Area 2 Newsletter
January 2025
Pennnwriters Area 2 Happenings and News
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope the holidays treated you well and your year is off to a good start. I'm Katie Yelinek, the Area 2 representative. Please email me at area2rep [at] pennwriters.org or kathryn [at] kathrynyelinek.com if I can help you in any way.
Congratulations!
Congrats to Area 2 member Chris Mele of the Poconos, whose debut novel, "Goodwill's Secrets," has been named a finalist in the 2024 BestThrillers Book Awards and has made the Long List for Suspense/Thriller Fiction for Chanticleer Book Reviews.
Do you have a new book out? Short story? Poem? Article? Did you get something reprinted? Won an award? Are you up for an award? Did you give a reading or presentation? Send me a note so I can celebrate with you.
Area meetings
Remember! Some members are starting a new meeting in the Wellsboro area. They hope to start meeting early this year. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Lori Duffy Foster at lori [at] loriduffyfoster.com.
The long-established Area 2 critique group is currently alternating between meetings in Danville and Berwick. For information about the next meeting, contact Dave Freas, quillracer [at] pa.metrocast.net.
Pennwriters Organization-Wide News
The writing contest is back in 2025! Submissions are accepted through January 31. See the guidelines in the latest issue of The Penn Writer then head over to the website to enter.
Election ballots for open positions (including Area 2 rep) will come to you via email on March 2. Please update your email if necessary on the website. Voting closes on March 15th. Remember how last year Area 2 had the second-highest return rate? Let's aim for getting the highest this year!
Conference Registration Opening Soon
Next year's conference (Theme: Chills, Thrills, and Quills) will be held May 16th-18th at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. Our keynote speaker will be Natalie D. Richards. Brent Maguire will be the Saturday luncheon speaker.
Reminders:
- Do you want to see your name in print? The Penn Writer editor is always looking for articles. Contact her at newslettersubmissions@pennwriters.org
- You can join any area's Zoom meetings. You can find a list of area meetings on the website.
- Looking for feedback on your latest work in progress? Pennwriters offers the Critique Partner Program to match authors up with fellow writers. We want to know what you're looking for. Then, we'll find the most compatible partner based on genre, progress, and other factors. We can also handle articles, essays, or other nonfiction. Our goal is helping to create a mutually beneficial partnership for both parties. So whether you have a finished work you'd like a beta reader for, or a work in progress that you'd like critiqued, please email D. J. Stevenson a PennwritersCritiquePartners@gmail.com for more information.
- Help your Pennwriters colleagues by leaving reviews on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, Bookbub, etc.
Volunteer
Pennwriters needs you! We've managed to fill several openings, but still have to fill these positions:
- Conference Coordinators for 2026. You receive two free conferences and have lots of help from committee chairs. Interested? Contact president [at] pennwriters.org.
Upcoming online courses are:
A writer friend shared this non-Pennwriters opportunity with me. I share for informational purposes only.
- FYI for authors who will be published by a small press this year. Thanks to another editor, I ran across this site that says: Scores of reviewers are reading traditionally-published books across genres from small, independent, U.S. presses published between December 1 2024 and November 30 2025. This will culminate in a list of 100 Notable Small Press Books published late November 2025. More info: https://www.miriamgershow.com/100smallpres
That's it for now. Happy writing, everyone.