About
Starhawk
Contacting
Starhawk
Making
Contact
Many people email Starhawk with comments on her work, praise and thanks,
condemnation, questions, requests, and invitations. Starhawk has understandably
chosen to not have a public email address. She works very hard as a writer,
teacher, speaker, and activist, and often travels for months at time—if
she answered all her mail and fulfilled all requests, she wouldn't
have time for her own work.
You can post messages to Starhawk via her blog, www.starhawksblog.org,
or her Facebook
page. She may not be able to personally answer, but she might.
On this site, incoming emails actually go to Mer, her booking agent and
business assistant. Mer (also a busy woman) will answer messages of a
business nature, such as event bookings, media interviews, reprint and
copyright questions, translations, and so on. With regret, she is not
able to answer personal questions or requests (but you might find useful
leads in our FAQs, below). Terrapin, Starhawk's webmaster, can answer
questions of a technical nature or problems with this web site. We're
all grateful if you don't send us jokes, diatribes, petitions,
nor add us to your mailing list. Thanks!
Click here to email Mer with business messages.
Click here to email Terrapin with technical messages.
Booking an
Event with Starhawk
We are glad to consider invitations for Starhawk to speak, teach workshops,
and create ritual. Please email a brief, specific proposal directly to
Mer, stating what you have in mind, where, and when. Ask Mer for Starhawk's
fee schedule, requirements, and current list of topics. We also suggest
you check her calendar page to see
if the date is even possible.
Starhawk receives many invitations, and multiple factors go into creating
her final schedule. Here are a few of them: We try to cluster her events
regionally, so please indicate if you're flexible in your dates. (Requests
for appearances in distant corners of the globe may need a lot of patience!) Event organizers usually pay travel expenses
and provide meals and lodging. While Starhawk largely earns her living
from speaking and teaching, she does many benefit events for social change
groups and spends much of her time training activists without charge or
for reduced fees. If you believe your group or event falls into this category,
please tell us why and we can negotiate. Otherwise, look to her fee schedule.
Finally, it may take time to get a definite answer to any invitation,
so patience and gentle persistence are helpful.
Frequently
Asked Questions
Q: I'm a journalist and would like to interview Starhawk, obtain press
photos, or verify some details. OR I'm a community radio host and hope
to interview her next Tuesday. OR I'm a magazine publisher and want to
reprint one of her essays.
A: Please contact Mer: mer@starhawk.org.
Q: I want to quote some of Starhawk's published work in a web page/publication
I'm making. Can I get copyright permission?
A: With proper attribution, very short quotes may be used in work that is educational and "not-for
profit." Longer quotes,
or anything that is sold or otherwise "for-profit" needs written
permission. For quotes from archived essays, posts, and talks (works that are not published in one of her books), contact
Mer. Copyrights of the various books are handled by the original publishers,
and permissions need to be requested directly from their permissions dept.
We appreciate receiving a copy of publications that use Starhawk's writings; her archives are collected by the library of the Berkeley Graduate
Theological Union. Please contact Mer
to mail.
Q: I'm about to publish a book. Would Starhawk write
me a blurb for the cover? OR I want to send Starhawk my 2000-page manuscript for feedback.
A: Starhawk gets many requests for endorsements. She tries to read at least some of these books, when her own work and schedule permit. But please understand there are no guarantees. With this caution in mind, you may contact Mer for a mailing address. Galleys or manuscripts have a better chance of being read by virtue of their ability to sit on a desk, instead of competing with hundreds of daily emails. Please do not send big electronic files unless specifically requested.
Blurb requests are usually part of the publishing process, so please let us know the name of your publisher and the deadline for your blurbs, or if you are self-publishing.
We understand that all writers are excited about completing their new manuscripts. If she is able to read your work, Starhawk, a professional author, will assume that you are a serious writer in search of an honest response. She may be painfully realistic in her comments. It's not always easy to hear constructive critique, but it is a necessary part of being a real writer. To writers of fiction and drama, Starhawk recommends two books: Story, by Robert McKee, and The Writer's
Journey, by Christopher Vogler. Although they are primarily aimed at
screenwriters, they are excellent teachers of structure for novelists as
well. She suggests that you might also look for an editor to work with. Every writer needs an
editor—and these days, publishers won't look at anything that isn't already
strong and good to go.
Q: I'm building a web page. May I have permission to put a link to
Starhawk's web page on it? Would you add my link to your site?
A: You may put a link to Starhawk's home page (or any other www page
you like) on your site. You don't need permission. We're very sparing in adding links to Starhawk's site, in an effort to
keep it from sprawling. Also, we rarely have the time to check out the
many other web sites in order to recommend them. If you are looking
for a place to announce your page to Pagans, you might want to check out
the Reclaiming "Add Your Voice" public message board at www.reclaiming.org.
