American Writers Review 2021: Turmoil and Recovery

As of this writing, the pandemic continues, killing record numbers of people. Moreover, countries that had enjoyed democratic governments are facing authoritarian attacks. Divisions run through the fabric of our homes, our families, our nations. At the same moment, there are wellsprings of hope, love, and connection.
‘Our 2021 Issue’, from American Writers Review website

A brand new edition of American Writers Review has just been released by San Fedele Press, and once again we’re excited to see the journal featuring original work from our own Elwood Writers Helen McDonald and Barry Lee Thompson.

American Writers Review 2021: Turmoil and Recovery

Helen has three poems in the book: ‘Aftermath’, ‘Covid Lockdown (an Haibun)’, and ‘Restoration’.

From Barry, there are three short stories: ‘Glassy’, ‘Afterdark’, and ‘First Day Of Summer’.

For more information, including how to get hold of a copy of American Writers Review 2021: Turmoil and Recovery, follow the links found here.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this latest issue. We can’t wait to get our hands on it.

Happy reading and writing, as always.

Elwood Writers

EW Member News

Helen’s haibun ‘January’ is published in Issue 9 of Drifting Sands, May 2021. Drifting Sands is a journal of haibun and tanka prose. For more information about the journal, go here. You can read Helen’s beautiful haibun here.

Jennifer’s story ‘The Angel of Gennevilliers’ was recognised in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize 2020/21, making it on to their very competitive long-list. This annual international contest has become an established event on the literary calendar. There were 1631 entries in the 2020/21 competition.

Very well done to both!

Special offer: Every Second Tuesday

It’s come to our attention that Book Depository is currently discounting Every Second Tuesday in every country they service. For example, in Australia they’re offering the book at A$20.24, which represents a saving of A$1.76 on their cover price. Factor in their free delivery worldwide, and it’s a great opportunity to get your hands on a copy of the anthology. So don’t miss out. Check it out here. You can alter the currency to whatever’s appropriate to your location, at the drop-down near the top right of the page .

The mix in Every Second Tuesday is eclectic, the stories and poems deliciously delightful, crammed full of the unexpected and perfect for those with only a small window of time to indulge in their gentle obsession of reading the written word.
Janet Mawdesley, Blue Wolf Reviews

There are memories of childhood, recollected experiences, and overseas travel, the tense facing up to teenage thieves with knives, to a baby suddenly slipping over the side of a boat. There is the sharing of the pleasure found in the ordinary task of ironing, to the threatening suspense of ‘The interrupter’. All in all there is an amazing variety of snippets of life contained in this slim volume that make for compelling reading.
Helen Eddy, ReadPlus

Happy shopping and even happier reading!

More reviews of Every Second Tuesday

Since we last posted, more reviews of Every Second Tuesday have come to light.

Bruce Gillespie’s write-up of the anthology can be found on page 12 of SF Commentary No. 105, March 2021. You can read Bruce’s take on the stories here.

Over on BookBub, Ann McCauley has listed the book as a recommended title. Take a look at Ann’s comments here. You might have to be a member of the BookBub community to access that link, but you can also go here for the review.

Thanks so much to Ann and Bruce. We’re always tremendously grateful to anyone who reads the anthology, or who’s placed it in their reading pile on the bedside table. Remember, the best way to support writers is to read their work, or share it, or tell others about it. If you still haven’t got your very own copy of Every Second Tuesday, find out how you can get your hands on one here.

Happy reading and writing,

Elwood Writers

ReadPlus Recommends

There are memories of childhood, recollected experiences, and overseas travel, the tense facing up to teenage thieves with knives, to a baby suddenly slipping over the side of a boat. There is the sharing of the pleasure found in the ordinary task of ironing, to the threatening suspense of ‘The interrupter’. All in all there is an amazing variety of snippets of life contained in this slim volume that make for compelling reading.
Helen Eddy, ReadPlus

On the heels of the recent Blue Wolf review of Every Second Tuesday comes a recommendation from ReadPlus. You can access their full write-up here.

