First Chapter Contest Winners Announced!
One of the missions of HNWA is to help writers on their journey to write, publish, and promote their books. In late 2023, the association, launched our first ever Hometown Novel Writers Association First Chapter Contest to encourage local talent to share their stories with the public. The contest was open to aspiring published, or unpublished authors, ages 16 and over, who lived in Coweta or its seven surrounding counties. Prizes totaling $1,000, will be awarded thanks to a grant award to the association by Operation Round -Up.
We are pleased to announce this year’s winners:
- First Place: Elizabeth Ream for “Wreck”
- Second Place: Jack Slay Jr. for “Sleep”
- Third Place: Robert L. Rothman for “The Shark’s Protege”
- Honorable Mention: J.Z. Pitts for “Untitled”
- Honorable Mention: Justin Thurman for “Caregiver”
Awards included:
- First Place – $500.00, manuscript critique, 1 year patronage to HNW, framed certificate
- Second Place – $300, 1 year patronage to HWN, framed certificate
- Third Place – $200, framed certificate
All winners are invited to attend the Hometown Novel Nights event to be held at the Newnan Carnegie Library on February 15th, at 6:30 PM for a public recognition ceremony. The public is invited to attend.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join the Newnan Carnegie Library and Hometown Novel Writers Association for “New Stories for a New Year”. We will have guest authors: Brett Nichols, Jacob Z. Pitts, and Melanie Tillman. Come listen and discover about their writing process, what inspires them, or how their experiences influence the work. Q&A before and after.
Hosted by local author Scott Ludwig
Co-hosted by T.M. Brown Author
Presented by the Hometown Novel Writers Association
Books by our guests may be for sale thanks in part to the Corner Arts Gallery.
**Registration is with Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/803326941507
at Newnan (GA) Carnegie Library
Newnan is home to the Hometown Novel Writers Association, Inc. (501c3 non-profit). Our mission is two-fold: (1) Introduce local authors to local audiences south of Atlanta, and (2) help writers on their journey to write, publish, and promote their books.
Our author and writer programs include published authors and aspiring writers from Carrollton to Lagrange to Fayetteville and the surrounding communities along I-85, south of Atlanta.
Since the first author program in the fall of 2018 hosted in the banquet room of Rogers Pit-Smoked BBQ, Hogansville, GA, Georgia authors have received a warm welcome from an eager audience at each of our events. In 2019, Newnan Carnegie Library, in historic downtown Newnan, GA, has co-hosted a majority of our author events. Even during the pandemic, we teamed up to provide virtual author programs and built our reach well beyond the immediate surrounding counties. HNWA now hosts monthly in-person author programs, along with its featured annual event, Sharpsburg Book Fair, last weekend in August. Since the first author program, the Hometown Novel Writers Association has hosted over fifty published authors through their monthly programs.
About Hometown Novel Writers Association Writer Programs
In addition to our regular author panel programs, since January 2021, Newnan Carnegie Library has hosted virtual and in-person HNWA Writers Workshops.
Beginning in 2022, HNWA began offering virtual monthly critique groups, allowing aspiring writers to find the support and encouragement to submit their stories to be published. To supplement the growing number of aspiring writers, HNWA also hosts a weekly “Writers Helping Writers” gathering in Downtown Newnan, GA at Corner Art Gallery, Studios & Gifts on South Court Square–a short walk from the Newnan Carnegie Library.
Corner Arts Gallery’s Local Author Book Nook is now home to over 200 titles by Georgia authors.
In 2022, we added Pretty Good Books in Lagrange, GA as a host for special author events and direct many of our authors there for book signings.
In 2022, Newnan Book Company opened and has provided authors with a full-fledged independent bookstore when needed for book signings and talks. We are proud Newnan has regained his legacy as a literary haven with a growing number of homegrown and guest published authors.
