ANNOUNCEMENTS BARON WORMSER, 1948-2025 Baron Wormser, former Poetry faculty member at Stonecoast, passed away on October 7th. He had an extraordinary impact on his students at Stonecoast (even those of us who weren’t his students!). Some of the online obituaries and remembrances can be found at Vox Populi, Seven Days, and the Poetry Society of …
ANNOUNCEMENTS STONECOAST SUMMER 2025 RESIDENCY As we prepare for Stonecoast's Summer 2025 residency (June 12–21, 2025), we’re excited to share a few highlights we think will make our time on USM’s Portland Campus especially memorable. We’re delighted to welcome our newest faculty member, candice iloh, along with distinguished guests Debra Spark, Lewis Robinson, Julia Bouwsma, and Matthew J.C. Clark, each bringing a …
ANNOUNCEMENTS IOTA SHORT FORMS BEGINS SUNDAY WRITING SESSIONS Penny Guisinger (Creative Nonfiction, S’13) and Suzanne Strempek Shea (Faculty 2003-2021) are offering free monthly online writing sessions through Iota Short Forms. Led alternately by these two Iota Co-Directors, plus some special guests here and there, the sessions will consist of writing time with or without prompts. You’ll …
ALUMS Peter Adrian Behravesh (Popular Fiction, W'18) narrated E. M. Linden's story "The Projectionists" for the September 28 episode of Cast of Wonders, as part of their Banned Books Week. You can listen to it here. Libby Cudmore’s (Popular Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, S'10) novel Negative Girl (Datura 2024) was released in paperback, ebook, and audiobook on September 10, …
ANNOUNCEMENTS From faculty member Rick Bass:Dear Stonecoasters, Exciting updates from the efforts to designate the ancient inland rainforest in the Black Ram region of Montana’s Yaak Valley as the nation’s first Climate Refuge, dedicated to maximizing the amount of carbon that can be stored in long-term safekeeping of old and mature forests. Representative Chellie Pingree of Portland—long …
ALUMS Sarah Baldwin (Creative Nonfiction, S'15) had an article about a scholar's research on young Jewish refugees in the U.S. during WWII published by Colgate Research. Her flash essay titled "Twelve Weeks" appeared in the inaugural issue of In Short. Shannon Bowring (Fiction, W'22) has been remiss in reporting several good pieces of book-related news: Her debut novel, The Road …
ANNOUNCEMENTS As we approach the start of the summer 2024 residency (June 22 - June 29, 2024), we wanted to take a moment to share some updates about your program. This summer Stonecoast will meet on USM's Portland campus. This move gives our students and faculty access to university resources (including the Osher Map Library, the new …
ALUMS Sarah Baldwin (Creative Nonfiction, S'15) now has a website, where she can park all of her work. She hopes to beef up the Personal Writing page in 2024 by channeling Stonecoast! Peter Adrian Behravesh (Popular Fiction, W'18) narrated Dana Vickerson's story "The Best Way to Procure Breakfast" for the March 2 Patreon-exclusive episode of CatsCast. …
ANNOUNCEMENTS The second Mesa Verde Writers Conference opens for registration on March 1st. We have new faculty and it will be held in the same gorgeous location (Harmony Barn) in the mountains. Delicious locally sourced meals are included! This conference fills quickly so interested people are advised to register early. We can only take 26 …
ANNOUNCEMENTS CLIFFORD ROYAL JOHNS (POPULAR FICTION, W’18) Cliff’s wife, Barbara Johns, wanted to share this sad news with the Stonecoast community: Cliff got ill at the end of April and died of liver cancer June 23. He was never in pain, but he quickly lost over 50 pounds, was weak, and did not want visitors. He was …
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