Program Description
Event Details
The Scarsdale Library Writers Center’ Spring Festival of Writing will return in June with two festive evenings of readings! The free events will take place on the evenings of June 2nd and June 9th, from 6pm - 8pm on the beautiful front lawn of the Scarsdale Library. Members of the Library’s Writer Critique Groups will read selections from their work, including poetry, fiction, memoir, and essays. The public is invited and refreshments will be served.
The Writers Center support and promote local writers in a variety of genres. In addition to the Writer Critique Groups, the Writers Center has held a number of programs during the year, including a Meet & Greet and a holiday book fair. There also is now a separate group for local poets. In addition, the library maintains a Writers Center display at the front of library near the new books section, where books by local authors are displayed.
The twice-yearly Festival of Writing was previously held in the Scott Room and was graciously hosted by Bronx River Books in Scarsdale Village when the library was closed for renovation. The festival was also put on pause in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
The writers who will be reading are part of the two critique groups led by Barbara Josselsohn that meet at the library and on Zoom. Readers for each evening will be announced in advance of the events.
Dassi Citron: Joined the writing instituted in 2016, after retiring from a 23 year stint as a Heathcote teacher. Have had a few things published as a result. Read 650, Boomer Cafe. Letters to the Editor, local paper.
Susan Douglass: practiced law for over 39 years, spending most of her career at the New York City law firm Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, specializing in trademark, copyright and licensing law. She was recognized by her peers as one of four leading trademark lawyers in the U.S., an “Expert’s Expert” and a “Thought Leader.”Among Susan's many post-retirement activities, she is a 500-hour certified yoga teacher, teaching yoga daily via Zoom. She volunteers twice a week with her Australian Shepherd dogs in the Pet Therapy program at White Plains Hospital. She is President of the Scarsdale Forum, and also founded and chairs the Downtown Revitalization Committee of the Forum. She volunteers weekly at the Pace Women’s Justice Center, assisting victims of domestic violence and elder abuse.
Linda Ellenbogen: The piece I am reading is entitled "The Things We Keep." I have taken writing classes especially Barbara's for a number of years since I retired from teaching .I have 3 children, 2 in law children and 6 grandchildren .Most of my writing is memoir so my grandchildren will know where they came from.
Janet Garber: After a fulfilling corporate career in human resources, and a sideline as a freelance journalist working with NYT, WSJ, NY Post, Jewish Week, Training Magazine Janet Garber’s kept busy, devoting herself full time to writing essays, articles, stories, and poetry. A few dozen pieces have appeared in anthologies and literary and university journals such as The Ravens Perch, Forge Literary Magazine, and Tigershark Publishing. Her first book, I Need a Job, Now What? was published by Barnes & Noble and was followed by a novel, Dream Job, Wacky Adventures of an HR Manager which satirized work life in an out-of-control medical center. Her next novel , The French Lover's Wife, is due to be released by Sparks Press this time next year. Janet and her husband have lived in Somers for the last 17 years with their two rescue cats and enjoy hiking in the Gunks hanging out at Jacob Burns Film Center and listening to live music
Linda Lindman :has been writing throughout her career as an attorney, she began exploring creative writing by joining The Scarsdale Writer’s Center several years ago. She has taken creative writing classes at the New School and New York University. She will be sharing an excerpt from the novel she is working on which is based on the experiences of her parents during World War II. Ms. Lindman is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Philosophy and a graduate of Harvard Law School. She resides in Scarsdale, New York, with her two daughters and two cats.
Jennifer Manocheran: I am a jack of different trades, master of none.
Siobhan Mitchelle: is a neuroscientist who researches behavioral interventions for mental health and weight loss, and writes fiction and non-fiction in her spare time. She's published a YA book about antidepressants (2003), and is currently interning for a children's literary agent.
Nahal Motamed: is in love with the magic of words. Born in Iran, she is fluent in Farsi, French and English. In the last three decades she has practiced law in the US, Europe and the Middle East. She writes and translates poetry and is working on a dystopian no
Linda Shapiro attended Boston University, The New School and received a B.A. from the College of New Rochelle. She studied modern dance at the Martha Graham School in New York City and taught modern dance while raising her daughters. Linda eventually had a business career in the outdoor industry and travelled abroad as an importer, writing- always writing- wherever she traveled. Linda takes writing classes at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College and has been writing with The Scarsdale Library writers for many years. She was honored to read “Chicken Soup for Howie,” at Read 650 for the theme of Stonewall + 50. Now she’s presenting it in June --- for Pride month.
Judy Shemtob: A retired Scarsdale teacher, Judy Abelove Shemtob studies writing at The Writing institute at Sarah Lawrence College, The Scarsdale Writers emtobCenter, and Scarsdale Adult Ed and writes for adults and children. A member of SCBWI, CTC, 12x12, and WFWA, her work has been published online and in print in Raise Your Words, Writing Right Now, Writing the Everyday Now: A Collection, Pause & Reflect Again, SCBWI Metro/Westchester NY Blogs, Arthritis Today, Jacob Burns Film Center Bread Project, Scarsdale10583.com, Medium, Heart.Soul.Pen, Echoes: Remembering 9/11, BoomerCafe.com, TheGoodBookCorner.com, and Writes & Bites. She lives with her family in Scarsdale and belongs to several critique groups. Judy bakes and creates artwork with her garden harvests. Her debut women’s novel THE PEDDLER’S DAUGHTER will be released from TouchPoint Press in October 2022. She will be reading from her middle grade novel PRESTO PERFECT, EMMA’S BUSY BAKERY. For more information, you can visit her website at www.judyshemtobauthor.com.
Kaye White:I became entranced with words in junior high where I was enrolled in a class called “Semantics,” which was actually training to compete in local and regional spelling bees leading up to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. I didn’t make it past the Colorado/Wyoming Bi-state Bee, but I did add exponentially to my vocabulary. I also became fascinated with etymology and tracing the origins of and connections between words. I welcomed the chance for some creative writing when I got assignments for essays or poems or stories. Later, in both high school and college, I worked on the school newspapers, both reporting and writing feature stories. Since then, however, I haven’t managed to publish anything. Twenty-five years as an Edgemont teacher gave me tons of opportunities to pass on writing basics to the early grade students I taught, but there was little time left for me to write much more than report card comments. Since retiring. I have taken some courses at the Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute, and this year I was fortunate to be able to join one of the Scarsdale Writers groups here at the library. Connecting with other writers has been invaluable.
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For more information about the Scarsdale Library Writers Center, visit scarsdalelibrary.org/scarsdale-library-writers-center/ or email SPLWritersCenter@wlsmail.org