MacMeans
Submitted story
Award-winning author from Columbus, Karin Cecile Davidson, will speak at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, at Mount Gilead High School as part of the Fourth Annual Mount Gilead Autumn Writers Retreat. The event is free and open to the public.
Davidson, who writes contemporary fiction focusing on the lives of girls and young women, authored the story collection “The Geography of First Kisses,” winner of the 2022 Acacia Fiction Prize. She also wrote the novel “Sybelia Drive,” a story of three friends who push beyond the typical woes of teenage years transformed by shared baggage of a generation during the Vietnam War.
Her awards include an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Waasmode Short Fiction Prize, the Orlando Prize, a Peter Taylor Fellowship, and residencies at the Fine Arts Work Center, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and The Studios of Key West. Davidson is originally from New Orleans.
The other keynote speaker is Donna MacMeans, a specialist in Victorian-era historical fiction and romance, who enjoys writing about humor in relationships. Published in several languages, MacMeans’ newest work is a story within an anthology entitled “Midsummer Mischief at Caynham Castle.”
As a best-selling romance author, MacMeans is both traditionally and independently published, including a Japanese graphic novel. Her first historical romance manuscript went up for auction among three NY publishers launching her into a writing career. Her short stories and novellas have appeared in five anthologies. She grew up in the Greenhills neighborhood of Cincinnati and currently makes her home in Columbus.
In previous years, guest authors have included Morrow County’s own Mindy McGinnis, who specializes in young adult fiction, with her most recent book entitled “A Long Stretch of Bad Days.” Also during past years, the retreat featured two authors from the Columbus area, including Matt Betts, who writes fantasy and speculative fiction, along with Patricia Sargeant, a mystery and romance writer who excels at putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations.
Following the Friday afternoon speaking event at the high school, the Writers Retreat will reconvene at the Mount Gilead Public Library Annex at 3 p.m. on East High Street. Both Davidson and MacMeans will participate in panel discussions on “World Building in Fiction Writing,” and “Putting More Life into your Characters.”
On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Autumn Writers Retreat will begin at 10:30 a.m. for coffee, tea, and refreshments at the Rose Heart Inn on East High Street in Mount Gilead. The itinerary opens with a workshop on fiction writing with the theme, “Journeys, Quests, and Escapism in Fantasy Fiction,” presented by guild member Chris Anderson. Next will be an informal seminar on “The True Elements in Historical Fiction.”
During the early afternoon, there will be a seminar on “Making Stock Characters Fun and Plausible,” led by guild member Martha Kuhn, followed by a roundtable discussion on “Plot Development from Rising Action to Resolution.” After a brief intermission, author and guild member Kevin Collander will conduct a hands-on workshop with the topic “Movement in Fiction.”
Mount Gilead Area Writers Guild is hosting the two-day event along with Mount Gilead Public Library and the Rose Heart Inn. The Fourth Annual Mount Gilead Autumn Writers Retreat is free of charge and open to interested writers of all ages.
Submitted by Mount Gilead Area Writers Guild Director Scot Long.
Submitted by Mount Gilead Area Writers Guild Director Scot Long.
