Tucson Festival of Books

Forces to be Reckoned With


The first Black woman to run for President. The first female envoy to Luxembourg who inspired a Broadway musical. A third-year medical student serving as medical officer for Mount Everest climbers. A Chicana founder of a highly successful beauty and lifestyle brand. These women's journeys will leave you awestruck.


Panelists
Meryl Gordon

Meryl Gordon is the New York Times bestselling author of "Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of A Family Beyond Reproach," "Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend" and "The Phantom of Fifth Avenue....

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Juanita Tolliver

Juanita Tolliver is an MSNBC political analyst, an opinion contributor for theGrio, and a contributor and guest host for SiriusXM Progress. Her book is "A More Perfect Party."

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Sandra Velasquez

Sandra Velasquez is the Chicana founder of Nopalera, a modern Mexican beauty & lifestyle brand. She launched Nopalera in the middle of the pandemic from her Brooklyn apartment with no outside funding or savings while working three jobs and raising her daughter....

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Mimi Zieman

Doctor Mimi Zieman is the author of an award-winning memoir, "Tap Dancing on Everest," and a play: The Post-Roe Monologues. As an OB/GYN, she has also co-authored 17 editions of Managing Contraception....

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Books:
The Woman Who Knew Everyone
The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington's Most Famous Hostess
Meryl Gordon
History / Biography
Grand Central Publishing
January 2025
ISBN 9781538751244
496 pages

A More Perfect Party
The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics
Juanita Tolliver
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
Grand Central Publishing
January 2025
ISBN 9781538770221
224 pages

Tap Dancing on Everest
Mimi Zieman
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Falcon
April 2024
ISBN 9781493078431
244 pages
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¡Viva Latina!
Wisdom from Remarkable Women to Inspire and Empower
Sandra Velasquez
Nuestras Raices
Rock Point
September 2024
ISBN 9781577154389
160 pages
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