October was SISTERS month!

It's a bit of a shock to realize that October is nearly over—we had so many amazing events, projects, and of course the Ashfield Fall Festival, that we barely had time to take a breath. We couldn't have done it without the support of Florence Savings Bank, The Art Angels, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and our wonderful supporters, volunteers, and fans!

At Fall Festical, we had our usual spot next to Gray's Sugar House fried dough stand—books and sweets are such a fantastic combination. And we also had a booth on the village green, with the Ashfield History Project. We invited people to tell their own SISTERS stories on camera, and have their pictures taken as the cover of SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY! Such a wonderful array of stories, from young and old, men and women—we'll post them to the Paris Press channel on YouTube in the coming weeks and hope you'll check them out!

Writer and SISTERS contributor Ana Maria Jomolca ("Twin Bed") came to the Pioneer Valley for three SISTERS celebrations for young adults. The first was a reading and poetry workshop at Holyoke's Girls Inc, a nonprofit organization that empowers girls through academic achievement and community service. The next day, Ana Maria read "Twin Bed" at the Holyoke Care Center, an alternative education program for pregnant and parenting teens. The girls were part of a spirited discussion about the nature of family and secrets. The day ended with a reading at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School, in South Hadley, featuring songs by students as well as Ana Maria's story.

The following Wednesday, Jan and Emily were invited to the Hampshire County Smith Club's book group, which was reading SISTERS. It was a packed house (17 members!) and a great opportunity to talk about the book with readers. Getting to hear other people's opinions, and to share our own experience with choosing the stories and poems, and publishing the book, was such a treat! Many many thanks to Georgia for hosting and Lissa for inviting us to join them. (For more information about using SISTERS or any Paris Press book for your book group, email us at info@parispress.org)

October ended with a reading at the Amherst Senior Center last Friday, featuring state representative Ellen Story, Young-At-Heart Chorus member Shirley Stevens, and PVPA drama teacher Irene Thornton reading stories, poems, and essays from SISTERS. It was an extraordinary afternoon—made even brighter by the sisters-dresses cookies donated by Henion Bakery!

As the month came to a close, we began expanding our SISTERS Story project, and getting to work on a book for 2011! Stay tuned for videos, pics, and more details to come!