Page Turner - Winter 2023 - Vol 2 / Issue 1

WINTER 2024

VOL 2 / ISSUE 1

page turner A GEORGIA WRITERS MUSEUM

ATLANTA WRITERS CLUB MAGAZINE

Profile of a Georgia Writer

Jean Toomer

NO RULES FOR WRITING TIPS FOR YOUR WRITING ROUTINE

MEET 2020 TOWNSEND PRIZE WINNER

4

New Children’s Books

QUESTIONS WRITERS SHOULD ASK EACH OTHER TURNING PAGES, THE STORY OF

TERRY KAY

A DISTINGUISHED GEORGIA WRITER

EDITOR’S NOTE

Page Turner is a magazine for Georgia’s readers and writers and any Georgiaphiles who enjoy learning about our state’s literary offerings, heritage, and events.

Editor’s Note Each quarter, a team of experienced award-winning writers will bring you suggested readings from the Reader’s Corner, tips and helpful advice from the Writer’s Corner and Writer’s Toolbox, and a feature on notable Georgia writers.

For children, their educators and guardians, and anyone working on children’s books, we will feature four Children’s Books each Quarter with suggested activities in Children’s Corner. Spotlight on Book Clubs will share book club stories from across our state, and maybe inspire you to start one! These articles will be staples of each issue, but others will pop up from time to time, so don’t miss out each quarter.

Georgia Writers Museum celebrates the state’s rich literary history, promotes its contemporary writers, educates readers and writers of all ages, and connects people to the literary arts of Georgia.

Atlanta Writers Club teaches the craft and business of writing, supports the local literary community, and encourages more reading by the public.

Melissa Swindell Executive Director

Georgia Writers Museum georgiawritersmuseum.org info@georgiawritersmuseum.org 706.991.5119

Page Turner Magazine

WINTER 2024 | ISSUE 1

Brought to you by:

EDITOR’S NOTE

Meet the Team!

Chip Bell

Managing Editor, Page Turner Author & Keynote Speaker Chip is a renowned keynote speaker and author of several bestselling, award-winning books. He has appeared live on CNBC, Fox Business, and CNN, and his work has been featured in Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine, and Harvard Business Review.

George Weinstein

Writer, Page Turner Executive Director, Atlanta Writers Club George is an award-winning author, two-time President of Atlanta Writers Club, and since 2008, he has directed the twice-yearly Atlanta Writers Conference, bringing in acquisitions editors and literary agents to help AWC members understand the business of writing and achieve their dreams of publication.

Kim Conrey

Writer, Page Turner Kim is the author of the sci-fi romance series, Ares Ascending, and the urban fantasy, Nicholas Eternal. She was the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year for Romance.

Betty Liedtke

Writer and Copy Editor, Page Turner Former Columnist, Chanhassen (MN) Villager Award-winning columnist Betty Liedtke currently serves as Secretary of Georgia Writers Museum, and is an active member of Toastmasters International, Pathways to Hope—Africa, and the Greensboro Writers Guild.

Jim Auchmutey

Writer, Page Turner Former Reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jim spent almost 30 years as a writer and editor for the AJC, specializing in stories about the South and its history and culture. He was twice named the Cox Newspapers chain’s Writer of the Year and was honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, and the Associated Press.

Roger Johns

Writer, Page Turner Roger is a former corporate lawyer, retired college professor, the author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries, and the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year for Mystery/Detective.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Page Turner is a magazine for Georgia’s readers and writers and any Georgiaphiles who enjoy learning about our state’s literary offerings, heritage, and events.

Join the Fun! Chip and I invite you to: Share your feedback. Do you love Page Turner? Let us know!

Tell us what you want to see in upcoming issues.

Sponsor a low-cost ad for your book talk, writing workshop, festival, or bookstore.

Write with us! Submit an application to join our all-volunteer writing team.

Spotlight a Book Club. Are you in a book club, or do you know

Contact us online at: www.georgiawritersmuseum.org/ page-turner

Melissa Swindell

Editor-in-Chief

Chip Bell

Managing Editor

Emme Clause Graphic Designer

Page Turner Magazine

WINTER 2024 | ISSUE 1

one that should be featured? Send it in!

“There was no museum like this one, dedicated to Georgia writers, in which to feel at home. Now there is one!”

Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd at AW 75 Birthday Celebration Hosted by Georgia Writers Museum

109 S. Jefferson Ave. Eatonton, GA 31024 706.991.5119 georgiawritersmuseum.org Thursday - Saturday 10am - 4pm Donations Appreciated

Page Turner

CONTENTS 24 Profile of a Georgia Writer Jean Toomer

28 Townsend Prize for Fiction Meet Xhenet Aliu, 2020 Winner

50 Winter Literary Events

8 Writer’s Corner No Rules for Writing 10-12 Writer’s Toolbox Questions Writers Should Ask Each Other Authorware 16 If You Only Have an Hour Time-Saving Tips & Tricks for Managing Your Writing Career 19 SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Book Club The Grand Haven Bookies 23 Business of Books The Book Proposal 35-39 Reader‘s Corner While Reading, by Terry Kay Reading about Writers Writing One Wrong Word 41-45 Children’s Corner

20 TERRY KAY Turning Pages

46 SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Indie Bookstore Avid Bookshop 48 Meet a Page Turner Team Member Chip Bell

WRITER’S CORNER

BETTY’S TIPS FOR SUCCESS Establish a Routine Find the time and place that works best for you, and make that your sacred writing space.

Be consistent!

Once you make it a habit, you’ll find yourself becoming more and more prolific.

Be Prepared Great ideas—or titles, characters, and lines of dialogue—can show up anytime, and anywhere. Grab them and record them whenever they do, whether it’s on your phone, in a notebook, or on the back of a napkin.

Write First, Edit Later Let go of the idea that your writing needs to be perfect, or that you should be self-editing as you go along.

Get your words written down first. The rest will come later.

NO RULES FOR WRITING

by Betty Liedtke

W. Somerset Maugham once said, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

He probably could have said the same about any type of writing. Although magazines, book publishers, and writing contests all have their own rules, requirements, and guidelines for submissions, there are no such restrictions for the actual writing.

Often, during writing classes, workshops, and author presentations, someone in the audience will ask a question like, “How long should my novel be?” Although most novels run anywhere between 50,000 and 120,000 words, the most appropriate answer to that question is, “Exactly as long as it takes to tell your story. Not one word more, and not one word less.”

WRITER’S CORNER

Actually, the story may tell you how long it should be. What you envisioned as a novel may be complete as a short story. Or your short story may be more complex than you originally imagined it to be, and grow into a full-fledged novel.

Other questions people often ask are about things like the amount of dialogue their story should contain, and whether it’s better to write it in first or third person. For questions such as these, see Maugham’s quote.

3

There are rules for writing a novel.

Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

Authors also are often asked about their own writing habits, rituals, and routines. Their answers are usually as varied as the authors themselves. Some write for a certain number of hours every day, others until they have a certain number of pages, no matter how long it takes them. Early risers may be most prolific before they are even fully awake, while night owls get their best work done when they’re writing well into the wee hours of the morning. Some writers wait for inspiration to strike, and others—probably most—say they write every day, even if their muse seems to be on vacation.

Betty Liedtke is a writer, proofreader, copy editor, and the author of Find Your Buried Treasure—Nuggets Mined from Everyday Life.

If you are inspired and motivated by a bestselling author’s writing habits, great! But remember that the practices—and rules—you should follow are the ones that work best for you, and keep you writing.

I’m sure W. Somerset Maugham would agree.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

9

WRITER’S TOOLBOX

Questions Writers Should Ask Each Other

by George Weinstein

At writing clubs and conferences, here are questions to ask experienced authors:

1. Can you recommend any editors?

Even renowned writers have editors who make their work better.

2. How did you find your publisher, or What was your self-publishing process?

The answer can provide resources, best practices to follow, and pitfalls to avoid.

3. What social media do you use with regards to writing and/or promoting, and why?

With a plethora of options, you need advice about how writers consistently engage their audience.

4. How do you get customer reviews on Amazon and Goodreads?

Garnering lots of quality reviews will help your book build an ever-growing audience.

5. What (or Who) are you reading?

Find authors whose quality you’d love to emulate and pay attention when you read: Class is in session.

Also note the questions asked of you. Some will provide fodder when you meet other hikers on the literary trail.

George Weinstein is the twiceformer President and current Executive Director of the historic Atlanta Writers Club (AWC), which was founded in 1914.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

10

Uncle Remus Museum 214 Oak St. Eatonton, GA 31024 Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 1pm - 4pm (706) 485-6856

WRITER’S TOOLBOX

AUTHORWARE

Years ago, most authors got along fine with a writing pad and a #2 pencil. Today, there is an array of software and hardware tools designed to make writing easier and more efficient.

Below are eight tools to add to your authoring arsenal.

Grammarly

Cost: Free, with premium upgrades available at $29.95 per month, $59.95 per quarter, and $139.95 per year.

Grammarly is a cloud-based typing assistant. It reviews spelling, grammar, punctuation, clarity, engagement, and delivery mistakes in English texts, detects plagiarism, and suggests replacements for the identified errors. It also allows authors to customize their style, tone, and context-specific language.

ProWritingAid Cost: Free, with premium upgrades available at $40 per month, $120 per year, or a one-time lifetime subscription fee of $399.

With ProWritingAid, authors get a grammar checker, style editor, proofreader, and writing coach all in one. Get instant feedback on anything written, whether it’s an email, a blog article, or a full-length book. Rewrite, continue, or edit text with the suite of AI features.

Google Docs

Cost: Free.

Google Docs is an online word processor included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google, which also includes Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Forms, Google Sites and Google. Use Google Docs to create and collaborate on online documents. Edit together with secure sharing in real-time and from any device. It is a perfect tool for Writer’s Guilds.

Scrivener

Cost: $60.

Scrivener is a word-processing program and outliner designed for writers. Scrivener provides a management system for documents, notes, and metadata. This allows authors to organize notes, concepts, research, and whole documents for easy access and reference.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

12

WRITER’S TOOLBOX

Evernote

Cost: Free.

Evernote is a note-taking and task-management application intended for archiving and creating notes with embedded photos, audio, and saved web content. Notes are stored in virtual “notebooks” and can be tagged, annotated, edited, searched, and quickly exported.

Campfire Pro

Cost: $49.99 one-time charge.

This writing software helps authors create and organize characters, plots, and worlds for stories. Campfire Pro is used not only by authors, but by game designers. That means it has many features to explore.

Bluehost

Cost: $2.95 per month for basic hosting (exclusive deal).

Bluehost is a domain registration and web hosting company. Bluehost provides hosting, domain names, and other tools to help authors easily create their own author website.

Mailchimp

Cost: Free, with paid options.

Mailchimp is a marketing automation and email marketing platform. It will help turn website visitors into customers and subscribers—a key to growing an audience. It allows authors to tailor their message and program when emails are to be sent.

Let us know your favorite authoring tool and we will consider profiling it in a future Authorware column.

Contact Chip Bell at chip@chipbell.com Page Turner receives no compensation from these endorsements.

WRITER’S TOOLBOX

BEAT THE BLOCK WITH THESE WRITER’S PROMPTS

A writing prompt is a word, phrase, or sentence used as a catalyst to creativity.

Many new authors find it helpful for getting unstuck when experiencing writer’s block. Each issue of Page Turner will provide suggested writing prompts

by Distinguished Georgia Authors.

These were the suggestions of Clarence Major.

Clarence Major is an American poet, painter, novelist, and winner of the 2015 “Lifetime Achievement Award in the Fine Arts,” presented by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Born in Atlanta, he was inducted in 2021 into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. Major is currently the distinguished professor emeritus of 20th-Century American Literature at the University of California at Davis.

“Where did you” “I left because” “Hide these” “I’m afraid to go”

WRITER’S TOOLBOX

9 DISTINGUISHED GEORGIA AUTHOR BIRTHDAYS

Feb. 9, 1944. The Color Purple, Meridian, Once

Jan. 11 Sara Flanigan (1931) Alice, Wildflower, Sudie and Simpson Jan. 15 Martin Luther King Jr. (1929) Stride Toward Freedom, Why We Can’t Wait Jan. 30 Philip Lee Williams (1950) Far Beyond the Gates, Eden’s Last Horizon Feb. 3 Sidney Lanier (1842) Song of the Chattahoochee, Marshes of Glynn Feb. 10 Terry Kay (1938) To Dance with the White Dog, The Book of Marie Mar. 23 Francis Mayes (1940) Under the Tuscan Sun, A Place in the World Mar. 25 Flannery O’Connor (1925) A Good Man is Hard to Find, Wise Blood Mar. 25 Toni Cade Bambara (1939) These Bones Are Not My Child

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

15

IF YOU ONLY HAVE AN HOUR

Time Saving Tips & Tricks for Managing Your Writing Career

by Kim Conrey & Roger Johns

The seemingly endless demands of life often make it difficult to find time to nurture our writing careers, so Roger and I are committed to sharing techniques, from our own experience as well as from industry professionals, for getting the most out of your time.

Today’s Tip: Start building your readership long before your book is published—even before you finish writing it. Some great ways to begin include blogging about your writing journey, becoming a trusted book reviewer on Instagram or TikTok, even interviewing other authors on a podcast. Here are some great resources to get you started: theblogstarter.com, follow #bookrec(s) on Instagram or #booktok on TikTok, or “How to Start a Podcast” at Buzzsprout.com.

Be sure to look for our column in April when Ellen Whitfield, Vice President of Books Forward, will share her thoughts on a onehour technique for when and how to use social media.

Kim Conrey is the author of the sci-fi romance series Ares Ascending and the urban fantasy, Nicholas Eternal.

She was the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year for Romance.

Roger Johns is a former corporate lawyer, retired college professor, the author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries, and the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year for Mystery/Detective.

ATLANTA WRITERS CLUB TEACHING THE CRAFT AND BUSINESS OF WRITING SINCE 1914

CLICK HERE TO JOIN TODAY!

MEET FELLOW WRITERS & INDUSTRY EXPERTS MEMBER BENEFITS Members can participate in an annual contest with cash prizes and three conferences per year: two focus on traditional publishing, with agent and publisher meetings, and one is devoted to self-publishing. The AWC also offers online and inperson critique groups around the region, discounts for events, and promotional opportunities for members with books for sale.

2X MONTHLY MEETINGS The AWC meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month at GSUDunwoody during the school year and at the Lilburn Library in the summer and features two speakers each time discussing different aspects of the craft and business of writing. Online workshops throughout the year provide education about screenwriting, elements of craft, paths to publication, marketing, and more.

CONFERENCES CONTESTS CRITIQUE GROUPS & MORE

CRIME & WINE

m Collu

l Mc Shery

Working with Sheryl McCollum , founder and Director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute (CCIRI) and Georgia author of Cold Case: Pathways to Justice, GWM presents Crime & Wine. Sheryl’s program takes an in-depth look at unsolved cold case files.

She and her team share their experience and the case “murder box” and much more with the audience for a hands-on investigation of a real cold case.

Available on...

Sheryl believes that each individual brings their own knowledge and perspective to the investigation that she and her team may not possess, but that can produce leads for the cases. She and her team follow up and report back on practical leads suggested during the evening’s event.

January 12 & 13 With special guest Kathy Kleiner Rubin, Survivor of Ted Bundy

Click here for more information & registration.

SPOTLIGHT: GEORGIA BOOK CLUB

THE GRAND HAVEN BOOKIES “Great is the fortune of he who possesses a good bottle, a good book, and a good friend,” wrote French poet and playwright Moliere. This sentiment drives the Grand Haven Bookies, a book club in Monroe, Georgia.

The book club was formed in early 2021 when Donna Dryden, a resident of the fiveyear-old gated neighborhood, suggested the book club be formed as a community activity. Kathy Ormerod assumed the role of facilitator. The group meets on the second Thursday evening of every month, held at the community clubhouse. Currently, there are 30 women on their membership roll. In January, books for the year are selected with input from members; the goal is diverse genres.

“We read quite a variety from light ‘beach reads’ in the summer to heavier subjects like Nazi-occupied France in The Nightingale,” says Ormerod. “Our list has included biography, mystery, non-fiction, historical fiction, classics, and more. In April, we had a successful ’biography month,’ where we each chose our own book and shared it with the group.”

“One of our members, Susan Payton, grew up in Papua (Indonesian Papua),” continued Ormerod. “She led the discussion of the book, Peace Child, a true story, through a Zoom call with the author’s son, whom she knows. Susan included a display of artifacts from the region during the meeting.”

And what has been the payoff for the Grand Haven Bookies? “My interest and enjoyment in reading has greatly increased,” said member Carolyn Willis. “I used to read very often, but life got in the way. Our book club has reignited that joy for me.”

COVER STORY

Turning Pages

It was a glorious day in early May at Georgia Writers Museum. Friends and family gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the Terry Kay Exhibit. The late Terry Kay (1938-2020) was a renowned Georgia author and one of only two authors to receive the Townsend Prize for Fiction, the Georgia Writers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities, and induction into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

20

Born near Royston, Georgia, Terry was the Royston High School quarterback, graduated from LaGrange College, married his childhood sweetheart, and became a highly popular journalist, first for the Decatur-Dekalb News, and then as a sportswriter and amusement editor for the Atlanta Constitution. He wrote 18 books, three of which were made into major motion pictures. His most famous book, To Dance with the White Dog, sold millions of copies.

COVER STORY

The early plans for a museum exhibit were spawned by George Weinstein, one of Terry’s proteges and the current executive director of the Atlanta Writers Club. It is designed as a scrapbook covering aspects of Terry’s life— dreamer, thespian, journalist, author, mentor, and award-winner. “We worked closely with Terry’s wife and oldest daughter, Terri,” said museum curators Chip and Nancy Bell, “to acquire storytelling artifacts, accurate history, and insightful symbols to portray his amazing life.” Designed by museum executive director Melissa Swindell, the clever, colorful exhibit made effective use of the museum’s high ceilings to present a display as giant as Terry’s life.

Artifacts of particular interest included his favorite hat, one of his typewriters, his LaGrange College academic robe and hood worn when receiving an honorary doctorate, items from his desk, a painting he completed, movie posters, and countless photos from his early childhood through his later life. Many of the well-known authors Terry mentored were interviewed by museum intern Caroline Cole, and their voices were included in unique mounted sound boxes.

Objects from Terry Kay’s desk on display at the Georgia Writers Museum exhibit.

Over sixty people attended the cocktail reception, including Terry’s wife, older brother, and all four of his grown children. Members of the leadership staff of the Atlanta Writers Club, as well as board members of Georgia Writers Museum, welcomed well-wishers, many of whom had known Terry for many years. Turning Pages: The Story of Terry Kay is currently on display at Georgia Writers Museum.

Terry Kay’s family with GWM Staff and Board.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

21

Andalusia 2628 N Columbia St. Milledgeville, GA 31061 Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 2pm - 4pm (478) 445-8722

BUSINESS OF BOOKS

The Book Proposal

by Chip Bell

A book proposal is to a book what a resume is to a job applicant. Here are the book proposal basics: Cover Letter: This is your one-page sampler to get an acquisition editor to even read your proposal. Assume your reader gets fifty proposals a day. Make it short, clever, punchy, and authentic. Include your “big idea” for the book and target audience.

