Featured Speakers WLA Conference in Sacramento October 13–16, 1999: Distinguished Achievement Award Winners James D. Houston and Gerald Haslam

Ph oto by E d S m i t h . Featured Speakers WLA Conference in Sacramento October 13-16,1999 Distinguished Achievement Award Winners James D. Houston and Gerald Haslam Jam es D. H ou ston is th e au th or o f six n ovels, in clu din g G ig , L o v e L ife , C o n t in e n t al D rift, th e recently publish ed T h e L ast Parad ise, an d several n on fiction w orks. H is w orks h ave earn ed h im n um erous h on ors, am on g th em a W allace Stegn er Fellow sh ip at Stan ford Un iversity, an N E A W ritin g G ran t, th e H u m an itas Prize, an d a 1995 Rockefeller Foun dation residency in Bellagio, Italy. Jam es D. H ou ston Gerald H aslam is th e auth or o f fiction and n on fiction works, in cludin g th e n ovella M ask s an d th e award-winning T h e G re at C en tral V alley : C aliforn ia's H eartlan d . Recently , he h as authored W ork iri M an Blu es: Cou n try M u s t in Californ ia ( 1999), in which h e surveys Californ ia’s con tribution s to this popular Am erican genre, and edited Jock Lo n d o n ’s G o ld en St at e: Selected C alifo rn ia W ritin gs (1999). G erald H aslam Ph oto by Susan Br a d le y . Also Speaking A1 Young is th e aw ard-w in n ing auth or of several screen plays an d m ore th an fifteen books of poetry, n on fiction , an d fiction, in ­ cludin g th e n ovel an d th e m usical m em oirs Sed u ction by Ligh t an d D ro w n in g in th e S e a o f L ov e. H e travels extensively, lecturin g and readin g from h is work, w h ich h as been widely tran slated. H is recen t works in clude C o n ju gal V isits (1996) an d Straight N o C h ase r (1997). A l Y o u n g M axin e H on g Kin gston is th e critically acclaim ed auth or o f T h e W om an W arrior: M em oirs o f a G irlh ood am o n g G h o sts, wh ich w on a general n on fiction award from th e N ation al Book Critics Circle. Th e daugh ter o f Ch in ese im m igrants, Kin gston is praised for h er m em orable depiction s of Ch in ese Am eri­ can s an d th eir struggle to in tegrate Ch in ese tradi­ tion s in to th eir everyday lives. Sh e also wrote C h in a M en , th e sequel to T h e W om an W arrior, T ri[rm aster M on k ey : H is Fak e Book , an d Conversations w ith M ax in e H o n g K in gston (1998). M a x in e H o n g K in g s to n Gary Sn yd er is th e au th or o f T u rtle Islan d , w h ich w on th e Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1975, an d N o N at u r e : N e w an d Selected P o em s, a fin alist for th e N atio n al Book Aw ard in 1992. H is recen t pu blica­ tion s in clu de A P lace in Space, a volu m e o f prose, an d M ountain s an d R iv ers w ith ou t E...