The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore Wins an Oscar

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (from 2011) won the Oscar for Best Animated Short at Sunday's Academy Awards. Above, we’ve embedded the complete book-loving film. This 15-minute short is the first made by Moonbot Studios, a fledgling animation shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. For their efforts, Moonbot’s founders (who include acclaimed author and illustrator William Joyce) received an Oscar! Congratulations. We love Willam Joyce!

Book Passage: The Week(end) Ahead

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store just about every day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Looking to the weekend, here are three events Patch.com readers won’t want to miss.

Richard Mason reads from History of a Pleasure Seaker
-- Saturday, February 25 at 1:00 pm

From the acclaimed author of The Drowning People (“A literary sensation” — The New York Times Book Review) and Natural Elements (“A magnum opus” — The New Yorker) comes an opulent, romantic, coming-of-age drama set at the height of Europe’s belle époque, written in the grand tradition with a lightness of touch that is wholly modern and original. Richard Mason’s History of a Pleasure Seeker (Knopf) is a portrait of the senses, a novel about pleasure and those who are in search of it; those who embrace it, luxuriate in it, need it; and those who deprive themselves of it as they do those they love.

Born in South Africa, Mason was ten years old when he moved to England with his parents. His first novel, The Drowning People, was published during his first year at Oxford, and it has since been translated into 22 languages. Mason has written three more novels. Mason set up the Kay Mason Foundation, in memory of his sister, who died when he was a child. The aim of the foundation is to make the best education available for young people in South Africa. The foundation has the patronage of Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Karen Kondazion presents The Whip
-- Saturday, February 25 at 7:00 pm

Karen Kondazian talks about The Whip (Hansen Publishing Group), a historical novel and a tale of revenge inspired by the true story of Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst (1812-1879), who lived most of her extraordinary life as a man in the Old West. As a young woman in Rhode Island, she fell in love with a runaway slave and had a child. He was lynched and her baby killed. Dressed as a man, she went to California to track down the killer. Here, she became a renowned stagecoach driver, killed an outlaw, and had a secret love affair. In 1868, she became the first woman to vote in California (as a man). Her grave lies in Watsonville. The event will begin with the screening of a related short film, Stage Coaches of the West.

Kondazian's career as an actor, writer and producer is as diverse as it is long. At the age of eight she was chosen to be one of the children on Art Linkletter's "Kids Say the Darndest Things." Later, she attended San Francisco State College (as it was then called), and went on to stage work opposite Ed Harris in Sweet Bird of Youth (which she also produced), Richard Chamberlain in Richard II, and Stacy Keach in Hamlet. She won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in The Rose Tattoo (in which her work as actor and producer so impressed Tennessee Williams that they became friends and he gave her carte blanche to produce any of his work in his lifetime). Kondazian has also appeared in over 50 television shows and films.

Sunday morning story time with Christopher Smith
-- Sunday, February 26 at 11:00 am

This Sunday, and just about every Sunday throughout the year (except during the Summer), local singer-songwriter Christopher Smith performs at Book Passage. Smith has been writing acoustic music and performing in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. Why so popular for so long? Because Smith writes well-crafted story songs that aim for the heart. Fusing elements of humor and sadness, his songs feature characters that are quirky, vulnerable and unforgettable. Smith is especially popular with toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners who gather round to hear him play. 

And adults too.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

The Week Ahead @ Book Passage

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store just about every day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection. Looking to the week ahead, here are three events you won’t want to miss.

Sebastian Junger talks about War
-- Monday, February 20 at 7:00 pm


Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, turns his attention from man’s struggle with nature to man’s struggle with man. In War, Junger turns his empathetic eye to the reality of combat — the fear, the honor, and the trust among men whose survival depends on their absolute commitment to one another. His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through 15 months in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

Junger is an American author, journalist and documentarian most famous for the best-selling book The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, which was made into a feature film in 2000 starring George Clooney and Mark Walhberg. He also self-financed and directed a documentary movie Restrepo (2010). It was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Due to the expected popularity of this event, priority seating will be allotted to those who purchase a copy of Junger’s book from Book Passage.

Meredith Maran & Johnny Symons present
-- Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 pm

Meredith Maran will read from her just released novel, A Theory of Small Earthquakes (Soft Skull Press), and filmmaker Johnny Symons will show a brief clip from his award-winning 2002 film, Daddy and Papa, and together they’ll discuss the challenges and joys of portraying non-traditional families in books and film.

Maran’s earlier books include Class Dismissed: A Year in the Life of an American High School, A Glimpse into the Heart of a Nation and Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America's Teenage Drug Epidemic. Her new book, a debut novel, has been praised by publications ranging from Reader’s Digest to Vanity Fair. Marin writer Anne Lamott called it "A smart, sexy, funny, wrenching, delicious story of lust and trust and love and family."

Symon is an Emmy-nominated documentary film and video maker based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His film Daddy and Papa (2002), about the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men raising kids, premiered at Sundance, won more than 15 major festival awards, and aired nationally on PBS. His other documentary credits include 1995’s The Celluloid Closet for HBO.

Eve Ensler & Isabel Allende in conversation
-- Friday, February 24 at 7:00 pm

Activist Eve Ensler sits down with writer Isabel Allende to talk about activism, women and girls, and the power of stories. The event is described thus: “Eve will blow you away and Isabel will get you through it. And together they will fill you with hope.” The event also includes a sneak peak at Ensler's latest theatrical work, the stage adaptation of Emotional Creature, which will premiere at Berkeley Rep this June.

The former Louise Brooks-bobbed Ensler is the Tony Award-winning author of The Vagina Monologues and founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls. Her most recent book is I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World (Villard). Allende is a Chilean writer and now longtime resident of Marin. She is the author of  The House of the Spirits, an international bestseller which was made into a film, and more than a dozen other works. Allende’s books have been published in more than two dozen countries. In 1998 she was awarded the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, and in 2011 she was given the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

This event is a benefit for V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls. It takes place at Dominican University of California, Angelico Hall, in San Rafael. Tickets are $35.00 and include a copy of Ensler’s book I Am an Emotional Creature. A book signing follows the presentation.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

The Week Ahead @ Book Passage

Among Bay Area bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place at the store just about every day. Additionally, many of these events have a local connection- that's because Book Passage is a true community center. Looking to the week ahead, here are three events readers won’t want to miss.

Amy Franklin-Willis reads from The Lost Saints of Tennessee
-- Monday, February 13 at 7:00 pm

Here is what Pat Conroy, the author of Price of Tides, had to say about The Lost Saints of Tennessee (Atlantic Monthly). “The gifted novelist, Amy Franklin-Willis, has written a riveting, hardscrabble book on the rough, hardscrabble south, which has rarely been written about with such grace and compassion. It reminded me of the time I read Dorothy Allison’s classic, Bastard out of Carolina.” If such high praise intrigues, then don’t miss this exceptional debut.

Now a resident of Northern California (she married her college sweetheart, who hails from the Bay Area), Amy Franklin-Willis is an eighth-generation Southerner born in Birmingham, Alabama. She received an Emerging Writer Grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation in 2007 to complete The Lost Saints of Tennessee.

Literary Luncheon with Lisa See
­­-- Wednesday, February 15 at 12:00 noon

At this special literary luncheon, acclaimed novelist Lisa See discusses her new novel Dreams of Joy (Random House), which is now out in softcover. Devastated after discovering the shocking truth about her mother and father, Joy (a character from See’s 2009 novel Shanghai Girls) flees to China to find a new life (and her real father) – and Pearl, realizing what has happened, sets out for Mao’s China, resolved to find her daughter.

Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles and is a Bay Area and Book Passage favorite.

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at its Corte Madera store. These events are catered by Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo. The ticket price of $55 includes lunch and a signed book. Call Book Passage to reserve.

