We skipped this week's Summer Series because it fell on July 4th. Nonetheless, around lunchtime I found myself pondering what others were doing for the holiday.
Had they found a pool to sit around and cool off in? Had they attended a picnic for hamburgers and watermelon? Had they planned to write something commemorating the day?
On Twitter, the people I followed repeated these immortal words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Arguably the most important words written in the course of human history, establishing the purpose for an act of defiance — treason — they are a foundational philosophy, the expression of deeply-held values.
The words are Thomas Jefferson's and he wrote them in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. July 4th was our country's birthday, the day we remember Jefferson's bold assertion "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…"
In commemoration, we eat hot dogs and set off fireworks, play John Philip Souza tunes and wear star-spangled T-shirts. We wave flags, congratulate each other on living in the greatest country in the world, and in general feel a sense of national pride.
I hope you had a chance to write yesterday, or if not to put fingers-to-keyboard, then a chance to at least observe the language we use to describe ourselves and each other. We are the home of the free and the brave. We are tried and true. We are a continuing experiment in self-governance. Imperfect but ever striving to achieve the dream of our founders:
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
Happy Independence Day!
Kasie Whitener
President, SCWA Board of Directors
Events and Education
THANK YOU, WRITERS!
SCWA members showed up in record numbers for author talks and classes in the first half of 2023.
Registrations for our virtual events during the first six months topped 450.
Members signed up for SCWA’s Author’s Toolbox talks, the ongoing Summer Series, and Amber Wheeler Bacon’s flash fiction course.
So many members signed up for the Summer Series that we had to cap the number at 100 people.
Meanwhile, Amber’s flash fiction class sold out in weeks.
More events are coming, including a special TPR flash fiction issue, a tie-in to November’s National Novel Writing Month and our fall conference, 2023 Storyfest. Continue to check our Events Calendar for updates.
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR SUSAN ZURENDA JOINS STORYFEST CONFERENCE Regular pricing for 2023 Storyfest, our three-day writing conference set for Nov. 3-5, started this month.
Meanwhile, our speaker lineup keeps growing.
Recently, SCWA added award-winning South Carolina writer Susan Beckham Zurenda to its list of celebrated authors.
Her debut novel, Bells for Eli, reminded reviewers of Carson McCullers, Tennessee Williams and Harper Lee.
Philip K. Jason with Southern Literary Review called the book "deeply moving, troubling, and gloriously poetic. It brings to life small town South Carolina during the 1960s and 70s in a gorgeous and profound tale of the heart’s competing destinies ... Zurenda knows her characters well and shares her understanding with harrowing honesty. ... A terrific multi-generational tale."
Bells for Eli won the Gold Medal winner for Best First Book-Fiction in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards. It was also a Foreword Indie Book Award finalist, a Winter 2020 Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, a 2020 Notable Indie on Shelf Unbound, and a 2020 finalist for American Book Fest Best Book Awards.
A two-time South Carolina Fiction Prize winner, Zurenda will publish her new novel, The Girl From the Red Rose Motel, in September.
The book, which draws on her time as a high school teacher, explores homelessness, class divisions, and the power of families — those we inherit and those we create.
The characters in Red Rose "are complex and their story deeply moving without veering into sentimentality. Bravo!" says award-winning author Ron Rash.
Zurenda, on a book tour later this year, will join Storyfest on Nov. 4-5. She'll sign books and teach a craft class on Sunday morning. Learn more about Zurenda at her website at Susan Zurenda.
Don’t miss the chance to learn from this award-winning author!
Our flash fiction writers have been working hard and we're in the editing stages. Prepare to read some wonderful flash pieces in late summer when the issue is expected. We've got quirky and strange, hilarious and heartbreaking, sinister and eerie stories — all coming your way in August!
SOUTH ARTS ANNOUNCES LITERARY ARTS INITIATIVES
South Arts has launched a new series of programs supporting the literary arts community of the Southeastern United States. Now accepting applications, the Southern Prize and State Fellowship for Literary Arts centers critical support around writers around the region. The program aims to span the entirety of the literary arts field, annually awarding writers $80,000 in awards. This inaugural cycle will support fiction authors, with cycles in future years rotating through genres including drama/playwriting, poetry, creative nonfiction, and young adult fiction.
