2016 was no doubt a wonderful year for us here at The Write Place, and of course, that wouldn't have been possible without each and every one of you reading this now. The year saw a 'failed attempt at a book club' grow into a profile with more than 1K followers in about 6 months of reopening and we can't say just how excited we are with the Watt-munity's support so far.

This Block Party, we'd like to share our 2016 In View.

REOPENING

Birthed from an urge to reach out to emerging writers across the Wattpad Community, The Write Place reopened in May 2016 with a handful of graphics and a notepad filled with plans and schedules scribbled in a mix of pen and pencil. To get things started, The Journal was launched- a place which weekly features "well planned activities setup to keep everyone engaged"- typically updated at least 4 times a week. To this day, The Journal has gathered over 11K views and has become a one stop center for folks looking to hone their writing skills.

From its inception, The Journal has featured 16 Monday #GetInspiredwriting tips, 10 book reviews and 17 Thursday #Hangout sessions with some of Wattpad's finest writers including Bestselling author Apryl Baker of The Ghost Files fame(optioned for movie adaptation) and had peaked at No. 9 on the Non-Fiction Hotlist.

SUMMERCON 2016 

As writers, the importance of conferences, retreats, workshops and other similar settings can't be overemphasizd. It's often a great avenue to meet a host of other writers and potential readers alike and also to improve in the art of storytelling.

A major setback however is the cost of attending these events, like the LonCon and NYCon- and forthcoming CanadaCon. Inspired by this, we thought it fair to host one of the likes but at a venue where everyone could attend without having to pay for hotel reservations or flight tickets. What better avenue could there be than Wattpad.

The SummerCon featured 15 prolific Wattpad writers including NYT Bestselling author, Taran Matharu and Wattpad 'Superstar' Rebecca Sky and was held from July 25-29, 2016. The event successfully combined the fun factor of Kelly Anne Blount's Wattpad Block Party and the professionalism of the LonCon and NYCon.

The SummerCon which was set around the theme Writing better, Publishing and The Wattmunity was a major milestone for us in 2016, peaking at No. 1 on the Non-Fiction Hotlist in just one week. Now beat that!!!

SHARING NIGHTMARES ANTHOLOGY

If there's anything we're proud of, it's working with some of Wattpad's best authors to help achieve our goals of reaching out to the Wattmunity and the Sharing Nightmares anthology was no short of that. Throwing open the door to submission of applications on August 15, the excitement officially began with a promise to thrill Wattpad readers all October long...and that we did.

Teaming up with 4 of Wattpad's finest 'thrill weavers', 15 authors were selected to be published in the Sharing Nightmares anthology. We're proud to say that 5 of our participating authors have gone on to become a Top 100 pick in the TNT Horror Contest, 4 of which made it to the Top 35 and 2-including the Sharing Nightmares inspired story, Darla by Tammy Oja- progressed to the Top 10 Horror Story finalists.

If a good spine-chillingread is what you like, and you're willing to face your fears, be our guest andjoin us in Sharing Nightmares.

THE WRITE GANG

The Write Place is blessed to have a team of creative and enthusiastic people all driven by a common goal. Today, we officially unveil the amazing folks behind The Write Place.

Lexie Corner (@miss-gatsby)

In our first week of reopening, we caught Lexie's attention and it was exciting have her offer to be a part of the team following her #Hangout Session after coming 2nd place in the @The_Night_Shift Contest.

Lexie is the author of "The Phoenix Pharaoh: Rise From the Ashes", a fantasy book whose beautiful prose style and layered storyline has caught the heart of many lovers of the genre. She helps with the general maintenance of the profile, picking up any slack in schedule and more often, contributing in the Monday #GetInspired sessions with her "5 tips.."

Tamanna (@tamaska01)

Following the fall back of our temporary book reviewers, we sought the need for more dedicated hands to join in and after a careful selection process, we gladly welcomed the skillful Tamanna to the gang.

Tamanna currently curates reviews for the #TuesdayPost and is always on the lookout for new and brilliant Wattpad books to show to the world.

You just might want to pitch your work to her ;)

Sarah Royal (@royal888)

It's not everyday you run into a Superfan of your work. Well the day Sarah came across us would always be a memorable one. After winning our giveaway in the Wattpad Block Party-Summer Edition II, Sarah decided to join in the gang and we sure couldn't say no.

She primarily runs our Twitter profile (@TheWritePlace) and does occasional book reviews.

There you go! The official Write Gang-the amazing team that's served you in the past 6 months and counting.

Okay wait! There's one more...

Gabriel Pope (@Gabriel_Pope)

In an attempt to give back the little he could and help out striving emerging writers like himself on the Wattpad Community, Gabe thought it smart to create a peculiar centre where a similar calibre of people could share ideas and help one another out. And then came The Write Place-originally started as a book club which never survived past registration stage.

Gabriel helps in running the page and seeing that everything is in check, chipping in his two cents wherever seems lacking on the page.

And there you go! The official Write Gang-the amazing team that's served you in the past 6 months and counting.

THIS2017

This year, we have a number of 'trailblazing' activities lined up to tingle everyone's senses from our Wattpad modeled 'Book club' to exciting Contests which aim at bridging the gap between Wattpad's next sensation and potential Superfan and of course this year's SummerCon--brace yourself for our line-up.

P.S- We have a PSA to share, coming from a new brand on Wattpad, @WeArePeople_Stories

Everybody has a story to tell, and many of our stories can help others understand they're not alone. "We Are People" invites you to share your story with others.

This is an ongoing project, so there will never be deadlines for anyone who wishes to write their story.

You can write as many stories as you'd like about true events that have happened to you, such as—but not limited to—topics like depression, disabilities, bullying, LGBTQ+, racism, poverty, etc.

Your stories should be 5,000 words or under.

You can choose to have your story authored under your name, a pen name, or you can remain anonymous.

All stories you want to dedicate to this project must be written in English and emailed to [email protected]

The goal is to collect a variety of stories in order to eliminate the boundaries of society that separate people. In this project, your gender identity, race, sexuality, disabilities, and everything else that makes you who you are will not set you apart from anyone else because we all are people.

To help eliminate society's boundaries, we ask that you share your story. The more people who volunteer, the more variety and representation we'll have.

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And that's about it folks, be sure to drop by our profile for all the fun things we're engaged in.

We're always open so please do feel free to drop by anytime.

All the best,

The Write Place

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P.S. Don't forget to enter the 130+ #WattpadBlockParty Giveaways! Clickable links are at the top of my Wattpad profile! :)

GIVEAWAY LINK ONE:

http://kellyanneblountauthor.blogspot.com/2017/01/giveaways-for-wattpad-block-party_31.html

GIVEAWAY LINK TWO (with Widgets):

http://kellyanneblountauthor.blogspot.com/2017/01/giveaways-with-widgets-for-wattpad.html