August 10th was a proud day in Los Angeles. Held at The Last Bookstore in downtown LA, Writers' Row began its Celebration of Women Writers. Writers' Row, dubbed the "official Written Art Showcase of Downtown Los Angeles," opened its stage to a dozen women writers. Amongst the activities of the night included two major features, a raw open mic, good refreshments, music, emceeing, and a fantastic amount of networking. 

The Last Bookstore, now enjoying a new and quite larger location at 453 S. Spring Street, on the corner of 5th and Spring, has formed a new literary renaissance in downtown. The historic home of the bookstore is adorned with original tiling and colonnades from its long past days as a bank. Bookseller, Peter Woods and his crew has completed the resurrection by decorating the space with lavish furnishing, detail and décor from the era. It gives a complete experience to those who wander in and provide an excellent stage to the readers of Writers' Row.

The night began with hostess, Jessica M. Wilson, the founder of Writers' Row, choosing the right song to set the mood. While this night was a celebration of women writers, it was by no means a forum for man bashing, which was actually prefaced to the audience before the reading began. Soon after the introduction, Wilson read a few selection of her own work, and passionately introduced the first feature of the night, Poet and Editor, Apryl Skies. 

Apryl Skies is a consistent voice in Los Angeles poetry, and also does much to support other poets and writers via means of publishing and recognition in the Examiner and also her sites, EdgarAllanPoet.com and CalliopesCloset.com. The work showcased by Skies was very lyrical and delivered honestly to the audience; her work was well received by all. Video footage of her reading can be found on EdgarAllanPoet.com.

Writers' Row is also a forum for networking and collaboration. Wilson believes "it's important to take intermissions between good chunks of time to keep the audience alert and also allow them to connect to each other. It's the best way to make sure the readers and audience understand each other, and sets the mood for the remainder of the night which is a social immersion between colleagues of similar interests." Indeed, much networking did go on as business cards were passed, books were purchased, and smiles shared. Writers' Row is literally for writers, and connections between writers is a wonderful thing to see take place. Intermission also allows guests to experience The Last Bookstore, get some refreshments, and buy stuff to help support the bookstore.  

As more ladies took the mic, the night was toppled off by Georgia Jones-Davis. Jones-Davis is a member of the Valley Contemporary Poets, and no stranger to the downtown atmosphere. For many years, she worked as a reporter and editor for the LA Times and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Jones-Davis was the closing feature of the night as it was also her book release party for Blue Poodle, her latest collection of work. She read much of her work from Blue Poodle, along with selections from her newer work to a very eager crowd. 

The energy in the room remained very positive and supportive. While there were a few gentlemen to take the open mic after the ladies, the event maintained integrity and was enjoyed by all.

Open Mic participants included: Joie Schmidt, Amanda LaPera, Cklara Moradian, Jamiealita Muhammad, Jennifer Word, Radomir Vojtech Luza, and Stuart Strum.

 In late 2009, Apryl Skies and Alicia Winski spent quite a bit of time collaborating on the idea of a "conversation" poem. The them of the poem was based on the impact that women in their lives have had on them positively and negatively.

In short; how did the presence of women, or a woman affect their thinking? How did women color their view of lives and perhaps change the course of them?

A broad conversation that was clearly larger than themselves. After much discussion, they felt that certainly, this was a conversation that required far more than two voices; it needed a multitude of voices. And with so many women possessing so many touching stories, memories, and thoughts, Apryl and Alicia felt it almost criminal not to include other women in this conversation. And so, a new and exciting journey has begun.

Edgar & Lenore's Publishing House had an open submission for female authors to send in their work for consideration of publication. The deadline has now closed and the real work begins; sorting through the many wonderful tales, poems and thoughts, and finding just the right ones that will fit the them of our anthology, In The Company Of Women.

We are anticipating publication of this anthology in early 2012 and would look forward to sharing with you the wise and witty words of women from around the world. 

Look for us. We'll be looking for YOU.

Also coming in 2012