The Early Bird Gets the MWG Discount and Woo Hoo, I'm a Winner!

Now that Christmas is over, I'm looking forward to the new year. I've already come up with goals for 2012. One biggie is to exercise more: my physical muscles, my writing muscles, and my spiritual muscles. I've already signed up for the MWG Confernece which will be next April. I'm organizing a writing group at my local parish, with our first meeting scheduled in early January, and I'm going to eat less and start walking more, starting right away.

If one of your resolutions for the new year is to get serious about writing and you're thinking about attending a writer's conference, here's one that local, regional--and by golly--even national or international writers can attend.

Tricia Sanders, the Missouri Writers' Guild Vice President and Conference Chair, has been hard at work planning the 2012 MWG Write Time! Write Place! Write Now! Conference which will be April 20 through 22, 2012 at the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center of St. Louis. The hotel address is 16625 Swingley Ridge Road; Chesterfield, Missouri 63017.

Attendees who register by mail on on line by Dec 31 can save money. I'm all about saving money, so I mailed my registration yesterday to take advantage of the early-bird discount. MWG members and Chapter members can also attend at a discounted rate. 

The scheduled presenters  on Apr 20-21 are impressive and include authors, poets, editors, agents, and publishers. Claire Cook, Jane Friedman, Susan Katz, Susan McBride, Debra Hess, and Walter Bargen are among the speakers. On the additional day, Sunday, Apr 22, attendees can sign up for smaller group optional Master Classes at an additional cost.

Attendees can also reserve a table to sell their books and sign up to pitch their works to agents and editors--and, depending on membership status, attendees are eligible to enter all or most of the conference contests for modest fees.

If you miss the early-bird deadline, you can still sign up to attend; it will just cost a bit more.

Pop over to the MWG Conference blog to read an interview MWP Publicity Chair Sarah Whitney had with  Highlights Editor Debra Hess. Leave a comment and you could win a conference tote bag.

Now for a bit of good news: Deb Marshall, President of MWG e-mailed and told me my short story "The Window Washer" won third place in the Fiction category of the Dr. Doris Mueller Poetry and Prose Contest. The contest judge was Harvey Stanbrough.

Congratulations to all the winners in the all three contest categories! There were nine winners in all. Texas poets cleaned up in the Poetry category. The Children's category was mixed with winners from Kansas and Missouri. But in the Fiction Category, the Show-Me State showed it was all Missouri, baby!

I'm excited. Not only that my story won third place, I made a little money, and the judge is awesome, but because "The Window Washer" is a story I feel strongly about and didn't give up on. So, I'll continue working on my story until it gets published. That reminds me; I need to work on some entries for the MWG conference contests.

So, there you have it. Two ways to kick your writing into high gear in 2012: a writer's conference with great speakers and a chance to win by entering the contests. 

Submission Opportunity, Conference Announcement and More!

I usually don't blog on Sunday, but this morning I received two e-mails with announcements that I want to share with my blog visitors right away.

The first comes from Sylvia Forbes, a member of the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild.

The Columbia chapter is now accepting entries for their annual anthology, Well Versed 2012. The editor is looking for poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Prizes awarded. Deadline October 31. You can find complete details at the Columbia chapter website under publications.

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The second announcement comes from Tricia Sanders, chair of the 2012 MWG conference.

As the countdown to the 2012 conference gets under way, Tricia has already secured a meeting place at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield, MO, just outside of St. Louis and has been busy lining up speakers for April 20-22, "Write Time, Write Place, Write Now" event.

The first conference speaker featured on the MWG conference blog is award-winning writer Susan McBride. For a preview of what to expect and a chance to win a signed copy of Susan McBride's latest novel, Little Black Dress, visit the MWG conference blog. Leave a comment by Sep 22 to enter the contest.

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Hope you stop by next week for my interview with police officers Chris DiGiuseppi and Mike Force, co-authors of the fascinating novel, The Light Bringer.