AGT Meeting Minutes for August, 2026 

The Authors Guild of Tennessee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at Faith Lutheran Church, Farragut, from 10:30 until noon.

The following members were present:

Bill Barbour, Gary Butler, Bobbi Chapman, Carmen Flores, John Forcum, Daniel Gracely, Jim Hartsell, Sue Hume, David Johnston, Ernie Lancaster, Jerry Morton, Kathy Parr, Cheryl Peyton, Nancy Pressley, Ron Pressley, Nolen Rollins, Chuck Roseberry, Kit Sexton, Marty Shoffner, Art Stewart, Becky Tucker, Jeri Weems, Joelle Whitewolf, Victoria Winifred, and Curt Young.

Visitor:  Betty Block

Welcome – Cheryl

Treasurer’s Report – Bill

AGT Treasurer’s Report for July 2026
Beginning Cash Balance	$        3,425
Ending Cash Balance	$        3,281
Less:	$         (465)	Writing Competition
	$           (16)	Outstanding checks
Net Cash Available	$        2,800
Income
Vendor book sales	$              60
Fairs Festivals	$              11
Expenses
Storage Rental	$              34
Author payments	$              60
Website hosting	$            132
Fairs Festivals Balance	$            (99)

 

Social Media Offers – Cheryl addressed the problem of authors being contacted by scammers, referencing the emails several members received recently from a radio station in Chicago, offering on-air interviews for different prices depending on promotions. Gary Butler contacted the station to learn this was a scam; the station exists, and the manager is Mario Smith, but he didn’t send the email. Cheryl related Red Flags that indicate book club scammers:  Hidden Costs, generic praise, urgency to respond, and no active social media, website, or members to contact. To check on authenticity: type the club name and the word “scam” into a search engine. Check writer forums like Reddit. Never pay a fee to get a book review or a book club reading.

Red Flags to spot a publicity scam: Unsolicited cold contact, excessive flattery and AI praise, upfront fees and guaranteed results, impersonators of best-selling authors, and high-pressure urgency. Verify any offer by checking the exact domain name, contact the legitimate company by name to confirm if they sent the message, and consult updated tracing lists of scammers: The Authors Guild Publishing Scam Alerts, or platforms like Reddit Self-Publishing.

Nancy related that she was recently scammed by an AI-produced offer for a book trailer. She did get the trailer but probably paid too much, and there were follow-up options with additional costs.

Committee Chairs.

Fairs and Festivals.  – Nancy

Several offerings have been canceled due to lack of interest. One that is still live is the Christmas Show on Nov. 6, from 2-8, Nov. 7, 10-8, and Nov. 8, 12-5. Jeri is collecting names of those interested in splitting up the days and shifts so no one has to work all shifts or all three days. Another opportunity is Literary Legends Fall Book Fest – Saturday, October 3, 2026, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hardin Valley Event Center in Knoxville.

Lenoir City High School Writing Contest — Jerry announced that two or three more speakers are needed to give a 20-minute-talk to the writing class on related writing topics for the fall term. Art will again send around the available dates and other details. Jerry advised that the kids love to have our members come and speak to them

 Program

Our special speakers were AGT members David Johnston and Art Stewart, who made a PowerPoint presentation on writing poetry.

 Art listed all the Poetry Styles:

Epic – a long, formal narrative poem recounting heroic deeds (Iliad)

Sonnets – 14-line poems

Ode – reflective poem

Elegy – sad poem that expresses sorrow

Haiku – challenging Japanese poetry of three lines with 5, 7, 5 syllables in that order

Limerick – 5-line with AABBA rhyme scheme

Villanelle – 19-line poem with two repeating rhymes and refrains.

Free Verse – no fixed rules, meters, or rhyme schemes

Concrete — written and spaced to create a visual image

Acrostic – first letter spells out a name or message when read down

Tricks to use in writing poetry:

Rhythm, meter

Fresh language

Story-line hook

Punctuation

Line spacing

Assonance (repeats vowel sounds) and sibilance (repeats “s” counds)

Word-play

Rhyme

David Johnston has a background in hotel management and has always been an avid hiker and nature enthusiast. His two books of poetry, Poems and Other Musings from Walden Ridge, and More Poems and Musings from Walden Ridge create the atmosphere for reflection on this place where he lives and explore the spiritual connection in nature. He read his poem, “Mountain Mist,” about a foggy mountain road. Fog (which he calls mist) is his favorite atmosphere. Also likes to write humorous poetry, like “Chores Undone”:

I really meant to finish up

The few logs I had left

Something must have caught my eye

And now I think I’m effed.

In his books of poetry, David includes a photograph of nature that was his inspiration.

Art Stewart is an aquatic ecologist, science educator, essayist, and poet who is a member of the East Tennessee Writers’ Hall of Fame in Poetry. His poems are mostly free verse and often incorporate a sense of the beauty and limitations of science.

He has written poetry for 46 years, influenced by TS Elliot, Archie Ammons, Theodore Roethke, and Philip Levine. He has had 30-40 poems published and has written 11 books. His latest is Diagnosis. He has lived in Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Tennessee (Oak Ridge and Lenoir City).

Art read two of his poems: “A Shrew, having Died, Lives” and “Strange Light” about the solar eclipse.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 12:15. Next meeting of AGT is scheduled for September 3^, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Peyton, President