Race. Zoom. Fly. Get to SWA on St. Simons for THE best writers workshop

There's no time like NOW to register for the writers workshop.

Southeastern Writers Workshop is June 19-23 

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. 

There is no better way to open up your creativity than immersing yourself in craft. The priceless takeaway? Networking with some of the finest and most experienced writers in their respective fields. 

Who are they? Let's begin with the faculty: 

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/

REGISTER HERE

Writers, even published writers, are students of craft. Who are some of the writers already registered for SWA? 

Ardsley Emily Ames

Barbara Duffy

Brenda Rose

Briana Cole

Buzz Bernard

C. Hope Clark

Chris Tusa

Christy R Diachenko

Cynthia Tolbert 

Dana Wildsmith

Donald Vaughn

Embe Charpentier

Janet Shepperd Kellerher

John House

John Sheffield 

Judith Barban

L A Patrick

Larry Starkey

Linda Joyce

Mellie Justad

Patrick Hempfing

Sheila Hudson

SR Johannes

Stuart Clarke

Susan Lindsey 

Those listed in purple are SWA Board Members.

There is limited space remaining. 

Sign up NOW.

Don't miss this opportunity

to learn and connect. 

After all, no one understands a writer better than another writer. 

See you soon!

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!

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

Countdown Continues!

40th Annual 
Southeastern Writers Workshop
June 19-23, 2015
On St. Simons Island

Registration for the Fiction and Non-fiction workshop is open. 

Click HERE to secure your seat for this educational, informational, and fun-filled event.

Meet the faculty!

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/

How might SWA help you? 

Learn first hand from members about their writing journeys.

Please meet Amy R. Wethington

My path to publication: 

1998:  I was a poor snail technician at the University of Kentucky. Often, I had a mere ten dollars left of my paycheck at the end of a pay period. I got the idea to supplement my income by writing fiction. I subscribed to Writer’s Digest and began crafting a story set in the far future-- taking the technology of folding space between star gates to a hand held device where a person could travel across the universe. I didn’t make any extra income, but a seed had been planted.  I enjoyed writing and it didn’t cost me any money outside of office supplies.

2000-2010: I pursued academics-- Ph.D. from University of Alabama, post-doc at Purdue University, and tenure at Chowan University. Fiction was placed on the back burner. But sometimes, I let the madness of writing fiction take over here and there.

2010: I found out about Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). The summer before, I’d spent writing my space stories. Writing 50,000 words in November as an Assistant Professor is pretty crazy, but I managed it. I completed the epic multigenerational space opera which I had begun in 1988--completely unpublishable, but I got to type The End!  Suddenly the idea of writing a book proved was more than a fantastical idea.

2011-2112: I discovered Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.  I entered and got to the second round which came with feedback on the first 5,000 words. 2012: My second entry to ABNA made it to the second round as well, with more anonymous feedback for the first 5,000 words. The following November, I wrote another nanowrimo book, this time going deeper in the past to explore another character who directly affects everyone later in the series as a boy. 

2013: I didn’t make it to the second round this year. Bummed me out. I re-wrote my 2013 ABNA entry keeping some parts, but not being afraid to re-think and completely discard other parts. I also discovered Southeastern Writers Association with their contest opportunities. I registered for their June workshop. I managed to rework my book in time to submit it to the SWA contests and it took second place for novel! And I had many chats with the instructors which I found extremely valuable. I came home with important contacts and continued to re-work my novel.

2014 to present: I joined a writing group at Chowan University which mostly consisted of History and English professors. I’m the only one in it that wasn’t History or English, me being a Biology Professor. The intent of the writing group was to offer critiques of work being polished to send out for publication. Two interesting facts about the writing group: 1. One of the members (Matt Fullerty) wound up being my publisher; he owns an independent press and saw the potential in my writing sample + synopsis and provided directed comments for me to consider during my final big rewrite: adding descriptions to scenes, deepening characters by adding diversity/ making them less perfect/ more unique, and ending the book about midway where I had put in a decade long break between events, 2. it was the only year we met to discuss manuscripts and Matt’s last year at Chowan. 

Following Matt’s advice, I added descriptions, deepened my characters, and added scenes needed to build up the climax. When finished, I submitted it to Matt as well as others: Double Dragon, Author’s First contest, Chicken House Children’s Fiction competition and waited. By Christmas I had two book offers: one from Matt and one from Double Dragon. Over Christmas break I wrestled with the two contracts and considered my Dad’s idea of me self-publishing my book. Dad is one of my most important first readers and everything he suggests is well thought out. Contracts are tricky and there were elements that bothered me. I contacted members of SWA and followed up on the recommendation to seek council from Linda Joyce (also a fellow SWA member). 

