultures and landscapes of South and Southeast Asia. The book tells the tale of a young Rainbow who travels across the world – and discovers rainbow colors wherever she goes!  

Gena Dawn is an art educator and travel photographer based in San Francisco.  Brad Kane is a writer in the entertainment industry.  In 2009-2010, they spent a year traveling in Asia, where their adventures inspired The Rainbow’s Journey.

Marta Fuchs discusses Legacy of Rescue: A Daughter's Tribute ($30.00). Fuchs’ father was one of 100 Hungarian Jews saved by Zoltán Kubinyi, the commanding officer of their forced labor battalion. This memoir, illustrated with family photographs, is in part a tribute to Kubinyi — a devout Seventh Day Adventist posthumously honored as a Righteous Among the Nations.

Marta Fuchs was born in Hungary and escaped with her family to the U.S. in the wake of the ’56 Revolution. She is a professional librarian and Director of Library Services at Drew School in SF and a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Albany. She is the author of Fragments of a Family: Remembering Hungary, the Holocaust, and Emigration to a New World.

Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, make ‘em come back for more. Whether you’re writing literary fiction, mysteries, or romance novels, you need to learn the secret of creating lively, realistic, compelling dialogue that will make your readers feel as if they’re eavesdropping on a great conversation. Are your characters speaking woodenly right now or (worse yet) refusing to speak at all? Don’t worry. Mary is ready to share the secret of creating dialogue that will jump off the page and into your readers’ hearts and minds. Mary Mackey is the New York Times bestselling author of 14 novels. Her latest novel is The Widow’s War.

Poets John Miatech (What the Wind Says) and Rebecca Radner (What you least expect - selected poems 1980 – 2011) read from their recent books. Each are gifted writers. Each are veterans of the local poetry scene. Each will surprise. Each will delight.

John Miatech has been writing since 1969, and was recent poetry award winner at the San Francisco Writer’s Conference in 2012. Rebecca Radner's work has appeared in numerous publications, anthologies and textbooks. For more than 20 years she reviewed books regularly for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Photographer William Carter presents his fifth book, Causes and Spirits: Photographs from Five Decades ($60.00). Both autobiography and a study of people, both photojournalism and fine art photography, Carter’s images capture something beneath their surface – whether he was shooting Iraqi Kurds for LIFE, the streets of London for Women's Wear Daily, or nudes or the American West for exhibit.

"Watch any mother kneeling beside her toddler, pointing and explaining what they are looking at. Our urge to see, and to connect, starts there." – William Carter

William Carter graduated from Stanford University in 1957. He became a professional photographer, writer and editor while concurrently pursuing fine art photography. He has worked as a book editor, free-lance photographer, and jazz musician (even touring with Turk Murphy). Carter's photographs have been widely exhibited in the U.S. and Europe, and are in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.

Allison Wenglin Belger presents The Power of Community: CrossFit and the Force of Human Connection ($24.95). The power of community is about making lives better and helping people achieve their goals.  Psychologist Belger describes the importance of group affiliation – of having a network of mutual support and human connection in the midst of our hectic lives.

Allison Wenglin Belger grew up in a suburb of New York City where she was introduced to the pleasures and rigors of training and competing in varsity sports. With her husband, Dr. Belger owns four CrossFit affiliate gyms in Northern California where she juggles management of the family business, her work as a licensed psychologist and fitness coach, and her role as mom to two young daughters.

Brian Doherty speaks about Ron Paul's rEVOLution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired ($26.99). An enigmatic and surprising politician, Representative Ron Paul is unique among Republican candidates. He has strong traditional conservative bona fides. But he is an equally passionate advocate for such progressive-left stances as ending the drug war.

Brian Doherty is a senior editor at Reason magazine. He is the author of three previous books, including Radicals for Capitalism: A History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement and Gun Control on Trial. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and National Review, among other publications.

New Bay Area Voices read from their work: writers Liz Demi Green (Flinging Singing Things), Chris Carosi (Bright Veil), Keely Hyslop (Things to Say to Pirates on Nights When I Miss You), Fia Maxwell (If We Could Friends on Facebook You Would Know How Much I Love You), Janey Smith (Animals), and Jeff von Ward (Mormonia: Stories) present new work recently published.

