Tag Archives: OWL Conference

Apr 28 2026

It’s going to be a week

Hi everyone,

Busy week coming up. Tomorrow night SANDY and I will attend the SPS Appreciation Banquet (originally known as Teacher Appreciation Banquet). It’s an annual highlight for me, a special time when the community recognizes the teachers, librarians, and staff of our Springfield Public School district. With 24,500 students and 3,500 employees, this is Missouri’s largest school system. The Foundation for Public Schools has been holding the event for thirty years so there’s a good chance that we are among the oldest in the state.

I can’t find a good picture of one of the banquets. I need to take some new ones this year. But this is the tie I’ll be wearing. It was a gift the evening of the second banquet and I’ve worn it every year since. It’s my prized “go to school” tie and I wear it with pride and to show my respect.

On Thursday, the Route 66 Centennial Celebration begins. I’m practicing my five poems for when I read them at various activities on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I also need to finish preparing for the “Writing Children’s Books” workshop coming up in Branson on Saturday morning. Practice, practice, practice!

Oh, and have I mentioned David Harrison and Friends at The Library Center one week from today on May 5? I’m working on that one too.

Mar 25 2026

Children’s book workshop coming up

Hi everyone,

On the morning of May 2, I’ll give a 2-hour workshop in Branson as part of the OWL Spring conference. It’s a good group. I’ve had ties to OWLs for a lot of years. I’m delighted to be back. This will be the same workshop I gave last year in Kansas City for The Writers Place.

At 6:00 that evening in Springfield I’ll present my poem, “66 is Catchier,” at a formal dinner (The Telegraph Ball) in The Shrine Mosque as part of the Centennial Celebration for Route 66.

Ozarks Writers League

It's almost conference time!
Ozarks Writers’ League Spring Conference,
Saturday, May 2, 2026
In the Branson Room of Branson West Best Western

9:00 a.m. Registration and book table set up.
9:25 a.m. Welcome and announcements.
9:30 a.m. Children’s Book Workshop. David Harrison, author of over 100 books for children, will present a two-hour workshop on how to find a publisher for your children’s book.
11:30 a.m. Break for lunch. There might also be a short break during David’s presentation, but we’ll play that by ear.
1:00 p.m. OWL’s 2026 Adult Writing Contest. Contest chair Linda Runnebaum will announce this year’s contest and tell us about the categories.
1:10 p.m. Tips for Entering Writing Contests. Margarite Stever and Bonnie Tesh, longtime sponsors and judges of one of OWL’s contest categories, will provide tips on how to improve your odds of winning or placing in writing contests.
2:00 p.m. Ten-minute break.
2:10 p.m. A Path to Publication. Greg Stout, author of 29 traditionally published books, will describe how he went about finding his publishers (four different ones).
3:05 p.m. Five-minute break.
3:10 p.m. You Have a Manuscript. Now What? Lia Wu, publisher and editor of Ozark Hollow Press, will provide tips for editing manuscripts and for reading publishing contracts.
https://ozarkswritersleague.info/conferences/
Mar 6 2026

Planning in my sleep

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I finished the five poems for the Route 66 celebration and last night I dreamed about my program at The Library Center on May 5. That can mean only one thing. It’s time to get back to work on making plans for that evening. The agenda involves twenty-one separate performances over two hours and will involve 100 people or more of all ages. My schedule for April 29 – May 5 will be busy so I need to have all the parts set up and ready.

April 29 - Attend annual Springfield Public Schools banquet, something I started thirty-five years ago. Nothing to do, just sit at a table in the audience and feel proud and happy.
April 30 - (4:00 pm) read a poem at the dedication of Birthplace Plaza (for Route 66)
April 30 - (5:00 pm) read a poem to kick off a 6-hour concert at the MSU fieldhouse
May 1 - (11:00 am) read a poem at dedication of Queen's Gate Sculpture
May 1 - (6:00 pm) read a poem to kick off a 700-car parade
May 2 - (9:30 am, Branson) do a 2-hour writing workshop at OWL Spring Conference
May 2 - (6:00 pm) read a poem to welcome guests to a ticketed, formal dinner at the Shrine Mosque
May 3 - (6:30 pm) tentatively, a program at The Story House Bookstore, formerly Pagination
May 5 - (6:30 pm) host a 2-hour program in the Hatch Auditorium in The Library Center to celebrate Route 66 and the spirit of creative expression

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Apr 13 2024

Tonight we’re attending a play, but first…

Hi everyone,

Busy day today. I’ll give a keynote talk in Branson at the Ozark Writers League (OWL) Spring Conference from 10:30-11:30. Then SANDY and I will head back to Springfield so I can read several nature poems during the From Page to Park event in Jordon Valley Park in Springfield from 3:00-4:00. Here’s a link to one of the articles about that.

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/education/2024/04/09/missouri-poet-laureate-others-to-share-work-at-drury-university-symposium/73260081007/?fbclid=IwAR2CnA5tRXaE69zXU1X2wdKb_4sjHBsDGJ7D9hD5tJkGXUPvCbnYgMZNRxY_aem_AZpAPnH94KTi2qhdqadVM2gm8pgIBZV2AjMjH6R6pZahkKhX0fNxdjsvzxmYUkUp8C7yJK2XwcblQA5MQFqtcgzY

To prepare for the reading in the park, I made a file of twenty-five poems and sent it to our emcee for the event, Dr. KATHERINE (KATIE) GILBERT, from Drury University, and she chose the poems that work best with those of other readers. It should be a good event. Don’t forget, this event is free and open to the public. I hope to see some of you there.