SAWG Blog

SAWG Blog Table of Contents

2012-02-08T13:47:00.000-06:00

San Antonio Romance Authors' meet Feb. 11

2012-02-08T13:38:00.000-06:00

Title: "Making Fairy Tales and Myths Your Own" with Sasha Summers
Date: Saturday Feb. 11
Time: 9:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Barnes and Noble at The Shops at La Cantera
Street: 15900 La Cantera Parkway, Ste. 3340
City State Zip: San Antonio, TX 78256
Phone: 210-558-3903
   As romance authors we're always looking for happily ever after. Author Sasha Summers will discuss familiar myths and fairy tales, go over roles and archetypes, explore new potential twists and turns, ideas and themes that are already present can can be fleshed out or built up.
   In addition, she'll have us all do a very short synopsis of one together, then break into small groups, write a basic synopsis, and read the synopsis to the group as a whole.
   Come dressed as your favorite fairy tale characters (hero, heroine, villain, etc.) and be included in a prize drawing of books!
   You don't have to be a SARA member to attend this writing workshop.
   Come prepared to write.
Visit: www.sararwa.net/meetings.html.

Mystery writing contest deadline Feb. 29

2012-02-05T16:02:00.000-06:00

2012 Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship for Mystery Writing

What Is It? The Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship for Mystery Writing seeks to nurture talent in mystery writing—in fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting.
Who May Apply? The scholarship is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents only. Membership in Mystery Writers of America is not required to apply. Because the McCloy Scholarship is intended for serious aspiring mystery writers who wish to improve their writing skills, we expect that most applicants will be college students or adult learners.
How Shall the Scholarship Be Used? The scholarship shall be used to offset tuition and fees for writing workshops, writing seminars, or university/college-level writing programs taking place in the U.S. in summer, fall or winter of 2012 or early spring 2013. Applicants must select a specific writing class/workshop/seminar to which scholarship funds would be applied.
What Is the Scholarship Amount? MWA will present two scholarships for up to $500 each. Scholarship checks are issued in late Spring and are made out jointly to scholarship winners and their chosen educational institutions.

Submission Details Applicants are required to submit:

ONE Scholarship application form, completed - download application here: www.mysterywriters.org/files/u6/2012_McCloy_Application_Form.pdf
ONE copy of the official description of the writing class/workshop/program (from college catalog, workshop brochure, or other.)
TWO letters of recommendation (e.g., from teachers who can speak to the applicant’s writing ability)
FIVE COPIES of a 300- to 500-word essay explaining the applicant's interest in mystery writing
FIVE COPIES of a sample of mystery writing for judging: either a synopsis and 3 chapters from a novel, or 3 short stories, or 3 short nonfiction pieces, or 1 screenplay or 1 play script

The scholarship committee may also require a letter of acceptance and/or syllabus or other documentation from the writing class/workshop/seminar to be attended.

Mail all materials in one complete package to:
2012 Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship Committee
PO Box 16265
High Point, NC 27265

Application Deadline All applications must be postmarked by Feb. 29, 2012. No late applications or emailed applications will be accepted.
Questions? For individual answers and a copy of scholarship FAQs and submission tips (recommended) For a copy of scholarship FAQs and individual answers, mail the scholarship committee at the PO box (above) or send an email: mccloy-mwa@lycos.com. No phone calls, please.

About Helen McCloy Helen McCloy (1904-1994) was a mystery author, editor, publisher, and agent. Creator of psychiatrist sleuth Dr. Basil Willing, McCloy served as president of MWA in 1950, won the Edgar® Award for mystery criticism in 1954, helped to establish MWA's New England Chapter in 1971, and was named an MWA Grand Master in 1990.

Austin International Poetry Festival Sept. 27-30

2012-02-05T11:34:00.001-06:00

Event: 20th anniversary Austin International Poetry Festival
Dates: Sept. 27-30, Thursday-Sunday
Visit: www.aipf.org
Email: aipfinput@gmail.com
Mailing Address:
PO Box 41224
Austin, TX 78704
Phone: 512-369-3960
The online registration begins April 1.

Last year:
   Over 250 registered poets and poetry lovers met for four days of readings, workshops and open mics at the world's largest non-juried poetry festival April 7-10, 2011. Poets as far afield as Australia and as close to home as down the street celebrate the written and spoken word.

Schedule:
   Thursday day is check-in time. All registrants check in, with published poets collecting their single free copies of the anthology. If they've asked for accommodations or registered to volunteer, the check-in for that is also at the front desk at Ruta Maya, which is festival headquarters. As many of the poets are either returning registrants or know each other, there's a lot of catching up to do. There's an open mic on the main stage until the show officially starts.
   Thursday evening is when the opening events occur, which include music (provided this year by Erin Ivey), a somewhat catered dinner for registrants who paid for it, and the 'grand reading:' every published poet reads their poem from the anthology, usually in the order in which they appear in the book. It's fun watching poets, best described as cats in terms of self-organization, line up in groups to wait near, get on, and leave the stage.
   Friday and Saturday are mixes: workshops and some open mics and readings during the day, and readings by invited poets and other published poets by evening. Some readings are focused (women, queer, instrumental). There's a slam event with separate compensation, and an all-night open mic.
   Sunday is not a day to be missed. The winners are announced, the Youth Anthology and its winners are showcased and many poets take the opportunity to have breakfast at Ruta Maya before everything winds down late Sunday afternoon.

North Texas Book Festival April 14

2012-01-29T16:11:00.001-06:00

   If you've got a published book, then you might want to consider the North Texas Book Festival at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton Saturday, April 14.
   Author tables are $25/half and $50/full, and there is no additional charge for your book sales.
   Deadline for registering is March 15 if you are an author and/or illustrator and would like to participate as a breakout speaker. March 30 is your deadline if you just wish to sell books and network with other authors.
   Visit www.ntbf.org to download a registration form and for more information. The festival helps support school and public libraries and literacy programs by awarding grants funded by sponsors and participating authors.
   There are two featured guest authors this year.
   Dr. Ray Stephens, a noted Texas historian, will be on hand with his beautiful, coffee-table-quality book Texas: A Historical Atlas. This remarkable work is chock full of historical facts, trivia, maps, photographs and drawings, and is a must for anyone who is proud to call themselves Texans (and for the rest of you who wish you were). Ray is also a fine speaker who will give a presentation from the book during our breakout sessions during the festival.
   Dr. J. Rodney Short, who calls himself a “People Motivator,” but in truth he is one entertaining, funny guy. He has recently released several inspiring books including The Wisdom of IF, which was in the iTunes Top 100 ebook downloads late in 2011, and the charming children’s book Barnibee, the Amazing Bumblebee, which has a good message for all ages. He also will excite and inspire you during the morning breakout time.
   If you’re not an author or illustrator, and you just love books and the creative minds who craft them, plan to come to the events anyway. The Festival is free admission! We will also be presenting the 2012 NTBF Book Awards the morning of the festival, so you won’t want to miss that!

Contact point:
Crystal Wood
NTBF President and Executive Vice-President for Unclaimed Priorities
Email: cwood@tattersallpub.com

Lexicon Writers Conference July 21-22

2012-01-29T15:52:00.000-06:00

The Lexicon Writers Conference will be held Saturday and Sunday, July 21-22, at Hospitality Hill in Denton. It's a marketing and promotional opportunity for all writers, from the novice to the professional, in all genres.
Visit: www.Lexi-ConWritersConference.com.

Northwest Houston Romance Writers meet Feb. 4

2012-01-20T07:48:00.000-06:00

   Sharon Mignerey will present "M & Ms for Characters: Milieu and Motivation" at the Saturday, Feb. 4, meeting of the Northwest Houston Romance Writers.

How to Create Unforgettable Characters!
   Most of the fiction writers I know have several books on character development that espouse all sorts of advice.
   Most of that advice boils down to making sure character development includes two things: milieu and motivation. In a word, M&Ms.
   Of all the techniques to build well-rounded characters, these two provide the necessary fodder to create unforgettable characters.
   Milieu is that wonderful French word that encompasses all aspects of a setting—the physical, social, and cultural. In this workshop, we look at this from the perspective of your protagonist’s history, comfort, and emotional connection.
   Motivation, as all writers know, is key to having your characters move through a story in a way that feels natural and organic. Motivation includes the big “why” that drives the story question and the little “why” that focuses on what he wants in this scene right now.
   Of all the techniques to build well-rounded characters, these two provide the necessary fodder to create unforgettable characters.
   Mignerey is a multi-published romance author with a MFA in Popular Fiction. She teaches English & literature at the Lonestar College, and has been mentoring and teaching writers for many years. She's a popular conference teacher with a deep understanding of craft, creativity, and career.
   Meetings are held on the first Saturday of the month at Spring Creek Oaks Clubhouse, 17111 Misty Creek, Spring, TX 77379.
   Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Business meeting at 9 a.m. Educational program begins at 10:30 a.m.
   Visit: www.nwhrwa.com.

