Pasadena Festival of Women Authors


2024 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Author Photos and Author Talks

Photos at the event 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2024 2024 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Helen Elaine Lee shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:34-07:00Helen Elaine Lee at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Helen Elaine Lee Watch On: YouTube Location: Sheraton Grand Hotel The Bloc Building 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2024 2024 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Cathleen Schine shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Cathleen Schine at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Cathleen Schine Watch On: YouTube Location: Sheraton Grand Hotel The Bloc Building 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2024 2024 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Fiona McFarlane shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Fiona McFarlane at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Fiona McFarlane Watch On: YouTube Location: Sheraton Grand Hotel The Bloc Building 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2024 2024 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Tania James shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Tania James at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Tania James Watch On: YouTube Location: Sheraton Grand Hotel The Bloc Building Author's Bios Helen Elaine Lee Author's Website More Helen Elaine Lee shollycreativeinc2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2024 PFWA Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Pomegranate tells the story of Ranita, who, after four long years, is released from prison. But she’ll never be completely free until she can answer these questions: Can she stay clean and sober? When will she see her children? What were the demons that caused her to derail her life at a young age despite growing up in a nice middle-class family? Lee earned her BA at Harvard and her law degree from Harvard Law school. The author of two previous novels, The Serpent’s Gift and Water Marked, Lee is Professor of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT. She was on the board of PEN New England for 10 years, serving on its Freedom to Write Committee, and helping to start its Prison Creative Writing Program. “Lee’s handling of trauma is deft, and her portrayal of the carceral system’s cruelty is unflinching and empathetic…a cache of jewels.” – Kirkus Reviews.  Pomegranate has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in fiction. Author's Website Fiona McFarlane Author's Website More Fiona McFarlane shollycreativeinc2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2024 PFWA Won the Dylan Thomas Prize for The High Places In brilliant, symphonic prose, The Sun Walks Down transports the reader to a town in colonial Australia turned upside down by the search for a missing boy. From bride to widow, artist to shopkeeper, indigenous tracker to policeman, readers learn the intimate thoughts and concerns of townsfolk as they confront each other and the harsh land they occupy. A native of Australia, McFarlane attended the University of Sydney, Cambridge University, and the University of Texas at Austin. She’s the author of the novel, The Night Guest, and a short story collection, The High Places, which won the Dylan Thomas Prize. McFarlane teaches at UC Berkeley and lives in the Bay Area. “A thrilling success . . . McFarlane spins a novel full of mystery and wonder.” – The Wall Street Journal. “Masterful storytelling . . . We read on captivated by the novel’s beautiful prose and polyphonic voices, and marveling at both its epic scope and rare intimacy.” – The Washington Post Author's Website Cathleen Schine Author's Website More Cathleen Schine shollycreativeinc2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2024 PFWA Internationally Best-Selling Author of 12 Novels In Künstlers in Paradise, 93-year-old Mamie spends the seemingly endless pandemic telling her visiting grandson, Julian, stories of her escapades with artists who fled the Nazis and came to Hollywood. Mamie’s story spans from Berlin in the 1930s to Venice Beach in 2020.  Arnold Schoenberg, Christopher Isherwood, Thomas Mann, and Greta Garbo come to brilliant life in Schine’s witty and erudite style. Schine earned her BA at Sarah Lawrence. The author of The Grammarians, The Three Weissmanns of Westport, and The Love Letter, among other novels, she lives in Venice, California. “A paean to the regenerative power of storytelling and to Los Angeles itself.” – New York Times Book Review.  “A moving and entertaining novel about how we revisit memories to make meaning for ourselves and others.” – The Wall Street Journal Author's Website Tania James Author's Website More Tania James shollycreativeinc2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2024 PFWA Loot is Longlisted for the National Book Award Set in 18th Century India, England, and France, Tania James’ novel, Loot, is the story of a young woodcarver, Abbas, who dreams of leaving his mark on the world. Centering on Tipu’s Sultan Tiger, an actual wooden automaton, Loot follows the fate of the wooden tiger mirroring the history of nations and dynasties ravaged by war across India and Europe. A love story, a hero’s quest, a heist, and a coming-of-age story, Loot takes its readers on a thrilling journey. Raised in Kentucky, James earned a B.A. in filmmaking at Harvard and an MFA from Columbia.  