Membership renewal time!
Holiday Greetings to all members!
- APW Central meets every other Saturday at 10:00 AM starting January 14.
- APW Rim Country meets every alternate Wednesday at 1:00 PM starting
- February 8.
APW book Group meets monthly every 4th Saturday at 10:00 AM starting - January 28.
President’s message – end of year
President’s Page: End Of 2022
Has a year gone by any faster than this one? I think not. We’re entering the U.S. Holiday Season and so much has happened.
November is what I call “gratitude” month. Every day I think about one thing I’m thankful for. It could be a rainy day, a meal out with friends, my husband, but whatever it is, I know individually and collectively, those little things are what make my life rich. So I’m wishing you all a wonderful holiday season full of gratitude for all of the things that make your life full and complete.
HOLIDAY GET TOGETHERS
In December, the Southern Region will have a no-host holiday luncheon at noon on Saturday, December 10 at the Terraza Garden Patio and Lounge at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. Get details and to RSVP contact Jaimie Bruzenak. Rim Country will have their holiday luncheon in the private dining room at the Mazatal Casino’s Cedar Ridge restaurant on Monday, December 12th, from 11am – 1pm. RSPV to Connie. All APW members are invited to either luncheon!
VERY IMPORTANT!
We need volunteers. As an official non-profit we must report to the Arizona Corporate Commission. At the moment, APW does not have a treasurer. That means we’re operating illegally. If a volunteer does not step up, we may have to close our organization.
In addition, the Payson Book Festival committee needs a new Media Manager as Marie Fasano must step down for health reasons. Our Program Manager (who puts together the paper program for the book festival, has also stepped down for family issues. New people bring fresh, new ideas and we want to keep our organization both active and relevant. Contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to volunteer.
My calendar has Saturday, January 21st, 10 am, 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.
STORYTELLERS WANTED: Marie Fasano
Join in the Movement to End Hunger and Homelessness
November 12 – 20 is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. This is an annual program where people come together across the country to draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness. Find out how you can take action. Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
Register for our 28th Annual Conference in Mesa, AZ. https://www.azhousingcoalition.org/conference.html Early bird prices available until December 16.
Calling All Artists and Storytellers: Share your housing-related art or story and earn $100. Learn more about these opportunities to contribute your talents to the annual conference and to our public awareness campaign. https://www.azhousingcoalition.org/conference.html
FACEBOOK
Take a look at our APW Facebook page. 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!
HOLIDAY BAZAAR – not too late!
We are also happy to announce our Holiday Bazaar at our website: https://arizonaprofessionalwriters.org/holiday-bazaar-2022/. This is a terrific perk of being a member. It’s not too late to get your book listed. Send Jaimie Bruzenak a link to the book you want to list along with a high resolution jpeg of the front cover and your website link and she’ll post it for you. Books make great presents!
RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!
And, it’s membership renewal time. If you have already renewed, thank you! If you’ve renewed via the National Federation of Press Women, let us know to look for your renewal there. If you still need to renew, see Join under the About tab for the form. Those renewing their membership should complete the form so we can be sure your information is up to date and complete.
Thank you everyone for your continued support for this historic organization.
That’s it for 2022. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the upcoming holidays, and hope to see you at the next meeting!
—
Connie Cockrell, Author
H (928) 951-0970
http://www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com
Marie Fasano – another multiple award winner!
APW member Marie Fasano won three second place awards in the 2021 NFPW At-large division of the Communications Contest! Congratulations, Marie!
Marie won 2nd place, photo/writer; 2nd place, Informational Column and 2nd place, Feature story. Her entry, “Celebrating women of Rim Country working in non-traditional roles,” appeared in the Payson Roundup. (Click on the link to read her article.) The photos accompanying the article are in the gallery below.
There was stiff competition in the At-large division with strong entrants from 18 states, the District of Columbia and Spain. Marie and all APW winners will be honored at our annual state conference on May 14. (See tab to get details and to register.)
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- Marie Fasano
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- 2021 winner!
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- Chancy Thomas with her first pump truck and her dog Red – photo credit Marie Fasano
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- Robyn Byers Which trim is the best? – photo credit Marie Fasano
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- Daren DuFriend Tightening the Spark Plugs – photo credit Marie Fasano
APW wins big in the At-large contest!
Arizona winners in the 2021 At-large NFPW communications contest
From Teri Ehresman, Contest Director: “You have an outstanding number of winners again this year in the NFPW at-large communications contest.”
Bobbi Bennett – 2nd place, Publication regularly written by entrant; 3rd place, Publication regularly written by entrant; two honorable mentions for Publication regularly written by entrant
Wynne Brown — Honorable Mention, Books, Biography or History
Jan Cleere — 1st place, Books, Biography or History
Chrisann Dawson – 2nd place, general fiction; Honorable Mention, Fiction for adult readers
Jodi Decker — Honorable Mention, Specialty Articles, History
Marie Fasano — 2nd place, photo/writer; 2nd place, Informational Column, 2nd place, Feature story
Rebecca Goodrich — 1st place, Short Stories
Brad Graber – 1st place, Fiction for adult readers
Janelle Molony – Honorable mention, specialty articles, history
Jody Sharpe — 3rd place, Novellas
We had an extremely competitive at-large contest again this year. We had strong entries from entrants from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Spain, Washington D.C. and Washington state.
Congratulations to all! First place winners in their category move onto the national contest.
