Welcome to the President’s Corner
Each month, our GCWA president shares fresh thoughts, inspiration, and updates to keep our community connected and moving forward. It’s a place to celebrate our writers, highlight opportunities, and encourage creativity.
March 2026
We are so grateful for the participation and the energy you bring to Gulf Coast Writers Association. As is true of all volunteer initiatives, it’s the members who light the way. And our 150+ members illuminate our alliance.
Please illuminate us with your presence at three upcoming events:
SWFL Reading Festival
First up is the Reading Festival on Saturday, March 7, at the downtown Lee County Public Library. The Gulf Coast Writers tent is near the 2nd St. entrance, just across the plaza from the big tents where nationally known authors will speak throughout the day. This ensures that there will be plenty of traffic through our tent. Please come by and say hello – and maybe buy books by your fellow authors.
GCWA Annual Writing Contest
Next to notice is the deadline for the GCWA writing contest, March 15. If you haven’t already entered in one or more categories, please make writing your winning entry a priority. We’d love to see our own members winning the best prizes. That will only happen if our members enter!
GCWA Monthly Meeting
Then, on Saturday, March 21, is the monthly meeting of Gulf Coast Writers Association. It’s an important meeting. You’ll be asked to vote on the roster of officers to be installed in April. But that’s not all. Attendees will be treated to a presentation entitled “Riding the Wind: How to Survive and Thrive in a Constantly Changing Publishing World.”
Marty Ambrose, our March speaker and fellow member of GCWA, describes her theme like this: “If you want to sustain a long-term career, you have to maintain a dual focus on the craft of writing and the business of publishing.” Marty knows this. She’s an award-winning, multi-published author of nine novels [her next one comes out next month]. In addition to being a working author, Marty also teaches creative writing and composition at Florida SouthWestern State College. Come and let Marty inspire your journey.
Mark all these events on your calendar and give us the privilege of seeing you at least three times this month. Come to the ReadFest. Enter the GCWA writing contest. And attend the monthly meeting. March is a big month. Let’s get together.
Mary
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February 2026
WRITE. RIGHT NOW.
A few weeks ago, I was pleased to accept an invitation to speak to the Gateway Women’s Club on behalf of Gulf Coast Writers Association. The program director asked me to talk about storytelling. Because storytelling is the heart and soul of what we writers do, it seemed like a simple assignment.
And it was. I offered the 150-woman assembly a few prompts for finding the inciting incident that sets a story in motion, ideas for creating tension and building character, and examples of stories that capture attention.
AVOID MY MISTAKES
Then the organizer asked me to tell my Florida Weekly contest story, published late last year. I was unprepared. I remembered how the story started and how it ended, but the points of tension had evaporated from my mind. So, I meandered through the story, lost in irrelevancies. It was a good story told badly: bad storytelling!
HEAR THE EXPERTS
Later that month, at the Florida Storytelling Festival in Mount Dora, I received an intensive course in developing and telling a story. Professionals from all over the USA showed us how to grab an audience from the first word. It was a massive learning experience.
And today I sat before a blank screen, hoping for an idea that would launch a story. I want to enter the Gulf Coast Writers annual writing contest, but first I need the idea! I hope you’re doing better than I at developing your story.
JUST DO IT
All this is to say: As Nike has said: Just do it. Put down a sentence, then another, and soon you have the skeleton of a story.
I’m on my way. I found an inciting incident. Join me in the arduous work of developing and entering a story in the Gulf Coast Writers Association annual writing contest. I look forward to joining you there in the entry pool. The rewards are prestigious. Become a winner in your own backyard.
Remember: the deadline is March 15, only 4 weeks from now.
BECOME AN OFFICER
Our wonderful Treasurer, Mary Beth Leopold, is at her husband Tim’s bedside as he attempts to recover from a liver transplant. She has understandably asked for relief from her role as GCWA Treasurer. Please consider answering this need. Email our Membership VP and Nominations Officer, Jeanne Meeks, at jeannie200@aol.com to step up.
