Rebecca Siegel

October 1, 2020

Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Events, Newsletter, Workshops, The Dipper

The Dipper - October 2020

Rebecca Siegel

October 1, 2020

Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Events, Newsletter, Workshops, The Dipper

"The Dipper" is our monthly newsletter, where we highlight readings, events, calls for submission, and other literary-related news for the coming month. If you have news or events to share, let us know!

October News

We are so pleased to bring you another great virtual author event in partnership with Hanover’s Still North Books. On October 14 at 7:30 pm, Sierra Crane Murdoch will be in conversation with Angela Evancie of VPR’s Brave Little State to discuss Sierra’s compelling nonfiction book, Yellow Bird.

Yellow Bird tells the story of Lissa Yellow Bird as she obsessively hunts for clues to the disappearance of Kristopher “KC” Clark, a young white oil worker who worked on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Drawing on eight years of immersive investigation, Sierra Crane Murdoch has produced a profound examination of the legacy of systematic violence inflicted on a tribal nation and a tale of extraordinary healing. Sierra and Angela’s conversation is bound to be riveting. Register today to attend!

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Alexandria Hall’s debut book of poetry, Field Music, will be published by Ecco on October 6. Alexandria is a poet and a musician from Vermont (and currently a PhD candidate in California). Publishers Weekly calls Field Music, “a striking debut…This atmospheric collection will transport readers to Hall’s layered landscapes.”

We are so fortunate that Alexandria agreed do to an interview with us, and we are equally fortunate that Rena J. Mosteirin enthusiastically agreed to pose the interview questions. The interview will be published on our site on Field Music’s publication day, October 6, so check our blog then.

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In Slow Club Book Club news, we recently announced the last book in our year of reading books by Canadian authors: Dionne Brand's 2018 hybrid poetry collection, The Blue Clerk. In this intriguing book—an Ars Poetica in 59 versos—Dionne Brand stages a conversation and an argument between the poet and the Blue Clerk, who is the keeper of the poet's pages.

A sampling of The Blue Clerk reveals its mesmerizing power. Listen to Dionne Brand read two of the prose poem versos on the Griffin Poetry Prize website (the book was shortlisted for the 2019 prize) and fall under its liquid language spell. We hope you decide to join us in reading The Blue Clerk beginning on October 15. If you do, please let us know; it's nice to know you're out there.

October’s Shooting Stars

A cool literary find from each of us to help light up your month!

First Wednesdays from Vermont Humanities are back, beginning October 7. This time around we are lucky to be able to listen to these lectures from our homes. I’m particularly excited to hear Jarvis Green’s lecture, “Atlantic Is a Sea of Bones” on November 7 We’ve posted the literary lectures from this series in our calendar of events. For the rest (including some really amazing topics from dance and Muhammad Ali to bird migration to food justice), please visit the Vermont Humanities website. —Shari
These days I often feel closed, tight, compressed into myself. I need reminders of expansiveness: drop the shoulders from my ears, breathe deeply. The other day I saw a link to a recording of Seamus Heaney reading “Postscript,” one of my favorites of his poems. Rereading it always blows me open, as the last line intends. Hearing Seamus’ own voice makes it even better.—Rebecca

October Highlights

Layli Long Soldier will read as part of the virtual Poetry at Bennington series on October 7 at 7:00 pm.

Samantha Kolber celebrates the release of her new chapbook, Birth of a Daughter, with a virtual event at Bear Pond Books on October 9 at 7:00 pm.

Sierra Crane Murdoch discusses her book Yellow Bird with Brave Little State’s Angela Evancie via Still North Books & Bar on October 14 at 7:30 pm.

The Brattleboro Literary Festival takes place virtually this year from October 16 to 18, featuring writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Jason Lutes appears as a part of Virtual Bookstock 2020 on October 15 at 7:00 pm.

Phil Klay will read and discuss his latest novel, Missionaries, on October 16 at 7:00 pm. This online event is presented by both The Norwich Bookstore and Still North Books & Bar.

603: The Writers’ Conferences is online this year on October 17 from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, with featured speaker Brunonia Barry.

Charles Simic gives a virtual reading sponsored by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire and Gibson’s Bookstore on October 20 at 7:00 pm.

Visit our calendar for detailed information about these events and more!

Worth a Listen

Artwork by Sludge Thunder — *Artwork by* *Sludge Thunder*

Daniel Hornsby speaks about his debut, Via Negativa, on Marginalia. His new novel was recently recommended by Lauren Groff on Twitter.
On the Slow Stories podcast, Sanaë Lemoine discusses her writing process for her debut, The Margot Affair.
Middlebury grad Bianca Giaever has a wonderful new podcast for The Believer called Constellation Prize. Five episodes about strangers, religion, poetry, and art are available now.
Dustin Schell and Alexander Chee (curators of the Still Queer reading series) were featured on Christine Lee’s podcast, Front Yard Politics, talking about gardening during the pandemic.

We're Looking Forward to These October Releases

Mantel Pieces, by Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate, October 1)
Leave the World Behind, by Rumaan Alam (Ecco, October 6)
The Hole, by Hiroko Oyamada, translated by David Boyd (New Directions, October 6)
The Superationals, by Stephanie La Cava (Semiotext(e)/Native Agents, October 13)
Kant’s Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I write, by Claire Messud (W.W. Norton & Company, October 13)
The Century, by Éireann Lorung (Milkweed Editions, October 13)
The Silence, by Don DeLillo (Scribner, October 20)
Divorcing, by Susan Taubes (NYRB Classics, October 27)
Memorial, by Bryan Washington (Riverhead, October 27)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

Hunger Mountain Issue 25: Art Saves
Send your manifestos and rhetoric, your stories and poems, your essays and forays into justifying art as an answer to—and escape from?—these trying times: pandemics, forest fires, catastrophe, white-supremacy, murder, burning buildings as the only way to be heard, and fascism. Please submit prose of no more than 8,000 words, or up to three flash pieces all in one document; for poetry, 1 to 5 poems all in one file.
Deadline: October 15 | Details

Sundog Poetry Center’s First or Second Book Award Prize for a Vermont Poet
Sundog Poetry Center is pleased to announce the inaugural book award for a first or second poetry manuscript, in partnership with Green Writers Press, who will design, print and distribute the book nationwide. The final judge is Vermont Poet Laureate Mary Ruefle. A cash prize of $500 will be awarded along with 50 copies. Manuscripts should be between 48 and 64 pages. All submissions must be authored by a poet who resides in Vermont; proof of residency will be requested along with a $20 application fee.
Deadline: October 31 | Details

