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The Stonecoast Newsletter

Feb 6,2012 Greetings Stonecoasters, We are entering our second month of the semester, and I hope that everyone has delved into his or her writing. I have taken to my New Year’s writing resolution and started a blog called The Run Ragger (http://runragger.blogspot.com/) along with my thesis, of course. I have been busy fine-tuning it, and as I draw closer and closer to finishing it, a question comes to mind, one I have asked every single writer I have ever met and that is, “How do you know when a piece is done?” I have received many answers some as plain as “you just know” to “you know, when you are not adding anything new to it and just replacing one word for another.” For the longest time, I thought only one answer to this question existed. But really it comes down to what kind of writer you are. My thinking is that the more experienced you get, you develop a sixth sense for this sort of thing. I am a gut-feelings kind of person. I usually go with what my instinct tells me. But I can also tell when I wind up editing in a circle. Again, it’s up to you. One thing you don’t want to do is push a piece too far. Writing is kind of like working with clay. The key to keeping clay malleable is moisture. If you don’t spray down your clay after use, it slowly begins to dry out and if you try to work with semi-moist clay, I guarantee you it will crack and crumble in your hands. But don’t be completely freaked about this possibility because the way you develop that sixth sense I was talking about is by making a few mistakes. That is all for now. Please email your updates to stonecoastnews@usm.maine.edu by Friday, FEBRUARY 17, NOON EST TIME. Send any feedback about the newsletter to Robin Talbot at rtalbot@usm.maine.edu.

Take care mates, Mariel

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Upcoming Important Deadlines & Dates*

DUE: March 22, 2012 (4th SEMESTER STUDENTS ONLY) Presentation Descriptions 1st draft Descriptions should be concise and no longer than one paragraph. The Mentor will review and may edit descriptions, reading lists and handouts.

*Please remember that this is only a partial list of deadlines. A complete list can be found in your Stonecoast Community Handbook.

Announcing the New Stonecoast Community Blog Come visit the new Stonecoast Community Blog at http://stonecoastcommunity.com/ The Stonecoast staff and the SCAA are working together to strengthen ways for Stonecoast and our students, alumni, and faculty to stay engaged with each other--both on and off campus. Creating a vibrant online presence in the form of an active and informative blog is our next step in that process. We are also continuing to develop online resources such as an active alumni listserve, a strong social network, and professional and social community gatherings. In order to help answer some of your questions, we’ve also created a FAQ Page on the blog, which can be accessed through the About Page. Here's a quick link to the FAQ Page: http://stonecoastcommunity.com/about/faq/ If you have any questions that you'd like included on the FAQ, please be sure to let us know.

Stonecoast News

The Faculty Speaker for Summer 2012 Graduation has been selected! We are very happy to announce that the summer 2012 graduates have chosen Tim Seibles to be the faculty speaker at commencement this summer. Current Student News KENDALL GILES has an essay published in the January 2012 issue of InYo: The Journal of Alternative Perspectives on the Martial Arts and Sciences. <http://ejmas.com/jalt/2012jalt/InYo-Winter-Jan2012-5.pdf (kendallgiles@gmail.com)

