Silent Water (& Dream Books) Productions
Honoring the Difficult, Diverse & the Divine
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Our Mission
We will bring some of the most dynamic writers, artists and activists from diverse backgrounds to uplift books/art and spark change. The Diversity Project is a creative outlet dedicated to female and Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) voices, and a consulting agency supporting stores and venues looking to incorporate diverse representation to their customers and communities. The primary goal of The Diversity Project is to use various media platforms and promotional pieces to elevate unique BIPOC and female issues and stories.
Our Focus
Topical issues and relevant books will be presented by writers, other artists and agents of change. For too long BIPOC and women have been marginalized in the literary and activist circles, but recently their stories have become more appreciated and sought after. Now more than ever as the world is facing unique challenges and changing drastically on several levels, people need the healing aspect(?) of diverse and inclusive communities. As such, SWP will creatively and effectively connect the writers/artists with the targeted audiences and merchants.
Our Values
Educate I Entertain I Engage I Inspire
At SWP, we curate, promote and moderate live and lively topical interviews and other type of events with authors, artists and activists. We do so by using various media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and other virtual outlets. Be it for our own SWP events or on behalf of our clients, we provide full service curation. From more simple one-on-one discussions, book promotions and launches, to complex special panel events, we bring all the necessary elements together. Whether virtually or in-person; whether intimate or larger functions, it all matters to us, and these presentations allow us and our clients to engage our audience.
Series Curator/Moderator
PAULA FARMER is a buyer and event host/moderator for Book Passage bookstores, having overseen hundreds of author events during her tenure there. In recent years, she’s been known for curating special panel events such as “Race in America” and “Immigration in America.” Additionally, she was selected to chair the Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee for the California Independent Booksellers Association (2019- present). Paula was recently (2021) selected by the American Booksellers Association (ABA) to be on their Diversity Equity & Inclusion committee board. Her background is as a news journalist/producer for outlets such as CBS Radio, ABC Radio, and a film and theater reviewer for the Detroit Metro Times, and Culture Vulture online arts magazine. After growing up in Detroit, and spending several years in New York, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where in addition to holding positions at Book Passage, she continues work as a freelance journalist and website writer. For more information on Paula go HERE.
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UPCOMING & ARCHIVED EVENTS
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SPECIAL AUTHOR INTERVIEW EVENTS FOR Book Passage and other clients
Upcoming & Archive Client Events of Note
PRIDE PANEL 2024 In honor of PRIDE Month 2024, Book Passage is proud to uplift LGBTQ+ voices, stories and issues with a special panel discussion online June 18 at 5:30pm PT at YouTube.com/BookPassageTV. The event will feature exciting new and established authors on the literary landscape discussing their writings, the importance of Queer books and their take on political and social issues within the community.
Whether you are part of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, this is a discussion you don’t want to miss!
Panelists include authors KB Brookins, Karl Dunn, Laura Gao and Ann Pellegrini
Free Online at YouTube.com/BookPassageTV
In honor of Women’s History Month 2024, Book Passage is proud to present a special panel event celebrating the impact of women writers, past and present. The panel is made up of authors of diverse backgrounds and writing in different genres, we will discuss among many things, the importance of women’s voices and stories in the still male-dominated literary landscape.
This will be a great opportunity to celebrate, have discourse, ask questions, and be inspired. Panelists include (alphabetical order) -
Margo Candela, Journalist / Author
Linda Gonzalez, Writer/Life Coach/ Strategist for BIPOC Businesses
Anita Gail Jones, Author/Oral Storyteller/ Voting Rights Advocate
Priscilla Wathington - Palestinian-American Poet / writer
Join us on Saturday, March 9 at 2pm In-Person - Corte Madera store and Live-Online HERE
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Speaking Of ..." interview series - Paula Farmer on Instagram Live in conversation
@paulawritesreviews
Upcoming IG Interviews -
Laura Gao - Speaking of PRIDE 2024 and LGBTQ stories & voices- Laura is a Chinese-American comic artist who became famous when she released a short comic called "The Wuhan I Know" in response to the growing xenophobia in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The comic was later used as the basis for her acclaimed and popular graphic memoir called MESSY ROOTS. Laura was born in Wuhan, China, immigrated to the US when she was four years old. She grew up in Texas, but her career has landed her in San Francisco.
