Fall Conference Pre-Registration Deadline is October 28

Fall Conference happens November 4-6 at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley.  Registration is now open at www.ncwriters.org;  pre-registration ends Friday, October 28.

With some 200 writers in attendance, as well as dozens of faculty and publishing professionals, the North Carolina Writers’ Network 2016 Fall Conference is the largest writing conference in the state and one of the biggest and most inclusive in the country. It’s a great chance for writers to network, but more importantly, it’s a chance for beginners and bestselling authors alike to focus on writing for an entire weekend and quickly improve their craft.
2016 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee Margaret Maron, of

Willow Springs, will give the Keynote Address.

Maron is the five-time Agatha Award-winning mystery writer of the Deborah Knott series, which is set in Johnston County. In 2015, she was given a lifetime achievement award by Bouchercon, the world mystery convention.

Saturday’s luncheon will feature three authors from UNC Press’ Savor the South series: Debbie Moose, Bridgette A. Lacy, and John Shelton Reed. They’ll talk about how good food writing is about so much more than just food.

2014 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee and current NC poet laureate Shelby Stephenson will be the featured guest at Saturday night’s banquet. He’ll talk about writing, read some poetry, and most likely strum a little bit on his guitar.

Program offerings include the second annual All Stories Connect panel discussion. This year’s theme is “A Conversation about Culture” with Shervon Cassim, Sheila Smith McKoy, Donna Miscolta, and Elaine Neil Orr. Sunday morning will once again feature the popular Brilliant at Breakfast panel discussion “Agents and Editors,” featuring Michelle Brower of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth; Robin Miura, editor of Carolina Wren Press; Emma Patterson of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.; and Kathy Pories, Senior Editor at Algonquin Books.

Poetry classes include “Image and Narrative” with Guggenheim and NEA fellow Joseph Millar; “Writing Haiku” with Lenard D. Moore, recipient of the 2014 NC Award for Literature, the state’s highest civilian honor; and “The Furniture of the Poem: The Space of the Page and How We Fill It” with Chris Tonelli, poet and owner of Raleigh’s So & So Bookstore.

Fiction writers will choose from a full slate of class offerings including “Minute Particulars” with Raleigh’s Kim Church, whose debut novel Byrd won the Crook’s Corner Book Prize for best debut novel set in the South; “Ending Well: Short Story Endings and Their Lessons” with Clare Beams, author of the forthcoming short-story collection We Show What We Have Learned (Lookout Books, 2016). Poet, playwright, and arts educator Howard L. Craft will teach “Developing Authentic Dialog”; and Art Taylor, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, will teach “Sharp, Succinct & Suspenseful: Crafting the Mystery Story.”

Other classes focus on some aspect of the publishing industry. Poet, NCWN trustee, and NCWN regional rep for Wake County, Alice Osborn, will teach “How to be a Rock Star at PR”; the Triangle Association of Freelancers will lead the panel discussion on “Freelance Writing 101”; intellectual property attorney Mitch Tuchman will talk to writers about “Copyright Infringement”; Ross White, poet and founder/publisher of Bull City Press, will lead “Grammar Gone Wild”; and Kim Church and Emma Patterson will chat about “How to Work with an Agent.”

Additional offerings will appeal to authors who write across genres: award-winning Young Adult and New Adult author Jen McConnel will ask “YA/NA: What’s the Big Deal?”; Zelda Lockhart, founder of LaVenson Press Studios, will guide attendees through “The Relationship Museum”; award-winning writer and folklorist Eleanora E. Tate will lead a class on children’s writing; and sci-fi writer Ian J. Malone will teach a class called “Beyond Vanity: How Indie Publishing Builds Professional Writers.”

2016 Fall Conference sponsors include March Graham, author of Ashes and Dust; Chatham-Lee Counties NCWN regional rep Al Manning; the North Carolina Museum of History; Alice Osborn: Editor/Book Coach/Author; The 2017 Piedmont Laureate Program; the University of North Carolina Press; and the North Carolina Arts Council.

For more information, and to register, visit www.ncwriters.org.
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Contact: Charles Fiore, Communications Director, North Carolina Writers' Network, Charles@ncwriters.org

Why is it important to attend writers' conferences?

Quotes from Tony Abbott who will teach a poetry workshop at the NCWN Fall Conference:

Why do you feel it's important for writers to attend conferences such as the NCWN Fall Conference?
"When I first started writing, I had almost no contact with other writers, with people like me. Conferences give us a chance to be with one another and feel the support of others like ourselves. In North Carolina, especially, writers are a genuine community. You might meet someone at a conference who will become a true friend…."

What does it mean for writers to "Network?" Any tips? 
"When we founded the North Carolina Writers' Network we realized that many writers lived in communities where they felt isolated from many of the important things going on in writing centers like Raleigh, Durhm, Chapel Hill. To Network really means to be in touch with what is going on and to become a part of it. If Sharon Olds is coming to Duke, I want to know about it even if I live two or three hours away. A network can help keep me alive as a writer."

Can writing be taught? 
Yes. You can’t teach talent or genius. A gift is a gift, but we can always help people improve. We can teach people to be better writers than they are.

Registration for the fall conference is now open. To register, click here.

Writers' Conference - Chock Full of Writers in Asheville

Although I didn’t attend even one workshop at this conference, I loved being there with all the writers, poets, publishers, editors and agents. Our  Program Coordinator, Rosemary Royston, had other duties including participating in a panel. My goal was to have our Netwest table to showcase Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, to sell books and to proclaim “We are here! Writers in the mountains have a voice.”

