PRESIDENT’S LETTER FOR SEPTEMBER 2023

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We regret the last minute change of venue for the Writing Contest Awards program. The situation was beyond our control. Fortunately, Pastor R.C. Fleeman of Peace Community Church offered the space for our program. 

The readings by the winners were excellent, as were the judges’ descriptions of the winning works. The luncheon was a happy ending to an outstanding event. 


Winning authors of the Gulf Coast Writers Association annual writing contest

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Our next meeting is Saturday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. at our usual venue, Word of Life Church in Fort Myers. This meeting is our opportunity to show off our own work and get to know each other’s talents! Select to attend by Zoom.

So, if you’ve recently been published in a book or a literary magazine, or if you’ve been awarded a prize for your writing, please bring a portion of that work to read to fellow GCWA members and guests. If you have an unpublished piece you’re really proud of, please bring it and step up! Reads are limited to 5 minutes, and the first 20 to sign up get a place at the podium. Contact Mary Charles (mary@marycharles.com) to put your name in the hat.

We’re happy to announce that Arielle Haughee, publisher of Orange Blossom Books and author of children’s literature, will be back with us in February 2024 to speak about publishing. She’ll tailor her presentation to our members’ preference: would you like to learn about traditional publishing or self-publishing? Please send your vote to mary@marycharles.com by September 30 to give Arielle time to focus her content.

BOOK LAUNCH

 Sold out: Our September 9 event at the Alliance for the Arts to launch our Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian anthology is currently sold out. But you can still see the event. The event will be live-streamed by the  Facebook and Instagram. Even if you don’t have a seat in the auditorium, you can still meet the book’s contributing authors from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Alliance before the start of the event. 

You can also purchase the book during the pre-show at the Alliance. Contributing authors will pay our cost when they purchase directly from GCWA. Paid-up members may purchase Storm Stories directly from GCWA at 30% off Amazon prices. And if you can’t attend the September 9 launch, come to the September 16 member meeting to purchase your copies.

You can also purchase the book from Amazon in e-book, trade paperback and hard cover formats at

retail price. On August 21, Amazon named Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian the #1 New Release for Memoirs in the southern states.  Click on this link for the book at Amazon.com:  Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian.  And here is the QR code:  

OTHER BUSINESS

Many people have fallen behind on their dues. We understand this could possibly be due to the confusion and loss during last year’s devastations and disasters and that some may not even have realizes it. David Aiken, our membership chair, has updated the membership list. Please be prepared to update your status if, by chance, you are not current on your dues see David at the next meeting or renew online via PayPal.

Brian Devitt and Jeff Bogart are working on important upgrades and safeguards to our website. When these updates are completed, only current members will be permitted to keep their books on our website and to access all the important information our website provides.

A YEAR OF RENEWAL

Finally, have you noticed that our organization is increasingly vibrant these days? The pandemic is behind us. Our membership is growing. Our programming is too. So if you haven’t been to a meeting recently, come check us out.

Come early and get ready to make new friends! The meeting begins at 10:00 a.m., live and by Zoom.  The location:

Word of Life Church

6111 South Pointe Blvd.

Fort Myers, FL 33900

We are looking forward to seeing all of you. 


Irene Smith President

Storm Stories – Hurricane Ian Dress Rehearsal

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Tamiami Tale Tellers and Gulf Coast Writers Association Vice President Mary Charles rehearsed yesterday (Friday) in advance of tonight’s sold-out book launch of Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, Fla.  

The anthology collects the true, personal experiences of residents in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, Fla., who lived through Hurricane Ian.  The Tale Tellers will read selections from each of the stories.  Maritime author and Pine Island resident Robert Macomber will read his preface to the book, and contemporary artist Leoma Lovegrove, who contributed artwork for the book’s cover, will also speak. Photo credit:  Jeff Bogart

Storm Stories Press Release

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The ‘Storm Stories – Hurricane Ian’ continues to get attention in the local press. See a recent release from the Pine Island Eagle, below:

Gulf Coast Writers Association set to publish ‘Storm Stories — Hurricane Ian’

A collaborative effort to tell “Stories of Survival, Heroism and Humanity” has come together in “Storm Stories–Hurricane Ian.”

With the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian making landfall in Southwest Florida approaching, the Gulf Coast Writers Association, in partnership with the Alliance for the Arts, will release a commemorative book complied from 83 submissions, including poetry and long narratives.

The book’s cover art was done by renowned artist Leoma Lovegrove, who lost both her home and gallery in Matlacha to Ian. The foreword was written by award-winning novelist Robert Macomber, who was among the evacuees from Pine Island.

