My Calendar

Events in January 2021

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
December 27, 2020
December 28, 2020
December 29, 2020
December 30, 2020(1 event)

10:00 am: CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP IN REDLANDS WITH MAE WAGNER MARINELLO


December 30, 2020

Virtual Winter Workshops on Zoom

Registration required. 

Our Redlands workshop is ongoing for participants 50+. They meet every Thursday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Zoom links will be sent by the workshop leader after registration confirmation.

In partnership with the Joslyn Senior Center and the City of Redlands.

December 31, 2020
January 1, 2021
January 2, 2021
January 3, 2021(1 event)

2:00 pm: Around the World with Karen and Nicole: Look Back and See


January 3, 2021

Join Inlandia and the Riverside Art Museum for another First Sundays storytelling and puppetry program. Travel Around the World with Karen and Nicole without leaving your living room. In "Look Back and See", a folk tale from Tanzania, a village that has always been in darkness.  Messengers are sent to buy some dawn with disappointing results until a little dog saves the day. Free and open to the public but RSVP required: https://tinyurl.com/AroundTheWorldStory4

January 4, 2021
January 5, 2021
January 6, 2021
January 7, 2021
January 8, 2021
January 9, 2021
January 10, 2021
January 11, 2021
January 12, 2021
January 13, 2021(1 event)

7:00 pm: Adventures in Chronologyland with Dr. Carlos Cortés


January 13, 2021

In partnership with Riverside Public Library, Inlandia returns for a new season of "Adventures in Chronologyland," a creative writing workshop with Dr. Carlos Cortés. Free and open to the public, it meets every other Wednesday through May 26.
January 14, 2021(1 event)

10:00 am: Redlands Creative Writing Workshop for Seniors with Mae Wagner Marinello


January 14, 2021

Virtual Winter Workshops on Zoom

Registration required. 

Our Redlands workshop is ongoing for participants 50+. They meet every Thursday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Zoom links will be sent by the workshop leader after registration confirmation.

In partnership with the Joslyn Senior Center and the City of Redlands. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Spring2021CWW.

January 15, 2021
January 16, 2021
January 17, 2021
January 18, 2021
January 19, 2021
January 20, 2021
January 21, 2021(2 events)

10:00 am: Redlands Creative Writing Workshop for Seniors with Mae Wagner Marinello


January 21, 2021

Virtual Winter Workshops on Zoom

Registration required. 

Our Redlands workshop is ongoing for participants 50+. They meet every Thursday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Zoom links will be sent by the workshop leader after registration confirmation.

In partnership with the Joslyn Senior Center and the City of Redlands. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Spring2021CWW.

6:00 pm: Harada House: Why is Harada House a National Historic Landmark?


January 21, 2021

Learn the remarkable story behind this landmark and the Harada family’s unusual immigrant experience. Join Lisa Masengale, Curator of Historic Structures, Museum of Riverside and Robyn G. Peterson, Museum Director, Museum of Riverside (just to introduce the program and the “cause”) in conversation. Free and open to the public but RSVP required: https://tinyurl.com/HaradaFamilyStory

January 22, 2021
January 23, 2021(1 event)

10:00 am: Even Butterflies Can Hollar, a Five-week Journaling Workshop for Black Women with Lydia Theon Ware i


January 23, 2021

Saturdays 10 am - noon, January 23 — February 20, 2021

Free and open to the public but registration required.

https://tinyurl.com/ButterfliesCanHollar

“If my fury needs your permission, my rage must be black.”- Lydia

As a black woman, WHERE do you have permission to show your TRUE RAGE? An ANGRY BLACK WOMAN is an [Insert NEGATIVE stereotype here]. BUT WHY? Let’s write about this. Let’s talk about this. Let’s explore our permission slips and our societal censors through dialogue, poetic monologues and sketches.

Lydia Theon Ware i is founder and leads the Cartless creative writing workshop for people experiencing homelessness. She is the author of Signs, a tiny gift book, D.I.R.T.:A Poem Song, and Awe; Love Letters to the Most High, a praise compilation of poetry and love letters to Jesus.

January 24, 2021
January 25, 2021
January 26, 2021
January 27, 2021(1 event)

7:00 pm: Adventures in Chronologyland with Dr. Carlos Cortés


January 27, 2021

In partnership with Riverside Public Library, Inlandia returns for a new season of "Adventures in Chronologyland," a creative writing workshop with Dr. Carlos Cortés. Free and open to the public, it meets every other Wednesday through May 26.
January 28, 2021(1 event)

10:00 am: Redlands Creative Writing Workshop for Seniors with Mae Wagner Marinello


January 28, 2021

Virtual Winter Workshops on Zoom

Registration required. 

