Spring 2009
BookMarks
The Missouri Center for the Book Board of Directors’ Online Newsletter
Volume 4, Number 1
Spring 2009
This issue of Bookmarks is dedicated to outgoing MCB Board President, Mark Tiedemann. During Mark’s tenure, he was instrumental in reviving the Celebration of the Book, choosing Missouri’s first Poet Laureate, and finding additional funding for both of these high profile projects. In addition to doggedly pursuing grants from the Missouri Arts Council and funding from the Schlafly Foundation, Mark made time to participate in literary events and festivals on behalf of the Center, as well as contribute to the MCB newsletter and locate several highly accomplished and dedicated new board members… and these are just the big things. Mark was always available to give advice, figure out a workaround, and in general help out when needed. We hope you will stick around for awhile, Mark. Thanks for your guidance and help. ~Ann Roberts, Coordinator, Missouri Center for the Book
Message from Our President
I Never Read...
By Mark W. Tiedemann
Of anyone who has read a lot, and considers reading on par with eating, sleeping, breathing, and other indispensable human activities, certain assumptions are made. Among the usual personality trait assumptions, there are the books themselves. Surely, the well-read have read These Books.
Often it’s a safe assumption. Major newspapers from time to time run lists of the All Time Greatest Novels, the Top Must Reads, the Books Everyone Knows, and we see the same titles repeated over and over. Who among the literate has not read To Kill A Mockingbird or 1984 or A Tale of Two Cities or Huckleberry Finn or Catcher in the Rye...? I haven’t. Catcher in the Rye that is. Never read it. I do not believe I even own a copy.
I am an ardent science fiction fan and I have never read either A Canticle For Liebowitz or The Left Hand of Darkness, both of which are presumptive Must Reads for any self-respecting SF devotee.
There are many novels I have not read that might, in certain circles, draw curious looks. As a teenager I lived during a time when every one of my literate peers was reading Herman Hesse’s Steppenwolf and Siddharta. Instead, though, I read Magister Ludi, Narcissus and Goldman, A Journey To the East. I’ve never read Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain (another counterculture must-read back then), but I did read Doctor Faustus. I never read Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, but I did read both The Strawberry Statement and Go Ask Alice.
Does it much matter? Probably not. Certainly not in the long run. I can always find these books and read them now.
Somehow, though, the omission of Catcher in the Rye seems occasionally to be a fatal omission, especially having missed it at That Age. I missed something elemental. It’s a rite of passage, in a way, the quintessential adolescent quest novel, an honest look at youth in transition. And since it has been a lightning rod for the disapproval of those who always seem to find reading a dubious enterprise at best, I cannot claim to understand the enormous club of those who did read it. The book is more social movement than novel.
But what I find most interesting is the rather broad assumption, even on the part of people who know about literature but don’t actually read it, that everyone who is a Reader has read it. In a way, it’s on par with other assumptions made by and about certain in groups, many of which are offensive. Assumptions about life style, diet, political leanings, based on association through community or income or ethnicity. This one, however, seems harmless. So I never read a novel (or a dozen) that Everyone Expects Me To Have Read based solely on the fact that I read a lot. And I’m a writer.
For a time I took it as given that if everyone was reading this or that novel, I would go out of my way to find another novel by the same author and read that instead. It proved fascinating. For instance, when so many of my peers were engrossed with Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead (or, to a lesser degree, Atlas Shrugged) I read We the Living. Having subsequently read the other two, I have to say that We the Living is by far the best thing Rand ever wrote. For one thing, it is an honest novel rather than an excuse for polemic. I find it fascinating that so many people who have read—and enjoyed—Rand’s two most famous books have never even heard of her first novel.
This leads me to the observation, though, that some novels need to be read at certain times of one’s life. The impact is better absorbed at one age rather than another. I doubt now A Catcher in the Rye will mean to me what it would have at 16. S.E. Hinton’s novels of disaffected youth offer palliative effects at a younger age. The Heinlein Juveniles, while enjoyable at any time, offer their best when read at between 12 and 16.