Join the IG interview live! Thursday, June 20 at 3:00 PT / 6:00 ET
Priscilla Wathington is a Palestinian American poet, writer and human rights advocate. Her poems and other writings have appeared in Gulf Coast, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Normal School and more publications. Her debut chapbook, "Paper & Stick" explores the way language shadows atrocities. Her writing and advocacy on behalf of oppressed Palestinians is not only timely and vital, but full of passion and deeply nuanced. Priscilla inspires other writers to express their passions and activism through the power of language.
Join the IG interview live! WEDNESDAY, April 17 at 4:30 PT / 7:30 ET @paulawritesreviews
Rosanna Xia is an environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting, and her work has been anthologized in the “Best American Science and Nature Writing” series. Her first book, “California Against the Sea,” has been praised as a beautiful and revelatory exploration of how we relate to the natural world. Rosanna is incredibly informative, thought provoking and utterly inspiring. Additionally, she is not only committed to promoting environmental issues in general, but she advocates on behalf of how those issues disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
Join the IG interview live! Wed., April 3 at 4:00 PT / 7:00 ET @paulawritesreviews
Linda González is a bilingual life and writing coach, author and business strategist, with expertise in facilitating and building sustainable solutions for diverse participants in the non-profit, social justice, educational, and philanthropic arenas. She has two books: The Cost of Our Lives, a poignant story of families uniting across physical and emotional borders, and her most recent is Breaking Through Your Own Glass Ceiling. A unique and dynamic career development and self-care book that focuses on BIPOC women and debunks the one-size-fits-all approach to those themes.
Join the IG interview live! Tuesday, March 5 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET @paulawritesreviews
Tamika Christy - Speaking Of... Black History Month 2024 and Black writers/stories - Tamika is an award-winning author and Bay Area native who has published three books, Anytime Soon and Never Too Soon. Her latest novel, ROUX is written in the vein of Steel Magnolias, with the story taking us into the lives of African American families with their unique hardships, triumphs in relationships, culture, and values. It is relatable, comforting, and challenging.
Tamika began writing at an early age, prompted by the gift of a journal for Christmas. With pen in hand, she continued writing throughout college where she realized her talent for creating intriguing plots and multidimensional characters. Tamika continued to nurture her love for writing while attending law school, where she gave birth to her first novel, Now as a practicing attorney, Tamika still devotes time to her love of writing.
Joint the IG interview live! Wednesday, February 7 at 4:00 PT / 7:00 ET @paulawritesreviews
Diya Abddo - Speaking Of... the global refugee crisis & love as compassion for the displaced. - Diya Adbo is the Lincoln Financial Professor of English in the Department of English and Creative Writing at Guilford College. She is the author of American Refuge: True Stories of the Refugee Experience. Dr. Adbo is also the founder of Every Campus A Refuge which works with refugee families on college and university campuses to assist in their resettlement. Given the current state of global affairs (a genocide in Gaza), we'll have a timely discussion that will inform and maybe inspire you to action.
Join the IG interview live! Wednesday, February 14 at 4:00 PT / 7:00 ET @paulawritesreviews
Yama Rahimi - Speaking Of... the best of movies 2023 and awards season 2024 - Besides being a huge movie buff, cinephile, Yama is the Film and Awards Correspondent for ioncinema.com. and has a long history of writing film reviews and author interviews for various publications.
Join the IG interview live! Wednesday, January 24 at 4:00 PT / 7:00 ET @paulawritesreviews
On the same program ...
Julie Rubio is an award-winning film producer, writer, director, and actor. She is the President of Women in Film SF Bay Area. Rubio launched East Meets West Productions in 2002 and her films have been featured in many domestic and international festivals. Her 2016 award winning feature film, East Side Sushi is now available on Prime and other streaming platforms. She is near completion of a documentary about Tamara de Lempicka, the preeminent Art Deco painter.
