Join APW or renew now for 2020!
Hi APW members! APW, Arizona Professional Writers, is affiliated with the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW).
This is a friendly reminder that your NFPW/APW dues will come due on January 1, 2020. If you are an NFPW member, you will receive a reminder directly from them. If you are a state-only member, you can pay anytime by sending a check to our APW treasurer, Cheryl Kohout:
Cheryl Kohout
751 S. Brown St.
Tucson, AZ 85710
Please mark on your check, or include a note, that it is for your 2020 dues. Also, if your contact information has changed, please make a note of that. You can also send any contact changes to Jaimie Bruzenak who keeps the directory up-to-date.
If you did not pay your dues last year, please reconsider joining! Being an NFPW member has many benefits. There are 4 types of membership—professional, retired, student and premium professional. See https://nfpw.org/join/
Our hope for 2020 is to continue the efforts APW President, Marie Fasano, has started, revitalizing APW and our chapter. The Fall Conference was a success. We will hold the Spring Conference on May 9, with a recognition ceremony, speaker and luncheon plus a fun activity. Both Rim Country and Central Chapters have been holding monthly meetings with excellent speakers. Jane Eppinga, who was chair of our chapter, recently passed away so for the time being, Southern Chapter will organize carpools to Central’s meetings.
Please join us and reap the benefits of our APW/NFPW membership!
Welcome, Elsa Bobier!
Elsa Bobier
We welcome new member Elsa Bobier to the APW Rim Country Chapter. Elsa has lived in the Rim Country area for the last 20 years. She enjoys the beautiful weather, nature and panoramic scenery. She has published poetry and writes many reports in her work as a senior Social Services Case Manager.
President’s Message – November, 2019
President’s message for November, 2019
Marie Fasano
In November we start planning for the holidays. Some may have family members over to their home; others share the days with friends and neighbors. Lots of writing takes place even if it’s just in cards and email notes.
This year, my first Thanksgiving as president, I am writing to you, the members of APW, to say “Thank you” for your commitment to your chapter by attending meetings to share your writing stories and learn more from excellent speakers.
We have recruited several new members in Central and Rim Country Chapters. There are new ideas to get the word out about you as a writer and to promote APW. Jaimie Bruzenak, our webmaster, has sent out a call to see who might be interested in participating in developing a short video for YouTube or an audio Podcast. Let us know what you think about this idea.
We are excited to announce our plans for 2020 including:
APW representation at the ASU Desert Nights Rising Stars Writers Conference on February 22 by six members: Jan Cleere, Jody Sharpe, Susan Anderson, Jane Ruby, Mary Rechkemmer Meyer and Barbara Lacy. To help with the registration fee, each author will pay a small amount to participate with APW taking up the remainder of the cost. This is just one advantage of being an APW member.
Plans are in place for a spring conference on May 7 in Payson. More info later. Save the date.
Don’t forget Rim Country’s Payson Book Festival July 18, 2020. Sign up early in January to hold your place.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Keep Writing,
Marie A Fasano
President, Arizona Professional Writers
Nancy Pellegrini to speak December 14 at Central Chapter meeting
Imagine being paid to write in a foreign land! Like our late member Patricia Myers, who spent summers in Paris writing about the jazz scene, Central Chapter speaker for December, Nancy Pellegrini, spent decades writing from South Korea, China and Europe. She will share her experiences with members and guests.
DATE: Saturday, December 14, 2019
TIME: 10 a.m.
LOCATION: Shepherd of the Hills United Church of Christ, 5524 E. Lafayette Blvd., Phoenix.
LUNCH: A $15 lunch will be served.
REGISTRATION: Members and non-members are invited. Register for this event by sending an email Barbara Lacy or call 480-620-1358.
SPEAKER: Nancy Pellegrini
Nancy Pellegrini
Nancy Pellegrini, a journalist who spent decades writing from South Korea, China and Europe, will share her experiences with Arizona Professional Writers at APW Central Chapter’s December meeting.
