Announcing the Release of Sunshine/Noir III: Writing from San Diego and Tijuana
My newest long-form essay is in this anthology; a list of San Diego events
This week I have a lot of editing to do. I need to finish line-editing a pictorial Baja book I’ll be telling you all about very soon. I’m learning a great deal about the marine mammals of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez—did you know that elephant seals can hold their breath longer than almost any other mammal, dive to 6,000 feet, and stay underwater for up to two hours? I didn’t know any of that until I read this book, which is just one of the many great things about my job.
Tomorrow I’m teaching an online San Diego Writers, Ink, “Editing for Writers” class at noon. This is one of my favorite classes to teach—I have so much to share with writers which is why I’m (slowly) writing a book on the subject! You can sign up until early tomorrow; check out the full class description and registration info right here.
Right after that, I’m zooming over to my local writers group to read something new—a short essay I have written just for the occasion. I will write more about both the group and the piece and post it here sometime in the near future if it comes out well.
Another big event this week has already happened—Russel’s second cataract surgery. All went well, and he’s already back to writing and teaching on his computer but we are going to be sticking close to home (miles away from beautiful San Diego) while he recovers. Which is why I won’t be at any of the Sunshine/Noir events listed below.
Yes, Sunshine/Noir III: Writing from San Diego and Tijuana is out and I am finally in a City Works Press anthology (cross that off my list of life goals). I’ll post the San Diego events below, or you can buy a copy (or two) online at Sunbelt Publications.
City Works Press (CWP) is an all-volunteer non-profit press that publishes great stuff. I treasure my copies of the last two Sunshine/Noir anthologies and couldn’t be happier to have my new essay (which is mostly about my wonderful mom, but also about my life in and on the water with Russel) be included in the new one, Sunshine/Noir III.
“In a time of desperation and division, Sunshine Noir III brings the energy we need to fight for a better world. From intellectual giants like Mike Davis, to powerful community voices like Laila Aziz, this collection of essays, poetry, and art is filled with hope, inspiration, and rage. Read it, reflect, recharge, and act.”
Paul Khalid Alexander, Pillars of the Community and Editor of the Reclaiming Our Stories series (City Works Press)
“In this spellbinding anthology, past, present and future converge to shed a dazzling light on a city that many visit but seldom understand. Filled with voices of protest and insight, humor and rage, this is mandatory reading for anyone seeking to understand this most contradictory of cities.” —
Daniel Widener, Third Worlds Within: Multiethnic and Transnational Solidarity
From the Introduction:
Like the first two editions of Sunshine/Noir this anthology presents the reader with a wide range of contemporary San Diego writers of fiction and nonfiction alike as well as poets, artists, and photographers. It explores San Diego and Tijuana’s border culture; the city’s multiple identities and lost history; the region’s natural beauty and endangered ecologies; its role as a center of the culture of war; and San Diego and Tijuana writers’ attempts to explore the meaning of place.
By using a multiethnic, multidisciplinary, pan-artistic approach, this anthology offers the reader a fresh look at a city yet to be explored in such a fashion. Sunshine/Noir III is not comprehensive, but rather stands only as a place marker in the continuing exploration of literary San Diego that leaves many borders yet to be crossed. This anthology includes acclaimed and award-winning poets and writers as well as emerging authors. While most of the authors and artists anthologized here are from San Diego and Tijuana, a few are not, though we welcome them as good hosts. All in all, we think we have assembled yet another gorgeous hybrid monster. Enter at your own risk.
Mark your calendars for an event to celebrate the release of Sunshine/Noir III and City Works Press’ Twentieth Anniversary! Saturday, May 3rd from 5-8pm at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. All are welcome!
San Diego City Works Press is an all-volunteer nonprofit publisher so the money we receive for every book goes directly into the production of more literary projects. We appreciate your commitment to and support of a vital literary community in San Diego! To buy Sunshine/Noir III or any of City Works Press’ other books, go here.
Here are the upcoming reading events which will no doubt be fun and inspiring:
April 28th from 11:00am-12:35pm in the Black Box Theatre at San Diego City College in downtown SD (in the quad at the back of the Arts and Humanities Building). This reading is open to the public. Students will receive free books!
May 3rd from 5-8pm at the Centro Cultural de la Raza (2004 Park Blvd, San Diego, 92101) in beautiful Balboa Park. This will be the BIG Release Event/City Works Press 20th Anniversary Celebration so this is a great thing to bring friends and family to!
May 7th from 7-9pm in room 430 at Love Library at San Diego State University (5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego 92182). This is part of the Hugh C. Hyde Living Writers' Series, one of the longest continuously running series in the nation. Free, open to all. There will be both community folks and students there for the reading and Q & A.
I hope you can make it to one of these events or at least buy a copy of the book. CWP is the perfect kind of small press to support in times like this. So is Sunbelt, for that matter.
And speaking of supporting authors and publishers, my sailing-adventure-and-much-more memoir Honeymoon at Sea now has 62 reviews (4.8 stars on average) on Amazon—can you help me get to 64 by my 64th birthday on May 25th? That is just one month away, so I really need your help. If you liked my book, can you post a short review?
If you haven’t read HatS, you still have time. It’s available in paperback for just $17 (normally $23, it is on sale right now), and on Audible and Kindle too (at $14.99). Think of it as supporting my wonderful Canadian publisher, if that helps you to press the buy button. You can also find my book at Sunbelt.
A warm welcome to my new subscribers, including a new paid subscriber! Gracias. I am so happy to have you here. Please subscribe if you haven’t already, and if you enjoyed this, hit the heart, as it helps other readers find HatS. See you next week.
hasta pronto!
Congratulations on being Sunshine/Noir. I look forward, as always, to reading your work. Congrats too on all the reviews and accolades for HatS. All the wonderful ways to read (and hear) your adventures.
Congrats on being in the anthology, Jenny. Wonderful accomplishment.