2010 ANNUAL REPORT - James River Writers

[Pages:11]2010 ANNUAL REPORT

Our Mission

JRW builds community by connecting and inspiring writers and readers in central Virginia.

Message from Virginia Pye, Board Chair 2008-2010

As board chair for JRW in 2010, I have felt immense satisfaction in the many ways JRW reached deeper into the community, helping to create a true Richmond literary renaissance.

Last year was a watershed year for our organization. Our strong and vibrant board organized yet another stellar conference, which earned us well-deserved national attention in Writer's Digest. We became part of the Virginia Literary Festival. Attendance at our ongoing professional-development series, The Writing Show, swelled to an average of 100 people each month. We also built on our excellent working relationships with many other arts nonprofits here in town, including the Library of Virginia, the Visual Arts Center, and VCU Libraries. With the help of our key supporters-- Dominion Resources, Media General, Hunton & Williams, The Verizon Foundation, the NEA, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts -- we are stronger and more stable than ever.

See Virginia Pye's Op Ed piece in the Richmond Times Dispatch, December 2010



In 2010 the board of directors revisited JRW's strategic plan and charted a new course for the coming years. Our goals include expanding our staff, diversifying our audiences, reaching more young people and establishing a writing center. JRW is clearly here to stay, and with your help, we are poised to make a true difference in the lives of Richmonders. I look forward to 2011 and beyond. Our board is full of energy, ideas, and enthusiasm. We are committed to our continued growth and to bringing the literary arts to life to Central Virginia.

JRW 2008?2010 Board Chair Virginia Pye and current 2011-2012 Board Chair Lee Gimpel

Meet the People Working to Make JRW Better for You

Our Staff:

Administrative Director Anne Westrick has been the heartbeat of James River Writers since 2006, when she gracefully began overseeing administrative details for all programs. This past year, Anne completed her MFA in writing for children and young adults through the low-residency program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Anne's first novel was recently acquired. She is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Divinity School.

Meg Medina joined JRW's staff in January 2010 as development coordinator, where she helps the board of directors in all areas of fundraising. Meg's passion is writing for young people. She is the author of Milagros: Girl from Away (Henry Holt Books, 2008) and Tia Isa Wants a Car (Candlewick Press, June 2011). Her new young adult novel, The Girl Who Could Silence The Wind is forthcoming from Candlewick Press in 2012.

Erin Cundiff, a graduate of James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University, is JRW's bookkeeper. Erin writes when she can and reads even when she can't. Her current interests include opera, geology, 18th-century America, trains, classical music, the Spanish language and Latin American culture -- that, and her two young children.

Board of Directors 2010 Our board of directors was once again a Who's Who of Virginia authors, playwrights, corporate professionals, educators, and community leaders.

Virginia Pye, Chair 2010 Lee Gimpel, Vice Chair, 2010 Gigi Amateau Dougald Blue

Bill Blume Ellen F. Brown Shawna Christos

Susan Early Ryan Frazier Reginald Gordon Valley Haggard

Katharine Herndon Elizabeth Mason Horsley

Emyl Jenkins Douglas Jones

Jann Malone Brewster Rawls Maya Payne Smart

Kris Spisak Paula C. Squires George Tisdale III Cynthia Cros White

Last year we at JRW lost one of our most cherished board members.

Emyl Jenkins joined the JRW board of directors in 2007 and immediately set the standard for our first Best Unpublished Novel Contest, cosponsored with Richmond magazine. In 2008, she became chair of the annual writers' conference. That year's conference was a sold-out event that drew heavily on her personal connections to bring in top authors. In 2009, Emyl served on our executive committee as secretary. Both officially and unofficially, she was always happy to help aspiring authors hone their craft.

In her honor, JRW has established the Emyl Jenkins Award, awarded to an individual or organization that makes Virginia a better place for writers. The first recipient will be announced in June 2011.

Farewell and many thanks to the following members who stepped off the board at the end of 2010: Susan Early, Paula Squires, Bill Blume, Dougald Blue, and Cynthia Cros White.

JRW Board Bios



Emyl Jenkins Award



Visit the Facebook page

Ellen F. Brown with "Scarlett" at the book launch of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood.



Board Members in Focus

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Maya Payne Smart

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Our Year in Review

The JRW Annual Conference

"We have always strived for an event where southern hospitality meets professional know-how and inspiration, and we've gained a reputation for it. As we started the process of planning the 2010 conference, it was amazing to hear again and again from multiple New York literary agents that they had not only heard of our conference, but that it was one they would be excited to attend.

"So many details went into the eighth annual conference. From planning the logistics of four rooms with simultaneous panels over the course of two days, meeting the needs of our speakers flown in from across the country, vetting and prepping our moderators, initiating a new workshop day in conjunction with conference events, as well as feeding the brains, spirits, and stomachs of our attendees, I knew that running the conference would be a challenge; however, this was a challenge I was excited to be a part of.

"With more than 300 attendees present from central Virginia to Texas to Washington state, and coverage from the Richmond Times-Dispatch locally to Writer's Digest nationally, JRW's signature event was once again a huge success." -- Kris Spisak, Conference Chair

Many thanks to the Library of Virginia for hosting the JRW Conference.

Headliners Jacqueline Woodson

"TeehIxctviposewemrwiryliilatnehksgneicmnbeegapy. caImfkiblro!eos"vutetdit!

"Never has an hour passed so fast as it did in these sessions! The moderators were fantastic and kept the sessions lively, concise, and

informative."

Silas House

"All JRW representatives were so welcoming and affirmative!"

