It’s another Hedgebrook team up! Sherri will be leading this online workshop as one of Hedgebrook’s VorTEXT retreats. This year’s focus is on getting back to basics and a better future. “The Octavia Notebooks” draw inspiration from Octavia Butler and Sherri’s own work with Enchantivism.

About the Workshop

Change.  Every great story deals with it – how it happens, and how we– for better or worse– respond to it.  But what makes for powerful fiction can also be a challenge in the real world.  If you are like many writers, the constant change of the past few years, from the pandemic and the social/political landscape, affected your writing.  Maybe it fired you up and changed the direction of a work-in-progress.  Maybe it left you reeling and unable to write.  Maybe a bit of both!  We are still on the rollercoaster ride of our times, raising the question: how do we write in the face of constant change?

In 1993, Octavia Butler grappled with the specter of Change in her speculative fiction masterpiece Parable of the Sower.  Set in 2024, Parable series proved prescient.  In the face of mass unrest and a presidential candidate running under the slogan, “Make America Great Again,”  Butler's protagonist, Lauren Olamina, develops a new belief system around a simple idea:  God is Change.  Through a series of journals, Lauren explores her belief that one can shape Change and thereby shape God.  

In this generative workshop, we will tap into the idea of shaping Change.  By gathering our worries, and tapping into our hopeful imagination, we will use journal keeping, dream tending, and utopian thinking to inform our writing, protect our hope, and plot to create better world.  Using quotes from more Lauren Olamina’s journals, as well as Octavia Butler's own inspirational journaling, this workshop will offer you tools to support writers through the upheaval of the election season, the rising worries of the global landscape, as well as your own character’s journey within your writing.  Suitable for all levels and genres.

How VorTEXT Retreats Work

Our VorTEXT intensive retreats suit writers at different levels of experience and phases in the writing process. The day begins with a chance for community connection during the half-hour Coffee Chat before the live writing workshop via Zoom. Writers are then encouraged and inspired to continue their writing on their own or in accountability groups, and the day wraps with a group share and structured feedback session facilitated by Hedgebrook staff. Writers also enjoy lovingly prepared care packages, mailed to your doorstep.

Join Sherri for this FREE Writers’ League of Texas panel!

The heart of any story is its characters. You could have the ultimate hook, an intricately plotted outline, and the perfect ending, but if your characters aren’t fully developed, your story will ultimately fall flat. But what does it mean to write fully realized characters? How do you write a character who is wholly unlike you? How do you find inspiration from the people around you in a way that’s authentic and ethical? How do you fully tap into the mannerisms, motivations, and moral compass of another — imaginary or not?

Our three author panelists — Sherri L. Smith, Alex Temblador, and Meg Vondriska (who have all written on and/or taught this topic) — will share their insights on these questions and more.

This conversation will be moderated by WLT Program Director Sarah Renee Beach.

Join Sherri in celebrating the launch of her new graphic novel, PEARL at Once Upon a Time Bookstore— the oldest children’s bookstore in the United States! If you’re a WWII buff, curious about history, or about writing graphic novels, this is the place to be!

Elizabeth Wein and Sherri L. Smith will be speaking in person about their new nonfiction book, American Wings, the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies.

Pondering Primary Sources: Authenticity, Bias, and Controversy in Historical Research - Monday, July 1, 2024, 9:00 AM

Presenters will reveal their research process for:
a) gathering and authenticating primary sources,
b) examining the inclusion and exclusion of voices,
c) scrutinizing contradictory information, and
d) presenting the most compelling and complete narrative of an event.

With Roxanne F. Owens, Sarah Aronson, MFA, Candace Fleming, and Cyndi Giorgis (she/her/hers)

Read to get your Con on?

Revolutionary Comics: Revolutionaries in Our Comics
3/30/24 - 2:00 pm, Room 211

From The Eternaut and Golden Age Superman to the more recent Immortal Hulk, comics have always been a vehicle for politics and advocacy. Writers Cecil Castellucci (Shifting Earth), Sherri L. Smith (James Cameron’s Avatar: The High Ground), and JR Hughto (That Distant Fire) and comics critics Daniel Jun Kim (PopMythology.com) and Nat Yonce (Collective Action Comics podcast) speak to the comics and makers who inspired them to mix revolutionary ideas, themes, and plots into their own work.

