The Pearlsong Letter

Pearlsong Press Authors & Publisher Chat About Fat Friendly Fiction

Click here to listen to the 50-minute mp3 recording of today's Pearlsong Conversation on Creating & Publishing Fat Friendly Fiction - Part 1.

In this teleconference call Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. chats with authors Lynne Murray, Frannie Zellman, Charlie Lovett, Ellen Frankel, Rebecca Fox & William Sherman about why and how they wrote fat characters in their work, reader reactions, and their anticipation of a time in which there is as much need for a "fat friendly fiction" publishing niche as there currently is for "white friendly fiction."

Murray is the author of the Josephine Fuller mystery series. Her new book, Bride of the Living Dead, will be published by Pearlsong Press. Zellman is the author of FatLand and editor & co-author of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society. Lovett is the author of The Program. Frankel wrote Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature and Inner Growth and co-authored The Diet Survivor's Handbook & Beyond A Shadow of A Diet. Fox & Sherman are co-authors of Measure By Measure.

Mark your calendar for the continuation of the Conversation on Wednesday, August 12, 2009. Pat Ballard (Queen of Rubenesque Romances & author of 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are) was unable to participate in this July Conversation due to phone trouble, but plans to join the August call.

Email pearlsongconversations @ pearlsong.com for August call-in details or visit the Pearlsong Conversations webpage for more information.

Authors & Publisher to Chat About Creating & Publishing Fat Friendly Fiction

Update 7-8-2009: Click here to listen to the mp3 recording of this Pearlsong Conversation.

Join me (Peggy Elam) and several Pearlsong Press authors in two free teleconference calls at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central Wednesday, July 8 & Wednesday, August 12, 2009 as we discuss creating and publishing fat friendly fiction.

We'd love to hear from YOU as well! This is your chance to let us know what YOU want to read.

Featured Conversationalists will include:

Lynne Murray, author of the Josephine Fuller mystery series, whose new book Bride of the Living Dead will be published by Pearlsong Press; Pat Ballard, Queen of Rubenesque Romances and author of 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are); Frannie Zellman, author of FatLand and editor and co-author of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society; Charlie Lovett, author of The Program; and Ellen Frankel, author of Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature & Inner Growth and co-author of The Diet Survivors' Handbook & Beyond A Shadow of A Diet.

Topics to be discussed will include why these authors decided to write about fat characters, any challenges in writing fat characters, and reactions from readers.

 If you don't feel comfortable speaking up during the teleconference―which will be recorded―then email your questions or comments to me at peggyelam@pearlsong.com.

Email pearlsongconversations@pearlsong.com for the details (teleconference phone number & access code) and call the teleconference line at noon Eastern (11 a.m. Central) to listen and/or participate in the hour-long Conversations. You can participate in one or both calls.

The line will handle up to 96 participants―first come, first served. There's no cost for the calls other than your usual long distance charges.

We are recording these Pearlsong Conversations and making them available for listening online or downloading after the calls. You can find links to the previous Conversation recordings on the Pearlsong Conversations webpage.

See http://www.pearlsong.com/pearlsongconversations.htm for more info. Request the call-in number & access code (which will be the same for both calls) by emailing pearlsongconversations@pearlsong.com.

I hope I'll hear your voice―or at least you'll hear ours―on July 8 & August 12!

In Joy,

Peggy Elam, Ph.D.

Psychologist,
Editor & Publisher,
Pearlsong Press

"A book, too, can be a star, 'explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly.'"

Madeline L'Engle
in her acceptance speech for the Newberry Award for
A Wrinkle in Time,
quoting astronomer Fred Hoyle.

Fat poetry, fat pride, & the Fat Poets' Society -- A Pearlsong Conversation with the authors of Fat Poets Speak

Hear the five co-authors of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society share the poetry and process of fat embodiment in this hour-long Pearlsong Conversation with publisher/psychologist Peggy Elam, Ph.D.

The teleconference call featuring Kathy Barron, Anne S. Kaplan, Corinna Makris, Lesleigh J. Owen & Frannie Zellman was held May 13, 2009 as one of a monthly series in which Elam chats with Pearlsong authors and fans have the opportunity to listen live, comment and ask questions. (For more on the series, including archived recordings of previous Conversations, click here.)

In a sociocultural climate in which fat bodies are considered diseased and blamed for everything from rising medical costs to global warming, it takes courage for fat women, especially, to express anything but shame about their bodies. Fat Poets Speak is part of and intended for the growing movement reclaiming "fat" as a valid way to exist in the world.

