September 2026 Meeting Minutes

by | Oct 2, 2026 | Meetings

Northern Virginia Writers Club

September 2026 Meeting Minutes

9/19/2026         1:01 PM

  1. Call to order
  2. Roll call
    1. In-person (36)
    2. Zoom (5)
    3. Newcomer introductions
      1. Camilee Belloli – YA and adult fiction
      2. Joe Trauez – life experiences for good (not member)
      3. Shari Shallard – novels
      4. Paula Gormley – memoir, academia
      5. MP Mullarkey – song writing, poetry, short fiction (not member)
      6. (unclear) Downley – spoken word, creative non-fiction (not member)
      7. Susie Miles – memoir, small children’s book
    4. Triumphs and lessons learned
      1. James Kendall – 1st novel – Dragon Gate Conspiracy
      2. Steven Wallace – novel won NYC Big Book Award for satire
      3. Madeleine Wallace – book selected to NYC Big Book Award
      4. Bryan Tenney – Peace Corp volunteer memoir finished this week
      5. Gaea Honeycutt – issued a call for cover design and a call for editors for copy edit
    5. Approval of minutes from last meeting – N/A (August Summer Social)
    6. Officer’s Reports
      1. President & Website Coordinator Carolyn McBride – nothing
      2. Vice President & Community Manager Marissa Naggi – not present (Carolyn McBride reported in Marissa’s absence) –
        1. New times for virtual write-ins (Tues. 12 pm, Thurs. 1 pm)
        2. Anita Nahal now leading the Poetry Hub in Writers Room – will be making posts – if you are a poet please check out her posts
      3. Treasurer – Michael Cohen – not present (Carolyn McBride reported in Michael’s absence)
        1. Started August with $10,594.51; revenues $1,025; expenses $429.45; ended with $11,190.06. Michael is helping to reduce Paypal fees by setting up Venmo as an option. In great shape!
      4. Secretary Stacey Porcaro – nothing to report
      5. Membership Chair and Board Member-at-Large Isabelle Missud –
        1. Please legibly print names and email address on sign in sheet
        2. 202 members – great retention
      6. Event Coordinators: Lois Wren (B&N), David Wessel (festivals), Rebecca Greene (indie bookstores) Patricia DiVecchio (snacks)
        1. Lois – reported B&N looking to do writer panels vs. author book signings. There will be no new scheduling for signings.  Currently scheduled will be honored.  Members and store management still want to do signings.  NVWC and authors do marketing to bring people in for author signings. Please consider writing to CEO James Daunt and say how much local author signings are missed – they create a sense of community.
        2. Dave Wessel – Thanked Lois for developing relationships with Barnes & Nobel stores. Festivals for this year are pretty much booked.  Has waiting lists of interested authors and if there are any cancellations/openings he will reach out.  Asked members to look for more festival opportunities for next year – if you have any ideas for festivals that are well established please contact Dave Wessel at  davidkwesselauthor@gmail.com, email address also in newsletter.
        3. Rebecca Greene – putting out feelers to independent bookstores in area and following up on some new leads
      7. Social Media Coordinator Allie Nelson – not present
        1. New NVWC LinkedIn page
      8. Golden Nib & Northern Virginia Writer’s Club 20th Anniversary Anthology Coordinator Lori Eaton – not present (Carolyn McBride reported in Lori’s absence)
        1. Congratulations to Golden Nib chapter winners –
          1. 1st place fiction – Ed Heartney, A Murder of Crows
          2. 2nd place fiction – Audrey Lattanze, Bogs to Logs
          3. 3rd place fiction – Jason Maddux, House Hunting
          4. 1st place poetry – Pamela Heinz, Super Nova
          5. 2nd place poetry – Tom Henning, Love Lost Never Ages
          6. 3rd place poetry – Jaclyn Davey, In Season
          7. 1st place nonfiction – Kevin Connor, Epiphany in C Minor
          8. 2nd place nonfiction – Roger Hammond, Teaching Game
          9. 3rd place nonfiction – Will Palmer, Luggage
          10. 1st place winners will all move on to state level with Virginia Writers Club. 2nd and 3rd place chapter winners will be submitted for publication in the Golden Nib Anthology.
        2. Carolyn asked members to please take interest survey for 20th Anniversary Anthology (link in newsletter) by Oct 5th.
      9. Old Business – none
      10. New Business
        1. Collecting book donations for Liz Merck’s Virginia authors basket at Legal Services of Northern Virginia’s silent auction – Stacey Porcaro collecting donations at September meeting or members can bring donations to October meeting to give directly to Liz Merck.
        2. Peace Corps Writers Imprint – focuses on books of any genre written for general audiences that center on themes of cross-cultural understanding for any author connected to the Peace Corps
  1. Business from the Floor – none
  2. Featured speaker: Dr. Jasmine Sandoval – The Writer’s Rx workshop for immersive storytelling
  3. Adjournment 2:00pm