Thursday, November 21, 2024

5:45 Doors open

6:15 Panel begins

7:15 - 8:00 Reception

In person: Society of Illustrators, 128 E 63rd St, Manhattan

$15 for members, $25 for non-members 

During National Book Awards Week, join Women’s Media Group in partnership with the Society of Illustrators to celebrate a diverse group of women illustrators of children’s books. The main event will be a panel discussion, where each artist will speak about her career journey, her approach to illustration, and some of her recent work. There will also be time before and after the event to enjoy the Museum of Illustration’s prestigious annual “The Original Art” exhibit, which showcases the fine art of children’s book illustration. Following the panel, enjoy a cocktail, light bites, and conversation in the beautiful historic 128 Bar, the Society’s unique gallery and gathering space. 

Panelists:

Award-winning writer-illustrator Selina Alko spends her days melding words and mixed-media art to convey stories of hope and inspiration—as well as an alternative viewpoint, the result of growing up Jewish in Vancouver, British Columbia. Alko’s books include The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama, Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport, and I is for Immigrants, which was selected as a 2022 Best Book of the Year by Bank Street Books and garnered a Silver Medal from The Society of Illustrators. 

Vashti Harrison is the author and illustrator of Big, winner of the 2024 Caldecott Award and a 2023 National Book Award Finalist. She is also the creator of the New York Times #1 bestsellers Little Leaders, Little Dreamers and Little Legends and is the illustrator of I Love You Like Yellow by Andrea Beaty, Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, and Hello, Star by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic , among others. She received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o, and she's a two-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children. 

Cecilia Ruiz is a Mexican author, illustrator, and graphic designer based in New York City. Her clients include the New York Times, Google, Hermès,and Target. Cecilia teaches design and illustration at The School of Visual Arts and Queens College. Cecilia’s first picture book, A Gift from Abuela, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her latest picture book is Mr. Fiorello’s Head and was selected for the Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibition 2023.

Moderator: Carolina Schwarz is a children’s publisher consultant. With 15+ years of experience in the industry, she specializes in helping international and domestic children’s book publishers create lists that win awards and hearts!

About the Society of Illustrators

The Society of Illustrators’ mission is to promote the art of illustration, to appreciate its history and evolving nature through exhibitions, lectures and education, and to contribute the service of its members to the welfare of the community at large.

100% of the proceeds from ticket sales supports the Women’s Media Group Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3), which provides scholarships to women pursuing college and graduate level programs in the fields of publishing and media. See WMGEF’s Scholars here.

Please note: The reception event will take place on the fourth floor, which is only accessible via stairs. Bathrooms are only accessible via stairs.

Refund Policy

• Earlier than 24 hours before the event: If you know you'll be unable to use your ticket more than 24 hours before an event, you can request a full refund by emailing info@womensmediagroup.org, OR you can donate the fee to the nonprofit Women's Media Group Educational Foundation by not requesting a refund.
• Within 24 hours before an event: No refunds. These ticket fees will automatically be converted to a donation to the Women's Media Group Educational Foundation.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024
6:00 VIP Hour 

7:15 General Admission

In person: Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St.

VIP reception $145 (includes Open Bar all evening and hors d’oeuvres during the reception)

General Admission Non-member $100 (includes 2 drinks)

General Admission Member $85 (includes 2 drinks)

General Admission WMG Scholar: $70 (includes 2 drinks for those 21 and over) 

Food and additional drinks will be available to purchase.

Karen Bergreen, Ophira Eisenberg, Sarah Cooper, Negin Farsad, Judy Gold, Mia Jackson, and Lane Moore will be performing comedy at WMG’s Holiday Party!

Let’s toast WMG’s 50th Anniversary milestone year with a festive in-person holiday event. We all could use a good laugh, so come enjoy these acclaimed women comedians as they take the stage in support of WMG’s scholarships fund. Published authors and stars of television, cinema, radio, podcasts, and more, this super lit line-up is sure to put us all in the holiday spirit. It has been an amazing and historic 50th year for WMG—let’s celebrate it together.

Buy a VIP ticket to a 1-hour pre-event cocktail party, where you can socialize and network with WMG’s Co-Presidents, Board of Directors, and other members and special guests. VIP tickets include passed hors d’oeuvres during the VIP reception and OPEN BAR access for the entirety of the event.

