ALUMS

Elizabeth Beechwood (Popular Fiction, S’14) is pleased to announce that her short story “The Painted Ponies of Wiley Creek” was featured by Not a Pipe Publishing for their Year of Publishing Women’s Short Stories series. Ted Deppe and others at the January ’18 Ireland Residency might recognize it—thanks for all your suggestions and encouragement!

Peter Adrian Behravesh (Popular Fiction, W’18) will be presenting his award-winning essay “The Vault of Heaven: Science Fictions’s Perso-Arabic Origins” at Worldcon 76 in San Jose as part of an academic panel titled “Lowriders and Flying Horses: Expanding SF’s Definitions.” The panel will take place on Friday, August 17th, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 211D of the San Jose Convention Center.

Carina Bissett (Popular Fiction, S’18) placed her poem “Blood Works” in the HWA Poetry Showcase: Vol. 5. She also sold her story “Tyger, Burning Bright” for inclusion in the anthology Gorgon: Stories of Emergence, which is scheduled for publication by Pantheon Magazine this fall. “Blood Works” was written under the mentorship of Cate Marvin, and “Tyger, Burning Bright” was originally written under the mentorship of Liz Hand and was later workshopped under the direction of Cara Hoffman. Carina wants to thank all of the Stonecoasters who helped her shape these pieces for publication.

Melody Fuller (Creative Nonfiction, S’12), President and Founder of The Oakland Wine Festival, published two articles in The SOMM Journal recently: “A Call to Action” (page 80; April/May 2018) looks at the state of diversity in the multi-billion dollar wine industry and sparked an ongoing narrative about race and wine and “Fine-Wining While Black” (page 26; June/July 2018) provides an inspirational personal narrative.

Alan King‘s (Poetry, W’13) Point Blank was among the seven books briefly reviewed and recommended by The Best American Poetry blog. Here’s an excerpt: “[In] Alan King’s second collection of poetry, Point Blank…each poem [is] charged with an undeniable exuberance, willing to hold forth on the unvarnished injustice so visible in the American grain, and to compose a music from this framework as mellifluous as any Luther Vandross track and as rough and ready as Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.” Read the full review.

Paul Kirsch (Popular Fiction, W’11) was one of the writers on Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire‘s first DLC, the Beast of Winter, which launches on August 2nd. This adventure takes the player to a frozen island populated by a doomsday cult, an ancient dragon, and gods only know what else.

Andrea Lani (Fiction, W’14) had two essays published in online journals last month: “The Sparrow’s Song” was featured on The Sunlight Press, and “The World in their Hands,” which appeared last year in The Maine Review, was reprinted at Nature Writing.

Roxanne Ocasio’s (Popular Fiction, W’15) short story “The Chupacabra Next Door” will be published in an upcoming anthology called The Latinx Archive: Speculative Fiction for Dreamers. She first workshopped this story at the Voice of Our Nation Arts Foundation Workshop for writers of color in 2014. Roxanne credits Stonecoast for introducing her to Marjorie Liu, who mentored her during her second semester and encouraged her to write characters of color.

Jenny O’Connell (Creative Nonfiction, S’17) is thrilled to come full-circle as a Stonecoaster with her essay about art modeling, “Still Life,” in Issue No. 9 of the Stonecoast Review. She has a forthcoming piece about her walking journey across Finland in the upcoming “Flight” issue of Slice, as well as a craft article on vulnerability—based on her third semester project at Stonecoast—appearing in the fall “Risk” issue of Creative Nonfiction.

Suri Parmar (Popular Fiction, W’17) has joyfully accepted a visiting assistant professorship at Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts with the Faculty of Communication and Design, where she will preside over script development and film productions in the undergraduate film program, and teach screenwriting, directing, and creative leadership. Additionally, her short script Skin Deep has been adapted into a film.

Bruce Pratt‘s (Fiction, S’04) chapbook, Shades and Forms, has been accepted for fall publication by Clare Songbirds Publishing, and his short story collection The Trash Detail will also come out this fall from New Rivers Press.

Shannon Ratliff‘s (Creative Nonfiction, S’16) essay “Perennial” appears in the Summer ’18 issue of Pleiades, currently available here.

Erin Roberts (Popular Fiction, W ’18) is the proud co-editor (alongside World Fantasy Award winner Sheree Renée Thomas and poet & artist Rasha Abdulhadi) of a special issue of Strange Horizons featuring stories, poems, and non-fiction from writers of color from the Southeastern USA. You can read Erin’s editorial and an introduction to the six amazing stories in the issue here.

Sean Robinson (Popular Fiction, W’14) had a short story, “Tide Child,” recently published by On Spec. It’s about the relationships between fathers and sons, and the day you realize your dad has a story of his own. Also, Selkies. It’s currently only available in print, and can be found here.  This also marks his first international publication. He also just returned from a month-long course in Ireland at NUI-Galway looking at Education in Ireland. If you’re a teacher, or interested in education, check it out here.

Lisa Romeo (Creative Nonfiction, S’08), and her new memoir, Starting with Goodbye, were featured in the “Story Behind the Book Column” in The Boston Globe in early July, just ahead of appearances at several bookstores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Lisa was also featured on an episode of the podcast The Ish (Grieving-Ish, part 2). In early August, she will present a session on getting published and will read during Western Connecticut State University’s MFA residency.

Nikki Sambitsky (Creative Nonfiction, W’18) will be teaching a one-day workshop on grief and hybrid, experimental, and lyric essays this fall (Saturday, December 1st from 1:00-5:00 p.m.) at Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop! Check out the link to sign up and RSVP your spot! Another head’s up: Nikki is also teaching an Open Community Writing Session on November 16th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop. The session is free and open to the public! Come, sit, write, commune with fellow writers!

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Popular Fiction, S’13) was interviewed on her local NPR station, KERA, about Spiderweb Salon, an arts collective in Denton, Texas, that she’s involved with. Her Nebula-nominated novelette “The Orangery” appears in the Nebula Awards Showcase 2018 anthology. Paula Guran chose her Nightmare story “Secret Keeper” for Guran’s Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2018.

Lisa C. Taylor‘s (Poetry ’04) new short story collection, Impossibly Small Spaces was published by Arlen House/Syracuse University Press on July 27th in Ireland. Stonecoasters attending the launch at Merriman’s in Kinvara/County Galway included Ted and Annie Deppe and Teresa Scollon. It will come out in the US in early October (though you can obtain an early copy from Lisa). The price is $20 with $2.00 of each sale going to the ACLU. lisactaylor22@gmail.com

Adrienne S. Wallner’s (Poetry, W ’09) poem “Ticket Stub” will appear in the Fall 2018 issue of Stoneboat Literary Journal.

FACULTY

JJ Amaworo Wilson (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Writing for Social Change) launched his 2016 novel Damnificados in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, in July 2018 and had smaller events in Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, and Natal. The novel, based on a true story that took place in Caracas, Venezuela, has a distinctly Latin American flavor. Damnificados won three awards and will be translated into German and French in 2019.

John Florio (Fiction/Popular Fiction, S’07) writes about race, politics, and sports for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. His latest piece, When Joe Louis fought Schmeling, White America Enthusiastically Rooted for a Black Man, was a June feature story for ESPN’s The Undefeated. His upcoming YA book, War in the Ring, is also about the historic Louis-Schmeling fight; it will be released by Macmillan’s Children’s Group in Spring 2019.

Aaron Hamburger‘s (Fiction, Creative Non fiction) short story “Refugees,” which he read from at the last residency, is out in the newest issue of Bennington Review.

Elizabeth Hand (Popular Fiction, Fiction) was a special guest at San Diego Comic-Con, where she received the prestigious Inkpot Award for her fiction. In early August, she’ll be teaching a workshop for young writers at the Fine Arts Workshop in Provincetown.

Jim Kelly’s (Popular Fiction) novella “The Wreck of the Godspeed” has been reprinted in The Final Frontier, edited by Neil Clarke from Night Shade Books. He has sold reprint rights to the original story “Yukui” from his new collection The Promise Of Space to Clarkesworld; it will appear later this year. He contributed an essay on the importance of short stories in science fiction to the blog Whatever.  Jim moderated a reading of Stonecoast alums at the Readercon science fiction and fantasy convention in Quincy on July 14.

Debra Marquart’s (Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Writing for Social Change) short fictions “This New Quiet” and “Dylan’s Lost Years” were included in New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, co-edited by James Thomas and Robert Scotellaro and published by WW Norton, available in August 2018. Her poem “Even on a Sunday Drive” was a finalist in the 2017 Steve Kowit Poetry Prize and was published in the San Diego Poetry Anthology in March 2018. Also, Debra’s video poetry performance, “Small Buried Things: A Poet’s Response to Extraction,” was part of the Bedrock Lecture Series, organized by Oregon State University. The eighteen-part video lecture series was submitted as evidence to the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Human Rights, Fracking, and Climate Change, an international tribunal that, in May of 2018, deliberated the global effects of fracking on human rights, the environment, and climate change.

Elizabeth Searle’s (Fiction, Playwriting, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) and Tamra Wilson’s (Fiction, S’11) anthology Idol Talk has received new media coverage and has multiple readings, including some newly added, in August:

• Readings with Elizabeth Searle: August 8th at KGB in New York City at 7:00 p.m., including SCers Breena Clarke (Fiction) and new alum Lee J. Kahrs; (http://kgbbar.com/calendar/events/kgb_nyc_area_readers_from_idol_talk/) and August 30th at Harvard General Store 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Harvard, MA (including alum Michelle Soucy (Fiction, S’10, who created the fab. flyer).
• On August 25th, Lee J Kahrs and Kate Kastelein will read from Idol Talk at 2:00 p.m. at Toadstool Books in Keene, NH.
• More New England readings coming in September.
• Readings and Talks in North Carolina with SC alum and Idol Talk co-editor Tamra Wilson: August 12th, Maine St Books in Davidson NC; August 13th Gaston County Library in Gastonia, NC; and August 21st at Morrison Branch Library in Charlotte, NC

Recent media includes Breena Clarke featuring Idol Talk on her blog,  Tammy’s radio interview in Hickory, NC, and the Boston Book Launch coverage on MetroWest Daily. Check the Idol Talk Facebook page for updates.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

YAAK VALLEY FOREST COUNCIL JOB OPENING: COMMUNITY OUTREACH/CONSERVATION ORGANIZER
Rick Bass (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Writing for Social Change Faculty) and the Yaak Valley Forest Council are looking for a community outreach/conservation organizer to hire for a permanent position in northwest Montana’s Yaak Valley. Pay starts at $35-40K, depending on experience, and has growth potential. Insurance and vacation included, and the new hire will be able to work from home (in the community). Artistic inspiration in northwest Montana an added perk! (How is perk spelled? From what Latin root does it derive?) Sweet country and a valiant non-profit working for ecological and social justice.

BOSTON POETRY MARATHON SET FOR AUGUST 10-12 IN CAMBRIDGE
Bridget Eileen (Poetry, W’09), along with poets Suzanne Mercury, Darren Black, and Gillian Devereux, are this year’s Boston Poetry Marathon festival organizers. They are all published poets and veteran Marathon readers from the area. The poetry festival is entirely volunteer run. The Boston Poetry Marathon will be held August 10th – 12th, at Outpost 186 in Cambridge’s Inman Square. Throughout three days, over 100 local and out-of-town poets will read and perform their poems. Several Stonecoast Community members will be reading in this year’s marathon. The Marathon presents a diverse range of poetry styles; academics, slam poets, students from local creative writing programs, and everyone in between rub elbows during approximately 20 hours of poetry programming. Each poet is given a brief time slot to share their work with the audience. Attendance is free (donations accepted), and all ages are welcome.

“The Boston Poetry Marathon is a joyful, hopeful, and strengthening event, something vital during these dire times. We have poets, the poetry community, and poems to keep us going,” said co-organizer Bridget Eileen. “ Whether we go to poetry for escape, solace, empathy, or illumination, it fortifies us. When so many people come together to celebrate poetry, that certainly fortifies us. Bringing this event to so many people who treasure it is, of course, a lot of work–but it’s also energizing. All that creativity coming together in one place is really powerful. ”

“With so much political and social uncertainty right now, we feel it’s urgent to create a welcoming space for poets to share their poems and talk with one another,” said co-organizer Suzanne Mercury. “Poetry is a life-giving force, a deep and vital source of creative empathy. The world needs much more of it, especially now. The Boston Poetry Marathon offers more poetry—a lot more! Every year I come away exhausted, inspired, and ready to write.”

Gillian Devereux outlined the festival’s goals for maintaining inclusiveness. “We’re committed to finding new voices who may not have read here in the past to add to our roster. We want to hear from poets who represent the many diverse, vibrant poetic communities in the Greater Boston area.”

“The Marathon has a great base of dedicated followers—poets who share their work year after year,” said Darren Black. “It’s encouraging to see the developmental arcs of talented writers in our city. Whether you’re an established poet who has published many books, or you have never read your work in front of people before, the audience is so supportive. You never know what you’re going to hear. Every year is fresh, and a little unpredictable. But the basic formula is simple: We listen to a bunch of poems. We hang out. We have fun. We hope you’ll join us!”

For media inquiries, please contact the organizers at: bostonpoetrymarathon2018@gmail.com.

Event Details

What:  Boston Poetry Marathon
Where: Outpost 186 – 186 ½ Hampshire Street, Cambridge MA
When:  Friday, August 10th: 6:00-10:30 p.m.; Saturday, August 11th: 12:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.; Sunday, August 12th: 11:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Online at

bostonpoetrymarathon.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bonstonpoetrymarathon/
http://instagram.com/bostonpoetrymarathon