Sunken Garden Chapbook Prize for Poetry
Tupelo Press’ Sunken Garden Prize seeks submissions of previously unpublished, chapbook-length poetry manuscripts. The prize is open to anyone writing in the English language. This year’s judge is Mark Bibbins. The winner receives a $1000 cash prize, in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 25 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion.
Deadline: October 31 | Details

New England Review
New England Review is open for nonfiction submissions and for their digital “Confluences” series. For nonfiction, NER accepts a broad range, including dramatic works, essays in translation, interpretive and personal essays, critical reassessments, cultural criticism, travel writing, and environmental writing. The word limit is 20,000. For “Confluences,” they are seeking brief essays (500 to 100 words) in response to a book, play, poem, film, painting, sculpture, building, or other work of art.
Deadline: November 15 | Details

Bennington Unbound
October 15 to December 15
These four-week intensive online courses in fiction and nonfiction (October 15 to November 15, and November 15 to December 15) are geared toward current college and college-ready students considering an academic gap year or looking to supplement their current coursework. The courses are taught by Bennington’s award-winning graduate and undergraduate writing and literature faculty. Weekly live video class meetings foster an intimate seminar experience. Web-based discussion forums and unique multimedia resources extend the classroom community. All students will write both creatively and critically. Students earn one college credit per course.
Deadline: one week prior to the beginning of each course | Cost: $600/course | Details

Bloodroot Literary Magazine
Bloodroot is now accepting new, unpublished poetry, fiction, and essays for its spring 2021 issue. Send a Word document including 3 to 5 pages of poetry or 10 to 12 pages of fiction and nonfiction. For anything outside that scope, like an experimental form or digital project, please send a one-page proposal and they will be in touch if we want to see more.
Deadline: December 15 | Details

The Dorset Prize for Poetry
Tupelo Press’ Dorset Prize is seeking submissions of previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscripts. The prize is open to anyone writing in the English language. This year’s judge is Tyehimba Jess. The winner receives at $3000 cash prize and a week-long residency at MASS MoCA, in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 20 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion.
Deadline: December 31 | Details

Vermont Writers’ Prize
The Vermont Writers’ Prize is accepting essays, short stories, plays, or poems on the subject of Vermont: its people, its places, its history, or its values—the choice is yours! Entries must be unpublished and 1,500 words or less. The Writers' Prize is open to all Vermont residents and students except for employees of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Magazine. Please submit only one entry.
Deadline: January 1 | Details

The Frost Place Chapbook Competition
The competition is open to any poet writing in English. The selected winner’s chapbook will be published by Bull City Press in the summer following the competition. The winner receives 10 complimentary copies (from a print run of 300), a $250 prize, full scholarship to attend the Poetry Seminar at The Frost Place, including room and board, and gives a featured reading from the chapbook at the Seminar. $28 entry fee.
Deadline: January 5 | Details

Zig Zag Lit Mag Issue.10
Submissions are open for Issue.10 for those who live, labor, or loiter in Addison County, Vermont. Zig Zag accepts submissions in any genre and topic, including fiction, nonfiction, dramatic forms, and poetry. They also accept art. You can submit up to three pieces of writing and/or art.
Deadline: January 5 | Details

Crossroads Magazine
The independent, student-run magazine based out of Burlington, Vermont, accepts very short fiction and poetry, 300 words or fewer. Submissions should be in Word or typed directly into an email. No PDFs, please.
Deadline: rolling submissions | Details

Dartmouth Poet in Residence
The Frost Place’s Dartmouth Poet in Residence program is a six-to-eight-week residency in poet Robert Frost’s former farmhouse. The residency begins July 1 and ends August 15, and includes an award of $1,000 from The Frost Place and an award of $1,000 from Dartmouth College. The recipient of the Dartmouth Poet in Residence will have an opportunity to give a series of public readings across the region, including at Dartmouth College and The Frost Place.
Deadline: none given | Details

Green Mountains Review
GMR is accepting fiction and experimental and hybrid poems. The editors are open to a wide range of styles and subject matter. Please submit a cover letter and include up to 25 pages of prose or up to five poems. $3 submission fee.
Deadline: none given | Details

The Hopper
The environmental literary magazine from Green Writers Press, is accepting submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are interested in work that offers new and different articulations of the human experience in nature, specifically nature writing that is psychologically honest about the environmental crisis and the impacts of mechanical modernity.
Deadline: none given | Details

Isele Magazine
Isele Magazine is seeking submissions of essays, fiction, poetry, art, and photography. You may submit up to 8,000 words of prose, six pages of poetry, or one long poem.
Deadline: rolling submissions | Details

Junction Magazine Editorial Board
If you're passionate about the vibrant community of the Upper Valley, and showcasing the myriad cultures that exist here, consider joining the Junction Magazine Editorial Board. Their areas of coverage are Arts and Culture, Food and Farm, People, and the Wild. Editors meet bi-weekly, and share pitching, writing, editing, and layout duties, as well as the (small) financial cost of the website and hosting.
Deadline: none given |

Mount Island digital magazine
To focus on their mission of supporting rural LGBTQ+ and POC voices, most of the submission categories are open only to folks who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or POC and who currently live in or hail from a rural area. They do welcome “allies” who do not identify as LGBTQ+/POC/rural to submit in certain categories, such as interviews, reviews, and blog articles. When such categories are open for “ally submissions,” they are labeled clearly as such.
Deadline: open year-round | Details

Nightingale Review
Nightingale accepts and celebrate all types of literary creative expression from queer authors, including poetry, plays, general fiction, nonfiction essays, and book/movie/music reviews. Both established and unpublished authors welcome.
Deadline: none given | Details

Six-Word Quarantine Stories
Do you have a six-word story about your quarantine to share? Tell yours on social media with the hashtag #quarantinesix, and tag @vtartscouncil so they can share your story, too.
Deadline: none given | Details

Three By Five
Share a small moment—anonymously—that has altered the path of your life. Record it on a 3" x 5" card and mail it to PO Box 308, Etna, NH, 03750. Or, take a photo of your card and email it to .
Deadline: none | Details

Listening in Place Sound Archive
The Vermont Folklife Center invites you to send in recorded interviews and sounds of daily life in an effort to open hundreds of small windows into the experiences of Vermonters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vermont Folklife Center will make these recordings available on their website and social media to foster connection and sharing, and will also archive the recordings for posterity.
Deadline: none | Details

