Tis the season when a strange cardiological phenomenon occurs—our hearts feel like they've expanded a size or two. Not everyone feels this way, of course, but many (even the most self absorbed writer) begins to think more about others than themselves. How else to explain giving to complete strangers who are ringing bells in front of Publix? Or, and this may be the most perplexing, some drivers even stop to allow another car to ease into the lane without honking their horn.
This is one of the mysteries of the season, and to celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to share your good feelings with others—along with your first pages—at an open mic holiday party at the Ponte Vedra Writers meeting this Saturday morning. That's right, because of the Christmas holidays, the PV Writers will meet Saturday, December 5, and not on the fourth Saturday of the month as usual. Read the schedule of area meetings to learn the details.
- Ponte Vedra Writers meet Saturday, December 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. As mentioned above, this will be a special meeting with our first open mic opportunity. Readings are open to anyone working on a project, either fiction or nonfiction, a work in progress or even a completed work of your choice—published or unpublished. The reading is limited to the first two pages only. We're limited in time, so the first 10 people to email me that they want to participate will be guaranteed a spot in the program. We’ll also have a book exchange of new or gently used books so bring one or two you’d like to pass along. Any left over books will be donated to the FOL’s bookstore in the library. And I won't turn down any goodies anyone wants to share with the group. Come on down to the beach and share your holidays reading with us.
- The River City Writers meet Tuesday, December 8 at 7:00 p.m. to hear from Susan Kiernan-Lewis on "The Importance of Research." Susan recently returned from a trip to Paris (doing research, I'm sure) and will report on her travels. More info from group leader Gregg Golson.
- Clay County Writers assemble on Wednesday, December 16 at 6:15 p.m. at the Orange Park Library. Ad man Rick Jones explains the importance of scene building in his session titled, "Don't Be Shy—Let's Make a Scene."
- Writers by the Sea typically meets on the third Thursday of the month, which would be December 17. They may meet at the Museum of History on Amelia Island at 6:00 p.m. Contact Nadine Vaughan for more concrete details.
- Looking for some new toys ... make that tools ... to help with the editing and writing process? Then you should attend the meeting of the Ancient City Writers on Saturday, December 19, 10:00 a.m. at St. Augustine's Main Library. Patricia Charpentier will explain how a variety of free or inexpensive electronic tools can be used to root out typos, overused words and phrases, redundant sentence structures and more. The library is located at 1960 US 1.
- First Coast Christian Writers, an affiliate of FWA, meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at the Webb-Wesconnett Library.
And in other news ...
- EAT POEMS#10 has just been released. This audio chapbook features poems from Francis Driscoll's new collection, Seaglass Picnic. Listen to it free at the EAT website.
- Florida Sisters in Crime will be welcoming Edgar, Agatha, Anthony & Macavity-Award Winner Margaret Maron, who will speak on the writing journey to their December 5, 2015 meeting from 10:15 - 12:00 in the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd., Jacksonville, Florida. Visit https://floridasistersincrime.wordpress.com/ for more information.
- Seersucker Live, a literary arts nonprofit in Savannah, Georgia is hosting its first-ever writers workshop February 3-7, 2016. Described as an extended weekend of writing and revelry, you can find details of the Seersucker Live Writers Workshop by clicking here.
- Patti Brassard Jefferson of Florida Authors & Publishers Association has opened a new bookstore in Fort Myers for independently published authors. If interested in getting on the shelf of P.J. Boox, visit the website.
Here's wishing you and yours an open heart and the best of holidays. And with a tip of the hat to the upcoming Star Wars film, here's the last word for the year 2015.
All the best,
Vic
Vic DiGenti
FWA Regional Director