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Charles Todd

Kirk Ellis, Dean King and Charles J. Shields

Visit the website



Michael Olmert

The Writing Show

In 2010, under the board leadership of Valley Haggard, JRW offered Richmond its sassy professional development series, The Writing Show. This monthly event nurtures a community of both writers and readers.

Visit the website

From Richmond's own independent booksellers to national agents of social change to those who read original works in a mixed-genre open mic, the Writing Show in 2010 gave voice to a diverse array of opinion and expertise regarding the art and industry of the written word. Agents, editors, authors, poets, journalists, memoirists, playwrights, bloggers and more formed lively panels answering questions, asking their own, and inspiring audiences to pick up their pens.



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"It's a community of iatnhrteoeurinestsaetnerdedssitnoef.d"pienowphleawt Ih'mo aoEJn-vogeetahhmWeicaelmellOaafogncri,ecA:woGurfiegtTetuwrsYsittotue2rr0a10s ,

"IeItddmiidtoner'atsncatairdree,w`Ywroihtuyinhigtathvheaeptpoeenentxierpdela,sibneucttohmnisdy.'... half of the book." TAM2npono0almavn1Aie0nuDul,es,etodcwhHrnoheiaprelxvetrpaeseBnlnsoo,dhesnPeciAosoiitngmnlceectheanlhusratPdntaDeeemrddiBfsueociatncouantksht:eu,sisdnOHefcisxortosw-octbieaetry

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Many thanks to the Children's Museum of Richmond for hosting The Writing Show each month.

Candace Walsh

Phyllis Theroux

Writing for Social Change: Moderator Maya Payne Smart, Dr. Linda Beatrice, Michael Paul Williams, Emily Troutman

Focus on Students

Almost 300 young people in Richmond got to work with writers through JRW's 2010 partnerships. Whether we provided judges for writing contests, speakers for a young-writers' conference, internship opportunities, or writers-in-residence during the summer, JRW fulfilled its goal of helping kids write more and write better.

Partners: Latino Education Advancement Program and the Steward School Peter Paul Development Center Appomattox Regional Governor's School Richmond Area Reading Council SPARC's New Voices for the Theatre Program Virginia Commonwealth University

"Just remember that I'll always have unconditional love for you, mamita." That's what my mom says to me on the phone. --Natasha Cardona Varela, 16, Monacan High School

Excerpt from her work in ?Yo! A Celebration of Latino Families in Richmond

My Favorite Place

In my favorite place, the smell of homemade waffles wakes you up every morning. In my favorite place the feeling of the sun, like a sweater on your back, keeps you going all day.

It isn't unusual for the clouds to touch the water during a crimson red sunset. To enjoy an ice cream cone, bare feet dangling on the dock's worn edge, is an everyday occurrence. To skip through town, soaking wet from capsizing a boat, your feet in sandals (drenched of course) is a normal feeling. Strolling down the street, throwing a treat to every dog you come across, is a daily pleasure.

At night after a long day of sailing and who knows what else, it's oh so nice to jump into bed and dream of the smell of waffles waking you up the next morning.

I dream of another day in Oriental, North Carolina.

-- Caroline James, Grade 3, St. Michael's Episcopal School First Place, Elementary Richmond Area Reading Council Student Essay contest 2010

The Girl With A Sword

I find myself staring at the plain, white board,

about half the size of my door. Wanting to draw a girl with a sword, but finding myself on the floor.

I pace the perimeter of my room, Longing for a breath of fresh air. The words in the sky they float on by, Can only catch a ride if you dare.

I come away from the window and back to the board,

Picturing myself as the girl with a sword.

Knowing it's nothing but canvas and wood,

I think to myself you never could...

...But if someday I could slay That beast with all my might I would say Hello, how are you

today? This may be your last night.

As my pencil hits the paper, my drawing comes to life. Here's an arm and there's a leg, And that's your long steel knife.

You work so hard at what you do You try so you may earn You listen when a storm comes

through And someday you will learn

I'm not something you can control I'm not a Lady nor a Lord I'm what lies inside my soul,

I am the Girl with a Sword.

--Alex Norman, Grade 6, Goochland Middle School First Place, Middle Richmond Area Reading Council Student Essay contest 2010

Virginia Arts and Letters Live

"You never know what's going to happen with an annual one-day event. Will the guest host arrive drunk? Will the theater remember you're coming? Will anyone show up?

Read more about Irene

"Moving Virginia Arts & Letters LIVE to the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen took a lot of pressure off Barksdale Theatre folks, who have been generous for seven years. It also took a lot of pressure off JRW, as we were included in their subscription mailing, printing and advertising effort. But it was Pat Carroll who brought class, comedy and charm to the event. She nailed her story, and afterward, spent a lot of time talking with her fans.

Pat Carroll, host of VALL 2010

"There is no lack of talent in Richmond, but a true star lit up the stage that night

with a grace that has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with art."

-- Irene Ziegler, director, was the recipient of the

2010 Theresa Pollak Prize for Artistic Excellence.

to RTD article

Other Ways We're Creating a Community of Writers

Writer's Wednesdays, a social hour for our area writers

"As hostess of Writer`s Wednesdays, I'm proud to say that this monthly event

continues to be popular with JRW members and guests. As a relaxed, social

gathering, Writer`s Wednesday offers a chance to meet other writers in a

friendly environment. Want to share success stories, give encouragement,

make connections? This is the place. Caf? Gutenberg provides a pleasant

space, excellent libations, and delicious fare, all served by a smiling staff."

-- Denise Golinowski, JRW member since 2006

Many thanks to Caf? Gutenberg for hosting Writer's Wednesdays.

Get Your Word On: An Electronic Newsletter

George Tisdale

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Meet your editor:

George Tisdale

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