EVENTS

November 15, 2025.

Author Night at the Steinbeck Museum. Salinas, California. Details tba.

September 3-7, 2025.

Bouchercon Conference. New Orleans, LA. Details tba.

August 21-24, 2025.

Killer Nashville Conference. Franklin, TN. Details tba.

August 19, 2025.

Publication day for An Unlikely Prospect. Details tba.

June 26-29, 2025.

Historical Novel Society North America.“Presenting the Past Through the Lens of the Present: Presentism and Writing Historical Fiction for Modern Readers.”  A Panel with authors Jody Hadlock, Leslie Johansen Nack, and Joan Fernandez. Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, .

June 6, 2025, noon.

Author Spotlight Lunch Pail Series. Zoom. Sponsored by Sierra College and OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, with host Joan Griffin. Zoom details tba.

May 31, 2025, 10-4.

Sacramento Book Festival, Shepard Garden & Arts Center, McKinley Park, 3330 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento, California. Details tba.

April 23-25, 2025.

Scottsdale Book Clubs. Private homes. (I’m available for one more book club if you’re near Scottsdale in this week.)

March 7, 2025, 7 pm Pacific.

CapLit–SACRAMENTO NOIR stories performed, with authors Maceo Montoya, Nora Rodriguez Camagna, and anthology editor John Freeman, and actors including Beatriz Figueroa and Jess Brooks. Clara Auditorium, 1425 24th St, Sacramento, CA 95816. Doors open at 6:30.

March 6, 2025, 7 pm Pacific.

Book Launch–SACRAMENTO NOIR. Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St. in Midtown Sacramento. Readers: Jamil Jan Kochai, Maureen O’Leary, Janet Rodriguez, and Naomi Williams.

February 11, 2025, 7 pm Eastern.

“The Existential Crisis,” a conversation at Pen Parentis Salon, an organization that supports writers who are parents, with authors Sarah Kaim Gutowski, Wiley Ho, and Lisa Bird Wilson. RSVP to attend online here:

January 5, 2025.

Under the Oaks Book Club. Effie Yeaw Nature Center.

December 3, 2024, 5 pm Pacific.

Prelaunch Conversation for Ashley E. Sweeney’s The Irish Girl. With authors Ashley E. Sweeney, Debra Thomas and Gretchen Cherington.

November 10, 2024, 1-2.

Writing Sprints. A Seat at the Table Books, Elk Grove, California.

October 29, 2024, all day.

Staff Book Club. Claremont McKenna College, California.

June 2, 2024, 11-5.

10th Anniversary Bay Area Book Festival. Free. Civic Center Park, 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA. I’ll be talking to readers at a She Writes Press authors’ table. On various stages, Joan Baez will be in conversation with Greg Sarris. 5:30 p.m. June 1; Naomi Klein will be in conversation with Brooke Warner. 7:30 p.m. June 1; “Page to Screen: A Dance Between Words and Images.” 5:30 p.m. June 2. $20. Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. baybookfest.org

June 1, 2024, 11-5.

Celebrate Courage and Legacy, D-Day 80th Anniversary and SS Jeremiah O’Brien. S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien, Pier 35, San Francisco, CA. Join me aboard the historic S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and celebrate the ship’s monumental 50th year return to Normandy. This day-long event is a tribute to the valor, sacrifice, and enduring legacy of the Greatest Generation, set against the backdrop of Pier 35 in the vibrant heart of San Francisco. There will be a commemorative program & ribbon cutting, an immersive program featuring distinguished speakers who will highlight the crucial moments of D-Day and the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien’s significant contributions through the decades. Expect a 1940s musical band, creating an authentic ambiance of the era as well as authentic WWII era food & drinks. There will be Kids’ contests & new merchandise, WWII Reenactors, a static Display of WWII-era military vehicles, & more.  Tickets here.

March 7, 2024, 5:00-6:00 pm Pacific.

Ask Me Anything (about writing and publishing) Panelist with author Jason Denzel at A Seat At The Table Bookstore, 9257 Laguna Springs #130, Elk Grove 95758. Register for free at Eventbrite.

Sunday, February 18, 1:00-2:30 pm.

Interviewing debut author Jill Fordyce about her coming of age novel, BELONGING, at Ruby’s Books of Folsom. Free and no registration.

Thursday, December 7, 2023, 6:30-8:30 pm Pacific.

Rosie Presents! An Evening with Shelley Blanton-Stroud, Author of Poster Girl.

