Celebrate Nancy Simpson

Nancy Simpson celebrates her 100th post on her blog, Living Above the Frost Line. Look at the photo on her page today of some Netwest members back in 1998 when we soaked up Nancy's gifts in her classes at Tri-County Community College. Can you name those writers?

NETWEST SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT BOOK STORES

Curiosity Shop Bookstores in Murphy and Andrews, NC
sent their upcoming events list.


Friday, 5/29 - 5-7pm Hondo will be playing music at The Shoppes of Murphy.
5pm - Relay for Life in Konehete Park, Murphy

Saturday, 5/30 3-4pm The Bear Notes will play music at our Andrews location.

Saturday, 6/6 11:00am-1:00pm Senator Zell Miller will be in our Murphy store to sign his book, Purt Nigh Gone
The Murphy Spring Fest takes place that day downtown.
(If you can't be here that day and want him to sign a book, you may purchase in advance and we'll take care of it)!

Saturday, 6/13 11am-1pm Senator Zell Miller will be in our Andrews store.

Saturday, 6/20 6pm - 11pm Andrews "Cruise Night". Join us on our deck to watch the action!!

Saturday, 6/27 - Andrews Cultural Art Center Garden Tour
also, Andrews Music Festival

Waynesville book store - Osondu's coming events

This week's events at Osondu's books in Waynesville, NC

Friday the 29th
@ 7:00 p.m. tea tasting

Saturday the 30th
@ 11:00 a.m. tea tasting

@ 3:00 p.m. meet the author Sarah Addison Allen
Sarah Addison is the author of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. Come out support Sarah by attending her signing. If you have never read her books or met her you will be so happy you came. If you have read and met her you will be thrilled to see her again. :)

@7:00 p.m Music with Lorraine Conard
This is our last Saturday night of music. So come in join us in thanking Lorraine for the year of music she has provided on Saturdays.
We will see Lorraine on many of the Friday Art after Dark evenings.

Tuesday June 2nd
@10:00 a.m. Mystery Book Club first meeting. All our welcome.

Squire Summer Writing Residency to be held in WNC

Western North Carolina Writers - Now is the perfect time to sign up for the Squire Summer Writing Residency at Warren Wilson College, near Asheville.



North Carolina Writers’ Network

SQUIRE SUMMER WRITING RESIDENCY

Friday–Sunday, July 24–26
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa, NC

Writing Workshops Featuring:

Poetry with Cathy Smith Bowers
Fiction with Tommy Hays
Nonfiction with Catherine Reid


Register by July 8 at http://www.ncwriters.org/ or call 336-293-8844.

SILVER BOOMER BOOKS CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Silver Boomer Books issues a Call for Submission


Two anthologies - be sure to check these links.

http://silverboomerbooks.com/submissions.htm

http://www.eaglewingspress.com/guidelines.htm





Karen Greene

abilenewritersguild.org

writing as:Kerin Riley Bishop

silverboomerbooks.com

silverboomers.com

frecklestowrinkles.com

New Anthology is making progress

The new Netwest anthology will have a lovely cover, I'm sure, although it hasn't yet been chosen. Photos are coming each day and I get excited to see what the next envelope will hold.
Work on the book is moving along as CDs have been mailed to Nancy Simpson, Editor. Each story, essay or poem will be proof-read several times before all are combined into one file to go to Katje, Karen Holmes daughter, who will format the book for the printer. It will take many weeks, many hours of reading, and more reading before the manuscript is complete.
If your work was selected for the anthology, and if you cannot make a CD with your work and a fifty word bio, please contact Nancy
and we will work out something so that your poem or prose piece will not be left out.

NETWEST MEMBER, JACK JOSEPH PRATHER RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS

Jack Joseph Prather, author and poet, is reading and signing his highly praised new novel - The Day of the Knights.

Saturday, June 13th from 11:30-2 p.m. at Mike's On Main, Main Street and Third Avenue, Hendersonville, NC

Tuesday, August 18th from noon-1:30 at the Lanier Library, Chestnut Street, Tryon, NC

Thursday, August 20th from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Henderson County Library, Washington Street, Hendersonville, NC

Be sure to check out Jack's website: http://www.jackjosephprather.com/
Order The Day of the Knights from Amazon.com and other sites you will find on Jack's website.

One reviewer asks for a sequel, and others say this book is impossible to put down. A page-turner, it seems. If you have read Jack Joseph Prather's books, please leave a comment.

Candy Maier Scholarship Fund

Mary Ricketson, Netwest Rep for Cherokee County, Mary Jo Dyre, Netwest Representative on the Board for NCWN Board of Trustees, Glenda Beall, Program Coordinator for Netwest, Gwendie Camp, Chairman of the Candy Fund, Cheryl Dietrich, treasurer of the Candy Fund stand in front of a beautiful quilt at the Curiosity Shop Bookstore in Murphy. The quilt was raffled off and a name drawn the day of our visit.

Recently Gwendie Camp and Cheryl Dietrich drove down to join Mary Jo Dyre who acts as a liaison for the Candy Fund, and her guests, Mary Ricketson and Glenda Beall to discuss the future of the new non-profit charity over lunch at Shoebooties' restaurant in Murphy. In the three years this fund has been active, they have raised $11,000 and given out 50 scholarships totaling $8, 000.
They are ready now to develop a website, send out a newsletter and hold a series of fundraisers. Gwendie says they have volunteer positions available on the Board of Directors and for regional coordinators to reach out beyond the boundaries of Asheville to women south and north of Buncombe county.

We offered our support from Netwest because we believe this to be a needed organization. The Candy Maier Fund provided scholarships to several of our members in the past couple of years. The Fund is seeking donations to help meet the growing need for Candy Fund scholarships. Donations, any amount is appreciated, are tax-exempt.The Candy Fund is the only scholarship program of its type in this area.
You can reach the Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers by email: thecandyfund@yahoo.com or by snail mail: 4B Long shoals Road #164, Arden, North Carolina, 28704-7781.

Jo Carolyn Beebe and Karen Holmes read to a full house at JCCFS

Karen Holmes impressed students from around the U.S. as well as locals with her powerful poetry Thursday evening at John C. Campbell Folk School. Karen is a recent member of Netwest. Enthusiastic and energetic, Karen is helping with the new Netwest anthology, and she publishes and edits the online newsletter, Netwest News. With her background as V.P. with ING corporation, she brings new ideas and talent to Netwest.

Jo Carolyn Beebe writes historical fiction. Her long time interest in genealogy provides fodder for her writing. At JCCFS Thursday evening the large audience enjoyed excerpts from her most recent young adult manuscript about Willie, a young boy in Mississippi during the War Between the States. With humor and mystery, she enthralled her listeners, and left everyone wanting more.

Support Our Local Bookstores

Curiosity Shop Bookstores in Murphy and in Andrews, NC
are proud to welcome Senator Zell Miller to our stores to sign his new book, Purt Nigh Gone, about the disappearing "old mountain ways".

Saturday, June 6th - Murphy store (46 Valley River Ave.) from 11:00 am-1:00 pm. This will coincide with the Murphy Spring Festival in downtown Murphy.

Saturday, June 13th - Andrews store (1060 Main Street) from 11am-1pm.

JEFF BIGGERS TO SPEAK IN ASHEVILLE

Jeff Biggers will speak at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC on Friday May 22 at 6:30 pm. For more on Jeff click on link below.

http://www.maconnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4722&Itemid=85

Want to reach Ed Southern?

New Address:Ed Southern, Executive Director
North Carolina Writers' Network
P.O. Box 21591
Winston-Salem, NC 27120-1591

336.293.8844

Jeff Biggers dramatizes the history of Appalachia

Jeff Biggers. Have you heard of him? I heard him dramatize one of his books today and I, like all the audience, was mezmerized. All I could think of was: If history was taught to our children the way Jeff taught us today, we'd have college history classes filled to the max. Jeff is a fount of Appalachian history. According to his session today, almost everything that is good in the USA, came from Applachia. And he gave us samples to prove what he said.

I recommend to anyone, if you see this man's name on a program in your area, go see and listen to him. After hearing him, his audience swarmed the table buying his book. I came away feeling I'd learned exciting tales about history and the people who made it.

Blue Ridge Book and Author Showcase - I'm Still High!

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer, poet and Netwest Rep for South Carolina is always gracious and friendly. Even though her books had not been ordered for the book fair, she gained many new friends and names for her newsletter.

Bob Greenwald and his group of volunteers conducted a full day of activities for writers and book lovers.Above is Kathryn Stripling Byer and Robert Morgan, author of the new novel Boone.

Poetry, alive and well in Cherokee County NC, May 7

Dr. Gene Hirsch and his John C. Campbell Folk School poetry class visited the Netwest Poetry critique group on Thursday evening, May 7.
Linda Smith, far end on right, is reading a poem she brought for critique.

Poets Glenda Barrett, author of When the Sap Rises, and Joyce Foster, author of Painted Leaves, a book Kathryn S. Byer called one of the most beautiful poetry books she has ever seen, follow the words of a poem read by Linda Smith. Joyce attended Gene Hirsch's class and lists him in her book as her mentor. Beyond Joyce in the photo is Clarence Newton, Gene Hirsch, Karen Holmes, Barbara Groce, and Maren Mitchell.

NETWEST WRITERS, POST YOUR GOOD NEWS HERE

Many of our Netwest members are authors of this blog, http://www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com/. That means you have permission to post your own work on this blog. If you are a member and would like to post on this site, please email me, writerlady21@yahoo.com, and you will be sent an invitation to post



This site was set up in 2007 to promote writing and writers in the Netwest area of NC, GA, SC, and TN. Since then, a number of our members have gone on to set up their personal blogs, websites and some have begun literary journals.



We urge you to continue to post here where we have viewers from all over the world. Send us news about your region and your successes. We love to post your photo and your good news on this blog.



Send us the schedule for writing events in your county and we can post those for you.



Exciting things are happening in the Netwest area and this is where you will learn about them.

Dr. Gene Hirsch at JCCFS this week

Dr. Gene Hirsch is teaching poetry this week at John C. Campbell Folk School. His class will read on Thursday afternoon, 4:15 , in the Keith House. Dr. Hirsch is responsible for instigating the Writing Program at JCCFS and comes down from Pennsylvania each year to teach a class or two. He has been most generous to Netwest and we appreciate him. He and his class will attend the Netwest Poetry Critique group at Tri-County College on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM.

Blue Ridge Book & Author Showcase Hendersonville, NC

9:00-9:10
Robert Morgan
welcome and keynote introduction
Conference Hall/Gala
9:10-9:50
Sharyn McCrumb
Keynote Address. Tell it Slant: Finding Truth in Fiction
Conference Hall/Gala
10:00-11:00
Louise Bailey
The historical and cultural dimensions of henderson county
Conference Hall/Gala
10:00-11:00
Vickie Lane
Appalachian Mysteries
Conference Hall/Cortland
10:00-11:00
Rose Senehi
Romantic thrillers threaded with environmental themes
Cortland Hall/Macintosh
10:00-11:15
Student Presentations
School-age writing talent to the microphone
Classroom 213
11:00-11:30
Author Display tables open Book sales/signings, author/public interaction.
11:30-12:30
Sheila Kay Adams
Historical novels, mountain culture in storytelling and ballad style
Conference Hall/Gala
11:30-12:30
Keith Flynn
Inside the poetry genre
Conference Hall/Cortland
11:30-12:30
Susan Reinhardt
Southern Humor
Conference Hall/Macinstosh
11:30-12:30
Student Presentations
School-age writing talent to the microphone
Classroom 213
12:30-1:30

Lunch break

1:30-2:00
Author Display tables open Book sales/signings, author/public interaction.

2:00-3:00
Kathryn Stripling Byer
Poet Laureate of North Carolina
Conference Hall/Gala
2:00-3:00
Joan Medlicott
Never too late to become a published author
conference hall/cortland
2:00-3:00
Gary Carden
Western North Carolina storytelling and folklore
Conference Hall/Macintosh
2:00-3:00
Marvin Cole
Character portrayal of mark twain
room 213
3:10-4:10
Robert Morgan
Boone's legacy reaches to the Pacific
conference hall/gala
3:10-4:10
Peggy Collins
"The self-sufficiency syndrome"--Learning to accept help
conference hall/cortland
3:10-4:10
Jeff Biggers
the appalachian character and other memoirs
conference hall/macintosh
3:10-4:10
Steve Kirk
Navigating the publishing labyrinth
room 213
4:10-5:00
Author Display tables open Book sales/signings, author/public interaction

Echoes Across the Blue Ridge

Echoes Across the Blue Ridge: Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains.


Above is the title for the new Netwest anthology. It is appropriate for the vast number of poets and writers whose work is included.

Nancy Simpson, editor of Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, has worked long hours night and day to choose the absolutely best work from around nearly one hundred submissions.

We hope to send out acceptance letters in the coming week to those who sent an SASE informing them of the protocol expected when sending in their revised copy on disk.

Now that we have a title, we need submissions for cover art. If you are an artist, or a photographer and want to send an 8 X 10 color photograph, we welcome submissions from anyone living in the Netwest area. After acceptance, the photo will need to be sent on disk or jump drive as a jpeg file.
Keep a copy of your photograph as we will not mail them back.
Photo credit will be given in the anthology.

Mail submissions to Glenda Beall, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904
Be sure you include your contact information including phone number and E-mail address.

Heart Poetry Award

Brenda Kay Ledford will judge the HEART magazine national poetry contest. The winner receives $500 and the entry deadline is June 30, 2009. For contest guidelines, go to: www.nostalgiapress.com.

This is the third time Ledford has judged national poetry contests for Connie Lakey Martin, editor and publisher, of Nostalgia Press in Orangeburg, SC. The press was founded in 1986.

You may read Ledford's bio at: www.brendakayledford.com. Also, visit her blog: http://blueridgepoet.blogspot.com.

BRITAIN'S FIRST FEMALE POET LAUREATE

('I look on it as recognition of the great women poets we now have writing' ... Carol Ann Duffy. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe)

If you go to my ncpoetlaureate.blogspot.com site, you will find a lengthy post about Britain's first woman Poet Laureate. I welcome your visit!

Netwest Anthology Update

We are all looking forward to the new Netwest Anthology edited by Nancy Simpson. We are extremely pleased to have had many submissions, and so many excellent writers sending poems, essays and short stories. For those of you who are anxious to know if your work has been selected, please be patient a few more days. Our editor, who has worked diligently and put in long hours and late nights, seems to have come down with a bug, not swine flu, but has been sick this week. We expect to send out letters next week if all goes well.
Nancy says she has enjoyed reading the work of our mountain writers and she assures me we will have a terrific book. Meanwhile we have an agreement with a printer for one thousand books, first printing. We are already working on the marketing of the anthology. We'll be calling on our representatives in all counties to give us suggestions as to the best outlets for selling this book to tourists and book lovers. We will plan readings in all counties of Netwest. If your work is in the book, we hope you will take part in those readings.
The first Netwest anthology, Lights in the Mountains, stories, poems and essays by writers living in the southern Appalachians, sold out of two printings of 750 books each printing. Because we do our own editing, copy-editing, and formatting, we can produce the book less expensively than if we used a POD or small press. However it takes a bit longer to get the book out there.

This endeavor is labor intensive, but it is a labor of love. You will be pleased and proud of the anthology you all have helped produce.