After the standing room only success of their 2010 event writers, Ballard Writers present their second annual Book Slam on Friday, November 18, 2011.

Taking place at Sunset Hill Community Club, over 22 writers will have three minutes apiece to read/perform their work.

Book sales and signings will precede and follow the premiere event and the evening will also feature food and wine, as well as the opportunity to meet and mingle with award-winning and emerging authors.

Ballard’s infamous Mary Schile (Pie Queen, Ballard Historical Society President, RE/MAX Hall of Fame Inductee) will emcee the event.

Participating authors include Stephanie Kallos, whose first book was a “Today Show” Book Selection, Rona Jaffee Award Winner Alma Garcia, Iowa’s Young Adult Author of the Year Carl Deuker and an incredibly rich collection of local poets, playwrights, historians, fiction writers and cookbook authors.

Secret Garden Books will be selling books as well as authors who sell their work directly. There is no better way to support local authors and Ballard’s locally owned independent book store than by attending this event.

Last year’s Ballard Writers’ showcase created a new community within the Ballard neighborhood, linking writers with writers and readers with writers. Ballard Writers: Book Slam will be bigger, badder, better! From sommelier in a foul weather gear cocktail skirt (Fishes and Dishes Cookbook), Kate Lebo’s finest (The Common Place Book of Pie) Karoline Morrison’s showgirl hat collection (Twilight of the Blondes) to a taste of Jay Craig’s Scottish Buddhist Cookbook: a veritable literary smorgasbord.

The free community event will take place November 18, from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Sunset Hill Community Club, 3003 NW 66th Street.

Participating author list:

Nancy Schatz Alton, writer and editor, co-authored The Healthy Back Book and The Healthy Knees Book. Her work has appeared in PCC Natural Market’s Sound Consumer, Seattle Woman, and online at culinate.com and aplaceformom.com. She currently writes for websites and is working on a memoir and a self-help book.

Laurie Blauner is the author of two novels, Somebody and Infinite Kindness, a novella published in 2011 called Instructions for Living, and six books of poetry. She has received an NEA and several Seattle and King county grants and awards. http://www.laurieblauner.com.

Rita Bresnahan’s stories, poems, and reflections have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul, Cancer Lifeline publications, The Source (Greater Seattle’s Ecumenical Newspaper), and the compilation A Time to Weep, A Time to Sing: Faith Journeys of Women Scholars of Religion. She is author of Walking One Another Home: Moments of Grace and Possibility in the Midst of Alzheimer’s.

Lowen Clausen has published four novels; his first three novels were a police trilogy with Second Watch set in Ballard. Lowen is currently revising his latest novel, River. With family and business partners, Lowen has owned and operated several businesses in Ballard including the Backstage nightclub, which he later converted into the Ballard Health Club and still owns and runs with his daughter, Sonya. Lowen resides in the Ballard Building, purchased with associates in 1984.

Kerry Colburn is an author, editor, columnist and publishing consultant. The former executive editor at Chronicle Books offers workshops on how to get your book published via The Business of Books with Jen & Kerry (http://www.bizofbooks.com). She is the author of many nonfiction titles including Mama’s Big Book of Lifesavers, How to Have Your Second Child First, and So You Want to Be Canadian?

Laura Cooper’s work as deck hand and cook on a Ballard-based fishing boat in Alaska led to her later work in sustainable resource management as part of the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Fisheries and Arctic Programs. Now she is a collage artist (Blue Flower Cards), sits on the Board of the Ballard Historical Society, and recently co-authored the Fishes and Dishes Cookbook.

Jay Craig, who’s more fun than the Dalai Lama and not nearly as creepy as the Pope, lives on a boat with his dog, Kenny. Because he cares so deeply for humanity, he founded Scottish Buddhism and continues to give and give and give. His next book, The Second Book of Mormon, is forthcoming.

Jan Dalrymple was a Vancouver, Washington girl with a vivid imagination who grew up to become a very successful Northwest space planner/interior designer – and the author of the children’s book The Story of Hanukkah Howie. From her kitchen overlooking Ballard and Fisherman’s Terminal, Jan’s imagination continues to frolic, and her stories continue to grow.

Carl Deuker is a full-time teacher and part-time writer specializing in sports books for young adults. His most recent novel is Payback Time. Deuker’s novels have been nominated in many states for YA Book of the Year; most recently Gym Candy was named book of the year in Iowa. Deuker has lived in Ballard since 1980, and seven of his eight novels are set in Ballard. Not a young adult, but interested in reading a book set in Sunset Hill? Runner is a thriller and quick read that adults enjoy.

Danika Dinsmore works in speculative fiction with an emphasis on children’s literature. The first book in her middle grade fantasy series, Brigitta of the White Forest, was released in March 2011 from en theos press (now Hydra House) and the second, The Ruins of Noe, will be released in Spring 2012.

Alma García’s short fiction has won various awards, including a fellowship from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, and has appeared in Boulevard, Narrative Magazine, and Passages North. A former newspaper editor, she has taught fiction writing at the University of Arizona, the Richard Hugo House, and other venues. She is currently at work on a novel.

Elsie Hulsizer is an environmental professional with degrees in oceanography and fine art photography. She is the author of Voyages to Windward: Sailing Adventures on Vancouver Island’s West Coast and Glaciers, Bears and Totems: Sailing in Search of the Real Southeast Alaska.

Stephanie Kallos spent twenty years in the theater before turning her full time attention to writing. Her first novel, Broken for You, was selected for “The Today Show” Book Club by Sue Monk Kidd. Her second novel, Sing Them Home, was chosen by Entertainment Weekly as one of the 10 Best Books of 2009. Stephanie lives in North Seattle with her family and is currently at work on her third novel.

