First Ever Austin WriterGrrls Anthology Project

Big news! We've decided to have a baby. It's an anthology, a book, a huge group effort showcasing our very best writers, editors, and artists. We've named it Grrl Talk: Sass, Wit, and Wisdom from the Austin WriterGrrls.

Q: How does a group of twenty-six eclectic, audacious, opinionated women come together as "one mind" to produce a cohesive anthology of their best works — and come out smiling?

A: It wasn't easy, but well worth the effort! Members Julie Sucha Anderson, Kimberly Cockrill Pflaum, Carolyn Scarborough, and Anne Marie Turner organized and directed behind-the-scenes aspects of the project, and with the help of E.S. Carlson, they edited and developed a poignant anthology of essays, poetry, and short stories.

Some of the Contributing Writers are seasoned award winners, and some are seeing ink for the first time, but all provide perceptive insight that readers can identify with. In the words of Liz Carpenter, author, press secretary and chief of staff for Lady Bird Johnson, and founder of the Texas Women's Political Caucus, "Comes now some twenty-six women to dissect these roles as daughter, sister, wife, mother, widow, and friend...they have put their testimonials into an anthology for those who still try to discover their whole selves."

Grrl Talk is dedicated to Ruthe Lewin Winegarten (1929-2004), champion of women's history and beloved Austin Writergrrl, who sadly lost her fight with severe depression. In Ruthe's honor, all profits go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Austin Chapter.