FWA NE Florida Writers: "February is for doers"

"If January is the month of lasting change, January is for dreamers. February is for doers." ~ Marc Parent

For all the doers out there, we post opportunities to find inspiration, education, and positive reinforcement at FWA NE Florida meetings. Here's what's in store for this month.

The River City Writers invite you to join the next Zoom meeting on Tuesday, February 8 at 6:30 P.M when they will dive into character and point of view. The topic is "Whose Story Is It Anyway?" And you may participate by clicking on this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73420033961?pwd=pWfeOlDJTDUOElUYFDHK9GEnq65X2t.1 Member ID: 734 2003 3961.
February is the month the AARP in St. Augustine flexes its muscles and pushes the Ancient City Writers out of its meeting room. So they'll be on hiatus this month, but if you need help with your taxes, drop by the St. Augustine Main Library and talk to one of the AARP folk. The writer's group returns in March with a cheerful presentation on how to inject humor into your writing, a discussion led by author Sandra Madden.
Amelia Island Writers had a full house last month to hear Florida author Craig Pittman's entertaining take on "Weird Florida." They were laughing so much they had to take this month off but will return on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, with an event they call "The Irish Open." The small groups on memoir and biography continue to meet. For more information contact Marla McDaniel.
The Clay County Writers continue to work on formulating future programs. Contact group leader Melanie Pronia for input and information.
You may know Don Fox as the CEO of a billion-dollar Jacksonville company, but he is so much more.
Don has helped Firehouse Subs become a national brand with more than 1,200 fast-casual restaurants. But he is also a military historian and published author with two histories of General Patton's Fourth Armored Division during World War II. Don will join the Ponte Vedra Writers group on Saturday, February 26 at the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library at 10:00 a.m. He will present "Separating Fact from Fiction: Lessons Learned on the Road to Bastogne," in which he'll share lessons on research, structuring your narrative for nonfiction writers, promoting your book, and much more.

And in other news ...

Florida Sisters in Crime meets Saturday, February 5 at 10:00 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Branch Library to hear from Kaye Schmitz, author of On Deadly Grounds, discussing "Research Like Crazy—Write Calmly."
The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is now open for submissions. Beat the rush and enjoy early bird entrance fees. Find out more here.
Volume 14 of the FWA Collection is also open for submissions as of February 1. There is no entrance fee. This year's theme is "Thrills and Chills," and author Barbara Rein will select the top ten winning submissions. Details can be found on the same page as the RPLAs.
We all know that the annual Florida Writers Conference is back on track for an in-person gathering in October. Visit floridawriters.org for details. But here's news of some other conferences you may be interested in.

This month's Amelia Island Book Festival, including the Festival Gala and Author Expo, has been canceled due to Covid concerns. They will offer a number of other activities. Visit the website for more information.
The Southwest Florida Reading Festival in Fort Myers, Florida, is scheduled for March 5.
The Palm Beach Book Festival in Boca Raton is scheduled for March 10-12.
ThrillerFest XVII is set for May 31 - June 4 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. Presented by the International Thriller Writers, it features bestselling authors, informative panels, master classes, and much more. Registration info here.
SleuthFest 2022 is back after a Covid year off, July 7-10, in Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton.
Killer Nashville, August 18 - 21, brings together writers and readers of mysteries and crime fiction. Here's the website for more information.
And one of my favorite writer/reader conferences is Bouchercon, billing itself as the World Mystery Convention. The convention attracts up to 2,000 writers and readers and moves to a different host city each year. This year's conference is in Minneapolis, "The Land of 10,000 Crimes," on September 8-11. Information can be found here.

Bill Opperman, Chairperson for the 2022 Royal Palm Literary Awards, is searching for prospective judges for the prestigious awards competition. If you'd like to be considered, visit this page and complete the survey.
Congrats to William Wildey with Ed Mickolus for their new book TRIVIA MATTERS: A TRIVIA HOST SOURCEBOOK It includes more than 800 researched and play-tested questions.
Jennifer Bjork has published THE WHISTLING GALILEAN: SHAI'S JOURNEY, a coming-of-age historical novel set in the first century. Congratulations!
I had originally joined LinkedIn when I had a real job and later updated it when I began writing and publishing. And while I occasionally used it to contact an individual I seldom checked it. But they never forgot me and kept the emails coming urging me to upgrade to the fee-based Premium membership, which I ignored. But in recent months I've received numerous notices of local and more distant writer-specific job openings. Now it occurs to me that if you're looking for a writer position—and many of these are work-from-home type jobs—you could register for LinkedIn. Just a thought.