Our Redlands workshop is ongoing for participants 50+. They meet every Thursday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Zoom links will be sent by the workshop leader after registration confirmation.

In partnership with the Joslyn Senior Center and the City of Redlands. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Spring2021CWW.

January 29, 2021
January 30, 2021(1 event)

10:00 am: Even Butterflies Can Hollar, a Five-week Journaling Workshop for Black Women with Lydia Theon Ware i


January 30, 2021

Saturdays 10 am - noon, January 23 — February 20, 2021

Free and open to the public but registration required.

https://tinyurl.com/ButterfliesCanHollar

“If my fury needs your permission, my rage must be black.”- Lydia

As a black woman, WHERE do you have permission to show your TRUE RAGE? An ANGRY BLACK WOMAN is an [Insert NEGATIVE stereotype here]. BUT WHY? Let’s write about this. Let’s talk about this. Let’s explore our permission slips and our societal censors through dialogue, poetic monologues and sketches.

Lydia Theon Ware i is founder and leads the Cartless creative writing workshop for people experiencing homelessness. She is the author of Signs, a tiny gift book, D.I.R.T.:A Poem Song, and Awe; Love Letters to the Most High, a praise compilation of poetry and love letters to Jesus.

January 31, 2021
February 1, 2021(1 event)

POETRY: 2021 Hillary Gravendyk Prize

POETRY
February 1, 2021 April 30, 2021

Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Prize & 2021 Contest Opening

Open for submissions February 1 - April 30, 2021

$20 per manuscript via Inlandia’s Submittable page: 

https://tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

 

Regional Hillary Gravendyk Prize winner Jonathan Maule is the winner of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Contest at Cal Poly, SLO. His first book of poetry, 'Dog Star', was published by Big Yes Press, and his work has also appeared in Askew, Talking River, Rain Taxi, RHINO Reviews!, Spillway, and Phoebe. He lives and teaches in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Inlandia Institute are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $20 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

 

About the 2021  Judges

Margaret Ronda is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of California-Davis, where she teaches American poetry and environmental theory and literature. She is the author of two books of poems, 'Personification' (Saturnalia Books, 2010) and 'For Hunger' (2018), and a critical study, 'Remainders: American Poetry at Nature’s End' (Stanford University Press, 2018).

Megan Gravendyk-Estrella is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and Poet. Megan is a two time winner of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize and the author of the Seattle Young Playwrights prize winning short play “Good Evening Mrs. Gerfella”. Megan lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Jose and his daughter, Sofia. Hillary and Megan wrote together their entire lives and most recently attended the Napa Valley Writers Workshop. Prior to Hillary’s passing, the sister’s work-shopped poetry and short fiction together, including many poems in Hillary’s book, 'Harm'.

February 2, 2021(1 event)

POETRY: 2021 Hillary Gravendyk Prize

POETRY
February 1, 2021 April 30, 2021

Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Prize & 2021 Contest Opening

Open for submissions February 1 - April 30, 2021

$20 per manuscript via Inlandia’s Submittable page: 

https://tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

 

Regional Hillary Gravendyk Prize winner Jonathan Maule is the winner of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Contest at Cal Poly, SLO. His first book of poetry, 'Dog Star', was published by Big Yes Press, and his work has also appeared in Askew, Talking River, Rain Taxi, RHINO Reviews!, Spillway, and Phoebe. He lives and teaches in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Inlandia Institute are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $20 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

 

About the 2021  Judges

Margaret Ronda is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of California-Davis, where she teaches American poetry and environmental theory and literature. She is the author of two books of poems, 'Personification' (Saturnalia Books, 2010) and 'For Hunger' (2018), and a critical study, 'Remainders: American Poetry at Nature’s End' (Stanford University Press, 2018).

Megan Gravendyk-Estrella is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and Poet. Megan is a two time winner of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize and the author of the Seattle Young Playwrights prize winning short play “Good Evening Mrs. Gerfella”. Megan lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Jose and his daughter, Sofia. Hillary and Megan wrote together their entire lives and most recently attended the Napa Valley Writers Workshop. Prior to Hillary’s passing, the sister’s work-shopped poetry and short fiction together, including many poems in Hillary’s book, 'Harm'.

