Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Tick Tock. Are you ready to GO?


Three weeks! 

Will I see you there? 

Where? 






Southeastern Writers Association 40th Annual Writers Workshop on St. Simons Island. 



If you want to learn about writing, regardless if you're a beginner or experienced, not yet published or multi-pubbed, into fiction or non-fiction, humor or satire, or seeking an agent or a publisher, or you're looking for like-minded souls in poetry, SWA has something for you.

The cost of admission brings the world of writing to you. It includes:

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  - Sent email 5 18 15
Columns: Darrell Huckaby  contacted him through his website 5 18 15

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith

And as they say, the experience of SWA--PRICELESS!


Like any great organization, SWA is built by it's volunteers. Would you like to help out even in a small way? Please contact SWA and let us know about your interests and talents. We'd be very grateful to have your support. And, again as they say, the experience is PRICELESS!

Send an email with your interest to purple@southeasternwriters.org




SWA Members SHINE!




Lola Schaefer sends a big THANK YOU to the awards committee of The Correll Book Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Informational Text. I enjoyed everything about my trip to the University of Maine this weekend, but most of all the company. My award for SWAMP CHOMP is now hanging in my office.

Susan Lindsley—WHEN DARKNESS FELL wins 1st Place in the Indie’s 2015 Contest
What a thrill! From 2001 to 2014, from typewriter to computer, from a thousand-page monster to a tighten published novel and a first place finish on a national scale!  The Independent Book Publishers selected my novel  WHEN DARKNESS FELL as best Regional Novel for the year.  That is FIRST PLACE in my category.  
Reviewers who commented for the book cover compared my writing with that of  Eudora Welty, Erskine Caldwell, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers and Rick Bragg.
It began as a story of  events I remembered from my youth—stories of interracial romance and the KKK, murder “up the road at a neighbors,” a man who saved his own  urine in the refrigerator in his store until he could find a scientist to test it for poison, a child killing a parent—and a few other such events.
When it hit more than a thousand pages of draft, I was told to cut it to “less than half.”  My enthusiasm for it exploded when the first chapter won “best novel” at the Southeastern Writers Workshop in 2003. Fiction teacher Cecil Murphey (on The York Times best-seller list for 90 Minutes in Heaven and other books) judged the manuscripts. The “final” manuscript won first place again in the ThomasMax “You Are Published” contest—but the publisher wanted “more”—events that the narrator (a 12-year old girl)—did not see. Those additions are what made this book a winner.  


Cappy Hall Rearick
Dear Family and Friends,
One of my articles has been posted on the go60.us Facebook page today! You may read it at >> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Go60us/1383245388571472.

You may share it with your friends and family on Facebook or by e-mail. Anyone can view the link – whether a member of Facebook or not. If you are a member of Facebook, I would encourage you to “like” the go60.usFacebook page and you will be able to see all of my articles posted on Facebook in the future.

Visit www.go60.us anytime to read more of my articles. While you are there, you may enter their $1,000.00 drawing held 5 times a year. 

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should’ve behaved better.” 
~ Cappy Hall Rearick 
Syndicated Columnist and novelist
2009 & 2012 Georgia Author of the Year  Nominee
2014 National Society of Newspaper Columnists Humor Award Winner


Patrick Hempfing’s moMENts column titled “Thank You … at 70 words per minute” was published in the May issue of ten regional parenting magazines, spanning six states (NY, PA, NC, SC, TX, and ID) and taking his publishing credits over 250.  South Florida Parenting, Capital Gazette, Carroll County Times, Orlando Sentinel, and Sun Sentinel published “I Want my Momma.”  


We would be honored to meet you at the workshop!








Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Will you answer the call? SWA extends an invitation to you.



Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 19-23, 2015 


Epworth by the Sea on scenic St. Simons Island, Georgia

Writers helping writers, 
that's the SWA way. 

SWA offers a unique workshop experience. 
Classes lead by experience writers with industry experience.
Meals, a variety of options on the buffet,
 are taken in a private dining room with a water view.
There are different lodging opportunities to meet your needs. 

The value of networking and making writing friends? 
PRICELESS

Please join us!



Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank – Fairbank Literary Representation -http://www.fairbankliterary.com

Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear - http://www.dancingwithbearpublishing.com/

Publisher: CreateSpace - https://www.createspace.com/

Novel: C. Hope Clark - http://chopeclark.com/

Nonfiction: Don Vaughn – http://www.donaldvaughan.net

Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa - http://christophertusa.net/wp/

Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes - http://www.srjohannes.com/

Columns: Darrell Huckaby - http://www.darrellhuckaby.net/

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith - http://www.danawildsmith.com/



SWA Members SHINE!




