(UPDATED 6/3/11)
WORKSHOPS
1) "Oral History: Collecting
Old Stories in the New Millenium" (Belinda Anderson) -- You
can
save
civilization
–
or
at
least a slice of it. As a writer, you are
uniquely qualified to receive the stories housed within others and to
share those stories so that they do not die with their owners. Use your
writing talent to capture the past – by enlightening, entertaining or
even enraging the reader, the stories you collect give us a foundation
for our future. Learn the interviewing and research techniques author
Belinda Anderson has successfully used for decades to elicit
information. She’ll share narrative and organizational tips for writing
and shaping manuscripts from those collected nuggets – and how the
project can shape the writer. She and guest Eric Fritizius also will
discuss how they're using modern technology, including web sites,
podcasts and digital archives, to enhance a history Belinda is writing
about Wolf Creek Mountain in Monroe County.
2)
Poetic devices in Prose (Belinda Anderson ) -- Wait, why is a
prose author presenting this workshop? Join Belinda Anderson in
exploring techniques for elevating your craft in whatever genre you
choose to write. Avoid the fate of the character in Blazing Saddles who
was shot for using a cliche.
3) My.Th Maker (Boyd Carr) -- West Virginia Writers' Artist in
Residence, Boyd Carr, is not only an accomplished woodworker and sketch
artist, but is also a philosopher. A fan of the work of Joseph
Campbelll and the Hero's Journey, Boyd has an outlook on the universe
he calls My.Th. This workshop will feature Boyd explaining what
exactly this means.
4) You’re only Young Twice:
Write Freely for Teens and
Tweens (Sarah Dooley) -- There
seem
to
be
a
lot
of
rules
when
it
comes
to
writing
for
upper
middle
grade
and young
adult audiences. From page count to subject matter to what is and is
not taboo,
people will spend hours telling you what NOT to do in your teen or
tween novel. In this workshop, upper
middle grade author
Sarah Dooley empowers your characters to be rule-breakers, allowing
themselves
– and you – the freedom to figure out what works for your particular
imaginary
teen.
5) Preparing for Takeoff:
Paths to
Traditional Publication
(Sarah Dooley) -- You've
written.
You've revised. You've torn your hair out over this novel, and it's
finished.
Now comes the easy part – right? In this workshop, author Sarah Dooley
helps
authors plot a course to reach their traditional publication goals.
Come ready
to practice writing a query letter for your completed novel or
work-in-progress.
6) IMPROV YOUR CREATIVITY,
IMPROV YOUR LIFE
(Steve Goff)
-- (Friday
Afternoon Session)
Utilizing the techniques of comedy improvisation, attendees
will
learn how to jump start and maintain their creativity.
Comedy improv
requires getting out of your own way, being in the moment,
and quieting
your inner critic. If you have trouble doing any of these, this
workshop
will show you how to use the skills of improv to recharge your muse,
focus your
creative efforts, and challenge that cranky critic. We
will
discuss such improv concepts as "start anywhere", "take
risks", "be spontaneous", "be brave", and
"trust your instincts". We will
cover the "rules" of improv comedy and illustrate how
to incorporate this instruction into your creative
process
and make it part of your daily life. Through a
variety
of fun and interactive exercises and improv games, we will
explore
the world of improvisation and discover what it has to offer you
and your
creativity. Laugh and learn. Watch for when
the
"ha-ha" becomes "A-ha!". **This workshop is
highly recommended to anyone wishing to participate in the Friday
evening,
"Whose Lie Is It Anyway?", entertainment segment.
7) IMPROV
YOUR WRITING (Steve
Goff) -- (Saturday
afternoon
session) Employing the tools of
comedy improvisation, attendees will discover how to utilize this
freeing
technique to enhance the writing process. You will learn how the
skills
of improv can help you to develop characters, generate
authentic dialogue, and bust up writers' block. We will
cover
the basic "rules" of improv, and then through a series of fun
exercises and improv games, geared specifically to
writers, you will experience how an
improv approach to writing can help you to explore
character
emotion, avoid stalled scenes, and, in a humorous piece, help you
"get to the funny". Find out what happens when
you get out of your own way and give your subconscious the freedom
to make
the connections that will drive your writing and energize your
story. All writers will benefit from exposure to
improv techniques, but it can be especially helpful if your
interests
include performance writing for the stage or screen.
