VGCC Students Organize Conference for Writers
The Literary Arts Club at Vance-Granville Community College held its first Writers’ Conference on Sept. 22 in the Civic Center on the college’s main campus in Vance County. At the conference, students and members of the community received tips on how to improve their writing skills and information on how to become a published author.
E.B. “Gene” Alston of Timberlake shared his experiences as a writer, which included publishing 12 books, writing book reviews for the News & Observer, Richmond Times Dispatch and the Norfolk Virginian Pilot and contributing regular columns for the Topsail Island Information magazine. “The ancient Greek writer Lucian said that writing was a disease, for which there is no cure, and your attendance at this conference is proof of that,” he said. Alston has enjoyed writing since he was a young boy, and he also wrote technical instructions and trade magazine articles as part of his 42-year career at the forerunner of the Sprint telephone company. “The ability to express yourself through writing will help you on the job, no matter what career path you take,” Alston advised the students. After retiring, Alston self-published a book that he had originally written for his grandson, starting a new literary career. Today, he is also the president of Righter Publishing Company, Inc.
Henderson native Charles Blackburn, Jr. also spoke at the conference, offering advice on writing for magazines and on what magazines are seeking. Blackburn is a frequent contributor to Our State magazine, including 50 articles over the past five years. “You’re going to get rejected sometimes,” Blackburn warned aspiring writers. “Persistence is the name of the game.” In the early 1970s, Blackburn took a few classes at VGCC, where his father was chairman of the college Board of Trustees. One of his instructors was Oxford-based writer Thad Stem, who had fascinated young Charles and showed him that a writing career was a possibility. Blackburn went on to a varied career as a newspaper reporter and editor (including at The Daily Dispatch in his hometown), associate director of Public Relations at Duke University Medical Center and finally communications manager for Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society in Research Triangle Park, where he has worked since 1991. He is a past president of the N.C. Writers Network, the N.C. Writers Conference and the Carolina Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association. Blackburn said that writing is his “day job,” but that he is refreshed by the type of writing he does for Our State, which he said gives him “a good excuse to talk to interesting people and learn.”
Vance County Commissioner Deborah Brown talked about the history behind her book, Dead-End Road. Brown, a realtor and former school board member who is currently chairman of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, wrote the book to tell the story of her father-in-law, the late Jasper Brown, who fought to improve public education.
Other presenters included Dr. Tanya Olson of Durham, an instructor at VGCC and North Carolina Governor’s School East, as well as an award-winning poet; Reggie Ponder, a staff writer for The Daily Dispatch in Henderson; and Marion B. Williams, a former VGCC student, historian and genealogist; and Linda VanSistine-Yost, adult services librarian at the H. Leslie Perry Library in Henderson.
“If there’s any group I admire more than librarians, it’s writers,” VanSistine-Yost said. She noted that writing often requires research, which makes a library every writer’s greatest resource. She offered information on the Perry Library’s resources, and also praised the library at VGCC, the Learning Resources Center, which has somewhat different resources than the public library. “We’re not in competition,” VanSistine-Yost said, noting that VGCC often holds computer classes at the library as well.
Marion B. Williams is working on a book about her own family history, entitled “This Name is Not My Own.” Williams encouraged those in attendance to discover their own origins. “You have a history,” Williams said. “If you don’t record it, who will?”
Reggie Ponder, who majored in English at North Carolina Wesleyan College, said that he did not intend to pursue journalism as a career, but he was hired by a newspaper while in his senior year and took some journalism classes. He worked at The Daily Dispatch from 1988 to 1994, and returned in 2006. Ponder offered practical tips on writing and on the newspaper business, which he said is enjoyable and fast-paced. “The average amount of time I have to devote to a story is about three hours,” Ponder said.
VGCC instructor and Literary Arts Club advisor Marian Dillahunt-Andrews thanked the students for their efforts to organize the conference, particularly praising Gertrude Marrow of Henderson, an Early Childhood/Teacher Associate student, who serves as the club’s secretary and coordinated the conference. The Literary Arts Club was established in 2006 for the purpose of stimulating interest in, and providing a social forum for, literary arts throughout the college community.
Above: Vance County Commissioner Deborah Brown (right) reads excerpts from her book, Dead-End Road, during the writers’ conference held at Vance-Granville Community College’s main campus on Sept. 22. (VGCC photo)
