Author: MichaelConnick

January’s Writers Can Read

On By MichaelConnickLeave a comment

82238176_839951506453592_6684520961569456128_o

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Connick, 681-214-0688
Email: michaelconnick@gmail.com

JANUARY WRITERS CAN READ EVENT FEATURES TWO AWARD-WINNING WRITERS

“This Monday, January 20 at 7 P.M, The Inner Geek bookstore in Huntington, WV will host the monthly Writers Can Read event. This month’s event features local author Matthew Wolfe and mystery novelist Robin Yocum reading selections from their work, as well as an open mic session for anyone who would like to share their prose or poetry with the audience.”

HUNTINGTON, WV, January 14, 2020 – This month’s Writers Can Read series will feature two writers – author Matthew Wolfe  and author Robin Yocum. The event is free and open to the public and will take place on Monday, January 20 at 7 P.M. at The Inner Geek bookshop located at Pullman Square in downtown Huntington.

Matthew Wolfe’s writing has appeared in Newsweek, Writer’s Digest, Yellow Medicine Review, Animus, Motif, and The Chaucer Review, to name a few.  He was the recipient of the 2005 West Virginia Artist Fellowship for his memoir writing.  That project resulted in his 2017 book, The Way It Was.  Wolfe, a life-long Gemini, has also published his screenplay, HeartBeat, a script based on his 2001 novel of the same name.  His most recent books include Ms. Scrooge, a 21st century retelling of  A Christmas Carol, and Gentle Snow, a collection of short stories about mystics and mystical experiences.

Robin Yocum, whose latest novel is A Perfect Shot, is a native of Brilliant, Ohio, a small town near Steubenville, Ohio. His other mystery novels include Insured for Murder, Dead before Deadline, The Essay, Favorite Sons, A Brilliant Death, and A Welcome Murder. In 2017, he was nominated for the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for A Brilliant Death. Owner of Yocum Communications, a public relations and marketing firm, Robin was also a crime and investigative reporter with the Columbus Dispatch from 1980-1991 and has won more than thirty local, state, and national journalism awards in categories ranging from investigative reporting to feature writing.

The “Writers Can Read” open mic night reading series takes place on the third Monday of each month (all year) from 7:00-8:30 at The Inner Geek at Pullman Square in Huntington, West Virginia. The event features two award-winning, published authors that serve as “featured readers” to begin the event each month. Previous featured readers have included: Marc Harshman, Denise Giardina, Crystal Wilkinson, Jonathan Corcoran, Doug Van Gundy, Robert Gipe, Nick White, and others. Afterwards, the mic is open to anyone in the audience that would like to share a creative work.

For further information, please contact michaelconnick@gmail.com

 

WV Writers Fall Conference

On By MichaelConnickLeave a comment

Fall-Conference-2019-Logo

WV Writers, Inc. will hold its annual fall conference on November 16, 2019 from 10AM – 3PM at the Parkersburg Wood County Library in Parkersburg, W.Va. I’ll be attending.

Here’s a list of the scheduled presentations:

Marsha Blevins:
Building an Author Platform Before You Are Published
An overview of what an author platform is, why you need one, and how to build one even if you aren’t published. (A basic understanding of social media is helpful for this workshop.
Kathryn McClead:
Blazing a New Trail
This workshop will detail how one person got off the rusty, rat wheel to reinvent herself as an author. It will share one emerging author’s personal story—or at least, her “so far.”
Cat Pleska:
The Magic of Memoir
Remember those magic moments? When the stars collided, when the earth moved, when the moon fell from the sky into your hands? Well, maybe nothing so dramatic, but we have magic moments in our lives when we are astounded or changed. Sometimes, these moments defy our belief as to just how it happened. In this workshop, we’ll explore our magic moments, reflect on them, and figure out what they really mean.
The Hermit Crab Essay
Remember those funky little marine creatures, hermit crabs? They are notorious for fitting themselves into any object into which they can make a home, decorate, cook a few meals and otherwise snooze in comfort. In this workshop, we’ll make like the hermit crab and fit our essays into an unusual form, such as a recipe, a memo, a Facebook post, a bill, or a marriage license. Let’s explore and find a fine new house for our prose.
Shelby Rhodes:
Craftsmanship in Writing Parts I and II
An interactive workshop in which participants will learn concepts which will help them make readers want to read on. We’ll talk about some ways to sharpen your skills and grab your audience’s attention. For beginning writers who are just learning their craft, or for veteran writers who want some reinforcement.
Carter Seaton:
The Role of Research
In this workshop, you will learn how to do research effectively.
Questions, Questions, Questions
This will instruct you in the way to walk your character through the fictional plot.
Sherrell Wigal:
Poet to Poet – Courting the Poetry Muse
This workshop will focus on tricks for bringing your Muse to the desk when you are ready to write and will feature timed hands-on writing exercises along with group discussion and sharing.
Poet to Poet – Keeping the Poetry Muse Active
This workshop will feature timed, hands-on writing exercises, and techniques to take with them to keep the poetry muse active in their writing along with discussion and sharing of drafts created in the workshop.
Ally Wharton:
The Lost Art of Listening
The founder of the nationally recognized and award-winning StoryCorps storytelling series claims that listening to the stories of others is a sort of service, and refers to listening as “an act of love.” In this interactive workshop, you will be paired with a stranger, and learn and complete a three-step interview process with your partner after being taught techniques to help both them and you, tell your stories together, and heal through listening and storytelling.
Appalachia Bites Back: Combatting Historical, Cultural, and Literary Stereotypes Through Writing
The Beverly Hillbillies. Deliverance. Hillbilly Elegy. The so-called violent, backwards, hillbilly stereotype looms over Appalachia like a dark cloud- but why? In this two-part workshop, history student Ally Wharton will go over a brief history of Appalachia, tracking specific moments in our history that contribute to the misconceptions of the region and explain why and how this stereotype has remained prominent. We will then turn to the work of various authors in different genres combatting this stereotype, learning how to use ideas set forth in these pieces to brainstorm and discuss the processes of incorporating elements of social change into our own writing to help combat the world’s perception of our home.

 

I’ll Be Appearing at the Mason County Library, Point Pleasant, WV, on Sept 4

On By MichaelConnickLeave a comment

“On Sept. 4, 1-3 p.m. at the Mason County Library, the Writers Guild will host another guest speaker, Michael Connick. He is the author of three Cold War spy novels based on his real-life experiences working with the intelligence community, the Department of Defense and the technology industry: “Trapped in a Hall of Mirrors,” “Funhouse Mirrors,” and “Afghan Mirrors.” His fourth novel “HPD” is a work of fiction that takes place in Huntington and whose main character is an officer of the Huntington Police Department. A reception will be held in honor of Mr. Connick to which the public is invited.

The Point Pleasant Writers Guild meets every first and third Wednesday of the month from 1–3 p.m. at the Mason County Library. All interested writers are welcome to attend.”

libfav

WSAZ-TV Covered Writers Can Read Event

On By MichaelConnickLeave a comment

One of our local TV stations, WSAZ, covered last Monday’s Writers Can Read event held at The Inner Geek bookstore, during which I read selections from my latest novel, HPD. The award-winning Rajia Habbib also read from her newly published novel. I think everyone who attended had a great time. Below are some images from the TV coverage of the event, including a great shot of my back.

Screenshot 2019-08-20 at 7.37.45 AM.png

Screenshot 2019-08-20 at 7.36.04 AM