Recap of Nancy Stephan's Workshop

Nancy Stephan's workshop this past Saturday was a great success! Everyone in attendance enjoyed listening as Nancy discussed her experience in memoir writing. Her memoir, "The Truth About Butterflies," won the 2012 Georgia Author of the Year Award in that category, and her book of poetry, "A Gary Girl's Guide to Good," has been nominated for this year's GAYA. 

Here are some reviews from those who attended the event:

"We writers are grateful to Nancy Stephan for taking the time to share her knowledge and expertise with those of us who may be struggling to find an audience. Thank you, Nancy."

"I came into this work shop with no knowledge about how to publish books. I came out feeling as if I could publish that very day, all I needed was the written material. It was very interesting and educating. I also enjoyed Nancy Stephan's interaction with the audience. She was very informative and willing and ready to answer all questions and conversate with her audience. It was a very relaxed, beneficial workshop. This was my first workshop so I look forward to attending more. She set the bar high."

"I attended not because I have ever thought of writing memoir which allow the writer to explore issues related to self in a more revealing way than could be done through biography or even autobiography. Moffett ranks memoir close to history which is the literature most often written by the winners. I enjoyed it because I had not fixed idea of what it would be about. What it left me with was the desire to begin thinking of some of my poetry as memoir rather than narrative or lyrical. After I read the first chapter in the memoir Stephan shared with the audience as well as her approach to writing, I came away with the impression that she is at heart a poet."

"Thoroughly enjoyed Nancy and her comments on writing Memoir, particularly the insights into dealing with grief and loss in writing. This spoke to me personally as I've been working on a memoir for 2 years relating to my catastrophic accident in 09."

Telling the Truth About Your Story, a Workshop with Nancy Stephan

Saturday, March 16th from 12:00 - 2:00

Join Nancy Stephan as she talks about the power of healing through storytelling and how important it is to share your story with others. Nancy Stephan is the author of The Truth About Butterflies: A Memoir, which earned the Atlanta resident a 2012 Georgia Author of the Year Award. In her workshop she will discuss her writing process, self-publishing, resources she uses for publicity, and mistakes to avoid.

Nancy Stephan’s memoir is the story of how she dealt with an unimaginable loss and her road to recovery. She received the 2012 Georgia Author of the Year Award for her memoir and began working on other projects later that year. This year her collection of poems A Gary Girl’s Guide to Good has been nominated for the same award in poetry. 

She graduated from the Master of Arts in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University in 2004, and recently published her essay, "Of Birds & Mice," published in Columbia University's "The Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine."

Click here to register for the event.

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Up Next for the Georgia Author of the Year Awards

Nominations for the 49th Georgia Author of the Year Awards are now closed. Information about GAYA can be found by clicking the awards tab, and a list of our current nominees can be found here. We'd like to thank everyone who submitted nominations and we wish you all the best of luck.

The event will be held on Saturday, June 15th at the KSU Center in Kennesaw, Georgia. The banquet will begin at 6:00, and the awards ceremony will begin at 7:30. Tickets for the banquet will be on sale soon. The ceremony is free and open to the public. Join our mailing list to prevent missing out on important information

Noted Author, Physician and Alumnus Ferrol Sams Dies at the age of 90

One of Mercer University’s most accomplished graduates, the man known by many as “Sambo,” died January 29th at the age of 90. Dr. Ferrol A. Sams Jr. penned eight books, including a trilogy of works featuring Porter Osborne Jr., a character largely based on Dr. Sams’ own Georgia boyhood in Fayette County. All of his works are rooted in the oral traditions of Southern humor and folklore, and his novel, The Whisper of the River, to this day is used in the classrooms at Mercer.
“Sambo was an amazing man and a great Mercerian,” said Mercer President William D. Underwood. “Generations have been inspired by the accounts of his exploits while at Mercer in The Whisper of the River. He will be missed.”
Dr. Sams was born in Woolsey, Ga., on Sept. 26, 1922, and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1942 at Mercer and his Doctor of Medicine at Emory University Medical School in 1949.