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Book Launch Celebration for Feather Mountain Press

elia nancy imageTwo long-time local writers and emerging new publishers, Elia Seely and Nancy Slavin, will celebrate the publication of their novels, respectively titled Whisper Down the Years and Moorings, on Saturday, May 4th at 7 p.m. with a Press and Book Launch at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita.

The two writers created Feather Mountain Press as a publishing venue dedicated to writers whose novels are well-written, literary, and include soulful characters and storylines.

“I am the queen of super-nice rejection letters,” Slavin says. “I had many reputable editors and agents say that my novel is lovely and good, but not sellable enough for today’s market. Elia and I understand what drives the popular market and we know publishing has changed dramatically in the past few years. Our novels don’t include zombies, werewolves, or over-descriptive sexual content and we weren’t interested in writing those books. We decided to start our own press because we whole-heartedly believe readers still want stories that transport them to compelling places and include people with struggles and transformations they can relate to in their current lives.”

“There are many writers like Virginia Woolf who started their own presses,” Seely adds. “They published their own books and then published the works of other authors who came to be well-known.”

Seely’s novel, Whisper Down the Years, is a literary mystery set in Orkney Island off the coast of Scotland, where the protagonist, Finn Ross, has retreated to find clarity about his dissolving career and marriage. Ross unwittingly discovers the body of a local eminent musician and his involvement in the case thwarts his desire to return to his native Belfast. An enigmatic island girl and her grandmother join Finn in his pursuit of the mystery, and all three find themselves caught in a web of lies and secrets, revealing threads of old sins and links to shadowy witchcraft.

Slavin’s novel, Moorings, follows a young woman, Anne Holloway, as she journeys from the lower forty-eight up to Alaska to find her biological father. While unraveling the violent, deceitful truth about her family’s history, Anne’s presence precipitates break-ups, boat crashes, and, even, unexpected storms. By making the journey, Anne discovers true identity can be found within.

For both novels, setting plays a big part in the story. In Whisper Down the Years, the barren, windy landscape of Orkney, plus the presence of folklore and ancient ruins, make a compelling backdrop for the questions of murder, power, and justice. In Moorings, the small fictional fishing village of Snug Harbor is surrounded by misty fjords, receding glaciers, and wild animals, mirroring the town’s volatile past and tightly-held secrets two decades after a major oil spill, but also pointing toward the possibility of healing for both the environment and the locals.

Feather Mountain Press’s goal is to provide a platform for other writers who are writing in traditional genres – mystery, western, commercial, etc. – but who are stepping out of the box and elevating their stories with intelligence and finely-wrought themes.  “In the U.S.,” Seely notes, “it can be hard to get a mystery published that isn’t one car chase after another or purposefully silly.  We want to encourage writers who transcend the conventions of popular genres.”

By the end of the year, Seely and Slavin look forward to finding new books for Feather Mountain Press that can really soar.

The Feather Mountain Press Book Launch is open to the public and refreshments will be served.  After Seely and Slavin read from their novels, there will be time for Q & A.  Book sales will be provided by Cloud and Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita.  The Hoffman Center is located at 594 Laneda Avenue in Manzanita.  For more information visit feathermountainpress.com.

 

2nd Annual North Coast Squid to be Released on February 16th

Squid 2013 CoverThe second annual North Coast Squid literary magazine will be released on Feb. 16 2013 at the Manzanita Writers’ Series event.

The Manzanita Writer’s Series coordinators are pleased to continue the collaboration with the North Coast Citizen to publish this second annual literary magazine.  The North Coast Squid showcases work of writers and artists who live on the north coast or have a strong connection to the area.

Over 60 writers submitted 138 pieces. Submissions were juried by authors outside our community. Erica Bauermeister, author of The School of Essential Ingredients, and Joy for Beginners, judged fiction entries.  Matt Love, author of Gimme Refuge: The Education of a Caretaker, and Sometimes a Great Movie: Paul Newman, Ken Kesey and the Filming of the Great Oregon Novel among others, judged nonfiction. David Biespiel, poet, poetry columnist for the Oregonian, and founder of the Attic Institute in Portland, judged poetry.

Many of the writers whose work was selected will be at the Writers’ Series event to read selections at the Open Mic after our featured author’s reading.

The North Coast Squid will be available for purchase at every Manzanita Writers’ Series event as well as at a number of retail outlets along the coast. Fifty percent of the $2 cover price will go to the Hoffman Center to help with operational costs that provide programs like the Manzanita Writers’ Series.