Brazos Writers meet Feb. 8

2012-01-20T07:42:00.000-06:00

Who: Brazos Writers Guild
What: Monthly meeting
Where: Arts Council Center, 2275 Dartmouth Street in College Station
When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m.
Visit: www.brazoswriters.org

   February's monthly meeting topic is "eBooks and Other Creatures of the 'Net," presented by an eBook expert.
   The group also plans a workshop on flash fiction in February.
   March's monthly meeting Wednesday, March 14, will feature open readings with a theme of "The Ideas of March." You don't need to read on the theme, but it's an excellent motivator to stretch your writing muscles and there could be a prize. Open readings are 10-minute or less slots available on first-come, first-served basis.

   Regular meetings take place the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the P. David Romei Arts Center at Wolf Pen Creek, 2275 Dartmouth Street, College Station, Texas.
   Members include published authors, struggling writers, novices, and anyone interested in writing. Visitors are invited to attend any of the meetings.

Future meetings and workshops:

April 11: Using Poetry to Spark Creativity, presented by Dr. Paul Christensen, professor of English at Texas A&M (April is National Poetry Month)
May 9: Open Readings: Revving Your Engine. (May is Mystery Writers Month)
June 13: Cultivating Creativity, presented by Dr. Joyce Juntune, faculty member of the Institute for Applied Creativity at Texas A&M University
July 11: Open Readings: Hotter than Hades
Aug. 8: Crime Scene Processing, presented by Christine Ramirez of TEEX Forensic Science Academy (program not confirmed)
Sept. 12: Opening Readings: Your Inner Chickens
Oct. 10: Writing for the Stage, presented by Mark Taylor, playwright and head of Taylor Creative
Nov. 14: Open Readings: Cast Your Vote
Dec. 12: Holiday Social and Officer Election

LoneStarCon 3 Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2013

2012-01-19T20:03:00.002-06:00

   The 71st World Science Fiction Convention will be held Thursday through Monday, Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2013, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. The Mariott Rivercenter and Mariott Riverwalk will serve as the host hotels.
   The guests of honor list for LoneStarCon 3 includes Ellen Datlow, James Gunn, Norman Spinrad and Willie Siros, with Paul Cornell serving as toastmaster and featuring special guests Leslie Fish and Joe R. Lansdale. But the Guest of Honor is Eric Flint.
   Founded in 1939, the World Science Fiction Convention is one of the largest international gatherings of authors, artists, editors, publishers and fans of science fiction and fantasy entertainment. The annual Hugo Awards, the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy, are voted on by Worldcon membership and presented during the convention.
   LoneStarCon 3 is sponsored by ALAMO, Inc., (Alamo Literary Arts Maintenance Organization), a 501(c)3 organization. Membership for LoneStarCon 3 may be purchased at www.LoneStarCon3.org. In addition to individual memberships , LoneStarCon 3 will also offer a family rate. For more information about LoneStarCon 3, memberships or hotel information, visit: www.LoneStarCon3.org.

Guest of Honor: Eric Flint
   Eric Flint was born in southern California in 1947. Other than a few years in France, he spent most of his youth in Fresno and Los Angeles, attending UCLA during the late '60s and early '70s where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. He became politically active as a socialist during the early '70s left school for the blue collar world. Between 1974 and 1992 Eric held down just about every industrial job imaginable--from meat packer to glass blower--in just about every part of the country; most of the time still an activist for labor.

More Guests of Honor:
   Paul Cornell is a writer of science fiction and fantasy in prose, television and comics, and is the only person to have been a Hugo Award nominee for all three media. He’s written Action Comics for DC Comics and Doctor Who for the BBC. His novels are Something More and British Summertime. His forthcoming novel, an urban fantasy, will be published by Tor in 2012.
   Ellen Datlow has edited science fiction, fantasy and horror short fiction for three decades. She served as fiction editor of Omni magazine and SCI Fiction, and has edited many anthologies for adults, young adults and children. She has won multiple Locus, Hugo, Stoker, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy Awards. She was the recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award for “outstanding contribution to the genre.”
   Leslie Fish is one of the best-known authors of filk songs including “Banned from Argo,” a comic song parodying Star Trek which has spawned more than 80 variants since first performed.
   James Gunn is a science fiction author, editor, scholar and anthologist. His most significant writings include fiction from the 1960s and 70s and his scholarly Road to Science Fiction collections. Gunn is a founding director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. He won a Hugo Award for non-fiction in 1983 and was honored in 2007 as a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
   Joe R. Lansdale is the author of more than 30 books and is known to his fans as Champion Joe, Mojo Storyteller. His is known for his horror stories, the Hap and Leonard mystery/thriller series and the theatrical film Bubba Ho-Tep. Lansdale’s many awards include 16 Bram Stoker Aawards, the Grand Master Award from the World Horror Convention, a British Fantasy Award and the American Mystery Award.
   Willie Siros was instrumental in starting the long-running Austin science fiction convention, Armadillocon, serving as chair of the first three editions. Siros also contributed to the founding of the Fandom Association of Central Texas, the original LoneStarCon (the 1985 North American Science Fiction Convention) and Adventures In Crime & Space Books. He is a former para-librarian at the University of Texas Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center where he developed its speculative fiction collection.
   Norman Spinrad is the author of more than 20 novels, including Bug Jack Barron, The Iron Dream, Child of Fortune, Pictures at 11, Greenhouse Summer and The Druid King. He has also published approximately 60 short stories collected in a dozen volumes. Spinrad has written teleplays, including the classic Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Machine.” He is a long time literary critic, occasional film critic and songwriter, and perpetual political analyst.

DFW Writers' Conference set May 19 & 20

2012-01-19T19:37:00.000-06:00

   The DFW Writers' Conference is a general writers' conference set for Saturday and Sunday, May 19 & 20, 2012, at the Hurst Conference Center in the DFW Metroplex.

   Keynote speaker will be bestselling thriller author James Rollins.

   Regular admission Now until March 19, 2012 $295
   Late registration March 20-April 19, 2012 $325
   Last-minute registration April 20-May 19, 2012 $350

   Workshops: More than 40 breakout sessions on the profession and craft of writing.
   The center is near the heart of the DFW Metroplex, just 15 minutes from DFW International Airport, and 30 minutes away from Dallas.
   Visit: www.dfwwritersconference.com for more information.
   Agents and Editors: We will have a stellar lineup of literary agents and editors from publishing houses. Here’s the confirmed list so far:

Agents set to come:

Elizabeth Evans, Jean V. Naggar Literary
Eddie Schneider, JaBerwocky Lit
Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger, Inc.
Paul Levine, Paul S. Levine Literary Agency
Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency
Sarah Lapolla, Curtis Brown Ltd
Sally Harding, Cooke Agency
Meredith Barnes, Lowenstein Associates
Laurie McLean, Larsen Pomada Literary Agents
Becky Vinter, Fine Print Literary
Jennie Goloboy, Red Sofa Literary
Lauren Ruth, BookEnds, LLC
Alec Shane, Writers’ House
Marcy Posner, Folio Literary Agency
Bob Mecoy, Bob Mecoy Literary Agency
Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency
Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary Agency

Editors set to come:

Krista Marino, Random House
Devi Pillai, Orbit Books

The DFW Writers’ Conference is a production of the DFW Writers’ Workshop. The Workshop is a non-profit organization that helps writers hone their craft. It’s been in operation since 1977.

SARA contest entries due Valentine's Day

2012-01-19T16:05:00.001-06:00

Deadline: Tuesday, Feb. 14
Visit: www.sararwa.net/contest.html
E-mail: saramerritt.coord@gmail.com

   The San Antonio Romance Authors has opened entries for its 2012 Merritt Contest. This all-electronic contest is open to authors who aren’t PAN-eligible. The deadline for submissions is midnight CST Feb. 14.
   The entry length is 25 pages total, including a maximum five-page synopsis, and the entry fees are $25 for SARA members; $30 for other RWA members; and $35 for the general public.
   Preliminary Round Judges are unpublished, published and/or PRO authors. Final Judges are acquiring editors in the following categories:

Contemporary – Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks
Historical – Tessa Woodward, Avon
Paranormal – Amanda Barnett, The Wild Rose Press
Romantic Suspense – Patience Bloom, Harlequin
Women’s Fiction – Kate Seaver, Berkley

The winners will be announced at SARA's monthly meeting in May 2012. All finalists will receive a certificate. The winners in each category will receive a plaque and a year’s electronic subscription to SARA’s newsletter, The Love Letter.

