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October Writer’s Meeting

Hi Everyone,

Today we held our October 16, 2011, Jackpine Writers’ Bloc meeting. Our next meeting will be on November 20, 2011, at Bella Caffe in Park Rapids MN from 12:30 to 3 PM.

PRESENT:
Jerry, Scott, Niomi, Deb, Bridgette, Sharon.

TALKING STICK BOOKS:
TS20 is done and sales are going well. The book party was a great success. Between book sales and donations, we are in better shape financially and looking forward to the next book. Thanks to all who donated to our group. We deeply appreciate your support. We will still need to work on a grant for additional funds but at least we can now get started!

We are looking ahead to TS21. We are considering a slightly earlier date for the next book. We plan to put the call for submissions on the website in early December instead of late December. Instead of a March 1 deadline we might try for February 20 or even a bit earlier. This should allow us to finish the book a bit earlier and allow us more free time to attend writing events. Scott suggested perhaps Valentine’s Day or President’s Day for the deadline.

We are also considering a two day weekend event next year for the book release party. We might schedule a workshop on one day (taught by one of our celebrity judges) and then have the actual book release party and refreshments on the second day. We also are considering a larger location for next year. We would like to be able to include more booksellers. We may have to start charging a small amount per table for booksellers–especially if we have to go to a larger place where we will have to pay a rental fee.

COMING EVENT:
Nanowrimo is the next event. Deb will again be holding a class. More information will be available very soon. This is the National Novel Writing in a Month that takes place every November. You write a novel in 30 days.

WRITING EVENTS:
Jerry attended both the Lake Region Writers event on October 1 and the Sinclair Lewis event on October 8. Both were excellent events. Jerry brought some helpful handouts and sold a few TS books.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Sharon received an email from the Park Rapids library about some reading events. We will pursue that. Many of us would like more chances to read our work.

After these discussions, we then listened to readings by the writers present. We all enjoy listening and giving back helpful comments. It was one of those meetings where we hated to quit talking and go home. Hope to see you next time!