November 2016

Maine Romance Writers is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting romance and other fiction writers via networking and programming. Through monthly meetings and workshops, we strive to provide continuing assistance in the journey to publication, whether by a traditional path, a small press, or independent publishing.

Our next meeting is November 12th, 2016

Guest Speaker:

William Bushnell

"Book Reviewing: 
Clarity and Encouragement for Authors"

Does thinking of book reviews, especially those for your own published work, have you tied in knots? With the intent of helping authors wade through this sometimes painful aspect of the publishing process, Bill Bushnell has condensed his years of professional book reviewing experience into a presentation on the following topics: The Role and Responsibility of the Book Reviewer, How Do We [Reviewers] Get the Books?, Who Selects the Titles for Review?, Criteria for Review Selection, “Do’s and Don’t’s,” “The “Halo Effect,” and “Handling Adverse Reviews.” Mr. Bushnell welcomes questions and hopes to provide clarity and encouragement for authors.

 Bill Bushnell is a retired Marine Corps colonel, and has been a professional book reviewer for more than twenty years, publishing more than 2500 book reviews in 35 magazines and newspapers.  He reviews fiction and non-fiction, everything from history, biographies, science, nature, and current issues to westerns, mysteries, and historical fiction, even cookbooks and children’s books.  His reviews have appeared in Library Journal, Maine Times, Civil War magazine, Military History magazine, the Maine Sunday Telegram, the Brunswick Times Record, the New Maine Times, and the Sun newspapers.  He currently writes bi-weekly review columns, “Bushnell on Books,” for the Kennebec Journal and the Central Maine Morning Sentinel, and reviews for two national magazines, Publishers Weekly and Military Officer magazine, publishing 90-100 reviews a year.  He is a long-time member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance.  He taught a class on book reviewing at the University of Southern Maine for eleven years and now teaches that class for the MWPA.  He also was one of the first judges for the Maine Reader’s Choice Award for fiction.  He lives on Great Island in Harpswell.

Meeting Location:

 USM Lewiston Campus

51 Westminster Street; Room 103
Lewiston, ME 04240

Click here for directions                 Click here for a campus map

Meeting Times:
General Meeting: 11 AM - 12 PM
Brown Bag Social 12 PM - 1 PM
Speaker: 1 PM - 2 PM

New members are always welcome, no matter where you are on your writing journey. If you're interested in joining our group, click here for more info!