NEWS & EVENTS: WCCW
There is so much happening at White County Creative Writers among our members and our friends. Here’s some information about recent news and scheduled events, as well as other activities of interest.
By the way, if you have a newsy announcement to add to this page, please let us know.
LOOKING AHEAD
June 14, 2025 | White County Creative Writers Conference
This year’s conference will be held at the White County Extension Service Building. Sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. Make plans to attend! Full details here.
May 26, 2025 | Monday. WCCW Meeting. 6:30 p.m.
April 28, 2025 | Monday. WCCW Meeting. 6:30 p.m.
MARCH 2025
March 24, 2025 | Monday. WCCW Meeting. 6:30 p.m.
Program: Bring a Drabble you’ve written to read to the group. Here are some notes on writing a Drabble, along with some Drabble examples. We hope to see you there! (Here are the meeting details.)
TERRY ENGEL WINS PROSE COMPETITION
March 3, 2025. Congratulations to Terry Engel, winner of Wolfson Press’ Prose Competition for his novel, ARTIFACTS — a riveting story about a conflict between two brothers who have taken very different paths in life, starting from the same point as anti-government survivalists in the American west.
Terry’s book will be published later this year.
FEBRUARY 2025
WCCW MEETING
February 24, 2025. We had a great meeting tonight with 28 present. Don Money led a discussion focusing on strategies for writing a Drabble.
JANUARY 2025
WCCW MEETING
January 27, 2025. We had a wonderful meeting with 23 in attendance. We met in our new location at Community Bank in Searcy, 800 E Race. The room is bigger, more comfortable, and better suited to our growing group.
Our program consisted of a discussion of the resources we find most helpful in our journey as writers. We also talked about 5 ways to make this year the best writing year ever.
GEMINGA CONTEST
January 6, 2025. Sunspot Lit’s Geminga contest honors the power of micro poetry, prose, and art. There are no restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less. Submissions may be excerpts from longer works.
Contest deadline is January 31. Entry fee: $5. Prize: $100 cash and publication. See guidelines and entry form here.
WCCW WRITERS FEATURED IN NEW ISSUE
January 3, 2025. The winter issue Saddlebag Dispatches magazine contains two stories by WCCW members.
Anthony Wood has a feature story titled “Will the Real Zorro Please Stand Up?” and Don Money has a short story titled “Gold in Hand, Blood in the War.”
So, pour yourself a steaming cup from the camp pot, settle in by the fire, and experience the very best in Western storytelling with this milestone issue!
BREEZEEL’S NEW BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE
January 1, 2025. WCCW Member Gary Breezeel has a new collection of short stories published, titled Off the Wall — Fantastical Fiction, Fractured Fairy Tales, and Friendly Phantoms. It’s a treasure trove of short stories featuring animals with human-like characteristics, fractured fairy tales and legends, ghosts, magic, supernatural phenomena, and a taste of history as it never was.
Off the Wall is available in ebook and paperback format. Both are available from Amazon and other online booksellers.
DECEMBER 2024
WCCW CHRISTMAS PARTY
December 16, 2024. More than 30 members, spouses, significant others, and children came to our Christmas party at the Carmichael Center. There was plenty of great food and wonderful fellowship, along with our traditional Mystery Read Around, which more than a dozen took part in. Thanks to all for making 2024 another great year for White County Creative Writers!
NOVEMBER 2024
WCCW MEETING
November 18, 2024 | WCCW Meeting. We had a great November meeting with more than 20 in attendance in spite of the miserable weather. The program consisted of group read around of last month’s assignment: a Western story.
WCCW MEMBER WINS OWL CONTEST
November 15, 2024. Don Money had a story win first place in the Ozark Writers League 2024 Writing Contest, in the Growing Up Rural contest category. The story was “On a Bank with Pawpaw.” Winners were announced at the Fall Conference in Branson on November 2. Congratulations Don!
OCTOBER 2024
WCCW MEETING
October 21, 2024 | WCCW Meeting. We had a wonderful October meeting 20 in attendance. The program, led by Rhonda Roberts and Gary Rodgers, was in how to write a short story — specifically, from Gary’s perspective, how to write a western. We had a great discussion. The assignment for next month is to write a western story. 750 words.
OZARK CREATIVE WRITERS CONFERENCE
October 10-12, 2024 | Ozark Creative Writers Conference. Eureka Springs, AR. WCCW was well-represented at the Ozark Conference this year.
In addition to Gary Rodgers and Kimberly Vernon Rodgers leading a creative session, the following WCCW members (pictured above) were in attendance.
(l to r) Jodi Whitehurst, Rick Houston, Lil Stephens, Rhonda Roberts, Bambi George, Don Money, Kim Vernon, Gary Rodgers, Shirley Howard, Anthony Wood, Ellen Withers.