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Alumni News BRIDGET GAGE-DIXON's chapbook, Words That White Girls Shouldn't Say, received an Honorable Mention in The Comstock Review's Jessie Bryce Niles Chapbook competition. ROBERT MALLOY's "Poem for John and Julie" will appear in the Spring issue of Permafrost, the journal of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. BRUCE PRATT'S story "May Alison" will appear in the next issue of Puckerbrush Review due out in February. He was delighted to read a rave and well deserved review of Morgan Callan Rogers' book Ruby Red Heart in a Cold Blue Sea in the January 23 Bangor Daily News. Rogers, Pratt and Elizabeth Searle will be reading at the York Library (ME) in March. mailto:obdriveway@aol.com. Barbara Joy Wilson will sing Bruce Pratt's song "The Unknown" with the Monterey Symphony (California) as part of this year's Memorial Day concert. The song was written after viewing the interment ceremony for the unknown soldier from the Vietnam War. obdriveway@aol.com Faculty News BOMAN DESAI's "Just Another Cuckoo!!" the short story from which his novel of the same name springboarded (from which novel he read the Vietnam segment at the last residency), was a semi-finalist for the New Millennium Writings Short Story competition. This is the third award to be won by excerpts from this novel. JIM KELLY’s newest story “The Biggest” went live online at Angry Robot’s Empire State WorldBuilders site http://empirestate.cc/2012/01/12/the-biggest-by-james-patrick-kelly/ during the Winter Residency. The audioplay version of “Bad Dogs” was posted on Escape Pod http://escapepod.org/2011/12/29/ep325-bad-dogs-escape/ on December 29; it will be familiar to all those who saw its live stage debut during the residency. It will be produced yet again March 9-25 as part of an evening of Apocalyptic Theater at the Players Ring in Portsmouth, NH http://www.playersring.org/slot.php?id=41. Issue #4 of the ezine James Patrick Kelly’s Strangeways is now available on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Patrick-Kellys-Strangeways-Number-ebook/dp/B006L6A2FU and Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/james-patrick-kellys-strangeways-number-4-james-patrick-kelly/1107957669. Audio Rights for two of Jim’s older novels, Look into the Sun and Wildlife have sold to Audible.com, a division of Amazon. ELIZABETH SEARLE's novel Girl Held in Home was reviewed in DigBoston (Jan 2012) and Elizabeth was interviewed in online magazine Barely South (links below). Elizabeth reads at Broadside Books in Northampton, MA on Feb 16 at 7 and she gives a talk about writing Fiction at Bay Path College Writers' Day on Feb 18 (appearing with Stonecoast alum Morgan Callan Rogers, among others, at the event which was organized by Suzanne Strempek Shea). See: http://www.baypath.edu/NewsandEvents/Conferences/WritersDay2012.aspx Link to DigBoston review: http://digboston.com/experience/2012/01/death-match-victors-new-works-from-elizabeth-searle-and-matthew-salesses/

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Link to Barely South interview: http://barelysouthreview.digitalodu.com/all-issues/january-2012/the-girl-next-door-elizabeth-searle-dispels-the-shadows-of-suburbia/

Other News & Calls for Submission Meetings, Readings, and Other Interesting Offerings Calls for Submission CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Black Lawrence Press will award The Big Moose Prize for an unpublished novel.�Deadline: January 31, 2012�$1000 and publication. ��The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. For more information: http://blacklawrence.com ��� ********************************** �� CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: WE ARE NOT JUST THE 99%: Queering the Occupy Movement, Reimagining Resistance� Deadline, March 20, 2012��Looking for missives from queers involved in Occupy/Decolonize movements, as well as from those veering between skeptical and inspired. I would love to hear about queer challenges within Occupy encampments large and small, across the country and around the world. Please submit your journal entries, written nonfiction work, art, photography, posters, flyers, and other forms of visual documentation queering the Occupy movement.� �Please send essays or written materials of up to 5000 words, as Word or text file attachments only, to nobodypasses@gmail.com. Include a brief bio. Please send a query before submitting visual work. ��Matilda Bernstein, Editor, mattildabernsteinsycamore.com. ��***************************** �� CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Red Wheelbarrow, published at De Anza College for its 2012 National Edition �Deadline: February 15, 2012��De Anza College's literary magazine which appears in both a National and a Student Edition—features fiction, poetry, drama, creative nonfiction, and visual art. We welcome a diverse range of styles and voices. For information about submitting your work or purchasing an issue, as well as selected writing and art from past issues, go to our website, Red Wheelbarrow and access our Contribute link for our National Edition.��E-mail submissions accepted: WeisnerKen@fhda.edu.�Single copy price: $15�Red Wheelbarrow �De Anza College , 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. , Cupertino, CA 95014 �� ************************************* �� CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: SONGS OF THE SOUL POETRY CONTEST SPONSORED BY THE International Association of Sufism � Deadline: January 31, 2012��As part of the annual Sufi Symposium held in Marin on March 16-18, this contest is led by Dr.

