July in Taos

If the August residency is just not enough summer workshopping for you, consider the Taos Summer Writers' Conference, featuring two members of our MFA faculty--Mark Sundeen and Jeff Davis. Mark is offering "Travel Writing as Literature"from July 13-18, and Jeff is offering "To See the Unknown from Vision to Re-vision: Writing, Yoga, Consciousness" on the same dates. Also at the conference: Jonis Agee, John Dufresne, Greg Glazner, John Nichols, Natalie Goldberg, Joy Harjo, Lisa Tucker, Dana Levin, and others. For more info visit www.unm.edu/~taosconf

Internship!

Any third-semester students still scrambling for an internship might be interested in interning for The Adirondack Review. A completely online internship that you can do from home. Mine consisted of reading fiction submissions (they ask for at least one per day), commenting on them, and suggesting their consideration or rejection. Diane Goettel, executive editor, and Kara Christenson, fiction editor, are wonderful to work for, both laid back and helpful. Adirondack isn't just for fiction writers. They also publish poetry, book reviews, essays, and various works of art. Instructions for interns are on the home page--just click on "internships."

If anybody has questions, feel free to e-mail me: Majestak@hotmail.com

The Big Read

Are you "fired up" about reading? You may be interested in participating in New Haven's Big Read, which is a lead up to the International Arts and Ideas Festival. This year's Big Read is Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

According to an article in the Sunday New Haven Register, "Last year, the reading of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and its attendant events drew 14,000 readers and more than 50 community partners to the project. This year, the partnerships number closer to 60, with more than 100 events exploring the themes of "censorship, conformity, and the importance of books and reading" with an additional 19 towns in the area participating.

August Residency Dates

A reminder for the August residency: make plans for August 3-10.

August 3 will be the the arrival date with an afternoon orientation for new students and an early evening dinner/welcome. August 9 will include a full schedule of events, and August 10 will be the return travel date. All students are expected to attend the full schedule on the 9th; at our last residency we had too many people scooting out a little early, to the detriment of our final afternoon/evening of the program. It wasn't fair to the presenters, and I'm sure you wouldn't want your peers sneaking out on your opportunity to present your work.

Looking forward to seeing everyone! Good luck with the end of your semester.

bc

"Added Value from Augusten Burroughs"

From Jurgen Wolff's blog "Time to Write" http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/

Call For Entries

Screen and Fiction Writers,

The 15th AnnualWriters NetworkScreenplay & Fiction Competition is accepting entries.

Submit your screenplay, teleplay and/or novel by May 31st
In the past fifteen years, Writers Network Competition winners have signed with ICM, Endeavor, William Morris Agency, CAA, Ken Sherman & Associates, Metropolitan, UTA, Paradigm and more. Hollywood professionals recognize the Writers Network Screenplay & Fiction Competition as one of the most highly regarded and longest running contests in the industry, and each year literary agents judge the final round of the competition just to get first shot at its semi-finalists.

To submit your screenplay, teleplay or novel to this year’s competition for a chance to win over $10,000 plus our assistance in acquiring literary representation, click here.
Early-bird Deadline: May 1, 2008Postmark Deadline: May 31, 2008

Hello from Lisa Miller

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd say hello since I've been out of the loop with the MFA program - and everything else - for the last few months. The twins (Sydney's on the left, Haylie's on the right) arrived six weeks early on Feb. 7th, and we were fortunate that despite their sizes (Sydney was 3 pounds, 9 ounces and Haylie was 4 pounds, 3 ounces) they were healthy and just needed time to grow. After three weeks in the NICU, we brought them home and they're doing great. Now both are just over 20 inches long and about 8 pounds. Barry and I are thrilled as we navigate our way through sleepless nights and the crazy fog that is new parenthood!

I hope you're all having a productive and enjoyable semester and I look forward to seeing you all at the next residency, and catching up with some of you between now and then.

Best wishes,
Lisa Miller

Short Fiction Contest Announced

I was sent the following info from my friends up north, who I met at MFA:

HOWARD FRANK MOSHER SHORT FICTION PRIZE: DEADLINE: June 1, 2008 - One $1,000.00 prize winner receives publication in the Fall ‘08 Issue; two honorable mentions receive $100.00 each. See website for more details: www.hungermtn.org

Anne

A New Model for Books & Authors?

A New Model for Books & Authors?
from Time to Write (blog) by j4london@aol.com (Jurgen Wolff)

"A new model may be emerging for the book business. Bob Miller (founder of Hyperion publishing) is starting a new unit at Harper-Collins that will pay no advance but will share profits 50-50 with writers. It will also pay more attention to online marketing. The catch is that they will deal only with writers who already have a major track record. That cuts down the risk for the publisher but it seems to me that new authors are exactly who should be offered this kind of deal—that way, publisher and author would be sharing the risk and the reward. Maybe the reason they don’t want to do it is that these days advances are so low already that they’re not much of a factor. Still, if this works, it may spread eventually, and if they show the way to innovative online strategies, that will be something we less well-known authors may be able to copy."

Late Request--Graduate Open House

Tuesday (tomorrow) from 4:30-7:00, WestConn will be hosting a Graduate Open House, and I will represent the MFA program. It occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have a grad student or two on hand to speak to potential applicants. If anyone has time and inclination to be at the Open House, it will be in the Westside Campus Center Ballroom (our meal room for the past couple of residencies). If no one can make it, no sweat--I know this is late notice.

bc

Book Piracy

Check out this link (below) to a blog I read and like quite a bit. I'd be curious to hear what my fellow writers have to say about the blog poster's view on book piracy, or the issue of book piracy at large. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Or both? Why ?

http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2008/04/book-piracy--cr.html

Essay in the CSM

I learned this week that The Christian Science Monitor will publish an essay I wrote on the nature of being a "shoe guy," i.e., a guy who owns many pairs of shoes and is keenly aware of the shoes of others.
In the essay I discuss how I became a shoe guy, what it's like being a shoe guy and the pair that transformed me into a shoe guy.
A pub date is TBA.
The essay will appear in The Home Forum, which from what I can tell is wide open for personal essays. It pays decent too ($150)
Here are the guidelines: http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/guidelines.html#homeforum

Dave

Publication News...

Just received word that an article I wrote last semester on a religious shrine in Fatima, Portugal for my second genre - travel - will be published in The Liguorian, a national Catholic magazine.
This bit of validation came at a good time as I slog away in the middle of the third semester!
Kathy
(Thanks to Daniel Rose, who helped me craft a tighter query letter, I'm $90 richer, too.)