Each review and awards season starts (author submission window opens) on Jan 2. MWSA authors can submit books until June 1.
We normally announce finalists around mid-August, and present medals during our annual membership conference (Sept—Nov).
Each review and awards season starts (author submission window opens) on Jan 2. MWSA authors can submit books until June 1.
We normally announce finalists around mid-August, and present medals during our annual membership conference (Sept—Nov).
Click on the blue Register button below to get started.
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Can't see any member rates? Having trouble logging in?
First, scroll down and read the Notes & Instructions. If that doesn’t work and you can’t register,
Click here to go directly to the conference registration page of our membership website.
Hotel TBD
Conference Overview
If you want to participate in a panel or would like to make a presentation, please let Rob Lofthouse know, using our Event Contact Form or email Rob directly at events@mwsa.co
We’d love to share any photo(s) you took during the conference. Use the button below to drag and drop your images to our MWSA Dropbox account. Thanks!
Note:
The special hotel rate expired on September 3, and our conference registration window is now closed.
MWSA conferences are a great opportunity for members to network and hone their writing skills. In addition, we have routinely gotten very favorable feedback on our conferences from past attendees. We have planned some very good seminars, and the Awards Banquet is always a hit. Our selected locations normally provide outstanding opportunities to visit popular tourist attractions along with top military related historical settings: the Alamo in San Antonio, the WWII museum in New Orleans, etc. This one is no exception as we are right next to the USS Midway and not far from a large Marine training center -- in case any of you want to enlist. :-)
San Diego is a great place to take the family on holiday. We encourage you to attend. As they say, "The more, the merrier."
You can use our Event Contact Form or email Bob directly at Events@mwsa.co if you have any questions.
See you in San Diego!
Part Four: The Rewrite: You’ve written your script, created your bible, now what?” by Greg Elliot
It’s time to cast your vote for MWSA leadership.
Visit our election page to learn about the candidates and to cast your vote.
Voting will remain open to MWSA members in good standing until September 7.
MWSA will announce our 2024 Awards Finalists this Saturday, July 6, at 8 PM Eastern (7 Central, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific Daylight Time).
The announcement will be broadcast on our Facebook and Instagram accounts at that time. You can watch the video live by yourself using the Facebook and Instagram links below.
But why watch by yourself when you can watch it with your fellow MWSA authors at a live online watch party? ;-)
Zoom Watch Party
This year, we’re trying something new: a finalist announcement watch party on Zoom. Join us 5-10-15 minutes before the scheduled time. Then, we’ll watch the video together live at the times listed above (8 PM Eastern).
After the video airs, we’ll spend another 15-30 minutes congratulating this year’s winners and/or fielding any questions you may have. Use the link below to join us on Zoom.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89879264354?pwd=0sqzjCEtps9AJ0OS3PggXPxVsIEoF9.1
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/live_videos
https://www.instagram.com/mwsa.member/
If you miss the live presentations, we’ll post the video on our website and our allied social media sites. We’ll also publish a list of our finalists on our 2024 season page shortly after the live video announcement (https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2024-season)
Good luck to all our 2024 authors!
Where does your story take place? When does your story take place? The past? The future? And what’s your tone? Dark, with a sense of humor? Light, but with a serious streak? Laying out the foundation of your story in your bible.
MWSA’s 2024 season will start two weeks earlier than in years past.
We’ll start accepting author book submissions on January 2, 2024, and the window will remain open until June 1. This will give us more breathing room before this year’s awards banquet in San Diego, CA, on September 28, 2024.
We’ll provide further details as we approach the season kickoff. Stay tuned!
Part 2, “Building Dialogue, Creating Character, Forming Plot,” by Greg Elliot
Back by popular demand, the MWSA Writers Education Series continues on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 5:00 PM EST with Greg Elliot who will speak with members about screen writing and writing for television.
Click on the image or the link below to open Zoom session.
MWSA’s 2024 season will start two weeks earlier than in years past.
We’ll start accepting author book submissions on January 2, 2024, and the window will remain open until June 1. This will give us more breathing room before this year’s awards banquet in San Diego, CA, on September 28, 2024.
We’ll provide further details as we approach the season kickoff. Stay tuned!
Click on the image above or use the link below to join us
Topic: Getting to the Heart of the Matter: How and When to Reveal Emotion
Presenter: Greg Elliot, Screenwriter/Writer/Editor
November 9, 2023, at 4 PM EST
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81667323159?pwd=eH2oAsuNw5sXqgk49FHQGHK4ONQXdG.1
If you took photos or videos during the conference and are willing to share them, please let us know.
A special thanks to Kathleen Rodgers for steering us to the photos she posted to her blog.
The total room price is $263.35 (including taxes & fees) and covers a room with either one or two king-sized beds). This price is valid until the room block is full or August 26, 2023, whichever comes first.
To book your room, use: 1-860-443-7000; please do not use booking sites. When registering at the hotel, tell them the room is for the "MWS Block of Rooms" (yes, without the A)
Help create a memorable time filled with solid educational events that will inspire and motivate you to write.
Volunteer to help at the registration desk. Become a Book Reviewer.
Undecided? Talk to those who attended the 2022 Conference in New Orleans, you know the one you missed out on, don’t let this opportunity to learn and have fun slip by.
A great organization is only made great by its members willing to volunteer to do the work needed to do more. It takes a lot of work to run an organization – volunteers are our lifeblood.
If you’d like to comment or critique your experiences during this year’s conference, please let us know using our Event Contact Form or emailing our events staff at Events@mwsa.co
When: August 3, 2023 @ 4PM EST
Subject: Story Structure 2: character development, tension, and conflict.
Presenter: Greg Elliot
Watch your inboxes. We’ll be emailing a poll to get a feel for where our members would like to have us host our 2024 Annual Membership Conference.
The poll will remain open for your inputs between July 15 and August 11.
We look forward to hearing from you!
MWSA Zoom Webinars Are Back!
What: MWSA Writer’s Education Webinar Series Welcomes Greg Elliot
When: May 20, 2023, 1 PM EST.
Who: Greg Elliot. For fifteen years, Greg taught at UCLA for the Extension Writers’ Program and was the recipient of their Outstanding Instructor Award in Screenwriting in 2014. Elliot wrote for Star Trek: Voyager, for which he received a Sci-Fi Universe Award nomination. He was a Story Editor on the Warner Brother series Savannah and an Executive Story Editor on the WB series Charmed. Greg also wrote for the Disney Channel series In a Heartbeat. Professionally, Greg has edited short stories, novels, nonfiction books, brochures, how-to books, personal essays, and college papers.
Greg will offer classes on story structure, broken into two parts. The classes will each last 1.5 hours, and questions will be permitted at the end.
The First Session: Story Structure: Setting Your Scenes, Backstory and Flashbacks, Your Beginning and Ending.
Questions? Please email MWSA Board Member Gary Zelinski at gbzelinski@gmail.com if you have any questions.
MWSA plans to open our book submission window on January 15, 2023.
Visit our awards page for details.
A special thanks to our photographer, Joe Epley!
Click here for President Bob Doerr’s “State of MWSA” briefing
Awards Banquet Video
Higgins Hotel
1000 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
As usual, our conference was preceded by a Veterans Writing Workshop, which we hosted on Thursday before the conference began.
We then hosted two days of presentations, and capped off the conference with our awards banquet on Saturday evening. For more details about the conference, scroll down to the agenda section below.
Most of us also took advantage of our location next to the World War Two Museum (right next door to the hotel) and enjoyed spending a few hours in this spectacular place.
Of course, we also took the opportunity to get together with the wonderful members of our organization. We recognized and celebrated our writing endeavors and promised to stay in touch.
Our MWSA voting window is now open and will remain open for the next ten days. Please don’t delay. Your vote lends legitimacy to our Board and to MWSA. Click on the link and cast your ballots. Remember, you can only vote for four of the six candidates for the Directors at large positions. You can vote for all four officer candidates if you wish.
Here’s the link:
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2022-board-member-election
We'll be announcing our 2022 Season Finalists via live video presentation on our Facebook page tomorrow, July 1, at 8 PM Eastern Time. We're making this announcement a little earlier than planned to give as much time as possible to our award winners to make plans to join us in New Orleans.
