Category Archives: meetings

November news

The November WOTA meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 15 in room 301 of Musser Public Library from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Bring a pen, bring a friend, and bring a short work to share! Also be prepared for a warm-up exercise to get the words flowing.

If you’re stumped for a prompt, compose something using the word list the October members cooked up: CATACLYSM, MERRY-GO-ROUND, SOMBER, EPICUREAN, TIME, WONDERFUL, SOUNDING. If you can’t share at the meeting, post your work in the comments below!

Some fun upcoming events:

Author fair and meet-and-greet at Skylark in Rock Island from 4:30 -6:00 on November 13, sponsored by the Artsy Bookworm

The Sterling Lord Readers & Writers Festival runs every Saturday in November; check the schedule at their website to see who will be on deck!

Tuesday, December 20 we will have our holiday party at Trinity Episcopal Church, 211 Walnut St. in Muscatine, from 6:00 – 8:00. Wear festive attire if you wish; bring a dish to share if you care to; bring a short work to share at our open mic. Family, guests, and spectators are more than welcome!

Member news

Congratulations to Misty Urban for winning a BookFest Book Award for her novel MY DAY AS REGAN FORRESTER!

October spice

Join us for our monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 18 from 6-8 pm in room 017 (the Makerspace room, downstairs) in Musser Public Library. Bring a pen, a short work to share, and some paper as we’ll begin with a short craft-related exercise to get the creative muscles warmed up before we get to the serious business of sharing our work.

Pearl City Press is delighted to announce the publication of Bob Bancks’ memoir THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY, IOWA FARM BOY! Peek into a vanished world as you hear about young Bobby’s life growing up on a family farm in eastern Iowa after World War II: the one-room school house he attended; the characters of his family and memorable friends; the escapades, the scrapes, the triumphs, and the losses that both reflect this time and place but are also uniquely Bob’s own. The ebook is available now; the paperback is coming soon.

Amazon
B&N
Other digital provider

If you like the book, please leave a review on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, or any other online retailer or review site. Reviews help readers find books! We appreciate your support of Pearl City Press!

AND: stay tuned for a call for submissions for an upcoming anthology on the theme of memories. We’ll post the call here and broadcast widely.

Need a prompt? The challenge for October is to write something using these words:

STAIRWELL, CHANGE, AUTUMNAL, POLAR, FUDGE, POND

May all your creative projects prosper!

September is for writing

For those of us with household members in school, September might also be back to our own projects month! With the kids usefully occupied, let’s hope we can all squeeze in some time for our writing. In addition there are lots of events in and around the region to help you build your writing community and learn from other writers. And don’t forget the monthly WOTA meeting Tuesday, September 20 from 6-8 pm in room 301 of Musser Public Library. We’re cooking up some new projects & hope you can join in!

Winners of the 2021 and 2022 Great River Writer’s Retreat will read from their works in the community room of the Rock Island Public Library on Thursday, Sept 1 at 5:30 pm

Poets: Call for Submissions

The German American Heritage Center and Museum is opening a new exhibition with a night of resistance poetry on October 2nd. If you’d like to submit, send something to the GAHCM by September 10th. Poets must be between 13 and 20 years old, and the poem must be 5 minutes or less in length. To submit, email poetry@gahc.org. 

Banned Books Week is Sept. 18-24

The Midwest Writing Center and the Rock Island Public Library are hosting their annual Banned Books Reading at the library on Sept. 21 at 6 pm. Come hear local librarians, artists, and other readers share excerpts from banned and controversial books to celebrate Banned Books Week. Join the fight against censorship by buying banned books, reading banned books, and sharing banned books. Human knowledge ought to be a gift available to all.

Write More Light

The Midwest Writing Center’s “Write More Light” video series will return August 30th! Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm, join the MWC’s Facebook or YouTube channels to enjoy writing talk, advice, practice, and inspiration from a special guest.

Hope your September is a harvest of fruitful words!

August doings

WOTA meets Tuesday, August 16 from 6 to 8 pm in room 301 of Musser Public Library. Bring a pen, bring a friend, bring a short work to share. And bring something to write on, as we’re returning to our habit of having a short, introductory craft talk/writing exercise to get the gears turning.

Other literary news:

Audio recordings of the pieces in THESE INTERESTING TIMES: Surviving 2020 in the Quad Cities are available on the WVIK website! If you need a bit of inspiration on getting through challenging times, revisit this inspiring collection of local and regional authors and artists.

Authors and artists: the Midwest Writing Center is accepting pitches for workshops for the coming year. Send them your ideas!

Here’s to an August that fills the creative well and lets those projects grow & thrive!

Hello, June.

WOTA will meet on Tuesday, June 21 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm in room 301 of Musser Public Library. Bring a pen, bring a friend, bring a short work to share!

If you’re looking for a challenge, write something using:

CORNPONE, EFFICACIOUS, PEACEFUL, SEXY, SPRING, THRUM, WINE, WONDERFUL

Hey, I don’t pick the words, I just write them down.

Upcoming workshops that may be of interest:

The Society of Great River Poet’s Creativity Camp runs from June 17 – June 19 at Langwood Educations Center. For details on sessions, camping arrangements, and more, click here.

May your summer be full of inspiration and plenty of time to create!

May news

WOTA will meet on Tuesday, May 17 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm in room 301 of Musser Public Library. Bring a pen, bring a friend, bring a short work to share!

If you’re looking for inspiration, the words for the May writing challenge are:

loquacious, wanderlust, suspicious, audit, train, emissary, savant, observant, perfunctory, soap

Feel free to share your piece here as a comment to this post! Just remember that, because we welcome writers of all ages and genres, we’ve agreed that our shared work will be suitable for general audiences.

Some other area events to keep an eye on:

Registrations are open for the Society of Great River Poet’s Creativity Camp. For details on sessions, camping arrangements, and more, click here.

Missed the May newsletter? You can find a copy here.

May the creative force be with you, today and always!

Spring Meetings

Join us from 6:00 – 8:00 pm in room 301 of Musser Public Library in Muscatine to share work and inspiration on these dates:

Tuesday, January 18

Tuesday, February 15

Tuesday, March 15

Bring a pen, bring a friend, bring a short work to share! You might also want to bring along a mask.

Holiday Party & Open Mic

Join us for a holiday party and open mic to celebrate the season and WOTA! We’ll meet from 6:oo to 8:00 pm in room 301 of Musser Public Library on Tuesday, December 21. Wear your favorite festive attire–holiday hats and ugly sweaters encouraged–and feel free to bring snacks or drinks to share. Be prepared to sing carols as well as sharing short works. WOTA books will be available for sale if you need to tick items off that gift list!

October writing challenge

October writing challenge

The first part of this challenge is to capture 13 words. Some ideas:

  1. Collect 13 words from storefronts or billboards you pass in your car or ads that pop up on your computer screen
  2. Pull a book off your shelf that you haven’t touched in years and randomly pick out 13 words from page numbers that include the numbers 1 and 3
  3. Give yourself 13 hours and pick a word once an hour that gives you a little tingle or chill
  4. Consult your favorite little ghoul(s) and have them suggest words

When you have your 13 words, write a spooky story, horrific poem, eerie essay, or other piece of your choosing. Bring a copy to pass around at the meeting and scare our socks off!