Saturday, August 26, 2017

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Spotlight on the Judges - Elizabeth White

Elizabeth White resides on the Central Coast of California, where for several years she authored the San Luis Obispo County lifestyle blog, Elizabeth in SLO. Readers from around the globe shared her discovery of SLO County's avant-garde, as she explored the beauty and wonder of this regional Shangri-la.
Elizabeth's taste for adventure dates back to the 90s, when she taught English in rural Japan. She reveled in discovering the local cuisine and customs while surrounded by lush fields of rice, stunning tulip farms, and towering alps. She later served as the media coordinator for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program's Alumni Association of Southern California, where she sourced writers, edited articles, and published several of her Japanese escapades in Sushi and Sake Magazine.
Her love of documentaries led her to volunteer for the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, where for several years she wrangled wine for Festival events and also served as a board member. This experience kindled her interest in the budding Central Coast wine scene.
Elizabeth's blog stories chronicled her vino-infused exploits throughout the rolling SLO County vineyards and culinary hot spots, as well as her experimentation with recipes influenced by local flavors and products. Her interviews with local chefs and wine makers have been published in VINO Wine Lifestyle Magazine and Templeton Life.

Currently she continues to wander, photograph, and write about the beauty and wonder of the Central Coast, largely as a guest blogger. When out exploring the local terrain, Elizabeth, camera in tow, captures the regional wildlife and majestic coastal scenery.  She is a published photographer and uses her photos to bring her stories to life. You can catch glimpses of her work at elizabethinslo.blogspot.com and elizabethwhitephotos.com

Saturday, August 19, 2017

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Spotlight on the Judges - Mark Arnold

Mark Arnold holds degrees in science, professional writing, journalism and communication. While a master’s student at the University of Missouri school of Journalism during the mid 80s, he became fascinated by literary non-fiction and began to apply the techniques of Wolfe, Capote’ and Thompson. He was selected as one of the top ten student science writers in the nation and has published non-fiction in several magazines.
He elected to study for his Ph.D. at the same university Timothy Leary attended. The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa gave him a chance to learn as much about research and the effects of communication as it taught him about the human condition.

After more than a decade teaching feature writing at the college and university level, he left to pursue writing fiction. He provides critiques once a month for a writing club, NightWriters in San Luis Obispo. Writers of the Future recognized him, twice, for novella length science fiction which gave him the confidence to begin his new novel Monster, the story a Mary Shelley’s early life (Mango press. Due out by the end of this year.)


Saturday, August 12, 2017

Spotlight on the Judges - S.L. Gore

Born with wanderlust, forever living in a fantasy world, S. L. Gore escaped the prairies of Kansas to follow the yellow brick road on a twenty-year odyssey that took her to Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Starting with a one way ticket to Iceland, she returned with a Viking husband, an art degree and speaking five languages.
A love of travel, classical history, languages, mysticism, food, shopping and adventure led Gore to create the epic time travel romance novels of the Isis Trilogy: The Red Mirror, The Emerald Tablet and The Black Scroll.

Her non-fiction publications include the self-help manual Sex and the Zen of Shopping: How to Live Rich by Shopping Smart and inspirational memoir contributions to three Life Choices anthologies.
Gore is a regular contributor to Life Choices on-line magazine with the cooking and table art column Beauty and the Feast, Dining with Sandra. From time to time, you can find samples and photos of both simple and exotic dishes on her blog www.SLGore.com. Expect a future cookbook of Gore’s own recipes plus those of talented, foodie friends from around the globe.
Gore’s next project is a memoir of her years in North Africa hitchhiking the sands of the Sahara and exploring the back alleys of the souks in the underbelly of Maghreb. Working title: Not In Kansas Anymore. Gore is a frequent guest on talk radio discussing Middle East politics and the impact of Islamic culture on the West.
Joyously married forty-one years, the Nielsens hang out in a quintessential beach bungalow in a coastal California beach town. You can follow her on twitter @GoreNovels or like her Facebook page S. L. Gore. Email her at GoreNovels@gmail.com.


Sunday, August 6, 2017

Spotlight on the Judges - Marilyn Meredith

Marilyn Meredith is the author of many published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Seldom Traveled from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is A Crushing Death, from Oak Tree Press. She taught writing for Writers Digest Schools for 10 years, and was an instructor at the prestigious Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences. 

Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at 
and her blog at 

Saturday, August 5, 2017

SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest Underway!

Entries are pouring in for the 27th annual SLO NightWriters Golden Quill Writing Contest!

Join your fellow writers and enter your piece today.  The theme is Liberation which must be used for every entry in Flash/Short Fiction, up to 1,500 words; Poetry, up to 40 lines; and Creative Non-Fiction, up to 1,500 words.
For the low entry fee of $15 you can win $500 for first place, $250 for second and $100 for third. 

The deadline is September 15, 2017, so don’t delay!  To enter and to check out all the details visit our website at:
http://slonwgoldenquillwritingcontest.com/                        

And like us on social media:

W​e can't wait to see your work!