SCN members make the news by publishing books, articles, essays, poems, dramas, and art. They also make presentations, lead workshops, facilitate groups, and organize programs. Below are some of our members’ achievements this year.
If you’re an SCN member who has news to share, please let us know by filling out the form found here. If you’re not a member, why not join us? Maybe you’ll soon be able to post your news on this page!
SCN is pleased to announce the winners of our second annual (2022) poetry competition.
1st place: MaryAnn Easley for “METTA“
2nd place: Marian O’Shea Wernicke for “On Seeing My Mother Naked on Her 91st Birthday“
3rd place: Sharon Charde for “Remains“
Many thanks to all of the excellent entries, as well as to our judges and the contest coordinator.
********************
Jo-Ann Vega Releases WOLF WOMAN
Wolf Woman & Other Poems is a curated collection of 50 poems written by Jo-Ann Vega over 50 years. The collection’s distinctive organization groups poems by life stage and includes a brief preview of each section. Influenced by Sylvia Plath, Vega writes about being a woman of substance in a world still largely hostile to women’s talents and ambitions. Vega’s perspective is fresh, provocative, inspiring and captivating. View more here.
An always aspiring wolf woman, Jo-Ann Vega lives with her life partner and canine companion. Wolf Woman is a companion book to Vega’s memoir, Moments in Flight.
********************
Carol Marsh Releases Chapbook
Border/Between: A Symphony in Essays is a prose chapbook published by Bamboo Dart Press. In it, Marsh explores the congruities between written word and musical forms while writing about life and death, addictions, and humanity’s inhumanity. Learn more on her website.
Carol D. Marsh is an award-winning writer living in Washington, DC. Her essays have appeared in LAR Best of the Year, River Teeth, Vassar Review, and New Millennium Writings, among others, and her memoir was a Sarton finalist in 2018.
********************
Sara Etgen-Baker’s SHOEBOX STORIES wins Honorable Mention
My collection of memoir vignettes titled Shoebox Stories won honorable mention in the memoir category of National League of American Pen Women’s Biennial Letters Competition. I was thrilled, for receiving this award from a nationally-acclaimed organization validates for me that the work is definitely publishable. On another note, my memoir “The Miracle of Finding Mr. Right” is being published in one of Guideposts’ sister publications, Mysterious Ways.
A teacher’s unexpected whisper, “You’ve got writing talent,” ignited Sara’s writing desire. She ignored that whisper and pursued a different career, but eventually re-discovered her inner writer and began writing. Her work has been published in various anthologies and magazines.
********************
Antoinette Carone Releases Book
Hotel of the Siren is a story of lovers and a city where reality can differ from appearance. At her husband Jon’s funeral, Lucy sees a woman with a green scarf hovering apart from the mourners. Later she learns this woman and Jon were lovers. As Lucia, Lucy moves to the Hotel of the Siren in Naples, Italy. There she becomes Antonio’s lover. However, Antonio and the mysterious Lady of the Green Scarf are connected. More at https://scanticbooks.blogspot.com/2022/03/hotel-of-siren-by-antoinette-carone.html.
Antoinette Carone’s work has appeared in Ovunque Siamo, Foxglove Journal, Ellipsis ‘Zine, Fudoki Magazine, and Real Women Write: Living on COVID Time. She has lived in Italy, and published a journal, Ciao, Napoli: A Scrapbook of Wandering in Naples.
********************
Readers’ Favorite Gives 5 Stars to Jo-Ann Vega’s Memoir
Readers’ Favorite awarded five stars to Moments in Flight: A Memoir by Jo-Ann Vega, currently available here. Set in the last half century of transformative cultural change, Moments in Flight is a memory-keeper’s engaging and wide ranging coverage of how the times affected the author and the country. Vega wants readers to enjoy the journey, get reacquainted with history, and open the door to dialogue with others. All we have are moments to hold on to, capture, and try to make sense of.
Jo-Ann Vega is a published author and dynamic speaker with 30 years of experience presenting to academic, business, and community groups. Jo-Ann lives with her life partner and canine companion.
********************
Three Achievements by Sara Etgen-Baker
Sara Etgen-Baker’s memoir vignette, “Field of Dreams” was published in the March/April issue of Good Old Days Magazine. Her “None the Wiser” was published in the May/June issue of Good Old Days Magazine. In addition, “Intangible Ingredients,” won 1st prize in The Preservation Foundation’s (Storyhouse.org) Winner’s Circle Contest, non-fiction category.
Since Sara began began in 2011, she’s written over 150 memoir vignettes and is currently compiling them into a book titled SHOEBOX STORIES. She recently completed her first novel, SECRETS AT DILLEHAY CROSSING.
********************
Congratulations to the winners of Story Circle Network’s 2022 Blog Post Contest.
Read the winning posts by clicking the links below.
********************
Lorinda Boyer’s Memoir Wins Award
Lorinda Boyer’s Memoir Straight Enough has won a Readers’ Favorite Award from Readers’ Favorites Book Reviews and Award Contest. The book relates Boyer’s journey through fundamental Christianity, to a double life as part perfect housewife and mother/part sexual addict, and finally to self acceptance of her true identity.
Lorinda Boyer is a Pacific Northwest native living in Tucson, Arizona. She spends her days writing, reading, and exploring the desert with her wife Sandy and dog, Mollie. Straight Enough is Lorinda’s first published book. https://lorindaboyer.com/
********************
Judy Alter Releases Two New Books
Irene in Danger—In this second in the Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries, Irene Foxglove returns to Chicago after fleeing to France for a year. Henny and Patrick are getting married in a week, there’s cocaine floating around, and someone wants to kill the diva chef. Once again, Irene brings murder and mayhem to those around her. Henny has one week to figure it all out before the best day of her life becomes a cancelled dream.
The Most Land, the Best Cattle: The Waggoners of Texas—In the 19th century, Daniel Waggoner and son W.T. put together the largest Texas ranch under one fence. The 520,000-plus acres cover six counties and sit on a large oil field in North Texas. The Waggoner men built the empire; their wives and daughters enjoyed the benefits. This colorful history of one of Texas’s important ranching families demonstrates the strength and determination necessary to survive in the ranching world and the society it spawned.
Judy Alter writes historical nonfiction about women in the American West as well as contemporary cozy mysteries. http://www.judyalter.com
