Rebecca Siegel

November 1, 2020

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

The Dipper - November 2020

Rebecca Siegel

November 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!

November News

Thank you to everyone who attended Sierra Crane Murdoch’s talk in October. What a wonderful night! A huge thanks to Allie Levy of Still North Books for hosting via Crowdcast and to Angela Evancie of Brave Little State for interviewing Sierra. If you missed the event, you can still catch the replay. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Sierra’s fantastic book, Yellow Bird.

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In case you missed them, in October we added three new interviews to our blog with writers whose recently released books we really love.

First, we welcomed a guest interviewer: poet, teacher and bookstore owner, Rena Mosteirin, who interviewed poet Alexandria Hall about her evocative debut poetry collection, Field Music (Ecco, October 6), which won the 2019 National Poetry Series award selected by Rosanna Warren. In their discussion, Alexandria and Rena talk about the musical quality of the poems in Field Music, the influence of writing in Vermont, and the best writing advice Alexandria’s ever gotten in a workshop.

We also interviewed writer Meredith Hall about her first novel, Beneficence (Godine, October 20), a quiet, unputdownable novel that focuses on the Senters, a farming family in rural Maine over the course of many years. Reminiscent of Wendell Berry and Marilynne Robinson, Hall’s writing is truly beautiful. Read our interview with Meredith to learn how the Senter family came into being, the role of light in her book, and what books she’s really loved recently.

And we interviewed Elizabeth Powell about her latest collection of poetry, Atomizer (LSU Press, September 9), an expansive, honest, and often very funny exploration of life and love in the digital age. Whether she’s writing about the perils and humor of online dating, the insidious workings of capitalism in our cultural and political lives, or her childhood memories of perfume and fashion, these poems are intelligent, accessible, and riveting. Read our interview with Liz to learn how her posh Parisian stepmother provided her early education in perfume, and the connection between her grandfather and Robert Frost.

p.s. Did you know that you can see a list of everything we’ve ever published on our blog on our handy Blog Post Directory? You can easily find back issues of The Dipper, all of our interview posts, reading lists, Friday Reads suggestions, and more!

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After a very busy several months of virtual events and other projects, we’re looking forward to having a quiet end to the year. Among other things, fewer projects means we’ll have more time to spend reading our final Slow Club Book Club selection, Dionne Brand’s The Blue Clerk.

But never fear! We are busy making plans for next year. In fact, we’re getting ready to announce a new Constellation community writing project in early 2021. Newsletter subscribers will be the first to find out the details.

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As this newsletter goes to press, our thoughts, of course, are turning to the events of early November (please tell us you all have voted or have a voting plan), the imminent winter, and the coming holiday season, which, like the rest of 2020 will be oh-so-strange.

One thing we know we can do for ourselves, our loved ones, and our local community is to give each other beautiful, meaningful (and sometimes distracting) books we purchase from independent bookstores. In the coming weeks, we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite books by local authors, our favorite books of 2020, and some favorites of our local independent booksellers. Watch our Twitter and Instagram feeds in November to see these special holiday book shopping suggestions.

November’s Shooting Stars

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

If you haven’t seen the new Sundog Poetry Center website, I encourage you to take a look. The redesign is wonderful. While there, you can check out their new virtual event series, Two Poets, Two Books, and read more about the Vermont Book Award. —Shari

Do you know Emergence Magazine? I landed there accidentally by way of a series of links that led me to this magical multimedia poem by Forrest Gander and Katie Holten. And then the “Language Keepers” podcast series about the struggle for indigenous language survival in California caught my little linguistic eye, and, yeah, I think I’ll be spending some time there. —Rebecca

November Highlights

Christa Parravani will be in conversation virtually with author Merritt Tierce to discuss Parravani’s new memoir, Loved and Wanted, via Northshire Live on November 10 at 6:00 pm.

Poets Elizabeth Powell and Anna Maria Hong will read as part of the new Sundog Poetry virtual series, “Two Poets, Two Books,” on November 11 at 7:00 pm.

On November 12 at 4:45 pm, join poets Forrest Gander and Nicole Sealey for an online reading and Q&A via Dartmouth College’s Leslie Center for the Humanities.

Terese Mailhot is giving a virtual reading and craft talk through Vermont Studio Center on November 13 and 14, respectively. The reading will begin at 7:00 pm and the craft talk starts at 10:00 am. (Slow Club Book Club members, take note!)

Poets Chen Chen and Jennifer Militello read as part of the virtual Loom Poetry Series via Toadstool Bookshop on November 15 at 4:30 pm.

On November 19 at 7:00 pm, François S. Clemmons, who played Officer Clemmons on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, reads from his memoir as part of Virtual Bookstock 2020.

Shawn Wong and Miciah Bay Gault will participate in the Vermont College of Fine Arts Fall Reading Series on November 20 at 5:30 pm. The event includes a round-table discussion on publishing with several agents from Folio Literary Management.

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

Worth a Listen

What a treat to hear Ocean Vuong read a new poem (“Beautiful Short Loser”) and talk about his writing practice on In the Studio.
Rumaan Alam talks to Christopher and Drew of So Many Damn Books about his latest novel, Leave the World Behind.
Ali Smith talks with Linn Ullmann about her seasonal quartet of novels on the How to Proceed podcast.

We're Looking Forward to These November Releases

Theorem, by Elizabeth Bradfield and Antonia Contro (Poetry Northwest Editions, November 1)
Aphasia, by Mauro Javier Cardenas (FSG, November 3)
To Be a Man, by Nicole Krauss (Harper, November 3)
The Office of Historical Corrections, by Danielle Evans (Riverhead, November 10)
Loved and Wanted, by Christa Parravani (Henry Holt & Co, November 10)
Self-Portrait, by Celia Paul (NYRB, November 10)
The Sun Collective, by Charles Baxter (Pantheon, November 17)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

Bennington Unbound
November 15 to December 15
This four-week intensive online courses in fiction and nonfiction is 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: November 8 | Cost: $600/course | 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

Sunken Garden Chapbook Poetry Prize
Open to anyone writing in the English language, the Sunken Garden prize includes includes a cash award of $1,000 in addition to publication by Tupelo Press, 25 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Manuscripts are judged anonymously and all finalists will be considered for publication. This year’s final judge is Mark Bibbins.
Deadline: November 30 | 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 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 a $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

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

Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop
Various dates and times
Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop offers a number of online creative writing workshops, including multi-week classes and one-day sessions. Among other workshops, they offer a free online gathering for writers of all levels and genres every first and third Friday of the month. These sessions are a great way to get back into the flow of your work in the supportive presence of other writers. Other workshops beginning in November are on topics that include fiction writing, creating characters, generative translation, memoir, narrative structure, hybrid forms, and much more.
Location: online | Cost: $30 to $275 | Details

Art Meets Expressive Writing Workshop 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

Writing for Healing Workshop with Vicky Fish
Wednesdays, November 11 and 18, December 2, 9, and 16; 6:30 to 8:00 pm
This five-week workshop will create a safe and supportive environment for you to explore your healing through the written word. Through writing we discover and can recover parts of ourselves. Writing taps into our wise unconscious, where healing and hidden resources often reside. Through writing we have a chance to understand our stories and rewrite our stories. During each session, prompts will be offered as the springboard for in-session writing. Sharing will be encouraged but not required. Prompts will also be offered for your own writing between sessions. Preregister by contacting the instructor at .
Location: online | Cost: $165 |

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

Listening in Place - Thanksgiving Family Interviews
November 14: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Part of the Vermont Folklife Center’s Listening in Place initiative developed in response to COVID-19, this workshop covers the basics of recording interviews (online, over the phone or in person within your household if it’s safe to do so). It also introduces the VFC’s Sound Archive, where your interviews and documentary recordings may be submitted to be included in this open access, crowdsourced audio collection of Vermonters’ experiences of pandemic and 2020.
Location: online | Cost: by donation | 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

Listening in Place - Building Conversations for Civic Action
December 5, 2:00 to 4:30 pm
This workshop focuses on the crises of 2020 as an opportunity to reflect and learn from the social unrest, vulnerabilities and sacrifices experienced across the state and nation. This workshop will introduce and demonstrate the tools of Listening in Place, an initiative of the Vermont Folklife Center, that was launched at the early stages of the pandemic as a way to share our common experience and to create a record of how Vermonters are responding to this unprecedented time. Now calls to support Black Lives Matter and pledge greater commitments to eradicate racism in all its forms have propelled many of us out of lockdown and to re-evaluate how we stand for justice for our communities. This workshop is an open call for anyone who desires to prioritize these concerns.
Location: online | Cost: by donation | 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

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

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

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

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

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 |

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

Rebecca Siegel

September 1, 2020

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

The Dipper - September 2020

Rebecca Siegel

September 1, 2020

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

September News

Thank you to everyone who attended Makenna Goodman’s book launch for The Shame. How wonderful to join together in community to support a local debut author and a local indie bookstore! Thanks to Still North Books & Bar for hosting and to Lauren Groff for her fabulous questions and conversation. If you missed the event, you can watch the recording on Crowdcast and you can read our interview with Makenna.

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Our Slow Club Book Club is currently in the middle of reading Reproduction by Ian Williams. It’s not too late to join us, though this book is quite a bit longer than the books we’ve picked previously. We’re both getting Zadie Smith vibes from this 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner. How about you? If you are reading along with us, send us an email or tag us on social media to let us know what you think. We have one more selection coming for our year of reading Canadian authors—poetry!

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The virtual launch of Mary Kane’s Little Dipper chapbook, On Tuesday, Elizabeth, last month went splendidly. Even though we couldn’t be together, several of our friends helped us celebrate with pie, people all around the country downloaded the chapbook, and Mary held a physically distanced launch-day reading in a friend’s field in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Coinciding with launch day, the wonderful Molly Papows of Junction Magazine published an interview with us about the Little Dipper project (and other things besides). Thank you so much to everyone who put such hard work into making this little book happen in spite of a pandemic. We can’t wait to get back into the print studio to make final, printed copies of this gorgeous book.

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If you’re subscribed to this newsletter, you’re probably the sort of person we like best: one who’s obsessed with books and writing, has multiple TBR piles and book wish lists, and is partly surviving this crazy time by hiding out in books.

If this describes you, we think you might love Survival by Book, our friend Courtney Cook’s fantastic newsletter, which is jam-packed with original essays, book reviews, interesting links, doodles, reading recommendations, and all sorts of other book-related goodies. Courtney is an Upper Valley writer and reader who is full of intelligence, empathy, an exuberance. Also, she’s a really good writer. Read why she started the newsletter in July, and then subscribe!

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Summer is waning, but reading continues! Our Summer Reading & Writing Bingo officially ends today, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop reading. Use the Bingo card anytime of year to help inspire you to read books out of your regular genres, or to try your hand at a writing prompt. If you missed any of the great reading suggestions from fellow readers and writers that we’ve published over the summer, you can find them all on our blog.

And for those of you whose TBR piles aren’t already toppling over, here’s list of August 2020 releases that we think deserve your attention. Add that list to September’s highlighted releases (below) and you should be set for at least few weeks!

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Samantha Kolber, a poet, the marketing and events coordinator at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, Vermont, and the Poetry Series editor at Rootstock Publishing, has a new chapbook of poems out from Kelsay Books entitled Birth of a Daughter. She has received a Ruth Stone Poetry Prize and a Vermont Poetry Society prize for her writing. Sam has been a regular at our Poetry & Pie open mics, so it’s wonderful to see her new chapbook out in the world. Birth of a Daughter is filled with tender, moving poems about pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak and have chosen her poem “Breastfeeding Dyad” to share with you on our website. Congrats, Sam!

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Save the date! We’re partnering with Still North Books for a virtual event on October 14 at 7:30 pm, where 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. We’ll provide registration details on our event page soon.

September’s Shooting Stars

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

We were both so excited to see that cartoonist extraordinaire Liniers now has a regular comic strip as part of the Sunday Valley News. Congrats, Ricardo! To see more of his work and show your support, you can donate to his Patreon account. —Shari
My favorite new Twitter account (born just this August) is Lit Mag Live Tweets, where Taylor Byas—poetry editor of Flypaper Lit—selects a literary magazine issue and tweets her reading experience, providing excerpts, analysis, and appreciation for as many pieces as she can. Taylor is a generous, enthusiastic reader, and opens an exciting window into lit mags you may not have experienced yet.—Rebecca

September Highlights

Bookstores and other venues have been getting the hang of virtual events over the last couple of months, and the calendar is beginning to refill. That said, virtual events are often announced only a week or two before they happen, so check the websites for your favorite venues often; you never know what surprises will pop up.

As of press time, here are some September events we want to highlight. As always, verify all events with the venue in case of changes.

Heidi Pitlor and Margot Livesey will be discussing their new novels virtually at Phoenix Books on September 2 at 7:00 pm.
Also on September 2 at 7:00 pm, the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program kicks off its 2020-2021 Hoot Season with a Zoom Hoot featuring Linda Aldrich and Dawn Potter.
Joshua Bennett will be in conversation virtually with Carlos Andrés Gomez via Still North Books & Bar on September 8 at 7:00 pm.
The AVA Gallery is back this month with a new edition of The MudZoom, its online storytelling series. This quarter’s theme is “Change” and will be available via Zoom on September 10 at 7:00 pm.
Yaddo and Northshire Bookstore present Rachel Eliza Griffiths virtually on September 10 at 5:00 pm.
JAG Productions and Pride Center of Vermont close out Vermont’s Pride week with OUT HERE, a live-stream showcase of regional BIPOC LGBTQ+ artists on September 13 at 7:00 pm. The event will include original music, songs, poetry, spoken word, and storytelling.
Meredith Hall visits Gibson’s Bookstore virtually on September 14 at 7:15 pm to share her debut novel, Beneficence. Meredith will be joined in conversation with Wesley McNair.
Just a bit south of us, The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts, is holding its annual Tell it Slant Poetry Festival remotely, September 14 to 20. This free online festival features the annual Emily Dickinson Marathon; readings by Ada Limón, Jericho Brown, Kimaya Diggs, Franny Choi, and Shayla Lawson; writing workshops; and plenty more.
The Norwich Bookstore hosts poets Cleopatra Mathis and Susan Barba for a virtual event on September 16 at 7:30 pm.
Virtual Bookstock 2020, a collaboration between Bookstock and Norman Williams Public Library, is presenting a series of free, monthly live-streaming author talks beginning on September 17 with Reuben Jackson, who will read from his newest book of poetry, Scattered Clouds.
Jodi Picoult will be in conversation with writer Brit Bennett virtually—a collaboration between Random House and The Norwich Bookstore on September 22 at 8:00 pm.
Maaza Mengiste will be in conversation with writer Aminatta Forna on September 23 at 5:00 pm via Northshire Bookstore.

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

Worth a Listen

Jennifer Egan and Susan Choi in conversation on Bookable podcast is a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at two writers and how they approach their work.
Also on Bookable, Julie Orringer interviews her neighbor comic artist, Adrian Tomine, about his new book, The Loneliness of the Long-Distant Cartoonist.
Zadie Smith talks with Aminatou Sow on Call Your Girlfriend about her new book of essays, Intimations.
Raynor Winn (author of The Salt Path) talks with Katherine May on The Wintering Sessions about walking the South West Coast Path, the meditative focus of literally paying attention to just the next step, and about Raynor’s new book, The Wild Silence.

We're Looking Forward to These September Releases

Owed, by Joshua Bennett (Penguin, September 1)
Having and Being Had, by Eula Biss (Riverhead, September 1)
Daddy, by Emma Cline (Random House, September 1)
Blizzard, by Henri Cole (FSG, September 1)
The Lying Life of Adults, by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein (Europa Editions, September 1)
Transcendent Kingdom, by Yaa Gyasi (Knopf, September 1)
Birth of a Daughter, by Samantha Kolber (Kelsay Books, September 1)
Red Pill, by Hari Kunzru (Knopf, September 1)
The Wild Silence, by Raynor Winn (Michael Joseph, September 3)
Be Holding, by Ross Gay (University of Pittsburgh Press, September 8)
The Selected Works of Audre Lorde, edited by Roxane Gay (W. W. Norton, September 8)
That Time of Year, by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump (Two Lines Press, September 8)
World of Wonders, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions, September 8)
Just Us, by Claudia Rankine (Graywolf Press, September 8)
Atomizer, by Elizabeth Powell (LSU Press, September 9)
Stranger Faces, by Namwali Serpell (Transit Books, September 10)
Homeland Elegies, by Ayad Akhtar (Little, Brown, September 15)
Long Live the Post Horn! by Vigdis Hjorth (Verso, September 15)
Igifu, by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Jordan Stump (Archipelago, September 15)
Word Problems, by Ian Williams (Coach House Books, September 15)
The Math Campers, by Dan Chiasson (Knopf, September 22)
Suppose a Sentence, by Brian Dillon (NYRB, September 22)
Beneficence, by Meredith Hall (David R. Godine, September 29)
Jack, by Marilynne Robinson (FSG, September 29)
The Essential Ruth Stone, edited by Bianca Stone (Copper Canyon Press, September 29)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

Bennington Unbound
September 15 to December 15
Bennington Unbound offers four-week intensive online courses in fiction and nonfiction (September 15 to October 15, October 15 to November 15, and November 15 to December 15). Geared toward current college and college-ready students considering an academic gap year or looking to supplement their current coursework, these 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

Green Mountains Review Vol 31.2: Black Voices
GMR Vol 31.2 will feature Black voices and be edited by Tara Betts, Naomi Jackson, and Keith Wilson. The content is yours. The form is open. Please submit a cover letter and include up to 5 poems or up to 25 pages of prose.
Deadline: September 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 nation-wide. The final judge is Vermont Poet Laureate Mary Ruefle. A cash prize of $500 will be awarded along with 50 copies. Sundog Poetry will provide assistance with promotion through a featured book launch and readings scheduled throughout the state. 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 online.
Deadline: October 31 | Details

Bookstock 2021 Coordinator
Woodstock's Bookstock Committee is planning its 2021 annual literary festival and is seeking an overall coordinator to oversee and coordinate a range of activities from logistics and publicity to fundraising. In addition to hosting some 40 authors and poets as speakers, this free weekend event includes a substantial book sale as well as vendors and exhibit tables under tents on the Woodstock Village Green.
Deadline: until position is filled |

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

Green Mountains Review: fiction
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. $3 submission fee.
Deadline: none given | Details

Green Mountains Review: 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 five poems. $3 submission fee.
Deadline: none given | Details

Tupelo Press Manuscript Conferences
This advanced Tupelo conference (November 13 to 16) is 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 daily break-out sessions for manuscript reviews. 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

One-Sheet Books with Stephanie Wolff
September 9, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
In this workshop, you'll make a selection of simple folded “books.” These simple structures are great for zines, comics, cards, and other self-publishing ventures. Topics will include paper, layout, and duplication methods. These kind of books are great for artists who use the computer as well as for those who use traditional hand-applied art media. This class will meet online via Zoom.
Location: online | Cost: $40 | Details

Burlington Writers Workshop
Various dates and times
At each writers workshop, participants provide writers with honest, thoughtful feedback, which is delivered verbally and in writing. These workshops are often open to a variety of genres including short fiction, creative nonfiction, book-length narratives, poetry, plays, songwriting, horror fiction, flash fiction, and storytelling.
Location: online | Cost: free | Details

Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop
Various dates and times
Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop offers a number of online workshops, including $5 online writing sessions. They’ve recently announced new fall workshops on topics such as flash fiction, memoir, flash memoirs, sentence-level writing intensive, prose poetry, creative nonfiction, revision, and submitting and publishing fiction and poetry.
Location: online | Cost: $5+ | Details

WriterSpace
Various dates and times
WriterSpace is time set aside for writers and artists to follow their dreams and support each other. You’ll meet online for writing time, wrist stretches, even occasional feedback in kind, encouraging space.
Location: online | Cost: free | Details

Rebecca Siegel

July 1, 2020

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

The Dipper - July 2020

Rebecca Siegel

July 1, 2020

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

July News

We’re so happy to announce that our rescheduled Poetry & Prose Community Open Mic with Still North Books & Bar is happening on Sunday, July 12 at 4:00 pm. We’ll begin the event with readings by Megan Buchanan, Dede Cummings, 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). Find all of the details and rsvp today!

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We are truly bowled over by the enthusiasm you showed for Constellation: Ekphrasis, our first community writing project. We received so many thoughtful submissions inspired by works of art of all kinds. Submissions are closed now, but we invite you to continue exploring this Constellation and we look forward to creating a new Constellation in the future. We give heartfelt thanks to everyone who has trusted us with their writing!

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While the pandemic has forced many cancellations and postponements, we’re delighted to announce that our next Little Dipper publication—Mary Kane’s gorgeous collection of short fiction titled On Tuesday, Elizabeth—is on track for release on July 18 (which would have been the date of this year’s Poetry & Pie event).

Although we’re unable to get into the print studio right now to print covers for our hand-stitched books, we’ve worked with Mary to come up with a virtual launch, where the free digital download versions of the book will be available. Our subscribers will get a full announcement via email on July 18. If you’re not already subscribed to our newsletter, you might want to take care of that today!

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Scudder Parker’s new book of poetry, Safe as Lightning, was recently released by Rootstock Publishing and has been praised by Sydney Lea and Chard deNiord. We invited Scudder to create a Summer Reading List for our readers. Be sure to head over to our blog to see which books Scudder recommends.

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Have you downloaded your Summer Reading & Writing Bingo card yet? If not, you still have plenty of time to start reading and winning prizes. If you are in need of some recommendations for your summer reading, we’ve got you covered. We’ve been asking members of the local literary community to make suggestions, and we’ll be posting these to our blog all summer long. So far, we have recommendations from Dustin Schell of the Still Queer reading series, with many more to follow in the days to come.

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We’ve been quiet lately about the Slow Club Book Club because we’ve been busy with, oh, you know, a lot of other things, but we’re so happy to let you know that we’ve announced the second pick of the year to our SCBC subscribers: Reproduction, the debut novel by Ian Williams.

Reproduction won the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was CBC’s Best Novel of the Year in 2019. Ian Williams is a poet and novelist, whose poetry has been shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. We hope you’ll join us in slowly reading this novel this summer. If you’re not already a SCBC member, find out more and sign up today!

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Those who attended our Summer Reading & Writing Kick Off in May were treated to Makenna Goodman’s preview of her gorgeous, funny, and thought-provoking debut novel, The Shame. We’re thrilled to announce that we’re partnering with Still North Books & Bar for a virtual launch celebration of The Shame on Thursday, August 11. Makenna will be in conversation with author Lauren Groff, which is super exciting! We’ll send our subscribers a brief email on August 1 with the full details.

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Finally, as in past years, we’re taking August off from publishing The Dipper so that we can rest up and generate fresh ideas for the fall. Keep an eye on our blog, though, as we’ll be featuring more Bingo picks and August new releases that we’re eager to read. We hope you all have a good, peaceful month, and we can’t wait to talk to you again on September 1.

—Shari and Rebecca

July’s Shooting Stars

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

During the pandemic, Cave Canem has been offering Literary Balms on their Instagram feed. Literary Balms are prompts written by many of the Cave Canem fellows—up to 18 prompts so far. If you are a writer, I think you’ll find these prompts inspiring. Visit the Cave Canem Instagram page and give these writing exercises a try.
—Shari
On February 18, 1965, the Cambridge Union hosted James Baldwin and William F. Buckley, Jr. to debate the question, “Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?” Baldwin is riveting. The ovation he receives is overwhelming. If you’ve been paying any attention at all, nothing he says will be new to you, but it bears repeating until everyone really listens.—Rebecca

July Highlights

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, has been holding Northshire Live events for the past few months and these virtual events continue this month. You can catch novelist Mamta Chaudry in conversation with writer, Jim Shepard, on July 7; Alice Miller will be in conversation with Christopher Castellani on July 9; and Lisa Alther will be in conversation with Madeleine Kunin on July 14. And for all you mystery fans, tune in on July 23 to hear Sarah Stewart Taylor and Paul Doiron in conversation. All events begin at 5:00 pm.

On Sunday, July 12, join Literary North and Still North Books & Bar for a Poetry & Prose Community Open Mic, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm on Zoom. The event features headliners Megan Buchanan, Dede Cummings, Emily Arnason Casey, and Taylor Mardis Katz. Sign up now to read or listen. We’d love to hear your original work!

Joni B. Cole leads an Expressive Writing workshop with Vivian Ladd of the Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire, via Zoom on Thursday, July 23 at 5:30 pm. Registration is required.

Beginning on Thursday, July 23, Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning hosts the “Armchair Journeys Real and Imagined” reading and writing workshop. Led by Elayne Clift. The workshop run for five consecutive Thursdays afternoons.

For more information about these events and to find out about other online events, please visit our calendar.

In support of Vermont’s Black organizations

This month we’re highlighting some organizations in Vermont that are doing vital work. If you are able to donate to these organizations, please do so. If not, please visit their websites and familiarize yourself with the wonderful work they’re doing, volunteer to help them, or spread the word about what they offer our community. These organizations inspire us. We are so lucky to have them in Vermont!

Clemmons Family Farm is a 148-acre African-American working farm in Charlotte, Vermont, and is one of 22 official landmarks on the State of Vermont’s African-American Heritage Trail. Clemmons Family Farm hosts a range of arts and culture programs with the aims of building quality relationships and fostering an appreciation of the heritage and cultures of all people. Past events have included storytelling sessions, readings, art exhibits, and programs that focus on African-American and African culinary heritage.
JAG Productions is a Black theater company in White River Junction, Vermont, led by Jarvis Green. JAG Productions needs no introduction from us as we’ve sung their praises from the very beginning. We love the work that Jarvis Green and JAG Productions bring to our area. We need Black voices, Black art, and Black perspectives!
Mount Island is a Black-run small press and literary magazine dedicated to rural LGBTQ+ and POC voices. Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Mount Island publishes a quarterly digital magazine, an annual print anthology, and special letterpress projects. Mount Island is also the home of the Lucy Terry Prince Prize, a new award that recognizes exceptional work by rural poets of color. The prize honors the life of Lucy Terry Prince, a free, landowning Black woman who is the first known African-American poet in English literature. We are so lucky to have Mount Island in Vermont. Please check them out and support them if you can.
SUSU Healing Collective is a Brattleboro-based group with the mission of providing an affirming place to practice community reciprocity. SUSU offers classes, workshops, community gatherings, and other services to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color by creating safer spaces for people to release trauma patterns of white supremacy, oppression, colonization, and westernized disconnection. They currently have a Go Fund Me campaign running with a goal of $400,000 to buy land for Black and brown farmers in Vermont.

More help for authors affected by COVID-19

Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) has recently announced a new grant to support independent publishers and authors who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant applicants are eligible for up to $500 in cash from IPNE or in editorial, marketing, or other services of equivalent value. Applicants must have published at least one book and live in New England. For full details about grant eligibility and how to apply, please visit the IPNE Pandemic Grant page.

Worth a Listen

The YourShelf podcast episode with New Hampshire author Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
The Conversations podcast episode with author Sheila Heti on Tove Jansson’s letters

We're Looking Forward to These July Releases

Desert Notebooks, by Ben Ehrenreich (Counterpoint, July 7)
After the Body, by Cleopatra Mathis (Sarabande, July 7)
The Sirens of Mars, by Sarah Stewart Johnson (Crown, July 7)
Riding with the Ghost, by Justin Taylor (Random House, July 7)
The Son of Good Fortune, by Lysley Tenorio (Ecco, July 7)
Pew, by Catherine Lacey (FSG, July 21)
Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell (Knopf, July 21)
It is Wood, It is Stone, by Gabriella Burnham (One World, July 28)
Fathoms, by Rebecca Giggs (Simon & Schuster, July 28)
Intimations, by Zadie Smith (Penguin Press, July 28)
Memorial Drive, by Natasha Trethewey (Ecco, July 28)
I Hold a Wolf by the Ears, by Laura van den Berg (FSG, July 28)

Calls For Submission and Upcoming Deadlines

Zig Zag Lit Mag
Zig Zag Lit Mag has extended its submission window for issue 9 through July 5. They accept fiction, nonfiction, dramatic forms, poetry, and art. Submissions are open to those who live, labor, or loiter in Addison County, Vermont.
Deadline: July 5 | 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

Pandemic in 25
The Howe Library in Hanover, New Hampshire, wants to hear your pandemic stories. Write about your pandemic experience in 25 words or fewer and you could win a 32GB iPad. Entries will be judged by Literary North and Three by Five. Selected stories will be shared on social media and/or during a virtual event.
Deadline: July 31 | Details

The MudZoom: Change
The AVA Gallery is calling for storytellers to submit their story ideas for their next online MudZoom event (September 10) on the theme of “Change.” To submit, send a summary of your true, personal story in fewer than 300 words and a brief biography of fewer than 100 words. Selected storytellers will be expected to attend a rehearsal held on the afternoon of Sunday, August 30, via Zoom.
Deadline: August 21 | 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 daily break-out sessions for manuscript reviews. 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

Fiction Writing Workshop with Daly Walker
July 6 to August 3, 9:00 to 11:30 am
This workshop will help participants fictionalize an autobiographical piece about a meaningful event in their lives. During the course of the workshop, the elements of fiction, character, dialogue, point of view, voice, and plot will be discussed. Stories by well-known writers that illustrate the various elements of fiction will be required reading. The main focus of each session will be to workshop the stories submitted by the students. Other literary topics that will be woven into the course include getting published, finding an agent, where to find the best literary fiction, creative writing workshops, MFA programs, and self-publishing.
Location: online | Cost: $60 (OSHER membership required) | Details

Online Workshop Pods with Joni B. Cole
July 8 to 29, 6:30 to 8:00 pm; July 13 to August 3, 10:00 to 11:30 am or 6:30 to 8:00 pm
This small-group writing workshop is open to writers of creative nonfiction and fiction of all levels. It offers participants motivation, personalized instruction on craft, and a small supportive community. Come to the first meeting (and every meeting) with three to four pages of something brand new or revised to read aloud for verbal feedback. Our goal is to meet every draft where it is at, and help you write forward productively and with confidence. You’ll also receive weekly prompts you can use to inspire new ideas, scenes, or just keep the flow flowing! Preregistration is required.
Location: online | Cost: $135 | Details

Armchair Journeys Real and Imagined Reading and Writing Workshop with Elayne Clift
July 23, 30, August 6, 13, and 20, 1:00 to 3:30 pm
This workshop offers suggestions and techniques for writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction that derives from travel and journeys, real and imagined. Prompts will bring out the writer in you and will be shared voluntarily. We will also read and discuss selected readings that combine travel with memoir. Come prepared to wish, wonder, remember, and write!
Location: online | Cost: $90 | 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 |

Rebecca Siegel

June 1, 2020

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

The Dipper - June 2020

Rebecca Siegel

June 1, 2020

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

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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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)!

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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

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