Our History

For decades Indiana has been known for its grain and steel. Although the area is indeed proud of these contributions to the nation and the world, others need to also be aware that Indiana has even more to offer: its literary and writing talents.

It was because of the abundance of writing talent in the area and the magnitude of novice writers seeking help and encouragement, that Write-On, Hoosiers, Inc. was founded in 1989 by Sharon Palmeri.  Palmeri, who holds a B.Sc. Degree in Education, English/journalism, has had a diverse background as freelance writer and poet, newspaper correspondent and licensed educator.

The seed for Write-On, Hoosiers was planted while Palmeri was working as a adjunct lecturer of Creative Writing and Writing for Magazines and Newspapers at Purdue University Calumet, and for the Merrillville Adult Education program. She found that several of her students expressed a desire to continue to polish their work and continue writing long after the completion of the class-- thus creating the ten founding members of Write-On, Hoosiers.

In 1990, after one year of bi- weekly meetings at area libraries in which members wrote, read, critiqued, and honed their pieces of writing, Palmeri realized that the work of the (then fifteen) W.O.H. members was too good to have such a small audience. She planned and laid the groundwork for an annual literary magazine to begin the following year.

In the winter of 1991 the premiere issue of Hoosier Horizon literary magazine was published, primarily from club member donations. Complimentary copies were distributed to libraries, universities, and businesses.

By 1992 W.O.H.'s membership had more than doubled. Officers were voted in and bylaws were established for the thirty-four members. The organization gained corporate status.

In addition W.O.H. began reaching out to writers in surrounding communities. Conferences and workshops were held at area libraries and were open to the public. National and internationally published writers were invited to the area to share their experiences and expertise on all genres of the writing and publishing trade.

The first Hoosier Horizon Writing Contest was also started in 1992. The contest, open only to adult nonmembers, encouraged writers to submit entries in four areas: fiction, non fiction, poetry, and children's stories. Winners were honored at an award's night banquet and also published in Hoosier Horizon magazine.

A Hoosier Horizon Photography Contest was also launched in '92, encouraging novice photographers to submit photographs with a northwest Indiana theme. The winning photo was displayed on the magazine cover. Runners up were published in a "runners up" section.

The year 1993 brought even more challenges. A "Journal Chapter" was started in Munster. Ten members met once a month for a year and shared journal writing techniques and the writing of personal experience essays.

During the year W.O.H. also became active in a national program for the blind. They read their stories and poems on tape to add to the Lake County Library's "Audio Books for the Blind".

In addition, the 1993 Hoosier Horizon Children's Contest was piloted. Several members took time off work to go into Porter Lakes Elementary school to talk about poetry with pupils in kindergarten through 6th grade and to promote the contest. In December the premiere issue of Hoosier Horizon Children's magazine was unveiled, containing the poems of all winners.

Simultaneously the original Hoosier Horizon magazine was offered for sale in area bookstores and markets to help to subsidize the children's magazine. W.O.H seemed to be branching out in all directions and constantly in need of funding. It had by then grown to forty-five members Donations kept coming in. Members started a yearly fund to be allocated for small monetary prizes to be given (in addition to plaques and certificates) to contest winners at the awards banquet.

In 1994 W.O.H. achieved tax-exempt status from the federal government and the State of Indiana. The children's contest reached out to sixteen schools in Lake and Porter Counties.

Winners not only were published in the magazine but appeared in the Post Tribune, the Times newspaper, and on WYIN channel 56 Television.

In addition W.O.H again forged ahead to the Munster, Griffith, Highland, and Schererville area when a new Westlake chapter was started. Membership soared to a total of sixty members between all chapters. Mr. Quick Print donated a used photocopier to the organization to help defray copier costs.

By 1995, our Hoosier Horizon Children's Contest had mushroomed to 28 schools in Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties. The Children's Award Night has filled all the Lake County

Reference Library's meeting rooms with nearly 200 children, parents and teachers. W.O.H. has reached out to young adults (12-18 yr.) as well as adults in its other Hoosier Horizon contest. Entries for young adults are judged and awarded separate from adults in areas of fiction, non fiction and poetry.

By 1996 Write-On, Hoosiers had come a long way since the forty page pilot Hoosier Horizon manuscript was sent to the printer "camera ready" in 1991. They published two magazines, the adult/young adult magazine that has increased to seventy-four pages, and a children's magazine, which had nearly doubled in size. Magazine contest winners came from all over Indiana to attend the awards night banquet.

By 1997 Write-on Hoosiers had grown so fast that the members who volunteered their time had trouble keeping up with the pace, and found little time to write on their own, so many of  the organization’s burned out  members took a break from helping others, and took the time once again to write for themselves. Sharon Palmeri continued with Write on Hoosier’s and  scaled it down temporarily to focus on children.

The 1998 Hoosier Horizon Children's Contest had entries from 34 schools in Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties. The Children's Award Night once again filled all the Lake County Reference Library's meeting rooms...this time beyond full capacity.

THE MILLENNIUM

This year (2000) has been a year of strategic planning for the Millennium. W.O.H is in the process of constructing a Write-On,Hoosier Web site. Once again the Hoosier Horizon Children’s Contest was held, but this time had nearly 1200 entries from over 40 schools and spanned four (Lake, Porter, LaPorte and Starke) counties. There will also be a Millennium edition of Hoosier Horizon Children's Magazine published in late fall. Plans for a monthly “sharing group”  will be solidify and start in the fall or in 2001.

2001

A new writers support group for adults was started in January at the Merrillville library. The new web site will hope to be taking  e-mail submissions for an on-line magazine by late Summer or Fall for men, women, young adults, and teenagers.

2002

Write-On Hoosiers, Inc.  become an affiliate of the National Writers Association (NWA) in September, while our local membership continues to grow-- more than doubled that of last year.

2003

Write-on Hoosiers became an affiliate of Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN) in August.  Membership rose to 33 members with several members publishing books.

2004

More than half of our group were working on writing novels and memoirs . Several members had already published and successfully sold their books.  Others were published in articles in magazines and anthologies. Discussion began on having a writers mini conference in 2005.

2005

WOH had their own Sunday column in the Post Tribune called “The Writer’s  Palette” from January till June. In June WOH sponsored a half day mini conference called  “The Write Passage” where several of our published members discussed  various writing genres and publishing.  William Buckley, a IUN  professor gave the keynote address. There was table areas where any  writers could  promote and sell their books.

THE FUTURE

We hope to plan and implement poetry readings and writing workshops and  lectures.

The media has been very supportive to the organization. W.O.H. has had many interviews on radio, TV, and in local newspapers at which time the organization's goals were discussed.

The donations, from the many dedicated members of Write-On, Hoosiers, Inc. and our outside supporters, must be commended for their monetary efforts, faith and dedication  to assist Write-On, Hoosiers help others.  WOH has indeed developed a heartbeat of its own that is growing stronger each year.