Who’s Teaching Who?: Teaching Artists/Creators Who Teach
3/31/24 - 2:00pm, Room 213CD

To be an artist is to be a lifelong learner. We apprentice to the craft by doing and learn how to improve project by project. Many artists also teach as part of this cycle of growth. What does it mean to be a teaching working artist? How does teaching help and grow one’s own practice? What are the joys and pitfalls of teaching? How does one transfer knowledge to emerging artists? What can you learn from being educators to the next generation of working artists? Ryka Aoki (Light from Uncommon Stars), Cecil Castellucci (Shifting Earth), Cory Doctorow (The Bezzle), Sherri L. Smith (Pearl), Steven T. Seagle (Man of Action), and Sarah Watson (The Bold Type) discuss the value of being creators who are also teachers.

About the Event

In honor of Women's History Month, join us for a special lecture by author Sherri L. Smith. Learn about the history and legacy of women in flight. From Bessie Coleman to the Women Airforce Service Pilots, see how women have made an impact in the field of aviation.

From the Organizers:

LIFTed Book Festival weekend, February 24 - 25, 2024 is a groundbreaking event launched by LIFTed UNITED, a literary community organization founded this year to promote greater support for librarians, teachers, writers, readers and authors in Southern California and beyond. The LIFTed Book Festival was born and quickly evolved into a dynamic call to action that will unite more than 30 wonderfully talented authors graciously sharing their stories.

LIFTed’s mission states that Literacy Influences Future Talent and EDucation (LIFTed) to inspire and reshape the narrative while amplifying unique voices of the past, present and future. With this simple truth, LIFTed aims to harness the extraordinary purpose of literature to bridge gaps, explore culture, and inspire change. 

LIFTed UNITED Celebrates Black History Month with its Inaugural Book Festival, themed: Building Bridges, Stronger Together

LIFTed Book Festival will collaborate with the enthralling Octavia’s Bookshelf, an independent bookstore highlighting BIPOC authors in Pasadena on Feb 24, 2024 from 12pm-3pm for in-store, author panels, book signings, and Q&A. Then team up with the compelling powerhouse that is Reparations Club, another independent bookstore that centers black and brown authors on February 25, 2024 from 11am-3pm for the second day of virtual events hosted on LIFTed UNITED’s Crowdcast platform with more than 20 authors confirmed to participate. Both establishments are black-owned and women-owned bookstores that are purveyors of knowledge and imagination where visitors and viewers can purchase their books in advance or on the day of the festival.

Participating Authors Include:

Diane Marie Brown* - Black Candle Women, Rachel Howzell Hall* - What Never Happened, Krystal Marquis - The Davenports, Liselle Sambury - Tender Beasts, Charlene Carr - Hold My Girl, Lauren Blackwood - Wildblood, Melody Simpson - Writing in Color, Shirlene Obubi - Between Friends and Lovers, Jumata Emill, Wander in the Dark, Jamar Perry - Camron Battle & The Escape Trials, Riss Neilson - A Love Like the Sun, Julian Winters - As You Walk On By, Kai Harris - What the Fireflies Knew, Lakita Wilson - Sparkle, Brittany Williams - That Self-Same Metal, P.D Clark The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, Kelis Rowe - Finding Jupiter, Brianna Peppins - Briarcliff Prep, Sophomore Year, Sarah Raughley - The Lady of Rapture, Kimberly Lemming - That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon, James Ramos - Daniel, Deconstructed, Alechia Dow - A Song of Salvation, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich - Operation Sisterhood, C.M. Lockhart - We Are the Dying Gods, Farrah Rochon - The Hookup Plan, Sarah Dass - It Waits in the Forest, Ty Allan Jackson - Danny Dollar, LaDarrion Williams* - Blood at the Root, Myah Hollis* - Not About a Boy, Shelly Page* -  Night of the Living Queers, Antoine Bandele* - TJ Young and The Orishas, Karis McPherson* - Midnight Dreem: Mo and The Moonsies, Rimma Onoseta* - How You Grow Wings, Sherri Smith* - American Wings, Jonterri Gadson - This is The Honey.

*in-person

Day One Location: Pasendena, California  

Venue: Octavia’s Bookshelf, 1365 North Hills ave, Pasadena, CA 91104

Time: Sat. Feb.24th - 12pm to 3pm PST

            Sun. Feb 25th - 11am to 3pm PST (Virtual)

LIFTed hopes to honor the rich contributions, achievements, and resilient spirits that have defined Black History Month for over half a century and celebrate literature, inclusion and community. 

@liftedunited

Both events are free and open to the public to attend, RSVP is preferred. 

