From great mystery writers to great history writers to peace activists to psychologists to humorists, the 2012 writers conference brings the reservoirs of our past and future into focus with the sensitivity and might of award winning writers such Anita Diamant, Naomi Shihab Nye, Margaret Coel, Dennis Palumbo, the always hilarious Michael Perry, and Wyoming’s long-reining poet laureate David Romvedt, just to name a few. The complete lineup is below and you can find the details of their publishing and awards on conference’s official site.

No doubt the exchange of dialogue, manuscript critiques, and workshops among these heavyweights and the seven agents and editors will foster the kind of rising to the occasion that puts every conference guest on the path to writing at the top of his or her talents. We look forward to sharing the 21^st Annual Conference, and propelling more worthy books, your books, toward print.

Fiction

Anita Diamant

Margaret Coel

Dennis Palumbo

Alyson Hagy

Mark Hummel

Deborah Turrell Atkinson

Tiffanie DeBartolo

John Byrne Cooke

Tina Welling

Shawn Klomparens

Lise McClendon

Catherine McKenzie

Kyle Mills

Patti Sherlock

Tim Sandlin

Poetry

Naomi Shihab Nye

David Romvedt

Bethany Hurst

Martin Rock

Nonfiction

Michael Perry

Mark Hummel

John Byrne Cooke

Laurie Gunst

Jeremy Schmidt

 

Young Adult

Brandon Mull

Victoria Hanley

Patti Sherlock

 

Editors

Martin Rock

Denise Scarfi

Sarah Bowlin

Mark Hummelv

Agents                   

Lisa Bankoff

Alex Glass

Katharine Sands

Robert Guinsler

Heard enough… ready to register for what some writers call the most rewarding experience of their careers. Join us in the Tetons. Join us to give your writing the attention it deserves.

 

Contest Winners

Thank you for your wonderful submissions to the Jackson Hole Writers Conference Write to the Point contest. Our panels so enjoyed reading these stories and poems.

And the scholarship winners are:

Celest Havener for the fiction story – “The Red Koan”
Sidney Woods for the poem – “Volcanic”

Second place mentions:

Terry Martin for his fiction story – “Sanibel Blues”
Matt Daly for the poem – “The Waning”

Read the winning story and poem here.

A word with two of the panel judges

Ravi Shankar sat on our poetry panel this year and will join the conference faculty this summer. This is what he had to say about the winning poem:

“‘Thanks to poetry,’” Mexican writer Octavio Paz wrote, ‘language
reconquers its original state…its plastic and sonorous values.’ In
the winning poem “Volcanic,” the author uses a keen sense of sound
(from the alliterative “blood-pulsing/ bull elk fall serenade” to
“musk [that] stinks”), combined with a careful observation of the
natural world that retains its mystery and “easeful silence” while
surprising the reader with its ultimate movement.”

Catherine McKenzie served on our fiction panel and will also join conference faculty for the second time this year. She shares these congratulations:

“‘The Red Koan’ is exactly what I think flash fiction should be: a complete story in 600 words or less. Ms. Havener manages to convey character and a great sense of place in that confined space. Congratulations.”

 

Pony Up Marketing

Pony up for the conference and save yourself some fare! For every conference poster you hang up in your town, we will give you $1 off your conference registration up to 20 posters. All you have to do is print this poster and take a photo of it on each sign board, label the photo with the name of the business or location, and send them to us for your discount. We’ll give you cash back on June 23. Offer excludes Teton County locations. Click here to download the poster. Send your photos or questions to: nicole AT jacksonholewritersconference.com

As much to share writing in Jackson Hole, we also want to see where you’re writing from… What’s the skinny on the favorite local coffee shop that gets your pen moving? What’s the name of your grocery store and the food that fuels you creatively? Tell us about an inspired trip you had along the shelves of your public library (they always have great places to post flyers). As a bonus – add a blurb (300 words or less) about any of these writerly habits to accompany one of the photos, and we’ll post your story on our blog. You may just get an extra in your conference goodie bag for sharing. We hope you’ll join us in connecting the places where we write!

 

On season

Featuring What? | April 25 | 6 – 8:30 pm | Center for the Arts Conference Room | FREE
So many interests so little time. The stories we follow and the stories we choose to tell intrigue us for their worth – how they represent, teach or perhaps entertain. From the favored gear bag to the ins and outs of getting a spinal tap to the state of the education system, the knack for uncovering the truth takes an ear for more than the relevant. Learn how to look at a story and all its parts with Kelsey Dayton as she reveals the adventures of crafting, researching, interviewing, and seeing a great story to its end.

Bio: Kelsey Dayton graduated with a bachelor’s of journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked at the Jackson Hole News&Guide for the past four and a half years and has covered stories from branding to rock climbing to hot air ballooning.

To Publishing! | May 11 | 6 – 8:30 pm | Center for the Arts Green Room | FREE
Jackson Hole author and publisher Rebecca Woods discusses the pros and cons of traditional and non-traditional avenues for getting your manuscript published, with an emphasis on how to self-publish. A realistic assessment of trends in the book market will be included in this insightful workshop. Becky will outline components of the publishing process and delve into the financial and marketing considerations of book publishing. A 30-minute question and answer period anchors the end of this information-packed, two-and-a-half hour workshop.

Bio: Rebecca has been involved in the full spectrum of book publishing for over 20 years. She owns and operates White Willow Publishing, a respected regional publishing house that specializes in the Greater Yellowstone area.