APW April Virtual Meeting 4-9-22
To All APW Members: Susan Anderson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
TOPIC: APW Central Meeting – Elizabeth Graham on her book –Democrazy
DATE: Saturday, April 9, 2022
TIME: 10:00 AM Arizona
ZOOM: The Zoom link has been sent to members. Nonmembers are invited to attend as well. If you did not receive the link and would like to attend, email Marie Fasano at mafasano1@gmail.com or look under the Members Only tab for the link.
Bio: 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 give 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.
Ten benefits for joining APW
APW Benefits
- Meet and exchange ideas with local authors.
- One or two virtual meetings a month with a local speaker on a writing or publishing topic.
- Join the APW Book Club where read and review each other’s work (email Karen Lateiner kslateiner@gmail.com)
- Ability to use APW Zoom for book presentations or other writing-related meetings. (Contact Marie Fasano mafasano1@gmail.com or Jaimie Bruzenak calamityjaimie@gmail.com
- Enter the At-large contest for the National Federation of Press Women. First place winners go on to the national level. Many categories for these prestigious awards. See https://www.nfpw.org/professional-contest We had several winners at the At-large contest. Dianne Beaff and Wynne Brown won awards at the national level.
- Post on our Facebook page more than once about your book. (Nonmembers are limited to one post.) Share your new publications, wins and writing events.
- Keep up on local book and writing events in Arizona.
- Your book listed in the Holiday Bazaar before Christmas. Listed at least once on FB that it is there. (Email Jaimie Bruzenak calamityjaimie@gmail.com)
Additional National Federation of Press Women benefits
- Premium professional members of NFPW have access to discounted libel insurance through its group policy.
- NFPW focuses on and working to support the First Amendment. https://nfpw.memberclicks.net/the-first-amendment-network
President’s Page – July 2021
April was a month packed full of activity. First of all, Welcome! I’m Connie Cockrell, newly elected President for the Arizona Professional Writers. The biggest event was the April 17th Virtual State Conference. In our short business meeting, we elected new officers. I was elected President, Marie Fasano steps into the Past President role, Bobbie Bennett remains Vice President, and Brenda Whiteside remains Secretary.
Most importantly, we are in need of a Membership Director and a Treasurer. These are vital positions in any organization. Both areas are in good shape, we just need a couple of people to see the value in keeping our organization vibrant by stepping up to volunteer. You can contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to talk about it.
June was the National Federation of Press Women virtual conference. In the national contest, Dianne Beeaff from Tucson, won second place in the category Collection of Short Stories, with her book titled On Traigh Lar Beach. See her website for info on the book. Wynne Brown, also of Tucson, won second place for the category Newsletter, Web, and Social Media. Her entry, Personal, The Sara Lemmon Project can be found at her website or contact her at wynne@wynnebrown.com. Congratulations to both as there were thousands of entries nationwide making competition very high.
Our Communicator of Achievement, Marie Fasano, attended the NFPW virtual award ceremony. We’re sorry to say that she didn’t win. Sherri Burris was selected. You can find her details at NFPW. Congratulations to Ms. Burris.
July features the Payson Book Festival. It is July 17th at the Mazatzal Hotel and Casino from 9am to 3:30pm. We have over 70 authors this year. We’ll have a shortened children’s program in the morning and entertainment by Marshall Trimble, Buckshot Dot, and a panel of Grand Canyon experts scheduled for the afternoon. 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!
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 the post. It’s an easy way for you to get to know the authors appearing and to help us drive attendance to the festival. Payson Book Festival Facebook page and Arizona Professional Writers Facebook page.
That’s it for July. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the summer, and hope to see you at the book festival!
Connie Cockrell
APW President
2021 At-Large Communications Contest winners
- Second place -Columns, general, Roaming the Rim Column – “WHO designates 2020 as Year of the Nurse and Midwife”
- Honorable mention -Feature story, Print based newspaper, “Homeless Give Back “
- Third Place- Autobiograpy or Memoir, Surrender
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Second Place-Collection of short stories written by entrant (published together in book form, including electronic books) Body Language
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Honorable Mention Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers – General Nonficton, The Big Book of Small Presses and Independent Publishers
Marie Fasano -winner of COA!
Congratulations to Marie Fasano! She was named Communicator of Achievement for Arizona for 2021 at our APW Virtual State Conference on April 17, 2021. Her entry is being considered by NFPW at the national level. Her writing and community involvement credentials are impressive. Here’s a very brief summary of Marie’s career. And the photos are of our new president, Connie Cockrell, presenting Marie with a certificate and the traditional Navajo Storyteller figurine for her achievement.
Marie A. Fasano from Arizona had a career in nursing and as a photojournalist. As a pilot, she volunteered flying to clinics in Mexico and writing travel articles. Marie has published books in the health field and a memoir, Tessie’s Tales. She edited two nationwide magazines and wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. Currently, she writes a column for the Payson Roundup, “Roaming the Rim.”
We should note that a Communicator of Achievement is not named every year. So it is quite an honor for Marie to be selected and well deserved!
APW Book Club – 4/24 – Tessie’s Tales
APW Members and guests,
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to our next APW Book Club Meeting on Zoom. You do not need to be an APW member to attend, but attendees are expected to have read the book prior to the meeting. See below for information about where to obtain a copy.
TOPIC: APW Book Club: Marie Fasano –Tessie’s Tales
DATE: Saturday, April 24, 2021
TIME: 10:00 AM Arizona
Contact Karen: kslateiner@gmail.com
ABOUT THE BOOK: Award-winning Tessie’s Tales consists of the stories as told by Tessie Trotta Fasano to her family. It’s about growing up in New York City in an Italian family with Marie capturing her voice in the telling.
Available in print at $9.99 or on Kindle at $3.99
Arizona Professional Writers 