My California

My California: Journeys by Great Writers is a collaboration between Angel City Press and CaliforniaAuthors.com. All publishing proceeds benefit the California Arts Council, an agency which was forced to suspend school writing, arts education programs and other grants in 2003 because of state budget cutbacks. Since its publication, more than $100,000 from sale of this book has been donated to literary programs in California schools. To make the project possible, all of the writers donated their work. Malloy Incorporated generously donated the first printing of the book. The CaliforniaAuthors.com editor and creative director and the team at Angel City Press—including the sales manager and representatives who work with Angel City Press—are also contributing their services and talents. In addition, world-renown artist David Hockney and the J. Paul Getty Museum have contributed use of Hockney's ''Pearblossom Hwy (11-18th April 1986—second version)'' on the cover. Contributed essays include: • Introduction — Pico Iyer • The Big Valley — Mark Arax • Transients in Paradise — Aimee Liu • Showing Off the Owens — T. Jefferson Parker • The Distant Cataract About Which We Do Not Speak — Mary Mackey • Ode to CalTrans — Héctor Tobar • Montalvo, Myths and Dreams of Home — Thomas Steinbeck • The Last Little Beach Town — Edward Humes • Surfacing — Matt Warshaw • Bienvenidos a Newport Beach — Firoozeh Dumas • Cotton Candy Mirrors — devorah major • Berkeley — Michael Chabon • California Honky-tonk — Kathi Kamen Goldmark • 909 — Percival Everett • The Line — Rubén Martínez • Flirting with Urbanismo — Patt Morrison • Waters of Tranquility — Carolyn See • An Ordinary Place — D.J. Waldie • Almost Home — Gerald Haslam • My Little Saigon — Anh Do • The Nicest Person in San Francisco — Derek M. Powazek • The Un-California — Daniel Weintraub • Rocks in the Shape of Billy Martin — Deanne Stillman • How Many Angels — David Kipen • Centered — Veronique de Turenne • Returning After Fire — Chryss Yost • On Being a California Poet — Dana Gioia