Commitment * Contest * Critique

What's in it for you when you register for 

the Southeastern Writers Association Workshop? 

Your commitment buys you Contest opportunities and Critiques. 

2015 SWA Workshop Contests & Guidelines 

Full information here: Contests

The Hal Bernard Memorial Award for Novel

- The first 10 pages (double-spaced)

- 1-page synopsis

- 1-paragraph "elevator pitch."

- Any genre, literary or mainstream

The Past Presidents’ Romance Award

- The first chapter and a five-page synopsis

- Romance novels only

The GT Youngblood Short Fiction Award

- Complete manuscript not over 3000 words

- Any genre, literary or mainstream

The Microcosm Award

- Fiction of at least 100 and not more than 500 words

The Vega Award for Speculative Short Fiction NEW

- Complete manuscript not over 4000 words.

- Stand-alone novel chapters also accepted

Lines of Worth Award

(in honor of Dorothy Williamson Worth and all she did to encourage poets at SWA)

- Each entry should be a collection of three poems, each up to thirty lines, not

including the title.

- Awards will be made to collections.

The Harry Rubin Award for Limericks NEW

- Submit 3 Limericks in standard form

The Julie L. Cannon Award

- Writing which exemplifies the southern spirit preferably in a subtle, nuanced, and

non-stereotypical manner

- 1,000 words or less

- Fiction or nonfiction, NO poetry

The Bill Westhead Memorial Award

- Complete manuscript not over 3000 words

- For the best short story with a subject matter of an event occurring during the

writer's childhood that shaped his/her life.

And about the Critiques: 

For Full information, click critiques.

Guidelines for Manuscript Evaluations (Authors must be registered for at least 2 days to submit manuscripts for evaluation.) 

GENERAL 

1. There are 7 evaluation categories: 

• Poetry (Evaluator: Chris Tusa) - No more than 100 lines (one long poem or several short poems) - Poetry can be single-spaced 

• Novel (Evaluator: C. Hope Clark) - The first chapter and a five-page synopsis 

• Flash Fiction (Evaluator: Chris Tusa) - Complete manuscript of at least 100 and not more than 500 words 

• Nonfiction (Evaluator: Donald S Vaughan) - The first chapter and a five-page synopsis –OR– Complete manuscript not over 1500 words 

• Columns (Evaluator: Darrell Huckaby) - A 1-paragraph description of the column, including the intended media and the target audience, and a 750-word sample column manuscript. 

• Memoir (Evaluator: Dana Wildsmith) - The first chapter and a three-page synopsis 

• YA Fiction (Evaluator: SR Johannes) - The first chapter and a five-page synopsis 

2. Each conference member can submit up to 3 manuscripts for evaluation, but ONLY 1 entry per member per evaluation category. 

3. Each manuscript may be submitted to ONLY 1 evaluation category. 

4. Manuscripts must be submitted by EMAIL ONLY. 

5. The submission DEADLINE IS May 15, 2015. NO extensions. 

6. Manuscripts must be previously unpublished, including cell publication, Web publication and blogs. If your work is openly available to readers online on a blog or article directory (i.e.: ezinearticles.com, gather.com, associatedcontent.com), it is considered PUBLISHED. If your manuscript has been critiqued online through membership website that requires members to login to see the work, it is considered UNPUBLISHED. 

7. Simultaneous submissions are OK.

Faulty for 2015

Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank – Fairbank Literary Representation 

Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear 

Publisher: CreateSpace 

Novel: C. Hope Clark 

Nonfiction: Don Vaughn 

Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa 

Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes 

Columns: Darrell Huckaby 

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith 

This week we are featuring author S.R. (Shelli) Johannes

S.R. is the award-winning author of the Amazon bestselling Nature of Grace thriller series (Untraceable, Uncontrollable, and Unstoppable). She also is a winner of the IndieReader Discovery Award in YA, an IPPY, a Silver Medalist for YA Fiction, a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review's Best Young Adult Fiction, and a Finalist in US Book News Best YA Book. Since leaving Corporate America, she has followed her passion for writing and conservation by working with The Dolphin Project, the Atlanta Zoo, other animal rescue organizations, and by weaving conservation themes into her books. S.R. will teach 3 classes about a YA fiction and evaluate YA fiction manuscripts.

