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AGT April Meeting Speaker

Terry Shaw

Our April speaker, Terry Shaw, has been helping people tell their stories for more than 30 years. He’s worked as a newspaper reporter and columnist, a copywriter and publicist, a freelance book editor, and a content manager for a Fortune 500 company. He also serves on the board of the Tennessee Mountain Writers and is a past president of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Terry and partner Brad Lifford own Howling Hills Publishing focusing on the nonfiction niche market.

Click here to watch Terry’s presentation.

New AGT Member

Dorrie Elizabeth Cummings

Dorie Elizabeth Cummings is a Christian speaker and author. She is passionate about her relationship with her Lord Jesus Christ, which is evident in her book Tokens of His Grace. Her “Token” stories are an encouragement to the body of Christ, as she writes that “God is mindful of every detail of our lives, and He does speak to His children.”

Dorie speaks at women’s gatherings and teaches the Word of God with a visual presentation. She has worked in the beauty industry for 30 years and leads the Valuable Women Network Ministry. She recently moved from Michigan to Tennessee and is starting a new season in her ministry. Dorie is married with two grown children and two grandchildren.

New AGT Member

John W. Forcum

The Honorable John W. Forcum is a retired Superior Court judge. Before serving 24 years as an elected judge, he was a small-town general practice lawyer. After college Judge Forcum was a middle and high school teacher. He went to law school at night while teaching school during the day. For over 3 decades Judge Forcum was a member of a national service club focused on helping children. His life of service to others began at a young age in Boy Scouts and continues in retirement. He now volunteers with Smoky Mountain Service Dogs a non-profit organization that provides skilled service dogs to America’s veterans with physical disabilities.

To learn more about John, click his picture.

Creative Writing Contest

Lenoir City High School

1^st Semester 2023-24

In the first semester of the 2023-4 school year, Angela Crabtree, teacher of the junior/senior writing classes at Lenoir City High School, selected poetry as the literary form for the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Authors Guild of Tennessee.

The first- and second-place winners in Ms. Crabtree’s two classes are linked under this notice. The students were not assigned particular subjects or themes but were encouraged to write from their personal experiences and viewpoints. As you will see, the poems are honest and personal, and sometimes reflect harsh realities in each student’s unique perspective on life. They are all well-written and skillfully create word pictures of place and time.

The Authors Guild of Tennessee is proud to publish these outstanding literary accomplishments on our website.

Daddy’s Little Girl – Kara Gresham

A Broken Soul – Abner Alvarado

The Mother – Reagan Griffith

Home – Christopher Lopez

March Meeting Speaker

Gayle Curtin

Doing Web Blogs

Our March monthly meeting speaker was AGT author Gayle Curtain who taught us about techniques and timing of doing web blogs. It was a great presentation.