APW Typerider October 2025
Greetings!
Third quarter! How can that be? I feel exactly like the woman riding the typewriter in our logo. Better riding the typewriter than being sucked into my computer keyboard, eh? By the way, do you know who designed the logo? I do not.
You’ll see a few emails this month. The Board just met to plan exciting things just for you in 2026: the annual conference and potentially a new adventure in marketing. More on those things later this month or early next. VP Marie Fasano will be reaching out about membership dues.
Wishing you a marvelously spooky October,
Carol Baxter, APW President
Email
Click on the link to find out about what’s happening!
- Holiday Bazaar- get your book listed! #apwbookbazzar
- Upcoming chapter events including Carol’s talk on using Kickstarter to launch a book on October 15.
- APW Book Club selection Oct 25 – Southern Woman by Kathleen Parrish
- Dates for APW-sponsored Book Festivals in 2026 and other White Mountain events
- NFPW Communication Contest for works published in 2025
APW Typerider August 2025
Carol Osman Brown gave me a plaque that says, “The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.” That was never truer than this past week when I tapped my keyboard into submission. My A, S, and E buttons are blanks. It is time for a reset. A trip to the White Mountains is calendared into my future. Will I see you there?
Carol Baxter, APW President
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CHAPTER NEWS
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White Mountain
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White Mountain Festival of Books
There are still a few seats remaining for Take Your Writing to New Heights on Friday, August 8th. Click the button to register.
White Mountain Festival of Books
Shop the White Mountain Festival of Books on Saturday, August 9th.
Location: Elks Lodge, 805 East Whipple Street, Show Low, AZ 85901 
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For news from Rim Country, Payson Book Festival recap, Central, the Book Club and NFPW Convention, click here .
Winners At-Large Communications Contest!
Congratulations to APW members who won awards in the At-Large Division of the NFPW Communications Contest this year! Arizona Professional Writers no longer has it’s own contest, but instead competes against entries from 20-some state affiliates that also do not have their own contest. Winning and placing is quite an honor! First place winners go on to compete at the national level contest. Winners of the national contest will be announced in June.
Carol Baxter
First place in Public Relations materials for “Day Tripping”
Chrisann Dawson
First place in Writing novels for adult readers for Congo Ebola
Jody Sharpe
First place in Novellas for adult readers for The Dog Who Came For Christmas
Nancy Marshall
Second Place in Writing novels for adult readers for Finding Zachariah in a Community Garden
Susan Anderson
Honorable mention in writing fiction children’s books for Cool, Cool Cactus Critters
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- Carol Baxter
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- Carol Baxter, At-Large – Arizona 3rd Place – Public Relations Materials > 53 Catalog, Manual, or Handbook for “Day Tripping”
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- Chrisann Dawson
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- Chrisann Dawson, At-Large – Arizona 2nd Place – Fiction for Adult Readers > 11A – Novels for “Congo Ebola”
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- Jody Sharpe
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- The Dog Who Came for Christmas – Jody Sharpe – https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Who-Came-Christmas/dp/0988562057/ref=mp_s_a_1_1
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- Nancy Marshall
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- Finding Zachariah
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- Susan Clair Anderson
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- Cool, Cool Cactus Critters
APW Rim Country Chapter Hybrid meeting 11/20/24
Connie Cockrell is inviting you to a hybrid meeting of Rim Country Chapter. Meet at Majestic Rim Retirement Living in the chapel off of the main lobby located at 310 E. Tyler Pkwy, Payson or join on Zoom. All are welcome.
Topic: Connie Cockrell – discussion of the newly opened NFPW 2025 Communications Contest and our individual writing plans for 2025.
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Time: 01:00 PM Arizona
Where: Majestic Rim Retirement Living in the chapel off of the main lobby located at 310 E. Tyler Pkwy, Payson
Or, Join on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82729963849?pwd=8QeUTCezK6eE0W3pWifsk29yAbeeKq.1
Meeting ID: 827 2996 3849
Passcode: 821777
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcTKISeOnh
We’re also announcing our Chapter Christmas luncheon at Crosswinds restaurant from 11:30 to 1pm. 800 W. Airport Rd, Payson. All are welcome.
