Hannah Kozak is an award-winning photographer and a former Hollywood stuntwoman who tells stories through her pictures. She creates psychological and autobiographical photographs. Her work has been exhibited widely from Berlin, to Málaga and Barcelona, Spain. Her subjects are the people and places that touch her emotionally. She has been photographing people and places for four decades. Photography has the power to heal and help us through difficult periods, something Hannah Kozak knows firsthand from personal experience.

Her book, “He Threw the Last Punch Too Hard,” tells the story of her mother, whose physical abuse by her boyfriend left her with permanent brain damage. Since 2009, Hannah has followed her harrowing journey, and this book is their story. A story that could inspire other women to leave an abusive relationship before it’s too late. Her solo show “Survivor: My Father’s Ghosts” retraced her father’s footsteps to the eight Nazi forced labor camps he survived, premiered at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust in 2018.

For nearly twenty-five years, Hannah’s work as a stuntwoman provided the opportunity to work with notable directors such as Michael Cimino, David Lynch, Mike Nichols, Tim Burton and Michael Bay.  She worked as a stunt double for celebrated stars like Cher, Angelina Jolie, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Isabella Rossellini.  On every set, Hannah took her camera to work, capturing candid, behind-the-scene pictures that penetrated the illusion of Hollywood magic.

Hannah has turned the camera on herself, her life, and her world. She continues to look for those things that feel honest and real, using her camera as a means of exploring feelings and emotions. After decades of standing in for someone else, she is now in control of her destiny and vision.

Get ready to immerse yourself in a literary extravaganza like no other! Our festival, nestled in historic downtown Pensacola, is a haven for book enthusiasts of all ages. Join us for a day brimming with activities that celebrate the magic of storytelling and the written word.

Meet acclaimed authors and discover new literary treasures at our author signings and book vendor booths. Delve into the world of literature with free presentations by bestselling, regional, and international authors, offering insights and inspiration. Our Kids Area is for young imaginations, featuring activities such as writing your own poetry, crafting personalized bookmarks, and gathering around to hear captivating children's stories and readings from our youth authors. Unleash your creativity with our Photo Prompt Poetry contest and Haiku slam, or mingle with costumed characters for a touch of whimsy. 

With so much to explore and enjoy, Books By the Bay Festival promises a day filled with enchantment and literary delights. 

Join us and let your imagination set sail!

Join your fellow ECW members for the induction ceremony for Asia Samson, our new Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida. The event will take place Friday, March 22, 6:30-8:30 pm, at the Pensacola Museum of Art,  407 S Jefferson St, Pensacola, FL 32502.

Members can also meet many of our featured Books By the Bay Festival speakers.

This event is sponsored by ECW and Raven Cliffs Publishing.

Toby Dorr will join us in March. 

Toby Dorrdared the unthinkable. She broke a convicted murderer out of Lansing Correctional Facility. Since completing her time in Federal Prison, she has achieved two master’s degrees and rebuilt a broken life. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Anderson Cooper, Brooke Baldwin, Inside Edition, The Atlantic, and Dateline, she is a regular guest on podcasts, including the nationally-ranked podcast Criminal. A screenplay of her story is in the works, and the Lifetime movie based on her story, Jailbreak Lovers, was released in July of 2022.

Through her memoir, Living with Conviction, Dorr takes readers through all the heart-pounding, tear-jerking, heartbreaking, eye-opening experiences that touch the most primal human need: the need to be significant. A fascinating prison tale, through the lens of love, inspires change.

Her story is a lesson in perspective. Instead of focusing on everything she lost, Dorr made a conscious choice to use her twenty-seven months in prison as a period to reflect on her life, heal emotional wounds, plot a course for the future, and embrace the sisterhood of women she encountered behind bars. Filled with drama, action, adventure, heartache, and redemption, Dorr bears her soul and tells a story of heartbreak, courage, grace, and transformation. And today, Dorr advocates for prison reform and reintegration programs.

On November 21st, Emerald Coast Writers will hold our Monthly Meeting and Open Mic beginning at 6:00 pm with our guest speaker scheduled for 6:30 pm. Open mic will follow thereafter.

Join your fellow ECW members for our monthly meeting and open mic. Our guest speaker in November is Eva Hnizdo. Eva was born in Prague, Czech Republic. She defected from Communist Czechoslovakia in 1986 and obtained political asylum in the UK. She became a general practitioner and worked for the National Health Service. She is now retired.

Eva’s book, Why Didn’t They Leave, published in 2021, is a family saga of a Czech Jewish family from 1939 to 2006. The book is about the Holocaust, the communist regime, and life in Central Europe in the 20th century, but it is also mainly about emigration. Why do people leave, and why do they stay? What happened to them?

The event at the Clark Family Cultural Center, downtown Pensacola, will be in-person and on Zoom (a link to be sent to all members).

On October 17th, Emerald Coast Writers will hold our Monthly Meeting and Open Mic beginning at 6:00 pm with our guest speaker scheduled for 6:30 pm. Open mic will follow thereafter.

