MWSA capped off its 2020 General Membership Conference with a live-streamed virtual awards banquet yesterday evening.
Visit our 2020 Season page to see a list of all book award winners along with our three special recognition award recipients.
Congratulations to our 2020 Season Awards Finalists
Click to see a list of the winners after the video announcement.
Everyone can now see the complete list of our 2020 finalists on our 2020 season page. That page also has links to our video announcement and press release.
Please “like,” comment, and share (both on our website and Facebook and our other social media outlets). Ask everyone you know to do the same. All those “engagements” help raise visibility for you, your book, and your MWSA.
Speaking of engagement, I’ll share a comment that I just posted to the Facebook video announcement of finalists. The note applies not only to our finalists but to all MWSA authors:
Please don't forget that your readers and fans can post comments to your book's listing on our website. When I updated all finalists' books to reflect their new status just now, I noticed that several of our finalists have comments posted to their book page on our website to which they hadn't responded.
Don't pass up this opportunity to connect with your readers! You should at least thank them for posting kind comments.
John Cathcart
Awards Director
MWSA Announcing our 2020 Season Awards Finalists
Click to see a list of the winners after the video announcement.
MWSA will present a live stream video announcement of our 2020 Season Awards Finalists this evening (Saturday, August 15, 2020), at 8 PM Eastern.
If you can’t join us for the live presentation, you can watch the recorded version on our main Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/live_videos/
You’ll also be able to find a list of finalists on our 2020 Season page shortly after the video airs.
As a reminder, being designated as a finalist means that the author has won a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal. We’ll reveal who won which medal on Saturday, September 19, 2020 (also at 8 PM Eastern).
Congratulations to our finalists!
August 2020 Blast
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Announcement of 2020 Awards Finalists
We'll be announcing our 2020 Awards Finalists this coming Saturday, August 15th at 8 PM Eastern. To join us--during this or any future live video broadcast--you can go to our website's new live video page:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/live-video
In the case of our announcement of finalists, you'll have to click on the blue button on that page to get to our Facebook page to watch the live video presentation. Even better, you can go directly to our main Facebook page's live video section:
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/live_videos/
If you visit the above link now, you'll notice that the video is set to premiere and start playing at the date and time mentioned above.
If you can't watch the presentation live, we'll be updating our 2020 Season page shortly after the live presentation airs so that everyone can see the list of finalists.
General Membership Conference
We are rapidly approaching the date for MWSA's annual general membership meeting and awards ceremony. As you know, we had to cancel this year's conference, but we still need to have a virtual membership meeting and an awards ceremony. In fact, what we have planned for you on Saturday, September 19, includes one additional offering, an online presentation by Dane Zeller that should enhance your writing skills.
So, please mark your calendars for September 19 for these online activities (all times are Eastern Daylight Time):
(1) 1 PM: the General Membership Meeting;
(2) 3 PM: Dane Zeller presentation on writing;
(3) 8 PM: MWSA's Awards Ceremony.
All of these will be on Zoom, and we will hopefully be able to broadcast the awards ceremony simultaneously on Facebook--using the same links in the section above covering our announcement of finalists this Saturday. While these times may fluctuate slightly, we will get them locked in and send all of you a link to attend/observe these presentations on Zoom as we get closer to the date.
MWSA Leadership Election
Additionally, we have one very important activity in which we need your participation as soon as possible. It is time to vote for MWSA's Officers and Board Members. Once again we have a strong slate of men and women candidates to serve in 2021 and 2022. Please go to the following link: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2020-board-member-election review the list of candidates and cast your votes NLT August 25. It's simple.
Change of Status for Lapsed Members
This is a special announcement that applies only to members whose dues expired more than one year ago and who are still receiving regular email communications from MWSA.
In the coming weeks, our membership staff will be converting long-term lapsed members' status from "1-Year Member, Lapsed Status" to "Associate Member, Lapsed Status." Since dues are not required to maintain associate membership status, those members who have their status changed will owe no dues and will continue to receive email communications from us.
One year after the start of your new associate member status, you'll have three options:
Renew as a regular, dues-paying member (1-, 2-, or 3-year membership term)
Renew your associate status (which will allow you to continue to receive our email updates for another year), or
Opt to let your associate membership expire (which will remove you from our email list and cancel your MWSA log-in).
We are making these changes to keep our membership database up-to-date, and to ensure that everyone receiving email updates from us really want to hear from us. If you do NOT wish to receive emails from MWSA, you can click on any of our emails' unsubscribe link or contact our membership staff (see link and email below).
For more details about MWSA's various membership levels and benefits, please visit the membership pages of our website (https://www.mwsadispatches.com/membership-main).
Thanks again!
Bob Doerr,
MWSA President
Where to go for information. Who to contact with questions.