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- Connie Cockrell
2025 NFPW Communications Contest now open!
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Professional Communications Contest accepting entries! The contest is open to writers, authors, bloggers, copy editors, page designers, public affairs professionals, photographers, publishers and others in the communications field. Communicators of all ages are invited to enter. The professional contest includes categories for work appearing in college media and for college media advisors. All entries must be published in 2024. The early deadline to submit entries – and avoid a one-time additional fee of $25 – is Jan. 29, 2025. The final deadline for books is Feb. 5, 2025, and the final deadline for all other entries is Feb. 19, 2025. The contest is sponsored by NFPW affiliates. If you live in a state without an affiliate hosting a contest, you are eligible to enter the 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, 2024. National winners will be notified in June. Contest awards will be presented during a banquet on Sept. 13, 2025, as part of the 2025 NFPW Conference in Golden, Colorado. Contest categories and rules have been reviewed and updated for the 2025 competition. Look for minor changes throughout and for new opportunities to enter in several categories, including Books, Short Stories and Verse, Photography, Radio/Television and Collegiate/Education. Visit https://www.nfpw.org/professional-contest for more details. |
NFPW Communications Contest winners!
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- Carol Baxter
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- Bobbie Bennett
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- Nancy Marshall
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- Jody Sharpe
Photo recap – 2024 State Conference
The APW 2024 State Conference was held on the beautiful grounds of the Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise Valley. Officers were elected. Winners in the At-large division of the NFPW Communication Contest were announced. The 1st place winners will be entered in the national contest and winners announced in June. We also awarded our $1000 scholarship to Grace Meinema, who won it last year as well. Our two excellent speakers were Kathleen Osbourne and Howard Gershkowitz. They provided excellent insights into our theme “May the 4th Be With You!” A docent, Ann, from the Renewal Center gave us a history of the Center.
Photo credits: Bobbie Bennett, photographer except for 3 with an * by Jaimie Bruzenak
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- *Franciscan Renewal Center
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- *Franciscan Renewal Center grounds
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- Outgoing President Connie Cockrell and Brenda Whiteside, Secretary
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- Marie Fasano accepting registrations
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- Dr Linda Sandel Pettit helping out the speaker
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- Speaker Kathleen Osborne “Wisdom from the Galaxy”
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- Afternoon speaker
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- First place winners in the At-large contest -Jody Sharpe, Bobbie Bennett, Nancy Marshall, Carol Baxter
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- Jody Sharpe – Scholarship Chair
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- *Grace Meinema- scholarship winner and Jody Sharpe
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- Speaker Howard Gershkowitz -“Time Management in the 3rd Dimension”
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- Franciscan Renewal Center Docent – Ann
President’s Page – January 2004
I’m excited for this new year in the Arizona Professional Writers organization.
Our annual conference planning has begun. Mark your calendars. It’s going to be May 4th, which prompted us, obviously, to make the theme: May the 4th be with You. We had to. Really. We’re finalizing the location which allows us to set the price per ticket. We’ll keep you posted on that.
The conference also means it’s election time for the APW. We have some tentative candidates. For President – Carol Baxter, Nancy Marshall is volunteering for VP. We’re still looking for a candidate for Secretary. Our treasurer, Ruthann Hogue is staying on. Marie Fasano likes being our Membership Director but if you love reaching out to people, you can talk to Marie and see if the position might be a fit for you. Bobbie Bennett has graciously volunteered to stay on as our Conference planner.
The NFPW Communications contest is close to closing. Look over your published work for 2023 and enter the contest right away. There are so many categories, I’m sure you’ll find one that’s just right for you. You can check out the contest rules and enter the contest at https://www.nfpw.org/professional-contest, You do not need to be a member to enter. However, if you win, they do encourage you to become a member.
Also speaking of NFPW, their annual conference for 2024 will be in St. Louis. I attended the 2023 event and had a great time and learned so much! Just ask Jody Sharpe. She attended the last day and took the opportunity to attend the awards dinner. What a great time. You can look at the details for 2024 at https://www.nfpw.org/2024-conference-st-louis. We’d love to have more of our Arizona people attend as well.
