While the bulk of LA14 (Irvine) big updates don’t begin till mid-March, there’s just too much good “muse” as of late not to grant some notable shout outs to SCWCers in the interim. Off the recent announcement of the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Award winners (the “IPPYs” as they’re known), a hearty congratulations to several authors in our community.
Taking the Gold in Horror Fiction for Soil-Man: Symphony, Book One, Oz Monroe continues to crush it with his debut release. He also just won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Best First Novel from Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews. Oz will again be with us come September. He’ll introduce a new workshop, “The Science of Storytelling: How Neuroscience Can Help Us Tell Better Stories.”
Awarded the Silver in Multicultural Juvenile-YA Fiction, Claudia Whitsitt for Between the Lines, the first in her Kids Like You series … Tameri Etherton (writing as Tameri Tiara) landed the Silver medal in Erotica Fiction for her Developing Cassandra … And in the Parenting Non-fiction category, Dr. Lucy Jo Palladino nabbed the Silver for her Parenting in the Age of Attention Snatchers: A Step-by-Step Guide to Balancing Your Child’s Use of Technology.
Electing to pursue a personal path to publication is not an easy choice for most authors. To do so successfully is most often even harder. But to be recognized for having done everything right, from the writing and editing to the presentation and marketing–for settling only for exceptional–that is a vindicating accomplishment. Good job, all!
One More Thing
As mentioned in last month’s update, authors Janis Thomas and Ara Grigorian have conspired to develop a new track that will debut at LA14. Their “Novel Intensive” consists of five comprehensive workshops that will take place all day Saturday, then conclude with a Rogue session beginning 9 p.m. For the hardcore writers who are committed to raising the bar of their own work, whether well into it or at the onset, this one’s for you. Details here.
Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open. Register for the Full conference and save today. And don’t forget to join the conversation on our SCWC Facebook group where there’s always valuable information being shared.
–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC
