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.
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.
OUR CURRENT BOARD
OUR PAST PRESIDENTS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CARTERET WRITERS
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.
