Santa Fe 2016: Women Writing the West and Allá

Dear reader, if you are a writer who has not yet attended a writer's conference, may I suggest that, whether you are a beginner or a battle-scarred multi-prize-winning veteran in this "business," a conference can be one of the best investments you make in yourself. Plus, if you have even a wee bit of extrovert in you, it's a gab fest.  

That said, over the years I've participated in so many writers' conferences, most blur together in a sort of schmoo of vaguely remembered panels and jostling in the corridors and too much coffee and overcrowded ladies rooms... I sometimes wondered, ho hum, what could possibly be new? 

Well, a couple of years ago it occurred to me that it would be both new and apt for me to look west; after all, the majority of writers conferences I had attended up until then had been on the East Coast, and I am at work on a book about Far West Texas. Plus, my agent, bless her heart, passed away, so I might need another one (whether I do or not remains an open question)-- the agent pitch sessions at a writers conference are always valuable if for no other reason than to practice pitching. 

After attending the 2014 Women Writing the West conference in Golden, Colorado, I learned so much and met so many accomplished and friendly and indeed, women-writing the-west writers, including several Texans, that I hoped to attend another. Finally this October it was possible, and that meant a journey to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

My participation this year was on the panel "Writing Across Borders and Cultures" with Dawn Wink and Kathryn Ferguson and I gave a workshop on "Podcasting for Writers." 

> Transcript of my remarks for "Writing Across Borders and Cultures" here.
> Handouts for the workshop "Podcasting for Writers" here and here.

PEYOTE EXPERT STACY B. SCHAEFER,  TACO MAVEN DENISE CHAVEZ, ACQUISITIONS LIBRARIAN ALICE KOBER, RIGHT-TO-WRITER JULIA CAMERON, NAVAJO POET LUCI TAPAHONSO, & MORE GALORE

One of the highlights for me was meeting anthropologist Stacy B. Schaefer, whose biography of Amada Cardenas, Amada's Blessings from the Peyote Gardens of South Texas (University of New Mexico Press) was a finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award for Scholarly Nonfiction. Of course my book in-progress about Trans-Pecos Texas will include some discussion on peyote, since its habitat, mainly in South Texas and Northern Mexico, includes a patch of the Big Bend, which is in the Trans-Pecos. Schaefer is one of the leading scholars on peyote and her story of the first federally-licensed peyote dealer Amada Cardenas is essential reading for anyone who would seek to understand the history and ritual of the Native American Church, as well as a vital part of US-Mexico border culture and history.


Another highlight was Denise Chavez's magnificently theatrical luncheon keynote, a reading from her book, A Taco Testimony. 

In the photo below, to the left of Chavez, in blue, sits acquisitions librarian Alice Kober, who later gave a talk entitled "Why Would Librarians Buy Your Book— Or Not?" (Oh dear, those "nots"...) 

Most writers' conferences offer a panel on book marketing. In my newly-forged opinion, ideally, all writers' conference panels on book marketing should feature an acquisitions librarian. Would that he or she could be half as wickedly excellent a speaker as Alice Kober.

[[ DENISE CHAVEZ TALKS ABOUT TACOS ]]

Another sparkling keynote, "The Right to Write," was delivered by Julia Cameron, and at the Willa awards banquet, Navajo poet Luci Tapahonso read her exquisite works.

Further entertainment was provided by this fine mariachi band.

[[ CARMEN PEONE AND
KATHRYN FERGUSON ]]

Apart from being entertained, noshing on buffet chicken, gleaning loads of practical advice, and selling books, a writers conference offers the chance to put faces to names. Among them: Amy Hale Auker, author of The Story is the Thing; Brenda Black; Kathryn Ferguson, author of The Haunting of the Mexican Border; Laurie Gunst, author of Born Fi' Dead and Off-White; and Lisa Sharp, author of A Slow Trot Home.

And among the many writers I was fortunate to meet back in 2014 and cross paths with again were Andrea Jones, Pam Nowak (who did so much to make this conference run so smoothly!), Jane Kirkpatrick, Cynthia Leal Massey, Carmen Peone, Heidi Thomas, Susan Tweit, and Dawn Wink. Susan Tweit and Dawn Wink, dynamic duo, not only gave a terrific jump-starter of a workshop on mapping stories, they also smoothly MC'ed the Willa Awards Banquet.