Comedians:

Ophira Eisenberg (Emcee) is a Canadian-born stand-up comedian, writer, and host. She hosted NPR’s comedy trivia show Ask Me Another for nine years. Ophira is the host of the new comedy podcast, Parenting Is A Joke, co-produced by iHeart Radio and Pretty Good Friends Productions. Her new comedy album is Plant-Based Jokes. She has appeared on Comedy Central, This Week at The Comedy Cellar, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, HBO’s Girls, Gotham Live, The Late Late Show, The Today Show, and VH-1. Ophira is a regular host and storyteller with The Moth, and her stories have been featured on The Moth Radio Hour and in two of the Moth’s best-selling collections, including the most recent New York Times bestseller: How To Tell A Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth. Ophira’s first book, Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, was optioned for a feature film.

Karen Bergreen is a New Yorker who started as the only Harvard student with a TV in her dorm (it was black and white, don’t judge). She went from law school to law firms, dreaming of courtroom dramas but instead mastering the arts of stapling and proofreading. Turns out, she was terrible at both, which led her to the obvious next step: comedy! She's performed all over the U.S. and beyond (hello, Canada!), and you might've caught her on Comedy Central, The View, or playing herself on The Jim Gaffigan Show. Now, between raising kids, a needy dog named Tootsie, and some hermit crabs (that sometimes die), she writes novels, including Following Polly and Perfect is Overrated.

Sarah Cooper is a writer, comedian, and author of How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings and 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings—both inspired by personal experience. In 2020, her lip-syncing impressions of Donald Trump went viral and she starred in her first Netflix special, Everything’s Fine. She’s made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Today Show, and many more. Her memoir, Foolish: Tales of Assimilation, Determination, and Humiliation (October 3, 2023, Dutton), offers a candid look at life as a Jamaican immigrant turned tech worker, divorceé, and performer. She also  was seen in Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut, Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. Sarah currently lives in Brooklyn with a bunch of fake plants.

Negin Farsad was named one of the 50 Funniest Women by Huffington Post and one of the 10 Best Feminist Comedians by Paper Magazine, and she was selected as a TEDFellow for her work in social justice comedy. She is the author of How To Make White People Laugh, which was nominated for the Thurber Prize for Humor. Farsad is host of Fake the Nation, a political comedy podcast on the Earwolf network, and she’s a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. She appears on Nat Geo’s Year Million, HBO’s High Maintenance, and Netflix’s Chelsea Handler Show. She is also the director/writer/star of the rom-com 3rd Street Blackout. She has written for/appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, PBS, IFC, Nickelodeon and others. She is director/producer of the feature films The Muslims Are Coming! and Nerdcore Rising. She has written for The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Oprah Magazine, Indiewire, and others. 

Judy Gold has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central and LOGO, and was a part of Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She is the author of Yes I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a book about free speech and cancel culture. Her solo show, Yes I Can Say That! directed by BD Wong and starring Judy premiered in March 2023 at 59E59 Theaters. She hosts the weekly hit podcast, It’s Judy’s Show with Judy Gold. Judy is featured in the new Netflix documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, which explores the history of LGBTQ+ standup comedy. Judy’s recent acting credits include feature films She Came To Me, Tripped Up, and Love Reconsidered. Recent TV credits: City On A Hill, Better Things, The First Lady, and Extrapolations. Judy is one of the main subjects in the Hulu documentary Hysterical. She has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show. Judy also won two Emmy awards for writing and producing The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Judy has made numerous appearances on The View, The Today Show, The Drew Barrymore Show and on MSNBC, CNN and NewsNation as a free-speech advocate. She has three albums, Conduct Unbecoming, Kill Me Now, and Judith’s Roommate Had a Baby.

Mia Jackson is a stand-up comedian from Columbus, Georgia, who began her comedy career in Atlanta. Now based in New York City, she performs regularly at venues like The Comedy Cellar. Mia has toured nationally with Amy Schumer and was selected as a New Face at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. She has written for Life & Beth (Hulu) and I Love Us (BET+). Her first original comedy pilot, Aim Higher, was optioned in 2021. Her second half hour special premiered on Comedy Central in Nov 2019 and her stand up has been featured on This Week at The Comedy Cellar (Comedy Central). Mia was the narrator for My Celebrity Dream Wedding (VH1). Mia was a Semi-Finalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing, and she has appeared in Oxygen’s Girls Behaving Badly, TLC’s Wild Weddings, Unprotected Sets (Epix), ESPN, and Headline News.

