Susan Clare Anderson to give talk
APW member Susan Clare Anderson will be featured on the first episode of the Local Author Talk Series provided by the Scottsdale Public Library on Friday, January 22. She’ll be presenting her new book Everything, which will be available on the library’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram platforms. You can follow these social medias at the Scottsdale Library website- https://www.scottsdalelibrary.org . Also, be sure to tune in on Friday, January 15 at 6:30 pm the Local Author Book Talk on the Libraries YouTube channel. If you would like to show your support, you can even leave a “Like!”
The Local Authors Book Talk team has also created a separate trailer for the program each month. The trailer for the program in January is available now on library social media – Facebook , (https://www.facebook.com/ScottsdalePublicLibrary/videos/156409235951926), Twitter, and Instagram. You can also follow us on these social media at our website https://www.scottsdalelibrary.org/ by clicking the links are at the bottom of the home page.
Viewers can find a link to the actual program at the event page of the library website ( https://scottsdale.libnet.info/event/4681273 ). The link may not be available till the date and time of the program.
- Susan Clare Anderson
- Everything – Susan Clare Anderson
Wynne Brown on Sara Lemmon – January 14
APW member Wynne Brown has been invited to participate in the Pima Library Foundation’s Author Salon about her work on the Sara Lemmon Project. “On the Road to Mount Lemmon …” will take place via Zoom Thursday, January 14, at 4 p.m. “Seating” is limited, so be sure to register early. It’ll be a one-time opportunity as the Foundation will not be recording the event.
See the entire announcement here. Use this link to register.
Congratulations, Wynne. This promises to be a fascinating interview!
Carol Osmond Brown Celebration of Life
Save the date – and need help
Carol Brown’s son, Bryan, has booked the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix on March 6, 2021 for Carol’s celebration of life ceremony. Bryan is in the process of putting it all together now. The space that is booked is a large outdoor space but with a 50-person limit due to Covid. (10 of those will be reserved for family.) The celebration will be live-streamed, which will allow more APW friends to participate.
Bryan is hoping to have some stories or testimonials from some of his mom’s friends. These can be prerecorded in advance. He will edit it together for the event.
Please send memories, stories, testimonials to Bryan Lee Brown bryanleebrown@gmail.com Photos are welcome. Also, let Bryan know if you’d like to attend, live or streaming. We will announce the time (probably 11 or 12) and make the Zoom or other link available closer to the date.
Please pass this on to other friends who might not see this. Thanks for your help!
Reminder – Communications contest
The deadlines for the Communications Contest are coming up. There are MANY categories so check it out!
See the earlier blog post for details and links to the NFPW website. APW members enter the At-Large contest.
2021 Arizona Professional Writers Annual Journalism Scholarship
Arizona Professional Writers Annual Journalism Scholarship
APW is an avid promoter of literacy. We offer a scholarship each year to a student who plans to pursue a career in journalism or writing.
2021 Scholarship
The Arizona Professional Writers (APW) is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a deserving undergraduate student who lives and studies in Arizona, and is currently pursuing a degree in the fields of English or Journalism.
APW, a non-profit organization (formerly Arizona Press Women, Inc.), has been a statewide support for writers and journalists since 1953. Please review the materials and pass the information along to your students. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2021.
Click on the link to download Writing/Journalism Scholarship Application Form
Contact: Dianna DiMaggio at diannadima086@gmail.com
or call 928-978-5139.
Dianna Di Maggio,
The Arizona Professional Writers Scholarship Committee
Christmas cheer!

Buckshot Dot aka Dee Strickland Johnson
Buckshot Dot gave us permission to post one of her uplifting Christmas songs!
“Buckshot Dot”* © 2012, ® 2020
Sing me the songs of the Prince of Peace,
Of joy and of firelight bright,
Of holly and ivy and mistletoe,
Sweet children whose songs delight.
Don’t tell me stories about lost love,
Tell me only of love that lasts.
Let us go dancing all through the streets,
As in all of our Christmases past.
Chorus: Tell me the tales of Christmas,
AKA “Dee Strickland Johnson”
December 26 APW Book Club meeting
Karen Lateiner, host of the APW Book Club, is inviting you to join the December meeting.
Topic: Special Needs Children – The Angels On My Shoulder by Jody Sharpe
Time: Dec 26, 2020 10:00 AM Arizona via Zoom.
Special Needs Children – The Angels On My Shoulder by Jody Sharpe
This memoir is about the special students and others who over the years graced my life with just that, their grace. As a child I witnessed bullying of a child with special needs who was not allowed in regular school at the time. My heart remembered and I was fortunate to be chosen to help other children with special needs during high school. These two experiences set a path for me to travel finding a fulfilling, soulful and lifelong career.
Jody Sharpe had a rewarding twenty-five-year career as a Special Education teacher. She feels her work with the special students inspired her own life’s journey of self discovery.
Jody’s latest books include Special Needs Children The Angels On My Shoulder and children’s book, When The Angel Sent Butterflies. Sharpe’s award-winning series, The Mystic Bay Series include The Angels’ Daughter, To Catch an Angel and Town of Angels.
Writing about angels became healing after losing her daughter and then her husband. The valuable lessons she learned about moving forward and loving life in the now have set her on a mission to tell stories in novels and her memoir with love, humor and spiritual awakening. Enlightening readers to contemplate the precious life and memories we are given is Jody’s greatest hope.
Important links:
- You can purchase an e-book at Amazon (also a link for a paperback copy).
- Learn more about Jody and her books at JodySharpe.com.
- If you are a member and would like your book to be discussed at a future meeting, email or call Karen Lateiner: kslateiner@gmail.com, 973-997-7204
- Zoom link: APW members have been sent the Zoom link and will receive a reminder a few days before the meeting. If you are not a member and would like to attend, email Marie Fasano at mfasano.apw@gmail.com Put “Dec 26 Zoom link” in the subject line.