Hey, friends in Eugene! If you’re around July 16th, I’ll be reading from I Speak for Myself at the Eugene Public Library from 3 – 4:30 pm. I’ll bring my best pen if you want me to sign your book, too!
I hope to see you there!
Extras
Tomorrow’s journalists are fantastic.
The journalism camp that I volunteered with last week just sent me the fruits of their labor: two fantastic articles and a gorgeous picture!
From left: Samantha Matsumoto, me, and Kiersi Coleman at the Oregonian's Newspaper Institute. Image from Cathy Noah.
This is the result of a week-long journalism camp for underrepresented students. The articles are wonderfully put together, including links and video. I hope the newspaper industry can stick around long enough to scoop up these promising young journalists.
Check out the wonderful story of I Speak for Myself by Kiersi Coleman, and a great in-depth profile of me by Samantha Matsumoto. It was a pleasure to meet these inspiring young women and read their excellent work–meeting ladies like them makes me feel alright about the kids these days.
Awesome interview with Persephone mag
Check out this interview I did for the awesome Persephone, a “daily blog for bookish, clever women.” I like to think I’m one of those, so I was really excited to speak with Coco Papy for the blog. And I’m even more excited that they love me as much as I love them!
Fatemeh offers a unique perspective that keeps her words honest and real, offering up solid critiques of xenophobia, mediated imagery, immigration, sexism, power structures, Islamophobia, and racism as they affect Muslim women as well as the rest of the world’s perception of Muslim women. A woman who is indeed changing the game, please welcome the amazing Fatemeh Fakhraie to Persephone.
The Oregonian’s High School Journalism Institute
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten the chance to volunteer my time to a cause I care about (other than Muslimah Media Watch!). So I’m really excited to be able to volunteer for The Oregonian’s High School Journalism Institute! It’s a great program that aims to gives underrepresented students a chance to hone their journalism skills:
The institute is a collaborative effort between The Oregonian, Oregon State University, the (Medford) Mail Tribune, the (McMinville) News Register and the Oregon Newspapers Foundation to promote diversity in newsrooms of the future.
This is wonderful–we need more underrepresented voices in the media!
You can read the students’ work and their reflections on their experience at camp on the OregonLive blog. And read about the awesome time I had with them.
My first book signing
I had my very first book reading/signing last night, and had such a great time! A huge thank you to Grass Roots Books and Music and OSU’s Women’s Studies Department for helping me put together a wonderful event. The venue was very welcoming and cozy, and Jack (the owner) told me that turnout was much larger than they receive at their other book readings. That sure makes a lady feel special!
He also told me that we sold every single copy of I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim in the store! Definite WIN!
I spoke for a little bit about the book, read an excerpt from it, and took audience questions. There was some great conversation–Q&A is always my favorite part.
I even got to sign a few books:
Photo by Warren Lawless.
A really wonderful first book signing experience. I had so much fun that I’m going to try and book a few more readings in the next few months in Oregon around Portland and Eugene. So stay tuned for announcements!
My first book reading is today!
If you’re in town, come see me read from I Speak for Myself, sign a few books, and feel like a somebody for an hour or so. I’ll be at Grass Roots Books & Music at 7 pm.
Check out the announcement from OSU: “Fatemeh Fakhraie, a graduate and employee of OSU, will give a talk and reading from her new anthology on the experience of being an American Muslim woman on Monday, May 23 in downtown Corvallis.”
The Corvallis Gazette-Times has a hilariously titled announcement, as well: “American Muslim woman to Speak Monday in Corvallis.”
Trust me, folks, you don’t want to miss an American Muslim woman speaking! It’s the event of the decade. So stop by and see me–not just speaking, but reading and signing books, too!
Today’s the big day!
I Speak for Myself is officially in print today!
It’ll be in U.S. bookstores this week. You can pick it up at any large bookstore or find it online at Amazon or directly from the publisher (with a pretty sweet discount)!
Pick up a copy–the voices of 40 American Muslim women have never been more relevant.
More great reviews for ISFM!
Last week, I met with Steve Scholl, one of the publishers of I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim. He gave me my first copy of the book: it felt wonderful to hold it in my hands, smell the paper, and see all the work come together into a perfectly binded book!
Since the book will be in stores next week, I looked it over carefully and was delighted to see that my picture was included on the back cover, along with several other of the contributors. I’m tickled to think that my face will be in bookstores next week!
Steve mentioned that we’d gotten a review in Publisher’s Weekly, and today a colleague mentioned that ISFM was on the front page of Deepak Chopra’s website! The historian in me had to take a screenshot for the record:
ISFM will be in bookstores next week, but you can order it from the publisher now at a pretty sweet discount. Make sure to check it out!
ISFM drops next month!
Re-scripting Islam in Indiana
Friends, my brief trip to Indiana for Indiana University’s Re-scripting Islam conference was packed with good times!
I was on a panel about Muslim women and the media with Mona Eltahawy and my MMW Associate Editor Krista Riley. Funny enough, I’d met Mona in 2009, but had never met Krista, with whom I’ve been working for three years! It was wonderful to finally meet her in person, and an honor to be on a panel with them both.
Krista (right) and I (the tired one on the left) at the conference. Photo taken by Amina Waheed.
Muslim Voices live blogged the panel, and I’ve been told there is video forthcoming. I’ll post it as soon as it’s available.
The final panel included Nabil Echchaibi discussing alternative modernities–you can check out the Muslim Voices liveblog here. He name-dropped MMW as a great example of “bottom-up” online Muslim grassroots activism! Quite a wonderful compliment!
Unfortunately, I missed the first day of the conference, which sounds like it was wonderful. Once video is available, I’ll be sure to post it.
Though my trip was short, it was most definitely sweet!
Fatemeh Fakhraie 