#CoverReveal: The Pamlico Writing group new Christmas anthology - A CAROLINA CHRISTMAS
WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR THIS COVER REVEAL - IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!
BUT FIRST, LET'S GET TO KNOW WHO THE PAMLICO WRITERS ARE AND HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE!
The Pamlico Writers Group is from the
Innerbanks of North Carolina, where the Tar and the Pamlico rivers meet in the
town of little Washington. They’re housed just off the river in the old Turnage
Theater, the oldest still-standing Burlesque Theater House still standing in
North Carolina and home of the Arts of the Pamlico. The Pamlico Writers are a
non-profit group and we affiliated with the Arts of the Pamlico.
The Turnage Theater stands on Main Street just one street
over from the waterfront. The town of Washington is on the Inner Banks of North
Carolina, where the Tar and Pamlico Rivers meet, just down the sound from the
Atlantic Ocean. Forestry, watermen, and Military history are abundant in
Washington and Beaufort County.
by this anthology to assist in this, our fifth annual Pamlico Writers
Conference March 17 and 18, 2017 with Keynote speaker Zelda Lockhart.
Pamlico Writers Group Officers/anthology organizers:
PWG chairperson: Sherri Lupton-Hollister in charge of planning, theme and media
Financial Director: James “Jim” Keen in charge of formatting anthology and setting up Submittable and Drop-Box
Financial Director: James “Jim” Keen in charge of formatting anthology and setting up Submittable and Drop-Box
Programming Director: Kay Wilson assisted with all aspects of planning and media
Conference Director: Doris Schneider in charge of editing and cover planning
Member: Jeanne Julian assisted with editing
Member: Marni Graff marketing
Connect with the group here:
www.pamlicowriter.org
Writing on the Pamlico,
pamlicowritersgroup.wordpress.com
www.pamlicowriter.org
Twitter @Pamlicowritersconference
Facebook @pamlicowritersgroup
Writing on the Pamlico,
pamlicowritersgroup.wordpress.com
Authors/Poets:
Suzannah Lynn Cockerille
Suzannah graduated from Virginia Tech with
a degree in architecture and most of her elective credits in literature
courses. She expected to become an artist, but now her medium is the alphabet.
She writes both poetry and prose, runs a blog, and is writing a novel with the
working title John Boy and the She-Devil.
Suzannah’s work spans topics ranging from personal stories to politics and
social justice to humorous pieces. She’s had poems published in The Poet’s Domain, her college literary
magazine, and various articles published online and in newspapers. She blogs as
“Coco Q” at www.shinybutter.com, and her Facebook page is www.facebook.com/TheShinyButterBlog.
Jonathan Clayborne
Jonathan is the author of five locally staged plays, one of which was
sponsored by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. He is an
award-winning former editor, reporter, and columnist for the Washington, NC, Daily News, and winner of a
deadline-reporting award from the N.C. Press Association. A native of Grifton,
NC, and a resident of Washington since 1993, he is an entrepreneur in different
fields, including creative writing. He has written a novel and a book of
poetry, which he plans to publish soon. Part of the Haunted Pamlico cast,
community theater group affiliated with Arts of the Pamlico, you can find him
on Facebook.com/jonathan.clayborne or Facebook.com/HauntedPamlico
Nancy Eure CordanoNancy lives in North Carolina. She graduated from the University of
North Carolina – Greensboro with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. Her
varied professional career includes behavioral health, industrial, and Faith Community nursing. She has had a passion for writing since her
youth, and has completed courses with the Institute of Children’s Literature
and Long Ridge Writers Group. She has published two novels. Her additional new
joy is learning to paint, finding that her expression in art, layered and
vibrant, is similar to her writing. Follow her on Facebook page or check out her
author page on the Pamlico Writer Group website. New member of the Pamlico Writers Conference Steering Committee.