Humans like to categorize. Taxonomy can be useful. It can provide a quick access to a whole range of associations which can speed communications and assist understanding. But it can also be exclusionary. The flip side of assuming that one has read this or that novel based on the fact that one is a reader is the assumption that people who read such books are to be regarded in certain ways politically. The reason Catcher in the Rye is such a touchstone is because of its history of being banned by libraries and school boards since its publication, and its use as an icon in the hands of those who would see books of a certain type (leading eventually to all books) kept from general circulation. The same kind of assuming is going on, only about the deleterious effect a book like Catcher in the Rye has on society.
The one thing that great novels (and many of lesser fame) share is the lesson that Assumptions are Errors. Whether correct or not, an assumption, unchallenged, embraced, and acted upon is like a cage. In the case of what books one has read, perhaps a cage with a wide open door, easily escaped. An opportunity rather than a deficit. Among readers, it leads to “Oh, my, you should read it! You don’t know what you’re missing!”
It would be a fine thing if in every instance of assumptions that could be the next step. An opportunity to learn. Wouldn’t it be?
Missouri Author News
Author Laurell K. Hamilton's bestselling series about Anita Blake, vampire hunter, is about to become a television movie. Ms. Hamilton has been approached numerous times about the possibility of bringing her popular character to the big or small screen, and to date has failed to be impressed by the approaches offered. Now, apparently, the deal is done.
http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/laurell-hamiltons-vampire.php
Anita Blake already has a comic book version. The first book in the series, /Guilty Pleasures/ <http://www.amazon.com/dp/0515144185/ref=nosim/?tag=artemismagazine>,
was published in 1993. There are currently 16 Anita Blake novels, and book 17, /Skin Trade/ <http://www.amazon.com/dp/0425227723/ref=nosim/?tag=artemismagazine>,
scheduled to be published by Berkley.
<http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/adult/berkley.html>
on 2 June 2009.
More American Adults Read Literature According to New NEA Study
( Reprinted here with permission from Sally Gifford, giffords@arts.gov)
Literary reading on the rise for first time in history of Arts Endowment survey
January 12, 2009
Washington, D.C. -- For the first time in more than 25 years, American adults are reading more literature, according to a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts. Reading on the Rise documents a definitive increase in rates and numbers of American adults who read literature, with the biggest increases among young adults, ages 18-24. This new growth reverses two decades of downward trends cited previously in NEA reports such as Reading at Risk and To Read or Not To Read.
"At a time of immense cultural pessimism, the NEA is pleased to announce some important good news. Literary reading has risen in the U.S. for the first time in a quarter century," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "This dramatic turnaround shows that the many programs now focused on reading, including our own Big Read, are working. Cultural decline is not inevitable."
Among the key findings:
Literary Reading Increases
For the first time in the history of the survey - conducted five times since 1982 - the overall rate at which adults read literature (novels and short stories, plays, or poems) rose by seven percent.
The absolute number of literary readers has grown significantly. There were 16.6 million more adult readers of literature in 2008. The growth in new readers reflects higher adult reading rates combined with overall population growth.
The 2008 increases followed significant declines in reading rates for the two most recent ten-year survey periods (1982-1992 and 1992-2002).
Demographics of Literature Readers
Young adults show the most rapid increases in literary reading. Since 2002, 18-24 year olds have seen the biggest increase (nine percent) in literary reading, and the most rapid rate of increase (21 percent). This jump reversed a 20 percent rate of decline in the 2002 survey, the steepest rate of decline since the NEA survey began.
Since 2002, reading has increased at the sharpest rate (+20 percent) among Hispanic Americans, Reading rates have increased among African Americans by 15 percent, and among Whites at an eight percent rate of increase.
For the first time in the survey's history, literary reading has increased among both men and women. Literary reading rates have grown or held steady for adults of all education levels.
Trends in Media and Literary Preferences
Fiction (novels and short stories) accounts for the new growth in adult literary readers.
Reading poetry and drama continues to decline, especially poetry-reading among women.
Online readers also report reading books. Eighty-four percent of adults who read literature (fiction, poetry, or drama) on or downloaded from the Internet also read books, whether print or online.
Nearly 15 percent of all U.S. adults read literature online in 2008.
A Tale of Two Americas
The U.S. population now breaks into two almost equally sized groups – readers and non-readers.
A slight majority of American adults now read literature (113 million) or books (119 million) in any format.
Reading is an important indicator of positive individual and social behavior patterns. Previous NEA research has shown that literary readers volunteer, attend arts and sports events, do outdoor activities, and exercise at higher rates than non-readers.
The NEA research brochure Reading on the Rise is based on early results from the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). SPPA is a periodic survey that has been conducted five times since 1982 using data obtained in partnership with the United States Census Bureau. Detailed results from the 2008 survey will be available in 2009. The 2008 SPPA survey has a sample size of more than 18,000 adults. The 2008 survey's literary reading questions - which form the focus of Reading on the Rise - were the same as in previous years: "During the last 12 months, did you read any a) novels or short stories; b) poetry; or c) plays?" Since 1992, the survey also has asked about book-reading. In 2008, the survey introduced new questions about reading preferences and reading on the Internet.
NEA Literature Initiatives
The issue of declining reading rates has been addressed by a number of public and private initiatives. The Arts Endowment has embraced the challenge with a range of programs to promote reading among young audiences. In 2003, the NEA launched Shakespeare in American Communities, the largest tour of Shakespeare in American history, reaching more than 21 million students through performances and educational resources. The Big Read, a partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, encourages communities to read, discuss, and celebrate selections from American and world literature. Poetry Out Loud: National Poetry Recitation Contest has introduced thousands of high school students nationwide to classic and contemporary poetry through this dynamic recitation competition.
NEA Research Resources
Since 1976, the NEA Office of Research & Analysis has issued periodic research reports, brochures, and notes on topics affecting arts and cultural policy and matters of vital interest to artists and arts organizations. Most recently, the NEA has produced reports on nonprofit theater, artist employment trends, and the arts and civic engagement. Reading on the Rise, along with other NEA research, is available for download at www.nea.gov/research.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.
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2009 Letters about Literature Winners Announced
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and the Missouri Center for the Book have announced the winners for this year’s Letters about Literature contest which attracted over 1,500 entries from students across the state. A ceremony honoring the winners will be held on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m. at the Kirkpatrick State Information Center in Jefferson City. This year’s winners are:
LEVEL I (GRADES 4 – 6)
FIRST PLACE
Meredith Manda, Jefferson City
SECOND PLACE
Gretchen Hanlin, East Prairie
HONORABLE MENTION
Maddie Petersen, Monett
Cassidy Wheeler, Holts Summit
LEVEL II (GRADES 7 & 8)
FIRST PLACE
Joyce Lin, Ballwin
SECOND PLACE
Kate Kelley, Neosho
HONORABLE MENTION
Jennie Carter, Branson
Anneqa Khan, Manchester
LEVEL III (GRADES 9 – 12)
FIRST PLACE
David Lopez, Columbia
SECOND PLACE
Melissa Guller, St. Louis
HONORABLE MENTION
Ariel Merriman, Columbia
The contest was sponsored by the Missouri Center for the Book, the Missouri State Library, the Library of Congress, and Target Stores. The judges for Letters About Literature this year are Barri Bumgarner, Shelly Croteau, Thomas F. Dillingham, John Lowrance, Virginia Brackett, Mary Northrup, Madeline Matson, Michael Holland and Kathleen Puhr.
Update on CPSIA
Thursday, March 26, 2009
9:01 AM
ALA: U.S. Rep. Fortenberry’s legislation will protect books from regulation
March 25th, 2009 | Category: OGR
Nebraska congressman introduces bill to amend consumer safety act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jenni Terry
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) supports legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) yesterday to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) to exempt ordinary books from the lead limit within the act. This is a welcome step toward ensuring libraries will not be adversely affected by the law.
In August 2008, Congress passed CPSIA, an important law to protect children from the real dangers of toys made with lead-based paint; however, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) misinterpreted the law to apply to ordinary books for children 12 years of age or younger.
The law was set to go into effect on February 10, 2009, but in late January 2009, the CPSC issued a one-year stay of implementation for enforcement of the new lead limits in children’s products, stating that the commission will not impose penalties against anyone for making, importing, distributing or selling a children’s product to the extent that it is made of certain natural materials, such as an ordinary children’s book printed after 1985.
Fortenberry’s bill, H.R. 1692, would remove the pre-1985 provision and states that CPSIA was not intended to apply to ordinary books – those books that are published on paper or cardboard, printed by conventional publishing methods, intended to be read, and lacking inherent play value. H.R. 1692 also states that testing has shown that finished books and their component materials contain total lead content at levels considered non-detectable, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that there is little risk to children from lead in ordinary books.
“We are grateful for this bill since it supports what the ALA, libraries, teachers and parents know to be true – books are safe and should not be regulated by this law,” ALA President Jim Rettig said.
“Reading is critical to child development, and libraries should be free to continue providing services to children without the fear of having to comply with unnecessary and expensive testing. Rep. Fortenberry’s bill corrects the CPSC’s misinterpretation that would deny our children access to books and limit their opportunities to learn.”
Read the full text of the bill at http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/forten_019_xml.pdf.
Amazon.com Blocks Access to Some Books Online
Tagging certain books as potentially offensive is fraught with
potential disaster. Attempts to block access to material on the
internet in the past have resulted in absurdities like barring hospital
information sites. The internet is one thing, however, and actual
published books are another. Amazon.com has instituted a "public
service" policy of stripping certain books of their sales rankings,
which will delete them from certain search engines, making them
effectively invisible. You can access an article that explains at:
http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html
It is important to understand that this can and will directly impact
writers. It is difficult enough for the average writer to make a
living. Placing arbitrary barriers in their path compounds the usual
marketplace difficulties. Furthermore, the size of Amazon.com (as well
as the major book chains) is such that these sorts of policies can
unduly influence publishers in their decisions of what to buy and print.
Amazon has since offered the explanation that this was a glitch.
According to Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener, speaking to the L.A. Times:
“This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company
that prides itself on offering complete selection.”
It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian
themed titles - in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad
categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine,
and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States
but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect
of removing the books from Amazon's main product search.
“Many books have now been fixed and we're in the process of fixing the
remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new
measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.”
Whatever the cause, the incident created an immediate and substantial
reaction, propagated mainly over the internet. If Mr. Herdener is to be
believed, a mistake---which could not take place in a walk-in
bookstore---allowed the threat of exclusion to occur. If this was a
"glitch" it signals that we as readers must be vigilant in new ways to
safeguard the rights and privileges we enjoy from an open society that
places a high value on the free availability of the written word, in
whatever form it might take.
We believe the only ethical point of choice over what to buy and read
is with the individual. We do not require, not do we feel it is proper,
to have those choices predetermined by vendors. This is a form of
censorship. ~Submitted by Mark Tiedemann
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Mark Your Calendars!
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events of interest around the state:
Sandra Cisneros
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sandra Cisneros celebrates the 25th-anniversary edition of The House on Mango Street with a reading/talk and reception in the Latino Writers Collective's Tercera Pagina Reading Series. Kansas City Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO.
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Contact: Latino Writer's Collective
816-333-6349
B.H. Fairchild
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Midwest Poets Series. B.H. Fairchild's books include Art of the Lathe and Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest. Reading in Mabee Theater, Rockhurst University, 54th Street and Troost, Kansas City, MO. Admission to Midwest Poets Series is $5, $3 for students and senior adults.
