The Seal Press Women's Interest Blog

New Video from Girldrive author Nona Willis Aronowitz!

2010-03-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Girldrive author Nona Willis Aronowitz was here in the Bay Area last week, and she (and a couple of us from here at Seal Press) spent an afternoon on Telegraph Avenue doing some free word association--with a feminist slant, of course--with a few of Berkeley's denizens. This video is the result . . . enjoy!

Celebrate International Women's Day

2010-03-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Today, March 8th 2010, women worldwide will unite to literally bridge the gap between their countries and demand the peace they deserve. In honor of International Women’s Day, author of A Thousand Sisters, Lisa Shannon, will be joining the women of Rwanda and Congo as they meet on a bridge between their two countries to call for an end to the war and to demonstrate that women can build bridges to peace and development.

In support of Women for Women International’s global campaign called, “Join me on the Bridge,” women and men of Seal Press, Avalon Travel, and Publishers Group West will be marching to the City of Berkeley’s Eastshore Pedestrian Bridge at 12:00 p.m. They will stand in unity with thousands of women worldwide honoring the resilience of millions of women around the world who are survivors of war.

Please join us in our support of all women as we demand peace in every nation. By joining this campaign you will be standing alongside women in the Congo, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan, and Nigeria in saying no to war, and yes to peace and hope.

Learn more about Lisa Shannon and A Thousand Sisters here at: A Thousand Sisters

Gambling Addiction Resources and Answers from She Bets Her Life

2010-02-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

Do you think you might have a gambling addiction…or do you fear that someone close to you might have one? Visit the new website for She Bets Her Life, Mary Sojourner’s hard-hitting confessional memoir about her journey to the bottom and back up again as a gambling addict. Once you’re on the site, check out the Q&A section, where Sojourner offers firsthand advice for people whose lives are being negatively affected by gambling. And, if you have questions of your own for her, you can email her at shebetsherlife@gmail.com; your (anonymous) question—and her answer—will appear on the site, not only providing you with the feedback you’re looking for, but also giving others in your situation the opportunity to benefit from the information.

In addition to the She Bets Her Life website, visit its page on Facebook for updates from Sojourner and the Seal Press team, as well as links to current articles and information relevant to gambling addiction.

Yes Means Yes listed on the 2010 Amelia Bloomer List!

2010-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

We received some exciting news today! The members of the Amelia Bloomer Project are pleased to announce that Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power & A World Without Rape is a part of the 2010 Amelia Bloomer List. The members found this work to be an exemplary title.

Congratulations to Jaclyn Friedman, Jessica Valenti, and all the contributors!

For more information about the Amelia Bloomer Project, please visit their blog.

Laura S. Scott, author of Two is Enough, on Today show

2010-01-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning Laura S. Scott, author of Two is Enough: A Couple's Guide to Living Childless by Choice, will be on the Today show discussing how, and why couples across the country are choosing not to have children. Thought-provoking and informative, Laura S. Scott tackles the ins and outs of the motivations and reasoning behind a couple's choice to have children in her book Two is Enough. Tune in to NBC to see her talking about this intriguing subject, and check out her blog at The Childless by Choice Project.

Our complicated relationships...with food

2010-01-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, the New York Times published a piece called Narrowing an Eating Disorder, by author Abby Ellin, of Teenage Waistland: A Former Fat Kid Weighs In on Living Large, Losing Weight and How Parents Can (and Can’t) Help (PublicAffairs). The article sheds light on "the nation's most common eating disorder[:]" Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, which has become a type of catch all for eating disordered behavior that doesn't fit neatly into the diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia. Many with EDNOS, as it's known, appear to be a healthy weight, which can cause people/ doctors/ insurance companies to claim that they aren't sick enough for treatment or help. But sadly, "[a] study in the Oct. 15 issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry reported that the mortality rate associated with Ednos exceeded that for anorexia nervosa and bulimia."

Nicole Johns, author of Purge: Rehab Diaries, published last spring, is a young woman who braved telling her own story of being diagnosed with EDNOS and subsequently going into an in-patient treatment facility for help. Johns has received a tremendous amount of praise for her memoir and her book continues to do well, perhaps because so many people are able to identify with her story and the diagnosis, which is finally being realized, taken seriously, and discussed in public.