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Nahid Angha and Dr. ‘Ali Kianfar �� For guidelines: �Symposium:���Tamam Kahn �tamam@completeword.com �www.completeword.wordpress.com �� *********************************** �� CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: POETRY ABOUT LOS GATOS, CA � Deadline: February 14, 2012��Los Gatos Poet Laureate, Parthenia M. Hicks seeks poems about the town of Los Gatos.�� You do not have to be a resident of Los Gatos, but I hope that many Los Gatos residents, including students and adults of all ages, those who have never written a poem before, will send their poems.�� Guidelines: One poem per person. Poems must be double-spaced and no longer than 3 - 4 pages. Include your name and contact information.� �Send to: Parthenia M. Hicks �PO Box 790�Los Gatos, CA 95031��OR: email: parre1@verizon.net �� **************************** ��CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE MOST QUOTABLE WOMAN I KNOW � Deadline: March 24, 2012 ��We are looking for original, well-written true stories about a woman who has said something or many things that have made an impact on your life and/or the lives of others. �For guidelines:�www.TheQuotableWoman.com. Go to contest.�� ************************************** ��CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE VOICES OF ISRAEL POETRY CONTEST� Deadline: January 31, 2012��The Voices Israel Group of Poets in English publishes an annual anthology of poetry, now in its 38th year. Anyone, anywhere, is welcome to submit a maximum of 4 poems to the anthology. Poems should not exceed 40 lines and should be previously unpublished. English translations of living poets' poems are acceptable as long as the translations have not been previously published.�� Please include a list of your poems on a separate cover page with your name, address, telephone number and email address and a short bio, not to exceed fifty words. Please attach the cover letter and poems in a single Word or RTF file in 12pt. Times New Roman font, single spaced—one poem per page, with no identifying information on the pages of poems (only in the cover letter). Judging is anonymous.� �Send to:�VoicesIsraelPoetryAnthology@gmail.com �� ********************************** �� CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: SUPERSTITION REVIEW, THE ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE OF ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY� Spring deadline: February 29, 2012��We welcome submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art.�� For submission guidelines Please visit www.superstitionreview.com �� The Four Way Books Intro Prize in Poetry D.A. Powell, judge Submissions accepted January 1 - March 31 For a book-length collection of poetry written in English by a poet who has not previously published a first book of poetry. $1000.00 plus publication and a reading in NYC. Submit online or by mail January 1 - March 31. Include necessary entry form and submission fee of $28.00. For guidelines and entry form, please click here.

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Four Way Books P.O. Box 535 Village Station New York, New York 10014 www.fourwaybooks.com CutBank Literary Magazine Chapbook Contest Deadline: March 31, 2012 Entry Fee: $17 Website: www.cutbankonline.org/contests<http://www.cutbankonline.org/contests> A prize of $1,000, 25 author copies, and publication by CutBank will be given annually for a poetry or prose chapbook. CutBank editors will judge. Between January 1 and March 31, 2012, submit a manuscript of 25-40 pages with a $17 entry fee. Reading fee includes a copy of CutBank 77 upon its release in summer 2012. Poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction manuscripts are welcome. Visit the website for complete guidelines. • The Poetry Porch • www.poetryporch.com jpwwilson@earthlink.net Call for papers: poetry, essays, stories, reviews Suggested Theme: Bridges Deadline March 31, 2012 The Poetry Porch is accepting submissions now for the next issue, which is on the theme of bridges. What is so persuasive about the image of a bridge? Is it that a bridge is a part of daily life or that is is a testament to man’s engineering and artistic striving? How was it built? Who crosses it? A bridge lies over the water or roadway with a stillness and a permanence about it. Hart Crane describes the Brooklyn Bridge as a silver vision of liberty while observing it at dawn, at noon, and at night, while Richard Wilbur describes the rising panels of a drawbridge as a welcome interruption during the traffic of the day, like the anticipation of a smile. Perhaps the bridge you have in mind is not one that joins land masses, but connects people and cultures. Submitted works might focus on a bridge as a central image or the connective element of a promise or idea. Poems: send 3 to 8 poems. We are looking for poetry that is formal or informal, that adheres to strict meter and rhyme or experiments with them, that is personal or objective, classical or modern, urban or pastoral. These should be original and not previously published. (Note: occasionally we post ten or more published poems for a profile of a featured poet.)

