"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! 

June News

On May 22, three Upper Valley writers—KJ Dell'Antonia, Michele Campbell, and Makenna Goodman—joined us and Still North Books & Bar for a fantastic Summer Reading & Writing Kick Off! Each author read from her book, then joined in a lively panel discussion about writing routines, where to find inspiration, and how to write a novel. Thank you to all the authors and to the enthusiastic crowd who joined us online!

—

The Summer Reading & Writing Kick Off event also marked the launch of our second annual Adult Summer Reading Bingo. In addition to being able to win by reading books in several categories, you can also complete some squares by trying your hand at a writing prompt.

Mark off a column, row, or diagonal and win a 20% off coupon from Still North Books & Bar. Everyone who submits a card with a completed Bingo by September 1 will also be entered into a raffle for a Summer Reading & Writing bundle: a Still North tote, a Baronfig journal, and a book of your choice (up to $30 value)! Visit the Summer Reading & Writing Bingo page for all the details and to download your Bingo card.

—

We had so much fun at our first virtual open mic that we decided to do it again! We hope you’ll meet up with Still North Books & Bar and us online for our Easy Like Sunday Afternoon: Poetry & Prose Open Mic on Sunday, June 7 at 4:00 pm.

We’ll start the event with readings by Megan Buchanan, Emily Arnason Casey, and Taylor Mardis Katz and then open up the screen to you. Writers of all stripes—poetry or prose—are welcome to sign up to read one original, brief selection (no longer than three minutes). This will likely be our last virtual event for awhile. If you missed the fun last time, you’ve got one more chance. Find all of the details and rsvp today!

—

This month, we’re also very happy to be offering our very first writing workshop. This online workshop, led by poet James Crews, will meet over Zoom on four consecutive Mondays beginning on June 8.

The workshop will incorporate reading exercises, writing prompts, read alouds, discussions, and special guests. Each participant will receive a free e-copy of the book, Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection, which James edited.

James has been a featured poet at Poetry & Pie and has since become a friend. His warm, welcoming manner lends itself perfectly to teaching. The four-class session is $95. The workshop is limited to 15 participants and almost full, so register now! You don’t want to miss this special opportunity.

—

Our community writing project, Constellation: Ekphrasis, is coming to a close this month. If you’d like to submit a piece of writing for consideration, please do so by June 15. We’ve been so impressed by the quality of writing we’ve received. Thank you for making our first community writing project such a success!

—

New England born writer Ian Pisarcik has a debut novel out now entitled Before Familiar Woods, which has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, and was listed as one of Apple Books’ Top 10 Debuts of 2020. Before Familiar Woods is a dark, haunting mystery that is set in northern Vermont and tackles addiction, toxic masculinity, and otherness.

Due to the pandemic, Ian had to miss out on a book tour, so we asked him if he’d like to create a reading list for our blog. He sent back a list he’s titled, “Remote Reads: 10 Rural Books to Read During a Pandemic.” He’s got great taste in books. And of course, we think Ian’s novel would make a fabulous summer read (and would help you check off a Bingo square in the process)!

—

We are delighted to share our recent interview with poet Didi Jackson. Her new book, Moon Jar (Red Hen Press, 2020) opens with the incomprehensible grief and practical horrors of her husband’s suicide, and takes us on the journey into hope and a future where love and healing are possible. We can’t wait to introduce you to Didi’s breathtaking book.

June’s Shooting Stars

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

• I loved reading the Green Mountain Quaranzine from Seven Days. Writers and artists like Sue Halpern, Rajnii Eddins, James Kochalka, Sean Prentiss, Glynnis Fawkes, and Stephen Kiernan share what life during the pandemic has been like for them.—Shari

• I’m sure I’m not alone in finding reading difficult these days. I’ve started at least six books since March. None of them have held my attention. So I’ve decided to go back to the classics. Way back, to Homer’s The Odyssey. In specific, the recent translation by Emily Wilson. Now, Wilson is making short, amazing YouTube videos of key scenes from the epic, complete with costumes and props. They are the best. —Rebecca

June Highlights

This month we’re highlighting some online pieces that have been published by regional authors:

• Sean Prentiss shares how he and his family are living and worrying and making their way through the pandemic on How We Are.

• Peter Orner collects scenes from across America in a series of snapshots about How To Be A Good Neighbor Now in The New York Times.

• Rena J. Mosteirin writes tenderly about her Abuela in All Night in the Tuberculosis Room in The Common.

• Megan Mayhew Bergman’s essential Climate Changed columns in The Guardian recently won a Reed Environmental Writing Award.

• Didi Jackson shares her intimate, heartbreaking poem “Almost Animal” on Lit Hub.

• Andi Diehn has been keeping a wonderful daily diary about lockdown life with her family called “Mere Countrywoman.”

We do our best to cover literary news and events throughout New Hampshire and Vermont, but we (Rebecca and Shari) live in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and feel the need to call out special attention to arts organizations in our area that need our help. We realize that this list barely begins to scratch the surface of organizations and artists who are in need.

• JAG Productions - As you probably already know, we are huge fans of JAG Productions and have partnered with them in the past. Among the casualties of theatre productions this spring was their New York premiere of “Easai’s Table,” a play many of us watched take form at JAGFest 2.0. We can’t imagine life in the Upper Valley without JAG! Please donate if you can.

• Vermont International Film Festival and White River Indie Films - You can support these organizations by streaming a movie in the comfort of your own home. We have both enjoyed films this way, including Beyond the Visible, Sorry We Missed You, Spaceship Earth, Judy and Punch, and The Poetry and Life of Ruth Stone.

• AVA Gallery and Art Center - Home of the quarterly Mudroom (now MudZoom) storytelling event, an exciting gallery space, and art classes for all ages and interests, AVA Gallery is a mainstay of the visual arts in the Upper Valley. Help them continue to provide online programming and community outreach events by supporting them with a donation to their From Here to There fund.

• Northern Stage - Like other area theaters, Northern Stage is currently unable to fulfill its mission to bring live productions to their stage. Instead, they are engaging with the community in their online play reading class. You can also hire their skilled staff members for anything from carpentry and sewing, to website and graphic design, dog walking, and tutoring. You can also support them directly with a tax-deductible donation.

• Lebanon Opera House - We’re always amazed at the quality of performers who stop by this little opera house in the middle of seemingly nowhere. In addition to hosting concerts in every genre, from local bands to international stars, they bring local theater productions to the stage, screen traveling film events, and host the truly enthralling annual Opera North productions. You can help them stay afloat by buying a gift card to put towards future performances, or by making a donation.

• Opera North - Speaking of which, Opera North’s annual summer festival of opera and music is currently on hold while they figure out how to bring opera safely to our community. Opera North’s productions are top-notch. Performers and musicians often travel from all over the world to spend a summer in this beautiful area and share their art with us. You can help them stay afloat so that they can continue to bring opera to the Upper Valley by supporting them at any level.

• Finally, our calendar has a growing list of online events happening in New Hampshire and Vermont. You can support the authors, artists, and organizations that are making these online events possible by signing up to attend their events, giving donations, buying gift cards, and sending messages to let them know they matter. Visit our calendar to see the latest crop of online events.

Worth a Watch

• Olivia Laing’s Center for Fiction interview and reading. Her latest book, Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, is out now.

• Rebecca Solnit and Brit Marling’s City Arts and Lectures talk about Solnit’s memoir, Recollections of My Non-Existence.

Worth a Listen

• David Naimon of Between the Covers interviews Jenny Offill (featuring a poem by Mary Ruefle at the very end of the interview).

• Brad Listi of Otherppl podcast interviews Jenn Shapland, who will be the featured reader at the the next Still Queer Reading Series on June 11 hosted by Still North Books & Bar.

We're Looking Forward to These June Releases

• Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, by Nicholas A. Basbanes (Knopf, June 2)

• The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett (Riverhead, June 2)

• Parakeet, by Marie Helene Bertino (FSG, June 2)

• Exciting Times, by Naoise Dolan (Ecco, June 2)

• A Burning, by Megha Majumdar (Knopf, June 2)

• Seeing the Body, by Rachel Eliza Griffiths (W. W. Norton & Company, June 9)

• The Margot Affair, by Sanaë Lemoine (Hogarth, June 16)

• Nine Shiny Objects, by Brian Castleberry (Custom House, June 30)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

Constellation: Ekphrasis
Help us form an online Constellation by submitting your original piece of writing inspired by a piece of art, music, film, or a sound. Submit poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and hybrid pieces up to 500 words long. All submissions must include a link to your inspiration.
Deadline: June 15 | Details

Vermont Studio Center Fellowships
The VSC is open for applications for several fellowships, including three special fellowships for writers. Every VSC residency includes a private room, private studio space, all meals, and full access to evening programs and events. Some fellowships also provide a stipend.
Deadline: June 15 | Details

The Frost Place 2020 Conference on Poetry
Spend a week at “intensive poetry camp” (July 5 to 10) with writers who are deeply committed to learning more about the craft of writing poetry. The Frost Place Poetry Conference offers daily workshops, classes, lectures, writing, and revising time in a supportive and dynamic environment. The 2020 conference will take place online. This year’s teaching faculty includes Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Ross White, Deborah Paradez, Rajiv Mohabir, and Afaa M. Weaver.
Deadline: June 25 | Details

The Frost Place 2020 Conference on Poetry and Teaching
This year’s conference (June 27 to July 1, Writing Intensive July 1 to 2), which will be held entirely online, is a unique opportunity for teachers to work closely with both their peers and a team of illustrious poets who have particular expertise in working with teachers at all levels. Over the course of 4½ days, faculty poets will share specific, hands-on techniques for teaching poetry. This year’s faculty includes Dawn Potter, Kerrin McCadden, Cleopatra Mathis, Jaime Allesandrine, Angela Narciso Torres, and Didi Jackson.
Deadline: June 25 | Details

Four Quartets: Poetry in the Pandemic
Tupelo Press has announced an open call for four 12-page folios of poetry, to be included in a book to be published by Tupelo Press in the late fall, titled: Four Quartets: Poetry in the Pandemic. The folios should be poetry written on topics related to the coronavirus pandemic: wellness and illness; contagion; isolation; sheltering at home; caregiving; bereavement; philosophical or spiritual ways of processing; science; public health; or the political landscape in which the pandemic is unfolding; etc.
Deadline: June 30 | Details

Meetinghouse
Meetinghouse, a new literary journal from Dartmouth College, is accepting submissions for their inaugural issue. They accept up to three pieces of prose or six poems per submission, up to 7500 words. They prefer unpublished work.
Deadline: July 1 | Details

The Frost Place 2020 Poetry Seminar
Spend five days online (August 2 to 7) with a select community of poets exploring your artistic work in the context of a rich variety of poetry ancestors and contemporaries. The Seminar schedule features a daily presentation/discussion exploring aspects of craft and technique, an afternoon workshop of participants’ poems or individual, virtual meetings with faculty, and an evening reading, some by faculty poets and others featuring participants.
Deadline: July 1 | Details

2020 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. The winning poetry manuscript will be selected by Lisa Kwong and will be published by Green Writers Press as a collection in 2021. The winning poet will also receive $500 in prize money.
Deadline: July 31 | Details

Center for Cartoon Studies, MFA Degree and Certificate Programs
CCS is accepting applications for the MFA, and one- and two-year certificate programs. Learn all you need to know about making comics and self-publishing in a prolific and dynamic environment and community. $50 application fee.
Deadline: rolling admissions until programs are filled | 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

Tupelo Press Manuscript Conferences
These advanced Tupelo conferences (August 14 to 17, and September 11 to 14) are for poets who have published widely and have in hand a full-length or chapbook-length manuscript. Using Zoom, you will meet as a group for Q&A sessions, poetry readings, and “happy hours” to socialize, in addition to the important, daily, break-out sessions where manuscript reviews will take place. Over the four days of the conference, Tupelo faculty will make individually tailored suggestions about where to send your manuscript, as well as the placement of individual poems in magazines and journals. Tuition is $950.
Deadline: rolling until programs are filled | Details

Upcoming Workshops and Classes

Healing the Divide Writing Workshop with James Crews
Mondays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2:00 to 4:00 pm
This generative workshop will include reading exercises, writing prompts, read alouds, discussions, and special guests. Each participant will receive an e-copy of the book, Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection.
Location: online | Cost: $95.00 | Details

Book Arts Workshop Digital Studio Hour
Tuesdays, 5:00 to 6:00 pm
The Dartmouth College Book Arts Workshop is hosting Digital Studio Hour every Tuesday evening! From working on a book arts project to trying your hand at upholstery, extreme baking, or learning ukulele, everyone is welcome to join, show work in progress, and get ideas. Although we can’t taste or touch what each other is making right now, we can admire and talk about it! To join the Digital Studio Hour, visit their Zoom room on Tuesday at 5:00 pm.
Location: online | Cost: free | Details

Center for Cartoon Studies Summer Workshops
June 15 through August 14
The Center for Cartoon Studies has moved all of its 2020 summer workshops online. Workshops include, “Drawing and Writing Single Panel Comics,” with Hilary Price; “Graphic Memoirs,” with Melanie Gillman; “Creating Graphic Novels for the Young Adult Market,” with Jo Knowles and Glynnis Fawkes; “Graphic Novel Workshop,” with Paul Karasik; and “Playing Comics,” with Jason Lutes.
Location: online | Cost: $550+ | Details

Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop
Various dates and times
Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop is offering a number of online workshops, including $5 online writing sessions, through the summer. The workshops are on a range of topics, including advanced fiction, lyric poetry, memoir, flash fiction, and more.
Location: online | Cost: $5+ | Details

WriterSpace “Kindest Space” with Sparrow Alden
Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:00 pm, Fridays at 9:00 am
Sparrow Alden of WriterSpace at River Valley is hosting an ongoing series of virtual drop-in writing sessions. “Kindest Space” is full of supportive words and gentle writing prompts. Drop in for a few minutes or a couple of hours. For more information, email .
Location: online | Cost: free |