Healdsburg writer Stefanie Freele was named Healdsburg’s sixth
Literary Laureate on Oct. 18 at a public read off event on North
Street.
Healdsburg’s Literary Laureate is an honorary two-year post
appointed by an anonymous selection committee of community members.
The Healdsburg Literary Guild sponsors the event and recruits the
selection committee, taking great care to include a diverse group
of judges to best pick a Laureate who represents the entire
community. The appointment won’t officially begin until January
1.
Freele, 43, is a fiction writer who recently published a
collection of short stories titled Feeding Strays. She says the
stories are about relationships and families, motherhood and
children.
Freele is a lifelong writer who transitioned from the corporate
world to full-time writing five years ago after she accepted a
severance deal from Kaiser Hospital.
“I worked there 15 years and I knew for the last 10 of it that I
was burned out but I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “The
severance package was my kick in the butt to put much more energy
into my writing. I knew something was going to happen but I didn’t
know what it was.”
Already a student at Northwest Institute of Literary Arts in
Washington, Freele finished her Masters of Fine Arts in creative
writing and was in the process of writing a novel when she learned
she was pregnant. With a baby and a two-year-old, Freele put the
novel in a drawer and shifted her attention to short stories,
smaller works she said fit well into the sporadic moments afforded
to mothers.
As Laureate, Freele will promote local literature and encourage
aspiring authors to get involved in workshops and events. She hopes
to speak to English classes at Healdsburg High School and invite
students to the Healdsburg Literary Café, a monthly event at the
Healdsburg Senior Center where authors read their work to one
another.
“When I was a teenager, no one reached out to say ‘let’s do some
creative writing,’” she said. “It’s such a good outlet for young
people.”
Cynthia Helen Beecher of the Healdsburg Literary Guild said
Freele will have the freedom to represent the post as she sees fit.
“Each Laureate can bring who they are and what they’re interested
in to the job,” she said. “It’s not defined strictly. Who knows
what Stephanie is going to do, but it’s going to be unique. She’ll
have two years to put into place some programs we’ll enjoy.”
Previous Healdsburg laureates include Doug Stout, co-founder of
the Farmer’s Market and later the “Literary Produce table,” that
featured the works of local authors, and mentor to many of them;
Armando Garcia-Davila, known as the “blue-collar poet” or the
“gourmet poet,” who writes bilingually, and brought the poetry slam
movement to Sonoma County; Penelope LaMontagne, who for years began
the KRCB public radio programming day with her Morning Haiku, was a
poet-in-the-schools and popular writing workshop leader; Chip
Wendt, who began the Third Sunday Salon in 2000 and, as Running
Wolf publisher, published the first poetry collections of many area
writers; and the current laureate, Vilma Ginzberg, who now hosts
the Third Sunday Salon and has been an active board member of the
Healdsburg Literary Guild.
Ginzberg remains the Laureate until the end of the year, a
position she said she’s loved. She’s proud of her work hosting the
Third Sunday Salon and hopes Freele will have more success
involving young authors in local literary activities.
