We all have a story to tell but sometimes it’s hard to know how to start. Join award-winning author Patti Gaustad Procopi for an illuminating presentation on writing with Storyworth, writing a memoir, and fictionalizing your life. One of those options is bound to work for you! Registration is recommended.
This program is for adults. Questions? Call 757-890-5207 or email reference@yorkcounty.gov. Yorktown Library Auditorium
The All Stars Gala Luncheon!November 15
Luncheon Reservations Ginny Brock and Larry Lehmann Cindy Freeman Chris Green and Taylor Summers Linda and Mark Hallam Brad Harper Sarah Honenberger Jennifer Randall Hotz Kate Hoving and Danielle Desjardins Kathy Kasunich Peggy Newcomb Patti Procopi Mary Shipko Ann Skelton
Contestants Patti Procopi Linda Hallam Cindy Freeman JenniferRandall Hotz Peggy Newcomb Sarah Honenberger Chris Green Brad Harper
Call 804-725-6163 if you have a question.
Writing the Killer Plot November 8, 10:30-11:30 am Schell Room Williamsburg Library
Members and Guests Welcome!
No charge! Malcom Massey primarily writes "The Martin Culver Series", a series of action thrillers based on his experiences living in Central and South America, as well as his interests in history, archaeology and travel. The main character of the series, Martin Culver, is an author-turned-adventurer who gets unavoidably drawn into one dangerous exploit after another.
Malcom grew up devouring stories of ancient cultures and lost treasures from around the world. Raised in Virginia, Malcom has lived in Costa Rica and Bolivia, and has traveled throughout South America and the Caribbean, including Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands. After living and writing for 16 months in the Yucatan Peninsula, Malcom returned to the United States, where he still lives and writes near the coast.
In addition to writing daily, Malcom has been instrumental in establishing Inspire Writers Center in Melbourne, FL. The mission of Inspire Writers Center is to provide creative writing classes for the general public, taught by trained published authors.
Open Mic October
Join us at the Yorktown Library for an afternoon of sharing snippets of your work. Saturday, October 7, 1:30 to 3:30 8500 George Washington Memorial Hwy, Yorktown, VA
DON'T FORGET THE 4-PART HEADER ON YOUR ENTRY Genre Title Word count ( or line count for poems) and page numbers (Other details below) The 2023 Golden Nib writing contest is officially open! The Golden Nib, started in 2005, is the Virginia Writers Club (VWC) annual writing competition in three categories: Fiction,Nonfiction, and Poetry. The contest has two tiers. CBW first place winners receive a $25 cash prize and go on to compete in the VWC state-wide contest with cash prizes of $100 for first, $50 for second and $25 for third place. Allfirst-place chapter winning manuscripts submitted to the state finals will be published in the VWC Golden Nib and Teen Nib Journal, second and third place chapter winners may request their manuscripts be considered for the VWC journal. First, second, and third place winners in each category are announced at the VWC annual meeting held in November. A list of Golden Nib winners in each category will be published on the VWC Web site. All other rights remain the property of the author. VWC CONTEST RULES/GUIDELINES Entries will be accepted on any subject the author or poet chooses in the categories of fiction,nonfiction and poetry.
Manuscripts must be the original, unpublished work of the entrant and must not have won a prize at any level in any other competition.
Entries written using Artificial Intelligence (AI) are NOT permitted! Consider that AI does not have an issue with plagiarism! Each entrant MUST include a statement at the end of each submission stating the entry did not use AI in any way. (This was added to cover sheet form 6/25/23.)
Electronic signature means to type your name.
The VWC State competition allows entries published in your personal blogs. Works published in blogs other than your own, on social network sites, or in an online publication are not eligible.
Entrants may submit only one entry per category of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Fiction and nonfiction entries must be no longer than 3,500 words, including any notes, bibliographies or other supporting text. Poetry entries must be no longer than 50 lines.
Fictionand nonfiction entries should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style.
The coversheet submitted with each entry must be completely filled out, including an author bio of no more than 200 words.
Submissions not in accord with format and other rules will be disqualified. If the author’s name or any identifying information appears on any page of the manuscript, the entry will be disqualified.
