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, India, South Korea, Israel, Sweden, Romania, Malawi, Yemen, and the Philippines, in such journals as The Ilanot Review, FireWords, The Bangalore Review, and Two Thirds North. Her book, CentroNía’s Theatrical Journey Playbook: Introducing Science to Early Learners through Guided Pretend Play, won or placed in four contests. A DC-based Texas author, she’s received fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, HumanitiesDC, and McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation fellowships, and studied with Richard Bausch, the late Lee K. Abbott, Janet Peery, John McNally, and Liam Callanan. A character actor and co-founder of DC’s Sanctuary Theatre, Elizabeth co-hosts Creativists in Dialogue: A Podcast Embracing the Creative Life and its Theatre in Community series. read more...

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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's curiosity about people of other genders, races, ages, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds with an eye on creating interesting and varied characters. This session will be interactive, with opportunities to practice listening techniques. read more...

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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, and sci-fi books, and movies and, when he has nothing worthy to read or watch, he writes on his own. read more...

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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 movie rights were scooped up at auction by Warner Brothers, and John changed professions. A safety engineer by training and education, he specialized in explosives and hazardous materials, and also served 15 years in the fire and rescue service, rising to the rank of lieutenant. Outside of his writing life, John is a renowned safety expert with extensive knowledge of explosives, hazardous materials, and fire behavior. John lives in Fairfax, VA. Learn more: johngilstrap.com read more...

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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 another amazing workshop — “The Thriller Writer’s Supernatural System — Designing Extraordinary Elements for Your Manuscript.” Get your ticket today! read more...

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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, and Nurse Jackie. He also wrote for CBS’s Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Learn more: tomstraw.com read more...

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Meet the Author: Adam S. Lovinger serves as Vice President for Strategic Affairs at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, a Washington D.C.-based think tank. In 2017, Adam was Senior Director for Strategic Assessments at the U.S. National Security Council (NSC). From 2006-2017 he provided direct support on long-term U.S. national security strategy to the Secretary of Defense from the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment (ONA). He has served as adjunct professor in three Georgetown University graduate schools and guest lecturer on U.S. grand strategy formation, net assessment, and the emerging U.S.-China long-term strategic competition at the Yale University superpowers of influence series, German Council on Foreign Relations, Oxford University Changing Character of War Series, Permanent Joint Headquarters Command of the British Armed Forces, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, European Commission, and United Services Institute of India. Adam holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Georgetown Law. read more...

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About bestselling author Puja Guha: International Development Consultant. Global Citizen. Author of seven novels and four published short stories. Born into a family of acclaimed Indian architects, Puja traveled with her parents as they worked on projects around the world. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Puja completed her Master's degree in public policy at Sciences Po and the London School of Economics. Today, she works as an independent consultant on international development programs - primarily in Africa and South Asia - traveling to some of the most economically-challenged countries in the world. Leveraging her scholarship, her ability to speak five languages, and her earnest goal of engendering global economic progress, she continues to learn about, support, and embrace new countries. read more...

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Meet the Author: Andrew Rubin is a filmmaker, writer, and cofounder of the mental health education company Symptom Media. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied Film Production and History, he has spent over a decade in the trenches of Hollywood development as a screenwriter.

Andrew co-directed the inspirational documentary Ride with Larry, about Parkinson's, inspired by his father's battle against the disease. The film’s segment exploring Parkinson's and medical marijuana received global attention, and helped spark a broader conversation about dignity, treatment, and the role of alternative medicine. read more...

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