Jerry Cuthrell
Poet, mentor and
the original chairman of the Pamlico Writers Group. Jerry grew up in Belhaven
and went to work in his family’s bakery as a young boy. He attended the
University of North Carolina but went to work for a national agricultural
company in Oregon. He and his wife Connie raised two sons. After returning to Beaufort
County, he settled in Washington and started his own business and the Pamlico
Writers Group. Jerry is still an active member and this anthology is dedicated
to him and beautiful word-pictures.
Anne Blyth Davis
Anne is a freshman at Duke University from Swan Quarter, NC. In her
spare time, she enjoys photography, reading, running, and writing short
fiction. She plans to major in math and computer science, and minor in
creative writing.
A former member of Marni Graff’s North Carolina Writers’ Read in
Belhaven, Anne Blyth Davis won the Pamlico Writers High School Competition in
Fiction two different years: 2013 ; 2015.
Pam Desloges
Pam grew up in the mountainsof New Hampshire and spent much time on the rugged coast of Maine. After
retiring from a small New England college, she lost interest in shoveling snow.
She now lives in New Bern, NC, with her husband, Max. She has been published in
the anthology Art Inspires Poetry,
the blog Polly’s Tea Kettle, and a
magazine for dog lovers, Sniff &
Barkens. She is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network, the Pamlico
Writers Group, and is a founding member of the Neuse River Writers’ Group. Find
her work at: https://www.facebook.com/pamdesloges
Deborah H. Doolittle
Deborah has lived in lots ofdifferent places but now calls North Carolina home. She has a BA from the
University of Colorado, an MA from George Washington University, an MFA from
San Diego State University, and now teaches at Coastal Carolina Community College. Two chapbooks, No Crazy Notions and That
Echo, have won the Mary Belle Campbell and Long Leaf Press Award,
respectively. She has had more than 350
poems published in literary magazines, with some most recently having appeared
or will soon appear in Atlanta Review, Bear Creek Haiku, Edge, Oberon,
Pinyon, Seems and TAB: The
Journal of Poetry and Poetics. An
avid print-maker, she has put together a small collection of hand-made limited
edition book art. Married to a retired Marine, she has a son and a daughter and
three grandchildren. When not teaching
or writing, she volunteers as a Wildlife Rehabilitator. She and her husband currently share their
house with four cats and a backyard full of birds.
Follow Deborah on Facebook at www.facebook.com/deborah.doolittle
Diane de Echeandia
Diane writes poetry, short
stories, and creative non-fiction. She has won awards in competitions
sponsored by Christopher Newport University's 30th Annual Writers'
Conference, the North Carolina Writers’ Workshop in Asheville, and the
Pamlico Writers Group. Diane lives in New Bern, NC, with her husband and
basset hound. Diane can be found on
Facebook.com/diane.deecheandia or follow her blog http://theskinnypoetryjournel.wordpress.com
Polly Frank
Polly grew up in New Jersey
and graduated from Duke University. She won a prize in the first writing
contest she entered for her personal essay “The Small ‘c’.” Several careers, including nonprofit
executive director and business owner, inform her writing. During 2014-2015
she wrote a weekly blog, Polly’s Tea
Kettle, and her work has appeared in the anthology Art Inspires Poetry. She belongs to the Neuse River Writers’
Group, the Pamlico Writers Group, and the North Carolina Writers Network. She
lives with her husband in eastern North Carolina, where they enjoy a vibrant
arts community. www.facebook.com/pollyfrank67
Sarah
Haglund
My name is Sarah Haglund. I
love Jesus, music, running and writing poetry, short story's and music :)
Facebook.com/Sarah.haglund.549
Twitter @lifewithgreens
Ted Harrison
Ted’s work has been published
by the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Main Street Rag Publishing and
what he calls “some very small magazines”. After more than thirty years in
television news as producer, anchor and correspondent, he considerers himself
semi-retired. He has been a bookseller,
public affairs director and worked on a telephone hotline.
Richard Knowles
Richard began writing after retiring, about six years ago.
Since then he has been a winner in a number of writing contests. He is a
two-time winner in both the Pamlico Writing Contest, and the Carteret Writers
Contest. This year he was also a winner in the Porter Fleming Literary
Competition, sponsored by the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia.
