| P. O. Box 5039 Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 E-Mail: admin@iwn-hhi.org |
Island Writers' Network
| History of the Island Writers' Network |
| The Hilton Head Island Writers’ Network aims to support, inspire, and mentor writers in both the business and the craft of writing. Its members write in all genres, including fiction, nonfiction, memoir, children’s literature, and poetry. They range in experience from the aspiring neophyte to the multi-published author. The organization came into existence in 1999 when new Hilton Head resident, Jo Williams, ran an ad in The Island Packet seeking people interested in establishing a critique group. Eighteen people responded. As the membership grew rapidly, the group helped launch the careers of several founding members who gained contracts with commercial publishing houses. Notable alumnae of IWN are Kathryn Wall, the author of eleven Bay Tanner mysteries; Vicky Hunnings, who has three mysteries published by Avalon Press; and Jo Williams, whose novel The Song My Soul Remembers, was published by Coastal Villages Press. Many additional members have experienced the satisfaction of seeing their work in print through various print-on-demand and self-publishing venues. Through the years IWN has hosted several one-day workshops and a three-day writers’ conference at Palm Key in 2005. Meeting programs have included local writers and poets, journalists, editors, book reviewers, and noted authors like John Jakes, John Maxim, CJ Lyons, and Sandra Brown. Members have served as volunteers in local schools and community literacy projects, taught workshops, participated in book festivals, and been guest speakers at events such as BRAVO, Beaufort County's month long celebration of the arts. Hilton Head Island: Unpacked & Staying was IWN’s first venture into anthology publication. Proposed by moderator Lorine Getz, members have gained hands-on experience with seeing the publishing process through from the germ of an idea through writing and revision, all the way to the selection of a publisher and marketing the finished product. The IWN has subsequently published a second anthology, Hilton Headings, and plans to release a third in 2012. The group meets on the first Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Heritage Library on Hilton Head Island. (Location) |
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| P. O. Box 5039 Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 E-Mail: admin@iwn-hhi.org |
Island Writers' Network