Blogs for writers

2012-01-18T06:40:00.001-06:00

The following is a list of blogs and websites writers. If you find any dead links, don't think one of these blogs is appropriate for this website, or know of one that needs to be on this list, then email: pcwordsmith@indian-creek.net and put "SAWG Blog" in the subject line.

Florida Writers Conference
Horror Writers Association
Romance Writers of America
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
The Novel Blog
Jane Friedman provides “A Checklist for Marketing Your e-Book,” on Writer Unboxed.
http://writerunboxed.com/2011/09/23/a-checklist-for-marketing-your-e-book/
Need help naming your characters? American Surnames is a collection of links to websites listing surnames from a variety of geographic and ethnic origins.
www.americansurnames.us/surnames
For information on personality disorders, check PubMed Health.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001935/
Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, reports on how readers discover e-books, on the Smashwords blog.
blog.smashwords.com/2011/09/how-ebook-buyers-discover-books.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Smashwords+%28Smashwords%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Julie Ann Dawson explains “Why Your Sales Have Dropped,” on Write to Publish. (She also explains how to fix it.)write2publish.blogspot.com/2011/09/guest-post-sage-advice-from-julie-ann.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FiJSTp+%28Write+to+Publish%29
TinEye allows you to discover whether your online photos are being stolen. See how it can be used on HeatherBlog.
www.tineye.com
http://hmunro.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/is-someone-stealing-your-photos/

Hotxsinc hears about murder investigation Feb. 12

2012-01-18T06:20:00.001-06:00

   The Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime will hear Gordon A. Bowers talk about "Property and Evidence Management" at their meeting Sunday, Feb. 12, in Austin.
   The group meets the second Sunday of each month from 2-4 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Westlake in The Village Shopping Center, located at the southeast corner of 360 and Bee Cave Road in Austin.
   Future programs are:
   March 11 - Durriyah Chinwalla: "Banking as You Don't Know It, or Laughter is the Best Medicine"
   May is Texas Mystery Month
   Visit: www.hotxsinc.org.

Collecting information Feb. 2 at San Gabriel

2012-01-18T06:06:00.000-06:00

   Author Ann Seaman will present the program at the San Gabriel Writers League in Georgetown Thursday, Feb. 2. The meeting is held at the Georgetown Public Library located at 402 W. 8th Street and begins at 6:30 p.m.
   “In both fiction and nonfiction we collect a lot more information than we can use….that’s the only way to find the little details that are the storytelling elements,” Seaman said. She will also talk about her experiences doing research and interviews.
   The League meets the first Thursday of each month beginning at 7 p.m. at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street, Georgetown.
   Visit: www.sgwl.net
Future meetings:

March 1: Mike Cox, author of The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso 1821-1900, will give a talk. Join us Thursday, 6:30 pm at the Georgetown Public Library.
April 5: POETRY MONTH!! Possible venue for the evening–OPEN MIKE at Cianfranni’s.
May 3: SGWL Monthly Meeting.
June 7: “Words are Important” presented by Mike Kearby. Find out why when the brain changes a word into a visual representation…good, healthy things happen to reader.
July 5: Ginger Myna will talk about travel writing.
Aug. 2: Children’s author, Linda Lipscom, will speak.
Sept. 6: SGWL Annual Workshop Georgetown Public Library, Georgetown, TX.
Oct. 4: SGWL Monthly Meeting.
Nov. 1: Louis Fairchild–Writing Oral Histories.
Dec. 6: SGWL Annual Christmas Party

SoonerCon 21 June 15-17

2011-12-22T12:44:00.001-06:00

   SoonerCon is a science fiction, fantasy, horror convention in Oklahoma this summer. Details:

Date: June 15-17
Location: Sheraton in downtown Oklahoma City
Pricing: $35 for a membership, $45 at the door
Visit: www.soonercon.com
   Guests include comic book superstar as Michael Golden and makeup/fx legend Michael Westmore.

Featured Guest and Writing Workshop Instructor: Peter S. Beagle
   Peter S. Beagle was born in New York City in 1939 and raised in the borough of that city known as the Bronx. He originally proclaimed he would be a writer when ten years old; subsequent events have proven him either prescient or even more stubborn than hitherto suspected.

Artist Guest of Honor: Michael Golden
   Michael Golden is an American comic book artist and writer best known for his late-1970s work on Marvel Comics' The Micronauts, as well as his co-creation of the characters Rogue and Bucky O'Hare.

Guest of Honor: Eric Flint
   Eric Flint was born in southern California in 1947. Other than a few years in France, he spent most of his youth in Fresno and Los Angeles, attending UCLA during the late '60s and early '70s where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. He became politically active as a socialist during the early '70s left school for the blue collar world. Between 1974 and 1992 Eric held down just about every industrial job imaginable--from meat packer to glass blower--in just about every part of the country; most of the time still an activist for labor.

SAWG 2011 annual contest winners

2011-12-15T22:15:00.002-06:00

Winners of the 2011 SAWG annual writing contest

The winners of the 2011 San Antonio Writers Guild annual writing contest were announced at the Dec. 1, 2011 SAWG meeting. Those winners are:

First Chapter of a Novel (Judge: Pamela Morsi)
1. Jerry Winkler, "Are You Listening, Titan?"
2. Elizabeth Bryant, "Getting Huffy"
3. Brian D Allen, "Last"
Honorable Mention: Brian D Allen, "Around the Vampire"
Honorable Mention: HM Marjorie Brody, "Between the Covers"

Short Story (Judge: Scott A Cupp)
1. Steward Smith, "Rocket Girl"
2. Hilary Davies Shelby, "The Only Thing We Have to Fear"
3. Bill Taylor, "The Night My Father Tried to Kill Me"
Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Bryant, "Bueno Bye"
Honorable Mention: Janet Alyn, "Metamorphosis"

Flash Fiction (Judge: Claudia Smith)
1. Murray Edwards, "Perspective"
2. James Taylor, "Just Shut Up and Eat Your Apple"
3. Debra Giese, "Windows"
Honorable Mention: Sylvia Forbes, "Revenge by Retriever"
Honorable Mention: Sanford Nowlin, "Whatsoever a Man Soweth"

Poetry (Judge: Valerie Martin Bailey)
1. Charlene Plover, "Ballinger Revisited"
2. Jean Jackson, "The Scissor Man"
3. Sally Clark, "Room 232"
Honorable Mention: Jean Jackson, "Alphine Phoenix"
Honorable Mention: Dee Carter, "Adieu"
Honorable Mention: Marjorie Brody, "The Toppled Tower"

Memoir (Judge: Dr. Catherine Kasper)
1. Linda Gill, "Emergency Rations"
2. Sheri Anderson, "Etta Mae the Great"
3. David H Plylar, "Not Your Usual Friday"
Honorable Mention: Kristin Wilson, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
Honorable Mention: Charlene Plover, "Sibling Agony"
Gill was awarded a perfect score from the professional judge.

Northeast Texas Writers' Conference set April 27-28

2011-12-09T20:25:00.002-06:00

   The Northeast Texas Writers' Organization will host their spring conference, Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, 2012. The 2012 spring writers' conference will be held at the Mt. Pleasant Civic Center. Headlining the group is four-time RITA winner Jodi Thomas. Thomas is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, and has won many awards.
   Two New York agents will be available for one-on-one conferences. Mary Sue Seymour founded the Seymour Agency in 1992. She is a member of the Author’s Guild, the AAR, ACFW, WGA, and RWA. Publishers Marketplace lists her as one of the top dealmakers in the country. Weronika Janczuk is an agent with Lynn Franklin Associates. She represents a wide range of fiction and non-fiction for YA and adult markets. She is actively looking for new clients.
   Vivian Zabel is the publisher of 4RV, which published Confessions of a Former Rock Queen, the 2010 Oklahoma Book Award winner in fiction. Jacque Graham, herself a published poet, is an editor at 4RV Publishing.
   Three other authors make up the faculty. They are: Jaye Wells, urban fantasy writer, who will present a two-hour workshop on Friday afternoon, plus a presentation on Saturday; Corey Mitchell, a Los Angeles Times and Borders International Group bestselling author of crime fiction; and Sylvia Dickey Smith, a woman with international credentials who writes women's fiction.
   Two outstanding workshops will be presented on Friday, with Saturday given over to shorter presentations, plus one-on-one interviews.
   Visit: www.netwo.org.

Northeast Texas Writers' contest deadline March 15

2011-11-29T06:31:00.000-06:00

Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization 2012 Short Story Contest Rules

Cash Prizes total $325 -- Winner guaranteed Publication
Entry Deadline: March 15, 2012

Judge's score sheet, possibly with comments, may be available for your entry.