February 3, 2021(1 event)

POETRY: 2021 Hillary Gravendyk Prize

POETRY
February 1, 2021 April 30, 2021

Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Prize & 2021 Contest Opening

Open for submissions February 1 - April 30, 2021

$20 per manuscript via Inlandia’s Submittable page: 

https://tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

 

Regional Hillary Gravendyk Prize winner Jonathan Maule is the winner of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Contest at Cal Poly, SLO. His first book of poetry, 'Dog Star', was published by Big Yes Press, and his work has also appeared in Askew, Talking River, Rain Taxi, RHINO Reviews!, Spillway, and Phoebe. He lives and teaches in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Inlandia Institute are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $20 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

 

About the 2021  Judges

Margaret Ronda is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of California-Davis, where she teaches American poetry and environmental theory and literature. She is the author of two books of poems, 'Personification' (Saturnalia Books, 2010) and 'For Hunger' (2018), and a critical study, 'Remainders: American Poetry at Nature’s End' (Stanford University Press, 2018).

Megan Gravendyk-Estrella is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and Poet. Megan is a two time winner of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize and the author of the Seattle Young Playwrights prize winning short play “Good Evening Mrs. Gerfella”. Megan lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Jose and his daughter, Sofia. Hillary and Megan wrote together their entire lives and most recently attended the Napa Valley Writers Workshop. Prior to Hillary’s passing, the sister’s work-shopped poetry and short fiction together, including many poems in Hillary’s book, 'Harm'.

February 4, 2021(3 events)

POETRY: 2021 Hillary Gravendyk Prize

POETRY
February 1, 2021 April 30, 2021

Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Prize & 2021 Contest Opening

Open for submissions February 1 - April 30, 2021

$20 per manuscript via Inlandia’s Submittable page: 

https://tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

 

Regional Hillary Gravendyk Prize winner Jonathan Maule is the winner of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Contest at Cal Poly, SLO. His first book of poetry, 'Dog Star', was published by Big Yes Press, and his work has also appeared in Askew, Talking River, Rain Taxi, RHINO Reviews!, Spillway, and Phoebe. He lives and teaches in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Inlandia Institute are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $20 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

 

About the 2021  Judges

Margaret Ronda is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of California-Davis, where she teaches American poetry and environmental theory and literature. She is the author of two books of poems, 'Personification' (Saturnalia Books, 2010) and 'For Hunger' (2018), and a critical study, 'Remainders: American Poetry at Nature’s End' (Stanford University Press, 2018).

Megan Gravendyk-Estrella is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and Poet. Megan is a two time winner of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize and the author of the Seattle Young Playwrights prize winning short play “Good Evening Mrs. Gerfella”. Megan lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Jose and his daughter, Sofia. Hillary and Megan wrote together their entire lives and most recently attended the Napa Valley Writers Workshop. Prior to Hillary’s passing, the sister’s work-shopped poetry and short fiction together, including many poems in Hillary’s book, 'Harm'.

10:00 am: Redlands Creative Writing Workshop for Seniors with Mae Wagner Marinello


February 4, 2021

Virtual Winter Workshops on Zoom

Registration required. 

Our Redlands workshop is ongoing for participants 50+. They meet every Thursday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Zoom links will be sent by the workshop leader after registration confirmation.

In partnership with the Joslyn Senior Center and the City of Redlands. To register: https://tinyurl.com/Spring2021CWW.

7:00 pm: Black Lives Matter featuring Romaine Washington + Open Mic


February 4, 2021

Free • Registration Required: https://tinyurl.com/BlacklandiaBLM
On Thursday, February 4th please join Inlandia Institute for a Blacklandia special event featuring Romaine Washington and including an open mic highlighting work by Black writers with a focus on Black Lives Matter.
Romaine Washington, M. Ed. is the author of Purgatory has an Address (Bamboo Dart Press) available April 15th and Sirens in Her Belly (Jamii Publications, 2015). She has been published in a wide variety of anthologies and periodicals, including San Bernardino Singing anthology edited by Nikia Chaney and Cholla Needles. Ms. Washington has presented her work in a wide variety of venues including NPR and KPFK.
Washington is a fellow of The Watering Hole, South Carolina and the Inland Area Writing Project at the University of California in Riverside. She enjoys actively participating in the writing community through workshops and readings and is a member of Women Who Submit. Washington has been a public school educator for over twenty years, and has developed a social justice curriculum available for free on her website. Washington is the proud mother of two sons and a native Californian from San Bernardino who currently resides in the Inland Empire.
Open Mic
Each reader will have 3-5 minutes to read work around the theme of Black Lives Matter. Priority will be given to writers and readers from the BIPOC community. The work you read can be your own or something that else that inspires you, as long as you give proper credit to the author. Please note that Inlandia reserves the right to decline participation for any reason whatsoever.
Sign up for the open mic here: https://forms.gle/PvAZc2fM3A7TFotM6 This program is presented in partnership with the Riverside Public Library as part of the City of Riverside’s First Thursdays Arts Walk at Home presentations. This activity was supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov
February 5, 2021(1 event)

