SCWA / The Quill / May 2024
A Newsletter of the South Carolina Writers Association
May 2024
Message from the President
BE THAT PERSON
My college reunion was a couple weeks ago. It was a good time with seeing friends and professors I look up to. It was also a time to realize that I would’ve been friends with the class of ’84 and we would have caused all sorts of fun trouble. Then, something unexpected and cool happened to me. I had two younger alumni who were at the college long after me come up and thank me for paving the way for others at our school.
We often say writing is a solo sport, which after this year and past years with SCWA I’m going to stop saying. Like my time at my college, the work we do and put out into the world causes a ripple effect for others. Us being brave enough to be who we are as writers gives future writers the courage to run.
As a community, we come together to learn together and share experiences in writing craft and writing lifestyle. This not only helps us grow but helps those around us grow as well. And those around us who grow in turn help others grow and so the cycle continues. I learned my reunion weekend that being myself and going out on a limb to help others have the ability to be out there doesn’t just affect those in direct contact with you.
Learning this, I pass it on to you. Write that rule-breaking, crazy poem or that story that you’ve been dying to read for yourself. Ask that question in Author’s Toolbox you want to know. Share your experiences in our forum. As a community of writers, we want to keep the good fight going for years to come. Part of that inspiration to write is knowing that if I get my story out there, it’ll fall into the hands of someone who needed it.
Being out and being a writer are important to me not just for myself but to give a face that looks like a writer who’s looking to take that first step. Being president of SCWA feels that way, too. I want to learn and grow the current writing world, watch it evolve, and I want to make it better for the new writers who come after me.
I may never see the end result, but I can be happy now knowing there will be those after me that had a little more strength and courage to keep going because I got something started.
I see this for SCWA. As we come into the spring and new beginnings portion of the year, I want to see us grow, network and socialize together. I can’t wait to see the future that we shape together.
Ash Smith
President
Events and Education
2024 STORYFEST REGISTRATION CONTINUES; EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS JUNE 15
SCWA’s 2024 Storyfest, our biggest event of the year, promises to be filled with great offerings for our Sept. 27-29 dates at The DoubleTree by Hilton in Columbia, with the added advantage of having the hotel and conference under one roof – and the rooms are less expensive this year, too!
In addition to amazing authors, editors, agents and screenwriters from outside of our state, some of South Carolina’s most prominent writers will be there to make this conference successful. We will have two Friday pre-conference masterclasses and craft classes as well as the invaluable Queryfest, Slushfest, Speed Pitch Session and a “Publishing World Today” panel that will include seasoned professionals and South Carolina’s own Palmetto Publishing, which provides cutting-edge self-publishing assistance. Four keynote presenters will give valuable information, including information on artificial intelligence and how it will impact the writing world, and 19 conference presentation offerings – something for every genre. City of Columbia poet laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin also will be with us, along with a memoirist and authors of sci-fi and apocalyptic, too! A Saturday cocktail hour, open mic, exhibits, book-signings and more also will be held.
We will be highlighting our keynote features and presenters between now and September. Here are two:
LYNN CULLEN
In keeping with the label of “the Bronte of our day,” Lynn Cullen, best-selling historical fiction author, is coming to us from Atlanta, Georgia. She takes the reader into the spirit of the times about which she writes and engages with the indelible emotional connection to characters who lived in the past or might have graced a particular time period. From her debut YA historical fiction novel, I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter, to the critical acclaim of The Woman with The Cure, Cullen’s books deliver powerful stories with unforgettable characters. She will participate in our publishing panel, present a session on writing historical fiction and offer a keynote address. We are thrilled to have her for 2024 Storyfest.
GRADY HENDRIX
Grady Hendrix is originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and currently resides in Manhattan in New York City. He is a much sought-after author, journalist and screenwriter and is one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival. His Horrorstory and My Best Friend’s Exorcism have been optioned for film adaptations, while his The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group are in the works for television adaptation. He brings a host of experiences and expertise to our conference and will participate in our publishing panel, provide a keynote address and present a session on writing horror.
Registration for 2024 Storyfest is open, with early bird registration fees for the full three-day conference of $250 for members and $325 for nonmembers; those fees will increase by $30 on June 16, so register early to save! Student registration for the full conference is $140. A one-day ticket for Saturday-only sessions is available for $195. Masterclasses, manuscript critiques and query pitches are available for additional charges as add-ons to your registration.
The hotel room rate is $169 (plus tax & fees) for one king or two queen beds. For the SCWA discounted rate, reserve at DoubleTree by Hilton Columbia; book by Aug. 29 for the discount.
If you are not a member of SCWA, join now to enjoy the member rate for Storyfest as well as other SCWA benefits. Membership is $75 annually; go to Join Us.
For more information email administrator@myscwa.org.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR STORYFEST EXPERIENCE
We want to hear your Storyfest story. SCWA’s annual conference is a place where the spark of an idea can begin and you can meet someone who becomes your go-to reader for new work. We want to hear and share your best experiences from Storyfest and how the conference has positively impacted your writing journey. If you’re interested in sharing, email Ben Culbreth, VP/Marketing at marketing@myscwa.org.
MAY AUTHOR’S TOOLBOX SESSIONS
SCWA continues to offer Author’s Toolbox sessions in May, free to members and $25 to nonmembers.
May 16 - Andrew Geyer: “The Petigru Review 2024”
Andrew Geyer, managing editor of SCWA's journal The Petigru Review, will discuss the 2024 edition of the journal and give an overview and advice for submissions to litmags, small independent publishing companies and university presses during Author's Toolbox at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, via Zoom. Come learn everything you need to know about submission guidelines, deadlines and more.
