Thursday, October 29, 2009

An Evening with Memoirists: Nov. 17

This monthly salon, hosted by yours truly, features authors, literary agents, and others involved in the field of writing. Set in the atmospheric Scape Gallery in Corona del Mar, the salon is a mecca for literary devotees who listen to readings, take part in discussions, and attend book signings.

Our next event takes place Tuesday, November 17 • 7pm

An Evening with Memoirists

Join our salon on November 17 when two memoirists, Danzy Senna and Norman Ollestad join me in conversation.

Norman Ollestad is author of Crazy for the Storm, a Los Angeles Times bestseller and Starbucks pick. His book begins: I was in a plane crash with my father; his girlfriend, Sandra; and the pilot of our chartered Cessna. Sandra was 30. My dad was 43. I was 11. By the end of our 9-hour ordeal, I was the only survivor. The novelist Jim Harrison said, "Crazy for the Storm is an absolutely compelling book which I read in one long sitting. The fact that it’s true made me shudder, but then Norman Ollestad is a fine writer and every detail is convincing."

Danzy Senna was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of two writers, an African-American father and a white mother who met during the Civil Rights Movement. She received her B.A. from Stanford University and MFA in creative writing from the University of California, Irvine. Her first novel, Caucasia (1998), was an instant bestseller and received the Book-of-the-Month Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction. It also received the Alex Award, American Library Association, and has received praise from The New York Times and Newsweek. Her second novel was Symptomatic (2003). Danzy Senna's latest work is the memoir: Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A
Personal History (2009). In the book, she reconstructs a long-buried family mystery that illuminates her own childhood, her enigmatic father, the power and failure of her parents' union and, finally, the forces of history. Senna lives in Los Angeles with husband, novelist Percival Everett and their two sons.

Our salon will take place at:
Scape Gallery
2859 East Coast Highway
Corona del Mar, CA, 92625

$15.00 includes nibbles and sips. ($16 if you pay using PayPal.) Advance tickets are required—walk-ins are discouraged as seating is limited.

Paying using PayPal is easiest. Visit www.paypal.com and once you sign in, it will ask to which email address you are sending. Please use penonfire@earthlink.net.

If you'd rather send a check, make it out to “BD Barrett” (with “memoirists” jotted in the lower left hand corner) and send to Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, 503 Larkspur, Corona del Mar 92625.

Please register soon as we expect this to be another sold out event (and we hate turning people away).

If you’d like to get on the email list to be notified of future events, enter your email address below. (Please note that this is a different e-list than the one you see at left.

Upcoming is crime writer T. Jefferson Parker (Jan. 26), another evening of literary agents, and more. On May 15, plan to attend, because the new anthology, Orange County Noir (Akashic Books), in which Barbara, Mary Castillo, Marty Smith, Gary Phillips, and others have short stories, will be out.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Oprah apologized

Does everyone know about this but me?

Friday, October 16, 2009

Lorrie Moore

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Lorrie Moore, author of A Gate at the Stairs.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: October 14, 2009)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

What I woke up to

Husbands, boyfriends and sons, take note: Doing things like this on your wife's, girlfriend's, or mom's birthday goes a long way. Here's what I woke up to. Nice....memorable...and oh so thoughtful.

Lucille Ball summed it up neatly when she said, “The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.”

And friends, thanks for all your birthday wishes. They mean a lot. Big hug....

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

An Evening with Susan Straight and Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum



I hope you'll join us for the next event scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 7 - 9 p.m. at Scape Gallery, here in Corona del Mar.

It will be a night of talk about writing fiction with two National Book Award nominees. Read more here. I hope to see you there!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Ethan Canin and Nick Baker

Marrie Stone interviews Ethan Canin, author of America America and Nicolson Baker, author of The Anthologist.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Sep 23, 2009)

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Danzy Senna and Peter Gadol

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Danzy Senna, author of Where Did You Sleep Last Night? A Personal History and Peter Gadol, author of Silver Lake.

Download Audio
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(Broadcast Date: September 30, 2009)

Friday, October 02, 2009

Debra Ollivier & Karen Karbo at the Pen on Fire Speakers Series



Two pics from last Saturday's event at Scape in Corona del Mar. Debra's on the right; Wendy Mason, who won the raffle is in the middle; and Karen Karbo is on the left.

And the cake! The cake!