EVENTS | author

NEWS & EVENTS

Events also listed on my Amazon author page:

amazon.com/author/mariaolsen

I'm part of a collective of co-hosts of the "Inside Out" radio show on WPFW fm 89.3 in Washington, D.C. I produce and host the show generally on the first Tuesday of each month between 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST. I focus on diversity and alliance issues. If you have ideas for a show or would like to be a guest, please contact me. See our Inside Out LGBT Radio Facebook page and www.WPFWfm.org for more info. And tune in! Sample show I hosted on June 5, 2018:

http://archive.wpfwfm.org/mp3/wpfw_180605_140000lmpab.mp3

I have given book talks at a number of events, schools, book fairs and diversity fairs, including the Washington Independent Review of Books, Oyster Bilingual School, The Wednesday Morning Group, Blessed Sacrament School, Prince Georges County Elementary School, and Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church Preschool. My books are carried by Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, Circle Yoga and Politics & Prose Bookstore (and are available from me)!

details here

Politics & Prose (DC): Book Talk on 50 After 50--Reframing the Next

Chapter of Your Life

June 30, 2018, 1:00 pm

La Jolla Public Library (San Diego, CA): 50 After 50 --Reframing the

Next Chapter of Your Life

July 21, 2018, 2:00 pm

Jeudevine Memorial Library (Hardwick, VT): 50 After 50/Not the

Cleaver Family Book Talk

July 30, 2018, 7:00 pm

Tattered Cover Bookstore (Denver, CO): 50 After 50

August 7, 2018, 7:00 pm

Murder on the Beach Bookstore (Delray Beach, FL): 50 After 50--

Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life

August 14, 2018, 7:00 pm

City Lit Books (Chicago): Book Talk on 50 After 50--Reframing the

Next Chapter of Your Life

August 19, 2018, 3:00 pm

Porter Square Books (Boston, MA): Book Talk on 50 After 50

August 29, 2018, 7:00 pm

Bethany Beach Books (Bethany Beach, DE): Book Talk on 50 After 50

September 8, 2018, 12:30 pm

Bethesda Metro Area Village (Battery Park Community Club,

Bethesda, MD): Book Talk on 50 After

50--Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life

September 16, 2018, 4:00 pm (http://bmav.clubexpress.com/)

Baltimore Book Festival (Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD)

September 30, 2018, 11:00 am-7:00 pm

* * *

Spoke at the National March to End Rape Culture, April 21, 2018

see https://www.nationalmarchagainstrapeculture.com/our-speakers #standwithsurvivors

Host of Radio Show in Honor of Women's International Day 2018,

March 8, 2018

Show is archived on the radio station

at www.wpfwfm.org

(March 8, 2018, 3-4 pm)

Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference, University of Maryland,

College Park, March 1-3, 2018

Exhibitor/participant in the 5th annual conference, "Resist. Reclaim. Reimagine."

Historic Arlington Street Church, Boston MA, October 15, 2017

At the invitation of the Social Action Committee, I will speak in the Chapel about

the changes in the modern American family.

351 Boylston Street, across from the Public Garden, at 12:30 pm.

Mixed Remixed Festival, June 10, 2017

Speaker on panel about raising mixed race children and moderator for filmmaker/scholar panel

about biracial identity at the largest gathering of mixed race

people in the U.S.

Diversity Presentation for Elementary School Students, May 24, 2017

Spoke to students at Holy Cross Elementary School in Kensington, Maryland, about the value of diversity,

inclusion and respecting differences.

Gaithersburg Book Festival, May 20, 2017

Selected to participate as a Featured Presenter at the 8th annual Gaithersburg Book Festival held in Gaithersburg, MD, from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2017. I was the speaker at 10:00 a.m. in the

James Michener Pavilion, from which C-Span broadcasted live. www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org

and http://www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org/featured_author/maria-olsen/

Kensington Day of the Book Festival, April 23, 2017

Kensington celebrates the International Day of the Book. Presented my books at an exhibitor's table at this joyful event in the historic district. See https://dayofthebook.com/

River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, April 16, 2017

Discussed my book at the Congregation's Contemporary Issues Forum

Tucson Festival of Books, March 11, 2017

Did a "tent talk" at the largest literary event in the country! See www.tucsonfestivalofbooks.com

Pima Community College's Ethnic, Gender & Transborder Summit,

March 10, 2017

I was a panelist at the “Ethnic, Gender & Transborder Studies Summit” at the PCC's Downtown Tucson Campus. Summit attendees will be discussing issues relating to gender, ethnic studies and transborder research, including challenges and opportunities in the building of academic programs to promote these disciplines.

