Workshop announces a special event: DFW Writers' Conference, Feb. 22-24, 2008

The DFW Writers' Workshop will present its biggest event ever, a three-days writers conference, Feb. 22-24, 2008 at the Grapevine Convention Center.

Literary agents Elaine Spencer, Paul S. Levine and Jim Donovan will be in attendance. We're putting together a stellar lineup of speakers to share their insights on a wide range of writing-related topics. Our keynote speaker is entertainment writer and novelist Candace Havens.

Other speakers include:

Rosemary Clement-Moore
Carmen Goldthwaite
Paul LaRocque
Paula LaRocque
Kara Lennox
William Manchee
A. Lee Martinez
Shanna Swendson

It's going to be a fantastic event! Early registration has begun; take advantage of reduced registration fees while they last. For more information, please visit the conference web site.

This year's Poetry and Short Story Competition winners

After last Saturday's group booksigning at Barnes and Noble in North Richland Hills, this year's Poetry and Short Story contest winners read their work to an audience. Thanks to Georgette Radford, the community relations manager at the store, for hosting us for a great afternoon.

Poetry:

Honorable Mention: Joan McCord
Third Place: Lee Elsessor
Second Place: Lee Elsessor
First Place: Ginnie Siena Bivona

Short Story:

Third Place: Lydia Ondrusek
Second Place: Marty Tidwell
First Place: Anne Gordon Perry

Congratulations to this year's winners! The contest will be back in 2008.

Congratulations to Carolyn Williamson, our newest Lifetime Member

The Workshop has one member who has been there since the organization's very beginning: Carolyn Williamson. At Wednesday night's 30th anniversary party, we listened to Carolyn talk about how all this got started and how it changed over the years. Carolyn, by the way, is the author of the history posted on this web site.

Then, the Workshop announced that Carolyn has been named a Lifetime Member. This honor is for members who have made significant contributions to the Workshop over many years. Only three others hold this title: John McCord, Joan McCord and Jack Ballas.

Congratulations, Carolyn!

Group booksigning and contest winners, Saturday Oct. 20

The Workshop wraps up its 30th Anniversary Week with a final event 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20 at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in North Richland Hills.

From 2-4 p.m. we'll have a group booksigning by nearly 20 authors, all current or former Workshop members. Current members participating include Candace Havens, Rosemary Clement-Moore, A. Lee Martinez, Paula LaRocque, Paul LaRocque, and J. Lee Butts. We'll also get a chance to reunite with some familiar faces from the past: Tim McGuire, Sarah Clark Jordan, Steven Jent and Ron & Caryl McAdoo.

Then from 4-5 p.m., we'll have a public reading by the winners of this year's Poetry and Short Story Competition.

It'll be a nice afternoon. Thanks to Barnes and Noble for hosting us for this event. See you all there!


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21st annual free "On Writing" seminar this Saturday

This Saturday, Oct. 13, is our annual free public seminar. It's at the Euless Public Library, 201 N. Ector Drive, Euless 76040. Everyone is welcome to come and listen to some great speakers on a variety of writing-related topics. The seminar starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs until 3:30 p.m. with an hour break at noon so you can get lunch.

Here's the speaker lineup:

Rosemary Clement-Moore, author of Prom Dates From Hell: Pitching to an Agent

A. Lee Martinez, author of The Automatic Detective: Writing strong characters

Shannon Canard, freelance writer: Dealing with rejection

Sonya Sipes, editor of Cats Curious Press: Adventures of a small publisher

David Lieber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist: How to achieve your dreams when you're really busy

It's going to be a great day! See you there.

30th Anniversary celebration Oct. 17

The Workshop will celebrate 30 years of writers helping writers at its regular meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 17. There will be brisket! Everyone is welcome to bring a side dish. We'll enjoy dinner and a brief presentation before returning to our normal read and critique format. We look forward to seeing you there!

Britta speaks at Writers Guild of Texas

Former member Britta Coleman will be speaking at the next Writers Guild of Texas meeting:

Monday, 15 October 2007
7-8:30 p.m.
Speaker: Britta Coleman, author of Potter Springs
Topic: The Art of Rewriting

Richardson Public Library
900 Civic Center Dr.
Richardson TX 75080
Basement Room

Read, write, and be persistent, says Britta Coleman when asked for advice for writers. At the October meeting, she will go beyond that and open the door to the art of rewriting. A plethora of 5-star ratings on amazon.com for Potter Springs is proof that she knows what she's talking about.

As a kid, Britta decided to be a lawyer because she was adept at arguing. Aren't we glad that college, parenting, and a complete love of reading changed her path?

Britta Coleman is an award-winning author, essayist and inspirational speaker. Her debut novel from Time Warner Books, POTTER SPRINGS, garnered national media attention, critical acclaim, and won the Lone Star Scribe Award from Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Her essays have appeared in anthologies from Guideposts Books and Simon & Schuster, and she has written for FYI Television Features, Heroes for Humanity, Authorlink, the Amarillo Globe-News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Britta Coleman lives in Fort Worth with her husband, two children, and a fussy Chihuahua named Rosie.