Authors in the Tent is a filmed series of interviews with established and emerging authors conducted in a tent Ona Russell purchased during the pandemic. Inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron and the 1001 Arabian Nights, the tent—elemental, ancient, and ubiquitous—serves as a magical backdrop for literary conversation.

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In the third episode of the second season, Ona Russell talks with Sally J. Pla about her books The Someday Birds and Stanley Will Probably Be Fine, the beauty of different brains, and an advocate for neurodiversity in children.

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This series is in support of the charities Tents-4-Homeless, PATH, Alpha Project, and VVSD.

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Ona Russell holds a PhD in literature from UC San Diego where she also taught for many years. She is author of three award-winning historical mysteries and the recently released Son of Nothingness: A Novel of Appearances.

Sally J. Pla is the author of the acclaimed novels The Someday Birds and Stanley Will Probably Be Fine. She has English degrees from Colgate and Penn State and has worked as a business journalist and in public education. She has three sons, a husband, and an enormous fluffy dog and lives near lots of lemon trees in Southern California.

The Virtual Book Channel

The Virtual Book Channel

Launched during the coronavirus pandemic as virtual literary communities began emerging in vital and unexpected ways, The Virtual Book Channel seeks to provide the best possible platforms for writers to reach their readers. The VBC (aka “The Veeb”) is a curated channel that archives live-streamed programming through partnerships with independent bookstores, literary festivals, authors' WFH spaces, and more.