This session will be taught in French. 

Spending the night in Paris? The precious hours can slip away faster than a good bottle of Bordeaux. Nicolas Wolff provides an overview of everything a night in Paris has to offer: museums, walks, underground movie theaters, jazz clubs and, of course, food and wine. Bring questions about your upcoming trip and get expert, tailored advice.

“Even though I know Paris fairly well he provided me with many new places of interest to check out on my trip there this Fall. His handouts are super detailed and will be very useful too” one student reported. 

Nicolas Wolff grew up in Paris and teaches French. 

Acclaimed science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson reads from his new novel, 2312 ($25.99). Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system. In 2312, however, events will force humanity to confront its past, present, and future.

Kim Stanley Robinson is a winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. He is the author of eleven previous books, including the bestselling Mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed Fifty Degrees Below, Forty Signs of Rain, The Years of Rice and Salt, and Antarctica - for which he was sent to the Antarctic by the U.S. National Science Foundation as part of their Antarctic Artists and Writers' Program. He lives in Davis, California.

Will Allen discusses The Good Food Revolution ($26.00). In this new book, a pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur “Genius Award” winner points the way to building a new food system that can feed — and heal — broken communities. An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution is the story of a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats.

After retiring from professional basketball and executive positions at Kentucky Fried Chicken and Procter & Gamble, Allen cashed in his retirement fund for a two-acre plot a half mile away from Milwaukee’s largest public housing project. The area was a food desert with only convenience stores and fast-food restaurants to serve the needs of local residents.

Four Wednesdays: June 6 - 27

Have you always wanted to write but weren’t sure where to begin? Do you think you don’t have the time or the discipline? Leslie Keenan has 28 years’ experience in helping people uncover and release their ideas. She has worked on over 80 published books. She knows what it takes to get a book from the first glimmer of an idea into its published form. A student wrote, “Leslie is inspiring, compassionate and has a natural gift for creating a safe place for a writer. She’s like a living life preserver.”

"If it weren't for Leslie Keenan's courses at Book Passage, I would never have written a word of fiction, and I would never have been published. To this day, I still use the tools she gave me for understanding my process, finding my voice, and fighting my fears."
-Tammy Kaehler, author of Dead Man's Switch, Poisoned Pen Press

Anthony Swofford talks about Hotel, Hospitals, and Jails: A Memoir ($26.99). Following the success of Jarhead, Swofford assumed he had exorcised his military demons — but as every veteran knows, that isn't exactly how it works. In these searing, courageous pages, Swofford struggles to make sense of what his military service meant, and what his life should become.

Anthony Swofford served in a U.S. Marine Corps Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon during the Gulf War. After the war, he was educated at American River College; the University of California, Davis; and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Harper's, Men's Journal and other publications; his memoir Jarhead was a major New York Times bestseller, and the basis for the movie of the same name.

Alison Bing talks about Italy and her two published travel guides Discover Italy ($24.99) and Lonely Planet Italy ($25.99). If you have an interest in Rome, Milan, The Italian Lakes, Venice, Tuscany, Naples, Sicily, or Sardinia not to mention Italian food, great art, the Forum in Rome, the Grand Canal in Venice, Pompeii or the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, then don’t miss this event. Carpe diem.

Alison Bing has written and contributed to many travel guides.

Calories — too few or too many — are the source of health problems affecting billions of people in today's globalized world. In Why Calories Count ($29.95), Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim explain what calories are and how they work, both biologically and politically. The authors also offer some candid advice: Get organized. Eat less. Eat better. Get political.

Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim will be in conversation with Clark Wolf.

Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and Professor of Sociology at New York University. She is the author of What to Eat and Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health; Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety; and Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine. Malden Nesheim is Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. He is coauthor (with Marion Nestle) of Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat and (with Ann L. Yaktine) of the Institute of Medicine report Seafood Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks.

