Saturday, November 27, 2021
Assunta Maria Vickers
The Devil is in the Details: On General Submission Success
At the request of the IECWC Board, Assunta Vickers will be re-presenting an updated version of this title from 2016,at the Inland Empire Branch of the California Writers Club. The goal is to provide encouragement and real world tips about how NOT to guarantee your submission will be round-filed by the majority of acquisition editors in the world of publication.
Prior to her work as Judge for the State CWC Literary Review in several non-sequential years, and as current Editor for the IECWC FRESH INK news journal since July 2020, Assunta Maria Vickers, RN, BSN, has written and edited policy/procedure manuals professionally, in her specialty as a community I.V. therapy nurse. She hosted a long-time critique group, Writers Circle, in her Riverside home. Vickers has also edited for the nursing journal National Association of Vascular Access Networks (NAVAN), and the East San Gabriel Valley Red Cross Disaster Nursing and Health newsletter. While a mom of elementary-age children she created the Highland elementary school Student Writing Contest Program, organizing a team of judges and the publishing logistics and guide-lines for grades K-6. (Yes, she included Kindergartners! They dictated their drawings to adults.)
Publication venues have included Southern California Showcase on several occasions; 2019 Anthology Inland Empire CWC; other CWC ‘Sister’ branch monthly newsletters and haiku contest winner; Loma Linda Medical Center Nurse In Action magazine; The Highland PTA Newsette; The American Red Cross ESGV Disaster Nursing and Health newsletter; IECWC Fresh Ink, and twice in the prestigious CWC Literary Review, and the 2/2021 Issue of Legacy Coalition Grandparents News. Assunta is not ashamed to admit that her work has also been rejected by Chicken Soup for the Soul, High Desert CWC Anthology Women of the Bible, Airbnb Magazine and the CWC Literary Review, among others. Rejection is all a part of the process, isn’t it?!
Visit Assunta Maria’s very sporadic blogsite here: assuntamaria.wordpress.com.
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Elisabeth Tuck
CWC LITERARY REVIEW: What We Can All Learn About Submission Success
Elisabeth has been the managing editor for the CWC Literary Review in recent years. She participates in critique groups, and although twelve years in a writing class taught her how to write, She doesn’t have the drive to publish or enter contests. She has written many short stories, half a book, and lots of letters!
Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Texas at Austin, master’s from UC Berkeley, and a certificate in editing from UC Berkeley ex-tension. Elisabeth has traveled extensively and has always fit in reading and volunteer work. Living in New York, Houston, Austin, Atlanta, Toronto, Syd-ney, and Northern California, and working in a variety of jobs in two distinct careers have served Ms. Tuck well. She has been a social worker and an infor-mation technology professional. The IT work, night classes, and lots of re-search taught her the precision needed for editing.
“Editing suits me. I realize that I have always edited as I read–social workers’ descriptions of the plights of families, requirements for a new billing system, procedure manuals, menus, advertising signs, resumes, my brother’s letters, etc. A prolific writer asked, ‘How can I improve if you don’t show me the problems?’”
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Bella Mahaya Carter
Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?
Finding Peace of Mind While You Write, Publish, and Promote Your Book
In her new book Where Do You Hang Your Hammock? Finding Peace of Mind While You Write, Publish, and Promote Your Book Bella Mahaya Carter encourages writers and authors to rethink their ambitions and trust in their heartfelt purpose and values in the journey to becoming, or continuing on, as authors. Carter’s guidebook is divided into five parts: Dream, Nourish, Write, Publish, and Promote that show writers how to use their present moment circumstances as stepping stones to a successful and meaningful writing life. Carter will be presenting themes from her book.
Bella Mahaya Carter is a creative writing teacher, empowerment coach, speaker, and author of an award winning memoir, Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy and a collection of narrative poems, Secrets of My Sex. She has worked with hundreds of writers since 2008 and has degrees in literature, film, and spiritual psychology. Her poetry, essays, fiction, and interviews have appeared in Mind, Body, Green; The Sun; Lilith; Fearless Soul; Writer’s Bone; Women Writers; Women’s Books; Chic Vegan; Bad Yogi Magazine; Jane Friedman’s blog; Pick The Brain; the Spiritual Medial Blog; Literary Mama, several anthologies’ and elsewhere. She lives in Studio City, California. Visit her online: www.BellaMahayaCarter.com
Saturday, August 28, 2021
Member Open Mic
We would love to have as many members as possible read.
** Public reading of your work is excellent preparation for future public marketing and promotion of your published books!
The reading can be poetry, fiction, memoir, non-fiction, vignette, or you-name-it.
It can be a stand-alone work or an excerpt from a larger work.
We only ask that it be limited to 750 words or less.
The average reading speed is about 130 words per minute so to read a piece 750 words long would take roughly 5.8 minutes. Note, the average reading speed does not necessarily apply to poetry.
If you wish to participate in our August Zoom open mic please email Sam Nichols with your intent to do so.
If you have identified the piece that you would like to read please include the word count and title.
Saturday, July 24, 2021
Dr. Juana Moriel-Payne
Experiencing Creative Writing Through Different Lenses
Juana Moriel-Payne will discuss three topics. First, she will delve into the nuances of being a bilingual writer, and how one broaches living between two languages that share one border. Second, she will transport the audience to far off destinations through an emulation of her travel writing techniques which involve engaging all the senses. Lastly, she will show us how we can use photography to build narrative in our own stories.
Dr. Juana Moriel-Payne holds a Ph.D. in Borderlands History, an MFA in Bilingual Creative Writing, and an MA in Spanish/Hispanic Literature. Her two published novels, Trigueña and La caza del venado, received literary awards in Mexico and the United States. She has published her research on Latin American/Mexican History in the United States and Latin American journals. She has taught Latin American Studies/History courses at the University of Saint Thomas-Houston and at the University of California-Riverside. Currently, Moriel-Payne teaches Travel Writing/Chronicle, Memoir, Novella and Photography/Narrative.
Saturday, June 26, 2021
SPECIAL MEMBER SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATIONS
by Our Newest Members
In June, the IECWC will be hosting a special presentation that will feature some of our newest members along with a mystery guest. We will highlight the work they have been pouring themselves into and/or have successfully published.
Following the presentation of our members, and our mystery guest, we will move to an open mic forum where you, the audience, will be able to briefly share what YOU have been working on and hope to publish. Keep in mind that time will be limited so please select short pieces to share.
If you would like to sign-up to speak at our open mic, please contact our Program Chair, Monica Aleman, for further instructions mcaleman08@gmail.com. We are excited for the opportunity to put a spotlight on your creative endeavors. We hope you will join us for this fun and interactive experience!
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Melissa Miller Berry – 10:00 am
Melissa Berry will bring to life the journey of her memoir Close But No Cigar, a personal account of her 30 year relationship with George Burns. Today, at the very age he was when he met her, Ms. Berry is uniquely positioned to reflect on the significance of George Burns in her life. In memoir, personal stories sometimes require distance between the writer and the subject. Ms. Berry will walk the group through the process of writing this very personal narrative which includes anecdotes, letters, and even comedy routines. She will read from the memoir and also share poems that will be added to the republishing of the memoir 23 years later.
Melissa Berry, faculty member at Mount Saint Mary’s University, teaches in the undergraduate English Department as well as genre specific 1 unit courses in Graduate Humanities which include “The Return of the Novella” and “American Short Stories of Famous Novelists.”
She earned her MA in Humanities and MFA in Creative Writing from MSMU. Her articles have appeared in Smooth Jazz Magazine, The LA Times, Buzzine, miscellaneous anthologies, and a number of books published by Simon and Schuster including creating and writing “Body by Jake.”
Most notable, her personal Close but No Cigar – 30 Wonderful Years with George Burns recounts the significance and influence of George Burns’s presence in her life from the time she was 18 until his death nearly 30 years later.
Saturday, April 24, 2021
Luis J. Rodriguez – 10:00 am
Mr. Rodriguez will address the sense of urgency and responsibility he feels to bring poetry to the masses, to make it accessible, and the benefits of connecting with words in the tumult of an ever changing world. He will discuss how personal experience with social justice issues has served as a literary “call to action” and inspired much of his work.
Mr. Rodriguez will walk the club through some of the tools and devices that help build his poetry. He will teach us how we can write poetry, too. He will share his literary journey, what got him started and talk about his most recent project.
Luis J. Rodriguez served as Los Angeles Poet Laureate from 2014-2016. He has 16 books in all genres, including the bestselling memoir, “Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.” He’s founding editor of Tia Chucha Press and co-founder of Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore. His latest book is “From Our Land to Our Land: Essays, Journeys & Imaginings of a Native Xicanx Writer.”
Luis’s website: https://www.luisjrodriguez.com/ Tia Chucha’s Bookstore: https://tia-chuchas.myshopify.com/
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Judy Kohnen – 10:00 am
Judy will present: How to make your writing more compelling: five point framework, which is an effective technique for memoirs and essays as well as fiction.
A Conversation with Richard Montoya – 11:00 am
Montoya is a dedicated LA writer and lover of mystery and the hard boiled detective novel and film noir motion pictures which may have been invented in southern California. The land from the mountains – desert & sea inform almost all his prose, poetry, plays & screenplays. New projects abound and possibilities lurk down every sun blasted boulevard in this connected/unconnected hay ride we call Los Angeles… Scene 1 Act 1! See you there – be in your favorite Raymond Chandler clothes or have a mai tai poured from Chinatown – make mine a double. Pronto!
Mr. Montoya will be discussing playwriting and screenwriting. His research process, his writing techniques, and what inspires him. He may provide some background/backstory given his extensive career, pertinent and essential to the conversation. The “how to’s” of the craft. Mr. Montoya may also discuss working on multimedia projects with varying modalities of art.
Mr. Montoya encourages all attendees to please watch his most recent documentary about Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire available on Netflix before he presents, for some context.
https://www.dailycal.org/2021/02/05/actor-writer-richard-montoya-discusses-berkeleys-affecting-legacy/
Article on writing recently for new project
Saturday, February 27, 2021
Literary Journey presented by JoAnna Novak
JoAnna Novak’s debut memoir Contradiction Days will be published by Catapult in 2022. Her short story collection, Meaningful Work, won the 2020 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Contest and will be published by FC2 in 2021. Her third book of poetry, New Life, will be published by Black Lawrence Press in 2021.
Novak is the author of the novel I Must Have You and two previous books of poetry: Noirmania and Abeyance, North America. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other publications. Her essay “My $1000 Anxiety Attack” was anthologized in About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of The New York Times. She is a co-founder of the literary journal and chapbook publisher, Tammy.
JoAnna Novak’s Website: https://www.joannanovak.com/
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Published Author Panel
Join us as our members, who published books in 2020, speak of the process and answer questions. Those members who published books in 2020 include: Sue Andrews, Brenda Hill, Millie Hinkle, Donald Oestreicher, Jackie Phillips, Scott Skipper, and Sharon White.
Some of these published books are displayed below along with links to where they may be purchased.
