Laurence Holden's poem "Only the River Now" in June issue of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel & at "Seedtime on the Cumberland" Celebration

Laurence Holden will read his poem "Only the River Now" at the June 6th launch of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel: Volume 18, The Dead, held at the Southern Appalachian Writers Collaborative Summer Gathering/Reading.  This will be Appalshop's 29th annual Seedtime on the Cumberland in Whitesburg, Kentucky, celebrating Appalachian people, music, arts, and culture.

You can listen live to this reading June 6th at 12 noon on WMMT-FM 88.7

Laurence's poem in this issue "Only the River Now" was inspired by the nearby river, the Chattooga, the surrounding mountain community, and the way things pass there. The author says that it is the only poem he has ever written that comes close to being a story. After he had written it, he put it away in a drawer very unsure about its "narrative arc," or even what that really meant. Several writers told him it was very important to have this arc. So months later he had an opportunity to ask his poet friend Mildred Greear, who writes ballads, what a story needs. She said - it only has to be true! Without her saying that, this poem would never have seen the light of day. So, of course, Laurence dedicated the poem to her.

Change in Prose Group date in May

We have a change in the schedule for the Netwest Prose Group that meets at Tri-County College in Cherokee County.

That group will meet on the third Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. for this month only.

Bob Grove leads those writers who write fiction and nonfiction and they usually meet on the second Thursday of each month.
Because of a change in the John Campbell Folk School reading in May, prose writers meeting was changed. 

Anyone in the area of Murphy, Hayesville, Robbinsville, Blairsville, Young Harris, or Hiawassee are within driving distance. 

This is a small group of writers who want to improve their writing skills by sharing their work with other writers. Feedback is gentle but honest, and many of us have honed our skills around the table with others who write short stories, personal essays, memoirs, and all kinds of writing that is not poetry.

Contact Bob Grove for more details -  bobby.grove@gmail.com

Contest Winner JC Walkup

We are happy to post the publishing success of JC Walkup whose short story, Sin, about the woman who got revenge on her milk-toast husband and his greedy son, won first place in the Haywood County Silver Arts Contest. Driving West, the post-apocalypse story, took Honorable Mention.

This the fifth First Place win and the first Honorable Mention since she began submitting to contests several years ago. She also has won Second Place three times.

JC Walkup is the author of a novel, Partners, about Texas and Texans.  She lives in Haywood County and served as Haywood County Representative for NCWN West for a number of years.

She speaks of how important it is to belong to a writing critique group. “I'm grateful to my faithful critique group for reading and critiquing both stories. It helps so much to have their support,” JC says.

As most writers know, the fun is in the writing. The work is in the submitting and marketing of your work. JC said, “It is so much more fun to write than it is to do the contests and marketing stuff. My husband, the constant support of my work, reminds me often that it is necessary to expose my work to the world to get better.”

Congratulations, JC for your publication successes, and send us all your good news in the future.