Read Lois Weber: More than a Writer-Director She’s the Auteur Activist of Early Cinema
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On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch
Writing, Film, Television and More!
Women Making History Series now in Paperback!
I’m excited to announce that the book series I co-edit with my dear friend and colleague Peg Lamphier – Women Making History – are now available in paperback which makes the books more affordable for birthday and holiday gift-buying!
Our original publisher – ABC-Clio – (who published our award-winning Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]) mostly sold to libraries, so hardbacks were the way to go, but Bloomsbury recently purchased them. That means ALL our previous biographies are now in paperback. That makes them much more affordable to our friends and colleagues.
The even cooler first news is that in the last few weeks 2 more of the biographies we shepherded saw publication – one on Dolores Huerta and the other on Sally Ride — so congratulations to authors April Tellez and Jackie Perez! And these 2 new ones will be in paperback about 18-24 months after release.
Here is the email blast Bloomsbury sent out to their list of 20,000 School librarians, 10,000 Academic librarians, and 9,000 public librarians for Women’s History Month:
That means our earlier co-written books: American Women’s History on Film and The Civil War on Film are also in paperback!
But never forget even in hardback it’s worth reminding folks to ask their local libraries to stock a copy so everyone in the neighborhood can read about these accomplished women.
Finally, we have 3 more books in the works right now on Bessie Coleman, Maria Tallchief, and Frida Kahlo with a few more in the works.
Born just 4 years after the end of the Civil War in Boonville, Missouri, the scripts Julia Crawford Ivers wrote (and sometimes directed) often tackled issues of prejudice. After the war, her family emigrated to Los Angeles. As with many female creatives in this era, Ivers used her screenplays to highlight women’s issues from forced marriage to domestic abuse to prejudice.
Read Julia Crawford Ivers: From Rich Widow to Writer-Director
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Born on Christmas Day in 1876 in Massachusetts, Dix and her family lived in various cities around the historic state until she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to study English and History at Radcliffe College. There she became the first female to be granted the Sohier Literary Prize, for the best thesis of a Harvard or Radcliffe student. From there it seemed a quick move into the world of writing.
Dix began with books about her favorite subject – the history that surrounded her in Massachusetts. In 1899, at the age of 23, she published Soldier Rigdale: How He Sailed in the Mayflower and How He Served Miles Standish. Her first play, A Rose of Plymouth Town ran for a month in 1902, followed by The Road to Yesterday, which ran for 8 months in 1907. Altogether Dix wrote 18 books and 5 plays before moving into the new world of film.
Read Meet Beulah Marie Dix: Award-Winning Scholar and Anti-War Novelist Turned Screenwriter
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The surname DeMille (or de Mille) brings up thoughts of the famous line from Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler’s Sunset Boulevard “Mr. de Mille, I’m ready for my close up” which references silent screen director Cecil. Perhaps people remember his brother, William, who started as a playwright and became a Hollywood director and joined 3rd wife Clara Beranger in founding the film school at the University of Southern California. And sometimes the surname conjures of memories of Tony Award-winning choreographer Agnes de Mille (daughter of William/granddaughter of Beatrice). From now on it should bring up the writer, producer and mentor who worked frequently in both Broadway and Hollywood – Beatrice DeMille. (From here on out we will call her Beatrice to avoid confusion).
Read Writer, Producer, Agent, and Mentor (And Mom to the DeMille Boys)
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Save 35% on McFarland Books – One of My Publishers is offering a 35% Discount on Their Catalog This Week!
Along with your other holiday shopping over this Thanksgiving weekend, I’m happy to pass along this lovely discount from McFarland Publishing, the fine folks who published two of my favorite books:
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
AND
When Women Wrote Hollywood: Essays on Female Screenwriters in the Early Film Industry
Direct from the McFarland site, From now through December 2, they are offering a full 35% off ALL of their titles with coupon code HOLIDAY24 at checkout.
See the entire McFarland Catalog
You can buy one of my books — or any other cool pop culture book you find — for yourself or anyone else on your gift list this year.
Happy Holidays!
I always say I could talk about The Monkees all day – or at least for an hour, which is what I just had the privilege of doing with Joe Russo of The Monkees Pad on YouTube.
It’s especially fun to talk with folks like Joe, who know The Monkees so well – both the music and the TV show, which is more my specialty. We covered how the show got on the air (thanks to a young Grant Tinker), how so many of their counter-culture jokes made it past the censor, and why the fandom keeps growing across the generations.
If you love The Monkees individually or as a group, and if you love the TV of the 1960s, I hope you enjoy the listen.
Get Why The Monkees Matter” Today!
Available in Print and Kindle Versions
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