Sonoma County Literary Update

County News

The Update welcomes announcements of interest to the Sonoma County literary community. Send text only (no attachments or PDFs please) by noon on the last day of the month to: editor@socolitupdate.com. No workshops, classes or readings, please. (Those are posted on the calendar or workshops pages.) An archive of announcements may be found at: https://socolitupdate.com/county-wide-news/county-news-archive

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A New Small Press in the County

Petaluma-based Feather Press is an independent literary press dedicated to uplifting the voices of local poets, writers, and artists. Per founder Ingrid Keir, a poet and a longtime curator of the literary community: We believe in creative abundance — that every individual carries a deep well of story, history, and lineage waiting to be expressed. Guided by a commitment to cultural and racial diversity, we support both emerging and established voices with care and intention. Through beautifully crafted publications and community gatherings, Feather Press creates space for connection, celebration, and the shared power of story.

Feather Press recently published Tender Hearts Club, Volume One, Love Poetry Anthology (January 30, 2026). Edited by Ingrid Keir. More information on the press and this book at: featherpressbooks.wordpress.com

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Café Frida Poetry Festival on YouTube

The Café Frida Poetry Festival from September 28, 2025 is now available for viewing on Gwynn O’Gara’s YouTube Channel! Filmed by Rob Catterton, all performances from 2025 are now available online.

Featured poets:
Set One: Terra Emerson, John Johnson, judi goldberg, Ed Coletti
youtube.com/watch?v=TXxaapTh0g8&t=13s
Set Two: Brian Martens, Marjorie Stein, Eric Johnson, Nancy Dougherty and Wendy Cilman, Cello
youtube.com/watch?v=-gD0bVr7zKI

You can also check out the Café Frida Poetry Festival videos of June 29, 2025 and March 30, 2025,

The June 29, 2025 Poetry Festival featured:
Set One: Jack Crimmins, Lisa Shulman, Dave Holt, Melissa Eleftherion
youtube.com/watch?v=91EktPymniI
Set Two: John Duran, Briahn Kelly-Brennan, Phyllis Meshulam read by Audrey Meshulam, Timothy Williams and Rob Cattterton, Piano
youtube.com/watch?v=FOeaqdCABDE

The March 30, 2025 Poetry Festival featured:
Set One: Gwynn O’Gara, Bill Greenwood, Rita Losch, Karl Frederick
youtube.com/watch?v=JmOwhvm4HMg&t=18s
Set Two: Shawna Swetech, Chris Giovachini, Susan Lamont, David Madgalene and Steve Shain, Bass
youtube.com/watch?v=R1zK8zWxeSo&t=1s

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Nancy Martin’s Award Winning Story Collection

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Petaluma Regional Library Re-Opened August 25, 2025

Following an extensive modernization that blends fresh, functional upgrades with the building’s classic charm, the renovated library will be open seven days a week and invites visitors to explore vibrant new spaces for children and teens, private study pods and updated amenities designed to make the library more welcoming and accessible. Details at: sonomalibrary.org/visit/locations/petaluma

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Sonoma County’s Lit Zines in 2025

Russian River-based Nualláin House, Publishers began print on demand publishing eleven years ago, slowly shifting emphasis away from the production of print volumes of poetry and fiction to the wider readership accessible through the internet. Per poet, translator, editor and publisher Pat Nolan (founder of the Black Bart Poetry Society), “Small presses utilizing mimeograph machines were at the heart of the poetry revolution of the late sixties through the mid-eighties. A blog is equivalent to the mimeo magazine in the 21st century, basically continuing in the old mimeo tradition of fast and cheap, except that the technology is considerably more sophisticated.” Neo-Mimeo Editions is the latest addition to Nolan’s considerable repertoire, publishing work by Andrei Codrescu, Steven Lavoie, Joel Dailey and  Mark Young. Read them here: nuallainhousepublishers.com/neo-mimeo-editions. 

Petaluma-based Wordrunner eChapbooks, a hybrid of online literary journal and chapbook collections, celebrates its 15th anniversary in April. These publications are the contemporary equivalent of pamphlets of popular tales hawked in the streets for pennies a few hundred years ago. The annual anthology, usually themed, features fiction, CNF and poetry; the novella-length chapbook collections are either fiction or nonfiction (memoir). Authors may be local or from anywhere on the planet where English is written, and they are all paid. On the editorial team now are: Susan Bono, Dan Coshnear, Richard Gustafson, Jo-Anne Rosen, Linda Saldaña, Mark Tait, Nick Valdez and Amanda Yskamp. Beginning in 2024, Wordrunner began publishing micro-prose, small collections of gemlike fiction and CNF. Be sure to check out the archives where a wealth of wonderful writing awaits you: echapbook.com/archives.html

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