Header New Purple
May 2013

For the FULL listing

of all of Alice's Events

Now Published!
Sue Allison Dean 

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HARD TIMES WRITING CONTEST by the Writers' Workshop of Asheville

Deadline: Postmarked by June 30, 2013.
Info HERE
 

Kakalak 2013  

The journal featuring North and South Carolina poets and artists returns. Reading period is April 1 to May 31. Submit one to three poems, up to 60 lines each, for a $10 reading fee. Info

 

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 The NC Humanities Council invites original entries of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for the 2013 Linda Flowers Literary Award. The postmark deadline for submissions is August 15, 2013. There is no entry fee. More info

 

 

Jacar Press 2013 Book Competitions

 

Full length poetry book competition, poetry chapbook competition

and call for poems for an anthology, "What Matters?"

Deadline May 15

Info HERE

 

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Know a young reader or writer? Send them to N.C. State this summer! Sponsored by the English Department within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the N.C. State University Young and Teen Writers' Workshops nurture the creative spirit and teach creative writing skills and techniques. Applications for the 2013 workshops are now open! Deadline is June 3rd. 

Young Writers' Workshop: rising 4th-8th graders, July 8-19 Teen Writers' Workshop: rising 9th graders-college freshmen, July 22-Aug. 2 Tuition is $250/two week session. Workshops meet each weekday from 1:30-4 p.m. For more information and application: 

Click Here

  

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Greetings!  
Alice headshot
 

How is May treating you? May's always a busy month for me with Mother's Day, end-of-school preparations, car shows and new clients~! This May the weather hasn't broken us down like last year, but I see many humid, bad hair days in my future.

I'm trying something new: instead of a live fiction workshop, I'm teaching a 3-week fiction webinar series you can access from anywhere in the globe! The details are below and I'm offering a break on the price: it's only $55 for 3 1 hour and 15 minute sessions.

Last month Jorge Cortese won the random newsletter contest. The poem he chose was Pablo Neruda's "Animal of Light" excerpted here:

ANIMAL OF LIGHT

 

I am in this endless place without loneliness

a corralled animal of light,

by its mistakes and its foliage.

Broad is the jungle: here my equals

thrive, retreat or smuggle,

while I'm retiring in the company

of the escort that time would determine:

waves of the sea, stars of the night.

  

He chose this poem because:

I think that the poem taught me something deep, ineffable, about poetry (and it has some deep lessons about our futile quest for meaning and intellectual riches). Maybe the fact that I can't quite put it in words tells us something about the reservoir of intellectual music beyond words from where all poetry comes.

For this month's random contest, I'd like to have you Email Me what you're reading now and why!
 
NEWS:

Alice was appointed to the North Carolina Writers' Network Board of Trustees and will serve a 3-year term.

Last month Alice discussed memoir and it relates to the Hero's Journey on Marilyn Shannon's Internet TV show,
Breaking Free. Enjoy the episode HERE

 

Alice joined EntreDot as a Mentor on March 1, 2013. This enables her share her knowledge and experience with more Entrepreneurs throughout the Triangle Area.EntreDot is a non-profit organization designed to increase entrepreneurs chances of success by providing them needed business wisdom, resulting in increased revenue as well as job growth. For more information about EntreDot visit them HERE.
 
For those of you in the Charleston, SC area, I'll be reading my poems at the Piccolo Spoleto Sundown Poetry Reading Series on Wed. June 5th. Here's the link and the Facebook page

Writing Residencies:

The 2013 Squire Summer Writing Residency sponsored by NCWN will be July 11-14 on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

The Squire Summer Writing Residency is the Network's smallest and most intensive conference. Admission is limited to the first fifty registrants who sign up for one of three three-day workshops: Register Here

  • Poetry with Kathryn Stripling Byer 
  • Fiction with Elizabeth Lutyens
  • Creative Nonfiction with Catherine Reid 

Focusing on Form: A Writing Workshop for Women

When: June 24-28
Cost: $300 
Contact: Ashley Hogan [email protected]

  

Each summer since 1997, the Meredith College Department of English has sponsored a writing workshop for women who are writing, who want to write, and who want to try writing. The workshop offers instruction, critique of manuscripts, publishing advice, and-not the least of its advantages-new friends who share a common interest. Dozens of women have benefited from these workshops and from other writer events sponsored by Meredith during the academic year. During this one-week workshop, outstanding instructors guide students in poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Instructors include Zelda Lockhart (fiction); Nancy Peacock (creative nonfiction); Ruth Moose (poetry); Carol Henderson (journaling); and Susan Ketchin (publishing).