There will be other events to kick off the new release in coastal communities from Astoria to Pacific City. Watch for announcements on hoffmanblog.org.

Deadline for North Coast Squid Literary Magazine is Fast Approaching

Deadline for submissions to the second annual North Coast Squid literary magazine is November 30, 2012.

The North Coast Squid showcases work of writers and artists who live on the north coast or have a strong connection to the area.

The second magazine will publish in February 2013 in time for the February Manzanita Writer’s Series event.    Writing will be accepted in three categories: poetry, fiction, narrative non-fiction (which includes memoir).

Writing will be selected by outside judges. Erica Baumeister, author of The School of Essential Ingredients, and Joy for Beginners, will judge fiction entries.  Matt Love, author of Gimme Refuge: The Education of a Caretaker, and Sometimes a Great Movie: Paul Newman, Ken Kesey and the Filming of the Great Oregon Novel among others, will judge nonfiction. David Beispiel, poet, poetry columnist for the Oregonian, and founder of the Attic Institute in Portland, will judge poetry.

Submissions for consideration are due in November 30, 2012. Writers can submit one piece in each prose category, three pieces for poetry category. Artists may submit three images each for the color cover art, black and white photos or line drawings (scanned and in jpg form.)

For the full submission guidelines go here.    Writers and artists can still find copies of the first Squid available for sale in many coastal retail outlets. 50% of the $2 cover price goes to the Hoffman Center to help with operational costs that provide programs like the Manzanita Writers’ Series.

Calling for Cover Art for the North Coast Squid

The Manzanita Writer’s Series coordinators are pleased to continue the collaboration with the North Coast Citizen to publish a second annual literary magazine.

The North Coast Squid showcases work of writers and artists who live on the north coast or have a strong connection to the area.    The second magazine will publish in February 2013 in time for the February Manzanita Writer’s Series event.

“We’re looking for color art or color photographs for the cover that represent our area in some way AND that will draw readers to pick up the publication,” says Kathie Hightower, cofounder of the Manzanita Writers’ Series. Art should be sent as a jpg of a least 300 dpi resolution. The North Coast Squid editorial team will make the final selection.

“We’re also looking for art and photography submissions to accompany literary content within the publication,” says cofounder Vera Wildauer. Art categories include black and white photos and line drawings.    Submissions for consideration are due November 30, 2012. Artists may submit three images each of black and white photos or line drawings (scanned and in jpg form.) Click here for the full submission guidelines.

Artists can find copies of the first Squid available for sale in many coastal retail outlets. Fifty percent of the cover price goes to the Hoffman Center to help with operational costs that provide programs like the Manzanita Writers’ Series.

Full Submission Rules for the North Coast Squid

Calling all writers, artists and photographers: Here’s your chance to have your work published in The North Coast Squid.

The North Coast Squid is an annual literary magazine to showcase work of writers and artists who live on the north coast or have a strong connection to the area. The next issue will publish in February 2013 in time for the February Manzanita Writer’s Series event.

Full Submission Rules: Writers are invited to submit one piece per prose category, and three pieces for the poetry category by November 30, 2012. Word length for fiction and non-fiction (including memoir), is 1,500 words.  All work must be previously unpublished. Prose pieces must be in Word, page numbered, double spaced, in 12 pt font and with one inch margins, with the title on each page (lower right hand corner.) Poetry should be in 12 pt font and can be single spaced, page numbered, if they go beyond one page. If formatting is critical to the poetry submission, please send a pdf file to preserve that.  These are blind submissions, so do not put the writer’s name on the piece itself.

Photographs should be in jpg format, with at least 300 dpi in resolution; line drawings should be scanned at 300 dpi resolution.

Art within the publication will be black and white — artists can convert them to black and white, or the North Coast Citizen can do that.

Cover Art submissions should be in color, either paintings or photographs, and have the same resolution and jpg format.  In addition, the images should represent the North Coast area in some way.  Up to three images for each artist will be accepted. Submissions should be sent via email to northcoastsquid@gmail.com, with Submission in the subject line. In the body of the email state the piece title, the category (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, inside art, cover art), and a brief bio, which includes the author/artist’s connection to the north coast area. Attach an author/artist picture in jpg format.

You will be notified whether your piece(s) will be published just before the publication date in mid-February.

