POPULARITY
GEORGIA RADIO – Tune in on Monday, January 20th, at 12 PM ET, as the celebrated, multi-award-winning southern author Bren McClain takes to the Georgia Radio airwaves. Known for her poignant storytelling and critically acclaimed works, Bren will discuss her upcoming Master Prose Class at the 2025 Carrollton Book Fest.With numerous accolades under her belt, including the esteemed Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction, Bren's mastery of the written word has cemented her place among the South's literary greats. Now, she's sharing her expertise with aspiring writers in a highly interactive, day-long workshop designed to elevate their craft.Bren's goal is for each participant to leave not only with fresh insight into their work but also with that all-important fire to get back to the page.A Workshop for Serious WritersThe Master Prose Class is limited to just 12 participants, making the application process highly competitive. Writers are invited to submit 1,000 words (preferably from the beginning of their manuscript) by February 17, 2025. Submissions must be anonymous to ensure fair evaluation.The $25 submission fee, payable through EventBrite, is non-refundable but will be applied toward the class fee of $100 if selected.What to ExpectIn the morning, participants will engage in guided feedback sessions to uncover the strengths of their prose. The afternoon will be dedicated to hands-on revising or creating new material, ensuring that every attendee walks away with actionable insights and tangible progress.Selected participants will be notified by March 2, 2025, and must submit a longer piece (up to 2,500 words) by March 16, 2025, for group distribution.Don't Miss This OpportunityThis is a rare chance to learn from one of the South's most distinguished literary voices. Tune in to Georgia Radio on Monday, January 20th, to hear Bren McClain share insights about her craft, her love of teaching, and what attendees can expect from her Master Prose Class.For submission details and more information, email carrolltonbookfest@gmail.com.QUICK LINK: https://www.brenmcclain.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/georgia-radio/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
GEORGIA RADIO - This Thursday, February 1st at 12 pm (noon), Dr. Elyse Wheeler, a prominent member of the Carrollton Writer's Guild, will take to the airwaves on GeorgiaRadio.com for an exclusive conversation with host Matt Jolley. The focus of the discussion will be the highly anticipated Carrollton Bookfest and Writer's Conference, set to captivate literary enthusiasts on April 5th and 6th, 2024. The Carrollton Bookfest promises to be an enriching experience for writers and book lovers alike. Listeners can expect insights into the event's highlights, including a Master Class by celebrated Southern Author, Bren McClain. McClain's expertise is sure to provide aspiring writers with a unique opportunity to refine their skills and gain valuable insights into the craft.A major draw for attendees will be the keynote address by Pulitzer Prize recipient and Best Selling author Rick Bragg. Bragg's presence is expected to elevate the event, offering attendees a chance to learn from one of the most accomplished figures in the literary world. The event's official website, CarrolltonBookfest.com, serves as a comprehensive resource for those seeking more information about the conference. Notably, the Bookfest will extend its Writers Conference to two days, providing even more opportunities for participants to engage with the literary community.Friday's schedule includes workshops and a Master Class by Bren McClain. In the evening, the Carrollton Writers Guild will collaborate with the Carroll County Community Theater for a performance showcasing local literary talent. The excitement continues on Saturday morning with a featured author interview, this year featuring the renowned Rick Bragg.The theme of mystery and crime will be explored in presentations by best-selling authors Hank Phillippi Ryan and Deborah Goodrich Royce. The lineup also includes Robert Gwaltney, winner of the Georgia Author of the Year for best first novel, and Kim Conrey, named Georgia Author of the Year for Romance. The Carrollton Bookfest and Writer's Conference will host an array of national and local accomplished authors, providing attendees with a unique opportunity to learn, network, and celebrate the world of literature. Whether you're passionate about fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction, this event promises to be a valuable resource for writers at all stages of their journey. Fans of books are also warmly invited to immerse themselves in the literary atmosphere of this dynamic two-day event.QUICK LINK: https://www.carrolltonbookfest.com#georgiawriters #georgiaradio #carrolltonbookfest #carrolltonwritersguild #carrolltongaAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Elyse Wheeler, Helen Stein, and Stephanie Baldi of The Carrollton Writers Guild join Mike Brown to talk about the upcoming Carrollton BookFest on Saturday, March 25 at the Carrollton Center for the Arts. The event aims to promote and advance literature in Georgia. The keynote speaker will be Bren McClain, acclaimed author of “One Good Mama Bone” and winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction and the Patricia Winn Award for Southern Literature.For more information and online registration go to carrolltonbookfest.com.
Critically Acclaimed Southern Fiction Novelist Bren McClain joined me on Hodge Podge to talk about her fabulous award-winning debut novel, One Good Mama Bone. She talks about the inspiration behind her novel and offers wonderful advice for aspiring writers as well as her work in progress that has already earned the William Faulkner Novel-In-Progress Award.
