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Volume: 17.10 • The South Carolina Writers Workshop Newsletter • October 2006 |
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NEWS |
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Board BulletinsFresh Catfish StewThe 2006 SCWW anthology Catfish Stew, Volume IV has gone to print! You can see it now at Amazon.com Remember that SCWW will also be selling copies of Catfish Stew, Vol. IV at the October conference for $12, a substantial savings over the $16.99 plus shipping and handling price at Amazon.com. You will also be able to buy it from our website for $12 plus shipping. Those SCWW writers who are featured in the 2006 anthology will receive two (2) free copies of Catfish Stew, Volume IV. In addition, all who attend the 2006 SCWW Writers Conference in October will receive one (1) free copy. This year the anthology will be marketed on Amazon.com and elsewhere. This will result in a wider audience for our writers and that's always a good thing. We congratulate those authors who are featured in the anthology this year. We believe the writing therein ranks with the best you will find anywhere. The Carrie McCray Literary AwardsWe had a mix-up again this year on the number of entries needed for the McCray contest. This time the brochure was correct, but the Web site had it wrong. I caught the error early in the contest, and Steve Vassey changed it on the Web site, but it evidently came undone when they did an “e-fix on the electronic registration,” whatever that is. I thought it was taken care of until I checked the site again after all entries had arrived. I did so because we received so many with only 2 copies and that puzzled me. To those of you who received my e-mail asking for another copy, this is to explain what was going on. We’re an all-volunteer organization with no central office or paid director, and most of us have other jobs (some two jobs). I apologize for the confusion and inconvenience, and thank all of you for being so gracious about it.
Chapter ChatterGot News?What's happening in your local chapter? Who's getting published? Who has the most impressive portfolio of rejection letters? Are there local events for writers in your area? Does your local chapter have its own newsletter or web page? Please submit you news to quilleditor@bellsouth.net Aiken
Anderson
Charleston
Columbia I
Columbia II
Dillon
Greenville
From Printed Matters Bob Strother had a book signing at The Open Book September 30th. His novel is set in the early 1960s on the campus of a small southern university and chronicles the ups and downs of Love Among the Greeks. Kevin Coyle's story "Puck Magnet" has been accepted for Volume 4 of the national literary journal, Buffalo Carp. Aimee Caruso will have two articles featured in the first issue of The Cutting Edge Law Magazine. Phil Arnold has several articles in the recent issue of Elvis the Magazine: "Alfred Wertheimer - But His Friends Call Him Al"; "The Sun Sessions - 30th Anniversary of Elvis' Best Album "; and "Elvis and the Grammy Awards." Wilma W. Reitz, reported that The Paper Journey Press out of Wake Forest, NC, has selected one of her stories, "Sweet Baby," to appear in its 2006 anthology Blink: flash fiction before you can bat an eye. A high school in Charleston will be using Steve Heckman's "Critiquing 101 " as a teaching aid this year. Jim McFarlane submitted three chapters of his civil war era novel, The Widow Dunn, to Carrie McCullough of Harbor Books. The publisher requested more detail on his biography and marketing plan, and later, asked for the entire manuscript. Irmo/Chapin
Lexington
Myrtle Beach
Rock Hill
News by Betty Beamguard Connie Miller had an essay accepted by Sasee. Betty Beamguard's humorous essay, "Country My Foot," appears in the September/October issue of The Oxford So & So. Sandhills Writers Group
Beyond Our BordersGeorge Youngblood, a member-at-large living in Texas, entered five stories, a novel, and a limerick in the Southeastern Writers Association writing contest. He received three first place, two second place, and two third place awards. |
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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2006 SCWW Writers ConferenceOctober 20-22, 2006
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SCWW Members
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Non-members
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SCWW Membership Rate: to qualify, your SCWW membership must be current at the time of your registration and payment is received.
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Ocean Creek Resort Phone: 1-877-844-3800 |
Rates (per night):
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Please refer to the SCWW Conference when making your reservations to receive discounted room rates. Rates do not include local and state taxes.
