Membership

Beyond the Zine

Professional ghostwriter Christine Macgenn is celebrating her first solo publication. A One-Legged Cricket has been published as an electronic book. (The editor was Nancy Crowell, also a member of Seattle Writergrrls.)

Christine's novella—a story about self-discovery and overcoming fear—is also available as a print-on-demand book and led to an invitation for Christine to speak on a panel about electronic publishing at this year's Northwest Bookfest. Christine also writes about e-publishing in this Zine.

To read more about Christine and her book, go to her web site: www.oneleggedcricket.com

Debra Borchere's book Fragile Secret, a story about her life with her three mentally retarded siblings, won first place in the nonfiction category of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest. The association received more than 1,700 entries from around the world.

Debra is seeking a publisher. For a preview of her manuscript visit: www.fragilesecret.com.

Freelance writer Kat Lizee was thrilled to have one of her poems place second in the Best of Ohio Writers Competition, sponsored by the Poets League of Greater Cleveland. Kat previously won an honorable mention in this contest.

Christine Cook is establishing a new support group for professional writers and editors who are writing fiction—novels, short stories, screenplays—and trying to get their work published. The group will meet regularly to discuss techniques, leads, workshops, ideas, and offer general support.

Initial meetings are taking place at the University Village Barnes & Noble bookstore in Seattle. Anyone interested in joining the group should contact Christine: e-mail: christinemcook@hotmail.com or cook@gizzard.org phone: 206-779-9188

Writer and technical editor Diana George is teaching a creative writing class at the Richard Hugo House. "Writing and Madness: Delirious Fiction" is about experimental fiction.

"Busting Into Tech Writing" is the subject of Christine M. Cook's class at ASUW Experimental College.

Thanks go to Brad Davis of ArtSource Inc., and Laura Belmont and Leslie Collins of S&T Onsite, for giving their time to sit on the panel at our What Recruiters Want event. We should also thank the School of Visual Concepts, which allowed us to use its meeting room. This event was the Writergrrls Fall Fundraiser and brought in donations of just over $400. The money will be used to support the activities of Writergrrls, including our presence at the annual conference of the Society of Professional Journalists in Bellevue, our booth at this year's Bookfest in Seattle and providing marketing collateral.

Heather Perry has stepped down from the Writergrrls Steering Committee after serving for more than a year as Facilitator. She will continue to be involved in occasional special projects. Taking over the Facilitator role is Angela Fountas, who is also a Group Editor for the Zine.

Emma Marl has completed her work as relaunch Facilitating Editor of the Zine and is moving on to join the Founding Board, which is taking Writergrrls to non-profit status. She will also continue as a Zine Group Editor. Taking over the helm of the Zine is Stephanie Shenk, already a regular columnist for the Zine and a member of the Web site redesign team.

Too-busy Sarah Koenig is looking for a volunteer to take over her role as Communication Coordinator for the Writergrrls Steering Committee. Duties include attending meetings on the second Saturday of each month, taking notes, and communicating Steering Committee developments to members in writing. In the future, the Communication Coordinator will be responsible for other internal communications and may help the PR committee with external marketing materials.

As Sarah said: "It's a great opportunity for anyone trying to get experience in communications or non-profits, as Writergrrls is heading toward becoming one. Good writing, organizational and listening skills are required."

Anyone interested in volunteering as Communication Co-ordinator should e-mail info@seattlewritergrrls.org.

To include information in Beyond the Zine, please write a brief description of your announcement, including any contact information and links if appropriate, in 200 to 300 words. Take a look at the information on submitting articles for details of how to send it in.

For information about Writergrrls meetings and events, including our monthly members meeting, take a look at our Calendar page. This also includes links to the events of other writing-related groups in the Seattle area.