AGT Meeting Agenda for May 2026 

The Authors Guild of Tennessee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Faith Lutheran Church, Farragut, from 10:30 until noon.

The following members attended:

Bill Barbour, Gary Butler, Pat Crumpler, Gayle Curtin, Barb Dunn, Carmen Flores, John Forcum, Leoma Gilley, 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, and Curt Young.

Visitors:  Jilaine Burley, Karen Petrillo

Welcome – Cheryl:  Marty Shoffner is our newest member. Chuck is just back from Japan. His newest book is about baseball in Japan (along with some romance and obstacles to overcome).

 

Treasurer’s Report for April  – Bill

Beginning Cash Balance	$        3,820
Ending Cash Balance	$        3,983
Less:	$         (962)	Writing Competition
	$         (136)	Outstanding checks
Net Cash Available	$        2,885
Income  Member dues	$             30
Book Sales	$           117
Expenses
Author Payments	$            47
Storage Rental	$            29
Faith Lutheran Donation	$           100
Fairs Festivals Balance	$        (207)

 

New books: John Forcum has written Joe at the Crossroads for teenagers and young adults.

Jerry Morton — Swimming Upstream, The Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative explains the resistance to implementing special ed laws in rural areas. It was about creating a culture that endures to serve children.

Ronald Pressley. This is his third book about working people, Where the Dough Rises.

 

Committee Chairs

Fairs and Festivals – Nancy

Festivals have had a slow start this year as many have been canceled or changed. This Saturday is the Children’s Festival of Reading. June is an active month. Southern Charm and Sweet Tea at Lenoir City on the 14^th, Lavender Festival June 20, 8 participants. She’s working on a couple in July, including The Tomato Festival in Rutledge. She has attended that one twice with good results. It is inside with air conditioning. Authors and craft people are in the school. The crowd comes through the school first. There was a constant crowd both days. 12-6 July 17, 9-6 on the 18^th in Rutledge. It is held across from the schools. One booth is $100. Scopes in Dayton, 17-18 July. There is a different setup this year. Details to come. Home Show in August. TBR is Sept 12-13. They furnish tables and chairs.

Student Writing Contest – Art, Jerry: The Writing Contests have been completed and awards given to the winners. AGT will publish the writings of the winners in the next two weeks. A gift was also given to the creative writing teacher. Many children are excited about writing and want to sign up for her class next year. For 50% of the students in the Lenoir City school system, English is their second language. The theme this year was short creative stories on any subject. State law requires a totally different focus/syllabus every year.

 

Program

Our speakers were AGT members Leoma Gilley and Bill Barbour. Leoma Gilley was a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators for many years, which took her to work in Africa.

Bill Barbour discussed his motivation in writing his book, Barriers, and what message he hopes to convey to his readers that may cause them to act on his recommendations.

Leoma explained her motivation for writing is usually desperation. As she faces various life changes as well as cultural changes, her search for answers in Scripture have turned into a contemplative devotional book, The Still Small Voice of Love, and a book of scripture-based prayers for world issues in Praying for BIG Things.

She believes God called her to write when she retired and so she began her Not How I Planned It memoir series. Two of the five books are out: Launching into the Unknown and Life in a Tumble Dryer. She hoped to give her family some understanding of what she was doing all the years she was absent. She also wants to portray the Sudanese in a positive light.

Finally, her newest book, Come, Find Space with God, offers spiritual practices and guidance to young people, 20-40 on adulting. Does God have a leadership role in your life, or is God just your backup plan?

Bill recounted various unfortunate experiences with various churches and denominations through his earlier years. After his wife persuaded him to go to a Methodist church of 200, he found the key to a successful church was a good pastor who cared about the people more than money.

There are several types of religious books: devotionals, theology, memoir, Bible studies, Christian fiction.

It took years to get courage to write Barriers. His purpose was to get people back into the church and religion. The book is for those who are on the fence. It is a theological book that doesn’t favor any one denomination. He seeks to stick to the basics.

Bibles: there are many versions in English. Some are literal translations and others are dynamic translations that seek to capture the meaning and thoughts that the writers intended. www.biblehub and www.biblegateway are good sources for research and they have commentaries as well.

His book has 27 topics including: history of the church, abortion, and believing vs. knowing. The topics are good for adult Sunday School classes and are being used in two churches currently.

Tips for writing religious books: be vulnerable and honest, there needs to be a flaw that shows God’s work, the main character is Jesus. Attribute things to God, know your theological tradition and how to communicate that to the reader. Don’t neglect the practical.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 12:09   Next month, Inside stories of Hollywood by Chuck Roseberry on June 4.

Respectfully submitted,

Leoma Gilley, Secretary