The Fat Poets' Society was born during the 2006 annual convention of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), a civil rights organization. The authors are donating the royalties from Fat Poets Speak to NAAFA.

Join a Pearlsong Conversation with the Fat Poets Society

In a sociocultural climate in which fat bodies are considered diseased and blamed for everything from rising medical costs to global warming, it takes courage for fat women, especially, to express anything but shame about their bodies. Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society, just published by Pearlsong Press, is part of and intended for the growing movement reclaiming "fat" as a valid way to exist in the world.

At noon (Eastern) on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 you can join a Pearlsong Conversation with the authors of Fat Poets Speak: Kathy Barron, Anne S. Kaplan, Corinna Makris, Lesleigh J. Owens, & Frannie Zellman. Participation in the hour-long teleconference call is free. To receive teleconference details (phone number & access code), send an email to pearlsongconversations@pearlsong.com.

The Fat Poets' Society was born during the 2006 annual convention of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), a civil rights organization. The authors are donating the royalties from Fat Poets Speak to NAAFA.

To whet your appetite for the Conversation, read these interviews with the Fat Poets just published at More of Me to Love.

Pearlsong publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. began the monthly Pearlsong Conversations in January 2009. On the second Wednesday of each month, she chats with a Pearlsong author (and other interested readers/participants) in a free teleconference call. Each teleconference is recorded and the recording made available for online listening or downloading at the Pearlsong Press website. Links to the archived Conversations can be found here.

Update May 14, 2009: Listen to and/or download the Fat Poets' Society Pearlsong Conversation mp3 recording here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

New book celebrates the poetry and process of fat embodiment

Five smart, sassy, sensual and soulful women share the poetry and process of fat embodiment in Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society, to be published by Pearlsong Press on May 6, 2009.

The 126-page original trade paperback by Kathy Barron, Anne S. Kaplan, Corinna Makris, Lesleigh J. Owen and Frannie Zellman has its roots in a poetry workshop at the 2006 annual convention of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a civil rights organization celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The poets are donating their royalties to NAAFA.

In a sociocultural climate in which fat bodies are considered diseased and blamed for everything from rising medical costs to global warning, it takes courage for fat women, especially, to express anything but shame about their bodies. Fat Poets Speak is part of and intended for the growing movement reclaiming "fat" as a valid way to exist in the world.

Kathy Barron has a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, ran her own health food store, worked as a bodyworker, energy healer and caregiver, and now is pursuing her dream of writing. Anne S. Kaplan is a Certified Personal Business and Life coach, a "recovering scientist" with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and a former computer programmer and consultant. Corinna Makris is the proprietress of ThisLushLife.com, an online plus-size clothing/living resource. Lesleigh J. Owen has a Ph.D. in sociology and is a college instructor and social activist.  Frannie Zellman received her M.A. in creative writing from Boston University and is the author of the novel FatLand, also published by Pearlsong Press (January 2009).

Fat Poets Speak was edited by Zellman.

Frannie Zellman & new novel FatLand featured in Hudson Reporter article

Frannie Zellman and her novel  FatLand -- published in January 2009 by Pearlsong Press -- are featured in an article by Tricia Tirella in the Hudson Reporter newspaper.

Tirella reports that FatLand was influenced by current events and Zellman's family history of activism and journalism.

Zellman said that she is frightened by what has been happening in England..."They're telling people that they can't have a child if they're over a certain weight, that they can't adopt children if they are over a certain weight. They're talking about doing almost exactly what I'm talking about [in my novel], having people weighed and charting the areas of the country where people are more overweight. This is very scary. It's basically taking away most of their liberties.'

Assuming that overweight individuals are always unhealthy is "obsolete thinking," said Zellman. She explained that a "fat" person can be in good health, while a thin person could be the opposite.

She wanted FatLand to show how "fat" people are just like anyone else, and that they have the same joys and sadness in life as anyone else.

"If you place people in a liand [where] they're not discriminated against, they'll go about the business of living just like anybody else, and they'll do just fine," said Zellman.

Read the entire article here.

A Pearlsong Conversation with Pat Ballard, Queen of Rubenesque Romances

Just in time for Valentine's Day, romance novelist Pat Ballard chats with Pearlsong publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. in the second of the Pearlsong Conversations. Click here to listen to and/or download the 50-minute mp3 recording of today's conversation.

