Hudson Valley Writers Guild Newsletter, May 1, 2011

In This Issue

Guild Announcements: 2011 Non-fiction Writing Contest, The Guild at Wordfest

Member Announcements: Harvey Havel, K.A. Laity,

Area Announcements: Mystery Writers Event at Tappan Library, Call for Poets in Saratoga, Poetry and Prose in Troy, Adirondack Reading Series in Saratoga, Mary Kathryn Jablonski to Read at Pride Center in Albany, Open Door Bookstore Celebration in Schenectady, Lauren Belfer to Read in Kinderhook

Guild Announcements

2011 Non-fiction Writing Contest Accepting Submissions
The HVWG annual writing contest rotates genres each year, and our 2011 contest will be for Non-Fiction (humor, personal essay, and memoir). There is a $100 top prize for each of the three categories. Submissions are being accepted through the end of August. The contest is open to residents of any part of New York State. The full guidelines are posted at our website: hvwg.org (under the “about” tab). Here is a direct link: hudsonvalleywritersguild.wordpress.com/about/contests/

The Guild at Wordfest
The 10th Annual Albany WordFest was held on Saturday, April 16, at The Linda Auditorium on Central Ave. Not only did many Guild members participate throughout the day, but the Hudson Valley Writers Guild had its own 1-hour slot organized by Jill Crammond. Dan Wilcox, the HVWG President, was the host for the hour. The readers included Cecele Kraus, Henry Tedeschi, D. Colin, Sylvia Barnard, Leslie B. Neustadt, Grayon Blye and Jill Crammond. (This announcement is also posted on our website – hvwg.org – with a link to photos.

Member Announcements

Please join Harvey Havel for a reading and a book signing to celebrate the release of his new book of short-stories, Stories from the Fall of the Empire. Book tour dates (All are welcome! Bring a friend!):

• Friday, May 27, 6 p.m. – The Daily Grind, 46 3rd Street, Troy
• Saturday, June 11, 8 p.m. – Hudson River Coffee Shop, 227/229 Quail Street, Albany
• Saturday, June 18, 3 p.m. – Stuyvesant Book House, 1475 Western Avenue (in Stuyvesant Plaza), Albany

K. A. Laity’s play Lumottu [Finnish for “enchanted”] will receive a full cast reading at the Arts Society of Kingston on May 31. The play can be found in her 2009 collection UNIKIRJA [Dream Book]. See kalaity.com for details.

Area announcements

Mystery Writers at the Tappan Library May 3, 7 p.m.
Tappan Library has teamed up with the Mystery Writers of America – New York Chapter to present a special A-List Author Event on Tuesday, May 3, at the Manse Barn, 32 Old Tappan Road, Tappan, NY, 7-8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Meet the authors and learn how they draw their inspiration from true crime investigations that touch us to those that keep us awake at night to create page-turning fiction sparked by actual events. Our panel moderated by Robert Knightly, The Cold Room, May 2011; will feature Andrew Gross, Reckless; Sharon Linnea, These Violent Delights, May 2011; M.J. Rose, The Reincarnationist, and Jessica Speart, Winged Obsession.

Local Poets and Singers/musicians needed in Saratoga May 7, Noon
Performers are need for the first-ever poetry and song event at the Saratoga Springs train station. Saturday, May 7, noon to 3 p.m. West Avenue, off Church Street. Lady Myah Brown, Events Coordinator for the Saratoga Springs train station, presents local poets and singers/musicians (some from Barbara Garro’s Saratoga Poetry & Song Focus Group) performing their original, family-friendly poems and songs. Five minutes minimum (maybe more) per performer. First poem or song to be about mothers, for Mother’s Day. Excellent mic system is available on site (broadcasting both inside and outside the train station). Piano is available on site in the train station. Free parking. To sign up and get all guidelines, call Barbara Garro at (518) 587-9999.

Poetry and Prose in Troy May 8, 2 p.m.
Join other area writers and hosts Nancy Klepsch and Dan Wilcox for an afternoon of readings at the Arts Center of the Capitol Region, 265 River Street, Troy. Plenty of free parking in the vicinity. Bring friends and something to read.

Adirondack Center announces new reading series in Saratoga
The Adirondack Center for Writing and The Spring Street Gallery are proud to present the Something for Everyone Reading Series. Readings will be held on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. through the month of May at 110 Spring Street, Saratoga Springs. The series includes an eclectic selection of authors and poets from the North Country – from home gardening non-fiction to a regional mystery novel; from poems about the “imaginary human rights” of yetis to a collection of graphic novels. The readings are free and open to the public, with Q&A after every session. Seating is limited; call (518) 587-6433 to reserve.

Here are details of upcoming readings:

• On May 9, Michele Owens will read from Grow the Good Life, her new book about the rewards of home gardening with the family. “[A] vegetable garden…delivers the kind of returns that make hedge fund managers green with envy,” said Owens. A contributor to O, the Oprah Magazine, Garden Design, and Organic Gardening, Owens lives in Saratoga.
• On the 16, Robin Antalek will read from her debut novel The Summer We Fell Apart. Publisher’s Weekly called the book “well-crafted and cunning.” A frequent contributor to literary journals, Antalek also writes for the online journal The Nervous Breakdown.
• On May 23, Joseph Cutshall-King will read from The Burning of The Piping Rock, a Saratoga “history/mystery.” A former director of the Chapman History Museum, history columnist for the Post-Star, and Washington County Historian, Cutshall-King writes from Cossayuna.
• Naton Leslie will read on May 30 from his recent collection, Small Cathedrals, along with some newer works. Leslie has been publishing poems and stories in fine literary magazines for 25 years. He has fellowships from the NEA and the NYFA, and his nonfiction is in Best American Essays. He lives in Ballston Spa.
• On June 6, graphic artist and writer Sabrina Jones presents a selection from her comics, FDR and the New Deal For Beginners, Isadora Duncan, A Graphic Biography and Race to Incarcerate. A summer resident of Ballston Spa, Sabrina Jones has written and illustrated her edgy offbeat comic books for twenty years.

The Pride Center Presents Mary Kathryn Jablonski May 11, 7:30 p.m.
Live from the living room at the Pride Center presents a reading by Saratoga Springs poet Mary Kathryn Jablonski, author of To the Husband I Have Not Yet Met followed by an open mic for poetry on Wednesday, May 11, 7:30 p.m. Price Center is located at 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany. Call (518) 462-6138 for more information

Open Door 40th Anniversary, May 17, 7:30 p.m.
Join this area independent bookstore at its gala book signing and reception honoring local authors and illustrators. Dessert and coffee will be provided by area restaurants. Donation of $5 will benefit Literacy Volunteers of Schenectady. The Open Door is at 128 Jay Street, Schenectady. RSVP by May 6 to (518) 346-2719.

Lauren Belfer Reading/Signing May 15, 4 p.m.
Lauren Belfer, author of the New York Times bestselling novel City of Light, will be reading and speaking about her new novel, A Fierce Radiance, at the Kinderhook Memorial Library in Kinderhook on Sunday, May 15, at 4 p.m. For more information, go to the library website, http://oklibrary.org .