Laurel Anne Hill served as a keynote speaker for the Gold Country Writers Short Story Contest awards celebration in Auburn, California, on Saturday, October 7, 2023. Her presentation “A Short Story is Not a Very Short Novel” was financially supported by Poets & Writers and is now available on YouTube. Her talk occurs near the beginning of the program. Laurel also served as a judge for the contest. 

Marianne Brems’s poem "Docile Movement" was published in Remington Review on October 19, 2023. Congratulations!

Whether you’re a new or established writer or poet, figuring out how to get your work published in literary journals can be confusing and overwhelming. How do you evaluate which publications are likely to publish your work and how do you keep going after receiving multiple rejections? David Harris began writing short fiction several years ago. On Thursday, November 16, from 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. at the Rinconada Library in Palo Alto, he’ll share what he’s learned about the often-bewildering landscape of literary journals.

Whether you're writing a book-length memoir or a personal story or an essay, editing is critical. On Thursday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. at the San Mateo Public Library, writing coach and editor Darlene Frank will help you discover what you can do on your own before you give your manuscript to an editor and what to expect as the two of you work together.

Register online: https://www.cwc-sfpeninsula.org/whw-san-mateo

Hello, Critique Group Seekers, Hosts, and Members,

Congratulations to all who met their perfect match! If the shoe did not fit, let me know what you would have liked to see. What did you wish worked differently? All responses will remain confidential and shall be used to make the program better. Still looking? Find an open group here. Then fill out this form to join a group. Questions? mieraraocwc@gmail.com 

Colleen Olle’s new picture book Sophia and Sinclair Get Lost! has launched! Sophia, a tireless rabbit, and Sinclair, a thoughtful turtle, get lost in a hay maze. The story’s setting was inspired by Arata’s Pumpkin Farm in Half Moon Bay. A limited number of copies of the book will be on sale there this month. Otherwise, find this engaging autumnal adventure on Amazon or bn.com.

Darlene Frank celebrates the publication of the October 2023 issue of her digital magazine SPIRITED VOICES: A Writing Journey into the Deep Imagination. This issue features work by CWC members Tom Adams, Tim Flood, Margaret Nalbach, and Pat Obuchowski. Art direction is by Doug Baird. Take a look at this beautiful publication!

Marianne Brems shares a cordial invitation from Feldman’s Books. Members of the California Writers Club—San Francisco Peninsula branch are welcome to participate in Feldman’s First Fridays Poetry Series. Every first Friday of the month at 5:00 p.m., CWC members, including fiction, nonfiction, and memoir writers, may engage in poetry open mic events, solo readings, discussions, and collaborations in a beautiful bookstore. Refreshments will be provided, and performers can keep their tips! Writers of long-form pieces are asked to bring excerpts. Reach out to aidanhstone@gmail.com for more information.

While Geri Spieler was visiting her grandson in Chicago, she also got to visit in person with her new agent, Nancy Rosenfeld, who happens to live a half hour outside of Chicago. During their visit, Nancy was excited about Geri's book two and assigned Geri to write a third for a series.

November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo! Curious about what it takes to participate? Intrigued by the idea of dedicating yourself to a writing project for 30 days? Daunted by a 50K word goal? Megan E. McDonald will be your experienced guide! Learn more and pick up the schedule.

For any member who has had their very first publication in the past six months, the podcast Small Publishing in a Big Universe is looking for panelists for an episode on that first-time experience. Please contact Vanessa MacLaren-Wray at vmacwray@cometarytales.com for details.  

James Hanna’s flash fiction, “Frilly Miss,” appears in BULL. A husband and wife spend the day at the races where the husband backs the wrong horse. 

James’s vignette, “Orville Baumgardner and the Pitiless Wind,” has been published by The Fear of Monkeys. A Republican Party castoff and lecturer extraordinaire, Baumgardner holds forth on book banning. Why does he want to ban The Catcher in the Rye and Moby Dick but not Huckleberry Finn? 

The Gold Country Writers 2023 Short Story Contest attracted 56 entries from writers who submitted 1,500 words or less of original fiction stories. The ten finalists will be honored on October 7, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers of the Auburn City Hall. Member Laurel Anne Hill will serve as the keynote speaker and talk about how “A Short Story Is Not a Short Novel.” The event is free and open to the public.

Please join Marianne Brems and friends for a poetry reading at Feldman’s Books, 1075 Curtis St. in Menlo Park, on Friday, October 6 at 5:00 PM. Marianne will be reading from her just released poetry collection In Its Own Time as well as sharing samples of her latest work. Light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!

Vanessa MacLaren-Wray’s duology, The Unremembered King, concludes with Flames of Attrition from Water Dragon Publishing. This alternative-universe science fiction drama blends political commentary with humor and action, as the newly appointed king of a conservationist matriarchal nation confronts an insurrection. To thwart those who would install a brutal patriarchy, he’ll need all his strategic genius, the determination of his soldiers . . . and dangerous new technology that doesn’t belong in this world.

Vibha Akkaraju was on KQED radio’s Perspectives! Our chapter President reads about friendship.

Jill Fraser will present “Marketing and Public Relations for your Book” at Rinconada Library in Palo Alto, on Thursday, September 21, from 6:30-7:30 PM. Join this discussion to hear more about marketing and public relations tactics to promote your book. Hear about how to use public relations, digital marketing, social media, and other marketing tools to sell your book and to reach relevant journalists.

Marianne Brems will read from her brand-new poetry collection, In Its Own Time, on Friday October 6 at 5:00 p.m. at Feldman’s Books in Menlo Park. A book signing and light refreshments will follow the reading. Adds Marianne, “It looks like the owner is moving towards starting an open mic style event on the first Friday of each month, which would create reading opportunities for additional authors. Stay tuned for more information.”

James Hanna’s “Don’t Hurt Me” was published in Across the Margin. In this story, malcontent and born loser Billy Babbitt whips out pepper spray on two election drop box watchers affiliated with MAGA. Billy appears several times in Jim’s anthology Fact Check and More Probing Tales, which has won the Global Book Awards’ gold medal in contemporary fiction!

For the next Writers Helping Writers event in San Mateo, member Marla Bluestone will lead “A Conversation about Speculative Fiction.” A retired occupational therapist with specialized training in neurodevelopment, Marla will help writers engage in opportunities the genre offers, including creative health care possibilities and technology’s impact on social dynamics. The event will take place Thursday, September 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the San Mateo Public Library.