Newsletter

Emily Herring Wilson

Emily Herring Wilson will share the story of how Elizabeth Lawrence, who lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, during the aftermath of the Great Depression and the years of World War II, learned to write about what she loved: gardens, friends, and books.

Lawrence, the author of A Southern Gardener, The Little Bulbs, Gardens in Winter, Gardening For Love, and other gardening classics, tells us how she did it through her delightful letters to a friend and mentor. Very practical steps toward becoming a published writer, as well as lessons in overcoming obstacles and living a good life will be highlighted.  Some wistful comparisons will be made of Lawrence’s more modest reputation during her lifetime and the surge of interest in her today.

Lawrence’s house and garden in Charlotte, North Carolina, her residence from 1949 until her death in 1985, are now open to the public in tribute to one of America’s premier literary gardeners and garden writers.

The New York Times called Emily Herring Wilson’s Two Gardeners: Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence—A Friendship in Letters (2002) “one of the finest gardening books published in years.” Wilson is also the author of an acclaimed biography of Elizabeth Lawrence entitled No One Gardens Alone (2004).

Emily is a winner of the North Carolina Award and the Caldwell Award and is a MacDowell Colony Fellow. She lives and gardens in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

This project is made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The contest to design the cover for our first anthology ends tomorrow!

Winston-Salem Writers needs a cover design for our anthology. Here are the details:

• Title: Taking Flight, Winston-Salem in Prose and Poetry
• Essentials: Each entry must include our logo in the top right corner, and the title: “Winners of the 2011 Winston-Salem Writers Contest” on the front cover.
• Size: Trade paperback.
• Deadline for entries: June 1, 2011
• Entry address: 380 H Knollwood St #157, Winston-Salem NC 27103

This week’s prompt for members:

Members, take a couple of minutes and respond to this week’s prompt on the WSW website (go to the Members tab). Use the prompt as your opening sentence, or include it later, or just use it to inspire you. Your response can be as long or as short as you like.

Here is Prompt #6, from the only novel by a famous poet (there are a few):

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.

Last week’s prompt was from To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, 1927.

You can enjoy a great night at the ballpark and help support the arts and Winston-Salem Writers!

WSW joins the Winston-Salem Dash in celebrating the City of Arts & Innovation on June 2-5 at BB&T Ballpark. In cooperation with the Arts Council, we’ll be joining other arts organizations at three games that weekend, making the community aware of our presence and services.

And here’s the cool thing – you can attend the game and benefit WSW at the same time!

You can attend any one of the weekend’s three games (Thu. 6/2 and Fri. 6/3 @ 7 p.m., Sun. 6/5 @ 2 p.m.) for just $15. And for that price, you get a ticket to the game, a free Dash hat (you have to love the free hat that costs $15), and $5 is donated to Winston-Salem Writers!

In order to get this package, though, you have to mail in your request on a specific form. You can download that form here. And you have to hurry, the deadline is May 31, and tickets may run out before then.

So why not come out for some peanuts and Cracker Jack, and to support Winston-Salem Writers. Rumor has it you won’t care if you ever get back!

Ever wonder what agents think about the first page of your ms? Here’s a website that tells you.

Two literary agents, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe (Nancy Coffey Literary) and Suzie Townsend (FinePrint Literary Management) created a website that encourages you to send the first 250 words of your manuscript for their critique. The blog is called Confessions from Suite 500, but this program is First Page Shooter. Visit the site, get a feel for how they like things done, then you can decide if you’d like to send them the first 250 words of your novel. (There’s no charge for this service.)

The contest is open to design the cover for our first anthology ends next week. We need your help!

Winston-Salem Writers needs a cover design for our anthology. Here are the details:

• Title: Taking Flight, Winston-Salem in Prose and Poetry
• Essentials: Each entry must include our logo in the top right corner, and the title: “Winners of the 2011 Winston-Salem Writers Contest” on the front cover.
• Size: Trade paperback.
• Deadline for entries: June 1, 2011
• Entry address: 380 H Knollwood St #157, Winston-Salem NC 27103

This week’s prompt for members:

Members, take a couple of minutes and respond to this week’s prompt on the WSW website (go to the Members tab). Use the prompt as your opening sentence, or include it later, or just use it to inspire you. Your response can be as long or as short as you like.

Here is Prompt #5, two sentences this time:

‘Yes, of course, if it’s fine to-morrow,’ said Mrs. Ramsay. ‘But you’ll have to be up with the lark,’ she added.

Learn poetry structure and how to compose sonnets from Ed Robson, North Carolina’s Senior Poet Laureate.

If you’ve been to one of our Open Mic Nights, you’ve already seen the talents our Ed Robson possesses. (And if you haven’t been, why not come out tomorrow night? See below.) Ed’s writing is sharp, poignant, and memorable.

Ed is not only North Carolina’s Senior Poet Laureate, but he was runner-up for National Senior Poet Laureate. His poem “The Sail” finished second among 1,052 entries.

This Saturday he’ll share a unique perspective on the art of writing poetry, you can be sure of that. It’s the latest of our Saturday Specials, a continuing series of workshops designed to give you practical advice to improve your writing. See location details in “THIS WEEK,” left column.

Tonight is Open Mic Night!

Come on out to Rana Loca in downtown Winston-Salem tomorrow night and hear some of the area’s most talented writers share their work. In fact, why not bring some of your own to share? Presentations are limited to five minutes, and you’ll have the opportunity to get the reaction of your fellow writers to your work. See details, and a link to the evening’s rules, in “THIS WEEK,” left column.

Don’t forget, the contest is open to design the cover for our first anthology.

Winston-Salem Writers needs a cover design for our anthology. Here are the details:

• Title: Taking Flight, Winston-Salem in Prose and Poetry
• Essentials: Each entry must include our logo in the top right corner, and the title: “Winners of the 2011 Winston-Salem Writers Contest” on the front cover.
• Size: Trade paperback.
• Deadline for entries: June 1, 2011
• Entry address: 380 H Knollwood St #157, Winston-Salem NC 27103 (NOTE: THIS IS A CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK’S NEWSLETTER)

Playwrights: Can you write a short play? A really short play? Then your work may be headed for Times Square.

Board member Nathan Ross Freeman passes this along: Turtle Shell Production is seeking short plays, 60-180 seconds in length, for a short play festival in June. That is, the festival isn’t short, just the plays are.

Please send your 1 to 3 minute play(s) to oneminuteplayfest@yahoo.com, including a statement giving Turtle Shell permission to produce your play(s) and a phone number where you can be reached. No more than two submissions allowed.

The selected playwrights will be notified and their names posted on our website at turtleshellproductions.com, where you can also get more information about the competition. The plays will be presented on June 27 in our theater in Times Square, NYC.

Carol Hanner, Winston-Salem Journal. Photo by journalnow.com.

Everyone knows the newspaper business is changing. On Wednesday night, managing editor Carol Hanner tells us how the Winston-Salem Journal is adapting.

We all have a stake in the future of the Winston-Salem Journal, our hometown newspaper. While websites and cable networks provide options for national news, nothing beats the local paper for keeping up with local developments.

We’re looking forward to this week’s First Wednesday program, when Carol Hanner, managing editor of the Winston-Salem Journal, will be our featured speaker. She’ll discuss the state of newspapers and the Winston-Salem Journal, the changes the paper has made over the past year, and the challenges and opportunities facing journalists and journalism.

Hanner is a native of Thomasville who began her career at the Journal as a young reporter and editor for four years, then moved around the country working at various newspapers. Most recently, she was projects editor and day editor at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. She returned to the Journal in April 2010 as managing editor overseeing the newsroom.

We look forward to seeing you there at the main monthly meeting of Winston-Salem Writers.

Oh, what a night! The presentation of our 10-minute play winners was a huge success.

The winners of the 10-minute play contest were (L-R) Al Perry, John Korzen, Marta Felber, and Tony Lindsay. Photo by Christy Dunovant.

Saturday night brought lots of laughter and admiration as the winning 10-minute plays from our first competition were read on stage. We had a near-capacity crowd, and here’s what a couple of the attendees had to say:

Tom Seaman: “Congratulations on an excellent program!  Many thanks to Vijya Campagne for development and execution, the WSW Board for seeing the program value and its approval, the playwrights for their works, Nathan Ross Freeman for terrific guidance and commentaries, and everyone who read and prepared the reception…I heartily suggest the program be repeated and, perhaps be a regular feature of WSW programs.”

Sheila Englehart: “I thought last night was a great success. It was fun, educational, interactive and inspirational. I look forward to more of those.”

This week’s prompt for members:

Members, take a couple of minutes and respond to this week’s prompt on the WSW website. Use the prompt as your opening sentence, or include it later, or just use it to inspire you. Your response can be as long or as short as you like.

This week, Prompt #2, from an American classic made into a movie in the early 1970s:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

(By the way, did you recognize the source of last week’s prompt? It was the first sentence of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.)

