Tag Archives: Cal Armistead

by | July 1, 2014 · 6:00 am

Community News & Updates July 2014

ALUMNI

Cal Armistead‘s (Fiction, W’07) debut young adult novel Being Henry David is a winner of the 2014 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People and was named to the Bank Street College “Best Children’s Books of the Year 2014 Edition.” It was also chosen as an “all-school summer read” for Seekonk High School, Seekonk, MA!

Michael Beeman (Fiction, S’09) was happy to see his craft essay “From Inspiration to Print” appear on the Sewanee Review‘s website. The story discussed, written during his first semester at Stonecoast, is available online through Project Muse.

Karen Bovenmyer (Popular Fiction, S’13) is thrilled to announce the publication of three short stories: “What the Dollhouse Said” in Devilfish Review‘s June 28 issue, “The Red Red Rose” in Rose Red Review on July 1, and “What We’ve Lost, Sometimes” in Crossed Genres #19 (July).

Debbie Smith Daughetee (Popular Fiction, S’08) has co-founded Kymera Press, which is dedicated to expanding the role of women in comics: “Our mission is to give women creators and artists of comic books an outlet where they can create women-friendly comics. Our secondary mission is to encourage more women to read and enjoy comics.”

flapperhousesummercovernovaPaula Treick DeBoard (Fiction, S’10) recently signed a two-book deal for her third and fourth novels, to be published in 2015 and 2016. More here. She recently attended Book Expo America ’14 to promote The Fragile World, which is released in October. More information can be found on her website or on Facebook.

Julie Day‘s (Popular Fiction, S’12) story “Faerie Medicine” is now available in the online magazine Flapperhouse.

17805396A History of Stone and Steel, the debut novel by Christopher Fisher (Fiction, W’08), was honored last month with a Gold Medal in the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs). The IPPY Gold Medal is a coveted honor among independent publishers, with this year’s competition receiving over 5,000 entries from the U.S., Canada, and eight countries overseas. Fisher’s award was for first place in the category of “Best Adult Fiction E-book.” A History of Stone and Steel also won a  Gold Medal in the Foreword Reviews “IndieFab” competition in the category of Literary Fiction. The novel, which began as Chris’s creative thesis at Stonecoast, was also honored in three other competitions this spring, receiving a Silver Medal in the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Book Awards, hosted by the Independent Book Publishers Association, as well as “Finalist” status in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards (General Fiction) and the National Indie Excellence Book Awards (Literary Fiction and Book Cover Design—Fiction).

Blind_Moon_AlleyJohn Florio (Fiction/Popular Fiction, S’07) has another novel due out August 19th. Blind Moon Alley (Prometheus/Seventh Street Books) is the second in a series of crime novels featuring Jersey Leo, an albino bartender working in an underground speakeasy during Prohibition. The book has already garnered excellent reviews, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Find out more at John’s website.

Kristin LaTour‘s (Poetry, S’07) first full-length poetry manuscript, What Will Keep Me Alive, has been accepted for publication by Sundress Publications, forthcoming in October 2015.

Sandra McDonald‘s (Popular Fiction, W’05) story “End of the World Community College” is currently on bookstands in the July/August issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. Her story about Hollywood and magic scriptwriting, “Story of Our Lives,” recently appeared in Asimov’s magazine, and her YA story “Selfie” appeared in Lightspeed.

Michaela Roessner (Popular Fiction, S’08) was one of several writers invited to provide an ekphrastic piece to accompany images by photomontage artist Viktor Koen for his “Bestiary” series, inspired by classical mythical creatures and deities. The texts will accompany the prints in exhibits around the world. Roessner’s assigned entity was the spirit Mormo, a companion of the goddess Hecate.

Catherine Schmitt (Creative Nonfiction, W’12), managing editor for The Catch: Writings from Downeast Maine, is pleased to announce the release of Volume II, featuring the work of Stonecoast alumna Anne Witty. Stonecoast alumna Linda Buckmaster is also on the Editorial Board for the journal.

Linda K. Sienkiewicz (Fiction, S’09) has signed a contract with BuddhaPuss Ink LLC for the publication of her novel, In the Context of Love (aka The Real Story) for 2014. Details here.

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam‘s (Popular Fiction, S’13) story “They Come In Through the Walls” was translated into French for the horror anthology Ténèbres, which is available now for ordering. Her story “The Stink of Horses” is available for free reading on the Hobart webpage. Her story “Scars” was released as a sneak preview of the Flapperhouse summer issue, also featuring fellow Stonecoaster Julie Day and out now in PDF format. Her story “Hero” appears today on Daily Science Fiction.

Christopher Watkins‘ (Poetry, W’08) work on 4488: A Ridge Blog is a finalist in three categories for this year’s annual Wine Blog Awards, including “Blog Post of the Year” for his post “Beauty Is a Rare Thing: Building the 2012 Monte Bello.”

STUDENTS

Cristina Perachio (Fiction) is heading out with mentor Rick Bass for a road trip from Missoula to Madison for his book project Eating My Heroes. Petrachio and Bass will travel to Tom McGuane’s ranch in Livingston and Lorrie Moore’s home in Madison to cook a “fine meal to say thank you” to Bass’ literary heroes. Perachio will be writing from the road about her experience on her blog, Thank You Gravy.

Bass cooking grilled duck (a trial run for future "thank you meals") in his home in Yaak, MT

Bass cooking grilled duck (a trial run for future “thank you meals”) in his home in Yaak, MT

FACULTY

cover of Beautiful WheelTed Deppe‘s (Poetry, Coordinator of Stonecoast in Ireland) poem “Shouting at the Windows of the Night,” from his new book Beautiful Wheel, has been “highly commended” by the judges of this year’s Forward Prizes for Poetry and will appear this autumn in The Forward Book of Poetry 2015, a collection of the best poems from the UK and Ireland—this is the equivalent of a Pushcart Prize in the U.S. He and his wife Annie Deppe will be reading and teaching at the Strandhill Summerfest in County Sligo this July, and he will give a reading at the Clifden Arts Festival in County Galway on September 25 (where Suzanne Strempek Shea will also be reading). Next spring, Ted and Annie will be at Bay Path College in Massachusetts from 7-15 February, at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, FL, on 5-6 March, and at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA, from 16 March until 11 April, before they return home to Connemara.

“Just a Juggler,” the first chapter of Boman Desai‘s (Fiction) novel The Elephant Graveyard, placed first in a contest of first chapters and will be posted here until August 1. It is his third win in a welcome hat-trick following his novel The Lesbian Man, which was a finalist for the Dana Award in April, and “The Boy from Chicago,” which placed first in a flash-fiction contest in May and will be posted here until July 1. He is happy to be leaving Stonecoast on a high, but sorry to be leaving at all. He will be glad to hear from you, and should you find yourselves in Chicago he knows a place that serves a biryani to match any in Mumbai. Just ask Mike Langworthy.

Aaron Hamburger‘s (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Popular Fiction) short story “New Neighbor” is in the anthology Law and Disorder.

Elizabeth Hand (Fiction, Popular Fiction) was visiting lecturer for the Odyssey Writing Workshop June 22-23. She’ll be Master Artist in Residence at the “your word” Teen Creative Writing Residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL, July 19-August 3. Forthcoming Washington Post reviews include Chris Bohjalian’s Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands and Deborah Harkness’s The Book of Life. Her award-winning noir novel Generation Loss has been optioned by the husband & wife producer/director team of Todd Luiso and Sara Koskoff for development as a TV miniseries.

Alexandra Oliver (Poetry) has been awarded the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for her book Meeting the Tormentors in Safeway. The Lowther is given annual to a book of poetry by a Canadian woman and carries a $1,000 prize. Previous winners include Karen Solie and Dionne Brand. One of Alexandra’s newer poems, “Watching the Cop Show in Bed,” can be found in the July/August issue of The Walrus Magazine.

Alexandra Oliver with winners and nominees at the League of Canadian Poets Awards Gala, Toronto, June 7th, 2014.

Alexandra Oliver with winners and nominees at the League of Canadian Poets Awards Gala, Toronto, June 7th, 2014.

Elizabeth Searle judged the New Rivers Press 2014 Book Prize in June, selecting from the finalists a manuscript by Tracy Robert. Elizabeth has an essay, “Reality Fiction,” forthcoming in the New Rivers Press anthology Paper Camera. She also just had a personal essay accepted for a forthcoming anthology from Algonquin Books, edited by Elizabeth Benedict.

Suzanne Strempek Shea will read from her new book This Is Paradise at 7:00 p.m. on July 31 at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA. She also will be leading a fiction workshop at Iota: The Conference of Short Prose August 14-17 on Campobello Island. Other faculty members include Barabara Hurd (essay) and Charles Coe (poetry). For full information and to register, please visit the website.

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by | March 1, 2014 · 6:33 am

Community News & Updates March 2014

ALUMNI

IllinoisReadsThe young adult novel Being Henry David by Cal Armistead (Fiction, W’07) has been chosen as one of the books for the annual “Illinois Reads” program. Under the auspices of the Illinois Reading Council, this project was created to promote reading for all Illinois citizens, from birth to adult. Thirty-six titles were chosen (Being Henry David is among six for young adults) and will be introduced into classrooms, public health facilities, public and school libraries, and bookstores. Cal has been invited to the program’s formal launch ceremony at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, IL, on March 12, along with a host of state and local officials. (Needless to say, Cal is over-the-moon excited!)

Sheila Boneham (Creative Nonfiction/Cross Genre, S’13) has won the Maxwell Award for Fiction from the Dog Writers Association of America for Drop Dead on Recall (Midnight Ink, 2012), the first book in her Animals in Focus series. The second book came out last fall, and the third is in press. DWAA is the primary professional organization for dog writers. This is Sheila’s fourth Maxwell award, her first for fiction. Sheila’s essay “The ‘I’ States” appears in the Winter “Midwest” issue of The Museum of Americana: A Literary Review, which is available online.

81PvhklXIfL._SL1500_Julie Day‘s (Popular Fiction, S’12) story “Unmaking” was reprinted in Outpouring: Yolanda Relief Anthology. All proceeds from the anthology go to the Philippines Red Cross to assist with typhoon relief. Copies may be bought at Amazon and Kobo. In a Stonecoast one-two punch, Julie’s flash piece “Drinking Grandma’s Tea” won second place in the Boskone Flash Fiction Slam. Details and fabulous photos can be found on the Boskone blog.

Bunny Goodjohn (Poetry, W’07) has a poem in issue 6 of Southern Women’s Review.

It’s a big month for Penny Guisinger (Creative Nonfiction, S’13)! Her piece “I Have This Part Right” appears in the current issue of River Teeth: A Journal of Narrative Nonfiction. Additionally, the current issue of Exit 7: A Journal of Literature and Art contains a suite of seven of her micro-prose pieces. These pieces are from a book-length work in progress called Postcards from Here.

Mistress by Magick JPEG LNavarre coverThe third book in Laura Navarre‘s (Popular Fiction, W’11) award-winning Tudor fallen-angel romance trilogy, Mistress by Magick, is out from Harlequin/Carina. He’s a daredevil Spanish pirate. She’s a Boleyn who spies for England. On the high seas, she’ll risk everything. Even her heart.

Cabildo Quarterly Online is featuring writing and mixed media by Rooze (Poetry, S’13).

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Popular Fiction, S’13) and her annual Art & Words Show was featured in Poets & Writers News and Trends section. Her story “Mrs. Stiltskin” appears in Lakeside Circus. Her essay “Stepping Through a Portal” appeared online as part of the recent Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science Fiction Kickstarter and will be included as part of the special issue.

In February, Robert E. Stutts (Popular Fiction, S’10) was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of English at Presbyterian College, where he serves as director of the Creative Writing program.

Marco Wilkinson‘s (Poetry, S’13) poem “Succession” was just published by Seneca Review in their “Beyond Category” issue.

Tammy Wilson 2Tamra Wilson (Fiction, S’11) presented a talk, “What Makes a Southern Story Southern,” on February 26 as part of her service as a Road Scholar with the NC Humanities Council. Her talk at Pomegranate Books in Wilmington, NC, was sponsored by the local affiliate of the NC Writers Network and arranged by Sheila Boneham (Creative Nonfiction/Cross Genre, S’13).

STUDENTS

Olive L. Sullivan (Fiction) will be presenting a workshop at the Transformative Language Arts Network’s annual conference, The Power of Words, held in Kansas City in September. For more information, visit the conference website. Here is a brief description of the workshop: When Liz Spencer, photographer and student, met Olive Sullivan, poet and teacher, they soon recognized they had embarked on parallel journeys of transformation. In this presentation, they’ll share their poems, stories, and artwork, weaving their two separate narratives into a seamless message of how service to one’s community can become service to one’s self. Embracing the process of your self-portrait includes recognizing the need to keep developing even in the face of back-sliding, failing, and moving forward again. Participants will develop a personal mission statement and write toward right livelihood that embodies their gifts and stories.

FACULTY

David Anthony Durham‘s (Fiction, Popular Fiction) story “All the Girls Love Michael Stein,” published in the anthology Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman, has been produced in an audio version. A sample of the story is available for listening here, and the entire anthology is available as an audiobook via Audible.com.

