Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind,

is written large in his works. ~Virginia Woolf

INNER CIRCLEthe

A N E X C L U S I V E M O N T H L Y C O M M U N I Q U É F O R O U R W R I T E R S

Women come in all shapes and sizes. We’re all beautiful and the key is to be fit and healthy within the body type that we were given when we were born.

We are thrilled to be working with Supermodel Emme (the first full-size model) on Chicken Soup for the Soul: Curvy & Confident, which will come out at the end of December, just in time to be our kind of “New Year, New You” book—one that is almost the anti–New Year’s resolution book. This new book is all about body image, self-esteem, and feeling comfortable in our own skin, not wanting to change who we are.

We all want to be fit and healthy, but that doesn’t mean we have to look like a traditional model, although these days that’s changing too! Look at the new Barbie dolls, which come in tall, petite, thin and curvy! Or the 2016 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, featuring women of all shapes and sizes. Or the new Lane Bryant ads, featuring beautiful curvy and confident women.

We want your stories about loving your bodies, nourishing your bodies with good foods, and using your bodies—for whatever kind of exercise you enjoy. The key is to be “at one” with your body. It’s not you and your body—it’s you, a whole person that includes your body.

Tell us how you stay confident, fit, and satisfied with your body and your whole self. What advice do you have for other women? How did you learn to deal with the pressures society and the media put on women to be thin? If you are the spouse or partner or child or family member, tell us why you love your curvy and confident woman. Please submit your story by June 30, 2016 by clicking here. We look forward to reading your stories! Your publisher, Amy Newmark @amynewmark

INSPIRATION for

ritersW

A Note from Your PublisherM A Y 2 0 1 6

Changing your life one story at a time®

We have a new bestseller in both the U.S. and Canada! And Amy Newmark and her coauthor Brooke Burke-Charvet have been on a nonstop media frenzy since Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less went on sale on April 19th, including TV, radio, print, and podcasts. Amy has been on a radio tour in eight markets, including New York and Los Angeles, with many more to come! B r o o k e d i d a n A B C national radio tour.

We were very excited when Brooke appeared on Good Morning America on April 20th to talk about the book. (Photo at left and Times Square Jumbotron photo below.) You can watch the GMA segment here.

Later that day, Amy and Brooke did a book signing

at Books & Greetings in Northvale, New Jersey, where they met two local contributors (pictured right): Leah Noonan, published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less, and Antoinette Rainone, about to be published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America. Thank you Kenny at Books & Greetings, pictured below right with Amy and Brooke.

On April 21st, Brooke also did an interview on Fox & Friends that you can watch here.

Keep watching our Twitter and Facebook posts for additional TV, radio, and magazine appearances by Brooke and Amy.

Press for Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less!

Coauthor Kelly Sullivan Walden hosted a book party for all the Southern California contributors to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and Premonitions at the Mystic Journey Bookstore in Venice, California. “We had a huge turnout, and there were lots of books sold,” Kelly said of the book signing.

Eight contributors came to the event and shared their stories: Mariah Reyes, Joan Gelfand, Deborah Dutilh, Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos, Walter Berry, Debbie Spector Weisman, C.A. Strand and Jenny Karns. Another speaker was Julie Isaac, who Kelly calls the book’s “godmother” because she introduced Amy and Kelly. “The Mystic Journey Bookstore was blown away,” Kelly said about the turnout and the contributors’ stories. “It was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10!”

Giving Back through Book RoyaltiesWe donate a portion of the revenues from many of our books to charitable and nonprofit organizations. Recently, we sent a check from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Volunteering & Giving Back to Mile High United Way in Denver, Colorado, an organization that is supported by the book’s foreword writer, Carrie Morgridge. We heard back from them almost immediately that the money directly helped the local youth in the “Bridging the Gap” program. This program provides housing, coaching, financial literacy, community connections, education, employment and more.

“This will really make a difference in many lives, as they do so much with so little,” Carrie Morgridge said of the recent donation. We look forward to sending many more checks!

Kelly Sullivan Walden Hosts a Dreamy Event!

Amy’s podcast audience is growing like crazy. Get in on the fun and you might even hear your own story starring in a podcast. New episodes appear every weekday, and once they are posted they are available forever, always for free. In the chart below, you can see when we first started our podcasts and how in two short months, our numbers have skyrocketed! You may be curious about why there are peaks and valleys in the chart. It’s because of weekdays versus weekends. Amy only

records new podcasts for Monday through Friday, so the drops are associated with the weekends when we don’t offer new podcasts to listen to.

Sign Up for Our Newsletters! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Podbean, or other podcast apps. Another easy way to get the podcasts every day is to sign up for our newsletters. Each newsletter includes a description of the latest podcast and a play button to click on so that you can listen on your computer, tablet, or cell phone. To get the daily newsletter or any of our weekly newsletters, sign up here!

If you want to listen on the Web, click the green arrow buttons below. You’ll hear three different episodes about Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less, including a chat with Brooke Burke-Charvet.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul Podcast Is a Hit!

My work has been published in one or more of your books. I am working on my résumé, LinkedIn profile, b o o k s i g n i n g p o s t e r s, business cards, etc. How s h o u l d I d e s c r i b e my relationship with Chicken

Soup for the Soul? We love being part of your professional profile, whether it’s your résumé, your LinkedIn profile, your book signing posters, your business cards, your speaker’s bio, or other listings. Many of our contributors have launched writing careers and had whole books published after writing stories for our books, so including your Chicken Soup for the Soul work in your profile is a great idea.

If you describe yourself as a Chicken Soup for the Soul “Author” but your name is not on the cover of one of our books, people in the publishing industry will feel that is not completely accurate. The best way to establish your credentials as a writer and describe yourself with regard to Chicken Soup for the Soul is that you are a “Contributor” to our books. “Contributor” is the correct publishing industry term.

If we have published one or more of your stories you are a “Chicken Soup for the Soul Contributor” for the purposes of your résumé, LinkedIn profile, business cards, etc. And thank you for including us in your personal description! We are honored to have you in the Chicken Soup for the Soul family and proud to be part of the credentials you present to the world.