Last week we introduced several of the literary organizations who will be exhibiting at the North Carolina Writers’ Network 2015 Fall Conference, November 20-22, in Asheville.
Continuing in alphabetical order, here’s Part Two!
Hub City Writers Project has published more than 500 writers through its publishing arm, Hub City Press; serves the city of Spartanburg, SC, as a non-profit independent bookstore, coffee bar, and a bakery, as Hub City Books; and has given away more than $20,000 in scholarships to emerging writers. They run a successful summer writers conference, writing prizes, a national residency program, college scholarships for local teens, donations of thousands of books to local schools, regular creative writing workshops, and dozens of readings annually. Founder John Lane will lead a workshop “Writing Description that Means Something,” while Hub City Executive Director Betsy Teter will serve as a reviewer for Manuscript Mart and sit on Sunday morning’s Brilliant at Breakfast Panel Discussion: “Agents & Editors.”
The Master of Arts in Writing Program at Lenoir-Rhyne University, based in Asheville, is a flexible, interactive program designed with the student in mind. Course offerings include poetry, fiction,creative nonfiction, professional writing, and specialized workshop offerings. Flexible formats for classes offer students the chance to be either fully online, hybrid (partially online, partially in class), in the evening, or on weekends. Traditional and career-track admission gives students more than one way to be admitted. The MA in Writing Program is the sponsor of Friday’s Welcome Reception and the Booksigning following Lee Smith’s Keynote Address on Friday Night. Lenoir-Rhyne’s Director of the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative, Laura Hope-Gill, will lead the workshop, “Narrative Medicine: Stories in Clinical Care.”
Al Manning, aka “The Resident Curmudgeon,” is the NCWN regional representative for Chatham and Lee Counties. The regional group, Pittsboro Writers’ Morning Out, meets on the second Saturday of the month at 1:00 pm at the Carolina Brewery, 120 Lowes Dr., in Pittsboro. All writers, any genre are invited. Come early and join them for lunch. There’s usually a special program as well. Al is the sponsor of Saturday night’s Open Mic at the NCWN 2015 Fall Conference (sign up on a first-come, first-served basis at the registration table).
Located in the beautiful Appalachian mountain town of Jefferson, McFarland is a leading independent publisher of academic and nonfiction books. Meeting high library standards has always been a major focus, and many McFarland books have received awards from the library-oriented (Choice Outstanding Academic Title and ALA Outstanding Reference Work) to the specialized (Hugo, Edgar, Stoker, USCF Chess Book of the Year). McFarland is recognized for noteworthy books about pop culture, sports, military, transportation, body and mind, literature, history, and medieval studies, among other topics. They offer 5,100 books in print, nearly 3,000 e-books through online booksellers, operate their own printing facility, and employ fifty-five people.
The mission of the North Carolina Literary Map, established at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro University Libraries, is to highlight the literary heritage of the state by connecting the lives and creative work of authors to real (and imaginary) geographic locations. Through the development of a searchable and browseable data-driven online map, users are able to access a database, learning tools, and cultural resources, to deepen their understanding of specific authors as well as the cultural space that shaped these literary works. The selection criteria of the North Carolina Literary Map are broad and inclusive. The criteria focuses on works written about North Carolina and authors who were born in North Carolina, who currently live or have lived in North Carolina, who have written about North Carolina, or who have made a significant contribution to the North Carolina’s literary landscape. The author must have at least one publication cataloged by the Library of Congress. At this time, the Map includes only works that have a physical equivalent and does not include literary articles, self-publishing houses, works published by vanity presses, or works only available from an individual website.
The North Carolina Literary Review (NCLR) is published at East Carolina University. Inspired by the North Carolina Literary & Historical Association to be a companion to the North Carolina Historical Review, NCLR publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by and interviews with North Carolina writers, and articles and essays about North Carolina writers, literature, and literary history and culture. A cross between a scholarly journal and a literary magazine, NCLR has won numerous awards and citations, including five from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals: the Best New Journal award in 1994, the Best Journal Design award in 1999 and 2010, the Parnassus Award for Significant Editorial Achievement in 2007, and the Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement in 2014. The print issue is published annually in the summer. It is available via subscription and in independent bookstores across the state. Since 2012, a separate, open access online issue is released in the winter. NCLR facilitates the North Carolina Writers’ Network annual Doris Betts Fiction Prize.
Since 1932, the North Carolina Poetry Society has existed as an all-volunteer organization especially for poets and friends of poetry. They now have approximately 350 members from North Carolina—and numerous locations beyond. The Poetry Society holds regular meetings three times a year in Southern Pines, at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities. The meetings offer a variety of programs, including readings, panels, workshops, and special presentations—all seeking to recognize a diversity of poets. Meetings are free and open to any interested persons. Other programs include annual contests for adults and students; the annual Poet Laureate Award; yearly publication of Pinesong Awards; workshops across the state that offer poets an opportunity to gather for instruction, camaraderie, and networking; and the annual Sam Ragan Poetry Festival, during the month of March.
Pre-registration for the North Carolina Writers’ Network 2015 Fall Conference ends November 13. Register now!