Dear Lancaster Christian Writers:
What a talented group you are, as we were privileged to see and hear at our January LCW meeting. With the weather, holidays, and no guest speaker, I will admit I'd expected a small turnout. Instead upwards of fifty braved the cold, and we were blessed by a truly outstanding compilation of poetry, inspirational, short story, and comedy pieces shared by LCW members. Thank you all who participated, and a special thanks to Shirley Shenberger whose devotional presentation was a true reminder of what Christmas is really about--the restoration of peace between a lost humanity and a loving Creator.
JUST A FEW NEWS TIDBITS:
1) February LCW meeting: Don't forget that we are meeting this coming month on the second Saturday, February 12th, instead of the third, at Lancaster Evangelical Free Church, 419 Pierson Rd, Lititz, PA, 17543 from 9:30AM-12 noon. We will be meeting downstairs in the church lower level due to activities on the main floor, so be aware of that change. We will make sure there are signs posted to get downstairs. We are privileged to have award-winning journalist Lisa Bartelt sharing a work shop: "Dr. English and Mrs. Twitter: Tips for living with a love for words in an age of texts and tweets." Lisa amplifies, "I'll be sharing information about how to write within word count guidelines, when to use short words vs. long words, and some exercises to help us keep our writing readable. The information is based on my 8 years of experience as a (award-winning!) journalist and editor for daily newspapers in Illinois and a workshop I attended at Blue Ridge Writers Conference given by an editor from The Upper Room magazine."
2) Florida Christian Writers Conference: The FCWC is coming up quickly March 3-6, 2011. FCWC is one of the larger Christian writers conferences with a lot of editors, agents, publishers in attendance. If you are interested in attending, LCW has just received a partial scholarship offer from FCWC director Billie Wilson--$200 off the usual price. Registration must be received by February 15, 2011. Not available for online registration. No other discounts apply. Attached is the scholarship form. For further information, email: billiewilson@cfl.rr.com FAX 321-267-9654.
3) And a request for input has come into LCW from local area Christian journalist and editor Valery Weaver-Zercher:
"Are you trying your hand at Amish fiction? Or know another writer who is? A journalist/editor in the Harrisburg area, I am writing a book about Amish romance novels and would like to speak with any writers, published or unpublished, who are working in that genre. Contact Valerie Weaver-Zercher at valerie@vweaver-zercher.com if you’re open to speaking about your writing, your hopes for your work, and your reflections on the Amish fiction market. More info at website: www.vweaver-zercher.com."
4) Super Saturday 2011: And finally, I hope you've got Saturday, March 19th, blocked out on your calendar to attend SS2011. More information as to faculty bios and workshop titles will be up soon at our LCW Blog. Meanwhile, please do help us get the news out, above all by forwarding the SS2011 flyer to anyone you can. Thank you again, Rebecca Wenger, for putting that together for us.
Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
Chapter President, Lancaster Christian Writers