Everyone knows the newspaper business is changing. On Wednesday night, managing editor Carol Hanner tells us how the Winston-Salem Journal is adapting.

We all have a stake in the future of the Winston-Salem Journal, our hometown newspaper. While websites and cable networks provide options for national news, nothing beats the local paper for keeping up with local developments.

We’re looking forward to this week’s First Wednesday program, when Carol Hanner, managing editor of the Winston-Salem Journal, will be our featured speaker. She’ll discuss the state of newspapers and the Winston-Salem Journal, the changes the paper has made over the past year, and the challenges and opportunities facing journalists and journalism.

Hanner is a native of Thomasville who began her career at the Journal as a young reporter and editor for four years, then moved around the country working at various newspapers. Most recently, she was projects editor and day editor at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. She returned to the Journal in April 2010 as managing editor overseeing the newsroom.

We look forward to seeing you there at the main monthly meeting of Winston-Salem Writers.
Oh, what a night! The presentation of our 10-minute play winners was a huge success.

Saturday night brought lots of laughter and admiration as the winning 10-minute plays from our first competition were read on stage. We had a near-capacity crowd, and here’s what a couple of the attendees had to say:

Tom Seaman: “Congratulations on an excellent program!  Many thanks to Vijya Campagne for development and execution, the WSW Board for seeing the program value and its approval, the playwrights for their works, Nathan Ross Freeman for terrific guidance and commentaries, and everyone who read and prepared the reception…I heartily suggest the program be repeated and, perhaps be a regular feature of WSW programs.”

Sheila Englehart: “I thought last night was a great success. It was fun, educational, interactive and inspirational. I look forward to more of those.”

This week’s prompt for members:

Members, take a couple of minutes and respond to this week’s prompt on the WSW website. Use the prompt as your opening sentence, or include it later, or just use it to inspire you. Your response can be as long or as short as you like.

This week, Prompt #2, from an American classic made into a movie in the early 1970s:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

(By the way, did you recognize the source of last week’s prompt? It was the first sentence of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.)

Come celebrate the winners of our 10-minute play competition – and see them performed live!

This Saturday night is the culmination of our first Text to Stage competition, one of this year’s innovative additions to the WSW schedule. We’ll watch the plays being read, and we guarantee you’re going to marvel at the talent in our organization.

Here’s the program for the evening:

Third Place: Leave It Out, by Tony Lindsay.

“A comical confrontation between an easygoing Southern storeowner and an impatient Northern customer.”

Third Place: First Parsonage, by Marta Felber.

“A pastor’s wife struggles with the fulfillment of her deep desires.”

Second Place: Betrayal, by Al Perry.

“A conflict between two ex-lovers—a Russian immigrant living illegally for ten years in the U.S. and a former police officer, now in command of a highly successful industrial security firm.”

First Place: First Last Date by John Korzen.

“A comedy about two people navigating around preset rules at a speed dating game.”

It’s going to be an evening of celebration, laughter, and friendship. It starts at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday night at the Greenbrier Club House. Admission is $3. Here are the directions:

1. Turn left on Yadkinville Road from Reynolda Road (2+ miles north of WFU)

2. Make a left 1/2 mile down on Greenbrier Farm Road (You’ll see large sign “Greenbrier Farm” at the entrance)

3. The Club House is half a mile up this road to the left (has parking in the front, a swimming pool in the back and tennis courts). The street preceding the Club House is Old Pfafftown Rd.

Space is very limited, however. To reserve your place, send an e-mail to Vijya Campagne (vcampagne@wswriters.org) today!

A great new idea for members only: Winston-Salem Writers prompts!

Regular practice is the first essential if you have any hope of improving your writing, but sometimes it can be hard to get started. This week we start a new weekly program for members – writing prompts on the web.

We’re going to start with the first sentences from some well-known novels – only names have been changed. Use the prompt as your opening sentence, or include it later, or just use it to inspire you. Your response can be as long or as short as you like. (Extra kudos for identifying the original novel.)

This week, Prompt #1:

It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills.

All member responses, however received, will be published under the MEMBERS tab on wswriters.org, and the best (in our humble opinion) response will be published under the WRITING tab. You can send your response by email to info@wswriters.org; or you can post it directly as a Quick Reply to the prompt itself.   Under the MEMBERS tab, click on Prompts; then click on Prompts on the next page; then click on Prompt #1.  Type your response as a Quick Reply, and when you’ve finished editing, click the Submit button.

We’re looking forward to enjoying your creativity!

We’re having a blast at Open Mic Night. Come out and share the fun.

Been to a WSW Open Mic Night lately?Why not join us!