For additional information, contact the Contact co-chairpersons Dottie Boatwright dboatwright@sc.rr.com or Craig Faris craigfaris@rjsonline.net
Keynote Speaker: Tess Gerritsen is a physician and novelist who started her writing career as a romantic suspense author. In 1996 her first medical thriller, Harvest, marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, she has been a perennial presence on bestseller lists around the world, and is now published in 29 countries. Her thrillers include The Surgeon, Body Double, and Vanish, which was nominated for the Edgar Award. Her most recent release is The Mephisto Club. www.tessgerritsen.com
Jim Conover - After serving on the police force of Pekin, Illinois, for twenty years, Jim started a private detective firm with his brother Dennis. He chronicles his investigative work regarding child abduction/murder cases in his self-published book, Slayer of Innocence. He has also self-published two novels-Lynch Law and Greenhorn Killer-and has written three screenplays. He is currently independently producing a small-budget film based on his screenplay Sand Prairie. www.jimconover.com
Dr. Kwame Dawes - Distinguished Poet-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina, Director of USC's Master of Fine Arts program, and Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, Dr. Dawes is not only an award winning poet and educator, but is also a celebrated playwright, actor, critic, essayist, and musician. He has penned eleven collections of poetry that include Midland, Resisting the Anomie, Progeny of Air, and most recently, Wisteria, and is the author of four nonfiction books, a collection of short stories and several anthologies. He has also written fifteen plays that have been performed in Europe, the Caribbean, and Canada. Among his many awards is a Push Cart Prize for Best American Poetry and Ohio University Press's Hollis Summers Poetry Prize. www.kwamedawes.com
Jane Friedman is editorial director of Writer's Digest Books and Writer's Market annuals. Her editorial resume includes turns at Writer's Digest magazine, Novel Writer and Publishing Success magazines, North Light Books, and The Evansville Review. In addition to acquiring 30 titles per year for Writer's Digest Books, she serves as fiction editor for IdentityTheory.com and teaches composition at the University of Cincinnati. F+W Publications www.fwpublications.com
Anne R. Gunton - Associate editor with Viking Children's Books/Penguin Young Readers Group. Dedicated to quality children's literature, Viking publishes an average of sixty titles per year, ranging from picture books for very young children to sophisticated fiction and nonfiction for young adults. Anne edits YA novels, middle grade novels, picture books and works with such authors as David A. Adler, Betsy Byars, Nancy Carlson, and Susane Colasanti. www.penguin.com/youngreaders
Deborah Grosvenor - Deborah Grosvenor has worked in book publishing for more than 20 years as an editor and agent. She has edited or represented several hundred nonfiction books, her best-known acquisition, however, being a first novel, The Hunt for Red October. Deborah signed up bestselling author Homer Hickham's first work, Torpedo Junction, and helped launch bestselling author Stephen Coonts's first novel, Flight of the Intruder. Grosvenor Literary Agency was formed in 1996 with a stable of about three dozen authors including New York Times bestsellers and Pulitzer Prize winners. She represents fiction, narrative nonfiction, history, biography, politics, current affairs, science, humor, memoir, self-help and anything Southern. Among her clients are Henry Allen, Tom Oliphant, Eleanor Clift, Mort Kondracke, Phil Jennings, Curtis Wilkie, Alston Chase, Gayden Metcalfe, and Susan McDougal.
Ann Ipock - an award-winning speaker, playwright, performer, as well as humor essayist whose column appears biweekly in the Georgetown Times, South Carolina's oldest newspaper. She is a regular contributor to other regional publications such as Sasee Magazine, Pee Dee Magazine, and The Myrtle Beach Herald. She successfully self-published two collections of her newspaper columns. New York Times best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank writes: "Ann Ipock's writing embraces the imperfections of this life with a fresh voice and incredible humor. Her essays will tickle you to pieces! Ann's keen observations should be in needlepoint!" Her books are Life Is Short, But It's Wide and Life Is Short So Read This Fast! www.annipock.com
Beth Jusino - Literary agent with Alive Communications which has represented such best-selling authors as Rev. Billy Graham, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, and Karen Kingsbury. Sixty titles from 21 different authors represented by the agency have hit national best-seller lists within the last year--nine in their category's top slot. Prior to joining Alive Communications, Beth spent six years as Managing Editor for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International and she served as editor for MOMSense Magazine, the most widely distributed Christian parenting magazine in America. www.alivecommunications.com
Carrie McCullough is publisher for Harbor House Books, a regional publisher of adult fiction (mainstream, mystery, historical and horror) and nonfiction (Americana, Civil War, biography, paranormal). As publisher, she directs the daily activities of the Harbor House Books, including acquisitions, editorial content, publicity, marketing and sales. Prior to joining Harbor House, she was copy editor at The State newspaper and book editor at The Morning News in Florence, SC. She has also served as adjunct professor in the University of South Carolina's journalism program. www.harborhousebooks.com
Stu Miller has been a successful literary and packaging agent in Hollywood and New York for over 40 years, representing fiction and nonfiction authors, screen and television writers, producers, directors, interactive multimedia creators and a broad range of intellectual property. His clients have included multiple winners of Oscar, Emmy, Writers' Guild of America, CableAce, People's Choice, Golden Globe and many other national and international awards. His greatest pleasure is finding and nurturing previously undiscovered but talented writers and helping them to develop satisfying, rewarding careers.
