Story Jam

“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”

September 14, 2017  – 6:30 pm

Trying a new venue for our latest Story Jam (the Coventry Mall, in the open meeting space),  we were charmed, moved, and inspired by 5 authors who courageously read their original stories while 12 lucky listeners watched and listened with delight.   Written using the prompt, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words,” and/or using a picture as inspiration (many used our work from our Painting Event in August), these five women shared their thoughts about the world, moments from their lives, and pictures from their own mind’s eye.

Thank you to all who participated and attended!

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SEPT 8 – 10

HIPPOCAMP CREATIVE NON-FICTION CONFERENCE

Reminder: WNBA President Rae Theodore and member Patty Kline-Capaldo presented  at Hippocamp, a creative nonfiction conference held in Lancaster from September 8-10.

Hippocamp is sponsored by Hippocampus Magazine. You can find more information about the conference at http://hippocamp2017.hippocampusmagazine.com/.

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What’s more fun than a group of writers getting together to share their stories? A group of writers creating a painting which will generate more stories!

On Thursday, August 10, 2017, a group of ten brave souls met at the colorful art gallery in Royersford, Pennsylvania, called Painting With a Twist. The venue is intended to allow groups of people to try their hand at painting while enjoying snacks, wine and each other. An artist instructor gives step-by-step guidance to recreate the theme painting. Their motto is to create “fun” art, not “fine” art.

This evening’s painting was selected with the intention to garner stories. Titled “United,” it was a creepy display of black and white trees lining the two sides of the canvas, joining together with snakelike vines in the middle into a twisty clump of black and white and gray, with green leaves spotting the edges with hope. Amy, our instructor, calmed our painting fears while she meticulously described the brush strokes and techniques to proceed with our artwork.

We had a blast and managed to gather some funds towards the WNBA as well. The paintings (or any painting we choose) are intended to be used as a story prompt for our September Story Jam.

Won’t you join us? Sharing stories are an integral part of sharing our lives. Hope to see you there on September 14, 2017 from 7-9 p.m. at the Coventry Mall. Perhaps one of the stories will be titled “United.”

On Tuesday, April 25th, 2017, we had a fantastic turn-out to our Annual Meeting and First Chapter-wide Election of new officers for our board! It was great fun to see everyone and to catch up a bit!  We had tasty treats and talked about some technology as well!

We are blessed to have many members who are also stepping up

and getting involved with our different committees.

Shelley Douglas – Outreach Chair

Kim Lehman – Newsletter & Communications Chair

Sharon Hajj – Membership Chair

Please keep checking back to our Events page to see all the wonderful things we have coming up over the next several months.  We have some book chats being planned, and a fundraiser which will be a fun night of painting!  We hope to see you all soon!

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GETTING PUBLISHED, with Joan Gelfand- APRIL 13th-We were so proud to host this incredible author, editor and coach as well as WNBA National Development Chairwoman.  Joan is VERY knowledgeable and helped writers of all levels.  Participants walked away empowered and excited to write, write, write!  Keep your eyes peeled for our next getting published learning opportunity!

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 Thursday, March 23rd, was our most recent and most excellent Story Jam at Red Robin in Providence Town Center, Collegeville. What an inspiring night!  11 brave souls read their pieces on the topic of “Resist” to a most captive audience.   

Their stories demonstrated the strength of our unity, the women’s movement, and the power of love.

A big thank you to all who came out to support our courageous authors!   

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February 23, 2017 – Members-Only Potluck  & Book Swap at Stickman Brews, Royersford

What a fantastic potluck get-together at the Stickman Brews in Royersford!  At this members-only event, we enjoyed good eats, good beer, and had some engaging and delightful conversations.    

 We even got some work done.  Look for upcoming events in March, April, and May!  There are lots of opportunities that may interest you, and we would love to see you!  

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On December 10th and 11th, we had our Gift Wrap Table set up at the Towne Book Center & Cafe!  Several volunteers gave of their time to help us wrap customers’ purchases for the ones they love during the delightful holiday season.  In addition to wrapping gifts, we sold many of our beautiful, hand-stamped and decorated Christmas Gift Tags made by some of our own members to raise money for Unicef.   After all was said and done, and adding to funds raised during October by some generous children who went trick-or-treating, we were able to donate $161.00 to Unicef!   We are always very proud of our members’ efforts!  Way to go, Greater Philadelphia WNBA!