3 Minute Reads
from San Francisco Grotto Writers
50+ Writers, 3 Minutes Each!

Joins us for a fast-paced and irreverent evening, showcasing new work from the students of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto writing classes. On this Friday evening, both fiction and nonfiction writers will read their work — but only for 3 minutes each! Their instructors (Grotto authors) will enforce the time limit. Join us for wine, fun, and fresh new writing.

Nell Freudenberger reads from her new novel The Newlyweds ($25.95), a powerful, funny, richly observed tour de force by one of America’s most acclaimed young writers: a story of love and marriage, secrets and betrayals, that takes us from the backyards of America to the back alleys and villages of Bangladesh.

“Wise, timely, ripe with humor and complexity, The Newlyweds is one of the most believable love stories of our young century.” — Gary Shytengart

“Freudenberger draws women's complex lives as brilliantly as Austen or Wharton or Woolf, and, with The Newlyweds, has given a performance of beauty and grace.” — Andrew Sean Greer

“A big, complicated portrait of marriage, culture, family, and love. Freudenberger never settles for an easy answer, and what she delivers is a story that feels absolutely true. Every minute I was away from this book I was longing to be back in the world she created.” —Ann Patchett

“Exceptional . . . Here is an honest depiction of life as most people actually live it: Americans and Asians, Christians and Muslims, liberals and conservatives. Freudenberger writes with a cultural fluency that is remarkable and in a prose that is clean, intelligent, and very witty.” — David Bezmozgis

Nell Freudenberger is the author of the novel The Dissident and the story collection Lucky Girls, winner of the PEN/Malamud Award and the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; both books were New York Times Book Review Notables. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, and a Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Fellowship from the New York Public Library, she was named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists and one of The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40.”

Join me for a three hour, hands on workshop in which you will learn how to keep your relationship on a loving track. We’ll use personal examples to flesh out common struggles that we all go through in our search to make our relationships more loving. To get the most out of the workshop it would be best to read Who’s Talking Now? The Owl and the Crocodile, $24.95. Seymour Boorstein, M.D., Psychiatrist/Psychoanalyst has been in practice in Marin for 50 years. He is a Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF Medical School.

People aren’t simply vehicles for stories, they are the stories—that’s true of novels, memoirs, screenplays, or even nonfiction. Through discussion & writing exercises, Martha Engber shows what makes a character irresistible and unbelievable. Engber is an editor, and author of the novel Wind Thief and Growing Great Characters from the Ground Up.

Cosponsored by CUESA

Ruta Kahate presents Quick-Fix Indian: Easy, Exotic Dishes in 30 Minutes or Less ($16.99).On Saturday mornings, chefs and cookbook authors lead free cooking demonstrations sing seasonal ingredients from the Farmers Market. Join us out front of the Ferry Building in the Farmer's Market for tips, recipes, and a sample. We’ll be there with the books.

Calories — too few or too many — are the source of health problems affecting billions of people in today's globalized world. In Why Calories Count ($29.95), Marion Nestle explains what calories are and how they work, both biologically and politically. The author also offer some candid advice: Get organized. Eat less. Eat better. Get political.

Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and Professor of Sociology at New York University. She is the author of What to Eat and Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health; Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety; and Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine.

Dixon Long discusses Markets of Paris 2nd Edition ($18.95). The food scene in Paris has changed dramatically since 2006, when Markets of Paris was published. Markets are held in the same locales — but many have undergone a transformation led by a new generation focused on local and organic produce. This new edition revisits & updates the entire market scene.

Dixon Long is a novelist and short story writer, as well as the author of the first edition of Markets of Paris, and Markets of Provence. He has lived in Paris and Provence, and now lives in the Bay Area.

Left Coast Writers book launch: Editors Joanna Biggar & Linda Watanabe McFerrin discuss Wandering in Bali: A Tropical Paradise Discovered ($14.95). This collection of varied tales, some mystical, some funny, some terrifying — are each told in a different, highly personal voice. From temples to Balinese feasts to classical music and dance, the writers here sample and share the multiple faces of Bali.