Cathy Pickens is author of a new mystery series that features Avery Andrews, a 30-something lawyer, who returns to her small Upstate South Carolina hometown after losing her job with a large defense firm. The first book in the series, Southern Fried, earned Cathy the St. Martins Press Malice Domestic Award for Best Traditional Mystery in 2003. Her second novel, Done Gone Wrong, has met with glowing reviews as well. Like the main character of her novels, Cathy is a lawyer. She teaches law to business students at Queens University of Charlotte, NC, and serves on the board of an inter-agency forensic organization that serves Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. www.cathypickens.com
Marcia Preston - In addition to being editor and publisher of ByLine, a national monthly publication that showcases the work of both new and veteran writers, Marcia is an accomplished novelist. Her mystery/suspense novel, Song of the Bones, won the 2004 Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster. She writes contemporary women's fiction published in hardcover by Mira Books. Her latest, The Piano Man, deals with the ripple effects of a heart transplant. www.marciapreston.com
Chris Roerden - Author of newly released Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques To Save Your Manuscript From Turning Up D.O.A., Chris worked 35 years in the publishing industry as an editor and is now a freelance editor and writing coach. In addition, she spent six years teaching college-level writing. As a specialist in the mystery genre, she edited such mysteries as Alex Matthews' Cassidy McCabe series and Deb Baker's forthcoming Murder Passes the Buck and Dolled Up For Murder. www.bellarosabooks.com
Terry Roueche - In addition to having written numerous one-act and full-length plays that have been performed throughout the Southeast, Terry's plays Parade Day, Take My Wife, Please and Norman Alexander have enjoyed successful runs on off-off Broadway. www.undertheorder.com
Ted Tally wrote the screen adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs for which he won the 1992 Academy Award, Writers Guild Award, Chicago Film Critics Award, and an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. That work was recently voted by Writers Guild members to their list of the "101 Greatest Screenplays." Tally also wrote the screenplays for Red Dragon, Thomas Harris' prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, as well as White Palace, Before and After, The Juror, and All the Pretty Horses. He served as Associate Producer on the Brian De Palma film Mission to Mars, and as Story Consultant on the Dreamworks Animation films Shrek 2, Madagascar, and Shrek 3. For the theater Tally has written Terra Nova (Obie and Dramalogue Awards), Hooters, Coming Attractions (Outer Critics Circle Award), Little Footsteps, and Silver Linings. His television scripts include The Comedy Zone, Hooters, and The Father Clements Story (Christopher Award). Born in North Carolina, educated at Yale and Yale School of Drama, he has also taught at each. Other honors include fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation. He lives with his wife and two children in Pennsylvania.
Kathie Fong Yoneda is an independent script consultant and producer with over 25 years of experience in the film industry. She has worked for such prestigious studios as Paramount, Columbia, MGM, Universal, 20th Century Fox, and Disney, specializing in story analysis and development of live action and animated projects. Her career includes executive positions with Walt Disney, Touchstone, Island Pictures and Walt Disney TV Animation. She is the author of The Script Selling Game: A Hollywood Insider's Look At Getting Your Script Sold and Produced, and is also a co-executive producer on the cable series, Beyond The Break. www.kathiefongyoneda.com
10:00 - 12:00 Early Registration - Water Oaks Foyer
12:00 - 2:30 Sessions A - Creekside Classrooms I, II and III
1. Poetry - Dr. Kwame Dawes - "The Anatomy of the Poem-- Using shorter form verse to study the essential DNA of poetry. Using visual art images and several shorter (largely Eastern) verse forms to explore some of the key elements of the poem--the metaphor, the simile, the breath, the poesy of rhetorical form, and much else. Come prepared to do a lot of writing.
2. Mystery - Marcia Preston - "Basics of Writing the Mystery"
3. How To - Cathy Pickens - "Plan Your Writing Life"
3:00 - 5:30 Sessions B - Creekside Classrooms I, II, and III
1. Humor - Ann Ipock - "The Humor Track: From Head-Nods to Belly-Laughs and Beyond"
2. How To - Jane Friedman - "Ten Steps to Finding An Agent" Ten Biggest Ways That Writers Sabotage Their Careers
3. Playwriting - Terry Rouche - "Playwriting Crash Course: Everything You Need to Know About How To Write A Play" Discover how to write a play from beginning to end and learn where to submit your completed work.