I wanted to bring both the NY Times article and Nicole's memoir to light today, because when checking out two popular MTV shows this past week, I watched two beautiful young women, Snooki on Jersey Shore, then Callie on the Real World DC, describe their struggles with unhealthy body image and their pasts which included and may still include unhealthy/ eating disordered behavior. It's the prevalence of it that is so shocking and the fact that their stories are sadly so similar to so many. Hopefully the dialogue continues.

For more information, resources, and support if you or someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder, head to the National Eating Disorders Association.

Jessica Valenti, author of The Purity Myth, on The New Virginity on VH1

2010-01-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Tune into VH1 this Thursday, January 14th at 11pm to see Jessica Valenti, author of The Purity Myth, Full Frontal Feminism, He's a Stud, She's a Slut, founder and editor of Feministing.com, and all around fun fabulous feminist. Valenti will be one of the talking heads on The New Virginity, a show discussing pop culture's current obsession with chastity--from the purity rings of the Jonas Brothers to the chastity balls being held across the country. Jessica Valenti dissects this phenomenon in The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women, which is out now in paperback.

Valenti is also answering questions on Formspring,where anyone can send in a question for consideration. Here's your opportunity to ask Valenti the question you've had on the tip of your tongue since you read her first book, Full Frontal Feminism.

An Apology to a Congo Activist

2010-01-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Recently, Lisa Shannon, author of the upcoming book, A Thousand Sisters: My Journey Into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman, wrote a very personal and moving letter on her blog to her friend "Kelly," who accompanied her on her first trip to the Congo. The letter was inspired by PS: What I Didn't Say, edited by Megan McMorris, which is a beautiful collection of unsent letters to female friends

In this letter, Shannon talks about how she wanted to keep the tension that arose between her and Kelly out of the memoir, but eventually realizes she has to be honest about her experiences. Now, Shannon regrets what she wrote in her upcoming memoir: A Thousand Sisters. Shannon says, "But I do want you to know this: whatever judgment or frustration I express in the book, absolutely none of it trumps my profound respect for the fact that you showed up for Congo."

Shannon captures the difficulties in writing a memoir. She is opening herself up to the world by writing about her experiences in the Congo, but at the same time, she wanted to keep certain things off limits and private and finds it impossible to do in the end. She has to be real, raw, and open about what she went through. What makes A Thousand Sisters so compelling, is that Shannon is willing to share her most difficult times, and the ways in which she felt torn about her experiences in the Congo, and how those experiences made her stronger.

You can read Shannon's letter here, and also take a moment to look at her other blog posts. Shannon also has a facebook fan page for A Thousand Sisters, which will keep you apprised of upcoming events and the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A Thousand Sisters is coming out in April 2010 and Shannon will be reading and attending events all over the country. We'll keep you posted!

Girldrive! Videos, Interviews and More!

2009-11-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

How do young women feel about feminism? What are their hopes, their dreams, their passions and their fears? Nona Willis Aronowitz and Emma Bee Bernstein set out on a roadtrip across America asking young women these questions. Over almost 200 interviews with feminists, activists, young mothers, college students and working women they shed light on the inner workings and feelings of young women across the nation. Girldrive: Criss-Crossing America, Redefining Feminism is out now and Aronowitz has been spreading the message far and wide. Her co-author, Emma Bee Bernstein took her own life before the completion of the project, but her legacy lives on in her photography, her art and her words in Girldrive.

Check out what's been going on with Girldrive over the last two weeks!

An awesome review on Feministing

A Q&A with Salon.com’s Frieda Klotz.

Listen to Aronowitz on Word of Mouth, New Hampshire Public Radio.

Read a great piece in the Chicago Reader by Jessica Hopper (of Girls’ Guide to Rocking fame)

And check out Nona's site www.girl-drive.com for information on the book, her upcoming readings and links to great articles and insight into the current state of feminism.

Also check out this video with one of the Girldrive participants. Erika works in the offices of PODER- People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources and was interviewed in Austin, TX.

Girldrive Mini-trailer #1--Redefine Feminism from Girldrive on Vimeo.

Publishers Weekly Announces "Yes Means Yes" as one of its Top 100 of 2009

2009-11-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today, Publishers Weekly posted its highly anticipated list of Best Books of 2009. Of 50,000 titles, Seal is proud to be recognized in the general non-fiction category for Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape, edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti.

