I’m a member of The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), a community of mutually supportive fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—and beyond. We are as different from each other as our stories. While we started as a critique group and still meet three times a month to critique each other’s work, BWG also publishes quality fiction through our online literary journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and our award-winning A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology series.
Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres. Except for A Christmas Sampler, all the collections include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award.
An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue is the latest in A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology. This anthology was a finalist in both the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award and the 2023 Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion.
We are working on our eighth anthology, Season’s Readings: More, Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales.
In connection with this anthology, we are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2024 Short Story Award.Â
The 2024 Short Story Award opens on January 1, 2024. The theme will be Holiday Stories (broadly interpreted).
We are seeking never-published short stories of 2,000 words or fewer. First Place will receive $250 and publication in the upcoming anthology: Season’s Readings: More, Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales or in The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
The final judge of the 2024 Short Story Award is Marlo Berliner, the multi-award-winning, bestselling author of The Ghost Chronicles series.
Marianne H. Donley writes fiction in the form of short stories, funny romances, and quirky murder mysteries. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and a really sweet, bad dog. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, Sisters in Crime, Guppies, Capital Crime, and Charmed Writers. You can follow Marianne’s various social media here: https://linktr.ee/mariannehdonley
Thank you for hosting me, Debra!
My pleasure!
Nice post, Marianne!
Thank you, Veronica!
Appreciate you stopping by Veronica. I think Marianne explained so much in such a concise way.
I enjoyed learning about the BWG and how a critique group evolved into so much more. A perfect example of how writers can accomplish anything!
Exactly!
Thanks for reading, Saralyn.
I enjoyed reading about your anthologies and will share with my author friends.
Thanks, Marianne and Debra.
Appreciate you stopping by….. and sharing.
Thanks for sharing, Kathleen.
Thanks for sharing Marianne’s post.
My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by!