MARCH NEWSLETTER |

The Write Stuff
The Official Newsletter of Mobile Writers Guild
March 4, 2014
Volume 4 Issue 9

From the President:

Okay, yeah, don’t expect much coherence from me–we’re just pulling out of the tailspin that is Mardi Gras. So just know I’m rooting for you on your writing! And if there’s still time to complete your monthly goal for Thursday–go you!

-Angela Trigg w/a Angela Quarles
2013-2014 MWG President

Upcoming Events/Opportunities:

Our next monthly meeting is this THURSDAY, March 6th, in the first floor meeting room of the West Regional Library from 6-7:30pm. We will be holding Perfecting Your Query Letter + Submission Strategies. Angela Quarles will lead the presentation and will go over what makes a good query letter, where to find help, as well as submission strategies. We will also critique three members queries.

Are you a writer? A poet? Sense wants to hear from you! Sense, a local magazine, welcomes short fiction, essays, humor and poetry submissions. Submit your edgy, eclectic work to editor@thesenseofitall.com and it could be published in the next issue of Sense!

On March 15, 2014, the Metro Mobile Reading Council will have their first Teen Writing Fair and Workshop at the West Regional Branch Library. Students will get to meet published authors, and to talk with people who make their living from writing for newspapers, magazines, websites, and as published authors. Students will participate in writing activities and discussions. Refreshments will be served. The first edition of the Mobile Teen Literary Magazine will also be unveiled at this program. All students in Mobile and Baldwin County in grades 7-12 as of the 2013-2014 school year are eligible to submit writing for this inaugural magazine. Submissions for the magazine might include poetry, essays, short stories, digital photography, and drawings. All photography will be printed in black and white and will be used to illustrate other students’ published submissions. The deadline for submissions is Monday, February 17, 2014. For more info, contact asloke@mcpss.com, shclinton@gmail.com, or gillespiee@gmail.com

Springmingle is March 28-30, 2014! This is the annual spring conference of the Southern Breeze region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (Alabama, Georgia, and the Florida panhandle), with workshops and sessions with agents, authors, and editors. It’s a great opportunity for writers and illustrators to learn the skills they need to get published, as well as network with other writers, illustrators, and industry professions. Highlights of this year’s conference include a one-day writing intensive workshop on plotting, led by editor Cheryl Klein, and Agent One-on-One opportunities with literary agent Ammi-Joam Paquette. Other faculty include Lucy Ruth Cummins, Art Director Simon & Schuster; Cheryl Willis Hudson, Creative Director Just Us Books; Ruth Sanderson, Author/Illustrator; Agent, and Jo Kittinger, Award-Winning Author.
When: March 28-30, 2014
Where: The Atlanta Marriott Century Center in the Atlanta area
Details: southern-breeze.scbwi.org.

The Alabama Book Festival (ABF) seeks volunteers for this year’s event. The Festival will take place on Saturday, April 19, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Old Alabama Town in downtown Montgomery. Volunteers are needed throughout the day. ABF 2014 will showcase approximately sixty authors and presenters, including nationally recognized writers, book artists, printers, publishers, book sellers, and performers. As always, the Book Fest will feature books about history, music, and other nonfiction sujects. It will also showcase fiction, poetry, children’s books, and other genres. The theme for 2014 is The Year of Alabama Parks. For more information, contact Robby Cole, Volunteer Coordinator, Alabama Book Festival at 667-777-2793 or alabamabookfestival@gmail.com. Website: http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/welcome.html