As a reminder, for Memorial Day this year we are meeting at Parks and Paula Adams home in Forest Grove at the regular time on Monday at 9 a.m. Most people bring a small snack or some food or drink item to share with a group afterwards. Hope to see you there.
News
Lend an Ear 2017 on July 8, 2017
The 8th Annual Lend an Ear, Come and Hear reading event is July 8, 2017, at Plum Hill Winery in Gaston, Oregon. It begins at 10:30AM and goes to approximately 1PM, and is produced by Writers in the Grove.
July 8, 2017
Saturday 11am-1pm
Plum Hill Vineyards
6505 SW Old Highway 47
Gaston OR 97119
The event is free and open to the public.
For eight years, writers from around Forest Grove and Washington County have submitted and read their work to dozens. Last year we broke records with over a hundred attendees. This free event is held in a beautiful winery in the foothills near Hagg Lake overlooking the Tualitin Valley. There will be food from several food wagons and, of course, some wine from Plum Hill Winery, our fabulous hosts. Come laugh, cry, and sigh as you listen to our marvelous readers sharing their creative writing and storytelling skills.
Enter Your Submission: If you would like to participate as one of our readers, submit your poems or prose of four-minute readings per the instructions on our submission form for Lend an Ear, available as a downloadable Word document or PDF file to complete and return to Writers in the Grove by June 12, 2017. Submissions must be original and able to be read out loud for no more than 4 minutes. This is a juried event. Pieces will be selected on the basis or originality, writing style, and quality of work. All genres are welcome, however, they must be family friendly. Submissions should reflect content suitable for mixed age groups.
Come join Writers in the Grove for this fun, family event at Plum Hill Winery.
Writers in the Grove News: Local Pen Pals
At the beginning of this school year 2016-2017, a local parent and volunteer with the nearby Gaston, Oregon, elementary school contacted Writers in the Grove about a local pen pal program. Many members volunteered to correspond with the children at the school, and it has changed lives on both ends of the mailbox.
Words bring old and young writers together in special partnership” features the unique program of connecting local writers with local elementary students for a pen pal program, and includes interviews with several of our members.
Gretchen Keefer had a question for the sixth-graders at Gaston Elementary School: What are you thankful for?
She wrote to them as part of the pen-pal relationship between Gaston Elementary and her Forest Grove writing group, hoping the question would give the students something to write back about.
Turns out the students had never thought much about thankfulness, said their teacher, Thea Hiersche.
But after taking the time to list all the things they love in life, they were “amazed,” said Hiersche. From there, the class “started the conversation about how we, as a thankful community, could help others who don’t have as much.”
Keefer’s writing prompt ended up inspiring a donation drive for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland.
That’s how words can turn into ideas that turn into actions. It’s also how old-fashioned letters can provide inspiration and writing help to young students — and joy to their grown-up writing partners.
“Just seeing these older people gathered around the table — none of them can wait to open the letters as soon as we get our stacks,” said Mary Jane Nordgren, a member of the writing group. “It really warms the hearts of everyone.”
This wonderful project could not have happened without the dedication of Sheila Harter. She has worked overtime to volunteer her services as “pony express courier” to collect letters from both groups and exchange them every week.
You may read the full article on the Forest Grove Times News site, and check out our pictures of the articles below.
Writers in the Grove Monday Meeting at Adams Home
Due to the President’s Day Holiday on Monday, the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center in Forest Grove, Oregon, will be closed. We’ll be meeting again at the home of Parks and Paula Adams in downtown Forest Grove. Please contact us if you need directions.
If you would like to bring a potluck item for sharing and munching after, it would be appreciated.
Writers in the Grove Monday Meeting at Adams Home
Be brave, the roads should be fairly clear by Monday. Due to the Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday, the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center in Forest Grove, Oregon, will be closed. We’ll be meeting again at the home of Parks and Paula Adams in downtown Forest Grove. Please contact us if you need directions.
The streets through Forest Grove are clear and there is plenty of parking on the roads in and around their home, especially near the post office or bank offices. Take care when walking on the sidewalks as the snow has not been cleared thoroughly through the neighborhood.
If you would like to bring a potluck item for sharing and munching after, it would be appreciated.
See you there! And stay warm.
PS: Don’t forget that next Saturday is Wintersong, our annual winter reading event. Help spread the news and invite everyone to join us for this free event.
Monday’s Meeting Cancelled
Due to extreme weather conditions and your personal safety, the Monday Writers in the Grove meeting for January 9, 2017, is cancelled at the Forest Grove Community and Senior Center in Forest Grove, Oregon.
We will return to our normally scheduled meeting next Monday.
Be safe and warm. And stay off the roads unless you absolutely have to be out.
Kendra Elliot to Speak to Writers in the Grove February 13, 2017
On February 13, 2017, author Kendra Elliot will speak at our Monday Writers in the Grove meeting at 9AM at the Forest Grove Community and Senior Center in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Elliot is a prolific author of suspense, thriller, and murder mysteries. After reading a newspaper article about NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, she decided she could sit down and write 50,000 words in 30 days, and did. She says on her website:
I sat down and wrote a contemporary romance but kept tripping over dead bodies in each chapter. I got the hint and my stories evolved into romantic suspense.
This Pacific Northwest native continues to live in the area and says she is obsessed with forensics, even studying with the FBI, and is involved in many writers associations and groups dedicated to her genre, weaving everything she learns into her fascinating stories.
Elliot has published numerous books including the popular series The Bone Secrets, Callahan and McLane, The Mercy Kilpatrick, and The Rogue River Novella series.
She will be talking about how she writes her books so fast and furious, publishing several a year, and about the publishing industry, dealing with agents and publishers.
Please join us for this fascinating presentation. There is no charge. We thank Kendra Elliot for her generosity in sharing her experiences with us.
