Upcoming Events
Thursday 12/5/24, 6:30pm – I will be at the Dedham Public Library sharing the story of the South African Soccer Grannies who teach us that it is never too late to try something new. Event will be held at the Dedham Public Library at 43 Church Street, Dedham, MA. Please register for the event.
Friday 3/15/25, 10:00am – I look forward to joining the Wellesley Friday Morning Book Group at the Wellesley Free Library at 530 Washington St in Wellesley, MA to discuss the Soccer Grannies book.
Past Events
Sunday 11/10/24 – I met by zoom with members of the team from California who played with the Soccer Grannies at the Veterans Cup in Massachusetts in 2010. They were delighted to meet the Grannies in 2010 and now to read the backstory!
Wednesday 11/6/24 – Bev Boisseau Stohl and I were honored to attend an Author Reception hosted by the Brandeis National Committee of Sharon. We told the group about our books, our writing group, and a few observations about publishing a first book after the age of 60!
Wednesday 10/30/24 – Concord has a book club for walkers that love to read and readers that love to walk . . . the Fowler Afoot Book Club! I had great fun talking with them at the Fowler Branch.
Thursday 10/24/24 – Laura Beretsky, Bev Boisseau Stohl, and I enjoyed sharing our thoughts on “Writing Group Magic: A Conversation with Three Prolific, Playful, (Sometimes Panicked), And Published Writing Group Pals!” held at the Dedham Public Library.
Wednesday 8/7/24 and Thursday 8/8/24 – The Olympics bring together the world’s fastest, strongest, and most skilled. Meanwhile some grandmothers in South Africa demonstrate that sports are for everyone! I shared their story at the Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford and the Atria Longmeadow Place in Burlington.
Monday 5/6/24 – Grateful for some of my soccer buddies who attended the Wayland Evening Book Club discussion at the Wayland Free Public Library in Wayland, MA to share their memories and relive their experiences with the Grannies.
Wednesday 5/1/24 – Rode my bike across town to tell the Soccer Grannies story to a fun group at Somerville Council on Aging in Somerville, MA! They are an active group. I heard they had 60 for Zumba earlier in the day!
Wednesday 4/24/24 – Laura Beretsky, Bev Boisseau Stohl, and I had fun talking about our wild rides writing and publishing our books at the Belmont Public Library in Belmont MA. Fun to be reunited our GrubStreet instructor, Judah Leblang – where our writing group started!
Thursday 4/18/24 – Professor Meghan Healy-Clancy of Bridgewater State University who guided my research for the book, invited me to speak as part of the university’s Africa Awareness Week 2024. Special guest, Beka Ntsanwisi, joined the discussion via Zoom from South Africa!
Wednesday 4/10/24 – Soccer Grannies book event at UMass Amherst was such fun! Allison LaClaire, Heather Broglio and I were hosted by their student daughters, Ella LaClaire and Sam Broglio. The Moms were presented with flowers for introducing them to sports. Ella and Sam have memories from 2011 playing with the Grannies in the Nkowankowa stadium when they were seven years old!
Thursday 3/21/24 – As part of celebration of Women’s History Month, I enjoyed speaking with a lively group at the Cambridge Council on Aging in Cambridge, MA. Some were ready to lace up their soccer shoes! Photo is my Soccer Grannies roadshow materials.
Saturday 3/16/24 – My first book fair! I was at fifth anniversary the Bow Market Book Fair a in Somerville, MA. Laura Beretsky, Bev Stohl, and I had table and enjoyed chatting about our books and offering free writing or publishing advice!
Thursday 3/7/24 – I spoke with Aime Alley Card at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in Gloucester, MA discussing her book about inspiring women in sport, The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State. Aime shines a light on the team’s struggles against fierce racial- and gender-based discrimination as these determined women blazed a trail all the way to the Olympic podium.
Tuesday 3/5/24 – The Bedford Free Public Library at 7 Mudge Way in Bedford, MA hosted me and writing group pals, Laura Beretsky and Bev Boisseau Stohl. My first creative writing teacher, Mindy Pollack-Fusi, introduced our event on “The Power of a Writing Group: Meet three debut authors from the Page Six Writing Group.”
Monday 2/26/24 – My soccer friends, Kathy Kelly and Robyn Parker, shared at the Reading Public Library at 64 Middlesex Avenue in Reading, MA how they started playing soccer in their 50s and what great community and wealth of experiences they now enjoy.
