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Summer in Words Writing Conference June 15-17

We wanted to pass a long a great opportunity for writers of all levels to learn from some of the best in their field…

Best-selling author Chelsea Cain will headline the roster for the 5th annual Summer In Words Writers Conference at the Hallmark Inn & Resort in Cannon Beach, Oregon. A full weekend of workshops, lectures, panels and individual consults will inspire writers at all levels. The theme for this year’s conference is Refinement, Resonance & Renewal. SIW provides aspiring and established writers the opportunity to hone their writing skills, hear inspiring advice, and network with fellow writers. Cost for all three days is $265.00; single day pricing is also available.

This year’s conference kicks off Friday morning, June 15th with workshops taught by Jessica Morrell, Bruce Holland Rogers and Naseem Rakha. Friday’s workshops will be followed by a reception and book signing with books from Cloud & Leaf Bookstore and a talk by Sage Cohen. Saturday features workshops by Jessica Glenn, Sage Cohen, and Cathy Lamb and a luncheon and keynote by Chelsea Cain. Saturday night is Out Loud, a chance for participants to read from a work in process. Sunday morning includes a workshop by Jessica Morrell, Cathy Lamb describing her road to best sellerdom, and a Q & A on Risk It to Get Published.

Conference founder Jessica Morrell said, “We are excited to celebrate the fifth year of Summer in Words with such a stellar line up of speakers and workshops. I’m especially looking forward to Chelsea’s talk on how to murder for money. Of course, she’s talking about writing her thriller series. This year’s workshops and talks will give writers a big advantage in today’s ever-changing publishing landscape.”

Both beginning and established writers are invited to attend the conference. SIW will also feature a raffle with proceeds going to Write Around Portland, an organization that helps people transform their lives through writing and the Hoffman Center a facility that provides arts in Manzanita.

Cannon Beach, Oregon is vibrant community on Oregon’s coast known for its love of the arts and books. The Hallmark Inn & Resort is located in midtown and overlooks Haystack Rock. Discounted room rates are available for conference participants. Cloud & Leaf Bookstore will be selling books at the event.

Visit any of the instructors’ websites or blogs:

Chelsea Cain http://chelseacain.com/

Sage Cohen http://pathofpossibility.com

Jessica Glenn http://mindbuckmedia.com/contact.shtml

Cathy Lamb http://www.cathylamb.net/

Jessica Morrell: http://jessicamorrell.com/

Naseem Rakha http://www.naseemrakha.com

Bruce Holland Rogers http://www.shortshortshort.com

The registration fee of $265 covers tuition for the three-day conference, Friday night’s reception, Saturday lunch and keynote, and light breakfasts each morning. Friday night’s Writer’s Reception and the Saturday lunch and keynote are $25.

Contact Jessica Morrell at 503 287-2150 to arrange an interview with any of the presenters.

About Summer in Words: Founded in 2008 by Jessica Morrell Summer in Words was created to provide writers with an intimate conference experience in an uplifting setting so that attendees are energized, enlightened, and inspired. Jessica Morrell is the author of Thanks, But This isn’t for Us, Bullies, Bastards & Bitches, How to Write the Bad Guys in Fiction, The Writer’s I Ching, Wisdom for the Writing Life, Voices From the Street, Between the Lines, Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing, and Writing Out the Storm.

For the complete schedule or any information or to register, contact conference coordinator Jessica Morrell at 503 287-2150 or jessicapage@spiritone.com or conference assistant Mary Drew at mary.drw@gmail.com

Registrations can be mailed to Summer in Words, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 97282-1141. Payment can also be sent through PayPal.

Website is http://summerinwords.wordpress.com

Poetry Writing Workshop and Poetry Reading with Carlos Reyes on Saturday, March 31

After the workshop, Reyes will read from his latest collection of poetry--Pomegranate, Sister of the Heart.

Carlos Reyes will conduct a poetry-writing workshop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita on Saturday, March 31, 2012. He will do a reading from his new book, Pomegranate, Sister of the Heart, following the workshop at 2:30. This is a special event of the Manzanita Writers’ Series. The free reading is open to the public and books will be available to purchase at the event.

