Tag archives: author

Touching Hearts With Fire
By Gwyn Lurie   |   October 4, 2022

As an advisor to four U.S. Presidents, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, David Gergen had a front row seat to the highest levels of power and leadership in this country. As an editor for U.S. News and World Report, and a commentator on PBS and CNN, Mr. Gergen became a steady and rational voice on […]

Intriguing Equinox Reads
By Leslie Zemeckis   |   October 4, 2022

In Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century, author Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell confesses to an “obsession” with the garment, from rising and lowering hemlines and all that they say about the women that wore them throughout history. The book is beautifully illustrated. My favorite – two women in skirts, mountain climbing in 1908; proving, whatever […]

“I Wanna Be in Pictures”
By Hattie Beresford   |   September 27, 2022

The town is awash with the news that Betsy Green, local historian and author, has published a book about the “pictures” that were filmed at some of Montecito’s most notable estates. Betsy, a transplant from the Chicago area and former staff editor of World Book Encyclopedia, has written an encyclopedia of moviemaking in Montecito during […]

Dallas Willard Book Award Announced
By Scott Craig   |   September 13, 2022

The Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Research Center (MIDWC) at Westmont have chosen Relational Spirituality: A Psychological-Theological Paradigm for Transformation by Todd W. Hall as the winner of their annual book award. Hall will accept the award in person before speaking in chapel on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 10:30 […]

Art Book Talk Mid-week in Mid-town 
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 6, 2022

Painter Richard Schloss, who has worked and exhibited in Santa Barbara since 1972, brings his half-century of experience to his brand-new book, Painting the Light. A member of Santa Barbara’s The Oak Group since its inception in 1986, Schloss nowadays has largely eschewed painting en plein air in favor of working in his studio on […]

Local (Movie) History of Montecito
By Kim Crail   |   September 6, 2022

Montecito is fortunate to have a rich history and generous historians who research and share with us through library programs, all open to the public. Historian and author Betsy Green will be giving a presentation on Saturday, September 10 from 1 to 2 pm here at the Montecito Library. Sitting down with Green to hear […]

Thoughts for Salman Rushdie
By Richard Mineards   |   August 30, 2022

On a personal note, my thoughts are with writer Sir Salman Rushdie, 75, as he recovers after being stabbed repeatedly by an Iranian sympathizer as he was about to speak at the Chautauqua Institute literary festival in upstate New York. It follows the fatwa issued by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 after his 1988 […]

Surfer and the Sage: Riding the Waves of Life
By James Buckley   |   June 7, 2022

Shaun Tomson, rated the number one surfer in the world in 1977, has lived in Montecito for the better part of 30 years, and has teamed up with Santa Barbara-based author-speaker-philosopher Noah benShea; the two have published The Surfer and the Sage, A Guide to Survive & Ride Life’s Waves. It’s a small, handsomely produced […]

Award on the Journey Home
By Richard Mineards   |   May 17, 2022

Carpinteria’s international bestselling children’s author Hal Price and entertainment artist Michael Bayouth have gained national recognition as winners of the inaugural Bedside Reading Book Cover Award for their children’s rhyming verse chapter work, A Heart’s Journey Home. “It has been a magical experience working with such an amazing talent like Michael,” says Price. “We first […]

Chaucer’s Choices
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 26, 2022

This week, Chaucer’s Books’ event schedule includes a rare paid event, an outdoor one at that, featuring Max Brallier, the multiple New York Times bestselling author and Netflix series creator. Ever so clever, Chaucer’s is calling the event “Last Kids on Earth, Day” in honor, not only of Brallier’s epic, eight-book adventure series that was […]

The Little Book
By Lynda Millner   |   April 12, 2022

Writers and friends gathered at Tecolote recently to celebrate Steven Gilbar’s latest tome, having published over 20 books. This one is titled The Little Book of Montecito Writers and includes over 50 names. This doesn’t count journalists or memoirists.  No garrets or starving poets here, with the median home costing about $5 million. Gilbar thinks […]

Little Book Brings Big Crowd
By Richard Mineards   |   March 29, 2022

A boffo bunch of bibliophiles descended on Tecolote in the Upper Village to mark the publication of Steven Gilbar’s Little Book of Montecito Writers, a 160-page paperback including more than 60 authors, which derived from a talk he gave at the village library last summer. The book signing, which benefitted the Montecito Library, also featured […]

Book ‘em: Writers’ Round-up at Tecolote
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 17, 2022

Prolific local literature lover Steven Gilbar, who probably spends as much time involved in books, research, and writing as he does practicing law, has just added another new title to his two dozen-strong published collection, this one sharpening the local angle to focus on writers who call Montecito home. Titled The Little Book of Montecito […]

Author Michael Lewis Offers Insight to Bestsellers
By Scott Craig   |   March 15, 2022

Bestselling author Michael Lewis shared insight into his blockbuster books such as Moneyball, The Undoing Project, and The Fifth Risk, at the 17th annual President’s Breakfast on March 4 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.  Exactly two years ago, Daniel Kahneman, the subject of Lewis’ book, The Undoing Project, spoke at the breakfast on […]

Teaching Teens News and How to Cramm
By Carly Williams   |   March 8, 2022

“I was twelve years old when I decided I needed to change the world.”  Olivia Seltzer, an 18-year-old Santa Barbara local, was shocked and scared by the results of the 2016 election and by what that meant for her and her peers.  While attending Santa Barbara Junior High, many of Seltzer’s friends came from families […]

With Bells On
By Richard Mineards   |   February 15, 2022

International violinist Joshua Bell was at the top of his game when he performed at the Granada, marking the glorious return of UCSB Arts & Lectures classical shows to the venerable venue, which celebrates its centenary in two years’ time. With a career spanning almost four decades, Grammy Award-winning Bell, 54, has performed with virtually […]

Lisa Greer’s Message to Philanthropy: Revolutionize
By Daniel Heimpel   |   February 1, 2022

While she had built a successful career, Lisa Greer wasn’t born into wealth. But when her husband Josh’s company, RealD, IPOed in 2010, she was instantaneously vaulted into the 1%.  With the money came an opportunity for Greer to give back, and in seven figure increments. But like others whose lives are transformed by a […]

A ‘Dream’ Come True
By Richard Mineards   |   January 18, 2022

Montecito artist and general contractor William Dalziel has published his second children’s book, Charlie’s Dream. The latest work is the sequel to his first book Ulma, The Kidnapped Tree, which he launched two years ago. Bill describes his new book as “a story of courage, dreams, and freedom” taking us on a journey of magical […]

A Double Memoir
By Lynda Millner   |   November 30, 2021

One of our local luminaries, Mary Tonetti Dorra, has just published another book. I first met Mary on a Santa Barbara Museum of Art trip to New Zealand where she had entrée to the American Ambassador’s home and particularly the gardens. The Santa Barbara gang got to come along. Since then, she’s been a busy […]

Finding Your Path: Book Delves into Issues of Representation
By Nick Masuda   |   November 22, 2021

Nikki Barthelmess knows what it’s like, to look Caucasian on the outside, her appearance failing to showcase her bicultural background. She’s heard the quips about Latinas — those around her not aware that she is Mexican American. She’s seen the ignorance, from the halls of local schools to the business world. “We’ve got a long […]