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Minutes of November 14, 2009 The meeting was called to order at 1:00 pm with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were fifteen
members and several visitors. In addition to the two speakers, the visitors were Les Walker, Dan Walker, Margaret Rose, Stephenie
Fellinger, Scott Euson, John Oaker and Brenda Partain. Successes—
Rod Vanderhoof won first place in the Poetry category of the Golden Nib Competition at the state level. Stanley Trice won third place in the Fiction category. John Wills has been invited by the Virginia Foundation of the Humanities
to participate in the Virginia Festival of the Book as part of the “Why we write, what we write” program Thursday,
March 18, 2010. Larry Turner received an honorable
mention in the Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest for his sonnet “Carried Away by Poetry.” Jim Gaines published an Op-Ed entitled “Liberty” in
the Freelance-Star. Chuck Hillig has various events
scheduled around the country with the “Leap” producers. Upcoming
Events—
Larry announced or reminded of these upcoming events: 1.
The old and new
Boards will meet 7:00 pm, Wednesday, 18 November at Borders (Central Park) coffee shop to consider events and meetings for
2010. 2. The annual Christmas Party will be held Saturday, 12 December at the Salem Church
Library, Meeting Room A. Spouses are welcome and frequently attend this event. Maxine
Clark is organizing refreshments. Suggestions for entertainment are appreciated. 3.
The following meeting
of the Riverside Writers will be Saturday, January 9, 2010 in Meeting Room A. 4.
The Virginia Festival
of the Book will be held March 20, 2010. 5. The Celebration of Poetry will be held March 27, 2010 at the Downtown
Library. The featured speaker will be Jeremy G. Larochelle, Assistant Professor of Spanish, UMW. 6. Members are reminded of the critique group that meets every Monday at Borders. Old Business— 1.
Norma Redfern,
Treasurer, reports through Larry a balance of $1,246.89. 2.
Larry reminded
members that 2010 dues are now being accepted. 3. Jim Gaines reviewed Virginia Writers Club
activities. Specifically, he lauded RWC participation in state chapter activities and encouraged use of
the VWC website and newsletter; highlighted VWC contests and associations; noted the VWC annual meeting November 6 was well
attended; and invited members to the VWC Board of Governors Meeting, luncheon and follow-on public session February 6, 2010
at Mary Washington. 4. Diane Parkinson requested updated information for the website. New Business—
Election of Officers for 2010-2011. Liz Talbot, Vice President, and Ollen Richey, Secretary, were
elected. Program— At 1:10, Maxine Clark, Program Chair,
introduced Chris Johns, an actress, playwright, director, producer and drama teacher. Chris discussed her
creative process and efforts to synthesize the ideas of students in order to tailor material for them. She
read a dramatic monologue and shared a short play, performed to much acclaim by RWC members Chuck, Donna, Nita and Elaine.
The meeting broke for snacks at 1:45 and reconvened for questions and answers at 2:00. At
2:20, following the review of successes, upcoming events, old and new business, Maxine introduced Gae Pinschmidt, a longtime
English and writing teacher with a current interest in “Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities.”
Gae lamented the decline of language in this country and gave a lively, entertaining reading of Mark Twain’s
satirical essay “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” to emphasize her concern. At 2:55, following a brief Q&A,
the meeting was adjourned. Faithfully submitted, Ollen Richey Secretary
Elect
Minutes of October
10, 2009
The meeting was called to order
at 1:15 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 8 members and three visitors: Les Walker, Joyce Calkins and Teresa
Smith.
Successes — John
Wills has a book signing at St. Xavier University in Chicago on 15 October. He also held a signing at
SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) on September 24 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Upcoming Events — Larry Turner announced or
reminded of these upcoming events:
1.
The Illinois State Poetry Society 16th Annual Contest: Entries must be postmarked by 30 October. For further information,
see their Web site at http://www.illinoispoets.org/contest.html
2. The next meeting will be Saturday, 14 November, at the Salem Church Library, Meeting Room C&D. Next year, we
again will be meeting in Room A, though it is possible we may be moved occasionally to accommodate the library’s needs. 3. Christmas Party will be
Saturday, 12 December. Volunteers are needed to plan the party. Maxine Clark has agreed to coordinate food and decoration,
but will be unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Diane Parkinson will be asked to arrange entertainment, as she
has for several years. 4. The VWC Annual meeting will be 7 November in Charlottesville. Reservations are due not later than 30 October.
See the VWC Web site for details: http://www.virginiawritersclub.org/events
Old Business —
1.
Norma Redfern, Treasurer, reports a balance in the treasury of $1270.12.
