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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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https://linktr.ee/literaryaviatrix
Episodes
222 episodes
Self-Publishing Without Losing Control: A Conversation with Polly Letofsky
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 ...
Airline Captain Heidi A. Porch talks about her memoir Ditching the Sky about a ferry flight engine failure 540 miles from Hawaii, a Cold War rescue, and the long road from ocean ditching to the 747
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 ab...
Flying Around Australia: Author and general aviation pilot Fran West talks about Plane Reflections about her three-month flight around Australia’s coastline—weather, grit, and why turning back is sometimes the bravest choice
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
Caroline Paul’s Why Fly—open-cockpit flight, awe from above, and the hard-won clarity that comes when life on the ground gets turbulent
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 h...
Aviatrix Writers' Room - Children's Author Kirsten W. Larson talks about writing, publishing, and her 'Reimagine Your Writing' craft books
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 com...
Kirsten W. Larson on Wonder Woman, aircraft designer E. Lillian Todd, and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne
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 ...
Breaking formation – U2 Pilot Merryl Tengesdal on graphic novels, confidence and courage, and raising the next generation of leaders.
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 d...
Aviatrix Classics: Pioneer Ruth Nichols’ Wings for Life—record-setting flights, devastating crashes, and the resilience to find purpose that joined aviation skill with Quaker compassion to deliver air relief worldwide.
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—alti...
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Captain Lynn Rippelmeyer — From TWA Stewardess to Pioneering 747 Captain
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 ca...
Tracey Curtis-Taylor — Bird: Flying the Spirit of Artemis Across Continents and Confronting the Old Boys’ Club
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 ...
Literary Aviatrix Classics: Aviatrix by Elinor Smith — The Flying Flapper Who Outsmarted Putnam, Outflew the Boys, and Spilled All the Aviation Tea
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...
Finding Myself in Aviation | Mary Build’s Inspiring Story of Flying, Seaplanes, and Second Chances
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 D...
Captain Tammie Jo Shults — Southwest Airlines Pilot of Flight 1380, Navy Jet Pioneer, and Author of Nerves of Steel
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 extraordinar...
Captain Patty Bear Book Launch: Air Force KC-135 Veteran & Airline Pilot on Wisdom Hacks, Decision-Making, Career Transitions, and Women in Aviation
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.<...
Bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood on her historical novel, Katharine: The Wright Sister, and how Katharine Wright changed the course of aviation history
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 ...
Yogini Modi: Entrepreneur, Aviation Mentor, and Community Leader, talks about how her flight school in Homestead Florida is helping to grow India's commercial pilots
From growing up in a Gandhian school in India, to serving ten years in the Indian Army, to founding a thriving flight school in South Florida, Yogini “Yogi” Modi’s journey in aviation is extraordinary.In this interview, Yogi shares how h...
Shirley M. Phillips — How Not to Fly an Airplane: Lessons from 40 Years in Aviation
Shirley M. Phillips is a pioneering female pilot and author whose new aviation memoir, How Not to Fly an Airplane, captures four decades of pilot life stories and lessons from the cockpit. From her start as a teena...
Women's military equality advocate and author Bridges DelPonte talks about the 14 trailblazing women pilots whose histories intersect with Florida in her book She Soars
In this interview with author Lucille Ponte, writing under the penname Bridges DelPonte, we talk about the fabulous fourteen women featured in her non-fiction anthology, She Soars: Trailblazing Female Pilots in Florida, and her professional adv...
Author Leona Cobham, granddaughter of pioneering aviation advocate Sir Alan Cobham, joins me again to talk about the latest in her middle grade chapter book series featuring vintage British aircraft, Flying Circus: Above and Beyond
In this interview I talk with author Leona Cobham about the latest in her middle grade chapter book series featuringa cast of vintage British aircraft characters, Airplane Adventures Flying Circus: Above and Beyond. I first interviewed Leona in...
Debut author Carolyn Dasher, talks about her new historical novel, American Sky, which features two women who join the WASP in WWII and their legacy across three generations
In this interview with debut author Carolyn Dasher, we talk about her new novel, American Sky, which features two women who join the WASP in WWII and their legacy across three generations.Buy the book: https://literaryaviatrix.com/book/...
Fantasy and speculative fiction author of The Improvisers, Nicole Glover, talks about how she wove historical themes of aviation, race and civil rights, historically Black communities, music, family, and sisterhood into a magical fantasy fiction mystery
In this interview with Nicole Glover, author of the Aviatrix Book Club discussion book for June 2025, The Improvisers, we talk about how she wove historical themes of aviation, race and civil rights, historically Black communities, music, famil...
Dr. Jacque Boyd and Captain Jenny Beatty are back for another Literary Aviatrix Classics episode about Amy Johnson
Finally, another Literary Aviatrix Classics episode with my guest hosts Dr. Jacque Boyd and Captain Jenny Beatty! This episode is all about Amy Johnson. We started off with her book Sky Roads to the World but, truth in advertising, we did not l...
Final Flight, Final Fight: Author Erin Miller talks about her crusade to change federal law to inter her WASP Grandmother at Arlington National Cemetery
In this interview with author, lawyer, and pilot Erin Miller, we talk about her journey through the halls of congress to change federal law so she and her family could honor her WASP Grandmother, Elaine Danforth Harmon's wish to be laid to rest...
In this Writers' Room conversation with author Susan Tate Ankeny, we talk about writing and traditionally publishing historical non-fiction
In this Writers' Room conversation with author Susan Tate Ankeny, author of two historical works, we talk about her journey to publish her first book, The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi Occupied-Franc...
Susan Tate Ankeny talks about Chinese American WWII WASP Hazel Ying Lee, the subject of her latest book American Flygirl
In this interview with author Susan Tate Ankeny, we talk about her biography of Chinese American WWII Women Air Force Service Pilot, Hazel Ying Lee, American Flygirl, the Aviatrix Book Club discussion book for May 2025. Buy the boo...
