LA PLUME
Official Newsletter of the Writers Guild of Acadiana
March-April 2026
March WGA Meeting Details
The next meeting on Tuesday, March 31st at 6PM is to take place at the Lafayette South Regional Library in the auditorium. For any questions, call John @ 337-257-8665.
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
-Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
Announcements
The WGA Short Story Anthology is on the way!
All the winning stories from the WGA short story competitions over the past two years have been published in an anthology that will soon find its way out into the wide world and then hopefully onto your shelf. Whether you are one of those talented authors of a winning story, or you remember hearing a piece that touched you or made you chuckle, then make sure to get in touch with the board to secure your very own copy (or three). They make an excellent coffee table book, or a way to share a little local talent through the act of gift giving.
Upcoming Submission Time: A Treasury of Louisiana Writers Vol3
A Treasury of Louisiana Writers Volume 2 is out now, so get your copy. Also, the board has opened the door for another opportunity to have your works published in an anthology with Volume 3. Criteria and submission forms are out, so start writing down what you want to get out to the world!
Meeting Agenda
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!
Creative Writing Activity
This month the Writers Guild would like to invite you to join in on a chance to flex your creativity muscles and have a little fun. After the short story competition, a creative writing activity will be announced with participation completely voluntary. The activity could be between a pair of writers or solo, and sharing will be optional with the potential for a small prize if enough want to share and a vote is taken. So, sharpen your pencils, and your minds, and see you all next week!
Upcoming Events
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
Library Spring Festival, May 2nd, 9am-1pm, Evangeline Parish Library
here’s still time to be part of the excitement! We’re inviting all patrons to join us for Library Spring Fest 2026 as we work to make this our biggest event of the year.
Come celebrate with us—whether you want to participate, volunteer, or just enjoy the festivities, there’s something for everyone!
Stay tuned for more details, and don’t miss your chance to be part of this amazing community event. Let’s make it unforgettable together! 
Writing Competitions
Austin Film Festival’s Script Competition
AFF script competitions have a 32-year history of opening doors for emerging writers to merge the gap between craft and career by providing emerging talent with meaningful opportunities, mentorship, and real access.
Past Advancing writers have gone on to write for: ABC, AMC, A24, Amazon, Apple TV, BET, CBS, FX, HBO, Hulu, Max, NBC, Netflix, Neon, Paramount, Peacock, and Warner Bros. Pictures. AFF alumni are credited on acclaimed series Hacks, Yellowjackets, House of the Dragon, A Man on the Inside, Stranger Things, Daisy Jones & The Six, HBO’s Dune: Prophecy, The Walking Dead, Poker Face and more. Through the competition alumni have secured representation with reputable management companies such as Lit Entertainment, Entertainment Lab, Untitled Entertainment, and Grandview Management, CAA and UTA to name a few.
The first deadline is on March 27th, and the final deadline will be on May 27th. Entry costs start at $25.
More information including submission details for tailored industry fellowship opportunities with reputable production companies such as The Donners’ Company and AMC Networks can be found on our website here:
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope, will award $3,500 for the best story and $3,500 for the best essay, and the top 12 entries will be published online. For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. Submit published or unpublished work. Fee: $25 per entry. More information can be found through the link below.
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest – Winning Writers
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
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