POETRY: 2021 Hillary Gravendyk Prize

POETRY
February 1, 2021 April 30, 2021

Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Prize & 2021 Contest Opening

Open for submissions February 1 - April 30, 2021

$20 per manuscript via Inlandia’s Submittable page: 

https://tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

 

Regional Hillary Gravendyk Prize winner Jonathan Maule is the winner of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Contest at Cal Poly, SLO. His first book of poetry, 'Dog Star', was published by Big Yes Press, and his work has also appeared in Askew, Talking River, Rain Taxi, RHINO Reviews!, Spillway, and Phoebe. He lives and teaches in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Inlandia Institute are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $20 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

 

About the 2021  Judges

Margaret Ronda is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of California-Davis, where she teaches American poetry and environmental theory and literature. She is the author of two books of poems, 'Personification' (Saturnalia Books, 2010) and 'For Hunger' (2018), and a critical study, 'Remainders: American Poetry at Nature’s End' (Stanford University Press, 2018).

Megan Gravendyk-Estrella is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and Poet. Megan is a two time winner of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize and the author of the Seattle Young Playwrights prize winning short play “Good Evening Mrs. Gerfella”. Megan lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Jose and his daughter, Sofia. Hillary and Megan wrote together their entire lives and most recently attended the Napa Valley Writers Workshop. Prior to Hillary’s passing, the sister’s work-shopped poetry and short fiction together, including many poems in Hillary’s book, 'Harm'.

February 6, 2021(3 events)

POETRY: 2021 Hillary Gravendyk Prize

POETRY
February 1, 2021 April 30, 2021

Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Prize & 2021 Contest Opening

Open for submissions February 1 - April 30, 2021

$20 per manuscript via Inlandia’s Submittable page: 

https://tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

 

Regional Hillary Gravendyk Prize winner Jonathan Maule is the winner of the 2014 Academy of American Poets Contest at Cal Poly, SLO. His first book of poetry, 'Dog Star', was published by Big Yes Press, and his work has also appeared in Askew, Talking River, Rain Taxi, RHINO Reviews!, Spillway, and Phoebe. He lives and teaches in Twentynine Palms, CA.

 

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Inlandia Institute are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $20 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

 

About the 2021  Judges

Margaret Ronda is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of California-Davis, where she teaches American poetry and environmental theory and literature. She is the author of two books of poems, 'Personification' (Saturnalia Books, 2010) and 'For Hunger' (2018), and a critical study, 'Remainders: American Poetry at Nature’s End' (Stanford University Press, 2018).

Megan Gravendyk-Estrella is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and Poet. Megan is a two time winner of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize and the author of the Seattle Young Playwrights prize winning short play “Good Evening Mrs. Gerfella”. Megan lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Jose and his daughter, Sofia. Hillary and Megan wrote together their entire lives and most recently attended the Napa Valley Writers Workshop. Prior to Hillary’s passing, the sister’s work-shopped poetry and short fiction together, including many poems in Hillary’s book, 'Harm'.

10:00 am: Even Butterflies Can Hollar, a Five-week Journaling Workshop for Black Women with Lydia Theon Ware i


February 6, 2021

Saturdays 10 am - noon, January 23 — February 20, 2021

Free and open to the public but registration required.

https://tinyurl.com/ButterfliesCanHollar

“If my fury needs your permission, my rage must be black.”- Lydia

As a black woman, WHERE do you have permission to show your TRUE RAGE? An ANGRY BLACK WOMAN is an [Insert NEGATIVE stereotype here]. BUT WHY? Let’s write about this. Let’s talk about this. Let’s explore our permission slips and our societal censors through dialogue, poetic monologues and sketches.

Lydia Theon Ware i is founder and leads the Cartless creative writing workshop for people experiencing homelessness. She is the author of Signs, a tiny gift book, D.I.R.T.:A Poem Song, and Awe; Love Letters to the Most High, a praise compilation of poetry and love letters to Jesus.

