CBW/VWC
Joint Luncheon Meeting in Williamsburg: Saturday, September 11th
Click Here to Make Menu selection and Reservations
online ($23/person).
Open to the public. Advance
payment required.
Make checks for Luncheon payable to
"CBW" and mail by September 7th (Postmark date) to:
CBW Treasurer, C/O John Bray,
261 Zelkova Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185.
In the event your plans
change, you must give three business days notice for refunds to be
guaranteed.
LOCATION: 5700 Williamsburg Landing Drive.
Directions to the main building and parking for the event will
be available at the gate. NOTE: Williamsburg Landing is on the
same street as the Williamsburg Winery.
VWC Board of Governors meeting in Studio 200: 10:30AM to
12:30PM in Studio 200 (Coffee served)
CBW Registration and cash bar Social 11:30AM-12:30PM in main meeting room
CBW/VWC Joint Luncheon: 12:30-1:30 or 1:45PM in main
meeting room ($23/person).
CBW Program: 1:30-3PM (in main meeting room)
TOPIC:
Publishing: Fiction .vs Nonfiction
NOTE: There will be a lottery for a
free book from each of the authors.
Click Here for an interesting contrast between fiction and nonfiction
writing, skill sets, venues and financials
SPEAKERS:
Brad
Parks, author of Faces of
the Gone, a Carter Ross Mystery, has
landed on several prominent critics' lists as being among the top mystery
debuts of 2009. It has been shortlisted for a
Nero Award and was lauded by Library Journal as "the most
hilariously funny and deadly serious mystery debut since Janet Evanovich's
ONE FOR THE MONEY." Yahoo.com called Brad "the literary love child of
(Janet) Evanovich and (Harlan) Coben." The Dartmouth College graduate spent
a dozen years as a reporter for The Washington Post and The Newark
Star-Ledger and is now a full-time novelist. He lives with his wife and
two small children in Virginia, where is working on the next Carter Ross
novels, scheduled for publication in 2011 and 2012.
Karen
Jones, Author of
Death For Beginners: Your No-Nonsense,
Money-Saving Guide to Planning for the Inevitable., a nonfiction
book. Author Karen Jones hasn't died yet... but this hasn't
stopped her from exploring every aspect of one of today's most taboo
subjects. From body disposal to funeral planning to writing a will, Death
for Beginners shows readers how to plan ahead with practicality,
frugality and efficiency. Jones' advice is serious, but her spadeful of
graveyard humor is not.
Down deep, do any of us really expect to die? We push it away. After all,
the Road Runner always escaped the Coyote. Moose and Squirrel survived
countless plots by Boris and Natasha. It was Ensign What's-His-Name in the
red shirt who got eaten by the salt vampire, not Captain Kirk. So clearly,
we're immortal ... until we aren't anymore.
Death for Beginners makes funeral planning smart,thrifty, stress-free
and funny.
Written in a time-saving "grab, read, do and get on with your life"
bullet-point format, Death for Beginners lets readers quickly grasp
essential information, decide what issues are most important to them, and
further explore these topics.
Jones
is also the author of the romance novel Kingdom of Hearts and
co-author of Up the Bestseller Lists. She holds degrees in
English and Education from the University of Virginia. She currently works
on-air with WVEC-TV 13 News and teaches week-long writing camps on Ocracoke
Island, NC with Dr. Kathleen Brehony.
Karen's August 2nd interview with Neal Steele
on CBW's Second Monday Radio show on XTRA 99.1FM
Thursday, October 7th, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
at the Essex County Library, Tappahannock. The library is located on Route
17, two blocks north of the Route 360 intersection. Open to the public - Admission is free, but
advance registration is required. Comprehensive take-away materials will be
distributed to participants.
Fiction
writers, arise!
You have nothing to lose but your shackles, the
burden of shallow critiques that dwell on trivia; critiques that leave you
with little more than a reminder you need to work on punctuation or spelling
. . . .
. . . . critiques that fail to penetrate the
heart of narrative. Critiques which say nothing about characterization,
point of view. Critiques that leave you with little idea which aspects of
story are underdeveloped.
The problem? Writers join such groups with varied
and diverse definitions of critique. Nothing is done to smooth out the
differences, to push beyond the superficial. What's needed is a template, a
method to explore the essentials, those devils that can ruin a story in
spite of perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and factual information
The Workshop's goals are, first, to propose a
rigorous, uniform approach to critique that addresses fundamental elements
of story. Second, an inquiry into certain built-in problems with groups
that meet on a continuous basis. An alternative model will be described.
Jerry Peill, an at-large member of the CBW board,
and Bernie Ghiselin will kick things off. They welcome heated discussion;
neither presumes all the answers. The workshop will focus only on the
critique of fiction. At the conclusion, those whose passions are so aroused
they desire continued conversation may join the group afterwards at Lowery's
Seafood Restaurant.
The object lies in seeking ways to smooth out the
inevitable diversity of interests and experience one finds in writing
groups. Thus, it would speak in the resonant voice of a critique group that
is cohesive around definition, method, and standards.
Fiction writers, arise! You have nothing to lose
but your shackles.
Critique Group
Guidelines: What you need to know before joining a Critique group
Get ready to step up
to the mike and read your favorite piece of poetry or prose at our annual
All-Stars Luncheon. This year's gala again will be held
at Riverwalk Restaurant in Yorktown on Wednesday, November 10th.
The cost will be $20 including tax
and tip. The schedule will be cocktails from 11:00 to noon, lunch from noon
to 1:00; readings begin at 1:00pm and end by 2:30PM. Judging and awards
follow with the meeting concluding about 3-3:30PM.
To make this year's ALL STARS
event the best ever, we need GREAT STARS to read... and guess what?...
THAT'S YOU!! So find that favorite poem, short story or essay that you have
written and share it with the Club.
Members Only are eligible to read!
Length should be no more than EIGHT MINUTES reading time. Only one entry per
member. Your work does not have to be submitted in advance.
If you would like to read, add your name to the list using the link above. Please include your best estimate of the time you will
need to read your piece to help us maximize the number of readers while
keeping the program to an aggregate total time of 90
minutes or less, at which point members signing up will be on a stand-by
status and will be able to read only if there are cancellations. If you have no computer access, call Dave Carr with
this information at (804) 725-9843.
Those in attendance
will vote for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners who will receive cash prizes
of $75, $50 and $25, respectively. Attendees will also vote for the most
humorous entry, the winner of which will receive the annual "Richard Bailey
Humor Award" and a $25 supplemental prize. Winning entries will be recognized in the next CBW newsletter
and published on the CBW website.
Please sign up as soon as possible. In past years, the number of
members wishing to read have exceeded the number that time would permit.
