Thursday, June 05, 2008

 

FWA Ancient City Chapter Newsletter for June 2008



Hello Ancient City Writers,

IMPORTANT: For those of you have haven’t heard, the library has changed its hours of operation and will be opening at 10:00 on Saturday mornings, instead of 9:30. Our steering committee will be allowed entrance prior to 10:00 to set up the room and make coffee. Please be at the library entrance at 10:00, if not a little before, so that we can get everyone checked in and seated in time to begin the meeting as close to 10:00 as humanly possible. We suspect that we’ll get the meeting rolling by 10:15.


Our next meeting: Saturday, June 21st

Location: The Main Library in downtown St. Augustine (1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.)

* Please try to arrive by 10:00 so that everyone will have time to check in, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and get seated in time for us to begin at 10:15.


Meeting / Speaker: 10:15 AM – 11:30 AM

Editing for Success

Beth Mansbridge, freelance copy editor and proofreader, will address the editing questions authors face while writing their short story or book. She will offer easy editing tips at the June meeting of the Ancient City Chapter of the Florida Writers Association. The group will meet at the Main Library in downtown St. Augustine on Saturday, June 21 at 10:15 a.m.



“Your book and short story manuscripts, query and proposal letters, and marketing materials, printed and online, represent you to the world,” says Mansbridge, “and with them you want to make an excellent first impression.” She will outline how attention to detail can make authors shine and help them attain their publishing goals.

Residing in St. Augustine, Florida, Mansbridge is a member of Professional Writers of St. Augustine, the Ancient City Chapter of Florida Writers Association, Editorial Freelancers Association, and the St. Augustine Branch of the National League of American Pen Women.

All meetings are open to members and non-members alike.



Critique Group Sessions (to follow presentation):

If you’re not already part of a critique group and wish to join one, please contact the proper critique group coordinator to be added to their mailing list (each name contains a hyperlink to their email address):

Mike BonDurant Fiction Critique Group Coordinator
Jack Owen Non-fiction Critique Group Coordinator
Dana Gregory Poetry Critique Group Coordinator



Calender of writing events:


Emmy’s Question Wins National Award

St. Augustine, Florida (June 3, 2008) Local author, Jeannine Auth, has been notified that her book, Emmy’s Question, published by Morningtide Press, is a winner in the Children’s/Juvenile Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The winners and finalists were announced last week at BookExpo America, the largest annual book event in the United States. The awards program was established by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group to recognize and honor excellence in publishing.

Emmy’s Question, based in part on a young girl’s diary, provides an intimate account of her struggle to understand a world turned upside-down as her family breaks apart. Poignant and compelling, the story spotlights the conflicts that many children face today. Emmy’s inspiring journey of self-discovery teaches the importance of making responsible life choices and finding the best in oneself in spite of unhappy circumstances.

Mary Ballinger, a teacher at Ketterlinus Elementary School has this to say about Emmy’s Question. “Great books stay in our hearts and leave us better for having read them. This book can be counted among those.”

Jeannine Auth is a writer, speaker, and former lobbyist and non-profit administrator. She’s currently working on a second novel. For more information, please call 904-824-5332 or go to: http://www.morningtidepress.com/.

Emmy’s Question is available at all on-line booksellers and may be ordered through stores nationwide.


June, 2008

Prize-winning workshop to start new series of day classes in June.

A writing workshop on a shanty boat docked on the Trout River is beginning a new series of day classes in June, 2008 according to free lance writer and editor of Closet Books, Lynn Skapyak Harlin, leader of the workshop.

Shanty boat Writers Workshop is designed for beginning writers who would like to learn new techniques, or seasoned writers who would like to refresh these skills to improve their writing. Fiction and nonfiction writers are welcome. Topics include: Creating believable characters, Tips for Improving Dialogue, Elements of Plot, How 'Show rather than Tell' works toward clarity in all forms of writing and many other writing and submission tips.Members of recent classes have won awards in the contests of the Florida First Coast Writers' Festival and other national awards. The day session meets every (day & date to be decided) from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., starting in June 2008 and the cost of the workshop (limited to 10 students) will be $100 for six weeks. All new workshop writers before attending a workshop must write and submit an introductory essay according to workshop guidelines.


For more information on sessions forming or to reserve a space, call Ms. Skapyak Harlin at 778-8000 or e-mail her at lyharlin@aol.com.


September 12th – 13th, 2008

SAVE THE DATE for the St. Augustine inaugural Florida Heritage Book Festival, September 12 and 13th. Writing workshops, author speaking events, children’s corner, book festival book store (ACC participation, see below) and other events will take place during this 2 day history making celebration.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, Craft of Writing Workshops from 9:30a-4:00p, at the Casa Monica. Included with the sessions on fiction, non-fiction and the business of writing will be lunch with Keynote speaker Gary Monroe, photographer and author of two books on the Highwaymen, Florida’s African-American Landscape Painters, and another on other Florida artists. Fee for the craft of writing workshops and lunch is: $45.

Space for this event will be limited and a registration form will be available shortly.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, BookFest, 10:00am-4:00pm, at Flagler College and the Markland House. Authors will talk about their books and give readings (free)

Guest Speaker Luncheon at the Casa Monica: $40 (speakers TBA)

BOOKSTORE: Invited speakers’s books will be available for sale at the Friday, Craft of Writing Workshops and at the Book Festival Book store at Flagler College.

ACC/FWA will be participating in the Festival Book Store. The chapter will have space where on Saturday, throughout the time of the book fest, members can sign up to promote and sell their books. Participating details are not available at this time. Hopefully by the next newsletter.
http://www.fhbookfest.com/


November 14th – 16th, 2008

THE 7th ANNUAL FLORIDA WRITERS CONFERENCE is scheduled for November 14 - 16, 2008 at the Marriott Resort in Lake Mary, Florida. Since planning for the next conference begins almost as soon as the last one has ended, efforts are well underway. We'll keep you posted as information becomes finalized. In the meantime, be sure to save the date!


Future Bohl book signings and events

Author couple, Sherry and Allen Bohl, have various book signings and speaking engagements coming up in the near future.

For more information on their books as well as dates for their upcoming book signings and speaking engagements, visit their website at: http://www.allenbohl.com/



Writing Contests:


The Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest

Eligibility: The Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest is open to all.
Write 200 to 500 words of readable, well-written, even beautiful writing. Send your entries to editor@vocabula.com. Along with your submission, you must include your name, address, and email address.

Contest Dates: Entries for the Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest are accepted year-round. Each contest ends on May 30. The next contest begins the following day.

Selection: We accept nonfiction submissions only. Entries are judged on readability, beauty, and creativity -- in that order. Submissions not meeting the word count requirements are disqualified.

For more information, go to: http://www.vocabula.com/popupads/VRWritingContest.asp


See you all at the next meeting and keep writing,

Jeff Swesky

Ancient City Chapter Website: http://www.floridawriters.net/dnn/Regions/NorthEasternFL/tabid/79/Default.aspx
Ancient City Chapter Blog: http://fwaancientcity.blogspot.com/

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