CCPC WNS Book Fair, Washington, DC

November 29, 2016

Children's book reading to the students at Chevy Chase Presbyterian during the morning, and book talk about "Not the Cleaver Family" in the evening.

The Wednesday Morning Group, November 9, 2016

I spoke at the Wednesday Morning Group in November. The Wednesday Morning Group (WMG) is a weekly meeting of professional women, men and parents who gather in a spirit of mutual support, camaraderie, and intellectual curiosity to hear and interact with stimulating guest speakers and each other. WMG is a unique lecture series meeting weekly during the Montgomery County school year. Originally founded nearly 50 years ago by members of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Church to provide a discussion group for mothers, the group is now its own organization, open to all, and consisting of both men and women of a wide range of ages and interests. Members are parents of young children who have left the work force to raise their children full or part-time, empty-nesters, and grandparents alike. The lectures cover an array of topics including current events, literature, art, education, child-rearing and social issues. Past speakers have included national and local news personalities, authors, politicians, scientists and policymakers.

Sense of Place Radio Show, February 21, 1 pm

I was a guest on an arts and culture show in Vancouver, Canada, called Sense of Place, hosted by cultural geographer Minelle Mahtani, a scholar specializing in the field of mixed race studies and author of the book Mixed Race Amnesia. See www.roundhouseradio.com for more info or to listen online.

The Mixed Experience Podcast, February 13, 5 pm

Guest on this podcast hosted by New York Times best-selling writer Heidi Durrow (an original host and producer of Mixed Chicks Chat, the award-winning weekly podcast that ran from 2007 to 2012). Through interviews, essays, reviews, and ruminations, Durrow talks about the varying aspects of The Mixed Experience in the arts, culture, academia, and history. You’ll enjoy these musings from a mixed chick trying to make sense of a mixed-up world. Listen in at http://www.themixedexperience.com/the-mixed-experience-podcast or on iTunes.

Guest speaker at Seven Locks Elementary School's Literacy Night, February 9, 2017

Read from "Healing for Hallie," my second children's book, and address participants at the Bethesda elementary school's Literacy Night.

Politics & Prose @ Busboys & Poets, Takoma Park Book Talk

January 11, 2017 at 6:30 pm

First bookstore talk on my last book, "Not the Cleaver Family--The New Normal in Modern American Families" at Politics & Prose at Busboys & Poets Takoma Park! "Busboys and Poets is a community where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted...a place to take a deliberate pause and feed your mind, body and soul...a space for art, culture and politics to intentionally collide...we believe that by creating such a space we can inspire social change and begin to transform our community and the world."

Writing Retreat at the Beach

A weekend getaway to focus on writing--the craft, the inspiration, the process. Lovely women sharing thoughts, dreams and fabulous writing from the heart.

Radio Show, September 6, 2016

First Tuesday of each month on WPFW-fm 89.3 or www.wpfwfm.org, from 2-3 pm. Shows are archived under "Inside Out." Maria is hosting the Sept. 6 show on "Raising Multicultural Children in a Category-Obsessed Society."

Writing Retreat by the Pool! July 16, 2016

Fantastic day of writing, sharing and inspiration. See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/writers-beach-retreat-by-the-pool-potomac-md-tickets-25903592342

September 23-25, 2016

{pages} a bookstore

June 9, 2016

Book reading and signing, 7-8 p.m., 904 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA

Kensington Book Fair

I discussed and sold my two children's books at this fun celebration of books. See
See https://dayofthebookdotcom.wordpress.com/

Mixed Remixed Festival, June 11, 2016

I was a speaker at the Mixed Remixed Festival in LA! What is the Mixed Remixed Festival? In a word: a celebration. The Mixed Remixed Festival brings together people of all races, creeds and genders to celebrate what it means to be Mixed, multiracial, or part of a blended family. We get together each year to showcase films, books, live performances, panels, and acting and writing workshops for those looking to share or explore their Mixed experience. My panel was called "Excavating Family Mythology," and I discussed first children's book, "Mommy, Why's Your Skin So Brown?" See www.mixedremixed.org.

April 12, 2016

April 24, 2016

Our first Visionquest Writers' Retreat was April 29-May 1!, 2016 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/writers-beach-retreat-spring-2016-sold-out-waitlist-available-tickets-21127644353

Japanese American National Museum Family Day

June 10, 2016

I read from my books, "Mommy, Why's Your Skin So Brown?" and "Healing for Hallie" at Family Day at the Museum in Los Angeles, followed by some interactive activities for children. Free fun for the whole family!

Vivid Life Radio Show Guest

I was a guest on "It's a Family Affair" radio show on VividLife.me inspirational radio. I discussed the impetus for writing "Mommy, Why's Your Skin So Brown?" and other family issues relating to my being a biracial woman. See www.VividLife.me.