Join thousands who attend the Festival on the Square in Hayesville, NC July 8,9,10

 FESTIVAL ON THE SQUARE is a weekend celebration of mountain crafts, mountain music, and food. On July 8, Friday afternoon, Jim Davis and Knute Rarey, members of NCWN-West will set up a tent canopy, tables, and chairs on a 10 x 10 plot reserved for our use on the square in beautiful Hayesville, NC. We are the only group representing literary arts at this event. The mountain writers west of Asheville and in bordering counties of Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee make up the membership of NCWN-West. The remaining copies of Echoes Across the Blue Ridge will be on sale at a discount. This anthology of western NC writers dedicated to Byron Herbert Reece includes poems and stories by some of the best writers in the Appalachian Mountains area.

Saturday morning at 10 AM, three of our members will staff the booth. They will meet and talk to anyone who comes by to say hello. They are authors of books that will be available for purchase. On the tables will be brochures that explain what we are and who we are. These authors will answer questions about how to join NCWN-west and what new members can expect to have offered them. 

Our purpose for being there is to expose writers and readers to what local writers have written and have on sale. This tri-state area is brimming with very good writers and poets, published and unpublished.

We are also there to introduce our professional organization to anyone who is interested. Often people don't realize that NCWN-West is welcoming and wants to embrace new writers and help them follow their dreams. A number of our members found NCWN-West at the Festival on the Square. Carroll Taylor, author and poet, as well as Marcia Barnes, author, columnist, and poet discovered this organization while at the festival and now both are in leadership positions helping others and publishing their work.

This annual festival has been ongoing for forty-one years and is sponsored by the Clay County Historical and Arts Council which is supported by the NC Arts Association. There is no charge to attend and the vendors open up at 10 AM on Saturday and on Sunday.  Mountain music entertainers will be on stage in the Gazebo on both days.

Pat Zick, author

NCWN-West will hold drawings to give away books and other writerly things several times each day. To register, write your name on a strip of paper with your phone number and email address. Drop it in the large bowl on the table in the booth. You will be called if your name is drawn. If you are not still at the festival, we will make arrangements to get the gift bag to you.

Joan Howard, poet

On Saturday you will find Carroll Taylor, Lorraine Bennett, Marcia Barnes, and Brenda Kay Ledford in the booth. Saturday afternoon Glenda Beall, Pat Zick, and Gene Vickers will be there to greet you.

Lorraine Bennett, author

Sunday CarolLynn Jones and Joan Howard will sit at the table throughout the morning. Raven Chiong and Sandy Benson, will sit in for an hour. Pat Zick and Glenda Beall will be there in the afternoon with David Plunkett. 

 We invite you to come to the festival for a good time and be sure to stop by the NCWN West Writers Booth. Sign up for a free gift. 

Carroll Taylor

   

Brenda Kay
Ledford

Marcia Barnes

                                                 

                                                                                                             Gene Vickers, author

Please share this post with others who would be interested. Thanks for all your help.

Meet our Writers' Night Out Headliners: Linda Jones & Alan Cone

October 11, 7 pm

Union County Community Center

Blairsville, GA

Open Mic follows the reading

Join us for Linda's intelligent, heartfelt poetry; and Alan's smart, quirky prose. (Read his bio below for a sample). 

Linda Grayson Jones is an Associate Professor of Biology and Dean of Math and Science at Young Harris College. She has read and written poetry since childhood and recalls reading The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes to her third-grade classmates. With a B.S. in Biology from Stetson University, an M.A. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Pathology from Vanderbilt University, Linda's career path was primarily in academic biomedical research, but in 2009 she returned to her first love—teaching. She remains a reader and writer of poetry and is a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. She credits North Carolina poet Nancy Simpson (1938-2018) for encouraging her to use Grayson Jones as her published poet’s name.

 Alan Cone is the author of many short stories and a novel, The History of the Decline and Fall of Roland Arnheiter. He explains that he “comes to North Georgia by way of Texas, on our nation’s frontier, where a man writes with both fists or perishes.” Alan's work is anchored always in a common man’s self-effacing humility. His penchant for dry humor and sarcasm is reflected in his artist’s statement: “With acuity and wisdom, with perceptiveness and whimsy, I usher audiences through an odyssey of freshman-level erudition and beyond. My quietly courageous abasement of the writer’s dais will leave you challenged, thoughtful, hungry for less.”  He also admits that he does not actually smoke a pipe.

