51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera • www.bookpassage.com • March - April 2017, No. 2 415-927-0960 (Marin) • 415-835-1020 (San Francisco) • 415-339-1300 (Sausalito) • 800-999-7909 (orders)

Corte Madera • Art Reception for Sylvia Gonzalez pg. 9 • Path to Publishing Non-Fiction Workshop pg. 9 • College of Marin Series: Joel Selvin & Phil Cousineau pg. 3

Sausalito • Bon Voyage with Travelers’ Tales authors and stories pg. 14 • Children’s event for Next Stop Sausalito! pg. 14 • National Poetry Month Celebration pg. 14

San Francisco • Bill Hayes reads from Insomniac City pg. 10 • David Shields in conversation with Kelly Corrigan pg. 10 • Author event with journalist Shasha Aramsky pg. 14

March - April 2017

Elaine’s & Luisa’s Picks p. 16 Language Classes p. 18 Writing & Art Classes p. 19 Writing Books for Children p. 23 & 25 The Storyteller p. 24 Travel Writers & Photographers Conference p. 27 Mystery Writers Conference p. 29

Cooks with Books Back

Book Signing with

Chelsea Clinton

Wed., Apr. 19 • 5:00 pm • Ferry Building store Tickets: $15 (includes signed book) In It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going, Chelsea Clinton tackles some of the biggest challenges facing our world today, especially for kids. she helps lead the work of the Foundation across its world-wide initiatives. (pg. 11)

College of Marin

Caitlyn Jenner

Thurs., May 4 • 7:00 pm • James Dunn Theater, Kentfield Tickets: $40 (includes book) In conversation with Buzz Bissinger In her new memoir, The Secrets of My Life, Caitlyn Jenner and co-writer Buzz Bissinger chronicle her life as Bruce and her brave transition into womanhood. (pg. 15)

Dominican University Lecture Series

Chris Hayes Mar. 28, 1:00 pm

Anthony Marra Apr. 13, 7:00 pm

Anne Lamott Apr. 17, 7:00 pm

Paul Hawken May 1, 7:00 pm

In Store Events

Cleve Jones Mar. 5, 4:00 pm Corte Madera

Mohsin Hamid Andrew McCarthy Elizabeth Kostova Mar. 16, 6:00 pm Apr. 4, 7:00 pm Apr. 15, 4:00 pm Children’s Event Ferry Building Corte Madera



Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

Corte Madera

Steven Johnson

Wed., Mar. 1, 7:00 pm In Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World, Steven Johnson—the bestselling author of Where Good Ideas Come From—argues that, throughout history, the cutting edge of innovation lies wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused.

Clair Brown

Sat., Mar. 4, 4:00 pm Co-Sponsored by Mesa Refuge With Buddhist Economics, UC Berkeley economist and Buddhist practitioner Clair Brown advocates an approach to organizing the economy that embraces, rather than skirts, questions of values, sustainability, and inequality.

Charlotte Stewart

Sat., Mar. 4, 7:00 pm With co-author Andy Demsky Charlotte Stewart is known for her role as Miss Beadle on Little House on the Prairie. In Little House in the Hollywood Hills: A Bad Girl’s Guide to Becoming Miss Beadle, Mary X, and Me, she shares 50 years of a life in film and TV.

Kerry Nelson

Sun., Mar. 5, 1:00 pm One Small Difference: Step Into Action for a Better World is an eight week workbook for people who want to change the world and serve in the world. Author Kerry Nelson currently works as a retreat manager at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

Cleve Jones

Sun., Mar. 5, 4:00 pm Longtime LGBTQ and AIDS activist Cleve Jones’ memoir When We Rise is a sweeping, moving account of his life from sexually liberated 1970s San Francisco, through the AIDS crisis, and up to his present-day involvement with the marriage equality battle.

Robert Atkinson

Sun., Mar. 5, 7:00 pm In a timely book, Dr. Robert Atkinson offers a thoughtful narrative of conscious evolution, as he draws on the experiences of the world’s religions. The Story of Our Time is written with the idea of inspiring hope, as it traces love’s unifying power throughout history and in our midst.

Elizabeth Farnsworth

Mon., Mar. 6, 7:00 pm Elizabeth Farnsworth was a reporter and principal substitute anchor of PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. In A Train Through Time: A Life Real and Imagined, she weaves together own experiences with memories of reporting in danger zones like Cambodia and Iraq. This is a haunting account of someone forced to cover mass death and disaster.

Daniel Pinchbeck

Tues., Mar. 7, 7:00 pm We are on the brink of an ecological megacrisis. Between a manifesto and a tactical plan of action, How Soon is Now? by radical futurist and philosopher Daniel Pinchbeck outlines a vision for a mass social movement that could address this crisis.

Peter Heller

Wed., Mar. 8, 7:00 pm From Peter Heller, the bestselling author of The Dog Stars and The Painter, comes Celine, a luminous novel of suspense. Celine is an elegant, aristocratic private eye who specializes in reuniting families, while trying to make amends for a loss in her own past.

Wendy Garling

Thurs., Mar. 9, 7:00 pm Stars at Dawn is a contemporary and provocative examination of the life of the Buddha, highlighting the influence of women from his journey to awakening through his teaching career. Wendy Garling is an authorized dharma teacher.

Martha Hall Kelly

Fri., Mar. 10, 7:00 pm Lilac Girls is an arresting, powerful debut novel inspired by the lives of three women during World War II: an American debutante, a Polish resistance fighter, and a Nazi doctor. Martha Hall Kelly weaves the story seamlessly between these three narrative voices.

Jonathan White

Sat., Mar. 11, 1:00 pm Co-Sponsored by SPAWN/TIRN In Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. White is an active marine conservationist, a sailor, and a surfer.

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Sarah van Gelder

Sat., Mar. 11, 4:00 pm America faces huge challenges—climate change, racist violence, and economic insecurity. Discover the real revolution unfolding across America in The Revolution Where You Live: Stories from a 12,000-Mile Journey Through a New America. Sarah van Gelder is cofounder and editor-at-large of YES! Magazine.

Elaine Bond

Sat., Mar. 11, 7:00 pm Left Coast Writers® Event In Living Wild, the latest board book from Elaine Bond (Running Wild), photographs of animals in their natural habitats show young readers the varied and wonderful places that creatures including foxes, butterflies, and hummingbirds call home.

Brooke Williams

Sun., Mar. 12, 11:00 am Open Midnight weaves two parallel stories about the great wilderness—Brooke Williams’s year alone with his dog exploring wilderness maps of southern Utah, and that of his greatgreat-great-grandfather in 1863. Williams is an author, wilderness advocate, and husband to writer Terry Tempest Williams.

Sara Gottfried

Sun., Mar. 12, 1:00 pm Younger: A Breakthrough Program to Reset Your Genes, Reverse Aging, and Turn Back the Clock 10 Years is a program designed to increase your lifespan as well as your healthspan. Sara Gottfried, MD is the author of The Hormone Cure and The Hormone Reset Diet.

Lonely Planet Travel Anthology

Sun., Mar. 12, 4:00 pm Join a selection of contributors as they read from The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology: True Stories from the World’s Best Writers. Whether you read the book on the road or in an armchair at home, these tales are sure to entertain, amuse and inform you, and they’ll resonate long after the book is finished.

Estelle Frankel

Sun., Mar. 12, 7:00 pm In The Wisdom of Not Knowing, psychotherapist Estelle Frankel shows us that our psychological, emotional, and spiritual health is radically influenced by how comfortable we are at navigating the unknown and uncertain dimensions of our lives.



Emeritus Students College of Marin

Afternoon Author Series

ESCOM is delighted to partner with Book Passage to present this outstanding series of authors • Free & Open to the Public College of Marin, Kentfield Library

Joel Selvin Altamont

Fri., Mar. 24 • 1:00 - 2:30 pm

Altamont explores rock’s darkest day, a fiasco that began well before the climactic death of Meredith Hunter and continued beyond that infamous December night.

Phil Cousineau The Art of Pilgrimage

Fri., Apr. 28 • 1:00 - 2:30 pm

First published in 1998 and updated with a new preface by the author, The Art of Pilgrimage is a travel guide that is full of inspiration for the spiritual traveler.

For information call ESCOM: (415) 485-9652

Save the Date! David Sedaris

Sun., June 25 • 4:00 pm Ticket: $30.50 • Corte Madera store David Sedaris has kept a diary for 40 years. Now, for the first time, he shares his private writings with the world in Theft By Finding: Diaries 1977-2002. This is the first-person account of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet. Sedaris is the author of Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever.

California Writers Club

The Writers Life

3rd Annual Conference

Sun., April 2 • 9:00-5:00 pm • Lunch included • Book Passage Corte Madera This all-day conference features panels on marketing, book promotion, coaching, editing, travel writing, protecting your author rights, and pitching your manuscript. Panelists include:

Constance Hale • Linda Watanabe McFerrin • Robert Pimm • David Carr • Krissa Lagos • Tanya Egan Gibson • Teresa LeYung Ryan • Andy Ross • Peter Beren • Mary C. Moore Registration is $120 for members and $125 for non-members To register go to cwcmarin.com/writerslife



Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

Corte Madera

Dan Chaon

Mon., Mar. 13, 7:00 pm Two sensational unsolved crimes—one in the past, another in the present—are linked by one man’s memory and self-deception. Ill Will is a chilling new novel of literary suspense from Dan Chaon. His book Among the Missing is a finalist for the National Book Award.

Christina Baker Kline

Tues., Mar. 14, 7:00 pm As she did in her bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a novel that illuminates the story behind Andrew Wyeth’s famed painting Christina’s World. A Piece of the World iexplores the burdens and blessings of family history.

Molotov Editions Launch Party

Wed., Mar. 15, 7:00 pm Join three Molotov Editions authors: Robert Mailer Anderson will share his play, The Death of Teddy Ballgame; Edgar Awardwinner Domenic Stansberry returns with the mystery The White Devil; and Gillian Conoley will present her latest poetry collection, Peace.

Jacqueline Winspear

Thurs., Mar. 16, 7:00 pm Britain is plunging into war in 1939 In This Grave Hour, as investigator Maisie Dobbs nears a crossroads of her own. Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the N.Y. Times bestselling Maisie Dobbs series and standalone novel, The Care and Management of Lies.

Sam Bercholz

Fri., Mar. 17, 7:00 pm A Guided Tour of Hell: A Graphic Memoir is an utterly original and fantastically visual tale of one man’s descent into the underworld—and back. Sam Bercholz is the visionary founder of Shambhala Publications and an influential figure in disseminating Buddhist teachings and Eastern wisdom in the West.

Heather Lyn Mann

Sat., Mar. 18, 4:00 pm Heather Lyn Mann was a battle–weary environmental advocate struggling over what to do about climate change when she and her husband decided to explore the Atlantic. Ocean of Insight: A Sailor’s Voyage from Despair to Hope is her suspenseful, hilarious, and heart– warming journey of body and mind.

Kristie Middleton

Sun., Mar. 19, 1:00 pm Co-Sponsored by Humane Society of the U.S. If you want to eat less meat and dairy without giving them up entirely, MeatLess offers concrete rationale and easy steps for reducing animal products. Author Kristie Middleton is the senior food policy director for The Humane Society of the United States.

Caroline Winterer

Sun., Mar. 19, 4:00 pm American Enlightenments: Pursuing Happiness in the Age of Reason is a provocative reassessment of the concept of an American golden age in the years following the Revolutionary War. Caroline Winterer is the director of the Stanford Humanities Center.

Jessica Nutik Zitter

Sun., Mar. 19, 7:00 pm Jessica Nutik Zitter became a doctor because she wanted to be a hero. She specialized in critical care, but after the terrible experience of one emergency case, she began to question her choice. Extreme Measures charts her journey from wanting to be one kind of hero to becoming another—a doctor who midwifes death.

Ariel Levy

Tues., Mar. 21, 1:00 pm The Rules Do Not Apply is a dazzlingly written, profound memoir about a woman experiencing unthinkable loss and learning to accept that life is often beyond our control. What she learned is that self-reinvention and moving forward are still possible. Ariel Levy is staff writer for The New Yorker.

Meredith Maran

Tues., Mar. 21, 7:00 pm In conversation with Ramona Ausubel After Meredith Maran’s marriage fell apart, she deiced to make big changes. The New Old Me: My Late-Life Reinvention is a “lusty, kickass” post-divorce memoir about starting over at 60 in youth-obsessed, beauty-obsessed Hollywood.

An Evening with Red Hen Press

Wed., Mar. 22, 7:00 pm Join Red Hen Press as they welcome three authors to present their newest work: Alan Lightman (Einstein’s Dreams) shares his novel, Song of Two Worlds; Ellen Meeropol (House Arrest) returns with the activist fiction Kinship of Cover; and Amy Hassinger (The Priest’s Madonna) presents After the Dam.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Michael Finkel

Thurs., Mar. 23, 7:00 pm The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit is the true story of Christopher Knight—a man who lived alone in a tent in the Maine woods for 27 years. Michael Finkel is the author of True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa.

Gloria Dunn-Violin

Fri., Mar. 24, 7:00 pm Gloria Dunn-Violin, 78, has coined a new word and a new philosophy for life after retirement. In Revivement: Having a Life After Making a Living, she suggests with fervor that anyone over 50 is ready to have a rebirth, and to renew and revitalize a life that has been waiting for this auspicious time.

Constance Hale

Sat., Mar. 25, 1:00 pm In conversation with Patrick Makvakane The first book of its kind to dig into the rich ethnic dance tradition of Hawaiian hula, The Natives Are Restless from Constance Hale features stunning photography, archival material, and illustrations that will make hula come alive for any reader. Hale is the author of Sin & Syntax

Laura Watt

Sat., Mar. 25, 4:00 pm In The Paradox of Preservation: Wilderness and Working Landscapes at Point Reyes National Seashore, Laura Alice Watt chronicles how national ideals about what a park “ought to be” have developed over time and what happens when these ideals are implemented.

David Hartsough

Sun., Mar. 26, 4:00 pm In conversation with Norman Solomon David Hartsough has marched with mothers confronting violence in Guatemala and stood with refugees threatened by death squads in the Philippines. Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist offers a peace activist’s eyewitness account of many of the major historical events of the past 60 years.

Terry Tarnoff

Mon., Mar. 27, 7:00 pm It was a different time in a different world. Terry Tarnoff spent the 1970s traveling throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. The Reflectionist is Tarnoff’s long-awaited follow-up to The Bone Man of Benares, a highly acclaimed book and play that told the first half of the story.



Literary Luncheons

Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Corte Madera store. Lunch is catered by Insalata’s Restaurant. Tickets include lunch and a signed book. Call 415-927-0960, ext. 1, or bookpassage.com for tickets

Lisa See

Fri., Mar. 24 • 12:00 pm • $55 The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane paints an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people, and it celebrates the bond that connects mothers and daughters. Lisa See is the bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls.

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

Wed., Apr. 5 • 12:00 pm • $55 Every family has its problems. The Nest is a warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives. Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.

