Virginia Writers Club VWC Blog

VWC Chapter and Member News - December 2025 and January 2026

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:53:38 GMT

Patsy Asuncion has released her third poetry collection, A Universal Belonging, by Kelsay Books.

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt had three poems accepted for inclusion in the forthcoming anthology, Saving Ourselves (Wyld Syde Press, 2025). The collection is edited by Suffolk County NY Poet Laureate Emerita and editor of Long Island Sounds, Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan, Ph.D. Gotthardt is one of three 2025 Golden Nib poetry state finalists.

Tim Holland's The Murder of Amos Dunn, a Sidney Lake Lowcountry mystery, is being re-issued as a second edition by the Cactus Mystery imprint of Blue Fortune Enterprises in December 2025.

Doug Paysour was published in the 2026 Upper Room Disciplines, a lectionary based daily devotional intended for a deeper dive into scripture.

James H. Dobbins, Ph.D. has been named to Marquis' Who's Who in America for 2026.

VWC New Releases - December 2025, and January & February 2026

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:50:20 GMT

Patsy Asuncion, Ed.S.: A Universal Belonging was released on 8/20/2025 by Kelsay Books.

Dr. Stephanie V. Wright, PhD, JD: Spiritual Warfare Manual: ABC to PhD was released on 11/14/2025 by Sky Publishing, LLC.

Sharon Krasny: Shroud of Ice was released on 11/25/2025 by Brandylane Publishers Inc.

Sean Kery: White Coven, Awakening was released on 11/27/2025 by Pegasus/Vanguard.

J Thomas Brown: The Rose of Heaven was released on 12/22/2025, and Cutting Through was released on 12/31/2025, both by Beverly Hills Press RVA. Also, "Tromlui" is scheduled for print in April 2026, by Fabled Magazine.

Pamela K. Kinney: Haunted Surry to Suffolk: Spooky Tales Along Routes 10 and 460 was released on 1/27/2026 by Dreampunk Press.

James H. Dobbins, Ph.D.: Critical Success Factors How to Effectively Identify, Measure, and Apply CSFs was released on 1/27/2026 by Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis.

Sharon Lyon: Living Fossil: A Henrietta Ballantine Science Fiction Thriller is scheduled for release on 3/4/2026 by Sharon Lyon Author LLC on Amazon.

VWC New Releases - Fall 2025

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 16:05:30 GMT

Beth Ryder: Black Ink: Ink-Stained Truths from a Bared Soul was published August 4, 2025 and is available at Amazon and bethryder.com.

Linda Parham: Ashes and Sunflowers was published September 5, 2025 and is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play Books, and at https://www.lindaparham.com.

Mark Fryburg: On the Oregon Coast (Sestina) was published September 5, 2025, in the Artemis Journal 2025.

C.E. Albanese: Everyday Graces: Stories of Faith in the Ordinary was published September 1, 2025, by Gnaw Bone Publishing, LLC and is available on Amazon.

Mary Alice Dixon: Snakeberry Mamas: Words From the Wild was published September 2, 2025, by Charlotte Lit Press.

Cherlin Simon: Heroes of the Class was published July 15, 2025 by CSimon Publishing LLC and is available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com.

VWC Chapter and Member News - August 2025

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 20:44:15 GMT

From Jeri Rogers: RE: Artemis Journal Launch 2025 on September 5, 2025. Time: 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm Venue: Taubman Museum of Art, 110 Salem Ave SE, Roanoke, VA 24011

For more info, go to Artemis Journal Book Launch Featuring Artist Gregory Crewdson - Taubman Museum of Art

VWC New Releases - Summer 2025

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 18:47:51 GMT

Tracie Adams: Our Lives in Pieces, A Collection of Flash Memoir Essays, was released on May 1, 2025, by Good Heritage Press

Michael Slayter: The Brothers Harper was released on May 6, 2025.

Loralee Clark: Solemnity Rites, a chapbook, was released on May 31, 2025 by Prolific Pulse Press, LLC.

Denise DeVries: Phantom Cats and Box Kites, Key to History was released on June 19, 2025, by Unicorn Valley Publishing.

Pamela K. Kinney: Nowhere Land is scheduled for release on October 7, 2025, but is available for preorder now. Nowhere Land by Pamela K. Kinney

VWC Member/Chapter News - Summer 2025

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 18:11:56 GMT

Tracie Adams had a book signing and readings for her new release, Our Lives in Pieces, at Classic Coffee Tea and Books in Ashland on July 19, 2025. (My sincere apologies for not getting this reported prior to the event.)

Loralee Clark will be giving a reading and signing of her chapbook, Solemnity Rites, an account of reimagined myths and truths of who we are as humans and how we live our histories. The event will be on August 30, 2025, from 12-4pm at Turn the Page bookstore in Williamsburg, Virginia. She will also be encouraging patrons to make poetry zines (supplies will be provided). https://sites.google.com/view/loraleeclark/eventsmedia

Emily Walls Ray will be reading from her collection of short stories, Tracks From Tuscaloosa, on September 8, 2025, from 7-8pm at the Twin Hickory Library in Richmond, Virginia as part of the Henrico Authors Showcase series. Books will be available for sale and signing. She cordially invites you to attend. The library is located at 5001 Twin Hickory Rd., Glen Allen, VA 23059. https://henricolibrary-va.libcal.com/event/14847598

Jennifer Artley, in collaboration with Soul Speak Press, is hosting a writer's retreat on the Business of Writing on September 13 & 14 in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. This immersive experience includes hands-on workshops and A Taste of Northern Italy dinner. For more information, DM or email HELLO@SOULSPEAKPRESS.COM

VWC New Releases - April & May 2025

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 18:01:05 GMT

N. Jed Todd: 2 poems were included in the anthology Midwest Futures published March 5, 2025, by Middle West Press.

Jeffrey James Higgins: The Havana Syndrome is scheduled for release on June 17, 2025, by Severn River Publishing.

William Prindle: Medicine Cache Under Lichen is scheduled for release on June 27, 2025, by Finishing Line Press.

Caroline Crocker: My Splendiferous Everyday Set was released on April 15, 2025, by Rambling Ruminations.

William Tang: The Pact was released on April 22, 2025, by Tannauser Press.

Cherlin Simon: Heroes of the Class is scheduled for release on June 9, 2025, by CSimon Publishing LLC.

VWC Chapter and Member News - April & May 2025

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 17:29:37 GMT

Caroline Crocker was invited to be a speaker at a workshop on "Read My Writes" at the Home Educators Association of Virginia conference held on June 6, 2025. https://heav.org/convention/ https://ramblingruminations.com

DM Frech's 2 poems, 3 essays, and 6 photographs were published in November 2024 in Dreams, Doubts & Determinations with Man in the Middle Press, and another poem and 9 photographs were published in their December 2924 issue.

June Gathering of Authors

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 14:18:51 GMT

This is a gathering for members of the VWC - one of many enjoyable perks of being a member of the Virginia Writers Club.

The June GATHERING OF AUTHORS will be on Tuesday evening, June 17, beginning at 7:30 PM. These last until 9:00 PM. Information to join in will be emailed to all members before the event.

As a reminder, you do NOT have to arrive at 7:30 to take part in the Gathering. Also, you are not "required" to remain until the end. This is like a cocktail party of sorts, where you can "drop in" when it suits you and leave when you want. You can even leave and come back if something comes up.

Members attend for free. Nonmembers can attend their first Gathering for free but must join VWC to attend a second one, so you are invited - no, urged - to pass this on to someone you feel would enjoy the time with other authors. This is not formal in any way. It's really more like an online party without the dancing. (Well, if you want to dance, you certainly may, but that would be out-of-the-ordinary.)

We look forward to seeing you at the June GATHERING OF AUTHORS! An RSVP is NOT necessary. Just show up, or don't. Your choice.

Free Transformative Language Arts Writing & Reflective Workshops

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 13:47:12 GMT

Sharon Pajka will be running FREE Transformative Language Arts Writing and Reflection Workshops at Hollywood Cemetery this summer!

https://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/visit/events

VWC Chapter and Member News - February 2025

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 20:26:28 GMT

Serafina Finnegan: Her picture book manuscript, The Storyteller, was shortlisted for Searchlight Awards Best Picture Book Text of 2024!

Congratulations, Serafina!

VWC Member New Releases - February 2025

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 23:22:37 GMT

Jennifer Artley: Improvising in Italian is scheduled for release on March 8, 2025, by Koehler Books.

Miranda Faye Dillon: The Unshatterables was released on April 16, 2024, by Koehler Books.

VWC Member New Releases - January 2025

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 18:42:58 GMT

J T Hine: Black Amazon, Roads to Rome, and As Our Mothers Made Us were all scheduled for release on January 17, 2025, by Scriptor Services LLC.

Mark Bailey: Unknowable Minds: Philosophical Insights on AI and Autonomous Weapons is scheduled for publication on February 4, 2025, by Academic Imprint.

Tina Wortman: The Ascendants Rebirth Series: ANGEL Book 1 is scheduled for release on March 29, 2025, by Milton & Hugo.

VWC Member New Releases - December 2024

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Bruce Wetterau: What My Refrigerator Said to Me - Misadventures in the Digital Age was released November 26, 2024, by Amazon.

Mary Donna Hankle: Ask! Seek! Knock! was released on November 29, 2024. (self-published) and can be purchased at Amazon.

J Thomas Brown: "Dr. William Ferguson Reid: A Legacy" was included in the literary journal, Virginia Writers Project Winter 2024: Volume 2, Number 3, published December 15, 2024, and is available at Amazon.

VWC Chapter and Member News - September, October, November 2024

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:54:54 GMT

Richard Rose read from his collections of poetry and stories at the Retro Reads Bookstore at 7:00 pm on October 10, 2024. retroreadsbookstore.com

Join the Book Launch Celebration with the LGBTQ+ community and allies of Living Into the Truth: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery, a memoir by Annette Marquis exploring family secrets and the search for identity. At the Iridian Gallery at Diversity Richmond on December 8, 2024. All are welcome! https://www.eventbee.com/v/book-launch-reading-with-the-lgbtq-community-allies/event?eid=211622904#/tickets

Acclaimed author and poet Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt has released her 13th book, The World Has Changed from When I Last Was Here (ATW Publishing), a collection of award-winning and new poems centered around adversity, the strength and resilience required to overcome it, and a movement toward peace. A statement of the times exploring late-stage capitalism's impact on individuals--especially those who have been marginalized--the pieces touch on socioeconomic instability, homelessness, injustice, and other underlying factors contributing to a global deterioration in mental health. But it is also a statement of what is needed to create a better world, a healthier world, according to Gotthardt. Read more at Prince William Living. https://princewilliamliving.com/katherine-gotthardts-newest-book-takes-on-global-topics-paths-to-healing/

VWC New Releases - September, October, November 2024

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:25:56 GMT

T. H. Henning: Serenade of Rhymes for Better Times was released on August 20, 2024, by Eber & Wein Publishing

Kat Caldwell: Bended Loyalty was released on September 23, 2024

Pamela K. Kinney: Demon Memories was released on October 15, 2024, by Dreampunk Press

Annette Marquis: Living Into the Truth: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery was released on November 1, 2024, by WordsWomen Press

David Anthony Sam: Geographies of the Dead: Elegies and Meditations was released on October 25, 2024, by Kelsay Books

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt: The World Has Changed from When I Last Was Here was released on November 15, 2024, by ATW Publishing

Ray Collins: Setup was released on November 26, 2024, by Koehler Books

VWC New Releases - July/August 2024

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 09:38:58 GMT

Tracie Adams: Tracie has been busy!

Her nonfiction piece "New Moon" was published on May 1, 2024, in the Sheepshead Review journal.
Her nonfiction piece "Charles My Hero, I Hope I Never See Your Face Again" was published on May 19, 2024, in the Raven'sPerch.com Literary Magazine.
Her nonfiction "Long Road Home" was published on June 5, 2024, in Bright Flash Literary Review.
And "I Guess We'll Never Know" was published in The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.

Mark Fryburg: His article "A Piano, A Flat Tire, and a Troop Train" was published in the Clinch Mountain Review 2023 on September 30, 2023.

Rachelle Nones: The Morse Code Murderer was published by Amazon on June 11, 2024.

Brent A. Bohn: Hands Faster Than Lightning - The Badge was published by Amazon on July 17, 2024.

Christine Gunderson: Friends with Secrets was published by Lake Union on August 1, 2024.

Ray Collins: Setup is scheduled for publication on November 26, 2024, by Koehler Books.

VWC Chapter and Member News - August 2024

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 08:37:26 GMT

Abbey Pachter (Hampton Roads Chapter) is running a promo for "A Monarch in Winter: Biography of a Butterfly" from August 21-24. The e-book will be free during those days.

Links:

abbeypachterauthor.com

https://www.amazon.com/Monarch-Winter-Biography-Butterfly-ebook/dp/B0CM46CGYH

Ray Collins: Motive for Murder received 2023 Indies Honorable Mention; published by Koehler Books on December 29, 2023.

Christine Gunderson: Friends with Secrets, Gunderson's debut novel, was selected as an Amazon First Reads pick for the month of July, 2024.

Mark Fryburg: Won 4/21/2024 Poetry Society of Virginia Contest in the "Sense of Place" category and an Honorable Mention on 5/31/2024 for "Claudia" in the Passager 2024 Poetry Contest (national).

VWC Chapter News

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 06:48:44 GMT

The Hanover Writers Club is gearing up for this year's Hanover Book Expo!

Learn more about this event at www.hanoverbookfestival.com where you can also download the registration form.

Tables are filling up fast, so don't procrastinate!