(One of my long-time goals was rekindled with this awards banquet: to read Willa Cather's complete works. It's in my Filofax for 2018. I made my hajj to her house in Nebraska back in 2014. More about the inestimable Willa Cather anon.)

How to join Women Writing the West and attend their next conference? You will find the whole enchilada o' info in their website here. 



PLAYING HOOKY ON THE PLAZA 

Alas, I did not have time to explore much of Santa Fe on this occasion, but for one afternoon session I skipped out for a chance to see the St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, and so happened onto a rally in the Plaza for Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party candidate for US President! In a moment, candidate Johnson himself appeared, looking buff after his bike ride down from Taos, and, although I don't think the crowd was following him, he unleashed a stream of expialidocious-wonkaliciousness on Aleppo. I am not kidding. (In case you were wondering, dear reader, as far as politics go, this blog resides on Planet Uli Washi.)

[[ Not Planet Uli Washi ]]

Here is my photo— taken by my smartphone, which, alas, does it no justice— of St Francis of Assisi's unusual and very beautiful main altar:

HAJJITO TO ALLÁ

My one other escape from the conference was a hajj of sorts: a visit to Allá, the best Spanish language bookstore north of the border. So many writers and translators over the years have told me about Allá. (I mean you, José Skinner, Raymond Caballero, Patricia Dubrava...) I had heard that Allá was on the southwest corner of the Plaza, but on my previous visit to Santa Fe, I couldn't find it. This time, armed with the precise address, 102 West San Francisco St, and my smartphone's map app, I discovered that it is a little ways past southwest corner of the Plaza, and you won't find a sign on the street. However, as you can see in the photo below, there is a reference— Allá Arte- Libros - Música— pasted in between some steps on the stairs. So head on up to the second floor, hang a right, and there you may enter into the bright warren of rooms all filled with tesoros, both literary and scholarly—and if you're lucky, meet the owner himself, James J. Dunlap.

Yes, here you can find Mexican writers such as Agustín Cadena and Mónica Lavín. And bless his corazón, he had books on Mexico in English by my amigos, Bruce Berger and David Lida and... drumrrrrrrroll... he had two of my books sitting out on the table, Mexico A Traveler's Literary Companion and Sky Over El Nido, and he said he had just recently sold another title, Miraculous Air, my memoir of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. 

[[ JAMES J. DUNLAP, ALLÁ IN SANTA FE ]]

Speaking of miracles, my luggage accommodated the pile of books I hauled out of there, including some Mexican scholarly works on the Apaches and Comanches that, from Mexico City, I have been trying to hunt down for over a year. Somehow I also took home a fat hardcover first edition of a memoir of life among some indigenous people in Tierra del Fuego. Visit Allá at your own risk! If you dare, tell Jim that Mayo told you to ask about a-gogo and psícadelico. 



> Your comments are always very welcome. Write to me here.

The Harrowingly Romantic Adventure 
of US Trade with Mexico in the Pre-Pre-Pre NAFTA Era: 
Notes on Susan Shelby Magoffin and Her Diary of 1846-1847, 
Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico

Highlights from My Landing on Planet Austin

At the FIL or, the Mexican Megabookmashup

Women Writing the West 2014 in Golden, Colorado: An Eclectic Community of Writers and (...Sigh...) a Sharper Focus on Publishing

It's been a happy adventure to have joined Women Writing the West. Since I mainly write about Mexico, I might seem an unlikely candidate for membership. What prompted me to send off my application year before last was that, first, as a veteran member of several other writers associations, I was impressed with the professionalism of their outreach and their dedication via things such as the Willa Awards, the annual catalogue, and conference, to actually serving the members (as opposed to just funneling dues into who-knows-what and endlessly yammering for donations... don't get me started...) 

