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  • Message from the President / October 2022

    04 Nov 2022 4:49 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    It's Dracula: Ballet with a Bite! month in Columbia. I've always been a fan of Halloween. The costumes! The candy! The vampires! Every year I try to talk my kid into dressing like a vampire with me. We could go to Dracula like that. Or watch The Lost Boys. Or hand out candy. Or just sit on the couch sucking back all that extra saliva that fangs generate. 

    Halloween is about performing, and we'll have a lot of opportunity to perform this month, with fangs or without.
    • Our Virtual Conference includes Literary Trivia on Friday and a Zoom Open Mic on Saturday. The Petigru Review authors are invited to read in a virtual launch party. Register here.
    • The Pat Conroy Literary Center's Open Mic, of which SCWA is a co-host, features Rock Hill poet Angelo Geter on Oct. 13. Watch live or contact PCLC to join and read.
    • Our Pawley's Island conference includes two "tailgate" workshops (Friday), an Open Mic (Saturday) and a slushfest (Sunday). Sold out!
    • Seven of our Columbia SCWA writers will participate in Flash at the Bar: Halloween Edition on Oct 26. There’s a total of nine readers. While it’s not an SCWA sponsored event, the co-host is SCWA's VP of Membership Raegan Teller. No registration required. Just come out to The Aristocrat in Columbia at 6 p.m. and support our readers.  
    Recently, fellow SCWA member Lis Anna-Langston and I were part of Short Story Today, a podcast wherein the voice-actor-host interviews the author and then performs the work. It's a great use of the podcast medium. The popularity of podcasts and audiobooks indicates that performance is an inherent part of our literary craft.
     
    Performing your work is a great way to build an audience. It's also a great way to edit. We often hear things in a piece when we read aloud that we wouldn't have seen on the page. Inflection, cadence and tone are more easily heard than read. 
     
    Performing your work is not just marketing, it's also fun! When my kid was little, I used to read Skippyjon Jones books and Hollie would beg, "Do the voices, Mom!" We once had the attention of an entire party of adults as I read, "Holy frijoles!" My dad does the best 'Twas the Night Before Christmas rendition ever. You'd think he'd written it himself.
     
    Have some ideas for how we can perform our work more often? On a bigger stage? Send them to me kasie@clemsonroad.com. I'd love to add more live performance events to our calendar in 2023.
     
         Kasie Whitener
    President, SCWA Board of Directors


  • Message from the President / September 2022

    06 Sep 2022 12:53 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Message from the President

    Back-to-school momentum is contagious. It's an unexpected renewal in September even as we're heading into the decay of fall. It's our final chance to turn this year around.
     
    I love the possibilities of a new school year, despite being folded back into routine and conformity. The dichotomy of September is motivating. As a football fan, the return to the gridiron gets me especially fired up.
     
    The fall harvest of apples and pumpkin-spice-everything, the cooling temperatures or at least the promise that our 102-degree days are over. September has its own magic as we transition and transform; it feels like a portal from what was, skipping through what is, headed straight toward what will be.
     
    I can't help but be optimistic, surrounded by young people on campus. I hope that you'll find reason to be optimistic, too. In September:
    • SCWA is issuing The Petigru Review and moving our contributors forward in their literary journeys.
    • Our Aiken writers are hosting a book fair on Sept. 24 in the Etherredge Center at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
    • We're recruiting board members to serve in 2023; there is a place for you here in our SCWA leadership team.
    • And we're gearing up for our virtual conference Oct. 7-9.
    September is full of the very-best-kind of change. What end-of-year goals will you chase with this back-to-school momentum surrounding us all?

    Kasie Whitener
    President, SCWA Board of Directors


  • Message from the President / August 2022

    04 Aug 2022 10:24 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    WAG THAT TAIL SOMEWHERE ELSE, WILL YA?
     
    I'm not a dog person. Don’t throw things at me. I think dogs on videos are adorable, and I understand how people love their pets like children. My favorite dogs are other people's dogs. It's not particularly popular to admit such a thing, but my family and I are a "no pets" household. For which, I assure you, we are sufficiently ostracized.
     