Lane Moore is an award-winning writer, actor, comedian, and musician. She is the host of I Thought It Was Just Me podcast on Patreon. As an actor, she’s had critically-acclaimed appearances on Girls and Search Party. She is the author of How To Be Alone and You Will Find Your People. In 2024, Moore released an audiobook with Everand, You’re Not The Only One F*cking Up. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Onion, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Elle, Teen Vogue, and GQ. As the Sex and Relationships Editor for Cosmopolitan, and the magazine’s first openly out editor, she won a GLAAD award for her groundbreaking work championing diverse, inclusive coverage, and was also honored on the Out 100 list. Her comedy show “Tinder Live! with Lane Moore” has been praised by The New York Times, Spin Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, CBS, Time Out New York, and New York Magazine. Moore is the front person and songwriter in the band “It Was Romance.”

100% of the proceeds from ticket sales supports the Women’s Media Group Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3), which provides scholarships to women pursuing college and graduate level programs in the fields of publishing and media. See WMGEF’s Scholars here.

This is one of ⭐️WMG’s 50th Anniversary marquee events.⭐️ Over the past five decades, our New York-based nonprofit has brought together women in media to collaborate with, learn from, inform, and mentor one another. Our 50th Anniversary marquee events embrace WMG’s core mission of women’s empowerment. 

Refund Policy

• Earlier than 24 hours before the event: If you know you'll be unable to use your ticket more than 24 hours before an event, you can request a full refund by emailing info@womensmediagroup.org, OR you can donate the fee to the nonprofit Women's Media Group Educational Foundation by not requesting a refund.

• Within 24 hours before an event: No refunds. These ticket fees will automatically be converted to a donation to the Women's Media Group Educational Foundation.

Sponsorships with table sales are available - please email Kathy Sandler at ksandler1@gmail.comfor more information.

Guests welcome!

Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET

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

What if YOU could be the ONLY choice that matters to your clients, customers, and prospects?  When they have a problem or challenge, they seek you out first. Think this is a dream? No, it can be a reality! In order to attract and close with ease, you must have Rock Star Confidence.  This is an unshakable belief that no matter what is happening in the economy, your industry, etc., you are the answer and are worth paying for. In this session, Precious Williams, Founder and CEO of the Perfect Pitch Group, will tackle Rock Star Confidence. She will show you what it means to possess quality and how to change the narrative of how you are perceived in the marketplace, while creating raving clients and customers. 

The economy is not making it easy for business right now. Do we give up? No! It's time to pull out the innovative genius tactics and techniques that get them to hire you, book you, refer you, invest in you, RIGHT NOW!  

Rock Star Confidence is not your usual, dry business advice. This session is designed for corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, consultants, content creators, coaches, and speakers with you in mind, guiding you to boldly attract prospects and clients effortlessly.

You’ll learn about:

• Unlocking your inner rock star

• The power of positioning yourself as the Rolls Royce in your Industry

• Taking your pitches and presentations to the next level and getting booked, hired, sought after, and invested in

This is a ✏️WMG Lunch & Learn✏️ event! WMG Lunch & Learns are part of a series of midday events designed to help you learn, grow, and connect in only 60 minutes. This presentation is fully interactive to give participants opportunities to share their voices. 

About the speaker:

Precious L. Williams, proud Founder and CEO of the Perfect Pitch Group, is a 13-time national elevator pitch champion, #1 bestselling author and international professional speaker. Besides training entrepreneurs, business leaders, and professionals, she is also a top Fortune 100 corporate sales trainer, teaching people how to move their sales, media, or elevator pitches from TRASH to straight CASH!  Having successfully appeared on “Shark Tank” Season 8 in 2016, Precious is a world-class speaker for global brands including BMW, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Blackstone, Verizon, SiriusXM, HubSpot, Conde Nast, Harvard University, Columbia University, Spelman College, Quickbooks, Yelp, and many more. She is also hired to Keynote international conferences, summits, and events. 

All proceeds from this event support the Women's Media Group Educational Foundation.

Refund Policy

• Earlier than 24 hours before the event: If you know you'll be unable to use your ticket more than 24 hours before an event, you can request a full refund by emailing info@womensmediagroup.org, OR you can donate the fee to the nonprofit Women's Media Group Educational Foundation by not requesting a refund.
• Within 24 hours before an event: No refunds. These ticket fees will automatically be converted to a donation to the Women's Media Group Educational Foundation.