Welcome!

The Gulf Coast Writers Association is proud to provide a forum for fellowship, education, and information for writers in our community.

Whether you write for pleasure or profit, you’ll find support from our members. And with an average of 175 members, there’s always encouragement and friendly guidance to help you improve your writing skills.

Plus, our monthly speakers’ events are informative and fun, providing expert advice on topics such as writing techniques, publishing, marketing, and others.

So no matter what your genre: general fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s, young adult, historical fiction, romance, mystery/thriller, memoirs, and more, you’re in good company.

Check out our website and see what exciting things we have in store for you.

Renew your 2019 membership

It’s that time again! Renew your 2019 membership today.  We have an exciting year of speakers and camaraderie planned for 2019.  For only $40.00, less than $4.00 a meeting, you can continue to learn from established writers, editors and professional coaches from southwest Florida and beyond.

You’ll have continued access to professional workshops and the opportunity to share your good news and writings with other members and guests. Since 1995, Gulf Coast Writers has been dedicated to helping every writer perfect his or her craft and achieve their personal and professional goals. Come share a cup of coffee, a stimulating presentation, and common interests with over one hundred writers in the local area.

Renewal is easy.

1) Pay via PayPal on the GCWA website (below)
2) or mail a check to

Gulf Coast Writers Association,
P.O. Box 60771,
Fort Myers, FL 33906

3) or pay by cash or check at the next monthly meeting

The last day for renewing your membership is the January 18, 2019 meeting.  Should you not renew by then, your name will be removed from the membership rolls. As a non-member, you will have to pay a $5.00 guest fee for each monthly meeting you attend.

New Writing Game

Do you like playing games? Enjoy Jeopardy? Try playing these Jeopardy style writing games and learn while you play.

October 2018

Jack Dunigan

Jack Dunigan

I don’t recall exactly when I sold my first article, but it was sometime in the 70’s. Since then, I have written and consulted for Woodcraft magazine, Classic Auto Restorer, Thousand Trails Campgrounds, World MAP, the Methodist Churches of Cuba, Ten Tables Restaurant, the Equation Gallery and Restaurant, and many more.
Having spent the last 7 years on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, I am living now with my wife in southwest Florida. JackDunigan.com is a site in process.

Click here for more speakers

Meeting: October 20, 2018
10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon

Location: [map]
Zion Lutheran Church,
7401 Winkler Road, Fort Myers, FL 33919

Interested in joining a new critique or reading group?
[list of current groups]
Looking for new members for your critique group?
Contact Al York.

GCWA 2019 Writing Contest Coming soon

See the list of 2018 winners and their works.

Third annual Indie Author Day
The third annual Indie Author Day will be held on Saturday, October 13, 2018. The event will be hosted at the Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers, FL, from 9 am until 1 pm during its weekly Greenmarket. This event is free but must register.

Tables will be provided. See details under EVENTS.

more announcements

If you are looking for Gulf Coast Writers in Mississippi, click here.

Join Us!

Gulf Coast Writers provide ideas, support, encouragement, resources and networking opportunities to fellow writers. Don’t miss out on all the great speakers we have planned for the upcoming year.

Click button below to learn what you will get within our association. Only $40 annual ($50 for families). Come join the fun!

Membership Application/Renewal

Facebook3

LIKE our Facebook page and check out our meeting photos.

Membership Application/Renewal

Dear Members:
Renew now! We value your membership and don’t want you to miss the exciting events we have planned for this year.

Dues are payable from Fall until January 31. If you haven’t renewed and plan to attend our next meeting, please bring your money or check with you. Or you can pay today! Simply click the Membership Application tab and renew your membership online via PayPal.

If you aren’t sure if you have paid your membership dues, please e-mail website@GulfWriters.org.

Latest Good News

If there is an ellipsis (…) at the end of a post here, that means there is more to read. To read a complete post, click on the headline. Or, if you want to scroll through ALL of our Good News, Click Here for more good news.

Good news is for members only. If you would like to join in the fun, visit the Membership Application Page to learn more about joining.

If you are are a GCWA member with Good News, please send email to website@gulfwriters.org.

Events

We get a lot of upcoming events sent to us, from all over Florida and even beyond. If there is an ellipsis (…) at the end of a post here, that means there is more to read. To read a complete post, click on the headline.

Take a look at all the events. You can Click Here for more Events, and you can go to our calendar to see those that are posted in our local Lee county and surrounding areas.

If you are affiliated with a group that is hosting an event that is relevant to authors, please send email to website@gulfwriters.org.

Writing Contests

If there is an ellipsis (…) at the end of a post here, that means there is more to read. To read a complete post, click on the headline. Or, if you want to scroll through ALL of Writing Contests we have heard about, Click Here for more writing contests.

If you are affiliated with a group that is hosting a writing contest, please send email to website@gulfwriters.org.

Announcements and Opportunities

If there is an ellipsis (…) at the end of a post here, that means there is more to read. To read a complete post, click on the headline. Or, if you want to scroll through ALL of our Announcements, Click Here for more announcements.

Also, if you would like to make an announcement of your own, please send email to website@gulfwriters.org.

Election of GCWA officers

Meet the new officers officers and directors for 2018/19.

Members Poetry and Prose

See the latest contributions by our members, Lorraine Walker Williams, Jim Gustafson and Joe Pacheco. Send your own poetry and short prose to website@gulfwriters.org.

New GCWA meeting agenda

We are replacing our long business meetings with contributions from our members. If you would like to speak at one of our meetings, please contact Bob McCarthy at Programs@GulfWriters.org or Irene Smith at Membership@GulfWriters.org

Information wanted

GCWA members — send us your photos, your bios, your books to be listed on the website — email website@gulfwriters.org.

Visit your local book stores

There are several book stores who sell books by local authors. Visit, buy books, check on selling your books on their shelves. List of stores

Looking for Word Song editor

Due to time constraints our News Magazine WORD SONG is needing an Executive Editor with MailChimp experience in order to continue. If you would like to know more about it, please email TheWord@gulfwriters.org

We will continue to send out a basic meeting announcement until then. If you are not seeing these emails, please search your SPAM and PROMOTIONS folder and then add the address to your contacts list. Or contact membership@gulfwriters.org to verify that your email is in the system.

You can click here to see the current edition and get instructions for how to find our emails.

Newsletters

Services page on website

We have added a Writing Services page to the website. GCWA members, if you have a writing-related business you would like listed, please contact website@gulfwriters.org. No fancy ads, just listings for editors, illustrators, publishers, ghost writers, website designers, etc.