Rosie the Riveter Trust sponsors an in-person event– “Rosie Presents!”–in recognition of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, honoring the service members and civilians who were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Drinks, heavy appetizers, and a conversation with Sarah Jo James, Development Manager at Rosie the Riveter Trust, and author Shelley Blanton-Stroud, followed by a Q&A with the audience and a book signing.

$25 admission includes drinks, appetizers  a book and entry to the event.
$10 admission includes drinks, appetizers, and entry to the event.

Biancoverde at Hotel Mac, 50 Washington Ave, Point Richmond, CA 94801. Eventbrite link

Thursday, December 7, 2023, 9:00-10:00 am Pacific.

Insight With Vicki Gonzalez on CapRadio. In conversation with host Vicki Gonzalez on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day about the role women played in World War II as Rosie the Riveter/Wendy the Welder. Find here.

Sunday, December 3, 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm Pacific.

In conversation with historical novelist Linda Joy Myers (The Forger of Marseille) at Book Passage, Corte Madera. 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 94925. Details here.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, 6:30 pm Pacific.

In conversation with novelist Mary Camarillo (Those People Behind Us), at Ruby’s Books, 724 Sutter St, Folsom, CA 95630. What do these books have in common? They’re both about American dreams and the desire to belong to a community. They’re about the importance of place in stories and about scaffolding fiction to real events. It should be a great conversation and there’s likely to be chocolate available as well.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 6:00 pm Pacific.

In conversation with novelist Mary Camarillo (Those People Behind Us), at East Village Books, 3604 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95816. What do these books have in common? They’re both about American dreams and the desire to belong to a community. They’re about the importance of place in stories and about scaffolding fiction to real events. It should be a great conversation and there’s likely to be chocolate available as well.

Saturday, November 18, 2023, 2:00-3:30 pm Pacific.

Sacramento Women at Work in World War II. In conversation with James C. Scott, Archivist, at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library. 7335 Gloria Dr, Sacramento, CA 95831.

Thursday, November 16, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Pacific.

Facebook Live interview on Grace Sammon’s Launchpad, along with authors Marianna Marlowe, Laura L. Engel and Ann Marie Jackson. Details to come.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 5:00-7:00 pm Pacific.

POSTER GIRL’S PUB DAY LAUNCH PARTY at Gina Rossi’s Welding Sculpture Studio. Cocktails, appetizers, a little book talk and a short welding performance with music. Books sold by CAPITAL BOOKS. 1801 20th Street, Sacramento. Admission is free but you need to RSVP HERE so we have enough drinks and snacks and books.

Monday, November 6, 2023, 10:00-11:00 Pacific.

Live radio interview with Suzanne Lang on KRBC/NPR Podcast,  A Novel Idea 

Thursday, August 31, 2023, 9:00-9:50 Pacific.

Bouchercon. I’ll moderate a panel on historical mysteries with authors Jolie Tunnell, Karen Odden, Lisa M. Lane, Mariah Fredericks, and Tim E Kinsey. Event headliners will be Ann Cleeves, David Baldacci, Jacqueline Winspear, Naomi Hirahara, Dru Ann Love, C.J. Box, and Kate Carlisle.

Friday, June 9, 2023, 7:00-8:30 Pacific.

Stories on Stage Sacramento. As part of FORMER DIRECTORS NIGHT, with Valerie Fioravanti, Sue Staats and Dorothy Rice, I’ll have two flash pieces performed by actor at Sacramento’s premier stage/literary series. In-person. Tickets available here.

Thursday, April 27, 2023, 8:30-3:30 Pacific.

Leroy Green Academy Summit 2023. So excited to present to academy students on writing mystery novels and life and work as an author generally. Young writers…yay!

Thursday, April 6, 2023, 10 am Pacific.

Launchpad: Facebook Live with Grace Sammons. Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. A conversation with my writing group–the RBGs (Radical Badass Gals Who Write) Ashley Sweeney, Deb Thomas, Gretchen Cherington, and me, about the FOUR new books we helped each other create during 18 months of Covid. This will be fun!

LIVE on Facebook at the links below.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookish.road.trip/
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=mary%20helen%20sheriff%2C%20author
https://www.facebook.com/grace.sammon/

Recording at Authors on the Air Radio Network on Thursday, 27 April, 2:00 pm Pacific Time.

Sunday, April 2, 2023, 11:30-1 Pacific.

