Upcoming and Continuing Literary News and Events in the Tampa Bay Area

The 14th Annual St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading is scheduled for Saturday, October 28, 2006 at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus. Last year Tampa Writers Alliance member-authors took advantage of the opportunity to sell their books through the TWA sponsored booth.  TWA membership is needed to participate in this member-benefit. If you are interested in participating, contact Stephen Juers to be added to the list. Participating authors need to be on hand for a period of time during the event. We are hoping to fill two booths this year.   Traditionally, eight to ten thousand people visit this event each year, presenting authors on site a terriiiiific opportunity to sell their books. Deadline for signups is October 4, 2006, at the TWA general meeting.
TWA members are encouraged to volunteer to man the booth at this event. It is relatively easy and very rewarding.  If you are interested in participating, contact Stephen Juers at sljbook@yahoo.com so he can add you to the list. 

"I honestly believe that of all the 'artistic' fields, the Tampa Bay area might be richest in the area of writers."

"It gives local writers something to shoot for. At least you know if you finish and publish, someone definitely will read your book. Or at least the first 10 to 20 pages, at which point a decision will be made whether to continue."
 

Let's hear it for the Tampa Tribune: A metropolitan newspaper that's friendly to local self-published authors...

The Tampa Writers Alliance applauds (and loudly!!) Tampa Tribune book editor Kevin Walker for his insistence that Tampa Bay has some good local writers and that independently published books (which most metropolitan newspaper book editors totally disdain) can yield nourishing wheat amid what admittedly may be a lot of chaff. On Sunday, January 1, 2006, Walker wrote:

AUTHOR, AUTHOR

People have asked, many times over, whether I had temporarily lost my mind when I asked local authors to send me their books.

Yes, my mailbox has been flooded. But I anticipate a solid percentage of these books will be worth reading. So far, I have had amazing good luck reading local authors, and I’m fairly hard to please.

So, thanks to everyone who sent their books. For those who sent manuscripts, that wasn’t what I had in mind. I mean published books, not unpublished works.

The first was last week, with Charlotte Douglas’ “Holidays Are Murder.

I’m actually doing this for two reasons, beyond a chance to read some good books by local writers:

1.       It gives local writers something to shoot for. At least you know if you finish and publish, someone definitely will read your book. Or at least the first 10 to 20 pages, at which point a decision will be made whether to continue.

2.       I honestly believe that of all the “artistic” fields, the Tampa Bay area might be richest in the area of writers. There are not only big published authors, including Reed Arvin and Tim Dorsey, but also quite a few gifted beginners.

So what am I going to do with these books? At this point, because there are so many, I will probably run an occasional review on the reviews page (usually opposite this one, although today it is not there).

If you don't eventually see a review of the book you sent, well, you know what that means. Obviously, we're not going to praise a book because it's local, but we want to take extra effort to focus on worthwhile local books.

I ask for patience. I have some 30 books, and they keep coming.

                                                   -- Kevin Walker, Tampa Tribune Book Editor, January 1, 2006

(Editors note: THIS IS FANTASTIC. KEVIN, MANY THANKS FROM ALL OF "US")

 

 
www.RiverviewOnline.com seeking writers

Terri L. Bakas, owner/webmaster www.RiverviewOnline.com, writes (7/30/03) that she and her husband have recently changed the focus of the community website they maintain from a "newspaper" to “a mix of Riverview artists, writers, and Riverview history, with some community news.” (Riverview is an area south of Tampa and east of Gibsonton.)

They are looking for writers and artists from the Riverview area who would be interested in submitting their writing or artwork for publication on RiverviewOnline.com. No payment is involved, but Bakas offers “some well-deserved exposure of their work.” Check the website or email RiverviewEditor@aol.com for more information.

 

You're Invited to Join the Brandon Children’s Book Writers (BCBW) “Advancing Craft to Empower Writers”

Go to www.fictionwriters.org for more information – Or call Author Eugene Orlando at (813) 657-2636

FOR WHOM:            Adults wanting to write for children aged 4-16.

WHAT:                     1. Free membership in a workshop-oriented writer’s group.
                                2. Learn your craft within 12 months.
                                3. Training in getting agents, publishers, and marketing after craft mastery.

SPONSOR:              1. Barnes & Noble of Brandon.
                                2. Facilitated by an award winning published children’s author.

WHEN:                    Main Meeting: The fourth Monday of every month from 7:00 – 9:00 PM.

WHERE:                 The children’s section of the Westfield Mall Barnes & Noble, Brandon.

Eugene Orlando is the author of The Magic Token: A Journey with Alice in Wonderland, ISBN # 0-595-33276-5
Available now at Amazon.com, Books-a-Million, Barnes & Noble, and 9000 other online bookstores.
 

Creative Writing Courses

Creative writing course designed to help writers at various levels are offered at the Life Enrichment Center, 9704 N. Boulevard, Tampa. Check with the Life Enrichment Center by calling (813) 932-0241 or go to www.lifeenrichmenttampa.org. 

Local author Cheryl Anne Porter, known for her historical suspense novels, offers fiction writing classes through Hillsborough Community College and online. Check her current calendar. www.cherylanneporter.com/calendar.htm

PINAWOR (Pinellas Authors and Writers Organization)

This writers' group meets each Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Highlands Recreation Center Complex, 400 N. Highlands Avenue, Largo.  Contact Elenora Rose Sabin, 727-345-3376 or elanora36@yahoo.com. Visit their website at www.geocities.com/teemukah/pinawor.html

PASAWOR (Pasco Authors and Writers Organization)

This group meets the 1st & 3rd Mondays, 12:30 to 3:00 pm, at the Pasco Art Council-5744 Moog Rd in Holiday, FL. Contact Barbara Harrington at bshadowbooks@ij.net or call 727-572-6345.

Lifelong Writers...

Lifelong Writers, the membership arm of the Florida Center for Writers, meets from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month in the MMH building at the University of South Florida, Tampa campus. Open to all writers and aspiring writers. Terra Pressler facilitates. Contact Martha Lakis at 813-974-8021 or mglakis@admin.usf.edu for more info.

Notify Lucy Parker if you want to add your event to this page.
 
TAMPA WRITERS ALLIANCE, 2909 W. Barcelona St., Tampa, FL 33629, (813) 835-4255


Webmaster: Jim Chaplin (click on name for email)
Many thanks to past Webmasters, Lucy Parker and John M. Taylor, who originated this site.

Date and time last modified: 8/23/06 11:30am