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In 2008, I had the good fortune to study Writing for Social Change with Anya at the annual IWWG conference.
You can read more about Anya's work as a teacher on the Writing for Change page.
I also loved Anya's novel, The Stories of Devil Girl . While I recommend you order it (and every other book possible) from your independent bookseller, you can read my review of this book on Amazon if you scroll down the page.
Anya is an amazing writer and a fabulous teacher.
http://anyaachtenberg.com/
Judy is the founder and owner of Writeyes, a teaching, critiquing, and support network for writers. Writeyes offers critiques, assignments, and workshops, at what seem to me to be very reasonable rates for the services offered. I know many women who have workshopped with Judy at IWWG conferences, and they all speak very highly of her standards and abilities. So check out Writeyes if you are looking for professional critiques/edits or if you want the inspiration and learning of a class or single assignment.
http://www.writeyes.com/
I love Leiah's energy portraiture classes at the IWWG conference and dream of the day when I can afford to have her do one of me. I use a form of intuitive drawing I learned in Leiah's workshop in 2009 to help me work out various plot problems or landscape/flora details, etc. in my fiction, a wonderful addition to my creativity toolbox.
http://www.lightspeak.com/
Carol's goal is to bring out the best in everyone with whom she works. I enjoyed meeting Carol at the 2009 IWWG conference, where she was a dynamic presence.
http://www.carolbluestein.com/
Rachel has taught "Letters, Language, and Literature" at the last three IWWG annual conferences (and has taught other workshops at the same conference over the years). I have also enjoyed her poetry-focused workshops the two times I was able to attend the IWWG spring conference in the redwoods of CA. Even though my focus is not poetry, her classes helped me to write better. Rachel is a fantastic poet and a great teacher, and her website describes her various workshops and services.
http://racheldebaere.com/index.html
Author of Seasons — Haiku & More and Grow Yourself A Life You'll Love. Barbara has been teaching poetry and personality workshops since the 1980s. Her offerings at the IWWG annual conference have included "Haiku and Tanka", "The House of Personality", and "Extra Weight: Get Rid of It".
http://www.electricenvisions.com/index.html
Dorothy teaches a wonderful workshop at the IWWG conference, "Writing the Word, Healing the Heart," which I attended in 2008. I highly recommend this dynamic teacher. The woman could put heart in a wilted turnip.
http://www.dorothyrandallgray.com/
Marj teaches workshops each year at the annual IWWG conference, mostly poetry oriented. Since poetry is not a strong focus for me at present, I haven't made it to Marj's class yet, but the women who do rave about how wonderful she is and about her precision with words, and I don't doubt it. Marj is terrific. You can learn more about her work and workshops at:
http://www.marjhahne.com/
Author of Adam's Eve, Sadie's Secret, and Shoestring, and collaborator/editor on her brother's book, Bokuru, Barbara Hall is a wonderful photographer in addition to her writing. Her website also includes information about what she and her brother came to call "the process." "The process" is how Barbara helped her brother, Jon, recover from a serious stroke enough to be able to get back to life and writing and finish Bokuru before he passed away.
http://ournaturematters.net/
I've always enjoyed Julie's readings at the IWWG conference, because they add so much to the diversity of the experience. We need lots more write 'em cowgirls who can write science, so if you are inclined in that direction, let Julie inspire you.
http://www.juliesimonlakehomer.com/
Jan Lawry
is an awesome teacher and writer. I got so much out of her Mirrors and Mentors workshop at the 2009 IWWG Conference. Her card states "Workshops & Private Consultation to Fuel the Creative Journey." She certainly did that for me. Jan lives in the Seattle/Tacoma area. No website yet (though she may be looking for a techie to help her build one), but you can email her at:
if you want to know more about her workshops or professional services.
