IWSG Book Club: September 23rd, 2021 Reads!
IWSG Book Club Upgrade!
The IWSG is getting an overhaul. We’re so excited about the changes, so let me just stop here and turn the explaining over to the fabulous Toi! (Toi’s msg taken from club newsletter.)
How to join IWSG and participate in the book club and the blog hop, and the many things for author’s sponsored and hosted through Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Find out here!
A MESSAGE FROM TOI
Hi there, I’m Toi.
Perhaps you’ve seen me around the IWSG community. I’m number 36 on the blogging list, and I’m kind of a ghost in the Facebook group, but I do pop in and out from time to time. I’ve been very active in the IWSG Book Club on Goodreads and have recently been asked to take it over. Fortunately, my wonderful co-mods (Juneta Key and Ronel Janse van Vurren) will be there for support the whole way.
We are so excited to announce the new direction the book club will be taking and hope that you will join us. Before we kick off our new traditions, we’ll have our final discussions about the craft of writing, featuring the titles: Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly by Gail Carson Levine and They Called Us Enemy by George Takei and Justin Eisinger. These final discussions, on August 25, 2021, are simply fun poll questions you can answer and then, if you so choose, share your thoughts and or review of the last books we read. Click here and here to join in.
Starting in September, the book club will now serve as a spotlight of member talent. That’s right. We will be reading, sharing, and supporting the works of IWSG members and hope you will join in the fun. While spotlighting writers, we hope to take the book club in a direction that appeals to readers as well. Even if you don’t have time to read the books we choose to spotlight, you can still participate and spread the love. And just remember, your turn will eventually come around.
We have decided to honor the IWSG and its members in the month of September by featuring two of the group’s anthologies: Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime and Parallels: Felix Was Here. These anthologies are themselves a showcase of the talent present within the IWSG community. Since many members of the community are only published in the anthologies, this gives those members a chance to be featured.
Each month, we will feature two books from IWSG members, and whether a long-time veteran or a newcomer, your time to shine will come. The co-mods and I will be picking titles from members based on the blogging list. We’ve divided the list into three parts: 1-50, 51-100, and 100+. We will alternate each month which part we choose from, that way we’re not just showing attention to members in one portion of the list.
As the new admin of the book club, each month I will share tips on ways for members to help their books become more searchable, increasing their odds of being featured. The co-mods and I have also come up with some fun ways for the IWSG community to get involved, even if they are not ready to join the Goodreads book club. After the spotlighted books are announced in the IWSG newsletter, we encourage interested members to share which of the books they are excited to try out, the first Wednesday of the month, in their IWSG day post.
The second Thursday of the month will be when we post our group polls. We are even taking suggestions from members about poll topics to feature. The third Thursday of the month will be our #iwsgbookclub check-in, where we head to social media to share which book(s) we are reading and our thoughts at the moment. Finally, the fourth Thursday of the month will be our discussion day. We’ve decided to help connect readers with the IWSG authors by hosting micro discussions- 3 questions dedicated to each book featured; plus, I’ll be sharing additional questions on social media to indulge the avid readers. Even if you don’t have a chance to read the books, we encourage you to join the discussions. We all know how much writers thrive on feedback.
Wow. There are so many new and exciting things coming your way from the book club and I hope you’ll join the current book club members on this new journey. Personally, I am excited to be part of a community that provides so much support and so many opportunities. I can’t wait to see the IWSG Book Club on Goodreads thrive even more as we continue in the spirit of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.
See you on post day.
Here on September 23, 2021!!
Thanks, Toi Thomas
Author at #thetoiboxofwords etoithomas.com
Founder of Lit Carnivale. For more info, click here.