By Jeff Gordon

Two well-known and respected local writers, Judy DiGregorio and Art Stewart, will be joining together in a unique presentation at the Thursday, January 6 meeting of the Knoxville Writers' Guild. DiGregorio and Stewart have each been enjoying success with their recently-issued literary works, distributed by Celtic Cat Publishing. For their upcoming Guild appearance, the writers plan to share their perspectives on the science of humor and the humor of science.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Laurel Theater, at the corner of Laurel Avenue and 16th Streets (in Fort Sanders). A $1 donation is requested at the door. The building is handicapped accessible.

The multi-talented Judy DiGregorio has made a name for herself as a quipster. Full of verve, the Texas-born DiGregorio has called Oak Ridge her home since 1969. The city has proven itself a creative spawning ground for Judy, her vivacious personality shining through amusingly in print, on stage and at readings near and wide.

DiGregorio pens humor columns for The Oak Ridger and writes press releases for the Oak Ridge Playhouse. Playhouse audiences have become quite familiar with Judy, for she acts there frequently. Most of her work time, though, is devoted to her own witty words about life's everyday adventures. Many have been the publications in which DiGregorio's delightful essays have appeared. Among them: the Knoxville News-Sentinel, New Millennium Writings, CityView and Army-Navy Times. The author of more than 300 columns and essays, Judy's work can also be found in the Chicken Soup books and numerous anthologies.

DiGregorio has two books to her credit, collections of her humorous essays; 2008's Life Among the Lilliputians has been followed by Memories of a Loose Woman, released this past May. From these books has now come an audio CD, Jest Judy, featuring the author herself reading eighteen hilarious stories. A raconteur extraordinaire, Judy is eagerly anticipating her date with the Knoxville Writers' Guild, an organization to which she's long been affiliated.

Poet-scientist Art Stewart has also been a KWG stalwart for some time. He will no doubt strike a most responsive chord at the Guild's January meeting, blending natural science and verse into a potent, affecting mix. This uncommon creative combination is reflective of Stewart's strongly-held belief that young scientists can enhance their communication skills through the understanding and use of poetry.

Art's science background is nothing short of extraordinary. Born in Indiana, his early pursuits in the field found him studying biology and chemistry at Northern Arizona University. Stewart earned his PhD in aquatic ecology at Michigan State University. Oak Ridge National Laboratory was where he later did his postdoctoral research. He went on to teach stream ecology at the University of Oklahoma, then returned to ORNL as an ecotoxicologist and senior scientist. Along the way Stewart earned an MS Ed at the University of Tennessee. He is presently a project manager for ORNL, dedicating himself to science education projects.

Art's first collection of poems, Rough Ascension and Other Poems of Science, was published in 2003. Two years later came his second, Bushido: The Virtues of Rei and Makoto. Both books demonstrated Stewart's gift for drawing an emotional connection between science, philosophy and human interaction. The writer is on a similar track with the recently-released Circle, Turtle, Ashes. This third literary collection finds Stewart venturing into the very personal, exploring a journey through life marked by loss and discovery, heartbreak and laughter.

Seeking fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, interviews, song lyrics, art and photography from
residents of East Tennessee and others with close ties to this area.

Theme: The broad diversity of people in East Tennessee
Working Title: A Tapestry of Voices

All genres will be considered, provided that "diversity" is referenced or illuminated in the works. Submissions may address the theme directly or indirectly, but "diversity" should figure significantly and artfully in the piece. The concept of "diversity" may be interpreted in any way the writer, photographer, or artist sees fit.

Submission Guidelines
-up to 3 submissions per entrant in any combination of categories
1. Poems and song lyrics-maximum of 5 pages
2. Prose (including fiction, creative nonfiction and interviews)-maximum of 2500 words
3. Photography, sketches and art in black and white
4. Submissions for cover art may be either in black and white or color
--All written submissions must be in Times New Roman, 12 point, in MS Word (.doc) or
RichText (.rtf) format.
--Prose submissions must be double-spaced. Poems and song lyrics may be single-spaced.
--Art submissions should initially be sent as JPG files with resolution set to 90-150 dpi.
--For photos selected for inclusion in the collection, higher resolution photos will be required
prior to publication. Artists who do not have access to equipment for producing JPG files may mail hard copies of their submissions.
--Do not submit previously published material, including material published online.

Mackey will introduce writers to accessible tools for maintaining an online presence and will explore the use of social media to enlarge one's readership.

"It's going to be casual and laid back," Mackey said. "We're going to be covering a lot of information, so it will be a general overview of different online tools for outreach that workshop attendees can choose to further investigate, based on their needs and goals."

Topics will include self-branding, creating a personal website, maintaining a mailing list, blogging, Facebook, Twitter and integrating media.

"I'm going to go over some easy ways to capture video and images of readings and other events authors might want to share - and ways to share them, including Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo and other sites," Mackey added.

An Illinois native, Mackey receive a degree in Women's Literary Studies at Iowa's Grinnell College. In addition to serving as Youth Program Coordinator for CTV, she has worked as Outreach Coordinator for Appalshop Art and Media Center in Whitesburg, Ky, and has taught creative writing classes at a women's prison. She co-founded Artistic License, an organization dedicated to fostering creative collaborations in the Knoxville community. An upcoming project will pair visual artists with Alzheimer's patients to create pieces of art based on the patient's memories.

To sign up, go to www.knoxvillewritersguild.org/orderpaypal or send your check to KWG Workshops, P.O. Box 10326, Knoxville TN 37939-0326.

For further information, call Terry Shaw at 865.963.7633.