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
212 episodes
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 22
•
2:26:09
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 21
•
1:06:35
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 20
•
1:04:11
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.<...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 19
•
50:08
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 ...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 18
•
34:05
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 17
•
59:21
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 16
•
55:44
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 15
•
1:09:25
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 14
•
24:59
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/...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 13
•
31:22
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 12
•
28:29
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 11
•
1:21:54
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 10
•
1:03:17
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 9
•
43:28
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...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 8
•
43:28
Book Launch! Author Becky Aikman talks about her new book Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger in WWII about the women who flew for the Air Transport Auxiliary
In this interview with author Becky Aikman we talk about her new book Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger about the women who flew for the Air Transport Auxiliary in Britain. Buy the book: https://literarya...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 7
•
41:11
Aviatrix Writers' Room with USA Today Best-Selling Author Heather B. Moore who shares her tips on launching a writing career and how to navigate publishing options.
In this writers' room interview I talk with Heather B. Moore, who has been writing for 20 years and is a USA Today best-selling author with over a hundred books published about her writing journey. She offers her tips on launching a writing car...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 6
•
31:22
Author Amanda Harrison talks about her book Solo2Darwin, a memoir of her attempt to fly solo along Amy Johnson's path from England to Australia in her open cockpit Tiger Moth airplane
In this interview with Amanda Harrison we talk about her memoir, Solo2Darwin: In the Footsteps of Amy Johnson, in which she recounts her attempt to fly solo from England to Australia in her vintage open cockpit Tiger Moth. We also talk about th...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 5
•
1:05:26
USA Today best-selling author Heather B. Moore talks about her biographical fiction, Lady Flyer, about WWII WAFS/WASP pilot and leader Nancy Harkness Love
In this interview with USA Today best-selling author, Heather B. Moore, we talk about her biographical fiction of, Lady Flyer, about Nancy Harkness Love, who led the establishment of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron at the beginning of W...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 4
•
31:50
Retired airline pilot and voice actress Pamela Almand, a.k.a. The Captain's Voice, talks about her flying career, how she became an audio book narrator, and what that relationship looks like for authors
In this interview with airline pilot and award-winning voice actress, Pamela Almand, we talk about her aviation career, how she made her way into the voice acting and narration business, and the special experience of narrating two of Amelia Ear...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 2
•
37:19
.png)
Aviatrix Classics - Jacque, Jenny, and I completely geek out on the incredible adventures of pioneering New Zealand pilot Jean Batten who set multiple records in the 1930s, including being the first person to fly solo from England to New Zealand
In the 1930’s, pioneering New Zealand pilot Jean Batten set multiple aviation records, including a speed record from London to Sydney, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from East to West in 1935 (which, before reading this I routi...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 1
•
2:03:21
NYT Best-selling author Lorraine Heath talks about her novel The Girls of Flight City featuring the women who trained British Royal Air Force pilots before the U.S. entered WWII
Before the U.S. entered WWII, the British Royal Air Force sent prospective pilots to the U.S. for training because they didn’t have the capacity to train the numbers they needed for the fight, and America’s women pilots helped train them. New Y...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 25
•
27:56
USAF Judge Advocate General Samantha Arrington Sliney dives deep into the evolution of military aviation pregnancy policies and talks about her new picture book All the Things Our Mommy Can Do coauthored by USAF Pilot Megan Biles
In this interview with co-author Samantha Arrington Sliney, a USAF Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Women's Initiative Team (DAF WIT) member, we talk about the new picture book she co-authored with fellow DAF WIT member, USAF pilot Megan Biles,...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 24
•
1:14:11
Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor recipient and Air National Guard Combat Search and Rescue Helicopter Pilot Mary Jennings Hegar talks about her memoir Shoot Like a Girl
Mary Jennings Hegar is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, the Purple Heart, and five Air Medals for her service as an Air National Guard HH-60 Pave Hawk Combat Search and Rescue Pilot on three deployments in Afghanistan...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 23
•
52:58
Aviatrix Classics - A Pair of Wings about Bessie Coleman with special guest, author Captain Carole Hopson
In this Aviatrix Classics conversation with Guest Hosts Dr. Jacque Boyd and Captain Jenny Beatty, we welcome guest Carole Hopson, author of A Pair of Wings, to discuss the remarkable accomplishments of pioneering aviatrix Bessie Coleman. Despit...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 22
•
1:13:22
