Siloam Springs Writers Conference

Over a year ago, I was asked if the Siloam Springs Writers Guild would conduct a writers conference. As the newly-elected president of the guild, I said, "I'll think about it."

That was a "wave-off" because I was new to the guild and I had too many things to learn about administering a writers' club. I didn't even want to think about a conference.

But that was a year ago. We have more members and we are now ready to launch out. On July 7-8 (Friday and Saturday) in the fellowship hall at First Baptist Church of Siloam Springs, we will have our very first Siloam Springs Writers Guild Conference.

We will kick off the conference at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 7, with a meal that will be catered by the Rib Crib here in Siloam Springs. Cost of the meal is included in the $30 conference fee. Paul Linzey, my brother, will open the conference by speaking on Using Passion to Drive Your Story. The sessions led by Paul will be applicable for all writing genres.

We will reconvene at 9 a.m. the next morning, Saturday, when Traci Manos will speak on Creative Fiction; Dennis Patton will speak on The Importance of Poetry; and Paul Linzey will speak on Adding Depth to Your Writing. Door prizes will be given and the speakers will host a Q&A session toward the end.

Paul Linzey will be the keynote speaker. After completing an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Tampa with a dual emphasis in fiction and nonfiction, Dr. Linzey (retired U.S. Army Chaplain who conducts marriage seminars with his wife Linda) teaches Creative Writing at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. He has written articles for numerous religious and military publications and magazines; and after returning from Iraq, was featured in live interviews on CNN and the Miami Herald. He was a writer/editor for Life Publisher's "The Warriors Bible," which was published in 2014. Then in 2015, he completed a book called "Safest Place in Iraq." He has provided personal and professional mentoring over the past twenty years, and is working on a new book about the principles for creating a successful marriage. In addition to writing and teaching, he developed the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, a new degree program at Southeastern University. He was recently selected to be the Chair of the Department of Humanities.

Dennis Patton is the President of the Poet's Roundtable of Arkansas. Growing up in Clarksville, Ark., with a mother who continuously read to her young children, Dennis Patton has enjoyed poetry from childhood. Moving to Little Rock, Dennis saw a weekly poetry column in the Saline Courier which included an invitation to all who enjoyed or wrote poetry, and that prompted him to become a member of Saline County branch of Poets' Roundtable of Arkansas (PRA) in 2005. An avid hunter and fisherman, he takes pen and pad along with his coffee, sandwich, and gun to the deer stand; and at times his writing prevents him from getting that trophy. His poems have been published in the local newspaper, the Saline Courier; in the Mau-Mag, a quarterly periodical; the Calliope, a writer's workshop; and in the Encore, a publication for prize poems of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. He has won awards in Arkansas poetry contests as well as in other states. He has judged poetry contests in several states' poetry societies as well as in the NFSPS annual contests. His love for poetry has convinced him that life is too short to be without poetry.

Traci Rae Manos is the Advisor and Co-Curricular Coordinator of the Honors Scholars Program at John Brown University. She earned a B.A. in English Literature from John Brown University in 2001 and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arkansas in 2014. She has studied poetry in Oxford, U.K., and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. In 2015, Manos was nominated for the Masters Thesis Award at the University of Arkansas and was selected as a finalist for the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Ma. Her poem, "Outlaw Country," won the 2014 Guy Owen Award from Southern Poetry Review. Her interests include creative writing, singing/songwriting, Americana music, and riding horses.

You will be inspired by these speakers. Contact me ([email protected]) or Ted Weathers ([email protected]) for further information. See you there.

-- Gene Linzey is a speaker, author, mentor and president of the Siloam Springs Writers Guild. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.