No paper submissions will be accepted. All manuscripts and coversheets must be electronic.
Format
Submissions can be in doc, docx or rtf format.
All pages must have a header with contest category, title, and word count for fiction and nonfiction or line count for poetry.
Manuscripts must be in 12 point Times New Roman font. Page settings must be 8 ½ by 11-inch with one-inch margins.
Fiction and nonfiction manuscripts must be double-spaced, with a ragged right margin.
Poetry manuscripts must be single-spaced.
CBW Rules
Contestants must be Virginia residents who are CBW members in good standing.
Entries with cover sheets must be submitted to CBWreply@gmail.com before midnight on Sunday, July 30.
First-place chapter-level winner must be a state VWC member, or submit a VWC membership application and payment of dues after being notified of winning or submit the application online to VWC. First year dues will be $15 and not $30.
Join us at the newly renovated Yorktown Library for an afternoon of sharing snippets of your work. Sunday, July 16th, 1:30 to 3:30 Email Mary Shipko for more information shipkom@msn.com 8500 George Washington Memorial Hwy, Yorktown, VA 23692
Writing Your Story
June 7th at 11:00 am. Midtown Row Club House 221 Monticello Ave., Williamsburg 23185 Theater on the lower level
Patti Gaustad Procopi will be giving a talk on “Writing Your Story”. Patti is a firm believer that everyone’s life has a story in it and she’s going to give you some ideas of how to tell that story either through a Q&A book that will give your children a better picture of your life, writing a memoir, or writing a fictionalized version of your life story.
The free program begins at 11:00 and preregistration is required. To register without ordering a boxed lunch use the form immediately below this post.
After the program, there will be time for socializing and networking. An optional box lunch is available for $12 which needs to be ordered in advance. (second form below this post.)
Write endings that satisfy! If the opening of the story has a hook, the ending has a release—the feeling the reader has as they put the book down and look around, seeing the world a bit differently, like coming out of a dream. How do we create that sensation, making the reader want to hold the story world in their minds a little longer? In this workshop, we’ll look at different types of endings, what has worked in classic and contemporary fiction (no spoilers!), and then outline a process for tailoring endings that surpass reader expectations.
Kristen has a Bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science. Post-grad, she took advanced memoir and writing the novel classes at Harvard, completed a copyediting certification program, and became a member of SCBWI. She edited and copyedited various projects, including nonfiction, before joining Mary Kole in 2018 teaching the Story Mastermind novel class. When not daydreaming about driving a Jeep near the ocean, radio on and windows down, she can be found writing, reading, or searching for the ultimate hot fudge sundae. You can read nire at https://www.goodstoryediting.com/kristen
Open Mic at the Williamsburg Library
March 19, 2023 1:00 to 3:00
Join us at the Williamsburg Library, Stryker center for a time of sharing.
This is the best time to read a passage from your book, a poem, or something else! This is not a critique night, it's a chance to share your words, your story, aloud. This opportunity builds confidence as a writer and speaker. It's free advertising for your work. Please email Mary Shipko for more information. shipkom@msn.com
March 13, 2023, Second Monday Radio Show on Xtra 99.1 FM at 8:05 AM. Neal Steele interviews Drema Deòraich about her book Entheóphage.
February 25, 2023 Coffee Shop Conversations- t 10:30 AM With Charles W. Sutherland. Talk about your current work in progress at Column 15 coffee shop, 701 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Show up with a smile.
Scott Ellis on Creating Audiobooks Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at Rocco's Smokehouse, Williamsburg
Scott Ellis is an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. He's narrated over 60 audiobooks and coached several authors through the production or narration of their first audiobook. Scott Ellis Reads, his audiobook production company, started in 2019 and has a team of 15 people that work in narrating, editing, marketing, and managing the business.
Make your reservations for the luncheon here. Depending on meal choice, $15 or $20 for members, $18 or $23 for nonmembers.
Williamsburg Book Festival Will be on Saturday, Feb 4 - 10 AM to 4 PM Stryker Center and Williamsburg Community Building The Williamsburg Book Festival's mission is to promote and support the art of literary composition in the Williamsburg area and expose writers to the reading public. Our free event includes authors from various genres, speakers, illustrators, and publishers from Virginia and beyond. We hope you'll join us for a family-friendly day of celebrating books and book lovers as we fill the Stryker Center and the Williamsburg Community Building.
