Omaha Pen Womenis 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).
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2024 Celebration of Creative Women
Omaha Pen Women has a membership luncheon meeting every fourth Saturday of the month except for April, November, and December. All members (and guests) are welcome! Please respond to the email of invitation so that we have a count. LOCATION UPDATE: Sandpoint is closing in mid-January, so we are looking for a new lunch venue. For January 24, we will have lunch at Spezia. Stay tuned for the rest of the year.
Upcoming Speakers for 2026:
January 24: Fletcher Reel, author and former Missouri Valley Mayor. His historical novel, Omaha: Monsignor Wm. T. Roach's Recollections of Father Flanagan and the Sporting District, is set in early 20th-century OmahaFebruary 28: Todd Samland, Samland Stained Glass, artist. Todd has been working with stained glass for more than 40 years. It started as a few window panels for family members, then grew into commission projects. See his work on facebook.
March 28: Margie Lukas, author. Margaret Lukas taught writing for over a decade at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She received her MFA from Rainier Writing Workshop in Tacoma, Washington. Her 'short' movie premiered at Cannes Film Festival. She is the author of short stories, her writings appear in numerous anthologies, and her fourth novel--Spirits Do Not Rest: Heartbreak at Wounded Knee--was recently released. She has received numerous awards, including a Nebraska Arts Council Fellowship Award and an international High Plains Book Award. You can find her at https://margaretlukas.com/about-author-margaret-lukas/
Recent Speakers:
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 following lunch about a fascinating Japanese art process. PLEASE NOTE BELOW A CHANGE OF VENUE.
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. Ann says, "I will talk about the breeding bird atlas publication I'm leading. There are at least 35 published and ongoing Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) projects across the United States. These projects, often involving citizen scientists, systematically survey bird species, their abundance, and distribution within a specific region or state, and the data help track changes in bird populations over time, which is useful for informing bird conservation programs. Her title is Developing the Second Florida Breeding Bird Atlas: An Editor's Challenge."
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."
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."
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."
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