Meetings

Join us for our monthly programs.

Meeting Times and Locations
Two regular membership meetings with a presentation by an expert on some aspect of writing are held each month.

The second Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to noon MST (in person at UNM Continuing Education Building and via Zoom)
The fourth Wednesday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm MST (via Zoom only). There is no Wednesday meeting in December.

Visitor/Guest Policy
We encourage visitors and guests to experience what our award-winning writers’ association has to offer. Since membership dues pay for our outstanding speakers, we request non-members limit their attendance to three meetings, after which we hope they will join SouthWest Writers. Visitors are welcome beyond their first three visits at a cost of $10 per meeting.

See a schedule of all our events, and visit our YouTube Videos page for a listing of the recorded speakers from 2016 to the present.

ZOOM MEETING Procedure: Read about SWW’s Zoom Meeting procedure on this page.

Need help signing into an SWW Zoom meeting? Watch this video.

UPCOMING MEETING PRESENTATIONS

Wednesday, November 20, 2024
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Via Zoom

Speaker: Léonie Rosenstiel

AI—Your Best Hope or Your Worst Nightmare?

Léonie will share with you how AI is changing how the world works, in fields as diverse as medicine and writing. She’ll describe how many established authors reacted to this new development with dismay and lawsuits, and how Amazon has quickly come to frown on AI-written material. How far will AI go? Maybe, if enough members of the audience already subscribe to it, we’ll even try out some prompts and see how consistent AI is in answering us, or whether it’s still hallucinating, the way it has been since its birth.

Léonie Rosenstiel has been fascinated by AI since only sci fi readers and the military knew about it. An early adopter of new technology, she eagerly tried out AI, and on August 1, 2023 she received a certificate as an AI Powered Training Professional.

Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Wednesday Meeting – November 2024
Time: November 20, 2024 at 6:30 pm Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join the Zoom Meeting
Read our Zoom log-in policy. ALL ATTENDEES are required to have their zoom screen show either their name or phone number. SWW Members sign into the Members Only portion of the website (request a username and password from info@swwriters.com if you haven’t already done so). Once in the Members Portal, follow the Zoom log-in directions posted prior to the meeting. Non-members are required to contact our office (505-830-6034 or info@swwriters.com) or sign up for Elerts to receive a link to our upcoming meetings.

Saturday, December 14, 2024
10:00 am – noon
In Person & Zoom

Speaker: Dan Wetmore

The Building Blocks of Prose

Being ‘basic’ might be bad, but having the basics is crucial.

To position yourself for success, come get a refresher in—or be introduced to—prose’s elemental pitfalls.

We’ll discuss punctuation and proper dialogue formatting; tags versus beats and clear points of view; tenses and keeping them consistent; transitions (sentences, paragraphs and section breaks); information management faux pas (illogical flow, redundancy, non sequiturs, info dumps, off-topic work).

Sound boring? Only if mastering the craft holds no interest.
Think you know it all? Listen to the presentation, and then decide!

I guarantee I’ll give you reason to reconsider at least one thing you thought was cut and dried.

Dan Wetmore joined SWW in late 2016 and is the current vice president of the organization. He’s served on the Board of Directors for over five years, having worked on the Nominations Committee, chaired the annual writing contest, and edited the By-Laws and the Policies & Procedures Manual. Dan is the editor of Ramblings & Reflections, SWW’s 2021 contest anthology, and has authored two books of poetry: My Mother’s Gentle Unbecoming and Phoboudenopanophobia.

Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Saturday Meeting – December 2024
Time: December 14, 2024 at 10:00 am Mountain Time (US and Canada)

No Wednesday Meeting in December

2025 MEETING PRESENTATIONS

Saturday, January 11, 2025
10:00 am – noon
In Person & Zoom

Speaker: Layla Milholen

Submitting Your Book to a Traditional Publisher

The world of publishing has changed considerably, but most authors consider having their work accepted for publication by a traditional publishing house as the gold standard. Layla Milholen recently retired from McFarland Publishing and will be bringing insights into the steps authors should take to successfully submit their work.

Look for more information coming soon.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Via Zoom

Speaker: John Roche

Freeing Your Free Verse from Flabbiness

How do we keep our Free Verse from getting flabby? What tips have other writers proposed? First off, it might be helpful to have a brief history of the Free Verse genre, arising out of traditional Blank Verse through the inspiration of Walt Whitman; popularized by poets such as Carl Sandburg and Vachel Lindsay; surprisingly transformed by Modernists like H.D., E.E. Cummings, or William Carlos Williams; and starring in the 1950s poetry revolution led by the Beats, NY School, and Black Mountain (or Projectivist) Poets. Each of these movements created new ways to write Free Verse that is disciplined, exacting, and exciting. Unfortunately, as anyone who has attended open mics can attest, many beginning writers confuse Free Verse for mere freewriting, and believe there is nothing needed beyond their journal’s first draft. Even if one agrees in principle with Ginsberg’s dictum “First Thought, Best Thought,” there’s a bit more to it.

John Roche lives in Placitas, New Mexico, helping run Jules’ Poetry Playhouse and edit Poetry Playhouse Publications. Along with editing the five-volume Poets Speak series, his poetry books include On Conesus, Topicalities, Road Ghosts, The Joe Poems, Joe Rides Again: Further Adventures of Joe the Poet, and the latest, Tubbables.

Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Wednesday Meeting – January 2025
Time: January 22, 2025 at 6:30 pm Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Saturday, February 8, 2025
10:00 am – noon
In Person & Zoom

Speaker: Dorinda Wegener

Get it Together: Organizing a Submission Packet and/or Manuscript and Tips on Submitting It

Her presentation will cover:

How to organize a submission packet (individual packets or a manuscript/anthology)
Where to Submit
Guidelines: to follow or not to follow (individual packets, contests, manuscript/anthology)

Dorinda Wegener was selected as a Poets & Writers Magazine 2024 Get The Word Out Poetry Cohort Participant. Her debut collection, Four Fields, was published by Trio House Press in July 2024. She is a Perianesthesia Certified Registered Nurse in Virginia, who holds an MFA in Poetry from New England College.

Zoom Meeting Information:
Topic: SWW Saturday Meeting – February 2025
Time: February 8, 2025 at 10:00 am Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Wednesday, February 26, 2025
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Via Zoom