Overview of the Book: This two-page section communicates in detail your big idea along with how your target market will benefit. Publishers are not looking for great books, only great books that will sell.

Author Bio: Unless you are famous, you will be the primary salesperson for your book.

Convince the publisher you can sell a lot of copies through your self-generated publicity.

Include your marketing plan.

Target Audience: The primary market is the main audience for your book. However, do not forget secondary audiences like libraries, associations, or people in professions associated with your subject.

Book Competition: This is not the place to say there is no other book quite like yours!

Think of your competition as titles your target audience might buy instead of yours.

Table of Contents: While the editor knows this is likely to change, it can reveal the breadth of the book and the “storyline” it seeks to follow.

One Sample Chapter: Do not submit the first chapter since it is unlikely to be a typical “working” chapter. Remember, the more content you send, the less likely it will be read.

If it is fiction, you will need to send the entire manuscript. But never forget this quote by best-selling author Heather Hart: “If writing and publishing a book is like giving birth to a child, then book marketing is like rearing it.”

Chip R. Bell is an award-winning, best-selling author and serves on the board of Georgia Writers Museum.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

23

PROFILE OF A GEORGIA WRITER

JEAN TOOMER

by Jim Auchmutey

Jean Toomer’s life was a search for identity. While the author spent only a few months in Georgia, the experience brought him face to face with a part of his background that had seemed alien and exotic. Those months inspired the 1923 novel, Cane, considered one of the pioneering works of AfricanAmerican literature.

Not that he would have described it that way.

Born as Nathan Pinchback Toomer, he was raised in Washington, D.C., in a mixed-race family that was lightcomplected enough to pass for white.

He attended several colleges but left before graduating to become a writer.

PROFILE OF A GEORGIA WRITER

He found his subject in 1921 when he accepted a temporary position as substitute principal at the Sparta Agricultural and Industrial Institute, a school for African-Americans in Hancock County. The location had special resonance for Toomer because his father’s family had been enslaved on plantations in middle Georgia.

The Sparta sojourn awakened Toomer’s literary muse. “A visit to Georgia last fall was the starting point of almost everything of worth I have done,” he wrote. “I heard folk songs come from the lips of Negro peasants. I saw the rich dusk beauty that I had heard many false accents about, and of which, till then, I was somewhat skeptical.

He spent his last decades living in Pennsylvania as a member of the Society of Friends, writing almost exclusively for Quaker publications.

Toomer died in 1967. Cane is still regarded as a seminal work and has been republished many times with words of praise from admirers such as Alice Walker. He was an early inductee in the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, in 2002.

And a deep part of my nature, a part that I had repressed, sprang suddenly to life and responded to them.

Cane revolved around the stories of African-American women in Sempter, Toomer’s fictional name for Sparta. The book was praised by critics and championed by Langston Hughes and other figures of what would later be called the Harlem Renaissance.

But Toomer disappointed expectations by asking his publisher not to identify him as a Negro writer. He wanted to be known as, simply, American.

Toomer never wrote directly about African Americans again. His questing spirit turned to religion and mysticism as he followed the philosopher George Gurdjieff, the clairvoyant Edgar Cayce, and the Church of Scientology.

Jim Auchmutey is a former writer and editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, specializing in stories about the South and its history and culture.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

25

2024 Writers Retreat AT GEORGIA WRITERS MUSEUM

February 9 - 11 We are excited to bring together budding and experienced writers from across the South for a weekend of creativity, workshops, and networking!

Jessica Khou

ry, Milton Da

vis, and Kim

Conrey

Roger Johns, Kathy Nichols, Ann Beach, and Beverly Armento

Click here for more information & registration.

Georgia Author Quick Quips Writing is more about imagination than anything else. I fell in love with words. I fell in love with storytelling.”

—Pat Conroy

I have fallen in love with the imagination. And if you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit.

It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.”

—Alice Walker

I don’t deserve any credit for turning the other cheek as my tongue was always in it.”

—Flannery O’Connor

TOWNSEND

TOWNSEND PRIZE

Every other year a panel of judges awards the Townsend Prize for Fiction to an outstanding novel or short story collection published by a Georgia writer during the past two years. The award is named for Jim Townsend, the founding editor of Atlanta magazine, the associate editor of Atlanta Weekly Magazine (of the Atlanta JournalConstitution), and an early mentor to such Atlanta writers as Pat Conroy, Terry Kay, William Diehl, and Anne Rivers Siddons.

1982

1984

1986

TOWNSEND PRIZE Celestine Sibley, Children, My Children

1988

1989

1990

Philip Lee Williams, The Heart of a Distant Forest Mary Hood, And Venus Is Blue Sara Flanigan, Alice

1991

1994

1996

Charlie Smith, The Lives of the Dead Ferrol Sams, When All the World Was Young Pam Durban, The Laughing Place

1998

2000

2002

JoAllen Bradham, Some Personal Papers Judson Mitcham, The Sweet Everlasting James Kilgo, Daughter of My People

2004

2006

2008

Ha Jin, The Bridegroom Terry Kay, The Valley of Light Judson Mitcham, Sabbath Creek

2010

2018

2012

2020

2016

2023

Renee Dodd, A Cabinet of Wonders Kathryn Stockett, The Help Thomas Mullen, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers Mary Hood, A Clear View of the Southern Sky Julia Franks, Over the Plain Houses

PAST TOWNSEND WINNERS

Alice Walker, The Color Purple

Xhenet Aliu, Brass Sanjena Sathian, Gold Diggers

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

29

TOWNSEND PRIZE

Meet Xhenet Aliu, 2020 Winner Xhenet Aliu was awarded the biennial Townsend Prize in 2020, the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year First Novel Prize, was a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection, and was long-listed for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Book Prize.

Numerous media outlets, including Entertainment Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle, Real Simple, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, named Brass a 2018 Best Book of the Year. Previously, her debut story collection, Domesticated Wild Things, won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction.

