Coming in from MEWSIE Joel Schwartzberg:
“The 40-Year-Old Version”, my collection of personal essays and humor, was just named a finalist in both the ESSAYS and HUMOR categories of ForeWord Magazine’s “Book of the Year” Awards.
See: http://bit.ly/d2n7vZ
Winners in each category, and overall fiction and nonfiction prize winners, will be announced at Book Expo America 2010 in May.
See more about the book at www.bookfordad.com
Northwest New Jersey Regional Women’s Center
Centenary College
400 Jefferson Street
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
908-852-9365
www.centenarycollege.edu/womens_center
February 2010
The Northwest New Jersey Regional Women’s Center at Centenary College
in Hackettstown, NJ would like to invite you to participate in our Women’s History Month Celebration of New Jersey Women Authors.
On Monday, March 29, 2010 we will be hosting an all day event focusing on writing and publishing accomplishments of women in our state. We are inviting women who have written books from all different venues; Health, Entertainment, Careers, Fiction, History, Cooking, and Poetry to name just a few.
The morning event will be short lessons on the following topics: Honing Your Writing Skills, How to Begin the Process, How to Get Published, The Changing World of Publishing, and The Impact of Kindle. Following these speakers there will be a luncheon and keynote speaker, and then you are invited to set up a table for a group book signing. The targeted audience will be students, faculty, staff, and community. If you are interested in joining us for the entire day please complete the bottom portion and mail it to us as soon as possible.
We look forward to a wonderful day of learning, networking and good fun!
Sincerely,
Deborah Diamond Fisch, Psy.D.
.
Deborah Diamond Fisch, Psy.D, Director
Northwest New Jersey Regional Women’s Center
DDF/jh
=============================================================== Response
I am looking forward to participating in your New Jersey Women Authors Day on Monday, March 29, 2010 from 10-3pm.
Name_________________________
Book title(s)
_____Please include me for lunch
Since Montclair is the epicenter of the literary universe, and since the Montclair literati (aka MEWS, Montclair Editors and Writers) was holding its annual party on Saturday night at the Diva Lounge, close watchers of the publishing scene might not be surprised what local scribes were yapping about at the Diva this Saturday: Amazon’s abrupt decision Friday night to drop Macmillan titles from its website. Since Macmillan is the umbrella for such houses as Henry Holt, St. Martin’s and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, that’s a lot of books. And a lot of writers.
Many writers at the MEWS party learned of the publishing war that night. I was in fact excitedly greeted with the question, “Who’s your publisher?”, only to find out I was one of those banished from Amazon. Everybody turned to Montclair’s John Mutter (pictured with his wife Cynthia Clark), who as editor of Shelf Awareness, knew most about what was going on.
The Diva takes only cash at the door. There is an ATM on the premises if you’re caught short. If you’re buying drinks beyond your two-drink allotment, you can use credit cards at the bar. No checks at the door or the bar.
Caldwell College, Mount Saint Dominic Academy and the Caldwell Public Library are honored to once again collaborate and welcome author/journalist Brad Parks on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 when Parks, a former Star Ledger reporter and the author of a new mystery series set in New Jersey, will give a talk entitled “The Power of Storytelling: A Writer’s Journey from Journalist to Novelist,” that touches on both his fiction and non-fiction work.
The event will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Werner Hall at the College. A book-signing of Faces of The Gone will immediately follow the talk, and copies will be available for purchase that evening. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Karen Kleppe-Lembo at (973) 226-2837.
About the Author – Brad Parks’ debut novel, a mystery/thriller titled Faces of the Gone, was released from St. Martin’s Press on December 8, 2009. A reformed newspaper reporter, Brad spent a dozen years covering news and sports for The Star-Ledger and The Washington Post. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the National Headliner Awards, the National Association of Black Journalists and others. Most recently, he won the New Jersey Press Association’s enterprise award for a four-part series on the 40th Anniversary of the Newark Riots. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College, he lives with his wife, Melissa, and two young children and is currently at work on the next Carter Ross adventure. www.bradparksbooks.com.