Essays and stories: These can be 300 to 4000 words in length and on any topic that we agree is literary and that shows an engagement with language.

Reviews: Critical reviews of poetry books, and others of literary interest, are welcome (most are 700 to 1500 words). These can be first books, collections, groups of books, and

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chapbooks. Book reviews do not have to discuss a current publication but can introduce books published in the past decade that might have been overlooked or that will justify a reconsideration. We suggest that reviewers discuss what the author has set out to do and then how well he or she has done it, quoting specific examples from the poems.

Sonnets: We are interested in original unpublished sonnets to add to The Sonnet Scroll.

Email or US mail: Send MS Word attachments (doc or docx) or paste text into the message box to jpwwilson@earthlink.net or through the link on The Poetry Porch pages. Or you may send hard copies through US mail to Joyce Wilson, Editor, The Poetry Porch, 158 Hollett Street, Scituate, MA 02066 (781/ 545-0731). Contact information: Please include contact information on your submitted materials at or near the top of every page (name, email, telephone, and US mail address) and a brief biographical statement to let us know who you are, how you heard about The Poetry Porch, where you have published, and other relevant information.

Thank you for your interest in The Poetry Porch. Lexi Rudnitsky Editor's Choice Award contest entry period‹now through March 1st, 2012 Through March 1st, Persea Books is pleased to accept entries to the Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award, an annual competition open to any American poet who has previously published at least one full-length book of poems. The winner receives an advance of $1,000.00, publication of his/her collection by Persea, and the option of an expenses-paid residency at the Anderson Center, a renowned artists’ colony in Red Wing, Minnesota. For more information and submissions guidelines, go to www.perseabookscom/editorschoiceaward.php.

Cleveland State University Poetry Center Book Prizes

Deadline February 15th

First Book Prize and Open Competition

$1,000 and publication in the CSU Poetry Series is offered for the best full-length volumes of original poetry in English submitted between November 1, 2011 and February 15, 2012.

The First Book Award is given to an author who has not previously published a book of poetry.

The Open Competition is for poets who have previously published at least one full-length collection.

For complete guidelines visit our website. [http://www.csuohio.edu/poetrycenter/contest1.html]

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MAIL ENTRIES AND $25 READING FEE TO:

Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prizes (please specify: First Book or Open Competition) Department of English 2121 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115-2214 Like us on Facebook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=rmxaw5cab&et=1109151087506&s=5242&e=001iJn3EHr710XEHwlmAN4Ff3Hms08QsrD2ad3lN6AxkSkrfj-ta33RBlIKSw6neQcZlMuhSENScWvLKcwHoaVVyVlemPvvqeQR1yNkgWvp9N93KxpsBDGwZcaqHBqdyFYfphqAVkP9BZi3XvULsYzSEcVKonz2Fx_eUtAaH0qUPFIQB11r3GIIDJAu5Cb9H3iklV7j8Qda0Ts6XMVIM0qKdA==]

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Recent titles are available through SPD (Small Press Distribution) at http://www.spdbooks.org, Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or can be ordered through your local independent bookstore. For media review copies, contact Chris Smith at 216-687-3986 or email us at csupc.mgr@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First Book Judge Nick Flynn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Open Book Jury Kazim Ali Mary Biddinger Michael Dumanis & Sarah Gridley ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forthcoming Titles The Hartford Book by Samuel Amadon Mother Was a Tragic Girl by Sandra Simonds I Live in a Hut by S. E. Smith Uncanny Valley by Jon Woodward

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The Cumberland River Review

A new print journal of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, seeking to solicit work from MFA students. Homepage: http://crr.trevecca.edu. Submission Guidelines: http://crr.trevecca.edu/submissions.