    It's the dog days of summer, those final sluggish moments wherein the enthusiasm of summer has waned and the promise of change is yawning.
     
    This month our Short Story Workshop with Keith Lesmeister, Digging Trenches, gives us the opportunity to create and iterate, to shape an experience into a specific form. It's one of the add-on offerings from this year's Events & Education programming. I am able to join (unexpectedly) and look forward to getting a kind of JOLT to the doldrums of August and the winding down of summer fun.
     
    Perhaps I'll find a wagging tail, an enthusiastic bark, or the sprinkled shake of a beloved friend galloping out of the surf. A story waiting for my attention. Glad to see me. Grateful I belong to it and it to me.
     
    I'd ask you to send me your doggie stories but see line 1. Instead, send me anything you'd like to share about the dog days of summer or the upcoming Digging Trenches workshop to kasie@clemsonroad.com.
     
    I loved hearing from those of you who reached out in July. You're a blessing to me as is SCWA.

    Happy writing!

    Kasie Whitener
    President, SCWA Board of Directors

  • Message from the President / July 2022

    12 Jul 2022 8:38 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Message from the President

    I SAW THE SIGN AND IT OPENED UP
    MY EYES
     
    When we first moved to Columbia in 2012, the city was under a tourism campaign that read, “Famously Hot.” Billboards flanked the city on the inbound interstates, and just about every citywide event adopted the “Famously Hot” moniker, from blues festivals to farmer’s markets to parades. 
     
    Although born in Florence in 1977, I was raised in Virginia and returned to my native state in 1995 to attend Clemson, where I married my husband in 2001. We spent the early aughts in Charlotte, where I attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill and worked for a small company in York. We bought our first home in Easley in 2004, and our daughter was born at Greenville Hospital in 2008.
     
    Columbia, despite being the nucleus around which the rest of the state reluctantly revolves, has a terrible reputation. I was less than thrilled to move here in 2012. 
     
    The billboards changed my mind. What’s better than honesty? Knowing one’s own self and boldly declaring it. In hero terms, it’s the equivalent of “I am what I am.” In corporate terms, “It is what it is.”
     
    Columbia is HOT.
     
    I tell out-of-state folks that the only thing separating Columbia from Hell is a screen door. There are days in July that make you wonder what sins the people around you are being punished for.
     
    Despite the heat, a band of SCWA writers gathered for fellowship, sharing and support on Saturday, June 25. We sat together outside for five hours, under tent-provided shade, sipping water bottles from iced coolers and reading passages from our published and unpublished work.
     
    The Inside/Out event was our first face-to-face gathering for the full SCWA community since the Beaufort retreat in 2019. Inside/Out was unstructured, unpretentious and provided a unique opportunity for SCWA members – by longevity, leadership role, writing credentials and chapter experience – to discuss what the future of our writing community should be.
     
    We were honest. 
     
    We told stories, read pages and shared perspectives on the world at large and the world inside our chapters and our organization. Thank you to those who came. I hope more of you will join us for our October conference at Pawley’s Island. Let’s get face-to-face and share with candor and compassion the truth we know about ourselves.
     
    Every journey we’ve ever taken has been flanked by signs, and sometimes the signs change us with their honesty. 
     
    What signs have you seen that altered your path? Or changed your mind? Send me your thoughts at kasie@clemsonroad.com.

    Kasie Whitener
    President, SCWA Board of Directors


  • Message from the President / June 2022

    03 Jun 2022 10:29 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Over the Memorial Day weekend, I had the opportunity to do some traveling. To get through the long walks down airport terminals and window seat imprisonment on long flights, I queued up a dozen podcasts on writing.

