Elva Resa Publishing

Lightfoot Speaks at Airlift/Tanker Symposium Nov 10, 2023
2023-11-10 13:30 - 14:20 (America/Chicago)
Lizann Lightfoot will be a seminar speaker at the annual Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium on Friday, November 10, 2023, 1:30-2:20 PM CT. The author of Open When: Letters of Encouragement for Military Spouses will present a session called “How Military Spouses Develop Warrior Hearts When Military Life Isn’t Getting Easier.” She will share her personal stories and offer encouraging advice for a variety of military life situations.
The Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium is a premier professional development forum with an aim to develop airmen into joint leaders. The 2023 Symposium and Tech expo is at the Gaylord Texan, Grapevine, Texas, November 9-12, 2023.
Lizann will be available to sign copies of Open When throughout the event.

JT Blatty Signs Snapshots Sent Home Memoir at Octavia Books, Sat. Feb. 24, 2024
2024-02-24 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago) | Octavia Books, 511 Octavia St, New Orleans, LA, 70115-2055
Documentary photojournalist JT Blatty will read from her new book, Snapshots Sent Home: From Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine—A Memoir, and talk about her experiences as a US combat veteran and photographer in Ukraine, at a booksigning event hosted by Octavia Books, 511 Octavia St, New Orleans, on Saturday, February 24, 4–5:30 PM Central Time. The event takes place on the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Like many post-9/11 combat veterans, JT Blatty struggled to regain her sense of purpose in the years returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Then, in 2018, a chance encounter brought her to Ukraine as a documentary photojournalist, drawn in by the familiarity of war and those who serve in wars. She discovered Ukraine’s volunteer soldiers, a tribe of revolutionaries, ordinary men and women, most without military training, who in 2014 self-deployed to the War in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Over five years, as she embedded with them on the front line in bunkers and forests, and in Kyiv flats, creating a photographic/audio archive, JT’s story began to blend with theirs in a universal bond of combat veterans, compelling her to stay as a new war began.
“… Snapshots Sent Home is an intimate, finely-written memoir about the truths and realities shared by soldiers everywhere. Moving between the author’s experiences in Ukraine, where she lives and works as a photographer, and before that in Iraq and Afghanistan, where she served as a US military officer, Blatty ruminates about the nature of comradeship, patriotism, longing, loss, life and death; memory and love. ‘Butterflies on fire’ is a phrase that makes a debut too, but you will have to read this devastatingly moving book to understand its meaning. Snapshots Sent Home should be read by anyone who cares about what we do on history’s battlefields, and about how we process what we have done afterwards. This is a lot more than a book about snapshots. And JT Blatty is a lot more than a photographer and former soldier. She is a helluva writer too, and I am certain that what she says here will stay on in readers’ minds for a long time to come.” —Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer, The New Yorker; author of Che Guevara and The Fall of Baghdad
Books will be available for sale at the event through Octavia Books.

Military Culture Discussion with Corie Weathers, Fort Liberty, Feb. 28, 2024
2024-02-28 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Gaston Brewery & Taproom, 421 Chicago Dr, Fayetteville, NC, United States
Fort Liberty area friends, join Corie Weathers, author of Military Culture Shift, for a rich discussion on some of the key shifts happening in the military today. Event takes place Wednesday, February 28, 6:30-8:30 PM Eastern at Gaston Brewery & Taproom, 421 Chicago Dr, Fayetteville, NC. This in-person event will be a casual opportunity to connect and engage around relevant topics with your military community. Taco Arepa (food truck) will be available and the Taphouse has a selection of drinks and non-alcoholic drinks for purchase as well. Don’t have a copy of her latest book Military Culture Shift? You can add it to your free RSVP ticket and a signed copy will be reserved for you! Bring your spouse, bring a friend, this discussion will be perfect for service members and spouses from every generation!

RSVP

Blatty Featured Author at 2025 Tennessee Williams Literary Festival
2025-03-26 - 2025-03-30
JT Blatty, Snapshots Sent Home, is a featured author at the 2025 Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival, to be held March 26-30, 2025.
Now in its 39th year, the festival is a five-day literary event held each spring in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter that attracts participants from around the world. Festival activities include writer’s craft sessions, literary discussions, theatre events, walking tours, and other special events.
Local independent bookstore Octavia Books will serve as the festival bookseller. The book fair is open during the Festival weekend on the mezzanine level of the Hotel Monteleone. The book fair is near festival headquarters and the Queen Anne Ballroom, where many of the events will take place.
JT will participate in a literary discussion panel discussing the art of memoir on Sunday, March 30, 11:30 – 12:45 PM CT.
THE ART OF MEMOIR
What is memoir but a report from the center of the self? Free of restraints and determined to exist. A letter to a past self and a consideration of a future self. The memoir writers on this panel represent a variety of selves, born from distinct experiences. Larry Bagneris is the author of Call Me Larry, A Creole Man’s Triumph over Racism and Homophobia, his story of growing up gay in New Orleans in the 1950s and political activism in Texas, where he founded Houston Pride Parade, then returning to his hometown. Pretty is the memoir of KB Brookins, a Black Trans writer, who offers a vibrant portrait of queerness, masculinity, and race. Combat veteran JT Blatty writes about her photography and oral history project, documenting the lives of Ukrainians in the Donbas region in Snapshots Sent Home. The author of numerous novels, Bernice L. McFadden delves into memoir with First Born Girls, her family history that traces the entwined generations of mothers and daughters. The panel is moderated by Constance Adler, author of the memoir My Bayou, New Orleans Through the Eyes of a Lover and a debut novel Sight Unseen.

