FEES A base fee of $30 must be included in the total amount paid to the Network. - Prose/Poetry/Plays/Screenplays (5-page minimum):
5-50 pages - $3/page; each page thereafter, $2/page
Poems must be single-spaced and only one poem per page is allowed.
- Manuscript Consultation/Mentoring (follow-up to critique)
$50/hour (no processing fee)
INSTRUCTIONS
Poems should be single-spaced. All other manuscripts should be double-spaced on plain white paper, one side of paper only, in a 12-point font that is easy for the critiquer to read (for example, Times New Roman). No fancy fonts, please. There should be adequate room in the margins for the critiquer's comments (standard 1-inch margins are fine). Please indicate your preference for critiquer or, if you'd prefer, we will choose one for you. Send your manuscript along with a check made payable to the North Carolina Writers' Network and a stamped, self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage to return your manuscript. Mail to: NCWN
P.O. Box 954
Carrboro, NC 27510 The critiquer will return the manuscript with comments directly to you. If you have any questions or wish to schedule a consultation, please call us at 919.251.9140, or send email to
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. CRITIQUERS
Maudy Benz -- fiction, memoir
Since the early nineties Benz has been a freelance writer and has taught creative writing at Duke University’s Short Courses Program. Her first novel, Oh, Jackie, received critical acclaim from Kirkus Reviews, the New York Times Book Review, and the Detroit Free Press. Her stories have won citations from The Nelson Algren Award, the Mademoiselle fiction contest, and Sing Heavenly Muse fiction contest. She has written for the News and Observer and has published a memoir in the Oxford American. Ann Deagon -- poetry
Deagon took her doctorate in Classics at UNC-Chapel Hill and served as Professor of Humanities and Writer in Residence at Guilford College until her retirement. She was editor of The Guilford Review, director of PoetryCenter Southeast, and was instrumental in establishing the North Carolina Writers’ Network. She has received an NEA Fellowship in Literature. Since retirement she has worked in theater, advertising, and film, while continuing to present readings and sing her original blues. Maggi Ann Grace -- fiction, poetry
Grace received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from UNC-Greensboro, and has taught creative writing to children and adults in classrooms, prisons, shelters, summer camps, and through continuing education programs. Her poems and stories have been widely published in literary magazines and in the anthology series by Papier-Mache Press, including If I Had It to Do Over, I Would Pick More Daisies; I Am Becoming the Woman I Wanted; and Grow Old Along with Me, the Best is Yet to Be. John Grooms -- manuscripts up to 50 pages, journalism, creative non-fiction, memoir
Grooms was was editor-in-chief of Creative Loafing, a 60,000-circulation weekly newspaper in Charlotte, from 1988 to 2005. His essays have been published in anthologies by Novello Press. He is an experienced investigative reporter and has won five writing awards in Features and Criticism, from North Carolina Press Association, NC Working Press, and Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. Lucinda Grey -- fiction, poetry
Grey teaches creative writing at UNC-Charlotte where she edited Southern Poetry Review for several years. Her 1994 book, Ribbon Around a Bomb, won the Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize. International experiences in Mexico, Spain, and France have strongly influenced Grey’s work. In 1992 she won the North Carolina Arts Council’s writer’s residency in southern France, and she returned to teach in France in 1995. Her recent work has appeared in Tar River Poetry, Shenandoah, and Poet & Critic. Linda Hobson -- fiction, nonfiction
Hobson, the author of a book on novelist Walker Percy and editor of a second, has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Alabama and is a graduate of both Denison and Duke. She is at present an editor and book reviewer. Hobson has edited many published works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as well as taught writing to adults and to secondary- and university-level students. Her literary interests are Southern fiction, American fiction, creative nonfiction, and English/British literature. Lauren Holder -- basic editing, line editing