Entry Rules

Entries must be short stories between 1,000 and 2,500 words to be considered.
Entries must be typed, double spaced, one side only on 8 ½” by 11” white paper, 1” margins. Please use either Courier or Times Roman type fonts, 12 point.
Each story should have a cover sheet containing only:
the name of the story
the author’s name
complete address
telephone number
e-mail address
and word count
Student entries should also include age, school attending and grade.
The author’s name should not appear anywhere except on the cover sheet. Each story page should have a header line with the story’s title and the page number.
Entries must be previously unpublished short stories written in English by the person whose name is on the cover sheet. Published on-line is published.
Failure to follow all the contest rules will result in disqualification; entry fees for disqualified entries will not be returned.
Three (3) judges will review stories and select the winners.
Judges do not see the author's name, or any other information about the author. No entrant knows the identity of any judges.
Decisions of the judges are final.
Entries postmarked after the deadline, whether by U.S. mail or e-mail, will not be considered.
Neither NETWO, any of its members or any judge is responsible for late delivery of entries, or lost entries.

Awards

First Place Award is $150; Second Place is $100; Third Place is $50 and Fourth Place is $25. Winners, and Honorable Mentions, will receive certificates suitable for framing.
No more than one (1) CASH prize will be awarded to a single author. However, this does not preclude an author from receiving additional certificates for honored stories. Please note: all cash prizes will be awarded. (4 different authorology. This is NOT a requirement to enter or win. Any author may opt out.
The author relinquishes none of his or her rights by entering the contest.

Entry Fees

Entry fee for the first story submitted per author is: $8 for NETWO members, $10 for non-NETWO members. Entry fee for each story after the first per author is: $7 for NETWO members, and $8 for non-NETWO members. (Examples are given below.) Entry fee for students 18 and under is $5 per story. Note, there is only 1 division. There is NOT a separate student division. Students may request a waiver of the entry fee by writing to: netwomail@netwo.org
Please note, if insufficient entry fees are paid by an author for the number of stories entered, the fees will be applied to stories in the order the stories were registered into the NETWO records. Stories without entry fees will not be considered.

Method of Entering
There are two ways to enter: by U.S. Mail or on-line. Please read the rules for the method of entry you choose.

Enter by U.S. Mail

Send three (3) paper copies by U.S. mail, formatted as described above.
Multiple entries sent by U.S. mail may be submitted in a single envelop and with a single check to cover all fees. Make checks payable to "NETWO."
Entries must be postmarked between January 1 and March 15, 2012.
Mail entries to: NETWO, P.O. Box 411, Winfield, TX 75493.
If you wish confirmation of receipt of your entry, include a SASP. On the message side of the post card, write the name of the short story.
Please include a SASE (with sufficient postage) if you wish your entry returned. Otherwise, entries will not be returned and will be shredded. The judge's score sheet (and possible comments) will accompany your entry in most cases. If you wish to receive only the score sheets (if available) please send a #10 SASE.

Enter on-line

Attach a copy of your entry (formatted, etc. as described above and saved in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Works or Adobe PDF) to an e-mail addressed to: netwomail@netwo.org. (Adobe PDF is preferred.) Put “2012 SS Contest Entry” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Multiple entries are permitted, but each entry must be submitted in a separate e-mail.
Entries by e-mail must pay on-line at the NETWO website: www.netwo.org. On the home page, select “Short Story Entry Fee”. Multiple entry fees may be paid with a single payment to cover all stories submitted.
E-mail entries, and entry fees, must be sent between January 1, 2012 and midnight of March 15, 2012.
Confirmation can be requested in the body of the e-mail for e-mail entries.
To receive any judge’s score sheets (if available), please mail a #10 SASE to: NETWO, P.O. Box 411, Winfield, TX 75493. Stories submitted on-line will not be returned.

Questions

If you have any questions regarding the 2012 NETWO Short Story Contest, please address them in an e-mail to: netwomail@netwo.org with “2012 SS Contest Director” in the subject line.

www.netwo.org/conference/sscontest08.htm

WLT Conference June 22–24 in Austin

2011-11-29T06:08:00.003-06:00

2011 Writers' League of Texas Agents Conference is Friday through Sunday, June 22–24, 2012
Conference hotel:
Hyatt Regency Austin
208 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX 78704
The Writers' League of Texas Agents Conference is THE place to meet agents and editors and to learn the latest trends in publishing.

Cost for non-WLT members through Dec. 31:
Agents Conference General Ticket: $399
Agents Conference Plus YA A to Z Track: $434
YA A to Z Ticket Only: $299
Yes, it's expensive, but worth it. The cost goes up after Dec. 31. If you register before Dec. 31, you will get a complementary agent consultation, usual fee $50.

Registration includes:

24-plus panels and lectures on writing and the publishing business
Admission to the Welcome Reception with agents and editors
Access to top agents and editors throughout the weekend

For details, visit the registration page. Visit: www.writersleague.org/calendar/2012conferenceregistration.

You can also sign up for extra add-ons:

Keynote Luncheon -- Open to Conference Registrants only. Advance purchase REQUIRED! ($35 per ticket)
Pre-conference workshops with agents $50 for conference registrants / $70 for the general public
A critique by a professional editor to help you polish your query, synopsis, or proposal ($50 per appointment) Limit 1 per registrant

   Agent consultations - For registrations received after Jan. 1, 2012, agent consultations are no longer included in the registration price and can be added for $50 / limit 1 per registrant )

   BRAND NEW: The YA A to Z track, featuring an impressive faculty of around 20 Young Adult authors and agents. You can register exclusively for the YA A to Z track, or you can add a YA A to Z pass to your general conference registration for an additional $35.

   Some of the country's leading agents, editors, and speakers have been invited.

2012 Featured Agents

Michelle Brower – Wendy Sherman Associates
Beena Kamlani – Viking Press
Jud Laghi – The Jud Laghi Agency
Jennifer Laughran – Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Laurie McLean – Larsen Pomada Literary Agency
Elena Meclin – Pippin Properties
Rita Rosenkranz – Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency
Susan Schulman – Susan Schulman Literary Agency
Stefanie Von Borstel – Full Circle Literary

2012 Featured Editors

Beena Kamlani – Viking Press
Peter Joseph – St. Martins Press
Alan Rizler – Independent Consulting Editor

2012 YA A to Z Authors

Jessica Lee Anderson
P.J. Hoover
Bethany Hegedus
Diana Lopez
Mari Mancuzi
Keith Graves
Varian Johnson
Brian Yansky

Visit: www.writersleague.org/calendar/2012conferenceregistrationfor registration and cost information.
Visit: www.writersleague.org/38/Agents-Conference for conference information.

Centex to talk writing style Feb. 18

2011-11-22T05:28:00.001-06:00

   The Centex Chapter of the Christian Fiction Writers will hear Bruce Judisch Saturday, Feb. 18. His topic will be "Never Say Never: Subjectivity in Style"
   Judisch's website: www.brucejudisch.com
   CenTex's monthly meetings are held in the Lane House at the First Baptist Church located at 306 Round Rock Avenue in Round Rock. The Lane House shares a parking lot with the sanctuary. (For map and driving directions see: www.fbcrr.org. The map on the website is a pdf file so it may take a moment to load.
   The upcoming meetings of the Centex Chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers offer the following programs:

March 17, 2012 - Janice Olson - "Promotion: First Things First" www.janiceolson.com
April 21, 2012 - (TBA)
May 19, 2012 - Golden Keyes Parson - "Hero’s Journey" www.goldenkeyesparsons.com
June 16, 2012 - Lena Nelson Dooley - "Layering Pizzazz" www.lenanelsondooley.com
July 21, 2012 - Kathleen Y’Barbo - (Topic TBA) www.kathleenybarbo.com
Aug. 18, 2012 - Vannetta Chapman - (Topic TBA) www.vannettachapman.com
Sept. 15, 2012 - (TBA)
Oct. 20, 2012 - DiAnn Mills (one-day seminar) - (Topic TBA) www.diannmills.com
Nov. 17, 2012 - Linda Kozar - "Fifty Ways to Say Yellow" www.lindakozar.com
Dec. 15, 2012 - (TBA)

Visit Centax ACFW at www.centexacfw.com.

Hill Country Book Festival Feb. 11

2011-11-11T19:24:00.000-06:00

   The Hill Country Book Festival at Georgetown will host its annual book festival and authors' showcase Saturday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The theme for the festival this year is "All for the love of Books."
   The event will be held at the San Gabriel Community Center, 445 E. Morrow St., Georgetown. The center is located in San Gabriel Park.
   Each table will seat two authors. One person can rent the entire table for $30 or two persons can share one table for $15 each. Reservations will be on a "first come, first served" basis. A sandwich lunch can be included in your reservation for $10.
   The deadline for reservations is Jan. 16, 2012.
   Visit: www.hillcountrybookfestival.org.
   E-mail Ann Bell, president, at annamaebell@suddenlink.net.
   Or email at HCBFinfo@yahoo.com.

