From B. Graham Simpson's Website

"It was about meeting other women authors, networking, and making valuable contacts.That about says it all, except that on the 21st of September 2019, the weather was warm and sunny–a beautiful pre-Autumn day at the Marietta House Museum in Glen Dale, MD. Book Fest organizers were on the ball, and even though this was their inaugural event, from where I sat, everything ran smoothly." CONTINUE READING

A lovely note from one of the attendees to The Write Women Book Fest!

Thank you for the Write Women Book Fest 2019! I left feeling inspired to keep on chugging along with my own work and uplifted by the many conversations I had with members of my "tribe" of writers. For the first time in a long time, I felt the fog of frustration lift. I haven't felt very tuned into my muse lately, and I was beginning to doubt that she'd ever chatted with me at all! But by the time the book fest was over, I felt reassured that others had been down this same road and managed to plow ahead--so maybe I can, too. I was comforted to know that so many others have struggled, too, and that my frustrations and ups and downs were perfectly natural, and even predictable--the ebb and flow of the creative process. The writers were so encouraging and gave me great tips. It was a wonderfully invigorating experience for me.

I am so appreciative of the work and time everyone involved put into the Book Fest. I am already looking forward to #thewritewomenbookfest2020!

Kind regards,
--
Joye Mercer Barksdale

Mark your calendars! Next year we will be having The Write Women Book Fest at the lovely Marietta House Museum again! Join us Saturday, September 26th for more women, more books, more fun! Follow us on Facebook or Instagram @thewritewomanbookfest or check back here for registration to open up early next year.

We want you to have a lot of fun at the book festival, and what could be more fun than sparkly and glittery hair? You can find Claudia of Fabulous Fairy Hair by Claudia over by the Teen Tent. Choose your color and shine!

Jill Pekofsky is the author of The ABCs of Conscious Parenting: Bringing Ease and Joy into your Relationship with your Child and the creator and facilitator of Conscious Parenting Workshops, which give parents tools for improved communication and behavior. She and her husband, Larry, have been married for almost 29 years, and together they have consciously and successfully raised two daughters, now 27 and 24. Through learning and growing in her marriage and raising her children, she has become and avid student and teacher of conscious communication — the most effective ways to communicate your needs, wants and desires, while maintaining boundaries and respecting others. As a recovering people-pleaser, she has gone from doormat to steamroller and is now grateful to find the balance between the two. She never claims to be perfect with her communication, but her relationships are thriving, and many people ask her advice on how to say what they mean, mean what they say, but not say it mean. She is frequently asked how her children became the young women they are — respectful, polite, confident, loving and intelligent. Conscious Parenting Workshops and The ABCs of Conscious Parenting were born from those questions. She now wants to take those parenting communication tools and help people improve all the relationships in their lives. She can be reached at [email protected]

Keianna Johnson will be in our Teen Tent with her book Coming Of Age: The Easy Guide To Healthy Hair for Teens.
Coming of Age: The Easy Guide to Healthy Hair Care for Teens is a resource guide that teaches girls how to manage their hair on their own. The book highlight topics relating to natural hair care, loc care, braiding, crochet braids, heat styling and more.
You can visit her website HERE.

This event was conceived of shortly after I started the Women Authors of Maryland group. It's an informal group of women writers and we have a monthly salon to help each other through the murky world of writing and publishing (or getting published). Just like that group, this festival is meant to be intersectional and inclusive. Through the help and hard work of volunteers, we are close to achieving that goal to the level we would like to, even in this first year event. We are still working towards the goal of including marginalized groups, so if you want to participate next year please contact us so we can hold space for you.

A special thanks to the volunteers and those who have pitched in to help me fund this event. And a special thanks to Stacey at Marietta House Museum for her helpfulness. And most especially to Cardyn Brooks (no relation) for being amazing. She has essentially been the co-coordinator and goddess of outreach and has given so much of her time to help this event reach its mission goals.

Everybody helping with this event and all of the authors and vendors have been full of graciousness and positivity. I like to think that is because it was born of love and positivity.

I'm hopeful this first year of The Write Women Book Fest will be awesome and that next year will be even better next year!

Best!
H.L. Brooks


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If you want to join Women Authors of Maryland please ask to join the Facebook group page. It's an informal group and you don't have to be a Maryland writer to join.

Dr. Elizabeth Small was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. After graduating high school, she decided to join the United States Army, where she would go on to serve her country for 25 years. The Doors that God Opens tells the story of a woman, who from at birth displayed resilience, strength, and determination. Despite being abused as a baby, getting pregnant at 16, and losing her best friend, she didn’t let that become her story. She used her support system, on earth and in heaven and gave her life to Christ and let God guide her life. She also used her resilience, strength, and determination with all the lessons she learned along the way from her family, the military, and more to open the doors that God had for her and truly live the life that God planned for her bringing her to places that she couldn’t even dream of as a child. No matter where or how you start if you can use resilience, strength, determination, and most importantly God, then there is no limit to where you can go.  
 
For more information about Dr. Small, please visit her website at www.godopens.com and take a look at her book teaser at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nfS05OR2Zw. 

The Write Women Book Fest is excited to have Desiree at our event! She will be located in the Kids' Tent, where there will be crafts and activities and story-time.

Welcome to Desiree's Workshop. A mom’s desire to spend more quality time with her daughter, and a daughter’s desire to be an author was the foundation of Desiree’s workshop. At Desiree’s workshop, enjoy custom designer girls hair accessories including hair bows, hair clips, headbands, hats, belts and more. You can enjoy stories and adventures with Desiree and her mom.

She will launch her book "Desiree's Unicorn Birthday Party" and you can get your copy at #thewritewomen2019

She will also have her "Desi Design" Bows! Girls Hair Bows, Alligator Hair Clips, Headbands, and Pom Pom Bows. Find her at @desisworkshop
www.desireesworkshop.com

Dr. Alethia J. Simmons is a native Washingtonian, retreat leader, conference facilitator, workshop instructor, author, counselor, missionary, mentor, motivator, administrator, gospel preacher, TV host and a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. Dr. Simmons received a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from DC Teacher’s College, Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling from Trinity College, Master of Arts in Biblical Studies/Old Testament from Maple Springs Bible College, and Doctor of Ministry degree in Theology from Liberty University.

Dr. Simmons was baptized at Takoma Park Baptist Church in Washington, DC. She was licensed and ordained in 1997; where she was co-founder of God’s Healing Temple in Laurel, MD. She later joined New Life Ministries in Bridgewater, VA and assisted as Associate Pastor. Presently, she serves as an Associate Minister at the New Macedonia Baptist church in Washington, DC. Today, she celebrates God’s healing power as a cancer survivor.

She has worked in the field of Education for over forty years. After years of government service, she retired as an Educational Administrator with the DC Department of Corrections and stepped into full time ministry. She has since ministered extensively throughout the Washington DMV area, USA eastern states, Jamaica, Central America, Thailand, Haiti, and Africa.

In 2008, Dr. Simmons birthed Seven Keys to a Mother’s Heart Ministry after experiencing a tremendous burden by the deterioration of the family. This nonprofit organization was designed to address the most urgent issues that family members face individually and corporately through prayer, counseling, Biblical training workshops and conferences. Additionally, Dr. Simmons designed and currently presents certification classes for Christian educators and workshops based on her book, “Rescuing the Millennial.”

Dr. Simmons is married to Brother Joseph Simmons. They are the proud parents of one son, Aaron and two grandchildren Isaiah and Layla.