Smashing Stereotypes! The Writing Workshop LAUNCHES With Special Guest Author Francesca Lia Block!

Hi Everyone!

I'm delighted to announce the first in a series of Diversity-Celebrating Writing Workshops I'll be Presenting with Book Soup in West Hollywood, California!

Smashing Stereotypes!
The Writing Workshop
with Special Guest Author Francesca Lia Block

Benefiting City of Hope

Saturday September 11, 2010 from 11am-3pm
Pi on Sunset (2 doors West of Book Soup)
8828 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

We all know that Stereotypes are a ‘bad’ thing, yet we carry them around with us, silent but enormous weights that limit our ideas of what is possible for others... and for ourselves. This hands-on writing workshop will focus on tools and techniques to break free of those limitations. Learn how you can be Smashing Stereotypes in your writing, and in your life!

“Look at our cultural myth of how a woman needs a man to save her. It’s in all those children’s stories – Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White. What does that tell girls? Or boys? How can we break free of that mindset? Writing is one of the main tools we have to smash stereotypes – all stereotypes. That’s what I want to empower people to do.”
--Lee Wind

Renowned author Francesca Lia Block will be featured, and we'll discuss the challenges of stereotypes and how she has overcome them in her writing. Francesca has published over 30 books, spanning Young Adult novels, poetry, and short stories collections. She is the author of the groundbreaking “Weetzie Bat” books which have been credited by the Los Angeles Times with “...helping to revolutionize young adult literature.”

We'll focus on (and Francesca will sign)“Weetzie Bat” and a number of her most recent books, including “Pretty Dead,” (which School Library Journal called “a startlingly original work that drives a stake deep into the heart of typical vampire stories”) “House of Dolls,” (Booklist Journal’s starred review said it was “powerful, haunting, and – just when you don’t think it’s possible – inspiring, too.”) and her upcoming release “The Frenzy.”


More On Francesca Lia Block:



Author Francesca Lia Block has described her groundbreaking novels and stories as “contemporary fairy tales with an edge,” where the real world and its trouble find solace through the magic of creative expression and love. Born in Los Angeles, where she still lives, Block’s work pulsates with the language and images of the city’s sprawling subculture. Lauds a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, “Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler.”

Block has received numerous honors, including the Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award and the Phoenix Award, as well as citations from the American Library Association, The New York Times Book Review and School Library Journal. Her work has been published around the world and translated into many languages. www.francescaliablock.com

More about Me, Lee Wind:

I know you're here at my award-winning daily blog, “I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell do I Read?” But maybe there's some stuff about me you didn't know. You're one of over 200,000 unique readers who have loaded over 350,000 page views about GLBTQ Teen Books, Culture and Politics. And in what might be my favorite review to date, Greg Miraglia of Outbeat Youth Radio called this blog “...the perfect website for young LGBT readers.”

I co-facilitate monthly meetings of 35-50 people on the craft, business and inspiration of writing for the Los Angeles Westside Schmooze of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. My interviews with luminaries in the world of Children’s literature have been published online and in the 2011 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market.

I hold a Masters of Education from Harvard, focused on integrating education, entertainment, and media. Did you find out something new about me?

More about City Of Hope:



Just northeast of Los Angeles, City of Hope is one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, and is recognized worldwide for its patient care, innovative science and translational research, which rapidly turns laboratory breakthroughs into new therapies. www.cityofhope.org It's the non-profit that Francesca Lia Block chose to have our event benefit.


More about Book Soup:




On the infamous “Sunset Strip” in West Hollywood, CA, Book Soup is one of the last large independent bookstores, serving the Los Angeles community - and beyond! - for over 30 years. www.booksoup.com



Tickets are $50.- ($40.- with Student I.D., Teacher I.D. or SCBWI Membership), include a catered lunch and are available here at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/124702 or by calling 1-800-838-3006 and asking for the "Smashing Stereotypes writing workshop."

10% of ticket and book sales at this event will be donated to City of Hope.


There are only 40 spaces available for this workshop, and with the incredible Francesca Lia Block as the guest author, I expect they'll go fast!

Hope you can join us,
Namaste,
Lee