I’m headed off to the Women Action Media Conference in Cambridge today, sponsored by the Center for New Words and the MIT Program in Women’s Studies. On Saturday afternoon (2-3pm), I’m heading up a panel–“Writing a Book Proposal that Sells”–with my partner-in-crime Courtney and two amazing editors: Amy Caldwell, Executive Editor at Beacon Press, and Laura Mazer, an editor, journalist, and book consultant who has worked with publishers including Seal Press, Counterpoint Books, Soft Skull Press, Avalon Publishing Group, and Random House. Here’s the description:

Activists, advocates, and savvy writers everywhere have the opportunity to frame public debate about the complex forces shaping the lives of women and girls. Writing a “trade” book is one way to enter public debate and reach an audience far outside social justice movement worlds alone. This session brings together published book authors with editors at houses that publish feminist work. Panelists will discuss ways to shape a media career, the importance of finding your right subject, components of a successful book proposal, why marketing is everything, and the role of agents. Participants will learn why it’s essential to think about audience and “platform” and explore ways to use new media to garner visibility for their work well before your book hits the shelves.

If there, come join us!

This just in: Rachel Kramer Bussell, along with her fellow Cupcakes Take the Cake bloggers, will be appearing on The Martha Stewart Show this coming Monday, March 31st, to kick off Cupcake Week on the show. As Rachel notes, that’s not (yet) a national holiday. They’re on at the top of the hour (1 pm ET on NBC). Click here for local listings.

Now, I’m just waiting for the moment Rachel, who also blogs at LustyLady and edits these amazing sex anthologies, slips sex toys into the conversation with Martha.

Rachel also just passed along a great link to me–an article by Violet Blue about how women are treated online, over at SFGate. Read it and weep. And then, go eat a big fat cupcake. For reals.

I’m in Easton, PA, watching campaign ads from my hotel room and feeling ill as I digest the latest news about the allegedly high percentage of Democratic voters who say they’ll “defect” and vote for McCain if their prefered Dem doesn’t win the nomination. PEOPLE, WAKE UP! I think I want to write another op-ed. (Paging Courtney–copy that?!)

I wish all those Dems who feel this way could have been at the dinner I attended with a group of Lafayette College students before my talk here last night. Most seemed to be Obama supporters, save me and one other student (go Abra!), but we all shared the fantasy of the Dream Ticket–Hillary and Barack, both. The passionate dinner table conversation, and a later exchange with Kimberly, a staff member here who was moved to drive up to New Hampshire to campaign for Obama door-to-door, put me in direct touch once again with the incredible energy and awakening among young people that Obama has set in motion.

To any post-college-age Democrat who feel “defecting” is an appropriate response, I have this to say: Defection is nothing but sore loserdom, with the emphasis on LOSER. Before you defect, please think about the message you are sending to a generation newly engaged.

(Image cred)

I interrupt this blog to bring you a calming image, courtesy of my dude, Marco. Ahhh. I’m taking these zen moments wherever I can find them these days. If anyone’s got one to share, email me, and I’ll post it!

I’m telling ya, I’m in intergenerational feminist heaven this month. For those of you in NYC looking for a way to honor Women’s History Month, I hope you’ll consider coming out for this one, here at my home base!

Feminist Generations/Feminist Locations: The Continuing Vitality of Feminist Thought and Action

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008
New School for Social Research
66 WEST 12TH ST., ROOM 407
6:30-8 PM

Quick recap: I’ll be joining Ai-Jen Poo (Domestic Workers United), Meredith Tax (a founder of Bread & Roses – 1969), Cleopatra Lamothe (Women of Color Collective, Lang College), and Erica Reade (Moxie, Lang College Feminist Club), and Ann Snitow, coeditor of The Feminist Memoir Project and a founder of New York Radical Feminists — the group that brought us the Miss America Protest that put women’s liberation on the map, and so much more. The panel, will take on the state of feminism across generations. Joining me will be:

For more info, please contact Soraya Field Fiorio, fiors393@newschool.edu.

The intergenerational convo continues to heat up over at Jewcy. Check out our third round in the series on this election, feminism, and dog whistles. Don’t ask, just read.

Here’s a shot of yesterday’s intergenerational feminist panel at SUNY-New Paltz–Amy Kesselman, Elizabeth Gross, me (Deborah), and Heather Hewett, who graciously organized us all.

It was humbling to share the stage with Amy, a second-wave radical feminist/now historian, who shared a number of zingers herself, including: “Coming out of the 1950s, everything looks like progress.” Amy is currently working on the history of women’s liberation movement in New Haven and I can’t wait to read what she has found. Elizabeth–a very savvy sophomore who turned 20 yesterday and who heads up the only feminist group on campus, the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance–spoke beautifully from her heart. (Welcome to the 20s, Elizabeth! The 30s get even better!) We talked a lot about forms of social activism, current attitudes toward political engagement, what issues we’d fight for, and what “the personal is political” still means to women of different ages. And we talked about the role feminism plays in our life. Amy has written how “Feminism saved my life.” I talked about how “feminism launched my life.” In Elizabeth’s words, “Feminism is me.” I wished the WGLs could have been there to hear Amy and Elizabeth–they both moved me to my core.

Here’s a shot of yesterday’s intergenerational panel at SUNY-New Paltz–Amy Kesselman, Elizabeth Gross, me, and Heather Hewett, who graciously organized us all.

It was humbling to share the stage with Amy, a second-wave radical feminist/now historian, who shared a number of zingers herself, including: “Coming out of the 1950s, everything looks like progress.” Amy is currently working on the history of women’s liberation movement in New Haven and I can’t wait to read what she has found. Elizabeth–a very savvy sophomore who turned 20 yesterday and who heads up the only feminist group on campus, the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance–spoke beautifully from her heart. (Welcome to the 20s, Elizabeth! The 30s get even better!) We talked a lot about forms of social activism, current attitudes toward political engagement, what issues we’d fight for, and what “the personal is political” still means to women of different ages. And we talked about the role feminism plays in our life. Amy has written how “Feminism saved my life.” I talked about how “feminism launched my life.” And in Elizabeth’s words, “Feminism is me.” I’ve asked Elizabeth to do a guest post here on GWP, and she has agreed. Coming soon!

That pic to the right is the WomenGirlsLadies gang of 4 signing books at Eastern Michigan University last week. Our blog, offering “a FRESH conversation about feminism across generations” is now in full swing, over at: www.womengirlsladies.blogspot.com. Please do visit us over there and join the convo if so inclined!

WGLs immersed in post-panel conversation with audience members, and signing books!

So this week, I’m intergenerational-panel-cheating on my colleagues who have affectionately become known as the WGLs. But when Ann Snitow calls, I jump. And so, I of course said YES to participating on a panel this Wednesday at The New School in celebration of Women’s History Month.

Ann is coeditor of The Feminist Memoir Project and a founder of New York Radical Feminists (circa 1969), the group that brought us the Miss America Protest that put women’s liberation on the map, and so much more. The panel, “Feminist Generations/Feminist Locations: The Continuing Vitality of Feminist Thought and Action,” will take on the state of feminism across generations. Joining Ann and I on Thursday will be:

AI-JEN POO of Domestic Workers United
MEREDITH TAX of Women’s World
(a founder of Boston’s Bread & Roses – 1969)
CLEOPATRA LAMOTHE of Women of Color Collective, Lang
ERICA READE of Moxie, Lang College Feminist Club

When and where, you ask?

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008
66 WEST 12TH ST., ROOM 407
6:30-8 PM

For more info, please contact Soraya Field Fiorio, fiors393@newschool.edu.