St. George Christmas Bazaar Dec. 2, 2023

 Dear HWGW members and friends,

The St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 7701 Bradley Blvd., Bethesda, MD, is having its 4th annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, December 2, 2023, this year (see flyer) - please don't forget to mark your calendars, especially if you have a book or five waiting to be shared with the world.

The reward for this announcement is the opportunity to exhibit, promote, and sell our books at the bazaar! It can't get any better or easier for many of us. Early Christmas cheer!!

Likewise, we may find the perfect gift for Christmas by buying one of our HWGW members' books.

Many thanks to Presvytera Maria Antokas, who informed me about this early enough to share with you so you can make plans to show and sell your book(s). It is recommended that you be present physically to be able to promote your books properly. Presvytera Maria has already reserved a table at the bazaar and is happy to share it with us. Thanks, dear Maria.

Please write to hellenicwritersgroup@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.

Best wishes and regards to all,

Andie Petrides

Director, HWGW

Andie Petrides Will Be the New Director - 2023

Dear HWGW members and friends,

We are going through a transition as our founder and director, Dr. Ipatia (Patty) Apostolides, will be stepping down at the end of 2022. She has spent these past 8 1/2 years directing and teaching the craft of writing to members through the monthly meetings, as well as helping many become published authors. Since 2020, the monthly meetings have moved online, through Zoom, opening up our meetings to national and international participants.

We welcome the new director, Antigone (Andie) Petrides, MIB, who has graciously accepted the offer to become the next director of HWGW starting January 2023. The current president of H.S. Prometheas, Mr. Perry Stabekis,  has also been notified about this change. 

As many of you know, Andie has been an active member of our group for over three years and holds a Master's Degree in International Business. She is multilingual (4 languages), a prominent speaker and leader in her toastmaster organization, and a published writer. We are confident she will move the group forward with her outstanding leadership abilities. 

Presentation by Dr. Michael Cosby

 The Hellenic Writers' Group of Washington D.C. is proud to present 

Dr. Michael Cosby 

Available from Amazon.com

Dr. Cosby interviewed Dafnis Panagides, a mesmerizing storyteller from Cyprus, for this book. According to Cosby: "Dafnis grew up in rural Cyprus, fought against British colonial rule of the island, was a member of the first Cypriot parliament, almost finished his Ph.D. in horticulture, traveled widely, became the father of environmentalism in Cyprus, and was a tireless advocate for the rights of foreign workers." 

Dr. Diane Helentjaris will moderate the Zoom event.

Dec. 17, 2022 at 1pm. 

Check us on Facebook for more information!

The recording of the presentation is live on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0N9Ocwjeys

New Books by HWGW Members - Maria Antokas, Diane Helentjaris, and George Kouroupas

 The Hellenic Writers' Group of Washington, DC is proud to showcase books written by esteemed members of our group. 

Maria Antokas

Sweet Millions is available through: Amazon.com

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Diane Helentjaris

The Indenture of Ivy O'Neill available through Amazon.Com

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George Kouroupas

Parallel Roads available through Amazon.com

Nov. 19, 2022 - John Bokas Presentation

Hellenic Writers’ Group of Washington DC

Proudly Presents

John Bokas

Poet

Mr. Bokas will speak about his life and poetry, and recite his poems in Greek and English.

Dr. Polyvia Parara, Moderator

NOVEMBER 19, 2022

  1PM (8 PM Greek Time)

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Watch his presentation on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swep9xo2xg

 

October 22, 2022 Meeting and Kyriaki Drakou Presentation!

 Dear members and friends,

We will have a Zoom meeting and presentation on October 22, 2022!

Our schedule:

12 PM (8 PM Greek time) - HWGW meeting - Share your poems and stories (up to 1400 words). No critique session at this meeting. Critique members are encouraged to contact each other directly via email for critiques.

1 PM (8 PM Greek time) - The Hellenic Writers' Group of Washington DC is honored to host the Greek poet Mrs. Kyriaki Drakou for her presentation in Greek and English. She has published more than ten (10) books of poetry and is an educator and painter! She has accomplished much in her life, and we are delighted to have her come and share her achievements with us. Mrs. Kalliopi Toufidou will be moderating the session. 

Kyriaki Drakou

                             We have included the recording from her Oct. 22, 2022 presentation here:

Thank you!