Aaron Hamburger‘s (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Popular Fiction) essay on Susan Conley’s memoir The Foremost Good Fortune appeared on Matador Network.

header_0Nancy Holder (Popular Fiction) will be appearing at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 16th and 17th. She will also be appearing at ConDor Con in San Diego on a special panel with Frank Beddor (The Looking Glass Wars), Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn), and others.

A staged reading of Mike Kimball‘s (Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) Edgar-nominated stage play Ghosts of Ocean House will be performed at The Actors Studio of Newburyport on Saturday, March 8, at 10:00 a.m. Suggested $7 donation at the door, cash and check only.

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last-incantations-poems-david-mura-paperback-cover-artDavid Mura (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry) will be giving a publication reading of his new book of poetry, The Last Incantations, at The Loft in Minneapolis on Friday, March 28, 7:00 p.m. He recently started a blog and his first essay, “Black (and Other) History Month,” is posted at http://blog.davidmura.com. In addition to commentary, he will be doing blog posts on creative writing in the future. He is also—yikes—now on Twitter @muradavid. He recently tweeted under the #signsyourdissertationisplottingtokillyou: 1. Does it have footnotes? 2. Does it wake you up at night? 3. Does is wake you up in the morning? 4. Are you finished?

Elizabeth Searle (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) is featured with her longtime writing group in the Winter 2014 Brown Alumni Magazine. Elizabeth’s one-act opera, Tonya & Nancy: The Opera, with music by Abigail Al-Doory Cross, had an additional performance added in St. Paul, MN, where it opened on February 20, produced by the operetta group Mixed Precipitation, which describes itself as “a performance company exploring text, space and form with festive theatrical events that inspire social engagement.” Previews for Tonya & Nancy: The Opera were performed outdoors at the Minnesota Art Shanty Festival, on ice.

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by | January 1, 2014 · 6:33 am

Community News & Updates January 2014

ALUMNI

The Young Adult novel Being Henry David by Cal Armistead (Fiction, W’07) has been listed among the “Best Young Adult Novels of 2013” by Kirkus Reviews, Mashable, and Buzzfeed.

Michael Beeman (Fiction, S’09) was thrilled to receive the Sewanee Review‘s 2013 Andrew Nelston Lytle Fiction Prize for his story “The Sleeping Santas” (written in his first semester at Stonecoast). He was also excited to see another story, “The Children Without Fathers,” published in Per Contra and to receive an acceptance letter from Volume 1 Brooklyn for “The Burglaries,” which he workshopped with Boman Desai during his master class at Stonecoast just before graduating. It was a great end to 2013!

Jennifer Marie Brissett (Popular Fiction, S’11) will be reading from her upcoming novel Elysium at the New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series held at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art on January 7th. She will be reading along with Sam J. Miller. If you’re in town, stop by!

Nancy Brown‘s (Fiction, S’08) short story “Old Orchard” won first place in the Green River Tales Short Fiction competition sponsored by Green River Writers.

Mike Langworthy (Creative Nonfiction, W’11) has joined the writing staff of Instant Mom with the title Consulting Producer. Instant Mom is a situation comedy starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Michael Boatman, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. It follows the life of Stephanie Phillips, a 25-year-old woman forced to change her single lifestyle radically when she marries an older man and suddenly finds herself the full-time stepmother of three children. The series is produced at Paramount Studios Nightlife Coverin Los Angeles and airs on Nick At Nite. Mike also continues to consult on the web series The Day Crew, which shot its first five episodes on location in Los Angeles during the week of December 8, 2013.

Matthew Quinn Martin‘s (Popular Fiction, S’10) debut novel Nightlife (PocketStar/Simon & Schuster) was selected by Badass Book Reviews as one of the top 5 horror novels of 2013 (for their “best of 2013” roundup). Earlier in the month, Matthew handed in the manuscript for the sequel Nightlife: As the Worm Turns, which is set to be released in 2014.

Maze_cover1J.M. McDermott‘s (Popular Fiction, S’11) novel Maze is coming out in this month from Apex Books. Part of it was workshopped during his first semester at Stonecoast.

From every corner of time and space, sometimes people go missing without a trace. They never come back.

Get lost in the long stone halls of the maze with the ones that find each other, form tribes, scrape out a life from rocks and sand. Their stories interweave. Maia Station is a scientist ripped from stasis, but she has no tools to test the way things are. Instead, she raises her daughter as best she can and survives. Wang Xin once had his head dipped in water, and a djinni in the water entered his eye. He sees the future, exactly as it was supposed to be if he hadn’t seen the light, but it does him no good in the life he has. In a world much like our own, Joseph comes home from a ten-year high school reunion and encounters a light in the darkness. The light speaks.

My name is Jenny. Put me in your lung. Breathe deep.

Autumn Newman

Autumn Newman‘s (Poetry, ’09) poem “Cleave” has been accepted for publication by Cider Press Review. She currently teaches full-time at College of San Mateo in California.

Bruce Pratt‘s (Fiction, S’04) poem “In A Japanese Woman’s Photos of Paris” will appear in the next issue (#75) of Hiram Poetry Review due out in spring 2014.

Stonecoasters Ann Rosenquist Fee (Fiction, S’08) and Jacob Strunk (Fiction, W’07) collaborated with musician Paris Zax on a short film built around Ann’s short story “Eucalyptusexy.” The film goes live January 2, 2014, here. Follow Ann and Jacob on the Twitters at @arosenquistfee and @sevenmileswest, respectively; they promise more spoken words and moving pictures soon.

Strunk Fee 01-2013

STUDENTS

Sandra Dascensao (Popular Fiction) has won an honorable mention in the Thriller category for the 2013 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Award for her short story “A-1 Charter.” Her story will be listed in the May/June issue of Writer’s Digest and on writersdigest.com. Sandra is a new student at Stonecoast this semester.

Alexis Paige‘s (Creative Nonfiction) Pithead Chapel essay “A Decent Happiness,” published last March, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

FACULTY

David Anthony Durham (Fiction, Popular Fiction) will be featured in a lengthy interview in the February volume of The Writer’s Chronicle.

Aaron Hamburger‘s (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Popular Fiction) essay on New Zealand author Frank Sargeson will appear in the summer issue of Tin House.

Nancy Holder (Popular Fiction) sold “In Arkham Town Where I Was Bound” to Out of Tune, an anthology to be published by JournalStone in May. She is teaching The Secrets of a Satisfying Short Story, an online class for Odyssey, from January 20-February 20.

9781250046215_p0_v1_s260x420Jim Kelly‘s (Popular Fiction) story “The Promise of Space” from the September issue of Clarkesworld has been selected for a second Best of the Year collection, this one being The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois (St. Martin’s Griffin).

In Portland, ME, on Friday, January 24, at 8:00 p.m., The Portland Stage Company will present Mike Kimball‘s (Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) play Bar Exam as performed by the Improvised Puppet Project. In other words, the first scene will be performed as scripted (a woman runs into her gynecologist at a singles bar), and then the puppets will take off on their own. Live theatre doesn’t get any “liver” than this. Or stranger. For details, click here.

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David Mura (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Writing for Social Change) will publish a new book of poetry, The Last Incantations, in March 2014 last-incantations-poems-david-mura-paperback-cover-art(Northwestern University Press). This fall David published two essays: “An Asian American Race Man” in Black Renaissance Noire and “Mixed Voices”/ “Ambiguously Brown” in the Asian American Literary Review. An essay critiquing the musical Miss Saigon and an essay critiquing large mainstream arts institutions recently appeared on the website Opine Season. An essay, “Asian Americans: The Front & Back of the Bus,” will appear next year in an anthology of essays on poetry and race published by University of Georgia Press.

In a recent interview with The Toronto Quarterly, Alexandra Oliver (Poetry, ’12) waxes eloquent on her new collection Meeting the Tormentors in Safeway—and explains why readings in bars and restaurants need their own handbook.

Elizabeth Searle‘s (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera is coming to Los Angeles. The show will be performed in a “rock concert” version on February 4, 2014, at the King King Club in Hollywood. The performance will be produced by Harborside Films and will serve as a benefit concert for the iconic LGBT Celebration Theatre. A full-production run of the rock opera, produced by Harborside, is in the works for later in 2014 in L.A. Check for updates at elizabethsearle.net.

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by | June 1, 2013 · 12:01 am

Community News & Updates June 2013

ALUMNI

Cal Armistead (Fiction, W’o7) will be a panelist at the sixth annual “Are You a Bookie?” book club gathering June 2nd from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Bay Path College in Longmeadow, MA. Cal will read from and sign copies of her first novel, the critically acclaimed (most recently by The Boston Globe) Being Henry David, during this event, which is open to the public free of charge and will be headlined by bestselling novelist, memoirist, and columnist Joan Wickersham. Suzanne Strempek Shea, the college’s writer-in-residence, will emcee. Details are here.

Nancy Brown‘s (Fiction, S’08) story “Hay Day” will appear in the book Summer Stories being published later this year. Summer Stories is the result of a collaboration between the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) and Shanti Arts Publishing. They invited Mainers to write short stories inspired by a series FINAL_cover_EV26of summer-themed paintings by Leslie Anderson. Award-winning Maine author Ron Currie, Jr., selected twelve stories to be published alongside Anderson’s paintings in the book.

Julie Day‘s (Popular Fiction, S’12) story “Paradigm Shift” was published in Electric Velocipede 26. The story was originally created as part of Bonnie Stufflebeam‘s annual Arts & Words Show. A second story by Julie, “The Death of Love Project,” came out in the May issue of Swamp Biscuits and Tea.

The Mourning HoursPaula Treick DeBoard (Fiction, S’10) is excited to announce that her novel The Mourning Hours (Harlequin MIRA) will be released on June 25th. She’d especially like to thank the people who worked with her and saw this novel in its various stages of life, including her fellow workshoppers and her mentors Aaron Hamburger, Ted Deppe, Suzanne Strempek Shea, and Boman Desai. More information about the book can be found on her website or on Facebook.

SPM cover 96dpiJohn Florio (Fiction/Popular Fiction, S’07) has two books being released this summer. His novel, Sugar Pop Moon, is being released by Prometheus/ Seventh Street Books on July 9th, the first in a series of crime novels featuring Jersey Leo, an albino bartender working in a Hell’s Kitchen speakeasy during Prohibition. John will read from Sugar Pop Moon in Boston and in New York throughout July and August. Event dates will be posted on the novel’s Facebook page. John’s nonfiction book (with Ouisie Shapiro), One Punch from the Promised Land, will be released by Globe Pequot/Lyons Press on September 3rd. One Punch tells the story of boxer-brothers Leon and Michael Spinks and questions the myth surrounding the sport’s heavyweight One Punch Coverchampions in 20th-century America. Information on readings of One Punch will be posted on that book’s Facebook page. Find out more at John’s website.

Marie Hannan-Mandel (Popular Fiction, ’07) has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association (UK) Debut Dagger Award for a mystery set in a Brooklyn high school. She worked on this novel during her time at Stonecoast. The winner will be announced in London on July 15th.

“Sexy Robot Mom,” a story about gender and the apocalypse by Sandra McDonald (Popular Fiction, W’05), won the Asimov‘s Readers’ Award for Best Short Story (tie) along with a cash prize. Visit her here.

Cabildo Quarterly, a poetry broadside, has solicited poems from Bruce Pratt (Fiction, ’04) and will publish “A Friend Speaks” in the fall print issue and “Clapping” and “Getting the Mail” on its website next week. His play Memories of Paradise will be featured in a reading at the 2013 Sport Literature Association Conference in Monmouth, NJ, on June 27th.

Christopher Watkins‘ (Poetry, W’08) poem “Ballyvaughan” has just appeared in the new issue of Hayden’s Ferry Review. His wine blog, 4488: A Ridge Blog, is a two-category finalist in the 2013 Wine Blog Awards.

A story by Tamra Wilson (Fiction, S’11) appears in the inaugural issue of South Florida Arts Journal. She is also pleased to have her story, “The Bird Watcher,” appear in the 2013 issue of Penumbra, published by the English department at California State University-Stanislaus.

STUDENTS

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam‘s (Popular Fiction) story “An Exodus of Wings” appeared in Daily Science Fiction on Friday, May 24th.

FACULTY

Aaron Hamburger‘s (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Popular Fiction) short story “No More Wild Orchids” appears in the spring issue of The Carolina Quarterly.

James Patrick Kelly (Popular Fiction) recently sold three new stories. “Sing, Pilgrim,” the first draft of which was written at Stonecoast as one of his flash-fiction challenges, went to The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy. “Someday” will be forthcoming from Asimov’s Science Fiction. And in the fastest turnaround in his career, “Soulcatcher,” which he sold to Clarkesworld in late April, was published online on May 1st.

Knitting YarnElizabeth Searle (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) and Suzanne Strempek Shea (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction) are thrilled to have seen the cover of Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, an anthology edited by Ann Hood that will be published by Norton in November and will include essays by each of them.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Via Bruce Pratt: All Stonecoast Fiction Writers are reminded that the deadline for submissions to the Annual American Fiction Prize are due by June 15. All genres of fiction are welcomed. This series, whose first six issues were published by Birch Lane Press/Carol Publishing Group, was called “a must-read collection for all short-fiction enthusiasts” by Booklist. The series moved to New Rivers Press in 1997; editors Alan Davis and Michael White chose previously unpublished stories for inclusion in the first ten volumes. Volumes 11 (2010) and 12 (2012) were edited by Kristen Tsetsi, Bayard Godsave, and Bruce Pratt. Volume 13–set for publication in 2014–is being edited by Bruce Pratt. A well-known writer serves as guest judge, chooses three prizewinners who receive a cash award, and writes the introduction. This year’s judge is Michael White. In 1998, Writer’s Digest chose the series as one of the top fifteen fiction magazines in the United States.

