Florida Writers Association

Last updated

Founded in 2001, the Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) serving writers of all genres and all levels. FWA provides a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to succeed in today's publishing industry. It is an all-volunteer organization. [1] [2] It describes its purpose as "Writers Helping Writers".

Contents

The Florida Writers Association embraces the diversity of its membership and faculty from across the State of Florida, the nation, and the globe. We celebrate our differences and are united in our shared love for the written and spoken word.

Founding and early years

Florida Writers Association was incorporated and designated a 501(c)(6) organization on May 14, 2001 by founder Glenda Ivey. Other founding members: Vicki M. Taylor and Weslynn McAllister were instrumental in the formation of the only (at the time) Florida non-profit "dedicated to helping writers of all genres, published or not." [3] Glenda Ivey served as the first President, with Vicki M. Taylor as Vice-President and Rachel Lisi as Secretary-Treasurer. Writers Helping Writers began with the task of supporting local writers in their communities improve their writing, learn about publishing, and begin promoting their work. To this end, it was decided to appoint Regional Directors (who would also serve Board Members) to grow local groups. Vicki M. Taylor, Caryn Suarez, and Doug Dillon established one or more 'Palm Groups' to meet once a month in the areas of Tampa, Jacksonville, and Orlando respectively. The meetings were led by appointed Group Leaders and included workshops, panel discussions, writing critiques, screenwriting, and poetry. The groups also worked together to hold book fairs and book signings in different locations. Contact with the growing membership that first year was through a twenty-page newsletter called Florida Palm Magazine mailed to members' homes. On its one-year anniversary in May 2002, FWA had 129 members, ten Regional Directors, and eight Palm Groups in Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Lake Wales, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, and Saint Augustine. [4]

Early Group Leaders - Freda Gower Ward and Sheila McNaughton, St. Petersburg Palm Group - Chuck Dowling, Orlando?- [1]

Growing pains

Following an unexpected move out of state for Glenda Ivey, Vicki M. Taylor stepped into the president's role in 2002. Regional Director Doug Dillon became vice-president. FWA's first official election for the positions of president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer as chosen by the membership took place in 2003. Vicki M. Taylor voluntarily stepped down and Curie Nova became FWA's first elected president. As FWA became larger, the earlier informal structure became a hindrance to the business of the organization. The president's role encompassed a wide breadth of responsibilities and a succession of presidents found the time requirement too much to bear. [5]

In 2004, Vice-President Dan Griffith took over the position from Caryn Suarez and appointed new board member Chrissy Jackson as his vice-president. Both had strong business backgrounds. Anticipating their election by membership at the 2004 conference for 2005, they strategized Griffith's plan to shift FWA's operations into a stable, business model that would carry it forward into the future and tapped Shara Smock as Secretary and Lisa Coleman for Treasurer. But controversy marred the elections after Former President Caryn Suarez arranged the showing of a special film at the 2004 RPLA banquet, held during the conference. The film's racial and religious content offended some members. In the fallout Suarez swung her support from acting President Dan Griffith to Port St. Lucie Group Leader Acashya Dolfin. Only 165 of 2004's 450 FWA members were in attendance at the conference and 40 members chose to vote. Dolphin became President, with Jackson as vice-president.

Disagreements led to Jackson's resignation. Robert Mykle became vice-president. Soon, Dolfin also resigned and Mykle became president, with the knowledge that his international business commitments would not allow him to serve out the full term. The board of directors asked Dan Griffith if he were still willing to serve. Mykle named Griffith as his vice-president and then resigned, allowing Griffith to take over the role of president. Griffith appointed Jackson as Vice-President and Smock and Coleman returned as secretary and treasurer. The previously conceived Officers and business plan now in place, this group stabilized FWA's early structure and allowed its continued growth. [6]