DON MONEY TAKES FIRST PLACE
October 7, 2024. WCCW member Don Money had a story win first place in the 2024 Kansas Authors Club Literary Contest in the Memoir category. The story title was “Last One on the Line.” Congratulations Don!
DEL GARRETT PUBLISHED AGAIN
October 1, 2024 | WCCW member Del Garrett’s Civil War Story, Preparing for Battle, was published today by a group called Life Is a Trip and is featured on the Life Is a Trip Podcast, where Del’s story is read by Chris Rogers. Click here to listen to Del’s story.
SEPTEMBER 2024
COZY MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY
September 27, 2024. Del Garrett’s Raven’s Inn Press will publish a cozy mystery anthology in 2025. The deadline for submissions is February 28, 2025. If you want your cozy mystery story to be considered for inclusion in this volume, just send a note to Del (prowriter001@yahoo.com) and he’ll send you a list of guidelines.
SEPTEMBER WCCW MEETING
September 16, 2024. We had a good September meeting, with 20 in attendance in spite of the dreary weather. Our program was a read-around. Our next meeting is scheduled for October 21.
DON MONEY TAKES FIRST PLACE
September 13, 2024. Don Money recently won first place in a writing contest sponsored by the Alabama Writers Cooperative. It was the David Eulin White Award, which is given in memory of Major General David Eulin White, a two-star Army General and an avid reader who appreciated all genres. The entry’s topic was to be military history, military fiction, or military memoir. Don’s entry was titled “Those Stars Back Home.”
NEW PROJECT BY ANTHONY WOOD
September 5, 2024. A message from WCCW President Anthony Wood:
To all my good friends and faithful readers, I’ve been working on a secret passion project that’s different from anything else I’ve ever written, and I’m almost ready to share it with you. Please stay tuned for more. Coming soon!
DEL GARRETT RELEASES NEW BOOK IN SERIES
September 3, 2024. Del Garrett has added another title to his Felix Nash collection. This is volume number five in the pulp-fiction style series about a Bay area private eye. This one’s titled The Case of Nash With the Cash. It’s available at Amazon.
AUGUST 2024
WCCW WRITERS CONFERENCE
August 31, 2024 (Saturday) 29th Annual White County Creative Writers Conference. This year’s conference was a big success with more than 80 in attendance. Here are the details. You can also view pictures of the conference on our Facebook page.
WCCW WRITERS FEATURED IN NEW ISSUE
August 27, 2024 Three WCCW members are featured in the August 2024 issue of Saddlebag Dispatches.
Don Money and Gary Rogers each have stories. Also included is a poem by John McPherson.
The accompanying anthology — Lungers, Lawdogs, and Legends — features a story by Anthony Wood.
NEW INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE IN CONWAY
August 22, 2024. If you’re a local author, Bean’s Books in Conway wants to promote you! In September they’ll begin sponsoring a number of author-focused activities: Readings, book signings, and other opportunities to highlight Central Arkansas writers. They’re eager to work with you to get your work featured in their store. If you’re an author, message them on Facebook and start planning your special event!
AUGUST MEETING
August 19, 2024. We had 28 present in our August meeting. As always, there was much great discussion as we talked about the ins and outs of publishing — going the traditional route vs. self-publishing. Thanks to all in attendance!
JULY 2024
WRITER CONTEST DEADLINE
Wednesday July 31, 2024. We All entries to our Writers Contests must be postmarked no later than July 31, 2024. Note: we don’t have to receive your entries by this date, but the envelope must be postmarked on or before July 31.
JULY MEETING. July 15, 2024. We had 20 present in our July meeting, with lots of great discussion and group participation. The read around assignment was to write a story employing a list, as was taught at the June meeting by Dr. Terry Engel.
JUNE 2024
June 17, 2024 The June Meeting. WCCW had a wonderful meeting this month, with 20 in attendance. The program was led by Dr. Terry Engel. We discussed the use of lists in literature.
June 1, 2024 Arkansas Writers Conference. This year’s conference was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in North Little Rock. (4100 Glover Lane). A high note: WCCW President Anthony Wood was inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame. The disappointing news was that after 80 years of hosting writers conferences, this year’s conference would be the last for AWC.
MAY 2024
Congratulations Anthony!
WCCW Meeting: Monday May 20.
May 20, 2024. 6:30 p.m. Another great meeting, though attendance was down just a little bit; we have some folks under the weather. The assignment this time was to bring a sample of your best (or favorite) writing — an excerpt from one of your books, or a short story, poem, essay, memoir … a 2 page piece of something you consider your most remarkable work, and share it in the group read around.
WCCW Writer Wins Contests in OKC
May 11, 2024. Congratulations to Don Money who had a few stories placed at the Oklahoma Writers Federation Annual Conference that took place on May 2-4 in Oklahoma City. Don came away with two 1st place short stories in Young Adult and Juvenile categories. He also received 2nd place in Humor Prose and 3rd place in the Personal Blog category. Way to go, Don!