Membership | membership@mwsa.co
Review & Awards | mwsaawardsdirectors@gmail.com
Events & Conferences | events@mwsa.co
Dispatches Magazine | dispatches@mwsa.co
Outreach & Education | outreach@mwsa.co
Volunteer | volunteer@mwsa.co
Website & Contact | info@mwsa.co
July 2020 Blast
MWSA Board of Directors Election
MWSA needs a few more people to run for Board positions for the 2021/2022 term. If you would like to run for a position, please contact Joe Epley at Joe@epleywrites.com.
Help Wanted
We desperately need help with our MWSA website. We're NOT looking for someone with special experience or expertise. Our website is hosted by Squarespace, which has a very intuitive and simple user interface. If you can use a word processor (what writer can't?), you can help.
All we need is one or more volunteers who are willing to step up and help out a few times each month--normally, no more than 5-10 minutes at a time. John Cathcart has been doing all our website work for the last three years and he needs a break. John has offered to train anyone who's interested in helping out posting to our website. Please reply to info@mwsa.co if you are interested.
2020 Writer of the Year Nominations
As everyone should know by now, MWSA will be video-casting our announcement of awards finalists on August 15. Then, on September 19, we'll unveil the 2020 medal winners as well as three Special Recognition Awards (the President's and Founder's awards, and the Mike Mullins Memorial Writer of the Year Award). Both presentations will be online-only due to COVID.
You'll find more details and a nomination form for the Writer of the Year award on our website (https://www.mwsadispatches.com/mike-mullins-woy).
Please visit our website using the link above and make your nomination for this year's MWSA Writer of the Year!
Bob Doerr,
MWSA President
Where to go for information. Who to contact with questions.
Membership | membership@mwsa.co
Review & Awards | mwsaawardsdirectors@gmail.com
Events & Conferences | events@mwsa.co
Dispatches Magazine | dispatches@mwsa.co
Outreach & Education | outreach@mwsa.co
Volunteer | volunteer@mwsa.co
Website & Contact | info@mwsa.co
June 2020 Blast
2020 Membership Conference
The MWSA Board has voted unanimously to cancel the 2020 Membership Conference scheduled for this September in Connecticut. The Coronavirus and its potential health and wellness concerns along with travel issues forced us to make this decision. Having an annual, in-person conference is very important to us and we will be having one in 2021. The Board thanks Jim Greenwald for all his hard work in spearheading the efforts for this year’s conference. Anyone who has already registered for the conference will receive a full refund.
We will have an online membership meeting and an online awards ceremony on September 19. More to follow.
Book Reviews & Awards
The book review and awards program has been busy again this year. We closed our the 2020 season book submission window earlier today and will end the season with a total of 81 books submitted.
As in years past, we plan on having an online video announcement of our awards finalists on August 15, followed by a "virtual" awards ceremony on Sept. 19 (where we'll announce medals won).
MWSA Board of Directors Election
Finally, please, please recommend a friend or yourself to fill an important leadership slot on the Board of Directors serving from 2021 to December 2022. We need your participation!
Qualifications: Must be a member in good standing. Must participate in board meetings, usually four Zoom meetings a year plus the annual meeting. Must be dedicated to advancing the mission of MWSA.
Current officers and board members serving until December 2020. Several will not stand for reelection (indicated by an asterisk).
President: Bob Doerr
Vice President: George Jackson*
Secretary: Joe Epley*
Treasurer: Hugh Simpson
Board members at large:
John Cathcart*
Jim Tritten*
Larry Greenly*
Phil Keith
Please send your recommendations for one or more members to Joe Epley, chair of the Nomination Committee, at Joe@epleywrites.com by July 5, 2020. It would be helpful if you would add why you or they would make a good officer or board member.
The nominating committee will review the recommendations and present the slate to the entire membership for a vote in August.
Please consider the following name or names recommended for officer or board member:
Name__________________________________ Email address:____________________ Phone______________________ Position nominated for___________________________
Name__________________________________ Email address:____________________ Phone______________________ Position nominated for___________________________
Name__________________________________ Email address:____________________ Phone______________________ Position nominated for___________________________
Bob Doerr,
MWSA President
Where to go for information. Who to contact with questions.
Membership | membership@mwsa.co
Review & Awards | mwsaawardsdirectors@gmail.com
Events & Conferences | events@mwsa.co
Dispatches Magazine | dispatches@mwsa.co
Outreach & Education | outreach@mwsa.co
Volunteer | volunteer@mwsa.co
Website & Contact | info@mwsa.co
April 2020 Blast
I hope this email finds all of you and your families safe from the COVID-19 virus. These are trying times, and we wish everyone good health and a rapid transition back to normal.
