On Oct. 15-16, Women and Children First Bookstore will host its first-ever Women's Voices Weekend to celebrate women writers and to offer readers a chance to converse and learn from them.
Writers in attendance will include Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina), Esther Hershenhorn (S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet), Nami Mun (Miles from Nowhere) and Achy Obejas (Ruins), along with Booklist Senior Editor/WBEZ book critic Donna Seaman.
The weekend will feature workshops, readings and a cocktail party. Workshops will be held at the Swedish American Museum during the day on Saturday and Sunday. A cocktail party will take place Oct. 15 at Women and Children First Bookstore. Guests will have a chance to talk to the featured writers and other Chicago writers while they nosh on appetizers, desserts and drinks. The next day at the Swedish American Museum, Seaman will host readings and conversations with the writers to close out the weekend's events.
The genesis of this event emerged when Women and Children First Bookstore co-owners Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon formed the Women's Voices Fund seven years ago. They originally set up the fund to offset the cost of running the programs at their store. Last spring they re-visited the idea of bringing authors they were interested in hearing from instead of being at the mercy of authors' publishing and touring schedules.
Christophersen said that two things encouraged her to make this event happen: "One was that one of our fiercest competitors [Borders] was forced to close so we might be on better financial footing and then talking with a literary publicist [Sheryl Johnston] who felt like she could help us produce this event."
Bubon added, "Our hope is to do it this year and do everything we can to make it successful [covering our expenses] and if there is enough interest then we hope to make this weekend the first in a series of events that will happen annually."
Both Christophersen and Bubon want to showcase the writers they have invited and allow Chicagoans who are interested in writing to take advantage of the knowledge and skills the writers will present at their workshops. They also want to foster a sense of community with this weekend so writers from all over Chicago who attend can get to know each other. "We want to call attention to what a great literary town this is and how rich we are in women writers," Christophersen explained, adding, "We can foster a climate of creativity and diversity in literature and really showcase Chicago as this great literary town."
Allison—a National Book Award finalist whose workshop title is "Talk to Me the Way Your Mama Talked to You: Issues with Language in the Shaping of Voice and Story"—said, "We will talk about voice as the primary strength of any piece of writing—not just the sound of words but the attitude and personality of the speaker who tells the tale. How does one shape such a voice? We'll discuss this issue in the context of a series of exercises designed to help writers develop the 'voice' of their story," adding, "I am always happy to get to come to Chicago or to help out Women & Children First, and I really look forward to hearing the other writers in the program."
Hershehorn will conduct a workshop along with Bubon called "Oh the Places You Can Go! Writing for Today's Children's Book World." "Harry Potter and his creator J.K. Rowling didn't grow only readers; they grew a bounty of adults wanting to write for children," Hershehorn said. "The good news? Writing possibilities and opportunities in today's singular and ever-changing children's book world are limitless, as long as the writer is willing to do the homework, learn and polish her craft, connect with the story and persevere."
Mun—whose workshop is entitled "Taking Risks"—said, "We'll explore ways in which we can take more risks in our writing by identifying our comfort zones and stepping out of those zones so that our sentences, our stories, our characters, and their dialogue surprise even us."
As for the weekend's events Mun added, "There are many things I look forward to about Women's Voices Weekend but here are my top two: 1) talking to the folks in my workshop about taking risks in their writing, and 2) dancing with Dorothy Allison at the cocktail party."
Obejas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, said, "We'll examine and work with ways to develop conflict in stories. We'll discuss choices and stakes, the importance of tension, and ways to resolve stories without having characters kill themselves, live happily ever after, betray the rest of the story or do anything too terribly obvious."
As for the event, "Women and Children First is home to me. Long before I'd published much of anything, Ann and Linda were inviting me to read in the store, promoting my work," Obejas said. "My career would be so different without them. I'm delighted to be a part of this conference because it's always a homecoming to read in association with these gals, and an opportunity to thank them for being such a steady champion for women's literature."
The event sponsors are Women and Children First's "Women's Voices Fund," The Swedish American Museum and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
Tickets for the entire weekend will cost $55 and will cover one workshop, the cocktail party and the readings/conversations. To attend the workshop only the price is $35 for students/seniors and $40 for the general public. The cocktail party price is $10 as is the author readings/conversations.
For more information on this event visit: www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/event/womens-voices-weekend or e-mail WCFWomensVoicesWeekend@gmail.com . To find more about the writers visit: www.dorothyallison.net/, www.estherhershenhorn.com/, www.namimun.com, www.achyobejas.net/, www.donnaseaman.com .