2024 Teen Nib Winners

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:35:30 GMT

Congratulations to the winners of the Teen Nib Contest 2024:

2024 Teen Golden Nib – Poetry

1st Place: Hailey Gudgel "What Life Is"

2nd Place: Ariana Juliet Blake "Circus"

3rd Place: Sebastian Morales "A Voice for the Silent"

2024 Teen Golden Nib – Fiction

1st Place: Alexandra Blake "╬ö"

2nd Place: Aya Elhassani "Look Outside"

3rd Place: Ariana Juliet Blake "The Disappearing Butter Knife"

2024 Teen Golden Nib – nonfiction

1st Place: Ariana Juliet Blake "Shoes, Coconut, and Corruption: The People Power Revolution"

2nd Place: Elena Cho Davis "Loops"

VWC Member New Releases - June 2024

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:25:40 GMT

Nicholas Warack: The Sailor & The Porteña was released on May 28, 2024, and is available on Amazon.

Lee Swanson: She Serves the Realm is scheduled for release on June 11, 2024, by Merchant's Largesse Books.

VWC Chapter and Member News - June 2024

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:11:05 GMT

Bradley Harper recently signed a contract with a German publisher to publish his novel, A Knife in the Fog, in German. https://bedey-thoms.de/pages/dryas-verlag

Lee Swanson: Book Launch/Signing at The Book Dragon in Staunton on June 22, 2024, from 12:00 to 2:00 PM https://www.leeswansonauthor.me/

Lee Swanson's "Unveiling History's Tapestry" was featured in Reader's House Magazine on May 15, 2024.

London, UK – Lee Swanson, the acclaimed author renowned for his gripping historical fiction, takes center stage in the latest issue of Reader's House magazine. The magazine, a literary gateway revered for featuring bestselling, award-winning, and exceptional authors, invites readers on a journey through Swanson's captivating world of medieval Europe. Swanson's life has been a mosaic of treks, travels, and literary exploration, culminating in his masterful crafting of historical narratives. In an exclusive interview with Reader's House, Swanson shares insights into his writing process, where meticulous research intertwines with imaginative storytelling to breathe life into his novels. At the heart of Swanson's literary realm lies the No Man is Her Master series, a saga set in 14th-century Europe, featuring the fiercely independent protagonist, Christina Kohl. Through Swanson's pen, Kohl defies societal norms, embarking on a journey of self-discovery amidst a backdrop of political intrigue and danger. Readers are invited to immerse themselves in Swanson's latest installment, She Serves the Realm, a triumphant finale that enthralls with its gripping narrative of love, duty, and sacrifice. Through Kohl's experiences, Swanson transcends the barriers of time, offering readers a glimpse into the universal truths of human resilience and the pursuit of identity. In the interview, Swanson discusses his approach to blending historical accuracy with fictional storytelling, the inspiration behind his strong and unconventional female characters, and the challenges of portraying turbulent historical periods with authenticity. About the Author: Lee Swanson is an acclaimed author whose passion for medieval history and storytelling has captivated readers worldwide. With a background in European History and a penchant for meticulous research, Swanson weaves intricate tapestries of historical fiction, inviting readers to embark on immersive journeys through the annals of time.

About Reader's House: Reader's House magazine is a premier literary publication dedicated to celebrating the art of storytelling. With a global reach spanning over 190 countries and available in thousands of stores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Waterstones, Reader's House showcases bestselling, award-winning, and emerging authors, offering readers a diverse array of captivating narratives.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Anna Harlowe, Editor, Reader's House
Email: editor@readershouse.co.uk

For more information, visit readershouse.co.uk.

https://www.leeswansonauthor.me/

VWC Member New Releases - May 2024

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 16 May 2024 13:26:56 GMT

Tracie Adams: "Death of an Unknown Soldier" was published on April 12, 2024, by Words of the Lamb Magazine.

Jessie D. Eaker: Midnyte's Dragon Kiss was published on May 1, 2024, and is available on Amazon.

Tracie Adams: "New Moon" was published on May 2, 2024, by Sheepshead Review.

Craig Trebilcock: An Absence of Faith: A Tale of Afghanistan was released on May 6, 2024, by Booklocker.com.

David Simms: Pierce the Veil is scheduled for release on July 16, 2024, by Crossroad Press.

Pamela K. Kinney: Demon Memories is scheduled for release on October 15, 2024, by Dreampunk Press.

VWC Member and Chapter News - May 2024

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 16 May 2024 13:20:00 GMT

Tom Henning has been invited to be on a panel of speakers at a book signing event at the Purceville Library on June 8, 2024. The event is promoted by the Northern Virginia Writers Club.

Pamela K. Kinney will be a vendor with her books at the Wytheville UFO Festival, 10am - 6pm on June 8, 2024, at Wytheville Meeting Rooms, 333 Community Blvd., Wytheville, Virginia.

VWC Member & Chapter News - March/April 2024

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:49:51 GMT

Tony Spadafora will be exhibiting Twelve Rebels Hidden in Washington D.C. at Kensington Maryland's Day of the Book on April 21st, 2024. dayofthebook.com

Bradley Harper recently signed a contract with a German publisher to publish his novel, A Knife in the Fog, in German.

VWC Member New Releases - March/April 2024

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:41:26 GMT

Caroline Crocker: Unforgivable: Through a Child's Eyes was published by Rambling Ruminations and released April 5, 2024.

2023 Golden Nib Winners

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 03:05:44 GMT

Fiction

1st Place: “Desperation” by Michelle McBeth

2nd Place: “Front Porch” by Emily Walls Ray

3rd Place: “The Grove” by Craig Trebilcock

Nonfiction

1st Place: “On a Sunday Morning” by Andrea Yarbough

2nd Place: “Shloshim” by Abbey Pachter

3rd Place: “The Lost Starfish” by Wendy Dwyer

Poetry

1st Place: “In the Midst of Hanami” by Jennifer Hotz

2nd Place: “Tipping Point” by Jessica Mardian

3rd Place: “Climbing Bear Claw” by Emily Walls Ray

VWC New Releases - February 2024

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 22:06:02 GMT

Jason Maddux: We're Here to Help... Ourselves was released on November 25, 2023, and is available at Amazon.

Rachelle Nones: Candy Canes, Hot Cocoa, & A Cold Corpse was released on February 14, 2024, and is available at Amazon.

Sharon Lyon: Fossil Thief: A Henrietta Ballantine Adventure was released on February 15, 2024, and is available at Amazon.

VWC New Releases - January 2024

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 15:35:45 GMT

Musau WaKabongo: Mukanda wa Nomba - Ammon Jabhari Ditu: Kitabu kia Idadi; Buku ya Motangu; Mukanda wa Mitalu; Livre des Nombres; Book of Numbers Kindle Edition. Release date was 12/30/2023 by Amazon (Kindle Version)

Sharon Pajka to speak on her book at Hanover Tavern's Speaker Series

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 02:13:38 GMT

Just in time for Poe’s birthday, author Sharon Pajka discusses her new book, “The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe; Graves of His Family, Friends and Foes”. This is a FREE event but a $5 suggested donation is appreciated. Reserve your seat at https://app.gopassage.com/events/speaker-series-poe

VWC Chapter and Member News Dec/Jan

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:02:54 GMT

Pamela K Kinney will be a writer guest at Marscon being held in Virginia Beach January 12, 13, and 14, 2024. More information: https://www.marscon.net/wp/

VWC Chapter and Member News - December 2023

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 03:23:13 GMT

J. Thomas Brown signed his novels, The Hole in the Bone and Land of Three Houses, at 2nd and Charles, 9004 W. Broad St., in Richmond, VA on December 2. His poem, "Quiet Man" has been published in Moonstone Press' Which Side are You On? Labor Day 2023 Anthology which was released in October. In September, Moonstone Press included his poem, "Hotel in the Sky", in their Remembering Woody Guthrie collection and "One Way Zone" in World Laughter Day. Two haiku, "Lucid" and "Nothingness", appeared in Moonstone Press' International Haiku Day 2023 anthology in August. So, he has been very busy! Congratulations, J. Thomas Brown.

VWC New Releases - December 2023

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 21:27:05 GMT

Elizabeth Stewart: Almost Unloved Vol 1 and Vol 2 were released on October 15, 2023, by LT-writing.com.

Abbey Pachter: A Monarch in Winter: Biography of a Butterfly was released October 29, 2023, by Dr. Abbey Pachter and is available at Amazon.com.

Pamela K. Kinney: Christmas Magic was released October 31, 2023, by Little Dreamers.

Charles Tabb: Like an Untimely Frost was released November 1, 2023, by Gifted Time Books.

Christine Born: Called By a Dragon was released November 12, 2023, by Ingram Spark.

D.A. Spruzen: The Witch of Tut was released December 1, 2023, by 4 Horsemen Publications.

Jer Long: Pollyanna Gay was released December 5, 2023, by Brandylane Publishers, Inc.

V.M. Roberts: Life With Leah Chandler Activity Book was released December 15, 2023, by KDP and is available at Amazon.com.

Ray Collins: Motive For Murder is scheduled to be published December 29, 2023, by Koehler Books.

Devin Reese: Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs is scheduled for release on April 23, 2024, by Johns Hopkins Press.

VWC Chapter and Member News - October/November

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:11:58 GMT

Jeri Rogers reports the Artemis Journal 2023 has been released as of September 1, 2023. https://artemisjournal.org

The coauthors of Brave Face: The Inspiring WWII Memoir of a Dutch/German Child won a Firebird Book Award in the biography/historical genre! Congratulations! Brave Face | The Inspiring WWII Memoir of a Dutch/German Child (iammeta.org)

VWC Member New Releases - October/November 2023

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 15:32:35 GMT

Rebecca D. Martin: Mortar and Bones was published in Susurrus Magazine on August 20, 2023. Mortar and Bones — Susurrus (susurrusthemagazine.com)

T.H. Henning: A podcast regarding "Spies in Scotland; The Ghost Squadron" was released on September 15, 2023, by Podcast Jacqui Just Chatters (buzzsprout.com)

Yocasta Bianconi: Solo Para Enfermeros y Cuidadores was released on September 25, 2023, and is available at Amazon.

Janice Sebring: Fearful Breakers was released on September 27, 2023, by Antimacassar Books.

Pamela K. Kinney: "At the Movies" was published in Sirens Call Publications, Halloween issue (an E-Zine) on October 27, 2023. SirensCallEZine_Halloween2023.pdf (sirenscallpublications.com)

V.M. Roberts: Exchange Chaos was released via KDP on November 15, 2023.

VWC New Releases - August/September 2023

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:54:02 GMT

David M. Simms: Curse of the Barrens was released on July 26, 2023, by Crossroad Press

Deidra Whitt Lovegren: The Medicine Woman was released on August 15, 2023, by Blue Marble Publishing

Lee Swanson: Her Dangerous Journey Home was released on August 1, 2023, by Merchant's Largesse Books

Richard Raymond, III: My Life with Holmes: The Further Reminiscences of Dr. John H. Watson, M.D. was published on June 16, 2023, by KDP/Amazon

J.E. Tobin: Triple Divide is scheduled for release on September 4, 2023, by Pale Horse Books

Board of Governors Meeting - 3rd Quarter

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 13:49:01 GMT

The next Board of Governors meeting will be held Thursday, September 7, at 7:00 PM. It should last around 90 minutes or so. If you would like to attend this meeting on Zoom, please email Chuck Tabb. He will send you the information to allow you to join in. If you are already a member of the Board of Governors, you do NOT need to ask for the information to join the meeting on Zoom. That email was sent on August 16, and the information will be sent again prior to the meeting date.

It is very important that at least one person from each chapter try to attend to help disseminate information to the members of the chapters. Each chapter is a part of The Virginia Writers Club, even if all the chapter members are not members of the state organization. Representation at Board meetings is, therefore, important. Attendance also helps us create a quorum to allow for voting on issues that arise during the meetings.

VWC New Releases - August 2023

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 01:26:54 GMT

Anne Marie Wells: Survived By: A Memoir in Verse & Other Poems was released 4/30/2023 by Curious Corvid Publishing.

Yocasta Bianconi: Solo Para Enfeermeros y Cuidadores: 7 Claves para mantener tu energia y pacientes mas felices is scheduled for release on 8/28/2023 by Instituto de Autores.

Sharon Pajka: The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of His Family, Friends, and Foes is scheduled for release on 8/21/2023 by The History Press.

DM Frech: Quiet Tree is scheduled for release on 9/22/2023 by Finishing Line Press.

Keith 'K.A.' Kenny: The Starflower is scheduled for release on 8/18/2023 by Austin Macauley Publishers.

John J. Musgrove: Mary's Grace is scheduled for release on 9/19/2023 by Dementi Milestone Publishing.

Jennifer Randall Hotz: Her poem, "That Spring, Dear Daughter," was published in Naugatuck River Review released on 8/2/2023.

VWC Member and Chapter News - August 2023

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 01:16:35 GMT

Pamela K. Kinney: Pamela's poem, "Dementia", will be included in the Lovecraftian horror poetry anthology, The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, which is now available for preorder. The anthology releases January 2024 from Cemetary Dance Publications.

John J. Musgrove: Henrico Author Showcase - Live Presentation for Public - September 25, 2023 - https://henricolibrary-va.libcal.com/event/10885423

2023 Symposium Booklet

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 01:53:44 GMT

For your copy of the 2023 Symposium Booklet, click below:

SHARING THE DREAM!