February 1, 2023, Luncheon Meeting, Rocco's Smokehouse in WIlliamsburg.
Scott Ellis will discuss creating audio books. Arrive 11-11:30 AM, Lunch at noon with program to follow. For last minute reservations, call Carol at 804-725-6163 so she can place your food order .
Scott Ellis on Creating Audiobooks Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at Rocco's Smokehouse, Williamsburg
Scott Ellis is an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. He's narrated over 60 audiobooks and coached several authors through the production or narration of their first audiobook. Scott Ellis Reads, his audiobook production company, started in 2019 and has a team of 15 people that work in narrating, editing, marketing, and managing the business.
NOTE! For last minute reservations, call Carol at 804-725-6163 so she can place your food order.
Depending on meal choice, $15 or $20 for members, $18 or $23 for nonmembers.
Registered for luncheon: Lee Alexander John Broadwater Diana Caron Mary Crandall Pam Crouch Josie Ellis & Scott Ellis Cindy Freeman Ted Hale Linda and Mark Hallam Nan Harvey Kathy Kasunich Eve Monk Michele Motsko Peggy Newcomb Leslie Pearce Patti Procopi Mary Shipko Ann Skelton Charles Sutherland Susan Williamson
January 14 and 28, 2023, Coffee Shop Conversations-With Charles W. Sutherland. Talk about your current work in progress at Column 15 coffee shop, 701 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Show up with a smile.
December 12, 21022, CBW Second Monday Radio Show, 8:05 a.m. Roger Gosden interview with Neal Steele on 99.1 FM on his children's book, The Boy Who Could Bee.
The All Stars Gala Luncheon at the Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, Wednesday, November 16 was a stunning success!
Those attending enjoyed a meal of Autumn Salad, Salmon on Autumn Salad, Prime Rib Panini with fruit, or Chicken Salad Wrap with fruit and a desert of New York Cheesecake with fresh fruit.
Fifteen members read their work in the All Stars Contest.
All Star Contest Winners:
Sally Honenberger - FIrst Place
Ginny Brock - Second Place
Roger Gosden - Third Place and Rick Bailey Humor Award
The 2022 CBW Golden Nib Contest winners: Poetry
First Place – “Gossip Central” Norma I. Cofresí, Ph.D.
Second Place – “Green Room” Denise DeVries
Third Place – "Third Place – “We the People” Sharon Canfield Dorsey
Fiction
First place – "The Treasured House" Donna-Lin Pratt
Second Place –" Happy Jack's" Peter Stipe
Third Place – "The Bloody Altar" Robert L. Webb
Nonfiction
First Place – “A Field of Dreams Remembered” Diana Farrar Caron
Second Place – "The Price of Democracy” Sharon Canfield Dorsey
All Stars Contest
The contestants were:
Patricia Procopi "Old Joe" Fiction Peter Stipe "Guiseppe's" Fiction Diana Farrar Caron "Leonard Baskin's Contempt" Poetry Ann Skelton "The Ration Book" Fiction Ginny Brock "December 21st" Poetry Cindy L. Freeman "My Angel Incident" Nonfiction Sarah Honenberger "Empty Rooms, Crowded Hallways" Fiction Mary Shipko "Bewildered" Nonfiction Norma Cofresi "Our Daily Bread" Roger Gosden "Rehabilitating Peter" Nonfiction Peggy Newcomb "A Night to Forge"t Nonfiction Sonja McGiboney "A Deadly Love" Fiction Susan Williamson "Reptile Peril" Fiction Denise DeVries "Green Room" Poetry Janice Hoffman "These Are the Hands" Poetry
Attending Luncheon
Carol J Bova Ginny Brock and Karen Kelley Elizabeth Brown Archie Campbell Diana Farrar Caron Norma Cofresi & Teo Feliciano Pam Crouch Denise DeVries Sharon Dillon Richard Easton Cindy Freeman Roger Gosden Linda & Mark Hallam Jan and Ken Hoffman Tim Holland Sarah Honenberger Sonja McGiboney Michele Motsko Cat Novelliere Peggy Newcomb Patricia Procopi Mary Shipko Ann & Rama Skelton Peter Stipe Charles Sutherland Susan Williamson
November 14, 2022, CBW Second Monday Radio Show, 8:05 a.m. James Tobin interview with Neal Steele on 99.1 FM on When We Were Wolves.
