APW Book Group – 10/22/22 – Kathleen Parrish
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
TOPIC: APW Book Group -Author Kathleen Parrish –Second Son
DATE: October 22, 2022
TIME: 10:00 AM Arizona
ZOOM: The link has been sent to Book Club members. If you’d like to join, contact Karen at kslateiner@gmail.com for the link.
ABOUT SECOND SON
Second Son: A Novel about the Deep South by Hermann Willis Logan, continued by Kathleen Parrish is available on Amazon.
The debut novel from Herman Willis Logan, continued by Kathleen Parrish, is filled with beautifully flawed characters struggling to survive the last years of the Great Depression and the epic panorama of World War II.
Trapped on a tenant farm in 1938 Mississippi, young Towanna Whitaker longs to get his education and “be somebody.” But the cotton harvest comes first, and his pa thinks an eighth-grade education is plenty for a cotton farmer. When his troubled mother abandons the family, Towanna must choose between his dreams of an education and helping his pa hold the family together. He gives up his education to care for the house and his baby sister, only to lose her in a tragic accident—one he might have prevented. Grief and self-loathing slowly give way to his family’s stubborn love and the shy overtures of Kathy, a local girl, but World War II arrives all too soon to tear them apart. Drafted into the army and deployed to Europe, Towanna must face death, loss, and his deepest fears if he’s to survive the war and find his way home.
“Second Son is an enthralling depiction of life in the Deep South during the final years of the Great Depression, and the hardships of World War II … fresh and deeply personal.” —Rick Adelmann, Best-Selling Author of the MG&M Detective Agency Mysteries
NFPW Contest now open
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The 2023 Contest is OPEN!
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The annual National Federation of Press Women’s communications contest has officially opened!The contest is open to writers, authors, copy editors, public affairs professionals, photographers, publishers or others in the communications field. Entries must be published in 2022 and entries are open to writers of all ages. The early deadline to submit entries – and avoid a one-time additional fee of $25 – is Jan. 18, 2023. The final deadline for books is Feb. 1, 2023 and the final deadline for all other entries is Feb. 8, 2023. The contest is sponsored by NFPW affiliates and people living in states without an affiliate hosting a contest are eligible to enter the NFPW at-large contest. First place winning entries in the affiliate and at-large contests are eligible to advance to the national competition. To enter the national contest, the entrants must be NFPW members, or must join by March 15, 2023. National winners will be notified in late April and the results announced during an awards dinner on June 24, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. See NFPW.org/professional-contest for more information. |
APW Book Group- 9/24/22- Elizabeth Graham
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Book Group -Elizabeth Graham Democrazy
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Zoom: The link will be sent to all members. It is also listed under the Members Only tab of the website. If you would like to attend and do not have the link, contact Karen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Graham had a top secret clearance at the age of seventeen with the CIA. She spent about twenty-five years living and working abroad: Soviet Union, then Russia, Central Asia, and other former Soviet pack countries. She was a consultant in war-torn Afghanistan, Rwanda, and Bosnia. Her real-life multi-cultural experiences in totalitarian and dictatorship countries gives her a great vantage point to comment on the Trump-era and how other countries view the U.S. racism, violence, and our democracy. She recently authored DEMOCRAZY, Version 2020 and is working on her second book.
APW September Virtual Meeting – 9/10/22 – Mark D. Walker
Susan Anderson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Central- Author Mark D. Walker – Consolidation and Why American Writers and Bookstores Lose Out
Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Zoom: The link has been sent to members. You can also find the link in the Members Only section. Guests are welcome. Email Susan Anderson at Susan.APW@hotmail.com for the link.
TOPIC: Consolidation and Why American Writers and Bookstores Lose Out
BIO: Mark D. Walker is a contributing writer at Literary Traveler and Revue Magazine. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and worked with international agencies like MAP International, Hagar, and Make A Wish International for over forty years. Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond was his memoir, soon to be followed by, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road. Two of his 25 articles were recognized by the Solas Literary Awards for Best Travel Writing, most recently with a Bronze for “Travel Adventure.” His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. Over 60 book reviews and 25 articles can be found on his website, MillionMileWalker.com
Find out a little more about his book, Saddest Pleasures.
President’s Message – September, 2022
President’s Page: September
Hello and welcome to September. I do hope you all had a wonderful summer whether you did a stacation or you had the chance to travel. If you’re new, welcome to the Arizona Professional Writers!
July was a busy month for the Rim Country chapter as they held their book festival on July 17th. We had about 50% fewer attendees this year and fewer authors. However, everyone who did attend had a good time and there was a lot of feedback on how much both the attendees and the authors like the festival.
August had both the Central and the Rim Country chapters return to regular meetings, held on Zoom. The book club is also still meeting via Zoom. We also held our thank-you luncheon for the many volunteers for the Book Festival. We held it “picnic” style in Payson’s Green Valley Park. Sandwiches, salads, and drinks were provided and we discussed the volunteer’s suggestions for the festival.
We need volunteers. Many of the APW officers have been serving for years. The Payson Book Festival committee needs a new Media Manager as Marie Fasano must step down for health reasons. The state organization needs a treasurer. New people bring fresh, new ideas and we want to keep our organization both active and relevant. You can contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to talk about it.
My calendar has September 18th, 10am, as our APW State Officer’s meeting. The meeting is open to all members, and it’s being held via Zoom. Contact me if you’d like to attend.
