Jeff Stewart Featured Reader at Mountain Wordsmiths Feb. 22

 Award-winning writer Jeff Stewart will be the featured reader at Mountain Wordsmiths’ gathering on Thursday, February 22, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

Jeff Stewart

Stewart is a man of many gifts. He is a healthcare consultant, scientist, inventor, author, playwright, and father of seven. He was a Jeopardy! College Champion and runner-up in the Tournament of Champions. Stewart lives in Cary, NC..

Stewart’s book, "Living: Inspiration from a Father with Cancer," was named the best cancer book of 2023 at the 20th annual American BookFest awards. Their review states, “'Living' tells the story of a molecular biologist, Jeopardy! champion, and cancer patient. Cancer patients and their caregivers will find valuable insider advice… 'Living' is more than a book about cancer. 'Living' is a book about life.”

"Living" also received a “get it” rating from Kirkus Reviews, which called Stewart’s book “Complex and thoughtful, with a refreshingly upbeat attitude.” BookLife from Publisher's Weekly called "Living" a "remarkable memoir" and "a final and powerful act of love."

“So many cancer books are downers,” says Stewart. “I wanted my cancer book to be funny and helpful. I’m excited by the award and positive reviews, but it’s when someone tells me, ‘Your book helped me understand what my mother was going through’ that it all feels worth it.”

Ken Jennings—yes that Ken Jennings—blurbed Stewart’s book, calling it “a moving message-in-a-bottle from a great Jeopardy! champion—who also turns out to be a writer with a rare gift for aphorism and insight.”

To learn more about Jeff Stewart, you can watch his interviews on youtube.com.

Mountain Wordsmiths gatherings will always take place on Zoom. NCWN-West is also continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because they can join our gatherings from other locations across America. Attendees are welcome to bring a poem or short prose piece to read during Open Mic. Please limit the reading to 3-5 minutes.

Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com or ncwngeorgiarep@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

Author Karen Lauritzen is January Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor

Mountain Wordsmiths will begin its 2024 year of gatherings with a stellar guest reader, Karen Lauritzen, on Thursday, January 25, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

Karen Lauritzen

Lauritzen writes short stories, poetry, essays and memoir. Her work has been published in "WNC-Woman Magazine," "The Chrysalis Reader," "Carpe Articulum," and others. Her memoir, "Nothing Vanishes, Memoir of a Life Transformed," was published in 2012. She was awarded ¬ first place in non-¬fiction for her short story, “Making My Way Home,” in the 2023 Porter Fleming Literary Awards through the Morris Museum of Art. "Just the Right Kind of Wrong" is her first novel. She lives in North Carolina.

“In Just the Right Amount of Wrong," author Karen Lauritzen deftly crafts the story of 23-year-old Toni Margiani, whose flawed and broken life propels her to St. Mary’s Abbey where she sets forth on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth. This book is a page-turner that leaves readers waiting for Lauritzen’s next contribution to literary fiction.” (author Peggy Tabor Millin)

Sandra I. Brown, MA, psychotherapist, writes, “Lauritzen portrays the ‘courageous terror’ a victim of a socially hidden psychopath experiences and the unlikely path of restoration. All recovery is a journey of heroism and Lauritzen deeply portrays the victim’s experience of harrowing fear and courage.”

Readers can find more about Lauritzen on her blog at her website karenlauritzen.com where she talks about the development of her writing process.

Mountain Wordsmiths gatherings always take place on Zoom. NCWN-West is also continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because they can join our gatherings from other locations across America. Attendees are welcome to bring a poem or short prose piece to read during Open Mic. Please limit the reading to 3-5 minutes.

Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com or ncwngeorgiarep@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

Literary Hour at Campell School Features Beall and Owens

  Local memoirist Glenda Beall and poet Scott Owens are the featured authors for the Literary Hour on Thursday, June 15, at 7 pm in the Keith House Living Room of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Scott Owens

Scott Owens of Hickory, NC, writes poetry as if he were a painter. Painters see more than other people see. They look beyond the obvious. Owens sees and invites the reader to visualize images, actions, beliefs, purposes, and motives. His books cover a wide range of topics including a love of nature, surviving an abusive childhood, growing up on a farm, writing, religion, dreams and nightmares, parenting, politics, philosophy, existentialism, and, of course, love.

A professor of poetry at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Owens is the author of 19 collections of poetry, and more than 1,200 published poems. He has received awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the NC Writers' Network, the NC Poetry Society, the Poetry Society of SC, and many others.

Glenda Council Beall lives in the mountains of western North Carolina with her dog, Lexie. Since 1996, her work has been widely published in numerous journals, magazines and online reviews. 

Glenda Council Beall

In 2009, her poetry chapbook “Now Might as Well Be Then,” was published by Finishing Line Press. In 1998, she published a family history book, “Profiles and Pedigrees, The Descendants of Thomas Charles Council (1888 - 1911).” She co-authored, with Estelle Rice, “Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers, and Fins; Family Pets and God’s Other Creatures,” an anthology of stories, nonfiction, and poetry with beautiful color photos.

For 10 years she owned and directed Writers Circle Around the Table where she brought outstanding poetry and prose writers to Clay County, NC, to teach local writers. She has taught memoir writing classes at John C. Campbell Folk School, Tri-County College, and ICL at Young Harris College.

Beall is program coordinator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

CarolLynn Jones, author of “Danya,” a novel about a family surviving the Russian revolution, will host the Literary Hour.

The Literary Hour at the folk school started in 1995 and is offered every third Thursday of the month through November.

