Mary Ellen Main writes many articles, all published in The Herald Democrat newspaper in Beaver, Oklahoma. Mary's recent articles are from her "Homegrown" series.
You can read all of her articles by clicking here!
It’s coming! The very first Author Fest presented by the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County and the Enid Writers Club will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2017. Forty Oklahoma authors have signed up and will take over the downstairs library that Saturday morning. Many will read from their work and will have their books with them for selling and signing. The library is creating a booklet so attendees can have their favorite author autograph it. The fest will be held from 10 am to 3 pm.
David Roper's first picture book The Little Old Man, The Little Old Woman, and The Little Red Hen came from the press in September (Doodle and Peck Publishing).
Bonnie Lanthripe's mid-grade novel The Ringleader: The Legion of Fury is scheduled to be published soon (Pen-L Publishing).
Nancy Lee has an article scheduled to be published in 2017 by the United Methodist magazine Christian Living in the Mature Years: "Encore Adults: 'Play It Again, Sam!'"
Barbara Shepherd was the guest speaker in Ada, Oklahoma, for Ada Writers Club; wrote press releases for Oklahoma City Writers and Wordwrights–OKC Christian Writers; wrote and published a newsletter for Wordwrights; and finalized plans to co-host another Fiction Writers Retreat on June 17, 2017.
David Roper was one of the authors at the Encyclomedia conference in Oklahoma City, had a book on the SCBWI "Book Blast" site, had a book launch party for his new picture book at the Midwest City library, was an author at the Kansas Literacy Festival in Wichita, Kansas, attended the fall Oklahoma SCBWI conference which included a book-signing, produced a book for his brother Coy Roper: Potpourri: A Medley of Poetry and Prose.
Barbara Shepherd won awards in the 2016 Rose State Writers’ Conference contest: First place in Nonfiction for an article "Colonel Bourland Commands Attention," first place in Writing for Young Readers in a YA story "Web of Deceit." She also won the "Outstanding Author Award for 2016."
The club suffered a massive blow when faithful member Jeanne Shirley passed away October 24, 2016. Jeanne was considered "the heart beat" of the group. She kept the Mid-Oklahoma Writers going for many years through good times and bad. She was recently made a Lifetime Member in recognition of her years of loyal service.
The winners in the fall 2016 Mid-Oklahoma Writers Contest (theme: "Summer") were as follows. Poetry: 1st place – "Heat" by Barbara Shepherd, 2nd place – "The Prose Writer’s Lament" by Nancy Lee, 3rd place – "D.A./DNA/NFL from Hell" by Catherine Katey Johnson, Honorable Mentions – "Luscious Lure (On a Summer Day)" by Magi Whitaker, "Summertime" by David L. Roper, and "The Note Said" by Jeanne C. Shirley. Fiction: 1st place – "A Summer of Change" by Jeanne C. Shirley, 2nd place – "Summer Bliss" by Barbara Shepherd, 3rd place – "The First Day of Summer" by David L. Roper, Honorable Mention – "When the Funnels Come Back to Tom Pastrano" by Catherine Katey Johnson.
Officers for 2017 are as follows: President – Candyce Shima, Vice-President (and Program Director) – Catherine Katy Johnson, Secretary – David Roper, Treasurer – Jaz Primo.
Jennifer McMurrain, released her fifth novel. Summer’s End, a romance with a twist, on October 4th.
Devastated to learn of the death of her summer love, Tyler Peck, Jessica Collins can’t imagine loving anyone else. Her heartbreak turns to joy when Tyler begins to visit her in her dreams, creating a beach paradise for only the two of them to share.
Soon all Jessica wants to do is sleep in order to spend time with Tyler. Her real life is slipping away into dream land. Her mother, sick with worry, forces Jessica to take a job at the local library with the hope Jessica will stop sleeping her life away.
Jessica finds herself in unlikely friendships with an aspiring author named Eric Wheeler and an eccentric old woman named Betty. Working together with Eric on his manuscript and helping Betty fill in the pieces of her past, Jessica finds herself torn between choosing a real life for herself or staying in her dream world where summer never ends.
Before publishing her first book, McMurrain, worked at the Bartlesville Public Library as an Assistant Youth Librarian and is currently the president of the local writing group, WordWeavers and public relations coordinator for the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. She has won numerous awards for her books and short stories, including being a third place finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novels awards for her first romance with a twist, Winter Song. To find out more about McMurrain, including dates for her upcoming holiday tour, visit www.JenniferMcMurrain.com.
You can purchase the anthology of Tahlequah Writers, Green Country, at http://www.blurb.com/b/7347851-green-country for $10.
Edited by Christopher Murphy, NSU writing professor, the volume contains works set in northeast Oklahoma and Cherokee Nation. Rilla Askew, Robert Conley and other well-known contributors's works are alongside first-time-published works. Contains poetry, essays, short stories displaying sweetness alongside grit and gravel of the flinty hillsides.
Tahlequah Writers, only three years old, is attended by dedicated, hardworking writers.
Free to the public
Oklahoma Arts Council presents Dr. Benjamin Myers Oklahoma Poet Laureate, 2016 – October 1, 2016 at 10:00 am at the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County, 120 West Maine, Enid, OK 73701. Dr. Myers will be reading and teaching poetry from your memories and there will be time to create some of your own.
The Enid Writers Club and the Enid Public Library will host the workshop called "Making Poetry from your Memories" and is suitable for anyone from high school through retirement.
Everybody has a story to tell. This workshop will help you tell that story through poetry. Through a series of guided exercises, including instruction in poetic technique, participants will explore ways to compress their recollections into compelling, sharable poetry. Areas of exploration include the following: imagery, metaphor, diction, rhythm, line, and sound. Participants will have the opportunity to produce a poem during the workshop and to share it with the other participants.
Join us in celebrating the art of poetry.
Supported by:
