Diane Worthey has spent about 30 years teaching children of all ages the violin and viola, with about 12 years of that as part of the University of Idaho Preparatory Division. Now she is the soon to be author of two published children’s books.
Worthey has a new book coming out Nov. 22 titled “Rise Up with a Song: The true story of Ethel Smith, Suffragette Composer.” Worthey will have pre-launch parties Nov. 18 and 20 on the Palouse.
Writing was not always something she imagined she would do. Worthey said her first love was music, beginning with listening to classical music, then playing the piano and eventually the violin.
Worthey performs with the Washington-Idaho Symphony, the Palouse String Quartet and the Harmonia String Trio when not writing or teaching. She has lived in Pullman since 2001.
It was 2020 when she added the title of published author to her resume, with her first children’s book, “In One Ear and Out The Other: The Amazing Life of Antonia Brico,” about the first woman to conduct the Berlin and New York Philharmonic orchestras. Worthey has a personal connection to Brico — as a teenager she would play in Brico’s orchestra.
Worthey has partnered with Bookpeople of Moscow for a virtual book launch at 10 a.m. Nov. 18 via Zoom. The link will be available at bookpeopleofmosscow.com/events a week before the event.
An in-person event is scheduled for 2-3 p.m. Nov. 20 at Community Congregational United Church of Christ, at 525 NE Campus St., in Pullman. Copies will be available for sale through BookPeople of Moscow during the event and Worthey will be available to sign copies.
After reading from the book, there will be a high tea and participants are welcome to come dressed in early-20th century period costumes. To make a reservation for the tea, visit pullmanucc.org.
“I’m publishing books that focus on themes and music and specifically highlighting women who have been underrepresented in history,” Worthey said.
Stepping into the traditional publishing route was in part for help with finding an illustrator, Worthey said, and for her books to have a wider reach. She started small with researching how to publish books and joining a critique group.
“We meet twice a month on Mondays during the lunch hour at One World Cafe. So, my book was born in a way at One World Cafe,” Worthey said.
She would go on to send out agent letters until Penny Candy Books said they would publish her first book. She said her training as a musician keeps her spirits up while sending out her books because she sees it as practice.
“I’m trying to keep it fun because I started doing it because I saw a need for classical music and then I saw these women are missing from that history,” Worthey said.