3. Greg Mitchell reminds members that the next VWC meeting will be the Annual Meeting, to be held in Charlottesville
in November. Full details will be on the VWC Web site, on the Events page.
New Business —
The Nominating Committee reports
the following nominations:
Liz Talbot for Vice President
Ollen Richey for Secretary
Program: At 1:50, Colin Rafferty, who teaches creative non-fiction at the University of Mary Washington, read from
his work and addressed the elements of creative non-fiction.
The meeting was paused for a short break
at 2:32, and reconvened at 2:50 for critique.
The meeting was adjourned at 4PM.
Faithfully submitted,
H. Gregory
Mitchell, Sr. Secretary
***************************************************************
Minutes of September 12, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 1:16 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 12 members and six visitors:
Brenda Partain, Patricia Sheppard, Marc Sheppard, Liz Swanger, Beth Babcock, and Katrina.
Successes — Stanley Trice won first
prize in the first tier of the Golden Nib Competition for Fiction. Stanley donated his prize money to the Chapter. John
Wills has a book signing in Ashland today, 12 September, at Simple Pleasures Bookstore. Diane Parkinson
has sold her first novel to be published Spring 2010. Larry Turner’s essay “Century for Freedom,
Century for Peace” won first prize in the VWC Inside the Back Cover Essay Contest. Chuck Hillig has
had one of his earlier works translated into Italian. He also has several personal appearances/presentations scheduled in
October, in Colorado, Florida, California and Ohio.
Upcoming Events — Larry Turner announced or reminded of these upcoming events:
1. The next meeting of the Riverside Writers will be Saturday, October 10, at the Salem Church Library, Meeting Room
A. Steve Watkins will speak on his memoir, Down Sand Mountain. 2. Members are reminded of the critique group that
meets every Monday at Borders. Old
Business —
1.
Norma Redfern, Treasurer, reports through Larry a balance in the treasury of $1255.00.
2. The Book Signing Party at the Porter Library Saturday, August 12, was well attended, and resulted in some sales
for John Wills, among others. 3.
Greg Mitchell reminds members that the next VWC meeting will be the Annual Meeting, to be held in Charlottesville in November.
Full details will be on the VWC Web site, on the Events page.
New Business —
A Nominating Committee has been selected and contacted, but only one member has as yet agreed to serve. Nominations
are open for Vice President and Secretary.
Program: At 1:30, Dr. Larry V. Blount (Lawrence Vincent), author of DNA3,
spoke on the process of publishing and marketing his science fiction novel.
The meeting was paused
for a short break at 2:34, and reconvened at 2:50 for critique.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:15.
Faithfully submitted,
H. Gregory Mitchell, Sr. Secretary
Minutes of August
8, 2009
The
meeting was called to order at 1:12 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were seven members and three visitors:
Brenda Partain, Caryn McCleskey and Les Walker. Another member, Diann Brunell, arrived as the meeting was in progress.
Successes — Larry Turner reports
sales of our anthology at the Hanover Book Festival in the amount of $25.00.
Upcoming Events —
Larry Turner announced or
reminded of these upcoming events:
1.
As the concluding event in its summer reading program, the Central Rappahannock Regional library will hold a book signing
for local authors at the Porter Library on Saturday, August 22, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. Refreshments will be provided. Call
the Porter Library at 540-659-4909 for more information, or to register. Also see the Web site at www.librarypoint.org/calling_local_authors. 2. Members are reminded of
the critique group that meets every Monday at Borders.
3. The September 12 meeting will be held in Meeting Room A, Salem Church Library. The speaker will be Chris Johns,
a local actor and director of plays and musical productions. She will explore the process of moving a play from page to stage.
Old
Business —
1.
Norma Redfern, Treasurer, reports through Larry expenditure for prizes in Tier One of the Golden Nib contest totalled $315.00;
John Wills donated his prize money to Riverside Writers. New balance, $1212.
2. Greg Mitchell reports that the Virginia Writers Club Web site (www.virginiawritersclub.org) has been re-launched.
The Members In Print page once again is active. Those with publications listed therein are requested to check their page(s)
for errors and omissions, as this section has been reconstructed from old records.
3. Greg also reminds members that the next VWC meeting will be held Saturday, September 5, at the Centreville Library
(Fairfax County). Full details are on the VWC Web site, on the Events page.
New Business — A nominating committee will be named in September to select vice-president and secretary nominees
for the November election.
The program was an open reading in which Les Walker (visitor) read from a short story; Anne Flythe read two poems;
Madalin Bickel read a short story; Judy Hill read a character exercise/short story; and Larry Turner read a poem.
