Frederick Chapter Flash Fiction Recap

The Frederick chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association held their monthly meeting on October 28th at the Frederick Arts Council in Downtown Frederick.  We were thrilled to see many new writers attend this exciting evening, where renowned author Jeanne Adams, was our guest speaker.  Ms. Adams also served as a judge for our flash fiction writing contest.  Contestants of all ages wrote in their best Edgar Allan Poe style, vying for a grand prize of $125.00.  This was part of a month long  200th Anniversary celebration of Edgard Allan Poe, the great American (and Maryland!) literary figure.  The MWA Frederick Chapter joined with the Frederick Arts Council and the Big Read (an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in conjunction with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest).

The winner of our contest was Tatiana Sorenson, a talented 12-year-old Frederick County resident, who attends Oakdale Middle School. Her entry was titled Suspicion.  Congratulations to Tatiana and her family!

Join MWA at the Greenbelt Art and Craft Fair, 12/5 – 12/6

MWA will be selling a selection of our authors’ books at the annual Greenbelt Art and Craft Fair. We will be in the newly expanded humanities mart on Saturday, December 5 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday, December 6 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm.

The Greenbelt Art and Craft Fair will be held at the Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt. For more information about attending or selling your work, please contact Nicole Schultheis of the MWA Howard County chapter at nschulth@interserv.com.

We hope to see you there!

Help MWA Bring Creative Writing to Maryland High School Students

The MWA Board recently approved a project to develop Teen Writers’ Clubs for a one-year trial period. The project focuses on high school students who like to write. Many schools do not have extracurricular activities for those students except, perhaps, a school newspaper that offers only one kind outlet for writing. The club will operate under the guidance of a club leader, plus several assistants who, in turn, will be guided by the Teen Advisory Team. The Advisory Team will report to the MWA Board of Directors. Clubs can be located in an area chosen by the club leader, with the approval of the Advisory Team. Each will be organized and run independent of school systems and assignments.

Volunteers are needed to form an Advisory Committee that will provide oversight and guidance to each club. During the trial period, only one club will be started to determine if the project is viable. If it is, then more clubs could be started in the 2010-2011 time period. If you would like to read the full proposal, or if you are interested in serving on the Advisory Team, please contact project coordinator Diane Booth.

Another Member Book-Selling Opportunity!

Karla Bullock, one of the Agent-Editor Coordinators for the 2009 Annual Conference, has rented an exhibition booth at the Capital BookFest at The Boulevard in Capital Centre in Largo, MD on October 3, 2009, from 12:00 to 7:00 p.m., and she is generously offering all MWA published authors the opportunity to sell their books at her booth. She is accepting books and promotional materials such as flyers and bookmarks.

Capital Bookfest is a great marketing opportunity, and will be attended by local media and radio personalities, as well as some prominent authors. Please contact Karla directly to request participation. She is going to attempt to arrange a central location to pick up the week before the festival and drop off books and money the day after. Participation is free. There are only two chairs, but lots of table space!

If you’re interested in participating, e-mail Karla Bullock and put “MWA Bookfest” in the subject line.

Karla is also interested in starting a Prince George’s County Chapter, so if you’re an MWA member in that region and are interested in helping Karla launch a new chapter, let her know at the above address.

MWA Member Book Selling Opportunity

MWA’s Baltimore Chapter is pleased to announce that it will have a booth at the Towson ARTS Collective’s “Art in the Park” event on Saturday, September 5th, from 10-5 and Sunday, September 6th, from 12-6. The booth will have a table for MWA member authors to sell their books, and a table for books by members who can’t be there in person.

Space for the authors are limited and may be broken down in two hour periods, as we did at the most recent CityLit Festival. Please note that this opportunity is being offered to MWA members in good standing, as a membership perk. If you aren’t an MWA member, you can join online or via mail for $35/yr here. Event participation guidelines can be found here.

MWAB VP Gary Lester is now accepting reservations for two-hour blocks on both days. No reservations are required for those who will provide books to sell on our membership table. Authors present will be responsible for handling their own transactions and sales tax.

Please email Gary to sign up or for more information.

Austin Camacho Wants You to Play “Russian Roulette”

…on YouTube, that is!

Check out these great videos from MWA member, past president, frequent guest speaker, prolific author, and all-around great guy Austin Camacho, on the release of his new novel Russian Roulette, the latest installment in Austin’s popular Hannibal Jones mystery/thriller series.

First up is the pulse-pounding book trailer for Russian Roulette:

Next, listen to Austin talk about the book:

For more information about Austin’s upcoming signings and speaking engagements, visit <http://www.ascamacho.com/>. And don’t forget, Austin will be this month’s featured speaker at the MWA Howard County chapter, Thursday, June 18 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Elkridge Branch of the Howard County Public Library, 6540 Washington Blvd., in Elkridge. For directions and parking information, visit the library’s website or call (410) 313-5077.

