Local Students receive awards for Simpson Beck Writing Contest in Hayesville, NC April 23, 2019

On Tuesday, April 23, 2019, Hayesville Middle and High Schools received awards for their entries in the Simpson Beck Student Writing Contest. The Clay County Historical and Arts Council (CCHAC) gave awards for the students. 

Winners of the Middle School Contest for Poetry were: 1^st place, E. Holland, 2^nd place, L. Gottlieb, and 3^rd place, D. Fields.  

Winners of the High School Contest for Poetry were: 1^st place, B. Johnson, 2^nd place, M. Gottlieb, and 3^rd place, M. Crawford.

Winners of the Middle School Personal Essay Contest were: 1^st place, G. Gibson, and 2^nd place, A. Gibson. There were no other entries.

Winners of the High School Personal Essay Contest were: 1^st place, R. Bunch, 2^nd place, B. Johnson, and 3^rdplace, J. Green. 

Carroll S. Taylor, Janice Townley Moore, Rosemary Rhodes Royston

Judges for the contests were: Rosemary Rhodes Royston, Poetry judge, and Janice Townley Moore and Carroll S. Taylor, Personal Essay judges. 

Reba Beck and Joan Ellen Gage

This writing event was coordinated by English teacher Carla Beck, Joan Ellen Gage, representing NCWN-West, and by Reba Beck, from CCHAC, a retired art teacher from Hayesville High School. Reba Beck established the original contests, (which at the time included art work), along with Nancy Simpson (Brantley). Teacher Carla Beck was instrumental in coordinating the contest with the middle and high school.

Awards for the judges were furnished by The Copper Door Restaurant, Brother’s Willow Ranch Restaurant, and Rib Country (Hayesville).

The Literary Hour at JCCFS, Brasstown, NC, to feature Joan Ellen Gage, Bob Grove, and Carroll S. Taylor on Wednesday, April 17, 2019

On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour. At this event, NCWN-West members will read at the Keith House on the JCCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC. The Literary Hour is held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise indicated. This reading is free of charge and open to the public. This month's featured readers will be Joan Ellen Gage, Bob Grove, and Carroll S. Taylor. For more information on this event, please contact Mary Ricketson at: maryricketson311@hotmail.com.

Joan Ellen Gage is an author of humor and inspiration written from her own unique perspective. Her recipe for her writing focuses on staying upbeat and laughing at her own foibles. Gage’s photos are the spice in the mix that serve to punctuate the writing and add that special garnish to her creations. 

Joan has written and published five books, Water Running Downhill, Embracing Your Inner Cheerleader, A Redhead Looks At 60, Trinity's Adventures in Imagination, and a special edition of Water Running Downhill! the Rose Edition, as a tribute to her friend Rose Macedo Kull. All of the books are available on Amazon. Currently, Gage is working on a new book entitled: Words of Defiance and Empowerment.

Gage is a former administrator for the NCWN-West blog. Additionally, Ms. Gage has two blogs, Traveling at the Speed of Now, www.joanellengage.com,and A Redhead Blogs at 60, https://joans-zone.com/.

Bob Grove: Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kent State University and a Master of Science degree from Florida Atlantic University. His diversified curriculum qualified him to teach high school courses in biology, anatomy and physiology, earth and space science, astronomy and space science, psychology, English, journalism, and creative writing.  

 Bob was an ABC-TV public affairs director and on-air program host, and founder and publisher of Monitoring Times Magazine. He has published 19 books and hundreds of articles in 23 magazines. Additionally, he has published a mystery novella, Secrets of Magnolia Manor, his memoir, Misadventures of an Only Child, a collection of children’s stories: Adventures of Kaylie and Jimmy, and many flash fiction stories as well as some poetry. Grove’s books can be found on Amazon.

Grove is prose critique facilitator for the North Carolina Writers Network and a co-facilitator of the Ridgeline Literary Alliance.

Carroll S. Taylor grew up in rural West Central Georgia. A graduate of Tift College (Mercer University) with a BA in French, she holds graduate degrees in French and English as well as an EdS in Educational Leadership. An educator for forty-three years, Taylor taught French, English, Journalism, Creative Writing, and ESL, and advised students to create and publish school newspapers and yearbooks. After retirement, she moved on to her second career as a part-time instructor at Columbus State University, teaching freshman composition. 