LET’S MEET
Under the guidance of Program Director Lori Swick, our February presentation is by Carol Abrahamson. She’ll crack the code of getting manuscripts ready for entry into awards contests. Ms. Abrahamson’s company, Book Awards Mastery, is focused on getting manuscripts noticed by jurors. Come and learn from a professional. She could help you bring home a GCWA Writing Contest award!
I look forward to seeing you on Saturday February 21 at 10 am at the Browning Hall building at St. Hilary’s Episcopal Church, 5011 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers.
I’m grateful for the participation of each of you. Let me get to know you next Saturday at our monthly meeting. More new members have joined this month. Let’s greet them together on February 21. And be sure to thank Olinka and Joyce Blevins, Lee Bomgaars, Beth Meyer, and Claudia Geagan for contributing snacks and drinks! Also, please welcome Julie Moore as our new snack coordinator. To reach her to volunteer to bring snacks, please use the contact form.
Mary
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January 2026
Welcome, GCWA, to 2026 and New Beginnings
| Resolutions are tricky things. As writers, we come equipped with goals: Be more productive. Increase your volume. Try a new genre. Find a publisher. The list goes on. But up until now, not one member of Gulf Coast Writers has met this goal: entering the annual GCWA Writing Contest. VP of Special Projects Claudia Geagan reports that she has entries from Florida, Texas, and Europe – but not one from members of GCWA. This writing challenge is how we showcase our work and garner credit. Judging is blind. No judge will know whose work they are reading. Please enter. The contest closes March 15. While it’s gratifying to see entries from afar, we expect a majority to come from our own members. Please be one. See the submission guidelines on our website. And use this opportunity to spread your literary wings. It’s been nearly two months since our last meeting. I miss you. Will you join me at 10 AM on Saturday, January 17? We’ll be in our regular location: Browning Hall behind Saint Hilary’s Episcopal Church, 5011 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. Our new program director, Lori Swick, announces an intriguing feature for January: Adult Programming Coordinators at the Lee County Library system will present the library’s offerings for local writers. Bibi Cruz, Senior Librarian, and Kristen Marshall, Electronic Resources Librarian, will discuss programs and resources the Lee Public Library offers for local writers, including the Southwest Florida Reading Festival and Fandom Fest. Please come. Let me know if you’ll bring cookies or water, or if you’ll help greet arriving members and guests. We appreciate our volunteers! See you next Saturday, January 17. At that meeting, I hope to announce many member entries into the GCWA writing contest. Mary |
December 2025
Dear Gulf Coast Writers and Friends
What a month just ended for GCWA! On the first day of November, we honored our 30-year history with a well-attended celebration. Then, two weeks later, the membership came together to speak up about their hopes for the future of our organization.
One thing emerged from both meetings: members are expressing huge enthusiasm for the promise of Gulf Coast Writers Association.
As we celebrated our heritage on November 1, Robert Macomber’s keynote address challenged us to commit to the writing life. At our November 15 member meeting, our youngest member spoke for her team to ask for renewed support. And our newest member represented her team with forward-looking ideas.
Now it is December. The hurricane season is over. And our energies are refocused. You have challenged our organization to step up our commitment to helping each member excel. Thank you for urging us to rise up. We’ll ask each of you to help us do so.
Keep writing. And look for new initiatives in the coming year. Happy holidays to each of you. Keep your ideas coming. Reach out to me or any of your executive committee members.
Mary
November 2025
Dear Gulf Coast Writers and Friends
Saturdayʼs meeting resolved so many questions facing our organization:
- Yes, you want snacks.
- No, you do not care about snacks.
- Yes, you want back-to-basics brush-ups on grammar and style.
- No, you want high-level literary improvement.
- And so much more.
Thank you to all who weighed in at Saint Hilaryʼs and via Zoom. To the eight in-person teams who produced excellent suggestions, and to those who offered their thoughts on Zoom, you have given the Executive Committee so much to think about and implement in the coming year.
And to those who bravely spoke on behalf of their tables, big kudos. From Joyce Faith Blevins, our youngest member, to Marty Ambrose, our newest member, to Laura Fuller, our most reserved member: you rock. Each one of the eight spokespersons did themselves and your “idea tablesˮ proud.
Saturday, Ginger Wakem gave a bang-up recap of all that GCWA accomplished in 2025. Scroll to the Spotlight section.) The list is immense, and we all share in the pride of achievement.