Time: 6:30 p.m. reading; reception starts 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Cynthia Cartwright, Rockhurst University
816-501-4607
Friday, April 24, 2009
Pat Daneman and John Peterson
Daneman, director of creative writing at Hallmark Cards, and Peterson, senior writer at Hallmark Cards at the Writer's Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time:
7:00 p.m.
Contact:
The Writer's Place
Telephone:
816-753-1090
Friday, May 1, 2009
Michael Pritchett and Thomas Fox Averill
Reading at the Writer's Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time:
7:00 p.m.
Contact:
The Writer's Place
Telephone:
816-753-1090
Friday, May 8, 2009
Michael Johnson and Kathleen Johnson
Riverfront reading series featuring poets Johnson and Johnson at the Writer's Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time:
8:00 p.m.
Contact:
The Writer's Place / Riverfront Reading Series
Telephone:
816-753-1090
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Top City Poetry Reading Series
Jim McCrary and Judith Roitman at Lola's Cafe, inside Fleming Place at 10th & Gage, Topeka, Kan.
Time: 7:07 p.m.
Contact: Lola's Cafe, 785-271-8188
Web site.: http://topcitypoetry.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tobias Wolff & Angela Elam
Author of Old School, Kansas City's Big Read Selection for 2009, is interviewed in front of an audience by New Letters on the Air host Angela Elam. Held at the Plaza Library, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, MO.
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Contact: Kansas City Public Library
Telephone: 816-701-3668
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Big Read Teen Author reception
Teen writers read winning entries of The Big Read Teen Writing Contest at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, MO. Local authors will also read short stories and essays. Click here for more information about the contest or the reception.
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Contact: Kansas City Public Library
Telephone: 816-701-3668
Friday, May 15, 2009
Latino Writers Collective Reading Series
The Latino Writers Collective's Tercera Pagina Reading Series presents a reading by LWC members Natalie Olmstead, Juanita Salazar Lamb, Miguel Morales, Chato Villalobos at the launch of the Collective's fiction anthology, Cuentos del Centro: Stories From the Latino Heartland. Reception and book signing to follow. The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: Linda Rodriguez, Latino Writers Collective
Telephone: 816-333-6349
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Jeanie Wilson and Donna Trussell
Poets Wilson and Trussell appear at this Writers Place at the Library series at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park, Kan.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: The Writers Place, sponsor
Telephone: 913-495-2400
Friday, May 22, 2009
Crystal Field Scholarship Reading
Annual reading, this year on the theme of "green." The Writer's Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time:
8:00 p.m.
Contact:
The Writer's Place
Telephone:
816-753-1090
Monday, June 8-26, 2009
Mark Twain Writers Workshop
Three-week intensive writing instruction conference, held Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from June 8 through June 26, on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. For more information, see the "Writing Workshops" page on this Web site.
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Contact: New Letters
Telephone: 816-235-1168
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Michael Perry
Memoir essayist Michael Perry, author of Population: 485 and COOP: The Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting, appears at Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Truman Forum, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, MO.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: Kansas City Public Library
Telephone: 816-701-3407
Friday, June 12, 2009
Hilda Raz
Nonfiction writer, poet, and editor of Prairie Schooner, will participate in the Mark Twain Writers Workshop, lecture and panel discussion, “Getting Published,” on the UMKC campus. See www.newletters.org, writing conference for details. Place TBA.
Time: 11:00 a.m. (symposium); 7:00 p.m. (reading)
Contact: UMKC Creative Writing Department
Telephone: 816-235-1305
Friday, June 26, 2009
Lisa See
Lisa See, best-selling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan discusses her newest book, Shanghai Girls at The Central Exchange, 1020 Central St., Suite 100, Kansas City, MO. Luncheon. Reservations required, $25.00 admission.
Time: 11:45 a.m.