Blogs for mystery suspense readers

2011-08-19T19:11:00.001-05:00

The following is a list of blogs for mystery & suspense readers and writers. The blogs and websites have industry trends, craft posts and writer's life articles. If you find any dead links, don't think one of these blogs is appropriate for this website, or know of one that needs to be on this list, then email: pcwordsmith@indian-creek.net and put "SAWG Blog" in the subject line.

PoetryNation.com poetry contest

2011-07-06T18:23:00.000-05:00

PoetryNation.com conducts a poetry contest three times each year.
Contest periods: Jan. 1–April 30, May 1–Aug. 31, and Sept. 1–Dec. 31.
Prizes: Each contest awards one first-place prize of $2,000 and a first prize wall plaque ($100 value); 20 second-place prizes of $100 each and a second-place wall plaque ($75 value); 100 third-place winners of a third-place wall plaque ($75 value). Sixty to seventy percent of all entries become semi-finalists and receive a certificate of participation suitable for framing.
Eligibility: The contest is open to anyone who writes poetry. Poetry can be written in any poetic style and on any subject. Only one poem per person is allowed. Contest entries must be 26 lines or fewer and cannot exceed 55 characters per line. Any submission that exceeds these limits will be automatically disqualified.
Submission Guidelines:
Before submitting your poem, please make sure you have read and adhered to the following guidelines where applicable:

Only submit ONE poem, ONE time. Submitting multiple poems will cause disqualification. Only one poem per household will be accepted.
Poem must be 26 lines or less, including stanza breaks but not including the title, and lines may be no more than 70 characters across, including spaces.
Poem must adhere to basic rules of capitalization.
1. Do not type poem in all capital letters.
2. Do not capitalize the first letter of every word.
3. Only capitalize words that are proper (i.e. names and places).
4. The first word of each line may be capitalized.
Be sure to proofread your poem for any grammatical errors.
Do not use "texting" lingo. Properly spell out all words.
Poems containing language that is vulgar, offensive, or wholly inappropriate will not be accepted.
To ensure proper lineation, please use the "Enter" key to start a new line, indicating all intentional line breaks.

Judging Process: Contest entries are judged based on poetic technique, effectiveness, style, and creativity.
Editorial Comment: Contest entries that adhere to all contest rules will receive a brief editorial comment on their poem. The comment will be included on the Author's Proof.
Sponsor: Eber & Wein Publishing, a publishing service provider. For more information on Eber & Wein Publishing please visit their website at www.eberandwein.com.
Visit: www.poetrynation.com.

ConDFW coming to MetroPlex Feb. 17-19

2011-07-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

Event: ConDFW XI
What: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Event
Date: Feb. 17-19, 2012
Location: Crowne Plaza Suites, Dallas, TX 75240
Visit: www.condfw.org

   ConDFW is a literary science fiction and fantasy convention featuring writing/publishing based programming, science programming, an excellent collection of guests, art show, a charity book swap and auction, a short story contest, and a slew of non-traditional activities such as the Sci-Fi Spelling Bee.
   The event is dedicated to promoting the advancement of education with emphasis on sci-fi/fantasy/horror literature, publishing and writing, and science.

Guests of Honor:
Author Guest of Honor: Cherie Priest
Artist Guest of Honor: William Stout

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Suites, Dallas-Park Central
7800 Alpha Road
Dallas, TX 75240
Phone: 1-972-233-7600
Fax: 1-972-701-8618
   The Crowne Plaza Suites Dallas Park Central is an award winning, all-suite atrium style luxury hotel located at the Northwest corner of LBJ Freeway (I-635) and Coit Road.
Convention Rate:
   $105/night, for 1-4 guests in a double/double or king room.
   All rooms are full 2-room suites with separate bedroom and parlor room with fold-out sofa, a kitchenette with refrigerator, sink, and microwave, a bathroom, and free wireless-high speed internet access.
   The cutoff date for reservations is Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012.

Houston Writers Guild Genre Contest deadline Jan. 30

2011-06-18T17:52:00.003-05:00

The Houston Writers Guild 2012 Genre

Contest accepts entries for Novels/Screenplays:
1. Mystery/Thriller
2. Woman’s Fiction/Romance/Memoir
3. Young Adult/Middle School
4. Narrative Nonfiction
5. Fantasy/Sci-fi/Paranormal
6. Historical fiction
7. Mainstream/Contemporary
$15 per Entry 2nd Entry is $10 3rd Entry is $30
Limit three entries
First 10 pages required
Deadline: Jan. 30, 2012
First Prize for the Crème-de-la-Crème: Free Ticket to all 2012 Houston Writers Guild Conference events or cash of $300.
Mailing address: Houston Writers Guild, 12523 Folkcrest Way, Stafford TX 77477

Visit: www.houstonwritersguild.org/Contests.htm

Rules:

New rule: Even though you won first place in a previous contest, you may enter this contest with a different novel.
You do not have to pay/attend the workshop in order to enter the contest. Membership is not required to attend workshop or enter contests. Your contest entries should be accompanied by our registration form providing your email, telephone #, home address.
YOU MAY SEND MORE THAN ONE ENTRY.
All entries must be in English.
All entries in the Novel & Screenplay Contest must be from unpublished writers who are not under contract to any publisher anywhere or receive royalties for a published novel or screenplay that they did not pay to have printed. Published short story writers may enter new, unpublished novel or screenplay manuscripts. All entries must not have been published anywhere by anyone (royalty paying publisher or self-published) in whole or in part.
Do not send the entire manuscript. Send the first 10 pages only.
SEND TWO (2) COPIES OF EACH ENTRY. Failure to do so may disqualify your entry.
Leave your name off the MS. Use the "header" to install like this:

Title of your novel/Genre (Insert page # on right)
Your name should only appear on the cover page. One cover page is sufficient if you detail all your entries on it.
Novels require a brief synopsis, no more that one page single-spaced (two copies). Less is better. Give us a two-sentence dramatic statement that explains the direct line of action of your main character. State your genre. The synopsis will be judged. Work on it! Send two copies of the one page single-spaced synopsis.
The title counts as part of the scoring. The title should be exciting.
All entries must be double-spaced in Times New Roman or Courier 12-point font. Do not use a smaller font in order to crowd more words on the page as our judges are already half blind. The title page does not count as a page.
Margins should be at least 1 inch (22-24 lines per page).
Pages must be numbered.
Chapter should start 1/3 of the way down the page. Failure to do will cost you points.
You may resubmit any novel that has not won first place in a previous contest of ours. If you placed 2nd, 3rd, etc., you may re-enter the same novel, but bring it up to snuff.
No staples. Paper clips only.
We cannot accept e-mail attachments. Our poor old computer is already overloaded.
We can accept payment through PayPal on our Entry Blank page on this website.
Prize money for any category will be divided among tie winners for that category and prize.

HINT! The most ignored rule in contests was failure to send TWO (2) copies. If you send less than two (2) copies, your entry will be discarded, but NOT your check! Look over your entry very carefully before sealing the envelope.

Houston Writers Guild Conf. IV April 13-14, 2012

2011-06-18T17:49:00.004-05:00

Houston Writers Guild Conference IV April 13-14
Title: Writers and Would-be Writers
Dates: Friday & Saturday, April 13-14
Times: Friday, 1-5 p.m., Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: Sugar Land Baptist Church. 16755 Southwest Freeway Sugar Land
Visit: www.houstonwritersguild.org
E-mail: info@houstonwritersguild.org
Phone: 281-498-5025
   Houston writers and would-be writers can consume a literary feast Friday and Saturday, April 13-14, when the Houston Writers Guild (HWG) holds the 2012 annual conference in Sugar Land. The conference will take place at the Sugar Land Baptist Church.
   “There’s something for every writer—published or unpublished, fiction or non-fiction,” said Kristi Pritchett, 2012 HWG president. “The publishing world is changing,” she said, “and our experts who will address traditional publishing as well as online publishing and e-books.”
   Programa include literary agents, authors and how-to sessions on getting published.
   Writers may choose between several tracks, including mystery, nonfiction, young adult and writing and publishing basics. Pritchett said the two day-meeting includes:

Hollywood ‘Story Merchant’ Ken Atchity, both a entertainment and literary agent
Self-Publishing super-star and thriller novelist Rhiannon Frater
Young Adult author Nikki Loftin, author of two novels and numerous short stories
True crime book and magazine author, and novelist Kathryn Casey
Larry Thompson, author of legal thriller, “The Trial”
Award-winning novelist and poet Chitra Divakaruni

   Conference cost is $125 for Friday and Saturday; $100 for Saturday only. Saturday lunch is included in the fee.
   For an additional cost, attendees may schedule one-on-one critique sessions with literary agents and published writers.
   There is also a Novel Contest & Ghost Story Contest associated with the conference.