Richard’s favorite genres are nonfiction and fiction. He currently resides and
writes on Harkers Island, with his wife Jill and Labradoodle Rosie.
Michaela has been homeschooled
from K-12, and has always loved writing. She is also voracious reader, and has
made her way through a list of "100 Books From Classic Literature to Read
Before You Die.”
In High School, Michaela
enjoyed volunteering and then working at her local children’s library. Other
activities include performing with Smiles and Frowns Children’s Theater, taking
her award winning research on Honey Bees to the North Carolina Science and
Engineering Fair, singing in church choir, and learning sign language with her
friends. She is currently pursuing a degree in Speech Therapy at BYU
Doris Schneider
Doris was born in Rosenburg, Texas, but moved all over
the United States and Canada as a child. She moved to North Carolina in 1971 where
she has spent most of her adult life. She taught Theatre Arts at William Carey
University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and at North Carolina Central
University in Durham. She has written numerous articles for professional
journals, a theatre textbook (The Art and
Craft of Stage Management), and two novels (Borrowed Things and By Way of
Water). She is currently working on another novel, The Little Drummer Girl, and a collection of short stories. Doris
is an artist/owner of the Lemonade Art Gallery in Washington, where she
displays her masks and jewelry.
Facebook.com/dorisschneiderbooks/
Rock my Words
dorisschneider252.com
Director of the Pamlico Writers Conference Steering
Committee.
Doris Schneider has been the driving force behind the
Pamlico Writers Conference since its inception. She is an amazing, talented
person and I'd like to share her story.
Me: You have had an
interesting life from traveling as a child to your years in academia. Juggling
your life, work and leadership of the Pamlico Writers Conference; how has your
experience influenced your art? Your writing? Your leadership? How did the
conference come to be?
Doris Schneider: My writing and my life
seem to have “grow’d like Topsy”. I paused in this writing to look that idiom
up. It refers to a fictional character from Uncle
Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and means something that grows in
spurts without design or intention.
That describes my first novel—something that began as a real
experience and then grew in plot and characters as it went along, often without
direction or control. It also describes my life which has meandered across this
continent, through the arts, and through relationships. The only thing stable
has been my love of family and of teaching.
After thirty-three years as a professor of theatre in higher
education, I retired and moved to Washington with I ½ unedited novels on my
computer. Writing had been my bridge over the empty chasm I felt without
teaching in my life. So the first thing I did was join a journaling class to
hone my writing skills, to make sense of my past, and to meet other writers. I
soon found myself writing longer pieces that were often fiction rather than
journal entries limited to my own experiences. Somehow, a brochure about a literary
symposium in New Bern found its way to my mailbox. The event included a writing
competition. So I rewrote two of my favorite stories, one fiction and one
non-fiction, and sent them in.
In the meantime, my husband had knee replacement surgery
with many medical mishaps that kept him in bed for a month while I ran up and
down the stairs, seeing to his every need. I received a phone call that I was a
winner in the competition, but they would not tell me what place I had won or
for which genre. My protective negative side said, “probably honorable
mention”.
I found someone to sit with my husband while I attended the
awards ceremony with a friend. It was held at the Bank of the Arts and was a
lovely affair. The spokesperson called the names of the winners, beginning with
poetry, then non-fiction, then fiction. For each genre, the honorable mention,
then third, then second, and finally first place was called. When she started
on non-fiction, I was ready to step forward for my honorable mention. But my
name was not called. With each level, I was ready to step forward. Then she
began with fiction and the same thing occurred. My foot was raised and ready
with the calling of each name. Finally, the only category left was first place
fiction. My friend and I looked at each other in disbelief and for a moment I
wondered if I had been phoned about being a winner by mistake. Then my name was
called.
I have heard my name called before, and I have received
awards before, but this was different. After a month of nursing my husband, in
a town where we were still new with few friends, still recovering from the
trauma of retirement, I needed this moment of confidence-building in the new
art form that had become my passion.
