'Women (Are) Always Write' panel focuses on the 51 percent

MILFORD — "Women (Are) Always Write," a panel discussion by and about women, is part of this weekend's Milford Readers and Writers Festival.
The discussion will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, at the Waterwheel Bar, 150 Water St., Milford.
“We write about sex, we write about love, we write about politics, we write about each other," said Amy Ferris, a panel member. "We write about menopause, marriage, and mental breakdowns. We write about food, flowers, fashion, beauty, design, the environment, and digging down deep. We write about being straight, gay, bi-, and trans-sexual, and coming out. We write about our men, our bodies, our children, and our health. We write about life; the good, the bad, the painful, the joyous, the moments that slay us, the moments that lift us, the moments that turn into days, weeks, months, and years. We write about everything, and we're often right about everything.”
The panel will include:
Alexis LaFortune, a therapist, writing coach, screenwriter, and the author of "Sex, Love, and Spirit: A Memoir." She lives in Los Angeles and Santa Fe, N.M., with her husband.
Amy Ferris, the author of "Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis," which debuted theatrically in 2012. She edited the new anthology "Shades of Blue, Writers on Depression, Suicide, and Feeling Blue" (Seal Press 2015), and co-edited the anthology "Dancing at the Shame Prom" (Seal Press). She serves on the advisory board of The Women's Media Center and teaches personal writing at UCLA Online.
Barbara deVries, the author of the illustrated memoir "Stupid Model," is a publisher and a fashion designer. She is an anti-plastic pollution activist, the founder of Plastic is Forever. She lives in Milford and Miami with her husband and three daughters.
Sharon Mesmer, a poet, fiction writer, essayist, and teacher, wrote "Greetings From My Girlie Leisure Place" (Bloof Books, 2015). Her poems appear in Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology" (second edition, 2013), and she has published three fiction collections, including "Ma Vie à Yonago" (Hachette). She teaches at New York University and The New School.
Nina Burleigh, author, award-winning journalist, and the National Politics Correspondent at Newsweek Magazine, will be the moderator. Her most recent book, "The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Italian Trials of Amanda Knox," was a widely praised New York Times bestseller.
There is no cost to attend the discussion.
The Milford Readers and Writers Festival also includes a number of other free events that will focus on gardening, cooking, storytelling, and children’s programs sponsored by the Pike County Public Library, conservation at Grey Towers, an open-mic event at the Upper Delaware GLBT Center, and a “pop-up” bookstore at the Patisserie Fauchere. There will also be programs on Milford’s Science Fiction legacy, presented by the Pike County Historical Society.