Thursday, October 30, 5:15 p.m. ET

The Brazen Fox, 175 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY

WMG members only; guests are responsible for their own food and drink

Join WMG member Catherine Cioffi for a Small Group Social with special guest Ann-Marie Nieves, founder of Get Red PR. Ann-Marie will share insights about the differences between publicity and marketing strategies across three popular publishing paths — self-publishing, hybrid, and traditional publishing —  to help you navigate the promotional landscape with confidence.

This is your chance to:

• Learn proven PR tactics for the current publishing landscape.
• Understand what works (and what doesn't) for each publishing model.
• Ask your burning questions in a relaxed, intimate setting with great food!

Wednesday, November 5, 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET

Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members (Zoom)

Join Women’s Media Group for a focused virtual session with Fauzia Burke, founder of FSB Associates and author of Online Marketing for Busy Authors. In this interactive program, Fauzia will demystify how artificial intelligence is transforming book marketing — from creating a media kit to discovering audiences. She’ll lead a thoughtful discussion on the promise and pitfalls of using AI as a marketing tool, highlighting the essential skills authors and media professionals need to stay ahead. Drawing on real-world examples, Fauzia will share practical tools and frameworks to help you use AI responsibly and creatively. You’ll come away with actionable strategies to integrate AI into your marketing and promotion efforts — and learn how to leverage new technologies to elevate your message, strengthen your brand, and build lasting connections with readers. She will be in conversation with Jane Wesman, Co-President of WMG and President of Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.

Meet the speakers:

Fauzia Burke is a pioneering figure in digital book publicity, with more than 20 years of experience shaping the publishing industry. As the founder and President of FSB Associates, she's worked with bestselling authors like Alan Alda, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, Mika Brzezinski, Ken Blanchard, and Lord Charles Spencer, as well as many talented first-time authors. Her company made history by creating the first author website for Sue Grafton and founded Pub Site — a user-friendly platform that has empowered authors like Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, and many others to build their online presence. An accomplished author herself, Fauzia wrote Online Marketing for Busy Authors (Berrett-Koehler), providing practical guidance for authors navigating today’s digital landscape. She now leverages her expertise to lead the way in AI-driven book marketing, helping authors and publishers embrace innovative, technology-enhanced strategies. Fauzia is writing a weekly Substack on harnessing the power of AI to shape the future of book marketing. You can follow her at fauziaburke.substack.com.

Jane Wesman, Co-President of WMG and President of Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc., is a leading book publicist and branding expert with more than four decades of experience promoting authors and ideas that shape culture. She led national campaigns for bestselling books, such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The One Minute Manager, and The Alchemist, as well as for many of today’s most innovative business, leadership, and fiction authors. Known for combining traditional publicity with digital strategy, Jane helps authors build visibility and thought leadership through integrated publicity, social media, and branding campaigns. She is the author of Dive Right In – The Sharks Won’t Bite: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Success and shares her expertise on her Book Marketing Pro YouTube channel and LinkedIn newsletter. A past President of the NYC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, she launched a mentoring program that helped dozens of women grow their businesses. Learn more at www.wesmanpr.com.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

Wednesday, November 12, 5:30 p.m. ET

Penguin Random House, 1745 Broadway (between 55th & 56th Streets), Cerf-Lane Room

$15 for members; $20 for non-members; $10 for Scholars

Includes wine and light bites.

One in four American women have faced online harassment, and in some countries, this figure rises to a staggering 60% of female internet users. Women journalists, editors, and authors have long been on the front lines of harassment—and rarely get the chance to process it, name it, or strategize together. Our speakers—leaders across media and digital safety—will examine how gendered hate, disinformation, and surveillance shape public discourse and silence truth tellers. They'll unpack the systems fueling this crisis—and explore how we can protect one another, reclaim our voices, and build safer digital spaces. They will share real tools for resistance, resilience, and repair. Register now to stand with other women in media demanding accountability, safety, and justice online.

