Melinda Farris’ face lights up when she talks about the inaugural St. Simons Island Writers Retreat in November and her excitement is contagious. Melinda heads up the fledgling St. Simons Island Writers group that has been steadily and quietly growing right here in our backyard. The group’s programs include writing seminars and workshops featuring authors of every genre, from poetry to scifi thriller to historical non-fiction. The group also arranges manuscript critique groups that meet monthly to support and encourage the writers’ progress.
Melinda Farris
Writing seminars and workshops with guest authors have been well-attended and the feedback has been fabulous. Melinda is eager to keep the energy flowing and to collaborate with other writers’ groups outside the area to provide more exposure and networking opportunities for our local writers.
Melinda’s own experience as a writer is what drives her. Melinda graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. Following a career working on Capitol Hill and abroad as a political operative and international democracy consultant, she turned her attention to creative writing, and in 2023 received her MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. Excerpts from Melinda’s own unpublished first novel, The Fourth Degree, have been described as The Da Vinci Code meets National Treasure and received awards from the Southeastern Writers Association, Writer's Digest, and The Seven Hills Literary Review. The Georgia Writers Museum selected her to present "How to Create Suspense" at their 2024 annual retreat. She joined Oglethorpe Lodge #1, Savannah Odd Fellows. Melinda has parlayed her experience and connections with others in the writing/publishing community into helping other writers navigate the process. Hence, the St. Simons Writers Retreat was born.
“Relax, recharge, and write!” This is the focus of the Writers Retreat presented by The Atlanta Writers Club, Georgia Writers Museum, and St. Simons Island Writers on Wednesday, November 6-Saturday, November 9. Instead of overwhelming participants with activities, leaving no time for creative output, in an attempt to offer value, the AWC-GWM-SSIW retreat is designed to provide writers with ample networking and learning opportunities as well as long stretches of time they can use to further develop work-in-process, get inspired to start something new, or just rest and rediscover their muse while enjoying our beautiful island surroundings.
Featured speakers:
Wanda Lloyd, a retired newspaper editor, podcaster and frequent lecturer on issues of diversity and culture, is the author of Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism, a self-reflective exploration of the author’s life growing up in the legally segregated Deep South and becoming a trailblazing editor at seven daily newspapers. Her journey was marked by lack of mentors at a time when there were few women or people of color in the industry. Coming Full Circle was listed by bookauthority.org as one of the “25 Best Journalism Books to Read in 2020.” Kirkus Reviews called the memoir “Inspiring reading for aspiring journalists and students of civil rights.” Wanda has participated in several book festivals, including Greensboro Bound book festival in NC, the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, the Schomberg Center Literary Festival in NY, and the Authors Showcase for the National Association of Black Journalists. She has shared the story of writing this memoir virtually and in person on university campuses, museums, faith groups and with book clubs, corporate leadership teams and via podcasts.
Wanda and Tina McElroy Ansa co-edited Meeting at the Table: African-American Women Write on Race, Culture and Community, an anthology of essays from diverse perspectives and co-hosted three seasons of the podcast, “2 Old Chicks Who Know a Lot of Sh*t!TM.” Wanda is also a TEDx speaker in Savannah. A self-described "word nerd," in 2022 she presented and performed on the topic "Words Matter." She has been honored nationally for career achievement, including being Inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame, the Ida B. Wells Award for Media Diversity, and she holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma mater, Spelman College.
For the past six years, Wanda has been a member of The Focused Writers, an online group of women who learn new ways of writing and publishing. In 2022, this group published On Womanhood: Connecting and Thriving in Every Season, an anthology of essays, for which Wanda was a writer and she edited the book. This exercise was a learning experience -- from conception to writing, editing, publishing and marketing. Her keynote presentation at the Writers Retreat, “Journey to Memoir,” will address some of the most common questions asked about how to write memoirs and other nonfiction – how to tell your own stories. Wanda will lead a discussion on how she got started, how she organized personal information and papers, created dialogue from long-ago conversations and how she used personal relationships to get her book published and marketed.
Tina McElroy Ansa, Wanda’s fellow Spelman College alumnae and honorary Doctor of Arts, will present “Crafting Fiction: Real Talk…It’s a Process.” She will lead participants through the concrete steps to getting that novel started, crafted, and finished.