Second, I'm working on a book about Far West Texas, and so, among so many other things, I'm trying to get my mind around cowboy culture. I assumed that Women Writing the West would have a preponderance of members writing about cowboy culture and indeed, this is the case, though I hasten to add, there are many other types of writers in this organization open to any and all women writers living in / writing about places west of the Mississippi.

But third, a perhaps more important reason: I was looking for more of a writing community in English. In Mexico City, I've got my handful of English language writing pals, of course, and a few Mexican writer friends as well, but outside of a very occasional visit to San Miguel de Allende, a five hour drive north, I don't have much chance to hang out with a community of English language writers. 

Fourth: Women Writing the West has an active listserv. Among the multitude of friendly and helpful posts there, I have been especially grateful for those from Susan Wittig Albert who has so generously shared her experience in successfully self-publishing A Wilder Rose. Though I have published several other books with publishers as varied as University of Georgia Press and Random House-Mondadori, my current book-- very niche: Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution-- is self-published, and for this endeavor, Susan's advice has been golden.

And speaking of golden, I'm just back from my first ever Women Writing the West conference in Golden Colorado, which was splendidly organized, fun, friendly, and informative. As for publishing, I heard what I already knew, yet brought into sharper focus. More about publishing in a moment.

JUST A FEW LITERARY DENIZENS WITH WHOM I CROSSED PATHS:

Literary agent SANDRA BOND, who happens to be the agent of my friend Solveig Eggerz. (Hey y'all listen in anytime to my interview with Solveig here.) We had a nice little yak about Unbridled Books, which brought out my novel in 2009 and Solveig's poetic novel of Iceland, Seal Woman.


CORINNE JOY BROWN, author of several books, most recently a collector's item for collectors, Come And Get It! The Saga of Western Dinnerware. I don't think I've ever owned and don't recall ever eating off of any western dinnerware. (Once, I almost bought an Annie Oakley mug, but then I considered the weight in my luggage.) But I got my signed copy and started reading right away because it explores the deceptively simple question, crucial to me, what makes it Western? The author and I had a little chat about Crypto-Jews, that is, hidden Jews of northern new Spain (presumably Catholic conversos but in some instances not). Turns out, Corinne is the Vice President of Communications for the Society of Crypto-Judaic Studies and the editor of its biannual journal, HaLapid. It so happens that I recently ran a guest-blog post by historical novelist Claudia H. Long on that very subject-- 5 Secrets About the Crypto-Jews of Mexico-- and have in hand two books of relevance for this very interesting topic: Kaltheen Alcala's The Desert Remembers My Name, and Rose Mary Salum's visionary anthology Delta de arenas: Cuentos árabes, cuentos judíos. So what is the connection of Cypto-Jews with cowboy culture? I am looking forward to Corinne's next book...

Another signed copy tucked into my luggage was HEIDI M. THOMAS' Cowgirl Up! A History of Rodeo Women. It was especially fun to meet Heidi, as we had corresponded over her excellent guest-blog post for this blog, A Roundup of 5 Things to Know About Old-Time Rodeo Cowgirls.

At the Willa Awards banquet dinner I had the good luck to sit next to a most fascinating conversationalist and writer: ANDREA J. JONES, author of Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado.

SARAH BYRN RICKMAN, author of Flight to Destiny, a novel about women pilots of World War II.

SUE BOGGIO and MARE PURL, co-authors of Sunlight and Shadow and A Growing Season, both available from University of New Mexico Press.

CYNTHIA LEAL MASSEY, author of historical novels and Death of a Texas Ranger: A True Story of Murder and Vengeance on the Texas Frontier. (Hey, Cynthia, I look forward to seeing you at the Texas Book Festival!)

CARMEN PEONE, YA novelist based on the Colville Indian Reservation, for the Sinyekst or Arrow Lakes band of Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington state. On her blog, Carmen offers 5 reasons to join WWW.

DAWN WINK, a teacher based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose first novel, Meadowlark, is about early settlers on the plains of South Dakota.

