Thanks to Carol Jennings, authors from our area had a fun day signing books at the Illinois Centre Mall today. An administrative assistant in the mall office, Carol came up with the idea of having an early February annual book fair where writers could sell their books to the public. This was the third year for the event, and it has grown and gotten better every year. Authors from here who go to Sturgis, Kentucky, are impressed with the floods of people who come to the fair grounds there all day long for the sole purpose of buying books. There has been nothing like this in Southern Illinois.

However, if the Third Winter Book Fair is any indication, we may someday grow into something even more exciting. Refining the fair every year, Carol outdid herself this year. Attractive posters at the entrances announced our presence. Attractive cloths graced a generous-sized table for each author. Chairs and table name tags awaited us. All we had to do was carry in our books and fountain pens. The cookie store gave each author a coupon for a huge free soda The foot traffic was heavy--perhaps because people were so pleased to have a lovely sunny Saturday after yesterday’s bitter cold snow day keeping the kids home from school. There were twenty-two authors who enrolled to sign and a great variety of books including many poetry books. Judy Askew was up from Brookport, Rick Keisheim from Robinson, and Sheri Richardson was down from O’Fallon, Missouri. The rest of us had less far to drive.

Besides seeing friends and making new ones, perhaps the highlight for me was the children’s violin recital in our midst--bringing a host of parents and grandparents with them. There were tiny children with tiny violins and older kids with large violins. The program was diverse and delightful. Seeing these beautiful children poised and talented performing on difficult instruments was an unexpected treat.

I am sentimental about violins because my father played one. When my sister Rosemary was young living in Jonesboro, Daddy took her to weekly violin lessons from a gentleman in Anna. Thus, she was prepared to play in the high school orchestra. He listened in on the lessons and also learned to play.

When he and Mother retired in Goreville, one aspect of their social life was asking other couples in for the evening. If one of the couple could play piano and it was usually the wife, Daddy would enlist her to play the piano while he played the violin. Mother and the other husband would usually play Chinese checkers together. Daddy became quite proficient at the hymns they practiced, and Mother became quite good on the star-shaped board. I always knew who would win when I played her.

Daddy liked to go with his church group once a month to play hymns and sing at the Vienna nursing home. He was still doing this when he was so old that he was no longer steady on his feet. Naturally, the elderly residents loved for one of their own age to come and play. Daddy would leave the house and smile wickedly at Mother and me and say, “Well, I have got to go play the violin for the old folks.”

That was a long time ago, for Daddy’s violin was silenced first by the ravages of Parkinson and then by his joining a heavenly choir. Yet for my sister and me, a violin is a symbol of our father, and we are quick to choose a Christmas or birthday card that has a violin on it. We each know the other one will remember the same man when it is opened. Daddy loved children, and he would have been even more pleased than I was if he had heard the well-trained youngsters at the mall today

Addendum: Those authors at the mall today were Jim Lambert, Pat Evans, Violet Toler, Mary L. Hackett, Carol Jennings, Dixie Terry, Anne-Marie Legan, Joy King, Harry Boyd, Rick Kelsheim, Ron Schmeck,Patty Morrison, Ernestine Brasher, Sherri Richardson, Judy Askew, David Bond, Roger Poppen, Sue Glasco, Fog Gilbert, Jon Musgrave, Marie Samuel, Jeri Beth McRoy. Did I miss anyone?

Miners Baseball Team manager and national motivational speaker Mike Pinto was guest speaker at Southern Illinois Writers Guild on Thursday, January 17, 2008,   at John A. Logan College.

Mike Pinto's book In a League of your Ownis scheduled for publication in 2008.  Mike Pinto has given over 500 speeches to more than 250,000 people. 

 

Stan Hale, actor, director, professor, writer, editor, died doing what he loved while at a last-week rehearsal of Weekend Comedy on the John A. Logan College stage on November 13., 2007.   A former speaker and member of SIWG, Stan edited the 504-page Williamson County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial History.     Stan once said, "I fancy myself a writer.  I have more works in progess than I can count."  He wrote poetry, short stories, plays, and personal reflections.  While advisor to The Volunteer at JALC, he helped  produce our SIWG newsletter--a kindness typical of one who was always willing to help others.

