NCWN Fall Conference in Charlotte, NC has extended its deadline for registration.

From: Charles Fiore,  Communications Director for NCWN

We've extended the pre-registration deadline for the NCWN 2018 Fall Conference until 11:59 pm on Sunday, October 28. That's as late as we can possibly push it back and still be ready to host nearly 200 writers in Charlotte the following weekend.

For full conference info, go to www.ncwriters.org.

Randall Kenan, a 2018 inductee to the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, will give the Keynote Address. We'll have an exhibit hall packed with vendors, many of whom have never exhibited with us. And if you've wanted a chance to force more people to hear your work, you'll get it, if you sign up to read at our open mics on Saturday night.

Just a heads up: there are no more hotel rooms available at the conference venue, but you can find additional options at a variety of price points here. All of these are less than half-a-mile (and more like a quarter-mile) from the conference venue.

Please note, this deadline extension only applies to online registrations. If you're planning to pre-register by mail, those still need to be received at the NCWN offices no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, October 26.

It's not too late to get in on the literary event of the fall.

Register at www.ncwriters.org.

See you in Charlotte.

Charles Fiore
Communications Director
North Carolina Writers’ Network
PO Box 21591
Winston-Salem, NC 27120
336-293-8844

Nature Journaling & Phenology Workshop at Wander North Georgia! with Alarka Expeditions, November 10, 2018

Nature Journaling & Phenology Workshop at Wander North Georgia!

November 10, 2018

Wander North Georgia has teamed up with Cowee, NC based Alarka Expeditions (Brent and Angela Martin) for a day long workshop on nature journaling and phenology (recording natural phenomena through direct observation). The morning will begin at the Wander North Georgia shop in a classroom setting where attendees will learn about the history of this activity in our landscape, with readings from the 18th century American botanist and artist, William Bartram, who explored and described the upper Chattooga watershed in May of 1775. The techniques of phenology as developed by the famous conservationist Aldo Leopold, and his daughter Nina, will also be part of the morning’s classroom activities. We’ll take lunch to the field, where the afternoon will be spent in observation, writing, and creative exercises. Attendees will leave the day with a new awareness of how to appreciate nature in their daily lives and how to increase their powers of observation in the natural world.

The workshop will begin promptly at 10:00AM and end at approximately 4:00PM. The cost of the workshop is $55. 100% of the ticket costs will go directly to the workshop hosts and presenters from the Alarka Expeditions team.

What do you need for the course?
Hand Lens
Notebook/Journal
Pen, pencil (a set of colored pencils or pens will add to your experience if you like to draw)
Appropriate clothing for the day’s forecast
Pack Picnic Lunch/Water

Optional:
William Bartram’s Travels (available in paperback, best to get the Harper’s Edition)
The Law’s Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
Binoculars

The Literary Hour Readings for October 18, 2018, at the JCCFS, Brasstown, NC, will feature writers Glenda Barrett, Lucy Cole Gratton, and Mary Michelle Brodine Keller

On Thursday October 18, at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour. At this event, NCWN-West members will read at the Keith House on the JCCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC. The Literary Hour is held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise indicated. This reading is free of charge and open to the public. This month's featured readers will be Glenda Barrett, Lucy Cole Gratton, and Mary Michelle Brodine Keller.

Glenda Barrett, a native of Hiawassee, Georgia, is a poet, writer, and visual artist. Her work has been widely published since 1997 and has appeared in: Woman's World, Farm & Ranch Living, Country Woman, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Journal of Kentucky Living, Nantahala Review, Rural Heritage, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Kaleidoscope Magazine and many more. Barrett is the author of two poetry books, When the Sap Rises, published by Finishing Line Press, in 2008 and The Beauty of Silence, published by Aldrich Press, in 2017. Both books are available on Amazon.com. Glenda's artwork is online at Fine Art America.

Lucy Cole Gratton is a retired CPA, moving to the mountains after retirement.  She was the Cherokee Representative for NCWN-West for five years.  She facilitated the program at John Campbell Folk School during that time.  She has written for many years but only in the past ten years has she been active in Poetry Critique and Prose Critique.  She has read at the Folk School many times.  Her poems have been published in various media including on-line, print, her college magazine and various small publications to which she enjoys.  Her focus is predominantly centered around the environment, incidents and images of her home of 35 acres of woods on Lake Apalachia outside Murphy NC.  She has lived there for 20 years and is in the process of moving to Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta GA.

Mary Michelle Brodine Keller, or Mary Mike as she is often called by her friends, writes poetry, essays and short fiction. She draws her subject matter from things she sees or experiences, putting meaning to them. She is also a visual artist, painting in oil, water color and pastels.  She likes to think of her poetry as painting with words. Her poems have been published in The Mountain Lynx, and in anthologies: Freeing Jonah III and IV, Lights in the Mountains, Echos Across the Blueridge, Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains and various other publications. She calls herself a reader. She reads to others in a variety of settings. She finds that more satisfying than publication, as it is a shared experience.

Coffee with the Poets and Writers will feature poet Richard M. Cary, and Author and poet Carroll S. Taylor, on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, at 10:30 AM at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

On Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 10:30 AM, Coffee with the Poets and Writers (CWPW) will feature poet Richard M. Cary, and author and poet Carroll S. Taylor. This event will be held at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street,  in Hayesville, NC, and is free and open to the public. An open mic will follow the presentation. CWPW is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network West (NCWN-W).

Richard Montford Cary has a MFA with a BFA in Theater Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, and spent six years in regional theaters (Antioch Area Theater Yellow Springs OH, Hartford Stage Company CT, Arena Stage Washington DC, and StageWest Springfield MA) as a master carpenter, technical director, resident designer, and actor. He became Artistic Director of Community Theatre, in Nantucket in 1980, and founded Actors Theatre of Nantucket, serving as Artistic Director for 20 years. 

Richard began writing poetry during high school and continues to this day. Currently, he is completing the editing of almost 60 years of his output. Seeking publication is his next goal. His claim to fame here in Hayesville is that his Great Aunt was Olive Dame Campbell, founder of the John C Campbell Folk School; he took a class there last fall and, using his life-long carpentry skills, built a beautiful yellow pine trestle table. He is also an accomplished harmonica player. He loves reading his poetry out loud.

Carroll S. Taylor holds graduate degrees in English and French as well as an EdS in Educational Leadership. She taught secondary French, English, Journalism, Creative Writing, and ESL. As a journalism advisor for high school students, she assisted in the publication of school newspapers and yearbooks, teaching both writing and layout/design. After retiring as a secondary teacher, she became a part-time instructor at Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, teaching freshman composition and freshman seminars. Taylor is the author of two young adult novels, Chinaberry Summer and Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side, published by New Plains Press, Auburn, Alabama. She is currently writing the third novel in the series, Chinaberry Summer: Down by the Water. 

Taylor enjoys writing in all forms, including poetry and novels. She loves reading, gardening, and studying nature, especially reptiles and amphibians. Readers may find her journal blog at chinaberrysummer.com and follow her at facebook/chinaberrysummer.

For more information about this event, please contact Glenda Beall at: glendabeall@msn.com.