Joanna Biggar is a writer, journalist, and teacher who has published fiction, poetry, personal and travel essays and hundreds of feature articles for newspapers and magazines. She has traveled solo in the most remote corners of China, chaired a school board in Ghana, worked as a journalist in Washington, DC, and taught school kids in Oakland, California, where she lives.

Poet, travel writer and novelist Linda Watanabe McFerrin has been traveling since she was two and writing about it since she was six. A contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online publications, she is the author of poetry collections, award-winning novels and a short story collection, and the editor of a travel guidebook and literary anthologies.

Discover how writing scenes for the stage is different from writing scenes for the page. This workshop will introduce you to the 3 Ds: Discovery, Decision, Doing that form the basis for powerful stage scenes. In addition, we will explore the concept of character masks: What face(s) do characters present to the world? What is the back story behind them? How do these masks crumble, melt, and fade as the action of the play progresses? You will be guided through short evocative writing exercises. Nina Solomita, MFA, has had plays produced in Massachusetts and California; her monologues were published in the ICWP Mother-Daughter Series, and she has taught playwriting at Pacific Repertory Theatre, Carmel.

Left Coast Writers book launch: Editors Joanna Biggar & Linda Watanabe McFerrin discuss Wandering in Bali: A Tropical Paradise Discovered ($14.95). This collection of varied tales, some mystical, some funny, some terrifying — are each told in a different, highly personal voice. From temples to Balinese feasts to classical music and dance, the writers here sample and share the multiple faces of Bali.

Joanna Biggar is a writer, journalist, and teacher who has published fiction, poetry, personal and travel essays and hundreds of feature articles for newspapers and magazines. She has traveled solo in the most remote corners of China, chaired a school board in Ghana, worked as a journalist in Washington, DC, and taught school kids in Oakland, California, where she lives.

Poet, travel writer and novelist Linda Watanabe McFerrin has been traveling since she was two and writing about it since she was six. A contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online publications, she is the author of poetry collections, award-winning novels and a short story collection, and the editor of a travel guidebook and literary anthologies.

Three Tuesdays: June 12-26
Poetry is prophetic speech, a spoken epiphany. A good poem gives voice to feelings, thoughts, and intuitions in us that we may have sensed the presence of, but never known how to say. This is poetry’s power: it summons the best, the deepest of who we are, and captures it in language.Roger will explore some of the world’s great poems, and with the help of simple exercises and reading aloud, the group shall reflect together upon the echoes, meanings, and relevance they have for our own lives. Poetry phobics are as welcome as poetry lovers—the point is not to study poetry, but to use it as a means to explore our own authentic feelings and perceptions.

This session will be taught in English. 

Spending the night in Paris? The precious hours can slip away faster than a good bottle of Bordeaux. Nicolas Wolff provides an overview of everything a night in Paris has to offer: museums, walks, underground movie theaters, jazz clubs and, of course, food and wine. Bring questions about your upcoming trip and get expert, tailored advice.

“Even though I know Paris fairly well he provided me with many new places of interest to check out on my trip there this Fall. His handouts are super detailed and will be very useful too” one student reported. 

 Nicolas Wolff grew up in Paris and teaches French. 

Rosecrans Baldwin reads from Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down ($26.00), a fresh take on the City of Light in which the author, a self-described Francophile, dreams of living in Paris — drinking le café, eating les croissants, walking in les jardins — despite the fact that he wasn’t exactly fluent in French and is ill prepared to earn a living in the French city.

Rosecrans Baldwin's first novel, You Lost Me There, was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2010, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and a Time and Entertainment Weekly Best Book of Summer 2010. He is a cofounder of the online magazine The Morning News.

Steven Saylor reads from The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World ($25.99). The year is 92 B.C., and Gordianus has just turned eighteen and is about to embark on a journey to see the Seven Wonders of the World. Gordianus is not yet called “the Finder” — but at each of the Seven Wonders, the young Roman encounters a mystery to challenge the powers of deduction.

Steven Saylor is the author of acclaimed historical mystery novels featuring Gordianus the Finder, including The Triumph of Caesar, as well as the internationally bestselling historical novels Empire and Roma.  He has appeared on the History Channel as an expert on Roman politics and life.