Lollapalooza Stories Cajun Style
May 3, 2024. Down in the swamp land near Opelousas, Louisiana, Big Momma reins supreme as the Hoodoo queen. Lolopalooza Stories deal with the everyday goings on of the folks who live in the backwater area, among the alligators and other critters. Crime doesn’t pay. When a gypsy woman moves in trying to take over Big Momma;s crown, she finds that task not so easy when Big Momma casts her evil eye on the intruder.
Arkansas Hall of Fame writer Del Garrett has released a new series of stories: Lollapalooza Stories Cajun Style. You will love them. Available on Amazon.
APRIL 2024
April WCCW Meeting.
April 15, 2024. We had another wonderful meeting Monday night. There were 29 members and guests in attendance. The program was a read around of stories, poems, and memoirs based on prompts that were passed out at a previous meeting. Lots of snacks and lots of friendly conversation. It was a great time, as always.
Our next meeting is scheduled for May 20. See above for details and assignment.
WCCW’s Busiest Writer!
April 2, 2024 | 
Don Money has four short stories coming out in three different anthologies this month in both paperback and e-book format. They are:
1) Calling and Enter the Spider in Drabbledark III (Shacklebound Books)
2) Court Martial of ARS-23C in Programmed Hearts (Shacklebound Books)
3) Pick Up Line in Soulmate Syndrome: Box Full of Darkness (Wicked Shadow Press)
Don also had 2 stories (On a Bank With Pawpaw and Last One on the Line) win a 2nd and 3rd place award in the Abilene Writers Guild Annual Contest.
And he had another story (Hell’s Marshal) earned an honorable mention a recent L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest with entries coming from all over the world. By the way, L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience.
Congratulations Don!
MARCH 2024
Tom Lee Poetry & Spoken Word Contest.
March 31, 2024 (CONTEST DEADLINE) The Memphis River Parks Partnership is sponsoring a Poetry Contest which invites students in Shelby County TN and adults in Tennessee, Arkansas or Mississippi to create poetry for the third annual Tom Lee Poetry Contest. The work should be inspired by the themes of courage, kindness, selflessness and generosity. Winners receive cash prizes, public recognition and opportunities to perform their work on Tom Lee Day (May 8). Entry deadline is March 31. Contest details can be found here.
Anthony Wood speaks to Oklahoma Writers.
March 19, 2024. Anthony Wood spoke about the nuances of writing historical fiction to the Oklahoma-based group Tulsa NightWriters.
March WCCW Meeting.
March 18, 2024. We had a wonderful meeting Monday night with 31 in attendance. Lots of good discussion talking about where we find our motivation to write.
Kim & Gary Release New Book.
March 6, 2024. WCCW members Kimberly Vernon Rodgers and Gary Rodgers have released a new collection of award-winning animal stories. The title is Favorite Animal Stories: Award Winning Animal Stories. It is available in print and kindle format at Barnes & Noble. The print version will also be available at area conferences. Congratulations Kim and Gary on your new release!
FEBRUARY 2024
February WCCW Meeting.
February 19, 2024. Another great meeting with 26 guests and members in attendance. More than a dozen participated in our read around, which was followed by a presentation from Barry Brown on how we can expand our horizons — and further develop our skills — in our pursuit to write effectively. Thanks, Barry, for a great job!
WCCW Member Book Signing.
February 10, 2024 (Saturday) WCCW Member Debbie Archer is having a book signing at the Barnes & Noble Grand Opening in Jonesboro, for her book Pocket Change.
The event begins at 10:00 a.m. and lasts until 1:00 p.m. B&N is located at 2300 Highland Drive in Jonesboro.
Del Garrett Releases New Book.
February 8, 2024. WCCW member Del Garrett, who is also a member of the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame, has released a new book titled Wanted Dead or Alive? which explores the question: Did Jesse James fake his own death?
From the description:
We know how he lived, but do we really know how he died? Isn’t it conceivable that Jesse, a known mastermind, would have entrusted someone close to him to help set up a false tale to take the heat off the attempt to find and bring to justice America’s most inventive outlaw?
Wanted Dead or Alive? is available in paperback from Amazon.
WCCW Members Publish eBook Collection.
February 3, 2024. Eight award-winning authors, all members of White County Creative Writers group, share tales of adventure in the American frontier in this collection of historical fiction set in the 19th century.
Tales of the Western Trail reflects the strength and resilience of the men and women who lived in that time, and the struggles they often faced.
Contributors include: Gary Breezeel, Del Garrett, Don Money, Rhonda Roberts, Gary Rodgers, Kimberly Vernon, Ellen E. Withers, and Anthony Wood. This volume is available at Amazon and other eBook outlets.
JANUARY 2024
WCCW WINTER CONTEST WINNER.
