We say Goodbye to a Founder of NCWN-West, Nancy Simpson

It is with deep sadness that I write to you of the passing of Nancy Simpson. Nancy was an important member of the writing community, a practicing poet, a teacher, and a friend.
 
She was an active member of the North Carolina Writers' Network since its inception in 1985 and served on the Executive Board. In 1991 she co-founded the North Carolina Writers' Network-West, a program to serve writers in the remote areas of the North Carolina mountains. She served as program coordinator for 10 years.

A long time English educator and poet, Nancy Simpson spent 26 years teaching in the exceptional children's programs in North Carolina. Retiring in 2001, she simultaneously spent 14 years as an instructor of creative writing at the Tri-County Community College from 1989 to 2003, in Murphy, NC.

She taught poetry part-time at the Institute for Continued Learning at Young Harris College, creative writing in the middle school grades and English composition, and American Literature.

For 15 years Simpson was employed part-time as a Resident Writer at John C. Campbell Folk School where her job was to schedule writing classes and to teach Poetry and Historical Novel.

Her books include: Across Water, Night Student, and Living Above the Frost Line, New and Selected Poems. Ms. Simpson and Shirley Uphouse co-edited Lights in the Mountains: Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Simpson also served as editor of Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, an anthology released in 2010. Simpson authored numerous poems published in literary publications. Some were reprinted in anthologies such as The Poet's Guide to the Birds, Word and Wisdom – 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry. Also, 7 of her poems were reprinted in a textbook of Appalachian poets.

Here is a link to Nancy's obituary page:  http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Nancy-Brantley&lc=4946&pid=188221106&mid=7765502

Nancy had requested that donations be made to NCWN-West, in lieu of flowers. If you are interested in donating in her name, please send a check made out to: NCWN-West, with donation in memory Nancy Simpson in the subject line, and send it to:

Newton Smith, Treasurer
6875 Canada Road
Tuckaseegee, NC 28783

The NCWN-West will hold a memorial for Nancy sometime in the spring of 2018.

Simpson blogged at : http://nancysimpson.blogspot.com/.

Here is a video link of Nancy reading two of her poems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ikS2s5Mq9g

Joan Ellen Gage
Admin NCWN-West

Return of the Old Time Radio Show, hosted by Ridgeline Literary Alliance and Cherokee Co. Arts Council, Saturday, February 17, 2018, in Murphy, NC

Old Time Radio Show Returns!

Old Time Radio Show returns Saturday February 17, 2018, at 2 PM, at the Murphy Art Center, 33 Valley River Ave, Murphy, NC, in the Cultural Calendar Room. Ridgeline Literary Alliance, a group of local writers, has teamed up with the Arts Council to present an afternoon of live entertainment, free to the public. Come one, come all, no reservations needed. 

Original stories by Loren Leith of Andrews provide the scripts for three humorous and poignant radio shows, a rare taste of entertainment from the era before television. The cast, members of Ridgeline Literary Alliance and Cherokee County Arts Council, are among the best of local talent.
Author members of Ridgeline Literary Alliance will read short segments of their best writing.

Come to this fun filled event provided by your own local artists in the comfort of Murphy Arts Center, downtown Murphy, NC.

For more information, contact CCAC at:
828-835-0550

Georgia Author of the Year Deadline for Submissions Extended

Nominations for the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year Awards are now EXTENDED to February 12, 2018

Georgia Author of the Year Nomination Form 2018
Official 54th GAYA Guidelines 2018
Please review these guidelines before submitting a nomination. Download the nomination form here.
Nomination Fee: $60 per nomination
Deadline: February 12, 2018
Only chapbooks and books published within the 2017 calendar year (January 1 to December 31) are eligible. Traditionally published or self-published books are eligible, as are electronically published books on a major platform (Kindle, Nook, or iPad), for a fee of $60. For electronic books, a URL and ISBN must be provided as well as one print copy of the text for judges to review. Books will not be considered nominated if any of these guidelines are not met and materials and payment are not postmarked by February 12, 2018. First- and second-place winners will be announced at the Georgia Author of the Year (GAYA) ceremony on June 16, 2018.

Required Materials
Must be received on or before Monday, February 12, 2018 (postmarked)
Two hard-copies of the nominated book, the completed nomination form, and the $60 fee must be mailed to:
Georgia Writers Association
Georgia Author of the Year Awards 
440 Bartow Avenue #2701 
Kennesaw, GA 30144

Definition of a Georgia Author for the 54th GAYA
To be considered a Georgia author and thus eligible for nomination for GAYA, an author must meet one of the following criteria: the author must have been a resident of Georgia when the nominated book was written, though she or he may have since moved out of state; or the author must be currently living in Georgia when the book is nominated.

Definitions of GAYA Categories for the 54th GAYA
A book may be nominated in only one category selected by the nominator.
Fiction

• Detective/Mystery—A novel by a single author featuring a crime or crimes
• First Novel—First published novel by a single author
• Literary Fiction—A novel by a single author
• Romance—A novel by a single author intended for the mass-market and involving a primary focus on relationships
• Science Fiction— A novel by a single author that is grounded in the science or technology of the future
• Short Story Collection—By a single author

Poetry

• Chapbook—By a single poet and generally no more than 40 pages
• Full-Length Book—By a single poet

Nonfiction

• Biography—A life history that is a fact-based, referenced life story of a person, a group of people, or a family. This category does not include autobiography, which should be nominated under
• Cookbook—Books that contain a collection of recipes, techniques, or focus on the exploration of food, cooking, and culture of food.
• Essay—A collection by a single author that sustains a single topic or theme. May not be an anthology of essays by multiple authors
• History—Research-based books which use narratives to examine and analyze past events
• Inspirational—Books on topics in self-help, life improvement, motivational, religious, or spiritual.
• Memoir—A book that is an account of one’s personal life and experiences by a single author
• Specialty Book—Books that include a visual element such as art or photography.

Children’s Book—Books written for ages 9 and younger by a single author (and/or illustrator). A children’s book includes picture books and can be fiction or nonfiction.
GLBTQ—Works produced by or for the GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer) community and can be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
Graphic Novel—A narrative work where the story is told not only through words, but also sequential art and can be fiction or nonfiction.
Young Adult—Books written for ages 10 and older by a single author (and/or illustrator), and are either fiction or nonfiction.

In the Event a Category Has Fewer than Four Nominees
If a category has fewer than four nominees, authors will have the opportunity to move their books to the next best category. For example, if there are only two books in the Romance category, the authors will be notified and may choose to place the book in the Literary Fiction category. If the author decides that no other category is suitable, the nomination fee will be refunded.
In the Event an Award Is Not Made in a Category
The Georgia Writers Association reserves the right to not award a winner in a category if it is determined that none of the nominations should win. If no winner is selected due to a lack of sufficient nominations in a category, the nomination fee will be refunded. However, if the category judge determines that a category has no first– or second–place winner, the nomination fee will not be refunded.

 http://files.constantcontact.com/8a70c697001/f752b2c5-7285-4575-b92d-0c2dc9e9127a.pdf?ver=1509630037000

Now Available: Second Book by Karen Paul Holmes

"Like a circus aerialist who makes us gasp one moment and laugh the next, the poet takes us from her immigrant father’s Macedonian roots to her own maturity, to the life of a woman who is smart and well-read yet knows her way around a Coney Island hot dog..."

- Poet David Kirby

-->

"Her title may signal quantum physics, but it’s also how close this poet whispers in her reader’s ear."

- Poet Denise Duhamel

Now available
click for link to purchase:

Amazon (Kindle & Paperback)


Barnes & Noble (Nook & Paperback)


KarenPaulHolmes.com (Signed copy)


Terrapin Books

Betty Jameson Reed has an essay included in Fifty over Sixty and a poem appearing in Lucidity Poetry Journal

Reed's essay, a personal narrative, has been included in Wayne H. Drumheller's Fifty over Sixty and her poem, "Food," appears in the Spring 2018 issue of Lucidity Poetry Journal.

Betty Jamerson Reed, a native of Western North Carolina, enjoys playing with words. Her poems have appeared in Lucidity Poetry Journal, Living with Grief, and Friends Journal, as well as anthologies such as Echoes across the Blue Ridge, (2010), It's All Relative: Tales from the Tree (2016), as well as in the special "Signature (2016) " and "Windows (2017)" anthologies of River Poets. Two of her poems appear in Mountain Mist (2017) 

She is also the author of two award-winning works of nonfiction: The Brevard Rosenwald School (2004) and School