2020 Conference
We still intend to have our annual MWSA membership conference this September, but we also know that everything will depend on how quickly the virus dissipates. Like everyone else, we will be monitoring the situation. Please know that if we have to cancel the conference, any and all registration fees will be reimbursed without penalty. Likewise, if the situation allows us to have our conference, but an individual is affected at the last minute by the virus and has to cancel, we will fully reimburse his or her registration fees. In other words, while your MWSA leadership understands the reality of the moment and the potential for longer-term issues, we want all members to go ahead with their planning and registering for the conference without any fear of financial loss. So please take advantage of the early bird rate which will falls off at the end of May, as there is no reason not to.
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2020-conference
Elections 2020
Our elections are looming. Please consider running for office or for a Board position. We especially need more women on our Board! The workload is light for most board members, but the need to have a full and active board is essential. If you are interested or wish to nominate someone else, please contact Joe Epley, the current MWSA secretary as soon as possible. His email address is joe@epleywrites.com.
Writing Opportunities
On occasion, we receive a request for assistance from someone who is looking for a ghostwriter or a partner in writing a book. Often it is someone who has already done a great deal of the research but doesn't know the ins and outs of writing a book or having it published. We have not had a process to handle these in the past, so we thought it would be a good idea to come up with a way to get the requests for assistance out to the full membership. In an attempt to rectify this, we've created a new section on our website's Resources page where we can post these requests so that they're accessible to the entire membership. Here's a direct link:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/member-resource-directory#opportunities
And while we're on the subject of our Resources page, if you're willing to help out another MWSA member/author, you can add your name and/or company to the applicable section on that page (if you're an active MWSA member). Just fill out the form on that page to let everyone know you're willing to help out:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/member-resource-directory#form
Thanks and stay healthy!
Sincerely,
Bob Doerr
MWSA President
Where to go for information. Who to contact with questions.
Membership | membership@mwsa.co
Review & Awards | mwsaawardsdirectors@gmail.com
Events & Conferences | events@mwsa.co
Dispatches Magazine | dispatches@mwsa.co
Outreach & Education | outreach@mwsa.co
Volunteer | volunteer@mwsa.co
Website & Contact | info@mwsa.co
February 2020 Blast
The holidays are over and most of us have already given up on our resolution to lose weight. However, MWSA is in full swing now and we want everyone to be up to date on a couple of significant happenings this year.
Reviews & Awards
First, the book review cycle is ongoing. Our website provides thorough instructions on how to submit your book, and so far, this year’s program is running on all cylinders. Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your book. If we get overloaded, we may have to shut down the program early. Again, check our website for details.
Elections 2020
Second, this is an election year. If you would like to help out by becoming a Board member or an officer, please do so. You can contact Joe Epley directly at joe@epleywrites.com and let him know you are interested. We need some volunteers, so please consider running for office.
2020 Conference
Third, our general membership conference this year is going to be great. New London, CT, is next to a submarine base and the Coast Guard Academy. The area is also rich with Revolutionary War history. We have kept costs down and the weather in September should be great there! Please plan on coming and don’t forget to take advantage of our early bird rates. If there is a topic you are interested in having discussed at the conference, let us know.
If you would like to make a presentation or be on a panel at the conference or at the separate writing class held on Thursday before the conference starts, let us know. More information on both events can be found on our website.
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2020-conference
Website
Finally, we are always trying to improve our website. If you haven’t looked lately, take a few minutes to check it out, especially the Resource page While you’re at it, check out and like us on our two Facebook pages. Links to both can be found at the bottom of each website page.
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/
Sincerely,
Bob Doerr
MWSA President
2020 Conference Update
Click image to visit our conference page.
Mystic Seaport Tour
Take a walk back through history and visit the last of the wooden whaling ships and so much more. Space is limited to a maximum of fifteen. This is the home of the largest collection of whaling memorabilia and historical documents.
Don’t forget to buy a “Raffle Ticket”
One lucky winner will have his/her dues paid for one year.
Open Mic “Pitch Contest”
You could be one of the ten authors who get to pitch their new story/article to the judges. This will be a fun and informational event. Email: events@mwsa.co
Seminar Presenter
Thinking of presenting a seminar this year? Request a Submission Form from events@mwsa.co, fill it out when received and email back to: events@mwsa.co
Looking for Mentors
We are looking for folks to mentor fellow authors, new and old. Provide days and times you are willing to provide this service and in what areas by Emailing: NewLondon@MWSA.co
Presentation on the “Amistad”
The history of the events surrounding this “Slave Ship” were portrayed in a movie we will get to share in factual history presented by Docent Henry Savin from the New London Maritime Museum. A don’t miss, front row seat (9/18 @ 3:15PM)!
