Tuesday, January 11, 2011—Alex Burton is our lead-off guest speaker for 2011! A veteran DFW television, radio, and public relations figure, with over fifty years experience as a journalist and broadcaster, Alex has been part of Dallas/Fort Worth life since 1962. He and his voice are very familiar to folks who listened to KRLD radio or watched KRLD TV--where he worked for 20 years as a reporter, a daily columnist, and feature producer.
A published author: Just One Kiss, Baby! a collection of radio commentaries and articles from print; The Widest Float in the Parade, a collection that took up in time where the first book left off; Establishing News Media Relations, a How-To Book, Alex is semi-retired—and looking for a publisher for a series of children’s books he has written!

Alex Burton will be teaching “Writing for Publication,” a 10-week class at Mountain View Community College beginning February 3, 2011. Call 214-860-8682 for more information.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011—our guest speakers will be three of our current DAWG officers: Alan C. Elliott, Gayla Brooks Kokel, and Patricia K. “Patsy” Summey.

 DAWG founder and board member Alan C. Elliott is the author of some 25+ published books—technical, inspirational, history, children’s, and non-fiction books, as well as scripts for several stage plays and Angels Love Donuts, a feature-length movie released in 2010 by Bridgestone Multimedia Group. His most recent books areImages of America: Oak Cliff (with fellow DAWG officers Kokel & Summey) and Texas Ingenuity: Lone Star Inventions, Inventors & Innovators. Alan will be speaking on “Writing a Query Letter”.

Gayla Brooks Kokel, vice-president of the DAWG and Patricia K. “Patsy” Summey, president of the DAWG, will be giving pointers on editing—“Clean up Your Act!  Something for Everyone.” Gayla is a columnist with the Advocate Urban Living Magazines. Gayla and Patsy are co-authors with Alan on the popular Images of America: Oak Cliff. Gayla taught high school English and was yearbook sponsor—two areas that require attention to editing. Patsy is a retired school teacher and has been proofreading manuscripts for the past 15 years.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011— Rosalyn Story is a professional classical violinist, journalist and author of both fiction and non-fiction. A member of the violin section of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in Fort Worth, Texas, she divides her time between performing and writing  magazine and journal articles on the visual and performing arts, and has penned three books. Her articles have appeared in Essence, The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, Stagebill (the magazine of Lincoln Center), The Crisis (the magazine of the NAACP), and she has been a frequent contributor to Opera News magazine, writing about black opera singers, since 1990. Her first book, And So I Sing: African American Divas of Opera and Concert, the first comprehensive book on the history of black women in opera, was the inspiration for the PBS documentary Aida’s Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices in Opera (in which she appears as commentator and served as consultant), and has been broadcast in the United States, Europe, and New Zealand. Her first novel, More Than You Know, set against the backdrop of the jazz worlds of Kansas City and New York, was an Essence magazine bestseller, and has been developed into a screenplay. Her second novel, Wading Home, set in post-Katrina New Orleans, was released in September 2010, and was an Essence magazine book club pick and ‘recommended read.’ A native of Kansas City, Rosalyn Story now lives in Dallas, Texas.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011— Win Shields, former staff writer for Bob Hope and longtime writer and script doctor for Universal Studios (Punky Brewster, Murder She Wrote and others), will teach us how to turn a story into a screenplay -- learn from one of the industry's noted experts. You can't get any better instruction than this unless you go to LA.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011—David Davis and Jan Peck -- David is an author, cartoonist and speaker. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of Jazz Cats and Ten Redneck Babies, both of which were named to the Children’s Choice Top 100 list. Jazz Cats was a finalist for the Texas Golden Spur Award, as well. He authored A Southern Child's Garden of Verses, a collection of his poems for young people.

His satirical Night before Christmas books are perennial comedy best-sellers. Jan is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the past Regional Advisor for the North Central/ Northeast Texas Chapter, and a past freelance editor for Boys' Life magazine. 

Jan has won awards for her writing, judged by Bruce Degan (of the Magic School Bus series), George Stanley (of the Scaredy-Cat series), and Betsy Haynes (of the Fabulous Five series and Bone Chillers series and TV show). 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011—CRITIQUE NIGHT - DAWG members and others will have an opportunity to read a selection from their works and have it critiqued by a published writer. Sign-up is on a first-come basis -- begins at 7pm. DAWG members are given priority. Expected panelists include Win Shields, Ginnie Bivona, James Gaskin and Steve Miller.
Here are the DAWG critique guidelines -- please read them before signing up for a critique.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011— Steve Miller has been one of the editors that slogs through a stack of short story submissions, which has been known in publishing as the "slush pile." Like the other editors, he writes a short critique for writers on every manuscript he rejects, and he helps decide which stories to accept. Hear common problems that keep writers from being published, and find out why a few stories do rise above the rest of the slush pile.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011—Frank Ball and Jan Brand - Frank Ballfounded North Texas Christian Writers (NTCW), a consortium of some 250 writers in the North Texas area, who encourage one another to write and write well. He has worked as a ghostwriter, writer's coach, e-zine columnist, and copy editor for a trade magazine. As Pastor of Biblical Research and Writing for three years, he wrote sermons, teaching materials, and hundreds of devotionals. His life-changing book is Eyewitness: The Life of Christ Told in One Story, a compilation of all biblical information into one chronological story that reads like a novel. He travels to writers’ conferences across the country and to churches to help them develop writing ministries and show writers how to reach the people who need to read their stories. For more information, visit Frank's Web sites at www.NTChristianWriters.com and www.EyewitnessTools.com.

Jan Brand, a freelance writer who lives in Arlington, Texas, is the Assistant Director of NTCW, and serves as Director of Encouragement Groups for NTCW. For the last three years, she has worked with meeting leaders and individual members as they improve their skills and gain publishing success. She has studied creative writing at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas at Arlington, and with Writer's Digest. Her goal is to see God honored in America again. Much of her fiction and nonfiction focuses on America’s Christian heritage. Her work is aimed at causing us to remember the past, so that we can build a better future. When asked why she writes, her reply is, “To change the world, one heart at a time.” She’s published in The Christian Communicator, Eagle Mountain Lake Living Magazine, Victoria Magazine, and Chicken Soup for the Soul, and others.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011—CRITIQUE NIGHT - DAWG members and others will have an opportunity to read a selection from their works and have it critiqued by a published writer. Sign-up is on a first-come basis -- begins at 7pm. DAWG members are given priority. Expected panelists include Ginnie Bivona, James Gaskin, Michelle Stimpson, and Win Shields.
Here are the DAWG critique guidelines -- please read them before signing up for a critique.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011— LaRee Bryant is the author of 7 historical novels and 2 non-fiction books, and has recently finished the second book in a new cozy mystery series, and is now working on a stand-alone mystery. She's been a writing teacher and professional editor for over 20 years and has served on the boards of several national and local writers' organizations, overseeing committees such as "Agents Standards of Practice" and "Published Authors Network."

Tuesday, December 13, 2011— NOTE: DECEMBER 2012 MEETING CANCELLED!
Our Library room has become unavailable this month --
so we're having to cancel -- we'll resume in January.

Michelle Stimpson is an author, a speaker, and an educator who received her Bachelor of Science degree from Jarvis Christian College in 1994. Her highly acclaimed Christian debut novel, Boaz Brown (published by TimeWarner/AOL) hit the stands in 2004, and her second novel, Divas of Damascus Road, released in July of 2006, was an Essence® Bestseller. Her third novel, The Good Stuff, was released in 2008. Michelle is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and the Ft. Worth Metropolitan Alumni Chapter of Jarvis Christian College.  (TO BE RESCHEDULED)