Jane Green

Mon., June. 19 • 12:00 pm • $55 Jane Green—New York Times bestselling author of Jemimah J and Falling—returns with The Sunshine Sisters, the story of a mother who calls her estranged daughters home to help her end her life. As two sisters face the loss of their mother, they will discover if blood might be thicker than water after all.

Left Coast Writers®

Led by Linda Watanabe McFerrin

1st Monday each month • 7:00-9:00 pm $120 per year • Corte Madera Left Coast Writers® provides literary connections, support, readings, writing tips, literary chats, unabashed networking, and great fun. LCW hosts a variety of activities to launch the books of members and explore publishing alternatives. You will often see LCW writers featured at Book Passage events. See www.bookpassage.com/left-coast-writers.

Upcoming Salon Meetings (Marin store)

Aleta George

Mon., Mar. 6 • 7:00 pm

Author of Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California’s First Poet Laureate.

Laura Perkins

Mon., Apr. 3 • 7:00 pm

Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc.



Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

Corte Madera

Adam Alter

Tues., Mar. 28, 7:00 pm In Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, NYU associate professor Adam Alter shows that we’re only just beginning to discover the tip of the iceberg of the epidemic of the behavioral addiction gripping society.

Joan Frank

Wed., Mar. 29, 7:00 pm All The News I Need (winner of the 2016 Juniper Prize for Fiction) probes the modern American response to inevitable, ancient riddles—of love and sex and mortality. Joan Frank is the author of six books of fiction and a book of collected essays.

Rhys Bowen

Thurs., Mar. 30, 7:00 pm Inspired by the real events and people of World War II, In Farleigh Place is a sweeping saga of class, family, love, and betrayal by Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of more than 30 novels and three award-winning historical mystery series.

Lauren Grodstein

Fri., Mar. 31, 1:00 pm In Our Short History, Karen’s son, Jacob, is asking to meet his dad, and with good reason: Karen is dying. Lauren Grodstein is the author of four previous works of fiction, including the New York Times bestselling novel A Friend of the Family.

Frank Ostaseski

Sat., Apr. 1, 1:00 pm In The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, Zen Hospice Project co-founder and pioneer behind the compassionate care movement Frank Ostaseki shares an inspiring exploration of the lessons dying has to offer about living a fulfilling life.

Andrew Forsthoefel

Sat., Apr. 1, 4:00 pm At twenty-three, Andrew Forsthoefel walked out the back door of his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with a backpack, an audio recorder, and his copies of Whitman and Rilke. Walking to Listen chronicles his cross-country quest for guidance.

Special Children’s Event Andrew McCarthy

Tues., Apr. 4, 7:00 pm In conversation with Kelly Corrigan Just Fly Away is the debut novel by the bestselling memoirist, actor, and director Andrew McCarthy about one girl’s discovery of family secrets, first love, the limits of forgiveness, and finding one’s way in the world, written with wisdom and sympathy.

Chandi Wyant

Sun., Apr. 2, 4:00 pm In her early forties, Chandi Wyant’s world implodes in the wake of a divorce and traumatic illness. Determined to revive her passionate spirit, Return to Glow chronicles her profoundly spiritual and ruggedly adventuresome journey on Italy’s historic pilgrimage route, the Via Francigena.

Mary Smathers

Mon., Apr. 3, 7:00 pm In Fertile Soil: Stories of the California Dream, Mary Smathers presents the light and dark sides of contemporary California. She shows the perseverance of its residents and richness of its culture across a grand sweep of history. Smathers lives in Costa Rica with her husband and two big dogs.

Annie Jacobsen

Tues., Apr. 4, 1:00 pm Phenomena is a book about a team of scientists and psychics with top secret clearances, a riveting investigation into how far governments will go in the name of national security. Annie Jacobsen is the author of the bestsellers Area 51 and Operation Paperclip and the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon’s Brain.

Hannah Tinti

Wed., Apr. 5, 7:00 pm In The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, a father protects his daughter from the legacy of his criminal past. Hannah Tinti is the author of the short story collection, Animal Crackers, and the novel The Good Thief, winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and an American Library Association Alex Award.

Judith Orloff

Thurs., Apr. 6, 7:00 pm For highly sensitive people known as empaths, life presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Now N.Y. Times bestselling author Dr. Judith Orloff offers The Empath’s Survival Guide, an empowering book for anyone who wants to develop their empathy in an often insensitive world.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Ananta Ripa Ajmera

Fri., Apr. 7, 7:00 pm The Ayurveda Way is a fresh approach to preventative self-care practices for daily life It is drawn from Ayurveda, yoga’s companion health system with 108 time-tested ways to boost overall well-being. Ananta Ripa Ajmera is an Ayurveda Practitioner and yoga instructor.

Jess Thomson

Sat., Apr. 8, 11:00 am With touching, funny, sometimes devastating stories that we all can relate to, Jess Thomson pulls in the reader with A Year Right Here: Adventures with Food and Family in the Great Nearby as she learns that letting go can be just as important as holding on.

Winifred Reilly

Sat., Apr. 8, 1:00 pm Marriage and family therapist Winifred Reilly has this message for struggling partners: take the lead. It Takes One to Tango is a groundbreaking guide that shows how one determined partner—acting alone—can spark lasting, significant change in a marriage.

Dr. Steven Pantilat

Sat., Apr. 8, 4:00 pm Co-Sponsored by Hospice By the Bay Life After the Diagnosis is a compassionate and sensitive guide for those who don’t know where to start at a difficult time. Dr. Steven Pantilat, a renowned international expert in hospice and palliative care, shares innovative approaches for dealing with serious illness.

Wei Yang Chao

Sat., Apr. 8, 7:00 pm Left Coast Writers® Event In conversation with Jazmin Darznik Wei Yang Chao was 14 when he was thrust into chaos as the Cultural Revolution began to blaze across China. Red Fire: Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, offers an intimate account from someone who lived through these events.

Hari Kunzru

Sun., Apr. 9, 1:00 pm White Tears is a ghost story, a terrifying murder mystery, a timely meditation on race, and a love letter to all the forgotten geniuses of American music. Hari Kunzru is the author of four previous novels and the recipient of a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation.



Book Passage & Dominican University

Book Passage is pleased to work with the Institute for Leadership Studies at Dominican University of California in San Rafael to present an outstanding series of events.

For tickets, visit bookpassage.com/dominican or call (415) 927-0960 ext. 1

Chris Hayes

Tues., Mar. 28, 1:00 pm

Tickets: $35 (includes signed book) A Colony in a Nation explains how a country founded on justice now looks like something uncomfortably close to a police state. Chris Hayes is the Emmy Awardwinning host of All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC and the New York Times bestselling author of Twilight of the Elites.

Anthony Marra Thurs., Apr. 13, 7:00 pm One Book One Marin 2017 In conversation with Michael Krasny • Free & open to the public Join us as we celebrate Anthony Marra and his 2017 One Book One Marin award-winning book The Tsar of Love and Techno, a collection of dazzling, poignant, and lyrical interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art.

Anne Lamott

Mon., Apr. 17, 7:00 pm

Paul Hawken

Mon., May 1, 7:00 pm

Tickets: $25 (includes signed book) From Anne Lamott—the bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow and Stitches—comes Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy, a clear-eyed and passionate exploration of mercy, its limitless (if sometimes hidden) presence, why we ignore it, and how we can embrace it.

Co-Sponsored by Environmental Forum of Marin Tickets: $35 (includes book) In Drawdown, renowned environmentalist Paul Hawken has assembled a team of over 200 scholars, scientists, policymakers, business leaders, and activists to illustrate the hundred most substantive solutions to combat climate change. These solutions will not only slow down the growth of carbon emissions, but reverse them altogether.



Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

Corte Madera

Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Tues., Apr. 11, 7:00 pm Lyanda Lynn Haupt made a split-second decision to rescue a baby starling—the same kind of bird that Mozart once kept as a pet. With Mozart’s Starling, Haupt brings readers a charming ode to these historically controversial birds and the renowned composer and his songbird companion.

T.R. Reid

Wed., Apr. 12, 7:00 pm In A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System, bestselling author T. R. Reid voyages around the world to solve the urgent problem of the US’s failing tax code, unravelling a complex topic in plain English and telling a rollicking story along the way.

Elizabeth Kostova

Sat., Apr. 15, 4:00 pm From Elizabeth Kostova—author of The Historian—comes The Shadow Land, an engrossing novel that delves into the horrors of a century, spans the past, and the present and unearths the dark secrets of Bulgaria, a beautiful and haunted country.

Annabelle Gurwitch

Tues., Apr. 18, 7:00 pm Wherever You Go, There They Are: Stories About My Family You Might Relate To is the hysterically funny and slyly insightful collection of essays from Annabelle Gurwitch. Gurwich is the author of I See You Made an Effort.

Sally Bedell Smith

Wed., Apr. 19, 7:00 pm From Sally Bedell Smith—the author of Elizabeth the Queen—comes Prince Charles, an illuminating and revelatory new biography, filled with fresh insight, of the man who has waited his whole life to be King.

Carolyn Miller & Lynne Knight

Thurs., Apr. 20, 7:00 pm Terrapin Books authors Carolyn Miller and Lynne Knight present an evening of poetry and discussion. Miller’s latest collection is Route 66 and Its Sorrows— lyric poetry of redeeming grace and intense clarity. Knight’s newest title is the darkly gorgeous The Persistence of Longing.

Jeff Guinn

Fri., Apr. 21, 7:00 pm Jeff Guinn—the author of Manson— returns with The Road to Jonestown, the comprehensive, authoritative, and tragic story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre—the largest murdersuicide in American history.

Johanna Silver

Sat., Apr. 22, 11:00 am Special Earth Day Event! In the stunning pages of The Bold Dry Garden you’ll discover the history of this acclaimed garden, along with the design principles and plant palette to create your own lush, low-water landscapes. Johanna Silver is the garden editor at Sunset Magazine.

Dee Dussault

Sat., Apr. 22, 1:00 pm Yogis have been using cannabis to enhance spiritual practice for millennia. Now, certified yoga instructor Dee Dussault takes this ancient practice mainstream with Ganja Yoga. Dussault is a Yoga-Alliance certified yoga instructor and the first yoga teacher in North America to offer cannabis-enhanced yoga.

Erin Rodoni & Gillian Wegener

Sat., Apr. 22, 4:00 pm Join Sixteen Rivers Press poets Erin Rodoni (Body, in Good Light) and Gillian Wegener (This Sweet Haphazard) for an evening of reading and discussion in celebration of their newest poetry collections. Sixteen Rivers Press was founded in 1999 to create a sustainable, shared-work publishing collective run by and for Bay Area poets.

Amy Peele

Sat., Apr. 22, 7:00 pm In Cut, a well-respected transplant nurse and her best friend meet the corrupt world of organ transplants in a wild roller coaster ride through lifestyles of the rich and famous. Amy Peele has since enjoyed a thirty-five-year career in organ donation and transplantation in both Illinois and California.

Margot Anand

Sun., Apr. 23, 4:00 pm A true virtuoso of Tantra and a brilliant star in the universe of erotic delights, author Margot Anand has led a life of sexual ecstasy and spiritual bliss. Love, Sex, and Awakening recounts her amazing stories and explores the answers to profound questions.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Donna Seaman

Mon., Apr. 24, 7:00 pm Who hasn’t wondered where—aside from Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo—all the women artists are? In Identity Unknown, award-winning writer Donna Seaman rescues seven first-rate twentieth-century women artists from oblivion.

Poets in the Schools

Tues., Apr. 25, 6:30 pm Terri Glass, Marin Coordinator for California Poets in the Schools, will host a lively reading celebrating selected student poets from all over the county. Teachers will be on hand to introduce their students. Come hear these talented youth surprise you and feed your heart.

Vaddey Ratner

Wed., Apr. 26, 7:00 pm From Vaddey Ratner—the award-winning, author of In the Shadow of the Banyan— comes Music of the Ghosts, a novel about a woman who returns to her homeland after receiving a letter from a mysterious man who claims to have known her father before he disappeared in the Cambodian holocaust.

David Dalin

Thurs., Apr. 27, 7:00 pm In conversation with John Rothmann Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court examines the lives, legal careers, and legacies of the eight Jews who have served or who currently serve as justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. David Dalin is a historian, a rabbi, and the author, coauthor, or editor of eleven books.

Bill Schutt

Thurs., Apr. 27, 7:00 pm In Cannabalism, zoologist Bill Schutt sets the record straight, debunking common myths and investigating our new understanding of cannibalism’s role in biology, anthropology, and history. This is a fascinating account on a complex topic.

Eric Harrison

Sat., Apr. 29, 4:00 pm The Foundations of Mindfulness is a brilliant, fresh, essential book from Eric Harrison for everyone seriously interested in mindfulness— a clear, step-by-step explanation of the Buddha’s original teachings on the subject, here considered wholly (paradoxically!) from a secular, non-Buddhist perspective.



Sylvia Gonzalez The World of Pastel

We are thrilled to show the artworks of local artist Sylvia Gonzalez in our Book Passage Gallery in Corte Madera. Sylvia has worked in pastel for 27 years and has developed her own techniques in monotype. She is inspired by the colors and textures of the surrounding landscape, its creatures in, around and beyond. While her love of nature, traveling and exploring new places and cultures is key to her work, she is always happy to be back home in her 100 year old barn-studio. We have her framed limited edition giclées and wonderful notecards.

Join us for a Reception with Sylvia Gonzalez Sat., Apr. 29 • 4:00-5:30 pm • Corte Madera

Path to Publishing Workshop

How to Craft and Sell a Non-Fiction Book

Sat., April 29 • 8:30 am – 3:00 pm Corte Madera Join us for a information-filled workshop featuring some of the Bay Area’s finest authors, Phil Cousineau editors, and publishing experts. The day will include educational panels and plenty of time for networking. Several of the Path to Publishing Program’s top mentors and experts will be on hand. Some of the areas covered will include: • How to structure your idea into a book • Writing a winning book proposal • The importance of an author platform and how to build one. • Gleaning what agents and publishers are looking for • Understanding the opportunities and process for alternative and self-publishing • Morning beverages, lunch with faculty, and a closing wine & cheese hour on the patio The faculty includes Phil Cousineau, K.D. Sullivan, Candice Furhman, Jan Johnson, and Mark Burstein with more to be announced. $50 for Path to Publishing Members/$100 Non-Members Contact Sam Barry: 415-927-0960, ext. 256; or [email protected].

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

Lorraine Rominger

The Ferry Building (415) 835-1020

Mon., Mar. 13, 6:00 pm Left Coast Writers® Event The Rangity Tango Kids is the story of a fifth-generation farm family in the 1950s and 1960s California as told by the eldest of 17 grandchildren. Lorraine Rominger was born in Yolo County and raised on the family farm just outside of Winters, California.

Bill Hayes

David Shields

Amy Sutherland

Ron Currie

Megan Marshall

Mohsin Hamid

San Francisco Thurs., Mar. 2, 6:00 pm Insomniac City is a moving celebration of what Bill Hayes calls “the evanescent, the eavesdropped, the unexpected” of life in New York City, and an intimate glimpse of his relationship with the late Oliver Sacks. Hayes is the author of The Anatomist, Five Quarts, and Sleep Demons. Sat., Mar. 4, 1:00 pm Co-Sponsored by Muttville A volunteer at Boston’s Animal Rescue League, Amy Sutherland began walking shelter dogs in 2001 and has patiently helped train canines with serious behavior problems. Rescuing Penny Jane is the story of her adventures with these remarkable dogs. Tues., Mar. 7, 6:00 pm From acclaimed author Megan Marshall comes Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast, a brilliantly rendered life of one of our most admired American poets. Marshall is the winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for Margaret Fuller: A New American Life.

