Understanding the Chakras Talk by Courtney Butler

Interested in the chakras but feeling overwhelmed about where to start learning about these energy centers of the body? How can objective observations about where you feel emotions in your body lead you to balance? Check out THE MUD & THE LOTUS author Courtney Butler's 12 minute talk "Understanding How We Feel the Chakras," free from the Insight Timer app. Search Courtney Butler, see this illustrative talk pop up, and join the more than 2,500 people who've already listened and more than 350 who've given this talk 4.5 stars.

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Ready to learn more about the Energy Anatomy of the body? Read The Mud & The Lotus, or enjoy our Jumbo Energy Anatomy Card, taken from among the many useful charts and illustrations you'll find in the book. 

Scars Contributor Sayantani DasGupta Empowers Girls to Slay their Demons

Need to slay a rakkosh demon? Get advice from SCARS: An Anthology contributor Sayantani DasGupta in her interview with Et Alia's Erin Wood, just up on the Ms. Magazine Blog.

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Sayantani DasGupta—featured on the cover of Ms. in 1992 with her mother as part of our “Feminist Mothers and Daughters” issue—is now writing a new world into existence for girls. Sayantani’s books include The Serpent’s Secret: Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond (her debut children’s novel, forthcoming from Scholastic in 2018), Her Own Medicine: A Woman’s Journey from Student to Doctor (reviewed by Ms.) and Stories of Illness and Healing: Women Write Their Bodies. She is also faculty across three departments at Columbia University: the graduate program in narrative medicine, the Center for Comparative Literature and Society and The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race.

For Ms., Wood spoke with DasGupta—now a pediatrician, writer, activist and mother herself—about growing up in a feminist household, politically conscious parenting as an essential form of activism and the light her forthcoming book will shine for middle-grade girls by offering a new brand of she-ro that invites girls to be what they can see.

READ THE INTERVIEW HERE. 

SCARS: An Anthology Contributor Doug Kidd to Present in Amsterdam 12/1

Douglas E Kidd, whose essay, "Collide," appears in SCARS: An Anthology, will present his paper "Belonging, Meaning, and Identity: Living with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury" at the Third International Disability Studies Conference ‘The Art of Belonging’ on 12/1 in Amsterdam. Congratulations, Doug!

Paper Summary: With his life trajectory profoundly altered by a catastrophic automobile accident, the physiological separation Douglas Kidd’s brain experienced from time and reality for 65 days while in states of coma and amnesia produced complete social disconnection. . . . During his recovery from the severe traumatic brain injury he acquired, Douglas found acceptance and forged community with other impaired individuals. These disabled communities provide him with opportunities for advocacy, vocation, and artistic expression by presenting to conferences, and composing essays, articles, and poetry. Douglas’s life and connection to disabled individuals, as well as the larger disabled community, lead him to experience a profound sense of belonging.

Doug is also the founder of UDA (Undistracted Driving Advocacy).

Douglas Kidd's car following a distracted driving accident that led to his traumatic brain injury, which has led Doug to become an undistracted driving advocate. Read Doug's essay, "Collide," in Scars: An Anthology. 

Douglas Kidd's car following a distracted driving accident that led to his traumatic brain injury, which has led Doug to become an undistracted driving advocate. Read Doug's essay, "Collide," in Scars: An Anthology. 

Small Business Saturday Starts Now!

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY, NOW THROUGH 11/26!

  • 10% OFF ANY ORDER WITH CODE SMALL10
  • 20% OFF ORDERS OVER $60 WITH CODE SMALL20
  • 30% OFF ORDERS OVER $100 WITH CODE SMALL30

With any order:

  • Free Giftwrap and Tag
  • Free Shipping (as always)
  • Free Hand-Delivery to 72205 and 72207 Area Codes

Thank you for purchasing from Et Alia Press! When you buy direct from independent publishers, you make an immediate impact on our ability to support Arkansas authors and bring exciting titles to your bookshelf. 

CD Wright Women Writers Conference

The inaugural CD Wright Women Writers Conference at University of Central Arkansas in Conway, AR on November 2 and 3 was a smashing success. 

Below, Et Alia's Erin Wood visits ESSE Purse Museum in Little Rock's SoMa District on Friday with Emily Shearer of Minerva Rising Press. The two became friends at AWP 2017 in D.C. in February. 

Erin participated in an engaging writing workshop at ESSE along with a dozen other women, who grew to know one another and each other's writing through the contents of our purses. 

Tayari Jones was Friday's keynote speaker, who captivated the audience with a reading from her forthcoming novel, An American Marriage. 

Below, Eliza Borne, senior editor of The Oxford American Magazine, speaks on "The Topography of Contemporary Publishing," and Poet/Memoirist Jo McDougall speaks as part of the panel "A Call to White Women: Because the Warp is Everywhere."

During the conference, McDougall joined Erin's Women Makers of Arkansas project. 

Below, Erin Wo-mans the Et Alia booth at left, and gets a shot with friends Emily Shearer and Kim Brown at Minerva Rising at right. 

THV 11 This Morning Hosts Grace Vest + Rocky and Judy Ostroski

This morning, THV 11 hosted HOME SWEET HOME: Arkansas Rescue Dogs & Their Stories author Grace Vest, and Judy and Rocky Ostroski. Rocky was rescued from an attic following Hurricane Katrina by Judy’s husband Steve, who was in the National Guard and deployed to New Orleans when he found Rocky. Our small, local press appreciates THV 11 for the opportunity to share incredible rescue stories like Rocky’s, and to highlight Grace’s project to draw attention to rescue dogs needing homes across Arkansas.

PHILIP MARTIN: "A dog is something like an angel . . ."

In his column yesterday, Philip Martin wrote of dogs:

"I know how dear and fine these creatures are, and how vulnerable. While anthropomorphising is incorrect, dogs do have a psychology. They have motives and emotional insight and are capable of remorse and empathy. They are not like us. For all I know a dog's brain may be a blameless swamp of light and shadow, but they possess more than the suggestion of a soul. A dog is something like an angel, a being composed largely of love, designed to help us cope with this rough life."

Read the rest of his piece, sharing some of the stories from Home Sweet Home: Arkansas Rescue Dogs & Their Stories, at Arkansas Online. 

We are proud to have Philip Martin in our family of Et Alia authors. In his collection of poems, songs, and journalism, The President Next Door, you'll discover more about his life with dogs as he shares contemplations about a beloved dog's seizures, the plight of animals during Hurricane Katrina, and the deep and abiding joys of canine companionship. 

Women Makers of Arkansas/Women Makers of the South Nominations OPEN!

Women make Arkansas. Women make the South. We want to show how.

Nominations are officially open for two related book projects until February 15, 2018. Nominate yourself or your favorite food producers, distillers, artists, photographers, jewelers, fashion designers, authors, craftswomen, and other creatives by emailing womenmakersofarkansas at gmail.com. 25–40 makers will be selected for each book project. Books will be edited by Erin Wood and published by Et Alia Press in Fall 2018 and/or Spring 2019.

In your email, please include:

  • Subject line:  
    • Women Makers of Arkansas Nomination; or
    • Women Makers of the South Nomination
      • Note that Arkansas nominees will automatically be considered for South. The subject line is simply for organizational purposes.
  • Brief Nominee Biography (175 words or fewer)
  • Brief Description of Nominee’s Art, Craft, Product, etc.
  • Contact Information. If nominating someone other than yourself, please note whether they are aware of your nomination and/or whether you are making them aware. If selected, we'll need to do follow up interviews and procure images, so want to make sure nominees are willing participants. 
  • Website (if available, though not required)
  • Any Press or Publicity Links, or other brief pertinent information you think we should know.

Depending on the number of submissions, the nomination date may close earlier, so act quickly to ensure that you or your nominee(s) are included for consideration. Please use a separate email for each nomination. Each selected maker will receive a gratis copy of the book in which she is featured, and will have the opportunity to purchase additional copies at a discount. 

We can’t wait to learn how you or your nominee(s) shape Arkansas and the South through craft!