Writers of Kern

Everything Writers Need | Writers of Kern

Events

National Poetry Month 2020

By

Your Poem – Published on the Writers of Kern Blog!

 April is coming, of course before May,
 And WOK celebrates in a very fun way. 
 We publish original poems each day
 To showcase our poets and what they say.

Aside from the hokey poetry intro, WOK Friends:

Established poets, emerging poets, and would-be poets all could be published during National Poetry Month, which is April.

But, hey, we need YOU to submit your poetry for consideration! Beginning February 20th and throughout March, please send your poems to [email protected] . Deadline: March 31, 20202

Submission Guidelines: Please follow exactly.

  1. Poem line limit: 30 lines or fewer (per poem)
  2. Number of poems: Up to three
  3. Submit poems as a Word Document ; 12-point font, Times New Roman or  Arial
  4. Include a short bio (50 words or fewer)
  5. Include a head shot
  6. Send to [email protected]; In the subject line write the letters NPM and the title of your poem.

You have questions?

Please address them to [email protected]

28 March | WOK Spring Conference | Speakers Spotlight

By

Adam Richardson

Workshop Topic: Interviewing for Writers

Adam will teach the audience police interviewing skills, including question phrasing for obtaining detailed answers, the basics of deception detection, and how to hack rapport building. Whether you’re a crime-fiction author looking to make your police characters more streetwise or a writer doing research for your next bestseller, Adam will help bring your interviewing skills to the next level.

More about Adam:

Adam has been in law enforcement for 23 years and he spent 17 of those years as a detective, having conducted a countless number of interviews and interrogations.
As a veteran police detective in California, Adam has helped authors (including #1 New York Times Bestsellers), screenwriters, and television writers of shows for Showtime, CBS, Netflix, and Amazon Video with the “cop-stuff” since 2015.

Every week, Adam answers fiction-writers’ questions about police work and criminal investigation as the host of the Writer’s Detective Bureau podcast.

Connect with Adam on his website and listen to his latest podcast: http://writersdetective.com/

You can also find him on Twitter: Click HERE.

His Facebook group dedicated to help fiction writers
with their “cop stuff” questions: Click HERE.

Dennis Palumbo

Workshop Topic: Writing From The Inside Out

In Dennis’s informative, entertaining workshop, attendees will learn how to address the most common issues that writers face: blocks, procrastination, fear of rejection, etc. Using a combination of lecture, anecdote and in-class exercises, attendees will discover how to challenge the psychological impediments underlying these issues, freeing themselves to be the best writer they can be.

More about Dennis:

Formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter, etc.), Dennis Palumbo is a licensed psychotherapist and author. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime. His series of mystery thrillers (the latest of which, Head Wounds, was named a “Best of 2018” by SUSPENSE MAGAZINE) features Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist and trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh Police.

For a sneak preview of Dennis,
check out this interview he did on the show “Between the Lines.”

Connect with Dennis on his website: http://www.dennispalumbo.com/

Jerry Mathes

Workshop Topic: Writing Life

Jerry’s presentation will feature a short lecture and discussion with participants about the art and craft of writing their experiences into compelling narratives. He believes it’s not enough to have a good story, but writers must have the tools to bring the reader into that world and take them on their journey of discovery.

Jerry wants writers to learn how to select the key moments of an experience to create scenes and learn how to write them in a compelling way. To escape the “and then, and then, and then” trap writers fall into sometimes when recounting an experience. He also wants writers to learn to reflect on the underlying story and why it is important to be told. Questions to the writer include: Is it only sensationalist or is there something revelatory about it? Why are you telling this story?

More about Jerry:

Jerry D. Mathes II is an award winning author, photographer, book critic, and librettist. Two of his novels are Shipwrecks and Other Stories, and a memoir, Ahead of the Flaming Front: A Life on Fire, about his experiences fighting wildfire throughout the American West, including four years on an elite helicopter rappel crew and ten years as a crew boss and an incident commander. He gave it up to be a single-dad to two girls, taking a job in an oilfield north of Bakersfield.

To connect with Jerry, find him on his website and social media sites:
http://www.jdmathes.com/
Instagram: @jdmathes
Twitter: @jdmathes
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-mathes-967481b/
Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/JerryMathesII/

Keith Silvas

Workshop Topic: Social Media Marketing for Authors
(How to leverage social media to help authors
build their audience and find new readers.)

