Dear Wolfe Friends,
I extend warm greetings for the New Year and provide some updates pertaining to the Thomas Wolfe Society.
On June 1-3, 2018, Wolfe Society members will gather for the fortieth annual meeting of the organization in Charlotte, North Carolina. This year’s theme is “Wolfe and the City,” and Vice President Anne Zahlan has been hard at work organizing a first-rate program. Look for details in the registration letter that Anne will send soon.
Reserve your room at the Holiday Inn Charlotte-Center City, 230 North College Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 before April 30, 2018, to receive the special room rate of $119 per night. Contact the Holiday Inn at (704) 335-5400 or at 1-800-HOLIDAY. Identify yourself as a TWS member. If you reserve your room online at www.hicharlotte.com, use the group code TWS.
When making travel plans, train lovers might want to take advantage of the close proximity of a train station to our 2018 conference hotel. The Amtrak station, at 1914 N. Tryon Street, is 1.7 miles from the Holiday Inn. Those who fly will arrive at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a fifteen-minute drive from the Holiday Inn.
Speaking of conferences, go ahead and put May 24-25, 2019, on your calendar for the forty-first annual conference. I am pleased to announce that we will be in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, at the Wyndham Gettysburg. Plans for touring as well as conference sessions in this lovely place of history and Wolfe family connections are underway.
The Great Smokies Writing Program will again administer the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize this year. David Radavich, who has served as intermediate judge for the prize since its inception in 2006, is stepping down to devote time to judging another literary contest. We thank David for his dedicated service and also Terry Roberts, active member and former Thomas Wolfe Society president for agreeing to be an intermediate judge of this contest in 2018. Society member Tommy Hays also deserves our appreciation for his ongoing reading of submissions. The prize-winning stories are considered for publication in the Thomas Wolfe Review. What a wonderful way to celebrate Wolfe and sustain his legacy.
The Thomas Wolfe Memorial will soon begin selling the Thomas Wolfe Review in the gift shop. We thank Tom Muir, the Memorial’s site manager, for agreeing to offer the journal and also selected special publications to the public. Memorial visitors will now have a chance to learn more about Wolfe and the work of the Society.
Volume 40 of the Thomas Wolfe Review was mailed on January 10, so if you have not received your copy, contact David Strange at P.O. Box 1146, Bloomington, IN 47402-1146 or at twostrange2000@yahoo.com. Volume 41 is already in production. As always, we extend gratitude to Editor Paula Eckard and her capable staff, especially Articles Editor Joseph Bentz and Associate Editor/Designer/Compositor David Strange. Their work brings Wolfe scholarship to the world and keeps us all connected.
If you are not a lifetime member and have not already renewed your TWS membership for 2018, please do so. A form is enclosed for your convenience. And remember that gift memberships to the Thomas Wolfe Society might please some of your associates, students, friends, or family members.
I look forward to visiting with many of you in Charlotte next year as we celebrate the life and writings of Thomas Wolfe. Registration information and a schedule of events will arrive in your mailbox shortly. Deb Borland also will post the information at www.thomaswolfe.org and our Facebook page, and David Radavich will make sure that it appears at the Review site, www.thomaswolfereview.org. We very much appreciate their making Wolfe and the Thomas Wolfe Society visible online.
I thank each of you for your continued support of the Thomas Wolfe Society and hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Godwin, President
The Thomas Wolfe Society
You can contact me at rlgodwin@barton.edu
or by calling (252) 399-6364.