3:30 - 6:00 Registration & Check-In - Water Oaks Foyer
6:00 - 7:00 Everybody to Water Oaks Ballroom for the Evening Meet & Greet Opening Reception with heavy d'oeuvres and a bar
7:00 - 7:15 Welcome and Faculty Introductions
7:15 - 8:15 Announce Catfish Stew winners. Readings by Winners and a Live Auction
8:15 - 9:15 Panel Discussion: "Building Suspense in a Screenplay or Novel" Ted Tally, Tess Gerritsen, Kathie Fong Yoneda, Jim Conover and Deborah Grosvenor
7:00 - 8:15 Continental Breakfast - Water Oaks Foyer and Ballroom
8:15 - 8:30 Welcome and Announcements - Water Oaks Ballroom
8:30 - 9:00 Tess Gerritsen's Keynote Address "Where Do Stories Come From? - What Makes A Premise Great?"
9:15 -10:15 Session I
1. Jim Conover - "Self-publishing - A Growing Trend" Creekside I
2. Jane Friedman - "How to Find a Publisher or Agent Through a Professional Query Letter" Water Oaks II
3. Anne Gunton - "Clear and Immediate: What Makes A Young Adult Book Successful?" Creekside II
4. Kathie Yoneda - "Logline - A Writer's Most Important 25 Words or Less" Water Oaks III
5. Marcia Preston - "Dialogue That Sizzles" Creekside III
10:30 - 11:30 Session II
1. Tess Gerritsen - "Research: How to Incorporate It in Your Book" Water Oaks III
2. Beth Jusino - "Religious Writing 101: Writing from a Christian Worldview" Creekside III
3. Carrie McCullough -"Getting Published" Creekside II
4. Chris Roerden - "Don't Murder Your Mystery - or Other Fiction: Submissions and Voice" Water Oaks II
5. Cathy Pickens - "Write What You Know" Creekside I
11:30 - 1:00 Lunch - served buffet style - Served in Water Oaks I (included in conference price )
1:00 - 2:00 Session III
1. Ann Ipock - "A Package Deal: Self-Publish - Then Speak, Sign and Sell" Creekside I
2. Kwame Dawes - "Rhyming--Some considerations around the issue of rhyme in verse. Study some possibilities available to poets who like to work with rhyme and some of the implications of rhyme." Creekside II
3. Cathy Pickens - "Turning Crime Fact Into Fiction" Water Oaks II
4. Stu Miller - "Entertainment Business 101: An Agent's View of Selling Yourself and Your Work in the Entertainment Media" Water Oaks III
5. Marcia Preston - "How to Write Articles That Sell" Creekside III
2:15 - 3:15 Session IV
1. Chris Roerden - "Don't Murder Your Mystery - or Other Fiction: Tell-tale Techniques and Solutions" Water Oaks II
2. Terry Roueche - "From the Stage to the Page" (demonstrating play dialogue using actors) Water Oaks I
3. Anne Gunton - "Forever Young: Trying Your Hand at Writing for Children." Creekside I
4. Beth Jusino - "Author Branding: Positioning Yourself for Publishing Success." Creekside II
5. Carrie McCullough - "Things You Might Not Know About Being A First-time Author" Creekside III
3:30- 4:30 Session V
1. Kwame Dawes - "Stealing--three exercises of pilfering that can generate remarkably beautiful poems. How to draw on various other art forms to create something interesting in the poem." Creekside I
2. Deborah Grosvenor - "How to Write a Query Letter that Will Sell your Book Idea" Water Oaks II
3. Kathie Yoneda - "Creating Opportunities: Staying Challenged As A Writer" Creekside II
4. Jane Friedman - "How to Write A Nonfiction Book Proposal" Creekside III
4:30 - 5:30 Book Signings - Book Store Open All Afternoon Water Oaks III
6:00 - 6:45 Dinner Drinks with Live Auction & Prizes - Water Oaks Ballroom
6:45 - 8:30 Leisurely Dinner with Theatre - Water Oaks Ballroom all evening
8:45 - Open Mic for those who wish to stay
Critiques - Saturday 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ongoing critiques of your writing with faculty Creekside Library every 15 minutes all day Saturday for those who have signed up.
