One of Santa Barbara’s most cherished literary events soon will celebrate its silver anniversary. CALM’s 25th Annual Celebrity Authors Luncheon, presented by the CALM Auxiliary, will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 19 at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd. in Santa Barbara.
Interviewed authors this year include Jack Canfield, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sue Grafton, Jane Hamilton and Susan Straight. Andrew Firestone will serve as the master of ceremonies.
Book signing and purchasing will begin at 10 a.m., and lunch will be served at 11:45 a.m. Author interviews will begin at 12:45 p.m.
Tickets are $125. For reservations or more information, call 805.682.3925. All ticket proceeds and a percentage of book sales will benefit CALM (Child Abuse Listening & Mediation), the only nonprofit in Santa Barbara County focused solely on preventing, assessing and treating child abuse and family violence.
Special recognition will be given this year to CALM Auxiliary co-chairs Sharon Bifano and Stephanie Ortale, for dedicating 25 years to CALM and for making the Authors Luncheon a tremendous success. They have been the driving force behind the Authors Luncheon since 1987, and this will be their final year chairing the event. These incredible women have helped raise more than $1 million to help children and families in Santa Barbara recover from the devastation of child abuse, and to live happier, healthier lives.
The Authors
Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series. He has fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre and watched it grow into a successful enterprise. He is the driving force behind the development and delivery of more than 125 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul ® franchise.
He shares his insight in his book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Canfield is a Harvard University graduate with a master’s degree in psychological education. Click here for more information.
Cousteau is an explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer and author. He has dedicated himself and his vast experience to communicate to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet.
Cousteau has spent most of his adult life nurturing the work of his famous father and now, in his newest book, My Father, the Captain, he gives us an intensely personal look into the lives of the Cousteau family. Click here for more information.
Grafton, New York Times bestselling author, is published in 28 countries and 26 languages. Her books, an alphabetical mystery series, began in 1982. She has been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and is a recipient of the Ross Macdonald Literary Award. Grafton is currently working on “V,” having completed U is for Undertow. Click here for more information.
Hamilton lives, works and writes in an orchard farmhouse in Wisconsin. Her short stories have appeared in Harper’s magazine. Her first novel, The Book of Ruth, won the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award for best first novel and was a selection of the Oprah Book Club. Her second novel, A Map of the World, was an international bestseller. Her newest book, Laura Rider’s Masterpiece, is not only funny but also sexy and provocative. Click here for more information.
Straight’s newest novel, Take One Candle Light a Room, portrays the forces that tear families apart and the ties that bind them together. She has written for The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and Harper’s Magazine.
She has won an Edgar Award and an O. Henry Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Click here for more information.
In addition to the interviewed authors, the following authors also are scheduled to attend the event and be available for book signing: Joan Blacher, Murder Canyon; Dianne Dixon, The Language of Secrets; Brooks Firestone, Valley Animals; Maria Chesley Fisk, Teach Your Kids to Think; Josie Martin, Never Tell Your Name; Lance Mason and Gary Byrne, Seven Paths to Poverty; Oonagh Jane Pope and Julie Ann Brown, Alinda of the Loch; Douglas Pricer, A Candle in the Chapel; Starshine Roshell, Wife on the Edge; Romney Steele, My Nepenthe; Wilhelmina Whitewitch, Piglet Willy; and Teresa Fanucchi and Ann Chamberlin, A Place at the Table.
CALM was founded in 1970 to reach stressed parents before they hurt their children. For more information about its services, click here or call 805.965.2376.
— Jennifer Guess is a publicist.