Books by members of the National League of American Pen Women, Inc., published by The Pen Women Press
Who Am I?
Stepping Stones to Self-Discovery
Poetic/prose memoir by Vera Ripp Hirschhorn
Who was I? Who did I become? Who am I today? What is my passion with purpose? These were the questions author Vera Ripp Hirschhorn asked herself during her continued search for identity. Travel along her cathartic journey of growth from childhood – beginning as a six-year-old immigrant – through her challenges, choices, and spiritual awakenings. Her story is one of profound transformation and transition from pain to passion and purpose. The memoir is an invitation: The author empowers, encourages, and enlightens her readers to explore their own stories and experience self-love and love for others. Her interactive prompts and visualizations help the readers create their own personal story.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-19-3 (paperback) | 978-1-950251-20-9 (ebook)
Available at amazon.com and other online book sellers
Yet in the Land of the Living
Novel by Nancy Avery Dafoe
This work of contemporary historical fiction takes the reader into protagonist Grace Storey’s deep dive into dual mysteries about the American landscape of war, specifically through her great-great-grandfather and a contemporary soldier injured in Iraq. Grace’s search arises both out of empathy and an attempt to come to terms with her own devastating losses of her mother, brother, and husband. The novel is structured around Grace’s interpretation of her ancestor’s Civil War letters to his waiting wife in order to find the “truth” of not only the past but in the meaning of her own life. The story offers alternative versions of the climatic events as she continues to recast meaning and herself, gaining strength through her search and discoveries.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-24-7
Available at nancydafoebooks.com, amazon.com, and other sellers
Spirits Do Not Rest
Heartbreak at Wounded Knee
Historical novel by Margaret Lukas
It’s 1890, and people are fleeing South Dakota due to rumors of Sioux uprisings and Ghost Dancing. Army troops arrive in numbers the U.S. hasn’t deployed since the Civil War. Newspapers across the country are fomenting prejudice and fear. The country waits for war. Twenty-two-year-old Lauder risks it all, leaving her home to teach at a reservation day school.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-22-3 (paperback)| 978-1-950251-23-0 (ebook)
Available online at amazon.com and other sellers
A Domain of Her Own
An Anthology of Art, Poetry, and Prose by Members of the NLAPW Central New York Branch Celebrating our 100th year
Edited by Nancy Avery Dafoe and Susan Wolstenholme
Written and compiled as a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Central New York Branch, this eclectic collection includes the finest work of professional women writers and visual artists who are members of the branch. The anthology is designed to provoke thought on a variety of topics and evoke emotional responses to the poetry, prose, and various visual art forms created by a diverse group of American women who express their unique voices.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-21-6 (paperback)
Available online at nancydafoebooks.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com
Hug Me Anyway: A Collection of Poems
Poetry collection by Barbara Sillery
This collection of slightly irreverent poems explores life in all its foibles. The poems reflect the joys, milestones, pitfalls, and struggles that define our days and haunt our nights. The opening poem, “Apology in D Minor,” is a reminder that there is little in this world that offers as much comfort as a hug — even “half a hug will do.”
ISBN: 978-1-950251-18-6 (paperback)
Available online from amazon.com and other booksellers
Real Life – Real Laughs: Humor When You Need It Most
Collection of writings by Cate Burns
Cate Burns’ collection of thirty-eight humorous vignettes explores society’s foibles and personal snafus with insightful zingers that will delight readers. In her work, Burns salutes the absurd and quirky in life with heartfelt humor. Her writing honors (or defames) the lineage in her maternal family that dates to the Scottish poet Robert Burns.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-16-2 (paperback) | 978-1-950251-17-9 (ebook)
Available online through amazon.com and other booksellers
In the Presence of the Moai: Poetry and Prose of Travel
Collection of writings by Lynn M. Hansen
Travel poetry and travel prose is presented here as snapshots from forty years of adventure travel in unique natural environments. This collection is a chronicle of unexpected delights arranged in a geographic sequence. Readers can vicariously meander through the continents, visiting many wonders that the world has to offer.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-15-5 (paperback, $14.99)
Available online through amazon.com
Mountain Lion Rises
A memoir by Jacinta Hart Kehoe
This memoir is about grief, family tragedy, and the struggle to heal from serious injury while parenting a traumatized adopted child. “In this beautifully written memoir-in-essays, Jacinta Hart Kehoe offers a moving, clear-eyed account of family struggles, pain, loss, and ultimately, a courageous self-reckoning that sets her free and invites new love into her life. Mountain Lion Rises is gritty, poignant, inspiring, and bold,” according to author Ann McCutchan.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-12-4 (paperback) | 978-1-950251-14-8 (hardback) | 978-1-950251-13-1 (ebook)
Available online through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, and at local bookstores
Significance: Poems of Small Encounters
Poetry collection by Karen McAferty Morris
This poetry collection explores the wonder and meaning of interactions with nature and with common, everyday people. It’s an expanded edition of Morris’ chapbook, which placed in the top three in the National League of American Pen Women’s prestigious 2021 Vinnie Ream Medal Competition.
ISBN 978-1-950251-11-7 (paperback)
Available online through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble
Socrates is Dead Again
Mystery novel by Nancy Avery Dafoe
An existential mystery, “Socrates is Dead Again” concerns a group of young writers’ responses to the suicide of a prominent figure in the literary world, causing them to question their own lives and the meaning of the writing life.
ISBN 978-1-950251-10-0 (paperback)
LCCN 2022911765
Available online through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble
Dark Queen of Donegal
Historical fiction by Mary Pat Ferron Canes with JR Foley
“Dark Queen of Donegal” is a riveting, action-packed historical novel. Filled with authentic details, it is the story of Red Hugh’s mother, a resourceful Irish queen who pits herself against Elizabeth I in her efforts to see her son become king in Ireland.
ISBN 978-1-950251-07-0 (paperback) | 978-1-950251-08-7 (hardcover) | 978-1-950251-09-4 (ebook)
LCCN 2021924282
Available Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc.
Art Speaks, The Catalogue
Head editor: Nancy Avery Dafoe
This is an anthology of Central New York branch’s ekphrastic poetry and art derived from two exhibitions and ekphrastic readings in 2021. The book encourages readers to take advantage of the opportunity to interact with the art in multiple ways and continue the conversations.
ISBN 978-1-950251-06-3 (paperback)
Available at amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers
Unstuck in Time: A Memoir and Mystery on Loss and Love
Nonfiction/memoir by Nancy Avery Dafoe
“Unstuck in Time: A Memoir and Mystery on Loss and Love” is a hybrid memoir focused on the sudden death of the author’s 32-year-old son and a journey through grief. This memoir reveals dual mysteries: why an apparently healthy, athletic young man dies suddenly and how he remade himself before his death.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-04-9 (paperback) | 978-1-950251-05-6 (ebook)
LCCN: 2021909158
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.
Lost Orchard II: Nonfiction from the Kirkland College Community
Anthology of nonfiction, essays, and creative nonfiction
Head editor: Isabel Weinger Nielsen
Associate editors: Nancy Avery Dafoe, Jo Pitkin, Elisabeth Horwitt
“Lost Orchard II: Nonfiction from the Kirkland College Community” collects nonfiction by alumnae, faculty, and administration of Kirkland College, an innovative private women’s college in Central New York in existence only a few years before being annexed by neighboring Hamilton College.
ISBN: 978-1-950251-01-8 (paperback) | ISBN: 978-1-950251-03-2 (hardcover)
LCCN: 2021906128
Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.
Soldier, Sister, Savant
Nonfiction/memoir/art by Wilma Davidson and Diana de Avila
First-place winner in the Marjorie Davies Roller Nonfiction Award in the NLAPW 2022 Biennial Letters Competition
“Soldier, Sister, Savant” is a rare and inspirational story of an Acquired Art Savant whose artistry emerged after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and exacerbation of multiple sclerosis. This hybrid memoir, featuring Diana de Avila’s extraordinary artwork, takes readers on her journey from soldier at 18 years of age to sister in a convent, to highly sought-after digital artist.
Full-color print and ebook
ISBN: 978-1-950251-00-1 (paperback) | 978-1-950251-02-5 (ebook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021905675
Available at soldiersistersavant.com
Creative Genius
“Creative Genius teems with sage advice from writers, composers and artists who have mastered their art and become experts in their craft.”
– Kathleen Powers-Vermaelen, Editor
Pen Women Press joyfully announces the forthcoming publication of Creative Genius: The Inspirational Wisdom of Pen Women. This original anthology of wit, wisdom and willpower features work by Dorothy Atkins, Dr. Patricia Daly-Lipe, Sara Etgen-Baker, Lois Batchelor Howard, Kathryn Kleekamp, Carol S. Mann, Elizabeth Diane Garcia Martin, Mary Joan Meagher, Sheila Meyerowitz-Firestone, Ronni Miller, Linda A. Mohr, Bobbie Dumas Panek, Marsha J. Perlman, Tricia Pimental, Kathleen Powers-Vermaelen, Sarah Byrn Rickman, Bonnie Jo Smith, Connie Spittler, Rodika Tollefson, Katie Turner, Laura Walth, and Janis Ward.