 

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Here are my latest blog posts:

 

04-29-2013 12:52:26 PM
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." -Walt Disney Are you ready to immerse yourself  in a weekend of writing without interruption in the mountains of Western Carolina? Writing does involve commitment and blocking out time to get stories, memories and characters down on paper. What if you were [...]...�

 

04-22-2013 07:00:31 AM

  What transpires when a writer can no longer write? This is what happened to me in January a few months ago. While I have always looked forward to the post-holiday revitalization to reignite my creative juices and recharge my body, mind, and spirit, this year the relief did not come. Starting 2013 with my [...]...�

 

04-08-2013 11:03:54 AM

If you have dreams of starting your own creative business , don't worry that you're not big enough. As you'll soon find out from Dave Baldwin's review of Small Giants by Bo Burlingham, you'll see that bigger isn't always better. You can retain control of your vision and not get absorbed into a huge corporate [...]...�


Read a poem at an open mic (check out local open mics below). 
 
Have a fabulous month that's full of blooming!    and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

   



Writing Tips from Alice

 

Alice Osborn 2013-2
Think of your writing as a series of double doors opening inward, drawing the reader ever deeper into the story.
 
Plotting is not only what to tell, but when to tell it.
 
When you read your dialogue, listen for cadence and rhythm and breathing.

 

 



Wake County Open Mics

 

Alice guitar 1 

Royal Bean Coffee House (Literary Open Mic)

1st Thurs of every month

Next one is Thurs June 6th  Time: 7-8:30pm

Organizer: Maureen Sherbondy

 

Fuquay Varina Third Thursdays Open Mic Reading Series (Literary Open Mic)

STARS Theater and Arts Center, 123 E. Vance St.

Time: 6-8:30pm
3rd Thursday of every month (Thurs. May 16th)

Organizer: Jan B. Parker         

 

Amplified Voices Poetry Open Mic (poetry and music)

Amplified Art Gallery, City Market, 325 Blake St. Downtown Raleigh

4th Tuesday of the month, 7:00-9:00 pm  (Tues. May 28th)
Organizer: Glenn Cassidy

Enjoy a glass of wine and original poetry in an intimate setting with music-themed art displayed on the walls. Beer, wine, and bottled water are available for purchase, as is the art. 

Writing MeetUps

Living Poetry

The Raleigh Write to Publish  

Read!Write!Publish! (I'm the organizer of this one!)

 

May Events and Programs!
How to Write the Next Great American Novel with Alice Osborn

Location: Webinar Series
Class meets three times on Tuesdays: May 14, 21 & 28, 2013
Time:  12-1:15pm EST
Tuition:  $55      SPECIAL PRICE!
Registration:  Click Here
Book - The Client
Fiction begins with the main character wanting something so badly it hurts. Your  job as the writer is to make life very difficult for your main character so a fresh and inventive plot and story will emerge without clich�. We'll discuss the craft of fiction, which includes point of view, setting, dialogue and figurative language. Alice will give in-class prompts to strengthen and support your work. All levels of fiction writers are encouraged to attend. Alice is an experienced fiction book editor who has guided scores of novelists on the traditional and independent path to publication. If you miss the "live" class, you can listen to the recording later!

Alice Osborn 2013-2How Becoming a Published Author Can Give Your Business a Boost! With Alice Osborn at
the W5 Third Thursday May Social

Location: Salon Eden, 240 Newton Rd., Suite 100 1/2, Raleigh, NC 
Thursday, May 16, 2013   Time: 6-8pm   
Networking 6-6:30, Talk is from 6:30-7:30pm  Wine and refreshments will be served!

If you're serious about giving your business a boost, you'll need to write a book! Writing and self-publishing your motivational, inspirational, coaching or sales training book will transform you into the sought-after expert in your field. And if you wish to gain a speaking platform, being an author will certainly open many doors for you. In this can't miss talk, published author and professional editor Alice Osborn will discuss the mechanics of self-publishing your book, along with getting your book out to your audience through proper marketing and publicity channels. She'll also discuss how you want to write the best book possible so that your audience will want even more books from you!
 
