OUR MISSION

To engage, nurture, and connect seasoned and aspiring writers in Carteret County through a variety of high-quality workshops and events.

OUR VISION

A diverse community of Crystal Coast writers supporting one another as we explore all the possibilities of the written word together in social events, workshops, conferences, and small critique groups.

OUR MEMBERS

Carteret Writers pen and publish fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry collections to name a few of our literary pursuits. Over the years, our membership has grown to include emerging writers in just about every genre – from memoirs to middle school stories – as well as award-winning authors and poets. Our community-wide open mic events and workshops have given teen satirists and nonagenarian essayists opportunities to cross-pollinate, while smaller genre and critique groups have created space for cozier conversations in local libraries, coffee shops, and members’ homes.

Emerald Isle Lighthouse circa 1985

WE’VE BEEN HERE SINCE 1983

WE’VE BEEN HERE SINCE 1983

Carteret Writers is celebrating forty years of building community among Eastern North Carolina writers and readers. During that time, you’ve put in a lot of miles to attend open mic readings and to connect with fellow storytellers, poets, and literature lovers. You’ve learned to make Zoom work for critique groups when in-person wasn’t possible. When the days seemed darkest, you continued to encourage one another to pursue your writing goals. Through it all, you’ve generously shared your experience, enthusiasm, and expertise to help other writers grow.

Thank you, members, for making us possible.

Not a member yet? What are you waiting for? Come on in. The water’s fine.

For $30 annually, you can be part of our community of supportive local writers, poets, songwriters, and storytellers.

OUR CURRENT BOARD

Meganne Smith
Meganne SmithPresident
Meganne Smith lives on teaching and learning about the art of words. She won the Carteret Writers Group’s annual contest in the genre of poetry in 2019 with “Rite of Passage Raging”; she currently has a poem called “Four Corners, USA” to be published in the coming months in Main Street Rag. She aspires to publish a novel and to assist her children in becoming mindful young adults, not necessarily in that order.
Susan Squire Smith
Susan Squire SmithVice President
Susan Squire Smith commenced her writing journey with her debut novel, Out of Focus, while balancing her career as a Retail Executive and later as a consultant for a prominent medical organization. Since then, she has expanded her literary repertoire with four additional novels featuring the intrepid and quirky investigator, Jessie Howard.
Jessi Waugh
Jessi WaughSecretary
Jessi Waugh is excited to emerge from underneath her to-read stack and serve on the Carteret Writers board. Her background is in science and education; she currently teaches yoga and writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She enjoys hearing members read their work aloud and sharing critiques. Find her online at www.jessiwaughwriter.com.
Marjorie Peltier
Marjorie PeltierTreasurer
Marjorie Peltier is grateful for the leadership of our recent board and excited to work with the new one!! Over the last 35 years, Marjorie has held numerous board positions in the Triangle Organization Development Network, the LifeStory Library Foundation, Solterra Cohousing, and the Jung Society of the Triangle. Her skills include strategic planning, administration, and management.

OUR PAST PRESIDENTS

1985 Carteret Writers President Carol Bessent Haymen Icon
1986 Carteret Writers Presidents Lou Nicks and Kay Stevens
1990 Carteret Writers Presidents Gene Dugan and Sherry White
1992 Carteret Writers President Dixie Koldjeski
1993 Carteret Writers President Gene Dugan
1995 Carteret Writers President Les Ewen
1999 Carteret Writers President Henry Stephens
2001 Carteret Writers President Caulean Vesey
2003 Carteret Writers President Jere Guerin
2005 Carteret Writers President Dwight Rettie
2008 Carteret Writers President Janet Hartman
2010 Carteret Writers President Debra Kawecki
2012 Carteret Writers President Sarah Maury Swan
2014 Carteret Writers President Richard Knowles
2016 Carteret Writers President Carol Hartsoe
2018 Carteret Writers President Stanley Trice

A CARTERET WRITERS’ TIMELINE

Five writers found Carteret Writers to build a supportive community for local authors, poets, and essayists. Kay Stephens writes the organization’s first bylaws, and Carol Bessant Hayman serves as the group’s first president.

The first Carteret Writers contest and awards banquet is held to celebrate the county’s talented literary artists.

Contest winners are published in the first issue of Shoal, a simple, stapled pamphlet.

Under the leadership of president Les Ewen, Carteret Writers, Inc. becomes a 501(c3) nonprofit organization. This status enables Carteret Writers to apply for and receive grants to sponsor a local children’s writing contest and to underwrite writing workshops and speakers.

Carteret Writers increases its visibility through local media.

A new online presence boosts membership by fifty percent, and the Carteret Writers Contest sees 129 submissions.

The Carteret Writers Contest continues to grow with 182 pieces submitted by local writers.

Shoal is produced in paperback book format.

While in-person programming is suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carteret Writers and its critique groups remain connected and dynamic through the organization’s monthly newsletter, Facebook page, and Zoom meetings.

Carteret Writers gets a new website.

Carteret Writers hosts a festive, engaging Quadrennial Conference to celebrate forty years of serving writers in eastern North Carolina.

Happy 40th Carteret Writers!

On April 15, 2023, Carteret Writers celebrated 40 years of building community among Eastern North Carolina writers. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us! It wouldn’t have been the same without you. We’ll be sharing more photos and stories as soon as we’ve caught our breath!

Thomas Kies

Edgar-Nominated Author and Conference MC

Malaika Albrecht King, Inaugural Heart of Pamlico Poet Laureate & Workshop Faciltitator
Malaika King Albrecht

Inaugural Heart of Pamlico Poet Laureate & Workshop Faciltitator

John DeDakis

Author of the Lara Chadwick Mystery series & Workshop Faciltitator

Tim Hatcher author of Time and Tide
Tim Hatcher

Author of The Vanishing Culture of the North Carolina Coast & Workshop Faciltitator