Iron Horse Literary Review's 4th Annual Single-Author Issue competition.

The 2012 Single-Author Issue will be a chapbook of short fiction or narrative nonfiction essays.

The winning chapbook will be published in the Fall of 2012 as a separate issue (Volume 14.5). Full-color cover art will reflect the collection’s content and emphasize its title, not the name of Iron Horse. The published collection will look like the single-author book that it is. The winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium. Entry fee is $15 (which includes a subscription to Iron Horse), and the deadline is March 15, 2012.

This year’s judge is Kelly Cherry, the author of eight chapbooks and nineteen books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, including the story collection Society of Friends; a novel told in stories, My Life and Dr.Joyce Brothers; a collection of essays, Girl in the Library; and a memoir, The Exiled Heart. Her short fiction has been reprinted in several anthologies, including Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, The Pushcart Prize, and New Stories from the South. Her awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bradley Major Achievement Award, and three Wisconsin Arts Board fellowships.

Competition Guidelines:

Entries must be between 15,000 and 20,000 words (or 50 to 65 manuscript pages).

• Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, 12-point font.

• While one or two of the stories may have been published elsewhere, the majority of the collection must be previously unpublished.

• The author’s name and contact information must appear on a cover sheet, but it must NOT appear anywhere else on the manuscript.

• Pages must be numbered.

• Entries must include the $15 reading fee, which also purchases a one-year subscription to Iron Horse. • Entries must also include an email address for results notification.

• Send a hard copy to Iron Horse Literary Review, Texas Tech University, Mail Stop 43091, Lubbock, TX 79409-3091, or submit online at

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http://ironhorse.submishmash.com/submit. • Deadline for entries is March 15, 2012.

PURCHASE PASTWINNERS

Purchase one of our past winner’s chapbook for $5 (on sale every February for only $3). Order online by visiting

http://ironhorse.submishmash.com/submit, or send a check to Iron Horse Literary Review, Texas Tech University, Mail Stop 43091, Lubbock, TX 79409-3091, and let us know which one you’d like.

PAST WINNERS INCLUDE: Meagan Ciesla (novella, 2009) Eric Neuenfeldt (short fiction, 2010) Hastings Hensel (poetry, 2011) PAST JUDGES INCLUDE: RON CARLSON • MARK RICHARD • ERIN BELIEU http://www.ironhorsereview.com • Email: mail@ironhorsereview.com • Twitter: @IHLR • Facebook: http://bit.ly/aTwiSW

-ality fiction journal call for submissions & The first issue is now available

The first issue of -ality fiction journal went live in mid January. The full issue can be viewed at www.dashality.com. This is also a call for submissions. -ality is a fiction journal. We accept both flash (under 1000 words) and short (under 9500 words) fiction. Our reading period opens on February 1st and will close on April 15th. For more information, visit www.dashality.com/about. The Charlestown Connection by Tom MacDonald Has Been Nominated for the 2012 International Thriller Awards Best First Novel February Book Signings Wednesday, February 8th Canton Library 786 Washington Street Canton, MA 7:30 pm Thursday, February 9th Tufts Library 46 Broad Street

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Weymouth, MA 7:00 pm Saturday, February 11th Fresh Pond Market 385 Huron Ave Cambridge, MA 4:00 - 6:00 pm Thursday, February 23rd Nashua Public Library 2 Court St Nashua, NH 7:00 - 8:30 pm

2nd annual Ridge to River Contest for a work of outstanding outdoor creative nonfiction is now open

Winner receives $500, an MSR Pocket Rocket stove, and publication! $15 entry fee includes a copy of the next issue. Deadline May 15th. Visit the contest page for more details: http://www.adventummagazine.com/contests.html