Joan Gelfand
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Joan Gelfand | |
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| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State University |
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Joan Gelfand is an American author, poet, writing coach and literary critic. She is the author of numerous books that include Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution (2023), You Can Be A Winning Writer: The 4 C's System to Author Success - Craft, Commitment, Community and Confidence (2018), and Extreme: A Novel (2022).
Gelfand has published three poetry collections: The Long Blue Room, A Dreamer's Guide to Cities and Streams, and Seeking Center, showcasing her range as a poet and writer.[1]
Biography
Gelfand attended San Francisco State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing in 1978. She completed her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Mills College in 1996. These educational pursuits laid the groundwork for her writing career.
In addition to her publications, she works as a writing coach, counseling writers individually and in groups, and as a speaker at the California Writers Club[2] and the San Francisco Writers Conference.[3]
She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle[4] and has also served as the President of the Women’s National Book Association,[5] where she developed and chaired its National Writing Contest.
She has been has spent over four decades providing her insight to the field of creative writing and has been honored for her expertise in creative writing by Marquis Who's Who.[6]
Books
Gelfand’s latest book Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution (2024), offers an intimate portrait of Berkeley in 1972 and the transformative power of the women's movement. It was published by Post Hill Press.[7] The book won the 2024 NYC Big Book Award in New Non-Fiction[8], the 2024 Literary Titan Award in Non-Fiction[9], and the 2024 International Book Award in History. The book was reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly.[10]
Her debut book Extreme: A Novel (2020), set in a Silicon Valley startup, was published by Blue Light Press,[11] and was a Finalist in the 2021 International Book Awards.[12] In a Tech Nation Radio Podcast, Moira Gunn interviews Gelfand and discusses her book Extreme: A Novel (2020).[13]
Much of Gelfand’s teaching methodology is documented in her book for writers, You Can Be A Winning Writer: The 4 C's System to Author Success: Craft, Commitment, Community & Confidence (2018), was published by Mango Publishing.
Poetry
Gelfand’s first published collection of poems Seeking Center: A Collection of Poems (2006), published by Two Bridges Press, tells about our deepest selves, reaching those secret places where we overlap and long for validation.[1]
In her second full-length poetry collection, A Dreamer's Guide to Cities and Streams (2008), published by San Francisco Bay Press, she explores the poignancy of living in a world that is war-torn and environmentally damaged.[14]
In her third collection of poems The Long Blue Room (2014), published by Benicia Literary Arts, she invites us to see things that we usually overlook.[15] The book review by Carol Smallwood at Haggard and Halloo Publications examines Gelfand’s motivations and evident wide knowledge of humanity in the poetry collections of The Long Blue Room (2014).[16]
Poetry Video Adaptations
In collaboration with several musicians and film makers, Gelfand's poetry has been adapted in several videos.
- "The Ferlinghetti School of Poetics" (MPG). YouTube. Directed by Dana Walden and Kelly Sullivan Walden. Joan Gelfand. Nov 24, 2015. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - "Café" (MPG). YouTube. Music by Joseph Collins Wicht (piano) and Jesse Barrett (tenor). Joan Gelfand. Sep 22, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - "How We Live Now" (MPG). YouTube. Joan Gelfand. Sep 27, 2016.
Selected Works
- Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution. New York, NY: Post Hill Press. January 15, 2024. ISBN 9798888450048. Archived from the original on April 18, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
- You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4 C's Approach of Successful Authors – Craft, Commitment, Community, and Confidence. Miami, FL: Mango Publishing. July 15, 2018. ISBN 9781633537422.
- Extreme: A Novel. San Francisco, CA: Blue Light Press. July 14, 2020. ISBN 9781421836515. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
- The Long Blue Room. Benicia, CA: Benicia Literary Arts. January 31, 2014. ISBN 9780970373724.
- A Dreamer's Guide to Cities and Streams. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Bay Press. November 18, 2008. ISBN 9781604610093.
- Here and Abroad. Somerville, MA: Cervena Barva Press. November 2010. ISBN 9780983104100. Archived from the original on 2025-07-16. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- Seeking Center: A Collection of Poems. New York, NY: Two Bridges Press. January 1, 2007. ISBN 9780972394765.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Simon & Schuster | Official Publisher Page | Joan Gelfand".
- ↑ "The Berkeley Branch of the California Writers Club | Joan Gelfand". Archived from the original on 2025-07-20. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "San Francisco Writers Conference | Speakers SFWC 2025". 5 February 2025. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ↑ "National Book Critics Circle | Member News". 30 September 2024. Archived from the original on 18 June 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ↑ "Women's National Book Association | Author Joan Gelfand". 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ↑ "Marquis Who's Who Honors Joan Gelfand". Archived from the original on 2025-05-23. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "Post Hill Press | Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution". Archived from the original on 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "NYC Big Book Award | 2024 Winners". Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "Literary Titan | 2024 Winners". 29 April 2024.
- ↑ "Publisher's Weekly - Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution".
- ↑ "Blue Light Press | Extreme: A Novel".
- ↑ "International Book Awards | 2021 Finalist". Archived from the original on 2025-06-27. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "Tech Nation Radio - Moira Gunn".
- ↑ "San Francisco Bay Press | A Dreamer's Guide to Cities and Streams".
- ↑ "Benicia Literary Arts | The Long Blue Room". Archived from the original on 2025-07-11. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "Book review of The Long Blue Room | Haggard & Halloo Publications". 18 December 2014.
External links
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