ALUMS 

“Kangaroo Flat,” Jillian Abbott’s (Popular Fiction, S’04) TV pilot script, was a finalist in the Boston Screenplay Awards.

Emma Bouthillette (Creative Nonfiction, S’12) is featured on the Franco-American Pathways Podcast in conversation with Dr. Libby Bischof, Executive Director of the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine. Together, they explore the growth of Biddeford’s industry and population trends through maps from the early 1800s to the turn of the century. In this first of a two-part podcast, Emma shares her own Franco-American roots, how an undergrad course prompted her to dive deeper into mill history, and things she learned while researching her first book, A Brief History of Biddeford. The conversation will continue in the second episode, as they take to the streets of Biddeford for a walking history tour and visit the archives at McArthur Public Library. 

Shannon Bowring‘s (Fiction, W’22) lyric essay “Veneration” was recently published in Permafrost Magazine Issue 43.2. She has also had a piece accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of Flash Frontier.

The Normal School published J Brooke’s (Poetry, S’19) nonfiction essay “The Liar” in their March 2022 issue. The essay marks Brooke’s first public coming out (about their past in advertising). 

Linda Buckmaster (Creative Nonfiction, S’11) is launching her new hybrid, Elemental: A Miscellany of Salt Cod and Islands, on Sunday, April 10, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Basil Burwell Theater, 17 Court Street, Belfast, Maine. This is a salon-style event with time for socializing and refreshments. The short reading will begin at 4:30 p.m. For those who can’t make it, on-line sales are handled by Hello Hello Books in Rockland, Maine.

J.R. Dawson (Popular Fiction, S’2016) has signed a two-book deal in a pre-empt with Lindsey Hall at Tor, with her agent, Rena Rossner, at Deborah Harris Agency. The first book, The First Bright Thing, will release in Summer 2023. The First Bright Thing follows a magical circus that tries to change the future, one good deed at a time. For more information, the Tor.com announcement can be found here. 

Jaq Evans (Popular Fiction, S’20) is now represented by Erica Bauman of Aevitas Creative Management. Their first project together is an adult horror novel tentatively titled The Spinney, which was born at Stonecoast and an early excerpt of which appears in Jaq’s thesis, “We and the Woods.”

Natalie Harris-Spencer‘s (Fiction, S’21) flash-fiction ghost story, “Porch Swing,” which she read aloud at the Stone House Readers’ Series, is now available in Issue 10 of The Dark Sire literary journal.

Gail Hovey (Creative Nonfiction, S’11) is pleased to announce the publication of her essay “Flawed Lenses” in Africa Is a Country, a site of opinion, analysis, and new writing on and from the African Left. The piece examines The Black Rhinos of Namibia: Searching for Survivors in the African Desert by Rick Bass. It addresses the question of how much work we need to do to see our own history and that of the African continent in all its complexity.  

Regional Emmy Winner Pioneer PBS will feature 40 Thieves on Saipan by Joseph Tachovsky and Cynthia Kraack (Fiction, W’10) on its Postcards program on April 21 at 7:00 p.m. (CST). PBS Postcards series is carried on many regional PBS stations and can viewed On Demand here. 

Mike Langworthy (Creative Nonfiction, W’11) co-wrote the jukebox musical Take the High Road, produced by Magic Moments, Inc., a non-profit Denver-based theater company specializing in large cast productions including cast members of all physical and developmental abilities. Access to a stream of the show can be purchased until April 30 here.

Nina B. Lichtenstein (Creative Nonfiction, S’20) is thrilled to have a session accepted (“Writing the Body: How to Mine Your Treasure Chest for Memories”) on the theme of her memoir in progress at CNFers dream conference, HippoCamp22, which takes place every August in Lancaster, PA. Check out who the keynote speaker is! 

Nylah Lyman‘s (Poetry, S’10) poem “The Beds We Make” has been accepted by the South Carolina Review for their Fall 2022 issue. 

Nadja Maril’s (Fiction, W’20) flash-fiction piece “How to Re-String a Necklace” will be featured in the Spring edition of the online literary magazine Instant Noodles produced by Devil’s Party Press. Live on May 1st, the theme for their Spring issue is Pathos. Her creative nonfiction essay “Embracing the Distance Between Us” has been accepted for publication in The Avalon Literary Review, in print at the end of the month.

Laura Navarre (Popular Fiction, W’11) kept the momentum going on her Amazon category bestselling sci fi poly Astral Heat Romance series. Laura’s steamy first-time M/M New Adult sci fi romance debut Anticipated Angel releases April 1. 

Three of Bruce Pratt‘s (Fiction, S’04) poems “Cloud Skating,” “Skating with the Eagle,” and “Sugarloaf December” are included in the just-released Fall/Winter issue of Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature.

Shannon Ratliff‘s (Creative Nonfiction, S’16) essay “Mine” is live on Joyland Magazine here. 

The newest YA fairy tale, A Warning About Swans, by R.M. Romero (Popular Fiction, S’15) will be published in summer 2023 by Peachtree Teen. 

Linda K. Sienkiewicz (Fiction, S’09) has a poem titled “A View of the World” appearing in the Winter 2022 issue of New Ohio Review.

Kevin St. Jarre‘s (Popular Fiction, S’10) novel The Book of Emmaus has a cover, thanks to the art department at Encircle Publications. The novel will be published in July 2022. On April 6, 2022, Kevin has another novel dropping, also with Encircle, titled Absence of Grace, which can be pre-ordered now online and from your favorite bookshop. 

Lisa C. Taylor (Poetry, S’04) will offer a three-hour Zoom workshop on Wildness in Fiction on Saturday, May 7, on Writers.com. She will be offering a six-week class with them in late summer. Lisa’s short story “Brass Duck” will be published by Live Encounters (Indonesia). Her personal essay “Cowboy Boots” will be published by Pure Slush (Australia) in an anthology about work. She has a new poem, “My Father’s Style,” coming out in Talking River Review. Lisa’s third full-length poetry collection, Interrogation of Morning, is due out in May with Arlen House/Syracuse University Press.

Sean Ulman‘s (Fiction, S’05) debut novel Seward Soundboard is available on Amazon at half price right now. You can follow Sean’s posts about his book and his writing life on instagram: @sewardsoundboard. Or watch the book trailer here.  

Adrienne S. Wallner (Poetry, W’09) will be a visiting poetry artist for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI. Her interactive installation will be on display through April in the Social STUDIO to celebrate National Poetry Month. Adrienne glued words and phrases onto acorns, “Seeds of Inspiration,” that serve as poetry prompts and take-home art items. Participants create poems inspired by their Seed of Inspiration, then add their favorite line to a dynamic hanging sculpture representing the collective community imagination. The installation will culminate in a “poetry happening” that will take place on May 1 in the Social STUDIO.

The March issue of Orca includes a short story begun by sidney woods (Fiction, W’19), who writes as sid sibo, for workshop during a Stonecoast-in-Ireland residency. Thanks to the Stonecoasters who believed in the enviro-fic “Two and a Half” along the way. A “write outside your comfort zone” exercise with post-graduation inspiration team led to “Some Gall” (a dystopian YA flash enviro-fiction), soon to be included in an anthology called The Beautiful Twist. More exciting news, next newsletter.

FACULTY  

Tom Coash‘s (Scriptwriting) play Raghead will be produced as part of the INK Festival in Suffolk, UK, April 21-24. Tom’s play Bubble, Bubble will be produced at Emporia State University in Kansas on April 15th as part of their Festival of New Works.

Aaron Hamburger‘s (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction) short story “Simple Past Present Perfect,” newly published in The Massachusetts Review is available for reading online! 

In March, Elizabeth Hand (Popular Fiction, Fiction) was interviewed by Publishers Weekly about her forthcoming novel, Hokuloa Road. She also appeared (virtually) on an AWP Panel, Noir as an Agent for Social Change. Vox featured her in an article, discussing the popular Boba Fett books she wrote for middle-grade readers.

Debra Marquart (Creative Nonfiction, Poetry) recently published several poems and essays including the following: “When the First Love of the One You Love Dies” (North American Review, 306.3, Fall 2021); “Gratitude with Dogs Under Stars” (Des Moines Register, 23 December 2021); “What A Writer Needs” (Humanities North Dakota Magazine); and “Small Buried Things: Essay on Fracking” (Bearing Witness: The Human Rights Case Against Fracking and Climate Change, Oregon State Univ. Press, 2021). In March 2022, the Academy of American Poets interviewed Debra about her 2021-2022 Poets Laureate Fellowship, and she gave readings at The Soul Bone Lit Festival and at Southern Colorado University, Pueblo, and led a workshop, “Publishing Matters,” for Humanities North Dakota.

I’ll Show You Mine, the feature film that Elizabeth Searle (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) co-wrote—a Duplass Brothers Production starring Poorna Jagannathan (Never Have I Ever) & Casey Thomas Brown (The Kominsky Method)—will premiere April 16 at the 48th annual Seattle International Film Festival, one of the largest and longest running US film fests. The Duplass Brothers plus the film’s director Megan Griffiths and Elizabeth’s co-writers David Shields and Tiffany Louquet all have roots in the Seattle Indie Film scene. Stay tuned for updates on I’ll Show You Mine coming to a theater or TV screen near you later this year.