Philippine Department of Tourism Luncheon on Sat., Mar. 21 Please note: This meeting starts at 11:00 a.m. Rene De Los Santos, director of the Philippine Department of Tourism in San Francisco, has invited BATW members to have our meeting and enjoy a luncheon at Intramuros in South San Francisco. This...

There are three items on which we’d like your feedback so I’m putting them at the top of my column just in case (as though that were possible) you don’t read all the way to the end. There are fuller details if you keep reading.

Welcome to our new members: Actives: Lisa Alpine, Robert Bone, Melissa Josue, Emma Krasov, Autumn Millhouse, Brad Newsham, David Page, Maxine Schur, Robert Stone, Laurie Weed. Associates: Carolyn Izzo-Feldman (Carolyn Izzo Integrated Communications), Mary Billingsley (Heritage Travel, Inc.), Belinda...

Congratulations to Sandy Sims and Peter Delevett, winners in the third annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing, sponsored by Travelers’ Tales.  Sandy won a Silver Award in the “Doing Good or the Kindness of Strangers” category for her essay “A Cultural Lesson Lying in the...

Maison de la France (the French Government Tourist Office), Air France, Rail Europe and the Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT-USA cordially invite BATW members to “France 2009—A Press Luncheon.”

Mary E. Knippel will read from her work-in-progress memoir at a Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) gathering at BookShop West Portal (80 West Portal Ave.) in San Francisco from 7-9 p.m. on Thurs., Mar. 12. 

Congratulations to Edward Hasbrouck, who is the keynote speaker at the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library’s annual banquet on 5 p.m. on Sat., Mar. 14.

Congrats to Natalie Galli and Laurie McAndish King, who both have stories in the Travelers’ Tales anthology Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009.  Laurie, Natalie, publisher Larry Habegger, Marybeth Bond, Pamela Alma Bass, and other writers will read at the book’s launch party at the Left Coast...

Thanks to Stephanie Fermin for this information: BATW members are invited to preview “Pop to Present” at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University on Wed., Mar. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon.  This exhibition features collection highlights, a selection of the most noteworthy works acquired over the...

Carla King teams up with new member Lisa Alpine to teach a class called “At the Crossroads: Turn Towards Self-Publishing” on Sat., March 21 (ouch — same date as the next BATW meeting)