Literary Aviatrix: The Power of Story - Women in Aviation
Join Liz Booker as she interviews authors whose books feature women in aviation from across genres, historical periods, and types of flying, and be inspired by the tenacity, adventure, and courage of our sisters in the air. * Liz not only promotes books featuring women in aviation, but also provides the tools and information for other women to tell their stories. Check out Writers' Room interviews for in-depth discussions on writing, publishing, and book promotion. * Liz is a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot and writer, and host of the Aviatrix Book Club, Aviatrix Writers' Group, and Literary Aviatrix website where you'll find hundreds of books featuring women in aviation for all ages. * Sign up for the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter to stay up to date on book news and book discussions and follow her on social media @LiteraryAviatrix. * https://linktr.ee/literaryaviatrix
Episodes
What happens when an astronaut takes a needle and thread to space?
In this episode, I talk with astronaut, engineer, and textile artist Karen Nyberg and author Ann McCallum Staats about their gorgeous new picture book, A Quilt of Stars: Karen Nyberg Stitches a Dream.
Buy the book: https://literaryaviatrix.com/book/a-quilt-of-stars/
Karen began dreaming of becoming an astronaut when she was eight...
A decade before Amelia Earhart became a household name, Harriet Quimby made aviation history.
In 1911, Quimby became the first woman in the United States to earn a pilot’s license. The following year, she became the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel—a dangerous and extraordinary achievement at a time when aviation itself was still in its infancy. And then history largely forgot her.
In thi...
In her memoir, Lady MacGyver, Michelle Huntington shares everything from ferry flights across oceans to surviving a lightning strike over Australia's Snowy Mountains, building an airline career after being told women couldn't be pilots, motherhood, breast cancer, and the mindset that carried her through it all. Our discussion explores those experiences, along with her writing process, her philosophy of "keep going u...
Few figures loom larger in aviation history than Amelia Earhart. Yet after hundreds of books, countless documentaries, and nearly a century of speculation, how much do we actually know about the woman behind the legend?
In this episode, Laurie Gwen Shapiro talks about her bestselling book, The Aviator and the Showman. Drawing on newly digitized interviews, archival discoveries, and years of research, Laurie argues th...
What happens when a family scrapbook opens a door into a forgotten chapter of aviation history?
Author Cindy Weigand never intended to become a historian of women in aviation. While sorting through her late mother's belongings, she discovered scrapbooks and newspaper clippings connected to her great-uncle Jack, a barnstormer of the 1920s. What began as a family history project soon became a deep dive into the remarka...
If you’ve ever wondered whether self-publishing is the right path—or how to do it without getting overwhelmed or taken advantage of—this conversation is for you.
In this episode, I talk with publishing consultant Polly Letofsky, founder of My Word Publishing, to walk through what self-publishing actually looks like behind the scenes. From maintaining your rights to building the right editori...
Heidi Porch was 540 miles east-northeast of Hawaii when her engine began losing oil pressure.
She was 500 feet above the Pacific when she turned off the master switch and prepared to ditch.
In this episode, Heidi joins me to talk about Ditching the Sky, her gripping memoir of ferrying single-engine Cessnas across the Pacific in the 1980s—and the day her engine quit over open ocean.
We talk about:
- Growing up wi...
Australian private pilot and author Fran West joins me to talk about her remarkable three-month journey flying around the coastline of Australia in a Cessna 172—an adventure she later captured in her photo-rich journal, Plane Reflections.
What began as inspiration from the 1978 aerial circumnavigation known as “Pelican’s Progress” became Aus Flight ’99—a meticulously planned, shoes...
Caroline Paul—former San Francisco firefighter, lifelong adventurer, and pilot—joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about her new book, Why Fly (launching February 24). We talk gyrocopters, paragliding, trikes, the “rat-tat-tat” rhythm of humor and terror in pilot stories, and the way aviation can become both refuge and mirror when relationships shift and life asks us to find our footing ...