Erika Hoffman’s winning entry, The Little Engine that Could, will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Searcher, the journal of the Southern California Genealogical Society.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Don't Miss SWA! Join us for THE BEST Writer's Workshop


SWA is celebrating it's 40th Anniversary. Join us for a fabulous time. What's your genre? Fiction, Non-Fiction. Poetry. Humor. Columns--There's a class for you. 

Want to talk with an Agent? Want to meet a couple of publishers? SWA is the place be. 
St. Simons Island, GA


MEET the FACULTY

Agents and Publishers 


Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank – Fairbank Literary Representation - http://www.fairbankliterary.com/ 





Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear -
http://www.dancingwithbearpublishing.com/  








Publisher: CreateSpace - https://www.createspace.com/




FACULTY 




Novel: C. Hope Clark - http://chopeclark.com/






Nonfiction: Don Vaughn – http://www.donaldvaughan.net








Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa - http://christophertusa.net/wp/





Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes - http://www.srjohannes.com/








Columns: Darrell Huckaby - http://www.darrellhuckaby.net/






Memoir: Dana Wildesmith - http://www.danawildsmith.com/











JOIN US and Network with some of the BEST! 


Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Where will you be June 19-23? SWA wants you!



2015 Southeastern Writers Workshop

Southeastern Writers Workshop will be June 19-23, 2015 at Epworth by the Sea on scenic St. Simons Island, Georgia.


The weekend workshop (June 20-21) is dedicated to fiction writing.

The weekday workshop (June 22-23) is focused on nonfiction writing.

Registration for a single workshop is $249.
Full conference tuition for both workshops is $445; however, those opting to stay on campus at Epworth by the Sea receive a discounted tuition of $395.

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.

Plus 15 contests with CASH PRIZES! The Awards Ceremony is 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!

Where can you find out more? Check out SWA on Facebook or Twitter @SWAwriters


Meet the Faculty: 

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 


Please join us for a fun packed workshop. 
Every evening, we have special events you won't want to miss.

See you in June!


Friday, May 1, 2015



Let Us Welcome You!


Southeastern Writers Workshop will be June 19-23, 2015 

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

Join us at Epworth by the Sea on scenic St. Simons Island, Georgia.



Want to meet an agent and learn inside scoop on how to draw attention to your work?

Seeking to meet a publisher? 

Looking for tools to grow your writing toolbox and polish your craft? 

Need the comfort of a supportive writing community? 

SWA offers all of this and more.





What better way to truly get a sense 
of SWA and what it has to offer 
than to meet it's members? 

Please meet Patrick Hempfing, SWA Treasurer

 and learn all about his path to publication. 




2011:  Attended first workshop in June with zero publishing credits; Honorable Mention, Young Child and Juvenile Writing Award.  In September, MOMents Magazine published my column “moMENts” and offered me a monthly slot.

2012:  Attended second workshop in June with ten publishing credits; Honorable Mention, The Hal Bernard Memorial Award for Nonfiction.  In November, I decided to self-syndicate “moMENts” nationally.  End of 2012:  17 publishing credits (GA, TX).

2013:  Six of my contest entries placed (five firsts, one third).  Publishing credits at year end totaled 59, spanning ten states and two Canadian provinces.

2014:  Three of my contest entries placed (second, third, and honorable mention); Received SWA Board-sponsored Writers Helping Writers Award.  Became SWA Treasurer.  Publishing Syndicate published one of my stories in Not Your Mother’s Book … On Working for a Living.  End of 2014 publishing credits totaled 180, spanning 19 states and two Canadian provinces.

2015:  In March, “moMENts” reached its 20th state.  On April 22, I hit 250 publishing credits.

I didn’t know what to expect when I drove to my first workshop in 2011.  I left the workshop thinking, “A book deal is not going to happen overnight.  I need to roll up my sleeves as there’s a lot of work ahead in order to achieve my writing goals.”  However, I also drove home from the workshop as a better writer and with a plan.  I’m thrilled with my results to date.

In closing, I’d like to share a story from April, 2013.  I attended one of my wife’s work functions and one of the guests asked my occupation.  Instead of my standard response, “I’m a Mr. Mom,” I confidently answered, “I’m a writer.”  The SWA deserves a lot of credit in helping me become a better writer.  I only wish I had come across this organization sooner. 

You can connect with Patrick at http://patrickhempfing.wordpress.com


We hope to see you in June!
Don't allow this opportunity to slip away. 
Take action NOW!