Author Meet and Greet. Ruby’s Books, Folsom, California. Please drop by this terrific indie bookstore in downtown Folsom to chat and ask questions about the Jane Benjamin books and consider buying any book on the shelves at Ruby’s. You won’t regret it–it’s a terrific shop and will make you feel good about the way you spend your money. Hope to see you there! 724 Sutter Street, Folsom, CA.

Sunday, March 19, 2023, 9 am Pacific.

That’s News To Me: Journalism. A Panel at LEFT COAST CRIME–TROUBLE IN TUSCON. With authors John DeDakis, Laurie Fagen and  Dana Killion. (Presidio 1-2)

Friday, February 3, 2023, 12:00-1:30 pm, Pacific.

I’m so pleased to present at the HISTORY QUILL VIRTUAL CONVENTION on the topic of HYBRID PUBLISHING. I’ll get down and dirty, sharing how it worked for me. There are all kinds of panels and presentations scheduled for the five days of the conference, most of them recorded. Among the many fascinating presenters are publishing gurus Jane Friedman, Dave Chesson and Joanna Penn.  More details here.

January 26, 29, and 31, 2023.

I’ll be meeting with three local book clubs this week–one in a bar, one at a beer cafe, and one in a living room.  Let me know if you’d like me to visit YOUR book club in person or via zoom by emailing blanton_stroud@me.com.

Saturday, December 3, 2023, 12:00-1:30 pm, Pacific.

I’ll join Archivist James Scott for a discussion about the Sackamenna Kid: Herb Caen. We’ll dive into Caen’s roots in Sacramento and the role the Capital City played in the development of his iconic voice in a sixty-year column for the San Francisco Chronicle. We’ll also explore my use of Caen as a model, in Copy Boy and Tomboy, for protagonist Jane Benjamin, who was born of my fascination with Caen and the one-year period between the teenage Caen’s moving to San Francisco and his becoming a columnist.

The event is free and will be held in the Sacramento Room, located on the second floor at Central Library.

More details here.

Sunday, October 2, 2022, 4:00-5:00 pm, Pacific.

Gender inequality. Educational disparities. War in Europe. Is it 1939 or 2022? Is it a Jane Benjamin Novel, or is it the world Rep. Darrin Camilleri has to work with right now? Please join the one-hour conversation. Sunday, 10/2, 4 pm Pacific. Free on Zoom. Register here: tinyurl.com/mfkx27d4

September 8-12, 2022

BOUCHERCON, Minneapolis, MN–In Person. Panelist: Above the Fold–Journalists as Protagonists. With John DeDakis, Mark Zeid, Lori Duffer Foster, August Norman, and James Queally.

Friday, August 26, 2022, 7:00-9:00 Pacific.

Stories on Stage Sacramento–In Person. Gabby Battista performs an excerpt of TOMBOY and Gay Cooper performs an excerpt of Catriona McPherson’s SCOT MIST. Plus there will be question and answer time–always a favorite.  The Clara Auditorium, Sacramento, CA 95612.

July events–Due to a family emergency, I sadly needed to cancel these events.

Thursday, June 30, 2022, 4:30-6:00 Pacific.

Reading and Book Signing at Capital Books–In Person. Chat, thanks, free wine and snacks. Giveaway prizes: signed paperbacks of COPY BOY AND TOMBOY, a moleskin notebook and Sarasa pen, and gift certificate for the dinner at Grange. Capital Books, 1011 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814

Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 5:00-6:00 Pacific.

Cocktail Class and Chat—The Tomboy—Virtual. Mixologist Chantal Tseng will teach us how to craft her literary version of The Tomboy. When you register, you’ll receive a recipe and list of tools. One attendee will win free audiobooks of COPY BOY and TOMBOY. Eventbrite registration (free admission).

Tuesday, June 28, 2022, 6:30-8:30 Pacific.

Book Release Party at Bogle–In Person. We’ll celebrate TOMBOY’s publication day at Bogle Winery with wine and heavy appetizers alongside Bogle’s beautiful Clarksburg vines. Signed copies of TOMBOY and COPY BOY will be available to purchase at the event. Shelley will share a little from her book and talk about how her family’s history working the land in the Great Depression got in her too, like the grit of the field, helping to shape her protagonist, Jane’s, life story. Bogle Winery Patio, 37783 Co Rd 144, Clarksburg, CA 95612. Tickets here: $25 per person/$20 wine club members.

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September 2020

September 26, Stories on Stage Davis Podcast, Episode 8

September 23, San Ramon Book Club

September 13, 1 p.m., ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMAN: Female Protagonists Using their Voices, Making Their Choices.

September 3, Newport Beach Zoom Book Club