8) Time management and
organizing for writers (Pam Hanson) -- This workshop will show
you how to manage your time and writing without having to Super Glue
yourself to your desk
9) Everybody
and
his
brother:
A
Realist's Intro to
Narrative Screenwriting (Sam Holdren) -- In a world where everybody and his
brother has a book and theory on screenwriting, sometimes we must start
fresh. This workshop will not only provide an overview on
screenwriting
format, conventions, and resources for
the curious beginner, but also a down-to-earth acknowledgment on your
personal
motives behind screenwriting and your story.
10) Everybody
and his brother isn’t writing your screenplay:
A Realist's Tour
Through the Narrative Screenwriting Process (Sam
Holdren) -- The process of developing and writing your
screenplay is about you; but rewriting that screenplay is about
your process.
Using an outcome-oriented approach, this workshop will provide general
insight
into the development, writing, RE-writing, and feedback processes, as
well as
possible strategies on what to do next once your script is ready.
11)
Ballad
to Story: New Tales
from Old Tunes (Susanna
Holstein) -- The ballad
tradition in
the Appalachian region goes back to the earliest settlements. This
workshop
will provide a brief history of Appalachian ballads, some sample
ballads and
current written works based on ballads. From murder to love and humor
to
pathos, the ballads provide potential a wealth of story material
for the
writer.
12)
Book
Reviewing:
Get
Paid
to Read! (Heather Isaacs) -- In this workshop I will talk about the
different
aspects of a book review and provide sample book reviews as models. I
will give
insight as to where one can query, submit, get published and get paid
to review
a book. Exercise: to write a small book
review on a book they are currently reading and share with others.
13) Freelancing! Work from
Home
(Heather
Isaacs) -- In
this workshop I will talk about freelance writing and different outlets
for
writers. Which ones are legit and which ones may not be? I will provide
a list
of freelance opportunities to help writers target places that are
hiring. The
different aspects of working from home freelancing will also be
discussed, such
as being your own boss, living a solitary work life, budgeting and
flexibility.
Another important aspect is: can you afford to work full time from home
without
quitting your day job?
14) Point of View and
Emotion (Michael Knost) -- Michael Knost will speak on
the elements of Point of View and Emotion, how the two work in harmony,
and how best to understand their concepts. The original title for this
class was: THE BEHEADING OF THE HEAD-HOPPING AUTHOR, but Michael
decided not to frighten potential attendees too terribly bad until he
got them locked in the class room.
15) Writing the Book
that's Inside Us (Ben LeRoy) --
16) The China
Connection: Eastern Eyeing Your Poetry (Rob Merritt) -- After teaching American poetry in China
last May, I have pondered ways in which this apparently dramatically
different culture can help us to rejuvenate our poetry. We will
look at poems by Du Fu, Li Bai, and Ezra Pound and I Ching to apply new
ways of writing to our poetry of place. We will also look
at the work of “Appalachian” poets Danny Marion, Charles Wright, Eddy
Pendarvis and others to see how an eastern way of seeing can offer a
new lens to our regional eye. Participants will write and share
poems in the workshop.
17) Memory and
Hope:
Infusing the Spiritual into Your Creative Nonfiction (Rob Merritt)
-- When Thoreau
observed, “"For seen with the eye of the poet, as God sees them, all
things are alive and beautiful," he acknowledged an essential component
of expressive writing: a method for using inner and outer observation
to uncover a connection to the invisible. But how can we do this
without sounding like a naïve cliché or an evangelical? We will
look at nonfiction examples by Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver, Annie
Dillard, John O’Donohue, Joseph Campbell, and a variety of spiritual
traditions to experiment with ways to add a new depth to our essays. We
will experiment with different methods of getting from “here” to
“there”: how to move our essays from report and diary toward, as Scot
Slovic says, “a literature of hope,” an “elevation of
consciousness” concerned with “ interior landscapes, with the
mind itself.” Never forgetting, as Emerson said, “"Every natural
fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact” and “Visible distance behind
and before us is, respectively, our image of memory and hope.”
Participants will write and share paragraphs in the workshop.
18) Playing
with
Time
(Jim
Minick)
-- When we write,
we become
gods, creating a world with every page. So as gods, we have many gifts,
one of
them being the ability to play with time. The diverse ways that writers
manipulate time on the page, from the micro-level to the macro, will be
explored in this workshop. For even though Mr. Prufrock measured out
his life
in coffee spoons, he said, “And indeed there will be time, there will
be time.”
So, no coffee spoons, please, just bring your pens.
19) Truth,
Lies
and
Form,
or
How
Creative
is Creative Nonfiction? (Jim Minick) -- When we write Creative Nonfiction, we
shape a story to get at a larger
truth. But what happens to the surface truths in that shaping? How much
can we
change them? In this workshop, we’ll explore these and other ethical
questions
through discussion and examples, along with a quick look at ways to
structure
CNF pieces.
20) Beyond Daniel Boone: Writing
Children’s
Biography
in
the
21st
Century (Eddy
Pendarvis) -- Children’s
biography
is one of the most popular forms of literature, and one that has
changed
drastically in the past fifty years, becoming more imaginative, more
diverse in
subject choice, and more selective in dramatic focus. Participants will
discuss
examples of various approaches to children’s biography and how to
translate
research into story for different age levels.
21) At the Edge of the Past: Making Poetry from History (Eddy Pendarvis)
-- Looking at examples of
how poets
have made poetry from famous historical figures and events can offer
new ideas
for writing. This workshop session
features different methods of using history to create new works of
poetry and
offers writing exercises based on some of those methods.
Writers participating in the exercises will
leave the session with drafts of two historical poems of their own.
22) The
Reinvented Writer (Katharine Sands) -- Today’s writers need to understand how to
succeed and
maximize their works in the new media and literary marketplace. Do you
know how
work is sold and how the writer is compensated? Do you know why the
writing you
do about your writing is as important as the writing itself? This
comprehensive
session answers these questions and provides key information on many
other
"must know" issues. New York City-based literary agent Katharine Sands takes participants
step-by-step through the success checklist for the getting-published
process.
From content-creation to contract; first writes to last rights,
focusing on
both craft and career, you will learn essential secrets to practicing
PitchCraft, including: what to do -- and what not to do -- when you set
out to
woo and win a literary agent, the easy-to-fix mistakes many writers
make when
querying agents, and seven surefire techniques that get you out of the
slushpile, how to: identify your selling points and sales engines, whet
an
agent's appetite, get editors to say "yes," make the perfect pitch,
build a media platform, and create a writing career.
23)
What
Under the Sun Is a
Poem?--the good, the bad, and
the ugly (Barbara Smith) -- Moving
one step closer to understanding what makes a poem a poem and a
non-poem just a
bunch of words
24) Where
Did That Poem Come
From? (Barbara Smith) -- Something new from the same-old like
flowers and love
and June moons, something poetic from monkey wrenches
and
arthritis and dog food.
25) The Ultimate
Makeover--refining,
rewording, rethinking
(Barbara Smith) -- Upgrading
a
piece
from
mediocre
to
good
and
from
good
to
GREAT
"Someone
has
said,
'There
are
really no great writers--only really great
revisers.'"
I'd like to suggest that everyone bring a dozen copies
of few
poems that they'd like to have the group examine. One per person per
session.
26) Who’s your narrator? (Sandy
Tritt)
-- In this workshop, we will discuss what/who a narrator
is, how to choose a narrator, and how to effectively control narrative
distance--the amount of intimacy between the narrator and the reader.
27) Get your narrator out of my way (Sandy
Tritt) -- In this workshop, we will discuss how to
recognize a "gawking character (or narrator)" and how to overcome this
problem by making your prose more active and immediate.
28) Point of view (Sandy Tritt)
-- This
workshop includes an interactive skit that portrays the most popular
points of view and clarifies the narrator's role in point of view.
29) Character
Development
(Cheryl Ware) -- Does your character watch American Idol or have
an obsession with the Weather Channel? Come and learn how knowing
background information will help you create believable characters.
30) Digital
Storytelling
(Cheryl Ware) -- If
a picture is worth a thousand words, just think what you can create by
combining both. Come and open your imagination to the exciting
possibility of incorporating videos, music, photos, and of course,
words!
31) She’s Making a Scene Again (Crystal
Wilkinson) -- In this workshop we will focus on writing
complete scenes and building tension in those scenes to create fiction
(even the quietest of fiction). We will look at some published writer’s
ability to make a scene and then complete the skeleton of a story in
the time allotted through a variety of exercises.
32) What did he say? Writing Dialogue
(Crystal Wilkinson) -- Discover the secrets to strengthening
your short stories with dialogue. Through published examples and
exercises, you will learn to write dialogue that rings true, moves the
plot, reveals character, creates conflict and informs the reader.
33)
Songwriting (Doug & Telisha
Williams) -- Want to write a song? Want to write a
song you'll be happy with? You can do it!. Not everyone can
be Townes Van Zandt or Guy Clark, but almost everyone can write good,
solid songs. Doug &Telisha offer a clear method that anyone
can use. There are a few simple tools and techniques that will
allow anyone to tap into a creative space and blast through any writers
block. This workshop will briefly touch on the basic mechanics of
songwriting and then move right into the messy task of putting one
together. By the end of the workshop each participant will, without a
doubt, have the tools and know-how to walk away and write a good
song. No musical background necessary. "Inspiration is
wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for
the rest of the time ... the wait is simply too long" -- Leonard
Bernstein
34) Revising
Your
Novel
(Meredith
Sue Willis) -- A workshop about big-picture issues of
structure in the novel and about
up-close work on revising at the level of the sentence and
paragraph. The
workshop will include writing exercises and discussion.
35) Logistics in the Novel:
Moving Your Characters (Meredith
Sue Willis) -- Most writers are able to describe when characters
are
holding still, but moving your characters through space and time
presents some
major challenges. The workshop will include writing exercises and
discussion.
36)
Evocotive Objects (Cat Pleska) Whether it’s the everyday
objects in our lives or something exotic that catches our eye, the
objects we encounter can awaken us to experience and prompt deeper
stories than we could have imagined. Cat will bring some “evocative”
objects to help you create layers of stories you might not have thought
possible (you’re welcome to bring one of your own). Come prepared to be
challenged and to write metaphorically, lyrically, with sympathy,
imagination and maybe a little humor.
37
& 38) People's Choice Poetry, two
sessions,
one
Friday
one Saturday.
39 & 40) People's Choice Prose, two sessions, one
Friday one
Saturday.
41 Whose Lie is it, Anyway?
Steve
Goff, Diane Tarantini, Eric Fritzius and anyone else we can draft
will perform an evening of improv and short comedic pieces as Friday
Night Entertainment.
42) Author Reading: Lee Maynard
43) Saturday Night Concert with Doug and Telisha Williams
PANELS
44) Been
There,
Done
That:
Now
Tell
Me
How
To Get Published -- A
frank
and lively discussion about publishing and being published.
Participants
are on both sides of the page. Representatives from West Virginia’s own
micro press, Woodland
Press, are part of the panel to discuss publishing with them, as well
as some
of press’s authors talking about their experience. Authors Geoff
Fuller, Sarah
Dooley, and others TBA join the publisher to reveal their paths to
publication.
45) Secrets
of
the
Trade:
Agent
and
Publisher
Discussion Panel --
Literary agent Katharine Sands, from the
Freymann Agency in New York City,
and publisher Ben LeRoy, from Tyrus Books, will field attendees’
questions
about what it takes to attract an agent/publisher for your writing.
Join them
for an informal Q & A.
PRESENTER BIOS
BELINDA ANDERSON--
Belinda Anderson holds a
bachelor's degree in news-editorial journalism and a master's of
liberal arts studies. She's written for such publications as The
West Virginia Encyclopedia, Goldenseal, Wonderful West Virginia, Book
Page and Writers' Journal, among others.
She was a recipient of a professional development grant from the West
Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for
the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission for the
Arts. In 2004, Belinda was inducted into the ranks of those
authors and literary figures who appear on the first official Literary
Map of West Virginia. Her first collection of award-winning short
stories, The Well Ain't Dry Yet,
was published in 2001. Publisher Mountain State Press brought out
her second collection, The Bingo
Cheaters, in 2006, and her most recent collection, Buckle Up, Buttercup, was published
in the Summer of 2008.
BOYD CARR--
it seems to be a theme in the life of one
boyd carr ~ Crockett Boyd Carr, Jr. born in Roanoke VA on 27 May 1932 ~
we fast forward through World War II ~ Korea ~ until the Cold
one ~ after being
graduated from the University of Virginia Bachelor of Aeronautical
Engineering 1957 ~ was painting pictures & speculating in Orlando
Florida on the nature of
gravity & had a
vision of a figure eight ~ it was indelible in his memory but
explaining it was a chore ~ picking up this articulation problem we
focus on the hillside home he & his
second wife Gloria had in
South Charleston WV ~ she introduced him to Bill Moyers & Joseph P.