Writing the Land
Writing the Land is a collaboration between local land trusts and poets to help raise awareness for the preservation of land, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Poets and land trusts are being enrolled on a rolling basis. They are especially seeking under-represented poetic and environmental voices, but welcome all poets at any stage of their career and would like everyone to contribute to this project. If you are an interested poet, please fill out the information in the contact form on their website or email Lis McLaughlin at . You will need to submit a 50- to 75-word third-person bio, three pieces of work, and list which locations or regions you are willing to travel to.
Deadline: rolling submissions | Details

Upcoming Workshops and Classes

Horace Greeley Writers’ Symposium
October 17, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Aspiring writers, published authors welcome. Writing workshops, networking, Q&A, and more. Location: United Baptist Church, East Poultney | Cost: $65 adults; $20 students | Details

Expressive Writing with Vivian Ladd and Joni B. Cole
November 5, 5:30 to 7:00 pm
This workshop fuses explorations of works of art with fun and meaningful expressive writing exercises. No writing experience required, just a willing pen and curious mind.
Location: online | Cost: free | Details

The Fluidity of Memory: Finding Strength in Your Story
November 14, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Candidate Ruth Amara Okolo is offering a workshop that gives insights into the importance of creative nonfiction. Through an exploration of the elements of the genre, she presents an approach and technique to creating, writing memories that shows life in all its color, description, and realism.
Location: online | Cost: $25 to 65 | Details

Everyday Poetry: Accessing the Poetry Within
November 15, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
Enjoy the art of poetry with Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Candidate Sara Stancliffe as she unearths why poetry is a life force and examines poetry as an essence. Prepare to demystify poetry in this workshop by beginning with a low-key discussion on what we think poetry is, where it shows up in our everyday lives, and how we might access poetry to elevate our everyday existence. In this workshop, we’ll share music and collectively enjoy sounds of rhythm. This will be a “come as you are” workshop where no prior poetic experience or vocabulary or even passion is needed.
Location: online | Cost: $25 to 65 | Details

Inner & Outer Weather: Character in Fiction
December 12, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
Join Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Candidate Jonathan Calloway as he discusses how our stories’ characters, like ourselves, each carry a lifetime’s worth of experience, much of which the outer world is oblivious. Through generative writing exercises and close readings of excerpts from a wide range of fiction authors, you will investigate how perception can be used as a tool to shape evocative environments, sharpen focus, and redefine the boundary between the individual and the whole. You will have the opportunity to share and receive direct feedback from instructors and fellow participants, as well as acquire a set of tools to further your own unique explorations of the caverns of character development.
Location: online | Cost: $25 to 65 | Details

Rebecca Siegel

March 1, 2019

Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Events, Newsletter, Workshops, The Dipper

The Dipper - March 2019

Rebecca Siegel

March 1, 2019

Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Events, Newsletter, Workshops, The Dipper

March News

Even though we still have at least a foot of snow in the yard and the wood stoves are cranking along as brightly as ever, there’s a definite change in the air: there’s daylight after 5:00 pm, the feed store is stocking sugaring supplies. Mud Season is coming! Help us welcome Northern New England’s fifth season by joining us and our friends Lauren Stevens and Peter Varkonyi at the Brownsville Butcher & Pantry for Poetry & Pints on Sunday, March 10, from 5:15 to 7:00 pm.

We’ll hear readings from three fantastic poets—Colin McKraig, Peter Money, and Ruth Antoinette Rodriguez— and we’ll enjoy fabulous food, beer, and wine, plus an open mic where you can read your original work. Admission is by donation. Visit the Poetry & Pints page on our website for full details. Please let us know you’re coming by sending your RSVP to .

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Last year, Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dartmouth College lost the only new bookstore in town. While we’re huge fans of Left Bank Books and The Norwich Bookstore (just across the river in Norwich, Vermont), we firmly believe that the more bookstores we have, the better our area will be.

Fortunately, our friend Allie Levy has a plan: Still North Books & Bar, an independent bookstore, bar, and café in the heart of downtown Hanover. We’ve talked to Allie and are impressed with her energy, vision, and the work she’s already put into making this new bookstore a success and a true part of the community. Still North will boast a carefully curated book selection, a full range of events, drinks and food, and a place to hang out and talk about books. But to make this bookstore real, Allie needs funding help to stock the shelves with books. That’s where you come in. Please contribute to the Still North Indiegogo fundraising campaign, earn great perks, and be part of the community that gets this new literary landing spot up and running by fall 2019.

Dear Slow Club Book Club friends, we’re so curious to know your thoughts about Yoko Tawada’s The Emissary. We’ve already heard from several of you, and have had great conversations about this little book and literary translation in general. If you’re reading along, let us know! And if you post about it to Instagram or Twitter, be sure to tag us with #slowclubbookclub or #literarynorth. We’ll be announcing our second book of the year in mid March (to begin reading in April). It’s never too late to sign up!

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March’s Shooting Stars

A cool literary find from each of us to help light up your month!

I’m so excited to hear that Lauren Elkin will have a new book out in 2020 entitled Art Monsters. In the meantime, pick up her 2018 book, Flâneuse! —Shari
Mutant Journalism is the Instagram account for Jeff Sharlet’s nonfiction writing class at Dartmouth College. From time to time, short, intense essays written by Jeff’s current and former students appear on this feed. I nearly always find the essays riveting and it gives me such a feeling of hope to read the words of this next generation of writers. —Rebecca

March Highlights

*January Gill O’Neil. Photo by John Andrews.*

On Tuesday, March 5, poet January Gill O’Neil is reading as part of the Eagle Pond Authors series at the Silver Center for the Arts in Plymouth, New Hampshire. The reading begins at 7:00 pm, followed by a book signing and reception.

Bennington College’s spring Literature Evening series continues on Wednesday evenings with Andrea Lawlor on March 6, Natalie Scenters-Zapico on March 13, and Joseph Grantham and Catherine Pikula on March 20. The readings take place at 7:00 pm in Franklin house on Bennington’s campus in Bennington, Vermont.

Poets Colin McKaig, Peter Money, and Ruth Antoinette Rodriquez will read as part of Poetry & Pints at Brownsville Butcher & Pantry in Brownsville, Vermont, on Sunday, March 10, beginning at 5:15 pm. The evening will feature an a la carte menu, beer and wine by the glass, and an open mic. Sliding scale admission of $6 to $10. If you plan to attend, .

