Winter Weary Wake-Ups

By Lisa Lopez Snyder

Need some fresh inspiration? Need a break from the winter blues?

With a simple click of the mouse, you can be connected to local literary events, hear and watch your favorite authors speak about the writing process, and much more.

Here’s some local stuff to get you off your duff:

• 13th Annual SC Book Festival: Come celebrate the book! Mark your calendar for this annual free -- yes free -- event, Feb. 27 – Mar. 1. Funded by the Humanities Council and the SC Center for the Book, this year’s festival features author Scott Turow (Presumed Innocent) as keynote speaker on Sunday. Special recognitions include Braille Literacy Awareness, the Edgar Allan Poe Bicentennial, the Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings papers, and the 2009 Poetry Out Loud Contest. The C-Span Book TV Bus will once again be in the exhibit hall. Friday is the only day with fees for events, which include classes (register online), book appraisals and an opening night reception. See the full schedule at www.scbookfestival.org. Check it out!

• South Carolina Arts Commission: This group hosts the annual SC Fiction Project, among myriad other programs and events, including grants. To subscribe to the free Literary Arts Bulletin, email: sbrailsford@arts.sc.gov or visit www.southcarolinaarts.com

• FundsforWriters.com: Fellow SCWW member C. Hope Clark writes this phenomenally smart, easy-to-use online writer resource. You’d be nuts not to subscribe to at least one of her free weekly e-newsletters, where there’s something for everyone—grants, contests, markets. Get busy! www.FundsforWriters.com

Hear, read or watch your favorite authors talk about their craft:

• Barnes & Noble Studio: Audio & video interviews w/authors at www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-studio/videos-podcasts/index.asp

• Powells.com: Written interviews with authors at www.powells.com/authors/interviews.html

• ReadersRead.com: More written interviews with authors, at www.readersread.com/features/

• The Book Beast: The ever revolutionary and former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown offers this site – musings on must-reads and new-reads -- on her new Internet venture, The Daily Beast. www.thedailybeast.com/newsmaker/book-beast

Hope these bring cheer to your winter writing!