Aliu’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Glimmer Train, Hobart, American Short Fiction, Lenny, LitHub, Buzzfeed, and elsewhere, and she has received fellowships from the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and a fellowship from the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, among other awards, including a special mention in the Pushcart Prize anthology. She is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

TOWNSEND PRIZE

A Too Brief Interview

by Chip Bell

Passion and humility. These two features were the interpersonal ambiance of an interview with 2020 Townsend Prize winner Xhenet Aliu. She projects a passion borne of challenging obstacles and “going it alone” fortitude. Someone told her she could, should, would, and she doggedly set out to prove them right. Her humility wears like a favorite lost coat suddenly discovered in the back of the closet. It makes you want to be a better person.

Containing Xhenet into a short column is like trying to bottle Niagara Falls. Each question yielded a cornucopia of wisdom and insight. Here are highlights from a conversation that could easily stretch to several columns.

What is something readers would find surprising about you as a writer?

I’m completely restless and sitting still enough to write books is always, always a fight against my instincts. I run and/or bike almost every day for both mental balance and to tire me out enough to sit down with a laptop for more than a few minutes at a time.

That said, the whole standing desk thing never stuck for me, and so I end up doing most of my writing propped up by pillows on the guest bed in my home office.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

31

TOWNSEND PRIZE

What would you do for work if you didn’t write and teach about writing?

If I had to move onto Plan Z as a means of feeding myself (because I’ve already done AY), I think I’d opt for something involving manual labor, which is exactly the kind of work I vowed not to do in my younger life because my entire family made its living in factories and construction, and they just seemed so tired all the time. I don’t know that I’m gifted enough at making any kind of object to make money from it, but I sometimes harbor fantasies of owning a cafe that serves exclusively bread, soup, and beer.

What is the most challenging part of writing a book?

Figuring out the difference between being bored with my work and producing boring work. When I’m on a fourth or fifth rewrite and utterly familiar with my characters, plots, and pages I’ve read through dozens of times, I find it very difficult to remain excited about the most recent encounter, and therefore difficult to identify where the story genuinely sags. The strategies I’ve found for this are giving myself enough time away to allow for re-discovery—which, given deadlines both real and self-assigned, isn’t always possible—and reading the work aloud.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

32

You grew up in a blue-collar family without the encouragement to become a literary artist.

What enabled the transition to a world of creativity?

I give much of this credit to an early mentor of mine, Tim Parrish. Tim was my first-ever creative writing professor, and I almost accidentally ended up in his class on my third attempt at college, where this time I planned to study nursing. Like me, he came from a bluecollar, working-class background, but he treated writing like a viable trade, just one whose value wasn’t strictly or easily remunerative.

He recognized what might be called “talent” in me (but really it was just the outcome of a lifetime of a shy, insecure kid having her nose in books because she didn’t feel like fighting with siblings over who controlled the TV). He encouraged my writing while being transparent about the odds of making even a tangential living from it. I was so hungry for permission to build a framework for living that wasn’t centered on paying bills, and I got that permission from him.

What can you tell us about your next book?

My next novel, Everybody Says It’s Everything, takes place in early 1999, concurrent with the war between Serbs and ethnically Albanian Kosovars in the former Yugoslavia, though it takes place entirely in the U.S. and features primarily American-raised Albanians whose responses to the war range from muted to perhaps inappropriately passionate. ✭

TOWNSEND PRIZE

Brass Aliu’s writing is so vivid and invigoratingly unadulterated that she doesn’t need to rely on glorifying young love or manufacturing storybook happy endings to engage the reader.

There’s no fetishizing the human experience in this tale, and that’s what makes it shine.

by Xhenet Aliu

—Becca J.G. Godwin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A waitress at the Betsy Ross Diner, Elsie hopes her nickel-and-dime tips will add up to a new life. Then she meets Bashkim, who is at once both worldly and naïve, a married man who left Albania to chase his dreams—and wound up working as a line cook in Waterbury, Connecticut. Back when the brass mills were still open, this bustling factory town drew one wave of immigrants after another. Now it’s the place they can’t seem to leave. Elsie, herself the granddaughter of Lithuanian immigrants, falls in love quickly, but when she learns that she’s pregnant, Elsie can’t help wondering where Bashkim’s heart really lies, and what he’ll do about the wife he left behind.

Seventeen years later, headstrong and independent Luljeta receives a rejection letter from NYU and her first-ever suspension from school on the same day. Instead of striking out on her own in Manhattan, she’s stuck in Connecticut with her mother, Elsie—a fate she refuses to accept. Wondering if the key to her future is unlocking the secrets of the past, Lulu decides to find out what exactly her mother has been hiding about the father she never knew. As she soon discovers, the truth is closer than she ever imagined.

Told in equally gripping parallel narratives with biting wit and grace, Brass announces a fearless new voice with a timely, tender, and quintessentially American story.

Aliu juxtaposes a mother and daughter’s late teenage desperation 17 years apart in her striking first novel … This is a captivating, moving story of drastic measures, failed schemes, and the loss of innocence.

—Publisher’s Weekly

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

33

2023

JOIN US FOR TOWNSEND 2025

NOMINATIONS

CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

SPONSORSHIPS

CHIP BELL, GEORGIA WRITERS MUSEUM chip@chipbell.com

TERRY KAY 1938 - 2020

READER’S CORNER

While Reading

by Terry Kay

While reading, I have been –

-- A cowboy (and an Indian) with Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour -- A Confederate soldier with Joseph Pennell and Philip Lee Williams

-- A pirate with Robert Louis Stevenson -- An orphan with Charles Dickens -- An eccentric with Flannery O’Connor -- A dust-bowl traveler with John Steinbeck

While reading, I have been – -- A whaler with Herman Melville -- A gold-dreamer with Erskine Caldwell -- A small-town barber with Wendell Berry -- A runaway with Mark Twain -- An old-time gospel god with James Weldon Johnson

While reading, I have been – -- A b-flat coronet player with William Price Fox -- A battler of windmills with Miguel de Cervantes -- An attendant in the House of Gentle Men with Kathy Hepinstall -- A basketball player with Pat Conroy, a fire-fighter with Larry Brown -- A defense attorney with John Grisham.

Terry Kay is one of only two Georgia authors to be awarded the Townsend Prize for Fiction, the Governors Prize for Humanities and Arts, the Georgia Writers Lifetime Achievement Award, and induction into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

READER’S CORNER

While reading, I have touched the ocean’s darkest depths and walked on planets in solar systems beyond our seeing.

While reading, I have climbed mountains lost in clouds, and walked the different road with Robert Frost and gazed at the little cat feet of fog with Carl Sandburg and danced to the language-music of Byron Herbert Reece and Edgar Allan Poe and David Bottoms.

While reading, I have flown the Atlantic with Charles Lindbergh and pierced the caul of space with John Glenn.

While reading, I have stood at Gettysburg with Lincoln and in Montgomery with Martin Luther King, Jr. While reading, I have rejoiced with the still-living of Dachau on the day of liberation, and I have seen the unspeakable sorrow of Hiroshima on the day of killing.

While reading, I have sat at the feet of Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad and Buddha, and all the other men of God, and also those who would kill God -- the insane, the madmen, the bigoted, the fanatics.

While reading, I have been boy and man, girl and woman. I have been young and old. I have died and have been re-born.

While reading, I have become people I cannot be, doing things I cannot do. And I do not know of another experience that could have given me such a life.

Copyright, 2006 Revised for a reading at the LaGrange Public Library on April 14, 2016

READER’S CORNER

Reading about Writers Writing

by George Weinstein

“Do you write in the morning or later? In longhand or on the computer?” I’ve been asked these questions during many a book club talk. Some readers have explained they want to envision the writing process because, beyond the physical act of writing, the process is entirely cerebral and opaque.

We’ve all seen movies about writers. The most boring scenes are when the writers are writing: the thoughtful looks on their faces as they scrawl or clatter away. The creativity is beyond the capability of most filmmakers to represent.

I think most writers fear analyzing their creative processes too closely, worried they’ll become overly self-conscious and drive away their muse. In the spirit of transparency, though, I’ll describe my approach in as visual a way as possible.

That starts, conveniently, with transparencies.

Remember being taught in elementary school using transparencies (or “flimsies,” “acetates,” and other “foils”) on overhead projectors?

For the uninitiated and those who’ve forgotten, an overhead projector is a light box that uses mirrors to display upon a screen or wall an enlarged version of any transparent image placed on its surface.

The transparency is a clear acetate film that one can print or draw on. Additional flimsies could then be set atop one another to provide more details in different colors.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

38

I construct my chapters in much the same way.

I write a draft that provides the bare bones of the setting and action. This is the first transparency placed on the projector. I go back and rewrite to add more nuances to the characters’ dialog, thoughts, feelings, and/or activities. This is overlaid on the first flimsy.

Then I go back and add senses—the way things smell or taste or sound—and put in metaphors and other literary flourishes if they will enhance the reading experience. These are additional transparencies set one atop the other.

In this way, I create a draft of my novel. Then I return to the beginning and rewrite and edit each chapter again to improve it. This might involve removing some transparencies that were muddying the picture or starting from scratch if the stack of flimsies no longer creates the image I had in mind.

It is, indeed, a process.

George Weinstein is the twice-former President and current Executive Director of the historic Atlanta Writers Club (AWC), which was founded in 1914.

ONE WRONG WORD

READER’S CORNER

Reviewed by John Pruitt

When I shared the WSB-TV newsroom with Hank Phillippi Ryan in the ’70s, it was obvious she was not only a terrific young reporter but also a masterful storyteller. I correctly predicted she’d go far. When she continued her career in Boston, she became one of TV’s most honored investigative reporters. In 2007, Hank became a novelist, melding her vast journalistic experience with her extraordinary writing skills. The result to date is 15 novels and a slew of honors and awards that continue unabated.

Hank’s latest, One Wrong Word, has the trademarks of her earlier novels with a female protagonist dealing with intrigue, mystery, and danger in a plot with more twists and turns than a Rubik’s cube.

Her lead character, Arden Ward, is a crisis management expert who faces a personal and professional crisis of her own. She’s falsely accused of having an affair with a powerful client, and fired. But her devious boss pressures her into one last assignment that might salvage her reputation. That assignment is helping a Boston real estate tycoon, Ned Bannister, reclaim his reputation after his acquittal in a fatal drunk driving trial. Bannister’s wife Cordelia desperately wants Arden to help her family with the negative fallout that persists despite the notguilty verdict. Arden finds herself drawn into a web of revelations that raise more questions about the night of the fatal event, and then another car crash focuses more suspicions on Ned.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is an American investigative reporter for Channel 7 News on WHDH-TV, a local television station in Boston. An author of mystery novels, she has won multiple awards for her crime fiction, including Agathas, Anthonys, the Daphne, Macavitys, and for The Other Woman, the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Hank weaves the threads of this complex tale in a masterful way, leading the reader through the various plot twists which come in virtually every chapter as Arden and the prosecuting attorney in Ned’s trial try to make sense of the rapid-fire developments. Hank knows how to entice the reader to turn the page, and her short chapters have a way of tempting you to read just one more before putting the book aside.

I admire Hank’s ability to create a scene using the smallest details to capture the ambience of a ritzy apartment, the slushy streets of wintertime Boston, the tensions of a cutthroat office environment, or the terror of a pursuit through a snowy Vermont forest at dusk.

One Wrong Word will delight Hank’s many fans and no doubt win her a lot of new ones.

Reviewed by John Pruitt, retired WSB-TV anchor and author of Tell It True: A Novel.

CHILDREN’S CORNER

One Stubborn Goat Profiled by Gail Karwoski One Stubborn Goat is a chapter book for beginning readers. Kimberly Derting and Shelli Johannes are co-authors of the brief, upbeat narrative, which is enhanced with clever wordplays. On each page, cartoon-like illustrations in autumn colors by Kristen Humphrey animate the short text.

The story takes place on a family farm.

A girl named Poppy is the main character. She helps with farm chores and likes to do yoga with her mom, including the “downward goat” pose.

The family is preparing for the annual Pumpkin Festival. Poppy creates a “Scapegoat Speedway” for the annual goat race, and encourages her pet goat —named Vincent Van Goat—to train as a contestant. But Vincent has no interest in racing; all he wants to do is relax and stretch. Eventually, Poppy understands that Vincent should pursue what he loves. Instead of racing, he leads the first-ever goat yoga class.

Profiled by Gail Karwoski, three-time winner of Georgia Author of the Year (Children’s Books) and author of Skeleton in the Art Closet.

Picture Window Books January 1, 2024 32 pages For Ages 4-9

Authors

Kimberly Derting is an awardwinning young adult author as well as co-author of the popular Cece Loves Science picture book series. Her debut, The Body Finder, was a 2011 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults.

Shelli Johannes is the author of 18 books. She is the co-author of the Cece Loves Science series and Penny. She lives in Atlanta with her British husband, two teens, two Goldendoodles, and one sassy bird.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

41

CHILDREN’S CORNER

The Truth About Dragons

Profiled by Brian Eames

Author

Julie Leung was raised in the sleepy suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. By day, she is the Marketing Director for Random House’s sci-fi/fantasy imprint, Del Rey Books.

Henry Holt and Co. August 15, 2023 40 pages For Ages 4-8

Julie Leung’s picture book, The Truth About Dragons, begins with a simple premise: a mother telling her child bedtime stories about dragons. As the story unfolds and the perspective shifts from a child’s bedroom to a sun-dappled wood depicted in mesmerizing colors and images by illustrator Hanna Cha, Leung tricks the reader into thinking the story is simply an allegory of childhood exploration. A wise grandmother invites the child wanderer into a home redolent of cedar and apple cider.

We learn of dragons, fearsome beasts that reside greedily over golden hoards.

Then with the simple words, “And that would be one truth about dragons,” Leung neatly pivots the story into something altogether refreshing and surprising. The wanderer meets another elder, a woman whose abode is also filled with rich but different aromas, and the story this figure tells of dragons is likewise distinct: their majesty, the good fortune they bring, and their important role in the world.

Again Leung shifts, and the story does not pit two competing views of dragons against each other, but rather introduces the beholder’s ability to hold two disparate ideas at the same time and not be compelled to choose between them despite external pressures.

Is the message about biracial identity and embracing varied heritages? Certainly— and it does so powerfully with a reveal even on the final page—but it speaks to a broader interpretation as well, about perspective and acceptance and the rich complexity that is part of our world and ourselves. An enchanting gem of a story.

Profiled by Brian Eames, 2014 Georgia Author of the Year (Children’s Books) and author of The Dagger.

CHILDREN’S CORNER

The Witch of Woodland Profiled by Charmain Zimmerman Brackett

Like most 12-year-olds, Zipporah “Zippy” Chava McConnell has questions—lots of them—and in Lauren Snyder’s The Witch of Woodland, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

The daughter of “part-time Jews,” Zippy isn’t like the rest of the kids in her class in Atlanta. With curly, long hair and a spiritual side that people don’t understand (Zippy believes she’s a witch), Zippy decides to write a memoir and takes readers along for a first-person account of her life.

She’s bewildered by her parents’ decision to have a bat mitzvah for her when they don’t attend synagogue services often, and she’s never been to Hebrew school. She’s not sure she believes in the tenets of the faith.

In her first meeting with Rabbi Dan, she expresses her frustration. He smiles and replies, “Zippy, I hate to tell you this, but the questions you’re asking right now are themselves very Jewish.”

Walden Pond Press May 16, 2023 304 pages For Ages 8-12

Author

Laurel Snyder is an American poet and writer of children's books, including novels and picture books. She has also edited a number of literary journals and is a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered.

Zippy grapples with her understanding of Jewish traditions, and through her, Snyder gives readers a primer in the Jewish holidays as she explains them with ease.

As she works to figure out her faith as well as her relationships with her family and friends, Zippy finds her own voice.

Profiled by Charmain Zimmerman Brackett, winner of the 2015 Georgia Author of the Year Award (Children’s Books) and author of Murder Makes a Mistake.

CHILDREN’S CORNER

Carina Felina: A Cuban Twist on a Time-Honored Tale

Profiled by Vickie McEntire

Carmen Agra Deedy’s Carina Felina marks a significant addition to the celebrated author’s work. Known for her dynamic storytelling, Deedy reimagines a classic folktale through a vibrant Cuban lens. This collaboration with Henry Cole, an esteemed author-illustrator, brings the tale to life with illustrations that dazzle in both boldness and beauty. The cover art alone tantalizes, hinting at the marvels within.

In this tale, animals take on human personas, centering around a gluttonous cat whose insatiable appetite leads to chaos. Deedy skillfully weaves Spanish terms into the narrative, immediately followed by English translations, enriching the reading experience. The story’s humor and charm captivate readers of all ages, promising giggles and gasps in equal measure.

Carina Felina encourages audience participation with its repetitive, catchy lines, making it an interactive delight.

Reminiscent of The Napping House, the story builds to a chaotic climax, only to be resolved by an unlikely hero. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the smallest characters can make the biggest impact. The book also includes a rich backmatter: the tale’s origin, a Spanish pronunciation guide, and a delightful recipe for Cuban Crackers— Carina’s first snack on her mischievous journey.

Carina Felina is more than a children’s book; it’s an invitation to a world where imagination knows no bounds, and heroes come in all forms. Here’s to many more tales that weave language, culture, and fun into unforgettable stories.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

44

Scholastic Press August 1, 2023 48 pages For Ages 4-8

Author Carmen Agra Deedy, is an awardwinning author of fifteen books for young readers. Her personal stories first appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered. Deedy’s narratives are culled from her childhood as a Cuban refugee in Decatur, Georgia. She is host of the four-time Emmy-winning children’s program, Love That Book!

Profiled by Vickie McEntire, 2018 Georgia Author of the Year (Children’s Books) and author of Little Bird & Myrtle Turtle.

CHILDREN’S CORNER

CUBAN CRACKERS RECIPE INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

1 cup all-purpose flour

Bake at 350 degrees for 20

3/4 tsp salt

minutes.

1 tsp instant yeast

After cooling them completely,

1.5 tablespoons melted

store them in a plastic bag or a

butter

container.

¼ cup of warm water

Enjoy!

A little dry corn flour to put on the tray and if you want on top of the cookies

Please note: This is not the recipe featured in Carina Felina.

SPOTLIGHT: GEORGIA INDIE BOOKSTORE

Avid Bookshop is a fiercely independent, community-focused bookselling business headquartered in Athens. “While our local Avid readers are vital to our continued existence, Avid Bookshop also has a dedicated group of customers who drive to shop with us several times a year from out of town because of our curated selection of books,” says Avid operations director Rachel Watkins.

“We believe that it is our responsibility at Avid Bookshop to amplify underrepresented voices. We do this by being deliberate about our book selections, displays, events, and titles we highlight to provide a selection that celebrates diversity and condemns injustice.”

In Fall 2018, Avid Bookshop was chosen as the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year. Avid has been named by Flagpole readers as Athens’ Favorite Local Business for nine years in a row! They have also been named as Favorite Uniquely Athens Business and a favorite destination to buy gifts. In 2017, Avid was named a top-five finalist in Publishers Weekly’s Bookstore of the Year competition.

Avid Bookshop has been on the Bulldog 100 list three years in a row—a distinction that indicates Avid is one of the fastest-growing businesses owned/run by a University of Georgia alumna/alumnus. They have been in three documentary features as well as multiple magazines and newspapers large and small.

Avid Bookshop opened for business on Prince Avenue in 2011. Owned by visionary Janet Geddis, it was partially crowdfunded by locals who wanted another independent bookstore after the 2008 closure of the popular downtown newsstand, Barnett’s. The store is currently in an antique Five Points building located at 1662 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA, right beside Condor Chocolates.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

46

https://www.avidbookshop.com 1662 S Lumpkin St, Athens, GA 30606

706 - 850 - 2843

LET GREENSBORO WRITERS GUILD HELP. IN-PERSON 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 1pm

ZOOM Last Tuesdays @ 1pm

Lake Oconee Church of Christ, 4700 Carey Station Rd., Greensboro, GA 30642

MORE INFORMATION? Kathy Wright Barb Griffiths Betty Liedtke (706) 817-0345 (404) 693-4045 (706) 991-5387

PROFILE OF A PAGE TURNER TEAM MEMBER

Chip Bell is a tried-and-true go-getter, always on the lookout for a new project to conquer.

He has written countless articles, spoken in front of thousands, and authored many national best-sellers.

His expertise lies in the field of creating long-term customer loyalty. Despite all these grand accomplishments, Chip’s beginnings were humble.

Chip was raised on a farm near the small town of Alamo, Georgia. His childhood was a happy one, although he had more imaginary friends than fleshand-blood ones. Chip recalls his grandfather’s worldclass storytelling which influenced Chip’s writing and speaking in later years. However, his bond with his father, Ray, was the strongest. His dad taught him the importance of having good character. A fond recollection for Chip was together reading Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities on Sunday afternoons.

The tradition encouraged Chip to become a lifelong lover of the written word.

Paying his own way through college, Chip pursued a degree in psychology at the University of Georgia. At UGA, Chip met Nancy Rainey. They were both vocalists in the Georgia Singers (now UGA Hodgson Singers), which specialized in classical and acapella music. They were married in 1965 and have celebrated 58 happy years together. They have a son, daughter-in-law, and three granddaughters.

Chip continued his education at Vanderbilt University toward a master’s degree. But after his first semester, he joined the Army and served three years as an infantry officer, including a tour in Vietnam as an infantry unit commander and a tour as a guerilla tactics instructor for the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. After the Army, Chip completed his master’s degree in organizational psychology.

PROFILE OF A PAGE TURNER TEAM MEMBER He began work in 1971 at NCNB, a Charlotte-headquartered bank, as training director. The bank ultimately became Bank of America. During his eight years with the bank, he took a two-year sabbatical to earn a PhD at The George Washington University. He left the bank and started a consulting firm in 1979, the same year he published his first book. Twenty-four books later, Chip still adores writing.

Writing, in and of itself, is magical. I don’t really understand how it happens or where it comes from. But I know when it happens, it’s incredible.

You feel like you’re being given a gift and you’re just taking dictation.

One unforgettable writing experience was writing a business book for Warner Bros. and getting to work with legendary Academy-Award-winning cartoonist, Chuck Jones, who illustrated Beep Beep! Competing in the Age of the Road Runner. Written communication is not Chip’s only strong suit. As a keynote speaker, he has spoken all over the world to hundreds of groups, some as large as 20,000 people.

At Georgia Writers Museum, Chip serves as a board member and museum curator. His contributions to GWM have helped propel the museum to become an educational and inspiring place to visit.

When he isn’t at his desk, tackling a new project, or working on an article, Chip enjoys casting a fishing line, both spinner casting and flyfishing. He loves to learn about the fish he is catching—their habits and preferences, much like the attitudes of an audience, a customer, or a museum visitor. Chip Bell is always on the hunt for a big catch, whether in business, the museum, or on the lake.

Emme Clause is a freelance writer for the Eatonton Messenger and the graphic designer for Page Turner. She completed a degree in creative writing at Georgia College and State University.

PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

49

LITERARY EVENTS

WINTER EVENTS January, February, March 2024 Atlanta Writers Club

Locations vary, please check the website.

January 20 Atlanta Writers Club Meeting for AWC Members and First-Time Visitors

Georgia Writers Museum

109 S. Jefferson Ave. Eatonton, GA 31024 January 12 & 13 Crime & Wine with Cold Case author Sheryl McCollum

January 24 Online Workshop

February 7 Meet the Author with Hank Phillippi Ryan

February 17 Atlanta Writers Club Meeting for AWC Members and First-Time Visitors

February 9-11 3rd Annual Writer’s Retreat

March 16 Atlanta Writers Club Meeting for AWC Members and First-Time Visitors

March 5 Meet the Author with Thomas Mullen

March 23 AWC In-Person Workshop March 28 Online Workshop – AWC members can register by emailing AWC Executive Director George Weinstein

Interested in advertising in Page Turner?

Contact Chip Bell at chip@chipbell.com PAGE TURNER MAGAZINE

|

50

FRIENDS

Friends of Page Turner Andalusia: the Home of Flannery O'Connor 2628 N Columbia St. Milledgeville, GA 31061 (478) 445-8722 www.gcsu.edu/andalusia

BookLogix 1264 Old Alpharetta Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30005 (470) 239-8547 booklogix.com Bookmiser 3822 Roswell Rd. Marietta, GA 30062 (770) 509-5611 www.bookmiser.net Cold Case Investigative ​Research Institute www.coldcasefoundation.org Greensboro Writers Guild Lake Oconee Church of Christ 4700 Carey Station Rd. Greensboro GA 30642 Magic Time Literary Publicity www.magictimeliterary.com The Atlanta Writers Club atlantawritersclub.org The Writer’s High www.thewritershigh.com

Print & Sign Solutions 1023 Lake Oconee Pkwy, Suite B Eatonton GA 31024 (762) 220-1110 www.printsignsolutions.com Smith Communications 100 N Jefferson Ave. Eatonton, GA 31024 (706) 485-3501 Sylvia's Coffee 111 S Jefferson Ave. Eatonton, GA 31024 Uncle Remus Museum 214 Oak St. Eatonton, GA 31024 (706) 485-6856 uncleremusmuseum.org Visit Eatonton 108 W. Marion Street Eatonton, GA 31024 (706) 485-7701 visiteatonton.com Weaving Influence weavinginfluence.com

Page Turner Magazine

WINTER 2024 | ISSUE 1

Avid Bookshop 1662 S Lumpkin St. Athens, GA 30606 (706) 850-2843 www.avidbookshop.com