Newsletter October 2006 Guild Gram Newsletter: PALM SPRINGS WRITERS GUILD Since 1977 Newsletter serving writers of the Coachella Valley October 2006 MEETING TIME: Sunday, Oct. 1st, 2006, 2-4 P.M. Palm Desert Library 73300 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA PRESIDENT'S LETTER Welcome back, Guild members! Isn't the opening of a new Guild season a refreshing thought after this summer of record-breaking heat? Program Chairman, Phyllis Costello, has planned a myriad of exciting programs and workshops this year to pique your interest and develop your writing skills. Critique groups will also be meeting weekly. The Guild will continue to sponsor its annual writing contest (this year's winners to be announced at the November meeting.) And watch for our new short-length writing contests. They will challenge and entertain you at the same time. Thanks to the planning of last year's board, the Guild continues to grow in numbers and influence in the Coachella Valley. We are now members of both the Palm Springs and La Quinta Chambers of Commerce. These memberships will enable the Guild to be more active in the community and to reach out to prospective members. The Guild welcomes the opportunity to award another scholarship this year. Mary Barrer and her committee will again be on the lookout for gifted young writers in local high schools. As announced earlier, the first recipient of a Guild scholarship is Kaylene Sutton, a student from West Shore High School in Salton City. Look for a poem written by this young talent in these pages. If you are anxious to get a head start on your writing, I recommend you attend the Southern California Writers Conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Palm Springs the weekend of September 29 to October 1. The conference last year was loaded with practical information on writing, finding agents, and publishing. Go to www.writersconference.com/ and click on Palm Springs to register. The new board and I look forward to greeting you at our October 1 opening meeting. And we invite you, our new members, to come up and introduce yourselves. We expect to have a productive and stimulating year and encourage your participation in all meetings and workshops. You will find lots of camaraderie and plenty of ideas to inspire your muse. Dawn Huntley Spitz October 1st, 2006 Writers Guild Meeting Our first meeting of the season opens with exciting speaker Sally Van Haitsma! Sally is an agent with Castiglia Agency on the West Coast. This international agency has successfully placed significant non-fiction and fiction titles with major publishers since 1993, many of those by new authors. The agency also places rights to film, audio, foreign, commercial and electronic media. Sally actively seeks unrecognized authors. She recently sold Hick, a debut novel by Andrea Portes, to Unbridled Books, a prestigious literary New York publisher. Illumination by Mark Tompkins received terrific reviews in "Publishers Weekly". Sally is interested in commercial, literary and women's fiction, offbeat mysteries, narrative nonfiction, education, business and current affairs. Don't miss this! by Phyllis Costello SPEAKERS REVIEW by Joanne Hardy The last meeting of the Guild for the season, which saw the retiring board welcome the newly-elected officers to their positions, was orchestrated graciously by President Bill Clark. The President treated the audience to a power-point review of a very active year filled with several "firsts." His narration provided the opportunity for recognition and praise to all who contributed to creating the life of the Guild through the last season. Each officer then presented his/her successor with a notebook of material to continue the work. Bill, who has carried the double roll of president and newsletter editor, was given a clock, "to remember us by." Many kudos, also, went to Mary Barrer for providing excellent speakers and programs, not to mention presiding over the Christmas program and party. Mavis Clark was also thanked for her many hours of work on behalf of the Guild. Bill, in his last comments as president before turning over the gavel to the new president, said he had had the opportunity to work with a "dream team." Five years ago the Guild was confronted with the challenge of re-starting itself. We started from scratch, with some members contributing checks to refurbish a depleted treasury. Larry Todd stepped in as interim president until an election could be held. Grahame Smith provided the steadying leadership needed to rally the members and revitalize our pride. John Harrell continued to build, nurture and add members. Bill Clark continued to bring opportunities for writers to hone their craft. In that time, many programs have been developed. Seminars, contests, workshops and outstanding speakers have made the Guild an organization that people want to join. Now the Guild looks forward with confidence and a membership of over 150 as a new president and board take the reins. The "firsts" for the Guild include becoming a member of both the Palm Springs and La Quinta Chambers of Commerce, moving forward in the process of being a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and serving as the coordinating entity for local authors participating in the Book Fest. We have come a long, long way and now have a much higher stature in the community. Shirley Hammer, our co-founder, can be proud of her brain child. Dawn Spitz, the new president, in her acceptance speech, said she hopes to be as innovative and dedicated as the members of the board that just retired. Our support and good wishes go with them for the coming year. Then it was time for ice cream! BIG OPPORTUNITY WEEKEND FOR WRITERS!! The third annual Southern California Writers Conference will again convene with professional authors, agents, & editors presenting two and a half days of total immersion into current writing and marketing trends for all genre. Over thirty-six workshops and critique reading sessions. Get answers and encouragement as you join the crowd at the Southern California Writers Conference, Hyatt Regency Suites in Palm Springs Sept. 29 and 30 and until noon on October 1st. Cost is $340. Guild members receive a $25 discount by indicating their membership on the registration form. Register at 619-233-4651 or visit www.writersconference.com. Submitted by Marge Dodge Member Profiles by Mary Burgess Barrer Dawn Huntley Spitz: Guild President Following a long line of male predecessors, Dawn Spitz broke Guild tradition and became the first woman to be elected to the top post in several decades. Dawn's aspiration for the Guild is to strengthen membership, provide scholarships, and offer stimulating, informative programs in an atmosphere of good fellowship. Multi-talented, Dawn is a writer, singer, actress and director. She attributes her talent to her mother, who was a member of the American Pen Women and who wrote a limerick for a national TV contest which won the grand prize of a ten-day trip to Mexico. Dawn wrote plays for her elementary school students and directed musicals for high schools in Westchester County N.Y. She had a professional act called "The Headliners" and performed leads in several off-Broadway productions such as "The King and I," "The Music Man," and "Carousel." She and her husband met in "Guys and Dolls" and have been performing together ever since in NY and local venues. They did "Cabaret" at the Top Hat Theatre in Palm Springs, and musical revues at the Rancho Mirage Library, country clubs and homes for assisted living. In 1999, Dawn won the title of Miss Senior America of Southern California. In addition to performing, Dawn worked as a researcher for World Book, as secretary for Norman Cousins, editor of the "Saturday Review" magazine, and even tried her hand at NY real estate. Her verse "No Lunar Tunes" was accepted by the "Journal of Light Verse" and she won first prize for her humorous piece, "Redemption", at the Palm Springs Writers Conference last year. Dawn's philosophy reflects her leadership qualities. She believes everyone has some kind of talent within them and only need encouragement. Dawn hopes that under her leadership this year, the Guild will increase not only in numbers, but in enthusiasm for the craft of writing. AWARDS for the SHORT STORY CONTEST will be presented at the Nov. 5th meeting. DECADENCE I lost myself, hallucinate A vision that would indicate I have finally become deranged Demented, disturbed, and mentally changed I lost myself, these secrets hide From the truth that's been denied The honest is now fraudulent A liar's favorite accompaniment I lost myself and what it means As nothing is ever what it seems I wish to find the missing link Written in invisible ink Images I cannot place Dance across this empty space In my mind, I'm all alone The king of hope is overthrown No one willing to lead this cause To perfection, seen through flaws Poem by SCHOLARSHIP WINNER Kaylene Sutton West Shores High School, Salton Sea PROGRAM SCHEDULE for 2006-7 Oct 1 Sally Van Haitsma (see front page) Nov 5 Cindy Muscatel, writing instructor for UCLA Palm Desert Campus and Writers Group at Mizell Center; in many publications Dec. 3 Annual Holiday Party: Board provides entertainment; food catered Jan 8 Dr. Edward Gordon speaks about the business today Feb 4 Ray Strait, author, biographer 27 books; his experiences; how to find your way in the maze of publishing, selling, and the entertainment business Mar 4 Julie Gorges and John Hacker, father/daughter team; she writes for young people and he writes on humor about aging April 1 Judy Weigle, "My office is a 3-ring circus"; self-publishing promotion May 6 Steve Peterson, author, poet, singer, performer; relates new authors adventures into publishing first novel. Election of officers. June 3 Ice cream social; new officers installed; writers' open readings. LIMERICK CORNER A man with a story to boast Was a pitiful writer at most But the writer he hired Was so uninspired That he finally gave up the ghost. by Dawn Huntley Spitz Contributors Welcome! We'd like to announce 5 new members who have joined the Guild over the summer: Donna Bevans , Linda Hisayasu, Charlene Langfur, Frank Thornburgh, and Ken Waschin. Welcome! SCRIPTS NEEDED! The Performing Arts Club of Sun City Palm Desert is looking for a script for their next musical. Please submit script by Sept 30th to: Harriet Licht 760-345-9634 78437 Willowich Palm Desert, CA 92211 Writers Guild Board and Committee Members - click here Palm Springs Writers Guild P.O. Box 947 Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 PalmSpringsWritersGuild.org ^ posted by Webmaster @ 9/23/2006 02:00:00 PM Pacific Time Attention All Writers! The opening meeting of the Palm Springs Writers Guild will be Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2:00 P.M. at the Palm Desert Library. The speaker will be Sally Van Haitsma, an agent with the Castiglia Agency on the West Coast. She actively seeks unrecognized authors so polish up your manuscripts. Bring guests. See you there. Dawn Spitz, President PSWG ^ posted by Webmaster @ 9/14/2006 02:00:00 PM Pacific Time Powered by Blogger. |
