Feminist Book Publishing at WAM! 2008

Women, Action & the Media (WAM!) 2008 conference is coming soon: March 28-30, 2008, at MIT’s Stata Center in Cambridge, MA. Register here.

I'll be there as part of a panel on publishing feminist books, along with Courtney Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body (Free Press, Simon & Schuster); Amy Caldwell, Executive Editor at Beacon Press; and Laura Mazer, Managing Editor of Seal Press. Here's the descript:

Public debate lacks a sensitive discussion of the complex forces shaping the lives of women and girls. Researchers, advocates, and savvy writers everywhere have the opportunity to frame public debate about these issues. Too often, however, important work about women fails to reach an audience outside the academic and advocacy worlds. Writing a “trade” book is one way to enter debate. To sell a book in today’s competitive publishing climate, one must be able to write engaging, accessible prose that will appeal to a wide audience—and know how to market it oneself.
 This session brings together published book authors with editors at houses that publish feminist work. Panelists will discuss the components of a successful book proposal. Participants will learn why it’s essential to think about audience, market, and “platform” and explore ways to use new media to garner visibility for their work after publication.

BTW, I just noticed that the WAM! site has posted a slew of facts and figures and links to articles on women in the media. Def worth checking out.