As our newsfeeds become more and more glutted by stories of harassment and assault, it's no surprise women are turning to every power in their arsenal to fight back--even the magical ones. As Lindy West put it in her New York Times op-ed, "Yes, this is a witch hunt. I'm a witch, and I'm hunting you." Hexing the Patriarchy: Magical Resistance from A to Z is a book for women for women who want to join the resistance. Upbeat and inviting, without making light of anyone's oppression or spirituality, it offers fed-up women a primer of enchantment in the form of 26 spells for undermining modern-day oppression, all gathered from authentic witches from various magical traditions. Readers will learn how to . . . make salt scrubs to "wash away patriarchal bullshit" place spells on misogynist leadershipmix potions to boost their strength against harassment . . . and more. Individually and cumulatively, the spells are designed to topple the patriarchy with a dangerous, they-never-saw-it-coming power.

This may come as a shock, but brilliant writing and clever wordplay do not a published author make. True, you'll actually have to write if you want to be a writer, but ultimately literary success is about much more than putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys). Before you snap your pencil in half with frustration, please consider the advice writer, teacher, and self-made lit star Ariel Gore offers in this useful guide to realizing your literary dreams.
If you find yourself writing when you should be sleeping and scribbling notes on odd pieces of paper at every stoplight, you might as well enjoy the fruits of your labor. "How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead" is an irreverent yet practical guide that combines solid writing advice with guerrilla marketing and promotion techniques guaranteed to launch you into print--and into the limelight. You'll learn how to:
- Reimagine yourself as a buzz-worthy artist and entrepreneur
- Get your work and your name out in the world where other people can read it
- Be an anthology slut and a brazen self-promoter
- Apply real-world advice and experience from lit stars like Dave Barry, Susie Bright, and Dave Eggers to your own career
Cheaper than an M.F.A. but just as informative, "How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead "is your catapult to lit stardom. Just don't forget to thank Ariel Gore for her inspiring, hands-on plan in the acknowledgments page of your first novel!

26 Short Memoirs by Portland Writers We are doctors, waitresses, housewives, and punks; grandmothers, rockstars, and runaways. We're third generation Northwesterners or we've only just arrived. We complain about the rain, but we don't seem to mind it that much. We drink a lot of coffee and beer. We've been telling stories, in one way or another, for as long as we can remember. Collectively, we are brilliant. We write, rewrite, edit, and occasionally just start over. Sometimes we ignore the facts to tell the truth. Or we change names to protect the guilty. We bank on chance and skate on by. We are a community of writers who gather at The Attic on Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. And we have a story to tell. Thanks for listening.

Orphaned at age four and raised by her black-clad, rosary-mumbling, preoccupied grandmother, Frankka discovered the ability to perform the stigmata as a way to attract her grandmother's attention. Now twenty-eight, Frankka's still using this extraordinary talent, crisscrossing the country with "The Death and Resurrection Show," a Catholic-themed traveling freak show and cast of misfits who have quickly become her new family. But when a reporter from the "Los Angeles Times" shows up to review the show, Frankka finds herself on the front page of the newspaper -- the unwitting center of a religious debate. Now unsure of who she is and where she belongs, Frankka disappears in search of herself and a place to call home.

It's been over a decade since Ariel Gore, in a caffeine-induced brainstorm, invented Hip Mama as her senior project in college. The zine that's been called "fun and irreverent" by USA Today, "delightful" by Glamour, and "cutting-edge" by the Chicago Tribune has grown up alongside Gore's daughter, covering subjects from weaning to home schooling with a political edge and a puckish sense of humour. The Essential Hip Mama captures the heart of a decade's worth of earthy, honest, soulful parenting,and topics from circumcision to dating, abortion to the belief that "mothers don't fart." Gore has gathered in one volume the whispers and conversations heard in homes, on playgrounds, and in coffeehouses around the country. Reassuring and hopeful, The Essential Hip Mama is a brilliant testament that one becomes an "expert" simply through the act of mothering, echoing Gore's own words, "Whenever I've needed parenting advice, I've put out a call for submissions."

Like Jack Kerouac's intrepid little sister, Ariel Gore spins the spirited story of a vulnerable drifter who takes refuge in the recesses of the human heart. With just a few pennies and her I Ching, a change of clothes and a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, a perceptive, searching Gore makes her way through the labyrinthine customs of Cold-War China, wanders bustling, electric Katmandu, and hunkers down in an icy London squat with a prostitute and a boyfriend on the dole. Yet it is in the calm, verdant landscape of rural Italy where, pregnant and penniless, nineteen-year-old Gore's adventure truly begins. An illuminating glimpse into the boldly political Gore,creator of HipMama.com and Hip Mama magazine,this unflinching memoir offers a poignant exploration of the meaning of home, and surveys the frontiers of both land and heart.

In her last book, outspoken urban mom Ariel Gore offered help for real-world mothers. In The Mother Trip, she gives her inspiration, encouragement, and moral support to unconventional moms. In these essays, she bashes the stereotype of the "good mother" and encourages readers to follow their instincts and redefine motherhood in their own terms.

"The Gen-X Dr. Spock" and the founder of Hip Mama: The Parenting 'Zine gives readers advice from the trenches on pregnancy, childbirth, cool names, clueless doctors, potty training, domestic mayhem, right-wing losers, the evil patriarchy, nervous breakdowns, and way more. Line drawings.

In this ground-breaking anthology, Ariel Gore and Bee Lavender ask real moms , from Web site designers to tattoo-clad waitresses , to laugh, cry, scream, and shout about motherhood. Allison Crews fights to have a voice and be recognized as a teen mother. Angela Morrill eschews both doctors and midwife and gives birth at home. Kimberly Bright draws compelling comparisons between raising a toddler and having a psychotic boyfriend." For every young mom, Breeder offers inspiration, strength, wisdom, and humour. Contributors include Allison Crews, Beth Lucht, Ayun Halliday, Katie Granju, Peri Escarda, Allison Abner, and Kimberly Bright.