The Power and Progress of Women's Voices
International Women's Day Event

We welcome authors Joan Gelfand, Jia Ling Wang, Salumeh Eslamieh, Sheila Smith McKoy, and Christina Vo in conversation with Women’s National Book Association president Elise Marie Collins, in a celebration of women writers, artists, and changemakers for International Women’s Day. By centering women’s lives - socially, politically, and historically - in their work, these authors faithfully capture the diverse spectrum of women’s stories and perspectives. The panelists will also speak to their own experiences in the field of writing and publishing.

This event is co-sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter.

March is Women's History Month, and Mechanics' Institute will be honoring and uplifting the legacy of women writers, filmmakers, and creatives. Join us in conversation with Katherine Turk and Deirdre English on Turk's new book, The Women of NOW: How Feminists Built an Organization that Transformed America, on March 14 - learn more here. 

March CinemaLit will feature Women's Screenwriters and Directors on Women's Lives. Join us for Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993), Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia (2009), Lulu Wang’s The Farewell (2018), Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland (2020), and Sarah Polley’s Women Talking (2022).

About Our Guests:

Jia Ling Wang (Karen Wang Diggs) is a certified nutritionist, chef, and entrepreneur by day. By night, she reads, writes, and dreams. She is also a history hound keenly interested in the never-ending struggles of girls, women, and anyone who identifies as female. With a keen awareness of history's patriarchal dominance and the suppression of female voices and achievements, Jia Ling is on a mission. Her sincere hope is that her writing serves as a source of inspiration and enrichment for everyone, contributing to greater gender equality, social justice, and harmony in these challenging times.

Salumeh Eslamieh received her MA in literature and has been a professor of English since 2005 and most recently, Creative Writing. Always inspired to write based on the world around her, a girl on the bus became the subject of one of her short stories, and that short story turned into the first chapter of her novel, Children of a Revolution, a multigenerational family saga that brings together her study of Postcolonial literature with stories she grew up with about the Iranian Revolution. Publication of her short story about the girl on the bus, A Pair of Candelabras, is forthcoming in the 3rd edition of the Women’s National Book Association Anthology.

Joan Gelfand's debut memoir, Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution, was published in January 2024 (Post Hill Press). The book chronicles second wave feminism as it grew into a national movement. Berkeley, where Joan lived amongst a community of writers, artists, and musicians was ground zero for some of the movements we are focused on today-Black Lives Matter and metoo. Joan is the author of three volumes of poetry, an award-winning chapbook of short fiction, and a novel, Extreme, which was a finalist in the International Book Awards. Her poem about Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the basis for a film, The Ferlinghetti School of Poetics, which was featured in over twenty international film festivals. A beloved teacher and mentor, Joan is President Emeritus of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her guide You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C’s Approach to Author Success is an Amazon #1 bestseller. Joan holds a BA from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Adam Hertz.

Sheila Smith McKoy, PHD is award-winning poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker. Her full-length poetry collection, The Bones Beneath is a haunting new work from Black Lawrence Press. In addition to her poetry and fiction, Smith McKoy has authored and edited numerous scholarly works. Her books include the seminal text in understanding white race riots, When Whites Riot: Writing Race and Violence in American and South African Cultures. She is co-editor of Recovering the African Feminine Divine in Literature, the Arts, and Performing Arts: Yemonja Awakening (2020), and editor of The Elizabeth Keckley Reader: Writing Self, Writing Nation (2016) and The Elizabeth Keckley Reader: Artistry, Culture and Commerce (2017). Smith McKoy has also written, produced, directed or served as executive producer for four documentary films.

Christina Vo is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work reflects her commitment to understanding and sharing the complexities of the human experience. Christina's debut memoir, The Veil Between Two Worlds: A Memoir of Silence, Loss, and Finding Home, demonstrates her ability to weave personal experiences into broader narratives about identity, home, and belonging. Her second book, My Vietnam, Your Vietnam, an intergenerational memoir co-written with her father, will be published in April 2024 and was recently selected for the Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024. She has worked internationally for UNICEF in Vietnam, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, as well served as a consultant for nonprofits.