Our Summer Series wrapped up this week with Chapin/Irmo Chapter member Carolyn Hartley. She shared that some of her chapter members had told her how much they enjoyed the Summer Series.
Summer Series was first run during the pandemic when we'd been shut down from in-person chapter meetings and SCWA wanted to present something that would fulfill our commitment to education and association for our writers. We went 10 consecutive weeks this summer, every Tuesday at noon.
I volunteered for it again this year for two reasons: 1) I need a weekly habit to keep me in the groove over the summer, and 2) I love giving our members a chance to teach on the subjects they know best. We have quite a few members ready, able and willing to lead.
People! Your SCWA needs you!
Our Board of Directors is currently recruiting for the 2024 service year. We'll need members to step forward, make themselves available, and serve the association in governance. (See more details later in this newsletter from SCWA Secretary Sharon Thomas.)
I've been serving SCWA since 2018 in various capacities. I have certainly gotten more than I expected from these opportunities. Leadership gives members a chance to direct the activities of the organization that supports them. Service to the organization helps you get more from the association pillar of our mission statement.
Consider where you are in your writing journey and whether board service may be right for you. I'm glad to answer any questions just email me at Kasie@clemsonroad.com.
Kasie Whitener
President, SCWA Board of Directors
Events and Education
NEW THRILLER WRITER TO SPEAK AT 2023 STORYFEST
Have you gotten your tickets for 2023 Storyfest yet?
You still have a month to register with regular conference prices – $265 for SCWA members and $340 for nonmembers; late registration starts Sept. 4 with a $30 increase in fees.
You'll join fellow writers from 36 South Carolina towns and cities already signed up for the three-day bash.
Five publishers – the list keeps growing – will be there.
Plus, we're adding new authors every month.
Our newest is Yasmin Angoe, South Carolina author of the Nena Knight series, published by Thomas & Mercer, Amazon's thriller imprint. The series features a highly trained assassin who works for The Tribe, a secret organization battling human traffickers and paramilitary groups.
Thomas & Mercer will publish Angoe's third book, It Ends With Knight, in September. A TV series based on Angoe's work is in production.
Here's what reviewers are saying about her first two books:
"Yasmin Angoe's debut novel, Her Name Is Knight, is an amazing action-packed international thriller full of suspense, danger, and even romance. It's like a John Wick prequel except John is a beautiful African woman with a particular set of skills," said S. A. Cosby, award-winning author of Blacktop Wasteland.
"A crackerjack story with truly memorable characters. I can't wait to see what Yasmin Angoe comes up with next," said New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.
A first-generation Ghanaian American, Angoe received the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award from Sisters in Crime, a writing organization focused on women crime writers.
She is a member of numerous crime, mystery and thriller organizations, including Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color and International Thriller Writers.
You can find her at www.yasminangoe.com, on Twitter at @yasawriter and on Instagram at @author_yas.
The South Carolina Writers Association Board of Directors is beginning a new board member search for the 2024 calendar year, and we would like to hear from you!
Do you have experience or ideas regarding how we organize our annual writing conference, how we structure our chapter network, or what kind of benefits we offer to our members?
Do you have expertise in events planning, marketing, fundraising, financial oversight or general organizational development?
Are you interested in providing general support while you develop your knowledge and experience in any of these areas?
If so, please email Laura Corbin, SCWA administrator, at writersassociationsc@gmail.com and ask for an application. We really want to hear from you!
Sharon Thomas
Secretary
Publications
FLASH FICTION TPR EDITION DEBUTS AUG. 15
This summer, SCWA will publish a special flash issue of The Petigru Review. The journal has a new website design, where you can read the latest issue when it debuts Aug. 15.
In the editor's note, guest editor Amber Wheeler Bacon says:
I keep finding myself telling people that the AC in my car just went out. It did. And it's been hot. And now I'm telling all of you. But the thing is, heat is something I can handle, even in this year's sweltering temps. I love sweating, and then walking into an air conditioned house. I love afternoon naps in hot rooms with just a ceiling fan blowing. Summer is my favorite time of year. In some ways, I wonder if I chose the teaching profession so that I could keep my childhood summers: open, listless, carefree. Lying around reading and watching tv intermittently for hours; or taking turns in the sprinkler then trampoline, watching the drops of water fly from my skin, land on the plastic mesh netting, and evaporate instantly; laborious showers in my bathing suit while my mother disentangled Panama City Beach seaweed from my waist-length hair; sun-up to sundown picnics and swimming at Lake Allatoona near where I grew up. This year's issue of TPR, to me, feels like summer — bright and hot, frisky and fun, sometimes sunburn raw, both light and dark, like fireflies flickering on a warm night. The flash issue was inspired by a workshop series I taught in June. Most of the pieces here are 1,000 words or less, but despite their small forms, these stories cast a wide net. They've got summers in the swamps of South Carolina and renovated asylums in Traverse City, Michigan, summers in Beirut and Brooklyn. It's got first love and death and the heat of a Charleston kitchen, the heat of sickness and war, the heat of a summer fairground. What a pleasure it's been to work with our 26 contributors to bring this summer issue of TPR into being.
