September 20, 2016,  VOLUME 23, ISSUE 1

EDITORIAL: I hope your writing efforts this summer have been successful, but if they have not, remember the words of Walt Whitman, "To have great poets, there must be great audiences, too." So blame your readers.
GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 7 p.m.   
Providence United Methodist Church
2810 Providence Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28211

Featured speaker for September, 
 Linda Vigen Phillips
Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 7 p.m. 
Linda Vigen Phillips, author
 
Linda Vigen Phillips has always loved reading and writing poetry. As a retired teacher she delights in having enough time to pursue these passions.  Crazy, her debut book, is a YA novel in verse. Drawn from her own experiences growing up in Oregon, it tells the story of a teenage girl coming to terms with her mother's mental illness. Linda hopes that the book will speak to teens or adults whose lives have been affected by a loved one facing similar challenges. She and her husband live in North Carolina where they ride vintage bicycles on greenways and make regular play dates with the grandkids.  

A MAJOR EVENT IN OCTOBER
 Carolinas WordFest
 
 Check it out!
If Saturday, October 15, isn't already on your calendar, note it now. That's when Carolinas WordFest will host 23 poets, storytellers, lyricists, playwrights, screenwriters, nonfiction and fiction authors, young adult writers and a gaggle of improv comedy wordsmiths. It's free, inclusive and interactive - and it's our festival. The Charlotte Writers ' Club is the primary underwriter of the only festival to exclusively feature some of the Carolinas best writers. From New York Times best-selling authors to those who literally wrote the books used in classrooms around the country, all our panelists, interactive performers and workshop leaders have called the Carolinas home. Check out the wealth of talent at https://carolinaswordfest.com/writers /.
Check the schedule , plot your course throughout First Ward and put on your running shoes to hit your top choices - if you can choose between events. Storytellers weaving tales as they have for millennia. YA writers explaining how they capture teens' imagination. Authors sharing their screen, poetry, fiction and nonfiction writing tips.  Musicians and dramatists telling stories through song and theater. Latino writers chronicling the immigrant experience in prose, poetry and music. Whether you taste a little or sample your fill, you won't be a bystander. Our invited authors want you to participate. More than readings and recitations, WordFest will engage you. You will help shape a play, be part of a story, and learn writers' processes and tips to spark your creativity. 
Become an integral part of our festival as a volunteer. If you haven't already signed up for a shift (or two) during the festival, email Gina Carroll Howard before Labor Day with your name, email, phone number and times you're available on October 15.
Designed to educate and entertain, Carolinas WordFest will inspire both today's wordsmiths and readers and those of the next generation. It's your festival. Enjoy it.

MEET-A-MEMBER
INTRODUCING SUSAN MILLS WILSON
 
A writer of romantic suspense, Susan draws inspiration from just about everywhere: other writers, current events, even songs. In producing her fast -paced page-turners, she uses a technique she calls "hook, snag, hang" to draw the reader in, keep things tense, and leave you panting.

Susan is the newest member of the CWC board, and will be co-chair of Critiques. Or maybe Programs. All we're sure of is that she'll do a fantastic job.

Her advice to us? read, study styles, attend workshops, and, above all, join a critique group. In other words, take advantage of all that the CWC has to offer. Her books (Good Gone Bad, Her Lying Eyes, Meltdown) available on Amazon and Kindle.

Website: www.susanmillswilson.com
Blog: susanmillswilson.com/susans-blog
email: susanwilsonsuspense@gmail.com

ABOUT CWC MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Charlotte Writers' Club entitles you to participate in workshops, critique groups, contests, and guest speaker programs. The cost is a modest $35 per year for singles, $ 50 for couples, and $20 for students. 
We welcome writers in all genres and forms to join our Charlotte-area literary community. Your membership in the Charlotte Writers' Club helps support writers, readers, and literacy at a critical time in our nation's and our city's history. Join here.
To Join or Renew click this  Membership Link and follow the instructions. 

Charlotte Writers' Club 
P.O. Box 220954
Charlotte, NC 28222


Calendar
In This Issue
General Meeting Location
Providence United Methodist Church
2810 Providence Rd.

Click here for a map of the location.
Contest notices:

Visit the CWC Contest page for contest rules.      

-------------------------         
Ruth Moose Flash Fiction Prize

Opens: August 16, 2016
Closes: October 18, 2016
Announce Winners: December 20, 2016
Short fiction of up to 500 words.
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CWC Nonfiction Contest (article/essay)
Opens: October 18, 2016
Closes:

December 20, 2016
Announce Winners: February 21, 2017
Nonfiction from 750-2000 words.
 
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Poetry Contest
Opens: January 17, 2017
Closes: March 21, 2017 
Announce Winners: 

May 16, 2017
Poetry of fewer than 50 lines; haiku excluded.
 
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Elizabeth Simpson Smith Contest A short story between 1500-4000 words.
Closed May 17th, 2016
 
Announce Winners: September 20, 2016

Kudos
Our president Jack Hemphill published his latest novel, 
The Ridge Walker,  which is now on Amazon and at Park Road Books.  He will give a book talk, reading, and signing  on September 17th at Park Road Books at 11 am.
* * *
Paul Kurzeja's  short story,
To Relieve The Pain, was a finalist in the North Carolina Literary Review's Doris Betts Fiction Prize. Paul is a member of the CWC Short Story Critique Group. For more info, check out the NCWN home page.
              * * *
Our own CWC Mystery Thriller Critique Group will be featured in the fall issue of Ballantyne magazine. 
              * * *
Jenifer Ruff's third novel, Full Out (YA story about an elite gymnast), was published in July.
* * *
Jim Boatner's latest novel,   RED PAWN has just been released, and is available on Amazon and Kindle. Check it out. If you enjoyed UNLAWFUL FLIGHT you will like this one.            
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NOTES ON WRITING

 "Competitions are for horses, not artists."
-- Bela Bartok

"A children's writer should, ideally, be a dedicated semi-lunatic."
-- Joan Aiken

"Abuse is often a service. There is nothing so dangerous to an author as silence."
--
Samuel Johnson
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