VWC Member New Releases - July 2023

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 14:48:43 GMT

G.M. Malliet: Death in Print to be released August 1, 2023, by Severn House

P.M.H. Atwater: Edge Walker: The Many Lives and Deaths of PMH Atwater was released May 31, 2023, by Rainbow Ridge Books

Debbie Gail Zane: Finding Peace and Purpose Amidst the Tears was released May 9, 2023, by Balboa Press

Patrice Wilkerson: My Favorite Season is Spring was released May 1, 2023, by Skippy Creek

Paula T. Weiss: The Deplorable Underground was released June 8, 2023, by KDP/Braeburn Road Books LLC

Heather Cole: Virginia's Presidents: A History and Guide was released January 30, 2023, by The History Press

Susan Schwartz: Haunted Inns and Hotels in Virginia is scheduled for release on August 21, 2023, by The History Press/Haunted America

VWC New Releases - June, 2023

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 20:21:52 GMT

Madelyn Rohrer: Children of the Edict - Survival, Scars, and a New Generation is to be published July 18, 2023, by Koehler Books.

Ray Collins: The General's Briefcase was scheduled to be published June 13, 2023, by Koehler Books.

T.D. King: Fractured, Not Broken was released on May 8, 2023, by KDP and IngramSpark, and is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.

Katherine Cobb: Little Wife Lies was released on June 1, 2023, by Bandito Publishing.

VWC Chapter and Member News - June 2023

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 19:58:15 GMT

Sharon Lyon: Sharon Lyon's novel, Fossil Woman, has won the IBPA Benjamin Franklin silver award for Best Audiobook: Fiction for 2023. https://www.ibpabenjaminfranklinaward.com/winners-audiobook-fiction

Pamela K. Kinney: Pamela K. Kinney will be participating in the Lancaster Community Library's Author Expo from 1-4pm on July 8th at the Lancaster Community Library in Kilmarnock, Virginia. http://lancasterlibrary.org/events-and-activities1/authors-expo-2023

Pamela K. Kinney will be moderating a panel on horror fiction, Scary is the New Hot Item, 3:15-4:05pm on July 22, 2023, at Fantasci, the Chesapeake Central Library's mini science fiction/fantasy/horror convention, 298 Cedar Rd., Chesapeake, VA. (The con is all day from 10am to 5pm and is free and open to the public.

Joanne Liggan, Cecelia Thomas, Harry Heckel, and Chuck Tabb will also be participating in the Lancaster Community Library's Author Expo in Kilmarnock, Virginia.

http://lancasterlibrary.org/events-and-activities1/authors-expo-2023

VWC New Releases - March/April

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 13:37:45 GMT

Tim Simpson: The Shadow Man: Of Cash Hollow Rd. was released 1/26/2023 by Amazon.

D.M. Frech: "Appointment" was among the stories included in The Journal by The Writers Guild of Virginia which was released on 1/31/2023.

Ricky Ginsburg: Putting a Ghost to Rest was released 2/23/2023 by Amazon.

Ray Collins: The General's Briefcase is scheduled to be released 6/13/2023 by Koehler Books.

Joseph Seechack: A Love to Die For, Seechack's debut novel, is scheduled for release on 12/29/2023 by Koehler Books.

VWC Member News - April

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 13:32:34 GMT

The Short Mystery Fiction Society has announced the nominees for the prestigious 2023 Derringer, to be awarded at Bouchercon in San Diego this year. G.M. Malliet is on the list in the long form category for Something Blue. Congratulations G.M. Malliet!

https://www.gmmalliet.com/blog/2023-derringer-nominees-for-best-short-story-announced

VWC Member New Releases - February 2023

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 17:05:07 GMT

David Anthony Sam: Stone Bird: Poems of Exile is scheduled for release on March 1, 2023, by San Francisco Bay Press.

Jenna Harte: Drawn to Her (audio release) is scheduled to be released on February 21, 2023, by Tantor Media.

Jenna Harte: Death of a Coupon Queen: A Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery is scheduled to be released on February 21, 2023, by Harlequin Worldwide Mystery (subrights edition).

VWC Member & Chapter News - February

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 17:44:33 GMT

From the Chesapeake Bay Writers, offering the following events:

March 19, 2023: Open Mic at the Williamsburg Library Stryker Center, 1:00-3:00.

April 30, 2023: "Newspaper Sparks" with Sally Honenberger. Hidden arsonist tendencies when you're writing? Here’s your chance to try something to fan the flames of creativity. Sally will share newspaper scraps and give a few brief sparks of tinder-ready advice, then you can start your own conflagration of characters and challenges. We’ll write and read and write some more. This is not show off but show down time. We’ll read anonymously, poke the embers a bit with polite critique, and then try another newspaper spark. This will be intense fun, coals under your feet, but no pain. A chance to blaze away and send sparks across the galaxies. Location: Settlement at Powhatan Creek, Community Center
GPS: Coordinates get you close - use 4000 River Moor Road. However, after you turn off Monticello Road, pass the pond, and get to the intersection of Saunders Bridge and River Moor, turn right at the traffic circle and turn right into the parking lot.

May 7, 2023: "How to Effectively Critique a Manuscript - An Interactive Presentation for Readers and Writers". This is a joint presentation with the Williamsburg Library, presented by Sally Stiles at Stryker Center, 412 N Boundary St., Williamsburg, VA 23185

VWC New Releases - February

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 17:03:26 GMT

Jane Limprecht: "Net Profit and Loss" was included in the Sisters in Crime Hook, Line, and Sinker: The Seventh Guppy Anthology, released January 27, 2023.

Wendi Dass: Zomerschoon-Beauty of Summer will be released on February 22, 2023, by The Wild Rose Press.

VWC Member and Chapter News - Poetry Event!

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:41:08 GMT

VWC Chapter and Member News - January 2023

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 21:02:05 GMT

Sharon Pajka will be the featured author at the Books in Bloom Special Edition: Celebrating Women's History Month event on March 23, 2023. (See the Facebook link below for more details.

(3) Facebook

David W. Perkins is now entering full retirement after working out of state since September 2021. He is looking forward to working on several writing projects and reengaging with the Blue Ridge writers and events of the VWC. Welcome back, David!

VWC Member New Releases - January 2023

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 17:49:15 GMT

Thomas Henning: A Serenade of Rhymes for Better Times is to be released on January 15, 2023, by Amazon Publishing.

Marjorie Gowdy: Inflorescence: The Pasture at Rest is to be released on March 31, 2023, by Finishing Line Press.

Cass Morris: The Bloodstained Shade is to be released on January 31, 2023.

Victoria Fletcher: Easter A to Z was released on December 23, 2022, by Hoot Books Publishing.

Susan Williamson: Glimpses of a Public Ivy: Fifty Years at William & Mary by David L. Holmes, and edited by Susan Williamson, was released on December 8, 2022, by Schiffer Publishing.

VWC Member & Chapter News - December

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 13:53:46 GMT

Pam Webber: Pam's latest novel, Life Dust, has been named Editor's Choice by the Historical Novel Society. Her previous two novels, The Wiregrass and Moon Water, also received this designation.

VWC Member/Chapter News - October 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 20:58:29 GMT

Jeff Schnader: Schnader's short story, "The Champion," which won 1st prize in the 2020 Quills Contest for Short Fiction, has been published in the Arlington Literary Journal (ArLiJo) by the Gival Press in its October 2022, Issue #165.

Charles Tabb: Sales of Tabb's debut novel, Floating Twigs, published in 2018 and recently translated into Russian by AST publishers in Moscow, recently topped 75,000 in total book sales. Sales continue to do well.

Betty Jamerson Reed: Reed had a successful year: "School Tales Propel a Career Change," in the Nobody's Home anthology; "Love Blooms, School Dies" and "Coming Home" in Virginia Writers Anthology; "Requiem" and "Woodland Glory" in Whispering Willow, Tree Poems, as well as "The Masterpiece." She has been informed her work will be included in the 2022 eno Magazine.

VWC Member New Releases - October/November 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 20:34:24 GMT

Betty J. Reed: Reed's article "School Tales Propel a Career Change" was published in a Foster Dickson on-line anthology on August 24, 2022. "The Masterpiece" was published on October 25, 2022 by the Georgia Poetry Society.

Pamela K. Kinney: Kinney's short story "Pumpkin Hollow" was published by Dreampunk Press in their Halloween horror anthology, Blame It on the Pumpkin, on October 25, 2022.

Karen Jones: The Summer of Grace was published on November 2, 2022, by Brother Mockingbird Publishing.

Ellen Butler: Operation Blackbird: A Cold War Spy Novel was published on November 2, 2022, by Power to the Pen.

Tim Simpson: Manny: A Prequel will be re-released on November 30, 2022 and will be available at Amazon.com.

2022 Golden Nib Winners!

Charles Tabb — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 22:42:58 GMT

Announcing the winners of 2022's Golden Nib!

Poetry

First Place:

Devin Reese, "Small Pandemic Joys"

Second Place:

Joy Merritt Krystosek, "Ashes to Ashes Dust and Beyond"

Third Place

C.L. Bledsoe, "Barley and Vegetable Soup"

Nonfiction

First Place:

John Dutton, III, "The Season of the Lost Summer"

Second Place:

Cecilia Thomas, "Nina"

Third Place:

Jason Maddux, "Instructions for How to Buy a Tent"

Fiction

First Place:

David Barudin, "Berka Menakhemovich"

Second Place:

Alyce Rita Campbell, "Death on National Paperclip Day"

Third Place:

Paul Steinberg, "Branch Office"

VWC Member New Releases - September 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 18:56:30 GMT

Deidra Lovegren: The Medicine Girl was released August 9, 2022 by Blue Marble Publishing

VWC Member New Releases - August 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 14:03:27 GMT

David Cariens: The Murder of Angela Dales was released August 9, 2022, by High Tide Publications.

Charles Tabb: Gathering Twigs was released July 1, 2022, by Gifted Time Books.

Jenna Harte: Death of a Miser was released August 9, 2022, by Camel Press.

VWC Member/Chapter News - July 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 16 Jul 2022 18:03:12 GMT

James Tobin: was interviewed on Steve Ludwig's Classic Pop Culture podcast on YouTube on July 1, 2022. It was a discussion about his recent novel, When We Were Wolves. You can listen to the podcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnqKpMYZOts

James Tobin also had a book signing at Williamsburg's Barnes and Noble on July 9, 2022.

August 3, 2022, 1 PM - Book Brush

Join Kathleen Sweeney from Book Brush for a fun live walk-through of the Book Brush tools. We'll share easy ways to create social media graphics, Book Covers, Book Trailers and share some of the newest features including Animated Mockups, Amazon A+ Content and Animated Email Signatures. Kathleen will share handy tips & tricks along the way and have time for Q & A, too.

This workshop is free and will be recorded but you need to register. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpcu2orDwiGddIUvX7fc6dBGA_th_0Q7Ne

August 10, 2022, 6 PM - AutoCrit

Presentation of Autocrit, an editing software built to match the genuine demands of publishing professionals and discerning readers by adding a technological edge to your creativity. AutoCrit gives you step-by-step recommendations for improving your manuscript based on what real readers want to see. It compares your MS to top selling books, has a robust community of writers, offers courses, and more.

This workshop is free and will be recorded, but you need to register.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAucOCqqDwpG91jFq-Q3XF9PRmAh_fZhG1F

VWC Member New Releases - June 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 13:36:21 GMT

Jessie D. Eaker: Monday After the Apolcalypse was published 5/18/2022 and is available at Amazon.com.

G.M. Malliet: Augusta Hawke is scheduled to be released on 7/5/2022 by Severn House.

John Musgrove: Ginter's Pope is scheduled to be released on 6/25/2022 by Littlestar Communications.

VWC New Releases - May 2022

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 13 May 2022 13:24:33 GMT

Lynn H. Wyvill: Abundant Strength: A Caregiver's Prayers, a collection of poetry for sons and daughters who must care for their elderly parents, was released on April 5, 2022.

J. E. Tobin: When We Were Wolves is scheduled for release on May 15, 2022, by Pale Horse Books (PaleHorseBooks.com).

Pamela K. Kinney: Her article "Why Do Women Writers Write about Monsters and Ghosts" was published in Horror Addicts Guide to Life 2, released on April 29, 2022.

VWC Member New Releases - April 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 16:41:39 GMT

Kaelyn Pennington: Beyond the Walls is scheduled to be published 4/20/2022.

Sharon Lyon: Fossil Woman: A Novel; Published 3/2/2022 by Amazon

Pamela K. Kinney: Werewolves, Dogmen, and Other Shapeshifters Stalking North America is scheduled to be released 4/26/2022 by Dreampunk Press

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt: Thirty Years of Cardinals Calling, Select Published Poems, to be published by San Francisco Bay Press in April, 2022. Proceeds benefit creative writing programs for at-risk and disadvantaged youth. https://www.sanfranciscobaypress.com/shop/p/thirty-years-of-cardinals-calling

Elizabeth Mowbray: Roly Poly and the Creepy Cave is scheduled to be released 5/1/2022 by Amazon

VWC Member & Chapter News

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 12 Mar 2022 16:02:54 GMT

Charles Tabb will be having an Author Meet & Greet on Sunday, March 20 from 4-6 pm. He will be discussing his writing process, his books, and the marketing process he has used to sell 100,000 copies of his books.

VWC Chapter and Member News, March 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 15:40:29 GMT

Poetry readings by Sara Robinson and Hiram Larew:

VM Roberts, an author with the Richmond Chapter, has two events coming up in March and April. These are ZOOM events, so please contact her at the email address shown on the following event flyers to obtain the ZOOM code necessary to attend.

VWC Member New Releases, March 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 15:07:11 GMT

Carol Cutler (A.K.A. April Cleveland): Buchanan County Dreaming, published by HootPublishing, was released on January 23, 2022.

Sharon Lyon: Fossil Woman: A Novel, published and available at Amazon Kindle, was released on March 2, 2022.

VWC Chapter News - Chesapeake Bay Writers

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 15:06:24 GMT

The CBW is hosting a marketing presentation given by Adam Haviaras on June 11th at 11 am! The zoom invite will come later.

This is a free event.

For more information, contact Sonja McGiboney at smcgphoto@gmail.com.

Adam Alexander Haviaras is an author, blogger and historian, and the founder of Eagles and Dragons Publishing. He is the author of over twenty books, including the #1 best-selling Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series set in the Roman Empire. Since 2009, his blog Writing the Past has helped his readers, and countless students and history enthusiasts around the world to learn more about the mythology, history, and archaeology of the ancient and medieval worlds. Adam has studied ancient and medieval history and archaeology at the University of Toronto, Canada, and St. Andrews University, Scotland. His research for his books and academic work has taken him from numerous sites across the UK, to France, all over Greece, Italy and the Sahara desert in North Africa. He has sold books in over 35 countries around the world. Adam Alexander Haviaras is also an author coach and book publishing consultant who loves to share what he has learned over the years with other authors so that they can find success in wri4ng and publishing.

VWC Member News - February

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 22:09:55 GMT

Paul Schutte's play, "The Pirates of Chemo" is going to be performed in Bangkok, Thailand in May. It has previously been performed in 14 states in the US. Learn more at https://bangkokcommunitytheatre.com/shows/pirates-of-chemo-cast/

Virginia Festival of the Book Events

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 16:08:23 GMT

"Uncertainty Within: Literary Fiction," panel members, Sharon Harrigan (Half), Cliff Garstang (Oliver's Travels), and Lesley Wheeler (Unbecoming), will read from their novels and discuss their characters' unique self-discovery journeys. Jody Hobbs Hesler will moderate. March 17 from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the Jefferson Madison Regional Library.For more info: https://www.vabook.org/events/2022/03/uncertainty-within-literary-fiction/

The Moseley Writers will present The Write Start: Moseley Speed Critique for the sixteenth year in a row on Sunday, March 13, 2022, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., virtually via Zoom, as part of this year’s Virginia Festival of the Book. Panelists are published writers across a range of genres. They will read aloud from anonymous submissions of the first 100 words of original, unpublished manuscripts, then discuss story elements that work, suggest story elements that could be improved, and answer questions from the audience.

Submissions for critique must be sent via email to writestart700@gmail.com by Friday, March 11, 2022. Paste the entry into the body of the e-mail. No attachments, please. Nonfiction, horror and erotica will not be considered. Entries will be critiqued in the order in which they are received, so the earlier you send your entry, the more likely it is to be critiqued.

This event is FREE to attend and open to the public. To register, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3lSj2K_iS0eXPUil35aspw. A video recording will also be available on VaBook.org/Watch after the event concludes.

The Write Start: Moseley Speed Critique is presented as part of the 2022 Virginia Festival of the Book’s Virginia Writing & Publishing series, hosted by these writing centers and organizations across Virginia: 1455 Literary Arts, James River Writers, The Muse, Randolph College MFA, Watershed Lit: Center for Literary Engagement and Publishing Practice, and WriterHouse.

_________

Panel members:

Meredith Cole started her career as a screenwriter and filmmaker. She was the winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic competition. Her first book, Posed for Murder(St. Martin’s Minotaur), was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. Her short stories have appeared in the anthologies Murder New York Style and Virginia is for Mystery, as well as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She teaches writing at WriterHouse.

Jody Hobbs Hesler teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville and her work appears or is forthcoming in The Los Angeles Review, Arts & Letters, CRAFT, The Bangalore Review, Raleigh Review, Pithead Chapel, The Rumpus, The Georgia Review, Charlottesville Wine & Country Life, and elsewhere.

BettyJoyce Nash, a journalist and short story writer, co-edited a book of literary gun stories, Lock & Load: Armed Fiction (University of New Mexico Press, 2017). North Dakota Quarterly, Broad River Review, Across the Margin, and C-ville Weekly, among others, have published her fiction; in 2015, she won the F. Scott Fitzgerald prize. Her fiction has been recognized with fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and others.

Deborah M. Prum’s award winning fiction has appeared in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Across the Margin and other publications. Her audio book, First Kiss and Other Cautionary Tales, is a collection of essays, which have aired on NPR-member stations and have appeared in The Washington Post and many other publications. She’s written on writing for Writer Magazine, The Writer’s Handbook, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Magazine. She teaches at WriterHouse.

For more information, please contact Jody Hesler at 434-409-0902.

VWC Member & Chapter News - January/February 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 18:03:40 GMT

Sarah Collins Honenberger: Won First Place, Novel Excerpt, SOUL KEATS LITERARY COMPETITION, National Pen Women, from her fourth novel, Minding Henry Lewis. Readings will be on YouTube after the March 27, 2022 Virtual Awards Ceremony in San Francisco.

Dawn Brotherton: Will be on her Midwest Book Tour from March 5 - May 8, 2022.

VWC Member New Releases - January/February 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 16:11:43 GMT

VM Roberts: Senator Stokes was released on 7/22/2021 by Amazon

VM Roberts: Searching for Lloyd was released on 12/14/2021 by Amazon

VM Roberts: Imprints of Her Decisions was released on 12/22/2021 by Amazon

VM Roberts: Nena St. George was released on 7/28/2021 by Amazon

David Barudin: People Around the Corner and Other Strangers was released on 1/24/2022, by Amazon (in ebook and paperback)

Coe Sherrard: The Other Side of Good was released on 1/18/2022, by Koehler Books

Dawn Brotherton: The Dragons of Silent Mountain will be released on 2/5/2022 by Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC

VWC New Releases - January 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 21:19:32 GMT

Mary Elizabeth Ames: Raephela was released on December 20, 2021 by Koehler Books

VWC Member & Chapter News - January 2022

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 21:15:04 GMT

"Rivanna Review" is a new print quarterly for stories, essays, and book reviews. It is open to submissions and by subscription. For details, see rivannareview.com.

VWC Member & Chapter News - October/November

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 17:38:55 GMT

Irene Wittig has created a website to accompany her historical novel, All That Lingers, with historical, cultural, and gastronomic information, videos, and photographs about the Vienna of her novel. https://all-that-lingers.com

Janice Hoffman participated in the Williamsburg Book Festival on October 2 and had a book signing at The Book Warehouse in Williamsburg on October 10. Her next reading was at the A-Ibanez Museum and Gallery in Kilmarnock on October 24. She shared again on Friday, November 5 at the Gloucester Arts Center and will be on the Neal Steele radio program, Xtra 99.1 FM on Tuesday, November 30. Her new children's book, Four Fairy Friends Celebrate Christmas, was recently released by High Tide Publishing just in time for the holidays. Visit her evolving website at jan-hoffman.com.

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins short fiction "Remembered" appears in Eucalyptus and Rose Literary Magazine, September 10, 2021. Remembered (eucalyptusandroselitmag.com) Spragins' 53-word stories "Mistaken Identity," "Deliverance," and "Unleashed" appear in "Borrowed Solace" Issue 4.2: Tamed (Fall 2021) Elizabeth Spencer Spragins – Award-winning poet, writer, and celebrant of landscapes (wordpress.com)

C.E. Albanese's unpublished novel, Drone Kings, was selected as the 2021 Clive Cussler Adventure Writers Competition Grandmaster winner! Congratulations!

Write By the Rails held a Fall Workshop on November 13, 2021. Unfortunately for them, I did not get this posted in time for anyone to sign up. I apologize for that. To keep up with future events, go to their website at https://wbtr.org/

Danielle Daynay had a book reading/signing on November 18, 2021 at the Witch's Brew Cafe.

VWC Member New Releases, November 2021

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 17:01:06 GMT

Coe Sherrard: The Other Side of Good is scheduled for publication on January 17, 2022, by Koehler Books in Virginia Beach.

(The image shown is a work-in-progress and may not represent the actual cover of the book.)

Victoria Fletcher: Happily in Evermore was released November 1, 2021, by Hoot Books Publishing.

VWC Member New Releases, October 2021

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 15:55:11 GMT

Charles Tabb: Finding Twigs was released on July 20, 2021, by Gifted Time Books

Janice Hoffman: Four Fairy Friends Celebrate Christmas was released on September 27, 2021, by High Tide Publications, Inc.

Kris Spisak: Kris's article, "When is My Novel Ready to Read: 7 Self-Editing Processes for Writers," was published on September 24, 2021, in Writer's Digest. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cuy4pdPi-boY-cMXk5pR-rP83RKCNPn3UwDMBhJL6kU/edit#:~:text=https%3A//www.writersdigest.com/write%2Dbetter%2Dfiction/when%2Dis%2Dmy%2Dnovel%2Dready%2Dto%2Dread%2Dself%2Dediting%2Dprocesses%2Dfor%2Dwriters

K.P. Robbins: Thoughts and Prayers, a novel by Lee Anne Post, was released October 26, 2021, by Milford House Press, an imprint of Sunbury Press, Inc.

Patrice Wilkerson: Wilkerson's article was featured in the book Dear God: 118 Devotional Prayers for Teens and Young Adults, published on November 1, 2021.

William Tang: The Chinese Slant was published on July 20, 2021, by History Publishing Co., LLC

William Tang: "Besieged by Songs" was published in History Magazine Quarterly on August 1, 2021.

Return to Needville: Dramatic Reading by Sara Robinson

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 18:19:22 GMT

This event will be at the New Event Center at the Colonnades Senior Living Community at 2600 Barracks Rd.

For more information CLICK HERE.

The Blue Ridge Journal flip-book!

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 20:54:27 GMT

There is now a flip-book version of the Blue Ridge Journal!

Check it out by clicking this link: https://online.fliphtml5.com/miqny/voxg/

VWC Member & Chapter News - September

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 12:26:28 GMT

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins: Her poem "The Devil's Garden" has been published in the fall issue of Masque and Spectacle.

Stacy Clair: Her poem "Doubt" has been published in the September issue of Beneath the Soil, released 9/11/2021. https://www.timetotell.org/beneath-the-soil

VWC Members' New Releases - September

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 12:08:37 GMT

Elaine Ruggieri: Retreat at St. Jerome's was released August 13, 2021, by KDP Publishing

Danielle Dayney: When Love Sticks Around will be released November 15, 2021 by Belle Isle Press

Suite T Salutes Sara M. Robinson

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 18:03:22 GMT

Sara M. Robinson was interviewed for a blog for Suite T. You may read the article by CLICKING HERE!

Sara has also been working with actress Breanne Parhiala on a mini-doc series about relationships between older generations and younger ones.

VWC Members' New Releases - August

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 13:48:26 GMT

G.M. Malliet: Death in Cornwall: St. Just #4; To be released 10/28/2021; Published by Canongate

Jeffrey James Higgins: Unseen: Evil Lurks Among Us; Released 8/26/2021 by Black Rose Writing

David Barudin: Alternate Routes: Coming of Age in America's Largest Generation; Published 4/01/2021 by Amazon (e-book and paperback)

Northern Virginia Chapter News

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:55:42 GMT

The Northern Virginia Chapter has a new website. It was designed by member Nate Hoffelder and includes member profile pages. Check it out! https://northernvirginiawriters.org/

VWC Member & Chapter News - July/August

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:37:53 GMT

Paulette Whitehurst: Her book, A Child Is A Poem You Learn By Heart: A Memoir in Verse, has been awarded first place by the Virginia Professional Communicators for Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers, Autobiography or Memoir. (https://vapc.org/state-contest-winners/)

Mary Elizabeth Ames is pleased to announce that H'llgraith (Book II) was awarded a silver medal at the prestigious 33rd Annual Benjamin Franklin awards for 2021. This is H'llgraith's second literary award in the category of Science Fiction & Fantasy. H'llgraith was also awarded Finalist by the American Fiction Awards in 2020.

J Thomas Brown's "Valium Dream" has received an honorable mention in the Streetlight 2021 Essay/Memoir Contest and will be published in a forthcoming issue. The original draft was a Carolyn Forché style poem that was expanded into a momoir. His work centers on social unrest and drug abuse in the 1960s. (https://streetlightmag.com/category/essay/)

G.M. Malliet: Her 2020 novella "A Murder at Morehead Mews" came in 5th in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's Readers Choice Awards. The story also has been nominated for a Derringer Award. This novella appeared in the July/August 2020 edition of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Winners will be announced May 1. (https://elleryqueenmysterymagazine.com/)

Cass Morris is a Hugo Award Finalist as part of the team behind Worldbuilding for Masochists, a podcast which discusses the craft of writing speculative worlds.

News from The Sun Magazine

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 15:13:31 GMT

The Sun recently launched a magazine “give and take” program, where we help find homes for gently used copies of the magazine. We’ve had a wonderful response from readers eager to give their collections a new life and I wondered whether you could help spread the word for folks who might be interested in receiving the magazine? We’ve been working with “literacy banks,” community reading rooms, poetry clubs, writing groups, etc. Our post about it is here: https://thesunmagazine.org/news/give-and-take-old-issues.

Connie Lapallo to retrace her path from page to screen at CBW luncheon meeting

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 10:40:37 GMT

Some writers dream of seeing their books on the big screen. For Connie Lapallo, the dream has come true. In September, she will tell the Chesapeake Bay Writers (CBW) how it happened.

Lapallo will speak at CBW’s Literary Luncheon Meeting in Williamsburg on Wednesday September 15. The event will begin with a social hour at 11:30 and a three-course French meal at 12:30. After lunch, Lapallo will describe how the film based on her novel Dark Enough to See the Stars became a finalist in the 2021 Richmond International Film Festival. She will be joined by her son, Adam Lapallo, who wrote the screenplay.

As Lapallo explains, success didn’t happen overnight. “I started collecting family tree information when I was eleven years old, directly from my great-grandmother who lived with us. Her turn-of-the-century memories fascinated me. Sometimes she told older family stories that her grandmother had passed on to her.” She continues, “I began researching in earnest in 1976 for a 9th grade family tree project inspired by the Bicentennial and Roots. Thirty-five years later, I’m still at work on the assignment!”

One day, in 1994, while researching at the Library of Virginia, Lapallo noticed a familiar name. It was an ancestor, Archer Cox, who lived in Mecklenburg, Virginia, in the early 1800s. The book traced him all the way back to Jamestown. “Suddenly I had links taking me all the way back to a woman named Temperance Bailey and to her mother, Cecily (or Sisley).” Cecily was one of nearly a hundred women and children who left England for Jamestown in 1609. As Lapallo learned, eleven year-old Cecily been a Jamestown mystery for professional genealogists for 120 years. “Who was she, and why had she come to Virginia alone?”

Cecily’s trail continued in a used bookstore in Williamsburg when she found a volume called Ancient Adventurers, by Samuel Bemiss. In a passage recalling Jamestown’s Starving Time, Bemiss wrote, “Ann Burras, Temperance Flowerdieu and Sisley Jordan can represent all the unsung heroines of that heroic age.”

Lapallo spent eight years working on Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky, her first novel. Her daughter Sarah designed the book cover. It took Lapallo another five years to complete the sequel, When the Moon Has No More Silver. She has begun writing the third novel in her trilogy as well as a biography of Sir Thomas Gates.

Reservations are required, $24 Members, $30 Guests. (Tax and gratuity included). The public is welcome.

The Chesapeake Bay Writers is a chapter of the Virginia Writers Club for published and aspiring writers. For more information, visit chesapeakebaywriters.org, email CBWreply@gmail.com or call 804-725-6163.

VWC Scholarship Winner!

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 00:21:06 GMT

Congratulations to Jacob Tisdale of Martinsburg, Virginia, this year's winner of the $2,000 scholarship. Jacob will be attending University of Virginia to study Media Studies.

VWC Member & Chapter News

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 15:19:44 GMT

Pamela K. Kinney will be selling and signing her books at Fantasci at Chesapeake Central Library, 298 Cedar Rd., Chesapeake, VA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 24, 2021.

Write By the Rails, a VWC chapter, has released their new anthology, Confetti, available now at www.amazon.com!

Write By the Rails also began a Summer Reading Book Drive on June 1, 2021. They are donating books to disadvantaged kids in the community. Your purchase can help us reach our goal of donating 100+ new books! Please select from the list found at Amazon.com and ship to their collection address. Your contribution will make a big difference! Questions? Email writebytherails@gmail.com

VWC New Releases - May, June, July

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 14:52:00 GMT

J. Stewart Willis: Requiem for Geraldine Gerbil; Released 5/5/21; Published by Bair Ink Books

Judith Helms: Grudge Tiger; Released 5/25/21; Published by TouchPoint Press

Diane M. Finlayson: Yoga Therapy Foundations, Tools, and Practice: A Comprehensive Textbook; Released 6/21/21; Published by Singing Dragon

Dawn Brotherton: Eastover Treasures; Released 6/22/21; Published by Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC

Jenna Harte: Death of a Coupon Queen: A Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery (book 2); To be released 7/14/2021; Published by Camel Press

An Interview and Two Readings!

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 22 May 2021 15:26:34 GMT

The official publication date of Oliver's Travels was May 18 and I was excited to celebrate the launch of the book with a Zoom event. If you weren't able to attend, you might still be able to hear/see me talk about the book in the coming week at one of these events:

Big Blend Radio Interview

On Sunday, May 23 at 2 pm EDT, I'll be appearing on Big Blend Radio/Champagne Sundays with Lisa and Nancy. I've been on their show before and they're great fun. Their show is all about travel, so this book is a great fit for them. Tune in for the live interview, or check out the recording later.

Hidden Timber Books Reading

Also on Sunday, May 23, I'll be giving a Zoom reading at 3 pm EDT in the Small Press Author Reading Series with Hidden Timber Books. This is a great series featuring authors from small presses. I'm really looking forward to giving a reading from Oliver's Travels and talking to the hosts. Registration is required, after which you'll receive a Zoom link.

KGB Bar Reading

On Wednesday, May 26 at 7 pm EDT, I'll join my friends Kim Coleman Foote and Virginia Pye in a ticketed online reading to support KGB Bar. KGB is a storied NYC venue for author readings and music performances that has been hit hard by the pandemic. We hope to raise a little money for this literary touchstone. Just $10. Purchase tickets here.

More events coming!

I’m busily lining up events for May and beyond in support of my new novel, Oliver’s Travels. Check out the events schedule on my website. And do let me know if you’re aware of a reading series, book club, or festival I might be able to visit.

2021 Symposium is Now Accepting Sponsors and Advertisers

Leslie Truex — Wed, 12 May 2021 16:26:09 GMT

The 2021 Navigating Your Writing Life Symposium is right around the corner (August 7 and 8). Like last year it will be held online, but this year, there will be twice as many workshops. Plus, we're very excited to have Jane Friedman back as our keynote!

The symposium committee is now reaching out for sponsors and advertisers. We have a variety of levels and options to fit every budget.

Visit the sponsor page to learn more!

VWC Member New Releases - February, March, April 2021

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 14:40:30 GMT

Melinda Crocker: Killing Spring, Released 9/9/2020

R. Morgan Armstrong: A Serving of Revenge, Released 11/15/2020, Published by Dementi Milestone Publishing, Inc.

David Barudin: Alternate Routes: Coming of Age in America's Largest Generation, Released 1/15/2021

J. Thomas Brown: Saint Elmo's Light, Released 1/19/2021, Published by Fenghuang Publishing

Lenette Howard: Love on the Half-Shell, Released 1/21/2021

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins: Waltzing with Water: Tempos in Verse, Released 1/24/2021, Published by Shanti Arts Publishing

Jane Harrington: "Strangers on the Road," an excerpt from upcoming novel In Circling Flight, Released 2/8/2021, Published by New Square literary journal

Kathy Davis: Passiflora, Released 2/13/2021, Published by Cider Press Review

Richard L. Rose: PushBack, Released 2/15/2021, Published by Atmosphere Press

Erwin K. Thomas: A Life of Prayer: Devotions & Pandemic, Released 2/15/2021

Patrice Wilkerson: "Hellacious Times," Released 2/18/2021, Published by The African Magazine

Steve L. Garay, Jr.: "Just Passin' Through!," Released 3/1/2021, Published by Senior News

Joanne Liggan: F.A.C.T.S. Bible Study Guide, Book 3 (Luke, Mark), Released 3/4/2021

J. Elizabeth Vincent (Janell Robisch): Rise of the Ceo San, Released 3/12/2021, Published by Mistweave Press

Jessie D. Eaker: Assassin of Curses, Released 3/25/2021

Stephen H. Provost: Highways of the South, Published 3/28/2021, Published by Dragon Crown Books

Brent Allen Bohn: Hands Faster Than Lightning - The Stagecoach, Released 4/5/2021

Palmer Smith: The Butterfly Bruises, To be released 5/15/2021, Published by Press Dionysus of London

Sandra Stosz: Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters, To be released 6/1/2021, Published by Koehler Books

Book Launch Event on Zoom!

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 14:27:15 GMT

Please join Clifford Garstang in conversation with Christina Chiu, celebrating the publication of Cliff’s new novel, Oliver’s Travels. Registration is required for the event hosted by The Book Dragon Bookshop of Staunton, Virginia.

May 18, 2021, 7:00 pm EDT

Register in advance for this event:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIscumhqTkrE9wBgfCeGng5L13VT3yeJSm3
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Signed copies of the book are available for purchase and pick-up in Staunton from The Book Dragon at 102 W. Beverley Street, 540-712-7941. For buyers outside of Staunton, please support the store by ordering from The Book Dragon on Bookshop.org.

You can still pre-order from the publisher or your favorite independent bookstore. Or pre-order from Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.

Clifford Garstang is the author of the novels Oliver’s Travels and The Shaman of Turtle Valley as well as three story collections: House of the Ancients and Other Stories, What the Zhang Boys Know, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction, and In an Uncharted Country, winner of an Independent Publisher Gold Medal. He is also the editor of the acclaimed anthology series, Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet. A former international lawyer, he lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Christina Chiu is the grand prize winner of the James Alan McPherson Award for her novel, Beauty. She is also the author of Troublemaker and Other Saints, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Troublemaker was an alternate selection for BOMC and QPB, a nominee for a BOMC First Fiction Award, and winner of the Asian American Literary Award. Chiu curates and co-hosts the Pen Parentis Literary Salons in New York City. She received her MFA in writing from Columbia University.

About Oliver’s Travels: Ollie Tucker, a recent college graduate and student of philosophy, is obsessed with truth and the source of knowledge, questioning the validity of everything he hears from his parents, his girlfriend, and even the voices inside his head. In pursuit of the truth and life’s deeper meaning, he invents an alter ego, Oliver, who lives the adventurous and exotic existence Ollie cannot. But Ollie has another problem—a repressed memory of his uncle Scotty that threatens to derail his life, his relationships, and his sexuality. But the memory is a blur. And what he thinks he remembers, he knows is unreliable. The uncertainty is paralyzing. What is the truth? What has his subconscious fabricated? When he learns that his uncle, long-presumed dead, is in fact alive and well, Ollie realizes that to move on with his life and find peace, he must confront his uncle. With wry humor and finely wrought prose, Oliver’s Travels is a shimmering coming-of-age story that explores enduring questions: What do we know? How do we know it?

Praise for Oliver’s Travels

“In Oliver’s Travels, Clifford Garstang deftly explores the fragility of memory. Ollie, an aspiring writer, must navigate the mundane while, at the same time, imagining a life of fulfillment for his alter ego, Oliver. Garstang displays his gift for contemplation and characterization as Ollie moves undauntedly in search of answers to life’s questions and discovers, in this journey marked with wanderlust, how the past and the present will forever share porous boundaries.” -Jon Pineda, author of Let’s No One Get Hurt

“One man’s search for the truth about himself — a tour of his own head that winds up taking him on a tour of the world. A witty, humane meditation on the slippery slope of childhood memory.” -Jonathan Dee, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, author of The Locals and The Privileges

“This is a novel with an edge and a heart, constantly riveting and always smart, not to mention funny! Its humor, in part, derives from the keen intelligence and the pitch-perfect nature of the sterling prose. A must read.” -Fred Leebron, author of Six Figures and Welcome to Christiania

“A twisty metafictional and metaphysical tour of the world – and the author’s mind – that examines not only how humans make stories, but how they make us. Fascinating and endlessly surprising.” -Liam Callanan, author of Paris by the Book and Listen & Other Stories

2021 Virginia Festival of the Book - The Write Start: Moseley Speed Critiques

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 01:25:59 GMT

At the VA Festival of the Book this year, the Moseley Critique group is offering a free critique of the first 100 words of fiction.

All the details are here:

VWC NEWS!

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 18:19:50 GMT

The 30th Anniversary Anthology of Blue Ridge Writers 1991-2021:

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Blue Ridge Writers, The 30th Anniversary Anthology of Blue Ridge Writers 1919-2021 has been published in three versions: Color ($24); Black & White ($5.25); and Kindle ($0.99).

Thanks to the 24 author contributors to the anthology and to the Blue Ridge Anthology Committee for your help on this two-year project: Morgan Armstrong, Carol Cutler, Warren Groeger, Dory Hulse, Brenda Morris, and Lynn Young. (Former members were Pat Alderman, Joy Krystosek, Louise Mitchell, John Nicolay, and Rosanne Vrugtman.)

The 30th Anniversary Anthology of Blue Ridge Writers was released 12/15/2020 and can be purchased at Amazon.com.

VWC MEMBER NEW RELEASES, DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:32:47 GMT

Cindy L. Freeman: After Rain to be released 1/15/2021 by High Tide Publications

J. Thomas Brown: Driving With Poppi: A Patremoir to be released 1/12/2021 by IngramSpark/Fenghuang Publishing

Katherine Gotthardt: D.C. Ekphrastic: Crisis of Faith was released 12/16/2020 by ATW Publishing

Brenda Gates Spielman: Lost Sun was released 12/01/2020 by Blue-Eyed Puffer Fish Publishing

James Kendley: The Wine Ghost was released 11/30/2020 and is available at Amazon.com

Pamela K. Kinney: "Dementia," a horror poem, was published in the 11/16/2020 edition of the Horror Writers Association's Poetry Showcase VII.

The 30th Anniversary Anthology of Blue Ridge Writers was released 12/15/2020 and can be purchased at Amazon.com.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Blue Ridge Writers, the 30th Anniversary Anthology of Blue Ridge Writers 1919-2021 has been published in three versions: Color ($24); Black & White ($5.25); and Kindle ($0.99).

VWC MEMBER NEW RELEASES, OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 21:51:16 GMT

Musau WaKabongo: Ammon's Mukanda wa Nomba, Book of Numbers, Livre de Numbres; Published via Amazon; Released 10/8/2020.

Patsy Anne Bickerstaff: Images at Christmas; Published by Wider Perspectives Press; Released 10/15/2020.

Pamela K. Kinney: Retro Horror; Published by Nightmare Press; Released 10/12/2020.

Pamela K. Kinney: "A Trick, No Treat" in Issue 51 of Sirens Call Publications Halloween 2020 eZine; Released 10/28/2020

Patti Gaustad Procopi: Please...Tell Me More; Published by Lavender Press, an imprint of Blue Fortune Enterprises; To be released 11/20/2020.

VWC MEMBER NEWS!

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 23:54:21 GMT

Linda Hoagland has been busy! Following is a list of accomplishments within the last few months:

October (Fall), 2020 – Front Porch – A Poem – “Really”
September 3, 2020 – Bluefield State College – Certificate of Appreciation – For Sharing Her Thoughts about Her Literary Works
July/August 2020 – Star Poets – A Poem – “Always Alone” – First Place
July/August 2020 – Star Poets – A Poem – “The Ellen Tales”
July/August 2020 – Star Poets – A Poem – “Pinky Swear”
July/August 2020 – Northern Stars – A Poem – “Rejection” - First Place
July/August 2020 – Northern Stars – A Poem – “Oops!” – First Honorable Mention
July/August 2020 – Northern Stars – A Poem – “So Fine”
July 2020 – Appalachian Authors Guild Golden Nib (Local) – Poetry – “The Cup” – Third Place
July 2020 – Appalachian Authors Guild Golden Nib (Local) – Nonfiction – “The Dare” – Third Place
July 2020 – Appalachian Authors Guild Golden Nib (Local) – Fiction – “Spring Forward” - Third Place
Summer 2020 – Chautauqua Festival Creative Writing Awards - Short Story – ‘Living Like a Pig” – First Place
Summer 2020 – Chautauqua Festival Creative Writing Awards – Essay – “Shameful Gyrations” – First Place
Summer 2020 – Chautauqua Festival Creative Writing Awards – Poetry – “The Cup” – First Place
Spring 2020 – The Bluestone Review – “That Was Close”
Summer 2020 – Front Porch – “Blend In”
June 2020 – Blue Ridge Writers “The Memoir” Vol 2 Number 2 – “What Was That?”
May/June 2020 – Star Poets – A Poem – “Mowing the Grass” – First Honorable Mention
May/June 2020 – Star Poets – A Poem – “A Sign from Sonny”
May/June 2020 – Star Poets – A Poem – “Then There Was None”
May/June 2020 – Northern Stars – A Poem –“The Toolbox” – First Honorable Mention
May/June 2020 – Northern Stars – A Poem – “Homebound”
May/June 2020 – Northern Stars – A Poem – “Waste or Waist

CONGRATULATIONS LINDA!

VWC MEMBER NEW RELEASES, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 23:29:35 GMT

Sharon K. Krasny: Iceman Awakens; Release date of 11/14/2020; Published by Koehler Books

Ed Taylor: Tim's Spirit Geronimo O'Brian; Released 9/24/2020; Published by KDP

Online Event - Riverside Young Writers - October 3, 2020 - 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 23:04:27 GMT

This is a FREE event. However, to attend, please contact Bronwen at bronwenchisholm@comcast.net to obtain the link and be placed on the admittance list.

2020 TEEN NIB WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 13:31:29 GMT

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WINNING ENTRIES

Anthologies Mark Blue Ridge Writers Chapter's 30th Anniversary

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 13:34:45 GMT

Two editions of the annual Skyline (the seventh and eighth) anthology of prose and poetry were recently published, in both paperback and e-book form, to celebrate the 30th anniversary (2021) of the Blue Ridge Writers chapter of the VWC. The Skyline anthologies are dedicated to showcasing Central Virginia writers, both in fiction and nonfiction prose and in poetry.

These anthologies, like the four biennial Blue Ridge Anthology collections that preceded the Skyline anthologies, have at their base the placing works in the annual juried writing contest of the Blue Ridge Writers chapter of the Virginia Writers Club. These anthologies aren’t sponsored or sanctioned by the BRW; publications permissions were directly arranged with the authors, but Skyline holds the most complete archives of the BRW annual contest and, through Skyline and its predecessor, The Blue Ridge Anthology, has published the contest placers for the past fifteen years.

To celebrate the placing authors in the BRW writing contest over the last fifteen years, the length of time that records are available, and to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the central Virginia club, the 2020 and 2021 editions of Skyline are dedicated to republishing placing works in the contest during that period.

Skyline 2020(https://www.amazon.com/Skyline-2020-Anthology-Virginia-Anthologies/dp/0995387354/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598500589&sr=1-1)

Skyline 2021(https://www.amazon.com/Skyline-2021-Central-Virginia-Anthologies/dp/B08DSTHQV2/ref=pd_sim_14_1/139-7941558-2030658?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B08DSTHQV2&pd_rd_r=53bbc3d3-a7d2-4843-a3f4-ad20940d88a8&pd_rd_w=5OYhc&pd_rd_wg=jVuGa&pf_rd_p=e2ec6e52-b3cf-46fd-9026-eedc9747371d&pf_rd_r=DGP9R7PPN7YPY6ADGGER&psc=1&refRID=DGP9R7PPN7YPY6ADGGER)

VWC MEMBER NEW RELEASE, JULY 2020

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:50:45 GMT

Philip Jay Marlin: The Cargo was published by Novum Publishing, released July 1, 2020

VWC MEMBER AND CHAPTER NEWS! - July/August 2020

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:42:05 GMT

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins: Spragins' microchapbook "Song Feathers" has been published by the Origami Poems Project. https://www.origamipoems.com/poets/424-elizabeth-spencer-spragins

Her poem, "Curse of the Canyon," appears in the June 2020 issue of ParABnormal Magazine. Her poems "Songs of the Southern Rim" and "Unrest" are featured in the Summer 2020 issue of Time of Singing.

VWC MEMBER AND CHAPTER NEWS!

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 15:54:31 GMT

JAMIE K. REASER received the Nautilus Book Award gold medal in lyrical prose for RidgeLines: A View of Nature and Human Nature (Talking Waters Press, 2019) and Nautilus Book Award silver in poetry for Conversations with Mary: Words of Attention and Devotion (Talking Waters Press, 2019)

ELIZABETH SPENCER SPRAGINS' poem "The Auction Block" appears in the June 17 issue of "New Verse News": https//newversenews.blogspot.com/. "What Trees Remember" appears on page 107 of the Summer 2020 issue of "Orchards Poetry Journal": https://orchardspoetrycom.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/orchards-june-16-online-journal.pdf. The Spring 2020 issue of "Yellow Arrow Journal" includes three of Spragins' tanka under the title "Journeys." Also, three of her short poems ("Before Sunrise," "Mounted on the Mist," and "Somnolence") appear in the June 5 edition of "Page & Spine." http://pagespineficshowcase.com/elizabeth-spencer-spragins.html.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE TWO WRITERS!

VWC MEMBER NEW RELEASES & PUBLICATIONS, JUNE/JULY 2020

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 15:41:48 GMT

CAROLYN ROWLAND: The Meter's Always Running; released 6/9/2020 by Shadow Dance Publishing

CAROLYN ROWLAND: America 2020 Riverside Writers; released 4/29/2020 by Riverside Writers

PETE FANNING: Runaway Blues; to be released 7/7/2020 by Immortal-Works Press

VWC MEMBER NEW RELEASES & PUBLICATIONS, MAY/JUNE 2020

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 18:19:20 GMT

I first must apologize to Pamela K. Kinney and PMH Atwater for the delay in announcing their book releases.

Pamela K. Kinney: Maverick Heart, released 10/31/2019 by Dreampunk Press.

PMH Atwater: Animal Lights Series of Children's Books, released 10/30/2019.

Jane Renfro: H'llgraith, released 2/28/2020 by Koehlerbooks.

Pamela K. Kinney: Haunted Surry to Suffolk: Spooky Locations Along Routes 10 and 460, released 4/5/2020 by Anubis Press.

Charles Tabb: The Purger: Book 2 of the Detective Tony Pantera Series, released 6/5/2020 by Gifted Time Books.

Many VWC Members Included in New Publication, Skyline 2020!

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 17:57:33 GMT

Several central Virginia writers who are VWC members are in the new publication Skyline 2020 (Olivia Stowe, ed.) by Cyberworld Publishing:

Prose fiction:
Phyllis Duncan, Gary Kessler, Elaine Ruggieri, BA Morris, Erin Newton Wells

Poetry:
G.W. Wayne, Phyllis Duncan, Gary Kessler, Joy Merritt Krystosek, Erin N. Wells

Nonfiction:
Gary Kessler, Joy M. Krystosek, BA Morris, Roger Tolle, G.W. Wayne, Erin N. Wells

Congratulations to these writers!

HANOVER BOOK EXPO 2020!

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 00:14:38 GMT

The Hanover Book Expo 2020 will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2020 at the VFW Post 9808 in Mechanicsville, VA 23111. Authors may register for tables at www.hanoverbookfestival.com

Blue Ridge Writers' Anthology Now Available!

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:18:44 GMT

Blue Ridge Writers anthology is available on Amazon. Congrats to Blue Ridge on this publication!

Only $5/ea.

Blue Ridge Writers “The Memoir”: Volume 2, Number 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089M43X1D

2020 GOLDEN NIB WRITING CONTEST for TEENS

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 13 May 2020 17:36:21 GMT

SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!

ENTRIES ACCEPTED: May 15 – June 29

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: August 2020

CONTEST AWARDS(in each category)

1st ($100) 2nd ($50) 3rd ($25)

All entries must be submitted online through this link: Teen Nib Submission

CATEGORIES: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry

RULES

Only students in high school (or starting high school in 2020) are eligible for this contest.
Only one submission per category is allowed. If a teen is entering more than one category, they should submit each entry separately to the link.
Only unpublished work will be accepted. Submissions must not have won first place in any other writing contest.

FORMAT (submissions not in accord with format rules will be disqualified)

· Fiction and non-fiction entries must be no longer than 1,500 words. Poetry entries must be no longer than 40 lines.

· Cover sheet and entry must be in doc, docx, rtf or pages format.

· The cover sheet must include the author's name, school district, grade, and category (fiction, nonfiction, poetry).

· All pages must show contest category, title, and page number in the header.

· If the author ’s name appears on any page, the entry will be disqualified (entries are judged anonymously).

· Put entries in Times New Roman, 12 pt, double-spaced on an 8 ½ by 11-inch page, with 1-inch margins top, bottom and left, and a ragged right margin. Poetry may be single-spaced

· The Virginia Writer’s Club reserves the right to post a list of winners on our website and post winning entries for a period of up to a year. After the contest, all rights revert to the author.

VWC Member New Releases and Publications March/April

Joanne Liggan — Sun, 10 May 2020 15:42:18 GMT

Linda Hoagland: Poems published in Star Poets (March/April Publication:) “My Prize” received Honorable Mention; “Widowhood”; “Linger in Sunshine”; “Steve Peery - My Friend”

Poems published in Northern Stars (March/April Publication:) “The Cup” received Honorable Mention; “Growing Up and Growing Old”

Writers of Grace (April 2020) "Ten Years Too Late" received 2nd Place.

************

Sarah Collins Honenberger: Short Story, "Eleven For Good Measure" won 2nd Place out of 184 at DarlingAxe.com.

************

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins: Poem "Scorched" will appear in the 2019-2020 issue of Red Coyote.

The April-June issue of Auroras and Blossoms includes Spragins' poem "Before Dusk."

The spring issue of Scriblerus features Spragins' bardic piece "Methuselah": https://thescriblerus.com/2020/05/01/methuselah-elizabeth-spencer-spragins/.

BRW Invites VWC Members to Participate in Upcoming Publication

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 19:50:24 GMT

Blue Ridge Writers, Charlottesville, invites VWC members to participate in its upcoming publication “The Memoir”. Submissions no greater than ~3500 words (500-4,000). A suitable illustration may be included. Query the editor John Nicolay at nicolay0211@gmail.com before May. The project as two aspects. The obvious submission and a second improv chat among participants regarding thoughts on the memoir. This chat, formatted as a playscript, serves as the preface. BRW desires to create a publication outlet for Virginia Writers. The next in the series is “Writing Fiction” late Fall and “Poetry” Spring 2021. Submissions are unpublished work, author retains copyright.

News from Linda Hoagland!

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:33:11 GMT

Short Story “That Was Close” published in Bluestone Review (April 2020)

Poems published in Star Poets: “The Noisemaker” won First Place in Poetry Contest; “Missing”; “Reflections”; “The Last Time” January/February released in March 2020

Poems published in Northern Stars: “Instant Replay”; “Saved By a Minute” January/February released in March 2020

Charles Tabb and his Debut Novel hits top 100!

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 19:44:34 GMT

Charles Tabb, who is president of the Hanover Writers Club, a chapter of VWC, is proud to announce that his debut literary novel, Floating Twigs, is firmly in place in Amazon's top 100 sellers in the Literary Fiction (Books) category, and is ranked in the top fifteen, recently going as high as #10, in the more limited Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Literary Fiction category. The Kindle version ranks in the top fifty in Literary Fiction when limited to Kindle only. Charles is also listed in the top 100 authors of literary fiction, generally placing in the 70's and 80's in that ranking. Readers who belong to Kindle Unlimited have read nearly one million pages of his books this month. His novels are on pace to exceed 1.3 million pages read in that program. Overall, the Kindle version of Floating Twigs is currently popping in and out of the top 400 Kindle books sold at Amazon. The book can be found at Amazon.com by searching the title.

J. Thomas Brown Reading Event

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 02:38:46 GMT

J. Thomas Brown will read from his novel, The Land of Three Houses, which is inspired by true events. His boyhood home in the Tohickon Valley, rich in history, was taken by eminent domain and demolished. The entire Tohickon Valley, along with farms, homes, mills, and settlers’ graves, was denuded and flooded to create Nockamixon State Park and Lake Nockamixon. Much of the story is woven around three strong women of the 1790s, including Madam Germaine de Staèl, an Enlightenment thinker and salonnière whose pen and wit caused Napoleon to ban her from Paris. The reading will be at the Barnes & Noble at Chesterfield Towne Center in Midlothian, VA on March 28, 2020 at 3:00pm. For more information, go to https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780062121434-0

Sara Robinson's Poetry Book is Now a Play!

Joanne Liggan — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 02:33:39 GMT

Sara Robinson's recently released poetry book, Needville, is now a play. Adapted into a 2-act play, the voices of those affected by coal mining in SW Virginia come to life in recitations and readings of the poems. First performance is on March 4, 2020; 7:30PM at The Colonnades 2600 Barracks Rd. C'ville. Free and open to public. Seating is first-come, first-serve.

VWC Member New Releases and Publications October/November

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 15:38:35 GMT

Lynn H. Wyvill: Quiet Wisdom; Released 8/21/2019

Sara Robinson: Needville; Published by Cedar Creek Publishing; Released 10/16/2019

Pamela K. Kinney: Maverick Heart; Dreampurk Press; Released 10/31/2019

VWC Member New Releases & Publications September/October

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 15:48:09 GMT

Sonja McGiboney: Jazzy Colors;

Released August 15, 2019

Sonja McGiboney: Jazzy Explores Smithfield, Virginia;

Released August 15, 2019

October's Bright Blue Weather: A Blue Ridge Writers Retreat

Joanne Liggan — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 01:20:37 GMT

The Blue Ridge Writers are hosting a Writers Retreat on Saturday, October 26 beginning at 1:00 pm. It will be a casual, loosely-planned gathering to enjoy the Blue Ridge in autumn with other members. An idyllic setting for socializing, feasting, and writing and sharing. BRW Members can bring a guest and potential new BRW Members are welcome. For more information, go to the Blue Ridge Writers tab under "Chapters" and click on the drop-down tab for the retreat.

VWC Member New Releases and Publications June/July

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 23:56:07 GMT

Pamela K. Kinney: Virginia's Haunted Historic Triangle; Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, & Other Haunted Locations; 2nd Edition.

Released 7/28/2019 Publisher: Schiffer Publishing

Kari Kilgore: Fighting the Storm: Book Four of the Storms of Future Past Series

Released 6/22/2019 Publisher: Spiral Publishing, Ltd.

Fall 2019 Writers Workshop

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 23:45:11 GMT

Write By the Rails presents the 2019 Fall Writers Workshop to be held October 12, 2019 from 10:15 - 4:00 at Trinity Episcopal in Manassas, VA.

For more information visit the website at https://wbtr.org/

VWC Member New Releases & Publications August/September

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 23:57:32 GMT

Eve Monk: Twenty-Three Years - Childhood, War, Escape

Released 5/17/2019, Published by Amazon

Madelyn Rohrere: Bert the Owl Bat

Released 8/20/2019

VWC Member New Releases & Publications July/August

Joanne Liggan — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 13:42:02 GMT

P.M.H. ATWATER, L.H.D.: The Forever Angels Near-Death Experiences in Childhood and Their Lifelong Impact; Published by Inner Traditions; Release date: September 2019

BRENT ALLEN BOHN: Hands Faster Than Lightning; Gatekeeper Press; Published May 27, 2019

JAMES F. GAINES: “Bluebirds” and “Misnamed” was published in Avocet, A Jounal of Nature Poetry; Published June 1, 2019

ELIZABETH SPENCER SPRAGINS: With No Bridle for the Breeze: Ungrounded Verse; Publisher: Shanti Arts; Released June 2019

Artemis Journal 2019 Release Date

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 21:01:53 GMT

Artemis Journal 2019 is pleased to announce the date of our book launch on June 7, 2019, at the Roanoke Taubman Museum of Art. To highlight program there will be a special dance performance, “Poetry in Motion,” interpreting selected poems from our journal by the Southwest Virginia Ballet. This is a fund raiser for Artemis and the Taubman Museum. The journals will be released and available for sale at the launch.

Click here to view press release.

VWC Member New Releases and Publications May/June

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 19:00:37 GMT

Pamela K. Kinney: "The Orang Bati" (Story in 13 Backyard Monsters anthology); Released April 29, 2019

Mary Montague Sikes: Hearts Across Forever; High Tide Publications; Released April 21, 2019

Stephen Provost: A Whole Different League; Dragon Crown Books

Cyrus Alderwood: The Chronicles of Barry Dick

Elizabeth Spencer Spragins: The Language of Bones: American Jouneys Through Bardic Verse; Published by Kelsay Books; Released May 8, 2019

George Cole Scott: Put Together a Book: My Travels to 42 Nations

John Ketwig: Vietnam Reconsidered: The War, the Times, and Why They Matter; Trine Day Publishing; To be released June 6, 2019

Kari Kilgore: Fantastic Shorts - Volume 1 - A Fantasy Short Story Collection; Spiral Publishing, Ltd.; Released May 21, 2019

Ronald Munro: Neptune's Watch; KDP Publishing; Released April 21, 2019

Nancy Sheppard: Lost Attractions of Hampton Roads; The History Press; To be released June 10, 2019

Richard L. Rose: A poem, "Emma Strawbridge," in Artemis; To be published June 7, 2019

Kari Kilgore: Reflections; Spiral Publishing, Ltd.

VWC Member New Releases and Publications Apr/May

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 07 May 2019 19:24:48 GMT

Joanne Liggan: Heir of Deception - 3rd Edition; released May 1, 2019

Natalina Reis: Fictional-ish; release date May 11, 2019

Susan Schwartz: Haunted Charlottesville and Surrounding Counties; Schiffer Publishing

Clifford Garstang: The Shaman of Turtle Valley; Braddock Avenue Books; release date May 14, 2019

Diane Fanning: Death on the River; St. Martin's Press; released April 30, 2019

Cindy Brookshire won Second Prize in the annual Carolina Woman Magazine Writing Contest

Leslie Truex — Mon, 06 May 2019 14:25:30 GMT

Cindy Brookshire won Second Prize in the annual Carolina Woman Magazine Writing Contest.

Her short story, “Ain’t Just a River,” has been published in the May/June 2019 print issue, distributed to 100,000 readers in the Raleigh, NC area, and online at Carolina Woman

Check out Cindy's blog post on the backstory on writing her winning piece.

2019 Scholarship Info

Joanne Liggan — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 00:10:00 GMT

The information for the 2019 Scholarship has been posted. Click on the tab on the left of the screen to learn more about how to qualify.

New Anthology from Write by the Rails chapter

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 21:51:19 GMT

Write by the Rails (WbtR), the Prince William Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, has released its anthology of Twitter-friendly writings entitled #BackOnTrackNow: A Write by the Rails Anthology and Social Media Initiative. The works of 22 authors were chosen for inclusion in the unique book, the result of a three-month campaign designed to bring creativity to social media.

Find out more by visiting the following website:

https://princewilliamliving.com/write-by-the-rails-wbtr-announces-release-of-backontracknow/

Call for Speakers

Leslie Truex — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 17:32:51 GMT

The Virginia Writers Club has put out a call for workshop presenters for its 2019 Navigating Your Writing Life Symposium to be held August 3, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

This year's theme is "From Pondering to Publishing to Promoting."

Come share your expertise on the writing craft and post-writing processes! Mingle and network with other writers and publishing professionals!

As a VWC symposium presenter, you will receive:

• Free conference registration ($90 value)

• Lunch and refreshments ($20 value)

• The opportunity to market yourself and your body of work during the workshop

• Your workshop handout with your author information in the Symposium book handed out to all participants.

• The opportunity to have your books sold during the symposium. (You must bring your books, but we will have a local vendor handle sales for a commission on the cost of the books.)

WORKSHOP NEEDS

The 2019 VWC Navigating Your Writing Life Symposium will have a total of 16 workshops (4 sessions of 4 workshops).

We're looking for specific, niched topics over generic subjects. For example, "Using Facebook Ads to Drive Sales" instead of "Marketing Your Book."

Possible (But Not Exhaustive) List of Categories:

- Non-fiction writing

- Writing for magazines

- Writing memoirs

- Creating at book launch plan

- Virtual book tours

- Marketing plans

- Writing for children and/or teens

- Legal issues in writing

- Genre specific writing (romance, mystery, fantasy, horror, sci-fi, etc)

- Poetry

- Specific promotion topics (i.e. Facebook Ads, street teams, etc)

- Getting an agent or publisher

- Craft of writing topics such as dialogue, point of view, etc.

- Specific self-publishing topics such as how to get a book ready for publishing, formatting, cover design, etc.

- Engaging customers at signings

Speaker selection will be made by April 5, 2019.

To be considered, please fill in the form below or here.

VWC Member New Releases and Publications Feb/March

Leslie Truex — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:13:23 GMT

Pamela K. Kinney: "Last Chance" in Fae Thee Well anthology

Kari Kilgore: Terminalia from Spiral Publishing, Ltd.

Jenna Harte: Death of a Debtor: A Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery, Camel Press

Mary Montague Sikes: Hearts Across Forever from High Tide Publications

Jeanne Larsen: What Penelope Chooses, winner of the Cider Press Review book award and due out March 20, 2019.

#BackOnTrackNow: A Write by the Rails Anthology and Social Media Initiative Write by The Rails Anthology.

Authors who've contributed to this anthology include: Anonymous, Arlene Banfield, Rebecca Barnes, Terressa Boykin, Sima Button, Carol Covin, Tony Daly, John Dutton, Kathleen Ellis, Sydney Everson, Jane Fullerton Lemons, Susan Beth Furst, Leigh Giza, David Gotthardt, Katherine Gotthardt, P.M. Hernandez, David Holloway, Tim Horn, Traci Carrano Jones, Ann Lemons, Lisa Marino, Alexandra Mooney, Erika Mooney, Jan Rayl, Natalina Reis, Victor Rook, Tamela Ritter, Cathy Ryan, Jeremy Sams, Michelle Santos, Amy Taylor, George Waldrop, Henry Wallace, and Nancy Wyatt.

POETRY READING – “POETRY AS A PERSONAL ODYSSEY”

Leslie Truex — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 18:07:16 GMT

FEB 16, 2019

POETRY READING – “POETRY AS A PERSONAL ODYSSEY” – WRITER HOUSE

BILL GLOSE – FREE NOON READING

1 – 4 PM WORKSHOP SOLD OUT

AWARD-WINNING WRITER– F SCOTT FITZGERALD SHORT STORY AWARD, VA PRESS ASSOC, MISSOURI HUMANITIES COUNCIL, GARRISON KEILLOR ON WRITER’S ALMANAC

FOUR POETRY BOOKS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR WITH VIRGINIA LIVING, REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO OTHER MAGAZINES, FREQUENT LITERARY SPEAKER AND JUDGE, NUMEROUS OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Submitted by Patricia Asuncion

Local Events Calendar

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 15:13:00 GMT

If you are looking for a local book festival or writing conference, VWC chapter, Write by the Rails, has launched a new events calendar for authors. The calendar covers all author events from Richmond to Baltimore and Roanoke to Norfolk.

https://wbtr.org/events/list/

The calendar is maintained by member Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader under his official duties as Keeper of the Calendar. If you would like to add your event to the calendar, you can contact Nate by email. (nate@the-digital-reader.com)

Northern Virginia Chapter's Upcoming Event

Joanne Liggan — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:34:59 GMT

Search your hard drive for that work-in-progress or completed piece and join us February 23 for a moderated critique roundtable session. Each writer will have 5-10 minutes (depending on number of critiques) to read their work and ask the audience specific questions about it. Please be prepared to ask specific questions about your writing – asking “what do you think” usually does NOT get you the answers you need or want.

Saturday, February 23

1:00 –3:00 p.m.

Faith Lutheran Church Conference

3313 Arlington

Arlington, VA 22201

Note: Please park in the rear parking lot and enter via the ramp, both on Jackson Street. Ring local doorbell if door is locked.

The Richmond Chapter's Upcoming Events

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 21:23:36 GMT

On 2/9/19, Susan Schwartz will be speaking at the Riverside Writers meeting from 1 to 3 at the Salem Church Library in Room A.

On 2/16/19, the Richmond Chapter hosts Pamela K Kinney who will speak about her writing journey and publishing her work. We meet from 11:30 to 1:30 at the Publix on John Rolfe Parkway in Glen Allen.

Meet the VWC Board of Governors

Leslie Truex — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 15:21:31 GMT

At the Annual Meeting in November 2018, the VWC membership elected a new board. Here is the new board and a little bit about each of them.

President, Leslie Truex

Chapter: Blue Ridge

She joined the Virginia Writers Club and the Blue Ridge chapter in 2014. Before being elected president, she served two years as the First VP, and a year before that, she served on the symposium committee.

By day Leslie Truex is an ideaphoric writer, author, speaker, and online entrepreneur. By night she's a novelist writing under the pen name Jenna Harte. As Leslie, she’s the author of Digital Writer Success: How to Make a Living Blogging, Freelance Writing, and Publishing Online. As Jenna, she’s the author of the sexy cozy Valentine series, the first book of which reached the quarter-finals in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She also has a 3-book romance series, and in 2019 she’ll release a cozy mystery series.

Leslie teaches classes in blogging, publishing, and platform building through PVCC's Workforce services. She's spoken about social media, book marketing, and romance writing at the VWC Navigating Your Writing Life Symposium.

Her goal in life is to live on a beach and write every day on her lanai.

View Leslie's VWC profile.

First Vice President, Susan Schwartz

Chapter: Richmond

I have been an avid writer for around 10 years doing everything from writing freelance articles to editing manuscripts for other authors. I also love to write horror stories that have a twist at the end. My alter ego is an Operating Room Nurse/Nurse Educator who loves creating tales from the interesting and weird things I have seen. I am a member of the Horror Writers Association and the Virginia Writers Club where I serve as Co-President of the Richmond Chapter and 1st Vice-President of the state organization. I have two novels in the works, a paranormal romance and a medical thriller.

View Susan's VWC profile

Second Vice President, Joanne Liggan

Chapter: Hanover

I began my journey with the VWC in 1996 when I visited the Richmond Chapter and became their President for 2 years. I lived in Mechanicsville and the Richmond Chapter was meeting in Southside, so I decided we needed a chapter on the north side of the river and began the Hanover Writers Chapter in 2002. Since that time, I have had five books published and am currently working on a series of at least five more books. I am also the founder of the annual Hanover Book Festival, which began in 2006, a writing instructor and public speaker.

