Spring has sprung...

…the grass has ris.

We had our winter early and hard and the east has been clobbered, but it feels fresh in Utah.

Just wanted to extend a thank you to Julie Daines for an enlightening talk at the Pleasant Grove Library and to those who arranged it. That’s how some writers greeted the equinox. First chapters are first impressions and Julie gave us tips to make them shine. 

Other Utah writers were in attendance, several of them contributors to this blog. It is said our writing community has caught the attention of New York and other publishing circles. After months of knowing these writers online, it was enjoyable meeting them face to face.

Our community is strong because we are engaged in sharing it. This UCW blog has speakers scheduled monthly into the fall. The next one has Carol Lynch Williams, a friend to children writers and a strong influence in the raising of craft of Utah writing. SCBWI runs informal critique sessions the fourth Wednesday and Thursday and meets in both Utah and Salt Lake County. LD Storymakers is an annual event that comes up in April and Carol’s superb WIFYR conference runs again this June. Sherry Meidell held her illustrators session this year and there was a writing retreat last this month at Sundance.  And, if you read this in time and have nothing to do, make your way to Shannon Hale’s Writing for Charity at the Provo Library. It happens today and probably has already started.  Details can be found here. There are a lot of writing events going on in the state. 

Because there is so much going on, it would be nice to see them all in one place. Perhaps the Facebook page Scott Rhoades set up would be a better place to share them. For now, here is a list of events through spring and into summer. I’ve probably missed some; please leave comment to share others you know of.

Local Up-Coming Writing Events

-Wed. 3/26 - SCBWI Salt Lake critique session - 7:00pm Millcreek Library

-Thu. 3/27 - SCBWI Utah County critique session - 7:00pm Orem Public Library

-Sat. 3/29 - Southern Utah SCBWI Spring Workshop - Cedar City, UT

-Thu. 4/18 - UCW blog event: Carol Lynch Williams and Cheri Earl Pray on writing partnerships - Pleasant Grove, UT

-Wed. 4/23 - SCBWI Salt Lake critique session - 7:00pm Millcreek Library

-Thu. 4/24 - SCBWI Utah County critique session - 7:00pm Orem Public Library

-April 24-26 - LDStorymakers Writing Conference - Layton, UT

-Thu. 5/15 - UCW event: editor’s panel - Pleasant Grove, UT

-Wed. 5/28 - SCBWI Salt Lake critique session - 7:00pm Millcreek Library

-Thu. 5/29 - SCBWI Utah County critique session - 7:00pm Orem Public Library

-June 16-20 - Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers 2014 Conference - Sandy, UT (If I may interject a personal bias, WIFYR is one of the best things writers can do for themselves.)

-Thu. 6/19 - UCW event: Angie Lofthouse on dialog - Pleasant Grove, UT

-Wed. 6/25 - SCBWI Salt Lake critique session - 7:00pm Millcreek Library

-Thu. 6/26 - SCBWI Utah County critique session - 7:00pm Orem Public Library

Spring has sprung, the grass has ris, Utah’s where the writing is.

(This article also posted at http://utahchildrenswriters.blogspot.com)