7:00 - 8:30 Continental Breakfast - Water Oaks Ballroom - all activities on Sunday
8:30 - 8:45 SCWW Business - Sandra Johnson, President in charge
9:00 - 10:00 Interactive Agents & Editors Panel - Kathie Fong Yoneda moderating On the panel will be Chris Roerden, Stu Miller, Anne Gunton, Jane Friedman, Beth Jusino, Carrie McCullough, Marcia Preston, and Deborah Grosnevor
10:00-10:30 Carrie McCray Awards and silent auction awards
11:00 Door Prizes and check out
Got news from your local chapter? Got a helpful writers web site to share? Got a caution about a bogus publishing opportunity or contest? Let's network our knowledge to build a better newsletter.
Deadline for submissions is the 21st of each month. Please send submissions to quilleditor@bellsouth.net either in the body of an e-mail or as an attached file in MS Word (DOC), Rich Text (RTF) or plain text (TXT) format. Articles accepted for publication will appear in The Quill and archived on the web. Writers retain all rights to their works.
Submissions may also be made on floppy disk and mailed to:
Leland Beaudrot
1 Cleveland St Ste 110
Greenville SC 29601-3646
Write on!
Leland Beaudrot, Editor
The Quill
Pulitzer prize-wining poet, Jorie Graham, will be reading from her work October 6, 7:30 p.m. at Sakes Theater, SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville. The author of numerous collections of poetry, including Overlord and The Dream of the Unified Field: Selected Poems 1974-1994, which won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the school at 864-282-3708.
Charleston County Public Library, 68 Calhoun Street.
Workshops are free.. Limited number of seats available, please call (843) 805-6930.
Memoir Writing with Susan Meyers
Ages 18 and up.
Writing a memoir is one way to make meaning of life through reflection of self and family. We’ll address some of the questions memoirists face: what to put in, what to leave out, where to start, what shapes a memoir, what makes it meaningful. The workshop will include discussion, a brief writing session, and a class packet for participants.
Susan Meyers has taught memoir writing courses for numerous community programs. She is the author of Keep and Give Away (University of South Carolina Press, 2006) and Lessons in Leaving (Persephone Press, 1998), both containing poems drawn from life experiences. She has an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte.
Fiction Writing for Adults with Sean Scapellato
Ages 18 and up.
This two-hour fiction workshop is designed for the beginner to intermediate fiction writer. Learn about basic manuscript submission, querying an agent, the roles of agent and editor, resources for fiction writing, daily writing routines, and how to network.
Sean Scapellato has had his fiction published in regional literary magazines, such as The Echo and The Tower, with short creative pieces anthologized in the collections Hungry For Home (Novello Festival Press) and My South (Rutledge Hill Press). He presently has a novel under representation with The Choate Agency in New York.
Fiction Writing for Teens with Sean Scapellato
Ages 13-18.
This two-hour fiction workshop is designed specifically for teen fiction writers. We will try several short exercises by journaling and discussing how to incorporate our smaller gems into larger stories. Bring a journal and a good pen; leave with something useful.
Sean Scapellato has had his fiction published in regional literary magazines, such as The Echo and The Tower, with short creative pieces anthologized in the collections Hungry For Home (Novello Festival Press) and My South (Rutledge Hill Press). He presently has a novel under representation with The Choate Agency in New York.
A Program of Poetry & Visual Art
Poets and artists published in Kakalak 2006 will present their work from the anthology. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing after the reading.
Screenwriting with Peter Wentworth
Ages 18 and up.
His screenwriting workshop will focus on exercises to heighten the emotional impact on your readers.
Peter Wentworth graduated from Columbia University in 1993 with an MFA in film. He worked as a story analyst for New Line Cinema, Vestron, Nederlander Films, and Lightning Pictures for the next few years. In 1989 he Produced with Whit Stillman, "Metropolitan."Which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. His other credits as Producer include -Other Voices, Other Room," -Paradise Falls," -Swoon," and -Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day."
Michel Hammes
Reference Librarian
(843) 805-6949
hammesm@ccpl.org
Hub City is proud to announce a full slate of literary programming for the fall 2006 on Monday nights in The Showroom, at 149 South Daniel Morgan Avenue. Our reading series has something for everyone: authors who tour nationally, homegrown creative writers and even monthly poetry slams. All of our events are held on Mondays. The headliners for our fall series are novelist Elizabeth Cox (Sept. 11, 7:30 pm), short-story master George Singleton (Oct. 9, 7:30 pm), Asheville memoirist Sebastian Matthews (Nov. 13, 7:30 pm) and novelist/poet Ron Rash (Dec. 11, 7:30 pm). Slam Poet Moody Black hosts the Word-of-Mouth Open Mic on Sept. 25, Oct. 30 and Nov. 27, all at 8 pm. And Express-o-nite returns with the SPOETS on Oct. 16; Hub City poetry prize winner Travis Galloway and writer-in-residence Emily Smith on Nov. 6; and Converse College creative writing students on Dec. 4 (7:30 pm all).
