Hometown Pasadena’s authors are smart, funny, knowledgeable and very local. They are available, singly or as a group, for readings, interviews, book signings and birthday parties. To contact any of us, please call Prospect Park books, 626.793.9796.

Colleen Dunn Bates is the editor and publisher at Prospect Park Books and a longtime food and travel journalist. She’s the editor and/or co-author of Hometown Pasadena, EAT: Los Angeles, Hometown Santa Monica, Mammoth from the Inside and Storybook Travels. She writes about restaurants for Westways, was the longtime restaurant critic for L.A. Style, and has written for many magazines. A sixth-generation Southern Californian, Colleen lives in Prospect Park with her husband, film editor and Mac man Darryl Bates.

Jill Alison Ganon (Hometown Pasadena, At Home Pasadena) is the author of three books and the former managing editor ofAmerican Bungalow. Jill’s an accomplished cook, a swimmer, a literary Jill of all trades, a traveler and a storyteller. Jill is a Staten Island native who has lived in southwest Pasadena for more than twenty years with her husband, jazz musician David Arnay.

Sandy Gillis (Hometown Pasadena, At Home Pasadena) is a former “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” staffer who, as a college intern, was yelled at by John Belushi. Sandy’s talents and passions are many, from gardening to jewelry making, chicken farming to flower arranging. She lives in Altadena with her husband, comedy writer Tom Gammill.

Mary Jane Horton (Hometown Pasadena) is a literary agent and former magazine editor. She has also written for Ms., Fit Pregnancy, Timeand Fodor’s. She’s a workout maven, a clotheshorse, a vegetarian cook and a first-rate shopper. Mary Jane lives in Pasadena with her husband, psychiatrist Stuart Shipko.

Mel Malmberg (Hometown Pasadena) is a hometown girl who went to Occidental College and started her journalism career at the Pasadena Weekly. She has since written several books for Disney and befriended seemingly everyone in the greater San Gabriel Valley. Mel is a world traveler, skier, avid student of both Pilates and yoga and all-around bon vivant. The Altadena resident also helped out with EAT: Los Angeles.