Voice of OC publisher and editor in chief Norberto Santana, Jr. joined authors Rosanna Xia and Margaret Garcia this past week to speak at the Laguna Beach LitFest, speaking on the importance of the “California Story” and encouraging residents to share their own stories.
The inaugural festival was made up of many panels at the Susie Q Community Center in downtown Laguna Beach, covering different aspects of literature and writing with a host of different speakers.
Santana, Xia, and Garcia spoke on a panel about the “California Story,” commenting on the broad nature of the California experience and the difficulty that comes with covering such a large area.
“There is no one California story even though the mass market tries to combine us,” said Xia.
Xia talked about the experience of working with a nonprofit publisher, Heyday press, and read from her recent book California Against the Sea.
Garcia discussed the challenges of covering rural California and read one of her short stories, “Eulogy for Greenville,” recounting the destruction of her hometown after the Dixie fire.
Santana spoke on the importance of involvement and action for neighbors to share and shape their own community, encouraging residents to involve themselves with their local government and to use the power of writing to share their insights and spur change.
Voice of OC’s own Op-ed page serves as an outlet for this kind of community involvement, offering a public forum allowing residents to write about anything they find relevant to their city or county.
To see the writer’s guide for the open forum, click here.
The Voice of OC Op-ed page operates as a community open forum where anyone – from regular citizens to council members can share their insights on a variety of topics ranging from the library, local animal shelter, coastlines, toll roads, open space, and more.
“You can make a difference with your voice,” said Voice of OC Involvement Editor Theresa Sears noting that good writing can have the capacity to spark change.
One OC resident, Rose Tingle, managed to create a $35 million animal shelter with a series of Op-eds that ultimately put enough pressure on Orange County supervisors to create a new facility.
“When you see something happening, reach out,” Santana urged, “that Op-Ed page belongs to you,”