*Kimberly Kruge. Photo by Vira Ivanova.*

On Tuesday, March 12, at 7:00 pm, poet and translator Kimberly Kruge will read from her new book, Ordinary Chaos, at Left Bank Books in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Join the Poetry Society of New Hampshire from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on Wednesday, March 13 at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire, for a Melopoeia—poetry read to the accompaniment of music—with poets Rhina Espaillat and Alfred Nicol, and guitarist John Tavano.

Rowan Ricardo Phillips reads on Wednesday, March 20 at 8:00 pm at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont, where he’s a visiting writer for the month.

Joan Wickersham will be at reading at the University of New Hampshire as part of the UNH Writers series on Thursday, March 21, at 5:00 pm.

If you missed seeing Jane Brox last month, you get another opportunity to hear her read at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 27 at the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Also on Wednesday, March 27, Emily Bernard will be at The Norwich Bookstore to read from her book of essays, Black Is The Body, at 7:00 pm.

Visit our calendar for detailed information about these events and more!

Worth a Drive

Poet Layli Long Soldier is giving a reading at Smith College’s Weinstein Auditorium in Northampton, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, March 5, at 7:30 pm. Her 2017 book, Whereas, was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award and won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry.
Kiese Laymon will be reading from his memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, at Northshire Saratoga Springs, on March 8 at 7:00 pm. Go!
Marlon James will be at The Odyssey Bookshop in Hadley, Massachusetts, on Thursday, March 14, at 7:00 pm for the First Editions Club reading of his book Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

Worth a Listen

I listened to two episodes of Lit Up recently that were excellent: R. O. Kwon and Olivia Laing. —Shari
This brief VPR interview with poet Cynthia Huntington about the week in 2005 when Thetford, Vermont, made poetry history made me smile.—Rebecca

We're Looking Forward to These March Releases

Deaf Republic, by Ilya Kaminsky (Graywolf Press, March 5)
Survival Math, by Mitchell S. Jackson (Scribner, March 5)
Letters Home, by Philip Larkin (Faber & Faber, March 5)
Mudlark, by Lara Maiklem (Liveright Publishing, March 5)
The Altruists, by Andrew Ridker (Viking, March 5)
Lot, by Brian Washington (Riverhead, March 19)
What You Have Heard is True, by Carolyn Forché (Penguin, March 19)
Horizon, by Barry Lopez (Knopf, March 19)
The Octopus Museum, by Brenda Shaughnessy (Knopf, March 19)
Sing to It, by Amy Hempel (Scribner, March 26)
The Old Drift, by Namwali Serpell (Hogarth, March 26)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

The Green Writers Press literary magazine, The Hopper, is now accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art. For more information and to submit, please visit their Submission page.

Applications are open for Free Verse Farm’s week-long poetry residencies. Residents will stay in an off-grid, vintage camper on the farm in Chelsea, Vermont. The residence fee is $250/week, which includes coffee and tea. Poets are welcome to bring a partner at no extra charge. The application deadline is April 1. For more information and to apply, please visit the Free Verse Residency page.

Every fall, the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, awards residency Fellowships to artists in seven disciplines, including literature. A Fellowship consists of exclusive use of a private studio, accommodations and three prepared meals a day for two weeks to two months. The deadline for the 2019 Fall MacDowell Literature Fellowship is April 15. The application fee is $30. For more information, please visit the Residency Application page.

Barnstorm, the online literary journal of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of New Hampshire, is accepting submissions through May. Barnstorm publishes previously unpublished work in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. For more information, please visit the Barnstorm Submission page.

New England Review is looking for submissions in all genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, drama, translation, creative writing for their website, cover art, and art for their website. NER charges a small fee for online submissions ($3 for prose, $2 for poetry and NER Digital) to help support their mission to publish writers at all stages of their careers. The deadline is May 31. For more information, please visit the New England Review Submissions page.

The Juniper Summer Writing Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts, (June 16 to 22) is accepting applications. The institute includes manuscript consultations, craft sessions, workshops, readings, and other events, led by a wide range of instructors, including CAConrad, Gabriel Bump, Ross Gay, Khadijah Queen, Bianca Stone, Ocean Vuong, Dara Weir, and Joy Williams. The non-refundable application fee is $40. For more information and to apply, please visit the Juniper Institute website.

Lifelines Magazine, a literary and art journal from the Geisel School of Medicine, is accepting submissions of original and unpublished short stories, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork for their 2020 issue. While they consider a broad spectrum of subject matter for publication, they are looking for pieces that speak to the experience of medicine in some way. The deadline is October 31. For more information, please visit the Lifelines Magazine Submission page.

Upcoming Workshops and Classes

How do you tap into meaningful material? How do you shape a personal essay to capture and maintain a reader’s interest? What narrative techniques can you use to make your prose vivid and convey emotion? Those are some of the issues we’ll cover in the “Writing Personal Stories” workshop at the Writer’s Center of White River Junction on March 2, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. We will be doing in-class writing so please bring a notepad or laptop. Preregistration required. $45. For more information and to register, please visit the Writer’s Center’s Workshops page.

The Writer’s Center of White River Junction is offering its “Sunday Surges” workshop from March 3 through March 31. This four-session workshop for fiction and creative nonfiction writers is a great way to generate material, revise with direction, and make solid progress on your prose project. Each meeting provides you with a deadline to assure you are producing consistently. If your goal is to launch or make steady progress on a novel, memoir, essay, or other type of narrative work, this group is for you. Preregistration required. $145. For more information and to register, please visit the Writer’s Center’s Workshops page.

On March 9, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, the AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, is offering a “One Photo, Four Stories” writing workshop where you will use a photo of your choice as a prompt for four separate stories. This class is open to all levels. $68 for members; $80 for non-members. For more information and to register, please visit the AVA Gallery website.

On March 9 and 10, poet Shira Dentz leads a two-day Prose Poem workshop at The Word Barn in Exeter, New Hampshire. In this workshop, you’ll explore the elusive form of the prose poem through reading, discussion, writing experiments, and workshopping. Unconventional writing prompts will follow each of our discussions. An extended workshop on the second day will give everyone the chance to refine at least one prose poem they drafted through this workshop. Registration is required. $275. For more information and to register, please visit The Word Barn’s Workshops page.

Do your stories “tell a truth”? Is it a truth you believe in? Few writers realize that unity is key to creating a powerful and emotionally resonant story, and theme is key to creating a unified story. Join Jeanne Cavelos for an online “Unifying Your Story Around a Meaningful Theme” workshop on March 14, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. We’ll identify themes important to you and explore how to build a story from a theme so it is conveyed in an organic, not preachy, way. A way “that the reader cannot forget.” $20 for New Hampshire Writers’ Project members; $30 for non-members. For more information and to register, please visit the NHWP Workshops page.

On March 16, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Lindsay Gacad will teach “What’s Underneath,” a creative nonfiction writing workshop at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, Vermont. In this generative workshop, we’ll focus on creative nonfiction in its various forms. We'll examine how most relatable narrators in nonfiction are often deeply flawed. Sliding scale rates available to make the class accessible to all. For more information and to register, please visit the VCFA’s MFA in Writing and Publishing page.

Writing can be a powerful, cathartic means of coping with life's greatest hardships, including the illness and death of loved ones. In the Writing Group for People Experiencing Loss workshop, discover ways that writing may allow grief to move and evolve. Co-facilitated by Jenny Gelfan, MAed, and Jessica Stout, MSW, this workshop will meet Thursdays at 12:00 pm from March 21 to April 25 at the Jack Byrne Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, New Hampshire. For more information or to RSVP, please email or call her at (603) 308-2447.

Do you have an interview project in mind but don’t quite know where to begin or how to proceed? The Vermont Folklife Center is offering its “Oral History: An Introduction” workshop to help you move your project forward. This workshop combines discussion of the theories and methods that inform oral history research with practical, hands-on training in oral history interview techniques. The workshop will be held on March 23, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. $95 ($55 for students). For more information and to register, please visit the Vermont Folklife Center’s Workshop page.

On March 30, from 10:00 am to 4:00, the Vermont Folklife Center is offering its “Storytelling for Social Change” workshop at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vermont. In this workshop we will explore the ethics and techniques of oral history, ethnography, and storytelling as activist research methodologies. Attendees will be introduced to these three merging methodologies through a combination of short media pieces and discussions, will be invited to take a critical and analytical look at the history of documentary work, and will learn the basics of skills such as interviewing, story circle facilitation, and ethnographic observation. We will also cover the technical aspects of storytelling, providing an introduction to tools for minimal-resource and mobile audio recording. $95 ($55 for students). For more information and to register, please visit the Vermont Folklife Center’s Workshop page.

Poet Michael Metivier will lead a “Matter of Life and Verse: Writing Poetry” workshop on Tuesdays, from April 16 through May 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, at the AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Learn to create resonance, heightened urgency, and a timeless quality to your work. $25, regardless of AVA membership. For more information and to register, please visit the AVA Gallery website.

As part of PoemCity Montpelier, Rebecca Jamieson will teach a “Fun with Forms” poetry workshop on April 20, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, Vermont. This workshop explores the poetic form and why poets use them. The workshop is open to ages 15 and up. All levels of experience are welcome! For more information and to register, please visit the VCFA’s MFA in Writing and Publishing page.

Already dreaming of summer? Registration for Summer Workshops at The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, is already open. This year’s workshops include Graphic Memoirs with Melanie Gillman, Creating Graphic Novels for the Young Adult Market with Jo Knowles and Tillie Walden, and a Graphic Novel Workshop with Paul Karasik. For all the details and to register, please visit the CCS 2019 Summer Workshops page.

Rebecca Siegel

July 1, 2018

Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Events, Newsletter, Workshops, The Dipper

The Dipper - July 2018

Rebecca Siegel

July 1, 2018

Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Events, Newsletter, Workshops, The Dipper

"The Dipper" is our monthly newsletter, where we highlight readings, events, calls for submission, and other literary-related news for the coming month. If you have news or events to share, let us know!

July News

With the summer solstice just behind us, the strawberries are ripe, the days are long enough to fit in some extra reading after dinner, and Northern New England is blooming with literary festivals and summer reading series, including the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum's Readings in the Gallery, Brownington, Vermont's Back Roads Readings, the Hyla Brook Reading Series at Robert Frost's farm in Derry, New Hampshire, the Troy Hill Reading Series in Warner, New Hampshire, the Canaan Meetinghouse Reading Series in Canaan, New Hampshire, Authors at the Aldrich in Barre, Vermont, and the Joan Hutton Landis Summer Reading Series in Rochester, Vermont.

If that's not enough to keep you busy, Woodstock, Vermont's 10th annual Bookstock Literary Festival is happening at the end of the month and promises three chock-full days of readings, workshops, live music, used book sales, and other goodies.

You can find details about all of these series and festivals on the Literary North calendar.

And of course our very own Poetry & Pie is happening in just a few weeks! We're making lists, finalizing pie recipes, and putting in an order for a perfect summer day. We hope you'll be joining Didi Jackson, Julia Shipley, Ocean Vuong, our friends and volunteers, and us on Saturday, July 21 for a delicious afternoon. All of the seats for this event are already reserved, but if you're interested in attending, please add your name to the waiting list in case there are cancellations!

Oh! And speaking of festivals, we're excited to be sponsoring the 14th Annual Burlington Book Festival, which is happening in Burlington, Vermont, October 12 through 14. The three-day festival takes place in a variety of downtown venues and features author readings, signings, panel discussions, workshops, exhibits, lectures, Q&A sessions, performances, the 12th annual Grace Paley Poetry Series, and more. Keep your eyes on this space for more details soon.

We can rest in the winter, right?

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This time of year, we love to talk to area writers and readers about their summer reading suggestions. This summer, we've started a new series with summer reading picks from our favorite local indie bookstores. First up are suggestions from the booksellers at Left Bank Books in Hanover, New Hampshire, and The Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vermont. Their suggestions are terrific, and you'll get a real feel for each book by reading their descriptions. Check out their suggestions on our blog!

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If all of this is just too much excitement for you and your TBR pile is already wagging an accusing finger in your direction, we can empathize. Maybe you want to read just one book this summer? If so, our Slow Club Book Club might be right for you. We just announced that our summer book is Lost in the City, by Edward P. Jones. (Yes, that's right: just one book for the entire summer.) We'll start reading on July 1. If you'd like to join us, just subscribe to our newsletter, and then read the book at your leisure. No strings attached!

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New to our blog is our recent interview with Ray Keifetz, whose first collection of poetry, Night Farming in Bosnia, was published in April. You don't want to miss this book, or Ray's moving and thoughtful replies to our questions. To find out more and to read selections from Night Farming in Bosnia, visit our interview with Ray.

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One final note for our blog readers: we've added a new Blog Directory page to our site so that you can find a full list of our posts, organized by category. We hope this helps make it easier for you to find a specific interview, reading list, or Dipper edition.

We're taking August off from this newsletter so we can have more time to read and go to readings. We'll see you back here in September. Happy summer, friends!

July Shooting Stars

A cool literary find from each of us to help light up your month!

My newest literary crush is Fitzcarraldo Editions. I was excited to receive The Second Body by Daisy Hildyard as a birthday gift, and I can't wait to add to my collection. I'm particularly interested in reading The Years by Annie Ernaux, which is their latest release. —Shari
Some writers seem like they'll live on and on, forever older and wiser than we are, forever writing the words that we need. Grace Paley was like that for me, and so was Seamus Heaney, and so was Donald Hall, who died on June 23. For the last few days I've been reading as many tributes as I can, and his poems and essays, and the poems of his wife, Jane Kenyon, who left us all much too soon. If you want to join me, you can start with this lovely obituary in The Concord Monitor by Mike Pride. Then continue on to this remembrance and collection of poems, prose, and audio put together by the Poetry Foundation or this tribute with wonderful photo in The New Yorker. Then, maybe, take a moment and read "The Morning Porches." —Rebecca

July Highlights

Vermont College of Fine Art's summer residency readings continue July 1 to 3 with Danielle Evans, Jeffrey Thomas Leong, and Mary Ruefle. The readings begin at 7:00 pm and take place in the College Hall chapel on the VCA campus in Montpelier, Vermont.

*Nicole Homer. Photo by Maria Del Naja.*

Nicole Homer—the 2018 Dartmouth Poet in Residence at The Frost Place—will be reading at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, on Thursday, July 5, as part of the Readings in the Gallery Series. The reading begins at 7:00 pm.

On Sunday, July 8, poets Jody Gladding and Sharon Olds share the bill at the first event of the 2018 Back Roads Readings series at Brownington Congregational Church, in Brownington, Vermont. All readings begin at 3:00 pm and are followed by a book signing and reception.

Peter Manseau and Ivy Pochoda launch this year's Meetinghouse Readings in Canaan, New Hampshire, on Thursday, July 12, at 7:30 pm. The series, which continues through early August, includes readings by Christopher Wren, Lauren Groff, Howard Mansfield, Robin MacArthur, Lloyd Schwartz, and Joan Silber.

The Third International Thorton Wilder Conference takes place at the Monadnock Center for History & Culture in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The conference features paper panels, roundtable discussions, presentations, readings, and social events from Thursday July 12 through Saturday, July 14. Limited seats are available to the public to attend conference sessions.

Marcelo Gleiser, theoretical physicist, will be giving the 2018 Dartmouth Library Book Talk on Wednesday, July 18, at 4:30 pm. Gleiser will present his book, The Simple Beauty of the Unexpected, at Dartmouth College's Baker Library in Hanover, New Hampshire.

The 10th annual Bookstock Literary Festival takes place from Friday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29 at various venues in Woodstock, Vermont. The Festival features headliners Richard Russo, Robert Pinsky, Alexander Chee, Ezzedine Choukri Fishere, plus many other presenters, workshops, food, live music, and children's activities. You can see the complete schedule of events on our calendar. You can find details about the Festival, its presenters, and its events on the Bookstock website.

On Sunday, July 29, catch local authors Jensen Beach and Bianca Stone at BigTown Gallery in Rochester, Vermont, as part of the Joan Hutton Landis Summer Reading Series. Readings begin at 5:30 pm in the main gallery. Refreshments follow the readings.

Amy Siskind visits The Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont, in support of her book The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year on Saturday, July 28, at 7:00 pm.

Visit our calendar for detailed information about these events and more!

Worth a Drive

You have two chances to catch Ottessa Moshfegh, who is on tour for her latest novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation. She will be at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday, July 26, at 7:00 pm, and at the Odyssey Bookshop in Hadley, Massachusetts, on Friday, July 27, at 7:00 pm. Both events are free.

Worth a Listen

I enjoyed listening to Silas House on the WMFA podcast discussing his new novel, Southernmost. He spoke about otherness, sensitivity, writing from a young character's point of view, his complicated relationship to the South, his writing routine, and more. —Shari

We're Looking Forward to These July Releases

Idiophone, by Amy Fusselman (Coffee House, July 3)
A Carnival of Losses, by Donald Hall (Houghton Mifflin, July 10)
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin, July 10)
A Terrible Country, by Keith Gessen (Viking, July 10)
The Incendiaries, by R.O. Kwon (Riverhead, July 31)
Immigrant, Montana, by Amitava Kumar (Knopf, July 31)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

Nominations are open for the next New Hampshire Poet Laureate, who will serve a five-year term beginning in March 2019. To be eligible for the position, the nominee must be a resident of New Hampshire, and must have published at least one full-length book of poetry. Nominations are due by July 20. For more information and to submit your nomination, please visit the Poetry Society of New Hampshire website.

Clara Martin Center is seeking submissions for their third annual art/poetry show entitled "Abundance: Celebrating Creativity in Mental Health, Wellness, and Recovery" (September 10 to November 2). You are invited to submit poetry, or 2-D or 3-D artwork to display in the exhibit. Submissions are due by July 31. Applicants must be Vermont residents, and preference is given to artists/writers in the Upper Valley. For more information, please visit Clara Martin Center's website.

The Center for Cartoon Studies announces the third year of The Cornish CCS Fellowship Residency (October 16 to November 18). The month-long residency in Cornish, New Hampshire, includes a $3000 stipend. The application deadline is August 15. For more information and to apply, please visit the Cornish CCS Fellowship page.

Registration is open for the New Hampshire Poetry Festival (September 15), which will be held in Henniker, New Hampshire. Speakers include Adrian Blevins, Robert Crawford, Sharon Dolin, Matthew Guenette, and Linda Pastan. For more information and to register, please visit the NH Poetry Festival website.

Upcoming Workshops and Classes

Joni Cole of The Writer's Center in White River Junction, Vermont, is offering Fast Feedback on July 7 from 9:30 to 11:30 am. For more information and to register, please visit The Writer's Center Workshops page.

The Word Barn in Exeter, New Hampshire is offering a summer writing workshop that explores the translational power of writing from photographs into memory and imagination through poetry. The workshop, "From Poetry to Ink to Poetry to Ink to ~," will meet on Monday evenings at 6:30 pm from July 9 to July 30. Tuition is $200. Registration is limited to 10. For more information and to register, please visit The Word Barn Workshops page.

Matt Miller will be teaching an Advanced Poetry Workshop at The Word Barn, in Exeter, New Hampshire. The workshop will be held on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm, from July 10 to July 31. Tuition is $300. Registration is limited to 8. For more information and to register, please visit The Word Barn Workshops page.

In her exhibition The Firmament, Toyin Ojih Odutola presents an interconnected series of fictional portraits chronicling the lives of two aristocratic Nigerian families. This dynamic workshop—held at Hood Downtown in Hanover, New Hamphire from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on July 11—fuses an exploration of the Ojih Odutola’s work with a fun and meaningful creative writing exercise using thematic prompts. All writing levels welcome. Free and open to all. Space is limited. Register by July 9. For more information and to register, please visit the Workshop Registration page.

Literary North friend and book fiend Beth Reynolds is hosting the Vermont chapter of the worldwide Summer of Proust book club. The Vermont group will be reading Lydia Davis' translation of Proust's Swann's Way, with the first 49 pages due by the first meeting at the Norwich Public Library on July 16. For more information and to join the group, send an email to . If you're outside the Upper Valley area, you can join a group in your area, or simply join the group online. For more information, please visit the Summer of Proust website.

The Burlington Writers Workshop is hosting an Historical Fiction Workshop with Stephanie Storey on July 18 in Burlington, Vermont. This workshop will give students the skills to navigate the tricky waters of historical fiction. This class is not only helpful for those writing traditional historical fiction, but also for writers of creative non-fiction, memoir, or any fiction that requires research. For more information and to register, please visit the Workshop page.

On July 21, the League of Vermont Writers hosts its popular Writers Meet Agents event at Trader Duke's Hotel in South Burlington, Vermont, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm. All writers are invited to this event, which includes presentations, pitch sessions, panels, seven agents, and more. $135-$165; $35 for each pitch session. Registration deadline is July 7. For more information and to register, please visit the League's Gatherings page.

The Burlington Writers Workshop is hosting several day-long writing retreats in the coming months. Robin McLean leads the Prose Retreat in Grande Isle, Vermont, on August 25 (registration closes on July 28). Baron Wormser leads the Poetry Retreat in Adamant, Vermont, on September 8 (registration closes on August 11). Jericho Parms leads the Creative Non-fiction Retreat in Burlington, Vermont, on November 11 (registration closes on October 28). For more information and to register for a retreat, please visit the Writing Retreats page.

Rebecca Siegel

May 1, 2017

The Dipper, Newsletter, Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Workshops

The Dipper - May 2017

Rebecca Siegel

May 1, 2017

The Dipper, Newsletter, Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Workshops

May News

Mark your calendars for our very own Poetry & Pie event, which will be held at Sweetland Farm in Norwich, Vermont, on Saturday, July 29 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Our lineup of poets includes James Crews, Dede Cummings and Mary Kane. We're also planning an open mic portion of the afternoon. More information coming soon.

We are very happy to announce Bloodroot Literary Magazine's second digital issue launch at Left Bank Books in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Thursday, May 11 at 7:00 pm. It should be a great night! We hope to see you there. In the meantime, you can download Volume 8 and make your own chapbook.

May Highlights

Dartmouth College is hosting Poetry and Politics - Politics of Poetics, a series of readings from Monday. May 1 to Friday, May 5, featuring Cleopatra Mathis, Jose Kozer, Enrique Celaya Martinez, Naomi Shihab Nye, Gary Lenhart, Woon-Ping Chin, and Cynthia Huntington.
On Wednesday, May 3, Peter Heller will be reading from his newest book, Celine, at the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vermont, at 7:00 pm.
Natasha Trethewey will be reading at Bennington College on Wednesday, May 10 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.
The 2017 Hyla Brook Reading Series at Frost Farm in Derry, New Hampshire, opens on Thursday, May 18 at 6:30 pm with a reading by poet Daniel Brown.

Dani Shapiro will be at the Music Hall Loft in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, May 23 at 7:00 pm to read from her new memoir, Hourglass.
Porochista Khakpour reads on Sunday, May 28 from 8:00 to 9:00 pm at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont.

We're looking forward to these May releases:

The expanded edition of The Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Tranströmer (May 9, Graywolf Press)
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (May 9, Knopf)
Isadora by Amelia Gray (May 23, FSG)

For Young Readers

Naturalist and photographer Mary Holland will be at the Rutland location of Phoenix Books on Saturday, May 6 at 11:00 am. She will talk about how she became a naturalist, writer, and photographer and will share some large photos and animal artifacts. She'll also read Otis the Owl and take questions from the audience. This looks like a fabulous event for the young readers in your life.

Worth a Drive

Dennis Lehane will be at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on Friday, May 19 at 7:00 pm reading from his new novel, Since We Fell.

Calls for Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

The New Hampshire Poetry Festival (Saturday, September 23) is accepting proposals for group readings and panel discussions based around a particular aspect of poetry in New Hampshire and beyond. The proposal submission deadline is Monday, May 15. For more information, please visit their Call for Proposals page.

The Poetry Society of New Hampshire sponsors several poetry contests each year. The deadline for the next National Contest is Monday, May 15. The deadline for the next Members Only Contest is also Monday, May 15. For more information, please visit their Contest page.

The Green Mountain Writers Conference (July 24 to July 28, in Chittenden, Vermont) has discounted registration rates if you register before May 15 (lesser discounts are also available if you register before June 15 or July 15). For more information, please visit their Registration page.

Bahuan Publishing is accepting submissions for the 2017 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize. The submission deadline is Friday, June 30. For more information, please visit their submission page.

The Hopper, a literary magazine from Green Writers Press, is accepting submissions of full-length manuscripts to its 2017 Hopper Poetry Prize. This contest is open to poets with an identified interest in the natural world and whose work explores issues tied to our ever-changing environment. There is an entry fee of $25. The submission deadline is Saturday, July 1. For more information, please visit their Contests page.

Applications for The Frost Place summer programs are now open, including the Conference on Poetry and Teaching, the Conference on Poetry, and the Poetry Seminar. For application deadlines and more information, please visit their Application page.

May Workshops and Classes

Jessica Hendry Nelson will be teaching a six-week memoir writing workshop beginning on May 10. To participate, register by May 5. The fee is $375. For more information and to register, please visit the Sign Up page.

Osher at Dartmouth summer term registration opens May 10. Courses include several for readers and writers, including Fiction Writer's Workshop, Summertime Book Group, and The Sonnet Tradition.

