Neshaminy: The Bucks County Historical and Literary Journal
“Writing is easy; all you have to do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” [Gene Fowler]
If the picture of the church on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post of Jan. 5, 1951, looks familiar to some, it's St. Paul's Episcopal at Oakland Avenue and Pine Street in Doylestown, PA -- although now with an extension and a parking lot and a barn in the rear. This was the Bucks County Writers Workshop's home for several years until the pandemic.
The cover was painted by Philadelphia artist John Philip Falter (1910-1982) who took some artistic license by moving a couple of houses into closer proximity to the church and removing a few trees.
The Doylestown Historical Society tells us that Falter's first Saturday Evening Post cover was published on Sep. 1, 1943. He produced 128 additional covers until the magazine's format was changed to photographs. Falter also provided illustrations for many other publications including Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, McCall’s, Life Magazine, and Look.
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Neshaminy: The Bucks County Historical and Literary Journal names its first ever nominees for the Pushcart Prize.
Since 1976, the Pushcart Prize is awarded annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by literary magazines or small presses during the current year.
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Since 1998 the independent, non-profit BCWW in historic Bucks County, PA, has advanced the power of the written word in fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. It does not work with poetry. The BCWW's only aim is to critique members' writing with the goal of publication. Membership -- for adults only -- is limited by design. Newcomers with a serious writing interest and background are welcome as space permits.
There are no dues or membership fees.
The workshop may not be right for every aspiring writer, but if interested in becoming a member contact Don Swaim sharing your background and experience.
LATEST WORKSHOP NEWS HERE
BUCKS COUNTY'S FABULOUS LITERARY HISTORY HERE
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BUCKS COUNTY LIBRARY AUTHOR FEST
Part of our table display, Nov. 4, 2023. Present and past Bucks County Writers Workshop members, such as Bill Donahue, Damian McNichol, Lindsey Allingham, Sandy Cody, Melissa Sullivan, Linda Wisniewski, and Don Swaim were there to tout some of their work. Also available: the latest issues of the BCWW literary journal Neshaminy and the workshop's two showcase anthologies, Shocking Verbs, Lawless Nouns and Covid-19: The Pandemic Project
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Neshaminy: The Bucks County Historical and Literary Journal
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The Doylestown Historical Society. . .
...co-sponsored the first lecture in the Abramson Art & Artist series: "No Destitute Scribbler, Henry C. Mercer's Adventure in Publishing" in the refurbished barn at the Doylestown Historical Society on July 26, 2023. It was standing-room only.
Professor Tom Sparrow illuminated multifaceted historian-archeologist-collector Mercer's foray into the world of fiction, his use of local landmarks including Fonthill Castle and Doyle's Tavern, and why his only collection of ghost stories November Night Tales, though hailed as comparable to Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce, ultimately fell into obscurity.
Henry C. Mercer
Raised in the Poconos, Tom Sparrow teaches philosophy at Slippery Rock University. His published work includes books and articles of academic philosophy, most recently The Alphonso Lingis Reader (University of Minnesota Press, 2018) and True Detective and Philosophy: A Deeper Kind of Darkness (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017).
The latest edition of Neshaminy featuring Sparrow's work and Mercer's ghost story "Castle Valley," illustrated by Pat Achilles can be obtained at:
Amazon
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COVID-19 -- THE PANDEMIC PROJECT
Exclusive stories by Members of the BCWW
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, BCWW members began staging virtual meetings via Zoom with mixed results and sometimes hilarious technical complications. The result is an original story collection filled with humor, journal-like narratives, fiction, essays, poetry, and scathing satire.
Buy HERE
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BCWW IN THE NEWS
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