On this very special bonus episode of The Writing Wall Podcast, we are talking to our Writer of the Week and author Bren McClain. Bren is a first-time award-winning novelist for her book titled One Good Mama Bone. Bren will also be here, in Alleghany County on Sept. 24th for the Alleghany Writers Third Annual Mountaintop Stop event this year. If you would like to know more or would like tickets to visit the Alleghany Writers website at www.alleghanywriters.com. Alleghany Writers is also on FaceBook, Instagram @alleghanywriters, and Twitter @AlleghanyWrites. Follow The Writing Wall on Twitter @TheWritingWall and on Instagram @writingsonthewall85 for announcements and information regarding the blog and podcast page. To visit the blog go to htts://hawkssn85.wixsite.com/thewritingwall/blog. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thewritingwall/support
“Fear is the major cargo that American writers must stow away when the writing life calls them into carefully chosen ranks.” –Pat Conroy Bren McClain is fearless in her writing life and in this season finale episode the acclaimed author of ‘One Good Mama Bone’ provides the perfect coda to our conversation in episode 11 - http://bookingauthorsink.com/literary-latte-s2e11-bren-mcclain/ Bren’s writing journey was not always an easy one and she poignantly shares the struggles and lessons learned on her way to publication. Bren considers herself a 27 year overnight success. She is honest about the realities of the ever-changing publishing landscape and she offers encouragement for every writer. Bren is the personification of grit and grace. In this episode she talks with me about the importance of never giving up. NEVER. The publication of ‘One Good Mama Bone’ changed her life. She calls it ‘the work of her heart.’ Great writing always finds its audience and her book reached a French publisher who embraced it, thought it was a tour de force and the French edition - ‘Mama Red’ - has just been released by Éditions Le Nouveau Pont. Bren never disappoints. Her novel explores the strengths and limitations of parental love and the healing power of the human-animal bond. It’s a story that has resonated with readers. The advice she shares in this episode will resonate with writers as well. http://www.brenmcclain.com __________________________________________________________ Last Sip – I’ve got some breaking news! This is my last podcast episode for a while. I am taking a hiatus to finish a couple of books I’ve been working on that have been simmering on the back burner far too long. It’s bitter-sweet just thinking about unplugging the microphone. This has been a labor of love, a magic carpet ride with memorable guests who brought salient advice, wisdom and humor to each episode. And I hope that as listeners - you’ve learned to think differently about your own writing lives. This isn’t the end, though, but rather a ‘stay tuned…’ So, in the meantime, if you need help and direction with your book marketing efforts please call on me – BOOKING AUTHORS INK specializes in publicity and marketing for Southern writers. Thanks so so much to all the super star authors who sat down with me to share their stories over the last 2 seasons. And especially to David & Kody who helped make it possible. Until we meet here again, keep writing & thank you for listening. Buy ‘One Good Mama Bone’ - https://tinyurl.com/buymamabone Listen to ‘Mama Red’ in French - https://tinyurl.com/mamared Buy it in French - https://tinyurl.com/frenchmamared Bren’s tribute to Pat Conroy - https://tinyurl.com/rememberpatconroy Discover more about your host & Booking Authors Ink – http://www.BookingAuthorsInk.com
A Secret is shared. A Story is born. Read the first paragraph of ‘One Good Mama Bone’ by Bren McClain and you’ll know why the late Pat Conroy wanted this stunning debut novel for his imprint (Story River Books). It’s Southern to the core. It’s about motherhood. It’s beautifully written. Bren’s writing is distinguished by a sophisticated and detailed portrayal of the day-to-day realities of rural poverty and an authentic sense of time and place that marks the best southern fiction. Award-winning novelist Bren McClain talks with Lynda about meeting Pat Conroy and how it changed her life. She shares the way this story came to her and how she eventually found the missing piece that made the story work. Bren explains the risk of keeping your characters ‘safe,’ and the way a teacher’s belief in her writing kept her on the path to completing her award winning novel, ‘One Good Mama Bone.’ ‘One Good Mama Bone’, was named a Great Group Reads 2017 Selection by the Women’s National Book Association, was chosen as a 2017 Okra pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance and is winner of the 2017 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction. Bren is at work on her next novel (working title: ‘Took’) which won the 2016 William Faulkner –William Wisdom Novel-in-Progress award. Bren was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina, on beef cattle and grain farm and now makes her home on 100 acres outside of Nashville, Tennessee. https://www.brenmcclain.com/ NOTE: Bren and Lynda kept the conversation going. Be sure and meet us back here in November. Bren is Literary Latte’s season finale’ guest. You won’t want to miss it. This Week’s Sponsors: McIntosh Book Shoppe Buy the Book : https://www.amazon.com/Good-Mama-Story-River-Books/dp/1611177464
Bren McClain is the author of the award-winning novel One Good Mama Bone. She and I met in 2018 in a project featuring our novels in a line-up of Southern fiction titles around the Southeastern United States. I hadn’t even read her book when we met, and I suspected she was someone special. Then I read her book. And her writing confirmed my suspicions. Bren’s writing talent is a force. She lives outside of Nashville, TN on a hundred-acre wood she calls “Peace of Soul Acres” and is currently working on her next novel Took. We talk about growing up in and leaving Anderson, S.C., her writing journey, and how her spirituality flows into her writing. She is a kind soul. A supportive soul. Hear what she has to say about One Good Mama Bone and her work in progress. I guarantee you’re going to end this episode needing to read her work. Subscribe to Southern Life Indian Wife where you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and TuneIn. Keep up to date with the podcast and my upcoming book news by following me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! And…email me at sherylparbhoo@gmail.com to order a signed copy of my book The Unexpected Daughter. To learn more about Bren McClain and her award-winning novel One Good Mama Bone, find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and at her website. Support the show.
