Guild Members to Appear on Community TV of Knoxville

Community TV of Knoxville invited the Guild to present a program for their First Friday event. The Guild has worked hard to put together a program that represents a picture of who the Guild is and what the Guild does as writers. The authors represent many types of writing and include the members of one KWG's small (and newest) writing groups: Sean Bolen, Judy DiGregorio, Austin Kodra, Kimberly Vargas Pipes, Andrea Booher, Tameka Tift, Mary Eva Martin, Kali Meister, Bob Godwin, and Judith Duvall.

The program can be viewed on cable channel 12 or streamed live at ctvknox.org.

2010 Knoxville Writers' Guild Writing Contest Winners

By Jeff Gordon

The Knoxville Writers’ Guild is pleased to announce the winners of its yearly literary competitions. More than $1,200 in prizes will be distributed to the 2010 contest winners, divided among those who placed highest in four award categories: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction and Young Writers’ Poetry.

The KWG Award for Fiction is in memory of the late Knoxville author, Leslie Garrett. Entrants in this award competition were asked to submit one short story or novel excerpt, each totaling no more than 5,000 words. And the winners are: Jon Sealy, second prize for Some Kind of Disease; Phyllis Gobbell, third prize for The Major’s Wife.

The KWG Award for Poetry is in memory of Libba Moore Gray, the noted local author, actress and educator. Individual entries in this award contest consisted of three poems maximum, although writers were allowed to make multiple submissions. And the winners are: Connie Jordan Green, first prize for Life Story – Nothing Here Is Cost Effective; Jim Hasler, second prize for Sixty-three Springs; Dale Mackey, third prize for Curls and Curls and Crown Royal.

The KWG Creative Nonfiction Award embraces the truth as the writer knows it; the telling of a true story using the tools of fiction. Entries in this award category could reach 3,000 words maximum. The Guild permitted an individual to make multiple submissions in the Creative Nonfiction contest. And the winners are: Victoria Medaglia, first prize for Learning to See; Phyllis Gobbell, second prize for Stitches in Time; Kaylen Mallard, third prize for The Bucket-Hatted Father.

The Young Writers’ Poetry Prize involves the participation of high school students in the Greater Knoxville Area of East Tennessee. Entry into this competition consisted of three poems with their aggregate length being no more than one hundred lines. The students were not limited by any style or content restrictions. And the winners are: Marcie Costello (Oak Ridge High School), first prize for Rhythm; Katie Landmesser (Oak Ridge High School), second prize (tie) for Amarillo; Zack Plaster (Oak Ridge High School), second prize (tie) for The Freshest Breath.

The Knoxville Writers’ Guild congratulates its 2010 contest winners and expresses its thanks to all of those who participated in this year’s competition.

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We have fun! Jane, Jim, and Gene at the Holiday Extravaganza selling books!--Speakers' Bureau: Are you looking for a speaker for your club, community group, or school program? Search the list of 16 speakers or select a particular category such as Poetry, Nonfiction, Songwriting, Publishing, Grammar for Grownups, or Regional Writing and choose a writer with expertise in that category. Speakers selected to represent the Knoxville Writers Guild are not paid by the Guild, but have agreed to donate 10% of all honoraria, compensation and book sales to the KWG. Click here for more information...

Newsletter to be delivered electronically

Beginning with the March/April 2010 issue, the Guild's newsletter The East Tennessee Writer, will be delivered in electronic version only. Make sure your e-mail address is up-to-date. If you are unsure, send an e-mail to kwgmembers@gmail.com. Be sure to include your full name in the e-mail as well as the e-mail address you want the newsletter sent to.

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Bleeding Hearts photo by Phil Lowe.The Knoxville Writers' Guild Poetry Group is delighted to announce their first chapbook Bleeding Hearts: A Sampling of Poems from the Poetry Workshop of the Knoxville Writers' Guild published by Tellico Books, owned by Guild member Bob Cumming. Edited by Cathy Kodra and Scott Savage, this 72 page anthology contains 48 poems written by 16 Guild members of the poetry group within the Guild. The book is designed by Beto Cumming, also a Guild member.

Scott Savage writes in the Preface about the group: "And just as the alchemy of earth is plowing, weeding, and watering, ours is the alchemy of words--deleting, inserting, and arranging--until something grows as beautiful as a stem of red flowers."

The poets in Bleeding Hearts include: Cathy Kodra, Beto Cumming, Bob Cumming, Cat D'Arcy, Peggy Douglas, Judith Duvall, Ruth Faulkner Grubbs, Vickie M. Jordan, Austin Kodra, Phil Lowe, John C. Mannone, Jo Ann Pantanizopoulos, Scott Savage, Jenny Weisent, J.A. Wilkins, Martha Davies Yarnell.

This anthology can be purchased from any of the published poets in Bleeding Hearts and Carpe Librum Booksellers at 5113A Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. It is also available for purchase online from tellicobooks.com soon. Guild members: $10. Non-members: $12.

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NOTE: The Guild is a non-profit organization. To support writers, we have kept our membership fees low and unchanged for over 10 years. However, due to economic times, the Guild is struggling to break even in 2009. Any donations to the work of the Guild are greatly appreciated. $10. $20. $30. $50. $100. $150. $200.

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--Career Achievement Awards and Guild Contest winners:

2002: Carson Brewer
2003: George Scarbrough
2004: Wilma Dykeman
2005: Jon Manchip White
2006: Jeff Daniel Marion
2008: David Hunter
2009: Contest winners
2010: Contest winners

--Writers in the University of Tennessee Library schedule.

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Gift Memberships are now available for your friends and family! Click here.