January 24, 2024. The winner of our Winter Story Prompt Contest is Shirley Howard. Her entry Mushroom Madness was awarded 1st Place. She received a certificate, a cash prize of $25, and free registration to our 2024 Conference.
Her prompt was: “You’re lost in the woods, starving. Without thinking, you eat a weird mushroom you found. What happened?”
Her story was entertaining and well written. Congratulations, Shirley, and thanks to all who entered our contest!
January WCCW Meeting .
January 22, 2024. We had a great meeting Monday night. 17 were in attendance. Rhonda led the program; the discussion was focused on our individual writing goals and plans for the coming year.
ANTHONY WOOD: ARKANSAS WRITERS’ HALL OF FAME
January 18, 2023 At least one writer is named to the Arkansas Writers’ Hall of Fame each year. To be eligible, an author must have a strong Arkansas connection and must have published at least three books, won a significant literary award, or demonstrated exceptional writing ability.
We are proud to announce to that this year’s choice is WCCW Member Anthony Wood! He will be inducted in June at the Arkansas Writers’ Conference.
Anthony joins other WCCW Hall of Fame members Dot Hatfield and Del Garrett. Congrats to Anthony!
Remembering Patsy Pipkin.
January 15, 2024. We are sad to announce that Patsy Pipkin, a long time member of WCCW, passed away on January 14 after a long illness. Her memorial service will be held January 24 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe. There will be visitation at 1:00. Here is Patsy’s obituary.
DECEMBER 2023
CONTEST DEADLINE APPROACHING
December 31, 2023 All entries to our winter contest must be postmarked by this date. (This is a special contest for those who attended this year’s conference.) Click here for details.
WCCW Member Receives Honorable Mention
December 13, 2023. Don Money’s story, Specter of Death, was voted an honorable mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest for the 4th Quarter of 2023. The contest receives entries from all over the United States and worldwide. L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new writers of science fiction and fantasy to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience.
WCCW Christmas Party
December 11, 2023. We had a great Christmas party this year with more than 30 in attendance, including members and spouses. The party was held at Daisy’s Lunch Box in downtown Searcy, and the meal was great!
After the plates were cleared, we had a special read around: the stories we brought were collected and re-distributed among the members, and after each reading the group guessed who wrote each piece. So many surprises! More than 20 stories and poems were read — funny, uplifting, thought-provoking and surreal. What a talented bunch. Thanks to Daisy’s Lunch Box and to Rhonda Roberts for making this a great event!
Anthony Wood Book Signing
December 5, 2023. Anthony Wood was featured at the Choctaw Library Open House (Ackerman, MS) yesterday, where he signed books and discussed his work.
NOVEMBER 2023
Another Great Meeting!
November 20, 2023. 6:30. We had 20 attend our November meeting — this is great, considering the bad weather. The program was led by Don Money, focusing on Writing to Get Published. Don has had much success in this area and had much to offer in the way of tips and advice.
Anthony Wood Book Signing Today and Tomorrow
November 15-16, 2023. The Carroll County (MS) Library and the Viaden Public Library will each host a book signing for WCCW member Anthony Wood. The Carroll County event is November 15 at 10:00 a.m. The Vaiden Public Library event is November 16 at 6:00 p.m. He will be presenting all four of his books in his historical fiction series A Tale of Two Colors, including the recently released The Storm That Carries Me Home. Good luck, Anthony!
WCCW Members Stand Out at OWL
November 6, 2023. WCCW members Kim Vernon Rodgers and Gary Rodgers attended the 40th Annual Ozark Writers League (OWL) Fall Conference in Branson during the last weekend of October. Member Alyssa Darby also entered contests but was unable to attend.
The three members brought home 15 awards.
Alyssa Darby won 3 first place and 2 third place awards.
Kim Vernon Rodgers won 3 first place and 2 third place awards.
Gary Rodgers won a second place, 2 third place and two honorable mentions!
Congratulations Gary, Alyssa, and Kim!
OCTOBER 2023
Alyssa Darby wins the Sybil Nash Abrams Award
October 30, 2023. Congratulations to WCCW member Alyssa Darby, who won the Sybil Nash Abrams Award at the recent Poetry Day event sponsored by Poets Rountable of Arkansas. In addition to this prestigious award, Alyssa received four honorable mentions, a second place prize, and four first place prizes. Way to go Alyssa!
Another First Place for Gary Rodgers
October 24, 2023. Gary Rodgers won First place in Short Story from the 2023 Alabama Writer’s Cooperative for his story “Raised on Diamonds.” Congratulations Gary!
Another Great Meeting!
October 16, 2023. (Monday) We had 26 in attendance at our meeting in October. The program, led by Terry Engels, discussed various facets of screenplay writing. (Terry teaches a screenplay writing course at Harding University.) We also watched a presentation of Terry’s short film: Second Childhood.