Monday 1/22/24 – The Goodnow Library Bookies book group in Sudbury, MA discussed Soccer Grannies. “The book discussion members emphasized how well constructed the book is – the chronicle of correspondence with Beka and how it all came about, coupled with the incisive biographies of individual Soccer Grannies.”
Tuesday 1/9/24 – I held an author talk about the South African Soccer Grannies at the Watertown Council on Aging at 31 Marshall Street in Watertown, MA.
Monday 1/8/24 – I introduced the Soccer Grannies to the Lexington-at-Home community at a private event in Lexington, MA. I always enjoy sharing the story where it all began for me!
Saturday 1/6/24 – At the main branch of the Somerville Library with my writing group buddies, Laura Beretsky and Bev Boisseau Stohl, we spoke about “Writing Group Magic: How Three Pals Navigated the World of Writing and Publishing Together.”
Thursday 11/2/23 – I had fun with my trophy-laden soccer buddy, Rita Wilkie, at the Milford Town Library with Aesops Fables book store. Rita shared her wisdom and advice: “Keep playing! It gets more fun every year!”
Friday 10/27/23 – The Boston chapter of The Transition Network hosted a private event for members by zoom on the South African “Soccer Grannies.”
Thursday 10/26/23 – I participated in a panel discussion called “Storytelling and Publishing: Capturing and sharing the human experience” co-hosted by InDepthNH.org and New Hampshire Writers’ Project. You can watch it here!
Wednesday 10/25/23 – Bev Stohl and I were at the Plaistow Public Library at 85 Main Street in Plaistow, NH. Our name was in lights! Woohoo!
Sunday 10/15/23 – Bev Stohl and I had a meet-the-author event with attendees of Newton’s Harvest Fair at Newtonville Books at 10 Langley Road in Newton, MA . We had fun chatting with new and old Newton friends.
Friday 9/8/23, – I was at the Hill Library at 1151 Parker Mountain Road in Strafford, NH. I shared the story of the Soccer Grannies with members of my Bow Lake community in this multi-media event.
Tuesday 7/25/23 – I was at the Concord Free Public Library at 129 Main Street in Concord, MA with my writing group buddy Bev Stohl, author of Chomsky and Me: A Memoir. We discussed our experience as writing workshop pals and debut authors over the age of 60! Maxima Book Center was on hand to sell books.
🔥🔥🔥 Thank you, thank you to those who came out to meet Beka Ntsanwisi, founder of the Soccer Grannies team, for the book launch events in June 2023. This heroine of the story was the star of the show!🔥🔥🔥
Thursday 6/22/23 – We held a hometown event at the Cary Memorial Library at 1874 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington MA. I was joined by the founder of the Soccer Grannies, Beka Ntsanwisi. Maxima Book Center was on hand to sell books. It was a memorable celebration of soccer!
Wednesday 6/21/23 – Beka Ntsanwisi, founder of the Soccer Grannies, and I spoke at the Goodnow Library at 21 Concord Road in Sudbury MA. Beka shared how she founded the team, the challenges she works to overcome, and her future dreams. Silver Unicorn Books had books for sale.
Tuesday 6/20/23 – This was the Boston-area launch for the Soccer Grannies book. I was joined by the founder of the Soccer Grannies team, Beka Ntsanwisi in conversation with E.B. Bartels, author and GrubStreet instructor, as part of the Grubbie Debut Author Series at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition at 50 Liberty Street in the Boston Seaport. REPLAY THE EVENT!
Tuesday 6/13/23 – I was at Gibson’s Bookstore at 45 South Main Street in Concord, NH with my writing group buddy Bev Stohl, author of Chomsky and Me: A Memoir. We discussed our experience as writing workshop pals and debut authors over the age of 60!
Wednesday and Thursday 6/7 and 6/8/23 – The South African Soccer Grannies were featured in a workshop presentation at the 14th annual Sports & Society Conference in Las Vegas hosted by the Sport & Society Research Network.
Saturday 6/3/23 – Bev Stohl, author of Chomsky and Me: A Memoir, and I led a workshop session at the New Hampshire Writers Project 603 Conference in Manchester, NH. The atmosphere was warm and supportive and I learned a lot!
Tuesday 5/16/23 – This was a private event with the Striver’s Running Club for Girls. It was fun to introduce the Soccer Grannies to these energetic 5th to 8th grade girls.
