What blogging & writing conferences should I attend in 2015?

BlogHer
Image by Dave Winer via Flickr/Creative Commons

Believe it or not, 2015 is just around the corner. Now is a good time to figure out which conferences you will attend next year. Here are ten writing or blogging conferences to consider.

Food Media South: The popular food blogging conference FoodBlogSouth (originally organized by Shaun Chavis and Jason Horn) is now being hosted by the Southern Foodways Alliance and has been renamed Food Media South. Set for February 27-28 in Birmingham, Alabama, FMS will explore storytelling in the digital era. Speakers include Dorothy Kalins, founding editor of Saveur magazine, chair of the James Beard Journalism Awards committee, and producer of beautiful books; Chuck Reece, editor-in-chief of Bitter Southerner; Erika Council, proprietor of the blog Southern Souffle; Roscoe Hall II, proprietor of the site Punk as Food; and Bill Addison, restaurant editor of Eater National.

The Southern C Summit: Connect, collaborate and create in a niche environment with like-minded creatives at the Southern C Summit, an annual conference organized by The Southern Coterie. The spring 2015 summit is set for April 30 – May 1 and will be held in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference promises engaging educational sessions and panel discussions with branding, marketing and social media leaders. Evening events and gatherings offer the opportunity to continue networking all while engaging in meaningful conversations in a fun intimate setting.

Y’all Connect: Y’all Connect Presented by Alabama Power is an annual blogging/social media conference in Birmingham, Ala. The event offers practical takeaways in corporate storytelling from the nation’s digital marketing experts. Next year’s conference will be held in June.

The Bloganista Mini-Con: Back in July See Jane Write hosted its first conference and it was a huge success! In 2015 we hope to make the Bloganista Mini-Con bigger and better offering inspiration and information for fashion, fitness, lifestyle and business bloggers. More details coming soon!

BlogHer ’15: In 2015 the BlogHer Annual Conference will be held July 16-18 in New York City. BlogHer is one of the biggest blogging conferences on the planet. Last year’s speakers included Jenny Lawson a.k.a. The Bloggess, media mogul Arianna Huffington and actor/activist Kerry Washington.

WordCamp Birmingham: WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamp Birmingham typically takes place in late summer.

Blogalicious: Be Blogalicious is a network with three major goals: 1) to be THE go-to destination and resource for influential multicultural women social media enthusiasts from all over the world to collaborate, connect and uplift one another; 2) to showcase the value of the demographic in today’s marketplace to marketers; and 3) to serve as a think tank and mouthpiece for causes, policies and issues affecting the multicultural digital space. The annual Blogalicious Weekend conference is usually held in the fall and is one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended!

Alabama Writer’s Conclave: The Alabama Writers’ Conclave was organized in 1923 and has been in continuing existence since. The Conclave is responsible for nominating, for the governor’s appointment, Alabama’s Poet Laureate. Members include fiction and non-fiction writers, novelists and short story writers, poets, writers of business and scientific works, freelance journalists, romance writers, publishers, patrons, and teachers.Through the years, the Conclave has moved its conferences around the state to provide writers everywhere better access to its resources.

Blogging While Brown: Blogging While Brown is a conference and a community for emerging leaders in digital media and social change. Since its launch in 2008, Blogging While Brown has grown to become the premier blogging conference dedicated to education, collaboration, and innovation among bloggers of color. The conference brings Black social media experts, speakers, and independent content creators together to expand their influence in social media and technology. The conference offers an opportunity to learn tools and strategies to build engaging and dynamic online platforms, leverage online engagement for offline results, and create sustainable business and activism models. The 2015 is set for June 19 and 20 and will be held in Austin, Texas.

Romance Writers of America: If you are a career-focused romance writer, then this conference is for you. This annual event gives you the chance to get down to the business of being an author. Expect education and information, networking with fellow writers, and interaction with editors, agents, publishers, booksellers, and other romance publishing industry professionals.

What conferences do you plan to attend next year? 

