March 2020 Newsletter
Keep reading, keep writing, and join us for our upcoming member social!
And don’t forget to sign up for our scholarship contest! |
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Michigan Writers News & Events
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| Michigan Writers Member Social
Sunday, March 15 @ 2 – 4 PM
Please join us for a MW member social on Sunday, March 15, 2020 at Horizon Books in Traverse City, from 2 – 4pm.
There will be soup, snacks, coffee, tea, and good writerly company. Come on out!
If you plan to attend, please RSVP at the link below so we can plan appropriately for refreshments.
RSVP to this link or complete form below. |
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MW Annual Scholarship Drawing
For MW Members Only!
5 More Days to Enter
Michigan Writers will award three scholarships:
one $450 scholarship and two $225 scholarships.
Entries must be received by March 5, 2020
Three lucky members will be able to use their scholarship toward tuition for the Interlochen Writers Retreat (June 8 – 11, 2020), or another writers retreat or Interlochen workshop of your choosing (subject to MW approval).
Scroll down to see the full slate of Interlochen programs below.
Winners will be selected by blind random drawing.
You must be a member of Michigan Writers to enter the drawing.
If you are not a member of Michigan Writers, please join by visiting michwriters.org/join.
Note: Enrollment in programs at Interlochen is dependent on spaces available at time of registration.
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Dunes Review
Submissions are currently closed and the editors are hard at work on the new issue, which will arrive in April.
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Dunes Review
Summer / Fall 2019
Issue Available Now
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Get Involved
If you are interested in becoming more involved in Michigan Writers, please reach out to us and let us know a bit about yourself and how you’d like to be involved. Contact: info@michwriters.org |
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MW Co-op Press Chapbook Contest
Submissions are now closed for this year’s chapbooks contest. We are currently jurying manuscripts and winners will be announced soon!
The 2019 chapbook contest winner was Megan Klco Kellner. Her book, What Will You Teach Her? is available for purchase here. |
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Glen Arbor Arts Center
Invites Writers to Write a COLOR Story
January 10 – March 26
Ekphrasis is the Greek term meaning to write about visual art. Area writers are invited to engage with the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s new exhibition, COLOR, and use it as a source of prompts and inspiration. The exhibition features work by 29 visual artists, and runs January 10 – March 26 in the GAAC Gallery, 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor.
COLOR, the exhibition, is a celebration of chroma, hue, tone, tint, and value. Color – both the thing and the idea – plays a larger, more dynamic role than merely acting as a seasonal picker-upper. Applicants to this show were asked to submit work for consideration that answers some of these questions: How is color used to express emotion? Tension? Shape? Energy? Action? How is color used to tell a story? And, what happens when an artist chooses to invent a palette for a subject – rather than be dictated to by the scene? Area writers are welcome to sit and consider the works, and write their own color stories.
The GAAC Gallery is open without charge to the public.
Hours are Monday – Friday, 9 am – 3 pm; and noon – 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
For more information about the COLOR exhibition, go to GlenArborArt.org, and click on EVENTS. |
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Ellen Stone Reading & Book Launch
March 5 @ 7 PM
Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor
Ellen Stone’s first full length poetry collection, What Is in the Blood comes out March 1 from Mayapple Press (http://mayapplepress.com/what-is-in-the-blood-ellen-stone/) What Is in the Blood is a poetry memoir about growing up in rural Pennsylvania with a mother with bipolar illness, then caring for her in the Midwest after raising three daughters. It is also a book about how the natural world holds and cares for those who rely on it for solace.
Ellen Stone advises Poetry Club at Community High School and co-hosts a monthly poetry series, Skazat! in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her poems have appeared recently in Halfway Down the Stairs, Mantis, Switchback, The Citron Review, and Pretty Owl Poetry. Ellen’s poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart prize and Best of the Net. She can be reached at www.ellenstone.org.
Ellen is indebted to Michigan Writers for awarding her their chapbook prize (The Solid Living World, 2013) and publishing her work in Dunes Review. She will be reading from her new book at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor on March 5 at 7.
Ellen will also be reading April 30 at Landmark Books in Traverse City with Jen Sperry Steinorth, author of A Wake with Nine Shades. |
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Spring Season Tickets on Sale Now!
March 5: An Evening w/ Peter Heller
Peter Heller returns to the National Writers Series Thursday, March 5, with his latest book, The River.
In The River, Wynn and Jack, best friends since freshman orientation, share a love of mountains, books, and fishing. Their friendship is as inspiring as their appreciation of nature and adventure.
Tickets and info are available online at www.cityoperahouse.org.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for music, Morsels and a cash bar. The stage event begins at 7 p.m., followed by a book signing. Books will be available to buy at a 30% discount from Horizon Books.
Upcoming:
March 15 event:
Battle of the Books Grand Traverse, a friendly reading competition for area fourth- and fifth-graders organized by the National Writers Series, celebrates its finale March 15. Author illustrator Ben Hatke will award the prizes and talk about his work, including one of this year’s battle books, Zita the Spacegirl. Join us at the City Opera House, March 15 2 p.m. for this free event. More info at www.battleofthebooksgt.com.
April 9 event:
The National Writers Series brings author Terry McMillan to the City Opera House on April 9. McMillan, author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale, has a new book about friendship, loss and aging, It’s Not All Downhill from Here. Guest host is Rochelle Riley, former columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Details at www.nationalwritersseries.org.
April 22 event:
Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country. comes to the National Writers Series April 22. When Houston finished her tour for Cowboys are my Weakness, she impulsively bought a ranch that she couldn’t afford — and found a sense of place she couldn’t live without. The event is at the City Opera House. More information at www.nationalwritersseries.org.
May 14 event:
Traverse City’s own Bob Giles, author of a memoir about covering the Kent State shootings 50 years ago, When Truth Mattered, will be at the National Writers Series May 14. Giles was an editor at the Akron Beacon Journal and his book gives readers a look inside the newsroom. Cynthia Canty, former host of Stateside on Michigan Radio, is the guest host at the City Opera House. More information at www.nationalwritersseries.org.
May 20 event:
The National Writers Series brings legal thriller author Scott Turow to the City Opera House May 20. Turow’s new book, The Last Trial, catches Sandy Stern as he’s about to retire, but first must defend an old friend accused of murder. Guest host Pat Livingston is the news director at UpNorthLive. More information at www.nationalwritersseries.org.
June 11: Elaine Weiss (interviewed by Michigan Writers’ Susan Odgers!)
June 28: Anthony Kronman
July 10: Mark Nepo |
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Poets’ Night Out
Sunday, March 29, 2020
City Opera House
Come out for a Traverse City tradition and enjoy some great poetry!
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Poets Meet Musicians
Monday, March 30 @ 7-9 PM
Acoustic Mead Tap Room
Poets Meet Musicians is a free, monthly event where the public is invited to share both poetry and music. Bring some poetry or some songs to perform. Mingle with other poets, musicians, and local performers. Everyone is welcome!
Join us for poetry, music, and good company.
Acoustic Mead Tap Room
119 N. Maple, TC 49684
Details? Tom 231-392-6121 |
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Glen Arbor Arts Center
Fresh Water Poetry Throwdown
Sunday, April 19 | 2pm
“Who owns the water?” People? Communities? Corporations? Nobody? That question is the basis for the April 19 Fresh Water Poetry Throwdown at the Glen Arbor Arts Center.
As part of its 2020 Student Exhibition, also entitled Who Owns The Water?, the GAAC is challenging high school students to come up with an original written response to this question; and to perform or read it at the GAAC Gallery on April 19, 2 pm, before a live audience. Each writer may read up to five minutes.
The Fresh Water Poetry Throwdown is open to students in grades 9 – 12 attending schools in Benzie, Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties. Poems may be the work of one be the work of one author or a team of writers working in any genre: poetry or prose, free verse, traditional verse, haiku, rap, beat or other experimental forms.
There is no charge, but poets must pre-register by Friday, April 3 for one of the 20 available slots. To pre-register, call the GAAC: 231/334-6112.
Who Owns The Water? opens April 7 and runs through May 1. To read more about the exhibition go to GlenArborArt.org, and click on FOR ARTISTS. The Glen Arbor Arts Center is located at 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. |
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| Congrats, Ellen and Sue!
Ellen Stone’s first full length poetry collection, What Is in the Blood comes out March 1 from Mayapple Press (http://mayapplepress.com/what-is-in-the-blood-ellen-stone/). See events above for more info on her upcoming readings. She can be reached at www.ellenstone.org.
Sue William Silverman’s new memoir-in-essays collection, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences (University of Nebraska Press, March 1), was named “one of 9 essay collections feminists should read in 2020” by Bitch Media. This is her fourth book of creative nonfiction. For more information, please visit www.SueWilliamSilverman.com
Above is Teresa Scollon reading from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself on Feb. 23 at Horizon Books in TC, where she organized more than 20 readers and lots of listeners for some great poetry and good company.
Please send us your news so we can help you celebrate! |
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Katey Schultz Flash Form Writing Class
INTO THE FLASH is my signature, live, online, 5-week course in flash form writing offered only once a year. As a past participant noted,
“I was surprised by how much my creativity increased and by how much I enjoyed writing time during the webinar, not to mention the ideas and confidence all of this generated. This was probably one of the best classes I have ever taken, and the online format was part of what made it so effective. There was enough face-to-face interaction, with plenty of time for exploration and reflection.”
Whether you’re published or at the skill-building stage, this course will expand your imagination and deepen your writing practice. Learn how to choose the right word for the right character, master scene, be concise, and employ original metaphors. Experience the benefits of gentle accountability and community, while remaining in your own home and keeping your writerly privacy. Into the Flash is the best of both worlds! Early Bird registration is open until March 17th for $330.00. Join me and a small group of open-hearted writers as we sharpen our powers of observation while also waking up to life, one flash at a time.
Please view the sample syllabus, additional details, and registration opportunities here: http://www.kateyschultz.com/into-the-flash/.
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Interlochen College of Creative Arts
2020 Creative Writing Programs
Deep Revision Workshop
Monday, April 13 – Saturday, April 18, 2020
Join Katey Schultz and Anne-Marie Oomen for a week-long writing retreat focused on deep revision. This is a fully-immersive, facilitated writing residency that blends traditional instruction with self-guided writing time, with the end goal of revising a large portion of a full or partial manuscript. Applications are currently being accepted.
Interlochen Writers Retreat
Monday, June 8 – Thursday, June 11, 2020
Join us in 2020 to celebrate the 15th year of Interlochen’s Writers Retreat and spend four days writing new material in the course of your choice, attending presentations by award-winning faculty, and enjoying lakeside lunches and evening readings while making connections in the literary world.
Faculty:
- Peter Ho Davies: Breaking Rules
- Andy Mozina: Humor
- Christine Maul Rice: Fiction Incubator
- Holly Wren Spaulding: Troubled Times
- Artistic Director: Katey Schultz
- Writer-in-Residence: Anne-Marie Oomen
- Writer-in-Residence: Mary Kay Zuravleff
All verified members of Michigan Writers can enroll for $450, a significant savings (which is more than an annual MW membership costs).
Scholarship opportunities available for the Writers Retreat:
Anne-Marie Oomen & Katey Schultz ICCA Creative Writing Scholarship Scholarship Application Deadline is March 1, 2020
Mystery Writing Intensive
Monday, June 22 – Thursday, June 25, 2020
Join Aaron Stander and accomplices for a four-day intensive retreat that will walk you through the genre of mystery and crime writing.
Poetry Writing Intensive: Short Poems
Tuesday, July 21 – Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Join poet Holly Wren Spaulding for two days of generative writing exercises, conversations about the craft, and appreciation of the art and practice of the short poem. |
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Glen Arbor Arts Center
2020 Writing Workshops
Good Reading, Good Writing
If you’re a writer, you’re also a reader—someone who reads not only for pleasure but to discover and analyze good writing. Karen Anderson will explore both in “Good Reading, Good Writing,” May 20, 1 – 3pm. Workshop cost is $25 GAAC members and $35 nonmembers.
Criteria for good writing include: Does it matter to me? (What’s at stake?) Does it move me? (What do I feel?) Does it surprise me? (Is it fresh, original, free of clichés?) Students will discuss how these criteria might be applied to their work and then draft a brief essay to implement these ideas.
Karen Anderson is a writer who lives and works in Traverse City, Michigan. She was a columnist for the Traverse City Record-Eagle for 30 years and has contributed weekly essays to Interlochen Public Radio.
Personal Power Tools
Karen Anderson explores how the arts give us tools for expressing our power in “Personal Power Tools” October 14, 10 am – 12 noon. In this workshop, students will engage in discussion and visit the “Power Tools” exhibition to discover how it enlarges one’s vision of personal power. Workshop cost is $25 GAAC members and $35 nonmembers.
What is personal power? When do you feel most powerful? Least powerful? What would you do if you had more power? Students in this workshop will write a brief essay to capture these important ideas.
Karen Anderson is a writer who lives and works in Traverse City, Michigan. She was a columnist for the Traverse City Record-Eagle for 30 years and has contributed weekly essays to Interlochen Public Radio.
Writing The Personal Essay And Poetry
Share ideas, look “through the lens” of poetry, and experiment with line breaks in Patricia Duffy’s “Writing The Personal Essay And Poetry” August 14, 10 – 11:30 am. In this workshop, students will gather ideas for writing, learn about crafting the ideas into personal essay and poetry formats, and end with a celebration read-around. Workshop cost is $15 GAAC members and $25 nonmembers.
Students will compare the styles of poetry and essay in order to determine which voice works best for their topic of choice. Weather permitting, the class will spend a small part of the workshop outside in nature looking and note-taking for “distance” in their ideas.
Patricia Duffy is a writing instructor at Mott Community College in Flint. She is the author of the novel Give or Take, and a new poetry collection Driftwood Fire. She gains writing inspiration from Michigan cycling trails and her writer’s group, Instructors as Writers.
For more information about these workshops, go to GlenArborArt.org, and click on CLASSES. The Glen Arbor Arts Center is located at 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor.
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ODYSSEY WRITING WORKSHOP:
A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE
FOR FANTASY, SCI-FI, & HORROR WRITERS
About Odyssey
Over its 25-year history, the Odyssey Writing Workshop has become one of the most effective programs for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Graduates describe Odyssey as inspiring and transformative. Fifty-nine percent of Odyssey’s graduates have gone on to professional publication, and they include award winners, Amazon bestsellers, and New York Times bestsellers.
Odyssey combines advanced, comprehensive lectures; in-depth feedback; and 1-on-1 guidance. Class meets for over 4 ½ hours, 5 days a week, and students use afternoons, evenings, and weekends to write, critique each other’s work, and complete other class assignments. You can find a video of Odyssey graduates describing their experiences here: http://ow.ly/UWiD3.
Each year, writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror from all over the world apply to Odyssey. Fifteen are admitted.
The application deadline is APRIL 1. Those wanting early action on their application should apply by JANUARY 31. All applicants receive feedback on their writing sample.
The 2020 workshop will be held from JUNE 1 to JULY 10 on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, funded in part by donations from graduates and supporters, and in part by student tuition. The tuition, $2,320, includes a textbook, weekly group dinners, and weekly snack breaks. Housing in campus apartments is $892 for a double room and $1,784 for a single. College credit is available for an additional fee.
Financial Aid is available. Click here for more info. |
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Contests / Publishing Opportunities
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Once and For Always—An Anthology of Abuse
Deadline: April 1, 2020
Seeking work written by survivors of domestic violence and/or verbal abuse. Survivors may be grown children, partners/spouses, ex-partners/ex-spouses, siblings, etc. For purposes of this collection, an abuser is anyone who attempts to control his or her partner.
We want to see your creative non-fiction, poems, memoir, essays, and/or prose as a word.doc or docx— no pdfs. Maximum 20 pages for prose and three poems or six pages for poetry. Previously published work is welcome, as long as the author retains permissions and includes acknowledgement(s). Deadline is April 1st 2020.
Please keep in mind abuse does not begin or end in words. Sometimes silence or not speaking can be a powerful form of verbal abuse. Abuse is a means of control and/or power over, and it takes on a range of complex forms. Our objective is to look at abuse in all its varied verbal form(s). If you are in doubt as to whether your piece fits the specs, submit.
For more background, please visit this site: https://www.verbalabuse.com/about-verbal-abuse/
Submissions: Please include a cover letter, a brief bio, and copy both editors to the email:
Judith Skillman:jskillman54@gmail.com
Barbara Molloy: bmolloy124@hotmail.com
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42nd annual Nimrod Literary Awards:
Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry &
Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction.
The Awards offer first prizes of $2,000 and publication and second prizes of $1,000 and publication, along with a trip to Tulsa to receive the Awards and take part in our annual writing conference.
The postmark deadline for this year’s Awards is April 1st, 2020.
The Awards are among the most distinguished literary prizes in the country. One of the oldest “little magazines” in the country, Nimrod has continually published new and extraordinary writers since 1956. We are dedicated to the discovery of new voices in literature, and the Nimrod Literary Awards are a special way to reward talented poets and fiction writers.
For more information about Nimrod, please visit our website at www.utulsa.edu/nimrod, and to submit online visit https://nimrodjournal.submittable.com/submit. |
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Mission Point Press
Mission Point Press, a Traverse City partnership of professionals, provides inspired editing, design and marketing services to authors across the country. We also provide ghost writing services and help for those seeking an agent. Authors who use our editorial services can publish under the MPP imprint. For Michigan-based authors, MPP now offers state-wide distribution. For more information, visit www.missionpointpress.com. |
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Wayne State University Press
Made in Michigan Writers Series
The Made in Michigan Writers Series is devoted to highlighting the works of distinguished statewide writers to showcase Michigan’s diverse voices. Since 2006, the series has published poetry, creative nonfiction, short fiction, and essays by Michigan writers with the aim of encouraging the recognition of the state’s artistic and cultural heritage throughout Michigan, the Midwest, and the nation.
Click here for more details on this series. |
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Audiobook Recording Services by
Motor City Woman Studios
Audiobooks continue to rise in popularity. The Association of American Publishers recently released a report indicating a sizable increase in audiobook sales, jumping by 37.1%, an additional $127.1 million, since 2017.
Let Motor City Woman Studios transform your book into an audiobook and increase your visibility.
Services provided include:
–Hands-on Audio Engineer
–Access to narrators
–Editing to comply with ACX Standards (must be met to be listed on Audible and Amazon)
–Reserved Studio Recording Time
–Delivery to audiobook distribution platform
For a custom quote, email hello@motorcitywoman.com |
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Freelance Marketplace Writing Group — Rochester Writers
The group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Hills Barnes & Noble Bookstore at 2800 S. Rochester Road (just north of M59).
Different topics and guests each month, however the main conversation is always about the Business of Writing (this is NOT a critique group). |
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UPPAA
UP Publishers & Authors Association has been building a community of authors in Michigan since 1998. Information at http://www.UPPAA.org
Our big event is an annual conference in Marquette, the next is June 5-6th, 2020.
UPPAA also annually publishes the UP Reader. For more info about submitting work, click here: http://www.UPReader.org
Group Updates
If you are part of a public or open writers’ group, please contact us to share your meeting times or to update your group’s information! |
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Michigan Writers Newsletter Submissions
Next Deadline: March 27, 2020
Want something to be featured in the Michigan Writers Newsletter? Please submit your news submission to: newsletter@michwriters.org.
Please compile your information into a succinct email of 200 words or less. Be sure to include date, time, place, and how to get more information, if necessary. Please do not direct the editor to other websites to find information. If you would like the information featured in the newsletter, include it in your email. Are you a member of Michigan Writers? Be sure to let us know.
Email Newsletter Editor |
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