New era

As membership grew, FWA transitioned into the modern age. The "Palm Groups" became "Writers Groups", which diversified into two types, those that invite speakers in and hold educational seminars on various subjects related to writing and publishing, and those that function primarily as critique groups, with writers submitting work on which they receive feedback and evaluation from the group's members. Some of the groups allow unlimited local members, others form sub-groups of limited numbers. Regional Directors continue to encourage the creed of 'Writers Helping Writers' by encouraging groups to meet the needs of writers in their locations, whether that means forming new groups or holding mini-conferences or bringing in speakers. "Florida Palm Magazine", a twenty-page mailer, became a 'slick' publication called "The Florida Writer", which then morphed into bi-monthly PDF downloads by email to all members, supplemented by a briefer E-newsletter. The website grew up and a blog was added, soon followed by formation of the FWA Network, a members-only online forum. The State conference committee is refreshed with new turnover every couple of years and new faculty applications are encouraged. The RPLA committee, which has seen a jump in entries every year since inception, re-evaluates the competition rules and anonymous judges every year and modifies rules and procedures as needed. A Youth RPLA was established to complement a program for middle and high schoolers called FWA Youth (FWAY). FWAY offers young writers a one-day state conference, local youth groups, and an online critique group. The broadcasting of webinars is FWA's newest outreach project. [2]

Florida Writers Foundation

The Florida Writers Foundation (FWF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a sister organization to the Florida Writers Association and was formed to promote literacy in the state of Florida. FWF volunteers have made a difference by visiting elementary schools for reading days, sponsoring poetry contests, donating books to under-privileged schools, and contributing funds to middle school writing contests.

Florida Writers Conference

Annual Florida Writers Conference - The first FWA conference was held in mid-October, 2002 at the Orlando Hilton Inn. The Regional Directors promoted the conference and recruited writers for panels and break out sessions. President Glenda Ivey convinced John Boles, a writer and television producer/director to appear as the keynote speaker. She and Doug Dillion also talked Robert Peck, a YA novelist to present a workshop. [7] From 2002 to 2015, all presenters, speakers, and panelists are unpaid volunteers, although the conference does sometimes arrange travel and lodging fees. 179 of FWA's 182 members in October 2002 attended, along with spouses and companions. [1] [8]

Successive years

2003 saw the formation of a Conference Committee to take the brunt of promotion and recruitment of faculty off the Regional Directors. Although a few members were asked to run workshops, a decision was made to recruit professionals in the form of published writers, agents, editors, and publishers. The keynote speaker was novelist Tim Dorsey, and Daisy Maryles, executive editor of Publishers Weekly served as closing speaker. Agents Linda Mead and Lori Perkins headed a panel on approaching agents and the acquisitions editor of Writer's Digest Books, Jane Friedman, presented a workshop on writing non-fiction book proposals. [9] That crucial 2003 decision has resonated through to 2015. All faculty is invited to present or selected after a vigorous application and approval process. All conference faculty are unpaid volunteers. FWA does sometimes pay travel and lodging fees for out-of area presenters. The current four-day conference format offers panels, workshops, break-out sessions, meals with genre groups, pitch sessions with agents, editors, and publishers, critiques and pitch practice, signings, networking, a store, the Royal Palm Literary Awards banquet, a parallel young writers track, and a silent auction benefiting the Florida Writers Foundation (FWF), which promotes literacy. The FWF also benefits from the proceeds of a limited entry day-long single-topic workshop during the conference. Best-selling writers of renown are invited to give the keynote address and choose ten stories to highlight from among all the winning selections of the annual members anthology contest. [8]

Royal Palm Literary Awards competition

The Royal Palm Literary Awards (RPLA) competition was introduced in 2002 and fifty members were awarded at the RPLA ceremony. Language of Souls, co-authored by K.T. Frankovitch, Ruth Solomon, and David Taub, was named "Best Book of the Year". [10] [11]

