Meeting Minutes April 20, 2023

 Attendees: Becky, Eileen, Judith, Michelle and new member Katie Richards

Workshops:

League of Vermont Writers is hosting a seminar in Middlebury on April 22 from 9-3.  Title: “Stay on the Write Side of the Law: Legal Issues Every Writer Should Know”, What every writer needs to know about copyright and defamation laws with guest speaker, Cindy Ellen Hill.  Topics:  copyright protection, defamation, invasion of privacy, and strategies for keeping yourself out of trouble and on the right side of the law. Location: Ilsley Public Library 75 Main Street Middlebury, VT 05753.  Find more information HERE

Resources:

Eileen recommended Reedsy. Lots of info on writing and publishing; connection to agents, editors, designers, and marketers; critique groups (by genre), and much more.  They’re offering an online presentation by author S.J. Watson (best-selling thrillers) on Wednesday, April 26, 3 PM. Topic is “zero drafts” – that is, go for messy first-draft versions and avoid self-editing.

Eileen also recommended Scribophile. "Take writing classes, meet beta readers, and become a better writer in our online writing group  Scribophile is one of the largest and most award-winning online writing communities."  She highly recommended joining a genre group for helpful support and critical feedback. 

Events:

Poems Around Town: We received a total of 24 poems, 22 were posted, 2 were too long, unfortunately. A list of where they were displayed can be found HERE 

Vermont Spring Book, Postcard & Ephemera Fair: Book Fair and Author Open House. Sunday May 7, 10-4. St Albans City Hall, 100 N Main St,Saint Albans,VT. Information HERE Or reach out to The Eloquent Page, bookstore in down town St. Albans. 

Meet the Writers: at the Swanton Library. Saturday June 3 from 10:30 – noon, We’ve got ten local writers signed up! Come chat, check out their books, and share coffee and doughnuts!

Bookstock, Festival of Words: June 23-25.  Find more information HERE.  Becky highly recommends!

Contests:

Don't forget the Edwin M Church Award.  Deadline TBD (tentatively July or August)  Available details HERE

New group member Katie read a portion of the first chapter of her third book. "My Last Hope" Suspense/Romance. Launch party is June 3 from 1-5 at  14th Star's, The Room: 133 North Main Street St. Albans, VT 05478.  Respond to the event page on Facebook HERE  Eileen is working on the second volume of her memoirs. 

The next meeting is Thursday, May 18th at 6 pm at the Swanton Library.  I hope to see everyone there!

Meeting Minutes for April 22, 2021

 A bit of a whoops for us all.  Four people attended this one week delayed meeting via zoom.  We are all hoping July will see us in person once again. Ev, Nancy, Becky and Michelle met for an hour.  Our discussion was a bit random but did include some book recommendations and local writing/contest/zine news.

The Hate U Give art and essay response zine is now available at the Swanton Library for anyone who is interested.

April 28th is the deadline for submitting to the poetry zine

Don't forget the 2021 Edwin M. Church Award. Entries must contain a train element. The expected length is 1,500-3,000 words. The deadline is August 1, 2021. The winner will be announced at the Swanton Arts Spectacular, which is traditionally the second Saturday in September.

Proposed Workshops/Panels

Becky proposed approaching regional authors who specialize in Memoir Writing. An in person panel which would be held later this year.  The focus: the process and the research involved in writing a memoir.

Book Recommendations

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. Fantastical anthology of written and visual art edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer. 

Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz. Young Adult historical fiction/fantasy

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

Mayflower, Voyage, Community, War by Nathaniel Philbrick

Not Quite What I was Planning. Six Word Memoirs. 

Our next meeting is via Zoom on May 20, 2021 at 6 pm.  Click on this LINK and use the passcode 289902 when prompted. Hope to see you there!

Notes from the "In Between" Meeting, April 23rd 2020

9 members joined our Google Zoom meeting which ran from 6-6;55 pm.

Becky apprised us of a self publishing book prize open to all genres. Find more information at NORTH STREET book prize.

Ev mentioned a Flash Fiction contest sponsored by The Master's Review. Find more information HERE

April is National Poetry Month.  Get involved with the Swanton library poetry contest. Read your work or a favorite poetry piece at a virtual meeting. April 28th.  Complete information found HERE. Submit poetry entries to Abbey Gaudette EMAIL.

Ev read his Flash Fiction piece "Service Visit Survey-How Did We Do?"

Emmet read more of his virus story and the group brainstormed ideas with him.

Kylie read a draft of her query letter for her novel. The group discussed query letters, their purpose and some dos and don'ts.

Don't forget our April writing prompt: "Uphill Tuesday"

Next meeting is May 14th at 6 pm. Virtual or in person TBD.

Meeting Minutes April, 9 2020

Our first Virtual Meeting due to Covid 19.  Here's hoping we can get together in person in May.  Using Google Zoom: Becky, Emmett, Michelle Renee, Caleb, Nancy, Ev, Don, Joanne and Scott (apologies if I missed anyone!)

April is National Poetry Month.  The Swanton Library is hosting a virtual poetry read on Tuesday April 28th 2020. If anyone is interested or knows anyone who is interested in reading, writing, submitting poetry for this event, or sharing their favorite poems please EMAIL Caleb

The Swanton Library is hosting a virtual book club.  So far the meetings have been weekly. A discussion topic is offered and people share their reads related to this topic. The next meeting is Wednesday April 15th. EMAIL the library for details and an invite to the meeting.

We discussed Covid 19 and the effect it is having on all of us. Renee mentioned "Isolation Diaries". The discussion generated a story prompt. "Uphill Tuesday." What does this term mean to you?

Several members shared their current writing projects.

Emmett read a portion of the story inspired by the highway sign mentioned last month. Story idea: a plague that killed everyone except the terminally ill.

Judy read a piece about what happened when she broke her diet and ate meat after a long absence (It wasn't pretty)

Nancy read her 'Things Not To Do' list re Covid 19

Ev read a song about Covid 19.

Caleb brought up the singer/songwriter John Prine and read a portion of the lyrics to "That's the Way the World Goes Round"

Our next meting is schedule for May 14th at 6 pm.  Becky will send out a google zoom invite if we have to meet virtually, otherwise see you all at the Swanton Library!

Meeting Minutes April 12, 2018

The group came to order at 6 pm. We discussed the April 7th Author's Panel. The event was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by the panelists as well. We discussed hosting another event which would focus more on the road to publication. We would like to invite the same diverse group of authors back. Date and specifics are yet to be determined.

The group discussed hosting a one day/night workshop. Possibly composing a one act play or monologue which would then be enacted by local actors using simple props/sets.

Upcoming Exhibitions: Local

October 5 and 6, 2018. Swanton Arts Council is sponsoring the Seven Deadly Sins Art Exhibit The event is still in the planning stages. Interested writers can submit work based on one or all of the seven deadly sins. Suggested forms are poetry, short essay. Contact Tonya for more information.

August 25th. Swanton Arts Council is sponsoring the Swanton Arts Spectacular The Swanton Writer's Group will have a booth featuring manual typewriters. Visitors can compose their own on the spot pieces or ask to have a piece written for them.

Resources:

Vermont SciFi Writers Series: Geek Mountain State

Writing Prompts. Becky will bring in photo prompts for our May meeting. Machine of Death Prompts are always available and encouraged!

Next Meeting is May 24th, 6 pm at the Swanton Library.