Farewell Performance

The year 2009 seemed awful for a lot of people, so I hope my latest and last new short story, published at Tor.com, makes for an effective banishment.

Farewell Performance by Nick Mamatas


Also, there's a podcast version for people who enjoy audio fiction.


For "market mavens": Tor.com, run by the publisher of the same name, launched in 2008. Tor is the first major publisher that I know of to completely reimagine its website as a social network, with blog posts, original fiction and art, and comics. It is widely considered one of the best places to publish science fiction and fantasy these days, given its substantial profile and stellar (for fiction) pay rate: 25¢ a word up to 5000 words, less beyond that.

Student-Faculty Appointments for the Residency are now Posted on the MFA Webpage

CNF Contest for MFA Students

CONTEST: MFA Program-Off


postmark deadline: January 28, 2010
http://www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/submittocnf.htm#programoff
Win a reading at the 2010 AWP Conference in Denver, publication in the summer 2010 issue of CNF, and bragging rights for your program!
Judge: Barbara Lounsberry
co-author (with Gay Talese) of Writing Creative Nonfiction: The Literature of Reality
Guidelines:

Contest is open to any student currently enrolled in an MFA creative writing program.

Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, no more than 3,000 words, and unpublished.

This is a blind read; your name should appear only in the cover letter, and each page of the manuscript should include the title of the piece.

No excerpts will be considered; your submission should be a single and complete piece.

Only one submission per author will be considered.
Please send submission and a cover letter with your name, university, complete contact information and title of the work to:
Creative Nonfiction Foundation
Attn: AWP Program-Off
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Mentors

If you have questions about which mentor you have for which class, you can check the OpenClose system online. All mentors have been filled in according to your registration, so just look for your section and you'll see the mentor listed. Go to

http://online.wcsu.edu/openclose/

select Intersession 2010 or Spring 2010; on the next page select Writing in the Subject box and click Class Search.

Poets Live On WNPR Tuesday

HARD ROCK QI
UNDERCARD FAVORITE
@ HARTFORD CLUB 1-15-10

Registration Form pdf

2010 YOUNG WRITERS ENTRY FORM

-- THE HOTTEST SHOWS IN CT JUST GOT HOTTER


- MERCILESS AMY MA


-- GABRIELLE SHE BE STINGING CALVOCORESSI

Poets Amy Ma & Gaby Calvocoressi,
From The Gaby V. Iceman
CT Young Writers Triple KO Event
Jan. 15, 2010 @ The Hartford Club ...



... To Appear On WNPR's The Colin McEnroe Show
Tues., Dec. 22, 2009
Andy Thibault Of The CT Young Writers Trust
Also In Studio


-- The Colin WNPR Team: Patrick Skahill, Colin, Chion Wolf

WNPR's The Colin McEnroe Show

Amy Is The 2001 Ct State Poetry Champion,
Now A Teacher For The Hartford Public Schools
At Jumoke [Where Every Child Is Loved] Academy,
Blue Hills Avenue, Hartford, CT

Amy Will Be Bringing About 10 Of Her Students
To The Gaby V. Iceman Extravaganza …

JAN. 15, 2010 @ THE HARTFORD CLUB:
CT Young Writers
Triple Knockout Event: Prose, Poetry & Pugilism;
Open Writing Workshops In Poetry & Sportswriting;
Jen Allen Big Band With Vocalists

NEW: 2nd SET GABY V. ICEMAN, NIGHT BOXING, CT YOUNG WRITERS TRIPLE KO EVENT

Gaby's Fighting Words

Gaby & Iceman In Hartford Club Mag

Iceman Talks About Perez, Remillard Bouts … New Photos Celebrate Hall Of Fame Induction

Registration Form pdf

2010 YOUNG WRITERS ENTRY FORM

Wally Lamb Swimsuit / Ring Girl Rumor: Fact Or Fiction?

Writing Contest - Call for submissions!

Contest in Italian-American Short Fiction

In conjunction with its first Italian-American Arts Festival, the Watchung Arts Center is looking for submissions of short fiction written from an Italian or Italian-American perspective. Five finalists will be chosen to read their work at the Italian-American Arts Festival on April 25, 2010 at the Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, NJ. The winning submission will be awarded a $200 prize.

Submissions will be accepted online only from December 14, 2009 - February 14, 2010.

• $10 entry fee to be paid via PayPal.
• Submit at rich text format (rtf) copy of your work (500 - 5,000 words) to ItalianAmerican_Writers@yahoo.com. Only one piece per writer will be accepted. Please include your PayPal confirmation number in the Subject Line of your e-mail.
• Any questions may be directed to Claudine D'Angelo-Dotzman at ItalianAmerican_Writers@yahoo.com.

Registration is Complete...

...and aren't we all delighted about that? Probably a good idea to log in to Banner and double check your courses to make sure they're all correct. Let me know if there are any problems.

Trudy Doyle on HSN...again!

Remember my mentioning something about my latest from Ravenous Romance called The Lady's Choice? And how a Special Trade Edition of it was one of a collection of six contemporary romances featured in an Escape with Romance promotion in September on the Home Shopping Network? Well, plant a big lipsticked smooch on Friday 18 December, and join Ravenous Romance's fabulous president, Holly Schmidt, at 8 AM and 2 PM EST, for a special Holiday edition of Escape with Romance on the HSN. Check your cable network and a few gifts off your list, as my hero and heroine, Jack and Leslie, will be only too happy to dis the ballot boxes and stuff some Christmas stockings instead! Or dash your generous impulses and buy a set or two for yourself. Trudy Doyles make a great re-gift!