“In this collection of stories, you will read of that storm’s profound effects on the people and places of this coast, told by those who endured it,” Macomber said. “I am proud to be part of this literary endeavor, for the heart of it is a powerful, vivid story about the better angels of human nature, which emerge when least expected and most needed.”

Lovegrove said working on the project was cathartic.

“After the Ian wave hit, our home on Matlacha was a total loss,” she said. “Part of the house washed out to sea, so all of our personal belongings now reside in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Taking on this art project was very personal.

“When Hurricanes Ian hit, I eased my stress by painting up a storm, and Ian about knocked the wind and paint brush right out of me. I did this project because my paintings tell my story the best. I offered the art before they encouraged me to write my story. I struggled through the writing. It was hard to express myself with words. It’s much easier to paint,” Lovegrove said.

GCWA secretary and project leader Jeanne Meeks describes the project as a labor of love.

It began at post-Ian meeting after the executive committee decided there were enough stories to gather and compile an entire book.

With four acting editors and the Alliance for the Arts partnership, the book received the 83 narratives.

“Our whole purpose was to give people a voice — to get off their chests, the effects of having been through the storm, whether it was the flooding or the aftermath — whatever they went through,” Meeks said.

The book runs the gamut, from submissions from those who took cover from the storm in their attic to those who experienced insurance issues post storm.

Although most stories in the book are from novice writers, some are published authors. The editorial process was performed by members of the GCWA in an effort to clean up any mistakes, without losing the original voice and tone conveyed by the writers, Meeks said.

As one of the four editors, Meeks admits there are several stories that she found particularly poignant, including a story about a man who stepped outside his Bonita Beach condo and was swept away by the storm surge and knocked into nearby mangroves, where he had to hang on for several hours.

“There are several like that — it just breaks your heart — where they didn’t have enough money to replace things — they’re just relying on neighbors and friends,” Meeks said.

Meeks went on to note Macomber’s forward is quite interesting, as he talks about being evacuated from Pine Island, becoming a refugee himself.

Another storyteller acted quickly by going out immediately to shovel mud out of the homes of others and help to replace their rooftops, she said.

“A couple of months later, he was still helping a family get a car and get a place — who were displaced by the storm. He solicited the help from his community up in Ohio, to sponsor this family and make sure they had what they needed — because they’re hard-working people, who just had bad luck. The disaster hit everybody from very poor to rich people and it’s no less devastating,” Meeks said.

Although she didn’t take an exact count of how many writers in the book are from the GCWA, Meeks approximated that quite a few are current members.

“Some people dropped off stories to the Alliance and some only did it over the telephone — somehow recording their voices for the stories. So, that’s a different experience — taking somebody’s voice and transcribing it into a story,” Meeks said.

The 400 to 500 hours spent passing out flyers and stopping people to ask for stories on Hurricane Ian paid off, generating good participation in the group’s first book project.

Read the entire article from the Pine Island Eagle.

Reserve your Storm Stories book from Amazon.

PRESIDENT’S LETTER FOR AUGUST 2023

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Irene Smith

This year GCWA received over 110 writing contest entries, one of the largest responses we’ve had in recent years. The competition was challenging, but thanks to our awesome volunteer judges, who devoted their time and skills, the best pieces were selected.  The top three winners in each category will read their entries at the August 19th Membership Meeting. 

The program begins at 10:00 a.m. We suggest you arrive early to get a good seat. You won’t be disappointed.  A healthy lunch will be available after the presentations, courtesy of GCWA. This will offer you an opportunity to munch and mingle with our contest winners, who are:

Adult Section Youth Section
Category Non Fiction Poetry Fiction Not Applicable
1st Place Pamela Pohlman Sandy Dahlhofer Brad Burt Eric Zhu-West
Winning entry “A Picture of Hell” “Snowflake” “But He Didn’t!” “Right Hand Raised”
Home town Fort Myers, FL Lake Placid, FL Fort Myers,  Roxbury, MA
         
2nd Place Patricia Sheehy Amy Pontius Patti M. Walsh Kurukulasuriya Fernando
Winning entry     “Searching for Me” “Moon Dance” “Ghosts of Clotheslines Past” “Pretty Little Things”
Home town Estero, FL Fort Myers, FL. Fort Myers, FL Fort Myers, FL
         
3rd Place MaryLou Williams Grace Brendel Pauline Hayton Stormi Thomas
Winning entry “Audrey Hepburn and Me” “The Land Before This” “Somewhere in England” “Secret Miracles”
Home town Fort Myers, FL Cape Coral, FL Naples, FL Lake Mary, FL
         

September 9th from 7:00-9:00PM is the book launch event for our upcoming anthology, “Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian” at the Alliance of the Arts. We are very excited about this event, which is part of the Alliance’s month-long commemoration of Hurricane Ian. Contributing authors to our anthology may arrive as early as 6:00pm to purchase their books at cost. Books will also be available to members at that time. 