Paper, Pen – Rock! | Tuesdays, May 10 –June 14 | 7 – 9 pm | Teton Literacy Program | $90
Energize your writing life with this loosely structured opportunity to move your work forward to the next place. This class is offered for writers of any interest, any level. Come to class to work and to get feedback on your own personal projects or come to work from the writing prompts that are offered each week. Prompts get the writer going and offer fresh perspective, even if not followed precisely. During each class, participants may bring in pages to receive private feedback from Tina. And following in-class writing time, class feedback is available. Writers are offered space and time for writing, private feedback, class feedback and writing prompts to bring to the next week’s class.

Bio: Tina Welling is the author of Cowboys Never Cry and two other novels, published by the Penguin Group. Her nonfiction has been published in four anthologies and national magazines.

Ecopoetics | Wednesdays, May 18 –June 15 | 6 – 9 pm | Teton Literacy Program | $90
What power do words have? Might they—and how might they— change the course of our cultural/environmental crisis? What’s been done/sung/written in this vein and where might you take it in your own writing? We will address these and other fundamental questions in a survey of some of the various thrusts and endeavors taking place in the realm of ecopoetics today, coupled with explorations into these ideas and urgencies in our own work.

Bio: Led by Marcia Casey (MFA Goddard College 2009; published in Jacket magazine) and incorporating the work of numerous and diverse contemporary writers. Marcia at mcasey@bresnan.net or 733.9296.

Please sign up for any or all of these classes with nicole@jacksonholewritersconference.com. Classes – especially the free workshops – have limited seating options and are available to those first to sign up. Questions: 307-413-3332.

These workshops and classes are supported in part by grants from the Community Foundation. Other generous donors and sponors make year round creation possible for Jackson Hole Writers.

 

Modernist Poetry and Fiction

Central Wyoming College is offering a special literary topics course that will focus on the works of William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemmingway and others.

Saturdays, April 16-May 14 (Registration deadline April 9)

10am-12:30 pm

Center for the Arts

Call 733-7425 to register

More info: www.jackson.cwc.edu and email jacksoninfo@cwc.edu.

Cost is CWC tuition and fees for 1 credit

 

Favorite Poem Project

Send us your favorite poem and be part of a community exhibit at the library The “Favorite Poem Project” is dedicated to celebrating and promoting poetry’s role in Americans’ lives, and was founded by Robert Pinsky, the 39th U.S. Poet Laureate (who will be the Page-to-the-Podium speaker on May 14).  The Project has inspired hundreds of Favorite Poem readings in cities and towns across the country. Find examples at: www.favoritepoem.org 

To participate: Submit your favorite poem along with a description, 200 words or fewer, about why you chose this poem and what it means to you. Your poem & description will be part of an exhibit at the library opening April 29, and you may be invited to participate in a public reading on Friday, May 5.

The poem must be by an author other than yourself, your friends, or relatives. It should be a poem you have read, perhaps many times, and to which you feel a personal attachment. While there are no length requirements, very long poems are not likely to be selected due to space constraints.

Deadline for submission: Monday, March 28
Submission can be e-mailed: odoherty@tclib.org (Oona Doherty) 0r dropped off at the library front desk by Monday, March 28.

 

The Unseen Janis Joplin

John Byrne Cooke was Janis Joplin’s road manager from late 1967 until her untimely death in October 1970. Despite the demands of his road-managing duties, he managed to document his time with Janis not only with still photos that have been widely published and exhibited, but also in 8mm film that shows Joplin offstage as well as in performance. Now John has edited his unique footage into five remarkable films. Four have been shown in public only once before, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2009, at a tribute event for Janis. The fifth film has never before been exhibited. John will introduce each film and will take questions at the end of the program in Center Theater.

$15 at the box office – 733.4900, proceeds benefit the Conference.

 

Sounds of the Night

A group of fine poets will fill the senses and the National Museum of Wildlife Art with sounds to accompany Dusk to Dawn. This is a cozy way to spend a the evening, surrounded by art and words put together in a way you may only hear once.

Tuesday, February 8

7:30 pm

Galleries and the Rising Sage Cafe open all evening

 

Poet Laureate in the House

Beyond Form with David Romtvedt: Writing with Wyoming’s Poet Laureate

February 12 | 2 – 5 pm  | Center for the Arts

He gets the dialogue rolling as fast as the imagination. During this afternoon of writing, reading and discussion, our very own Wyoming Poet Laureate will be your guide to great poetry. His range and agility across multiple artistic mediums open the gates of literature as a passage into your own writing. Familiar and new works will come alive and prompt exploration. See what takes shape! The workshop is free. Space is limited, so registration is required – please do so by replying to this email or nicole AT jacksonholewritersconference.com

 

David Romtvedt, currently Wyoming Poet Laureate, is a multi-talented musician and writer offering writing workshops in poetry, fiction and play writing. He conducts programs on Wyoming’s literary history and communities, song writing, the interactions of music and literature, and ways that language and music are used by groups to defend their cultural integrity. He also offers workshops on bookmaking and musical instrument building (flutes, drums, mbiras, and various percussion instruments). As a performer, he gives solo poetry readings and musical presentations. He also performs with his musical group, The Fireants. Learn more about David and his work here.

 

Last page first

Inspiration is a funny thing, and so is the ever-elusive creativity we all get so giddy about unlocking when thoughts collide or expand. Oscar Wilde wrote in Intentions of genius being suffocated by our need to find the source of every inspiration. Pairing that with a revision of the Reese’s slogan… I implore readers to think about or submit in the comments section any thought pertaining to this statement: There is no wrong way to read a book.

Sometimes we read to confirm our own beliefs. Other times to escape them. We read in search of beauty and to fill our increasing appetite for information. We read so our kids will think it’s a good idea. We read our favorite authors to marinate in our personal version of quality, perhaps hoping it too will spill from the pen. We’d love to know what you’re reading and why.

Write in 2011 as a happy new year.