Women Who Write Director's Newsletter - April 2017
From Women Who Write ()
Dear WWW Members,
Ziigwan. (It is spring.) Happy spring WWW writers.
Spring Rejuvenation for Writers
There are a few spots left for the Sixth Annual WWW Writer’s Conference: Spring Rejuvenation for Writers on Sat., April 1, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Purdue Research Park Southeast Indiana, 3000 Technology Avenue, New Albany, Ind. Space is limited to the first 50. The $40 fee for WWW members and $45 for non-members includes two workshops, lunch, and a nature tour. Adult men and women are invited. Register at the WWW website https://womenwhowrite.com. Bring your laptop and writing project. The facility has a walking trail and ponds. Nancy Gall-Clayton will address dialogue, and Deirdre Scaggs will cover writing on family recipes. Contact TerriLindsey at to volunteer to greet our guests.
Workshop 1: Let’s Talk: Writing Dialogue Across Genres. Dialogue moves plots and is essential to fiction and memoir writing. Workshop leader and playwright Nancy Gall-Clayton belongs to the Cherokee Roundtable, Dramatists Guild, and International Centre for Women Playwrights.
Workshop 2: From the Historic Kitchen to Yours: Crafting a Personal Narrative from Family Recipes. Research your family recipes. Gardener and photographer Deirdre A. Scaggs is the associate dean of the Special Collections Research Center and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center at the University of Kentucky Libraries. She authored The Historic Kentucky Kitchen: Traditional Recipes for Today’s Cook and Women in Lexington.
WWW April Meeting
Attend the monthly meeting at the Jefferson County Free Public Library, 1250 Bardstown Road, on Thurs., April 6 at 6:30.
Winter Writes
We had another successful Winter Write on Fri., March 10, with four writers. If you are interested in hosting a monthly writing event at your home or at a coffee shop, let us know. We will announce it at the monthly meet and publicize it in the newsletter.
WWW March Readers
WWW March readers read powerful messages. Irene Sulyevich lamented the use of cell phones with “Let’s Talk.” Jeanne Hammond introduced her new novel leaving us on pins and needles for the second installment. Diane Cruze touched us with a story about her childhood with “When I was Ten.” Joan Dubay silenced us with a beautiful humdinger poem, “Between,” on hummingbirds, caregivers, and independence. Selene Phillips’s teased and taunted “Words” on the writing process.
WWW Member Success
WWW member Laura Johnsrude’s thoughtful piece “Wild Things” on parenting and monsters appears in the March issue of the literary magazine Hippocampus.
The Southern Kentucky Book Festival will be held at the Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green on April 22 and 22. See https://sokybookfest.org for more information.
Spalding workshop for creative writers
Award-winning Kentucky author Crystal Wilkinson will lead a workshop for creative writers with Spalding University’s low-residency MFA in writing program. The workshop lasts Sun., May 28, through Thurs., June 1, during the program’s spring residency. See applications at http://tinyurl.com/MFACommWksp-SP17. Email a writing sample to before April 14. For fiction, creative nonfiction, or writing for children and young adults, the writing sample should be five to seven pages; for poetry, four poems. Students receive a discount if they submit applications before April 9. The workshop is limited to nine. Accepted students will be notified April 21. Contact Karen Mann at or 502-873-4399.
Ojibwe Monthly Word
At home in northern Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior are in my backyard. In 2015, I revisited the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa Tribe on my first elderly venture. That’s right, I am an elder at home. When I was young, the average life expectancy of Native Americans was 42. Today, those living near an Indian Health Services facility have a life expectancy of 72. The average life expectancy for all U.S. races is 77. On my reservation, you’re an elder at 55. Those following my Ojibwe lessons, check out the “Timeless and True: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Pure Michigan” commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPDgTn0xdc4&list=PLN-hqVuMmUAanICiytk2qTs_u7zEuHnKr&index=3
There are a few spots left for the Sixth Annual WWW Writer’s Conference: Spring Rejuvenation for Writers on Sat., April 1, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Purdue Research Park Southeast Indiana, 3000 Technology Avenue, New Albany, Ind. Space is limited to the first 50. The $40 fee for WWW members and $45 for non-members includes two workshops, lunch, and a nature tour. Adult men and women are invited. Register at the WWW website 