SCWA / The Quill / January 2025
A Newsletter of the South Carolina Writers Association
January 2025
Message from the President
A CAT? REALLY?!
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your end-of-the-year events went well, and I’m completely interested to see how 2025 is going to go after starting with Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
I’ve just finished my first read for 2025, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida. The premise of the book is there are five people who need changes in their lives for one thing or other and stumble upon this mysterious clinic whose doctor prescribes a cat to each of them as medicine for a week or two.
Our writing is like these tiny creatures prescribed to these remarkable people. The cats in the book are each unique and have their own personalities much like our writing does such as: journaling for ourselves, writing the next great American novel, a fine literary story, a fun pop genre, a profound poem, and any other form that’s out there in today’s world.
We are sitting in our small doctor’s office in this strange mythical place minding our business when a pet carrier is set in front of us. We peer in and these little eyes are peering back at us. We and our writing project are unsure of each other at first or instantly we feel at home together. That first night is always a little scary because it’s new. How are we and our writing project going to get along? Am I feeding it right? Do I do research on this breed? Will we be happy together? Why did I get prescribe this tiny creature?
No matter how we end up with our little creature and what breed they are, once we get into the project, the therapy begins. This creature begins to become part of our lives, and we start looking forward to working with the project. We start putting words to paper and something begins to lift from us. As we get into our project, it becomes family to us.
Even if we are journaling for ourselves or writing to share with the world, our creature’s effects start to influence those around us. The journaling that only you see makes you feel freer and as a result people around you will get that vibe. It can encourage you to start to reach out to others and help to open you up to finding your tribe. The story or poem creature that gets shared with the world can make someone else smile or have a hardship lifted from them.
Whatever we are writing, because we are writers, these creatures bring us together and give us a talking point that helps us find our writing tribe. Some of us go out searching for our cat but many of us, like the people in Ishida’s story, fall into the cat distribution system with our writing. When starting out we don’t know about them at first, but after getting to know our writing project they start to grow on us. It can be just one short project, or many writing projects, this creature will have a deep impact on our lives and the lives of those around us.
I’m excited to see what this new year brings to us in SCWA, and I’m excited to see what variety of creatures we will discover together. Thank you for going on this new journey with me and I look forward to serving you and your writing creatures this year.
May the muse be ever in your favor.
Ash Smith
President
SCWA Board of Directors
McELHINNY NOW VP/MEMBERSHIP
Dakota McElhinny, formerly SCWA secretary, has changed positions on the Board of Directors, now serving as VP/Membership. In this role, he will oversee member recruitment and retention as well as chapter relations. If you are interested in helping on his committee or as the chapter liaison, contact him at membership@myscwa.org.
We continue to seek a new treasurer as well as a secretary and other at-large directors and advisors. Remember that SCWA operates with a volunteer board charged with conceiving events and programs that benefit all of our 400+ members. We can only serve you, our members, if we have good, committed volunteers to serve on our board. Please consider serving. Email Laura Corbin, administrator, at administrator@myscwa.org for information or to apply.
Grants & Workshop Opportunities
SOUTHERN ARTS RELIEF & RECOVERY FUND GRANTS
The Southern Arts Relief & Recovery Fund provides financial support to artists residing in the FEMA disaster areas of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia who have been impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
All artists may apply through the South Arts application portal.
Artists working in craft/traditional arts, design, literary, media/film, performing, visual, and interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary arts are invited to apply for $500 relief stipends. This opportunity is open to professional artists 18 years or older whose artistic practice generates any portion of their income. This relief stipend is intended for individual artists only.
Eligibility:
Must reside in FEMA disaster areas in Florida (Helene), Florida (Milton), Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia.
Be 18 years of age or older and actively engaged in their artistic practice to generate any portion of their income.
Have an active artistic practice in craft/traditional arts, design, literary, media/film, performing, visual, or interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary arts
Substantially impacted by Hurricane Helene or Milton
Organizations, artists located outside of FEMA designated areas due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and repeat applications are ineligible until further notice.
For more information, go to Southern Arts Relief & Recovery Fund.
MARTHA’S VINEYARD INSTITUTE OF CREATIVE WRITING SUMMER WRITERS CONFERENCE
This summer the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing's Summer Writers' Conference offers a deep dive into fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction with award-winning poets and authors. The conference includes generative seminars, evening readings, panel discussions, and individualized manuscript sessions.
Full fellowships include registration, lodging, and a manuscript session at the MVICW 2025 Summer Writers' Conference.
MVICW was founded with a belief that a supportive, creative and nourishing community is essential for a successful writing life. Its mission is to give writers at all stages of their careers the opportunity to reconnect on a deep level with their writing practice, to believe in the work they do, and to build a vibrant network of writers. The organization believes in teaching compassion not competition, creative help not hierarchy, and offering the tools to heal your Inner Critic so that you can go on to produce the most powerful, creative, and life-changing work you’re capable of.
The South Carolina Writers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization, receives support from the South Carolina Arts Commission and our members, furthering our mission to offer a supportive environment for people to become better writers. SCWA is grateful for this support. Donate to help SCWA to enhance our ability to provide quality programs and services to writers in South Carolina and the region.