Spring 2003

West Virginia Writers annual conference

West Virginia Writers, Inc. will hold its 26th annual conference June 6 to 8, 2003 at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV.

The annual conference and workshop series allows writers at all levels to network with other writers and sharpen skills in a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, children’s books and inspirational writing.

As in past years, winners of the organization’s annual competition will be announced following the Saturday evening banquet. New officers and several regional representatives will also be elected during the weekend.

Planned workshops and leaders include:

Novels: Pam Hanson, romantic comedy novelist, writes with her mother Barbara Anderson under the pseudonym Jennifer Drew for Harlequin. Friday 1:15 p.m., Saturday 8:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Essays: Mary Furbee teaches at the WVU School of Journalism and is the author of eight nonfiction books for children. Her essays and columns have appeared in many publications. Friday 1:15 p.m., Saturday 8:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Print On Demand Publishing: Nancy Merical is a much published columnist whose book Down Life’s Path with Mom and Dad is a P.O.D. publication. Friday 1:15 p.m., Saturday 8:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Children’s Books: Cheryl Ware is the author of the successful children’s series, Venola Mae. Friday 2:30 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Being a Better Writer: Clinton Friedley is a teacher, author and professional speaker. Friday 2:30 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Poetry: Barbara Smith is a former professor of Literature and Writing and has published two novels, seven books of nonfiction, over 300 poems, short stories and feature articles. Friday 2:30 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Inspirational Writing: Lynn Seely has published in Cup of Comfort for Women, Chicken Soup for the Soul and the book series Listening to the Animals. Friday 3:45 p.m., Saturday 10:45 a.m. and Sunday 8:30 a.m.

Short Story: John VanKirk’s work has appeared in Hudson Review, The New York Times Magazine, West Branch, Prize Stories 1993, and the O’Henry Awards. He teaches at Marshall University. Friday 3:45 p.m., Saturday 10:45 am. and Sunday 8:30 a.m.

Drama: Joe McCabe is a frequent drama workshop presenter whose prize-winning plays have been performed in New York, Washington, DC and the Old Opera House in Charles Town, WV. Friday at 3:45 p.m., Saturday 2:30 p.m. and Sunday 8:30 a.m.

Writer Wellness: Joy Held is a creative dance instructor and director of a private studio for childhood music/movement and adult yoga. Her articles on writer wellness are widely published, and she has presented numerous workshops. Friday 6:15p.m., Saturday 2:30 p.m.and Sunday 9:45 a.m.

Other features of the annual weekend conference include:

People’s Choice Poetry Readings: Bring your favorite work to read. Winners chosen by popular vote. Friday 6:15 p.m.

People’s Choice Prose Readings: Bring your favorite work to read. Winners chosen by popular vote. Saturday 10:45 a.m.

Panel Discussions: A question and answer session with various workshop leaders moderated by George Lies begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. A discussion on creating and maintaining local writers groups takes place Friday at 8:45p.m.

Bookstore: Please contribute used books for sale to benefit WV Writers. Authors who wish to sell books through the bookstore should contact Geoff Fuller at geofff23@msn.com.

Writer’s Wall: Bring short prose and poetry to post on the Writer’s Wall. Winners chosen by popular vote.

Saturday night banquet: Winners of the 2003 Spring Competition and the Charleston Gazette Young Writers Contest will be announced following the banquet.

To register for the conference or for more information, contact Fay Thompson by mail (Rt. 6, Box 40, Ripley, WV 25271), telephone (304-372-9889) or e-mail (wvwriters@citynet.net). Complete information about the conference and competition is also available at the WVW president’s website: http://mywebpage.netscape.com/wvwpres/.