    There are several things I look for in a good podcast:

    Theme – Most podcasts will have a topic (it's usually in the title of the episode) and shows that stay on topic are more valuable for me than wandering monologues that seem interminable.

    Formula – Shows with an agenda or a designated formula sound more professional, in my opinion. When the hosts stick to it, they demonstrate that professionalism and I'm more likely to come back for another show.

    Relevance – Even the "famous author" podcasts will be clear about how this information is relevant to you, no matter your writing level, age or experience.

    Here are some of my favorites:

    Short Story Today – An SCWA member, Lis Anna-Langston from Columbia, was on a recent episode.

    The Creative Penn – Joanna Penn is a BIG name in digital publishing and this podcast has been around for so long, she's getting really granular in her topics. But she's on the forefront of digital trends, such as NFTs, and if you don't know what those are or why writers should care, you should queue her up.

    The Shit No One Tells You About Writing – Hosted by a couple of agents who spend the first 10 minutes critiquing a query with the writer on the line. So, so valuable for insight into what agents are thinking when they read your email query.

    Learning the Tropes – This one is a romance-genre-specific one, but I'm sure there are some focused on other genres, too. Definitely helps in learning what is expected of the genre you're writing in. The romance genre has a ton of podcasts, actually, and they all have clever names like Heaving Bosoms, Fated Mates, and Smart Women, Trashy Books. 

    Write On SC – Of course, I'll add my own show here. Rex Hurst and I do this weekly and share not just S.C. writers, but all kinds of craft, publishing and marketing things we're learning. Find us at writeonsc.blog. 

    When starting a podcast listening habit, keep in mind that some are short (less than 30 minutes) and some are a good deal longer (as much as three hours). You may want to consider what length you need for a walk in the neighborhood versus a road trip.
     
    I'd love to hear what you're listening to. Send me your suggestions at scwawritersassociation@gmail.com and I'll give them a listen!
     
    This month we're planning a SUPER SOCIAL event called SCWA Inside Out. It will be on June 25 in Columbia, it's free and pretty casual. Just a chance for us to be face-to-face again. Check out the details below. I hope you'll all join me there and thanks to the Events and Education Committee for planning it and making it happen.
     
    Lastly, it’s Pride Month and I’d like to wish a very happy celebration to all of our LGBTQ+ members, friends and allies. This month is about celebrating so much, including the unbridled emergence of diverse stories and characters we’ve seen over the past few years. SCWA supports you, loves you and wants your writing career to be spectacular as you bring your own stories into the light.
     
    Cheers and happy writing!
     
    Kasie Whitener
    President, SCWA Board of Directors

  • Message from the President / May 2022

    06 May 2022 11:13 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Message from the President

    All over the internet this week are Justin Timberlake and Star Wars memes. A recent phenomenon, memes are those pictures with clever words superimposed on them. In this case, Justin Timberlake is a reference to a lyric in one of his songs, “It’s gonna be me!” but, stylistically, it sounds like he says, “It’s gonna be May.” So now you’re in on the joke.
     
    That’s what memes are – “in” jokes that some people get and some people don’t. It’s their inclusionary nature that makes them so funny. When I get it, I feel included, but if I don’t get it, I usually just scroll past.

    As writers, we’re communicating with a variety of readers, listeners and buyers. It’s incumbent upon us to ensure our messaging is as clear and unmistakable as possible so that as many people as possible can be reached and included. That’s not just how we sell more books, but how we connect humans one-to-the-other.
     
    Memes aren’t exactly stories. They’re more like reminders of stories we’ve already heard. On May 4th we see the Star Wars memes everywhere (“May the fourth be with you”). Our family even makes lightsaber Kool-Aid and Death Star pizzas for dinner. 
     
    If the May memes already have worn you out, don’t worry. They’re mostly about the first week of the month.
     