As the owner of Blue Pencil Editing, Holder provides freelance writing, editing, and proofreading services. Clients include Chapel Hill Magazine, Cisco, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as individual authors. She is copy editor of the Rambler, a national literary magazine featuring nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, and volunteer editor for the North Carolina Writers' Network. She is proficient in AP and Chicago styles and also works with in-house style guides. Holder is very active in the grammar community. She is a member of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, and her blog was a founding partner of National Grammar Day. She was an advance copy reviewer of Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, by Mignon Fogarty, and wrote promotional materials for grammar expert Martha Brockenbrough's Things That Make Us [Sic]. Virginia Holman -- fiction, memoir
Holman's memoir of her mother's untreated schizophrenia, Rescuing Patty Hearst: Growing Up Sane in a Decade Gone Mad, was published in 2003 by Simon & Schuster, and her novel Tiny is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster. Holman has published fiction and essays in Self, Redbook, DoubleTake, Post Road, Glamour, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and USA Today. She was awarded a Pushcart Prize in 2001, and she is currently a Rosalynn Carter Fellow in Mental Health Journalism, the 2003-2004 Kenan Writer in Residence at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the recipient of a NC Arts Council Grant. Betsy Humphreys -- nonfiction (journalistic or creative)
Humphreys has been a weekly columnist for the Lenoir News-Topic newspaper; Southeast regional editor of Highways, a national travel magazine; a regional reporter for State Journal; and editorial staffer for Cost Engineering. She has been a freelance writer for 25 years. Her articles on travel, business, religion, and family life have been published in the Charlotte Observer, Wonderful West Virginia, North Carolina Literary Review, and Marriage and Family Living. She has won Charlotte Writers, NC Silver Arts, and ByLine Magazine creative non-fiction contests. Richard Krawiec -- fiction, poetry, nonfiction
Krawiec is the author of two novels, a forthcoming story collection, and has edited two anthologies of writing by North Carolina writers. His award-winning poems, short stories, and nonfiction appear in many magazines and publications. He has won creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the N.C. Arts Council, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Loyd Little -- fiction, mystery, nonfiction
Little served with the Green Berets in Vietnam, giving him the bones and gristle for his first novel, Parthian Shot (Viking-Penguin Press), which won the PEN-Hemingway award. His subsequent novel, Village of the Man, was published by Viking-Penguin. Smokehouse Jam (Ballantine) explores the longings of a man who has lost his love and his way. He has published hundreds of articles and columns and taught writing at UNC-Chapel Hill. Steven Manchester -- Line Editing, Fiction
Manchester is the published author of 12 books to include The Unexpected Storm - The Gulf War Legacy, Jacob Evans, A Father's Love, Warp II and At The Stroke of Midnight, as well as several books under the pseudonym, Steven Herberts. He is an accomplished speaker and currently teaches the popular workshops, Publish: See Your Work In Print and Writing Fiction That Sells for UMASS - Dartmouth, Southcoast Learning Network in Massachusetts, as well as the Learning Connection of Rhode Island. As a professional editor, he provides line-by-line editing for spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence structure, as well as critical commentary on plot, character development, scene setting and dialogue. As a well-published author, Manchester understands the polish needed to approach potential agents and publishers and will review cover letters and synopses. He has also written The Author's Toolbox, assisting other writer's in their quest to be published. See: www.StevenManchester.com. Ruth Moose -- fiction, poetry
Moose teaches creative writing at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is the author of two collections of short stories. She is also the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Making the Bed and Smith Grove. Her stories have appeared in Atlantic Monthly, Redbook, and Ladies Home Journal, as well as in many university and college publications. She has received the Robert Ruark Foundation prize, three PEN Syndicated Awards for short story, a N.C. Literary Fellowship, and a MacDowell Fellowship. Jacqueline K. Ogburn -- children’s fiction
