|
|
THE WRITERS CIRCLE
New Journal , News, Events and More
Midsummer's Stories
August 4, 2016
|
|
| What a summer we've had already. Our workshops are in full swing all over northern New Jersey. The Summer Intensives are at their mid-point and every day is filled with words, words, words.
In the midst of it all, we've been trying desperately to squeeze in moments for our own writing, but, as Judith often says to her own students, "Life sometimes gets in the way." The key is not to get discouraged when those busy times come. And to keep your writing alive in little ways. A notebook by the bedstand, dictating thoughts into your phone, writing on the train to work, or just thinking while you're driving are all ways to keep your writing alive when fingertips and keyboard find themselves separated for too long. And remember that absence does make the heart grow stronger! |
|
|
It's been so busy around here that we neglected to share TWC Morristown Instructor Jeff Campbell's second part to his excellent conversation about the spring SCBWI conference and storytelling. Part 2: The Space Between the Panels: David Wiesner on Storytelling. It starts, "Storytelling is storytelling, no matter what medium." A truth to remember for writers of all and FOR all ages! |
|
|
NEWS, PUBLICATIONS and LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS:
We have so many congratulations to share this time that we're resorting to a bullet-pointed list. Please cheer on our amazing writers - both instructors and students - on their terrific accomplishments:
Congratulations to our AUTHOR-INSTRUCTORS:
And to our STUDENTS:
- Mally Becker's post, 10 Top Books I've Learned from as a Writer, was featured on the Mystery Writers of America NY Chapter blog on July 18.
- Holly Palker's article, A Horrible Mother, was featured on Brain, Child on July 14.
- Joan Halperin presented a copy of her book, My Sister's Eyes, in person to the President of Portugal (photo on the left)!
- Joanne DeSimone is a 2016 BlogHer Voices of the Year honoree for her story, The Glimpse, which appeared in Literary Mama in January 2016!
- John Flores, Monday evening AWC student, is driving across country on a truly historical electric motorcycle adventure. Check out is " (ir)regular blog posts" about the trip as well as daily updates on Instagram and a travelogue from the start of the journey. And his stories will be featured in upcoming issues of RoadRunner Magazine.
LOCAL EVENTS and COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES
The Montclair Public Library will celebrate Indie Author Day. Check out their full schedule of events and, if you're an indie author, jump in and get involved.
Mom Egg Review is accepting submissions for MER 15 until 8/15/2016. That's only a couple of weeks away. Full information is at http://themomegg.submittable.com/submit.
Tiferet, the wonderful journal of spiritual writing that is also the co-sponsor of our upcoming Interfaith Dialogue in Montclair, is accepting submissions for high-quality non-fiction essays on the following topics:
- What does your religious faith mean to you?
- Do you think it is possible for people of different faiths to get along? And if so, how?
This special call for Content runs through September 1, 2016. Those selected will be published in their special Fall 2016 print issue. To submit, please visit: https://tiferet.submittable.com/submit/ed02a06a-43ac-4724-b538-e5c66ae21d24
Morristown Festival of Books is coming up on September 30-October 2 and it looks like The Writers Circle is going to have a booth this year with an opportunity to share some great writing activities. We'll keep you posted on that. And the Festival looks terrific as always. Check out the full schedule of events here: http://morristownbooks.org/.
Got news to share with The Writers Circle community? Email us at info@writerscircleworkshops.com. |
|
 |
OPEN MIC AND SOCIAL MIXER
If you missed our wonderful end-of-session Open Mic and Social Mixer, you can join in the fun with some photos from the evening. Writers young and old, along with family and friends, shared words and refreshments and the joy of our ever-growing writing community. It's an event we hope to repeat soon and often.
THE NEW MONDO BOOKTIQUE
We're so grateful to our ever-generous host at MONDO, Annette Dwyer, who makes a home for The Writers Circle in fact as well as in spirit. This time, she's created a gorgeous third floor Booktique- a mini-independent bookstore featuring, among other wonderful titles, books published by TWC's author-instructors! This is particularly helpful since some of our books have been out for a while and are hard to find.
The Booktique also features a carefully curated selection of books about writing - both the craft and the life. Be sure to stop by on the third floor and check out the selection.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Conquering the Query Letter with best-selling author Ellen Meister
September 18, 2016, 2:00-4:00 PM
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church,
73 S Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ
You've put everything into writing your novel, but how do you catch the attention of a literary agent when competition is so stiff? Indeed, agents receive literally hundreds of queries each week, and it seems almost impossible to boil your novel down to a few simple paragraphs and make it sound appealing. Novelist Ellen Meister will guide you through everything you need to know to identify your novel's hook and craft your query letter. You'll learn how to identify the right agents to query, the common mistakes to avoid, and how to describe your storyline in a way that can entice an agent to read your manuscript.
Fee: $75 ($80 at the door) -
Advance Registration is strongly recommended.
REGISTER!
LET ALL VOICES BE HEARD: Writers of Different Faiths Share Their Stories
a Literary Interfaith Dialogue co-hosted by The Writers Circle and
Tiferet Journal
Saturday, October 15, 2016,
7:00-9:00 PM
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church,
73 S Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ
Authors of different faiths come together to share their personal perspectives and the experiences of their communities in this literary event to promote interfaith tolerance and understanding. The panelists will explore how writing and other creative pursuits can lead toward a more compassionate perspective on religious and cultural differences. How can the arts help to reveal our common humanity? What role can writers and artists play in bridging gaps between “us” and whoever we perceive as "the other?"
The Writers Circle and Tiferet Journal co-host this interfaith dialogue to promote tolerance. The panel will be moderated by Linda K. Wertheimer, author of Faith Ed from Beacon Press.
FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC
To RSVP for this event, email us via our Contact page.
|
|
 |
Though we can't quite acccept it ourselves, fall is around the corner. And the Fall Workshop Schedule is already online! We've got a full lineup of creative writing workshops for all ages and stages of writing in as many genres as we can think of. We haven't blasted the fall schedule to the world yet, so now is a perfect time to reserve your spot in your regular class, or to try something new.
|
Whether you are headed on vacation or back to school, enjoy the last lovely days of summer and squeeze in a little time for your own words. See you this fall.
- Judith & Michelle |
|
|
|
|