PACIFIC NORTHWEST WRITERS ASSOCIATION
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APRIL 2012 E-NOTES:
E-Notes is your monthly electronic newsletter full of the latest news about the literary world. Our newsletter is a PNWA Member Benefit.
Please send us an email if you would like to place an announcement in next month's E-Notes: enotes@pnwa.org
(Announcements must be received by the 19th of
the previous month to be included).
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PNWA NEWS:
March Member Workshop and Meeting Thursday, April 12, 2012 @ 7:00pm
Issaquah Library Service Center
960 Newport Way NW Issaquah, WA 98027 Speaker: William Kenower
Topic: Writing is Hard and Other Myths
Author magazine's Editor-in-Chief, William Kenower, will debunk a number of writing myths that stand in our way of writing and publishing with ease. Some of these myths include: "you must be lucky to get published" and "editors only want to publish established writers."
www.williamkenower.com ---
Live Access to Member Meetings
During this week's monthly Member Workshop and Meeting, you have the option of listening to the workshop from the comfort of your home as we continue to provide members with live webinar access to our monthly workshops. If you are unable to attend our meeting or webinar, you can also listen to a recording of the workshop online from PNWA's member website a few days after the workshop.
To enjoy this new feature you must be a current PNWA Member. Click here to join or renew your membership.
To access our webinar, please check one of the two instructions listed below: 1. Open your PNWA email on Wednesday, April 11th. Subject line: PNWA Webinar
- Click the "Join the Webinar" link and follow the instructions.
OR
2. Log in to the PNWA Member Site (if you forgot your username and/or password, contact us before Wednesday, April 11th by 3:00pm to retrieve them)
- Click on the Member Meeting link located on the left-hand side of the page.
- Download the PNWA Webinar Instructions.doc
- Paste the GoToMeeting link into your browser.
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Our very own PNWA President Pam Binder is currently featured on the Forbes.com website in an article entitled, "So You Want To Be A Writer? Here's How To Make The Transition From Your Day Job." In this article, Pam is interviewed about her own transition from full-time employment into the wide world of writing for a living. She also gives advice to aspiring writers. Be sure to check out the article HERE and leave a comment to support Pam!
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MEMBER NEWS:
PNWA member Barry Brennessel announces that his novel, Tinseltown, is a finalist in the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Tinseltown placed third in PNWA's 2010 literary contest. The book is available from MLR Press, Amazon, Fictionwise, and OmniLit, in paperback and e-download. Barry's novel The Sulphur Cure will be published this spring from L&L Dreamspell, and will be available from Amazon, Fictionwise, and OmniLit, in paperback and e-download. The Sulphur Cure was a three-time PNWA literary contest finalist. The Price of Silence, a 2009 PNWA literary contest finalist, is now available from L&L Dreamspell through Amazon, Fictionwise, and OmniLit, in paperback and e-download. www.barrybrennessel.com.
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PNWA member Sharon Lynn Fisher announces the publication date for her debut novel, Ghost Planet on Dec. 1, 2012 (Tor/Macmillan). Ghost Planet is a two-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist. More information about Ghost Planet and its upcoming release can be found on Sharon's website, www.sharonlynnfisher.com.
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PNWA member Jess Steven Hughes announces the publication of his first book, The Sign of the Eagle, through Sunbury Press. The Sign of the Eagle is a breathtaking historical novel of action and suspense in the year 71 A.D. set amid the vibrant streets and treacherous back alleys, notorious bath houses and opulent palaces of the nobility of Ancient Rome. Macha, Celtic wife of Titus, a Roman officer accused of treason, must set out on a dangerous journey to prove his innocence. The Sign of the Eagle is available through purchase on amazon.com or can be ordered through regular bookstores.
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PNWA member Janet Oakley announces that her novel, Tree Soldier, won the 2012 EPIC award for historical fiction. Tree Soldier is available for purchase on amazon.com.
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PNWA member Rena Mason is among 31 authors including Jack Ketchum, Ramsey Campbell, Joe Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, and many more, who will be featured in the upcoming anthology, Horror For Good: A Charitable Anthology, from publisher Cutting Block Press. Edited by Mark C. Scioneaux, Robert S. Wilson, and R.J. Cavender, proceeds for this collection go to amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. It will be available this April through Amazon and the Cutting Block Press website.
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PNWA member Scott Mastro announces the publication of Blood Money - Tales from Two Continents, a collection of short stories, through Savant Books and Publishing. In this collection you will meet an advertising manager who wakes with a bucket on his head, a writer who tries to keep his stories from becoming too real, a professor who, with the help of his students and friend, searches to find his lost cat, and two women who try to control the one thing they can't...their own lives. Blood Money is available for purchase through Amazon.com.
