About Us
LINDA WATANABE MCFERRIN, poet, travel writer, novelist and teacher, is a
contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online
publications including the San Francisco Examiner, The Washington Post, The San
Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Modern Bride, Travelers' Tales, Salon.com, and
Women.com. She is the author of two poetry collections and the editor of the 4th
edition of Best Places Northern California. A winner of the Nimrod International
Journal Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, her work has also appeared in Wild
Places and American Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber was published by
Coffee House Press and named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public
Library. Her collection of award-winning short stories, The Hand of Buddha, was
published in 2000. She is also co-editor of a prize-winning travel anthology and the
recently released Hot Flashes: sexy little stories & poems. Linda has served as a
judge for the San Francisco Literary Awards and the Kiriyama Prize. She holds an
undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and a Master of Arts degree in
Creative Writing and is the founder of Left Coast Writers (http://leftcoastwriters.com).
When she is not on the road, she directs art, consults on communications and
product development, and teaches Creative Writing (www.lwmcferrin.com).
JOANNA BIGGAR is a teacher, writer and traveler whose special places of the heart
include the California coast and the South of France. She has degrees in Chinese
and French and, as a professional writer for twenty years, has written poetry, fiction,
personal essays, features, news, and travel articles for hundreds of publications
including The Washington Post Magazine, Psychology Today, The International
Herald Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal. Her book Travels and Other Poems
was published in 1996, and her most recent travel essays have appeared in
Sportsfan.com and Floating through France: Life Between Locks on the Canal du
Midi. She has taught journalism, creative writing, personal essay, and travel writing
at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland since 1984, and “Spirit of Place” at the
Writer’s Center of Marin in San Rafael, California.
Organizers
BARBARA J. EUSER is a former political officer with the Foreign Service of the U.S.
Department of State. As a director of the International Community Development
Foundation, she has worked on projects in Bosnia, Somaliland, Zimbabwe, and
Nepal. Her articles and essays have appeared in magazines and anthologies. She
is the author of Children of Dolpo, Somaliland and Take ‘Em Along: Sharing the
Wilderness with Your Children, co-author of A Climber’s Climber: On the Trail with
Carl Blaurock and editor of Bay Area Gardening and Gardening Among Friends. In
2005, she organized the 2005 Writers Workshop on the Canal du Midi in France. She
edited Floating Through France: Life Between Locks on the Canal du Midi, an
anthology of essays by workshop participants. A founder of Writers Workshops
International, she is co-editor of Venturing in Southern Greece: The Vatika Odysseys
and Venturing in Ireland: Quest for the Modern Celtic Soul. She is married and has
two grown daughters.
CONNIE BURKE left San Francisco, California in 1979. She set out for Ithaka, hoping
to make her journey a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. She has yet to
return. On the way, she received a B.A. in English Literature, M.A. in the Humanities,
and a Ph.D. in Education. She joined the English Faculty of the University of
Maryland, European Division and The American College of Greece. Then she went
on to establish and direct The Burke Institute for English Language Studies in
Piraeus, Greece. Retired from academia, Connie resides in Piraeus where she
served as the first President of Habitat for Humanity, Greater Athens. When she is
not hammering nails and cleaning paintbrushes, she spends her time reading,
writing, and celebrating life in the southern Peloponnesus. A founder of Writers
Workshops International, she is co-editor of Venturing in Southern Greece: The
Vatika Odysseys, and Venturing in Ireland: Quest for the Modern Celtic Soul.
contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online
publications including the San Francisco Examiner, The Washington Post, The San
Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Modern Bride, Travelers' Tales, Salon.com, and
Women.com. She is the author of two poetry collections and the editor of the 4th
edition of Best Places Northern California. A winner of the Nimrod International
Journal Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, her work has also appeared in Wild
Places and American Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber was published by
Coffee House Press and named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public
Library. Her collection of award-winning short stories, The Hand of Buddha, was
published in 2000. She is also co-editor of a prize-winning travel anthology and the
recently released Hot Flashes: sexy little stories & poems. Linda has served as a
judge for the San Francisco Literary Awards and the Kiriyama Prize. She holds an
undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and a Master of Arts degree in
Creative Writing and is the founder of Left Coast Writers (http://leftcoastwriters.com).
When she is not on the road, she directs art, consults on communications and
product development, and teaches Creative Writing (www.lwmcferrin.com).
JOANNA BIGGAR is a teacher, writer and traveler whose special places of the heart
include the California coast and the South of France. She has degrees in Chinese
and French and, as a professional writer for twenty years, has written poetry, fiction,
personal essays, features, news, and travel articles for hundreds of publications
including The Washington Post Magazine, Psychology Today, The International
Herald Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal. Her book Travels and Other Poems
was published in 1996, and her most recent travel essays have appeared in
Sportsfan.com and Floating through France: Life Between Locks on the Canal du
Midi. She has taught journalism, creative writing, personal essay, and travel writing
at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland since 1984, and “Spirit of Place” at the
Writer’s Center of Marin in San Rafael, California.
Organizers
BARBARA J. EUSER is a former political officer with the Foreign Service of the U.S.
Department of State. As a director of the International Community Development
Foundation, she has worked on projects in Bosnia, Somaliland, Zimbabwe, and
Nepal. Her articles and essays have appeared in magazines and anthologies. She
is the author of Children of Dolpo, Somaliland and Take ‘Em Along: Sharing the
Wilderness with Your Children, co-author of A Climber’s Climber: On the Trail with
Carl Blaurock and editor of Bay Area Gardening and Gardening Among Friends. In
2005, she organized the 2005 Writers Workshop on the Canal du Midi in France. She
edited Floating Through France: Life Between Locks on the Canal du Midi, an
anthology of essays by workshop participants. A founder of Writers Workshops
International, she is co-editor of Venturing in Southern Greece: The Vatika Odysseys
and Venturing in Ireland: Quest for the Modern Celtic Soul. She is married and has
two grown daughters.
CONNIE BURKE left San Francisco, California in 1979. She set out for Ithaka, hoping
to make her journey a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. She has yet to
return. On the way, she received a B.A. in English Literature, M.A. in the Humanities,
and a Ph.D. in Education. She joined the English Faculty of the University of
Maryland, European Division and The American College of Greece. Then she went
on to establish and direct The Burke Institute for English Language Studies in
Piraeus, Greece. Retired from academia, Connie resides in Piraeus where she
served as the first President of Habitat for Humanity, Greater Athens. When she is
not hammering nails and cleaning paintbrushes, she spends her time reading,
writing, and celebrating life in the southern Peloponnesus. A founder of Writers
Workshops International, she is co-editor of Venturing in Southern Greece: The
Vatika Odysseys, and Venturing in Ireland: Quest for the Modern Celtic Soul.
Instructors
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