GWG Newsletter
THE GREENBELT WRITERS GROUP, 15 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, MD 1996, Issue 4
Holiday Party
The GWG Holiday Party will be held at the home of Sue and Stuart Jordan, on Sunday, 15 December, 4pm to 7pm. All GWG members are invited. Instead of potluck dishes, we request that members contribute appetizers/hors d'oeuvres to the party. The Jordans (17 Lakeside Drive, Greenbelt, 474-2896) will hold Open House, with two rooms showing videos of biographies/interviews of well-known authors.
GWG and Goddard Storytellers at the New Deal Cafe
Please join the GWG and members of the Goddard Storytellers Group as well as other readers at a Holiday Reading on Saturday, December 21, 1996. The program will begin at 8:00pm and end at approximately 10:30pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
New Hours for GWG Business Meeting
The steering committee has voted to hold the monthly business meeting one hour before the Open Readings, on the third Friday of each month, rather than on the Sunday prior to the Open Reading. Some steering committee members, who are already busy with other Greenbelt activities (and with their own writing!), felt it was difficult to attend two meetings per month. This means our meetings must be shorter and more condensed, since we'll only have an hour each month to discuss business topics. All GWG members are welcome to attend the business meetings, where the future of GWG is discussed and created. The next business meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., November 15.
GWG NEWS IN BRIEF
Media Room
After a long delay, we are finally going to sign the contract with
the Greenbelt Community Center for a year's lease on the Media Room.
Because
we were officially declared a City Contribution Group, we questioned the
necessity of acquiring liability insurance for the few days GWG members
use the room. However, as Cathy Salgado, the CC Supervisor, explained,
there are no exceptions to the policy that all CC tenants must have
insurance.
Our agent, Ron Borgwardt, is with State Farm. All GWG members may now have
access to the Media Room (located on the first floor in the East Wing of
the Community Center) on the following days:
If the room is locked during these hours, you may stop at the CC office to have someone let you in. Your GWG membership card may be needed in case you need to identify yourself as a GWG member. We also have access to the Multipurpose Room at the Community Center the third Friday of every month.
Genius Loci
Genius Loci, our first anthology of prose and poetry by GWG
members,
has sold out! Copies were sold at the Greenbelt Food Co-Op, the bookstore
at the Greenbelt Public Library and through anthology committee members.
No reprints are planned. If you missed your chance to buy a copy, you can
see a copy in the Media Room.
Mini-Grant
We are negotiating with the Maryland State Arts Council for a
mini-grant.
In order to receive this grant, GWG must become a tax-exempt organization.
At our next business meeting (15 November), we will once again discuss
making arrangements for filing GWG under the 501c 3 status. Our treasurer,
Charles Braun, will advise GWG about the pros and cons of this
development.
Greenbelt Arts Foundation
Charles Braun and other members of the Greenbelt Arts Advisory
Committee
have formed a steering committe which is working to create a fund-raising
arts foundation in Greenbelt. The next steering committee meeting will
be held Thursday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Media Room of the
Community
Center. For more information, call Braun (441-8653) or Eileen Peterson
(345-2454).
GWG Member's Play Staged
The Washington Area Secular Humanists (WASH) are sponsoring a staged
reading of Sue Jordan's play, "Child of God", at 2 p.m. on
December
7 at the Chevy Chase Library. The play dramatizes the triumph of reason
over superstition. For more information, please call Jordan at
474-2896.
Maryland Writers' Conference
At the 9th Annual Writers' Conference in Bethesda (September 21), GWG
was represented by five members: Andrew Feeney, Sue Jordan, Guillermo
Olivos,
Barbara Stevens, and Jeremy Warner. Sponsored by the Maryland Writers'
Association, the topics included: "From Writer's Block to Query
Letter,"
"Effective Research," "Working the Web," "The
Basics," "Mystery/ Suspense,"
"Suspense/Thriller,"
"Writing for Children," "Reality Based Fiction,"
"Non-Fiction,"
"Science Fiction/Fantasy," "Writing for the Screen,"
and "How to Write a Sex Scene." The all-day conference ended
with a symposium on self-publishing. Sue Jordan reports that the Writers'
Conference was especially interesting for her because she had the
opportunity
to have one-on-one time with Diane Lee, the screenwriter/
producer/director
who led the screenplay workshops. Ms. Lee offered advice and encouragement
for Sue's screenplay, "In Our Image," and asked to read it for
critiquing. Although she lives in Maine, Ms. Lee works in New York. She
said she would accept Sue's invitation to stay with the Jordans when/if
she returns to the DC area.
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GWG READINGS AND MEETINGS
Open readings are held the third Friday of every month at the Greenbelt Community Center's Multipurpose Room, 15 Crescent Rd. Look for directions to the room at the entrances. Infrequently, readings may be canceled; look for information on such changes in the Greenbelt News Review, or call one of our co-chairs for more information. Readings begin at 7:30 p.m., with reader sign-up beginning at 7:15. A social/discussion hour now follows the readings. The public is invited to attend any of the open readings. However, those who regularly attend the readings and others interested in the future of the GWG are urged to become members. Business/steering committee meetings are held at 6:30 p.m., before the Open Reading.
VISIT US ON THE WEB!
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~kirin/gwg.html
Our web site features general info on the GWG as well as back issues
of this newsletter.
Greenbelt Writers Group
Co-Chairs: Sue Jordan and Guillermo Olivos
Planning Coordinator: Dorothy Sucher
Treasurer: Charles Braun
Recording Secretary: Andrew Nitz
Newsletter/Librarian: Beth Blevins
Publicity: Robert Levine
Webmistress: Jenifer Kirin
Mailings: Mary Moien
If you have an item for the newsletter, please send it to B. Blevins by email: beblevins@aol.com or by mail (P.O. Box 221, Greenbelt, MD 20768) or, in a pinch, call her at 345-5879. If you have general questions about the GWG, please call Sue Jordan (474-2896) or Guillermo Olivos (345-0215)
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WHY JOIN THE GWG?
Membership in the GWG offers several benefits including newsletter subscription.Your membership fees allow us to print and distribute our newsletter and other special publications. The membership fee for 1996 is $7.50. : If you join now, a portion of your membership fees will be applied toward your 1997 membership fees. Fill out the coupon below and mail to Charles Braun or bring it to the next GWG meeting.