PW states, "Activist writers Friedman and Valenti present an extraordinary, eye-opening essay collection that focuses on the importance of sexual identity and ownership in the struggle against rape in the U.S., as well as a number of related issues, including sexual pleasure, self-esteem and the mixed societal messages that turn 'nice guys' bad."

Congratulations to Seal, the editors, and to all the contributors!

To see the rest of the Best Books of 2009, head over here.

Melisa Hart, author of Gringa on tour!

2009-10-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Melissa Hart has embarked on a reading tour for her memoir Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood and she might be heading to a town near you! Tonite you can catch her entertaining reading in Seattle at Elliot Bay Book Company at 101 South Main St. at 7pm.

To get a sneak peak of Hart's engaging memoir listen to her interview on KBOO yesterday morning.

Set in 1970’s Southern California, Gringa begins with Hart’s mother leaving her father to begin a lesbian relationship and moving to Oxnard, CA. In this predominantly Latino community, Hart is exposed to a vastly different home life than her suburban upbringing. Hart spends a few blissful months soaking up her mother’s newfound bohemian lifestyle before a judge grants her father primary custody, deeming her mother’s lifestyle “unnatural”.

Hart weaves a powerful story of fleeting moments with her mother, her unfolding adoration of Oxnard’s Latino culture, and the ways in which she’s molded by the polarity of her parents’ worldviews. Gringa offers a touching, reflective look at one girl’s struggle with the dichotomies of class, culture, and sexuality.

Hart will be reading at the following cities:

Thursday, October 29th at 7:30pm
Books Inc, Castro
2275 Market Street
San Francisco, California 94114

Saturday, November 8th at 2:00pm
Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd.
W. Hollywood CA 90069

Wednesday, November 11th at 6:00pm
Latitude 33
311 Ocean Ave.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

And for your Friday viewing pleasure, enjoy Hart cooking up a batch of Annie's special chili from her book.

A Mother and Daughter Find the Road to Recovery

2009-10-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's Drug and Alcohol Scene News Source, posted a great review of Addicted Like Me: A Mother-Daughter Story of Substance Abuse and Recovery, written by Karen Franklin and Lauren King. They've said that "[It's] a story full of advice and inspiration from two women made wise from their experiences, 'Addicted Like Me,' aims to help others view addiction in a new way."

Karen Franklin and Lauren King have also been blogging regularly for the Partnerships' Intervene Blog, which is a part of the brand new Time To Act website. The site acts as a first response destination for parents worried about their children experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Read Karen Franklin's post "The Second Parental Deadly Sin: Enabling, here, and Lauren King's post about the fact that her parents never talked with her about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, here.

For more information visit the authors' website.

Get Laid!

2009-09-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Shannon Boodram, editor of Laid: Young People's Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture, and her sister, created an awesome trailer for the upcoming release, using their own photography and music. Check it out right here. Get Laid.

Win Seal Press books and watch Jenny Block on Nightline!

2009-09-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

It's an exciting end of September here at Seal Press! We are offering our readers two opportunities to win fall titles and Jenny Block, author of Open: Love, Sex and Life in an Open Marriage, will be appearing tonight on Nightline.

Are you and your partner childless by choice or circumstance? If so you might be interested in winning a copy of our latest book, Two is Enough: A Couple's Guide to Living Childless by Choice by Laura S. Scott. Sign up to be a fan on the page on Facebook and answer one of two questions: What do you love the most about being childfree? or What is the strangest question you've been asked about being childless/childfree? This contest ends September 24th so be sure to post your answer soon!

Love Frito Boats and Ants on a Log? Want to win an autographed copy of Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood? Write down the first recipe you remember making as a child or young adult, and share it on Melissa Hart's fan page on Facebook. Contests ends October 2nd so enter your award-winning recipe now!

Tonight on Nightline: Jenny Block, author of the Lambda-Award winning memoir Open, is going to be on Nightline debating adultery and the Ten Commandments. This is part of Nightline's Face-Off series where opposing parties debate hot topics. Appearing on the panel will be Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church, Noel Biderman of ashleymadison.com, and Jonathan Daugherty of Be Broken Ministries. You can watch it tonight on ABC's Nightline or online.

Jaclyn Friedman discusses the Campus Rape Crisis and the Hofstra Rape/ Recant Story

2009-09-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

Just as colleges and universities across the country are going back in session, the Hofstra University case has hit the media and left questions, opinions, and varying reactions.