Call for Entries: $500 Cash Prize and Possible Publication. Please visit our website or paste the following link into your browser for guidelines and registration
Postmark deadline: October 31, 2006 Winner will be announced on December 31, 2006
The 2006 Carolinas' Wisteria Prize for Memoir Writing is open to North and South Carolina residents ONLY.
The Wisteria award is a $500 cash prize funded by the Paper Journey Press that may be used by the winner in their literary pursuits. In addition The Paper Journey Press seeks to honor fresh literary voices for possible future publication by the press. The winner receives $500 and may be considered for publication by the press.
An entry fee must accompany manuscript: You may submit up to 10 essays for $25. These essays may be submitted via our website link or through regular (snail) mail. If mailing your submissions, please send them to the following address along with your $25 fee, indicating name of competition, to:
Carolina's Wisteria Prize for Memoir Writing
The Paper Journey Press
P.O. Box 1575
Wake Forest NC 27588
The Friends of the Richland County Public Library will take on the world of NASCAR at a book discussion and signing with veteran journalist Neal Thompson at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24 in the Bostick Auditorium of the Main Library, 1431 Assembly St. This event is free and open to the public.
Thompson will discuss his latest novel Driving with the Devil, Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels and the Birth of NASCAR, which explores the dramatic untold story of Southern moonshiners, their Ford V-8s, and the creation of one of America's most popular sports.
A professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, Thompson has worked extensively with the Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer and St. Petersburg Times.† His short stories have appeared in magazines such as Outside, Backpacker and Men's Health, and he is the author of Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard, America's First Spaceman.
The Friends of RCPL is a nonprofit organization that works to raise support and awareness of the library. Friends' memberships begin at only $25. Call 929-3475 for more details on membership or this special event.
The Friends of the Richland County Public Library welcome Emory Thomas, Civil War scholar and author of Robert E. Lee A Biography, The Confederate Nation and Bold Dragoon: The Life of J.E.B. Stuart, for a book discussion and signing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 1 at the Main Library, 1431 Assembly St. This free program for adults is cosponsored by the USC Institute for Southern Studies. Questions? Call 929-3475.
Join RCPL Literary Resident Howard Burnham for Shaw's sesquicentennial birthday celebration at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 5 in the Bostick Auditorium of the Main Library, 1431 Assembly St. Questions? Call 929-3457.
All regular monthly programs, except as noted, are held at Second Presbyterian Church, 342 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC, at 7 p.m. They are free and open to the public. A book signing and reception follow the program. Contact: Linda@LindaAnnasFerguson.com
October 13, 2006 - Vera Gomez
Vera Gomez, a performance poet and writer, is a 2006 South Carolina Fiction Project winner. Her poems have appeared in Kakalak 2006: An Anthology of Carolina Poets, A Millennial Sampler of South Carolina Poetry, Ties That Bind, and Quintet. A graduate of Texas Tech University, she works in corporate communications and is currently an Arts Integration SmartArts poet teaching in the schools.
November 10, 2006 - Richard Garcia
Richard Garcia's next volume of poetry, The Persistence of Objects, will be published by BOA Editions in October, 2006. He is also the author of The Flying Garcias, Rancho Notorious, and Chickenhead, a forthcoming chapbook of prose poems. He has been poet-in-residence at The Long Beach Museum of Art, the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, and the Gibbes Museum of Art. Among his numerous awards are the Pushcart Prize and a fellowship from the NEA.
December 8, 2006 - Holiday Party & Reading
Location TBA
January 12, 2007 - Open Mic: Elle Davis, Emcee
City Gallery at Waterfront Park, 34 Prioleau Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Elle Davis is a freelance editor and writer. She is the curator and co-producer for Monday Night Blues, the longest running weekly literary event in the Lowcountry. She has read for Piccolo Spoleto's Sundown Poetry Series and other venues and is currently working on her first novel.
February 9, 2007 - Kwame Dawes
Kwame Dawes is the author of twelve collections of poetry. His most recent collections are Impossible Flying (Peepal Tree, 2006) and Wisteria (Red Hen, 2006). He is the founder and director of the SC Poetry Initiative and the executive director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute. Dawes is also a faculty member of Cave Canem and the Louise Frye Liberal Arts Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and is the Distinguished Poet-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina.
