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Omaha Pen Women

is a "sisterhood of talented women who are dedicated to their craft and to sharing their passion for arts with others," a goal shared with the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW).

More About Us

The Omaha organization is a member of the national organization NLAPW. Omaha members may belong to the local organizition only or to both local and national.
Why Become a Pen Woman?
Benefits of (National) Membership
How to Join including Who is Eligible

2024 Celebration of Creative Women

Omaha Pen Women has a membership luncheon meeting every fourth Saturday of the month except for November, December, and April. All members (and guests) are welcome! In 2025, we will be meeting at noon here: Sand Point at 655 N. 114th St. (east side of 114th, Miracle Hills)

Upcoming Speakers for 2025:

June 28, Angela Chaney, co-owner of Pixel Fire Marketing and an online marketing expert, will present on developing a strong digital marketing strategy for your creative work. Angela says “My true love is fiction writing. I have had a play produced at Temple Theatre at UNL, self-published a cozy mystery on Amazon, and am currently shopping around a Young Adult dystopian book and a Middle Grade book to agents and publishers. I've also done a wide variety of other creative projects such as writing for two storytelling text apps and several collaborative fiction projects.“

July 26: Jen Stastny or someone from Nebraska Warrior Writers, will discuss their work and mission "to create a culture that articulates veterans’ experiences, build a collaborative community for artistic expression, and bear witness to war and the full range of military experiences."

August 23: Stu Burns is the managing editor of Stevens Creek Press. A former Regents Fellow at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, he has studied history, folklore, and literature at three of the eighteen Big-Ten universities. His presentaion is titled "Willa Cather's Early Stories: How a Book Came to Be."

September 27: Dr. Ann B. Hodgson is a distinguished wildlife biologist and Professional Wetland Scientist whose career is defined by her commitment to ecological research, conservation, and education. She talks to Pen Womwn on "Developing the Second Florida Breeding Bird Atlas: An Editor's Challenge."

October 25: Diane Murphy is an artist known for her botanical art, particularly her focus on the structure, growth, and seasonal changes in nature. She has exhibited widely, including winning the Nebraska State Arboretum Botanical Competition in 1999 and 2000. She will talk with us about a Japanese art process. PLEASE NOTE BELOW A CHANGE OF VENUE.

MORE ABOUT OCTOBER 25: For our last meeting of 2025, we have a treat! Matt Mason, Nebraska poet laureate (2019-2024) will present a workshop for us that focuses on writing skills for all forms of writing. This will precede our October 25th meeting, 9-11:30 am. The workshop description:

Poetic Storytelling:

Poetry is one of the original forms of storytelling, with traditions going back thousands of years.
In this workshop for all forms of writing, we'll stress:

*How to create emotional impact through imagery and metaphor.
*How a focus on the sound and rhythm of your writing can accentuate meaning and impact.

By the end of this workshop, you may have the first draft of a publishable poem or prose piece.

The workshop AND the luncheon meeting in October will be at the Camelot Community Center, (9270 Cady Ave, Omaha) and the luncheon will be a provided box lunch at each person’s cost. Diane Murphy will be presenting about an important Japanese art form at that location during the luncheon.
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FOR THE WORKSHOP, the 2025-26 members' cost will be $20. At a later date, it will be opened to non-members at $30 if we have seats remaining. As soon as a few more details are ironed out, the registration form will be online and linked to this webpage. We will notify you when all details are ready (deadlines, box lunch cost, etc) and registration is open.

November and December: no luncheon meetings.

Recent Speakers:

On May 24, we enjoyed Rhonda Hall's presentataion "Gender Bender: Do You Write Like a Man or a Woman and How to Tell the Difference."

March 22 was Juli-Ann Gasper, owner of ImagineLife Gallery and Studio in Omaha and author of Way Up North Where the Kittiwakes Play: An A to Z Alphabet Book for Child and Adult with over 200 scientific vocabulary terms!

February 22 we enjoyed Carla Ketner, owner of Chapters Books and Gifts in Seward, and author of Ted Kooser: More than a Local Wonder a children's book and illustrator Paula Wallace, an Omaha artist.

Our January 25 speaker was Jeanne Reames, Ph.D., "Worldbuilding in Historical Fiction" Website. She is a "mother, writer, history professor, Homer fangirl and Alexander the Great geek," author of Dancing with the Lion.

Our October 26 speaker was Omaha Pen Women member Susan Baron, writer and history sleuth. 'Crossing the Wide Missouri,' the story of a bridge that almost didn't get built.

On September 28, our speaker was Anna Monardo. Anna is an American novelist of the Italian-American experience. Originally from Pittsburgh, she graduated from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana and received her M.F.A. from Columbia University. She has published several highly acclaimed novels. She recently retired from teaching in the Writer's Workshop at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

2023 Celebration of Creative Women