October 20, 2022 Stephen McGuire - CBW Author Interview
Please join Chesapeake Bay Writers on October 20, 2022, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm Eastern Time for a club meeting featuring Stephen McGuire’s novel, Fractured Power, a dark and haunting psychological thriller. Fractured Power is about Aiden Fletcher, a District Attorney, whose office investigates a rash or murders of women in Knoxville, Tennessee. He uses his position to manipulate the evidence while pursuing a serial killer whose arrest and trial puts Fletcher in the public limelight and forever changes the trajectory of his extraordinarily treacherous life.The book is available in paperback via this link on Amazon. Steve had a 30+ year legal career serving as an attorney and a federal judge in Washington, DC. He retired in 2008 as the Chief Judge of the Federal Trade Commission, where he received its Distinguished Service Award and was honored by President George W. Bush for his service to the nation’s judiciary. He has had extensive speaking engagements in bookstores, libraries, country clubs, civic associations, art centers, and radio shows primarily in Southwest Florida. Steve lives in Naples, Florida, with his wife, Doris, their golden retriever, Henry, and a mini goldendoodle, Alfie. To learn more, please visit www.stephenmcguireauthor.com
Sunday, October 16, 2022 2:00 p.m. Robin T Williams Presents Coloring Outside the Lines Character and Dialog This workshop is being presented in conjunction with the Williamsburg Public Library
Coloring Outside the Lines – a fiction-writing workshop led by award-winning author Robin Traywick Williams (“The Key to the Quarter Pole” and “The Last Romantic War”)
A 90-minute discussion of tools for creating memorable characters and writing compelling dialogue.
Robin Traywick Williams is a journalist, author, storyteller and horsewoman. She holds a master’s degree in creative writing from Hollins University and is the author of four books. The manuscript for her horseracing novel, “The Key to the Quarter Pole”, won the Best Unpublished Manuscript award given by the James River Writers and Richmond Magazine.
October 10, 2022, CBW Second Monday Radio Show, 8:05 a.m. Cynthia Fridgen interview with Neal Steele on 99.1 FM on Choices
October 8, 2022.Saturday 10:30 a.m. Coffee Shop Conversations-With Charles W. Sutherland. Talk about your current work in progress at Column 15 coffee shop, 701 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Show up with a smile.
Caterina Novelliere on Neal Steele Show August 8, 2022
Caterina Novelliere interview with Neal Steele on 99.1 FM on War Rising.
What is one Horsemen's life worth? Peace never lasts long for a Horseman. The years of relative calm Rayne Warwick has enjoyed are coming to an end as trouble stirs in medieval Spain. Unlike the last time remnants from his past surfaced, there is no reburying them. Rayne must disclose who he once was and relive the sins of his prior existence if he wants to protect his family. But if he does so, he fears forever losing Grace, whom he promised never to keep such secrets from. Grace knows her husband is far from a saint. No man of war has clean hands. Neither did she once she became the Morte Defensore. After finding herself caught in the crossfire of a demon turf war and a failed kidnapping attempt on their son by a band of time-traveling humans, Grace asks Rayne to share whatever he is hiding about his past. Isra, a female djinn overseeing Lucifer’s affairs in Spain, and Malik, the human ruler of the Cordovan Emirate, manipulate events to bring Rayne back to Al-Andalus. Rayne confronts mortal and immortal alike as Malik and Isra deploy heavy-handed tactics in a deadly gambit to seize control of the Iberian Peninsula. Faced with the age-old question of “what is one life worth?,” Rayne hopes Grace values the Horseman he has become enough to forgive his trespasses. Will he crumple underneath the weight of his past, or will he embrace what he once was for a chance to live a life free of his one remaining fear? Accompany Rayne into the past to discover how one man evolves into the High Council’s most powerful harbinger: War.
