LA PLUME
Official Newsletter of the Writers Guild of Acadiana
February-March 2026
February WGA Meeting Details
The next meeting is TODAY, Thursday, February 12th at 6PM is to take place at the West Regional Library in Scott in the auditorium. For any questions, call John @ 337-257-8665.
“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us”
-Franz Karka
Announcements
Upcoming Submission Time: A Treasury of Louisiana Writers Vol3
While A Treasury of Louisiana Writers Volume 2 is only just rolling out, the board would like to open the door for another opportunity to have your works published in an anthology. Criteria and submission forms will be our shortly, so start thinking about what kind of story you would like to tell!
Website addition: Board meeting minutes!
If you see our tireless secretary Ed Gauthier clacking away at his laptop during a board meeting, it might surprise you to learn that he is in fact not describing the inner workings of a new spacetime phenomenon. Rather he is documenting all that transpires during the meeting, allowing everyone who has attended to review afterwards or for those who were unable to make it to catch a glimpse at what they missed. Haven’t taken a note since grade school? Not to fear! Head on over to the WGA website.
Meeting Agenda
Guest Speaker:
Dr. Toby Daspit
Dr. Toby Daspit is Professor of Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is Emeritus Consultant for National Writing Project of Acadiana which he directed for 16 years and is the founder of the Improving the Blank Page youth writing program. Toby has published two chapbooks — ANATOMY OF A GHOST (AND OTHER POEMS NOT ABOUT YOU) [2006, Southern Hum Press] and BAR COASTERS (2013, Yellow Flag Press), and is completing his first full-length collection of poetry, tentatively titled Kintsugi, anticipated from Portals Press in 2026.
March WGA Writing Competion
Prompt: “Do I Know You?”
Category: Fiction
This is a fun competition for members. Non-members may also read their entries but won’t be eligible for the token prize. The prompt MUST APPEAR somewhere within the work, and entries must be no longer than 500 words. The author must be present but may allow another to read the piece aloud. All entries must be typed and double-spaced. The story must have the word count, category, title, author’s name, and date of the competition written at the top of the first page, and a paper copy of the winner and runner-up is to be handed in to the vice-president after the judging. An email to eggchess@gmail.com with the entry will help ensure accuracy. Check your finished work for accuracy, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You may be the one to be published!
Upcoming Events
Louisiana Library Association Convention, March 6-7th, Lake Charles Event Center
Authors/Performers will have the opportunity to meet with school, public, academic, and special librarians from across Louisiana and the Southeast to discuss and share their books, programs, and other information. Reservation includes an 8′ table and chairs. Tables will be available both Friday and Saturday, located in the mezzanine area of the Lake Charles Event Center.
Note: Please contact Kayla Kalnasy at llakalnasy@gmail.com if you are interested in hosting a book signing or performer preview. Regular booth registration closes February 6, 2026. For assistance with registration, please contact the LLA office at LLA@amigos.org. For any clarifying or additional questions regarding exhibiting at the LLA conference, please contact Jessica Styons at llajess@yahoo.com or (225) 485-1317.
Louisiana Iris Festival, March 28-29th, New Iberia City Park and Moncus Park
The mission statement of Acadiana’s Louisiana Iris Festival is to encourage cultural destination travel, public education, and engagement in habitat conservation through the cultivation and preservation of native and cultivar Louisiana irises throughout the Bayou Teche and Lafayette Parish watersheds.
Saturday in New Iberia City Park from 9:00am to 3:00pm the city will host a festival with no charge to join. The second day of the festival will be held Sunday at Moncus Park from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
To register for a booth at the Saturday festival in New Iberia, contact Jane Braud by email @ jbraud@cityofnewiberia.com or by phone @ 337-369-2330. Contact information for the Sunday festival in Moncus Park is not known at this time but will be shared when it is.
Books Along the Teche, April 10-12th, New Iberia
This is the 10th annual Books Along the Teche, a popular 3-day event that sees a lot of faces. Every year we have members of the guild attend the festival, with opportunities to sell your work, network, or discover new writers and enjoy the guest speakers. A full schedule can be found on their website listed below, along with instructions for how to apply to take part in the festival.
