Conference Will Help Local Writers Advance Their Careers

The American Society of Journalists & Authors, founded almost 50 years ago in New York by magazine freelancers, has seven regional chapters and a membership that hovers at about 1,000 writers. The two annual conferences that ASJA sponsors (in New York and Los Angeles) attract a mix of panelists, including editors, agents, writers, publishers and Internet experts nationwide.

A number of Ventura and Santa Barbara writers who are members of ASJA’s Southern California chapter will participate in this year’s conference, scheduled from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Airport Marriott Hotel, 5855 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles.

Among the conference highlights will be an opportunity to meet Steve Wasserman, editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review section who will be on the book promotion panel. He will also introduce the luncheon speaker, A. Scott Berg, author of two major biographies--”Sam Goldwyn” and “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius”--who will chronicle publishing then and now.

In addition to choosing from among 16 panels, conference attendees can sign up for the personal mentor program and talk privately with publishing professionals about how to advance their writing careers.

Registration fee before Oct. 18 is $125. To receive a brochure, call (805) 522-3221 or (212) 997-0947.

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Two book discussion groups will meet Friday at Borders Books, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Readers interested in biography will review “The Big Change” by Frederick Lewis at 10:30 a.m. The Creative Options group meets at 1:30 p.m. and again Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31 to continue their exploration of the creative process using Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” as a guide.

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Clinical psychologist Barbara Larrivee will discuss her new book, “Moving into Balance,” at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Thousand Oaks Borders.

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Preston E. Dennett, a field investigator for the Mutual UFO Network, will be at the Thousand Oaks Borders to sign his new book, “UFO Healings,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Dennett records the tales of over 100 people who claim, after encounters with extraterrestrials, that they have been cured of myriad diseases from AIDS to multiple sclerosis, kidney stones to nearsightedness.

In Santa Barbara

The third annual Goddess Alive! festival begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday at a reception and bazaar and continues Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. at Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito. Barbara Marx Hubbard, author of the “Hunger of Eve” and the soon-to-be-released “Conscious Evolution,” will deliver the keynote address. And Vicki Leon, whose “Uppity Women of Medieval Times” is the latest in her women history series, will lead a workshop describing formidable females throughout history. Call 569-3302.

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New titles will be added daily to the annual used book sale which benefits regional Planned Parenthood chapters. The sale continues through Oct. 12 at 1501 Chapala St.

Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3), Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.