Reserve Now for September 14, 2022 Luncheon Program Speaker: Lauran Strait
Creating characters within a vivid and continuous fictional dream.
Our guest speaker at the September 14th luncheon will be Lauran Strait. She is a former writing instructor and workshop facilitator at the Adult Learning Center in Virginia Beach and is the co-founder and acting executive director of Hampton Roads Writers as well as the president of the Board of Directors and the annual conference director.
She occasionally teaches writing workshops for HRW, the Muse Writers Center, and other local writing groups. She also works as a freelance book editor for a few select clients.
Her print and online work appears in Dog-eared, The Gator Springs Gazette, Atomic Petals, Retrozine, The Copperfield Review, A Woman of a Certain Age, Moondance Magazine, Monkey Bicycle, Insolent Rudder, LongStoryShort, Edifice Wrecked, The Virginian Pilot, Whistling Shade Literary Review, Somewhat.org, The Green Tricycle, Reading Divas, The Angler, Salome Magazine, Quiction, Bewildering Stories, Tiny Lights—a flash in the pan, Down in the Cellar, Tuesday Shorts, Six Sentences, and HeavyGlow. Some of her other fiction and creative nonfiction appear in anthologies such as Random House’s Knitlit the Third—We Spin More Yarns, Better Non Sequitur’s See You Next Tuesday, and Smith Magazine’s Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak.
2022 Local Author Showcase Event Applications are Open! Newport News Public Library will host 3 days of discussions followed by a Showcase for Local Authors in Hampton Roads starting November 2 - 5. Interested published and/or self-published authors are encouraged toapply here. To Participate: • Local Authors must live in the Hampton Roads Area. • Authors must complete an online application here or a paper application may be picked up from Virgil I. Grissom, Main Street, or Pearl Bailey Library between July 1 - July 31, 2022. • Authors must drop off one copy of their work at a Newport News Public Library branch of choice. • Selected authors will have the opportunity to have panel discussions, book signings, and sell copies of their book. • All selected authors will be notified by Aug 29, 2022 (See applicationfor additional information)
Saturday, August 27, 2022 Coffee Conversations
10:30 AM at Column 15 Coffee Shop, 701 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA there will be "coffee conversations" with writers.
Virginia Writers Club Symposium
August 6
Three of our members have been chosen to speak at the Virginia Writers Club symposium. Bradley Harper is the keynote speaker and he's giving a workshop. Patti Gaustad Procopi is presenting a workshop on writing memoirs-fact or fiction. James Tobin (aka J. E. Tobin)will present, Illusions of speech? Writing great dialogue.
This is a zoom social specifically to learn about Bradley Harper's experiences in obtaining his MA in Creative Writing at Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland. If you've ever wanted to study abroad, here is a chance to ask questions of an author who is in the midst of this educational journey. The session will be an informal interview and all guests are welcome to ask questions.
Bradley will be the keynote speaker at the Virginia Writers Conferences on August 6th. Read more about Bradley and his books, A Knife in the Fog, Queens Gambit, and his other literary contributions on his website. https://bharperauthor.com/
June 13, 2022, CBW Second Monday Radio Show, 8:05 a.m. Ted Hale interview with Neal Steele on 99.1 FM on his series, Carronia Incursion.
June 11, 2022 11:00 to 2:00 Zoom Lunch and Learn Online Marketing with Adam Alexander Haviaras
Join Adam Haviaras in our intensive, Zoom online Marketing presentation.
Adam Alexander Haviaras is the author of the #1 best-selling Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series, as well as other works of fiction and non-fiction set in the ancient and medieval worlds.
Adam has studied ancient and medieval history and archaeology at the University of Toronto, Canada, and St. Andrews University, Scotland. He lives with his wife and children in Stratford, Ontario where he is currently writing another ground-breaking work of historical fiction. If you like ancient history and fiction set in Greece or the Roman Empire, Greek and Roman mythology, or stories like Gladiator, The Last Kingdom, and The Mists of Avalon, then you’ll love Adam’s books. Adam has published a book on marketing. While it is specific to marketing historical fiction, much of the information is applicable to any type of marketing. Check it out.
