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CONTENTS OF THE JUNE ISSUE

Charles Coe to Deliver Amy & Marcus Garvey Lecture - Saturday, June 14

Writers' Night OUT! - Monday, June 16

Writers' Night IN! - Monday, June 23

Informal Writers' Get-Together - Tuesday, July 15

Screening of Union in Manchester, NH - Thursday, July 17

Picnic in the Park - Saturday, August 9

Reportback: Roxbury Book Festival

All Members Are Invited to National ExComm Meetings

Help Amend the Massachusetts Wage Act

Grants Available to Low-Income Writers

Readings Recorded at Our Delightful Book Party

Book Authors! Tune-In Wednesdays

Kudos

Upcoming Events

Spread Your News on the Update and Our Website!

Here's the Eventbrite link to sign up. This event was scheduled some months before the "No Kings" demonstrations, one of which I encourage you to attend. If you go to a morning demonstration, I hope you'll join me after. - Charles

WRITERS' NIGHT OUT

MONDAY, JUNE 16 @ 6:00 P.M.

730 TAVERN, 730 MASSACHUSETTS AVE., CAMBRIDGE

Come welcome the warm months with the National Writers Union next Monday at the 730 Tavern in Central Square. We can sit outside, enjoy each other’s company and discuss the writers’ life, what we’re writing, reading, or anything else that comes up in conversation. We can lift a pint and celebrate Bloomsday, June 16, the day that the novel Ulysses by James Joyce takes place, an important literary holiday.

Contact Shannon O’Connor to RSVP.

WRITERS' NIGHT IN (ON ZOOM)

MONDAY, JUNE 23 @ 5:30-6:30 P.M.

Hello Boston Chapter Members,

It's great to to have all the sunshine this time of year. Although when we meet next week the days will already be getting shorter (ha-ha).

I hope you'll join your colleagues for our monthly "Writers' Night In" Zoom chat on Monday the 23rd. An ancient Chinese curse says, "May you live through interesting times." Well, we're certainly doing that right now. These are also times when it's more important than ever to stay connected. That's why Writers' Night in is important; it's a chance to spend a little time with like-minded people and share a bit about what's on your mind--what you've been reading or writing, how you're navigating our troubled waters, what you're doing to keep yourself engaged and inspired.

Feel free to bring friends who aren't (yet) union members.

Would love to see you then...  

RSVP to Charles Coe for the ZOOM link.

INFORMAL WRITERS' GET-TOGETHER

TUESDAY, JULY 15 @ 6 P.M.

Hello Fellow Writers,

Charles Coe here, inviting you an informal writer's get-together at my home in Cambridge Tuesday, July 15th at 6pm. Please bring up to two pages of prose or three poems to read aloud. The evening isn't a workshop; it's simply a chance to "test drive" some writing and get a little informal feedback. If you choose not to bring something to read, please free to just come and listen. 

I'll provide refreshments but feel free to bring a little something to share. Please shoot me an email if you're planning to come, if you need directions, or if you have questions.

SCREENING OF UNION

REX THEATRE IN MANCHESTER, NH

THURSDAY, JULY 17 @ 6:30

The National Writers Union New Hampshire members in partnership with labor advocates, unions, and friends including The New Hampshire Voices of Faith and Labor, American Friends Service Committee, The Teamsters, The NewsGuild, IATSE, The Rex Theatre, Starbucks Workers United, Our Economy Our Future, and SEIU are thrilled to announce a documentary screening of the film UNION. Prior to the film, starting at 6:30 PM, a panel of union members - including NWU member Sarah Katz and representatives from Starbucks Workers United and The Teamsters – will discuss the importance of unions at this historic time. The panel is moderated by NWU member Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney, Chair of the Economic Justice ministry of the NH Conference, United Church of Christ. Doors open at 6 PM.

SAVE THE DATE

PICNIC IN THE PARK

PINE BANKS PARK, MALDEN

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9

The Boston Chapter of NWU is planning on having a summer picnic. We will meet outside and bring a potluck lunch to Pine Banks Park at 1087 Main Street in Malden. Free parking is available, and it is about a ten-minute walk from Oak Grove Station. Help us celebrate the summer with our union members. We will have more info later on.

REPORTBACK:

ROXBURY BOOK FESTIVAL

SATURDAY, MAY 17 @ 9-5.

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, ROXBURY

There was a lot of activity and a lot of fun. Willie Wideman-Pleasants's workshop was well attended. She proposed several ideas for marketing without spending much money, including cable stations and book clubs. She gave guidance in developing an elevator pitch. Everyone enjoyed it.

ALL MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO NATIONAL EXCOMM MEETINGS

THIRD THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH

The National Executive Committee invites us all to attend our union’s Executive Committee meetings, which are held monthly on the third Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. ET. The ExComm is developing a formal process for members to submit agenda items for consideration at Executive Committee meetings — for now, you can email Recording Secretary Jonathan Rosenblum if you have something you’d like to discuss at an upcoming meeting.