The RPLA is an all-volunteer effort which rewards work in multiple categories and genres and including both published and unpublished works. Multiple anonymous judges use rubrics to score and provide feedback on each entry. If a set score is reached, that entry becomes a semi-finalist. Semi-finalist entries move on to a final judge. If the score from that final judge reaches a second set point, the entry becomes a Finalist and is eligible to win an award. The top three scores in each category are awarded as First, Second, and Third place for that category. Since entries must score a set number of points in order to be eligible for an award, each year, there are RPLA categories in which no entry or limited entries are awarded. The RPLA Committee, re-evaluates the competition rules and anonymous judges every year and modifies rules and procedures as needed. Since 2015, all entrants are required to hold an FWA membership, but that has not always been the case. [12]

Royal Palm Literary Award Winners

The winners of Royal Palm Literary Awards (RPLA) are announced and celebrated at a banquet during the annual conference, which was rebranded as Florida WritersCon in 2022. A historical list of winners is maintained on the association's website.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm Beach Atlantic University</span> Christian university in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.

Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) is a private Christian university in West Palm Beach, Florida. The university's nine colleges focus on the liberal arts with a select collection of professional studies. In 2022, its undergraduate enrollment was approximately 2,400.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is a professional association dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication with more than 4,500 members in the United States, Canada, and the world. The society publishes a quarterly journal and a magazine eight times a year and hosts an annual international conference. STC also provides online education in the form of live Web seminars, multi-week online certificate courses, virtual conferences, recorded seminars, and more.

DECA Inc., formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit career and technical student organization (CTSO) with more than 260,000 members in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, DC; Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, Vietnam, and Australia . The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education and state, district and international departments of education authorize DECA's programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National League of Cities</span> Advocacy organisation in United States

The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization providing education, research, support, and advocacy to city leaders across America. Based in Washington, D.C., it is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent state and local governments in the United States. NLC provides training and other resources to municipal officials, holds conferences, and conducts federal advocacy efforts on behalf of cities, towns and villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelley Eskridge</span> American writer

Kelley Eskridge is an American writer of fiction, non-fiction and screenplays. Her work is generally regarded as speculative fiction and is associated with the more literary edge of the category, as well as with the category of slipstream fiction.

The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) is a professional association for medical communicators, with more than 4,000 members in the United States, Canada, and 30 other countries. AMWA is governed by a board of directors composed of the elected officers, 6–8 at-large directors, and the chapter advisory council chair. AMWA has regional chapters and provides local networking opportunities throughout the United States and Canada. The association was founded in 1940 by physicians interested in improving the quality of medical writing and editing. The current president is Gail Flores, PhD.

Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by increasing public awareness of the romance genre." Relevant works must be themed around the development of a romantic relationship between two people, and there must be a happy ending. As well as published authors, those with complete but unpublished manuscripts are eligible for membership.

The Scottish Society of Playwrights (SSP) is a professional members' organisation representing theatre playwrights in Scotland. It is affiliated to the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and party to the Theatrical Management Association playwright's agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiona Kelleghan</span>

Fiona Kelleghan is an American academic and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy. She was a metadata librarian and a cataloguer at the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library. She left the university in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Wolverton</span> American novelist, memoirist, poet, and editor (born 1954)

Terry Wolverton is an American novelist, memoirist, poet, and editor. Her book Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building, a memoir published in 2002 by City Lights Books, was named one of the "Best Books of 2002" by the Los Angeles Times, and was the winner of the 2003 Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her novel-in-poems Embers was a finalist for the PEN USA Litfest Poetry Award and the Lambda Literary Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Play Project</span>

New Play Project is a non-profit organization founded in Provo, Utah, by four Brigham Young University students. NPP is dedicated to writing and producing new plays that reflect the standards of a Utah Valley audience. They also aim to give emerging Latter-day Saint writers a place to produce their work while maintaining their standards and values. It primarily produces short play festivals, but occasionally takes on larger projects. It is the first such organization to flourish in the area, and has produced more than 70 original plays since its inception in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hillside Group</span>

The Hillside Group is an educational nonprofit organization founded in August 1993 to help software developers analyze and document common development and design problems as software design patterns. The Hillside Group supports the patterns community through sponsorship of the Pattern Languages of Programs conferences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Women's Association</span>

