Hudson Valley Writers Guild Newsletter, September 1, 2011

In This Issue

Guild Announcements: October Writing Conference, Community of Writers, Facebook announcement, Newsletter “Help!!”

Member Announcements: Bernie Bourdeau, Alan Catlin, Howard Kogan, Djalloul Marbrook, Jan Marin Tramontano, Barbara M Traynor

Area Announcements: New Slam Poetry Series Begins in Albany, Carole Kenyon to Read in Saratoga, Yes! Reading Series Resumes in Albany, Prose and Poetry Open Mic in Troy, Elizabeth Thomas at Third Thursday in Albany, Writers Institute Announces Fall Workshops, Arts Center Announces Fall Writing Classes, Arts Retreat to open in Altamont, Rexford Firm Looking to Hire Managing Editor, Stipends for Writers and Other Artists from the Arts Center

Guild Announcements

HVWG Writers Conference, October 2
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild will hold a Writers’ Conference on Sunday, October 2, at the East Greenbush Public Library. The conference will include a panel discussion on electronic publishing followed by a writing workshop by award-winning author Hallie Ephron. The program will start at 1:30 p.m. and is free open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged. To pre-register, contact the East Greenbush Public Library at (518) 477-7476 or online at eastgreenbushlibrary.org.

Albany Community of Writers, October 15
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild will host the annual Community of Writers reading at the Albany Public Library on Saturday, October 15, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The program will be in the auditorium at the Library’s Main Branch, 161 Washington Avenue, Albany. The program will include a reading by the winners of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild non-fiction contest. One winner in each of three categories will read: humor, personal essay and memoir. There will also be an Honorable Mention awarded to a member of the HVWG whose entry is considered notable. Certificates and prizes will also be awarded at the reading. Also reading will be Jan Tramontano from her recently published novel, Standing on the Corner of Lost and Found (CreateSpace), and Howard Kogan from his new book of poems, Indian Summer (Square Circle Press).

HVWG on Facebook
We have a Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Hudson-Valley-Writers-Guild/246872298662241. Won’t you “like” us? You may have been part of our Facebook “group,” but Facebook changed its guidelines, and now we are a “page,” which you have to like in order to see our updates in your news feed.

Newsletter: “Help!!”
Our veteran newsletter editors Carolee and Bob want to take a break. Can you help? One job is collecting all the announcements and doing some formatting/editing. The other job is fine-tuning the formatting and distributing it to our list. It takes 1-3 hours a month — any volunteers? Send us a note: hvwginfo

Member Announcements

Bernie Bourdeau is pleased to announce that the print version of his novel CAUSED & EFFECT is now available at The Book House in Stuyvesant Plaza and at Marra’s Pharmacy in Cohoes.

Alan Catlin has a new e-story available for a download at Smashwords.com. The title of the story is “The Graveyard” and is about an Albany cab driver working the midnight to morning shift. The cost of the story is .99 cents.

Howard Kogan has a new book of poetry. It is called Indian Summer, and it is published by Square Circle Press. It is available from Howard for $12.95 S&H included. Howard Kogan, PO Box 370 Stephentown, NY 12168. For further information email hkogan@fairpoint.net. Howard is also interested in doing readings in the area.

Djelloul Marbrook announces the following upcoming readings:

• September 22, 5 p.m., Djelloul reads poetry at an exhibition of paintings by his mother, Juanita Guccione; 6:30 reception; SUNY/Orange, Kaplan Hall. Corner of Grand and First Street, Newburgh.
• September 24, 7 p.m., Djelloul reads from his new novel, Artemisia’s Wolf, at Spoken Word Cafe, Unitarian Universalist Church, 67 S. Randolph Avenue, Poughkeepsie.
• November 6, 2 p.m., Djelloul and also Susan Sindall read their poetry, Chatham Synagogue, Route 28 at Rt. 66, Chatham.
• December 3, 5 p.m., Djelloul reads from his new novel, Artemisia’s Wolf, Woodstock Library Forum, Library Lane and Tinker Street, Woodstock.

Jan Marin Tramontano’s novel, Standing on the Corner of Lost and Found, is now available through her website jantramontano.com, Amazon, and the BookHouse. Her book release party will be at her home on September 10 from 2-7 p.m. — appetizers, desserts and drinks. It should be a really good time! For more info and/or plans to attend, please contact her at jantramontano@gmail.com

In Jan’s new novel, Lisa Stern goes to college in high spirits. Determined to cast off her family’s persistent warnings that life is a tragedy waiting to happen, she is devastated when it does. A widow, whose only son was killed in Vietnam, finds Lisa wandering the beach one night and rescues her. Lisa transforms her tragic loss into purpose and catalyzes an unlikely group of women to reinvent their shattered lives. Framed by the political and social landscape of the 1960s and 1970s, this story celebrates the buoyant spirit of sisterhood in healing broken hearts and restoring fragile dreams.

Barbara M. Traynor, author of Second Career Volunteer, a passionate, pennywise approach to retirement, will give an overview of her unique volunteer lifestyle and sign books at Honest Weight Food Coop, Albany, on Saturday, September 10, from 1-3 p.m. Stop by to say hello and peruse their great selection of local produce, cheese, and meats. Hope to see you there!

Area announcements

New Poetry Slam Series to Begin on September 6, 7 p.m.
For the first time in more than 10 years, the Albany region will have its own official poetry slam venue. Called the NITTY GRITTY SLAM and hosted by poets Dain Brammage and Mojavi, the first slam will take place on Tuesday, September 6, at 8 p.m. at Valentines (17 New Scotland Avenue in Albany). Slams will be held the first and third Tuesdays of the month after that. Admission is $5 ($3 with student ID).

Who can attend or perform? Anyone and everyone. The doors open at 7 p.m., and that’s when the sign-up sheet to slam is put out on the bar. There will be a short open mic at 7:30 p.m., the slammer line-up is announced and the slam beings at 8 p.m.

What’s a poetry slam? For each slam, judges, randomly selected from the audience, score poets who perform for up to three minutes and use nothing but words, their body and a microphone. The judges give each poet a score on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0. The scores are added up, and the poets with the higher numbers advance until two poets are left in the final round. At the end of the three rounds, the highest-scoring poet is awarded a prize—bragging rights to start; on up to a chance to join the slam team we’re sending to the National Poetry Slam!

NITTY GRITTY SLAM is presented by Frequency North, Albany Poets, and Urban Guerilla Theatre. We are registered with PSI (Poetry Slam Inc.) and we are already making plans for the National Events: IWPS 2012 and NPS 2013.

Carole Kenyon to Read at Caffé Lena, September 7, 7:30 p.m.
Carole Kenyon is going to be Caffé Lena’s featured poet on Wednesday, September 7. The Caffé is on Phila St. in Saratoga Springs. An open mic occurs before and after the feature. Readings start at 7:30.

Yes! Reading Series Resumes, September 9, 8 p.m.
The initial fall offering of the Yes! Reading Series will welcome poets Heather Christie and Dana Ward and also sonic artist Eric Hardiman. At the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Avenue in Albany.

Prose and Poetry Reading Series to Resume September 11
The Second Sunday afternoon open mic style reading series where writers can (and do) read from any genre will resume on September 11 at 2 p.m. at the Arts Center, 265 River Street in Downtown Troy.

Elizabeth Thomas to Read at Social Justice Center, September 15, 7:30 p.m.
Elizabeth Thomas will be the featured reader at the Third Thursday Poetry Night on September 15 with an open mic before and after. Readings start at 7:30 p.m. 33 Central Avenue in Albany.

Writers Institute Announces Fall Workshops (deadlines extended)
The State Writers Institute at UAlbany will have two 8-session workshops this fall in the evenings. A poetry workshop will be offered by writing fellow Rebecca Wolff. A short fiction and creative nonfiction workshop will be offered by writer-in-residence Jo Page. Both these workshops are limited to 10 members and participation is based on writing samples. Deadlines for submission and application are September 9 for postmarked mail and September 14 for in person delivery. Full details and submission rules should be examined at the website prior to submission. The website is albany.edu/writers-inst.

Arts Center Announces Fall Writing Workshops
The Arts Center of the Capital Region at 265 River Street in Downtown Troy has several writing workshops coming up this fall. Many of them begin in mid-September. Check out details at the Center’s website: artscenteronline.org. Classes include:

· Writing What You Know with Marion Roach Smith
· Creating the Poetry Chapbook with Julie Gutman
· Memoirama with Marion Roach Smith
· Shaping the Short Story with Lucia Nevai
· Reading Memoir so You Can Write Your Own with Donna Miller
· Master Class with Marion Roach Smith—note that this requires a writing sample that is due September 15. See the website for the details.

New Artists Retreat Available in Altamont
A retreat center for artists and writers will be starting in mid-September.
There will be one room available with kitchen access. The property is in Altamont on 20 wooded acres with a stream. For people interested in short or long term visits please contact Carey Taylor-Noble at 401-212-0373.

Managing Editor (full-time) Needed for Education Consulting firm in Rexford, New York
QUALIFICATIONS

• Experienced copy editor
• Publications management experience
• Writing skills
• Education background (preferred)
• Familiarity with InDesign and other publishing software (a plus)

DUTIES

• Work with authors to produce print and digital publications
• Oversee the production of print/digital publications
• Provide editing service to all staff
• Manage freelance editors/writers
• Write content for Web site, brochures, press releases related to publications
• Ensure that external communications are appropriate and correct
• Review publication proposals and make suggestions/recommendations
• Use the Internet for communication and research

INQUIRIES and RESUMES TO: sue@leadered.com; Sue Siegal; Vice President, Leadership Media; International Center for Leadership in Education

Stipends Available from the Arts Center of the Capital Region
The application for Strategic Opportunity Stipends (SOS) is now online. SOS grants are designed to help individual artists of all disciplines take advantage of unique opportunities that will significantly benefit their work or career development. Literary, media, visual, music and performing artists may request support ranging from $200 to $1,500 for specific, forthcoming opportunities that are distinct from work in progress.

Round I applications are due on September 12, 2011, for opportunities between November 2011 and October 2012. Please see the Arts Center website for more information and an application. For questions, contact Lauren Hittinger at lauren@artscenteronline.org or 518-273-0552 x229.

***
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild offers space in its newsletter for submission and program opportunities but does not endorse any programs or publications that are not offered through the Guild. Two notes from the newsletter editors:
* Within each section, announcements/events are arranged, when possible, by relevant dates.
* We are always curious to know if the formatting “works” (appears neat and tidy) in your email or if it causes issues (is difficult to read). Send feedback and suggestions regarding any formatting issues to hvwginfo@gmail.com.
* News items should go to Bob Sharkey at riverrun@nycap.rr.com. Please use Times New Roman size 12 font whenever possible.
Thank you!
–Carolee Sherwood, Newsletter Co-Editor
-Bob Sharkey, Newsletter Co-Editor