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Author: Adirondack Center for Writing
www.adirondackcenterforwriting.org
Call for journal entry submissions
Adirondack Center for Writing, Pendragon Theatre Team up to call for journal submissions
Everyday writing makes us human. The Adirondack Center for Writing and Pendragon Theatre are two local organizations that value the power of language and writing. Pendragon Theatre is preparing for their upcoming production of Fiction, by Steven Dietz, which opens June 16 and runs through June 25. The play follows a couple and their lives through their own journal entries.
To celebrate everyday writing, the two organizations are teaming up to ask people of all ages to share journal entries of their own: a page from personal journals, including diaries, travelogues, birding journals, gardening notes, shopping lists, to-do notes. Nothing is too mundane. People can create fictional entries to submit if they want to, keeping in mind, however, that truth can be stranger than fiction.
The submissions will cover the walls of the Pendragon Theatre lobby for viewing during the run of Fiction. Entries can be sent to leslie@pendragontheatre.org or mailed/dropped off at Pendragon Theatre, 15 Brandy Brook Ave, Saranac Lake, NY 12983. Writers can make multiple submissions and there is no page limit. Handwritten copies are fine as long as legible. All submitters will remain anonymous unless submitter specifies otherwise.
Fiction, Pendragon’s “Patrons’ Pick,” was presented last fall as a reading with six other plays originally whittled down from a list of suggestions provided by Pendragon theatre-goers. Out of the six plays presented, Fiction won the most votes from patrons as the play they would like to see produced as Pendragon’s summer season opening show. Allison Studdiford is directing actors Leslie Dame, John Nicholson and Tara Palen. More information, including performance times, can be found at www.pendragontheatre.org.
TAUNY Writers’ Fair
Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) presents The TAUNY Writers’ Fair, a one-day gathering on May 6, 2017 from 11:00am-6:00pm, at The TAUNY Center. The Fair will include established local writers and publishers of “place-based writing,” a concept that is tied to TAUNY’s mission of encouraging a better understanding and appreciation of a sense of place for the North Country. The featured writers come from across the region and have produced work about topics of Adirondack North Country culture and heritage, natural history, ecology, and more.
The TAUNY Writers’ Fair attendees will have opportunities to talk with the participating writers, learn about their special topics and techniques, purchase and have books signed, and socialize. The writers will participate in panel discussions with topics including How to Get Published, Writing/Illustrating for Children, and Writing for a Popular Audience. Kids are also invited to participate in a special workshop for young children to learn to write stories. Displays of books and periodicals in print will be set up by publishers as well as an exhibit of historical writing from the Special Collections at St. Lawrence University. The afternoon will conclude with selected short readings by several of those authors attending and a catered public reception.
A full schedule of events and list of participating writers are attached here..
The volunteer committee working on behalf of TAUNY to organize The TAUNY Writers’ Fair includes Neal Burdick, Varick Chittenden, Lois Ann FitzRandolph, and Karen Johnson-Weiner.
The 2017 TAUNY Writers’ Fair is made possible by generous contributions from the Canton Community Fund and the Friends of the Owen D. Young and Launders Library at St. Lawrence University. NCPR is the media sponsor for this event.
All Writers’ Fair events are free. The public is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact info@tauny.org.
The TAUNY Center is located at 53 Main Street, downtown Canton, NY. Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) is a nonprofit organization that showcases the folk culture and living traditions of New York’s North Country, offering opportunities to experience, learn about, and reflect on issues related to life in our rural region. More information is available at tauny.org.
Local Events Calendar
Adirondack Literary Awards
Adirondack Literary Award Winners Announced
Streetlights were out and closed signs filled windows of downtown, but writers, readers, and friends prevailed at Heaven Hill Farm in Lake Placid on a brilliantly radiant Sunday afternoon. Laughter and conversation supplemented food and drink before and after the ceremony. Titles published in 2016 were available for purchase, and the lack of electricity was a worry swept away by good company.
Following a welcome and introduction by Adirondack Center for Writing Executive Director Nathalie Thill, judges in each genre provided kind words and descriptions of each title submitted before announcing the year’s winner.
- Best Book of Children’s Literature: “The Great North Woods” by Brian Heinz and Michael Rothman (Creative Editions)
- Best Book of Fiction: to “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” by W.B. Belcher (Other Press)
- Best Memoir: “In Praise of Quiet Waters: Finding Solitude and Adventure in the Wild Adirondacks” by Lorraine Duvall (Bloated Toe Publishing)
- Best Book of Non-Fiction: “Voyager: Travel Writings” by Russell Banks (HarperCollins Publishing)
- Best Book of Poetry: “Bird Light” by Elizabeth Cohen (Saint Julian Press) and “Pastoral Habits: New and Selected Poems” by George Drew (Texas Review Press)
- People’s Choice Award: “Strange Appetites” by Lale Davidson (Lale Davidson)
New friendships were forged, while long-time companions regaled in tales of their first time attending the awards ceremony. The benefit dinner has been postponed due to power outage, and all are welcome to join for an evening with the Adirondack Center for Writing in a celebration of community and the written word. More details to follow.
Thanks and congratulations to all those who submitted to the Adirondack Literary Awards this year.
Children’s Literature
New Hope by LeeAnne Baker (Createspace)
Adirondack Lullaby by Brian J. Heinz, illustrated by Maggie Henry (North Country Books, Inc.)
The Great North Woods by Brian Heinz and Michael Rothman (Creative Editions)
Fiction
Lay Down Your Weary Tune by WB Belcher (Other Press)
Strange Appetites by Lale Davidson (Published by Lale Davidson)
Leaves Torn Asunder by Glenn L. Pearsall (Pyramid Publishing)
FREIGHT CAR and Other Stories by Jeff Kelly (Ra Press)
God Made Us Monsters by Bill Neary (Ari Publishing)
Rooster by Edward Pontacoloni (Published by Edward Pontacolono)
North of Here by Laurel Saville (Lake Union Publishing)
Bloodfire and the Legend of Paradox Pond by Rosemarie Sheperd (Published by Rosemarie Sheperd)
The Hippie Hacker, the Happy Hooker, and the Great Clone Orgy by Andrew Tisbert (Ra Press)
Memoir
In Praise of Quiet Waters: Finding Solitude and Adventure in the Wild Adirondacks by Lorraine M. Duvall (Bloated Toe Publishing)
Adirondack Epiphanies: Memoir and Reflection from Writers in the Park by Chuck Gibson, Cathy S. McDowell, Judith Dow Moore, Linda Morrow, Mary Randall, Charles Watts (Ra Press)
My Journey To Wholeness by Deborah Havas (Published by Deborah D. Havas)
Taking on Global Health Issues by Dr. Alfred Scherzer (Ra Press)
Non-Fiction
Voyager: Travel Writings by Russell Banks (HarperCollins Publishing)
Adirondack Archangels: Guardians of the High Peaks, edited by Christine Bourjade (Adirondack Mountain Club)
The Boat People of Champlain by Mark L. Barie and Christine A. Racine (Crossborder Publishing)
Murder in the Adirondacks, An American Tragedy Revisited by Craig Brandon (North Country Books, Inc.)
Adirondack Cabin Stories: Fifty Years in the Wilderness 1960-2009 by Henningson Siblings and Friends (Henningson Environmental Services)
Common Roots Cookbook by Cathy and Ernest Hohmeyer (Hungry Bear Publishing)
Our Lady of Birth Control: A Cartoonist’s Encounter with Margaret Sanger by Sabrina Jones (Counterpoint, LLC/Soft Skull Press)
The Start-Up J Curve by Howard Love (Greenleaf Book Group)
Fifty Acres of Beach and Wood by Tom Thacher (Birch Point Press, Inc)
We Were There: World War II Stories from the Adirondacks’ Greatest Generation by Daniel Way (Indian Lake Press)
Poetry
Bird Light by Elizabeth Cohen (Saint Julian Press)
Pastoral Habits: New and Selected Poems by George Drew (Texas Review Press)
MANTRA by Dave Donohue (Ra Press)
Love Bites by Barbara Garro (Cambridge Books)
Telephone by Sean Tierney (Ra Press)
Young writers opportunity!
Between the Lines: Identity & Belonging will include US-based Muslim and non-Muslim students, who will come together for one week of intensive creative writing workshops in Iowa City, Iowa. Tuition, room, board and travel will be fully covered by Iowa Writer’s Program for this special session; funding opportunities are available for the first session.
Please visit our website, share these details with your young writers, and feel free to disseminate the attached flyers. We’re going to have a wonderful summer!
https://iwp.uiowa.edu/programs/between-the-lines/2017-between-the-lines
Update: PoemVillage deadline extended to March 20
Car tucked in garage,
teapot singing on the stove,
blizzard in the Park.
Overcome with the excitement of this winter’s first real snowstorm, we’re extending the deadline to submit your poems to PoemVillage until Monday, March 20! Anyone with ties to the Tri-Lakes region is encouraged to write a new poem, or submit that poem you wrote a while back. All submissions are accepted, and will be on display in downtown businesses for the month of April. Submit your poems here!
An Invitation to Apply
The Latin@ scholarship which provides full funding, including tuition, room, board, and travel, to the Conference on Poetry, July 10 – 16, this summer at The Frost Place.
The Frost Place is a small non-profit center for the arts headquartered out of Robert Frost’s home in Franconia, nestled in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. At the Conference on Poetry, the scholarship winner will have the opportunity to study at The Frost Place with faculty including Martha Rhodes, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Maudelle Driskell, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Michael Klein, Matthew Olzmann, and Collier Nogues.
This scholarship is designed to encourage the Latin@ voice in poetry and the literary arts, both at The Frost Place and in the broader literary community. The ideal applicant would self-identify as Latin@, would have a strong commitment to the Latin@ community, and be a minimum of 21 years of age. The application deadline, May 31, is approaching. There is no fee to apply, and the application is fully electronic. If you or anyone you know might be interested in this scholarship or other scholarship opportunities at The Frost Place, such as the Gregory Pardlo Scholarship for Emerging African American Poets, please see our submissions page.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Best,
Daniel Levin
Assistant to the Director
The Frost Place
P – 603.823.5510
Howl Grand Slam stories airing all week
This week on North Country Public Radio’s 8 o’clock hour, tune in for a story every day to celebrate the start of a new season of Howl Story Slams! On February 23 at 6pm we will be at Bitters & Bones in Saranac Lake, and then on February 24 at 6pm we’re heading to the Rushton Room at Best Western in Canton. Come with five-minute stories of “The First Time I Ever…”
Tuesday: Rob Carr – Coming of age story from Saranac Lake
Wednesday: Lucy Thill – our youngest storyteller, age 10, who wowed everyone with a humorous tale
Thursday: Trish Hartka – a Massena storyteller who shared a moving story of family, and specifically grandparents in her life
Friday: David Wolfe, with a wrenching story about war, patriotism and conscience.
