Department of English to host 11th Annual Writers’ Workshop July 19-22
Morgantown, W.Va., June 5, 2007:West Virginia University’s Department of English in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will host the 11th Annual Writers’ Workshop from Thursday, July 19-Sunday, July 22 on the WVU downtown campus.
In addition to the regular workshop, which is open to writers of all ages and experience, a special program will be offered for West Virginia high schools students. Twelve students will be selected to receive full scholarships, which include tuition and lodging. Those students not selected for the scholarships may attend for a reduced fee of $180 for tuition and three-day dormitory lodging at $64.77 total.
High school students interested in applying should email a typed writing sample (3-5 poems or up to 15 pages of prose) along with name, address, home phone number, email address, grade level and high school to Marsha Bissett at Marsha.Bissett@mail.wvu.edu.
Deadlines for regular workshop registration and the high school program have been extended to June 15.
The regular workshop features writing classes, panel discussions, craft lectures, informal meetings and an array of poetry, fiction and nonfiction readings. The 2007 award-winning faculty includes Steve Almond, Mark Brazaitis, Nick Carbo, Maribeth Fischer, Laura Kasischke, Aleda Shirley, Sara Pritchard and Cheryl Ware.
Steve Almond has written two story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal and The Evil B.B. Chow, and a new book, Not That You Asked: Essays, to be published in 2007 by Random House.
Mark Brazaitis, associate professor in WVU’s Department of English, has published several stories, poems, essays and books including a collection of short stories, An American Affair, which was awarded the George Garrett Fiction Prize for Best Book of Short Stories in 2006.
Nick Carbo has authored three books of poems, Andalusian Dawn, Secret Asian Man and El Grupo McDonalds, and edited three anthologies of Filipino writing, Pinoy Poetics, Babaylan and Returning a Borrowed Tongue.
Maribeth Fischer has received many awards for her works, including a Pushcart Prize for her essay “Stillborn” and a Smart Family Prize for her essay “Lottery.” Her second novel, The Life You Longed For, was published in March 2007. Publishers in Brazil, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Norway have already purchased rights to her latest novel.
Laura Kasischke has written four novels, six collections of poetry, and a novel for young adults. Her third novel, The Life Before Her Eyes, is being made into a film starring Uma Thurman and directed by Vadim Perelman.
Aleda Shirley has published three collections of poetry, Dark Familiar, Long Distance and Chinese Architecture, and two chapbooks, Rilke’s Children and Silver Ending. Chinese Architecture won the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, and Silver Ending won the St. Louis Poetry Society’s Stanley Hanks Chapbook Competition.
Sara Pritchard’s second book, Lately, will be published by Houghton Mifflin this year. Her first book, Crackpots, received the Bakeless Prize for fiction and was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003. Sara Pritchard is a WVU alumna and public relations specialist for the WVU Press.
Cheryl Ware, WVU alumna and 2006 recipient of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences’ Alumni Recognition Award, has authored three middle-grade novels, Flea Circus Summer, Catty-Cornered and Venola in Love, and an educational picturebook, Roberta Price Has Head Lice!.
For a brochure, please contact Marsha Bissett at Marsha.Bissett@mail.wvu.edu or by telephone at 304-293-3107 ext. 33404. For more information on the program, please contact James Harms, conference director, at jharms@wvu.edu or by telephone at 304-293-3107 ext. 33451. Please also visit the workshop website at http://www.as.wvu.edu/wvww/.
W-V-U