The Morgantown Writers Group has done a lot to promote our anthology recently. We’ve attended four events during the months of November and December, which is an explosion of activity outside of our normal Tuesday meetings. As the unofficial events writer, I dropped the ball and did not take photos at every event, but I will share what I have.
Our first event was the Local Authors event at the Morgantown Public Library on the first floor. We connected with a few people interested in joining the group, sold a few copies of the anthology, and saw some familiar faces. Mark Brazaitis, a WVU professor, sold his newest book and donated the proceeds to the library. Linda Gribko, an author, photographer, and artist of Milkweed Rising had novels, prints, and stickers. Umbrella Arts made an appearance and made space for participants to write and share led by Sam Stebbins. They also handed out their art-based poetry ‘zine that focuses on young artists.
Our second event was another local author’s fair held at the Bridgeport public library. This event allowed me to connect with authors outside of my normal sphere and was a lot of fun. I met two inspirational authors; Linda Zinn, who wrote “Arise! Shine!” and Lisa A. McCombs who wrote “Sunflower Sisters.” I also connected with S.L. Baron who writes urban fiction and paranormal romance and Peter Taylor who is a veteran and historian who writes about his experiences in Vietnam. You’d best believe that I bought as many books from these authors as I could and made them all autograph my copies!
Our third event was a book signing at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Morgantown. This event felt like a dream come true! I never imagined that I would have my writing there, let alone have a signing event. I’m sure other authors in the anthology felt the same. A large number of MWG authors attended to connect with readers and to sign copies. We were set up right by the front door and spoke with all kinds of wonderful people who were willing to stop and chat.
Our fourth and final event for this year was a reading hosted by the Morgantown Public Library in their ground floor conference room on December 7th. Stan traveled from California to read and to meet most of us for the first time in person. We were happy to have him and are grateful that he was willing to make the trip!
Patty acted as our master of ceremony and did a wonderful job of introducing each author. She kept things running smoothly and coordinated with the Morgantown Public Library to make sure we had a room and even microphones.
The featured readers were myself (Melissa), Eric, Stan, Gwenyth, Janis, Matt, and Kathleen read their stories and poems featured in the anthology. I loved hearing everyone read as well as learning the inspiration behind each piece. Everyone did a fantastic job and it was a wonderful way to close out 2024!
I’ve learned a lot by working on the anthology, both in the writing and the editing phases, but even better than the lessons I learned along the way, it gave me the chance to get together with the fantastic authors and meet lots of new people.
I’m excited for 2025, and I look forward to the new adventures that wait for me and the Morgantown Writers Group!
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