Author Sandy Benson and Poet Richard Cary to Read at Campbell School

Author Sandy Benson and Poet Richard Montfort Cary will read from their work at the Literary Hour Thursday, April 20, at 7 pm in the Keith House Living Room of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Benson will read selections from her first book, “My Mother’s Keeper: One Family’s Journey Through Dementia,” and the book she is currently working on, “Girls Can’t Do That,” a collection of

Sandy Benson

mostly humorous short stories about her life as one of America’s first female foresters.  Cary will read selections from his forthcoming chronological autobiography of his poetry.

Benson is a soon-to-be-retired professional forester with a background in journalism.  She has worked as a forester in Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska, while moonlighting as a reporter, editor, publisher, and freelance non-fiction writer.  Numerous newspapers and magazines have published her articles, and she received several awards from the Nebraska Press Women’s organization.

She has lived with her husband, Barry, in Warne, NC, since 2018 and enjoys sharing tales at local storyteller gatherings and writing publicity releases for the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville.

Cary began writing poetry in high school and continues to this day.  He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1964 with a BFA in Theatre Arts, and spent six years in regional theatres, before moving year-round to Nantucket Island, MA, where he became a designer and builder of custom

Richard Cary

homes.  In 1985, he founded Actors Theatre of Nantucket, the island’s professional theatre company, and served as Artistic Director for twenty years.

His claim to local fame is that his great aunt, Olive Dame Campbell, founded the Campbell Folk School.  In April 2022, he wrote and directed “The Birth Of The John C Campbell Folk School” which received generous praise when it was performed at the Peacock.  The theatre hosted an encore production this year.  He and his wife Cheryl moved to Hayesville NC in 2017.

Local poet and author Joan Howard will host the event.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.

Writers' Conference, Blue Ridge, GA, April 8-9

Keynote Speaker: Julie Guinn 

"How to Write a NY Times Bestseller"

There's something for writers of every genre with authors Renea Winchester, Rona Simmons, Kim Zackman, and NCWN representative Karen Paul Holmes, who will lead the following poetry workshops:

Poetry That Pops: Unexpected Word Pairings

Each word in a poem counts, as do the words next to it. Adjective-noun and subject-verb pairs that the reader hasn’t seen before can add vitality. Did the rain fall or did it slither down the glass? Each creates a particular image in the mind, but the latter also sets a certain mood. We’ll look at examples from skilled poets and try a fun prompt that helps you dig deeper for the just-right word combination.
  

Publishing in Journals & Anthologies: 

Submitting your poetry can be daunting and discouraging, but then an acceptance arrives and makes your day. We’ll discuss strategy, pitfalls to avoid, choosing which poems to send and where, and what makes a good cover letter. You’ll go home with an arsenal of  submission tips and tools. 

For registration, schedule, class descriptions, and more: https://www.blueridgewritersconference.com/

CWTPW on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, will feature writers Estelle Darrow Rice and Glenda Council Beall; event to be held at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

Coffee with the Poets and Writers will meet Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 10:30 AM, at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC. Estelle Rice and Glenda Beall will be featured this month.



ESTELLE DARROW RICE is a retired mental health counselor who lives in Marble, NC. She is a native of Charlotte and many of her stories center on her life there and in the mountains of western NC where she and her late husband, Nevin, lived the past twenty years. She is author of Quiet Times, an inspirational poetry chapbook and has published poems and stories in numerous journals and anthologies. She taught writing classes for NCWN-West and at Glenda Beall’s studio, Writers Circle around the Table.


 
GLENDA COUNCIL BEALL: In 1998, Glenda Beall published a family history book, Profiles and Pedigrees, Thomas C. Council and His Descendants based on the lives of her grandfather and his ten children. Her poetry chapbook, Now Might as Well be Then was published in 2009 by Finishing Line Press.

She has been writing and publishing poetry, memoir and short stories since 1996 when she moved to Clay County, NC. She teaches writing at her studio as well as the Institute of Continuing Learning in Young Harris, GA and Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC.

Her website is: www.glendacouncilbeall.com.


Estelle and Glenda will be reading from their forthcoming book, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, which will be published this summer. Both writers are animal lovers and decided to collaborate and co-write a collection of poems and stories about the pets they have loved and also other non-human species including birds and fish.


The public is invited to attend Coffee with the Poets and Writers and to take part in Open Mic. Because of time constraints, readers are asked to read no more than two poems or a prose piece of about 1500 words.


This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network West, a program of the state literary organization, North Carolina Writers’ Network.


Contact Glenda Beall, 828-389-4441 or glendabeall@msn.com for more information.

NCWN-West to sponsor a Bookfest for Writers, at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC, on Saturday, March 24, 2018

BOOKFEST:

Saturday, March 24, 2018, Noon to 4 PM,

at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, NC

Sponsored by NCWN-West 
Admission is free!

 Author Speakers include:

Carol Crawford: Author, Poet, Editor

Deanna Klingel: Author, Writer of YA and Children’s’ Lit

Tom Davis: Author of Memoir, Publisher

Polly Davis: Author of Memoir, College Professor

Lisa Turner: Author, Writer of “How to: books

Author/members of NCWN-West, will sign books, talk about publishing & marketing, will give tips & advice, based on their personal experiences.

Drawings for door prizes: will be held throughout the PM, including a free writing class at Writers Circle around the Table in Hayesville, NC and free editing by Carol Crawford of up to thirty pages of your writing.

Left to right: Carol Crawford, Deanna Klingel, Tom & Polly Davis, & Lisa Turner

For more information about the Bookfest , contact Glenda Council Beall, Program Director for NCWN-West, at 828-389-4441, or the Moss Memorial Library at 828-389-8401.