Summer Series

Wednesdays

Zoom

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Class from noon - 1 p.m.

SCWA Members Free

All others $10 a session

Turn it up!

It is time for the Summer Series.

Every Wednesday from June 10 to August 19 at 11 a.m. we are holding a midweek lunch class via Zoom. We will hear about writing techniques, business components, volunteer opportunities and more. As a bonus, you will have time for you to mingle.

We will open the Zoom at 11, the speaker will start at noon but you don’t have to go until 2. Come join us for some fun and learning.  You do not have to stay from 11-2. Please join us from noon to 1.

2026 Schedule

June 10 - Sensory Prompts with Amber Wheeler Bacon

June 17 - Writing the Quest for Money with Charles Hall

June 24 - The Poetry Reviewer's Perspective with Art Turfa and Melanie McGhee

July 1 - Writing the Other: Making Characters that You Are Not Become What You Wish Them to Be with Michael McIntyre

July 8 - Become a World Building Master with Dakota McElhinny

July 15 - Bedazzling your Newsletters with Beck Muth

July 22 - Killing off your Character with Barbara Evers

July 29 - Digging in: Generative activities in creative nonfiction with Sara Sobota

August 5 - How to Choose Between Traditional and Self-Publishing with Andrew Geyer and Kris Boyd

August 12 - Writing the Antebellum South with Mary Beth Gibson

August 19 - Reading Partners SC with Danielle Daniels

ZOOM LINK PROVIDED UPON REGISTRATION

Living in the south every passionate cook has said it: "I should really write a cookbook someday." But then reality sets in. You look at your scattered notes, your messy Google Docs, and you realize you have no idea where to actually start. Join us for a masterclass with Jules Sherred as he pulls back the curtain on the process of writing a cookbook. 

Jules Sherred works as a commercial food photographer and stylist, writer and recipe developer, journalist, and outspoken advocate for disability and trans rights. His award-finalist cookbook CRIP UP THE KITCHEN: TOOLS, TIPS AND RECIPES FOR THE DISABLED COOK was published in 2023. A feature-length documentary titled FABULOUS BODY OF MINE about his achievements is in production for the CBC.

Join us for this new series that weaves its way through the tapestry of South Carolina. This state has a rich main character energy. Learn more about it to help you improve your characters, settings and plots. From the Mountains to The Sea weaves South Carolina through your writing. Members: $20 per class, $60 for all six classes, with first class free; nonmembers: $25 per class, $100 for all six classes.

All sessions are via Zoom and start at 7 p.m.'; link provided upon registration

May 28 - Gullah Geechee Diasporas with Dr Elizabeth West and Dr Mohammad Fraser-Rahim
July 9 -  The music of the Carolina Coast with Dr Rick Simmons
July 30 - Back Country Resistance with Carl Borlick
August 9 - Batter Up! with Charles Hall
August 13 - Charleston: Gateway to the Sea with Dr Sal Mercoligano
Septermber 3 - Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquis and United Tribes with Chief Lamar Nelson

July 9th- The music of the Carolina Coast

Music plays an important part of the community's soul. Learn about the distinct sound of Carolina beach music. While rock groups such as the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean defined the beach music of Southern California during the 1960s, a different, R&B influenced sound could be heard along South Carolina's Grand Strand.

July 30- Backcountry Resistance

As we celibrate the 250th Anniversy of the founding of the United States, we will once again hear the stories of the founding fathers but what about that South Carolina tobacco farmer? Join us to learn about the real backbone of the Revolution. Carl P. Borick's new book Backcountry Resistance delivers a groundbreaking account of the citizen militia that defied British forces in South Carolina's volatile Backcountry during the pivotal Southern campaign of the Revolutionary War. When Charleston fell in May of 1780 and the Continental Army retreated, many assumed the Patriot cause in the South had collapsed. In the state's rugged interior, though, partisan militias waged a brutal insurgency that challenged British control and changed the course of the war.

August 6- Batter up!

Learn how the sport of baseball helped form the sense of community in the state. From the early mill leagues to today's professional leagues the fingers of South Carolina are spread across America's Game. Learn how the game brings the community together. The game is more than just play ball in South Carolina.

August 13- Charleston: Gateway to the Sea

Join us to learn about the importance of Charleston in the United States Maritime History. From precolonial to today Carleston is a gateway to the world. Charleston has such a connection to the sea that there is no better city in the state with the possiblity of setting a historical fiction.

Rescheduled Date September 3- Learn about the Native American Cultures that formed South Carolina

Join us as the rich heritage South Carolina’s first inhabitants, dating back 25,000 years, and the tools and ingenuity that allowed them to survive come alive. With vivid detail, learn how these early peoples hunted mastodons and later developed farming, pottery, and permanent villages. Learnabout the challenges the tribes face today, from the loss of ancestral lands to the erasure of Native cultures. 

For alternative communication purposes questions need to be submitted by July 10. Submit Questions Here

Join us for a night of writing teams. The North Carolina based writing team of Lexi and Susan Haas join us to talk the advantages and pitfalls of having a co-writer. As a team they are close as they are mother and daughter. This night will be especially insightful as Lexi because of cerebal palsy is nonverbal. Yet her sense of humor with the flair of storytelling shines through their books. Susan started out as a medical writer. She embraced writing with Lexi to help Lexi achieve independence. We will explore their orgins as a team. We will also find out how disability frames their stories from the outline to the final draft. How they have used storytelling as a tool for advocacy. 

Susan and Lexi Haas are a mother and daughter writing team focusing on disability education and advocacy. They are the authors of The Year of the Buttered Cat (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) and Fooled. Lexi has a rare and severe form of cerebral palsy. While she can’t walk or talk, she was reading by ten months old, has an impressive memory, a keen sense of humor, and an invincible spirit. Recognizing her young daughter’s gift for words, Susan began writing with Lexi to help foster independence and develop communication, but soon learned that Lexi’s fresh perspective needed to be shared with others. In addition to writing together, Susan and Lexi also enjoy presenting to schools and organizations around the world, helping others learn about disability from a first-person narrative. They live in Charlotte, NC.