Patty Apostolides, PhD

Director, HWGW

September 24, 2022 HWGW Zoom Meeting 12-2PM

 Dear members and friends,

We hope you had a wonderful summer! Several members visited Greece this summer, while others have not returned yet from their travels. We are pleased to have new members joining us and look forward to their participation at our meetings.

Our next Zoom meeting will take place Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 12 PM. This will accommodate members living in Europe's time zone.  If you would like the link to the Zoom meeting, please email me at hellenicwritersgroup (at) gmail.com

Schedule

12PM - Share your poems (Greek or English) and essays/stories (English) up to 1400 words. 

1PM - Critique Session of manuscripts submitted by members (up to 20 pages).

This month, we will not have speaker presentations, but in October, we will have Kyriaki Drakou, Greek poet and author presenting, with Calliopi Toufidou moderating. All presentations will be recorded.

If you are of Greek descent, or married to a Greek, or a philhellene and are interested in writing and joining our group, email me so I can add you to our mailing list: hellenicwritersgroup (at) gmail.com

Looking forward to meeting you!

All the best,

Patty Apostolides, PhD

Director, HWGW

Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/684080788418631

Next meeting June 18 from 1-4pm via Zoom + Diane Helentjaris's new book

 Our next writers' group meeting will take place June 18 from 1-4pm vis Zoom. If you're interested in attending, or becoming a member, please contact the director Patty Apostolides at hellenicwritersgroup (at) gmail.com

Membership is free and open to Greek and Greek American writers.

Typically, our schedule has been the following:

1pm - Share our poetry and essays (I will send a writing prompt before)

2pm - Craft of writing lesson followed by a writing exercise

3pm - Critique of manuscripts that were submitted to Patty a week prior (up to 15 pages, sometimes we accept 20 pages) - Critique members submit their works and also read and review each other's works - from the Iowa workshop method

We are in the process of collecting short stories for our short story collection (if you're interested in submitting, let Patty know), and that will be the main focus for this last meeting of the season. Then we plan to have critique sessions July and August for our short stories (through Zoom).  Only open to active members of HWGW.

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Latest Book Release from our member:

Dr. Diane Helentjaris's book The Indenture of Ivy O'Neill  is now available!

Synopsis:

Ivy O'Neill's idyllic childhood ends in disaster in 1690 when red-coated soldiers cross the Celtic Sea to invade Ireland. While the O'Neill family struggles to survive on the Irish coast, George Stokely is building a life in the British Colony of Maryland. All he needs to make his Chesapeake tobacco farm thrive is more help. The Indenture of Ivy O'Neill is an immersive story of courage, the meaning of family, and the transformative power of immigration. 

Click link below to get a copy of the book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1922329312/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_RMXC0H1YZ5BENPY4C30A?fbclid=IwAR0wkHhbf-MDJxr7xdP5nRauMamMtEB7ZcsHq_GfgBCn6HtHzIRQ2R2e2Os

Update

 The Hellenic Writers Group has been meeting monthly via Zoom since the Covid pandemic hit. We share our poems and essays during these meetings, talk about the craft of writing, as well as do a writing exercise. If there are any submissions, we critique them. Meetings typically take place on a Saturday from 1-4pm with breaks in between. 

We will not be having any more speakers until the Fall 2022. This will allow time for the members to work on their short stories for the short story collection.

If you would like to become a member you need to either be a member of H.S. Prometheas, a nonprofit cultural organization based in the Washington, DC area, or you must be Greek or Greek American. We have allowed philhellenes to join our group as friends. 

Membership in HWGW is free. If you are interested in joining our email list or becoming a member, email us at: hellenicwritersgroup(at)gmail.com

Conversation with Greek Poet Xanth Hondrou-Hill Feb. 12, 2022

 The Hellenic Writers Group of Washington DC is pleased to host the next event of 2022.

Join us Feb. 12, 2022 at 1pm (8pm Greek time) for a conversation with the Greek award-winning Poet Xanthi Hondrou-Hill. She will also recite some of her poems. Ipatia Apostolides, MFA, Director of HWGW will be the moderator.  No registration required. All Zoom presentations are recorded.

Click Zoom Link to attend the event: https://rebrand.ly/hwgw2022

See information below: