April E-News
"When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing."
~Enrique Jardiel Poncela
Register for either event online or by calling (303) 297-1185.
Further e-news follows:PUT THE "WORK" IN THIS SPRING
We may have already dug our heels into our March eight-week session, but we're also offering some four week classes starting mid-April. Mario Acevedo heads up Genre Intensive: Write the Perfect Scene using Goal, Conflict, Disaster starting April 7. Paula Younger is offering Rewriting the Short Story starting April 14, and David Rothman is offering Forms of Poetry starting on April 17. Also check out our full slate of one-day and half-day workshops, including Starting from Scratches, Writing the Middle, and Drafting the Short Story in 3-hours, a perfect immersion for newbies to the short story form, or experienced writers who need a nudge to get that new story out. Finally, don't forget that this summer can be your oasis of writing if you take part in the Lighthouse Lit Fest (details below) and the Grand Lake Retreat, featuring instructors William Haywood Henderson, Shari Caudron, Teague Bohlen, Chris Ransick, Mike Henry, and Andrea Dupree.
GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD (LIGHTHOUSE) WRITERS
Ready the bells and whistles--long-time workshopper Gary Schanbacher just learned he was an honorable mention for the coveted PEN/Hemingway Award for his book Migration Patterns. Along with the honor, Gary will also get a one-month residency from the UCROSS Foundation in Wyoming--congrats! Also, cheers to Mack Green, whose novel excerpt "The Layout" (from the novel he's workshopping in William Haywood Henderson's master class) is being published in the next Rio Grande Review.
Tyrone Jaeger, long-time member and sometime-faculty member has a story, "These Are My Arms," in the new issue of The Literary Review. Also, congrats to Jim Bainbridge, who just received word from Red Cedar Review that his piece "The Blooming" took second place in the 2007 Flash Fiction Contest.
Member Ginny Hoyle just got two bits of good news: Her poem "To My Body Pushing 60" was accepted for publication in Open Windows III, the Ghost Road anthology, and a hand-bound edition of House of Rivers, House of Clay has been acquired by Stanford University for its permanent collection, with a second copy having been acquired by Scripps College for its permanent collection. Ginny workshopped these manuscripts in the 2007 Poetry Masterclass with Chris Ransick.
Sydney Solis, founder of http://www.storytimeyoga.com/presents an interactive storytime and read from her new book, Storytime Yoga: The Treasure in Your Heart -- Yoga and Stories for Peaceful Children, aimed at children aged 6+. Join her at the Tattered Cover Highlands Ranch on Saturday, April 19, 10:30 AM. Not to be missed -- trust us! Applause is also in order for Jody Reale, whose short-short essay, "Don Skixote," will appear in the sixth issue of Opium Magazine. Congrats to first-year member Andrea Berggren, who has been getting regularly published book reviews and features in the Denver Post, and several articles in Successful Living. Kudos to Janelle Muntz Lassonde, who published her creative nonfiction piece, "Honeymoon Down Under," in the January issue of The Civilian. Do you have member news? Contact jennie@lighthousewriters.org.
LIGHTHOUSE BOOK CLUB GOES CLASSIC
Come join the free Lighthouse book club in this weekend's discussion of Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert. Even if you haven't read the book lately (or at all), come enjoy the discussion on Saturday, April 5, 2:00 PM at the Ferril House. Please RSVP to our gracious book club volunteer, Katharine.
GEARING UP FOR LIT FEST
The 3rd Annual Lighthouse Lit Fest is already starting to fill up! From June 6-June 21, we'll fill our days with intensive workshops, entertaining and provocative salons, stimulating craft seminars, and more.
Check out our two-weekend writing intensives, which feature four meetings for a total of 12 hours--a great way to inject your writing with pure energy this summer: Novel Bootcamp, led by William Haywood HendersonWriting a Shadowbox, led by Harrison Fletcher Environmental Writing: Changing the World, with Laura Pritchett Writing Through Character, with Jessica Roeder Emotion On and Off the Page, with Rebecca Berg Navigating Your Book: From Detail to Big Picture and Back, with novelist Karen Palmer Making Memoir, with Robert Root The Lit Fest also features an abundance of shorter, one-time workshops, like Shari Caudron's Mid-Year Writing Goals Tune-Up and Robert Root's Ratcheting Up Your Prose. As usual, there will be plenty of special events, including salons on Writing & Politics (in honor of DNC 2008), Mixed-up Artists, and Writing Voodoo, as well as a special (and delicious) garden-party event, A Gourmand's Tale.
Go online to see full listings, and where you can register online, or call us at (303) 297-1185. And a bit of excitement mentioned above: Agent Betsy Lerner of Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner--and author of the excellent The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers--will be among the publishing experts at our Business Weekend.
THANKS FOR THE BUZZ AT THE BUZZ
It was wonderful seeing 70 of you at the Writer's Buzz event last week at the Tattered Cover, featuring an editorial panel from Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Wazee, upstreet, and Copper Nickel. Much was learned, including some sad-but-true arithmetic: literary journals are getting thousands of submissions each year, and just a fraction of the number of subscriptions. Lighthouse members receive discount offers for many lit journals, and we recommend the karmic benefit of subscribing to at least one journal a year. (For news on our members who are consistently beating the odds and publishing in lit journals, please see our "Kudos" section, above.)
VOICES IN YOUR HEAD! DETAILS ON THE APRIL BUZZ
On Friday, April 4, 7:30 PM, this month's Buzz collaborates with Telling Stories, a classical-music-meets-creative-nonfiction-essays concert series started by the Lighthouse youth instructor (and the kind voice on the phone when you call to register for classes) Jennie Dorris. Each show alternates between classical chamber music and essays read live. The theme this Friday is Voice Overs. Featured nonfiction pieces will be read by Lighthouse nonfiction instructors Michael Henry, Shari Caudron, and Jennie Dorris. There will music by Brahms, Prokofiev, Vaughn Williams, and Denver composer Peter Harris performed by Michelle Davis, violin; Stephanie Morrison, piano, Megan Buness, soprano; Sarah Barber, mezzo soprano; Megan Tipton, viola; and Dave Short, cello. Telling Stories is also excited to announce that it was named the 2008 "Best of Denver" from Westword for "Best High Culture for the Cool Crowd." The concert happens at the Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St., this Friday, April 4, 7:30 PM, and admission is free.
GROOVY = POETRY + BEER
In conjunction with the Liquid Poetry Party taking place here at Wynkoop Brewery on April 11 at 7 p.m. (in the Mercantile Room) Poet Laureate Chris Ransick and the folks at Liquid Poetry are putting out a call for lyrics celebrating beer, beer culture, and beer-blessed fellowship and inspiration. Here's the nitty gritty of how to enter and what you win, but word to the wise: time is short. The deadline for submitting a poem is Friday, April 4. Winners will be announced at the Liquid Poetry Party and will be invited to read their poem to the audience. Must be present to receive glorious applause and win one of several fabulous prizes courtesy of Wynkoop Brewing Company and our allied restaurants and pubs in Denver.The event will also feature beer-related readings and performances by poets and Lighthouse members/instructors Denver Poet Laureate Chris Ransick, Mike Henry, JD Frey, and Joy Sawyer, as well as beer-minded origiinal music by Marty Jones, "the Bard of Beer Songs."
WRITING KNOWS NO AGE
While our 12-13 year-old age group filled up in a second, there are still a couple of spots in the 14+ and 10-11 age groups at the Young Writers' Camp (July 28-August 1). The camp meets from 9 AM to 3 PM every day, and students work on writing their own chapbooks to be presented at a reading at the Tattered Cover LoDo on August 1. The cost for the camp is $275, with financial assistance available. Our philosophy: Any kid who wants to write has a place at the seminar table!
A special note to writers of all ages: We are looking for volunteers to help us produce chapbooks. If you have time in the afternoon and would like to help us, email youth program guru Jennie Dorris at jennie@lighthousewriters.org.
MEMBER SEEKING MUSICIAN/PUBLISHED AUTHOR
Member James Denny Townsend is seeking a published author with musical talent, who would like to complete a four-piece band with others (ala the Rock Bottom Remainders). Says Townsend: "The idea is to play some of the writers conferences in the state to help promote our books (four have already shown real interest) and have a hoot. We really need a lead singer who might also play another instrument such as guitar or keyboards. Interested? Give me a call, or drop me an e-mail. 303 549 2569, jdtownsend@theassassinsdream.com."
ARAPAHOE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: SPRING LITERARY FESTIVAL
This one-day festival is happening April 26 from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Featuring workshops from Lighthouse instructors Shari Caudron (Writing Personal Narrative) and William Haywood Henderson (It's All in the Details). A full list of classes available online, please RSVP by April 16, enrollment is limited. For information please contact Dr. Kathryn Winograd, coordinator of the Writers Studio, 303 797- 5815 or email writerstudio@arapahoe.edu.