Nancy wrote The People’s Bard: How China Made Shakespeare Its Own (Penguin), 2016 and more than 1,000 articles on performing arts in China. She copyedited and proofed Penguin manuscript, wrote United Nations policy papers, and created articles for publications like the Christian Science Monitor.
Nancy managed a Beijing-based North Korean art gallery and led 40 tours in the country. In her spare time, she volunteered at the Beijing Zoo on orangutan enrichment projects. Now in Phoenix, she has opened Nancy Pellegrini Editorial Solutions, LLC, an editorial solutions business offering writing and editing services, copy editing, rewrites, ghostwriting and feature stories.
APW member Jane Eppinga passed away
Sad news to report:
Tucson has always been blessed with an abundance of creative people–particularly writers. One unique and talented voice was silenced today with the death of Jane Eppinga. Jane, a prolific writer, told us mostly true stories, mostly of Arizona’s past. She did it with enthusiasm and precision and dedication to accuracy. I first met Jane at a meeting of the Society of Southwest Authors. I saw her standing in a line and somewhat timidly approached her, because I knew she had a reputation for being a grande dame of Arizona writing. She quickly made me feel relaxed with her friendliness and genuine desire to be helpful. If she was a grande dame of anything, she didn’t know it! Jane took delight in many things–particularly her trips to Holland where she visited family. She lived alone, but connected to an enormous community of writers and readers. Readers are poorer for the lack of her voice in new works, but we will always have the multitude of books and articles she left behind. — written by former APW member Bunny Badertscher
Jane joined APW in 1979 and was Chairman of the Southern Chapter. You can also read a little about her background and how she came to Arizona at Desert Silhouettes.
Central Chapter Meeting, November 2019
November comes with a smile, a chuckle and many laughs!
Jodi Weisberg
Jodi Weisberg will show her comedy stripes and give tips on using humor in your writing at Central Chapter’s November meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
Long time member and friend of APW, Jodi has a great background for humor. She is a retired attorney, worked as a journalist and as a stand-up comic. She is a former Bureau Chief and legal reporter for the Arizona Journal and has published about 1000 articles.
Jodi speaks on elder law and mental health issues … and of course, humor. She recently became a certified yoga instructor and a pet sitter.
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2019
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Place: Shepherd of the Hills, United Church of Christ, 5524 East Lafayette, Phoenix, AZ.
Lunch: A $15 lunch will be served. In your RSVP, let Barbara know if you are a vegetarian.
RSVP: Please RSVP to: Barbara Lacy.
Next meeting: Saturday, December 14, 2019. We will hear from a new member who will talk about writing from China.
Summary of APW Central Chapter October, 2019
Connie Cockrell, Rim Country Director
At our October APW meeting, APW member Connie Cockrell told us how she can write multiple series at the same time without mixing up her characters in a lively meeting October 12, 2019, at the Shepherd of the Hills United Church of Christ, 5524 East Lafayette, Phoenix, AZ.
Connie has written over 20 books in series as diverse as cozy mysteries, science fiction, Westerns, young women and historical.
Want to try some of her techniques?
• Start with a story board.
• Put small notes on a wall of the locations of the story and mini-descriptions of your characters. Add a location or character, update your wall as you work.
• Connie prefers action scenes to descriptive paragraphs..
• Then, write!
New to novel writing? Here is how Connie started: November is Novel Writing Month! Her daughter challenged Connie to enter the contest with her by writing the required 1,667 words per day! So she did . . .and at the end of the month she had her novel . But alas, her daughter didn’t. So Connie is the novelist.
Here is the teaser for next month: Our own Jodi Weisberg will show her comedy stripes and give tips on using them in your writing.
Jodi Weisberg
Save the date: 10 a.m., Saturday, November 9, 2019, Shepard of the Hills, United Church of Christ, 5524 East Lafayette, Phoenix, AZ.
In December, we will hear from a new member who has written from China.