Jason Turbow

Wed., Mar. 15, 12:30 pm In conversation with Kelly Corrigan Other People: Takes & Mistakes is an intellectually thrilling and emotionally wrenching investigation of otherness. David Shields is the internationally best-selling author of twenty books, including The Thing About Life, Reality Hunger, and Black Planet. Wed., Mar. 15, 6:00 pm Ron Currie’s three previous works of fiction have dazzled readers and critics alike with their originality, audacity, and psychological insight. K, the intriguing narrator of Currie’s new novel, The One-Eyed Man, joins the ranks of other great American literary creations who show us something new about ourselves. Thurs., Mar. 16, 6:00 pm From Mohsin Hamid—the internationally acclaimed author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist—comes a love story that unfolds across the rapidly changing face of a volatile world. Exit West is an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time.

Thurs., Mar. 9, 6:00 pm A sprawling, brawling history of one of baseball’s unforgettable teams, Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic explores how the Oakland A’s of the 1970s won three straight championships and knocked baseball into the modern age. Jason Turbow is the author of the bestselling The Baseball Codes.

Lauren Fern Watt

Stefani Bittner & Alethea Harampolis

Zoey Leigh Peterson

Sat., Mar. 11, 1:00 pm Co-Sponsored by Marin Art & Garden Center With the remarkable, multi-purpose plants in Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using 47 Extraordinary Garden Plants, there is always something for gardeners to harvest from one growing season to the next. Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis are the owners of Homestead Design Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area landscape design firm.

Sat., Mar. 18, 1:00 pm Gizelle’s Bucket List is Lauren Fern Watt’s playful, epic account of a 160-pound English Mastiff and the twenty something girl who grew up alongside her—a Marley & Me for a whole new generation. This is a humorous, poignant lesson on what our pets can teach us. Tues., Mar. 21, 6:00 pm In Next Year, For Sure, longtime romantic partners Kathryn and Chris experiment with an open relationship and reconsider everything they thought they knew about love. Zoey Leigh Peterson is the recipient of the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Eric Stover, Victor Peskin, & Alexa Koenig

Wed., Mar. 22, 6:00 pm Hiding in Plain Sight is a companion book to the public television documentary Dead Reckoning: Postwar Justice from World War II to The War on Terror. Authors Eric Stover, Victor Peskin, and Alexa Koenig all hold faculty positions at U.C. Berkeley’s School of Law Human Rights Center.

Lisen Stromberg

Sat., Mar. 25, 12:30 pm After the birth of her second child, Lisen Stromberg opted to focus on her family. But her professional life didn’t end there—she later found a second career as an award-winning journalist. Work PAUSE Thrive reveals how trailblazing women have disrupted the traditional career paradigm.

Julie Scelfo

Tues., Mar. 28, 6:00 pm The Women Who Made New York reveals the untold stories of the phenomenal women who made New York City the cultural epicenter of the world. Julie Scelfo is a frequent contributor to The New York Times.

Amy Poeppel

Wed., Mar. 29, 6:00 pm One admission can change your life...forever. Small Admissions is The Devil Wears Prada meets Primates of Park Avenue, and the perfect novel for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep. Amy Poeppel is a graduate of Wellesley College.

Victor Lodato

Thurs., Mar. 30, 6:00 pm Victor Lodato is the winner of the Weissberg Award for playwriting and PEN USA Award for Fiction writing, His Edgar and Lucy is a masterfully written story of a broken family struggling to stay together. Lodato is the author of Mathild Savitch.

Grotto Readings at the Ferry Building

Fri., March 10, 6:00 pm Join us for a showcase of new work from the students of the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto writing classes. Both fiction and nonfiction writers will read their work—but only for 3 minutes each! Instructors will enforce the time limit.

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Special Book Signing with

Chelsea Clinton

Wed., Apr. 19 • 5:00 pm • Ferry Building store Tickets: $15 (includes signed book) In It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going, Chelsea Clinton tackles some of the biggest challenges facing our world today, especially for kids. Filled with visuals including charts, graphs and photographs, this book has the potential to influence an entire generation’s activism and involvement in local and global issues. Chelsea Clinton has always been interested in making the world a better place. Today, she is Vice Chair of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation where she helps lead the work of the Foundation across its world-wide initiatives.

The Bay Institute & Aquarium By the Bay Film & Lecture Series Presents

Jonathan White

Wed., Mar. 15 • 5:30 pm • San Francisco Bar Pilots • Pier 9 • Tickets: $10 (includes light food & one drink) In Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. White is an active marine conservationist, a sailor, and a surfer. For tickets & information, visit aquariumofthebay.org

Aunt Lydia

The Personalized Gift Program Let Aunt Lydia help with your gifts If you want a special, ongoing gift, the Aunt Lydia Book Program may be the answer. The program began years ago when a customer decided to send a book a month to her favorite aunt. We decided other “Aunt Lydias” might like the same gift. Here’s how it works: We talk with you about what your gift recipient likes to read and then select an appropriate book. You decide how often you want books to arrive—every month, every two months—it’s up to you. It’s a personalized gift. We have book givers who send travel books to armchair explorers, thrillers to at-home sleuths, or political books to news addicts. This gift is matched to the reading preferences of the recipient. The books arrive beautifully wrapped with a hand-written note. Each book will remind the recipient of your thoughtfulness. For information: email Gina Schnabel at [email protected], or call 415-927-0960, ext. 230

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

San Francisco The Ferry Building (415) 835-1020

Ursula Werner

Fri., Mar. 31, 6:00 pm Drawing upon real-life inspiration, The Good At Heart takes place over the course of three days in which World War II comes to the doorstep of a German family living in an idyllic, rural village near the Swiss border. Ursula Werner is a writer and attorney in Washington, D.C.

Sasha Abramsky

Thurs., Apr. 6, 6:00 pm In The House of Twenty Thousand Books, journalist Sasha Abramsky sets out to tell the story of his grandparents’ extraordinary life, tightly intertwined as it was with twentiethcentury movements, political events, and the lives of other great thinkers.

Karena Virginia

Sun., Apr. 9, 2:00 pm In Essential Kundalini Yoga: An Invitation to Radiant Health, Unconditional Love, and the Awakening of Your Energetic Potential, Karena Virginia dispels the mystery and trepidation many experience along the path and replaces it with confidence and ease.

Marylee McNeal & Eveline Kanes

Wed., Apr. 12, 6:00 pm MaryLee McNeal writes fiction and poetry. Her latest poetry chapbooks are The Space Between Us and The Way We Fall. Eveline Kanes is a literary translator of German poetry and prose. Her latest original collection is A Coin Worn Thin.

David Callahan

Tues., Apr. 18, 6:00 pm The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age is an inside look at the secretive world of elite philanthropists and how they’re quietly wielding the power to shape American life in ways both good and bad. David Callahan is the author of seven previous nonfiction books.

CUESA & the CUESA Kitchen

Our friends at CUESA host the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry building every Tuesday & Thursday (10:00 am-2:00 pm) and every Saturday (8:00 am-2:00 pm). On Saturdays there are local chefs giving food demonstrations at the CUESA kitchen at 10:30 am and another at noon (the schedule is at www.cuesa.org/ events). And when those chefs are also writers, Book Passage is there with their books. Here are a few upcoming events

Joanne Weir

Sat., April 1 • 10:30 am Joanne Weir is a cookbook author, culinary instructor, and executive chef of Copita Tequileria y Comida in Sausalito, Her newest book is Kitchen Gypsy: Recipes and Stories from a Lifelong Romance with Food.

Carol Sheldon

Mon., Apr. 10, 6:00 pm Left Coast Writers® Event Exposed is an open, honest and revealing account of author Carol Sheldon’s feelings, experiences and musings in the form of poetry. Sheldon has previously published two books of poetry and many assorted other works.

Hank Parker

Tues., Apr. 11, 6:00 pm From Hank Parker—a former U.S. government advisor on agroterrorism— comes Containment, a debut thriller about a global plot to release a deadly virus and the elite response team who must try to stop it. Parker is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine.

Joy Wilson

Sat., April 1 • 12:00 pm Joy Wilson talks about her book Over Easy: Sweet & Savory Recipes for Leisurely Days. Wilson is widely known to food-buffs worldwide for her blogging as “Joy the Baker.”

Cocktails of the Farmers Market

Wed., April 19 • 5:30 to 8:00 pm • ticketed event Hosted with the Northern California chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild, bartenders create signature cocktails that showcase the bounty of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Proceeds support CUESA and USBG programs.

The Goats Are Coming!

Sat., April 22 Celebrate Earth Day with CUESA’s 9th annual Goat Festival. Pet a baby goat, enjoy goat cheese, and learn about why goats are good for the Earth.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Megan Miranda

Mon., Apr. 24, 6:00 pm In The Perfect Stranger—the follow-up to the runaway hit All the Missing Girls—a journalist sets out to find a missing friend, a friend who may never have existed at all. Megan Miranda is the author of several books for young adults, including Fracture, Hysteria, Vengeance, and Soulprint.

Alex Daly

Tues., Apr. 25, 6:00 pm In The Crowdsourceress, Alex Daly offers tangible tools for readers to run their own crowdfunding-campaigns and turn them into a business. Daly is the founder of Vann Alexandra, a creative services agency that gets projects financed through crowdfunding.

Matthew Isaac Sobin

Wed., Apr. 26, 6:00 pm Nearly three billion years into the future, the solar system is a very different place. In The Last Machine in the Solar System from Matthew Isaac Sobin, life on Earth ended billions of years ago. All that remains of conscious thought is Jonathan—the last machine.

Chris Santella

Sat., Apr. 29, 12:00 pm The thirty stories in Chris Santella’s The Tug is the Drug take readers from leaping makos near the fairways of Torrey Pines to midnight Atlantic salmon fishing on the fabled Ponoi to encounters with very friendly mujeres on the streets of Havana. Santella is the author of Fifty Places To Fly Fish Before You Die.

First Editions Book Club

Members of the First Editions Club receive a signed first edition of a new work of fiction by an emerging author who shows exceptional talent and promise. We’ve been early champions of young writers whose work has continued to garner critical attention including Khaled Hosseini, Junot Diaz, Ben Fountain, Lauren Groff, Nathan Englander, Paul Harding, Adam Johnson, Anthony Marra, and Emily St. John Mandel. Our May 2015 pick, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize. And that followed Anthony Doerr who won the Pulitzer for his magnificent novel All the Light We Cannot See, which was our April 2014 selection. For more information or to register, contact Mary Benham at [email protected]

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Ferry Building Store News Book Selections

Our display table reflects the seasons, and New Year’s segued into Black History Month. But it soon evolved into a “human rights/celebrate diversity” display, and we continue to add relevant titles for March and Women’s History Month.

Why I March: Images From the Women’s March Around the World

This photo collection was just released “to honor the movement, give back to it, and promote future activism in the same vein.” The publisher, Abrams Books, will donate all royalties to non-profits affiliated with the march.

The Weight of Him Ethel Rohan

A morbidly obese Irishman resolves to lose weight as a fundraiser for suicide prevention following his teenage son’s death, in this ultimately loving and uplifting novel by San Francisco author (and native of Ireland) Ethel Rohan.

A Meatloaf in Every Oven:

Two Chatty Cooks, One Iconic Dish and Dozens of Recipes – From Mom’s to Mario Batali’s

Frank Bruni & Jennifer Steinhauer

Even New York Times journalists need comfort food, and the witty dialogue between Frank Bruni and Jennifer Steinhauer is as entertaining and comforting as the varied recipes. The ingredients in this delightful collection range from lamb to Fritos.

Puppet Selections

We’ve never thought of ourselves as a puppet store, but the chirpy chicks, fluffy bunnies, and other cuddly critters that reign in our Folkmanis Puppets puppet display have made us all into puppeteers. These are perfect Easter or Passover gifts for some lucky kids. We like them so much that you can also find these delightful creatures hovering around their “puppet-poles” at at our other two stores in Corte Madera and Sausalito.

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Author Events in

Sausalito 100 Bay Street (415) 339-1300

Bon Voyage with Travelers Tales

Sat., Mar. 4, 4:00 pm Shake off the winter doldrums and get ready for spring travel. Travelers’ Tales Executive Editor Larry Habegger and authors Don George, Erin Byrne, and Michael Shapiro will share stories from a collection of Travelers’ Tales books. Travelers’ Tales books are a must for every serious traveler!

Jeanne Harvey

Sun., Mar. 12, 11:00 am Special for Kids! Honey Girl: The Hawaiian Monk Seal tells the true story of the rescue of a Hawaiian Monk Seal injured by a fishhook. Jeanne Harvey is also the author of Astro: The Steller Sea Lion and the forthcoming Maya Lin: ArtistArchitect of Light and Lines.

Sylvia Linsteadt

Wed., Mar. 8, 6:00 pm In conversation with Malcolm Margolin Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area is a coffee table book of luminous essays accompanied by a dazzling array of images. Award-winning writer Sylvia Linsteadt brings to life the many microcosms that once flourished in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Meg Donohue

Sat., Mar. 18, 1:00 pm From USA Today bestselling author Meg Donohue comes Every Wild Heart: a mystery, a love story, and a mother-daughter tale about two women on a precarious journey to uncover their true selves. Donohue is the author of How to Eat a Cupcake, All the Summer Girls, and Dog Crazy.

Carole Petiet

Sat., Mar. 25, 4:00 pm The Day I Died: Brain Trauma and the Journey Back is the story of how Carole Petiet recovered from a massive, near-fatal injury while ski racing with her daughter. Petiet, PhD, SEP, RN, is a clinical psychologist, registered nurse, and accomplished athlete.

Jane Kriss

Sun., Mar. 26, 4:00 pm Children’s Event A character sketch of a unique California destination, Next Stop Sausalito from Jane Kriss is full of surprises and lively narrative. The whole family will enjoy this delightfully illustrated portrait of the town where the Golden Gate Bridge ends.

Paul Scheuring

Sat., Apr. 1, 4:00 pm When Lily receives a most unexpected visit from an “heir finder” who informs her she is the sole beneficiary to an unclaimed fortune, she embarks on a global quest for answers. The Far Shore is the debut novel of Paul Scheuring, creator of Fox’s hit show Prison Break.

Nina Serrano

Sat., Apr. 8, 4:00 pm Nicaragua Way is a novel that focuses on women and the fight for human rights and democracy. Nina Serrano is a prize-winning poet and activist who is well-versed in Latino history and culture. This event will feature Nicaraguan music (with a Grammy-nominated guitarist) and tapas.

