February 2008 E-News
We're back from the AWP conference in New York City (check out dispatches on our blog), and Lighthouse is thrilled to learn that we're recipients, along with Curious Theatre Company and Denver Brass, of the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
The presentation ceremony will be held at the University of Denver’s Newman Center Theater on our next “super” Tuesday: February 19, 6:00-8:00 PM. (Doors open at 5:00 PM.) For background on Lighthouse, check out this propaganda spouted in the local media, unless you don’t like it, in which case we were grossly misquoted.
The coming months are full of rich, literary goodness, and the resurgence of the 4-week writing workshops, including Jenny Itell’s Novel Jump Start, David Rothman’s Forms of Poetry, and Harrison Fletcher’s Flash Forms Workshop. And, for those who want to join the fun ASAP, don’t miss one-day workshops in Dialogue, Writing Your Truth, Freelancing, and plenty more. Of course, the usual 8-week workshops also start up again in March.
This summer, mark your calendars for the third-annual Lit Fest, this time June 6-June 22. We've already got the weekend intensives (which meet for three hours, four times--both Saturdays and Sundays, June 7-8, June 14-15) scheduled: Novel Boot Camp, Writing Through Character, Making Memoir, Writing a Shadowbox, Navigating Your Book, and Emotion on the Page and Off. Details on all the workshops can be found here.
Parents with 10- to 18-year old kids, the third annual Young Writers' Camp will be accepting applications for its July 28-Aug 1 summer camp starting Friday, February 15. Priority application deadline will be Saturday, March 15. For more details, contact Jennie Dorris.
So far, five poetry books have been published out of our Master Poetry workshop, most recently (or soon!) J. Diego Frey’s Umbrellas or Else, fall 2008 from Ghost Road. Capably captained by Denver’s own poet laureate, Chris Ransick, this workshop admits only six members, so if you’re interested in putting together a poetry collection for possible publication, contact Andrea (andrea@lighthousewriters.org) to learn more or apply for a spot.
Lighthouse also offers master workshops in the novel, book-length nonfiction, and screenplay, all of which are currently full.
The rest of our e-news follows:
CREATIVE BUSINESS TYPES, AND OTHERS, TOO
Come check out the Lighthouse panel at the Mayor’s Creative Business Expo on Saturday, March 8, from 10-11:15 AM. “Your Writing Career: Publishing, Marketing, and Honing the Craft in 2008” features member Sarah Ockler, and instructors Tamara Guirado, Ryan Kelly, David Rothman, Michael Henry, and Andrea Dupree, and takes places at the Brown Room at the Wellington Webb building. Discussion will include juggling the demands of a competitive market, how to manage your writing life, and how to stand out in the crowd of other writers. You can register online starting this Friday. Registration for the entire conference is $5.
LIGHTHOUSE WORKSHOPPERS AT TATTERED COVER:
BE THERE!
Tuesday, February 26, novel workshopper and board member Carleen Brice is having a reading and signing of her novel Orange Mint and Honey. Join her at the Tattered Cover LoDo from 7:30-8:30 PM, with a reception for Lighthouse friends and family starting at 6 PM.
Congrats to screenwriting workshopper Joey Porcelli, who with co-author Ron Henderson, designer Judy Anderson, and photographer Larry Laszlo will speak and sign copies of their new coffee table book Take 30, The First Three Decades of the Denver International Film Festival at the Tattered Cover LoDo on Friday, February 29. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.
MORE MEMBER SHOUT-OUTS
Let’s plan on helping Amy Irish celebrate the publication of her chapbook of poems, Creation Stories, by Green Fuse Press with a Poetry Release Party at the Mercury Café on Friday, April 18, 7 PM. Also, congratulations to Alan Johnson, whose screenplay Angel’s Wing is a finalist in the Vail Film Festival. We’re really excited for Keith Swain, who recently sold his first non-fiction book, Dynamic Duos: The alpha beta key to unlocking gay relationships. The book will be published in July 2008 by Alyson Books. Kudos to Claudia Putnam, whose poem “Flushed” is published in The Adirondack Review. Also, as spelled out more thoroughly on our blog, inaugural Lighthouse member Tony Trigilio has published his first book of poetry, The Lama’s English Lessons, which won the Three Candles Press First Book Award. He has recently been tapped to serve as the chair of the graduate Creative Writing Program in Poetry at Columbia College in Chicago. Congrats, Tony!
MARCH BUZZ: BREAKING INTO LITERARY MAGAZINES
"Breaking into Literary Magazines" brings a panel of editors together on March 22, 2008, 10 to noon PM at Tattered Cover, LoDo. The event is free for members, $10 for nonmembers.Navigating the populous and competitive world of literary journals can be enough to overwhelm any writer.
But this panel seeks to give a face to the editors who decide on which pieces to publish, as well as demystify the burgeoning world of small magazines. How are decisions made? What can a writer do to increase her chances of publication? Is there an audience for small magazines? Come check it out. Reservations required: e-mail info@lighthousewriters.org. Free for Lighthouse members; non-members $10. Participating editors from Colorado Review, Wazee, Copper Nickel, Denver Quarterly, Upstreet, and elsewhere.
The Writer's Buzz is a free, almost monthly get-together usually held on the fourth Saturday of the month. Here you'll find all types--from brand new members to published authors--discussing the writing process and how to sustain it. Anyone interested in writing is welcome!
VALENTINE’S DAY IS ALL ABOUT HAIKU
Illustrious vampire-lit author Mario Acevedo is sponsoring a contest to celebrate Valentine’s Day: The First Official Biting Edge Quick and Dirty Valentine’s Haiku Contest. The rules are simple – send in a three line poem about love, lust, or, as Mario says, “plain knife-in-the-back revenge.” The deadline is tonight, February 11, at midnight, and the winners will be announced on February 14. Post your entries in the comments section of Mario’s blog here: http://biting-edge.blogspot.com/2008/01/make-it-quick-and-dirty.html
POETS TEND BAR AT FERRIL POETRY AWARDS
Come celebrate Thomas Ferril's 112th birthday with Denver Poet Laureate Chris Ransick and Lighthouse director Michael Henry, who will serve as guest bartenders. There will also be a poetry reading from the contest winners and others on Friday, February 22, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Denver Press Club.
CONTEST DEADLINE APPROACHING
Attention poets, fiction, and nonfiction writers – the Writers Studio at Arapahoe Community College is seeking unpublished work for its fourth annual contest. The submission period is Jan 1-March 1, and winners will be honored at the Writers Studio Annual Literary Festival in April. For submission guidelines, visit this link.