Intro to Comedy Writing with Alice Osborn

Location: Pick A Class, 502 S White St., Wake Forest, NC 27587
Wednesday,  May 22, 2013   Time: 7-8:30pm   Fee: $20
Wine and Cheese will be served!
Registration: Click Here
Comedy Masks
 
Writing memorable comedy can be so rewarding and so terrifying all at the same time. Getting folks to laugh exposes the author to fear and anxiety, but usually these risks are worth the reward! In this class with experienced author, editor and humorist Alice Osborn, you'll learn basic comedy writing: the rule of 3s, timing, word play, surprise and acute observation. Alice learned that once she injected humor into her writing, more people liked her work-imagine that! We welcome anyone who wants to liven up their prose or poetry. All writers at all levels of experience are welcome. 

Storytelling for Entrepreneurs

Location: Pick A Class, 502 S White St., Wake Forest, NC 27587
Wednesday,  May 29, 2013   Time: 11:30-1pm   Fee: $20
Registration: Click Here

Why did you start your company? What makes you different from yourcompetitors? Who are you? As an entrepreneur, your story will persuade your clients/customers to purchase your product and service, while inspiring your employees, vendors, and community to buy-in to your mission and offerings. Let Alice Osborn, author, editor and entrepreneur teach you how to tell your story using the power of emotion, details and structure. Telling your story effectively will help you master your emotional intelligence skills to set you apart as a world-class leader.

Wonderland Book Club, Meet Author Joseph Mills
Co-sponsored by the NC Writers Network    

Location: Center for Excellence, 3803-B Computer Dr. Suite 106, Raleigh, NC 27609
Friday,  May 31, 2013     Time:  10:00-noon    
This month's book is Sending Christmas Cards to Huck and Hamlet by Joseph Mills    
RSVP: Click Here
Find more info about Wonderland at:
Joseph Mills
This month we welcome Joseph Mills from Winston-Salem, NC. Joseph Mills has degrees in literature from the University of Chicago (B.A.), the University of New of New Mexico (M.A.), and the University of California-Davis (Ph.D). A faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he holds the Susan Burress Wall Distinguished Professorship in the Humanities.  His published work includes poetry, fiction, drama, and criticism. In addition to his most recent collection which we're discussing at Wonderland Book Club, he has published three volumes of poetry with Press 53: Angels, Thieves, and Winemakers,  Somewhere During the Spin Cycle and Love and Other Collisions. Joseph and his wife, Danielle Tarmey, are the authors of A Guide to North Carolina's Wineries (John F. Blair, Publisher).  The second edition was released in 2007. Find out more about Joseph at http://www.josephrobertmills.com/

Want to Get Published the Right Way? Contact Alice TODAY!

 

919-971-9414
9660-138 Falls of Neuse #294
Raleigh, NC 27615
 

Alice Osborn, M.A. is the author of three books of poetry: After the Steaming Stops (Main Street Rag, 2012), Unfinished Projects (Main Street Rag, 2010) and Right Lane Ends (Catawba, 2006) and is the editor of the anthology, Tattoos (Main Street Rag, 2012); she is also a writing coach, speaker, blogger and teaching artist. Besides working with corporations and small businesses, Alice teaches creative writing in schools and in community settings where she uses sensory images and road-tested prompts to stimulate her students' best work. Her writing has appeared in Raleigh's News and Observer, Soundings Review, The Pedestal Magazine, and in numerous journals and anthologies. She serves as the Raleigh Regional Representative for the North Carolina Writers' Network, as the programming co-chair for WBON-Cary (Women Business Owners Network), the Events Chair for Femfessionals, and is active in the advanced Toastmasters Club, Born Toastmasters. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband and two children. Visit her website: www.aliceosborn.com.

 

  
Save $200

Bend of Ivy 2 Special Promotion: Dream It, Do It Women's Writing Retreat
 

Save $200 off the $695 Tuition

Location: Bend of Ivy Lodge, Marshall, NC outside of Asheville, NC3717 Bend of Ivy Rd. Marshall, NC 28753   www.bendofivylodge.com

Fri-Sun   August 23-25, 2013  

Register HERE
 
ACT NOW! Offer Expires Tuesday, April 30th