New Board Member

Please be informed that the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Writers Association (WWA) has approved appointment of Robert Poznanski to the Board as Representative of the Southeastern Region.
~LaMoine MacLaughlin, President

   I have been a writer since the seventies. My early writing mainly consisted of letters to editors and political officials. Several of my letters appeared in the editorial page of the papers.
   I wrote instructional pieces for the trucking industry having one of my manuscripts published in Transport Topics, a weekly trade paper of the trucking industry. I also wrote a review WWA newsletter on one of our speakers.
   Since my retirement, after forty-seven years in transportation, my main interest has been fiction. I have two completed mystery novels which I am attempting to have published. I have ideas for several more novels one of which is in the planning stage at the present time.
   I continue my education as a writer by attending conferences. I have attended several conferences at UW Madison and Milwaukee. In 2010 I attended the Pen to Press conference in New Orleans LA. This is an intense weeklong conference dedicated to fiction writers.
   I have been a member of WWA for several years. I knew at the first conference that this was a good writer organization. I try to attend every conference and have never been disappointed.
   My retirement allowed me more freedom to travel and I have attended a couple of board meetings as a guest member. The meetings left me wanting to become more involved with the organization.

Announcements

The Jessica Nelson North online submission form is now live. Please submit your books of poetry via this form electronically. Otherwise, follow the instructions in the Contest Rules to submit through USPS mail.

The spring conference online registration form is now live! A fast, easy way to submit your registration form and let us know what special activities you will be participating in. If online is not your thing, follow the directions to the printable form and send it in USPS.

Our 2012 electronic advertising rates are now available. Please visit this page to discover affordable ways to share your writing wares with the membership of WWA.

Random Acts of Poetry & Art Day

What if we all brought art and kindness to others on the same day? Random Acts of Poetry & Art on February 20, 2012, is an international day of inspiration.  It is an artistic pay-it-forward movement with the purpose of spreading the joy of creation. Wherever you are on this day, please join us in sharing your poems and visual art for all to enjoy! It's up to you what you do!  Create, be inspired, and share photos of your Random Acts of Poetry & Art on our Facebook page for the world community to enjoy.

Find us on facebook to learn more about this artistic movement and to read about some Random Acts ideas! Random Acts on Facebook

Southeast Region's New Representative

Gale Borger, one of last year's conference speakers, will represent the Southeast region from her home in Twin Lakes where she lives with her husband and daughter, a Dogue de Bordeaux, two cats, about 1500 tropical fish, an African Horned Toad, a side-neck turtle, two dwarf hamsters, and a leopard gecko. When Gale is not writing, she and her husband breed and swap tropical fish. She is a Master Gardener and after work can usually be found in a flower bed up to her ears in weeds, or volunteering at a local gardening event. Her books include Totally Buzzed, Totally Fishy, Death of a Garden Hoe, and Digging up Dirt. Visit http://galeborgerbooks.com for more information. Gale can be contacted and welcomed at sereg [at] wiwrite.org We are excited to have her as part of the team!

WWA Charter Clubs Expand

Since it’s inception in 2009, the WWA Charter Club Partnership Program has blossomed to 14 clubs statewide, the fastest growing segment of WWA membership. Charter Club members enjoy substantial savings from the program.

Any local writing club, critique group, or gathering of five or more people, including online groups, interested in the writing craft can enroll as a Charter Club in the WWA. Charter Club Members receive discounted membership dues and conference registration fees in exchange for participating as a group. See theWWA Charter Club Partnership Program page for complete details.

Cornerstone Press Seeking Book-length Manuscripts

Cornerstone Press is looking for book-length manuscripts. If you have a book-length manuscript in any genre (e.g. non-fiction, fiction, poetry, children’s literature, graphic novel, artist’s book), you should consider publishing it with Cornerstone Press at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP). Send your manuscript by January 15, 2012 and you could be Cornerstone Press’s next author!

Cornerstone Press has published 30 books to date, including the first edition of Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest (the second edition was published by the University of Wisconsin Press) and Influences: How Ancient Hinduism Dramatically Changed Early Christianity (an edition of which was published in India in 2009). The most recent publication to emerge from Cornerstone Press is Whipped, Not Beaten, a chick-lit novel written by UWSP alum Melissa Westemeier. More ...

2012 Fall Conference Venue Announced

WWA Conference Site Selection Coordinator, Barb Jensen, announced the venue for the 2012 WWA Fall Conference will be theHotel Mead in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Discounted room rates will be available for conference attendees. See the 2012 WWA Fall Conference page for details as more information becomes available, or follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WIWrite.

Members Approve Name Change

WWA members attending the Saturday, September 24, 2011, General Meeting at the Fall Conference voted to approve an organization name change from Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association to Wisconsin Writers Association. To reflect the name change, the new WWA has a new website address, www.wiwrite.org, and all staff email addresses have been updated to use the new domain.

Jade Ring Winners Announced

The Jade Ring Contest generated more than 300 entries in seven categories. Winners were announced at the Fall WWA Conference with prizes going to the top three placements and up to two honorable mentions. First place prize winners received $150; 2nd Place, $100; 3rd Place, $80; and honorable mention, $15. Names of the Jade Ring contest winners are listed on the website at www.wiwrite.org/contests/jade-ring.htm. 

A Call for Submissions to WWA Press Anthology

The Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Association Press has published its first book: Robert Gard: The Windmill Man, compiled and edited by LaMoine MacLaughlin. Buy the book.

What’s next for the Press? One project, being assembled right now, is an anthology. Others will be...?? The Anthology project’s code name is Wisconsin’s Got Talent. That won’t be the final title, but it indicates the project’s essence.

What genre are we looking for? Any and all. “Genre” is not an operating term for this project. “Excellence,” however, is. Toss aside your preconceptions. Tear free from the straight-jacket of the term “genre.” We’re looking for short to medium-length pieces that you consider your most highly-polished, brilliantly-sparkling gems. If the piece you submit is a past winner (or runner-up, or even no-show) in a past WWA contest, please indicate so in your submission. Download submission guidelines.

Can my work be previously published? Yes, as long as you own the publication rights. You'll be asked to sign a statement to that effect.

Illustrators, we are also looking for you to add graphics to our publications.

Currently, we are looking for future projects. Do you have a book you want to print? We’d like to hear about it. Link to theHow to Submit to WWA Press for criteria and submission requirements. More ...

Robert E. Gard Book Available Online

The e-book, The Robert E. Gard Reader, just published, features the writing and key ideas of Robert E. Gard, all told in a very autobiographical and evocative way. It contains the story from Grassroots Theater about how WWA began, even including the Creed of WWA. There's also the text of a talk he gave, "Notes for Writers Who Are Desperately Moved to Write," which may well have been given at a WWA conference. WWA president, LaMoine MacLaughlin, wrote the foreword to the e-book. Click on the following link to enjoy it. It is free online. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/clevelandstatedr/docDetail.action?docID=10416299