Archived IG Interviews - IGTV @paulawritesreveiws
Sara Calvosa Olson is a food writer and editor living in the Bay Area with her husband and two teenage sons. Her work dwells at the intersection of storytelling, Indigenous food systems, security, sovereignty, reconnection, and recipe development. Her writing has appeared in News from Native California and Edible Shasta-Butte. Her new cookbook, Chími Nu’am: Native California Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen reimagines some of the oldest foods in California for home cooks today. The book showcases shares Sara’s delicious and inventive takes on Native food styles from across California. There are over seventy seasonal recipes centered on a rich array of Indigenous ingredients, following the year from Fall (elk chili beans, acorn crepes) to Winter (wild boar pozole, huckleberry hand pies) to Spring (wildflower spring rolls, peppernut mole chicken) to Summer.
Join the IG interview live! Wednesday, NOV 8 at 4:00 PT / 7:00 ET @paulawritesreviews
Mark H. Harris is an entertainment journalist who has written about cinema and pop culture for over twenty years for New York magazine, Vulture, Rotten Tomatoes, Salem Horror Fest, Napster, Ugly Planet, and more. A lifelong horror fan, he created the website BlackHorrorMovies.com in 2005 as the premier online source chronicling the history of Black representation and achievement in horror cinema. He was a featured commentator in the acclaimed documentary Horror Noire and the Shudder series Behind the Monsters. His latest book, The Black Guy Dies First explores the Black journey in modern horror cinema, from the fodder epitomized by Spider Baby to the Oscar-winning cinematic heights of Get Out and beyond. This eye-opening book delves into the themes, tropes, and traits that have come to characterize Black roles in horror since 1968, a year in which race made national headlines in iconic moments from the enactment of the 1968 Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in April. This timely book is a must-read for cinema and horror fans alike.
Join the IG interview live! Wednesday, OCT. 25 at 3:00 PT / 6:00 ET @paulawritesreviews
Tyrinne Lewis is a book publishing professional with an impressive career crossing over various aspect of the industry. She started out as a bookseller and event host for Rakestraw Bookstore in the San Francisco Bay Area, and now lives in New York working as a marketing coordinator for Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. She markets both fiction and nonfiction titles. Prior to joining the Gallery team, Tyrinne is an active bookstagrammer and served as a judge for the 2020 Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.
Join the IG interview live! Tuesday- HALLOWEEN - OCT. 31 at 4:00 PT / 7:30 ET @paulawritesreviews
Margo Candela - is the author of "The Neapolitan Sisters", a humorous yet moving look at what it means to be a sister, daughters, and ultimately, your own person. Margo Candela was born and raised in Los Angeles and began her writing career when she joined Glendale Community College’s student newspaper. She transferred to San Francisco State University as a journalism major, and upon graduation began writing for websites and magazines before writing her first two novels, Underneath It All and Life Over Easy. She returned to Los Angeles to raise her son and wrote "More Than This" and "Good-bye to All That". "The Neapolitan Sisters" is her fifth novel.
For this program, Margo will be sharing her favorite Latinx authors and books, so get ready to take notes and get reading.
Join the IG interview live! Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 4:30 PT / 7:30 ET @paulawritesreviews
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Archived IG Interviews - IGTV @paulawritesreveiws
And many more archived events @paulawritesreviews IGTV
EVENT NOTES FROM OUR GUEST
MERCHANDISE
Are you tired of seeing the same ol' faces on book totes? They are often dead and monochromatic, and usually men. Not here. With the "Mixed Bag" selection we are featuring diversity and contemporary, along with some classic figures. The project is in early days, with varying stages of production. As soon as the inventory increases, you will be alerted and encouraged to buy for yourself, for friends, family and fellow book lovers.
ETC & CONTACT
For more information about our speakers series and our consulting services, contact Paula Farmer at [email protected]
For Book Reviews go HERE
For Film Reviews go HERE