My calendar has February 4th, 10am, as our next 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 meetings, the Rim Country chapter has started holding in-person meetings again. We are back at Majestic Rim Living, 1pm on the 3rd Wednesdays of the month, in their chapel meeting space. The next meeting is February 21st and I’ll be talking about how to write a bio. This piece of writing is used in so many different applications that you really need to have a good one. We’ll talk about what that means and do some practice writing one.
I will also be the featured author at the February 24th, 10am APW Book Group. I’ll be talking about my Young Adult, Post Apocalyptic, SciFi book First Encounter. If you’d like to join the conversation, contact Karen Lateiner, kslateiner@gmail.com, to get on the Zoom link list. One more benefit of being an APW member.
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
Almost the best for last, we have a new chapter forming in the Show Low area. The organizer is Kathleen Osborne. She’s a small publisher and author and has several people in the White Mountains area who want to join the group. Kathleen has been a Payson Book Festival author for quite some time. Welcome to her and all of her new group.
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, click on the “About” tab and then “Join.” Thank you everyone for your continued support of this historic organization.
That’s it for now. Everyone stay warm and hope to see you at the next meeting!
NFPW Communication Contest deadline 2/7
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Contest Entries Due at Noon on Wednesday, February 7
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It’s deadline time for NFPW’s annual communications contests!
Other contest details:
Visit the Categories and Requirements page on our contest site (nfpw.org) for a complete list of categories and entry guidelines. Each category and subcategory has specific guidelines and requirements. We enter the At-Large Contest!Questions? Questions relating to professional contest entries and categories should be directed to Helen Plotkin, NFPW Professional Contest Director, at haplotkin@outlook.com Questions relating to contest entries and categories in the high school contest should be directed to Teri Ehresman, NFPW High School Contest Director, at islandpark723@gmail.com Questions relating to issues submitting the entries and issues with the online contest should be directed to Savannah Callan at contest@nfpw.org. |
President’s letter – end of 2023
Connie Cockrell
Has 2023 been as much of a whirlwind for you as it has been for me? Whew! Makes my head spin.
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.
For December, all the chapters are planning holiday luncheons instead of regular meetings. I know the time to just chat is as important as our meetings full of useful and delightful information. Enjoy!
We continue to call for volunteers. Elections are coming up in May at our annual conference. Would you like to take a more active role in the state organization? In addition, the Payson Book Festival committee needs a new Silent Auction manager and a person to head up Sponsorships. New people bring fresh, new ideas and we want to keep our organizations both active and relevant. Contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to volunteer.
The NFPW Communications contest has just begun. Look over your published work for 2023 and enter the contest. There are so many categories, I’m sure you’ll find one that’s just right for you. You can check out the contest rules and enter the contest at https://www.nfpw.org/professional-contest, You do not need to be a member to enter. However, if you win, they do encourage you to become a member.
Also, speaking of NFPW, their annual conference for 2024 will be in St. Louis. I attended the 2023 event and had a great time and learned so much! Just ask Jody Sharpe. She attended the last day and took the opportunity to attend the awards dinner. What a great time. You can look at the details for 2024 at https://www.nfpw.org/2024-conference-st-louis. I’ll be going again and would love to have some of our Arizona people attend as well.
My calendar has January 6th, 10 am, as our next APW State Officer’s board 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 meetings, the Rim Country chapter will begin holding in-person meetings again. I wasn’t able to find a location for October, but we do have a temporary meeting place for November. Mark your calendars for November 15th, at 1pm at the library. I’ve arranged for Gail Kittleson to come and talk about how she does a new book launch. She’ll be bringing her newest book, in the middle of her book launch, for us to look at and buy. After that, we’ll go back to Majestic Rim Living starting January 17th, 1 pm, in their chapel meeting space.
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
We are also happy to announce our Holiday Bazaar at our website: https://arizonaprofessionalwriters.org/holiday-bazaar-2023/. 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 jpeg of the front cover and your website link, and she’ll post it for you. Books make great presents!
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, go to https://arizonaprofessionalwriters.org/about/join-2/ for the form. State-only membership is $30. Thank you everyone for your continued support of this historic organization.
That’s it for 2023. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the upcoming holidays, and hope to see you at the next meeting!
Connie Cockrell
APW President
Arizona Professional Writers 