In addition to hosting a live online meeting, we will also record it and post the link in the next month’s issue of The eQuill newsletter.

 

February 20, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern – Online (please add yourself to our mailing list to receive the email with the online meeting link: https://atlantawritersclub.org/contact/)

 

1:00-1:30 Bonus open forum: all-things-writing Q&A with AWC Executive Director & Acting President George Weinstein

 

1:30-1:45 AWC announcements about upcoming events

 

1:45-2:45 p.m. Namina Forna: Writing Middle Grade and Young Adult Fantasy 

Namina Forna is a young adult novelist based in Los Angeles and the author of the upcoming epic fantasy YA novel The Gilded Ones. Originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, she moved to the US when she was nine and has been traveling back and forth ever since. Namina has an MFA in film and TV production from USC School of Cinematic Arts and a BA from Spelman College. She works as a screenwriter in LA and loves telling stories with fierce female leads.

North American rights for The Gilded Ones were pre-empted by Penguin Random House / Delacorte Press in a significant six-figure deal just days after submission, and the book has sold in numerous territories since. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, however, its publication has been pushed to 2021.

The Gilded Ones now debuts February 9, 2021 in the US and February 4, 2021 in the UK.

On February 20th, Namina will discuss how to write fantasy novels for middle grade and young adult audiences.

 

 

 

 

3:00-4:00 Celebrating Terry Kay: A Panel Discussion with Lauretta Hannon, Rona Simmons, Philip Lee Williams, and Renea Winchester

In December, we lost longtime author, educator, mentor, and friend of the Atlanta Writers Club, Terry Kay.  On February 20th, local authors who were good friends of Terry will tell stories and share memories about the late, great man.

 

Lauretta Hannon is a writer, humorist, and educator. Her latest book is her memoir The Cracker Queen: A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life.

 

Rona Simmons is the author of several novels but has recently embarked on a career as a nonfiction author. Her new book, The Other Veterans of World War II, was released by Kent State University Press in 2020.

 

Philip Lee Williams is a novelist, poet, and essayist noted for his explorations of the natural world, intense human relationships, and aging. His 13th novel and 20th book, Far Beyond the Gates, was published in 2020 by Mercer University Press.

 

Renea Winchester is the author of two nonfiction books set in Atlanta Georgia where she lived for 17 years. Outbound Train, her first novel, was published in 2020 by Firefly Southern Fiction.