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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Evening of Poetry, November 6

WVU-P's Humanities Speakers Series presents an evening of poetry with Scott Luter and John Hoppenthaler on November 6th at 7 pm in Room 2536 at the Parkersburg Campus.

Luter and Hoppenthaler are the English Department's newest full-time instructors. Luter received his MFA in Creative writing from Georgia College & State University, where he was
Assistant Editor for Arts & Letters: A Journal of Contemporary Culture. His poetry has appeared in Poem, Open 24 Hours, and elsewhere. He is a recipient of an Academy of American Poets University Prize.

Hoppenthaler is the author of two books of poetry, Lives Of Water (2003) and the forthcoming Anticipate the Coming Reservoir, both titles from Carnegie Mellon University Press. Poetry Editor of Kestrel, his honors include an Individual Artist Grant from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts and Residency Fellowships to the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He is also included on the Literary Map of West Virginia. For nine years, he was Personal Assistant to the Nobel Prize winning author, Toni Morrison. Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available, and books will be available for purchase and signing.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Coal: A Poetry Anthology

Coal: A Poetry Anthology by Blair Mountain Press has just been published.

It is an important and timely collection featuring such WV Writers luminaries as Bob Henry Baber, T. Paige Dalporto, Mary Lucille DeBerry, Mark DeFoe, Sharon Gardner, Kirk Judd, Jeff Mann, Llewellyn McKernan, Irene McKinney, Rob Merritt, Phyllis Wilson Moore, Delilah O’Haynes, Edwina Pendarvis, Barbara Smith, Jesse Stuart and many more.

The ISBN is 0-9768817-1-3; price $15.00; Chris Green, Editor.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Follow the Midland Trail Book Discussion

(This news courtesy BelindaAnderson.com)

West Virginia's authors have left us many clues about themselves in the places that shaped them. By following their literary and literal trails, we also learn about our own nature.

With this in mind, on October 26, author Belinda Anderson will be leading a book discussion that focuses on authors with connections to West Virginia's Midland Trail. The discussion will take place at 7 p.m. at the White Sulphur Springs Public Library in WSS, WV.

At various stops along this literary trail, there will be drawings for books written by the featured authors, including Tom Kromer, Cynthia Rylant, Booker T. Washington, Mary Lee Settle, Denise Giardina, James E. Martin and Belinda Anderson. A copy of the newly released Encyclopedia of Appalachia will also be given away as part of these drawings.

For additional information, phone the White Sulphur Springs Public Library at 304-536-1171.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

West Virginia Poet Laureate Irene McKinney to speak at Alderson-Broaddus

Speaker for the Alderson-Broaddus College Humanities Division Brandon Lecture Series this year will be West Virginia Poet Laureate Irene McKinney. She will be on campus on Thursday, November 9, to present a reading of her poetry and to conduct a writing workshop.

The reading will begin at 7:00 p.m. in 206 Withers-Brandon, the Humanities Division Lounge, on the Alderson-Broaddus campus. Admission is free. The public is invited to attend.

Irene McKinney's presentation is made possible through an endowment to the Humanities Division from Dr. Arthur Brandon.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Open Mic Night in Bluefield

The Inkslingers Writing Group is sponsoring an open mic night for poetry, songs and short prose. It's to take place Thursday October 26, 2006, 7:00 pm at the Over the Summit Gallery, Bluefield Area Arts Center, 500 Bland Street, Bluefield, WV.

For more information, phone 304-325-8000.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

WVW eNEWS - October 23, 2006

Morgantown Writers Sponsor Narrative & Autobiographical Fiction Workshops Featuring Ed Davis and Keith Maillard - October 28, November 4

The Morgantown Writers Group is sponsoring a series of Saturday morning workshops in the next two weeks. Featured are visiting Novelist Keith Maillard (Vancouver, B.C.), back home for WV Book Festival, Oct. 20-22, and fiction/poetry writer Ed Davis (Ohio), who has led workshops at the WVW State Writers conference. A critique of manuscripts is an option.

The upcoming Morgantown Writers workshops are:
* Saturday, Oct. 28 - Keith Maillard will explore Writing Narrative Fiction
* Saturday, November 4 -- Ed Davis will focus on Autobiographical Fiction.
Both workshops will be at the Morgantown Public Library, Spruce Street, downtown. Start time is 9:30 a.m. for registration.Each workshop is from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., followed by a dutch treat lunch with each writer.

To register contact Patricia.Patteson@mail.wvu.edu or George.Lies@mail.wvu.edu A nominal $5 donation will cover workshop materials. There is the option of submitting a manuscript for each workshop. Submission of a manuscript is not a requirement for attending the workshops.

Manuscript Details: Submit 10-12 pages (double-spaced). Critique cost is $10.00. Ed Davis will read, review, and talk to writer after his Nov. 4 workshop. Kieth Maillard invites writers who attend his Oct. 27 workshop to submit 10-12 pages for use as “examples” in his workshop and he will comment separately on each work. To submit, send a Word file as an email attachment, write to George.Lies@mail.wvu.edu

Submit by midnight Tuesday, October 24 for Maillard, and by Sunday, October 29 for Davis.. Bring with you or mail fee payment to Morgantown Writers Group, 219 Kingwood St., Morgantown, WV 26501.

October 28 - Writing Narrative Fiction and Novels
KEITH MAILLARD -- Born and raised in Wheeling, WV he moved to Canada in 1970 and lives in Vancouver where he teaches creative writing at University of British Columbia. He's written 9 novels and an award winning book of poetry. Gloria, a novel which took him 8 years to write, was published in 2000. = His published novels include Two Strand River (1976), Alex Driving South (1980), The Knife in My Hands (1981), Cutting Through (1983), Motet (1989), and Light in the Company of Women (1993). He has written feature film screenplays: an adaptation of the novel Two Strand River and Tiffany; both in development for production. He has taught creative writing for short and long fiction, screen writing, and radio drama and features. His special area of interest is the developing literary genre of magic realism.

November 4 - Autobiographical Fiction & Advanced Dialogue
ED DAVIS -- A native West Virginian, he has taught writing, literature and humanities courses at Sinclair Community College since 1978. He founded Sinclair's literary magazine, Flights. As assistant director of the Antioch Writers' Workshop, he conducted poetry and fiction workshops and has judged writing contests including the WVW, Inc. 2006 competition. His fiction appears in many literary magazines. Davis's novel I Was So Much Older Then was published in 2001by Disc-Us Books. His latest novel is The Measure of Everything, released in 2005 by Plain View Press, set in fictional Shawnee Springs, Ohio. He has published 4 poetry chapbooks since the mid-eighties: Appalachian Day (Samisdat Press, 1984), Haskell (Seven Buffaloes, 1987) and Whispering Leaves (Great Elm, 1989) and Healing Arts (Pudding House, 2005).

=========

Life Writing/Memoir Classes
By Geoff Fuller Start Oct. 26
In Charleston, West Virginia


Geoff Fuller's class on Life Writing/Memoir starts Thursday, October 26, 6:30-9:00) and runs for four consecutive Thursdays (October 26 and November 2, 9, 16). This will be the first time he's taught Life Writing in the Charleston area, but people have been requesting this topic for several months now. If the class is anywhere near as well attended as
the classes last spring and last winter, it will sell out fast, so get your reservations in immediately.

In the class you will learn everything you need to know to get your life story down on paper for yourself and your family. You will learn techniques for...
* getting started,
* finding sources for your material,
* choosing what to write about and what to leave out,
* organizing your material,
* maintaining your momentum, and
* polishing your material.

We will have writing prompts and opportunities for feedback from the class and myself. As always with my classes, I start with a list of topics and planned activities, but the final direction of the course depends on everyone who is there: what you want and what you need to know. So once again, sign up NOW for the Life Writing/Memoir class. There are only so many slots, and the class will fill up quickly.

===gml===

Friday, October 20, 2006

Winners and Finalists of USABookNews.com's Best Books 2006

USABOOKNEWS.COM ANNOUNCES WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF THE “BEST BOOKS 2006” NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS

LOS ANGELES – We are proud to announce Southern Fried Women as a finalist in the Short Story Category. Pamela King Cable’s book is a rich collection of stories that explores humanity! Well-written and inspiring!

USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, will announce the winners and finalists of its “BEST BOOKS 2006” NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS (BBA) on November 1, 2006. Awards were presented for titles published in 2006 and late 2005.

Jeff Bowen, president and publisher of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of over 1,200 entries.

Bowen says of the awards, now in their fourth year, “The 2006 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. As an executive in the publishing PR and marketing industry and president of both USABookNews.com and PubInsider.com, I wanted to create an awards competition that recognized books in their publication year rather than months after the original launch window. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of BBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Warner Books, New American Library a division of the Penguin Group, Red Wheel Weiser and Conari, New World Library, and hundreds of independent press titles contributed to this year’s outstanding BBA competition. Bowen adds, “BBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

For more information on Pamela King Cable, please visit www.pamelacable.com.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Dr. Write's Writing Classes

(From Geoff "Dr. Write" Fuller)

Hello everyone,

My class on Life Writing/Memoir starts two weeks from today (Thursday, October 26, 6:30-9:00) and runs for four consecutive Thursdays (October 26 and November 2, 9, 16). This will be the first time I've taught Life Writing in the Charleston area, but people have been requesting this topic for several months now. If the class is anywhere near as well attended as the classes last spring and last winter, it will sell out fast, so get your reservations in immediately.

In the class you will learn everything you need to know to get your life story down on paper for yourself and your family. You will learn techniques for...


  • getting started,


  • finding sources for your material,


  • choosing what to write about and what to leave out,


  • organizing your material,


  • maintaining your momentum, and


  • polishing your material.


  • We will have writing prompts and opportunities for feedback from the class and myself. As always with my classes, I start with a list of topics and planned activities, but the final direction of the course depends on everyone who is there: what you want and what you need to know.

    At the Book Festival (October 21 and 22 at the Civic Center), stop by the Evergreen Syndicate's booth and say hi. The Evergreen Syndicate is really just me and my wife, Karin, and Karin's daughter, Celeste; we formed it as a vehicle for syndicating Karin and another columnist friend, Bill Ellis. At ur booth, we'll have copies of Celeste's When Good Babies Go Bad, which just came out on Avant Garde Publishing. In addition, we'll have copies of Growing up in Nitro, an autobiographical work by Nitro native Keith Estep, published by Evergreen Syndicate.

    So once again, sign up NOW for the Life Writing/Memoir class that will start two weeks from now. There are only so many slots, and the class will fill up quickly. Reserve your place now!

    Here are the specifics:

    Thursdays
    October 26: How Do You Eat an Elephant?
    November 2: Memory as Picket Fence
    November 9: Balloons, Clusters, Wheels
    November 16: Spicy Variety

    6:30-9:00 At the Charleston Newspapers parking garage conference rooms.

    A bargain at $135 for all four nights

    SEE YOU AT THE BOOK FESTIVAL!

    Geoff Fuller
    Writer-Editor
    304.755.3952
    www.evergreensyndicate.com
    www.drwriteclinic.com

    Thursday, October 12, 2006

    WVW eNEws October 11, 2006

    (From WVW President Emeritus Emeritus George Lies)

    WVW Announces Categories for Contest;
    Exhibits WV Authors at 6th Book Festival;
    Unveils New Anthology: 'Mountain Voices'


    West Virginia Writers at 6th WV Book Festival -
    October 21 & 22 - Charleston Civic Center
    WEB = http://www.wvhumanities.org/bookfest/bookfest2.htm

    This is one of West Virginia’s premier literary fairs and this year’s line up is a class act. There's a low hum of excitement to be heard as publishers, authors, booksellers, and noted presenters hone their presentation in typical last moment preparation. Bobbie Ann Mason is one of the featured authors. Admission is free.

    WV Writers will be kicking off their 2007 membership drive with non-stop drawings, giveaways, and plenty of info on their 2007 Spring Writing Competition. WVW awards more than six thousand dollars in prize money in the annual WVW Spring Writing Competition. Go to http://www.wvwriters.org/contest.html for the official entry form.

    At WVW's exhibit, you will find the sparkling new WV Roundtable Anthology, ‘Mountain Voices’ - a collection of the best mountain stories by Mountain State authors - now available for the first time.