Sheila Kelly is a thirty year resident of the Ballard area (Blue Ridge). Her book Treadwell Gold, An Alaska Saga of Riches and Ruin (University of Alaska Press, 2010) is a family memoir expanded into the true story of a 19th century hard rock gold mining town on the Alaska frontier.

Alison Krupnick is a former world -traveling diplomat, turned Ballard minivan-driving mom. She chronicled this transformation in Ruminations from the Minivan: musings from a world grown large, then small, which was honored by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Alison recently launched a new blog, Slice of Mid-Life. http://www.sliceofmidlife.com
Enjoy a slice of mid-life, accompanied by an actual slice of Alison’s Sri Lankan Love Cake.

Kate Lebo’s poems appear in Best New Poets 2011, Poetry Northwest, Bateau, and The Portland Review. She’s an editor for Filter, a literary journal made entirely by hand, and she’s the recipient of a Nelson Bentley Fellowship, a 4Culture grant, and a Soapstone residency. For more about Kate and her zine, A Commonplace Book of Pie, visit http://www.pie-scream.com

Corbin Lewars is the author of Creating a Life: The memoir of a writer and mom in the making, which was nominated for the 2011 PNBA and Washington State book awards. Her essays have been featured in over twenty-five publications including Mothering and Hip Mama as well as several anthologies. She currently blogs for SeattlePI.com and Ballard News-Tribune. She coaches other writers here in Ballard and teaches through the Richard Hugo House. http://www.corbinlewars.com

Scott McCredie was a freelance journalist during the glory days of magazine writing, with assignments from Alaska Airlines and Smithsonian. His book on the physical sense of balance was published by Little Brown in 2007. He has since attempted to find his own balance by working for UW, pursuing fiction, and exploring the region by foot, bike, car, and kayak.

Joshua McNichols is a 37-year-old freelance journalist obsessed with finding food outside the grocery store system. The quest has led him into some uncomfortable situations, such as denying his son’s request to play violent video games -- as he simultaneously slaughters a backyard hen.

Donna Miscolta’s novel When the de la Cruz Family Danced was published in June 2011. Her collection of short stories Natalie Wood’s Fake Puerto Rican Accent was a finalist for the 2010 Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction. She has received numerous grants, awards, and residencies. Find her at http://www.donnamiscolta.com

Karoline Morrison, raised on a prison island, dreamed of glamour. After drama classes at the University of Washington she sought her fortune in Hollywood during its golden age. As that dream faded she returned to Seattle and became an antiques dealer without knowing anything about antiques. Twilight of the Blondes is her first book. What’s next?

Jennifer D. Munro’s stories and essays have appeared in more than sixty publications. J.D.’s collection of short fiction is entitled The Erotica Writer’s Husband & Other Stories (en theos Press). She has received grants and fellowships from Artist Trust, King County Arts Commission, Jack Straw, Fishtrap, and Hedgebrook.

Elena Louise Richmond is a Seattle native and graduate of Whitman College; her day job is teaching private voice and piano lessons, and directing two choirs. She paints in watercolors and writes poetry and non-fiction, both serious and sarcastic. Her memoir is called 99 Girdles on the Wall. She is working on her first novel.

Ingrid Ricks is a Seattle-based writer and speaker with a focus on overcoming adversity and living life to the fullest. Her essays have been featured in Salon, Scribd and Smith Magazine. Her articles have appeared in Ladies’ Home Journal, The Advocate, The Seattle Times and numerous regional newspapers and trade publications. Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story is her first book. For more info, visit http://www.ingridricks.com

Michael Schein’s new historical novel, Bones Beneath Our Feet (2011), has been described as “a powerful and deeply moving historical novel about the conquest of Puget Sound by the ‘Bostons.’” Novelist, poet & playwright, Schein’s work is widely published and twice nominated for the Pushcart. Michael also directs LiTFUSE Poets’ Workshop. http://www.michaelschein.com

Peggy Sturdivant is nearing 25 years as a Ballard resident but knows she’s still a newcomer. She writes At Large in Ballard for Ballard News-Tribune and SeattlePI.com, facilitates writing groups at several locations and is co-author of Out of Nowhere. She is helping to steer the renowned “It’s About Time Writers Reading Series” founded by Esther Altshul Helfgott into its next two decades.

Ann Teplick is a poet, playwright, and prose writer, as well as a Teaching Artist who works with youth in schools, hospitals, psychiatric units, and literary nonprofits. She is a 2010 Artist Trust EDGE alum, and a 2011 Hedgebrook and Jack Straw Fellow.

Christina Wilsdon is an author of nonfiction books and articles about science and nature for both children and adults. Her most recent title is For Horse-Crazy Girls Only, a nonfiction book about horses for 8- to 12-year-olds (and beyond!) published by Macmillan in conjunction with the Breyer Model Horse company

Jennifer Worick is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex. She has co-authored or written more than 25 hilarious and helpful books, including her newest titles, Beyond the Family Tree and Simple Gifts. Formerly the editorial director at Running Press, she offers and workshops on the publishing business through The Business of Books with Jen & Kerry (http://www.bizofbooks.com).

Marjorie Young, also known as the ‘Psychic of Ballard,’ is a world traveler and lover of the world’s myths and cultures. The Boy with the Golden Eyes is part one of a spiritual fantasy/adventure, which has taken top prizes at book festivals in New York, Paris, and Los Angeles.

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Mary Schile, tonight’s emcee, has been a Ballardite since ‘94, and is currently a Salmon Bay Eagle, VP of the Ballard Historical Society and an American Pie Council Competition Pie Judge. She works as a Remax Real Estate broker and spends her spare time planning an annual Pie Party fundraiser for the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research.