I’m still staying busy with lots of writing activities! In June, I had Lost State Writers Guild and Tennessee Mountain Writers Board Meetings online. On June 3, I also participated in another Salvation South Writing Circle, moderated by Meredith McCarroll. I attended the Wet Virginia Writers Conference in Ripley, WV, June 6-9, and presented the Imposters Syndrome for Writers presentation once again with Sharon Shadrick and Sharon Waters. On June 10, I sat in on a Write Or Die Zoom about “Why Your Writing Project Is Stuck.” Then, I got to do Darnell Arnoult’s Mining the Motherlode on June 12. On June 18, I Zoomed with the Stafford Project and got to see/hear Jessica Jacobs, which led to a poem entitled, “An Appalachian Woman Knows.” June 21-22 was the Mountain Heritage Lit Fest at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN. On June 26, I was able to do a Zoom through Salvation South where Willie Carver was spotlighted, introducing me to this phenomenal individual and his amazing poetry – and alerting me to the fact that he was going to be at Hindman, too!
Lost State and TMW took July off, but I still had Salvation South Writers Circle on July 1. July 8-12, I attended the Highland Summer Conference in Radford, VA, hosted through Radford University. I was in Hindman, KY, from June 20-26 for the Appalachian Writers Workshop and a pre-workshop Poetry Workshop with Marianne Worthington. I watched a replay of a Write Or Die Zoom from mid-to-late July called, “Exposure, Not Exposed: DIY Book Publicity with Cassie Mannes Murray,” which was both interesting and informative.
And I had a few publication acceptances and contest wins to share, as well. I’ll just list those below. I don’t have much out right now. Several publications have opened submissions windows, but the first draft of my short story collection is due on August 25, so I have to focus on that for now and let submissions stand where they are. It makes me sad, but I made a commitment to the short story collection, so I need to get it done. Here’s hoping I can pull that off in three weeks!
“Open Window,” 3rd Place, WVW Poetry Wall
“Genevieve,” 1st Place, MHLF James Still Award for Fiction Short Story
“Making the Grades,” MHLF Jesse Stuart Award for Young Adult Fiction
“Genevieve,” 1st Place, Chautauqua Festival, Wytheville, VA
“Open Window,” 3rd Place, Chautauqua Festival, Wytheville, VA
“Market Time,” Red Branch Review (poem)
“Old Barbie Doll Injury,” Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel (nonfiction)
“Granny’s Kitchen, 1970s,” Untelling (poem)
“What Annie Saw,” in 24 Tales: More Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Mysteries (Howling Hills Publishing)
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