Writers who participated in Reyes’ March 2011 one-hour workshop can tell you that his workshops are immediately engaging, fun and creative. This workshop will involve different writing prompts from the 2011 workshop. You’ll walk away with useful handouts, a “homework” assignment, along with many new poetry drafts. Download a registration form here. There is a $25 fee for the workshop. Bring a brown bag for the half-hour lunch break.

Poet and translator Carlos Reyes lives and writes in Portland, Oregon when he is not traveling. He travels a lot, and whether he journeys to Panama, Spain, Alaska or Ireland, those experiences inspire and inform his poetry. In 2007 he was honored with a Heinrich Boll Fellowship, which gave him two weeks to write on Achill Island, Ireland. He has had fellowships to Yaddo and the Fundación Valparaíso (Mojåcar, Spain). He was poet-in-residence in 2009 at the Lost Horse Ranger Station in the Joshua Tree National Park, and recently writer-in-residence at the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska. Pomegranate is his fifth collection of poetry to be published.

Click here to find out more on the 2012 schedule or contact Vera Wildauer at vwildauer@gmail.com.

North Coast Squid Available Now!

The North Coast Squid, a new literary magazine featuring the writing of locals — both full-time and part-time — was unveiled to an enthusiastic crowd on Saturday, February 15.  The annual magazine will be available for sale at all the Manzanita Writers’ Series events, as well as the following retail outlets (we’ll keep adding to the list, so keep checking back):

In Manzanita:
Cloud & Leaf Bookstore
Ekahni Books
Manzanita News & Espresso

In Nehalem:
Rainbow Lotus
Hal’s Emporium

In Cannon Beach:
Jupiter Books
Cannon Beach Book Company

In Seaside:
Beach Books

New Literary Journal, the North Coast Squid, to Debut on February 18, 2012 at the Manzanita Writers’ Series

The North Coast Citizen and the Manzanita Writers’ Series coordinators have partnered to bring out a literary journal, the North Coast Squid.

Writing entries were called for in the fall. Even with a short turn-around time, over fifty writers submitted 120 pieces. Sixty-seven submissions were poetry, 18 fiction, 16 memoir, 13 non-fiction, and six Flash Fiction. In addition, over 20 people submitted photography or art.

Entries were judged by two accomplished authors from outside the local area. Novelist Jennie Shortridge of Seattle read the prose submissions. Oregon’s sixth and current Poet Laureate Paulann Peterson, read the poetry.

“Jennie and Paulann have a passion for increasing literacy and broadening the love of reading and writing,” said Vera Wildauer, of the Manzanita Writers’ Series, “They eagerly read through their stacks to support this endeavor and selected 38 pieces.”

A committee of five chose the artwork to include.

“Sponsors stepped up to cover publication costs,” added Kathie Hightower, “We’re very pleased with the results, especially for an inaugural issue where people had just one month to submit. Of course, we have a vision that future journals will be even more expansive and stitch-bound volumes. But this is a great start and a way for many local writers to see their writing published for the first time. We hope many of the writers will read their entries during our Open Mic events this year.”

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, which will be announced soon. 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.

 

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.

2 Workshops: Flash Fiction and Writing the Picture Book

On Saturday, November 5, Mindy Hardwick will lead two writing workshops. Workshops will run from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Fee for each is $25. Both workshops will be at the Hoffman Center, 594 Laneda Avenue in Manzanita. Click here for a registration form.

Writing From Life: Flash Fiction–10 a.m. to Noon

It’s short. It’s fast, and it’s fun. Mindy will lead us through exercises to “mine our memories” for ideas. Then, we’ll take those rich ideas and turn them into pieces of flash fiction. You’ll learn about publishing markets open to Flash Fiction. This is a great workshop for writers wanting to learn more about Flash Fiction, memoir writers looking for new writing ideas, and high school writing teachers looking for new ways to teach writing.

Writing the Picture Book: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Picture books are the most beloved story form of children’s writing. But, how easy is it to write a picture book and how can the knowledge of picture book writing help writers who are working on longer stories? Join Mindy to learn to create a memorable character and how to structure a picture book. The workshop is perfect for writers and educators who want to better understand how to work with and teach the elements of story.

Mindy Hardwick to teach Flash Fiction and The Picture Book

Mindy Hardwick is a published children’s writer and educator. Her middle grade novel, Stained Glass Summer is due out December 2011, and her young adult contemporary romance novel, Weaving Magic, will publish April 2012. Mindy has facilitated a poetry workshop with teens at Denney Youth Juvenile Justice Center for five years. Her flash fiction and narrative non-fiction about the youth has been published with Between the Lines and Glass Cases. Mindy is co-editor of four anthologies, written by the youth, entitled, Call It Courage, I Am From, Because I Wanted to Be Loved, and Please Brave Me, Don’t Cry. Visit Mindy at: www.mindyhardwick.com

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 Manzanita Memoir Intensive

Jennifer Lauck to lead Memoir Intensive Workshop in Manzanita

A handful of select writers will be fully immersed in instruction and inspiration with Jennifer Lauck, New York Times Bestselling author of Blackbird, Still Waters, Show Me the Way, and Found.

  • Learn the three main components of memoir writing:  scene, summary & rumination so you can write a book that is compelling and sellable.
  • Learn Jennifer’s method for finishing a full-length manuscript in less than three months so you don’t waste time.
  • Learn how to set and keep writing goals so you can actually finish your book.
  • Learn what it takes to get published so you can realize your dream of being an author.

Dates/Times:  Aug 26, 27, & 28th ~ Fri 6-10pm, Sat/Sun 10-4

Location:  Manzanita (Saturday and Sunday at the Hoffman Center, 594 Laneda Ave)

Limit:  12 writers

Details/availability/schedule/cost:  503.235.5254 or jclauck@gmail.com

jenniferlauckmemoirwriting.com

 

Read All About It: Hoffapalooza!

Be sure to stop by the Hoffman Center on Saturday, July 23rd, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

We’re excited to show off some of the changes to our performance and gallery spaces, as well as the newly expanded Clay Studio.  Plus, you’re invited to explore all sorts of demonstrations of what the Hoffman Center has to offer, including clay, drawing, writing, reading, music, letterpress, mixed media, and book and paper arts.  Click on the Hoffapalooza Schedule for a printable schedule of events.  There’s no admission.

Local businesses and individuals have also generously donated over $1,500 worth of products and services for our fabulous raffle and silent auction prizes. Enter to win a $25 gas card from Bayside Shell & Grocery, just for showing up. Click on this list of Hoffapalooza prizes to see all of the wonderful raffle prizes and special silent auction items.  Raffle tickets are just $1 each,  12 for $10, or 25 for $20.    All proceeds go to the Hoffman Center Operating Fund.

And that’s not all!  Over 20 local artists will be showing and selling their art, including pieces made in the Hoffman Center Clay and Life Drawing Studios, and other art classes.  There also will be a display of art by kids in the Outside the Box Arts program.

Did we forget anything?  Well, there will be a lemonade stand on the front porch, plus tasty hand baked goods donated by Kim Miller.

We’ll see you there!

 

 

John Daniel reads at the Manzanita Writers’ Series July 16th

John Daniel to read on July 16th

John Daniel will read from his new book The Far Corner: Northwestern Views on Land, Life, and Literature at the Manzanita Writers’ Series event at 7pm on Saturday, July 16, 2011 at the Hoffman Center.

As Wallace Stegner describes Daniel: “John Daniel loves wilderness of all kinds, …, but it is more than scenery he is after. He has a streak of mysticism, some generalized religious sense, that is stimulated by the natural world…his essays will win him devoted readers.”

 Daniel is the author of nine books of memoir, personal essays, and poetry. He has been a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University, a James Thurber Writer-in-Residence at Ohio State University, and a Research and Writing Fellow at Oregon State University’s Center for the Humanities. He has been a Writer-in-Residence or Visiting Professor at a number of other universities. Two of his books have won the Oregon Book Award and he has won the Andres Berger Award for Creative Nonfiction, the annual John Burroughs Nature Essay Award, and a Pushcart Prize, among other honors.

Following Daniel’s reading and Q&A, we’ll have our popular Open Mic where up to nine local writers will read 5 minutes of their original work. The recommended theme for this month is “Something Wild.”

Admission for the evening is $5.