Q: Can you help me with a school paper I'm writing? Please tell me all
about....
A: Sorry, no. Starhawk, who once taught college (and on occasion still
does), believes that students should do their own research. It's part
of the learning process! (Emailing to ask Starhawk your basic questions
does not constitute research.) We suggest you start by reading her books
and essays that pertain to your subject.
Q: I'm a graduate student doing original research in an area close to
Starhawk's work. I'd like to interview her. OR I want to send her my dissertation.
A: On occasion, and with plenty of notice, Starhawk might be able
to fit in a short interview with a grad student. Contact Mer to ask. A
better route might be to take one of her workshops, such as Earth
Activist Training, and chat during lunch-breaks. Starhawk is not able
to read or comment on theses or dissertations. However, if your dissertation
makes extended use of her work, we'd be interested in a final copy for
our archives, collected at the Berkeley Graduate Theological Union (for
some future researcher!). Please contact
Mer to send.
Q: I need Starhawk's counsel on a personal problem. OR I'm having this
psychic issue... OR Can Starhawk heal my back problem? OR Can she visit
my dying friend? OR My soon-to-be ex-husband is challenging my child custody
because I'm a Witch...
A: Starhawk strongly feels that people experiencing problems—emotional,
physical, magical, legal, or whatever—should seek help from skilled
people in their home communities, face-to-face. Please take responsibility
for your own needs and look for a good advisor near you, then follow through
with action. Many helping professionals are Pagan themselves, or are open
to the positive values of Paganism, so if that perspective is important
to you, ask around to find the right person. Some networking tips: Check
the Reclaiming www.reclaiming.org
"Resources" page to help find a therapist/healer/priestess in
your community. Reclaiming Witchcamp communities are also a good source
of networking. Covenant of
the Goddess may have some leads. Many Pagans in different regions
have started local referral networks (check bookstores and Pagan magazines,
or do web search.) Local Unitarian churches often have a CUUPS chapter.
Anyone experiencing discrimination because of their religion needs solid
legal advice. Try your local ACLU for starters. We also recommend the
Lady
Liberty League, run by Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin. Also
look for these books: "Pagans and the Law: Understand Your Rights" and
"The Practical Pagan: Commonsense Guidelines for Modern Practitioners,"
both by attorney Dana D. Eilers ("licensed attorney in three states [who
has] practiced law for nearly 20 years.…a Witch and a modern Goddess
worshiping woman"). Published by New Page Books www.newpagebooks.com.
Q: Can Starhawk cast a spell for me?
A: No. She does not cast spells for or about other people, and instead
suggests that the most powerful spell is one you do for yourself.
Q: I want to learn how to be a Witch.
A: One good place to start is to read Starhawk's books, especially The Spiral Dance and
The Twelve Wild Swans.
Actually do the exercises! She rarely teaches beginner classes anymore,
except as part of the Earth
Activist Trainings. There are many other great priestesses teaching;
check out the Reclaiming
website for regional classes and Witchcamps (week-long magic intensives).
There are also useful Pagan resources on the net where you can meet teachers
and potential circlemates—for example, the Covenant
of the Goddess web site.
Other general wisdom
for beginners: Understand that Paganism is a spiritual practice of connection,
not a get-what-you-want-quick scheme. Be in Nature as much as possible;
Nature is our "sacred text." Read widely, read smart (that is,
test what you hear and read—there's a lot of garbage in print).
Trust your own intuition, but also beware of projecting fears and prejudice.
Practice "deep listening within." You are your own highest spiritual
authority; respect and hear others, but don't abdicate your power.
Q: I want to work with Starhawk in person.
A: Keep an eye on her calendar page, to see if she is doing any workshops
near you (schedule is updated regularly, and sometimes events come and
go quickly). A simple booksigning event is an easy way to say hello. Something
like a Reclaiming
Witchcamp that she's teaching at, or an Earth
Activist Training, give an extended opportunity to connect. Or you
can volunteer in one of the many national or Bay Area political causes
that she works with.
Q: I just want to offer my appreciation for all her amazing work in the
world, great writing, clear analysis...
A: Thank you! We can't always respond, but it's nice to hear, and
we do pass on the gist to Starhawk.
Q: I want to let you know how awful I think Starhawk is, why she's wrong,
and anyway she's a traitor ...
A: Thanks for sharing, Mr. Bush. How's Dick doing these days?
Q: I'm a Pagan and I don't understand why Starhawk messes around with
that grubby political stuff... OR I'm a committed leftie and I don't understand
why Starhawk has to include that woo-woo spiritual stuff...
A: People who've only read her first book, or who haven't read her
at all, often don't realize that Starhawk's life work is the fertile interaction
of these two areas. For her perspective, see "Toward
an Activist Spirituality" on this web site, the "Spirit
and Action" chapter in her book Webs
of Power, and indeed, most of her writing.
