Michigan Writers September 2019 Newsletter

September 2019 Newsletter  This month we have a few interesting updates, links to some great reading material, and a few really good events to share. There are also some appealing opportunities in the workshops section. So keep reading below, and, as always, keep writing! Michigan Writers News & Events Dunes Review New Issue Coming Soon!  The next issue of Dunes Review will be released in October. Details about the release party and reception will be forthcoming.  MW Co-op Press The new chapbook contest will open in early October. We hope you are busy drafting and revising your work in preparation for submission! Board of Directors Update The Michigan Writers Board of Directors has undertaken a small re-shuffle and we would like to keep our members informed of the changes within the organization's leadership. First off, we'd like to go on record and publicly thank previous members of the board who have left recently. Thank you Jennifer Kirkpatrick-Johnson, Karen Stein, Mandy Gibson, and Tanya Muzumdar. Their service to Michigan Writers and the regional writing community has been substantial and deserves recognition. Below is the list of current Directors, along with our roles: Robb Astor: Communications/Social Media Kevin Avery: President, Newsletter, Chapbooks Lujine Nasralla: Managing Editor Dunes Review, Liaison to Southeast Michigan Susan Odgers: Vice President John Pahl: Member-at-Large Teresa Scollon: Co-Senior Editor Dunes Review Daniel Stewart: Secretary, Chapbook & Publication Production, Web Design Patricia Trentacoste: Treasurer, Membership  Jennifer Yeatts: Co-Senior Editor Dunes Review To read more about the Directors, click here.  The MW Board of Directors is also currently in the midst of our usual process for adding at least one new board member. We will follow up with additional updates as they occur. 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. 2019 Chapbook Winner This year's chapbook contest winner was Megan Klco Kellner. Her book, What Will You Teach Her? is available for purchase here. What Will You Teach Her? was selected by poetry judge Casey Thayer, author of the full-length poetry collection, Self Portrait with Spurs and Sulfur (University of New Mexico Press, 2015).  Enjoy our newsletter? Not a member?  Join Michigan Writers and support our community! Visit Our Website September Reading List  Stop what you are doing. Click through and read.  Fiction: "The Knowers" by Helen Phillips "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain." Essays: "The Magnitude of Toni Morrison" by Hannah Giorgis "The Hemingway Scene That Shows How Humanity Works" Joe Fassler w/ Tea Obreht Poetry: "Bless Their Hearts" by Richard Newman Events An Evening w/ David Maraniss Thursday, September 5 @ 7 PM Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss has written books about some of recent history's most important figures, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and New Gingrich. Now he has turned his attention to the life of his own father, Elliott Maraniss—a newspaperman, a World War II veteran who commanded an all-black company, and an accused communist informant during the McCarthy era. Called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, he paid a high price for his beliefs within a supposedly free society when he was fired and blacklisted for five years. Author of eleven books, New York Times bestselling author David Maraniss was last here to talk about Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story. An associate editor at The Washington Post, he won a Pulitzer for his 1992 coverage of president-elect Bill Clinton. He was part of The Washington Post team that won a Pulitzer for its 2007 coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting. His major awards include the George Polk Award, Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, and the Anthony Lukas Book Prize. He lives in Washington D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin. Evening includes a stage conversation / Q&A with author and a post-event book signing. TICKETS: cityoperahouse.org Traverse City Opera House Doors open at 6PM Live Music, Cash Bar, and Morsels Sweet Treats   Prose, Brevity, & Craft: Hadley Moore & Peg Alford Pursell in Conversation Saturday, September 22 @ 4 PM  Join us as we welcome Hadley Moore and Peg Alford Pursell in celebration of and conversation around their new books, Not Dead Yet and Other StoriesAND A Girl Goes into the Forest. Pursell's A Girl Goes into the Forest explores and illuminates love and loss in 78 hybrid stories and fables and immerses readers in complex desires, contradictions, and sorrows. In forests literal and metaphorical, the characters try, fail, and try again to see the world, to hear each other, and to speak the truth of their longings. Powerful, lyrical, and precise, Pursell's stories call up a world at once mysterious and recognizable.  Moore's Not Dead Yet studies the uncertainties of loss, turning a gaze toward the often-silenced voices of the infirm, elderly, and adolescent. Rich in humor and honesty, Moore's debut collection of short stories presents a contemporary set of narratives from a lush cast of characters. We find the protagonists of her stories tenderly revealing their pain after the loss of loved ones and coping with the voids left by the passing of youth, happiness, and fulfilment. The character-driven prose of Not Dead Yet offers striking detail as it dives into moments of absurdity and tragedy. Tickets & Info Here Bookbug  3019 Oakland Drive Kalamazoo, MI 49008 Poets Meet Musicians Monday, September 30 @ 7-9 PM  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   Oliver Art Center Fall Read Thursday, October 24 @ 5:30 - 7 PM  The Oliver Art Center in Frankfort is gearing up for its Fall Read. Writers of poetry and prose are invited to submit their work on the theme of "Transformation," interpreted as desired. Readers are limited to 5 minutes; the first 15 submissions will make up the program. Lovers of literature and poetry are welcomed to participate as audience members. Arrive early to enjoy the art center's galleries. Send submissions to gretabolger@gmail.com. Oliver Art Center 132 Coast Guard Road  Frankfort, MI 49635 Upcoming: October 6: Aarti Namdev Shahani October 9: Randall Sullivan October 16: Susan Orlean November 17: Mitch Albom   Here:Say Storytelling The Autumn season is almost here!   Member News Hadley Moore's short story collection Not Dead Yet and Other Stories won Autumn House Press's 2018 fiction contest and is forthcoming in September. She is a native of Manistee and now lives near Kalamazoo. She will be doing an event September 22 at 4 pm in Kalamazoo at Bookbug with the writer Peg Alford Pursell. Please send us your news so we can help you celebrate! If you are interested in being interviewed when you publish your new book, please contact Carol Smallwood. Workshops / Conferences Katey Schultz Writing Webinars -- FREE! Starts September 10 Author Katey Schultz will host 7 free writing webinars. Starting September 10th 2019, I will host a free writing webinar once a month for seven months. The spirit of these webinars is playful, with the intention to generate new writing and start to learn more about how our imaginations work. Come with an open mind and curious demeanor. Leave with a few new sentences (or pages) and a cool creative experience that supports you in "outside the box" thinking. Why play? Why experiment? Why do this together, live? HERE'S WHY: I believe that if we want to write stories and memoirs that contribute something new to the cultural conversation, we have to think outside the box. That requires working with the imagination directly, by bringing awareness to our own entry points and pathways as writers. Now, you can have access to these teachings for free, by joining me live once a month. Get the 2019 dates and register for free here: https://bit.ly/YoEseries   Writing the First Darft:  A 6-Week Interactive Online Class with Pilar Alessandra  Starts September 7 Pilar Alessandra's "On the Page" Writing Classes have previously only been offered in person at her studio in Los Angeles.  This year she's offering them online.  Her next class, "Writing the First Draft," runs September 7 through October 12.  Here's a link to the class with a description of the "premise to pages" six-week process, as well as a place to sign up:   https://www.onthepage.tv/product/writing-the-first-draft-online-class/   Michigan Writers members are being offered a ten percent discount. Just type in the following coupon code when you check out: onthepage10  Lost Lake Writers Retreat Oct. 10-13, 2019 Lost Lake Woods Club, Lincoln, MI The 2019 Lost Lake Writers Retreat will be directed by John D. Lamb of Springfed Arts and cohosted by Inspiration Alcona. Teachers are poets Cecilia Woloch, Dorianne Laux and Robert Fanning, novelists Irina Reyn and Michael Zadoorian, and singer-songwriter Allison Downey.  The  retreat, set at a private hotel on a small lake at the edge of the forest, will begin with an appetizers, wine and beer party at 8 p.m. Thursday, October 10. Friday and Saturday will be learning and writing time. Sunday we'll all gather for a farewell brunch, followed by a final reading by participants. By midafternoon Sunday, students will be able to head for home.  See www.InspirationAlcona.org for all the details. Glen Arbor Arts Center  Fall Writing Workshops The Glen Arbor Arts Center is offering two fall writing workshops with Northern Michigan author Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli. How to Begin Writing Your Novel Elizabeth Buzzelli works with students to discover how to write the best novel they can in "How To Begin Writing Your Novel," October 14 – 16, 1 – 4 pm.This workshop is tailored to writers at the beginning of their practice. Workshop costs is $120 GAAC members, and $135 nonmembers. Good writing depends on the time the writer is willing to give to the work. During this workshop students will explore ways to begin and develop their novel ideas. Time will be set aside for writing and sharing the work. Writing to Sell What makes a novel marketable? Elizabeth Buzzelli explores the mechanics of "Writing to Sell," in a two-day workshop. The workshop is tailored to advanced writers, and meets October 17 - 18, 1 – 4 pm. Workshop costs is $85 GAAC members, and $100 nonmembers. Participants will work with their in-process novel. Buzzelli will cover beginnings, plot development, character, and place. Students need to come with a synopsis either of the novel that is underway, or a story the writer hopes to develop. Elizabeth Buzzelli has published 12 mystery novels. She teaches throughout the region. For more information about this workshop go to GlenArborArt.org, and click on CLASSES. The Glen Arbor Arts Center is located at 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. Contests / Publishing Opportunities 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. 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. Writing Groups 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!  Michigan Writers Newsletter Submissions Next Deadline: September 27, 2018     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

Michigan Writers Michigan Writers is a vibrant community of people who appreciate the written word. As a non-profit, we seek to actively foster a vital literary community by encouraging, supporting, and connecting writers of all ages with opportunities for professional development, education, networking, and publication. Copyright © 2019 Michigan Writers, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you either joined Michigan Writers, or you opted in to our email list on our website or at an event. Our mailing address is: Michigan Writers PO Box 2355 Traverse City, Mi 49685