National Poetry Month Charles Burack, Kendra Tanacea, & Lenore Weiss

Sat., Apr. 22 • 1:00 pm • Sausalito store In celebration of National Poetry Month, Book Passage welcomes three poets to share their work at our Sausalito store. The natural world comes alive in Charles Burack’s luminous collection of poems, Leaves of Light. In A Filament Burns in Blue Degrees, Kendra Tanacea explores the human compulsion to create something lasting despite certain entropy. The Golem is a collection that speaks with the voice of Lenore Weiss, feminist writer who stands on the shoulders of her ancestors.

Be the first to hear! Register for the

Book Passage Fortnightly eNewsletter!

To be sure you hear about exciting author events, register for our e-Newsletter. In 2016, subscribers were the first to hear about events with Bernie Sanders and Anna Kendrick. To register, visit bookpassage.com and click the “Sign Up for Email Updates” button or email Marketing Manager Zack Ruskin at [email protected].

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Barbara Sapienza

Sat., Apr. 22, 4:00 pm In Anchor Out, sixty-year-old Frances Pia lives alone on a sailboat anchored near Sausalito, where she communes with the fog, sea lions, cormorants, and two sailor friends. But Frances wasn’t always this way. Barbara Sapienza is a retired clinical psychologist.

Anne Dana

Sun., Apr. 23, 11:00 am Special for Kids! A little octopus travels all the way from a Paris fountain to a California swimming pool in Monsieur Pierre, a charming new children’s picture book by Sausalito author/illustrator, Anne Dana.

We’re Open! Come See Us!

Thanks to our many friends (it seemed like there were about 500 of you!) who joined us for our Grand Opening February 4th. It was a festive, standing-room-only celebration that spilled out onto the Sausalito marina docks. Since then, a lot of you have come back and we’ve actually been able to talk to you and show you our collection of books and gifts. We’ve got some great hostess gifts (McEvoy tapenades, jams, and tea towels) as well as travel gear, hats and scarves. You can also pick up a “picnic to go” with great cheeses, crackers, craft beers and wine. We owe a lot of thanks to many people—two in particular that we need to mention are Madrigal Family Winery and the Sausalito Yacht Harbor. Many thanks to all of the people of Sausalito for a warm welcome to the community.

Now . . . Where Exactly Are You?

If you’re strolling down Bridgeway in the heart of Sausalito some evening, stop at Poggio’s and grab a table that looks out towards the water. You’ll see the lights in the Book Passage window, a short block away, glowing all by themselves in the gathering dusk. Did we set out to find an old, stand-alone building that is surrounded by sailboats and sticks out over the water? Nope. It was that magical view from an evening’s walk down Bridgeway that sold us on the place and told us it had to be part of the Book Passage family.

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College of Marin

Caitlyn Jenner

Thurs., May 4 • 7:00 pm • James Dunn Theater, Kentfield In conversation with Buzz Bissinger •Tickets: $40 (includes book) In her new memoir, The Secrets of My Life, Caitlyn Jenner and co-writer Buzz Bissinger chronicle her life as Bruce and her brave transition into womanhood. The book will cover Caitlyn’s childhood as Bruce Jenner and rise to fame as a gold-medal-winning Olympic decathlete; her marriages and relationships with her children; her transition; and her experience as the world’s most famous transgender woman.

Anne Lamott On Writing

Sat., May 13 • 1:00-4:00 pm • Corte Madera • $160 “Lamott is a narrator who has relished and soaked up the details of her existence, equally of mirth and devastation, and spilled them onto her pages.” - N.Y. Times Give the writer in your world a memorable experience, as he or she shares an afternoon with Anne Lamott. She never shies away from the difficult topics—both in writing and in life. Share an afternoon with this talented, humorous, and daring writer in an event that includes an on-stage interview, a lecture, and Q&A session. Lamott offers advice on the writing process and shares her writing experience. Anne Lamott is the bestselling author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, as well as of Small Victories, Hard Laughter and several other novels and essays Anne Lamott taught the first Book Passage writing class almost two decades ago. It’s a joy to welcome her back.

Outdoor Art Club

2017 Garden Tour Thurs., Apr. 27 • Mill Valley

The Outdoor Art Club is a nonprofit women’s organization which was formed in 1902. On April 27, join them as they host their annual Garden Tour.

For tickets & information, visit outdoorartclub.org B. P. Marketplace

Beautiful Paris Apartment in Montmartre Lively, artistic neighborhood. 2 bdrm, 1 bath (separate single studio also available). 1929 building, 15 min. from Sacre-Coeur and famous flea market. Quiet residential street, close to shops, restaurants, and public transit. 6th floor w/ elevator, French door/windows, washer, cable TV, WiFi internet + free unlimited phone calls to USA. TLC from French owner. Mention this ad to receive a discount on your rental! For more info: [email protected]

16 Book Passage • March - April 2017 Elaine’s & Luisa’s Picks Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane Lisa See

Prepare to be mesmerized as Lisa See takes you to a remote area of China where the Akha tribe grows rare and coveted tea. We follow Li-yan, a girl who thanks to a teacher, appears destined to get to the outside world. But when Li-Yan becomes pregnant, she knows that tribal rules will require the killing of her fatherless baby. With the help of her own mother, Li-Yan is able secretly to give birth. She takes a perilous journey to a place where she leaves the baby along with a valuable tea cake. The baby girl will be adopted by a California couple. The daughter and the mother live worlds apart, but they are bound together by tea. Some signed first printing after the March 24th event.

Celine Peter Heller

Celine is a private detective who specializes in reuniting families. An internationally renowned National Geographic Photographer has disappeared, and the official record says he was probably mauled to death by a bear in Yellowstone Park. But his daughter and the locals think otherwise. Celine suspects a government cover up, especially when it seems that the FBI has snipers following her. I don’t want to spoil it for you by telling more, but don’t miss this masterful literary thriller Some signed first edition after Peter Heller’s March 3rd event.

The Idiot

Elif Batuman

Tales of our college years have rarely been so beautifully enumerated. It is 1995 and Selin is beginning her first year at Harvard. Unsure of her path and surrounded by brilliant, yet often befuddled students, Selin navigates the waters of cranky roommates, and even crankier professors, toward something that feels like growth. Buoyed by her friendship with the fiercely independent Svetlana, and emboldened by her first romantic affair she makes her inaugural foray into the world and uncovers the beautiful possibilities of who she may want to be one day. Told with grace and humor throughout, this is a remarkable novel of self-discovery.

A Colony in a Nation Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes draws on both his personal experience and the in-depth reporting he shows on his MSNBC show, as he explores the state of race, law, and policing in the US. Hayes says we are split in two. There is the Nation, the country of the mostly white, financially comfortable citizens who experience a functioning democracy as opposed to the Colony made up of racial minorities and increasingly, of poor whites. In the Nation, the rule of law prevails. In the Colony, the authorities focus on order. As we watched police swat teams in Ferguson and Baltimore after police shootings, we saw law enforcement officers acting as if they were at war with an occupied population. With his insightful reporting, Hayes shows us how our country got here and what we can do to change it. Some signed first editions after the March 28th event.

In This Grave Hour Jacqueline Winspear

When war begins in 1939, British Intelligence assigns Detective/psychologist Masie Dobbs to a strange case. A Belgian engineer who came to Britain during WWI has been murdered execution style in London. When a second Belgian refuge is murdered, Masie suspects that the two crimes are related. She becomes immersed in a case full of twists and cover-ups. Masie’s investigation reveals that there are enemies very close to home. Some signed first editions after the March 16th event..

Irresistible Adam Alter

We’ve seen lots of books warning us about how are constant connectivity to electronic devices is making us nuts. But in case you aren’t upset enough about how we are giving our lives over to machines, read Irresistible. Adam Alter, a professor of Marketing at NYU, shows how our addiction to smart phones and social media is not just a side-effect but is something that is designed right into the devices. Irresistible is required reading for anyone who is concerned about the impact of this addiction. Signed first editions after the March 28th event.

Insomniac City

Bill Hayes

In spite of a 30-year age difference, in 2009 Bill Hayes and Oliver Sacks fell deeply in love. Sacks, the famed neurologist who had written with such tenderness about his patients, had never had a serious romantic relationship. In fact, he’d been celibate for 35 years. Too soon, Sacks, this man who swam every day and rode his bike around New York, learned that cancer was taking over his body. Hayes, often sleepless, found himself wandering around his beloved adopted city in the middle of the night. Through journals, photographs and gorgeous writing, Hayes brings us an intimate portrait of his two loves, Oliver Sacks and New York City. Some signed first editions after the March 2nd event.

A Piece of the World Christina Baker Kline

Andrew Wyeth’s 1948 painting Christina’s World is haunting. A crippled woman sits in a field with her back to us and her damaged legs stretched behind her, and we wonder what she is thinking. Wyeth was introduced to Christina Olson in 1939. She was middle-aged, unmarried and suffering from a debilitating disease. He painted her in various situations for over 20 years. In her new novel, Kline, the author of Orphan Train, illuminates the complex woman behind one of the most acclaimed paintings of the 20th century. Some signed first editions after the March 14th event

Book Passage • March - April 2017

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B.P. Marketplace Ill Will

Dan Choan

No one writes a dark, literary, suspense novel as masterfully as Dan Chaon. Scarred by the gruesome crimes of his past, psychologist Dustin Tillman, finds himself drawn to creepy unsolved murders of the present as his life spirals out of control. Various demons unfold before us as chapters alternate between different characters’ points of view. From the angry thoughts of a teenage meth addict, to the grief-stricken confusion of Darren himself, the tension rises as the very real danger begins to threaten them all. Ill Will is a chilling story of evil and the turmoil that surrounds every person unfortunate enough to feel it’s icy touch. Some signed first editions after the March 17th event.

Himself Jess Kid Edgar & Lucy Victor Lodato

Victor Lodato has brought to life the most unforgettable characters of the year in this remarkable tale of familial love. Eightyear-old Edgar is an unusual child. His feisty mother and fierce grandmother, each bound by their grief and strong wills, struggle to find common ground as they attempt to provide for Edgar as best they can. His father’s suicide the year before has marked them all, and still they fight to find a modicum of happiness if they can. The delicate touch of Lodato’s writing perfectly captures the gentle nature of this amazing young boy, but it is the depth of love that he beautifully articulates that make this such a powerful novel.

Exit West

Moshin Hamid

Exit West will take your breath away as it magically weaves together a story of falling in love while the world falls apart. Spirited Nadia captures the heart of the thoughtful Saeed, as their different paths in life converging and ordinary life gives way to the insults of war. Moshin Hamid conveys the story of these young refugees with tenderness, humanizing the horrors that too often we see as merely headlines. With scenes from around the globe, as chaos touches so many lives, he writes eloquently of the beauty found in our struggle to survive. This is more than a timely story; this is a remarkable work of art. Some signed first editions after the March 16th event.

Ghosts have long inhabited the stories of Ireland, in Himself we discover the magic they can weave into one small town’s tale. We begin with the murder of young Orla, while unknown forces in the forest protect her infant son. When the son returns over twenty years later, the town’s colorful cast of characters and irrepressible collection of spirits, provide as many questions as answers. Jess Kidd has written an utterly charming literary whodunit. A novel that rejoices in the beauty of the Irish countryside, winks at the drama of small town life, and enthralls you in a captivating mystery.

One of the Boys Daniel Margariel

Daniel Magariel has written a spare, powerful story of brotherly love and the unforgiving nature of addiction. The 12year-old narrator has been persuaded to pick sides after his parent’s brutal divorce. He chooses to leave his negligent mother, to be with his larger than life father. The new town doesn’t lead to the easy new beginnings that were promised. Instead, his father is reduced by his own addiction to a cycle of abuse and desperation. The narrator and his older brother become bonded as war veterans and adept at navigating the disappointments of the world. One of the Boys is a compelling story of the fragility of innocence and the tenacity of love.

B. P. Marketplace

Make Your Book Stand Out from the Crowd • Former HarperCollins editor • Past projects include New York Times bestsellers • Reasonable rates • Free consultation

Elsa Dixon (415) 928-4441

elsadixon@ elsadixon.com B. P. Marketplace

Point Reyes Schoolhouse Lodging An Eclectic and Private Family Compound on the Hill Above Point Reyes Station Walk the Footpath to Farmers’ Market, Toby’s Feed Barn, Shops and Bakery. Just 2 miles to Point Reyes National Seashore.

PointReyesSchoolhouse.com Email Owner Karen Gray [email protected] (415) 663-1166 Artist Karen Gray has made the Point Reyes Schoolhouse her home for over 40 years, drawing and painting the glorious National Seashore and wildlife . She is the author of A Family Guide to Point Reyes. B. P. Marketplace

Consulting—Editing Short Fiction Novels Screenplays Memoirs Paul Samuelson 415-517-0700 [email protected]

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Language Classes

Farsi Language Class Mehri Dadgar

Mehri Dadgar has a master’s degree in Fine Arts. She has taught Farsi at the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute and at College of Marin. She emphasizes conversations useful for travelers to Iran.

Continuing Intermediate Farsi

Four Tuesdays: Mar. 28 – Apr. 18 • 4:00 - 6:00 pm • $125 Kate Rider

Wendy Walsh

Italian Language Classes Kate Rider

Kate Rider has a master’s degree in Italian Literature from SFSU and teaches Italian at Dominican University. Her classes are fun and relaxed, with an emphasis on practical speaking ability.

French Language Classes Genevieve Blaise-Sullivan

Genevieve Blaise-Sullivan is a graduate of the Sorbonne, and has taught French at College of Marin for over 30 years.

Advanced French – Level 1

Higher Intermediate Italian

Eight Tuesdays: Apr. 18 - June 6 • 1:00 – 3:00 pm • $255 Selection of French speaking authors, review of French grammar plus discussions and exercises on “7 jours sur la planete” videos.

Lower Intermediate Italian

Advanced French Cours de Perfectionnement–Level 2

Six Wednesdays: March 1 - April 5 • 4:00 - 6:00 pm • $190 Six Wednesdays: March 1 - April 5 • 9:30 - 11:30 am • $190

Beginning Continuing Italian

Six Fridays: March 3 - April 7 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm • $190

Eight Tues.: Apr. 18 - June 6 • 10:35 am – 12:35 pm • $255 Review of grammar and discussion of current issues. Students read the contemporary novel Le Canape by Michele Lesbre.

Wendy Walsh

Wendy Walsh has a PhD in Italian Literature from UCB. She has taught Italian language and literature since 1979.

Lower Intermediate Italian

Seven Mondays: Mar. 13 - Apr. 24 • 12:40 – 2:25 pm • $225

Higher Intermediate Italian

Seven Tues.: Mar. 14 - Apr. 25 • 8:45 am – 10:30 am • $225

Advanced Italian

Seven Thurs.: Mar. 16 - Apr. 27 • 9:00 am – 11:00 am • $225

Intermediate Italian Review

Five Mondays: June 19 - July 24 • 1:00-3:30 pm • $195 (no class July 3)

Advanced Italian Review

Five Thurs.: June 22 - July 20 • 9:30 am – 12:00 pm • $195

Information & Sign-ups: Unless otherwise noted, classes

are at our Corte Madera store. Call (415) 927-0960 or register online at bookpassage.com/classes-workshops.

