The CALM Auxiliary’s 33rd Annual Celebrity Authors Luncheon, to benefit CALM’s vital programs countywide, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 16, at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.
CALM’s programs help prevent childhood trauma, heal children and families, and build resilient communities throughout Santa Barbara County.
This year’s event will feature interviews and book signings by a variety of critically acclaimed authors including Kate Quinn, Luis Alberto Urrea and Mindy Johnson, with Andrew Firestone serving as master of ceremonies. Dianne Dixon and Tom Weitzel return this year as interviewers.
CALM Auxiliary members Becky Cohn and Carolyn Gillio are co-chairing the luncheon.
“We are very proud to be chairing such a wonderful community event showcasing some incredible authors,” they said. “We feel fortunate to be involved with the CALM Auxiliary over the past 25 years.
“The auxiliary is committed to helping fundraise for CALM so CALM can help the children in our community.”
Quinn the author of the bestselling book The Alice Network has written another historical novel called The Huntress.
Inspired by the true story of Nazis living in plain sight in post-World War II America, The Huntress is a detailed adventure that crisscrosses continents in pursuit of a notorious Third Reich war criminal.
The book also dives into the little-known history and heroics of the Soviet Union’s all-female bomber regiment called the Night Witches who served during World War II.
Urrea is a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction, member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, and best-selling author of 17 books. He has won awards for his poetry, fiction and essays.
Urrea’s newest novel The House of Broken Angels is about an American family, which happens to be from Mexico. Angel de la Cruz knows this is his last birthday and he wants to gather his progeny for a final fiesta.
Johnson is a also an award-winning author, historian, filmmaker, and expert on women in early animation. Her latest groundbreaking book Ink & Paint – The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, (Disney Editions) redefines our collective history.
This volume casts a light on the thousands of unsung female artists behind the creative and technical advances within the animation art forms of the 20th century.
In addition to the interviewed authors, the following authors will have their books for sale and available for book signing:
Sheila Aron — I’m Glad I’m Me, Weaving the Thread of Love From Generation to Generation
Julia Bricklin — Polly Pry: The Woman Who Wrote the West
Jane S. Dehart — Ruth Bader Ginsberg: A Life
Jeff Doubét: Creating Spanish Style Homes
Jo Giese — Never Sit If You Can Dance
Elizabeth Gould, M.S. — Your Best Health By Friday
Romy Greenwald — Mickin the Chicken & the Wishing Puddle
Rich Grimes — Cat Speak
Jo Haldeman — In the Shadow of the White House
Catharine Riggs — What She Gave Away
Book sales and signing will begin at 10:00 am, and lunch will be served at 11:45 am. Author interviews will begin at 12:45 pm.
Tickets for the authors luncheon are $150. For tickets and event information, call 805-965-2376 or visit http://calm4kids.org/events/celebrity-authors-luncheon/. For more about all of CALM’s services, call 805-965-2376, or visit www.calm4kids.org.
— D’Arcy R. Cornwall for CALM Auxiliary.