    SCWA has bigger plans for the whole month. We’re featuring the Your Paths to Publish series this month that includes author-prenuer Raegen Teller, hybrid publisher Alexa Bigwarfe, and small press Hub City and literary agent Amy Elizabeth Bishop. There’s still time to register, even if you missed the first session on May 2. Register at myscwa.org/virtual-events. Registrants have access to all the event recordings.
     
    While Mother’s Day and Memorial Day bookend May, my favorite part of the month is all the puns it lends itself to. Specifically, those classic Irish blessings: May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. May you write in health and joy this month. (I might have added that last part myself!)
     
    Cheers and happy writing!

    Kasie Whitener
    President, SCWA Board of Directors     


  • Message from the President / April 2022

    06 May 2022 11:12 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Message from the President

    April showers bring May flowers.
     
    I know I started out March with a similar calendar trope but hear me out. On March 24, I attended our Become an Author event with Angela Belcher Epps, and all I’ve been thinking since then was, “Bring on the showers!”
     
    Not “showers” in the mom-to-be parties or sexy bathroom trysts from my short story from Fall Lines. Not the river-of-tears emoji or the anime tears flying off one’s cartoon face. 
     
    Bring on the April-type showers that water our creative fields and generate blooms of stories, poetry and productivity.
     
    Showers like collective writing sessions with our SCWA chapters leading. Prompt party, anyone?
     
    Showers like writing sprints on Twitter and write-in sessions with pals. Showers like watching a great movie and imagining a side character’s new life beyond it. Or reading a good book and imagining a different ending. Or revisiting a favorite story and tracing your fingers along its print as you remember what it meant to you then and considering what it means to you now.
     
    Showers like inspiration. Like a reminder that we write because we want to, we need to, we love to and when it’s work – like really hard work – it’s only because the flowers are so deep underground, we need to water them so they’ll emerge.
     
    We also need sunshine. And time. But the April cliche is just about the rain. So let it rain, SCWA! Get some of that inspiration on your skin, in your eyes. Let it wash away the pollen and water the roots. The flowers will bloom. They always do.

    Kasie Whitener
    President 
    SCWA Board of Directors


  • Message from the President / March 2022

    07 Mar 2022 9:50 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Message from the President
     
    I love the old adage “in like a lion, out like a lamb” to describe March. It sounds as if we’re brash, bold and determined at the beginning of the month. It inspires me to seize the day, be energetic and bold! To get unstuck on projects that have stalled since the 2022 New Year’s spark.
     
    I know lamb time is coming. There will be a chance to rest and reflect and enjoy the flowers as they bloom and all that spring has to offer. But for now – ROAR!
     
    March is my favorite month of the year in part because it’s my birthday month but also because it’s an annual milestone – the end of the first quarter, the nudge into a new season. It’s when we emerge from the long winter and find things new, hopeful and budding. March is full of hope for what’s to come. It doesn’t dwell on what has been but looks forward to what can be.
     
    For a perpetual optimist, March allows yet another opportunity to plan and execute great ideas and our SCWA leadership has been busy!
    • The Events &Education team has been hard at work organizing a variety of programming including this month’s Become an Author event with Angela Belcher Epps “Get into Your Write Space” all about connecting to that intrinsic motivation for inspiration. If you’re not registered yet, click here to get your spot.
    • The Board of Directors is hard at work organizing and formalizing committees. As we move toward a governing board configuration, we are decentralizing the operating work through committees. Committee work is a low-impact, high reward way to lend your voice, your time, and your talents to SCWA. Existing committees include Finance & Fundraising, Membership & Recruitment, Events & Education, Technology, Marketing, and Diversity. Interested in serving? Email me at scwritersassociationpresident@gmail.com and we can discuss what might be a good fit for you.
    • Our chapters are hard at work getting work polished and ready for submission. We have winners among us! 
      • The 2022 Charlotte Lit LIT/south awards include flash fiction winner Amber Wheeler Bacon, fiction finalist Mary Alice Dixon and poetry finalist Yvette R. Murray. 
      • The SC Academy of Authors awarded the 2022 Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship in Poetry to Columbia III writer Danielle Verwers for her work “Between Two Poles.”
    • We’re so very, very proud of all of you! Congratulations!
    Welcome to March, writing friends. I hope you’ll find inspiration and motivation in the roar of the lion and gratitude and hope in the soft down of the lamb.

    Kasie Whitener
    President 
    SCWA Board of Directors

  • Message from the President / February 2022

    05 Feb 2022 10:48 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Hello members and friends of SCWA! We begin 2022 with enthusiasm and hope, and by announcing the new leadership of the board of directors. At the January board meeting, I was elected president, a role that I humbly accept with an appreciation for the confidence placed in me by the board. Our 2022 board is composed of a team that exudes excellence in literary arts and business and a dedication to serving SCWA members.
     
    All board members – directors and advisors – dedicate their time and talents to add value to SCWA through their service and leadership. I’m proud to announce the appointment of the following team members who have accepted additional responsibilities, for which we are extremely grateful.
    • Abby Morales, 1st Vice President/Marketing
    • Lynn Volkenant, Treasurer
    • Sharon Thomas, Secretary
    • Raegan Teller, Vice President, Membership
    • Austin Hehir, Chapter Liaison
    • Paul Davis, Vice President, Events & Education
    • Catherine Con, Director, Technology
    This leadership team is supported by additional board members participating in committee work alongside board advisors and contract staff delivering exceptional quality to our members.
     
    The Events & Education Committee already is hard at work delivering outstanding programming, including all new weekday workshops, longer-program curricula, a new slate of faculty and a fall conference for October. We’re excited about plans for The Petigru Review, under new leadership and opening for submissions in the spring. 
     
    I hope you’ll consider joining one of our committees dedicated to fundraising, membership, marketing or diversity. Each committee is pursuing specific recommendations to strengthen our organization and make it more representative of the South Carolina literary community. Committee service is a great way to get involved in the association and make new connections while requiring just the minimum investment of time and talent. If committee service interests you but you’re not sure where or how to serve, email me at scwritersassociationpresident@gmail.com and we can discuss it.

    Kasie Whitener
    President 
    SCWA Board of Directors

  • Message from the President / January 2022

    05 Jan 2022 5:59 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Writers understand the opportunity with each new page or chapter. How will the characters, whether existing or new to our story, create an exciting outcome? So is the case with your board of directors as we launch 2022 with changes, saying grateful goodbyes to some and welcoming new SCWA leaders.
     
    The SCWA board expresses its deepest gratitude to the following directors and advisors who have steered SCWA to new heights and are now retiring from the board: Vivian Bikulege, Barbara Evers, Roger Jones and Nancy Allen-Mastro. 
     
    Susan Zurenda and David Wilson also are retiring as directors, but they will continue to serve as advisors. I will support the board as past president and advisor. 
     
    These board members built upon the success created by former boards, the dedication of the chapter leaders, and many other volunteers whose passion for writing has made SCWA successful for 31 years.
     
    We look with admiration and hope to the following new board members to carry on this leadership. We welcome the following new directors: Catherine Con, Wanda Craig (Raegan Teller), Austin Hehir, Ralph Jarrells, Yvette Murray, Sharon Clemmons Thomas and Lynn Allison Volkenant. They will be joined by our new advisors Peter Coan and Brad Land.
     
    The new Executive Board will be elected at the Jan. 15 board meeting to which all members are welcome to attend. This will be a virtual meeting due to COVID concerns. If you wish to attend, email Laura Corbin, administrator, at writersassociationsc@gmail.com and she will provide you with the Zoom link.
     
    I subscribe to the philosophy that there are three kinds of characters in a story – those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who say ‘what the hell just happened?’”
     
    As I leave the role of president, I consider myself blessed to have been part of the board team and am confident the new board will be making great things happen for our members.

    Mike Lee
    President 
    SCWA Board of Directors


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