10% off coupon: Register one week before class, and we’ll give you a 10% off coupon for books and select merchandise.

Teachers are independent contractors:

The teachers of these classes are independent contractors and are solely responsible for the content, preparation, and presentation of the class to the students. The ideas and views presented in the class are solely those of the teacher, and Book Passage assumes no responsibility for their content.

Sandra Kierulff

Genevieve Blaise-Sullivan

Mehri Dadgar

Sandra Kierulff

Sandra Kierulff has taught at the College of Marin, Adult Education, and was the instructor and author of “French à la Carte,” a French language course for adults aired on KQED radio. She was a member of the Leadership team for the California World Language Project, based at Stanford University.

Intermediate French Eight Mondays: Mar. 6 - Apr. 24 • 2:00 – 3:30 pm • $250 Eight Mondays: May 8 - July 10 • 2:00 – 3:30 pm • $250 (no class on May 29 & July 3) Review of grammar structures through lively conversation, readings and songs. Texts: ‘Grammaire en dialogues’ with CD, Niveau Intermédiaire and ‘Grammaire Progressive du Français’.

Basic French for Travelers

Eight Mon.: Mar. 8 - Apr. 24 • 10:30 am - 12:00 pm • $250 Eight Mondays: May 8 - July 10 • 10:30 am - 12:00 pm • $250 (no class on May 28 & July 3) Conversational practice in scenarios that travelers most often encounter, from ordering a meal in a restaurant to purchasing items at the farmers market. Perfect for the travelers with only a little French, or those with more experience wishing to review. Text: “Communication Progressive du Français - deuxième édition (niveau débutant) by Claire Miquel.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Spanish Language Classes Graciela Pera

Graciela Pera is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. She has been teaching Spanish for over 35 years.

First Beginning Spanish

Eight Wed.: Mar. 8 - Apr. 26 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm • $250 Eight Wed.: May 3 - June 28 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm • $250 (no class May 17)

Beginning Continuing Spanish

Eight Mon.: Mar. 6 - Apr. 24 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm • $250 Eight Mon.: May 8 - June 26 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm • $250

Intermediate Spanish

Eight Thurs.: Mar. 9 - Apr. 27 • 10:30 am - 12:30 pm • $250 Eight Thurs.: May 4 - June 29 • 10:30 am - 12:30 pm • $250 (no class May 18)

Advanced Spanish

Eight Thursdays: Mar. 9 - Apr. 27 • 1:00 - 3:00 pm • $250

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Writing & Art Classes Art History

with Kerrin Meis

Kerrin Meis taught art history at SFSU for ten years and now leads study tours in Europe. Her Book Passage classes have been favorites for years.

Philadelphia: City of Art

Two Fridays: Mar. 10 & 17 • 1:00 – 3:00 pm • $75 The city where our Republic was born hosts many visitors, but what of the Art Museums? Join our virtual tour of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with its outstanding masterpieces from all ages, the Barnes foundation, the Rodin Museum with the first casting of the Gates of Hell and Americas’ first art school at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art.

Superb Collections In American Museums

Two Fridays: Apr. 21 & 28 • 10:00 am – 12:00 pm • $75 Kerrin Meis offers a sequel to her popular class “Small Spaces: Superb Collections.” Included are the Neue Galerie and the Jewish Museum in NYC, Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, the recently re-opened Wadsworth Atheneum, the Walters Collection in Baltimore, the Menil Collection in Houston, the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino California, and San Francisco’s own California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Graciela Pera

Hamid Emami

German Language Class Hamid Emami

Hamid Emami has a master’s degree from the University of Hamburg, and is fluent in German, English, French, Spanish, and Farsi. He has taught German for many years.

Beginning Conversational German

Eight Fridays: Mar. 3 - Apr. 28 • 9:00 - 11:00 am • $250 (no class on April 14) A class for beginners and those with some exposure to German. You’ll learn greetings, introductions, carrying on a simple conversation, basic grammar, and proper pronunciation.

Celebrating the Legion of Honor

Two Fridays: June 2 & 9 • 10:00 am – 12:00 pm • $75 An in-depth exploration of European masterpieces housed permanently in this gem of a museum. We survey the foundation of the Legion, and recent changes in stewardship. We look at European painting from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, 17th and 18th century works, and paintings from the 19th century discussed in terms of provenance, style and the socio-economic milieu in which they were created. Works by Fra Angelico, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens, Watteau, Monet and Cezanne.

Degas, Impressionism & The Paris Millinery Trade

Two Fridays: June 16 & 23 • 10:00 am – 12:00 pm • $75 Preview of the groundbreaking exhibition opening at the Legion of Honor on June 24. We look at the importance of the milliner, usually a woman, in the fashion capital of the world, Paris, from 1874 to 1914. We study the social and economic ambience surrounding this phenomenon while being captivated by the colors, materials and innovation of these high fashion arbiters and the artists who celebrated them: Degas, Renoir, Manet, Cassatt and Toulouse-Lautrec.

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Writing & Art Classes Leslie Keenan

Leslie Keenan is an experienced writing instructor. Author Eve Pell says, “Your help was really valuable since it stopped me from feeling utterly overwhelmed. I know how to make a plan, and that’s what made the difference.”

Is There a Book in You?

Four Wednesdays: Mar. 1 – Mar. 22 • 6:30 - 8:30 pm • $160

Complete Your Book This Year Sat., March 11 • 1:00 - 3:00 pm • $50

You Can Complete That Book

Six Wednesdays: Mar. 29 – May. 3 • 6:30 - 8:30 pm • $240

Master Writers

Eight Tuesdays: Mar. 21 - May 16 (no class Apr. 11) • 6:30 - 8:30 pm • $360

Andrea Alban Writer’s Tribe™: A Feedback Forum for Children’s Writers

Four Sundays: Mar. 19, Apr. 2, Apr. 23, & May 7 • 4:00 - 7:00 pm • $240 Polish your manuscript in a safe space built on respect, clarity and honesty. The focus is on character development, vivid settings, and page-turning plots. The group discusses submission strategies to agents and editors. Studnets should have a children’s book in process. Andrea Alban is the author of The Happiness Tree and Anya’s War. She edits manuscripts and coaches writers on how to prepare submissions to editors and agents.

Jordan Rosenfeld Writing the Intimate Character

Sun., Mar. 12 • 10:00 am – 4:00 pm • $105 What makes a book compelling? Unforgettable, singular characters! Jordan Rosenfeld discusses key character cues and the emotional layers necessary for character development. She takes you through a series of exercises to stretch your character building chops. She is author of five books on writing and three novels. Jordan’s freelance work has been published in The Atlantic, N.Y. Times, New York Magazine, and many more.

Jennie Oppenheimer

Soul Collage®

Sat., Mar. 18 • 10:00 am – 3:00 pm • $120 SoulCollage® is a creative, intuitive collage process. Guided by our intuition, we’ll create a series of cards, collaging images that offer a visual narrative of our unique stories. No art experience is necessary! We’ll make cards, step deeper into them, and discover how they relate to our inner and outer world. Jennie Oppenheimer is an artist, educator and leader of SoulCollage® and mixed media art workshops.

Laura Deutsch Personal Essay and Memoir II

Sat., March 25 • 1:00 – 4:00 pm • $105 This class is for writers who have taken a previous class with the instructor and would like to workshop a piece for feedback. It’s a rare opportunity to get input from a pro! Class size is limited, so early registration is advised Laura Deutsch has taught at U.C. Berkely, S.F.S.U., and Dominican University. Her writing has appeared in the L.A. Times. She is the author of Writing From the Senses.

Jasmin Darznik Writing Memoir: A Day-Long Workshop

Sat., April 1 • 10:00 am – 4:00 pm • $105 Join Jasmin Darznik in an intensive workshop to transform your life stories into the stuff of rich memoirs. Darznik, N.Y. Times-bestselling author of The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life, offers inspiration and practical advice on how to interview family members, how to shape your stories, and how to meet the emotional and ethical challenges of writing a memoir. Darznik holds a Ph.D. in English from Princeton.

Alice Acheson

Alice Acheson is a consultant with decades of experience in publishing and marketing. She has negotiated book contracts, sold subsidiary rights, and edited and publicized books. Her work as a publicist was recognized with a Literary Market Place Outside Services Award for Advertising/Promotion/Publicity.

The Greatest Marketing Tool

Sat., March 4 • 10:00 am – 1:00 pm • $60 Would your description of your book pass this test? True story: A N.Y. editor overheard two women talking about the book one was writing. Intrigued, she asked for it to be submitted and published it! This could have occurred in the Book Passage Cafe or in your local market. Learn what works, what doesn’t -- and why.

Publishing Choices

Sat., March 4 • 2:00 - 5:00 pm • $60 What is Print-on-Demand? How does it differ from self-publishing? Will either be easier, faster, better than the route to a traditional publisher? The teacher’s experience informs advantages/ pitfalls of each process.

Bound for Success

Sun., March 5 • 10:00 am - 1:00 pm • $60 Your manuscript may be a winner, but rejection letters will accumulate without a selling book proposal. Learn how to convince an agent or editor to read it, what will stop them, the difference between the query letter and the synopsis, and much more!

Book Passage • March - April 2017

Kathleen Hill Travel Writing

Sun. April 9 • 11:00 am – 1:00 pm • $75 Kathleen Hill discusses what you need to know to turn your adventures into fun food and travel writing. Hill is the author of 36 Food and Wine Lovers’ Guides to wine regions of the West Coast. She has written for San Francisco and Sonoma magazines, and she is currently Food & Wine Editor of the Sonoma Index-Tribune.

Barbara Rose Brooker Boomer Bestseller Sat., April 22 • 10:00 am – 12:00 pm • $60 You have an idea for a book, but you don’t know how to shape it into a publishable book or how to submit it to Hollywood. This workshop guides you from concept to writing. Come with a dream and leave with an outline and a draft! Barbara Rose Brooker’s novel The Viagra Diaries is being made into a TV series.

Mary Edwards Jump Start Your Art Career Sat., May 6 • 10:00 am - 12:30 pm • $60 Mary Edwards is a Career & Life Coach for artists, based in Marin with a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Currently she is completing a book titled Left Brain Skills for Right-Brained People. Mary brings a unique combination of business knowledge, art world experience, and professional coaching skill to her practice.

Diane Conway

Diane Conway, is a writing coach and Book Midwife, the author of three published books including What Would You Do If You Had No Fear? Living Your Dreams While Quakin’ in Your Boots (foreword by Ann Lamott).

Fearless Creating

Sat., May 20 • 10:00 am - 1:00 pm • $60 Fear can kill our ideas and stop us in our tracks. In the class you’ll summon the courage to slay the inner critic and outsmart procrastination and perfectionism. You’ll get serious tips delivered with lighthearted laughter.

The 20-Minute Miracle Method

Sat., June 10 • 10:00 am - 1:00 pm • $60 Many writers would do anything to avoid the blank page. Using the 20 Minute Miracle Method you will discover how to begin and complete your book, blog, or newsletter in short, enjoyable segments. These tools will help you stay motivated.

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INK

Books for Not-Quite-Young-Adults

A drop-in book group for kids age 8–12 • Corte Madera store • 6:00–7:00 pm • Third Friday of the month • Free! • New members welcome • INK is a lively group of kids who love books. There are many perks of membership, including getting advance copies of books before they arrive in the store, meeting authors, and recommending books to other kids. And the members of INK write books! They edit them, design them, print them, and publish them. And when they stand up in front of an audience at Book Passage and present them, we couldn’t be more proud. Come on by and get a copy of their two books Dragon Mist and Dragon Fire. To sign up, please contact us at [email protected]

Nina Schuyler Creating Dynamic Characters Sat., June 17 • 10:00 am - 4:00 pm • $110 How do you create characters that capture the readers’ attention? We’ll look at published works as a jumping off point. Then we’ll explore your own character’s flaws, conflicts, and relationships to become clearer about them and their role in the plot. Nina Schuyler is the author of the award-winning novel The Translator, The Painting, and many short stories.

Karen Benke Summer Writing Camp for Kids

Four Days: Mon., June 26 - Thurs., June 29 9:30 am - 12:30 pm • $220 For 4th/5th/6th graders who like to fool around with words, and play on and off the page: this is the camp for you! Especially if you like pens, paper, stamps, envelopes, flipping words on their sides, personifying colors, eavesdropping for dialogue, and inspiring yourself with similes and metaphors! Materials provided, 20 kid limit. Karen Benke is the author of the bestselling RIP THE PAGE!, LEAP WRITE IN!, and the Common Core approved WRITE BACK SOON!

Melissa Cistaro The Story You Have to Tell Sat., June 3 • 10:00 am - 4:00 pm • $120 How do you find the courage to put together the pieces of your past? We’ll discuss the transformative power of telling our stories. Through in-class writing exercises, reading, and discussion, we’ll explore the art and craft of memoir. Please come with a brief paragraph about the story you need to tell. Melissa Cistaro is author of the award winning memoir Pieces of My Mother.

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Books for Kids

Refugee & Immigrant Experiences For some reason, these books seems quite timely to us

Picture books: Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey Margaret Ruurs

Illustrated with the stone artwork of a Syrian artist Stepping Stones tells the story of Rama and her family, who are forced to flee their once-peaceful village to escape the ravages of the civil war raging ever closer to their home.

We Came to America

Faith Ringgold

The Journey

Francesca Sanna

From the Native Americans who first called this land home, to the Here is a poetic tale, told from the perspective of a young child, millions of people who have flocked here ever since, the creator of about a mother and her two children, who leave everything and set Tar Beach illustrates how America’s strength is in its diversity. out on a journey filled with both hope and fear.

Teacup

Rebecca Young

For middle grades:

In this metaphorical story, a boy must leave his home and find another. He brings with him a teacup full of earth from the place Home of the Brave Katherine Applegate Kek comes from Sudan; he and his mother are the only members where he grew up, and sets off to sea. of his family to survive, and now she’s missing. He’s been sent to I’m New Here Anne O’Brien a new home in America, and he understands nothing—not snow Three children from other countries (Somalia, Guatemala, and and ice, not the language, not the endless questions from people Korea) struggle to adjust to their new home and school in the trying to help. But slowly he makes friends: a girl in foster care, United States. an old woman, and a sweet, sad cow that reminds him of home. When the confrontation over immigration by refugees began recently, Kate DiCamillo was asked, “What should we do now?” Her answer is one with which we wholeheartedly agree: “Find a classroom and volunteer to read Katherine Applegate’s Home of the Brave.” That led us to ask Katherine for her perspective: Does it matter? I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately. Perhaps you have, too. Does it matter if we protest? If we call our representatives? If we write letters to the editor? If we read the right books to our kids? Around a decade ago I wrote Home of the Brave, a novel about a Sudanese refugee resettling in the U.S. Next fall, I’ll be publishing a new children’s novel called Wishtree, about a Muslim family’s struggle for acceptance in an immigrant neighborhood. Between the writing of those two books, have things for refugees changed for the better? Turn on the news. You tell me. We live in a dark new world, one where The New York Times now runs a regular column called “This Week in Hate,” chronicling the rise in hate crimes and harassment since Donald Trump was elected. One where an upcoming issue of The New Yorker features a cover with an illustration of the Statue of Liberty’s flame snuffed out. But before you despair, allow me to submit this true story as Exhibit A:

Not so long ago, a class of sixth-graders in Weston, Massachusetts read Home of the Brave. Soon after that, they heard about a young refugee living nearby named Kuol Acuek, a Sudanese “Lost Boy” who’d found safety and solace in the U.S. Kuol desperately wanted to return to his country to try to locate the family he’d been torn from during a brutal and long-running civil war. Moved by his story, the Weston sixth-graders raised money for Kuol’s trip to Sudan. When they met with him before his journey, Kuol told them, “I don’t remember my mother’s face, but I remember the song she sang to me as a child.” It seemed impossible that Kuol would find his family, but amazingly, against all odds, he not only found his mother, but his siblings, too. And those sixth-graders — those idealistic, hopeful, good-hearted kids — helped make it happen. A book, a dedicated teacher, a bunch of great kids: It all added up to a lovely little miracle. Did it matter? Well, to one refugee, it mattered more than anything in the world. So, yes. It matters if we protest, if we fight, if we care. To get through the tough times ahead, we’re going to need lots of little miracles. Where to start? That’s up to you. But it never hurts to consult the pages of our books, and the hearts of our children. Wishtree by Katherine Applegate will be release on September 26.

