Three upcoming meetings may be of interest to aspiring and established writers:
• Move really fast if you want to attend the sixth annual Tomales Bay Writers Workshops, Oct. 21-25 at the Marconi Conference Center in Marshall, on the eastern shore of Tomales Bay. The deadline for applications is Tuesday. Tuition is $1,550, which includes the $150 application fee.
The event is sponsored by the Creative Writing Program at the University of California, Davis, under the direction of author Pam Houston.
Organizers say the workshops "bring aspiring writers into close community with award-winning, nationally known writers, poets, editors and agents." This year's keynote speaker will be Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Hass, the poet laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997.
For more information or enrollment: E-mail Kate Asche at kasche@ucde.ucdavis.edu or call (800) 752-0881.
• It seems like the UC Davis Extension Writing Program is always up to something. Now it's a free panel discussion, "What Would Mother Say? The Delicate Art of Writing About Real People."
Acting as moderator will be Jennifer Basye Sander, "an author and book packager for 20 years." The panel will include journalist and writing instructor Jan Haag; short-story writer and university professor Jodi Angel; and cookbook author and cooking teacher Elaine Corn.
The class will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at UC Davis Sutter Square Galleria, 2901 K St., Sacramento. Enroll in advance at (800) 752-0881 or www.extension.ucdavis. edu/writing.
• Simplie Indie, an online store that fosters works by independent writers and musicians (and sells their products), will sponsor a seminar on how to market your book. A panel of "experts in the field" will discuss and answer questions about making contacts to sell a book, how to market a book and how to find an audience for it.
The seminar will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the clubhouse at Woodcreek Golf Club, 5880 Woodcreek Oaks Blvd., Roseville. Cost is $129 for adults, $79 for students. Registration begins at 8 a.m., or preregister at www.simplieindie.com. Information: (916) 474-9292.
Pick of the week
"Adland: Searching for the Meaning of Life on a Branded Planet" (Doubleday, $26.95, 336 pages): Advertising permeates our lives, but those outside the industry are largely clueless about what goes on behind the closed doors at ad agencies.
The author knows; he's a former executive creative director at Young & Rubicam, a longtime major player on the ad scene. With wit and insight, he details the "morally dubious and strangely intoxicating" world in which he moved, peopled by dysfunctional clients and obsessive "team" members. If you think advertising is surreal and offensive, this book could alter your opinion – or not. Either way, it's a juicy read.
On the calendar
Upcoming author appearances include:
Mahbod Seraji for "Rooftops of Tehran" (NAL, $15, 368 pages): Pasha Shahed is a teenage boy in love with the girl next door, who is betrothed. What takes the plot to an extraordinary level is the setting and the danger it engenders: Iran in 1973, under the reign of the shah and his secret police, SAVAK.
Event: 1 p.m. Saturday at the Book Seller, 107 Mill St., Grass Valley; (530) 272-2131.
Po Bronson for "NatureShock" (Twelve, $24.99, 352 pages): These essays detail "recent research that challenges conventional wisdom about raising children" and that says parenting models "for nurturing children are backfiring because key twists in the science have been overlooked."
Event: 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at Borders, 2339 Fair Oaks Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 564-0168.
Fall book sale
The Friends of the Folsom Library will hold its fall book sale Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Folsom Public Library. 411 Stafford St. Thousands of gently used books, DVDs, videos and CDs in all genres will be sold at bargain prices.
Admission to the Saturday-Sunday sale (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) is free; however, there will be a $5 charge for the Friday preview sale (5 to 8 p.m.). Information: (916) 355-7374.
The Bee's Allen Pierleoni can be reached at (916) 321-1128 or apierleoni@sacbee.com. Contact him with news of coming literary events that are open to the public.
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