Ever wondered what it’s like to edit an anthology? Come to the Woodhull Writers Well this Thursday and find out! My friend and coeditor Daphne Uviller and I will be discussing both the content of our book Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo as well as the process, from proposal to publication, of putting together a successful (IOHO) anthology. We’re hoping to give our audience a clear sense of the challenges and rewards of dealing with agents, contributors, purchasing editors, and publicists; the benefits of working with a co-editor; and the need to self-publicize. Participants will walk away with a timeline detailing the process by which one can reasonably expect to complete a salable anthology — and a sense of what it’s like.

When: Thursday, September 27, 2007
Time: 6:30PM to 7:30PM
Location: 32 Broadway, Suite 1801, New York, NY 10004

This is a FREE event open to women only. Reservation is required. Please call 646 435 0837 or email rsvp@woodhull.org to make your reservation.

I’m sitting here in the hospital waiting room and got excited to learn this hospital has wireless. So now I can happily distract myself by catching up on blog reading. Check out the ever-clever Rebecca Traister on images of men in tv’s fall lineup. And to go with your reading, here’s a pic of Marco and Dad taken yesterday. Ok, even this girly girl has to admit it’s a darn cool truck.

So Nation columnist Katha Pollitt just published her first collection of personal essays, Learning to Drive: And Other Life Stories Here are my favorite Katha quips from Deborah Solomon’s interview with her in yesterday’s New York Times:

Deborah Solomon: Do you think feminism has been disfigured by consumerism? To certain women out there, feminism seems to mean buying what you want instead of being what you want.

Katha Pollitt: Young women live these contradictions and everyone’s down on them because their skirts are too short. I don’t blame them if sometimes they want to go shopping. Women don’t buy more junk than men.

DS: Are you a Hillary supporter?

KP: In this country we have a real problem with women and power. If people don’t stop saying incredibly sexist things about Hillary Clinton, I may just have to vote for her.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. (Katha: I’m starting to agree.)

The gals are catching up. Though I’m curious to learn more about *which* gals and *which* professions. In case you missed it, the New York Times reports today on a “historic” reversal:

For the first time, women in their 20s who work full time in several American cities — New York, Chicago, Boston and Minneapolis — are earning higher wages than men in the same age range, according to a recent analysis of 2005 census data by Andrew Beveridge, a sociology professor at Queens College in New York….The median income of women age 21 to 30 in New York who are employed full time was 17 percent higher than that of comparable men….Professor Beveridge said the gap is largely driven by a gulf in education: 53 percent of women employed full time in their 20s were college graduates, compared with 38 percent of men.

How long before we start with the “Girls-are-taking-over!” and “What-about-the-boys!” headlines? I’m guessing a New York minute.

Regardless, as Jessica rightly picks up on over at feministing today, the article’s slant on the whole thing is rather, how do you say, annoying. The basic message? Beware the young woman with the earning power. Men in their 20s are running scared!

Greetings from Chicago! My dad is going through a medical procedure tomorrow, so GWP will likely be slightly quieter than usual til Tuesday. Though I may have some pix to post. This here is a pic of me (looking rather dorky) with my dad, on an architectural boat tour today. Marco took the photo. Behind us is Navy Pier, where BlogHer took place. Ah, the memories!

So one thing I learned from the docent on the tour was that Chicago was apparently first called the “Windy City” by New Yorkers who were bitter that Chicago won the bid for the 1893 World’s Fair instead of New York. According to Wikipedia, however, that’s a popular myth. Wiki says that the earliest known references to the “Windy City” are from 1876, and involve Chicago’s rivalry with Cincinnati. Cincinnati as a rival to Chicago? WTF!

Ok – last one, then I really have to hit the road. I’m just too jazzed not to share this. Remember Melinda Parrish (pictured), the Guest Scholar Blogger who posted a most excellent post here the other week, titled “Sex Does Not Define Us” ? After posting here, she got inspired to start her own blog! It’s called Girl Sailor. As Melinda describes it, “I am a female Ensign on Active Duty in the US Navy, and these are my thoughts.” Says Melinda, “I graduated in May from the United States Naval Academy. My time in the military has caused me to question how my role as an Officer and my identity as a postmodern woman should coincide.” She begins the blog with an INCREDIBLE manifesto, called “The F-Word,” which I cannot wait to finish reading when I get off the plane.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Melinda. I absolutely can’t wait to read your thoughts.

Before skipping town, just wanted to share an update from the Woodhull Weekly. As I mentioned a few weeks back, the Woodhull Institute of Ethical Leadership has partnered with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty to share success building tools through online training sessions that promote ethical development and empower women to act as agents of positive social change. Teachings on financial literacy by Woodhull Fellow Jacquette Timmons are now available via the Real Women, Real Success Stories area of the Campaign for Real Beauty site. The next module, Your Authentic Voice and Advocacy, will begin on October 8, 2007, and is taught by Karla Jackson-Brewer and Dr. Robin Stern

I’m headed to Chicago tonight, and here’s the stack of books I’m cramming into my carry-on:

Marci Alboher’s One Person/Multiple Careers: How “The Slash Effect” Can Work for You – because I embrace the slash and Marci has a ton to teach me (and because Marci is EXCELLENT on “a new model for work/life success”)

Naomi Wolf’s The End of America: Letter to a Young Patriot – because I’m perpetually freaked by the direction our country seems headed

Susan Falud’s, Stiffed – because I want to finally finish this one before I start her next

Barbara Ehrenreich’s The Hearts of Men – because Lori said I should, and because Barbara never lets me down.

I had never met anyone who tries to bring more books than I do for a short weekend, until I met Marco. Haven’t yet seen what he’s bringing, but I’m betting it’s more than four. I’m guessing neither of us gets much reading done, since we’ll be busy repenting, eating brisket, and schmoozing with family. But the security of bringing books, anyway, runs deep!

So it’s Fashion Week in London, and I just had to post this photo appearing in the New York Times cause I love me a cute hat. Meanwhile back in Kansas, as the Style section also reports, women are apparently flocking to get a not-yet-FDA-approved anti-fat injection called lipodissolve. Scary, because:

Neither the drug formula used in lipodissolve nor the method of treatment is standardized. And researchers disagree whether the shots eliminate fat cells, or merely liquefy fat so that it shifts around in the body, raising the possibility of long-term consequences such as the aggravation of heart disease.

Reminds me of that terrifying finding (which I first learned about in Courtney’s book) that showed survey respondents preferring thinness to long life. Ugh. Obsession with hats far safer than obsession with fat.

Just heard via PunditMom that the bloggers over at sister sites DC Metro Moms, Silicon Valley Moms, and Chicago Moms all turned over the blog reins to the dads for a day. So the dads were blogging about the challenges as dads raising kids — and about the challenges of being the spouses of mommybloggers. Hehe.

Meanwhile, speaking of sperm, over at feministing, Courtney Martin offers some very wise musings on that book I mentioned here a few weeks ago cleverly titled Sperm Counts. Miss C and I had fun “writing” together today (meaning, parallel play on our respective projects between chats) and caught up on everything over our respective cookies. Man, I just love that girl.