Adam is always happy to connect with readers, writers and those who love history in general. You can find him on Twitter (@AdamHaviaras), on the Eagles and Dragons Facebook page, or on Instagram (@adam_haviaras) Most of all, don’t forget to sign-up for the Eagles and Dragons Newsletter here: https://eaglesanddragonspublishing.com/newsletter-join-the-legions/ Thank you for reading. www.eaglesanddragonspublishing.com
Luncheon, June 8th, 11:30 a.m. The Theme of Forms and the Form of Themes with Dr. Jason Ray Carney Rocco's Smokehouse Grill
Dr. Jason Ray Carney, Senior Lecturer, Christopher Newport University, Department of English
In his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde refuted the idea that art should have a theme: "All art is quite useless," he asserts. "The type of all the arts is the art of the musician." In other words, for Wilde, literary artists should emulate composers of non-lyrical music and seek to create pure forms: beautiful but hollow linguistic artifacts without meaning and without theme. Wilde's claim is rhetorical, a grand pronouncement to make a less exciting, more commonsense, point: literary forms do not merely vehiculate themes--although they can and sometimes do. But how do they? Of course, writers don't bake literary pies to fill with thematic pudding. But is it nevertheless worth a writer's time to think about theme? And if a writer brings to mind a particular theme when composing, how might they artfully give form to that theme in a manner that harmonizes with their artistic vision? These questions and more will be explored in this brief presentation of literary history, theory, and praxis.
Bio: Jason Ray Carney is an author and a recognized expert of popular literature and pulp fiction. He earned his Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University. His monograph, Weird Tales of Modernity (McFarland, 2019), analyzes interwar science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Reviewing Carney's book, The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts stated, "Carney’s book is a valuable addition to the literature on its topic. It deserves a wide readership, and a prominent place in the scholarship of American fantastic literature in the early twentieth century." Carney is the Area Chair of the "Pulp Studies" section of the Popular Culture Association. In March of 2021, Carney guest edited a special issue of The Journal of American Culture on "pulp studies." Carney co-edits the academic journal, The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies. In addition to academic conferences ranging from the Modernist Studies Association to the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts, Carney is a regular guest at various fan conventions, such as the San Diego Comic Con. Carney serves on several academic review boards for presses and journals and is a member of the Robert E. Howard Foundation.
June 18, 2022, Saturday 10:30 a.m. Coffee Shop Conversations-With Charles W. Sutherland. Talk about your current work in progress at Column 15 coffee shop, 701 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Show up with a smile. RSVP
Coffee Shop Conversations-With Charles W. Sutherland.
May 21, 2022, Saturday 10:30 a.m. Coffee Shop Conversations-With Charles W. Sutherland. If anyone would like to have an informal discussion of their upcoming books or articles or exchange ideas or receive an evaluation … or criticism… of style or concepts, I will be available at 10:30 AM on the first and third Saturday of each month at Column 15 coffee shop, 701 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185. It’s a new coffee shop, a nice atmosphere for writers, and outdoor tables as well.
Saturday, May 14, 2022, Workshop 1:30 - 5:00p.m. Writing Workshop with Nathan Richardson
A writing workshop based on Ekphrastic writing that will help authors articulate their passions and learn to look at things from different points of view.
Ekphrastic writing is, in a short, succinct definition, writing that is based on a piece of art. It is usually in the form of poetry.
James City County Library, Grace & Stanley Kitzinger Community Room, 7770 Croaker Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188
Nathan M. Richardson is a published author, performance poet and Frederick Douglass Historian. His poetry collections include "Likeness of Being", "Twenty-one Imaginary T-shirts" and "The 7 Last Poems of an Unarmed Citizen." His work has been widely re-published in anthologies, magazines and newspapers such as the Channel Marker, The Cupola, Coastal Virginia Magazine and the Washington Post. Nathan teaches a variety of workshops for emerging writers.