Schedule/Tickets – Books Along the Teche Literary Festival | New Iberia LA
Writing Competitions
LDWF Durable Hard License Artwork Contest
LDWF is looking for amateur or professional artists or photographers who love the Louisiana outdoors to submit iconic Louisiana outdoor artwork and photographs to be featured on this year’s LDWF hard license cards! We are looking for user-submitted, original artwork or photographs falling into the following categories Wildlife/Hunting, Fish/Fishing, and Scenic/Other to be featured. Photographs or artwork may be submitted in digital format.
Image Specifications:
The final card size is 3.375” wide x 2.125” tall (3-3/8 x 2-1/8), and the maximum print resolution is 600dpi. Image resolution should be no less than 300 pixels per inch (ppi) and no more than 1200 ppi. This means the absolute minimum lossless dimensions are 1000 x 630 ppi.
The optimal file type for images in JPEG (or, for photography, RAW and similar professional file types). PNG and PDF etc. can be converted to the needed file type for printing.
Rules:
- Images must be taken in Louisiana
- Please do not submit images with anyone’s face.
- The image size cannot exceed 20MB
- The image should be horizontal
- No watermarked images
LDWF Durable Hard License Artwork Contest | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Next Generation Short Story Awards
The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a non-profit program honoring original, unpublished short stories. 30+ categories available, with prizes ranging from $75-$500, trophies, medals, and inclusion in the programs anthology. In addition, winners and finalist receive year-long exposure on the Awards website, social media promotion, and digital award stickers to share their achievement. Entry deadline is Thursday, February 26. All submissions must be made digitally in PDF format.
WGA Opportunities
Member Profiles
The WGA website has a spot just for you! A dedicated Member Profiles page, where your works and accomplishments can be showcased to any who visit the site. If you would like to add your profile to the website, or update your profile if you already have one, contact John via email @jpcoman9@john-comeaux
Moncus Park Saturday Market
Writer’s Guild is inviting members AND non-members to participate in vending at Moncus Park (paid members have preference). The requested fee is $10 for members and $15 for non-members per sales day. We hold a sales booth on the 2nd and last Saturday of each month. The fee is to defray the cost that the Writer’s Guild has to pay for the vending booth location. Text our secretary Ed Gauthier @ (337-945-5718) if you’re interested in taking part. The next market opportunity is January 31st, so if you would like to join don’t hesitate to reach out for further rules and information.
Lafayette Downtown Artwalk
The Lafayette City Art Walk always occurs on the second Saturday of the month, every month, weather permitting. If you wish to vend your books at Art Walk, free space is available. This occurs on Jefferson Street, from around 4:00 pm and goes to 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Text Ed and for more questions (337-945-5718) or stroll on by the evening of as he’s usually seen there.
WGA Critique Group
WGAcadiana Critique meets online using Google groups and Google Meet on the second and fourth Thursday evening of each month at 7:00 pm. Our purpose is to assist our writers in discovering the strong and weak points of their writing styles. Critique groups usually follow a careful format to develop trust amongst its members. If interested, contact our secretary by text (337-945-5718) or email at eggchess@gmail.com. Joining this group will require that you have an active Google account, which is free.
Writing Workshops (In Progress!)
Interested in learning from some local wordsmiths, but dread forking out the dough in exchange for homework? The WGA is working on putting together some writing workshops led by experienced members of the literary community. Potential workshops could be:
- Self-editing
- Character voice
- How to publish
And many more! If you have any specific topics you would like a workshop to be built around, don’t hesitate to bring it up to one of the board members either at a meeting or by email/phone. Once a workshop topic is decided on, a sign-up sheet will be generated and a date and time decided upon if enough interest is shown.
Useful Links
Secret Kindlepreneur
Labeled as “secret resources for authrors”, this site contains a list of FREE resources to help authors succeed on Amazon. The available topics include marketing, formatting, editing, and many more.
WGA Website and Facebook
If not viewing this on the website, please check out our new and improved site here: http://www.writersguildacadiana.org
Like and follow us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/writersguildacadiana