One of Santa Barbara’s most cherished literary events will soon celebrate its silver anniversary. CALM’s 25th Annual Celebrity Authors’ Luncheon, presented by the CALM Auxiliary, will take place on Saturday, March 19, 2011, at 10:00 am at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort.

Interviewed authors this year include Jack Canfield, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sue Grafton, Jane Hamilton, and Susan Straight. Andrew Firestone will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the event. Book signing and purchasing will begin at 10:00 am, and lunch will be served at 11:45 am. Author interviews will begin at 12:45 p.m. Tickets are $125. For reservations or more information, please call (805) 682-3925. All ticket proceeds and a percentage of book sales will benefit CALM, the only nonprofit in Santa Barbara County focused solely on preventing, assessing, and treating child abuse and family violence.

Special recognition will be given this year to CALM Auxiliary co-chairs, Sharon Bifano and Stephanie Ortale, for dedicating 25 years to CALM and for making the Authors’ Luncheon a tremendous success. They have been the driving force behind the Authors’ Luncheon since 1987, and this will be their final year chairing the event. These incredible women have helped raise over one million dollars to help children and families in Santa Barbara recover from the devastation of child abuse, and to live happier, healthier lives.

This year’s interviewed authors include:

Jack Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series. He has fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre and watched it grow into a very successful enterprise. He is the driving force behind the development and delivery of more than 125 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul ® franchise. He shares his insight in his is book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Mr. Canfield is a Harvard graduate with a Master’s Degree in psychological education. Learn more at www.jackcanfield.com

Jean-Michel Cousteau at the Ocean Futures offices in Santa Barbara
Paul Wellman (file)

Jean-Michel Cousteau is an explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer, and author. He has dedicated himself and his vast experience to communicate to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet. Mr. Cousteau has spent most of his adult life nurturing the work of his famous father and now, in his newest book, My Father, the Captain, he gives us an intensely personal look into the lives of the Cousteau family. Learn more at www.oceanfutures.org

Sue Grafton
Press Release

Sue Grafton, New York Times best selling author, is published in twenty-eight countries and twenty-six languages. Her books, an alphabetical mystery series, began in 1982. She has been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and is a recipient of the Ross Macdonald Literary Award. Ms. Grafton is currently working on “V”, having completed U is for Undertow. Learn more at www.suegrafton.com

Jane Hamilton lives, works, and writes in an orchard farmhouse in Wisconsin. Her short stories have appeared in Harper’s magazine. Her first novel, The Book of Ruth, won the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award for best first novel and was a selection of the Oprah Book Club. Her second novel, A Map of the World, was an international bestseller. Her newest book, Laura Rider’s Masterpiece, is not only funny but sexy and provocative as well! Learn more at www.janehamiltonbooks.com

Susan Straight’s newest novel, Take One Candle Light a Room, portrays the forces that tear families apart and the ties that bind them together. Ms. Straight has written for The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Harper’s Magazine. She has won an Edgar Award, an O. Henry Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Learn more at www.susanstraight.com

In addition to the interviewed authors, the following authors will also attend the event and be available for book signing: Joan Blacher, Murder Canyon; Dianne Dixon, The Language of Secrets; Brooks Firestone, Valley Animals; Maria Chesley Fisk, Teach Your Kids to Think; Josie Martin, Never Tell Your Name; Lance Mason & Gary Byrne, Seven Paths to Poverty; Oonagh Jane Pope & Julie Ann Brown, Alinda of the Loch; Douglas Pricer, A Candle in the Chapel; Starshine Roshell, Wife on the Edge; Romney Steele, My Nepenthe; Wilhelmina Whitewitch, Piglet Willy; Teresa Fanucchi & Ann Chamberlin, A Place at the Table.

CALM, Child Abuse Listening and Mediation, was founded in 1970 to reach stressed parents before they hurt their children. CALM continues to be the only non-profit agency in Santa Barbara County focusing solely on preventing, assessing, and treating child abuse and family violence through comprehensive, cutting-edge programs. CALM offers children, families, and adults a safe, non-judgmental, caring, and strength-based environment to heal and increase family well-being. For more information about all of CALM’s services, please call (805) 965-2376, or visit www.calm4kids.org.

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