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 In Collegeville, PA just outside of Philadelphia, residents celebrated National Reading Group Month (NRGM) with the Women’s National Book Association of Greater Philadelphia, a non-profit organization that celebrates books and reading.

Events were held throughout the month of October and included publisher presentations, meetings with authors, a children’s event with a book store scavenger hunt and kids in costumes, and local writers reading their scary stories at a Story Jam.

“We wanted to try a variety of activities this year. We packed in a ton of great events to meet the needs and interests of our diverse membership,” said Elizabeth Mosteller, Greater Philadelphia Chapter President.

October 12th kicked off NRGM celebrations with a “Two Day Book Bonanza” as publishers from Penguin Books, Random House, and Simon & Schuster presented local readers with a sneak peak into new and exciting fiction and non-fiction releases anticipated for winter 2016/17. Books from new and popular authors such as Jodi Picoult, Paulo Coelho, and Bruce Springsteen got local readers excited to hibernate and read all winter!

Fellow WNBA member and National Reading Group Chair, Kim Lehman was one of the attendees at the event. “The publishers shared so many books, books I had not heard of before,” Lehman said. “It allowed for a great opportunity to discover new reads, ask questions, and get a kick-start on holiday shopping.”

The following night, October 13^th, the literary fun continued as three up-and-coming authors (Barbara J. Taylor, Michelle Brafman, and Clare Beams) shared their newly released books with a large crowd of guests.

Over thirty excited readers turned up to meet the authors, discuss the books, and get personally autographed copies of Bertrand Court, We Show What We Have Learned, and All Waiting Is Long.

Mosteller could not have been happier with the turnout. “Since this is our sophomore year as a chapter, we were able to apply all we learned the first time around to make it a great event.  We are incredibly thankful for the terrific team that came together to host these wonderful writers!”

October 23^rd, we held a Spooktacular Kids’ Event at our host Bookstore, Towne Book Center and Café, where children participated in activities that ranged from a scavenger hunt to face-painting, snacks, a story, and a craft.  This event was in support of the United Nation’s global initiative to promote literacy and help children in need.  Trick or Treat collection boxes were distributed to support UNICEF.

“The kids had a great time making crafts, getting their faces painted, and competing in a scavenger hunt,” said Lehman of the children’s event. “So many parents told us they were looking forward to doing it again next year.”

That seemed to be the consensus from all participants over the month.  It’s the best compliment we could have received!

National Reading Group Month concluded on October 27^th with a Halloween themed Story Jam, which allowed local writers the opportunity to share and read their scary stories in an open forum.  From tainted candy to hauntings to overbearing mother-in-laws, our Story Jam had it all!

We are already looking forward to next year’s NRGM events!! Thank you to everyone who came out to support the WNBA-Greater Philadelphia, NRGM and UNICEF.

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September 19th at 7:00 p.m. was our Fall Kickoff Membership Mixer at Towne Book Center and Café to celebrate our 1st birthday AND the beginning of our exciting 2nd year!  After an an informative talk, “Take a Walk on the Tech Side” that included an introduction to our own (new) Vice-President, Kim Lehman’s website, www.mybooketlist.com, we also shared many details about our upcoming events.  REMEMBER … It’s membership renewal time, so please join us for our 2nd year by sending a check or paying right from this website under Become A Member.  You may already be a member, and that’s ok!  Be sure to check out Become A Member for more details on how to continue your journey with this incredible organization!  We can hardly wait for all the fun events to commence!  ~ You are always welcome to bring a friend and help us grow our membership in year two! 

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“Love & Rockets” Story Jam

Thursday, July 21st, 2016 at 6:30-8:30

at Brewed Awakening Cafe,

306 Main Street, Royersford, PA

Put a little POP in your Thursday night with our “Love & Rockets” Story Jam.

Prompt: “Love & Rockets” (Write about love. Write about rockets. Write about Love and Rockets. Whatever moves you. Original works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry. 1,200 word max.)

Come out and read in your best story voice or take a seat, put up your feet and support our local writers. We’ll have cake to celebrate. Writers will receive a small gift as thanks for their participation.

Questions? Contact Rae at rae.r.theodore@gmail.com to register to read or for more information.

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 Festival 108

June 18th from 10 am to 10 pm in Schwenksville, PA

Get your tickets to come to FEST 108!  This festival offers a full day of wellness and celebration! Sponsored by MOYO, WNBA Greater Philadelphia Chapter will be there to promote reading and writing and how they contribute to wellness. Live music, yoga and wellness workshops! So much to do and see! Even a kids tent!  Check it out at the link below: