~~~~~~~ The Quill South Carolina Writers Workshop January 2007 ~~~~~~~

Get on Board!

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As we welcome the new year, we also welcome our new slate of SCWW Board members:

We regret that two of our Board members resigned late in 2006, leaving us with additional vacancies on the Board. SCWW By-Laws Article III, Section 5-d states: "Interim vacancies on the board or among officers shall be filled by the board at regular meetings or at any special meeting called for that purpose." Accordingly, the Board will convene a special meeting on January 6, 2007 solely to fill the two vacancies. This will allow the two new members to participate fully in the board during 2007.

In an effort to fill the vacancies with representatives from areas of the state that are under-represented, chapter leaders from Aiken, Myrtle Beach and Charleston were contacted and asked for recommendations. Currently, we have four nominees for the two vacancies. They are:

Anyone else who is interested in serving or making a nomination (with prior approval of the nominee) should submit a bio to Sandra Johnson immediately. Any SCWW member over age 21 is eligible. The Board meets 4-5 times a year, in Columbia at the West Columbia library from 11:00 a.m. until approximately 2:00 p.m. Additional time and talent investment will depend on participation in other aspects of SCWW activities (anthology, conference, website, newsletter, officer, etc).

SCWW Board to Meet

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The SCWW Board of Directors will meet on Saturday, January 13 at 11:00 at the Lexington County Public Library - Cayce Branch, 1500 Augusta Road, Columbia. Any SCWW member who desires is welcome to attend.

Who Is On Your Wish List?

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Christmas may be over, but you still get one more wish.

If you could pick any one person that you would most like to have on our conference faculty in 2007, who would it be? Email your wish to Susan Boyer at susan.boyer@charter.net (One per member, please-and for purposes of this exercise, we're not checking to see if your dues have been paid yet. If you received The Quill, you get a vote!) If you don't have email, call Susan at (864) 968-0673.

Susan will compile the requests, and the board will send invitations to the top vote getters in each of the following categories:

Anyone who has been on faculty in the past two years is not eligible, but aside from that one restriction, we'll invite whoever you tell us you want to see. Dream a little-it can't hurt to ask! If you'd like to see a particular author's agent, but don't know who represents that author, tell us...we'll find out who the agent is! Results will be published in next month's Quill.

Get those wishes in! Deadline for requests is Friday, January 12th.

Aiken

Millard R. Howington's poem, "Beach", won an Honorable Mention in the December Interboard Poetry Competition.

Greenville

Author and Greenville chapter member Bob Strother launched his new website, www.bobstrother.net last month. It features Bob's book, Love Among the Greeks, short stories, news, and an author bio. In addition, Bob was interviewed this month by Judyth Piazza on "The American Perspective," a "cutting edge radio program that is full of inspiration and information. It's intended to help people succeed in life. Each week the American Perspective features celebrity guests from around the nation such as Zig Ziglar, Yolanda King, Tony Little, Mark Victor Hansen, and Dave Ramsey." An article about Bob, including a transcript of the interview, is available on-line at www.thesop.org/index.php?id=3523 and the podcast is at www.thesop.org/index.php?id=3407

Acting on the recommendation of fictional literary agent Miss Snark, Susan Boyer entered her story "Hogwash" in the Spinetingler Magazine Cozy Noir competition. Not only is her story appearing in the winter e-zine issue and the printed version, Susan is being paid for it!

From Printed Matters, Marcia Migacz, Editor.

Rock Hill

Betty Beamguard's how-to feature on fiction writing, which uses excerpts from Marcia Preston's novel The Butterfly House as examples, will soon appear in The Writer. One of her short stories merited an honorable mention in the Texas Laughing Gull Contest, and she had humorous essays published in the December issues of YC, Sasee, and The Oxford So & So.

Unaffiliated

Karen M. Peluso's chapbook, The Mother-Face that Stares from Mirrors, was selected by Dr. Kwame Dawes as one of the 2006 SC Poetry Initiative's annual chapbook contest winners this year. In his introductory comments, Dr. Dawes says, "her work is a celebration of the imagination. Her poetry is beautiful written and elegantly crafted."

Palmetto Book Award Nominations

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The South Carolina Center for the Book is seeking nominations for the 2007 Palmetto Book Award. The Palmetto Book Award honors a South Carolina person or organization that works to promote the literary arts and to foster a creative atmosphere in South Carolina. The nominee must be a living South Carolina resident or an active South Carolina organization. Previous winners are: South Carolina Young Writers Conference (2006), Hub City Writers Project (2005), Beaufort County Library (2004), Tom Johnson (2003), and Sara Breibart (2002).

The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2007. Nomination form and guidelines can be found on the SC Center for the Book Web site at www.sccenterforthebook.org For questions, please contact Theresa J. Wallace at tjwallace@schumanities.org or 803-771-2477.

Writer's Boot Camp

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Have you always wanted to attend a writer's retreat but didn't have the time and resources to escape for an entire week?

Instead, spend the day learning about the craft and business of writing with NY Times bestselling author Bob Mayer and literary agent, Nadia Cornier, as they present a Writer's Boot Camp in conjunction with the Iodine Literary Conference this January 26th in Beaufort, SC.

Perfect for the writer working towards publication, attendees will spend half of their day in workshops on craft (plotting, creating character, point of view, etc) and the other half on the business of selling and marketing (to agents, editors and the reading public).

Registration includes a copy of the Novel Writer's Toolkit and handouts covering the material presented during the day. Please visit www.eatgoodbread.com/iodine.html for more information or to register.

The Writing Room

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The Writing Room, sponsored by the Emrys Foundation, is pleased to offer a second round of workshops and seminars for writers of all levels in the Upstate.

Winter & Spring 2007: In addition to our three prose workshops for writers of fiction and nonfiction, we've added screenwriting and playwriting to the schedule, as well as poetry and writing for children.

There are several Saturday seminars, including "Beating the Odds:How to Get Your Novel Published in a Tight Market" on March 17. You'll want to mark January 27 on your calendar-- that's our first Saturday seminar, "Workshop Sampler with the Writing Room Faculty"--free and open to the public.

The first workshops-- Scott Gould's "Good Lies" and Ashley Warlick's "Focusing on Your Book-Length Manuscript"-- start January 30. For a full description and schedule of all the Writing Room's workshops and seminars, visit www.emrys.org At the top of the Emrys home page, you'll see a "New Program: Writing Room Winter/Spring 2007" heading with three links beneath it. The "program" link provides the class descriptions and schedule. The other links allow you to register and pay online.

Thank you for your support of the Writing Room, and for being part of our growing literary community. Should you have questions, concerns, of if you'd like a copy of the schedule emailed to you in pdf format, don't hesitate to contact Mindy Friddle by email mindyfriddle@yahoo.com or by calling 864-884-2403.

Wild Dunes Club Author Luncheon

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Mary Alice Monroe will moderate the exciting panel of authors: Mark Ethridge, Pulitzer Prize journalist, author of Grievances John Hart, NY Times bestseller of The King Of Lies Cassandra King, Bestselling author of Same Sweet Girls Haywood Smith, NY Times bestseller of The Red Hat Club Carl T. Smith, Bestselling author of Louisianna Burn

ALSO the event will feature a silent auction of original art, jewelry and books.

Call 843-886-2000 or go to the website wilddunes.comauthors-luncheon.php for information.

This event benefits the Trident Literacy Association.

Happy Muse Year

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A bug ran across my nose. "Aarrgh!" I slapped it away, and knocked my glasses askew.

"Happy New Year!" cried my Muse. "Good thing I was here, you almost missed it."

I righted my bifocals and peered at the TV. "Did we lose the satellite signal?"

Thaleia tooted her party noisemaker, which shot its retractable extension at my nose once more. "That's confetti, and you muted the sound for a commercial right before you fell asleep."

"When was that?" I massaged my neck to ease a kink.

"About twenty after ten, between the weather girl and the sports guy on the early evening news." She wore white flannel PJs with red stripes.

"You look like a candy cane. In fact...." I sniffed the air. "You smell like one, too."

She laughed and showed me her tongue, stained candy red. "I was just doing you a favor. Santa doesn't seem to be clued in to your sugar-free diet."

"The big guy is no doubt a diet dodger himself. It's a good thing Rudolph knows the program. Santa probably goes into sugar shock from all the Christmas cookies before he gets past the Mississippi."

"Do you still believe in Santa?" She stepped into the hall and plundered in the closet.

"After dealing with a Muse, there's little I can rule out."

"Good!" She returned swaddled in my old leather coat. "I'll need your help."

"Are you chilly? I can crank up the stove." When I got a whiff of the my old wrap, I remembered why it was relegated to the closet. "Peeeu! Better pop another peppermint. That thing smells like a wet dog."

"It'll have a chance to air out soon enough." She in the rocker beside the bookcase. "Tell me about your favorite memories of Santa Clause."

I clicked off the TV and closed my eyes to turn on the video in my head. "I can recall Dad driving us around on Christmas Eve looking at decorations, and no doubt giving Mom time to get presents out of hiding. I can remember looking into the frosty December night hoping to catch a glimpse of flying reindeer or catch the sound of.... Sleigh bells?"

Thaleia sprang to her feet. "That would be my ride."

"Ride? Santa's sleigh? But... but it's January."

"Santa's sleigh, yes, but not the big guy." she said. "Rudolph's giving me a ride to Vegas! Now there's a party animal."

"Well," I said. "At least that explains the red nose."