Elodie Townsend (she/her) is a writer born and based in San Francisco. Her work has been featured in The Ana, Two-Headed Press, The Berkeley Fiction Review, and more, and has been described as surreal, absurdist, and “mildly concerning”. She holds a BA in English Literature from UC Berkeley and an MA in Creative Writing from SFSU.
Website: elodietownsend.com
Kirsten Ann Dualan is a queer Filipino American poet and fiction writer from the San Francisco Bay Area. They hold a BA and MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Their work explores the intersections of sexuality, class, and gender under neoliberal capitalism. Kirsten’s work has been featured in Transfer Magazine. They live in San Francisco.
Independent Bookstore Day (Indie Bookstore Day) was established in 2013 to promote, celebrate, and highlight the value of the Independent bookstore community. The day has been observed on the last Saturday of April every year since 2013. This year, there are over 1,200 stores participating across the country.
Want to read your poetry in a non-judgmental setting? Come out for Paws for Poems and read to a dog and get some practice.
Sign up at:
In the month of May, we are exploring how building community through books creates kindness and empathy. For K- 8th grade children, we are reaching out to teachers to sign up for a free teacher kit (book and activities) if they commit to reading the book and completing the activity sometime in May.
David is an author, editor and educator. In addition to classes for adults at The Writing Salon, David has taught students from middle school age and up at McKinley Institute of Technology (Redwood City), Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, and in private practice.
He founded Inkflow Communications (www.InkflowCommunications.com), which provides writing/editing services and marketing communications consulting to non-profits and other social impact organizations. David has self-published Az der Papa (a YA coming-of-age novella), At the Cookout: A White Man’s Journey in Black America (memoir), and The Man Behind the Mask (collaboration with American Ninja Warrior athletes Flip Rodriguez and Noah Kaufman). David’s work is rooted in a journalism career that started at age 15 in 1979 and has included thousands of articles, op-eds, and blogs for his employers and clients.
Limited to twenty attendees 12 and older. You must register for the free event.
Celebrate the launch of Kerry Donoghue’s provocative debut, MOUTH, highlighting the ways we consume—from the drinks we can’t put down to the lovers we can’t resist—revealing deeper hungers we often keep hidden. A competitive eater, a rodeo clown, a pearl diver, and a mermaid-in-training are just a few of the outsiders in this collection of short stories. MOUTH asks: when our appetites define us, how do we survive the hunger?
Currently living in the Bay Area, her poetry and stories have appeared in journals such as Ninth Letter, Painted Bride Quarterly, Permafrost, The Louisville Review, and The South Carolina Review. Learn more at www.kerrydonoghue.com.
Whether you’re just starting out or haven’t written in a while, this two hour workshop will help you help you feel more confident and find your rhythm. No writing experience is required—just a desire to write and a welcoming space to do so. It’s a low-pressure environment to explore ideas, overcome writer’s block, and enjoy the creative process. Just bring a notebook, a pen, and an open mind, and we’ll take it from there.
Agenda:
Intros and ice breaker
Stream of consciousness writing exercise
Share with group and discussion
Second writing exercise
Share with group and goal setting for incorporating writing to our day to day
Closing circle
About the Workshop Presenter:
Persiana is a writer, health coach, and active member of the Daly City community. She has been writing since the age of 9 and is deeply passionate about helping others discover their authentic voice. Whether supporting beginners or helping experienced writers reconnect with their creative flow, Persiana fosters a welcoming space where everyone can grow and develop their craft. Outside of facilitating writing workshops, she works in biotech, enjoys hiking, dancing, and spending time with her two kids.”
The Balikbayan Artist and Other Chismis in the Filipino Diaspora
Saturday, March 15th
6-7:30pm
Join us for a book party to celebrate the U.S. launch of Eileen R. Tabios’ The Balikbayan Artist hosted by the Peninsula Book Collaborative with PAWA & friends: Edwin Lozada, Beverly Parayno, Dina Klarisse, Aileen Cassinetto, & Melinda Luisa de Jesús
Eileen R. Tabios loves books and has released over 70 collections of poetry, fiction, essays, and experimental biographies from publishers in 11 countries. She is the author of two novels, The Balikbayan Artist (Penguin Random House SEA, 2024) and DoveLion: A Fairy Tale for Our Times (AC Books, New York, 2021), as well as an autobiography, The Inventor (Marsh Hawk Press, 2023). She has also edited, co-edited or conceptualized 15 anthologies of poetry, fiction and essays which has involved hundreds of writers and artists around the world.
Edwin Lozada is an author and translator, and the editor of Field of Mirrors: An Anthology of Philippine American Writers (2008). An educator in the California public school system for over 30 years, he is also a member of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española correspondiente a la Academia Real Española, President of Philippine American Writers and Artists (PAWA) Inc., Executive Director of the Filipino American International Book Festival, and Co-Founder of The Hinabi Project, a Bay Area nonprofit which seeks to educate and foster appreciation for indigenous Philippine textiles.
Beverly Parayno is the author of the story collection WILDFLOWERS (PAWA Press, 2023), which was shortlisted for the 43rd Annual Northern California Book Awards; winner of a 2024 IPPY Bronze Medal and a 2024 National Indie Excellence Award for Asian American & Pacific Islander Fiction; and finalist for the 2023 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards and 2024 American Fiction Awards. She serves on the board of PAWA and the Munster Literature Centre in Cork, Ireland. She lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills and co-facilitates the Cameron Park Library Writers Workshop.
Dina Klarisse Dugar is the author of Handspun Rosaries (2022). Her work has been published in ASU’s Canyon Voices, The Daily Drunk Mag, Chopsticks Alley, and Kalopsia Literary Journal, among others. She serves on PAWA’s Board of Directors, and is a member of the Filipino American International Book Festival’s organizing committee.
Aileen Cassinetto is a 2021 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and San Mateo County’s poet laureate from 2019 to 2022. The co-founder of Paloma Press, she serves on PAWA’s advisory board and the Filipino American International Book Festival’s advisory committee as well as the San Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women.
Dr. Melinda Luisa de Jesús is former Chair and Associate Professor of Diversity Studies at California College of the Arts. She writes and teaches about Filipinx/American cultural production, girl culture, monsters, and race/ethnicity in the United States. She edited Pinay Power: Peminist Critical Theory, the first anthology of Filipina/American Feminisms (Routledge, 2005). Her first collection of poetry, peminology, was released by Paloma Press in March 2018.
Attendees will learn how to make a personalized vision board. Participants will reflect on 2024 growth, goal attainment, desire for next steps; and consider 2025 goals, growth, self-care, and value exploration. This will be a creative process.
Limited to ten attendees 16 and older. Basic materials will be provided, and you must register for the free event.
About the Presenter: Karen is a practicing therapist who utilizes mindfulness and integrative approaches to healing. She/they has extensive history supporting folx from the LGBTQ+ community and those who identify as gender queer, non-binary or trans as well as 15 years of experience supporting children, families, and individuals experiencing hardship.