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.
It’s time for the GCWA Writing Contest.
Documentation and Entry forms available here.
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 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
January 2019
Gale Massey lives in St. Petersburg, FL. Her stories have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Walking the Edge, Sabal, Seven Hills Press, Connotation Press, and other journals. She has been a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a Standiford Fellow at Writers in Paradise. Her debut novel, The Girl From Blind River, is a coming-of-age crime novel set against the backdrop of illegal gambling and small town corruption, and is available at her website.
Location: [map] Zion Lutheran Church,
7401 Winkler Road, Fort Myers, FL 33919
Announcements
Register now for SWFL Writer’s Conference. Prices go up January 1, 2019
Documentation and more information here.
Interested in joining a new critique or reading group? [list of current groups] Looking for new members for your critique group? Contact Al York.
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!
LIKE our Facebook page and check out our meeting photos.
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.
Workshop — The Pitch, One Sheet, and Promoting Your Book
Saturday, February 2, 2019 from 10:00 am -12:00 pm at the Southwest Florida Military Museum Charley Valera, author of My Father’s War and GCWA [...]Patricia Wentling’s book accepted by online e-zine
I am Patricia Wentling. I joined Gulf Coast Writers Association, Inc. in August of this year. My picture book story, Lucky's Violin, has been [...]Sharmin Fairbanks McKenny
Sharmin Fairbanks McKenny has a new website and blog fairbankshistory.com making it easier for viewers to access it. The old website [...]
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.
Spoken Words Await
Spoken Wordplay Open Mic: January 23, 2019, 7:30 PM Strauss Theater, Sanibel Island The performers and audience are great and the admission [...]21st Century Storytelling with Nathan Hill
Nathan Hill, best-selling author of THE NIX, brings a four-part lecture series on storytelling in the 21st century to the FGCU community. This [...]Workshop — The Pitch, One Sheet, and Promoting Your Book
Saturday, February 2, 2019 from 10:00 am -12:00 pm at the Southwest Florida Military Museum Charley Valera, author of My Father’s War and GCWA [...]
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.
EYELANDS 2nd INTERNATIONAL FLASH FICTION CONTEST – 2019
We are glad to announce our 2nd International Flash Fiction Contest. Last year it was ''Dreams'', this year our theme is: Spring Contest [...]The Masters Review January Deadlines
It’s a new year, filled with new opportunities. Make a resolution to share your writing with the world, and then get started by entering one [...]Funds for Writers contests
Funds for Writers lists contests, grants, markets, resources, information, etc. for writers.
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.
Ironsights: A Collection of Veteran Poetry
PRCW is accepting poems until March 17 for a poetry anthology entitled "Ironsights: A Collection of Veteran Poety" to be published by Peace River [...]Book Signing Opportunities
Book Signings Opportunities at Southwest Florida Military Museum and Library in Cape Coral The Southwest Florida Military Museum and Library [...]New Authors Journal seeking submissions
A quarterly publication called New Authors Journal, started in 1992, provides new authors with the opportunity to have their work published for [...]
GCWA officers
Meet the 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.
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.