FWA Tampa Writers Group

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FWA Hillsborough member Amanda Martin, author of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, will be signing copies of her comedic mystery.

When: 1-3 PM on Saturday, May 17

Where: Barnes & Noble (South Tampa), 213 N. Dale Mabry. map
She's hoping you'll join her there after the speaker meeting.

Buy a book and receive a $5 B & N gift card!

The Tampa Writers Alliance has opened their yearly writing contest to non-members. Printed below are SOME of the major guidelines. If you want to enter and want the complete guidelines, you can go to their website at http://www.tampawriters.org/ and download them in the very near future. If they are not there, then email me at orlando@EugeneOrlando.com and I will send them to you.

ENTRY CATEGORIES, “UNPUBLISHED” REQUIREMENT

Each contestant may enter any or all of the following categories:
FICTION
NON-FICTION
NOVEL
EMERGING WRITERS FICTION/NON-FICTION (TWA Members Only)
PLAY/SCRIPT WRITING
DR. ED HIRSHBERG AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FLORIDA WRITING
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
POETRY (Up to 72 lines may be entered per submission. See Rules ).
WORDSMITH COVER PHOTO

Entries must be UNPUBLISHED at the time of submission. Unpublished is defined as not having been commercially printed and circulated to more than fifty (50) persons. Editing a work you won with last year does not make it eligible to be re-entered again this year.
Please do not enter stories that you have ever entered in a TWA contest and won awards with. Please do not enter stories that have been published in Wordsmith or anywhere else for that matter. Follow the unpublished rule, use common sense and if there is a question, ask.

CONTESTANT ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to adults (18 years and older). Membership in the Tampa Writers Alliance is not required to enter. Membership dues are $35 per year. (See Membership Application with Entry Form.)

DEADLINES

Entries will be accepted on and after June 1, 2008. All mailed entries must be postmarked by October 1, 2008. All other entries must be received by the Contest Coordinator no later than Wednesday, October 1, 2008. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS will be accepted.

ENTRY FEES:

Make checks payable to TAMPA WRITERS ALLIANCE. Contest fees for TWA members in good standing (dues paid as of the contest deadline) are $5 for each submission. Contest fees for non-members are $10 for each submission. There is no limit on the number of submissions a person may submit to any category.

Judges evaluations are available for purchase @ $15.00 per entry. See Judging Criteria.

Eugene Orlando
Regional Director/Hillsboroough County

Some people have expressed an interest in having a critique group in the daytime as opposed to our regular Monday night critique meetings that occur on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00.

In an effort to accommodate that need, Vicki Taylor, a long standing member of FWA with many publishing credits has agreed to hold a daytime critique group. Vicki brings an incredible amount of knowledge and experience that would benefit all who attend.

Currently, the day and time of this group will be the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 1:30 to 2:30. The length of time for the meeting will be adjusted as the group grows.
The meeting will be held at the same place as the Monday night meetings, the Barnes and Noble in Carrollwood.

If you are interested in attending this new critique group, please send an email to Eugene Orlando at Orlando@EugeneOrlando.com. We need to know if there is enough interest and support to start this group.

Saturday May 17th, 2008, 10:00 a.m.

Barnes & Noble BooksellersCarrollwood
11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway
Tampa, FL 33618
813-871-6446

Our Speaker: Kerry Estevez , Acquisition Editor, Medallion Press.
http://www.medallionpress.com/

KERRY ESTEVEZ, Editor, Medallion Press
Kerry Estevez is a native of Tampa , Fl. She lives with her husband of 15 years, daughter, and two Shih Tzus. When not reading submissions or manuscripts, Kerry spends her time with friends and family, or playing a good game of poker. Sundays are always reserved for football.

Kerry has been with Medallion Press for two years. She started as a proof editor and was offered the position of Acquisitions Editor/Author Liaison. This position is perfect for Kerry as she loves talking to people and helping aspiring authors. When the president of Medallion Press, Helen A. Rosburg, shared her vision for Medallion as being an author friendly publishing house, Kerry wanted to be a part of something big. Over the last year, Medallion has joined with IPG (Independent Publishers Group), and many authors have not only been nominated but won several National awards. Medallion Press is known for outstanding covers and the working relationship between author and publisher.

Kerry enjoys meeting with authors hoping they will see “the other side” of an editor. After meeting Kerry, newbies in the industry realize not all editors are fire breathing demons. She likes to guide aspiring authors on the “do’s and don’ts” when it comes to submitting to publishers. Her motto is very simple: Always follow the Publisher’s guidelines.

The president of Medallion Press believes in publishing “out of the box” material. There are so many great voices to be heard.

The speaker meeting will be followed by a group lunch where Kerry will be available to answer more of your questions.