 

How can I “shop small” this holiday season?

shop small

This year I skipped Black Friday shopping and it certainly felt good to sleep in this morning.

This year instead of standing in long lines in 30-degree weather I’m going to do more to support small businesses this holiday season.

Tomorrow I’m going to head to Fleet Feet Sports Birmingham, to get some new running gear for 2015. Discounts include 10 percent off shoes, 25 percent off winter apparel, and 40 percent off shorts. Located at 3120 Heights Village Road in Vestavia, Fleet Feet Birmingham will be open today 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

But first I’ll be paying a visit to Church Street Coffee & Books at 10 a.m. for The Localist book launch. The Localist by Carrie Rollwagen is all about Rollwagen’s year of only buying local —  why she did it, what she learned, and what she hopes others can glean from her experience.

Next month Rollwagen, co-owner of Church Street Coffee and Books, is going to make it even easier for you to shop small this season by hosting The Localist Wish List: Holiday Fair and Book Party  December 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Nest in Avondale.  At this event you can not only celebrate The Localist book with free beer from Avondale Brewery but you’ll also have a chance to stock up on gifts from these local vendors: Piper & Leaf tea, We Three Beeks honey, Magic City Macarons, Great Bear Wax candles, Spindle Photography lettering, Stalcup Stitchery stuffed animals, Hide + True leather goods and Sara Cannon Art.

Another great place to get gifts for the art lovers in your life is Naked Art Gallery’s Kitschmas sale, which features gift-sized artwork and ornaments made with recycled materials by over 60 artists. Kitschmas is going on now through Visit nakedartusa.com for more information.

Feel free to share holiday deals from your favorite small business in the comments.

 

What are you thankful for today?

Be Thankful
Image by Cindi Albright via Flckr/Creative Commons

I am thankful for so many things today. I am thankful for husband’s funny jokes and kind heart. I am thankful that I really do have the best brother ever! I am thankful that I have the opportunity to teach some of the most talented young people in the country and work with some of the most intelligent and compassionate teachers on the planet. I am thankful for family members who are also best friends and for best friends who are like family.

But today I am also thankful for the women of See Jane Write. When I started this organization in March of 2011 I only intended it to be a little writing group. I just wanted a small community of women to meet with occasionally and wax poetic about the beauty of the written word. But after nearly four years of offering workshops, seminars, social events, and conferences, See Jane Write has become a powerful network, a force to be reckoned with, and now is also becoming a business.

None of this would have happened without the support of the women who believed in my vision, who showed up to my events and helped spread the word.

And so today I thank you.

I would like to express my gratitude by offering two Black Friday deals to my Janes.

1) Get a premium membership for only $75 (regularly $100) now through Monday by clicking here. With premium membership you get all the perks of basic membership plus four one-on-one meetings with me (one per quarter) about blogging, freelance writing, or social media. Only 8 premium membership spots are available and I will not offer this program in 2015.

2) Get discounted tickets to the first big See Jane Write event of 2015. On Tuesday, Jan. 20 at The Nest, Carrie Rollwagen (blogger, writer, business owner and author of the book The Localist) will speak about how to transition from writing a blog to writing a book, how to successfully self-publish, and how to rock a Kickstarter campaign. There is a charge for this event to help cover the cost of the venue rental and food. Tickets go on sale for $25 on Dec. 2, but I am offering an early bird price of $20 now through Monday. Click here to purchase your tickets today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xo,
Javacia

How can I give back this holiday season?

safarisoiree

If you’re looking for a way to have some fun but still made a difference this holiday season then you don’t want to miss the Safari Soiree, set for Tuesday, Dec. 2 at Olivia’ Bar & Lounge.

The Safari Soiree is a book drive and fundraiser hosted by Harper Organics in support of the African Community Exchange in Tanzania. This events seeks to raise money and collect books for children in Tanzania this holiday season.

Books are needed for children ages 5 to 18 and your support will help to supply libraries for schools in the impoverished Himo, Tanzania community.

Admission to the Safari Soiree is a new or gently used book or a donation of $10.

