Category Archives: writing

Our family journey on the Bookshop podcast

Award-winning YA author Stacey Horan interviewed me on her popular literary podcast! We talk about books, writing, and parenting. “In his book A Family, Maybe, Lane details the challenges—legal, political, and personal—that he and his partner Jonathan faced trying to adopt their two foster children through the Los Angeles County child welfare system. Along thatContinue reading “Our family journey on the Bookshop podcast”

AFM’s opening chapter shared by LGBTQ Nation

PROUD to see an excerpt from my memoir shared by LGBTQ Nation, ‘the world’s most followed LGBTQ media source’. I edited the opening chapter to fit the requested size, and the resulting post, “Curbside delivery: 2 dads confront the heart-wrenching foster system as a baby arrives at their door” reads as a complete, cohesive essay.Continue reading “AFM’s opening chapter shared by LGBTQ Nation”

Setting the Right Intention with Morning Prayers: A Personal Liturgy

This is part 1 of a 3-part post I wrote for the Applied Jewish Spirituality blog about discovering the time and place for daily meditation in morning prayers. My Hebrew name is Akiva ben Ariel. Akiva comes from Yaakov, ‘the follower’, in Genesis; Ariel being my father’s Hebrew name. My dharma name is Kyojin, meaning ‘abiding in compassion’.Continue reading “Setting the Right Intention with Morning Prayers: A Personal Liturgy”

‘AWPocalypse of 2020’: A Convention on the Brink of the Pandemic (California Writers Club)

Just came out in the Spring 2020 issue of the bi-monthly California Writers Club Bulletin: my article “A Writers’ Convention That Almost Didn’t Happen” (excerpted on this site), a firsthand account of the #AWP20 congress that barely made it under the wire of the pandemic. Every year, thousands of writers travel to the annual AssociationContinue reading “‘AWPocalypse of 2020’: A Convention on the Brink of the Pandemic (California Writers Club)”

AWP 2020: Two Panels and a Reading

Every year, thousands of writers flock to the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference, the largest literary convention in North America. This year, however, was special. The coronavirus pandemic cast doubt on this giant event until March 2, just two days before its start, when the organizers and the host city ofContinue reading “AWP 2020: Two Panels and a Reading”

Upcoming Reading in San Antonio, TX, 3/6

Excited to be part of the AWP 2-Year College Creative Writing Caucus, during the AWP 2020 convention next week. A warm group of diverse writers from across the country – some published, some on their way to be published. If you are in San Antonio, please stop by. Friday, March 6th, 2020, 4-6 PM SanContinue reading “Upcoming Reading in San Antonio, TX, 3/6”

AWP20 Panel on Engaging College Students in Creative Writing

If you are at AWP 2020 in San Antonio, please stop by our panel, which features five community college professors from across the country (California, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas) sharing approaches and activities to involve these students in writing and cultivate their often underrepresented voices. Please see the panel description below. AWP 2020 ConferenceContinue reading “AWP20 Panel on Engaging College Students in Creative Writing”

Speaking Out on Gay Parenting and Writing at Lambda LitFest

Loved being part of the “Our Families, Our Stories: Writing and Parenting in the Trenches” apanel t 2019 Lambda LitFest with Michael Kearns, Carla Sameth, Pat Alderete, and Aimee Rowe, and reading there the opening chapter of my book Dispositions. From a lesbian Mom with a child from a short-lived straight marriage, to a pioneering,Continue reading “Speaking Out on Gay Parenting and Writing at Lambda LitFest”

#AWP20 Panel Proposal Accepted

The AWP 2020 organizers accepted the proposal for a panel I’ll be moderating, called “Nurturing Future Danticats and Nabokovs: Engaging Multilingual/ESL Students in Creative Writing.” With the 35% proposal acceptance rate, it is a testament to the importance of the topic and the joint expertise of our panelists. Here is the panel description and theContinue reading “#AWP20 Panel Proposal Accepted”