Saturday, May 18, 2019    9:00am-5:30pm

Early registration closes at midnight May 15, 2019.
Late registration from May 16-18, 2019, incurs an additional late fee of $15 per registrant.
Register Today!

Saint Leo University, Saint Leo, Florida

The Seventh Annual Sandhill Writers Retreat will renew the writer in you. The full-day retreat takes place on the beautiful, serene University Campus, located in rural Saint Leo, Florida, approximately 35 miles north of Tampa. The retreat feature sixteen hands-on writing classes in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, poetry performance, and publishing. Classes will focus on lessons in craft and imaginative exercises that lead to new works and new skills.  The retreat also includes a faculty reading and book signing, and an optional lunch-time open reading for participants. A very limited number of private one-on-one manuscript consultations are available on a first come, first served basis.

            Retreat classes will be led by a nationally-acclaimed faculty. Visiting faculty include NPR commentator and author Ravi Howard (Like Trees, Walking; Driving the King), recipient of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence; nonfiction writer Elisabeth Lanser Rose (For the Love of a Dog; Body Sharers); Poet Laureate of Orlando, Susan Lilley (Venus in Retrograde); Lisa Roney (Serious Daring: Creative Writing in Four Genres; The Best Possible Bad Luck; Sweet Invisible Body), Editor-in-Chief of The Florida Review and Aquifer: The Florida Review Online; and Caleb Sarvis (Dead Aquarium), senior fiction editor of Bridge Eight Press.

            These renowned writers will be joined by Saint Leo writing faculty members Steve Kistulentz, (Panorama and the poetry collections Little Black Daydreamand The Luckless Age); Patrick Crerand, (The Paper Life They Lead); performance poet Marissa Glover; veteran writer Brooke King, (War Flower: My Life after Iraq); and poets Anne Barngrover (Brazen Creature) and Gianna Russo (Moonflower; One House Down).

            The Sandhill Writers Retreat is open to writers of all levels who wish to hone the craft and renew the joy of writing.  Teachers, students, the military and the general public are all invited to attend.

            To register for the Retreat, see the Registration tab.

https://www.saintleo.edu/sandhill-writers-retreat

New this year: Master Classes! In response to participant feedback, this year the retreat expands to include half-day master classes in poetry, fiction, nonfiction and writing for veterans. Master classes are suitable for experienced writers. Acceptance is through manuscript submission and limited to six participants per class. Each master class will include expert craft talks and a writing workshop that focuses on a discussion of your work. Master classes are taught by Saint Leo Creative Writing faculty:

Patrick Crerand: Nonfiction
Steve Kistulentz: Fiction
Anne Barngrover: Mixed genre
Gianna Russo: PoetryBrooke King: Writing for veterans

Master Classes take place on Friday, May 17, 2019 from 1-4:30pm on campus.

            To Apply for a Master Class, see the Master Class tab.

https://www.saintleo.edu/sandhill-writers-retreat-master-class

Ticket sales end May 20, 2019.

Would you like to connect with others, be inspired, and relax in a beautiful setting? If so, this is the retreat for you! Situated at lovely Coldwater Gardens, Sand ‘n Stories is an exclusive writing retreat aimed to help you leave ready to tell your story. By the end of the retreat, you’ll have:

• Independent Publishing Techniques & Procedures (KNOWLEDGE!!!
• An Outline/Timeline for Writing
• Resources for Formatting, Cover, Editing, & More
• A Marketing Plan for Before & After Publication
• Connections to Other Writers & Experts

Author Tables Now Available at 2019 FLA Conference

Hundreds of Florida librarians alike will be attending our 2019 FLA Annual Conference.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to promote and sell your work to this large group of book lovers!  The standard 6 fttables with included linen are located in the Exhibit Hall this year; a perfect location to network.  They are first come, first serve and will fill up fast!

2019 Author Tables Registration Form

Kauai Writers Conference
November 4-10, 2019

The Kauai Writers Conference has grown to become one of the foremost literary gatherings in the US, and takes place every year in November on the beautiful island of Kauai. We are blessed to live here and would like to invite your members to join us.

