1

The Stonecoast Newsletter

Jan 23,2012 Greetings Stonecoasters, I hope everyone had a safe trip home and that you all have tightened your belts and started writing. But before I get into that, I would like to extend condolences to Melody Fuller for the unexpected loss of her son. It is my hope that in this time she will find peace and comfort from us in the Stonecoast community. I know I speak for everyone when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with Melody and her family. Now, for the writing bit. For me, the semester starts as soon as I wake up to go to the airport. I think of myself as a runner, and on that day, I hear a distant gunshot, which means, “GO”. Time waits for no one. So I am not going to break into a soliloquy about how it goes on without you, but rather, how you manage the time that is given to you. The writing process, as you all know, is not one-size fits all. Everyone has their own rituals. Some have the luxury of waking up and sauntering over to their writing space in their bathrobe. I think we all wish that our lives moved at a pokey pace but that isn’t always true. For those of us that have day jobs, finding time to write is difficult but not impossible. When I first set out to complete my novel, I learned that if you don’t have time—you make it. For me, making time for writing in college was using the space between classes to jot things down. My methods haven’t changed much since then. However, at present, my time is limited during the day, so I manage to use my lunch break to write. When I get home, I write until I go to bed. But that doesn’t mean I don’t set time aside to rest. You still need a brain to process information, and you need eyes to see. Don’t take those things for granted. If do, the result may be less than stellar like having a botched sleep pattern, not healthy. So in closing, make time for your writing but don’t forget yourself. And for those of you who haven’t heard that metaphorical gunshot I was talking about earlier, I going to give you one now—BAM—start running! That is all for now. Please email your updates to stonecoastnews@usm.maine.edu by Friday, FEBRUARY 3, NOON EST TIME. Send any feedback about the newsletter to Robin Talbot at rtalbot@usm.maine.edu.

Take care mates, Mariel

2

Upcoming Important Deadlines & Dates*

DUE: January 29, 2012

Semester Study Plans are due. DUE: January 30, 2012 (4th SEMESTER STUDENTS ONLY) Teaching Apprentice applications are due. Send all teaching applications directly to Robin Talbot.

*Please remember that this is only a partial list of deadlines.

A complete list can be found in your Stonecoast Community Handbook.

Stonecoast News Current Student News ROOZE (YVONNE GARCIA) has had a tanka published in the January issue of American Tanka: http://www.americantanka.com/ TERRI GLASS's poem, " Wind Turbines of Altamont Pass" , was accepted for the spring 2012 issue of Fault Line s, a new west coast journal. Alumni News THOM BASSETT (P '10) has published an essay about Willliam Tecumseh Sherman, "Sherman's Southern Sympathies," as part of the New York Times' "Disunion" online series about the Civil War sesquicentennial http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/shermans-southern-sympathies/ He will have several more "Disunion" essays appear in the future. In addition, his feature

3

article "Birth of a Demon: Sherman in Southern Memory" will appear in the Spring 2012 issue of Civil War Monitor. http://www.civilwarmonitor.com/ These essays are based on research he has conducted for his novel-in-progress about Sherman and the destruction of Columbia, SC in February 1865. thom.bassett@gmail.com PAMELA MCKENNEY's short story "Riverview" earned Honorable Mention from Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers. Also, Pam's vignette, "Rare Stones" won first place for fiction at the Ocean Park Writing Conference. RENEE OLANDER was recently interviewed by the Barely Southern Review on January 16, 2012. http://barelysouthreview.digitalodu.com/all-issues/january-2012/a-conversation-with-renee-olander/ LISA ROMEO (CNF S 08) contributed two pieces to Women Writing on Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing (Key Publishing) http://bit.ly/xEKUL9. Two of her poems appear in Broken Circles: A Gathering of Poets Against Hunger (Cave Moon Press) http://bit.ly/oMum7u. She also edited the manuscript for We're No Fun Anymore: Helping Couples Cultivate Joyful Marriages Through the Power of Play (Routledge) http://bit.ly/yYU7u4. Lisa was surprised, but quite happy, that her online class, *I Should Be Writing!* Boot Camp for Procrastinators and Busy People, often includes Stonecoast graduates http://bit.ly/tpypgW (Next one begins May 7). GINA TROISI has received the position of Emerging Writer-in-Residence 2012 at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. She will give a reading of her work on Wednesday February 1st. ginatroisi@yahoo.com TAMRA WILSON read from her story collection, Dining with Robert Redford & Other Stories, at Poetry Hickory in North Carolina on Jan. 10. She has been named a finalist for Broad River Review's Rash Award in Fiction judged by Silas House. She is scheduled to appear on a story panel March 23 at the Virginia Festival for the Book in Charlottesville. Faculty News AARON HAMBURGER's short story "The Golden Mushroom" was accepted for publication in the Michigan Quarterly Review. http://www.michiganquarterlyreview.com/ Pop Fiction faculty member NANCY HOLDER sold "Roadkill" to IDW Publishing's V WARS shared world anthology http://www.idwpublishing.com/. She also sold a reprint, "If You Go Out in the Woods Tonight" to Slices of Flesh, the official presentation anthology for the World Horror Convention, to be held in March, 2012. http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Slices_of_Flesh.htm Her reprint, "Changed," is available in Rage Against the Night, a horror charity anthology published on behalf of the Horror Writers Association's president, Rocky Wood, recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. http://www.amazon.com/Rage-Against-the-Night-ebook/dp/B006P18LM2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325611063&sr=1-1

4

Other News & Calls for Submission Meetings, Readings, and Other Interesting Offerings Calls for Submission The Charlestown Connection by Tom MacDonald January 12th Charlestown Branch Boston Public Library 179 Main Street Charlestown, MA 02129 7:00 pm January 18th Thomas Crane Library 40 Washington St Main Library Meeting Room (ground floor) Quincy, MA 7:00- 8:30 pm January 21st Barnes and Noble 7 Holyoke Street Holyoke, MA 2:00 - 4:00 pm

"Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Art" <Gulf_Coast_A_Journal_of_Literatu@mail.vresp.com> 1/17/2012 3:49 PM http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/866ceac859/n=2 The Annual Gulf Coast Prizes Submissions for the annual Gulf Coast Prizes in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are now open - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/24b2c7bb55/n=7 We’re currently accepting entries for the 2012 Gulf Coast Prizes.

5

This year we are offering prize money of $1,500 for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry winners, plus $250 for two runners-up in each genre. That’s a total of $6,000 in prizes. The winners will be published in Gulf Coast 25.1, to be released in fall 2012, as well as on our website - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/ec4ea87b58 View our contest guidelines - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/30f485e651/n=7 and send us your work! Submissions can be sent via snail mail or our online submission manager. The entry fee is $23 for online submissions and $20 for submissions through the post. For entering, you'll get a one-year subscription to Gulf Coast, and all entries will be considered for publication. When submitting online - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/72c677716a , be sure to select one of the genres labeled "CONTEST" when uploading your work. You do not need a PayPal account to enter online; you can use your credit or debit card. Judges to be announced soon. Check out last year's winners in poetry - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/f6ef2dd710/n=2&si=46&s=2869 , fiction - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/c7f05c5637/n=2&si=46&s=2858 , and nonfiction - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/67c2fcac8a/n=2&si=46&s=2868 ... or read "online exclusive" interviews with Brian Van Reet - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/ad2c824cb5/n=2&si=46&s=2903 (fiction winner) and Arianne Zwartjes - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/11a9b4bea6/n=2&si=46&s=2902 (nonfiction winner). The contest deadline is March 15, 2012. The Giving Season Continues Sure, the holidays just passed, but that doesn't mean that the giving has to end. For the rest of January, we're offering a four dollar discount on one-year subscriptions - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/cd50f1c3c0/n=4 to Gulf Coast. That's just twelve bucks for two big issues of some of the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art around. Start with the current issue, featuring the art of Cy Twombly and four of GC's 2011 Pushcart nominees. Just go to our subscription page -

6

http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/6a3d743c38/n=4 and enter the coupon code GFT to get your discount. (P.S. We won't tell if the "gift" is for yourself. When was the last time you did something for you?) Best of luck with your reading and writing in 2012! We look forward to seeing your work. Watch for more Gulf Coast announcements and updates on Facebook - http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/ec61db29b4/ref=tn_tnmn and Twitter http://cts.vresp.com/c/?GulfCoastAJournalofL/54980fd36c/cf77d5d780/4fd0af839e . Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Art sent this email free of charge using Vertical Response for Non-Profits. Non-Profits email free. You email affordably. Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Art Department of English University of Houston Houston, Texas 77204 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy: http://www.verticalresponse.com/content/pm_policy.html Quick Lucks is seeking submissions Quick Lucks is the online version of Washington, DC's Big Lucks literary magazine, with new work being released every Monday at 5:00 AM EST. Loosely-themed issues of Quick Lucks are introduced at the start of every month; these themes aren’t meant to limit submissions but to prompt. We like to publish work that isn’t always clean and polished and complete, but dirty and rough and fragmented. Quick Lucks submissions should be (as the name implies) quick to read–we prefer prose to be no longer than 1,500 words. That’s about as much as we’re willing to tell you: it’s up to you to get writing. Guidelines and archived work is available at http://biglucks.com/quicklucks/