Happy December, Bookwomen! ❄️🎿
Can it possibly be true that 2025 is already coming to an end? If I close my eyes, I can still picture myself lying on an Esplanade dock savoring June's warm summer sun. But alas, my wind-burned cheeks and partnerless glove tell a more realistic story. Luckily, 2025 was a great year to be a WNBA Boston member! We hosted panels featuring local bookstore owners, renowned authors, seasoned literary agents, and more. We even collaborated with Emerson College and the Boston Comic Arts Foundation. Scroll down to see more details about this year's awesome events in our WNBA Wrapped (yes, we are just as cool as Spotify).
One of the greatest gifts we could ask for this holiday season, we have already received: an updated WNBA Boston website! Take a few minutes to look around the new pages; we think you'll like what you see! Read more details below about how this website came to fruition and what resources you can find there, including our new user-friendly membership form.
Looking into the new year, it's important to celebrate all the achievements that made this year special, both big (like our new website) and small victories. Maybe you finished the first draft of a novel, started maxing out your library holds, or joined a book club. For me, one of my greatest accomplishments was reading 38 books this year (can I possibly squeeze in one more?)! As a full-time graduate student with a part-time job and internship, this was no small feat! My top three books of the year (if I have to choose) are Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall, We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman, and We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry. Besides the amazing books published by WNBA Boston members this year, next on my list is a 2025 Great Group Reads pick, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, which I vow to finish before our virtual Q&A session with her on February 10th. Register here if you're interested!
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season full of reading under warm blankets, wearing cozy socks, and eating whatever sweet treat you want without explanation. I can't wait to see all the amazing events WNBA Boston is hosting in  2026 to bring this literary community even closer. Pardon the cliche, but: see you next year!
Probably eating a chocolate chip cookie somewhere,
Lizzy DiGrande
Communications Chair, WNBA 💓
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We have some exciting news...
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Remember when we said our old website wasn't super user-friendly and perhaps clunky at best? Well, say goodbye to membership sign-up issues!
🎉OUR NEW WNBA BOSTON WEBSITE IS HERE! 🎉
In collaboration with the tireless creativity of President Deborah Norkin, a professional website designer helped create our new home on Squarespace.
On our new website, you can find info about our chapter and board members, important dates for previous and upcoming events, and even past newsletters! But most importantly, you can find the official member sign-up form as well as a list of membership benefits! Remember, our membership period runs from June 1st through May 31st, but you can sign up at any time. (Psst, students and retirees even get discounted rates!)
We hope all the hard work that went into crafting a new website will make your interactions with WNBA Boston more enjoyable and accessible. If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions for new events, reach out to us at boston@wnba-books.org!
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WNBA Wrapped🎶:
A Look Back At Our 2025 Events📚
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January: Are You Query Curious?
This event was such a hit, we decided to repeat it in 2026! Our membership is full of talented authors, readers, and agents, but many still have questions about how the query process works. This virtual session featured a Q&A with 3 seasoned literary agents, including Jessica Sinsheimer, Jim McCarthy, and Pam Gruber.
February: Celebrating Great Group Reads Authors
In this virtual event, we were joined by two Great Group Reads authors, Marjan Kamali for her much-loved The Lion Women of Tehran, and Simon Van Booy for the acclaimed Sipsworth. In a fascinating Q&A that discussed how the authors initially found inspiration for their stories, their revision and publication experience, and more, this event was a fan favorite.
March: Comics Publishing Today
Hosted in the central branch of the Boston Public Library, many gathered for this free event, discussing the state of the comics publishing industry today. Co-sponsored by both WNBA Boston and the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, the conversation was moderated by Brigid Alverson and featured the following panelists: Stephanie Pando, Morgana Santili, Weslie Turner, Chris Kerr, and Cassandra Jones.
May: The Bookstore as a Community Space
In the past few years, Boston has welcomed several new bookstores. Our panelists, from three of these stores, discussed how the stores came to be, how they serve their communities, who they hope to reach, and how authors and publishers work with bookstores to further their goals. Our panel includes: moderator, Perpetua Cannistraro, Publicist at Beacon Press & WNBA-Boston Publishing Chair; and panelists: Christina Pascucci-Ciampa, Owner, All She Wrote Books; Franchesca Viaud, Store Manager, Just Book-ish; and Kayla Januchowski, General Manager, Lovestruck Books.
September: Women Writers History Trivia Night
 Hosted at All She Wrote Books in Somerville, members challenged their knowledge of the most famous feminist and LGBTQIA Boston authors ... and some of the less famous ones, too. For fun, some Boston women authors from the 19th Century were mixed in—were they feminists and/or queer too?—plus a few non-Bostonians.