We arrived early and grabbed a great table near the entrance to the Exhibitor Area. Directly in front of us were JC Walkup and Penny Morse with a table for Fresh, their beautiful literary magazine. JC is distributing Echoes in the Waynesville, Asheville and Canton areas. She will be glad to sell a copy or two as she says storing them is a nuisance.

Joan Howard, Netwest poet from Hiawassee, GA and writer, quilter and knitter, Barb Haynes who lives in Murphy and is a Netwest member also, rode with me to Asheville. Great travel companions and good caretakers. Little did they know I’d become ill on Saturday afternoon. I missed all the fun on Saturday evening, the open mike readings and the happy hour gathering as I slept in my room.
I can never thank Joan enough for taking the early hours she logged in at the Netwest table. Bright and early Saturday and Sunday, she welcomed writers, handed out brochures and sold books. Our Netwest members came by to pick up their Netwest stickers to attach to their name tags.
Betty Reed manned the table on Friday evening while I had dinner. Barb also filled in when needed. Others who represented Netwest at the table were Mary Ricketson, Susan Anderson, Pamela Warr, Linda Smith, and Rosemary Royston, Program Coordinator. Many thanks to them from me and Netwest members for being there to help when needed. I feel sure all these writers enjoyed the conference because each time I saw them they had big smiles on their faces.

Networking with other writers is an important part of a writing conference. One lady said to me, “Do you think it would be Okay to ask Rob Neufeld to review my book?”
She saw the Asheville Citizen-Times book columnist across the hall. I told her to go for it.
Novelists and non-fiction writers came to find agents and publishers. Poets hoped to find the best place to submit a poetry book. And everyone wanted to chat about writing with other writers.


But I imagine most were looking to learn something from the accomplished faculty that would stay with them and be the spark to push their writing up a notch.
Because I was tied pretty closely to the Netwest Table when I was at the conference, I was delighted so many folks I know dropped by. One of our first visitors was Scott Owens, poet, editor, teacher, and very nice guy. I especially enjoyed meeting Netwest members who have recently joined or even some who have been members for a long time, but I’ve not encountered before. Betty Reed and Pamela Warr are two of those members I had not met, but learned more about them and their writing. Pamela Warr designed our most recent brochure and the new Netwest logo.

Bill Ramsey was promoting the phenomenal literary event, the Blue Ridge Bookfest at Blue Ridge Community College in Henderson County NC. Just a short time ago the first bookfest was a toddler, and now it is running and jumping. Bill says the college has come on board with the volunteers and can guarantee continuity of this well-attended showcase for authors. Netwest was a supporter of the first bookfest, and we have been there to help in any way we can each year. NCWN is a sponsor, too.

Scott Douglas’s Main Street Rag exhibit seemed to always have writers gathered there. I appreciated Scott coming over to chat. He has been quite successful with his small press and publishes some of the best authors in North Carolina. He told me to check out his site to see the books by other presses that he sells. Wouldn’t it be great if Echoes were listed there?

Kevin Watson from Press 53 and Keith Flynn with the Asheville Poetry Review seemed to be popular in the exhibitor’s center. People were talking about Keith’s interesting poetry presentation. His band also played Saturday night for the banquet. I didn’t hear them from my room on the third floor, but I’m sure they were entertaining.

Our own Netwest founder, Nancy Simpson, held a poetry workshop. I heard many compliments on that session. I'm sure those poets came out of that room wanting Nancy's book, Living Above the Frost Line, which has received awards and nominations for awards this past year.
The keynote speaker, Silas House, blew us all away with his talk. But I’ll write more about that in another post.

Ed Southern held a townhall meeting and updated us on the Network. As Ed said, NCWN is not the staff. NCWN is the members. To truly feel a part of this large writers’ network in our state, I think you should attend at least one Fall Conference. I always leave feeling motivated, energized and enthusiastic about my own writing.

I look forward to the next one -- Fall 2013.

Networking by Glenda Beall

How important is networking in the literary world of North Carolina? Some people attend the NCWN Fall Conference to network with other writers, agents, editors and publishers, as well as to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the craft of writing.
Networking happens at small and at large events, in workshops and at picnics, at readings and every other place where writers congregate. Any time writers communicate with each other, in person or online, an opportunity may arise for a beneficial outcome. This happened recently for a Netwest member who posted an essay on http://www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com/.
Joan L Cannon, author of two novels, lives in Morganton, NC. Shortly after the Netwest web log came online, Joan contacted us inquiring how she might promote her book, Settling. For many of us in rural areas, it is difficult to travel and find opportunities to read and sign books, especially if we are not youngsters. Joan has become a wonderful friend, but most of all, she is a terrific writer and her work deserves to be read.
Joan was encouraged to post her book on ncwriters.org at Book Buzz. She already had a website, but set up a blog as well, http://www.hilltopnotes.blogspot.com/. She leaves comments on posts by our members on http://www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com/. On our recommendation, Joan clicked on http://www.seniorwomen.com/ and read the work of the fabulous writers there. In a short time, Joan had become a regular contributor for Senior Women. Read her essays twice a month.
Our Haywood County Representative, John Malone, author of two historical novels based on his family from Ireland, posted on the Netwest web log, a well-written article about a medical incident he suffered last year. He received a number of comments complimenting his work. Joan has never met John. But she saw his work online and she liked it. Joan L. Cannon sent to Tam Gray, her editor at Senior Women, the link to John’s post. Tam Gray liked what she saw. Now John Malone is the “token male” on the Senior Women site. He will give readers a different perspective from the women writers.
All of us, wherever we are on the ladder of success, benefit by helping others. Most successful writers are generous writers. By networking we learn not only what might help us along the way, but how we may help others. Thank you Joan L Cannon and John Malone.



Read John's essay, "Retirement Odyssey," soon at www.seniorwomen.com