    Visit the WVW Exhibit and meet WV Writers, Inc. members: award winning author, Keith Maillard; poet and editor of Wild Sweet Notes, Kirk Judd; author, publisher, and teacher, Delilah O’ Haynes; author of ‘Southern Fried Women’ and speaker, Pamela King Cable; author of ‘Attitude Therapy’ and motivational speaker, Deb Copeland; founder of Mountain Whispers.com audiobooks, Ross Ballard II; and author, chef, and weaver of Italian lore, Rosalyn Queen Alonso. Authors included in the anthology are Wilma and Rhonda who will be available to sign your new copy of Mountain Voices.

    West Virginia Book Festival - WVW Schedule:

    Saturday October 21 -
    Kirk Judd Wild Sweet Notes - 10 & 11 a
    Ross Ballard II Mountain Whispers - 1 & 2 p
    Deb Copeland Southern Fried Women - 4 p

    Mountain Voices Authors Signings (times)
    Juice Fritzius (10a), Patsy Pittman (11a), Renita Sue Lloyd (12p)
    Ed Davis Mountain Voices - 2 & 3p

    Sunday October 22 -
    Delilah O’Haynes - Character of Mountains - 12 p
    Pamela King Cable - Southern Fried Women - 2 p
    Mountain Voices Authors - 12 to 4 p

    Make your way in to a virtual sea of vendors, and find one booth that is as charged with energy as the festival itself. WV Writers, Inc. will return again this year with Wilma Acree at the helm along with Rhonda White and Terry McNemar and a cast of * several.

    Stop by the WV Writers, Inc. booth, and find out just why WVW is West Virginia’s largest writers' resource and service organization, serving literary interests in WV and beyond.

    For the complete festival schedule, go to
    http://www.wvhumanities.org/bookfest/events_all.htm

    Each year the festival offers something for book lovers of all ages and interests: authors, publishers, book vendors, the Festival Marketplace, a special section just for children, a used book sale, meet the author events, workshops and panel discussions.

    ===gml===

    Tuesday, October 10, 2006

    October Literary Tea Series in Lewisburg

    The Greenbrier Valley Theatre in conjunction with West Virginia Writers, Inc., is holding its annual Literary Tea series this month, October 10, 17, and 24 at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg.

    In addition to a selection of tasty teas, from Miss Ashley's Tea Room, and goodies worthy of china plates, attendees of these Tuesday teas will be treated to live readings by actors from GVT as well as area winners of WV Writers annual writing contest. Other guest readers will appear as well.

    Tonight, GVT director Cathey Sawyer will present a selection of Belinda Anderson short stories.

    Also, join us also on November 7 and 14 for two Literary Tea Poetry editions.

    Monday, October 09, 2006

    A Night of Readings in Harpers Ferry

    A NIGHT OF READINGS

    On Friday, October 13, beginning at 7 P.M., the Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Public Library and the Arts and Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County will host “A Night of Readings,” a program honoring the Eastern-Panhandle winners of the 2005-2006 West Virginia Writers, Inc., Competition., the largest writing contest in the state of West Virginia. The goal of this competition, which has been held since 1982, is to expand and develop creative writing throughout the Mountain State.

    The evening’s program will spotlight ten authors from Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties who will read short excerpts from their award-winning compositions. These authors include Helen Becker, Barbara June Appelgren, Carl Schultz, Lyn Widmyer, Ed Zahniser, and Jim Koenig from Jefferson County; Justin Batton, Elaine Breitenbach, and R. Dixon Bell from Berkeley County; and Sally Brinkman from Morgan County.

    The emcee for the evening will be Joe McCabe from Falling Waters, a long-time member of West Virginia Writers, Inc., who will also provide valuable information about this organization and its annual competition as well as other writer’ groups in the tri-county area that might be of interest to budding authors in the audience.

    The site of this program will be the newly expanded and renovated Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Public Library, located at 151 Polk Street in Bolivar (behind the Harpers Ferry Middle School).

    Without a doubt, this will be an evening of great fun, entertainment, and inspiration. So please come and join us in support of these talented West Virginia writers. For more information about this program, please contact the library at (304) 535-2301.

