Hudson Valley Writers Guild Newsletter, January 1, 2012
In This Issue
Guild Announcements: HVWG Board Meeting, Help Needed for Newsletter
Member Announcements: Dawn Marar
Area Announcements: Third Thursday Reading to Feature Anthony Bernini in Albany, New Nonfiction Writing Group Forming in Albany County, Writers Bloc Weekend in Richmond, MA, Fiction Writers Group forming in Southern Saratoga County
Guild Announcements
HVWG Board Meeting, January 10
The next HVWG Board Meeting will be Tuesday, January 10, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Albany Public Library’s Main Branch, 161 Washington Avenue, Albany. There is plenty of street parking both on Washington Avenue and behind the library on Elk Street. In addition, the library has a parking lot at the rear of the building on Elk Street.
Help Needed for Guild Newsletter
The editors need relief as we have been working on this for some years now. If you have time and editing and/or computer skills please contact us at hvwginfo@gmail.com. The work involves pulling information together (usually cutting and pasting) from material sent to us by members or local organizations, and also editing and formatting the material and then publishing the newsletter to our e-list. This entails 3-4 hours twice a month but the function can be split. Currently, two Guild members act as editors. (A personal note from Carolee: I rarely have time to get the newsletter out on time anymore. I am willing to do a couple more newsletters, but really can’t dedicate time to it after that. I know Bob would appreciate relief, as well. Anyone?)
Member Announcements
Dawn Marar‘s poem, “Efflorescence,” has been selected as a finalist in the Chautauqua Literary Journal’s 2011 Prize and will be published in June 2012.
Area announcements
Third Thursday Reading, January 19, 7:30 p.m.
Antony Bernini will be the featured reader at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Avenue in Albany on January 19. There is an open mic before and after the feature.
New Nonfiction Writers Group Seeks Members
Historian Liz Covart seeks nonfiction authors to form new writing group. Group will focus on nonfiction writing and its challenges and provide an opportunity for peer review. Group will meet either in Bethlehem or nearby Albany. Interested authors can contact Liz at lizcovart@mac.com.
Writer’s Bloc Weekend Retreat, February 24-26
Writing is just such a wonderful and amazing and fulfilling thing — until one morning you wake up and can’t find an ounce of motivation. You look at what you’ve written and suddenly it feels as dead as the heel of your right shoe. There is hope. Lots of it. In fact, if you look at it the write, oops, excuse me, the right way; writer’s block can be an opportunity to rethink your entire approach to writing. Writer’s block can be a kind of door through which you not only find new inspiration, but also, you make some fascinating discoveries about who you are as a writer and a person.
If you’re intrigued by these ideas and if you want to spend a weekend by a cozy fire in a gorgeous Berkshire County inn learning about writing from two well-seasoned fiction writers who are also both experienced college-writing teachers, then you’re in for a big treat! Please join me, Claudia Ricci, and my long-time writing buddy and college teaching colleague Peg Woods –otherwise known as Dr. P.M. Woods — to get recharged. We are teaching a fabulous workshop that we’re calling Writer’s Bloc, a weekend-retreat February 24-26 at the very quaint Richmond Inn in Richmond, MA.
Peg and I have been college teachers of writing for almost 14 years. We’ve also taught a community writing workshop called “Write Your Heart Out.” In both the university and community settings, we’ve helped many, many, many students to get started writing fiction. And we’ve also showed students how to get re-started and recharged, redefining what it means to have a writer’s block.
You see, it’s only a block if you let it stop you. We’ll show you how to melt that writer’s block, transforming it into an opportunity for rediscovery. The writer’s retreat will include exercises that involve “art” — but no, you do NOT need to be an artist! We will also take you on an outing Saturday afternoon to the wonderful Normal Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, where we’ll discuss the way art and visual images can help spark your imagination and give you more inspiration for writing.
The February “Writer’s Bloc” workshop is limited to a small number of writers, so do get in touch soon. To register, contact Retreat Coordinator Jo Ann Losinger at jolosinger@aol.com. Or phone 413.445.5874. We hope to see you there. It will be a wonderfully energizing and productive retreat, we promise you!
Wanted: Members for a new Southern Saratoga Fiction Writers Group
Are you a fiction writer (either published or aspiring)? Are you working on a project now? Are you interested in getting together with other fiction writers in the Southern Saratoga area for conversation, networking, brainstorming and critiques? If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, please contact Keith via email at knightsofkilbourne@gmail.com. I am looking to form a small cadre of writers to meet on a fairly regular basis, possibly at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library. The purpose of this group will be primarily to critique one another’s work, share information about writing/publishing, and discuss the dilemmas we face in our work. Interested individuals should be currently working on a fiction project (short story or novel) which they would like to have critiqued. All genres welcome.
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The Hudson Valley Writers Guild offers space in its newsletter for submission and program opportunities but does not endorse any programs or publications that are not offered through the Guild. Two notes from the newsletter editors:
* Within each section, announcements/events are arranged, when possible, by relevant dates.
* We are always curious to know if the formatting “works” (appears neat and tidy) in your email or if it causes issues (is difficult to read). Send feedback and suggestions regarding any formatting issues to hvwginfo@gmail.com.
* News items should go to Bob Sharkey at riverrun@nycap.rr.com. Please use Times New Roman size 12 font whenever possible.
Thank you!
–Carolee Sherwood, Newsletter Co-Editor
-Bob Sharkey, Newsletter Co-Editor