March 9, 2007 - Ray McManus and Susan Meyers
Ray McManus's book of poetry, Driving through the country before you are born, is the 2007 winner of the SC Poetry Book Prize sponsored by the SC Poetry Initiative. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals throughout the US and Canada. He actively teaches creative writing throughout South Carolina. He was the winner of the Academy of American Poets award at USC (1997), the James Dickey award in poetry (2000), and the 2002 South Carolina Academy of Authors Poetry Fellowship.
Susan Meyers is the 2006 winner of the SC Poetry Book Prize, sponsored by the SC Poetry Initiative, for her book Keep and Give Away. Her chapbook Lessons in Leaving was selected by Brendan Galvin for the 1998 Persephone Press Book Award. A long time writing instructor, she holds an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She is the current president of the Poetry Society of South Carolina.
April 13, 2007 - Katherine Smith
Katherine Smith is the author of Argument by Design, winner of the Washington Writers Publishing House poetry award. She is presently a professor of literature and writing at Montgomery College, MD, and a poetry editor for the Potomac Review.
The Lost Letters of Artemisia Genteleschi, a collaborative work with painter Judy Jashinsky on the life of Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi, appeared on exhibit in 2001 at the Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.
May 11, 2007 Annual Forum - Gil Allen, Commentator
Gil Allen is a professor of English at Furman University and also the co-founder and co-editor of Ninety-Six Press. His collections of poems are In Everything, Second Chances, Commandments at Eleven, and Driving to Distraction. He was the 2002-03 recipient of the SCAC Literary Arts Fellowship and co-editor of A Millennial Sampler of South Carolina Poetry in 2005.
SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2007
10 a.m. till noon
Publishing Seminar: "Submitting to Poetry Journals"
Ray McManus, instructor
Biographical information: see March 9 program
(Location in Charleston TBA)
Contact info TBA
$10 for PSSC members, $15 for others
(Ray McManus's bio is listed for the March 9 program.)
Antlion Press is currently accepting story submissions for a new collection about life in the Southern United States. Stories must reflect the best of what the South is all about, a place where good people still know how to extend kindness and courtesy to strangers, a place where the Southern landscape remains alive in the mind's eye, where little things...things of the heart, still matter.
To get more information and complete submission guidelines, please go to: www.antlionpress.com
Stories Due By November 1, 2006
Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul Illustrated Series is a series of short reads designed to inspire kids ages 4-7 through real life character-building stories and uniquely features fun illustrations of popular animated characters.
Accepting TRUE stories for publishing consideration from adults written in first person about a childhood experience.
Topics/Traits to Write About:
Guidelines
1. Tell an exciting, sad or funny NON-FICTION story about something that has happened to you. Make sure that you introduce the other character(s).
2. Tell your story in a way that will make the reader cry, laugh or get goose bumps (the good kind!) Don't leave out anything - how did you feel?
3. The story should start with action; it should include a problem, issue or situation. It should include dialogue and you should express their feelings throughout the conflict or situation. It should end in a result, such as a lesson learned, a positive change or pay-off. The audience for this title is kids ages 4-7; therefore please write your story at a level to which they understand.
4. Above all, come from your HEART! Your story is important!
We are NOT looking for
A sermon, an essay or eulogy; a term paper, thesis, letter or journal entry or a story about politics or controversial issues; or a personal testimony that may mean nothing to the reader.
Story Specifications
1. All submissions are preferred e-mailed in Word format, otherwise, type-written on plain 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Email stories to ginal@lifewriters.com. Snail mail stories to Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul Illustrated Series, ATTN: Gina Romanello, PO Box 10879, Costa Mesa, CA 92627.
2. Stories should be non-fiction, 300-1000 words in length. Authors of chosen stories are paid $200. Authors retain the copyright of their material.
3. Please note that if you have a favorite short story, poem or cartoon that has been previously published, feel free to submit any of the above for consideration. Please provide information regarding the original author and the publication in which it appeared.
4. Stories due by NOVEMBER 1ST!
Award: 1st prize $1,000. The winning work of short fiction by a woman will be published in Kalliope, a journal of women's literature art runners-up will be considered for publication.
Submit Short Fiction and check or money order (NO CASH) to:
KALLIOPE Short Fiction Contest
FCCJ - South Campus
11901 Beach Boulevard
Jacksonville FL 32246
Strict adherence to the guidelines is required. Any failure to follow these rules will disqualify entry!
$1,000 1st Place Award for the Best Poem by a Woman
Submit poetry and check or money order (NO CASH) to:
KALLIOPE Poetry Contest
FCCJ - South Campus
11901 Beach Boulevard
Jacksonville FL 32246
Strict adherence to the guidelines is required. Any failure to follow these rules will disqualify entry!