The
meeting was paused for a short break at 1:53, and reconvened at 2:01 for critique.
The meeting was adjourned
at 2:50.
Faithfully submitted,
H. Gregory Mitchell, Sr. Secretary
Minutes of July 11, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 9 members and three visitors:
Caitlin Jones, Lindsey Cox and Patricia Erickson.
Successes — John Wills will be attending Hanover Book Festival, where he will introduce his new book.
He also has been chosen to speak at Alumni Writer Night at his alma mater, St. Xavier University, in Chicago this October. Micki
O’Hearn won third place in the Virginia Writers Club Inside the Back Cover poetry contest. Chuck Hillig sends
word that he is in Denver to film for the latest Leap! movie: http://www.leapmovie.com/. He also reports sales of
many copies of his books after addressing the Mensa Annual Gathering on 4 July. Jim Gaines reports publication
of articles in a professional journal in Holland.
Upcoming Events —
Larry Turner announced or reminded of these upcoming events:
1. Entries for the Inside the Back Cover Contest/non-fiction are due 1 August. Mail these to Jim Morrison, 80 Chickadee
Circle, Moneta, VA 24121. 2.
Hanover Book Festival, August 1 (www.hanoverbookfestival.com): Riverside will reserve a table at this event, where members
will have the opportunity to sell their books. Volunteers are needed to staff the table. Please contact Larry if you wish
to sell books and/or volunteer. 3. Golden Nib Tier One winners must return entries with any revisions to Larry not
later than 8 August. 4. Members are reminded of the critique group that meets every Monday at Borders.
5. The August 8 meeting will be in Meeting Room D, Salem Church Library. We hope to have the YVWC; otherwise, there
will be an open reading. 6. Jim Gaines reminded all of the upcoming Board of Governors and Quarterly Meeting of the VWC in September. He also
reminds all interested that the James River Writers conference will be November 9-10.
Old Business —
Norma Redfern, Treasurer, reports a balance of $1,498. (and change), less awards for Tier One of the Golden Nib contest.
Jim Gaines again asked that VWC members who are not receiving the “E-Nunciator” email newsletter to contact
him.
New Business —
Awards were given for the first tier winners, and Riverside’s second and third place winners of the Golden Nib.
There being no further business,
meeting broke for a short snack and social period at 1:57. Meeting reconvened at 2:10 for an open reading in which Marcia
Baggott, Norma Redfern and Larry Turner read from their winning Golden Nib entries; Maxine Clark read a multi-author interview
from Newsweek; and Pat Moton read two short poems.
The meeting turned to critique at 2:56,
and adjourned at approximately 4:00.
Faithfully submitted,
H. Gregory
Mitchell, Sr. Secretary
*******************************************************
Minutes of June
13, 2009
The
meeting was called to order at 1:15 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 9 members, one returning visitor and
two guests.
Successes — Chuck
Hillig will address the Mensa Annual gathering in Pittsburgh on 4 July. On 7 July, he is scheduled to do an online interview
with Dr. Eldon Taylor in Seattle: http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/eldontaylor.html#upcoming. On 9 July, he will be flying
to Denver to be interviewed for the latest release of the Leap! movie: http://www.leapmovie.com/. And on 22 July
Richard Miller will interview him live in Chicago on video Skype for an hour.
Larry Turner’s
poem, “Never Mind,” won the Virginia Writers Club Inside the Back Cover contest.
Upcoming Events —
Larry Turner announced or
reminded of these upcoming events:
1.
Entries for the Inside the Back Cover Contest/non-fiction are due 1 August. Mail these to Jim Morrison, 80 Chickadee Circle,
Moneta, VA 24121. 2. Entries for the Golden Nib competition are due before the end of this meeting.
3. Hanover Book Festival (www.hanoverbookfestival.com): Riverside will reserve a table at this event, where members
will have the opportunity to sell their books. Volunteers are needed to staff the table. Please contact Larry if you wish
to sell books and/or volunteer. 4. Members are reminded of the critique group that meets every Monday at Borders.
5. The July 11 meeting will be in Meeting Room A, Salem Church Library. We hope to have the YVWC; otherwise, there
will be an open reading. 6. Other opportunities: Screenwriting competition for completed screenplays and television pilots, http://www.themoviedeal.com.
Jim Gaines reminds all interested that the James River Writers conference will be November 9-10.
Old
Business —
Norma
Redfern, Treasurer, was unable to attend; however, she reports through Larry a balance of $1,445.12 as of 9 June.
New Business —
None.