Nathan is now in the 7th year of The Frederick Douglass Speaking Tour -a living history performance in which he captures completely the physical and spiritual essence of the former slave, writer, orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. With more than 300 performances seen nationally and internationally, the series has also achieved film credits with the National Park Service, Alabama Public Television and RTE - Irish Public Service Television. You can find more about Nathan Richardson and his work at www.scpublishing.com
The year is 2050, and earth does not look the same. Surge Saturday, the day the tsunamis hit, devastated thousands of cities. Governments were toppled and lives were lost. For siblings Tom and Helene, everything changed. They didn’t have the luxury of staying in their family home and learning to navigate this strange new world. A vile group has taken hold of the government, and people are being forced into intellectual subservience. Anyone who disagrees with the new leadership is sent to their death. Tom and Helene know they have to run, but where can they go? There aren’t many safe places left, and even those are at risk. They decide to find their way to Blacksburg, Virginia, and are soon befriended by others who are on a mission to make things right within the world again. But can this ragtag group of philosophers and healers and everyday people actually save the world, or will the newly formed dark forces triumph?
OPEN MIC NIGHT
Thursday, APRIL 28, 2022, 5:30 - 7:50 p.m. OPEN MIC NIGHT Gloucester Library Community Room
Nathan Richardson at the CBW Luncheon
April 20-2022 Nathan Richardson was a pleasure to have at our luncheon today. His love of poetry and the written word and his enthusiastic recounting of stories made us all want to write more. Truly an inspiration to us all, Nathan will be coming back in May to help us all use words that will help us articulate our passions.
April & May 2022 Nathan Richardson to offer Poetry Sessions
Writing Workshop: Ekphrastic writing. May 14 at James City County Library
Nathan M. Richardson is a published author, performance poet and Frederick Douglass Historian. His poetry collections include "Likeness of Being", "Twenty-one Imaginary T-shirts" and "The 7 Last Poems of an Unarmed Citizen." His work has been widely re-published in anthologies, magazines and newspapers such as the Channel Marker, The Cupola, Coastal Virginia Magazine and the Washington Post. Nathan teaches a variety of workshops for emerging writers.
Nathan is now in the 7th year of The Frederick Douglass Speaking Tour -a living history performance in which he captures completely the physical and spiritual essence of the former slave, writer, orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. With more than 300 performances seen nationally and internationally, the series has also achieved film credits with the National Park Service, Alabama Public Television and RTE - Irish Public Service Television. You can find more about Nathan Richardson and his work at www.scpublishing.com
April 11, 2022, Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda on 99.1 FM
If technology means any set of skills, methods and processes that help humans carry out their goals, then it should also be possible for us to think of poetry as a form of technology. How else to explain how the words of those who lived and wrote hundreds of years ago still offer their potent magic and understanding to us today? An amazement: that we can enter into this bright chain of conversation, ranging back to when our "[a]ncient ancestors wondered who/ carried the sun" and "called it forth/ from the darkness of its hiding place." This is exactly what poets Flor Aguilera, Joyce Brinkman, Gabriele Glang, and Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda do in this international poetic collaboration called Catena Poetica. Following in the tradition of collaborative poetry such as renku or renga, they add their own distinctive shapes and sounds. Back and forth, between Mexico, the US Midwest and East Coast, and Germany- in these poems they circulate the warmth of color and spice, the mysteries of music, water, and clouds. What comes to us is more than the well-made thing: it's alchemy.
Book Parade
Saturday, March 26, 2022, 10:00 to 4:00 BOOK PARADE
Sheriff Jim Holt's involvement with Brenda is heating up, but romance has to wait. An audit at the Church of Chestnut Springs reveals years of embezzlement by a trusted former employee, and the close-knit town reels in shock. Jim confronts the media swarming the site of the arrest, and they retaliate with lurid front-page headlines targeting him and Brenda.
The Mayor is furious about the negative publicity, but Jim pushes back. The mayor’s up for reelection; if he wants Jim's support, he'd better stand up for the sheriff and his deputies.
Events escalate when the case reaches court, and the embezzler reveals a shameful secret and an old wrong with no solution.
Amidst all the turmoil, can Chestnut Springs uphold its reputation as a place for life, love and second chances?
Two of our members (Can you find out who they are by clicking the link?) will be represented in the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival (SMAF)! This year's festival is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2022, at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.
