Dorothy Allison talks about writing at SBWC.

In 2012, Dorothy Allison’s critically acclaimed debut novel, Bastard Out Of Carolina, celebrated its 20 year anniversary, I did not read this coming of age story until I met the author when she keynoted at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

To borrow a phrase said often by SBWC’s beloved Ray Bradbury when he talked of other writers’ works “I fell in love” when I heard Dorothy Allison speak. Snippets from Ms. Allison’s very funny keynote –  that zoomed in on our writing life – include these: ‘You know your mama doesn’t respect you and your daddy is afraid you’ll never make a living. And your sisters? They’re scared shitless you’re going to tell things about them…..There’s a world of people out there who don’t understand what you do…”

This short video captures a bit of Dorothy Allison’s essence.

Dorothy Allison’s site offers an overview of her teaching and her literary works, which includes She Who, a novel coming out soon by Penguin Putnam. (2017 update: novel not published as of yet.)