Connect with S.R. Johannes here: S.R. Johannes

SWA Members Shine

Patrick Hempfing had five moMENts  columns (February column Tails of Love and four different reprints) published in the February issue of 13 regional parenting magazines and as a web exclusive for 2 others, spanning 10 states— NY, PA, NC, TN, SC, FL, TX, ID, UT, and CA. 

Erika Hoffman’s article entitled “Why Mindfulness Matters” will be published in the winter 2015-2016 edition of Mature Years.

Information

Roswell Reads 2015: The Distance Between Us

The Roswell Library, a part of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, The City of Roswell, the Friends of the Roswell Library and the Roswell Reads Committee announce that the novel The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande has been chosen for the Tenth annual Roswell Reads Community Read program. The award-winning author will talk about this book and her writing at the Roswell Reads Literary Luncheon on Saturday, March 14, 2015, at 11:30 a.m. at the Roswell Adult Recreation Center, 830 Grimes Bridge Road, 770-641-3950. 

Luncheon tickets are $20 each and are available online at  http://roswellreads.eventbrite.com or may be purchased in person (no mail-ins) at the Friends of the Roswell Library Bookstore at the Roswell Library. Reserved seating for groups of six or more. 

****Purchase Tickets by Friday, March 6th****  

Will you be ready? Set? Go!

Only 17 weeks until the best writing workshop in the southeast!

Registration is now OPEN. Click HERE

Keep up with all the latest news through the Purple Pros. New information comes weekly, every Wednesday.

Southeastern Writers Association presents a wonderful faculty for the 40th Ruby Anniversary. There's something for every genre of writer.

The weekend workshop (June 20-21) is dedicated to fiction writing. The weekday workshop (June 22-23) is focused on nonfiction writing.

Full conference tuition includes entry to all sessions, 3 FREE manuscript evaluations with one-on-one feedback from our faculty, and access to an agent and two publishers.

Lodging is available at a group rate at Epworth By The Sea. Epworth is on the American Plan, which includes all meals. Make your reservations HERE or contact Epworth By The Sea, 100 Arthur J Moore Drive, Saint Simons Island, GA 31522, (912) 638-8688 and mention you’re with Southeastern Writers.

Plus 

15 contests with CASH PRIZES!  AND   An Awards Ceremony on June 23.

Already published and want to sell your work during our conference? Register then email us and our bookstore manager will help you set that up!

Here's the faculty list for your perusal. 

Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank – Fairbank Literary Representation 

Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear 

Publisher: CreateSpace 

Novel: C. Hope Clark 

Nonfiction: Don Vaughn 

Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa 

Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes 

Columns: Darrell Huckaby 

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith 

This week, we're featuring Chris Tusa. He's teaching Poetry and Flash Fiction.

Chris Tusa was born and raised in New Orleans. He holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Florida. 

His debut novel, Dirty Little Angels, was published by The University of West Alabama in March of 2009. His debut collection of poems, Haunted Bones, was published by Louisiana Literature Press in 2006. His work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Connecticut Review, New South, Texas Review, The Southeast Review, New Delta Review, South Dakota Review and others. His second novel, In the City of Falling Stars, which was recently awarded First Runner-Up for the Faulkner Wisdom Novel-in-Progress Award, will be released by the University of West Alabama in 2015. 

Aside from acting as Managing Editor of Fiction Southeast, Tusa divides his time between teaching full-time in the English Department at LSU and acting as Writer-in-Residence at Southeastern Louisiana University. He is currently working on his fourth book, a novel set in New Orleans in 1898, tentatively titled More Devils Than Hell Can Hold. 

Want to know more about Chris? Check out his website: http://christophertusa.net/wp/  

DON'T Forget: Scholarships available!

This year, Southeastern Writers Association is offering 2 scholarships for the summer workshop. How might you win? 

Submit a 300-word essay on why you should be selected to attend the fiction writing sessions on June 19-21 or the nonfiction writing sessions on June 21-23. Be creative. Show your personality. 