Katherine Boo talks about Behind Beautiful Forevers
-- Friday, February 17 at 7:00 pm

From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo comes Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Random House), a work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the 21st century’s great cities, Mumbai, India. At times, it’s hard to believe this is nonfiction (David Sedaris calls it “as rich and beautifully written as a novel”) – but it is, a true account of garbage pickers and petty thieves, of families and teenagers and their daily struggles and hopes which grow in the muck of almost unbelievable poverty. In its review, the New York Times described this remarkable book as “a true-life version of Slumdog Millionaire without the Bollywood ending.”

Katherine Boo spent three years among the residents of Mumbai’s Annawadi slum, a sprawling settlement of hundreds of tin-roof shacks in the shadow of the city’s International Airport. She is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a former reporter and editor for The Washington Post. Boo’s reporting has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur “Genius” grant, and a National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. For the last decade, she has divided her time between the United States and India. This is her first book.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

Guest blogger: Kalpana Mohan

The Book Passage blog welcomes Kalpana Mohan as a guest blogger. Kalpana is a local writer and regular patron of the store.

I'm a Book Passage stalker; I've commuted to Book Passage for a dozen years now all the way from Saratoga and every minute of my three hour drive has been worth it; I've made wonderful friends; my family has spent days reading at BP just because we all love to read. I'm part of Left Coast Writers and every time I walk into BP, it's a reminder about why I left the high-tech world. It's a reminder about why I do what I do, a reminder of how I love to write.

I'm really looking forward to talking to Katherine Boo when she reads at Book Passage on February 17th. I'm reading Boo's new book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, and I'm thinking about all the things it would have taken this writer – who did not speak the language or know the culture – to immerse herself in that alien world of grinding poverty. I have never been to that world even though I was born and raised in India. But I have been on the other side. I have looked at the slums from those high-rise hotels that she refers to in her book. I've never had the courage to walk into such a slum for I have been conditioned, since the day I was born, to ignore those slums, to pretend that they did not exist in my world and to be indifferent to the life teeming under those corrugated tin roofs. Oh, yes, our maid, our driver and our plumber belonged to them, but we didn't think of how and where they lived – unless they didn't report for work.

I can see how Behind the Beautiful Forevers will be a touchstone for nonfiction that will change the world. We need more such non-fiction work that will inspire the action to bring about systemic change in India. I hope I'll be able to do the same through my writing, even if it's in far less gritty ways than Boo.

I would love to share information with you about my blog – SARiTORIAL: Unfolding An Indian Icon – in which I write about India, the old and new. In it, I write about things, places and ideas that are specific to India and Indians in the diaspora. The stories are many. Every story, I promise, will make readers pause and reflect. I really do think that the stories I'm narrating are as universal as they are unique.

A few months ago I wrote about Aiyyelu, a renowned silk costume maker in the South Indian coastal city of Chennai who, at 82 (no one, not even Aiyyelu, knows exactly how old he is), doesn't need to wear glasses to thread his needle. His exquisite silk costumes are mailed around the world for classical Indian dance performances. Read about him at http://www.bit.ly/Aiyyelu.

On January 30th morning, on the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's death, I wrote about my day at his home, Sabarmati Ashram in India's Ahmedabad, and linked that to my experience of listening to Gloria Steinem's lecture at Stanford on January 26th. Check it out at http://bit.ly/gandhisteinem. And, just last week, when I found out that Starbucks was filtering into India, it became grounds for a venti post. Why? India grows coffee. India could teach Starbucks a thing or two about beans. The South Indian degree coffee is unmatched. Why not let this old coffee culture be? Why does India need yet another multi-national corporation? Read more about my frustration at http://bit.ly/degreecoffee.

I hope readers will subscribe to my blog and send me their thoughts and suggestions. I'd be thrilled if readers could pass the word and the link along to a relative, a colleague, a friend, a Facebook friend, an adversary, a Frenemy...anyone, really, who will find it interesting. Readers across the generations and across all cultures, follow me on my journey at SARiTORIAL.