Jaclyn Friedman, editor of Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape, has written two articles recently that we wanted to share. The first, in the American Prospect, discusses the failure of rape prevention on campus and where responsibility lies. In the second article on AmplifyYourVoice.org, Friedman lists the four things that need to be said about the Hofstra Rape/ Recant story.

What are your thoughts?

You Know You're in a Midlife Crisis When...You Can Win a Midlife Crisis Contest!

2009-09-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we asked women to share the signs of an imminent midlife crisis, using Amy Ferris's Seven Signs of a Midlife Crisis for inspiration. The responses were wonderful, funny, and oh, so true. We especially loved the seven winning submissions below. These witty women each received a copy of Marrying George Clooney, as well as a big thank-you from us, whose middle-of-the-night musings have just become a little more bearable. So, without further ado:

You know you're in a midlife crisis when...

...Your hair is short, your whiskers are long, and you no longer care!
—Mary Frances Frawley

...You realize you have to find a new dream for the next half of your life and don’t have the vaguest idea where to start.
—Susan Ann Weinman

...You run into old your friends at a picnic and the children they are escorting are all their grandkids!
—Pegi McKee

...You realize you’re older than the president for the first time in your life!
—Jacqueline Korteland Boller

...That list of things you always wanted to do (become a veterinarian, do an undercover FBI stake-out, dye your hair pink, move to Tahiti and live on the beach for a year, have seven children and run an organic farm...) becomes the list of things you now realize you’ll never do.
—Renee Cramer

...You actually contemplate putting on the lycra jumpsuit you wore rollerskating at the Roxy in the 80’s...and notice it really is not a good look, and probably never was!
—Andrea Eisen

...Your mind, instead of your man, wakes you up at 4 A.M. !
—Mary Kruger

For more Marrying George Clooney, check out this clip of author Amy Ferris's good friend, Bruce, reading a chapter from the book.

Book Trailer Bonanza!

2009-09-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

We have a host of great books coming out in October! Two of our authors have recently made book trailers which perfectly capture with pictures and music the joy, heartbreak and delight of their works.

Female friendships are some of the most powerful relationships in our lives. Yet sometimes we still find it hard to express our true feelings to the women closest to us. Whether it be fear, ego or circumstance that stand in the way, each of us has something we wish we could say to a friend, but haven't. In PS: What I Didn't Say, editor Megan McMorris gathers together a collection of unsent letters from various women writers to their female friends, representing a range of unspoken emotions. McMorris has put together a great video that will remind you of your best friend moments.

Set in 1970’s Southern California, Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood is the true story of a young girl conflicted by two extremes. Forced to live with her father by a judge who deemed her lesbian mother’s lifestyle, “unnatural”, Hart was only allowed to visit her mother and her partner two weekends a month. During these short stays, she embraced the culture of her mother’s neighborhood, seeking solace in quesadillas, musicals, and her mother’s ramshackle VW bus. At her father’s house, she struggled with his hot temper, her inability to fit in, and the deep yearning for her mother.

Below Hart demonstrates the correct way to make a Frito Boat, an all time favorite at her mother's house.

The Boss of You Makes Top 30 List

2009-08-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

We’re happy to announce The Boss of You blog—based on the Seal title of the same name—by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears made the She Takes On The World list as one of the top 30 entrepreneurship and business blogs by women. A valuable business resource for women, The Boss of You blog (& book) extends expert advice to women looking to start, run, and maintain their own business—on their own terms. Congratulations to Lauren and Emira on this well deserved recognition.

You know you're in a midlife crisis when...

2009-08-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

We've just received advanced copies of Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis by Amy Ferris and the book looks beautiful. Currently we're running a contest on the fan page on Facebook for seven lucky fans to receive an advanced copy of the book! All you have to do is become a fan here and finish the sentence, You know you're in a midlife crisis when...

Read Amy's seven signs of a midlife crisis below and go to the fan page to list yours!

You know you’re in a midlife crisis when….
By Amy Ferris

7. There are no molehills, only mountains.

6. You no longer want—or need—to punctuate any single part of your life with a period

5. Heads Ambien. Tails Ambien.

4. You call The Women's Correctional Center to see if they have "week to week" availability.

3. Going through the alphabet, you immediately think Xanax when you come to the letter X.

2. Networking is the new gossiping.

1. Finally, midlife means you're closer to death, so you make sure to keep everything & everyone at arm’s length, postponing the inevitable as long as possible.