In addition to Ballard's 6 romance novels and short story collection featuring Big Beautiful Heroines -- or, as her publisher likes to put it, "books in which the fat chick gets the guy" -- Ballard is the author of the inspirational self-help volume 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are).

Ballard & Elam are joined by FatLand author Frannie Zellman as they discuss Ballard's journey to self- and body-acceptance and -love, her writing process, and why a truly happy Valentine's Day and satisfying sex starts with loving your body, no matter what it looks like.

The Pearlsong Conversations are monthly teleconference calls in which publisher Elam chats with a Pearlsong author and fans. To participate in future Conversations -- or listen to archived recordings of previous ones -- go to www.pearlsong.com/pearlsongconversations.htm.

"Pro-health laws" lead to size acceptance sanctuary in new novel FatLand

New Jersey author Frannie Zellman's fantasy inspired by current events

NASHVILLE, TN--In the near future "anti-obesity" initiatives in the United States become so oppressive that people seeking freedom over their bodies establish a new country, Fat Acceptance Territory Lease Accession Non Dated--FATLAND. Or they do in the novel by that name just released by Pearlsong Press.

In FatLand, life is good and scales are forbidden. Free from the hatred and discrimination of the Other Side, FatLanders have built productive lives. But as the book (first of a planned trilogy by New Jersey author Frannie Zellman) unfolds, a group of FatLanders and freedom fighters on the Other Side face forces threatening the health and happiness of all.

FatLand may be fantasy, but its premise is reflected in real-world news. In 2008 alone, anti-fat initiatives in the U.S. have included Mississippi state legislators sponsoring a bill forbidding restaurants from serving fat people and Alabama's State Employees' Insurance Board approving a plan to charge $25 more a month for insurance to "overweight" employees who fail to "progress" in losing weight. Meanwhile, Japan launched a waistline-measuring campaign in which those larger than the narrowly defined ideal and have "weight-related" conditions are given dieting advice and "further re-education" if they do not lose weight.

As Zellman noted in a recent interview with Pearlsong publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D., all these and other "anti-obesity" initiatives have been enacted even though there is no safe, effective, permanent means of making fat people thin. Such initiatives have increased the stigma and discrimination experienced by fat Americans and further stressed people of all sizes struggling with eating disorders.

Frannie Zellman received her M.A. in creative writing from Boston University in 1980. She is a member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and has taught writing workshops for people of size. FatLand ($19.95, 212 pages, original trade paperback) is her first novel.

FatLand is available from Amazon.com and other online retailers, as well as directly from the publisher at www.pearlsong.com.

A Pearlsong Conversation with Frannie Zellman, author of FatLand

Missed the live event? Catch the replay!

Listen to and/or download an mp3 recording of today's Pearlsong Conversation with psychologist /publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. and FatLand author Frannie Zellman here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Zellman discusses why she became involved in fat rights/acceptance/liberation activism, whether we need a FatLand, and why we need fat fiction and poetry.

Zellman received her MA in creative writing from Boston University in 1980. She is a member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and has taught writing workshops for people of size. She is the editor of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society, which will be published by Pearlsong Press in May 2009. She is an active member of the Fat Poets' Society and recently started an online fiction writing group called the Fat Fiction Forum.

Join a Pearlsong Conversation -- Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 with FatLand author Frannie Zellman

Join us on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central for a conversation with Frannie Zellman, author of the newest book from Pearlsong Press: FatLand.

Zellman will discuss whether we need a FatLand, why she became involved in fat rights/acceptance/liberation activism, and why we need fat fiction and fat poetry.

The event is the first in a series of monthly teleconference call in which publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. chats with a Pearlsong author or others (and possibly YOU!) in a free teleconference call.

To download a PDF with the call-in details, go here, click on the "Pearlsong Conversations" button, and go through the ordering process. You will not be charged anything unless you choose to purchase FatLand or another of our books at the same time, in which case you will be charged the normal cost of the book plus any shipping.

To read an excerpt from FatLand, click here.

If time & technology permit, participants will be able to ask questions and join in the conversation. Questions can also be emailed before the event to Peggy Elam at peggyelam @ pearlsong.com. (Please put "Pearlsong Conversation question" as the subject of your email.)

Each teleconference will be recorded and the recording made available for listening or downloading at the Pearlsong website. There is no fee for the call, but you may incur normal charges associated with your long-distance service.