HELP AMEND THE MASSACHUSETTS WAGE ACT

The NWU is spearheading an effort to explicitly include remote workers under state labor law, and to ensure that employers are held accountable if they don't pay their workers. And we need you to help pass this law! 

We've had promising meetings about the bill with both sponsors in the state legislature. Currently, our priority is to get other members of the legislature — especially on the labor committees — to sign on to co-sponsor. If we can build up support before the committee hearing about the bill, which will likely be toward the end of the year, we should have a much smoother path toward getting it passed.

Two asks for members:

• First, we'd love for people to reach out to their representatives. In particular, we're looking to connect with senators Jake Olivera, Jason Lewis, Sal DiDomenico, Paul Feeney, Pat Jehlen, and Pat O’Connor, and representative Tommy Vitolo. If you're repped by one of these people, please let me know so we can discuss setting up a meeting!

• Second, we're looking for additional examples of people having difficulty with remote work in MA. That can mean either (1) a worker based in MA being exploited by an out-of-state employer or (2) a worker in another state being exploited by a MA employer.

If you have any questions about the campaign, or want to suggest additional allies to bring into the coalition, please reach out to NWU campaigns coordinator Eric Thurm.

GRANTS AVAILABLE TO LOW-INCOME WRITERS

TO ATTEND CONFERENCES OR WORKSHOPS

The Boston Chapter Steering Committee is offering $100 grants to up to five NWU members in good standing. These grants are available to those who face challenging financial circumstances and would like to attend a writing conference or workshop (one of those listed below or one of your choice), or to take advantage of some other professional development opportunity.

If you would like to apply, or would like more information, please contact Steering Committee member Willie Wideman-Pleasants. 

BOOK AUTHORS! TUNE-IN WEDNESDAYS

FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Royalty, Compensation, and Distribution Issues for Book Authors

Join a discussion about the most pressing issues for book authors today. Share your experience and knowledge, and advance your career, in this virtual event hosted by Book Division Chair Dan McCrory and NY Member Timothy Sheard. Planned topics for the next several sessions are listed here.

To REGISTER for the Zoom program, email chair Dan McCrory.

READINGS RECORDED AT OUR DELIGHTFUL FEBRUARY BOOK PARTY

(Thanks to Willie Wideman-Pleasants)

Part I

Part II

LESLIE BRUNETTA found two important 19th-century Black Americans, Mary Freeman Heuston Lewis and William F. Johnson, lightly disguised in an 1868 William Dean Howells essay in The Atlantic. Lewis's husband wrote the first African American ethnology, Light and Truth. Brunetta’s article appears in Commonplace: The Journal of Early American Life.

SHANNON O'CONNOR had a poem published in The Rye Whiskey Review.

Please send any news of a publication, award, or writing-related appearance that has already happened to editor Barbara Mende. (A piece on your own blog or website doesn't qualify.) Send 50 words or less, plus your name and a link to the publication, event, or website where readers can find more info about you or the happening. Don't send notices of work that will be published in the future. Do send news of future events, but see the "Upcoming Events" block for that.

Marcus Garvey Memorial Lecture by Charles Coe, Saturday, June 14

2025 Guide to Manuscript Publishers (Authors Publish)

Arlington Common Authors Book Festival, Arlington, VT: Sat., 6/28

Boston Chapter Writing Workshop - Tuesday, July 15 (details to follow)

Boston Chapter Picnic - Saturday, August 9 (details to follow)

Boston Book Festival - Saturday, October 25

News from the BPL

National ExComm Meetings - Third Thursday of Every Month (see above)

Open Mic (Virtual from NYC) - Second Thursday of Every Month

Tune-In Wednesdays - First Wednesday of Every Month (see above)

Narrative Calls for Submissions

New England Book Festivals

Poets & Writers Literary Events Calendar

Romancing New England: Events for Local Romance Authors and Readers

Writers' Conferences: 60 Events Worth Attending

Second Saturdays - Wising Up Zoom Discussion Groups

Authors Guild Conferences and Seminars

GrubStreet Workshops

New England Science Fiction Association

New England Science Writers Events

Authors Publish workshops

Writers' Conferences

Tips and Tools for Writers to Advance Their Careers

Writing Contests (curated by the Authors Guild)

More Writing Contests

Persimmon Tree

*Some speaking time slots are still open.

SEND US NEWS OF YOUR UPCOMING READINGS, BOOK LAUNCHES, OR OTHER PUBLIC APPEARANCES. WE'LL TRY TO HELP YOU RAISE A VIRTUAL OR IN-PERSON CROWD.

Chair: Shannon O'Connor

Editor and Webmaster: Barbara Mende