Ozark Creative Writers Conference.
October 12-14, 2023. This weekend Ozark Creative Writers sponsored the Writing in the Ozarks Conference, which featured Jane Friedman and Jeff Shaara. The Conference was held in Eureka Springs, AR. (Here are some details.)
7 people affiliated with WCCW attended the conference: Don Money, Kim Vernon, Gary Rodgers, Anthony Wood, Shirley Howard, Rick Houston, & Jodi Whitehurst. The group took 21 awards total.
Don Money won 6 first place awards and a second place award. Kim Vernon won 2 first place awards 5 second place awards and a third place award. Gary Rodgers won a first, second and third place award, with 2 honorable mentions. And Jodi Whitehurst won a first place award. Congratulations to our writers!
Don Money’s Stupefying Story
October 6, 2023. Don Money’s story “Department of Murderous Vixens” was published in Issue No. 26 of Stupefying Stories. The Kindle version of the publication was released October 1. The printed version of the magazine will be available later this month. This issue of Stupefying Stories broke into the Amazon Kindle Top 100 in three categories: science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This story also received first place in the WCCW contest: Death & Dismemberment at the DMV. You can find a copy of the magazine here at Amazon.
SEPTEMBER 2023
Dot Hatfield published in ASUB Magazine
September 28, 2023. Dot Hatfield’s article “Finding My Voice” is in this semester’s issue of Uncharted, a magazine published by ASU Beebe journalism and photography departments. (The article can be found on page 35.)
Notes on the September Meeting
September 18, 2023. Another great meeting! We had 28 in attendance, including several first and second time guests! It was so good to see everyone. Our program was a group read around in which many members read pieces that had been entered in the WCCW contests. Others, including some of our newer members, also brought stories and poems to read. Del Garrett even contributed a song he had written, though, sadly, he didn’t sing it to us; he just read it. Thanks to all who participated. This group has more talent than can be measured!
WCCW Member published in Stygian Lepus
September 15, 2023. Don Money’s story “Soul of Rock” was published in Stygian Lepus: Edition 6 (August 2023). The story is his fifth to be published with the magazine. Until recently, Stygian Lepus has been an online-only publication, but now they are making all all of their back issues available in print. Here’s a link to Don’s story.
Anthony Wood Book Signing
September 9, 2023. We’re posting this now, but the event took place last month.
The Choctaw County Library System hosted an Author Talk with WCCW Member Anthony Wood on Thursday, August 24, 2023, in Ackerman, Mississippi. He spoke about how his historical fiction series, A Tale of Two Colors, came about and the story of his 2G uncle and Choctaw County ancestor, Columbus “Lummy” Nathan Tullos, who lived through the troubled times surrounding the Civil War. He enjoyed fielding questions and signing books, especially his latest release, The Storm that Carries Me Home, that brings Lummy back to his hometown of Bankston, Mississippi during the Civil War at the time when Union soldiers burned the factories located there.
Anthony said, “Having a book signing in the county that my ancestors pioneered and where the story of Lummy Tullos begins, was nothing short of exhilarating.”
Creative Writer Newsletter, September 2023
September 6, 2023. The WCCW September 2023 Creative Writer Newsletter has been released. If you subscribe, it should arrive in your inbox in a day or two. Or you can read it here, online. It contains notes about the recent conference, our upcoming meeting, and a Member Spotlight on James Gabel.
28th Annual WCCW Conference
September 2, 2023. Our 28th Annual White County Creative Writers Conference was a big success by every measurable standard! More than 60 attendees participated in 5 sessions led by Linda Apple and Clarissa Willis. Plus, there was an afternoon read-around … and a great lunch! You can find out more about it on the Conference page. We also announced all Contest Winners, and have posted the results on the Contest page.
You can view pictures of the event here and here.
Member Spotlight: September
September 1, 2023. This month our member spotlight features an excerpt from James Gabel’s upcoming novel Fire and Lace. You can read it here.
AUGUST 2023
Notes on the August Meeting
August 21, 2023. We had 32 in attendance at our August meeting, including several first time guests! It was so good to see everyone. The program was led by Lisa Lindsey, focusing on character and story arc building. This was our final meeting before this year’s Conference, which will be held September 2.
Illinois Poetry Contest
August 10, 2023. The Illinois State Poetry Society is sponsoring a series of contests through October 31, 2023. The cost for entry is $10 for 8 poems. Here are the complete details.
WCCW Member Spotlight
August 1, 2023. This month our Member Spotlight is Dr. Rebecca Foster, featuring the award-winning short story, Simpler Times.
JULY 2023
Siloam Springs Writers Conference
July 22, 2023. WCCW Member (and Poets Roundtable of Arkansas President) John McPherson will be one of the featured speakers at the Siloam Springs Writers Guild’s Fifth Summer Writers Conference. The conference will be held at First Baptist Church, Siloam Springs. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. Other speakers include Paul Linzy and Sharon Rose Gibson. Registration is $45. For complete details, visit their website.