National Romance Writers convention to SA in 2014

2011-04-28T15:22:00.001-05:00

The Romance Authors of America will hold their National Conference July 23-26, 2014, at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter & Marriott Riverwalk.
Looking for information? Visit: www.rwa.org/cs/rwa_annual_conference/future_conference_sites.

SAWG Weekly Wednesday Workshops

2011-04-19T15:33:00.011-05:00

SAWG Weekly Wednesday Workshops
   The San Antonio Writers Guild meets most Wednesday nights at either the John Igo Library, the Barnes & Noble just off San Pedro north of Loop 410, the Brook Hollow Library, the LaTaza Coffee House off Brookhollow, and the Denny's at 6801 Blanco Road.

   Writers (both SAWG members and non-members) can have a piece read and the group will critique the piece.
   Normally, there is a list of people who plan to read, so you just can't show up and expect your piece to be read. We suggest that you come one time, size up the group and the critiques offered, and then sign up to be read. However, you never can tell when those who have signed up don't show. So if you have something, bring it.

Rules:
   If you wish to have a piece read at the Wednesday session, please bring at least 12 copies of up to 10 pages, double spaced. (If it's 11 or 12 pages, that's okay, too.)
   The head count has been running in the nine to 12 people level.
   We usually have a list of people ready to have their piece read, but we always encourage people to bring their work just in case the people who are planned to be read don't show up.
   The piece can be novel, short story, poetry, memoir, or just about any kind of literature. The only restriction is on erotica. We will be meeting in a public place and sometimes we have a person or two of the minor persuasion in the group. Don't bring anything to read that's going to get us into trouble.

Dates:
   We meet the second through the fourth (and when it happens, fifth) Wednesday of the month. We don't meet the first Wednesday of the month because our guild meets the first Thursday of the month.
   We will more or less rotate between the B&N (7-9 p.m.) on the second Wednesday, the John Igo Library (6-8 p.m.) or Denny's (7-9 p.m.) on the third Wednesday, and LaTaza Coffee House (7-9 p.m.) on the fourth Wednesday. The rotation is not always the same each month, so you need to get on the list and we'll send you a reminder each week.

Feb. 8 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Feb. 15 @ John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 6-8 p.m.
Feb. 22 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
March 14 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
March 21 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.
March 28 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
April 11 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
April 18 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.
April 25 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
May 9 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
May 16 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.
May 23 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
May 30 @ TBA
June 13 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
June 20 @ John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 6-8 p.m.
June 27 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
July 11 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
July 18 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.
July 25 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Aug. 8 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Aug. 15 @ John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 22 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Aug. 29 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.
Sept. 12 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Sept. 19 @ John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 6-8 p.m.
Sept. 26 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Oct. 10 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Oct. 17 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.
Oct. 24 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Nov. 7 @ Barnes & Noble, San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Nov. 14 @ John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 6-8 p.m.
Dec. 12 @ LaTaza, 15060 San Pedro, 7-9 p.m.
Dec. 19 @ Denny's, 6801 Blanco Road, 7-9 p.m.

Locations:
   The address of the Barnes & Noble at San Pedro is 321 NW Loop 410 #104, Phone: 210-342-0008.
   Directions: go north on San Pedro, just a block outside Loop 410. Turn right on Isom Road (it's Lockhill Selma on the left-hand side) and then turn right again into the San Pedro Crossing shopping center. Turn left in front of the first block of stores and B&N is down there.
   We will be meeting in the small event space on the left side of the store (Nature/Pets) with two long tables seating up to 16 people. They have a fancy coffee shop in the store and they would LOVE it if you bought some coffee or some kind of drink or pastry.

   The John Igo Library is just south of Loop 1604 NW. Between Bandera Road and IH-10, go inside the loop on Hausman Road. Turn right on Kyle Seal Parkway (the first light). Take the first left into the library.
   For directions/map, try: 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy
   This San Antonio public library has two conferences rooms and we'll be in one of them. When you enter the library's vestibule, the library is on the left and the conference rooms are on the right.

   The LaTaza Coffee House is located in the Brook Hollow shopping center off Highway 281 North. Take the Brook Hollow exit from North 281 and zip immediately into the big parking lot by the HEB. The coffee shop is on the far side of the shopping complex. Interestingly enough there is a UPS store just past it on Brook Hollow if you need to make copies.
   Because LaTaza is a business, don't bring your own drinks or snacks. They have fancy coffee and other drinks as well as some food including sandwiches, cheesecake and pastries. Unfortunately, they don't always have sandwiches ready for the evening shift. If you want a sandwich, call ahead and pre-order. Their phone number is (210)494-TAZA/8292 and their website is www.lataza.biz.

   The Denny's at 6801 Blanco Road The location is on Blanco Road just a little south of Loop 410. The restaurant has a meeting room that is separate from the rest of the restaurant. Their phone number is (210)349-5952.
   We'll need to order a minimum of $50 in food.
   We will have the room starting at 6 p.m. So come early, order some food and that way you would won't get your salad dressing or ketchup on someone's writing.

   The Brook Hollow Library is just south of LaTaza, but like the San Antonio Library system, is buried off to the side. Take Bitters east underneath Highway 281. Go north on Heimer Road (on the other side of the Valero). It's a few blocks north. Find a map at
530 Heimer.
   When you go into the library, hook a right and the conference room is not too far away. The room is not marked, so you may have to poke your head around until you figure out where it is. It's pretty big.

About the guild:
   The San Antonio Writers Guild meets the first Thursday of each month at Bethany Congregational Church at 500 Pilgrim in San Antonio, Texas. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. The program follows a short business meeting. After the program, there are critique sessions for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
   Visit: www.sawritersguild.com for more information about the guild.

San Antonio Writers' Guild meets March 1

2011-04-16T21:08:00.009-05:00

   The San Antonio Writers' Guild meets once a month and a program of interests to writers is presented during the meeting.

March 1: Janet Heimlich is a former NPR person and published author whose most recent book is "Breaking Their Will," a non-fiction book about maltreatment of children.
April 6: Lisa Estus

About the guild
   The San Antonio Writers Guild meets the first Thursday of each month at Bethany Congregational Church at 500 Pilgrim in San Antonio, Texas. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. The program follows a short business meeting. After the program, there are critique sessions for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
   The guild also cosponsors Wednesday critique sessions at selected San Antonio Libraries. There should be a listing of those meetings on this blog. (See "Weekly Wednesday Workshops")
   Visit: www.sawritersguild.com for more information about the guild.

2010 SAWG annual writing contest winners announced

2010-12-08T14:41:00.011-06:00

The winners of the 2010 San Antonio Writers Guild annual writing contest were announced at the Dec. 2, 2010 SAWG meeting. Those winners are:

Novel first chapter:
First Chapter of a Novel (Judge: Joe McKinney)

First Place: Melinda Friedland, "Love, Texas, Population Two"
Second Place: David Plylar, "Sunset at Rocksprings"

Short Story:
First Place: "The Portrait" by Jane Dreyfus
Second Place: "Beguiled" by Janet Alyn
Third Place: "Water Long Under the Bridge" by Kathryn Kunkel
Honorable Mention: "No More Orphans" by Ricky Brooks
Honorable Mention: "Midnight Wart" by Paige Lohr

Poetry:
First Place: "The Fall" by Jean Jackson
Second Place: "Mama Wished for Pretty" by Athena Wood
Third Place: "Conversation with a Giant Squid" by Stewart Smith
Honorable Mention: "First Pressing" by Jean Jackson
Honorable Mention: "Favorite Aunt" by Jean Jackson

Memoir:
First Place: "Taking Sides" by Sheri Anderson
Second Place: "The Incident" by Junette Kirkham Woller
Third Place: "My Sister Doris" by Charlene P. Plover
Honorable Mention: "My Name is Robert Earl" by Bob Wehner
Honorable Mention: "Two Minutes Fifteen Seconds to Touchdown" by Charlene Plover

Short Story:
First Place: "The Portrait" by Jane Dreyfus
Second Place: "Beguiled" by Janet Alyn
Third Place: "Water Long Under the Bridge" by Kathryn Kunkel
Honorable Mention: "No More Orphans" by Ricky Brooks
Honorable Mention: "Midnight Wart" by Paige Lohr

