July 2026 News
Summer Excitement and Upcoming Events
Message from the Prez
July 2026
Can you believe we’re already halfway through the year? I certainly can’t. It’s a good time to take a look at your writing goals for 2026 and see how you’re progressing on them.
Personally, I’m super behind—but that’s okay, I’ll get there. And you will too (or, if you’re the more organized sort, perhaps you’re already miles ahead. If that’s the case, great job)!
The contest has wrapped and now we’re moving forward full swing with getting Libros of Enchantment in order. Keep an eye out for our communications about that and visit swwbookfiesta.com for all the latest information.
In other news, if you’ve been by the SWW office recently you know that the space is not designed to hold, say, fifteen people comfortably. We’ll be looking to rearrange some of the furniture and maybe replace some old pieces that aren’t serving our needs any more.
Totally unrelated—if you want a large (and heavy) wooden desk, please contact our office. We seriously just want that thing gone, so if you’re in the market for something like that, let us know.
May you have a wonderful July. I would say go outside and enjoy the weather, but does anyone really enjoy 100+ degrees? Regardless, go enjoy something and we’ll see you at our meetings this month!
Kim
U.S. Copyright Office Announces Copyright Essentials: Copyright 101 Webinar
Important Copyright Information (from the Editor)
Thanks to Rose Kern, SWW President Emeritus. for sending me the information below.
Léonie Rosenstiel, Editor
The U.S. Copyright Office invites you to register to attend the upcoming online webinar, “Copyright Essentials: Copyright 101, on Wednesday, July 15 at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. This event is the latest edition in its educational series designed to teach copyright basics and key concepts to creators within various disciplines.
In this session, the Copyright Office discusses the foundations of copyright law, the process of copyright registration, and Copyright Office programs supporting research, enforcement, and understanding copyright concepts like fair use. We will answer commonly asked questions; review educational resources and registration options, such as the Office’s Copyright Registration Toolkit; and share how the Copyright Office’s Public Information Office can assist along the way.
Speakers:
Samantha Levin, Attorney-Advisor, Office of Public Information and Education
Taylor Schumacher, Attorney-Advisor, Office of Public Information and Education
The Copyright Office strategic goal of Copyright for All means making the copyright system as understandable and accessible to as many members of the public as possible, through initiatives including education and outreach. Subscribe to stay updated about future webinars in this series.
Watch the complete set of recordings on our Copyright Essentials event page.
United States Copyright Office
copyright.gov
(202) 707-3000
or 1 (877) 476-0778 (toll free)
This service is provided at no charge by U.S. Copyright Office.
SouthWest Writers Takes it on the Road
Jim Tritten
Reading stories of healing in public is an integral part of the healing process. Veterans and family members who were published in Holes in Our Hearts (2023) or Unbreaking the Circle (2025), or who attended the training program we held in 2024, conducted in-person and virtual public readings featuring their journeys of healing. This program was funded by New Mexico Arts (NMA) and private donations.
Priority was given to counties that have been underrepresented in previous events. South West Writers (SWW) conducted an aggressive outreach program and an online platform that expanded our reach into a significant portion of rural New Mexico. In- person programs were held in Alamogordo, Belén, Española, Rio Rancho, Roswell, and Tijeras, and included audience members who traveled from other counties to attend. An online program originating from Albuquerque reached participants throughout the state.
The virtual program allowed us to bring in readers who were included in our anthologies as New Mexico constituents but were no longer domiciled here. This included a National Guard member now living in Utah and two veterans who relocated to Arizona and North Carolina.
The twenty-eight different authors who conducted readings and shared the process with attendees benefited from public discussion, in which they read their stories to strangers. This both supported the healing process and gave the participants new insights into how their stories affect individuals who have never been exposed to military life.
Upcoming SWW Events
You can find information about upcoming events on the SWW website here. Here’s what’s on tap this month.
July
Saturday the 11th ♦ Meeting: Nancy McGuire — Freelance Writing that Pays the Bills
Saturday the 18th ♦ Workshop: David Hicks — Prepare to Publish
Wednesday the 22th ♦ Meeting: Christopher Locke — The IBPA Advantage: Your Roadmap to Self-Publishing Success
Click here for more information on a meeting. Click here for more information on a workshop.
Last Month’s Writing Challenge - The Results
June Sage Challenge Results:
For the month of June we honored the “Year of the Horse” with poetry and prose dedicated to those magnificent creatures who truly played a huge role in the history of human development. Six SWW members donated their thoughts and talents, including:
Heidi Marshall, “The Black Mare”
Larry Kilham, “Horses”
Lynne Zotalis, “The Love that Passes All Understanding”
Mark Fleisher, “And the Race is On”
Ashley Wilson, “Winning”
Linda Bairstow, “An Equine Blur”
Check out their submissions here.
This Month’s Writing Challenge for SWW Members
The monthly challenge is a terrific opportunity to write and submit short pieces based on a prompt. Entries we select for publication will appear on the SouthWest Writers Sage Challenge webpage and will be eligible for inclusion in upcoming anthologies. For more information and our submission guidelines, click here. Email your entry in MS Word or TXT format to info@swwriters.com by the 20th of the month.
This month’s challenge: JULY SAGE CHALLENGE
The Sage challenges YOU to create a story, article or poem in honor of Independence Day. Click here for specific details.
Let’s Learn From Each Other
We’re excited to share your sage perspectives about how to hone our craft, cultivate a fruitful writing life, or work with publishers and vendors.
Beware an email “plague” targeting writers and similar scams
By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, Chair, Libros of Enchantment, the 2026 SWW Book Fiesta
SWW member Chris Allen recently alerted colleagues to the current rash of email messages supposedly from famous authors, flattering recipients with fulsome compliments about our writing work.
I added a warning about similar messages purporting to be from book clubs and/or publicists, also full of compliments and including invitations to be featured by the clubs. The ones I’ve received usually address a different name and rave about books I haven’t written. The likelihood is that responding would result in pitches to pay for services that would never be provided.
As Chris noted, after receiving a phony message supposed to be from author Donna Tartt, these scams are “a new plague on our times.”
For the rest of this article, click here.
If you’ve recently written and posted a piece on your blog, website, Facebook Page, or other social media platform that fits this section, please email a link to the piece along with a two-sentence introduction to sage@swwriters.com.
Regional and Online Literary Happenings
[We expect our current Facebook page to be deleted soon. If you subscribe to an earlier version of our Facebook page, please be sure to migrate to our new Facebook page and sign up, because the old pages will be disappearing—Ed.]
The News and Events group is a read-only page where you can easily access announcements from Southwest Writers. The Community Group is where you can see what your fellow members have been working on, post your own announcements, and chat with each other.
Email sage@swwriters.com with links to anything you think we should share with Sage subscribers.
Welcome to SouthWest Writers!
The following writers joined our community last month. We hope to see you at one of our events in person or online. Write on!
Valerie Leyva * Charlie Ofelt * François-Marie Patorni * Leslie Wilson
If you’re not yet a member, learn more about the benefits here.
We have resources for writers across our platforms and additional content on our members-only section of the website. Visit our website, ask to join our Facebook Group, check out our blog, see what we’re saying on X (Twitter), check out the session recordings on our YouTube channel, or find our page on Goodreads.