Taylor is the author of two young adult novels, Chinaberry Summer and Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side. She is currently writing the third novel in the series, Chinaberry Summer: Down by the Water. Her books emphasize generational storytelling and respect for the valuable role of reptiles and amphibians in our ecosystem. One of the personal highlights of publishing her novels was her book reading held in the childhood home of Carson McCullers. 

Readers may find her journal blog at chinaberrysummer.com, and  follow her at: https://www.facebook.com/ChinaberrySummer/. .

Carroll is a member of North Carolina Writers’ Network, North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, and the Georgia Poetry Society.

Keeping our Blog and Website going

I know we are all sorry that Joan Gage has resigned as our blog and webmaster for NCWN-West. She did a terrific job of keeping our events and our publishing success out there for all to see. 

Joan will continue as a member and will continue to do publicity for the Literary Hour, the monthly reading at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Many of our members have come to know Joan through this blog and through her own blogs. 

She is and has been a very busy person who was a tremendous help to me in the past. I hope I can still call on her from time to time to share her talents with us.

For now, I will resume posting here and try to keep up with everything, but I would very much appreciate one of our members stepping up to help with the blog. 

I learned about blogging and the success writers were having starting a free site to make their books known to the public when I attended a NCWN Fall Conference in 2007. I came home and tried my hand at creating one. I was delighted that our members liked the idea.

During the next year, I taught blogging classes at the Moss Library and several of our members set up their own blogs. One became an internationally known food blog. 

Brenda Kay Ledford and her mother, Blanche

Brenda Kay Ledford, author of many books and articles has two or three of the best blogs where she shares her poetry and writes about the history of Clay County. She has attracted a wide audience and Brenda has won a number of awards. Nancy Simpson also learned to blog at that class. I think her blog is still open and is great to read. 

I hope that you, our members, will follow us, if you do not already, and will send some of your work to post here. This site belongs to all of us, members of NCWN-West, and it is read by lots and lots of people here and around the world. Make your voice heard right here on www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com  

Poets Joan Ellen Gage and Don Long to be featured at CWPW, Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at 10:30 AM, Coffee with the Poets and Writers (CWPW) will feature local poets Joan Ellen Gage, and Don Long. This event will be held at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, NC. The readings are free and open to the public, and an open mic will follow the readings. CWPW is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network-West.

Joan Ellen Gage is an author of humor and inspiration written from her own unique perspective. Her recipe for her writing focuses on staying upbeat and laughing at her own foibles. Joan’s photos are the spice in the mix that serve to punctuate the writing and add that special garnish to her creations. 

Joan has written and published five books: Water Running Downhill!, Embracing Your Inner Cheerleader!, A Redhead Looks At 60, Trinity's Adventures in Imagination, and a special edition of Water Running Downhill! the Rose Edition, as a tribute to her friend Rose Macedo Kull. All books are available as eBooks. Additionally, Ms. Gage has two blogs, Traveling at the Speed of Now, www.joanellengage.com/ and A redhead blogs at 60, at https://joans-zone.com/. Gage is working on a new book entitled, Words of Defiance and Empowerment.

Gage is a member of her area’s writing group, NC Writers’ Network-West, serving as the administrator for their blog. 

Donald Long is a retired army Lieutenant Colonel. He flew helicopters and airplanes, and had two tours in Vietnam. Upon retiring, he worked with the Federal Government as a Safety Professional. 

Starting in his teen years and all throughout his adult life Long has written poems, mostly for his consumption, but occasionally on request, for personnel at special occasions during his careers. For a short while after retiring from the Army he had a business called “People Poems” writing poems for others for a fee after they provided him with pertinent information. Although the business was doing well, his second career necessitated that he close it.

Long writes poems for personal reasons and likes to make them rhyme. One of his poems, “I’m Glad It’s Mine” has been used during citizenship swearing-in ceremonies in central Florida and for central Florida Flag Day ceremonies.  Another poem about being a Vietnam Veteran was featured at the 2013 Florida “Convention” for Vietnam Helicopter Pilots.  One story about his Vietnam Experience entitled “Combat in Chump Valley” has been published in two different military related anthologies, The Harsh and The Heart and Vietnam Helicopter Crew Member Stories, Volume 2.  The story has also been featured in the VHPA Aviator Magazine. Long’s other hobby is genealogy.

For more information, please contact Glenda Beall at glendabeall@msn.com.