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!

SISTERS at the UConn Co-op!

It's fall, and that means the beginning of some fabulous SISTERS CELEBRATIONS! First up, Tuesday, September 28 at The UConn Co-op, featuring readings by Catherine Chung, Lisa Starr, Davyne Verstandig, and Emily Wojcik. Reading begins at 6:30pm.

Catherine Chung, a contributor to SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY, recently completed her first novel, Forgotten Country, forthcoming from Riverhead Books. Named a “New Voice” by Granta in April 2010, she lives in New York City.

Lisa Starr is Poet Laureate of Rhode Island, as well as an... inn-keeper and teacher. The author of three books, Starr is the founder and director of the Block Island Poetry Project. She is owner and operator of the Hygeia House, a 10-room inn on Block Island.

Davyne Verstandig is a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the UConn Torrington Campus, and director of the Litchfield County Writers Project. She has published two books of poetry, and has performed at libraries, galleries and performances spaces throughout New England and in New York City. She is currently working on a memoir and a novel.

Emily Wojcik is completing a PhD at the University of Connecticut, where she teaches in the English department. She is the assistant editor of Paris Press and co-editor of SISTERS.

SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY includes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that capture the unique and profound relationship between sisters. Writers include Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, Edwidge Danticat, Alice Walker, Joan Baez, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Mary Karr, Grace Paley, Wendy Wasserstein, Maxine Kumin, Rita Dove, Dorothy Parker, M.F.K. Fisher, and many other contemporary and modern acclaimed and emerging writers. Visit www.parispress.org and sistersananthology.blogspot.com for more information about the Anthology.

Chilmark Library: A Perfect Summer Evening!

Here in Ashfield, it may still be August, but the trees are turning orange, and the nights are beginning to dip down to 50 degrees. While we might normally be sad, we've had such a wonderful summer—and are planning a fantastic fall—that we can't help looking forward to the changing of the seasons. 

Our SISTERS celebration at Chilmark Library, on Martha’s Vineyard, was an incredible experience. We had fantastic readers, which was, of course, what made the evening so magical. Many many thanks to cookbook author Jessica Harris, who’s new book High on the Hog hits stores in January; psychologist and novelist Carol Gilligan; and the inimitable Rose Styron, poet and human rights activist, for an incredible evening. Thanks, too, to the Chilmark Library staff, especially Ebba Hierta, who put in a 12-hour day and still somehow managed to be amazingly cheerful and helpful throughout! 

Yet again, the reading was full to overflowing. Ebba actually had to turn people away at the door! Luckily, PlumTV and MVTV caught the whole reading on tape, and interviewed the readers and Jan, for those who missed it. We’ll post the link as soon as we get it. Jan started the reading, which was dedicated to the memory of Marcy Slater, with two poems from SISTERS: “sisters,” by the late great Lucille Clifton, and “Two Years” by Muriel Rukeyser. Jessica Harris followed with a deeply moving, funny reading of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”—a meditation on roots, separation, and family history. Carol read several poems, including Maxine Kumin’s “The Last Good War,” “Sweet Dreams” by Joyce Armor, “A Family Resemblance” by Audre Lorde, and “I Needed to Talk to My Sister” by Grace Paley, before finishing with Joan Baez’s charming excerpt from Daybreak. Rose brought the reading to a happy close with Dorothy Parker’s arch and heartbreaking “Letter to Helen Rothschild Droste.” 

Afterward, the readers mingled with audience members and PlumTV’s intrepid reporter conducted interviews. Then a private post-reading dinner at the home of a Press supporter, and the day was over! It went by in a flash. We are so grateful to Ebba Hierta and everyone at Chilmark Library; to Jessica Harris, Carol Gilligan, and Rose Styron; to Bruce and Anne Slater; and to everyone who came out to support Paris Press! 

As summer turns to fall, we’re gearing up for great events around the Pioneer Valley, thanks to a generous grant from the western Massachusetts-based foundation, the Art Angels, as well as a late-September reading at the UConn Co-op, with Catherine Chung (”Hannah”), co-editor Emily Wojcik, poet and director of the Litchfield Writer’s Project Davyne Verstandig, and Lisa Starr, Poet Laureate of Rhode Island! More details to follow soon!

McNally Jackson—Great Store, Great SISTERS Celebration!

There are some events that involve a lot of stress and hustle, and then there are some that just go beautifully from beginning to end. Our SISTERS Celebration at the wonderful independent bookstore, McNally Jackson Books in NYC, was a dream from beginning to end. We are so grateful to Dustin Kurtz, who took great care of us while the reading was happening and let us store everything afterward—we couldn't have done it without him!

The reading was packed! We actually ran out of chairs, and people were standing in the aisles of the store. Audience members came from all over the city came to hear Catherine Chung, Ana Maria Jomolca, and Myra Shapiro read their work from SISTERS. Editor Jan Freeman kicked off the reading, which was dedicated to the memory of Rhonda Copelon, a lifelong fighter for women and women's rights, with Joan Baez's excerpt from Daybreak and Muriel Rukeyser's poem "Two Years."

Cathy followed with her heartbreaking and beautiful story, "Hannah," leaving people visibly moved, and Myra's reading of her own poem and those of Lucille Clifton, Joyce Armor, and Grace Paley was powerful and restorative. Ana Maria's amazing comic performance of "Twin Bed" was the perfect end to the night: funny, energetic, and emotionally charged.

