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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260414T110000
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SUMMARY:April is National Poetry Month -- Local Activities Continue
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://writersalliance.org/event/april-is-national-poetry-month-local-activities-continue/
CATEGORIES:Poetry
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ORGANIZER;CN="ARTSPEAKSgnv":MAILTO:info@ARTSPEAKSgnv.org
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T170000
DTSTAMP:20260423T061517
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SUMMARY:Alachua County Arts Council's 5th Annual Artists Conference
DESCRIPTION:The City of Gainesville’s Cultural Advisory Board and The Historic Thomas Center are co-hosting the Alachua County Arts Council’s 5th Annual Artists Conference on Friday\, April 24\, 2026\, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm in the Spanish Court. The Writers Alliance of Gainesville (WAG) will be featured in Session 10 in the afternoon. \nBetween 3:05 pm and 3:45 pm\, WAG President Debbie Miller will introduce seven WAG authors who will present original short fiction\, creative nonfiction\, and poetry inspired by the theme “Where Nature and Culture Meet.” The works by Susie Baxter\, Jenifer Dearinger\, Debbie Miller\, Mallory M. O’Connor\, Rob Rogers\, Allen Stewart\, and Wendy Thornton will reflect on landscapes\, lived experience\, and cultural identity\, illuminating the deep connections between us and the natural world. \nOther conference topics will include topics such as Legal Protections for Artistic Creations\, Arts Engagement as a Health Behavior: Framework\, Emerging Evidence and Insights\, Hacking into Your Value Story\, and Creating and Implementing a Successful Festival. Interactive arts activities will be on hand. \nFor the full program\, go to https://tinyurl.com/Arts-Council-AC and scroll down to: \nArtists Conference\n\n2026 Artists Confer​ence ​- Registration Form​​\n2026 ​Artists Conference Schedule\n\n​Complimentary breakfast and lunch will be provided in The Thomas Center’s beautiful gardens\, but reservations are needed. To register\, sign up here: https://alachuacountybocc.jotform.com/form/artists-conference-register-2026 \n  \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://writersalliance.org/event/alachua-county-arts-councils-5th-annual-artists-conference/
LOCATION:The Historic Thomas Center\, 302 N.E. 6th Avenue\, Gainesville\, Florida\, 32601\, United States
CATEGORIES:Conference
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260503T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260503T160000
DTSTAMP:20260423T061517
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260210T174649Z
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SUMMARY:Strategies for Writing and Developing Environmental Scenes
DESCRIPTION:This program is being held on the FIRST Sunday in May since Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday.  \nCome join us on May 3\, at the Millhopper Library when author Benjamin Coward will share strategies for drafting\, writing\, and fully developing environmental scenes. \nDrawing on his background in Environmental Science\, he has interwoven environmental issues throughout his published books. And he has much to share concerning the importance of environmental scenes whether in fiction\, memoir\, or other nonfiction books. \nHe will reveal how we writers can use environmental scenes to enhance the story line\, plot\, and character movement. He will share his scene-writing tips that will help engage readers and draw them deeper into the story\, thereby helping them better understand the world around them. \nCoward earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from the Southern New Hampshire University. He is originally from the Saint Louis area in Missouri. He moved to Florida in the spring of 2013 to further his education. He still lives in Gainesville with his wife\, Julia\, and two-year-old daughter. \nLike all of WAG’s Sunday programs\, this one is free and open to the public. \n 
URL:https://writersalliance.org/event/strategies-for-writing-and-developing-environmental-scenes/
LOCATION:Millhopper Branch\, Alachua County Libraries\, 3145 NW 43rd St.\, Gainesville\, FL\, 32606\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book Signing,Speaker
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260614T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260614T160000
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SUMMARY:Trauma\, Part II: Trauma as a Character in Writing
DESCRIPTION:Few people reach adulthood without experiencing some painful\, emotional\, and traumatic events.Yet\, for us authors\, those trying events can become a treasure of knowledge and understanding that we can use in our writing. \nCome join us at the Millhopper Library at 2:30 p.m. on the second Sunday in June for a second look this year at using trauma as a resource in your writing. \nWAG member Kathy Connor Dobronyi will share her personal stories of trauma and the stories of her characters to help you write about trauma. \nTrauma is a word we often hear\, yet its true nature is frequently misunderstood and underestimated. There are three levels of trauma: acute\, chronic\, and complex\, a combination of the aforementioned. There is no single definition of trauma; it can be different things to different people. \nKathy has lived with complex trauma from a childhood of abuse and war. In her writing\, she uses the memory of her time in Saigon\, where she experienced terrorist bombings at an American theater and other facilities where Americans congregated. She also witnessed human immolation and heard the bombs and gunfire during the overthrow of the South Vietnamese President on November 1\, 1963. \nKathy is not a therapist or a clinician. She is a retired high school teacher\, a storyteller\, and a writer. Using stories from her life and the lives of her characters\, she shares the different facets of trauma and healing. \nAlthough she wrote articles for trade journals and developed lesson plans used by the Folgers Institute\, she never considered herself an author until she was asked by a local newspaper editor to write her story: Under the Wings of a Good Luck Phoenix: Memoir of an American Girl in Saigon\, June 1963 to March 1964. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://writersalliance.org/event/character-development/
LOCATION:Millhopper Library\, Meeting Room A\, 3145 NW 43rd St\,\, Gainesville\, FL\, 32606\, United States
CATEGORIES:Speaker
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260712T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260712T160000
DTSTAMP:20260423T061517
CREATED:20260302T021711Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260302T184054Z
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SUMMARY:The Writer and the Machine: Collaborating with AI\, by Jaimie Engle
DESCRIPTION:AI won’t take your job. But someone who knows how to prompt it will. \nIn her book\, The Writer and the Machine\, Jaime Engle shows novelists\, screenwriters\, and entrepreneurs how to stay relevant and in demand by collaborating with AI—without losing their voice. Instead of fearing the future\, she teaches how to prompt AI with story-first strategy to build intellectual property (IP) that sells. \nWith her proven creative framework\, you’ll learn to write faster\, pitch smarter\, and build IP that lasts—just like thousands of other creatives she has helped. \nTo get a preview of her talk\, check out the Q&A sheet\, AI and Copyright that she has prepared. \nJaimie Engle built the Engleverse stories in books\, film\, and TV. She wrote\, sold\, and produced Just Jake (2023)\, sold and developed a story with DreamWorks Animation Studios (2025)\, and was hired to write an audibook for Fresh Produce Media (2025). \nShe founded Chapter Drops™ to help people with stories write and publish books\, offering a Pitch Drop service for authors to connect with producers. She has written and published 25+ books\, earning awards such as Kirkus Choice Book of the Year (2020)\, Pulisher’s Book Life Prize (Fiction and Non-Fiction 2020)\, and the Writers of the Future Award (2016). \nFor a deep dive into AI\, check out her book\, The Writer and the Machine\, which will be available for purchase following her talk. \nThis program is free and open to the public.
URL:https://writersalliance.org/event/the-writer-and-the-machine-collaborating-with-ai-by-jaimie-engle/
LOCATION:Millhopper Library\, Meeting Room A\, 3145 NW 43rd St\,\, Gainesville\, FL\, 32606\, United States
CATEGORIES:Speakers
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