Panelists:

Alia Dastagir is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for USA Today. Her work focuses on gender and mental health. Her groundbreaking book, To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person, published recently by Crown, explores how language used online can amount to psychological violence, altering women’s identities, careers, and health. Dastagir was one of eight U.S. recipients of the prestigious Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. She won a first place National Headliner Award for a series on suicide and was awarded the American Association of Suicidology’s Public Service Journalism Award. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU, where she was an Axinn Fellow.

Francesca Donner is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Persistent, a women-run, independent media organization. Founded in 2024, The Persistent covers the world — from politics to money to culture to health — through its twice-weekly newsletter, as well as events, conversation, and community. Francesca is the former gender director at The New York Times and a founding member of its Gender Initiative. She was also editor of In Her Words, a newsletter and column which drew an audience of around 300,000; served as a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal, where she focused on business and leadership; an executive editor at Quartz, a leading business publication; and was a founding editor of Forbes’ ForbesWoman initiative. Francesca has served as a moderator for both live and digital events hosted by numerous conferences and outlets, including Women’s Forum for Economy and Society, Women Political Leaders at the Reykjavik Forum, the World Economic Forum, Vital Voices, and the International Journalism Festival. Francesca holds degrees from Brown and Stanford.

Viktorya Vilk is the Director for Digital Safety and Free Expression at PEN America, which works to protect free expression in the U.S. and worldwide. She created and runs the organization’s Online Abuse Defense Program, which equips writers and journalists with self-defense training and resources, partners with media organizations and publishers to strengthen protections for writers and journalists, and conducts research and advocacy on platform accountability. Her work has been featured in PBS Newshour, The New York Times, Slate, and Harvard Business Review, and she has been a speaker at the Online News Association, RightsCon, International Journalism Festival, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and MozFest. Prior to joining PEN America, she worked on organizational strategy and development at the Art & Global Health Center Africa, a Malawian NGO that advocates for health and human rights through the arts. She has organized exhibitions, developed public programs, managed a collection re-installation project, and created innovative digital platforms showcasing art and architecture at the Jewish Museum, the Clark Art Institute, The Frick Collection, and the Courtauld Gallery.

Moderator:

Jamia Wilson is an award-winning feminist activist, writer, speaker, and podcaster. She joined Random House as Vice President and Executive Editor in 2021. As the former Director of the Feminist Press at the City University of New York and the former VP of Programs at the Women’s Media Center, Jamia has been a leading voice on women’s rights issues for over a decade. Her work has appeared in numerous outlets, including The New York Times, The Today Show, CNN, Elle, the BBC, Rookie, Refinery29, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and The Washington Post. Her most recent book is Make Good Trouble, a look at 70 stories of global activism to inspire young people to take action. She is also the author of This Book Is Feminist, Young, Gifted, and Black, the introduction and oral history in Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World, Step Into Your Power: 23 Lessons on How to Live Your Best Life, Big Ideas for Young Thinkers, ABC's of AOC, and the co-author of Roadmap for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Advocacy, and Activism for All. Jamia serves on the Omega Institute, ERA Coalition, and Center for Reproductive Rights boards, and the St. Timothy’s School Advisory Council. She is also the co-host of the second season of the Anthem Award-winning podcast, Ordinary Equality.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

Saturday, November 15, 2:00 p.m. ET

Girls Write Now, 247 W. 37th St., Suite 1000, NYC

WMG members only; FREE

Join WMG member Elise Thoron for a performance and discussion of If Beale Street Could Talk, put on by her company, Literature to Life. James Baldwin’s story about abiding love in the face of injustice remains disturbingly poignant sixty years after it was first published. Told from the perspective of its young heroine, this is the story of one family’s fight for justice in a society where institutional discrimination has the power to destroy lives, a theme that resonates today with audiences from all walks of life. If Beale Street Could Talk will be performed by Channie Waites and was adapted and directed by Elise. This event will be held at Girls Write Now, which is a scholarship partner of WMG. Space is limited.