![\"Scop\"](\"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Scop1.jpg\")
<\/a>Long before the age of books, radio, television, YouTube, and Kindle, the public house served as the center of entertainment, the place where people heard the great storytellers of their age, fantasists who sang tales of heroes and monsters, gods and demons. No doubt, if the ancient scops were alive today, they\u2019d be writing fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In this way, the genre writers of the 21st century are the heir apparents to the ancient scops.<\/p>\nLater this month, Riley\u2019s Pour House<\/a> will rekindle that timeless tradition by playing host to some of the region\u2019s most accomplished genre authors (and a few up-and-coming stars) when it hosts Writers on Writing<\/a>, an evening of stories about the writing life. The event is set for 8:00 PM on May 27 and will feature four-time Bram Stoker Award<\/a> winner Michael A. Arnzen<\/a>, Stoker finalist Stephanie M. Wytovich<\/a>, Drue Heinz Literature Prize<\/a> winner Randall Silvis<\/a>, early\u00a0WYEP <\/a>program director Joe Coluccio, and others.<\/p>\n Some of the writers scheduled to present at the event are contributors to Many Genres One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction<\/i><\/a>, the multi-award winning book on genre writing edited by Heidi Rubi-Miller<\/a> and Michael A. Arnzen<\/a>. Others are associated with the Writing Popular Fiction<\/a> program at Seton Hill University and WorD<\/a>, the highly-regarded writing group founded by Diane Turnshek<\/a> and currently chaired by Karen Yun-Lutz and Kevin M. Hayes (all of whom will be presenting at the event).<\/p>\n The venue, Riley\u2019s Pour House<\/a>, was recently named Best Irish Pub in Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh Magazine<\/em>, and the owners \u2013 Jim and Cheryl Riley<\/a> \u2013 have been honored by Irish Echo<\/a> for their efforts in bringing Irish hospitality to the Pittsburgh region. In all, the Pour House\u2019s Celtic flavor makes it the perfect venue for a gathering of 21st-Century Scops. If the Beowulf poet were alive today, he\u2019d probably be appearing regularly at the Pour House.<\/p>\n Clearly, if you\u2019re at all interested in writing, you owe it to yourself to make this event.<\/p>\n In the weeks running up to Writers on Writing @ Riley\u2019s<\/a>, I\u2019ll be posting a series of profiles on the presenting authors.<\/p>\n Look for the first profile soon, and, if you find yourself sharing my excitement for this event, be sure to circle May 27 on your calendar.<\/p>\n When the scops descend on Riley\u2019s, you\u2019ll want to be there.<\/p>\n Long before the age of books, radio, television, YouTube, and Kindle, the public house served as the center of entertainment, the place where people heard the great storytellers of their age, fantasists who sang tales of heroes and monsters, gods and demons. No doubt, if the ancient scops were alive today, they\u2019d be writing fantasy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-cat-21st-centuryscop","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-21st-centuryscop"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/a>In the spirit of the ancient tradition, most of the writers presenting at the event will not be reading their works. Instead, they will be telling tales related to the writing life. Think Moth Radio Hour<\/a> with a genre twist.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Bram Stoker Award finalist Lawrence C. Connolly (the 21st-Century Scop) is the author of the Veins Cycle books, the first of which, <\/em>Veins <\/a>(2008), has just been released for the first time in a special Kindle <\/a>edition (complete with the original illustrations) from Fantasist Enterprises<\/a>. \u00a0The third book in the series, <\/em>Vortex<\/a>, (with illustrations by Rhonda Libbey<\/a>) will debut in print and ebook on July 1.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"