Marsha McGregor
— Essayist/Writing Instructor
Marsha doesn't have a website yet but she said I could tell you about her and give you her email. I studied Giving Our Word: Five Paths to the Personal Essay at the 2009 IWWG conference, and she is a wonderful teacher. She is available for workshops in the Ohio area and, and is able to travel farther for those who can make it worth her while. Email her at
— Poet/Novelist/Instructor/Authority on African-American poets
A new feature on D.H.'s website lets you listen to her reading some of her poetry. D.H. is a lovely woman, who has been active as an organizer/officer and instructor for the IWWG. She has a very nicely done professional writers' site. I thought her trilogy (second volume contains two novels) of Blight and Stigma and The Cave is an amazing blend of literary and speculative fiction. The Cave is an amazing study in voice, with each chapter from the POV of a different character. I think D.H. is a wonderful poet, too.
http://www.dhmelhem.com/
Jan Phillips is a very popular workshop leader at the IWWG's annual conference, and for good reason. Jan is one of the most intensely creative people I've ever met, and the best presenter I have ever watched in action. She is also the author of (among many wonderful books) The Art of Original Thinking—The Making of a Thought Leader, which has my vote for best collective-consciousness book of the decade. She travels all over America giving all sorts workshops (and she's doing one in Italy in the spring of 2010!). Go to Jan's website to check her schedule to see if she's making an appearance near you or somewhere you'd like to travel to (like the sequoias or the canyons of the southwest or Jan's own retreat house on a beautiful lake in up-state New York). You can learn more about Jan and her books, CDs and DVDs while you're there, and sign up for her inspiring Museletter while you're at it.
Hope has taught "Color the Numbers: Your Book's Business Plan" for the last two years at the IWWG annual conference. Hope's CPA firm, The Arcadian Group LLC, works with small businesses and authors, to help develop a business plan that can make the most of your talent and product.
http://thearcadiangroupcpa.com/index.htm
Carren teaches two classes at the IWWG conference, "The Smart Writer's Guide: What to Know Before, During and after Writing a Book" and "Improving Your Photography for Fun and Profit." I really enjoyed the photography workshop the year I participated. Carren is also the author of the ground-breaking Married Women Who Love Women , now in its second edition.
http://carrenstrock.com/
Mingmei is an amazing woman—so many talents wrapped up in one slender package. I really loved her debut novel, Peach Blossom Pavilion, which is one of the absolute best debut novels I have ever read. Her second novel is Petals from the Sky, a Buddhist, interracial love story set in Hong Konk, China, Manhattan, and Paris. I have already put in an order to get a copy the day it is released (which my indie store says is slated for 3/1/10). Mingmei teaches Tai Chi at the IWWG conference. She recently performed calligraphy and qin music at Carnegie hall in a celebration of Chinese heritage and culture.
http://www.mingmeiyip.com
I met and wrote with Miriam at NaNo write-ins in Moscow, Idaho. She's fun to write with and fun to read. She has a book coming out soon, and you can find out more in her blog. If you need things to make you laugh, poke around in Miriam's archives and you will certainly find some.
http://msforster.blogspot.com/
Sonia is in my freewriting group, and watching her writing grow over the years has been a pleasure. Sonia has a real talent for taking the absurd and mundane and making it warm and funny. Sometimes you don't know whether to laugh or cry, but laughter usually wins out in the end. Her interweave of fact and fancy is often funny, but there is plenty of guts and heart and wit under the fun. Sonia often makes me laugh, but she usually makes me think, too.
http://myfirstlaunch.blogspot.com/
The IWWG is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. All levels of experience are welcome and can gain from guild membership, and no portfolio is required to join. I have had the amazing good fortune to attend the June annual "Remember the Magic" conference at Skidmore College in upstate New York (which appears to be moving to Brown University in early August, but that's all the information I have at present) for the past four years, and I have gained a tremendous amount by doing so, both in workshops (around sixty-five choices each day!) and in the chance to connect with other writers and visionaries and women in the publishing business. I have also attended the Spring Conference in the California Redwoods on two occasions; it is a quietly thrilling event, dynamic but peaceful. The Guild sponsors conferences and workshops in other regions of the U.S., too.
The quarterly member newsletter, Network, which includes market information as well as member news, is also useful, and I hear through the grapevine that the website is getting revamped and will be including more interactive ways for members to connect, which will make a good deal even better. In areas with a high enough concentration of members, the IWWG also helps facilitate connection for the purpose of forming writing groups.