Upstairs at the Ferry Building
Cosponsored by CUESA

David and Michael Hanson discuss Breaking Through Concrete ($29.95). Urban farming is a social movement that's transforming our national food system. In their book Breaking Through Concrete, brothers David and Michael Hanson and urban farmer Edwin Marty document twelve successful urban farms, from an alternative school for girls in Detroit to a restaurant supply garden on a rooftop in Brooklyn. They offer practical advice for budding farmers, such as composting and keeping livestock in the city and decontaminating toxic soil.

The talk will be followed by a book signing (books for sale by Book Passage) and reception with farmers market refreshments. Please note: if the event fills up, there will be a limited number of seats available on the day of the event. First come, first served. More info at http://breakingthroughconcrete.eventbrite.com/

Neil Abramson speaks about his novel, Unsaid ($14.99), a poignant book that will make you think about the relationship between people and animals. "If you love legal dramas... or dogs... or terrific writing... or originality... or people... or discovering wonderful new writers, then Neil Abramson's Unsaid is a book you simply must read.” — David Rosenfelt

"An extraordinary story of animals, mortality, and the power of love. Everyone needs to read this novel!" - Garth Stein

Neil Abramson is a partner in a Manhattan law firm, and his wife is a veterinarian. Abramson is also a past board member of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, an award recipient from the ASPCA for his legal work on behalf of animals, and a founding member of the New York City Bar Association Committee on Legal Issues Relating to Animals.

Andrew Blackwell discusses Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the World's Most Polluted Places ($25.99). For most of us, traveling means visiting the most lively or beautiful places on Earth — like Paris or the Taj Mahal. This new book embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth.

Andrew Blackwell is a journalist and filmmaker living in New York City. He is a 2011 fellow in nonfiction literature from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Barney Saltzberg talks about Arlo Needs Glasses ($15.95). Arlo is a shaggy, free-spirited dog who loves to play catch until one day he can’t. As a matter of fact, Arlo can’t really see the ball anymore. He needs glasses! Every child who wears glasses will know just how Arlo feels. And every parent will want that child to know that glasses are cool and fun and enable us to do the things we want to do. Like play!

Barney Saltzberg is the author of more than 30 books for children, including Beautiful Oops!, Good Egg and the bestselling Touch and Feel Kisses series, with over 800,000 copies in print. Additionally, he’s recorded four albums of songs for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two dogs, and a pond full of fish.

Barney Saltzberg is on the faculty of the 6th annual Book Passage Children's Writers & Illustrators Conference, which takes place June 14-17 at Book Passage.  This event is part of the Conference. It is open to the public, though priority seating is reserved for Conference participants.

Cosponsored by CUESA

John Toulze and Sondra Bernstein present Plats Du Jour: The Girl and the Fig’s Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country ($48.00). On Saturday mornings, chefs and cookbook authors lead free cooking demonstrations using seasonal ingredients from the Farmers Market. Join us out front of the Ferry Building in the Farmer's Market for tips, recipes, and a sample. We’ll be there with the books.

Four Mondays: June 18-July 9
for kids entering 4th & 5th grade with Karen Benke, author of RIP THE PAGE! and Prartho Sereno, author of Causing a Stir
Here’s a camp to get you to open up to your inner life, rip into favorite words, and cook up some tantalizing images. We’ll play on and off the page with original detail and paint—literally—our poems into illustrations and greeting cards. You’ll leave with favorite haiku, pantoums, and poetry riddles. Just come with your curiosity and willingness to be surprised! All materials included.

Karen Benke has inspired kids’ creative journeys in the form of poem-making for 17 years as a California Poet in the Schools and has authored a collection of poems, Sister, and a new book for kids and kids-at-heart, Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing. Prartho Sereno has been one of Marin County’s beloved Poets-in-the-Schools for over 12 years. Her prize-winning poetry collections include Causing a Stir: The Secret Lives and Loves of Kitchen Utensils (winner of a 2008 IPPY) and Call from Paris.