There being no further business,
speaker Sarah (Sally) Norkus was introduced at 1:32. Ms. Norkus spoke for about half an hour on the background, writing and
marketing of her book, The Eleventh Summer. She then fielded questions for another half hour.
The
meeting turned to critique at 2:34, and adjourned at 2:55.
Faithfully submitted,
H. Gregory
Mitchell, Sr. Secretary
****************************************************
Minutes of May 9, 2009
The meeting was called to order
at 1:08 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 11 members and one visitor, Diane Brunel.
Successes — Chuck Hillig has a video on YouTube that already has received several thousand hits. He also
reports an upcoming conference.
Rachel Clay will hold a book signing for The Orioles: Second
String Albert 'Diz' Russell at Borders in Central Park June 13, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Larry
Turner’s poem, “Swept Away,” won a third prize in the 2009 Poetry Society of Virginia Competition. Two additional
poems received honorable mention.
Upcoming Events —
Larry Turner announced or reminded of these upcoming events:
1. Hanover Book Festival (www.hanoverbookfestival.com): Riverside will reserve a table at this event, where members
will have the opportunity to sell their books. Volunteers are needed to staff the table. Please contact Larry if you wish
to sell books and/or volunteer. 2. VWC Writing Contests: Entries for the Golden Nib competition—Fiction, Nonfiction
and Poetry—are due June 13, and may be mailed to reach Larry by that date or submitted at the meeting that day. Entries
for the Inside the Back Cover Contest—Nonfiction are due August 1, and must be mailed to James W. Morrison, 80 Chickadee
Circle, Moneta, VA 24121 3.
Members are reminded of the critique group that meets every Monday at Borders.
5. The June 13 meeting will be in Meeting Room A, Salem Church Library. The speaker will be Sarah Norkus, author of
The Eleventh Summer, about an eleven-year old girl struggling with her family’s alcoholism and her mother’s
suicide fixation. 6.
Other opportunities: Writers Dream Grants from the Hobson Foundation are closed for 2009, but will be available again for
2010. For details see their Web site at www.hobsonfoundation.com. The Writers of the Future Contest runs quarterly. Full details
are on their Web site at www.writersofthefuture.com.
Old Business —
1. Did everyone receive Larry’s report on March and April activities? 2. Norma Redfern, Treasurer,
was unable to attend; hence, there was no Treasurer’s report. 3. The most recent Virginia Writers Club
membership list shows several Riverside members who have been purged from the roles for non-payment of dues. If you have paid
your dues ($35.00 per year) but are not receiving the e-newsletter and other communications from the VWC, please confirm that
your check has cleared.
New Business —
Rachel Clay suggested we explore the possibility of changing the meeting day and/or hour. After brief discussion, it
was decided to retain the present schedule.
There being no further business, the meeting broke for snacks at 1:27, and resumed at 1:37
with a presentation from Saxon Wrenn, author of the historical novel Powhatan: The Story of a People.
The
meeting turned to critique at 2:35.
Faithfully submitted, H. Gregory Mitchell, Sr. Secretary
NO APRIL MEETING DUE TO WORKSHOP
Minutes of March 14, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 13 members (four members
arrived whilst meeting was in progress).
Successes — John Wills has been a guest commentator on FoxNews.com,
and will be appearing on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Rachel Clay received a notice in the March 9, 2009, Jet magazine regarding
her book, The Orioles: Second String Albert 'Diz' Russell.
Larry Turner had a poem, “Krishna and the Cowgirls,” published on FickleMuses.com.
Upcoming
Events —
Larry Turner announced or reminded of these upcoming events:
1. Those carpooling to the Festival of the Book should coordinate with Rachel Clay.
2. March 28 is the annual Celebration of Poetry at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library on Caroline Street. Larry
asked for donations of books as prizes for this event.
3. On March 24, authors represented in Riverside Reflections are invited to give a reading of their work at
Mary Washington Elder Study, 102 Chandler Hall, at 10:00 a.m. (until noon). Please let Larry Turner or Jim Gaines know in
advance if you plan to attend. 4. Writing
workshop April 11, at Germanna Community College (takes place of April meeting); details on the Riverside Writers Web site. a. 15 have signed up for the workshop, 10 have paid. b. Norma
suggests there be a written agreement with any future workshop or other paid speakers. 5. Writing Contests, VWC: The deadline for
the Inside the Back Cover/Fiction writing contest is March 15. For the ITBC/Poetry contest, the deadline for entries is May
1. The Golden Nib (ex Two-Tier) Contest rules will be announced shortly. Deadlines are June 13 for the Chapter contest, September
11 for the State. 6. Deadline for the Spoon River Poetry Review 2009 Editors’ Prize Contest is April 15, 2009 (postmark). Full
details are online at http://www.litline.org/Spoon/contest.html 7. Larry reminded once again of the critique group that meets every Monday at Borders.
