Time - and Spots - Are Running Out!

Teresa Bruce wrote a book about a woman whom she came to love like a mother using not only her own memories but the Byrne Miller Papers here in the Beaufort District Collection.  Bruce shopped her manuscript around to New York publishers for three years without any takers. "I kind of felt like that book was my terminal illness, and I wanted to know what was wrong with it and get a diagnosis and fix it." Fortunately, Bruce ended up at Susan Kammeraad-Campbell's house where this talented and generous writer and editor devised a uniquely collaborative creative process called "pearls." And thus, The Other Mother was born!

Participants in the BDC@ BDC November 2014 workshop said that Susan's work was

• “Cathartic”
• “Therapeutic”
• “Inviting”

Here is your chance to learn the basics of the Susan's "pearls" process at no charge to you.  We've bumped up the number of seats to 18 participants for this intense and intimate workshop but you will have to sign up in advance. Call Charmaine at 843-255-6468 to reserve your seat at this free BDC@ the Branches workshop! Charmaine's in the BDC Research Room, 10 am - 5 pm, Mondays through Fridays to take your call.

Please note: This workshop will be held in the small conference room of the Bluffton Branch Library located at 120 Palmetto Way, Bluffton, SC.  The two hour workshop will conclude at 3:00 pm. 

This workshop is the BDC's contribution to the Library's Maker Spaces initiative. 

Sign Up for the BDC@ BLU Memoirs Workshop

Susan, Joggling Board Press Publisher 

Teresa Bruce, author of The Other Mother, describes her experience working with Susan Kammeraad-Campbell in this Charleston City Paper article.  If you have any writing aspirations at all, you would be crazy (yes, I wrote "crazy!") not to take advantage of this opportunity to learn at the feet (well, table) of a master editor.

Please Note: This free BDC@ The Branches workshop will be held in the Bluffton Branch Library's Small Conference Room.  We will only accept 12 participants for this unique and stellar opportunity to learn how to write true stories that others will want to read.  Advance reservations strongly encouraged. Once we have 12 registrants, the workshop is closed.

BDC@ BLU: Memoir Writing Workshop: June 14th

I met Susan Kammeraad-Campbell through author Teresa Bruce while Bruce was finishing up her project The Other Mother: A Re-moir, Joggling Board Press, 2013. Bruce drew heavily from journals and images of the Byrne Miller Collection housed in the Beaufort District Collection to provide context as her relationship with Miller had such a profound impact on the course of Bruce’s life. As Bruce's project came to fruition, she introduced me to her editor and publisher, Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, and to Susan’s writing workshop.

The BDC sponsored a "Writing Memoirs" workshop last Fall to highlight the value of special collection and archival materials to provide context for memories, inform and enhance one's own sense of self, one's own sense of place, and one's own sense of inclusion as a valued and valuable member of the community. 


Here are just a few of the comments we received about the November workshop:

• “Excellent;” 
• “More, more;” and 
• “Build on this.”

Feedback from participants upon reflection after several months included these comments: 

• “Writer’s workshops in a public library setting are a necessary and non-judgmental arena to develop;” 
• “The workshop made me want to write more and to approach writing as a craft;” 
•  “This workshop changed my perception on the diversity and validity of other’s viewpoints;” 
• “This workshop empowered me ‘to be me’;” and, several one word critiques: 
• “Cathartic;”
•  “Therapeutic,” and 
• “Inviting.” 

Perhaps most telling, one participant said: “The public library is an inclusive setting where judgment is held at bay. The interaction with the other writers made me feel validated.”

In other words, the response to Susan Kameraad-Campbell's "Writing Memoirs" workshop was so good that we've invited her to hold a similar workshop at the Bluffton Branch Library on Saturday, June 14th from 1 pm - 3 pm. This workshop is part of the Library's initiative for encouraging  creativity by providing "Maker Spaces" and creative activities throughout the system as well as providing a "Literary Elements" program in line with the Adult Summer Reading Program.  


Due to the intimacy and intensity of the writing process, we are limiting the workshop to only a dozen or so people. If you are at least 12 years old and want to learn how to write a true story of your life that others will want to read, make your reservation with Charmaine as soon as possible cseabrook@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

 

Reminder:  The Beaufort District Collection is closed May 26th in observance of Memorial Day. 

Writing Workshop Thursday

New BDC Workshop!

In order to facilitate a quality workshop and prepare the appropriate number of hand-outs to support your learning, we ask that interested people pre-register for the workshop.  Once we reach 20 participants, the workshop will be closed.  If you register and then cannot come, please contact us in advance (255 -6468 or cseabrook@bcgov.net) so that we can let folks on the wait list attend. 

What's Your Story?

As of this writing, there is still space in the BDC's Memoir Writing Workshop scheduled for the afternoon of Thurs., Nov. 7th.

Learn from two masters of the memoir writing genre, Susan Kammeraad-Campbell and Teresa Bruce, who will offer tips and suggestions about how to write engaging true story about your own life that will capture the attention of others.

The workshop is free and registration is suggested as there are only 20 slots available.  

Memoir Writing Workshop

 

The Beaufort District Collection is trying its hand at a workshop of a different nature.  Local author Teresa Bruce used archival material from the Byrne Miller Collection to supplement her memory of her life to this point, her relationship with an amazing dancer and teacher and Elizabeth Verner O'Neill award recipient, Byrne Miller, and to illustrate her recently published book The Other Mother.  During the workshop, her editor, Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, publisher of Joggling Board Press will help guide participants through the writing to publication process, offering helpful hints and tips along the way.  Reserve your seat:  255-6468.  We'd love to see you there!

Programs Celebrating Archives Month

This afternoon we are hosting our annual Behind-the-Scenes Tour.  We are pleased to announce that all available slots have been filled for this once-a-year tour for individual members of the public.  Although we offer pre-arranged tours for groups throughout the year (ideal size 5 to 15 people), we began the tradition of celebrating Archives Month in this fashion when the BDC relocated to larger quarters on the 2nd floor here in the 311 Scott Street library facility.  To schedule a group tour, contact gracec@bcgov.net or 255-6446.  We are booking tours for 2014 now.

We are hosting an archives related workshop on November 7th to celebrate the national release of The Other Mother by local author, Teresa Bruce.  Ms. Bruce extensively used the Byrne Miller Papers housed here in the BDC to place her memories of Mrs. Miller into historical context and to illustrate her monograph. Space is limited so please sign up sooner rather than later if you are interested in learning how to fashion your own memoirs so that others will want to read them.