SnoValley Writes creates book, looks to the future
January 26, 2011
By Sebastian Moraga
The list of achievements grows for SnoValley Writes.
Born two years ago, this group of writers from the Valley has brought scribes from as far as Tacoma and Ellensburg to share and improve their craft.
Casondra Brewster (left) and Sheri Kennedy (middle) display the two anthologies from SnoValley Writes, the writing group/workshop Brewster started in 2008. The latest anthology, held by group member Linda Garcia, was published last fall. By Sebastian Moraga
Writing is a solitary art, but it doesn’t have to be, group founder Casondra Brewster said.
“One of the impetuses for this group was to have a steady group of writers together,” she said. “If you have no feedback, you can’t grow.”
Getting writers out of their homes and out in the open has been but one of the milestones of SnoValley Writes. Two anthologies have been published since the group started in 2008.
The first one had good content but an amateurish look, which made it more difficult getting people interested in the group, Brewster said.
The second edition, published in October, had a more polished look. It sold out all 26 issues of its limited first run and a second edition is on its way.
“This was real,” Brewster said. “We made a real effort to make it look professional.”
The anthology’s sleek look affected both writers and their hardest critics.
“This was the first time my husband thought of me as a writer,” said Sheri Kennedy, a member of the group, whose writings appear in the second anthology.
Group member Linda Garcia said being in the group has helped her get published.
“A lot of people say, ‘If it wasn’t for the group, I would’ve never gotten personalized responses from an agent,’” Brewster said.
Of course, getting published is part of it. A greater goal is turning this group into a training and breeding ground for playwrights, poets and novelists.
Another milestone was November’s “National Novel-Writing Month,” where SnoValley Writes published more works and raised more money per capita than a similar, larger group in Seattle.
One last milestone was a call for writers that yielded a shock.
A writer from the University of Ohio wanted to compile writings about fear. When one SnoValley Writes member told the group she had been chosen out of a national pool of writers, she found out that four more also had.
“It’s amazing that so many in our group were chosen,” Garcia said.
Next for the group is earning its federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and growing its fundraisers so it allows it to afford scholarships, conferences and classes.
“We want to be able to write grants so we can do more projects, and reach out into the community,” Kennedy said.
They also want to keep issuing anthologies, the sharper looking the better. Brewster said she doesn’t worry that the Kindle or the iPad might nudge the paperback out of the picture anytime soon.
“You can’t take a Kindle to the bathtub or an iPad to the beach,” she said.
Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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