November 21st Atlanta Writers Club Meeting for AWC Members and First-Time Visitors

November 21, 12:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m. at Georgia State University: Perimeter College-Dunwoody Campus (2101 Womack Rd., Dunwoody, GA 30338) in Building NC. (If you’re not on our mailing list, use the form here to add yourself so you will get any updates about this meeting.)

This meeting may be recorded; if so, the recording link will be shared via email.

No RSVP needed.

 

12:45-1:30 p.m. Nosh and Networking Mixer for members and first-time visitors in the meeting

• Please arrive for our meeting as early as 12:45 so you can check in, and then join everyone for a meet and greet opportunity in the cafe across the hall from the auditorium to build your network and make new friends (genre tables will be available). For AWC members, we will have a 50-word writing contest; the prize is one year added to their membership.

 

1:30-1:45 p.m. AWC announcements and upcoming events with AWC President Maddison Bruer Zigtema

 

1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Speaker #1 – Mark Warren: Using Nature in Writing

2:30-2:45 p.m. Book signing with Mark Warren

 

 

2:45-3:30 p.m. Member Moment Speakers

Toni Bellon retired as a professor from the University of North Georgia. She left to care for her alcoholic mother. During that time, writing became cathartic. Toni uses humor, hoping that her snarky view brings a smile to those reading. L.E.A.P. is her first novel and an award winner. Toni wrote this book to acknowledge her biggest regret—allowing others to stop her from seeking help for a much younger brother and herself in dealing with their mother’s alcoholism. This book was published in 2024 by Kinkajou Press. Her second book, The Cost of Sin, was published on September 1, 2026, by Histria Books. This book is about a young girl trying to find her way though an adult world she doesn’t understand. This book is based on Toni’s grandmother’s life with the names and places changed to protect the guilty. Both books found homes during the Atlanta Writers Conference. After living in nine states, Toni last resided in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a member of the Atlanta Writers Club and several critique groups. “Grandma” was her favorite title.

Due to Toni’s passing, her husband, John Jupin, will speak in her place. 

 

Perry Binder is a professor at GSU (downtown campus). He is the author of four non-fiction books, fifteen academic journal/practitioner articles, and twenty-plus short articles. In 2026, Perry’s journey to write fiction became reality when he published June 4, 1968: The Last Fall, a time-travel short story. The Last Fall is Story #1 of 3 in “The Woody Fall Series,” and debuted as #2 Amazon New Release in Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads and #3 New Release in Literature & Fiction Short Reads. Perry’s latest non-fiction book, Innovative College Teaching, was an Amazon #1 New Release and #1 Best Seller (Teacher & Student Mentoring) and received the 2024 International Book Award (Education & Academic category). Each year from 2016-2022, Perry’s book, 99 Motivators for College Success, was sent to hundreds of rising high school seniors nationwide as part of the Book Award Program at Randolph College in Virginia. Click here for The Last Fall on Kindle.

 

 

 

Inspired by conversations with her students over the years, Dr. Karen E.B. Elliott explores the spiritual power of some of the greatest, and well-known classics in her debut book, Finding Your Faith in Literature: Why Some of the Greatest Stories are Relevant, Personal, and Transformative. With literacy rates declining, AI reshaping learning, and as society confronts increasing anxiety and isolation, Elliott offers a timely invitation to slow down, think deeply, and rediscover meaning through literature. Blending literary criticism, personal anecdotes, and spiritual insight, Elliott demonstrates how literature serves as an unexpected guide toward deeper faith, self-awareness, purpose, and enduring truths. This book is intended for those who have become disillusioned with organized religion, or individuals seeking a deeper understanding of life’s larger questions. By inviting readers to engage with literature in a more meaningful way, Elliott hopes to inspire a renewed love of reading while encouraging deeper exploration of our personal faith journeys. This book addresses the need for particular stories which have helped generations of readers navigate their relevancy as human beings. Dr. Karen E.B. Elliott has served high school and college students for 30 years. Through literature she and her students navigate their relevancy and faith in a technocratic world. Elliott holds an Ed.D. from Northeastern University; an M.A. from New York University, and a B.A. from Ithaca College. As a life-long learner, Elliott has also done intensive study throughout the years at Oxford University. She loves her students and her work.

 

Cathy—“Cathy with a C”—Ellis is new to the writing journey. For her first book she heeded the advice of a wise guest speaker she heard at an Atlanta Writers Club meeting who said, “Write stories about your family.” In developing The Astro and Scorpio Story, a memoir of her family’s two Australian Shepherds, she realized a win-win-win scenario was possible. Win number one was to share the remarkable and joyful story of the two dogs and their adventures when the family moved to Costa Rica for six years. Win number two was the challenge of writing, completing and self- publishing a children’s book complete with images from her own family collection. And win number three was the decision to donate the proceeds of book sales to Animal Shelters and Rescue Centers around the world. For more information visit www.storiesbycathywithac.com.

 

 

Christina Gusby, writing as Christina Victoria, is an award-winning author, Distinguished Author honoree, and founder of Marion Alexander Press. Her writing journey began with Freedom Passage, a memoir told through letters to herself, and continued with The Glow Chronicles. Her latest work, The Peach Symphony, is a collection of 60 pieces composed as a live performance, complete with movements, intermissions, encores, and a final bow. Through poetry steeped in Southern roots, ancestry, womanhood, music, love, and survival, Christina invites readers into the many lives a woman holds and the beauty of becoming. She received Distinguished Author recognition for The Peach Symphony from the International Impact Book Awards.

