Looking Back and Looking Ahead: TAF’s Year in Review for 2024

Image from JDK from Pixabay

by Maya Spikes
Executive Director, Triangle Association of Freelancers

It’s time to look back on 2024 and the many special moments for TAF and its members. Here are some of the highlights:

April marked the return of Write Now!, our popular spring writing conference. Our keynote speakers were award-winning science fiction/horror author Nicole Givens Kurtz and Writer’s Digest editor-in-chief Amy Jones.

Conference sessions included: “The Treasurers in Your Own Back Yard: Mining Your Life for Articles” by Don Vaughan, “Share Your Story: Memoir Writing” by Kyle Marie McMahon, “Enhance Your Story with Compelling Secondary Characters” by Reese Ryan, “The Art of the Interview: How to Talk to Anyone About Anything” by Sean Flynn, “A Guide to Self-Publishing: Everything You Need to Know Before Jumping In” by Karin Wiberg, and “A Writer’s Best Friend: Style Manuals and How to Use Them” by Laura Poole.

The Write Now! planning committee is currently finalizing arrangements for next year’s conference, which will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at The McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Keep an eye out for upcoming announcements about guest speakers, session topics, and other conference details!

In September, TAF continued its growing series of anthologies with the publication of The TAF Omnibus Vol. III (Stories, Essays & Poems) edited by Arlene Bice. Twenty-one TAF members contributed a total of 33 great poems and stories to our latest anthology.

We also continued our monthly meetings and hosted three TAF Talks, all via Zoom. Featured meeting guests included indie film director Justin Ferguson, Triangle Family editor Janice Lewine, The Assembly’s John Drescher, cybersecurity expert Laura Rodgers, and a special poetry panel hosted by poet Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld.

TAF’s monthly meetings also featured writing coach Christy Murphy, publicist Joe Marich, romance author Rhonda McKnight, North Carolina Writer’s Network executive director Ed Southern, and horror writer and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction editor Sheree Renee Thomas.

Our TAF Talk guests for 2024 were science fiction/horror author Nicole Givens Kurtz, Newbery Medal winning children’s author Meg Medina, and science fiction novelist and short story-writer Tobias Buckell.

We’ve had much success with our virtual meetings, but we also like to meet in person. In August, several local TAF members enjoyed delicious meals and great conversation at Saints & Scholars Pub in Raleigh.

And finally, I would like to thank everyone in TAF for making 2024 another wonderful year. I’m so grateful for our inspirational and educational discussions, both in person and virtual, which have created a thriving community of writers.

I wish you much writing success in 2025 and beyond.

Happy Holidays!