Write Your Story
Coming to the conference early? Join Jack London and his staff at the Submarine Force Museum as they present this event [from 9 - 3:15PM on 9/17/20].
CHECK-IT-OUT
The program schedule is on our web site and will be in your Welcome Package at registration - check often as the program slots are slowly filled in. While checking it out register for the conference and then call the hotel to register, only 30 rooms saved at the hotel, only $103 per night all taxes included.
!! WANTED - VOLUNTEERS !!
Openings exist for volunteers in a number of areas for the conference. Mentors, Presenters, Open Mic Pitch Contestants, Registration Desk Attendants, Message Runners, Table Movers, tap dancers, don’t hesitate to ask or volunteer - there are plenty of needs, they simply lack willing folks to step forward and help! This is your opportunity to shoulder some of the load.
See you in New London!
January 2020 Blast
Happy New Year everyone! 2019 was a busy year and hopefully a good one for all of you. Hold on to your hats, we think 2020 will be even busier and better.
2020 Conference
We have firmed up our plans to hold our general membership conference next September in New London, CT. We have kept costs down at both the hotel and with the conference to make next year’s conference one of the most affordable in years. At the same time, planning is already taking place to ensure it will be productive and enjoyable. More specific information is available on our website:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2020-conference
While you're visiting our conference page, you can also reserve and pay for a conference slot for you and your guest(s). As long as you're visiting that conference page, you might as well take advantage of early-bird conference rates, which will be in effect until the end of May.
If you have any questions or need any help, please contact our conference organizers, Jim Greenwald and Phil Keith at NewLondon@mwsa.co.
Elections 2020
No, not that election, our MWSA election of board members. We will be issuing a call for any MWSA member who would like to run for office or to become a director at large. We will need a slate of candidates by next spring, so don't be shy.
We'll be posting details on our website, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'd be happy to describe the duties, term of office, or any other aspect of our MWSA leadership positions.
Reviews & Awards
Our 2020 season will kick off in a few days (on January 15), with the opening of our book submission window. We're looking forward to having a look at our members' work at that time. Our submission window will stay open until June 15, which gives us enough time to read, score, and review all books in time for our announcement of awards finalists on or about August 15.
As always, we're expecting a very busy season. If you're interested in helping out as an MWSA reviewer, we'd love to have you join our reviewer force.
Click here: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/awards to learn more or to sign up for reviewer training. You can work as much... or as little as you want, and the training is now done online at your own pace. Please join us!
Volunteers
We are still in need of volunteers to help in a variety of ways. If you would like to be a book reviewer, help us maintain our website, work on one of our social media outlets, or be an MWSA Ambassador, please let us know. Information on these programs can be found on our website and you'll find contact emails at the bottom of this email [see email contact list below].
Cookie Monsters and MWSA Websites
For a host of reasons (technical and otherwise), MWSA uses two websites. Our main website is the one almost everyone visits to see what's going on and where members can take advantage of all our offerings and member benefits:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/ (the site you’re looking at right now)
Our second website deals with all our membership activities and online payment of dues. Because it handles secure online payments and member contact information, this website is secure and relies on "cookies" to be sure it's keeping track of YOU and your information after you sign in.
We've tried to simplify your navigation through our websites by combining the two websites into a seamless experience for our members. Unfortunately, the integration doesn't always work as well as we'd wish. Sometimes, the Cookie Monster gets in the way. :-)
If your computer gives you a warning about cookies (telling you that they're required or disabled), you should click on the nearby link that says "Click here to go to our membership website." That should take care of your "Cookie Monster problem."
If that doesn't work--or if you have any problem you can't solve on your own--please don't hesitate to email our membership team (if you're trying to pay dues or update any of your membership contact information) or our event coordinators (if you're trying to register for the conference).
Sincerely,
Bob Doerr
MWSA President
Where to go for information. Who to contact with questions.
Membership | membership@mwsa.co
Review & Awards | mwsaawardsdirectors@gmail.com
Events & Conferences | events@mwsa.co
Dispatches Magazine | dispatches@mwsa.co
Outreach & Education | outreach@mwsa.co
Volunteer | volunteer@mwsa.co
Website & Contact | info@mwsa.co
August 2019 Blast
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Conference
As August comes to a close, we wanted to get a quick note out reminding everyone that registration for this year’s conference in Albuquerque needs to be made by September 5. The conference will include our annual general membership meeting on Sunday morning, September 15.
Book Donations
If you would like to participate in our annual book donations drive and donate books this year to the VA med center in Albuquerque, please get them mailed off ASAP as we intend to give them to the med center at the beginning of the conference. Mail them to Larry Greenly at 2916 Jane Ct NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112-1638, and he will do the legwork taking them to the VA.
Website, Social Media, and More
MWSA has done a ton of work improving our social media exposure and our website—all part of our on-going efforts to enhance and expand the benefits of MWSA membership. However, not everyone has taken advantage of these new benefits.
Besides the obvious—most notably, our Facebook pages: Public, Writers Education, and Book Marketing and Open Mic—we have new programs available to our members. The latest addition is our Beta Reader Program. For the time being, this program is a self-help one, involving members helping members.
Go to the Beta Reader page on our website (https://www.mwsadispatches.com/beta-readers) and look for books you’d like to beta-read or post your book to get feedback from your fellow MWSA members. The more of us who end up visiting the page and signing up to help our fellow MWSA authors, the more active and useful our program will become.
Of course, the Beta Reader Program is not all there is when it comes to member benefits. Check out our website and have a look at all the services and programs available under the “Resources” tab at the top of every page.
Help Wanted—Help!
By the way, if you have the time, we need help monitoring our social media outlets or posting content to the website and social media. Every little bit helps, so if you’re interested, please let us know by:
filling out a volunteer form: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/volunteer-form, or
sending an email to volunteer@mwsa.co.
The vast majority of this work does NOT require that much in the way of Internet savvy or special coding skills. We can have you up-to-speed in a matter of minutes if you’re interested in lending a hand.
Have a story to tell?
Submit an article for publication in our Dispatches magazine: dispatches@mwsa.co.
Have a “lesson learned” or a writing/publishing/editing/marketing trick you’d like to share with your fellow MWSA member-authors?
Please let us know via email: info@mwsa.co, or
Use our general-purpose contact form: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/general-info
Thank you!
2019 Season’s Final Stretch—Heading to the Awards Banquet
As everyone knows, we announced our finalists earlier this month and will be broadcasting the final medal results during the awards banquet in Albuquerque (Saturday, 9/14). If you can’t join us in Albuquerque, we plan to broadcast the awards ceremony live on our Facebook Public Page: https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic.
If you participated in this year’s awards season, and haven’t already had a chance to go over the applicable instructions/recommendations provided in our “Now What?” series of articles, please have a look.
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/now-what-main
For all awards finalists: Please remember that our awards packages include materials for one author. If you have a co-author or collaborator and would like them to be recognized along with you and receive a medal, certificate, or book stickers (either presented during the awards ceremony or mailed later), please have a look at the details provided in the article for finalists above.
2020 Awards Season
January 15 and the 2020 Season will be here soon—after all, aren’t you surprised that your calendar is about to flip over to September? 😊
Due to record-breaking demand for our review and award services, we had to close our book submission window several times during this past season. We expect that 2020 will be as busy or even busier, so please consider joining our reviewer team!
You can read as few or as many books as you like, and you get to pick the ones you want to read and evaluate. Our process for assigning review copies to reviewers is “a la carte”—where each reviewer picks from the available list.
To learn more, or to complete your online reviewer training:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/review-procedures-trainingTo volunteer or ask a question:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/awards#form
2019 Conference Update
Unless we have some late-breaking developments, this will probably be our last update before the start of our joint MWSA-SWW Writing Conference on September 12.
Other than making your logistical plans and packing your suitcases, we have one extra step that we’d like everyone to take to make sure you’re ready to join us in Albuquerque: a checklist.
Attendee Checklist
The checklist is designed to make sure that all members and their guests have…
properly registered and paid for their conference attendance.
a name tag (so everyone knows who you are).
selected their meal preference for the awards banquet on Saturday.
IMPORTANT: To provide an accurate (and timely) meal count to the hotel, we’re asking everyone to complete the steps in this checklist on or before September 5. The checklist includes links and detailed instructions for both SWW and/or MWSA members. Click on the button below to download your checklist.
If you’ve registered but haven’t shared your menu preference, you may end up paying for a menu selection that you didn’t want or have a name tag that’s different from everyone else’s (or which includes inaccurate information).
Click here for current name tag and menu selection list.
Registration window closing soon
We’re sorry, but based on the hotel’s requirements, we’ll be closing down our registration window on the evening of September 5. There will be no on-site registrations.
Hotel
The hotel no longer has rooms available at our discounted rate. Click here for details.
What to wear
During the conference: casual & comfy
At the awards banquet: “semi semi-formal,” i.e., most will be wearing cocktail/dinner dresses or coat and tie. Some will substitute a bolo for a tie… or may not wear a tie. Some plan to “glitter,” others will be less “semi-formal” and opt for comfort instead.
Award Winners
A quick reminder: we have crafted our MWSA awards package for one winner (i.e., one medal, one certificate, 100 book stickers, one cover letter—all enclosed in one folder). If you have a co-author/collaborator with whom you’d like to share honors, you can purchase extra awards packet materials on our website’s online store. If you do this early enough, we can present these additional packages during the ceremony. Although we’ll have a few spare medals and stickers with us in Albuquerque, we won’t be able to print out certificates or letters at the last minute.
FYI, all award winners who cannot join us in Albuquerque can have their awards packet mailed to them. We only ask that they pay for postage.
You can always purchase extra or replacement awards materials (and postage) on our online store: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/store
Finally, if you’re a finalist and haven’t read our “Now What?” article for finalists, please give it a gander, it’s packed full of useful information.
Dale Dye Named MWSA Writer of the Year for 2019
Click for more details.
The MWSA board of directors is pleased to announce that they have selected Dale Dye as the winner of the Mike Mullins Memorial MWSA Writer of the Year for 2019.
In addition to being a long-time member of MWSA, Dale is also an accomplished actor, technical adviser in several Hollywood blockbuster movies, and the author of 14 novels.
We’re looking forward to getting to know Dale and his wife, Julia (who is also an award-winning author and MWSA member), in the coming months. Both Dale and Julia will be joining us during our annual membership conference in Albuquerque, NM, where we will present Dale with his Writer of the Year Award.
To read more details about Dale and his body of work, please visit this page (or click on the image above):
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2019-writer-of-the-year
Congratulations to our 2019 Writer of the Year!
Announcement of 2019 MWSA Book Award Finalists--Sunday 8/11 @ 9PM Eastern
Click to watch the video interactively on Facebook (Sunday, 8/11 @ 9PM Eastern)
Due to an earlier-than-expected wrap-up of the review process for all 2019 season books, we’ve decided to push up our announcement of finalists to tomorrow (Sunday, August 11) at 9PM Eastern.
As a reminder, being designated as a finalist means that the book has scored high enough to win an MWSA medal (Gold, Silver, or Bronze).
We plan to announce our finalists via video on YouTube and Facebook. Also—technology permitting—we’re going to try to do a live “Watch Party” from our MWSA Public Page on Facebook. That way, you’ll be able to make comments or ask questions as the video is playing.
Here’s the link to our Facebook Video Premiere Watch Party: https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic (should be near the top of the page)
To watch the video anytime after 9PM Eastern on Sunday (or in case we have problems watching live on Facebook), you can watch the YouTube version here: https://youtu.be/7OhEt8kF3B8
All finalists—books and authors—will appear on our 2019 Season page shortly after the video announcement ends. We will also email all authors who’ve submitted books this season to let them know whether or not they were selected as finalists.
Good luck!
MWSA Mike Mullins Memorial Writer of the Year: 2019 Finalists
MWSA is very pleased and proud to announce the finalists for our prestigious Mike Mullins Memorial Writer of the Year Award for 2019 (listed in alphabetical order):
Dale Dye
Valerie Ormond
Kathleen M. Rodgers
Click on image for more details
All three will be joining us in Albuquerque, NM, during our annual conference, where we will recognize the winner during the awards banquet on Saturday evening, September 14.
We’re planning to announce the winner before the conference—as early as August 20—so please stay tuned for details on the announcement. In the meantime, CLICK HERE to read about each of these outstanding MWSA writers.
Congratulations to our finalists!
Albuquerque Conference--Hotel Information Update
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Our 2019 annual meeting and conference look like they are going to be a great success. Why? Well not only because of the outstanding program but your response. We have more attendees coming than we expected. And because of this, the hotel has already reached the saturation point on at least one night for the advertised conference rate.
First the good news. There are still rooms at the hotel for each night of the conference to include the night of the awards banquet. But these rooms are going fast and if you have not already booked one and want to stay at the conference hotel, you need to act immediately.
Now for the bad news. Saturday night, September 14th, is booked well above the maximum for the conference rate to apply. Yes, there are still rooms, but the hotel will not give you a conference rate that night. Even if you beg them.
And the nearly bad news. There are still rooms available for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, but two of those nights are nearly at the cutoff point for conference room rates. If you want to stay at the conference hotel, you need to make a reservation immediately. Once the hotel is booked at 80% capacity on any one of those nights, rooms will still be available but not at the conference rate.
Hotel policy is to honor conference rates until such time as the hotel is booked at 80% capacity. Once that threshold has been crossed, if there are any rooms left, they will be available at whatever rate you can negotiate yourselves – AAA, AARP, Senior, etc.
For those of you who say, well I am an award winner, or I know the president, I’m a speaker, or I know Jim, etc., don’t even go there. Jim has already been to the hotel staff six times and after obtaining another exception today, he was told that was the end of that. No more exceptions. No exception to the no exceptions.
Remember, there are still rooms available (as of 1 August 2019). Not sure how long that will last. You may have to be creative and book different nights at different prices. I have had to do that in the past and it works. As of right now, no one will be able to book the conference rate for all four nights. If you act right away, you might get one of the last three nights at the conference rate and Saturday at whatever you can negotiate.
