If It's October, It's Time for the Florida Writers Conference

After nearly a year of planning the 16th Annual Florida Writers Conference is almost upon us.  The conference kicks off on Thursday, October 19 with David Morrell's Celebrity Workshop, followed that evening by four Boot Camp sessions. During the next two-and-a-half days hundreds of writers will have their choice of over 70 workshops and panels, pitch interviews to literary agents and acquiring editors, and much more.

Additionally, dozens of finalists will anticipate the winning announcements at Saturday evening's Royal Palm Literary Awards Banquet. Will you be among them? It's not too late to be part of this outstanding event. Click here for more information.

Life goes on here in NE Florida with more FWA group meetings, so let's take a look at them.

• The River Cty Writers were unable to meet in September due to Hurricane Irma, but they're ready to go now. The group will meet on Tuesday, October 10 for a second attempt at "Are You Ready for Some Plot?" The meeting will cover turning story into plot, and plotting with the Freytag Pyramid. Think about attending this meeting if you have trouble with your plots.
• The Clay County Writers meet on Wednesday, October 18 at 6:15 p.m. at the Orange Park Library to discuss maximizing book sales. Check with group leader Maureen Jung for more details.
• The Ancient City Chapter of FWA will not meet this month due to the Florida Writers Conference occuring on the same weekend as its meeting date. They encourage their writers to attend the conference or one of the other meetings instead.
• The Conference caused Writers by the Sea to move its usual third Thursday of the month meeting to the fourth Thursday. Catch up with them on Thursday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the Amelia Island Museum of History in Fernandina Beach. Award-winning poet Nola Perez will present "Poetry and Illustration."
• Mystery writers have a chance to hear from a group of award-winning mystery authors and a real life private detective at the Ponte Vedra Writers meeting, Saturday, October 28, 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library. "Whodunnit? A Mystery Writers Panel" features Nancy Quatrano, Steven Brown, John Marling March, and Bruce Thomason answering questions about how to plot the perfect crime novel. 

And in other news:

• Florida Sisters in Crime members and guests will hear librarian Sandra Ostroski discuss how authors can get their books into the library and keep them on the shelves. The meeting starts at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 7 at the Southeast Regional Library.
• First Coast Romance Writers welcome C. L. Wilson speaking on "Tips to Improve Your Writing" to their Saturday, October 14 meeting. The group meets at the West Regional Library from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. More information can be found here.
• The 2017 Florida Book Awards is now open for submissions in 11 categories. The deadline is January 13. Visit the website for more information.
• Dr. Thomas Graham will speak at the Ponte Vedra Library's Book Talk Cafe program about his new book, Silent Films in St. Augustine. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, October 16.
• Congratulations to St. Augustine author Dr. Ardain Isma on the publication of his new novel, Midnight at Noon. Dr. Isma will hold a book event at the Ponte Vedra Library on Saturday, October 14, startng at noon. 

That's it for this month. I hope to see you at the Florida Writers Conference in a few weeks.

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Executive Vice President

2017 Conference Faculty Chair