Linda says she hopes to have a workshop at SWA about reading contracts and how to negotiate. If she does, I strongly recommend it! She helped me digest the two contracts, come up with good questions for the two different publishers, decide on a shorter pen name (L. A. Patrick instead of Jamie Lee Guthington), and design a counter offer that I could sign. Double Dragon refused to negotiate, but Parkgate Press did (Matt’s press). So I signed a contract with Parkgate Press and am busy working on my next two books.

Publishing takes more than finishing a first book, it takes perseverance, hard work, being open to/seizing/constantly looking for new opportunities (joining writing groups, going to writing meetings, entering contests, reading books about writing), a willingness to throw away perfectly good words already written down, and a deep commitment/ relationship with your created characters who whisper interesting things to you about them at odd times of the day and night. My advice: keep pursing your writing dream!

SWA Members Shine!

BAYOU BOUND, Linda Joyce's second book in her Fleur de Lis series has been nominated for a 2015 RONE Award after receiving a 4.5 Star Review from InD'tale Magazine Voting for Finalist will be May 18th-24th. 

This book also received a 4.5 Star review from Long and Short Reviews

The third book in Linda's Fleur de Lis series, BAYOU BECKONS will be released on June 1st. 

SOUTHEASTERN
WRITERS
ASSOCIATION
Workshop

Presenting the 2015 Faculty

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!

21 Weeks and Counting Down to SWA's 40th Anniversary Celebration and Workshop

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 Members of SWA continue to shine.

Erika Hoffman is quoted in an article in the "Inkwell" section of Writer's Digest, February 2015. See what she says on page 13! The article discusses writing for small markets. 

2015 marks the 40th Anniversary of SWA's Workshop. Join us from June 19th through the 23rd on St. Simons Island, Georgia

Each week from now until the workshop in you, you'll learn more about the faculty, events, and evening socials. This is an educational opportunity and a celebration you won't want to miss. What's better than investing in your writing career by investing in yourself? Add in fun. As a bonus, you'll meet SWA members who are a great resource for everything related to writing.

Here's the amazing faculty line up: 
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 Fairbank Literary Representation. They seeks manuscripts in these genres: 

Narrative Nonfiction
General Fiction
Literary Fiction
International Voices Mystery
Thrillers (taking on very few)
Reference
Biography
Works addressing race and class issues
Lifestyle
Pop Culture
Cookbooks
Science
Architecture and Design
Food and Wine
Humor

An introduction to the agency: 
A small, selective agency and member of AAR, the Author's Guild, and Grub Street's Literary Advisory Board, Fairbank Literary Representation is happily entering its eleventh year. Clients range from first-time authors to international best-sellers, prize winning-journalists to professionals at the top of their fields.

Our tastes tend toward literary and international fiction; the occasional mystery or thriller with a firm sense of place; memoir that goes beyond the me-moir; topical or narrative non-fiction with a strong interest in women’s voices, global perspectives, and class and race issues; quality lifestyle books (food, wine, and design); pop culture; craft; and gift and humor books. We are most likely to pick up works that are of social or cultural significance, newsworthy, or that cause us to take great delight in the words, images or ideas on the page.

Lately we have been doing extremely well in the humor/gift/pop culture category, and we’d love to take on more projects in those categories. We do have a strong sense of humor, but above all, we look for a fresh voice, approach, story, or idea.

If you seek them out at Publishers Market Place, you'll find a list of their leading clients and recent sales/forthcoming books. We look forward to Sorche's return to SWA's workshop. 

Opportunities for Members

I-Park 2015 Creative Writing Program / Application Deadline: February 2, 2015

I-Park, located in rural East Haddam, CT (U.S.), announces its 2015 multi-disciplinary artists-in-residence program. The program is open to writers (all genres) looking to expand and enrich their creative practice in a retreat-like, collegial setting – in the company of visual artists, music composers, architects and landscape/garden/ecological designers. Self-directed residencies will be offered from May through November, 2015. Most residencies are 4-weeks in duration. International applicants are welcome.

I-Park provides comfortable, private living quarters in an 1850’s era farmhouse, a private studio space and a food program. While the typical residency revolves around studio work, those wishing to integrate the language arts into a site installation will have broad access to I-Park’s expansive grounds.

Work samples are evaluated through a competitive, juried process. A $30 application fee helps defray the cost of the independent selection panel. Accepted writers are responsible for their own work materials as well as transportation to and from the area. The program is otherwise offered at no cost to invitees.

There will also be a special Environmental Art Program in September, 2015 (residency and exhibition) for which site-responsive language arts proposals will be solicited – details to be announced.

Program details, application form and comprehensive FAQ are available at www.i-park.org. For more information, contact Leslie Wolf, Residency Program Manager at info@i-park.org or 860-873-2468.