    Friday, October 06, 2006

    Valerie Nieman Appearance in Morgantown

    Valerie Nieman, author of a recent collection of short fiction, Fidelities, from West Virginia University Press, as well as two novels and two chapbooks of poetry, will be in Morgantown this weekend for a book signing on Friday Oct.6, at 6:PM, at University Towne Center Barnes and Noble Bookstore. She will read from Fidelities as well as from her newest publication, Wake, Wake, Wake, a collection of poetry published by Press 53.

    Her poems and short stories have been widely published in journals such as Poetry, The Kenyon Review, 5 A.M., and West Branch, as well as several anthologies. Awards have included a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the 1998 and 2002 Elizabeth Simpson Smith prizes in fiction from the Charlotte Writers Club and the Greg Grummer Prize in poetry from Phoebe. A 1978 graduate of West Virginia University, she received an M.F.A. in creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte. A longtime journalist and editor, she is now an assistant professor of English and journalism at N.C. A&T State University.

    A workshop is scheduled Saturday October 7 at the Morgantown Public Library on Spruce Street from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. A "Dutch" treat lunch follows with the visiting writer.

    To register, send email to George.Lies@mail.wvu.edu

    Tuesday, October 03, 2006

    Appalachian Writers Guild Seeks Submissions

    (UPDATED INFORMATION)

    The Appalachian Writers Guild is currently preparing a themed anthology of Appalachian Short Stories and welomes submissions from authors at this time. Short stories are expected to contain approximately 2000-5000 words.

    We request that submissions be made by Email (Address: AWGuild@gmail.com) in standard word processing (.doc or .rft or .txt) format.

    Please send only one Work at a time, with a front page letter that specifies the title of your Work, author's name in preferred form, mailing adddress, approx.word count, email, tel. and other contact information on the first page. Submissions will receive an acknowledgement and will be reviewed. Authors are welcome to contact us after a few months.

    Authors retain significant rights to material submitted to us. Authors will will receive one complimentary copy of the anthology in which the work appears, plus sharing net royalties on a pro rata basis.

    For future publications, AWG is also seeking short fiction, biography, novellas, and creative non-fiction, including memoirs, opinion pieces and historical sketches. Unsolicited literary manuscripts, historic or cultural writing relating to Appalachia are welcomed. We are interested only in original work that is not being considered elsewhere and that has never appeared in print.

    Monday, October 02, 2006

    Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest

    (Thanks to WV Writers Secretary Rhonda White for this info)

    What is the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest?
    Since 1962, this contest has been sponsored by Hollins University and awards prizes for the best poems submitted by girls who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school.

    What are the prizes?

    First place (one winner)
  • $200 cash prize
  • Free tuition for the two-week creative writing class in the university’s
    Hollinsummer program
  • Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ student literary magazine
  • Ten copies of Cargoes.

  • Second place (six winners)

  • $25 cash prize
  • Publication in Cargoes
  • Two copies of Cargoes


  • What are the requirements?
    All entries must be typewritten and be submitted by a member of the faculty or administration of the student’s school. No more than two poems by any one student may be submitted, and manuscripts cannot be returned. Each entry must be on a separate sheet and each sheet must include the following information in the upper right corner:
  • Author’s name and gender
  • Author's mailing address
  • Author’s phone no. and/or e-mail address
  • Year of author’s high school graduation
  • Faculty sponsor’s name and e-mail address
  • Author’s school
  • Address and phone no. of author’s school
  • If the poem is more than one page in length, label each page with author’s
    name, title of poem, and page number.



  • What is the deadline for entries?
    November 15.

    Who chooses the winning poems?
    Winners are chosen by students and faculty members in the creative writing program at Hollins.

    When are winners notified?
    By mid April.

    Where should entries be mailed?
    Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest
    Hollins University
    P.O. Box 9677
    Roanoke,
    VA 24020-1677

    Who was Nancy Thorp?
    Nancy Thorp, Hollins class of 1960, was a young poet who showed great promise when she was a student. Following her death in 1962, her family established the Nancy Thorp Contest to encourage the work of young poets.

  •