Local poets and writers to read at Hayesville's Festival on the Square this weekend, July 9th and 10th, 2016

This weekend, Hayesville, North Carolina will offer their annual Festival on the Square.The festival begins Friday evening, July 8th, with a street dance. Music and many vendors will grace the square on Saturday and Sunday, July 9th and 10th. Included in this event will be our North Carolina Writers' Network-West booth, which will be on the North side of the square.

Several local poets and writers, members of NCWN-West, will be attending the booth, and will read periodically from their published works. Included in this line-up, are Tom Davis, Joan Ellen Gage, Mary Rickertson, Rosemary Royston, Marcia Barnes, Glenda C. Beall, Joan M. Howard, Bob Grove, and Lucy  Cole Gratton.

During the day, the booth will have books to give away. Please make an effort to come by and support the wonderful members, who are taking time to showcase our writers' network.


http://www.clayhistoryarts.org/
http://festivalnet.com/43539/Hayesville-North-Carolina/Festivals/Festival-on-the-Square

Call to Writers & Artists for the 19th Annual Blue Ridge Writers' Conference, Blue Ridge, GA, April 8-9, 2016

Call to Writers and Artists

19th Annual Blue Ridge Writers' Conference    No matter the level of expertise, the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference provides a venue for professional and aspiring poets and writers.     This year's Writers' Conference will offer a four-hour Workshop Intensive on Friday, April 8th.  The Workshop Intensive will focus on "Show, Don't Tell: Yes, Yes, But What Does That MEAN??", presented by Jennifer Jabaley & Kristin Tubb.  Join us on Friday evening beginning at 5pm and meet fellow attendees and conference speakers.  Enjoy light fare as you network.  Stay after the meet and greet and enjoy our double opening reception to The Art Center's latest exhibits, The Photography of Arni Katz and the Valley River Artist Guild Exhibit.       Saturday, April 9th begins with light breakfast fare and our keynote speech.  The 2016 keynote speaker will be Stephanie Fretwill-Hill.  Stephanie is an agent at Red Fox Literary and her keynote, entitled "An Insider's Look At The Publishing Process",  will follow a manuscript as it goes from submission to the acquisitions process, through editorial and production, and finally on to sales and marketing.     The day continues with concurrent workshops on everything from freelancing for digital & print writing, writing your children's fiction or non-fiction, revising your poetry to marketing a manuscript.  Our 2016 speakers include Robert Brewer, Tara Lynne Groth, Steven Harvey, Jennifer Jabaley, Deborah Malone, Lola Schaefer, and Kristin Tubb. Conference attendees appreciate the chance to network with other writers and speakers during the day and the opportunity to submit their work for critique by one of the conference speakers.  Book sales will also be made available throughout the conference.     We look forward to you joining us this year for our 19th Annual Blue Ridge Writers' Conference! www.BlueRidgeWritersConference.com Click here for Registration information.       2016 SAAG National Juried Show    You are invited to enter the Southern Appalachian Artist Guild's (SAAG)  2016 National Juried Show.  Cash prizes totaling $5,000, including $1,500 for Best of Show, will be awarded.  Show dates are October 15 - November 12, 2016 at The Art Center.    DEADLINE TO ENTER:  July 15 , 2016 The judge for this year's show will be DAWN WHITELAW.  To learn more about Dawn, go to www.DawnWhitelaw.com     Click on the link below for the official prospectus.    SAAG National Juried Show 2016      2016 BRMAA National Juried  Photography Show    You are invited to enter the 2016 BRMAA National Juried Photography Show.  The 2016 BRMAA National Juried Photogrpahy Show is open to all photographers, amateur to professional, and all original photographic media, including film and digital images. Cash prizes totaling $3,000, including $750for Best of Show, will be awarded.  Show dates are September 3 - October 9, 2016 at The Art Center.    DEADLINE TO ENTER:  July 1 , 2016 The judge for this year's show will be TERRY BARNES. To learn more about Terry, go to www.TBarnesPhotography.photoshelter.com     Click on the link below for the official prospectus.    2016 BRMAA National Juried Photography Show    Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association 420 W. Main Street Blue Ridge, Georgia 30513 706-632-2144 www.blueridgearts.net