In this Aviatrix Writers’ Room conversation, former NASA public affairs specialist and author of four nonfiction picture books, Kirsten W. Larson talks about writing true stories for young readers. We dig into how she learned the craft, the communities and organizations that helped her grow, and the realities of traditional publishing timelines (especially for illustrated nonfiction).
Kirsten shares a c...
I’m joined by Kirsten W. Larson, former NASA public affairs specialist and author of four nonfiction picture books—including Wood, Wire, Wings, the story of pioneering airplane designer E. Lillian (Emma) Todd, and A True Wonder, a biography of Wonder Woman as a cultural icon shaped by women’s history.
We talk about how Kirsten became a children’s nonfiction author, why the back matter ...
In this interview, Merryl Tengesdal, Col USAF (ret.) returns to talk about Shatter the Sky: Tales of Dragon Lady 788— a comic designed to bring confidence, critical thinking, and leadership lessons to younger readers.
We discuss why comic books and graphic novels matter, how real-world aviation experiences shaped this story, and why kids (and adults) need to listen to their inner voices and speak up when someth...
In this deeply immersive Literary Aviatrix Classics conversation Dr. Jacque Boyd, Captain Jenny Beatty and I discuss Wings for Life, the extraordinary memoir of pioneering aviatrix Ruth Nichols.
Nichols’ life reads like myth—altitude, speed, and distance records; repeated catastrophic crashes; unrelenting physical pain; and a relentless return to the cockpit. Beneath the headlines lies a story of discipli...
Pioneering airline pilot Lynn Rippelmeyer reflects on her extraordinary journey from being hired as a TWA stewardess in the early 1970s to becoming one of the first women to fly the Boeing 747, and later retiring from United Airlines after a career shaped both by deregulation, mergers, and furloughs, and by generosity, unexpected opportunities, and adventure.
We talk about her two-part memoir, beginning with Life Tak...
If you love daring women, vintage airplanes, and real-world adventure, you’re going to love this one. Pilot and author Tracey Curtis-Taylor shares her journey from a $15 introductory flight in Canada to flying her restored 1942 Stearman across Africa, from UK to Australia, and across the United States. We talk about her inspirations — Lady Mary Heath, Amy Johnson, Out of Africa — and her experience...
Hold on to your flight goggles — this episode might be our juiciest Literary Aviatrix Classics yet.
In this roundtable, Dr. Jacque Boyd, Captain Jenny Beatty, and I dive into Aviatrix: The Story of Elinor Smith, the 1981 memoir of the teenage pilot who took the 1920s aviation world by storm.
Elinor Smith — “The Flying Flapper of Freeport” — was famous for flying under New York’s Eas...
At age 47, Mary Build took her very first flight lesson. What followed was a remarkable 30-year career in aviation—flying seaplanes, running her own seaplane base in Maine, flying to Alaska, competing in the Air Race Classic, and serving as a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE).
In this interview, Mary shares her powerful journey from overcoming personal challenges to becoming a respected leader in aviation. We tal...
In this episode, I sit down with Captain Tammie Jo Shults — one of the first women to fly Navy tactical jets, longtime Southwest Airlines captain, and author of Nerves of Steel.
Tammie Jo is best known for her extraordinary leadership on Southwest Flight 1380, but as she shares in this conversation, her story is about much more than one day in the cockpit. It’s about the obstacles she faced along the way,...
This is my first in-person interview, recorded at Patty Bear’s home in a medieval village in Provence. Her new book, Captain Patty’s Wisdom Hacks, launches September 9 and is available for preorder now.
We bridge the years after her memoir From Plain to Plane—from USAF KC-135 pilot (Desert Shield/Desert Storm) to nearly 30 years at United Airlines, parenting, coaching, and building a life between th...
This June, I sat down with bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood to talk about her newest historical novel, Katharine, the Wright Sister: A Novel (2024). The book shines a spotlight on Katharine Wright, the often-overlooked sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright—whose contributions were vital to the invention and promotion of the airplane.
Tracey and I talk about her path from registered nurse to novelist, h...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Mike Florio & Chris Simms discuss the biggest NFL stories with honesty, candor, and authenticity.