Ogburn worked for ten years in book publishing in New York, primarily as a children’s book editor, editing picture books, nonfiction, and young adult novels. Since moving to Durham, she has been a freelance editor and a small press publisher. She has published five picture books, including The Jukebox Man, winner of the AAUW Juvenile Literature Award, and a collection of poems, The Reptile Ball, an ABA Pick of the Lists book. William Olsen -- screenplays
Olsen's movies have been seen by audiences worldwide and have been distributed by CBS/FOX Video, Showtime, The Movie Channel, USA Network and Troma Entertainment. 50th Street Films, Inc. of New York distributes his latest film, Southern Belles. He is scheduled to direct Hiding Ezra from his screenplay, produced by Stewart Lippe, of Ulee’s Gold, and Sam Irvin, executive producer of Gods and Monsters. Sandra Redding -- fiction, poetry, nonfiction
Redding, a Greensboro freelance writer, editor and teacher of writing, has published more than twenty-five short stories and over fifty poems. Some of her work has been anthologized in books such as the celebrated When I am an Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple (Papier-Mache Press). She regularly contributes articles and reviews to Our State magazine and other publications. Redding was editorial coordinator and a contributing writer for Greensboro: A Portrait of Progress (Community Communications, 1998). Ellen Shepard -- plays & screenplays
Ellen Shepard, a native of Los Angeles, is a professional screenwriter and playwright. A member of the WGA, she has developed screenplays for Universal Pictures, Blake Edwards Entertainment, and Par Par Productions. Shepard is a noted playwright and director, with plays having been produced in Los Angeles and North Carolina. She studied writing with Pulitzer prize winning playwright Paul Zindel at the Actors Studio West, who said this of her work, "At no time since I've been here (at the Actor's Studio) through all our sessions, did my mind ever have to shift into any critical mode... You just have total confidence in what you're doing here. " She is on the faculty of St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, where she developed their BA degree in Film. Her classes include Intro to Screenwriting, Feature Screenwriting I & II, Character Development, and Playwriting. Michael A. Shinn -- mystery, nonfiction
Shinn teaches and tutors English and composition at Central Piedmont Community College and UNC-Charlotte. His book reviews have appeared in The Chapel Hill Newspaper, the Southern Pines Pilot, and The Winston-Salem Journal. The National Humanities Center and Pembroke Magazine have published his work on murder mysteries and N.C. literature. In 1999, Theatre Charlotte produced his playlet, Miss Hilda Hunts. He has also recently had plays read at the Converse College New Play Festival and at UNCC. Eleanora E. Tate -- children’s fiction
Tate is a folklorist, short story writer, journalist, and author of nine children’s books. She is a 1999 Zora Neale Hurston Award winner; a 2000 Dr. Annette Lewis Phinazee Award recipient; and a Bread Loaf Fellowship recipient. Two of her books have won Parents Choice Awards; two others were ABA Pick of the Lists. Another was made into an award-winning PBS film, and a sixth was both a Notable Children’s Trade Book and a CSC Children’s Book of the Year. Her newest book is The Minstrel’s Melody (Pleasant Company, 2001). Karyn Traut -- plays
Traut received her A.B. degree from U.C. Berkeley and M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from UCLA. Traut’s plays have been produced in Los Angeles, New York, and North Carolina, and readings of her plays have been staged in Nashville and Atlanta. She is founder and artistic director of Penihelion Theater Company, based in Chapel Hill. She has directed and produced the Kindred Spirit Plays Blue Opal by Jaki Shelton Green and Ladri Waits by Alan Riley Jones. Her play Berkeley Brocculi was given a literary performance at Café Loon Loon in New York City. Robert Wallace -- fiction, nonfiction, Line Editing
Wallace has received an Emerging Artist grant from the Durham Arts Council, a Writer’s Fellowship from the NC Arts Council, and has been a Blumenthal reader. He has had fiction and nonfiction published in various journals and newspapers, including the Bryant Literary Review, Wellspring, Aethlon, the O.Henry Festival Stories, and the Raleigh News & Observer. His work has also been in several anthologies, including Racing Home: New Short Stories by Award Winning North Carolina Writers. Wallace's first novel was published in 2007. A Hold On Time was published by Paper Journey Press. |