We desperately need volunteers to assist as greeters, book sellers and floaters at this event.  We also need volunteers to assemble the video portion of the evening, still images and video segments. Please contact Mary Charles at  mary@marycharles.com or call/text her at 718-848-4031. Mary will be at the Alliance for the Arts theatre on Friday, September 8, the afternoon before the event between 1:00-3:00pm. She would prefer getting any borrowed equipment that afternoon.

Our anthology, “Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian”, will be available soon as a trade paperback and hard cover at local book stores, the gift shop at the Alliance for the Arts and the Alliance’s popular monthly Night Market. It will also be obtainable online from Amazon.com in e-book, paperback and hard cover versions.  Pre-publication orders for the e-book on Amazon are now being accepted.

We just learned that the Lee County Library System has ordered one book for each library branch and will order additional copies if there is a demand for more.

Please consider assisting us with the September 9th event. More information on the anthology will be in next month’s newsletter, so keep checking our website for updates!

Don’t forget our August 19th meeting will be held as usual starting at 10:00am-Noon.

Location: Map

Meeting Location:

Word of Life Church

6111 South Pointe Blvd.,

Fort Myers, FL 33919

Irene Smith, President

PRESIDENT’S LETTER FOR JULY 2023

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Irene Smith

Judging for our 2023 Writing Contest has concluded and results will be announced at our July meeting. Winners and their families are invited to the August meeting, at which time prizes will be awarded and some of the winning pieces will be read.  Many thanks to all who participated, especially our volunteer judges, for their time and energy!

Brian Devitt, our Social Media Authority, has asked everyone to follow us on social media.  Our Twitter handle is @GCWA_SWFL, and please join our FaceBook group “Gulf Coast Writers Association” to “like” and “tweet” our recent posts there.  If members are on Facebook, I suggest that they post a mention of our Twitter and Facebook group, including our Twitter handle.

Brian is also assisting Dr. Kesha Dreher as the Lead Webmaster until a permanent replacement can be found.  If you know anyone who is an IT expert, you can contact Brian at bdevitt55@gmail.com.

Thanks to Jeff Bogart, our Communications officer, a notice of our July 22 Meeting now appears in the Fort Myers News-Press online calendars, Bonita Springs & Estero Magazine, Cape Coral Living magazine, Gulf & Main magazine, RSW magazine, and Times of the Islands magazine.  Jeff has reached another group of readers for us.  You can’t pick up a local newsprint without seeing a notice about Gulf Coast Writers Association.

Thank you, Brian and Jeff, for all the effort you have put forth to spread the word about our wonderful organization!

Mark your calendars and save the evening of September 9 for the launch of GCWA’s first-ever anthology, Storm Stories-Hurricane Ian.  More details will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, but this project has been almost a year in the making, and I promise you don’t want to miss it.

Last month’s meeting, featuring prolific author Allie Pleiter presenting on improving productivity and time management, was well attended.  

Here are a few photos from that meeting:

These are a few photos from that meeting.

This month Bob McCarthy, a ten-year member of “GCWA, will demonstrate how to create a video presentation using MSOffice and upload it to YouTube for the world to see. YouTube is the second most significant social media platform worldwide, with over 2.6 billion users. There are 4.65 billion active social media users worldwide. This means that 57.63% of active social media users worldwide access YouTube.

Bob will illustrate step-by-step how to create a working video script and add dialogue or narration resulting in a presentation with impact, whether for sales, marketing, training, or more.

Bob has been a professional writer and editor for more than 20 years. He has worked freelance, in-house, and with partners to help clients get noticed. The Oil Heat Managers Association gave a video he scripted for a Connecticut manufacturer its Best Training Video award. Bob has had articles published in regional, national, and international magazines.

Bob has been a member and officer of GCWA for ten years, and he is now a member of our Corporate Board.

This meeting is another outstanding opportunity to learn how to produce high-quality material from a pro.

Members and first-time guests attend for free, returning guests $5.00. I suggest you come early. Meet new or old friends with whom you share a great love for writing. The meeting will also be available on Zoom for those who can’t make it in person (Registration information will be on the website, gulfwriters.org). 

The July 22 meeting will be held at our usual meeting site starting at 10:00 and ending at noon. Here is that location, along with a map.

Meeting Location:

Word of Life Church

6111 South Pointe Blvd.,

Fort Myers, FL 33919

For directions, see Map

See you at the meeting!

Irene Smith, President