I'm proud to be a member and regional representative for the IWWG, and I encourage women everywhere to join and attend one or more of the conferences if you possibly can. That annual conference is the most inspiring event I have ever attended.
http://iwwg.org/
I have to spend too much time writing now to have very much time for writing forums, but I feel I gained a lot from the time I spent on FM (posting as SharonID), and I met some wonderful people and fine writers there. You must register to see and post to the best forums on FM, but registration is free and painless and protects your right of first publication. You can read more about Forward Motion on my Fiction page. I give Forward Motion top marks.
http://www.fmwriters.com/
Another friendly writers-helping-writers forum, this one compliments of Orson Scott Card and hosted by Kathleeen Dalton Woodbury. You must register to participate but anyone can view—Hatrack handles the first publication writes protection by limiting posts to 13 lines of original work. You can read more about my experience on the Hatrack forums on my Fiction page.
http://www.hatrack.com/writers/
This site has a new general writer's Discussion Forum as well as a lot of Groups on which to exchange information on various aspects or genres of writing. I've been spending a little time on the Fiction group and the general discussion forum, and folks are friendly. I do not consider these forums a safe place to post original work (except, perhaps, in very small snippets a là Hatrack), because the forums are not password-protected. A password is only needed to post, not to read, which also means posts will show up in internet searches. Even so,I have seen some good discussions in my time there, and almost all of the people are friendly and helpful.
http://writersdigest.ning.com/
— "Promoting good writing and clear thinking in and about the West"
I haven't been to any Fishtrap events yet, but the only reason I haven't is tight finances. If I could do one thing in addition to the IWWG conference, it would be something at Fishtrap. It's a beautiful spot, in the Wallowa Lake region of NE Oregon, close enough for me to drive, and the various conferences and opportunities there sound wonderful. For people who live in the West and Northwest, Fishtrap sounds well worth checking out, and if my finances ever improve I'll be headed down that way myself.
http://www.fishtrap.org/
Duotrope is a tremendous market resource for writers of fiction and poetry. Sign up for their free weekly newsletter(s) and search the site for markets for your work or interesting contests to enter. This is a free resource, but donate at least a little if you possibly can to support this treasure trove.
http://www.duotrope.com/
Independent bookstores do more for authors than any other type of book sale venue. They have more readings, they give more new authors a shot, they keep new books on the shelves for more than a week or two, and more. If yours is anything like mine, they will even know how to congratulate you on your latest rejection as well as your latest success. If you are a writer, buying books from Amazon or large chains should be your last resort, not your first choice. If you don't know if you have an indie near you, check the list, and if you are still lucky enough to have one nearby, go there for your books (most indies are very helpful when it comes to ordering books they don't have in stock, and they pay the shipping, not you) and get to know the folks who run the store, so you can set up an event (indies love events!) for your book when it comes out.
http://www.newpages.com/bookstores/
— "A list of free reference sites useful to writers."
Not just the obvious, writing related sites but also sites for various types of information and research of interest to writers.
http://www.writers-free-reference.com/
This site offers a wealth of resource for writers. Cruise the site for market, contest, grant information, and sage advice. Sign up for the shorter free newsletters or purchase an inexpensive paid subscription to Hope's "TOTAL", a biweekly e-newsletter that delivers 75+ markets (that pay $.20 per word or more), grants, contests, publishers, jobs, agents and other advice and information to help your writing career. E-publications save paper and trees and pollution, so quality e-resources such as Hope's are a green way to go. You can make our planet and your wallet greener at the same time.
Hope's site gets my special service kudos for its contribution to young writers. On the Funds for Writers' WritingKid page, young writers (through college age—some of the opportunities involve scholarships) can read the latest issue of "WritingKid" to see what new markets, contests, or scholarships Hope has come up with to tell you about. You can also sign up to have "WritingKid" delivered to your email box, free of charge, and there is a link an archive of past editions. Some of the contests may be over (though some may be annual and come around again), but you will certainly find some market information if you go through back issues. I am foursquare for encouraging kids to write and treating their efforts with respect. Hope gets five flashing gold stars from me for this page and the free newsletter. Funds for Writers deserves its spot on the Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers" list. Don't miss this terrific resource if you don't already know about it, and if you haven't been there in a while, check in to see what might be new.
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/
A great story, well-told, will likely help sales more than anything (and the author does not necessarily get to pick the title for publication) , but this is fun to play with.
http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/
If you are an independent author with a story (or nonfiction work) involving horses, this online independent bookstore is a place that may help you market them. If you like to read stories or nonfiction involving horses, this is a good place to find them. Sharon Kay Roberts has set up a very interesting site and opportunity for horse-loving readers and writers.
http://www.horse-books-pony-stories.com/
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Cowgirl Call to Action! Help for Haiti! Operation Matènwa!