Jane Susswein, a founding board member of the Montclair Community Pre-K, writes to the members of MEWS:
The Montclair Community Pre-K is in its 12th year of offering a quality preschool education to ALL who apply. We have never turned away a four-year-old because of the family’s difficulty paying tuition. We charge on a generous sliding scale, so we can be accessible to all. Our tuition assistance is paid for by a combination of Township funds and board fundraising.
We are having a fundraiser -a Casino and Cabaret Night – On April 29, with both silent and live auction items.
One popular item has been for a local author to donate some books and offer to come to a book group, as a time that is mutually convenient. If any of you are interested, please get back to me at jsusswein@comcast.net. Thank you so much.
Thanks to LAURIE LICO ALBANESE for the amazing Master Class last night on Creating A Sense of Place. My writing is better already and it was a great event with a round table of familiar MEWSie friends and new faces. Plus, we raised more than $75 for the Unitarian Church, which generously donates us their beautiful rotunda room for these classes.
The next MEWS Master Class, on Thursday evening February 11, will be on Making Rejection Work For You, by our ace career counselor PETER PRICHARD. This is a topic close to the half-broken heart of every writer (and okay, even editor) and I’m looking forward to Peter making it easier to deal with those inevitable no’s.
Then, on March 23, Peter will teach a followup Jobs Seminar for those who attended his amazing Jobs Workshop in November. This session will be at the Montclair Public Library; thanks to Eveline Speedie for arranging the room.
And finally, for now anyway, I expect to see all of you at the All-MEWS Mega-Party JANUARY 30. This is the first time in two years that the entire group has gotten together, and these events make me believe that there really is large-scale support and enthusiasm for MEWS, so please turn out. The party is from 6:30 to 9:30 at the Diva Lounge on Bloomfield Avenue; $39 admission at the door buys you drinks, food, and fun.
Plus this year we’ll be collecting for our First Annual MEWS Scholarship, to be awarded to a Montclair High School student interested in studying writing, journalism, literature, and related arts. Checks are already coming in and this is our opportunity to be a force for good in our community. More tk!
Thimbleberry Press (independent publishing company founded by MEWSIE Virginia Cornue and MEWSIE-in-absentia Laura Smyth) are tickled to announce the publication of a new print-on-demand children’s magazine—Adventures in the U.P.
Taking advantage of the new print-on-demand magazine technology at MagCloud.com, as well as Laura’s new-found obsession with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the family hound dog, the press has launched a 16-page story book in magazine format. (To preview the magazine go to http://magcloud.com/browse/Issue/51841). With full color photos throughout, the magazine gives kids anywhere (even Montclair) a taste of the Great North Woods.
Cora Frazier, daughter of MEWS members Ian Frazier and Jacqueline Carey, has written a parody of the novel “Twilight” with her friend Courtney Bowman. Cora and Courtney are both members of The Harvard Lampoon, and the book, titled Nightlight, was published under the Lampoon name.
Nightlight has made the extended (i.e., online) New York Times bestseller list, entering at #32 for the week of December 20th.
There are just a few spots left in the first MEWS Master Class, LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND STATISTICS, an advanced class for journalists in finding the truth (and lies) behind the numbers, taught by Allen St. John.
WHEN: Thursday, December 10, 7:30 till 9:30 (note slight time change)
WHERE: The Tower Room at the Unitarian Church, 67 Church Street, Montclair
HOW MUCH: Free, with a requested small donation to the church as thanks for hosting us
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO ATTEND: RSVP to pam@mewsie.org
This is the first of a series of Master Classes that will be held once a month through the spring. This is an exciting series of small advanced workshops taught by MEWSies for their experienced colleagues. The timing will be the second Thursday evening of every month, except March when it will be on a Wednesday. The lineup, with more details to come:
JANUARY — Creating a sense of place in a novel, by LAURIE LICO ALBANESE
FEBRUARY — Negotiating for writers, by NANCY WILLIAMS
MARCH — Finding an authentic voice in writing historical fiction, by JUDITH LINDBERGH
APRIL — Making rejection work for you, by PETER PRICHARD
MAY — How to find and use historical research in your writing, by LAURA SCHENONE
More details on these classes and how to sign up to come. RSVP now for the December Master Class only.