Strong Voices Workshop Publishes Literary Magazine

The ‘Strong Voices’ writing workshop for young adults has published a literary magazine of selected writings.  The workshop, held in July 2012, focused on honing voice and message with the guidance of local writer/teacher Holly Lorincz.

A handful of writers, ranging from 12 to 20 sat in a hot room, smelling the Pacific Ocean steaming under a July sun.  Instead of swimming, they hoisted cheap pens, covering page after page of spiral notebooks with ink, spilling a wide range of emotions and ideas into the open.  The outcome?  A truly inspired collection of writing.  Click here to read the work of some of those students.

Photo:  Teacher Holly Lorincz (center of back row) and writers from the Strong Voices workshop.

 

North Coast Squid

Calling all writers, artists and photographers: Here’s your chance to have your work published in a new literary magazine, The North Coast Squid

The Manzanita Writer’s Series coordinators are happy to announce a new collaboration with the North Coast Citizen.

The North Coast Squid will be an annual literary magazine to showcase work of writers and artists who live on the north coast or have a strong connection to the area.

The first magazine will publish in February 2012 in time for the February Manzanita Writer’s Series event.

“After three and half years of open mic readings, it’s clear there are many talented writers in the north coast community,” says Kathie Hightower. “We want to showcase that talent in print form as well.”

“We are thrilled that the North Coast Citizen approached us to do this,” adds Vera Wildauer. “One goal with the series was to connect and expand the writing community here at the coast. This publication adds to that.”

Why Squid?

“Let’s list a few similarities between squids and north coast writers,” says Hightower, “The most obvious is of course ink, but also the squid has a pen, ‘a feather-shaped internal structure,’ and the last few years have seen large migrations of squid up here from California, a bit like the migration of writers. There’s more…we’ll include that in the intro to the publication.”

Writing will be selected by outside judges. Bestselling novelist and writing teacher Jennie Shortridge will judge the prose entries and Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen will judge the poetry.

Writing will be accepted in five categories: poetry, fiction, narrative non-fiction, memoir and flash fiction.

“We’re also looking for art and photography submissions to accompany literary content for this new publication,” adds Wildauer. Art categories include black and white photos and line drawings, and one full color art piece will be selected for the cover. Art and photos will be selected by the North Coast Squid’s editorial team.

Submissions for consideration are due in November 30, 2011. Writers can submit one piece in each prose category, three pieces for poetry category. Artists may submit three images each for the color cover art, black and white photos or line drawings (scanned and in jpg form.)

Full Submission Rules:

Writers are invited to submit one piece per prose category, and three pieces for the poetry category.

Word length for fiction, narrative non-fiction, and memoir is 1,500 words; 200 words for flash fiction.

Prose pieces must be in Word, page numbered, double spaced, in 12 pt font and with one inch margins, with the title on each page (lower right hand corner.)  Poetry should be in 12 pt font and can be single spaced, page numbered, if they go beyond one page.   These are blind submissions, so do not put the author’s name on the piece itself.

Photographs should be in jpg format, with at least 300 dpi in resolution; line drawings should be scanned at 300 dpi resolution.

Submissions should be sent via email to northcoastsquid@gmail.com, with Submission in the subject line.  In the body of the email state the piece title, the category, and a brief bio in the email, which includes the author/artist’s connection to the north coast area.  Attach an author/artist picture in jpg format.

You will be notified whether your piece will be published in early January.

Workshop: Short Story Writing and Publishing September 17

Miriam Gershow leads short story workshop

Join us Saturday, September 17, 2011, from 11 to 130pm to learn how to write and publish short stories.

Spend the first half of the workshop using writing prompts to generate short story ideas. The second half will focus on how and where to place your short fiction. The fee for the workshop is $25.

Miriam Gershow is a novelist, short story writer and teacher. Her stories appear in The Georgia Review, Quarterly West, Black Warrior Review, Nimrod International Journal, The Journal, and Gulf Coast, among other journals. Miriam’s stories have been listed in the 100 Distinguished Stories of The Best American Short Stories 2007 and appeared in the 2008 Robert Olen Butler Prize Stories.

Miriam is the recipient of a Fiction Fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, as well as an Oregon Literary Fellowship.

She received her MFA from the University of Oregon. She taught fiction writing at the University of Wisconsin as well as descriptive writing to gifted high school students through Johns Hopkins University. She currently lives in Eugene with her husband and son, where she writes and teaches writing at the University of Oregon.

Saturday evening, Gershow will read from her new novel, The Local News, at 7pm at the Manzanita Writers’ Series at the Hoffman Center.