Contact: The Central Exchange and Rainy Day Books
Telephone: 816-471-7560
Friday, June 26, 2009
New Letters Weekend Writing Conference
Writing instruction provided by Kansas City writers, credit offered through UMKC. Held from Friday through Sunday at Diastole House, 2501 Holmes, Kansas City, MO.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Contact: New Letters
Telephone: 816-235-1168
Friday, June 26, 2009
Robert Olen Butler
New Letters Writing Conference Keynote Speaker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, two National Magazine Awards, and author of acclaimed text on the art of writing, From Where You Dream. For Writing Conference attendees and invited guests. Held at UMKC's conference center, Diastole, 2501 Holmes St.
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Arts and Sciences Continuing Education or New Letters www.newletters.org
Telephone: 816-235-2736 registration or 816-235-1168 for information.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Phyllis Becker and Linda Rodriguez
Poets Becker and Rodriguez appear at this Writers Place at the Library series at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park, Kan.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: The Writers Place, sponsor
Telephone: 913-495-2400
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Latino Writers Collective Reading Series
The Latino Writers Collective presents The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry ON TOUR with editor Francisco Aragon, author of Puerta del Sol and director of the Institute of Latino Studies at Notre Dame University, with contributors Brenda Cardenas, author of Boomerang, and John Olivares Espinoza, author of Date Fruit Elegies. The Wind Shifts is the winner of the International Latino Book Award in Poetry. Reception and book signing to follow. Plaza Library, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, MO.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: Linda Rodriguez, Latino Writers Collective
Telephone: 816-333-6349
Friday, September 25, 2009
Jo McDougall, Andrea Budy, and Michelle Boisseau
Three writers read from When She Named Fire, an anthology of contemporary poetry by American women edited by Andrea Budy, at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: The Writers Place
Telephone: 816-753-1090
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Robert Pinsky
Midwest Poets Series. Robert Pinsky was poet laureate of the United States from 1997-2000; he is a recipient of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, William Carlos Williams Award, a Los Angeles Times book award, a Landon Translation Award and many other honors. Rockhurst University, 54th Street and Troost, Kansas City, MO. Admission to Midwest Poets Series is $3. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Time: 7:00 p.m. reading; reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Cynthia Cartwright, Rockhurst University
Telephone: 816-501-4607
Friday, October 30, 2009
Perry Glasser
Perry Glasser will read from his new book Dangerous Places, which won the Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction from BkMk Press, at The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Contact: Riverfront Reading Series / The Writers Place
Telephone: 816-753-1090
Friday, November 6, 2009
Hilary Masters
Hilary Masters will present a reading at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: Sponsored by The Writers Place with assistance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Media Arts
Telephone: 816-753-1090
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hilary Masters
Hilary Masters will present a memoir workshop at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO. There will be a charge for the workshop.
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Contact: Sponsored by The Writers Place with assistance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Media Arts
Telephone: 816-753-1090
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Midwest Poets Series
TBA Rockhurst University, 54th Street and Troost, Kansas City, MO. Admission to Midwest Poets Series is $3. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Time: 7:00 p.m. reading; reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Cynthia Cartwright, Rockhurst University
Telephone: 816-501-4607
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Mary Oliver
Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning poet Mary Oliver will read at the University of Kansas. Details TBA. Contact The Hall Center for the Humanities.
Time: TBA
Contact: Hall Center for the Humanities
Telephone: 785-864-4798
Regular MWG Chapter Meetings
Columbia Chapter Writers' Guild - meets the first Sunday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at Orr Street Studios in Columbia. Monthly meetings vary between speakers sharing their expertise and writers critiquing one anothers' work. All meetings and critiques are free and open to the public. For more information, contact President Larry Allen at dingusjr@hotmail.com.
CCMWG hosts an annual conference every fall. This year, the conference will be held at Stephens College on October 25th. Visit the CCMWG Website for more information.
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Boonslick Creative Writers Group (Boonville area) (MWG) - meets at 7:00 pm the second Thursday each month, at:
Boonslick Regional Library
618 Main Street
Boonslick, MO 65233 . We use the rear entrance, as this is after closing hours. Should you ever need to call the library, the number is 660-882-5864.
