I really enjoyed being on Hear Us Roar, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association podcast, hosted by author and blogger Maggie Smith. If you’d like to listen to the 35-minute conversation about benevolent ghosts, humor (and tears) in women’s fiction, and my road to publication, you can find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We chatted about my novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Starting Over, and the author friends I’ve interviewed in person, here in Connecticut. Which reminds me – I’ll be interviewing CT author Amy Neff in Danbury on August 11. Her debut novel is already translated into 18 languages!
The Fairfield County Writers Studio has listed many upcoming workshops. Among them is a wonderful Writing Publishable Mysteries and Thrillers class, taught by author and teacher Tessa Wegert, that begins September 12. You can reserve your seat in this popular workshop here!
The Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is meeting in person this October 17-20 in Cinncinnati, OH. $199 (for pre-conference workshops) -$499 (everything). The schedule offers everything you need to advance
your writing career creatively and professionally. Gain invaluable tips to improve your craft, explore publishing options and learn how to establish a sustainable career—all while being inspired by successful authors and your fellow attendees. It’s all brought to you by Writer’s Digest, the experts at nurturing and developing writers at every stage of their career for over 100 years. The list of speakers includes Ann Garvin, Denny Brice, Jane Friedman, and more.
Author and teacher Cindy Eastman runs writing groups, some online and some in-person. Her Saturday morning online Writing group meets regularly from 10-11:30am three Saturdays a month. This writing group (generally) meets 3 weeks on/1 week off each month and consists of writing prompts, resources, a writers’ workshop, and other activities and discussion related to supporting a writing practice. Register here for the Zoom link. $15-20 per session/$45-50 per month. Cindy also hosts the Writing Through Grief writing group in Southbury, CT. It’s open to new members, so if you’re in the area and would like to join them, contact Cindy at mywritual@gmail.com. This is a facilitated bi-weekly writing group where participants write and share their own experiences of the grieving process. Every other Tuesday 6-7:30pm Vicinanza Studios & Gallery in Southbury, CT. $10 per session.
Storied Stuff describes itself as “Show & Tell for Grownups,” and they publish stories of up to 500 words are looking
for true stories about cherished objects from childhood (or beyond) that you have kept or wish you still had. Before submitting take a look at some of the stories previously posted. They need a photo of the object to include with the words. They are running their Summer 2024 Writing Contest , where judges will read the first fifty new pieces sent to us at editor@storied-stuff.com by August 4. The winner and three runners-up will be published on consecutive Wednesdays in September. Submissions that don’t make the 50-piece limit will not be eligible for the contest, but will still be published assuming they meet the publisher’s standards. The winner will receive a modest prize (to be announced). Full submission details here.
Submissions are currently open for Not Marriage Material, an upcoming anthology of nonfiction and poetry Due to be published on Valentine’s Day 2025. Each piece should be a maximum of 5000 words and be on the theme of ex-boyfriends, girlfriends, crushes, etc. The tone should be on the light side – no abuse or rape, please. A small amount of spiciness is OK, but no full-blown erotica. Be sure to include a short 300-word biography, author photo, and link to your website. They do not pay for submissions but if you’re accepted, this can work as a marketing tool to help your writing get some exposure. The deadline for entries is November 30. More information can be found here.
See you next month!