7:00 pm: The African American Book Festival IE Author Showcase: A Blacklandia Event


February 6, 2021

February 6, 2021, 7 pm, on Zoom

FREE, RSVP: tinyurl.com/AABFIEShowcase 

 

On February 6, 2021 join Inlandia for a Blacklandia special presentation featuring AABFIE founder Ginger Galloway in Conversation with authors Omobola Imoisili, James Coats, Monica Woodruff, Dr. Dwayne Shigg, and James Harris

 

The African American American Book Festival (AABFIE) is annual convention celebrating and supporting the region’s Black authors. tTe AABFIE Author Showcase is a precursor to the upcoming African American Book Festival IE. Hear excerpts from the works of several AABFIE Authors who will share their take on African Americans and Literary Arts and the importance for the support of upcoming Black authors and literacy in the Black community. 

 

The AABFIE made its debut in August 2018 in Perris, CA. We had 30 African American authors come out and share their books and over 200 readers came through the one-day event. The Festival was moved to Moreno Valley in February 2020. The AABFIE is a venue for Black Authors and Illustrators where we encourage the community to come out and meet Black writers and become engaged in literary arts. When we build personal relationships we are inclined to know more about people, who they are and what they do. The AABFIE encourages exploration of writing and literary arts as a career. AABFIE is about unity, inviting the community to get up close and personal a culture of writing and writers that is deeply rooted in faith, history, passion, drive, and unrelenting talent. The actual Festival is penciled to occur at the end of February 2021.

 

Ginger Galloway is the founder of the African American Book Festival Inland Empire. Partnering with Women Achieving Success, Ginger has hosted the Festival since 2019. With a passion for reading and the love of literary arts Ginger believes that by introducing authors to the community in an intimate setting encourages aspiring writers and reluctant readers alike. Excited to move toward the future, Ginger is looking forward to the time when the Festival can happen face to face. In the meantime, she is happy to present, in conjunction with Blacklandia and Inlandia, the Author's Showcase.

 

Omobola Imoisili is a Nigerian born author and entrepreneur, but she writes under the name Simisayo Brownstone. She is the CEO of Teni & Tayo Creations, a company that makes books, toys, backpacks and more for kids with a pinch of African influence. She was inspired to write her books and start her company because she wanted to see more representation in the products and media made for kids. She especially wanted to represent African people and culture in a fresh, fun and engaging way that any child from anywhere in the world could relate to. She has now written two books in her children's chapter book series, Feyi Fay, and currently teaches a class for kids about African fairy tales and folktales. Omobola has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Reading in the UK and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Learn more at https://www.teniandtayo.com/books

 

James Coats is an author, poet and spoken word artist. He received his Masters from CSU San Bernardino and after graduate school began writing and performing his poetry. With a passion for all things creative he strives to capture authentic self-expression through his work. He completed his debut poetry book If I Had Lived in April 2018 and most recently completed his second poetry book All The Ways You Are Wonderful in February of 2020. He believes that poetry has the ability to bring diverse groups together, offering a way to connect through our shared challenges, achievements and experiences.

 

James O. Harris Jr. is the author of his children’s book “Welcome to the adventures of Corey’s Courtroom.” He can be found reading to children at elementary schools and libraries around the Inland Empire. He conducts workshops and seminars throughout Southern California. Currently he is the Library Commissioner (Chairman) for the City of Moreno Valley. In addition, He is a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Member of the Moreno Valley Scribes. He currently resides in Moreno Valley Ca, with his wife of 29 years and is the proud father of two. He is a law school graduate and a 30-year retiree from the California Department of Correction.  He conducts an African American history series called “unveiled” which includes presentation of: The Green Book, Sundown Towns, Robert Small, The Great Migration, Redlining, Pullman Porters, Restrictive Covenants to name a few.  

 

Dwayne E. Shigg has been in the Preaching ministry for 40 years. He is a graduate of the Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College with a Bachelors Degree in Theology; He has a Masters Degree and a Doctorate in Religious Education from Bible Believers College & Seminary. He has been married to Cheryl Shigg for 39 years. Dwayne E. Shigg, Ph.D. has a burden to motivate others through all of the difficulties that come with excelling to their highest potential. He has encouraged and inspired a countless number of people from Inglewood to England and Alabama to Africa through his speaking, EncourageMINT Radio Show and his Encourage-MINT video series. He has also written several books, including: Go Get It, EncourageMINTS From A Formerly Frustrated Dreamer and his newest: EncourageMINTS For Tough Times.