Host & Guest

Guests

Kimberly Davis Basso

Tonia Shimin

Jacob Kilgore

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin

Host

Kathleen Kaiser

Adanna Moriarty

 Resources

KimberlyDavisBasso.com

symeonshimin.com

weloveophelia.online/

artediosa.com

About This Episode

Welcome back to Talking Book Publishing with Kathleen and Adanna–and part two of our LA Times Festival of Books (LATFB) series. We’re excited to highlight more authors and their books, Kimberly Davis Basso, Tonia Shimin, Jacob Kilgore, and Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin. These four will join us at the festival as part of the Writers & Publishers Network (WPN) booth.

This year’s booth comprises incredible authors. You’ll have the chance to meet our guest authors and publishers; whether you’re into poetry, children’s books, non-fiction, humor, or horror, we’ve got something for everyone. These authors have poured their hearts and souls into their work, which you’ll hear in this episode, and we can’t wait for you to discover their unique stories.

With over 150,000 attendees, this free and open-to-the-public event is a must-attend for book lovers of all ages. Have the chance to purchase tickets and meet famous author speakers, attend readings of all kinds, and explore the poetry booth across from the WPN booth. WPN has been a mainstay at LATFB, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue this tradition with such amazing authors by our side.

Mark your calendars for April 22nd and 23rd. Come visit us at the Writers & Publishers Network booth at #200 on the main thoroughfare Trousdale and booth #575 in the children’s area. We can’t wait to see you there and introduce you to our talented authors.

About the Authors

Kimberly Davis Basso

Kimberly Davis Basso is a two Time Finalist for INDIES Book of the Year in Humor from Foreword Reviews for her non-fiction humor I’m a Little Brain Dead and Birth and Other Surprises and a Finalist for Life Stories from Writer’s Digest. Next Door, her first horror collection was included in LOCUS Magazines 2021 Horror Year in Review as a “superb collection” that “should be on the shelves of every horror fiction fan out there.”

Instagram: @kdbwrites,

Twitter: @kdbwrites,

Facebook: Facebook.com/kdbwrites,

TikTok: TikTok.com/kdbwrites

Welcome to the neighborhood- Next Door is twelve twisted tales and one true story. Thirteen horror stories in a variety of styles to delight and terrify. Revolve, Volume II of the Door Series, is out in September 2023.

Jacob Kilgore

Jacob Kilgore’s passion for writing and guiding others to success has produced several works, from a novel, to philosophy and short stories, to the newest production called Ophelia in which over two dozen international artists were commissioned to bring beauty to this storybook for all ages. While many people are easily distracted these days and require something compelling to earn their focus, perhaps the stunning visuals of Ophelia can develop the passion they require. His greatest goal is to leave the world something meaningful that can in turn inspire others to be their best, and so perhaps Ophelia will allow that to happen.

Instagram: @jacobshmaykub,

Facebook: https://facebook.com/675088411/,

Ophelia is a ten-year-old girl who lives among migrating reindeer with her mother, father, and young brother Tummu. Life is joyful for them, until one day a cruel magi and mysterious swordsman capture Ophelia and leave her to be devoured far away in The Valley of the Cyclops. Such is the fate of demigods in this part of the world.

The mighty Arimaspi Cyclopes chase her over hill and stream into the forest known as the Akmonian Wood, planted with specimens from across the universe. There she sees a white deer with an injured leg and makes the decision not to leave it as a distraction for her pursuers. Her moral choice to lead the animal to safety in an ancient temple is rewarded as its true form is revealed the next morning. This elderly shaman of a fey village swirls her great paintbrush and creates a portal to her home. This rare invitation is sure to make Ophelia’s life a whole lot more amazing!

Tonia Shimin

As a dancer Tonia Shimin performed in the companies of Martha Graham, Jose Limón, Pearl Lang, The Ypsilanti Greek Theater and as a soloist with Anna Sokolow’s Player’s Project, Mary Anthony Dance Theater and Repertory West Dance Company. She has had an extensive teaching career in the United States and abroad. Her choreographic works have appeared in the United States, the Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Mexico.   An award winning dance filmmaker, for among others the documentary Mary Anthony: A life in Modern Dance, her awards have included support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance. Currently she is Professor Emerita of the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara and continues her creative work in the USA and abroad. Most recently she has curated, edited and with Mercury Press International published the award winning book, The Art of Symeon Shimin, on the remarkable work of her father, whose fine art is here shown in a collection for the first time.

Instagram: @symeon_shimin ,

Twitter: @symeonshimin,

Facebook: facebook.com/symeonshimin

“The Art of Symeon Shimin” presents a striking view of the life and art of this Russian-born Jewish artist. Curated and edited by his daughter, the book includes essays, more than 100 plates and archival photographs and an autobiography. With paintings held in collections including the Chrysler Museum of Art, this is the first complete collection of Shimin’s work that dramatically showcases art of rare beauty and raw expression.

Throughout his life,1902-1984, Shimin’s deep commitment towards justice and belief in the beauty of the human condition were paramount to the way he lived and painted. An award winning illustrator of 57 children’s books he was a leading artist for Hollywood films, painting the original poster.for “Gone With the Wind.”  Most notably he was acclaimed for his masterpiece, the mural Contemporary Justice and the Child, commissioned in 1936-1940 for the Department of Justice Building, Washington, DC.

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin writes with heightened Chicana awareness because she took active roles as a poet, Teatro director, political columnist, and painter artist documenting the Chicano Movement’s political events of the late 1960s and the 1970s. Her activism was ignited by this period, and she reveals an authentic East Los Angeles poetry of witness.

Chicana On Fire, with its threads of poems and other literary pieces about her
Yaqui and Mestizaje heritage, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin weaves a rich tapestry
of her many-layered existence living as a Xicana in this country. Her family history
weaves back and forth amidst an ever-changing anti-immigrant U.S. policy across
borders that are always moving. Her activist background and her life in Aztlán now
called the southwest gives her poetry a sensibility, a voice for Mexicans and Chicanos.

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