Join your fellow ECW members for our monthly meeting and open mic. Our guest speaker in October is Antoinette Truglio Martin, New York. She is an Award-winning Author whose genre is Middle Grade Historical Fiction.

Antoinette Truglio Martin is a children’s book author, memoirist, and blogger. Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer (She Writes Press 2017), chronicles her first year battling breast cancer as a wimpy patient. Becoming America’s Stories (Red Penguin Books), a middle-grade historical fiction series, debuted in 2020. The award-winning three-book series includes The Heart of Bakers and Artists (formally titled Daily Bread), The Dreams of Singers and Sluggers, and The Wishes of Sisters and Strangers.

Purple Butterfly Press republished Antoinette's beloved picture book, Famous Seaweed Soup, in May 2023. This new edition features updated content and new illustrations by Penny Weber.

Antoinette  proudly holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Stony  Brook/Southampton University. As a retired educator, she now conducts  author visits in the schools and professional development seminars for  teachers. Be sure to visit her website and blog, Stories Served Around The Table. She lives on Long Island, surrounded by the sea and the people they love.

The event at the Clark Family Cultural Center, downtown Pensacola, will be in-person and on Zoom (a link to be sent to all members).

Area writers will read excerpts  from their works while photographers and artists display their creations  appearing in the 22nd volume of the Emerald Coast Review at a book  launch. The public is invited to the free event hosted by Emerald Coast  Writers, Sunday, Oct. 15 from 3-5 p.m. at Quayside Gallery, 17 Zaragoza  St., downtown Pensacola.

We want to thank Quayside Gallery for their support and the kind donation of space for this event.

The anthology, published biennially  since 1989 by Emerald Coast Writers (formerly West Florida Literary Federation), features quality fiction, nonfiction, poetry, contemporary, emerging, and experimental works along with the best of art, graphic design and photography from 75 area writers and artists living along  coastal Florida and Alabama. The 298-page book cover features “First  Light,” a coastal-themed oil painting by William Polley of Santa Rosa  Beach. 

Also included in the book are the photographs and the  accompanying inspired writings from winners of “Every Picture Tells A  Story,” a collaborative contest between Pensacola’s Wide Angle Photo  Club and Emerald Coast Writers.

On September 19, Lisa Bournelis will serve as the guest speaker at the ECW Open Mic. Lisa Bournelis is an internationally accredited change management practitioner working for one of Canada’s largest health authorities. Prior to becoming a transformation specialist, Lisa worked as a humanitarian aid worker for the United Nations and several NGOs – serving in the Balkans, in central and east Africa and in Afghanistan. 

Passionate about leading compassionately through the complexities of change, Lisa began a blog and podcast on applying change management methodology in one’s personal life. It was during this time, that she authored “Louie and the Dictator” – an uplifting middle grade novella inspired by her son’s experiences with OCD during the pandemic. Link to Lisa's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_bournelis_3_questions_to_change_your_life

Every Picture Tells a Story:Emerald Coast Writers and Wide Angle Photo Club Joint Event Date: Sept. 11, 6 p.m. Location: Asbury Place at Cokesbury Church, 750 College Blvd., Pensacola, Florida Come view the photographs and listen to the accompanying prose pieces at the Every Picture Tells A Story Event, hosted by Wide Angle Photo Club.

Details: 1) Members of WAPC interested in having a story written about their photo will post photos directly to the Every Picture Tells a Story Facebook Album posted on the WAPC Facebook page. Photos can also be submitted by email to Yvonne Lashmett at DgoPhotographer@gmail.com who will add them to the FB album. (These ARE public so feel free to add your watermark.) These must be submitted no later than July 1. 2) ECW writers will then choose one photo from the album to inspire or prompt a short story, poem, haiku, narrative, flash fiction, or other short work, limited to 400 words. Writers must either mark in the comments that they have claimed this photo or let Yvonne know and she will mark it as ‘claimed’. Writers must submit their written piece to Tonya no later than August 11. (Yvonne and Tonya contact info below) 3) Photographers whose photos were chosen will have a print made, no smaller than 8x10. The writer will make a print of a suitable size based on word numbers, no smaller than 8x10. The combined works will then be shared at the September 11th monthly meeting of the Wide Angle Photography club at Asbury Place off 9th Ave (behind the Cokesbury Church). Prior to the Sept. 11 event, a panel of 4 judges comprised of two WAPC members and two ECW members, will choose ten pieces to be read out loud at the meeting. The Photo will be digitally displayed on the screen while the author reads their words to tell their story of the photo. However, ALL submissions will be on display at the meeting and will be eligible for entry in the people’s choice awards by attendees (details TBD). Selected entries will be published in the Emerald Coast Review. Writers and Photographers can work out something together on their own if they’d like their own ‘keepsake’ story/photo artwork! Submission Deadlines: Photographers: July 1, 2023 Writers: August 11, 2023 Reception: WAPC monthly meeting on September 11, 6:30pm Questions? Writers may contact Tonya at 603-969-9775 or connect@linkingperspectives.com