Notes on the July Meeting
July 17, 2023. There were 22 members and guests in attendance at our July meeting. In addition to great conversation and the friendly banter that takes place when writers get together, we had a discussion on how to add the element of inspiration to any genre of writing. We also spent some time critiquing a short story by Lisa Lindsey.
Anthology Features WCCW Member Don Money
July 13, 2023. The Book of Drabbles, a new anthology release from Shacklebound Books, features 4 short stories from WCCW member Don Money The stories are “Nano-terato”, “Reckoning”, “Red Ice”, and “Sandbar Sirens.”
Saddlebag Dispatches: Summer Issue
July 12, 2023. The Summer 2023 issue of Saddlebag Dispatches magazine is out which includes our own Anthony Wood’s short fiction entitled, “Blood of My Birth,” part one of the story of Rainy Mills, a major character in his historical fiction series, A Tale of Two Colors.
Anthony also has a feature article in this issue about the importance of Fort Dodge in the founding of Dodge City, “No Fort Dodge, No Dodge City.“
Anthony serves as Managing Editor for the award winning western magazine. Take a peek at this issue at and then order your copy today!
New Release from Ellen E. Withers
July 3, 2023. Congratulations to WCCW member Ellen E. Withers with the release of her novel Show Me Betrayal.
Here’s the story: Two deaths occur decades apart. Is it possible these deaths are related? What motivates a killer, who got away with murder sixty years ago, to kill again? Was it uncontrollable rage or the hope of silencing someone who fit all the puzzle pieces together and deduced who committed the crime?
Set in the picturesque town of Mexico, Missouri, Show Me Betrayal takes flight in words and emotions of rich characters woven together into a story you won’t want to put down.
Ellen says, “I wanted to incorporate the beautiful structures of my hometown of Mexico, Missouri in a mystery series. Each book in the series has a historical element and a present day storyline with elements of faith woven throughout.”
Show Me Betrayal is available at Amazon.
Honorable Mention PRA June Contest
July 2, 2023. Congratulations to Alyssa Darby, whose poem “The Step” received 1st Honorable Mention in the June Contest at Poets Roundtable of Arkansas. Also, congratulations to Donna Nelson, whose poem “A Sea of Sunflowers” received 2nd Honorable Mention in the June Contest. Way to go, Donna and Alyssa!
This month’s Member Spotlight
July 1, 2023. This month’s Member Spotlight features John McPherson and his award-winning poem Labor Day. Also, congratulations to John for being named Poetry Editor for Saddlebag Dispatches Magazine.
JUNE 2023
Saddelbag Dispatches Contest for Western Short Stories
June 29, 2023. Saddlebag Dispatches is sponsoring a new contest: the Longhorn Prize for Western short stories. Submissions are open until August 1, 2023. There’s no submission fee, and you can submit your entry online, via email. Winner receives $300 and will be published in the Winter 2023 issue. Just send your email submission to submissions@saddlebagdispatches.com, and include “LONGHORN SUBMISSION” in the subject line. (More details here.)
Another great meeting!
June 19, 2023. Once again we had 23 in attendance at our meeting this month, and what a great meeting it was! Several members read stories that had won or placed in an AWC contest. And then we group-critiqued a short story by Donna Nelson, breaking it down piece by piece.
Arkansas Writers Conference.
June 3, 2023 It was a great day at the AWC Conference in North Little Rock. There were about 50 in attendance, including a dozen WCCW members. Linda Apple (who will be speaking at our conference this year) was inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame. Congratulations Linda!
Several WCCW members won and/or placed in a number of contests. Our group winners include: Gary Breezeel, Del Garrett, Kim Vernon, Julia Zellner, Don Money, Peggy Sanders, Anthony Wood, Dot Hatfield, John McPherson, Gary Rodgers, and Mike Bass. Another standout performance for the members of WCCW! (You can find more details here.)
New Release from Anthony Wood
June 2, 2023. The fourth novel in Anthony Wood’s historical fiction series, A Tale of Two Colors, is out! In The Storm that Carries Me Home, Lummy Tullos exchanges his gray uniform for the blue to help end the War Between the States by enlisting in the 1st Mississippi Mounted Rifles. He made an oath. He switched sides to keep it. He just didn’t know it would lead him to his own hometown. Available wherever books are sold. Or you can contact Anthony to purchase a signed copy.
Member Spotlight / New Publication
June 1, 2023. A short story by WCCW member Don Money has been included in a new anthology by Shacklebound Books: Dread Space 2: 22 Dark Military Science Fiction Stories, available in print and Kindle versions. The story is titled Tenebris Auctus. Another story by Don, Tunnel Rat, is featured in this month’s Member Spotlight.
MAY 2023
R&W Publishing’s New Editor
May 19, 2023. We’re happy to announce that Lisa Lindsey recently became a line editor for Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates, where her obsession with grammar rules are put to good use. Congratulations Lisa!
Raven’s Inn Press Releases New Anthology
May 18, 2023. The Vault of Terror: Tales to Tell Vol. 5 — a collection of stories designed to tickle your spine while making your blood run cold — was recently released by Raven’s Inn Press. It features the work of several WCCW members, including Gary Breezeel, Dr. Rebecca Foster, Lisa Lindsey, John McPherson, Gary Rodgers, and Don Money, and Del Garrett. You can find it on Amazon.
Another Great Meeting!
May 15, 2023. Our May meeting was attended by 23 members and guests. The program, led by Donna Nelson and John McPherson, included a lesson on poetry basics, followed by a read around of poems brought by members.
Oklahoma Writers Federation Contest Award
May 8, 2023 . WCCW member Don Money took 3rd place in the Oklahoma Writers Federation 2023 Writing Contest. The awarded entry was a memoir titled Last One on the Line. OWF sponsors annual contests and hosts an annual writer’s conference each May.
Season Finale: WCCW Podcast
May 6, 2023. Podcast host Lisa Lindsey and guest host Jamie interview WCCW member Rhonda Roberts about her writing experience. At the same time, Rhonda interviews Jamie to get a kid’s thoughts on what makes a good story. This concludes Season Two of the WCCW Podcast. Next season begins in September! Visit the Podcast page.
Creative Writer Newsletter, May Edition
May 3, 2023. WCCW Press Secretary Del Garrett has released the newest issue of The Creative Writer, our group newsletter. Here’s the May issue. 30 p.m. You can view all newsletters from the past few years here.
Whispers in the Wind: Updated Edition
May 2, 2023. WCCW Press Agent and Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame member Del Garrett has recently republished his novel Whispers in the Wind: The Search for Jack the Ripper to include research footnotes for the material used in completing this investigation. This will help readers do their own research into this mystifying case. The updated version is available on Amazon.
Member Spotlight May 2023
May 1, 2023. Each month we spotlight a WCCW member, featuring a sample of their work. This month we spotlight Naomi Sechrest. You can view all recent spotlights here.
APRIL 2023
Our Poetry Winners
April 20, 2023 John McPherson won the Serious Verse Contest at the Spring Celebration sponsored by Poets Roundtable of Arkansas with an entry titled Godly Timing. Also, Alyssa Darby won second place in the PRA March Contest with her poem Dust. Congratulations John and Alyssa!
Another Great Meeting!
April 17, 2023. Our April meeting was attended by 23 members and guests. About a dozen writers shared their stories in a group read around. Then we folded conference brochures, ate lots of snacks, and took part in some great conversation! Here are some pictures.
Don Money’s New Story
April 10, 2023. WCCW member Don Money has been published again! The story, Protocol, appears in Martian Magazine, Issue #8. It will also be included in the year end anthology. Congratulations Don!
WCCW 2023 Writing Contests
April 5, 2023 The 2023 WCCW Contests are ready! You don’t have to be a member to enter as many contests as you like! Details here.
New Podcast Episode Released!
April 4 , 2023
The Gary & Gary Show. Gary Rodgers and Gary Breezeel share their secrets for winning contests. LISTEN HERE.
MARCH 2023
A New Contest from Tim Saunders Publications!
March 30, 2023. An exciting prize for emerging writers launched this day. The Paul Cave Prize for Literature invites submissions for all forms of poetry, flash fiction, short stories and even novellas up to 10,000 words. Entries close on September 30. Winners of each category will also receive a complimentary copy of The Paul Cave Prize for Literature 2023 book. More information can be found here.
WCCW Member is Published … Again!
March 28, 2023. Congratulations to Don Money who has just had three new stories published in the recently released anthology Dark Stars. The stories — titled Sunset Cruise, Wrong One, and Void Madness — are each 100 words in length. Congratulations Don!
WCCW Member is a Contest Winner!
March 22, 2023. Donna Nelson, who serves as secretary for White County Creative Writers, won first prize in the Poet’s Roundtable of Arkansas February contest. The name of her winning entry is Enduring Winter Weather. The type of poem entered was a Hexaduad — a 12-line poem compromised of rhymed couplets. Congratulations Donna!
A Great March Meeting!
March 20, 2023. We had 25 in attendance for our March Meeting. The program, led by Donna Nelson and John McPherson, featured a review on the basic elements of poetry, as well as guidelines for those who critique and judge contests. The follow up assignment to this meeting: write a poem of any style for the May Meeting read around. More details here.
WCCW Member Published in Troopers Quarterly
March 8, 2023. A short story written by WCCW Member Don Money was recently published in Troopers, a quarterly publication devoted to military science fiction. The story is titled Sentinel. Troopers Quarterly is available in Kindle format at Amazon.