Covers are by Lucy Arnold. Perfect for gifting, this book’s advice and acumen will inspire others to create prolifically, proudly, and often!
ISBN# 978-0-9815693-8-3. Available for $14.00 donation per copy to NLAPW, Inc. plus $4.00 S&H. (See drop-down menu below for multiple copy S&H rates.)
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Celebrating 120 Years of Pen Women
“Pen Women foster and support creative development in women of all ages.”– Lucy Arnold, Editor
Pen Women Press is pleased to announce the publication of Celebrating 120 Years of Pen Women, a limited-edition, commemorative coloring book featuring the artwork of NLAPW members Anne R. Baehr, Barbara Baum, Anita Benson Bradley, Mary Dall, Patricia Daly-Lipe, Chella Gonsalves, Caroline Henry, Darby Hobbs, Barbara L. Jendrysik, Kathryn Kleekamp, Lisa Livingston, Mary Ann Miller, Suzanne M. Packer, Debbie Patrick, Molly Read Woo, J. A. Slack, Bonnie Jo Smith, Katie Turner, Mara Viksnins, Barbara Waterman-Peters, Patricia Watkins Dick, Melissa Woodburn, and Lucy Arnold.
ISBN# 978-0-9815693-7-6. Release date: January 7, 2018. Available for $16.00 ($12.00 donation to NLAPW, Inc. plus $4.00 S&H).
“Celebrating 120 Years of Pen Women”
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Flash! Short Short Stories by Pen Women
“Good flash fiction cuts to the chase and sears the heart. These stories, told by Pen Women, aren’t excerpts from longer works. They’re mini-masterpieces in themselves. A flashbulb pops. Light explodes onto a scene and captures the truth. You see, and hear, and feel everything you need to know in 100 words or fewer.” – Treanor Wooten Baring, Editor
Available for a $10 donation per copy plus Shipping & Handling
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The Light Between Us: True Stories of Healing through Creative Expressions by Pen Women
Order The Light Between Us
When we least expect it, our lives sometimes fall apart. We then turn our whole selves to light, to explore or re-explore our intrinsic creative energy. The result is, as these stories illustrate, the emergence of new vision.
The Light Between Us is the open and honest sharing of renewal. Throughout these pages, creative women bear witness to the healing power of artistic and literary expression. These stories will lift your soul and give inspiration to your own new vision.
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Poems of the Super Moon
Pre-order for the second printing of Poems of the Super Moon, the latest in the Pen Women Press’s collection of poetry by Pen Women. Our literary Press relies on sales to cover costs.
From the Preface by Treanor Baring, Poems of the Super Moon editor:
…These poems are not only about the moon; they are about life itself. The moon sheds its light on moments in our lives when longing and knowing converge. The authors here have set these moments, some small, some extraordinary, to words. Several are offered as prayers, others as cries in the dark, even more as testimonies to the wonder of being alive. The moon has inspired these poems, but it is the inspiration that comes from within women that we celebrate with this anthology.
Order now and be sure to get a copy from the second printing. Donations to help us get it to press are also welcome! (click on the Donate button to the right and be sure to add a note specifying Donation for Pen Women Press).
Helen Holt: Memoir of a Servant Leader
Called a great patriot by John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and lauded by Vice President Joe Biden, Helen Holt was the first woman to hold statewide office in West Virginia. In 1957, she was appointed Secretary of State of West Virginia. She has served under eight U.S. Presidents with the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, working to establish nursing homes and improve elder care across the country. At 101 (going on 102!), she is an active member of the NLAPW District of Columbia Branch.
District of Columbia Branch Art and Letters Member (and former NLAPW Branch President) Patricia Daly-Lipe has completed her much-anticipated biography of this pioneer Pen Woman. Published by The Pen Women Press, Helen Holt, Memoir of a Servant Leader, can be purchased from Patricia Daly-Lipe at literarylady.com for $14.95.
Spirit, Peace and Joy: An anthology of poems by Pen Women
The 2nd printing of our stunning poetry anthology now available
an anthology of poems by Pen Women
Demand for this collection of uplifting poems was so high, a second printing was ordered and has now been delivered to The Pen Arts Building and Art Museum. Order now to fill this holiday season and the New Year with Spirit, Peace and Joy! We’re not Amazon, so we can’t promise a delivery schedule, but our headquarters will rush this new printing out to you as fast as possible.
Pen Women poets from across the country share their unique voices in this collection.
Their poems are powerful and peaceful, thought-provoking and calming. They embody the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary women.
The Pen Women Press of the National League of American Pen Women, Inc. invites you to enjoy this book. We hope it lifts your spirit and brings you peace and joy.
$10 plus shipping
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