Woman. Warrior. Writer. 5-23
Mindy Pennybacker Vol. 4 No. 5 May 4, 2023
Meet Woman. Warrior. Writer. Mindy Pennybacker!
How did you come to author your life?
My Korean-American family cherished books and music. My mother, a pianist, read aloud to me from infancy; my grandfather took me to the Waikiki-Kapahulu Library every Saturday. Although money was scarce, he bought me books or records—a novel about a young Wyoming equestrienne’s first romance, or the Rolling Stones’ first album--that were just a little too old for me. I never mastered an instrument, but found a musical outlet in the rhythm of riding waves, which also felt like writing on water. Books transported me far away, yet, living elsewhere, I knew Hawai’i was the subject of my writer’s life.
Photo by Craig T. Kojima/Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Born and raised in Honolulu, I write a surf and ocean lifestyle column for The Honolulu Star-Advertiser exploring gender equity, public access and natural resource protection. My writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Tne New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, The Nation, Self, The Surfers’ Journal, Glamour,The Green Guide and Honolulu Weekly, and has won National Endowment for the Arts and Wallace Stegner awards.
Surfing Sisterhood Hawai‘i: Wahine Reclaiming the Waves profiles 30 local female surfers and is the first history of women’s surfing to be written by a woman. Order here or at bookstores starting June 1.
Hawai’i events:
June 24 launch @da Shop in Kaimuki, 2-4 pm
July 1 @ Bookends in Kailua, 12-1 pm
TEACHING and WORKSHOP
Workshops resume this fall. I have two spots for WRITING COACHING open for May/June—open gender. This includes divorce story writing, syllabus design, developmental editing, and more. Email: writer@drstephaniehan.com
There is a 10% discount for previous students and kama’aina. Use the code LOCAL
OPPORTUNITIES and NEWS
Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal (WCWW; Intersectionality) won the Sandra Carptenter Memorial Fund Stockholm Writers Festival Ohio Writers Scholarship!
Tamiko Nimura (guest author) was the first WWW when I relaunched this concept on social media during COVID. Her words are part of the Illuminating Strength Installation by Na Omi Shintani of the Sansei Granddaughters’ Journey group. Check out the AZ Gallery in San Bruno, CA from 7/24-9/3.
Iris Kim and Elizabeth Su from Asian/Asian American Women’s Creative Writing Workshop met up after meeting two years ago.
ONE HOUR accountability writing meet-ups THURSDAYS 6:15AM-7:15AM HST. Here’s the link! Open to all newsletter subscribers (OPEN GENDER).
If you have 45 seconds of instrumental music on Spotify, please submit the web address of your piece to shan@hawaiipublicradio.org and you may find yourself on HPR!
Learn how to write your divorce story for your personal/legal file. Check out How to Write Your Divorce Story Youtube Video To women who hesitate who are divorcing…listen to me. LAWS were NOT designed with your body in mind. Get your story down. Control your narrative or it defaults to the one of our culture. That’s right, the patriarchal one…
DEFINITIONS: Asian American and Polyculturalism
Syllabus Authors/Guest Writers/Workshop Alum, send in your writing news/links for inclusion in the next WWW newsletter!
Woman. Warrior. Writer. Bags, T-shirts, Hoodies. $ goes to WWW Scholarship fund!
A few interviews from HPR’s The Conversation—
Amitav Ghosh, I wrote about Sea of Poppies for my dissertation. Check out the full length interview for his insights.
Lee Cataluna, playwright and journalist. Her heart is on the page. And stage. Dedicated to writing the stories of Hawa’i’s people.
WRITING TIP
Listen to writers talk about their process. Try to implement some of their suggestions. Nana-Ama Danquah suggested as I do this last week when I was feeling stuck. It pushed me over the hump.
Aloha, Stephanie