This event will be conducted via Zoom. Register and you will be emailed the Zoom credentials.
Join Mechanics' Institute for a discussion on the value of writing retreats with Matthew Félix and Janis Cooke Newman. This event will be moderated by Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte.
Matthew Félix is an author, certified life coach, speaker, and podcaster, including former Program Director and Host of the San Francisco Writers Conference podcast. Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Prize called his debut novel, A Voice Beyond Reason, “(a) highly crafted gem;” his travel collection, With Open Arms, topped Amazon's Africa category and its Morocco one four times; and his latest book, Porcelain Travels, won Readers’ Favorite Awards Gold for Humor and was a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award finalist. Matthew also edits, designs, publishes, and markets books for other authors.
Janis Cooke Newman is the author of two novels, A Master Plan for Rescue, which was a SF Chronicle Best Book of the Year, and Mary, which was an LA Time Book Prize Finalist, as well as USA Today's Historical Novel of the Year. She is also the author of a memoir, The Russian Word for Snow, which has been translated into several languages. Newman is the founder of LitCamp, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting writers and helping them find community. She is also the founder of Page Street, co-working spaces for writers in both San Francisco and Berkeley. In addition, she developed the online platform for writers, Creative Caffeine Daily.
Award-winning author and Pushcart Prize nominee Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte is an Oakland multidisciplinary writer whose autobiographical and fictional short story collections, along with her lyrical and stunning poetry, artfully succeed in getting across deeper meanings about the politics of race and economics without breaking out of the narrative. Her writing has been variously described as “rich in vivid imagery,” “incredible,” and “great contributions to literature.” Her first novel, Betrayal on the Bayou, was published in June 2020 and a poetry collection she has written with her daughter Dr. Angela M. Boutte, titled No Poetry No Peace™, was published in August 2020 and is the namesake of the No Poetry No Peace™ series at the Mechanics Institute of San Francisco. Her in progress novel first chapter, “The Burden Keeper,” was the 2021 fiction category winner for the San Francisco Writers Conference writing contest anthology. An inaugural Oakland Poet Laureate runner-up, she is also a popular, teacher, literary reader, presenter, storyteller, curator, and emcee/host for literary and poetry events. Find out more at www.sheryljbize-boutte.com/
Writers' Lunch is a casual and virtual brown-bag lunch activity on the 3rd Friday of each month. Look forward to craft discussion, informal presentations on all forms of writing, and excellent conversation.
Join us, share, and learn!
Writers' Groups
Future Writers' Groups
Apr 17 - 3:00 pm
Non-Fiction Writers' Group
Recruiting writers who are Mechanics' Institute members. If you wish to join this group, email Nico Chen at [email protected] with a brief description of your writing background and areas of interest in non-fiction.