Book Passage • March - April 2017

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Writing for Young Adults & Middle Grade Readers July 21-23, 2017 • Corte Madera • $425 This conference is designed with the aspiring writer in mind. Here are some of the features.

Working with Professionals A Long Walk to Water Linda Sue Park

Two stories, told in alternating sections, about two 11-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl fetches water twice a day from a pond that is a two-hour walk from her home. The boy becomes one of the lost boys of Sudan, refugees who roam the African continent looking for a safe place to stay.

Bone Sparrow

Zana Fraillon

Subhi’s narrow world as a refugee in an Australian detention center rapidly expands when Jimmie arrives on the other side of the fence and asks him to read her late mother’s stories to her.

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill Maud Hart Lovelace

This old-fashioned story is entirely sweet. A Queen of Summer is about to be crowned on Hill Street, and Betsy and Tacy are looking for votes for their friend. They go over the Big Hill to Little Syria, where a colony of refugees have come to live a better life. There they make new friends and learn that new Americans are sometimes the best Americans.

This Land is Our Land: A History of American Immigration Linda Osborne

This book explores the way government policy and popular response to immigrant groups has evolved throughout U.S. history. It brings the story up to contemporary times.

For teens: I Will Always Write Back Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda

The true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

Every Falling Star: How I Escaped North Korea Sungju Lee

This is YA nonfiction, the memoir of a boy named Sungju who grew up in North Korea and, at the age of 12, was forced to live on the streets and fend for himself after his parents disappeared. After years of being homeless and living with a gang, he is reunited with his maternal grandparents and, eventually, his father.

The Sun is Also a Star Nicola Yoon

Natasha’s a girl who believes in science and facts. When Daniel, whose family is from Korea, sees Natasha he believes there’s something extraordinary in store for both of them. But Natasha’s family is only hours away from being deported to Jamaica. National Book Award finalist and Printz Honor Award winner.

We are putting together a panel of professionals in the young adult and middle grade writing scene—from editors to agents to the authors themselves. During the conference, participants will have a chance not only to learn and network, but to workshop.

Panels on Key Topics

Panels will cover information for both new and established writers, including the drafting of your query letter, marketing and promotion, developing ideas, and writing a compelling narrative. There will be many opportunities for faculty and participants to talk, laugh, and exchange ideas at lunches and dinner.

Sharing Your Work

In addition to a full weekend of panels, this Intensive Weekend offers participants the opportunity to workshop the first twenty pages of their manuscript in a group of up to five other participants, led by one of the faculty members. You must register for the conference by June 1st in order to participate in the Critique Group Session.

Networking with Writers

The workshop includes lunch for faculty and students on both days, as well as dinner on Saturday. Take this time to discuss a concept or proposal and get feedback on your ideas. For an additional $95, an optional 30-minute private consultations can be scheduled with members of the faculty during the conference.

Getting Up-to-Date Information

Keep checking out our website for the most up-to-date information including the full faculty list and conference schedule. For more information on the conference, please visit bookpassage.com/conferences for up-to-date details. For information or to sign up: Pamela Livingston at [email protected]

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

The Bookseller’s Daughter San Francisco – 2011 (Episode 2)

Sylvia suddenly appeared, striding down the aisle towards me. She was dressed in her light gray, take-no-prisoners business suit that I remember her wearing when she had a crucial court appearance. She had one of those that afternoon. Even if she hadn’t sent me the text message, I would have known from the way she walked that she’d gotten her client acquitted. The hostess was a few steps behind her holding a couple of menus. Silvia was all hugs and apologies, and within seconds she gathered me, my purse, my book, and my phone, and pointed us towards the back of the restaurant. The hostess had been holding a table along the brick wall at the back of the dining area. Sylvia knew without asking that I wanted the seat with my back to the wall. She’d been around me long enough to know that I liked to see who was coming and going. “Was that guy trying to pick you up?” Sylvia nodded back towards the bar. “He thought he was. It’s probably a good thing that you showed up when you did. You saved him a lot of embarrassment.” Sylvia gave me one of her warm grins. It was a palette-full of teeth, dimples, and flashing brown eyes. She used to wrap that smile around me and convince me that all was right in the world. “Not your type?” “I don’t think so.” “You didn’t try to charm him with your Italian accent? That always worked with me.” I guess I got a little exasperated. “Give it a rest, will you? The minute I saw him, I already knew a dozen reasons why I wouldn’t be interested.” Sylvia brought her lips together with the hint of a kiss. She was wearing a beige blouse under her suit jacket, and I asked her where she bought it. But it made me sad that I had to ask. There was a time about a year earlier when I would have known everything about her clothing. If she wasn’t wearing one of the blouses I liked, I would have just walked into her closet and slipped it on myself – no questions asked. But those days were over. She reached across the table, grabbing my hand, rubbing each finger with soft strokes from her own forefinger and thumb. I tried to break the spell for the moment. “Shall we get the roast chicken from the brick oven? Two orders of that with the bread salad – you know, like we always do?” She nodded yes, but she wasn’t letting up on me. “Gina, you worry me sometimes.” I just shrugged. Even The though our birthdays were Bookseller’s only three months apart, Daughter she’d taken to being maternal with me. “What is your type?” She was all seriousness. “I don’t even know anymore, do you?” “Maybe, it’s still you.” Her smile eased up a bit, as she pursed her lips and shook her head. “You know that’s not true.”

Now . . . Where Were We? Here’s the next episode of The Bookseller’s Daughter to follow the one in the last issue of the News & Reviews. When we left Gina Perini, a San Francisco bookseller, she was waiting at the bar of the Cafe Zuni for her friend Sylvia. That brief scene had followed a harrowing account of a rape incident during the war in Bosnia. The story picks up at that point. You can read the prior episode and upcoming episodes at williampetrocelli.com (or wait for the print edition). Bill She stretched the thought a little further. “We had to end it. You know that, as well as I do. The only difference was that you didn’t want to talk about it. You were too kind – you didn’t want to say something that would hurt my feelings. But we had to make the change that we did.” I knew. I even remembered what she said: “We really don’t fit together very well.” At the time I thought that was a very polite way – even a delicate way – to put it. But I couldn’t argue with her. “I still love you.” “And I still love you.” I knew she meant it. Sylvia’s eyes turned serious and her lips tightened. It was the look she got when she was lining up her facts, ready to make an argument to the jury. “Gina, we need to talk about this. It’s easier for me to live my life the way I want to than it is for you. I know that, Sweetheart, I really do. My life is open. What I am is what I appear to be. The two fit together – I don’t have to explain anything later on at some awkward moment.” I must have acted like I was going to object, but she beat me to it. “I know you’re going to say ‘What about us? How did that happen?’ Well, that was just what it was at that time – it doesn’t go beyond that.” “My point is that I know how difficult it is for you to find the right relationship. What you are doesn’t fit with everything else. I know that guy at the bar didn’t appeal to you, but what if he did? What would you say to him? How would you . . .” She was searching for the right word, but I interrupted her. “Maybe I should just start wearing a name tag. It could say ‘My name is Gina and, I’m . . .” Sylvia stopped me short. There was a flash of anger on her face, and that was mixed with a few hurt feelings. She was trying to be helpful, and I was being sarcastic. And she knew it. “I’m just trying to help out. Maybe that was a mistake. I know you don’t thrust yourself in front of people, and I respect that. I think that’s one of the things I love about you the most. But at times you seem so lonely and frustrated.” True. I don’t know if I was lonely or frustrated at that moment, but I knew what she was talking about. Sylvia was getting antsy – maybe worried that I might start complicating things with her. But I wasn’t going to do that. Our relationship was what it was. It wasn’t going to change, and I wasn’t going to push it. After we split up, she’d gone back to her old girl-friend – the one she’d lived with before we met. Sylvia knew I didn’t think Margo was

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Book Passage • March - April 2017 good enough for her, but she didn’t want me reminding her of my opinion. However, I wasn’t thinking about any of that. I was just reflecting on the fact I was Gina Perini – a bookseller who was lucky enough to have a very talented lawyer as a friend. Sylvia was the one person in my life who knew everything about me. When my life got lonely, she could sense it. When things from the past would dog me, she knew what I was facing. She was the only one I trusted, and every now and then I had to grab that thought and cling to it. Sylvia gave up for the moment trying to follow my mood shifts. “Maybe we should talk about something else.” I nodded in agreement. The waitress came back in time to give us a needed break. “Let’s order some wine and get started on it before the food gets here.” Hayes Street Books was only a few blocks away, and my apartment was in a flat above the bookstore. To get there, I walked up Gough Street, took a 90-degree turn left, and then went a couple of blocks west on Hayes. It was one of the many things that surprised me about San Francisco – all the streets in the main part of town were at a very logical right-angle from each other. Where I grew up, nothing was like that. The streets meandered around hills, following the whim of a country path, or they traced the edge of a fortification that some warlord had erected centuries ago to keep out the peasants. But San Francisco was part of the New World – in fact, it was as far west as you could go in the New World without falling into the ocean. Back when it was a freshfaced American city, some very earnest pioneers, who had just marched all the way across the continent, probably thought they should create a nice, rectangular grid like all the other American cities. My guess is that it never occurred to them that superimposing right-angle streets on a city with steep hills would produce a collection of sheer cliffs and roller-coaster streets. It was something that would drive visitors slightly crazy over the next two centuries. Sylvia offered to walk with me to my flat, but I told her no. She was probably worried about me. There’d been times in the not so distant past when I’d been known to panic without warning. The war that had chased me out of the Balkans had officially ended, but my own personal slice of that bloodletting was far from over. I knew I’d probably be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Still, I’d grown calmer about things lately. Maybe enough time had gone by to ease things, or maybe it was just the distance – or maybe I was kidding myself. In any event, the streets of Hayes Valley were filled at that moment with a happy Fridaynight crowd. You had a better chance of being smothered by a restless group of 20-somethings who were spread out across the sidewalk than being accosted by an attacker or a bad memory. Besides, I knew it was easier for Sylvia just to walk in the opposite direction from the Zuni Café and grab the BART train. She’d be back at her house in North Oakland in a half hour, and I wouldn’t be monopolizing any more of her time. She might even get home early enough to keep Margo from quizzing her about me. What was my type? I couldn’t get Sylvia’s question out of my head. I looked into the shop windows along Hayes Street, walking slowly as I pondered the question. There was a sale going on at

Children’s Writers & Illustrators Conference July 28-30, 2017 • Corte Madera • $425

Expect to Write, Draw & Learn!

This unique conference covers everything about creating picture books, board books, and other books for children,. The topics range from the development of ideas for a book to the point of finding a publisher. The faculty members have a broad range of experience in the children’s book business, and they will be available to answer your questions. • Expert panels feature topics like finding an agent, working with your editor, marketing and promotion plans, and more. • Writing sessions are offered where participants can present work in a group along with a faculty facilitator. The writing sessions focus on craft, style and structure.

Expect to Network!

The workshop includes lunch for faculty and students on both days, as well as dinner on Saturday. (Optional 30-minute private consultations are available for a fee of $95).

Faculty (with more to come) Mac Barnett

Two-time Caldecott Honoree and author of 25 books—and counting! In Mac’s upcoming picture book Noisy Night, his mastery of spare text and riotous humor combine for a bedtime story like no other.

Melissa Manlove ,

Mac Barnett

Senior Editor at Chronicle Books since 2004 shepherding works such as Goodnight Construction Site and Josephine, with a focus on nonfiction works for children up to 8 years old. Her award winning work expands children’s worlds across cultures and concepts.

Maria Modugno

New Editorial director of Picture Books for Random House and Golden Books for Young Readers Group.

Lara Perkins

Agent with renowned children’s literary agency Andrea Brown promotes the work of picture book and middle grade authors and illustrators. Novelty works such as Ann Sibley O’Brien’s Hocus Pocus It’s Fall! and Ross Burach’s picture book, Pine and Boof:s.

