Latest News
NLAPW National Convention, Atlanta, April 2014
Main speakers will include Haywood Smith and William Fred Scott. Call for proposals for workshop, panel discussion and lecture presenters goes out. Click here to find out how to apply to become a presenter.
Proposed Amendments to the Bylaws
On the 2014 mail-in ballot, members will vote on proposed amendments to the NLAPW National Bylaws and Standing Rules. Click here to read the changes proposed and the rationale.
NLAPW Shirley Holden Helberg Grants for Mature Women
NLAPW, Inc. is now accepting submissions for these grants of $1,000 to non-member women age 35+.
Click here for guidelines and how to apply.
HEADS UP! TIME TO THINK OF NOMINEES FOR EXECUTIVE BOARD NLAPW
If you are interested and qualified, or know a Pen Woman who is, consider sending names to members of the nominating committee in your geographic area. Positions and qualifications are listed in the (click here) bylaws; an application will be found on our National web site and in the next issue of Pen Woman with all pertinent information.
Nominating Committee: Co-chairs_ Dr. Myra Levick & Patricia Wilson, Boca Raton, FL Branch.
Members: Ute Buehler, Minnesota Branch; Judy Cutchins, Atlanta, GA Branch; Marge Dodge, Palm Springs, CA Branch
Online Photo Contest
Photo Contest Awards Results:
Honorable mentions:
Bok Joy, Valerie Lecklikner, Ft. Lauderdale
Garden Visitor, Carolyn Seabolt, Carroll MD
Museum Downtime, Carol Dixon, Connecticut Pioneer
3rd Place
Pink Pearl, Valerie Lecklikner, Ft. Lauderdale
2nd Place
The Road Less Traveled, Leonor Anthony, Coral Gables
1st Place
Golden Skies, Valerie Lecklikner, Ft. Lauderdale
Congratulations!
The gallery is being constructed by the Web Editor and will be up on the website soon. Check back to see this beautiful exhibit!
Sandy Book Drive
Our Sandy Book Drive needs books donated to help libraries in the Northeast restore their collections. Children’s books, books by our NLAPW authors, multiple copies, or any new works are especially needed. You can send your books directly to the Queens Library Collections Co-ordinator who will distribute books to the neediest libraries, click here for a PDF of the address and a printable letter you can attach if you wish, or can donate directly to the NLAPW and we will make sure the donation goes directly to libraries in need. Authors, sign your books and include a bookmark as a personal touch to those in need.
We’re sending our award winning anthology of women writers on Abraham Lincoln, Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln to libraries and schools in the Northeast. Concerned book lovers anywhere can click on the Donate Now button to donate any amount, no matter how small, to help devastated libraries replace their collections. Please add a note to your donation specifying “Sandy Book Drive,” and all donations marked this way will go directly to this effort. Thank you to the Publications Committee and Katie Witek, Nat’l Letters Chair, and Atlanta author Renea Winchester, for their work on this!
NLAPW blog
Because so much is going on in our organization, we have a blog you can follow to keep up to date with events, contests, outreach activities and a Poem of the Week. Click here to read the latest entry. Enter your email address in the box on the right of our home page to follow our latest news and Poem of the Week blog, or go to Poem of the Week page to subscribe only to the poetry.
Pennies for Pen Arts
Do you like competitions? An old fund raiser, “Pennies for Pen Arts”, has been revived and is called “Cash for Creativity.” Chaired by Judy Woods-Knight of Tacoma, WA, branch, a member of the newly established fund raising committee, the challenge is for each branch at each meeting to collect “cash” for a donation to the Endowment Fund, which supports the Pen Arts building and its special programs. Each month after the branch meeting, a check should be sent by the treasurer (or whoever collects the donations) to National (1300 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC). Please put CEF in notation line of check. The winning branch will be recognized at the 2014 biennial in Atlanta!
The fund raising committee was established at the June 2012 board meeting to help alleviate our deficit. Christina Laurie of the Cape Cod, MA, branch is chairman.
Boca Raton Branch Writing Contest
Short short story contest for members, click here.
Bylaws Updates
Proposed amendments to the Bylaws, approved by the National Executive Board, were approved by the membership at the business meeting of the NLAPW Biennial Convention, April, 2012, in Washington, D.C. Changes include remaning the National Executive Board to Board of Directors. The Board of Directors elected positions are now streamlined with a majority elected by the membership, the remainder by the Board of Directors.
Standing committees have been reorganized to emphasize the three classifications of membership. Art, Letters, and Music will each evaluate credentials, plan and execute outreach programming, instructional workshops and showcases for members’ creative work and conduct competitions for awards. These three committees will recommend policies and procedures guiding their classification.
Future amendments to the bylaws will be by a process involving submission by any member followed by debate at the branch level. The ballot sent to every member in good standing for election of officers will include the proposed amendments.
To read the Bylaws as amended, click here. To read the Standing Rules, click here.
Donation for Computer Repair Recieved
Many of you may have heard that the iMac Computer in the National Headquarters suffered a technical meltdown and needed to be repaired. THANK YOU to our generation members who donated to this cause. This cost has now been covered, and the computer is restored.
2012-2014 Board of Directors Elected and Installed
NLAPW welcomes the new Board of Directors and Committee Chairs for the 2012-2014 term. See our Board of Directors page for names of the new officers, and the Elections page for bios. To contact any officer, please email contact@nlapw.org with the name or position of the officer in the subject line.
2012 Music Awards Announced
Candace Long wins 1st Place, $1,000 for Tsunami, her electronic piece with poetry by Frances Patton Statham. For all winners and links to music, click here.
2012 Biennial Art Exhibit Awards
Jamie Tate, National Art Chair, announces the award winners in NLAPW’s national juried art show, on exhibit at the Sumner Museum, 1201 17th St. NW, DC, until May 31, 2012. Congratulations to Soon Y. Warren for best in show for “Baby’s Breath Sprinkle.” For a complete list of awards, click here.
2012 Biennial Letters Awards
Congratulations to the poetry and prose winners of the 2012 Biennial Letters prizes. For the list of awards, prizes and winners, click here.
Pensacola Branch Video up on NLAPW YouTube
What is being a Pen Woman all about? The Pensacola Branch, FL, has created a slide-show of the ways NLAPW brings creative women together. The video shows art exhibits, creative inspiration, music programs and a children’s clothesline exhibit sponsored by the branch. More reasons to join us, wherever you live. Watch now.
NLAPW Partners with Women in History Project
Washington, D.C. January, 2012
The National League of American Pen Women, Inc. has partnered with the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) to “affirm the value of knowing women’s history, illuminate the role of women in transforming society and encourage all people, women and men, to participate in democratic dialogue about the future of women.” The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), founded in 1996, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women, and integrating this rich heritage fully into our nation’s history. NWHM is a 501(c)(3) organization. NLAPW’s outreach committee is exploring options for programs and projects which may be of service to the museum. Please contact Anna DiBella, outreach chair, for more information.
Freedoms Foundation National Award
Anne Hoiberg, La Jolla Branch, CA, will be the recipient of a Freedoms Foundation National Award for her excellent article, Women’s Struggle for the Right to Vote which appeared in the Union Tribune. She was also inducted into the The San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame in January. Click here to read the article.
