Thursday, September 14

9:00 AM

3:00 PM

Write Your Story at the Submarine Force Library and Museum: Managed by MWSA Past President Bob Doerr, this event will take place at 1 Crystal Lake Road, Groton, CT.

3:15 PM

Remembrance Ceremony for Mike Mullins: At the Submarine Force Museum and Library, at approximately 3:15 PM after our Write Your Story workshop ends, hold a brief remembrance ceremony at Mike Mullins’ ceremonial brick on the walkway to the museum. Mike “Moon” Mullins was a longtime member and significant contributor to MWSA. Members in New London at that time are invited to attend. Additionally, those members familiar with Mike may write something to be read at the ceremony; Haiku, poem, short memory, or story, please keep it under 200 words.  If you will be attending and will have a camera with you, we would appreciate your taking some photos that we want to share on social media, our website, Dispatches, and with Mike’s widow, Phyllis.

6:00 PM

8:00 PM

Kick-Off Reception Buffet:  and a Cash Bar in the Grand Ballroom. Your name tag and registration packet will be available at the reception.

Friday, September 15

7:30 AM

5:00 PM

Registration Desk: Any registration issues, please locate jim greenwald. Schedule of times the desk is manned is on the table.

7:30 AM

8:00 AM

MWSA Quarterly Board Meeting: The Board will discuss membership, organization, finances, old business, and new business. Only MWSA board members are required to attend, but the meeting is open to interested members.

8:15 AM

 9:00 AM

MWSA Annual Membership Meeting - Organization Status, Connections, and Networking: President jim greenwald will welcome membership. Vice President Valerie Ormond will facilitate the second part of this session with an opportunity to let everyone know who you are and what you do - writing, publishing, editing, or other. Enjoy this early networking opportunity!

9:15 AM

10:15 AM  

How We Judge MWSA Books: (Hint: It's partly by the cover). MWSA Awards Director Betsy Beard will provide authors and reviewers alike with an inside look at the internal parameters we use to assess books. We will discuss the expectations we have for each genre as well as the 20 questions we use to score each book. At the end of the session, time permitting, we will take questions and suggestions for refining the judging questions for clarity and brevity.

10:30 AM

11:00 AM

The Future of Dispatches and MWSA Publications: Presented by Sandra Linhart, Dispatches Editor.

11:10 AM

11:40 AM

MWSA Communications: A two-way discussion hosted by Communications Committee Chair Gary Zelinski. Let’s talk about attracting more members, partners, and sponsors. Our mission is to help MWSA writers improve their craft and capitalize on the resources of writing including mentorship, editing, publishing, and marketing. Let’s explore ways to help our published authors become even more successful.

11:50 AM

1:15 PM

Lunch: Lunch is on your own with plenty of nearby locations for lunch. A few ideas are listed in your “Welcome Package,” and at the registration desk.

1:30 PM

2:15 PM

A Staged Reading of Scenes from “This Bequest of Wings” Presented by MWSA
Member Nancy Arbuthnot: An American Journey, by Le Pham Le & Nancy Arbuthnot, with audience participation encouraged. “Wings” presents the story of the Vietnamese refugee family of Mai Trung, her husband Minh, son Vinh, and American-born daughter Kim, with scenes moving back and forth in chronology from Saigon in the 1960s and 70s, to a Malaysian refugee camp in 1978, to the U.S. in the late 70s through 2010. To maintain control of the shifting narrative, the figures in the younger generation – Kim, now a marine fighter pilot; Vinh, a historian; and Andre, a musician and son of a wounded Vietnam War veteran – function as present-day narrators as well as characters. Written in loosely rhyming lines, “This Bequest of Wings” confronts critical concerns of our time, including issues of love and war, intergenerational conflict, and personal and national identity.

 2:30 PM

3:15 PM

The Amistad: Henry Savin of the New London Maritime Museum (Custom House) will provide a presentation on the historical slave ship Amistad featured in the 1997 movie based on a true 1839 event.