Tim McCanna

Activate your “bot-pajamas” for Bitty Bot author! McCanna is the author of the Kirkus starred picture book Teeny Tiny Trucks and 2017 releases: Watersong through Paula Wiesman Books; Barnyard Boogie through Abrahms; and this fall – Jack B. Ninja by the Cartwheel Books imprint of Scholastic. For information or to sign up: Pamela Livingston at [email protected]

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

Dish. They had some cute jackets on display, but they still looked like they were out of my price range. I loved the vintage skirt that I’d bought a week earlier at Ver Unica, but I didn’t see anything like that in the window. What was I looking for in a relationship? I seemed to revel more in discovering clothes than in finding a lover. Maybe I was fated to be a perennial window-shopper. Absinthe, at the corner of Gough and Hayes, had the usual crowd at the bar. It was another favorite of mine and my go-to restaurant if a publisher’s rep offered to take me to lunch or dinner. There didn’t seem to be anyone of interest in there at the moment. Sylvia thought I needed a more systematic approach for finding companionship, and she was probably right. The normal kind of minglings and mixers don’t work very well for me. She said I should set my sights on someone strong, masculine, and confident. But I knew she had it backwards. Men like that scared me. It wasn’t that they frightened me physically. It’s just that men who get that immersed in their own maleness wear me down. I can deal with a man’s emotional needs – but if his needs are packed away so deep that he doesn’t even know he has them, that blocks off any attempt at intimacy. I was slowing starting to realize something about myself, but I wasn’t too happy to admit it. I seem to do better with men who were on the brink of falling apart. I was in an intimate-free zone at the moment. My feelings had been channeled into books, as of late, because they seemed more grateful for my affection. I can get pretty messianic on the subject, which is probably why I was destined to become a bookseller. Usually, I just have to put a book into someone’s hand and let him or her touch it. I might sing the praises of the author and give a little teaser about the plot, but I let the book do most of the work. I can count on it cozying up to the customer and saying, “You need me.” I let customers rub the cover and riffle through the pages, while I’m putting the idea into their heads that the book should be perched on their bookshelf at home. Put me in a prominent position, the book says, and I will speak to people walking into the room and tell them good things about you. I will be the personification of your excellent taste. By the time we’ve gone through that little ritual, the book and the customer are usually out the door and happily on their way. The lights in the store were still on as I walked up. Miriam Brown, my assistant manager, was setting up some chairs in the back. Miriam was our unofficial ambassador to the AfricanAmerican community a few blocks to the west of us – a group that was growing smaller by the day under the pressures of gentrification. She was also my right arm and, sometimes, the only one who could keep me sane. She was getting ready for a late-morning author event the next day with mystery-writer Cara Black, who would probably draw a crowd for her new novel. Miriam understood the big picture. We had to funnel thousands of inventory items through the door, while fending off the corporate bandits that came at us from every direction. We needed to sell books – lots of books – if we were going to survive. At that time of the evening I usually don’t do much more than poke around, walking down each aisle, making sure that the most important books are face-out instead of spine-out. When you manage a bookstore, you can always convince yourself there’s something more you have to do – even if you spend the next couple of days un-convincing yourself of the same thing. The staff still remembers the day I marched in and decided to move all of the

shelves in the fiction secThe tion to another part of the Bookseller’s store. But what they reDaughter member most is the next morning when I decided it was a bad idea. I had to ask them a bit sheepishly to wheel all the shelves back to their original places. My apartment is upstairs from the store, and that’s both a good thing and a bad thing. The owners of the store also own the building, so when they retired they offered to let me live upstairs as part of the deal for managing the bookstore. There was a promise that they would sell me the store someday, but it was left pretty vague. Nevertheless, the convenience of the deal appealed to me. There was no commute, and I could get downstairs whenever I was needed. As I think back, however, I realize they probably knew me better than I knew myself. If they wanted someone so obsessed with the bookselling business that she’d be there looking out for things around the clock, then that’s what they got – me. Before heading upstairs, I looked at the display in the window I’d put together earlier. It looked good, but I needed to move the books around a bit to get a better lighting-angle. When you’re a bookseller, you can turn your passion into a display. So in the window I had Amy Greenberg’s “A Wicked War,” Adam Goodheart’s “1861: the Civil War Awakening,” and Adam Hochschild’s “To End All Wars.” And with them was a big stack of books about the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and all the rest of them. I even found two old copies of Barbara Tuchman’s “The Guns of August” and “The Proud Tower” and stuck them in with the rest. Anyone walking by would figure out my passion pretty quickly, but just in case they missed it I propped up a quote from Jimmy Carter’s Nobel Prize speech in the middle. “We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” Why did I become a bookseller? The idea seemingly planted itself in my mind years ago and then bubbled its way to the surface later on. I was a a scared and desperate teenager at the time. The last thing on my mind was my future career. I was hiding out in Dubrovnik, but the city had become a trap. Even though I’d snuck across the boundary from Bosnia and was then in Croatia, I had no place else to go. I’d been evading capture for several months, hiding in the back streets, but I feared that my luck had run out. And it wasn’t just my own safety I was worried about, because I knew that anyone who had been connected with me during those months was in danger. I had to leave Anja and the others. If I stayed there, I would be making things worse by putting them in more peril than they already were. Anja had taken Jelena and the others from the place in the mountains where they’d been hiding, and they had moved once again. I was hoping they’d found some place safe. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if they were caught. I wasn’t yet become Gina at that point in my life – that came later. And as dangerous as it was for me to hide out in the back streets of Dubrovnik, I realize now I was probably safer than I

Book Passage • March - April 2017 would have been if I had already made that change. As it was, a lost-looking kid like me was able to wander around for a few days without drawing too much attention. Still I knew I couldn’t stay there much longer. The Militia had agents up and down the Dalmatian coast, and they had eyes everywhere. At one point I was sure that someone was following me. The thought of that built my fear to a crescendo. I caught a glimpse of a man taking my picture, but he darted away before I could find out who he was. I was sure, however, he’d be back soon with his friends. The border with Bosnia was just a few kilometers away, and these people weren’t going to let an international boundary stop them. The Komandant and his friends were close to tracking me down, and I knew they had revenge on their minds. But I had my back to the sea. If I stayed there, they’d find me. And if they found me, I’d be killed. And while I was still trying to escape that shooting war, I was beginning to realize I was fighting a mini-war within myself. During my months in hiding, some basic issues about my own identity were starting to force their way to the surface. These questions would dominate my life in future months, but at that moment I was just confused and terrified. There was none of the promise – even joy – that would open up to me in later years. I was just grappling with the deep fear that I was running from something without any idea of where I was going. It was a strange place to be at that moment. While I was hiding, fearing for my life, I had the sensation of being caught up in a different world. Dubrovnik is one of the world’s great cultural treasures, and I was in the middle of a sea of tourists. Each day brought a new group of happy, camera-laden people wandering through the streets, soaking up all of the historic riches. Many of them were probably aware of the war that was going on less than 100 kilometers away, but it didn’t seem to affect their enjoyment of the city. Dubrovnik was bombarded for three months in 1991 during the early part of the war. But by the time I was there, it had recovered to the point where it could present its rich, historic face to visitors once again. Still, I didn’t belong there, and it was probably obvious to everyone who saw me that there was something about me that was out of place. The city was at peace, and I was still at war. I had to get out of there, and at times escape seemed tantalizingly close. When I wandered near the port, I looked out across the Adriatic Sea and wonder if I could ever to get across the water to safety. I’d been there a couple of days, when I decided to follow an English-language tour group that was walking around the city, stopping at the various landmarks on Stradun, the main street. As I worked my way into the fringes of the group. I tried to be inconspicuous. Since I was dressed like a universal teenager – hooded sweatshirt, dirty jeans, and sneakers – I suppose I looked like any of the young stragglers from around the world who wandered through the city. But it was all an illusion. If anyone talked to me for a few minutes, they would probably figure out I was on the run from something. The group I had attached myelf to was made up mostly of older people, walking at their own pace, focusing on the words of the English-speaking guide. I was listening too, because I was trying to soak up as much English as I could. Somewhere in my mind I knew it would come in handy. But while I was standing at the edge of that tour group, my skin suddenly started to bristle. Someone was talking to me. My fear blocked out everything. I was sure I had been found out,

Travel Writers & Photographers Conference

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Aug. 10-13 • Corte Madera • $650

World’s Premier Conference for Travel Writers & Photographers The Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference has an extraordinary, international reputation among publishers, editors, and writers. Now in its 26th year, this fourday conference offers an array of writing and photography workshops in the morning, a full afternoon of panels and discussions, and evening faculty presentations.

A Letter from Confe rence Chair Don George

Dear travel writers and photographers, Every summer some of the best travel wr iters, editors, photographers, publishers, and agen ts in the world convene in Co rte Madera to share the art and heart of the work they love at the Book Passage Tr avel Writers & Photographers Conferenc e. Through workshops, panels, and evening events, with am ple free time for informal conversation on the piazza, the conference offers pa rticipants a rich mix of information an d inspiration; we cover how to shape a compelling travel story, how to shoot a transporting travel photo, how to pitch an editor, how to maximize social media, how to jump-start your writing and photo graphy, how to leap to the next level, and much, mu ch more. For me this conferenc e is a dream come tru e, where some of the most tal ented professionals in the world generously share ev erything they’ve lea rned with equally impassioned writers and photogr aphers at all levels of their craft, from beginning to ad vanced. And every year this colla boration changes liv es . Don George, Confe rence Co-Founder an d Chair

The faculty includes publishers, magazine editors, photographers, travel essayists, and more. The collegial atmosphere of this four-day conference is legendary, with participants and faculty from all over the world. There are morning specialty classes, afternoon sessions on topics of interest, and evening presentations by well-known writers and photographers. Optional evaluations of participants’ work are available. The conference begins with a big opening dinner and includes breakfast and lunch buffets each day. For information , contact Kathryn Petrocelli at 800-9997909, ext. 239, or email [email protected].

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

and I started looking around for a way to escape. It took me a few seconds to realize that the man was speaking to me in English. Then I finally realized that he was introducing himself and his wife, who was walking next to him. But at that moment I was frozen and didn’t hear anything he said. To this day, I still don’t know his name. I must have nodded something in response, because he kept talking pleasantly. After a minute or so, I realized he wasn’t any kind of a threat. He was tall with a thick grey beard, and he had on a broad-brimmed khaki hat with a chin strap. He was wearing a grey shirt and khaki pants that had lots of pockets up and down the legs. His wife had on a sun-dress and a large floppy hat, and there was a camera hanging on a strap around her neck. They both appeared to be in their late fifties, maybe older. They were American tourists, and they just wanted to be friendly. I realized what had caught his attention. There was a book sticking out of the pouch on my sweatshirt, and he had recognized the title. It was a dog-eared paperback copy of Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” that I had picked up earlier that day for next to nothing at a local bookstall. “Are you enjoying that book?” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I had just started it and that my English was not good enough to catch the subtleties of Rushdie’s writing. I nodded yes, and he nodded back in satisfaction. We continued to talk a bit while the group was moving on to the next stop, and I fell into a comfortable pace walking between the two of them. He asked me about myself, and I answered with only the vaguest generalities. At one point he wanted to know if I knew about the controversy surrounding that particular book. I told him that I’d heard about it, but the truth is I only knew the sketchiest details. “There were death threats made against anyone who sold the book. Some of the big outfits wouldn’t touch it, but we decided to carry it.” I must have looked surprised. “My wife and I are booksellers in Massachusetts.” He told me where the store was located, but I don’t remember what he said. I only knew Massachusetts as a blob on a map somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, the only thing I could think to ask was whether anyone had attacked them for selling the book. “We had a couple of threatening phone calls, and someone threw a rock through the plate glass window at the front of the store.” I guess a bit of alarm showed on my face. “I know. Maybe we should have been more careful.” He nodded towards his wife who was walking slightly ahead of us. “But we talked about The it and decided there are Bookseller’s times when you just have Daughter to do the right thing. We boarded up the hole in the glass, and then we put a big stack of The Satanic Verses in the window next to it.” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t think I could say anything without giving away too much about myself. The two of them

just kept walking, and I kept walking with them. What did they sense about me? Did my hunger show through on my face? Did they see the fear in my eyes and guess what it was? I didn’t say anything about how desperate I was to get out of there, but I probably didn’t have to. Whatever the two of them may have thought remained unspoken between them. We all just continued to walk, talking only occasionally, as the tour group got closer and closer to the water and their chartered boat. We reached the gangplank, and several of the others in their group started boarding the ship. We were in the middle, and my two companions stood patiently, waiting their turn. I waited with them. I felt something, and when I looked up I realized she had placed her hand on my shoulder. If I was going to leave, that would have been the moment. And if they expected me to leave, they would have begun their goodbyes and starting giving me their good wishes. I expected at any minute they would start saying, “if you’re ever in America . . .” But they didn’t. They just stood there, waiting to get on the boat, not showing the slightest concern that I was still standing there between them. If I’d been in that line alone, I would have been spotted by the dock officials immediately and pulled aside. But standing between them, I looked like a slightly bewildered teenager who was in the middle of a pleasant European vacation with his grandparents. Once on board, I moved away from them as soon as I could. There was a brief nod between us. They seemed to know that I needed to get out of sight, and they were probably just as happy that I was moving away from them and keeping them out of any trouble. The trip lasted only a couple of hours. At one point I wanted to walk over and thank them, but I knew that would be a bad idea. The boat’s next stop was Bari on the Italian side of the Adriatic Sea, and I slipped off as quietly as I could. I never saw them again. I’ve looked for them at book conventions and trade shows but with no success. They may have retired or gotten out of the business. They wouldn’t have recognized me, because everything about me has changed. But I’d know them. I just wish I could thank them. Some days I hate what I’m doing. This was one of those days. We received notice that our worker’s compensation premium would be increased by 6% in the coming year. That news came in a nasty looking white envelope that was lodged under an even uglier envelope from our credit-card processor. That one said that our transaction fee was going up and we would need to purchase new equipment. Both of those bombs landed on my desk in the same week that San Francisco announced an increased fee for the city health plan. The week before our bank had raised the interest on our line of credit, and PG&E put another charge on our utility bill. And that list of horrors didn’t even include the new credit manager at a major publisher who said “she was reviewing our payment terms.” Where were we going to find the extra money to pay all this? It wouldn’t be from our customers. The price of books is printed on the cover, so there’s no wiggle room there. We’d just have to eat it. We needed more sales. That was the answer to everything – we always needed more sales. There’d been five browsers so far that morning, and only one of them had purchased anything. I wasn’t happy with that ratio. One customer in particular was starting to irritate me. He’d been thumbing through a biography on the new-

Book Passage • March - April 2017 arrivals table, and he had been there long enough to arouse my suspicions. A lifter, maybe? He didn’t have a booster bag or a jacket with big pockets, so I decided I was wrong about him. But then he pulled a smart phone out of his pocket and aimed it at the book. He was showcasing us! I’ll be damned if he wasn’t photographing the barcode and ordering the book from some on-line company. And he was standing right in front of me while he was doing it. What the hell! Was he planning to pay for the lights, the rent, the staff, and all the things we provided him, just so he could stand there and buy it from somebody else? Of course, not. He was hovering over my carefully arranged display and running the purchase through some soulless computer somewhere off on the cloud. I would have liked him better if he were a thief. My evil instincts took over. I moved in next to him and dropped a box – quite by accident – that knocked the phone out of his hands. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” I told him. “Let me hold that for you up at the counter while you browse. ….” He tried to object, but I cut him off. “No, no, it’s no problem. I’m happy to keep it for you.” Fortunately, I’d picked on a guy who was so sheepish about the whole thing that he was willing to wait and retrieve his phone at the counter a few minutes later – along with his book and his change. I was lucky. When I pulled a stunt like that once before, Sylvia pointed out that the customer could just as easily have reported it to the police, claiming that I’d stolen his phone. For a few days I waited for that guy to come back with a cop. “How do stores make any money selling books?” Sylvia once asked me. “I’m not sure any of them do.” Given what I’d been through in my life, you’d think that I would be more detached about these sorts of things. But I love the book business, and it pisses me off when everything seems to be conspiring to make it fail. I walked around the store trying to cool off. I finally sat down and watched Morrie Richards, our Director of Children’s Events, as he lined up books to read at the next Storytime. He’d been coming in on his own, reading stories to the littlest children, until I finally asked him if he wanted a second-career managing our children’s events. He quickly said yes. He’d been bored with his retirement, and the idea of being a kind of troubadour for little kids appealed to him. Within a few weeks he had a gallery of photos that surrounded the section, all of them showing children looking up in rapt attention as the stories were being read. As you looked in their eyes, you could almost see their imaginations begin to soar. That got to me. It made me want to amend what I told Sylvia. “We’re not just selling books. We’re spinning dreams.” By the time I got back to my desk I was in a better mood. There were a couple of packages with advance copies of new books. That always perked me up. One of life’s great pleasures is to open a new book and let yourself be mesmerized by the smell and the feel of it. There was a new John Lescroart book, and I put that next to the latest Lisa See novel – those would both end up on the pile of books next to my bed. There was also a message from our local booksellers association, wanting to know if I’d be on a marketing panel at the fall trade show. I’d probably say yes, since my friends Casey from Bookshop Santa Cruz and Margie from Books, Inc., would be on the same panel. But I didn’t know why anyone considered me an authority. I’d been talking about a plan to co-market books with the local shops on Hayes Street, but my

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Mystery Writers Conference Sept. 7-10, 2017 • Corte Madera • $550 The Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference has a strong tradition of great authors and teachers. Mystery writers learn all the clues to a successful writing career. Please note the new September date. • Editors, agents, and publishers share with participants what they need to know to get published. • Successful authors offer classes on setting, dialogue, suspense and point of view. • Panels of detectives, forensic experts, and crime-fighting professionals provide invaluable information that allows writers to put realism into their words. • Classes about mystery genres, such as private eyes, amateur sleuths, police protagonists, and historical thrillers. The collegial atmosphere of this four-day Conference attracts participants from all over the country. There are morning specialty classes, afternoon sessions on topics of interest, and evening presentations by well-known writers. Optional evaluations of participants’ work are available. Opportunities abound throughout the conference for faculty and participants to talk, laugh, and exchange ideas. The conference begins with a big opening dinner and includes breakfast and lunch buffets. Thanks to the generosity of mystery writer William C. Gordon and literary agent Kimberley Cameron, you may be able to have some or all of your tuition paid! To learn more about how to apply, visit bookpassage.com/conferences For information, contact Kathryn Petrocelli at 800-9997909, ext. 239, or email [email protected].