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PNWA member Benita Nelson announces the release of her second mystery novel, Model Employee, a former semi-finalist in the Breakthrough Novel Award contest sponsored by Penguin Books and Amazon.com. In this "wicked, exuberant novel" that takes place in a Seattle corporation, office-slacker Heather Jones finds her boss murdered shortly before she stumbles onto an office drug-smuggling ring. If you've ever sat through snooze-fest sales meetings, needed a GPS to navigate a cube maze, or have been swept up in a stampede gunning for free cookies in the break room, then this story is for you. Model Employee may be purchased through Amazon.com.
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PNWA member Rex Olsen announces the release of his memoir, Fencing Out Rain, in ebook format. Fencing Out Rain can be found on Amazon.com for Kindle, Barnes and Noble for NOOK, and Smashwords.com.
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PNWA Board Member Terry Persun announces that his novel, Cathedral of Dreams, is a finalist in the ForeWord magazine Book of the Year Award contest in the Science Fiction category. Terry's daughter and PNWA Youth Liaison Nicole Persun also has a book, A Kingdom's Possession, which is a finalist in the Fantasy category.
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Nonfiction Writers Groups Seeks New Members
This group focuses on personal essays and memoir, both book-length and shorter pieces. The group meets once a month at 12:30 p.m. on Fridays. The location rotates among members' homes in the greater Seattle area. For more information, please contact PNWA member Erika Giles at erikagiles@earthlink.net.
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CLASSES/WORKSHOPS:
Speaking of Short Stories - This eight week workshop begins April 11th and is offered through Seattle Central Community College. Students will be listening to New Yorker fiction podcasts, generating new material, reading each other's work and giving feedback, as well as discussing how new technology changes the way we read and write. Each class will focus on a different aspect of craft; setting, character, voice, subtext, framing the story, etc. The last day of class, Chelsea will walk students through how to self-publish to Kindle and talk about the benefits and drawbacks of self-publishing. Instructor: PNWA member Chelsea Werner-Jatzke
Classes are on Wednesdays from 7:00-9:00 p.m.
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Writing Short Stories from First Sentence to Submission - This is an intensive nine-session writing class. Each student is expected to write approximately 2,000 - 7,000 words a week and produce a portfolio of 2 - 5 short stories. During the first four weeks students plot short stories and write them to completion. The second half of the class is devoted to editing and revising one story from the student's portfolio. Students will learn to edit their own work and to receive and give constructive criticism. At the end of class, students submit their polished stories to literary or genre markets. Instructor: Lois Brandt
Classes are held Wednesdays evenings from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at Bellevue College's North Campus, and begin on April 18th.
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Sail away for writing classes in the San Juan Islands this summer, or, better yet, in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, next winter. PNWA member and author Penn Wallace will be teaching a series of writing classes on board the classic sailing vessel Victory. The Victory is a fifty-six foot yacht that has been recently upgraded to the standards of a modern luxury yacht. With a limit of six students per session, these classes are intimate and personal. Get all the attention you need and build life-long bonds with your fellow writers. Cruises will consist of a nightly class and homework to be prepared for the next night. Classes are five nights with the sixth night for socializing and relaxing. Go to Victory Charters' website or call (425) 775- 9273 for more details.
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Write Award-Winning Fiction - In this workshop, participants will teach the fundamental elements of fiction through exercises that prevent your internal editor from seeping into your work. They will also discuss different methods of story structure and how employing structure can save you time during the revision process. You will learn to pinpoint deep character traits, develop strong scenes through the eyes of your narrator and build conflict so palpable that it will be difficult to tell if the story is fact or fiction. Whether you write novels, short stories, flash fiction or single scenes, you will develop story structure sure to grab your readers and keep them involved until the very final word. Instructors: PNWA members Susan Wingate and Terry Persun. The workshop will be held in Port Townsend at The Writers Workshoppe on Saturday and Sunday, April 21st and 22nd from 10:00 a.m.- 4:00pm.
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CONTESTS/SUBMISSIONS:
Emerald City Opener Contest 2012
Calling unpublished authors! Polish those pages! Starting April 1st, 2012, Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America begins accepting entries for the Emerald City Opener. No fooling! Enter the First 7 pages of your Category: (Series) Romance, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense, Young Adult Romance, or Novel with Romantic Elements. Deadline: May 31, 2012. Fee: $12 for GSRWA Members, $20 for Non-GSRWA-Members. First Round Judges are RWA - PRO Members & Published Authors and our Final Judges are Agents & Editors attending the Emerald City Writer's Conference, held October 26th - Oct 28th, 2012. Finalists receive a private pitch with their editor or agent of choice if attending Emerald City Writer's Conference on October 26th - Oct 28th. Top prize in each category is $25.00 and a trophy. All finalists receive a framed certificate. Names of finalists will be announced on the GSRWA website and in the Romance Writers Report Magazine.
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