Celebrate Women Writers on International Women's Day

Lots of great links for International Women's Day, a good day to think about how we make our way as women (or fans of women) in the world, especially in light of all the recent statistics about the odds being stacked against women as they try to publish.

Kelli Russell Agodon has a post about finding success in the writing world, advice geared to women, but likely applicable to all genders.

Jeannine Hall Gailey has a link to this post about how to make it in any boy's club, and then Jeannine offers her own tips for helping female poets.

If you want to help this woman poet, head over to Finishing Line Press to buy my chapbook here. Yesterday was very exciting, as I got word that my book is available for sale a full 3 and a half weeks before the planned date of late March.

You may be thinking, I'll buy the book when it's published. I'll buy the book at one of Kristin's readings when I can get her to sign it. But I'd encourage you to buy the book now--the press run is determined by how many copies are sold between now and May 11. If you want a signed copy, buy the book, and I'll pay for the postage to get it to me so that I can sign it and I'll pay the postage to send it back to you.

As an added bonus, if you order during this pre-publication period, you get a price break on postage.

The book isn't available at Amazon. You have to buy it at the Finishing Line Press website.

It's interesting to think about the long road to this moment. I'll write more about the complete road when I hold the book in my hand (and when I don't have to get ready to go to the dentist). It's interesting to me that they chose the picture that they did for the website. I had to send them several. One of them was a cropped picture from a photo essay that you may remember from a long-ago post. That picture was taken on the back deck of Stetson Kennedy's lake house, a house which is meaningful to me for several reasons: one of my oldest college friends, Russell, took us there, and it was at this site that Woody Guthrie hung out with Stetson Kennedy.

But no time to ponder any further. I've got a full day ahead: the dentist, book club meeting, work--and I'll try to remember to think about International Women's Day. I'll say many prayers of thanks: that I have a good job that doesn't leave me too drained to write, that I have the gift of literacy, that I can turn on a tap and have safe water, that I am fairly safe from violence if I take basic precautions, that I have the gift of good friends, that I have the examples of all the ancestors that have gone before me. Most women across the planet are not as lucky as I am, and I will think about the actions I can take to bring others along with me.