Modeled after South Arts' flagship visual arts program, Southern Prize and State Fellowship for Visual Arts, this new literary arts fellowship program was created in acknowledgment of a discrepancy in regional funding for writers.
Through the new program, South Arts is emphasizing the important role that these artists play in the wellbeing of a region's culture — one that has inspired literary icons such as Maya Angelou, Valerie Boyd, Judith Ortiz Cofer, William Faulkner, bell hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Harper Lee, Kalamu Salaam, Celestine Sibley, David Sedaris, Natasha Tretheway and Margaret Walker, among many others.
During the current application cycle, which is open through Aug. 4, 2023, fiction writers may submit published, unpublished or works-in-progress created since January 2016 for consideration. A national jury will select nine State Fellows for Literary Arts — one per state in South Arts' region — based on artistic excellence that reflects the diversity of the region. Each of the nine state fellowship winners will be awarded $5,000 and will compete for the Southern Prize for Literary Arts. A second jury will review the State Fellows to determine the Southern Prize winner, who will receive an additional $25,000, and a finalist who will receive an additional $10,000. Additionally, both Southern Prize awardees will receive a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences. The inaugural recipients of the Southern Prize & State Fellowship for Literary Arts are planned to be announced in early 2024.
In addition to the Southern Prize and State Fellowship for Literary Arts, South Arts also will begin offering dedicated funding programs for literary arts projects later this year, and anticipates hosting convenings in the near future.
Since its establishment in 1975, South Arts has been dedicated to supporting the arts and cultural ecosystem of its nine-state region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. For more information on the Southern Prize and State Fellowship for Literary Arts or South Arts' other programs, visit southarts.org.
Membership
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: LAURA LANNI
Each month, we spotlight a SCWA member, picked at random, and this month we feature Laura Lanni. She began her career as a chemical engineer but has worked as an educator for more than 25 years, currently teaching organic chemistry at the University of South Carolina. Lanni's debut novel, Or Not To Be, crosses the life-death barrier in a love story for cynical geeks. Her novel Infinity Line depicts a dystopian matriarchal society, also interwoven with a love story. Lanni also has published two children's books, I Like Trees Like These and Our Sour Flour Hour, and The Petigru Review published her short story, “Feel The Music.” She's currently working on Something's Wrong With Laurie, a humorous sketch of (mis)perceptions from childhood. Lanni founded SCWA's Clemson Chapter and is currently a member of the Chapin Chapter. She also plays piano; ran half-marathons; sings in a choir, the car, and the shower; and performs in community theater. Lanni hopes to show her grandchildren they can be anything (and everything) they hope to be. Read more about her books and her blog at lauralanni.com.
YOUR DONATION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
SCWA members, we're preparing for our fall conference, 2023 Storyfest, and we are asking for your help. Donations from members like you can help cover the costs of inviting key speakers, offering a variety of food and managing other expenses for the conference. Your donations can make a real difference and help us put together a successful event where our writing community can learn, connect and be inspired. We appreciate any support you can give. You can go to this link on the website to donate and indicate in the comments that it's for the 2023 conference: South Carolina Writers Association - Make a Donation.
NEED A CHAPTER?
Do you wish there was a local chapter in your area? If so, drop us an email and let us know where you'd like to see one. If we can get enough interest in an area — three or more people — we help you set up a chapter as long as one or more people are willing to lead or co-lead it. Or if there's a specific genre you're interested in, let us know. If we get three or more similar requests, we'll connect you and discuss who might lead it.
GEARING UP FOR CAMP NaNoWriMo
July is Camp NaNoWriMo, a month set aside for writers to set their personal writing goals, and a prelude to the main event in November — National Novel Writing Month. This year, SCWA is getting involved early by hosting a group on the NaNoWriMo website that will offer a space for mutual encouragement, virtual word sprints and daily insights. SCWA board member Ash Smith will be cross-posting on the SCWA Facebook page and on the SCWA website forum to keep everyone informed. Sign up at nanowrimo.org. Let's write together and build excitement for November's main event. Happy writing!
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.
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A two-time South Carolina Fiction Prize winner, Zurenda will publish her new novel, The Girl From the Red Rose Motel, in September.
