The Johnston County Writers Group invites you to “Unbox Your Creativity” at our first one-day writers conference on Saturday, April 6, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Selma Woman’s Club, 203 W. Oak Street in Selma, one block off US 301/Pollock Street, across from the Selma Public Library.
Enjoy two morning sessions: First, “The Road to Publication: Professionalism, Publishing, and How to Present your Best Writing Self,” with Stephanie Andrea Allen, Ph.D., publisher and editor-in-chief of BLF Press, Clayton, an independent Black feminist press dedicated to amplifying the work of women of color. The second session is “How to Pitch Perfect: Query Letters, Pitches and Critique Partners,” with L. Diane Wolfe, owner and senior editor, Dancing Lemur Press LLC, Pikesville, N.C., dedicated to bringing outstanding and inspiring fiction and non-fiction to the publishing world. Morning attendees will enjoy a box lunch catered by Hula Girl Café. The cost of the two morning sessions is $20, limited to the first 35 attendees who register by the March 31 deadline. For a registration form, email Cindy Brookshire at jocowriters@gmail.com or download it from the Johnston County Arts Council website, http://www.jcartscouncil.org/community-events.html.
At 1:00 p.m. the event opens to the general public for a free Book Talk, “Laughing All the Way … Finding the Funny in Your Fiction,” with Celia Rivenbark, New York Times best-selling author of seven books whose weekly political humor column appears in newspapers across the country. The Book Talk will be followed by a 15-minute Q &A session. Then Celia Rivenbark will sign her two most recent books (available through an outside sales arrangement with Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh). This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Celia Rivenbark, a native of Duplin County, NC, is a New York Times best-selling author of seven books whose weekly political humor column appears in newspapers across the country. Celia is also an award-winning playwright whose original plays are performed every summer on the N.C. coast.
Recognized by the James Thurber Society for her humorous commentary, Celia has contributed to anthologies including The Carolina Table and Southern Fried Farce and to the popular online magazine The Bitter Southerner. Her book, “We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier” was named best nonfiction book of the year by the Southern Independent Booksellers Association.
Celia lives in Wilmington, NC with her husband, Scott Whisnant, a hospital executive and true-crime author. They have one daughter, Sophie Whisnant, a senior majoring in media and journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her obsessions include UNC basketball, perfectly cooked collards and binging episodes of “Fixer Upper.”