The Financial Women's Association (FWA) is a New York-based network of female professionals from various sectors of the financial world. Founded in 1956, the FWA is a professional organization focused on enhancing the role of women in finance, as well as fostering the development of young female leaders. The FWA serves its members through educational programs and networking opportunities, and it serves the community through its nationally acclaimed scholarship, mentoring and training programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Worton</span> British scholar of French (born 1951)

Michael John Worton is a British scholar of French. He was Vice-Provost (International) of University College London (UCL), appointed 1998. He held this appointment concurrently with the university's Fielden Professorship of French Language and Literature. He retired at the end of September 2013.

Yndamiro Restano Díaz is a Cuban dissident journalist and poet who has won the 1996 Golden Pen of Freedom Award of the World Association of Newspapers and a 1994 International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. In 1995, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel described him as "Cuba's leading dissident journalist".

Mediterranean Editors and Translators (MET) is a non-profit, interdisciplinary association for language professionals who work mainly with or into English within the Mediterranean area. The association's members include translators, authors' editors, copy editors, writing and presentation coaches, teachers of academic writing, applied linguists, interpreters, professional writers and more. MET offers training workshops, an annual conference, networking and other opportunities of continuing professional development for its members. The activities of the association are guided by six objectives, summarized as follows:

  1. Maintain a stable network and means to hold events for English language consultants
  2. Communicate knowledge that can contribute to improving the quality of language support services available in the Mediterranean
  3. Be a conduit for exchanging information between language consultants in our geographic area and those in other parts of Europe and the world
  4. Stimulate research in Mediterranean communities on the needs of academics, scientists and others and on promising practices that meet their needs well
  5. Identify local expertise in language support and help our experts share their knowledge with a wider audience
  6. Help users of language support services locate appropriate solutions to their needs and promote mutual understanding between suppliers and users of these services

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal activities are the organization of the International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA), which was first held in 1980, the publication of a journal, the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (JFA), which has been published regularly since 1990, and the production of a news blog and other social media that publish information of interest to the membership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laltluangliana Khiangte</span> Mizo academic, playwright and poet

Laltluangliana Khiangte is a Mizo academic, playwright and poet of Mizo literature. He was the principal of the Serampore College and a former professor at Pachhunga University College and the North Eastern Hill University. He is presently serving as the senior most professor at the Department of Mizo at Mizoram University. He is a recipient of the Pu Buanga Award, the highest literary award of the Mizo Academy of Letters. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Heflin</span> American novelist

Rebecca Heflin is an American women's fiction and contemporary romance novelist living in Gainesville, Florida. The name Rebecca Heflin is a pseudonym used by B. Dianne Farb and was inspired by her great-great-grandmother, Sarah Anne Rebecca Heflin Apple Smith. As Dianne Farb, she works at the University of Florida and runs a local nonprofit organization with her husband.

Vicki Lynn Ruiz is an American historian who has written or edited 14 books and published over 60 essays. Her work focuses on Mexican-American women in the twentieth century. She is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; Peppertree Press; 2011
  2. 1 2 "The Florida Writers Blog" . Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  3. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; pg. 19; Peppertree Press; 2011
  4. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; pg. 19-22; Peppertree Press; 2011
  5. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; pg. 25-26; Peppertree Press; 2011
  6. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck;Pg.27-28 Peppertree Press; 2011
  7. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; pg. 23; Peppertree Press; 2011
  8. 1 2 "More Workshops & Panels than Ever". Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  9. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; Pg. 26; Peppertree Press; 2011
  10. ↑ Florida Writers Association- Writing Our History~One Writer At A Time: First Ten Years 2001 to 2011; Edited by Douglas Houck; pg. 25; Peppertree Press; 2011
  11. ↑ Frankovich, K. T.; Solomon, Ruth; Taub, David (1999). Language of Souls. Language of Souls Publications, Incorporated. ISBN   1894368002.
  12. ↑ "Royal Palm Literary Award Competition".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.