So happy to see twenty or so members at today’s Rendezvous. I love the way people stay on after, to ask questions, introduce themselves and generally have a good time. Partly because of the local super-event, the Saugatuck StoryFest, which is happening soon, I’ve split this update into two. Here’s Part 1.
The Pequot Library is presenting From Tension to Tenderness: Healing the Mother/Adult Daughter Relationship, tomorrow, Thursday, September 19, from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Hear from member Marlou Newkirk and her daughter Laurie, the co-founders of motherrr.com, which focuses on healing this dynamic relationship.
This Saturday, September 21, take advantage of the free monthly Memoir Writing Workshop with Brian Hoover, 10:30-12:00, in the Bridgeport Library’s History Center, 925Broad Street, 3rd floor.
Saugatuck StoryFest takes place September 27-28. (With one exception, below). There’s much to interest readers, but of special interest to writers are:
September 25: Songwriting Workshop (register)
September 27: Authors from the anthology Imagining Monsters will be reading an excerpt from the screenplay
SEPTEMBER 28: There are events all day. Here are some highlights: Horror’s top writers discuss what’s current and what’s next in the horror genre.
R.L. Stine, author of the favorite kids’ series, Goosebumps, will be giving the Keynote address.
StoryFest’s non-fiction authors turn real life into works of art on a panel exploring the sex lives of sea creatures and the most haunted places in New England,
Meet current nominees and past winners of the Nutmeg Book Awards, a statewide awards program in Connecticut, which encourages children in grades 2-12 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. Authors include: Jake Burt, Susan Hood, Geoff Rodkey, and Ibi Zoboi.
Irresistible thrillers. StoryFest welcomes Megan Collins, Maureen Joyce Connolly, Wendy Walker, and Jessica Bayliss, to discuss how they create the stories that keep readers guessing and what thrills them about the future of the genre.
AND, NOT TO BE MISSED! The authors and editors of the small press publisher Fairfield Scribes discuss classic literary villains and the evolution of “the bad guy” through the ages with moderator, Alison McBain. Authors including Ed Ahern, Elizabeth Chatsworth, PC Keeler, P. M. Ray, Robert Tomaino and yours truly, will read a brief excerpt from their stories in the Fairfield Scribes’ latest collection, Don’t Be a Hero: A VILLAINthology, and examine the many ways a writer can make a villain captivate a reader from the first page to the last.
For readers and writers of women’s and historical fiction there’s a panel that features Devon Delaney, Barbara Solomon Josselsohn, Susannah Marren, and Andrea Penrose who’ll be talking about what draws them to their irresistible stories and how they craft the tales that keep readers hooked.
There will be workshops, too: A Haiku laboratory with Westport poet laureate Diane Meyer Lowman and a storytelling laboratory with the We Rise Storytelling Collective
Write Mind, Write Body, is a full-day StoryFest program on Saturday, September 28, presented in collaboration with the Writing Center at the Westport Center for Senior Activities. This dynamic and interactive program focuses on both the well-being and craft rewards of writing our stories. Open to all ages and levels of writing. $10
Once things calm down again, the Pequot Library is hosting a bestselling historical fiction authors panel on Thursday, October 10 from 7-9pm with Andrea Penrose, Beatriz Williams & Lauren Willig Penrose’s most recent Regency era novel is Murder at Kensington Palace. Ms. Williams latest is a WW2 novel, The Golden Hour, while Lauren Willig takes us to Victorian times with The Summer Country.
Local author Allia Zobel Nolan will be appearing at the Storyteller’s Cottage on October 12 to read and discuss two of her books, Laugh Out Loud and Purr More, Hiss Less. Enjoy a light reception afterward. More information here. $5
On October 12, from 9-5pm, it’s Indie Author Day at the Norwalk Public Library. Over forty independent authors (small press and self-published), including several of our members, will have tables set-up in a Book Showcase around the Library. Books will also be available for purchase and signing. Authors can collaborate to discuss strategies for getting independently published books in libraries and bookstores; marketing; design; and of course, writing. Activities include brief author presentations on Children’s books, YA and adult audiences in both non-fiction and fiction. And look for demonstrations of PressBooks and Self-e, two online self-publishing programs available through the library. Refreshments will be provided.
More to come on Monday
In the meantime, keep writing!
