Letter from the Director — March 2019

Dear Members,

March is a busy month for Women Who Write as we celebrate Women’s History Month. On March 11, six WWW members will be featured at the Flying Out Loud monthly reading event At Four Pegs on Goss Avenue. We are calling our readings “Women’s Words of Wisdom”. I am looking for to hearing everyone’s writings.

On March 23 -24, members have an opportunity to relax, write, and rejuvenate at our first Spring Writers retreat at Hopscotch House. Space is filling up so register soon.

Learn more about these events and more upcoming events in this newsletter, on the WWW website, and the WWW Facebook page. I hope you will come join us.

Diane Cruze
WWW Director

February Meeting and Reading

Fifteen members and one visitor were in attendance.

Member Readings:

Ramona Osborne – Poem, non-rhyming. “Communion”

Linda Yewell, Non-fiction. “I’m Sick”

Diane Cruze, Non-fiction, essay. “Angels Share”

Cheri Powell, Fiction. “Bloodroot” scene, “Suspicions Begin”

Clea Lewis, Fiction. Chapter One, “Shattered Innocence”

Selene Phillips, Poem. “The Week Before My Big Birthday Bash

Member News

Congratulations to Brittni Caudill, who was accepted into Spalding University’s Master of

Fine Arts in Writing Program.

Congratulations to WWW Members whose writings have been accepted for the upcoming book The Boom Project, a literary anthology of the Baby Boom Generation of the Ohio River Valley.

• Joan Dubay
• Diane Cruze
• Kimberly Crum
• Yvonne Lovell
• Bonnie Omer Johnson
• Selene Phillips
• Irene Sulyevich
• Laura Johnsrude
• Suzanne Hartman

The anthology is being compiled and published by WWW members Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson. Susan Lindsey is the anthology’s editor.

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Join Women Who Write as we celebrate Women’s History Month in March with special public reading event by WWW members and a new spring Writers Retreat.

• Flying Out Loud – Monday March, 11 at 6 pm at Four Pegs Lounge on Goss Avenue.

Flying Out Loud, a monthly Literary reading event will Celebrate Women’s History Month by featuring Women Who Write members. “Women’s Words of Wisdom” will showcase six of our members reading their works. Kim Crum, Bonnie Omer Johnson, Susan Lindsey, Diane Cruze, Suzanne Cordery and Laura Johnsrude are the featured writers. We hope you will make plans to attend.

Please note that parking is on the street. Thereadings will be on the second floor of Four Pegs. You should order food and drinks at the first floor bar area before going upstairs.

• Spring Rejuvenation Writer’s Retreat – March 23-24. In 2019 WWW is adding an additional Spring Writers’ Retreat at the Hopscotch House. Come for a few hours, spend the day, or register as an overnight guest (accommodations are limited to 9 guests). Bring your writing project, enjoy the outdoors, and socialize with old and new friends who share your same interest. Bring a sack lunch for Saturday and a dish to share for Saturday evening’s dinner.

This is a MEMBERS ONLY event.

Find more information and to register for the retreat visit:

https://womenwhowrite.com/ourevents/spring-rejuvenation-writers-retreat-march-23-24-2019/

Find a WWW Writing Buddy

The month of April is Writing Buddies Month. Women Who Write, write. Right? And, so we should. Should write and write and write some more and be motivated by each other in our writing. Why not make a commitment to write and share that writing with a buddy?

Every day, three times a week, or even once a week – you and your Buddy determine the level of writing and reading to which you can commit. At a minimum, it should be once a week but you are encouraged to go for it!

The rules for reviewing are the same as we have for our readings in the monthly meetings.

-Senders: ask for what you need (flow, grammar, believability, consistency or point of view)

-Receivers: share your opinion on the piece (what worked, what questions arose)

-If solicited, offer suggestions for improving the piece.

– Be kind. Be clear.

Writing is an art. As such, it can be perfected by regular and dedicated practice. And by sharing with another like-minded person.

I am always inspired when I leave our monthly meetings by the wide variety of writing shared, and by the many direct and profound comments offered on a particular reading. Join with us in the month of April and make a commitment to write every day… yes, every day! And see where you land on the first of May.

Just say, Yes!

To register, send an email to:

Include your name, email address, preferred way of contact (text, phone, or email), your style of writing (poetry, non-fiction, magical fiction, memoir…) and whether you have a buddy in mind or would like to have one arbitrarily assigned.

If you know a member you’d like to have as your Buddy, please note that person’s name when you register. Otherwise, we’ll match you with someone.

Writing Buddies will be assigned by March 25.

March 15 is the Deadline for registration

Note: This is a Members Only project.

Interested in hosting a Spring Write?

Seasonal Writes events give members an opportunity to bring their laptop or writing tablet and start on that new writing project, revise and edit a piece, or use a writing prompt to jumpstart new writing ideas. It is also an opportunity for members to support each other in their writing pursuits.

We would love for members to volunteer to host a Seasonal Write at their home or at a community location. As the host, you choose the date, place and time for us to gather. Contact a board member if you would like to host a Write.

Writing Opportunities

Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning Next Great Writer Contest – Submission deadline: Friday, May 3. Public reading: summer (date TBA). Writers are invited to submit manuscripts of fiction or nonfiction prose (up to 2,000 words) or poetry (up to 5 poems). Please include a $10 fee per entry, payable to the Carnegie Center. Entries should also include a cover sheet complete with writer’s name, address, e-mail address, and phone number; names should NOT appear on the manuscript itself. Manuscripts cannot be returned. The prize is $150 for first place and $100 for second place. Winners and finalists will be invited to read at a public reading this summer (date TBA). Entries must be received or postmarked by Friday, May 3 at 5:00 pm.

