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Webinar: Writing Your Author Bio
Scott Tilley, Ph.D.
Dr. Scott Tilley has announced a new free webinar, his first for 2021. On Saturday, February 6 at 10 a.m. Writing your bio is a critical skill to learn. In just 75 words, you have to market yourself to sell your product—your book. Sign up at Precious Publishing.
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AFTERMATH! Call for Submissions
Scott Tilley
The vaccines have finally arrived, offering us a way out of this dreadful COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, the coronavirus is still surging worldwide, so now it’s a race between infections and injections. We all hope that science will ultimately prevail.
When enough people have received the jab, and we start approaching herd immunity, what will the world look like? Will we reset our “new normal” back to the way it was, or has society fundamentally changed? When will we stop using masks? When will social distancing become a thing of the past? How will your daily habits change?
The forthcoming anthology, AFTERMATH, is a direct sequel to PANDEMIC. It is a collection of stories about people’s expectations for life after COVID-19. The Black Death gave rise to many structural changes in European society in the 14th century. The Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918 led to the Roaring 20s. What will the end of COVID-19 bring to us? What lessons have we learned to prepare ourselves for the next inevitable pandemic? How will we deal with the avalanche of long-term mental health issues? When will the economy recover? What will happen to education and the students who lost so much with remote learning?
Submission Guidelines:
• One submission per person (fiction, non-fiction, essays), no longer than 8,000 words. The submission cannot be previously published or currently under review elsewhere. Submissions must be sent as an email attachment in MS Word format to stilley@preciouspublishing.biz.
• Images must be in JPG or PNG format at 300dpi and sent as separate email attachments.
• Authors must include a 75-word biography and a 1”x1” digital headshot.
• There is NO FEE to submit your work. We’re all in this together.
• The publisher reserves the right to edit or decline submissions.
• Contributors maintain copyright on their submission, but the overall copyright of the anthology rests with the publisher.
• AFTERMATH will be published by Anthology Alliance and distributed through Amazon.com in Kindle and print formats by July 2021.
• Authors selected to appear in AFTERMATH will receive a free copy of the print version of the book.
Important Dates: Submit your work by Friday, April 30, 2021, for consideration.
For More information: Contact the editor, Scott Tilley, at stilley@preciouspublishing.biz
NOTE: This anthology is sponsored by Scott Tilley, Ph.D., and is not a Space Coast Writers' Guild activity.
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Scott Tilley is president and founder of Precious Publishing, an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow. His recent books include Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), Perspectives on Systems Engineering from Florida’s Space Coast (CTS Press, 2020), and PANDEMIC (Anthology Alliance, 2020). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995). Visit his author website at http://www.amazon.com/author/stilley. Contact him at stilley@preciouspublishing.biz
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SCWG Donates $250 of Books & Toys
On December 20, 2020, Joanne and Dan went to Walmart with the SCWG card and purchased just under $250 worth of books and toys for the U. S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program and dropped them off at the main collection site. Joanne left a SCWG business card, so that they know who donated.
Cocoa Beach Downtown Events are Back!
Cocoa Beach Fest & Winterfest
Cocoa Beach Main Street is pleased to announce two iconic events: Cocoa Beach Fest on November 28 & 29, and Winterfest on December 5. Join them for food, live music, and street vendors! Sign up today at cocoabeachmainstreet.org/become-a-vendor to become a vendor.
LiftUp Young Lives Needs Help
Additional Information
LiftUp Young Lives is in need of someone who can help with searching for, and writing grants to benefit abused young adults. LiftUp Young Lives provides the support and education that these young adults need, along with used cars and computers when they complete the program. They are in need of funding to continue their work in 2021. Any suggestion or experience would help us greatly. Thank you very much, from Danielle Rose, member and Author
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LiftUp is designed to help young people realize their purpose and give them the tools they need to succeed in life. This program is intended for teens and young adults who are aging out of foster care, homeless or rescued from human trafficking. The curriculum is specifically designed for young people transitioning to future education and adulthood. LiftUp will help students unlock their potential and promote balanced personal development in five different areas of growth which we call success pillars.
Book Signing Event: Joanne Fisher
hello again books, Cocoa Village
On Saturday, October 3, Joanne had a book signing at hello again books, 217 King Street, Cocoa Village. Owned MerryBeth Burgess and Amy Elkavich, hello again books is a homey, friendly place, sort of like the Cheers of bookstores.
Even though Saturday was a rainy day, several customers came into the store. They thoroughly enjoyed Joanne's recounting of how she came to be an author, the Space Coast Writers' Guild, and a description of her books.
All are welcome at hello again books, but they ask you to leave your prejudices, whatever they may be, outside the door. MerryBeth and Amy welcome any and all indie authors to do a book signing. Simply email helloagainbooks@gmail.com, or visit their website at www.helloagainbooks.com.
Joanne Fisher speaking at her book signing event at hello again books, Cocoa Village.
SCWG Short Story Contest 2020 Winners Announced
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The Space Coast Writers' Guild congratulates the winners of the 2020 Short Story Contest. Immediate Past President Cindy Foley announced the winners at the August Guild meeting, Cindy commented that all the entries were outstanding, and that, in some cases, as little as one point differentiated one entry from another. There was a tie for Third Place, and two Honorable Mentions! You can download and read the stories, below.