Diane Parkinson announced
she will be taking pitches as an editor for The Wild Rose Press at the Hanover Book Festival the first Saturday in August.
Old Business
— Norma Redfern, Treasurer, reports a checking account balance in excess of $1000.00 (plus fees received for the 11
April workshop).
New Business — (none)
There being no further business, the meeting
broke for snacks at 2:00, and resumed with an open reading at 2:18. Jim Gaines, Elaine Doudney, Diane Parkinson, Pat Moton,
Norma Redfern and Larry Turner read poems. Maxine Clark read an excerpt from her memoir.
The meeting
turned to critique at 2:41, and adjourned at 3:25.
Faithfully submitted,
H. Gregory
Mitchell, Sr., Secretary
**********************************************
Minutes of February 14, 2009 The meeting was called
to order at 1:15 pm, with Larry Turner presiding. In attendance were 10 members and one visitor (two members arrived whilst
meeting was in progress). Visitor welcomed was Gilda Wells of Sumpter, SC (guest of Rachel Clay). Successes
— Chuck Hillig reports the publication of an audiobook, and the translation of an extant work into Italian. Treasurer’s Report
— Norma Redfern was unable to attend; through Larry, she reported a balance of $908.97 in the
checking account (see Old Business, below). Upcoming
Events — Larry Turner announced or reminded of these upcoming events:
1. The meeting of March 14 at Salem Church Library will be an open reading, due to uncertainty re the venue’s readiness.
We are promised Salem Church Library will be ready for the March meeting. The suggested theme for this reading is “New
Beginnings” (all topics are welcome, as always). A critique session will follow.
2. March 21 is Book Fair Day at the Virginia Festival of the Book. Several members plan to attend; carpooling has been suggested.
Rachel Clay volunteers to coordinate, and will contact Diane Parkinson about announcing this on the Web site. Larry reminded
that Infinity has hosted a luncheon for its authors at past Festivals. He will contact John Harnish regarding this year’s
arrangements. ASIDE: The Free
Lance-Star needs to be contacted monthly regarding meetings. Kat Walker agrees to assume this duty.
3. March 28 is the annual Celebration of Poetry at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library on Caroline Street.
4. On March 24, authors represented in Riverside Revelations are invited to give a reading of their work at Mary
Washington Elder Study, 102 Chandler Hall, at 10:00 a.m. (until noon).
5. April 11, Riverside is sponsoring a major writing event, the workshop “Mastering Revision for Novelists and Memoirists.”
Workshop will be held at the Locust Grove campus of Germanna Community College, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and will take
the place of the April meeting. Maxine Clark announced there will be speakers for the meetings
in May, June, September and October. November will be another major program, for which ideas are solicited. Already under
consideration are 1) overcoming writer’s block; 2) a Young Virginia Writers program; and 3) promoting one’s writing
through performance and collaboration. Maxine also suggested she would like to see more use of internal talents in mounting
major programs. It was also suggested that of the July and August programs, one could be the Young Virginia Writers and the
other an open reading. Maxine will contact the Young Virginia Writers. Larry reminded once again of the critique group that meets
every Monday at Borders.
Jim Gaines proposed that Riverside host the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Virginia Writers Club.
Discussion and action were tabled until New Business. Old
Business —
1. Received royalty check from Infinity in the amount of $195.89, for Riverside Revelations. 2.
With this addition, the balance in checking stands at $908.97. New Business
— Jim Gaines proposed that the Riverside Writers chapter host the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Virginia
Writers Club, in the UMW Faculty Dining Room. This will take place the first Saturday in November 2010. It should involve
no expense to Riverside Writers. Neither will it require chapter involvement beyond what we may wish to mount. Should we decide
to arrange outside exhibitors, all fees collected will go to the chapter, as with Charlottesville and the 2009 meeting. ACTION: Jim Gaines moves that the Riverside Writers Chapter
host the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Virginia Writers Club on the first Saturday in November. (NB: that will be 6 November
2010.) Chuck Hillig seconds. Motions carried unanimously. There being no further business,
the program began at 2:10 p.m. The speaker was new Riverside member John M. Wills, offering his thoughts on “Researching,
Writing Publishing and Marketing a Police Novel.” The meeting broke for snacks
at 2:46, and resumed with a critique session at 3:05. The meeting was adjourned
at 3:41. Faithfully submitted, H. Gregory
Mitchell, Sr.
Secretary
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