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.

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.

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.

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.

Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary

Chip MacGregor, president of MacGregor Literary, will present a workshop from 1 to 3pm on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita, titled “How to Find and Approach a Literary Agent.” This workshop is one in a series of writing workshops presented by the Manzanita Writers’ Series.

In this two-hour seminar you’ll learn exactly what a literary agent does and why they are a crucial part of today’s publishing process. Find out how to research and identify an agent, how to approach and pitch them, and how to create eye-catching proposals. Chip will cover the keys for successfully working with an agent once you have one, plus how current trends in publishing are changing the author/agent relationship.

 Attendees are invited to bring a proposal to the workshop, for a short in-class evaluation of each entitled, “Will I read on?”

The registration fee is $25. Click here for a registration form.

Chip MacGregor has been in the publishing business for more than two decades, first as author/collaborator on two dozen titles himself. As a literary agent he’s represented more than 1,000 books, including many award winners. He’s negotiated deals with some 40 publishers, including all the major US publishing houses and had books on all the bestseller lists, including one at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Prior to being an agent, Chip worked at several publishers including Time Warner Book Group. He offers a well-rounded perspective on the publishing business.

Local writers Garry Gitzen, Judy Crandall, and Marko Smith at the Self-Publishing Workshop

Local writers got an in-depth look at all the options available for publishing their work.  Print-on-demand technology has opened the door for a lot of writers who might otherwise not get their work in print.  According to Helen Gallagher, author of Release Your Writing, there are many writing projects that lend themselves very well to the self-publishing model.  If you have a very specialized topic that’s aimed at a narrow audience, need the book to establish your professional credentials, have a collection of essays or articles, or want to release a book that has gone out of print, you’ll be well-served to explore your options.

In the past, self-publishing meant you had to contract with a printer on your own and then ended up with a garage full of books to sell.  That’s still an option–especially for books where the paper quality or images are especially important.  However, now you can upload your book to a variety of print-on-demand publishers and order books just as they’re needed.  Several will also make your book available at online retailers and in the databases regular retailers use to order books.

Just because you can easily get your book into print, though, doesn’t mean you can forego important key elements.  The cover has to be well-designed and compelling, and solid editing is mandatory.  And once your book is available online, it’s all the more important to focus on marketing it.

For more information and resources, go to Helen’s web site www.releaseyourwriting.com, or pick up her book at Ekahni Books in Manzanita.

Held at the Contemplative Arts Center (because there was a Cassie the Crab performance going on at the Hoffman Center at the same time), the workshop was the first full-day writing workshop sponsored by the Manzanita Writers’ Series and the Hoffman Center.

The veteran authors and husband/wife team spelled out some of the harsh realties of today’s publishing business. They also covered specifics on the steps to getting your book published, from book proposal to approaching an agent.

The presenters have 17 books and many book awards between them. Hager has worked as a publisher with the Oregon University Press. Kessler teaches a class at the University of Oregon on writing narrative nonfiction. These seasoned and lively presenters provided a fast-paced day full of useful information and handouts.

Hager shared that between 150,000 to 300,000 titles come out each year, and publishers only make a profit on 80% of the books they publish. Publishing houses are counting on — and looking for – the books with blockbuster potential.

Although numbers like that could be overwhelming, participants left the workshop with new knowledge, practical next steps — and resolve.

“I’ve just rewritten the first four pages of my book proposal based on what Tom and Lauren said at the workshop,” reported Phyllis Mannen, local author and volunteer for the Manzanita Writers’ Series. And that was just two days after the workshop ended.

The next workshops in the Manzanita Writers/Hoffman Center writing workshop series will take place on the weekend of November 7th and 8th. The first annual Dark and Stormy Book Weekend in Manzanita will include a workshop on self-publishing book options and one on the writing craft, along with author readings and open mic opportunities for writers. In January, Jennie Shortridge will offer a workshop on book marketing techniques. (To be included on a direct email list for writing workshop announcements, email Vera Wildauer at vwildauer@gmail.com.)