Campbell on the Power of Myth TV show ~ convinced that his art was
connected to these
stories he launched into a quest to independently develop an universal
myth in the literate culture ~ this lead him to see the image of the
figure eight as an integral
part of the story of time
for all time with a tone ~ he had pulled the big bow by drawing it ~
his session on My.th will address the solving of this problem & if
time permits the implications.
Boyd was heard discussing
My.Th and his long history with WV Writers on Episode
#7
of
the
WVW
Podcast.
F. KEITH DAVIS
Over thirty years experience in the
newspaper industry—working in a variety of roles, including sales
manager, graphic designer, reporter, columnist, general manager and
publisher. He is the founder and CEO of Woodland Press, LLC, an
independent book publishing company focusing on Appalachian-based book
titles, located in Chapmanville, WV. Woodland Press currently has over
thirty book titles in the marketplace. Davis is also the author of The
Secret Life and Brutal Death of Mamie Thurman; West Virginia Tough
Boys; After All These Years: The Authorized Biography of The Hoppers;
The Feuding Hatfields & McCoys (co-author); and the upcoming Images
of America: Logan County, West Virginia, to be released by Arcadia
Publishing in July 2011. Davis lives in Chapmanville with his wife and
family. His website is: www.woodlandpress.com.
SARAH DOOLEY--
Haling from "all the way up in Nicholas
County, WV," Sarah Dooley currently
exhibits
residual childlike behavior in Huntington,
where she studies – and teaches -- children by day and writes novels
for them
by night. Sarah’s debut upper middle grade novel, LIVVIE
OWEN
LIVED
HERE, was
published by Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan in 2010, and Sarah was chosen
as one
of Publishers Weekly’s Flying Start debut authors. Her second novel, BODY OF
WATER, will be released this fall and is currently available for
preorder. As a teen and young adult, she
attended the West
Virginia Writers Conference several times, and believes it gave her the
start she needed to become a successful novelist. Sarah is eager
to share what she's learned
with other writers in the region.
STEVE
GOFF--
Comedian,
actor and writer who has taught creativity and improv
workshops for
over twenty years, Steve Goff's "Comedy Improv Boot Camps" are
currently being offered around the state of WV.
Steve is
enrolled at the Second City Comedy Training
Center and will finish
his course and stage work at Second
City, Chicago, later this summer. A
native of Clarksburg, WV,
he began his comedy career in Morgantown,
WV in 1976, when, in his senior year at West Virginia University,
he won a talent contest.
That win paved the way for him to do comedy throughout the
1970's, '80's
and '90's on college campuses, and in comedy clubs, and
coffeehouses up and down the east coast, where he worked with the likes
of
David Brenner and Jeff Foxworthy. It was also during this time he
founded
his first comedy improvisation group, The Annoying
Facial Hair. An
accomplished character actor, Steve has been featured in a number of
theater productions in WV, PA, NC, MD, and VA. His
many credits include "The Mouse Trap"; "The Odd
Couple"; "Foxfire"; "Love, Sex and The IRS;
"Crimes of the Heart"; and "I Take This
Man". In April of 2001, he wrote, directed and
starred in "Love Stinks (and Other Reality Based Observations)"
which ran for three sold out nights at the MAC in
Morgantown. From the Morgantown
Dominion-Post review: "Written and performed by Goff, mostly
as
a one man performance, the two hour show is witty, observant,
and
highly entertaining; a creative and rollicking good time."
He holds a Bachelor's Degree in
Journalism, and a Masters of Public Administration, both from West
Virginia University.
He was the first director of Morgantown's
very successful Main Street Morgantown and
also served as the first Executive Director
of the
Metropolitan Theater renovation project, also in
Morgantown. His Main Street work
later took him to North Carolina, and then to
Washington, DC
where he worked for both the National Trust for Historic Preservation
and the National Main Street Center. While with the Main
Street Center,
Steve conducted creativity workshops for
non-profit organizations,
training staff and board members in 15 different
states. Steve is also a Creativity Coach,
and last
October attended and performed at the 2010 International
Creativity
Coaching Conference at Lake George, NY. He
has kept a foot in the comedy door by performing his stand up at
conferences,
banquets, and fund raisers. He was a featured
performer
at the West Virginia Writers (WVW) Conference in June
of 2009. This year, Steve is heading up the Friday
night WVW
Conference entertainment which will consist of his direction of the
WVW's own
improv show, "Whose Lie Is It Anyway?" Besides
the
workshops,
the
acting
and
being
a
comic,
Steve
is also
a
free
lance
writer
and
consultant
for various
regional non-profit organizations. He resides with his wife
Beth at
Lake Floyd
in Harrison County, WV. From here he continues to accrue
and spew his skewed view of the world. His
"Goff-Tips" newsletter is available by request at sgoff53@hotmail.com.
Pam Hanson--
Along with her writing partner/mother
Barbara Andrews, is the author of 29 novels, including romances for
Harlequin / Silhouette and women's inspirational fiction for Guideposts
Publishing. Pam and Barbara are among the launch authors for a
new series for Guideposts, Stories from Hope Haven. In addition, they
write inspirational romance for Steeple Hill Love Inspired as
"Pam Andrews." Previously Pam and Barbara wrote romantic comedies for
Harlequin/Silhouette under a pen name (Jennifer Drew). Under their own
names, the mother/daughter duo wrote six novels in the Guideposts Grace
Chapel Inn series. A former reporter, Pam previously taught
journalism at West Virginia University. In 2008, she moved with her
husband and family (including Barbara who lives with them) to Nebraska.
SAM
HOLDREN--
Born in Charleston, WV, Sam
Holdren is an award-winning
independent film and media professional who earned an M.F.A. in Film
&
Media Arts from Temple University, along with a
B.S. in Communications and a B.A. in English: Professional Writing from
West
Virginia State College (now University). As a director, writer,
and/or producer
of multiple award-winning short films, Holdren has screened in dozens
of film
festivals across North America. Holdren
has also worked as a Line Producer,
Talent Coordinator, Production Assistant, and other roles on other
narrative
films, commercials, and corporate promotional videos. As an
educator, he
has previously taught media arts and screenwriting as an adjunct
instructor at Temple University,
and public speaking at WV State University. He has twice served
on the
Board of Directors for the West Virginia Filmmakers Guild; and in
addition to
freelance work and side projects, Holdren is currently developing a
feature
screenplay, and absolutely looks forward to experiencing his very first
WV
Writers Conference. For more information, please check out www.samholdren.com
SUSANNA HOLSTEIN--
Professional storyteller and writer
whose performances frequently
include Appalachian and British ballads, Susanna Holstein is a graduate
of WV State College
and the
University of South Carolina. Holstein makes her
home in Jackson County, WV, where she maintains three active blogs and
writes
a
monthly column for Two Lane Livin'
Magazine. Her work has been published by Mountain Girl Press,
NSN
Press, and various literary journals.
Susanna was interviewed for Episode
#15
of
the
WVW
Podcast.
HEATHER
ISAACS--
A full time
freelance
writer and book reviewer who works from her home in Southern West
Virginia, Heather Isaacs has a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree from
Marshall
University with her concentrations in
Criminal Justice, Journalism and English. Heather freelances for the
weekly
paper, The Coal Valley News and the
magazine, Around the Panhandle. She
also is a contributor for Yahoo!
Contributor Network and she ghost writes for several web companies.
While
writing and trying to keep her office in order she is reminded by her
adorable
dog that life is not all about work.
MICHAEL KNOST--
Michael Knost is an award-winning author,
editor, and columnist in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and
Supernatural Thriller genres. He has written several books and dozens
of short stories, edited a number of popular anthologies, including the
Legends of the Mountain State series, Specters in Coal Dust,
Appalachian Winter Hauntings, and Dark Tales of Terror. He writes a
column for Shroud Magazine. In 2010, he won the prestigious Bram Stoker
Award for his book Writers Workshop of Horror, a collection of articles
and interviews on the craft of writing, published by Woodland Press,
LLC. Writers Workshop of Horror also won Editor's Choice Black Quill
Award in the nonfiction category. Michael is currently working on a
Mothman novel due to hit bookshelves later this year. He is also set to
co-edit an anthology with New York Times bestselling author Jonathan
Maberry, entitled, Redneck Zombies from Outer Space, to be released by
Woodland Press in 2012. Michael has worked in the radio, television and
newspaper industries, and currently lives in Chapmanville, WV, with his
lovely wife and daughter. His website is: www.michaelknost.com.
BENJAMIN LeROY
Before starting Tyrus Books, an
independent press known for its
crime and dark literary fiction, Ben LeRoy was a founder and Publisher of Bleak
House Books. In 2008,
Publishers
Weekly selected LeRoy as part of their "Fifty Under Forty" series.
Novels published by Bleak House and Tyrus have been nominated for
and/or won
most of the major awards in crime fiction including the Edgar, the
Shamus, the
Anthony, and the Barry. Other accolades include Lambda Award
nominations, a
Florida Book Award, and a Southern California Independent Booksellers
Association nomination. He is at work on a novel and a variety of media
projects using words, audio, and video as part of The Bagmen
Collective. He is
particularly interested in novels set in non-metropolitan pockets of
America
that deal with regular people having to make sense of the world,
usually after
a crime.
LEE MAYNARD
Lee was born and raised in the
hardscrabble ridges and hard-packed mountains of West Virginia, an
upbringing that hardened his life, shaped his writing, and created a
restlessness that he has never lost. He's been compared to Jean
Shepherd (on drugs), a Gonzo Mountaineeer, and one of the greatest
Appalachian Pseudo-Memoirists in the country.
Specializing in gut-level
writing of the novel, and the transformation of small incidents into
larger ideas, Lee has taught at many national and regional workshops,
including the Appalachian Writers Workshop, Southwest Writers Workshop
and West Virginia Writers Conference. His editing services are much in
demand.
Lee will lead two classes
and will take part in an Appalachian panel discussion with a few other
noted authors.
The WV Writers podcast
featured a two-part
interview between
Lee Maynard and our 1st Vice President Cat
Pleska, recorded in October 2009.
ROB MERRITT--
has a B.A. and M.A. in English from the
University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in English from the University
of Kentucky. He teaches at Bluefield College.
JIM MINICK--
The author of The Blueberry Years, a memoir
published by Thomas Dunne of St. Martin's, Jim Minick has also written
a collection of essays, Finding a
Clear Path, two books of poetry, Her Secret Song and Burning Heaven, and he edited All There Is to Keep by Rita Riddle.
In 2008, the Virginia College Bookstore Association awarded Burning Heaven the Jefferson Cup
for best book of the year. Minick has won awards from the Appalachian
Writers Association, Appalachian Heritage, Now and Then Magazine, and
Radford University, where he teaches writing and literature. He’s
garnered grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia
Foundation for the Humanities, and a residency at the Virginia Center
for the Creative Arts. Minick’s work has appeared in many publications
including Shenandoah, Orion, San Francisco Chronicle, Encyclopedia of
Appalachia, Conversations with Wendell Berry, The Sun, Appalachian
Journal, Bay Journal News, and Wind, and for thirteen years, he wrote a
monthly column for The Roanoke Times New River Current. Currently he's
working on a novel about fire, healing, and Pennsylvania Dutch
folklore. He lives, hikes, and gardens in the mountains of Virginia
with his wife and four dogs. Visit his website at
JimMinick.com.
EDWINA DAWN PENDARVIS--
A professor emeritus at Marshall
University, Edwina lives in Huntington. Her poems, essays, and
stories appear in anthologies, such as Wild Sweet Notes, and in
periodicals, such as Appalachian Heritage, Appalachian Journal, Hawaii
Review, and Indiana Review. She has authored and co-authored articles,
chapters, and books on education, including Out of Our Minds:
Anti-Intellectualism and Talent development in US Schools (Teachers
College Press). Her publications include two books of
poetry. Her second poetry collection, Like the Mountains of
China, reflects a visit to that country. Her Raft Tide and
Railroad is the story of one family’s history in eastern
Kentucky. Her most recent nonfiction books, a series of
young-adult biographies, were published in dual language editions by
the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. She is book review
editor for Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine.
Edwina was heard reading
from her work on Episode
39
of
the
WV
Writers
Podcast.
KATHARINE SANDS
A literary agent with the
Sarah Jane
Freymann Literary Agency, Katharine has
worked with a varied list of authors who publish a diverse array of
books. Highlights include XTC: SongStories; Chasing Zebras: THE
Unofficial Guide to House, MD; Make Up, Don't Break Up with Oprah
guest
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil; Playwright Robert Patrick's novel, Temple Slave;
The
Complete Book on International Adoption: A Step-by-Step Guide to
Finding Your
Child; Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman's Survival Guide to
Myths,
Mothers, and Moods; Under the Hula Moon; Whipped: A Professional
Dominatrix's
Secrets for Wrapping Men Around Your Little Finger; The Gay Vacation
Guide;
CityTripping: a Guide for Foodies, Fashionistas and the Generally
Syle-Obsessed; Writers on Directors; Ford model Helen Lee's The Tao of
Beauty;
Elvis and You: Your Guide to the Pleasures of Being an Elvis Fan; New
York:
Songs of the City; Taxpertise: Dirty Little Secrets the IRS Doesn't
Want You to
Know; The SAT Word Slam, Divorce After 50; The Complete Book of
Bone Health;
The Safe and Sane Guide to Teenage Plastic Surgery, to name a few. She
is the
agent provocateur of Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a
Literary
Agent's Eye, a collection of pitching wisdom from leading literary
agents.
Actively building her client list, she likes books that have a clear
benefit
for readers' lives in categories of food, travel, lifestyle, home arts,
beauty,
wisdom, relationships, parenting, and fresh looks, which might be at
issues,
life challenges or popular culture. When reading fiction she wants to
be
compelled and propelled by urgent storytelling, and hooked by
characters. For
memoir and femoir, she likes to be transported to a world rarely
or newly
observed.
BARBARA SMITH, Litt.D.
Emerita Professor of Literature
and Writing and
former Chair of the Division of the Humanities, Alderson-Broaddus
College.
Author/editor of some fifteen books--fiction, poetry, nonfiction--plus
hundreds
of pieces published in literary journals. Medical ethicist and sports
nut. Barbara is one of the charter members of West Virginia
Writers, Inc.
Barbara Smith was
interviewed regarding Shirley Young Campbell in Episode
16
of
the
WV
Writers
Podcast.
SANDY TRITT--
The founder and CEO of Inspiration for
Writers, Inc., an international
editing and
critiquing service, Sandy Tritt is a writer, ghostwriter, editor and
speaker. She
is a past
president of West Virginia Writers, Inc., and the Ohio Valley
Literary Group. She was the recipient of the 2002 Artsbridge Arts Award
for
Writing and the 2008 West Virginia Writers’ J.U.G. (Just Uncommonly
Good) Award
for mentoring writers. The author of
Everything I Know (Headline Books), Inspiration for Writers Tips and
Techniques
Workbook, and seven technical manuals (Phoenix Software, Atlanta, GA),
she has
also ghostwritten several nonfiction books, a few novels and one
screenplay.
Her short stories have received many awards and have appeared in
various
literary magazines. Sandy
teaches creative writing and is on the board of directors of the Mid
Ohio
Valley Academy of Fine Arts. More than anything, she loves to present
fiction
and nonfiction workshops, which she has done throughout the United
States.
CHERYL WARE--
Cheryl Ware is a nationally published
children's writer and writing consultant in W.Va. schools. Her
books include four middle-grade novels starring spunky Venola Mae
Cutright: Flea Circus Summer, Catty-Cornered, Venola in Love, and
Venola the Vegetarian; and a picturebook, Roberta Price Has Head Lice!
CRYSTAL WILKINSON--
Crystal
Wilkinson is the author of two collections of stories, Blackberries,
Blackberries , winner of the 2002 Chaffin Award for Appalachian
Literature and
Water Street , a finalist for both the UK’s Orange Prize for Fiction
and the
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. She is from the Knobs region of Kentucky
and
teaches writing in the BFA in Creative Writing Program at Morehead
State
University and the MFA in Writing program at Spalding University. Her
newly
completed manuscript The Birds of Opulence is awaiting a publisher.
MEREDITH SUE WILLIS--
Raised in Shinnston, West Virginia,
where her father’s
family came following jobs with Consolidation Coal Company, Meredith
Sue WIllis now
lives in New Jersey near New York City
where she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at New
York University’s
School of Continuing
and Professional Studies as well as a frequent visiting
writer-in-the-schools
in New York and New Jersey. She has degrees from Barnard College
and Columbia University
as well as an honorary doctorate from West Virginia University.
Her novels and short fiction have been published by Scribners,
HarperCollins, West Virginia University Press, Mercury House, Ohio
University Press, and others. Her latest books are Ten
Strategies to
Write Your Novel from Montemayor Press and a book of literary
Appalachian
stories called Out of the Mountains, from Ohio University
Press.
The short story collection was praised in Booklist as a “finely crafted
collection...worth reading twice to discover all its intricacies and
connections.” Her website is at http://www.meredithsuewillis.com.