Friday small press reception at Firehouse Books:
Writers, readers, Lowcountry authors, and small press representatives will attend this free-to-the public reception, to enjoy and explore the changes in the literary marketplace, and the value of small press books.
Saturday Manuscript Critiques at the Cuthbert House Inn:
Writers meet in private with a small press representative for a manuscript critique geared towards publishing book-length work; $35. Manuscript submission deadline is November 10, 2006, Call 843-379-6607 or visit http://www.eatgoodbread.com/iodine.html for details.
While the annual Conference is the place to go to get your Muse on, National Novel Writers Month (aka NaNoWriMo) is an excellent excuse to put life on hold and get down to writing that novel, in one month. Thousands of NaNo novelist can't be wrong (a little crazy, maybe), this self-inflicted torture is great fun and may even yeild the raw material for a best seller, or at least a ring binder on your shelf you can point to and say "That's my first novel."
The basic ground rules are simple: November 1 you start a brand new novel from scratch, for the rest of the month you crank out about 1667 words per day and wind up on the 30th with a 50,000 word novel (or the semblance of an encyclopedia run through a blender). That may seem like a lot of writing in a little time, but even if you could only scrape up one extra hour a day, that comes to less than 30 words a minute.
Before I reached my study door, soft humming alerted me to a Muse visitation. Inside, I found Thaleia stuffing delicates into a small duffle bag. From desk drawers I was sure contained only rubber bands, paper clips, dried up pens and bundles of old check registers she pulled the accoutrements of feminine couture. "Are we going somewhere?"
She looked up from her labors. "Half of 'we' are."
"Since that stuff would look funny on me, I guess you're taking a vacation from wallpapering my mind with the stuff of story."
"Now where are my flip-flops?" She snapped open my briefcase. "Here they are! And my suntan oil, too."
"You're not listening," I said. "Are you mad at me?"
"I'm listening. And no, I'm not mad at you." She tugged the handle of a small drawer. It stopped with a clunk only slightly ajar. "Could you give me a hand with this?"
"When did you start stowing your stuff in my desk?" I slipped in my fingers and pressed the peculiar blockage out of the way. Thaleia grabbed the handle and pulled it nearly to the file cabinet across the room. From this extraordinarily elastic space she withdrew a sunny yellow beach umbrella.
"There! That's everything," she said. "You can close that now."
Without resistance, the drawer receded into the desk. I tried to look behind it to see if it penetrated the wall. Not even the wallpaper was marred. "Kid, you do funny things with my furniture, and my mind."
"Two things that need a bit of exercise and expanding." She slipped the umbrella into the canvas bag with the ease of a circus sword swallower ingesting a concealed weapon.
"Question is, what will be the outcome of your meddling?" Slowly, I glided the drawer out again. It slipped from its socket and spilled its contents.
"There's your outcome, O ye of little faith." She closed her eyes, breathed deeply and gestured lyrically with her hands. "You must relax.... Surrender yourself to the Muse."
"You just want to have your way with me. Sorry, no time for another NaNo novel this year." Scraping the assorted fallen flotsam back into the drawer, I found the power supply from my first laptop. Memories of my first raw attempts to pen prose welled into my mind, too many unfinished stories to number. "You've got me where you want me, don't you."
"You'll be on your own for a while." She zipped up the well stuffed duffle. "I thought you might like to get back to the 'good old daze.'"
"Just where are you going and how long are you planning to be away?"
"For now, I'm headed for the Myrtle Beach Muse-A-Thon-you know, the Conference-after that, we'll see."
"What does that mean?"
She sighed. "So many writers, so little Muse."
Like so many times before, she was playing me, and I knew it. But co-dependency isn't all bad with someone who puts so much fun into dysfunction. "Well... uh... look... drop me an e' now and then at least."
She smiled. "You're taking this very maturely. It's okay to grow up, just never give up."
"Sure," I said, not believing that I was. "Hey, how are you getting to the Conference?"
"Colleen invited me." Thaleia giggled. "We're riding down with her 'mom.'"
"Well, you two have a lot in common, both being metaphysical maidens. Just don't make a pest of yourself."
"Not to worry. It'll be nothing but one big pajama party," she said. "Hey, hand me that page from the printer."
I handed her the black and white map of the route from Piedmont to Grand Strand. "What do the stars represent?"
"Every Stuckey's between Greenville and Myrtle Beach!"
The Quill is the newsletter of the South Carolina Writers Workshop.
Copyright 2006 by Leland Beaudrot, Editor. Contributing writers retain all rights to their work.