Register today at:  https://crowdcast.io/c/liftedfest-2024-day-1 , https://crowdcast.io/c/liftedfest-2024-day-2

SHERRI L. SMITH AND ELIZABETH WEIN DISCUSS AMERICAN WINGS: CHICAGO'S PIONEERING BLACK AVIATORS AND THE RACE FOR EQUALITY IN THE SKY

From the acclaimed author of Flygirl and the bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies.

In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where some previous Black aviators like Bessie

Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?

American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield on Chicago's South Side. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.

Complete with black-and-white photographs throughout, American Wings brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky. (G.P. Putnam’s Sons for Young Readers)

How many times have you started writing a great story and gotten bogged down in the middle? How often have you chugged up that hill of rising action, only to lose steam?

It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your story idea, but maybe you just haven’t asked the big question yet: what does my protagonist want? Character want is the engine that drives the story forward. Without this key bit of information, you can’t start the journey, throw believable obstacles in the way, build tension, or convince your readers to root for your character’s success. Without a want, it’s hard to know what success even means. In this class, we’ll examine character wants in film and fiction. We’ll also do some hands-on exercises to help you excavate your characters’ deepest desires, so you can rev that engine and get on with the story. Come with your protagonist in mind and be prepared to write.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF:

• You are writing long-form fiction or screenplays and you keep losing juice in the second act, or middle of the story.

• You are trying to find the heart of your story.

• You’re trying to figure your protagonist out, but don’t know where to start.

The deadline to register for this class is Friday, September 8 at 5:00 PM CDT.

Join Sherri for a raucous round of Story Improv at the Henderson Reads Book Festival, “A stupendous literary showcase featuring award-winning and notable picture book, middle grade and young adult authors. Authors will present their selected books in addition to a book signing session. See below more author details. So many children's authors all in one place!  This is not to be missed!

Live readings and discussions

• Book signings

• Interactive activities

  • Where's Waldo?

  • Face Painting

• And MUCH More!”

Sherri L. Smith will spend an evening in conversation about her book, FLYGIRL, the 2022 Howard County Read. FLYGIRL tells the story of a light-skinned African American woman who passes for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II. FLYGIRL is the winner of the California Book Awards gold medal, and was selected as a Best Book for Young People by the American Library Association. Book signing to follow.

Tickets are free to the public.

“This well-told, interesting story moves along at a good clip, as Smith paints a vivid picture of the WASPs, with the suspense of Ida Mae’s deception always lurking beneath the surface…A vibrant picture of WWII women and of Jim Crow as it was then.”

—Kirkus Review

Join this online visit to Melba’s Po’ boy’s Literacy Program!

This winter, the old Russian folktale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" will be our guide in grasping the spark that ignites our stories. Come sit by the virtual fire and walk this tale of a motherless girl who must navigate the darkness to face the frightful Baba Yaga with only the help of a little doll.

If you are writer who is navigating the dark and facing down fears, this might be the Path for you.

Writing might be your dream, but have you ever dreamed for your writing? In this online session learn how to dive into liminal spaces and dream fruitfully for your work and for the world!

Once upon a time there was a writer…

This is a rare treat! I’ll be offering my inaugural Story Forest Path as a five-day online retreat with Hedgebrook, the amazing women writers’ retreat. Per Hedgebrook’s website: Radical Craft Retreats bring Hedgebrook’s retreat experience into your home with our new virtual retreat series. We invite you to transform your space into a writer’s sanctuary for a week. Join us in virtual residence and study with a celebrated teacher. Creative writing workshops in a diversity of formats and genres are offered to women writers at all levels of experience. Participation in each class is limited to 10 writers to ensure individual attention and create an intimate, supportive writing community.

Partial and full scholarships are available for women of color! Click here to visit Hedgebrook’s website and apply today.

Course Description

Are you writing a novel, but afraid of the deep dark woods ahead?  In this five-day Radical Craft Retreat, award-winning author Sherri L. Smith will guide you on a journey inspired by the fairy tale, “Little Red Riding Hood.” From packing your basket, to the journey through the woods, and on to Grandma’s house, we’ll follow Little Red’s steps to Happily Ever After.  By the end of the retreat you will know:

1. How to gather your ideas and find the heart of your story.

2. How to plan your novel

3. How to navigate through the sticky middle

4. How to deal with distractions and that pesky internal critic

5. How to take a step back for perspective

6. How to revise your work

7. How to see your story through to the end

8. What to do next

Join us for a conversation with Elizabeth Wein and Sherri L. Smith about Elizabeth's new book THE ENIGMA GAME.

