Enjoy conversation and light refreshments while discovering great new books in this new series that celebrates Westport authors across a variety of genres. Support Westport authors Amy Oestreicher and Alexandra Bregman when they discuss their newest endeavors with local book blogger Jennifer Blankfein and local writing teacher Jan Bassin. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Alexandra Bregman provides details into the legal battle between Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovev and Swiss art warehouse magnate Yves Bouvier in The Bouvier Affair: A True Story. Using first-person accounts from Bouvier and his purported accomplice, Bregman recounts the money laundering scandal that rocked the art world in 2015. She approaches the story with an art historican's sense of scholarship and a journalistic sense of tenacity.
Amy Oestreicher shares her near-death experience and unique personal story, highlighting the disappointments, struggles, triumphs and gratitude in her life on a journey of hope, determination and perseverance in My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful. A celebration of life, Amy shares what trauma can teach all of us and the tremendous gifts which can be reaped. Her book discusses the role that reframing her narrative through storytelling played in her healing process and reintegration into society and provide tools for others to do the same.
Bregman has been published extensively as an art critical writer. She has written about early 20th century Russian art for the Wall Street Journal, ancestral Rajasthani havelis for Architectural Digest, and Austrian Jugendstil art for Cultbytes, where she is Editor-at-Large. Additionally, she wrote for Art Observed from 2011 to 2013, Hong Kong-based Asian Art News in 2012, and continuously for the London-based Asian Art Newspaper since 2012. Her career in the contemporary art world began at Christie’s, then the Gagosian Gallery flagship in 2009. She
received her graduate degree from Columbia Journalism School, her undergraduate degree from Smith College, and spent a year in Paris at Université Paris IV-Sorbonne.
Amy Oestreicher is an international keynote speaker, sexual assault and health advocate, actress, artist, songwriter and Audie Award-nominated playwright. She’s toured her one-woman musical, Gutless and Grateful, winning seven national awards since the 2012 New York premier. Amy’s writings have appeared in over 70 online and print publications and her story has appeared on TODAY and CBS and in Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazines. Amy has delivered TEDx talks on transforming adversity into personal growth through creative expression. She created the #LoveMyDetour movement to inspire individuals to thrive because of, rather than, in spite of, obstacles. www.amyoes.com
Jennifer Gans Blankfein is a freelance marketing consultant for small local businesses and authors and currently works with Bedside Reading where books are placed by the bedside in luxury and boutique hotels. She is an avid reader and reviews books in her blog, Book Nation by Jen. Jennifer graduated from Lehigh University with a Psychology degree and has a background in advertising. Jennifer lives in Westport CT with her husband, two sons and black lab.
Jan Bassin is a writing teacher, consultant and program designer in the literary arts, who believes that the act of writing has transformative power. With an emphasis on social sustainability, she is committed to community building, place-making and forging intergenerational connections. Jan is the founder and director of The Writer’s Workshop at the Westport Center for Senior Activities, where she serves as Coordinator of Writing Programs.