Visit Joanne's VWC Profile

Treasurer, Liz Long

Chapter: Valley Writers

Liz Long is a USA Today bestselling author of YA and urban fantasy, most recently The Brighton Duology. She is a magazine editor in Roanoke, VA, and when not writing, can be found drinking happy hour prosecco, attempting hand lettering, or cuddling her dog, Fisher. She is the Director of the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference and the annual Roanoke Author Invasion, treasurer for the Virginia Writers Club, and a public speaker, covering topics such as self-publishing and magazine writing.

Visit Liz's VWC Profile

Recording Secretary, John Nicolay

Chapter: Blue Ridge

I'm very active with the Blue Ridge chapter, and currently serving as the Treasurer of BRW. I attend VWC events.

Visit John's VWC profile.

President Emeritus, Phyllis "Maggie" Duncan

Chapter: Blue Ridge

Five years on the VWC Board: two as secretary; two as 1st VP; one as President

Visit Maggie's VWC Profile

Member At Large, G.M. Maillet

Chapter: Northern Virginia

Author of the St. Just and Max Tudor mysteries, and a standalone suspense novel (WEYCOMBE). Co-founder of the Virginia Writers' Association, which later merged with VWC.

Visit G.M.'s VWC Profile

Member At Large, Michelle McBeth

Chapter: Northern Virginia

Michelle McBeth has been writing short and long form fiction since 2012 when she entered the Nanowrimo contest on a dare. She is working on finishing her 5 book series, "The Sphere Saga", about a woman who works for a secret lab that sends people back in time to solve mysteries. One of her short stories, "Fire Drill in Motherhood" has been publishing in the Virginia Writers Club Centennial Anthology. She is thrilled to be counted among the best writers in the state of Virginia. She lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband and her sons, where she spends her days working as an engineer for the Navy, and her nights engaging the other half of her brain as an author, actor, and creator.

Visit Michelle's VWC Profile

Member at Large, Greg Smith

Chapter: Richmond

Greg Smith is a writing coach, editor, and publisher. He founded the Agile Writer Workshop in 2011 with the mission of finding a method to help beginning writers complete a first-draft in 6 months. He also co-authored the Reel Heroes series; books on heroes in the movies. His seminars on the Agile Writer Method have informed and delighted thousands of writers, scholars, and university students. Since 2011, Agile Writer authors have completed dozens of first drafts and 12 published novels. Greg is a developmental editor for novelists and memoirists. He also coaches authors through the self-publishing maze. Greg runs the popular Agile Readers Book Club where new writers can get a 'beta' read from a dozen or more readers.

Visit Greg's VWC Profile

Member At Large: Betsy Ashton

Member At Large: John Ferguson

Member At Large: Roseanne Vrugtman

Attention authors! Registration is open for the Hanover Book Festival 2019

Leslie Truex — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:21:11 GMT

The Hanover Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club is open for registrations for its Hanover Book Festival scheduled for Saturday, April 27

To register for a table, visit the Hanover Book Festival website.

Calling All Writers! Submissions for the 2019 Keating Award

Leslie Truex — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 15:23:53 GMT

Calling All Writers! Submissions Open January 1, 2019 for Short fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

Chesapeake Bay Writers is proud to announce the opening of submissions for the 2019 Keating Award, an annual literature competition in honor of author and renowned scientist Jean Clarke Keating.

Ms. Keating was a true rocket scientist who played a key role in the development of the space program at NASA in the 1950s and 1960s, earning NASA’s Special Service Award in 1968. In 1970 she was named Virginia’s Outstanding Young Woman of the Year, and one of ten Outstanding Women of the Year recognized nationwide. Ms. Keating was also the author of five novels, a popular speaker, columnist, and champion for the creative arts, who served as president of Chesapeake Bay Writers prior to her death in 2013.

The Keating Award honors Jean’s memory by encouraging writers and the art of writing through the recognition of exceptional work by writers across the country. Monetary prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place entries where merited in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The submissions window is open from January 1 through March 1, 2019. The competition is open to members and non-members from anywhere in the United States, and a small entrance fee will be collected to help further support the work of Chesapeake Bay Writers. For more information, along with complete contest rules and requirements, writers are asked to visit CBW’s website at www.chesapeakebaywriters.org. Questions can be addressed to contest coordinator Ann Eichenmuller at aceichenm@gmail.com.

Members' Upcoming Releases January 2019

Leslie Truex — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 15:48:32 GMT

Pamela K. Kinney has two short stories coming in two different anthologies coming in January.

One, "Fae Thee Well,"will premiere on sale by the publisher at Marscon, January 18-20, 2019 in Williamsburg.

The other is "The Orange Bati," which will appear in the 13 Backyard Monsters anthology.

Maggie Duncan has a release event for A Perfect Hatred: Bad Company on January 12, 2019, at 3 p.m. at Black Swan Books and Music in Staunton, VA.

2018 Golden Nib Winners

Joanne Liggan — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 17:44:11 GMT

Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Golden Nib contest!

The winners have been posted on the "Announcements" page.

Video Slideshow of the Virginia Writers Club Chapters 2018

Leslie Truex — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:09:01 GMT

For the Centennial Annual Meeting, we decided not only to celebrate VWC's history, but also, the members and chapter activities today.

Announcing New VWC Board of Governors

Leslie Truex — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:01:35 GMT

At the 100th annual VWC meeting on November 2, 2018, the membership elected a new board. Congratulations to the new Board of Governors:

Executive Board

Pres: Charles Tabb
VP 1: Harry Heckel
VP 2: Warren Groener
Recording Secretary: Jason Maddux
Treasurer: Betsy Ashton

At-Large Board Members

Rosanne Vrugtman
John Ferguson
Michelle McBeth
Greg Smith
GM Malliet

Do You Need to Worry about GDPR?

Leslie Truex — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 23:07:07 GMT

What is GDPR? It's the EUs General Data Protection Regulation that requires websites to insure that the privacy of people who visit the site is protected, and that the information gathered and used is clearly noted.

Part of the compliance involves making sure your EU email subscribers want to be on your email list. If you have readers to your website or blog who reside in the EU, you're required to put in protocols that insure you're email list is GDPR compliant.

Another aspect of GDPR involves being transparent about what data is collected and how it's used. If you have a website that takes payments, uses Google Analytics, has an email list, drops cookies, etc, you're collecting and using data.

Whether you're in the EU or not, if you have readers or subscribers from the EU, you should make sure you're compliant.

Admittedly, it's a pain in the behind and like many government regulations, isn't easy to figure out what exactly you need to do.

Here's what I did on my sites, but I'm not an expert, so below you'll find more information to get help:

For Email Lists

1) Emailed all my EU subscribers and asked them to re-confirm their subscription. Any who don't re-confirm should be deleted.

2) Add a confirmation checkbox on your email sign up list. (see image below). Don't set the box's default as checked. Your subscriber need to actually check it.

3) Unsubscribe links or instructions need to be in each email.

4) Make sure you're CAN-SPAM compliant as well.

For Websites

1) If you use cookies, you should have something on your website that lets readers know. If you're not sure, check with resources you have on your site and your host.

2) Add a Terms of Service page to your website.

3) Add a Privacy page to your site. This should cover the types of data collected and what it's used for. For both Terms and Conditions and Privacy pages, you'll want to research templates or hire help. They're fairly detailed.

For more information about GDPR and whether you need to concern yourself with it, here are some resources to check out:

Introduction to GDPR (video)

Preparing for GDPR - 12 Steps (PDF)

Sample Email Sign up Box

Tips to Working with Editors

Leslie Truex — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 22:26:39 GMT

You've been hired to write an article or sold a manuscript, did your research, wrote and rewrote the piece, and turned in the best work possible. A little while later, the work comes back marked up with fixes, comments, and questions.

There's nothing like an editor (or an agent) to make you feel like you're back in high school. You poured your sweat and tears into creating a great piece of writing, only to have it come back with a lower grade than you expected.

The first response to getting notes from an editor is irritation and the desire to defend the piece. But if you want to make a living at writing, you need to learn to work with editors. Here are tips to doing that.

1) Take a deep breath. It ouches to get critiques. And after the initial sting, is anger. But before you tell your editor off, take a deep breath. Odds are your editor isn't wrong. More importantly, the editor isn't trying to be mean. She's just working to make the piece stronger. Even if she is wrong or mean, getting mad or becoming difficult to work with will only sabotage your writing career. So take a moment to collect yourself and calm your emotions.

2. Read the critiques, notes, comments, etc objectively. It's hard to read your own work with objective eyes, but you need to try. What is the editor saying to you and consider, for a moment, he might be right. Could you have stated that idea or fact more clearly? Does the article really speak to the title? Does the article fit the tone and voice of the publication?

3. Ask questions. Sometimes, editors aren't clear on what they mean either. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification.

4. Choose your battles. Your editor knows the publication and the reader better than you do. As a result, you'll not often win battles with an editor. With that said, there are times when you may need to defend your work. Perhaps you're an expert in the field and know the change suggested by the editor would confuse or mislead readers.

5. Rewrite the piece. In most cases, you'll have been away from the article or manuscript for a little bit of time, giving you a chance to see it with fresh eyes.

6. Keep your complaints about your editor to yourself. More to the point, don't fuss about an editor on social media and your blog, unless you plan to have a career other than writing. Any issues you have should be between you and your editor, or if you have an agent, you can ask her to intervene.

7. Always be professional. If your goal is to make a living writing, that means you plan to be a professional writer. As a professional writer, you should act professional. Don't accuse and call your editor names. If you have an edit you disagree with, make a rational statement with a clear example of what you mean.

Free Resources for Writers

Leslie Truex — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 15:15:59 GMT

One of the challenges to writing is having all the resources you need to write and get published. The list of resources below is not complete, but hopefully will help you get started.

Each of these resources are free, although they may have options for more bells and whistles for a fee.

General Writing: Research, Prep, Drafts

Evernote– Save research, organize articles and plots, and start drafts, and more. Access your notes on computer, smartphone, laptop or tablet.
GoogleDocs – Full suite of document tools including word processing, spreadsheets, slide presentation and more.
Google Keep – More visually oriented than Evernote, Google Keep is another option for storing notes, text or voice, set up reminders, transcribe notes from pictures, integrate into Google Docs, and more. It has a Chrome extension and phone app, as well.
OpenOffice – Full suite of document tools including word processing, spreadsheets, slide presentation and more.
PrimoPDF – If you already have Word, you can save as PDF, but if you don’t, you can use this create PDF files.
Scribus: I've never used this, but it's a free writing tool similar to Scrivner.
WriteWayPro: Another writing software similar to Scrivener, except free.
YWriter5 - I saw this recommended by another writer. It's a free tool similar to Scrivner.
Speech Recognition (free with Windows) - Many people don't know that newer versions of Windows have speech recognition software. You can tell your computer to open up Word or email, and what to write. Visit Microsoft to learn how to set it up.
Todoist - Task management to help you keep on top of your writing deadlines and goals
Trello - Visual project management program. Especially if you plan to self-publish, Trello can help you set up a workflow from draft to revision, revision to editing, editing to formatting and so on. It's flexible so you can set up systems and workflows that help you.

Grammar and Style

Cliche Finder
Grammar Girl''s Quick and Dirty Tips
Grammerly – Free spelling and grammar checker
Readability Score

Communication Tools (i.e. for interviews, contracts etc)

FaxZERO – Fax up to three pages twice a day for free
FreeConferenceCall.com – Free conference and video calls
Skype – Free call, video chat, and instant message for Skye to Skype users. Skype to landlines for small fee.
WebEx – Free video conferencing
Zoom – Video and web conferencing service

Free websites

Free Online Tools

Free Press Release – Submit your press release for free
Google Analytics – Free website traffic stats.
Loom - Free screencapture video
Rafflecopter – Free tool to help run contests and giveaways
Random.org – Randomly choose giveaways and contests winners
Survey Monkey – Allows you to gather feedback and analyze results
YouTube - Free video (i.e. trailers, interviews, etc)

Social Media Tools

Buffer – Social media management tool. Manage up to 3 accounts and up to 10 scheduled posts on the free version.
Facebook – Free social media marketing platform
Hootsuite – Manage up to 3 social media profiles for free
Instagram – Free photo sharing media platform
LinkedIn – Professional social networking website
OneSignal – Send out push notifications on your website online or by app
Pinterest – Visual pin board marketing platform
Twitter – Free social media marketing platform

Free Email Tools

HubSpot – Free email signature generator
MailChimp – Free email marketing for up to 2,000 contacts
MailerLite - Free email marketing for up to 1,000 subscribers
SendInBlue – Free email marketing that offers unlimited contacts, up to 300 emails a day on the free version.

Free Images and Photo Editing

Adazing - Free 3-D book cover creator
Burst – Free stock photos
Canva – Simple design platform and photo editor. Many free photos, layouts, and font options, as well as some you can buy for $1. Also can make book and Wattpad covers.
Dreamstime – Free stock photos and images
FreeDigitalPhotos.net – Free stock photos
FreeImages.com – Free stock photos
FontSquirrel – Free fonts
GIMP - Free photo editing similar to Photoshop
Morguefile.com – Free stock photos for commercial use
OpenShot – Free video editing software
Pexels – Free stock photos
Pixabay.com – Free stock photos
ResizeImage.net – Resize images (i.e. Facebook image to Pinterest) without losing quality
Unsplash.com – Free stock photos
WikimediaCommons – This is one where you’ll want to be sure to read any rules about attribution.

Do you have a free resource to recommend? Please share in the comments.