New Contest for Poems and Short Fiction!

Another contest for poems and short fiction.

Contest Rules

Submit poetry and/or flash fiction (less than 500 words) to the prompt On the Bay to Englewood's Dearborn Street Book Festival Contest, P.O. Box 5146 Englewood, Fl 34224.

All entries for judging and awarding of cash prices must be received at the P.O. Box no later than January 31, 2012.

You may enter up to three (3) submission/s per individual. Each submission requires three (3) copies of your poem or short story (typed) contained in an individual envelope (one entry per envelope).

Do not put your name on your entry. Place a 4 digit identification number on each copy of the entry and on the outside of your envelope under your return address.

Judges will base their decisions upon the following; Originality (40 Points), Theme (35 Points), and Presentation (25 Points).

Presentations will take place at the open microphone event at Elsie Quirk Library on February 18^th 2012 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM main conference room. (You are not required to present your work, however you will not receive points for presentation).

First Place - $75.00
Second Place - $50.00
Third Place - $25.00

A walk in prize of $20.00 will be awarded to those who walk-in (one entry only per individual) and present a poem or short story (up to 500 words) to the prompt. Bring three copies of your work for the judges prior to your presentation.

Ed Ellis

Happy Birthday George!

One huge advantage to having a friend network on Facebook is the non-ending source of information if one chooses to share in it. That is how I found out that our new Blog Designer and Administrator, George Mindling, is having a birthday today!

Here's wishing you a great birthday, George. And, sending another big thank you for all your help and contributions to our writing group.

A heads up, too, to all of you who don't have a Facebook page. It's free and it's networking at its finest. Doesn't take tons of time and it is a great source of information. I've even found it a great place to take part in my 'animal and nature' activisim. NRDC's Biogems page is a wealth of knowledge and small things we all can do to help the Planet. Plus, there are levels of privacy and security facets that you can choose.

Best,
Susan

Englewood Book Festival

Hi Everyone,
I received an e-mail from Diana Harris that led to this exchange:
____
George,
Just wanted to let you know we will be having our 3th annual book festival in Feb. If you would like to be on our mailing list to receive more information please e-mail me back.
Hope you will be joining us.
____
So, I replied:

Hi Diana,
Yes, I'd like to be on the mailing list for the book festival. I'd like to share this with the Sarasota Chapter of the Florida Writers Association if this is OK with you. If it is OK, I'll post it on the FWA Sarasota blog.
____
...and she said:

George, That would be terrific. Thank you so much. We have had great response so far and will be holding the festival in a small park on Dearborn St. about a block away from where it has been. It will give us more room and authors can park near their tables, but more on that later. Thanks for your help.

Diana Harris
___
So, as I get more information I will post it for everyone's benefit. I attended the first fair as an "rookie" author and really enjoyed the experience. I may even have to write something just to be there.
George

Lemon Bay Fest - 2012

Lemon Bay Fest 2012
Whimsical Stories of Old Englewood

Contest Rules: Submit poetry and/or flash fiction (less than 500 words) to the prompt Whimsical Stories of Old Englewood to Lemon Bay Fest Contest, P.O. Box 5146 Englewood, Fl 34224.

All entries for judging and awarding of cash prices must be received at the P.O. Box no later than January 31, 2012.

You may enter up to three (3) submission/s per individual. Each submission requires three (3) sheets of your poem or flash fiction contained in an individual envelope (one entry per envelope).

Do not put your name on your entry. Place a 4 digit identification number on each copy of the entry and on the outside of your envelope under your return address.

Judges will base their decisions upon the following; Originality, Theme, and Presentation.

Presentations will take place at the open microphone event at Elsie Quirk Library on February 4^th 2012 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM. (You are not required to present your work, however you will not receive points for presentation).

First Place - $75.00
Second Place - $50.00
Third Place - $25.00

A walk in prize of $20.00 will be awarded to those who walk-in (one entry only per individual) and present a poem or flash fiction (up to 500 words) to the prompt. Bring three copies of your work for the judges prior to your presentation.

Thanks to Ed Ellis for the information

Thanksgiving Message from Susan

As I sit and look at the beautiful job George Mindling is doing with this blog I immediately have something to be thankful for. I'm sure if we all just look around us and focus on the beauty and friends in our lives, any ugliness will go away for at least one day.

I also want to thank everyone of you reading this for all the help and support given me over this last two years of fighting health issues. You've all been like family and the group would not continue to exist had you all not stood up to share in the burden. Thank you. I'm grateful.

I wish to congratulate each and every one of you who has put ink to page or paper in our group, those who have published books and those still with a dream toward that end. I'm quite convinced that we have more talent and diversity meeting in one group than is to be found anywhere. Again, I thank you all for sharing your work. It is appreciated by all who hear your words.

However you spend your day of Thanksgiving, I wish you the best it can be!

Sincerely,
Your humble so-called leader. I follow more around here lately than I lead. Thank you for that, too!
Susan

Wednesday, Nov 16, 2011

Turn out was great for our latest meeting as we welcomed back long-time member Joanne Phillips. After listening to Joanne's latest poem, “Jump Start,” we realized how much we missed her this past summer. We also welcomed new guests Denise, Cathy, and Rick as well, and look forward to seeing them as regulars.