Thank you for supporting writers and the literary arts in South Carolina by reading TPR.
LAUNCH PARTY FOR THE FLASH ISSUE: TPR AUG. 17
Join SCWA to celebrate the launch of a special flash issue of The Petigru Review at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, via Zoom. Contributors will read from their work, and there will be SCWA- and TPR-related trivia. If you're interested in submitting to TPR next year, please tune in to see what it's all about – or just be there to support our 2023 cohort of TPR writers! Register for the launch party at The Flash Issue: TPR Launch Party to receive the Zoom link.
Membership
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: DR. DALE GROVE
Each month, we spotlight an SCWA member, picked at random, and this month we feature Dr. Dale Grove. He is a scientist by day and science fiction writer by night. As an INTJ, he possesses a vivid imagination and has created a variety of stories, products, patents and process improvements during his tenure. Somehow, he has found the time to write seven full-length stories, including Gray Maneuvers, Gray Extractions, ELIZA, Loose Strings, Outlier Revolutions, Furniture for Sale and The Collective. His books often contain twists and always pack a punch. As a former leader of the Frederick Writers Salon and an event host for the Western Maryland Writers, he has supported local writing groups while contributing several short stories that appeared in local anthologies.
Grove has lived in several places, including Aiken, several Midwestern states, several Mid-Atlantic states, Montana, Arnhem (Netherlands), and now Summerville. He’s married and owns a cat. For more information, check out Grove’s website at www.newdrofscifi.com.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION AUG. 16
Our next New Member Orientation via Zoom will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16. If you have joined SCWA recently, you should have received an invitation already. However, anyone interested in learning more about SCWA's events, how to find the right chapter and other member information, is welcome to join us. All attendees must register to attend. Registration link.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
If you have any questions, or just want to make a comment, please contact us at SCWAMembership@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Raegan Teller
VP/Membership
Technology
TECHNOLOGY CHANGES FOR SCWA
You may have noticed changes recently to the SCWA website. We will be making more over the next couple of years. It will not be a completely new website. We are simply trying to improve our technology. The most visible part of this initiative will be improving our website accessibility, which refers to the design and development of websites to be usable by all individuals, including those with disabilities. SCWA wants to continue to be open to the wide spectrum of writers out there. By improving the accessibility, we are expanding our community. We look forward to sharing our progress with you as we continue this initiative. If you have any questions, please email technology@myscwa.org.
WHAT PROGRAMS DO YOU LIKE? PLEASE GIVE US A REVIEW
Do you have favorite tools, such as writing software, digital tools or others, when you’re writing? As part of our new technology initiative, we want to hear from you. What software, hosting services or other tools do you use for your website? Your newsletter? Your grammar checker? Your word processor? If you have favorites, please write a brief review we can share with others. Please email those to technology@myscwa.org.
Charles Hall
Director/Chair of Technology Committee
Writing Opportunities
RESIDENCY, FELLOWSHIP IN GREECE
Rosemary’s House, a writing residency and fellowship series in its inaugural year, located in Greece, will offer three residencies for writers this fall, led by award-winning authors, creatives and journalists. Under the supervision of a distinguished fellow, each workshop will challenge attendees to expand and refine their work. A combination of individualized critique and group workshops will guide writers on the path to publication. Each week-long retreat will accept 14 writers. The registration fee is $5,000 with a deadline of Aug. 18; scholarships are available. The fall workshops are: Aug. 24-31, Rebecca Abrams, an award-winning author and literary critic; Sept. 9-16, Jake Brunger, a musical theatre writer and lyricist; and Sept. 25-Oct. 2, Jenny Zhang, an author and screenwriter. Go to Rosemary’s House to apply.
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Our newest is Yasmin Angoe, South Carolina author of the Nena Knight series, published by Thomas & Mercer, Amazon's thriller imprint. The series features a highly trained assassin who works for The Tribe, a secret organization battling human traffickers and paramilitary groups.
"A crackerjack story with truly memorable characters. I can't wait to see what Yasmin Angoe comes up with next," said New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.
Rosemary’s House, a writing residency and fellowship series in its inaugural year, located in Greece, will offer three residencies for writers this fall, led by award-winning authors, creatives and journalists. Under the supervision of a distinguished fellow, each workshop will challenge attendees to expand and refine their work. A combination of individualized critique and group workshops will guide writers on the path to publication. Each week-long retreat will accept 14 writers. The registration fee is $5,000 with a deadline of Aug. 18; scholarships are available. The fall workshops are: Aug. 24-31, Rebecca Abrams, an award-winning author and literary critic; Sept. 9-16, Jake Brunger, a musical theatre writer and lyricist; and Sept. 25-Oct. 2, Jenny Zhang, an author and screenwriter. Go to 