So, what are your options if you simply do not want to pay the Hotel Albuquerque more than the conference rate? Here are a few ideas – we do not have a contract with any of these places so rates will be whatever you can negotiate:
(1) Book next door (literally a stone’s throw) and stay there. The Hotel Chaco is upscale and more expensive than the conference hotel, but it is only a few hundred feet away.
(2) Book a room at the Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn. It is three blocks north of the conference hotel and should be less expensive than the conference hotel.
(3) There is a small B&B located also within walking distance of the conference hotel.
(4) There are many other hotels and B&Bs within a very short drive of the conference hotel.
We look forward to seeing you in Albuquerque. It is going to be a great conference.
Jim Tritten
Joint Conference Coordinator
July 2019 Blast
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It’s summertime and that means the conference is right around the corner, and this year’s book review cycle has come to a close. If you haven’t registered for the conference or made reservations at the Hotel Albuquerque, please do so soon, as the group discount rate at the hotel may not be available if you wait too long. More info about the conference can be found on our website:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2019/conference
While you're on that page, please fill out your meal selection choice for the awards banquet (if you haven't already done so). If you'll be bringing guests, you can fill out a separate form for you and your guest(s).
Outreach and Book Drive
We’re continuing our outreach efforts with planned programs in September in Albuquerque at the VA Med Center and in October in Austin. In addition to these writing classes, we’re having our annual book drive and ask anyone who has books to donate to please send them to Larry Greenly at 2916 Jane Ct NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112-1638, to arrive by September 10. These books will be donated to the Raymond G. Murphy VA Med Center in Albuquerque. Remember to use media mail rates to keep your costs down.
Awards
We plan to announce the 2019 season awards finalists on August 15. We'll be posting details and links on the 2019 Season page of our website.
In addition to these individual book awards, we have three special recognition awards that are presented at each conference at the awards banquet. These are the Founder’s Award, the President’s Award, and the Mike Mullins Writer of the Year Award. To learn more about these awards, please visit this web page: https://www.mwsadispatches.com/mwsa-awards
Mike Mullins Memorial MWSA Writer of the Year for 2019
We are extremely proud of our three finalists for this year’s Writer of the Year Award. These three individuals are Kathy Rodgers, Dale Dye, and Valerie Ormond. All three are more than qualified for the award and have extensive writing backgrounds, along with involvement in other activities in support of our veterans. We anticipate all three will be at the Awards Banquet this year, so be sure to come and congratulate them.
Membership Poll--Location of 2020 Conference
Want to have input on the location of our next conference? Let us know by filling out a few questions here:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2020-conference-poll
Volunteers
We continue to need volunteers, especially to help us with our website and social media efforts. If you're interested in helping out, please use one of the emails listed below to volunteer.
Newsletters
As a reminder, if you're interested in keeping up-to-date with MWSA news and information, you can sign up for our free newsletters on our website:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/newsletters
On that page you can sign up to receive monthly updates for news, tips and tricks, or online library updates. You can also sign up to receive notification when the latest edition of our quarterly Dispatches magazine is available.
Trooper
Finally, if you are in San Antonio on Aug 10, there will be a 12:30 and a 4:00 showing of the film Trooper at the Lackland AFB theater. AAFES will begin distributing free tickets in the AAFES Main Exchange food court starting on July 29th. This film has a long history with MWSA as it was screened at the MWSA conference in 2009 where the MWSA attendees made a variety of suggestions, edits, etc. that influenced the film’s final production. More information about Trooper and the showings at Lackland AFB can be found at
https://www.usveteransmagazine.com/2019/07/trooper-film-lackland-base/
Hope to see you all at the conference!
June 2019 Blast
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Book Reviews & Awards
Our 2019 Season submission window closed almost three weeks early due to record demand. We had 85 books submitted, which was six more than we’ve received in any prior season.
Highlights for the remainder of the season: we hope to announce our 2019 awards finalists on August 15 and then present medals and certificates to our winners during our awards banquet on September 15 in Albuquerque.
As always, MWSA can use your help reviewing for us. If you’re interested, please contact the awards directors at mwsaawardsdirectors@gmail.com.
Mike Mullins Memorial MWSA Writer of the Year for 2019
Make your vote count by letting us know who you think should be the 2019 Writer of the Year.
Learn more about the award and submit your nomination here:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/mike-mullins-woy
Membership News
Per our last blast, you know we’ll be lowering our dues and offering tiered membership lengths beginning on July 1. Those members wanting to take advantage of the new, reduced dues amounts will be able to do so by visiting our existing members' and FAQs pages.