And to the 64 of you who became members in 2025, thank you – and please give us your wish lists for the organization. Our Newcomers account for over a third of our total membership. You are important to us. We want to hear from you.
Check out our (new and improved) website. Weʼll be posting the names and contact info for everyone on the Executive Committee. Please take the opportunity to email any of us. Have a new idea for Programs? Let Lori Swick know. Want to form a Critique Group? Tell Claudia Geagan. Have general ideas or questions? Tell me.
GCWA came through some dark times at the start of this decade. Our membership dropped to a few dozen. COVID-19 required us to observe social distancing. Then Hurricane Ian made some of us homeless, with more urgent priorities than attending meetings. But 2025 put us back on our feet, with the energy to look ahead.
Thank you for Saturday’s many wise suggestions. Your GCWA leadership is determined to sustain the energy and keep us vibrant and relevant.
And we’re grateful for each of you.
Mary
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October 2025
To our Gulf Coast Writers and friends
It is good to see many of your names on the reservation list for our 30th anniversary luncheon on November 1. There are still tickets available, with the order deadline of October 24 approaching. It’s easy to place your order on our website, gulfcoastwriters.org. Or you can reserve your ticket in person at our regular October meeting this coming Saturday, October 18.
The November 1 celebration is also your opportunity to promote your books. Bring 100 of your bookmarks or promotional cards to the October 18 meeting, and they’ll be included in the gift bags to be handed to each attendee on November 1.
Do you know about our GCWA Facebook page? It’s a lively forum for news and conversation. You’ll also find photos from past meetings and announcements about what’s coming. You’re welcome, as are your friends and neighbors. Join by logging on to Facebook, then entering Gulf Coast Writers in the search bar at the upper left of the page.
I look forward to seeing you this coming Saturday, October 18, at 10 am atSt. Hilary’s Episcopal Church, 5011 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers. On that day we’ll be treated to an academic look at Artificial Intelligence (AI), presented by a real live human, Joann Salapska-Gilleri, PhD., Professor of Cognitive Psychology at FGCU.
I wonder if there will be cookies on Saturday. Let me know if you’ll provide them. Or water. Or other items of refreshment.
See you soon.
Mary Charles, President, GCWA
September 2025
It’s a great time to be a writer!
Look around. Listen. Feel. Smell. Taste. Inspiration is everywhere. Ideas jump from every corner. I’ve just returned from a visit to my late husband’s homeland, accompanied by American friends and facilitated by his Norwegian family. One of our group kept a daily journal of our journey. I documented it in photos. Together we have a priceless memoir of impressions, of wonders, of encounters, of discoveries.
And while I was abroad, my fellow GCWA members not only kept the ship afloat but also shined it up spectacularly. They launched our new website. They organized our 30ᵗʰ anniversary gala. They broadcasted our news. They judged our writing contest and announced the winners. We are an
organization of volunteers, and the team steps up to every challenge.
Take a look at the new website: sleek, modern, navigable. Go to gulfcoastwriters.org and poke around. It’s a thing of wonder, created and executed 100% by GCWA members. It will only improve as we members add our input. Make it your home. Use it as your platform. Let it work for you. That’s why it’s there.
Here’s another thing that sets GCWA apart. Our annual celebration of excellence in writing goes beyond ourselves: it honors all entrants whose work excels. This year, our GCWA members will take home 5 awards, while nonmembers will receive the other 4 awards. Honorable mentions included 5 members and 4 nonmembers. It’s a democratic competition. We should be proud. Please come on Saturday, September 20, to honor those whose writing rose to the top of this year’s competition. There will be a reception afterward with food and beverages. Please be there. It is our duty and privilege to celebrate our winning writers.
Your 30ᵗʰ anniversary celebration committee has worked tirelessly to create an event that will inspire us all. Please come on November 1. Reserve your tickets now. Bring your family. Bring your friends. This is a celebration of you and us and the delirious joy of being writers. The keynote speech by acclaimed Florida author Robert Macomber will dare us to surprise ourselves, and we’ll also appreciate ourselves and our many achievements. Come to the lovefest.