She lives in Washington, D.C., and is an associate professor in the MFA program at George Mason University.  She has been a finalist for the Dylan Thomas prize and has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Fulbright Program.  Loot was long-listed for the National Book Award for fiction. “Captivating . . . James is a master miniaturist who can create the illusion of a saga in a chapter.  Her pages feel as full as a 19th-century bildungsroman, with collapsing kingdoms, sailing ships and elaborate schemes . . . And her prose is lush with the sights, sounds and smells of India, France and England, and always laced with Dickensian wit.” —The Washington Post Author's Website

2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Author Photos and Author Talks

0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2023 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Dolen Perkins-Valdez shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:36-07:00Dolen Perkins-Valdez at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Dolen Perkins-Valdez Watch On: YouTube Location: Ballroom of the Pasadena Convention Center 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2023 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Jean Hanff Korelitz shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Jean Hanff Korelitz at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz Watch On: YouTube Location: Ballroom of the Pasadena Convention Center 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2023 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Karen Joy Fowler shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Karen Joy Fowler at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Karen Joy Fowler Watch On: YouTube Location: Ballroom of the Pasadena Convention Center 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2023 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Lan Samantha Chang shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Lan Samantha Chang at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Lan Samantha Chang Watch On: YouTube Location: Ballroom of the Pasadena Convention Center 0 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors, PFWA 2023 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors | Tess Gunty shollycreativeinc2024-09-03T15:23:35-07:00Tess Gunty at the 2023 Pasadena Festival of Women Authors Featured Author: Tess Gunty Watch On: YouTube Location: Ballroom of the Pasadena Convention Center Photos at the eventAuthor's Bios Lan Samantha Chang Author's Website More Lan Samantha Chang shollycreativeinc2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2023 PFWA First Woman Director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop In The Family Chao, three Chinese-American brothers in a small town, two immigrant Chinese parents, one Chinese restaurant, one murder, and a missing dog all add up to a kaleidoscopic, entertaining tale of family loyalty, the American dream, and cultural dislocation. The author of two other novels, Chang is the Director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the first woman and only Asian American to hold that position. She earned her BA from Yale, her MPA from Harvard, and her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. The Family Chao was an Obama Summer Reading Pick. Chang lives in Iowa City, Iowa. “An engrossing and darkly comedic take on The Brothers Karamazov.” – The New York Times Book Review. “Dostoevsky himself would surely approve.” – NPR   Author's Website Nikki Erlick Author's Website More Nikki Erlick shollycreativeinc2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2023 PFWA New York Times Bestselling Author Nikki Erlick’s provocative debut novel, The Measure, opens on a day when every adult in the world awakens to a mysterious box holding “the measure of your life.” How do you measure a life?  If you knew how long your life would be, how would you live it? These are the questions that Erlick asks her characters and her readers in a sweeping story of hope and fate, family and friends.  An instant New York Times bestseller, The Measure is a #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick, a Barnes & Noble Debut Discover Pick, and a national LibraryReads selection. Having received her BA from Harvard and her MA from Columbia University, Erlick now resides in Los Angeles and New York City. “Erlick compellingly and captivatingly explores each facet of human nature, from hatred to heartbreak to hope.” – Library Journal. “No other book could ever measure up to what Erlick has done with this tender, original and gripping debut.” BookReporter.com. Author's Website Karen Joy Fowler Author's Website More Karen Joy Fowler colbykalansky@gmail.com2024-08-14T15:56:49-07:00 2023 PFWA Man Booker Prize Finalist and Bestselling Author Booth, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, is a new look at John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Lincoln, by the author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves a Booker Prize finalist. Booth is a deep dive into the historical events and family dynamics surrounding Booth. It holds many surprises, including the fact that the Booth family was anti-slavery. Fowler’s 2004 novel, The Jane Austen Book Club, was on the New York Times bestsellers list for 13 weeks. Fowler earned her BA at UC Berkeley and her MFA at UC Davis. She lives in Santa Cruz, CA. “Masterful . . . A dazzling blend of fact and fiction with piercing echoes to today . .