FWA June Update

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ~ Mark Twain

Pardon me while I hunt and peck, searching for the right words to tell you about all the happenings in June and beyond. Summer may be here, but we have a full slate of FWA meetings and conferences and workshops on the horizon so let's not tarry looking for lightning bugs.

• River City Writers will meet on Tuesday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the S.E. Branch Library. Guest speaker Cheyenne Knopf, Marketing Manager of OnlineBinding.com, will discuss "How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Self-Publishing." Group leader Gregg Golson has all the details.
• Ancient City Writers meets on Saturday, June 15 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. Memoirist and writing instructor Patricia Charpentier, author of Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time, presents, "Moments to Memoir." Learn to write your life story for yourself or your family, or the world. 
• Nassau County Youth Writers gather together at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 at Books Plus in Fernandina Beach. Contact James Weinsier or Arlyse McDowell at nassauyouthwriters@gmail.com for more information.
• Maggie deVries leads the Amelia Island Writers group meeting at 6:15 p.m. on the 18th, immediately following the Youth Writers meeting at Books Plus.
• FWA's Clay County Writers convene at 6:15 p.m. at the Orange Park Library on Wednesday, June 19. Guest speaker and award-winnin author Sohrab Homi Fracis shares his secrets, tips and insights into "Writing Fiction Well." Group leader Maureen Jung has details.
• Jax Youth Writers meet Thursday, June 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the SE Regional Library. Contact Kimberly Smith for more information.
• The Ponte Vedra Library is the site of this months gathering of the Ponte Vedra Writers, Saturday, June 29 at 10:00 a.m. Former New York publishing sales rep Marty Conroy has kept an appraising eye on the state of the publishing industry and shares his findings with us in his presentation titled, "Everyone is Gutenberg–The Realities of Publishing in the Post ebook World." Conroy, who worked with the Big 5 publishers for over 30 years in sales and marketing, will focus on the distribution pipeline, how books are sold, niche marketing and the future of the publishing industry.
• The Serivilous Panerians Critique Group meets twice monthly on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Panera Restaurant in St. Johns Town Center. Contact Cheri Romaine for info.
• FWA affiliate First Coast Christian Writers meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at the Webb-Wesconett Library.

But wait, there's more:

• Florida Sisters in Crime welcomes Kathryn Bain to their meeting tomorrow, Saturday, June 1, 10:30 a.m. at the SE Regional Library. Kathryn will host "The What If Game."
• Publishing pros Jane Wood and Fran Keiser will lead a guided tour for children's book writers looking for tips on how to get published. "Oh, the Places You'll Go," is a 4-hour workshop scheduled for tomorrow, June 1, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Flagler College Student Center. The workshop is presented by the Florida Heritage Book Festival and covers publishing options, book design and printing, illustrations and photographs, marketing, distribution and more. Still time to show up and pay at the door the $99 fee. 
• Clay County Writers present another in its "Meet the Author" series held at Black Horse Winery, Tuesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. Come and hear from area authors. If you'd like to participate, contact Maureen Jung.
• FWA presents a Nonfiction Mini-Conference on Saturday, June 22 at the University Club in Winter Park, Florida. Cost is $60 for FWA members and $80 for nonmembers. Faculty includes Rik Feeney, Chrissy Jackson, FWA President, Bob Lucas, Florida Publishers Association President, The History Press acquisition editor Chad Rhoad, journalist Larry Leech, and more.
• Registration is now open for the Florida Heritage Book Festival Writers Conference, September 26 & 27 at World Golf Village. The Conference kicks off with a boxed lunch on Thursday afternoon followed by two 3-hour workshops, "Quieting Your Inner Critic" with Lezlie Laws, and "Stories from Your life" with Philip Deaver. Registration includes the evening reception and keynote by New York Times bestselling author Andrew Gross. Friday's workshops cover memoir and travel writing, book marketing, writing humor, short story writing and more. The luncheon keynote speaker is the indomitable Tim Dorsey. Visit the FHBF website for schedule and registration information.
• Early bird registration fee for the complete package at the Florida Heritage Book Festival & Writers Conference is only $195 and includes both conference days, both lunches, the Andrew Gross reception and keynote and the Literary Legends Banquet honoring John Jakes. Click here to go to the registration page.
• The Friends of the Ponte Vedra Library present the third annual Ponte Vedra Book Fair featuring ten area authors. The Book Fair is scheduled for Monday, June 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the PV Library and will feature authors Carolee Bertisch, Walking to the Beat, Margaret Brown, That Time, That Place, That War, Connie Davis, Flicks & Tricks, Howard Denton, Mowbray and the Sharks, Walter de Jesus Fitzwater, Cuba, The Island I Treasure, Keith Gockenbach, Power Fade, Diane Harper, Love, Greed and Lies, Chris Hejmanowski, Collider, Ron Whittington, Doppelganged and Lori Zuberi, The Lost Pearl.
• Writers Laura Lee Smith, Heart of Palm, and Kim Bradley present a joint workshop on writing the novel and the short story on September 14. The Lake Annie Workshop will be held in a lakeside cabin in Hawthorne, Florida, about an hour from St. Augustine, and feature a series of morning workshops. After lunch, the pair will workshop participants fiction and end with tips on the business of publishing, agents and marketing. Click here for all the details.

Until next time, I remain in search of those elusive lightning bugs.

Best regards,

Vic

Victor DiGenti

FWA Regional Director