Encouraged, I joined the Pamlico Writers Group (PWG) where I
could focus on fiction and meet more serious writers. After another year, the
New Bern conference and competition ended. Knowing how important that event had
been to me, I wanted it to be an accessible opportunity for other writers in
eastern North Carolina. So I asked Jim Keen, the leader of the PWG, about
holding a conference in Washington. He liked the idea, and I offered to talk to
Joey Toler, the head of the Beaufort County Arts Council, about helping us
sponsor it. The Pamlico Writers Conference and Competition was born.
As hosts of the event, we could not participate in the
competition, but we could recreate each year that wonderful moment I had
experienced and give to other writers the encouragement and confidence to
persevere and grow (like Topsy).
Behind the Curtain (article in June PWG Newsletter by: SL
Hollister & Doris Schneider)
Merry
Simmons
Merry holds a BA and an MA in English from SouthernMerry
Simmons
Methodist University. For fifteen years, she taught at both the high school and
university level. Then she discovered more people wanted houses than grammar
and switched to a career in real estate.
After retiring, she returned to her love of words and
began writing. She’s sold over a dozen short stories to most of the major
science fiction and fantasy magazines as Meredith Simmons and currently has
four historical romances available writing as Hannah Meredith.
Merry lives in Wilson, NC with her husband of nearly
fifty years, Bob.
Sherri Lupton-Hollister
Sherri has been writing and
dreaming since she was a young child. After they raised six sons, her husband
asked her what she was waiting for! With the help of her friend, library
supervisor Robina Norman, Sherri attended a couple of Romantic Times
Conventions. After winning the Ann Peach Scholarship for new writers, she
joined Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina, and Pamlico Writers
Group and began pursuing a career as a writer. Sherri writes romantic
suspense with southern grit and charm, set on the coast of North Carolina.
Member of the Pamlico Writers
Conference Steering Committee
Conference Steering Committee
Manages the Facebook and
Twitter accounts for PWG
Present Pamlico Writers
Chairperson
Jeanne Julian
Jeanne’s chapbook, Blossom and Loss, was published by
Longleaf Press in 2015. Her poems have appeared in many journals, including Naugatuck River Review, Poetry Quarterly,
Kakalak, Earth’s Daughters, and Spank
the Carp, and are forthcoming two anthologies: The Well-Versed Reader and The
Lascaux Prize 2016 Anthology. Her work also has won awards in
competitions sponsored by The Comstock
Review, The North Carolina Poetry Society, The Lanier Library, and the
Asheville Writers’ Workshop. She was the featured photographer in moonShine review, Summer 2015. A
graduate of Allegheny College, she has an MFA from the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a member of the Neuse River Writers’ Group. www.jeannejulian.com
Facebook.com/Jeanne.julian
Assistant Editor for A
Carolina Christmas
Jeanne met her publisher,
Longleaf Press at the 2014 Pamlico Writers Conference Pitch to the Publisher
event.
James Keen
A Pamlico Writers Groupmember since 2008, Jim served as the second PWG Chairman. He wrote two
newspaper columns chronicling his sailing adventures: “Nautical Musings,” a weekly column
about coastal family adventures; and “In
the Loop,” a bi-weekly column about circumnavigating the eastern
United States on America’s 6,300-mile Great Loop. Jim’s book Trinidad Express is the story of his
5,300-mile doublehanded South Africa-to-Trinidad Atlantic Ocean sailboat
crossing. His ebook, Log of S/V Irish
Mist, chronicles his singlehanded 13-month trip on America’s Great Loop. Nautical Musings I and II are ebook
anthologies of Jim’s newspaper articles.
Facebook.com/james.keen
Visit his author page at
www.pamlicowritersgroup.org
Assistant Director of the
Pamlico Writers Conference Steering Committee
Financial Director of the
Pamlico Writers Group and Conference
Millie Johnson Sparks
href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6935880799761412002" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
Millie joined the Pamlico Writers Group in 2016. She is a part-time writer and a full-time librarian at Pitt Community College in Winterville, NC.