The entry deadline is midnight on April 15th 

Please note: 

The scholarship pays for tuition only. The scholarship recipient will be responsible for their accommodations. 

Please email your entries to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship. Good luck!

 

  SWA Members SHINE! 

THERE’S A BLIZZARD COMING!  

Please join best-selling, award winning author Buzz Bernard for the launch of his fourth novel, BLIZZARD, on March 7th, 3 p. m., at the Country Club of Roswell. 

Everyone laughs at what Southerners call a “snowstorm.” A half-inch

of the white stuff, and Atlanta panics. 

No oneʼs laughing this time. 

For Atlanta executive J. C. Riggins, the epic storm is only one of the

killers heʼll have to face as he undertakes a desperate journey.

(The event will be hosted by Buzz Bernard with books supplied by BOOKS For Less and George Scott. The Country Club of Roswell is located at 2500 Club Springs Drive in Roswell. Since it’s currently undergoing remodeling, please enter at the far right of the main building.)

Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to get ALL the news from SWA delivered right to you! 

Something Extra Special!

Southeastern Writers Association is offering 2 scholarships for the summer workshop at Epworth-by-the-Sea on St. Simon’s Island, GA. All you have to do is submit a 300-word essay about why you should be selected to attend the fiction writing sessions on June 19-21 or the nonfiction writing sessions on June 21-23. Be creative. Show your personality. You could be a part of our 40th anniversary of writers helping writers. 

The entry deadline is midnight on April 15th 

Please note: 

The scholarship pays for tuition only. The scholarship recipient will be responsible for their accommodations. Please email your entries to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship. Good luck!

 Check out all the details of the workshop at southeasternwriters.org.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

Don't miss out! 

Click the link and sign up.

http://southeasternwriters.org/Writers_Workshop.html

*DRUM ROLL* 

This week we are rolling out the special logo for the 40th Anniversary of Southeastern Writers Association. Alexandra Christle of Christle Concepts is the graphic artist who designed this special logo. 

Now, more about the workshop. It's an important year. The Ruby Anniversary of SWA. 40 years of bringing a quality writing workshop to writers in the southeast. 

Faculty List for the June 19-23, 2015 workshop

Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank – Fairbank Literary Representation 

Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear 

Publisher: CreateSpace 

Novel: C. Hope Clark 

Nonfiction: Don Vaughn 

Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa 

Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes 

Columns: Darrell Huckaby 

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith 

This week we are featuring Donald S. Vaughn. He will be teaching Nonfiction. 

 

Donald has been writing for over thirty years. He’s worked as a staff writer and/or editor for The Lake Worth Herald, Your Health Magazine and The National Examiner, worked as a full-time freelance writer, publishing more than 1,700 nonfiction magazine and newspaper articles and writing, 

co-writing, ghosting or contributing to thirty-two books. 

He’s also worked on fourteen books for Illinois-based Publications International Ltd., co-authored 500 Things to Do Before You Kick the Bucket, and have contributed to several volumes in the popular Armchair Reader series, including editions on Hollywood, Christmas, dogs, Ohio, Texas, New York City, and the Bible.

Always engaged, he also teaches teach Freelance Writing for Beginners through the continuing education program at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. He founded Triangle Area Freelancers (TAF), which is the largest organization in North Carolina devoted exclusively to nonfiction freelance writing. 

Writer’s Market (Writer’s Digest Books) profiled Donald in 2005 in a feature about successful national freelance writers. A follow-up profile appeared in the 2006 edition.

2009 brought a new writing aspect to him. He became a researcher for the television series I Survived on The Biography Channel. His duties included finding and interviewing people who had survived extraordinary circumstances, and writing a comprehensive report about each. Among those Donald interviewed, and who were featured on the show, was a California woman who had been viciously mauled by a mountain lion, and a North Carolina woman who had been shot nine times and left for dead as part of a violent gang initiation.

Donald is also a public speaker. He lectures on freelance writing, censorship and other topics close to his heart. 

We look forward to his classes at our June workshop. 

Find out more about Donald here: http://www.donaldvaughan.net

Members Shine!

