Crossing the Blues Writing Events

Sponsored by the Blue Mountain Writers, La Grande, OR

August 23, 2008

Colleen Johnson Community Room, La Grande Public Library 10 AM – 4 PM

Location! Location! Location! We all have stories of place worth telling—of stirring events, of unique and beautiful landscapes, of conversations in passing outside a favorite downtown shop or eatery. Crossing the Blues writing events celebrate local stories.

Authors’ Fair 10 AM – 4 PM: Local authors will sell and sign their books, and writers’ groups, magazines, book publishers, and others providing resources to those interested in publishing will display their resources. Authors and others wishing to participate should contact David Memmott at dsmemmott@verizon.net.

Union County Oral History Project 10 AM – noon: Kids and adults can participate in the local oral history project by telling or writing stories about living in the region and/or providing photographs to be scanned into the collection.

Writing Marathon noon – 2 PM: Writers of all ages are invited to wander downtown La Grande, stopping at festival seating or at local eateries to write and share writing. Interested participants will meet at the Community Room at noon, divide into small groups, and venture into the city. The first 25 participants will receive free T-shirts.

Open Mic 2 PM – 4 PM: Local writers are invited to join Union County Poetry Contest winners to read from their work. Come to read finished work, to share writing in progress, and/or to enjoy the readings.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact:

Nancy Knowles

Department of English/Writing

Eastern Oregon University

1 University Blvd.

La Grande, OR 97850

nknowles@eou.edu

(541) 962-3795

Assistance Needed

The BMW discussed the following additions to the day. To make these happen, we need volunteers to work on them:

       Table at the Farmers’ Market advertising the Community Room events and perhaps presenting an activity like poetry on demand

       Poetry trees

       Free poetry

       A place to post poetry and other writing

Ellen Waterston’s essay, “The Old Hackleman Place,” won first place in Oregon Quarterly Magazine’s Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest. Waterston read her essay recently at the University of Oregon. La Grande writer, Richard Mack, also read his essay, “Prayer Flag.” Mack essay tied with “Pomegranate Prayers” by Gregg Kleiner. Oregon Quarterly is The Magazine of the University of Oregon.

Launched in November, 2006, before the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission at Portland State University, author George Venn recently completed an eighteen-month book tour before a gathering of the Linn County Historical Society, Albany.

On the road around the northwest, Venn has presented his book, Soldier to Advocate: C.E.S. Wood’s 1877 Legacy, to regional audiences at museums, universities, bookstores, libraries, and historical societies. After Jeff Baker’s December 2006 book review in The Oregonian, the first printing of Soldier to Advocate sold out. In early 2007, award-winning La Grande publisher David Memmott (Wordcraft of Oregon) produced a second printing, and copies are still available but going fast.

Critical reception following Jeff Baker’s review has been overwhelmingly positive. Venn completed radio interviews with KLCC (Eugene)and KBOO (Portland). In fall, 2007, the Oregon Historical Quarterly published Steven R. Evans’ adulatory review. After Venn’s November presentation in Astoria, Steve Forrester, editor of The Daily Astorian, was inspired to write an editorial: “Can We Handle the Truth.”( Editor’s Notebook). In March, 2008, The Missoulian published “Joseph’s Advocate: Book Illuminates Army Lieutenant’s Sympathy to Nez Perce Cause,” a full-page review by Kelly Andersson.

Recently, northwest public broadcasting stations have featured interviews with Venn—based on his book—as part of the Oregon Public Broadcasting program “C.E.S. Wood.”  The book has sold from coast to coast, and has been widely praised by historians and scholars.

For further information, please go to www.wordcraftoforegon.com or www.georgevenn.com

Wordcraft of Oregon has received news that Thomas E. Kennedy’s novel, A Passion in the Desert, was a finalist for the 2007 Book of the Year Award in Literary Fiction from ForewWord Magazine. A list of the finalists can be found at:

http://www.forewordmagazine.com/botya/search2k7.aspx?srchtype=category&srchval=30

Congratulations, Tom.