You’ll receive a complimentary swag bag and chance to win a raffle prize. At this event you’ll also have the chance to try a mini acupuncture spa service for relaxation on site for free and enjoy music, gourmet appetizers and a cash bar.

If you can’t attend but would still like to help, you can make a donation here.

WHAT:
Safari Soiree Holiday Fundraiser

HOSTED BY:
Stacey Scott of Harper Organics, Global Ambassador for African Community Exchange

WHEN:
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 from 6-9 PM

WHERE:
Olivia’s Bar & Lounge, 2013 Second Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203

RSVP:
safarisoireebirmingham.eventbrite.com

FEE:
Free admission with new children’s book or $10 minimum monetary donation

For more ideas on how to make a difference, check out Seven ways you can give back to Birmingham this holiday season by Edward Bowser.

What are your thoughts on the Ferguson grand jury decision?

Ferguson Protest
Image by Debra Sweet via Flickr/Creative Commons

Like much of America I watched last night as a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

I watched as many of my friends took to social media to vent their anger while others virtually shrugged their shoulders and simply said evidence doesn’t lie.

But America does lie.

America tells black people that our lives don’t matter, that our deaths don’t even deserve a trial. As Birmingham columnist John Archibald wrote:

When those families look at Ferguson justice, they see anything but due process. They wonder how a majority white grand jury could look at the same evidence they’ve seen on TV and not find enough evidence to at least send it to trial. After all, everybody knows a prosecutor can indict a tuna sandwich if he wanted to.

Last night a poem by Langston Hughes came to mind:

I am so tired of waiting,
Aren’t you,
For the world to become good
And beautiful and kind?

I am tired.

I’m tired of a rowdy few turning peaceful protests into riots. I’m tired of self-righteous racists turning the riots into an excuse to treat black people like animals.

I’m tired of politicians pulling black-on-black crime statistics out of their back pocket whenever asked to address police brutality and racial profiling.

As Kansas City Star columnist Jenee Osterheldt writes:

Yes, 93 percent of blacks are killed by other blacks. The Justice Department says that nearly 84 percent of whites are killed by whites. That doesn’t change the fact that we have a race problem in America. It doesn’t erase the way white fear has infected communities, not just cops.

I’m tired of waiting for the white Christian church to stop being silent on issues of racial justice.

I’m tired of feeling like the lives of my black father, brother and husband only matter to me.

I’m tired of feeling helpless.

I woke up this morning asking God “What can I do? What can I do to help?” but I found no burning bush telling me the answer.

As a writer, all I can think of is the power of words.

I think about Proverbs 31:8 which urges the people of God to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

I think of my husband, a columnist for The Birmingham News. This is what he strives to do every day. This is what he was striving to do when last night he wrote that the outrage in Ferguson proves we can no longer ignore America’s race problems.

And he will continue to do this work even if it means waking up to an email inbox littered with racial slurs from angry, insensitive, closed-minded readers (who, ironically, say racism doesn’t exist).

Ferguson Library
Image via Ferguson Library Instagram

I think about the power of words and how books changed my life, possibly saved it. Yes, I grew up in neighborhoods some folks are afraid to drive through even in the day time. But when I think of my old neighborhoods I don’t think of gang violence or any other type of crime. I think of the libraries that were my home away from home. I think of the books that dared me to dream and showed me the world was bigger than my block.

Today the schools in Ferguson are closed but the Ferguson Public Library is open. A Facebook friend urged folks to donate to the Ferguson Library. Library staff has consistently made themselves available to the community even when every other place closed its doors. The library has even created makeshift classrooms where teachers could continue their lessons.

“Suddenly the library is full and overfull.  Everyone knows we’re here,” says Ferguson librarian Scott Bonner in an interview for the blog The Magpie Librarian.

And so I donated money to the Ferguson Public Library.

This small gesture will do nothing for the Brown family. It will not cool the literal and figurative fires that burn in Ferguson this morning. But I pray that a book will give at least one black boy or one black girl in Ferguson the hope they need to carry on another day and I pray the words they read will remind them that their lives do matter.