First Prize: $1,000
Second Prize: $500
Third Prize: $250
Entry Fee: $16/story

Previous finalist  judges include Charles Baxter, Ann Beattie, Robert Boswell, Ray Carver, Louise Erdrich, Clint McCown, Antonya Nelson, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Tim O’Brien, Wallace Stegner, Anne Tyler, and Tobias Wolff.

Contest Guidelines: New Rivers Press will publish approximately twenty short stories in each American Fiction volume, subtitled The Best Unpublished Stories by Emerging Writers. We seek well crafted, character driven literary fiction in any genre with a maximum of 10,000 words per story. Each of the selected story authors will receive national publication and distribution, author discount, and two complimentary copies. $1,750 in prizes will be awarded. ($1,000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd place, and $250 for 3rd place). The finalist judge for Volume 13 is Michael White. There is a reading fee of $16 for each online submission from Feb. 1 through June 15 at the Submittable website. Submit electronically.

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by | May 1, 2013 · 4:00 am

Community News & Updates May 2013

STONECOAST READINGS

On May 13, Elizabeth Searle will host a reading at Newtonville Books in Newton, MA, celebrating ten years of Stonecoast MFA and featuring readings by Stonecoast alumni Eugenio Volpe, Cal Armistead, Mihku Paul, and Richard Cambridge.

ALUMNI

Michael Beeman‘s (Fiction, S’09) short story “The Sleeping Saints” was published in the Winter 2013 issue of The Sewanee Review. The story, written while he was working with Kelly Link during his first semester at Stonecoast, was also well-received in a recent New Pages review.

LaunchPadJennifer Marie Brissett (Popular Fiction, S’11) was accepted into the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for established writers. It’s held in beautiful high-altitude Laramie, WY, and aims to provide a “crash course” in modern astronomy science through guest lectures as well as observation through the University of Wyoming’s professional telescopes.

Tamie Marie Fields‘ (Creative Nonfiction, S’12) essay “Hook and Sway” was published in the April issue of Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments.

J. M. McDermott (Popular Fiction, S’11) sold a story, “Dolores, Big and Strong,” to Asimov’s Science Fiction.

Bruce Pratt (Fiction, ’04) will be directing a staged reading of Elizabeth Searle‘s ten-minute play Stolen Girl on Sunday, May 5, at 1:00 p.m. at the historic Penobscot Theatre’s Opera House in Bangor, ME, as part of the Northern Writes Festival of New Works. A Q&A with the author will follow the performance. Bruce’s short play Memories of Paradise and Mike Kimball‘s short play Janey Succumbs to Polar Madness are included in the Maine Playwrights Festival in Portland, which runs from April 26-May 4 at the St. Lawrence Arts Center. The third performance of Bruce’s play will run Saturday, May 4, at 8:00 p.m.; Mike’s play will be presented on May 2 and May 3 at 7:30 p.m. and again on May 4 at 4:00 p.m. Additional information may be found here, and tickets may be ordered by calling 207.854.0065.

Lisa Romeo (Creative Nonfiction, S’08) has been appointed creative nonfiction editor for the forthcoming online literary journal, Compose. Last month, her memoir proposal was one of five finalists in the Seal Press book contract contest sponsored by SheWrites.com. This winter, Lisa judged Kenneth Kingery/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award for the Council for Wisconsin Writers, selected David McGlynn’s memoir, A Door in the Ocean.

staten_island_noirPatricia Smith (Poetry, S’08, and former Stonecoast poetry faculty member) will be reading at the Library of Congress on May 1, along with poets Kevin Young, Brenda Shaughnessy, Marily Chin, and Brian Turner. The program, “Necessary Utterance: Poetry As Cultural Force,” commemorates Nathasha Trethewey’s historic term as poet laureate. On May 2, Patricia will receive the Robert L. Fish Award from the Mystery Writers of America, given for the best debut story in the genre. “When They Are Done with Us,” her contribution to the crime-fiction anthology Staten Island Noir (which she also edited) was chosen for the Fish Award and will be included in Best American Short Stories 2013.

STUDENTS

Sheila Boneham (Creative Nonfiction/Cross Genre) has been invited to participate in the “Lunch with an Author” fundraiser on May 2 in Wilmington, NC. Proceeds from the event go to support Creative Writing Scholarships at Cape Fear Community College. Sheila will also be speaking about her writing to the New Hanover Kennel Club in Wilmington on May 13, with a portion of proceeds going to support canine health research.

FACULTY

pw may june 2013“Bon Appétit: How Food Writing Fed My Fiction,” Aaron Hamburger‘s (Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Popular Fiction) essay on fiction and food writing, is in the current issue of Poets and Writers. Also, his short story “No More Wild Orchids” will appear in the upcoming issue of Carolina Quarterly.

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Duck and Cover

Mike Kimball‘s (Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) full-length play Duck and Cover has been selected to be read at the Bangor Opera House as part of the Penobscot Theatre Company‘s 7th Annual Northern Writes Festival May 3-5. A full production of Duck and Cover (“A delicious mix of drama, history and humor… Smart, witty, heartwarming and incisively written. Truly engaging.” ––Portsmouth Hearld) will be staged May 30-June 9 at Acorn Studio Theater (Westbrook ME | 207.854.0065). His new short play Janey Succumbs to Polar Madness will be part of the 2013 Maine Playwrights Festival (also on Facebook) on May 2-3 at 7:30 p.m. and on May 4 at 4:00 p.m. at the St. Lawrence Center for the Performing Arts in Portland, ME.

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Elizabeth Searle (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) has a new one-act play, Stolen Girl, premiering at Northern Writes Festival of New Works in Maine at the Bangor Opera House on Sunday, May 5, directed by Bruce Pratt (Fiction, ’04) and produced by the Penobscot Theatre Company.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The inaugural issue of The Catch: Writings from Downeast Maine, a new literary journal launched in association with the Downeast Fisheries Trail, was published on April 10 and is available here. The submission window opens in September; Catherine Schmitt (Creative Nonfiction, W’12) is managing editor.

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by | March 1, 2013 · 12:36 am

Community News & Updates March 2013

ALUMNI NEWS

Being Henry DavidCal Armistead‘s (Fiction, W’07) debut young adult novel, Being Henry David, was released three weeks ahead of its March 1 release date by Albert Whitman Teen. It has received favorable reviews, including a starred review in Kirkus Reviews, and has already sold out is first printing! Luckily, a second printing is underway.

Kathy Briccetti (Creative Nonfiction, W’07) will be attending the Vermont College of Fine Arts Post-Graduate Writers’ Conference in Montpelier in August to work on her novel manuscript with Lee Martin.

Libby Cudmore (Popular Fiction, S’10) has begun her yearlong stunt memoir project, Geek Girl Goes Glam, testing and following vintage beauty, dating, career, and housekeeping tips and advice.

David Hewitt (Popular Fiction, S’09) will, as of Fall 2013, be taking up a permanent full-time post on the English faculty of the Community College of Baltimore County.

NoReturn_Press_Corrected_FinalV1Zachary Jernigan‘s (Popular Fiction, S’11) debut fantasy novel, No Return, comes out from Night Shade Books in hardcover, ebook, and Audible audiobook on March 5th, 2013.

Lissa Kiernan‘s (Poetry, S’11) “The Art of Hurricanes” appears in Underwater New York, and two poems, “Whereas” and “Ecologue on Decommissioning,” are featured as finalists in Terrain.org’s third annual contest.

Mike Langworthy (Creative Nonfiction, W’11) has been hired as a consulting producer on Spun Out, a new situation comedy starring Dave Foley recently ordered for 13 episodes by Candian television network CTV, with production tentative scheduled to begin May 2013 for a summer launch. He continues in development on a syndicated children’s series, working title Rock Island, as co-creator and executive producer. The Star Angel, from Colonial Radio Theater, on which he worked as a consulting producer, has been nominated for an Audie Award as best audio drama. He is currently adapting the story as an animated feature. Also in development is a romantic comedy movie for television, working title Survey Monkey, with director Brian Roberts for MarVista Entertainment.

Will Ludwigsen‘s (Popular Fiction, W’11) collection In Search Of and Others releases today and has already received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. He has also been interviewed by Adam Mills (Popular Fiction, W’12) for Weird Fiction Review and by Zachary Jernigan (Popular Fiction, S’11) at his blog.

Kings of RuinMatthew Quinn Martin‘s (Popular Fiction, S’10) novel Nightlife (an earlier draft of which was his MFA thesis) has sold to Pocket Star (Simon & Schuster) as part of a two-book deal along with an, as yet, unwritten sequel.

Sandra McDonald‘s (Popular Fiction, W’05) latest GLBTQ novel for teen readers (under the pseudonym Sam Cameron) goes on sale this month. Kings of Ruin is about teens, aliens, rock ‘n’ roll, and secret government agencies.

MagickByMoonriseFinalThe launch book in Laura Navarre‘s (Popular Fiction, W’11) Tudor paranormal romance trilogy for Harlequin/Carina, titled Magick by Moonrise, comes out in print and Audible formats on March 11. When Tudor England and the Faerie kingdom collide, the players risk all for power. But only love can save them. Magick by Moonrise won the Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s 2012 award for romance. Pick up your copy here.

Bruce Pratt‘s (Fiction, 04) poem “A distant ship tiding home,” awarded the 2007 Ellipsis poetry prize by James Galvin for Ellipsis: A Journal of Literature and Art, and included in his collection Boreal from Antrim House Books, also 2007, has been selected for inclusion in the non-fiction and poetry anthology The Heart of All That Is: Reflections on Home, from Holy Cow Press to be published in October 2013. His short play Memories of Paradise will be performed as part of the 2013 Maine Play Festival at the St. Lawrence Arts Center in Portland. The festival runs from April 25 through May 5. Information on the festival, which also includes work by Stonecoast faculty member Mike Kimball, is available here. The play will also be published in the forthcoming Spring issue of Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature and will be presented as a reading at the annual Sport Literature Association Conference in Monmouth, NJ, this June. obdriveway@aol.com

Michaela Roessner-Herman (Popular Fiction, S’08) is contributing essays on writing to the Western State Colorado University Fiction Concentration blog. To date, she’s posted articles on the author/reader contract, misdirection, and cueing/filtering.

Steve Rhodes (Poetry, W’11) reports that Still has just published his poem “Red-eyed Vireo,” which also was a finalist in that journal’s recent poetry contest. In addition, Christianity and Literature has accepted his poem “Into the Woods.”

Catherine Schmitt (Creative Nonfiction, W’12) is organizing a reading series by authors of recent Gulf of Maine-related books at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum March 1-2. More information can be found here. She also has a review of one of the books, Mortal Sea by Jeffrey Bolster, in the current issue of The Working Waterfront newspaper.

STUDENT NEWS

Boneham_book_dropdead_90dpiSheila Boneham (Creative Nonfiction/Cross Genre) will be reading “Chasm Familiaris” at the bi-annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Literature & Environment in Lawrence, KS, in May. “Chasm” is excerpted from a long narrative nonfiction WIP that “blends elements of memoir, science, folklore, contemporary culture, and history…not to provide answers but to provoke thoughtful (re)considerations of our attitudes and actions as they may affect the future of Canis lupus familiaris, both the species and the warm muzzles in our hands.” Sheila’s reading will be part of a panel called “Connecting with Canines: A Creative Nonfiction Reading.” Also, Sheila spoke on plot character development in her mystery Drop Dead on Recall at Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair on February 23. The Book ‘Em Foundation, a partnership between authors and law enforcement, holds events to raise public awareness of the correlation between high illiteracy rates and high crime rates. Sheila and other authors donated at least 40% of proceeds from the sales of their books to the community—in this case, Robesome County and Lumberton, NC—for the purpose of increasing literacy and reducing crime.

The Hermes & Hekate Road Show, a radio drama-style serial podcast that Genevieve Williams (Popular Fiction) has been working, on launches in March with a “season” of seven episodes; if it’s well received additional “seasons” will be written and produced. Interested listeners can find it here or check out the Facebook page.

FACULTY NEWS

Tony Barnstone‘s (Poetry, Translation) new book of poems, Buddha in Flames, has been accepted for publication in 2014 by Sheep Meadow Press. In addition, his CD of original music, Tokyo’s Burning: WWII Songs, is available for purchase at CD Baby, Amazon.com, iTunes, and Spotify. His selected poems Bestia en el Apartamento: Antología poética (1999-2012) will appear in a bilingual Spanish-English edition with Ediciones El Tucán de Virginia (Mexico City) in 2013, with translations by Mariano Zaro.

Portugeuse Other LandsDavid Anthony Durham (Popular Fiction) has two new foreign language publications. The Sacred Band has just been released in France as L’alliance sacrée, and the first half of The Other Lands has been released in Portugal as Outras Terras (they’re publishing the trilogy as a six-book series).

Nancy Holder (Popular Fiction) will appear on three panels at the Tucson Festival of Books, the fourth largest book festival in the U.S.:

Romance: The Last Frontier in SciFi & Fantasy
Saturday, March 9th, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Integrated Learning Center – Room 140

It’s Not all Demons, Death and Destruction
Saturday, March 9th, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Koffler – Room 216

Writing Fantasy for a Young Adult Audience
Saturday, March 9th, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Integrated Learning Center – Room 140

Nancy will also be a guest lecturer at Pepperdine University on March 27th, and she will be one of two Author Guests of Honor at the 2014 World Horror Convention in Portland, OR (the other is Jack Ketchum).

ebTwo of Mike Kimball‘s (Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) short plays, Henny and Hitler in Hell and Falling Falling: A Gothic Mystery, will be featured in a show called Evening Broadcasts III, which will be staged at The Players’ Ring in Portsmouth, NH, from March 8-24. For reservations and additional information, click here.

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by | February 1, 2013 · 2:09 am

Community News & Updates February 2013

ALUMNI NEWS

Being Henry DavidCal Armistead‘s (Fiction, W’07) debut young adult novel, Being Henry David, will be released by Albert Whitman & Co. on March 1, 2013. Cal’s novel has already received a starred Kirkus review! For more, see www.calarmistead.com.

Eric’s Hysterics is proud to present Love Hurts, an anthology edited by Eric M. Bosarge (Popular Fiction, W’12) that includes 21 humorous stories about falling in love, falling out, and everything in between. Featuring Stonecoast alumni Payne Ratner and faculty member Mike Kimball, the collection is sure to delight. The anthology will be available February 7th. For more information, visit the website.

ColoredLens6Julie Day‘s (Popular Fiction, S’12) “China Island” came out in the Winter 2013 edition of The Colored Lens (an eMagazine available on Amazon.com and, amazingly, free to Amazon Prime members). As always, you can find Julie on Facebook and on her blog.

Tamie Marie Fields (Creative Nonfiction, S’12) had her first-ever publication in Cirque (page 87!). The essay is titled “Silvers.” She has an upcoming essay titled “Hook and Sway” in the March issue of Terrain.

TwoMenTenSuns_coverJeff Foltz (Fiction, S’04) will be on a signing tour in the Midwest for his new novel, Two Men Ten Suns, and his first novel, Birkebeiner, A Story of Motherhood and War (his Stonecoast thesis). Here are the dates:

Friday, February 15 — Marquette, MI — Book World, 136 W. Washington Street — 3:00-8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 16 — Iron Mountain, MI — Book World, 1104 S. Stephenson Highway — reading and Q&A from 12:00-1:00 p.m., signing to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 17 — Escanaba, MI — Book World, 301 Lincoln Road, Suite 29 — 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 21, and Friday, February 22 — American Birkebeiner Expo, Hayward, WI Middle School — signing
Saturday, February 23 — Cable, WI — Redbery Books — 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 27 — Long Lake, MN — Gear West Ski Shop, 1786 W. Wayzata Blvd. #B — signing and Q&A
Friday, March 1 — Rhinelander, WI — Book World, 58 Brown Street — 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 — Minocqua, WI — Book World, 522 Oneida Street — 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 3 — Eagle River, WI — Book World — 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Mike Langworthy (Creative Nonfiction, W’11) continues to write his biweekly column for The Forecaster, a weekly newspaper covering the southern and central Maine coast. He is also executive producer and co-creator of Rock Island, a syndicated children’s television show in development, in association with a number of Portland-area nonprofits and media companies. He is also a consultant and story editor on Spun Out, a multi-camera situation comedy pilot for Canadian network CTV, starring Dave Foley (Newsradio, The Kids in the Hall) and shot in Toronto on January 18, 2013.

Sandra McDonald (Popular Fiction, W’05) sold her short story “Fleet” to the speculative fiction anthology We See A Different Frontier. She also sold her ninth book, a thriller about gay veterans in Philadelphia.

peacepeopleEllen Meeropol (Fiction, W’06) has a short story titled “Her Flammable Sister” in the February 2013 issue of Dove Tales (Writing for Peace). Her essay with Rosellen Brown and Tracy Daugherty, “Balancing Craft & Commitment: Writing Political Fiction,” will be in the March/April 2013 issue of The Writers Chronicle.

Rebecca Hotaling Nix‘s (Fiction, W’12) short story “Someplace Else” was published in ninepatch: A Creative Journal for Women and Gender Studies at Eastern Kentucky University and can be read here. Also, her screenplay “Exes” is being made into a movie; filming will being in April. (She was approached by a composer from Barcelona, Spain, who’s interested in writing the soundtrack.) She hopes to screen the movie during a future Stonecoast residency, maybe Winter or Summer 2014. For updates, check out the Facebook page.

Mihku Paul (Fiction, S’10) will read from her poetry collection, 20th Century PowWow Playland, on Friday, February 8th, at “Hear The Women” in the Nick Sapiel Building on Indian Island (Maine). The line-up includes Cheryl Savageau (an Abenaki poet) and Yvette Nolan (an Algonquin playwright). On Saturday, February 9th, Mihku will co-teach a writing workshop, “HERstory,” for Waponahki women. This event is co-sponsored by the Penobscot Nation and Gedakina, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening Waponahki communities through the preservation of cultural heritage.

Lisa Romeo (Creative Nonfiction, S’08) has joined the faculty of The Writers Circle, teaching nonfiction and leading all-genre workshops at three locations in northern New Jersey. Her narrative essay, “Old Men Who Write,” will appear in Under the Sun‘s first online issue (Spring 2013). Lisa is also editing essays and short stories for the newly revived Brain, Child magazine, and was recently interviewed on WTBQ radio (Orange County, NY) on their Creative Vision program, offering tips for writers.

Catherine Schmitt‘s (Creative Nonfiction, W’12) story, “The Snowy Owls of Acadia,” appears in the Winter issue of Friends of Acadia Journal.

futuredaze-cover-finalCo-editors Hannah Strom-Martin (Popular Fiction, W’09) and Erin Underwood (Popular Fiction, S’09) announce the publication of Futuredaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction from Underwords Press on February 12, 2013. Futuredaze includes 33 original short science fiction stories and poems that spark the imagination, twist the heart, and make us yearn for the possibilities of a world yet to come. Contributing authors include faculty member Nancy Holder (Popular Fiction) and alumna Sandra McDonald (Popular Fiction, W’05). Futuredaze will be available in print and as an eBook, and it will be distributed in bookstores and online venues in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Below is the book video that Underwoods Press created for the anthology.

Robert E. Stutts‘s (Popular Fiction, S’10) short story “Hungry” (one of his Stonecoast stories) will appear on Daily Science Fiction the week of February 11th.

Gina Troisi‘s (Creative Nonfiction, W’09) essay, “Wrapped Up in Skin, Hidden Behind Eyes,” was published in Gettysburg Review, Spring 2013 issue. Her essay, “The Angle of Flickering Light,” was a finalist for the 2012 Bellevue Literary Review Prize in Nonfiction. ginatroisi@yahoo.com

Tamra Wilson (Fiction, S’11) took second place in the Charlotte Writers Club Creative Nonfiction competition with the essay “Wildflowers.” The same piece has been accepted for publication in ENO, a new journal of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.

STUDENT NEWS

Linda Kobert‘s (Creative Nonfiction) travel essay “The Eye of God” appears in the latest print version—the India Issue—of the literary and arts journal Annalemma. The piece documents part of her Fall 2010 around-the-world voyage on Semester at Sea, during which she taught—what else?—writing.

future-gamesBonnie Jo Stufflebeam‘s (Popular Fiction) short story “The Wanderers” will be published in the February 2013 issue of Clarkesworld.

Genevieve Williams‘s (Popular Fiction) short story, “Kip, Running,” which originally appeared in Strange Horizons, is now available in the Future Games anthology from Prime Books, alongside stories by Cory Doctorow, James Morrow, George R.R. Martin, and Kate Wilhelm.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

penobscotNorthern Writes Festival. Submissions are open year round for plays—especially full-length works—that are set in the greater Bangor area, as part of Penobscot Theatre Company‘s Northern Writes Project. The geographic area may be interpreted liberally, but the plays must be fully based in Maine. There is no reading fee as this is not part of our annual new play festival contest (submissions for that closed January 31). This year’s Northern Writes Festival will take place in Bangor April 19-21, 2013. Details can be found here. Scripts should be mailed to

Bruce Pratt
Northern Writes Coordinator
Penobscot Theatre Company
115 Main Street 4th Floor
Bangor ME 04401

All plays must be in standard playwriting form and bound with at least a binder clip. Include SASE for reply and, if you wish, postcard for acknowledgement of receipt.

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by | September 1, 2012 · 3:54 am

Community News & Updates September 2012

ALUMNI NEWS

Cal Armistead (Fiction, W’07) has published her first young adult novel, Being Henry David (Albert Whitman & Co.), which will be released March 1, 2013. Visit her at www.calarmistead.com.

Jeanette Lynes‘ (Popular Fiction, ’05) sixth book of poetry, Archive of the Undressed, is forthcoming from Wolsak and Wynn in September 2012. The poems explore pin-up, Playboy, burlesque, and rural repression.

Mihku Paul‘s first book of poetry, 20th Century PowWow Playland, has just been published by Bowman Books, an imprint of the Greenfield Review Press. Portions of the book were written at Stonecoast, while working with Richard Hoffman and Baron Wormser. 20th Century PowWow Playland is available from the publisher at nativeauthors.com and will soon be available in local bookstores. Plans are in the works for availability in digital format as well. Also, Mihku’s panel proposal for AWP 2013 Boston was recently accepted for presentation. This is her second panel acceptance for AWP. The panel, HOME/LAND: Inner Landscapes and Outer Geographies in the Work of Native Northeast Poets, examines the expansion of landscape in the imagination of contemporary Native poets in the northeast and explores the question of psychic and spiritual connection to homeland for Native people who have lost much of their land base. Guest panelists include Lisa Brooks and Cheryl Savageau.

The new Platte Valley Review includes Bruce Pratt‘s story “Missing Person” and the latest issue of Puckerbrush Review contains his story “May Alison.” Bruce has recently accepted a part-time position with the Penobscot Theatre Company and would like to receive scripts—especially dramas, one-acts, and shorter plays—from any SC alums or faculty. Email Bruce at obdriveway@aol.com for more information and please include in the subject header Northern Writes.

Steve Rhodes (Poetry, ’10) says, “I had a pretty fair year of finding journal homes for my poems in Coal City Review, Roanoke Review, The SHOp (Ireland), Saranac Review, Sow’s Ear, Crate, Off the Coast, and Chocorua Review, the new mag edited by SC alums Nylah Lyman and Kevin St. Jarre. I’m shopping my new poetry collection around—titled Ready to Be a Little Happy. Finally, I’m back at work on my memoir with help from Suzanne Strempek Shea. Life is good.”

Michaela Roessner has signed a contract with Tachyon Publications to complete the third book in her food-focused fantasy trilogy that revolves around the life of Catherine de Medici. Besides the print edition of the third book, the agreement also includes the publishing of all three books as e-books.

Julie Scharf‘s poem, “Watching Shadows,” will appear in the Autumn 2012 edition of Mused.

Robert E. Stutts (Popular Fiction, S’10) had a critical essay, “Reconciling the Manichaean Heresy in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita,” published in The Explicator in September 2012; the essay was originally written as one of his Stonecoast annotations.

Tamra Wilson (Fiction, S’11) is a finalist for the Marchigonne Fiction Contest. Her story, “The Cozy Corner,” will appear in the upcoming issue of The New Guard. Meanwhile, her essay, “Traveling Partners,” is in the Chicken Soup anthology I Can’t Believe My Cat Did That, coming September 18th to bookstores everywhere. Tamra is also a contributor to WFAEats, an online foodie journal for NPR station WFAE, Charlotte. Read her posts here.

FACULTY NEWS

Elizabeth Searle (faculty) and Steve Almond have organized a literary and musical benefit for Elizabeth Warren’s senatorial campaign the night of Sept. 13 at Precinct, 70 Union Square, Somerville, Mass. Authors will include Andre Dubus III, Anita Shreve, Tom Perotta, Suzanne Strempek Shea (faculty), who will be part of a VIP reception, and music will be by Amy Correia. For details on tickets, check out the poster by clicking here.

OTHER NEWS & CALLS FOR SUBMISSION

Mike Kimball passed along this information: “For those writing plays of any length, from two minutes up, En Avant Playwrights Forums offers comprehensive, up-to-date listing of submission opportunities.”

Many members of the Stonecoast community are deeply concerned about the injustices of our world and want to use writing as a tool for social justice. One goal of the Writing for Social Change Project is to share ideas about literary social change projects both locally and globally. The first step is to collect and share stories about Stonecoast students, faculty, and alumni who are actively using writing to promote social justice. If you’ve been involved in work like this, please send a short (150-200 words) description, including a jpg photo (of you or the activity), and  at least one resource (e.g. book, website) to help others get involved with similar projects. I’m hoping to have these available to post on the Stonecoast website by mid-October. Please end to ellenmeeropol@verizon.net.

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