Dear Writers, Readers and Friends:
I started this blog in September 2009, at a time when the Sacramento Valley writing community was (in my personal experience) less visible and less formally interconnected than it is now. I started the blog to help make that community and all its attendant opportunities and events more visible to newcomers and established local writers alike. Over the years, I have received feedback that, in addition to accomplishing these goals, the blog has been an element in the community that has helped local writers to become more visible to each other, a change in which I am profoundly honored to have played a part.
With social media platforms so much more portable and used by many more writers as tools for sharing and connecting, I see the original structure of Kate’s Miscellany–a weekly (ish) posting of local events–becoming less useful as so many more writers now connect directly through electronic media. In addition, changes in my own life make it impossible for me to post in as timely a fashion as I once did.
I saw an opportunity here to change the structure and function of Kate’s Miscellany so that the blog can continue to provide area writers with useful, fun and important information in a different way. Moving forward, you will see me posting most likely a little less often–I am aiming for 2-3 times per month instead of weekly. The nature of the content will change: before, the information I shared with you was very time-bound. Now, I will focus on sharing collections of opportunities that are a little less that way–for example, the post prior to this one, a listing of area conferences (to which I will soon add an addendum) is the kind of collection I plan to post in the future. I also hope to post occasional reviews of books and journals I am reading and even possibly some interviews of folks in the writing world locally and beyond. You may also see an occasional craft essay-in-brief as I reflect on what I teach, and what I learn, in my Wednesday night workshops in Sacramento.
I do wish for the new and improved Kate’s Miscellany (“Now–with MORE miscellaneousness!”) to continue to be a conversation with the community. So, do please keep sending me your announcements, your ideas, and your requests.
I want to thank those of you who subscribe to the blog, and also those who swing by occasionally, and those who may rarely visit but just like the idea of having it available. All of you inspire me to keep my eyes on the horizon and my ears perked up for whatever literary lusciousness will next come our way!
Yours in writing,
Kate