The annual Festival of Writers, taking place in Rensselaerville, NY is coming up this August 15 – 18 with some great events and authors sharing their work. And if you want to get involved and be a part of this great annual tradition, now is the time to send in your writing.
Linda Miller, Poetry Events Coordinator at the Rensselaerville Library sent out the following call for submissions and details on the showcase events taking place over the festival weekend.
Attention Upstate New York Writers, Have Your Work Showcased at the Rensselaerville Festival of Writers, August 15- 18, 2013
The annual Festival of Writers, held in the historic hamlet of Rensselaerville, New York has drawn dozens of writers and hundreds of guests since its inception in 2009. The event features a variety of readings, workshops, entertainment, and panel discussions. Prominent writers featured at past festivals include William Kennedy, Nick Flynn, Galway Kinnell, Jean Craighead George, Francine Prose, Bill Logan, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Andy Rooney, and Lizz Winstead. This year’s festival will again host an exciting roster of established writers, but will also expand to showcase the work of local writers adept at capturing the heart of an audience. We seek unpublished work by regional writers reflecting the particular experiences, insights, and observations of upstate New Yorkers.
Showcase Events
Saturday Evening, August 17 – The Night Owls Present: “Believe It Or Not: An Evening of True Stories”
For this event, we solicit true and engaging stories, original non-fiction. Submissions should not exceed 2000 words or ten minutes when read aloud. The stories on this program, presented at the Carey Center for Global Good in Rensselaerville, will be performed by a company of professional actors including Amanda Ronconi and Jeff Weins. Other featured guests include political satirist Lizz Winstead, co –creator of The Daily Show and emcees David Rees and Dave Hill of This American Life.Sunday Afternoon, August 18 – “This Upstate Life: Local Writers Read”
For this event, we seek poetry, fiction, personal essay, or cross-genre and experimental work specifically rooted in the upstate New York region. Poets may submit up to three pages of poetry (single-spaced, max. 30 lines/page). Prose writers may submit one piece (double-spaced, max.1500 words). On this program, writers will read their own work in a venue to be determined.Eligibility & Submission Requirements
Entrants must be upstate New Yorkers. Submissions must be postmarked by May 15, 2013. No identification should appear on the manuscript. Cover sheet should include: a 3 sentence bio. plus: author’s name, address, telephone number, email address, title of submission, genre (poetry, fiction, personal essay, etc.), and word count (each poem/page) or line count (prose). Also, please note for which festival event (Saturday or Sunday) the work is intended. Submissions will be juried by an independent selection committee. Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced (prose), single-spaced (poetry), 12-point type, no fancy fonts. Send three hard copies by mail (no electronic submissions) to: The Rensselaerville Library, Festival of Writers, Local Writers Submission, P.O. Box 188, Rensselaerville, NY 12147.Results
Manuscripts will not be returned. Results will be posted on the Festival of Writers website www.festivalofwriters.org by June 30, 2013. Authors of selected works will be contacted individually.
For more information, please email: festival@rensselaervillelibrary.org with “FOW Local Writers” in the subject line.