Annapolis Chapter Now Forming!

Calling all writers and would-be writers in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County:

The Annapolis Chapter is now forming! Writers and would-be writers in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County are invited to attend a meeting to help form MWA’s newest chapter dedicated to promoting the art, craft, and business of writing.

That’s Thursday, June 18 at 6:30 at Ahh, Coffee!, 1015 Bay Ridge Ave, Eastport Shopping Center, Annapolis 21403, 410-990-9111. For more information, contact Newt Love.

Balticon Story in the Round — LIVE!

For the third year in a row, the Baltimore Chapter is here at Balticon, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society’s annual celebration of science fiction, fantasy, and the allied arts. And once again, we’re doing our popular “story in the round” — in which we invite, beg, persuade, and bribe con attendees to add a sentence (or two or three, or … ) to a collaborative SF epic. This year, we’re blogging the story as it unfolds. Check back throughout the day to watch the story unfold!

And if you want to participate, leave your sentences in the comments and we’ll add them in to the live story at Balticon!

As always, Gary Lester provides the opening sentence…

As he approached the young woman, her smile grew; he hoped that it was genuine and that her fangs were not.

Having left the earth for the first time only a week ago, he had so much to learn about the universe.

“You missed a spot,” he said, gesturing to her chin. She casually brushed the scarlet trail from her pale smile and licked the finger suggestively.

“So, where are you from, big guy?” she queried.

“Nowhere of consequence,” he replied mischievously, his eyes merry behind his mask

“I always wanted to see that. Maybe you could take me there someday?” she asked while trying to size up the gentleman who came to the ball dressed as a super-deformed chibi Ozzie Osbourne.

“Henry? Did you take out the garbage?”

“Mom!” he yelled as she lifted the virtual helmet from his head. “I’ll do it after…”

“You’ll do it right now or I’m taking your new game back to the store.”

“But Mom, I just got started!” he whined loudly.

“Just do it!”

Defeated, he put on his vacuum suit and pushed the trashcan out into the void.

Booth Keynotes Maryland Writers’ Association Annual Conference

Robert L. Booth is confirmed as the keynote speaker for the Maryland Writers’ Association 21st Annual Conference: “Writing Your Success Story.”

Keynote speaker Robert L. Booth, former Managing Editor of National Geographic, is newly retired from the magazine after a 35-year career. He joined the editorial staff as an intern in 1974, writing captions for its famed photographs. He subsequently wrote by-lined articles that took him from the Canadian Arctic to the South Pacific, and over the years has circled the globe several times on assignment.

As an editor, Booth worked closely with both staff and freelance writers and ultimately became involved in the overall planning and production of the magazine, which today is published in more than 30 languages around the world. On his watch, National Geographic garnered a small herd of “Ellies,” the coveted National Magazine Awards, including the top prize for “General Excellence.” Most recently, he has been editing special single-topic issues of the magazine designed exclusively for the newsstand. The latest edition, Energy for Tomorrow, is available now. A native of Washington, D.C, he grew up in Maryland and makes his home in Arlington, Virginia.

The MWA’s Annual Conference, which draws writers from across Maryland and beyond, takes place on Saturday, May 9, 2009, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. In addition, celebrate a year of writing with your fellow MWA members and friends at the Writers’ Banquet, Friday, May 8, 2009. Both events will be held at the Maritime Institute of Technology Conference Center, 692 Maritime Boulevard, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090.

Join local experts and established writers for an opportunity to hone your craft in sessions led by established authors, instructors, and experts. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, there’s plenty for you at the conference. Come explore the many worlds of writing.

To register, or for more information, visit the conference page on the MWA website.

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Publishing for Kindle

Webmaster’s Note: This is the first in what I hope will become a regular series of posts written by Maryland Writers’ Association members discussing the art, craft, and business of writing. If you are an MWA member and would like to contribute a feature to this blog, e-mail me. Authors retain all rights to their work published here.

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Greetings! My name is Carol Plotnick. I am an MWA member, free-lance writer, and small business owner. Recently, Paul Lagasse invited me to write about my Kindle publishing experience with Amazon.com. The following is an account of my journey into cyberpublishing:

The economy made me do it! Good excuse, but not totally accurate. When banks went belly up and the stock market took a dive in October 2008, I was on the verge of publishing my novel Flying Wires in paperback. However, with belt tightening now part of my business plan, I decided to publish a PDF. When I announced the release of my book in December 2008, a friend said she would buy my novel if it came out in Kindle format. At that time, Kindle was about two years old, but from what I’d read in the September 2008 issue of IBPA Independent – the journal of the Independent Book Publishers Association – it sounded like another avenue, albeit a road less traveled, for my self-publishing company to explore.