Wishing you an abundance of blessings for the year ahead

Tracy Coker has spent the past few years working on the manuscript for her women's fiction novel, White Yams. Her goal was to be traditionally published, but she had received only countless rejections to the query letters she'd submitted to countless agents.

After seeing a call for submissions for a First Novel contest, she submitted the first 5,000 words of her manuscript. Five months later, they notified her that her work had made the semifinals and was one of 23 to be selected from 955 submissions. One month later, she was informed her title was one of six finalists. Two months later, they announced her work as the winner! She was also offered representation by an agent from the Soho Agency in London. 

Tracy shares this advice, "Never give up, keep striving, keep grinding, keep honing your craft, and surround yourself with people like those in [The Novelists Spot critique group] who help encourage and uplift you, while still providing you with honest critiques (or considerations as my tribe brother, Ryan, would say)."

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BWC member Kaneisha Grayson was recently accepted into GrubStreet's Novel Generator with a combined 80% scholarship. The Novel Generator is a selective nine-month program designed to help student complete the first draft of their novel. Seventy percent of tuition was covered by GrubStreet's general scholarship fund based on Kaneisha's application to the program. A Boston Writers of Color Literary Stipend covered an additional 10 percent. 

Kaneisha is studying in the Novel Generator under celebrated novelist Marjan Kamali, author of the novels The Stationery Shop and Together Tea. The novel Kaneisha is working on will be her first novel and focuses on themes of neurodivergence (specifically ADHD), race, and class.

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Carolyn Holland is featured in the 22nd edition of Intellectual Ink Magazine among stories of inspiring individuals doing incredible things in their professional and personal lives. Carolyn is the author of Behind the Dark Veil and Bliss of the Grave, the first two releases from the Brothers of the Dark Veil series. Her writing incorporates historical events infused with African spirituality (Ifa, Orisha, Ancestral Veneration, Hoodoo, Voodoo), with a heavy dose of magic and erotic romance. 

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Learn more about Carolyn

Over the winter break, I examine my current pieces or write new ones in anticipation of the upcoming winter/spring application season for 2023 workshops. I love attending these nationally/internationally, competitive-entry workshops. Not only have I learned from well-established authors, but more importantly, I'm building a writing community. The broader your community, the better, I believe. In this community, I can serve others from my strengths as well as receive from these fellow writers their strengths to make our mutual endeavors successful.

I hope you apply for at least one workshop in your writing career. The experience is well worth the effort. Different applications require you to describe yourself as an artist, your perspective toward your work, and what you would like to achieve during the workshop. You might consider the application process as practice for promoting yourself and your work.

There are workshops for every genre featuring so many authors. I encourage you to find one that you might enjoy and grow your writing community. 

- Sharon Browning