About this Event

It’s 1940, and fifteen-year-old Louisa Adair has fled to the tiny village of Windyedge, Scotland, to escape the Blitz that killed her parents. As she cares for an elderly woman, she longs to help the war effort—and gets her chance when a German pilot’s mysterious key leads her to an Enigma machine that translates German code. Alongside Ellen McEwen, a volunteer Royal Air Force base driver, and Jamie Beaufort-Stuart, a squadron flight leader, Louisa attempts to solve a crucial and potentially deadly mystery. The author of Code Name Verity and The Pearl Thief returns with another thrilling, impeccably researched tale of secrets, spies, and sacrifice.

Elizabeth Wein is the award-winning author of thirteen books for young adults, including Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire, and A Thousand Sisters. She has lived in England, Jamaica, the U.S., and Scotland. She has her pilot’s license, and has flown great distances in several countries. She lives in Scotland, where she and her husband raised their two grown children.

Elizabeth will be joined in conversation with Sherri L. Smith, author of The Blossom and the Firefly and Flygirl.

Signed bookplates will be sent with each purchase of The Enigma Game, while supplies last.

Ages 12 and up

Click here to register!

Click here to support Politics and Prose by purchasing The Enigma Game and other titles by the author.

One City, Many Stories (OCMS) encourages the community to engage with the theme “Exploring Common Ground” through reading and discussion of books that are, in some way, related to this theme.

Join us for a virtual conversation with award-winning authors Danzy Senna and Sherri L. Smith, moderated by South Pasadena Poet Laureate Ron Koertge for our Citywide Reading Program One City, Many Stories (OCMS). 

Find out more about the authors and OCMS program at our website: www.southpasadenaca.gov/ocms

Join Penguin Teen Canada for a tea time full of HerStory as we chat with four amazing historical fiction authors!

FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE ON EVENTBRITE

Tea and books are the perfect combination so we're inviting you to a very special tea time: a celebration of HerStory with some of our favorite authors of historical YA fiction!

Elizabeth Wein (The Enigma Game), Sherri L. Smith (The Blossom and The Firefly), Virginia Frances Schwartz (Among the Fallen), and Stacey Lee (The Downstairs Girl) will grab their favorite cuppa and chat about all things historical fiction - the research, the writing process, and their inspirations.

Purchase their books from your local bookstore or favorite online retailer and get ready for a great conversation!

Is there a question you'd love to ask them? Email sdevotta@penguinrandomhouse.com with the subject line "HerStory Question" and we'll make sure to include it in our discussion!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Elizabeth Wein was born in New York and grew up abroad, and currently lives in Scotland with her husband and two children. She is an avid flier of small planes, and holds a PhD in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. Elizabeth is the author of Rose Under Fire, winner of the Schneider Family Book Award, and Code Name Verity, winner of the Edgar Award in the Young Adult category and a Printz Medal Honor Book.

Sherri L. Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent most of her childhood reading books. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she has worked in movies, animation, comic books and construction. Her fourth novel, Flygirl, an historical YA novel set during World War II, won the California Book Award Gold Medal, was a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, and has received fourteen State Award nominations.

Virginia Frances Schwartz grew up in rural Ontario, Canada, but now lives in Queens, New York, where she taught writing in the public schools before devoting her career to her own writing. She is best known for her novels for young adults which have been ALA Best Books for YAs, and winners of multiple Canadian awards including the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, the Ontario Silver Birch Fiction Award, the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, and British Columbia Red Cedar Award. She teaches a creative writing course at UCLA Online.

Stacey Lee is a fourth-generation Chinese American. A Southern California native, she graduated from UCLA and got her law degree at UC Davis King Hall. Now she plays classical piano, wrangles children, and writes young adult fiction. Stacey lives outside San Francisco, California. She is also a founding member of We Need Diverse Books.

From the Tuskegee Airmen, or "Red Tail Angels" in Europe and Africa, to the Women Airforce Service Pilots on the US Homefront, and the Tokkōtai kamikaze pilots of Japan—Sherri L. Smith has delved into the lesser known stories of World War II aviators to deliver them to a young audience.  In this session, Sherri L. Smith will talk about her research and the very human stories behind the history.  From her trip to Japan, to serendipitous discoveries in the stacks of used book stores across America, she'll share the nuggets uncovered about these aviators and the sacrifices they made to protect the countries they loved.

Visit the National WWII Museum website for details on how to sign up!

Approximate Grade Levels:  6 - 12  (ages 12 to 17)*