Four Tuesdays: June 19 - July 17 (no class July 3)

Bring your laptop (if you have one) and roll up your sleeves. We’re going to Create Your Buzz-Kicking Blog. In this workshop you will learn: The Keys to Highly Successful Author Blogs and Why They Work; The 6 Essential Things Your Blog Must Have and Where to Put Them; How to Set Up Your Blog; Write Great Content Your Readers Will Love; Time-Saving Tools; How to Avoid Common, Costly Mistakes; Promote Your Blog Without Being Obnoxious.

Ridley Pearson reads from his new thriller The Risk Agent ($25.95). Rich with the atmosphere of Shanghai and crackling with tension-filled suspense, Pearson's latest introduces two compelling new characters — and heralds the start of a brilliant new series. “Pearson writes thrillers, the kind that try to yank you to the edge of your seat and keep you there.” — Boston Sunday Globe

Ridley Pearson is the author of more than two dozen novels, including the New York Times-bestsellers In Harm’s Way, Killer Summer, Killer View and Killer Weekend, the bestselling Lou Boldt crime series, and many books for young readers including those with Dave Barry. Peter and the Starcatcher, the musical based on Ridley Pearson's and Dave Barry's best selling series, has received 9 Tony Award nominations.

Renowned author Francine Du Plessix Gray presents The Queen's Lover ($25.95), a work of historical fiction which tells the story of a love affair between Marie Antoinette and a Swedish aristocrat. Expertly researched and deeply imagined, this new novel offers a fresh view of the French Revolution and French royal family, as told through the love story that was at its center.

Francine du Plessix Gray has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker and is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including Simone Weil, At Home with the Marquis de Sade: A Life, and Soviet Women. She is most recently the author of the memoir Them: A Memoir of Parents.

Join us for lunch with Belva Davis as she discusses her memoir Never in My Wildest Dreams — the story of a journalist who helped change the face of television news, a history-maker, an award-winning reporter, and a pioneering feminist. Born to a 15-year old Louisiana laundress during the Great Depression and raised in the projects of Oakland, Davis overcame abuse, racism, and sexism to become the first black female news anchor on the West Coast. Davis reported on some of the most explosive stories of the past decades, including the rise and fall of the Black Panthers, the Jonestown massacre, the Moscone/Milk murders, and the onset of the AIDS epidemic. She recounts her interviews with world leaders, including Fidel Castro and three U.S. presidents.

Davis has traveled the world reporting on politics, terrorism, racial and gender issues, and the role of art and culture in increasing human understanding. She has anchored at three major network affiliates, and currently hosts a highly respected political affairs program on KQED-TV in San Francisco.

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo.

What's going on in the art world? What are galleries and museums looking for now? What does an artist need to do to break through to the next level? This workshop will help emerging and established artists learn the basic business strategies required for success. Topics include how to create an "artist-friendly" business plan, how to think like an entrepreneu, and how to use professional networks to advance your career. Mary Edwards is a Career & Life Coach for artists and creative entrepreneurs. She works with painters, sculptors, photographers, designers, graphic artists, and other creative people. Mary has a Ph.D. from The University of Michigan and has taught workshops and classes for college students, business executives, and aritsts.

Jean Zimmerman reads from her debut novel, The Orphanmaster ($27.95), a gripping historical thriller set in pre-Revolutionary America. It’s 1663 in the tiny, hardscrabble Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, and orphan children are going missing. Looking into the matter is a quick-witted 22-year-old trader, Blandine von Couvering. What she finds will surprise.

Jean Zimmerman was born in Tarrytown, New York. An honors graduate of Barnard College, she is the author of several works of nonfiction, including Love, Fiercely: A Gilded Age Romance and The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune, and a Dynasty.

Anita Amirrezvani reads from Equal of the Sun ($26.00). Legendary women changed the course of history in the royal courts of England. They are celebrated in history books and novels, but few people know of the powerful women in the Muslim world. Amirrezvani’s gorgeously crafted tale of power, loyalty, and love in the royal court of Iran brings one such woman to life.

Anita Amirrezvani is the author of The Blood of Flowers, which was long-listed for the Orange Prize, and a former staff writer and dance critic for the San Jose Mercury News and the Contra Costa Times. She is currently an adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco.