ACW GOES DIGITAL 📣
ACW has gone digital and has lots to offer you online. Thanks to you, the ACW community remains strong. Stay connected for more opportunities to create, learn and share laughs. ACW can’t wait to see you – in an email, on social media, in comments on writing you like, at the live virtual events and classes. — Adirondack Center for Writing Staff & Board
multi-day EVENT | Anne LaBastille Women’s Writing Weekend 🏕
Join a group of like-minded women for a reading and writing retreat. Activities will include writing workshops, reflective paddling, arts-based activities, technical writing and experiential learning, and Adirondack-based readings to contemplate the role of sense of place in nature writing.
- Friday, June 25-Sunday, June 27, 2021
- Great Camp Sagamore in Raquette Lake, NY
- UPDATE: This retreat is full and has a waiting list
apply | Anne LaBastille memorial writers residency 🌳
Indoor and outdoor writing spaces, family-style meals, and fireside discussions at a lakeside lodge in the Adirondacks.
The Adirondack Center for Writing offers a two-week residency annually in October to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers at a lodge on Twitchell Lake in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Now is the time to prepare your application!
Note: Proof of vaccination is required for selected residents. Selected residents who are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons will be required to provide proof of negative test upon arrival to the lodge and will contact ACW to ensure proper protocols are maintained and residents can enjoy the residency safely!
- Application Period: July 1-15, 2021 | Decision Announcement: August 23, 2021
- Application fee $30.00
- Residency dates: Sunday, October 3-Sunday, October 17, 2021
art opening reception | art exhibit by incarcerated artists at john brown farm 🖼
The Adirondack Center for Writing and Federal Correctional Institute Ray Brook are proud to present an exhibit of pieces created by incarcerated artists. This 25-piece exhibit features paintings and some pottery, all inspired by classic Adirondack landscapes and figures. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Visitors are expected to follow all current safety guidelines.
- Opening Reception: Saturday, July 3, 2021, 12:00-4:00pm at John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, NY
- Art Exhibit: Saturday, July 3-Tuesday, August 31, 2021
- Online Art Silent Auction: Tuesday, August 17-Tuesday, August 31, 2021
online class | Crafting Flash Fiction: Pack a Punch in Fewer Words with Tyler Barton 🥊
A form as old as fiction itself, flash (prose under 1,000 words) has become a staple of the current literary landscape. Squeezing a story into 4 pages can be a challenge, but formal restrictions have the magical quality of bringing about innovation.
In this class, we’ll read, discuss, study, and write flash stories to learn skills that can be used in any literary genre—compression, surprise, lyricality, and nontraditional plot structure. Through readings, exercises, peer encouragement, and instructor feedback, we’ll experiment and grow in the small but fertile environment of the flash story.
- Monday, July 12-Sunday, August 15
- Pay What You Can $50-200
- This class is asynchronous and does not require specific meeting times to participate
Hunt for poems | poemvillage 2021 🍊
PoemVillage has wrapped up and all the poems have gone into hibernation for the year. But, you can still hunt for miniature versions of all the poems in downtown Saranac Lake! Maybe you’ll find one under your cup of coffee, tucked in your library book, or at your favorite trailhead. It’s up to you to find them!
Thanks to this year’s incredible sponsors: Adirondack Health, ArtyLadyMsD.com, Geomatics Land Surveying, International Paper, Play ADK, Spencer Boatworks, and Tell Media
watch | Wild ideas presented by Acw + Adirondack explorer 🌄
Hear about the wild ideas that became “A Wild Idea: How the Environmental Movement Tamed the Adirondacks” by Brad Edmondson. Adirondack Explorer Editor Brandon Loomis interviewed Edmondson about his 19-year project interviewing the people who fought for and against the Adirondack Park Agency Act.
WATCh | virtual american portraits
On March 25th, 2021 Mountain Lake PBS held a virtual event highlighting changemakers throughout the North Country as a part of the American Portrait! ACW was invited and participated as a local changemaker. Learn more about the American Portrait project.
WATCh | Virtual Howl story slam live 🎤
LIVE from closets and couches, the Virtual Howl Story Slam took place on March 19, 2021 and featured nineight storytellers from across the North Country who told tales on the theme “March Madness.”
The winner of the night was Aaron Todd with a tale of the madness of the birth of two new kiddos.
watch | Challenges and Opportunities in Journalism in 2021 and Beyond 🗞
A conversation with new and veteran journalists on the evolving nature of journalism, and how they see the path to moving forward with a new administration vowing truth and transparency. Part storytelling, part conversation on how the culture of “fake news” has affected journalism today.
Rex Smith, editor-at-large at Albany Times Union, acts as moderator. Presented by Adirondack Center for Writing and Adirondack Explorer. Panelists include Tom Curley, Adam Federman, Charlotte Hall, Brandon Loomis, Brian Mann, Rex Smith, Bridget Williams, and Robert Worth.
REAd | ACW FEatured in “The Art of Reopening: A Guide to Current Practices Among Arts Organizations During COVID-19” 📈
National Endowment for the Arts surveyed arts organizations throughout the country about reopening practices and creative responses to programming in 2020, during the pandemic. They published a report highlighting what they felt were successful responses to the crisis: promising tactics, best practices, and insights through nine selected case studies. The Adirondack Center for Writing was one of those nine selected arts organizations, chosen for their innovative responses to programming during COVID.
Check out the report, especially pages 11 and 21-22.
WATCh | Virtual Howl story slam live 🎤
LIVE from your living rooms, the Virtual Howl Story Slam took place on December 18, 2020 and featured six storytellers from across the North Country who told tales on the theme “Holidays: The good, the bad, the ugly.”
The winner of the night was Tanya Roy with her tale of a holiday adventure, full of unexpected mishaps.
WATCH | When Lightning Strikes ⚡️
Curated by Adirondack Center for Writing x Bowery Poetry Club
These organizations, one rural and one urban, have developed a deep love for one another over the years and are finally able to collaborate for this brand new event. When Lightning Strikes was designed to introduce new poets to Adirondack audiences, and new audiences to Bowery Poetry Club poets.
Hosted by Jive Poetic featuring Mahogany L. Browne, Adam Falkner, Carlos Andrés Gómez, Omar Holmon, Cynthia Dewi Oka, and Ramya Ramana.
WATCH | Raining Poetry Project Reveal! ☔️ Produced by Bing Bang Boom, Inc. Shot by Jordan Craig
Check out the Raining Poetry Project from home! This new video captures the beauty of the Raining Poetry Project during the reveal event with one of the poets, Mary Sanders Shartle.
Write & Read 📓 Weekly writing prompts + Featured Writing
Creative writing prompts to kick off the dust and inspire you to create and re-work your writing. The incredible and talented ACW family is stepping up and sharing their expertise with you! Future prompts are provided by Julia Alvarez, Mahogany L. Browne, Joseph Bruchac, Betsy Folwell, Sue Halpern, Bill McKibben, Jon Sands, Steve Stern, Chase Twichell, Lauren Whitehead & more.
- This week’s prompt was created for you by: ACW Staff
- Responses have a special space under Featured Writing
Let’s look forward to the future together
Help ACW continue to support you through the coming months. The future might feel overwhelming, but ACW is committed to infusing joy into your life with upcoming programming! With your continued support, ACW can offer new online classes every month, story nights, a discussion series, writing workshops for teens, and more for all ages.
Make this winter amazing for the ACW family. Be a part of ACW. Give now.