SUSAN J. TWEIT, whose book of essays, Barren, Wild, and Worthless: Living in the Chihuahuan Desert, I read earlier this year and loved. (Read her

take on the WWW conference over at her blog. Excerpt: 

"...The conference background sound was the buzz of excited voices as participants gathered to greet old friends, meet new ones, and share ideas and tips on all aspects of writing. That excitement and sharing sums up Women Writing the West for me: community, not competition. A core value of the organization is to provide a supportive community to those of us engaged in telling and publishing stories about the West from a woman’s point of view."

Well, is that an eclectic community of writers, or what? 

As for editors, I only talked to one, and not about my own work, but about Mexican writing and translation: REBECCA WEBER MCEWAN, Editor in Chief of Fulcrum Publishing.


OK. 
SIGH. 
CUP OF CHAMOMILE TEA. 
FINGERNAIL CHEWING. 
MORE SIGHS. 
UM, PUBLISHING.

I had the honor of introducing JOYCE MESKIS, owner of the Tattered Cover Book Store for her talk, "Publishing from a Bookstore Perspective." The intro:

"The Tattered Cover Bookstore began in 1971 as a 950 square foot space and now, after 40 years, it has three locations in Denver and the metropolitan area. It has been called "the Queen Mother of bookstores," "Denver's book Mecca." The Denver Post calls it "a literary lighthouse." It's a must for any writer on a local or national book tour. You name the famous writer, they've read at the Tattered Cover, from Barbara Kingsolver to Kurt Vonnegut, Isabelle Allende, Buckminster Fuller, Annie Proulx-- and also many of you, members of Women Writing the West, who are here today.  

 Joyce Meskis wears two hats supremely relevant for the topic of this session. She is the owner of the Tattered Cover and, since 2008, she is Director of the University of Denver's Publishing Institute, a nationally-recognized summer certificate course, which during its 39 year history has graduated over 3,000 students."

Meskis started off with a riff of quotes about books and bookstores-- mind-tokes for book folks, shall we say, and for a moment we all got pretty high there. But then, after some eye-opening historical perspective on book-selling, she grounded us with the financial realities of keeping the doors to a bookstore open. I recall some rather uyy-inducing talk about nickels.

Then, in a later talk that same afternoon, LIZ PELLETIER gave us an hilarious but alas, realistic overview of what it takes to get commercial fiction on the bookshelves. (No worries, dear Liz, I won't repeat what you confessed that you said to grab the sales reps' attention, but... eew.)


IT WAS THAT; NOW IT'S EVER MORE THIS

So, we have the Wild West of e-commerce and self-publishing, and the old-fashioned way, that is, selling traditionally represented, acquired, edited, distributed and marketed books sold from shelves in brick-and-mortar stores such as Tattered Cover. Guess which system has lower costs? Guess which one is going to suffer an ever tighter squeeze?

I'm a bit irked at all this yammering in the blogosphere about amazon.com the evil bookstore-eating monster. Yes, it's grown into a monster. And yes, Jeff Bezos is an unusually  aggressive entrepreneur who doesn't always deal as if he were the heir to Mother Teresa. But all the changes in the book business, as in so many other businesses, boil down to this:

+ Operating out of the middle of nowhere is cheaper than paying for space in a city or downtown of an upscale suburb.

+ Bots are increasingly cheaper, faster and more reliable than human workers (and notably cheaper than the average human worker in a metropolitan area).

+ Many buyers prefer to shop on-line and receive their purchases by mail or, when possible (as in the case of ebooks), by instant electronic delivery, and again, bots are both cheap and good at all the things that have to do with making that happen. And when it is technically easy and economically attractive for them to do so, many sellers prefer to go direct to the customer, and lo, that it increasingly the case.

+ Buyers prefer to pay less rather than more. Yes, Virginia, demand curves are downward sloping. And the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. And Santa may or may not live on the South Pole, but google and you can watch him hohoho on YouTube until Kingdom Come.

And by the way, bots will drive our cars and take over much of the care for Alzheimer's patients, too, and probably sooner than we can imagine. Yes, it is kind of creepy to contemplate. Oh well! I guess I'll go work on my literary travel memoir. And then get some chickens.

UPDATE: Speaking of bots, see the NYT article Can You Uber a Burger?

> Your comments are always welcome. Write to me here.