October: Making Literary Community: A Publishing Community Event with Emerson College
 In today’s literary world, community among writers, readers, booksellers, and publishing professionals is so valuable to us, yet it can sometimes feel so elusive. How do we find that community? Where do we start? What does it really take to foster a strong literary community in 2025? Our panel featured Crystal King, Kathleen Schmidt, Jackson Howard, Brianna Perkins, Jenna Blum, and Perpetua Canistraro.
November: The Rise of Literary Speculative Fiction
Most readers have heard of the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and magical realism—but have you heard of “speculative fiction”? It’s an umbrella term that describes stories of all genres that go beyond the ordinary or realistic. Why are writers gravitating toward the speculative? And why do readers find these stories so irresistible? Answering these questions and more, our panel featured Tina Zhu, Alex Land, and Lilia Zhang.
December: Virtual Member/Author Book Party
To celebrate the many wonderful authors in our membership, we hosted a Zoom event featuring a few of them to showcase their work and connect with readers and writers. Each participating member/author had time to share their work, including Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, Lisa Borders, Anne Goldman, Jessica Maffetore, JoeAnn Hart, Lisa Braxton, Alexandra Grabbe, Betsy Small, Janis Robinson Daly, Virginia Pye, and Kathleen Stone!
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And coming in the new year...
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Whether you're ready to submit your query letter or just wondering how it all works, join us with literary agents
Sarah Younger, Lauren Scovel, and Jessica Felleman!
This virtual event is free to WNBA Boston members!
For non-members, there is a $25 attendance fee. After signing up for tickets HERE, please fill out this form for your query and/or log line to go into the queue to be read and evaluated at our Agent Query night. We will accept a maximum of 20 submissions. Please note that we will try to address as many queries as possible during the event, but we may not be able to read them all.
Meet our agents!
 Lauren Scovel grew up outside of Seattle and graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing as well as Theatre Studies. She began her publishing career as an editorial intern at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth (now part of Aevitas Creative Management). Lauren’s editorial work can be seen at The Millions and Pangyrus. She also worked as an indie bookseller for several years.
Lauren is looking to amplify underrepresented stories and voices, and is especially interested in literary and upmarket-crossover fiction, narrative nonfiction, and contemporary children’s books (middle grade and young adult) with a timely, distinctive story, propulsive plot, and diverse cast of characters.
Sarah Younger, Executive Agent at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency,  began her career in publishing at Press53 in Winston-Salem, N.C., after receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She later attended the University of Denver's graduate publishing program, where, upon completion, she moved to New York City.
Sarah joined the Nancy Yost Literary Agency in the fall of 2011 and has since cultivated a diverse and talented list of authors, including a variety of commercial fiction best-sellers and very select non-fiction titles.
Jessica Felleman [she/her] is a literary agent with the Jennifer Lyons  Literary Agency, where she represents a range of authors, from experts writing prescriptive nonfiction and critical memoirs, to novelists writing speculative literary fiction, commercial and upmarket women’s fiction, and YA science fiction & fantasy. Jessica has an MFA in Writing from CalArts, and her debut novel LAST KISS OF SUMMER is forthcoming from Putnam Young Readers. She's currently most interested in fiction that blends genres or gets weird, and looks for work that features underserved voices, unforgettable places, and complicated relationships.
Register here and submit your query here!
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Celebrate the 2025 Great Groups Read List!
February 10, 2026: 7 PM EST via Zoom
Join us virtually to celebrate the books selected for this year’s GGR list! We’ll chat with Virginia Evans, author of The Correspondent, and Nanda Reddy, author of
A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl.
Admission is free but register here!
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Want more info about pitches?
Check out this event from another chapter...
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WNBA San Francisco Hosts:
📖 Pitch Clinic 🖋️
with Brenda Knight & Debra Eckerling
December 22nd & January 9th via Zoom
Perfect your book pitch with expert guidance!
In this interactive Pitch Clinic, publisher Brenda Knight (Books that Save Lives) and book proposal strategist Debra Eckerling (TheBookProposalExpert.com) team up to help authors refine and strengthen their pitches in real time. Whether you’re preparing for a conference, a meeting with an agent or publisher, or an email submission, this session will give you the tools and confidence to make your pitch stand out.
 Brenda Knight, Publisher, Books That Save Lives, and President of WNBA-SF Chapter, is a longtime publisher and industry veteran who draws on decades of experience acquiring and publishing bestselling and award-winning titles. She offers an insider perspective on what agents and publishers are really looking for — and what makes a pitch irresistible. Starting at HarperCollins, she worked with luminaries like Paulo Coelho, Deepak Chopra, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, honing her editorial expertise. In 2015, she was named IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year for her innovative leadership. Knight authored Random Acts of Kindness, Badass Affirmations (selling over 500,000 copies), and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. As founder of Books That Save Lives, she champions inspirational nonfiction. Visit her work at BooksThatSaveLives.net and connect with Brenda on LinkedIn.
 Debra Eckerling, TheBookProposalExpert.com, brings her talent for helping writers clarify their ideas, define their audience, and communicate their book’s value with confidence. The author of Your Goal Guide and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting, Debra helps writers, entrepreneurs, and consultants turn their compelling book concepts into strong, strategic proposals that sell. Debra also hosts The Book Proposal Podcast and Book Proposals Simplified on Substack. She is also a regular contributor to and speaker for WritersDigest.com. Learn more at TheBookProposalExpert.com and connect with Debra on LinkedIn.
How It Works
Pitch Clinic sessions are 30 minutes long and take place on the second Friday of each month (2–4 PM PT) and the fourth Monday of each month (12–2 PM PT).
During your 30-minute slot, you’ll pitch your project and receive live, personalized feedback from both Brenda and Debra. Afterward, you’ll receive a recording and transcript of your session to review and continue refining your pitch. The cost is $95 for members of the Women’s National Book Association and $145 for non-members. A portion of the proceeds supports the WNBA–San Francisco Chapter.
How to Sign Up
To reserve your Pitch Clinic spot:
Choose a time: https://calendly.com/pitchclinicbooks/
Submit payment via PayPal using one of these links:
a. Members: $95
b. Non-Members: $145
Receive the Zoom link
The upcoming time slots are on December 22nd and January 9th via Zoom.
For questions or to reserve your Pitch Clinic spot, email deb@thebookproposalexpert.com.
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The WNBA is sponsoring a new writing conference coming to Cambridge this January!
TBR is a new writing and publishing conference coming to Cambridge, and WNBA Boston is thrilled to be a sponsor! It’s an all-day event on January 17, 2026. There will be 30 different sessions on writing and publishing, with a party at the end of the day to celebrate all things literary.
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From Member Anjali Mitter Duva:
Galiot Press, the publishing house I co-founded with Henriette Lazaridis, is excited to have launched our very first book, SEX OF THE MIDWEST, by Robyn Ryle, a novel-in-stories that has garnered a Kirkus starred review and coverage by The Washington Post and NPR. And our second book, mystery/thriller SWALLOWTAIL by local author Emily Ross, came out on November 18. Both are available for sale directly through Galiot Press, which means the authors (and the publisher) get a greater share of the revenue. Books are also available for order in bookstores and online stores, and libraries. There are many, many people in the WNBA community and the general Boston literary community who have been wonderful supporters of our new press!
From Member Virginia Pye:
My next novel, MARRIAGE AND OTHER MONUMENTS (description below), launches at  Belmont Books on February 10th, where I'll be in conversation with Laura Zigman. Or join me at Wellesley Books on February 26th or Book Ends Winchester on March 12th. Hope to see WNBA friends at one of these!
In the summer of 2020, as social justice protests and the removal of Confederate monuments rock the city of Richmond, Virginia, the marriages of two estranged sisters also implode, eventually bringing them closer, while their husbands conspire in a racial reckoning their ancestors would never have dreamed of. Marriage and Other Monuments also shows how secrets within a marriage erode trust, and that for couples to evolve, they must be true to who they are as individuals and as members of an imperfect society.
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Be featured in a WNBA-Boston newsletter!
Are you an author with an upcoming release or have exciting literary news to share? We want to let the membership know about it! Fill out this form, and we'll be sure to include the details in a future newsletter.
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Subscribe to the Bookwoman Newsletter
for news from WNBA National and
information about other chapter events!
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Deborah Norkin, PresidentAnnie Stone, Past President
Kelsey Costa, Programs Chair Manager
Taylor McTootle, C.H. Barron, Robin Van Impe, Laurie Hillburn, Program Chairs
Lizzy DiGrande and Kay Rollins, Communications Chairs
Rebecca Blanchfield, Treasurer
Nicole Angeloro, Membership Chair
Lisa Paige, Recording Secretary
Alejandra Loperena and Keera Lydon, Outreach Chairs
Anne Gray, Partnership Chair
Perpetua Cannistraro, Publishing Industry Chair
Lauren Tiedemann, Board Member at Large
Virginia Pye, Board Member at Large
Morgan Hillman, Board Member at Large
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