Kearney to direct writing session

Janis F. Kearney
Janis F. Kearney

Noted author and publisher Janis F. Kearney will host a free, virtual writing workshop at 10 a.m. Nov. 9.

A native of Gould, Kearney is also a journalist and instructor.

Additionally, she was a diarist for former President Bill Clinton.

The session is part of Writing Out Loud: Creating Powerful Oral Histories.

This workshop, which is for new or emerging writers, will include lectures and interactive writing sessions, according to a news release from the Arkansas Arts Council.

Kearney will discuss the importance of research and effective interviewing techniques as well as how to shape a story on the page and then transfer it to the microphone.

Participants will write personal stories with the theme "The One Who Got away," and then share a paragraph with the class.

Ten students from the workshop will be selected to join the Writing Out Loud live reading session Dec. 1, where each student will share their 3- to 5-minute story.

The webinar will end with a question-and-answer and evaluation session.

Kearney fell in love with the sound and feel of words as a child in southeast Arkansas Delta. Inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame in 2016, she has penned several books and founded Writing our World Publishing, or "Wow! Publishing."

Kearney was publisher of the Arkansas State Press founded by civil rights activist Daisy Gatson Bates. Kearney served eight years in the Clinton presidency as a White House media affairs specialist, then director of public communications for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

She served the last five years of Clinton's presidency as his personal diarist.

Those interested in the Nov. 9 workshop are required to register. Registration is limited to 100 participants.

Visit ArkansasArts.org at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/108589277192065293. Details: Janet Perkins, (501) 324-9775.

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