Elaine's Literary Salon

Meet the Author: Elizabeth Bruce’s collection, Universally Adored and Other One Dollar Stories (Vine Leaves Press, 2024), won the 2025 IBA Short Story Award and Literary Titan Gold Award in Fiction, as well as an IAN Book of the Year Finalist distinction. Her debut novel, And Silent Left the Place, won Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s Fiction Prize, as well as a ForeWord Magazine Bronze Prize and the Texas Institute of Letters’ Finalist Award. She’s published in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,Click here to listen to the podcast!

Click here to sign up today for the March 21 workshop with John DeDakis! Course Description: A series of topic-specific workshops designed to drill deeper into the finer points of storytelling. Writing exercises will help you hone your skills and give you the confidence to take your writing to the next level. Deep Listening for Writers: A writer is an observer first, last, and always. This session is an invitation to consider every interaction as an opportunity to follow one’sClick here to listen to the podcast!

When: Sunday, April 26, 2026 from 12-3pm Where: 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Get your free ticket: RebeccaMorrison.eventbrite.com Meet the Author: Rebecca Morrison is the author of The Blue Dress, a novel based on her childhood as an Iranian immigrant trying to fit into her new American homeland and her family’s expectations of beauty. Published by Macmillan’s imprint Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the book will be available for purchase on March 24. The book has already received positive reviews fromClick here to listen to the podcast!

When: Saturday, May 02, 2026 from 12-3pm Where: 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Sign up for your free ticket on Eventbrite: IreneBennett.Eventbrite.com Meet the Author: Irene Vinyard Bennett has wide experience as a writer and educational minister. Her debut novel, BATTLE OF THE ARTISANS: Making the Bells of Marquis Yi, won the International Proverse Prize of 2022.  It is the first story about the Bronze-Age Bells of Marquis Yi, a National Treasure of China. An international motivational speaker, workshopClick here to listen to the podcast!

Meet the Author: Emil Buchman was born in the Galaxy Far, Far Away (aka, Baku, Azerbaijan) and came to the United States in the early 1990s. Currently, he lives in Brooklyn, New York with his beautiful wife and adorable wheaten terrier Chloe. Emil is a practicing transactional lawyer, structuring and documenting complex debt instruments but, by his own admission, this is a boring part of his life. When he is not practicing, Emil enjoys reading and watching classics, history, fantasy,Click here to listen to the podcast!

This week at Elaine’s Literary Salon, we are excited to share our newest interview with critically acclaimed, bestselling author John Gilstrap. Today, he talks with Elaine’s Literary Salon host Jeffrey James Higgins about his new novels, writing process, and what makes his books so popular with readers. About the author and his books: When John Gilstrap’s first novel, Nathan’s Run, hit the market in 1996, it set the literary world on fire. Publication rights sold in 23 countries, the movieClick here to listen to the podcast!

A Note from Jeffrey James Higgins and Hope Katz Gibbs, ElainesLiterarySalon.com — Hello friends! We were thrilled to host a seminar on Jan. 29 featuring award-winning author and writing coach C.R. Rowenson. The video and podcast of the event is now live on our Salon site, InkandescentRadio.com, Spotify, Apple, and iHeart Radio. Pick your favorite channel to watch and listen. We know you’ll learn a lot! Big news: On March 7, C.R. Rowenson will be in-person at ElainesLiterarySalon.com for anotherClick here to listen to the podcast!

When: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 from 6-9pm Where: 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Get your free ticket: ElizabethHodges.eventbrite.com Meet the Author: Elizabeth Hodges was 38 when she got the news, “You have leukemia.” Six weeks later, she was told she also had adult cystic fibrosis. With three young children, intense fear set in that she might not live to see them grow up. Instead of giving in, she became determined to prioritize her role as a mother and leadClick here to listen to the podcast!

Meet the Author: Tom Straw is an Emmy and Writers’ Guild of America-nominated writer-producer, New York Timesand USA Today best-selling author, and former Mystery Writers of America board member. Writing as Richard Castle, Tom originated the Nikki Heat series, all New York Times Bestsellers. Under his own name he published The Trigger Episode, Buzz Killer, and the USA Today best-selling spy thriller, The Accidental Joe. In TV, Tom wrote for and produced the original Night Court, Dave’s World, Grace Under Fire,Click here to listen to the podcast!