´- San Francisco Chronicle.  “Exquisite …” – The Washington Post . “A massive achievement.” – Boston Globe Author's Website Tess Gunty Author's Website More Tess Gunty colbykalansky@gmail.com2024-08-14T15:56:50-07:00 2023 PFWA Winner of the National Book Award and finalist for the 2022 National Book Critics Circle Award Tess Gunty earned an MFA in creative writing from NYU, where she was a Lillian Vernon Fellow. Her work has appeared in The Iowa Review, Joyland, Los Angeles Review of Books, No Tokens, Flash, and elsewhere. Published to widespread critical acclaim, the novel follows an odd assortment of residents who live in a crumbling apartment building in a dying town in the post-industrial Midwest. Set across one week and culminating in a shocking act of violence, The Rabbit Hutch chronicles a town on the brink, desperate for rebirth. Gunty was raised in South Bend, Indiana, and lives in Los Angeles. Author's Website Jean Hanff Korelitz Author's Website More Jean Hanff Korelitz colbykalansky@gmail.com2024-08-14T15:56:50-07:00 2023 PFWA Author of The Plot and You Should Have Known (Adapted by HBO as The Undoing) The Latecomer is a compulsively readable and thought-provoking novel about triplets, who are desperate to escape each other and the upending of their family by an unexpected and life-changing event. In dazzling, dialogue-rich scenes that touch on politics, religion, race, privilege, and sexuality, Korelitz illuminates each character with jewel-like intensity. The author was born in New York City, and educated at Dartmouth and Clare College, Cambridge. She has published eight novels, including The Plot and You Should Have Known (adapted by HBO as The Undoing). “…an immensely enjoyable sojourn with a truly memorable family.” – Washington Post. “The author of The Plot returns with a novel that skewers privilege and offers delights on every page.”―Oprah Daily Author's Website Dolen Perkins-Valdez Author's Website More Dolen Perkins-Valdez colbykalansky@gmail.com2024-08-14T15:56:50-07:00 2023 PFWA Bestselling Author, Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation Inspired by true events that shocked a nation, Take My Hand is the story of a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on the terrible injustice of government-forced sterilization inflicted on her patients who are young girls and women of color. Perkins-Valdez earned her BA from Harvard and her PhD from UCLA. She is the Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and Associate Professor at American University. She lives in Washington, DC. “Take My Hand reminds us that truly extraordinary fiction is rarely written merely to entertain.” – The Washington Post.  “This is an exceptional read.” – Library Journal. “This is the kind of story you want to build extra time into reading so you can explore the wealth of history it draws upon.” –Associated Press Author's Website Tara Stringfellow Author's Website More Tara Stringfellow colbykalansky@gmail.com2024-08-14T15:56:50-07:00 2023 PFWA Bestselling Author and Pushcart Prize Nominee Memphis celebrates the resilience of women over multiple generations in a Black matrilineal family. In her compassionate and vivid debut, Stringfellow paints a romantic picture of Memphis, even as she lays bare its history of racism and violence. Memphis was a national bestseller and Read With Jenna Today Book Club Pick. Stringfellow has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes. She earned her BA and MFA at Northwestern University, and her JD at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She lives in Memphis. “A rhapsodic hymn to Black women.”—The New York Times Book Review. “Stringfellow has created an irresistible family in the Norths, who are sure to be beloved by readers for the ways in which they persevere.” – BookPage Author's Website Belinda Huijuan Tang Author's Website More Belinda Huijuan Tang colbykalansky@gmail.com2024-08-14T15:56:50-07:00 2023 PFWA Longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize Longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, this gripping debut follows a young mathematician caught between two countries, two cultures, two eras and two loves. Set against the backdrop of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, A Map for the Missing explores the wrenching impact political ideologies can have on individual lives. Tang has a BA from Stanford, an MA from Peking University in Beijing, and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. She lives in Los Angeles.  “. . . wholehearted and sensitively drawn. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.” – The San Francisco Chronicle.  “Gripping from its first page to its last.” -BookPage.  Author's Website