See you on the high-def and smooch!

Trudy

The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft, again!

"The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft," the Bram Stoker award-nominated short story I co-wrote with Tim Pratt, is back, and this time in podcast form thanks to the audio geniuses as Pseudopod.

Pseudopod #172: The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft.

Please share with your illiterate pals!

Roomate for Residency?

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if there were any women out there looking for a roommate during residency. I got a suite at the Maron- one room with a king size bed and another room with a sleeper sofa (Queen size). I have the room checking in on the 28th and checking out on the 3rd. I don't have the room for the night of the 31st, however because I'll be driving home that night. However, I can always call back and try to get the room for that night also.

If anyone is interested in splitting the cost of the room, please let me know. My email address is brophy_jennifer@yahoo.com.

Thanks,

Jennifer

Readers needed

I am chairing an Italian-American arts festival here in NJ for my enrichment project, the focal point of which is a contest in short fiction. The contest runs from December 14- February 14 (check out watchungarts.org later this week if you're interested in submitting) and like the planner of any event at a non-profit I need volunteers. Writers, willing to read and rate submissions. The reading period is from January 15 - March 15. I would like to have enough readers to assure that no one has to read more than ten entries. There are no requirements for readers to have an Italian background, but it doesn't hurt if you do. Please email me (claudine@getgravity.com) with any questions.

WCSU MFA on GradInsider

A new information provider on graduate programs, GradInsider, has listed our program. This particular service ranks programs by graduate/student reviews. If you have a moment, take a look and review the program to help us spread the news about WCSU!

http://gradinsider.com/programs/more/western_connecticut_state_university_masters_of_fine_arts_in_professional_w/

Don Snyder at Residency

Many of you will remember the sections that Don read from his novel-in-progress at the last residency, Winter Travelers. Don will be talking about the book and his related screenplay project and reading more from the book at the winter residency. Please take a look at the pages Don read at last residency, which he will talk about during his lecture:

http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa//pdf/SnyderWest%20Conn%20Reading120709.pdf

Scholarships for 2010-11

The application deadline for WCSU graduate scholarships for the 2010-11 academic year is Feb. 15. Please visit http://www.wcsu.edu/scholarships. MFA students who have applied for scholarships in the past have a near-100% success rate. Perhaps it would be useful for those of you who have received scholarships to offer words of advice/encouragement here.

Course Evaluations

Folks, Please go to the MFA website (click Forms under Current Students) to download the course evaluation forms. You must submit the forms by email, by fax, or by mail no later than December 18; forms received after the 18th cannot be accepted.

There are two evaluation forms: a departmental evaluation form and a program evaluation form. They are clearly distinguished on the Forms page.

If your course is with Briggs, Clements, Cohen, De Los Santos, Lomuscio, Qi, Sherlock, or Steinmetz, please ASK THE INSTRUCTOR whether he/she wants student evaluations this semester; if so, use the DEPARTMENTAL evaluation form. Other instructors may also choose to have you fill out the departmental form if they want the evaluation to go into their employment file; they are not required to do so. The departmental form should be emailed, faxed, or mailed to Sharon Foster, Writing Dept., WCSU, 181 White St., Danbury, CT 06810, 203-837-3953 (f). These forms must be sent to Sharon Foster's attention.

Please fill out a PROGRAM evaluation form for ALL instructors, even if they also want you to fill out the departmental form. Email, fax, or mail this form to Laurel at the same address or fax number above.

These evaluation forms are an important part of our program review process; I know it's a pain in the neck, but I appreciate your taking a few moments to help us out for the benefit of the program.

Residency Schedule

The residency schedule is up at

http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa//pdf/January%2010%20Residency.pdf

Meeting room for the workshops on the morning of the 31st are TBD.

The schedule link is also available from the MFA web site.

AWP Intro Journals Winners

Congratulations to Margaret Bail, Michelle Walsh, and Birte Salvaraj for their winning entries in the WCSU AWP Intro competition. The WCSU winners have been entered into the national competition.

Bail: "Strawberry Blues" (Poetry)
Walsh: "Loss" (Creative Nonfiction)
Selvaraj: "One Night Stand" (Fiction)

Residency Workshop

Please make your selections for residency workshops at this link:

http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa/workshops.asp

You will find a description of each workshop, including any advance work that is expected of you. Each workshop is limited to 15 participants, so make your selections soon! If you have not made your selections by Dec. 21, you will be assigned to workshops.

You can also access the link through the MFA web site.

Registration

Dear MFAers,

Thank you all for your patience and your efforts as we make this transition to online registration. We're all learning a new process, and that includes the Registrar's office. We're learning that there are a few things about our program that the registration system is not equipped to handle.

One of those things is that thesis students are not able to register for more than one section of the thesis course online. This is due to a setting that restricts students from taking the same course twice in the same semester (which makes sense for most programs but must be over-ridden manually for us). So if you are a thesis student, we will be reverting to the old registration system--that is, I will send your registration to Grad Studies, they will enter it for you, and you'll get a bill in the mail or at the residency.

Everyone else, please proceed with registering online. I would like to ask you to do us a HUGE favor and please complete your registration by the end of the day on the 8th. I know we said you'd have until the 9th, but completing registration by the end of the 8th will make everything go more smoothly for all of us. So, please, if at all possible...

Also, if you do have problems with your registration, please contact Laurel. DO NOT contact University Computing directly; they're flooded with calls right now due to university-wide registration.

Thanks again for hanging in there through this. The residency schedule and the online form for selecting your residency workshops will be up early next week.

Have a great weekend...

bc