About The Author: Kalpana Mohan enjoys writing about parenting, ethnic issues and lifestyle. Her stories have appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, Business Week Online, FamilyFun Magazine, USA Weekend Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Bay Area Parent, India Currents and other print and online publications.

The Week Ahead @ Book Passage

Among the Bay Area’s many bookstores, Book Passage in Corte Madera has one of the most active schedules going of author events, readings, classes and other literary happenings. In fact, it’s not uncommon for more than one or two author talks to take place just about every day. And what's more, many of these events have a local connection. Looking to the week ahead, here are three events readers won’t want to miss.

Pam Houston talks about Contents May Have Shifted
-- Monday, February 6 at 7:00 pm

Pam Houston is the author of two collections of linked short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness, a bestseller which was the winner of the 1993 Western States Book Award and has been translated into nine languages, and Waltzing the Cat which won the Willa Award for Contemporary Fiction. She has also authored a book of essays and a novel and is the Director of Creative Writing at U.C. Davis, as well as the Director of the Tomales Bay Workshops.

Her new novel, Contents May Have Shifted (Norton), tells the story of Pam, who is stuck in a dead-end relationship; one day, this fearless narrator leaves her metaphorical baggage behind and finds freedom in the air. Plane ticket in hand, she flies around the world and finds new reasons to love life in dozens of far-flung places.

Adam Johnson presents The Orphan Master’s Son
-- Wednesday, February 8 at 7:00 pm

San Francisco author Adam Johnson has been receiving a good deal of attention lately for his new novel, The Orphan Master’s Son (Random House). His book has been favorably reviewed in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, and last week he was on the PBS NewsHour talking about what is fast becoming one of the big books of the season.

The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea. Part dystopian thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love found, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and lastly love.

Lysley Tenorio reads from Monstress
-- Thursday, February 9 at 7:00 pm

Monstress (Ecco), by Lysley Tenorio, introduces a bold new writer who explores the clash and meld of disparate cultures. In the National Magazine Award-nominated title story, a has-been movie director and his reluctant leading lady travel from Manila to Hollywood for one last chance at stardom, unaware of what they truly stand to lose. In "Felix Starro," a famous Filipino faith healer and his grandson conduct an illicit business in San Francisco, though each has his own plans for their earnings. And in “Help,” after the Beatles reject an invitation from Imelda Marcos for a Royal Command Performance, an aging bachelor attempts to defend her honor by recruiting his three nephews to attack the group at the Manila International Airport. (The last story is based on actual incidents.)

Born in the Philippines, Tenorio is a graduate of UC Berkeley and a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. He currently lives in San Francisco, and is an associate professor at Saint Mary’s College of California.

MORE INFO: Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., in Corte Madera. Call (415) 927-0960 or visit www.bookpassage.com for details.

Faculty Additions - Cara Black, Tony Broadbent, David Cole, George Fong, Lisa Gallagher, Al Giannini, William C. Gordon, Seth Harwood, Arthur Kerns, John Lescroart, D.P. Lyle, Tim Maleeny, Kirk Russell, and Jacqueline Winspear join the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference

Just announced! Cara Black, Tony Broadbent, David Cole, George Fong, Lisa Gallagher, Al Giannini, William C. Gordon, Seth Harwood, Arthur Kerns, John Lescroart, D.P. Lyle, Tim Maleeny, Kirk Russell, and Jacqueline Winspear to join the faculty of the 2012 Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, July 19-22 in Corte Madera, California.

Cara Black
Cara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track, a Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. Cara is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series, which includes Murder in the Latin Quarter, Murder in the Marais, and Murder at the Lanterne Rouge, has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Hebrew. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. Read more >>

Tony Broadbent
Broadbent is the acclaimed author of the Jethro books, The Smoke and The Spectres in the Smoke, about a cat burglar and jewel thief, in post World War II England. The third book in the series, Shadows in the Smoke will be published in August. Read more >> 

David Cole
David has divided his time between publishing, writing, and marketing, cultivating experience in every aspect of the book publishing business. He founded Bay Tree Publishing in 2002. Read more >>

George Fong
Fong is Director of Security with ESPN and former Supervising Agent for the FBI.

Lisa Gallagher
Lisa is a literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. As former Senior Vice President & Publisher of William Morrow, Lisa became known as an indefatigable author advocate who helped nurture the careers of many writers. She was lucky enough to work with numerous New York Times bestselling authors, including Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, Gregory Maguire, Christopher Moore, James Rollins, and Neal Stephenson. Read more >>

Al Giannini
Giannini is a San Mateo County District Attorney.

William C. Gordon
Gordon’s novel, The Chinese Jars, is a mystery set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the early 1960s. He is also the author of King of the Bottom, The Ugly Dwarf, Duelo en Chinatown, and the forthcoming The Halls of Power. Gordon is an attorney with a law office in Sausalito, a father, photographer, and world traveler with his wife, author Isabel Allende. Read more >>

Seth Harwood
Harwood grew up in the Boston area and graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of Jack Wakes Up, This is Life, and his latest novel, Young Junius, billed as "The Wire meets Cambridge, MA in 1987" and picked by George Pelecanos as one of his best books of 2010. Read more >>

Arthur Kerns
Following graduation from college, Kerns did a stint with the US Navy amphibious forces, and then joined the FBI with a career in counterintelligence and counter terrorism. Retiring from the FBI, he became a consultant with the Director of Central Intelligence and the Department of State. His lengthy assignments took him to over 65 countries. He is the author of The Riviera Contract and The Past is Never Dead. Read more >>

 

John Lescroart
A New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into 16 languages in more than 75 countries, Lescroart is the author of numerous crime novels and courtroom mysteries. His books include Treasure Hunt, A Plague of Secrets, The Hunt Club, Damage, and The Hunter. Read more >>

 

D.P. Lyle
Lyle is a physician and the author of Howdunit Forensics, a definitive reference guide for writers. He is also the author of Forensics and Fiction, Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Royal Pains: First, Do No Harm, Royal Pains: Sick Rich, and more Forensics and Fiction, which will be published this spring. Read more >>

Tim Maleeny
Maleeny is the author of the acclaimed Cape Weathers series, including Stealing The Dragon, Beating The Babushka, and Greasing
The Piñata. His latest book is Jump. Tim's short fiction has won the prestigious Macavity Award and appears in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen, Crimespree Magazine, and the anthologies Death Do Us Part, Uncage Me, and Thriller 2. Read more >>

Kirk Russell
Kirk's early novels feature the head of an undercover California Fish and Game team. His latest novel, A Killing in China Basin, begins a new crime series set in San Francisco, featuring homicide inspector, Ben Raveneau, and his partner Elizabeth la Rosa. Read more >>

Jacqueline Winspear
Conference co-chair Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the acclaimed Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, An Incomplete Revenge, Among the Mad, A Lesson in Secrets, and the latest Elegy for Eddie. Read more >>  

Register >>

Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and BookPassage.com for updates on upcoming additions to the Conference faculty.

Faculty Additions - Annie Barrows, Shirin Yim Bridges, Ying Compestine, Summer Dawn Laurie, Laurie McLean, Amy Novesky, Kathryn Otoshi, Lissa Rovetch, and Pam van Hylckama Vlieg to Join the 2012 Book Passage Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference

We are ecstatic to announce the addition of Annie Barrows, Shirin Yim Bridges, Ying Compestine, Summer Dawn Laurie, Laurie McLean, Amy Novesky, Kathryn Otoshi, Julie Romeis, Lissa Rovetch, and Pam van Hylckama Vlieg to the faculty of the 2012 Book Passage Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference, June 14-17 in Corte Madera, California.

Annie Barrows
Barrows’ collaboration with her late aunt Mary Ann Shaffer, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, has been a perennial New York Times bestseller, published in 25 countries and selling well over one million copies. Barrows is also a prolific author of children's literature. The first book in her children’s series Ivy and Bean was published in 2006 and was an ALA Notable book for 2007; it was followed by many others, with the latest, Ivy and Bean Button Factory to be published this April. Her 2008 stand-alone children’s novel, The Magic Half, was described by School Library Journal as “a delightful tale brimming with mystery, magic, and adventure.”

Read more >> 

Shirin Yim Bridges
In addition to being head goose at Goosebottom Books, Shirin wrote all six books in Goosebottom’s first series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses, which includes Agrippina Atrocious and Ferocious, Hatshepsut of Egypt, and Artemisia of Caria. She is also the author of The Umbrella Queen and Ruby's Wish. Shirin has lived in many countries around the world, as is reflected in her writing — Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and England.

Read more >> 

Ying Compestine
Ying is the author of YA and Middle Grade novels Revolution is Not a Dinner Party and A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, as well as children's books including Crouching Tiger, The Runaway Wok, and Boy Dumplings. She has visited schools throughout the US and abroad, sharing with students her journey as a writer, how her life in China inspired her writing, and the challenges of writing in her second language.

Read more >> 

Summer Dawn Laurie
Summer is an independent children’s book editor with ten years’ experience at Tricycle Press and Chronicle Books. After ten years working in-house at children's book publishers, most recently as senior editor at Tricycle Press, the kid's division of Ten Speed Press, and previously at Chronicle Books for Children, Laurie decided to head out on her own. Over the years, she has edited more than 50 published books, ranging from board books to picture books, middle-grade novels to non-fiction.

Laurie McLean
Laurie is a literary agent with the Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency. Laurie specializes in middle grade and young adult children's fiction. Laurie is also the Dean of the newly created San Francisco Writers University.

Read more >> 

Amy Novesky
Amy is an independent children's book editor, creative director, and co-founder of Ever After Studio, a children's book production company. She is the author of Me, Frida and Elephant Prince. Amy is a former editor with Chronicle Books in San Francisco, where she acquired award-winning picture books. Currently she works with writers and publishers to produce children’s books of all kinds. In addition, she is the creative director for Paper Hat Press, a company that creates customizable children’s books and keepsakes. She also frequently teaches writing workshops at Book Passage.

Read more >> 

Kathryn Otoshi
Kathryn is an award-winning writer and illustrator, whose books have won the E.B. White Read Aloud Honor, the Nautilus Gold Award, and the Mom's Choice Award. Her books include Zero, One, Simon and the Sock Monster, What Emily Saw, and  Marcello the Movie Mouse.

Read more >> 

Lissa Rovetch
Lissa is the author of Ook the Book and the Hot Dog and Bob chapter book series, and she is the illustrator of There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat and Other Vile Little Poems. Lissa founded the monthly group for children's writers and illustrators, Kid Lit Salon, which has been meeting at Book Passage since 2008.

Read more >> 

Pam van Hylckama Vlieg
Pam is a prolific book blogger at Bookalicious and Hicklebee's Books.

Join us for the 6th Annual Book Passage Children’s Writers & Illustrators Conference. The Conference will cover all aspects of writing and illustrating for children—from developing ideas to honing skills to finding a publisher. Students will work closely with other writers and illustrators, as well as with agents, editors, and publishers. The conference is designed to meet the differing needs of those who create for different age groups.

Students choose an area of emphasis for the morning sessions, such as writing for picture books, early readers, young adult books or illustration, and then work with a teacher in a workshop setting. In the afternoon, students choose from panels of common interest, such as working with editors, working with agents, marketing and promotion. There will be many opportunities for faculty and students to talk, laugh, and exchange ideas in classes, lunches, and at evening events.

Register >>

Check out the conference Facebook page, the conference Twitter feed, and BookPassage.com for upcoming announcements and additions to the Conference faculty.