We plan on donating to the Nokomis Volunteer Firemen on our next meeting, Dec 7^th, so, if you could spare $5.00 to donate, please bring it to the next meeting. We don't charge dues or membership, but we do like to contribute to our gracious hosts, especially at this time of year. Thanks in advance, everyone!

Jim, (AKA James Kelly) had his new book of poetry, “From the Embers,” available and signed copies for everyone. He'll bring more next time if you didn't get a chance to pick one up at the meeting.

After a cordial meet and greet, we got to listen to Rod read, not one, but two of Ed Lyman's short stories. Both great, humorous stories from our Nonagenarian, (Ed is probably the only one who won't have to look this one up) “The Green Bras” and “The Way It Will Be” led off what was another night of great writing. From humor to poetry, and dark humor as well, it was a fast, entertaining evening.

Ed Ellis got to go in front of Peter again, and read his “Parallel Reality,” written the night before from 11:15pm til 5:30am. The writing was inspired by Joanne who asked “What was God doing before the Big Bang?” No wonder he couldn't sleep. We benefit from his insomnia...

Kerri again kept everyone's rapt attention as she continued with “English as a Second Language,” part of her “Homemade Rodeos, Cocoanut Heads, Marshmellow Alligators, Growing Up Floridian,” work. A great discussion followed about the use of real names or identifiable people in fiction work, or even in reporting or journals. Lots of good viewpoints!

Susan read a passage from Bill Moyer's “Language of Life,” which served as a prologue to Jim Kelly's great poems, “People and Leaves,” and “Awakened.” Joanne's return was marked by her “Be Careful What You ask For,” “I'm Not The Cook,” and the aforementioned “Jump Start,” which signals the return of a great talent. Joanne's humorous work is always a treat.

Russ brought us back to the realm of outstanding descriptive writing with a reading from Bill Prozini's book, “Illusions,” followed by Patricia with another piece of her dark humor that, again, caught everyone off guard. Great work. She is waiting on the publication of three poems to become a full member of the Horror Writers of America. Congratulations, Patricia!

Peter read another elegant writing, “My Frog Sings” the last chapter his book “Something of Value,” followed by Ben's revised Chapter One of his book, “Newearth.” The discussion that followed covered everything from science fiction to definitions and we suddenly found out we were out of time. A fast, fun evening.

Cathy, we look forward to hearing your work on Dec 7^th, our next meeting, and I have a feeling we'll take up where we left off.

See everyone in three weeks! Next meeting is Dec 7th!

George (myakka@embarqmail.com).

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Our first get-together of November was another great meeting, with the return of both Susan Haley and long time member Linda White. We also welcomed Patricia La Barbera and look forward to her becoming a regular member of the group.

Rod's usual welcoming and introductions led to a great round of reading and interesting, often lighthearted, discussions. But first, Susan asked for volunteer assistance as our treasurer, Linda Malloy, will be unavailable until next March. The duties mainly include presenting the $5 we collect twice a year to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department where we meet. It is a donation we chip in to the Fire Department for allowing us to use their facilities. We do not collect dues, and there is no charge for being in the group. It is something we do to show our appreciation to our hosts. Anyone interested, please contact me at myakka@embarqmail.com, or Susan Haley directly at amberfawn@comcast.net.

The readings were as varied as the members themselves, Linda starting the evening with a beautiful, well written piece about her mother. New comer Patricia read next, presenting a piece of flash fiction that caught everybody off guard with its conclusion. Great writing. Good discussion afterward that led to comments about the Writer's Digest contest for short stories (1500 words or less), and on flash fiction, flash mobs, and just plain flashing.

Barbara then read a paragraph from the book “Vincent by Himself”, his own writing proves to be as descriptive as his paintings, followed by Peter Folaris who read two of his really great poems. First, from his work “Lucille and Other Manic Tales” and then another free form poem titled “Bronx Marie.' More great work. Peter Frickel then read a great piece “Darkness between the Shadows” and a piece from “A Writer's Book of Days” where writers such as ourselves are encouraged to present their work to groups such as ours for peer-review. We were warned, however, that “someone will always try to fry your banana.”

Jim Kelly did it again with a poem called “Chipmunk,” another great poem. Jim's book is being polished and we got to see the proof copy. “From the Embers” by James O. Kelly will be available soon. We'll post the information about availability as soon as we get it. Ben wrapped up the readings with the draft of Chapter Five of his science fiction novel, OneEarth. It is progressing well and has caught everyone's interest. He must be the ultimate researcher.

Discussions included Bart Stamper, a former member of the group who still stays in contact, and John Wolf, FOX & QUILL editor, a past visitor who is involved in writing contests in California, and somehow we got into a discussion about lizards. Never discuss lizards, geckos, anoles or any other form of lizard with a writer's group! Not this one anyway. Fabius Cunctator, indeed! It was an interesting, light hearted session.

We have added a Facebook page that allows everyone quick and easy access to our group. You can click into this blog from Facebook, or to there from here by clicking on the blog in the Facebook page. Please click the “Like” button to add your name to our list!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/FWA-Sarasota-Writers-Group/232280536832439

Take a look at the Lulu Short Story Contest at:
http://www.lulu.com/blog/2011/11/01/lulu-short-story-contest/

One of the comments of the meeting was a quote from Elmore Leonard: “I try to leave out the parts that people skip.” I hope I haven't left out something that no one would skip...

See you Nov 16,

George