The panel takes place at the Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom. The cost to attend is $10 or Lit Pass or VIP Pass.
For more information, visit the festival website.

Teri Weber to Speak and Sign Books at 36th Annual Women in Aviation International Conference
2025-03-27 - 2025-03-29 | Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Denver, 6700 N Gaylord Rockies BlvdCO, Aurora, CO, 80019, United States
Air Force pilot, mother, and children’s book author Teri Weber (Operation AviationTM series) is a featured author and educational speaker at the 36th Annual Women in Aviation International (WAI) Conference, March 27-29, 2025, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Denver.
Her picture books Fly with Mytai, Toad the Tanker, and Moose on a Mission will be available for purchase at the on-site bookshop. Teri will sign books at the Authors Connect Meet & Greet on Thursday, March 27, 10-11 AM MDT.
On Friday, March 28, 2:30–3:30 PM MDT, Teri will lead an educational session titled “Work-Life Integration: The New and Improved Work-Life Balance.” The term “work-life balance” implies two distinctly separate priorities, but this way of thinking is antiquated and unaccommodating to modern women. Two of the most important elements of life—family and career—do not innately conflict with one another. To foster stronger relationships with loved ones and minimize stressors associated with competing agendas, we should be instead pursuing “work-life integration.” In this session, Teri will discuss how to deliberately blur the lines between “work” and “life” to create a more enmeshed, inclusive, and sustainable lifestyle for professional women and their families.
On Saturday, March 29, Teri will attend Girls in Aviation Day, which brings together girls ages 8-18 for an empowering career panel featuring leading ladies in aviation and aerospace. The Aviation for Girls crew will experience more than 25 unique hands-on STEM activities related to aviation, flight, science, technology, navigation, space, and more lead by role models in the industry. During lunch, attendees will hear about the career journey of keynote speaker Jessica Cox, who will encourage attendees to reach for their dreams and design their own destinies.
The Women in Aviation International Conference is an annual event that offers networking and mentorship within the aviation industry to approximately 15,000 participants.
Find the full conference schedule and registration at the Women in Aviation website.

National Museum of the US Army Hosts Countdown Storytime
2025-04-05 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | National Museum of the United States Army, 1775 Liberty Dr, Fort Belvoir, VA, 22060
In honor of April’s Month of the Military Child, the National Museum of the United States Army is hosting a special children’s storytime event featuring Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home by Kristin Ayyar. The event will take place on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM Eastern Time at the museum, 1775 Liberty Dr, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Following a reading of the book, Kristin will lead participants in a craft activity.
Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home tells the story of a young boy who creates rituals with his family to stay connected and count down the days until his father comes home—a theme that especially resonates with military families experiencing a deployment. The book was inspired by Kristin’s experiences with her family during her husband’s deployments with the Air Force.
Participation in this event is free and is included with a free general admission ticket. Preregistration is not required but is recommended. ​For more information about the event, please visit the National Museum of the United States Army website.
Elva Resa published new paperback editions of Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home and Countdown ’til Mommy Comes Home as well as new Spanish editions, Contando los días hasta que llegue papá and Contando los días hasta que llegue mamá, in March.

Ayyar and Aldeman Featured Authors at Virginia Assoc of School Librarians
2025-11-06 13:00 - 2025-11-07 13:00 (America/New_York)
Children’s book authors Kristin Ayyar and Gabriella Aldeman will present and sign books at the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) conference held in Williamsburg, Virginia, November 5–7, 2025. Along with other SCBWI-Mid Atlantic authors, they will talk about their books and author visit offerings, and sign books in the exhibitor hall.
Kristin Ayyar, author of Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home and Countdown ’til Mommy Comes Home will present on November 6 at 1 PM Eastern and sign books 1:45–4:30 PM following her presentation.
Gabriella Aldeman, author of Paula’s Patches, Squawk of Spanish, and Un graznido en español, and translator of Contando los días hasta que llegue papá and Contando los días hasta que llegue mamá will present on November 7 at 8 AM and sign books 10 AM–1 PM following her presentation.
