Dum spiro spero

Before sharing SCWA’s news let me express, on behalf of our board, our sincerest best wishes for our members, especially those who have experienced difficulties this year. We care about you and hope that your writing is a source of comfort and strength. While I breathe, I hope.

Here’s the latest with SCWA:

Publications: The Petigru Review. We’re proud of our 2020 edition and congratulate everyone who submitted to what proved to be the most competitive edition in our history. We’re also grateful for the excellent work of our publications team. Enjoy this collection of great writing at https://thepetigrureview.com.

Catfish Stew. The window for submissions to SCWA’s members-only anthology, Catfish Stew, remains open until Jan. 15. 

McCray Nickens and Coker Fellowships. We’re so proud to partner with the South Carolina Academy of Authors to offer $1,500 poetry and fiction fellowships, judged this year by Wiley Cash and Tiana Clark. Submissions also are open through Jan. 15.

Submit entries for Catfish Stew and the McCray Nickens and Coker Fellowships at https://thepetigrureview.submittable.com/submit.

Events & Education We’re delighted to announce that registration has opened for SCWA’s April 2021 conference, which will be a virtual event. We have an exciting program and an outstanding faculty to help all writers improve their writing talents, have their work critiqued by professionals or meet with authors and agents. Get details and register here: https://myscwa.wildapricot.org/ann_conf_2021.

We’re also announcing our stellar lineup of 30 new 2021 programs, which are free to members, which also are posted on myscwa.org. We’ll offer 24 Writing Conversations and six Become an Author sessions throughout 2021, the first of which is Jan. 12 featuring award-winning author Susan Zurenda with “Family Stories: Evoking Emotion in Your Characters.”

Virtual Genre Chapters: We’re pleased to announce that in January 2021, four SCWA statewide virtual genre groups will begin meeting virtually. The purpose of these genre-specific groups is to enable writers to delve deeper into their genre with their peers. The genres represented are Memoir, Short Fiction, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Nonfiction/Creative Nonfiction. For more details, go here. If you are interested in joining any of the groups, please contact the chapter leader identified in this listing: https://myscwa.wildapricot.org/chapters/.

If you are interested in leading a group in a genre not already specified, please contact SCWA membership chair Nancy Allen-Mastro at scwamembership@gmail.com.

Board of Directors: Please join me in saying a heartfelt goodbye to Past President Carol-Ann Rudy, who is retiring from the board. Carol-Ann not only helped SCWA succeed but also helped lay the foundation for an even brighter future. We’ll miss you, Carol-Ann.

The board also is extremely grateful to Vice President Mary Sturgill and Past President Amber Wheeler Bacon for their years as directors/officers and their many significant contributions. SCWA members will be very fortunate to benefit from their ongoing expertise and guidance as they serve as advisors to the board during 2021.

Now, we are delighted to announce the appointment of the following new board members, who will join us in January:

Directors: Dorree Lynn, Dan Mooney and Sara Thornhill

Advisors: Art Turfa, Yvette Murray and Bill Bruehl

Our new board members, all of whom are accomplished writers, will further strengthen SCWA’s leadership. Welcome and thank you for your dedication to the writers of South Carolina.        

Partnership Project: A quick word on this initiative, in case you haven’t heard. We recently announced our plans to reach out to writing associations across the state to identify how we can collaborate to improve the writing experiences of all South Carolina writers. We’ll keep you posted on developments, but if you’d like more information please contact our project manager at scwaprojectmanager@gmail.com.

Stay safe and best wishes for the new year,

Mike Lee

President, SCWA Board of Directors