Kathleen S. Burgess

The Southern Ohio Writers and Readers Collaborative, SOWriters for short, is a writers’ critique group which, in true social media form, accepts members online through several different websites. The group began meeting in 2013 at local restaurants, book stores, and the Ross County Library until SOWriters was approached in mid-2015 by volunteers at the Pump House Center for the Arts offering to hold their meetings there.

    SOWriters, which is now led by Debra Gaskill, a childhood Chillicothe resident and former newspaper editor, draws its membership from nine Southern Ohio counties, as far north as Columbus and as far west as Yellow Springs. Members come from a number of different backgrounds and work in a number of different genres, including mystery, romance, science fiction, poetry, essays, fantasy and fan fiction. While some are published, both in traditional and independent ways, some write strictly for their own enjoyment. 

    The main thrust of the group, however, is for writers to receive actionable critiques for their work. No one is allowed to denigrate another’s work; only positive critiques and methods of improving one’s writing are allowed. At the same time, no one is allowed to just say, “Yeah, it was great. I liked it.” 

    Members are encouraged to submit their manuscripts a week before the meeting date, and then encouraged to bring their critiques of those manuscripts to the meeting—and expected to check their ego at the door because no matter what someone’s education level is or how often they have been published, all can learn from each other. 

    The group published its first free eBook anthology, called THE GIFT, in 2015 across several online platforms as a thank you to the community which has embraced it and welcomed it. “Surviving Christmas”continues that tradition with a new collection of works by the SoWriters.

    The group hopes you enjoy their work and hopes your holidays are happy.