Dot Hatfield’s New Column
March 5, 2023
Dot Hatfield, a member of the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame since 2020, is now a contributing columnist for the Beebe News. Her opinion column (op-ed) “As I See It” appears monthly in the hometown weekly newspaper.
New Podcast Episode Released!
March 4 , 2023
Getting Paid to Lie. Listen to WCCW Podcast host Lisa Lindsey talk about the process of writing fiction. LISTEN HERE.
FEBRUARY 2023
A New Book from Del Garrett!
February 27, 2023. Del Garrett has released the fourth book in Felix Nash, Private Detective, series.
Introducing Felix Nash launched Del’s hard boiled private detective series in March 2022. Nash’s adventures continued with The Case of the Deadly Dame in May, and The Case of the Stolen Jade Buddha in July.
For 2023, Garrett just published The Case of the Bloody Butcher, available at Amazon.
“My first book grew out of a short story I’d written for a contest. It won 1st Place,” Garrett said. “I liked the character so well that I decided to introduce Felix Nash as a novella-length private eye series.”
Avoiding the usual suave, sophisticated gentleman private investigator type, Garrett’s depiction is a more gritty, in your face, down and dirty ex-soldier, ex-cop who barely gets by on his bills, using his cheap apartment as his office and taking whatever cases he can find just to survive.
Garrett said he didn’t know how far his Felix Nash series will take him. “I’ll write (about Nash) until I run out of ideas,” he said.
You can view Del’s profile page here.
Another Great Meeting!
February 20, 2023. We had a great turnout at the February meeting, with 21 in attendance. After some conversation and taking a little time to get to know our guests, Anthony Wood led the program — a presentation packed with ideas about how to judge / evaluate / critique a short story. The follow-up assignment is to write a 500 word short story that will be read in the April meeting. See our meeting schedule here.
Valentine Contest Winners Announced!
February 10, 2023. WCCW sponsored two Valentine Contests this year, and the winners have been announced. Congratulations to Peggy Sanders for winning 1st place in the Prose Contest, and to Mike Bass for 1st place in the Poetry Contest. And thanks to all who entered! You can read the full contest details here.
New Podcast Episode!
February 4, 2023
Supporting Local Authors. Find out how you, the reader, are needed to help small press/local authors. LISTEN HERE.
DECEMBER 2022
The WCCW Christmas Party, 2022 Edition!
December 12, 2022. We had a wonderful time at the 2022 WCCW Christmas party on December 12. More than 35 people were there, including kids and spouses. The party was held at Daisy’s Lunchbox on the Court Square in Search — and the food was amazing.
After the meal, we took part in a read around. More than a dozen members shared their stories and poetry, with everyone guessing who wrote which piece. No question about it: there are a lot of talented people in this group!
You can view pictures of the Christmas Party on our Facebook page.
NOVEMBER 2022
Anthony Wood’s Third Novel Is Now Available!
November 2022. Tiree Press has announced the release of Peace Before the Second Storm, the third volume in Anthony Wood’s historical fiction novel series, A Tale of Two Colors.
A Will Rogers Medallion Award winning author whose work has been published in Saddlebag Dispatches, The Vault of Terror, and The Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poetry, Wood has also won a number of writing contests. He serves as Vice President for White County Creative Writers, Assistant Managing Editor for Saddlebag Magazine, and is a member of Oghma Creative Media’s Executive Board.
In Peace before the Second Storm, the main character Lummy Tullos travels to Winn Parish only to discover the real reason his wife Susannah died. After settling matters there, he returns to the home of his birth, Choctaw County. It is there he wrestles with what his next step should be—lead a quiet and secluded life or switch sides to help end the war. The adventure has really only begun.
The first two volumes in this series are White & Black, (released May 2021), and Gray & Blue, (released May 2022).
You can find Wood’s series on Amazon.com or wherever fine books are sold. Visit Anthony’s profile.
SEPTEMBER 2022
Kim Vernon’s Toolshed Suprise Has Been Released.
September 1, 2022. Young Dragons Press has released Toolshed Surprise, Kim Vernon’s picture book for children. It is available on Amazon.
The story: The last thing ten year old Timmy wants to do is go into the spooky old toolshed and get a shovel for his mom. Fearing snakes, spiders, and mice, the last thing he expects is a big hairy creature who is scared too. Who is this smelly creature? Can Timmy help him escape before his mother finds out?
Kim says, “I wrote the story about three years ago for a contest that called for Bigfoot stories. In 2020, Young Dragons Press sponsored a contest for a children’s story, so I made a few revisions and entered the story there. The story won first place, and they expressed interest in publishing it.
“Toolshed Surprise is a fun little story, with a subtle, kind message. The illustrations are bold and colorful, and overall, I think it is a beautiful book. I hope you’ll check it out.”