Dawn Dais on View from the Bay

2009-07-22T10:06:00.001-07:00

Today at 3pm Dawn Dais, author of The Noncyclist's Guide to the Century and Other Road Races will be on View from the Bay talking about her book, advising on easy ways to get into exercising, and discussing her ongoing Tour de Sacramento.

The Tour De Sacramento is a great way for locals to get in on what their city has to offer. Consisting of rides through the Sacramento area, it's a fun and easy way for people to get fit and get to know their city from a different viewpoint. Completely free, the Tour de Sacramento is taking place in tandem with the Tour de France.

Tonite the Tour de Sacramento will be doing a Grub Crawl Ride in Sacramento, so if you're in the area you should meet up at Bikes and Bites at 1013 12th Street at 5:30pm. For $25 you'll be visiting 5 great restaurants and receiving free appetizers along with drinks specials and cool prizes. This is the Tour de Sacramento Foodie edition so hop on board the Grub Crawl Ride!

Check out the Girldrive trailer

2009-07-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is the very cool new Girldrive trailer----just out and also featured on Jezebel earlier today.

The Seal Web Round-Up: What's New Online for Fall 2009

2009-07-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

While many people are just getting their summers into high gear, around here we're already thinking about fall and the new Seal books that will be coming with it. Want to see what we're seeing? To get a sneak preview and a taste of what's to come, check out some of our authors' websites, blogs and fanpages from the list below.

Girldrive: Crisscrossing America, Redefining Feminism: check out the new fanpage on Facebook, the blog and keep checking in for a new website coming soon!

For Living Canvas: Your Total Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and Body Modification, head over to Karen Hudson's fanpage on Facebook

Check out the new website and blog for Laid: Young People's Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture

Become a fan of Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood on Facebook

Head over to the fanpage for Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis

Visit Marie Leonard's website, author of Marie's Home Improvement Guide, here.

Get ready to create your very own book club with Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs at www.motherdaughterbookclub.com

And with the release of the second edition of Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse visit: www.girlthrive.com

Six months from now let's ask Jon & Kate about their divorce

2009-06-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

The Jon & Kate divorce is all over the news. I was in the airport bookstore this weekend and at least three tabloids featured covers of Jon & Kate.

It's unfortunate that their marriage didn't work out. But this divorce could open up new worlds, for both Jon & Kate. What I'd really like to do is send them a copy of our book, Ask Me About My Divorce edited by Candace Walsh. Both of them could benefit from the positive stories in this book. Stories about dreams becoming possible, life opening up, and love blossoming again. It's a fun and inspiring collection, and anyone who has had a divorce can find at least one chapter to connect with. One chapter where they recognize themselves and the ways in which their great loss became a great transformation.

So if you have Jon's new address in NYC, or Kate's address, send it along to me and I'll send them a copy. Because maybe someday they will want people to ask them about their divorce, so they can share the wisdom and the happiness they experienced in their new lives.

If you want to learn more about the book, check out their website at Ask Me About My Divorce.

~ Andie East

Melissa Ford wins the RESOLVE: National Fertility Associate Hope Award for Best Blog

2009-06-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Melissa Ford, author of Navigating the Land Of If: Understanding Infertility and Exploring Your Options (Seal Press / May 2009 / $16.96) was recently honored by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association this last weekend. Ford received the Hope Award for Best Blog for her blog Stirrup Queens. This was an Inaugral Award given to an individual/organization whose virtual initiative and mission is to foster awareness in the infertility community through the use of a blog. Please join Seal Press in congratulating Melissa Ford on her achievements. Learn more about her book here and check out her website here.

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, established in 1974, is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for men and women experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders.

The mission of RESOLVE is to provide timely, compassionate support and information to people who are experiencing infertility and to increase awareness of infertility issues through public education and advocacy.

Seal Press titles honored in the ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards!

2009-06-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

ForeWord Magazine announced the winners of the 2008 Book of the Year Awards and two Seal Titles were honored! My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman won Gold in the Career category while The Maternal is Political edited by Shari MacDonald Strong won Silver in the Women's Issues category.

At a ceremony at BookExpo America in New York City, the 220 Book of the Year Award winners in 61 categories were honored. These books, representing the best independently published books from 2008 were selected by a panel of librarian and bookseller judges.

Congratulations to the authors and contributors of these two great titles!