Our monthly gathering is one of the best ways you can learn and grow as a writer. You can try out your prose and poetry, receive feedback and meet with other authors.

We meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Rana Loca in downtown Winston-Salem. WSW Board Member Dan Sullivan hosts the night.

Nervous about reading? Don’t be!

Since we started six years ago, WSW Open Mic Night encourages writers by fostering a supportive creative environment.  Unlike a poetry slam, which is judged, our Open Mic often functions as a workshop where writers develop stories. Frequent readers can work out new ideas in long-term projects, while first-time readers debut original work.  So everyone has an opportunity to share, a maximum of 16 readers participate each night.  Also, selections should be five minutes or less. All work should be original.

As a WSW benefit, members are selected to read before non-members.

Sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m., with readings stating at 7 p.m. There is a break at about 8 p.m. for fellowship and networking.  The event is free.  Anyone is welcome to listen to the works in progress.

Rana Loca is located at 411 W. 4th St.  (next door to the Community Arts Café.) Open Mic is held upstairs. Food and drinks are served if you’d like a light snack. Parking is on the street or in a lot at the corner of West Fourth and Poplar. This lot is by permit during the day, but is available at night.

Be sure and save next Sat., Apr.30 for the staged readings of our 10-minute play competition!

It’s going to be an evening of celebration, laughter, and friendship. The winners of our Text to Stage competition will have their winning entries read on stage, and it’s going to be a memorable evening. Plan to stay around afterward to congratulate the winners and to mingle with other writers. Details are in the left column; watch next week’s newsletter for more information.

Space is very limited, however. To reserve your place, send an e-mail to Vijya Campagne, vcampagne@wswriters.org soon!

Chapters six and seven of our serial romance are now available at our website!

Things are really starting to heat up between Maggie, Cam, and Jeffrey in our serial romance, Safe at Home. You can catch up with the latest intrigue here.

Poet Terri Kirby Erickson shares her writing experience at our next My Story program.

In honor of National Poetry Month, WSW welcomes award-winning poet Terri Kirby Erickson to our monthly My Story night this Thursday at 7 p.m. Terri will read from her just-released poetry collection In the Palms of Angels, then will share her journey to publication. We’ll meet in the Community Arts Café in downtown Winston-Salem.

The author of two previous poetry collections, Terri’s work has been widely praised. Former Poet Laureate of North Carolina Kathryn Stripling Byer says: “Terri Kirby Erickson’s In the Palms of Angels invites us to enter the world of everyday life made numinous by the poet’s voice…Her poems become metaphorical palms in which angelic encounters are cradled.” In the Palms of Angels is published by Press 53 in Winston-Salem.

Terri’s poetry has also appeared in numerous literary journals, anthologies and other publications, including The Christian Science Monitor, JAMA and the North Carolina Literary Review.

In 2009, she received a Best of the Net nomination for “Oak Tree” and a Pushcart Prize nomination for “Blue Hydrangeas.”

Our event on Thursday is not only a chance to hear Terri’s poetry but also to learn more about innovative ways to publish and market your work.

My Story is a WSW event that focuses on a single author and their publication success. Each author offers suggestions to aspiring writers in ways to be published.

Saturday Special: A poetry workshop with Valerie Nieman.

Valerie Nieman is an accomplished writer who’s enjoyed success in novels and short stories as well as poetry. Her experience and talent in narrative fiction makes her an excellent choice to lead this Saturday Special workshop on narrative poetry.

Valerie’s collection of poetry, Wake Wake Wake, was published in 2006. Her poems have been published in a number of major literary journals, and have been included in numerous anthologies.

Her third novel, Blood Clay, has just been published by Press 53.

Her awards have included an NEA fellowship, the 1998 and 2002 Elizabeth Simpson Smith prizes for the best short story by a writer in the Carolinas, fellowships from the West Virginia Humanities Commission and Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the 1999 Greg Grummer Prize in poetry from Phoebe.

Valerie has conducted writing workshops at a number of venues, including the North Carolina Writers Network, and we’re excited at what she’ll bring to us on Saturday.

Know a young person who’s interested in writing? Tell them about the Great American Writing Camp.

From the brochure: “This two-week writing camp (June 21-July 1, 2011) offers young students a unique opportunity to develop their writing skills through interactive activities that both inspire and motivate. With a focus on creativity, young writers can begin to generate their own writing style and means of expression. Interactions with instructors, guest speakers, peer writers, and nature lead the students to approach writing in a variety of new and fun ways.”

The camp, for students entering grades 5-8 in the fall, will be held at Wake Forest University. There is a fee. For more information, here’s its Facebook page.

Poet Barbara Presnell shows how paying attention to small things can make a big improvement in your poetry.

WSW kicks off our celebration of National Poetry Month with Barbara Presnell, our featured speaker at First Wednesday. Barbara’s writing journey has taken her into many genres — fiction, plays, poems, dramatic monologues, essays, and music — but her specialty is poetry. Her program will focus on how we can use the little things that are part of our daily experience to bring our poetry to life.

Barbara has published several volumes of poetry, the latest being Piece Work, published by the Cleveland State University Poetry Center. Among her awards are the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Award, given by the NC Poetry Society, the Oscar Arnold Young Award bestowed by the Poetry Council of NC, and Cleveland State Poetry Center’s First Book Prize.

The focus Barbara brings to being keenly aware of your environment will be useful to all writers, and we look forward to seeing you this Wednesday evening.

Press 53 hosts The Gathering of Poets

The Gathering of Poets is a day-long series of workshops and master classes. It’s led by two former North Carolina Poets Laureate, Fred Chappell and Kathryn Stripling Byer, and five award-winning poets: Terri Kirby Erickson, Alex Grant, Debra Kaufman, Joseph Mills, and Valerie Nieman.

Attendees can choose four of the seven workshops and master classes. The evening will include an open mic session. A continental breakfast and a buffet lunch are provided. The cost is $125, but WSW members receive a $15 discount for a cost of $110. Click here for complete details.

By the way, if you like Terri Kirby Erickson, she’ll be the guest at this month’s My Story program. And if you enjoy Valerie Nieman, she’ll be presenting a Saturday Special workshop on April 16. And both these events are free.

April couldn’t be the cruelest month – it’s National Poetry Month! WSW celebrates the occasion with several poetry-themed programs.

We have a number of talented and accomplished poets in our membership, and we celebrate them and their craft this month along with the rest of the nation during National Poetry Month.

FIRST WEDNESDAY

Our observance begins on April 6 with our First Wednesday program. Barbara Presnell will be our featured presenter. Barbara has written in many genres but she’s best known as an award-winning poet. She’s published several volumes of poetry, the latest being Piece Work, published by the Cleveland State University Poetry Center.

Here’s how Barbara describes her work: “Everybody and every thing has a story to tell, and it’s my work to help those stories get told. I want to pay attention to the small things — the beans, the robins, the mill people, the Mexican children, the plumber, the hairdresser — and give them voice. To do that, I must listen to what’s around me in this small, ordinary life I live, and tell the stories I hear with respect, honesty, and love.”

MY STORY

We’re looking forward to hearing from poet Terri Kirby Erickson at this month’s My Story program on April 14. Terri’s new collection of poems is being published next week (see event, left column), and we’re looking forward to hearing about her adventures in the publishing world. Those of you who’ve been to one of our My Story programs will attest to the benefits that our authors’ practical, real-world experiences are to everyone, no matter where we are on the publishing journey.

SATURDAY SPECIAL

If you’re looking to improve your poetry writing skills, you’ll want to attend this special session on April 16. Led by poet and novelist Valerie Nieman, the workshop will give you practical tips and helpful prompts to help you write more vivid poetry. Look for more details as the date approaches.

ON THE SAME POEM

Winston-Salem Writers is proud to co-sponsor the Forsyth County Public Libary’s presentation of this event This year’s featured poem is “Audubon’s Flute” by Robert Morgan. The event culminates in a Brown Bag Luncheon with the author. See the left column for event details.

Salem College would like your ideas about classes

Betty Telford at Salem College has written us to ask for suggestions about courses that might be offered in the Courses for Community program for Fall 2011. These classes would be offered during September, October, November, and early December. If you have thoughts about classes you’d find worthwhile, send Betty an e-mail at betty.telford@salem.edu.

Need a ride to a WSW meeting?

If for any reason you’d like a ride to any WSW program, we’ll do our best to help. Just send an e-mail to info@wswriters.org, tell us your name, phone number and which meeting(s) you’d like to attend, and we’ll be in touch.

We’re sad to report a death in our family.

Stuart Jones, a charter member of WSW, died March 23 at hospice after suffering a stroke at his home. Stuart was a proud Winston-Salem native and UNC graduate. He was active in “Write Away,” a WSW critique group that meets monthly. Stuart was an insightful observer of our human condition and had developed a marvelous and unique manner of reducing his observations and vexing questions into enjoyable and thought-provoking essays. We called them “Stuartesque.” WSW will miss him and his kind and generous presence.