Afterward, the three editors—Jan, Deborah Bull, and Emily Wojcik—mingled with the writers and audience members, answering questions about the anthology and the Press. It was such a thrill to meet our readers, to be able to talk about this oft-neglected subject, and to sign books for fans! Perhaps best of all, the NYC audience got the chance to sample the famous SISTERS macaroons, made by Lisa Newman.

All in all, the McNally Jackson celebration was a great success. We were thrilled to be able to have an event at such a wonderful store, and hope to return soon!

Our next SISTERS Celebration will be at the Chilmark Library on Martha's Vineyard, on July 14, at 5:30pm. We hope to see you there!

Celebrate SISTERS at McNally Jackson Books in NYC!

Paris Press is hosting a SISTERS Celebration at McNally Jackson Books, featuring SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY contributors Catherine Chung, Ana Maria Jomolca, and Myra Shapiro, and Jan Freeman, director of Paris Press and co-editor of SISTERS. Participants will read their work and more from SISTERS! Bring your sister, your friends, your sister-in-law, your daughters, nieces, cousins, neighbors! “The stories, poems, and memoirs in the new anthology Sisters call forth sweetness and light, fury and a fierce devotion.” —THE BOSTON GLOBE “Writers including Margaret Atwood and Alice Walker explore sisterhood in this intelligent collection.... The book makes clear that sisters don’t outgrow their bond… Once a sister, always one.” —PEOPLE MAGAZINE WHEN: Thursday, June 17, at 7 p.m. Free of charge!

WHERE: McNally Jackson Books 52 Prince Street (Between Mulberry and Lafayette), NYC WHO: Catherine Chung recently completed her first novel, Forgotten Country. Recently named a “New Voice” by Granta, she lives in New York City Ana Maria Jomolca is a Cuban-American writer, producer, and director. Her plays have appeared Off-Broadway and her film everygirl was screened at film festivals in New York City and Chicago. Her most recent play, Chiquitina, debuted in New York in 2009. Myra Shapiro is the author of I’ll See You Thursday, and a memoir, Four Sublets: Becoming a Writer in New York. Her poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry 1999 and 2003. She teaches at the International Women’s Writing Guild in New York City. Jan Freeman is director and founder of Paris Press, based in Ashfield, MA. She is one of the editors of SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY, and the author of three books of poetry: Simon Says, Hyena, Autumn Sequence, and a new manuscript, Blue Structure

Celebrate SISTERS at the Arts Center of the Capital Region!

Paris Press is hosting A SISTERS CELEBRATION at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, featuring Marion Roach Smith and Margaret Roach founders of The Sister Project; Jan Freeman, poet and director of Paris Press; and writer Catherine Chung, contributor to SISTERS. Participants will read from SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY, and the Roach sisters reading from their new prose collaboration.

Bring your sister, your friends, your sister-in-law, your daughters, nieces, cousins, and neighbors.

“The stories, poems, and memoirs in the new anthology Sisters call forth sweetness and light, fury and a fierce devotion.” —THE BOSTON GLOBE

“Writers including Margaret Atwood and Alice Walker explore sisterhood in this intelligent collection.... The book makes clear that sisters don’t outgrow their bond… Once a sister, always one.” —PEOPLE MAGAZINE

WHEN: Monday, March 15 at 7 p.m. Free of charge!

WHERE: The Arts Center of the Capital Region
265 River Street, Troy, NY 12180
(518) 273-0552 • www.artscenteronline.org

WHO:
Catherine Chung, a contributor to SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY, recently completed her first novel, Forgotten Country, which includes “Hannah.” She received her MFA from Cornell University and lives in NYC.

Marion Roach Smith is the author of The Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning and Sexual Power of Red Hair, Dead Reckoning, and Another Name for Madness. Formerly a staff writer for the New York Times, she is a commentator for “All Things Considered” and co-founder of The Sister Project.

Margaret Roach is an author, editor, and media consultant. Formerly the editorial director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she is now president of Margaret Roach Incorporated. She currently writes a series of blogs about gardening, sisters, and is collaborating on a book with her sister, Marion.

Jan Freeman is director and founder of Paris Press, based in Ashfield, MA, in the foothills of the Berkshires. She is one of the editors of SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY and the author of three books of poetry: Simon Says, Hyena, Autumn Sequence, and a new manuscript, Blue Structure.

An Amazing International Women's Day!

What a wonderful start to Women's History Month! First Katheryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars, and then Paris Press held an amazing lineup of events on Monday, March 8 (International Women's Day).

Paris Press is so grateful for and thrilled by the SISTERS "happenings" that took place at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA; at Porter Square Books in Cambridge; at Madame X in New York City; and on the Upper West Side of New York. With readings, songs, and music, these were a truly extraordinary way to celebrate International Women's Day, Women's History Month, and the contributors to, and subject of, SISTERS!

Special thanks to our hosts, who ensured that each celebration was a great success: Molly Boxer, Executive Director of the Berkshire Botanical Garden; Ellen Jarrett at Porter Square Books; Dan Schneider and the fabulous people at Madame X; and Nancy Freeman and Robi Akaret! Special thanks to Lisa Newman.

Paris Press is also grateful to our participants and readers, who brought new life to the pieces in the anthology and helped create memorable evenings: