FWA August 2018 Post

Not that I have a one-track mind, but everyone seems to have had something to say about the heat, be that real or metaphorical heat. Ronald Reagan said, "When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat." Dante Alighieri, of Dante's Inferno fame, is quoted as saying, "Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The Eternal." And, of course, President Harry Truman famously said, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Yogi Berra's take was, "It's not the heat, it's the humilty."

Enough with the heat quotes. Let's get on with the FWA show.

• Are you wondering what's happening at the River City Writers in August? Ask Gregg Golson what he has planned for the Tuesday, August 14 meeting at the SE Branch Library off Gate Parkway. The meeting will commence at 7:00PM.
• There will be no meeting of the Clay County Writers this month. Look for them to reconvene in September.
• Swim on over to the Writers by the Sea meeting on Thursday, August 16. This month's meeting location has been changed to the island Art Association's Education Classroom at 18 N. 2nd Street in Fernandina Beach at 6:30PM. Award-winning author and editor Emily Carmain is on hand to present, "Editing Your Prospects of Success." Emily will point out many of the common flaws found in too many manuscripts sent to publishers and agents.
• The doors opens at 10AM at the St. Augustine Main Library, and members of the Ancient City Writers flood in on Saturday, August 18 to hear author and former NCIS Special Agent Jeff Walton. Jeff is the author of Final Departure: Death is Never on Time, and spent nearly 30 years fighting crime, including catching spies and terrorists around the world.
• While we may all want to write a bestselling novel, there are myriad other ways to make money as a writer. On Saturday, August 25, 10:30AM at the Ponte Vedra Library, the Ponte Vedra Writers welcome Brad Kuhn and his workshop, "So You Want to Be a Freelancer." Brad will show us how to make a good living writing things that other people don't want to write, and teaches you how to fish where the fish are.

But that's not all ...

• Today, Tuesday, July 31 is the deadline for early conference registration. Tomorrow the conference fee increases and you will have to pay extra for the Thursday evening "Boot Camp" workshops, which cover creative nonfiction, Facebook advertising, poetry, and the opening pages of your novel. So don't delay. Register now!
• And while you're registering you should consider attending Chuck Sambuchino's full-day workshop, "Everything You Need to Know About Agents, Submissions, Queries, and First Pages." Registration for this Celebrity Workshop includes lunch and benefits the Florida Writers Foundation.
• The Florida Heritage Book Festival has announced that Tim Dorsey is its 2018 Literary Legend. There will be a reception to honor Tim on Saturday, September 14, preceding the free Book Festival at Flagler College on September 15. The day-long writers conference is also on the 14th, and features seven presenters, including Laura Lee Smith, James O. Born, and Jeff Klinkenburg. Visit the FHBF website for more information.

I'll add one more heat quotation to end this month's NE Florida FWA blog post. This one is by Steven Wright, who asks, "If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?"

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

2018 Conference Faculty Chair