Upcoming Events

While I am working on, well, all the different things I am working on, I am excited to be a part of two upcoming events in Southern California. One is a UCLA Extension writing seminar, “Writing in the Digital Age” on May 8. On June 7, I’ll be in conversation with Ian Johnson at UC Irvine, an event hosted by The China Beat, about his new book on the Muslim Brotherhood and his work in China.

Here’s the published blurbs about these events, but let me know if you want more information or if you have thoughts about what we should cover:

Writing in the Internet Age: The Future of Publishing and How to Capitalize on the Digital Revolution

The web is giving rise to unique forms of expression and providing writers with an unprecedented opportunity to connect with potential readers and promote their work in ways unimaginable even five years ago. Literary agents now urge clients to blog at least five hours a week; publishers expect writers to increase their visibility through websites, social networking blogs, audio podcasts, and online clips.  For beginning writers and mid-career professionals alike, this one-day seminar explores the future of publishing and how to capitalize on the new opportunities in the digital age, including how to develop an online identity that can help build your individual brand and enable you to tap into the extensive network of online communities that will be natural audiences for your work. The course also covers creating websites that showcase your writing talent and professional skills and using social media to expand and improve your professional life, increase your visibility and income, and build a reader base.

Moderator:  Linda Marsa is a former staff writer for Los Angeles Times, a contributing editor for Discover and is writing a book on global warming.  She also has written for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Los Angeles, Playboy, Popular Science, Utne Reader, Financial Times, Reader’s Digest, and Mother Jones and is the author of Prescription for Profits. She received the UCLA Extension Outstanding Instructor Award in Creative Writing, 1999.

China in the World

China Beat is co-sponsoring a dialogue between Angilee Shah and Ian Johnson, to be held at UC Irvine on June 7 (more details to come as the date draws closer). Shah has previously written for us about China-India matters, among other topics, and is currently posting (at her website) about her recent monthlong stay in Indonesia. Johnson, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China, will publish A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA, and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the West in early May. A schedule of his other tour dates and locations can be found here; you can also read an interview with him from the early days of China Beat.