PAULA WHYMAN

From the press release:

The American Independent Writing Prizes for 2010 were awarded at the June 12 annual conference in Washington, DC, to Mary Collins, Heather Lynne Davis, Herta Feely, Peter Galuszka and Paula Whyman. The annual competition is open to all AIW members and recognizes outstanding freelance work.

Whyman won the short fiction prize for "Statute of Limitations” [March/April 2009, Bethesda Magazine], which skillfully explores the “tension between surrendering to self-interest and taking responsibility for the life [people] have created,” the judges said.

More specifically, this story is about bad parenting, bad drugs, and bad sex. And I'm grateful to Bethesda Magazine's fiction editor, Susan Coll, and publisher, Steve Hull, not only for publishing fiction in the magazine in the first place, but also for taking a risk with the magazine's content. Bethesda Magazine may very well be the only regional glossy that puts short fiction in every issue.

The American Independent Writers' annual conference is fast approaching. This year's theme is "New Realities: The (R)evolution of Writing and Publishing." The conference takes place on June 12 at GWU's Cafritz Center.

I'll be moderating a panel that afternoon called "Where to Start and When to Stop: The Art of Judging Your Own Work." Panelists are Danielle Evans, David Taylor, and Mary Kay Zuravleff. Please come by!

The conference will include:

More than a dozen panels, from technology for writers, to research tips for your next book or article, to breaking into magazine writing.

Seventeen literary agents serving on roundtables and panels, meeting one-on-one with conference attendees, and even getting there at the crack of dawn for an Agent Breakfast with YOU (assuming that YOU sign up in time!).

Forty-five speakers and presenters, including plenary speaker, Writer’s Digest Books Editor Chuck Sambuchino; and keynote speaker, Jill McCorkle, novelist and North Carolina State University creative writing MFA professor.

Here, you'll find more information, including a complete list of panels and agents, and info on how to register.

See you there!