Speaking of media, take a look at our Facebook page for APW. This is a great place to announce your newest book, magazine article, or speaking engagement. This is just one of the many perks you, as an APW member, have, so take advantage! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArizonaPressWomen
While at the Payson Book Festival, I had a representative of the organization Recorded Recreational Reading for the Blind stop by my table. They can be found at ReadingForTheBlind.org. For our authors, they said they’d be interested in recording your book(s) in addition to needing narrators to read books into audio recordings. I know we have some people in the group who have media experience or otherwise beautiful voices. They are also interested in presenting to groups, so if you are looking for a speaker, try them out. You can contact Sarah Shew, 623-640-1219 for more info.
That’s it for September. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the upcoming autumn, and hope to see you at the next meeting!
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Connie Cockrell, Author
H (928) 951-0970
ConniesRandomThoughts.com
APW August Virtual Meeting – 8/10/22 Dito Abbott
Connie Cockrell is inviting you to a meeting on Zoom.
Topic: APW Rim Country- Dito Abbott- When life Imitates Art
Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM Arizona
Zoom: Members have been sent the Zoom link. Nonmembers who would like to attend should contact Connie Cockrell at connie.cockrell @ gmail.com for the link.
DITO ABBOTT
“Adventure: When Art Imitates Life” is based on my experience in a wide range of creative disciplines, as well as incorporating my love for adventure.
In this presentation, I will talk about comfort zones and how they define our horizons, using examples from my artistic past, such as:
– Spending 3.5 years shooting a stop motion music video for my band, Too Many Drummers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T0ZCpfSaIA
– Drawing on my sailing experiences to write a novel
– The important role failure plays in creativity
Dito’s debut YA Fantasy novel, Debunked, draws on his love for adventure, googly-eyed slime beasts, and sarcastic swords of legend.
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- Dito Abbott – Debunked
President’s message – July 2022
Greetings!
I want to thank everyone who was able to for attending our 2022 Arizona Professional Writers conference. The venue was exceptional, and we had terrific speakers. We also held elections; many thanks to those who could stay on for another term. Thanks everyone as well for electing me as President. Many, many thanks to Bobbi Bennett, Marie Fasano, Jaimie Bruzenak, and everyone else who had a hand in organizing and putting on this wonderful event. I do hope you all can attend next year.
Treasurer needed: Most importantly, we are in need of a Treasurer. Our previous treasurer, Cheryl Kohout, has been an officer in the organization for decades now and has decided to step down. Of course the treasurer is a vital role in any organization and if you have some time, I promise you will not be overwhelmed with the role. You can contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to talk about it.
June was the National Federation of Press Women annual conference. I had a great time in Fargo, N.D. It’s a lovely city and the venue was fantastic. Best of all, three of our APW members won or placed in the national Communication Contest. Let’s give hearty congratulations to Rebecca Goodrich who won a 1st place in her category, Jan Cleere who won a 2nd place, and Brad Graber with an Honorable Mention. I want to again honor the 9 members who won in the At-Large competitions, winning 15 awards total. These are stiffly competitive categories so all of our winners should receive a round of applause.
If you are thinking of attending next year’s NFPW Conference, it will be in Cincinnati, Ohio. The time spent with these fantastic, intelligent, and pretty darn witty women and men was a boon to my soul. The presentations were wonderful and one, on treating your customers as a non-profit treats their donors, was worth the price of the entire conference. Not saying the other presentations weren’t good, it’s just that that one had info that could be pressed into service that very minute. Don’t miss out on next year’s event.
July features the Payson Book Festival. It will be held July 23rd at the Mazatzal Hotel and Casino from 9am to 2:30pm. We have over 80 authors this year and an all-day, on-demand children’s program. In the Fireside room we have presentations by authors: Ditto Abbott, Jody Decker, Chrisann Dawson, Bryan Lee (aka Bullseye the Clown), and TJ Boyer. The topics range from poetry to bullying. I’m sure each one will be very interesting. I do hope you can make it to the Festival even if you aren’t a “seller.” It will be a great time to catch up!
Spread the word! Speaking of the Book Festival, we’re doing a lot of posting on our Facebook pages for both APW and the Book Festival. Take a look at those pages and share the posts. Lots of people sharing creates a big boost in the number of people who get to see each post. It’s an easy way for you to get to know the authors appearing and to help us drive attendance to the festival.
https://www.facebook.com/PaysonBookFestival and
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArizonaPressWomen
That’s it for July. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the summer, and hope to see you at the book festival!
Connie Cockrell
APW President
Brad Graber – NFPW Award winner!
Brad Graber is our third APW member who won an award at the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest. After winning first place in the At-large contest, Brad’s entry, Boca by Moonlight won honorable mention at the national level in the category “Fiction for adult readers.”
Congratulations, Brad, for your work being recognized at the national level! We are proud of you!
Jan Cleere – NFPW Award winner!
Jan Cleere is another APW winner in this year’s National Federation of Press Women’s Communication Contest. After winning first place in the At-large competition, her entry went on to the national contest. Jan placed second in her category: “Books, Biography or History” with her entry, Military Wives in Arizona Territory: A History of Women Who Shaped the Frontier.
Congratulations, Jan! We are proud of you!
Rebecca Goodrich – NFPW Award winner!
APW member Rebecca Goodrich took first place honors in the NFPW Communication Contest! Her award was announced at the awards ceremony at the NFPW 2022 Convention in Fargo, North Dakota. Rebecca won first place in the At-large contest and her entry went on to the national level where she placed first in her category.
Her entry, “Saving My Soul from Scientology” won first in the Chapter in a Book category. Her story appeared in Cirque: A Literary Journal for the North Pacific Rim, Vol 11, No. 2. We are very proud of Rebecca! Congratulations!
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- Rebecca Goodrich
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- Cirque Literary Jounral
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- Unalaska
Arizona Professional Writers 