3:30 PM

5:00 PM

Buckaroo Auction: Jaime Navarro and Randy Beard, experienced “Auctioneers” will host. Back by popular demand, come experience a unique MWSA event where you can get to know some of your colleagues better. Now is your chance to spend those “Buckaroos” you’ve earned and find out how to earn more. The object is not what you get, but to have fun doing it. What you have earned will be included in your registration packet.

5:00 PM

 >>>>>>

FREE Time: See local points of interest, enjoy dinner by the shore, and relax.

Saturday, September 16

7:00 AM

2:15 PM

Registration Desk: Any registration issues, please locate jim greenwald.

8:00 AM

8:45 AM

Publishing Perspectives: A moderated panel of MWSA authors (Terese Schlachter, Kathy Rodgers, and Janette Stone) - The Big Five, small to medium press, and independent publishing. This will be an interactive panel including questions and discussion from the audience.

9:00 AM

9:45 AM

British General Benedict Arnold Burns New London: Steve Manuel, Director of the “New London Historical Society,” will speak on and about Benedict Arnold, his involvement in the burning of New London and more. He will have with him artifacts that belonged to Arnold.

10:00 AM

10:45 AM

Ekphrastic Writing: Terese Schlachter, co-author of the novel Finding Waypoints: A Warrior's Journey Toward Peace and Purpose, will guide writers in a session on ekphrastic writing. Over 2,000 years ago poets used ekphrasis, or description, to translate visual situations to written words. Terese will help writers of all genres see how they can add additional depth to their writing using this technique.

11:00 AM

11:45 AM

A Panel Discussion on How to Research, Write, Publish, and Distribute an Award-winning Book:

Ruth W. Crocker, author of Those Who Remain: Remembrance & Reunion After War (Memoir) and MWSA Secretary

Lisa Hall Brownell, author of Gallows Road (Historical Fiction)

Annette Grunseth, author of Combat and Campus: Writing Through War (Nonfiction/ Hybrid Memoir).

12:00 PM

1:00 PM

Lunch: Buffet lunch in the Grand Ballroom. Pasta with Sauce, Chicken Parmesan, House Salad, Cookies, and Iced Tea.

1:15 PM

2:00 PM

Untapped Potential – Coast Guard History As Story Source Material: Presented by Gary M. Thomas, Retired Coast Guard Commander and Executive Director of the Foundation for Coast Guard History. Coast Guard history represents an untapped source of potential storylines that have not been deeply explored or written about. If you are interested in writing about joint operations, the Coast Guard has been working jointly with the other services since the Mexican-American War. If you are interested in writing about military technology, the Coast Guard has been at the forefront of navigation, small boat, and search and rescue technologies and operations. If you study military organization, the evolution, merging, and sometimes fight for survival of the Coast Guard and her predecessor services is little documented. And if your focus is military culture, the Coast Guard has many untold stories of diversity and inclusion.

2:15 PM

3:00 PM

Open Mic: Your Host Sandra Linhart. The first 5 members who emailed jimwritespoetry@gmail.com will get 5 minutes each to read from their written work, tell jokes, dance, or do magic tricks. Come join, listen, and learn

3:15 PM

4:00 PM

Writing a Counseling Scene: Hosted by MWSA Book Award Finalist Kathy Maresca.  Why do so many movies have counseling scenes? Learn how to write a dynamic passage that will connect with readers. We will explore how this literary device fuels characterization and adds vitality to plot.

6:00 PM

9:30 PM

Banquet and Awards Ceremony in the Grand Ballroom: Cash Bar from (6 - 9:00). Entree Choices (Pan Seared Salmon, Chicken Parmesan, Prime Rib), House Salad, Potato, Vegetable, Rolls/Butter, Tiramisu. Dress: No dress code, although members and guests tend to dress cocktail/semi-formal/casual.