Contact information for this chapter is:
Judy Stock
1202 6th Street
Boonville, MO 65233
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Joplin Chapter (MWG) - meets the 2nd Thursday each month at 7 pm at the small meeting room in the Joplin Public Library. Contact Ann Leach, President, Joplin Writers Guild, 2674B Meadow Lane, Joplin, MO. 64801, 417-624-3377. annleach@ipa.net
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Juvenile Writers of Kansas City (JWKC) - Manuscript critiques, discussion of publishing, submissions, marketing, book discussions, networking and periodic workshops on writing. For more information see our website at http://www.jwkc.org or send an email to jwkc@earthlink.net .
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Kansas City Writers Group (Mission, Kan.) - meets on Thursday mornings for spring and fall semesters at 6000 Lamar, Mission, KS, Meeting Room C. Two groups: Discovering the Writer Within Group begins April 6, 2006, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.; Critique Group begins Mar. 23, 2006, 10:15 a.m. to 12 noon. (913) 764-4950 or MLKwriter@yahoo.com
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Lake of the Ozarks Chapter (MWG)
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Marshall Writers (MWG) - meets the 3rd Thursday each month at 1:30 pm in the study of the Marshall Public Library. Call 660-886-6130 or email phillips@murlin.com
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Maryville Chapter (MWG) - Call 660-562-3122 or email sase@asde.net
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Springfield Writers' Guild (MWG) - meets the 4th Saturday each month at 1 pm at the Heritage Cafeteria, 1364 E. Battlefield Rd. Call 417-739-1310 or email reme724@tri-lakes.net. For MOre info, visit their Web site www.swgsite.org.
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Saturday Writers (St. Peters) (MWG) - meets the last Saturday each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m at the St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters Howell Road (just off Mid Rivers Mall Drive); St. Peters, MO
Phone 636-397-6903
$5 charge for non-members, except for workshops or special events
Email amy@saturdaywriters.org. For more info, visit their Web site.
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St. Joseph Writers' Guild (MWG) - meets the 3rd Saturday each month at 1 pm at the Joyce Ray Patterson Senior Center downtown. Call Pat North at 816-324-3633.
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St. Louis Writers Guild is open to writers of all genres and experience levels. The organization was established in 1920 and has over 350 members. SLWG holds three to four regular events every month: a two-hour workshop at Barnes & Noble-Crestwood on the first Saturday (free to members; $5 non-member fee is fully credited toward dues within 30 days), a free two-hour Open Mic Night on the second Tuesday at Wired Coffee in Sunset Hills, a free two-hour Open Mic Night at The Mack (for 18 and older) on the third Tuesday, and a free one-hour lecture series every other month that takes place at Barnes Noble-Ladue on the third Thursday. Workshops and lectures feature prominent authors or publishing experts. Contests and special events are announced frequently. Online forums provide networking opportunities between meetings and other helpful resources for writers. Subscribe to our free, community newsletter, "HERE'S NEWS!" for up-to-the-minute news and events on SLWG and the entire literary community--just visit our Web site and enter your email address in the subscriber's box. Full details on all events, including maps and directions and spotlight features on presenters, can also be found on the St. Louis Writers Guild Web site at: www.stlwritersguild.org.
For information on membership or events, email: info@stlwritersguild.org
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Twin Lakes Writers (MWG) -- meets 2nd Saturday, each month, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, Mountain Home, AR. Contact person is Susan Varno, PO Box 71, Dolph, AR 72528, Email: svarnoark@centurytel.net
Phone: (870) 297-4223.
President: Bob Harper
(870) 445-4750
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The Writers' Society of Jefferson County Third Saturday Workshop meets at 10 a.m. to noon on the third Saturday of each month at the Festus Library. They welcome everyone. Contact Doris Mueller, 4 East Lakewood Dr., Fenton, Missouri 63026, (636) 343-2865, djmueler22@sbcglobal.net
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