No Meeting In November

As in every year, we do not have a meeting in November, due to the holidays.

Members Only Christmas Party on December 3, 2011.

Non-Members, please visit us on January 28, 2012.

Any questions? You can always call the Saturday Writers phone number: 636-875-3972.

If we cannot answer, please leave a message and your call will be returned.



Annual Children's Writing Contest

Listed below are the Annual 3rd & 4th Grade Writing Contest Winners, Honorable Mentions, and Runner Ups.

The 160-plus entries were narrowed down to the top 30. Then the top 10 were chosen from those.

The judges used a scoring system based on story elements, plot & structure, creativity, grammar/spelling and following of directions. Because of so many good entries, 10 honorable mentions and 10 runner ups were also chosen.

The first place winner "Beetley" by Hudson H. Sabel was the highest scoring story with 24/25 points.

Overall, the judges were very impressed with the skill level of the 30 finalists. The use of dialogue, narration, humor, character development and creativity in all the entries displayed an exceptional grasp of story-telling techniques. All of our finalists should be proud of themselves, and should definitely keep writing.

1^st place: “Beetley” by Hudson H. Sabel –Mrs. Niehaus –St. Joseph

2^nd place: “Bulling!” by Jaysha Epperson – Mrs. Grassi –St. Joseph

3^rd place: “Gummyland!” by Linsey Fennewald – Mrs. Elek – St. Peter School

4^th place: “Vampire Squirrel” by Tanner King – Ms. Karr – St. Joseph

5^th place: “Dakota” by Meaghan Fleming – Mrs. Grassi – St. Joseph

6^th place: “Dino Land” by Danny Schneider – Mrs. Elek  – St. Peter School

7^th place: “The Adventure of John and Betsy” by Claire Rosen – Mrs. Hunsel – St. Joseph

8^th place: “The Woods” by Seamus McCormack – Mrs. Grassi – St. Joseph

9^th place: “My Best Friend” by Abbie Schnell – Mrs. Grassi  – St. Joseph

10^th place: “The Magic Diamond” by Maria Franzen – Mrs. Grassi  – St. Joseph

Honorable Mentions:

1^st HM: Brendan Iverson - Mrs. Niehaus, St. Joseph

2^nd HM: Sean Brinkley – Mrs. Elek, St. Joseph

3^rd HM: Collin Casseri – Miss Schaeffer, St. Joseph

4^th HM: Audry Morris – Mrs. Elek, St. Peter

5^th HM: Sophie Prinsen – Mrs. Schaeffer, St. Joseph

6^th HM: Amber Murphy – Mrs. Elek, St. Joseph

7^th HM: Anakin McCormick – Mrs. Schaeffer, St. Joseph

8^th HM: Caroline Licklider – Mrs. Grassi, St. Joseph

9^th HM: Lexie O’Brian – Mrs. Niehaus, St. Joseph

10^th HM: Bailey Gunderson – Ms. Karr, St. Joseph

Runner Ups (In no particular order)

Anna Morris – Mrs Hartweger, St. Peter

Dane McManus – Mrs. Elek, St. Peter

Colleen Cooper – Mrs. Grassi, St. Joseph

Maddie Elinor – Mrs. Hunsel, St. Joseph

Olivia Simmons – Mrs. Grassi, St. Joseph

Danielle Farrah – Mrs. Niehaus, St. Joseph

Rachel Roberto – Mrs. Niehaus, St. Joseph

Megan Pendill – Mrs. Niehaus, St. Joseph

Christopher Tyrrell – Mrs. Karr, St. Joseph

Jennifer Jansson – Mrs. Karr, St. Joseph

Ribbons and Certificates will be awarded on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 -- 10:30am to 11:00am.
Location: St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre, on Mexico Road

Exciting News for a Friend of Saturday Writers

* Exciting news about Kelly O'Connor McNees. I just received the following information from Kelly:

I have some exciting news to share: My second novel, The Long Journey Home, will be published by Berkley/Penguin in the fall of 2012. Click here to learn more about the story.

Be sure to sign up for updates at http://kellyoconnormcnees.com and follow the blog and Twitter at@komcnees to hear the latest about the cover, publication date, opportunities for Skype visits with your local library or book club, and more.  

A huge congratulations to Kelly! She's such an amazing writer and all around great person. We wish you the best, Kelly!

Following is a re-post from June of this year, when Kelly came all the way from Chicago to speak to our group.

 Saturday, June 25, 2011

* Another Terrific Meeting *

Thanks so much to guest speaker, Kelly O'Connor McNees who was such a delight. She spoke about the research she did in writing her debut novel, a historical fiction about Louisa May Alcott, "The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott."

Kelly with her paperback edition.

She explained her thinking and planning stages, how she chose the year of 1855 to write about, how in her research she discovered that no one else, surprisingly, had written a fictional book about Ms. Alcott!

Kelly during her speech.

Kelly graciously signed books for members and guests, while Vicki Erwin of Main Street Books, assisted in the sales. After the meeting, a few of us went to lunch, including Vicki and Kelly, and as you can imagine the conversation was all about....writing and publishing!

Just a portion of our great turnout.

Then it was driving back to her home in Chicago for Kelly. She drove all this way just to speak to us at Saturday Writers today! How fabulous is that??

"The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott" is now available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle e-books. I highly recommend it to anyone who loved "Little Women" or other historical fiction novels.

Winnings from the Silent Auction

Yesterday evening, a few of us current board members met with a couple of the incoming board members to go over some of the details of their new positions. We had a great time and of course our discussions meandered into many areas.

Someone brought up the Silent Auction (probably me) and how wonderful it turned out, etc. I "won" about seven items and am very happy with every one. I worded it "about" because a couple of items are in pairs.

Which brings me to my favorite "prizes!" Ta Dah!

Aren't these the cutest coffee mugs??
A crossword puzzle with writerly words , and look at the name at the bottom:
Saturday Writers.

I haven't used them yet because I decided to wait and start the new week with one. I am confident that drinking my coffee out of one will definitely jump-start my writing!