Geyer is the author, co-author and editor of 11 books, including the novels Dixie Fish and Meeting the Dead and the short story collection Lesser Mountains, winner of the 2020 Independent Publishers Book Award Silver Medal for Regional/Southern Fiction.
The Zoom link will be provided upon registration.
May 23 - Mindy Friddle: “Make a Scene, Why Don’t You?!”
Scenes are the building blocks of stories and novels. Mastering scene-writing is a powerful way to develop characters, control pacing, and increase suspense. In this workshop, you will gain a deeper understanding of how you can use scenes (dialogue and action), alongside summary (description and reflection), to build stories and novels that have dramatic power and emotional impact.
Friddle is author of the novel, Secret Keepers, (winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction). The Garden Angel, her first novel and SIBA bestseller, was selected for Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers.
NOTE THAT THIS EVENT IS FROM NOON TO 1 P.M.
Zoom link provided upon registration.
OTHER UPCOMING SESSIONS:
June 27 - Synithia Williams: “Writing Romance Novels”
July 18 - Stephen Hundley: “Adding Fantasy and Science Fiction to Traditional Southern Tales”
Aug. 22 - Alex Rath: “Writing With Anxiety”
Oct. 17 - Brenda Gardner/Lisa Harrison, creators of the Friends and Fiction Official Book Club site with over 30,000 members.
Nov. 21 - Anthea Sharp: “Kickstarter for Authors: How Writers Can Find New Readers and Flourish With Crowdfunding"
SUMMER NIGHTS / SUMMER WRITES: A GENERATIVE WORKSHOP FOR ALL GENRES
Writer and teacher Amber Wheeler Bacon will offer Summer Nights / Summer Writes: A Generative Workshop for All Genres weekly in June. This workshop series is designed for writers to generate a ton of material over the course of the month.
“Using examples from short fiction, nonfiction and poetry to guide us, we’ll move through a succession of writing prompts that employ both informal and formal prompts (i.e. photographs, abecedarians, found forms, the senses, ekphrasis, mad libs and more),” says Bacon. “By the end of June, you’ll have a boatload of new work to finesse over the rest of the summer.”
Ditch your comfort zone and let’s write some weird and wonderful stuff together! If you miss a week, that’s OK. Sessions will be recorded and shared weekly.
AN ADDED BONUS! The series includes written editorial feedback on one piece of writing written over the course of the month as well as an individual 20-minute meeting with Bacon during the first week of July to discuss your work and answer any questions you may have about writing and publication.
OMG ANOTHER BONUS! The series will conclude with an Open Mic in mid-July for those wishing to participate. You’ve done the work, now share it with the world!
WEEK 1, Tuesday, 6/4: Using the senses
WEEK 2, Tuesday 6/11: Found forms & structures
WEEK 3, Tuesday, 6/18: The objects all around us
WEEK 4, Tuesday, 6/25: Generative revision strategies
Member price: $140; nonmember price: $175
Amber Wheeler Bacon is a writer and teacher whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Crazyhorse, Ecotone, Epiphany, Five Points, New Ohio Review, Post Road, Prairie Schooner and Witness. You can find her writing online at Ploughshares, CRAFT, Fiction Writer’s Review and New South. She’s the recipient of the 2018 Breakout Writers Prize sponsored by The Author’s Guild and a 2021 Bread Loaf scholarship. She received the 2022 Lit/South Award for flash fiction, a 2023 Prairie Schooner Award and was a finalist for the 2023 Chautauqua Janus Prize, nominated by Ecotone Magazine. Bacon has an MFA from Bennington College and teaches English at Coastal Carolina University. She’s been a staff reader for Ploughshares, a fiction editor at Four Way Review, managing editor for South Carolina Writers Association publications and a daily editor at the Southern Review of Books. She lives by the beach in South Carolina. Bacon is represented by Amy Bishop-Wycisk at Trellis Literary Management.
What people say about Bacon:
Amber Wheeler Bacon is a generous, talented, personable, inspiring teacher.
Wonderful teacher, fabulous course. I learned so much.
Thank you for producing a well organized class that was presented with energy and a strongly felt love of writing.
Pat Brandon
VP/Events & Education
Membership
RENEW TO GET MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
We want you back!
If you didn’t renew your SCWA membership by the April 1 renewal date or during the 30-day grace period, you membership has been lapsed. This means you can no longer take advantage of member benefits, such as discounted Storyfest registration and free Author’s Toolbox registration, plus you cannot participate in chapter meetings.
If you have questions, please email membership@myscwa.org.
Publications
TPR GENERAL SUBMISSIONS WINDOW OPEN
The Petigru Review welcomes submissions of original fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art from members of the SWCA and the public at large. Submissions from all genres are now open!
The reading period for all genres will close on Aug. 23.
The 2024 iteration of TPR will be a themed issue focusing on place and/or voice. Submissions need not be set in South Carolina, nor need they be written by South Carolina authors. However, preference will be given to pieces set in the Greater South (SC, NC, GA, FL, VA, AL, MS, LA, TX, OK, MO, AR, TN, KY, WV).
There will be a $3 fee, payable through Submittable, for each general submission.
Prose: Please submit only one piece of short fiction or nonfiction. Prose narratives must not exceed 5,000 words in length. All prose submissions should be double-spaced.
Poetry: Please submit no more than five poems. All poems must be submitted in a single file.
Files for all prose submissions must be uploaded to Submittable in either a .doc, .docx or .pdf format.
Art: Please submit no more than five pieces. All art must be submitted in a single file and in a digital format.
For questions about submissions, email Andrew Geyer, managing editor, at: ageyer@usca.edu.
Andrew Geyer
Managing Editor, The Petigru Review