AVA Gallery's next Mudroom theme is "It seemed like a good idea at the time..." Story submission deadline is May 25 (for June 15 event). They would like to hear from storytellers of all ages and from all towns in the Upper Valley and beyond. Stories are limited to seven minutes, must be true and autobiographical, and must be told live (not read). To submit a two-to-three sentence summary of your story and a short bio (no more than 150 words).

Registration for The Center for Cartoon Studies 2017 Summer Workshops is now open. In addition to workshops for drawing and writing cartoons and comics, this summer's schedule includes three graphic novel workshops led by journalists, writers and cartoonists Josh Kramer, Em DeMarco, Paul Karasik, Jo Knowles, Tillie Walden, and Melanie Gillman. For more information and to register, please visit their Summer Workshops page.

The Burlington Writers Workshop hosts writing workshops and events on an ongoing basis in Burlington, Montpelier, and Middlebury, Vermont. For their current schedule, please visit their website.

The Writer's Center in White River Junction, Vermont, hosts writing workshops and events on an ongoing basis. For their current schedule, please visit their Workshops page.

Rebecca Siegel

April 1, 2017

The Dipper, Newsletter, Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Workshops

The Dipper - April 2017

Rebecca Siegel

April 1, 2017

The Dipper, Newsletter, Calls for Submission, Deadlines, Workshops

News

April is National Poetry Month and there are poetic events going on everywhere. Check our calendar for readings, poetry slams, dinners, workshops, and other National Poetry Month events happening in New Hampshire and Vermont. Montpelier, Randolph, and St. Johnsbury are holding special PoemCity and PoemTown events in April.

If you're feeling ambitious, you can celebrate by joining joining NaPoWriMo to write a poem a day. Feeling a little less ambitious? Sign up with Poem-a-Day to receive a daily poem in your inbox, or celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day by selecting a poem to carry with you and share with others on April 27. Or, just grab a book of poems or print out a poem or two or three, find a sunny spot, and spend a few minutes drinking in the words.

In other news, here are some April book releases that we're really looking forward to:

Sunshine State: Essays by Sarah Gerard (April 11, Harper Perennial)
At the Lightning Field by Laura Raicovich (April 11, Coffee House Press)
Too Much and Not the Mood: Essays by Durga Chew-Bose (April 11, FSG Originals)
Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage by Dani Shapiro (April 11, Knopf)
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout (April 25, Random House)
Tumbling Toward the End by David Budbill (April 25, Copper Canyon Press)

April Highlights

Chris Bohjalian, novelist and descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide will give a talk entitled "The Genocide and the Love Story: Fiction as Activism" on Wednesday, April 5, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at the Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport, Vermont.

Essayist Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams, will be reading at Sanborn Library at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Thursday, April 6, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. Books will be available for purchase, and refreshments will be served.

Also on Thursday, April 6, T. Geronimo Johnson, author of Welcome to Braggsville, will be reading from 8:00 to 9:00 pm at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont.

On Sunday, April 9, novelist Anthony Doerr will be at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as part of "Writers On a New England Stage." The event begins at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $25 to $27 and include an autographed, paperback copy of All the Light We Cannot See.

Jonathan Franzen will be reading at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Monday, April 17 at 4:00 pm. The reading will be following by a conversation with a host/interviewer, and he will answer questions from the audience.

On Thursday, April 20 at Phoenix Books in Rutland, Vermont, poets Dede Cummings, Megan Buchanan, and James Crews will be celebrating National Poetry Month with a reading at 6:30 pm.

Poet Alison Hawthorne Deming will be at the RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Friday, April 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. This event, sponsored by the New Hampshire Institute of Art, will feature a reading, books for sale, and book signing. Before the event, mingle with NHIA faculty and staff and learn about NHIA's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

For Young Writers

Teen Lit Mob, Vermont's first teen literary festival, is taking place on Friday, April 7, at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont. There will be author talks and workshops, book signings, freebies, and a chance to vote for your favorite Green Mountain Book Award titles. The event is free for teens and lunch will be served. Register to attend!

Worth a Drive

Five writers—Andre Dubus II, Steph Burt, Regie Gibson, Jenna Russell, and Caroline Woods—in conversation with Alicia Anstead, will discuss literary responses to the current political climate in "Reading and Writing in the Age of Trump," on Tuesday, April 4, at The Rockwell in Somerville, Massachusetts, at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $10.

Novelist and screenwriter Karolina Waclawiak, author of How to Get Into the Twin Palms and The Invaders, will be reading at Amherst Books in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm.

Calls for Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

The MacDowell Colony is accepting applications from artists and writers for their Fall 2017 Residencies. The application deadline is Saturday, April 15. For more information, please visit their Application Guidelines page.

Teen poets! The Poetry, Prose, and Pizza Slam (Saturday, April 22) combines all the best components of a pizza party and a poetry slam, plus you could win $100 by performing an original piece of writing. To participate, sign up by April 20.

April Workshops and Classes

Writer and coach Vicki Hathorne will be guiding women in a weekly writing circle for four Fridays in April. The Contemplative Writing Circle for Women will be held in the classroom at the Upper Valley Food Co-op in White River Junction, Vermont, from 9:00 to 11:00 am. The cost is $100 for four sessions. For more information, please visit the information page.

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, is hosting a Book Arts workshop on Saturday, April 8 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The workshop is free with museum Admission.

Young writers in grades 5-8 can join YA author Aaron Starmer in a flash fiction workshop at the Howe Library in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, April 18, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Poet Ina Anderson will lead a poetry writing workshop for poets of all ages and abilities on Sunday, April 23, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Kimball Public Library in Randolph, Vermont. This event is part of PoemTown Randolph.

On Saturday, April 29, author Elayne Clift will lead a memoir writing workshop from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Rockingham Free Public Library in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required by contacting Anne Dempsey at or (802) 463-4270.

The Poetry Society of Vermont's Spring Workshop is Saturday, May 6. To participate in the workshop, you must be a member and you must submit one poem to the Society by Friday, April 14. For more information, please visit their Spring Workshop page.

Registration for The Center for Cartoon Studies 2017 Summer Workshops is now open. In addition to workshops for drawing and writing cartoons and comics, this summer's schedule includes three graphic novel workshops led by writers and cartoonists Paul Karasik, Jo Knowles, Tillie Walden, and Melanie Gillman. For more information and to register, please visit their Summer Workshops page.

The Writer's Center in White River Junction, Vermont, hosts writing workshops and events on an ongoing basis. For their current schedule, please visit their Workshops page.