ReadPlus is a resource for librarians, teachers and parents. Read about their work here.

Blue Wolf howls about Every Second Tuesday

The mix in Every Second Tuesday is eclectic, the stories and poems deliciously delightful, crammed full of the unexpected and perfect for those with only a small window of time to indulge in their gentle obsession of reading the written word.
Janet Mawdesley, Blue Wolf Reviews

Read the full write-up at the link below:

Every Second Tuesday – Blue Wolf Reviews (bluewolf-reviews.com)

Don’t touch that dial

A reminder to stay tuned to 94.9 MAINfm today to hear Elwood Writers’ Helen McDonald read from the group’s anthology, Every Second Tuesday.

Helen will be on The Quiet Carriage with Paul J Laverty from 1:00pm. You can listen on the radio, or online from anywhere in the world.

For listening info, go here.

The Quiet Carriage is MAINfm’s dedicated literature show all about books and authors, hosted by Paul J Laverty. MAINfm comes out of Castlemaine in Victoria.

Happy listening!

The Quiet Carriage | 94.9 MAINfm

Tune in to The Quiet Carriage on Castlemaine’s 94.9 MAINfm at 1:00pm tomorrow to hear Helen McDonald of Elwood Writers reading from our anthology Every Second Tuesday. Helen will be reading stories and poetry including … well, we don’t want to spoil the surprise, so you’ll have to listen in to find out.

Hear the program on the radio, or online, or wait for the podcast to appear on Spotify. We’ll share the podcast on this website as soon as it’s available.

For listening info, program details, and more about the work of MAINfm, check out the following link:
94.9 MAINfm | Castlemaine and Mount Alexander Radio | » The Quiet Carriage

The Quiet Carriage is hosted by Paul J Laverty every Friday from 1 to 2:00pm. All aboard!

New-Year Highs

While last year was taken up with the production and launch of our anthology Every Second Tuesday, each of us was also busy working on our individual projects. We all rounded off the year on personal highs.

Jennifer’s short story ‘The First Day’ was awarded a Highly Commended in the Port Stephens Literature Awards 2020.

Margaret’s story ‘Pastry Fever’ appeared in the Fall 2020 edition of Door Is A Jar literary magazine (Issue 16). Door Is A Jar is a US publication of poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, drama and artwork.

Helen was excited to have her poem ‘In deep blue’ selected for Democratic Poetic | Poetry Matters Issue 40 December 2020, a gathering of the journal’s finest poems from 2006 to 2019.

The successful launch of Barry’s first book Broken Rules and Other Stories in September was followed by the publication of Every Second Tuesday, and Barry is already planning and writing his next book.

The creative spirit surges. Watch this space throughout 2021 for more Elwood Writers news.

A ‘Live’ Concert at Last! Music, She Wrote

“The theme of this concert: ‘Music, She Wrote’ was an admirable exploration of the work of women composers of the 19th and early 20th century.” Jennifer has begun 2021 by attending a live concert, with live performers and an in-real-life audience, and no Zooming in sight. From her own website, here’s Jennifer’s review.

littlesmackerel

The venue for this concert was a fairly new space in suburban Melbourne, The Button Factory. A pleasant place to be on a hot day with a bar at the back, plenty of indoor plants and an interesting gallery. https://thebuttonfactory.com.au/

I had heard nearly all of the performers in pre-Covid days – often in concerts associated with the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). I had assumed that all were fully professional and was surprised to read that some of them have ‘day jobs’ such as pharmacist and physiotherapist – a sign of the hard lot of the professional musician.

The theme of this concert: ‘Music, She Wrote’ was an admirable exploration of the work of women composers of the 19^th and early 20^th century. The only composer I’d heard of was the most recent, Margaret Sutherland (1897 – 1984).