To watch the video live, click on the image above or use this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/542447014158688
To watch the video after it's finished playing, you'll be able to find it here:
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/videos
To make your conference (and/or awards banquet) reservations, visit the conference page on our website
https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2022-conference
Good luck to all our MWSA authors!
Thanks,
MWSA Awards Directors
PS. We'll send our finalists email notification shortly after the video airs. At that time, we'll also update the 2022 season page our website to list the winners.
Due to the earlier-than-normal date for our conference and awards banquet, we’ll be closing our submission window earlier this year: June 1.
We’re also planning to announce our 2022 awards finalists on July 15—a month earlier than normal.
Visit our Review and Awards page for information.
Visit our 2022 Conference page for more details about our next general membership conference in New Orleans.
Titled “Your Work in Progress” this first class will focus on “Your first line and what comes after.” This class can benefit most of us. Our guest instructor will be Joseph Badal, a multi award winning author and this year's MWSA Writer of the Year. He has also been a Tony Hillerman awardee twice, and Eric Hoffer award winner, and an Amazon and Barnes and Noble #1 bestseller. So, plan on being there! More to come.
Zoom links TBD
MWSA Review & Awards 2022 Season will kick off on January 15.
Due to the earlier-than-normal date for our conference and awards banquet, we’ll be closing our submission window earlier this year: June 1.
We’re also planning to announce our 2022 awards finalists on July 15—a month earlier than normal.
Visit our Review and Awards page for information.
Visit our 2022 Conference page for more details about our next general membership conference in New Orleans.
Click to visit our Dispatches page
MWSA Dispatches is looking for member submissions.
We have many opportunities available for you as a member in good standing, from Author Interviews, to Poetry submissions, to Book Profiles (three books—first come-first served—will be showcased in the Dispatches every quarter).*
If you’d like to write a feature article or have further questions, please email our Dispatches editorial staff.
* Members may also submit one book per year for a listing in our online library. This member benefit is free of charge. Your online listing will enjoy expanded distribution, as we’ll also post to our social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Click here for details and to submit your book—for the website and Dispatches magazine.
Deadlines for each issue occur on the first day of January, April, July, and October.
Standby for further details
Due to the cancellation of our conference in New London, CT, we'll be hosting our general membership conference via Zoom session again this year.
Please join us this Saturday, September 18, at 11:00 AM Central Time (9 Pacific, 10 Mountain, and 12 Eastern).
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84600288448?pwd=RVhpbWlEWmw3Ylg2MkoxeTFPMzFhZz09
Are you new to Zoom or planning on joining us via telephone?
Visit our "How to Zoom with MWSA Page!"
Meeting ID: 846 0028 8448 | Passcode: 442307
We'll be announcing our 2021 season individual book medal and special recognition award winners via "live Facebook video premiere" at 8:00 PM Eastern (7 Central, 6 Mountain, and 5 Pacific) -- also this Saturday, September 18.
To watch the video live at that time, visit the "Events" section of our MWSA Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/events
If you miss the live presentation, you can watch the video any time by visiting the "Videos" section of our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/videos
Shortly after the video airs, you'll be able to see all this year's winners (and get more details) on our 2021 season page.
Click on image to watch video
MWSA will announce our 2021 awards finalists via Facebook Video Premiere on Saturday, August 7, at 5 PM Eastern (4 Central, 3 Mountain, 2 Pacific).
Click on the image to the right or the button below to go to our MWSA Facebook page and watch the video.
MWSA finalists can expect to receive an email notification with further details and recommendations shortly after the time mentioned above.
Presenter, Dawn Brotherton
Part 4 — Style
New and unknown authors have discovered that the book publishing industry can be hard to break into. If an author chooses to self-publish, it can be difficult to know where to start with the editing, layout, and design, whether doing it for themselves or hiring someone else to do it. This presentation gives authors additional information on what is expected in the visual and technical areas of award-winning books. The next presentation in the series will delve into content and style. Industry standards change over time, so even if you think you know what is acceptable, this workshop is for you!