We sit down with Bren McClain to talk about her novel "One Good Mama Bone," the creative process, & deepening characters.
Robert Grillo spent 20 years in the food industry and shares its workings firsthand in Farm to Fable: The Fictions of Our Animal-Consuming Culture; and Bren McClain has written a poignant novel set against the backdrop of 4-H and a mother cow who mentors a mother human.
Once in a while, a novel comes along that is just extraordinary, in the best sense of that word. Bren McClain’s One Good Mama Bone (Story River Books, 2017) falls into this category. In little more than 250 pages, McClain brings to life in spare but lyrical prose an unforgettable cast of characters struggling with poverty, family, and reputation against the backdrop of the early 1950s rural US South. Perhaps her most remarkable creation is Mama Red, a cow near the end of her useful life whose dedication to her calf becomes a symbol of mother love. In the summer of 1944, Sarah Creamer helps her best friend deliver a child fathered by Sarah’s own husband. Out of fear and shame, her best friend kills herself shortly after the birth, leaving Sarah and her husband to raise the boy, whom they name Emerson Bridge. Over the next seven years Sarah’s husband drinks himself to death, at which point Sarah inherits a farm mortgaged to the hilt and a child she can’t afford to feed and fears that she doesn’t know how to love. Her sole talent is dressmaking, but times are tough throughout rural South Carolina and the bills continue to mount. When she comes across a newspaper article celebrating a local boy who earned $680 for his champion steer, she purchases a calf on credit from a local farmer and enters Emerson Bridge in the next years championship. But the calf belongs to Mama Red, who breaks out of her corral and follows her baby to Sarah’s farm. Watching cow and calf activates the mama bone that Sarah’s own mother insisted Sarah did not have. Only then do she and Emerson Bridge discover what happens to the cattle when the championship ends. Love and respect clash with need, and Sarah and Emerson Bridge must decide whether the costs of success are too high. C. P. Lesley is the author of six novels, including Legends of the Five Directions (The Golden Lynx, The Winged Horse, and The Swan Princess), a historical fiction series set in 1530s Russia, during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible. Find out more about her at http://www.cplesley.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Once in a while, a novel comes along that is just extraordinary, in the best sense of that word. Bren McClain’s One Good Mama Bone (Story River Books, 2017) falls into this category. In little more than 250 pages, McClain brings to life in spare but lyrical prose an unforgettable cast of characters struggling with poverty, family, and reputation against the backdrop of the early 1950s rural US South. Perhaps her most remarkable creation is Mama Red, a cow near the end of her useful life whose dedication to her calf becomes a symbol of mother love. In the summer of 1944, Sarah Creamer helps her best friend deliver a child fathered by Sarah’s own husband. Out of fear and shame, her best friend kills herself shortly after the birth, leaving Sarah and her husband to raise the boy, whom they name Emerson Bridge. Over the next seven years Sarah’s husband drinks himself to death, at which point Sarah inherits a farm mortgaged to the hilt and a child she can’t afford to feed and fears that she doesn’t know how to love. Her sole talent is dressmaking, but times are tough throughout rural South Carolina and the bills continue to mount. When she comes across a newspaper article celebrating a local boy who earned $680 for his champion steer, she purchases a calf on credit from a local farmer and enters Emerson Bridge in the next years championship. But the calf belongs to Mama Red, who breaks out of her corral and follows her baby to Sarah’s farm. Watching cow and calf activates the mama bone that Sarah’s own mother insisted Sarah did not have. Only then do she and Emerson Bridge discover what happens to the cattle when the championship ends. Love and respect clash with need, and Sarah and Emerson Bridge must decide whether the costs of success are too high. C. P. Lesley is the author of six novels, including Legends of the Five Directions (The Golden Lynx, The Winged Horse, and The Swan Princess), a historical fiction series set in 1530s Russia, during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible. Find out more about her at http://www.cplesley.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices