Members Matter: Tovli Simiryan's recent publications

Wanted to pass along some great news regarding some recent publications by WVW member Tovli Simiryan.

“Pieces of Ester—Cartography of War” was nominated for a 2009 Push Cart Prize by Raving Dove Literary Magazine

“Point of Departure” and “Biopsy”, two short stories, are included in the new volume of 6S, available at Amazon.com

An essay by Tovli, “Melodies of Old Women” was published by IDEALS—Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals.

A memoir, “Belonging”, by Tovli is included in It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. This volume, published January 2010, is available at Amazon.com, or Smith Magazine.

“When Clouds Were Real”, a short story by Tovli, was published in the Winter edition of Raving Dove Literary Magazine.

A collection of short stories, Ruach of the Elders, Spiritual Teachings of the Silent, by Tovli is available at Amazon.com, or via Tovli’s web site.

Poetry Collections: The Breaking of the Glass and Fixing the Broken Glass are available at Amazon.com or, contact Tovli directly via her website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeej44z/index.html

WVW members do well in Governor's Arts Awards

On June 9, several West Virginia Writers Members were awarded the Governor's Arts Award at the state capitol.

Regional Rep Karin Vingle Fuller, upcoming WVW Conference workshop leader Carter Taylor Seaton, incoming nominated WVW secretary Teresa Newsome and workshop leader and children's book author Marc Harshman were all given this award.

Congratulations to them all!

WV Writers' own Karin Fuller wins Writers' Digest Award

(This news courtesy T.W. McNemar, the once and future king of WV Writers)

Karin Fuller, lifestyle columnist for The Charleston Gazette, WVW Regional Rep, WV Press Association award winner, and of course, Celeste’s mom, has a new trophy for her mantle. The judges at Writer’s Digest have notified her that she won first place in their genre short story contest. That’s right folks, it’s bonafide.

Along with her columns, Karin's stories have appeared in such publications as Woman's World, Appalachian Heritage, Front Porch, and Atlanta Baby and in a few weeks one of her stories will be featured in Family Circle Magazine.

Barbary Chaapel's Anthology Appearance

WV Writers member Barbary Chaapel will have two poems included in the upcoming anthology From the Other World, Poems in Memory of James Wright (www.losthillsbooks.com). These poems originally appeared in her own collection No Name Harbor, Poetry of Barbary Chaapel.

Patsy Pittman's Blood Kin & Other Strangers now available!

FROM WV WRITERS PRESIDENT EMERITUS SANDY TRITT:

It is with great pleasure that I share the release of Patsy Pittman's short story collection, Blood Kin and Other Strangers. Patsy is one of the state's most prolific and published authors, not to mention one of the very best. Long after my eyes were exhausted, I kept reading these stories--they were simply too good to put down. I know of no better gift than a gift of the heart--and this book is full of heart.

In this collection, Patsy In this collection, Patsy Evans Pittman focuses with deft precision on that most intimate of mysteries—the family. The characters and settings reflect the author’s Appalachian heritage and occasionally her grandmother’s mountain dialect.

Maggie, torn between her twelve-year-old-daughter and her Alzheimer’s afflicted mother, faces the problems of the “sandwich generation.” Rachel wonders if her marriage will survive her unplanned pregnancy. And nine-year-old Carla breaks two of the “Thou Shalt Nots” and suffers the consequences of a guilty conscience.

Then there are those caught in the web of their own deceit. Godfrey Burke learns it was not a good idea to leave Cousin Joyce at the altar. And Horace Moneypenney, bless his heart, discovers that “poor, simple Sally” has Outfoxed him.

Blood Kin & Other Strangers by Patsy Evans Pittman, ISBN: 0-929915-78-X,
6 x 9, Hard Cover, Illustrated, 168 pages, Retail Price $22.95

Patsy Pittman will take your breath away with her imaginative, excellently written stories of love, loss, revenge, and family.

Order your autographed copy now at a special pre-publication Price! (Click the link for the order form)

Members Matter: Savannah Schroll Guz

(From WV Writers Member Savannah Schroll Guz)

The story "David Dreams of Australopithecines" (and an accompanying interview) appears in the latest edition of SmokeLong Quarterly.

Read David Dreams of Australopithecines here: http://www.smokelong.com/flash/7489.asp

"His fingertips touched one of the brass pulls, and after some hesitation created by the drawer’s weight and his uncertain force, it slid open. Inside were shin bones, a mandible, a tiny misshapen skull, whose bone density seemed too insubstantial to provide any true protection for the brain...Several small molars rolled over the felt cloth lining the drawer."

Read the SmokeLong interview, explaining the story, here:
http://www.smokelong.com/interview/411.asp

"The story revolves around three characters: David, whom we met here; his wife Rachel, who goes missing; and a character named Charlotte, a nine year-old Polish girl killed by Dr. Mengele at Auschwitz. The book is partly about eugenics and cloning, partly about quantum mechanics and the paranormal, and partly about human weakness."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
~Savannah

Savannah Schroll Guz
Read novel excerpts at: www.myspace.com/savannahschrollguz
savannahguz@yahoo.com

WVW's own Chris Kuell breaks big at Amazon

FROM WVWRITERS MEMBER CHRIS KUELL:

Hello,

Last November, I entered my novel, Disconnected, into the amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award contest. On January 15, the top 20% (as judged by Publishers Weekly reviewers) moved on to the semi-finals, and Disconnected was among them.

From here, the public is invited to visit amazon at the link below, download for free the first 5,000 words, and review what you've read. In March, the books with the most positive reviews will move on in the competition, with first place being $25,000 and a contract for publication with Penguin Books. The top 10 places will also be considered for Penguin contracts.

So, I invite you to take a look at the beginning of my book, and if you feel inclined, please write a review.

Kind regards,

Chris Kuell

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011ZCAJM