Aimee Liu, Allison Joseph, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Red Hen Press in Pasadena is hosting its first-ever Virtual Gala on Sunday, October 25, in place of its Annual Champagne Luncheon fundraiser that in past years have been held in person at a venue in Pasadena.
This is Red Hen Press’s 26th Annual Luncheon and will feature appearances by some of the leading names in U.S. literature, beginning with readings from presenting authors Aimee Liu, Allison Joseph, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin, from 12 to 1:30 p.m.
Aimee Liu is the bestselling author of the novels “Flash House,” “Cloud Mountain,” and “Face” and the memoirs “Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders and Solitaire.” Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, published as a Literary Guild Super Release, and serialized in Good Housekeeping. A past president of the national literary organization PEN Center USA, she holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College and is on the faculty of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing Program at Port Townsend, WA. She lives in Los Angeles.
Allison Joseph lives in Carbondale, Illinois, where she is a professor of English and director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Southern Illinois University. She serves as poetry editor of Crab Orchard Review. Some of her books include “My Father’s Kites,” “Trace Particles,” “Little Epiphanies,” and “Mercurial.” Her most recent full-length collection, “Confessions of a Barefaced Woman,” was published by Red Hen Press in June 2018.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of “We Cast a Shadow,” which was published by One World Random House and is a New York Times Editor’s Choice. Ruffin is the winner of several literary prizes, including the Iowa Review Award in fiction and the William Faulkner–William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award for Novel-in-Progress. His work has appeared in the Oxford American, Garden and Gun, and Kenyon Review. A New Orleans native, Ruffin is an assistant professor of creative writing at Louisiana State University, and the 2020-2021 John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at Ole Miss.
The featured author readings during the virtual event will be followed by breakout sessions with additional featured guests and an online silent auction highlighting incredible and unique baskets, bundles, gift cards, and experiences.
A Facebook post by Red Hen Press said some of the auction items include a solid sterling silver bracelet, a family portrait session, and a four-night stay at a resort in Cancun. You can browse the silent auction at https://one.bidpal.net/
Individual tickets, at $50, includes one admission to the Virtual Gala and a Red Hen gift bag mailed to your home at no extra cost.
Sponsorship opportunities are available from $1,800 to $5,000, Bronze to Gold, which include 10 admissions to the virtual gala for you and your guests, invitations to separate break-out sessions with one of the featured readers, gift packages mailed to you and each of your guests ahead of the event, and autographed books, broadsides, and advertising opportunities in the Virtual Gala’s digital tribute book.
Sponsors will also receive a complimentary bottle of champagne, specially delivered to where you are.
For more information, sponsorship availability, and to purchase tickets directly, visit www.redhen.org/benefit/.
A link to the Virtual Gala on Zoom will be sent to you after you register.