Welcome from Co-Chair Cara Black Welcome to the 2017 Book Passage Mystery Conference now at a new date in September. Whether you are writing a mystery, thinking of writing one, or looking to polish one you’ve written, this Conference has something for you. Agents and editors will share insights about how to publish your book. The weekend is full of workshops led by writers on plotting, dialogue, suspects, and real crime scene scenarios. Twenty-four years ago I attended the first Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference. Everything I learned helped me write a better book and get published. I’m still coming back. Now I’m honored to co-chair the conference with David Corbett. This conference continues to be my community, and the community of so many wonderful writers. We’re saving you a spot to join us in our writing journey.

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Book Passage • March - April 2017

idea sounded more successful than it really was. I was happy to talk at gatherings of booksellers, but that was about as public as I was willing to get. I had good reasons to stay out of view – lots of them. And the next message made me realize I was getting careless. A woman from the Italian Cultural Institute had called. She had heard about Gina Perini, and wondered if she would come speak to a business group of Italian-American women. No, no, no -- she would not. Gina Perini would be doing no such thing. The Italian-American woman that the public saw was something I’d created for myself. Gina Perini came into being at a time when my life had bottomed out and I had to start over again. The original version of me was gone – long vanished, I hoped, from the minds of anyone who used to know me. All of this happened when I was a teenager living in Italy, and it seemed simpler to adopt an Italian name to go with my new personality. The persona I created at that time worked well enough in most places, but I wasn’t about to try it on Italians. They’d want to know what part of Italy I was from. Which province? Which commune? “Perini’ – what sort of a name is that? Are you related to the Perinis in...” After an hour or so of that kind of friendly banter, the whole story would come unraveled. When I snuck off the boat in Bari, I had no idea what I would do next. I’d gotten as far as Italy, putting the Adriatic Sea between me and my pursuers, but I hadn’t thought beyond that. I had a vague hope that things would get better, and I suppose they eventually did. But before that, they got worse. A few days after I arrived I made contact with someone I knew living in Bosnia. But once I’d done so, I almost wished I hadn’t. The news he had hit me hard. My fears about Anja and the family had come true. They had been taken captive by the Militia, and no one had seen them since. It was all second-hand information, and for a moment I tried to deny it as just a rumor. The man I talked to said he hadn’t actually seen it himself but had only talked to some people who witnessed it. Maybe they were wrong. But the more he talked, the more I realized that the little details of the story were too accurate for it to be anything but true. News like that was too serious for anyone to embellish it. A group from the Militia had surrounded the house where the family was hiding. They’d marched them out at gunpoint and manhandled them as they were tossed into the back of the truck. According to the witness, the Komandant himself was there, puffing on a cigarette as his soldiers roughed up the prisoners, finally grinding out the butt with a satisfied grunt as the padlock on the truck was snapped into place. No one had seen or heard anything of them after that. What more was there to say? We both knew what that meant. They would probably never be seen again. “What about the baby? Did they take Jelena too?” No one had seen the baby, he said. How can that be, I kept asking? A child that young doesn’t get up and walk off. “Are you certain? She’s only a few months old. Maybe she was being carried by someone, and no one noticed her.” “The baby wasn’t there.” The people who saw the incident knew there’d been a small child in the house. They would have noticed. No one saw her then or after that.

I hit rock bottom. DurThe ing the next few days I Bookseller’s sensed that the tentacles Daughter of war had somehow reached across the water and were smothering me. I was in a strange country with no papers, no friends, and very little money. The closest thing I’d ever had to a family had now been lost, and what happened to them was partly my fault. There was no future that I could see. I was beginning to realize that my despair had opened up such a big hole in me that I didn’t know who I was anymore. There was something going on that I couldn’t articulate, and for several days I could do little but hold myself and shiver. I finally headed north for Rome, because it seemed like the easiest thing to do. I had a sense that Rome was a place where you could find yourself – or get completely lost. I still think all of the world’s abandoned people must wander through there at one time or another. Later on, I learned to love Rome, but that wasn’t true at first. I arrived there on the run and felt totally helpless. I eventually learned how to survive. I hung around the buildings of the Communita di Sant’ Egidio in the Trastevere area, living off the generosity of that group. They were focused on helping refugees, and they must have realized that the sad looking kid sitting in their doorway had escaped from something awful. They kept me alive. After a few months I found work with a printer who needed an assistant for odd jobs and errands. Paolo worked by himself, but he took me on – no questions asked. There was nothing official about my relationship with him. It was all lavoro in nero, as the Italians would put it, “working in the black.” Everything about me was off the books. I had no visa or work permit. As far as the authorities were concerned, I wasn’t working at all – in fact, they didn’t even know I existed. Given the nature of his business, Paolo had a good reason to keep everything in nero. Publicity was the last thing he wanted. He called himself a printer, but he was really a forger. Birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, work permits, visas – he could do them all, and he did them well. There’s still some paperwork sitting in an office in Rome that was convincing enough to get me an E.U. Passport many months later and a Work Visa for the United States. Paolo wasn’t the only fraud. I called myself his assistant, but that was just to make me feel better. The exchange rate between us was never spoken, but we both knew what it was. There was sex for food, sex for shelter, sex for medication – sex for whatever I had to have. He had his needs, and I had mine. There wasn’t any serious affection between us. When he needed me, he took me – not roughly or without a bit of kindness, but not with any real love either. At that point, love was just a distant abstraction for me anyway – I doubt if I was even capable of it. I wasn’t proud of my arrangement with Paolo, but it was better than walking the streets. I knew that first hand. During my first, desperate days in Rome, I went out one night on the stroll, walking slowly along the Via Salaria, getting set to offer my body to the first taker with a

Book Passage • March - April 2017 pocketful of Lire. But within minutes I got violently sick to my stomach and started to shake. I spent the rest of the night huddled behind a tree. One afternoon I delivered a packet of some of Paolo’s speciallymade documents to a bank manager in the Campo di Fiori. He looked surprised to see someone like me at the front entrance to the bank. I was wearing jeans and a zippered sweat-shirt that hung loosely over my shoulders. I didn’t look much like a business courier. It took him a second to realize why I was there, and then he got a stricken look on his face. He motioned sharply for me to go around and meet him at the back entrance, where I slipped him the paperwork. I knew why he was nervous. I’d read the documents as I walked across the Ponte Garibaldi on my way to deliver them. One of them was a woman’s birth certificate with a German seal on it. I was certain it was a forgery. There were other dubious but official-looking papers in the envelope along with it. He was probably planning to use the paperwork to keep his mistress in the country. By the look on his face, I seemed to have guessed right. After he unceremoniously slammed the door in my face, I walked away, feeling as insignificant as I was at that moment. I headed past the cafes on Via dei Baullari, ending up at the Piazza Farnese, plopping myself down against the Vasca – the big bathtub-looking fountain in the middle of the piazza. I found a spot between the bicycles and the Vespas, trying to lose myself among the scruffy, lost kids who liked to hang out there during the day. Scruffy and lost – that’s how I felt most of the time, but that afternoon my confusion had built to a crescendo. I was unhappy with my life, with my body, with my soul, and with everything around me. I stared at the Palazzo Farnese. According to Puccini, that was the place where Tosca shoved a knife in Scarpia’s ribs when he tried to rape her. I knew how she felt. Looking back, it seems clear that the moment in the Piazza Farnese was a turning point. Something inside me had opened a door, and a new revelation was waiting to enter. As my eyes wandered around the piazza, I looked over at a café and saw something that changed my life. Two young women were sitting at a table, talking animatedly. The one on the left – the one who caught my attention – had midlength brown hair that curled luxuriously over the back of her neck. As she leaned over her espresso cup to say something, she brushed back her hair – not continually, but often enough to appear that she was following some inner rhythm. I realized at that moment that I was running a hand through my own scraggly hair, trying in some pitiful, subconscious way to imitate her. The young woman raised her head slightly when she made a point, following the rising timbre of her voice. When her friend spoke, she inclined her head to one side, waiting in that suspended state while the other woman talked. Then she would tilt her head back and break out in laughter. There was nothing forced about her gestures, nothing unnatural. There was an easy fluidity that had me mesmerized. She moved her hand forward until it came to rest on the forearm of her friend. She let it sit there lightly for a few seconds, giving a small, knowing tap or occasionally lifting a finger to wag when she wanted to say something. It was an easy intimacy that plucked at a chord somewhere inside of me. I moved in closer to hear her speak. She had one leg crossed over the other, and she moved it rhythmically as she talked. It was an unstudied motion that seemed as perfect as all the others.

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She had a white blouse that was opened down to the third button, and with it was an elegant, understated silk scarf tied around her neck in a kind of casual knot that Italian women seemed to have invented. Her eyes and skin sparkled. She must have taken great care to make everything look so simple. There were probably lotions, hormones, and dozens of other things that she needed to bring herself to that point, but none of that was noticeable in this, her moment of every-day glory. I listened to her voice – a rich contralto that modulated itself into a variety of tones and textures. I tried to imitate the sound in my mind. If I’d gotten close enough to detect the scent of her, I probably would have been overwhelmed. I was smitten. Later that afternoon, I found some sheer hose in a street market that matched what she had been wearing. I was almost afraid to pick up the package, and by the time I gave the handful of Lire to the proprietor, my palms were covered with sweat. She didn’t seem to notice how nervous I was as she handed me my change. I went back to my tiny bedroom and made sure the door was closed. I unrolled the stockings slowly up my legs and became immersed in that new sensation, wondering if that was how they felt when they were on her. It was a feeling of enchantment. For a moment I imagined myself back at that table with the two women, becoming part of their world. You could call it love at first sight, but that didn’t quite describe the feeling. I didn’t want to be with her. I wanted to be her. And from that moment on, I was. Since then, I’ve often wondered if I had always been like that and just didn’t know it. I’m not sure. I only know that on that warm afternoon in the presence of that signorina – my unaware mentor – I became Gina. For more of the story, please go to williampetrocelli.com

Join us for fun & food! Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events.

Book Passage

51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925 (415) 927-0960 • www.bookpassage.com

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Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book. Reserve at Book Passage 415-9270960, ext 1, or at bookpassage.com/ food-wine-events

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Cooks with Books! Georgeanne Brennan La Vie Rustic

Sun., March 26 • 11:30 am • Left Bank $115 person, $165 per couple (one book) James Beard-award winning author, journalist, and friend to Book Passage, Georgeanne Brennan brings the French tradition in cooking to American home cooks. It’s a book driven by the seasons, full of commentary on creating a sustainable life in France as well as personal notes celebrating her relationship between cooking and the land. In 2014, Brennan founded the product line La Vie Rustic: Sustainable Living in the French Style. Brennan is the author of many cookbooks, including her memoir A Pig in Provence.

Deborah Madison

In My Kitchen

A Collection of New Vegetarian Recipes

Thurs., Apr. 27 • 6:30 pm • Spinster Sisters $110 person, $170 couple (one book) Deborah Madison is an award-winning author best known for her simple, seasonal, vegetarian based cooking. In My Kitchen includes 100 of her most inspired and innovative recipes, including Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Sunflower Sprouts, Fennel Shaved with Tarragon and Walnuts, and Blood Orange Cake. Madison got her start at Chez Panisse before opening Greens in San Francisco.

Elizabeth Prueitt Tartine All Day: Modern Recipes for the Home Cook

Sat., May 6 • 12:00 pm • Insalatas $115 single, $185 couple (one book) Calling all bakers! Elizabeth Prueitt, cofounder of San Francisco’s famed Tartine Bakery, joins us for her newest cookbook Tartine All Day. Prueitt give tips on baking and home cooking that will bring all your friends and family to the table. Her new book has 200 recipes that include leg of lamb, potato gratin, and a “fool-proof” salmon in addition to her well known dreamy desserts. Prueitt is the James Beard Award-winner for Best Pastry Chef and author of the original Tartine cookbook. Tartine will be providing special treats from the bakery.

Desmond Tan & Kate Leahy Burma Superstar Addictive Recipes from a Beloved SF Restaurant

Thurs., Apr. 6 • 6:30 pm • Burma Love $120 person, $195 couple (one book) Burma Superstar restaurant has been a hot spot for years, as locals and out of towners line up out the door for the genius flavors served up by Chef Desmond Tan. The collection of recipes in Burma Superstar includes restaurant favorites like Tea Leaf Salad, Samosa Soup, and Pumpkin Pork Stew. Co-author Kate Leahy has contributed to many notable cookbooks, including A16 and Cookie Love.

Cal Peternell A Recipe for Cooking

Sun., Apr. 30 • 12:00 pm • Left Bank $115 person, $175 couple (one book) As a follow up to the N.Y. Times bestselling IACP Award-winning Twelve Recipes, Cal Peternell brings us A Recipe for Cooking. In this cookbook, Peternell’s goal is to allow the home chef time to plot and plan with plenty of stirring, chopping and peeling for all occasions. It includes wonderful ideas for holiday and family events or even a special meal for two. Peternell has been chef at Berkeley’s legendary Chez Panisse since 2000.

Jamie Purviance Weber’s Greatest Hits: 125 Recipes for Every Grill

Sun., June 11 • 6:30 pm • Left Bank $115 single, $185 per couple (one book) Fellow barbecue guru Steven Raichlen says “Jamie Purviance has crafted a stylish and singularly smart book based on 65 years of iconic Weber recipes, but with his own creative twists.” Purviance shares some of Weber’s most popular recipes from decades of testing, the top ten tips for outdoor grilling, and photos that are inspiring and gorgeous. Recipes include starters, beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, side dishes, and desserts on the grill. This is the ideal gift for the griller of the family. All attendees will be entered into a raffle to win a Weber barbeque.