Where will you be on June 19th?

It is our fondest hope that you will join SWA at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simon's Island, GA for the 40th Anniversary Writers Workshop. 

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

REGISTER HERE

Meet the Faculty 

SWA MEMBERS SHINE!

Debra Koontz  My second book, Edging Through the Darkness, is now available on Amazon! I am excited, and am reaching out to my friends, family and colleagues for support during this initial launch of book two in The Crossings Trilogy.If you wouldn’t mind taking a few minutes out this coming week to help us spread the news it will be greatly appreciated!

Linda Joyce - Her newest release, Bayou Beckons, book three of the Fleur de Lis series, is available on June 3rd. Bayou Bound, book two of the Fleur de Lis series is now a 2015 RONE Award Finalist. Winners will be announced in September. 

Submission Call

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2015: Call for Entries

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is open for submissions. Now in its eighth year, the award is an internationally renowned prize presented by Aesthetica Magazine and judged by industry experts including Arifa Akbar, literary editor of The Independent. Prizes include £500 and publication in an anthology of new writing, giving you the chance to showcase your work to a wider, international audience.

Prizes include:

• £500 Poetry winner
• £500 Short Fiction winner
• Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual
• One year subscription to Granta
• Selection of books courtesy of Bloodaxe and Vintage
• Complimentary copy of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual

There are two categories for entry: Short Fiction (maximum length 2,000 words each) and Poetry (maximum length 40 lines each).

Deadline for submissions is 31 August 2015.

To enter, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewriting

Twitter

Submit your #poetry #shortfiction to @AestheticaMag Creative #Writing Award. Win #publication to showcase your talent http://tinyurl.com/ckktess

Images can be downloaded from www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewriting or you can contact me.

Best wishes,
Alexandra

Alexandra Beresford

Marketing Coordinator

Aesthetica Magazine

PO Box 371

York

YO23 1WL

0044 (0)1904 629 137

01144 1904 629 137 from USA and Canada

alexandra@aestheticamagazine.com

www.aestheticamagazine.com

Happy Writing!

Hope to see you soon!

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. 

REGISTER HERE 

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!

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

REGISTER HERE

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 

Read more about them here

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! 

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.

Register HERE 

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!

Register HERE

Check your calendar! Is it marked for SWA in June?

Scholarships!

Time is running out!

★☆★ WRITERS ★☆★

Win one of two scholarships to the SWA Writers Workshop!

SWA is offering two scholarships. One for the Fiction mini-workshop (June 20-21)

and one for the Non-Fiction mini-workshop (June 22-23)

Just submit a 300-word essay on why you should be selected to attend the Fiction

mini-workshop or the Nonfiction mini-workshop. You MUST state which mini-workshop

you want to attend.

The entry deadline is midnight on April 15th. The scholarship pays for tuition

only. Please email your entry to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line

of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship.

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 Publishing 

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 

Where? 

St. Simons Island, GA

REGISTER HERE! SWA

Follow the path to Publication

The path to publication is a journey of many steps. A marathon, not a sprint. 

What can you do to ensure you're on the right path? 

Invest in yourself. 

Southeastern Writers Association is the perfect ticket to help you reach your destination. 

Want proof? 

Meet H.W. “Buzz” Bernard

Award-winning Author 

and SWA board member. 

This is Buzz's story journey with SWA: 

2005: first workshop; Buzz’s novel, The Koltsovo Legacy, is sliced and diced rather severely by international, best-selling author Steve Berry.

2007: Buzz’s novel, Eyewall, wins Honorable Mention.

2008: Eyewall (rewritten) wins First Place.

2010: The Koltsovo Legacy (rewritten) wins First Place; Buzz signs a contract with Sullivan-Maxx Literary Agency.

2011: Eyewall is published by Bell Bridge Books, goes on to become a number-one best seller in Amazon's Kindle store; Buzz joins SWA Board of Directors.

2012: Plague (formerly The Koltsovo Legacy) is published by Bell Bridge Books, goes on to win the 2014 EPIC eBook Award, Suspense/Thriller category.

2013: Supercell (Buzz’s third novel) is published by Bell Bridge Books, goes on to win the 2015 EPIC eBook Award, Suspense/Thriller category.


2015: Blizzard (Buzz’s fourth novel) is published by Bell Bridge Books; he continues work on my fifth novel.

Buzz is dedicated in his service to SWA and bringing writers quality educational opportunities. 

There are many success stories of SWA members and you could be one, too. 

Register now! Click Here. 

What do you get for the price of admission? 

Contests that pay money. Critiques. Networking. Plus, direct interaction with two publishers--  

Publisher: Maria McGaha – Dancing with Bear 

Publisher: CreateSpace 

An agent: Agent-in-Residence: Sorche Fairbank 

of Fairbank Literary Representation 

A well-rounded faculty for all your writing needs: 

Novel Writing: C. Hope Clark 

Nonfiction: Don Vaughn 

Poetry & Flash Fiction: Chris Tusa 

Young Adult: S.R. (Shelli) Johannes 

Columns: Darrell Huckaby 

Memoir: Dana Wildesmith 

AND there's more! Scholarships!

★☆★ WRITERS ★☆★

Win one of two scholarships to the SWA Writers Workshop!

SWA is offering two scholarships. 

One for the Fiction mini-workshop (June 20-21) and one for the Non-Fiction mini-workshop (June 22-23)

Just submit a 300-word essay on why you should be selected to attend the Fiction mini-workshop or the Nonfiction mini-workshop. You MUST state which mini-workshop

you want to attend.

The entry deadline is midnight on April 15th. The scholarship pays for tuition only. 

Please email your entry to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line

of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship.

Want to know more? 

Check out SWA on Facebook

and on Twitter. 

Will we see you at SWA in June?  

Don't miss this opportunity! Scholarship Deadline closing in fast!

APRIL 15th! It's more than a tax deadline. 

It's also the deadline for scholarship entries! 

★☆★ WRITERS ★☆★

Win one of two scholarships to the SWA Writers Workshop!

SWA is offering two scholarships. One for the Fiction mini-workshop (June 20-21)

and one for the Non-Fiction mini-workshop (June 22-23)

Just submit a 300-word essay on why you should be selected to attend the Fiction

mini-workshop or the Nonfiction mini-workshop. You MUST state which miniworkshop

you want to attend.

The entry deadline is midnight on April 15th. The scholarship pays for tuition

only. Please email your entry to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line

of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship.

JOIN US FOR the 40th SWA Writers Workshop!

Register here: http://southeasternwriters.org/Writers_Workshop.html

Faculty for 2015

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!

Buzz Bernard's newest book is making headlines! Here's an excerpt from Buzz's blog: 

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN WOLVES

There are no wolves in the southern Appalachians.  There probably haven’t been in over a century.

They do, however, make a guest appearance in my most recent novel, Blizzard.  In the book, I think I adequately explain their presence.  What’s more interesting, perhaps, is how the animals made their way into the story in the first place.

It started in Germany. 

Read more here: http://buzzbernard.com/2015/03/southern-appalachian-wolves/ 

Also, 

Southeastern Writers Association vice president, Buzz Bernard, has won his second "Eppie." SUPERCELL is the winner of the 2015 EPIC eBook Award, Suspense/Thriller category.  Buzz's novel PLAGUE won in the same category last year.

Buzz Bernard, author EYEWALL, PLAGUE, SUPERCELL, BLIZZARD

Don't forget to send in your scholarship submission!

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.