Dawn Brotherton is an award-winning author and featured speaker at writing and publishing seminars. She teaches for the College of William and Mary Osher Lifelong Learning and writes for Williamsburg Next Door Neighbor magazine. A retired Air Force colonel and softball coach, Dawn writes mystery, romance, middle grade fiction, children's picture books, and nonfiction books.
She completed her first novel in 2010. When she realized how hard it was to attract the attention of publishing houses and how much money they received from her hard work, she decided to go it on her own. She set up Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC, and took on other authors. The focus of Blue Dragon Publishing is to help a writer’s dream become a reality. Dawn’s focus is mentoring people through the process and helping them reach their goals.
Time: 11 July at 4PM CENTRAL time.
Click on the link below or paste it into your browser.
https://zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09
Click to visit our Dispatches page
MWSA Dispatches is looking for member submissions.
We have many opportunities available for you as a member in good standing, from Author Interviews, to Poetry submissions, to Book Profiles (three books—first come-first served—will be showcased in the Dispatches every quarter).*
If you’d like to write a feature article or have further questions, please email our Dispatches editorial staff.
* Members may also submit one book per year for a listing in our online library. This member benefit is free of charge. Your online listing will enjoy expanded distribution, as we’ll also post to our social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Click here for details and to submit your book—for the website and Dispatches magazine.
Deadlines for each issue occur on the first day of January, April, July, and October.
MWSA Review & Awards 2021 Season will kick off on January 15 and run until June 15.
We normally announce our awards finalists in mid-August each year.
Visit our Review and Awards page for more information.
Presenter, Dawn Brotherton
Part 3 — Content
When polishing your manuscript, there are some pitfalls to avoid and peaks you want to make sure to hit. We’ll be talking about tropes, cliches, character arcs, point of view, and much more (in 10 slides or less).
New and unknown authors have discovered that the book publishing industry can be hard to break into. If an author chooses to self-publish, it can be difficult to know where to start with the editing, layout, and design, whether doing it for themselves or hiring someone else to do it. This presentation gives authors additional information on what is expected in the visual and technical areas of award-winning books. The next presentation in the series will delve into content and style. Industry standards change over time, so even if you think you know what is acceptable, this workshop is for you!
Dawn Brotherton is an award-winning author and featured speaker at writing and publishing seminars. She teaches for the College of William and Mary Osher Lifelong Learning and writes for Williamsburg Next Door Neighbor magazine. A retired Air Force colonel and softball coach, Dawn writes mystery, romance, middle grade fiction, children's picture books, and nonfiction books.
She completed her first novel in 2010. When she realized how hard it was to attract the attention of publishing houses and how much money they received from her hard work, she decided to go it on her own. She set up Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC, and took on other authors. The focus of Blue Dragon Publishing is to help a writer’s dream become a reality. Dawn’s focus is mentoring people through the process and helping them reach their goals.
Time: June 13, 2021 at 4 PM CENTRAL time.
Presenter, Dawn Brotherton
Part 2 — Technical
New and unknown authors have discovered that the book publishing industry can be hard to break into. If an author chooses to self-publish, it can be difficult to know where to start with the editing, layout, and design, whether doing it for themselves or hiring someone else to do it. This presentation gives authors additional information on what is expected in the visual and technical areas of award-winning books. The next presentation in the series will delve into content and style. Industry standards change over time, so even if you think you know what is acceptable, this workshop is for you!
Dawn Brotherton is an award-winning author and featured speaker at writing and publishing seminars. She teaches for the College of William and Mary Osher Lifelong Learning and writes for Williamsburg Next Door Neighbor magazine. A retired Air Force colonel and softball coach, Dawn writes mystery, romance, middle-grade fiction, children's picture books, and nonfiction books.
She completed her first novel in 2010. When she realized how hard it was to attract the attention of publishing houses and how much money they received from her hard work, she decided to go it on her own. She set up Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC, and took on other authors. The focus of Blue Dragon Publishing is to help a writer’s dream become a reality. Dawn’s focus is mentoring people through the process and helping them reach their goals.
