Fifty-four short stories were submitted, and award-winning Maine author Ron Currie, Jr. selected twelve stories to be published alongside Anderson’s paintings later this year in the book Summer Stories.

Read more about the competition →

Congratulations to following writers:

Mary Lou Bagley of South Berwick – “Knowing When” inspired by Last Night at the Lake 

Nancy L. Brown of Bethel – “Hay Day” inspired by Hay Day

Meredith Fossel of Alna – “Last Night at the Lake” inspired by Last Night at the Lake

Claire Guyton of Lewiston – “Reflections” inspired by Quarry Girl; “Vanilla” inspired by Morton’s Moo; “Imaginary” inspired by Pulling Weeds

Kathryn Hall of Islesboro – “Snow on the Beach” inspired by Island Girl 

David Karraker of Portland – “Charlie” inspired by Island Girl

Catherine Lee of Eastport – “Quarry Secrets” inspired by Quarry Girl

Laura Levenson of Carmel – “Meditation Rock” inspired by Meditation Rock

John B. Nichols, Jr. of Winthrop – “The Neighor’s Nephew” inspired by Last Night at the Lake

Anna Noyes of Sorrento – “Hibernation” inspired by Quarry Girl 

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who submitted a story for this competition!

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The Take Heart reading series celebrates the publication of Take Heart: Poems from Maine, an anthology that gathers together the first two years of  Maine Poet Laureate Wesley McNair’s popular weekly newspaper column of the same name. Every Take Heart event features contributing poets reading not only their own poems from the anthology, but also selected work by other poets in the collection.

+ FRIDAY, MAY 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: BookStacks, Bucksport
Poets: Sharon Bray, Donald Crane, Jerry George, and Tom Moore

+ FRIDAY, MAY 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Engine, Biddeford
Poets: Preston Hood and Pam Burr Smith

+ SUNDAY, MAY 19 at 11:00 a.m.
Where: Royal Bean Coffee and Tea House, Yarmouth
Poets: Bruce Guernsey, Preston Hood, Mariana Tupper, and George Van Deventer

+ SATURDAY, JUNE 1 at 3:00 p.m.
Where: Left Bank Books, Belfast
Poets: Lynn Ascrizzi, Bob Brooks, Linda Buckmaster, Elizabeth Garber, Carolyn Locke, Tom Moore, Dave Morrison, and Pat Ranzoni

+ THURSDAY, JUNE 13 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Longfellow Books, Portland
Poets: Robin Merrill, David Moreau, and Martin Steingesser

+ FRIDAY, JUNE 14 at TBD
Where: Owl & Turtle Bookshop, Camden
Poets: Carol Bachoffner, Linda Buckmaster, Elizabeth Garber, Kristen Lindquist, Bob McLaughlin, Robin Merrill, Dave Morrison, and Elizabeth Tibbetts

+ MONDAY, JUNE 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Carver Memorial Library, Searsport
Poets: Linda Buckmaster, Kristen Lindquist, Carl Little, and Elizabeth Tibbetts

You Can Also…Buy the Book!

The Take Heart anthology is a collection of poems from Maine Poet Laureate Wesley McNair’s weekly newspaper column, which he launched in 2011 with the support of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. The poems are chosen from the work of poets all over Maine and represent a wide cultural view of the state.

Available now from Down East Books.

The post Mark Your Calendars: Readings from Take Heart appeared first on Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.

More than one hundred books were entered into the Award’s various categories. More than sixty manuscripts were submitted into the award’s Short Works Competition in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Fifty Maine students submitted work in the same categories in the award’s Youth Competition.

The finalists hail from every corner of the state, including Bangor, Bath, Bethel, Biddeford, Brooksville, Cape Neddick, Camden, Damariscotta, Deer Isle, Falmouth, Farmington, New Gloucester, Orono, Portland, Rockland, and Yarmouth.

The winners of the 2013 Maine Literary Awards will be revealed live at a ceremony on Thursday, May 30 at 6:00 p.m. at SPACE Gallery in downtown Portland. The event is free to MWPA members with a suggested $10 donation for nonmembers.

The finalists, listed alphabetically in each category are:

Book Award for Fiction

1. Morgan Callan Rogers Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea
2. Bill Roorbach Life Among Giants
3. Debra Spark The Pretty Girl

Book Award for Crime Fiction

1. Paul Doiron Bad Little Falls
2. Kate Flora Redemption
3. Katherine Hall Page The Body in the Boudoir

Book Award for Speculative Fiction

1. Jeff Foltz Two Men Ten Suns
2. Katherine Silva Aequitas: Book 2
3. Joseph Souza The Reawakening

Book Award for Nonfiction

1. Jason C. Anthony Hoosh
2. Deborah Cummins Here and Away
3. Michael Erard Babel No More

John N. Cole Award for Maine-themed Nonfiction

1. Andrew Barton The Changing Nature of the Maine Woods
2. Lisa Colburn The Maine Garden Journal
3. John Ford, Sr. Suddenly, The Cider Didn’t Taste So Good

Book Award for Memoir

1. Darby Brown Fleming The House at the Edge of the World
2. Katherine Mayfield The Box of Daughter
3. Monica Wood When We Were The Kennedys

Book Award for Poetry

1. Richard Blanco Looking for the Gulf Motel
2. Thomas R. Moore Chet Sawing
3. Shana Youngdahl History, Advice and Other Half-Truths

Book Award for Young Adult

1. Sis Deans Riding Out The Storm
2. Jennifer Gooch Hummer Girl Unmoored
3. Linda Snow McLoon Crown Prince

Book Award for Children’s

1. Toni Buzzeo One Cool Friend
2. Angela Nickerson Hector: The Adventures of a Little Bird Who Needs Glasses
3. Anne Sibley O’Brien Path of Stars

Book Award for Anthology

1. Bruce Spang Passion and Pride: Poets in Support of Equality
2. Encircle Publications Favorites
3. The Telling Room Exit 13: A Maine Guidebook in Stories and Poems

Excellence in Publishing

1. Jane Springer Murder Ballad (Alice James Books)
2. Alison Pray & Tara Smith Standard Baking Co. Pastries (Down East Books)
3. Richard Russo & Kate Russo Interventions (Down East Books)

Drama Award

1. Deborah Burke The Dwelling Place
2. Jefferson Navicky The Purchases
3. Elizabeth Peavey My Mother’s Clothes Are Not My Mother

Short Works Competition: Fiction

1. Deborah Gould
2. Lisa Schinhofen
3. Cynthia Underwood Thayer

Short Works Competition: Nonfiction

1. Deborah Cummins
2. Elizabeth W. Garber
3. Jennifer Lunden

Short Works Competition: Poetry

1. Linda Buckmaster
2. Karyn Lie-Nielsen
3. David Sloan

Youth Competition: Fiction

1. Kate Friant
2. Harrison Pearl
3. Elysia P. Roorbach

Youth Competition: Nonfiction

1. Aden Issack
2. Helena Solorzano
3. Noah Williams

Youth Competition: Poetry

1. Wallace Jackson
2. Jesse Saffeir
3. Emma Sapat

For more information or questions about the awards: 207.228.8264 or director [at] mainewriters.org

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An Out-of-Control Reading with Steve Almond & William Giraldi

STEVE ALMOND is the award-winning author of ten books of fiction and nonfiction, three of which he published himself. His most recent book is the story collection God Bless America. Almond’s fiction has appeared in the Best American Short Stories 2010, McSweeney’s, New England Review, Playboy, Tin House, and many other publications. He has also contributed articles to the Believer, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, GQ, Poets & Writers, The Sun, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and countless other magazines and newspapers. stevealmondjoy.com

WILLIAM GIRALDI is the author of a novel, Busy Monsters, published by W.W. Norton (2011). He is a Senior Editor for the journal AGNI, and is a regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review. He has been a finalist for a National Magazine Award in the category of Essays and Criticism, and has been a recipient of a Pushcart Prize. His nonfiction and fiction have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Dissent, Commentary, The Daily Beast, Georgia Review, Bookforum, Salon, Southern Review, the Believer, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Yale Review, The American Scholar, The New Criterion, Salmagundi, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. williamgiraldi.com

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THE WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOP #1: Funny Is the New Deep
Contrary to popular belief, writing funny doesn’t mean sacrificing depth. On the contrary, for most literary writers the comic impulse is inextricably linked to tragedy. We’ll look at the work of Lorrie Moore, George Saunders, and others in an effort to learn how to loosen up and let your sense of humor inform your sense of humanity.

WORKSHOP #2: Tragedy is the New Norm
In the wake of the recent massacres in Aurora, Newtown, and Boston, how do literary writers incorporate such calamitous events into their fiction without resorting to cliche and sentimentality? We’ll examine tragic scenes from some masterpieces of world literature—including Homer, Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Flannery O’Connor—to understand better how the greats handled the tremendous challenge of tragedy. We’ll also look at the quieter, personal tragedies of everyday living—the death of a loved one, the destruction of a marriage—in stories by such American greats as Raymond Carver and Richard Ford.

THE INSTRUCTORS
Steve Almond is the award-winning author of ten books of fiction and nonfiction, three of which he published himself. His most recent book is the story collection God Bless America. Almond’s fiction has appeared in the Best American Short Stories 2010, McSweeney’s, New England Review, Playboy, Tin House, and many other publications. He has also contributed articles to the Believer, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, GQ, Poets & Writers, The Sun, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and countless other magazines and newspapers. stevealmondjoy.com

William Giraldi is the author of a novel, Busy Monsters, published by W.W. Norton (2011), is a Senior Editor for the journal AGNI, and is a regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review. He has been a finalist for a National Magazine Award in the category of Essays and Criticism, and has been a recipient of a Pushcart Prize. His nonfiction and fiction have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Dissent, Commentary, The Daily Beast, Georgia Review, Bookforum, Salon, Southern Review, The Believer, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Yale Review, The American Scholar, The New Criterion, Salmagundi, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. williamgiraldi.com

The post Tragicomic: Back-to-Back Prose Workshops with Steve Almond & William Giraldi appeared first on Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.

Award-winning poet, journalist, essayist, and playwright Christopher Locke ascribes to the belief that for poetry to matter, it must be a conduit for “Truth,” even if that means the poem is not necessarily a “true story.” Locke brings this passion to the two-part workshop “Poetry and the Myth of Experience” on Saturday, May 11 and 18.

Find more information HERE.

THE WORKSHOP
We each have a story to tell; that’s the easy part. Yet how do we move beyond that in order to tell the story we never knew was waiting to be shared? Poetry is ultimately about communication, about transferring a “felt-thought” from writer to reader. What matters in poetry is conveying emotional risk that resonates, so that the reader finds the experience impactful, or better yet, profound. We’ll look at successful poets who subscribe to this practice, regardless of whether their poems literally “happened” or not, as well as try our own hand utilizing several affective exercises that focus on going beyond experience to craft the best poem possible.

This workshop will meet twice, and participants will write, revise, and share work in a safe, supportive group atmosphere. Your experience level with writing poetry is not important—but the desire to make your writing better is mandatory.

THE INSTRUCTOR
Christopher Locke is an award-winning poet, journalist, essayist, and playwright. Born in Laconia, New Hampshire, in 1968, he is the author of the poetry collections How To Burn (Adastra Press, 1995), Slipping Under Diamond Light (Clamp Down Press, 2002), Possessed (Editor’s Choice Award, Main Street Rag Press, 2005), The Temple of Many Hands (Dead Drunk Dublin Press, 2010), End of American Magic (Salmon Poetry, 2010), Waiting for Grace & Other Poems (Turning Point, 2013), and the memoir Can I Say (Kattywompus Press, 2013). A recipient of grants in poetry from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, and Fundación Valparaiso (Spain), Locke has won numerous awards, including two Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prizes, and he has been a finalist for the Atlanta Review International Poetry Competition; Georgetown Review Annual Literary Competition; the New Issues Press Poetry Prize, Transcontinental Poetry Award, and the Robert Penn Warren Award. He has also received several Pushcart Prize nominations. His writing appears widely and has been featured twice on both National Public Radio and Ireland’s Radio One. Chris is married to Lisa Williams and they have two daughters, Grace and Sophie. You can view more of his work atwww.christopherlocke.net.

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The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance is excited to debut Confabulation: A Literary Uprising, the first in a series of events that will travel the state and feature a mix of open-mic readings and guest readers.

In honor of National Poetry Month, the inaugural Confabulation will be an all-poetry affair presented in collaboration with the Royal Bean, located just off Main Street in Yarmouth.

For directions, see the Confabulation event listing. *The open-mic portion runs from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., and the guest readings will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

GUEST READERS

Betsy Sholl served as the Maine Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2011. Sholl has published seven collections of poetry, most recently Rough Cradle (Alice James Books, 2009). She was a founding member of Alice James Books. Among her awards are a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, and two Maine Writer’s Fellowships. Her work has appeared in many magazines, including Triquarterly, Kenyon Review, Massachusetts Review, and Beloit Poetry Journal. Sholl has been a visiting poet at the University of Pittsburgh and Bucknell University, and she teaches at the University of Southern Maine and in the MFA Program of Vermont College.

David Sloan is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA program and teaches English at the Merriconeag Waldorf High School. In 2012, Sloan won both of the Betsy Sholl Award from Words & Images magazine and the MWPA’s Maine Literary Award for Poetry in the Short Works Competition. His poetry has appeared in, or is forthcoming from, Café Review, Naugatuck River Review, Northern New England Review, Passenger, and others. In addition to being the author of two books on teaching teenagers, Sloan’s debut poetry collection—The Irresistible In-Between (Deerbrook Editions)—has just been published.

OPEN-MIC GUIDELINES
Open-mic attendees should plan to arrive before 11:00 a.m. and sign in for the opportunity to read. There will be a maximum of 12 first-come-first-serve reading slots. Readers should prepare for a maximum of three minutes of reading time—all readings will be timed and time limits will be strictly enforced. Open-mic readers may read their own poetry or share their favorite poetry by other writers.

For more information or questions, contact Joshua Bodwell.

The post Confabulation: Volume 1 appeared first on Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.

See you there!

For more information and directions →

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→ MORE INFORMATION + DIRECTIONS

This panel of publishing veterans will discuss a wide range of literary issues, including the state and future of traditional publishing, getting an agent, the rise of e-books, and the pros and cons of self-publishing, among many other topics. We expect the dialogue to be dynamic, freewheeling, and informative.

Attendees are encouraged to submit short questions in advance. Please make sure your questions are (1) related to writing and publishing, and (2) general enough that they will be relevant and interesting to everyone in the audience. Questions may be submitted via email to abbott@mainewriters.org with the subject line “Aside.”

*Members: Please RSVP to info@mainewriters.org

THE PANELISTS
Mark Chimsky is editor-in-chief of the book division of Sellers Publishing. For eight years, he ran his own editorial-consulting business. Previously, he was executive editor and editorial director of Harper San Francisco and headed the paperback divisions at Little, Brown and Macmillan. In addition, he was on the faculty of New York University’s Center for Publishing and for three years, he served as the director of the book section of New York University’s Summer Publishing Institute. He has edited a number of bestselling books, including Johnny Cash’s memoir, Cash, and he has worked with such notable authors as Melody Beattie, Arthur Hertzberg, Beryl Bender Birch, and Robert Coles. His editorial achievements have been noted in Vanity Fair, The Nation, and Publishers Weekly. Chimsky is also an award-winning poet whose poetry and essays have appeared in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), Three Rivers Poetry Journal, Mississippi Review, and the PBS website, Next Avenue. He is also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. For Sellers Publishing, Chimsky has developed and compiled the anthologies, Creating a Business You’ll Love, Creating a Meal You’ll Love, Creating a Marriage You’ll Love, and Creating a Life You’ll Love, which won the silver in ForeWord Review’s 2009 Book of the Year Awards in the self-help category. His most recent collection, 65 Things to Do When You Retire, was recently named by the Wall Street Journal as “[one] of the year’s best guides to later life.”

Tristram Coburn started his publishing career at the Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America in 1994. He then moved to Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, where we worked with and edited such notable authors as Clive Cussler, Richard Marcinko, and Gayle Lynds, among many others. He also acquired the New York Times bestselling book The Day After Roswell by Col. Phil Corso and William Birnes. After almost five years in New York City, Tris moved back to the coast of Maine and worked for several years for McGraw-Hill’s International Marine imprint. Living in an ultra-creative community with numerous New York Times bestselling authors inspired him to start his own literary agency, which he did in 2006. → tcclm.com

Celia Johnson began her publishing career as a book editor at Random House and Grand Central Publishing. She left editing to focus on writing and running Slice, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization that has been featured in Time Out New York, the New Yorker, and the New York Times. She has interviewed several bestselling and award-winning writers for Slice magazine (slicemagazine.org). Celia is also the editor of two poetry anthologies, 100 Great Poems for Girls and 100 Poems to Lift Your Spirits. Her latest book, Dancing with Mrs. Dalloway, offers stories about the inspiration behind great works of literature. She is currently working on another book about famous writers and their quirky writing techniques. Her next book, Odd Type Writers, will be released from Penguin in June. → celiablue.com

About the Sponsor
Coffee By Design is an award-winning micro-roaster of fine coffees that operates four coffeehouses in southern Maine, including a recently added location inside the L.L. Bean Flagship Store in Freeport. Coffee By Design believes in exceptional coffee, environmental sustainability, and making a difference. → coffeebydesign.com

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