As you can see on the pages above (and in your membership details section below) the new rates and membership options are available now.
Membership Poll--Location of 2020 Conference
Want to have input on the location of our next conference? Let us know by filling out a few questions here:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2020-conference-poll
Volunteers
We continue to need volunteers, especially to help us with our website and social media efforts.
MWSA Outreach
MWSA goals include increasing outreach efforts to reach more veterans, family members, and those interested in recording our rich military history. The following are current opportunities developed by or presented to MWSA members.
MWSA Ambassadors Program: The MWSA Board of Directors officially approved the MWSA Ambassadors Program in May. This program’s mission is for MWSA’s qualified instructors to reach veterans, military, and families throughout the United States to assist them in sharing their important stories through a positive writing workshop venue at no cost to attendees. For additional information or to volunteer, please find details at https://www.mwsadispatches.com/ veterans outreach programs.
Every year, when we have a membership conference, we also try to support the local VA Med Center. One thing we do to support them is to ask our members to donate to the VA Med Center a book or two or ten. This year Larry Greenly has offered to receive all the book donations from our members. He will take them to the VA Med Center in Albuquerque right before the conference. So start identifying a book or two to send, and we'll provide you Larry's address in July.
2019 Membership Conference
Summer is upon us, and as usual, it brings us closer to our general membership conference. It is still not too late to register and get the early bird rate. A final agenda for the conference is available for everyone to review along with menu items, things to do in Albuquerque, etc.
Also, we've recently learned about a glitch in the hotel's billing system that may cause your hotel stay to appear to be more expensive. Don't worry, our MWSA rates are still guaranteed to remain the same. Please visit the conference page on our website for the details.
Writing Opportunity - “When Intelligence Made a Difference”
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The Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) is beginning a new educational project entitled “When Intelligence Made a Difference.” AFIO invites anyone to identify events throughout history involving any nation or organization when the outcome was affected significantly by intelligence.
AFIO is soliciting authors and plans to publish edited submissions serially in its print only member magazine Intelligencer, the Journal of US Intelligence Studies. The publication appears two to three times a year.
If you are interested in contributing an article, please email peter.oleson@afio.com. Briefly state what event you have in mind and include your bio. [AFIO will identify authors by name and current or former title only — no multi-line biographies.] If your suggestion is a good fit for this project, AFIO will respond asking for your comments on that event, not to exceed 1,500 words (excluding footnotes). AFIO uses the Chicago Manual of Style.
IMPORTANT: When you send your article and bio, please let AFIO know if you have ever had prior employment or contract work within the US Intelligence Community--and, to meet pre-publication review requirements, supply a copy of the official approval letter or email naming the article you are sending us. Without this, we are unable to consider or include your article in the publication.
As with most nonprofit academic publications, contributors will not be paid, however AFIO will publish it under the broad, pro-educational Creative Commons copyright.
Therefore, authors retain the right to use their articles anywhere else they wish, after its publication in Intelligencer. Eight weeks after publication of your contribution in the print-only version of Intelligencer, the article will then appear on AFIO's website for general public/educational access. Since the time of 1) an article's acceptance, and then 2) appearance in print, and then 3) inclusion online can run eighteen months to three years from start-to-finish, a title-author listing of all accepted forthcoming articles (but no summaries) will be included in the printed editions of Intelligencer. So it is imperative authors be patient as these articles are released on this serialized basis, in two or three journal issues per year. By submitting an article authors acknowledge and accept these provisions.
This project would make a good class assignment. Accepted articles would give students a publication credit in a recognized journal.
From the MWSA Outreach Committee
2019 Conference Update (June 8)
Click on image to go to the conference page
Our conference organizers continue to iron out the details for our joint MWSA-SWW conference this September. It looks like this year’s conference will prove to be a very useful experience for everyone attending.
You’ll find more details (about the conference, agenda, hotel, food, and tourist attractions in the Albuquerque area) by visiting our main conference page.
Learn more and register to join us by clicking on the image to the right.
Conference Agenda
You can now have a look at a detailed agenda showing events taking place each day.
Click here to go directly to our conference agenda.
If you’d like to learn more about our presenters and mentors at the joint writing conference, you can find details on SWW’s website:
https://www.southwestwriters.com/conference-presenters/
Conference Mentoring Program
Please look over the list of presenters in the link above for their presentation topics as well as their offer to provide one-on-one mentoring to interested conference attendees on topics listed in their bio. This will be a great opportunity to share ideas and experiences with someone who’s “been there, and done that” regarding various aspects of writing, editing, marketing, etc.*
We’ll provide more details on the mentoring program in an upcoming announcement.
* All conference staff are donating their services pro bono. So, with respect to your conference fees, 100% of the very reasonable costs for the conference go for food.