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.

Join a Pearlsong Conversation with Rebecca Fox and William Sherman, authors of Measure By Measure

Join Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central as she chats with Rebecca Fox & William Sherman, authors of the novel Measure By Measure (Pearlsong Press, June 15, 2009).

When blonde, Rubenesque paralegel Jenny Taylor is coaxed by her boss Lissa to a dance sponsored by the Midwestern chapter of RADFAm, a national fat advocacy organization, this wild new romantic world throws her into a spin. For within the group's gang of full-figured friends and their admirers lies the tantalizing chance for love and betrayal, couplings and contretemps.

The robust, comic romance fleshes out the truth about soap opera: It's not just for the rich and slender. Taken from the online cyber-serial, Measure By Measure is a Tales of the City for the fat & fabulous!
 
To receive the teleconference call details (phone number and access code), send an email to pearlsongconversations @ pearlsong.com. The call details will be automatically emailed to you. There is no cost for participating in the teleconference call, other than any long distance toll charges that might apply.

Pearlsong Conversations are monthly free teleconference calls in which Dr. Elam chats with a Pearlsong author and fans. If time and technology permit, participants/callers can ask questions and join in the conversation. Questions can also be emailed before the event to Dr. Elam at peggyelam @ pearlsong.com (Please put "Pearlsong Conversation question" as the subject of your email.)

Each teleconference is recorded and the recording made availale for listening online or downloading at the Pearlsong Press website after the call. See the Pearlsong Conversations webpage or the Pearlsong Conversations category of this blog for links to archived recordings of previous Conversations.

Update 6-10-2009: Listen to and/or download the 50-minute mp3 recording of the Pearlsong Conversation with Rebecca Fox & William Sherman by clicking here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

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.

A Conversation with Charlie Lovett, author of The Program

In today's Pearlsong Conversation, Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. chatted with author Charlie Lovett about his suspense novel The Program and the writing process

Listen to and/or download the 28-minute mp3 recording of the Conversation clicking here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Charlie Lovett is writer-in-residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC. His plays for children have been seen in over 1,000 productions in all 50 states and 5 foreign countries. He is the author of 11 previous books, including the acclaimed memoir Love, Ruth. The Program is his first novel.

A new weight loss clinic in New York City has an offer for you -- give them $5,000 and they'll make you as thin as a supermodel. You can eat whatever you want and you'll never gain an ounce. Tempted? Fledgling journalist Karen Sumner would be -- if only she had $5,000.

When Karen finally walks through the blue and gold doors of The Program, she's on the trail of the hottest story of her career. If she and her friends are right, The Program is doing something even worse than creating an army of unnaturally thin women.

Will they be able to stop The Program in time?

For more info on Pearlsong Conversations and links to the mp3 recordings of past Conversations with authors Frannie Zellman (FatLand), Pat Ballard [10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are)] & Linda Wisniewski {Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage), click here. Or click on the "Pearlsong Conversations" category in the lefthand colum of this blog.

The free teleconference calls are held on the second Wednesday of the month, beginning at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central. The May 2009 Conversation will feature the Fat Poets' Society, authors of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society.

Join a Pearlsong Conversation with author Charlie Lovett Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Update 4-8-2009: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of the Conversation with Charlie Lovett by clicking here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Join Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. in a free teleconference call Wednesday, April 8, 2009 for a Conversation with Charlie Lovett, author of the chick-lit-meets-Stephen King thriller The Program.

Charlie Lovett is writer-in-residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC. His plays for children have been seen in over 1,000 productions in all 50 states and 5 foreign countries. He is the author of 11 previous books, including the acclaimed memoir Love, Ruth. The Program is his first novel.

The hour-long teleconference will start at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central. For call-in details (teleconference phone number & access code), send an email to pearlsongconversations@pearlsong.com. You will receive an automated response with the phone number and access code for the call. There is no charge for the call, other than any long distance toll that your phone service might apply.

A new weight loss clinic in New York City has an offer for you -- give them $5,000 and they'll make you as thin as a supermodel. You can eat whatever you want and you'll never gain an ounce. Tempted? Fledgling journalist Karen Sumner would be -- if only she had $5,000.

When Karen finally walks through the blue and gold doors of The Program, she's on the trail of the hottest story of her career. If she and her friends are right, The Program is doing something even worse than creating an army of unnaturally thin women.

Will they be able to stop The Program in time?

Join us in chatting with Charlie Lovett next Wednesday!

For more info on Pearlsong Conversations and links to the mp3 recordings of past Conversations with authors Frannie Zellman (FatLand), Pat Ballard [10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are)] & Linda Wisniewski {Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage), click here. Or click on the "Pearlsong Conversations" category in the lefthand colum of this blog.

Pat Ballard is featured guest on Health At Every Size radio show

Pat Ballard, the Queen of Rubenesque Romances and author of the nonfiction self-help book 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are), was a guest on Radio Free Nashville's Health At Every Size show this morning. Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D. hosts the show.

Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of the show here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

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.

Photos from the Southern Festival of Books 2008

Pat Ballard, Peggy Elam, and Bunkie Lynn staffed the Pearlsong Press booth at the Southern Festival of Books Oct. 10-12, 2008. Anne Richardson Williams assisted in the booth on Friday afternoon while the trio were presenting "Tell Me Why I Should Love My Body" on the Festival schedule. (To listen to and/or download mp3 recordings of their presentation, click here.)

The Festival was held at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville. The weekend was sunny and warm -- hot enough that the group stashed the booth's freebie chocolate in a basket instead of including it in their giveaway "swag bags" (which contained flyers, postcards, bookmarks, and a "Queen of Rubenesque Romances" pen).

Here's Bunkie & Pat in the booth...

 

.....Peggy & Pat.....

...and a closeup of the booth displays.

Charlie Lovett, author of The Program, also stopped by the booth after his Saturday morning reading & discussion at the Festival. (Click here to listen to/download an mp3 recording of his portion of the "Paths to Perfection" session on the Festival's schedule.)

Pat Ballard, Peggy Elam & Bunkie Lynn tell you why you should love your body (Southern Festival of Books 2008)

Pearlsong Press publisher Peggy Elam, Ph.D., 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Your Size) author Pat Ballard and Bunkie Lynn, author of The Big Girls' Guide to Life, gave a body-positive presentation at the Southern Festival of Books last Friday.

(That's Elam on the right, Lynn on the left and Ballard in the middle in their publicity photo for the Festival. They're wearing T-shirts from the Love Your Body Project website.)

The Oct. 10, 2008 "Tell Me Why I Should Love My Body" session was led off by humorist Lynn, followed by psychologist Elam and the Queen of Rubenesque Romances, Ballard. Listen to and/or download mp3 recordings of the trio's presentation below. (Click on the links to listen online, or right click on the links and "save as" to download.)

Bunkie Lynn's intro
Peggy Elam's talk
Pat Ballard's talk
Closing chat with attendees

The trio staffed the Pearlsong Press booth at the Festival all weekend, handing out chocolate and "swag bags" and selling books, prints, and beaded bookmarks. (Click here for a blog post with photos of the Festival & booth.)

Lynn, Ballard & Elam have also started a body-positive "Love Your Body Blog."