Rick Riordan goes for fourth series

2010-08-23T17:43:00.001-05:00

   Former SAWG member Rick Riordan of San Antonio has started a new series, again. The first book of the new series is out, The Lost Hero.
   Synopsis of The Lost Hero:
   Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.
   Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?
   Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.
   A new Great Prophecy, a new generation of demigods – the adventures have just begun! In this new five-book series, expect to see your old friends from the Percy Jackson books along with a great new cast of main characters, as the heroes of Camp Half-Blood embark on their most dangerous challenge yet.
   Book One: The Lost Hero, released October 12, 2010.
   Book Two: The Son of Neptune, to be released fall 2011.
   Book Three: To be released fall 2012.
   Book Four: To be released fall 2013.
   Book Five: To be released fall 2014.
   Visit: www.rickriordan.com
   In addition to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Riordan also writes books for adults, most notably a series of high-octane Tex-Mex thrillers featuring private investigator Jackson "Tres" Navarre, a complicated loner with an offbeat pedigree. (Tres -- pronounced "Trace" -- is a tai chi master with a Ph.D. in medieval literature who turns to detective work when he is unable to find a teaching job!) The first novel in the series, 1997's Big Red Tequila, scooped the Anthony and Shamus Awards, two of the three most prestigious prizes for Mystery & Crime fiction. Riordan completed the trifecta when his sequel, The Widower's Two-Step, won the coveted Edgar Award in 1999.
   Riordan also has the Kane Chronicles. It started with The Red Pyramid, which came out May 4.

2009 SAWG annual writing contest winners announced

2009-12-06T19:48:00.005-06:00

The winners of the 2009 San Antonio Writers Guild annual writing contest were announced at the Dec. 3, 2009 SAWG meeting. Those winners are:

Novel first chapter (Judge: Robert Flynn)
1st Place: Barbara Lazar for Pink Flower Samurai
2nd Place: Karen Riedel for A Knife in the Water
3rd Place: Diane LaCombe for The Ghosts of Ravenwood
Honorable Mention: Rodney Walther for Broken Laces
Honorable Mention: David Plylar for Sunset at Rocksprings

Short Story (Judge: Joe McKinney)
1st Place: Kenneth Bennight for "Badger Game"
2nd Place: Stewart Smith for "Summer's Child"
3rd Place: Samuel Urbina for "An Old Man"
Honorable Mention: Dani Jimenez for "Intersection"
Honorable Mention: Diane LaCombe for "Welcome to the ASPCA"

Poetry (Judge: Jo LeCoeur)
1st Place: Jean Jackson for "Drifting"
2nd Place: Joe Rigsby for "Radiation"
3rd Place: David Plylar for "Inauguration Day"
Honorable Mention: Samuel Urbina for "Dulcinea Dream"
Honorable Mention: Carol Meeks for "Preparing Enchiladas with the Lucketts"

Memoir (Judge: Yvette Benavides)
1st Place: Junette Woller for "Wooden Spoons"
2nd Place: Janet Alyn for "Opposite Worlds"
3rd Place: Charlene Plover for "A Blind Date"
Honorable Mention: Doris Dianne Frazar for "A Christmas Memory"
Honorable Mention: Jean Jackson for "Dancing with Daddy"

Echoes of Glory, by Robert Flynn

2009-05-17T21:29:00.001-05:00

   Robert Flynn's new novel, Echoes of Glory, centers on a fictitious Texas county that embraces its legends, not its actual history. Set in the Reagan era, the novel exposes shared myths as lies and the truth, lacking all comfort.
   In his inimitable style Flynn paints a portrait of the denizens of the county who tacitly embrace the legend as all too human and all too frail. Overshadowed by the accomplishments of adjacent Doss County, Mills County clings to its legends---the legendary Mills brothers. One brother had died at the Alamo, one at Goliad, three had fought at San Jacinto. The three survivors marched into the center of Texas bringing with them stories of heroism and acorns from the San Jacinto battlefield. According to tradition, they planted an oak tree for each hero who had died at the Alamo.
   Then there was Timpson Smith, sole survivor of Second Platoon of Marine reserves, who had prevented the North Korean army from driving US and UN forces into the sea. To honor their memory the county erected a monument, “Second to None,” topped with the heroic figure of Timpson Smith. But there is a less heroic side of Mills County. When Deputy Sheriff Larry Maddin decides to run against Sheriff and Local Hero Timpson Smith, and a drama professor at the university announces that he will write a play depicting the true story of Second Platoon, many fear the dark underside of Mills County will be exposed.
   Robert Flynn is a native of Chillicothe, Texas, a town so small, he says, that one has to travel to nearby Quanah to have a coincidence. Flynn avers that his life's work is "The Search for Morals, Ethics, and Religion, or at least a good story in Texas and lesser known parts of the world," and his novels, North to Yesterday, In the House of the Lord, The Sounds of Rescue, The Signs of Hope, Wanderer Springs, The Last Klick, The Devil's Tiger (co-authored with the late Dan Klepper), and Tie-Fast Country, attest to that fact. He lives in San Antonio with his wife, Jean.
   Published by Texas Christian University Press (April 30, 2009)

SAWG Writing Contest winners for 2008

2009-01-24T09:35:00.001-06:00

The 2008 San Antonio Writers Guild contest winners are as follows:

First Chapter of a Novel, Fiction (Judge: David Liss)

   1. Shannon Morgan, "Jack"
   2. Karen Dodwell, "Art of Living"
   3. Marjorie Brody, "Twisted"
   Finalist Diane LaCombe, "Amanda"
   Finalist Chelsea Lewis, "Between Blood and Water"

Short Story, Fiction (Judge: Jay Brandon)

   1. Stewart Smith, "Sitting the Death Watch"
   2. Shannon Morgan, "Burn"
   3. Diane LaCombe, "The Kraliok Incident"
   Finalist Glenn T. Bernard, "Gramps and Abuelito"
   Finalist Andrea N. Messenger, "Internet Video"

Memoir (Judge: Yvette Benavides)

   1. Jessica Junqueira, "Loss, Friendship and the Pastoral World" (Also awarded the Lorraine Berenson Memorial Award)
   2. Jean Jackson, "Breasts"
   3. Doris Dianne Frazar, "Night of the Bear"
   Finalist Jessica Junqueira, "Just Like Jane"
   Finalist Diane LaCombe, "What Do You See"

First Chapter of a Non-Fiction Book (Judge: Yvette Benavides)

   1. Andrea N. Messenger, "If There is a Difference"
   2. Jan Sherbin, "A Woman's War"
   3. Marcia Dutton, "On My Way from Here to There"

Poetry (Judge: Jo LeCoeur)

   1. Rebecca Burroughs, "Sitting Beneath Balancing Rock"
   2. Sheri Anderson, "My Aunt's House on Charles Street"
   3. Rose Marie Eash, "Sweet Tea"
   Finalist Sheri Anderson, "Here"
   Finalist Rose Marie Eash, "Love Undefined"

SAWG member (Lillie Ammann) has new book

2008-10-20T15:50:00.003-05:00

San Antonio Writers Guild member Lillie Ammann has published a new romantic mystery novel: Dream or Destiny. The story concerns Marilee Anderson who dreams about a murder and wakes to find it really happened. She and David Nichols, the victim's brother, become the prime suspects. Though they have their secrets and aren't sure they can trust each other, Marilee and David team up. Will they find the killer, end up in jail or dead? Read a free excerpt and for more information about the book, visit wwww.lillieammann.com.

NaNoWriMo 2006 WINNER

2006-11-30T22:53:00.000-06:00

I did it! One hour and ten minutes to deadline!

Woo Hoo!!

OK, 50K to go to really finish the entire story!

NaNoWriMo 2006

2006-10-17T20:20:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Sign up and challenge yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, from November 1 to the 30th!

The site is chock full of the most amazing forums on just about every aspect of writing you can imagine.

Join the writing frenzy with thousands of other people all over the world!

Oops

2006-04-18T15:06:00.000-05:00

Oops, it's Pamela Morsi. I did spell it right for the review, but during the blog my fingers outpaced my brain. Unfortunately, of late that's not unusual. Oh, well. See you on the fourth of May.SAWG Blog

Made the paper

2006-04-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, another of my reviews finally made it into the San Antonio Express-News last Sunday. Page 8J, Look for the article headlined Reality Blurs in Convoluted Tale of Lawyer, Oddball Clients. Should have three more reviews in the near future, one of which is our guest speaker in May, Pam Morisi's, new book Cotton Queen.

No one's added anything in a while

2006-01-23T15:33:00.000-06:00

I haven't had a chance to check the Blog until just now, but I note no one has added anything lately. Hopefully, it's because everyone's too busy writing. Anyway, noted in my most recent copy of Writer's Digest, they have a contest going with a deadline of May 15, 2006, for short stories, memoirs, magazine features, poems, etc. For more info go to www.writersdigest.com

Still a Pain

2005-12-06T12:17:00.000-06:00

I was having the same old problems signing in, but now I understand. My screenname and username are two different thing. Anyway, now that appears I figured it out and I have the ability to post to the SAWG Blog, I wanted to share something with you all. I've officially started my own editing company. Ask me about it at our next monthly meeting. And those who don't attend the SAWG monthly meetings (and should) can reach me via BDEditing@satx.rr.com. And congratulations to all those who entered the NANOWRIMO and a special congrats to those that finished.

I RULE!! NANOWRIMO WINNER!!

2005-11-28T18:44:00.000-06:00

I did it!! Word Count: 51901

But I still need to actually finish the story....

Write on!!

Caracal Lynx
**whose laptop has become a permanent appendage to her body**

On Your Mark, Get Set....

2005-11-02T09:27:00.000-06:00

...GO! NaNoWriMo has begun! Can you feel the creative energy in the air?

Be sure to support the crazed people embarking on the noveling frenzy this month! You know who they are: wild-eyed folks jittering from too much caffeine, clutching their laptops/AlphaSmarts/notebooks to their chests, typing or scribbling away every chance or minute they get.

Tap into the energy! Splash in the ocean of words and imagination!
Caracal Lynx *clawing up the ladder of 50,000 words, one word at a time*

I did it. Yup. I signed up for NaNoWriMo

2005-10-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

.

Gee thanks C. Lynx and Stewart and all of the rest of you who twisted my arm to do this. 50,000 words of pure drivel in a single month! You realize, of course that you will be sorry you did this when you have to listen to and critique my rough draft. I challenge the rest of you do give it a try also. PenPusher.

NaNoWriMo update

2005-10-03T11:50:00.000-05:00

Well, the servers at the NaNoWriMo website blew up under the influx of people rushing to sign up for this year's event. Which is pretty darn funny when you think about it. People rushing to sign up to write ~1700 words a day for 30 days...are we a bunch of masochists or what?

They're hoping things will be up and running by tomorrow, but you never know...

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Check out the new feature, Wrimo radio. It's pretty cool to hear from the founders and the participants in the event, and bringing it into the classroom. Encouraging our young people to get excited about books and writing is always a great thing.

Also check out the forums. Writers giving tips to other writers is quite engrossing, and a way to get a fix between our guild meetings.

On Writing

2005-10-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

Neat website by a published author with some good writing tips on a variety of subjects:

http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc2-4.html

Also, official sign-up for NaNoWriMo starts this afternoon, 3 p.m. Pacific time which I believe is 4 p.m. Central here.

It's a great way to kick-start your writing and join with several thousand other people who are in the same boat. Win or lose, you rock for even trying.

NaNoWriMo

2005-09-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that National Novel Writing Month is fast approaching. Sign up date is Oct. 1. Goal is to write 50,000 words in one month, Nov. 1 - 30.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Book: No Plot, No Problem! A low-stress, high-velocity guide to writing a novel in 30 days, by Chris Baty

Consider joining in the insanity!

Chicago Manual of Style

2005-09-20T08:50:00.000-05:00

Remember that book I keep telling everyone to use...
Well, now it has it's own web site.
Chicago Manual of Style

The Muse

2005-09-07T18:38:00.000-05:00

Musing on the Muse...not female for me and no sweet creature with wings, no, rather a demanding devil with a whip and chain. Can't tell you the number of times I've given up sleep or food or other necessities to heed his call.

Treading the thin line between obsession and addiction with writing...

"If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you. Besides, those voices are merely guardians and demons protecting the real treasure, the first thoughts of the mind." from Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg

Cute Word Tricks

2005-09-05T19:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, I admit it. I’m lousy at proofing. I’m the poster boy for Microsoft Word’s spell checker. As for making systematic changes to the text of something I’ve written? Forget about it! I do, however, have a secret weapon. It’s part of Microsoft Word and you can use it too, if you use Word.

Here is the shape of my typical problem and how I use a “Cute Windows Trick” to see patterns in my text: I’ve produced is a rough draft. It’s a first person narrative, and it was produced as quick as I can hit the keys.

My first step is to work spell check to death, along with the grammar checker. Then I read it aloud into a tape recorder and play it back. If I can’t read it aloud, I change it so that I can. So far this is a straight forward exercise.

Now for the interesting stuff. The “Cute Microsoft Word Trick.”

Have you noticed the little icon in the upper right corner of the Microsoft Word tool bar that looks like an Xact-O knife? In reality, it is supposed to look like the business end of one of the yellow highlighters that students use to deface their textbooks while they are studying. This is the key. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go through the text and highlight all the “ly” adverbs? That way we could kill almost all of them. Since this is a first person narrative, it might be a good idea to highlight all the times the “I” appears on a page. If I wanted to put some arbitrary limit on the number of times “I” appeared How about all the forms of the verb “to be”? And just to top it off, we should highlight all these text items in different colors too.

We can do all of this. Here’s how. I’ll start with highlighting all the usages of “I” in this document. First, I click on the “Edit” drop down menu “Replace” submenu. The result is a pop up window labeled “Find and Replace,” which has three tabs labeled Find, Replace, and Go To. The pop up window is on the Replace tab. On that window is a button labeled More with a pair of down-pointing arrow heads. Clicking on the More button expands the pop up window. I put the “I” in the “Find what:” box and and the “Replace with:” box. Then I click the box marked “Match case.” Next I click on the “Format” button at the bottom of the expanded “Find and Replace” pop up window. The button drops down a menu and I check Highlight. When I do this, another button to the right of the “Format” drop down will now show “No Formatting.” Click on this button and it becomes un-highlighted. Next click on the Xact-O knife icon and chose a color. I chose Turquoise. There is a line below the Xact-O knife which now shows the color you have selected. As a last step, click on the “Replace All” button on the pop up window. All occurrences of the word “I” in your text.

This isn’t a perfect method. The letter “I” is highlighted, for instance, where a sentence has a capitalized beginning word that starts with “I”. Also, the “No Formatting” option goes on every time you select another type of text to highlight. Still, it’s just the thing for slaughtering “ly” adverbs and punching up sentences deflated by flaccid “be” verbs. Enjoy.

What a pain

2005-09-02T10:40:00.000-05:00

SAWG Blog

After getting my invite to join, I attempted to establish an account. After getting the user name rejected for about the fortiety time I gave up. Yet it appears I have an account. Who knows

Your assignment...

2005-09-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

If you choose to accept it is to add something to SAWG Blog. Just click on the link "Blog This" at the top of the page...

Can't think of the "perfect" word

2005-08-18T13:28:00.000-05:00

Just because it doesn't exist in the English language thesaurus doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Here is the alternative interactive dictionary that just might have the word you want. Or you can add your own urban slang word.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Science Fiction Author's Web Site

2005-08-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

A very cool way to advertise a book...

This Web site promotes S.D. McKee's book, "Darkness Among the Stars." It simulates a book. Just flip through the pages.

http://www.sdmckee.com/flash/home.htm

The 2005 winners are in!

2005-07-29T11:46:00.000-05:00

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has just announced this year's winners. And a lovely group they are. (and just reading them has turned me into a grammar idiot.)

Gerald Grow's bad writing hints

2005-07-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

This would be funny except we all know people who write like...

http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~ddavies/gerald.html

Grammar is fun,,,

2005-07-10T11:41:00.000-05:00

at least it is here. Don't be fooled by the title. There is a lot of good information which applies to all styles of writing.

HOW TO WRITE ALMOST READABLE FAN FICTION

A dark and Stormy Night

2005-06-30T22:03:00.000-05:00

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

Where WWW means wretched writers welcome...

If you buy books...

2005-06-21T08:43:00.000-05:00

Hatrack River

2005-06-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

Orson Scott Card's website contains a complete short course for writers.

San Antonio Writers Guild

2005-06-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

San Antonio Writers Guild

Want to write a novel this month...

2005-06-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

National Novel Writing Month

Writers Boot Camp

2005-06-18T09:01:00.000-05:00

Just when you think you have heard about everything.

Writers Boot Camp

50 tools...

2005-06-18T08:20:00.000-05:00

50 tools which can help you in writing

Welcome to SAWG Blog

2005-06-17T09:12:00.000-05:00

SAWG Blog is an experiment in developing a community of online writers. Share your writing. Tell us your good news, your bad news... you get the idea.

If you are a member of SAWG and wish to become a member of SAWG Blog, email a board member with your request. If you are not a current member we invite you to join.