Edwin M Church 2023 contest details and the 2022 winner!

 Edwin Church was an avid writer who believed that spirits were all around us. He had regular visitation from the other realm and spoke of them often. Edwin never published the majority of his work, but his spirit lives on in the Edwin Church Award for Local Writers. This award was established to act as an incentive for local writers to share their work and to take the next step towards getting published. The $500 cash prize is open to anyone 18 and over who lives, works, gathers, or plays in Swanton, Vermont.

Entries must be a 1000-3000 word original short story that tells the

tale of Morgan, who is under a deadline to finish writing an item that is personally important to them. Before they can finish, there is an interruption that involves a spirit.

It's up to the writer to tell us how Morgan reacts to this ghostly interruption or if the important piece of writing ever gets finished. The possibilities of your short story are unlimited, but you must include the phrase "seeing is believing" somewhere in the last paragraph.  Deadline for the entries has yet to be determined.  Projected early summer 2023.  Watch for the deadline in a future entry.  

Shannon Lucy won the 2022 contest.   Find her entry entitled "After You've Gone" can be found HERE

Meeting Minute February 16 2023

 Attendees: Ev Larsen, Don Lefebvre, Michelle Willard, Nancy Fuller, Eileen Williams, Judy Paxman, Heather Lavoie, Shannon Lucy, Becky Rupp

Congratulations to new group member  Shannon Lucy, winner of this year's Edwin Church Award.  I will be posting a separate blog entry containing a link to Shannon's story and details for the 2023 Edwin M Church contest.  The contest has been funded for two more years!

Events:

POEM TOWN, St. Johnsbury, VT, is looking for submissions of poems no longer than 28 lines (limit of two poems) on theme of "Embracing Change." Deadline is February 28. Find more information HERE.  Montpelier VT has a similar event entitled "Poem City" Submissions are now closed but more information about past events can be found HERE. 

POETRY SLAM will be held at the Swanton Library on Saturday, April 1, 5-7 PM. Email Becky or Judy for participation guidelines.  Our own Scott Martel will MC the event.  In conjunction with the SLAM and in the spirit of April being National Poetry month the writer's group would like to create their own version of the St. Johnsbury and Montpelier events.  We'd like to host a POEMS AROUND THE PARK. Poems should be submitted by March 20 and will be posted in windows around town. More details on where to submit and how will be available after the next writer's group meeting.  For now: get writing!

BOOKSTOCK LITERARY FESTIVAL 2023 will take place on June 23-25; keep an eye on their WEBSITE for schedule and details.

Resources:

League of Vermont Writers is hosting an online book discussion of Jeff Vandermeer's Wonderbook - the "definitive guide to writing science fiction and fantasy" - on Thursday, February 23, 7 PM. (The Swanton Library has a copy - check it out!) Or purchase HERE  If interested in attending, send an email to Shawn Anderson.

The Vermont Humanities Council hosts both online and in-person events throughout the state - see the long list HERE   Some interesting stuff for writers: a Zoom talk "The People's Tongue: Americans and the English Language" on March 1, and on March 15, Tracy Smith - a US Poet Laureate - will be doing a reading and talk at Middlebury College. 

The Poets & Writers website (companion to the print magazine) has tons of up-to-date info on writing contests, literary magazines, agents and editors, conferences and workshops, and more. More info HERE

Future plans:

We are planning to host a LOCAL WRITERS EVENT at the Swanton Library - possibly in early May - in which writers display/sell/sign their books and talk to the public. (What to call it? And who to invite? Please send your suggestions.)

Judy tells us that the SAC may be able to give us some financial support for these. (Thank you, Judy and the SAC!)

Writing prompts: a couple of people were interested in having these, and Michelle suggested we revisit the infamous Machine of Death project. Ev pointed out that Seven Days Vermont is a great source of inspiration - check out the legal section and the group meet-ups. (There's got to be a story in the Potato Intolerance group.)

Judy gave us a preview of the next Edwin Church challenge - which will involve ghosts and the phrase "Seeing is believing." How good is that? Stories will be due sometime this summer - details to be posted soon.

Who read what:

Nancy read "The Story of Sky" - an account of a lovable rescue dog with a traumatic past, now relegated to the isolation tank at the dog park for not playing well with others. (But there's hope for the future, due to a helpful  dog named Obi-wan Kenobe.) We're all pitching for Sky.

Eileen read a proposal for her latest memoir project, tentatively titled "The Builder's Wife," with themes of moving, dislocation, leaving vs. new beginnings, family, and the meaning of home.

Ev read "A Mindfile Named Otto," a terrific hybrid prose/poetry work with roots in Alan Ginsberg's Howl. (Complete text of Howl is at the Poetry Foundation: HERE

Ev's essay spawned a conversation about GPT technology vs living writers.  Pros and Cons and what it means for our future.  Helpful article on Wiki HERE

Next meeting:

Thursday, March 16, 6 PM at the Swanton Library.