Updated! Fall and Winter 2019-2020 

Please check back frequently as new events are continually being added. 🙂

Saturday, December 7, 12:30 p.m. at Jimmie’s Restaurant, 7024 Brighton Park Drive, Mint Hill, NC . Release Party for Kakalak 2019, a special anthology of poetry evoking the spirit of the Carolinas from the Outer Banks and Low Country to the Piedmont and Appalachia published by Main Street Rag. I’m honored to have my poem ,”The Gavin Girls,” included in this wonderful book featuring so many fellow poets. Order your copy here.

Saturday, December 14, Time TBA. Franklin County Writers’ Guild County Lines: A Literary Journal Book Launch event at the Vance-Granville Community College’s Franklin County campus — 8100 NC-56, Louisburg, NC. More information.

2020

Saturday, January 4 from 9:30 – Noon. Charlotte Center for Literary Arts, Inc., 1817 Central Avenue, #302. – Submissions and Contests: Share Your Writing with the World. Submission is an exciting step in a writer’s life, and for some of us, it can be a little daunting. But it doesn’t have to be! Bring a polished piece of writing (poetry, short fiction, or nonfiction) and leave with all the tools you need to submit your work and become a published author. You may even win a prize along the way. We’ll tackle market research for journals, magazines and contests, submission systems. cover letters and short biographies. Register here: https://www.charlottelit.org/event/submissions-and-contests/

❤ Friday, February 14, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. – Noon. Fall in Love with Poetry on Valentine’s Day! ❤ The most profound poems often come from everyday life—hearing the wood thrush, growing apples, or slipping on your favorite old shoes. We’ll learn how to elevate the “ordinary” by studying poems by Ted Kooser, Jane Kenyon, Donald Hall, beloved local favorite Ruth Moose and more. You’ll leave with at least three new poems of your own and an inventory of ideas for many more! Bring your favorite writing gear and get ready for wild new prompts guaranteed to make you fall in love (again and again!) with poetry. The Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, N.C., at 44-A Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro, NC 27312. To register, visit The Joyful Jewel in person or call (919) 883-2775.

Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Central Carolina Community College at Pittsboro, N.C. – Write a Short Story in a Day! Warning! Writing short stories is both fun and addictive, especially after you learn the winning formula behind the classics. From the original inspiration to the 5 basic elements of a successful story, your “Do-It-Yourself Short Story Kit” will provide all you need to draft a traditional short story. You’ll also leave with tips for revision and submission for publication. Register here.

Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Central Carolina Community College at Pittsboro, N.C. – Revision and Submission: Share Your Writing with the World. This course will guide beginning writers through the steps of revision and preparing work for submission for publication. We’ll participate in exercises for copy-editing, revision, writing tailored biographies, cover letters, and the research necessary to find appropriate publications for our work. Register here.

Past 2019 Events

Thursday, November 14, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. First Annual Creative Writing Expo! Central Carolina Community College, Pittsboro Campus, Building 42, Multi-Purpose Room. Sample a free essay class, meet instructors and students in the Creative Writing Program. Refreshments! Door Prizes! More! This event has passed. Learn more here.

Saturday, October 19 at 1 p.m. – Slush Pile Live! at Writers’ Morning Out. Greek Kouzina, 984 East Street in Pittsboro. Read more about this event.

Saturday, October 12 from 9:30 – Noon. Charlotte Center for Literary Arts, Inc., 1817 Central Avenue, #302. “The Fabulous World of Flash Essays.” Interested in turning your life experiences into short essays? Flash essays are hot, hot, hot! From miniature love stories in the New York Times to family memories published in regional magazines and creative nonfiction in journals, there are countless ways to share your personal stories. Bring your favorite writing gear and get ready for wildly creative prompts, inspiration, and possible markets for publication. Read more about this event.

Saturday, September 21 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Central Carolina Community College at Pittsboro, N.C. – Flash Essays! The short-form essay is hot, hot, hot! Join us for a half-day workshop where we explore all the various forms, from mini-memoirs to tiny love stories to experimental forms such as lyrical essays. In this longer workshop, we’ll have time to draft at least 5 personal essays that you can refine later and submit. Bring your favorite writing gear and get ready for wildly creative prompts, inspiration, and possible markets for publication. Read about this event.