 

 

Betty Wisek, former SIWG member and wife of1994 president Paul Wisek, died November 5. 2007.  A writer of family history, Betty helped Paul during his presidency with refreshments, cards for the sick, and other activities even as she also served as president herself of a regional group for the legally blind.   In recent years, Betty had been ill, and the Wiseks were unable to continue participation in SIWG.

 

Two SIWG members Deana Smith and Fog Gilbert were pictured recently in the Southern Illinoisan.  Members of the winning JALC team at the Nov. l0 Lighthouse Shelter's Trivia Night, they donated the $500 prize back to the Lighthouse Shelter.  Fog has some l0 poetry chapbooks to his credit in addition to his teaching career at John A. Logan College and Shawnee College.  Deana has had may feature stories published and writes a monthly feature column for the Southern lllinoisan.

 

Minnie Vautrin, the Goddess of Mercy in China, remembered in Illinois

 

The Illinois State Museum, 502 South Spring Street, Springfield, is commemorating the courage of Illinois missionary Minnie Vautrin with a display of objects she owned and her Order of the Jade medal, the highest honor given to a civilian by the Chinese government.  The display will be open through January.   

 

Minnie Vautrin risked her life to during the violent occupation known as the Rape of Nanking, which claimed the lives of an estimated 300,000 Chinese.  Growing up in Secor, Illinois, Minnie Vautrin went to China and was acting head of Ginling College for Women, where she was credited with saving over 10,000 Chinese women's lives during this terrible time.

 

Check out Hua-ling Hu's biography of Minnie Vautrin on Amazon. 

 

 

2oo8 Southern Illinois Writers Guild Writing Contest

Prizes: 1st Place $100; 2nd Place $50; 3rd Place $25, in each category (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry). Honorable Mentions as determined by judges. Winners will be published in the Writer's Voice, Volume VII, the SIWG anthology, unless authors request otherwise.

Entry Fee: $5 per entry, maximum of three entries per author. Check or money order payable to: John A. Logan College. Do not send cash. Entries not enclosing the fee or following the rules will be discarded.

Contest Rules:

1.      Fiction - Any subject or genre.
Nonfiction - Biography, memoir, article, or essay on any topic.
Poetry - Any style or topic.
(Please, no explicit sex or excessive violence.)

2.      Original work of the entrant; unpublished at time of submission.

3.      Page limit - Up to 8 pages for Fiction and Nonfiction, 1 or 2 pages for Poetry.

4.      Format - Standard manuscript format (8-1/2" x 11" paper, typed and double-spaced, 1" margins, 12-point Times New Roman, page number and title of entry on every page). Poetry may vary margins and spacing as needed.

5.      Two copies of each entry.

6.      Cover sheet for each entry, with name, address, category (Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry) and title. Author's name only on the cover sheet, not the manuscript.

7.      Optional - Provide an SAS postcard for verification that your entry was received; email address for winner notification; brief bio to include with publication.

8.      Winners will be notified in September '08. Winners must provide social security numbers in order to collect a cash prize. Please do not supply your SSN until you are notified that you have won a cash prize. No exceptions to this rule.

9.      Entrants must be over 18 years old or enrolled in post-secondary education.

Mailing Instructions:

1.      Mail flat, not folded, with sufficient postage, postmarked no later than May 1, 2008. Do not send by certified mail.

2.      Mail to:

·        John A. Logan College

·        Attn: Student Activities C109

·        SIWG Contest Entry

·        700 Logan College Rd.

·        Carterville, IL 62918

Additional information at: www.jalc.edu/activities/siwg/contests

 

PARADISE ALLEY PLAYERS SPONSOR OPEN SUBMISSIONS PLAYWRIGHT COMPETITION

 

Once again the Paradise Alley Players are offering prizes for original plays with family oriented material with simple set design and limited scene changes and props.  Plays should run 15 to 30 minutes. First place prize is $100, second place $50, and $25 for third.  There is separate category with $10 prize for writers 8 to 18 years of age. Selected plays will be performed in the PAP summer lab theater.  News releases instruct playwrights  to mail three copies of play to PAP in care of Joyce Hope, 1105 N. Court, Marion, IL 62959.