 

 

 

 

Lisa Perlstein is a children’s author and play-based learning designer whose writing journey began in the college classroom. After years as a professor of marketing and international business, she turned her love of teaching toward the youngest learners, inspired by the everyday experiences of raising her son. She created the Kedi & Jake Values Series for toddlers and preschoolers, combining warm stories with practical tips and playful activities that help families explore important social-emotional skills together. Her debut book, Meet Kedi & Jake: A Story About Love and Kindness, introduces curious Jake and his loyal black cat, Kedi, through a story about kindness and connection. Her second book, Kedi & Jake: Tell the Truth! A Story About Being Honest, follows Jake as he discovers that telling the truth can feel difficult at first but ultimately brings relief and helps make things right. Through books, workshops, and learning resources, Lisa makes big values understandable, memorable, and enjoyable for little ones.

 

Sisters Laura Raines Yaramishny and Beth Raines grew up making up stories and acting them out. Laura graduated from Wake Forest University and became a freelance writer for Georgia newspapers, magazines, and private clients. Beth graduated from the American Conservatory Theater to act in movies, TV, and on stage. She’s a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. After retiring, they decided to make up and write a story together. That it was for kids just felt right. They worked out the plot via email and telephone as they live in different states. Published on June 9^th, The Red Coat is a middle-grade novel, part mystery (a la Nancy Drew), part early American history, and part ghost story. After a near-fatal lightning strike, tenacious nine-year-old Ellie enlists the help of her smart and bossy sister Kate to solve a two-century old mystery and free the spirit of a Redcoat soldier while keeping her extrasensory ability a sister secret. Along the way, they learn lessons about love, loyalty and acceptance.

 

 

 

David and Jacob Raphael’s A Miracle of the Heart: A Father and Son’s Autism Journey is a memoir of shared discovery. Told in essays written over a thirty-year period by the father, the book offers a written time capsule of Jacob’s growth and one family’s experience. The book became far richer and more meaningful as father and son reviewed each essay together, recorded and transcribed their conversations, and incorporated these into the book. Sharing their thoughts became a new and deeply meaningful part of their shared journey. Additionally, Jacob’s own voice comes through with thoughtfulness and wisdom in his essay in the book, “A Boy and His Autism.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michal Spiegelman is a social worker, certified life coach, Reiki Master Teacher, and spiritual mentor who has guided women for thirty years. She is the founder of Beacons of Change. Her writing grew out of daily practice and years of sitting with clients who arrived carrying overthinking, over-giving, and the sense that something inside had gone missing. She began writing to put language around what she watched shift in those rooms. Her first book, Becoming Soulful, introduced readers to the six keys for profound transformation. Each key opens a doorway to Soulfulness, the deeper inner connection we are all born with. Her second, Guided from Within, arrives in February 2027 and carries that work into ordinary days, offering tools and practices that let a person meet a hard morning, a health crisis, or a crossroads with guidance drawn from her own body, emotions, and intuition. Michal writes for the woman who has walked the road of personal growth and is ready to live from the place it has been pointing toward all along.

 

 

Margie Stiles is the author of three children’s fiction books for ages 2 – 6 years old or anyone that loves inspirational stories. Am I a Weed? and Everett the Brave published in 2025, and Beaver Teeth released in August 2026. Her growing STEM series for young readers is published by Wordeee, and she’s currently working on her fourth book in the series. Margie is a U.S. Navy veteran and served as an enlisted journalist (JO). She received professional training in broadcast and print journalism at the Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin Harrison. She subsequently worked for Navy Broadcasting Service in Washington DC as a broadcast reporter and editor for the televised newscast, “Navy News This Week.” Margie earned a Master of Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and retired after building a successful 25-year career in corporate sales and leadership. She is the mother of two daughters, Addie and Mya, and the proud Nana to baby Gwenivere, who already loves her grandmother’s books.

 

 

During the pandemic, John Tures got to ask a question of John Grisham at an online book event. He got to correspond with David Morrell, author of the Rambo series and suspense stories. His thrillers Branded and Independent Thought are of their mold, designed to be exciting, quick reads for a general audience, a pair of modern David vs. Goliath tales. Branded is a novel of product placement schemes and dark academia, with a husband-and-wife professor team and their college students accidentally uncover corporate corruption and conspiracies in their research for a national marketing competition. The investigators may find themselves the next victims in the quest to boost sales and market share. Independent Thought picks up right afterwards, as a third-party gains traction thanks to an unpopular president and the two traditional parties overtaken by extremes. Yet strange things happen to those who join the new party. Families and friendships are torn apart. A wild outcome leads to a bloody post-election chaos, bringing the USA to its knees in an all-too-realistic political scenario today.

 

 

 

Dana Zullo is the author of The Creative Candidate: A Guide to College Admissions for Teen Artists, named the #1 Amazon New Release for Teens and Young Adults in College Guides and received all 5-star reviews. An artist, educator, and college counselor, Dana has extensive experience guiding creative students through portfolios and college admissions. She holds a BA in Visual Arts from Columbia University, a Master’s of Education, and certificates in Art and Design from Emory University. Her career includes teaching art in Ghana through the Peace Corps, working in museums and galleries, and serving in Admissions at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Her poetry has appeared in Paprika Southern, Literary Yard, Front Porch Review, Ink Pantry, and GreenPrints. She has received residencies at South Porch Artists and The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow and practices ikebana floral art.

 

 

 

3:30-3:45 p.m. Book signing with Member Moment speakers