To register for the workshop, download the registration form here.

Click here for the 2011 Schedule.   If you’re planning to attend the workshop, contact vwildauer@gmail.com.  Contact Kathie Hightower at (503) 739-1505 or kathie@jumpintolife.net for more information.

 

The Visible Writer Workshop on 2/19

To be a writer, maybe you thought all you had to do was be brilliant, talented and creative.

It turns out you also have to be VISIBLE.

Join us for a one-day high energy workshop to learn why raising your visibility — bringing you and your work in front of more readers — is so important for all writers, from beginners to veterans. This workshop offers a wealth of practical tips for writers who want to position themselves and their work in the public eye.

Lauren Kessler, Author and Professor at the University of Oregon

Tom Hager, Author

 Lauren Kessler (www.laurenkessler.com) and Thomas Hager (www.thomashager.net) – who between them have written 18 books – will detail and demystify the elements of what is known as “platform building” — creating a name, identity and presence for yourself and gaining visibility for your work.  From the simplest of strategies like email signatures and business cards to the promising (and challenging) online world of websites, blogsites, author pages, Twitter and virtual book tours, from old-fashioned face to face networking to the brave new world of social media, you’ll get a crash course in VISIBILITY and leave with a do-able to-do list.

 Sign up early. Tom and Lauren’s workshops tend to fill up fast. Registration forms at http://hoffmanblog.org/manzanita-writers-series/workshops-2011-2.

 Tom Hager is the author of six nonfiction books and the former publisher of the University of Oregon Press. His most recent book, The Alchemy of Air, was named a “Best Book of 2008″ by Kirkus Reviews, and is a national finalist in Border’s “Original Voices” award program.

 Lauren Kessler is the author of 12 books, including 6 works of narrative nonfiction.  Her newest book, just released, is My Teenage Werewolf: A Mother, A Daughter, A journey through the Thickets of Adolescence.  She is also the author of Pacific Northwest Book Award and Oregon Book Award winner Dancing with Rose; Washington Post bestseller Clever Girl; Los Angeles Times bestseller The Happy Bottom Riding Club and Oregon Book Award-winner Stubborn Twig, which was chosen to be the book for all Oregonians to read on the occasion of the sesquecentennial.

 Date: Saturday, February 19, 2011

Time: 10-3.

 (includes a 45-minute break for lunch. Bring a bag lunch or pick something up locally during the break)

Location: The Hoffman Center in Manzanita (across from Manzanita Library at 594 Laneda Avenue.)

Cost: $50

For further information contact Kathie Hightower, 503-739-1505; kathie@jumpintolife.net.

Venue Change for April 17 Poetry Workshop

Sage Cohen’s two-part workshop on Saturday, April 17, has been moved to the Center for the Contemplative Arts in Manzanita, which is located at the Underhill Plaza on the corner of Manzanita Avenue and Division.  The workshop will cover the creativity and the business of poetry.
 
Poetry: From Pen to Page to Published, will run from 1pm to 3:30pm.
 
Have you always wanted to write a poem, but don’t know how to begin? Are you already writing poetry and want to connect with your muse more often? Spend the first half of this lively workshop to get your poetic juices flowing with a mix of inspiration, craft tips, and exercises.
 
After a break, get down to the business of poetry. Participants will learn to develop the skills, tools and systems they need to publish their poetry:
How to identify the right publications, contests, prizes and residencies for your poetry.
How to establish a submissions tracking system that keeps you moving forward.
How an online presence can help you get in the public eye, and stay there.
Sage is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009), The Productive Writer: Tips & Tools for Writing More, Stressing Less and Creating Success(Writer’s Digest Books, forthcoming in 2010) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World.
Sage won first prize in the Ghost Road Press poetry contest, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and was awarded a Soapstone residency. She is a columnist for Read Write Poem and publisher of the Writing the Life Poetic Zine.
Sage holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University and a BA in comparative literature from Brown University. She teaches, lectures and reads widely at writing conferences, libraries, universities, bookstores, as well as the popular online class “Poetry for the People”. Learn more about Sage and her books at www.sagesaidso.com <http://www.sagesaidso.com> . 

The workshop is a program of the Hoffman Center.  Admission fee is $25, $25 for students. Download a registration form at http://hoffmanblog.org/manzanita-writers-series/workshops or contact Kathie Hightower, 503-739-1505; kathie@jumpintolife.net.