Writers League of Texas Agent and Editor Conference Registration Opens

Conference members:

We just opened Early Members-Only Registration at our lowest of low rate: $ 379.00 (includes full conference registration and  a one-on-one consultation with a literary agent or editor). This early registration is open until January 2 and the deal is that you have to be a member of the Writers League.

That means  that your constituents would have time to (1) join the Writers League of Texas for $45 and then (2) register for the June A&E Conference at the Early Rate.

Join the Writers League at  http://www.writersleague.org/Join

Then register for the Conference at http://www.writersleague.org/calendar/2017ConferenceEarlyBird

~ Marc Hess

New Short Story Contest and Other News

Old Oak at Fort Martin Scott

I wanted to announce our 2017 Short Story Contest at the last Conference meeting, but we were having such a good time that I forgot.

Our Spring Contest will look much like the last one - maximum of 1200 words, previously unpublished, suitable for publication in a community newspaper. The theme is "New Beginnings; Spring in the Texas Hill Country."  The entry fee will be $20, every penny of which will go into our cash box, which we are building up to hold our own agent/editor conference.

Submissions can be electronic this year, preferably in a Word or PDF document.  Instead of putting your name on the story itself, as we want the judging to be blind, lets come up with a number - I am thinking that the last four numbers of your SSN would work, or the month/day of your birth (0515 for me).  Any other ideas?  I will put the stories into a dropbox for the judges to access.  You can pay the entry fee by mail or bringing it to a meeting or to us at PO Box 2402, Fredericksburg, TX 78624.  Submit entries to fbgwriters@gmail.com with that number in the subject line.  Hold off on sending your stories until we get these details worked out, and I look forward to hearing your opinion on how to track these.

Judging will be done by a panel yet to be selected.  If you would like to judge, let us know.  Some of last year's judges want to submit stories so they won't be judges.

If you have program ideas send them my way!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our own Victoria Rust has published another novel, just in time for Christmas: The Taste of Fear, a sequel to The Feel of Silk, "Please consider this novel or with its companion for your friends who enjoy suspense and romance. Claudia and Joe are in trouble once again. This will be a five book series. So I will soon begin on the third, The Sound of Silence.  If you enjoy the novel, please write a comment on line suggesting it to others. Thanks for all your support." Victoria.

I am writing (and getting paid for it!) for a blog/Facebook page "Texas Hill Country.com". The story on the front page about Fredericksburg street signs is one of mine; the others can be seen by clicking on my name on the byline. I was thinking this would be an interesting part of one of our short programs and would like to know if anyone else in our group is doing something like this.  I know many of us blog - send me a link and I'll pass it to our membership.  If we did a program on blogging, who would be a good presenter?  The Fbg Convention and Visitors Bureau has professionals who do Facebook and blog for them, perhaps one of them would be a good program.

Johnnie Bernhard at KACC - Now's Your Chance

Bring Cash

We need some cash to pay the required attendant at the HCUC so bring a few $

Robert

Conference Meets June 23rd

I am tempted to say that "you don't want to miss the speaker at the next Conference meeting" but the big picture is that we have had excellent, informative, fascinating, educational, inspiring, entertaining speakers since our first meeting.

So here it is - our next meeting is June 23d at the Hill Country University Center from 6 to 7:30 PM and our speaker is someone you DON'T WANT TO MISS.

Cassy Burleson, co-editor of “Her Texas: Story, Image & Song” (Wings Press, March 2015), is a product of the Bush and Burleson families of Texas and is from Groesbeck. She’s published poems and interviews in Whetstone, Stone Drum, Green Fuse, Beall House of Poetry and WordFest; a chapter in the 2009-2010 Langdon Review; many journalistic articles and reports; and has published academic research related to her 16-year longitudinal study of the effects on Jasper of the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. She edited and published a chapter in a book called “School to Work” that was listed among the Top 10 in education books sales at Jossey-Bass and wrote a chapter in “A Handbook on the Community College in America.” She’s been a newspaper reporter, magazine feature writer, editor, photographer, designer, public relations practitioner, textbook/video curriculum editor, consortium director, securities fraud investigator, and fundraiser, and has enjoyed 16 years as a senior lecturer of Journalism, PR & New Media at Baylor University. She’s also been a Kellogg Fellow, teaching briefly in France, Germany, Belgium & Great Britain. She received the Distinguished Professor at Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2001 and a Mortar Board award at Baylor in 2010. She was 2014 president of the American Studies Association of Texas and serves as an Economic Opportunities Advancement Corporation (EOAC) board member in Waco.

Also I am looking for someone(s) who would critique the work of a writer who is in prison. The sample I have is typewritten, and I will scan and email the chapter he sent to those interested.  He told me he has written 5 full length novels in the fantasy fiction genre.  I don't know his crime or sentence, all I know is that he has been locked up 17 years, is black, probably under 40, and I like him. Tell me if you would like to read it at rcdeming@gmail.com  I saw him last Saturday; he said his biggest challenge as a writer is getting typewriter ribbons and paper.  If you are interested in sending him a critique, I will give you his address and some guidelines for communicating with him.  As you might guess, there are no writing critique groups in prison.

And There's More!  Megan Willome's  The Joy Of Poetry was just published, and she will be sharing ideas with us on how poetry can improve your writing in our new segment 10 Minutes on Poetry.  Invite friends who enjoy or write poetry to join us.  Megan presented a program to us on writing for magazines; those of us who were at that meeting left wanting to hear more from her.

Writers Update

Sally Clark was awarded 1st in the Tennessee Mountain Writers contest for "Boogie Man Jam" (Children's Literature), Honorable Mention fin Poetry for "Crop Rotation", and 2nd for "Cow Jumps Over the Moon."  If you want to know more about contests, talk to Sally.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/stevenjameskeathley

 I met a guy in prison this week with the actual first name of Emzee who has written 6 fantasy fiction novels of 500 hand written pages each.  I haven't read any of his writing, but I spoke with him long enough to believe that he is a real writer and not blowing smoke.  I will pose some questions to him - what would you like ask him about writing in prison?

e.g.  How is it even possible to write a long novel by hand?  Do you have any ideas about trying to get a publisher?  Do your story lines have anything to do with the environment you live in ? (a maximum security prison in Texas).

Add some questions to my list.

Also, our next meeting is on or about June 16th.  If you have a program idea please let me know.

Robert Deming

Thursday March 24, 2016

We meet to hear John Demers speak about his experience writing cookbooks and novels all around the world. 

Hill Country University Center 6 pm. 

January 21st Quarterly Meeting

The Fredericksburg Writers Conference will meet at the Hill Country University Center on Thursday, January 21st, at 6:00 PM.  The featured presenter will be James Kearney, lecturer at the University of Texas and writer/translator of a series of books about early Texas.

His translation of Friederichsburg by Armand Strubberg (or Dr Schubbert, for whom Schubert Street was named) is a rip-roaring Western novel which doubles as a history lesson with 147 pages of footnotes telling the difference between the novel and the true story of the founding of Fredericksburg. 

On top of this, James also happens to be a very cool guy.  Bring your friends, this will be a good time.