FIRST PLACE
James R. Nelson, for Ne'er-Do-Well
SECOND PLACE
Elizabeth Volstadt, for Timing is Everything
THIRD PLACE
Peggy Insula, for Captured
Janet Corso, for A New Immortal
HONORABLE MENTION
Arthur Doweyko, for Billy and the Time Machine
Terri Friedlander, for Your Mother
SCWG 2020 Anthology
Survival
Submission Guidelines: All SCWG members in good standing are allowed TWO submissions (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays), no longer than 5,000 words. Submissions must be sent as an email attachment in MS Word format (,doc or .docx) to bod@scwg.org.
Center the title in all upper case and center the Author’s name, in upper and lower case, below the title.
Genre: general/literary fiction, romance, historical, sci-fi, mystery/suspense. Children's stories, explicit foul language and erotica will not be accepted.
ENTRIES MUST be single spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font. DO NOT use a special size or font for titles. DO NOT number pages, and for prose please type past end of line (use word wrap), instead of using the enter key.
Submissions cannot have been previously published, or currently under review elsewhere.
All submissions must be accompanied by a 75-word author biography and a 1”x1” digital author headshot. Images must be in JPG or PNG format at 300dpi.
Include the author’s name, address, telephone # and email address as well as the title of the submission. Prose must contain a word count below email address.
Please note that we will not accept headers, footers or references as part of your submission. All reference notes need to be included in the body of your short story.
Important Dates: The deadline has been extended to Sunday, October 4, 2020. There are a plethora of entries, so far, and we expect to have perhaps the best SCWG Anthology to date!
Our 2020 Anthology will be published and distributed through Amazon.com in Kindle and print formats by Christmas.
Note: Not a SCWG member? No problem! Submit your work, along with a $40 non-refundable entrance fee, and you’re in. Plus, you get one full year of membership in the SCWG.
The SCWG reserves the right to edit or decline submissions.
Contact bod@scwg.org for more details.
SCWG Member in Melbourne Film Festival
Melbourne Independent Film Festival
The Melbourne Independent Film Festival is scheduled for October 15 through 17 at the Premiere Theaters Oaks Stadium 10 in Melbourne.
COME for the enjoyment of film and to support your local filmmakers (including screenwriters).
WATCH for the name of a fellow SCWG member in the credits. (“Tie Up Loose Ends”)
Due to COVID-19, this year’s MIFF will be a combination of live and online events. The schedule is still under development. Check back for more information, or visit the festival's website.
Authors for Authors Spring 2020 Conference
Authors for Authors held their annual Write, Publish, Sell! conference on June 20, 2020. By all accounts the conference was a rousing success!
Various speakers made presentations on a number of topics, including these from SCWG members:
- Joanne Fisher: How to Create Memes for Social Media.
- Cindy Foley: Don't be a Thin-Skinner. The Necessity of a Critique; Speaking in Public? I'd Rather Eat Worms!
- Linda Zern: Writing So They CAN'T Put it Down; What Box? Using the Power of Creativity in All Aspects of the Book Business.
- Jim Nelson: How to Write a Tightly-Plotted Novel.
Writing Classes Online: The Writers' Workshop
WRITING CLASSES ONLINE!!
The Writers' Workshop of Asheville, North Carolina is offering online classes for beginning and experienced writers via Zoom. Each class meets on Saturdays, 10-3 pm. Registration is in advance only, at www.twwoa.org. Classes are $65, or $60 Workshop members. Financial assistance is available for low-income writers in exchange for volunteering. To register, email writersw@gmail.com, or call 828-254-8111.
JULY 11: WRITE YOUR LIFE with Richard Krawiec
In this supportive writing-intensive class, participants will learn how to draw on the "material" of their lives to write and revise memoirs, stories, or plays. Elements covered include time compression and expansion, theme, recognizing your purpose, and developing your piece professionally.
Krawiec is the founder of Jacar Press, and the author of numerous books such as "Breakdown: A Father's Story", "Faith in What?", and "Time Sharing". His work is published in numerous journals including Shenandoah, Florida Review, and N.C. Literary Review.
JULY 25: SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP with Nathan Ross Freeman
The class will learn all aspects of writing the screenplay, including formatting, characterization, sequence structures, and how to adapt any genre to a screenplay.
Freeman’s credits include the feature films Gem and Mr. Bones, the official selection of major film festivals; and Authoring Action, awarded 2010 Best Documentary in the U.K. He has taught at UNC-C and Salem College.
AUGUST 8: HOW TO POLISH YOUR OWN WORK with Karen Ackerson
Writers of fiction and non-fiction books and stories will learn how to revise and polish their works before submitting to an agent or publisher. Techniques will be taught on how to grab the reader's interest by eliminating unnecessary details, building tension, and fine-tuning dialogue and descriptions. Participants may bring five pages (double-spaced) to the class for discussion.
Ackerson is Senior Editor at The Renbourne Editorial Agency (www.renbourne.com), and has edited hundreds of novels, memoirs and creative non-fiction stories.
Hello
SCWG Member Wins Award
Please join us in congratulating Gayle Woodson, who earned a silver medal in the Independent Book Publishers Association 2020 Ben Franklin Awards, for her recent novel After Kilimanjaro.
Book Editing Services
Jaimie Engle
Jaimie has published more than a dozen books, and helped nearly 80 authors polish their manuscripts for publication. Email your query to Jaimie at thewriteengle@gmail.com, with your first three pages, total word count, and total page count for a complimentary edit sample and bid price.