Facebook.com/Millie.sparks
KayWilson
Kay Wilson wrote simple poetry before her best friend pushed her, kicking and
screaming, into a mystery writing class at the local community college. From
there she was hooked, learning all she could about the craft. She is an actress
and has played numerous roles in community theatre productions (Encore Theatre
- Elizabeth City; College of the Albemarle Coast Players - Elizabeth City; and
Pamlico Playhouse - Washington), and believes it’s helped her see characters
and their stories better. Ms Wilson is a member of two writer's groups (North
Carolina Writers' Read - Belhaven and Pamlico Writers Group - Washington) both
encourage and challenge her to improve her skills. She writes and manages a
blog for the Pamlico Writers Group. She's also written several short stories
and two novels which are in different stages of completion. K D Wilson writes
Women's Fiction (Domestic & Romantic Suspense) and as yet has not been
published.
Kay is the Programming Coordinator for the Pamlico Writers
Group, she is also a member of the Pamlico Writers Conference Steering
committee, writes the blog “Writing on the Pamlico”
pamlicowritersgroup.wordpress.com, Facebook.com/writerkay
Michael
Worthington
Thirty-year veteran of the education system, retired.
Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina. Michael now writes full-time
with his pug asleep on the footrest of his recliner.
His HI/Lo books are designed for reluctant young adult
readers with high interest and low reading difficulty. You can find Michael’s
books at Goodreads and Amazon.
http://higherEd411.com,
Facebook.com/HiLoBooks
The Pamlico Writers Group is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of our 2016 anthology of short stories and poems written by our members with a section of award winning prose and poetry from our 2015 and 2016 competition winners.
A Carolina Christmas isn’t your traditional holiday feast of tinsel and sugar plums. While there is still a smattering of stars sprinkled through the pages and a little glitter and artificial snow lighting up a few plastic Santas, these stories are filled with more than ornaments and figgy pudding. From broken hearts to hopeful reunions, holiday anxiety to joyful tidings, the truest gift of Christmas is still found to be family, faith and friendship. But these stories are not fairy tales and every holiday is not Peace on Earth.
“Readers are in for a holiday treat with the 2016 Pamlico Writers Anthology with its Christmas theme.” ~Marni Graff, award-winning author of The Nora Tierney English Mysteries and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries
“A Carolina Christmas establishes itself as a holiday classic, a must read. The journey isn’t your typical holiday adventure.” ~Angela Beach Silverthorne, author of Depression Cookies, two-time silver medalist in Women’s Fiction and Chick Lit for Readers’ Favorite and Cries of Innocence, a five-star Contemporary Christian Fiction.
Author/Poets, Titles
Jerry Cuthrell: Unsolicited (poem), Candles (poem)
Deborah H. Doolittle: My Mother’s Rocky Road to Dublin (#1), Here I am
Laughing with Bears (#2), Elizabeth
Bishop Attends to the Amarilli (#3)--(2016 Adult Poetry Competion~ First
Place)
Courtney Staton: A
Letter From a Gifted Kid (2015 High School Competition ~ Prose First Place)
Allison Stuart: The
Combination (2015 Adult Competition First Place Fiction)
K D Wilson: Forgetful Adjustments (fiction)
Michael Worthington: Ayden Racial Unrest (2015 Adult
Competition First Place Non-Fiction)
And now, before we see the beautiful cover ....
Let's meet the artist of the original piece created for this cover!
Artist Info
Born and raised in New England, Carol Mann has lived in California, Northern Virginia, and Raleigh, moving to Chocowinity, NC, in 1999. Retirement offered an opportunity for Carol to pursue other long-standing interests that were on the back burner while raising a family.
An accomplished tole painter, Carol decided to try her hand in another medium. In planning to publish her third cookbook, she took watercolor classes in order to provide her own illustrations. She became a member of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina and has been juried into their annual exhibit every year since, as well as serving on their Board of Directors. Her watercolors have won numerous awards. She is currently displaying her work and teaching at the Lemonade Art Gallery in Washington, NC.
AND NOW - FOR THE COVER ...
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AND NOW - FOR THE COVER ...
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And the original painting it came from:
Ahh I love it! What do you think?
Comment and let us know!
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