Tuesday, September 17 at 6:30 p.m. Flash Fiction Discussion Sponsored by Randolph Writers at Asheboro Public Library (downstairs conference room). Think you don’t have time to write? Everybody has time for flash fiction, which ranges from the 25-word “Hint Fiction” stories to the 1,500-word short-shorts published in Tin House’s Flash Fridays. Join us to learn more about the exciting form and pen some of your own! Free and open to the public. No pre-registration necessary. Just bring an open mind and something to write with! Read about this event.

Sunday, August 25 at 4 p.m. McIntyre’s Fine Books, Pittsboro, N.C. Reading from  Waiting for the Wood Thrush with other N.C. Poetry Society poets. Free and open to the public. Read about this event.

Saturday, August 17 at 1 p.m. Writers Morning Out. Greek Kouzina, 984 East Street in Pittsboro. Leading a discussion on “The Year of Living Dangerously with Short Fiction.” Join us and learn more the future of the short story and hear tips from my own personal experience writing and submitting short stories. Free and open to the public. Read about this event.

We hate that we missed you at The Joyful Jewel this summer. We had a terrific time. Stay tuned for a re-schedule of a special poetry workshop at The Jewel!

Friday, July 12, from 9:30 – 12:30 p.m. Flash Fiction Workshop. Think you don’t have time to write? Anybody has time for flash fiction, and by the end of this workshop, you’ll have at least two finished stories. Location: The Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, N.C., at 44-A Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro, NC 27312. To register, visit The Joyful Jewel in person or call (919) 883-2775.  Class size is limited so register early to secure your space.

Friday, July 26, from 9:30 – 12:30 p.m. Flash Essay Class. The personal essay is hot, hot, hot. From mini-memoirs to tiny love stories, there are countless ways to share your personal stories. Join us to read some and write a couple of your own. Location: The Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, N.C., at 44-A Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro, NC 27312. To register, visit The Joyful Jewel in person or call (919) 883-2775.  Class size is limited so register early to secure your space.

Spring

Saturday, May 11, Weymouth Center for Arts and the Humanities, Southern Pines, N.C. Annual Awards Day for the North Carolina Poetry Society. Reading my poem “Eulogy of the Northern Red Oak,” which was chosen by SandraBeasley as a finalist for 2019 N.C. Poet Laureate Award.

Saturday, April 13 from 9.a.m – 3 p.m. – Flash Fiction Bootcamp II Workshop. Think you don’t have time to write? Anybody has time for flash fiction, and by the end of this workshop, you’ll have five finished stories. (This workshop is a continuation of the popular Flash Fiction Bootcamp I) but is open to new as well as returning students and features entirely new prompts and readings. Atten-hut! Central Carolina Community College Creative Writing Program in Pittsboro, N.C. Register here. or by calling (919) 545-8044. Cost $50.

Wednesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. 60th Issue of The Phoenix Literary Magazine Launch Party. Pfeiffer University, Stokes Student Center, Community Room. Reading my poem: “I Like My Bagel Toasted.”

2018

Friday, November 16, at 3 pm in the Fairways Gallery at Carolina Meadows in Chapel Hill, N.C. Reading from a selection of authors in The Mighty Ant Anthology: Stories for Seniors.

Saturday, October 13, 2018 at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro: Flash Fiction: Revision and Publication. Now that you’ve written your first flash fictions, you’re ready to show them off! Bring a story of your own and learn how to revise, prepare and submit it for publication in online or print magazines, and how later to create a book-length collection and find publishers. Read about the event here.

Thursday, Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center in Pittsboro. Celebrating the launch of  The Mighty Ant Anthology: Stories for Seniors.

Saturday, September 22, 2018 at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro: Flash Fiction Bootcamp I. Think you don’t have time to write? Anybody has time for flash fiction, and by the end of this class, you’ll have five finished pieces. Bring your favorite writing gear (notebook and pen/pencil or laptop) and get ready for some prompts, new inspirations, and instant feedback. Atten-hut! Read about the event here.

Saturday, August 6 – Poetry in Plain Sight. Reading at Winston-Salem Library. Read more here.

Monday, June 6. at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro. Final event celebrating the launch of The Collection: Flash Fiction for Flash Memory.

Saturday, March 3 at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro: Flash Fiction, A DIY Kit! Participants will receive a starter kit for their own creative plundering, including delicious prompts, tips, samples, and vocabulary words, all of which will help germinate our individual kits and lead to even more stories in the future. Read about the event here.

Friday, March 2 from 6 – 7:30 pm at the Orange County Library in Hillsborough, N.C. Launch of The Collection: Flash Fiction for Flash Memory.