The San Diego Book Awards Association announced that Harry Griswold’s poetry collection, Camera Obscura, was selected as a finalist for their 2008 poetry award (best by a San Diego poet published in 2007). The winner will be announced at an event on May 17th.  

Wordcraft of Oregon author, Thomas E. Kennedy, has learned his essay, “I Am Joe’s Prostate,” from New Letters, was selected as the best essay published in an American magazine at the 43rd Annual National Magazine Awards on May 1, 2008.  The awards are sponsored by The American Society of Magazine Editors.Tom’s essay was one of six finalists that included work from The Atlantic, ELLE, Entertainment Weekly, Harper’s Magazine, and The New Yorker.  Among the authors were Stephen King and Walter Kern. Way to go, Tom!

For anyone interested in learning more about David Memmott’s postcyberpunk novel, Primetime, the most recent issue of the on-line arts magazine, Perigee, issue #20 (April 15 - July 15), www.perigee-art.com , has an excerpt from the novel as well as an interview and review. Duff Brenna, fiction editor of Perigee, says in his thoughtful and detailed review, “Memmott puts the stimulus of Dick and Gibson to good use, creating a story that takes the best of both and adds his own vision of the future to them, giving us characters that we care about. This ability isn’t common in science fiction…it’s not easy to lift sci-fi to the level of literature, but Memmott has done it in brilliant fashion in Primetime.” The interview, entitled “Oiling the Tinman’s Jaws,” was conducted by entrepreneur, bookseller and jazz saxophonist, Greg Johnson. Memmott has also learned that a review of the novel is forthcoming in the July issue of Isaac Asimov’s Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  

Wordcraft of Oregon author, Greg Herriges, tells us he is now in the editing stages of a 50 minute documentary on T.C. Boyle, TC Boyle: Anatomy of a Story. The documentary will feature a reading and analysis of the story, “Chickxulub,” and guests include Tom Kitts of St. Johns College, Ricki Muller, Lance Olsen, Tony Romano and Herriges himself. The documentary is being produced by William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, for educational purposes and schools as well as non-profit educational programs and literary organizations interested in using the documentary for educational purposes should contact Herriges at gherrige@harpercollege.edu

It has been announced that a short version of Matt Schumacher’s Fire Diary has won the Well-Lit Press chapbook contest judged by Matthea Harvey and will be published this summer. More info is available at
http://welllitpress.com/

Terry Nathan, Director of PMA: The Independent Book Publishers Association responded to the Amazon.com new policy regarding POD titles: 

Many of you may have been following the recent news regarding Amazon.com’s new policy aimed at publishers who use print-on-demand technology to sell directly on Amazon.com. A statement of their policy may be found on the Amazon website http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-printondemand. To express our concern at what we feel could be a significant financial hardship for small and independent publishers, your association is releasing the following statement to the media:

PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Association Speaking Out Against Amazon’s Recent Policy

PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Association, representing more than 4,000 independent publishers, is speaking out against Amazon’s recent policy aimed at publishers who use print-on-demand technology to sell directly on amazon.com. The company has directed that publishers either must print their books on demand exclusively at Amazon’s subsidiary printer for fulfillment of orders placed with Amazon or incur additional cost to print elsewhere and maintain inventory with the online retailer.

“This policy imposes a significant financial burden on tens of thousands of small and independent publishers who can least afford it,” points out Executive Director Terry Nathan. “Without the opportunity to benefit from competitive pricing, small publishers risk at best an expensive and needless overhaul of their manufacturing process, and at worst, the loss of their livelihood.

“On behalf of all the small and independent publishers whose businesses are in jeopardy, we urge Amazon to reconsider its position,” continues Nathan. “Over the years, Jeff Bezos and his company have given small and independent publishers a level playing field to compete with the largest of companies. Suddenly, this magnificent playing field has been converted into a ‘members only’ club, to the detriment of those very publishers who have contributed to Amazon’s success. We will continue to monitor developments in the weeks ahead.”