Send entries to:
The Next Great Writers Contest
Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning
251 W. Second Street, Lexington, KY  40507

The next anthology for Hippocampus Magazine, tentatively titled Greasy Spoons: Essays on Bottomless Coffee, Homefries, Pie (and Other Things We Love About Roadside Diners), is looking for submissions. Whether you’re a restaurant owner, former server, or a truck driver or avid road-tripper who has been fueled by daily specials and bottomless coffee, we want to hear your story. What memories do you have about your local diner, an eatery you stumbled upon during your travels, or friends and family members who put their blood, sweat, and tears into operating a cherished greasy spoon? Whether your tale is from the booth or from behind the counter or along a desolate highway or smack dab in center city, we want to hear from you! More information at: http://books.hippocampusmagazine.com/anthology-call-for-submissions-greasy-spoons-essays-on-bottomless-coffee-homefries-pie-and-other-things-we-love-about-roadside-diners/

Apply Now to Participate in November Kentucky Book Fair

The Kentucky Book Fair is one of the top book fairs in the area and titles must be selected for participation. If you have a book published after July 1, 2018, or a work in progress that will be ready by September 2019, consider applying. Special consideration is given to titles written by authors who are residents or natives of Kentucky, and to titles that have a clear Kentucky connection. Application are due by May 31. After the deadline, a selection committee will choose titles for the book fair, based on several criteria. See guidelines at www.kyhumanities.org/informationforau__thors_application.htm.

WRITER’S DIGEST COMPETITION
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/annual-writing-competition
ENTRY FEE $20-$30. Early deadline May 6, 2019. We’re looking for standout writing in any and all of the following categories: inspirational/spiritual, memoirs/personal essays, print or online article, genre short story (think romance, thriller, mystery, sci-fi, etc.), mainstream/literary short story, rhyming poetry, non-rhyming poetry, script (think stage play or television/movie script), and children’s/young adult fiction. That’s easy. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000 in cash, a trip to New York City for the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, and an interview for a feature article in our magazine. Nine first-place winners in each category receive $1,000, nine second-place winners in each category win $500, and on and on!

4th ANNUAL ETC 10-MINUTE PLAY FEST AT THEATREWORKS MEMPHIS
http://www.etcmemphistheater.com/
ENTRY FEE $10. Deadline May 30, 2019. Theme: “The Gift of Pride.” Eight to ten plays will be produced in black box style. A wrapped gift box must be presented to a character as part of the story. One to three characters maximum. Ten pages maximum. No kid’s shows or musicals. No previously published or produced scripts. First prize $300, second prize $200, third prize $100. Submit two copies of script with no identifying information, plus a cover sheet with: Title, Playwright’s name, address and contact info. Mail to: H. Harmon, ETC, 1402 Linden Ave., Memphis TN 38104. Checks should be made out to: E.T.C.

KENTUCKY WRITER FELLOWSHIP
https://balticwritingresidency.submittable.com/submit
Deadline May 15, 2019. The winner is NOT chosen by anyone with a particular relationship to Kentucky, nor is the winner chosen by the staff of the Baltic Writing Residency. Rather, an anonymous member of the English Department of Harvard University will judge. The application fee is $8 and the winner receives $500 which is paid out over several months. Open to any writer of English who is a Kentucky native, resident, past resident, or current student, or whose writing is set in Kentucky or about Kentucky.

BLACKACRE FOREST WRITING RESIDENCY
https://balticwritingresidency.submittable.com/submit/11494/poetry-blackacre-reserve-writing-residency
The Blackacre Writing Residency is located in a beautiful, 300-acre forest and nature preserve located near Louisville, KY. The writer receives a $200 honorarium, and resides, for one to two weeks, in a furnished house, on the grounds, offering all of the modern domestic necessities. The period of the residency is dependent, in part, on the institution’s overall schedule of visiting artists and writers. In turn, the writer has an immense amount of say as to when they occupy the residency, having the ability to delay beginning the residency for up to a year of being awarded the residency. We are more than open to genre writing (YA, sci-fi, romance, thriller, crime, etc.).

Literary Events

April 5–6 -16th Annual Arnow Conference for the Humanities, Somerset Community College, 808 Monticello St., Somerset, KY. Workshops on fiction, poetry, playwriting, songwriting, and more. This year’s theme is “Weaving the Tapestry: Past, Present, and Future.” Keynote speakers: Sena Jeter Naslund and Kentucky Poet Laureate Frederick Smock. Full conference pass, $30; day pass, $15. Information: Theresa Kibby, 451-6766 or .

April 6, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Kentucky Writing Workshop, a daylong how-to-get-published event that includes classes, presentations, optional agent pitch sessions, and more. Louisville Marriott East, 1903 Embassy Square Blvd., Louisville. https://kentuckywritingworkshop.com/

April 26–27 – Southern Kentucky Book Festival and Kentucky Writers Conference, 1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, KY. Authors include Silas House, Rita Mae Brown, Angie Thomas, Andrew Shaffer, Ann Gabhart, David Bell, and 100 or so others. Book fair, workshops, and panels on Friday and Saturday; Teen and Children’s Day, Friday. All workshops are free. Contact a board member if interested in attending to arrange possible car pools

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