In addition to her exploits with Wanda, Tina is a teacher, editor, publisher, and the author of five award-winning novels, including Baby of the Family, The Hand I Fan With, Ugly Ways, You Know Better and Taking After Mudear. All five of her novels are on the Georgia Center for the Book’s List of Books All Georgians Should Read. Baby of the Family and The Hand I Fan With both received the Georgia Authors Series Award, and Ugly Ways was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Fiction. Tina founded the Sea Island Writers Retreat in 2004 and has taken the retreats on the road around the country. The most recent retreat was held in November of 2022 on Tybee Island, with Ansa, Crystal Wilkinson, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Dawn Turner, Nic Stone, Wanda Lloyd (Class of ‘71), and Regina Taylor leading workshops. She founded independent publishing company DownSouth Press in 2007. As well as lecturing and reading around the country, Ansa has also contributed “Essays from Georgia” to CBS Sunday Morning.
Ansa has received the Bebe Moore Campbell Memorial Award from the National Book Club Conference. She has been awarded the Stanley W. Lindberg Award for her body of work and contributions to the literary arts community of Georgia. She was inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent at the Gwendolyn Brooks Center of Chicago State University.
Tina is currently at work on her sixth novel and is writing her first work of nonfiction.
**UPDATE - We’re sad to share the news that Tina Ansa departed this earthly realm in September. Her bright spirit and lively and contagious energy are already profoundly missed. We will update the speaker/event schedule as new details are provided.**
Celestial Holmes, known by the pseudonym Mbinguni, will present “The First-Time Author's Survival Guide: Lessons Learned.” With a background in computer programming and 15 years of experience as an Instructional Designer, this multi-faceted professional has seamlessly transitioned into the realm of writing. Under the banner of NEW Reads Publications, Celestial’s debut novel, Looking for Hope, captivated readers worldwide. Her talent and dedication have been acknowledged through distinguished fellowships, including the 2022 Hurston Wright Screenwriting Fellowship, the 2023 and 2024 Kimbilio Fellowship, and the 2024 Community of Writers Workshop. Celestial is also a celebrated freelance writer and celebrity interviewer for BlackGirlNerds.com and a co-host on the immensely popular "Watch Dem Thrones" podcast, affiliated with the esteemed platform Black with No Chaser.
Award-winning historical fiction writer and SCAD professor Jonathan Rabb will provide the final presentation: “How to Find the Story…and How to Understand Where Your Voice Will Take You: Thoughts on Research, Structure, and the Discovery of a Novel.”
Jonathan is the author of the novels Among the Living (a finalist for the 2018 Townsend Prize for Fiction), The Second Son, Shadow and Light, Rosa (winner of the Director’s Prize at Semana Negra, 2006), The Book of Q and The Overseer. He has published short fiction and non-fiction in numerous magazines and journals, including The Oxford American, The Strand, Lit Hub, Opera News and the Journal for Interdisciplinary History. He has a B.A. in political science from Yale and an M.A. and M.Phil. in political theory from Columbia. He has taught at NYU, Columbia, and is currently a Professor of Writing at The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). And in case that isn’t interesting enough, Jonathan originated the role of Fermat in the Off-Broadway production of Fermat’s Last Tango, and has soloed with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the Albany Symphony, and the Harrisburg Symphony, among others. He is currently at work on his next novel, which takes place in Venice 1607.
In addition to the keynote presentations and discussions by the featured authors, Atlanta Writers Club officers and members of St. Simons Island Writers will participate in writing panels on the paths to publication and marketing tips. The retreat will open with a Network and Nosh Welcome Reception at Porch on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Presentations by Wanda Lloyd and Tina McElroy Ansa will take place Thursday, over a light breakfast and coffee, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the A.W. Jones Heritage Center. Celestial Holmes’ keynote talk and an open mic for participants will occur that evening at the Heritage Center at 7:30-9:30 p.m. On Friday morning, participants will return to the Heritage Center from 8:30-10:30 a.m. for Jonathan Rabb’s keynote talk and a writers panel on paths to publication, with a light breakfast and coffee. That evening at 7:30-9:30 p.m., there will be an open mic for participants and a writer's panel on marketing tips, with dessert and coffee. A Farewell Brunch at Porch from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, will wrap up the retreat.
For more details about the retreat and the registration link, visit litguildssi.org/writers-group. Melinda also invites you to join the St. Simons Island Writers group and find a critique group that fits your purpose, if you aren’t already a member, by emailing her at melinda@mfarris.me.
