2019 Celebrations
Written by MVWG Member Amanda Zieba
As the year draws to a close, we often spend time looking back over the months that were… the tasks we accomplished, the goals still in progress and of course the things that didn’t turn out quite how we would have liked. It’s important to look back at where we have been, so we can better plan for what lies ahead. It is also important to celebrate the things that went well… because if we don’t enjoy the shining moments of joy along the way, it will be a pretty dark world indeed.
In this post I’ve rounded up a plethora of shining moments contributed by the members of the Mississippi Valley Writers Guild. It is my sincere hope that as you read through this list of accomplishments, large and small, that you marvel at the work we have done, feel inspired by the success of others and reach out to say bravo to a job well done. After all, we are a community of writers who support one another, and celebrating is one of the most fun forms of support.
Without further adieu, I proudly present, the MVWG 2019 List of Celebrations!
Phyllis Beckman
Phyllis spent time refurbishing a prior publication, The BiPolar User Manual. It now has a preface, numbered pages, an index and a few additional poems. She also joined a variety of Facebook groups in which she posts poems weekly. Her work was also featured on Reflections from the Center, at the Pump House and in a photo-poetry collaboration book she made with her sister.
Alice Benson
Alice published her second book, A Year in Her Life in September. She also participated on a panel at the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books in November. Finally, Alice had a Flash Fiction piece published.
Heidi Blanke
Heidi achieved a lifetime goal this year by having a piece selected to be included in the Chicken Soul for the Soul book series. Her essay, My Mother the Feminist can be read in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mom Knows Best. She also had two poems, Slo-Mo and Sort of Old published on Classicalpoets.org. Heidi also wrote an article for the most recent issue of Coulee Region Women magazine titled: Recovery First.
Tracy Helixon
Tracy finished her historical Christian romance novel manuscript, Finding Home, which was a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers Virginia Crown Contest. She also had a poem published in the July issue of Guardian Angel Kids magazine at and read her early chapter book, Caleb's Lighthouse, at Wine and Words, Beer and Books.
Lisa David Olson
Lisa’s book Laughs on Wry was an International Book Award Finalist in the Humor Category. She has started writing her second book and has also been very busy sharing her humor and advice through several speaking engagements.
Carol Kalmes
Carol Kalmes had a spectacular writing year. She both was a finalist in the Writing Academy Short Story Competition, and in the end, placed third. She also had a Guardian Angel story published in the April 8th edition of Women’s World Magazine.
Danielle Rae Severson
Danielle is thrilled to have joined a writing group and being a part of MVWG is a huge success for her this year. In November, she went to her very first writing workshop, Weekend with Your Novel at the University of Madison. (P.S. She would highly encourage others to attend this event!) Danielle also participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time.
Joanne Adragna Shird
Joanne was selected for the Pump House’s Mark My Words as a Poet and her poem was awarded third place. She continues to write a poem a day, as she has done so now for many, many years.
Jess Witkins
Jess was featured in two anthologies one of which was the essay “The Funeral Photographer” in the anthology “What Remains: The Many Ways We Say Goodbye”. This year Jess had the opportunity to be a guest writer on the Writescast Network: The Magic of Content Adaptation. She also had the poems “Sunstone” and “When You Read My Palm” accepted in international literary journal, Ariel Chart.
Christy Wopat
Christy’s memoir, Almost a Mother, won honorable mention in the Norbert-Blei Nonfiction Award from the Council For Wisconsin Writers. Also, an essay she wrote, You Stole a Pizza My Heart, won honorable mention and was published in the Jade Ring Contest’s Yearly anthology. Christy https://www.christywopat.com/ was featured in the Coulee Region Women Magazine. https://issuu.com/couleeregioncommunicationsllc/docs/crwoctnov_2019 And she is very excited about her picture book that will be published by Orange Hat Publishing in the spring of 2020.
Amanda Zieba
Amanda published two books this year, Champion Chocolatier: Reality Bites (February) and Close Quarters (November). She also completed a second full year of blogging weekly on her website. In addition to her writing, Amanda enjoyed traveling around Wisconsin and to Michigan (twice!) sharing her love of writing through workshops.
So, there you have it! Lots of items to add to your reading pile and so many things to celebrate. We can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store for our members. We look forward to the new year as an opportunity to share even more stories with you. We hope you come back and visit us here soon.