By Ed Southern, Execcutive Director, NCWN
So an event called the “North Carolina Writing Workshop” is taking place in Charlotte on Saturday, April 18—the same day as our 2020 Spring Conference.
Funny thing: this “NC Writing Workshop” was held on the same day as our Spring Conference last year, too.
That’s fine.
We don’t hold a trademark or copyright on “North Carolina,” “Writing,” or “Workshop.” We don’t hold exclusive rights to our Spring Conference date. We don’t mind a little competition. (Last year’s Spring Conference set an attendance record. Just sayin’.)
We want to make sure you’re aware, though, that the “NC Writing Workshop” has no affiliation with the Network, nor with any other NC-based writers’ organization (that I know of). It is most certainly not our Spring Conference.
I had to do a little bit of searching to find that this “NC Writing Workshop” is put on by an outfit called “Writing Day Workshops,” which holds these one-day “how to get published” workshops all over the country, all year long. If they are a nonprofit organization, they do not say so on their website.
The North Carolina Writers’ Network is a nonprofit, born and bred here in North Carolina, dedicated to serving writers in all aspects of the craft and business of writing, and to nurturing the literary heritage of this state. Our Spring Conference is an increasingly popular day of classes, workshops, panel discussions, readings, friendly conversations, and much more. It is a product and a reflection of our thriving literary community.
Accept no substitutes.