Last night, Linda Joyce joined a panel of four authors to kick off the Atlanta Authors Series 2015 hosted at the Roswell Library. The panel presented Tackling Sensitive Topics in Fiction. A lively Q&A followed, along with a chocolate tasting. 

We hope to see you in June. Sign up for the workshop now!

February Fresh!

We closed the door on January and are launching into February.

Please share our news with all the writers in your life, and maybe, a few that need a nudge to take the plunge. SWA is the "nurturing writers" place for them: SWA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting writers across the southeast through access to education and training, peer support, and resources.

We're working hard to make this year's workshop a wonderful experience. Lodging--there are several options at Epworth by the Sea or on St. Simons Island to choose from. Classes--if you're a fiction writer, your core classes will build on your knowledge, and there's a wealth of learning to be gained from the non-fiction section of the workshop, too (and vice versa for non-fiction writers). Education--SWA offers classes from some of the industry's respected authorities. Networking--you will never find a more welcoming group than the members of Southeastern Writers Association to offer you support on your writing journey.

Here's some "behind the scenes" things at SWA. 

For SWA's 40th Anniversary, Alexandra  Christle created a on-of-a-kind special logo. It will be printed on workshop bags and t-shirts. Soon, we'll be showing off the new logo. Many thanks to Alexandra for her creative talents!

Yes, you picked up on the fact that there will special ruby red (ruby signifies a forty-year anniversary) workshop bags this year AND a t-shirt for each person who registers. You get to select the size shirt you want, but you must get your registration in sooner than later to ensure proper sizing. 

The FRESHEST news? 

We're excited to announce that Southeastern Writers Association is offering 2 scholarships for the summer workshop at Epworth-by-the-Sea in St. Simon’s Island, GA. All you have to do is submit a 300-word essay on why you should be selected to attend the fiction writing sessions on June 19-21 or the nonfiction writing sessions on June 21-23. Be creative. Show your personality. We want you to be a part of our 40th anniversary of writers helping writers. 

The entry deadline is midnight on April 15th 

Please note: 

The scholarship pays for tuition only. The scholarship recipient will be responsible for their accommodations. Please email your entries to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship. Good luck!

 Check out all the details of the workshop at southeasternwriters.org.

And, in case you missed the news. REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.

Click the link and sign up. http://southeasternwriters.org/Writers_Workshop.html

Faculty List – 40th 

Annual Southeastern Writers Workshop

June 19-23, 2015

Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank – Fairbank Literary Representation 

Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear 

Publisher: CreateSpace 

Novel: C. Hope Clark 

Nonfiction: Don Vaughn 

Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa 

Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes 

Columns: Darrell Huckaby 

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith 

This week's featured instructor is C. Hope Clark. She'll be teaching Fiction Writing.  http://chopeclark.com/

C. Hope Clark is a freelance writing expert, author of the Carolina Slade Mystery Series, the Edisto Island Mystery Series, and editor of FundsforWriters.com, a weekly newsletter service that reaches 40,000+ writers. 

She was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University and 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture to include awards for her management, all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in most of her novels. Her love of writing, however, carried her up the ranks to the ability to retire young, and she left USDA to pen her stories and freelance. 

Check out her books at Amazon  

MEMBERS of SWA SHINE

Dr. John House: I'm pleased to report that TRAIL OF DECEIT, published by Limitless Publications is now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. My agent, Jeanie Loiacono did a marvelous job getting the book to publication in record time. I invite comments to my email drjchouse@bellsouth.net from all who read it.

Erika Hoffman: In the WOW Principles newsletter for January, Terri Elders has an article in which she has gathered various writers’ responses to the question: Why bother to write? Terri asked  Erika Hoffman to reply to that question. Erika was honored to see her answer near the response of Lisa See, a NYT bestselling author!

Linda Joyce: Book three of my Fleur de Lis series, BAYOU BECKONS will have a June 1st release date, just in time for the start of hurricane season and the approaching 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Diva who tries to wreck it all. 

Don't miss out on the opportunities offered by Southeastern Writers Association 40th Anniversary Workshop.