This year’s conference has already confirmed, among other distinguished best-selling authors, Paula McClain, Christina Baker Kline, Greg Iles, Geraldine Brooks,Tony Horowitz,  Lisa Wingate, Meg Wolitzer, Mark Kurlansky, Tea Obreht, Nicholas Delbanco, Richard Bausch and Whitney Scharer. Our growing 2019 faculty of fiction and non-fiction writers is regularly seen on the New York Times best-seller list and count among their many awards and honors: the Pulitzer Prize, fiction; the Pulitzer Prize, national reporting; Orange Prize for Fiction; National Magazine Award; O. Henry Prize; National Book Award (finalist); The Pushcart Prize; Overseas Press Club Award; PEN/Malamud Award, to name just a few.

We’re pleased to present members of the Gulf Coast Writers Association with a discount of 20% on both the general conference and master classes on various aspects of the craft. The event also offers one-on-one sessions with literary agents, editors and publishers.

I invite you and your members to spend time on our website and learn more about this nationally-recognized conference, offering an acclaimed faculty committed to sharing their knowledge and time in intimate small group sessions with writers from around the country.

In order to receive the discounted rates for the conference please contact website@gulfwriters.org for a code before registering

Introduction to Creative Writing
June 30–July 5, 2019
Sunday-Friday: 5 nights

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
PO Box 309
57 Interlaken Road
Stockbridge, MA 01262
Directions

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 event is free and open to the public! It all starts Wednesday, January 23, at FGCU!
Doors open at 6:00 for receptions, 6:30 for lectures, to be followed by book signings.

It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you about exciting writers’ workshops in Tuscany, In Vino Veritas. Our 2019 offering is rich: the first session is led by acclaimed author/teacher Alison MacLeod (her novel Unexploded was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize), and the second session is a team-taught workshop featuring Jonathan Levi, author of Septimania and Colombian journalist Marta Orrantia, author of Mañana no te presentes.

Get ready to mark your calendar, here are the dates:
Session I with Alison MacLeod:  September 1 – 7, 2019
Session II with Jonathan Levi and Marta Orrantia: September 15 – 21, 2019

Details may be found at: invinoveritaswriting.com and www.grapevineexperience.com

In Vino Veritas brings together a small group (limited to a maximum of 15 participants) of international writers who work on memoirs, fiction, and poetry, learning about writing in the morning and wine in the evenings. All is accompanied by exquisite food and conversation.

The backdrop to this exciting week is the Donatella Cinelli Colombini wine estate in Trequanda, south of Florence, not far from Siena and near Montalcino (home to the prize-winning Brunello wine, of which Donatella is also a producer!).

Please do not hesitate to contact me for an electronic brochure or more information. And do spread the word to your friends and all those you think might be interested.

I look forward to welcoming you to a session of In Vino Veritas!

Cin-cin! Cheers!

Suzanne Branciforte
Director
Grapevine Experience
Palazzo Sergardi, Siena

www.grapevineexperience.com

Please share this 2019 North Port Poetry Workshop Schedule with poets and friends. Attached you will find the monthly meeting dates and times, as well as the Open Mic Events.  Let’s make 2019 a year to “grow” poetry in North Port!

Save the date!

Each year, FAPA holds the FAPA Annual Conference, the premier educational and networking event for authors and publishers in Florida. The 2019 FAPA Annual Conference will be held on August 2 and 3, 2019 at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace.  The FAPA President’s Book Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday evening, August 3, 2019, after the conference.

The 2018 FAPA Annual Conference was held on August 3rd and 4th, 2018 at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace. This exciting networking and educational event offered two days of sessions with a focus on The Business of Publishing.  Industry leaders, including Charles Todd, Lisa Black, Angela Bole, and Dianna Collier, shared their expertise and a variety of tools needed to flourish in this evolving publishing environment. For the first time, the conference featured a pre-conference workshop and an onsite bookstore where FAPA members and book award medalists could sell their books.

Save the dates on your calendar for these great opportunities in 2019 to learn, network, and grow your business.

Visit the FAPA website.

Meetings 2nd Wednesday of the month  6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Mackle Park Community Center
1361 Andalusia Terrace
​Marco Island, FL 34145

Established June, 2011
Mission Statement:   To gather writers from all genres and skill levels to help one another improve their craft by sharing information and inspiration regarding writing or publishing for fun or profit.
Motto:    We are writers helping writers.
Strategy:

• Networking and support of our members in the craft of writing
• Writing workshops – among ourselves & with writer coaches
• Critique Sessions (Read and Recommend), Flash Fiction, Technology Tips
• Annual AuthorFest — writers helping writers to reach readers