During his workshop, Keith will share what he’s learned about establishing a presence as an author on social media focusing on “The Big 3” social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). Attendees will learn how to find and engage with their community, marketing themselves and their books, gaining followers, and more.

More about Keith:

A self-published author who loves to write science fiction and fantasy, his journey of learning to market himself as a writer has given him a good understanding of social media and how to utilize its power to help individuals and businesses effectively promote themselves online.

Keith has spent countless hours on research ranging from reading blogs and listening to podcasts, to actually testing the strategies himself on the different platforms. His business provides social media management services as well as web content writing (blogs, etc.) for clients.

To connect with Keith, find him on his social media sites:

Instagram @keith.silvas
Twitter @keith_silvas
Facebook.com/keithsilvasauthor

Cyn Bermudez

Cyn Bermudez a writer and artist living in Bakersfield. She is the author of the Brothers series and the forthcoming And the Moon Follows. She has a variety of short story and poetry publications in journals and anthologies. Her first collection of short stories and poetry is available on Amazon. Visit her website at cynbermudez.com.


Donnée Patrese Harris

Donnée Patrese Harris is a reporter turned novelist. She is co-owner of First Draft Publishing and writes erotic romance and romantic suspense. The author of six books including the entire “Prohibited” series, she is currently working on her seventh book due out in March. 

Jenny Estes

Jenny Estes joined Writers of Kern in 2015. Her first book, The Anglican Rosary: Going Deeper with God, was released in June 2019. Jenny’s work has also been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude; The California Writers Club Literary Review; and Res Ipsa (Kern County Bar Association).


2020 Dan McGuire Blog Challenge Participants

By

Debbie Fogle https://debbiefogle.wordpress.com/

Paula Glover godswondrousworks.wordpress.com

Natalia Corres https://ncorres.wordpress.com

Dianne Buxton/Vone Deporter www.buxtondeporter.com

Judy Kukuruza https://wolvescrowsandspirituality.home.blog/

Annis Cassells http://heyannis.wordpress.com/

Cyn Bermudez http://www.cynbermudez.com/blogs/

Joan Raymond https://joanraymondwriting.com/blog/

Dewey Compton:  https://www.deweycompton.com/

Susan Baker  susanbakerstorymaker.com 

Stephanie Apsit HiSteph55.blogspot.com

Sandy Moffett http://www.sandymoffett.com/blog/

Your Poem on Our Blog

By

For the past few years, Writers of Kern has celebrated National Poetry Month (April) in a unique way. Each day in April, an original poem is published on our WOK website. Established poets, emerging poets, and would-be poets all have the possibility of being published during the month.

But, hey, we need YOU to submit your poetry for consideration! Beginning February 20th and throughout March, please send your poems to [email protected]

Guidelines:

  1. Poem line limit: 30 lines or fewer
  2. Submit poems as a Word Document ; 12-point font, Times New Roman or  Arial
  3. Include a short bio (50 words or fewer)
  4. Include a head shot
  5. Send to [email protected] ; In the subject line: NPM-“Title of your Poem”

You have questions? Please send them to: [email protected]

Spring Conference 2020 Scholarship Announcement

By

Friends of WOK want to make the Writers of Kern 2020 Spring Conference a possibility for everybody. We also realize that not everyone can afford our attendance fee. That’s why, in conjunction with the WOK Board, we’ve launched the Spring Conference Scholarship Fund which will give (up to) four aspiring writers the chance to attend the Spring Conference to help get their author careers off to the best possible starts.

Details:
Up to four scholarships will be awarded to writers wanting to attend the Writers of Kern 2020 Spring Conference. Two for WOK/CWC members and two for non-members are available.*

We are looking for applicants who show a strong desire to take their writing to the next level and beyond.

Application must be received by March 1, 2020. Recipients will be announced on, or by March 10, 2020.

Scholarship is for 2020 Conference registration only. Transportation to and/or from the venue and/or lodging are recipients’ responsibility.

If you would like to apply, please fill out the form below.

*Friends of WOK reserve the right to make no award if the number or quality of entries is insufficient.